ã€ŠSilver Fox and the Western Heroã€‹


 Chapters 1 & 2: Cryogenic Sleep & Unexpected Awakenings!

    What the hell just happened? Those were the first thoughts to trickle inside Alex¡¯s mind as the endless nauseating rocking he thought a side effect of the medications he had been given were replaced with the strange certainty that he really was on a ship, rocking on unseen waves, the stink of tar, brine, and the dull rocking of distant waves assaulting his senses all at once, in addition to other strange scents he had no names for.

    But wait, wasn¡¯t he being prepped for cryonic suspension? He shivered at the memory of those pale blue cryogenic chambers that looked like nothing so much as high tech coffins, filled with corpses kept at -196 Celcius, for all intents and purposes, legally dead even if the normal degenerative processes had stopped. Alex had read the literature. He knew that for all intents and purposes, dead was dead, his brain functions should have completely halted, and he had known just gazing into that smarmy doctor¡¯s smile that the added cybernetic enhancement package his desparate mom had swallowed hook, line and sinker, hooking his frozen brain to a specially designed VR headset that would use neuromapping to mirror his consciousness into an AI construct was nothing but the most extreme quackery.

    But his mom had looked so desperate, bursting into tears when the doctor had given them the news, less than a year after the death of her husband, his father, and the twins he had doted on, that he couldn¡¯t help smiling, reassuring his mother that everything would be okay, happily signing off to whatever extreme treatments and last ditch hopes that they could prolong his life or at least a semblance of his life that she asked him to.

    No matter how much those alternative treatments hurt; the mega doses of chemo drugs, the radiation therapy, even the extreme fasting and macronutrient regimen that final all-organic doctor had put him on before finally having to concede with a sympathetic smile to Alex and his distraught mother, the heiress of the Warbucks fortune and a billionair many times over, that his beloved boy was utterly doomed.

    ¡°Sorry, son. We did our best.¡± And the thing was, Alex couldn¡¯t even hate the doctor that had made his last month a torture of fasting and massive vitamin doses. The son of a tycoon, he was no fool, he had done the research, even if he had yet to finish his accelerated highschool curriculum. Doctor Greenfield¡¯s treatments had a fantastic track record. Multiple stage 4 cancer patients had gone into complete remission. As had Doctor Smith¡¯s. Even the used car salesman of a doctor hawking his virtual world cryonic paradises had no strikes against him, with dozens of foolish customers swearing they were in regular e-mail communication with their loved ones from whatever virtual pocket world the heft premiums had brought them.

    Even Alex had been infected with that madness, that desperate hope, until the morning he was being hooked up, seconds before he was about to be put in that liquid nitrogen bath, catching Dr. Wilm¡¯s eyes.

    Feeling a cold chill in his gut.

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe a word of your own shit, do you?¡±

    Of course, Alex had only thought it, being utterly unable to say a word, but the doctor¡¯s bemused gaze made it clear he knew exactly what Alex had been thinking.

    And Dr. Wilm had actually had the gall to wink.

    And then a hideous chill had washed over Alex, as if he had been thrown buck naked into Niagara falls in winter, freezing to an instant popsicle while simultaneously feeling like he was cresting a massive drop in his favorite rollercoaster, hearing the contraption rattle, gazing at his mom sitting beside him, desperate not to go over, then everyone was screaming, his stomach had dropped, and utter blackness consumed him.

    Then there had been that strange old man who had looked like nothing so much as an extra in an old kung fu movie.

    Alex shuddered, pushing aside his panicked, skittering thoughts, forcing himself to focus.

    No matter the hype preached in Dr. Wilm¡¯s glossy brochure, this was no Third Life fantasy world where he was floating between clouds with unlimited access to Mybook, Freespace, and a thousand e-mail addresses and entertainment options.

    He was buck naked and trapped in darkness in a rocking ship. And for a virtual world, his belly was definitely feeling a bit nauseous with the awful stenches assaulting his nose.

    If this was Dr. Wilm¡¯s touted virtual word, the man had indeed been pulling a fast one.

    ¡°Hello? Is any of this real? Tech Support!¡± Alex called out as his fingers brushed against wooden paneling, hissing as a splinter wedged underneath a fingernail.

    And for the first time since coming to, he felt a sudden jolt of fear.

    Because the one thing Dr. Wilm and all the AI interface and VR alternate world brochures had been absolutely adamant on was that he would feel no absolutely no pain. Not when he was being frozen, and certainly not with what came afterword.

    Even though Alex had feared the doctor¡¯s genuine reassurance was because he knew the rich heir he was putting under was now technically and forevermore a corpse, Alex had read the man¡¯s sincerity. Whether in a digital afterlife, or a death so quick he would feel nothing, Dr. Wilm genuinely thought Alex¡¯s pain would be at an end.

    And Alex had always had a knack for sensing when people were being straight or deceptive, just one of the things that had made his father such a fearsome negotiator back in the day.

    But his finger was most definitely throbbing, he was definitely feeling queezy, and even if sound was muffled, the stench of wood soaked in brine and tar was as sharp and visceral as he could ask for.

    ¡°Well shit, don¡¯t tell me it actually worked? Am I really here?¡±

    He closed his eyes, not that it mattered in the darkness, doing his best to pull up the digital character sheet Wilm assured would be available to him the moment he decided which of the many exciting virtual reality role playing games he wanted to jump into for endless lifetimes of entertainment. Supposedly, once he learned the ropes, he¡¯d be able to enter worlds where he could serve as a valiant knight protector, learn the secrets of magic under court wizards, or explore the stars as an up and coming officer in a star fleet. Best of all, the game-worlds had been designed so flawlessly that he could supposedly port his learned skills, powers, and abilities from one realm to another.

    And that¡¯s when John, who had been VR gaming for years, had called bullshit. He knew from all the Dev blogs he read that it was immensely hard just balancing one game world with its specially designed races and classes, let alone deal with characters porting from alternate realms. There was no way a starship would do anything but cause chaos in a fantasy realm, and Vulcor invadors teleporting in the bridge of a Battlecruiser would have no way of dealing with Deathbolts and mind control if the wizard¡¯s apprentice or Psionicist decided he wanted to explore the universe.

    And even if Dr. Wilm had only given him a strange look of confusion when a heavily drugged Alex had tried to break it down for him, his mother gently patting his hand and explaining to the doctor how heavily sedated her son was these days before going ahead with the paperwork, every person Alex had interviewed, including a handful of extremely well-payed game designers and AI architects, had adamantly believed all the hype they were peddling.

    And now, with splintered fists most definitely feeling pain as he banged against the sides of what he was chillingly certain was an old fashioned wooden barrel with him cooped up inside, finding that he actually could summon a character sheet with his Mind¡¯s eye, he was forced to as well.

    ___________________________________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Undecided

    Characteristics

    Strength 9 (Exceeds 37% of Population)

    Vitality 9 (Exceeds 37% of Population)

    Quickness 9 (Exceeds 37% of Population)

    Finesse 9 (Exceeds 37% of Population)

    Scholarship 11 (Exceeds 62% of Population)

    Perception 13 (Exceeds 83% of population)

    Willpower (FOCUS) 14 (Exceeds 90% of population.)

    Qi pool 0 (All Meridian Channels Blocked ¨C No Cultivation Pathway chosen. )

    Mana Pool 0 (No arcane class chosen.)

    Health Points: 100

    Perks

    Insightful ¨C Rank 2

    Charismatic ¨C Rank 1

    Skill of Significance

    Terran Grappling - Rank 2

    Terran Fencing ¨C Rank 1

    Terran Capitalism ¨C Rank 3

    Mathematics ¨C Rank 2

    Interface Enhanced Skills

    Biochemical Mastery ¨C Rank 1

    Poisons Mastered: - Deathwort 100% (Full immunity. Synthesis & Cure require higher Biochemical Mastery Rank)

    Botanical Formulaes mastered: - NONE

    Arcane Formulaes mastered: - NONE

    Biocontaminants mastered: - NONE

    Full regenerative capacity. (Heal rate based on Vitality. Injuries will be free of scarring. Missing limbs will require 1 month per pound of bio material lost to regenerate fully.)

    Alex froze, overwhelmed by the strange sense that he was somehow glimpsing his own soul even as he visualized his character sheet. ¡°3-18 stat distribution, just like in the earliest RPG games,¡± he muttered to himself, not quite sure what it meant and more than a bit miffed to find all his physical attributes were all below average, and he had been considered athletic compared to most kids at his school, always pushing himself with sprints, boxing, and basic takedowns.

    As his father¡¯s security had been sticklers for safety protocols, they had taught him the basics of dirty no-holds-barred fighting. Alex had known from a young age he was a prime target for kidnapping, and knowing how to break various grips and choke holds, snapping back fingers and heal stomping an assailant¡¯s insole before running for his life had been drilled into him for years, and he had enjoyed working out on the bags in the family dojo.

    He was no expert, but he had learned the basics pretty damn thoroughly even if most of his time was spent hitting the books, and yes, his secret vice, gaming at all hours of the night, the only exceptions being the nights before exams. His memory wasn¡¯t perfect, but he had a decent head on his shoulders and had always been good at reading between the lines. It was amazing how often one could deduce the answers to questions on a test by how it was worded, or what was asked in the later questions.

    He smirked. All of which probably explained why his Scholarship was only 11 despite all the private schools he had attended, and perhaps his Rank 2 insight perk as well. Still, all that effort and schooling had only amounted to a paltry Rank 2 in grappling with physical stats that were decidedly below whatever the norm was in this land, or realm or digital construct, or wherever the hell he was.

    He took a deep breath, doing his best to stay calm, focusing on his character sheet to distract himself even as he continued to feel around the barrel, grateful that there seemed to be a spigot, and that was probably the only reason he hadn¡¯t already asphyxiated, depending on just how realistic this game world was.

    Assuming he was in a game world at all. He shivered, pushing away the mental image of that smiling monk yet again. Then it finally clicked. There was no way he could actually force the staves of this barrel apart, course, considering the metal bands that would be around it, but he should at least be able to force open the top lid.

    And save for stinging fists and a soar back, all his efforts availed him nothing.

    He took another breath, fighting back panic. There had to be some way out! Some way¡­

    He smiled as the ship continued to rock, sensing at last the added sway and click of wood rubbing against wood, wondering if his situation wasn¡¯t as hopeless as he had feared.

    He began to rock himself back and forth, taking advantage of the ships natural swaying, feeling a fierce surge of hope as his barrel¡¯s movements became ever more exaggerated, realizing that yes, his was one barrel stacked atop who knew how many others.

    Yes it¡¯s working! He thought, feeling a fierce surge of triumph and desperate hope as his barrel finally start to topple over.

    Before realizing at the last moment that this just might hurt.

    You have suffered 1 Light Wound and 10 damage. You have suffered 5 seconds disorientation.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Alex groaned as he was pummeled by broken wood, before gasping in sudden pain, fearing his ribs had been cracked but the barrel that had clipped him as he crashed into a heap, groaning softly as he blinked his eyes open to lamp light, finding himself in the storeroom in the bowels of a ship, quickly taking in several dozen barrels, several which had toppled over, as well as a small desk and chair bolted to the wall of the ship, a rough-shaven robed figure with furious gray eyes and a brilliant blue sapphire gem sparkling in his forehead lurching to his feet in surprise, roaring at Alex in a strange language he couldn¡¯t begin to understand.

    Two things happened in rapid succession then, Alex¡¯s heart racing in a sudden mixture of awe and terror as he saw the mage? It must have been a mage, summoning strange icy-blue flame into his left hand.

    The second was the awful pain sizzling into his flesh as the caustic contents of the second barrel washed against his skin.

    You have been dermally exposed to Crimson Parsnip! You have suffered 5 damage to Health and a -1 pain penalty to all actions. Penalty overidden by adrenaline surge.

    20% Crimson Parsnip Poison Mastery achieved. Damage reduced 20%.

    And for all that he had spend the last couple of months wasting away thanks to a terminal illness and hadn¡¯t hit the gym in ages, for all that he might just be an AI cloned remnant of himself, a lifetime¡¯s worth of survival training, as much as any rich kid with semi-worried parents would have gotten, anyway, came together in a panicked heartbeat as he fought for his life.

    Desperate hands pinned the wrists of what Alex guessed was an ice mage, though he couldn¡¯t hold back a bark of pain as the icy cold of the blue flame flash-froze Alex¡¯s skin. The mage sneared and spat into Alex¡¯s face, trying to pivot the frozen flames of his hand to wash over Alex¡¯s head, and Alex fought tooth and nail to lever those deadly hadns away. He immediately began chanting, and Alex could all but feel the baleful energies being summoned together from the ether at his back, so Alex did the only thing he could think of.

    He smashed in his opponent¡¯s nose with a headbutt, feeling bone crumple as the man cried out, icy flames immediately extinguishing. Alex quickly dropped to his back, thighs tightly coiled against his belly as the off-balance mage was forced off his feet, falling onto Alex as he immediately extended his legs, hands still gripped to his enemy¡¯s wrists, sending the man flying into the broken barrels.

    Whereupon the man cried out with a look of horror on his face as he splashed into the contents of the broken barrels, his exposed flesh instantly blistering and sloughing off,Alex''s foe screaming and lurching to his feet, for all that his hands were pitted with bubbling acid burns.

    He began howling yet another chant before abruptly breaking off, furious eyes widening with sudden terror, his ruined hands now squeezing his own throat, as if he were choking to death on the caustic fumes that Alex could smell but that didn¡¯t bother him save for a ferocious stinging within his nose.

    You have taken an additional 4 points of damage from Crimson Parsnip Exposure. Crimson Parsnip Immunity now at 60%.

    But he was taking no chances as the gasping mage continued to spit out incomprehensible words, charging forward and slamming the heal of his palm into the brilliant sapphire in the center of his enemy¡¯s forehead, hoping that if it had been surgically implanted, smashing hard gemstone against weakened bone would leave his foe speechless with pain.

    The results were beyond anything Alex could have expected.

    Lesser Icemage Relic has been exposed! Do you wish to claim Icemage¡¯s potency?

    Yes! Alex mentally shouted at the prompt in his mind, and the mage¡¯s eyes widened with something beyond pain, though only the faintest whisper escaped the rapidly closing throat of the dying mage as Alex seemed to suck in the man¡¯s very soul, a sudden rush of power and potency crackling through every fiber of his being as the mage before him crumpled to dust, the pale blue sapphire now in Alex¡¯s palm all that remained.

    You presently have no class. Do you wish to take on the class of Lesser Ice Mage?

    And Alex froze.

    Sensing the trap he had almost fallen into, panic and adrenaline and a mad fight for his life all flooding his system, emphasizing split second decisions.

    But the decision he made now might be permanent.

    He could just imagine starting any new game, the careful research he would do to find not only the best class but the best combination of skills and powers he could possibly come up with, no matter how unorthodox it would be for classic dungeon running, so as to forge himself the best possible PvP build that he possibly could. Because no matter how hard a weird build was to level up in the early game grind, end game player versus player was the only thing that mattered. The rush he got taking on other challengers just like him who stuck with classic cookie-cutter builds that were so great for early game mastery but couldn¡¯t do crap against Alex¡¯s skill chains that left his enemies in the dust and himself ranking in the top 10 of every kill board he ever bothered posting on.

    And anything less than the best possible combination just marked him as a fool, wasting his precious time.

    His family had made him feel ashamed enough of his choices, not spending every waking moment studying their economic empire, so if he was going to waste his time playing games, he¡¯d play the best damn build he possibly could.

    And for all he knew, AI construct or no, especially if that¡¯s all he was, the character build he chose now was forever, and any foolish choices he made now would haunt him for the rest of his life. However many hours or centuries that might be.

    And ¡®Lesser Ice Mage¡¯ certainly didn¡¯t have any sort of elite ring to it.

    After all, he, a level zero noob had just taken one out by tearing free his gem.

    An unforgivable weakness he refused to incorporate in his own build.

    ¡°No.¡± he said, calmly, forcefully, out loud as well as in his head, to make sure there would be no misunderstanding. ¡°I do NOT accept that class as my build.¡±

    Lesser Ice Mage archetype reserved. No class chosen at this time.

    Alex sighed with relief. If he managed to stumble across any sleeping Master Arch Mages or anything like that? He might choose differently He smirked at the thought, still wincing from very real pain, surprised to see that, in all, he was down almost 40 health, mostly due to poison exposure if the prompt in his interface were anything to go by.

    Crimson Parsnip now at 100% Immunity. Poison has been mastered. Correlating differences between multiple toxin spectrums. Biochemical Mastery is now at Rank 2.

    Alex blinked, pleased to find his skin was no longer stinging at all, grateful as hell that his flesh hadn¡¯t melted off with the exposure to the poison that had splashed all over the Ice Mage and him both and, he deduced, that had been within the original container he had come to life within, probably where he had gotten his first poison immunity.

    His brows furrowed then as he heard another man¡¯s voice calling out through the door.

    ¡°Sven! Is all well? We heard barrels knocking over.¡±

    Alex blinked, realizing he could now understand his foe¡¯s language perfectly. As if he had absorbed it along with whatever life force potential he had claimed from his first target. And why the hell was this ship filled with barrels full of poison in any case?

    A quick look around spied a number of other containers of glass or clay, also containing what looked to be dangerous substances of one sort or another, perhaps too caustic to be placed in wooden barrels.

    ¡°Sven! Answer me!¡±

    Alex winced as the door handle was forced open, realizing he was still in jeopardy, immediately thinking of a plan of action.

    Two quick exhalations and the room was pitch dark.

    ¡°Sven?¡±

    Heart hammering, Alex positioned himself where he thought best and stood absolutely still as the door slowly opened, revealing the silhouette of a large man outlined by the flickering lanterns hung on hooks within the narrow wooden hallway of the ship. Otherwise, the hallways seemed empty.

    And Alex hesitated not a second longer as his eyes picked up the soft green glow of another gem in his foe¡¯s forehead, instantly acting.

    You have successfully struck your foe from shadow for 5 Health and no significant Wound damage. Foe is jostled and momentarily stunned.

    Even as Alex¡¯s heart pounded and the man before him lurched back, roaring in surprise and fury, Alex got the prompt his life depended upon.

    Lesser Earth Mage Relic has been exposed! Do you wish to claim Lesser Earth Mage¡¯s potency?

    ¡°Yes!¡± Alex shouted aloud as his foe shuddered and crumpled to the ground, dying at Alex¡¯s feet.

    You presently have no class. Do you wish to take on the class of Lesser Earth Mage?

    ¡°No!¡± Alex said aloud. ¡°No, I certainly do not!¡±

    He wasted no time, quickly dragging in the now desiccated body as soon as the sweet rush of power flooding his soul faded to an almost languorous sense of repletion, before he was jolted back to a state of near panic, realizing he was naked and in the bowels of a ship held by nerfarious men who were trucking in poison and homicidal mages.

    And the pain he had felt had been as visceral and real as any he had ever experienced before.

    He frowned then, surprised anew by just how good he felt.

    After spending a few quick seconds dragging the remains of his most recent target, his brilliant green gem glittering prettily alongside the blue one and both placed in a small pouch that was strung around the neck of his latest victim.

    Kind of stupid for a fight, but he guessed it was more secure against cutpurses than a belt pouch. Alex quickly changed into the earth mage¡¯s attire, finding the linen not nearly as scratchy and uncomfortable as he feared it would be, the linen tunic and leggings not nearly as uncomfortable as he had feared, though the pants were secured by looped strings around the thigh as opposed to the waist, which he spent some moments adjusting before darting back to the hallway, grabbing a hanging lantern and using it to relight the lanterns back in the storeroom, taking careful stock of exactly what these men were storing.

    He took careful sniffs of each container, chilled to when their contents emblazoned themselves in his mind¡¯s eye via a voice that reminded him very much of his ¡®Lexa app, even though only the memory of her words echoed through his head.

    You have discovered Eldritch Hogweed. Zero damage taken. Eldritch Hogweed Immunity now at 1%.

    You have discovered Foolsbane. You have discovered Jazmin Berries. You have discovered Magebane. You have discovered Toxic Tapinella. You have discovered Deathberries.

    After forcing open numerous casks, glass jugs and clay urns and taking careful sniffs of the contents of each, he was surprised to find so much toxic death in the heart of this ship, chilled to think of what horrors wielders of these toxic brews could be capable of.

    A sudden wave of panic flooded through him. He could sense a powerful presence from elsewhere in the ship suddenly focusing upon him.

    His heart began to race, and he desperately looked for an exit, knowing he was running out of time.

    Frantic eyes darted to the end of the hallway, feeling a sudden surge of relief as he noted that the door was both reinforced with iron and padlocked shut.

    Then he heard the angry calls as forceful blows pounded against the door.

    Shit!

    His eyes frantically searched the hallway, noting the pair of doors nearby, and he quickly darted into first one, then the other, finding them both full of claw pots that gave off a caustic stink that made his eyes burn.

    Not poison, though certainly toxic. Pitch, lye, and whatever else was making his eyes water.

    And just as he breathed a sigh of relief, seeing a small trapdoor he thought led to the bilge and perhaps a way to hide¡­ and if he was lucky, another opening further down he could use to slip past his enemies and perhaps find a way off the ship¡­ his interface¡¯s most recent message froze him solid.

    Naptha detected. Quicklime detected. 1% immunity to caustic effects of compounds achieved. (Warning! No immunity to exothermic heat damage possible at this time!)

    Alex froze as the implications of all he had seen clicked into place. He was forced to ask himself, what if this were all real? What if he really died here? He already knew it would hurt. Would he come back? Was this all, somehow, real?

    Even though he knew technically he was just a simulation, had to be, he had never felt more real and alive than he had before in his life, and he was just as uncomfortable with someone telling him it was okay to die right now as if someone handed him a glass of coolaid, assuring him he¡¯d wake up just fine in the after life.

    Either way, he¡¯d politely pass.

    He¡¯d treat this all as real. Viscerally it was too intense for him not to.

    Which meant he was about to be rolled on by a bunch of extremely hostile men, unless he thought of something quick.

    The trapdoor called invitingly out to him and he darted for it gladly.

    That was when the cry of seagulls and the excited squeals of children assaulted his ears.

    Sounds made by no one on board this ship, the thuds now distant as he had instinctively shut this door.

    The cries had been a distance off, to his left.

    As if he was near city docks or a port.

    And this ship was near bursting with containers filled with death.

    Alex forced himself to stand as his thoughts raced, realizing he didn¡¯t dare flee.

    Not when those bastards had enough poison to taint an entire city¡¯s water supply, to say nothing of incendiaries sufficient to burn down a fleet of ancient sailing vessels.

    Because right now, this felt very, very real. And if there was even a chance that city was filled with anything other than digitalized holograms¡­ or perhaps terminally ill deep-sixed suckers desperate to hold onto this second shot at life, either way, he¡¯d never forgive himself if his cowardice led to countless deaths.

    He sighed and shook his head, squelching his panic, racing back to the poison room as he thought of it after checking to make sure that yes, the trap door did indeed lead to a bilge, upon which he quickly shoved a crateful of claypots filled with greek fire before darting back to poison central.

    The hammering on the reinforced door turned to powerful blows. Alex¡¯s eyes widened to see shimmering blue runes on the surface of the doorway, figuring that was the only thing holding the guards back for now.

    Tier 1 Nordic Doorward Rune learned. School of Earth magic. Rune can only be accessed if Arcane class with Earth magic affinities is chosen.

    Alex blinked at that, but refused to let himself get distracted, struck by a crazy idea, but determiend to give it a shot.

    Each and every poison-filled container he had investigated earlier he now rubbed a small portion on his skin, hissing as sudden sharp pain spiraled out of control.

    You have taken 12 damage from combined poison exposure. You now have 20% immunity to Eldritch Hogweed, Foolsbane, Jazmin Berrires, Magebane, Toxic Tapinella and Deathberries.

    Alex paled. Even though he had just wiped streaks of each poison on his abdomen, he had dared too much¡­ his skin was hissing and blistering and would no doubt soon infect his blood, the way it ate through him.

    He stumbled to the ground, sitting in a pool of caustic Crimson Parsnip he was thankfully now 100% immune to, quickly checking his Health Points bar.

    He gave a surprised chuckle of relief to find that the poison damage from earlier, unlike the frost-burn to his hand which was still sore, had already healed, at least for the most part. As if his body, upon achieving immunity, could now automatically generate compounds that would neutralize whatever adverse effect had struck him, not only giving him immunity but healing whatever damage the poison had already caused.

    Apparently gross physical injuries, like the frost burns and the initial caustic injury before his skin generated compounds to automatically neutralize those irritants, not instantly heal, but he would be immune to further damage from those acids and poisons he had developed invulnerability to.

    He could only hope his immunity would catch up to his rapidly dwindling health pool as he was overwhelmed with sudden dizziness.

    You have suffered 10 damage from combined poison exposure.

    You have suffered 9 damage from combined poison exposure.

    You have suffered 8 damage from combined poison exposure.

    His resistance was not boosting as fast as it had at first¡­ perhaps because he had lathered everything on himself, perhaps because his interface boosted immune system was overwhelmed with it all. Either way, he was only at a third of his original Health pool when he finally received the messages he had been praying for.

    You now have 100% Immunity to Eldritch Hogweed, Foolsbane, Jazmin Berrires, Magebane, Toxic Tapinella, Deathberries, Poison Parsnip, and Deathwort. These poisons are now Mastered.

    Biochemical Mastery is now Rank 3

    You may now synthesize balms to any poison mastered. Saliva or compounds made with various ingredients may both be used. Sense of smell is now sufficient to detect needed compounds within any mineral or botanical you have access to.

    Poison induced damage is now regenerating.

    Alex blinked in surprise. He could generate poison cures?

    And just thinking of Crimson Parsnip left his tongue tingling, images of a number of flowers he used to love sniffing as a young child within his mother¡¯s arborium flashed within his mind¡¯s eye, and he somehow knew that if he had access to the right equipment and knew anything about extraction¡­ he¡¯d know just what he had to do to generate a cure.

    He couldn¡¯t help grinning in wonder.

    He might not have a class yet, but damn if he didn¡¯t have a powerful ability he could skill up already.

    Perception check made!

    He shivered then, feeling the potency of who he could only guess was the head mage now before the door, and surmized that the Earth Mage¡¯s protective runes wouldn¡¯t last long.

 Chapter 3: Abandon Ship!

    Heart racing, Alex wasted no time, forcing open every single massive barrel of poison that he could, racing for the end of the corridor towards the door now warping before his eyes, panicked fingers shattering jug after jug of glass and clay toxin as deadly chanting could be heard just beyond the doorway.

    ¡°Damn it, I have to be faster!¡± Alex berated himself aloud.

    Finesse check failed!

    He fell to the ground after grabbing a single jug of what could only be greek fire as the warded door at the end of the hall finally crashed to the ground with a titanic boom.

    ¡°Find the intruder and kill him!¡± Roared a baritone voice, and Alex¡¯s guts twisted in panicked knots.

    But he refused to let it effect him as he lurched for the door, flask in one hand, lantern in the other.

    Arcane emanations successfully sensed.

    And when he dared to peep around, seeing the handful of robed figures with thick bushy beards and glittering gems upon their foreheads, each of them surrounded by shimmering shields of force that Alex was somehow certain would ward the mage against any crossbow bolt or spear thrust. The perfect tools for a ship seige, and luck alone explained how a classless Alex had survived not one but two encounters so far.

    Good thing he had neither crossbow nor spear, he thought grimly, tossing his packages even as the largest figure, dressed in shimmering black robes, pointed a black wand at Alex.

    Alex froze, knowing he was looking at the equivalent of the barrel of a gun.

    ¡°You won¡¯t find us as easy to take down as our fellows, spy!¡± The head mage roared before bending over and coughing under the effects of the fumes the caustic mess of compounds bubbling and hissing and now eating into the floor were releasing, a blast of lightning tearing a massive chunk of the planks just inches from Alex¡¯s feet.

    It seemed the shimmering field surrounding the mage did nothing to block gasses, which made perfect sense, as any field lacking a certain amount of permeability would asphyxiate the practitioner.

    A heartbeat later, the flask full of pitch, naphtha, sulfur, camphor and ruptured upon the forcefields of the coughing mages, running down it like black dye over blocks of ice.

    And a heartbeat after that, the lamp Alex had tossed made contact, and the corridor was suddenly a blazing inferno, surprised yells turning to agonized shrieks and choking gasps seconds later.

    Feeling the heat even from where he stood, Alex wasted only a few final heartbeats gazing at the frantically windmilling figures smashing into eachother in the blazing corridor before falling to the poison covered floor, now hazy silhouettes in the multi-colored smoke cloud that Alex was somehow certain would be very, very bad for anyone lacking 100% immunity to inhale.

    Greater Mage has perished as a direct result of your actions. Lesser Fire Mage has perished as a direct result of your actions. Lesser Water Mage has perished as a direct result of your actions.

    Alex flashed a dark smile, feeling a surge of enemy¡¯s potency coursing through him, before abruptly gasping and turning around, appreciating exactly what it meant to be standing behind countless crates filled with clay flasks of what amounted to greek fire.

    Pausing only long enough to check the flasks of Magebane and greek fire that he had stolen, the latter with thin leather cords that Alex suspected were used to twirl the flask around for greater range before throwing, and also worked quite well for securing both types of flasks to his person, he quickly made his way to the bilge hatch and crawled through, at this point far more concerned with survival than collecting the jewels that had been on the foreheads of his targets.

    It was pitch dark and filled with briny water, but Alex quickly felt the direction that would lead to the other end of the ship, spending a several painful hot moments directly under where the blazing floorboards would be.

    You have taken 5 points of damage. No significant injuries suffered.

    Breathing a relieved sigh through his nose as he made his way forward, half crawling, half swimming, the ribs of the ship and the slope telling him what he needed to know. His eyes widened as he realized that he had no idea where any other entrance to the bilge was located, feeling both relief and a sudden apprehension when what seemed to be blinding light pierced the gloom.

    ¡°Lord Feltur is down! Enemies must have snuck aboard. Quick, we must strike them from behind, poison the water supply, and head out with all haste. Our king and country are counting on us!¡±

    ¡°But sir, we can¡¯t engage the ascend or descend with our wards on. Our grips are as slick as slippery ice!¡±

    ¡°Put on your wards when you¡¯ve made it to the other side, fool! The hatch is safely hidden behind the crates. None will see you coming. And if our foes already have access to the all-fire, we¡¯re all dead anyway!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± said several subdued voices in unison, slowly making their way down the slimy steps into the bilge.

    Alex, half submerged and surrounded by darkest gloom, took a quick swig from one of his flasks of poison, heart racing, muscles tensed and coiled as the first of several mages began wading his way forward. He did not act, though, not until first one, then another, then a third had cleared the steps, all of them making their way with tiny lights projected from silver orbs, for all intents and purposes acting like dim flashlights Alex easily avoided, focused as his targets were, straight ahead.

    Stealth check made! +5 for limited light cone, peripheral noise, and panicked targets.

    And just like in his favorite stealth games, it was nothing to slide forward just a bit faster than the slowest mage.

    Heart racing, Alex could all but taste the nervous man¡¯s panicked sweat, shoulders tingling as he prepared to make his move.

    ¡°We almost there?¡± said the man suddenly.

    ¡°Shutup, Giltoc!¡± snapped the man in front of him, not bothering to look back. ¡°We¡¯ll get there when we get there.

    Giltoc inhaled to reply but couldn¡¯t say a word as desperate hands slapped over his mouth before desperately feeling for the gem Alex prayed would act like the others, the man abruptly slamming his head back against Alex¡¯s nose in a desperate bid to break free.

    Your nose has been broken! Light Wound and 10 Damage Suffered!

    Save versus stunning pain ¨C success! You have managed to hold onto your target.

    And then the message Alex had gambled his life with blared in his mind¡¯s eye.

    Lesser Icemage Relic has been exposed! Do you wish to claim Icemage¡¯s potency?

    Yes! He whispered fiercely to himself, feeling a sweet icy cold rush of power roar through him as his target¡¯s gem came suddenly free and the man seemed to shrivel and die in his arms.

    ¡°Giltoc?¡± said the man in front of him, somehow sensing that something was amiss, beginning to turn around.

    But Alex, berating himself for seven kinds of fool for making such an amateur move as to leave his nose exposed like that was already lurching forward, palm smashing into his target¡¯s forehead.

    The blow didn¡¯t have to be any harder than a boxer¡¯s jab. And for all that his foe hissed and easily blocked the first blow, Alex¡¯s left fist jabbed against the silver-white jewel glittering in the man¡¯s forehead, earning him a cut knuckle and his favorite message in the world.

    Lesser Air Mage Relic has been exposed! Do you wish to claim Air Mage¡¯s potency?

    YES! He thought, before immediately declining the class, as he had the man killed moments before.

    Unlike the others, this man¡¯s eyes widened in horror, instantly understanding. ¡°No. Please, no, don¡¯t...¡± before wheezing hideously, eyes bursting, as if he had just been exposed to vacuum or at least his soul had, or it seemed to a suddenly horrified Alex as the man shriveled with a hideous wheeze, Alex suddenly filled with a hideous ecstacy that was now bordering upon pain.

    Four souls directly absorbed. Three souls indirectly absorbed. Interface has limited storage capacity.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Your soul has limited storage capacity.

    Recommend selecting class at earliest opportunity to quantize your growth and reduce soul-pressure.

    Perception check made!

    The farthest mage was no fool, already turning around, a handful of fire crackling in his right hand.

    Fuck! Alex thought to himself as he raced forward, knowing he¡¯d need a hell of a good luck role if he was going to survive. He didn¡¯t let panic consume him, immediately ducking below the surface of the two feet or so of water they had all been wading through, praying it wouldn¡¯t strike the surface enough to set off the flasks that were thankfully next to his stomach and with so many tons of water the fiery stream of death¡¯s heat was quickly dissipated in the bilge water, not doing more than warming up Alex¡¯s back as he swam for all he was worth, already growing dizzy as he got within a few feet of the mage, the man¡¯s now white-hot stream of fire that was finally stinging against the back of Alex¡¯s neck cut off as the man ran out of steam just Alex ran out of air, desperately popping up in front of the cursing man who was lunging at an exhausted Alex with a dagger he couldn¡¯t do more than put a wobbly arm in front of.

    Dagger has pierced your forearm! Dagger fails to knick artery or severe tendon. 15 Damage and Light Wound taken!

    Alex screamed with pain, but not before spitting the contents in his mouth, the reason why he had to swim with such discipline despite the nose-breath he had gulped down, caustic poison shooting into the now screaming fire mage¡¯s eyes, the man lurching back, dropping his dagger, shrieking as his flesh began to bubble and peel off, instantly blinded as he began to wheeze and choke, the poison exposure already inflaming his airways.

    A furious Alex felt no pity, thanks to the agony in his arm, and didn¡¯t hesitate to slam his palm against the ruby gem glittering upon the man¡¯s forehead. getting his favorite message once more.

    Lesser Fire Mage Relic has been exposed! Do you wish to claim Fire Mage¡¯s potency?

    ¡°Yes!¡± He said the word like a curse, fearing what was to come, feeling a hot pain mingling with the ecstacy, realizing that he really was approaching whatever odd maximum limited him.

    Soul storage will soon reach maximum capacity. You presently have no class. Do you wish to take on the class of Lesser Fire Mage?

    ¡°NO!¡± He angrily whispered

    Refusal acknowledge. Note. 4 opposing elemental relics affiliated with Welton culture¡¯s arcane traditions have been discovered. New class has been synergized. Lesser Elementalist Class is now available to you.

    Alex frowned, washing out the last tingles in his mouth with the salty bilge water. He might be 100% immune to the poison, but it still stung like he was sucking on hot peppers, even if his eyes and sinuses were fine.

    All in all, he was not a fan. But damn if it wasn¡¯t effective.

    He glared at his wounded forearm, surprised and grateful to find it wasn¡¯t bleeding. If he didn¡¯t know better, he¡¯d say the injury was several hours old and had already scabbed over, but it still made him wince to use his arm. He could only hope that the injury wouldn¡¯t be exasperated by whatever else he had to do to survive tonight. Speaking of which¡­

    He cursed and filled his mouth with more of that toxic little cocktail he had put together, resigned to suffering through a blazing tongue as he made his way back to the open hatch, having grabbed one of the tiny magelights.

    He slowly made his way to the edge of the hatch, crouched down, using the reflection off the shiny knife he had retrieved to quickly eyeball the room above.

    It was clear, for the moment, though he heard shouting close by.

    Wasting no time he sprung through the hatch, foot slipping on the rung turning a glorious acrobatic feat into a clumsy spill, poison stinging as it shot out his nose.

    ¡°You bastards better not be...¡±

    A sailor lurched into view, cutlass in hand. His eyes widened, as did Alex¡¯s, but not before he spat a stream of caustic poison into the man¡¯s gem-free face, with the expected results.

    Alex¡¯s bare foot slammed down on the spasming man¡¯s left wrist even as the right continued to claw at the bubbling mass of suppurating flesh that was the poor sailor¡¯s face as Alex bent down and tore free the cutlass, finding it surprisingly comfortable in his hand, even if not weighted exactly like the training sabers his private fencing coach and he had sparred with the one summer he got into HEMA with his friends before putting it aside for other pursuits.

    ¡°Thank god I at least got fencing Rank 1 in there. Here¡¯s to hoping it saves my sorry ass,¡± he said to himself. And perhaps it said something for his panicked state of mind, or simply a mind¡¯s ability to overcome repeated trauma that he was phased so little by the sailors horrific death, back arched at an impossible angle, clawed hands gripping his own swollen throat throat.

    Because all Alex saw was the flask of mead by the man¡¯s hip, and he realized then that he was all but dying of thirst.

    A furtive look showed no one else approaching and he drank deep of the surprisingly sweet drink.

    You have found Mead. You are no longer dehydrated. You now have 20% immunity to ethanol alcohol and all intoxicating effects.

    Alex smirked. It looks like his mother wouldn¡¯t have to worry about him relapsing after all. Which kind of killed the fun of it, but hell. If he could make it through this mess, a life or afterlife of sobriety, good health, and the sweet joy of leveling up in a fantasy world would more than make up for not being able to enjoy indulgences like he once had. And the sweet rush of power he got with his kills was unlike anything his friends had ever hooked him up with, anyway. And it was probably a hell of a lot healthier.

    Save for the whole overwhelming and rupturing his soul thing, of course. But the mundane sailor soldier he had taken down seemed to be a lot less potent than the mages he had taken out. So hopefully that wouldn¡¯t be an issue. But even if it was¡­

    He didn¡¯t hesitate to fill his cheeks full of more of that wonderfully caustic brew he had complete immunity to as he took a quick look out of the small storage room he was in, seeing nothing but a dimly lit passage, several doorless entryways and the panicked yelling of a number of crewmen.

    His nose wrinkled at the acrid stench of smoke, and he quickly raised the hood of the robe he had claimed, hoping no one would think to question one more scurrying mage, caught up as they were in their mounting panic.

    With a deep breath through his nose, Alex braced himself and began walking down the corridor at a fair clip, his cutlass pressed against his robe as discretely as he could manage.

    A sailor glanced his way.

    Then ignored him, chasing after his fellows towards the smokier part of the ship.

    Heart racing, Alex continued to briskly walk forward, feeling a sudden waft of fresh salty air just up ahead, a shouting mage clomping down the steps before losing his balance and collapsing to the ground, thanks to the forcefield Alex sensed crackling around him.

    The man cursed and tried to right himself and Alex swore he heard a distant sailor laugh before darting away.

    The mage¡¯s cheeks were beat-red with embarrassment and fury. He turned to Alex, who had just grabbed a lantern from a nearby hook with his injured forearm now not bothering him in the least.

    The mage¡¯s eyes widened, his brilliantlife-gem flashing. ¡°You. I don¡¯t recognized you. Who are you?¡±

    Alex said nothing, dropping his sword, right hand fumbling for a flask he had tied secured to well as the mage snarled ¡°intruder!¡± and fumbled for a wand he had secured, both of them fumbling like fools before Alex finally pulled free his flask and threw it against the mage who smirked.

    ¡°Fool! Neither sword nor spell nor Cultivator¡¯s fist will pierce my ward!¡± The man crowed as ash-gray liquid formed a pool by his legs.

    His eyes suddenly widened. ¡°No, no!¡±

    Lightning crackled from his wand as Alex slammed to the ground.

    And that was enough to set the greek fire ablaze.

    The man shrieked, struggling to his feet, the liquid not touching him directly, but second degree burns were already forming on his skin.

    That¡¯s when a once more upright Alex charged close and spat his toxic brew in the man¡¯s face, the poison bursting into toxic smoky fumes upon contact with the superheated naptha.

    The mage immediately began choking and gasping, his arcane shield collapsing in his panic, at which point the naptha and sulfur settled into his skin, and he truly began to burn.

    The poor man¡¯s shrieks echoed through the ship, and Alex embraced the stupidity of the moment, charging forward on the boots he had seized from the sailor, leaning against the lip of the hatch, wincing in pain as heat washed over him, carefully stepping and unfortunately plunging his boot right into the greek fire, his hand only then managing to touch the now super hot gem, his hand receiving second degree burns but thankfully without touching the furiously burning sticky liquid itself.

    You have suffered 10 damage and a Light Wound. Your boot is now on fire! The hem of your robe is now on fire!

    Adept Elementalist Relic has been exposed! Do you wish to claim Adept Elementalist¡¯s potency?

    Yes!

    You presently have no class. Do you wish to take on the class of Adept Elementalist?

    No!

    Soul Storage is at maximum capacity. Capacity will increase over the next 24 hours. No more souls can be absorbed until capacity increases, or a class is chosen.

    Alex winced as he desperately leaped up the steps and smashed through the hatch, still not certain if it had been greed or just a desperate need to alleviate the man¡¯s horrific agony with a quick death that had compelled him to risk dying by greek fire himself.

    A quick furtive glance revealing half a dozen panicked, shouting men as he burst on deck. To both his relief he saw that the ship was still in port and had yet to dock.

    No poisons could be unloaded yet, and if things went according to plan, casualties would be kept at a minimum.

    Assuming he could survive the next couple of minutes, of course.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened as he caught the nearest sailor¡¯s gaze. ¡°Fire in the hold!¡± He screamed, his burning boot giving credence to his words, amazed to hear his tongue form the syllables so adroitly as he raced for the starboard side of the ship.

    And before any man could think to question him, he was already running for the starboard gunwale, sparing a single glanced back at the one man who saw right through his ruse.

    Wearing a hooded robe, Alex could only make out the snowy beard and the crimson irises glaring back at him. Even in that split second, Alex could both feel the waves of magic radiating from the man, as well as his barely-contained fury. In those terrifying moments, Alex knew that should the man channel that fearsome storm of power surrounding him at Alex, he would be obliterated instantly.

    But the nightmarish figure did naught but roar at the sailors gazing at a frantically sprinting Alex with poleaxed expressions.

    ¡°Bring me the head of that intruder, fools! Must I both obfuscate and destroy?¡±

    But before the sailors could do more than put startled hands to the hilt of their cutlasses, he had already jumped over the side of the ship, praying he¡¯d survive the leap.

 Book 8 - Chapter 1 - A fresh start.

    ¡°What the hell just happened?¡± Words drowned out by the snowy white whirlwind all about him. The last thing he recalled was the fierce, bitter triumph of saving a city. Saving those he loved, and striking down the malignant, sneering countenance of his nemesis with a single killing blow of his fangtian ji.

    Then he remembered the bitter horror of being dipped in a vat of deathly waters colder even than the liquid nitrogen his tumor-riddled corpse had once been lowered into. And that he still remembered that¡­ his mind skittered away, for half a second as much the youth who would never make it to college as the veteran of dozens of life and death battles forged in fire over the most intense couple of years anyone could imagine.

    And then he was a corpse once more, drowning in frigid waters, wrapped in the coils of Shui Jun once more.

    A thousand years of frigid, bitter regret.

    A thousand heartbeats.

    Before he remembered the shaft of wood in his hand and taught his serpentine opponent just how sharp was the hate the propelled him forward, refusing even death¡¯s hoary grip.

    And he still didn¡¯t know how many days, years, or centuries he had been trapped, before finally breaking free of death¡¯s waters for the second time.

    For the thousandth time.

    He had so many questions that would probably remain unanswered for all time.

    Alex was immediately jolted from his confused stupor by the bitter cold. Sharp pinpricks of icy pain that demanded immediate attention. So unlike the numbing lethargy of the river of souls.

    He desperately wrapped himself in his cloak as best he could, pressing his tricorn hat firmly against his head as howling winds whipped all around him, the entire world revealed as a brilliant white blur of whipping snow.

    He took a deep breath before his eyes bulged, quickly lowering his mouth to breathe the warmed air of his cloak and changshan tunic, horrified to feel the freezing chill far more acutely than he ever had the River he had once more fled.

    And if his sudden desperate shivering was anything to go by, he was already at risk of hypothermia and frostbite in ways he never had been¡­ in the realm he had left behind.

    He quickly spun around.

    ¡°WiFu?¡± He called to the howling winds, but there was neither gate, no reply.

    Just the horrifying awareness that both his World Seed and the gates they could summon were now impossibly far away.

    As was so much of his power.

    Still his¡­

    But somehow locked away.

    And if he didn¡¯t do something fast, it would be so for eternity. Because when these howling winds finally claimed him, he had the sense he¡¯d be expiring to oblivion, not the eternally distant River of Souls.

    For a moment he felt nothing but absolute despair, summoned into being in the middle of a snowstorm, nothing but blinding white all around. A final vicious prank by vindictive gods eager to do whatever they could to destroy that which they could not control.

    His freezing despair was replaced by a sudden angry heat in his core, the very thought of Shalu¡¯s wheezing laughter enough to compel him free of his numbing stupor and get him to MOVE! Move in any direction, just to generate some desperately needed body heat, while tearing eyes stinging with the cold desperately looked for something.. anything¡­ THERE!

    Alex was desperately slogging through the snow and howling winds in a landscape of blinding white, when he saw it through slitted eyes. A sliver of darkness in the blinding snow¡­ or was it grit?

    Shelter. A cave.

    Or perhaps nothing at all.

    Still, his stumbling pace quickened as he stumbled for what he prayed was an entrance to any sort of shelter at all. The growing panic in his chest, made all the worse when his nerves began to blaze with the chilly fire of frostbite¡­ or was it thawing? Was ruthlessly quashed as he focused only on what, yes, was an entrance.

    To something.

    Even as the blinding whiteness turned to sandy grit, the bitter cold of snows more like hot sands scoring his flesh, knowing his damaged nerves were short-circuiting like mad and he was running out of time, he dared allow himself a fierce surge of hope as he made it to the entrance of that promising sanctuary in the soothing darkness that called out to him.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    A single word that changed everything.

    Once exquisitely coordinated feet tripping over their own poleaxed confusion, his ears tormented by a voice he never thought to hear again.

    ¡°Mom?¡±

    ¡°Doctor, he¡¯s here! He escaped the pod!¡±

    ¡°Lady Highblood, be careful! That could just be a projection. This plane is filled with rifts!¡±

    ¡°Alex, please! You have to¡ª¡±

    Whatever other words that hauntingly familiar voice was about to utter was abruptly cut off when the snow¡­ or was it sand? By his feet suddenly gave out and he found himself falling right into the perfect slab of darkness. Not a cave entrance at all.

    ¡°Mo¡ª!¡±

    The terror of freefall was replaced by the jolt of impact that forced the air from his longs.

    For long moments he lay there, fighting back the flood of tears that threatened to overwhelm him as he tried to make desperate sense of everything that had just happened.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    He had been stumbling through a howling winter storm.

    Or had it been sand?

    Shivering with cold, exhaustion, or maybe the awful fire of nerves too long thawing out at last.

    Dizzy and disoriented, hearing voices that he now recalled all too clearly. The final days he had been in such a pain-filled delirium that he had stumbled out of his house in the dead of winter, desperate for relief from the endless pain of his disease, even be it madness or delusion.

    He choked back a sob, not having felt so weak, vulnerable, or alone, with emotions so raw, memories so exquisitely sharp, in a lifetime.

    Bitter tears streamed down his cheeks as he mourned for the loss of his family, the people who had loved him, the life he had almost had.

    And that wasn¡¯t all he had lost. Far from it. Even now, so many buried memories were raw and sharp, recalling with such exquisite clarity the beautiful realm he had left behind. Elder Panheu¡¯s stern features flashed before his eyes, as did Lady Jidihus, Prince Cheng Lei¡¯s, and all the friends and acquaintances he had made at Royal Phoenix Academy.

    It was all he could do not to choke up when recalling Hao Chan¡¯s exquisite smile, melting his heart, holding the hands of her kung fu sister, Yinzi¡¯s face so hauntingly familiar, only understanding at the end just how strong their bonds truly were. His disciples. Woman who had claimed his heart. A love that would have blossomed into something wondrous and grand¡­ Before his tale blazed bittersweet and bright as it always did. The blazing phoenix once more coming to a fiery end.

    A city saved.

    An invading army destroyed.

    And all it had cost him was absolutely everything.

    Again.

    Before he was lost in the darkest depths of the River of Souls, trapped in Cui Jing¡¯s endless serpentine coils. His final doom, his ultimate damnation as demanded by furious howling gods who hated him and the trickster god he had called master and friend for countless lifetimes above all others, for daring to embrace the power of transformation, for struggling against endless eons of monotonous stagnation. For the pair of them daring to defy the wishes of desperate ancient cultivators playing at being gods. Monstrous manipulators determined to keep an entire realm running like clockwork, so long as their own place at the top remained eternally secure.

    Alex choked back another bitter sob, sensitive cheek rubbing against grit that yes, was definitely sand, and not snow at all.

    Because it wasn¡¯t that simple, the story of his existence. Nothing like the tales told, both bitter and grand. It had been no clean, glorious, storybook rebellion. Because now the fragments of memory he had over a half dozen lives told a far darker tale. That of a young lad isekaid into a world of adventure and wonder who would have been happy to embrace the most innocuous of lives, wanting only to better himself and the people around him¡­ before being targeted by malevolent spite horrific in both its depth and power, a handful of supposed divinities hating him so deeply, so fiercely, that their greatest joy seemed to be crushing him under their heel, forcing him to flee their jealously guarded and claimed realm for as many years, decades, or centuries as they could, before he was eventually reborn yet again.

    Alex clenched his fists with bitter fury, as he glared into the perfect darkness of the sand-filled cavern he had fallen into as the storm howled outside.

    ¡°How many times did those monsters take everyone away from me? How many times had I fallen back into the river of souls with nothing but the screams of my loved ones and the laughter of spiteful gods to torment me as I drowned in death once more?¡±

    He screamed his fury then, every bit as loud and bitter as the storm outside.

    ¡°But I got you fuckers this time! All your mockery, all your spite, twisting your own rules to force an empire-wide purge¡­ I finally got you!¡± Alex cackled with bitter glee. ¡°I tore out your throat with my fucking fangtian ji, channeling the whole fucking river! Channeling so much sorrow you could drown in it for eternity! So let your asshole brother and spite-filled father shove you back in those pods you think to hide from the world! Nemesis means the wounds won¡¯t close, asshole! Not ever! I hope you writhe with the agony of a ripped jugular for eternity, you malevolent homicidal fuck!¡±

    Yet no matter how raw and bitter his emotions were at that moment, no matter how he shrieked and howled, his exhausted voice warbling as the winds howled beyond his shelter, even as he writhed with the exquisite agony of nerves that might have been frozen for a thousand years before being abruptly forced to thaw out once more¡­ he still had the presence of mind to resist whispering a handful of words.

    Zheng Yei, Long Wang, Qui Jing¡­ and most of all, Shalu. A bloated monster of a god that he hated above all others.

    Because even as he sobbed and howled, overwhelmed by the flood of raw emotion tearing through him, horrified by his memory of the bitter prison that the river of death and rebirth had become, he knew better than to actually say those names aloud.

    Because as much as his heart ached with emotion, as much as his fists clenched with fury, he wasn¡¯t such a fool that he didn¡¯t understand what had happened.

    His tale, violent, glorious, and tragic as it had been¡­ had finally come to an end.

    After daring the absolute heights of Silver, devising a Divine Tier cultivation technique unlike anything forged before, he had fallen in death at last.

    As he did at the end of every one of his bittersweet tales.

    But not before saving a city.

    Not before facing down an entire fucking army!

    And most importantly¡­ not before cleaving open the throat of his Nemesis, a spite-filled monster of a god it had been Alex¡¯s absolute pleasure to bring to the depths of agony and despair even as he himself was pulled into Death¡¯s hoary clutches as a city-wide gate ruptured with the power of a massive nuclear bomb.

    And Alex, of course, had been at ground zero.

    Before finding himself drowning in the River of Souls once more.

    Wrapped in the eternal coils of a snake goddess and lost in an eternity of freezing regret for who knew how many years, centuries, or eons¡­ before he finally broke free.

    Endless coils of a divine goddess were no match for a divine tier artifact he had almost forgotten was in his hands. An artifact that had torn out Shalu¡¯s throat. An artifact that had no problem cleaving through the massive snake that had had no choice but to envelop him, just as compelled by spite-filled cards of fate as Alex himself had been.

    Which made a bitter, tragic sort of sense.

    Especially when he realized that the snake he had cut down had once been a girl.

    A girl who had once called herself WiFu¡¯s disciple.

    And had Alex not fled the very moment WiFu¡¯s eyes explained so many horrific revelations¡­ he would have taken her place guarding the souls of the dead.

    For eternity.

    Plans within plans.

    Schemes within schemes.

    Spite-filled gods willing to do whatever it took to secure their eternal control¡­

    No matter how much agony they inflicted.

    Yet as the howling storm finally died down, anyone who would have dared approach that cavern entrance would have heard not the furious bitter screams of a youth who had lost everything.

    No. They would have heard laughter.

    The manic laughter of a boy who only then felt the lifting of a terrible weight that had been his burden to bear for countless centuries.

    An awful, endless doom he sensed no longer.

    Alex¡¯s sobs had died with a disbelieving gasp.

    Trembling fingers frantically felt each other in the darkness.

    He felt no rings of brass, copper, or bone upon his fingers.

    None, whatsoever.

    His eyes widened in the darkness, feeling a surge of dismay and euphoria unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

    He was no longer lost in an endless bitter-sweet tale.

    He was no longer the Fox¡¯s eternal disciple.

    He was finally free.

 Book 8 - Chapter 2 - How long has it been?

    ¡°And I sense no cards of fate upon my soul¡­ no awful doom or twisted glory that I¡¯m supposed to embrace!¡± Alex could feel tears streaming down his face as he barely whispered the words. Still so overwhelmed by all that had occurred that he had to choke back a sob.

    ¡°Hao Chan¡­ how long had it been? How many years, how many centuries?¡±

    Euphoric relief turned to horrified dismay. He shook his head in heartfelt despair.

    ¡°How long had I slipped under death¡¯s waters¡­ and why do I remember everything? Oh, Hao Chan¡­ how long did you wait for me?¡±

    He swallowed the awful lump in his throat, missing her twinkling amber eyes, soft lips and cheeky grin, visualizing her features in a moment that was itself an exquisite, endless torment. Forcing himself to accept the bitter lining to his newfound sense of freedom. Despite doing absolutely everything he could to save her, to save them both, to allow for a life they could embrace together¡­ too many powerful players with countless eons of ruthless experience had invested far too much time and bitter effort to sabotage his successes and destroy his accomplishments at every opportunity. Forcing him into impossible situations that demanded ever greater sacrifices. With no hope, no positive resolution, and no way out.

    ¡°Until now, fuckers. And I TORE OUT YOUR FUCKING THROAT!¡±

    Alex¡¯s voice echoed oddly in the cavern as the sandstorm beyond the cavern finally died out, and Alex clamped his jaw shut.

    His beloved might be lost to him, time being the one barrier no power could cross¡­ but even the Hao Chan of a thousand years ago, living a life of grace and privilege in an imperial palace that would have, he prayed, welcomed her with open arms once she showed the potential of Gold catalyzed before her 20<sup>th</sup> birthday¡­ even that pristine imperial jewel would have made it damn clear that if he was done with being WiFu¡¯s eternal disciple, then he should stop playing the fool.

    He no longer felt the cards of fate upon his soul.

    He was no longer protected by Fog of War.

    No. He was now blessed with something far, far greater.

    Sensing it only for its lack.

    He was no longer in the eyes of the gods at all.

    Perhaps they thought him eternally drowning. Or mayhap WiFu had actually fooled them into thinking he was now the serpentine guardian of the dead, after WiFu had reclaimed heart and soul stone with Alex¡¯s blessing and had put his first disciple back together.

    And how tragic was that, on so many levels?

    Regardless¡­ he now had, perhaps for the first time in a dozen lifetimes, a chance to live completely unnoticed by the psychopaths high above¡­ assuming he was in the same realm at all.

    So how impossibly, unbelievably stupid would it be for him to call attention to himself now?

    He would give himself credit for being smart enough to not even whisper the names of his ancient foes.

    And maybe there were a million vindictive cultivators chanting similar words of bitter triumph over mountains of corpses out there. But all the same, maybe it would be best if he never said a word about tearing out anyone¡¯s throat. Best if he never referred to the bitter struggles of his past at all.

    He shook his head in wonder, still surprised that he could remember his most recent life so clearly.

    But he supposed it made sense.

    After all, why would Grandmother Yei Wang who gave countless souls the mercy of oblivion so that they could start each life free of the burdens and regrets of the past, give he who had torn out her descendant¡¯s throat any mercy at all?

    Though perhaps WiFu¡¯s final grace had been making sure Alex slipped out of the sight of the whole pantheon entirely.

    Which meant that he might never forget his past again.

    Assuming this wasn¡¯t his final life in truth.

    Which meant that he best make the best of it.

    At that moment he smiled through his tears, determined to make the absolute most of this second chance, to savor this life and all it¡¯s possibilities¡­ to finally give himself the sweet isekai storybook second-life that he had always wanted¡­ and had almost never been able to achieve.

    Which meant that he should take a quick inventory of himself, and understand exactly what his new starting point truly entailed¡­ in addition to keeping his damn mouth shut, lest his manic screaming and sobbing alert unseen threats that might otherwise have no interest in the youth now lying so quietly on a mound of sand upon a cavern floor.

    Wincing at his own burst of foolishness, a quick furtive look detected nothing in the gloom.

    He then closed his eyes and pulled up his Interface sheet, almost dreading the thought of starting over as a level 0 boy with close to straight 9s in his physical stats once more.

    _____________________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

    Rank 5 Basic Cultivation Achieved!

    Physical Characteristics

    Strength ¨C Bronze Rank 2 (25)

    Vitality ¨C Bronze Rank 2 (25)

    Quickness ¨C 15

    Finesse ¨C 15

    Spiritual Characteristics

    Scholarship - 14 (Exceeds 84% of Population.)

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Perception - 18 (Exceeds 99% of population.)

    Willpower ¨C 25 (Rank 2 Bronze achieved the hard way! - You have the resolve to walk in the Valley of Death and slip free of the River of Souls.)

    Qi Pool ¨C 15** (Silver Rank 5 (165)) Note! Bronze Tier threshold must be reached to unlock)

    Health Points: 325

    Perks

    Insightful ¨C Rank 2

    Charismatic ¨C Rank 3

    Lesser Shadow Affinity - You can now see Shadow Qi! You have +6 to spot all those using Shadow to ambush or confuse you.

    Golden Apple of Wisdom consumed. Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.

    Draconic Ancestry. - The blood of golden dragons flows through your veins! You may now purchase additional ranks in Strength and Vitality as if they were 1 tier lower than they actually are, in terms of cost and requirements!

    All damage from heat and flame, spiritual or mundane, is reduced in severity by 2 Damage tiers. All cold-based attacks and physical sources of damage are decreased in severity by 1 Damage tier.

    Favored Skills

    Golden Realms Kung Fu ¨C Rank 10

    Poison Spitting ¨C Rank 5

    Stealth ¨C Rank 4

    Elemental Qi Disciplines (Learned at Royal Phoenix Academy)

    Water Shield ¨C Rank 5

    </a> Water Strike ¨C Rank 5

    Thorn Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Oak Strike ¨C Rank 5

    Fire Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Flame Fist ¨C Rank 4

    Earthern Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Stone Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Qi Perception-linked Disciplines

    Artificer ¨C Rank 7

    Find Weakness ¨C Rank 6

    Qi Perception ¨C Rank 7

    Soul Sight ¨C Rank 6

    Spiritual Teacher ¨C Rank 8

    Interface Enhanced Skills

    Biochemical Mastery ¨C Rank 7

    Full Regenerative Capacity ¨C Healing rate based on Vitality. Injuries will be free of scarring. Missing limbs will require 1 day per pound of bio material lost to regenerate fully. Note! This capacity has been enhanced by the blood of dragons and extensive regeneration experienced during your most recent incarnation!

    Gift of Tongues

    ________________________________________________

    Alex gazed at his character sheet for long moments, filled with an odd mixture of elation and dismay. He was the farthest thing from the naive 17 year old with below average stats that he had been with every other rebirth. No. Much to his awe and delight, he had kept countless boons earned during his final struggle against callous fate and bitter gods. Permanent transformations including the genetic imprint of dragons had reshaped him and changed his destiny in ways that still awed him. Even if it was somehow muted¡­ he now sensed that it was well and truly his own. He was somehow certain that he wouldn¡¯t even attract the notice of a certain lesser dragon god¡­ so long as he didn¡¯t foolishly call attention to himself.

    Yet his physical stats were the farthest thing from a Silver on the cusp of Gold.

    No. As far as grace and coordination went, he was as physically fit as most mortals would ever achieve. As far as Strength and Vitality went¡­ he was already beyond Olympian power lifters that might reach a Strength of 20 at the peak of human potential, having already broken through to Bronze Rank 2. What was effectively a Strength of 25, with a Vitality to match. A direct blessing of his draconic enhancement, he knew that already. And he was pretty sure that every basic point he put into Strength and Vitality would give him the equivalent of an additional Bronze Rank¡­ whereas that same point in Quickness or Agility would just bump it from 15 to 16.

    As to how many points he would get per level up, or even if he could level up as he had before¡­ he truly had no idea. Yet he had considerable hope that there was a path forward for him¡­ even if his former Divine Tier Dual Path had somehow transformed to a Boundless Path¡­ and he wasn¡¯t really sure what that meant at all.

    Yet his Willpower, he was happy to see, was still at Bronze Rank 2¡­ and he knew he had earned every bloody point of it, daring to take on gods and cleave his way free of the River of Souls itself. And if there was one revelation that truly filled him with hope and excitement¡­ it was seeing his Qi Pool. As much as 15 was just a tiny fraction of what it once had been¡­ His Interface made it clear that once he brought it up to 20¡­ one point at a time¡­ he¡¯d unlock Tier 5 Silver, which was effectively a Qi Pool of 165.

    As for all the glorious skills he had developed in his past life that had allowed him such potent mastery in melee settings¡­ he was filled with dismay to see so many grayed out. For all that he intuitively sensed that all the previous lessons learned would serve as wonderful templates to learning similar skills, so many deadly gifts had been claimed by the life he had left behind. What pained him the most was seeing even Eternal Fox grayed out.

    But perhaps he shouldn¡¯t be surprised.

    Because there was no greater signature as to who he was, than showing off those deadly skills once more. Especially an art he had forged in his master¡¯s name.

    Yet much to his bemusement, the basic elemental strikes and counters he had learned as a student of Royal Phoenix Academ were available to him still. He could form basic shields or strike with the power of Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

    Just as importantly, if not more so, the physical skills and fighting techniques he had learned were still his own. He hadn¡¯t suddenly forgotten how to shatter bone with his shin kicks, knock an opponent out cold with a spinning backfist, or send them tumbling with a foot sweep or a spring hip throw. And as far as using his spear, dao, and most especially his fangtian ji went, he could viscerally recall every lesson he had embraced by his mentor¡¯s side. No matter how painful.

    He might no longer be summoning a glorious whirlwind of Qi, or summoning the force and fury of a typhoon¡­ at least not right now, but damn if his body didn¡¯t exquisitely recall every graceful movement that had helped him channel so much devastating spiritual energy. Hence his Rank 10 in Golden Realms kung fu and all the weapons associated with it. A rank only the most elite masters could ever hope to surpass.

    What was perhaps most remarkable was that he still had access to Biochemical Mastery and All his Qi Perception skills were perfectly intact. Any discipline that was about perceiving and understanding, not necessarily channeling, the flow of Qi. Which meant that even if his physical stats were now between Basic and Bronze, he could still spot the most vulnerable points in his enemy¡¯s body and, with time and focus, understand the Qi flow through a cultivator¡¯s or a spirit beast¡¯s meridians as well.

    Of course, what was most useful to him right then was taking full advantage of his Qi Perception in the pitch darkness of the cave.

    He stilled himself and focused, senses alert for any stalking predator that might have sensed the poor fool who had been sobbing and screaming and carrying on, and think him easy prey.

    Yet save for the mournful sound of the wind howling across the plains beyond the cavern entrance, there was nothing to be seen or heard at all.

    He took a deep breath of warm life-giving air once more as he shivered with exhaustion upon desert sands in a cavern he had done his best to make sure was safe before finally allowing himself to slip away in nod¡¯s embrace. Savoring sleep for the first time since being lost in Qui Jing¡¯s perilous coils as the warm air of the living caressed the skin of a soul that knew death¡¯s embrace all too well.

    His final flickering thoughts were of making the most of this brand new life that he was determined to savor and enjoy to the utmost.

    All he had to do was stay out of the sights of spiteful gods and avoid trouble as best he could.

 Book 8 - Chapter 3 - Am I really stupid enough to risk it all again?

    Alex couldn¡¯t help laughing for joy at the notice as he gazed upon the endless vista of deep blue skies and brilliant clay colored sand stretching in all directions as he crested the massive boulder that served as the ceiling of the sand-filled cave he had half crawled, half-stumbled out of at first light.

    For all that he was without friends, contacts, or resources of any significance, for all that most of his skills were locked away behind a barrier he found himself extremely reluctant to even touch, let alone press or break, for all that he was countless miles, perhaps an entire realm away from any place he had ever glimpsed before, he was filled with a joy, an ebullience just as sharp and sweet as it had been the previous night.

    He was free.

    Well and truly free.

    If his soul had always been weighed down by the chains of fate and the malevolence of the gods before, a burden he had been forced to endure until he hardly sensed it at all¡­

    It only made the sweet sense of freedom he now felt all the sharper. All the purer.

    It was all he could do not to fall on his knees and weep, his soul now so light it felt like it could float away on spiritual wings for heavens far gentler than the hell on earth he had left behind.

    A revelation that only served to underscore just how sharp and bitter the enmity between himself, his master, and an entire spite-filled pantheon had truly been.

    In that moment he felt a lightness in his chest, tears streaming down his cheeks as he realized that yes, finally, he could dare to dream, dare to hope, dare to embrace a life where he could actually strive for a peaceful existance and a happy ending, without being compelled by forces unseen to sacrifice himself once more upon the bitter alter of the gods.

    How many lifetimes had it truly been? How many tears had he shed for men, women, and children, whose faces would then slip his mind for eternity?

    He shuddered at the thought, finding sweetest solace in the simple revelation that now he was well and truly free.

    The choices he would make from this day forward were entirely his own.

    He need not risk himself in mad folly ever again.

    Prudence, caution, a warm demeanor, and most of all, never ever playing the fool were the watchwords that could lead to a life both sweet, fulfilling, and full. No matter that his heart simultaneously ached for the angel of his heart, a priceless jewel he now feared lost to time.

    He took a deep breath as he finally crested the massive ocher-colored boulder before him, taking full advantage of the cool early morning to get his bearings, his exquisite Perception meaning he could make out his surroundings perfectly well even with false dawn barely lightening the star-filled horizon. Hours before the sun¡¯s glare and heat stroke truly turned any journey into a trial of endurance. He had a few ideas about how he would survive, perhaps even thrive during any journey, but for now¡­

    There!

    His eyes widened with delight, lips curling in a wide grin as he slowly turned a full 360 degrees, getting his bearings upon the highest point in who knew how many miles of desert that stretched for endless leagues of desert and scrublands, the view broken by a far distant plateau of rock to the East just before desert ochre, tan, and burnt orange he could see so clearly even in the moonlight erupted into the brilliant bright green of what could only be an oasis, or carefully tended fields, beyond which he saw what he was almost certain were far-off city walls interspersed with towering minarets soaring towards the heavens above.

    A beautiful sight against the moonlit sky which made Alex laugh for sheer joy. As much as he adored the wonderful feeling of freedom unweighted by bitter fate grinding him down, practically speaking, he had no supplies, and minimal access to the exquisite cultivation skills that allowed him to forgo so many of life¡¯s necessities. Which made the idea of trekking through the desert a perilous one, as he was wearing nothing more than the same ancient attire he had through countless lifetimes, though now his leather boots, cotton pants, his newly gifted tricorn hat and once exquisite changshan tunic truly did look old and weathered in ways they never had before¡­ almost completely faded of color. For all that his attire felt as sturdy and comfortable as ever, for perhaps the first time, he wouldn¡¯t feel ashamed to adopt whatever the local attire might be, and put these beloved relics away, having served their purpose in full.

    ¡°But not quite yet,¡± he said with a certain amount of fondness for the clothes that had kept up with him through countless lifetimes, and need only endure a little bit longer as he began planning his route to the distant city that he feared he¡¯d lose sight of, once he climbed back down the boulder. So he carefully triangulated its location via the heavens and the distant rock face of the plateau countless miles to the east.

    ¡°As long as that landmarks¡¯ to my right, I should be fine,¡± he thought with a certain amount of satisfaction, already planning the path he would take to starting a fresh life.

    If his hunch was right, his Biochemical Mastery and the blessings it gave his senses was as sharp as ever. He¡¯d be just as good an apothecary as he had been for Liu Jian after having learnt the ropes, and had absolutely no problems at the thought of starting his life over once more as the most humble of shop¡¯s assistants before getting a lay of the land, sensing what opportunities might be available, and, yes, perhaps even daring to pursue cultivation once more.

    Only this time, it would be on his terms. In a school that wasn¡¯t the largest and most fearsome in the entire region. In a territory that wasn¡¯t hip deep in intrigue, internecine warfare, or diabolical plots. A humble school run by sane masters far more interested in forging strong cultivators who would honor their school than throwing their charges away like grist in the mill for the benefit of one or two favored ¡®young masters¡¯¡­ children of jaded patrons that the so-called elite schools no doubt doted upon.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I need anyone to show me the secrets of Bronze or Silver. Even if I¡¯m starting over, thanks to all the memories I¡¯m both blessed and haunted with, I know how to forge cords strong enough to do any cultivator proud. Strong enough to one day challenge beings I¡¯d be happy never to cross again.¡±

    And it was true. So painfully, gloriously true. In the most insane of circumstances, he could forge a path that would let him one day challenge the gods. But even without being forced to face off against impossibly powerful foes that necessitated tearing free the eternal soul stones of enemies both mortal and divine, he now understood with equal clarity how to form a stable latticework of Silver Cables that would see him ascending to a very comfortable and powerful Gold. One day. Without needing to challenge the gods themselves to access the power needed for that much more sane configuration either.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    All he needed was resources and time.

    Gifts any half-decent school small enough to treat him right and appreciate what a boon he could be to them could appreciate. And if their largess also gave him access to actual Qi Disciplines, any one of the countless hundreds if not thousands of Bronze and Silver techniques he knew were out there, in sharp contrast to the handful of truly deadly Gold techniques guarded by people and powers that would immediately put him back into the crucible he had only just escaped¡­ that would truly be a bonus to savor.

    His goal would be the most comprehensive Silver tier techniques he could make use of¡­ and no more than that. Even that would be more than sufficient to one day rule a city, or simply live in peaceful harmony with a future family he could actually keep this time, as a hard target no petty intrigue could easily put down, and him keeping a low enough profile that petty intrigue and banal thuggery would be the limit of what he would have to endure. Even better if he could float through life so sweetly as to face no trouble at all.

    Just the thought of reaching the city and taking his first steps to a truly exciting future with an actual happy ending filled him with exuberance as he carefully made his way back down the boulder, delighting in the Strength and Vitality of what was effectively Bronze Rank 2. So much less than he had savored those last few months¡­ yet still, he was still stronger than he had been for most of his journey before his adventures at Royal Phoenix had catalyzed the final chapters of his tale.

    ¡°And who knows?¡± he whispered to himself as his ears pricked at unexpected sounds in the distance. ¡°Even if I can ascend no higher than ranks of Gold¡­ after achieving Rank 5, even if it were decades or centuries away¡­ would there be a point where my bloodline would allow me to buy ranks of Strength and Vitality worthy of a Jade Titan, even if I played it safe and never tried to compress my core that far?¡± He grinned at the thought, realizing that there just might be ways to backdoor into his wildest dreams without taking any wild risks at all.

    Smiling with hope and excitement, allowing his imagination to run wild as he gazed off into the horizon¡­ that was when he caught just the faintest flash upon the distant sandy plains lit by nothing more than waning moonlight only one with an 18 Perception might clearly see through.

    His heart lurched in his chest.

    It could be anything, he thought, as he tightly gripped the rock, forcing himself to take a better look.

    Shadowy images in the gloom that sharpened into unexpected focus.

    Dozens of men dressed in flowing robes with spears and shields in their hands.

    For the most part, they were dark blobs in the distance. It was only the brightly sharpened tips of their spears, or occasional glints of metal armor¡­ unveiled when flowing robes parted, that revealed them for the armored warriors that they were.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a patrol for the distant city,¡± he whispered to himself. ¡°Even if they¡¯re idiots racing through scrubland that¡¯s practically desert. Unless they¡¯re heading for a road¡­

    He forced himself to turn around, dreading what he would see.

    ¡°Shit.¡±

    There. In the distance from the direction of the city he had glimpsed. His exquisite perception easily made out the sight of a half dozen grand carriage wagons that had come to a stop along the perfectly straight desert road. Not winding at all. For it was a lay-line channeling the spiritual energy of an entire realm, absolutely perfect for traveling from city to city and town to town along the straightest, sturdiest roads imaginable. For they were as much the world itself as any man-made construction.

    It was also the perfect spot for an ambush. Though considering how flat the terrain was, the forty or so bandits wielding shields and spears or curved blades had settled for a lightning-fast raid at the crack of dawn.

    It was a wagon train that looked hauntingly familiar, so like the oversized wagons he had once helped guard when making his way to Baidushi. He cursed softly under his breath, noting the fire and the utterly clueless guards nodding beside it. Fires might be great for warmth, scaring off certain types of four-legged predators, and providing light in absolute darkness, but it did absolute shit for one¡¯s night vision or ability to see more than a handful of yards past the flames, save for the reflection of a predator¡¯s eyes. And that fire served as a beacon visible for miles across the flat planes. The perfect guiding light for a band of several score raiders well used to riding and navigating by the light of the moon.

    Alex wasted only a handful of seconds in a quick head count facilitated by his own recollection of wagon layouts. IF there was an average of six men per wagon, that meant about 36 men securing the caravan, at least half of which should be experienced fighters. But compared to mounted bandits about to get the element of surprise¡­ it would be a slaughter.

    Their only chance would be to get into defensive positions upon what he assumed were reinforced wagon tops if they truly were like the wagons he had guarded a time or too himself, all the better if they had crossbows and longer spears and were trained in mounting a defense upon them. Even should the successfully do so, he still didn¡¯t like the odds.

    All he knew for sure was that if he gave no warning at all¡­ it would be a slaughter.

    Alex squeezed his eyes shut, cursing under his breath.

    ¡°Seriously? Just when I arrive, when I¡¯m in the perfect position to start my life over? After all I¡¯ve been through, all I¡¯ve sacrificed, all I¡¯ve already done¡­ Does anything think I¡¯m actually stupid enough to risk it all over again?¡±

    And there was the rub, Alex thought with a bitter shake of his head as finished scrabbling down the rock at a fast clip, now in perfect position to make his way toward the city, having absolutely no doubt that no raider would bother with him at all, even if they did catch sight of him in the dim light. Not when there were far juicier targets.

    Not when he finally had the chance to embrace his own life to the fullest!

    You have successfully constructed: Earthern Shield! At 0.1 Qi maintenance cost per minute.

    After a moment¡¯s thought, he accepted that no one was now pulling his strings.

    Just because his old master¡¯s hand, and the hands of his entire vindictive clan were finally and forever free of his piece upon the board of fate, didn¡¯t mean that WiFu couldn¡¯t set him up with shelter to collapse in and sanctuary that he could actually make out in the distance if he was smart enough to check his surroundings with his final move. As well as one more difficult choice.

    It was effectively his opening gambit in a journey, and life, that was now w ell and truly Alex¡¯s own.

    He could risk his life against overwhelming odds to save complete strangers who would be as likely to see him as just another raider as any sort of hero or saint¡­ or finally start living life for his own benefit, and stop putting the world¡¯s weight on his shoulders.

    It would be so easy to finally take the stance of a man who¡¯s finally had enough. Who has already done more than his fair share. But then he remembered the gentle face of Ehuang, a beautiful sheepherder who was happy to be his friend and could have been so much more¡­ her final moments being one of confusion as she collapsed to the ground, riddled by crossbow bolts from raiders eager to make a quick score. It would be so easy to make the safe choice if he didn¡¯t recall so clearly the voice of a young man crying out to the heavens when he and his family were cut down by ruthless bandits who cared nothing for fragile dreams and the beautiful lives that could have been filled with happiness and joy.

    And how often had his own desperate hopes been burnt to ashes, his final cries for mercy, help, succor, met with nothing but the howling wind and coldest laughter in lives he could never recall?

    Too many. Of that he had no doubt, he thought, legs churning through the sand like pistons as he angled himself to approach the caravan in plain sight of the slumbering pair of fools by the fire that were supposed to be guarding the caravan, now just a hundred yards away.

    And the bandits? A mile out, perhaps two. No more than that. These poor sleeping fools had just minutes to get ready.

    ¡°Wake up, you fools! Bandits are coming from the north!¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 4 - Preparing for the battle to come.

    ¡°Wake up, you fools! Bandits are coming from the north!¡±

    Alex screamed for all he was worth, humiliated by how his voice cracked¡­ until he cleared his throat and repeated his cry.

    Immediately the pair of half-slumbering guards jolted awake. Their armaments were a far cry from what Alex would have hoped, seeing no trace of lamellar, just fabric that looked suspiciously like silk in the form of airy robes. He could only hope that they were wearing mail shirts or quilted gambesons underneath.

    ¡°Who goes there¡­ who the hell are you?¡± Asked the closest man belligerently as he fumbled for the shaft of his spear.

    Alex glared at unkempt man who¡¯s eyes were bleary and bloodshot, scraggly whiskers making it clear he had a passing acquaintance with a razor blade at best. Not that Alex would normally care one way or another, save that cleanly shaven features or well-kept beards along with clear focused gazes were great signs of discipline, focus, and pride.

    At least the guard¡¯s associate looked a lot more awake, and aware, and he didn¡¯t smell of strong spirits.

    ¡°State your name and business!¡± The man roared, his weapon held in a ready grip as he glared Alex¡¯s way.

    ¡°About forty raiders are about to overrun your camp in less than five minutes so you¡¯d better wake up your captain and get your men in position to guard the caravan now!¡± Alex roared the last, eyes turning toward the caravan, noting the largest of the half dozen, and the compartment he could spot built into it.

    ¡°Captain, you¡¯ve got five minutes before raiders hit your caravan and cut you all down in your sleep!¡±

    Alex roared the last as loud as he could as the pair of flat-footed guards continued to stare at him, more relieved than he wanted to admit by the rough baritone voice that now rang through the night air as a powerful man sprung out of the lead wagon with a cultivator¡¯s grace, fully armored, of course, with a massive guandao in his hands as he rapidly approached the fire.

    ¡°Men! Arm yourselves and take positions!¡± The cultivator roared, while refusing to take his steel grey eyes off Alex. The man was massive, Alex would give him that, clearly radiating the aura of a strength cultivator who had broken through to Bronze. His skin, much like the pair of guards, was a darker hue than those of most of the citizens of Yidushi and Baidushi that Alex had come across, with perfectly symmetrical features blending features that were far more Mongolian and middle-eastern than Chinese Han. Of course Alex knew he was only going by the reference point of a world that this realm had no actual ties to at all, but the fact that these people looked so different from the ¡®true people¡¯ he had been surrounded by over so many lifetimes made it clear that his latest incarnation had traveled far indeed. Though whether through distance or time or both, Alex had yet to determine.

    ¡°You! Who the hell are you, and what¡¯s this report of bandits? Friends of yours, perhaps?¡± The obvious captain barked, though only after making sure that the caravan was now wide awake, panicked men and women scurrying to the tops of what Alex was pleased to see were indeed reinforced wagons, crossbows and spears soon making an appearance over the reinforced sides of the parapeted wagons.

    ¡°Name¡¯s Alex. And no, the forty raiders on desert ponies are no friends of mine. I just happened to catch sight of them while getting my bearings on the massive rock sticking out of the desert sands a few hundred yards from here.¡± He then pointed to said rock, ignoring one of the guards muttering that it was a hill.

    The captain frowned. ¡°And you just happened to catch sight of them at just the right time to turn around and give complete strangers you never met a friendly warning?¡±

    Alex gave the man a hard glare. ¡°You¡¯re damn right I did just that.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I used to be a caravan guard myself. And bandits just like these assholes took the life of someone I cared about. So, yes, if fate wakes me up at just the right time to get some positive karma helping to take out the bastards that dared to take out one of mine, I¡¯ll gladly play the hero of that story.¡±

    This earned a puzzled frown. But the man¡¯s tight grip on his guandao began to relax. ¡°So why the hell are you even out here? Where are your friends?¡±

    Alex grimaced. To this he actually had an answer, having forced himself to think up something that would both divorce himself from a past it was best if no one knew, without being such a bald-faced lie that any wujen would tut and shake their head.

    ¡°I had a major falling out with my¡­ clan. Most of them despise me. The feeling¡¯s mutual. My one true friend among them made it clear that if I didn¡¯t leave immediately, I was as good as dead.¡± He shrugged. ¡°So I left. Being directed to head for this rock, in sight of the city ahead, was the final good turn my old friend could do me. Now I¡¯m completely on my own. The fact that I just happened to catch sight of raiders while looking to orient myself was pure serendipity. Even if it would have been far easier just to ignore you all and make my way to the city without giving a damn¡­ that¡¯s just not how I role. It never has been. And I think we have less than four minutes before those assholes are here.¡±

    The captain snorted. Alex was happy to see that the pair of guards had left to take up position¡­ but only after stomping out the fire.

    The captain glared thoughtfully at Alex for long seconds they didn¡¯t have. An alarmed Alex halfway wondered if the man would actually try to cut him down before giving a reluctant nod. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s say I believe you. Are you willing to fight by our side?¡±

    Alex gave a relieved nod. ¡°Damn right I am. But I want double pay and a good referral, if we survive this bullshit.¡±

    The captain grinned. ¡°Done. We have a wujen who¡¯s mastered Ice. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re a ruby master?¡±

    Alex sighed and shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid not. But if you put a weapon in my hands, I¡¯ll be bringing you bandit heads. But no jian,¡± he hastily said. ¡°Not unless you want me to be swinging it like a dao.¡±

    The captain winced despite himself. ¡°No chance of that. Name¡¯s Captain Dui Zhong.¡±

    ¡°Alex,¡± he said, not hesitating to grip the powerfully built man¡¯s wrist, nor flinch at the hard half-smile as the man squeezed tight, measuring Alex¡¯s strength.

    Alex¡¯s smile matched the man¡¯s own. He didn¡¯t hold back, pleased despite himself at the surprised blink this earned him. ¡°Spear it is, then.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Alex said with a smirk.

    The captain then turned to roar at the second largest wagon. ¡°Qing Wu! I got a Ruidian for you!¡±

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Alex blinked at the sight of the spry looking man who could have been anything from thirty five to fifty five, with glossy dark hair and a carefully trimmed salt and pepper beard and fine silk robes who popped out of the fanciest looking carriage wagon, gazing Alex¡¯s way with a hawk-like intensity. He gave off an air of frigid winter snows, radiating an ageless aura Alex had learned to associate with Silvers. He could easily be centuries old, and would no doubt remain full of autumn vigor for centuries more.

    ¡°And what the hell do you want me to do with him, Dui? I¡¯m busy setting up talismans! Thanks for the brilliant warning, by the way. Just enough time to get us killed!¡±

    The captain shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to this Ruidian that we have any time at all. So why don¡¯t you find out of he plans on stabbing us in the back? If not, let him guard your front. If he pulls anything, you already know what to do.¡±

    Qing Ru sighed and shook his head, before pinning Alex with his glare.

    He shivered despite himself, feeling the build up of not Water Qi¡­ but ice in the man¡¯s right hand.

    ¡°Well, boy? Are you secretly a plant of those raiders? Are you planning on betraying us?¡±

    Alex blinked, momentarily at a complete loss for words. Not even minding the bemused gazes turning hard and cold with his continued silence.

    ¡°Well, boy?¡± Qing Wu¡¯s exasperated voice had turned just as frigid as the spear of ice now hovering above his hand.

    ¡°Ice Qi. You summoned that spear with Ice Qi! Directly! It¡¯s not synergized with Air and Water¡­ it¡¯s Ice alone!¡±

    Qing Wu furrowed his brow, giving Alex a curious look. His ice spike faded as did the deadly tension radiating from the pair of men. ¡°Are you a cultivator, boy?¡±

    The captain snorted. ¡°As if a grip too strong for any mortal didn¡¯t already give that tidbit away.¡± The man shook his head. ¡°Alright, he¡¯s your problem, Qing. I have a caravan to ready, and no more time to waste!¡±

    Alex blinked after the captain now yelling at his men, reacting just fast enough to catch the spear the Dui Zhong tossed his way.

    The wujen snorted. ¡°At least your reflexes aren¡¯t completely abysmal. So, what¡¯s your specialty?¡±

    Alex blinked and turned around. ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    Qing Wu glared. Alex winced and stepped back as the surrounding bustle of the caravan increased, hurried movements becoming frenetic as people raced to kit up and arm themselves with helmet, spear, and shield, at a minimum. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to mince words, boy. Those damned raiders are just minutes away! Can you do anything besides hold a spear?¡±

    Alex gazed at the man for long seconds, mind racing as he considered how much to reveal.

    ¡°Never mind,¡± the man said with a huff. ¡°Just grab a helmet and shield and come with me!¡±

    Alex frowned at that, having no idea where their equipment was kept, but he knew better than to fall behind the rapidly moving wujen who was placing talismans at evenly spaced intervals around the wagon.

    ¡°You there, tell everyone to stay back from this line in the sand!¡± Qing Wu snapped to a busy-looking guardsman who nonetheless flinched and froze before the wujen¡¯s voice.

    The man immediately dropped into a bow. ¡°It will be as you say, honored wujen.¡±

    ¡°Good. And give the boy here your helm and shield.¡± The man froze at those words. Qing Wu snorted. ¡°You know where the supplies are, he does not, and I need him with me.¡±

    The man blinked. ¡°It will be as you say, honored wujen.¡± For all that the man glared daggers his way, Alex didn¡¯t hesitate to claim the gear, fastening the somewhat tight helmet upon his head, finding the shield with both forearm and shoulder straps to be a bit larger than he was used to, but not to any insurmountable degree.

    ¡°All kitted up? Good. Now spend a second, and examine this talisman. What do you sense?¡±

    Alex furrowed his brow. Finding the question unexpected, especially considering the circumstances, but he wasn¡¯t so arrogant as to tell a Silver their business, especially since he immediately understood that he was still being tested.

    He frowned, gazing intently at the talisman.

    ¡°Well, boy?¡±

    Artificer skill check made. Critical success!

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°It¡¯s an ice trap, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t know that much about talismans, pretty much nothing, but it feels like a storm of ice is being held under tremendous pressure. And all it will take is¡­ what¡­ a brush with someone possessing either negative karma or ill-will in his heart to trigger it¡­ freezing that heart solid. Or at least, that¡¯s the spiritual formula your using, whether or not it actually turns your target to ice.¡±

    The wujen gazed at Alex for long moments. He felt his cheeks flush, wondering just how stupid it was to have revealed so much to a complete stranger.

    Qing Wu chuckled softly. ¡°How remarkably perceptive. I didn¡¯t realize Ruidian enclaves had talisman specialists. Perhaps that explains the odd number of talismans and artifacts I¡¯ve noted that follow principles and concepts entirely different from our own, over the years.¡±

    ¡°Actually I don¡¯t know of any Ruidian talisman specialists, though I know an exquisitely talented artist or two...¡±

    The wujen regretfully shook his head. ¡°A worthy topic for another day. Now come, this wagon is mine! I expect you to guard my flank while I focus on casting.¡±

    Alex blinked at this. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what¡¯s this about...¡±

    ¡°No time!¡± The wujen scrambled up the side of the wagon with preternatural grace, helping Alex up the side with surprising strength for a Wujen, Alex pleased to note the reinforced sides they ducked behind, giving surprisingly good cover, especially with its reinforced ceiling panels effectively granting them modest battlements from which to mount a defense.

    Qing Wu¡¯s eyes widened when he followed the line of Alex¡¯s pale arm. ¡°You weren¡¯t lying. A full two score of the bastards!¡±

    Alex swallowed his suddenly dry throat, his heart starting to race as he gazed at the rapidly approaching danger head-on. No longer were they distant specks seen from an elevated vantage point. Now he saw the bloodthirsty visages of what were no doubt dozens of hardened killers eager to make another score.

    The wujen chuckled softly, the morning breeze tousling his snow white beard. ¡°It gets the blood flowing, doesn¡¯t it? Looking death in the face with a smile.¡±

    Alex grinned despite himself, testing the haft of his spear. ¡°You know what? It does.¡±

    Qing Wu gave Alex a thoughtful look. ¡°Been in life or death fights before, have you?¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°You could say that, sure.¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°You no doubt think me a foolish old man, inviting a strong powerful stranger to guard my back minutes before were swarmed by bandits.¡±

    Alex solemnly shook his head.

    Qi Perception Check successful!

    ¡°Not with the retributive ice-blast you¡¯ve set to trigger the second you fall.¡±

    The wujen blinked, bursting out with laughter. ¡°You spotted it that easily, did you? And I didn¡¯t even have to threaten a prospective future student. Wonderful!¡±

    Alex grinned at that. ¡°While making it abundantly clear that it¡¯s in my best interest to keep you alive. As if a Silver tier wujen needed my help.¡±

    The man¡¯s bemused smile hardened once more. ¡°You really are a perceptive one, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°Not perceptive enough to keep my observations to myself, however.¡±

    This earned a chuckle. ¡°A student could make far worse choices than trying to impress their future instructor, lad.¡±

    Alex chuckled at that. ¡°Are we recruiting disciples right before battle?¡±

    ¡°What better time is there?¡±

    ¡°You got me there.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 5 - The battle begins.

    The camp suddenly rang with the frantic peel of bells alerting everyone to battle.

    ¡°Raiders are in sight! Weapons at the ready!¡± Captain Dui Zhong¡¯s powerful baritone voice echoed through the air.

    Qing Wu ceased his banter, the air turning frigid as first one then three then a half dozen spear-sized bolts of ice shimmered into existence right above the man¡¯s head.

    Alex frowned. He could sense the lesser wards around the man, but a quick look and 18 Perception made it clear that they would be dealing with more than a ragtag group of bandits.

    ¡°Captain, they¡¯re armed with crossbows!¡±

    A guard''s desperate words were confirmed when Alex noted no less than half a dozen of the approaching bandits slowed down their mounts to take down choice targets while the other thirty plus charged with their spears in chillingly perfect formation¡­ before half a dozen explosions of ice broke their line, nearly a dozen mounts collapsing with panicked winnies and squeals, half the mounts flash frozen, more than one bandit shrieking as his legs had been frozen to ice, in many cases shattered outright. Only a few bandits stopped to help what fallen men they could, the dozens remaining continuing their deadly charge.

    But that wasn¡¯t what alarmed Alex.

    It was the cold-eyed crossbowmen in the distance, gazing far too intently his way.

    He felt a lurch in his gut, dismayed but not surprised to see every last crossbow shifting to draw a beed on his charge.

    Qi Perception check made!

    And that¡¯s when he felt it.

    Shadowy tendrils of death eager not to be seen or heard. A pressure on the back of Alex¡¯s mind. Trying to coax him on facing the threat in front of him as he summoned a swirling disk of stone. Far more secure a prize than any half-decent mortal shield could ever be.

    Qing Wu gave a pleased smile. ¡°Earthern Shield. Summoned before you¡¯ve even broken through to Bronze. And almost, but not quite, with an adept¡¯s grace. The perfect defense. Well done!

    But Alex was only paying half a mind as he infused his other fist with Earth Qi as well, raising his balance from the crouch they had both embraced.

    ¡°Careful, Alex. I need your shield right where it was. Those fools are firing!¡±

    But there was no time for Alex to do other than knock the other man over, ignoring the wujen¡¯s killing glare as the air rang with the buzzing hornet¡¯s sound of steel quarrels fired with devastating force, smashing into Alex¡¯s Earthern Shield and flying right over the now prone Wujen¡¯s head as Alex whipped his leg around in a spinning heel kick that slammed into shadowy gloom suddenly revealing a snarling man glaring with absolute killing hate Alex¡¯s way, wielding a gladius covered in black ichor Alex knew would be absolutely lethal to the touch.

    ¡°Assassin!¡± Alex roared, readying himself to shield-slam the man right off the roof, praying his biochemical mastery would activate in time for him not to die when the man darted forward, revealing just how quick and deadly he truly was.

    A Speed cultivator who had broken through to Bronze with an affinity for Shadow Qi and not a trace of Kitsune blood in his body. Observations that did Alex little good when the man¡¯s gladius moved like a blur, Alex¡¯s Earthern shield all that saved him as he stumbled back, nearly lost his footing¡­ before the would-be assassin lurched to a stop, sparing Alex one final haunted look before slowly keeling over backward, massive shards of ice having plunged into his chest, throat, and eye socket.

    You have successfully countered Bronze Rank 3 Assassin.

    Experience earned!

    ¡°A warrior¡¯s reflexes. Well done, Alex! Our opponent certainly wasn¡¯t expecting someone of your caliber stumbling by and disrupting this farce of an assassination attempt disguised as a raid.¡±

    Alex blinked at this, before spinning around to face the raiders once more, absently centering his shield to protect his companion as well. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what was that?¡±

    The wujen blinked, looking momentarily flustered, before summoning another half dozen ice spears, floating above his head once more. ¡°Never mind, boy. Just keep your focus on the crossbowmen! We¡¯ll take them out next.¡±

    ¡°Next?¡±

    By way of answer, the wujen pointed his arm down at the roaring and shouting bandits below, who were lashing out with their weapons to cut the straps and reins of the massive spirit beast mounts pulling the carriage wagons while those armed with spears did their best to impale the defenders who had ensconced themselves upon the wagon rooftops.

    What would have been a slaughter, had the raiders been able to tear through sleeping men and women settled about their fires and the outside of their wagons had suddenly become a much more challenging encounter. They were now unable to charge into their foes or apply hit and run tactics, while their targets were protected by the massive wagons that not only gave reach and cover, like any decent wall or barrier, but were sealed well enough that the bandits couldn¡¯t force easy entry. Save for the wagon adjoining their own, where shouts and desperate screams made it clear that the bandits had broken in and that at least a few of the caravaneers were young, female, and now in mortal peril.

    Qing Wu¡¯s gaze hardened as he whispered a single phrase. ¡°Frigid Death!¡±

    All six of Qing Wu¡¯s ice spears hurtled through the air in rapid succession, each finding the chest or throat of a bandit closest to their wagon, the half dozen men slumping over and falling over their mounts.

    Alex hated the thought of just standing still as the air rang with desperate screams, but before he could think of how best to take the fight to his foes, he sensed death rapidly approaching the wujen by his side once more, raising his shield to deflect another tight barrage of crossbows that would have blown through a mortal shield and pincushioned the wagon, if Alex hadn¡¯t lowered his shield to cover the lip of the wagon as well.

    Alex gazed intently at the scowling wujen. ¡°They¡¯re aiming for you specifically. And those crossbows are massive for horseback.¡±

    The wujen snorted. ¡°They¡¯re not even trying to pretend they¡¯re thieves now.¡± His eyes widened when a fresh cry tore through the air. ¡°Ya Ling!¡± Intent eyes gazed into Alex¡¯s own. ¡°Just how good are you, boy?¡±

    ¡°Good enough.¡±

    ¡°Good, then fight!¡± The wujen glared into the darkness. ¡°I have a surprise for those bastards, and I should have more than enough time to fire it before they can reload.¡±

    But Alex had already slipped free of the wagon with the wujen¡¯s assurance after readying his spear and leaping free of the wagon. He knew they were lucky, the talisman traps that had been unleashed had taken out half of the first wave of bandits, turning what would have been a pinpoint charge into a broken, scattered affair, evening the odds and buying them time.

    But wagons had never been truly designed to be forts, and the wagon holding whatever prize the bandits w ere seeking had clearly been breached, as Alex saw for himself as he raced around the far side of the closest one next to the wujen¡¯s, catching sight of a pair of women struggling in the arms of powerfully built men radiating the strength of cultivators. The farthest thing from common bandits.

    Which was of course the moment that a handful of mounted raiders circling the wagons, looking for weak points, caught sight of Alex loping forward.

    He had just enough time to pivot so that the wagons were at his back, limiting how well they could encircle or charge him.

    ¡°Reisin! Get the girls and get out of here! These assholes have a Ruidian gem master!¡± Roared a giant of a man from his mount as he glared Alex¡¯s way. ¡°You¡¯re dead, fool!¡± He roared as he wheeled his mount to charge past Alex, the air whistling with the passage of a wicked looking bronze mace, perfect for smashing in skulls and sending even well-armored man crashing to the ground.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Before being stopped cold by the swirling disc of stone Alex held before his body like a shield.

    The man¡¯s eyes widened in surprised disbelief.

    But before the bandit could say another word, he was flying through the air, smashed from his mount with a stone covered fist hitting with such force that Alex knew the bastard wouldn¡¯t be getting up anytime soon.

    Find Weakness Skillcheck made!

    Bronze Rank 2 Strength versus 14, modified by 10 ranks of Golden Realms kung fu.

    You have critically struck your opponent!

    Spleen has been ruptured. Kidney has been ruptured.

    Spine has been shattered!

    Qi Perception Check successful.

    Duck!

    Alex immediately ducked under the whistling blow of a scimitar that could have torn out his unarmored throat, grateful for the partial cover of the wagons and the effective 360 peripheral sense of the battlefield that Qi Perception gave him, choosing that moment as well to minimize the interface messages that had been flashing across his minds eye, just like it had in the Golden Realms, once upon a time. It was as if all the basic parameters had been reset.

    The bandit who had come so close to decapitating him sneered and spat. ¡°You can fight, Ruidian? Good¡± He flashed a wicked, black-toothed smile. ¡°You¡¯ll fetch a pretty coin, when we sell you to the arena!¡±

    With those words he roared and charged, before jerking back in his reins with the oddest expression on his face. He looked desperate to say something profound as blood shot from his mouth and the massive gash in his throat, thanks to the spear that had ripped open his throat in a shower of crimson death before Alex weaved and darted away, nothing but a spinning dervish of death, the air ringing with the screams of not one but three additional raiders clutching gushing wounds before the first raider he had stabbed finally crashed to the ground.

    You have slain 4 mortals and two basic cultivators. Experience earned!

    Alex knew it was madness to charge head-on into a battle against an unknown opponent in unfamiliar terrain when he was just barely getting his bearings. Yet he felt nothing but fiercest exhilaration as he weaved and ducked under blows that were so clumsy and slow that he would have felt pity, were it a struggling student. But since it was bloodthirsty cutthroats he was facing, all Alex felt was furious satisfaction when he slipped under yet another desperate spear thrust, before grabbing the haft of a fresh weapon and jerking it free of his enemy¡¯s grip while spinning around, shield momentarily dispelled long enough to crack the back of the man¡¯s skull with the haft of his own weapon before Alex flipped it over in his hand and plunged it into yet another raider¡¯s back, just before he could cut down a desperately screaming girl who spared Alex a single desperate glance, before rolling under the closest wagon.

    Probably the smartest move she could have made.

    Alex then repositioned himself with the wagons at his back once more, elemental shield at the ready as an entire handful of shouting raiders pivoted on their ponies and tried to pin Alex between daomen and a grimly smiling pair of slavers holding a wicked looking crossbows.

    Alex, not being a complete idiot, did the only thing that made sense in that scenario. He lifted up his Earthern Shield for maximum cover and charged right for the crossbowmen while locking eyes with the snarling slaver to his right, the man perfectly positioned to cut Alex down when he passed.

    ¡°You¡¯re dead, Ruidian scu--¡±

    The cutthroat¡¯s words were cut off in a fountain of blood as the tip of Alex¡¯s most recent acquisition plunged under the chin of the wild-eyed man, slicing through soft flesh before cracking the skull as it lodged in the man¡¯s brainpan, his target collapsing like a sack of potatoes as the air rang with the crack and twang of a pair of armor piercing bolts cartwheeling away from his shield as a simultaneously thrust spear also skittered right off the rim of his defenses.

    ¡°Kotec, why the fuck didn¡¯t your bolt punch through!?¡± Screamed the still angrily thrusting bandit. Though his companion was in no position to say anything with a leaping Alex¡¯s Stone Fist shattering the man¡¯s jaw and obliterating his teeth.

    Kotec¡¯s hands struggled for the dao secured to a saddle sheath on his left side. Which suited Alex perfectly as he darted to that side of the mount and claimed the blade for himself, the furiously cursing spearman unable to land any sort of hit in the heartbeat it took Alex to wrench free the surprisingly well-balanced blade and slice the furiously cursing man¡¯s head clean off his head, then ramming his blade through the second crossbowman¡¯s guts, Tier 2 Bronze strength effortlessly bursting through the man¡¯s too-thin armor, the air suddenly ripe with the stink of ruptured bowels and blood.

    Rank 10 Golden Realm¡¯s skill check: Critical success!

    You have overwhelmed your mortal opponents¡¯ limited vitality and skill.

    You have successfully decapitated your opponent!

    You have successfully disemboweled your opponent!

    All foes within 15 feet have been momentarily stunned!

    Alex didn¡¯t need the messages now flickering across a tiny discrete corner of his interface to know that his grizzly display of martial prowess had frozen the nearby bandits in terror. Those who had witnessed it, anyway. He was already sprinting forward with a roar, a contemptuous flick of his shield forcing his nearest opponent¡¯s spear off line right before he rammed his seized dao into the man¡¯s side, sending the raider crumpling before the cloth armor tore and three feet of steel blasted through the wheezing man¡¯s bowels before Alex tore it free with a furious wrench, immediately charging for another pair of raiders busy aiming their crossbows at the wagon the bandits had successfully broken in to, revealing a trio of huddling women and several guards crumpled over in death.

    ¡°This ends now! Surrender or die, slaves!¡± The closest slaver roared.

    The youngest of the three women rose to her full height, challenging the slavers with flashing eyes of jade as a pair of women trembled behind her.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, tasting a cultivator¡¯s aura around the girl. ¡°I will give you my oath of surrender, so long as you...¡± The girl¡¯s declaration was cut off when the ultimatum-delivering slaver¡¯s head tumbled through the air in a spray of crimson droplets washing over them all, cocked and loaded crossbow falling to the ground where it discharged with a twang.

    The second crossbowman¡¯s eyes widened, registering a roaring Alex fast enough to reflexively squeeze the trigger, the steel bolt twanging through the air to lodge itself a full inch in Alex¡¯s stone shield a split second before his flashing dao cleaved off the top of the man¡¯s skull.

    The trio of women gazed at a blood-spattered Alex in speechless disbelief when he dared to waste a moment glaring their way, as he faced off against the last of the quartet of bandits that had been specifically targeting this wagon above any others. ¡°Dart under the wheels and head back to Qing Wu¡¯s wagon! I¡¯ll cover you!¡±

    He barely caught sight of the standing girl¡¯s abrupt nod before his attention was once more on the powerfully built slaver swinging a warhammer for his skull.

    ¡°The only thing you¡¯ll cover is death, bo--¡±

    You have critically struck Slaver.

    Decapitation!

    Experience earned!

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hold back a fierce grin when the surprised slaver¡¯s head went tumbling to the ground just inches away from his fellow¡¯s, before a panicked desert pony kicked it away. The air was now rich with the coppery taste of blood clawing at the back of Alex¡¯s throat.

    Despite the well-made and curiously uniform helmets that most, but not all the slavers wore, and signs of what looked to be a high-quality chain mail hauberks worn underneath the loose billowing robes that were no doubt excellent for wicking away heat and blocking excess sun, Alex needed no Find Weakeness skill check to sense just how vulnerable his oppoenent¡¯s necks were, protected by nothing but folds of cloth that his high degree of skill and cultivator¡¯s strength made it effortlessly to slice through even as he cleaved.

    Having forgone anything more than small round shields to use along with their stirrups, the raiders tended to be forced off balance when striking a shield made of near-indestructible Qi, at least for a mortal, with no give at all. And that moment of off-balanced confusion was all Alex needed for a single precise blow slipping either over or under their hauberks to finish the fight. Decapitation or disembowelment. Either way, Alex ended the fights the moment they over-extended and he was in position to strike.

    ¡°You killed them,¡± whispered a soft, breathless voice. ¡°You killed them all.¡±

    Qi Perception check successful! You sense the flow of the battlefield!

    A panting Alex found himself surprisingly close to wheezing moments later as the young woman¡¯s voice washed over him once more. He took careful stock of his surroundings, recalling once more that he had no access to Eternal Fox regeneration, at least for now. Which meant that his endurance and vigor was exactly what Rank 2 Bronze and 10 Ranks in his chosen martial art would bring him. Which, admittedly, was a hell of a lot.

    But after multiple furious melee engagements, he was definitely feeling it. Especially considering that his Qi reserves were already depleting, and he knew he dare not take on dozens of cutthroats, no matter their skill ranks or basic stats, if he had no form of protection whatsoever.

    Alex took in dusky features without flaw or blemish, as a strikingly beautiful olive-skinned girl who couldn¡¯t have been any older than him gazed solemnly into his eyes. She had a cultivator¡¯s presence and vitality, that was for sure.

    He forced his most reassuring smile, almost certain that his attempt was ruined by the sticky blood he could feel spattered across his face. ¡°Only for the moment, I¡¯m afraid. I don¡¯t suppose you know how to use a spear?¡±

    Her dusky features reddened with an unexpected flush. ¡°Only the jian, I¡¯m afraid. It is a lack I will take pains to correct, when next I...¡±

    ¡°No time!¡± Alex hissed, when another trio of bandits galloped around the wagon. ¡°Under the wagons to Qing Wu¡¯s, now!¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 6 - Victory or Death

    The nearest bandit¡¯s eye widened, clearly seeing better as dawn¡¯s first rays graced the battlefield. ¡°There she is! Kill the servants and get her!¡±

    Alex¡¯s heart began to pound as the trio raced toward him, doing the only thing that made sense. He charged right into their racing forms, taking full advantage of the wagons by his side as his shield of spiritual energy refused to budge before even a horseman¡¯s charge, sending two spears careening free of a pair of surprised bandits¡¯ hands, their cries of dismay soon replaced by screams when his flicking dao kissed their wrists, leaving bloody stumps behind.

    The third bandit didn¡¯t panic, smart enough to angle his spear for Alex¡¯s feet, actually managing to tear open his pants, though leaving only a flesh wound that burned like fire in its wake.

    Draconic Ancestry reduces all physical damage by 1 full tier! Medium Wound mitigated to Light Wound!

    Unfortunately for the bandit, the clever attempt at tactics resulted in his spear wedging into the ground, forcing him to surrender it with a curse. It was a spear Alex happily claimed for his own as he switched dao grips to his off hand, setting his spear to receive the bandit eagerly charging him from behind.

    If the man had been thinking, he would have realized that charging a skilled spearman with a dao was a losing proposition, even when doing it from horseback. As it was, the lesson only truly sunk in after three feet of steel had already plunged through the man¡¯s abdomen, multiple iron links of an unseen mail shirt bursting under the combined impact of a charging mount, Rank 2 Bronze Strength, and 10 ranks of a military martial art that most definitely included knowledge of how to best brace a spear to receive a charge.

    You have successfully impaled 1 Raider upon your spear!

    Experience earned!

    Alex wasted no time on the groaning soon-to-be corpse writhing in his own entrails, racing after the trio of women Qi Perception could effortlessly spot scurrying between the wagons that the raiders, lost in the heat of battle, paid absolutely no attention to. Of course it helped that the girls were protected by deepest shadow and dozens of distracting spears held by caravaneers fighting with all they had.

    Fighting for their lives.

    Alex flashed a fierce smile when he sensed them arriving at the correct wagon, his grin going all the wider when the reinforced back, sealed up tighter than any carriage, abruptly opened to reveal a middle-aged lady with chestnut hair and soft brown eyes radiating the power of someone a half-step away from Silver. Alex¡¯s gaze widened, catching only a glimpse of what looked like a miniature garden claiming most of the carriage the woman obviously shared with the ice wujen still launching bolts of ice from above.

    ¡°In here, Ya Ling. Now!¡± she snapped. The three girls immediately scurried inside, and whatever fantasies Alex had had of a gentle matronly instructor wilted under the harsh crack of a drill sergeant, now pinning him with her gaze. ¡°And you, initiate. Get back on the rooftop and ward my husband!¡±

    ¡°Yes, mam!¡± Alex found himself replying, making full use of his strength to leap to the lip of the giant wagon and scrabble to the top. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, Qing Wu, it¡¯s me!¡±

    Of course he was prudent enough to keep his Qi shield before him, for all that he was already down half his now limited Qi reserves. Fortunately, Qing Wu felt no need to pepper him with ice spears.

    Unfortunately, that was because the man was presently hunched over, gazing stupidly at the quarrel now lodged in his belly.

    Alex¡¯s grin was instantly replaced by alarm. ¡°Qing Wu!¡±

    Much to Alex¡¯s relief, the man had the strength to turn Alex way with a snort. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I underestimated our opponents just a bit.¡±

    Alex clenched his jaw, immediately positioning himself to protect the wujen from another flurry of crossbow bolts, though he was pleased to see that what had been volleys of ten had been reduced to four.

    He gazed in the distance with more than a bit of satisfaction to behold the broken bodies of half a dozen snipers. Some had been frozen into blocks of ice. Others impaled with countless slivers of frozen crystal death.

    ¡°Careful, boy!¡±

    Despite the words, Alex braced himself just as before, though angled this shield a good fifteen degrees¡­ just in case.

    And boy was he glad that he did, when a fresh volley of bolts hit with stunning force that came painfully close to bursting his stone shield before ricocheting away.

    He locked gazes with one of the crossbowmen glaring at him from well over a hundred yards away.

    Alex smiled and gave the man the finger, earning a furious snarl in turn.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it, boy. Goad those bastards even further.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°I can¡¯t even tell if you¡¯re being snarky or serious, but at least one of those assholes is a cultivator¡­ or at least has an enchanted crossbow.¡±

    This earned a wheezing chuckle. ¡°Foolish boy. They all are.¡±

    Alex felt a chill with those words. ¡°Shit.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. And all of them are protected by Ice ward talismans! Why do you think four of the bastards are still upright, despite all my efforts?¡± Qing Wu said a bit too gleefully. ¡°All ten of them have broken through to Bronze. Ten! To think that Ya Ling¡¯s bastard half-brother finds us worthy of such effort. We should be flattered!¡±

    Alex¡¯s anxiety grew as he peered at his distant foes, easily able to make out their pitless glares as they readied their crossbows once more. They were well out of his Qi Perception range, but Alex had a bad feeling nonetheless. ¡°That last bolt nearly blasted through my Earthern Shield. No mortal should be able to do that!¡±

    Qing Wu snorted. ¡°Spoken like a true cultivator.¡± Alex flinched when the man groaned, turning to him with concerned eyes. The man waved him off with a glare, for all that his abdomen was red with blood. ¡°Never mind me, focus! You had deduced it yourself. Their quarrels are blessed, or cursed, by element-canceling talismans. They don¡¯t need to be wujen to use magical treasures, after all. They need merely be cultivators of pretty much any rank. A single meridian cleared is all that¡¯s really needed, even if the burden cripples anyone that weak. It¡¯s much to my dismay that they have ice-canceling wards, and I shouldn¡¯t be surprised, because of course our enemies have studied both me and my wife and know how to counter us both.¡±

    His gaze grew painfully intent. ¡°But you, I¡¯m assuming, are a complete unknown.¡± He flashed a weak smile. ¡°And if your true intent was to kill me, now¡¯s the perfect time.¡±

    Alex would have rolled his eyes, but that was when he felt it. The release of four bolts hissing through the air, promising death. Alex knew it was madness, but trusted his instincts, having only a split-second to act.

    He embraced the most basic of all elemental wards he had learned as the most novice of body cultivators. An elemental shield he had learned so thoroughly and utterly that it¡¯s Silver tier variant had been, for him, just a single revelation away. Even if all advanced techniques were, for now, closed off to him, a final unbreachable barrier between a life so clearly remembered that was no longer his own¡­ it¡¯s roots, it¡¯s origin, he understood so thoroughly that he could still summon it in the blink of an eye.

    You have summoned Thorn Shield!

    Critical success! You still remember your connection to the ancient forest you have communed with over countless lifetimes¡­ and it remembers you!

    You have instantaneously cast Thorn Shield at 0 Spiritual Energy cost!

    Thorn Shield has successfully countered Bitterwood Volley!

    Qi Pool has been partially depleted. Qi reserves are down to 66% of baseline! (10)

    Alex grimaced as the words washed over him even as he toppled over under the weight of multiple cursed bolts that looked as much like massive thorns as quarrels, radiating dark corrosive energy, Alex instantly understanding.

    ¡°These are counters to Earth. Any shield of stone, clay, or earth would be pierced right through!¡± Alex¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°These aren¡¯t bandits at all. They¡¯re assassins sent to wipe you out!¡±

    Qing Wu snorted. ¡°It took you this long to figure that out? Of course they are!¡± The cultivator winced and groaned.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened with alarm, his biochemical mastery and acute senses making clear that the cultivator had been poisoned.

    ¡°Elder Wu!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, boy. Look at our enemies! They¡¯re trading Wood for Fire!¡± The wujen immediately began tapping on the roof. ¡°Wife! Open the damned...¡±

    The trap door immediately sprang open, revealing the exasperated countenance of the Wood aligned cultivator radiating a warm, motherly beauty despite the care lines upon her brow. ¡°What is it, you fool of a husband? I just got the girls to...¡± Her exasperated expression turned wide-eyed with horror. ¡°Wu, you¡¯ve been hurt!¡±

    ¡°I know that, woman!¡± He hissed. ¡°Get the Fire Wards up now! They¡¯re holding nothing back. Her brother¡¯s willing to risk all-out war!¡±

    His wife blanched, eyes filling with panicked tears she didn¡¯t bother hiding. To her credit, she didn¡¯t hesitate to act, her head darting back in, the early morning air ringing with her desperate chant.

    But it would be too late, Alex feared, getting a painfully good look at the distant weapons radiating Fire Qi so potent that his dragon-enhanced senses could spot it, even well over a hundred yards out. Alex¡¯s heart hammered in his chest, already knowing that the true contest wasn¡¯t with the remaining score of so of bandits that by some miracle the caravan guards were actually holding off, despite the din of the battlefield, the ululating cries of the raiders and the panicked roars and shouts of the spearmen doing a damned good job of holding them off from the tops of their fortified wagons.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The real battle was between Qing Wu and the band of cultivators clearly assigned to take him out and capture or kill the three females now being guarded by his wife.

    And if Alex¡¯s sense of the fiery magics now tied to the latest round of bolts¡­

    They were no longer worried about taking those women alive.

    You have successfully summoned: Water Shield.

    You are doing your best to infuse Water Shield with the endless waters of the ocean itself!

    Alex took a deep breath, taking what he somehow knew was a risk. Channeling not the force and fury of the ocean itself, but his memory of what that earlier version of him had felt like, channeling the power of an entire ocean in spinning heal kicks and devastating strikes that had once shattered Gold Giants.

    Just a taste of that memory, carried over how many years¡­ a gap of a lifetime, was all he hoped for. Somehow he knew it would be a very bad idea to tear free that ancient latticework of walled off abilities somehow keeping the past at bay, lest he pay a far steeper price than he could afford.

    But to learn from those ancient memories? To borrow their insights and infuse an entirely new version of himself with ancient wisdom, free of the taint of bitter lives doomed to the saddest of tales?

    That he could do.

    And the cost was one he was more than willing to pay.

    You have successfully fused ancient insights while avoiding its peril!

    You have infused metallic salts within Water Shield. Water shield circumference has doubled!

    Water Shield is now Rank 6!

    You may now modulate Water Shield diameter for increasing Qi expenditure. You may now infuse Water with the Salts of the Sea.

    Your Dantian has saved versus Unorthodox Shift as you skirt Perilous Arts!

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened as the true significance of that last message caught up with him¡­ just as the false dawn lit up with streaks of abyssal flame.

    Four Silver Tier Fire Talismans have been Countered by Enhanced Water Shield!

    Alex bit back a hiss as his Qi Pool dropped yet again, now hovering around eight points. As grateful as he was to sense powerful talisman enhanced bolts of death fizzling to nothing in his waters, it appeared that his Qi Pool was going down a half point per fire talisman countered.

    As worried as he was by the four distant assassins glaring his way, the voices from the chamber below brought a smile to his lips.

    ¡°Well, are the wards holding, woman?¡±

    ¡°Shut up, you old fool! You¡¯re lucky I actually have the antidote to this poison, and if you think our daughters will ever let you out of their sight after this fiasco, you¡¯re even dafter than I thought!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hardly fair, Reny,¡± Qing Wu muttered. ¡°You were as eager to go on this ¡®diplomatic mission¡¯ as I was!¡±

    Alex smirked, almost seeing the air quotes in his mind¡¯s eye before time seemed to slow as he braced himself once more, four additional bolts of fiery death streaking through the air, and this time his shield neutralized only three.

    Carriage Wagon has been struck by Flame Talisman!

    You have been struck by Fire Blast!

    Fire Blast partially countered by Opposing Element!

    Dragon Blood reduces Serious Burns to Light Burns!

    Alex squeezed his eyes tightly shut and bit back a curse, keeping his lips pressed in a thin line as the world exploded into flame. He could sense whatever wards were around the wagon crackling to life, and as tempting as it would be to jump off the now blazing wagon rooftop, he instead embraced the swirling disk of water in his hand, deliberately pressing it into the flames, almost surprised to find the fires near instantly snuffed out as the air filled with black sulfurious smoke that thankfully cleared in seconds with the constant desert breeze.

    He held back a grimace as his Qi Pool sunk even lower, instinctively understanding the cost to putting out the magical flame.

    He took small comfort when the excited whoops of the bandits below immediately cut off with the fire, turning to glare at the handful that had broken off from the other wagons, now pouring all their energy into taking this one, their true target, as the distant quartet of crossbowmen blew some sort of whistle.

    ¡°Qing Wu, they¡¯re swarming the wagon!¡± Alex roared, flipping the spear he had left on the wagon top to an overhand grip, thankfully suffering no more than a single blackened mark from the flame.

    He kept half his focus on the quartet of crossbowmen whose killing glares he could feel like a hate-filled curse on his back as the bandits began trying to ascend the wagon.

    His heart began to pound with a mix of exhilaration and terror, earlier fatigue forgotten as he darted forward and struck, slamming down with his spear point for the snarling faces of bandits glaring up at him with wild hate in their faces before being ripped open and spurting blood from his furious spear thrusts as Alex sent one after another crashing to the ground in sprays of blood and ugly spasming deaths.

    For the moment, Alex knew he had a crucial advantage. While the bandits were ascending, their hands were occupied and their upper bodies in perfect position to receive the full force of a descending thrust with all the power one could hope to muster. But the minute they ascended, they would swarm and could very likely take him down if his footwork wasn¡¯t perfect, or he didn¡¯t juts leap off the wagon¡­ leaving an herbalist, a poisoned cultivator, and three vulnerable girls at the mercy of men clearly sent to kill them.

    Leaving clearly wasn¡¯t an option, he thought, when one spear thrust to the face turned into two then three, and he finally woke up to the advantage of causing fear and hesitation in his enemies, his shield of water becoming one of flame.

    You have successfully summoned Fire Shield!

    Fire Shield has caused Serious Burns to two Ascending Bandits!

    You have kicked one flaming bandit off Wagon Roof.

    Experience earned!

    Alex flashed a quick grin at the men flinching back from the swirling disk of fire he could effortlessly pivot to sear any man getting too close as they ascended the wagon, setting hair and faces ablaze a heartbeat before silencing them forever more with a spear through their throat.

    But as six fallen men became seven, Qi Perception made it clear that his time had run out as a handful stumbled to their feet at the far end of the wagon

    It was at that moment that he heard Captain Dui Zhong¡¯s sharp whistle cut through the air in a short series of bursts, praying it meant what he thought it did when Alex spun around, flipped his spear to hold parallel to his body, and roared and charged in the time it took the farmost man to draw his dao.

    He crashed into the group without hesitation, knocking all three ascending bandits with his momentarily expanded shield, this time of rigid stone powered by 25 strength and sufficient martial mastery to send the trio flying off the wagon, covered in flame.

    He snarled as they all crashed to the ground. None of them were mortally injured, all of them were groaning from broken bones.

    Even if it had cost him the spear, and the sudden fire of a gash on his side made it clear that he hadn¡¯t gotten off scott-free either.

    ¡°There he is, kill him!¡±

    He spun around to see a pair of snarling bandits that had just ascended on the far side of the wagon, now glaring his way, both with their blades raised high.

    That was when his instincts flared and he crashed to the ground, earning a contemptuous sneer.. a heartbeat before the larger of the two bandits crashed to the wagon roof, groaning as a pair of crossbow bolts tore through his chest.

    The second bandit spun around, screaming at the cool-eyed marksmen. ¡°You idiots hold your fire! We¡¯ve got th--¡±

    You¡¯ve successfully struck bandit from behind!

    Find Weakness skill check made!

    Ridge-hand Strike shatters opponent¡¯s spine!

    Opponent has fallen from wagon rooftop.

    You¡¯ve successfully tossed all mortally wounded opponents from wagon rooftop.

    You have cleared the field of all enemies.

    Experience earned!

    ¡°They¡¯re backs are to us! Finish them off, men. Now! Now!¡±

    The captain¡¯s words were a delight to hear, Alex sparing a glance to see that the once overwhelming number of raiders had been winnowed to less than a dozen still upright, the survivors now the ones crying out in panicked desperation as they pivoted desperately around, but it was already too late. The furious cavern guards had charged them in a surprisingly well coordinated spear formation, multiple rows of caravanners, including women and adolescents, were holding their spears in professional grips, two rows of spearmen plunging into the poorly positioned bandits who had given up everything but the blades at their hips in their desperate attempt to overwhelm the wujen¡¯s wagon, now being absolutely pincussioned by twenty odd spears ramming repeatedly into their flesh.

    Perhaps not surprisingly, their screams for mercy and quarter, even promises of ransom, died on their lips.

    Alex glared at the quartet of distant crossbowmen, almost certain he knew what was coming next, and the bastards didn¡¯t surprise him a bit when the air blazed with yet another quartet of blazing quarrels, now aimed right for the score or so of vulnerable caravaneers that had positioned themselves perfectly to overwhelm and slaughter disadvantaged bandits, had also made themselves utterly vulnerable to bolts covered in talismans of exploding flame.

    You have successfully summoned Enhanced Water Shield! Water shield extended to maximum area.

    You have successfully countered 4 Fire Talismans!

    Alex took small comfort in the message as he stumbled to his knees and rolled, barely keeping his back from being pincushioned by panicked mortals as the captain screamed at them to halt.

    ¡°Stop it you idiots! He¡¯s shielding you!¡± Dui Zhong roared, Alex hardly paying attention to the apologetic winces he received from the pair of men who had almost speared him in the back as several others looked on in horror at the quartet of crossbow bolts that had by some miracle missed them before drilling into the side of the wagon, all of them soaking wet and jutting out black caustic smoke from water-logged talismans¡­ and no worse than that.

    ¡°That boy saved us!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s Qing Wu¡¯s hidden disciple. He must be!¡±

    ¡°How? He¡¯s a Ruidian.¡±

    ¡°Are you blind? Look at that massive disk of swirling water!¡±

    It was all Alex could do to lurch back to his feet, surprised by how dizzy he was. Yet he refused to lose focus on the true threat to them all, the four surviving crossbowmen fixing Alex so intently with their killing glares.

    Alex forced exhausted lips into a bloodthirsty grin.

    ¡°Bring it!¡± He roared, surprised despite himself by how well his words carried, as if the wind itself would do his bidding.

    It was a bluff, of course. But if he showed weakness now¡­ Alex shuddered to think what would happen if those four cold-eyed killers equipped with talisman-tied quarrels unlike anything he had faced before in the Golden Realms decided to press their attack. With Qing Wu poisoned, his wife occupied trying to save him, and Alex almost utterly tapped of spiritual energy¡­

    The quartet of cultivators glared at Alex with matching sneers, chins held high as they turned their mounts around and cantered off.

 Book 8 - Chapter 7 - The price of salvation.

    For long, breathless moments, the entire caravan stared at the backs of the retreating cultivators. Not a one dared even a whisper, let alone utter any talk of following or bringing the fight to those enchanted crossbow-wielding killers.

    Alex was just relieved they had survived the ordeal. He hadn''t expected Dui Zhong¡¯s powerful grip upon his shoulder.

    ¡°Well done.¡±

    A simple pair of words uttered by a near stranger.

    Alex was surprised by how good it felt to hear them.

    ¡°How is everyone?¡±

    The caravan captain smiled at the question. ¡°Far better than they might otherwise had been, had we not been given warning. Had a hidden master not taken pity on us and offered to hire on as an extra caravan guard.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m no ¡®hidden master¡¯¡±, Alex assured those twinkling eyes, realizing he was still painting for breath¡­ and in pain. He gazed down at his own injuries in odd disbelief. ¡°And those fuckers actually managed to cut me up, several times.¡±

    The captain nodded. ¡°They did. And don¡¯t think I missed the way you weaved and ducked around so many desperate jabs. The few times they pinked you, they barely scraped your skin!¡± He gave an approving chuckle. ¡°We are definitely sparring, you and I. I¡¯d like to better study the techniques employed by your Ruidian clans. Clearly we could learn a thing or two from them.¡±

    Alex smiled awkwardly, biting back words too easily said in the post battle jubilation that was taking over half the caravan of people whooping and celebrating after surviving what so easily could have been a slaughter. Alex nwasn¡¯t blind to the handful of curious looks being sent his way, and more than one nod of approval, even gratitude, when their eyes caught his own. But after sacrificing so much for a chance to live life outside the eternal frigid cold purgatory where he had already lost so many years tormented by bitter cold regrets and the malice of the gods¡­ he¡¯d be a fool to let poorly thought words befoul a clean break from his past.

    If Dui Zhong believed him a Ruidian with clan ties, it was as clean a start as any to his life¡¯s new tale. The best tales and lies, after all, were uttered by others on your behalf who truly believed the story they told.

    ¡°And don¡¯t think I missed the way you spun around at least twice to intercept raiders attempting to take you from behind. Had I not had my hands full protecting the other wagons, I would have been on Qing Wu and Reny¡¯s cart in a heartbeat! But my path isn¡¯t exactly suited for blocking cursed crossbow bolts forged by blood cultivators,¡± he said with a sigh, giving an angry shake of his head.

    Alex blinked at this. ¡°Blood cultivators?¡±

    The man solemnly nodded. ¡°The talismans used against us were powerful. I have no doubt the blood of innocents was used as the ink upon their velum-wrapped quarrels. But still, you¡¯re shield!¡± He gave an impressed nod. ¡°To find a young cultivator so far along the wujen¡¯s path already that he can forge multiple elemental wards.¡± He frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Or are you a body cultivator? Your strength is beyond most in the Body Cleansing stage. I would think you a second tier Bronze, like me, were you not clearly still shy of starting your third decade, with the strength and skill you demonstrated. But those were a wujen¡¯s arts, were they not?¡±

    Alex blinked at this, now curious as to exactly how old he looked. Did he appear twenty, eyes wise beyond his years after several years forging himself in the Golden Realm¡¯s bitter trials? Or did he appear a fresh-faced youth, barely 18, who had just awoken from the hold of a raider¡¯s ship, if perhaps a bit more muscular? Until he had access to a water basin, glass, or just a shiny piece of reflective metal, he had no idea how he looked now. And how much about his cultivation history did he dare give away?

    He settled for a shrug. ¡°My masters taught me many things, besides how to properly use a spear.¡±

    ¡°They certainly did!¡± Dui Zhong said with a chuckle. ¡°Though I thought Ruidians tended toward elemental masteries according to the gems on their brows?¡±

    Alex chuckled at that. ¡°It seems some things never change, no matter how much time has past.¡±

    Dui Zhong raised a polite brow.

    Alex cleared his throat. ¡°Not all Ruidians favor those jewels. Some have mixed parentage that affords them strength in other areas,¡± he said with a cough. Knowing he was just perpetuating so many assumptions people used to have about him. Best of all, it was a believable excuse, as Dui Zhong¡¯s nod seemed to indicate.

    ¡°More than a few caravaneers and the best traders tend to have some exotic parentage somewhere in their family lines. It¡¯s certainly useful to have family connections when trying to form trade relations with the more reclusive desert clans, after all.¡± The captain¡¯s supportive smile turned to a concerned grimace when the cries of the injured drowned out the last of the post-battle exuberance.

    ¡°And now I have to get the injured to Reny, and with all of us depleted¡­ it will be bandages alone.¡± The captain gave a frustrated shake of his head.

    Alex frowned. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what do you mean, depleted?¡±

    Dui Zhong looked momentarily discomfited. ¡°Treachery from before we even left Qianshi. Stew that really didn¡¯t agree with us, especially those of us pursuing The Way.¡± He gave a shake of his head. ¡°But never mind that. Come. Best you visit the healers and have her clean your cuts if nothing else. The last thing you need is an infection, since you¡¯re going to be pulling guard duty for the next three weeks.¡±

    Alex winced at that. ¡°No good deed goes unpunished, I see,¡± he said cheekily.

    The captain snorted. ¡°Get your wounds cleaned fast, then you can help me with the others.¡±

    Alex nodded and headed towards the wujen¡¯s wagon, the formerly warded door lowering itself like a ramp as he approached, revealing the worried-looking countenance of the young woman he had rescued before. Anxious kohl-lined eyes met his own. ¡°By the warm desert sands, you made it!¡±

    Alex grinned despite sensing the tense atmosphere within, catching sight of the herbalist tending to her husband. ¡°I did. And the four surviving cultivators playing at being bandits have already fled.¡±

    The girl¡¯s worried gaze hardened. ¡°Those traitors were the farthest thing from bandits.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°I had figured as much. But the dozens of wild-eyed men who had thrown their lives away trying to take this caravan were the farthest thing from clever schemers.¡±

    ¡°Cutouts and easily disposed tools,¡± she declared, her imperious clipped tone giving away her origins as much as the quality of her attire and flawless, blemish-free features.

    ¡°That was my guess as well,¡± he said, blinking in surprise but not resisting when she dragged him up the ramp and turned to present him to an anxious-looking Remy.

    ¡°Quit fighting me you old fool, and drink the tincture. It¡¯s all we can do for now,¡± the harried-looking middle-aged woman said, before frowning as she gazed Alex¡¯s way.

    Alex immediately flowed into a bow. ¡°This one greets the honored cultivator and apologizes for disturbing you. I can see you¡¯re busy. I can trouble you another time.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, boy,¡± Reny assured. ¡°After what those Qianshi bastards did, poisoning our stew and ambushing us¡­ I doubt my arrogant, too proud for his rank husband would even be with me now, were it not for you.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad,¡± Qing Wu insisted, having the strength to swat his wife¡¯s fussing hands away from his bandages before immediately collapsing back on the mattress that could fit an entire family, cleverly laid out in the center of the wagon his attempt at a smirk twisting to a rictus of pain.

    Alex winced at the fever sweat he saw on the Silver¡¯s brow, able to smell the man¡¯s sickness even from where he stood. Just one foul scent among scores of absolutely delightful, enticing aromas.

    His eyes immediately flicked to the selection of dried herbs and tinctures perfuming the air from the racks of carefully preserved cuttings and freely growing plants in addition to a compounding table Reny had managed to put together in the far half of the wagon serving as both living quarters and apothecary. Alex was surprised to find that he recognized as many as he did, and to a remarkable degree, thanks to Biochemical Mastery and 18 Perception.

    Multiple alchemically potent ingredients detected. Blackap Head: 150% Yidushian median market potency. Silvermeadow: 125% Median market potency. Sageroot: 50% Median market potency. Silverblade stalks: 162% Median market potency. Tincture of Laudanum: 233% Median market potency.

    His exquisitely sensitive nose and interface also highlighted dozens of tinctures, dried leaves, and cuttings which he didn¡¯t recognize at all, or his interface provided strange names for, but with no clue at all as to what their standard market potency might be. Of course, he was clueless about the great majority of her carefully tended potted plants, the lush green garden covering so much of the interior of the wagon radiating potent Wood and Water spiritual energies that were no doubt vital for any apothecary in this realm at this time¡­ ingredients and techniques which he had no experience with at all.

    Reny¡¯s gentle words of assurance died on her lips as Alex found himself staring perhaps a bit too intently at her collection of exotic plants. It was several seconds of processing the overwhelming flood of information utterly ignoring the clearly distressed cultivator worried for her husband before he finally realized how rude he was being from any Golden Realms standpoint.

    He immediately flowed into dogeza matched by the girl by his side.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be mad at him, aunty. I think he¡¯s still in a daze, after all he¡¯s been through.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Reny said, her frown more curious than angry. ¡°I saw the way your eyes lingered over my prizes. Tell me, boy, are you by any chance a healer?¡±

    Alex winced, sensing the desperation underneath the question. ¡°I do have a rudimentary background as an apothecary,¡± Alex admitted.

    Reny flashed a pleased smile. ¡°Excellent. I know we have injured, and I could certainly use an assistant for the rest of this trip.¡± Her gaze grew hopeful. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose by some miracle you were actually taught the Path of Healing in between whatever secret masters taught you how to summon multiple elemental shields and fight like a dervish?¡±

    Alex flashed an apologetic smile even as the girl beside him gazed at him with something close to awe.

    ¡°You can summon shields, fight, and make poultices? If only my true-brothers were half as well-versed as you,¡± the girl beside him whispered.

    Alex bowed his head once more before the healer. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, honored cultivator.¡±

    Reny sighed, but nodded.

    Qing Wu found the strength to snort. ¡°The very question was ridiculous. No one who fights like that at his age walks the Healer¡¯s Path. The fact someone found the time to teach him anything of a compounder¡¯s art shows a warrior¡¯s competence, best treating soldiers after battle. The boy¡¯s clearly a prince of some Ruidian desert clan, I have no doubt.¡±

    Reny pinched her wincing husband¡¯s cheek. ¡°Hush, you.¡± She favored Alex with a sympathetic smile. ¡°Now please step forward and let me have a look at you. We¡¯ll clean your cuts and then you can assist us in treating the others.¡±

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°I would be glad for your ministrations,¡± he said honestly.

    ¡°Good. Ya Ling, if you and the other girls will organize the injured and get the captain?¡±

    The girl beside Alex bowed her head. ¡°Of course, Aunty.¡± Giving his hand an unexpected parting squeeze, she quickly made her way out the wagon. Two girls wearing simple if spotless robes who had been assisting Reny and her husband with water flask and compress so well that they blended into the background as well as any master of Shadow Qi immediately flowed into dogeza and followed suit, both of them giving Alex frank stares, the shorter whispering ¡°thank you,¡± before slipping free behind Lady Wu.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t just stand there, boy. Let me have a look at you!¡± Remy, or Lady Wu, commanded.

    Alex held back a smile and calmly stepped forward, his bemusement at her rough, good-natured appraisal of him turning to momentary awkwardness at her brusque demand. ¡°Well, take off your changshan and your pants. How the hell do you have multiple cuts on your legs and your pants show no tear at all? Quite wincing like a baby, this poultice will ward against fever and puss!¡±

    Yet whatever chagrin he felt was quickly replaced by a worried frown for her husband.

    For all that the man was playing at having one up on Alex, smirking at the sight of him without his changshan tunic, Alex could tell the man was just fronting past his pain.

    ¡°Ha! That¡¯s the build of a body cultivating Ruidian? You¡¯re downright scrawny! Best give up that false path and embrace a wujen¡¯s art, boy. Who needs stronger shoulders when the elements can lift an entire palace at your command?¡±

    ¡°Hush, husband,¡± Reny said. ¡°They boy¡¯s physique is exceptional. Especially for one who hasn¡¯t...¡± she frowned. ¡°Or have you actually broken through to Bronze? You¡¯re certainly no clumsy giant, but your aura is strangely faint.¡±

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Alex flushed. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not sure what exactly I am, at this point,¡± he admitted. ¡°My master was a bit¡­ eccentric in his teachings. And now that I¡¯ve left home, I could definitely use some guidance.¡±

    Both husband and wife were gazing at him in wide-eyed disbelief. Alex flushed, suddenly afraid he had said far too much.

    ¡°What kind of insane master doesn¡¯t even explain the path his disciple is on? The boy radiates potential. For that to be wasted on a twisted path that goes nowhere is a crime!¡± Qing Wu huffed, before wincing in sudden pain.

    ¡°Hush, husband,¡± his wife hissed, eyes wide with anxiety that her exasperated tone couldn¡¯t quite hide.

    Alex felt an anxious twinge in his gut, too easily sensing the wujen¡¯s peril, despite the couple¡¯s attempts to make light of the man¡¯s condition. His Biochemical Mastery and exquisite sense of smell, not to mention Qi Perception made it clear that the man had been infected with multiple poisons, and seemed far more vulnerable than any Silver should be.

    Alex could see it in the creases of their eyes. There was no denying it.

    Qing Wu was running out of time.

    He felt like dice were rolling in his head. That any dream of blending in without a hitch into peaceful mundanity would always be thwarted by his own desperate need to butt in.

    Even now, saying more than he should. Hinting at so many things he should be keeping quiet. But the barely concealed pain in Qing Wu¡¯s features, the tremble Reny tried so hard to hide underneath her smile¡­ putting on an act for Alex¡¯s benefit as she girded herself to treat an entire caravan of injured. And once Qing Wu passed on¡­ the slow-moving caravan would be sitting ducks along what the captain himself implied was a three week journey. For all Alex knew, this bandit attack had just been the opening feint, their only goal to cripple the cultivators, and later go in for the kill.

    Or at least that¡¯s how he justified sticking his neck out like a proper fool once more, even if it just broke his heart, knowing that Reny would soon be a widow, wondering how many women over how many lifetimes were forced to sob over his grave as well.

    ¡°The captain had mentioned tainted stew?¡± Alex bit his lip as his tongue seemed to speak of his own accord. But when Reny¡¯s anxious eyes met his own, he didn¡¯t flinch or look away.

    She gave a tired nod. ¡°Yes. Before our journey, a number of us were guests of the royal family of Qianshi. It¡¯s now certain that someone poisoned a course we all shared. The symptoms only manifesting the next day.¡±

    Alex raised a polite brow. ¡°A full day¡¯s delay in activation, even an elite Silver Wujen and an alchemically specialized Bronze just a half-step from Silver herself missed it, and the only one fallen is Qing Wu?¡± Alex shook his head. It was like nothing he ever heard of. ¡°What¡¯s the nature of the poison? Does it merely enhance injuries already suffered?¡±

    Reny¡¯s glare could have frozen him solid. Alex winced and bowed his head. ¡°This one apologizes if he spoke out of turn.¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°No you¡¯re not. Speaking to your elders without an ounce of deference, with a Silver Tier wujen just feet before you. As if we were equals, or a prince before his associates. And if you think you¡¯re fooling anyone that you¡¯re just a simple traveler who was at the right place, at the right time, free of any exotic origin¡­ you¡¯re no better at it than my niece is.¡±

    Even Qing Wu chuckled at that, before wincing and biting his lip.

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hold Reny¡¯s too perceptive gaze, but wisely said nothing.

    Reny glared at Alex for several awkward seconds before lowering her own gaze with a sigh. ¡°Our food was tainted with a tincture made from Darkbane Venom,¡± she whispered at last. ¡°Or at least, that¡¯s what the symptoms suggest.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Darkbane Venom? I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s extremely rare, and few outside of royalty force-ascending mortals for his army would dare make use of it, lest they incite every sect to declare war against the offending party!¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°A poison that would insight cultivators in particular to a murderous frenzy, yet still valuable enough for a noble to make use of it, giving it to his mortal levies in times of war. So it must be something perilous for cultivators¡­ yet is also capable of forcefully awakening mortals with even a lick of potential?¡±

    Qing Wu nodded. ¡°I knew the boy wasn¡¯t a fool. Yes, that¡¯s exactly right. It will corrode pristine meridian channels, or corrode the waste blocking an unawakened mortal with clogged meridians like the crudest of cultivation pills. And even they pay a price in the long run, if the excess isn¡¯t purged. Regardless, that poison and planning in advance with the appropriate counters to my element is the only reason why those damned Bronzes got the best of me! They were absolutely covered in protective wards specialized to counter my element, and my channels had been so subtly weakened that I only noticed it after I unleashed icy oblivion that still froze over half those fools, no matter their pathetic excuses for talismans!¡±

    Qing Wu flashed a pleased smile that immediately turned to a grimace. ¡°The damned poison¡¯s so subtle, you don¡¯t even feel the strain to your cultivation base. Not until it¡¯s already been damaged! Even worse, it¡¯s almost impossible to replenish your spiritual energy reserves with even a trace of the poison within you!¡±

    Reny¡¯s eyes were red with unshed tears. ¡°Which means the moment I try healing the toxins on the bolts with my arts, my weakened foundation will crumble just like my husband¡¯s. It will take months or years to repair without the assistance of spiritual treasures, and I won¡¯t have the Qi for more than a single healing attempt!¡± She choked back a sob, and Alex could only imagine the pressure she was under. Having to swallow her panicked frustration, to focus herself on one desperate healing that must be perfect, all the while knowing that her cultivation foundation cracked even if she was successful. And it would be months to heal for both of them. Yet the despairing look she gave Alex made it clear a simple Bronze tier healing wouldn¡¯t be enough to save her husband.

    Alex gazed at the pair for long moments. ¡°Were all the crossbow bolts poisoned?¡± He asked at last.

    Reny sighed. ¡°The pair that hit my husband both were.¡±

    ¡°So the bolts still stuck to the wagon...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± She gave an angry shake of her head. ¡°Our opponents aren¡¯t fools. It¡¯s no fast acting poison easily cured with one of my ready-made remedies. The poisons are targeting his pancreas, spleen, and liver.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°So if we can¡¯t find a cure within the next couple of hours, without the assistance of a Silver Tier healer...¡±

    ¡°Precisely,¡± a tired-looking Qing Wu said with a sigh, his wife sobbing and looking away, and somehow it was Qing Wu gathering his trembling wife in his arms.

    ¡°We should never have agreed to this mad bit of intrigue. We knew better, husband!¡±

    ¡°We had no choice, and you know why,¡± he softly said in turn, before turning his tired gaze to Alex. ¡°I trust that what you see or hear here...¡±

    Alex forced a smile. ¡°What was that? I didn¡¯t hear a thing. If you¡¯ll pardon me, however, I have a crossbow quarrel or five to hunt down.¡±

    Qing Wu chuckled softly, patting the back of his sobbing wife. Clearly neither cared that much for propriety at that moment.

    ¡°And I¡¯ll pass out the healing compresses and sterilizing cloths to Ya Ling and her assistants.¡±

    Qing Wu¡¯s eyebrow widened slightly but he didn¡¯t seem that surprised when Alex immediately knew what to grab before heading out the wagon.

    Infused Healing Compress: Uses the latent healing Qi within a select group of steeped mushrooms, flowers, and lichens to speed up healing. Healing Compress has been further infused with spiritual energy to allow for a 20-fold increase over standard healing rate. Has natural antiseptic & wound-cleansing properties.

    ¡°Boy¡¯s clearly an experienced apothecary,¡± Alex heard the approval in Reny¡¯s voice as he left the wagon and raced for the captain and Ya Ling, the pair already attending to the injured men as best they could.¡±

    ¡°Ya Ling, Reny, I mean Lady Wu, would like you and your companions to apply these compresses after cleaning any wounds with these treated cloths. Are you comfortable doing such?¡±

    The captain frowned. ¡°People were seriously injured, and Reny has responsibilities for the entire caravan. Several of the injuries are severe.¡± but Ya Ling quickly nodded. ¡°Of course, Alex. We¡¯re happy to help.¡± She gave him a curious look. ¡°Will you be joining us?¡±

    Alex shook his head. ¡°She put me to work doing something else.¡±

    He ignored their curious looks as he immediately headed back to the wujen¡¯s wagon, a cursory check finding it absolutely pincushioned with bolts that had lodged into the wood, finding it quite remarkable that not one was able to penetrate completely through the warded wood.

    Within several minutes he collected every bolt he could find.

    He gazed down at the deliverers of death now in his hands as he sat cross-legged on the rooftop, taking a careful sip from the flask that one of the caravanners had handed him just minutes ago with the oddest look in his eyes when he gazed Alex¡¯s way.

    Alex grimaced, not sure what to make of it, but had found the water fresh, clean, and utterly untainted.

    He was surprised by just how thirsty he had been.

    He frowned down a the collection of venom-covered bolts. If his pounding heart and the stings on his arms and legs were any indication, this constituted a VERY BAD idea.

    He was about to experiment with poison, hoping that an old gift was fully intact, with no Eternal Fox to regenerate him, at least for the moment.

    ¡°Am I really going to do this?¡± he muttered to himself, before answering his own question by gently touching the tip of one bolt with a flick of his tongue.

    You have deliberately exposed yourself to Deathwort, Crimson Parsnip, Yellowbane Extract, and White Willow Venom.

    You currently have 100% immunity to Deathwort.

    You currently have 100% immunity to Crimson Parsnip.

    You have taken 10 points of damage and are suffering a -6 to balance and perception from Yellowbane Extract!

    You have taken 15 points of damage from White Willow Venom done directly to Internal Organs!

    Internal Organs have saved versus Cirrhosis!

    You have achieved 20% Immunity to Yellowbane Extract.

    You have achieved 20% Immunity to White Willow Venom.

    You are currently under the effects of Extreme Nausea & Cramping.

    Alex groaned and nearly toppled over, surprised by how rapidly the poisons were hitting him.

    He soon found himself panting, just trying to keep his guts from heaving all over Reny¡¯s nice wagon top, knowing he was in no shape to safely tumble over.

    After a hellish handful of minutes just keeping his gorge down, feeling like his organs were burning from within, he finally got the message he had been praying for.

    You have achieved 40% Immunity to Yellowbane Extract.

    You have achieved 50% Immunity to White Willow Venom.

    You have taken an additional 8 points of damage from combined toxins. Internal Organs have saved against direct impairment. Balance and Perception penalties have been reduced to -4.

    Alex forced a smile as he spat out bile as the pain and dizziness began to subside. At least it was working!

    How the hell Qing Wu had managed to hold his shit together as long as he had, with no skill like his, was a definite mystery. Clearly Alex wasn¡¯t the only one with pain tolerance and a Willpower off the charts.

    But to be hit that strongly from the tiniest taste¡­ there was no way any poison should have been hitting him like this...

    His eyes widened, finally spotting what he should have seen right off.

    The bolts, all twelve of them, were now completely free of poison, and he could sense the faintest traces of spiritual energy wafting away in the warm desert breeze.

    It instantly clicked what was happening. The bolts had been enchanted by what what was effectively the tiniest amount of spiritual energy. Less than needed to propel a sip of water a single foot.

    More than enough to propel the full quarrel¡¯s worth of poison into living flesh, the moment it made contact.

    And Alex had gathered all twelve.

    Qi Percpetion check successful! You detect traces of spiritual energy aligned with Water & Unfamiliar Element upon multiple bolts!

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, realizing why he had missed it before. According to his Interface, in addition to making use of talismans and poisons with their quarrels, they had also used arts he had never seen before, which made absolutely no sense! There were only 12, and only five recognized by all cultivation schools. Water, Wood, Fire, Fire, and Metal. For those enlightened enough to recognized 8 elements, there was Lightning and Air between Water and Earth, and Spirit between Earth and Fire, representing the soul between the fires of life and the clay of creation, according to at least a few of the tales he had read. Additionally there was Time, Fate, Shadow, and Dark Qi often labeled as waste but could as easily be called entropy or a catalyst for change. At its most pristine state, properly manipulated Dark Qi , along with Light Qi as a whole, could be channeled into reversing destructive cycles, even rejuvenating the cells of an entire living organism. For what was Anti-Aging but entropy in reverse? He understood it better than any of the other exotic ¡®dark¡¯ elements because it was his own.

    Or at least it had been, for countless ages. Only now it, along with so many other skills and abilities of his past, had been closed off to him for reasons he could guess all too well.

    He could push, he knew that. Even as he grimaced and closed his eyes, counting down the seconds as the cramps slowly ease and his interface continued to ding with messages, he sensed that if he wanted it desperately enough, if he pushed hard enough¡­ he could reclaim everything he had ever lost.

    At unimaginable cost.

    The very thought made him shiver with dread the equal of the pain he was feeling.

    Like a young child leaving the warmth, light, and laughter of the bright house behind him to go outside into the bitter winter snows, with hot eyed predators glaring at him every step of the way.

    No. He didn¡¯t need to face the hellstorm waiting for him out there quite yet.

    And if he was truly smart and respected the strange barrier between himself and countless skills and memories that should have been washed away by Grandmother Yi Wang a lifetime ago¡­ he would never have to deal with those psychopathic monsters ever again.

    He lurched away from memories of bitter laughter, howling despair, and a god¡¯s dying scream, pushing it all aside as he closed his eyes, took slow steady breaths of fresh desert air with just a hint of spilled blood greedily drunk by the parched sands, and did his best to lose himself in meditation. To feel the newly risen sun gently warm his skin as traces of the spiritual energy all around became his own.

    You have achieved 100% Immunity to Yellowbane Extract! This poison has been mastered.

    You have achieved 100% Immunity to White Willow Venom! This poison has been mastered.

    You may synthesize antidotes or doses of any poison mastered at will.

    You have successfully correlated the differences between multiple toxin spectrums incorporating unfamiliar spiritual energy markers and biomes

    Congratulations! Biochemical Mastery is now Rank 7!

    Alex flashed a fierce smile for all that he knew he had played the fool, taking such perilous risks, multiple times, only hours after waking up in a brave new world, or era, or whatever it was. Certainly it was a desert, he thought, with only sparse foliage, save for the richly cultivated grounds by the city growing ever more distant as the caravan got a move on once more, clearly wanting to put as much distance between themselves and the sight of the original ambush as they could.

    ¡°But that¡¯s twice my skills were thrown off a bit, by what seems to be an entirely new element.¡± Alex shrugged with a rueful chuckle, his cramps, dizziness, and nausea of just minutes before already a distant memory. ¡°At least it earned me a skill rank, and might just help save a life or two.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 8 - A Healers Path

    ¡°After scurrying away without allowing me to see a single step of your methodology, or even the ingredients you used, you present me with a flask that smells of rot and spit. Do you really expect me to give my husband that?¡±

    Reny, despite her plump figure and motherly air, was giving Alex a look that froze him where he stood, flask of spit, water, and a drop of lemon grass and peppermint extract for flavor, now held awkwardly in his hand. Alex, with his newly reinvigorated Biochemical Mastery giving him senses more exquisitely acute than they had ever been before, couldn¡¯t quite keep his nose from wrinkling at the stench of sickness and decay.

    He was awed and horrified to find that he could now trace scents as well as any bloodhound, and his bloodhound¡¯s nose could already sense how badly ulcerated Qing Wu¡¯s liver was.

    ¡°Please, Lady Wu, we are running out of time! You and I both know that his liver will fail him utterly inside the hour if we don¡¯t neutralize the poisons now!¡±

    The cultivator froze where she stood, eyes widening in horrified dismay. And for a second Alex truly felt the peril of her killing aura, exquisitely sensing how countless poison thorns could spring from a dozen snaking vines behind him that would be the death of any unprepared assailant, even a Silver.

    And like clouds freeing the sun, the deadly aura of peril faded, her gaze dumbstruck. ¡°The plants refuse even to caress your neck with a promise of retribution. Why?¡±

    Alex winced, really not wanting to answer that question. ¡°Does it matter? All that matters is that I made this in good faith, for the sake of your husband. My brother in battle who fought by my side.¡± He clenched his jaw, imploring gaze turning cold. He forced himself forward, seeing the woman trembling with fear and uncertainty as he shattered the veneer of unapproachable deadly cultivator, before solemnly placing the vial in her hand.

    ¡°With that other poison having hindered the spiritual energy reserves of every cultivator in this caravan, you and I both know you that have no other way to save him. So take this. I¡¯d say you have about 30 minutes to give it to him before his liver¡¯s too far gone for it to matter. If you refuse? I¡¯m going to the very city you¡¯re all fleeing from, and I¡¯ll start this life over there. Because I fucking refuse to be a part of yet another bitter tragic tale!¡±

    He turn around before a spluttering Reny could say a word, effortlessly leaping for the roof hatch, a helpful vine even boosting his foot. He couldn¡¯t help smirking at the plant. ¡°Careful. We both know Forest Flight was hidden for a reason,¡± he said in English. And how odd it was for a plant to actually look guilty, Alex thought, as he limberly pulled himself up through the hatch before closing it and closing his eyes in meditation¡­ and not to castigate himself for how stupid he was, saying certain shit out loud he should really be keeping to himself for, like¡­ ever.

    He had done what he could. It was Reny¡¯s choice what happened now, he decided, gazing over at the other wagons now plodding along the road with spirit beasts that looked like oversized camels that definitely moved slower than their spirit draft horse equivalents¡­ but also looked like they could happily plod through endless deserts without a care in the world.

    He blinked, frowning as he gazed at the spirit camels thoughtfully, his Qi Perception making it clear once more that he was seeing something extremely weird. Something utterly outside his paradigm, and he really wasn¡¯t sure what to do with it.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost like they¡¯re part of the desert itself,¡± he muttered, shaking his head.

    ¡°Of course they are,¡± said a cheerful voice behind him.

    Alex spun around, more alarmed than he cared to admit at how easily his second chance at life free of endless frozen torment could have been ended right then and there¡­ but it was only Ya Ling and one of her companions wrapped in desert silks that did nothing to hide that they were women in the absolute peak of health. As ripe as any desert rose. And the smile Ya Ling gave him even as her companion smirked at his gaze... He felt his cheeks flush as he looked away, shamed by his own thoughts. Not of being a man flush with youth¡¯s passions¡­ but to forget for even a second the fierce adoration he had for the most graceful of dancers that had carried him through unimaginable hardships, in the life most recently lived.

    For all that it might have been centuries ago.

    Though he was surprised not to feel his Dantian give even the slightest warning tug.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised I didn¡¯t sense you coming.¡±

    She snorted. ¡°With how busy you were staring at the wagons behind us, That¡¯s to be expected. Besides, Kileetra¡¯s light on her feet.¡±

    The girl to her right curtseyed. ¡°So you¡¯re the one we have to thank for actually surviving those bandits.¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d like to think I at least my part. And kudos on your graceful steps. With how acute my senses now are¡­ I was overconfident and overly trusting of my environment. That¡¯s a mistake that can get a young cultivator killed, in a world as hostile and dangerous as this one. Thank you both for reminding me.¡±

    Kileetra dipped her head before effortlessly cartwheeling off the wagon top, leaving Ya Ling and Alex to their own devices.

    ¡°Show off,¡± Ya Ling snorted. ¡°And to think, I¡¯m the Bronze.¡± She turned back to Alex, giving him an oddly pitying smile, shaking her head. ¡°If you truly think you have to fear anyone in this caravan, after helping to save all our lives¡­ then you¡¯re either a saint to give such charity to a potential threat, or a fool. Either way, I pity your former masters how hard they must have worked to make you such an incredible fighter.¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°Backhand compliment much?¡±

    She flashed a cheeky smile, showing off pearly white teeth. ¡°The desert sands can sting when she is roused to anger, or soothe your cares with paradise, should she reveal the secret oasis of her heart.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Well I¡¯m all for keeping the desert as calm and happy as possible. It will certainly make for a safer trip.¡±

    Ya Ling nodded, sinking into a cross-legged position beside him, gazing at him thoughtfully as she steepled her hands under her chin, the warm breeze blowing tendrils of dark silky hair from her fluttering silk robe. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a blond-haired man before. With eyes as blue as the cloudless skies above our heads.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯d be a lot more worried about sunburns and cancer concerns if I were back home. But here? I¡¯m just living it up. Besides, with the blood running through my veins, the Fire Qi released by the big friendly heavenly ball just warms my skin and gives me a way to get back some of the Spiritual Energy I expended during the fight.¡±

    Alex gazed down with more than a bit of wonder at skin that was no in any danger of getting burned. Instead it greedily suck the sun¡¯s warmth and processed it as a slow, steady trickle of spiritual energy.

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Truly? You don¡¯t feel the sun searing your skin at all? But I thought even Ruidians with complexion like my own...¡±

    ¡°Dusky and beautiful?¡±

    She smirked. ¡°Well, considering how often our tribes intermarry, yes. But even my second cousins still feel the sting of the sun far more than I.¡±

    Alex smiled, now truly interested. ¡°So your people don¡¯t discriminate against those of Ruidian ancestry?¡±

    Ya Ling blinked, a puzzled frown caressing her features. ¡°Of course not. Why would we? Their exquisite sense of smell makes them fantastic cooks, and a few of them even have the potential to become Jewel Masters, even if they have to make a pilgrimage to the deep desert tribes to do it.¡±

    Alex tilted his head. ¡°Are there Ruidian academy equivalents out there, hidden in the deep desert then?¡±

    Ya Ling chuckled softly, eyes twinkling with secret mirth. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know that at least as well as I, hero. So, what tribe do you come from, with blood so pure that you look exactly like your ancestors? Yet you seem the farthest thing from a poor scrawny inbred waif.¡±

    He flashed a cheeky smile. ¡°It¡¯s the dragon in me. Does wonders for the bloodline.¡±

    Her eyes widened. ¡°Seriously?¡±

    Alex laughed, lying on the gently rocking caravan roof, hands underneath his head as he gazed happily at the deep blue sky, sun close enough to morning¡¯s rise that there were still streaks of crimson fire in the skies overhead. ¡°Who can say? So, how are you doing this fine morning, Ya Ling, after all of us were fighting for our lives just an hour ago?¡±

    He winced, sensing her shiver. ¡°Honestly, I was trying to forget.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah. Sorry. I¡¯m clearly failing in my duties as a pleasant distraction.¡±

    He blinked, surprised to feel soft fingers caressing his locks. ¡°It even feels different than my hair. It¡¯s finer. Like corn silk¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°You grow a lot of corn, do you?¡±

    ¡°Some, but only if the soil¡¯s right for it, and we need a Wood Qi specialist to tend to those and other exotic crops.¡±

    ¡°Like spiritual herbs?¡±

    ¡°Precisely.¡±

    His gaze turned gentle, sensing the tremble in her touch, the anxiety beneath her smile. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay.¡±

    She sighed, lifting her hand from his hair, wrapping her arms about her. ¡°We¡¯re doomed, Alex.¡±

    He blinked. ¡°I thought we did pretty damn well. From the looks of it, we got away with mild injuries, and everyone has the advantage of Reny¡¯s Qi-infused healing compresses.¡±

    ¡°Except for the three who lost their lives,¡± she said softly.

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    ¡°And four of those scheming bastards got away. After measuring our strength. Now having no doubt that our Silver tier guardian was so crippled by their damn poison that he had to retreat, leaving everything in your hands.¡±

    ¡°They fled.¡±

    Her eyes burned with sudden heat. ¡°No they didn¡¯t. It was a temporary tactical withdrawal. Whoever the mastermind is behind the bandits, they¡¯re now certain that every cultivator in the caravan is so damaged that their defenses were reduced to a handful of desperate spearmen and a single disciple, who they no doubt suspect is utterly out of spiritual energy now as well.¡± She chuckled bitterly. ¡°No need to find secret masters in hiding to protect precious cargo when you can just have your spies in the city poison them all in one fell swoop.¡±

    Alex frowned. ¡°So, you think they¡¯ll be back.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s gaze grew haunted, her earlier demeanor of bravado wilting to reveal a very frightened girl. ¡°I should never have left home.¡±

    ¡°That depends on how good, or bad, life was at home,¡± Alex said.

    She glared his way. ¡°If my stepbrother had his way, I¡¯d be his cousin¡¯s third wife. Little more than a broodmare. A break between concubines.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, then I think it¡¯s a damn good thing you left home. Good on you.¡±

    She snorted. ¡°Assuming we survive the raiders planning to take us all out.¡±

    ¡°Yup. Assuming that.¡±

    Alex spent long moments gazing out at dry scrub-land, noting how they soon turned to the endless sand dunes of the true deep desert, and the far off ridge of a massive plateau in the distance. ¡°I take it there¡¯s no chance of us heading back to the city we left¡­ Qianshi, right?¡±

    She snorted. ¡°Sure there is. And the entire caravan would be bankrupted at best, finding themselves strangled by massive debt with leins levied against all their family businesses and homes.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Well that sounds extremely harsh.¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°The merchants make up the council. They¡¯re second only to the sovereign prince in power, and trade is everything. Every successful caravan delivery between desert cities will earn almost everyone involved a small fortune. But failure or retreat isn¡¯t an option.¡±

    ¡°And yet, somehow those raiders, the bane of any trade city, were able to strike at us within distance of the city with impunity, and we can¡¯t even go back to give them warning, or request more men, or, I don¡¯t know¡­ get the city to send soldiers to accompany our caravan run.¡±

    Ya Ling flashed a sad smile, but didn¡¯t contradict him.

    ¡°Because fucking politics. Am I right?¡±

    The way Ya Ling blanched made it clear that he was. He didn¡¯t push, however. Instead he glared off at the distant horizon, already knowing what he would have to do.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    He smiled back at the beautiful young woman, gazing at him with such vulnerability in her eyes. ¡°They think they¡¯ve already won. But those bastards don¡¯t realize it¡¯s just opening moves. And if those assholes aren¡¯t careful, they¡¯ll be the ones in checkmate.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s features clouded with confusion. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand?¡±

    Alex clenched his jaw, forcing himself to say it. ¡°I know none of you are fools. And Captain Dui Zhong¡¯s not the type to forget a grudge or let political convenience get in his way.¡±

    She furrowed a delicate brow. ¡°Your point being...¡±

    He sighed. ¡°Could you please tell Captain Dui Zhong that if he saved any of that stew, or if any of you saved any traces of that stew we¡¯re now certain was poisoned to disrupt your spiritual energy reserves...¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Please give it to me.¡±

    Ya Ling gazed at Alex for long, thoughtful moments, before summoning her friend with a single ring of a tiny Silver bell.

    In the blink of an eye, the diminutive handmaiden radiating a trained killer¡¯s aura curtseyed before her master, before her eyes widened in bemused disbelief, her cool gaze flicking over Alex once more, before giving a tiny snort.

    ¡°Surely you¡¯re not serious!¡±

    Ya Ling gave her assistant? Friend? A reassuring squeeze of her hand, waiting for her girl to sigh, bow her head, and cartwheel off the wagon rooftop once more. Only then did she turn to gaze at Alex for long, increasingly awkward moments. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°So I can devise a cure.¡±

    She smirked. ¡°Now you¡¯re going to tell me that in addition to being a master spearman who can use multiple elemental shields¡­ you¡¯re not just an apothecary but an actual alchemist?¡±

    Alex solemnly shook his head. ¡°Nope, just a novice compounder. Still, I do have something of a knack for making antidotes. I guess you could say it was my specialty.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°By the desert winds, are you serious?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°I think you¡¯d find that the rigors of my carefully calibrated techniques will absolutely astound you.¡±

    ¡°Alex, that¡¯s incredible! Come, let¡¯s go in the wagon right now! Reny¡­ I mean Lady Wu will be thrilled to find out that¡­ Alex?¡±

    Alex solemnly shook his head. ¡°Reny¡¯s not speaking to me right now.¡±

    Ya Ling furrowed her brow. ¡°Why on earth not?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s because she didn¡¯t like the smell of the antidote I gave her for her husband.¡±

    Ya Ling eyes widened. ¡°How badly was Qing Wu hurt?¡±

    Alex sighed. ¡°If Reny doesn¡¯t give him the antidote, I¡¯d say he has another 15 minutes before we¡¯d best start digging his grave.¡±

    The girl before him paled. ¡°Wait, Alex, if you found the cure, why wouldn¡¯t she¡­ Alex?¡±

    He pointedly gazed down at the bowl of stew that had seemed to magically appeared in her hands as her assistant handed her a jeweled ring radiating potent spiritual energy, smirked at Alex, and made herself scarce once more.

    ¡°Storage ring?¡±

    Ya Ling dipped her head. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m happy allowing my handmaiden Kileetra to use it as much as she likes, since I trust her with my life.¡±

    ¡°Damn handy, aren¡¯t those things? I think time slows to allow for more space, which actually works fantastically for preserving things. May I?¡±

    Before she could protest, he plucked the stew from her hands.

    She sighed. ¡°Alex, there is no point to holding it now, no matter how good your Ruidian nose is. Let me speak to Remy, have her see reason. If we can find a cure to this and heal her and myself in time, she¡¯ll be able to treat him with her own healer¡¯s gifts! So let me just put it back in storage for now, and¡­ Alex!¡±

    Her gaze turned to one of horror when Alex casually claimed a spoonful of soup.

    Her dusky skin paled with dismay. ¡°Oh you foolish boy. You just doomed us all!¡±

    She said other things then, screaming for Reny, but then paid no more attention at all, closing his eyes and pouring every ounce of his focus into the toughest battle he¡¯d fought since he had woken up.

    You have been exposed to Dragonbane Root!

    This Extreme Toxin has caused 1 Light Wound to your Peripheral Meridians!

    Concentration check made.

    Biochemical Mastery skillcheck made!

    You are now investing all your focus into analyzing this poison!

    Dragonbane Root has caused 1 additional Light Wound to your Peripheral Meridians.

    Dragonbane Root FAILS to damage enhanced Divine Tier Meridian Channels.

    You have achieved 30% immunity to Dragonbane Root.

    You have saved versus Peripheral Impairment.

    You have achieved 60% Immunity to Dragonbane Root.

    Peripheral Meridians have stabilized.

    Congratulations! You have achieved 100% Immunity to Dragonbane Root!

    This poison has been Mastered.

    You may now synthesize this toxin or create antidotes at will.

    Alex took a deep shuddering breath, opening his eyes. Wincing at the pain he felt on his left flank. Knowing that at least some of his peripheral meridians had been scalded. He recalled all too well his very first lessons as a cultivator actually cultivating, learning a meridian restoration technique that had eventually morphed into his greatest art. An art now closed off to him, ironically enough.

    But still. The lessons themselves he recalled well enough. Just because he was forbidden from embracing his own art¡­ didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t reforge it anew, and he even had a roadmap by which to do so.

    ¡°Alex!¡± He was surprised by the degree of alarm he saw in Ya Ling¡¯s gaze. This was a girl he had known for just a handful of hours. But he knew from firsthand experience that one could form bonds stronger than steel when forging friendships in the crucible of battle. Where an hour fighting by another man¡¯s side, especially a man who had saved your life, was worth more than a decade of casual acquainces free of any real connection at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± he assured, with an attempt at a smile.

    ¡°Then why are you wincing?¡± Her eyes widened with sudden pity. ¡°Alex, I can see a red rash forming all over your left side...¡± Her gaze filled with horror. ¡°Oh no. Your Ruidian heritage. That you could cultivate at all was a miracle. But you¡¯re so fragile¡­ sand¡¯s mercy, it¡¯s hit you harder than any of us!¡±

    Alex chuckled. He couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°Let¡¯s just say it¡¯s motivating me to find a restoration technique as fast as possible. But the important thing is, it will never hurt me again.¡±

    Ya Ling furrowed her brow. ¡°Alex, your cultivation base is now fragile as glass!¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have a favorite drinking flask in your storage ring, would you?¡±

    She blinked. ¡°Of course I do.¡±

    ¡°Good. Fill it with the drink of your choice.¡±

    She gazed at him for long slow moments, pulling free a pair of lacquered bone china cups and a kettle with boiling hot tea. She slowly poured them both a drink and solemnly handed Alex one of them.

    Alex took his, bowed his head, and spat in his cup.

    He ignored the odd look of surprise, disgust, and confusion warring across her features. Though it turned to anger when he solemnly passed her the cup. ¡°I don¡¯t even need to say it, do I? You know what you have to do.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s disgusting!¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°Absolutely. It will also save your foundation. Or at the very least, neutralize whatever poison¡¯s still in your system.¡±

    The look she gave him was priceless. Alex solemnly held her gaze.

    ¡°What happens if I don¡¯t drink it?¡±

    Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Having dared it myself, I¡¯m now intimately familiar with how it works. Right now your peripherals are shot, and the poison¡¯s burning through your meridian channels. Ironically, if you were a clueless mortal who had never broken through, that would actually save you, the poison blazing through the blockages and ironically awakening your cultivation potential¡­ though even that would be crippled in the long run, if you didn¡¯t get a cure to neutralize whatever poison was left over from blazing through blockages. Of course if a ruler¡¯s desperate for a thousand extra troops as strong and tough as mortals are capable of being, he¡¯d probably use it without a moment¡¯s hesitation. This poison has mystical elements, toughest one I ever processed, and it won¡¯t stop eating away at you until your foundation¡¯s utterly ruined or a Silver Tier or better healer can remove it. In other words, it will cleanse your meridians of waste right before destroying them, raising mortals to their maximum basic cultivation potential, and destroying any Bronze or Silver¡¯s foundation such that they too were no better than a basic cultivator.¡±

    The girl looked stricken. ¡°So this isn¡¯t just a temporary impairment. It¡¯s actually eating away at my foundation! So for the next three weeks, without a healer...¡±

    Alex solemnly nodded. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    The girl trembled, eyes welling with unshed tears. ¡°You don¡¯t have a doubt in your mind that what you¡¯re telling me is true. You actually know how this foul shit works just as well as the poisoner himself! I can tell just by the way you¡¯re looking for me. Are handling poisons tied to your cultivation path?¡±

    Alex frowned thoughtfully. ¡°You know, I never thought of it that way before, but¡­ sure. Not making them, mind you¡­ more like treating them.¡± His gaze turned imploring. ¡°Please, this is important. With all the witch hunts against Ruidians for one reason or another over the centuries, the last thing I need is for people to start blaming every exotic poisoning death on my shoulders. Not only will this make life hell for me, wherever I go, it will also encourage ruthless bastards to pull all the stops and slaughter all their enemies with toxic brews, knowing that I¡¯ll be the one taking the fall while they¡¯re poisoning all their political rivals.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. She cursed softly under her breath, before solemnly bowing her head. ¡°You¡¯re right, Alex. That¡¯s a very good point. You don¡¯t make poisons. Just cures. I promise not to tell a soul the secrets you¡¯ve entrusted me with.¡± She visibly swallowed, looking at the tea cup still in her trembling hand. ¡°Even if your cure isn¡¯t nearly as graceful as, well¡­¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°Sure, a bit of spit is a lot more icky than an exotic tincture of a dozen different spirit herbs we have no access to, but it¡¯s cheap as hell and hey, it¡¯s not that different than sharing a kiss with your future betrothed, when you think about it.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s dusky cheeks took on a visible blush when she slowly sipped her tea, holding his gaze the whole time.

    Alex was frozen by the frankness in her gaze. He had the sneaking suspicion that she was no more innocent of life¡¯s sweetest pleasures than he had been, once upon a time. And the way her lips quirked up in a knowing smile the longer he stared¡­ he solemnly bowed his head. Showing both respect, and breaking their odd connection. ¡°My apologies. I¡¯ve monopolized your time, and you and your associates are busy with the injured, right? No doubt they¡¯re expecting you back any minute.¡±

    Ya Ling sighed, finishing her tea. ¡°Alex, I...¡± Her eyes widened, a soft smile transforming to a look of wonder. ¡°I feel it. I no longer feel like I¡¯m suffering awful cramps in my soul¡­ I feel like a weight¡¯s just been lifted! How¡­ how is this working so quickly?¡± She chuckled throatily, giving a rueful shake of her head. ¡°Who cares! Thank the heavens that it¡¯s actually working so quickly!¡±

    Darting forward with a speed that surprised Alex, she wrapped him up in a great big hug that caught him completely off guard. This was no delicate desert rose. This was a powerful cultivator who had achieved Bronze Rank in Finesse, with Quickness and Strength pretty damn close to Bronze as well. No doubt if she hadn¡¯t been crippled by the tainted stew and afraid of causing herself irreparable harm, the earlier bandits would have been in for a very bad day. Even worse than the one Alex had taken such pains to grant them.

    What was even more unexpected was the press of soft, warm lips against his own.

    Almost as surprising was the fact that despite his heart now pounding on his chest and the wave of incredible guilt he knew better than to show¡­ was the fact that he felt no warning twinge. No sign that he was imperiling himself, or that anything was wrong at all.

    His was now a perfectly normal Dantian¡­ affected by the same hungers as anyone reborn at their absolute prime might feel.

    ¡°Do you know what this means, Alex?¡± Ya Ling¡¯s eyes were lit with jubilation. ¡°It¡¯s not too late. You can still save everyone!¡±

    Alex winced at just how well her voice was carrying.

    ¡°Okay, first off, I¡¯m happy to help, but we should probably call Kileetra back. I can tell she¡¯s a cultivator, if not quite as strong as you, and I can only imagine how she...¡±

    Ya Ling gave an impish smile, slowly shaking her head. ¡°Kileetra¡¯s actually fine. She was feeling sick the day we were to leave, so rested in our wagon and skipped meal time. I can tell she feels guilty, because she¡¯s been looking after me with more care than ever, since this trip started. But we¡¯ll certainly need something for everyone else!¡±

    Alex gazed at her for long, thoughtful moments, before slowly nodding. ¡°Sure, but you¡¯re still going to have to convince Reny. I still don¡¯t know if she even trusts me enough to give her husband the concoction I made. And secondly, before I make anything for anyone¡­ I could really use a bite to eat.¡±

    Ya Ling blinked, gazing at him odd disappointment. ¡°Alex, this is no time to be filling your body!¡±

    ¡°Actually it¡¯s the perfect time.¡± He winked at the look she gave him. ¡°Simply put, the antidote depletes my own body¡¯s nutritional reserves. If I make too much antidote with limited means of recovery¡­ I¡¯ll soon start doing myself harm. I think it¡¯s best if I have a nutritious, filling meal with plenty of organ meat in my stomach before I make any more of the most exquisitely complex antidote I¡¯ve ever had to generate before.¡±

    Ya Ling just snorted and flipped off the wagon every bit as gracefully as Kileetra had. Clearly her friend wasn¡¯t the only one who enjoyed making an exit.

    In very short order, Alex found himself facing a smiling wujen who looked on death¡¯s door, and Reny clenching her husband¡¯s hand tightly, tears streaming freely from her eyes.

    ¡°Dear Alex, I¡¯m told it¡¯s you that I have to thank for my unexpected clarity of thought, splitting headache, and organs at least sufficiently intact to give me a fighting chance before my soul¡¯s cast free of this life for good?¡±

    Alex kept his face absolutely neutral as he nodded. ¡°That¡¯s about the extent of it, yes.¡±

    Qing Wu sighed and gently patted his trembling wife¡¯s hands. ¡°I do hope you didn¡¯t take offense at our¡­ hesitation.¡±

    Alex smirked, shaking his head. ¡°Of course not. If some near stranger spat in a cup and commanded that I drink it, you¡¯d better believe I¡¯d be looking for a damn good reason why.¡±

    This earned a chuckle. ¡°The fact that I¡¯m having this conversation with you now, without my organs feeling like their filled with bitter bile and purgatory¡¯s flame, is all the reason I need.¡±

    ¡°Is it true? Can you really heal us all?¡± Reny asked.

    Alex nodded. ¡°It is. So far as I can tell, anyway. Certainly I¡¯m making it in good faith.¡±

    She bowed her head, surprising him with a bowl of absolutely delicious-looking mutton stew. ¡°Ya Ling informed us of your unique cultivation path¡­ and it¡¯s requirements.¡± She flashed an apologetic smile. ¡°Compared to the dietary requirements of many body cultivators, and the odd nutritional requirements of so many cultivators following exotic paths, a bowl of nutritious home-made stew is the least I can do to say thank you.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help it, he broke into a grin. ¡°Let me guess, you have like, a hundred home-cooked piping hot meals safely sealed in a priceless storage ring that no bandit would think to look for.¡±

    Reny winked. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have no comment as to that, dear boy. Now why don¡¯t you eat your fill and let me see firsthand the boons of a Ruidian cultivation path. I promise you¡¯ll have my full, undivided attention.¡±

    Alex chuckled softly, feeling on the spot with three pairs of intent cultivator¡¯s eyes upon him. Though he didn¡¯t hesitate to eat his fill, or apologize when a second bowl of hearty broth was placed before him, he still feeling dizzy when he made multiple doses of antidote, for each of the three cultivators, the captain, and half a dozen other hidden guardians and aspiring basic cultivators in danger of losing their gift before it even had a chance to blossom at all.

    Reny gave a sad sigh. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯d like to dose everyone, just for the sake of preserving any trace of a gift that would otherwise be seared from their souls before they ever had a chance to study under a master, no matter that less than one in a dozen has the gift. But even the most myopic of healers can tell it is taking a tole from you, and after you pushed yourself to your own limit, fighting so hard on behalf of a caravan full of strangers.¡±

    Ya Ling grinned at Alex¡¯s embarrassed flush, gently claiming one of his hands with her own. ¡°Not strangers any more, I hope,¡± she whispered.

    Reny gave her a pointed look. ¡°Child...¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡±

    Alex pretended he hadn¡¯t heard the exchange. ¡°Thanks again for the meals. That¡¯s the best stuffed pheasant I ever had, outside of a divine palace!¡±

    Qing Wu snorted. ¡°Been to a lot of divine palaces, have you?¡±

    Alex winked and said nothing, earning a chuckle as he patted his belly.

    ¡°Well, good. Rest, boy. You¡¯ve certainly earned it. And tomorrow, we¡¯ll talk about your future,¡± declared the Silver wujen.

    Alex frowned, about to protest. The day had just gotten started, and he had endured plenty of occasions where he had been running from battle to battle for what felt like days on end. Yet he lost the will to protest when his jaw cracked with a yawn, Ya Ling clasping his hand and leading him to the oversized bed in the middle of the wagon! Clearly the sleeping customs here were different from what he was used to. And really, why would it be otherwise? He had effectively traveled between worlds. Or so many centuries had past that it amounted to the same thing. Still, he might have suggested sleeping on the rooftop, but the down-stuffed pillow was so soothing against his head that there was no reason why he couldn¡¯t close his eyes for just a moment¡­ promising himself that he¡¯d have a good long talk with all three cultivators about popular meridian cleansing and cycling techniques just as soon as he had a moment to focus his thoughts.

    He was surprised and more than a little bit embarrassed to open his eyes what felt like a full day later, Qing Wu flashing him an indulgent smile when Alex¡¯s eyes widened to catch sight of the brilliant stars glittering a rainbow of colors from the wagon window slats above his head.

 Book 8 - Chapter 9 - The Perils of Desert Cultivation

    ¡°Senior Cultivator Qing Wu! Please forgive this one for sleeping¡­ wow, I guess the whole day away in your bed?¡±

    ¡°More or less,¡± the salt and pepper haired cultivator conceded with a smile, putting down the tome he had been reading by the light of a softly glowing stone radiating Fire Qi hanging like a lantern in the center of the wagon, now peering thoughtfully at Alex.

    ¡°How do you feel, lad?¡±

    Alex took a deep breath and smiled. ¡°Honestly? Pretty darn good, considering how hard we all fought, yesterday.¡±

    This earned a polite frown. ¡°Are your injuries paining you? I¡¯ll have my wife take a look just to make sure there¡¯s no signs of infection in the morning¡­ for all that I suspect you walk a path at least adjacent to a healer¡¯s arts.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± he assured, already sensing the truth of unmarred skin beneath his bandages. He gazed at the man before him thoughtfully, sensing a warmth and concern that honestly touched his heart. He was so used to a degree of ruthless calculation from senior cultivators, even from t hose he would eventually call friends, that sensing what almost seemed grandfatherly concern, a concern he was savvy enough to tell was absolutely genuine, came close to choking him up.

    But still¡­ a practical part of him was eager, beyond eager, to seize an opportunity that perhaps had never come before. If there was one benefit to starting fresh once more, but with so much more to start with than almost every other time he had died and forgotten his past¡­ it was that subtle shifts to his character sheet that now filled him with a profound sense of hope. That, and the sense that he was no longer forced to follow Long Wang¡¯s body cultivation path, his eight positive elements able to effect only oneself or a single other party. That boon and limitation had defined him through every incarnation he could find even the slightest memory of. Even if he had used the River of Souls and Dark Qi during his last run to stretch that limitation to the brink of absurdity.

    Yet now, that limitation was gone.

    Should he choose, the path of the wujen sorcerer¡­ or the gentlest of healers¡­ could now be his own.

    Alex gazed thoughtfully at the cultivator before him. ¡°It appears that we have three weeks before we make it to Liushi, and who knows how many future bandit attacks, or worse.¡±

    Qing Wu flashed a humorless smile. ¡°It does indeed appear that way.¡±

    ¡°It would be a shame not to make full use of the time before us though, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    This earned a polite eyebrow.

    ¡°I mean, if you were to teach this wayward student of cultivation and kung fu the absolute best methods for rapidly increasing his cultivation base or just simply filling his Qi Pool...¡± He winced at the look this earned him. ¡°I mean, replenishing depleted spiritual energy, it would only help him guard your back during any future encounters. Don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Qing Wu tilted his head thoughtfully, before flashing an approving smile. ¡°Taking advantage of shared hardship and near certain death avoided only because of your intervention to entice from my lips my most treasured secrets of cultivation¡­ all in the guise of better being able to keep us safe during a surprisingly perilous journey.¡± He chuckled softly, then shook his head. ¡°I suppose I don¡¯t have to ask just how ruthless the secretive politics of Ruidian clans truly are. Or perhaps you¡¯ve attended a cultivation academy before.¡±

    Alex winced, but said nothing, holding the man¡¯s gaze with the same polite half-smile.

    Qing Wu looked strangely crestfallen. ¡°How your brave heart and earlier heroics remind me of my firstborn. With a cynicism to your smile I pray never infects his own.¡±

    Alex winced, not quite sure how to take that, though his eyes widened when the man firmly squeezed his shoulder like he was kin. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll share whatever wisdom I can in the limited time available to us. The karma now between us demands nothing less! Though I warn you, it won¡¯t be the exquisite perfection of a decade¡¯s mastery, but a solid foundation in a technique both basic, fundamental, and powerful.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes lit up with those words, feeling an unexpected flash of hope, and the perilous fantasy that this truly could be the happy fairytale life he had always prayed for¡­ and never received¡­ before quickly shaking such foolishness away.

    Instead, he kowtowed before the embarrassed looking elder. ¡°This lowly student would be most grateful for those lessons, revered senior cultivator!¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°Elder Wu is fine. Even Qing Wu, for the boy who fought by my side against all odds. Now, to begin our lesson. I want you to take a deep breath. Do you know how to cycle your spiritual energy?¡± He frowned thoughtfully. ¡°I sense both understanding and resistance. How odd. Let¡¯s correct that, shall we? You must begin by truly sensing the environment around you.¡±

    Qing Wu¡¯s intense gaze bored into Alex¡¯s own. ¡°Ignore all distractions, Alex, and breathe deep. Take in the essence of the thick golden heartwood that is the basis of this carriage that we refer to as a wagon only for convenience. Feel the hot desert breeze blowing through the window slats. Breath the warm desert air, tasting the bitter grit of endless sands.¡±

    Alex did as instructed, closing his eyes to get a better sense for the objects around him, focusing not with his eyes so much as his spiritual perception. He didn¡¯t even flinch when the elder gently placed his hand in a freshly watered potted plant. ¡°Water, Wood, and Earth. And the memory of Fire¡¯s gift. The sun caressing your skin during the day, it¡¯s warmth still permeating the sands at night. Its tiniest flame heating our dinner and lighting our way, even now. All together. Can you feel them? Not just the objects, but the fundamental truth of their nature?¡±

    Alex solemnly nodded. He had always felt the connection between object and its elemental affinity. For him it was like asking if he could see the blue of the sky or the whiteness of the clouds.

    Strangely, Elder Wu seemed both pleased and surprised by those words. ¡°You can already? Wonderful! The heart of this cycling technique, and what we will be spending the rest of our journey learning and perfecting, is learning to draw the elemental energies radiating from the environment into your spiritual orbit. From there, it can be used to cleanse your meridian channels, or cycle into the strands, fibers, and cords that will eventually serve as one of the cables of your cultivation foundation. Do you understand, Alex?¡±

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°From Bronze to Silver. And with seven perfect cords incorporating space for all the elements, the potential for generating a basket of interwoven cables strong enough to secure a Gold core is formed. Yes, I understand, Elder Wu.¡±

    Dead silence permeated the caravan. Alex winced, suddenly feeling the pressure of both Elder Wu and his wife, somehow suppressing and muffling the entire caravan.

    An endless moment that soon passed, like shadows scurrying over the moon.

    ¡°That you know such things as the humblest of basic cultivators. But you¡¯re the farthest thing from that, aren¡¯t you, lad?¡±

    Alex locked gazes with the Silver Wujen now staring a bit too intently at him. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I learned a bit more than my¡­ elders wanted me to glimpse. One of the reasons why I, well, I guess you could say, ran away from my incredibly dysfunctional clan. Hopefully for good.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s a clan of Ruidian Golds eager to make their mark upon the world that we now need to worry about?¡± Reny said with a smile that invited a chuckle¡­ for all that her eyes glittered with desperate worry.

    Alex solemnly shook his head. ¡°Not in the least,¡± he could say with absolute confidence. ¡°So, let me make sure that I understand. This cycling pathway seeks to interweave all of one¡¯s affinities with physical anchors to strengthen the spiritual energy connections. We¡¯re not claiming all spiritual energy, ¡®White Qi¡¯ if you will, as a whole. We¡¯re breaking it up as a prism, and claiming those rays of light that best match our affinities.¡±

    Qing Wu and his wife exchanged a look, before smiling and nodding as one. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Alex solemnly kowtowed before the pair of bemused looking cultivators, truly humbled to find here in this wagon an opportunity to learn and grow before skilled elders without jumping through at dozen hoops, without being shunted to independent study and forced fight for every scrap of knowledge he would claim. He had been so ready to expect the absolute worst, even in this, a brand new life, after having risked it in a perilous, perhaps foolish act of fighting for the lives and safety of people who had no ties to him at all. Such acts before had almost cost him everything. Yet those very same sacrifices had also helped him rise above all his limitations and both find and rescue the women of his heart. An impossibly graceful dancer who happened to be an imperial princess, and a bright-eyed kitsune beauty who was the spiritual echo of the first woman he had ever loved, countless millennia ago. Women he feared now lost to him forevermore.

    He choked back a sob of bittersweet regret, his voice little more than a horse whisper. ¡°This humble student would be grateful for any insights the masters before him would choose to impart on how best to walk the path before him.¡±

    For long moments the wagon was deathly silent, Qing and Reny Wu clearly moved by something they heard in his voice.

    After a surprisingly awkward silence, Qing Wu cleared his throat. ¡°No need for such formality, Alex. It is you saved us from disaster twice-over, and in the span of a single day, long as it¡¯s been! Nay, the golden threads of karma lie thickly between us already, initiate. So let us reciprocate karma¡¯s blessing with the lessons that should be a part of any cultivator¡¯s foundation.¡±

    Alex blinked, more surprised than he should be by the cultivator¡¯s words.

    ¡°You sense the threads of karma between us?¡± Alex whispered in awed wonder.

    Reny¡¯s eyes twinkled with warmth. ¡°Not my husband, though the fact he¡¯s not having you wash his feet every night after making his tea shows that even this curmudgeon senses that which now binds us almost as tight as kin.¡± The woman swallowed, rubbing her eyes. ¡°But to a woman who recognizes that she will only ever see her children again and embrace a healer¡¯s arts once more because of the grace and courage of a youth who risked his life to save a caravan when he could have so easily fled¡­ To one such as I, the golden cords between us are bright enough to light this wagon all by themselves.¡± She gently squeezed a shoulder that shouldn¡¯t be trembling with relief or gratitude or an inkling of happiness, but somehow was. ¡°And a few scant lessons are hardly sufficient to balance the scales between us. But it¡¯s certainly a start.¡±

    Alex swallowed, covering his unexpected blush at her praise by dipping his head.

    ¡°Now enough of that,¡± said Qing Wu, voice oddly gruff. ¡°Instead, to our lesson!¡± He solemnly turned to his wife. ¡°Let¡¯s show our young initiate the true treasures of this journey.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, genuinely curious about whatever Reny was now retrieving when her hands went through a mysterious serious of gestures over a steel container Alex only caught sight of at this very moment, recognizing in hind-sight the Shadow Qi ward that had hidden it from even his senses.

    ¡°Now, for our first lesson, initiate. Do you happen to know what precisely your affinities are?¡±

    Alex grinned, realizing that his would-be mentor had had too much going to sense all the shield variants he had used protecting them the night just past. He was about to confess a number that would absolutely astound the man before him. Yet his mouth froze, recalling that he could hardly say everything now. Not when the cultivators before him were claiming Ice and Sand as separate elements. What if they somehow were? What if he had been frozen in abyssal waters for so long that the world¡¯s forests had turned to deserts as cultivation itself warped and shifted in ways inconceivable, and that explained why all but the most basic elemental arts were now closed off to him?

    The very thought sent chills of horror down his spine.

    He swallowed the sudden urge to scream in dismay, only now appreciating the incalculable depths of his loss. ¡°No,¡± he whispered surprisingly truthfully. ¡°I no longer¡­ I¡¯m not sure I do know what my affinities are.¡±

    Qing Wu¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°That was a formality, Alex. Ya Ling made it clear that not only were you able to manipulate sandstone, but that Water also obeys your call. My question is, are you aligned with Soil or Sand? And is your Water derived from Ice, or do you actually channel the might of the oasis?¡±

    He flashed a reassuring smile when Alex gave him the strangest look. ¡°It¡¯s alright, lad. It¡¯s only body cultivators that need to worry about perfect attunement with their arts, and only those few with attunements so strong they can embrace their elements directly. Most such cultivators focus only on strengthening their bodies, and who is to knock the purity of their path? Immortality by any means, as they say. Most often, their affinities only manifest themselves in their hardening techniques. But for wujen such as you and I, able to channel the elements beyond our bodies, elemental affinities serve as a crucial foundation and showcase our greatest strengths, but by no means do they narrow the scope of the powers that may one day be ours to command!¡±

    Qing Wu frowned thoughtfully as Alex just stared at the man, blown away by the unexpected revelations he was now hearing for perhaps the first time in any life. Wujen? Him? And when had any wujen ever revealed the secrets of their arts to him?

    Never.

    He was absolutely certain of it.

    But still, he had to be certain he understood what the man was saying.

    ¡°Forgive your unworthy student, Master Wu. Are you saying that wujen don¡¯t channel their elemental affinities through their bodies when they use their techniques? How about when they cleanse their meridian channels and wind together the strands, fibers, and cords that will become the cables woven into a pristine containment vessel for their eventual Gold core?¡±

    Qing Wu gazed at Alex in surprise for long moments. ¡°That you could both summarize so many priceless insights that lesser cultivators would kill to truly understand even as you profess absolute ignorance astounds me.¡± He shook his head. ¡°The specific paths any wujen takes to break through to Bronze and then Silver are as individual and varied as the masters who teach them, and there is no ¡®one path¡¯ forward. Though that you know of such a potent and dangerous one is itself both admirable and troubling. As to your first question, absolutely not! No Wujen would dare channel arts as precarious as ours through our body without absolute affinity with those arts! It¡¯s an act of, I won¡¯t say madness, but rather daring, those few wujen cultivators who commune so utterly with their element as to give it full reign over their bodies.¡±

    He then paused, locking eyes with Alex as he raised his hand, directing him to look at the silvery mist hovering just above his palm as the entire wagon dropped in temperature. Alex¡¯s eyes widened as a shimmering spike of Ice formed.

    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    Qi Perception Check successful! Spiritual Student insight gleaned. You have gained Basic Comprehension of Ice Spike Lattice! Unorthodox elemental configuration detected. Water element detected.

    ¡°A proper wujen weaves together strands of spiritual energy into elemental manifestations he then unleashes upon the world. Such a wujen may also weave together latticeworks that serve as wards, against attacks both physical and elemental. It is far easier to form manifestations tied to your element, but a master of his craft learns to use spiritual energy of all types.¡± He chuckled softly. ¡°Or that¡¯s the official line our academy teaches. The fact is, Alex, that you will learn rituals and spells tied to your own affinities a dozen times faster than you will any other, and few worry about mastering additional arts until they¡¯re ready to break through to Silver and eager to make the most of whatever spiritual insights they might glean from expanding their horizons.¡±

    Qing Wu then closed his fist, the silvery blue strands radiating a chilly essence Alex chose to identify as Ice Qi, so similar to Water yet with the rigidity of cast iron that Alex was momentarily reminded of how he had manipulated Metal into a liquid interpretation that had served him and his beloved extremely well. Even if it had shifted their Dantians perilously close to disaster that would only be alleviated upon breaking through to Silver, until their path became so extreme that only Gold would set them free.

    Were these cultivators truly tapping into hybrid essences? New affinities? Or had their Dantians been forced to shift or even evolve in other directions?

    Alex cleared his throat. ¡°This humble student would ask his mentor a question, and prays he doesn¡¯t offend.¡±

    Qing Wu tilted his head curiously. ¡°Speak freely, Alex. The student who fears his teacher¡¯s condemnation will never truly learn.¡±

    Alex paused, gazing meaningfully at the pair before him. ¡°Are there certain¡­ vows, or limitations that I should probably be aware of?¡±

    The elder gave Alex a curious look. ¡°Such as?¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks flush. ¡°Well, let¡¯s say there was a certain girl I admired on our caravan ride. A month on the road is just that, after all. Are there any reasons why certain things shouldn¡¯t happen?¡±

    ¡°If you touch that girl, darling Alex, it won¡¯t be us you¡¯ll be answering to,¡± said Reny Wu with a sweet lilt to her voice that sent shivers down Alex¡¯s spine as he spun around to face the woman, her eyes radiating warning even as she carefully placed a dozen priceless treasures in the form of exquisite boxes radiating potent spiritual energy on the table before him.

    ¡°My wife is right, Alex. You¡¯ve earned quite a bit of good karma rescuing a precious desert rose from the merciless sands. But if you hope to start your life anew within Liushi, its best to admire her petals from a safe distance,¡± he said with a chuckle.

    Alex felt his cheeks flush. ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I...¡±

    Reny¡¯s gentle tut immediately froze Alex. He was getting distracted when he had an actual spiritual treasure to play with before him!

    He quickly bowed his head. ¡°My apologies.¡±

    Reny snorted. ¡°So long as you understand. Now, on to prizes that are within your grasp to embrace! You see before you a dozen boxes, yes?¡±

    Alex smiled and nodded, before his eyes widened in sudden understanding. There weren¡¯t twelve boxes.

    There were fifteen.

    Alex slowly rose his head, feeling a sudden spike in tension. His thoughts began to race. What was safe to reveal? What wasn¡¯t? What would result in appreciation and further instruction¡­ and what might spell his death with a powerful and freshly healed Silver at his back, and he, technically, a Basic cultivator once more? But silence, hesitation, was itself an admission of guilt, when clueless, guileless innocence might be the only safe path forward, and he needed to say something¡­ now!

    ¡°Is this another test?¡± He asked carefully.

    Reny stared at him for long moments, before quirking the tiniest smile. ¡°It is. And I see you passed. Wonderful! Now, as a first step, I want you to point to any box you feel even the slightest connection to. This will mark your strongest affinity. And please, don¡¯t worry if you don¡¯t feel a pull to any of them, most only have...¡±

    Her words dried up when Alex solemnly pointed to one box after another.

    Eight in total.

    Deliberately avoiding the four additional boxes he sensed. One of which he could clearly sense though it tried to hide by its very nature, two of which he somehow knew they were there without being able to clearly see at all (placeholders!) and one that called to him more strongly than all the others combined.

    Called with the force and fury of an ocean of darkness.

    The crashing rapids and deadly current of the River of Souls.

    Welcoming oblivion pulsated from such an innocent seeming box that could so easily serve as the key to unlock so much now sealed away¡­ dooming this entire caravan in the blink of an eye.

    Alex¡¯s heart was pounding in his chest as he gazed with horror at his own hand, reaching toward the inevitability of damnation, and the hissing laughter of Shui Jun¡¯s winding coils even now.

    ¡°Eight boxes. And you feel a connection to them all?¡±

    Qing Wu¡¯s voice broke Alex out of his trance, wrenching his own hand back.

    The cultivator¡¯s weren¡¯t blind, of course, their gazes sharpening at Alex¡¯s hesitation.

    ¡°Is there another that calls out to you, Alex?¡± asked Reny with a tone that sent chills down his spine.

    Alex immediately jerked a nod, forcing himself to speak.

    ¡°There¡¯s a box that looks like it wants to hide from me. It doesn¡¯t actually call out, but the very fact that it¡¯s trying to hide somehow draws my eye.¡±

    Reny gazed at Alex for long moments, her lips quirking into a curious smile.

    ¡°May I ask a personal question, Alex?¡±

    He jerked a nod.

    ¡°Is there kitsune ancestry in your family tree?¡±

    Alex felt a fierce blush caress his cheeks. There was indeed, he thought, even now thinking of his great, great granddaughter, praying that Zhu Bi had enjoyed a sweet happy life with her husband Yingpei Lin, filling the wound in her heart with many happy and healthy children in a world as close to paradise as he could make for them all.

    Alex blinked out of his reverie to feel Qing Wu¡¯s hand gently pat his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Alex. Mixed parentage isn¡¯t so rare that it¡¯s unheard of, even if those poor fox girls tend to be night owls, wilting in the daytime heat,¡± he said it with a soft chuckle. ¡°And, of course, the boys look just like you and I.¡±

    ¡°And what you reveal tonight goes no further than this caravan, lest you yourself be the one to spread the tale,¡± Reny assured, before fixing Alex with her gaze. ¡°And I do hope its understood that the secrets of this treasure are to be revealed to no one.¡±

    Alex solemnly bowed his head. ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. Now open the boxes you picked!¡± Reny said with some excitement. ¡°I¡¯m eager to see if the boy who claimed eight boxes actually has eight affinities!¡±

    Solemnly, Alex did just that, eyes widening with both relief and wonder, when his trembling fingers revealed a gently flickering flame radiating pristine spiritual energy that called out to him with effortless ease. It was nothing for him to pluck it free and absorb it¡­

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    Before expelling it once more with a sigh, yet feeling a bright fiery tendril of energy effortlessly flowing from the flame into his nostrils, then effortlessly flowing through both major meridians and peripheral channels. When he ignored the horrified looks that Reny and her husband exchanged to flip open another box, he was rewarded with the sight of crackling sparks between an odd looking collection of metallic spikes. A gentle touch was all it took to entice the current through his fingertips, racing across his skin, to be taken in with each breath, and flow effortlessly with Fire.

    So too when he flipped open one box after another to reveal powdered metal, a large drop of water floating and jiggling in the air, a tiny bonsai tree, a tiny whirlwind of air, and the rich loamy soil of Earth, troubled not at all by the streak of soil caressing his clothes and entering his lungs with a misty quality that made him want to sneeze for only a heartbeat before it passed. All seven elements he could now feel winding about themselves with space for absent elements as well. It was an intertwined cord of spiritual energy whose configuration he knew so well. Yet it wasn¡¯t quite complete, he thought, frowning down at the final box he had selected. Yet upon opening it.. he saw no particular element, merely a reflection of himself, Reny, and Qing Wu¡­ and he immediately understood, sensing the emotions of all of them. Both the couple¡¯s awe and his own sense of wonder. Spirit Qi, the most ephemeral and easiest to claim, as it was in a sense just the reflection and manifestation of his own spirit, an echo of his own not inconsiderable willpower and drive to make his mark in the world, to make his dreams manifest in reality. It now served as the eight elemental anchor to the interwoven stream of spiritual energy now cleansing and strengthening his already vast meridians, in addition to filling his spiritual energy reserves, or Qi Pool, a hell of a lot faster than just passively soaking up the sun¡¯s golden rays. Not that he wasn¡¯t grateful that his dragons¡¯ blood allowed him to do that much without any need of exotic techniques at all.

    ¡°He did it. He actually claimed all eight elements!¡± Reny said with no small amount of wonder.

    Qing Wu nodded, gazing at Alex with eyes that perhaps saw too much. ¡°And he¡¯s not just taking it in like a young hound sniffing futilely at an unfamiliar scent. He¡¯s running it effortlessly through all his meridian channels and his peripherals as well.¡±

    Reny¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°He¡¯s embracing an eight-element cycling technique as easily as breathing!¡±

    Alex closed his eyes, tuning out the awed murmurs of the pair of cultivators looking on.

    All that mattered was capturing the wondrous sense of flow and connection he was experiencing as all eight elements effortlessly wound into place. Somehow, he was able to synergize his experiences with forging tri-state cords combined with his insights of cycling Dark and Light Qi into a spiritual cycling technique that incorporated those principles effortlessly. Incorporating them while simultaneously being distinct from them. He felt like he was skirting on perilous grounds. So close to treading on walled off territory within his psyche that he dare not touch for reasons he could only guess at. Yet he could still draw inspiration from them. Yet he could still learn skills that mirrored those he was forced to put aside, if not quite forget.

    Like splicing a new cutting to sturdy roots, he was able to take fierce advantage of countless powerful past insights to push his latest breakthrough to untold heights, accomplishing in hours that felt like minutes what should have taken months if not years of effort, or a couple life and death battles fraught with meaning and profundity.

    Breathe in, Breathe out. Just as he took in oxygen to enrich and reinvigorate his blood, before expelling waste with every exhalation, so too he allowing the tightly controlled tsunami of elemental spiritual energy to whip through all his Meridians, scoring them clean of so much debris from being trapped for untold years in the River of Souls. The residue that every cultivator must score free with every fresh life lived, explaining why all cultivators, no matter how glorious their earlier incarnation, must start from the very beginning. For every aspiring cultivator must first score free the river¡¯s waste in the form of clogged Meridians, the telltale mark of mortality¡¯s humble beginnings, before daring to defy the heavens one more.

    Debris that was at its essence Dark Qi, an element that he realized he needed no cycling technique to harness and wield at all. The debris flowed free of his channels like the melting of ice, instantly obeying his will. Yet where as another cultivator would expel it as waste Qi, he sensed his body and most especially his bones greedily sucking it in. Even with the knowledge that beyond all other techniques he must avoid manipulating Dark Qi above all others, that element was now as attuned and a part of him as death was both a part of, and the ultimate doom, of every living thing.

    The ultimate manifestation of Chaos, Entropy, and Change.

    In the hands of a master, it was more than simple destruction. It was Transformation as well.

    It was a doom he dare not reveal to a single living soul, lest he¡¯d end the precious halcyon dream that was his very first day embracing this new life.

    It was a doom that was well and truly his own.

    He couldn¡¯t help smiling even as he focused on smoothing out and balancing the streams of positive spiritual energy he was now cycling through his meridians. He also intuitively understood that he need never worry about cycling Dark Qi in his cultivation during this lifetime, or about any buildup of waste whatsoever. Any so called ¡®waste Qi¡¯ he generated through living or cultivating would be instantly absorbed, nurturing him in ways that would imperil any mortal daring to walk his path. For it was already as attuned to him as it was possible to be, after having spent so long wrapped in Shui Jun¡¯s coils, cycling Oblivion¡¯s essence while drowning in the darkest depths of the River of Souls.

    ¡°Husband, look at how he glows with essence! What happens if the Headmaster finds out?¡±

    Qing Wu sighed. ¡°All we can do is prepare Alex for what¡¯s in store for him, and how cautious he must be, if he wishes instruction beyond what a pair of exiled old cultivators can give him.¡±

    Alex could sense a bittersweet tale hanging heavy in the air, filled with insights, pitfalls and warnings. Yet he dared pay those political currents no heed, focused as he was in mastering the spiritual currents now flowing so effortlessly through his body, lost in the throws of his transcendent breakthrough.

    The pair of cultivator¡¯s voices grew as hushed and still as the sudden weight in the air.

    And that was when he felt it, the crack and boom of thunder and lightning.

    The abruptness of a storm where the land was as much scrubland and desert. Where a single summer storm could coax parched land to blossom forth with brilliant fecund life in all its beauty and glory.

    Because he already knew the next step he had to take.

    ¡°Alex, where are you going? Fool boy!¡±

    ¡°Hush, husband. He¡¯s made his choice. Now close those boxes, you know the price if we dare to leave them open too long.¡±

    Whatever else they said was drowned out even to Alex¡¯s senses as he slipped out and embraced the howling storm, arms stretched wide, holding tight to the connection he still felt to the precious treasures within those boxes bringing to visceral life like never before so many streams of elemental potential. Yet he already knew those glorious anchors would not be available to him forever, perhaps not even past this night. So now, in the midst of a howling storm, was when he must seize the moment.

    The lightning flashed a heartbeat before thunder roared, and distant scrub caught ablaze despite the torrential downpour, before sputtering out a second later.

    Yet it was enough.

    Enough to anchor the memory of that brilliant bolt for all time, connecting the essence of lightning and the furious flame so closely attuned to it, but only when catalyzed by a flammable like Wood. Water as well rode on its coat tails upon the howling Wind.

    Water, Wind, Lightning, Wood, and Fire all connected in that single pristine moment, blazing upon his mind¡¯s eye. Upon Fire he found the twin revelations of Spirit, in the form of so many souls cursing and grumbling in the storm, or using the rain and thunder to mask sweetest rapture of life passionately embraced after they had all come so close to peril¡­ as desert roses bloomed in caravan and scrublands alike. The Earth anchored the Wood and drank deep of Water, creation and destruction in one singular whole. And Alex, thanks to his understanding of salinity, alkalinity, mineral composition, and so many years embracing a liquid aspect to Metal¡¯s hue, intuitively understood the metal salts that were a part of every living thing and the soil itself.

    Yet still the connection to that final element was flickering and ephemeral at best, as he strove to paint a mental picture that would serve as his perfect anchor for the technique he was on the cusp of truly understanding.

    It was only when he felt the fusion of blood and iron that was steel suddenly pricking his flesh, tasting of bitter tears and furious resolve, that it all clicked, eight ephemeral elements forging into a pristine whole, a cycling technique as profound and powerful as any he could hope to have, within a single day of slipping free of death¡¯s coils¡­ before being furiously sent back into oblivion once more.

    Congratulations! You have had a Major Breakthrough!

    You have successfully forged an eight element cycling technique using physical manifestations of all your favored elements! This technique may be used to both cleanse, purify, and cultivate!

    You have forged a brand new Cultivation Technique with multiple formerly mastered techniques as Pristine Reference Points!

    Desert Fox Cultivation Technique is automatically known at 100% efficiency!

    Desert Fox Cultivation Technique is now Rank 1! - This technique may be used to Restore & Purify Meridians, and Cycle additional Spiritual Energy!

    Additional affinity to Dark Qi automatically incorporated as your insight is forged upon the steel blade of your would-be killer!

    Draconic Resilience Mitigates Critical Wound to Serious Injury!

    You have been poisoned!

 Book 8 - Chapter 10 - The sweetest rose hides bitter thorns.

    ¡°This is all your fault, you damned Ruidian!¡± Hissed a voice laden with malice and pristine hate as a surprised Alex gasped and crumpled as his would-be killer twisted the blade.

    ¡°You cost me a fortune in priceless ingredients. Now there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to complete my mission without all suspicion coming to haunt me. I¡¯ll have to flee back to that damned bastards arms, and it¡¯s all your fault!¡±

    You have taken one additional Medium Wound.

    You already enjoy 100% Immunity to Dragonbane Root, Yellowbane Extract, Foolsbane, and White Willow Venom.

    You suffer no further detrimental effects.

    Strength Check: Success! Your foe is unable to twist her blade against your tightened Bronze 2 Tier muscles.

    ¡°Gods damn it, now my blade is stuck in this oversized corpse!¡± The woman cursed in the rain before crying out when Alex¡¯s elbow slam sent her cartwheeling back, blood spurting out of her shattered nose.

    Her cry ended in a gurgling gasp as panicked brown eyes met blue as pitiless as the blade still stuck in Alex¡¯s back.

    ¡°Wait, please¡­ you don¡¯t have to do this!¡± Said Ya Ling¡¯s second handmaiden, the girl who had been seemed so carefree and above it all, just a short time ago, content to stand by Ya Ling¡¯s side. Even if she had been conveniently sick the day everyone else had eaten tainted soup.

    ¡°It¡¯s a fifty spirit pearl bounty if we finish the job. But only I know how to collect.¡±

    Alex¡¯s glare didn¡¯t abate, doing his best to ignore the throbbing pain in his back. He forbore from calling himself an absolute fool, daring the cusp of revelation in a caravan full of strangers when he should have guessed that it was an inside job. But this wasn¡¯t the time for recriminations. Only preparing himself for the wrench he¡¯d no doubt feel when he did what he needed doing.

    Kileetra flinched before his gaze and stumbled back, feet instinctively navigating the muddy ground as her rain-soaked fabric caressed curves that would never know a lover¡¯s touch again.

    ¡°Fifty spirit pearls! We could live like royalty for years, with that fortune!¡± She flashed a desperate smile. ¡°There¡¯s no chance that that spoiled bitch would warm up to you, no matter how many times you saved her. But me? I can appreciate a hero coming to my rescue. I¡¯ll give you a night, hell, a lifetime you¡¯ll never forget, Ruidian. Just help me finish the job, and we¡¯ll both be filthy rich!¡±

    Alex ignored the blood flowing down his legs in the rain. He flashed his fingers.

    The girl paled. ¡°No. There¡¯s no way you could be¡­ That wasn¡¯t in the contract!¡±

    Qi Perception check made!

    Alex forced himself to stand strong, sensing another presence approaching.

    ¡°Who initiated the contract?¡±

    The girl¡¯s desperate plea turned to a hard glare. ¡°That¡¯s not your concern. Especially not if you¡¯re Jiang Hu! The only thing that matters is whether or not you want to split the take with me, or walk away with nothing. I¡¯ll even give you my oath to never raise my hand against you again, so long as you swear the same. All you have to do is stand guard while I add some spice to the morning stew and get the hell out of here. That¡¯s 25 spirit pearls for you, and I¡¯ll even throw enough silver your way so you can take a whole train of caravans and disappear into a city far, far away from here, without having to cash a single one. No one will ever suspect a thing!¡±

    Alex gazed at Ya Ling¡¯s companion for long moments, seeing not a trace of regret, remorse, or hesitation in her features. He was certain that she meant every word. She would split the take, and wasn¡¯t phased at all at the thought of killing dozens of of innocent caravanners.

    She blinked in dismay when he unsheathed the dao he never did surrender. ¡°Who initiated the contract?¡±

    The girl blinked and swallowed. ¡°I poisoned you with enough toxin to kill a dozen spirit beasts! If you want the antidote¡­ you¡¯ll stand down and let me walk away.¡±

    ¡°Sorry Kileetra, that¡¯s not happening,¡± whispered a voice fierce with hate, a flash of lightning reflecting off the blade of the razor sharp jian that Ya Ling was now holding against her trembling former companion¡¯s throat.

    Kileetra stiffened. ¡°Lady Ya Ling, please, you don¡¯t understand! I was trying to draw the boy out, to see if he was working against us!¡±

    ¡°By stabbing a dagger in his back?¡±

    Kileetra blinked rapidly, her mouth opening wide, no words coming out. She lowered her head in sudden defeat.

    Only Alex was in position to see her malevolent smile.

    ¡°I fear your forgetting something, princess, beyond even your strained cultivation base.¡±

    The girl paled, her glare growing ever more fierce. ¡°How dare you say that, after all you¡¯ve done!¡±

    ¡°Your champion¡¯s kidney was lacerated with an anticoagulant. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going to be standing up for too much longer,¡± she said with a certain amount of saccharin sweetness. ¡°Though I sense you¡¯re so infused with righteous passion right now that you forgot your own predicament.¡±

    Ya Ling furrowed her brow. Before she hissed and stepped back.

    But Kileetra had already darted forward. ¡°You¡¯re in the rain, fool. Anathema to your element!¡±

    With a snarl, Kileetra had grabbed the flat of a stunned Ya Ling¡¯s blade with a calloused hand that knew exactly what it was doing. And despite the Bronze tier Finesse Alex knew Ya Ling possessed, her legs seemed to snag helplessly in the boggy ground sucking up the desert rains so greedily as a freshly poisoned knife darted unerringly for Ya Ling¡¯s abdomen.

    Before slipping free of suddenly slack fingers as Kileetra¡¯s head tumbled through the air in a fountain of crimson drops mixing with the rain, the would-be assassin¡¯s bulging eyes having time for a final despairing blink before smacking face first in the ground as her body collapsed in a spurting heap.

    Skill-modified Quickness check made: Critical Success! You have decapitated your foe!

    A portion of her endless potential is now forever your own.

    Potency partially channeled into instant healing!

    Serious Wound has become Medium Wound.

    You have strained Medium Wound. Additional 5 points of damage taken.

    Alex winced and groaned, having forgotten in the heat of the moment that he had been stabbed in the back, and that he no longer had access to Eternal Fox to regenerate his injuries at a superhuman pace. Though he did still have the benefit of his foe¡¯s potency for a burst of rapid healing that he was grateful for¡­ even if it was just a fraction as effective as it would have been, before so many skills had been locked away.

    A trembling Ya Ling gazed in horror at the decapitated body still spurting blood. Clearly stunned by all that had transpired as her former companion went from trusted confidant to treacherous serpent to would be murderess to decapitated corpse in the span of just seconds. Then her dismay turned to concern as she stumbled back to her feet, oddly clumsy in the downpour as she raced to Alex¡¯s side.

    ¡°You¡¯re hurt! Come, let¡¯s get you back to Reny¡¯s tent, before you bleed out!¡±

    In very short order, a drenched Alex found himself being poked none too gently by a glaring Reny as she placed liniment over his injuries that stung like mad before a few moments of Biochemical Mastery took out the irritant while allowing the strongest healing salve ever to grace his flesh to do its thing.

    Healing Liniment infused with Water & Wood Qi. Potency is 320% of Yidushian market average, <UNDEFINED> years ago.

    Biochemical Skillcheck made: You intuitively understand all the components that comprise this product!

    Cultivation Skillcheck made: You have a 75% chance of replicating the spiritual energy infusion within this liniment at the expense of 20 Qi.

    Alex blinked, surprised and pleased to find that his increased skills meant he could not only replicate the compounds of Reny¡¯s poultice, but the spiritual energy infusion that distinguished alchemist from apothecary as well. Even if the Spiritual Energy cost was downright prohibitive for him if he didn¡¯t have the infused ingredients on hand, at least for right now. Practically speaking, if he could eventually learn the healing arts, that would probably far more effective and cost effective, but he would take what he could get. Frankly, he was grateful just to sense his skills and potential continue to evolve and grow.

    ¡°Foolish, boy,¡± Reny tutted. ¡°Leaving our wagon at such a crucial moment, only to come back hours later covered in blood and dying of a kidney wound!¡±

    ¡°While saving our charge and revealing the poisoner by sheerest coincidence. Quite a remarkable turn of events, no?¡± Qing Wu noted, his hard gaze locked onto Alex¡¯s form with an intensity that made him more than a bit uncomfortable. Nothing compared to the sting of the wound to his side, of course.

    Reny snorted. ¡°The Wild One¡¯s luck for certain.¡±

    Alex felt a chill at those words, promising himself right then and there that he¡¯d never ask who the ¡®wild one¡¯ was referring to.

    ¡°Please, aunty. He saved my life!¡± Ya Ling declared.

    This earned a glare from Reny. ¡°And why were you out there in the middle of that thunderstorm? It¡¯s one thing for this boy here on the cusp of revelation to play the fool, but you know better! Or were you perhaps looking to catch a revelation of your own?¡± There was no mistaking the pointed look she gave Alex then.

    Ya Ling flushed, lowering her gaze.

    Reny Wu gave a tired shake of her head. ¡°You know better than anyone why that isn¡¯t advisable. Especially not now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not some broodmare,¡± Ya Ling muttered under her breath.

    ¡°True,¡± Qing Wu said. ¡°You¡¯re a woman who needs allies at her back and a safe place to secure her foundation and blossom into a force so potent that none can force your hand.¡±

    ¡°But right now you¡¯re just a newly forged Bronze who will soon be at the mercy of any number of powers who would love to claim a prize like you for themselves,¡± Reny noted. ¡°A school might offer shelter, but it¡¯s only the promise of your unsullied potential that leaves you a valuable enough prize for outside forces to allow you time to bloom to your full potential.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. They should be all the more willing to leave me alone if I choose a consort of my own.¡±

    Qing Wu snorted, shaking his head. ¡°Wrong, girl. That¡¯s when they¡¯ll know the false mien of grace and kindness they wore to assuage and entice you is pointless. That you were too dense to understand the unspoken rules of the dance, where your purity is a promise and elegance will be your cage, but only for so long as you exercise graceful forbearance. The moment you step out of of line and make a mockery of your expected role, that is the moment they will strike.¡±

    Ya Ling paled and shook her head. ¡°I hate this, Elder Wu. I hate having to play these games at all!¡±

    ¡°Yet play them we all must,¡± Qing Wu said fatalistically. ¡°And since we must, best you learn to play them well. So that one day you may seize the board and claim both your piece, and your independence from all the other players on the board.¡±

    Alex shook his head, recalling all too well how it felt to be a pawn in someone else¡¯s game, even if the stakes had been far higher and more horrific than the political machinations of rulers and cultivators. Nothing compared to the malice of gods.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Shortly thereafter a somewhat chastened Ya Ling was taking her ease behind the bamboo divider she was now sharing with Lady Wu. But not before flashing a final smile for Alex that was both embarrassed, grateful, and direct. ¡°Thank you again for my life, hero.¡±

    Reny snorted, but Ya Ling still held his gaze for long moments. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d be willing to show me some of your techniques in the nights to come.¡±

    ¡°To bed, child,¡± Reny tisked, gently pulling Ya Ling back behind the divider as Qing Wu shook his head and sighed. ¡°There goes half the fun of this trip.¡± Qing Wu then turned to stare hard at Alex. ¡°Sun¡¯s almost up. I think we should head topside, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Alex gave a slight nod, having lost himself once more in the glorious feel of all eight elements twining about one another as they cycled through his major and peripheral meridian channels, leaving him feeling refreshed, invigorated, and at one with his environment.

    Yet he still couldn¡¯t help smiling with wonder at the spectacular sunrise as the heavens were painted in a glorious patina of fiery reds and heavenly golds. It was mother nature at its grandest, a divine work fit for gods that actually appreciated the jewel of their creation.

    It brought tears to his eyes and a renewed connection to his Fire Qi that resonated so profoundly with his draconic bloodline and grounded his technique like nothing else.

    Congratulations! Your breakthrough has evolved into a profound appreciation for your environment and the elements that comprise it, inspired by nature¡¯s canvas from which gods have forged entire worlds!

    Desert Fox Cultivation Technique is now Rank 2!

    Warning! You have reached the end of your breakthrough. A Sage¡¯s Insight is at risk of becoming a Fool¡¯s folly!

    Qing Wu sighed, flashing a pearly white smile. ¡°It never gets old, does it? The majesty of a brand new sunrise against the distant desert horizon.¡±

    Alex chuckled as he gazed upon countless wildflowers opening their petals before the dawn. ¡°Sands which are even now awash in color, morning blossoms greeting water¡¯s midnight caress.¡±

    The older cultivator nodded. ¡°The desert will soon be as rich and fecund as any plain¡­ for a few weeks, at least. Of course, we¡¯ll be heading for the deep desert for our own journey, far from the underwater basin that keeps Qianshi¡¯s oasis rich and fecund and the surrounding lands good for raising goats, if little else.¡±

    Alex carefully nodded as he repressed a yawn, feeling strangely dizzy, as if he could topple over at any moment. The farthest thing from the brilliant vessel of profound insights that he had been just hours, even minutes before. He turned to the quietly smiling cultivator beside him, looking at Alex with eyes far too perceptive for Alex¡¯s taste, even if his mien was that of a gentle instructor and nothing more. Alex was already well aware of just how deadly an opponent the Silver before him could be when pushed, as over half a dozen Bronze tier opponents warded with talismans could attest, even with Qing Wu¡¯s foundation strained by poison and treachery. No matter how gregarious, friendly, and open the cultivator sitting in the lotus position by his side as they both drew inspiration from the sunrise might be, Alex already knew he was the farthest thing from simple.

    Just as he knew he was in no shape to spar with him right now, mentally or otherwise.

    ¡°Student greets master under morning¡¯s blessing,¡± Alex quipped, earning a soft chuckle.

    ¡°Mentor greets aspirant. Congratulations on forging an eight element unified technique capable of both purifying and cycling spiritual energy in a single night, Alex. What you did was utterly impossible, yet you glow with the infusion of spiritual energy my wife can now sense flowing through your meridians. Worthy of any ¡®young master¡¯ after multiple years of study under a loyal family retainer.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°All the credit goes to the loyal family retainer, then.¡± His gaze turned solemn. ¡°And the treasure they dared to reveal to one who only hopes he was worthy.¡±

    Qing Wu¡¯s tolerant expression instantly hardened. ¡°A treasure which we will never speak of again, if gratitude truly is a virtue within you.¡±

    Alex lowered his head, instantly ashamed. ¡°Master is right. Student cries exhaustion.¡±

    Qing Wu¡¯s hard demeanor faded with a chuckle. ¡°That¡¯s right! A Sage¡¯s Wisdom for a Fool¡¯s Folly. Best you get some rest, lad. We¡¯ll discuss training and our plans for the caravan in the month to come after you¡¯ve had a chance to recover.¡±

    Alex nodded, taking a grateful sip of the water flask Qing Wu handed him.

    ¡°That would be lovely. Only problem is, I don¡¯t really have any place to sleep.¡±

    Qing Wu gave him a look. ¡°Best behavior, Alex.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    And a very short time later, Alex found himself sinking into sinfully soft linen sheets and a pillow he would have thought forbidden, so plush and comfortable it was.

    He was exhausted enough to surrender immediately to slumber¡¯s caress, and when he later jolted awake to feel a soft feminine form press tightly against him, whispering sweet enticements into his ear¡­ he was wise enough to feign sleep once more until exhaustion claimed him in truth and he awoke to a thankfully empty bed.

    He enjoyed a jaw-cracking yawn and stretch, before wincing at what his interface clarified as a Medium Wound on the verge of becoming Light. As he took in his surroundings, noting the exceedingly clever use of space and split decks that allowed for a comfortable bed easily divided by rice paper and bamboo slats that a certain nimble girl had proved was no real hindrance at all, Alex still grinning at the sweetest compliments paid to a form a certain girl had been halfway certain was asleep¡­ before swallowing the sudden lump in his throat as the memory of a certain priceless portrait blazed itself upon his mind¡¯s eye.

    A pair of jade queens had stolen his heart, and as much as he could see a fast friendship forming with Ya Ling, a quick summer fling couldn¡¯t begin to compare.

    He swallowed, whispering a soft promise to himself. ¡°I will hold out hope. Not until I know for certain that my queens are lost to time¡¯s endless ages, will I surrender to this life completely.¡±

    He gave himself a quick sniff, grateful to see that even faded by however many millenia it had been, WiFu¡¯s gifted attire still repaired itself and deflected dirt and grime like no-one¡¯s business, looking like it had come fresh from the cleaners. As for himself? A moment¡¯s biochemical mastery had him smelling like roses as well. Literally. Even if he would have really loved a good hot soak, he was luckier than most enduring what would be a month-long caravan ride in the desert, he knew that already.

    His nose then perked up at far more appealing scents than even roses as Qing Wu knocked on the bedroom compartment and came bearing a bowl of stew and fresh-baked bread, of all things. Alex knew better than to ask questions, merely headed back up to the wagon rooftop after taking care of his necessities, happy to watch the world go by as the wagons sedately made their way across what was once more baron desert as he filled himself with fresh baked bread and mutton stew.

    ¡°I guess it wouldn¡¯t be that hard to rig a stove together, and I¡¯ll bet flour keeps extremely well in this hot and dry climate, even more than fresh produce did back home.¡±

    Qing Wu nodded. ¡°One of the traders joining us makes half his coin just supplying the caravan with fresh baked bread. Dipped in olives and spices, it¡¯s some of the best fare you can hope to have on a trip like this.¡±

    ¡°Especially with the stew!¡± Alex opined, earning a chuckle and a nod.

    Qing Wu gave him a thoughtful look. ¡°Is there anything Reny and I should know?¡±

    Alex blinked, before he froze, instantly understanding what was being said. He solemnly shook his head. ¡°Only that I¡¯m still eager to learn whatever you¡¯re willing to teach.¡±

    Qing Wu gave him a pointed look. ¡°I have plenty to teach. The question is, how are you feeling? That was an ugly wound, Alex. And from what Ya Ling let slip¡­ her former companion was an accomplished JiangHu assassin. It¡¯s a miracle it wasn¡¯t far worse.¡±

    Alex furrowed his brow. ¡°We only have her word on that. The JiangHu are professionals and in many cities have a role many actually find beneficial. They¡¯re hardly psychopaths who would kill dozens of people just to take out a singular target.¡± He instantly stilled his tongue at the odd look this declaration earned him. ¡°Or at least, that¡¯s what I heard.¡±

    Qing Wu raised a thoughtful brow. ¡°You seem awfully familiar, and sympathetic, to a group of known murderers and cutthroats for the innocent naive Ruidian you purport to be.¡±

    Alex sighed, took a bite of bread dipped in hearty stew, and gazed off into the sunset.

    ¡°I fell in love with a girl who had ties to the JiangHu, once upon a time. She was beautiful, sweet, fiercely loyal to those she cared about¡­ and not above fighting for what she believed in.¡±

    Qing Wu gave a thoughtful nod. ¡°I see. Perhaps that explains it. Love often bridges the gaps between hero and villain, for all that those plays too often end in tragedy, as is the way with most theater performances in the cities.¡±

    Alex f lashed a bitter smile. ¡°That they do. All too often. In plays and real life alike.¡±

    Qing Wu grinned a that. ¡°True. And our only path forward is to enjoy life¡¯s precious moments, no matter how dark the path we take¡­ and of course, to do whatever we can to get stronger, so we may better weather life¡¯s downpours, and survive to glimpse a fresh clean dawn once more.¡±

    Alex chuckled softly. ¡°I¡¯m all about getting stronger. So what¡¯s are first lesson, Master Wu?¡±

    The Silver cultivator¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°Are you finished your stew? Good. Today¡¯s first and only lesson is the most important one you¡¯re likely to embrace this trip, lad. And that is to tightly grasp the wondrous revelations you savored the night before. Hold them tight and squeeze every scrap of insight you can from them.¡±

    Even as he said the words, a dozen massive ice crystals began forming between the man¡¯s hands, once more inspiring a certain amount of awe from Alex, the cultivator tapping into sub-elements outside of his own paradigm.

    But Alex didn¡¯t let it stop him, recalling so viscerally the flash of lightning, the burst of flame, the surprisingly chilly rains of the summer storm turning the sands to mud as the howling wind blew all scent away, until Alex felt the sharp tang of bitter steel plunge into his back¡­ and in a heartbeat, the connection had been made.

    You are now embracing Desert Fox Cultivation Technique. Qi Pool has been fully saturated!

    You have already cleansed and reinforced your Meridian Channels.

    You have already formed your Divine Silver Supercable.

    Excess potency will be channeled into Harmonious Refinement.

    Alex froze at the words that had flickered across the mind¡¯s eye as Qing Wu gave an approving nod and stood up.

    ¡°I¡¯m pleased to see that last night¡¯s breakthrough wasn¡¯t a dream-like revelation we would have to spend the rest of the trip, if not months beyond, helping you to bring to practical use. You can summon it as effortlessly as any Silver can summon their own.¡± The man gave a pleased nod. ¡°Excellent. Well, your assignment for the rest of the evening is to reinforce your technique. Tomorrow we¡¯ll introduce you to the rest of the caravan and see if you¡¯re more suited to the path of the Body Cultivator, or the Wujen.¡±

    With those words, Qing Wu headed back inside, and Alex didn¡¯t even think to follow up on what was itself a revelation¡­ did he have what it took to be a wujen? Was a body cultivator¡¯s path in this realm utterly different from what he expected, and why couldn¡¯t he walk both paths?

    Yet as quickly as those questions flittered across his mind¡¯s eye, they were drowned out by the even bigger concern. What his interface had just revealed.

    Despite being ranked, and having the health pool of a Rank 5 Basic Cultivator¡­

    His interface made clear what he had already suspected the night before.

    His meridian channels weren¡¯t just clean, they were absolutely pristine.

    Save for waste quickly removed with a single purification session, there were no blockages of any sort at all.

    That should make him the equivalent of Rank 7 Basic, ready to break through.

    And as far as winding strands to fibers, and from there cords that were the hallmark of Bronze,

    He already had a Supercable that was itself in the realm of Silver.

    How?

    What exactly did it all mean?

    He took advantage of twilight slipping into a brilliant star-lit sky to open his mind¡¯s eye to gaze into the heavens of his own mind¡­ or perhaps a place far more vast and grand than he could fathom.

    At first, all he saw was the tiniest pulsating light in the star-filled nighttime sky. A silvery pulsation that grew every brighter as he soaring through the heavens to get closer to that pulsating object that, much to his awe and wonderment. A brilliant shimmering ring of power and potency and degenerate matter revolving at ever greater speeds around a point of ever growing darkness that might have been the size of his own heart¡­ or perhaps the very sun.

    Around it all was a vast cloud made up of countless millions of individual flickering flames of silvery light. Like countless snowflakes, every flickering spark was different, united only in that they were trapped in the orbit generated by the revolutions of an impossibly vast supercable that was somehow compressing them all into an accretion disk around the event horizon of oblivion.

    Alex felt a shiver caress his soul as he sensed the ring¡¯s orbit growing ever faster as minute wobbles and imperfections were smoothed not with the advent of yet more power into the system¡­ but by harmonious balance.

    Perfection.

    He was hit with the sudden odd certainty that every skill he learned, every rank up he earned, every perilous insight gained while fighting for his life was the key to perfecting his own mind, body, and path as a cultivator. It would push him as far as any Basic cultivator could go.

    ¡°But what happens when I¡¯m actually ready for Bronze?¡±

    That was the kicker, he thought to himself, equally aware that he was riding on the slat boards over a massive wagon rooftop now traversing an enormous desert¡­ and soaring upon wings of revelation, gazing upon a path of ascension that promised such potency at such horrific cost, that it was all he could do not to look away.

    Even as he was fascinated by the power before him.

    The rival of any god he had ever seen.

    Power that could be his¡­ perhaps had once been his.

    So long as he followed the path of perseverance and growth.

    So long as he never surrendered.

    Which still begged the question¡­

    What exactly where those flickering lights, and why did they remind him so much of the stream of lives glimpsed upon the river of souls? And just how boundless was this Boundless Path he now found himself on?

    So lost in thought he became that he forgot to pull his eyes from that obsidian darkness at the heart of it all. He was more shocked than horrified when the abyss chose that moment to stare back at him. Revealing not ebony darkness, but eyes as blue as the summer sky.

    His own.

    He felt the scream bubble in his throat, his soul pulled into perilous currents as he too fell into hideous blackness¡­ along with countless millions of souls that had dared to invade a realm once guarded by WiFu¡¯s eternal disciple.

 Book 8 - Chapter 11 - Sparring with a desert rose and plans for the future.

    ¡°Alex? Alex! Are you alright?¡±

    Alex lurched up with a gasp, covered in cold sweat as he gazed into Ya Ling¡¯s concerned features, instantly noting the quilted vest and mail shirt she wore. ¡°Alex?¡±

    He gulped for air, taking deep breaths, doing his best to steady his racing heart. He forced a nod. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. What¡¯s up?¡±

    Ya Ling gave him a strange look. ¡°Alex, you were screaming.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°I thought I was meditating.¡±

    This earned a smirk. ¡°Do you normally snore when you meditate?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t snore.¡±

    She rolled her kohl-lined eyes. ¡°Of course you don¡¯t. No man does, am I right?¡±

    Alex forced a chuckle. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    She smirked and tousled his hair. ¡°Well, I think you got a good night¡¯s meditation. You up for a little sparring practice before the caravan gets going?¡±

    Alex stretched and yawned, noting the gorgeous fiery red and gold sunrise. Just enough light to see by without risking serious injury. ¡°You know what? I think it¡¯s the perfect time. I know we took out those raiders, so I¡¯m sure we have plenty of spare gear, but do we have any sparring equipment?¡±

    ¡°What, you¡¯re afraid to test me with lives steel?¡± she said with a grin.

    Alex solemnly nodded. ¡°Damn right I am. Don¡¯t get me wrong, it¡¯s actually vital for serious warriors to spar, safely, with edged weapons. Sharpened steel bites and binds completely different from blunt steel or wooden feders. But the most important aspect for that sort of training is control, and you and I have never sparred before.¡±

    Ya Ling smirked. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that you¡¯re afraid to take me on.¡±

    Alex rolled his eyes. ¡°Hardly.¡±

    ¡°Prove it,¡± she said, unsheathing her jian. Her eyes were alight with mischief and something more, and Alex couldn¡¯t deny the surge of adrenaline he felt as well, his own dao now held in a high hanging guard.

    She gave an approving nod as she darted in with a quick teasing flick of her blade, her face furrowing in a surprisingly cute pout when Alex expertly tapped her blade off line, before stepping back.

    ¡°Now we just have to determine the stakes of our little bout,¡± she said, as Bronze tier Finesse and Quickness well above fifteen allowed her to twist her blade past his line with serpentine grace.

    Rank 10 Golden Realms kung fu modified by 15 Quickness & 15 Finesse versus Rank 4 Mantis modified by 17 Quickness & 20 Finesse.

    Your opponent bests you by one point!

    You have lost a bone button from your changshan tunic!

    ¡°One point for me!¡± She crowed, catching his button with a smile.

    Alex blinked and bowed his head as Ya Ling preened. ¡°Nice one,¡± he commended. ¡°Of course, you have to remember that life and death struggles are rarely a carefully organized duel where everyone embraces the same tempo you do. In those sorts of situations, it¡¯s best to expect the unexpected.¡±

    Even as he said the words, he was racing forward, Tier 2 Bronze Strength allowing him to use his war blade with the same grace as another might hold a feather-weight fencing saber, flicking the edge of his dao to bind with her own before jerking it off line with enough force that she almost lost her weapon, all her effort now on keeping a tight grip on the hilt as Alex¡¯s free hand claimed her wrist, and even her Bronze tier Finesse couldn¡¯t keep him from effortlessly disarming her. Her attempts to sweep him off his feet and twist around only earned her an unexpected toss onto the sands, Alex wearing too wide a grin, panting only slightly as he loomed over her.

    ¡°Live steel catches and hooks in ways that masters of blunt training feders will never understand. And in battle, strength, power, and the ability to crash through your enemy¡¯s lines is far more important than sliding out of the way of a single opponent¡¯s dueling blade. Especially when an entire line of opponents are crashing into your own troops.¡±

    ¡°Because the first rule in love and war is to expect the unexpected, right, Alex?¡± Ya Ling whispered in a husky voice a heartbeat before he could regain his feet and lift her back to her own.

    Instead her hand snaked around his neck, striking him with a blow he didn¡¯t expect and had no good counter for, as soft warm lips pressed fiercely against his own.

    Alex froze as a warm tongue caressed his own, soft brown eyes imploring him as the scent of a woman in the pique of health, and desire, flooded his exquisitely acute senses.

    His heart began to pound.

    And the Dantian of his reborn form felt absolutely no pressure at all.

    ¡°I admit it, you bested me, hero,¡± Ya Ling whispered into his ear after breaking off a kiss that left Alex absolutely breathless. ¡°I think it¡¯s time you claimed your prize, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Alex sighed and closed his eyes, surprised by the hot stinging tear he gifted the desert sands with.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    He winced at the tone in her voice, an odd mixture of regret and concern.

    She deserved to know the truth. At least a bit of it, he decided, though he was surprised at how his voice choked up when he finally got the words out.

    ¡°I¡­ lost someone. Recently. Or at least¡­ that¡¯s how it feels to me.¡±

    Ya Ling winced, lowering her head. ¡°I¡¯m such a fool."

    Alex solemnly lowered his head. ¡°Hardly that. Beautiful, talented, deadly with a blade, a fearsome opponent for any man¡¯s heart, sure. But you¡¯re hardly a fool.¡± He smirked. ¡°Believe me, I have that role covered just fine.¡±

    Ya Ling pressed her palms to her eyes. She sighed, leaning against him, and Alex wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see that you don¡¯t think too badly of me, after saving my life. A champion after my own heart¡­ only it¡¯s destined not to be.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he offered.

    ¡°Do you want to talk about it?¡±

    Alex sighed, gazing off towards the horizon. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s amazing just how serendipitous us meeting when and where we did truly was. Just like another encounter that happened, well, I¡¯m not sure how long ago.¡± He gave a sad shake of his head. ¡°Really, there¡¯s not much to tell. I fell in love over a period of weeks that felt like years. But it didn¡¯t change the fact that me and my extended¡­ clan, I guess you could say, we never saw eye to eye. They¡¯ve been doing their best to get rid of me since I can remember. This last time they went too far, and I had to leave for good.¡±

    ¡°And you had to leave her behind,¡± Ya Ling whispered, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Me too,¡± he said, swallowing back the bittersweet melancholia coming so close to overwhelming him. He clenched his fist, the one not holding her far more slender hand. ¡°But time is the one element which I have no hope of traversing. It forever compels us forward, and we¡¯re forever forced to obey. Which means that moping here on the desert sands is the height of idiocy. I don¡¯t learn, I don¡¯t grow, I only mourn for a past I can never change.¡±

    Ya Ling gave an approving nod. ¡°True. So what will you do now?¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll train. I¡¯ll train my absolute ass off and learn as much as I can and enhance my abilities as best I can. Then, when I¡¯m ready, I¡¯ll ascend to Bronze and blaze through to Silver before taking the next step, and seeing just how flexible my exile really is.¡±

    Her eyes widened. ¡°Alex, you¡¯re talking about a lifetime goal that most people don¡¯t have a hope of achieving like it will take you just a summer! And you¡¯re not Bronze already? I mean, you¡¯re already as graceful and quick as most Bronze cultivators who don¡¯t follow a path like mine, or like the wind, but your body is that of a Strength cultivator who¡¯s already broken through!¡±

    Alex chuckled softly. ¡°Or maybe that¡¯s just my draconic heritage coming through.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re joking.¡±

    Alex winked, saying nothing.

    ¡°Alex, you are joking, right?¡±

    He laughed at that. ¡°Come on, Ya Ling. It looks like everyone is finally starting to wake up.¡±

    Alex was surprised by the warm nods and friendly smiles he received from the caravanners readying their spirit mounts and covered wagons for another day in the desert as the pair of them made their way to Qing Wu¡¯s wagon, Ya Ling somehow having forgotten to let go of his hand.

    ¡°Look at him, with a dao at his hip and a girl by his side. Ha, like the hero of a proper tale, for sure,¡± declared one middle-aged gentleman flashing the pair of them a warm smile and a proper loaf of freshly braked bread that smelled absolutely delightful in the warm desert breeze.

    ¡°Thank you, Luo. The Wu¡¯s love your bread!¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± the man said with a chuckle. ¡°They get the first loaves of every batch! A well-fed wujen is a happy wujen, and a happy wujen makes for an even happier caravan,¡± the man declared with a gap-toothed grin.

    He gave Alex an unexpected bow. ¡°And a separate loaf for you, hero. Something to share with your girl, perhaps,¡± he said with a teasing smile, somehow disappearing before Alex could even formulate a response as Ya Ling chuckled throatily.

    ¡°Come on, ¡®hero.¡¯ We¡¯ll break bread with Qing and Reny. They have the olives and cheese to make this a real treat.¡±

    Alex had no problems with that, soon enjoying a light, filling breakfast as the wujen couple shared looks and smiles that Alex just knew was at their expense. But all they did was talk of their many adventures riding the caravans connecting multiple cities together, and of course, their children and grandchildren in the city of Liushi, where they would take a break from the caravan life for at least a time.

    ¡°Will you be going back to teaching?¡± Ya Ling asked politely enough, for all that the comforting air of the caravan suddenly grew strained.

    Alex realized there was a story there, from the way the couple exchanged glances. But their only response was, ¡°We¡¯ll see, child. Certainly the academy will be happy to take you both on,¡± Reny allowed.

    ¡°What academy is this?¡± Alex asked, earning a snort from Qing Wu.

    ¡°Silver Sands Academy. The oldest academy in Liushi. And whatever differences of opinion my wife and I have with the headmaster, the library is, without a doubt, the best you¡¯ll find anywhere.¡±

    Alex blinked at this, staring at the man for long moments, before coming to an abrupt conclusion. ¡°Cool, sweet, thanks for letting me know. What¡¯s the second best academy in Liushi? Or better yet, any academy where students are treated as family more than tools, and the headmaster¡¯s actually a grandfatherly sort with a twinkle in his eye and a soft-spot for oddballs and new students?¡±

    Qing and Reny shared a glance with Ya Ling before all three burst out in laughter.

    ¡°You set him up with that, didn¡¯t you, Ling, dear?¡± Reny chortled, with tears in her eyes.

    Ya Ling solemnly shook her head, flashing Alex a mirthful smile as she took another bite of her breakfast. ¡°I think we know where he must have gotten that impression.¡±

    Reny sighed and nodded, flashing Alex a sympathetic smile. ¡°Sadly, Alex, life in the larger cities is quite a bit different from Ruidian communes. Cultivation academies in particular are highly competitive institutions, almost always. Not because we¡¯re as ruthless as the raiders who had been so eager for our heads the other day, but simply because resources are limited and it¡¯s the larger, more powerful institutions and associations that will claim the lions share of any resource, avenue of income, or tomes of knowledge that might be available.¡±

    ¡°Through legitimate means, of course,¡± her husband hastily assured. ¡°Silver Sands will pay any merchant, private investor, or bookseller an absolutely princely sum for rare or highly sought cultivation techniques or training manuals they might come across. And independent gatherers specializing in desert herbs know just who to sell their prizes to for a comfortable living.¡±

    Reny nodded. ¡°And those herbalists, merchants, and booksellers wouldn¡¯t even dream of not selling to their friends at Sliver Sands. No need for me to say more than that, is there, children? None of us here are fools, after all. No matter how much some of us might get swept up by passion¡¯s tides.¡±

    Alex paid very close attention to his soft-cheese covered bread then, deliberately not looking at a too perceptive Reny or a blushing Qing Wu.

    ¡°So, Silver Sands is one of those academies where students are basically left to fend for themselves like a pack of wild dogs, winner take all in terms of resources or teacher¡¯s attention?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, Alex!¡± Qing Wu said, looking momentarily offended, before softening it with a smile. ¡°I fear our cynicism might be coloring things a bit darker than you need worry about. Silver Sands will do its utmost to nurture its future champions. Why wouldn¡¯t they? They are a reflection of the school, and their success during the yearly competitions will earn them renewed bounties and the prince¡¯s interest at year¡¯s end. It is that reputation as much as anything else that informs merchants and suppliers who they will give preference to.¡±

    Alex nodded, suddenly getting it. ¡°So this competition you mentioned is, in a sense, what determines the pecking order between cultivation academies.¡±

    ¡°Pricisely,¡± Qing Wu allowed. ¡°And Silver Sands has every intention of claiming all the prizes this year, just as they did last, assuring they have a permanent lock on the city¡¯s choicest resources. Which means they wish for the strongest, most capable students and disciples that they can forge. So they treat their most gifted with all the care and attention that any prince could want for his children, saving countless youths who have the potential but an absolute lack of resources from being chewed up and spat out as broken trash before the politics of a more corrupt school that doesn¡¯t have to compete for a city-state¡¯s choice prizes.¡±

    Alex exchanged a thoughtful look with smiling Ya Ling, who nodded her agreement with her uncle¡¯s declaration. ¡°It assures that at least a good portion of the students have excellent opportunities based on merit alone. Much like in Qianshi.¡±

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Reny beamed. ¡°Precisely. The princes have their pride, but none are fools. Even their own favored academies must field sufficient students to compete in all the trials if they wish to command the lion¡¯s share of resources in the following year.¡±

    ¡°Which means they need a constant supply of talented new recruits to instruct and nurture every year,¡± Alex noted. ¡°My only question is what happens to the bottom half of any student body? What about those who have the potential to cultivate, but lack such brilliant talent?¡±

    The three desert people exchanged oddly pitying glances.

    ¡°Do you truly not understand, Alex?¡± Ya Ling asked softly.

    Alex winced, suddenly getting it. ¡°They¡¯re the ones that are ground under the heels of those destined for greatness. The difference is that it¡¯s more than just a few spoiled ¡®young masters¡¯ allowed to excel in this part of the world, but scores of talented youth. Even if scores more are lucky just to have a chance to learn the most basic techniques when not being worked to the bone for the sake of others.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Qing Wu concurred. ¡°The yearly trials are a searing desert light, where competition demands excellence, and burns away the rot of corruption. And even with minimal resources expended, all cultivators still have access to the first floor of the library at Silver Sands academy. One of the most extensive libraries you¡¯ll find in all the oasises that dot our desert realm. Every student who attends is sure to enjoy vitality, health, and a future far better than that which their mortal relatives might enjoy.¡±

    Alex exchanged a jaded look with Reny. ¡°Tell me that there¡¯s even one school within the city if Liushi that comes anywhere close to challenging Silver Sands in prestige, power, or enrollment.¡±

    Reny smirked, shaking her head. ¡°There is only one Academy truly worthy of being called such in Liushi, in Qianshi, and in pretty much every other major city.¡±

    ¡°Because those major schools are the favored of the elites,¡± Ya Ling explained. ¡°The other sects are allowed to exist as a whetstone used to keep the favored academy¡¯s graduates sharp and ready for the city¡¯s benefit. They¡¯re never expected to actually ascend to anything significant, merely force the truly favored to stay on their toes.¡±

    Reny gave a sad nod. ¡°Believe me, Alex, those small sects are everything you could hope to have in a small school willing to treat you like family, with all the one-on-one instruction from their limited teachers that they can give you. But that¡¯s all they will ever be able to give you. No true mastery, and absolutely no access to an elite tomes or a wujen¡¯s wondrous arts.¡± She sighed and gave a sad shake of her head. ¡°Even if some small sect stumbles upon a prot¨¦g¨¦ that nets them considerable resources for the following year, that¡¯s still just a fraction of what any gifted student at Silver Sands will enjoy, and as like as not, Silver Sands will recruit the other school¡¯s champion in very short order. Those proteges know this and, if anything, will fight for all they¡¯re worth just to prove their worth to the true elite school of the region.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°All of which keeps the schools focused on forging gifted winners, even if countless others are ground under the machinations of academies both big and small.¡±

    Qing Wu¡¯s gaze hardened. Before he sighed and shook his head. ¡°True,¡± he admitted with an odd hitch to his voice. ¡°But everyone is shown the path to a solid foundation, and a significant fraction is additionally given the resources and encouragement they need to truly excel every year. It¡¯s not perfect, but nothing ever is.¡± He gave a cynical chuckle. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe how many years my wife and I have searched for a better way.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re working as guard and healer of this caravan. It¡¯s not for the money, obviously, it¡¯s to find and recruit the best for Silver Sands! And if you can find any hints of a better way of doing things¡­ well, all the better, since you both clearly have hearts as well.¡±

    Qing Wu gazed pointedly at a suddenly wincing Alex, wondering just how many taboos regarding propriety and etiquette he had broken, when the man exchanged a look with his wife.

    ¡°Quite a feat to be so perceptive, and yet so foolish as well,¡± Reny noted.

    Qing smirked in agreement. ¡°A wiser man would have smiled and nodded, understanding all without having to say a word.¡±

    ¡°So call me a fool,¡± Alex snarked, ¡°but I like to know where I stand.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Qing allowed. ¡°I think you and Ya Ling will both make wonderful additions to Silver Sands. But only if we can cure the damage that damnable Kileetra caused to our foundations with that poison. Because the minute you enter the school, you¡¯ll be given little time to recover from whatever ordeals got you there, let alone the months or seasons needed until our body has fully recovered from that foul poison and is truly strong enough to endure the rigors of cultivation once more.¡±

    Ya Ling blanched, eyes widening in horror. ¡°But Alex gave me the antidote. Gave it to all of us. And he seems fine! I felt so much better, just a bit sore and¡­ I had hoped¡­ no more than a week?¡±

    Reny gave a sad shake of her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, child. The testing I did on all of us while your hero slept the day away confirmed my worst fears. All of us have suffered damage to our foundations, my husband most acutely, after being forced to strain himself to the utmost to ward us from attack, as our enemies had no doubt intended.¡±

    Ya Ling glared and shook her head. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is, we¡¯re doomed. My enemies couldn¡¯t have me, so they destroyed me from within. Thus I¡¯m no prize to anyone, and no school will bother to claim me. I¡¯m just cattle to be rounded up once more to make clear to the world what happens to anyone who dares to defy my would-be masters.¡±

    Qing Wu snorted. ¡°That¡¯s certainly one option. The other is that we take a slight detour and dare a nearby rift only a week or so out of our way.¡±

    Ya Ling froze, before slowly turning Qing Wu¡¯s way. ¡°Dare a rift¡­ when all we have between us, forgive my saying so, is two brittle Bronze, a damaged Silver, and a Basic cultivator far stronger than he has any right to be?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not forget Captain Dui Zhong,¡± Qing Wu said, before sighing and slumping in his seat. ¡°And yes, it¡¯s as bad as you think.¡± He flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Still, there are benefits to spending years on the road, learning what secrets and lore are to be found by furtive traders and gregarious caravanners as well. The rift I speak of is of a gentler sort, so long as you can step quietly enough to avoid the wildlife. Many a bold caravanner with a gift has escaped with their lives, some even doing so with a choice piece of fruit held in their trembling hands, which my wife and I brought for a pretty penny, I assure you.¡±

    Ya Ling gave a breathless shudder. ¡°These wouldn¡¯t happen to be aspected fruit¡­ would they, beloved and revered elders?¡±

    Reny chuckled softly. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what they are, child. Aspected to Wisdom and pristine spiritual energy. Exactly what I need to generate a restorative elixir that will not only repair the damage done, but gift you, perhaps gift us all, with such insights that it makes a breakthrough all but certain!¡±

    Alex¡¯s own eyes widened at this. He couldn¡¯t quite hold back a grin. ¡°Cultivation boosting spirit fruit tinctures at the end of a perilous delve where we¡¯re risking our necks every step of the way? Sounds exactly like my kind of adventure. I¡¯m in!¡± He furrowed his brow, ignoring the looks the others were now giving him. ¡°But I could really use more substantial gear than this dao and my threadbare changshan tunic. I don¡¯t suppose anyone has any ko-naginata, guandao, or, I don¡¯t know¡­ a fangtian ji I could use?¡±

    ¡°Is this boy serious?¡± Reny huffed.

    Qing Wu chuckled, eyes twinkling with approval. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ that¡¯s exactly the kind of fighting spirit we¡¯ll need, if we dare that sanctuary which I suspect might be a bit more perilous than the tales would suggest.¡± His gaze hardened. ¡°Which is why we will do nor more than dare the outskirts alone. We¡¯re not there to hunt for trouble we can ill afford, but to discretely claim what prizes from the oasis we may, before slipping back into the desert once more.¡±

    Alex bowed his head, features solemn and serious, though he couldn¡¯t quite hide the excitement he felt. ¡°Understood, Master Wu.¡±

    ¡°Good! Then best we get training! We have only a week before we arrive. And as we know that both Water and Earth are your affinities¡­ no reason not to see if a half-step art might also be yours.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened when the man summoned a needle-tipped spike of bitter cold ice once more.

    ¡°Well, Alex? Would you be interested in learning a wujen¡¯s arts, assuming you have the knack for it?¡±

    Alex gave an enthusiastic nod. ¡°You¡¯re damn right I would!¡± He then frowned with concern. ¡°But with the strain to your...¡±

    Qing Wu gave a dismissive shake of his head. ¡°Lest you forget, I¡¯m Silver. This demonstration does little more than limber me up. No strain upon that which, if all goes well, we might actually have a chance of healing by the most miraculous of concoctions. But only if we¡¯re prepared to face down jealous beasts that would claim the sanctuary¡¯s prizes for themselves.¡±

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°Of course, Master Wu.¡± He turned to Ya Ling, who flashed a sad smile, slowly shaking her head.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid Ice is beyond me, Alex. Though not exactly anethema, the grains of my being can¡¯t grasp it for the life of me.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyebrows rose at this. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    Ya Ling flashed a playful smile. ¡°I may not be able to embrace all my abilities, but the few I have access to will put you in your place quickly enough, boy.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Sure it will.¡± His gaze turned serious. ¡°Are you going to be practicing with your jian?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Captain Dui Zhong made it clear he¡¯d be happy to embrace basic forms with me.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. But let me ask you this. Is dueling with a man who knows better than to humiliate a girl risking her life under his guidance, a man who clearly defers to you, the same as daring to take on savage beasts who hunger only for your death?¡±

    Ya Ling paled, opening her mouth¡­ before slowly shaking her head. ¡°No,¡± she said softly.

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°My experiences have been a bit on the ecclectic side, but what I can tell you is that, unless you¡¯re using your sword as a tool to channel your Qi, polearms with excellent reach and the ability to shift your grip for maximum leverage trounce swordsmen eight times out of ten. Unless said swordsmen have a shield, of course, then it¡¯s a lot closer. But not against spirit beasts. There, you need the added reach of a long wooden shaft and the ability to use both arms to leverage your weapon against a beast¡¯s inhuman strength, not to mention the ability to generate enough power to actually cut through their tough hides. In that situation, where you never have to worry about arrows, quarrels, or sling stones, polearms truly reign supreme.¡±

    He locked gazes with Ya Ling. ¡°Tell me, when you practice your forms, do you ever do so using a buckler or round shield?¡±

    She mutely shook her head. ¡°Never. And had you met me three days ago, before we were poisoned¡­ I¡¯d prove just how wrong you are, underestimating my style so completely.¡±

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°I believe you. I¡¯m guessing you have Qi abilities that compliment your form exceptionally.¡±

    She gave a proud nod of her head. ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. But how about now? We¡¯re about to dare spirit beasts that give even Qing Wu pause. Are you ready to face them as you are?¡±

    Ya Ling clenched her fists, pinning Alex with a glare he hadn¡¯t expected, but perhaps should have. ¡°You¡¯ve made your point. Are you done belittling me and my art now, Alex?¡±

    Alex quickly raised his hands. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to belittle you or anyone! But maybe that didn¡¯t come out right. My apologies. What I¡¯m getting at, what I¡¯m trying to say¡­ is would you like me to teach you the art of the spear?¡±

    Reny huffed. ¡°A week¡¯s time to learn an art worthy of beasts used to hunting cultivators? Preposterous!¡±

    Qing Wu gave Alex a thoughtful nod. ¡°Not a bad idea, disciple. I¡¯ve sensed your skill firsthand. You certainly have the knowledge, assuming you can teach.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help grinning at that. ¡°Who knows, master Wu. I might just surprise you.¡±

    He lifted his hand, apologizing with his smile as best he could. ¡°So, what do you say? Up for learning from an unknown wildcard no older than yourself?¡±

    Ya Ling smirked. ¡°When you put it like that... absolutely! When can we start?¡±

    Alex turned to Qing Wu. ¡°What time do you want to do our lessons?¡±

    Qing Wu crossed his arms, peering at Alex thoughtfully, before giving a slow nod. ¡°We¡¯re leaving in less than half a glass. How about when you two are done practice? We¡¯ll have the entire day to teach you what I can in the time that we have.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Perfect. I don¡¯t suppose there are any objections to training wherever we are comfortable?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡±

    ¡°Good. Because I noted that your wagon rooftops are reinforced both for fighting and, I¡¯m guessing, carrying even more cargo between desert cities. Which makes them absolutely perfect for a certain style of training that served me and my disciples quite well, once upon a time.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes bulged. ¡°Wait, you mean spar on the rooftop for my very first lessons? In the heat of the day? While we¡¯re moving?¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡±

    To Alex¡¯s surprise, she immediately warmed up to the challenge. ¡°You¡¯re on. Though I think you¡¯ll find that the sun agrees with me a lot more than you.¡±

    Alex gave her aunt and uncle a bemused smile. ¡°I get the feeling that it would take a lot more than our footsteps to cause any harm to this wagon. And I already know from firsthand experience that the reinforced rooftop was built as bulwark of sorts. If it can take on raiders on all sides, it can take on a pair of sparring cultivators practicing common sense as well.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Elder Ru conceded, exchanging a thoughtful look from his wife, who huffed but nodded after a long glare Alex¡¯s way.

    ¡°Fine. They can practice. As long as they don¡¯t do anything to make me regret it!¡±

    She glared at them both like they were a pair of rabbits, and that certain things were absolutely inevitable. And the way that Ya Ling was also looking at him¡­

    Alex cleared his throat. ¡°Awesome! Now we just need the appropriate...¡±

    His eyes widened when a pair of practice spears complete with leather-wrapped tips manifested, as well as a pair of quality razor sharp ones and, of all things, a fangtian ji.

    ¡°Careful, Alex. That thing¡¯s meant to take on heavily armored frontliners and cavalry. Not...¡± Qing Wu frowned when a beaming Alex effortlessly claimed it, twirling it in his hands without the blade even knicking the semi-cramped wagon, despite the looks Ya Ling and Reny were both sending his way.

    ¡°I see I don¡¯t need to warn you about the intricacies of that weapon, do I.¡±

    ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± Alex assured with a grin, forcing his hands to stillness, lest Reny¡¯s glares and murmurs about her precious plants cause him actual harm. ¡°With you¡¯re permission, we¡¯ll get to training.¡±

    And a short while later, Alex, now kitted up in the padding and mail shirts captured from their would-be executioners that best fit him, was finding the best stances for the reinforced wagon top that really was like the carriage rooftop that he and Hao Chan had once spent a handful of weeks forging themselves into warriors worthy of the title, every day filled with fresh revelations, for all that a price had been paid. Years expended in a handful of weeks, and Eternal Fox had allowed him to forgo the cost entirely.

    An art which he regrettably had no access to right now. And for all that he felt as if all of his cells were already supercharged, beyond even what his Tier 2 Bronze Vitality would suggest¡­ he wouldn¡¯t play the fool, or force the girl before him to pay a price to master an art that wasn¡¯t tied to her interests, inclination, or soul.

    Yet Alex found it amazing how quickly bemusement and flirting had turned to fierce determination, once Alex showed her just how thoroughly spear beat jian in terms of binding and reach, particularly when Alex had the advantage of a widely spaced grip and Tier 2 Bronze Strength, far beyond Ya Ling¡¯s own.

    ¡°Alright, you made your point,¡± she said, glaring Alex¡¯s way when her jian was sent cartwheeling through the air yet again, fortunately far away from any of the guards and caravanners, most having the sense to take shelter in the noonday sun. Yet somehow his partner didn¡¯t seem any more bothered by the heat than he was. If anything, she seemed to thrive off it. Much like Alex, drawing sweet potency from the sun without the need of any cultivation technique at all.

    Fortunately, the olive-skinned woman before him was a talented warrior in her own right, quickly picking up the basics of winding and binding the shaft of her spear against his own. ¡°Not so different from the softer jian arts, Alex,¡± she said with a hungry smile, before swooping her weapon under his guard, and lunging for his groin. ¡°Careful, or I might just...¡±

    Rank 10 modified skill check successful!

    She glared when Alex spun his weapon around her spear thrust, whipping his weapon about with sufficient force to crack stone, stopping the windmilling motion of his spear just inches from her frightened countenance.

    Both of them froze like that, Alex¡¯s fierce grin turned to wide-eyed dismay when he realized what he had almost done.

    ¡°The way you were whipping that shaft around, Alex. That thing could have...¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    She swallowed, shaking her head. ¡°No need to apologize. You just reminded me that a six foot staff swung with force can kill as easily as any sword.¡±

    Alex forced a nod. ¡°So it¡¯s important to control your opponent¡¯s weapon in the bind. Always. So if he attempts to disengage and strike at odd angles...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already impaled him with a thrust to his center line. I know.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    From that moment on, Ying Qi took to their training with a fierce zeal that impressed even Alex, making visible progress as morning turned to high noon, and an exasperated Reny made it clear it was time for lunch and she wouldn¡¯t be treating fools who collapsed from heat exhaustion under the midday desert sun, no matter how invulnerable they thought they were.

    His newest sparring partner flashed a sheepish smile. ¡°I think we¡¯re going to have to take a break, Alex.¡±

    He frowned, gazing with concern at the way she rubbed her gloved hands. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°Maybe a blister or two. But I know it will be fine by tomorrow morning.¡± She then frowned, giving him a pointed look. ¡°And I just recalled¡­ weren¡¯t you stabbed in the kidney the other day?¡± She paled. ¡°Alex, I didn¡¯t mean to insist¡­ all those hours practicing, it¡¯s a miracle it hasn¡¯t opened up!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Alex assured with a smile. ¡°Honestly, I feel right as rain.¡±

    She glared his way before stomping over and lifting up hauberk, padding, and tunic to gaze upon his back before cursing softly. ¡°What the hell? There¡¯s no way¡­ and I know Reny¡¯s so fragile that she doesn¡¯t dare engage in healing arts directly. It¡¯s why half of us are still wearing liniments and dressing!¡±

    He grinned under her regard, but knew what she was getting at. After two days of rest, the stab that should have bled him out like a stuck pig was gone as if it had never been. ¡°Can¡¯t imagine what you¡¯re getting at.¡± He mimed listening closely. ¡°What¡¯s that? I believe Reny¡¯s threatening to throw our lunch onto the sands. I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m all about not wasting my lunch. Come on, let¡¯s eat!¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 12 - Cultivation Insights

    ¡°Well that was an interesting lunch,¡± a bemused Qing Wu noted a bit later, the pair on the wagon roof, now absent any weapons of war but with the very comfortable addition of what was effectively a movable canvas tarp acting as an umbrella as his mentor took his ease and summoned a rotating spike of ice.

    Alex nodded. Ya Ling had been full of questions, and Alex could only say so much without lying, something he was reluctant to do. Yet now it was Alex who was full of questions, gazing with no small amount of wonder and awe for the glittering spike of ice the wujen before him manipulated so effortlessly.

    An art he had never heard of, making use of techniques that had somehow been forbidden to him, under the countless times he had come before. Yet now, to his amazement, he felt a freedom so alien to him, with all ancient strictures lifted, that it was as humbling as it was exhilarating.

    Just knowing that if he dared walk the path now coalescing before him, even a wujen¡¯s arts could become his own.

    He shut his eyes, finding it far easier to focus on the weave of spiritual energy with Qi Perception and a touch of Soul Sight working in odd tandem, doing his best to sense the weaves of spiritual energy under the manifestation. Qing Wu¡¯s encouragements and gentle explanations went in one ear and out the other. All of Alex¡¯s focus was on sensing the flow of Qi allowing the older cultivator to manipulate this miraculous, alien element, and make it his own.

    Qi Perception at -5 to skill check (alien art): failed! You have no idea how your would-be mentor is manipulating and fusing multiple elements into one!

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Master Wu. Could you show me that technique one more time? I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get it soon.¡±

    Qing Wu laughed at the sheer absurdity of the statement. ¡°Alex, it takes the best of students weeks if not months to learn even a single spell. I¡¯m well aware that all you can hope to gain now is a familiarity for the feel of the spell and the theory behind it¡¯s manifestation.¡±

    Still, the wujen was good-natured enough to repeat the demonstration, not once, but half a dozen times. And then a dozen more. Each one was slowly, carefully, summoned and built from streams of ethereal chilly energy that Alex was awed by and could sense peripherall but couldn¡¯t wrap his metaphoric fingers around, no matter how hard he tried.

    It was only when Qing Wu¡¯s bemused smile turned to a slight grimace that Alex snapped out of his obsession, his desperate need to observe, absorb, and learn what he could, realizing that what he was doing was pushing a fragile, damaged Silver to endanger his most precious gift for the sake of Alex¡¯s own hungry need to prove himself with outrageous feats yet again.

    While putting another man¡¯s cultivation at risk. A man who was clearly feeling strain beneath his smile, who would no doubt be glaring with outrage at any other student demanding such strenuous demonstrations, did he not feel the obligations of both a life debt, intellectually and emotionally, but golden bonds of karma as well.

    ¡°Master Wu, forgive me! Please, take your ease. This foolish student forgets himself in his eagerness to learn,¡± Alex said with breathless worry, when he saw the painful furrowed brows as Qing Wu dared to coalesce his energy once more.

    Qing Wu¡¯s features instantly smoothed to perfect tranquility. ¡°I hope that gave you a sense of the very basics of the wujen¡¯s art, Alex. Sensing the flow of Qi not within one¡¯s body directly, but rather within a matrix of carefully constructed spiritual energy that you then release with your will. Using the forces that shape our very world to shape the world in turn!¡± He gave Alex¡¯s shoulder a friendly pat. ¡°I can sense your dedication and desire to learn, even from here. But by all means, rest, Alex. Rest and meditate upon our demonstration, and we¡¯ll continue your lessons on the morrow.¡±

    Alex swallowed, quickly nodding his head. ¡°It will be as you say, Master Wu. I will stay out here and meditate upon our lessons¡­ and make use of the little that I know as well.¡±

    This earned a polite eyebrow. ¡°You already know a wujen arts?¡±

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°The elemental shield, Master Wu. On the off chance Ya Ling¡¯s enemies try another hit¡­ best I polish the skills I have already learned, as best I can.¡±

    The wujen grimaced, before giving a slow nod. ¡°Arts that exquisitely straddle the line between Body Cultivator and so much more. Yes, by all means, Alex. Practice for as long as your focus remains clean and sharp.¡± The man sighed. ¡°I fear we will need to make use of your own talents yet again before this journey is done. Let¡¯s just hope it¡¯s after we find a fortunate encounter or two within the desert rifts.¡±

    Alex quickly nodded. ¡°I agree completely, Master Wu.¡±

    The man gave a distinguished dip of his head, every inch the proud, powerful Silver. It was only the slight tremble Alex sensed when he gently assisted the man down the hatch and into the heart of the massive covered wagon that gave him away.

    As did Reny¡¯s voice. ¡°Qing!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, my dear,¡± he said with a placating smile, patting a furiously blushing Alex¡¯s shoulders. ¡°I but demonstrated my arts for our student. No undue strain, I assure you.¡±

    Alex wilted under Reny¡¯s glare. ¡°I¡¯ll get back up there and keep an eye out for trouble,¡± he said, desperate to escape the woman¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°You were being a fool!¡± Alex heard her hiss, once he was topside once more. ¡°Straining yourself when you already pushed yourself so far.¡±

    ¡°It was hardly a strain, beloved, I...¡±

    ¡°Shut up and rest. You know the rejuvenation techniques you should be embracing. The same one¡¯s I¡¯ve had Ya Ling practice whenever she¡¯s not making eyes at that foolish boy! I¡¯ll make you both some stew.¡±

    Alex spent long moments castigating himself, before shaking his head, and letting it go. He certainly hadn¡¯t meant to cause his mentor any undue strain. He had simply forgotten for a moment just how fragile the man now was, so used to masters that were leagues beyond him in wisdom and power both. Of course, what he found most humbling of all was how that ephemeral, elusive manipulation of what his minds swore was Water, Earth, perhaps Metal as well, was in fact something entirely different. Fascinating and infuriating, and, as much as he hated to admit it, utterly beyond him.

    He couldn¡¯t help but give a rueful chuckle as he took in a lungful of warm desert air, smelling crisp, clean, with a hint of fiery sand. He gazed up at the glorious blue sky, the sun¡¯s warm golden rays a gentle balm caressing his skin that eagerly drank in the golden light.

    He closed his eyes, savoring the moment, letting it soothe him. He¡¯d do his best to make up for his lapse to his friends below, later. Now it was time to take stock, embrace his strengths, and accept his flaws. He recalled all too well how quickly body cultivation techniques came to him, before recalling a truth that had profound revelations. For all that he had grown by leaps and bounds at Royal Phoenix academy, and had made excellent use of instructors, students, and his sworn foes to hone the edge of his killing techniques, when it came to actually learning new techniques, he had almost always had the benefit of cultivation manuals rich with with the spiritual imprint of those who had come before.

    Whether it was the four basic elemental shields and strikes he had learned, advanced White Crane techniques, or even Dark Qi and Silver Swan, all of it had been enhanced by the spiritual imprint of masters who had come before. Including himself. The bottom line was that yes, he had made incredible strides as a cultivator, and almost all of it had been with the help of his Spirit Qi, allowing him to ride on the metaphoric mental shoulders of so many geniuses that had come before him.

    Not to mention a thousand years of being forged between heaven and hell, helping to refine WiFu¡¯s own art¡­ and his own. Because really, how much of his so-called flashes of genius and remarkable insight were ultimately just ancient memories finally trickling back into his thick skull?

    He gave a rueful chuckle. His time on Earth, comparing himself to his parents who truly were paragons in their respective fields, made it clear that, while bright, he was no genius. It was his experiences, hideous and wondrous as they were, over countless lifetimes, not to mention his odd Spirit Qi gifts that allowed him to commune so well with cultivation manuals, such that the memories of former masters quite literally became his own, that had allowed him to excel so far, so fast.

    That, and claiming the potency and soul stones of his enemies. He quickly shook that grim thought away, focusing on the point of it all.

    That as gifted as he was at arts limited to elements of body cultivation, he had never before, not in this life or any other, dared a wujen¡¯s path. At least, not that he knew of. In fact, he was almost certain of it. For only in this, his fresh start, his second chance at eternity, perhaps, was he free of strictures that had haunted and hindered him over countless lifetimes when he was little more than a piece upon a divine gameboard ruled by tricksters and spiteful gods.

    Only now was he truly free.

    ¡°Free to walk a path I have absolutely no background or experience in,¡± he said aloud with a rueful chuckle as the desert winds caressed his locks of golden hair. ¡°Free to stumble, make a fool of myself, and who knows? Maybe actually learn the basics at the same humble rate of any other aspirant hoping to make even average marks at the academy his recruiters are so eager for him to attend.¡± He couldn¡¯t help quirking a smile at that, before wincing as he forced himself to appreciate the full ramifications of his situation.

    ¡°Which means I¡¯m free to struggle as the average oddball student with an eccentric background at an academy that might be leagues above corruption-riddled hell-holes where only favored young masters with ties to the wealthy, politically powerful, or families already in the academy are able to lord it above everyone else. Instead, the school will cater to the top half, quarter, or whatever fraction are truly gifted future wujens. Which means that, as an average struggling student who doesn¡¯t have a thousand years worth of chopped up memories guiding him along this new path, I still won¡¯t be counted among those young geniuses. I will be struggling right along with all the other new-bloods grateful just to get past the front gate.¡±

    He gave a rueful chuckle, finding himself oddly excited to embrace yet another academy arc.

    He crossed his arms, and lied down on the gently swaying wagon, and spoke his thoughts aloud. ¡°But the best thing about truly being free, being no one¡¯s pawn at all, is that I can just say ¡®no.¡¯ Nothing stops me from just joining one of the smaller ¡®feeder schools¡¯ allowed to exist only so that Silver Sands academy has to keep itself relatively honest, so that the cream really does rise to the top, not just a bunch of nepotistic inbred assholes, for the benefit of both the prince and the city.¡±

    He smirked at the thought of Reny and Qing Wu¡¯s expressions would be, if he made it clear that he intended on turning down their supposed invite. ¡°I¡¯ll make it clear that I know the score, and I¡¯ll bet gold any of those smaller schools would be grateful to have me. I¡¯ll promise to do my best to trounce the competition, or at least put on a good showing on the martial front, if they¡¯ll promise to teach me what elemental techniques they actually do have access to. And since I actually managed to reforge a variant of an eight-element cycling technique so fast that Qing Wu actually thought I was a genius and not just a lucky fool with too many memories haunting his dreams¡­ and since I don¡¯t have to worry about forging the perfect foundation any more, there¡¯s no need to struggle desperately, endlessly, trying to get access to ancient tomes the gods themselves did all they could to keep from my grasp.¡±

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    He shivered in sudden memory of the dream, or perhaps nightmare, of a whirling super-cable that was somehow forming its own event horizon surrounded by an accretion disk of countless millions of spirits being torn and shredded to oblivion far beyond the stars¡­ and right around his soul.

    Shuddering as he glimpsed a flash of memory. Not his own, but his master¡¯s.

    The terror of a goddess, beseeching her nemesis. An impossibly beautiful woman that fox had once loved and lost, a thousand lifetimes ago.

    ¡°You must, WiFu. You must help us trap him! We know what he is, you fool! You can hide it no longer. You can deny it no longer. You forged a god of Death! After a thousand shattered lives, you turned that mockery of a disciple into a monster!¡±

    He came to himself moments later, fingernails indenting halfmoon cuts upon his palms, hearing nothing but the sound of his own hitched breath, the pounding of his heart¡­ before he shook those black thoughts away. Taking deep breaths of desert air, opening his eyes to savor the warm, welcoming desert sun caressing his skin¡­ pushing all dreams of darkness and oblivion away. Focusing on what mattered, savoring every day as it came, savoring this new life, a glorious fresh start¡­ and cleansing his mind of memories that had no place in this life, free of the bitterness and strife that had come so close to destroying him.

    A lifetime ago.

    He forced a pained smile that soon became genuine. ¡°At least I¡¯m no longer desperately looking for the perfect path for breaking through to Silver and Gold. I¡¯ve found my path. I think. Now it¡¯s about learning whatever techniques I can to best manipulate all the spiritual elements I have access to. And in that regard, there¡¯s nothing wrong with learning a multitude of skills, refining the best, and doing my utmost to excel. I don¡¯t need the best school in the land to achieve that. I just need a sect with friendly teachers and access to even a half-decent library of techniques, and that will set me in good standing, perhaps for years.¡±

    He was humble enough to accept his obvious flaws, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t take comfort in his strengths. It might take years for him to actually learn any aspect of a wujen¡¯s arts. Yet now was the perfect time to master those things he was good at, the accomplishments that were truly his own.

    He took deep, slow breaths, cycling his Spiritual Energy, focusing on his newly forged eight twined element technique, almost perfectly mirroring one of the three tri-state degenerate matter cords that were the foundational building blocks of his own future ascension. As the blazing morning sun reached it¡¯s zenith, and everyone save him had long since retreated to the comfort of their covered wagons for a midday nap, Alex felt the flow of spiritual energy cycling through his meridian channels grow an ever deeper hue. The colors grew rmore vibrant, the potency more intense as Alex worked at turning a moment¡¯s insight into a foundational technique that might serve as the springboard for all that he might hope to experience or accomplish in this, his first life free of divine machinations, living each day exactly as he chose.

    Congratulations! Hours of practice and singular focus has earned you Rank 3 in Desert Fox Cultivation Technique!

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hold back a grin. For all that he couldn¡¯t even sense let alone hope to manifest any sort of ice spike or other exotic technique, when it came to manipulating the classic eight elements, he was forging in hours would should be taking him months, at least. He knew that better than anyone. Just as he knew he could be doing so much more. That he was so much more than just a newly wakened innocent in a world he hardly understood. That all the trials and tribulations he had undergone, the sweet joys savored, the bitter tears shed, had meaning and relevance far beyond an evening¡¯s fanciful tale.

    All he had to do was think back upon all the revelations he had forged, training by Panheu¡¯s Side. So many skills dealing directly with the manipulation of Light or Dark Qi, or skills so powerful that they forced his Lower Dantian to actually shift alignment in order to better channel that violent potency, might be temporarily or forever sealed away. But the memories and insights he had gleaned were no less real, because of it.

    And one memory he recalled with surprising clarity, was the look of awe and wonder the two girls who meant so much to him had given him, seeing him on the cusp of a true breakthrough. Combining the five major elements into a shield of spiritual energy. He had been so close, he could taste it. Before deliberately easing back and denying himself that breakthrough, and the weakness that would come later, having to survive one perilous encounter after another in those heady days where he had been hated by so many gods and tyrannical nobles, all so eager to see him dead.

    Thank god, or one particular god of mischief, that he was free of their games at last.

    But that tickle in the back of his mind, that sense of a revelation almost embraced hadn¡¯t disappeared, or been barred from him.

    If anything, he felt it, on the cusp of actualization, stronger than ever.

    And as opposed to a mere five elements¡­ why not all eight? All eight that he understood, anyway. Eight elements that were literally a part of him, and had been, for millenia.

    As for what he needed for guidance?

    That was as simple as the eight streams of interwoven spiritual energy now saturating and energizing every cell within him, thanks to Desert Fox. A cultivation path that might do far more to rejuvenate than simply fill his spiritual energy reserves. But that was a task for later.

    For now? It was all about forging an elemental shield worthy of the headstrong former Silver that had once dared to challenge Golds.

    Wood would be the basis. The deepest art, tied to a forest whose lush, endless woodland valleys were impossibly far away from here. A sentient forest that bore the marks of his madness, desperation, and folly. Enchanted woodlands upon which he had gifted and anchored an entire newly forged world. The reviews might be mixed, but if the potency of the humble disc of wood both perfectly still and spinning at impossible speeds that he gripped like a buckler in his hand was any indication, he was most definitely still in the plus column, at least as far as that ancient forest, symbiote and anchor of an entire reality, was concerned.

    His Silver tier Forest of the Grove shield skill might be locked away, but his basic tier shield had more woodland potency coursing through it right now than he had ever channeled through anything in his life.

    And that was just the beginning.

    For as the glorious sun caressing the dragon¡¯s blood pounding through his veins heralded, the next element was Fire. Coming to him with a fierceness and potency beyond anything he could have imagined before. Bright and fierce, enhanced manyfold by the base of impossibly potent Wood Qi. Burning without consuming. Two parts of a whole.

    For long moments he gazed at the fire, feeling his spiritual energy slowly but steadily draining, knowing there was another step to take, a step he had once so clearly visualized¡­ but in its original form, Fire had been the end, not so near the beginning.

    But that was okay, he realized, as the desert sands whipping down below coalesced into a strikingly beautiful figure flashing him a winsome smile as she formed right in front of him on the wagon rooftop, wearing nothing but the most diaphanous of gowns, her jian sparkling in the air as she leaped and spun through a graceful series of moulinets.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s about time we had that rematch, don¡¯t you, hero?¡± Ya Ling, clearly a Desert Cultivator, said with a teasing smile before putting her sword down and slowly approaching him, freeing a glorious cascade of silken curls from the lilac ribbons that had bound them. Her olive cheeks flushed as she gazed boldly at him with smoky eyes hungry for so much more than a match of sword versus spear.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, struck by sudden epiphany even as Ya Ling blinked and stumbled back, as if only now registering the fearsome heat of the shield of Wood and Fire he dared.

    ¡°Giving will and life to the sands themselves. Earth and Spirit, unified. Perfect! Thank you, Ya Ling!¡± Alex said the words in a heartfelt rush as the girl¡¯s frustrated gaze turned to a look of wonder when Alex¡¯s shield began to grow. The fierce corona of fire became a tight band of superheated sand shimmering with a will all its own, moving with currents motivated by the fires underneath, just like earth itself shook and flowed from the fiery depths below.

    And above those currents of Earth and Spirit was a whirling storm of ocean water or the nearest equivalent, filled with metal rich salts of the exact same consistency as the Enhanced Salt Water shield Alex had forged the other day that most definitely did not strain his Meridian. Best of all, said Water, just like the stormy seas, served as a perfect connection and extension of the Air and Wind infused clouds howling overhead, crackling with lightning that conducted quite well in the metal ion enriched water. Like creating electricity from water racing over oxidized metals, physics, metaphysics, and positive cycle elemental manipulation of spiritual energy had all joined together in a harmonious whole.

    Wood and Fire, Spirit and Earth, Metal and Water, Air and Lightning. Forging altogether an eight element shield that had Alex cackling with delight, and Ya Ling gazing at him in awed disbelief.

    Congratulations! You¡¯ve had a Major Breakthrough!

    You have successfully learned Prismatic Shield at Rank 1!

    This Elite Silver Tier technique is capable of warding almost any elemental attack, all elements synergizing and reinforcing one another!

    Qi Drain: Significant!

    Note. Cost to summon and maintain is Rank dependent. Degree of resistance, damage mitigation and absorption, is Rank dependent.

    Note. Desert Fox Cultivation Technique (A Prismatic Cultivation Technique) reduces Qi Pool drain with increasing mastery of this cultivation technique.

    ¡°Alex! What the hell did you just do?¡±

    But Alex was no longer paying attention to anything or anyone but the shield of blazing potency before him. Doing his best not just to imprint the glorious flow of exquisitely balanced and synchronized spiritual energy, but to understand as well its similarities and contrasts to the Desert Fox prismatic cultivation technique he was using to draw spiritual energy from his environment as a whole.

    Eventually he had to close his eyes as he sensed his Qi Pool steadily depleting and growing dizziness overtake him¡­ before choking back the nausea and focusing only on the sweet streams of power roaring through his meridians, and how to channel that flow right back out into the shield itself.

    He wheezed for breath, gasping as his muscles burned with exhaustion. Or perhaps it was depletion so bad he feared he was about to black out¡­ until with a sudden revelation he felt a burst of strength, as the very spiritual energies he cultivated buoyed him up, channeling the swirling storm of Qi right into the shield he desperately strove to maintain. And with that singular revelation, the most basic twist to his technique, his shield was no longer depleting him directly. It had somehow become a continuation of the circuit. An extension of Desert Fox. An external representation of the potent storm of spiritual energy now saturating him, body and soul.

    You have successfully expounded upon your breakthrough! You have successfully discovered to harmonious interlinkages between Prismatic Shield and Desert Fox!

    Primsatic Shield is now Rank 2 and may now be used at significant reduced cost!

    Desert Fox Prismatic Cultivation Technique is now Rank 4!

    Warning! Prismatic Shield is now invariably linked to Desert Fox! Prismatic Shield Rank may not exceed Desert Fox Cultivation Rank!

    You are now suffering from spiritual energy depletion.

    You are now too tired to think straight.

    ¡°Alex? Alex!¡±

    Alex blinked and groaned as he collapsed, never having felt so depleted, or glorious, in his life. Almost as if he had surrendered to a certain Desert Wujen¡¯s clear enticements, even if that would have resulted in growth of an entirely different sort, he thought with a smile that had poor Ya Ling¡¯s cheeks blazing. Because he wasn¡¯t stupid. Ya Ling was as fierce as she was strong, as beautiful as she was sensual, and if his heart wasn¡¯t already spoken for, he¡¯d happily fill her nights with a desert storm she¡¯d never forget.

    ¡°Alright, Alex. That¡¯s quite enough. Poor Ya Ling¡¯s a brighter shade of red than your pale skin should be, after so many hours in the sun! What were you thinking, boy?¡±

    Alex blinked back to a semblance of awareness, only now catching sight of Reny¡¯s stern, matronly countenance, and a cheekily grinning Qing Wu. - Wait. Did he just say all that out loud?

    ¡°I do believe our dear boy has had something of a breakthrough! No doubt humbled by my absolute mastery over ice, he felt the need to prove himself in whatever way he could. And how marvelous a feat his creation truly is! At least the bit I saw before it sputtered out of existence. And if that boy¡¯s not suffering a Fool¡¯s Folly right now, then I¡¯ve never had a Sage¡¯s Insight myself!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s embarrassment instantly morphed to intense curiosity. ¡°What exactly is a ¡®fool¡¯s folly,¡¯ Uncle?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what you get when you push yourself too hard, in desperate search of breakthroughs that a little time and patience would probably earn you anyway,¡± said an exasperated Reny, cutting off her now pouting husband. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get this young fool to bed and count it a miracle, or good Fire Qi manipulation, that I don¡¯t have to cover him in burn ointments as well.¡±

    Alex, for his part, was hardly paying attention to their words, focusing only on the brilliant swirling disk of elemental Qi blazing in his mind¡¯s eye, both an exquisitely complex construction that served as the culmination of multiple basic techniques learned at Royal Phoenix Academy, and the simplest of extensions of the prismatic cultivation technique that he had now claimed as his own. He was desperate to hold on to his epiphany for as long as he could, before sleep claimed him at last.

 Book 8 - Chapter 13 - Shadow versus Sand and Steel.

    Alex jolted awake, ignoring his pounding headache as best he could. The dazed confusion of post insight depletion was thankfully no longer an issue, though for an awful second he thought he heard the entire caravan break out in desperate panicked shouts and screams of alarm. He took a deep shuddering breath, only now recalling with a painful wince the words he had said aloud, causing Ya Ling to blush so fiercely, and glare so intently at him. Before lowering her head at elder Qing Wu¡¯s too knowing chuckle, which had made it so much worse. Now he found himself sharing the impressive-sized bed once more with a snoring Qing Wu to his left, with a clever divider separating the other half of the divider which had both Reny and the girl who Alex was now morbidly certain would be giving him death glares for the rest of the trip.

    He shook his head with a rueful sigh and lay his head back down on the surprisingly comfortable silk-covered pillow, ready to drift off back to sleep.

    Before jolting fully awake with an urgent sense of alarm.

    Because something was wrong.

    He wasn¡¯t quite sure what. The caravan had stopped for the night, and from what he vaguely recalled that they had already left the trade road in the hopes of making it to the oasis rift in the next couple of days.

    He cracked a yawn and shook his head, still feeling exhausted and eager for nothing more than a good night¡¯s rest after a long day of¡­

    Sleeping?

    He hissed a soft curse. Because with Rank 2 Bronze Vitality and after having slept for a good eight hours already, there was no way in hell he should be so tired.

    And his sense of those screams.

    Silent sounds that should have been echoing through the air.

    But weren¡¯t.

    ¡°Spirit Qi¡± he whispered to himself before gently nudging the man snoring a bit too loudly beside him.

    ¡°Elder Wu? Qing Wu!¡±

    But the man was out cold.

    ¡°Reny? Ya Ling?¡±

    Alex forced himself to pull away the divider, his heart lurching just a bit at seeing Ya Ling¡¯s graceful form covered with nothing more than a half undone silk kimono.

    He frowned, having mixed feelings about what he was going to do, but hesitated only a second before putting his finger across the girls full lips.

    Biochemical Mastery successfully generates: Basic Stimulant.

    Ya Ling cried out, before her voice was muffled by Alex¡¯s hand. ¡°Shh! I think we¡¯re in trouble!¡± Alex hissed, only then lifting his hand.

    Ya Ling glared, before her cheeks blushed shyly and she looked away, tightening her silken night kimono before jerking a nod, and gazing between Alex and the other two cultivators.

    Alex shook his head. ¡°I already tried to wake them up. A drop of Basic Stimulant is about the only potion my former master taught me, and if it didn¡¯t jolt them awake¡­ I¡¯d be a fool risking their health, experimenting.¡±

    Ya Ling nodded her understanding. ¡°Alright. So you think maybe we got hit with another poison in the communal meal?¡± she said, even as she gracefully rolled free of the sleeping mat, tightened her kimono sash, wrapped up her hair in a pair of silver pins and redonned her jian sheath in the time it took her to say those words.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but admire how quick and efficient she was, showcasing how Bronze tier Finesse allowed one to do so much and far more gracefully than a mortal in the time it would have taken them to stumble out of bed.

    ¡°Doubtful, since it isn¡¯t effecting me, and my sense of things was that Reny was using her arts to make sure we never had to worry about tainted food again. Hopefully.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°So, we should get out there and do something.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°As discretely as possible.¡±

    The girl before him flashed a confident smile, waving a graceful hand at the floorboards of all things. ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing Reny has a floor hatch and that we are now truly surrounded by the desert¡¯s boon.¡±

    Alex nodded, happy to follow her lead when she darted past Reny¡¯s alchemy station and a miniature jungle¡¯s worth of carefully cultivated plants that did keep the wagon smelling of roses and woodlands, for all that they were in deep desert, before flipping over a rug to reveal a bolted hatch she pulled open without a sound. She paused to look his way. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re point man. If you see any trouble you think you can take on, I¡¯ll help you flank them. If you retreat, so will I.¡±

    Alex frowned, but before he could say anything further, a smiling Ya Ling flowed through the hatch.

    Alex rugged his eyes, not quite certain if his friend had just moved that gracefully that she seemed to disappear¡­ or if she had actually turned to sand.

    ¡°No point wasting time her,¡± he muttered to himself, making sure his own dao was secure before following in her wake, and closing the hatch behind him.

    Stealth check made.

    Qi Perception Check Successful!

    Alex froze as he crept around the side of the massive wagon, giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the starry night sky as he strove to just be an extension of his environment. Much to his relief, he sensed no army of bandits or cutthroats lurking in what truly did seem a vast landscape of sand dunes with broken ledges of rock in the distance.

    That was when he froze, sensing what he had missed the first time. No the flaring bright presences of Cultivators who had already affirmed their path in Bronze, or the brilliant potential of a Silver. Rather, what he felt was a distinct lack any strong presence at all. Lady Jidihu¡¯s cold lessons of a lifetime ago flared brightly in his memory as he immediately began looking for the absent. Spaces in the spiritual energy rich environment where he felt curious lapses of any strong pressure at all. He frowned, sensing nothing at first. Until his eyes widened as he sensed inky man-shaped outlines, just a few dozen yards away. Fuzzy at first, they quickly snapped into clear focus, thanks to his lesser Shadow Qi affinity, and then he clearly spotted the small handful of men furtively approaching none other than Reny¡¯s wagon as a distant figure plucked a haunting lulluby on his pipa whose siren call Alex had to fight even now to resist.

    He glared at the distant figure, before flinching when he sensed the power not of a bard or gifted Bronze, but someone who had successfully ascended to Silver.

    Alex felt his heart start to race as he gazed intently at the three would-be assassins readily approaching their wagon in particular.

    Even now he could flee, he knew that. Or simply choose not to act. This life was his own, and the choices he made were his own. And whatever choice he made, he would have to live with the consequences for the rest of his life. Daring to grab the lion¡¯s tail yet again, after all the scars he endured over constant lifetimes, was not a path he was looking forward to with any relish.

    But the thought of the doe-eyed beauty who had looked so determined, thinking he wouldn¡¯t sense her tremble when she volunteered to have his back and guard his flank¡­ no. There was no way he was going to let a bunch of psychopathic assholes use her as a piece in whatever twisted games they were playing.

    He had had enough of that himself to know just how horrific a fate that could be.

    Yet he was only a shadow of what he once had been, and a trio of trained Bronze assassins was rapidly approaching, and Alex could smell the poison on their knives from here.

    Which meant that he only had one choice as he scrunched up as small as he possibly could as the trio of killers, chuckling softly between themselves, approached the wagon and Alex did his best to ignore the furious pinch that was Ya Ling.

    ¡°Alex, what are you doing? They¡¯re climbing the wagon! They¡¯re going to kill...¡±

    Find weakness Skillcheck made! (Not that it isn¡¯t entirely obvious)

    Strength Modified cleaving blow has successfully decapitated nearest assassin!

    You have plunged your dao into the kidney of second assassin! You have slipped your blade underneath mail link shirt! Strength modified skillcheck pierces body-hardening cultivation technique!

    Second Enemy assassin has been critically wounded!

    You have lost your sword!

    In the blink of an eye the dry desert sands drank in the spurting crimson blood of a headless corpse, crashing silently to the ground as a second man cried out and spasmed against the two and a half feet of steel which had just been rammed completely through his body, chain mail shirt bulging as the weapon was caught between armor and spasming flesh as the man writhed and died so violently that Alex¡¯s dao jerked completely out of his hands, despite his Strength. He intuitively understood that forcing and wrenching it out at that point would have only mangled or snapped blade.

    The third would-be assassin instantly turned Alex¡¯s way, his features flashing from surprise to alarm, to furious disdain, hand on the hilt of his own dao before his eyes widened, lips parting in a comic ¡®o¡¯ of disbelief as two feet of exquisitely sharp double-edge steel blossomed from his throat as the whirlwind of sand behind him became a hot-eyed Ya Ling running him through with effortless ease. She then yanked her blade free of the collapsing would-be assassin¡¯s throat before a swirl of sand washed off the blood and she resheathed her weapon with a practiced ease.

    Only then she stumbled back, eyes widening, as if only in that moment recognizing that she had just doomed a man to a horrible death as their would-be assailant collapsed, feet kicking the ground as his fingers clawed at his own throat, desperately wheezing for air that would never come again.

    ¡°There¡¯s one more!¡± Alex hissed, quickly grasping a stunned Ya Ling¡¯s hand, jutting his finger at the dizi-playing Silver tier wujen, whose notes ended with a discordant twang.

    Ya Ling whimpered at the degree of killing aura the humbly robed wujen was now radiating, as the arrogant cold eyes of a powerful cultivator glared into their own, too handsome features curving into a furious snarl. ¡°You could have come peacefully with a minimum of deaths. You could have simply bowed your head to our master¡¯s wishes, and avoided tragedy altogether! Instead you struck down three good men in cold blood. You will pay for the lives you took with the life of every fool who dared to shelter you, Lady Ya Ling!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s lips twisted in fury the equal of her terror. ¡°Fu Lan. Why am I not surprised?¡±

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    The man sneered. ¡°And to think. You¡¯re brother actually thought you¡¯d make Lord Snarri a worthy third wife. It will be a shame when I have to report your tragic death in the desert sands!¡±

    Even as he spoke, the man was pulling out a handful of talismans and Alex instinctively embraced that which he had only discovered the day before, hoping it would be enough even as Ya Ling shouted and cursed, so distracted by the man¡¯s taunts, it was as if she could barely sense the danger.

    Not until the wujen¡¯s glare turned to a nasty sneer as he unleashed a trio of papers transforming to comets of ice and fire shrieking through the air right for them, separated only by swirling disk of brilliant Qi.

    You have successfully summoned Prismatic Shield in record time!

    Advanced Technique: Prismatic Shield has been struck by: Silver Tier Rank 3 Fireball!

    Fire counters Wood completely! Fire has been countered by Water. Water is reinforced by full 8 element configuration!

    Prismatic Shield has been struck by: Silver Tier Rank 1 Ice Spike!

    Ice is Crystalline Half-Step between Metal/Water.

    You have no prior experience countering Half-Step techniques!

    Prismatic Shield enjoys partial success.

    Ice spike lodges in Prismatic Shield!

    Your forearm has taken one Light Wound.

    Alex cried out as he stumbled back, knocked off balance as he strove to block the bone-jarring force of Silver Tier disciplines in a body that was only partly Bronze, using techniques that were the farthest thing from slipping past Qi.

    Yet much to his awe and fierce vindication, his shield had done it! It had actually stopped Silver Tier killing techniques.

    Or¡­ partially, at least, he thought, now fighting against the pain of a spike through his wrist as he forced himself to MOVE! And take full advantage of the moment his opponent was gazing at him with wide-eyed disbelief.

    ¡°Impossible! You¡¯re a Ruidian! No one who hasn¡¯t ascended to Silver could hope to stand against me! And what technique could possibly allow you to deflect both Fire and Ice? My talismans have been the doom of more than one ascended who dared to think they were my equal!¡±

    ¡°Fool! Did you really think that the Wu¡¯s were the only ones assisting me?¡± Ya Ling scoffed. ¡°Your talismans are sub-par, bordering on pathetic! If you were actually worth anything as a scholar, you¡¯d be teaching at Red Rock Academy, not serving as my brother¡¯s lapdog!¡±

    Alex, for his part, had begun racing forward the moment he had been struck, taking full advantage of Fu Lan¡¯s momentary bemusement, Ya Ling instinctively acting as his wing-woman once more, doing her part to distract him while Alex¡¯s churning legs took full advantage of Bronze Tier Strength and Vitality to push through the sands and propel himself at surprising speeds forward.

    But the man he faced was no fool, and Alex¡¯s brilliant swirling disk of multiple visible rings of spiritual energy was the farthest thing from subtle to the man stumbled back and hurtled yet another talisman Alex¡¯s way even as he screamed curses at Ya Ling.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, hissing a curse as a massive bush of whipping spiky thorns blossomed into being before him.

    Fu Lan¡¯s panicked countenance turned to a mocking sneer as he spotted Alex¡¯s look of dismay as the entire area around him became massive thorny shrubs.

    ¡°Fool! Do you truly think any one technique is the match of a talisman wielder? I¡¯m the equivalent of half a dozen-- NO!!¡±

    The man¡¯s words abruptly broke off in wide-eyed stupefaction when Alex¡¯s expression became one of fierce vindication. He didn¡¯t parry the whipping tendrils with his shield, because he didn¡¯t have to.

    The forest, after all, knew its own.

    Forest Flight skillcheck made!

    You have successfully traversed: Miniature Sentient Viny Forest, as you choose to think of it, and as it now thinks of itself! You shall pass!

    You have critically struck Enemy Wujen!

    And before the shocked-looking wujen could howl another word in protest, Alex tore out his throat.

    And he most definitely did not use any sealed off technique. He just understood the weakest link in a too thin latticeowrk of spiritual energy that looked near exactly like the one once used by the alchemist Lai Leng, who had been a lot more powerful than this fool, when Alex had been a lot weaker.

    So it was nothing for Alex to use Water Qi to slip his hand past the weak latticework of spiritual energy, with stiffened, slightly cupped fingers, in a spearhand strike very like the one Jiang Li had first demonstrated for him, what now felt like a lifetime ago.

    Congratulations! You have successfully unlocked the skill Forest Flight!

    Forest Flight has been unlocked at Rank 5.

    The Forest cares little for the games of gods and men and claims its own!

    You have successfully evolved Enhanced Water Strike!

    A successful skill-check will allow you to pierce defensive wards of Silver tier or below.

    Enhanced Water Strike is now Rank 6!

    Enhanced Water Strike is now infused with Metal Salts.

    This is a natural extension of Water Strike and your own recollection of Jiang Li¡¯s original ward-piercing techniques.

    This is most definitely NOT an offshoot evolution of Black Swan striking technique.

    Bronze Tier Strength means you have completely crushed your enemy¡¯s throat and punctured it as well!

    Imperfect mastery means you have strained several fingers.

    Alex gazed down in chilled disbelief as he rubbed his now strained fingers. What he did¡­ it had been instinct. Sheer instinct. He hadn¡¯t meant to tread along forbidden ground. At least his Dantian hadn¡¯t shifted. Not from that Water Strike at least, infused with salt water or no. He Flinched at the thought of straining the veil both sequestering his most powerful skills yet simultaneously protecting him utterly and absolutely from the howling, furious gods so desperately eager for his death.

    It was a veil he was in no hurry to breach. Not under any circumstances. Not when he had been able to savor the sweet joy of having finally slipped free of their baleful gazed and endless vindictive manipulations for at least a few wonderful days.

    Not when it meant that he could finally feel, perhaps for the first time, truly free.

    He flinched when Yi Lang¡¯s soft hand gently gripped his own, only now sensing the tremble in her form as they both gazed at the wild-eyed wujen, desperately clawing at his own ruined jugular as he writhed in extremis upon the desert stands before them.

    Eyes filled with desperate pleading met their own.

    And there was nothing they could do. Even if they had wanted to.

    ¡°If you fools hadn¡¯t tried to ruin us, if poor Reny wasn¡¯t staring at a crumbling foundation base, maybe we could have saved you!¡± Ya Ling criedout, before hiding her sobbing features against Alex¡¯s chest, as Alex forced himself to stand silent witness to the dying man¡¯s final moments, accept all his bitter sorrow and regrets, before his eyes grew glassy and he was still at last.

    ¡°Be at peace,¡± Alex whispered to the horrified ghostly child he sensed looking his way, as if at death itself, before darting for a river Alex most definitely neither sensed nor saw.

    Because that former life was over.

    Karma was his once more, and only now, free of desperation and a desperate unquenchable rage could he feel what an awful, awful burden it had been, to have so many souls, so many lives on his conscience.

    He was free of all of that madness. Free of the eyes of gods, free of any terrible destiny that made his doom just a matter of time.

    Later he would blame it on his desperate need to prove himself whole and intact when Ya Ling¡¯s tearful eyes looked up into his own.

    ¡°Thank you, Alex. Just...¡±

    No more words were said then, just a kiss. Sweet, hot, and passionate, with absolutely no strain to his Dantian at all.

    Just a sudden surge of awful guilt when a beautiful dancer¡¯s face became his world and he abruptly broke it off¡­ but a sadly smiling Ya Ling had already stepped back.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I understand,¡± she whispered, though the tears in her eyes made it clear that she didn¡¯t, but before Alex could even formulate a word¡­ she had already faded into the desert sands.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Alex cursed softly to himself, before sighing and shaking his head at the former wujen. ¡°Spoils of war, and all that,¡± he muttered to himself, doing what had arguably been his right since the first band of cutthroats had tried to kill them. He claimed what treasures there were, and there were more than a few, before solemnly wrapping the man up in his cloak and honoring the remains with a fiery sendoff, before burying the ash in the desert sands.

    Only when he paid a moment¡¯s respect for the life past did he pause to look over his spoils of battle. And how his eyes widened when he spotted a prize that would make life so much more convenient. A spiritual storage treasure at his beck and call once more. He hadn¡¯t even needed Qi Perception or his Artificer skill to spot it. The contrast between the unusually plain-looking pouch and everything else worn by the man who had kitted himself in only the most well-tailored and high-end gear imaginable had been a dead giveaway.

    Even if it was a storage pouch and not a ring. What he really cared about was that it had absolutely no identifying markers upon it, which he made certain of just as he checked the remaining prizes for any spiritual trackers, traps, or infernal links, and his admittedly impressive Artificer skill made it clear there were no such issues at all. At least, none that he could spot. And the jubilation Alex felt as he stored all his newly claimed prizes, including a complete set of talismans and a skill manual devoted to their construction, allowed him to distract himself from the grizzly duties he knew he had to claim as his own, while the wagon train continued to be lost in slumber.

    Alex exchanged a look with Ya Ling after stripping the remaining assassins of their gear and consigning them all to the flame. Before his partner formed a massive pit in the sand as easily as Alex could grasp a handful of dirt. The sands under their bodies then shimmered and slid the corpses into the pit, before being completely covered, just seconds later. Far more convenient than the efforts he had expended on the murderous Silver, but he didn¡¯t blame Ya Ling a bit for retreating after the most vital deed had been done.

    ¡°Gone as if they never were.¡± Ya Ling swallowed, forcing a haughty glare. ¡°Good riddance.¡± Her gaze then turned solemn. ¡°Thank you, Alex, for taking care of¡­ you know. I just¡­ I would have helped sooner, but I needed a moment to collect myself.¡±

    He shook his head at her concerns. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Are you okay?¡± Alex asked quietly.

    Ya Ling glared at him. ¡°I killed someone today, Alex. I trained for years. Embracing the sword like it was art. A living dance through which I could enhance my cultivation, Steel synergizing so perfectly with Sand, in ways a wooden spear shaft just can¡¯t. At least not for me.¡± She swallowed and shook her head. ¡°And today, I was reminded for the first time what it¡¯s really for. What it¡¯s really all about. What it¡¯s always been about.¡±

    ¡°It was them or us, Ya Ling.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± she whispered. ¡°Just as I know I should feel no shame at having fought and survived, using whatever tools I have at my disposal. But still...¡±

    Alex solemnly nodded. ¡°I know.¡±

    She peered thoughtfully at him, kohl-lined eyes gazing at him in a new light. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time you¡¯ve had to kill, is it?¡±

    He smirked at that.

    She flushed. ¡°I mean, before you even came to our rescue, saving us from those bandits¡­ who, I guess, were really just pawns of my brother.¡±

    Alex gazed up at the stars for long, thoughtful moments.

    ¡°No, Ya Ling. This isn¡¯t the first time I''ve been forced to fight for my life,¡± he said at last.

    She stared thoughtfully at him. ¡°How many?¡±

    He flashed a sad smile. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell you, even if I wanted to.¡±

    She blinked. ¡°That many?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°Maybe. Or maybe I¡¯m just a Ruidian who went too far in a family dispute, killed an uncle who had always despised me, and I can now never look back. Never go back. Not that I¡¯d even want to. But by taking that one life, well, who knows how many lives might be lost as a direct result of that singular act, down the line?¡± He smirked. ¡°Or maybe I¡¯m a monster responsible for countless millions of deaths. Either way, there¡¯s absolutely nothing I can do to change my past. Whether I reveled in it, or regret it with every fiber of my being. All I can do now is move forward, and hope for a future happier than my past.¡±

    Ya Ling nodded. ¡°That¡¯s all any of us can do,¡± she said, before taking his hand and flashing him a warm smile. ¡°Come on. If my ears aren¡¯t mistaken, people are actually starting to wake up. And maybe this is one little adventure we¡¯d be best off keeping to ourselves.¡±

    Alex smirked at that. ¡°I think you¡¯re right,¡± he said, pretending there wasn¡¯t any spark forming between them when they made their way back to their wagon, her arts and his own divine attire and biochemical mastery making sure they had no undue stain or scent by the time they had quietly settled back into their expected roles. Alex¡¯s thoughts were racing as he processed all that had happened, the boons and discoveries he had made, and the prizes in his storage pouch that he would have to give a thorough going over sometime in the very near future. Such that when Qing Wu nudged him awake later that morning, handing him a fresh hunk of bread covered in cheese and olives, Alex was surprised to have found that he had actually drifted off to sleep at all.

 Book 8 - Chapter 14 - Savoring a Slice of Life.

    ¡°Come, Alex! In just three days we¡¯ll be hunting for spiritual treasures, so it¡¯s best that we get in as much training as we can.¡±

    Alex grinned at that before taking a bite of a delicious treat that was definitely growing on him. ¡°Sounds good, Master Wu. As long as you don¡¯t push yourself too hard showing off your wonderful arts.¡±

    The man snorted. ¡°Oh, just a couple times, and no strain at all, I assure you. No, it¡¯s Captain Dui Zhong who wants to take your measure with the spear. You and Ya Ling both.¡±

    Alex grinned at that as he stole a glance Ya Ling¡¯s way, who was freshly attired without a hairpin out of place and was most definitely not paying him any mind as she carefully nibbled her own breakfast. ¡°Sounds good. Though I admit that I have a newfound appreciation for the jian. I fear that I might have seriously underestimated it. I think in the right circumstances, it can be a truly fearsome weapon.¡±

    Reny smirked when she caught Ya Ling¡¯s warm smile, before the girl shyly looked away.

    ¡°The jian certainly has it¡¯s place,¡± Qing Wu allowed with an indulgent grin. ¡°And in the hands of a cultivator attuned to its use, it can truly be a devastating tool. But the spear is called the king of the battlefield for a reason. It¡¯s utility remains a constant in all terrain and with almost all affinities. And when it comes to spirit beast hunting, few weapons, save for a bow or crossbow which does nothing for defense, could be better. Now finish your repast, warm up, and report to the captain when you¡¯re ready.

    ¡°I do hope the captain won¡¯t mind if Alex and I warm up before joining your men for the morning training?¡± A fully kitted Ya Ling asked the captain and his men a short time later, with a teasing twinkle in her eye that invited indulgence.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Dui Zhong said, waving magnanimously at the sands, his smile widening when it became clear that the girl would be using her jian after all. ¡°The men would enjoy seeing the techniques of wujen cultivators once more.¡±

    His smile had soon faded, turning to furrowed brows and an overly intent stare when it became clear that Ya Ling was no fragile blossom, and Alex could do far more than simply summon shields of Wood, Water, and Stone.

    Their weapons flashed under the light of the desert sun before a laughing Ya Ling seemed to vanish in the sands, only to spring up at Alex¡¯s rear, her jian just barely deflected by his crackling shield bright with rings of Earth, Fire, Water, and every other major element as well. Ya Ling furrowed her brow and darted forward at a sprint, her feet having perfect traction in sands that required careful footing from anyone else as she attempted to pivot around Alex¡¯s elemental shield, and it soon became clear to all their slack-jawed spectators just how much the pair had been holding back before. Alex found himself forced to strike at full speed, even if with only a fraction of his true strength, only to find his scimitar-like sparring dao splashing harmlessly into a spray of sand before feeling the prick of steel against his armored back.

    ¡°One point for me,¡± Ya Ling declared in a husky voice.

    Alex chuckled ruefully and dipped his head.

    ¡°Well earned,¡± he said, waiting for her to ready herself once more and give a nod before abruptly dashing forward and smacking her entire body with his shield, finding he could intuitively reign in the wilder elements of his ward, the blow as cushioned as smacking springy willows or loamy topsoil. Yet it was still enough to send a surprised Ya Ling crashing to the soft sands. Clearly she hadn¡¯t appreciated the sheer mass differential between them, not to mention just how effective Ogre-tier Strength and rough-and-tumble tactics could be in any engagement not limited to courtly duels with light flicking blades alone.

    ¡°Point to you,¡± she chuckled.

    Still her surprise quickly became a smirk as she gazed up at him with bedroom eyes and a teasing grin before fading into the sands once more.

    Alex was savvy enough to immediately spin around, sword held in a high hanging guard, shield at the ready, only to feel a slick steel blade against the inside of his thigh. Right by his unarmored femoral artery.

    Alex felt an icy chill racing down his spine.

    Had Ya Ling harbored malicious intentions¡­ had the blade been sharpened to a razor¡¯s killing edge¡­

    That could have been the end right there.

    He forced himself to bow his head, looking down at the smirking girl¡¯s face gazing a bit too raptly up at him from her vantage point, arm and face solid, where the rest was sand.

    ¡°Point to you,¡± he said, and he wouldn¡¯t dream of kicking her, for all that his Find Weakness skill screamed at him to do so. Because this was a sparring match between him and a cherished friend, and he had no doubt she would never let herself be so vulnerable if she didn¡¯t trust him far more than she should trust any man only known for a handful of days. Not with her health, head, or heart.

    But he would do his best to be worthy of that trust with what was effectively his kung fu sister, and the closest friend he had in this brave new world.

    She shimmered into a flesh and blood girl once more, the pair exchanging bows and admittedly grinning at the speechless looks they were now getting from the entire camp, no one even pretending to be readying the camp as Alex and Ya Ling clashed once more.

    Liquid steel sheathed in mystifying sand cloaking far better than Shadow struck at all angles.

    But Alex was far from helpless or an easy mark, now that he had a sense of her tactics, showing the true worth of his arts as he weaved, darted, and blocked with the consummate grace of someone who knew what it meant to fight for their life against enemies on all fronts.

    Despite the numerous nicks and bruises received, never again did Ya Ling¡¯s jian kiss Alex¡¯s neck, thighs, or otherwise deliver what in other circumstances would have been a killing blow. And Alex¡¯s Qi-less blade was just slow enough for Ya Ling to comfortably shift to sand whatever naked dusky flesh his blade managed to touch. And perhaps he was holding back just a bit. Yet the intensity was more than enough to demand absolute attention, focus, and when his mind dinged with another notification coinciding with his sudden epiphany, as he savored a fresh breakthrough.

    He could suddenly sense so clearly how the swirling storm of White Qi he had once come so close to mastering could be perfectly mimicked by Air Qi alone. And with that insight, he felt a part of him long asleep awaken once more.

    The beautiful girl before him soon found Alex¡¯s wall of steel almost impossible to break through, and his rejoinders became horrifyingly deadly. Though of course all she felt was the gentlest brush of his blade against her overheated skin.

    Congratulations. You have had a Breakthrough!

    Tier 10 Mastery of White Crane Kung Fu has allowed you to pierce the fog of revelation! You now sense the whirlwind of Wind Qi all around you, and have learned to channel it to your will!

    You have unlocked a new art!

    Wind Crane kung fu is now Rank 1!

    You have countered over a dozen assaults from a Bronze tier cultivator with the power of Wind alone!

    Wind Crane kung fu is now Rank 2!

    Alex¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement as Ya Ling gazed at him with awed disbelief.

    ¡°No, I refuse to believe you evolved your art in the span of a single...¡±

    WIND STRIKE!

    In that single pristine moment, Alex felt a connection to the individual strands of spiritual energy flooding his meridians and saturating his soul. Understanding how to infuse himself with the art most closely tied to White Crane, and how to use it in ways he never could have before, with so many strictures finally lifted from his soul.

    It was effortless to slide a single pace back before lashing out with a furious blast of cutting wind arcing from his blade.

    Qi Perception Check made.

    You manage to avoid disaster!

    Congratulations! You now know Wind Strike at Rank 1

    He only realized his folly after he had unleashed the blow. Only registering Ya Ling¡¯s horrified dismay as a practice bout became suddenly perilous. Alex didn¡¯t understand, couldn¡¯t have known¡­ but the look in her eyes made it horrifically clear.

    The very gifts that allowed her to flow around killing steel and become one with the sands all around, the skills that allowed her to fight way above a typical Rank Bronze 1 cultivator¡­ put her in jeopardy from a blast of wind that would do no more than send a typical body cultivator tumbling back with a chuckle.

    For what could be deadlier to a pristine arrangement of carefully maintained sand in the form of a beautiful girl than a sudden desert storm that could blow her to oblivion?

    It was with those thoughts shrieking through his head that he jerked his blade to a halt, just an inch away from cutting through the waist of the wide-eyed girl gazing at him with desperate tears in her eyes. Before she slumped to her knees.

    ¡°How the hell did you¡­ Alex, that could have killed me!¡± She hissed, yanking Alex to the desert ground beside her, his greater strength no match for sand that seemed to slant under his feet.

    Alex flushed and lowered his gaze as the distant spectators hollered and cheered them on, because caravanners were like caravanners everywhere. No matter the strictures of city life, no one seemed to begrudge the romance of the road.

    ¡°Yeah, that was way too close,¡± Alex admitted sheepishly.

    Ya Ling glared for long moments. ¡°You owe me a kiss, you know that, right, Alex?¡±

    Alex blinked and swallowed, absolutely hating how little he wanted to fight her off as soft warm lips touched his own for just a heartbeat before Ya Ling squeezed his hand and lifted him to his feet, the pair of them ignoring the hooting guards as they made their way back to their wagon. ¡°A Wind strike, Alex? You can control the element of Wind as well, now? When were you going to tell me you had this ability?¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Would you believe I just found out right now?¡±

    Ya Ling froze, foot elevated inches above the desert sands before she turned to face him, cool almond eyes boring into his own. ¡°You¡¯re going to tell me you unlocked a martial technique and a killing strike in a single sparring match?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ maybe?¡±

    She gave him a long look. ¡°Alex, that Wind Blast¡­ that wasn¡¯t a simple extension of a Body Cultivator¡¯s arts. That was a ranged attack. An area attack. Even if it started from the tip of your blade. You¡¯re definitely skirting wujen territory there.¡±

    Alex was surprised at how defensive this made him feel. As if he had broken some ancient, sacred covenant by daring to do just that. He gave an angry shake of his head. His cultivation path and internal senses made it clear that he was free of so many ancient bindings and limitations, the abrupt and unexpected loss of his power and a number of abilities the price he had paid to do just that.

    So what if those memories now allowed him to learn arts mirroring that which he had lost at a pace as rapidly as any expert learning a similar field, as opposed to being a rank beginner? And if whatever ranged components that had forever been locked were now open to him¡­ that was just sweet icing on the cake.

    It was about time he got his share.

    But still¡­ what he had done was inexcusable.

    As soon as they were out of sight of the still smiling guards, who had enjoyed both the show and what they were no doubt certain was a romance in the making... Alex kowtowed before Ya Ling.

    ¡°This foolish disciple apologizes for putting his kung fu sister at risk.¡±

    Ya Ling glared at him for long moments, leaving his stomach twisting in knots, before shaking her head with a sigh.

    He was prepared for almost any reaction, save the exasperated tousle of his hair. ¡°You¡¯re a bit of a clever idiot, aren¡¯t you, Alex?¡±

    He chuckled softly, more relieved than he cared to admit. ¡°I¡¯ve certainly been called worse,¡± he admitted.

    She snorted. ¡°Fair enough. Still, it¡¯s a damn effective tactic against Sand elementals and desert spirits, so it¡¯s a worthy addition to our defenses. But um¡­ next time we spar, we¡¯re embracing slow, steady katas. Like when you were teaching me the basics of spears, okay?¡±

    Alex solemnly nodded. ¡°No more free sparring. Disciplined focus and careful application of technique. I 100% agree.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± she said, eyes twinkling. ¡°Now let¡¯s hop on the wagon rooftop and we pick up where we left off with spear technique.¡±

    Alex paused, having something he had to get off his chest. ¡°When I knocked your style before¡­ I was totally out of line. it¡¯s clear as day that you absolutely rock with your jian, while using it in the desert sands. It¡¯s a talent you proved firsthand in the crucible of actual battle, the only proving ground that actually matters.¡±

    Ya Ling paled and shuddered, pressing against Alex and wrapped her arms around him. Not to seduce, but to take comfort, he understood that even as he gently rubbed her back.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not mention how close I came to getting killed there in front of Reny or Qing Wu, okay Alex? And yes, you did overstep your bounds when you denigrated my art. But you were also dead right. My blade and skills give me beautiful synergy in the desert sands, but I¡¯m still so vulnerable against the wrong opponent that any master of Wind could kill me if I didn¡¯t have time to prepare myself. And if I¡¯m not in terrain favorable to me, my favorite fighting style won¡¯t be half as effective as it is now.¡±

    She squeezed his hand, looking up at him with a sheepish smile. ¡°And I¡¯d be an idiot not to take this opportunity to learn whatever you¡¯re willing to teach me. Because there¡¯s a good chance that the rift oasis filled with natural treasures we¡¯re heading to is the farthest thing from a desert dune.¡±

    Alex¡¯s brow furrowed with concern. ¡°Which means you¡¯ll have no access to you Sand abilities.¡±

    ¡°Not without straining my meridians, no,¡± she acknowledged, picking up her practice spear and tossing him his own. ¡°Now how about we review the techniques from yesterday?¡±

    Alex was more than happy to do just that, and the rest of the day passed uneventfully, with neither Reny nor Qing Wu any wiser about just how close Ya Ling had come to peril. Fortunately, it seemed they were both in the clear, and the days traversing the desert sands soon fell into a pattern of morning sparring with both spear and swords, each using their elemental techniques defensively only when they free-sparred in the earliest hours of the morning. The rest of the day, however, Alex focused on his own development.

    During the hot midday when everyone sensible was taking a nap save for a handful of sturdy teamsters, Alex was doing all he could to rank up his prismatic cultivation technique, draining it with his elemental ward as fast as he absorbed the spiritual energy from his environment, most especially the gorgeous heavenly spiritual energy gifted by the sun itself. Later in the day he would spend his time both working to master his one ranged attack skill, which he truly found delightful to have in his repertoire, and fruitlessly struggle to understand the element of Ice, which kept eluding him despite Qing Wu¡¯s best efforts and how much he practiced. Besides his cultivation pursuits, he also made sure to spend time chatting with and getting to know his fellow travelers and just take a few moments here and there to live fully in the moment, appreciating the simple pleasures of a cool breeze, friendly company, tasty fare, and a beautiful view of nature¡¯s stark majesty all around him. Earthly pleasures as worthy of contemplation as anything else.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    It was in those moments that he felt a genuine sense of gratitude for the priceless treasure that was his life, free of eternally frigid waters and Shui Jun¡¯s restless coils.

    One day quickly flowed into the next, Alex soon making friends with the caravanners and most especially the baker always brightening his day with fresh hot loaves of bread Alex happily shared with his kung fu sister. Yet even as he enjoyed rank ups in multiple skills while being awed anew every morning he glimpsed the vast, clear, cloudless skies and hot ochre desert sands that seemed to stretch forever, Qing Wu¡¯s demeanor grew increasingly grave, his lessons shorter and curter, as it became clear that, remarkable as his most recent breakthroughs were, Alex seemed to have very little natural talent for ice at all.

    ¡°Not so unusual, all things considered. It is your other talents that are nothing short of absurd,¡± the cultivator declared with a sigh, running his hands through salt and pepper bristles after another fruitless lesson, shorter than all the others before. ¡°Now, best use your time mastering the skills we already know you have exquisite aptitude for. I will leave you to cultivate and train with your battle sister.¡±

    Alex cleared his throat, almost afraid to ask¡­ but needing to know. ¡°Elder Wu...¡±

    ¡°Yes, Alex?¡±

    Alex paused under the man¡¯s probing gaze, but spoke on, regardless. ¡°Is everything alright?¡±

    Qing Wu gazed at him for long moments, before sighing and shaking his head. ¡°I had thought¡­ no, I was all but certain that the oasis, the rift we seek was nearby. But if the eddies of spiritual energy connecting so many pocket realms to our own truly have shifted their currents...¡± he gave a helpless shrug. ¡°I¡¯ll have to talk to the captain. He already thinks we should turn back. And we will¡­ after a few more days.¡±

    Alex frowned with concern as the tired looking wujen made his way to the captain¡¯s caravan. Yet if he was worried, Ya Ling was positively brooding.

    ¡°We have to make it to that rift,¡± she declared, squeezing the hilt of her blade as she gazed out at the endless ever-shifting sand dunes with helpless intensity. ¡°If we don¡¯t...¡±

    Alex squeezed her hand in reassurance. ¡°I know.¡±

    She choked back a sob. ¡°If I¡¯m forced to arrive at Silver Sands a damaged prize¡­ without being at my peek, if I fail the entrance trials, or worsen my injuries while doing so...¡± She shook her head in dismay.

    ¡°We¡¯ll find a way,¡± Alex assured in his gentlest voice. ¡°We¡¯re not going to have you attend Silver Sands like a swan with her wings clipped. That¡¯s a promise.¡±

    She swallowed, despair turning to resolution as she forced a smile. ¡°Damn right, we won¡¯t. And Reny has nothing to worry about. I always feel stronger, after our daily training sessions. I know I¡¯m not pushing too hard. I¡¯m doing exactly what I need to do to heal and nurture my gift, every time we train.¡±

    ¡°Not to mention how quickly you¡¯re improving with both spear and jian,¡± Alex concurred.

    She flinched only once, before giving a determined nod. ¡°Damn right I am.¡±

    ¡°Ya Ling...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she whispered. ¡°The nightmares stopped after the second night.¡± She gazed down at the ochre sands at their feet. ¡°I still wish I hadn¡¯t had to¡­ but I will feel no shame in doing whatever I have to do to defend myself, and the people who would walk beside me through my life¡¯s journey.¡±

    ¡°Damn right,¡± Alex said with a smile.

    Her soft brown gaze grew determined. ¡°I will do whatever it takes to survive, to flourish¡­ to live life on my own terms. And that sure as hell means I¡¯m not embracing any ¡®marriage of convenience,¡¯ no matter what anyone else thinks is best for me.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t have said it better myself,¡± Alex concurred.

    ¡°Which means I need to heal the strain to my foundation, one way or another. Which means we¡¯re staying out here until we find that damned rift¡­ and you and I are sparring every day when the sun is at it¡¯s highest and everyone else is sleeping off the heat.¡±

    Alex chuckled, happy to have shifted his own training schedule to better suit Ya Ling¡¯s preferences, and it had certainly paid off, because she was now fighting more fiercely than ever before. Both of them savoring the warm sun caressing their backs and filling their meridians with such glorious warm energy.

    She tilted her head curiously. ¡°At first I had insisted upon early morning training because I thought that¡¯s what you needed. But you look as happy to be out here as I am.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I am.¡±

    She smirked at that. ¡°So I¡¯m still trying to figure out how a Ruidian is as comfortable in the sun as a girl blessed with the element of Sand.¡±

    ¡°I already told you. It¡¯s the dragon blood,¡± he said with a cocky smile that earned him the eye-roll he was counting on.

    ¡°Right. Now come at me!¡±

    And Alex did, today practicing with fangtian ji versus jian, and if she had found his spear frustrating to counter, a half-moon axe bladed polearm that could cleave, pierce, and effortlessly trap blades was testing her patience, and focus, like nothing else.

    Yet to her credit, all she did was bow and concede the point when Alex trapped her blade or sent it flying, or waited for just the right moment to sweep kick her feet out from under her when she melted into the desert sands and snuck up behind him, only for their battle becoming a grapple of a different sort, and a kiss he hadn¡¯t expected. A kiss he had returned far too vigorously, before suddenly freezing, and stepping back, cheeks hot with shame.

    She immediately melted into sand once more before the desert whirlwind revealed a girl holding her head in apology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alex. I¡­ sometimes forget. And when our blood is pumping after sparring...¡±

    Alex swallowed. ¡°Yeah, I get it. Totally.¡± He forced a chuckle. ¡°The hearts a tricky beast, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    She nodded, sitting on the desert sands before pulling out a discrete flask, taking a sip, and passing it to him. ¡°Do you ever think you¡¯ll see her again?¡±

    Alex froze in the act of accepting her flask, swallowed the lump in his throat, and raised it to his lips, ignoring the unexpected tremble in his hands. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said, gazing up at the deep blue desert sky.

    She accepted the flask and took another sip. ¡°You could go back home and sneak her out¡­ I mean, if she¡¯s willing¡­ and we could all escape to Liushi together.¡±

    He sighed and shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s a bit more complicated then that.¡±

    ¡°But not impossible, right?¡±

    Alex closed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it just might be, actually. It isn¡¯t just distance and a hostile pantheon¡­ I mean, family, that separates us,¡± he admitted before accepting the flask once more and enjoying the taste of fermented mare¡¯s milk. ¡°This is good.¡±

    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Really? Most Ruidians don¡¯t seem to appreciate it. But then again, you¡¯re the only one crazy enough to train in the desert sun, or imbibe spirits before nightfall.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°True.¡± he gazed thoughtfully at the fangtian ji in his hands, before making it vanish before Ya Ling¡¯s surprised glance as he drew his dao and summoned his prismatic shield once more.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, you have a containment pouch now!¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°I do indeed. Can you do me a favor?¡±

    ¡°You know it. What do you need?¡±

    ¡°Can you form a sand mannequin for me? Or even just a mound of stiffened resistance.¡±

    She smirked, surprising him with a near perfect rendition of a certain recently defeated wujen, up to and including the wind whipping his robes and his disdainful smirk.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°That¡¯s nothing short of incredible,¡± he conceded.

    She positively beamed. ¡°You clearly have good taste.¡±

    He frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Just how sturdy is it?¡±

    ¡°Right now? Damn hard. My spiritual energy is squeezing about it like a vice.¡±

    Alex blinked in alarm. ¡°Wait, Ya Ling...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she said with a bemused chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s just after high noon on a cloudless day in the hottest, driest part of the desert, and the caravan would be a bunch of fools if Qing Wu couldn¡¯t make water in a pinch. There is no better time or environment for my arts. So this is no more strenuous than stretching and warming up an injured muscle so it actually heals faster, not slower than it would have otherwise.¡±

    Alex flashed a relieved smile. ¡°Good to hear. May I?¡±

    She smirked. ¡°By all means, kung fu brother, show me what you can do.¡±

    Alex smirked and did just that. A casual thrust stopped in the tiniest fraction of an inch. Alex nodded in approval. ¡°Nice!¡± He turned to face her, feeling his cheeks flush at the sight of the olive-skinned beauty with high cheekbones, soft, full lips, and warm brown eyes. Even now her cheeks were blushing as she lowered her gaze.

    ¡°If you look at me like that, Alex...¡±

    Alex swallowed and turned away. ¡°I¡¯m going to strike full force, Ya Ling. Is that okay?¡±

    ¡°If only you would,¡± she said, chuckling throatily when Alex near-fumbled his blade before striking with all the force he could bring to bear with Ogre-tier Strength and the exquisite grace and coordination that Rank 10 in a basic art could bring him, grunting in satisfaction when his blade managed to sink three inches. Then he winced, realizing he was being a fool, at grave risk of actually damaging the folded steel blade.

    Fortunately, a quick extraction and perusal made it clear that it had suffered no damage at all, save for marks left by the sand.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty damn good defense, Ya Ling.¡±

    Ya Ling, for her part, flashed a pleased smile. ¡°Most warriors and junior cultivators like us, even the very few who have just broken through to Bronze like me, can¡¯t do more than scratch the surface. You¡¯re shield¡¯s incredible, Alex, but were I not still recovering, were we fighting our foes under the midday sun, yours isn¡¯t the only shield that would be stopping arrows, swords, and a wujen¡¯s spell.¡±

    She nodded her head at his blade. ¡°And yes, Alex, I can use my jian one-handed with my Sand Ward, and I¡¯m not so foolish that I don¡¯t now appreciate just how smart it would be to incorporate dao and shield into my sword forms as well, after surviving a battle firsthand, and experiencing swordplay outside of a noble¡¯s sparring ring. But my jian is perfect for when I become one with the sand. It¡¯s the safest fighting style I can use right now. And since my focus is learning the spear as best I can in the days before we dare a rift, I¡¯ll stick with that, until after we dare the rift.¡±

    ¡°Fair point,¡± Alex conceded, still admiring the sand mannequin that Qi Perception made clear was indeed saturated with Spiritual Energy. Not in quite the same way that the former Fu Lan¡¯s wards were, but the principle was similar, and Alex was hit with sudden inspiration. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d mind if I do some further tests?¡±

    She smirked. ¡°Be my guest.¡± Though her confident smile soon turned to wide-eyed disbelief when Alex¡¯s spear-hand strike tore through the mannequin as effortlessly as plunging his arm into the far looser sands that the breeze was blowing over their feet.

    ¡°How the hell...¡±

    Alex smirked, but ignored her muttered cursing as he closed his eyes, drew his blade, and tried to visualize the pounding oceans just enough to cover his blade before striking once more.

    He half expected to be humbled and put in his place, the weapon jarring out of his grip when the water coating his blade just hardened the stands into packed earth.

    No one was more surprised than him when his blade plunged through the sand mannequin as effortlessly as spearing water. Which really should have been no surprise, considering how closely tied Metal and Water were for him, even now, holding so much back for the sake of his Dantian and a doom he would do almost anything to avoid.

    He shivered as Ya Ling¡¯s curses grew more vocal. ¡°How the hell did you do that, Alex!?¡±

    But he stood their speechless, shuddering as he felt something shift and change within him. Sensing with ever greater clarity something he had done his best to put out of mind, for all that it was integral to the path he dared, and everything he hoped to one day become.

    He could both sense Enhanced Water Strike crest the threshold of Rank 7¡­ and he could sense the massive spinning super cable with a rotational orbit as vast as Jupiter¡¯s moons also picking up speed. The accretion disk of lost souls and inconceivable power drew ever closer to the event horizon of the tiny voidal seed trapped at the heart of it all as his supercable''s reverberations smoothed ever closer to perfection.

    All of which he took to mean one thing beyond the horrid scream he desperately choked back down his throat.

    He was on the brink of leveling up.

    And how absurd was it to feel such breathless potential with something as humble as achieving Basic Rank 6?

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Ya Ling frowned worriedly at Alex¡¯s dazed expression.

    That quickly became a smirk when Alex began attacking her mannequin with renewed zeal. ¡°You¡¯re impressive as hell, Alex, but don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to outlast me.¡±

    He didn¡¯t respond, merely redoubled his exertions, looking for something, and even Ya Ling seemed to sense his zeal for inspiration, just by the way his face lit up when his piercing thrusts became a cleaving blow, and Fu Lan¡¯s effigy lost its head that instantly dissolved into sand in the blink of an eye.

    Her smirk turned to a concentrated scowl as she reformed Fu Lan¡¯s sneering countenance, but not before first one then a second arm splashed into sand, cut free as Alex felt the flow water washing effortlessly through the elemental wards holding it in place as his connection to the elements he channeled grew.

    Congratulations! Enhanced Water Strike is now Rank 7! You may pierce most wards of Silver Tier or better using your limbs or a sharpened metal blade with a skill check. Wards of Bronze Tier may also be sliced through at a -2 penalty.

    The distinction made sense, he absently thought. Piercing strike was all about forcing his attack through an otherwise stable weave, like slipping a pencil through the wire mesh of a screen door. He was grateful to find that Silver Tier wards were once more within his grasp to pierce, and wasn¡¯t at all surprised that his cutting power was one tier lower. To actually cut through a Wujen¡¯s Wards was an altogether different proposition, and Alex suspected it was the synergism between Steel and Water that allowed him to do it at all, a metal blade taking the place of channeling the element in liquid form directly, with all the risks to his Dantian that such entailed.

    Alex gave a satisfied smile and stepped back, giving Ya Ling a playful bow. ¡°Your humble Kung Fu brother thanks you for the test dummies.¡±

    This earned a snort, her expression caught between humor and exasperated outrage. ¡°That was absolutely absurd! How did you? Where did you learn how to pierce wards so easily?¡± She paled and shuddered, eyes growing haunted under memory¡¯s vice. ¡°Never mind. No need to answer that.¡±

    He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. ¡°What matters is that we¡¯re here, now, today, able to savor the warm sun caressing our bodies and embrace this fresh chance to ascend and better ourselves in every way we can.¡±

    ¡°While those who crossed us are dessicating under the desert sands, their cultivation journeys cut forever short.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°For this life, at least. There¡¯s always a chance for redemption, the next time around.¡±

    She snorted. ¡°Do you really believe that? That there¡¯s anything for us, after we¡­ you know.¡±

    Alex solemnly nodded. ¡°With every fiber of my being.¡±

    Her cynical smile filled with poorly concealed hope. ¡°You don¡¯t know how much I wish that were true,¡± she said.

    Alex held back the lump in his throat, already sensing half a dozen innocent lives filled with sweet moments and positive karma radiating off her, even now.

    ¡°Trust me, Ya Ling. You have nothing to worry about in that department. So let¡¯s focus on making the life we¡¯re living right now as rich and rewarding as we possibly can. You up for a little more spear practice?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re damn right, I am. And this time, no holding back!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re on,¡± he said, laughing when her smirk turned to a scowl, as the frustrated sands whipped and whirled around him. Before being caught up in the vortex of Air or Wind Qi enveloping the blade and his form, his spear effortlessly winding past hers as remnants of White Crane mastery manifested in winding spear strikes not even Captain Dui Zhong could counter when curiosity got the better of his disdain for the midday heat and he too joined in their exertions.

    You have successfully forced Bronze Tier Body Cultivator¡¯s Spear off-line!

    You have sensed your opponent¡¯s weakness. Spear sent flying from weakened grip! (imperfectly healed injury.)

    Wind Crane Kung Fu is now Rank 3!

    Dui Zhong gazed at the spear windmilling through the air before landing point first into the sands with a look before good-natured laughter burst from his barrel chest and powerful frame. ¡°That¡¯s four times in a row. Impressive, lad. Damn impressive.¡±

    Alex grinned back. ¡°You got the first two points on me, captain, remember? The way you twisted my spear free and hip tossed me caught me completely off-guard. I¡¯ve honestly never encountered anything like it!¡±

    Dui Zhong gave a good-natured snort. ¡°Sure. And you refused to fall for the one trap that actually caught you off-guard a second time! You¡¯re a monster with your shin strikes, and you learned damned fast that pretty spinning heel kicks aren¡¯t worth shit in desert sands!¡±

    ¡°But if that kick had actually landed, if we were on the caravan road...¡±

    The captain smirked at a wide-eyed Ya Ling. ¡°I¡¯d be on the ground with a shattered jaw, maybe a broken neck. That blow could knock a spirit-camel cold!¡±

    Alex grimaced and bowed his head. In truth, he had deliberately tumbled to the sands when he had felt inspiration turn perilously close to disaster, that one kick coming so close to touching the forbidden and putting so many things in jeopardy. From that moment on he had focused only on his weapon, using the force and fury of the swirling Wind Qi all around him to strike far more effective blows and parries than White Crane itself could, which used Wind only as a metaphor. This was the real thing. The difference was in the direction he and his former master had evolved White Crane into something truly revolutionary. This was, Alex suspected, a far more practical and physical martial art.

    But he still had every interest in forging Wind Crane into an art worthy of the title, and if he could somehow synergize it to work in conjunction with Enhanced Water Strike, he¡¯d truly have the beginnings of an art worthy of the one he had once given up so much to embrace.

    But by the look the captain was giving them and the caravan as a whole¡­ there would be no more group practice for them, at least until nightfall.

    ¡°Alright, you two. Time to get in our wagons and get going.¡± His indulgent smile hardened. ¡°As much as I¡¯m as desperate for a fortuitous encounter as you and our wujen are, Lady Ling, I know better than most do the perils of the desert, and we are truly entering dangerous territory.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s post-workout smile grew worried. ¡°Captain Dui Zhong, you don¡¯t have to worry. Master Wu can make whatever water we need.¡±

    ¡°For three dozen men and nearly a dozen spirit camels?¡± The man snorted. ¡°Sturdy as they are, they¡¯ll be spitting and nipping if we can¡¯t get them watered within the week, and how many hundreds of gallons can our fragile wujen grant us before his foundation is strained beyond repair?¡±

    Dui Zhong gave a sad shake of his head. ¡°Sometimes we have to accept our losses. Sometimes futile struggle only makes setbacks far more bitter than they have to be.¡±

    With those grim words he headed back to the main caravan, and the look Alex and Ya Ling shared said all that needed saying.

    When it came to finding hidden sanctuaries and fortuitous encounters, they were rapidly running out of time.

 Book 8 - Chapter 15 - Hope Rekindled

    Alex peered out into the horizon from the top of the lead wagon platform that served as his favorite mediation and training spot, eyes vainly searching for something, anything, besides the endless undulating dunes of sand. Save for a single wavering mirage in the distance¡­ there was nothing. Qing Wu had again cut their lesson short today, his normally cheerful smile and tolerance for Alex¡¯s carefully worded questions had waned to little more than a bitter glare for the sands before heading back inside, grumbling that it was time to give fresh lessons to the three former mortals who had actually profited from the bitter brew that had caused the Bronze and Silver among them such tragedy. As Reny had explained when Alex first woke up to a trio of caravan guards crying actual tears of joy, Dragonbane Root actually served an extremely legitimate purpose, for all that almost all cultivation sects and major academies frowned upon their use.

    For it seemed that given in extremely low doses with the right combinations of herbs serving as neutralizing agents on hand, it could be used to forcefully burst open blocked meridians, even those of men and women possessing no cultivation techniques at all. In short, it allowed city rulers to very quickly and cheaply awaken perhaps hundreds of cultivators who could then be further honed into warriors grateful to be elevated above the mortal masses, eagerly learning basic cultivation techniques that would allow them to further break through whatever blockages remained. For remarkably, that which was so destructive to advanced cultivators at higher doses served as extremely efficacious and potent meridian cleansing pills that could be cheaply given to the masses, so powerful that it would allow those who had never sought, or could never afford any sort of cultivation training, to unlock gifts they might not have even been aware of having, as well as a chance at the cultivator¡¯s life.

    Of course there were risks. Serious ones. A good fraction of those mortals given dragonbane root ended up permanently crippled or worse, when ruptured meridian channels resulted in a tragic, lingering death. But if a desperate ruler needed to bring a thousand troops who could at least ascend as Basic cultivators into his armies to better ward against foreign threats, there was no more effective path forward.

    Of course it was extremely controversial. At academies, it was never used, with many arguments made within academies about it damaging long term potential if not outright killing those who dared those desperate brews. But no one was foolish enough to try to censure a ruler¡¯s ability to raise thousands of cultivating warriors up from utter obscurity. Cultivators that would then be diligently trained and risen up as soldiers to the extent their patrons could afford to do so. Cultivators that might eventually join the very academies that so denigrated the use of that poison that could bring such peril to a Bronze or Silver foundation, with no blockages to absorb the poison.

    And so what had been a tragedy for Ya Ling and her aunt and uncle, and the captain as well, had been a remarkable boon, a fortuitous encounter for no less than three of his men who had thought themselves doomed to mortal lives. Alex could recognize them on sight, literally feeling their excitement and fierce hope for the future whenever they saw Alex and Ya Ling spar. All three of them dedicated themselves to the lessons that both Qing Wu and Dui Zhong were giving them daily, something to pass the endless hours of their daily journey. One of the three was already on the cusp of Basic Rank 2 after having learned the most basic of meridian cleansing techniques, so thoroughly had the poison ground through his once hopelessly clogged channels, opening the way for future opportunities he would never have otherwise dreamed of.

    And the fortune of those three guards, who Reny had dryly informed had remarkably suffered no long term damage at all from the poison, was a faint silver lining to the bitter fruit the others had suffered. It showed just how precarious and mercurial fate could be, even with no gods looking their way at all.

    Or so Alex hoped.

    He winced in memory of Qing Wu¡¯s exasperated departure of just minutes ago. The man had taken his own grievous wounds with good humor and remarkable forbearance, all things considered, naturally falling into a teacher¡¯s role for all who needed his aid, wayward disciple and recently elevated mortals alike. But even the most stalwart flower would eventually shrivel and wilt when the land was a vast, barren wasteland devoid of hope¡¯s nurturing springs altogether

    Even Ya Ling had retreated after their latest sparring match, glaring with frustration at her spear, declaring that she¡¯d go back to sparring with her jian alone, since it was obvious that they wouldn¡¯t be in need of any other weapon, as there had been no sign at all of anything like an oasis or a rift whatsoever.

    There was nothing to be seen, save a handful of damaged cultivation bases and endless blowing sands.

    Alex alone was out there during the midday break, reveling in the steady progress he was making with both his prismatic cultivation technique and Prismatic Shield, sensing his increasing proficiency, comfort, and mastery with both. Even if they had yet to solidify as a fresh pair of rank-ups, he still felt intense satisfaction with his increasing understanding of both paths. It also helped serve to distract him regarding the fruitlessness of their quest as he glared at the shimmering heat mirage in the distance.

    As frustrated by their lack of success as he was for the sake of his boon companions, he was still filled with fierce hot joy for how far he had already come in just a handful of days. Unveiling priceless echoes of gifts he had once called his own, the memories of a lifetime ago, without the horrid weight of vindictive gods eternally trying to turn all his triumphs into bitter ashes.

    He gave an angry shake of his head, immediately fighting off the wave of howling, bitter regret that threatened to overwhelm him, filled with grief for all he had loved and lost during his last lifetime¡­ and who knew how many before.

    No. That was over. The past would remain forever in the past. And if his sense of things was correct, perhaps WiFu¡¯s final blessing for services rendered over who knew how many bloody millenia¡­ he now had a fresh restart point where he was so much better off, so much more, than that clueless boy with near straight 9s in his physical stats who had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do after waking up near naked and without any resources in a cold, uncaring city, let alone how to form cords of Bronze or cables of Silver, utterly vulnerable to a world both savage, beautiful, and perilous.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    At least now he was reborn as someone on the cusp of Bronze with a handful of valuable skills and even more precious memories serving as a customized guide as to what paths he might best pursue going forward, and perhaps just as importantly, what tragedies in the making he¡¯d be far better off avoiding entirely.

    Politics. Daring to make waves and enemies he had no business making. Sticking his foot in high profile matters that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

    ¡°Kind of like what I¡¯m doing right now,¡± he muttered to himself with a soft chuckle.

    Yet even as his smile blossomed in memory of those final wondrous moments he had seen Hao Chan truly shine, ascending to Gold before his very eyes, he was still wiping away bitter tears quickly drying under the hot desert sun, to think he would never see her again.

    ¡°How long¡¯s it been, really? How many times have I woken up in that cave and lived a life perilously short, or sweetly fulfilling? What happened to everyone I loved before?¡±

    He choked back the cry clawing at the back of his throat, taking deep, steadying breaths, focusing only on the glorious flow of spiritual energy resonating in a synergistic symphony of notes within his meridian channels, and his soul.

    The past was the past.

    And perhaps one day he¡¯d be able to figure out just how much time had truly passed, and if there was any chance at all to connect past with present once more. If perhaps Hao Chan and Yinzi had grown and evolved who knew how far, with Eternal Fox promising so much longevity, such glorious power¡­

    No. He was holding out foolish hope for women who might be centuries or millennia old, even if he could cross the bridge of time and see them, somehow, once more. With lives filled with countless challenges, triumphs, experiences, and maybe beautiful families of their own, honoring him with the occasional wistful smile to memory¡¯s sanctum¡­ before moving on with their days.

    Assuming they were alive at all.

    ¡°And if this isn¡¯t my first life since I drowned in the river¡­ if this is my ninth, my tenth, and countless centuries have passed between each one...¡± Alex desperately looked towards the horizon where endless ocher sands and the deep blue sky met for any distraction, anything of note at all, beyond heat ripples in the air. His attempts at cultivation had come to an abrupt halt, Hao Chan¡¯s beautiful smile and sultry, knowing eyes haunting him even now.

    He saw nothing out of the ordinary at all.

    Then he blinked in sudden wonder at the sheer mundanity of the view, instantly understanding what was wrong.

    The deep blue skies and endless dunes had always been crystalline in their clarity. Whether that was due to the spiritual energy that so directly permeated this world, subtle changes in the universal constants relative to his own reality, or just his 18 in Perception which had carried over completely from his most recently remembered life, making him the equivalent of an elite eagle-eyed scout, he didn¡¯t now.

    What he did know was the distant heat mirage he saw to the northwest of them was oddly distinct in its outline, and was the only sign of any heat mirage he had seen in all the days he had been cultivating in plain view of the glorious desert vista.

    From the brilliant fiery-red sunrises to golden sunsets to the deep clear blue skies under the midday sun, this was the only time he had seen any sort of mirage.

    Which begged the question, what if the mirage was not a mirage at all?

    What if it had nothing to do with light bouncing off two distinct bodies of heated air by the desert sand?

    What if it was indicative of an entirely different phenomena altogether?

    Say¡­ a localized rift?

    Alex¡¯s bittersweet torpor transformed to a sudden surge of hope for the sake of his new friends. Of course he couldn¡¯t deny that he was just as excited for the chance to explore new wonders and perhaps profit from spirit fruit that might grant as glorious a transformative boon for him as well as for everyone else.

    He couldn¡¯t slip through the roof hatch fast enough. He wasn¡¯t even deterred Qing Wu¡¯s angry glare when Qing Wu and his wife were also wakened by Alex¡¯s urgent whispers as he pried Ya Ling from her afternoon nap in perhaps the only naturally air conditioned wagon to be found anywhere.

    ¡°Alex, if you¡¯re planning what I think you¡¯re planning, you¡¯re timing couldn¡¯t be worse!¡± An irate Qing Wu snapped when he lurched from sleep, tendrils of icy doom a heartbeat from manifesting, only to see the way Ya Ling was squeezing his hand, gazing up into Alex¡¯s eyes with a hunger that was unmistakable.

    Reny was also giving Alex an exasperated glare. ¡°True, husband. But considering our state¡­ perhaps it would be best if those two ran off together. He clearly cares for her, and damaged foundation or no, Ya Ling¡¯s powers in the deep desert will always be an asset, and that boy¡¯s heat tolerance would bring even a scorpion to shame.¡±

    Ya Ling flashed Alex a teasing smile. ¡°Well, hero? Is aunty right? Are you here to whisk me away to a better life free of intrigue and betrayal? Where a crippled foundation means nothing in the eyes of my one true love?¡±

    Alex snorted at that. ¡°First of all, you¡¯re hardly crippled. Under the midday sands, you¡¯re absolutely badass, and you know it. Secondly, I think I found it!¡±

    Qing Wu frowned at that, but Reny and Ya Ling shared a look and grew absolutely still, eyes matching shades of softest brown locking upon Alex¡¯s own.

    ¡°Alex, are you sure?¡±

    He winced, hating the intensity in Reny¡¯s voice, so much laid bare. He felt cheeks flush under the looks the trio was giving him, their earlier banter the flimsiest of bandages for the bitter wounds upon their souls.

    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not sure. But maybe? Anyway, I saw a heat mirage, or something that might be a heat mirage, but considering that this world¡­ I mean this desert hasn¡¯t hit me with any light-bending overlapping bodies of air until now...¡± he shook his head at the strange looks they were giving him. ¡°Look, the point is I think maybe the trick of the light I¡¯m seeing might be because of spiritual energy radiating from a nearby area.¡±

    ¡°A rift!¡± Qing Wu¡¯s eyes lit up with desperate hope. ¡°Ready yourselves, while I inform the captain. We have no time to lose!¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 16 - Rift Hunting

    ¡°Let me get this straight. We¡¯re going to bring three newly awoken cultivators into a rift none of us have ever explored before?¡± Alex winced internally at the hard glare this earned from Dui Zhong and the looks of chagrin and fierce determination exuded by the three caravan guards.

    Alex ignored the tightened brows of Qing Wu and Reny, refusing to shy away from Dui Zhong¡¯s glare either. Perhaps it was out of character for a young mixed-blood basic cultivator as he appeared to be to question his supposed betters, but he refused to back down from stating his concerns.

    ¡°Yes, Alex, that¡¯s exactly the case,¡± Dui Zhong stated flatly.

    ¡°Begging your pardon, young master, but it¡¯s our lives on the line, and we¡¯re willing to take the risk,¡± the guard known as Luo stated. Of average build and appearance, he looked completely unremarkable and would have easily blended in with any crowd of desert folk. Yet he was also the one who had enjoyed sweetest fortune, with two meridian channels now fully cleared.

    The man next to him, Xiao, gave an enthusiastic nod. ¡°We owe you and Lady Wu a debt we¡¯ll never be able to repay. So at least let us guard your backs and make use of the decade of experience most of us have, handling beast and bandit along the trade roads. And should we actually manage to come across some of those sacred fruit, just like in the campfire stories you shared with us just the night before, well, how delightful would our own life stories be, if we could brag about not just one, but two fortuitous encounters in a single caravan run?¡±

    Li, the third newly forged cultivator, younger than the others, gave an excited nod. ¡°My great grandmother was an apothecary who was actually sought after by cultivators, once upon a time. She made it clear that some spiritual herbs work best in carefully distilled tinctures, and others are best eaten right off the vine, especially in rifts! With Lady Reny Wu here to pluck free the choicest prizes to infuse into the most wondrous of tinctures, and Lord Qing Wu here to point out the fruit to be eaten at the peak of ripeness the moment we find them, we¡¯re willing to face whatever dangers might come our way, doing our best to guard the flanks of the revered cultivators who helped raise us up from nothing!¡±

    Alex frowned thoughtfully, before giving a reluctant nod. The men were right. No matter how perilous the risk might be, the men had every right to seek their fortunes in whatever way they deemed best, even if there was risk involved. ¡°Actually, the wonders of exploration might do more to enhance your insights and revelations than pretty much anything else. All the better if you¡¯re being forged in the crucible of combat, and those spirit beasts can be pretty damned tasty, in terms of locked away potency,¡± Alex conceded with a smile, despite their confused looks, before his gaze hardened. ¡°Just so long as you follow your commander¡¯s orders to the letter. I don¡¯t think I have to tell you just how quickly an ambushing Spirit puma, boar, or bull can turn the sweetest of tales to the darkest of tragedies, or that I¡¯ve seen more than one man slaughtered by beasts he thought he could master.¡±

    Those words earned him a round of solemn bows. At least the newbloods were taking it seriously, he thought, for all that Dui Zhong snorted.

    ¡°The Ruidian boy speaks out of turn, but I¡¯ll let it go, this once. Because he¡¯s right. We¡¯re daring the most perilous of tales, risking fate¡¯s folly as we plunge her depths for sweetest fortune. So I expect you all to follow my every order and not go cavorting off like fools for every shiny prize you see or think you see, because death is just a single ambushing monster away. Are we clear?¡±

    He glared at the three caravan guards who all gave deferential nods.

    Dui Zhong then turned his powerful glare Alex¡¯s way. ¡°And you¡ª¡±

    ¡°Will be foraging ahead, with Reny, guarding her back,¡± Alex boldly stated, making his position clear. ¡°While respecting your command of your men. If I see trouble, I¡¯ll holler a warning, but I won¡¯t shout any orders. I¡¯ll leave that to you.¡±

    This earned a snort from Dui Zhong, and a frown from Reny.

    ¡°Although I¡¯m grateful to have both you and my husband so determined to watch my back, hunting for spirit herbs is no casual undertaking. If you don¡¯t have a knack for it, you¡¯d be of more benefit following Dui Zhong¡¯s lead.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hide his smile. ¡°I understand. If I fail to impress you within the first ten minutes or so, I¡¯ll gladly defer to Captain Dui Zhong.¡±

    Ya Ling nodded. ¡°And I¡¯ll happily...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll stay with us, child,¡± Qing Wu quietly stated. ¡°With your spear at the ready, of course. And should we tell you to retreat for the portal, you will race full speed back to the sands that are your sanctuary and salvation, delaying for nothing and no one. Is that clear?¡±

    Ya Ling scowled, pouting for just a second, before deferentially bowing her head. ¡°It will be as you say, honored elder.¡±

    ¡°Good. For though you are a natural desert queen, if Alex truly did see something besides a heat mirage, and this turns out to be anything more than a final exercise before we accept fate¡¯s decree and continue our journey to Liushi, accepting our losses¡­ there¡¯s a very good chance that you will find yourself in an environment quite unlike the one you¡¯ve known all your life. Think of a vast, endless forest far beyond your family gardens, with a canopy so grand it blocks out all but the most diffuse of light, the soil dark and loamy and entirely free of your element, the air rich with the scents of your favorite flowers and your spirit will be lifted like never before.¡± His gaze hardened. ¡°But you will be the weakest you¡¯ve ever been outside of your parents tiled training yards.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. She looked both intrigued and frightened, before settling on an excited smile. ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll stay dutifully by your and Reny¡¯s side, and follow your orders. Now let¡¯s stop wasting time. The more hours of daylight remain, the greater our chances of finding spiritual treasures!¡±

    ¡°Assuming there¡¯s anything to be found at all,¡± Qing Wu allowed with a final glance Alex¡¯s way.

    Alex, for his part, immediately took the lead, making his commitment clear. Remarkably, no one voiced any protest, following his lead. And when he felt a soft hand tentatively clasp his own, Alex just smiled and gave a nod of approval as a fully armed and armored Ya Ling used her spear haft as a walking stick much as Alex and all the armsmen did, more for form¡¯s sake than anything else. Because of course, she was one with the desert sands. He instinctively patted his storage pouch on his hip, having made excellent use of his time when not cultivating, practicing switching spear for fangtian ji under the starry night sky over the last couple of days. He had also practiced drawing and striking with his saber-like dao in a single beat, taking full advantage of the training targets Ya Ling was happy to leave behind before heading to bed herself.

    He hadn¡¯t been awarded any new interface skills for progressing either knack, but even if there wasn¡¯t a formal iado skill, he could sense it definitely pushing his Golden Realms kung fu ever closer to Rank 11. He also took great comfort that what had originally taken long seconds of concentrated focus, switching one polearm for another when he first familiarized himself with his new pouch of holding, now took mere moments, and the practice, and his efforts to truly be in tune with his claimed prize had pushed his Artificer skill halfway to Rank 8, which made it clear just how specialized a knack it was.

    He was pulled free of his thoughts by the young woman now squeezing his hand with fearsome strength, in that moment making it clear that she had been holding back more than even he had realized.

    ¡°Alex, I think¡­ I think that must be the rift!¡± an excited Yu Ling gushed as Alex furrowed his brow, peering thoughtfully at the wavering corona of spiritual energies radiating like a heat mirage from the desert sands¡­ just feet away from where they stood.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but flash a teasing smile. ¡°I think you¡¯re right. And you¡¯ve been holding back when we spar, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    Ya Ling winked. ¡°Maybe a little bit, hero. The midday sun has been very, very good to me, and you look so adorable when you¡¯re hovering over me with that triumphant little smirk of yours.¡±

    Alex blinked, nonplussed, but before he could think of anything to say to that¡­ had she actually broken through to a new rank and didn¡¯t even mention it to him? Now that he thought of it, she had been moving so fluidly and fast with their morning practice while the others had been getting ready, as if filled with sudden fiery hope¡­ but Ya Ling had already turned to holler Qing Wu and the other¡¯s way. The half dozen others comprising their party were having far more trouble striding through treacherous sands than their desert princess, or the man whose hand she held so tightly.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Uncle! We found it!¡±

    Alex saw the scowl on the distant man¡¯s features, even if he couldn¡¯t make out the words that Ya Ling clearly heard, no doubt somehow conveyed by the sand they all strode upon. She chuckled throatily, peels of husky laughter caressing Alex¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Ya Ling, did you actually ascend?¡±

    For some reason her dusky features took on a flush, and she wouldn¡¯t meet his gaze. ¡°Everyone knows that a broken cultivator has no business ascending, no matter how in tune she feels with the sands caressing her feet, the sun caressing her skin, the warm smile of her partner caressing her soul.¡± She turned away, squeezing his hand once more as she stared out into the deep blue horizon. ¡°But when inspiration strikes, when you feel life¡¯s story take hold, you accept and embrace it, and pray that tomorrow¡¯s joy will be far sweeter than yesterday¡¯s sorrows.¡±

    Alex blinked, not quite knowing what to say.

    ¡°Yes,¡± she whispered. ¡°I did. That¡¯s why Reny was so¡­ understanding of the possibility of you sweeping me off my feet and taking me away.¡± She chuckled awkwardly. ¡°She said a match as strong as ours, training and forging ourselves in my element, is almost as good a balm as the most exotic spirit fruit. And even if there¡¯s still¡­ damage, an ascension not forced by cultivation pills or months of deliberate focus¡­ but just the simple culmination of nature¡¯s intent, will leave scars far less significant than any other path forward with a damaged foundation, and might actually be better than foiling my own ascension.¡±

    Alex could sense her sudden vulnerability, the mixture of pride, hope, and worry that she felt. She was no fool. Alex could tell she knew she would have been better off waiting for a miracle cure. But yesterday all had seemed hopeless, save for the joy and inspiration she felt during the hours they trained together. And when inspiration transformed to an epiphany, a breakthrough worthy of a Bronze tier rank all on it¡¯s own, even Alex knew it should always be embraced. So he squeezed her hand with the tender warmth of a friend who would stand by her side¡­ even if he could promise the beautiful desert rose smiling so hopefully up at him nothing more.

    At least not yet.

    Not until he had time to grieve.

    Not until he finally knew.

    But he could still stand by her side as kung fu brother and beloved friend, and let nature take its course for them both.

    But no desert rose that blossomed in the fiercest of climes did so without the sharpest of thorns and the strongest of wills. So the gentle kiss of tender affection meant for her brow became soft warm lips fiercely claiming his own, Tier 1 Bronze Strength fiercely applied made it clear she would capture him as fiercely as the desert sands now howling about them both when a powerful sweep found them both lying prone on the desert sands.

    Soft brown eyes blazed into his own. ¡°The desert would claim her prize, Alex. And the prize I would claim is...¡±

    ¡°Ya Ling! We are here! Show us this rift!¡±

    The girl froze, locking eyes with Alex for long moments as he just lay there, shaken by how hard it was to keep control. To keep absolutely still and do nothing when the once-more blushing girl hurriedly stood up, brushed herself off, and jerked Alex back to his feet as the blinding whirlwind that had been surrounding them petered to nothing, revealing the bemused smirks and exasperated glares of half a dozen fellow cultivators who were now all staring right at them!

    ¡°I was just, um, practicing a new technique, uncle.¡± Ya Ling cleared her throat, forcing a smile. ¡°I need better defense against Wind Qi. Learning to harmonize Sand with Wind¡­ and best of all, there was no strain at all!¡±

    Qing Wu gazed at his niece for long seconds before sighing and shaking his head. ¡°Manipulating your element in the heart of your territory, and right after you enjoyed a breakthrough, mother nature¡¯s gift to a girl who has found her heart¡¯s desire. Of course you¡¯re feeling no strain at all.¡± He crossed his arms and glared. ¡°Had Reny not argued your case so well, I¡¯d think you a fool. As it stands, we will declare it the benefit of a fortuitous encounter that at least mitigates the damage suffered by those who would see us fall. But make no mistake, your foundation is still cracked, and best we see if we can mend it fully before you enjoy any further ¡®breakthroughs¡¯ or shifts to your foundation.¡±

    Alex blinked as Ya Ling¡¯s cheeks absolutely blazed. ¡°Wait, are you saying that...¡± He froze, realizing that there were far too many expressionless faces staring their way, and Ya Ling¡¯s cheeks were absolutely blazing. This was obviously her uncle¡¯s form of discipline, putting her on the spot, and Alex wasn¡¯t going to make it worse, even if a boy would grin with pride where a girl might wish to hide.

    Qing Wu rolled her eyes. ¡°Of course, boy. Where were you raised? Don¡¯t answer that. But yes. Embracing certain acts does put a strain on anyone¡¯s Dantian. But it¡¯s mild enough that no cultivator with a sound foundation should worry about it, save for various sects of eccentric ascetics. For the rest of us, we¡¯d be a fool to denigrate that which our very survival depends upon. That which we¡¯ve evolved to account for. And as I said, if your foundation is strong and stable, the act does nothing more than signify your own coming of age, and you damn well better be able and willing to care for that which you would claim, Alex!¡±

    Before a nonplussed Alex could respond, Qing Wu turned to his now kowtowing niece.

    He sighed and gently lifted her to her feet. ¡°I fear you stumbled, child. Now let¡¯s focus on what matters. Where exactly is this rift?¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s embarrassment instantly transformed to professional focus. ¡°It¡¯s right here, uncle. See how the sands shimmer and vibrate where I¡¯m stepping?¡± Her eyes widened when she suddenly lurched forward.

    Alex quickly claimed her hand, just as she was about to fall right into the shimmering twist of light and spiritual energy that Alex found dizzying even to look at.

    She flashed a grateful smile. ¡°Thanks, Alex. I almost slipped, there.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°Sometimes Earth Qi manifestations can affect gravity itself, especially Jade tier manifestations.¡±

    Alex was surprised by the sudden weight of so many stares.

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯ve encountered Jade tier manifestations?¡± Ya Ling asked in breathless awe.

    Alex forced a laugh. ¡°Who knows? Maybe I did in a previous life. We were all heroes once, after all. Am I right?¡±

    This earned more than a few grins, Alex already knowing how the caravanners enjoyed telling tall tales by the campfires, and few things were more exciting than contemplating which among them might have been a prince or a king in a previous life.

    Qing Wu gave an exasperated shake of his head. ¡°Never mind that. Please, show us this rift, niece. You know how much depends upon it!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s bemused smile stiffened into a flinch at her uncle¡¯s abrupt tone, as if only now appreciating the desperation that her normally benevolent and easygoing uncle¡ªand how incredibly rare was that for a Silver? ¡ªHad so masterfully kept in check. But here and now, at the brink of salvation, Qing Wu¡¯s eyes were desperately searching for that which Alex realized, to his profound surprise, that the man couldn¡¯t spot, no matter how intently he looked.

    Even with Ya Ling guiding him to the very spot while Alex carefully holding her hand, feeling how the sands suddenly sucked at their feet. How a sudden surge of Earth Qi gravity almost forced him right into the rift.

    And how oddly everyone else was looking at the pair of them.

    No one else feeling a thing.

    ¡°Uncle, you¡¯re hovering right over it. It should be pulling you in!¡± Ya Ling cried with actual dismay, wilting under the suddenly cold stare her uncle and the others were giving her and Alex both.

    ¡°If this is some sort of game, child...¡±

    Ya Ling gazed at her uncle with growing dismay. ¡°Alex, they don¡¯t even see it. They keep twisting around it whenever they even get close!¡±

    Alex nodded, locking gazes with the increasingly anxious-looking girl beside him as she wilted under hard stares that were increasingly becoming glares. ¡°I think we both know what we need to do.¡±

    Ya Ling froze for long moments, before finally giving a determined nod, a soft smile coming to her lips. ¡°So, just how good a forager are you, Alex?¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help but smirk at that. ¡°I think you¡¯d be surprised.¡±

    He purposely clasped her hands, preparing to lead them through the rift.

    ¡°Wait, Alex!¡± He blinked, surprised to see Reny toss him a small satchel he instinctively caught. ¡°Assuming you two are doing more than wishful thinking, and have actually stumbled on to something that the rest of us are simply blind to¡­ take this with you. If you find any plants rich in spiritual energy that you can safely claim, transplant the roots with some of the original soil into the pouch and it will preserve those cuttings indefinitely!¡±

    Alex blinked, profoundly touched by the worth of the gift and the trust being shown. He had no doubt that this was among Reny¡¯s most prized possessions, and could sense the spiritual treasures she already had inside. ¡°I will protect it at all costs,¡± he assured.

    ¡°Ya Ling¡¯s far more important, but other than her, do so,¡± was Reny¡¯s dry rejoinder.

    Qing Wu gave them both a sardonic smirk. ¡°And if this is all part of some convoluted plan to strike off on your own¡­ please return the pouch before you do so.¡±

    This earned a chuckle from Ya Ling. ¡°I guess you¡¯ll just have to see for yourself, uncle!¡±

    She exchanged a cheeky grin with Alex. ¡°Shall we?¡±

    ¡°Let''s.¡±

    With those words they stepped through the portal visible only to those who could sense both Dark and Wood Qi, or were one with the desert sands.

 Book 8 - Chapter 17 - Dont forget to look up!

    ¡°Alex, what is this place?¡±

    Alex took a deep breath filled with the perfume of countless wildflowers and the rich peaty scent of forest loam, gazing with awe at what appeared to be primeval woodlands, stretching as far as the eye could see. The formerly brilliant afternoon sun had been replaced by gentle green-tinted diffuse light, the air alive with the sound of Silverbell blossoms his ears caught tinkling under the bowers of conifers, interspersed by trees glowing with spiritual energy, radiating most particularly from exotic fruit, both familiar and strange.

    Ya Ling trembled with both awe, wonder, and fear.

    Because Alex wasn¡¯t the only one who heard distant screeches and roars, sensing that this forest, both exotic and wondrous, was as pitiless as it was beautiful. And the bright yellow eyes Alex caught sight of glaring their way in the distance made it clear that this rift would claim a bounty from any who dared its prizes in turn.

    Yet the bounty of spiritual treasures flared upon Alex¡¯s exquisitely attuned Qi Perception, calling out to him like nothing had since arriving here.

    He couldn¡¯t help flash a hungry smile, feeling other long-forgotten hungers as well as he connected with a primal part of himself that remained utterly dormant in desert sands.

    He had but to open his palm and flash a bemused looking Ya Ling a smile before she lurched back with surprise, before being presented with a glistening peach, absolutely radiating spiritual energy.

    ¡°A gift of the forest, a bounty we may take, free and clear.¡±

    Ya Ling gazed at him breathlessly, eyes filled with wonder. ¡°Alex, you look¡­ different.¡±

    Alex took a deep breath and grinned. ¡°What can I say? I feel at home here.¡±

    She swallowed and nodded, peering thoughtfully at the fruit. ¡°Will it heal me?¡± She asked breathlessly.

    Alex gazed at her for long moments.

    Soul Sight perception check successful!

    He smiled gently. ¡°It will add a decade to your life, and help to seal the crack to your foundation. You will find it effortless to ascend all the ranks of Bronze. And should you truly embrace the deserts gifts, you¡¯ll find a wild path all your own that will allow for endless ascension as a queen of the desert, half warrior, half wujen. But no, Ya Ling. As it stands, you will never reach Silver unless your injury is mended in full.¡±

    Her eyes widened. ¡°How could you know that? Alex, there¡¯s no way you could possibly...¡± She swallowed pointless words, shaking her head, wiping a furious tear way. ¡°No. I refuse to accept that my brother effortlessly crushed all my dreams with a smug laugh and a single order to his gods-damned lackeys!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with endless Bronze and a Vitality that will last you well over a century in the prime of health,¡± Alex said softly. ¡°And I know just how deadly you are, under the midday sun. And when your scar fully closes¡­ you¡¯ll be able to dance about the dunes endlessly. An opponent no one could possibly touch till the sun wanes, and you¡¯re smart enough to hide with the sun, your evenings safe and snug in the home you¡¯ll one day forge with your chosen.¡±

    Her eyes glittered with a heat he had never seen before. ¡°There¡¯s more in there. Far more. Isn¡¯t there?¡±

    Alex forced himself to nod. ¡°There is.¡±

    Her eye lit with sudden hope. ¡°And you know how to get it, don¡¯t you?¡±

    He sighed. ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get it!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fighting spirit beasts of Bronze at the very least, even here, close to the gate. And there are foes of Silver that must be faced, should you dare the forest¡¯s depths. And in it¡¯s heart...¡±

    ¡°Gold.¡± She whispered, suddenly blanching.

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°Correct.¡±

    She trembled, squeezing her grip. ¡°I want my foundation healed, Alex. Whatever the cost.¡±

    Alex flashed her a sympathetic smile even as he caught the forest¡¯s warning, knowing they had already overstayed their moment¡¯s grace.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s panicked warning came after he had already turned, desperately shifting his spear as fast and gracefully as he could in a body that was no longer howling with a Silver¡¯s power.

    But he hadn¡¯t lost two years of battle-forged instincts, or the inherent grace that had seen him through countless forest battles. Such that when a certain Shadow Puma had launched silently through the air, instead of the hot warm flesh it had expected to fill its belly with, it received razor sharp steel Alex had deliberately honed just that morning.

    Spirit Puma has been successfully impaled!

    You have partially dodged retributive strike.

    Claws have caught mail links. You have been sent flying!

    Draconic resilience mitigates blow.

    Alex allowed the words to flash across his mind¡¯s eye even as he braced himself to land, skittering on the loamy forest floor as he summoned forth his fangtian ji and charged, desperation and fury in equal measure as he saw a panicked Ya Ling stare in stupefied horror at the writhing Shadow Puma twisting against the spear that had completely plunged through its abdomen, her own spear held in stunned hands that currently did her no good at all.

    ¡°Ya Ling, duck!¡± Alex roared as he charged, the very forest loam seeming to add spring to his desperate steps as he embraced the fury of the howling winds, Wind Crane Kung Fu adding fearsome power to his fangtian ji as he swung for all he was worth, bringing the razor sharp fangtian ji head in line with the second puma only now revealing itself as it sprung for Ya Ling¡¯s throat¡­ before Alex¡¯s wicked-sharp fangtian ji cleaved its heaved and left claw free with a single blow, drenching a shrieking Ya Ling and himself in the blood of his fallen foe.

    You have successfully decapitated Spirit Puma!

    Experience earned!

    Potency Mastery in effect!

    40% of all experience earned has been directly channeled into skills!

    Alex froze, stunned beyond words by the latest message flashing across his mind¡¯s eye even as Ya Ling sobbed and clung to him, covered in blood and terror.

    Potency Mastery, perhaps his most exotic and unorthodox skill, one that allowed him to so directly claim the potency of his kills¡­ was his once more.

    How? And how was this not the most blaring of all alarms that would put countless foes he had prayed were forever lost to time on his trail once more? And why wasn¡¯t he aware of it before?

    To be fair, it meant nothing when he had been cutting down mortal raiders. But he had taken several Bronze Tier cultivators since then. Even a Silver. Had he simply been too focused on survival to pay heed to the messages flashing across his mind¡¯s eye? Messages he now ignored more often than not?

    He shook his head, both awed and horrified, having no easy answer.

    He knew only that the savage killing forest that he felt so at home in was no place for the desert princess now covered in blood.

    He was grateful only that she was savvy enough to hold tight onto her now crimson stained peach, even as he glared down at the first puma writhing and howling with the spear that had torn through its innards, assuring it a slow, painful death.

    Until Alex put it out of its misery with a clean swipe of a his razor sharp fangtian ji he need never worry about sharpening again. He then carefully removed his transformed spear from what was now a shriveled puma, beast core and potency both surrendered for an enhancement that filled him with fierce joy.

    You have claimed: Indestructible Spear. This spear has been forged to indestructibility with the potency of a powerful spirit beast and a highly talented Artificer. Note! Virgin status required to successfully channel said potency into indestructibility. Status maintained. (For now!)

    ¡°Alex, those things nearly killed us! We have to get out of her right now!¡±

    Alex gave a sympathetic nod. ¡°Let¡¯s head back. At least the peach will prove that we weren¡¯t playing a trick with the desert sands.¡±

    She flushed at that, and Alex was halfway certain she had been planning something¡­ but between one moment and the next they had darted back through the odd shadowy depths between the roots of a particularly massive tree¡­ before squinting against suddenly blinding light and finding themselves before the others.

    ¡°Ya Ling, what happened?¡± Qing Wu¡¯s voice was filled with urgency, radiating a sudden fearsome killing intent when he saw that she was covered in blood. ¡°Wife!¡±

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    But Reny was already cradling Ya Ling. ¡°Where are you hurt, child. Tell me quickly!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± She breathlessly replied. ¡°The blood isn¡¯t my own.¡±

    The pair froze, exchanging a glance. Dui Zhong gave a begrudging nod. ¡°It smells like cat. Desert Tiger?¡±

    Alex solemnly shook his head, taking a moment to clean the haft of his weapon. ¡°Shadow Puma.¡±

    This earned a frown. ¡°Those aren¡¯t native to these sands.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°No kidding,¡± he said, before solemnly placing the enhanced, exquisitely sharpened spear in Ya Ling¡¯s still trembling hands. ¡°Here,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°A prize to remember your first tangle with spirit beasts by.¡±

    Ya Ling furrowed her brow. ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s razor sharp and will never need sharpening, ever.¡±

    Qing Wu frowned. ¡°How?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s call it a wild cultivator¡¯s secret, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Never mind that,¡± Reny cut in. ¡°What happened to you? Why is my niece covered in blood¡­ and heaven¡¯s mercy, is that truly a peach, out here in the middle of the desert?¡±

    ¡°Not just any peach,¡± Ya Ling whispered softly, soft brown eyes gazing Alex¡¯s way with wonder.

    Qing Wu gazed at the pair of them for long moments. ¡°So the rift is real.¡±

    Alex nodded, having already stored away his fangtian ji before returning. ¡°It is. A forest as vast and wondrous as you could believe. Absolutely filled with spiritual herbs and treasures¡­ and spirit beasts more than willing to hunt and kill any intruder.¡±

    Reny was now carefully examining the peach that Ya Ling, to her credit, didn¡¯t hesitate to surrender even as the desert sands scored her free of death¡¯s crimson caress.

    ¡°This is a true fire peach. A glorious prize that will extend the life of any cultivator to claim one, possibly strengthen their foundation as well, especially if they are attuned to flame!¡± She shook her head in wonder. ¡°The tincture I could make with this...¡±

    ¡°Then please do,¡± Ya Ling said, giving her aunt a heartfelt hug. ¡°With my blessing.¡±

    Qing Wu gazed at where he thought the rift was, before giving an angry shake of his head. ¡°So perilous¡­ yet filled with such prizes. If only it wasn¡¯t closed to the majority of us!¡±

    Alex gazed at the group radiating such a potent mixture of desperate hope and despair, before coming to a decision, hoping he wouldn¡¯t have cause to regret it, in the very near future.

    He turned to Dui Zhong. ¡°Just how good are you at fighting spirit beasts?¡±

    This earned a hard smile. ¡°I¡¯ve survived for over thirty years leading my caravan,¡± said the cultivator who didn¡¯t look a day over thirty himself. ¡°That should tell you all you need to know.¡±

    Alex smirked but dipped his head, conceding the point.

    He then turned to Qing Wu. ¡°Forgive my impertinence, Master Wu, but how many ice spears or similar incantations could you safely release in your present state?¡±

    The man smirked. ¡°Dozens, Alex. As you should well know.¡±

    Alex took a deep breath, forcing himself to say it. ¡°Then there might be a way to enter the rift. For all of us to enter the rift.¡± He did his best to ignore the sudden tension, so many pairs of eyes now focused on him. ¡°But I¡¯m going to need your Cultivator¡¯s Oaths that what I share with you will go no further than this group, lest I say otherwise.¡±

    ¡°A Cultivator¡¯s Oath?¡± Ya Ling asked. Most of the group looked puzzled by those words.

    But Qing Wu was scowling. ¡°Alex, you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re asking.¡±

    Alex met the man¡¯s gaze. ¡°Actually I do. If it¡¯s a problem, I do understand. Believe me. I know just how ruthless and cutthroat too many cultivators can be.¡±

    Qing Wu frowned. ¡°But then you walk, sharing your secret with no one.¡±

    ¡°Damn right. I¡¯ve set myself on fire for the sake of others freezing in winter snows more than once before. If they don¡¯t even care enough to put me out when it¡¯s time¡­ well, there¡¯s a very thin line between noble hero and belittled fool. And sometimes I wonder how many twisted souls were would-be heroes mocked one too many times for sacrifices they should never have had to make in the first place.¡±

    Qing Wu furrowed his brow. ¡°You sound the farthest thing from the clueless young cultivator stumbling in the desert sands of a week ago when you say things like that, lad.¡±

    Alex¡¯s bitter smile didn¡¯t quite reach his ice-cold gaze. ¡°Really? Is that a fact? How fascinating.¡±

    The older cultivator held Alex¡¯s gave for long moments before sighing. ¡°Do it.¡±

    Dui Zhong frowned, then jerked a nod. ¡°Alright, lads. Promise our Ruidian friend that you won¡¯t tell a soul what he¡¯s about to reveal to you.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± said Luo. ¡°But if he has a way of helping us enter that rift... is it really that big a deal?¡±

    Dui Zhong flashed a mirthless smile. ¡°You should know the answer to that, just by looking at Master Qing Wu¡¯s expression.¡±

    ¡°What happens if we break our oath?¡± Whispered the youngest among them.

    Ya Ling gave Li a pitying smile. ¡°If you even have to ask¡­ you don¡¯t want to know. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°But you don¡¯t know either! A minute ago you were also asking what a cultivator¡¯s oath even was!¡± The young guard who clearly was no fool, noted in exasperation, before paling and bowing before them, as if only in that moment remembering his place.

    Ya Ling, for her part, gave a bemused chuckle. ¡°That¡¯s right, and I still know better than to ask. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll suffer some horrific consequence, like maybe we¡¯ll instantly perish or our cultivation bases will shatter. Right Alex?¡±

    ¡°Pretty much,¡± he agreed, smirking at the sudden look of dismay she gave him. ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Alex blinked, surprised when all seven nodded their acquiescence, even if some looked a bit grumpier about it than others.

    Then their cynical gazes widened with wonder when they each got the message Alex sent their way.

    ¡°I just got a message in my head,¡± Ya Ling whispered with wonder. ¡°Asking if I want to ¡®party up¡¯ with you?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°You can hear it? That¡¯s actually a good sign! Hit ¡®yes¡¯ and we can get started.¡±

    You have successfully formed: Delve Exploration Party.

    Party consists of Qing Wu (Silver tier DPS) / Reny Wu (Bronze Tier healer) / Dui Zhong (Tank) / Luo + Xia + Li (glass DPSers) / Ya Ling ¨C (Designation: poorly disguised desert princess you¡¯re totally not falling for.)

    Note! Multiple Ruidian Bloodlines Detected! Multiple Slave Nodes detected!

    You have elected NOT to claim any nodes at this time.

    Autonomy Directive is now in effect.

    Alex lurched back with a hiss, quickly hiding his alarm as everyone¡¯s eyes filled with awe, all of them feeling the connection they now had, even if not everyone had heard an actual voice in their head.

    ¡°I can sense where all my men are,¡± Dui Zhong said with wide-eyed wonder.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s quite remarkable,¡± Qing Wu acknowledged, giving Alex a thoughtful glance and a bemused smile. ¡°Clearly our newest companion is more than a simple lost Ruidian and does indeed have good reason to tie us to his oath.¡±

    Dui Zhong whistled in admiration. ¡°If Ruidians are capable of linking up in this fashion and knowing where every member of their squads or platoons is, relative to one another, their battlefield coordination would give them a shocking advantage in coordinated strikes against any foe!¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°It should also let us cross the rift, hopefully,¡± he said with a commending nod Dui Zhong¡¯s way. He was eager to focus on the positives, not on the fact that he was an idiot not to take Ya Ling¡¯s words to heart. Because for her to hear that interface in her head meant that either she had access to Spirit Qi or she had Ruidian ancestry as she herself admitted that so many desert communities did. Which meant that at least a fair number of citizens were extremely vulnerable to his interface¡¯s quirks, and would see Alex as the greatest threat imaginable to them if they understood exactly what he was capable of¡­ or if they held to the same stories and legends as the pure-blooded Ruidians did in CuiJing Province. Fortunately, no one had given the shape of his forehead, which he personally thought perfectly normal, a second glance.

    He chuckled softly. At least his interface hadn¡¯t given him any notifications of having partied up with any of his descendants, which was more of a relief than he cared to admit.

    ¡°Still, it couldn¡¯t hurt to hold hands, but be ready for anything!¡± Ya Ling declared, tightly claiming Alex¡¯s own hand as he once more lead them through.

    Alex ignored the momentary disorientation as the spear-wielding cultivators around him gazed about in awed stupefaction and wonder before Dui Zhong barked a command, and they immediately formed a half circle formation with the giant trunk of the tree containing the rift between its roots at their back.

    ¡°Keep a sharp eye out, men. It¡¯s right now that we¡¯re most vulnerable to attack!¡± Dui Zhong said, glaring at the thick canopy overhead. But he had no hope of catching sight of the trio of rapidly approaching pumas even now scurrying up the branches of the massive sequoia-like tree behind them, predatory savvy dictating leaps for the deadliest among them.

    Qing Wu, Dui Zhong, and Alex himself.

    And even 18 Perception wouldn¡¯t have been enough time to do more than set his spear, let alone give him the couple of seconds needed to scream.

    ¡°Ambushers in the trees! Everyone, spears aimed high and set!¡±

    If he hadn¡¯t been struck by an epiphany so profound it would have stunned him, had he had time to be stunned. Had his transcendence not merely awoken old paths of understanding and knowledge that had been his across who knew how many lifetimes, as his internal interface map and a sense of the woodlands around him and all the reds on the board, as well as the greens of his party, synergized near instantaneously into a perfect whole.

    Forest Sense, a skill he thought locked away until he somehow miraculously hit Gold, had saved them all.

    And if a handful of spears suddenly stiffened at just the right angle to meet the pouncing shadow puma just a heartbeat away from crashing on top of a still unwarded Qing Wu and tearing free the poor Silver¡¯s head, Alex had absolutely no interest in looking at the interface messages now flashing across his inner mind¡¯s eye, autonomy returned in the shocked moments a trio of soldiers perfectly positioned still stumbled under the weight of a massive Bronze tier spirit beast plunging down upon their spears. No doubt the flashing claws might still have ended in multiple tragic deaths with their would-be killer¡¯s final seconds¡­ had not all three managed to pierce its chest cavity, one lancing its very heart.

    The shock of the moment, the exultation of surviving certain death had no doubt done much to mitigate the horror of having lost control of their bodies for a crucial split second. With luck, they would think it their own survival instincts kicking into play, and think it a miracle, as opposed to the horrific vulnerability that it was.

    But Alex had no time to worry about ethical dilemma as the three basics shook out of a horrified stupor they could pretend was quick thinking, not their bodies being ruled like puppets, for all his attention was on the largest of the three spirit pumas who recognized Alex for what he was.

    A hunter, just like the alpha before him, his furious roar making it clear this clearing had room for only one alpha, and Alex wholeheartedly agreed.

    Wind Strike!

    You have critically struck Spirit Puma with Wind-Crane enhanced cleaving blow! Natural resistance has been ruptured!

    Spirit Puma has been decapitated!

    Wind Crane Kung Fu is now Rank 4.

    Wind Strike is now Rank 2!

 Book 8 - Chapter 18 - How long was I gone?

    ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± Qing Wu called out, having no idea how close he had come to death.

    A panting Alex gazed up from the gory remains of his kill, lungs heaving as blood dripped off the head of his fangtian ji before spinning around, weapon held high for furious killing vengeance, should Dui Zhong have fallen to the third spirit puma that had thought to cloak itself behind the others.

    But the crumpled form of the spirit beast, looking so much smaller than it had while full of life and killing fury, made it clear who had come out on top, for all that Dui Zhong was visibly panting, a trickle of blood running down his neck from the massive gash that had torn open his chin¡­ and nothing else.

    ¡°Dui Zhong!¡± The bemused guard captain smiled at Reny¡¯s alarm.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite alright. Just a flesh wound. Fortunately, our wild card caught sight of them, just in time.¡±

    Reny tutted, quickly putting a liniment soaked patched upon the man¡¯s chin as Qing Wu glared all around him, now positively shimmering with the passive ward of Ice and Wind Alex sensed around the man.

    He glared down at the trio of pumas, noted the remains of the other pair recently killed, before he turned his gaze Alex¡¯s way. ¡°How did you know they were coming?¡±

    It was a simple enough question that to answer directly would only accentuate his differences. But since they were all under oath¡­ ¡°I have a knack for the woods,¡± he said honestly enough. ¡°The important thing is that I think¡­ yes. That was the last of them. I don¡¯t see any more reds for at least half a mile in any direction.¡± He gave a satisfied nod. ¡°They were clearly the local pact, and it should be at least a bit of time before any other group of spirit beasts makes inroads on their territory. So¡­ yeah. Now¡¯s the time to collect what prizes we can here, in the safest zone within this pocket realm of shadow and dream.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help grinning from ear to ear as he said the last, truly delighting in the reemergence of one of his most treasured gifts. Forest Sense so damn useful at allowing him to both spot and avoid trouble from well over a mile away. Truly a blessing, considering the prizes they hoped to claim from these woodlands.

    Ya Ling blinked, gazing at Alex strangely. ¡°Alex, how is that even possible?¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡±

    Ya Ling gave him a look, even as Reny grabbed Qing Wu and immediately headed in the direction that Alex sensed all sorts of delicious cultivation treasures could be found, while Dui Zhong spoke of making a base camp and a lookout for the tree above their head. Yet Ya Ling paid them all little heed, her eyes for Alex alone.

    ¡°We¡¯re desert people. All of us. And have been for countless centuries, since the ancient woodlands that used to cover these lands were replaced by desert sands when Jade tier monsters and even worse battled for territories and treasures that no one claimed in the end. So how the hell could you instantly acclimatize to the forest so fast that you can instantly spot ambushers literally bred for the hunt, before declaring with such bloody certainty that there¡¯s not a single man-eater anywhere in a half-mile radius?¡±

    Alex froze, eyes widening with horror at words said so casually. Words that, for him, were a pronouncement of doom.

    ¡°Wait¡­ wait, wait, wait! Are you saying centuries have past? Fucking centuries? I thought¡­ I was prepared for the worst, but... Last time it was just ten years!¡±

    All of them stepped back in sudden alarm, giving Alex the strangest of looks as he crashed to his knees, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps, his world shaken to its foundations with just a couple of casually thrown out declarations.

    Centuries.

    This land had been rich, fecund forestland until Jades and worse monsters still, monsters like himself, perhaps, had unleashed the unthinkable.

    And this was the result.

    His worst fears realized.

    The people he had known, the places he had explored and grown to love, the girls who had all but claimed his heart. Forever lost, slipped away amongst time¡¯s eternal sands, the one barrier not even the gods could traverse.

    For if they could, they would have assured that Alex had never existed at all.

    ¡°Alex, are you alright?¡± Ya Ling¡¯s gentle words of concern washed over him, and it took longer than he cared to admit to slam shut the doors of bitter regret of his psyche, sit up and breathe deep of rich forest air filled with so many tantalizing scents and promises of sweetest power before he opened eyes that stung only slightly and flashed his closest friend in this brave new world a thumbs up and a smile.

    ¡°Right as rain. Sorry, Ya Ling. It just¡­ struck me hard, how much I missed, well, everything I was forced to leave behind.¡±

    This declaration earned a sympathetic smile from Reny every bit as heartfelt as Ya Ling¡¯s. Qing Wu gave Alex a surprisingly sympathetic pat on his shoulder. ¡°There there, Alex. Sometimes the greatest challenges we¡¯ll ever face is starting anew and finding our place in a brand new environment. But the life experience we gain, the potential it unlocks, can help a cultivator push past heretofore insurmountable roadblocks, and ascend far beyond what he might have otherwise hoped to, after a lifetime of study.¡±

    Even Dui Zhong nodded at this. ¡°It¡¯s one reason why so many aspirants travel to the cultivation academies hosted by other cities. Or why cultivators like me choose to explore the world as caravan masters or simple travelers, experiencing life in its rawest form. Our experiences allow us to gain insights into the nature of the dao, and the world as a whole, that are far more precious and impactful than all the treaties we might otherwise diligently study for years. Especially after our formal masters swear that we have already reached our natural limits, that a Rank 1 Bronze is all we could ever hope for.¡± The man flashed a fierce, satisfied smile. ¡°Certainly my old mentor never thought I¡¯d hit Rank 4 in just 30 years.¡±

    Ya Ling gave an enthusiastic nod. ¡°Even us just being here, Alex, daring a realm so glorious and strange, compared to the comforting sands we left behind, especially after having had to fight for our very lives¡­ fills our souls with such insights and inspiration that it will allow us to push farther than we could have otherwise hoped to, at Silver Sands Academy...¡± She gave a painful swallow. ¡°Even if we can brew no magical tincture or miracle spirit fruit cure at all.¡±

    ¡°Which we will!¡± Qing Wu assured with a fatherly smile her way, before turning to his wife. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, darling?¡±

    But Reny was already scowling, peering into the leafy underbrush with a professional eye. ¡°You all talk too much. Dui Zhong? Have the men keep a sharp eye out. They see prizes that entice them, tell me, don¡¯t break formation. Ya Ling? Come by my side. Let¡¯s see what I can teach you of my arts, for even if Sand is your element, Earth is your close cousin and the soil can teach you tricks about unveiling the forest¡¯s secrets even if Wood itself slips through your fingers as pointlessly as the spear shaft thrust through your true form.¡±

    An alarmed Ya Ling quickly glanced Alex¡¯s way, as if wanting to let him to know that she was very much a flesh and blood girl who just happened to have an affinity for sand, and was more than eager to prove that to him over the sweetest school semester he could ever hope for. Alex¡¯s smirk and Spirit Qi made it clear that yes, he was quite aware that she was a beautiful flesh and blood girl who could turn into sand, but not actually a sand elemental or the like.

    And if the startled look she gave him was any indication, he had conveyed far too much with his teasing smile.

    Reny gave an exasperated sigh. ¡°If you two children are quite finished staring at each other and making your future intentions far too obvious to us all, let¡¯s focus on the plants before us, or the danger potentially above us, if that¡¯s your preference,¡± she said with a glare Alex¡¯s way.

    To which Alex answered with a cheeky grin, before slipping through the underbrush as effortlessly as Ya Ling flowed through the sands, then appearing moments later with a handful of softly glowing berries that had Reny¡¯s eyes lighting up with wonder.

    ¡°Alex! Do you know what those are?¡±

    Qi Perception check made.

    You have begun to recall your own heritage. You sense a link with your ancient ally once more!

    You have successfully detected: 23 Basic Treasures and 3 Well Kept Woodland Secrets within your proximity.

    You have claimed: Silver Nectar Berries! Potency ¨C Beyond what Yidushi could ever hope to bring to market! You intuitively sense how many you can claim without straining the plant and gather no more than that!

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Alex gave Reny a solemn nod. ¡°Silver Nectar Berries. And should you actually manage to find the plant, please decline from taking any more. I¡¯ve claimed the maximum bounty I can without affecting the local biosphere, or the plant itself.¡±

    Reny gazed at Alex for a long pointed moment.

    He winced and lowered his gaze, only in that moment realizing how arrogant and presumptuous he must have sounded. He, not even a student at her academy, daring to lecture a Deep Bronze healer with decades of apothecary experience. Even Qing Wu¡¯s snort was that of a tolerant uncle who wanted to make it clear that his protege had just gone a bit too far.

    Surprisingly to both Alex and her husband, she gave a thoughtful nod. ¡°I will keep that in mind. And Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± He braced himself for the inevitable warning.

    ¡°Do feel free to let me know the peculiarities of any other plants whose treasures you might claim. And I expect a complete and thorough breakdown of all the prizes you claim when our little foray is complete.¡± She flashed a smile both challenging and oddly approving. ¡°To the best of your abilities, of course.¡±

    Alex blinked, catching Qing Wu¡¯s thoughtful gaze, before bowing his head. ¡°Of course.¡±

    He gave the small group of bemused-looking cultivators and wide-eyed caravan guards a formal bow before darting back into the underbrush and making a beeline for the prizes he could almost sense like the hypnotic ringing of his favorite glowing root in a game he had last savored a lifetime ago. Feeling the same giddy excitement as he once had while playing the forager and alchemist. For the woodland¡¯s mystical treasures manifested before his senses as effortlessly as they once had upon a game screen where the creators went out of their way to make the herbs bright and colorful, popping out against the background.

    Yet what was even better was that these spiritual treasures were real. He actually knew how to compound at least some of them into truly priceless creations, and he could intuitively sense the beneficial properties to come from eating them raw, without any special preparation at all.

    Even if most of his finds were in the nature of exquisitely ripe apples and pears, rich in nutritional value and natural Qi, which he plucked countless dozens to fill his claimed storage bag full of delectable prizes, a good handful of the herbs he had gathered under the crowns of evergreens and the upper branches of towering monstrosities he could climb as effortlessly as a monkey returning to his favorite perch, shimmered with spiritual energy so potent that he could sense straight away that consuming those spiritual treasures right then and there would be life-changing.

    But he resisted, instead carefully putting them inside Reny¡¯s loaned pouch, having no doubt the cultivator would be able to create the most potent brews imaginable, once they were within her hands.

    At first he stayed close to his companions, enjoying Reny¡¯s wide-eyed looks and delighted smiles when he unveiled choice prizes to her. Even the comments echoing through the harsh murmurs of twigs and the gossipy rustle of countless leaves brought a smile to his features.

    ¡°Did you see those golden grapes? They were practically glowing with spiritual energy even I could see!¡± The newly forged cultivator Luo had shaken his head in disbelief. ¡°All I found was a single apple on the forest floor, and Xiao snatched it before I could claim it!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re reflexes are still shit, even if you¡¯re a single step above me,¡± teased Xiao, biting into his claimed apple at that very moment.

    Yet the look Qing Wu gave him when Alex surrendered his latest pouch of prizes to an absolutely ecstatic Reny who actually gave him a hug just as tight as any of Ya Ling¡¯s had been, said all that needed saying.

    ¡°You¡¯ve sensed even greater prizes, deeper in the forest, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    Alex swore his eyes weren¡¯t twinkling when he gave his mentor a nod, earning a soft chuckle from the man.

    ¡°Well then, why don¡¯t you uncover what prizes you might, dear aspirant?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Sounds like a plan to me.¡±

    Qing Wu nodded, a faint look of concern straining his fatherly smile. ¡°And have you sensed any predators at all, since those Shadow Puma?¡±

    Alex blinked and gave a thoughtful shake of his head. ¡°Save for several serpents with too knowing eyes whose nests and the sacred treasures they guard Reny agreed to avoid... No. Not a thing. At least not within a few hundred yards. So long as you don¡¯t stray from this area I think¡­ well, not to invite trouble, but I think you should all be find.¡±

    Qing Wu snorted. ¡°And yet you still orbit us. Constantly. A protective hound who should be out hunting prizes, not worrying the heels of those who can well fend for themselves. Do you truly think I¡¯m such a crippled Silver that I can¡¯t protect us from early Half-step Bronze?¡±

    Alex chuckled and quickly shook his head, just as his mentor expected him to, both graceful enough not to mention those first precarious moments that Qing Wu had had no warding shield up at all, and had been momentarily vulnerable to at least one Spirit Cat to fall to Alex¡¯s fangtian ji. ¡°Not at all, master.¡±

    ¡°Good! Now go, lad. Go hunt treasures worthy of a Ruidian boy with a knack for the forest who would make a tale all his own! We¡¯ll be fine. And if the look my wife is giving me is correct, our route back will be just the way we came, with an extra long stop by the wild apple grove. Prizes we can all spot and claim. Even if the spiritual boon within those prizes is minute, it bridges the gap between mortal and ascendant fruit so well that no tolerance or strain will develop. Their constitutional benefits won¡¯t wane over time. In fact, both cultivators and rulers would benefit from daily consumption. Thus a spirit apple grove would be quite a prize for both academy and palace, if Reny can successfully set them up, which she¡¯s willing to bet she can¡­ if she gets enough apples and cuttings.¡±

    Alex gave an approving nod. ¡°That sounds like a fine idea, Master Wu.¡±

    Ya Ling flashed him a glorious smile. ¡°Alex, these prizes you¡¯ve found¡­ are you sure I can¡¯t go with you?¡±

    He reached down from his perch to gently squeeze her hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ya Ling. Earlier it was fine. Wonderful, even, when you helped me pick those peaches and pears.¡±

    She blushed but didn¡¯t lower her gaze. ¡°It was,¡± she conceded.

    ¡°But right now I¡¯m going to be traveling quite a bit faster than a sprint, high overhead. So unless you can keep up...¡±

    This declaration earned multiple flat stares.

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding.¡±

    Alex smirked, allowing the branch he was crouched upon, having dipped quite low to hand over his latest prizes, to spring taught once more, slingshotting him in a high arc that was totally showing off and pointless, even foolish, if there were any predators about. But the guard¡¯s awed curse, Qing Wu¡¯s soft chuckle, and Reny¡¯s exasperated head shake made it all worth it.

    ¡°How did he do that?¡± Ya Ling exclaimed.

    Reny snorted. ¡°He¡¯s Ruidian. Everyone knows they had druidic ties to the forest, long before it became a desert.¡±

    ¡°But that was thousands of years ago!¡±

    ¡°You saw the tears in his eyes. Their tribal memories run deep.¡±

    ***

    Alex blinked away fresh tears, ancient regrets replaced, at least temporarily, with the sweet joy of foraging for delicious wonders and juicy prizes in the deep wood. And the more he foraged, the harder he searched for elusive prizes hinting at such glorious and well hidden troves of carefully nurtured spiritual prizes. the greater his attunement became, until ancient skills were fully his once more, the entire forest lighting up in his mind¡¯s eye in all directions to glorious, wonderful effect. His focus was, of course, on prizes, which he had to be close to, in order to sense with any degree of accuracy. Yet his ability to sense blinking reds was now so exquisite that he began to wonder if he¡¯d actually dare the most foolish gambit of all.

    Right now he sought to master Silver, both avoiding its predators and claiming its juiciest prizes, including over a dozen softly glowing peaches radiating a warm golden light screaming of Wood and Fire Qi and all but promising an effortless breakthrough to any Bronze with those two elemental affinities, and a path less weighty than his own. He even suspect that such prizes might instill a hint of Wood¡¯s blessing to any pristine power that dared it¡¯s touch, or send a Wood aligned cultivator along a path of glorious flame. The difference between these and the earlier peach he had so casually given Ya Ling was like comparing the painting of a golden apple to the real thing.

    And this was just on the cusp of Silver. Just a few hundred yards further in, and the forest would be alive with jarring crimson lights promising a bitter end to any so foolish as to dare more than their allotment of treasures, greedy young upstarts who needed to be shown their place in this life, so that they might be wiser in the next.

    Alex felt a cold chill, wondering if perhaps tragedy had already struck him once.

    Yet he couldn¡¯t escape the sudden certainty he had that he and his associates were catching this forest at an odd lull. A period of arboreal somnolence which it would soon be waking from.

    For the moment, countless beasts, save the most desperate Bronze, were lost in torpor, it having been too many years since the pocket realm was blessed with the bittersweet struggle of mundus mingling and giving fresh potency to this pocket realm while claiming what prizes it could. Both realms profited from the struggle, and the boons of blood and spiritual treasures to be gained. But it had clearly been a long time since any cultivator had dared to test themselves against the spirit beasts that called these woods their home, or claim any of the priceless spirit herbs to be found within.

    Which meant that for a few precious hours, days at most, there was an opportunity here, like no other.

    Then he froze, eyes piercing the gloom, easily avoiding the gaze of the Silver Tier snake sleepily searching for prey.

    Because he could sense it.

    The true prizes of this realm, well past the shoals of Silver.

    Into the realm of Gold.

    Apples that shone like the sun upon branches that called out to him even from miles away.

    So long as he avoided the sleeping dragon at the base of the tree¡­

    The true prize of this realm awaited him.

    All the leaves seemed to suddenly still, Alex sensing he was on the cusp of a truly profound choice that would send his life careening in two very different directions.

    And whichever one he took¡­ there would be no going back.

    That, of course, was when he hard the scream.

 Book 8 - Chapter 19 - Choices

    That distant animal''s cry that might have been a scream was a sound that too many lifetimes had prepared him for, no god of mischief needed.

    He immediately darted back the way he came with a curse.

    Racing for all he was worth.

    Desperately hoping he was playing the fool¡­

    But fate never sung to him so sweetly, if the peril wasn¡¯t just as great as the prize.

    Of course the growing silence made him feel more the fool than ever.

    Had he imagined that cry?

    Why was he throwing away an opportunity that might never come again?

    It wasn¡¯t too late to turn back.

    But all it took was a second terrified shriek that was most definitely not the cry of any monkey or bird, to serve as bitter vindication for all his doubts. Now Alex was racing back to his friends as fast as he ever had before, finding it effortless to spring from root to trunk to branch to the very top of the forest canopy, not having to see the souls in peril for the leaves to reverberate their panicked cries to his ears as he instinctively dove through the canopy, the flexible vine that he knew would be there springing to his grip as he propelled himself through the branches before seeing a sight that set his blood to boiling, his interface flashing messages he had been aware of for hours as he backtracked the way he had come, dismayed to find that, despite his friends¡¯ reassurances, they hadn¡¯t stayed put or close to the gate at all.

    In fact, they had meandered their way from the safest of Bronze Tier shoals to the most perilous regions of that part of the forest. Yet Alex did more than fully embrace his newest remembered skill in those desperate moments.

    He made full use of his oldest as well, incorporating all the tricks and variants he had learned from the very beginning, while leaping and swinging between trees as effortlessly as he might enjoy a woodland trail.

    You have fully unlocked a heretofore hidden skill! Forest Sense Rank 5 is yours once more!

    You have fully unlocked a heretofore hidden skill! Forest Flight Rank 5 is yours once more!

    For the games of gods and men mean nothing to ancient woodlands whose blessings you still enjoy.

    You have generated multiple doses of Elite Toxin comprised of every poison and venom you have encountered over countless lifetimes!

    Vitality check successful! You have managed to avoided impairing yourself, depleting your own mineral reserves when you have no active technique to instantly regenerate the biochemicals you would use in your toxins!

    There! Before an enormous tree trunk absolutely shimmering with priceless treasures by its roots was a massive spider facing off against a wujen unleashing sprays of caustic acid and spears of bitter cold ice, while Captain Dui Zhong, and two of the three basic cultivators so eager to test their fortunes once more desperately strove to protect Qing Wu and themselves from massive crushing limbs and a pair of sheering pincers that he would have called mandibles, were they not attached to a giant web shooting tarantula promising death to any cultivator or taxonomist who would dare to claim its prizes or question its very existence.

    Even struck with horror at the sight of the fallen guard and the rest of his friends in dire peril, Alex couldn¡¯t help but catch sight of the treaures that had tempted his friends to such perilous folly. Yet Alex knew that Qing Wu and the others weren¡¯t fighting for spiritual treasures now. Instead they were battling desperately for the sake of their companion, slowly dying within a cocoon of silk. It was Reny, Alex¡¯s interface suddenly blaring with the message that she had been poisoned.

    And that of course, was the moment that Ya Ling managed to trip over a root when habitually embracing the same sliding steps that served her so well in the desert, warding a mandible that might have sheered through bronze effortlessly, but did nothing against the indestructible shaft of the spear Alex had gifted her with.

    But now, prone on the ground, a warrior¡¯s resolve quickly became a girl¡¯s terrified scream.

    Alex refused to allow analysis paralysis to freeze him to horrified indecision. So he acted. Springing right into the heart of the web, beside Reny¡¯s cocoon, sensing the sticky fibers coating him as well as the entire massive spider web vibrated.

    The giant arachnid abomination radiating such power that was a heartbeat from sheering Ya Ling in half immediately twisted around, ignoring the spears that failed to penetrate the joints of its limbs, or the spikes of ice that had no hope of breaking its monstrous Silver Tier shell, eager to wrap fresh prey in its coils.

    Alex said not a word, mouth too full to scream with horror. He spared time only to light his fist with fire, knowing even that was unlikely to be enough, so was genuinely shocked by how quickly the entire webbing erupted in flame.

    Which meant that Reny¡¯s cocoon was now blazing, even if it was now a single Strength check away from being pulled free of the web.

    You have successfully claimed: Living Cocoon! You have successfully transferred experience potency to party member: Reny.

    Reny is able to make full use of your boon! Critical injuries have been stabilized.

    Ya Ling is able to make full use of your boon! Mind-numbing terror canceled. Twisted ankle partially healed.

    Giant Spider has shot silk webbing at you!

    Finesse check made! You have successfully tossed Healer Cocoon to Party Member: Dui Zhong!

    You have saved versus swallowing as you¡¯re swept off your feet!

    The next handful of seconds happened so quickly that it was all he could do to keep from hurtling as he was yanked back, surrendering his prize as he went racing back toward oblivion, glaring at the monstrous arachnid eager to cocoon and devour him, just like the cultivator he had struggled to save.

    And though his ancient pants had been webbed, his arms were not, and the one thing the monstrous abomination certainly was not suspecting was the sudden manifestation of a massive shield of electricity and flame, and countless other elements besides, manifesting right between its sheering limbs.

    Right before he spat a mouthful of every toxic poison Biochemical Mastery could generate down the spider¡¯s orifice just under its fangs before jerking his legs up and flashing a fierce smile as his Prismatic Shield burned right through the webbing trapping his limbs, Alex paying little head to the fires now searing pants and legs, all but immune to such low key flames even as a Rank 5 Basic.

    Yet Alex could more than hear it, louder than ever¡­ The shrieking whirlwind of what would be sound if a black hole accretion disk could scream.

    He could feel it, vibrating through his bones as a tipping point was reached, multiple skills ranking up as countless Silver Tier eggs shriveled and died in the now roaring inferno as he was sent plummeting into the loamy ground as the massive Silver tier monster shrieked its fury at the human that dared to destroy its nest.

    A human even now springing to his feet and ignoring multiple bruises as he dashed right into the furiously burning webbing, holding his breath long enough to claim over a dozen mushrooms radiating pristine spiritual energy, tucked beside the trunk of that tree. Prizes that the spider queen was no doubt waiting for the perfect moment to devour for its own ascension.

    Twelve glorious prizes that were now Alex¡¯s own.

    Placed in Reny¡¯s pouch in the blink of an eye as he turned back around to face the giant spider rubbing its front mandibles with its sheering limbs to generate a hideous shriek that made Alex¡¯s ears bleed.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    It was a miracle he could hear a panicked Qing Wu at all.

    ¡°Go! Now!¡± Alex roared, and to his credit the wujen didn¡¯t hesitate any further, grabbing Ya Ling¡¯s arm and dragging her off as Diu Zhong and his men retreated with all haste, Reny¡¯s fragile life now hanging in the balance.

    It didn¡¯t matter that they were leaving a Basic cultivator to face down a true monster, they were doing exactly as Alex wished. Following a command he didn¡¯t hesitate to give, no matter his earlier reservations. He could feel guilty after he saved their lives. For now, it meant six less greens on the board for Alex to worry about as he darted around a massive trunk while the lurching spider shot forth another spray of sticky webbing that hiss and sizzled as it made contact with the bark, missing Alex by yards more than inches as the forest air erupted in laughter, Alex exhilarating in the sheer visceral thrill of becoming one with the woodlands once more. One with its denizens and the glorious brutal dance between life and death, ascension and oblivion, as he furiously pushed aside all regrets for a life and love forever lost to him, realizing he was only alive¡­

    Right here.

    Right now.

    In this very moment.

    All that mattered was savoring each precious heartbeat that was his...

    As he danced for the greatest of prizes against a Silver Tier monster.

    All four of his physical stats shot up a full Bronze Rank, far beyond what any Basic path should have been able to grant him, as he catalyzed his own ascension while facing a monster that should have crushed him to pulp.

    Would have crushed anyone of his rank to a pulp.

    If he weren¡¯t far more than a young aspirant in way over his head.

    As if he weren¡¯t a monster himself who had once dared to challenge the very gods above...

    Before losing it all in a game rigged from the very start.

    You have successfully dodged Toxic Webbing!

    You have successfully evaded Piercing Blow!

    Soul Sight skillcheck made!

    As perilous as their encounter was, the longer he embraced his dance with oblivion as he darted under crushing limbs and sheering blows, the better he understood his partner, and the moves she favored above all others. Moves he soon understood so well that he could react almost as fast as she could execute her attacks¡­ and then, after a moment of odd, pristine synchronicity, they moved as one.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    You sense the surges of spiritual energy radiating from your opponent¡¯s desperate onslaught!

    Opponent¡¯s Combat arts successfully suppressed 6 full tiers!

    Your Toxic Brew has successfully impaired Giant Spider Queen!

    The crucible of Combat has raised Finesse and Quickness one additional point as you remember who and what you once were!

    He could sense it, the surges of spiritual energy and intent, whenever the spider was about to lash out with its thick striding legs, or dart forward with its sheering incisor-like pincers, far deadlier than any mundane spider. Massive and powerful as it was, more than a match for any Bronze, it¡¯s ascended rank had as much to do with size and strength and perhaps its venom, and very little to do with speed.

    Which was all that kept Alex alive as he desperately fought on, refusing to let himself be pinned, taking full advantage of the terrain as he weaved and dodged past eight massive limbs, each trying to squash him, all of them flaring brilliant spiritual energy when it was there turn to strike. Yet beyond his suddenly evolved stats, it was his ability to sense the flareups of Qi that spirit beasts radiated so viscerally that was perhaps the only reason why Alex had lasted even seconds, let alone minutes, against a foe that touched Silver, considering his own humble level.

    This time around.

    And when the spider began to slow, the myriad acids and poisons finally taking effect, despite a digestive and circulatory system so unlike his own, Alex instantly sensed it. Knowing it would soon be time to take the offensive, however absurd it would be for the mouse to dare attack the cat.

    Alex deliberately left himself vulnerable. The spider instinctively taking the bait as it overcompensated, sheering pincers coming far too close to Alex¡¯s skull for comfort. Yet the gambit paid off. The arachnid queen¡¯s limbs were now barely holding its weight, the most vulnerable now shining so brightly to Alex¡¯s eyes, instinctively understanding exactly where to strike.

    But a limb that massive was not so easily taken down by any dao, no matter how boosted it might be with currents of air howling through the ether.

    So he surrendered his ascendant prismatic shield for a two-handed grip upon his fangtian ji, his silent roar giving no warning at all as his fake stumble became a mad dash forward, slipping under cleave mandibles so eager to sheer him in half before unleashing a furious windmilling strike at the limb suddenly before him, channeling both the howling winds sheering the leaves atop the canopy high above, and the pounding currents of countless rivers smashing aside all resistance, his fangtian ji cleaving into and through his trunk-sized target with a force and fury that would have done his one true love proud.

    A woman who¡¯s smile blazed within his heart even now.

    No matter that time itself would seek to keep them apart.

    The forest rang with the crack of impossibly strong chitin as a steel blade that should have shattered instead tore right through the massive spider-queen¡¯s limb.

    And the second Alex gazed in stupefaction at his feat, his soul roiling with exhaustion, fury, and bitter despair, might have been his last, had the forest¡¯s own branches not tripped his wobbly feet just before a pair of sheering limbs tore through the air where he had been standing for such a dangerous half second, now rolling, rolling for all he was worth under the monstrous beast.

    Before darting past another perfectly placed trunk as yet more caustic silk was shot his way.

    Silk that missed completely, as Alex¡¯s own venom took its pound of flesh in the form of dimmed awareness and awful coordination. Of course, Silver tier monstrosities were far more resilient than most.

    Yet not so resilient as to have any chance Alex¡¯s furious fangtian ji as he struck like a relentless hound, worrying and striking an ever more crippled and off-balance monstrosity with a furious zeal, ruthlessly riding his own Rank 6 ascension to the absolute limit before tumbling back as razor sharp cleaving limbs once more tore through the air, coming so close to tearing through his skull that he felt the hot sting of his forehead being sliced open.

    Having time enough only to scream. ¡°Damned hotheaded fool!¡± In his mind, or perhaps that was Hao Chan, or maybe Ya Ling, still party linked to him, as they all were, before being sent flying against a nearby trunk.

    He forced himself upright once more, ignoring the dizziness sending him stumbling back to the ground when he desperately scrabbled back to his feet, just in time to see the massive arachnid crashing down towards him, holding nothing back in its final attempt to take him out as it crashed to the ground, Alex having crippled one too man limbs for it to rise again.

    Terror turned to furious exultation as he embraced the storm of wrath consuming him in one final blow. Knowing that spider was expecting him, mandibles open wide to accept him as it spat its sticky stinging silk one final time.

    Covering Alex in what could so easily have been his doom, if his fangtian ji head hadn¡¯t just bisected the spider¡¯s skull, channeling the storm of his furious intent with not just Wind and Water, but Lightning as well. Three conjoined elements fused as well with Iron¡¯s tang and bitter, salty tears, as Alex embraced the storm in a final furious assault that should have spelled his end.

    Instead, he found himself infused with the power and potency of a Silver tier monster as he howled with sweetest agony and triumph, sensing his distant super cable¡¯s angular momentum reaching speeds absolutely beyond the pale.

    Sensing in that moment with such horrific clarity how little power he actually needed to consume for his accretion disk to process so much more.

    A Gold-tier ascension he would attain at all costs.

    One day.

    No matter how many centuries or lifetimes it took.

    Even if it might have taken him a half dozen forgotten lives, just to push his super cable to Rank 6.

    He would press on until he was strong enough that no monsters could shatter his dreams or destroy the lives of his loved ones ever again.

    This he vowed even as the Spider Queen¡¯s potency became his own, howling through his limbs, sending every moment of his struggle blazing in his mind¡¯s eye with pristine clarity as he crashed to his knees, only in that moment noticing that one of the spider queen¡¯s limbs had actually managed to pierce his abdomen in turn.

    A wound closing before his very eyes as he sensed the exquisitely complex interplay of Fire and Water and countless other elements weaving an intricate dance catalyzing his flesh into healing far quicker than should otherwise be possible, thanks to the infusion of potency he immediately channeled into healing. Only this time, he pushed aside creeping exhaustion and forced himself to observe every facet of the process, knowing that here too was a chance for a breakthrough like no other. To witness elements individually accomplish what Eternal Fox had once done in a perfect balance of Dark and Light Qi. And if Alex could somehow discover the secret to replicating that wondrous technique through a parallel paradigm¡­ it was well worth the pain tearing through him even now.

    By the time he sensed the last of the Spider Queen¡¯s potency washing through his Dantian, the grievous gut wound was an ugly puckered injury that looked weeks old, but was most definitely stable.

    He took a deep breath, wiping away bitter tears he couldn¡¯t possibly explain to the others when he returned, any more than he could the smoking charred head of the spider queen, or the massive spirit core he claimed from the corpse that he quickly stored away in his pouch before heading back the way he came, his natural attunement in the forest making it as much his locus of power as Ya Ling¡¯s own desert affinity made her the queen of the endless sands they would travel once more before too long.

    But before he dared to leave, even if this was a limited pocket realm, he still paid his dues as best he could. His Water Shield made short work of the smoldering flames that had devoured the webbing so quickly, though finding little purchase upon the thick hardwood trunks. Minimal purchase he quickly made none, grateful that the forest still heeded his call to the degree that it did.

    Pausing just a moment to take what comfort he could from the messages flashing across his interface, he began to make his way back to the rift entrance, though not before plucking free the delectable prizes that a now monster-free area gave him free reign in claiming, for the precious handful of hours he now had before it was flooded by more dangerous beasts still.

    Prismatic Shield is now Rank 4!

    Wind Crane kung fu is now Rank 4!

    Wind Strike is now Rank 3!

    Wind Strike is now Rank 4!

    Wind Strike may now be used in conjunction with Enhanced Water Strike!

    Enhanced Water Strike is now Rank 8! This ability may now be used in conjunction with Wind Strike! Pierce wards beyond your rank and rupture physical barriers with ease! (This is totally not Black Swan, an art now forbidden to you.)

    You are now a Rank 6 Basic Cultivator!

    _______________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

    Rank 6 Basic Cultivation Achieved!

    Physical Characteristics

    Strength ¨C Bronze Rank 3 (30)

    Vitality ¨C Bronze Rank 3 (30)

    Quickness ¨C Bronze Rank 1 (20)

    Finesse ¨C Bronze Rank 1 (20)

    Spiritual Characteristics

    Scholarship - 14 (Exceeds 84% of Population.)

    Perception - 18 (Exceeds 99% of population.)

    Willpower ¨C 25 (Rank 2 Bronze achieved the hard way! - You have the resolve to walk in the Valley of Death and slip free of the River of Souls.)

    Qi Pool ¨C 16** (Bronze Tier threshold must be reached to unlock Silver Rank 5 (165!)

    Health Points: 390

    Perks

    Insightful ¨C Rank 2

    Charismatic ¨C Rank 3

    Lesser Shadow Affinity

    Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.

    Draconic Ancestry.

    Favored Skills

    Golden Realms Kung Fu ¨C Rank 10

    Wind Crane Kung Fu ¨C Rank 4

    Poison Spitting ¨C Rank 5

    Stealth ¨C Rank 4

    Qi Disciplines

    Water Shield ¨C Rank 6 ¨C Enhanced Salt Water Variant Learned.

    Water Strike ¨C Rank 8 ¨C Enhanced Water Strike may now be used in conjunction with Wind Strike and may pierce Silver tier or lower wards with a skill check. (**most definitely not Black Swan!**)

    Thorn Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Oak Strike ¨C Rank 5

    Fire Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Flame Fist ¨C Rank 4

    Earthern Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Stone Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Wind Strike ¨C Rank 4 (May now be used in conjunction with Enhanced Water Strike with a skill check!)

    Forest Flight ¨C Rank 5

    Qi Perception-linked Disciplines

    Artificer ¨C Rank 7

    Find Weakness ¨C Rank 6

    Qi Perception ¨C Rank 7

    Soul Sight ¨C Rank 6

    Spiritual Teacher (Student) ¨C Rank 8

    Forest Sense ¨C Rank 6

    Biochemical Mastery ¨C Rank 7

    Full Regenerative Capacity ¨C Heal rate based on Vitality. Injuries will be free of scarring. Missing limbs will require 1 day per pound of bio material lost to regenerate fully. Note! This capacity has been enhanced by extensive regenerative experience during your most recent incarnation!

    Gift of Tongues

    _______________________________________________

 Book 8 - Chapter 20

    Alex gave a bemused shake of his head at the games his interface played. Poking fun at an art that had once been so fundamental to his being. And when he infused Water¡¯s surging currents with the Wind¡¯s howling fury and manifested Lightning once more¡­ that had totally been Storm Strike.

    But not quite, not exactly, he acknowledged. It was Air as much as Water that propelled his cleaving blows, not a deadly whirling unstoppable current allowed only with the redefinition of metallic liquids and a major shift to his Dantian. For all that he skirted the edges of things¡­ the river¡¯s might had most definitely been propelled by the stormiest of typhoons, and Lightning was the natural offspring of Water and Wind that churned so mightily. Yet no bolt had been channeled from the heavens. That much, at least, had been different. And with the taste of Iron in the form of salts alone¡­ so good for channeling lightning, but not liquid steel by any means¡­ yeah. It was a glorious climax to a battle that would have tapped him utterly dry in seconds, had he not the boon of a dozen Silver Tier eggs filling him with Potency Mastery¡¯s 4 Qi points per second recharge.

    A skill he suspected was affecting him, but wasn¡¯t showing on his character sheet at all. As if even his Interface would hide this power from the wrath of bitter gods.

    And if it kept him hidden¡­ if skirting so many former powers kept him safe and free of all the forces that had been so eager for his death? He was all for it.

    He shook his head. Because if that hadn¡¯t been Storm Strike combined with Piercing Strike at the end, it was only off by only the tiniest of margins.

    All that kept him from skating over perilously thin ice.

    He winced at the shiver of dread now racing down his spine, taking a deep, steadying breath.

    ¡°Okay, that was close. Too fucking close. And I need to learn and master attacks that don¡¯t skirt so close to that which I need to put aside, if I want to let sleeping assholes lie.¡±

    Yet his mind couldn¡¯t help but race with possibilities.

    Because perhaps there was another path. Not that of Silver Swan enhancing White Qi attacks and wards as a whole, the path he had forged with Elder Panheu just weeks, years, or perhaps countless lifetimes ago.

    No, he thought, summoning a Prismatic Shield with a tight, satisfied grin.

    There was another path before him.

    A path he had once thought he would need Long Wang¡¯s Jade-tier manual to uncover, which of course that spite-filled tyrant would never surrender.

    But if Alex¡¯s shield and cultivation technique were any indication¡­ he could forge his own path here, as well.

    His attack wasn¡¯t trying to emulate Black Swan so much as combine multiple elements into a glorious, powerful fusion.

    So why not infuse a few more?

    He chuckled for a brief moment at his own audacity.

    It was one thing to create a ward that would absorb any elemental attack, shunting it¡¯s force to the element most opposed. It was quite another to get eight elements to focus and enhance a single attack!

    He had barely been able to get his ¡®totally not a Storm Strike attack¡¯ to unleash the brunt of its lethality in a blast of lightning that instantly fried the spider¡¯s primitive, or perhaps not-so-primitive brain. To dare combine more elements, to ever get Fire and Water to play nicely together and indirectly enhance one another¡­ that was another matter entirely.

    ¡°But if I¡¯m serious about daring a wujen¡¯s path¡­ maybe this is a direction I can take it in,¡± he thought with a certain amount of hope and excitement for the future.

    If nothing else, his pseudo-lightning strike was a damn fine addition for a mere Rank 6 Basic Cultivator. A Rank 6 basic, who had some how ascended all 4 of his stats to Bronze, while ignoring the one stat that was a Wujen¡¯s staple.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    And he knew without needing any hints from any divine power that wasn¡¯t outright hostile to him¡­ that he¡¯d best never show lightning cloaked only in Wind and Water outside sealed rifts like the one he dared now. Best a full spectrum of synergistic death, if such a fusion was even possible for him offensively, or stick to Water and Wind used in careful tandem alone. No doubt that was why his interface had deliberately not dinged with any fresh skill involving those three elements alone.

    Not when effort had clearly been made to lock so many other abilities away, even if he was still blessed with a continuous memory of all the triumphs and tragedies that had led to this very moment, where he was racing towards the entrance, hoping that his friends were, if not okay, at least stable.

    And as much as he had originally been planning on using his Rank-up to boost his Qi Pool and triggering the manifestation of a wonderful Tier 5 Silver total¡­ Only someone with a 20 in Finesse and Quickness, Or Bronze Rank 1, could have possibly survived the ordeal he had just endured. So that¡¯s how his mind and body had evolved. The Bronze he sensed might have been his with a mere 2 points invested in Qi Pool to evolve his most recent incarnation along the Wujen¡¯s specialist path would now be something he would have to earn the hard way. Over countless weeks or perhaps months of training like he had embraced so diligently before entering this delve. It was a stat he would now earn one point at a time.

    And that was fine.

    He felt no real regrets having instinctively placed all six points in his physical stats. Because that had been the path that had helped to ensure his survival. Besides, he was savvy enough to note the increase to his Qi Pool, now 16, even with no notification at all. Which meant that with diligence and hard work, or just fighting against absurd odds for his life, his potential could expand even outside the point level framework he was expecting.

    Which made sense. Because if certain exotic spiritual herb infusions, or rare prized beast organs could help a cultivator ascend or evolve one or more stats or virtues, why couldn¡¯t one¡¯s own solid efforts boost their stats, even between levels? Even if he did sense that such a rate of growth was extremely modest, and best savored at the lowest end of the stat pool.

    But no matter how he went about it, once he got his Qi Pool up to 20¡­ he already knew the prize this would unlock, the gift of one of his most powerful stats coming back to him in full. And if there was any chance that a concoction Reny might brew would push him even a point or two closer to that goal, thanks to all the wonderfully potent herbs and spirit fruit he had collected over an absolutely glorious day of foraging, he was all for it.

    And how hard it was to resist devouring those prizes he had gathered, right then and there.

    Only by convincing himself that the fruit, berries, and blossoms he had collected were precisely what Reny needed to create an infusion that would unlock their full potential and absolutely maximize whatever benefits he could get from them, was he able to keep his appetite on a tight leash. He recalled as well her council that the greatest boons happened with first exposure, and the most potent brews were concocted of multiple spirit treasures compounded by a master. So the truly wise and patient cultivator would hold off on consuming anything until the most potent brew imaginable could be synthesized. And in a world as ruthless and competitive as the realm of cultivation, Alex could only wonder how unique a position he was in, to collect such wondrous prizes and be able to trust that they would be treated in good faith. To know that his most prudent move wasn¡¯t also the most cynical, already sensing that Reny was worthy of his trust.

    He could only pray that he had gotten to her in time... and that she would make a full recovery. He hoped that the party potency he had deliberately sent her way had been enough, for even if she wasn¡¯t a pure-blooded Ruidian jewel master, able to pull up an interface like his own and use potency for recovery, she was a natural healer, and that had to count for something.

    Of course, some prizes were best consumed at once, no processing required. But Alex could sense both the durability of his prizes and the boon of Reny¡¯s loaned storage treasure, so wouldn¡¯t use any cheap excuse to cheat himself out of what truly might be a wondrous elixer¡­ or cheat his friends of what just might be their salvation.

    ¡°We already risked our lives enough for one day, and somehow I get the feeling that it will only get more challenging from here,¡± he whispered to himself, just when he sensed his connection to every party member extinguishing at once.

    A sudden spike of dread riveted him.

    He spent the next handful of minutes racing for the clearing he was rapidly approaching, fearing the worst.

    Before his eyes lit up, upon seeing no one at all.

    Which mean that everyone had already gone through.

    Or so he hoped.

    His relief was marred by a troubling thought.

    Why hadn¡¯t they waited for him, on the off chance that he actually made it?

    He shook his head, certain there was a good reason for it.

    Of course there was! Reny needed immediate care, and Qing Wu no doubt knew where the most important healing supplies was kept in their own wagon.

    Still, he froze to a halt before the shimmering gate.

    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if perhaps something had gone unexpectedly wrong. What if their pursuers had finally caught up to them? What if, far from any sort of happy reunion, only cold death at the hands of bitter mercenaries was all that awaited him beyond the portal?

    He glared at the portal for long moments, before making his move.

 Book 8 - Chapter 21 - Death skirted & the evolution of an old friend.

    Prismatic Shield skill modified by Rank 1 Bronze Quickness: Success!

    You successfully summon Prismatic Shield before any other party member can react!

    Alex immediately sprang to his feet, crackling shield held at an angle before him, dao held at the ready for powerful lunges and fast cleaving blows.

    Yet his eyes caught sight of nothing but endless desert sands¡­ before a voice immediately jolted him out of his dismay.

    And it was all he could do to freeze himself before tragedy could ensue, when he felt powerful arms wrap around his own as endless sand from which he sensed nothing unusual at all suddenly transformed into a girl gifted in elements and ways he had yet to fully fathom.

    ¡°Alex! You made it. We feared you dead!¡± Sobbed none other than Ya Ling, holding him so tightly, inhuman grace letting her slide effortlessly past sword and shield and there she was, in his arms, her head leaning into the crook of his shoulder as his arms dropped to hold her close in turn.

    Tear-stained eyes gazed up into his own. He could see so clearly the exquisite interplay of emotions and questions racing through her mind, before parsing them to a single gentle query. ¡°Alex, what happened?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°I played the idiot and survived to tell the tale. The important thing is that we made it out, right?¡± He winced at her pained look. ¡°I mean¡­ most of us made it out.¡±

    ¡°Except for poor Luo,¡± she whispered, shaking her head.

    Alex winced, recalling all too well the man¡¯s animated expression, eyes twinkling with hope and excitement, like he was finally living his dream. The hero of his own tale.

    Alex shook his head, regretting that he hadn¡¯t been able to make everyone understand just how often the hero¡¯s tales ended in bitterest tragedy, where he came from.

    Just like Luo¡¯s own.

    ¡°How are the others?¡±

    Ya Ling swallowed, pressing her eyes with the palm of her hands. ¡°Reny¡¯s hurt, Alex. The poison in her blood¡­ she¡¯s stable, but uncle is beside himself with worry, and even with a healer¡¯s natural gifts, there¡¯s no telling when, or if, she will wake up.¡±

    Alex froze at those words, feeling his stomach drop.

    The worst possible news. For all of them.

    Desperate, hope-filled eyes gazed into his own. ¡°Alex¡­ I won¡¯t pry into your secrets, but¡­ please tell me you can do something?¡±

    Alex met her gaze for long moments, before nodding his head. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, Ya Ling. I can promise no more than that.¡±

    She bit her lip, but nodded. ¡°That¡¯s all I could ask for. And Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    She flashed a brilliant smile. ¡°Thank you for saving my life.¡± She swallowed. ¡°Again.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Of course! What kind of idiot would I be to let my one worthy training partner go so easily? You¡¯re absolute shit at fighting in the forest. But out here, you¡¯re actually not that bad!¡±

    Her eyes widened in outrage, before she smacked his chest. ¡°Horse¡¯s ass.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been called worse.¡±

    He was genuinely surprised by her tackle, as the sands immediately gave out under his feet, Qi Perception having detected absolutely nothing until he was already on the ground, and she straddling him, her sheathed knife to his throat, eyes dilated with a wildness that was both chilling and intoxicating.

    ¡°I¡¯m a damned good fighter,¡± she declared, right before her lips claimed his own.

    And had he not so recently mourned a pair of beloved disciples he now feared lost to him forever¡­ were they not both worried about the wellbeing of Reny, things might have gone much further than a single teasing kiss before Alex led the way to their shelter in the storm, momentarily stunned by the look Qing Wu gave him when Ya Ling made their presence known.

    It was the look of a man confronting a monster, his own worst fears¡­ his long lost son. All in one exquisitely complicated expression that settle in a bemused shake of his head, lips curling in an exhausted smile.

    ¡°You actually survived. Survived and returned.¡±

    Alex merely dipped his head, suddenly not sure what to say, or if downplaying his feat and the peril they had all endured would perhaps be the absolute worst thing he could do at that moment. So he said only, ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you have as well. But I know we¡¯re running out of time.¡±

    The Silver actually flinched. Before girding himself and forcing a nod. ¡°I fear we are.¡±

    Eyes filled with desperate hope met his own. ¡°Can you pull off another miracle, Alex?¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°If by miracle you mean once more make use of the eclectic handful of apothecary lessons I picked up years ago¡­ sure. Let me see what I can do. But Elder Wu?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°I will need several drops of your wife¡¯s blood. Preferably where she was injected with the venom.¡±

    Qing Wu gazed at Alex for long tense seconds before at last jerking a nod. ¡°Of course. Come inside. Both of you.¡±

    Alex tried not to grimace at the stench of sickness permeating the air, a bitter counterpoint to the fragrant scents of wildflower and fruit blossom that otherwise permeated the wagon, thanks to the miniature garden that the Wu¡¯s herb collection effectively was, and Alex had to give Qing Wu credit. Placing Reny¡¯s comatose form in the heart of what he now realized was an arboreal formation was perhaps the smartest move he could possibly have made. Even from here Alex felt Wood and a trace of Water Qi revolving circulating through both Reny¡¯s meridian channels and the plants as a whole.

    As if even the plants were desperately trying to cleanse her of the poison trying to kill her.

    Alex felt an awful sense of dismay. He thought he had saved her! He had felt the surge of group potency being channeled right through her. He knew he had done some good. He was sure of it! Even if she wasn¡¯t a pure-blooded Ruidian with an interface sheet, or whatever exactly he was, still, there had been enough of a connection for him to do at least some good. He had sensed it. Felt it!¡±

    Anxious eyes peered into Qing Wu¡¯s own. ¡°I thought¡­ I had hoped...¡± Alex lowered his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Elder Wu. Truly.¡±

    The man gave a bitter shake of his head. ¡°It¡¯s a miracle she was so intact when I tore that gods-awful silk from her form. I was filled with such hope, feeling her heartbeat, her breathing even even when I raced for the portal! But it wasn¡¯t enough. Whatever healing arts my wife was able to apply before slipping away...¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t hesitate to squeeze the man¡¯s trembling hand, even as Ya Ling gave him a tight hug, tears running freely down her cheeks. ¡°I am so sorry, uncle. Sorry I pressed you both with my desperate need to escape my fate. I should never have involved you in my plans¡­ Why didn¡¯t I just run away? None of brother¡¯s pawns match my gifts in the deep desert, even wounded as I am. Even if I¡¯ll never make it to Silver, what does it matter? We should never have dared this stupidity!¡±

    Alex¡¯s heart ached at the look of sorrow, grief, and love on the older cultivator¡¯s features. ¡°Nonsense. We love you like our own, Ya Ling. You know that. Our daughters consider you their baby sister. Happily married to strong men in city-states throughout the desert sands, they have no need of us now, save that we visit our grandchildren as time and opportunity allows. You, however, were not so fortunate, even if my sister thought herself brilliant, marrying a desert prince.¡± He gave a bitter shake of his head, making it clear there was definite family history there.

    But as much as he felt for his friends at that moment, all his attention was on the woman slowly slipping away before his eyes.

    ¡°Elder Wu?¡±

    Tired irises darker than obsidian locked with his own. The older Silver didn¡¯t bother wiping the tears of his cheeks. ¡°Yes, Alex?¡±

    Alex swallowed, heart pounding in his chest. ¡°May I?¡±

    The man froze, gazing at Alex for long awful seconds. ¡°Can you really do anything?¡±

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°I can try.¡±

    ¡°Then please, lad, do whatever you can!¡±

    With consent given, Alex immediately sprung into action. He didn¡¯t try securing a cultivator¡¯s oath or anything like that, to assure a tragic loss wouldn¡¯t become yet one more enemy wishing for his death. Because Reny really didn¡¯t have time for games, and he could only hope that his first gift would do some good.

    ¡°She can¡¯t drink, so please say nothing!¡±

    With that, he proceeded to give the comatose woman a kiss.

    You have successfully injected: Universal Antidote! This antidote comprises neutralizing compounds mirroring all known toxins.

    You have further depleted your reserves!

    Vitality check successful!

    Alex grimaced and lurched as the room started spinning. He desperately looked Qing Wu¡¯s way. ¡°If you¡¯re wife has any stew or you have any prepared food at all¡­ please. I need whatever nutrients I can get!¡±

    Qing Wu was giving him the strangest stares as a wide-eyed Ya Ling immediately sprung into action, revealing a crock of still piping-hot stew slipping free of a well-polished hardwood cabinet under the shared bed in the lower split-deck of the oversized wagon. Alex immediately understood it to be a low-key storage device focused on preservation, on taking advantage of the slower flow of time, than any crazy multiplier of storage space. But even if it just tripled the volume, that was still significant with a space as big as the underside of a bed, and explained how Qing and Reny lived so comfortably in their wagon. It¡¯s time dilating properties were immediately evident when Alex found his hands full of a bowl of piping hot stew.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Yet he wasted only a split second admiring the efficient use of space and the glorious scents of the stew, all his focus now on Qing Wu once more. ¡°If you would be so kind, while I devour this soup¡­ draw me some of your wife¡¯s blood.¡±

    The Silver wujen clenched his jaw, glaring at Alex for long seconds while he devoured the stew, forced to heed his body¡¯s needs.

    ¡°Uncle, we¡¯re running out of time! He¡¯s just being respectful, not doing it himself!¡±

    ¡°Is this part of your cultivation path, Alex?¡±

    Alex gave a quick nod. Knowing that the man already suspected as much, just needed that final bit of reassurance as he swallowed his tears and, with hands that barely trembled, knicked his wife¡¯s wrist.

    He closed his eyes and turned away. ¡°Please...¡±

    Alex, stew devoured, immediately claimed the wrist, not bothering with anything so crass as to play vampire, merely gently placing his finger on her forearm and commanding her blood, most specifically, the poisons and byproducts trapped in her blood to flow towards him, absorbing it, and the toxins it contained, directly through his skin.

    Then a quick nod to Ya Ling and she immediately placed one of her aunty¡¯s healing poultices, also kept fresh in storage, on the wound.

    His eyes widened, suddenly terrified that he had misstepped, using an ancient ability he only recalled using as if in a¡­

    Congratulations! Your synergistic use of eight elemental Qi formations has allowed you to understand and make use of the unique properties of Blood! For what is blood but a unique configuration of multiple elements? Water as the vessel; Metal and Air the hemoglobin rich compounds catalyzed with Spirit, Lightning in the form of biochemical impulses, and the Fires or metabolic functions of life! So rich with Earth¡¯s minerals and Wood¡¯s nutritious bounty fueling the entire body from one generation to the next.

    You have learned the totally new and previously unheard of skill: Blood Mastery at Rank 1!

    Alex froze, for long seconds fearing the weight of doom as he felt a sudden weakness completely overwhelm him.

    But that was just the Silver Tier spider venom he had actually dared to absorb, now killing him at a frightful pace.

    It seemed that he had somehow squeaked past divine notice once more, and that his use of an eight-element Cycling technique and Shield was sufficient pretext for him to claim Blood by a similar path. Which meant, he thought in those dizzying seconds as he toppled off his seat to Ya Ling¡¯s desperate cry as the world began spinning and he focused only on mastering this poison on time¡­ he could indeed reclaim his former arts, so long as he could do so by a logical path of progression, walking different footsteps than those that had affronted so many powerful Divine-tier cultivators.

    So long as he left completely alone the most exotic of techniques he had once dared to make his own. And if fortune truly favored him, he would soon have the opportunity to attend a cultivation academy here in the desert, and learn and grow in ways he never could have imagined before.

    Assuming, of course, he was able to neutralize the poison killing him right now.

    You have suffered 1 Critical Wound! You have saved versus Cardiac Arrest!

    You have depleted the last of your Silver Tier kill potency.

    You have successfully achieved 20% immunity to Spider Queen Venom.

    This Silver Tier venom is beyond anything you¡¯ve ever faced before! Partial tolerance brought by myriad immunities has allowed your diaphragm to keep working. You¡¯re now able to take additional breaths!

    You have taken one additional Critical Wound.

    Your liver has suffered extensive damage.

    You have successfully achieved 40% immunity to Spider Queen Venom.

    Alex¡¯s stomach was roiling, feeling dizzy and disoriented, as if he were roaring drunk and lost as sea. It was all he could do to focus, humbled by the sudden awareness that, for all that he had made and neutralized truly toxic concoctions before, including solvents deadly enough to burn right through a Silver¡¯s face or inebriate him with contact narcotics¡­ never had he actually dealt with venom of this caliber before. At least not without Eternal Fox giving him near total immunity from the start.

    He bit his lip, the surge of pain helping him to focus. Much to his horror, he hardly felt any pain inside his body at all. And he was certain that that was a VERY BAD thing. Thoughts of his internal organs being liquefied like a bug¡¯s sent a jolt of panic that directed his focus like nothing else. He knew that Biochemical Mastery was, for him, an instinctive thing, but nonetheless he did his best to regulate his breathing, to slow his metabolism without falling unconscious and dead soon after¡­ to toe the line between awareness and oblivion as his heartbeat slowed the surge of venom coursing through him.

    Venom that slowly weakened over time, but only after devastating damage had been inflicted, showing what an utter fool he had been to think himself the equal of a Bronze Tier healing specialist who had still been incapacitated and nearly killed, even after both her own and most of Alex¡¯s share of the potency of their kill had gone into pulling her from the brink of death.

    You have successfully achieved 60% immunity to Spider Queen Venom.

    You are now suffering significant Internal Damage!

    You have successfully saved versus Mortal Injury!

    You have successfully achieved 80% immunity to Spider Queen Venom.

    You have lost vision in your Right eye!

    You have lost partial vision in your Left eye!

    Congratulations. You have achieved 100% Immunity to Spider Queen Venom.

    Biochemical Mastery Achieved! You may now generate this venom or it¡¯s antidote, at will!

    ¡°Alex! Alex? Heaven¡¯s mercy, uncle, he¡¯s dying!¡±

    ¡°Foolish boy, throwing his life away so cheaply! Even I had to burn off every trace of clothing I wore, and would have counseled you both to leave immediately, lest the smell alone sear your lungs! That was a Silver Tier Monster! Even the JiangHu would think twice before daring to truck in venom so vile! If my wife hadn¡¯t specialized in understanding and mastering so many toxins...¡± He broke into a fresh sob.

    Ya Ling¡¯s gasp could be heard with exquisite clarity, even as Alex forced himself to his hands and knees, His vision broken and blurry and oddly flat, horrified by just how close he had come to death, what a fool he truly was. Though he did take small comfort in the disbelieving gasps when Alex forced luminescent drops from the tip of his finger into a wheezing Reny¡¯s throat.

    ¡°She dying!¡± The wujen¡¯s desperate cry belied his earlier mien of jaded acceptance.

    ¡°No, uncle, look! Her breath¡­ thank the gods, it¡¯s easing! Alex, what did you do?¡±

    But Alex was no longer paying any attention to the world around him, sinking into the blackness of his soul even as he forced his mind¡¯s eye open, refusing to let oblivion claim him just yet.

    Instead he forced himself to gaze upon the ruins of his own ravaged system. That it was intact enough to keep him alive, or that his blood-brain barrier had kept sufficient toxins back that his brain hadn¡¯t turned to soup, was a miracle. Yet with so much extensive damage, he was doomed if he didn¡¯t get healing NOW! And what better start than the life-giving carrier of everything that was him? He immediately went to work at purifying and invigorating his blood, recalling the eight-element revelation that had allowed him to effortlessly claim Reny¡¯s tainted drops as his own.

    A newly discovered technique that had come so close to killing him, might now help to save his life, restoring damage so catastrophic he doubted even a powerful Silver could survive it without an equally powerful healer or unorthodox gifts like his own.

    His breathing had become an audible wheeze¡­ but got no worse, as he sensed the nutrients in his blood rushing to countless damaged organs, slowly but surely taking the first steps to repair. He remembered in that moment with exquisite clarity his first forays into using Eternal Fox to heal himself, speeding up metabolism and the removal of waste using White Qi and Dark Qi as what was effectively a heat sync and entropy counter. Yet he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there was another, equally valid approach to accomplishing the same feat. He already knew that he didn¡¯t have to worry about waste Qi buildup, as most thought of Dark Qi as. Thankfully, all his excess Dark Qi would be absorbed right into, and serve to further strengthen, his Prismatic Bone Technique. Even if the actual use of that element was cut off to him right now, for what he suspected were extremely good reasons and new better than to pursue until he was much, much stronger than he was right now, on the border between awareness and oblivion.

    Fortunately, there was another path forward, with quite a few parables to Dark Qi, now that he thought of it. Because what element better fit the paradigm of transformation and change than heat itself? Or, in this case, Fire.

    A fire so hot that the cells touched by his psyche found their metabolisms shooting up at a meteoric rate.. before exploding.

    Alex winced internally, curbing his desperation, only gently heightening his natural healing abilities with the gentlest application of Fire, while simultaneously paying exquisite attention to the order or organization of his internal systems, refusing to let entropy reign as he channeled Fire¡¯s blessing in just the ways needed to catalyze rapid growth, filter away damaged organelles, and expel excess heat from his body. Heat that his Draconic blood allowed him to effortlessly absorb and process.

    Heat that was only the tiniest fraction of that felt by Fire Whip, Fire Shield, or even Flame Fist. Even as he heard the concerned murmurs and cry of dismay in the outer world, he refused to lose focus, though he counted it a blessing when he sensed soothing Ice being used to cool his smoking-hot skin.

    With the added assurance of knowing that Qing Wu was, on some level, looking after him, he dared to push further. Recalling countless hours lost between life and death as he strove to master his metabolism via Eternal Fox, he now attempted once more to do so by a different paradigm, paying exquisite attention to each element of the process, slowly infusing his blood with all the elements needed to carry oxygen, nurture his cells, and control all the biological processes of life, until all eight were being used almost as harmoniously as he had once used White and Dark Qi alone.

    Minutes stretched to hours, an eternity that passed in the blink of an eye. And the exquisite focus he had needed to understand and master the metabolic flow of nutrients, waste, and spiritual energy in one cell at a time soon became as instinctive as walking. As breathing. As feeling his strengthened heart beating steadily once more, feeling the exquisite flow of elemental Qi cycling not just through his meridian channels but all of his peripheral channels as well as through his entire circulatory system. Rejuvenating, life-giving spiritual energy now flooding his body with every beat of his heart.

    Congratulations! You have had a Major Breakthrough!

    You have unlocked a new healing path! You have learned the eight-element Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique!

    Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique is now Rank 1. You now have a base passive regeneration rate of: 1 health point per minute. Your focus on mastering the interplay between heat and entropy has unlocked the Ageless Perk. - You may now make use of your Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique Rank as a bonus in saving versus all poisons, toxins, mental ailments, curses, taints, and all other areas where another UNDEFINED art had once reigned supreme! Continue to master your body and yourself to expand this art and it¡¯s capabilities!

    A tiny portion of Alex¡¯s mind not focused on stabilizing himself and saving his own life reveled in the news. It wasn¡¯t Eternal Fox, but it was most definitely a variant. And even a slow rate of regeneration was still miraculous compared to what most enjoyed. And if the healing rate was Health dependent, it also implied a major increase as his Vitality increased, or when he finally broke through and Ascended. Though he wasn¡¯t quite certain what his ascension would entail, at this point. Would he achieve Bronze in the near future? Was that even possible? Or was having his furiously spinning Supercable achieve Rank 6 the bitter hard work of countless lifetimes?

    Which of course begged the most relevant question of all. Would the final breakthrough after achieving Rank 7 take him to Bronze¡­

    Or do so much more?

    He had no idea, and he didn¡¯t have the brainpower to spare, trying to figure it out.

    All his focus was now on embracing his newest revelation to the utmost, sensing the flow of spiritual energy coursing through millions, then billions of cells as what had promised to be a bitter slow process of months was now occurring hundreds of times faster, and that was him playing it safe. Making sure he truly understood the weaves of spiritual energy every cell in his body naturally embraced in the dance called life, until his comprehension and understanding of his body as a whole blossomed and his healing rate doubled yet again.

    All negative organ failure cascades have been successfully stabilized! You have repaired all damaged peripheral nerves. You are now experiencing PAIN in full!

    Alex suddenly felt like his insides had been filled with bitter black flames, consuming him alive.

    He choked back a sudden cry, every inch of his body now lit by an awful searing pain his Draconic heritage could do nothing to diffuse or mitigate, forced to experience the exquisite agony of spasming nerves shrieking their discomfort as they were regenerated and restored in minutes that should have taken months, or never, as his art continued to blossom, showing that its drawbacks were very much like those of the art he had mastered before.

    You have saved versus howling like a child!

    Congratulations, Prismatic Fox is now Rank 2!

 Book 8 - Chapter 22 - Alchemy

    ¡°Aunty, you¡¯re alive!¡±

    Alex heard the words as if from a far-off distance, drifting in soothing darkness, his focus only recently pulled from hyper-focused internal regeneration, allowing the delightful languor of exhaustion to claim him once more. How long had he been awake? How much sleep had he actually gotten these last few days, so focused on pushing himself, bettering himself, in every way that he could? Lost between savoring a brand new life free of the influence of malicious gods¡­ and desperate to focus on anything save the precious memories of two more women he could so easily have cherished for a lifetime¡­ before countless lifetimes had been torn from them all.

    ¡°I am indeed, child,¡± whispered the weary voice of Reny Wu. ¡°If I weren¡¯t so dizzy, I¡¯d ask how! Certainly it¡¯s no thanks to my own foolishness, so arrogant as to ignore my own husband¡¯s counsel, even the counsel of the headstrong boy who¡¯s heart you¡¯re so eager to claim.¡±

    ¡°Aunty...¡±

    Reny chuckled softly. ¡°Forgive this dizzy old woman her ramblings.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re hardly old, aunty. You could pass for thirty, and steal any many¡¯s heart in the blink of an eye. Do you have any idea how much uncle puffs up when any young dandy so much as smiles your way?¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°Which is half the young lads, giving me grateful bows whenever I cure their ales, whether inflicted on the road¡­ or elsewhere. Not that that old fool has anything to be jealous about, with a dozen children to our name and fifty seven grandchildren we love and cherish, just as much as we love and cherish you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, aunty. From the bottom of my heart. If it weren¡¯t for you and uncle...¡±

    ¡°And we almost killed you for our foolishness,¡± Reny whispered. ¡°I knew I was daring dangerous waters. But those mushrooms were prizes I was desperate for. A foolish, hungry old woman, so eager to ascend she lost focus on what matters. We already have what we need to heal ourselves, and my greed almost cost us our lives. Should have cost us our lives. Even with my focus on desert venoms, even dosing us all with cure-alls that left me deluded enough to think I could pay the price that savage garden so clearly demanded...¡± she choked off a sob. ¡°Only to be the first one webbed and claimed and injected with venom so potent it made a joke of all my defenses. And I should be dead. We all should be¡­ niece, why are you smiling so brightly?¡±

    ¡°Oh aunty, can¡¯t you guess?¡±

    A long, pregnant pause ensued before the older cultivator gasped. ¡°No! There¡¯s no way I could believe¡­ he¡¯s only a boy! Not even a Bronze¡­ or is he? So hard to read, that one.¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°You¡¯re telling me. The look in his eyes says he wants me desperately. But then he flashes this apologetic smile and I absolutely hate whoever hurt him, because then it¡¯s just pitiless training till I want to cry out for exhaustion.¡±

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡±

    ¡°Yes, aunty?¡±

    ¡°Are you truly saying that silly, foolish, beautiful boy somehow saved me?¡±

    ¡°Would you believe me if I said yes? That he screamed at us all to flee before serving as a distraction, and that it actually worked?¡±

    ¡°Actually, no, child. I would declare it the height of absurdity. Insanity. That was a Silver tier abomination with poison so virulent¡­ I shouldn¡¯t even be alive. How am I even here?¡±

    This earned another pregnant pause.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Yes. He actually did.¡±

    ¡°That foolish boy! No matter his eccentric gifts, there was no way he dared ingest any of that toxin! Not when I, a master of this field, as much as any Bronze can be, dosed myself with neutralizing agents so potent that not even JiangHu¡¯s foulest poisons can touch me. And the Dragonsbane root itself would be neutralized. Was neutralized. I checked myself, to make sure our foundations could never be so shaken again!¡±

    ¡°Well, that explains what happened, then.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    Ya Ling sighed. ¡°He took in your blood. Honestly, I think he somehow drew out most of your poison while doing so. He then, well, kissed you. And he definitely earned uncle¡¯s death glare¡­ until he realized just what Alex had done before collapsing and we understood just how bitterly his mad daring had cost him.¡±

    Reny hissed. ¡°Damned foolish boy. Alright, child. Pass me a blue vile, upper left cabinet.¡±

    ¡°This one?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the woman snorted. ¡°It¡¯s my most potent restorative and hard to miss, for a reason.¡±

    The sound of a popped cork and a sigh of desperate relief could be heard. ¡°Heaven¡¯s Mercy.¡±

    Long tense moments passed.

    ¡°Aunty, you¡¯re actually getting better. I can see it!¡± Ya Ling all but squealed.

    ¡°Of course I am, child. It¡¯s my most potent concoction. It was made of the most expensive ingredients at the height of my powers, before my foundation was cracked. And now that that dreadful poison has been purged from my system, it¡¯s actually doing me some good. As well it should. Unfortunately, I only have half a dozen blue vials left. And unless I can fully repair my foundation...¡± She gave a tired sigh. ¡°Enough of that. Now let me look at the boy and make sure he¡¯s stable, before I begin work on what really matters.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s voice filled with desperate hope. ¡°Aunty, do you really mean...¡±

    ¡°Yes, child. I have most of what I need. Enough to allay most of the damage. Your foundation won¡¯t be perfect¡­ but you¡¯ll have a hairline crack where before there was a crippling fracture that only the midday sun kept stable for you.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ salvation. But what about achieving Silver like Uncle?¡± Her voice softened to an anxious whisper. ¡°Will it be possible? One day?¡±

    ¡°Just a dream for most of us, dearie. Even those who enjoy nothing but fortuitous encounters. You already know that.¡±

    A long pregnant pause ensued, so poignant with gratitude and despair.

    ¡°Alright, Aunty¡­ thank you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, child. Now do you see why I risked so much? With those mushrooms...¡±

    It was at that moment that Alex felt himself heeding exhaustion¡¯s call once more.

    Before wrenching himself awake with a groan, earning alarmed looks from both Reny and Ya Ling¡­ and how absurd was it to feel so horrible? According to his interface, his Prismatic Fox had healed over 80% of the damage already!

    ¡°Alex!¡± He was surprised by how quickly Ya Ling had raced to his side, her arms gently clasping him with a mother¡¯s care. ¡°Please, be careful! You¡¯re sick. Very sick. Fragile as glass.¡±

    ¡°Not really,¡± Alex whispered with a dry smile, though he couldn¡¯t quite force a chuckle. In fact those words alone had cost him a pair of blackened teeth.

    Only then did Alex¡¯s eyes widen with alarm. Eyes that saw clearly once more but had been nearly blind, not that long ago.

    ¡°Shit. Just how close did I come to dying?¡±

    ¡°Too damned close, foolish boy!¡± Reny snapped, eyes blazing. ¡°You purposely injested a poison none should dare! A toxin that even the most experienced healer...¡± She closed her eyes, shaking her head. Alex smirked to see her teeth were in no better shape than his. Even as he felt his jaw start to throb and heal as he forced his exhausted mind to heal peripheral damage delayed until then.

    ¡°Silver tier Spider Queen Venom. I know. Effectively a contact poison that will kill you with any exposure at all, even if it has the moniker ¡®venom¡¯ in it¡¯s name.¡±

    Reny was giving him the strangest look. ¡°How is it that you¡¯re even alive, child? How is it that either of us are alive?¡±

    Alex forced a wink. ¡°Let¡¯s blame it on my exotic, mixed-blood cultivation technique, shall we?¡±

    Ya Ling chuckled ruefully, holding him in her protective embrace. ¡°You scared the hell out of me, Alex. Taking on that spider with nothing but your odd shield and a dao, not even wielding the treasures of a storybook hero which for some absurd reason you seem to want to emulate, taking on insane odds to save near complete strangers.¡±

    Reny gave them both a bemused look. ¡°Hardly strangers anymore. I hope you know you¡¯re now family to us, Alex.¡±

    Alex flushed, and couldn¡¯t hold back his own, heartfelt smile. ¡°I¡­ thanks.¡± He swallowed the unexpected lump in his throat. ¡°That means more to me than you know.¡±

    Reny¡¯s eyes were positively twinkling. ¡°I refuse to owe any stranger a debt as great as the one I owe you. Saving my foolish life, my husband¡¯s life¡­ my niece as well. Thus, you are family to me. To all of us. I hope you know that. So please consider this wagon your wagon, and our roof your own.¡± She then gave him an arch look. ¡°Though if you claim my niece¡¯s heart, I expect a jade ring on her finger and an oath of love between you both.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened as Ya Ling stilled, her sudden hitched breath making it clear just how profound and genuine their gratitude was.

    There was no response Alex could give to accurately convey the sudden warmth in his heart.

    Save to bow solemnly and low, before pulling free the herbal pouch she had given him with hands that still trembled, until he glared at it, Prismatic Fox doing quick repairs as he handed a bemused Reny the pouch she had loaned him.

    She chuckled softly. ¡°No, dear nephew. I want you to consider this a...¡±

    Her words abruptly cut off. She gazed Alex way with wide, disbelieving eyes.

    Her hands started to tremble.

    Ya Ling¡¯s soft grip around Alex tensed in sudden alarm. ¡°Aunty?¡±

    Reny¡¯s bloodshot eyes fixed upon Alex¡¯s own, filled with a disbelieving wonder so great, she opened her mouth, and not a sound slipped out.

    ¡°Aunty!¡±

    A trembling hand reached out to touch Alex¡¯s chin. ¡°You did it.¡±

    Those three words were all it took to freeze Ya Ling¡¯s panic to breathless wonder.

    Alex said nothing, merely bowing his head.

    ¡°Fire peaches. Golden Blossoms. Spirit Grapes. Heaven¡¯s Leaves. And all twelve sacred mushrooms capable of repairing even a Gold¡¯s foundation¡­ and making the most profoundly potent ascension tinctures any Silver could hope to have.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°And I even managed to scoop enough soil that a powerful enough herbalist should be able to cultivate those cuttings in similar soil. At least, if the environment is saturated with enough spiritual energy.¡± He gazed with unreserved pride at the pouch. ¡°I¡¯d like to think that I was careful enough that, thanks to your magical pouch being so good at preservation, that any or all of those prizes could be cultivated anew, giving you prize components to your present or future spiritual garden.¡±

    ¡°Or we could use them right now to repair our foundations!¡± Ya Ling whispered, unable to hide the desperate hope in her voice.

    Alex nodded. ¡°That was my hope as well. I¡¯m just thinking about whatever¡¯s left over.

    But Reny didn¡¯t move a muscle. Just staring at Alex in unmitigated awe. ¡°How?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°I get along well with plants. It¡¯s as simple as that.¡±

    ¡°But you claimed all twelve mushrooms. What about the spider queen? How in the world did you escape it?¡±

    ¡°I was wondering the same thing myself,¡± Ya Ling said, still somehow wrapped around him, her breathy voice that smelled of mint and warm desert sands tickled his ear. ¡°How did you manage to both claim the mushrooms and escape?¡±

    Alex flashed a cold smile that revealed the darkness he normally strove to keep so well hidden. ¡°Because I didn¡¯t bother escaping at all.¡±

    Ya Ling blinked. ¡°Alex, what are you talking about?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°Why escape what you can kill? And earn sweet, sweet potency boons and spirit cores besides!¡±

    Reny actually paled and swallowed at those words.

    Ya Ling snorted. ¡°Seriously, Alex. Now¡¯s no time for jokes! How did you even survive? I know you¡¯re fast and coordinated, but not as much as a gifted Bronze, and...¡± She petered off when she caught her aunty¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°He¡¯s not joking, Ya Ling.¡±

    The girl so affectionately holding him under the guise of friendship that could be so much more suddenly stilled, pulling away to shift towards her aunty and get a good look at Alex¡¯s face.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex flashed a rueful smile. ¡°I had something of a breakthrough. You might find us more closely matched in terms of Quickness and Finesse than we were before. But most importantly, when you learn to sense the flow of spiritual energy in a spirit beast, which is far, far easier to sense than within most human cultivators, you¡¯re able to read their tells. To sense where and how they¡¯re about to strike at you. It certainly doesn¡¯t guarantee victory, but there¡¯s no way in hell anyone¡¯s beating a Silver monster without some kind of edge.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s dazed stared didn¡¯t abate. ¡°You¡¯re serious. You actually killed it.¡±

    Alex dipped his head.

    ¡°How? Alex, how the hell did you defeat it?¡±

    ¡°By nearly getting killed like an idiot, before getting incredibly lucky with a breakthrough at just the right time. In other words, sheer talent. How else?¡± He smirked at the look she gave him, turning to Reny. ¡°Is that everything you need?¡±

    But Reny was giving him the strangest look. ¡°You broke through. You actually ascended in the middle of combat.¡± Her eyes widened. ¡°And it was a powerful ascension for one so early on their cultivation journey.¡± Damaged teeth aside, her smile lit up the room like the noonday sun. ¡°And yes, Alex. This is everything I need. Everything and more! And don¡¯t for one moment think I¡¯m letting you go without a prize worthy of the boon you¡¯ve shared.¡±

    Ya Ling furrowed her brow, before giving a delighted little clap. ¡°Aunty! Will we actually be able to do it?¡±

    Reny gave a pleased nod. ¡°Indeed I think we will, Ya Ling.¡± She then gave her niece a cautionary look. ¡°But it won¡¯t be for you to try it. You¡¯re only goal will be to use my first tincture to heal your foundation. Should you make a full recovery, you dare not ruin all our hard work by trying to enhance yourself with anything else. It will only cause further strain. All the more so since your desert epiphany already elevated you a rank, despite your injury!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s cheeks flushed prettily as she stole a glance a bemused Alex¡¯s way. ¡°I was struck by inspiration. And it wasn¡¯t something that felt right to hold back.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying it was wrong,¡± her aunt soothed. ¡°But you need to spend at least a year stabilizing and strengthening your foundation, free of any enhancements save what the crucible of your own efforts brings you.¡±

    Ya Ling immediately bowed before Reny. ¡°It will be as you say, beloved Aunty. I eagerly await your tincture!¡±

    Reny nodded. ¡°Check on your uncle. Tell him I¡¯m not to be disturbed for at least half a day.¡±

    Alex blinked, surprised that Reny was willing to dare such an undertaking only just recovered, but the fire in her gaze made it clear that she was both determined and very much alert and aware. If she wasn¡¯t yet at her prime¡­ she wasn¡¯t that far off, either.

    Ya Ling turned to Alex. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s give aunty some space.¡±

    ¡°Actually, if Aunty Reny didn¡¯t mind, I¡¯d love to be able to assist. Or at least watch.¡±

    Reny frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Are you actually going to tell me that your Ruidian enclave had an apothecary?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°I¡¯m not going to say any such thing. But yes, I do have apothecary experience.¡±

    Reny furrowed her brow, before giving a quick nod. ¡°You don¡¯t know the layout of my wagon, so I won¡¯t ask you to assist. But if you think you can actually get anything out of it¡­ you should both stay and watch.¡±

    Ya Ling opened her mouth, then slowly closed it, bowing her head. ¡°It will be as you say, aunty.¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°Even you could become a talented apothecary, even if your element is not particularly suited to proper alchemy. Most tinctures for mortal ailments are enhanced by the spiritual energies trapped in the base ingredients alone, after all.¡±

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Ya Ling frowned. ¡°But you said my tinctures taste gritty.¡±

    ¡°They do.¡±

    She flushed, stealing a quick look Alex¡¯s way. But he was already intently focused on Reny¡¯s dextrous hands, as she reached for over a dozen pressed plants, dried herbs, and fresh cuttings, carefully going over the names of all of them, Alex quickly committing them to memory as best he could, his interface helpfully pinging the median market potency of over half of them, or at least what they would have been worth in the life he had lived before.

    But what really captivated both Alex and Ya Ling¡¯s attention, was when Reny truly began embracing he arts, Alex¡¯s Qi Perception allowing him to understand and appreciate like never before not simply the art of unleashing the trapped potency of over a dozen potent ingredients, but catalyzing that infusion into an exquisitely complex web of spiritual energy that was then channeled into a pristine flask of elementally attuned water, before further enhancing the brew with streams of Water and Wood. A method completely different from the Fire, Earth, and Metal combination he had been expecting. But clearly just as effective in it¡¯s own way.

    And Alex couldn¡¯t keep the grin of awe off his face, when it clicked. Understanding why the infusion technique was so different from that practiced by Liu Jian and Liu Li. Both Alchemical professions focused on using one¡¯s own spiritual energy to enhance the tinctures and pills they made. But each needed different patterns of infusion to compensate and allow for different patterns of elemental affinity so that the finished product was perfectly balanced. If Fire, Earth, and Metal was one path, and Water & Wood a second. Were there other paths as well? And would it be easier or infinitely more complex if one used a five element system? How about eight?

    Alex¡¯s mind was filled with possibilities, even as most of his focus was on understanding the process playing out befor him. Visualizing himself in Reny¡¯s shoes, performing the exact same sequence of steps, and infusing the exact same ratio of Water and Wood Qi into the final product. Until at last, it was done, and Reny gave a satisfied nod.

    Ya Ling gave an excited squeal, immediately bouncing off her seat. Yet Alex just sat there, unable to wipe the stupid grin off his face, as he received a message equally as profound.

    Qi Perception check made! You sense the flow of Spiritual Energy within the wagon!

    Alex gazed at a Reny for long moments. ¡°May I?¡±

    Both women looked away from the tincture that had captivated their attention to glance Alex¡¯s way.

    He felt his cheeks blaze with the temerity of his own suggestion.

    To his great surprise, Reny didn¡¯t snort in bemusement, or glare and demand he leave at once, as he would have expected from any alchemist for his temerity. All Reny did was ask a single question.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Before he could even answer, because no, he most definitely was not sure, she gestured toward her equipment. ¡°First step, gather the necessary ingredients, and we¡¯ll go from there.¡±

    He did his best to ignore the wide-eyed look of dismay Ya Ling was giving him as he took a deep breath, hesitating for only a single anxious second when he completely froze, before his hands moved almost of their own accord, pulling free multiple vials and glass jars, his exquisite Qi Perception, combined with Rank 7 Biochemical Mastery ever closer to an absurdly glorious Rank 8, which seemed to include boosting his 18 Perception in sight and hearing to a bloodhound¡¯s sense of smell as well, his nose sensing and differentiating so many alchemical odors and compounds. The nuanced taste of spiritual energy in the air further enhanced his palate, aiding his memory much like the notes and rhythm of a song made lyrics so much easier to recall.

    Almost like he was moving to a tune looping endlessly through his head, he gathered the ingredients, clipped the same exact leaves Reny had, save for the one awful moment that he froze, his nostrils making it clear that a certain acrid stench of the final herb he had plucked most definitely did not belong in the brew, receiving of all things, a congratulatory nod from Reny.

    ¡°Very good. The Bitterspike cloaks the Silverdew. Not that such is normally needed, but the wise alchemist hides his true prizes in plain sight.¡±

    Alex smiled his sudden understanding, carefully wiping clean the Bitterspike residue from the silver sheers before claiming a single Silverdew leaf, adding it into the brew, and carefully stirring and shaking just as Reny had, pausing only seconds to look for a filter he just couldn¡¯t find until a bemused Reny handed him one, as well as a perfectly clean flask. And from a mulch of chopped plants was extracted a silvery green brew absolutely brimming with spiritual energy.

    Before Alex gently clasped the flask in cautious hands and began, with exquisite care, to gently cycle some of his own essence into the brew. Water and Wood alone, and he was somehow certain it was not enough, but far better a careful steady stream, than a surge when before his emphasis had only been on countering or destroying. Paths where overcompensation was everything. Never the beautiful wonder of creation requiring such delicate balance.

    Not until now.

    Artifice check made! You fully comprehend the steps necessary to manufacture Foundation Restoration Tincture!)

    Months training beside a sympathetic apothecary a lifetime ago, combined with Qi Perception and Artificer allowing you to understand the interplay of spirit herbs and spiritual energy has unlocked the Path of Alchemy!

    You have successfully made: Foundation Restoration Tincture at 57% of Median Market Potency!

    Congratulations! You have learned the elite skill of Alchemy at Rank 1!

    Alex was surprised by his own harsh, ragged breaths as he carefully, oh so carefully, handed the flask to Reny.

    ¡°Aunty, did he actually manage it?¡±

    Reny gazed at the potion for long, thoughtful moments, before giving the tiniest of nods. ¡°He did.¡±

    Ya Ling looked gobsmacked. ¡°So that¡¯s not just an apothecaries¡¯ blend of chopped up herbs. It¡¯s actually a properly infused brew.¡± She pinned Alex with disbelieving eyes. ¡°You have absolutely no idea how long it takes the average apprentice to formulate their first successful alchemical brew, Alex. I can¡¯t even manage it, and I¡¯ve shadowed aunty on and off for years, ever since I was a little girl, with dreams of one day gifting my father with the phylactery of youth!¡±

    Reny smiled in genuine approval as she gazed Alex¡¯s way once more. ¡°Congratulations, Alex. You¡¯ve just made your first alchemical potion. I won¡¯t bore you with how remarkable and rare a feat that was, boy. For this was no simple formulation any apprentice would be expected to handle. Rather, it is something I might expect of a particularly gifted Journeyman with several years of experience under his belt. Certainly no one who hadn¡¯t apprenticed under a talented alchemist for at least several years themselves.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s not exactly a roaring success,¡± Alex hastily conceded. ¡°It¡¯s only at 57% of your own potion¡¯s potency.¡±

    Reny gazed at Alex for long moments. ¡°And you can sense that just by looking¡­¡± She tilted her head. ¡°Or is it smelling it?¡±

    Alex winced, but nodded. ¡°Pretty much, yeah.¡±

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Wu?¡±

    ¡°I have over a century¡¯s experience as a compounding alchemist. Not even a ¡®young master¡¯ as gifted as you could hope to match me. Not for years, let alone for your very first brew. Not unless you were born able to walk and talk, determined to defy the heavens with your very first step.¡±

    Alex blushed for reasons he thought best not to dwell on. ¡°That¡¯s a very good point, Master Wu.¡±

    Hard eyes glared into his own. ¡°You may call me aunty, Reny, or Aunty Reny. None of this ¡®Master Wu¡¯ talk. Not unless I¡¯m actually your instructor at Silver Sands Academy.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Master Wu-- I mean, Aunty Reny.¡±

    She smirked. ¡°Very good. Fortunately, we have an absolute surfeit of the necessary ingredients, and that is with me taking plenty of choice samples and cuttings to plant within my own nursery. So let¡¯s see if we can iron out your handful of mistakes and infuse it with a potency worthy of your instructor.¡±

    Ya Ling froze, gazing at Reny like she had just grown a second head. ¡°Aunty, are you actually going to take him on as an apprentice?¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°What I¡¯m going to do is perfect his understanding of a simple basic formula any future master should know, so he doesn¡¯t embarrass me when he showcases his questionable potential at Silver Sands,¡± she said in clear contradiction to her earlier praise.

    Ya Ling immediately bowed her head. ¡°Understood, aunty.¡±

    ¡°Good. Because his final tincture will be the one that you will imbibe.¡±

    Alex took a deep, shuddering breath. Refusing to let Ya Ling¡¯s sudden anxious stare rattle him, no matter how panicked he felt. Knowing there was a reason for this sudden ultimatum. That a real alchemist must always be willing and able to work under the most extreme pressure. For one day it wouldn¡¯t be a flight of fancy but a half-step Gold seething with panicked fury, desperate for some exotic brew or proper distillation of some massive beast core, where success would bring said alchemist wealth and renown, and failure perhaps the most gruesome of deaths or at least the need to flee one¡¯s old life entirely. A path Alex never wanted to be forced to embrace again.

    So he took several deep breaths, ignoring the anxious and judgmental pair of stares he was being given. Because that pressure too was part of the test, recalling an ancient mantra he had once heard. Slow and careful was thorough. Thorough was error free, and error free was fast.

    ¡°Faster, Alex!¡±

    ¡°Bullshit. I¡¯ll go at my own pace. Now back off.¡±

    All of them froze. Alex couldn¡¯t believe he had actually said those words allowed. But much to his relief, he sensed an oddly approving smile from Reny, for all that Ya Ling positively blanched.

    But Alex, not having been struck down for his temerity, was no longer paying any attention to their stairs or Ya Ling¡¯s panicked whisper. All his focus was on repeating the same measurements and compounding as he had done before, allowing his now exquisite memory and even more exquisite sense of smell to guide him, this time clipping the Silverdew leaf and dropping it in the tincture like an old hand.

    Even when he sensed Ya Ling¡¯s anxiety slowly transform to a relieved nod, he refused to let himself relax, or lose focus for even an instant. For this was just the first step. Getting everything properly triturated and mashed, before being put through a strainer once more.

    This time he had paid exquisitely careful attention to the principals of similarity and contagion, Qi Perception allowing him to appreciate just how vital every step of the process had been, both ingredients and methodology, in harnessing every scrap of latent spiritual energy in a perfect balance needing only Water and Wood to simultaneously balance the whole while using those two elements, and only those two elements to properly catalyze and enhance the brew.

    His gentle infusion was done with even better comprehension of the exquisitely complex framework of spiritual energy perfectly contained within a single dose of a tincture that his interface made clear would have been worth a considerable amount of platinum in Yidushi when last he had walked those streets, years or centuries before.

    You have successfully made: Foundation Restoration Tincture at 63% of Median Market Potency!

    The ding of his interface matched the message that a single whiff and both his Alchemy and, interestingly enough, his Artificer skill made clear. Another successful batch, and a growing awareness of everything he was doing wrong¡­ and at least a few of the steps he could take to make things right.

    He didn¡¯t bother going over it with Reny, merely dipping his head as she happily claimed his second brew before beginning his third, this time with no hesitation at all, merely trying to hold onto his sense of the ideal flow of the exquisitely complex weave that was the Foundation Restoration Tincture¡­ and how best he could bring that weave to perfection.

    ¡°Aunty¡­ why is he adding crimson berries?

    ¡°Your guess is as good as mine, dear.¡±

    ¡°And stirring and shaking it so many times?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not entirely sure.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s frowning. He doesn¡¯t look entirely happy.¡±

    ¡°All of us learn at our own pace, dear.¡±

    Alex winced internally. His brilliant insight on how to improve the tincture didn¡¯t work out nearly as well as planned. Adding the crimson berries should have added a surge of Wood and Fire Qi, enhancing his sense of the weave¡­ but no. It warped it so badly that his latest tincture was only 23% as potent as Reny¡¯s own.

    When he confessed as much to Reny, she gave him the oddest smile. ¡°I¡¯m amazed that it still qualifies as a foundation restoration potion at all. And completely free of toxins. Clearly you have potential, Alex. Now how about you mix a few thousand more potions before you attempt to improve upon techniques that Masters have been using for centuries?¡±

    Alex flushed, immediately flowing into a bow, seeing as how concerns with sterility and cleanliness kept kowtowing to a minimum as Reny had once jokingly confided. Or perhaps it was because anyone who walked their path had a certain amount of pride beyond that of the humble disciple terrified of his mentor or tormentor, and how similar those two words were, Alex realized with a smile.

    Before immediately shaking away such distractions and getting back to work, this time going back to basics, mirroring Reny¡¯s procedure as perfectly as he could, now focusing on the pace she had kept as well, even attempting to fall into the same rhythmic pattern of movements. As if moving to a dance of spiritual energy he could barely grasp, only sensing how patterns were being forged within patterns and it was all about gently infusing the silvery green brew with the exact same ratio of Water and Wood as Reny had with his rate of spiritual energy infusion mirroring hers as well.

    You have successfully made: Foundation Restoration Tincture at 74% of Median Market Potency!

    You have successfully made: Foundation Restoration Tincture at 79% of Median Market Potency!

    You have successfully made: Foundation Restoration Tincture at 83% of Median Market Potency!

    Congratulations! Alchemy is now Rank 2!

    Alex smiled, giving a satisfied nod with his final brew. ¡°It¡¯s not perfect, but I¡¯m definitely making progress.¡±

    He then blinked, surprised by the look Reny was giving him.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Wu?¡±

    She furrowed her brow, looking surprisingly youthful and adorable, despite having over fifty grandchildren by her own admission. ¡°I thought I told you to call me Reny!¡±

    ¡°Not when you¡¯re giving me that look, Master Wu.¡±

    She furrowed her brow, glaring at the vial in her hand, then back at Alex.

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°How what?¡±

    ¡°How the hell did you achieve that degree of potency as a newly forged alchemist with less than half a dozen brews to your name?¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°By having a wonderful teacher, of course! How else could some oddball mixed-breed like me hope to have a chance at greatness, otherwise?¡±

    She snorted, crossing her arms. ¡°I find it hard to believe than no other alchemist snatched up a genius like you, long ago.¡±

    ¡°I did train as an apothecary for awhile, remember, so I have a foundation that most day-one novices probably do not.¡±

    Ya Ling ignored their patter, her soft brown eyes focused intently on the vial.

    She gazed at her aunt breathlessly. ¡°Aunty?¡±

    Reny gave her an affectionate smile. ¡°It¡¯s close to perfection, dear. I dare say no one but Xiao Xiao back at the academy could do any better.¡±

    Ya Ling blinked. ¡°But Xiao Xiao is a Silver! He heads the alchemical department!¡±

    ¡°He does.¡±

    Her awed gaze went from Alex to Reny. ¡°So my hero¡¯s not just a genius, he¡¯s a monster!¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°I was waiting for someone to say something like that. Isekai download complete.¡±

    Ya Ling gave Alex a deadpan look. ¡°Are you teasing me with strange Ruidian words, hero?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°I guess I am, at that.¡±

    She gave him a mock glare, before exchanging a look with her aunty, then claiming the final vial, placing her dusky lips upon its rim and swallowing the contents slowly, not breaking eye contact once with a blushing Alex.

    ¡°I guess my life¡¯s now in your hands, hero,¡± she said softly, as Reny immediately led her to their shared mattress.

    She yawned, flashing Alex a sleepy smile. ¡°Now are you willing to take responsibility?¡±

    Alex swallowed, not sure what to say to that. Reny snorted. ¡°Hush, girl. You¡¯re under the influence. Now assume the lotus position and begin cycling like I taught you. You¡¯ll feel a tight warmth in your core that will soon turn to an exquisitely intense heat. It will do wonders for your recovery, but if you wish to take full advantage of the Silver Tier herbs our hero risked his life to acquire, you will channel it through all of your meridians. Your peripheral channels as well.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened, her tipsy demeanor immediately hardening to sober focus once more. ¡°Yes, Aunty. I will do so at once.¡±

    She swallowed, heart in her gaze as she glanced Alex¡¯s way once more. ¡°He risked so much to save you. To save all of us. I won¡¯t waste a single drop. I promise.¡±

    Reny snorted. ¡°Perhaps a bit more privacy would be best for you¡± she declared before leading her niece to the far end of the wagon where Ya Ling could meditate without distraction, as Reny put it, before heading back to her exquisitely compact and organized apothecary. ¡°And now to waste an absolute fortune of spirit pearls worth of treasure on a fool of a boy who risked his life like a madman for near strangers.¡±

    She gazed Alex¡¯s way with an intensity the match of her niece¡¯s. ¡°I hope you know that your lessons with me have just begun, nephew.¡±

    Alex flushed, lowering his gaze, suddenly so choked up he couldn¡¯t speak. He was so used to the bitter. So used to fighting for every scrap of privilege or resource, where enlightened self-interest and mercenary alliances were as close to friendship as most cultivators got. To be treated so warmly, welcomed like family, echoing the bittersweet dream he sensed that countless incarnations had been utterly denied over too many lifetimes¡­ He couldn¡¯t say a word.

    He couldn¡¯t voice how much that declaration meant to him. A sentiment she had stated not once, but twice, as if just to make sure it sunk into his thick, paranoid head.

    Yet somehow, to his immense relief, Reny wasn¡¯t offended by his awkward silence.

    Her smile was that of someone who understood just how ruthless the cultivation world could be¡­ and was proud to stand as a bastion of warmth and generosity.

    Alex was grateful beyond words.

    ¡°And there¡¯s a certain girl who would gladly welcome you into our family in the most formal sense, did you wish to make her your own.¡±

    Alex blinked, gobsmacked. ¡°But wait, didn¡¯t you and Qing Wu say that...¡±

    ¡°Forget what we said before. That doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Reny gave a said shake of her head before saluting Alex and taking his second strongest tincture. Alex blinked, recalling then what his first master had once said about Alchemists benefiting far more from another¡¯s brew than their own. He flushed, humbled anew to find two cultivation foundations suddenly in his hands.

    ¡°Lady Wu, if you had told me, I¡¯d gladly make some more...¡±

    She snorted, shaking her head. ¡°Your tincture is at least as good as anyone short of my own mentor could hope to create, and with the JiangHu in Qianshi clearly looking to cripple or kill us, you¡¯re the only one I trust within a thousand miles.¡± She flashed a sad smile. ¡°So it can only be you. And as to what I would have done, had you not been here¡­ thankfully it¡¯s a question I don¡¯t have to answer.¡±

    Alex bowed his head. Profoundly touched by the trust she had in him.

    ¡°Now why don¡¯t you go topside, Alex? Enjoy the morning sun. Keep a sharp eye out while I give these to the others and we recover. Once we¡¯ve done so. Then I¡¯ll be ready to forge something far more potent than the most gentle Foundation Restoration potions.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, you mean...¡±

    She chuckled softly and nodded, eyes twinkling. ¡°That¡¯s right. In your glorious little foraging expedition, seizing prizes far beyond your station, far beyond anyone¡¯s place to claim, save for a full party of Silvers willing to take on the most perilous of Delves¡­ forging a Spirit Potion, multiple Spirit Potions in fact, is now within my grasp.¡±

    Alex gazed at Reny for long moments, lips curving in an awed grin. ¡°You mean a stat boosting tincture, don¡¯t you?¡±

    She gave a curious tilt of her head. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure what you¡­ but yes, your Ruidian words make sense in context.¡± Her eyes positively twinkled. ¡°A ¡®stat boosting tincture¡¯ indeed. And I¡¯ll even let you you watch.¡± Her warm gaze hardened. ¡°But you aren¡¯t to interrupt, ask questions, or dare try this yourself. You will watch as quiet and humble as a mouse, because the spiritual energies I will be channeling once fully restored...¡±

    Alex immediately bowed his head. ¡°I understand, Sifu. Please, let me give you space, so that you may make a full recovery.¡±

    She snorted. ¡°See that you do. And Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    She blinked back unexpected tears. ¡°Thank you for my life¡­ and for rescuing my family.¡±

    Alex flashed a cheeky smile. ¡°Would you believe I had no idea just how toxic that spider queen¡¯s venom was, when I took her on? And here I was, thinking ¡®easy Silver Tier greater beast kill!¡¯ And you wouldn¡¯t believe the size of the beast core she left behind. Like nothing else I¡¯ve ever claimed! Anyway, you¡¯d think with all that, I¡¯d have realized just how close I had come to croaking. But I didn¡¯t. Not till I took just a sip of your blood¡­ and nearly died doing so. So I¡¯m not sure if you need to give me that much credit for being a cocky fool greedy for natural treasures who just happened to save a conveniently cocooned friend.¡±

    Reny snorted, smile still firmly in place, eyes uncomfortably pinning his own.

    ¡°Are you going to tell me you wouldn¡¯t have tried to rescue me¡­ or keep my niece and husband safe, if you had realized that your opponent was using venom that could have killed you with the slightest scratch?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Well, I would have been out of there with your cocoon, ASAP. And I certainly wouldn¡¯t have stuck around for the mushrooms.¡±

    She flashed a bemused smile. ¡°And by sip of blood¡­ you mean drinking down death itself, don¡¯t you? Ya Ling made it clear that you used your odd Ruidian arts to draw out the majority of the venom, before it utterly destroyed me from within.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s because I was an overconfident fool who thought he was the master of every toxin.¡±

    ¡°In other words, you saved me twice over. Now hush. Head topside. Keep watch. Once I¡¯m ready to gift you a boon worthy of your sacrifice¡­ I¡¯ll let you know.¡±

    Alex bowed his head, humbled by the praise as he hurriedly fled for the roof.

 Book 8 - Chapter 23 - No thorn pricks so sweetly as a desert rose.

    Alex smiled as the fresh hot air caressed his cheeks and filled his lungs, increasingly appreciating the stark beauty of endless ochre sands before the backdrop of a deep blue sky, the brooding cliffside of a distant plateau the only distinguishing feature after so many days under the endless hot sands of the true deep desert, as the caravanners liked to put it.

    ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Said none other than Ye Pan, the ever-cheerful baker, handling Alex a fresh hot loaf with a double helping of his choicest chutney as the pair took in the majesty the day.

    Alex paused in his cultivating, replacing the pristine stream of eight element spiritual energy flowing in through his lungs and circulating through his Dantians before spiraling into his Dantian which, in some weird way, seemed to be connected to that distant massive supercable that had somehow ascended to become the accretion disk around the metaphoric blackhole of his future core.

    Or perhaps that was just delusion, and the constant flood of spiritual energy he felt his Dantian endlessly consume was a flaw of his own nature, the price to be paid from being reborn yet again. Whatever the case was, he was happy to trade spiritual energy for physical nourishment, and was happy to let the man know just how much he appreciated the grub.

    ¡°Absolutely fantastic, Ye Pan!¡± Alex commended. ¡°Honesty, I don¡¯t know how you do it. It goes so damned well with these olives! Are you sure you¡¯re not a cultivator? Or an alchemist of the baker¡¯s arts, perhaps?¡±

    This earned a polite chuckle. ¡°Nothing so glorious, friend Alex. The fresh baked bread is the result of years of ingenuity and hard work, and my special reserved olives and first-pressed oil are from my uncle¡¯s farms in Qianshi.¡± The man abruptly coughed, before taking a sip from his belt flask. ¡°And doing my part to feed the heroes of this expedition, without whom we¡¯d all have surely been swallowed up by the desert sands, is the least I can do.¡±

    Alex saluted the man with his loaf. ¡°Well thank you, Ye Pan. Truly, I can¡¯t tell you how long it¡¯s been since I...¡± He was surprised to find himself choking up, abruptly wiping a stinging eye with the back of one hand. He forced a laugh. ¡°What can I say? It¡¯s been awhile.¡± Alex frowned in sudden concern. ¡°You¡¯re not too hot, are you? It¡¯s midday, and everyone else is enjoying their midday nap. Because what else are you going to do in this heat, right?¡±

    ¡°Cultivate the fires of the sun like the powerful cultivators defending our caravan?¡± Ye Pan said with a grin.

    Alex smiled. ¡°Could be. But assuming that¡¯s not your path...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Alex. I¡¯ve been enjoying the desert sun since I was a boy. As you can probably tell by skin far darker than yours¡­ and how is it that you¡¯re not red as a blood orange? I know of very few Ruidians that aren¡¯t all but nocturnal out of simple necessity. Yet you seem to revel in the midday heat.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°What can I say? It¡¯s the path I walk.¡±

    The baker nodded solemnly. ¡°But we¡¯ve been out here for most of the day, after so many hours fleeing that rift as fast as we could manage. We¡¯ve stopped for more than just resting the horses, haven¡¯t we?¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°We have.¡±

    The baker looked thoughtful. ¡°Luo and Xiao, the two who thought they were destined for fortuitous encounters before losing our youngest recruit, and what a shame that was, they¡¯re keeping a look out with impressive vigilance. I¡¯m guessing that ties into why we¡¯ve stopped?¡±

    Alex shrugged, face carefully neutral. ¡°Could be.¡±

    Ye Pan¡¯s gaze turned pointed. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, Alex, some of the Caravanners are worried. They¡¯re afraid that if any of you took serious injury in the rift¡­ our own odds of surviving the trip to Liushi go down significantly. Especially if bandits and the like are now infesting the trade road.¡±

    Alex gave the man a reassuring pat on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ye Pan. The rift actually was fortuitous for most of us, despite the unfortunate loss. As it stands, once our companions are done with their closed-door cultivation, we¡¯ll be in a better position than ever, and should have no problems with the rest of the trip to Liushi.¡±

    Ye Pan flashed a relieved smile. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Because as it stands, we only have enough water for another day.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened at this. ¡°Are you serious? I had no idea¡­ why did no one tell me?¡±

    The man shrugged. ¡°Probably because we¡¯ve been relying on your master to refill the water supplies with fresh blocks of ice, as he does regularly. Only he was supposed to complete that yesterday, and, as you said, he¡¯s now in closed-door cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for letting me know,¡± Alex said. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to pass the word about the caravan¡¯s concerns, and make sure we have access to water, one way or another.¡±

    Ye Pan positively beamed at that. ¡°Thank you, Alex. That would mean a lot to all of us.¡±

    Shortly thereafter the baker returned to his own wagon as Alex munched the delightfully chewy bread with a rich thick crust and contemplated his own talents, wondering if he could take over where Qing Wu had apparently left off.

    You have successfully summoned standard Water Shield (free of all metallic salts.)

    You have attempted to place bucket in Water Shield.

    Bucket has ruptured!

    Alex winced, not having appreciated just how effective a whirling disk of furiously spinning water reinforced by Qi could be at both forcing attacks off-line, the ultimate winding parry, and shattering weaker things thrust at it. Like arrows, or a poorly made bucket.

    He frowned, deciding to take an easier path, this time imagining the roaring currents whirling about his left fist to lessen in intensity to that of a babbling brook that he then dipped his water flask into, surprised by the result.

    You have successfully placed water flask into Water Currents. You have elected to divert a portion of your shield into water formation.

    Even as the words flowed across his mind¡¯s eye, he sensed something shift in the air, somehow sensing watery currents both so distant they were more a metaphor of a reality far higher than his own, and just as close as a waterflask now filled to bursting that had sprayed him with its pristine offering.

    You have successfully claimed one liter of water!

    1 Qi Point temporarily drained.

    Alex smiled, actually pleased by the momentary fatigue before his once more initiated Desert Fox cultivation, topping off his Qi Pool once more. Because if it cost extra spiritual energy to pull the concept of water into reality, hopefully that meant that the water was really here in every way that mattered.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    He then frowned down at his flask, wondering if it was really safe to drink, or if he¡¯d end up feeling parched an hour later if the water just faded into nothing...before realizing how silly that was.

    ¡°How many times have I restored myself with Eternal Fox, once upon a time?¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°All that matter, generated out of desperation and thin air. Of course Qi Pools can generate actual permanent matter, Einsteins conservational concerns having no truck here. Because if it were otherwise, I would have collapsed dead the moment I stopped thinking of my newly restored body after regenerating half of my body weight, affter taking on Li Jaw-Long who came so damn close to killing me.¡±

    But still, just to be sure¡­ he patted his backup water flask, intending to have Reny check it. Because if it worked as he was almost certain it would¡­ if he could effectively generate his own water at will, it meant that he never had to fear the desert sands again. So long as he had the Qi reserves to cover the cost.

    It was then that he sensed it, the sharp scent of cinnamon and sandalwood intermingled with the warm embrace of the hot desert sands.

    ¡°A water shield in the middle of the desert. How fitting,¡± teased a sultry voice that had Alex spin around. Widening at the sight of Ya Ling like he¡¯d never seen her before. Radiating a power and potency he could all but taste, thrumming through the air. Her almond eyes twinkled with all the secrets of the desert.

    Alex gazed at her in surprise. ¡°Ya Ling¡­ you broke through again?¡±

    She chuckled throatily, spreading her shapely arms wide. ¡°I can feel it. Like an old scar that pinched and pulled but never quite went away, no matter how one stretched or rubbed it with liniments. That¡¯s what it was like, Alex.¡±

    Her eyes blazed. ¡°That¡¯s what it was like before I took your tincture, infused with your potency. Your blood.¡±

    Alex opened his mouth to protest. Then froze. Recalling the additional steps he had taken, lost in a fugue of creation, determined to empower the formulae as best he could.

    He had intended to use Biochemical Mastery to stabilize it, to calibrate it to exquisite perfection, already knowing how potent Reny¡¯s baseline brew was, he sought only to mirror it as best he could.

    And yes, at one point¡­

    He shook his head in bemusement. ¡°That¡¯s right. I really had added a few drops of my essence right to the brew.¡±

    Reny arched her back, breathing deep, before standing straight once more, a challenging look to her smile. ¡°I felt it melting that awful scar doomed to fester for an eternity. Melted it like a sore back after working to hard, eased away by the most delightful of warm, scented baths.¡±

    In the blink of any eye, her jian was in her hands, the beautiful desert princess whirling graceful minarets through the air, her polished blade flashing in the sun.

    ¡°Wow. Finesse and Quickness both. Double boost. Nice.¡±

    Reny¡¯s smile widened. ¡°And I feel a deeper connection to my core than I ever have before!¡±

    Alex raised an eyebrow. ¡°Qi Pool as well? 3 Stats? That¡¯s extremely rare for most people, at least where I¡¯m from. That means your on a Royal path. At least.¡±

    Ya Ling laughed. ¡°Enough analysis. Come, Alex. Dance the dance of steel with me, under the hot desert stands. Help me solidify my breakthrough, and I will do the same for you.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hide the enthusiasm in his grin, his heart beating with excitement he only felt when crossing blades, or training staves, with a worthy opponent or peer. Because as much as he yearned for all the wisdom and insight he might uncover at Silver Sands Academy, he had initially been forged and honed to a fine killing blade in the crucible of steel.

    Soul Sight baseline skill check made. - The desert sands and a deity¡¯s gift obscure past lives that really are none of your business. Yet you still sense that your opponent is infatuated with you!

    Find Weakness skillcheck: Failed! The desert¡¯s sands have overwhelmed you.

    You have successfully countered Swirling Strike!

    You have lost your balance!

    Steel flashed against training staff under the hot desert sun.

    Alex held nothing back save the choice of weapon as he weaved and danced about a laughing Ya Ling who had never looked so in her element as she did right then, weaving her weapon against his spear shaft so gracefully that he hardly felt his force being redirected, for all that the blunted tip of his spear was always inches from Ya Ling¡¯s smirking features, her own graceful rebuttals and twirling blade forcing him to leap back, winding his spear against her jian at an increasingly desperate pace. The difference between the injured girl he had first sparred with and the Ya Ling of today, fully healed, ascended two Bronze ranks, and clearly suffering no stress to her cultivation base whatsoever¡­ truly was night and day.

    Whatever admittedly snide comments he had had about her chosen weapon¡­ he was soundly reminded of why so many cultivators happily took up the path of the sword, and that one in particular, when his enthusiastic thrusts met nothing but sand, steel flashing past all his winding parries like the mongoose darting past the charging boar before striking with precision so exquisite that Alex didn¡¯t even feel the blow until the sands were already running red with his blood.

    ¡°Alex!¡± Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened, her Sage¡¯s Insight replaced by sudden alarm.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright!¡± Alex said, waving away her concern with a rueful chuckle. ¡°I think I just got put in my place something fierce, dissing your favored weapon so cavalierly without ever bothering to learn its strengths for myself.¡± He then wiped off skin now free of blemish. ¡°There, see? All better.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s gaze narrowed. ¡°Alex, I had pinked you. Not deeply, but I definitely drew¡­ what happened?¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°Who can say? Maybe I¡¯m just a fast healer. Shall we go for a rematch?¡±

    Her eyes flashed with unmistakable hunger as she nodded, and Alex found himself desperately parrying flashing steel for all he was worth, lips stretched wide in a rictus of a grin, filled with the fierce sweet exhilaration of being pushed harder than he had been for a very, very long time, as he weaved and darted past wicked sharp steel before finding his feet swept out from under him as the very sands played into his opponent¡¯s hands, and then he was flat on his back and gazing into soft brown eyes locked with his own, Ya Ling panting with the exertion of their battle and perhaps so much more as Alex froze, captivated by the beauty before him.

    Then her dusky lips touched his own.

    And his world became fire.

    ¡°Alex! Ya Ling! Caravan¡¯s getting ready to leave! You got until Dui Zhong claims the lead wagon!¡±

    A dizzy Alex came to himself to find Ya Ling squeezing him tight, trembling with need that matched his own, cheeks flushed with sudden awkwardness as they broke away from their kiss.

    ¡°Thank you for the sparring match, Alex,¡± Ya Ling whispered shyly.

    Alex gently squeezed her hand. ¡°Best sparring match I¡¯ve had in a very, very long time.¡±

    She quirked a smile at that. ¡°Kiss a lot of your opponents, do you?¡±

    ¡°Only the really cute ones.¡±

    She looked up then, honey-brown eyes hiding nothing of the hunger she felt.

    The desire to make him her own.

    He flushed then, cheeks reddening with sudden shame, and looked away.

    Having forgotten in the heat of battle and a too sweet kiss that which he had wanted to hold sacred for a lifetime.

    But it seemed that lifetime had already past.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    He winced at the hurt in her voice, lowering his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    For long tense moments, she said nothing. When he finally looked up, she was nowhere to found. Only the sight of the caravan wagons being led by desert aligned spirit mounts through the sand, meandering toward the trade road, their detour complete.

    Alex gazed at the wagons for long moments, before uncorking his second flask and taking a sip of the water within.

    It was perfectly fine.

 Book 8 - Chapter 24 - The Power Of Potions

    Alex sunk into the lotus position on the desert sands and just let his thoughts drift for awhile. Ya Ling had just impressed the hell out of him, the fierce intensity of her gaze while they were sparring, the way she knew just when and how to parry or weave aside his blows, closing the line and getting inside his guard in the impossibly brief moments he had been vulnerable had reminded him of no one but himself when riding on a storm of inspiration. True, he had deliberately held off from using advanced techniques, lest Water or Wind risking washing his beautiful desert princess away. But in terms of raw skill? Even with his basic martial arts skills at Rank 10, Even with Bronze Tier Finesse and Quickness¡­ he had been soundly bested.

    Perhaps it was because she had just achieved a second breakthrough, normally unheard of, outside of Alex¡¯s ecclectic circle of friends, and he couldn¡¯t credit Spiritual Teacher alone, even at Rank 8. It was the unique confluence of fortuitous events that both imperiled her and pushed her beyond her limits. But more than proving her own competence, their final match had proven how untenable their current position was. A fragile equilibrium, shattered with a single undeniable kiss.

    He sighed, crossed his arms behind his back and allowed his psyche to sink into the desert sands.

    It would be so easy to just let go.

    To take the trade road back to Qianshi, because as far as anyone was concerned, he was just an unaffiliated Ruidian, or head to Liushi days separate from Ya Ling and the others. To start his new life free of complications, even if not completely free of regret. Because even if it took him time to establish himself and somehow earn his way into even the humblest sect, even if it was nothing more than a feeder academy for Silver Sands, time was one thing he had in spades.

    Of course, should he walk that path, he would always wonder at the ultimate fate of Ya Ling, Qing Wu, Reny, and everyone else he had befriended during his time with the caravan. A worry that would eventually force confrontation that would be strained at best, or even worse, no confrontation at all, if they had perished along the road.

    All because he couldn¡¯t keep his shit together for the duration of a single kiss.

    He shook his head, chuckling softly as he began jogging for the caravan, effortless use of Desert Fox rejuvenating muscles almost as fast as his most prized technique once had, a lifetime ago.

    Because he couldn¡¯t imagine Hao Chan demanding that he put his feelings for her above the innocent lives that made up that caravan. If he couldn¡¯t last for the duration of a single caravan ride without falling into another girl¡¯s arms, then maybe he and Chan were never meant to be. At least this way, he would have proven his worth as a cultivator by keeping the caravanners safe, even if he had failed her personally.

    Besides, he thought, as his loping stride turned to a jog fast enough to provide him with something of a burn as he laughed with sheer delight at the feel of the wind whipping his face, Reny owed him an ascension potion. And if she could concoct formulae strong enough to bring Ya Ling from the brink of ruin to a second ascension in less than a handful of days, while radiating a foundation so strong it blinded his Soul Sight¡­ then Reny could probably whip him up a wonder as well.

    It was only when the caravan was in sight, a few guards giving him goodnatured waves as the afternoon light took on an amber hue, that he recalled that Ya Ling hadn¡¯t imbibed Reny¡¯s potion at all.

    The potion she had bet her cultivation foundation upon had been his own.

    ¡°Alex, where the hell were you, boy?¡± snarked none other than a scowling Qing Wu when Alex finally reached the wagon and leaped upon the rope ladder lowered down for him.

    Alex gave his best reassuring smile, pretending he didn¡¯t hear the genuine anxiety in the man¡¯s voice. ¡°Just a bit of training, Master Wu. Sorry I didn¡¯t hear the call to muster.¡±

    This earned a bemused glare. ¡°Dare I ask what you and my niece were practicing, Alex?¡±

    Alex ignored the heat in his cheeks. ¡°Just a bit of sword versus spear.¡± Alex solemnly bowed his head. ¡°And she thoroughly trounced me.¡±

    This earned a bemused chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re challenging a daughter of the desert in her home environment with a weapon of steel enhanced by her element, after she just had a second breakthrough. I¡¯d be truly surprised were it otherwise. But good. If she can best an up-and-comer of your caliber, then I have high hopes that her foundation truly is strong enough to support Peril¡¯s insights, a path anyone can benefit from, and very few embrace by choice.¡±

    ¡°Because not everyone survives it,¡± Alex noted with a smile. ¡°And only a fool would underestimate a girl who can melt into desert sands in the blink of an eye.¡±

    ¡°Precisely.¡± Qing Wu sighed, giving Alex a companionable pat on his shoulder. ¡°And now my niece sleeps so deeply I¡¯d be a fool to wake her and deny her the absolute maximum benefit from her breakthrough, even if her foundation is now thankfully as sturdy as granite, for all that her element is sand.¡± He flashed Alex an approving nod. ¡°It¡¯s good that you delayed no longer. Reny, who had no reason to believe that you and her niece had slipped completely free of the caravan, has just completed her masterwork. It would be best if you went and saw her now.¡±

    Alex froze, heart lurching in his chest under the man¡¯s suddenly heavy gaze, filled with excitement and trepidation in equal measure.

    ¡°So she did it,¡± he half-whispered, a part of him utterly disbelieving it. Assuming that somehow, somewhere along the line, he would be sabotaged and denied. That something would go wrong. Because hadn¡¯t that almost been the case? A cowardly part of him ready to forsake the caravan entirely, all because of a few awkward moments and a lost flame perhaps a thousand years extinguished, yet he still refused to let hope die?

    He shook his head. At least he had passed that test, refusing to sabotage his own potential success and the well-being of his newfound friends and companions, just because he had a crush. It was for him to act on it, or not, as he chose.

    And now he chose to act. To dare whatever Reny had in store. Because he was fine with disappointment if it somehow didn¡¯t work, considering all the ways he had been reforged and altered beyond the norm. But one thing he wouldn¡¯t accept was his own cowardice getting in the way of embracing all of life¡¯s potential.

    All those thoughts and more flashed through his mind in the time it took Qing Wu to dip his head.

    ¡°She did, Alex. Now go. The tincture should be at the absolute peak of potency within a few minutes time, assuming it hasn¡¯t already passed. And Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    The man swallowed, momentarily choked up. ¡°Thank you for rescuing us from certain peril.¡± His eyes flashed. ¡°It¡¯s a debt of karma I will honor as soundly as my own cultivation base.¡±

    Alex bowed his head, humbled by the sincerity he sensed in the man¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Now go.¡±

    Alex dared waste no more time, quickly slipping through the hatch, within moments finding himself seated before an intent-looking Reny in the middle of her tiny little apothecary garden, sensing the subtle influence of all eight major elements, and a handful of others he didn¡¯t recognize surrounding him.

    What mattered was that it all felt balanced. In harmony.

    So why was his heart racing so fast as Reny gave him a look that was both judge, jury, and executioner?

    He winced at the way she glanced back at the bed where Ya Ling was clearly sleeping the sleep of the utterly exhausted. Had she made any accusations, he would have immediately defended himself. Assuming he could get his tongue to even move, under the weight of her regard.

    But all she said was ¡°Drink.¡±

    And suddenly before him was a miraculous vial containing a rainbow tincture of so many scintillating shades of Qi that he was left utterly speechless, sensing a power surpassed only by its exquisite complexity, making his own Biochemical Mastery potions seem like first year art school drawing compared to a Rembrandt. He felt utterly humbled to be before such a master of her craft, even if she would never ascend to Silver. Apparently, with Alchemy, you didn¡¯t have to. So long as you could direct the flows of spiritual energy, so long as you devised Bronze Tier techniques that emphasized finesse over power¡­ there was a hell of a lot you could do at any Tier. And this was a lesson that was itself worthy of endless contemplation. But before he could say a word, Reny¡¯s gentle, yet implacable hand had already tilted back his head and poured the entire contents down his throat.

    It tasted of mist and dream.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    He furrowed his brow.

    It hardly tasted of anything at all.

    Did it spill? Turn to mist? Did he get any benefit at all?

    He sighed in disappointment, about to give Reny the bad news right before it hit him.

    His went wide with shock. The entire caravan that he now noticed was deliberatly dimly lit suddenly blazed to life. But it wasn¡¯t from the slats or the presently extinguished oil lamp¡­ but from the fierce blazing spiritual energy that absolutely everyone and everything within that chamber was giving off.

    Ya Ling, sleeping so soundly, had meridian channels blazing with so much spiritual energy that he could actually sense the exquisite series of seven-strand cords she was forging. Cords that would never stand the sight of Jade, but might one day form cables capable of supporting so much more than just Silver.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened with awe, a smile curving his lips when he saw the tiny shimmering golden scar to her foundation, now somehow stronger than it had ever been before. And though a Royal Jade demanded pristine perfection, the very noble element of its mending assured that the desert would see at least one girl forging a golden core within a few centuries, should the fates be kind, and fortuitous encounters continue to occur.

    He then turned to Reny, and was struck numb.

    Everything he thought he knew about power was redefined in that instant, gazing before another soul who had embraced the unorthodox, her long graceful cords unable to form any of the cables that would become a latticework capable of holding a Golden Core.

    So instead she had turned it into a basket of sorts, holding the potential for what would one day be a Silver seed. A seed that even now was so attuned with Wood and Life that Alex suspected that no one short of a Gold ranked healer would be able to match the potency of her potions and tinctures, once she ascended in her own way, along a path that was nearly as unorthodox, if not quite so potent as his own or as contrary as Hao Chan and Yinzi¡¯s Paths of Pearlescence. It certainly allowed for a hell of a lot more Bronze tier and one day Silver tier abilities to be intertwined within its structure, abilities that would only serve to reinforce the mesh-work of lesser cords securing that sacred Silver Seed that might one day blossom to wondrous effect.

    There were so many things he wanted to say then, basking in the spiritual energies now radiating so harmoniously from each and every one of Reny¡¯s plants, but all that came out of his mouth was light and streamers of spiritual energy. At least he didn¡¯t understand his own utterances, only shutting his trap when Reny blanched and paled before him.

    Yet her words made no sense as he felt his connection to the desert wagon, then the caravan, then the desert beyond grow and grow and expand to encompass countless miles of glorious desert sands, trade roads, raiding parties and secret oasises, just touching upon the sense of grand desert cities with populations in the tens of thousands. Humble compared to Sacred Cities, but as big and vast as almost any ancient Terran cities, save for Rome, Chang¡¯an and Luoyang, which might have had between a quarter and half a million inhabitants in antiquity. And unlike those ancient marvels with entire nations to help support them, these desert cities Alex could sense as being solely supported by the exquisitely fertile oasises they rested beside, and trade caravans much like their own.

    Alex was lost as his psyche was absolutely flooded with information and insights that left him speechless before it all faded to a blinding white light that overwhelmed him over an eternity¡­ or the blink of an eye, before the sweet caress of oblivion claimeid him at last.

    You have embraced the Masterwork Tincture: Insights of the Oasis.

    Qi Pool has increased by 3 points!

    Qi Pool is now 19! You are 1 point away from Bronze Tier ascension and reclaiming your birthright!

    Qi Perception is now Rank 8

    Soul Sight is now Rank 7

    Find Weakness is now Rank 7

    Forest Sense is nor Rank 7

    You have gained the Qi Perception skill: Desert Sense. Thanks to Masterwork Potion, desert exposure, and a sparring partner who is one with her environment, you¡¯re now able to attune yourself to the whispering sands all around you and glimpse their secrets!

    Desert Sense is now Rank 2!

    _______________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

    Rank 6 Basic Cultivation Achieved!

    Physical Characteristics

    Strength ¨C Bronze Rank 3 (30)

    Vitality ¨C Bronze Rank 3 (30)

    Quickness ¨C Bronze Rank 1 (20)

    Finesse ¨C Bronze Rank 1 (20)

    Spiritual Characteristics

    Scholarship - 14 (Exceeds 84% of Population.)

    Perception - 18 (Exceeds 99% of population.)

    Willpower ¨C 25 (Rank 2 Bronze achieved the hard way! - You have the resolve to walk in the Valley of Death and slip free of the River of Souls.)

    Qi Pool ¨C 19** (Bronze Tier threshold must be reached to unlock Silver Rank 5 (165!)

    Health Points: 390

    Perks

    Insightful ¨C Rank 2

    Charismatic ¨C Rank 3

    Lesser Shadow Affinity

    Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.

    Draconic Ancestry.

    Favored Skills

    Golden Realms Kung Fu ¨C Rank 10

    Wind Crane Kung Fu ¨C Rank 4

    Poison Spitting ¨C Rank 5

    Stealth ¨C Rank 4

    Qi Disciplines

    Water Shield ¨C Rank 6 ¨C Enhanced Salt Water Variant Learned.

    Water Strike ¨C Rank 8 ¨C Enhanced Water Strike may now be used in conjunction with Wind Strike and may pierce Silver tier or lower wards with a skill check. (**most definitely not Black Swan!)

    Thorn Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Oak Strike ¨C Rank 5

    Fire Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Flame Fist ¨C Rank 4

    Earthern Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Stone Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Wind Strike ¨C Rank 4 (May now be used in conjunction with Enhanced Water Strike with a skill check!)

    Forest Flight ¨C Rank 5

    Prismatic Shield ¨C Rank 3

    Qi Perception-linked Disciplines

    Artificer ¨C Rank 7

    Find Weakness ¨C Rank 7

    Qi Perception ¨C Rank 8

    Soul Sight ¨C Rank 7

    Spiritual Teacher (Student) ¨C Rank 8

    Forest Sense ¨C Rank 7

    Alchemy ¨C Rank 3 (Foundation Restoration Tincture)

    Desert Sense ¨C Rank 2

    Additional Abilities & Techniques

    Full Regenerative Capacity

    Gift of Tongues

    Biochemical Mastery ¨C Rank 7

    Desert Fox Cultivation Technique ¨C Rank 4

    Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique ¨C Rank 2. You now have a base passive regeneration rate of: (2) health point per minute. Your focus on mastering the interplay between heat and entropy has unlocked the Ageless Perk. - You enjoy your Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique Rank as a bonus in saving versus all poisons, toxins, mental ailments, curses, taints, and all other areas where another UNDEFINED art had once reigned supreme! Continue to master your body and yourself to expand this art and it¡¯s capabilities!

    _____________________________________

 Book 8 - Chapter 25 - A Bakers Dozen

    ¡°What took you fools so long? You nearly didn¡¯t get here in time!¡±

    Alex felt as if he were floating on soft, billowy clouds, and there was nothing he wanted to do more than drift away back to the wonderful dreams he had been having, going over with his seneschal all the improvements and changes that had taken place over his magical little world that wasn¡¯t nearly so little any more, in the time he had been away. But before his surprised-looking seneschal could do more than shout silently at him when Alex asked just how long he had been away, he was pulled out of that beautiful dream by the cheerful voice he had least expected to hear radiating such bemused contempt.

    ¡°Watch your tongue, Ye Pan. Not unless you wish Tan Guan to hear just what you think of his methods.¡±

    ¡°I would never disparage our master, and you know it!¡± An irate-sounding Ye Pan hissed. ¡°I sent the signal to you an hour ago! Qing Wu has been snoring like the trusting that fool he is, and I dared risk nothing stronger than a simple sleeping tincture, even if fit to put down a giant, lest we risk a retributive strike!¡±

    ¡°It is good you held off on deadlier brews, baker. Tan Guan wants him alive. All of them alive. You know why.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± the baker snorted. ¡°A collard Silver would be worth a fortune. And with his wife being such a skilled alchemist, she¡¯s worth a fortune in her own right, and best of all, serves as leverage forcing best behavior from Qing Wu himself!¡±

    ¡°Good. Now what¡¯s the status on the other wagons?¡±

    ¡°The guards are already fast asleep, courtesy of their favorite baker passing them the same midnight snacks they¡¯ve enjoyed for the past two weeks. As for the mortals, a little poppy extract assures them peaceful dreams.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± declared the saki-roughened voice. ¡°Our master made it clear that the mortals were not to be killed unnecessarily.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I know. A handful of missing cultivators will raise far fewer eyebrows than a well-guarded caravan train lost to the desert.¡±

    ¡°This is why our master keeps you on, Ye Pan. You understand the virtue of discretion.¡±

    Alex could vaguely hear the clink of coins. Not the harsh tinny sound of copper or the steel-like ring of silver, but the warm burnished ring of pristine gold. Ye Pan grunted his approval, then spoke with the cool voice of a detached professional, the lighthearted philosophical baker gone as if he had never been. ¡°Ware the alchemist, Tang. She¡¯s too savvy for me to risk poisoning a second time, so your men had best collar her quietly.¡±

    The one known as Tang chortled coldly. ¡°Qing Wu and his cohorts made a grave mistake, daring to cross our master not once, but twice. Rest assured, my men and I will make sure that never happens again. Now, what of the girl and her Ruidian lover?¡±

    ¡°Sleeping like young fools drunk on love. So blind to anything besides themselves that they didn¡¯t even notice me, all the times I was watching them.¡± Ye Pan said with a cold chortle that a half-asleep Alex could now sense so exquisitely, as well as the half dozen men speaking quietly, their desert ponies secured a short distance away, as they all gazed upon the caravan. Yet their soft whispered words resonated against the desert sands as if they were whispering into Alex¡¯s ear.

    ¡°The girl can hide in the sand surprisingly well. But they should be no problem to ambush and collar with how blind they¡¯ve been to their favorite baker. Reny and Qing Wu are even allowing them to consort unsupervised in their own wagon. As if they truly were newlyweds, not a mixed-breed mongrel and a prize who just cut her value from second wife to fourth concubine.¡±

    This earned a grunt from Tang. ¡°Your contract is complete. Now head back to Qianshi. Our master has another caravan you¡¯d best be ready to infiltrate before the new moon.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Ye Pan said, and Alex¡¯s sense of the man stepping across the sands to approach a nickering pony became a desperate gasp as he pulled himself free of sleep¡¯s cloying embrace.

    Only to hear the roaring silence in his ears, nothing beyond the hush of softest breathing and the tiny murmur of Ya Ling, curled so sweetly in her sleep, a single divider away.

    He took a deep, ragged breath, his heart pounding in his chest.

    It was a dream. He so wanted it to be a dream.

    Had he really been so focused on not falling for Ya Ling that he had been blind to predators in their own midst? And the baker. Why the hell did it have to be the baker? The first time he had enjoyed such a crusty delicious loaf of bread so damned good with olive oil¡­ demanding butter and garlic¡­ in who knew how many lifetimes.

    Of course it was the fucking baker. Who else had made such overtures of friendship to him, save for Ya Ling¡¯s own extended family? Everyone else had been nice, yet their eyes had been filled with hesitancy and reservation, even if the gratitude he had sensed in their eyes and the spiritual connection between them genuine and true. A connection he hadn¡¯t felt for far too long, with Cleaved Fates card in effect.

    He furrowed his brow. Was that why he hadn¡¯t been more suspicious of the baker? Hadn¡¯t he felt an absence of any karmic connection, good or bad? An agent carefully timing his move as opposed to someone who had yet to strike¡­ or ever really needed his help? And of course, so used to having no karmic connection at all, he hadn¡¯t thought anything of it. And it was such an exquisitely subtle connection, that Alex wasn¡¯t surprised no one else had caught on to it as well. He recalled hearing before that few people ever did. Yet despite the card that had once allowed him to freely strike gods and tear free souls without consequence, he had once been so exquisitely attuned to the golden cords of karma and the black cards of bitter balance as to directly aid WiFu¡¯s firstborn in spotting and drowning an entire fleet of cloaked enemy vessels determined to take ancient Yidushi by poison and force.

    In the very first life he had ever lived.

    He quickly blinked away bittersweet memories that had no place in the here and now, losing only a heartbeat¡¯s time before snapping back into the moment, doing all he could to sense trouble approaching.

    He closed his eyes and twitched his ears, finding that his sensitivity to the sand was far less under the noise of his thoughts, than lying against the bed in the stillness of sleep. He spent just a moment flickering over his interface messages of the night before, the exhilaration at his breakthrough in terms of perception and spiritual energy reserves paling before the dread of what they might well have to face.

    Yet more trained assassins. In just seconds.

    It was a shame he couldn¡¯t link his new Desert Sense skill with his Interface and¡­

    He froze, eyes widening in surprise.

    AS soon as he had thought it, half a dozen angry red lights immediately flickered on his interface map without affecting his external vision at all, in the same way he had kept track of miles of primal woodlands within the rift they had so recently left. And even if his present sense only extended a hundred or so yards in all directions, it was more than enough to give him a top down view of the wagons, the sleeping greens in those wagons, and the blinking reds, rapidly closing in.

    ¡°Ya Ling, Reny, wake up!¡±

    To their credit, bleary eyes transformed to panic, then iron-hard focus, Reny¡¯s disciplined squeeze keeping Ya Ling from uttering a word.

    It was Reny who whispered into Alex¡¯s ear. ¡°Assassins?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re here for all four of us. They drugged Qing Wu. He¡¯s out, but not dead. I was the gods damned baker. He was the plant. I think he spiked the chutney.¡± Alex¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°They¡¯re forty feet out and steadily approaching. We have to go now!¡±

    Even before he had finished the words, Reny darted for her herbs and pouches as Qing Wu sprang for the trapdoor. ¡°Alex, help me!¡±

    Taking full advantage of Bronze Tier Quickness and grace, he slipped out the hatch in an eyeblink, Alex immediately making out his targets, his Qi Perception and Desert Sense overlapping and working in perfect tandem for 360 perception to 80 yards with blinking red lights overlaying that, making sure he knew exactly where his targets were at all times. He briefly held Ya Ling¡¯s urge to scramble top side just long enough for her to glare her way before spotting a comatose Qing Wu, and sliding him right through the hatch into Ya Ling¡¯s arms before crawling inside himself a heartbeat later.

    But not before wasting a couple precious seconds, leaving a present behind.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°I had to wait until several slipped into the captain¡¯s wagon and the rest were circling to our left.¡± He flashed a cold smile. ¡°And I made best use of that time.¡±

    Ya Ling quirked an eyebrow. ¡°You make it sound like you know exactly where everyone is with some sort of...¡±

    ¡°I do.¡±

    Ya Ling momentarily froze. ¡°Seriously? Sometimes, when I¡¯m on the sands¡­ but never mind that. Come on, bottom split deck!¡±

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Wasting no more time, Alex took Qing Wu¡¯s comatose weight and followed Ya Ling deeper into the compact, maze-like multileveled wagon as much like a childhood gym as storage space, for all that it fit storage, living quarters, and apothecary quite comfortably. With any luck, it would catch any enemies who managed to break through off guard.

    ¡°Alex, bring him here!¡±

    He winced at the urgency he heard in Reny¡¯s voice, as she quickly made her way to her husband, professionally going over his vitals despite the tremble in her hands and the anxious worry in her voice. To her credit, she said nothing when Alex pricked Qing Wu¡¯s palm and drew a drop of blood. Merely gazing at Alex with eyes that he felt boring into him as he processed what he had consumed at a frantic rate.

    You have successfully saved versus comatose stupor! (Minimal dose & Biochemical Mastery of multiple similar toxins give modified +15 to Vitality check!)

    You have achieved 20% Immunity to Limberroot Extract.

    You have achieved 40% Immunity to Limberroot Extract.

    ¡°Ya Ling, ready the bottom hatch, they¡¯re here!¡±

    You have successfully mastered Limberroot Extract.

    You have created Limberroot Extract Antidote!

    Quickness Check made!

    Before Ya Ling could remove the steel bar securing the bottom wagon hatch, Alex grabbed her hand, angrily shaking a negative.

    ¡°Alex, we don¡¯t have time to waste!¡±

    ¡°Ya Ling, stop! Let Alex finish!¡± A suddenly cognizant Reny implored as they heard sudden banging topside, and a surprised, strangled cry.

    You have successfully treated companion Qing Wu with Limberroot Extract.

    Only when he had finished spitting his cure into a vial that made Reny wince but she didn¡¯t hesitate to slowly pour down her husband¡¯s throat, did Alex speak.

    ¡°Remember the baker! He knows the construction of these wagons, and their secrets! Two reds wait for us below, two are tying to break in topside!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°We¡¯re doomed!¡±

    ¡°Not really.¡±

    Barely contained panic turned to a furrowed brow. ¡°Alex, what are you talking about?¡±

    He couldn¡¯t quite hide his grin. ¡°Let¡¯s just say the pair topside has a gift waiting for them.¡±

    ¡°But you were only there for seconds!¡±

    ¡°True.¡±

    Her eyes widened. ¡°They stopped trying to break through.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    That was when they heard it. A choked off strangled cry.

    Alex sensed one red fleeing haphazardly, bumping against a nearby wagon before collapsing in a drunken sprawl. The other his exquisite ears picked up wheezing desperately for air that just wouldn¡¯t come. Heart fibrillating so frantically against the wooden slats of the roof that Alex couldn¡¯t help but sense each dying flutter¡­ until it too grew still.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    He forced himself to meet the healer¡¯s worried gaze. ¡°I coated the hatch handle with Universal Solvent and Silver Tier venom. There¡¯s enough spiritual energy in the latter that it doesn¡¯t corrode before my specially tweaked solvent. And don¡¯t ask how long I spent dreaming up that combo. Anyway, the solvent¡¯s more than strong enough to eat through mundane gloves¡­ and you might need a new hatch. Because this one¡¯s going to be a pitted broken mess by tomorrow. But the universal adhesive sealing the hatch means they won¡¯t be breaking through your spiritual-energy reinforced wood slats anytime soon.¡±

    Reny stared at him for long moments. ¡°You can generate a toxin capable of eating through leather gloves, pitting metal, and fatally poisoning whoever touches it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Unless they¡¯re a body cultivator of Silver Tier or better¡­ or follow a poisoner¡¯s or healer¡¯s path. But even then, they¡¯re pretty much goners, once even a trace of that spider queen venom hits their blood.¡± He gazed pointedly at her. ¡°As you well know.¡±

    She blanched and lowered her gaze. ¡°I had pre-dosed myself with every Qi-infused antidote I knew before daring that delve. With extra doses if anyone else was envenomed while we were there. I knew the creatures we might face, and Qing knew to follow my lead at all times. Yet that spider still came so close to killing me, even with you extracting so much of it... it doesn¡¯t bear thinking about. And you can create that on the fly?¡±

    Alex smirked, shaking his head, acknowledging his own limits. ¡°Not at all. Right now I¡¯m at -2 to Finesse and Strength checks until I¡¯ve fully recovered from the expenditure. I¡¯m just glad that generating the cure is almost as effortless as making alcohol.¡± His eyes widened in sudden alarm. ¡°Shit.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Alex, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I can tell I just put some strain on my Dantian, from generating actual Silver Tier greater spirit beast venom, when I¡¯m still just a Rank 6 Basic. And if this ever gets out, like I told you, I¡¯m as good as dead. The paranoid will seek my removal, the devious will seek to trap me into working for them, and the ruthless will use me as a scapegoat to poison all their enemies. So please, if you have any concern for my wellbeing at all, you¡¯ll never tell a soul about what I can do.¡±

    Both Reny and Ya Ling gazed at him with something close to awed disbelief, and Alex himself was surprised to find he had such a sharp limitation. But he supposed it made sense. It wasn¡¯t just poppy extract with a Silver cultivator¡¯s potency spiritually enhancing its properties. This venom was far beyond the Universal Solvent that had once eaten off the face of Duo Ku who had come so close to killing him. It was liquid death filled with blackest spiritual energy in the heart of a now dead Silver Tier monster. And in that moment, Alex knew. He understood the source of the strain to his Dantian was the equivalent of once giving Hao Chan a lingering kiss.

    The potency, with his screaming vortex of a super cable, he could easily handle.

    The problem was that the poison was infused with Dark Qi. He was skirting on the edges of that which was now forbidden to him. Somehow, his bones could absorb and safely assimilate all the waste Qi he could generate¡­ but he was crossing a line when he dared try to force it the other way, and Biochemical Mastery was a backdoor at risk of being slammed shut, if he wasn¡¯t very careful.

    Even with that awareness, he allowed himself to generate the tiniest of trickles with exquisite care, like flexing an injured muscle only until it hurt¡­ immediately stopping when he felt a second twinge. He absolutely refused to cause himself permanent damage, or almost as bad, warp his Dantian like he had in his previous life, lest that have unforeseen consequences that would once again utterly fuck him over.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± He forced a smile. ¡°I almost played the fool yet again¡­ but stopped just in time.¡±

    5 doses.

    He had generated 5 additional doses and, thanks to his Biochemical Mastery¡¯s evolution, he could store it indefinitely.

    Now he really needed a good 24 hours of meditation to relax the strain he felt, and figure out how often he could safely generate this poison without destroying himself¡­ or alerting sleeping giants he would rather forever let lie. Unfortunately, as the sudden slamming on the bottom panel made clear, they didn¡¯t have that kind of time at all. Fortunately, he thought with a cold smile as he summoned dao, fangtian ji, and spear, one after another in the confined quarters with his extra storage pouch as he sensed powerful acids corroding the hinges of the hatch, he had a hell of a lot more options besides those 5 doses.

    Reny gazed at Alex intently, even as her hands gripped a wide-eyed Ya Ling¡¯s. ¡°Do you have a plan, Alex?¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°I do. Ya Ling, please tell me you can slip into the desert sands under moonlight as easily as you could during the noonday sun when you were still injured.¡±

    ¡°Not quite,¡± Ya Ling admitted, before cracking an anxious smile. ¡°But almost. So, yes. If there weren¡¯t assholes waiting to take us right on the other side of the hatch...¡±

    Alex raised a fist, carefully preparing himself, weapon at the ready. ¡°They¡¯re coming.¡±

    Reny furrowed her brow. ¡°Alex, that¡¯s a Silver Tier hatch. Those fools will be losing all subtlety if they think they can break through without a...¡±

    her words cut off as the hatch abruptly fell away, making it clear that Alex wasn¡¯t the only one with access to exotic compounds.

    But he was the only one of the three of them that could make out the death slipping through shadow. Death holding neither collar nor cord but serpentine dagger, making it clear that plans had changed with the death of two of their own. A plan the shadowy killer was no doubt eager to execute, blade plunging for a worried-looking Reny¡¯s guileless features, who still didn¡¯t understand what happened.

    Before being splattered in shadows that soon turned bright red.

    Lesser Shadow Affinity enhanced Qi Perception spots Shadow Assassin!

    Alex was horrified at how many precious moments had been lost trying to spot foes that he knew EXACTLY where they were. And not even the scream of whoever was waiting beneath the first darting shadow when Alex spat a mouthful of caustic death quenched the dismay he felt when the first attacker was in position to ram his dagger into Reny¡¯s throat.

    So he rammed his spear with furious, killing intent, recalling how powerless he had once felt as a Basic cultivator forced to take on Bronze monsters and worse, forgetting for a single moment his own strength¡­ until his foe¡¯s head exploded under the force of his blow.

    Water and Wind have successfully pierced Bronze Tier warding-amulet!

    You have fatally struck your foe!

    Alex could see Reny¡¯s eyes widen in horror as blood spattered across her niece¡¯s body. But before she could finish inhaling for a scream, Alex was plunging his spear once more, glaring down at a snarling countenance silently screaming curses Alex¡¯s way. And perhaps those hate-filled words would have actually had some weight, if Alex¡¯s razor sharp, spirit-beast enhanced spear hadn¡¯t just plunged through the man¡¯s throat, Water Strike aided by Wind¡¯s fury once more rupturing Bronze tier wards as effortlessly as Alex had once ripped through an invading army¡¯s talismans. Even without using elemental attacks, he already knew just where to strike so his weapon didn¡¯t slide off the sides of the field, but rather pierced right through.

    Quickness check made!

    A bloody hand abruptly covered Reny¡¯s mouth. ¡°Is Qing Wu coherent? Because we need to go!¡±

    And it was true. They did. Even with five more assassins down, Alex could sense that their trial had just begun.

    And it was clear from the way Reny flinched that she sensed it as well.

    What they had faced so far had just been a warm up.

    The air was now heavy with the weight of poisoned steel.

    A Silver¡¯s killing aura.

    Clearly Tan Guan, the head of Qianshi¡¯s corrupt JiangHu sect, wasn¡¯t going to let them kick sand in his face a third time.

 Book 8 - Chapter 26 - One shield to rule them all.

    ¡°Who dares to raise their hands against the JiangHu sect? Who dares to poison my men?¡±

    Ya Ling flinched and squeezed Alex¡¯s hand. He frowned at the powerful voice resonating throughout the entire caravan, earlier attempts at stealth surpassed by a Silver¡¯s outrage, the man¡¯s killing aura now washing over them all. The formerly sleeping caravanners woke with a start, many shouting in alarm or crying out in dismay.

    ¡°Qing Wu! Reny Wu! Lady Ya Ling! I know you are here! Reveal yourselves at once, or the entire caravan will pay for your crimes!¡±

    ¡°Love, are you awake? Please, we have to escape while we can!¡± Reny¡¯s panicked whisper broke the silence between them as Ya Ling did her best to help her aunt get the formerly comatose man seated upright. Reny immediately placed a clay jug of potent smelling brew under his nose, smelling so ripe that Ya Ling covered her mouth and even Alex found his eyes tearing up at the stench.

    You have been exposed to Stinkwort! Saving throw made! You now have 20% immunity to Stinkwort!

    ¡°Qing, please, wake up! We need you coherent and able to--¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, woman!¡± Qing Wu snapped, eyes blazing with an icy heat that sent shiver¡¯s down Alex¡¯s spine. The formerly comatose man who had looked almost fragile, curled up in sleep, now radiated the killing aura of Deep Silver, far more than he had when so obviously impaired by poisons only now fully purged from his system. Purged, and if Alex¡¯s Qi Perception was any indication, saturated with the same beneficent brew Reny had dosed him with. Which made perfect sense, in Alex¡¯s mind, and might have explained why he was so vulnerable to losing himself to deepest sleep once more.

    Yet Qing Wu was finally awake, and it showed.

    Showed when the formerly hot & stuffy wagon interior grew crisp and cool. Showed when Alex suddenly sensed the powerful ward over the bottom hatch protecting it from intrusion, and most of all showed when Alex got a good look at the man when he wasn¡¯t putting on a grandfatherly persona.

    He saw the pitiless howling depths of a winter storm in the man¡¯s gaze, and he couldn¡¯t be happier.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to have you with us, Elder Wu.¡±

    The man honored Alex with a nod. ¡°It¡¯s good to be back, and finally feel like myself again.¡± He then frowned, gazing at the wagon wall in the direction of the Silver radiating such killing hate.

    ¡°You have till the count of thirty, fools! Every additional thirty seconds is another life lost! And make no mistake, when the final count is done, I will happily burn all you fools alive!¡±

    Alex winced at the sound of desperate cries.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt us, we¡¯ve done nothing!¡±

    ¡°Mercy, we beg you! Our families always pay our tithes!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not me you should be begging to, fools!¡± Roared the irate Silver. ¡°It¡¯s the cowards hiding in your midst, willing to sacrifice your lives, so they may escape just punishment!¡±

    Elder Wu snorted. ¡°I never had a high opinion of Tan Guan, but I was willing to let things lie, for the greater good. Clearly, he¡¯s a rot that should have been cleansed from Qianshi, long ago.¡±

    He turned to Alex. ¡°Your shield. Can it hold?¡±

    So much asked with that one question as Reny paled and Ya Ling flashed an innocent grin, the long dance of acquaintanceship and growing trust between them all put to the test in that very instant. Eyes that had seen centuries had clearly spotted far more than Alex would willingly acknowledge to anyone¡­ were their lives not riding on his answer.

    Alex forced himself to nod, conceding so much with that single gesture.

    ¡°Good. You¡¯re with me, topside.¡± He then favored a clearly anxious Ya Ling with a fatherly smile, before placing a handful of talismans that Alex could feel like a winter breeze, even several feet away. ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Ya Ling gazed, wide-eyed at her uncle, before jerking a nod. ¡°Yes. Just like you showed me. Just like we practiced a dozen times for the day we actually need to be ready.¡±

    ¡°Count¡¯s halfway through, old man!¡±

    ¡°Good. If there was any other way...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let you down,¡± she said, before turning to Alex, looking on the verge of saying something before she abruptly turned to dart through the bottom hatch, instantly one with the sand.

    ¡°Come, Alex, no time to lose! The first few attacks should be him testing the waters. Showing off. Trying to throw you off your game. So try to keep him busy gloating for a solid minute, if you can! If everything goes well, my wards should be enough, and you won¡¯t need your shield at all,¡± Qing Wu¡¯s words were meant to comfort, but were belied by the urgency in his voice, and Alex actually felt the tension.

    Lives hung on the balance, and if diplomacy and subterfuge didn¡¯t work, then it was he that would lead the vanguard.

    You have successfully forged Prismatic Shield.

    You are now on the wagon rooftop.

    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Alex roared into the darkness, Qi Perception and Desert Sense immediately locking on to the source of the killing aura and the threats. A powerfully built cultivator dressed in lamellar radiating multiple enchantments with spiteful black eyes and an arrogant curl to his lips, his expression went from fury to mocking contempt in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°So Ye Pan was right. A Ruidian daring to stand against me in affairs that are none of his business.¡±

    The man flashed a cold, spite-filled smile. ¡°Rest assured that your clan will pay a steep price for your interference, when this is all said and done, and I will be sure to tell them who they can blame before I burn them alive.¡±

    Alex¡¯s blood ran cold at the threat, sensing the murderous hostility in the man¡¯s gaze. He choked back his outrage. Because it didn¡¯t matter that he had acted in self-defense or to save an innocent, and that he had no truck with any Ruidian clans. It wasn¡¯t about justice or even retribution, it was about power. It was about using fear and pain to break the backs and will of an entire population, so that they didn¡¯t dare to protest or disobey.

    Techniques favored by tyrants and underworld kingpins for as long as human civilization had existed.

    The man flashed a pleased smile, sensing Alex¡¯s discomfort. ¡°Ah. Only now do you stop to think of the inevitable consequences for your actions. Well it¡¯s too late now, fool. Though perhaps I¡¯ll let you linger long enough to feel a lifetime¡¯s worth of regret before I finally cut your throat!¡± The mans¡¯ mocking smile turned to a furious snarl once more. ¡°Now tell the rest of your little band of broken cultivators to surrender peacefully, or the pain they suffer here will be nothing compared to what my men will do to their families in Liushi!¡±

    ¡°Enough of your pointless threats and bluster, Tan Guan!¡± Snapped none other than the captain of the entire caravan, choosing that moment to appear, revealing his own Bronze tier physique as he sprung to Alex¡¯s side upon the caravan. His armor might have been sloppily donned, but the spear he held was clearly wet with the blood of whoever had tired to do him in. ¡°You know better than anyone the price of overreaching your authority! Which begins and ends at the walls of Qianshi. Though I¡¯m sure Lady Ding Xiang will be thrilled to hear that you¡¯re planning hits in her own territory.¡±

    Alex instantly sensed Qing Wu¡¯s dismay through his party interface, though his soft chanting never stopped. The captain was at risk of ruining everything! At least Alex could now sense the revitalization of over a dozen Silver tier wards now guarding the wagon and everyone within.

    Alex could only pray it would be enough as he sensed hungry eyes on his back, for all that he kept his focus squarely on Tan Guan, who didn¡¯t look at all happy with Captain Dui Zhong¡¯s declaration.

    ¡°That bitch wants a war, I will give her a war! But not before I make you and your entire family of presumptuous bastards pay for daring to cross my sect! Mark my words, the Zhong clan and the Wu clan will both fall to my shadow blades, and all of them will know the cause of their suffering. All of them will know who to curse in the afterlife!¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened at the threat even as his Qi Perception screamed warning.

    It was all he could do to raise his now fully manifested Prismatic Shield in time to catch a massive blast of steel shrapnel that screeched with the harsh sound of steel teeth and claws scraping iron flesh as it tore into defenses inspired from Bronze wards that had no business parrying a Silver¡¯s killing attack.

    Yet somehow it did, a dazed Alex realized, interface blaring with rapid fire messages he didn¡¯t need to read to sense how incredibly powerful was the synergism between elements. Not just two elements used in tandem, or, like with the strike that had eliminated a certain spider queen, three. This defense he had forged, had been on the cusp of forging since before the abrupt end of his last life when he had been a heartbeat away from transcendence himself¡­ somehow those borrowed insights had translated with such pristine clarity that he had been able to take that final step forward. Only now fully appreciated how powerful his technique truly was. For hadn¡¯t parrying with that shield kept him alive when daring that monstrous spider?

    A shield of spiritual energy that naturally sought to pair any attack with its weakest element, using the surrounding elements to enhance its resistance. For the Wood that would crumble before Metal, in Alex¡¯s case, fed the Fire that turned his enemy¡¯s attack to a stream of slag, crashing against endless depths of Earth and Steel.

    And if the awed look Dui Zhong, crouching next to him, wasn¡¯t enough of a tell, certainly the messages flashing across his interface were.

    Prismatic Shield counters 80% of Silver Tier Dagger Storm!

    You failed to fully protect Left Foot!

    You have lost three toes!

    Dagger Storm has pierced Wagon Wards!

    Party Member Reny has taken 2 Medium Wounds!

    Party Member Qing Wu has taken 1 Light Wound.

    Alex choked back a cry, his fierce sense of triumph overwhelmed by confusion when he lost his balance, only now seeing bloody stumps where his toes had been, and a portion of the wagon roof now obliterated.

    Finesse Check made!

    Even as he cried out with a furious curse, he forced himself to shift balance and suffer through the agony, all his focus split between Prismatic Fox sealing shut the toe stumps and maintaining his boosted Prismatic Shield like never before. Of course, it all came at a cost. The rapid depletion of his newly elevated 19 Qi reserves, for what truly was a Silver Tier defensive technique, and not a simple one either.

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    The only reason why he felt so filled with furious potency allowing him to more than keep up both his ward and the now painfully slow regeneration of his toes, was the 4 Qi he got per second with his kills of less than a minute before, for the next handful of minutes, thanks to Potency Mastery, a skill that refused even to populate on his character sheet, for all that it was clearly in effect, his own insights regarding his newly discovered prismatic arts increasing almost as sharply as was his peril.

    He took in the battlefield in a second.

    Alex noted the look of consternation on Tan Guan¡¯s features, no longer bothering with bluster as his mind raced through calculations Alex could imagine all too well as he poured as much of himself as he could into healing his foot, visualizing the rainbow storm of spiritual energy swirling through his Dantians and into his shield as also helping to speed up his healing, furious metabolic rate¡¯s excess heat effortlessly sent spinning into his disk, leaving it even better suited to countering killing waves of steel than it had been just seconds before.

    You now dare to forge yourself in Fire! Your insights blossom even as your life hangs in the balance.

    Prismatic Shield is now Rank 4 as you tighten the weaves to better catch deadly steel shrapnel.

    You sense the first twinges of Meridian Strain!

    Which was a very good thing, he thought, as he unsheathed his saber in the very instant not one but three killers struck at them from behind.

    Finesse check made! You have successfully struck your target!

    The closest of the shadowy killers smirked as he darted toward Alex, thinking him fully focused on the JiangHu sect head who was clearly seeking to distract them, just as they had been intending to delay him.

    Yet Alex didn¡¯t dare lose focus on the man who could obliterate them all, using his dao to counter the furious downward swing of a poisoned blade for his skull, then focus on just guarding his flank as a roaring Dui Zhong lashed out with a flurry of spear thrusts, disemboweling one crumpling assassin just as a second lunged forward with a dagger. Before jerking to a halt, eyes bulging in terror before rolling back inside his head as Dui Zhong spun and struck, spearing the man¡¯s throat in a shower of blood as he showed off superhuman Finesse and Quickness far rarer in Bronze cultivators than pure Strength. And for just a heartbeat, the captain was vulnerable, a pair of shadowy assassins radiating a Bronze¡¯s power springing for the lip of the wagon in that moment, daos synchronizing perfectly, like two pristine notes, as they attempted to strike the captain as one.

    Before their symphony of destruction ended before it could even begin, The closest stumbling off the wagon with an agonized shriek, as Alex¡¯s stream of Universal Solvent spiced with his favorite blend of poisons took the would be killer in the face.

    A blend he was determined to share with the snarling cultivator who had just sprang out of nowhere to Alex¡¯s side as the captain frantically took on the other would-be assassin.

    Time seemed to slow as his opponent¡¯s too fast blade plunged toward Alex¡¯s ribs¡­ before being hooked and forced off line by Alex¡¯s desperate winding parry.

    ¡°Just die, you goddamned Ruidian!¡± Roared Alex¡¯s would-be executioner, before the man jerked back with a shriek when Alex spat a stream of Universal Solvent into his opponent¡¯s vitriol-spewing mouth, the man¡¯s shouts choked off as hands wildly clawed at his own throat before stumbling right back off the wagon.

    You have critically struck your opponent with Bitter Brew.

    Poison Spitting is now Rank 6! You¡¯re now as deadly as any desert cobra!

    Perception check made.

    You brace yourself for the storm!

    ¡°Alex! Everything rides on this! You must hold!¡±

    He sensed more than heard Qing Wu¡¯s cry in his group interface. Desperate as the man was to finish his chant as a snarling Tan Guan unleashed a second blast deadly knives now radiating the Qi of steel and burnt fate both.

    Tainted knives that slammed against Alex¡¯s shield to devastating effect.

    Yet their enemy¡¯s sneer twisted into a look of absolute fury when Alex¡¯s prismatic shield refused to sputter out.

    ¡°No! You should be dead, Ruidian!¡± Tan Guan snarled. ¡°There is no ward that can counter my Tainted Steel!¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t bother answering. He was too busy trying to hold his insides together.

    Because the man was right.

    There had been something different with that attack. Something that had actually pierced his ward.

    Alex¡¯s eyes bulged as he spat out blood, realizing what it was.

    Ah yes.

    It was an infernal technique.

    This must have been what Qing Wu was so afraid of.

    Tan Guan had clearly infused himself with power twisted enough to slip past standard elemental configurations. At least a few of those metal shards were tainted by infernal techniques, and one of those shards had just torn through his abdomen.

    You have suffered Critical Wound from Tainted Steel Technique!

    Draconic bloodline reduces Critical Wound to Serious Wound.

    Prismatic Fox skill check: Successful. You have successfully avoided spiritual poisoning!

    Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique is now Rank 3! You can regenerate up to 4 health per minute!

    He felt powerful arms suddenly grip him. ¡°Alex, maintain your shield! Our lives are on the line!¡± The captain roared in his ear.

    Tan Guan¡¯s eyes lit up with manic glee. ¡°I can feel it tearing through you, Ruidian fool. Poisoning you from within. You are weakening¡­ your shield is failing¡­ you¡¯re finally mine!¡±

    But before Alex could crumple, the air rang with Winter¡¯s promise as Qing Wu¡¯s chant culminated in absolute breathless silence.

    Tan Guan¡¯s eyes widened, as furious outraged turned to a disbelieving stare. ¡°No. I saw my men cut your throat! You¡¯re already dead, Qing Wu! You think this ends here? I will obliterate both you fools! Sacrifices to the lords who would set these deserts blazing in eternal fire!¡±

    The cultivator¡¯s features took on a truly monstrous cast. Alex blinked his eyes against an unexpected flare in the increasing chill, for just a heartbeat imagining monstrous, demonic features being superimposed over Tan Guan¡¯s own.

    Before hissing and lurching back a step when he realized that it was no trick of the light at all. The man roaring his hate upon the desert sands less than forty feet from the wagon had just embraced the darkest of demonic infusions, tearing free the mask of his humanity to unleash the deadliest storm of tainted steel yet.

    And Alex could do nothing. Nothing besides his utmost to ride through the horrific pain now searing through him, injured foot healing far too slowly for ideal maneuvering at this point, Alex desperate to cleanse the internal taint with the same stream of spiritual energy swirling through his Dantians and fueling his healing.

    All that mattered, he thought, as he choked back an agonized groan as his insides burned from within, was hanging on and keeping his flickering Prismatic Shield vibrant and strong. Stronger than even he could have dreamed, alive with the furious crescendo pouring through him as he desperately channeled prismatic spiritual energy directly into his soul.

    The storm of power roared through his meridians before surging through a shield suddenly blazing as bright as the noonday sun, just as a final barrage of tainted steel crashed against his defenses in a howling cacophony of doom infused with the crimson might of a fully revealed demonic cultivator.

    The barrage of death that struck the wagon underneath the rim of Alex¡¯s swirling shield tore through the warded wood as if being obliterated by artillery fire, promising death to whoever was within.

    Death that a furious Alex braced himself to endure once more.

    No one was more surprised than him to find that instead of crashing into the River of Souls yet again, it was his Prismatic Shield that he heard ringing like a choir of bells under the onslaught of deadly shrapnel being deflected in all directions.

    Yet by some miracle, not one piece of tainted death slipped through.

    Willpower check made! For what is transcending mortal limits to one who would dare the valley of death and wade the River of Souls?

    You have channeled Desert Fox Cultivation and Prismatic Fox Restoration beyond all prior limits!

    Divine tier Meridian Channels successfully save versus Catastrophic Cascade!

    Prismatic Shield has been successfully enhanced and boosted!

    Desert Fox Cultivation is now Rank 5! You can now channel spiritual energy with effortless grace.

    Prismastic Fox Restoration is now Rank 4! All infernal taints are automatically purged from your system as effortlessly as your ward now deflects their attacks!

    Prismatic Shield is now Rank 5! Your shield has evolved to Pristine Prismatic Shield! Your Pristine Prismatic Shield may now fully counter Unorthodox Techniques! Not even half-step arts or infernal curses can penetrate the pristine spiritual energy of your ward!

    Lower Dantian has shifted to better ride the storm of power you have dared to channel through your soul once more!

    ¡°No. Impossible!¡±

    Alex had just enough time to enjoy the look of perplexed disbelief on the crimson colored features of the demonic cultivator who¡¯s forked tongue could barely curse the words through sharpened teeth¡­ before he felt the awful lurch of freefall as he crashed onto soft bedding. The rooftop remnants he and Qing Wu had been standing on had finally collapsed into the shell of a wagon that remained. For the great majority truly had been completely blown away.

    At least he could still see over the lip of the shredded wagon, still absolutely refusing to let go of his crackling shield, infused as he still was with the potency of his kills, no matter how much he could sense the fates laughing as his Dantian began to shift once more. Shifting far too easily, his soul far too used to channeling arts far beyond what his mortal shell should be able to handle.

    He could feel the truth of that just as well as he could feel ice cold gusts of wind abruptly transforming into a howling storm, a whirlwind of ice and snow now surrounding the caravans and sucking not one but over two dozen reds inside those howling whirlwinds.

    Yet what shocked Alex even more than that was the sight of a furiously roaring Tan Guan ready to leap right for the shattered wagon now free of all protective wards, so eager to rend and kill, before his crimson features took on an odd blue cast, monstrous roars turning to a desperate howls as the monster stumbled mid-leap, desperately clawing back to its feet with a look of genuine panic as the demonic cultivator was swallowed by the storm. Just one of nearly two dozen killers frozen in seconds to statues of perfect crystalline ice.

    Alex was slack-jawed with awe and pain and wonder in equal measure. To think that he had once thought Qing Wu just a good-natured eccentric, A professorial Silver who could throw Bronze tier Ice Javelins with the best of them. A cultivator who had just squeaked into his ascension, yet had the knowledge and experience to help guide countless grateful Bronze and Basic as far along the path of ascension as they could go. And that had all clearly been an act. For Alex could now so clearly sense the man¡¯s fearsome reserves of spiritual energy utterly freed of restraint.

    Two dozen souls frozen to oblivion, including one Silver Demonic Cultivator who had almost killed them, and Alex was suddenly certain that they hadn¡¯t even scratched the surface of Qing Wu¡¯s true power.

    Even if his spell had taken a full minute to cast.

    Were ritual-specialized Wujens a thing?

    Obviously so.

    Alex shook his head even as he winced with pain. Everything was so clear as he shivered in the horrible cold even his draconic blood thought was a bit much, before the storm died away.

    ¡°Qing Wu, you¡¯re going to freeze the mortals!¡± Snapped an exasperated Reny, popping her head out from under the bed. Alex was so relieved to see that the healer had actually survived the wagon-killing shrapnel blast that he would have cried for joy if his tears weren¡¯t already frozen, or a fierce warm hug, if his Dantian wasn¡¯t in exquisite agony, and he barely able to move.

    For all that he now felt utterly in tune with the Prismatic Ward blazing away like never before, the prismatic stream of spiritual energy flowing through his meridians and healing his injuries with a grace and efficiency he had thought utterly beyond him, just days ago.

    Worries for another day.

    For now, he couldn¡¯t help but shake his head at the sight of the frozen sands below where the howling winter storm had passed was a sight to behold. A blank canvas, broken up only by the untouched wagons and over a dozen statues frozen in various states of extremis.

    Their faces locked in eternal rictuses of horror.

    As for Tan Guan, the demonic mastermind of multiple poisons and assassinations, who had been crowing with delight and unleashing multiple waves of tainted shrapnel?

    He would never unleash steely doom again.

 Book 8 - Chapter 27 - Afterwards

    Alex could hear his companions in the background, but he had eyes only for the Silver tier monster who had been frozen into a perfect crystalline block of ice.

    Yet the demonic cultivator¡¯s frozen gaze was filled not with contempt, but absolute horrified dismay. Because he knew what was coming.

    As did Alex.

    The eyes were a plea, Alex realized with a cold shiver. Both understanding and pitying the man.

    But there was nothing Alex could do, even if he had the wit to see and understand, as the ice cracked with a bitter pressure that had even Qing Wu lurching back with a shout, just a heartbeat before that statue of bitter ice shattered to oblivion.

    ¡°By heaven¡¯s mercy, it actually worked!¡± An awed Reny declared, gazing a the sight of so many frozen bodies.

    The captain gracefully extricated himself from the ruins of the wagon, before bowing waist deep before them all. ¡°This is a story none of us ever dare repeat to another living soul, lest shadowy ears hear what we¡¯d hide from them for all time. But please know that you will forever be held in high regard by the Zhong clan. Our doors will always be open to you.¡±

    Qing Wu bowed his head. ¡°Likewise, captain.¡± He frowned, gazing off in the distance. ¡°Though I fear we still have a few more loose ends to tie up.¡±

    The captain¡¯s smile didn¡¯t reach his stony gaze. ¡°Rest assured, they will be soon.¡±

    With a final dip of his head, the man was off, a few curt commands bringing forth the pair of newly forged cultivators by his side, Luo and Xiao turning around to honor Alex and his companions with their bows before loping right behind the captain.

    Qing Wu turned to Alex, solemn gaze locking with his own before squeezing Alex¡¯s shoulder with a surprisingly strong grip. ¡°Thank you, Alex. Your insane shield that should be absolutely impossible for even a Silver to cobble together, no matter how talented they truly are, is everything I could have hoped for.¡±

    He smirked at Alex¡¯s wince. ¡°And I sense you imperiled yourself something fierce, disciple. Fortunately, I can think of half a dozen steps you can take towards refining your technique. Of course, your unorthodox path is the only reason why we¡¯re having this conversation. So thank you, Alex. The Wu clan will always welcome you under our roofs.¡±

    Alex swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and bowed his head.

    Qing Wu gave his shoulder a final squeeze of gratitude before gazing back at his wife and wrapping her in his arms. ¡°Thank the gods you¡¯re alive.¡±

    ¡°And it was a close thing,¡± Reny sobbed, feeling no shame at letting free her tears. ¡°If only it didn¡¯t have to come to this!¡±

    Qing Wu sighed and kissed her brow, he alone utterly unaffected by the cold, it seemed. ¡°You know as well as I how deadly that monster was. Trading spells would have ended with him smiling and unleashing his trump card. So I had to bet it all on a single greater working. One that I¡¯ve spent years doing my utmost to perfect. All I could do was pray that the man would be satisfied with taunting and mocking us, testing the periphery of my arts with teasing strikes intended to wound, not kill. That, and that Alex¡¯s unique spirit ward was truly as strong as our niece swears it is.¡±

    Reny gave a frustrated shake of her head. ¡°Yet all it took was the captain¡¯s good intentions and bad timing to turn mocking words into an infernally enhanced strike intended to send us all hurtling to oblivion, no matter the ultimate cost to that poor fool¡¯s soul.¡± Soft brown eyes then turned to Alex, and something in her gaze made it clear that she understood exactly the price a now furiously blushing Alex had paid.

    ¡°And to think, Ya Ling absolutely had her heart set on running off into the desert, and claiming this boy as her own. Well, that¡¯s not possible now, is it, Alex?¡±

    Alex blinked, gazing at Reny for long moments. ¡°First of all, there¡¯s no way you could know that. Not unless your Soul Sight and Qi Perception is almost as good as mine. Secondly, it¡¯s only a problem for as long as it takes me to break through to Bronze¡­ or whatever comes next for me. It was just a small shift. Nothing like¡­ well, never mind.¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean by glimpsing souls, but as a skilled healer with a century¡¯s experience treating foolish cultivators daring unorthodox techniques¡­ yes. I recognize the signs. I¡¯m just surprised that your own foundation isn¡¯t teetering on glass.¡±

    Alex¡¯s wince transformed to a confident smile. ¡°Believe it or not, I¡¯ve never been stronger. With a foundation that would have even my greatest enemies howling with envy and bloodlust.¡± He chuckled bitterly. ¡°Let¡¯s hope they never find out.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Reny, now turning her glower to her husband. ¡°And you! Gambling so much on this poor boys¡¯ shield! I don¡¯t care how much Ya Ling crowed about surrendering her heart to a man destined for Gold. A rank no one¡¯s achieved in centuries! You bet our futures on a boy¡¯s newly forged art, gambling everything on a skill you¡¯ve never used in battle before!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because no one¡¯s ever pushed me enough to force me to use it before,¡± Qing Wu somewhat weakly protested. ¡°And I¡¯ve had years to perfect it! Even our granddaughter knows how to best compliment my usage, just as I¡¯ve trained her!¡±

    Reny snorted and glared at her husband. ¡°Careful your words, love. And perfected or no, Winter¡¯s Kiss is a ritual that hardly counts as a spell. It still took almost a full minute to cast! That¡¯s why you¡¯ve never used it, before. There was never sufficient time!¡± Reny snapped, before her eyes softened with gratitude, and love. ¡°And you¡¯re right. Had you followed standard protocol, had you responded taunt for taunt, low tier spell for spell, you would have fallen like all the others that monster ever faced, with his foul infernal arts.¡±

    Qing Wu gently helped his wife up. ¡°And there¡¯s more to it as well. Look all around you.¡±

    Reny¡¯s lips pressed into a tight line when she noted all the bodies. So many frozen bodies surrounding them, their serpentine daggers and swords glittering just as brightly as the feral glint of predators eager to ambush and kill, eternally painted on over a dozen crystalline statues. All of them perfectly visible from the ruins of the wagon. Reny shivered, eyes widening in understanding. ¡°All of them were cloaked, by that man¡¯s own twisted arts. They were to strike from behind, while Alex and the captain were distracted, taking on our perfectly visible opponents. Because who would even think to look for such, especially when fighting the perfectly visible living? Tan Guan might have been a psychopathic hothead, but there was no way he¡¯d be the head of an entire sect, if he were any sort of fool.¡±

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°This was why he was allowed to rule Qianshi like a shadow prince. Uncontested in the underworld. Because his steel pierced any ward...¡±

    ¡°And his Shadows could never be found.¡±

    ¡°So you just froze them all,¡± Reny said breathlessly.

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    She paled and crumpled in his arms. ¡°How many lives did it cost, husband? How many innocent souls did we freeze to an early oblivion, because there was no other way?¡±

    ¡°None at all, aunty,¡± said a smiling Ya Ling, whose lips were so blue it filled Alex with instant alarm as her impressive entrance in a whirl of sand was marred somewhat, as she collapsed in Alex¡¯s arms, shivering uncontrollably. ¡°I got talismans on all of the wagons. But I had to back up Alex. He couldn¡¯t take them all on from the wagon rooftop.¡±

    ¡°But you got caught in the blast!¡± Reny sobbed, before her anxious gaze hardened into professional calm. ¡°Be still, child. This is going to sting a bit.¡±

    At which point she radiated a nurturing energy that reminded Alex of a lush forest just after a gentle, midday rain as Ya Ling gasped and cried out, shivering in Alex¡¯s arms, though when the light surrounding them faded, at least her lips were back to their normal dusky shade, her cheeks actually rosy as she flashed Alex an approving smile.

    ¡°Thanks for serving as the vanguard, Alex.¡±

    Alex forced a chuckle, even as half his focus was just on regenerating his toes and multiple cuts and bruises he hadn¡¯t even noticed until now. ¡°It sounds like we were betting everything on a single gambit. The farthest thing from a discrete exchange of spell volleys and our enemy cutting his losses and running that we all hoped for, I¡¯m guessing.¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Qing Wu said with a smile that didn¡¯t reach his ice-cold eyes, now sparkling like sapphires. ¡°It was the farthest thing from a gentlemen¡¯s duel. Our foe was a psychopath, and our fight was to the death. He was a monster who held furious grudges at the slightest insult, and enjoyed striking his enemies where they were weakest. He would happily butcher a dozen innocents if there was a chance that just one of those deaths will make you suffer. He was a monster that used fear of retribution to keep his foes in check, and yes, infernal arts to assure his victory against those who would not be cowed. They would be executed in the most horrific manners imaginable, and their families forced to watch.¡± Qing Wu¡¯s eyes blazed with icy hate. ¡°A man like that, you¡¯d best put down for good, if you would spare your family a psychopath¡¯s retribution.¡±

    Reny nodded. ¡°The moment he appeared in person, we all knew that there was only one way this could end. And to think that Wonang actually dared involve that man in our family affairs...¡± Her eyes flashed with sudden heat. ¡°I¡¯m ashamed to think that any descendant of mine married into his clan of fools.¡±

    Qing Wu sighed, patting her arm. ¡°For all his faults, I doubt he had any idea that it would come to this, or that any blood would be shed in retrieving his half-sister at all.¡±

    ¡°And now our traveling home is ruined,¡± Reny declared with a bitter glare.

    ¡°True,¡± Qing Wu said. ¡°Fortunately, it appears that our caravan is now up an extra wagon, with the disappearance of a certain baker who now has far more pressing problems to worry about than the appropriation of his wagon.¡±

    Reny folded her arms and glowered, before giving a thoughtful nod. ¡°I suppose it will have to do. Now if only I had a few strong men to help me transport everything between wagons...¡±

    Alex froze under her glare, having only managed to slink away a few dozen feet before being pinned by her gaze. ¡°And just where do you think you¡¯re going, Alex?¡±

    Alex flashed a cheeky grin. ¡°In the right direction.¡±

    This earned a curious look. ¡°Explain.¡±

    ¡°Well, the captain and his newly forged lieutenants are eagerly heading towards the trade road, positive that¡¯s the direction that Ye Pan and his escort took to head back to Qianshi.¡±

    ¡°We know,¡± Reny said. ¡°With limited supplies, it¡¯s the only logical move to make, the only chance you¡¯ll meet any other caravan or traveler if you find yourself out of food, water, or otherwise in desperate peril. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die in the desert long before you reach the city. No doubt Tan Guan has at least one stash of supplies for the return journey hidden by a marker near the road.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°Except our mole was a baker. A skilled baker. Who somehow had all the supplies he needed to make some of the tastiest damned food I¡¯ve ever been fed by a man intending to stab us all in the metaphoric back. Fresh baked bread, and chutney, without a hint of spoilage, despite being in the summer heat.¡±

    Reny frowned, then her eyes widened. ¡°You think he had a storage device!¡±

    ¡°Maybe he didn¡¯t need it for the bread. Maybe he¡¯s that good at his craft,¡± Alex conceded. ¡°But for the olive oil and most especially the blended spreads? Most definitely.¡±

    Qing Wu cursed softly. ¡°Then that bastard could have fled anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Certainly the captain¡¯s going the wrong way. I suspect he¡¯ll cotton on to it and return in time to lead the caravan back in the morning,¡± Alex allowed.

    Reny smirked, shaking her head. ¡°No one¡¯s waiting til morning, Alex. The ground here is frozen, and will give half the caravanner¡¯s the chills if we stick around. We¡¯ll head to the road by starlight. A good portion of caravans are night caravans for a reason, even if most prefer to travel during the day. If Dui Zhong weren¡¯t so hot for blood, he¡¯d have already had everyone moving out. As it stands...¡±

    Alex turned, surprised to see Qing Wu addressing the caravans with the sharp voice of one used to command. In very short order, Alex noticed spirit beat mounts rousing from slumber, just as soon as a clearly warmed up Ya Ling removed the talismans she had placed protecting their wagons from Qing Wu¡¯s ritual, as a half dozen particularly burly wagoners came by, bowing before Reny.

    ¡°The honored cultivator has need of our assistance?¡± One asked, straw hat in hand.

    Alex grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave, then.¡±

    Reny, now supervising the surprisingly quick dismantling and transferring of her apothecary and miniature greenhouse, which was surprisingly intact, and the rest of her personal belongings, which had by and large been shredded, flashed Alex a curious smile. ¡°Can you really sense where our enemy headed?¡±

    Alex just smiled. ¡°Qing Wu was right. Best we eliminate any chance of retribution or fallout. And that most definitely means tying up lose ends.¡±

    Reny¡¯s gaze was oddly sympathetic, and far too knowing. ¡°Experienced, I take it?¡±

    Alex sighed. ¡°More than I¡¯d like to admit.¡±

    ¡°Are Ruidian politics truly that ruthless?¡±

    Alex forced a chuckle, not bothering to answer as he headed off about 70 degrees from the direction the captain was now returning from. The desert whispered its secrets in terms of footsteps barely leaving an imprint on the sands. But mostly, Biochemical Mastery gifting him with a nose as potent as an 18 Perception bloodhound¡¯s this incarnation made it surprisingly easy to follow the yeasty trail that the man had left behind.

 Book 8 - Chapter 28 - Tying Up Loose Ends

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. The skies should have flared crimson at least once by now!¡± Hissed a man wearing dark robes over blackened mail, glaring up at the skies as he rode a pony that had surprisingly good traction on the desert sands. As if it rode upon hard-packed dirt, barely leaving a hoofprint behind.

    The slender man beside him, dressed in a loose-fitting changshan jacket perfectly suited for deflecting heat and catching any breeze, flashed a fatalistic smile. ¡°All I see are a million brilliant stars flashing our fates overhead. Is it our fate to survive this night of such promise and peril, I wonder? Certainly not, if you¡¯re so foolish as to turn around, thinking you have it within you to defeat whatever might have muffled your captain¡¯s signal, assuming it was muffled at all.¡±

    The burly man beside the baker froze in anxious thought.

    ¡°All that awaits is back there is death, soldier. Either that, or Tan Guan¡¯s extreme displeasure that we didn¡¯t follow his orders. Which come to think of it, only has one likely outcome,¡± declared an amused-looking Ye Pan, eyes twinkling oddly in the starlight. ¡°Death behind us, or a city full of life and opportunities before us. Which path do you prefer, soldier?¡±

    Ye Pan then pulled a fresh-baked loaf from seemingly nowhere, already split in half and filled with aromatic chutney. ¡°I find a full belly helps with life¡¯s more difficult conundrums. Come, eat with me while we make our way to Qianshi and see what fate has in store for us there.¡±

    The burly JiangHu soldier clearly intended to be Ye Pan¡¯s keeper furrowed his brow, before eventually dipping his head, hand reaching for the tainted sandwich the baker had prepared.

    Starlight flashed upon razor-sharp steel.

    To the baker¡¯s credit, his cheeky grin didn¡¯t even twitch when the doomed guard¡¯s surly features were replaced by a fount of spurting blood

    Ye Pan even managed a chuckle. ¡°Ah, Alex. My favorite philosophizing Ruidian friend! I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d care for a poisoned sandwich?¡±

    Alex gazed impassively up at the baker smiling from his pony as warm crimson droplets spattered both of them including a suddenly distressed pair of winnying ponies. Ye Pan calmed his with an expert flick of his reini. Alex let the second bolt for the distant road, winding through the desert.

    Ye Pan raised only a single brow when Alex calmly took the sandwich with the hand not holding the blood-spattered fangtian ji, and took a healthy bite.

    He frowned thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s a soporific. And pretty damned tasty, too. You weren¡¯t planning on killing him, then?¡±

    The baker shrugged. ¡°Why would I? He was just a man doing his job. When he woke up to find me missing, he would have been smart enough to hire on one of the caravans and flee this area for good.¡± He sighed down at the headless corpse. ¡°Though I suppose now his retreat is all the more complete, having fled this life entirely.¡±

    Alex frowned at the man smiling back at him so calmly. ¡°Why did you do it?¡±

    Ye Pan sighed, flashing Alex a sad smile. ¡°Do you have any idea how many loafs I can bake with the grains I¡¯ll be able to purchase for the next year, with a full spirit pearl¡¯s worth of gold? Loafs I¡¯ll be able to give for free to countless orphaned children, fallen women, and numerous other broken and forgotten souls doomed to live on life¡¯s bitter edges¡­ far too many finding life too burdensome to bother with at all.¡±

    Alex blinked, gazing at the man in stunned disbelief. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re saying you sold us out so you could use the bounty to feed the poor?¡±

    Ye Pan¡¯s gentle smile hardened. ¡°Let me ask you this, Alex. Is one woman¡¯s arranged marriage worth a thousand mortals being able to fill their bellies with a daily meal for an entire year?¡±

    Alex blinked, gazing at the baker for long, furious moments.

    Forced to accept what his Soul Sight was telling him.

    Far from the vile corruption that had plagued all of Tan Guan¡¯s previous half-dozen lives¡­ and the mix of light and darkness that radiated from most people¡¯s souls¡­ Ye Pan, however questionable and borderline vile some of his methods happened to be¡­ had been a virtual saint for his last three incarnations.

    Even if this one was definitely a mix.

    Twisted as his path was, he believed his words. Despite the black threads of karma linking him to Alex and the caravan¡­ to far off Qianshi, Alex sensed a thousand strands of gold.

    ¡°You¡¯re not lying,¡± Alex was forced to concede, earning a bemused smile from the baker.

    ¡°You actually sense that truth? Remarkable.¡±

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Alex¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°Arranging for multiple people¡¯s cultivation to weaken and shatter is hardly the same thing as an arranged marriage.¡±

    The baker conceded that with a nod. ¡°You¡¯re right. Fortunately, I had no truck in that bit of foul play.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°But you said...¡±

    ¡°Exactly what Tan Guan and his cutthroats wanted to hear,¡± the man said with a regretful shake of his head. ¡°I sounded like the callous traitor they expected, and gave them the precise information they needed to capture you while leaving everyone else alone. An entire caravan I had drugged to assure they wouldn¡¯t interfere, and thus spare their lives. As for your future in-laws...¡±

    He smiled at Alex¡¯s flinch. ¡°They would have found a painfully thin street urchin destined for a full belly and a much happier life, slipping through bars and passing them this key.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in bemused disbelief, yet recognizing by the spiritual energy signature what could only be a slave collar key.

    He shook his head, glaring at the baker. ¡°Why the fuck couldn¡¯t you just be a corrupt asshole I could cut down without a lick of guilt?¡±

    Ye Pan¡¯s eyes twinkled in odd sympathy. ¡°Because life is rarely that simple, Alex. Even the man you just cut down might have chosen the path of the caravan guard himself, after another six months of increasing distaste for Tan Guan¡¯s corrupt path.¡±

    ¡°And you can actually sense that?¡±

    Ye Pan shrugged. ¡°Who can say?¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, suddenly understanding. ¡°You¡¯re a Fate cultivator!¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re a very perceptive Ruidian.¡± The man frowned. ¡°But that¡¯s not quite right¡­ is it?¡±

    ¡°Did you know that Tan Guan wasn¡¯t intent on capturing us¡­ but slaughtering the entire caravan in a fit of bloodthirsty rage?¡±

    Ye Pan flinched, lowering his head in actual shame. ¡°No, Alex, I did not. Which shows what a fool I am, to think I could get the best of an infernal cultivator, whose very existence taints and corrupts both fate and destiny as they tear entire souls free of creation¡¯s weave.¡±

    Alex gazed at the man for long moments, clenching the haft of his fangtian ji in a frustrated grip, trying not to think about the man he had so casually killed after a savage, brutal night of fighting for his life.

    ¡°You were willing to sell out Ya Ling.¡±

    The baker sighed, bowing his head. ¡°That was the choice I made, yes.¡±

    ¡°Forcing her to be some lord¡¯s second wife. And what about her freedom? The collar about her own neck?¡±

    The baker¡¯s look was strangely pitying. ¡°Do you really think we chain our wives up in the cities, Alex? Do you truly think that, with her considerable powers, Ya Ling wouldn¡¯t have been able to slip free of his cloying attentions and lose herself in the desert sands to start over wherever she wished, however she wished, assuming she didn¡¯t choose to embrace a life of ease and comfort in the end?¡±

    Alex clenched his jaw. Forced to accept that an arranged marriage, at least as painted by Ye Pan, was hardly the same thing as being chained up and enslaved. Though Alex was sure it couldn¡¯t be that simple.

    But was it really worth butchering the baker before him? A man who dared a twisted path for the sake of a thousand hungry souls?

    On the one hand¡­ it would solve a lot of problems. On the other¡­ how often had he walked a darker path, knowing that the ends sometimes did justify the means? Because all he had to do was look at the headless corpse at his feet to know that he had no room to talk about ethical conflict resolution at all.

    ¡°The easiest move to make would be to tie up this final loose end.¡±

    Ye Pan chuckled, eyes twinkling as he nodded. ¡°True. And truly spoken like an experienced JiangHu operative.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°And what happens to the thousand lost souls counting on your stall for, what, a free evening meal everyone knows not to speak of or ask for during the day when you do actual business to support yourself?¡±

    Ye Pan gave a solemn nod. ¡°That¡¯s how I¡¯ve had my shop set up for years, yes.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°And I¡¯m guessing all your employees are former homeless urchins you gave a second chance at a better life to?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Three of them now have shops of their own. Two have named their firstborn sons Ye Pan as well.¡±

    ¡°Fuck. Why couldn¡¯t you be as corrupt and evil as most of the bastards I put down?¡±

    Ye Pan wisely said nothing.

    Alex glared at the man. ¡°I need a Cultivator¡¯s Oath from you.¡±

    The baker instantly bowed his head. ¡°I swear upon my foundation and the fortunes of all those I would rescue that I will reveal no secrets shared with me by anyone I met, my personal suspicions, or anything exceptional I saw during the caravan ride we shared.¡±

    Alex frowned. ¡°What about Tan Guan?¡±

    The baker gave an innocent shrug. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m unaware of any recent gossip. I haven¡¯t left my home in days, due to illness, which is why my second¡¯s been running my shop in my steed.¡±

    Alex glared at the man for long moments.

    Then he turned around and went back the way he came.

    Ye Pan gazed at the retreating Ruidian for long moments, the shakes only taking him when he thought he was alone.

    Ye Pan shed actual tears as he buried the headless man who might have walked a better path, over time. He whispered a prayer to a god Alex had feared long forgotten, before retrieving the flustered second pony, removing all telltale markings and gear, then heading back to the trade road once more.

    And those gestures as much as anything else were why a discretely hidden Alex let him live.

 Book 8 - Chapter 29 - A Forbidden Path

    ¡°You what?¡±

    ¡°I let him go.¡± Alex gazed calmly at the older cultivator.

    Qing Wu¡¯s fists clenched, trembling with outraged disbelief. He revealed for a single fluttering heartbeat the true power of his killing gaze.

    For a moment Alex tasted genuine peril, realizing how dangerous a game he was playing. It was one thing to earn the indulgent affection of a powerful patron fully in alignment with his choices and path. Quite another to cross a powerful Silver as a basic and expect anything save the harshest reprimand.

    ¡°Stop it, husband. You are no fool, and neither is he. So before you risk making a mockery of our oath or slapping karma in the face, let¡¯s hear what the boy has to say.¡±

    Qing Wu clenched his jaw for a long painful moment, before his anger faded like steam from a kettle as he seemed to deflate into his battle-stained robes. He even managed to crack a smile, even if it didn¡¯t quite reach his too sharp gaze. ¡°Very well, wife. I must confess that I too am most curious as to what twisted whim or chain of logic¡­ ahem, I mean cogent thought process resulted in my disciple releasing the one man responsible for poisoning the entire caravan, twice over!¡±

    Alex bowed to Reny. ¡°Just as she said¡­ a matter of karma.¡±

    Qing Wu impatiently furrowed his brow. ¡°Explain.¡±

    Alex opened his mouth before standing there, slack-jawed, realizing that explaining that, with the restoration of his karmic ties to the world around him, he could see the golden cords of karma more clearly than he ever had before, from the thin gold threads tying the four of them in this life, to the thousand hair-sized filaments tying Ye Pan to the thousands of desperate souls whose lives he made just a bit better almost every day, back in Qianshi. Because he didn¡¯t need an interface message with WiFu¡¯s snarky side-commentary letting him know that that would be a VERY bad idea for someone trying to hide from the animosity of an entire pantheon to stick out with such a unique skill. One reason why, he suspected, he had been reborn with all but the most generic elemental channeling skills close off to him. That, and all of he exquisitely useful perception skills, which, by their very nature, gave nothing away.

    The elder cultivator¡¯s exasperated gaze hardened to something colder. ¡°Are you truly so witless that you can¡¯t even justify your actions, or are there other elements at play, Alex?¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in alarm, furiously shaking his head in protest at even the tiniest implication that he was any sort of ally of Ye Pans, or that they had originally been on the same side before Alex had a change of heart, or any of the other half-dozen ugly possibilities Alex could sense flickering inside the powerful wujen¡¯s skull.

    ¡°He and his apprentices are keeping hundreds if not thousands of mortals from starving to death every year,¡± Alex said, rapidly going over his conversation with the man he had, quite to his own surprise, ended up sparing. He took a deep breath by the end of the tale, realizing he had been racing to its conclusion because he couldn¡¯t bare the cynical jaded looks he was giving, their estimation of him seeming to fall from that of hero to well-intentioned fool, with a single choice made.

    Ya Ling¡¯s hurt gaze stung most of all. ¡°He was working on that monster¡¯s behalf to put us to sleep, Alex, so my brother could kidnap me again!¡±

    Alex lowered his gaze. ¡°I know. I never said what he did was right. Or that you had to forgive it. Only that he was sincere when he was using his odd path to assure a minimum of casualties, and thought your brother was a fool thinking he could keep a desert queen from fleeing when and how she wished. Because sleeping people don¡¯t need to be turned into corpses and he had a pouch full of gold he could then turn around to feed a cities worth of poor for literal months.¡±

    Ya Ling crossed her arms and glared, before her exquisite features softened from imperious glare to disappointed sigh. ¡°So he wasn¡¯t the agent holding the dagger at our throats, but the silk sheath trying to mitigate the blow, who¡¯s no more responsible for Tan Guan being a bloodthirsty demonic cultivator than we are for refusing to bend our knees and bare our throats at the man¡¯s initial sneer. That doesn¡¯t change the fact that he was willing to sacrifice my freedom for¡­ what¡­ grain sufficient to feed a thousand starving waifs for a month?¡± Her glare became a conflicted frown.

    She shared a solemn look with Reny. ¡°Nothing¡¯s ever simple, is it, aunty?¡±

    Reny folder her arms and glared Alex¡¯s way. ¡°It¡¯s not for her to bear the burdens of her brother¡¯s selfish policies!¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Alex quickly said. ¡°Again, I¡¯m not justifying what he did. Or saying that there aren¡¯t probably a dozen better ways to help those in need without anyone being forced to bear a cross against their will. All I¡¯m saying is that Ye Pan¡¯s twisted path was the farthest thing from Tan Guan¡¯s utterly corrupt one and¡­ well, I didn¡¯t want his sad gaze haunting me for eternity upon taking his head.¡±

    Surprisingly, it was Qing Wu who bowed his head. ¡°A sentiment any warrior with a conscience can appreciate,¡± he softly said. ¡°But you know as well as I the risk we take, when he...¡±

    ¡°He swore a cultivator¡¯s oath. In great detail.¡± Alex flashed a mirthless smile. ¡°Almost as if he knew it was exactly what I¡¯d ask, and his only path to redemption.¡± Alex¡¯s gaze grew solemn. ¡°And I saw the respect he paid the man I¡­ took down. He even took the time to bury it and whisper a few words, as opposed to just leaving it out in the open. That¡¯s not the action of a man who cares nothing for his fellows.¡±

    And with those words, Qing Wu¡¯s solemn acknowledgment became a bemused snort. ¡°That¡¯s what you used to reassure yourself of the merits of your mercy? His properly burying the dead?¡±

    Alex blinked at the incredulous looks they were now all giving him. ¡°Um¡­ yeah?¡±

    Ya Ling and Reny exchanged a long look before pinning him with their stares.

    ¡°Do you truly not understand why he did that?¡± Reny asked.

    Alex blinked. ¡°He was paying his respects?¡±

    Ya Ling crossed her arms, shaking her head. ¡°In case you haven¡¯t noticed, we¡¯ve taken care of things here, already. Everyone who isn¡¯t already a shattered block of ice has been dismembered and buried already.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Yeah, I was wondering why ye Pan felt the need to, well, separate the arms. I thought maybe that was just a funeral right your culture followed?¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes bulged, looking at Alex like he was the biggest fool in the world.

    ¡°Why would we go to the trouble of dismembering our enemies¡¯ bodies, Alex?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ honestly, I don¡¯t really...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so they don¡¯t pose a threat to the living.¡±

    Time seemed to freeze for one breathless, awful moment as Alex stared at the three cultivators before him¡­ forcing himself to take in the bombshell they had just dropped.

    ¡°Are you saying that the dead walk here?¡±

    Reny nodded. ¡°They do.¡±

    A single affirmation and Alex¡¯s crumbling foundation of familiarity completely collapsed, leaving him adrift on a stormy sea of uncertainty, forced to wonder just how drastically the world had changed.

    The healer¡¯s gaze grew strangely intent. ¡°Are you saying things are different in Ruidian communities?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a tough question for me to answer,¡± Alex hedged. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that, among my close circle of friends and family, walkers were never an issue.¡±

    Ya Ling snorted. ¡°Well it sure as hell is an issue now. And if burnable materials weren¡¯t so scarce and precious, everyone would be cremated. But as it stands, all we can do is be cleaved and blessed, and pray we aren¡¯t one of the unlucky ones too restless to return to the wheel.¡±

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Alex blinked. ¡°You don¡¯t mean river?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°Call it what you will. It¡¯s all a metaphor for eternity anyway.¡±

    ¡°Hardly a metaphor,¡± Alex said with a smile. ¡°So what¡¯s our plan now?¡±

    ¡°Our plan is we ride through the night and on through the next day. Hard as we can, with half the men on night duty,¡± said none other than Dui Zhong, making an appearance and giving them all a pleased nod. ¡°It looks like the damned baker¡¯s wagon is a good fit for you, Lady Reny Wu.¡±

    ¡°It is indeed,¡± she allowed with a smile. ¡°Much to my own surprise.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! Keep it,¡± the man said with a wave of his hand. ¡°Saves me paperwork and it¡¯s the least we can do, since I know damned well we¡¯d all be dead if it weren¡¯t for the Wu clan and their clever Ruidian friend.¡±

    The man flashed a smile, clapping a bemused Alex¡¯s shoulder. ¡°How are you feeling, lad? With shoulders as strong as yours, I¡¯m guessing the baker was no trouble.¡±

    ¡°Everything¡¯s handled,¡± Alex assured the man, earning a pleased nod.

    ¡°Good. Then get some rest, Alex, as we¡¯ll be riding nonstop save for high noon, and you¡¯ve been selected for nightwatch duty.¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°A role I know well.¡±

    The captain quirked his brow. ¡°Done caravan guard duty before, have you?¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°A time or two.¡±

    ¡°Perfect. We¡¯ll be counting on you, then.¡± With those words, the man took his leave, Alex sensing the bustle of dozens of men and women given reprieve from certain death, and anxious to make that second chance count.

    Reny flashed Alex a sympathetic smile. ¡°It¡¯s been a long night, hasn¡¯t it Alex?¡±

    ¡°It has indeed, Lady Wu.¡±

    She gently squeezed his hand. ¡°We¡¯re grateful for what you¡¯ve done for us tonight, Alex. Even if Tan Guan¡¯s ex poisoner did just play you for a soft-hearted fool.¡±

    Alex sighed and shrugged. ¡°I guess time will tell, one way or another.¡±

    Warm arms wrapped about Alex and held him close, Ya Ling¡¯s husky words were an unexpected balm to his ear. ¡°But we¡¯d far rather the fool in our lives who risked so much to save us, than a far more practical cultivator, who would have been racing the other way, toward the wagon, eager to claim what prizes he could while we perished to mischance and folly.¡±

    Alex swallowed the lump in his throat. ¡°Daring to risk myself for three just and noble souls who make the world a brighter place just by being here? Yeah, that¡¯s not the mark of a fool, but someone wise enough to know what truly matters.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened when Ya Ling gave him an unexpectedly fierce hug, definitely Bronze tier strength, before stepping back, her heart in her gaze. ¡°Thank you then, Alex, for being such a wise fool as to come to our rescue. We¡¯ll never forget it, or give you cause to regret your choice.¡±

    Alex blinked, cheeks flushing when he realized what had just happened.

    Because in the time it had taken Ya Ling to make her declaration, Reny and Qing Wu had left the wagon.

    Ya Ling¡¯s dusky cheeks flushed, when she noted his observation, but her soft brown eyes stared boldly into his own. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you how grateful I am that you stumbled into our lives, Alex. And how deeply, how profoundly, you¡¯ve shown us your worth. Not just as a cultivator, but as a friend. The best of friends. A worthy companion along life¡¯s treacherous path.¡±

    She flushed and lowered her gaze, soft fingertips running down his chest. ¡°And perhaps a worthy companion for the heart.¡±

    Alex¡¯s breath hitched as soft, suddenly mischievous eyes peered deeply into his own, her dusky lips curving in a smile. ¡°I think it was more than chance that we met, Alex. I think maybe, well, it was destiny.¡±

    She grinned, bringing his unresisting hand to her chest, as she raised her palm to his own naked flesh, Alex not quite sure where his changshan tunic had gone. ¡°Sometimes I think the wisdom of the heart far exceeds a cultivator¡¯s flawed grasp of the dao, or what truly matters.¡± She bit her lip, soft brown eyes gazing up into his own. ¡°What do you think, Alex? Are the hearts pounding so rapidly in our chests wiser than us?¡± She flashed a teasing smile. ¡°Maybe it means we¡¯ve found our dao companion, and there¡¯s only one thing left for us to do.¡±

    Alex swallowed his too dry throat. ¡°What is that?¡± he asked in a far too ragged voice.

    Her warm sultry smile said all that needed saying. ¡°Dual Cultivation,¡± she said with soft warm lips that tilted up to claim his own as graceful arms twined about his neck, drawing him close.

    And the twinge of shame he felt as his ears roared with the sound of his own pounding heart, finding Ya Ling¡¯s lips so terribly sweet, wanting desperately to wash away all the pain and bitterness of two lifetimes in the arms of someone he could actually cherish and claim¡­ was the sudden twinge in his Dantian, a sharp pain that was only a fraction as bad as it had been when he had last kissed Hao Chan. The one who had already claimed his heart, a lifetime ago.

    Alex couldn¡¯t deny how hard it was to break away with a gasp, like a drowning man clawing at control, or how guilty he felt, seeing the look of hurt on Ya Ling¡¯s exquisite features.

    ¡°Why?¡± The beautiful girl lowered her head, cheeks flushing with sudden shame, her petite hands clenched into trembling fists. ¡°I saw the look in your eyes, Alex. Felt your heart, pounding against your chest.¡± Tear stained eyes glared into his own. ¡°I know you want me as much as I want you!¡±

    Alex closed his eyes and choked back a despairing chuckle. ¡°Your right. As much as it shames me to admit it¡­ you¡¯re damn right I want you.¡±

    ¡°Then take me!¡±

    Her words were both a demand and a plea. His gut twisted, even knowing what his answer had to be. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Not good enough, Alex!¡± She said, suddenly before him, a storm of sand, heat, and desire. A storm it was all he could do not to answer in turn, Water and Wind blending with Sand along a path that would hone and strengthen them like nothing else. Such was the power of dual cultivation. Such was the power of the most profound alliance imaginable. Two hearts beating as one, growing in power, and multiplying in number, assuring the essence of their path and all their potential would live on for countless generations, no matter how brief their personal cultivation journeys might be. Such was the power of passion and family. Such was the life Alex could all but taste, so tantalizingly before him.

    A beautiful promise he was already denied, paradise becoming teasing mockery for him once more.

    ¡°I can¡¯t because I¡¯ve already dared a forbidden path. Again!¡± He said the last with a bitter chuckle, shaking his head at the look of confusion upon her features. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. All that matters is that my Dantian has shifted.¡±

    Alex paused, allowing the words to sink in as Ya Ling gazed at him with horrified dismay. ¡°No, Alex¡­ you¡¯re just a basic, a half-step Bronze at most. By your own admission, and you told Reny your foundation was strong! There¡¯s no way you could have¡­ already?¡±

    Alex sighed and nodded his head. ¡°Yes. Already. You have to understand, Ya Ling, that eight element shield isn¡¯t something you¡¯ll find in any cultivation manual. It¡¯s something I¡¯ve been working on in the back of my mind for a very, very long time, and only now did I dare to put it into effect.¡±

    Ya Ling gaze at Alex with a fascinated sort of horror. ¡°You managed to twist your path before our very eyes, with no corrupted manual or tainted alchemist brew¡­¡± Her eyes lit up. ¡°Reny. She can devise a cure, I¡¯m sure of it!¡±

    Alex flashed a tired smile. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, Ya Ling. And my path is hardly corrupt. To be honest, it¡¯s not even crooked.¡± He smirked at her look of confusion. ¡°In fact, it¡¯s as straight and true a path of power as one could imagine. It¡¯s humanity¡¯s own base roots, our need to divert so much of our life force into procreation that prevents us from being perfect cultivation vessels. Which is a damn good thing, for the sake of future generations. But we still pay a price for our fecundity.¡±

    ¡°So, what¡­ you¡¯re saying you managed to channel so much power that you shifted your dantian like rocks being shifted under the flash floods of a river overflowing its banks?¡±

    Alex tilted his head in thought, before nodding. ¡°Pretty much, exactly that. But the good news is that it was a minor shift. And the more I practice, the more stable I¡¯ll be. Trust me, it could be so much worse, if my Dantian shifted to the extremes of Deep Silver or even Gold.¡± He flashed a reassuring smile. ¡°The twinge I felt with you was a Bronze deviation at worst.¡±

    Ya Ling pinned him with a deadpan stare. ¡°And you¡¯re an expert on deviant cultivation paths and how they effect one? Or have you actually studied this in detail? Is this the crooked path Ruidian clans teach their gifted? Is this why there are so few of you?¡±

    ¡°All very good questions,¡± Alex dodged. ¡°The important bit, the bit that gives me hope¡­ is that once I finally ascend, however bloody long that takes, I¡¯ll be as stable as granite bedrock.¡± He winced in apology. ¡°But until then...¡±

    ¡°Until then all you can manage is the occasional chaste kiss?¡±

    He sighed. ¡°Honestly, Ya Ling, it would be best if I avoided even that.¡± He apologized as best he could with his heartfelt smile. ¡°Because it would be unfair as hell to lead you on for what could be months or years or who knows how long before I¡¯m even able to break through. If I¡¯m able to break through at all. Because trust me, it¡¯s going to be a massive accomplishment if I manage the feat. I sense that truth already.¡±

    Ya Ling gazed at him solemnly for long moments. Long enough for his smile to feel forced and pained. Long enough to make him second guess everything he had said since her relatives had been graceful enough to give her privacy with the man she would claim. In the end, she flashed a sad smile that broke his heart, before seeming to vanish in a particularly strong gust of desert wind.

    Alex groaned and did what he had been putting off for far too long. What he should have probably done the very second he got back. He allowed himself to sink into the bed of surprisingly grit free furs and near instantly fell asleep.

 Book 8 - Chapter 30 - A Serpentine Revelation

    Alex found himself sinking into stygian depths of dream that he knew all too well. Suddenly terrified that this was far more than a dream. Wondering if that awful clenching in his chest was his heart lurching with dread¡­ or an unseen dagger from daring to play the idealistic fool in a world as cold and ruthless as the one he had left behind.

    Had he perished yet again?

    He would have screamed, but his throat was locked. Sleep paralysis or death¡¯s hoary grip, he couldn¡¯t be certain. Only that he knew these endless black frigid depths all too well.

    How many lifetimes had he spent in this frigid purgatory before his endless darkness was lit up by brief flashes of existence once more? How many times had he woken up for the first time, actually the thousandth time, exhilarated by a chance to escape his memories of his final awful day being frozen alive¡­ utterly unaware that he had spent most of eternity in just that state?

    Save for brief, halcyon, dream-like glimpses filled with life¡¯s vitality and joy.

    Glimpses of happiness that WiFu¡¯s spite-filled kin, who despised them both so utterly, had done all they could to tear free from his grasp, before booting him back into that frigid hell yet again.

    As they had a thousand times before.

    How long?

    How long had he been lost in the stygian depths that were the River of Souls, compared to the brief glimpses of life and rebirth he had savored when escaping his eternal sentence?

    It was a question for which there was no answer.

    Only the bitter realization that he wasn¡¯t alone in that suffering.

    That there was at least one other sentience to that bitter frigid eternity by his side.

    Yet all he had to do was send out spiritual feelers with a soul now unfettered by mortality¡¯s constraints, to sense how utterly alone he now was.

    Just himself and countless souls drifting between lives, most asleep, only the truly vile forced to experience the same purgatory as he.

    The souls most desperate to escape, by any means that they could. To rise once more not as innocent newborn souls, but as bitter, hate-filled undead.

    And as for guardians¡­

    He sensed no guardian at all.

    How could there be?

    He had already killed her, before fleeing this twisted realm by any backdoor that he could.

    He glared into the inky darkness. Even if he was just a figment of dream, he could sense countless malignant tormented souls twisting to be free.

    Souls that fled, shrieking in silent horror when they felt the weight of his own soul¡­ his own dark crimes now free of all guise or restraint for all to sense down here in the endless depths. Crimes beyond all others, perhaps, for not even gods had the power to crush souls to oblivion. Or at least, very few would dare the River¡¯s powers, lest they be sucked in, their eternal triumphs shucked as their too-long-captive souls eagerly sought the rebirth and renewal each and every one of them was so terrified to embrace, those divine tier cultivators having fled to a world with no death at all. A shell of a realm from which they could safely puppet-master an entire Jupitearean-sized world¡¯s affairs to their hearts¡¯ content, savoring the countless misfortunes and mortal trials that they would never have to experience, save vicariously, ever again.

    Very few ascended gods would dare the river that claimed everyone and everything in the end.

    Alex could think of only two.

    And one had fallen by his hand.

    Which was why it shook him so profoundly to hear the boundless shrieking wail of a girl pushed past all her limits, and the desperate struggles of a would-be savior pushed to absolute exhaustion, trying to save her.

    Alex was struck to the quick by the girl¡¯s cries, though he couldn¡¯t exactly say why. Only that he knew her. Knew her as deeply and profoundly as it was possible to know another. That she was family. Kin.

    Someone he had never seen before.

    Yet as he found his spirit drifting free of inky darkness that had gone from the pressure of liquid metal to the ephemerality of autumn mist, his spirit drifting down corridors he last recalled seeing when daring a city of the dead and a sanctuary of countless Silverbell Blossoms where he forged his first Bronze tier cord, he couldn¡¯t help thinking that he should know the girl he was now gazing down upon, as a frantic inspector with a tricorn hat desperately tried to bring life to the too still girl by his feet.

    ¡°No, little blossom. You have been asleep for far too long as it stands. You must awaken now, before it¡¯s too late!¡±

    WiFu¡¯s voice echoed through a startled Alex¡¯s ears, revealing a depth of worry on the verge of panic that Alex would never have expected to hear from his mercurial mentor in a thousand years.

    That was when he felt as much as heard the terrible rumble, the earth itself trembling and shaking as the lost city was shattered by hideous shrieks beyond even the screams Alex had so recently heard.

    Instantly recognizing those screams as the very air seemed to weep blood that smelled of bloated rot and despair.

    Shalu. Alex¡¯s eternal enemy. Even now writhing in torment, mortally wounded and kept alive only by a rejuvenation pod touching upon technological complexities Alex thought it best not to dwell too deeply upon right now. All his attention instead on understanding the puzzle of the girl lying so deathly still even as WiFu...and the woman by his side, tried desperately to revive her.

    ¡°It¡¯s not working, Qing Bai!¡±

    ¡°I know, my love.¡± The mother of his children gave a heartfelt sigh, eyes filled a depth of understanding utterly free of the arrogant disdain characterizing the feature of most immortal cultivators that had crossed Alex¡¯s path over countless lifetimes.

    WiFu¡¯s gaze took on a desperate intensity. ¡°But we have everything. Everything we need! The cards of Fate themselves decree that this should work!¡± Alex winced at the sound of his master¡¯s voice. Free of all snark, or bemused, unshakable confidence, now revealing the raw naked dismay of a man forced to accept that entropy would shatter any premise, law, or mandate that it could, to take its due.

    Instead, his eyes fastened on the cards, overwhelmed and awed by the power resonating from them.

    It was all he could do not to chuckle, realizing that his master hadn¡¯t just been three steps ahead of everyone else, using Alex as a wrench in his enemies plans on all sides¡­ but he had been playing a different game entirely.

    That of bringing his lost disciple, his first disciple, a girl he gazed upon with a father¡¯s desperate intensity, back to life.

    ¡°I have the Card of Fates, the Sigil of Frozen Hearts, Cultivator¡¯s Ascension, and Spirit¡¯s Redemption! The fifth card should automatically be in play!¡±

    WiFu cried out the last like a plea.

    Qing Bai gave an exquisitely graceful shake of her head. ¡°I am sorry, beloved.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± WiFu sobbed, eyes filled with the helpless fury of a man about to lose everything. ¡°For twenty thousand years those bastards tormented her, for the unforgivable crime of coming to my rescue. I won¡¯t lose her after she sacrificed so much for me!¡±

    Alex¡¯s heart broke, hearing those words as he turned to look at the too still girl lying prone in a trembling WiFu¡¯s lap, pale white skin revealing an ugly red incision where her heart had been restored, another still seeping wound where her soul stone had been infused in a surgery encompassing both body and soul, in this realm between worlds.

    And that was when he saw it. The strands of swirling spiritual energy tying the painfully still girl so tightly to the River of Souls.

    Bonded with her forever, refusing to surrender its eternal serpent.

    No matter how much she wanted to be free.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    You have successfully triangulated Interface Point: River of Souls.

    Alex remembered those words echoing so profoundly through his soul, a lifetime ago. And now? Now he but dreamed a dream of a life already long gone.

    He knew that.

    Just as he knew how easy it would be to gently collect those silver-white strands from the beautiful girl actually wearing a school uniform he recognized from a lifetime ago, and pluck them free.

    Interface Skill Check: Critical Success!

    You have successfully freed Shui Jun from Eternity¡¯s Grasp!

    You have formed Divine Tier Karmic Affinity with: Shui Jun! First Disciple of the god of Chaos and Change!

    WARNING! - The River of Souls is now free of any Eternal Guardian within the Golden Realms!

    Other messages blared across a dreaming Alex¡¯s mind. But he ignored them all, profoundly moved when WiFu swept the screaming girl in his arms, her eyes wide with the unspeakable horror of recalling twenty thousand years of torment while no longer in the shape of a cold-blooded creature able to endure that endless purgatory.

    And then, between one heartbeat and the next, Qing Bai¡¯s delicate fingers had plucked a winding knot of ghostly rope from Shui Jun¡¯s left ear, their patient immediately collapsing into WiFu¡¯s trembling arms as Qing Bai gently stroke and cood at the twisting knot of smoke that soon took the shape of a serpent, a tiny miniature version of the river¡¯s guardian, the form Shui Jun had been locked in for countless millennia. Her careworn yet exquisitely beautiful features lit up in a serene smile as WiFu sobbed and rocked the once more living girl in his arms as his midnight wife coaxed a tiny new spirit serpent into being.

    ¡°It will be a long time before our little one here is anything but a pet to her mistress.¡±

    ¡°Then the world can endure the inconvenience!¡± WiFu said roughly. ¡°They¡¯ve already benefited from twenty thousand years of sacrifice. They can damn well fend for themselves, for now.¡±

    Qing Bai solemnly bowed her head, so graceful in her qipao of starlight and dream, exquisite hairpins of jade and moonlight reflecting countless future possibilities it awed Alex even to see. ¡°Agreed. For now, let¡¯s simply give our profound thanks for the kindness of fate, and the dreams of boys cruelly used and abandoned, that we can only hope will one day savor lives as sweet as any they could imagine.¡±

    WiFu gave a ragged chuckle, eyes twinkling gamely, for all that Alex could so clearly see the desperation, strain, and exhaustion upon features that normally hid it so well. ¡°I quite agree, beloved. Let¡¯s give thanks to kind fates and kinder dreams. For certainly boys lost to the River¡¯s depths and beneath the notice of any deity¡¯s gaze knows better than to embrace their signature talents. At least, not until they hit Gold. Then the gentle cloak of absolution which hides as well as limits, will limit no more.¡± WiFu¡¯s eyes flashed. ¡°So long as they never again dare to embrace the one skill which even gods fear. That alone will rupture all attempts at deception and obfuscation. That alone will assure that a doom cleverly stalled for what could be an eternity, will instead rush forward to it¡¯s ultimate conclusion.¡±

    Qing Bai paled at those words. ¡°Come, husband. We have already said too much. Let¡¯s get our daughter to bed.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in horrified disbelief at those words. ¡°Wait, no, that¡¯s impossible! I recognize her uniform. I recognize her! She¡¯s from Earth, like me. How could she be your daughter?¡±

    Of course there was no response to his words. For he was no more able to affect the Golden Realms than any ghostly figment of dream. A dream he himself abruptly woke up from, jerking upright in a cold, nighttime sweat, just in time to see Qing Wu grinning evilly down at him. ¡°You¡¯re awake? Good. Just in time for your shift.¡±

    His brusque words were belied by the tasty bowl of stew he placed in a yawning Alex¡¯s hands moments later, experienced gaze giving Alex a thorough once-over, as if making sure he was truly up for the task.

    ¡°Alex? You don¡¯t have to.¡± Ya Ling, also eating a bowl of stew in the snug quarters nearby, glared at her uncle. ¡°No matter what this wujen says. Because he¡¯s not doing any guard duty at all. Merely enjoying this frigid icicle of a wagon.¡±

    ¡°The privileges of rank and Silver tier spells,¡± Qing Wu said with an airy wave and a teasing smile. His frowned, tilting his head. ¡°But if you are truly not up for it, Alex...¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine!¡± Alex quickly assured, at that moment absolutely dreading the thought of falling to sleep again. ¡°It will be good to get some fresh night air, maybe some practice as well.¡±

    ¡°So long as you keep your focus on our backs¡­ the drivers will take care of our fronts, as we¡¯re riding this night through,¡± Qing Wu cautioned.

    Alex dipped his head before taking another bite of meaty stew, a bit more gamy and richer than beef, and no less delicious for that. Alex was pretty sure it was the remains of one spirit beast or another, one bowl all that he needed to feel delightfully full.

    In very short order he found himself topside, taking deep breaths of brisk desert air, awed by the majesty of countless millions of stars twinkling in the heavens above. He spent long moments just meditating upon the majesty of the boundless heavens, before finally thinking back on a dream that had felt so visceral, so real.

    He shivered in recollection of how awful it had felt to sink back into death¡¯s chilly embrace yet again. Even if for only a moment, in the guise of a dream. Only for that dream to reveal the snake that had haunted so many of his dreams, the vessel of his ultimate demise and eternal punishment¡­ had herself been as much of a victim as he.

    Had, in fact, been WiFu¡¯s first disciple.

    And if his dream really was anything more than the ramblings of an exhausted mind, she was his daughter as well. ¡°So was that my real purpose? The ultimate point of my existence? A lever, a distraction, so you could free that which mattered to you the most?¡± He dared do no more than whisper the words, anchoring it with no name that would ever caress hostile ears. Because even if that were the case, even if the god of chaos and change and mischief in all its forms had plucked him from life¡¯s final frigid moment as a tool to rescue his daughter sentenced to an awful eternity¡­ so what?

    WiFu had given him a chance. A chance to embrace a fresh start, to go just as far as life could take him. And even from the very beginning, Alex had always a choice. A way out. He could have taken that golden ring and the promise of a privileged life entirely free of divine politics, whenever he liked. Terran no longer, reborn as a Trueblood in truth, and despised by no one.

    Who would have thought he would have chosen to keep his Terran identity for so long? Clutching tight to that bitter tarnished copper ring every damn time?

    The fact was that he was just as hungry to break past all limits and see just how far he could ascend at the start of each new trial. Because past¡¯s bitter memories truly had been washed away so perfectly that he never had even an inkling of an idea that maybe, this time, he should cut his losses and just take the golden ring.

    But no. The gift of a clean memory and a fresh start had forever been his, thanks to a sympathetic elder deity, who no doubt now despised him as much as every other, after he tore out the throat of her grandson.

    And fuck if he wouldn¡¯t gladly do it again.

    The important thing was that WiFu¡¯s mad gambit had worked, and an utterly unwitting pawn had woken up at just the right time and place to do that one act which he had perhaps been eternally destined to do.

    Snip free death¡¯s bone-white cords of torment, freeing the soul of a girl whose face he actually recognized.

    From a time they had both been kids attending high school.

    However impossibly long ago it had been.

    ¡°Assuming, of course, it wasn¡¯t just a dream.¡±

    Yet for a dream, she had snapped into focus with exquisite clarity. In fact, he realized to his bemusement that all he had to do was closed his eyes and he could see her perfectly once more. Only now her face was flush with life¡¯s promise, her eyes radiating a vitality the equal to the Jade monster that had nearly killed Alex, a lifetime ago. Dressed in an exquisitely crafted qipao of burgundy silk and dream, she flushed under the ministrations of a clearly doting Qing Bai, applying crushed rose petals and kohl with practiced grace with her hands as her tale merely waved over her daughter¡¯s head and her ears and nose were instantly graced with golden rings and diamond clasps radiating exquisitely potent spiritual energy while highlighting eyes that were somehow both captivating, and no earthly color at all.

    Shui Jun, if that truly was her, shook her head in a daze as her mother gently turned her to glimpse her countenance in the mirror.

    ¡°I can hardly believe I¡¯m here right now. Free of pain, eternal cold¡­ able to feel the warmth of your love through your beating heart.¡± Perfect crystal tears flowed from her cheeks. ¡°It¡¯s perfect. Too perfect! Please tell me I won¡¯t wake up from this beautiful dream and forget what it felt like to have limbs once more¡­ I don¡¯t think I could bear it.¡±

    Qing Bai could only smile and shake her head, tears streaming freely down her cheeks before splashing on to the desert sands below, saturating the lands with life-giving rain as fresh green shoots made the absolute most of the opportunity to blossom once more.

    ¡°Fear not, Shui Jun. You are here. In the flesh. And need never endure that nightmare ever again.¡± Her gaze was filled with sudden concern. ¡°I had thought¡­ we had hoped that you were free of that awful burden. That the memories that remain were like those of a dream.¡±

    ¡°They are,¡± Shui Jun assured, her voice sounding so like the serpent¡¯s divine reverberations resonating with such force that Alex felt his bones vibrating. Yet despite the fierce power and potency she now radiated, her tear-filled eyes and expression were that of a vulnerable young woman pushed to the brink and forced to remain there for far, far too long. ¡°Its as if I had been stuck in a coma¡­ or lost in a dream, for months on end. Yet I still feel the terror of it, just the same.¡±

    Her mother¡¯s gaze grew strangely intent. ¡°Shui Jun, how much do you remember? Truly. As more than just a fading dream.¡±

    Her daughter¡¯s complexion paled. And how odd it was to see no sign of eccentric ears or swishing fluffy tale, despite knowing who her father was. ¡°The last thing I remember? As more than a dream?¡± Her features took on a pained smile. ¡°Was the look in your eyes after my diagnosis. And how father raged at the world when we found out that it was terminal. That, and I remember the pain. The pain that wouldn¡¯t stop, no matter what we did. Then I remember going back to bed, swallowing the entire bottle of pills¡­ and nothing else.¡±

    Her mother wrapped her tightly in her arms. ¡°Oh my baby. My poor, poor child. To have had so much torn away. To know that your father¡¯s enemies despise us that much, that they had stripped you of absolutely everything before damning you eternally...¡± she shook her head, glaring at the silvery-gray metal that formed the oddly sloping gray roof above their heads. ¡°Never have I felt less pity for the monster slowly dying above our head than I do right now!¡±

    Shui Jun furrowed her brow. ¡°Mother? Are we in a palliative care unit? Is this...¡± She forced a strained smile, taking in the historically accurate bed with the addition of very modern-looking down-stuffed pillows as well as the ink-stained rice-paper room dividers depicting a flock of cranes, before smiling down at the exquisitely carved and polished chair she sat upon. All of which was a sharp contrast to the sleek silver-gray walls, ceiling, and automatic sliding door. ¡°Their attempt at cultural sensitivity and comfort, going for an east-asian theme, or is this actually that upscale hospital father was trying to grab an administrative role at in Shanghai?¡±

    In answer, her mother unfolded her hand as gracefully as a ballerina, revealing a prize that made her daughter gasp in delight. ¡°Mother, is that genuine? A jade green pearl that size? It must be worth a fortune!¡±

    Yet Alex was slack-jawed, feeling the incredible power and potency radiating from the prize in the goddess''s hand.

 Book 8 - Chapter 31 - Reclaiming Jade

    ¡°It¡¯s a path, daughter. The path of someone who survived all the trials and tribulations needed to ascend to Jade.¡± She quickly spoke over the confused look her daughter gave her, the questions no doubt bubbling in her daughter¡¯s mind. ¡°No, Shui Shui. We have no time for twenty-questions or adolescent scorn.¡± She gazed at the door, unable to hide her flinch. ¡°I have stretched grandmother¡¯s concessions to the absolute limit, and her eldest son, who has always despised us, senses things evolving beyond his control. That¡¯s a state he never could tolerate. We are already running out of time.¡±

    Shui Jun¡¯s features froze, good-natured bemusement immediately becoming a focused intensity Alex recalled being more than a bit intimidated by, at least once before.

    Ah yes. She was the relief pitcher! A girl who hadn¡¯t taken too kindly to the softball snark from Alex¡¯s smack-talking teammates. Not that she had been anything but exquisitely polite to them all. Before closing the final inning with a series of fastballs that had left Alex and everyone else eating dirt.

    Something to laugh about with his mother when they had gone in for his checkup the next day.

    It was the last game he had ever played.

    ¡°How the hell are we running out of time? What does that even mean?¡±

    Her mother solemnly shook her head, gaze growing strangely intent. ¡°Two paths lay before you, daughter mine. To wake up in the arms of a mother who will love and cherish you, to begin a life of privilege, prestige, wealth and good-fortune. A life utterly free of worry and care. A life where you might even unlock cultivation¡¯s glorious promise and potential, and ascend no further than sheer whim and fancy takes you, and even that will lead to a pristine spring and summer of youth that will last for decades, if not centuries.¡± Her mother gave her an oddly comforting smile. ¡°Not because you don¡¯t have the potential for more. Far more. But you will feel no need to push yourself to embrace the bitter. Not when your entire life is destined to be sweet! That life, and countless other lives. A dozen dozen lives of luck and good fortune. Yours to savor for millennia.

    Shui Jun¡¯s eyes had widened at those words, a trembling hand reaching to stroke her mother¡¯s tear-stained cheeks, as if only now realizing the divine potency radiating from the woman who cherished her beyond all others. ¡°Mother, what happened?¡± The girl began to tremble. ¡°Am I¡­ am I even alive?¡±

    Her mother¡¯s smile didn¡¯t waver. ¡°The other choice is to embrace the secrets within this pearl of Jade. I cannot tell you whose it is, only that their memories will become yours. Their experiences will become yours.¡± Her mother¡¯s gaze grew strangely intent. ¡°Their pain, bitter struggles, the fierce determination and monstrous obstacles overcome to forge themselves to the cusp of Jade will become your own. And when you eventually perish, as all creatures must, those memories will be forgotten and you will be reborn as one spirit among countless trillions, with no golden lives to look forward to, save those you make yourself.¡±

    Shui Jun¡¯s eyes widened, her look of dismay slowly turning into a determined glare. ¡°If I take the promise of dozens of happy, cancer-free lives¡­ will I remember you? Will I remember Father?¡±

    Qing Bai¡¯s eyes filled with tears. She solemnly shook her head.

    That was the moment Qing Bai flinched and turned around and Shui Jun visibly paled, as if risk of fading right back to oblivion under the sudden awful pressure bearing down on the room. Even Alex could sense the furious killing aura through his reverie.

    ¡°Qing Bai! I sense the twisting of Fate¡¯s threads as my son twists and writhes under the torments of your bastard lover and his wretched disciple! You will open this door and reveal the secrets of your soul to me, and you will do so now!¡±

    Alex was dismayed to see Shui Jun fade to near incorporability, a powerless spirit being blown to oblivion by bitter mercurial winds that she had no power over at all.

    Yet it was nothing for Alex to sooth the winds around her, and brace her before she could completely blow away.

    Though he wasn¡¯t expecting Qing Bai¡¯s gaze to transform from horrified dismay to awed disbelief, somehow looking right at him. Even if he was clearly daydreaming¡­ night dreaming upon a caravan meandering through endless desert sands.

    ¡°We have no time, my daughter. No time at all. You must make your choice!¡±

    Shui Jun¡¯s ghostly hand stroked her mother¡¯s features. ¡°I¡¯m so tired of hurting, mother.¡±

    A crack resonated through the room entire, Alex sensing oaths shattering and bitter prices of karma that would be ignored by the divine tyrant a heartbeat from forgoing all grace and propriety and storming the room.

    Shui Jun, so close to fading away with fortune¡¯s promise, grew suddenly vibrant, her form immediately filling out, now radiating such potent presence that the room itself seemed to fade to insignificance as Shalu¡¯s monstrous screams could be heard faintly above their head.

    ¡°Shalu!¡± Zheng Yi cried, storming back the way he came, his pounding feet shaking the floor beneath them all.

    Shui Jun, now radiating the river¡¯s power, seized the Jade pearl in a hand that no earthly force could deny. A hand that an eyeblink later was just that of an uncertain highschool senior once more. The farthest thing from a cultivator, or anyone capable of channeling death¡¯s waters. She flashed her mother a nervous yet determined glare. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m forgetting you or father. Not ever! So, I¡¯m claiming the bloody pearl.¡±

    Her glare turned to a hopeful smile. ¡°Was this a test? Did I pass it?¡± She swallowed, suddenly anxious before her mother¡¯s implacable gaze. ¡°Does that mean I get to stay?¡±

    Her mother solemnly shook her head, words cold and implacable with fate¡¯s decree, even if her eyes radiated a mother¡¯s deepest regret.

    ¡°No, my child. It means you must embrace the bittersweet centuries that our enemies thought you too stupid to reclaim as your own. And it means we can never see each other again.¡±

    Shui Jun¡¯s mouth opened in furious protest, only to bulge almost comically when her mother calmly plucked the jade core in her daughter¡¯s unresisting hand before shoving it down Shui Jun¡¯s throat.

    Shui Jun¡¯s eyes widened in inconceivable horror as she crashed to her knees. Glowing with the furious heat of a nuclear eruption, she opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out save pristine spiritual energy as the girl¡¯s flesh began to blaze with silvery flame, consumed and reforged by the terrible currents now reforging her, body and soul.

    A thousand year¡¯s worth of insight and broken memories, in the time it took her great grandfather to storm to the rejuvenation pods above.

    When next she spoke, it was with the ragged voice of a girl forced to endure unspeakable torments, and the voice of a woman who had forged herself through countless fires that few could even conceive of, let alone dare.

    ¡°Mother!¡± The words was a cry, a plea, and an acknowledgment.

    Tears were streaming down Qing Bai¡¯s cheeks as she sensed her innocent beloved teenaged daughter fuse with the memories and terrible insights of a thousand year old monster.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Until there was no difference between the two.

    Two reflections of a single soul, fused into one.

    Yet the way Shui Jun kowtowed before the quietly sobbing god wasn¡¯t that of a daughter greeting her mother, but a cultivator honoring her patron god after countless centuries of reverence.

    ¡°Lady Qing Bai...¡±

    ¡°Call me mother, silly child.¡±

    It broke Alex¡¯s heart, to see the girl of moments before flinch. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare such a thing.¡± She flushed. ¡°Any more than I already have.¡±

    Qing Bai refused all formality, gathering her now trembling daughter into her arms. ¡°My final gift to you. Even if we had to tear free your diamond ascension, our enemies trapping and damning you for countless millennia after making it clear that they¡¯d throw every single game for a thousand years, so long as it meant none of your father¡¯s kin would ever join our pantheon, twisted and dysfunctional as it is.¡± She broke down in sobs, and suddenly it was Shui Jun holding her mother. ¡°Those bastards have done all they could to ruin you, the first Terran ever to cross the gulf between worlds, and all your kitsune sisters. But we still managed to rescue your Jade peril!¡± She bit her lip. ¡°Even if you only have the power of a recently broken through Jade. Not one who ascended through so many ranks that you¡¯re just a half-step below divinity, and so ripe a target for my twisted grandfather to do all he could to destroy!¡±

    Shui Jun visibly trembled under the weight of her mother¡¯s words. ¡°And yet¡­ I remember it all.¡± Her smile grew pained. ¡°Even if most of it is dreamlike, and I¡¯m as much a varsity pitcher as a girl who would defy the very heavens, crushing entire kingdoms under the fires of my resolve. I sense that things will start to come back very quickly.¡±

    Her mother gave a fierce nod. ¡°They will.¡±

    ¡°And that I will rapidly lose my connection to my first life. That soon the memories I taste will become more me than the first seventeen years that passed in the blink of an eye.¡±

    Qing Bai wordlessly nodded, holding her close. ¡°But at least you will remember your father and me. Even if we become distant memories, our love for you will always find its place in your bitter Jade heart.¡±

    Shui Jun chuckled. ¡°Because all of us who would dare ascend past Gold¡¯s promise and prosperity are bitter, driven creatures, aren¡¯t we, mother?¡±

    Qing Bai sighed, caressing her daughter¡¯s cheek with her palm. ¡°In truth, I wouldn¡¯t know, love. All your other sisters were content with quiet lives with their families, savoring a Silver¡¯s power at most. Very few even dared Gold, wanting only to hide from the malice of gods and men.¡±

    Shui Jun paled. And how it sickened Alex, sensing such desperate, awful fear, even from a Jade. For just a heartbeat, before her fierce resolve overcame mortal emotions entirely.

    ¡°And what¡¯s to keep my monstrous in-laws from stripping away all my hard-won power and damning me a second time?¡±

    At that her mother calmly held up her daughter¡¯s wrist, revealing a tattoo of Shadow and Spirit.

    Shui Jun¡¯s eyes widened in sudden comprehension. ¡°This tattoo means that I will be blind to the heavens. That I¡¯ll never be able to ascend again¡­ or even speak to you or father, ever again!¡±

    Her mother choked back a sob, and nodded. ¡°It also means that you will be eternally out of our enemy¡¯s sight. That once you choose to fall from this chamber to the earthly realms below¡­ you will never be able to ascend again. Not in this lifetime, or any other.¡±

    Shui Jun¡¯s eyes widened with impossible hope. ¡°So all those bastards who stole twenty thousand years of my life...¡±

    ¡°Will never be able to cross paths with you again. Not even their priests will sense you. And any mortal agents that serendipity might put in your path...¡±

    Shui Jun flashed a wicked smile. ¡°Are challenges I can surely handle.¡± Her gaze grew pained. ¡°So this is goodbye forever, then?¡±

    Qing Bai smirked. ¡°Not unless you would chop off your own arm and return with me to my garden, where you could finally meet your sisters before slipping through gentlest shadow into your new life.¡± She flashed a gentle smile. ¡°But then you would be reborn as Kitsune. Terran no longer. Capable of Jade and Divinity no longer. Though you would have the comforts of your family and our garden between all your future incarnations, and my blood would be just as strong through your spiritual veins.¡±

    Shui Jun swallowed. ¡°I have no interest in chopping off my own arm. Not when I¡¯m already sacrificing so many perfect lives for the chance to be myself, with my memories intact, once more.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± her mother sighed. ¡°Because with you no longer forced to guard the river¡¯s waters, the land below is at last realizing how very much they owe you.¡± She waved away her daughter¡¯s look of alarm. ¡°You¡¯ve more than done your duty, for millennia longer than anyone had a right to ask you. And a new Shui Jun will guard those waters. One who was born for the river and is more than content with her path. Even if she will take centuries to mature.¡± She gave her still dazed daughter a heartfelt hug. ¡°Now it is time for you to go.¡±

    The girl blinked. ¡°How?¡±

    Her mother gazed at the shimmering golden cord winding from her navel down to the world below. ¡°By following the karmic cord between you and the one who saved you from eternal damnation.¡±

    Shui Jun¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait¡­ I no, how could he be¡­ mother, who is this person?¡±

    Her mother shook her head. ¡°Your father¡¯s attempt at redemption, at undoing the disaster that had claimed your life for so many millennia. WiFu¡¯s second Eternal Disciple. I suppose you could call him your little kung fu brother.¡±

    Shui Jun laughed at her mother¡¯s words, before she abruptly blanched. ¡°Mother¡­ I feel¡­ wait, he¡¯s from Earth? Like me?¡±

    Qing Bai only smiled in response. ¡°Make me proud, child. Embrace the life you most wish to live.¡±

    Shui Jun swallowed, then dipped her head. ¡°Thank you, mother.¡± Her eyes widened when distant roaring could be heard once more.

    ¡°You would dare to defy fate yet again, granddaughter? When I find your abomination, I will take her head!¡±

    Qing Bai¡¯s gaze grew frantic. ¡°Now, daughter. You must descend now!¡±

    The last words Alex heard before he sensed the karmic cord between himself and Shui Jun grow impossibly tight. Then tighter. And tighter still. As if his very soul was being torn from his flesh as a meteor was sent hurtling down from the heavens above.

    Alex choked back a scream before jolting upright in a sweat-covered panic, looking around him in a frantic daze before taking a deep ragged breath of the cool nighttime air, chuckling at the stars above, realizing it had all just been a dream.

    Then he abruptly stiffened, jerked to alertness by the sense of something¡­ strange.

    Something off, as he heard the snort and soft bray of the massive camel-like spirit beasts that tolerated the desert sands so well, as their wagon¡¯s soft rocking jerked with the feel of suddenly anxious beasts eager to be anywhere but here.

    Alex was suddenly wide awake, ignoring the pounding of his heart as he cast Qi Perception as far as he could into the inky gloom. His nostrils dilated as he tasted the air.

    There was nothing living that Qi Perception could pick up on, not for 80 yards at least.

    But a chance shift in the mercurial desert breeze...

    There. There!

    He cursed softly under his breath when he recognized the scent.

    Death.

    A scent he could never forget, after spending so long trapped in the River of Souls.

    His interface went from frustratingly blank to brilliant with red blinking dots blinking so ominously his gut twisted in panicked knots as he glared in the distance for some visual cue¡­ seeing nothing but shifting desert sands¡­ and then, little more than silhouettes in the strange white mist alien to this desert, were the jerking, shambling silhouettes of that which should never have been allowed to cross into this realm.

    Glowing eyes an awful shade of rotting puce pierced the fog as a distant cry from one of the caravanners could be heard. And Alex jerked himself free of the awful sense of drowning dread that had momentarily frozen him, forcing himself to stare out at the encroaching mist once more. Daring to catch the deathly glares fixated on the caravan of now thoroughly spooked spirit beasts and too-silent drivers, Alex refusing to be afraid.

    Refusing to fear the fled remnants of a river he had once mastered.

    Even if it had been a lifetime ago.

 Book 8 - Chapter 32 - New Foes

    ¡°Qing Wu! Dui Zhong! We¡¯re under attack! Get up! Get the hell up now!¡± Alex roared.

    That was when he sensed it, the silvery cords of mist already seeping into the caravan. Cords of Spirit Qi he was dismayed to find he had absolutely no idea how to counter, for all that those probing strands shattered like glass, when they tried to attach to him.

    ¡°Dui Zhong! Qing Wu!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no good! He won¡¯t wake up! No one will wake up!¡± Cried out Luo, one of the surviving pair of basic cultivators that had enjoyed such fortuitous encounters earlier in their journey, the look in the young man¡¯s eye as he locked gazes with Alex from an adjoining wagon was that of someone wondering he he was now about to pay for his good fortune in full.

    Alex cursed under his breath, suddenly understanding the nature of that Spirit Qi that promised not death, but endless nightmares that would become death to those already asleep¡­ once the rapidly approaching remnants had their way.

    ¡°Luo, curse magic has saturated the caravan. No one is waking up!¡± It was a guess, but made as much sense as anything else. ¡°Is there anyone else who can fight awake?¡±

    Luo jerked toward the riders. ¡°Bo Bo! Can Xun use a spear as well as you?¡±

    ¡°Better!¡± Said an unfamiliar voice. ¡°But if you expect me to take on whatever the hell¡¯s in that cloud of mist¡­ not a chance in hell!¡±

    ¡°You need us riding these caravans as fast as we can,¡± declared the heavyset one known as Bo Bo. ¡°The beasts sense trouble. IF we don¡¯t keep a tight rein, they¡¯ll panic, and we¡¯re all surely doomed then!¡±

    Luo visibly paled under the moonlight before Alex¡¯s exquisite Perception. He could so acutely sense the young man¡¯s terror, at the very though of trying to take on the undead with a spear. A dance that could only have one ending, and not one Luo could hope to walk away from.

    Yet for some reason it didn¡¯t stop the manic grin Alex could feel sliding across his features, or his desire to laugh at the madness to come. ¡°Luo! Keep a calm head and direct the caravan! Have the riders try to pull ahead, forcing them to give chase and trail you along the trade road, your best terrain by far!¡±

    Luo jerked a nod.

    ¡°Already on it!¡± Declared Bo Bo.

    ¡°Alex, what do we do if they close on us? Will our crossbows even work¡­ Alex!?¡± The young man gave a surprised cry when the air lit up with a brilliant disk of furiously spinning Qi as Alex leaped free of the wagon and loped back at an easy energy-conserving pace for the very edge of the mist. His might have been a cautious stride, but Rank 4 Prismatic Fox meant he could now had reserves for physical exertion far beyond what any mortal, or even most cultivators of Bronze, could hope to match.

    He forced himself to get ever closer to the mist radiating the promise of purgatory in endless stygian depths once more. It was everything he could do to press on, already knowing that if worst came to worst, he could embrace the crucible of peril for as fast and long as any foe he expected to meet out here. Even the dead.

    The question was, could he do anything against them?

    A question that was rapidly put to the test when he got a look at his first walker¡­ A dessicated body dressed in a tattered cultivator¡¯s robe with the remains of a rusted spear head still stuck in the corpse¡¯s eye.

    Limbs possessing what Alex feared was hideous, supernatural strength lunged for the mortal that dared approach¡­ before the undead thing found itself stumbling in the sands to its knees.

    You have successfully used Wind Slice against Undead Revenant.

    Undead Revenant is knocked off balance!

    Attack fails to penetrate Death¡¯s Mantel!

    Alex¡¯s jaw clenched as he leaped back, instinctively parrying the first pounding blow that he sensed could smash concrete with his shield. And much to his satisfaction, it was the undead revenant trying to flank him that groaned in dismay, hand broken against his Prismatic Shield, though his attack had done little more than trip the one he had aimed at.

    And now Alex¡¯s Qi Perception and Desert Sense were blaring warning as the undead wave threatened to flood over him, and his Wind Blade had effectively done nothing at all.

    Not until he infused Water and Wind into a killing storm, fit to purge through any barrier of the desert.

    A storm he would grace with the element he knew the dead most feared.

    But to make his water a conductor worthy of his Lightning, he had to infuse it with iron salts as well.

    So he did.

    No matter how much his Dantian strained and shifted against the pressure as he desperately weaved and dodged past shambling blows that might have been clumsy and slow, but had enough strength to tear a warrior free of his armor. He could sensed that with painful clarity as he darted past yet another clawed, dessicated hand.

    But not before lopping it off, a heartbeat later in an explosion of water and lightning.

    Insight check made! You savor battlefield revelations and memories of past lives as you dodge death yet again!

    You have successfully infused Wind with Water, Metal, and Lightning into one Synergized whole!

    Alex ignored the interface messages now blaring in the back of his mind, having eyes only for the slavering horror about to leap upon his back and rip out his throat¡­ before spinning around and slamming it prone with his shield of prismatic light, a heartbeat before lashing out with his blade of steel and three additional feet of crackling lightning and tiny flecks of iron spinning about a core of water and wind like a buzz saw, before cleaving completely through the skull of the snarling revenant in a flash of black bile and gore.

    And Alex couldn¡¯t describe into words the furious exultation he felt at the surge of potency surging into him from his first successful kill. What mattered was that Potency Mastery would now grant him 4 minutes of super fast spiritual energy recovery as his blade crackled to ever more brilliant life, the swirling bits of cutting iron spinning ever faster as he whipped his blade around in cleaving arcs, roaring in furious exultation as one revenant skull after another exploded in gore or was cleaved completely free of its host. The bodies instantly collapsed and began to wither and dessicate before Alex¡¯s eyes before crumbling to dust¡­ or melting to a black, sizzling paste, the undead spirit exiled back to the River of Souls the instant it felt Lightning¡¯s caress.

    Rank 10 Modified Golden Realms skillcheck made!

    You have successfully parried and evaded multiple attacks!

    You have successfully struck and slaughtered 7 Revenants!

    You have been struck once from behind.

    Balance lost!

    Your bones save versus breakage.

    Alex was suddenly wheezing for breath when he was sent flying back by the largest revenant he had seen yet, Rank 1 Finesse and too many sparring sessions with friends and overly enthusiastic training partners at least having taught him how to spring back to his feet in record time.

    Just in time to counter the roaring fury of the eight foot tall horror that must have been a fearsomely powerful cultivator in life. Potent enough that his rotting brain grasped the significance of a warding shield that incorporated lightning into its configuration, doing all it could to strike Alex at unexpected angles as it steadily pushed Alex back, his Desert Sense screaming warning just a heartbeat before the trap was sprung, chilling Alex as he cartwheeled back and lashed out only once, at just how devious at least the more potent undead truly were.

    Hardly the mindless husk as the undead revenant he had just cleaved in half or its fellow ambusher, now down a pair of hands as it crumpled to the ground. Yet all Alex¡¯s attention was on the clear leader of this band of undead killers, roaring his hate for Alex as it charged forward once more, faster than ever.

    Monstrously quick, in fact.

    Suddenly revealing the speed of a Deep Bronze, at least. Speed that should have taken Alex¡¯s head off, if he hadn¡¯t already pivoted his shield, as if knowing exactly where his opponent would strike, the pair engaging in a desperate furious exchange of sheer monstrous speed and brutality that should have utterly obliterated the far more fragile opponent¡­ yet somehow, didn¡¯t, as Alex always seemed to know just when to dodge and how to best pivot his shield.

    Soul Sight skill check made! You clearly sense the surge and flow of deathly spiritual energy that your ancient foe could hide so well in life, now so clearly visible in death, for those able to endure entropy¡¯s gaze!

    The creature stepped back and snarled, glaring at Alex with furious hate, and that which could almost be respect.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Before being abruptly spat in the face with a stream of Universal Solvent that seared through undead flesh with alarming ease, before the night lit up with a brilliant flash of lightning.

    The greater revenant opened its ruined jaws to howl silent protest as it collapsed¡­ an instant before its head exploded in caustic gore.

    You have critically struck Greater Revenant with Elementally infused Stormblade!

    Fatality!

    Experience earned!

    Windblade is now Rank 5!

    Skill evolution available.

    Synergism detected.

    Windblade has fused with Enhanced Water Strike!

    Lightning affinity detected! Previous Lightning mastery sensed!

    You have learned a new skill: Stormblade!

    You may now channel the force and fury of the storm with every swing of your weapon!

    Alex leaped back, lashing out with his dao as he spun around, intercepting flailing limbs and claws radiating deathly Qi that he feared would be fatal to almost anyone.

    And much to his re lief and dismay, his plan worked. The entire swarm of revenants was veering away from the wagon¡­ and toward the sole living mortal that dared to challenge them in mist that tasted, ever so faintly of death¡¯s river.

    ¡°Alex! Back away! You¡¯re going to get killed!¡±

    Alex was startled to hear Reny¡¯s desperate voice in the distance, but not so surprised that he failed to raise his brilliantly crackling shield, a shield through which he was forcefully channeling as much excess potency through as he could, answering every desperate lunge and furious assault with Lightning and the condensed fury of cutting winds and waters that shredded all it touched. For all that Alex was forced steadily back, he took fierce satisfaction in the line of dismembered remains crumbling to dust in his wake.

    He knew he was being a fool a thousand times over, daring to take on an entire regiment of revenants foes, no matter how slowly or clumsily they moved, or how fierce an edge that affinity with the element of Lightning gave him when battling the undead. Because the uncomfortable truth was that he never felt more alive, more truly at one with himself and the world around him and his connection to it all, his dao, than when he was putting his life on the line. Embracing the ultimate expression of chaos and transformation. The evolution of himself. The end of his enemies.

    His justification was that he was buying his friends time.

    Time to rip free of supernatural slumber. Time to rattle fuzzy thoughts into crystalline focus. Time for the Silver monster among them to once more summon his masterwork ritual that was almost a spell.

    You have been struck by necrotically infected claws!

    Desert Fox Cultivation counters killing blow.

    You have inhaled Death¡¯s Mist.

    Death¡¯s Mist has no effect upon one who would dare the River of Souls!

    Desperately, he tried to keep ahead of and simultaneously stall the growing tidal wave of death. Even as his pace increased, his muscles now burning with the ache of a constant unending workout as Desert Fox, Tier 3 Bronze Vitality, and sheerest desperation had him push himself as hard as he ever had as a Bronze, cursing the sea of dead that did not tire and would not stop, until he finally got the message he had been waiting for.

    ¡°Alex, back up! Uncle¡¯s Ready!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s voice. Welcome news he immediately responded to, praying Reny would forgive his utter disregard of her own. All the more so when he felt a fierce sharp tear in his left calf, but it didn¡¯t stop him from instantly retrieving his spear from his storage space to hobble away as fast as any mortal athlete had ever sprintedn.

    Barely making it to the edge of a massive ring of howling winds that had suddenly covered the entire desert, bitter cold cutting so deep¡­ but unable to quench the fires of his draconic heart¡­

    And then he was through.

    You have taken 1 Critical Wound from Revenant Assassin.

    You have partially saved against Crippling Blow!

    You have been caught in: Black Ice Ritual!

    Draconically enhanced Vitality saves versus Deadly Chill.

    You have successfully broken free of Black Ice Ritual!

    Alex choked back an agonized cry, only then noting how close he had come to being hamstrung, healing as best he could while still stumbling back, looking up in genuine awe at what seemed to be a howling tornado of winter ice and bitter cold.

    A tornado capable of tearing through even Death¡¯s Mists¡­ though perhaps it was just that whatever dark connection was tying the living and the dead was shattered as the foul abominations were flash-frozen to blocks of ice gazing out a the world with hate filled stares.

    Alex¡¯s heart was still pounding with the abrupt cessation of battle, having gone from killing fury to frigid resolution in the blink of an eye.

    He was more startled than he should have been when Qing Wu seemed to spring out of nowhere, giving Alex a measured look before chuckling softly. ¡°If I ever had any question as to your sanity, I certainly don¡¯t now. You¡¯re a madman, through and through. Daring to take on an entire army of revenants for the sake of people you¡¯ve known only weeks.¡±

    He sighed and shook is head, eyes twinkling with unmistakable approval. ¡°If only there were more heroes who didn¡¯t manage to get themselves killed long before they ever reached Bronze or Silver. What a world we would live in then.¡±

    He gave Alex a companionable clap on the shoulder. ¡°Come on, hero. Best we head back to the wagons. Reny¡¯s already got a fresh hot bowl of soup ready for you, and everyone else who dared stand strong or ride smart when the dead dared the desert sands.¡±

    Alex turned to face Qing Wu. ¡°I¡¯m staying.¡±

    The man blanched, momentarily taken aback. But not as much as Alex, surprised he had even uttered the words allowed, but knowing even as he said it, what his next move had to be.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    He spent several long moments looking at over a hundred frozen undead, glaring with unmistakable hate, from their prisons of ice.

    Qi Perception check made: You understand key properties of this ice, even if manipulating it is utterly beyond you!

    ¡°What happens when your ice finally melts?¡±

    Qing Wu paled, then grimaced. ¡°That won¡¯t be for a very long time. With any luck, the midday sun will be such a bane that half of them will surrender to death¡¯s call once more.¡±

    ¡°And the half that stays?¡±

    The Silver furrowed his brow. ¡°Alex, do you realize how tough killing revenants truly is?¡±

    Alex pointedly didn¡¯t look at the dissolving corpses he had left behind him, no doubt almost invisible in the darkness, against the press of revenants closing in. But to his Soul Sight, Qi Perception, and Desert Sense, he had sensed the bodies expiring and fading under the midnight hoard as if it were clear day.

    ¡°Challenging,¡± he agreed earning a bark of laughter from the Wujen.

    ¡°You foolish, glorious boy. You but fought the rabble, and distracted them gloriously! What you perhaps didn¡¯t sense were the ones that had gained a twisted understanding of the darkest elements of the dao, who also slipped through deaths waters, back to the living lands. Abominations as strong as a Deep Bronze¡­¡± His gaze hardened. ¡°Abominations as powerful as a newly risen Silver. There are reasons why caravans are so valued, Alex, why we have so many guards, and why all the farmers of the oasises that dot our lands and from which glorious cities rise all seek shelter behind thick walls, every night.¡±

    Ya Ling furrowed her brow, glaring at the icy statues, for all that she flinched before their unearthly gazes. ¡°Uncle, we should destroy them. Now. In one fell swoop! With how powerful your ice is...¡±

    Ya Ling trembled under her uncle¡¯s abrupt glare. Before he sighed and seemed to deflate. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy, dear one.¡±

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Qing Wu scowled at the hundred plus frozen revenants he had so completely mastered¡­ without culling more than a handful.

    ¡°Because frigid cold is awesome for freezing limbs that shouldn¡¯t be moving anyway¡­ but death doesn¡¯t mind the cold.¡± Alex declared with a bitter smile. ¡°If anything, cold enough temperatures, assuming cells aren¡¯t all ruptured, can allow life¡­ or the vessel that contains life, to linger for years, maybe centuries.¡±

    Qing Wu¡¯s too knowing gaze pinned a suddenly abashed Alex¡¯s own for long moments, Alex only appreciating in that moment how rude it was for him to speak out of turn.

    So he was surprised when the Silver Master cracked a smile and dipped his head. ¡°My student is correct. It is just so. To say nothing of casting two greater rituals in a single night, after having so recently shored up my foundation...¡±

    Alex immediately bowed. ¡°You have done more than enough, Master Wu. Allow this prospective student to hone his amateur arts against the might of your ice, and the corruption within.¡±

    This earned a thoughtful smile from the wujen. ¡°Very well, Alex. If you wish to stay, and see if you can actually manage to both break through my ice and take out even a single revenant before day light¡­ I will give you credit for perseverance, if nothing else. And that trait, as much as any other, such as learning and respecting your own limitations, marks the difference between a middling wujen, and one destined to truly shine. Just promise me one thing?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Qing Wu pointed to the smallest of the black ice statues, radiating so little entropy it was half gone already. ¡°Start with the smallest one. If you truly have it within you to both break my ice and take out one of these vile abominations¡­ you will have earned your place at the academy, no matter the political currents, or how badly you fumble with the most basic wujen enchantments. All that I ask is that you play it safe.¡±

    Alex solemnly bowed his head. ¡°I will.¡±

    ¡°Good. Now come with me. You get to explain your plan to my wife while filling up first on stew.¡±

    ¡°But no bread,¡± Alex said with a sigh.

    This earned a chuckle. ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait till we get to Liushi. No one knows the best shops, stalls, and bakeries better than your future classmates, after all.¡±

    Alex nodded gamely enough, though the minutes felt like they stretched for hours under Reny and Ya Ling¡¯s concerned gazes and probing questions. And the hug Ya Ling gave him beside the wagon, underneath the brilliant starry night sky, calling him a hero with her teasing gaze that left him hungry for different fare, motivated him as much as anything else.

    Even if the wagons had been moving the entire time, the distance a gentle deterrent he sensed his companions hoped would inspire him to take his ease and enjoy well-earned rest¡­ his desert sense marked the lands burdened with death¡¯s encroachment with disturbing intensity. He soon found himself back before the ice statues once more, his previous injured calf fully healed once more, having full confidence in his ability to catch the wagons at any time, thanks to Desert Sense and, of course, the trade road itself.

 Book 8 - Chapter 33 - Prismatic evolutions along Perils Path.

    ¡°Alex, are you sure you want to do this?¡±

    Alex spun around with a startled curse, as Ya Ling, flashing a mischievous smile, formed from the sand just behind him.

    ¡°Jeezus! Ya Ling, what are you doing here?¡±

    She rolled her eyes. ¡°I think it should be obvious.¡± Her game smile turned strained. ¡°Unless you don¡¯t really want me to be here...¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that,¡± he admitted, voice huskier than he intended.

    ¡°Good.¡±

    He froze, when soft lips touched his own. Losing himself in soft brown eyes mirroring his hunger¡­ as the throbbing ache in his core made it clear the price he would pay.

    And how desperate he was to reach Bronze.

    She broke it off with a shy smile. ¡°Sorry.¡± She then turned to face that which had compelled Alex free of the wagon¡¯s homey warmth and companionship.

    Alex could sense her flinch, before glaring at the imposing sight of so many twisted figures made of ice and hate. The earlier stench of the river long gone, the only smells that of ice, sand, and the few living plants, mostly cacti, that could endure the deep desert.

    ¡°After all you¡¯ve already been through, and endured, you now wish to hone yourself against a Silver¡¯s frozen ice, and death¡¯s disciples frozen underneath?¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help laughing at that. ¡°They¡¯re hardly death¡¯s disciples. Merely corrupted souls so filled with black karma that they¡¯re denied the bliss of sleep while waiting in death¡¯s frigid waters for their next life to begin. And with both would-be guardians happily declining that shitty, thankless job, a few desperate assholes took the opportunity to escape. Which I guess explains why undead revenants are always corrupt and evil in all the stories. Because all the good-natured souls are safely asleep, happy enough to await their next life without trying to slip free.¡±

    Alex froze when he heard Ya Ling¡¯s unexpected gasp, belatedly realizing what he had just said. And how he had said it.

    ¡°Alex, how could you possibly...¡±

    ¡°They need to be stopped,¡± he said with quiet intensity. ¡°Even your uncle, for all his power, hopes only to slow them down. Until daylight culls the weakest. But then the strongest will be left to prey upon traders, travelers, farmers heading home after too many hours tending to the fields.¡± Alex¡¯s gaze hardened. He glared at the figures. ¡°That¡¯s just not fucking acceptable. Not in my book. And if there was ever a time to try to hone my arts, to see just how good I can get at sending these asshole fucks back to the river of souls¡­ that time is now.¡±

    And that¡¯s when he heard it.

    A sound that sent chills racing down his spine, Ya Ling¡¯s face a mask of fear.

    ¡°Alex, that was a crack. The ice cracked! Already!¡±

    Alex swallowed, hardly hearing her over the roar of his pounding heart, gripping the hilt of his dao tightly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you should be here.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s fear turned to a glare. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you here alone. We should flee. Both of us!¡±

    Alex angrily shook his head. ¡°No. We strike here and now, as hard as we can. If the ice is already beginning to crack...¡± But there was silence. Not the silence of relief, but that of ever-growing pressure. Like a submarine sinking to stygian depths, every desperate sailor sensing the strain, knowing that a horrific rupture was just a few short minutes, maybe seconds, away. Or gazing at a grenade whose pin had been pulled. One that could explode in the blink of an eye. With no warning given save for an ever growing sense of pressure. Not of the physical world, but of the soul. When you knew the only prudent course was to grab your family and run¡­ praying you made it to safety in time.

    Instead Alex drew his sword. Stepping into that awful growing sense of pressure, glaring at the ice-covered revenants radiating such hideous killing auras that Alex knew he wasn¡¯t facing simple walkers, but Silver Tier monsters, hidden in that ice.

    Monsters that would be all too eager to slaughter the entire caravan¡­

    unless he could somehow pull a miracle.

    And do it fast.

    Ya Ling¡¯s voice came in a breathless whisper. ¡°Alex, you¡¯re right. These creatures are monsters and we¡¯re in trouble out here, and you really don¡¯t have any chance of cracking uncle¡¯s ice before the monsters break free and slaughter us, and we really should just head back and tell uncle we need to move faster, push the spirit beasts as hard as they will go. They¡¯re lives are on the line just as much as ours! So let¡¯s go back, okay? Please?¡±

    In answer, Alex¡¯s dao grew translucent, surrounded by a whirlwind of tightly bound Wind and Water.

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened, her fear distracted by something close to awe. ¡°Alex, I can taste the metal in the water. Metal salts so find they¡¯re almost... sand?¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t respond, all his focus on the fine latticework of spiritual energy trapping the revenants slowly being drained by the undead abomination frozen in ice. If it had been a mortal, it would have perished instantly of course, a lifeless block frozen in time, every ruptured cell expiring upon thawing out. But this was different, and the Silver tier killing ritual powerful enough that even the residual ward was stronger, far stronger than that of a certain alchemist that Alex had once faced off against. Which showed anew just how powerful Qing Wu was, and so easy to underestimate with an almost grandfatherly gregariousness, for all that he wore the robes of a Deep Silver wujen.

    Skill check successful! Water element allows you to bypass wards. You have successfully chipped Silver tier ice!

    Despite the almost cheerful blinking of his Interface-acknowledged achievement, no one was more acutely aware than Alex of just how unimpressive his thrust was, when the power of his blow resulted in nothing but the smallest chip of ice, flaking off on the desert floor.

    Ya Ling snorted, eyes twinkling with both amusement and, oddly enough, relief.

    ¡°Alright, Alex. You actually managed to chip uncle¡¯s Black Ice. Which is pretty damn impressive. Not many people know how truly powerful that ritual is, save of course for the assholes who tried to butcher and enslave us earlier.¡±

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t actually manage to do anything to the revenant buried within.¡±

    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t.¡± She sighed, looking strangely serene. ¡°Which makes me feel so much better, actually seeing that even a genius like you can¡¯t do everything perfectly on the first try. Even if you had the lost one¡¯s own luck, so blatantly beyond the pale that I was halfway afraid I¡¯d wake up one morning and find you gone¡­ or that you had never been here at all.¡±

    ¡°Like a character in a tale?¡± Alex said with a chuckle. ¡°Popping into existence just long enough to play the hero before folly takes him or he fades away into the setting sun once more?¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes were painfully solemn. ¡°Exactly.¡± She flashed a teasing grin. ¡°Just one of the reasons why I wanted so much to make you mine.¡± She smirked as he blinked, caught off guard by her confession. ¡°To capture a sweet, too-perfect dream, and claim him for the mortal world...and perhaps my heart as well, before he fades once more, like so many gods and divine disciples, when our world was shattered.¡±

    Alex felt an awful chill with those words, and very deliberately, with great care, said absolutely nothing on it. Because hearing the reality would be cleaving free all hope, leaving nothing but bitter certainty and the loss of people he could finally admit that he loved¡­ and would never see again.

    Instead, all his focus was on the head of his freshly summoned fangtian ji, now also crackling with the whirling winds of a steely storm rich in iron salts and lightning.

    A single moment of absolute stillness, feeling his connection with the majestic desert, the star-filled heavens, with the dao of his own perpetual and permanently tattered existence, before unleashing a killing strike with all the force he could bring to bear.

    You have successfully shattered Black Ice.

    You fail to puncture Silver Tier wards!

    Additional Meridian Strain sensed.

    Alex frowned at the head of his fangtian ji, wanting to curse himself for an idiot as he felt his Dantian shift ever closer to the ultimate alignment that had allowed him such power, and at such bitter cost¡­ a lifetime ago.

    Striving for ranks he might never achieve in this world, with a girl even now staring at him with slack-jawed awe, wide brown eyes gazing disbelievingly into his own.

    He was already being forced to wait until Bronze. He¡¯d be an absolute fool to make his situation any worse than it already was.

    No matter the sudden flood of sweet, sweet potency coursing through his soul, potency, what he might once have called experience, transduced in its purest form into the essence of insight and growth as his enlightenment and understanding of his now deadliest attack, and himself, continued to grow.

    You have successfully slain: Trapped Revenant.

    Stormblade is now Rank 2!

    ¡°Alex! How the hell did you do that?¡±

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Alex flashed a rueful smile at the exquisite beauty he might never be able to kiss, no matter if he made peace with himself or no. But he had no choice. He realized that now.

    Not if he was going to evolve his art in the way that he knew he must, struck with a flood of insights he had never sensed before this moment, no matter that he had so recently been on the cusp of Gold.

    It was all about balance, he thought to himself, staring at a second frozen popsicle of a revenant, glaring Alex¡¯s way with eyes that promised all the torments the that river had to offer, the black ice securing it away already weakening before the revenant¡¯s killing gaze.

    Before it was extinguished forever, as Alex struck once more.

    Because truly, that poor lost fool whose head exploded in icy shrapnel and lightning had absolutely no idea of the true depths of the river¡¯s torments. Not like Alex.

    But the fallen soul soon would.

    You have successfully slain Trapped revenant. Skull fails to save versus rupture.

    Ward intact!

    ¡°You were serious. You really are this strong,¡± Ya Ling said breathlessly, to which Alex gave a curt shrug.

    Because he hardly felt strong at all, failing to rupture a single strand of the exquisitely complex latticeworks locking the ice in place, perhaps for an eternity.

    Of course he knew how to slip a sharp piercing instrument through such a ward almost effortlessly. But to cut right through the cords? It needed more than a poor man¡¯s salts.

    It needed the fearsome synergy of liquid Steel and Water in perfect unison. Of course, then his art would be Silver Swan in every way that counted, his Dantian would shift irrevocably, and it was already painfully clear that sticking out in ways that mirrored his earlier self was absolutely asking for trouble.

    At which point he heard a second sharp retort, as a massive piece of ice fell to the ground, smoking and sizzling, from a gigantic revenant that towered over all the others. Alex felt the hand of fate once more forcing him in directions promising bitter brews, no matter which path he took.

    ¡°But there¡¯s more I can do. I know there is!¡± he whispered to himself as he summoned his eight element shield, sensing the connection between Desert Fox cultivation and Prismatic Shield.

    Eight element conjoings were possible. He was doing it right now! Even if they were exceedingly rare, as evidenced by Ya Ling¡¯s dumbstruck stare.

    He was so certain that it would be years, if not decades, before he was ready to form any Silver tier prismatic attack. But what if that wasn¡¯t actually the case? What if he just needed¡­ inspiration?

    He visualized his favorite attack of a lifetime ago, based on an unorthodox art that saw metal as liquid. Dense, steely liquid capable of cutting and rupturing through almost anything, with sufficient power behind the blow. An art so unorthodox that it had pressured his Dantian to such sterile perfection that Gold would have been needed before even a drop of his life force could be directed along any avenue besides pristine cultivating perfection.

    Yet his Prismatic Shield, more powerful, perhaps, than even he had first thought, successful countering most, though not all, of an Infernal Silver technique, had only forced his Dantian into Bronze compliance. Shifting his spiritual self to a cultivator¡¯s ideal, but not so intently that he had to forsake so much of what made him human and life so sweet.

    Perhaps because this art was more attuned with who he was? What he was?

    A cultivator who could balance a full complement of positive Qi elements¡­ and one negative one denied him for the moment, yet that was fine.

    Because he understood then, what he was doing wrong.

    It wasn¡¯t that he was trying to do too much with his four-element Stormblade¡­ but that he wasn¡¯t doing enough.

    ¡°Because I still can¡¯t crack that ice. Maybe I¡¯m using the wrong element!¡±

    According to the classic cycle of elements, Earth countered and destroyed Water. But this was ice. A halfstep element.

    ¡°So maybe Fire counters Ice?¡±

    The Alex froze in sudden epiphany as so many things clicked at once.

    ¡°Alex, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Ya Ling¡¯s anxious voice almost, but didn¡¯t quite throw him off. But the solution, once it occurred, was so obvious. So blindingly obvious to him. A solution he might have thought of long ago, if he hadn¡¯t already walked down a liquid metal path, in the life most recently lived.

    ¡°Liquid Metal is totally doable. Not by warping my understanding of the element, but just by applying heat!¡±

    And it really was that simple, he thought, as he visualized the iron salts in his Enhanced Water Strike combining with obsidian salts as ever greater heat and pressure was applied. He grimaced with effort, as his companion gave a startled cry at the sound of more ice cracking under the starry nighttime sky, dawn¡¯s cleansing light still hours away. Yet no matter how hot he visualized his hyper pressurized waters became, it wasn¡¯t enough to turn obsidian iron salts into true molten lethality.

    Not until he noted how his fires looked simultaneously hot and lethargic in their lifelessness, and suddenly understood what was missing.

    The fires of passion, of furious determination. Wraths¡¯ fury and Passion¡¯s promise. All of it tied to the Spirit, inexorably joined to Fame in his own internalized comprehension of Elemental Qi.

    Yet even Flame infused with Spirits¡¯ passion needed fuel for inspiration.

    Fuel for survival.

    The fuel of an entire primal forest¡¯s worth of spiritual energy.

    And then it was complete.

    Insight check made: Critical Success!

    A single heartbeat, and the world stilled.

    Stilled as a pulse of Qi rang out like death¡¯s gong from his favorite killing tool.

    Stilled as the girl beside him paled with awed disbelief.

    Yet even as he closed his eyes against the powerful corona of spiritual energy released¡­ Alex understood.

    Intimately understood how Silver Swan¡¯s killing liquid steel could be emulated by heat and incredible pressure, with deadly obsidian shards resonating between liquid and razor sharp solidity, fueled by fires that burned with love¡¯s passion and hate¡¯s fury, fueled by an echo of all the ancient forests that had once covered these lands, blazingly hot liquid steel and obsidian stone wrapped in a deadly, razor sharp sheeth, howling with death¡¯s promise that allowed the storm of elements to extend three feet beyond the head of his fangtian ji, crackling with lightning sufficient to dispell any ghast, demon, or horror that dared to cross its master¡¯s path.

    His insights came not a moment too soon as the steady crackling of ice became the shatter of bitter tears as the revenants began to break free.

    ¡°Alex! Look out!¡± Ya Ling¡¯s panicked voice washed over a strangely still Alex as that endless moment of communion between himself, his gift, and the weapon in his hand became an abrupt flash of lighting and explosion of fire, as the shadow beast of pale yellow eyes, torn throats, and silent screams became a howling specter unable to escape the fearsome burning might obliterating all sentience as it crashed back in to the River of Souls.

    You have critically struck Lesser Revenant!

    Lesser Revenant has been obliterated. Experience earned!

    You have managed to synergize all major elements into a pristine unified whole!

    All elements have been boosted by their underlying counterpart! All enhancements have been reinforced!

    You have successfully learned Prismatic Strike at Rank 1!

    You have saved versus Cleaving Blow!

    Even as Alex¡¯s interface screamed with commendation and warning, he was dodge-rolling to the side as a massive monster of rotting flesh, pulsating limbs and gnashing teeth burst free of its shell of ice. A monster that soared a good ten feet in height and looked nothing like any living cultivator that Alex had ever seen. So horrific in fact, that Ya Ling¡¯s scream rang through the air.

    A scream that brought dozens of pale, inhuman eyes tracking her terrified presence, even if only a few creatures had managed to break free.

    ¡°Run!¡± Alex shouted, before doing what he must, riding his insight for all it was worth as he lashed out and struck a smaller revenant of Shadows and hate, leaping for a stunned Ya Ling¡¯s naked throat with claws extended.

    Before collapsing in an explosion of rotting flesh and lightning as Alex struck once more, desperate to master the wild cycling power threatening to overwhelm him with every step he took. Daring the shadow of what he knew was a Jade if not Divine tier technique, channeling the wild cycling stream of power, building up upon itself at a shocking rate, into furious swings of his fangtian ji.

    Cleaving through clawing limbs and frozen glares with equal furious abandon, ignoring the spray of deathly cold ice tearing into his flesh, or penetrating more than skin deep, when they bounced off his quickly lowered skull.

    The monstrous abomination radiating a Silver¡¯s killing fury shambled forward, inky black tendrils covered in gaping toothy mouths and angry red eyes glaring his way slammed down for their prey, eager to tangle his legs and tear out his throat.

    He could sense that truth as he could its malice, its overwhelming desire to butcher and destroy. To drink deep of the life it dared intrude upon as a karmically laden abomination that could only pollute and destroy.

    And Alex knew it was a distraction as he leaped back and raced to Ya Ling¡¯s side, an instant before she was surrounded by a half dozen shadowy wolf-like twistings of spirits that knew they were too fowl to dare their human form once more, yet still hungered to hunt and devour fresh prey.

    Turning to glare Alex¡¯s way, looking the farthest thing from wolves as they hissed in way not even lizards, did, radiating a spite-filled miasma that would have sickened even Alex, were he not filled with a madman¡¯s fury¡­ had his crackling fangtian ji not obliterated the stink as quickly as it blasted through his foes.

    The air flashed with sharp blinding cracks of lighting as first one, then a second and finally a third revenant found themselves missing limbs, torso, or head, as fast as they could blink thrice, so quick had their opponent struck. Yet that didn¡¯t stop the other two so eager to make the kill, before their fangs were stopped by a brilliant flashing rainbow shield as fangtian ji was traded for dao, and Alex dared to channel his newly unlocked technique with a blade utterly different from his cleaving polearm of moments before.

    Yet his prismatic stream of searing light blossoming from the tip of his dao, creating a light-blade like crackling effect six feet past the pommel, looked just as focused as it had, just moments ago.

    If anything, it was more so, as Alex desperately weaved past disemboweling blows as ever more revenants emerged from the deadly ice, struggling to protect Ya Ling¡¯s fallen form, who had collapsed utterly upon being exposed to so many of the living dead.

    And he saw it then, the fear in the greater abomination¡¯s eyes as Alex¡¯s flashing dao kissed multiple throats of abominations wearing the skins of beasts or men, tearing through all resistance with even more force and fury than his favorite killing art.

    ¡°Ya Ling, get up and get out of here!¡± Alex screamed.

    Before darting back, hoisting her up in a fireman¡¯s carry, and sprinting away for all he was worth, the weapons radiating such killing energies now gone as if they had never been.

    You have successfully escaped and rescued one party member from certain expiration.

    Experience Earned!

    You have successfully dispatched multiple Bronze Tier revenants.

    Experience Earned!

    Prismatic Strike is now Rank 2.

    Prismatic Strike is now Rank 3!

 Book 8 - Chapter 34 - I will Defy the Heavens once more!

    Alex took controlled deep breaths, fighting not to gasp like a bellows as he pushed himself and his restoration technique to the utmost, ignoring the fiery burn of muscles pushed to the absolute limit, before being pushed even harder.

    He couldn¡¯t hide his fierce grin when he saw the distant spec of wagons rapidly coming into sight as he closed, for all that he shivered at the howls he heard, snapping at his back.

    ¡°Qing Wu, trouble is coming our way!¡±

    The words were a desperate gasp as a heaving Alex matched the pace of his mentor''s wagon. And his exhausted state must have shown, when a fierce-looking Qing Wu wordlessly lifted a wheezing Alex and his charge on a disk of ice.

    ¡°What happened!?¡± he demanded, gazing at Alex with increasing alarm as Alex explained as best he could.

    ¡°Those monsters actually broke through my ice? So quickly?¡±

    ¡°They radiate death!¡± Snapped an incensed Reny, effortlessly plucking an unconscious Ya Ling from Alex¡¯s grasp. ¡°Proximity to the river¡¯s deathly waters would kill any mortal or cultivator. Even memory¡¯s echo of those waters is enough to send anyone without the steel of Silver in their veins into catatonia, especially when surrounded by those abominations.¡±

    Her eyes practically crackled. ¡°How dare you bring my niece into your foolish quest to prove yourself!¡± she snapped.

    Alex winced, lowering his head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting¡­ but yes, I take full responsibility. I am sorry, Aunty, Reny, truly.¡±

    She glared at him for long moments before jerking a nod. ¡°Good. Now share uncle¡¯s tea. It will give you strength for what¡¯s to come.¡±

    Qing Wu grunted in agreement, quietly passing Alex a flask of potent tea rich in spiritual herbs. Alex bowed gratefully and took a sip as Qing Wu glared into the distance.

    ¡°The ice should have held them until daylight at least.¡± The man sighed and shook his head. ¡°In truth I thought it would last for days. Not a mere fraction of a glass!¡±

    Alex took a second sip of the delightfully bitter brew. Feeling its infusion, though only minutes had past since his final kill, Potency Mastery giving him a vital surge. And despite the creeping dread he felt, gazing off into the darkness now filled with distant glowing eyes, glaring their way, he took fierce satisfaction as he sensed an impossibly distant super cable whirling about the event horizon of absolute darkness and truly monstrous speeds. Far faster than it ever had before, pushing him inexorably closer to Rank 7 along his Boundless Path, as the ether echoed with the silent screams of a once grotesquely bloated frame, now hideously withered, locked in stasis that turned awareness into the endless horror of Shalu¡¯s life force being clawed free by the nemesis he had tormented and feared for countless thousands of years.

    As if knowing this day would come.

    When all he ever had to do to avoid this doom was to leave Alex the hell alone.

    Alex flashed a bitter smile, still not sure if he was glimpsing through the cracks of existence or musing¡¯s fancy, only knowing he had to hold tight to his mad, glorious insight of interlocking and ever strengthening elemental Qi.

    Sensing its wonder at risk of leaving him even now, with nothing but vague perceptions left behind, even as he rode the cusp of a Sage¡¯s Insight, wise enough to summon it forth once more, before he forgot a technique no doubt forbidden to any earth-bound mortal.

    Yet this was just one more matter where he¡¯d happily defy heavenly mandate, glorying in the sight of the brilliantly shimmering blade radiating a cutting stream of white-hot metal and obsidian shards, crackling with liquid lightning under such aqueous pressure it defied all words to describe. Before sensing its sudden cost, even as Qing Wu jerked back with a curse, gazing at Alex with an odd look of disbelief and wonder.

    ¡°How is it that you carry Long Wang¡¯s blessing?¡±

    Alex froze, glared at the man, but said nothing. Could afford to say nothing. Not when the revenants were even now closing, the fastest and deadliest taking the lead.

    Just as Alex knew they would.

    ¡°Alex, where are you going!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to pick the fuckers off, one by one! Use your ice to freeze any that close!¡±

    ¡°Freezing is costly, and Ice won¡¯t kill the dead!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to tell me you can¡¯t modify those ice spears to cleave off a few knees? You don¡¯t need to kill or freeze them. Just slow them down!¡±

    ¡°Questioning my techniques, are you? You think a spear is all I¡¯m capable of? I¡¯m still trying to get you to summon forth a single Ice Dagger! And you¡¯d dare to teach this archer how to shoot!?¡± Alex caught the man cussing about the arrogance of youth, but he was too filled with terror and exhilaration to care, all his focus on the massive bundle of inky black tendrils, crimson eyes, and twisted mouths roaring and howling as it closed.

    A half dozen other revenants radiating the power and peril the equivalent of cultivators a halfstep from Silver trailed the abomination in eerie concert, as eyes bitter with hate and ruthless focus readied their trap, showing just how fearsome was the difference between revenants mindless with pain, passion, and desperation, and those who managed to emerge with the same clever, ruthless personas that had allowed them to get into so much karmic trouble during their most recent lives lived.

    It was perilous enough that Alex knew he was a dead man with Prismatic Blade alone, so risked nothing allowing it to fade for a single heartbeat, as his opponents gloated and charged as one.

    Before snarling and roaring as half the number stumbled when sheets of black ice tore through their number, cleaving through torsos, limbs, and heads.

    Yet the lead multilimbed abomination seemed to take no harm at all as first one then a second and third limb was sheered off, lashing out with a pair of thorned tendrils for Alex, now too close to dodge.

    But not block as his Prismatic Shield abruptly flared to life, his momentary dismay at an insight fading like a dream at the cusp of wakefullness blazing in full as he unsheathed and struck with his dao in a single pristine movement.

    It was a blow that would have been laughable, three feet of base steel, however hardened, against three yards of nightmare flesh, if it hadn¡¯t been for the storm of lightning now blasting through the suddenly shrieking revenant.

    You have successfully recalled Pristine Technique! (Note. Pristine technique is normally incompatible with mortal incarnations! Divine shell has been surrendered for mundus vessel upon rebirth!)

    You have critically struck: Greater Abomination!

    Greater Abomination has been stunned!

    Prismatic Shield successfully parries Killing Blow!

    Alex¡¯s world became one of smashing limbs and desperate parries, weaving and dodging around the abomination striking for all it was worth, the pace hardly slowing as Alex¡¯s tightly controlled swings managed to severe one limb off at a time, the creature growing ever more savvy at whipping its tendrils at odd angles, striking at two places at once, forcing a mad dash back, before snipping blows cleaved free the tips and then ever more of the remaining pair of limbs, and then, as suddenly as it began, the furious barrage of murderious violence stopped.

    Then it was the shambling horror itself fleeing.

    And there was no way in hell that Alex was letting that murderous fucker get away.

    Sparing only a grateful nod for the glaring master of ice whose whirling disks with the diameter of a man had managed to cripple so many Greater Revenants, even now reforming before Alex¡¯s very eyes.

    ¡°Alex, be careful! Their regenerat--¡±

    The wujen¡¯s shouted warning broke off in a snort as the cloudless sky flashed with lightning, the blond-haired lad who had come out of nowhere just weeks ago dispatching each of them with ruthless efficiency as he zigzagged about the battlefield, though refusing to surrender his prize, the horrific abomination not even making a pretense at humanity¡¯s redemption as it desperately slithered and tumbled away.

    ¡°Kids a monster,¡± Qing Wu said with a reflective smile, sipping his tea.

    You have critically struck Crippled Greater Revenant with Pristine elemental technique: Prismatic Strike.

    Fatality!

    Experience earned!

    Alex paid no mind to what Desert Sense was almost telling him about his would-be mentor¡¯s wide-eyed stare and snarky commentary, all his focus on the ephemeral technique his mind was both illuminated by and seemed desperate to forget. It was as if his breakthrough had permitted him a glimpse of perfection fit to inspire him for a lifetime, but destined never to be his own, he thought, as his breath grew ragged and he continued to race after the surprisingly fast shambling mound.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    But not before veering off to slam into yet another shambling revenant, smashing aside venom-laced claws with shield, before his crackling dao cleaved clawed hands, stumbling legs, and then head last of all as another surge of sweet hot experience flooded through his psyche and his soul, Alex doing all he could to channnel it into pristine awareness and appreciation for every sweet moment of life he embraced¡­ and the deadly perfection of the technique he invested so much of himself to understanding, even now.

    Congratulations! Prismatic Strike is now Rank 4!

    Even if it was a talent he was doomed to forget with light¡¯s first caress, or when he stopped channeling it when the flood of potency roaring into him from his kills petered out at last, all sucked into the vortex of his soul, pushing him up ever closer to Rank 7¡­ and then it would be his Qi Pool alone that fueled this marriage of Lightning and every other prime element. A reserve that would drain to nothing in less than a minute¡¯s time.

    The very thought filled him with anxious dread far greater than his fear of the horrors he was making himself chase down even now.

    Because they were monsters that needed to be sent right back to the river that he and his kung fu sister had forever fled.

    And because every one he brought down brought him ever closer to ranking up his skill yet again, in addition to four more precious minutes of a virtual flood of spiritual energy at 4 Qi per second. Four more minutes to coax his half-dreaming Sage-like state of utter mastery of his environment after such a significant breakthrough to hold on to the ephemerality of perfection¡­ before it all faded to the fuzzy fugue of a fool who would be worthless without several days of rest and meditation.

    Right now he embraced the clear brilliant focus of a genius. A state he was wise enough to know he would only hold tightly onto for so long as he kept flooding his psyche with spiritual energy.

    Spiritual energy he received from each of his kills as he weaved and dodged past flailing limbs and barreling bodies, before punishing them with disemboweling repartes and deadly criss-crossing moulinets that separated claws from wrists and heads from shoulders in brilliant flashes of lightning and flame, writhing bodies of inky blackness twisting and shivering before fading to nothing but ichor as panicked souls were forced into the river¡¯s waters once more.

    Almost, he lost it. Coming so close to losing everything when a moment¡¯s distraction could have cost him his head. Would have, had he not instinctively kept his shield couched just so on his shoulder when moving, angled just as Liu Jian had drilled into him for the precious time he had worked as the man¡¯s assistant until eventually becoming his disciple, however tragically brief that time had been.

    Long enough for the lessons of mind and body to sink in, Alex wasting no time in self-recrimination when his shield was smashed so hard he was sent flying back by a blow meant to cave in his skull.

    A blow that cost his enemy, a roaring giant of a death cultivator, eyes glowing like furnaces as it strove to tear Alex¡¯s head off with a follow up blow, only to collapse as two legs became one and a stump of spurting ichor.

    And how comically dismayed it looked, understanding in that moment with exquisite clarity just how utterly the tides had changed as it stumbled to the sands, all leverage lost, unable to feint or stumble away from a suddenly grimly closing Alex, who, yes, was spitting blood and teeth, but was very much alive, alert, and now lashing out with a brilliant bar of white-gold lightning.

    Then the revenant sensed nothing at all save the brilliance of oblivion, and a return to purgatory¡¯s inky waters once more.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Alex cursed, more dismayed than he wanted to admit. Feeling the bruises that made his run into an agonized hobble, not daring to allow his focus to break with more than a minimal draw of Desert Fox healing, so desperate he was to hold on to his conception of the perfect swirling elemental blade, even now trying to claw free of memory¡¯s grasp.

    He clenched the hilt of his blade and snarled, even as disks of black ice continued to assist, cleaving countless revenants in half, so he wouldn¡¯t get swarmed.

    Not with the lieutenants down, constant foot soldiers purged, and the leader of this band of death slithering away as fast as it could.

    But not quite fast enough.

    His monstrous opponent had time only to spin around and lash out with a massive maw of teeth and eldritch flame, before the liquid steel and deadly lightning flashed, the desert sands echoing with the thunderous roar of lightning flashing so brightly that every wide-eyed caravan guard and driver was gazing back with awe and dread¡­ and every remaining revenant screamed and writhed as the flood of abjuring energies scalded them where they lurched or stood.

    You have critically struck: Greater Revenant.

    Instant Fatality!

    Experience Earned!

    *** *** in effect. You have successfully channeled your full potency into the skill that the heavens would claim for themselves.

    Prismatic Strike is now Rank 5!

    Your skill has evolved to Adept Tier status! How do you wish to evolve this skill?

    His mind, now teetering between the cusp of sage and fool, was overwhelmed by so many variations and possibilities that it left him breathless. Whether miraculous efficiency, even greater synergistic power for a truly run-away progression, even greater ward-puncturing abilities that always matched strongest to weakest, or a myriad host of other options, there was only one possibility that called out to him.

    One that he couldn¡¯t instantly visualize as he could so many others flittering across his increasingly exhausted mind¡­ only one that would allow it to be anything more than a sweet halcyon dream, filling him with inspiration for the days to come.

    He wanted more than that.

    He wanted his ability, forged in glorious insight and bitter peril to remain his own. Not clawed free of psyche or souls by powers that had reigned unchecked, for far too long.

    So he grasped tightly to his gift, even as he felt himself going dizzy, ears ringing with the sound off Qing Wu¡¯s cursing and the taste of blood and ice in the air.

    Even when he felt blood trickling from his ears, he refused to let go.

    Refused to see anything else in his mind¡¯s eye, save for the evolution he expected to see.

    He was surprised to find himself on his kness, in a stupor, his latest foe nothing but a black smear upon the ochre desert sands. Fortunately, Desert Sense made it clear that the surviving revenants, now disbanded and scattered, had already fled the immediate area, and were no threat to him.

    He still didn¡¯t hesitate to make his way to an oddly wobbling Qing Wu, now gazing at Alex so strangely when the desert sands and sky traded places, and Alex choked back a frown.

    The man furrowed his bushy brows. ¡°Just how hard did you push yourself, boy?¡± The man instantly snorted. ¡°Best you not answer that. Not with what you dared. Now come on, hero, let¡¯s get you back to our wagon. Reny has soup infused with her favorite herbs, but I¡¯m not blind to what you really need, Alex.¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± His words came out a garbled mumble. He frowned, puzzled. Had he hit is head in that battle somewhere?

    The Silver snorted. ¡°Plenty of sleep.¡±

    And much to Alex¡¯s relief and delight, after a glorious bowl of stew, and too many questions from Reny he was in no position to answer, he sunk his head upon soft, down-stuffed pillows.

    Willpower check made!

    Yet he refused to surrender to exhaustion¡¯s call, a prickle of alarm making it clear that he still had yet to earn the notification he was most desperate to see, no matter how much he felt that final battle, and the evolution earned therein, had pushed him to ascend in ways he never had before, even if his present power was just a fraction of what it once had been.

    A limitation he absolutely refused to accept.

    One way or another, he would rise, even stronger than he had ever been before.

    Even when a Sage¡¯s Insights had most definitely descended to a Fool¡¯s Folly, the increasingly concerned garbles of his companions making less and less sense as time went on, his focus on the ephemeral eight element technique that hadn¡¯t simply conjoined to reinforce itself as his Prismatic Shield had, but where every element was actively strengthening the one after in an escalating cascade of elemental potency¡­ a technique he could somehow sense a snarling Long Wang attempting to tear free of whichever mortal dared to dream it. And how odd it was that his nemesis seemed utterly oblivious of the actual individual behind the technique. Not even sensing WiFu¡¯s ancient disciple, for all that Alex could sense Long Wang¡¯s wujen sorcery with exquisite clarity, chilled to find that his ancient opponent was far more than the bellicose Divine tier muscle-head he clearly loved aping for the benefit of his clan¡¯s opponents around the gaming table of the gods, if nothing else. And clearly his subterfuge was the equal of WiFu¡¯s, because until that moment, Alex had thought his opponent hotheaded fool. And perhaps he was. But one with an immortal¡¯s grasp of the elements, and not quite so limited as Alex had once been led to believe. Or perhaps he had been, 20,000 years ago, and had simply found ways to slip free of a body cultivator¡¯s limitations. Just as Alex now strove to do.

    Not that any of that mattered at the moment, when his nemesis was struggling so hard to lay eternal claim to Alex¡¯s insights¡­ and make them his own. Alex¡¯s blood sweat and tears, all his flashes of insights and efforts, would then become that smug bastard¡¯s own. Long Wang proving himself to be just as voracious as Shalu, in his own way. How many eight element masters might this world be blessed with, had they not all had their gifts and foundations shredded by the monster even now trying to claim Alex¡¯s own? As to why he hadn¡¯t claimed Alex¡¯s Prismatic Shield beforehand, he neither knew nor cared. Certainly the monster was trying to claim all he could right then, Alex¡¯s fierce grip upon the technique he refused to surrender the linchpin holding all his gifts and techniques tightly bound to his soul. Because in that horrifying moment, he realized that Long Wang really could steal them all, yank them free along with the eight-element technique the thunder god was somehow able to sink his spiritual claws into.

    And just a heartbeat before Alex¡¯s greatest technique, and indeed, his very foundation was pulled free as his spirit was surrounded by the mocking laughter of the living elements laying claim to all in their provenance, he embraced the most desperate gambit of all.

    Imagining his heart stuttering to a stop, and himself slipping under the veneer of the River of Souls, still holding tight to his creation, allowing death¡¯s glossy waters to trickle cover them both. Only then did the stubborn bastard finally let go with a furious shout that sent tremors throughout the entire world.

    ¡°Aunty, we¡¯re losing him!¡±

    ¡°I know! Hush, stubborn child, and give me the Silver vial!¡±

    A breathless pause. ¡°But after what you said...¡±

    ¡°The foolish boy pushed himself too far, daring to battle the living dead. Even your uncle knew it to be madness, trying to blaze as bright as a storybook hero, in this day and age. If you would have your chosen live, you¡¯d best accept the consequences.¡±

    ¡°Aunty!¡±

    ¡°Now, Ya Ling. We are out of options!¡±

    Alex let their words wash over him with a fiercely triumphant smile, his Prismatic Fox healing technique humming merrily along, heart beating strongly once more as it was given something fresh and delicious to chew on, and Alex at last surrendered to exhaustion¡¯s call, having claimed his prize in the end.

    Even if the far off shouts of irate gods and terrified friends were no more than figments of his exhausted imagination.

    Congratulations! You have saved versus death!

    YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY DEFIED THE HEAVENS!

    You have infused Prismatic Strike with spiritual resonance! Prismatic Strike is now an intrinsic part of yourself and cannot be forgotten or pulled free by Death or Divine Intervention! Your karmic debits and merits will now be extended to include all of your skills!

    Alex frowned, not entirely sure what the interface meant, and suddenly too tired to care as oblivion¡¯s gentle embrace finally carried him away.

 Book 8 - Chapter 35 - Maybe I wont be the young genius this time around... and Im okay with that!

    Alex winced and groaned under the light burning through his skull, desperate to sink back into the soothing darkness of sleep so deep it was blissful oblivion, before his now exquisitely sensitive nostrils caught the delicious scents of Reny¡¯s absolutely scrumptious spirit beast stew, filled with spicy chunks of meat so tender it practically melted in his mouth, with broth so rich and flavors so complex that Alex just knew he¡¯d feel better once he had a bowl.

    He frowned, surprised both by how his mouth was instantly watering, belly feeling like a hungry void. He winced, rubbing open gummy eyes, feeling less like someone who had been the recipient of a too-intense workout, and more like a man half-starved and on the brink of death. That thought as much as any other alarmed him into full cognizance, Alex squinting in the dim light that still stung his eyes as he caught the Reny¡¯s worried gaze which immediately transformed into a professional smile as she propped him up with a tray of soup with the clever use of a planks and pillows, her gaze immediately sharpening when he inhaled to protest, before letting it slip free, taking in deep breaths, only now catching the scent of someone who had been seriously ill, covered as it was by mint, rosemary, and half a dozen desert breeds of wildflower perfuming the wagon.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Alex whispered at last, surprised to hear his voice so ragged. ¡°And why does it smell like some cultivator broke through to Bronze?¡±

    It was a question that instantly earned a snort. ¡°I should think that would be obvious, Alex,¡± Reny gently reprimanded, before gently touching his wrist. ¡°No more questions. Not until you have your fill of soup.¡±

    Alex reflexively inhaled to protest, before realizing how stupid that would be, since only an idiot antagonized a healer, and in truth, Alex wanted nothing more than to savor his fill of delicious, hearty fair.

    And much to his exquisite delight, the soup was every bit as scrumptious and fulfilling as he had imagined.

    And not a word needed to be said, Reny¡¯s intense, anxious gaze quickly transforming to a relieved matronly smile when Alex politely asked for a second helping, and then a third, his exquisite hearing picking up Wing Qu¡¯s whispered words from the other side of the wagon.

    ¡°How is he?¡±

    ¡°The boy had three bowls of soup! A healthy appetite is always a wonderful sign, love.¡±

    ¡°Will he recover fully, then?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea,¡± she said, cheerful demeanor slipping with her sigh. ¡°All we can do is what we have been doing. Allow his body to rest, and treat him with the tinctures best suited to any cultivator who strains their foundation.¡±

    Alex¡¯s bubble of happy contentment instantly popped with those words. The comfort he had taken from a full belly as his lingering aches seemed to miraculously fade, or perhaps not so miraculously, given that Prismatic Fox now had the fuel that technique needed for hyper-rapid healing, had become the sudden dreadful fear that Long Wang had won in the end, tearing all his gifts free, leaving him nothing but a broken husk.

    Yet a quick look at the character sheet of his soul made it clear that such was the farthest thing from the truth.

    _______________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

    Rank 6 Basic Cultivation Achieved!

    Physical Characteristics

    Strength ¨C Bronze Rank 3 (30)

    Vitality ¨C Bronze Rank 3 (30)

    Quickness ¨C Bronze Rank 1 (20)

    Finesse ¨C Bronze Rank 1 (20)

    Spiritual Characteristics

    Scholarship - 14 (Exceeds 84% of Population.)

    Perception - 18 (Exceeds 99% of population.)

    Willpower ¨C 25 (Rank 2 Bronze achieved the hard way! - You have the resolve to walk in the Valley of Death and slip free of the River of Souls.)

    Qi Pool ¨C 19** (Bronze Tier threshold must be reached to unlock Silver Rank 5 (165!)

    Health Points: 390

    Perks

    Insightful ¨C Rank 2

    Charismatic ¨C Rank 3

    Lesser Shadow Affinity

    Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.

    Draconic Ancestry.

    Favored Skills

    Golden Realms Kung Fu ¨C Rank 10

    Wind Crane Kung Fu ¨C Rank 5

    Poison Spitting ¨C Rank 6

    Stealth ¨C Rank 4

    Qi Disciplines

    Enhanced Water Shield ¨C Rank 6

    Enhanced Water Strike ¨C Rank 8

    Thorn Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Oak Strike ¨C Rank 5

    Fire Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Flame Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Earthern Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Stone Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Forest Flight ¨C Rank 5

    Wind Blade ¨C Rank 5 (May be used in conjunction with Enhanced Water Strike with a skill check! - Adept perk chosen: Spiritual Harmony: You may now use this elemental attack freely, with minimal spiritual energy expenditure!)

    Storm Blade ¨C Rank 5 (Infuse your weapon with the power of the storm at its most fearsome, to cut through any foe (or deliver a healthy dose of lightning) from three feet beyond the edge of your blade! - Most definitely NOT Black Swan! - Adept feat chosen. Internal Harmony. The strain of this technique has been limited to Bronze, stabilized by Advanced Comprehension.)

    Prismatic Shield ¨C Rank 5 ¨C This ability can now counter half-step elements & dark curses! - Note! Unorthodox meridian configuration is prerequisite! - You have chosen the Adept Perk: Spiritual Harmony. Spiritual Energy expenditure to maintain this technique has been significantly reduced!

    Prismatic Strike ¨C Rank 5! - This is a Pristine (Jade) Tier Technique! All elements are boosted by previous elements in a Divine Tier cascade only Long Wang and his chosen disciples understand. Note! No mortal may wield this technique before Gold Tier without saving versus Meridian Rupture!

    Your Divine Tier Meridians are immune to rupture!

    - Spiritual Energy Cost: Significant! Best only to embrace when fueled by P**e**y Ma**ery or when your Qi Pool is well into Bronze!

    Dantian shift has stabilized. You must achieve Deep Bronze (Rank 4 or better) to safely expel Life Force without straining your foundation!

    You have successfully infused Prismatic Strike with spiritual resonance! Prismatic Strike is now an intrinsic part of yourself and cannot be forgotten or pulled free by Death or Divine Intervention! Your karmic debits and merits will now be extended to include all of your skills!

    Qi Perception-linked Disciplines

    Artificer ¨C Rank 7

    Find Weakness ¨C Rank 7

    Qi Perception ¨C Rank 8

    Soul Sight ¨C Rank 7

    Spiritual Teacher (Student) ¨C Rank 8

    Forest Sense ¨C Rank 7

    Alchemy ¨C Rank 3 (Foundation Restoration Tincture)

    Desert Sense ¨C Rank 2

    Additional Abilities & Techniques

    Full Regenerative Capacity

    Gift of Tongues

    Biochemical Mastery ¨C Rank 8

    Desert Fox Cultivation Technique ¨C Rank 5

    Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique ¨C Rank 4. You now have a base passive regeneration rate of: (8) health point per minute. Your focus on mastering the interplay between heat and entropy has unlocked the Ageless Perk. - You enjoy your Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique Rank as a bonus in saving versus all poisons, toxins, mental ailments, curses, taints, and all other areas where another UNDEFINED art had once reigned supreme! Continue to master your body and yourself to expand this art and it¡¯s capabilities!

    Sacred Perk ¨C You can now neutralize all infernal taints.

    ___________________________________________________

    Alex had, in fact, grown by leaps and bounds. He saw no signs of lingering damage, any last lingering injuries having been fully healed with the infusion of nutrient rich soup he had just enjoyed. He was pleased to see that both Flame Fist and Stone Fist had hit Rank 5, though perhaps he shouldn¡¯t have been, when he scrolled down to his newest handful of Qi Abilities.

    Windblade, he was pleased to see, had evolved itself into a hyper efficient form upon reaching Rank 5. He definitely appreciated his interface allowing him to perceive it with a gamer¡¯s dispassionate tactical mentality. Yet he simultaneously recalled just how it felt to summon it forth, practicing so many hours until it was effortless. A fantastic melee range attack, especially if he could keep it flowing near effortlessly through an entire battle.

    And the fusion of Wind, salt-rich water, and Lightning had culminated in Storm Blade. An attack that had so much in common with Black Swan, yet had been forged from completely different, even if similar roots, meant he could use it freely, without stricture, and to glorious effect, so long as he had the Qi Pool to do so.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    His Prismatic Shield as well had evolved to be a bit more efficient, capable of warding pretty much everything, including half-step attacks and infernal strikes, so long as he got his shield in position to parry his opponent¡¯s strike or spells. His goal was to be able to use it along with Wind Blade indefinitely, even without use of Potency Mastery that came from making kills and claiming their potency or, as he liked to think of it, experience pool. The key was in using his Desert Fox cultivation technique to absorb eight-element spiritual energy directly, and channel it right into his defenses.

    Finally, the true centerpiece of his present cultivation path, was his Pristine tier Prismatic Strike, the evolution and ranking up of that art having helped to raise all the lesser arts up to match that which incorporated them all, for he noticed that none of those lesser arts was now below Rank 5. Even Wind Crane kung fu, using that element so similar to White Crane in fluidity and movement, had blossomed under the crucible of combat the night before, assuming it had been the night before. Even now he sensed his connection to the flow of air all around him heightened, remembering with greater clarity so many of the lessons and insights that he and his former master had embraced in their dance toward perfection, a lifetime ago.

    And how terrifying it was to realize that those same spiritual anchor points could have been used by a chortling Long Wang to tear free absolutely everything Alex had struggled to learn and master. Like playing a trump card only after Alex revealed a choice prize and stealing his entire hand. Which Alex supposed, in a sense, was exactly what had happened. At least until Alex¡¯s soul had given Long Wang the metaphoric finger, and probably not for the first or thousandth time, before skinny-dipping right into the River of Souls. Or at least his exquisitely sharp and visceral memory of too many years¡­ or had it been millennia? Freezing in those impossibly cold waters. So sharp and bitter were those memories he did his best even now to suppress that the gods so rightly feared above fled even the memory of those torments.

    ¡°Such a shame those bastards fear death so very much,¡± he whispered to himself with a mocking grin, feeling a fierce jolt of triumph, even if he wouldn¡¯t ever be so stupid as to actually utter a single name from the pantheon that had done everything it could to destroy him. Just a quiet smile in the dim light as he debated whether or not he could get away with asking Reny for yet another bowl of soup.

    And it turned out, much to his immense satisfaction, that he could.

    In fact, the only thing that spoiled the otherwise glorious experience of eating his fill were the concerned looks that his companions were now giving him.

    ¡°how do you feel, Alex?¡±

    Alex offered Ya Ling a bemused smile as he finished his latest bowl. ¡°I feel fine, Ya Ling. Just like I did the last time you asked¡­ no, don¡¯t scowl. You¡¯re far too pretty to risk wrinkles now. Wait until you¡¯re married with a dozen beautiful children who need a firm hand as well as a loving smile.¡±

    His cheeky tongue got ahead of him, as it so often did with her, earning a surprised blush and a too-knowing look exchanged between aunt and uncle. Alex quickly cleared his throat. ¡°Actually, I feel like now might be a wonderful time to get some air.¡± He bowed to all three of them. ¡°This one thanks you all for taking care of me during my time of need, and would like to at least spare your noses the scent of a cultivator recently broken through.¡±

    Those words earned a crooked smile from Qing Wu. ¡°We would welcome a strong young man¡¯s back in taking out the bedding, Alex. Thank you.¡±

    Words that earned a scowl from Reny. ¡°Husband...¡±

    He gave a minute shake of his head. ¡°Let him do this. If he¡¯s unable to perform that degree of manual labor¡­ then best we know now, in assessing just how significant the damage is.¡±

    Alex deliberately paid no mind to the concerned whispers now filling the wagon, though he did find a certain satisfaction at the surprised curse when Alex adroitly bundled the entire affair and sprung out the back, Qing Wu having already released the wards and opened the reinforced paneling to let let in the night air, giving them a beautiful glimpse of the endless desert sands graced by the full moon, and the brightly twinkling stars overhead.

    Alex gave a relieved chuckle, his friend¡¯s worries having gotten to him, but he found it effortless to separate and air out the rolled mats and blankets, not above using Biochemical Mastery to generate a little bit of scent-canceling solution he had first learned at Cui Liu Jian¡¯s side, what now felt like a lifetime ago.

    In very short order he was back with mats, blankets, and even the cushions, smelling like the warm sands of the desert, and very little else.

    Ya Ling was gazing at Alex with wide almond eyes. ¡°Alex, how did you do it?¡±

    He flashed a cheeky smile, bowing his head respectfully toward Reny. ¡°I might not have a thimbleful of the alchemical knowledge that your aunty does, but I did pick up a trick or two during my time as an apothecary. If you need glues, solvents, lubricants, or deodorants, not to mention treatment for any one of dozens of ailments, well, our apothecary was a popular choice.¡±

    Ya Ling gave a solemn nod, though Reny¡¯s gaze turned curious. ¡°Sounds like you treated and interacted with a number of people, Alex.¡±

    He grinned. ¡°I did.¡±

    ¡°Which is kind of strange, for someone who came from a closed-off Ruidian commune.¡±

    Alex blinked, realizing his slip-up, so pressed on with a cheeky smile. ¡°I never said I was.¡±

    Reny¡¯s frown deepened, though Qing Wu gave a soft chuckle. ¡°He¡¯s right, there. A number of them are traders, or work the caravan route, and our young hero here has a familiarity with both wagons and spirit beasts you wouldn¡¯t find from someone who¡¯s never seen a camel before, clueless on how to dodge their teeth, or their spittle.¡±

    Alex smirked. Because in fact, Three-toe had gotten him with a good wad, and an evil yellow-toothed smile that Alex was wise enough to ignore. He had enough enemies that he didn¡¯t want to add irate spirit beasts pulling his wagon with it, so he resorted to the most classic method of successfully forging diplomatic relations and making friends in general. Bribery. He could find the rare desert fruit and blossom far better than most, and Three-toe now had nothing but soothing brays for Alex when he did his nightly training or sparring, and all it cost him was a few of the spiritual energy-rich prizes he had claimed by the score that Reny hadn¡¯t needed after all, safely tucked away in his herbalist¡¯s pouch.

    Ya Ling tilted her head in renewed interest. ¡°Is that how you grew up, Alex? By caravan? Were your parents traveling apothecaries, going from oasis to oasis, city to city?¡±

    Alex laughed off the question. ¡°Not exactly, but it sure sounds romantic, doesn¡¯t it? Our caravan sailing the desert seas as we drift between ports, making our fortunes as traders and cultivators and going wherever whim or trade route takes us.¡±

    Her eyes lit up with her smile. ¡°You know what? I think I might like that very much.¡±

    Alex blinked, seeing something deadly serious in the playful twinkle in her eyes. ¡°You know what I think? I think it¡¯s time for a sparring session. How about you?¡±

    Her features instantly filled with concern. ¡°Alex, please. You¡¯ve done enough already. I think you should get some more...¡± Her words died out when Alex calmly left the wagon and, upon making sure he had plenty of space, began embracing the combined White Crane, Golden Realms, and Silver Swan katas, minus the kicks of course, that had served him so well in training his martial skills, and just as importantly, his flow of Qi, in the life most recently lived. Even if he had made adaptations, now using it to channel Wind Crane Kung Fu as he alternated flurries of strikes, darting parries, and winding thrusts with fierce slashes of cleaving wind, his left arm countering imaginary volleys of quarrels brilliantly with the prismatic shield, the pair of techniques finally placing his sword on par with polearm, thanks to the extra three feet of reach his latest Qi attacks earned him, not to mention his near inviolate defense, and lack of Bullrush to close distance like he had once utterly depended upon.

    Still, his emphasis had always been on the fangtian ji, a lack he was feeling now, sensing that he wasn¡¯t quite as fluid with sword and shield as a true master would be.

    Fortunately, with a happy belly and feeling in perfect health, he had plenty of time to catch up.

    And as became quite clear when a gamely smiling Ya Ling tossed training sword, helmet, and padded hauberk his way, he wasn¡¯t the only one in need of a good workout.

    You have successfully countered Sand Blast.

    Your opponent has slipped past your guard!

    There were no half-measures, not tonight, the pair of them immediately opening with a flurry of probing attacks and feints, Ya Ling¡¯s wooden blade streaking forth like a serpent to taste Alex¡¯s flesh¡­ or at least leave a bruise or two.

    Never had she seemed quite so agile or quick on her feet, never had she used her dancing shield and winding blade to such effect, dazzling the eye before darting in for the kill.

    So her frustration wasn¡¯t at all surprising, when her strikes failed to land. Alex always step-sliding with consummate grace on the sands when she closed, his prismatic shield always where it needed to be to counter even the sharpest cutting blade of Sand, even if she only struck full force with blunted wood. All ended with strike foiled, and the slightest brush of wood against her own soft skin when Alex¡¯s blade inevitably claimed yet another point of their endless match.

    Her cheeky grin soon became a thin-pressed lips and a too intent stare, the girl before Alex smelling of bruised pride and hunger, and something in his eyes told him that the next blow was going to land, one way or another.

    So he wasn¡¯t surprised when the sand behind him erupted, Desert Sense making it clear what Ya Ling intended. Yet somehow she still slipped past his shield with a twist and a wrench, sacrificing her own weapon and somehow tossing him off his feet. Even if that meant she had been forced to close the distance and surrender her own blade, both of them now locked in a tight wrestler¡¯s embrace that threatened to become so much more.

    A single hot kiss and a painful throb, and Alex broke off the unexpected and far too welcome kiss with a desperate gasp.

    ¡°Okay, you win, the match is yours.¡±

    Ya Ling didn¡¯t immediately get up, soft brown eyes locked with his own as she whispered soft words that set his cheeks blazing.

    ¡°Not until I hit Bronze. And Deep Bronze, at that.¡±

    Ya Ling blinked at this, then flushed, dusky cheeks rich with color he would have kissed, if his heart didn¡¯t already belong to another, even if she was long lost to history¡¯s ancient tale.

    ¡°I thought before, you seemed so close to¡­ it got worse, didn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Your aunt and uncle were right. There was a cost to what I dared,¡± he gasped, forcing his ragged breathing to a slow, steady pace, his heart pounding from far more than simple exertion. ¡°I pushed my gifts, and my Dantian. Now Deep Bronze is the price I pay before any of my essence can safely go towards anything but my own perfection.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes grew forlorn. ¡°Alex¡­ Deep Bronze is something very few cultivators ever achieve. And those that do¡­ it takes decades to achieve.¡±

    Alex sighed, flashing a bittersweet smile. ¡°I know.¡±

    Now sitting beside her on the desert sands, he sighed and gazed toward the starry heavens. ¡°Beautiful sight, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Ya Ling nodded. ¡°I know. Vast and magnificent. Best savor the view as best you can, tonight, Alex. Because tomorrow we¡¯ll be in sight of Liushi, and if all goes well, the day after we¡¯ll be applying for entrance into Silver Sands academy.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°But wait, I thought Liushi was weeks away!?¡±

    ¡°It was. Then you fell into a coma and we feared you¡¯d perish.¡± Ya Ling¡¯s eyes grew misty. ¡°Alex, the way your struggled and thrashed, Reny was terrified that exposure to the undead had caused a deviation in your cultivation. A fatal deviation. You don¡¯t know how long you thrashed and cried out, as if you were fighting against the very heavens!¡± She paled in memory. ¡°It was everything for Reny to just get you to sip soup, and clean you after you had...¡±

    Alex flushed, suddenly feeling far more acutely embarrassed than he had for a very long time. ¡°I had no idea.¡±

    Ya Ling squeezed his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad. Aunty¡¯s been taking care of the sick for a very long time. And I¡¯m not overstating it when I say that we owe you our lives. Twice over. So cleaning you just as every mother who has ever cared for her child is not such a great burden as all that.¡±

    Alex groaned and shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t understand¡­ I¡¯m not ready! We spent so much time just surviving this trip, that I wasn¡¯t even able to make use of your uncle¡¯s lessons¡­ I still can¡¯t cast a single Ice Spear.¡±

    The girl beside him nodded solemnly. ¡°I know. You really are a strange one, Alex. The things I¡¯ve seen you do with spiritual energy connected to you in a warrior¡¯s echo...¡± she shook her head in awe. ¡°Uncle¡¯s already made it clear that no one is to breathe a word of what you can do. Not a word. But as far as range goes¡­¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°Compared to any wujen worth his or her salt, it¡¯s bad.¡±

    She flashed a sad smile. ¡°Beyond bad. And strange. People are either body cultivators with all their spiritual energy enhancing their physical forms, or wujen, with mastery over their element, even if only a fraction of their spiritual potential is echoed in their physical frame. But you, Alex. You¡¯re some weird hybrid I¡¯ve never seen the like of before.

    ¡°Not that I mind,¡± she quickly assured with a soft squeeze of her hand and a teasing grin.

    Alex smirked. ¡°Would you believe my style isn¡¯t that odd where I¡­ never mind. Anyway, yeah. I would have loved more time to learn from your uncle.¡±

    She smirked. ¡°A powerful Silver who devoted countless hours in personal instruction that anyone with a lick of talent would have absolutely blossomed under¡­ and you couldn¡¯t embrace a single one of his techniques.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°Yeah¡­ shit. I guess I won¡¯t be the young genius, this time around.¡± He forced a chuckle. ¡°More like the struggling neophyte desperate just to advance a single step along his chosen path, as all his classmates surge ahead.¡± He smirked at himself. ¡°Very slice-of-lifey, with an emphasis on overcoming challenges and personal acceptance and satisfaction as the politics, struggles, and glory are relegated to whoever this year¡¯s ¡®young masters¡¯ will be.¡±

    Ya Ling laughed. ¡°Precisely!¡± She teased, before her smile turned solemn. ¡°Alex, about the fight with the dead¡­ you do understand that you can¡¯t show those things off to anyone, don¡¯t you? Especially not if you, um¡­ well, want to keep anything like a low profile.¡±

    Alex froze. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    Ya Ling crossed her arms, looking off into the distance. ¡°I¡¯m just saying that a wujen capable of using one element at a time won¡¯t stick out too much. Even the occasional Ruidian can be seen at the school, after all, even if they look like a mix between the two of us, more often than not. They also tend to be on the lower end of the class, and no one pays them much mind. But unless you really want to stick out, and earn the attention of people you maybe don¡¯t want to burn too brightly before...¡±

    ¡°I get it,¡± Alex said, raising up his hand. Because he did. The last thing he wanted to do was catch the eye of the powers-that-be that had no love or loyalty towards him, and would use him as a puppet for their own games, perhaps try to destroy him out of hand, or just keep such a sharp eye on him that he could never trust that he would be truly free from observation again.

    No. If he wanted privacy, anonymity, and to utterly avoid getting caught up in or being ground to dust by the politics and intrigues of either school, city, or the territory as a whole¡­ best he keep a low profile in the warm snug valleys of anonymity, and let others get caught up in the howling winds at the peaks of cultivation high above.

    He had led the vanguard, savoring madness, brilliance, and tragedy, more than enough for a dozen lifetimes.

    He¡¯d already unlocked his path.

    Now it was just a matter of learning and growing and strengthening his foundation. And that he was happy to do at the humblest of paces.

    As long as he could live a life free of bitter strife, tragedy, and pain.

    As long as he could be happy. Simply savoring the joy of learning, growing.

    Making friends.

    Perhaps finding love that wouldn¡¯t be callously torn free from his heart by the bitter winds howling across the mountain tops of desperate ambition.

    There was a reason, after all, why lush green valleys gave rise to cold, lifeless rock, steeped in bitter snow.

    And that was a life he no longer had any desire to live, no matter how beautiful the view from the summit might be. There was no point if the cost was a heart as hard as granite, bitter and cold.

    ¡°Wind, I think,¡± he said after a moment, earning a curious look from Ya Ling. He smiled. ¡°It plays to my strengths, works well with the Wind Crane kung fu I know, and I can use Wind Blade for deadly strikes and 3 additional feet of cutting winds to my dao.¡±

    Ya Ling grinned. ¡°Not a bad choice. And you almost have some range with it. Almost.¡± Her eyes lit up with excitement. ¡°And I here that true masters of Wind can actually fly! Even if your defenses amount to just blowing attacks off course, a powerful enough wujen can send a cloud of arrows off course, saving the men under his care in times of war.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Alex said, comfortable with a choice that mirrored White Crane Kung Fu in so many ways.

    ¡°And nothing says I can¡¯t blossom in another element, like your Uncle¡¯s ice. Or anything with range that can effect a group. But Wind Qi is as close as I seem to be able to get to that, at least for now, without combining elements, and you and Qing Wu have made it damn clear that will get all eyes looking in my direction faster than anything else.¡±

    Qing Wu squeezed his hand in agreement. ¡°Wind¡¯s a good choice,¡± she assured, as the pair of them sat together under the moonlight, talking of life, future dreams and all they hoped to accomplish at the academy that just might be the key to unlocking their dreams. An oasis in a sea of endless desert sands.

 Book 8 - Chapter 36

    ¡°Reason for coming to Liushi?¡±

    ¡°To attend Silver Sands Academy,¡± Alex said, dipping his head politely at the pair of guards wearing sheer white tabards over half-shirts of bronze mail with white linen underlining, both wearing conical straw hats much like most of the people waiting sedately in line, both those that were even now entering the open gate into the city where the sounds of an open air market were clearly audible even from the other side of the gate.

    The shorter guard frowned at Alex, tilting his head as he scratched a whiskery cheek. ¡°You¡¯re a ruby, am I right?¡±

    Alex blinked at the pronouncement. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± he cautiously asked, having thought his forehead well protected with both thick long bangs and a straw hat that helped him blend with everyone else, as several of the Ruidians whose group was just now preparing to enter turned to gaze his way with surprised stares.

    Alex suppressed a wince, having deliberately maneuvered himself to walk right behind them, hoping to use them for cover to slip inside without them being any wiser that he wasn¡¯t a part of their group.

    A hope quickly dispelled by the intently furrowed pair of brows from a pair of redheaded youths who looked no older than he was, both clearly jewel bound, the pair twinkling brightly to Alex¡¯s perception.

    The guards smirked. ¡°Because you¡¯re wearing a full lamellar hauberk without a trace of sweat or discomfort, which mean the heat isn¡¯t bothering you. And if you can actually use that dao on your hip, then you¡¯re better than most who claim a jewel.¡±

    Alex forced a rueful chuckle, bowing his head as he allowed the tiniest spark of Fire from Flame Fist to manifest as a brief flash in his hands. ¡°Useful for evening dung fires. Burns clean enough that there isn¡¯t even a stink. Most caravan masters will happily give extra rations for clean smelling fires.¡±

    The guard grinned his approval. ¡°Always pays to have an in with your master. And with your build, you¡¯re a cut above most, even true-bloods like myself!¡± he said with a good-natured chuckle. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, the city welcomes all of your kind, no matter how scrawny you lot are.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Alex said, forcing a smile and nod as he kept his head down and proceeded through the gate, doing his best to ignore the glare this earned from the closest Ruidian staring back at them, her dusky features the farthest thing from pale skin and freckles, but her green eyes sparkled with unmistakable heat.

    ¡°You¡¯re a cut above the rest of us. Is that what you believe?¡± The girl asked in challenge, though her haughty glare turned curious when Alex winked as if sharing an inside joke with her, lowering his voice as if sharing a confidence.

    ¡°Let him think what he likes. No need to cause trouble. And it always pays to be underestimated, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±

    She frowned at this, but her closest companion nodded, his almond eyes were the same green hue as hers, though his frame was just as slender as that of most Ruidians Alex had encountered in his travels. His hair, like the girl¡¯s, was a curly brown with fiery highlights, both of them wearing cleverly secured robes that seemed to catch every breeze and didn¡¯t seem to hinder their movements in the slightest.

    ¡°He¡¯s right, Linnea. Who cares what the natives think? Life¡¯s always easier when you smile and nod and let people assume what they will. Especially if it means they don¡¯t fear you nearly as much as they should. At least that¡¯s what grandmother always says, and that goes double for elementalists like us.¡±

    The girl, Linnea, just shook her head as they entered what was apparently the front gate market, crowded with people and stands, for all that everyone was sticking to the shade provided by clusters of date trees while the massive caravan wagons effortlessly trundled between the well-separated crowds down the main arterial thoroughfares of the city.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t change the fact that city-folk still look down on us, Hanz, no matter the services our clan performed for this city over how many decades?¡±

    Hanz laughed. ¡°That was one idiot of a guard whose insult was almost a backhanded compliment. Besides, most people here in Liushi are friendlier than grandmother would ever believe! And who cares if they are a bit condescending, as long as they¡¯re not actively persecuting us? What matters is that we¡¯re welcomed inside with open arms, specifically because our clan earned so much honor in the city¡¯s defense, which also opened the academy doors to us, and the delves that they safeguard, and we¡¯ve never given them cause to regret it!¡±

    He turned to peer thoughtfully at Alex. ¡°So, you¡¯ll be daring the rifts by Silver Sands as well, then?¡±

    Alex blinked, nonplussed for only a second before going along with the flow of the conversation. ¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± he said, which was at least partly true, deliberately not paying attention to the wagon train even now entering the city, for all that he felt Qing Wu¡¯s soft brown eyes trying to catch his own.

    He knew better than to glance her way, hard as it was.

    Not when any one of the dozens of hawkers, food sellers, even flute and lyre playing street musicians could be serving as eyes and ears for the JiangHu Sect which might or might not have a bounty out on all their heads. Until Elder Wu carefully ascertained the consequences of a certain demonic cultivator¡¯s death¡­ and whether or not the local JiangHu sect held a grudge or couldn¡¯t care less, considering that it was the head of a competing city that had been eliminated, and an extremely corrupt head at that¡­ best they do absolutely nothing to draw attention to themselves. Better for everyone that the killers be seen as ghosts, with ties to no known group or faction. And for all their precautions, for all that certain folk might avoid notice altogether or at least be protected by reputation and status, Alex stuck out like a sore thumb and enjoyed no such protection at all.

    They had judged it best if Alex could slip in completely apart from their own wagon train, and it had seemed downright serendipitous when they spied the clan of Ruidians along the highroad leading to the massive crater rim upon which the ancient city had been founded, Alex having been informed in breathless whispers that the within the steeply sloped caldera was a lush fecund valley so rich in life that it would put any old world forest to shame. Though he had his doubts and could catch no sight of greenery besides the frequent palm trees providing much appreciated shade from the sun and the occasional desert plant carefully cultivated outside various shops to provide a bit of greenery and perhaps fresh-clipped herbs, Alex had to admit that even surrounded by buildings he felt a cool moisture in the air that he hadn¡¯t before entering the city, and the faint whiffs of wildflowers and peach blossoms were absolutely unmistakable.

    Fortunately, the city was shaped like a crescent around the thickest part of the massive caldera rim, the elevation also decreasing the temperature a few precious degrees, and from what Ya Ling had whispered before he slipped free of the wagon, it should be no problem at all for him to locate Silver Sands.

    Of course, their priority on splitting up and maximizing autonomy also meant that he had to approach and apply to Liushi¡¯s premier academy with no references, contact, or inside pull at all.

    And Alex was more than okay with that. Even if worst came to worst, there were other cities, and many other academies and paths forward, he had no doubt. What mattered most to Alex was that he was now free to find his own path, and take as long as he needed to to achieve his goals.

    There was no longer the awful sense that his doom was slowly hunting him down¡­ and that nothing less than an insane series of breakthroughs at a breakneck pace would spare him from a violent end. The constant awful sense even at his sweetest moments he was rapidly running out of time.

    It was only now that he was free of that crucible that he could finally admit to himself just how god-awful, literally, it had been.

    He blinked back the unexpected sting of tears, even as he saw an absurd grin upon his features reflected for a heartbeat from a well polished copper pot a merchant was animatedly trying to sell a woman holding a sleeping infant, who was clearly enjoying the haggling a smuch as the merchant. Alex wasn¡¯t quite sure if he wanted to laugh or cry, still stunned by the sensation overcoming him, stronger than it ever had even during the caravan voyage.

    He truly felt at peace.

    He could finally live life at his own pace.

    All he needed to do was stay out of trouble, and everything should be fine.

    Even if he would miss bright and bubbly Ya Ling and her grandfather Qing Wu who had already started treating him like kin, a grace which truly humbled him. Somehow he knew they¡¯d be there to help him find his bearings in this fresh new life, even should he fail to enter the academy entirely.

    His pleasant thoughts were interrupted by Hanz¡¯s chuckle. ¡°The guard was right! Not a lick of sweat on you, and your steps don¡¯t tire, even if your eyes are watering a bit. So, I take it you really are heading to Silver Sands?¡±

    Alex smiled and nodded. ¡°I am indeed.¡±

    This earned a snort from the older Ruidian walking in step behind the younger pair. ¡°Even though you¡¯re no jewel master at all.¡±

    Hanz and Linnea¡¯s eyes widened with unexpected alarm.

    Their jewels began flashing crimson and icy blue, and a dismayed Alex could sense the sudden manifestation of elemental shields, though far more subtle than those he had once encountered by a pair of Ruidians he had once walked with a lifetime before.

    Alex flashed an unapologetic smile, not letting his dismay that they might suspect what he truly was show on his face. ¡°I never said I was.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s look of alarm immediately faded into an exasperated frown. ¡°Wait, you didn¡¯t. But that means¡­ was it just an apothecary¡¯s trick?¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°You can tell I¡¯m an apothecary? Now I¡¯m the one who¡¯s impressed.¡± He chuckled warmly, oddly grateful for the misunderstanding, just relieved that they weren¡¯t going to suddenly start acting like he was their culture¡¯s boogy man.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Hanz smirked. ¡°Of course not. But it¡¯s the only explanation, unless you really can channel heaven and earth spiritual energy beyond that needed to clear at least a few of our meridians and earn a sweet stat boost to our character sheets.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, delighted by those wrods. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s right! You guys really do get it. Or at least the jewel masters among you do, able to see your stats, gain experience, level up, even use potency for healing after battle!¡±

    Alex quickly lowered his voice at the passing looks their animated conversation earned him, but the elder was glaring all the more intently.

    ¡°You act like you weren¡¯t raised among us at all. And you¡¯re accent¡­ you have no accent at all. You sounded just like the guard when you spoke to him, rolling your r¡¯s the same way they do, and now? Now, you sound just like us.¡± The man¡¯s glare intensified, despite the concerned looks of the pair before him. ¡°And there¡¯s no way you¡¯re a pure-breed cultivator. Your clan clearly didn¡¯t mix with the natives at all!¡±

    ¡°But Uncle, that can¡¯t be true!¡± An alarmed Linnea hissed, gazing at the elder now radiating bitter cold waves of potency. ¡°Look at his frame! He looks as healthy as a spirit camel. And the breadth of his shoulders¡­ you just know he¡¯s not a part of any inbred clan. He must be a mix, just like us, or maybe he¡¯s from a far off tribe? I¡¯ve never seen blond hair outside of old pictures before.¡±

    Alex smirked at that. ¡°A far off tribe, you say? Sure, let¡¯s go with that. And as far as cultivation goes, you and your cousin already made it clear that your tribe can do that just like my own can.¡±

    ¡°Well yes, but we all know that using potency to clear meridian blockages is just a means of boosting our our physical stats without wasting precious level-up points on it. We¡¯re hybrids!¡± Hanz said with an exasperated glare. ¡°We can¡¯t actually form cords of spiritual energy. Merely infuse our physical frames with the benefits of cleared meridian channels, at least for the very few among us who can actually diversify in that direction anyway.¡±

    Linnea nodded. ¡°And it¡¯s not like most pure-bloods are that much better. Only a tiny fraction even have all seven of their meridian channels that you need to clear to even form a Bronze cord. And the fact that we can use spirit beast cores and potency to burn away the blockages and infuse our entire bodies means those of us who can cultivate even a little bit are far more efficient at it than the so-called true-bloods!¡±

    ¡°Silence, child!¡± Her uncle snapped, ¡°lest our words reach ears never meant to hear them. We¡¯ve already told this outsider more than enough!¡±

    Alex paid no heed to the older man, his eyes locked upon a suddenly blushing Linnea, deciding to ask the question that had been gnawing at him, even if it revealed just how ignorant he was. The two youths his age seemed kindly disposed to him, and the older man¡¯s disdain for him was unlikely to get any worse.

    ¡°So, you said you were heading to Silver Sands for the rifts. What exactly does that entail? And I don¡¯t suppose you know if Ruidians are actively welcomed at the school proper? Are they actually open to you practicing your arts alongside their own students?¡±

    This earned an animated nod from Linnea. ¡°Of course we¡¯re welcome within the school! You¡¯d be surprised with just how accommodating they are when trying to fill their parties for the beast core quotas they hope for. As far as attending lessons, my understanding is that it¡¯s not completely unheard of. Techniques using spiritual energy are already proven to work, and are far easier to reverse-engineer into crystalline variants that do the same thing.¡± She flashed an oddly smug smile. ¡°And since we have access to our arts right from Level One, we can benefit from academy lessons without having to spend years cleaning our meridian channels or studying bizarre breathing techniques, only hoping that we will one day actually be strong enough to channel any significant degree of spiritual energy.¡±

    Hanz¡¯s eyes lit up with alarm. ¡°Not that my cousin means to disparage whatever breathing techniques you might use...¡±

    ¡°Alex,¡± Alex said with a smile. ¡°And no offense taken. It¡¯s just refreshing as hell to find myself any place where a Ruidian¡¯s arts might actually be appreciated for more than caravan duty, let alone share academy classes with actual cultivating Wujen. Color me impressed.¡±

    Alex took a deep breath, genuinely admiring both the exotic scents of desert, market, and distant oasis as they past by the widely spaced sandstone buildings to either side of the boulevard, the leafy fronds from the double row of majestic fig and palm trees helping to moderate the desert heat and provide shade to the numerous whitewashed structures further cooled by rows of elongated air vents Alex saw crowning the tops of all the buildings they passed. And if they were anything like Terran historical norms, those vents, not to mention the spacious windows free of any glass or covering, would be excellent for catching cool breezes and chilling the entire house. But what impressed Alex the most was how spacious and wide apart all the buildings were. No doubt the city was designed to allow for maximum air flow, hygiene, and comfort, and, aside from the crowded yet spacious entrance market, it was nothing at all like the cramped collection of buildings he would have expected from a desert city.

    Of course his belly started grumbling the moment he caught sight of one beaming merchant displaying a wide selection of figs, dates, and currants that the man was more than happy to trade him significant quantities of for just one of the silver coins a solemnly grateful Dui Zhong had paid him with, with plenty of copper change to spare.

    Of course he immediately sensed the intent gazes of his newfound companions when he began munching his full. ¡°These are delicious. Please, have some.¡± Alex gestured to the fig leaf holding so many delectable treats, earning an eager smile from Linnea as she and her cousin Hanz both accepted several handfuls, even their uncle grabbing some with a snort.

    Linnea¡¯s green eyes met his own as she munched thoughtfully. ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°These are really good...¡±

    ¡°I know, right? Absolutely delicious!¡± Alex grinned.

    The girl gave an exasperated shake of her head. ¡°No that¡¯s not what¡­ anyway, when you showed off that flame¡­ that¡¯s not something that we can do with Spiritual Energy. Infusing our bodies with the essence of this world to boost our physical stats and live longer, healthier lives is what Ruidian cultivators are capable of. Pretty much all that they¡¯re capable of. Fusing a cultivator¡¯s physique with an elementalist¡¯s gifts is the dream of all mixed-bloods, and is the main reason why our own tribes have been open to mixed marriages for centuries, as long as our prospective partners can cultivate.¡±

    ¡°In addition to the added boon of avoiding extinction by inbreeding,¡± a smirking Hanz pointed out.

    ¡°In addition to that,¡± Linnea confirmed. ¡°But it still takes several generations before jewels can be worn again.¡± She blushed at her own words, especially with the look that Alex was giving her. ¡°But of course, you already know all that. Forgive me. The point is¡­ you do have a jewel, right? Because there¡¯s no other way you could...¡±

    Her words cut off, mouth hanging open in surprise when a smirking Alex lifted his hat and the hair covering his brow.

    She then squinted hard. ¡°Your tribe actually has access to diamonds?¡±

    Alex rolled his eyes. ¡°No, Linnea. That¡¯s not my point.¡±

    Her frown turned to wide-eyed disbelief as Hanz softly cursed under his breath.

    ¡°It means that his clan actually did it, Linnea!¡± her cousin declared with odd reverence in his voice as they effortlessly threaded their way through another open-air market. Alex was happy to let his travel companions take the lead, as they, supposedly, knew where the hell they were going.

    He frowned at this latest declaration, however. ¡°Did what?¡±

    ¡°Bred in cultivation traits so strong that your tribe can actually whelp offspring capable of ascending to Bronze as cultivators!¡±

    Alex slowed down, turning to peer closely at a suddenly embarrassed-looking Hanz for long moments. Before snorting and shrugging his shoulders. ¡°Interesting theory, but if we¡¯re here to apply to Silver Sands today, shouldn¡¯t we get going before the hour gets too late?¡±

    Hanz looked strangely at Alex for a second before abruptly bursting out in warmhearted laughter while his uncle grumbled about dreamers and fools.

    Alex held his smile, but it was a close thing.

    ¡°Oh cousin, he actually thinks we¡¯re here to apply!¡± Linnea said, with a certain bemused twinkle in her eyes.

    Hanz gave Alex the look one usually reserved for clueless friends and cousins. ¡°No, Alex. Our little group isn¡¯t here to apply to anything.¡±

    ¡°Which should have been obvious, all things considered,¡± scowled the uncle.

    Linnea sighed. ¡°Not that some of us wouldn¡¯t mind a chance at seeing if we have enough blood to catalyze spiritual currents with the right exposure and...¡±

    ¡°The answer¡¯s still no, Linnea,¡± snapped her uncle, voice more curt than it had been just moments before. ¡°You know your bloodline as well as anyone, and we don¡¯t have a season for you to enjoy the city on the clan¡¯s coffers. Or whelp a child with a cultivator that has no interest in marrying you before returning to our clan and learning our ways, no matter how much you might wish things were otherwise!¡±

    The girl¡¯s cheeks blazed, and for just a second, Alex feared the fiery tension he sensed building up between uncle and niece would erupt as more than simple metaphor. So he kept his features frozen in a mask of politeness, chomping on more dates like it was the most natural thing in the world once his ear truly picked up the guttural emphasis in their tones and realized that they were speaking a dialect quite distinct from the background murmurs of everyone else.

    Words that they clearly didn¡¯t expect him to understand at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t quite catch that?¡± Alex politely said.

    Hanz gave a nervous chuckle as his father and cousin glared fiery daggers at one another. ¡°Nothing for you to worry about, my blond-haired friend. Just a clan matter. Now, since we have other things in the city to attend to before we negotiate with the academies, let me show you the rest of the way to Silver Sands.¡± He frowned thoughtfully. ¡°I know it¡¯s unlikely, but I don¡¯t suppose you know mapsign, by any chance?¡±

    For some reason this question had Alex beaming from ear to ear. As awkward and strained as the moment was, just finding this link to what he feared was a truly ancient past, a common thread between his first friends and these unexpected acquaintances, left him suddenly feeling connected to a past he had feared forever lost.

    He choked back an unexpected lump in his throat as he gave a brusque nod, Hanz thinking nothing of gently clasping his wrist with a surprisingly delicate hand, fingers flickering in a handful of strokes that immediately conveyed to him exactly where he needed to go. And Alex gladly pretended that very little of it was an interface melding of any sort, for all that he had immediately clamped down on his own, visualizing a blinking ¡®autonomy granted¡¯ light so intently that even his silly interface knew not to seize anyone or anything at all.

    ¡°Yes, I understand,¡± Alex said, gently breaking contact almost before a surprised Hanz had finished, because Alex already knew where he had to be. He then deliberately honored them all with a solemn bow, which meant something, even in this time and place. ¡°This novice of the elements cries pardon for earlier misunderstandings, and gratitude for wisdom granted.¡±

    He then spun on his heels and immediately took off in the direction indicated, already knowing that the three were here to sell beast cores and hides like they did every season, Hanz both excited to have finally broken through to Level 6 as an Ice Elementalist, and praying that no one would ask them too many questions as to how exactly they had managed to secure so many prizes from desert spirit beasts thanks to a hidden rift their clan feared a powerful cultivation academy might try to claim for themselves, spiritual energy-rich meat kept perfectly preserved, thanks to a storage device they had claimed from a handful of Bronze that had tried to do just that to their clan, over a decade ago. And how captivating this handsome Ruidian¡¯s eyes were, sparkling like sapphires. And how absurd was it for Hanz to think that the boy would be interested in someone like him? Almost as unlikely as it was for his cousin to actually think she could slip free of her uncle and start life over at Silver Sands¡­ and why was the boy, Alex, giving him such a haunted look? Hanz was about to ask him to join them for lunch, his father¡¯s paranoia not withstanding¡­ Wait, did that boy just pay his respects to them in their clan tongue? Then that means he understood¡­

    Spirit Qi Perception check made!

    Alex gave an angry shake of his head, dispelling lingering thoughts he had no interest in glimpsing too deeply, eager to lose himself in the once more considerable crowd.

 Book 8 - Chapter 37

    ¡°You pull the copper handle, then put your hands under the spray. It will sting a bit, which is why it¡¯s best if you have a water flask and a bit of your own damp linen ready.¡±

    Alex nodded his thanks as he turned from the bronze contraption where one would normally expect a sink after using communal facilities that truly looked like a cross between a high end Roman bath house and a surprisingly modern public bathroom. And though he never appreciated Biochemical Mastery more than after taking care of his business, the fact that these public stalls actually had a pulley system complete with copper perforated pipes and basins to wash his hands after doing the deed was beyond remarkable. No doubt the cultural focus on cleanliness, as well as the hot dry desert climate, did wonders to help keep illnesses and parasite infestations in check.

    Though the fact that there was no soap provided was less than optimal, he quickly found out why the youth still smiling politely his way had warned him about using his own water. The minute he felt the alkaline sting, it was clear that lye had been added directly to the rinse water, perhaps to keep it from being stolen by thirsty travelers, as this was a world of desert cities and oases. Still, the sting of heavily diluted lye wasn¡¯t even an irritant, thanks to his Draconic Essence, Vitality, and Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique, but he made a point of rinsing his hands with a quick splash of his hip flask onto a linen cloth he pulled from his storage ring while digging between the folds of his cloak, perfectly mirroring the hurried actions of one of the robed townsfolk who, quite to Alex¡¯s surprise, didn¡¯t glare or curse under his breath when he caught Alex looking his way.

    In fact, he nodded and smiled, as if pleased to see Alex aping his movements.

    ¡°First time to Liushi?¡±

    Alex reflexively smiled in relief not to catch the hostile glares Yidushi had prepared him for so thoroughly. ¡°Yes, actually. The cleaning basin¡¯s new to me¡­ but extremely clever, and sanitary. I¡¯m surprised more cities don¡¯t use it.¡±

    The man laughed good-naturedly, looking up at Alex¡¯s six-foot-two frame. ¡°I take you don¡¯t have such things in your Ruidian communes?¡±

    Alex winced, forcing a chuckle. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a difficult question to answer.¡±

    But the man had already raised his hands. Not to mock, but to apologize, much to Alex¡¯s surprise.

    ¡°Forgive me, honored guest of our city. I did not mean to put you on the spot, or offend.¡±

    Alex blinked, truly taking in the worried-looking man and grinning boy, wearing similar robes and features like those of most of the city inhabitants. The farthest thing from pinched-faced Yidushian nobility, and without a trace of the derision, contempt, or barely concealed distaste he had sensed from so many Sacred City denizens of his past life, even from those shopkeepers trying to put on a good front.

    Alex shook his head in wonder, finally understanding why he was falling in love with this airy, spacious city, so well protected by shade and full of cheerful merchants selling so many tasty treats, and dozens of stalls and stores he was eager to explore and would do so for days on end, if he wasn¡¯t feeling pressed for time.

    It was that all the smiles had been genuine. The looks of warmth, the farthest thing from an act.

    It was as if this desert city was an oasis both figuratively and literally where he wasn¡¯t just tolerated, but treated with genuine interest and concern.

    As if he actually mattered.

    As human as anyone else.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help looking away to rub his eyes and swallow the lump in his throat, shaken to find himself so moved by the basic courtesy of strangers. He who had endured so much mockery, derision, and outright malice. Who had learned to laugh right in the face of genocidal hate and return such pain to his enemies that he felt no shame when they labeled him a monster in truth.

    But this?

    This brought tears to his eyes that no amount of personal suffering had ever brought him since being reborn.

    Alex bowed low, low enough to startle both concerned-looking strangers.

    ¡°This student of the way thanks you both for your kindness,¡± he murmured before making a beeline of the curved exit, no germ-covered door needed to be touched on his way out, showing an enlightenment, or at least a desire for clean-smelling hands, that was almost as surprising as the unexpected kindness that had moved him so much he couldn¡¯t bare another minute feeling so vulnerable and grateful, to complete strangers.

    For a second he wondered if he were lost in delusion, a broken crippled wreck with a steel collar fastened to his neck, about to be yanked back to cruel bitter reality as some monster bearing the stamp of Shalu¡¯s taint upon his features gloated and mocked before tormenting Alex with all the bitter malice his countless enemies could fathom.

    Yet sure enough, the moment he wiped his eyes and forced himself to laugh at life¡¯s vagaries and fortunes, the blazing sun overhead muted by the double rows of date trees proving glorious shade with their near twenty-foot long leaves¡­ nothing had changed. He didn¡¯t wake up to cynical smiles, derisive snorts, or the mocking laughter of his enemies.

    He was still here.

    Still in a daze, he continued to steel furtive glances at the casually strolling passersby, showcasing an equal assortment of turbans and white robes as well as silken cheongsams and changshan tunics worn over various styles of free-flowing leggings. Their dark skin and features, what on Earth would have been a beautiful blend of Southeast Asian and Middle-eastern, were, for all their individual differences, near uniform in the warm gazes and brilliant white smiles that so many passersby honored him with when he dared to meet their gaze.

    No fear, derision, or disdain.

    Only warmth and welcome, wherever he looked.

    His heart started to race, struck by sudden dizziness.

    Really, it was beyond belief.

    Grateful caravanners were one thing. He had certainly earned their respect, any interaction muted by the deference they showed Reny and Qing Wu, Alex having effectively been a guest under their roof.

    But this?

    He shook his head in wonder.

    He had learned to revel in the bitterness for so long¡­

    he almost couldn¡¯t bear the sweet.

    And if Alex did purchase far more than he needed to from the ubiquitous merchants selling candied dates or honey covered barely cakes smiling as warmly at him as they did everyone else, he certainly wasn¡¯t eating his feelings, though the surprised looks and grateful bows he received from a simple copper feather tip only encouraged him to spend that much more. Soon, he was down three whole silvers, not a small sum, yet he now had a good week¡¯s worth of sweet deliciousness he never needed to fear going bad in his storage ring, so he considered it more than fair. Especially when the final date seller almost eagerly gave him directions to the Silver Sands academy, which he had quite lost his bearings in trying to find, so profound had been his daze.

    ¡°Oh yes, Silver Sands is just a few blocks along the boulevard, then turn toward our beloved oasis and you can¡¯t miss it. It¡¯s the grandest collection of buildings besides the royal palace!¡±

    Alex smiled, solemnly bowing his head. ¡°This one thanks you for your assistance.¡±

    ¡°Oh not at all!¡± The gregarious man waved Alex¡¯s words away. ¡°It is we who should be thanking you for your services to our sanctuary. May the heavenly sun forever light your path and speed you on your journey!¡±

    Alex blinked, about to say something before immediately clamping his lips shut, refusing to raise any red flags or otherwise rupture the beautiful spell he was under by pointing out that he had absolutely no idea what the man was talking about regarding services to the sanctuary.

    Instead he dipped his head one more time and immediately headed in the direction of the academy, his mind racing with the merchant¡¯s implied words.

    Was Alex expected to perform some service? Could this be why everyone was being so nice to him?

    His furrowed brow turned to a rueful chuckle, suddenly feeling far more at peace with the way of the world if everyone¡¯s grace was, in effect, gratitude for services to be rendered as opposed to having encountered a city utterly free of the taint of spite-filled gods determined to make all the world as ugly and bitter as they.

    But still, even if a service was expected of him.. so what? No different than Earth, really. What professions were more revered than that of a doctor or surgeon? Men and women who were, in return, expected to devote their lives or at least their professional careers towards healing people directly or advancing medicine as a whole. Prestige, respect, and pay all exchanged in return for men and women who could and would literally save your life when you needed them the most.

    And if, by some miracle, Ruidians actually had a niche in this city that made them valued enough that even strangers would politely smile his way despite the different cast to his features, treating him just like everyone else, then that was a more than fair trade in his book¡­ so long as he knew exactly what was expected of him.

    He couldn¡¯t help but flash a half-cynical smile. ¡°As long as no one¡¯s leading me to a fucking alter¡­ it doesn¡¯t hurt to see exactly what¡¯s expected of me,¡± he said to himself between sips of a flask of water he need never worry about emptying, thanks to his increasing mastery of the element of Water, having found much to his delight and relief that Qi-forged water that was swallowed or unleashed was well and truly water in every way that counted, even if surprisingly rich with spiritual energy. ¡°I wonder, if I got into brewing, what kind of spirits or wine I could make?¡± He smirked at the thought, wondering if perhaps brewing as well as alchemy might be in his future, determined as he was to savor this second chance at a life free of the malice and spite that had haunted his existence for so long. And if he truly had endless centuries to endure¡­ he¡¯d do his utmost to enjoy and savor every day he could feel the sun¡¯s warmth bless his skin.

    But first, before he lost himself along any other path.. he was determined to grow in ways he suspected he never had before.

    His nostrils widened as enticing scents abruptly broke his muse, catching notes of desert lilies, sage, thyme, dried nettles and cactus blossoms, all coming from the apothecary just across the street. Curiosity turned to sudden alarm that compelled him forward, ducking inside the shop just in time to see a panicked looking young shopkeeper knock over a glass flask filled with a basic healing liniment about to splatter upon the hard stone tiles. And the feet of a pair of elderly customers gazing at the glass beaker with wide-eyed dismay.

    Quickness check made!

    Moving faster than shopkeeper or customers could blink, his hands just barely caught the bubbling beaker in time. The elderly couple continued to stare in frozen disbelief at the sight of him, what they must have seen as a hulking blond-haired giant with piercing blue-eyes and a brilliant smile who appeared out of nowhere. Or at least, that was what Alex saw of his own expression through the glass of the wildly bubbling beaker frothing in his hands.

    The young shopkeeper¡¯s expression was a mix between surprise, relief, and dismay.

    ¡°Thank you, kind sir, but best you throw that outside right now before...¡±

    Her words cut off when Alex nearly slammed right into her¡­ yet moved so gracefully that she hardly felt the air brush against her as he dove past her, his hands going right into her carefully organized boxes of dried cuttings and fungi.

    Surprised gratitude turned to sudden alarm, even a trace of fear. ¡°What are you...¡±

    her words cut off when she abruptly understood, wide almond eyes gazing at Alex with something close to wonder that Alex refused to let distract him, for all that his Spirit Qi was revealing far more than he was expecting as he crushed a certain amount of Linghzi and Lion¡¯s Mane into the brew.

    ¡°Those fungi are not cheap...¡±

    Alex grinned, solemnly handing the young apothecary her brew. ¡°You¡¯re right, they aren¡¯t. But your tincture is stabilized and should treat most upper respiratory infections and allow for a healing rate nearly twenty-fold that of standard.¡±

    The girl¡¯s mouth opened wide, no words coming out.

    ¡°Well, say thank you to the nice young Ruidian, Yana!¡± urged the older woman, smiling Alex¡¯s way.

    The elder man nodded. ¡°And ask him if he wants a job. He clearly knows what he¡¯s doing, and who would have thought there were Ruidian apothecaries?¡±

    ¡°Of course there are, dear,¡± his obvious wife scolded. ¡°No doubt their clans need herbalists just as much as the rest of us.¡±

    The girl, Yana, continued to gaze at Alex, cheeks blushing as she suddenly became aware of her own rapt gaze, earning a snort from the elderly couple.

    Alex broke the unexpected tension with a chuckle. ¡°My name¡¯s Alex. And if you have a wax tablet and stylus, or bark, paper, and charcoal, I¡¯d be happy to share with you a modified, and very stable variant, of the healing tincture you were compounding.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°I was an apothecary, once upon a time, and I¡¯ve always had a good nose for the craft.¡±

    Yana continued to gaze at Alex in wonder. ¡°And you just knew, out of the blue, that...¡±

    He nodded. ¡°I could smell the instability. Like I said, I have a nose for the craft. But now you have a tincture that¡¯s 220% of median market potency and 340% more stable than your baseline formulae. Best of all, the ingredients you need are clearly accessible to you.¡±

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    ¡°Are Ruidian noses truly that sensitive?¡± The elderly man wondered, before taking the potion a dazed Yana handed him with a bow. ¡°And Yana is looking for an assistant, so your timing is impeccable,¡± he said with a cheerful smile, leaving a full silver on the counter as his wife took his arm.

    ¡°She could use a good husband, too. Something to consider, dear,¡± the wife said with a chuckle for Yana¡¯s suddenly blazing cheeks before heading out the door.

    The girl, who looked the epitome of adorably stressed college intern of a lifetime ago, continued to gaze at Alex in speechless mortification.

    Alex chuckled. ¡°Older patients always enjoy playing matchmaker or putting us on the spot, don¡¯t they?¡± he said like a shared joke between them, doing his best to relieve the tension.

    Yana gave a nervous titter, before nodding. ¡°They do indeed.¡± She then curtseyed before him, bowing her head as she did so. ¡°This one thanks you for arriving just in the nick of time. I take it you¡¯re also an apothecary?¡±

    Alex sighed, smile turning wistful. ¡°I was apprenticed to one once, what now feels like a lifetime ago.¡±

    She blinked, eyes widening. ¡°You were just an apprentice? But you seemed so comfortable with the shop layout and you¡¯ve never been here before, knowing exactly how to spare me a disaster I really can¡¯t afford right now.¡± She sighed, gazing solemnly at the silver. ¡°I suppose it would only be fair if...¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°I¡¯m glad I could help out. Now let me write that formulae for you, and I¡¯ll be off.¡±

    ¡°Would you like a job?¡± The girl swallowed as soon as she said the words, the nervousness and hope in her gaze clearly unfeigned.

    Alex gave her his warmest smile. ¡°Actually, I was on my way to Silver Sands when I sensed trouble brewing here.¡±

    Yana¡¯s smile turned strained. ¡°Ah, of course you were. Of course you were! Forgive me, it¡¯s just that...¡±

    Alex quickly shook his head. ¡°No, nothing to apologize for. You paid me a great compliment, and I thank you for it.¡± He tilted his head thoughtfully, taking in the homey shop, noting the carefully organized and tended herbs and dried cuttings, the cleanliness of her workstation, his nose already picking up whiffs of freshly tended cuttings that he supposed were growing in her own private garden.

    He smiled his approval. ¡°But I can tell you run a top-notch operation with ingredients well above median market potency at an age where most people are still working under their mentors or masters.¡±

    Her spine stiffened. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know this was my father¡¯s shop, and I spent my entire childhood learning everything I know from him.¡±

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°The best way to do it, if you ask me. I think you¡¯ll do him proud.¡±

    Her scowl immediately brightened to a hopeful smile. ¡°Thank you, I¡­ yes, I hope so too.¡± Her gaze turned hopeful. ¡°If you¡¯d ever like to stop by and discuss craft¡­ I would be happy for your company.¡±

    Alex gave a considering nod, ignoring her flushed cheeks and hopeful gaze. ¡°Maybe I will, at that, depending on what life at Silver Sands is like. Assuming, of course, that they will take me at all.¡±

    This earned a surprised blink. ¡°You¡¯re Ruidian, right? A jewel master? Of course they¡¯ll take you, and gratefully, paying you extremely fair wages for all the beast cores you would sell them.¡± She sighed then. ¡°Sadly more than I can afford, no matter how much those cores would strengthen my...¡±

    Her eyes widened when Alex was suddenly before her. ¡°Wait, you know how to use beast cores in your tinctures?¡±

    Yana blinked, ¡°Of course I...¡± Then she flushed, lowering her gaze. ¡°Please, let¡¯s keep that between you and me, alright?¡±

    Her flush turned to a look of awe when Alex solemnly handed her a small beast core.

    ¡°Show me.¡±

    In very short order she did just that, Alex losing himself in the sheer joy of compounding and creation as Yana demonstrated that alchemists and artificers weren¡¯t the only ones who could make use of beast cores and the most potent spiritual ingredients. It soon became clear that with the right distillations and reagents, almost any apothecary mixture could be strengthened to a profound degree with the added potency of beast cores. And as rapidly became clear as Alex first watched, then directly assisted in the compounding of several dozen different batches, beast cores were every bit as helpful to apothecaries as alchemists, perhaps much more so, as a single meridian cleansing potion could translate to over 100 doses of medicinal tinctures all at 200-300% of median market potency.

    By the end of the day the pair of them had fallen into a pattern of working together like a well-oiled machine, and Alex had absolutely no problems letting Yana take the lead, and the very few times her brow furrowed quickly turned to pleased smiles when Alex¡¯s last-second additions never failed to help stabilize or intensify the brew. They would then pause only long enough for her to scribe quick notes of his alterations as the last of Yana¡¯s lingering awkwardness turned to professional courtesy and genuine warmth.

    By the time their last tincture had been made, the final liniment prepared, and over a score of fresh customers served in between their own beast-core enhanced batches, Yana was glowing with a mix of excitement and satisfaction. In fact, if Alex didn¡¯t know better, he would think she was on the verge of her own breakthrough, for all that Alex sensed only a single pair of clogged meridian channels, which still put her in the top 5% of the population, even if it was clear she had never cultivated a day of her life.

    Of course, preparing dozens of perfectly prepared compounds with the help of beast cores, bridging the gap between apothecary and alchemy, had also helped him to grow in ways significant and profound, making it clear it had been time well spent indeed.

    You have studied under an expert on how best to use beast cores in ways that compliment the breadth of all previous apothecary and alchemical lessons learned.

    Alchemy is now Rank 4!

    ¡°Now our workstations are perfectly clean,¡± Alex said with a smile, having made perhaps a bit freer use of Biochemical Mastery than he should have, but the look Yana had given him had made it obvious that there was very little he could do to impress her any more than he already had, so what was a little ethyl alcohol clean-up between friends?

    Yana just shook her head, wearing the same helpless grin she had for the last hour. ¡°And still you continue to amaze.¡± She flashed him a teasing smile. ¡°And paying you back with the silver the shop made today is only fair.¡± Her eyes grew strangely intent, desperately looking for something in his own, and it wasn¡¯t quite Ya Ling¡¯s gaze, where Alex knew exactly what she wanted¡­ what maybe they both wanted¡­ but this was something different, even if only be degrees.

    ¡°Are you absolutely sure you¡¯re not a hidden master looking for a worthy disciple?¡± she finally asked.

    Alex snorted and laughed. ¡°You were taking the lead with all our concoctions, remember? Honestly, with what I learned working under your direction today, I¡¯m the one who should be tipping you.¡±

    Yana adamantly shook her head. ¡°Absolutely not¡­ Alex.¡± for some reason, she blushed at his name. ¡°Thanks to your gift, my potions are at least twice as potent as they would otherwise be. Lives will be saved that otherwise nothing but an extremely expensive alchemist¡¯s brew could have rescued. And with your help¡­ and corrections, we¡¯ve generated three dozens such tinctures and poultices that will keep for months in my storage containers.¡±

    Alex smiled in admiration for the one thing Liu Jian¡¯s apothecary had lacked, any sort of preservation talisman, or hardwood cabinets seared in with the same. Whether because of the rapid turnover or keeping a low profile from his enemies still at Dragon Academy, his old master had never made use of such. Yet Yana, Alex was happy to see, had no such reservations at all.

    She gave him an apologetic smile. ¡°I can tell you have a passion and a talent for this craft. Enough that you instead of wasting your day punching people at Silver Sands¡­ you¡¯re here, working to save lives with me.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help chuckling at that. ¡°And it was a day well spent¡­ even if tomorrow I¡¯ll be happily punching people at Silver Sands.¡± He then teasingly flexed his muscles. ¡°I mean, have you seen these guns? Practically a waste, not flexing them in front of a dozen wide-eyed cultivating beauties.¡±

    She winced. For a heartbeat, he was afraid he had gone too far. Then she broke out in throaty laughter. ¡°And you would look quite the handsome peacock, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± She snorted. ¡°Well, at least you spent one useful day before losing yourself in the flirting and preening that I suspect is most of a young aspirant¡¯s life, when not engaging in ¡®dual cultivation¡¯ with whatever pretty peacock or dove catches one¡¯s eye.¡±

    She sighed, her teasing smile turning solemn. ¡°But I shouldn¡¯t joke, should I? After all, it¡¯s only thanks to you all that our sanctuary¡¯s even possible.¡± She then bowed, hand over fist. ¡°Honor for your sacrifice.¡±

    Alex suppressed a wince, smile firmly in place, once again forced to wonder what giant tab was coming due on the warmth and gratitude he had never in a dozen lives expected to receive from strangers in this reality.

    Yana shook away the solemn moment. ¡°Well, the least I can do for the hero who helped save my shop is treat him to a nice meal.¡± She tilted her head. ¡°If I were to bet¡­ this is your first time here. So how about I show you the best eating house on the block?¡±

    Alex¡¯s eye twinkled. He gamely held out his arm. ¡°Let¡¯s do just that.¡±

    For some reason Yana stiffened, gazing at him with wide eyes before flowing to his side, linking her arm around his like it was the most natural thing in the world.

    The next few hours that past were a storybook rendition of budding friendships and wonder.

    The moon¡¯s gentle light reflected off Yana¡¯s rapt gaze when Alex shared an edited account of how he had arrived here, friends made and a single band of bandits fought off making an adventure out of what would have otherwise been a boring trip to a new city and the academy he hoped would accept him, and how surprised he had been when a single odd scent while passing her shot had transformed into a miraculous save, insightful lessons, and blossoming friendship.

    ¡°To friendship,¡± Yana said with a warm twinkle in her soft brown eyes, clinking her wine glass against his own, Alex still gazing with wonder at glassware that was, if anything, superior to anything he had seen in Yidushi or Baidushi, cities that were at least ten if not dozens of times more populous than Liushi, for all that the spacious city protectively circled the rich, fecund oasis for miles in all directions.

    ¡°To friendship,¡± Alex replied with a gentle smile, belly happily full with both pita bread covered in rich, spicy hummus and fresh baked faccocia covered in chutney, aromatic and delicious, tasting of olive oil, herbs and buttery goodness, an excellent complement to their extremely spicy and delicious peppercorn and spirit meat stew. All in all, it was a glorious meal, and though his cheeks were warm with good food and even better company, his mind was as clear as prudence dictated it forever be, no matter how glorious or beautiful the surroundings.

    Yana slung back the last of her wine and burped, breaking out into sudden giggles that earned more than one indulgent smile from the other customers of their upscale dining establishment, and how strange it was to see both men and women gazing boldly their way, and not a one glowering with tiring disapproval.

    When Alex raised his hand, their servitor manifested as if by cultivation technique, a wax tablet in his hands depicting an exotic script that Alex was determined to study until his Linguistic Interface mastered it¡­ yet the puzzle was solved miraculously when a pair of his silvers flashed, with copper change received in turn.

    ¡°Such gratuity is by no means necessary, great one,¡± the servitor breathlessly explained when Alex tried to give the poor young lady a copper feather, so he merely nodded and smiled, deliberately pressing it on the table as he gently gathered a dazed Yana in his arms and made his way out of the restaurant, earning nothing but a good-natured chuckle or two as he carried the young compounder back to her shop in his arms.

    With his strength it was effortless, he himself wearing comfortable attire that fit him as well as if he had worn it for a lifetime, straw hat replaced with the tricorn and cloak he just felt like wearing, the night-time desert air definitely cool, for all that it was warmer than it would have been mid-desert, instead of beside the grand oasis, and even if he felt it as nothing but a delightful tingle, a shivering Yana snuggled happily into his thick, plush cloak.

    ¡°Yana, we¡¯re here.¡±

    Alex smiled down at the petite woman as she murmured sleepily and snuggled further into his cloak-padded shoulder, realizing she wouldn¡¯t be getting up any time soon. With a discreet look around, sensing absolutely no one stalking the shadows or otherwise eyeing him and his charge, it was nothing for him to put a hand on the copper doorknob and click open the latch with a surge of water and blood as thick and viscous as his Dark Qi equivalent had once been, a lifetime ago.

    Congratulations! You have successfully picked ¨C Complex Lock belonging to a culture with highly sophisticated Bronze & Copper smithing technologies! All pins have been effortlessly aligned to sheer point.

    Lock Picking is now Rank 4!

    Insight gained! You understand the affinities and similarities of Water to blood, as well as all other elements that resonate with the concept and flow of life.

    Prismatc Fox Restoration Technique is now Rank 5 and incorporates Basic Blood Mastery! (You may use Blood in place of Water for all Water Qi Applications. Note! Additional cost of Health points in addition to Qi Points will be expended upon such use and application, subject to normal regenerative properties of Prismatic Fox. You now enjoy a base passive regeneration rate of (16) health points per minute!

    Alex lurched forward in surprise, almost stumbling over as he made it past the threshold, beyond surprised by the interface messages as his mind shivered with possibilities and understanding, as if he had just reread a complex passage for the dozenth time after a good night (millenia¡¯s) sleep, making connections that had always slipped past him before. Because of course Water and Blood resonated almost perfectly together, when one factored Blood as being equivalent of Water saturated with all the elements of life.

    It suddenly clicked as well, how Dark and Light Qi were mirrors of one another on so many levels, and how the prism of eight elements seen at just the right angle did indeed shimmer and blend into a perfect carmine hue.

    It was a surge of insight that fueled and invigorated him, filling him with a sudden fierce surge of delight as the blurry comprehension he strove for blazed into sudden sharp focus.

    Alex took a deep breath as the pulse and surge of wonderful glorious life flooded through his meridians and veins, life-giving blood and spiritual currents echoing each other perfectly as he gazed towards the celestial heavens through the bronze window bars of the shops and imagined the scintillating flashes of a distant star to be nothing less than the super cable of his soul whirling with ever greater speed. The flood of insights and comprehension served to further smooth and refined his super cable¡¯s rotational velocity as increasing mastery over himself brought him ever closer to mastering his cable, his core¡­ and whatever came after.

    He shivered as a sudden chill caressed his soul, not sure if the shadowy path he dared would lead to ascension or ultimate oblivion, but determined to step forward nonetheless, pausing only a moment to carefully lock the door behind him before racing up the sandalwood steps to the second floor, careful not to jostle the precious charge now sleeping in his arms.

    A quick search and crimson surges of probing tendrils of blood quickly unveiling so many of Yana¡¯s secrets, earning nothing but a sad, oddly understanding smile from Alex before finding her bedroom and gently placing Yana in her bed.

    The sleepy kiss she gave him was one he truly hadn¡¯t been expecting, tasting so strongly of spiced wine and a desperate hunger.

    His soft chuckle as he stroked her cheek and hair, before gently wrapping her in linen sheets after washing her hands and feet and freeing the ribbons from her tresses was enough to soothe her back into sleep as he carefully went back down the steps once more, checking her shop and home one final time to assure her safety before embracing the lotus position in the center of the store and embracing all the insights he had been struck by on this wonderful glorious night, so filled with revelations and the promise of adventure.

    And for all that he tasted the tantalizing caress of hearth and home, a single effortless choice branching his path along directions that would bring him sweetest satisfaction, it is was a cultivators insights that he was most eager to hold tightly to him that night, solidifying his foundation as he embraced Desert Fox Cultivation and Prismatic Fox Restoration for hours before allowing it all to flow into Prismatic Shield.

    But it was only when he felt the eight elements blazing through his body and soul in perfect harmony, that his blade also crackled with three feet of rainbow hued fire as he honed his understanding of what was perhaps his most profound and deadly art outside the mad fury of mortal combat. A Pristine Technique he had had to challenge the very gods, or at least their rapacious memory, to claim as his own.

    Yet he could only hold that sense of a crackling prismatic blade for bare minutes at a time, as no carefully hidden Potency Mastery skill was flooding his psyche and soul with spiritual energy torn free of his dying foes. This was all him, his own careful strides toward mastery of his deadliest and most important skills. Even if advancing such would take weeks, months, or years without the drug-like vampiric crutch of sucking his foes dry, he was beyond content to embrace simple sweet practice for its own sake, stabilizing his foundation and making the skills so much more than desperately clutched glimpses of epiphany and dream.

    He was determined to make those skills forever his own. Just an extension of his will, as effortless as breathing.

    All he needed was practice and time.

    When he eventually came back to himself, slipping free of that state of pristine clarity, he felt utterly in tune with his environment and his place within it. Despite a sleepless night, he was not exhausted so much as invigorated, and it was still hours before dawn.

    So he plucked free another beast core of near the exact same quality as the one he and Yana had used the night before, and slowly, then with increasing familiarity and comfort, replicated all the alchemical formulae he and Yana had made together that day, such that by the time morning¡¯s first light was casting a warm glow through the bronze bars of the open air windows of the apothecary and the front door rang with the bell of the day¡¯s first customer, Alex was already putting away the final tincture he had created, instinctively reaching for the door with a smile, when he heard a surprised intake of breath, turning to gaze at a sleepy-eyed Yana gazing at him with an odd mixture of alarm, wonder, and what seemed an undisguised sliver of happiness¡­ before getting the door and greeting their first guest with a smile.

    ¡°Welcome to Yana¡¯s apothecary, where you¡¯ll find the best quality balms and tinctures anywhere. What can we get for you today?¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 38

    ¡°This nettlewort ointment will soothe your burns, and the foxglove pills will help with the fluttering in your chest and the swelling as well. Just remember to take no more than one lozenge per day.¡±

    The older man wheezing for breath gave a relieved smile. ¡°Thank you, assistant. I should have picked these up days ago but...¡± he shrugged.

    Alex gave an understanding nod. ¡°Life happens, I know.¡±

    ¡°But if you don¡¯t take care of yourself, there will be far less of it for you to enjoy,¡± Yana softly remonstrated, before ameliorating it with a gentle smile. ¡°Solen, it is good to see you. Your son still isn¡¯t back from his caravan run?¡±

    The man sighed and gave a tired shake of his head. ¡°Sadly, no. And that¡¯s no excuse. You yourself told me that I should at least be walking the distance between my home and your pharmacy every day.¡± He flashed a rueful smile. ¡°Believe you me, I¡¯ve learned my lesson.¡± He gave Alex a friendly nod. ¡°And my compliments to your new assistant. He makes a fine addition to your pharmacy, Yana.¡±

    With a final farewell wave to a blushing Yana and a grinning Alex, the older gentleman left the pharmacy and it was just the two of them after the morning rush. Yana, cheeks blushing as bars of warm desert sunlight caressed her features from the barred windows gazed Alex¡¯s way. Soft brown eyes suddenly vulnerable, Alex already knowing what she was too shy to ask.

    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind my staying over and making myself useful, last night,¡± Alex said, gazing fondly at the neatly stocked apothecary. ¡°After putting you to bed, and praying you wouldn¡¯t be too mad at my encouraging you to drink so much with me last night, I thought I¡¯d make myself useful by helping you restock.¡±

    Yana swallowed, biting her lip. ¡°Alex, did...¡±

    He calmly shook his head, before directing her attention to the tinctures he had prepared. ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mind taking a look at these, making sure that they meet with your approval? It would be good to see if the formulae we practiced is up to standard.¡±

    Her odd mixture of relief and, strangely, regret, morphed into genuine surprise. ¡°Wait, Alex, are you saying you used my ingredients to make a fresh batch of potions?¡±

    Alex solemnly nodded.

    Her brow furrowed. ¡°Alex, I¡¯m sorry to waste your hard effort, but half of those formulae need a beast core even to...¡±

    Her words died off when he showed her the beast core in his hand. She blinked in disbelief.

    ¡°Alex, did you truly¡­ do you have any idea how long it takes for most apprentices to learn how to properly infuse spiritual essences into a tincture with a core or spirit pearl?¡± She quickly went up to the potions, carefully holding each up to the morning sunlight, her eyes widening with a look of disbelief bordering on awe.

    She slowly turned to gaze back at Alex, wide eyes peering intently into his own, a stray lock of hair from her top bun slipping free to brush her cheek. ¡°Alex¡­ these potions¡­ they¡¯re every bit as good as the ones we made yesterday!¡±

    Alex was a bit surprised himself. ¡°Wait, you can sense potency, just by the way the light refracts through the vials?¡±

    Her eyes twinkled. ¡°Of course! Why do you think I use such high quality glass? Just one of the skills my father taught me.¡± She swallowed before gently squeezing his hand with her own. ¡°You have a genuine gift, Alex. You know that, right?¡±

    Alex chuckled awkwardly. ¡°It¡¯s really just a sensitive nose, as much as anything else.¡±

    She smiled, squeezing his hand. ¡°I had fun, working with you today.¡±

    ¡°I did as well.¡±

    Warm brown eyes locked with his own. ¡°So¡­ would you like to help me make lunch?¡±

    Alex flashed an apologetic smile. ¡°Maybe we could get something on the way to Silver Sands¡­ if you didn¡¯t mind showing me the way?¡±

    She swallowed, lowering her gaze. ¡°You did so much for me already, with no obligation. I¡¯m grateful, Alex.¡±

    ¡°I was happy to help. Honestly, I enjoyed pitching in.¡±

    She flashed an odd smile. ¡°You liked it enough to work the entire night. A perfect gentleman as well.¡± She swallowed. ¡°The quality of your tinctures, your gentle spirit, the fact that you clearly care about the people under our care.¡± She bit her lip, nodding to herself as if coming to a resolution. ¡°Alex, If things worked out¡­ I¡¯d be looking for more than just an employee.¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks flush, touched and humbled by her words, honoring her with a bow that also broke eye contact and allowed them both to collect themselves and save face. ¡°Thank you, Yana. That means more to me than I can say.¡±

    She chuckled softly. ¡°But you¡¯re a boy who wants to chase a cultivator¡¯s dreams¡­ or the elements as a Ruidian gem master, right?¡± Her nod was strangely understanding. ¡°Of course you do. Were it otherwise, you never would have left your former master who I¡¯m sure already did all they could to have you stay on, knowing even better than I do everything about your remarkable gifts.¡±

    Alex winked, dodging the question with truth. ¡°Attending Silver Sands and learning a wujen¡¯s arts is something of a dream of mine, I¡¯ll admit. One I¡¯ve put off for far too long already.¡±

    She snorted at that. ¡°You can¡¯t be older than eighteen? Twenty? Maybe twenty-two?¡± She frowned thoughtfully. ¡°You might be just a year or two younger than me¡­ but you¡¯re so powerfully built that no one will mistake you for anything but a man in his prime¡­ odd as it is to see such physique in, well...¡±

    ¡°Someone who looks like me?¡± he said with a goodnatured smile.

    She flushed and lowered her gaze. ¡°You look handsome¡­ downright exotic. And I have absolutely no problem with your heritage. If anything¡­ I¡¯d love to learn whatever I could of Ruidian traditions, and maybe teach you mine as well.¡±

    The look she gave him then made his heart race. He flashed a gentle smile. ¡°It¡¯s nice to know that if things don¡¯t work out at Silver Sands¡­ I managed to find a precious opportunity of a different sort.¡±

    ¡°You need only claim it,¡± she whispered, before her cheeks brightened with surprise at her own temerity before shaking it away, grabbing his hand and closing the shop with a bronze key that impressed him with its sophistication and craftsmanship. Liuishi might lack some things compared to the Sacred Cities, but sophisticated metallurgy, plumbing, and glass were not among them.

    ¡°Come, let me show you the way to Silver Sands.¡±

    Yana¡¯s solemn mood soon turned lighthearted and cheerful as they enjoyed the beautiful day, the midday sun tamed by the shade overhead, each of them savoring a loaf of fresh-baked bread filled with tomatoes, olives, and chickpeas, the pair of them laughing about the customer who had somehow managed to turn her skin green when her niece tried to save money by picking wild spirit herbs and taking them without any proper preparation at all. Fortunately, Yana actually had a cure for just that type of spirit-grass poisoning, and Alex was still chuckling, Yana¡¯s eyes twinkling with remembered mirth when they turned a final corner to catch sight of a magnificent pagoda at least a dozen stories tall. It instantly captivated Alex, the moment he caught sight of it. A structure so grand that it could have served as a centerpiece of Royal Phoenix Academy. A relic of the past, or perhaps a grand tribute to an era and tradition he otherwise saw almost no trace of in Liushi¡­ however many centuries it had been since the world had changed so drastically.

    Alex swallowed, his cheeks flushing, heart twisting with an odd mixture of excitement for a fresh new start¡­ and deep-seated regret for halcyon days long lost. Perhaps he was doomed never to know if his final act had been that of a hero, or a monster. Had he saved the Jade Empire and her peoples from an invasion that would have been a hundred million strong? Had he successfully averted genocidal pogroms? What had become the ultimate fate of the kitsune people? Most pressing, was the desert world he had awoken to a direct result of his own actions? He dreaded the knowledge, and was desperate to find out.

    He felt Yana¡¯s concerned tug. ¡°Alex? Are you alright?¡±

    He forced a smile, praying she couldn¡¯t see the strain underneath. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m¡­ it¡¯s quite the view, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    She nodded solemnly, because indeed it was. The massive ivory white pagoda seemed to soar to the heavens, and was fronted by several football-field¡¯s worth of lush green grass only partially shaded by palm and date fronds, and Alex could only wonder the care that went into maintaining it, utterly unlike the rest of the architecture of Liushi. The scores of individuals presently bustling outside it wore the entire gamut of attire he had seen in Liushi and during his caravan ride, olive to ebony hued skin tones in abundance, with the occasional flash of heavily freckled ivory a sharp contrast displayed only by a trio of Ruidians entirely covered by flowing attire and wide brimmed hats, clearly from a different clan than Linnea¡¯s own, where the melding of skin tones and features was much more significant, even if their mixed heritage was still quite clear, with crimson locks and emerald green eyes that were clearly dominant in ways that the Terran equivalent had never been.

    All in all, the gathering of cultivators and the central pagoda itself was an awe-inspiring sight, but paled next to the wonder just beyond the lip of the caldera that Alex now realized the entire city surrounded.

    It was a pristine valley oasis stretching for miles, bejeweled by countless carefully tended grain crops and fruit groves heavy with ripe fruit hanging off the vine, gracing the lush green valley with splashes of color he could see even from the caldera summit upon which the city had been founded.

    Alex shook his head as he gazed down upon the secret that the city held so close, a lush valley radiating so much life-affirming spiritual energy that he likened it to his own paradise, now forever a world away. Even from here, he could sense how the spray from multiple waterfalls both cooled and nurtured a valley so rich with life, cycling the waste Qi of an entire city.

    Alex was humbled to think that an entire city was depending on this one picturesque valley with silvery ribbon streams and a placid lake right in the heart of it to sustain what Alex suspected was at least several hundred thousand people, spacious and aerie as the city was. And why wouldn¡¯t it be? It was encircling miles of paradise in the form of a single, life-sustaining caldera.

    He only belatedly registered Yana¡¯s sad chuckle. ¡°And now I¡¯ve truly lost you, I suppose, to Silver Sand¡¯s most sacred role.¡±

    Alex turned to face the young apothecary, surprised to see such regret and longing in her features. ¡°And what role would that be?¡± Alex asked.

    ¡°Protectors and defenders of our sanctuary, of course. Just one of the reasons why our Liushi is so welcoming of both cultivators and Ruidians. It is only thanks to you that our city is what it is today.¡±

    She visibly swallowed. ¡°It was a genuine pleasure meeting you, Alex. If you¡¯re ever in need of a tincture...¡±

    Alex grinned, squeezing her hand with genuine warmth. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely visit the first friend I made in Liushi. Whether we¡¯re filling orders and connecting with our customers, or going out to eat and sharing drinks and laughter, we¡¯ll hang out again, and that¡¯s a promise.

    Her crestfallen features immediately brightened into a smile. In that moment, mortal or no, she truly was beautiful, even if he was too surprised to react when dusky lips brushed against his own. ¡°I look forward to it, Alex. And if you¡¯re really good...¡± She blushed and turned away, though not without stealing one final glance, solemn eyes genuinely lighting up when she found Alex still looking her way.

    That was when he heard the sonorous peel of a gong being rung. ¡°Last call for all New Harvest Applicants!¡± cried a sonorous voice, immediately jolting Alex out of his warm reverie as he found himself darting forward, racing past numerous others to find himself panting only slightly under a grand arch along with several score other applicants before meeting the calm smile of a smooth-cheeked girl wearing what were unmistakably cultivator¡¯s robes, radiating the strength of at least several protective enchantments. She smiled curiously up at Alex as a gruff-voiced man several feet to her left asked the pair of near-wheezing young men why the hell they had been dallying and to choose their path.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to apply hear, honored Ruidian. Your services are always welcome at the agreed upon rates.¡±

    Alex blinked in confusion before offering a sheepish smile. ¡°No, I¡¯m not¡­ how does that even¡­ anyway, I¡¯m here to apply. As a student,¡± he added helpfully, feeling more awkward with every passing moment, as her polite smile turned to look of bemusement followed by the soft snort of someone behind him.

    ¡°Wait, that oversized Ruidian actually wants to try cultivating? Does he even know what it means?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s clearly from a distant tribe. Someone should have told him a pure-blood¡¯s size does not mean possessing the gifts of the enlightened.¡±

    Alex smirked despite himself, the mocking condescension oddly comforting, considering how unbelievably and absurdly kind and considerate everyone had been since his arrival, leaving him oddly terrified that he had popped into some mirror reality where of course it would be impossible for him to find any trace of the girls who had¡­ he rapidly shook the thought away as the thoughtful interviewer¡¯s expression hardened, glaring back into the crowd at a pair of shame-faced boys who couldn¡¯t have been more than 17.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    The pair of youths looked genuinely startled when Alex turned to smirk back at them, expecting trouble, only to find genuine fear in their gazes when they took in his height and mass, looking nothing like the scrawny youth he had been, just a couple of years ago by his own estimation.

    Even if he had, in one sense, completely started over, he was in a far more powerfully built body than he had ever woken up to before.

    ¡°My apologies,¡± the girl said with an edge in her voice that Alex just knew had the youths behind her wincing. ¡°You are, of course, more than welcome to apply formally as a student. Please understand that the arts don¡¯t always translate, but they may serve as an inspiration for you to better master your own...¡±

    Alex smiled, lifting his hat and revealing his naked forehead, further cutting her off.

    ¡°Not a jewel master, sorry. Is that why everyone¡¯s treating me so absurdly kindly? I swear it makes my teeth itch. No, I¡¯m actually applying as on who walks the cultivator¡¯s path, seeking inspiration and enlightenment along with countless others like yourself.¡±

    The girl blinked, before bowing her head in unspoken apology. ¡°Ah, this one now understands. Forgive me.¡± she then pointed back to three different clusters of applicants. The leftmost one was comprised a group of more powerfully built men and a few women showing off their martial skills under the gaze of a hard-eyed man wearing jet black robes and radiating the power a half-step Silver.

    A short distance away from those obvious Bronze tier body cultivators was a far larger crowd of wide-eyed youths much like the ones behind Alex who were being carefully examined by a hawk-eyed man pressing his hand to forehead or chest when they assumed a lotus position, giving more than a few of the pleased-looking aspirants solemn nods, or sad shakes of the head for youths that immediately crumpled, tears in their eyes

    The last group consisted of men and women dressed in cultivation robes cut of far more elegant cloth, with the confident smiles of those who already knew their skill, demonstrating before a pair of pleased-looking women that Alex sensed radiating Silver tier pressure. All of their disciples had no problem showing awe-inspiring mastery over the elements of Water, Wind, Sand, Ice and Fire as well, in the short time Alex was watching, each and every one of them earning pleased nods of satisfaction as distant targets were obliterated with the very ranged elemental attacks that defined the wujen¡¯s arts, and that Alex had been eager to learn for years. Alex wasn¡¯t quite sure if the Bronze body cultivators and cluster of wujen were actual applicants, or perhaps inner disciples giving a demonstration to awe and inspire all the other academy attendants. Either way, Alex was beyond impressed and eager to learn.

    ¡°There are three paths to walk here, like in all academies. That of the warrior, that of the wujen, or that of the aspirant eager to unlock his potential, in addition to those of the craftsman and healer.¡± She flashed a welcome smile. ¡°And I can personally attest that Silver Sands possesses some of the best meridian cleansing techniques you¡¯ll find in any desert sanctuary if you¡¯re still walking your first steps as a cultivator which, of course, most students who arrive here are. Our training is top notch, and the elites of any class can enjoy the finest education you¡¯ll find anywhere for as far as the sands that stretch in all directions.¡±

    She gave him a curious look. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you are applying as a healer, alchemist, or artificer, are you? Should your gifts lie in that direction, our craftsmaster can escort you right to your building where your future instructors will be eager to set up an ideal curriculum for you, right away.¡± She gestured toward a portly cultivator who smiled genially and nodded his head in Alex¡¯s direction.

    Alex suppressed a smile. It was so obvious to sense the path before him. A path he was somehow certain he had walked more than once before in the countless dreams too often turned dark and bitter that was his existence, an existence he still only recalled the tiniest bit of, so much of it like a dream in truth, poignant and painful as the half-recalled memories so often were. But one thing he was absolutely certain of was that he had never before dared the path he would walk now. And with a life that he hoped would be long and sweet, with a friend so recently left making it clear that gentle paths were still open to him¡­ he was, for now, eager to explore life in entirely new directions than that of alchemist or artificer.

    Alex bowed his head before the pair of cultivators. ¡°If I may, I would like to walk the Wujen¡¯s Path,¡± he said, earning thoughtful frowns from both of them.

    The girl exchanged a look with her senior. ¡°Of course you¡¯re welcome to try, but didn¡¯t you just say...¡± her dusky cheeks took on a slightly rosy cast. ¡°Forgive me, no matter. Kol Su will show you the way.¡±

    With those words a smiling youth wearing robes edged with silver thread, much like the woman before him, honored Alex with a shallow bow before leading him off to the only group of cultivators that had so impressed Alex with their mastery over the elements.

    ¡°Welcome to Silver Sands!¡± The young man enthused. ¡°I must say, Ruidians rarely bother entering so formally. Are you here to compare Gem arts with Spiritual Energy? Is it true that they work differently in the rifts?¡± The youth asked with a curious smile.

    Alex, knowing no offense was met, offered a wink and an easy going grin. ¡°Honestly, I couldn¡¯t tell you, since I never took the Lesser Elementalist¡¯s path. But since I have some small understanding of Spiritual Energy¡­ I¡¯d love to see just how far I can take my gifts.¡±

    The boy¡¯s eyes widened with genuine surprise. ¡°You¡¯re a Ruidian that can actually cultivate? How remarkable!¡± He then gestured to the pair of ageless-looking women radiating the power and potency Alex would hope for in Silver-tier instructors, the closest one tilting her head curiously.

    ¡°Kol Su, you know the way to both the cafeteria, baths, and the sauna that our Ruidian guests most prefer, as well as the private quarters. So why are you troubling our no doubt weary guest with an unnecessary tour under the noonday sun?¡±

    This was from the more imperious-looking of the pair, and Alex was relieved to sense no disdain or bemusement in her voice, just what sounded like genuine concern on Alex¡¯s behalf, which he found oddly touching, bowing his head in turn.

    ¡°This humble student of the way apologizes for any misunderstandings caused. He is not here to partake of the bounty that is clearly the province of worthy gem masters who serve the school in their own way, but that of the scholar seeking to better his understanding of Heaven and Earthly spiritual energy with the wisdom of countless others who have come before.¡±

    Alex sensed a bemused undertone in the now animated whispers between the wujen aspirants as the pair of now silent instructors regarded Alex thoughtfully.

    ¡°Truly?¡± Asked the second of the pair. ¡°To be clear. You aren¡¯t here to trade pointers on the merits of jewel versus cultivation, spiritual energy as opposed to mana, but to walk the path that brings our students to our hallowed halls?¡±

    Alex smiled, once more revealing his jeweless brow, thinking it long past time for him to get his absurdly thick and glossy full head of post-dragon blood hair a trim so people could at least make out his bare forehead. And that was without the brim of his hat also blocking the view. He might no longer be glowing with barely contained potency, but his hair was still an absurd shade of spun gold and far too thick to be normal, no matter how many warm smiles it had earned him from girls that, were his heart not already claimed, he would have been all too happy to earn the admiration of.

    ¡°No jewel here, but my parentage is still interesting enough that I¡¯m not completely hopeless as a cultivator¡­ at least I don¡¯t think.¡±

    This earned him a bemused snort. ¡°Truly? Fascinating,¡± said the taller one. ¡°You may call me Instructor Lin. If you truly have the gift...¡±

    Alex, having carefully thought of the best path forward that would disguise so much, yet still leave the path open to learn the magnificent Half-Step element that had so intrigued him in the desert, earned more than a few wide-eyed stares when a swirling disk of swirling water appeared before him.

    Instructor Lin peered thoughtfully at her partner, the pair giving Alex expressions that were almost that of approval.

    ¡°He is a fool to challenge tradition like this,¡± snorted someone in the crowd behind him. ¡°But if he truly has the talent to back up his arrogance...¡±

    ¡°If you would permit me?¡± Instructor Lin asked with a bemused smile as a thick bar of liquid flame formed in her hands. Her companion crossed her arms, all but glaring Alex¡¯s way.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, all his focus on the bar of liquid fire, now genuinely curious as to just how strong his Enhanced Water Shield was. ¡°Please do.¡±

    With a solemn nod the woman approached, her blade of liquid flame before her as she lowered her center and adopted a stance he knew how to counter very well, perfectly mirroring Ya Ling¡¯s mid-ward with her jian, even if the wujen before him wasn¡¯t quite so graceful as the girl he had savored so many late night dances with on the hot desert sands.

    She furrowed her brow thoughtfully when Alex instinctively tilted the angle of his disk to cause her blade to slide off it with a minimum of effort or spiritual energy drain, though Alex did spot a number of wide-eyed glances being sent his way as the air filled with hissing steam.

    The instructor shifted back from her slow lunge, honoring Alex with a bemused half-smile. ¡°Clearly you are trained in how to use your shield to deflect attacks both physical and spiritual. This is good. But please keep your shield facing me at 90 degrees, so I may test how much spiritual pressure it takes to push through.¡±

    Alex nodded, momentarily uncertain if he should undersell his abilities¡­ before deciding he wouldn¡¯t in the least. If he gave it his all and anyone resented it, well then he had no interest in learning at such a petty back-biting institution. But on the other hand, if he failed to give his all and they considered him unworthy, then it would be his own fault, his own weakness, insecurities, and self-defeating deception that had held him back, and that was a bitter irony he would take adamant strides to avoid.

    Setting his jaw in a hard smile, he gave a solemn nod, refusing to be distracted by the odd looks he was now being given as the instructor pressed her blade forward, just at the lip of his now significantly larger Water Shield, assuring the white-hot blade wouldn¡¯t hit him when it punched through.

    ¡°Did you see his shield? It actually grew bigger. Can you do that?¡±

    ¡°Look how rapidly it swirls, he¡¯s using angular momentum to enhance his defenses!¡±

    Alex paid no mind to the soft comments as the instructor¡¯s placid smile turned to furrowed brows and, eventually, a hard glare as her blade of flame transformed to a white hot bar of liquid fire.

    Contest of Skills between Rank 6 Enhanced Water Shield and Dragon¡¯s Tear!

    Your opponent is using a Silver Tier attack!

    Water enjoys bonuses against all Fire based attacks. Enhanced Water Shield enjoys additional bonuses against all attacks.

    Inescapable current quenches opponent¡¯s flame!

    The crowd of murmuring students and instructors grew oddly silent.

    Instructor Lin¡¯s thoughtful frown turned to an unexpected scowl, momentarily pinning Alex with her killing glare.

    Before she closed her eyes, took a breath, and nodded. ¡°Impressive. Your¡­ hybridization has given you a unique, if warped approach, to what is normally a pristine discipline whose teachings have remained consistent among our people for centuries.¡±

    Alex furrowed his brow, not quite sure if he had been complimented or insulted, before she led him to the half dozen prospective students gazing Alex¡¯s way with curious frowns or thoughtful smiles, all of them showing the confident stance and bemused half-smiles of those born of wealth and privilege.

    Instructor Lin gestured towards the handful of targets some forty feet away. ¡°As you no doubt know, the most crucial role wujen plays in both rifts and battlefield is taking out enemies before they can pierce the front line. If you would demonstrate your ability to project Qi, I think I can confidently say that you will be welcomed among our number.¡±

    Here is where Alex grimaced, the surge of confidence and pride in his own abilities that he had felt just moments ago, countering a Silver tier attack with his Bronze tier defense, faded to a bitter half-smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s beyond me.¡±

    The intrigued conversations of moments before died down once more. Lin¡¯s partner raised a curious eyebrow. ¡°Truly? You¡¯re unable to harness Qi at range, despite your clear mixed heritage?¡±

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°In truth I had come here intending to learn those very arts. Ice, I was hoping, might be a good fit for me, related as it is to Water. But¡­ no, I haven¡¯t been able to learn any such arts. Yet.¡±

    The second instructor snorted. ¡°So, he¡¯s just a gifted body cultivator.¡± She crossed her arms in odd satisfaction. ¡°It makes sense. Few can do more than enhance their bodies, though the exceptional ones can project spiritual energy in close proximity to themselves in addition to hardening and strengthening their frames.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Which makes you an elementally attuned body cultivator, but no wujen. I¡¯m sorry, aspirant, but I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t belong with the elites. And since I see that the trials are closing for the month...¡±

    She turned to the half-dozen youths, all radiating Bronze tier potency, a few of whom no longer bothered holding back their own smirks as they immediately left in her wake. Alex still wasn¡¯t sure if they were fresh aspirants or inner disciples, but sure as sin they enjoyed striding right past him, especially the ones Alex had sensed definite envy from, after his Water Shield proved more than a match for Instructor Lin¡¯s Fire.

    Lin prepared to follow, but not before turning to Alex, gently touching his shoulder. ¡°I fear much should have been explained that wasn¡¯t, and sadly, we have no more time today. But if your goal is to enter the school and you don¡¯t mind walking the path that almost all of our supplicants do...¡± she gestured gracefully to the large cluster of hopefuls presently being tested for any cultivation potential at all in the center of the courtyard, under the hot noonday sun, Alex only now appreciating how sheltered and privileged this small group¡¯s location had been. ¡°You are of course, more than welcome to join the school.¡±

    Alex blinked, gazing at the half dozen powerfully built Bronze body cultivators, one or two catching his eyes and flashing challenging smiles. He flashed a relieved grin of his own. ¡°Perhaps that won¡¯t be necessary.¡±

    ¡°Actually I¡¯m afraid it will be,¡± Lin corrected, her lips curving in a sympathetic smile. ¡°For you chose the wujen¡¯s path, and there¡¯s no way that Master Wu will accept you now. Not without enduring the trials all aspirants must face.¡±

    Alex blinked at this, before giving a rueful chuckle, shaking his head. ¡°So things are like that, are they? And if I had thought to gather just a little bit more information as to how these trials worked, the requirements for joining your own disciples, and the price for my daring¡­ but of course I walked right in, trusting to kind fates and fortune, as if it was my due and not something fought for and earned.¡± He then gave a good-natured chuckle. ¡°But who am I to complain? With all the grace and kindness I¡¯ve been shown since entering this city, a little egg in my face is probably just what I needed to get my head back in the game and remember that choices, and mistakes always shave consequences.¡±

    Lin nodded approvingly. ¡°And that¡¯s just the attitude you need to both survive and triumph as a cultivator. Far better you learn whatever you have to on the very first day, then half a mile deep in a rift, overwhelmed by shadow beasts, never to see the light of day again.¡± Alex blinked at that, but before he could ask exactly what she meant, she spoke on. ¡°And your Water Shield is a skill most body cultivators would kill for. You¡¯ll do well on the front lines, even should you never develop a wujen¡¯s powers.¡± She tilted her head curiously. ¡°The water...¡±

    Alex smiled. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s permanent. I can make it salty or fresh, so no worries about electrolyte depletion, which I¡¯m sure means nothing to you. And it will quench thirst under the desert sun.¡±

    Instructor Lin¡¯s eyes positively twinkled. ¡°Rift or desert, you¡¯ll certainly be in demand. Fear not, I think you¡¯ll find your future to be bright indeed.¡±

    Alex smiled his gratitude at her kind words, and by the time her cohort turned around to glare back Alex¡¯s way, her partner was already beside her, the pair immediately falling into conversation and Alex was on his own once more.

    ¡°Alex couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at his own mistake, but he wouldn¡¯t take back the day he had spent with Yana, even if he could. He was in no mad rush to accomplish everything all at once, and if it took him a bit of time to get his bearings and truly understand how things worked at this academy, then maybe that was all for the best. And even if Lin¡¯s partner had seemed just a bit smug about Alex being denied entrance along with her elites...what of it? He¡¯d earn his rank and her respect the old fashioned way. He challenge the hell out of everyone he could for it. But not until he had made sure he understood how this academy really worked.

    So with a rueful smile, he quickly made his way towards the still large crowd of basic supplicants, which was no doubt exactly where he belonged.

 Book 8 - Chapter 39 - School Orientation

    Alex soon found himself before several dozen hopeful-looking youths, all sitting in various positions ideal for meditation upon the surprisingly lush grass of the courtyard, most of them focusing on breathing exercises of one sort or another. Yet Alex¡¯s Qi Perception made it clear that only about half were actually embracing any sort of basic meridian cleansing or purification technique at all, and only two embraced any sort of Bronze cycling technique. Most of them visibly flinched with tension whenever the gently smiling elder cultivator inspecting them would gently touch someone¡¯s forehead, close his eyes, and either smile and nod, or sigh and shake his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my dear, but I fear cultivation is not your destiny, at least for this incarnation,¡± the elder gently declared to a girl who couldn¡¯t have been more than sixteen.

    Alex winced in sympathy, noting how carefully she was embracing deep breathing exercises that perfectly mimicked Steel Bear technique. Yet not an iota of spiritual plaque was cleared from her meridians. Because she had no meridians to clean. Only heartfelt tears as she broke down and sobbed.

    ¡°But my instructor, he assured me...¡±

    ¡°He was a fool who took advantage of your family¡¯s desperation,¡± the elder snapped, causing the girl to flinch, though it was clear that his anger wasn¡¯t directed at her. The elderly cultivator collected himself, fixing her with a sympathetic smile. ¡°If you choose to put in a formal complaint, our academy will happily have a word with this individual, to see if malice or simple foolishness guides his path.¡±

    The girl paled and quickly shook her head. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, honored one. I¡­ Um¡­ I guess I should be going.¡±

    Her face marred by fear and disappointment, she lowered her head and left the courtyard, yet Alex would be lying if he said his heart didn¡¯t break a little bit at seeing her hopes crashing to despair. Mirroring perfectly the next five hopeful youths that Alex knew were destined for bitter tears that day, the lack of spiritual energy flowing through them making their mortal status perfectly clear, at least to him.

    ¡°It is a shame, is it not?¡±

    Alex blinked in surprise, seeing the elder cultivator now gazing up at him. ¡°Forgive me elder...¡±

    ¡°Elder Win. It¡¯s probably the hardest part of my duties, having to disappoint so many hopeful mortals.¡± He then smiled fondly at a half-dozen youth¡¯s countenances bright with excitement, a world of possibilities suddenly open before them. ¡°Just as it delights me to see inspiration strike those who were ignorant of their path, living the dream of life until truly awakening at last.¡±

    Alex smiled, dipping his head. ¡°I think you¡¯re right, honored one. As bitter as the disappointment will be for some, there is nothing we can do to change the fate of those lacking a cultivator¡¯s gifts. Yet we can make a difference, at least, in the lives of those who do have that potential, and that¡¯s what makes teaching such a sacred duty. We need to let go of the fates we cannot change, and focus instead on the lives of those that we can.¡±

    Alex winced when Elder Win¡¯s features crinkled in bemusement, realizing he was forgetting his place. He was no instructor here or student who had proven himself the equal of his master, but rather the basest of supplicants, a heartbeat from being thrown out of the school entirely, if he didn¡¯t make a good impression on someone soon. He quickly flowed into a 45 degree bow.

    ¡°Please forgive this lowly supplicant his loose tongue. It has been several days since I slept, and I find myself arriving at this prestigious academy with no sense of my place in it, or how to apply.¡±

    Elder Win gave him a curious look. ¡°Two days without sleep? Impressive. My understanding was that your kind needed more sleep than most, especially with blood as pure as yours obviously is.¡± His gaze turned unexpectedly sympathetic. ¡°This is the testing area for the new recruits, held quarterly. I fear you¡¯ve come to offer your services at just the wrong week. Of course, we are happy to work with skilled Ruidians at any time, as your tribal customs allow. If you wish to see the concierge and sign up for the rifts, we would of course be honored to have you, and offer more than fair rates for the beast cores you find and the kills you claim. In fact, I can have an assistant show you the way to some of the best accommodations you¡¯ll find in the city, catering to your kind. You will find our food to be top notch, and our quarters are some of the quietest and coolest you could hope for.¡±

    Ales swallowed, feeling genuinely touched. ¡°I believe any good relationship is based on trust,¡± he solemnly said, lifting his head from his bow, unashamedly revealing his naked brow. ¡°And though I am no jewel-master, I would be more than happy to take on these delves.¡±

    He flashed a bemused smile at the elder¡¯s nonplussed look, feeling a rush of insight as so many things suddenly clicked into place. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re all so warm and welcoming to Ruidians in this city! By your own admission, you have access to a rift. But rifts are full of Dark Qi. Cultivators tend to get sick without a great deal of open air meridian cleansing with minimal exposure. But Ruidians, working on a completely different paradigm, can handle a hell of a lot more Dark Qi before they have any sort of problem.¡±

    Elder Win gazed at Alex for several long seconds, allowing Alex to realize just how out of turn his words had been... before chuckling softly. ¡°Aptly said. Though your words do nothing to explain the enigma before me. A Ruidian with the body of a Bronze Ogre, free of any jewel, yet with the stance and balance of someone who¡¯s mastered at least one killing art, playing the fool as he manages to offend multiple wujen, yet wise enough to understand just what makes his kind so valuable to us, and to the city as a whole.¡±

    The man tilted his head thoughtfully. ¡°Which all begs the question¡­ why are you here?¡±

    Alex grinned, eyes alighting with his own inner fire. ¡°To learn a wujen¡¯s arts, and I don¡¯t mind doing whatever it takes to earn the credits to do just that.¡±

    Elder Win peered at him thoughtfully for long moments, before his gaze hardened.

    ¡°Let us be perfectly clear, then. Are you declaring yourself a cultivating Ruidian with experience channeling spiritual energy?¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Alex concurred, dipping his head. ¡°But only within melee range. I¡¯d like to see if I can get past that limitation. That, more than anything else, is why I¡¯m here.¡±

    Elder Win nodded his approval. ¡°And are you also saying that you have a jewel masters¡¯ tolerance for Dark Qi?¡±

    Alex gazed at the man for several long moments before shrugging. ¡°Let¡¯s say for the sake of argument that such was, in fact, the case.¡±

    Elder Win¡¯s eyes twinkled with delight. ¡°Then I would say that a certain wujen¡¯s hesitation to make an exception on your behalf was regrettable. Nonetheless if I may...¡± He raised his hand towards Alex¡¯s temple before stopping abruptly, thinking better of it, though Alex¡¯s smile was inviting enough.

    ¡°On second thought, how about you demonstrate for me the skills you already posses. That will tell me all I need to know to determine whether or not¡­

    His words broke off when Alex summoned forth his strongest Water Shield, stepping back and slowly drawing his dao, now vibrating as a low keening hum vibrated through the air.

    The elder gazed curiously at Alex¡¯s sword.

    Alex smiled, deciding at that moment that holding all his cards close would be just as detrimental as revealing too much of himself. One path might draw too much attention even if it wouldn¡¯t connect at all to his previous life, and the other path would lead to utter obscurity and a denial of all resources if he couldn¡¯t entice at least a few people to give him a chance.

    Because he was no longer the hero of any story, and just as destiny wouldn¡¯t go out of it¡¯s way to turn his triumphs into bitter ashes, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily throw any fortuitous encounters his way either, save for gifts of pure chance, and those opportunities that he made for himself.

    Or at least that was his thought, and hope. Because he had been forced to savor the bittersweet for far too long, not to want a peaceful life free of any doom at all.

    So one unique talent alone he would show off, enough to entice, but hopefully not enough to doom.

    Yet when he casually invited the elder to throw a stick through the air, the enigmatic elder decided to throw a fine steel implement of war instead. The man¡¯s eyes widened with more than bemused interest when Alex didn¡¯t hesitate, but instead cleaved the air with his blade, not touching the steel sword breaker at all.

    Yet his Wind Blade, extending three feet beyond his sword, had struck true. And the look in Elder Win¡¯s eyes when the ringing bar of steel was split in twain, Alex then revealing a bit more of himself than he had intended when fast reflexes alone allowed him to catch the top half spinning violently through the air before it could brain a sobbing young teen who was too distraught to look up and move out the way.

    The elder flashed Alex an approving smile.

    ¡°An impressive technique.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°There was a reason why I wanted you to use a stick.¡±

    The man raised a bemused eyebrow. ¡°To hide the fact that your technique is capable of slicing through a half-knuckle of high-quality steel?¡± The man said, words carrying to Alex¡¯s ears alone as he tossed Alex the second half of the sword breaker.

    Alex had the cheek to grin. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Elder Win¡¯s gaze hardened, mask of a gentle old adviser hardening to reveal the pristine aura of someone who had broke through to Silver, even if it had been after many years of bitter struggle. An accomplishment Alex already knew was beyond noteworthy in these desert lands.

    ¡°And just how often can you make use of this killing art?¡±

    Alex¡¯s smile hardened. ¡°How many bandits¡­ or beasts, are we talking about?¡±

    The man snorted, gaze now that of a professional warrior. ¡°You have the look of a man who knows what it means too use his talents in earnest.¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°I was a caravan guard on my way here. It was not an easy trip.¡±

    The man nodded, features lightening. ¡°Your people do make excellent caravan guards, so long as you have access to protective clothing and skin balms.¡±

    ¡°Or we travel at night,¡± Alex noted, more things clicking into place. ¡°Why else do we have night caravans, after all?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Only a fool complains about traveling by starlight when the road is straight, the breeze cool, and you have multiple jewel masters protecting your precious goods.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°I certainly don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Your use of two separate elements. That isn¡¯t a jewel manifestation?¡±

    Alex gave the man a curious look. ¡°You can¡¯t sense the spiritual energy flowing through me?¡±

    The man gave a laugh. ¡°Very few can, save for the most skilled of Silvers and wujen. And perhaps I can sense a bit more than most,¡± he conceded with a nod. ¡°But when forming rift parties, the stakes are too high for pride or assumptions.¡±

    Alex grinned, more excited than he wanted to admit. ¡°I take it daring whatever rift you all have access to is a great way to earn school credits and access to Silver Tier tomes?¡±

    The elder said nothing, just staring at an increasingly uncomfortable Alex for long moments.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Alex winced, fearing that he had once more played the fool, pushing too hard for too much, ignoring too many unspoken rules regarding propriety and how things were properly done here, totally not expecting the soft, dry chuckle.

    ¡°You do like to cut to the heart of things, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Alex hid his relief, sensing that Win could have easily fallen on the side of anger or offense, having chosen instead dry humor and a surprising degree of tolerance for the awkward bumbling Ruidian who wasn¡¯t nearly as foolish as he seemed.

    Alex let loose an apologetic chuckle. ¡°I suppose I do at that. Please forgive me.¡±

    The elder tilted his head curiously. ¡°If this one may ask, why are you so set on access to Silver tier tomes?¡±

    Alex swallowed, not hiding the longing in his gaze when he looked in the direction that the departing had taken. ¡°Because for so long I thought I would forever be denied a Wujen¡¯s talents. So I pushed myself in ways that make me think¡­ make me hope, that maybe it¡¯s not beyond my grasp, after all, if my Wind Blade means anything. But I also know that cultivation manuals often make breakthroughs far easier than learning one-on-one with a teacher where no spiritual energy transference occurs at all. Not unless master and student truly share strong bonds of philosophy or loyalty.¡±

    Elder Win frowned, before dipping his head. ¡°learning to master Fire, Ice, and Wind are the dreams of most cultivators, yet very few truly have a wujen¡¯s potential. Normally, students who are interested are given basic classes for several seasons, to establish whether they have any talent at all, before we dare add a cultivation manual to their training program. Because without a strong foundation...¡±

    Alex winced, and nodded. ¡°I understand. You want to be careful, lest the manual overwhelm you, or just not be a good fit.¡±

    ¡°Precisely,¡± Elder Win concurred. ¡°If your affinity for a certain path is low, you risk more harm than benefit.¡±

    Alex could only agree, and he couldn¡¯t help but be struck by the contrast between Rising Phoenix Academy and here, where the former had made stopping by the cultivation library one of the first things they had done, and who knew how many would-be cultivators with no affinity for channeling any elements at all might have been ruined by that forged-in-fire philosophy? Because clearly when you had a city of over 15 million you might take for granted the lives and wellbeings of cultivators far more readily than you do in a far smaller city where achieving Silver was a monstrous feat that only a handful could hope to match and none would expect to surpass.

    Of course he and his closest friends had profited mightily from access to even the most basic elemental tomes, but he was forced to acknowledge once more that, for better or worse, he had forged connections of both friend and foe with the true elites of that school, so his view was probably somewhat skewed. He and his friends had reveled in their shared triumphs, never seeing the handful of broken young men and women whose foundation had been cracked, perhaps irreparably, their hope for advancement and glory shattered to dust as a servants doom suddenly became their own. And with so many elites like Alex and his closest friends growing at phenomenal rates, who had thought to shed any tears on behalf of those children whose dim flames had been overtaken by so many young prodigies blazing like the sun?

    Alex sighed in fresh sympathy, having come far closer to peril himself at that school than he wanted to admit, recalling how it had felt when he had dared a Metal Tome that had been anathema to Hao Chan¡¯s arts and nearly tore apart his Dantian. And how fortunate he was that he was so very compatible with the other basic arts he was familiar with, despite his own deviation requiring Metal to behave like a liquid¡­ or at least, it had once been his deviation.

    This time around, he wasn¡¯t certain if orthodox Metal techniques would strain his Dantian or not. But considering that, if he couldn¡¯t learn to see Ice as it¡¯s own element, if it instead could only be viewed as frozen water by his system interface¡­ it would potentially be devastating. Or at least it would have been to the Alex who had come before.

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°Understood, honored elder. Best basic classes and learning the rudiments of how elemental attacks and defenses are performed, before daring further independent mastery.¡±

    The elder cultivator beamed, displaying shiny white teeth against his chestnut-hued skin. ¡°Excellent.¡± He turned to look behind Alex, his gentle instuctor¡¯s smile falling back into place as he spoke to the pair of panting, wide-eyed youths behind him.

    ¡°Welcome, aspirants. Have you come to test your fate?¡±

    The nearest youth, who couldn¡¯t have been a day over 16, fell to his knees. ¡°We¡¯ve come to be judged, master.¡±

    ¡°To see if we are worthy of defying the heavens!¡± His curly-haired friend declared with an excited gasp, earning a bemused snort from both Win and Alex.

    Yet the elder didn¡¯t hesitate to put his hand on both children¡¯s brows. ¡°Come then, let us see if your soul has awakened sufficient to glimpse the way.¡±

    Both youths gazed at the elder with excitement, one even glancing Alex¡¯s way with something close to awe.

    ¡°Look at the Ruidian, Ahn. He¡¯s a cultivator too!¡±

    The other boy¡¯s eyes widened, not catching the older cultivator¡¯s sigh. ¡°He¡¯s so big. Do you think he can teach us the secrets of strength¡­ or the power of the earth?¡±

    Alex chuckled politely. ¡°I can certainly teach you the way of the spear, or perhaps, how to find a choice herb or compound a tincture, but I fear I can teach you very little about the Dao.¡±

    Ahn furrowed his brow. ¡°But you¡¯re so big! Aren¡¯t you a cultivator?¡±

    ¡°He is,¡± Elder Win replied gently. ¡°But that¡¯s not the problem.¡±

    The older boy gazed curiously at the elder. ¡°But honored one, we¡¯re willing to¡­¡± he then blinked, going still under the weight of the elder cultivator¡¯s gaze, before kowtowing before the man. ¡°This foolish one apologizes for speaking out of turn.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite alright,¡± said the elder with a tired sigh. ¡°Now why don¡¯t both you lads go home and tend to your parents¡¯ stalls like the good boys you are? Before the afternoon rush swamps their businesses. And by all means, take some flatbread with you and drink your fill from our well, as thanks for doing your duty to our school, and our city.¡±

    Ahn shivered, eyes widening, as if only in that moment understanding the significance of the elder¡¯s words. ¡°You mean, we aren¡¯t¡­ not even a little bit?¡±

    Win gave the boy¡¯s thin shoulder a sympathetic pat. ¡°I fear such is not your destiny, this time along karma¡¯s wheel. So put to rest the yearning ache you no doubt feel from a previous life, and focus on embracing this one to the fullest. Who knows? Should you live your life upstanding and well, you might find yourself born to enlightenment unlike anything you can imagine today.¡±

    The youth¡¯s crestfallen expressions hit Alex surprisingly hard as they lowered their heads and strode back to the school entrance with final bows their way, the former excited spring to their step now burdened with the weight of their own mortality, forced to accept that no matter how far they strove or hard they tried, they¡¯d never be able to walk the path favored by heroes of myth, legend, and no doubt their own imaginations.

    Alex expression was one of sympathy and profound gratitude. For all that he had suffered unimaginably, for all the trials and tribulations he had been put through, he still savored waking up each day with the sun caressing a body brimming with energy, vitality, and the promise of eternal youth, where every day was an opportunity to learn, to test himself, and to grow stronger in a thousand different ways.

    As long as he remained focused and determined to excel, there was absolutely no limit to how far he could go. No limit to the adventures he could savor. So long as the spite of vindictive gods and the malice of twisted fate didn¡¯t turn his triumphs into tragedy, as it had so many times before.

    This time, things would be different, he promised himself. This time, he would remember to savor every day he could breathe the fresh crisp air of desert sands and the aromatic floral scents from the valley floor perfuming the breeze, just a short distance away.

    Elder Win gave him a surprised glance. ¡°Are you actually having a moment of enlightenment?¡±

    Alex chuckled softly. ¡°More like, a moment of gratitude.¡± He then gave the elder a knowing look. ¡°I can see why the school has you interviewing new would-be hopefuls. Certainly your bedside manner is a heck of a lot better than some people I could name, though I¡¯m not sure if implying that they might be cultivators in their next life if they were good boys in this one is a choice I would have made.¡±

    The elder¡¯s gaze stiffened for a too-long moment, before his features lightened into a chuckle. ¡°Really? Humor me, aspirant, why wouldn¡¯t you have said the same?¡±

    Alex¡¯s grin froze, realizing by the hard twinkle in the man¡¯s eye that a lot rode on said answer, and he didn¡¯t think bullshitting or prevaricating would make him look anything other than weak and unworthy, the opposite of the fierce resolve he was so determined to embrace and project. To be worthy of the gifts he had been blessed with, no matter how bitter his past lives had been.

    So he told the truth.

    ¡°Because with each incarnation, our potential is the same. And although through perseverance and life experiences the seed of our potential can grow, over time, blossoming into something truly profound¡­ that¡¯s a journey of a thousand lifetimes. No merchant boy daydreaming of a storybook cultivator¡¯s life will magically blossom into a prince destined for Gold in his next life, no matter how hard he tries.¡± Alex forced a laugh, despite how intently Elder Win was gazing at him. ¡°Though I¡¯ll grant it¡¯s possible that he might develop the glimmerings of a Soul Stone. Maybe he¡¯ll have a single meridian to cleanse in his next life. Maybe.¡± Alex shrugged. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t count on it. Not with less than 10% of the population having any cultivation talent at all, no matter how fervently the other 90% wishes for such an opportunity in their next life.¡±

    Elder Win gazed at Alex for long moments. ¡°Fascinating,¡± he said at last, after Alex had plenty of time to regret his lack of sleep and his too big mouth, no matter how energized he felt. ¡°Is that a Ruidian belief?¡±

    Alex flashed a relieved smile at the out that the elder had provided him. ¡°It¡¯s certainly my own¡­ and I apologize for speaking out of turn yet again,¡± he said with a low bow.

    But Elder Win was already walking away, heading towards the other hopeful-looking students who he had clearly accepted, beaming at them all. ¡°Congratulations and welcome to all of you who are destined to walk the way by our side, for this incarnation at least. Come, it is time for a tour of our academy, so that you may gain an understanding of what expectations and duties we have for you, as well as make note of the opportunities we will provide the worthy among you that will allow you to grow into your full potential.¡±

    Alex noted no less than thirty hopeful students wearing a varied assortment of robes, tunics, and various types of head-ware. Unlike what he recalled of Baidushi and Yidushi, no one was showing off exorbitant wealth in their attire, or perhaps that was simply because Alex was effectively joining the introductory curriculum once more, and the elites had other avenues of study available to them. Which was fine, Alex thought with a smile. The less short-tempered arrogant popinjays he met during his time here, the happier he would be.

    He shook his head, clearing it of distraction, focusing on Elder Win¡¯s words once more.

    ¡°...Unlike lesser schools, you will find our curriculum to be highly individualized, catering to emphasizing your strengths and shoring up your weaknesses.¡±

    One young woman dressed in fine silk robes radiating a merchant¡¯s air raised her arm.

    ¡°Yes, initiate?¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Master Win. How long should we expect to be under your care before graduating to more advanced classes?¡±

    This query earned a soft chuckle. ¡°Not long all, dear child. My job is to assist in examining both your martial and cultivation capacities extensively over the next few days. Your future instructors will be the ones to hone you all into fine steel blades. Mine is to find the whetstone best suited to your temperament and grain.¡±

    The girl quickly bowed her head. ¡°Understood. Then we are in your care, Master Win. Please treat us kindly.¡±

    This earned a chuckle, and in short order Elder Win had them walking past the magnificent palanquin that seemed to be the showpiece of the school, Alex dutifully listening to a lecture that made it clear that this academy was organized a lot more like a college campus from his first life than the cultivation academies he had been to before. For all that the would-be students and a handful of instructors had gathered before the massive central pagoda that served as a key school landmark, the academy grounds themselves stretched around a good portion of the inner lip of the massive caldera they all finally got a good look at, the occasional whistle or gasp of awe making it clear that he wasn¡¯t the only first-timer captivated by the view.

    Alex felt an ache in his chest and a sudden sense of yearning as he beheld the sight of distant waterfalls spraying down from the rocky far side of the clearly long dormant volcano, pouring down in a majestic glittering spray that flashed in the afternoon light to form a glorious constant rain saturating the lush, verdant fields and carefully tended fruit tree groves far, far below, the entirety of it shrouded in that mist from multiple waterfalls spraying down from all sides of the massive caldera, forming a true desert oasis in what was at least 25 square miles of lush thickly growing vegetation in the form of carefully cultivated crops of oats, wheat, barley and many other grains in addition to countless smaller plots of vegetables Alex could barely make out at such a distance, all of it given sustenance and life from the waterfall-fed rivers snaking throughout, blessed with a tiny lake in the center.

    It was a glorious oases of lush verdant life, more than enough to sustain a city of hundreds of thousands that sprawled on the outer lip like a defensive barrier against all that would claim their glorious bounty.

    Qi Perception check made!

    Artificer skill check: critical success!

    Only one thing marred the pristine beauty, and that was the realization that one of the major waterfalls was no more real than the glittering lights of spiritual energy that the illusion emanated from. As to why they even bothered, Alex had no idea. But if the very real source of intense arboreal potency that he sensed from below was any indication, there was certainly sufficient water to nurture the incredible variety of crops and succulents below.

    Still, he couldn¡¯t help but peer at the other waterfalls with a certain degree of intensity, pleased to see that at least the others were entirely real.

    Here, Elder Win paused. Alex could sense him carefully looking over all of them, even more intently than he had when testing them for cultivation potential, before his face broke out in a glorious smile, clearly pleased by the looks of awe and reverence he sensed from all of them.

    ¡°And this here is our most sacred duty, disciples of the way. The ache you feel in your chest is the love you have for your city. Your people. Like a father would have for his child, to protect and nurture one¡¯s treasure against all who would claim it, whether raiders, bandit kings, other city states, or simply the fierce desert itself.¡±

    Win paused, his gaze turning solemn. ¡°Our sacred duty, above all others, is to nurture and protect the sanctuary that you see before you. That which our city¡¯s fortunes, indeed, it¡¯s very survival, rests upon.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 40 - Book 7 JUST HIT AUDIBLE!

    Elder Win smiled fondly at several of the youth gazing with particular rapt attention at the grain fields growing in the lush caldera basin below, such a glorious contrast to the endless desert sands beyond the city. ¡°To many of you will be granted the sacred duty of tilling the fields, using your affinity for Earth and Water to nurture the crops that feed us all, and the spirit herbs upon which the sacred art of Alchemy depends.¡± He then dipped his head towards the handful of more powerfully built aspirants, those who were clearly more than simple novices, with the builds and bodies of warriors, whether or not they were new to the world of cultivation. ¡°And others among you will no doubt serve our college in other ways equally vital.¡±

    Alex grinned at the sight of Luo and Xiao¡¯s late arrival, counting it a miracle that Master Win wasn¡¯t chewing them out as they panted before the elder with wide goofy grins on their faces. Alex could so clearly sense their excitement at being here, still wearing their caravanner armaments, for all that they glowed so strongly with their recently awakened potential that Alex halfway suspected they had had yet another fortuitous encounter or breakthrough. They, it seemed, truly were embracing a storybook start to their cultivation journey. For all that the third among them had already turned his last page. Because even fortuitous encounters could hold hidden risks and dangers that not everyone was equipped to handle.

    Even so, both were careful not to look Alex¡¯s way, all of them knowing how important it was to show no unexpected bonds of familiarity, lest enemies unseen put 2 and 2 together.

    At least their enthusiasm earned a nod from Elder Win.

    ¡°To the most daring among you will go the sacred duty of seeking balance within the rifts. Securing what prizes you may, aiding our school¡­ and aiding yourselves in the process. And welcome to our two newest aspirants, who have already proven themselves and so will be granted a certain amount of lenience for their tardiness¡­ on this day alone.¡±

    Both immediately fell into dogeza. ¡°Our humblest apologies for our lateness. Thank you for your grace and forbearance, Master Win.¡±

    The elder chuckled, gesturing for the pair to rise. ¡°And all of you will benefit from forming alliances and friendships with all of your peers. So that you may learn from all of them, and appreciate the strengths they all bring to our organization. Take the Ruidians among us. Their tribes are uniquely suited both for harvesting rifts and crops. The wise cultivator takes note of their tribal ways and learns from them, to the benefit of our entire city.¡±

    Alex stiffened, realizing what a fool he had been to get so distracted by friendly faces as to ignore what was now at his rear, as several dozen youthful faces and a handful of hardened gazes turned to peer his way, but already knew from the reflection in the closest pair¡¯s eyes what he would see.

    A warmly smiling Linnea cheekily waving and smiling right back, her bright red hair and brilliant green eyes giving away her heritage despite her caramel complexion, almost as much as did the ruby flashing brilliantly in the warm midday light slipping past the weave of her straw hat.

    ¡°Oh hi, everyone! My name¡¯s Linnea, and it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all! I do hope to be able to delve the rifts with each and every one of you, as your fellow student and classmate! Do you guys say classmate? Did that translate correctly?¡± She stage whispered Alex¡¯s way before wrapping him up in an enthusiastic hug. ¡°Isn¡¯t this wonderful, Alex? Now we can go to school together!¡±

    Hanz, standing dutifully by her side, rolled his eyes and sighed. ¡°Linnea, you¡¯re getting overly excited again. They said we could tour the facilities with the initiates, not that you actually were¡­ Linnea, don¡¯t you dare ignore me!¡±

    The girl had shamelessly flowed to Alex¡¯s other side, still claiming his hand and gazing guilelessly up at Alex.

    ¡°What was that? I thought I just heard a breeze. Come, Alex, our fellow disciples are getting ahead of us.¡±

    ¡°Linnea, don¡¯t you dare! Father will be furious with you!¡±

    Quick as a flash, her carefree demeanor turned to a furious glare as she snapped around to lock gazes with her cousin. ¡°Like I give a fuck about what that prune-faced asswipe thinks! He acts like he fucking owns me. Do you see the way he looks at me? Like I¡¯m his property, ever since I reached my majority! There¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯m putting up with his shit for another turn of the seasons, cousin. He¡¯s trying to force me to marry his best friend¡¯s son so he can marry the guy¡¯s younger sister. I mean, disgusting! She¡¯s twenty years younger than him! You want to go back to that bullshit? That¡¯s fine. But I¡¯m out!¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks flush as bemused gazes turned his way as the pair¡¯s argument began to heat up, finding himself in the center of a family dispute he really didn¡¯t want to be a part of, seeking only to blend in with his fellow cultivators. Yet Linnea and Hanz¡¯s angry hissing and vituperative whispering in their guttural dialect earned increasingly wide-eyed stares until Elder Win had to rather forcefully clear his throat.

    And the two idiots were still going at it!

    ¡°Knock it the fuck off! Argue with your fingers or in group-chat, NOT out loud! I swear, if I get kicked out of yet another school because of you two assholes...¡± Alex snarled the words, glad the insults translated so well into their Germanic-sounding tongue, even if the surprised looks the cousins and the nearer students were showing had just served to permanently associate Alex with them.

    At least the glare he flashed had both of them paling with wide-eyed surprise when Elder Win was forced to clear his throat a second time, making it damn clear that even he had limits, no matter how useful visiting eccentric Ruidians might normally be, and the trio of idiots were coming damn close to crossing that line.

    ¡°And here is where all of you will be expected to assemble the second glass past sunrise tomorrow morning, where we will begin our formal assessments of your strengths and weaknesses as both martial artists and cultivators.¡± Elder Win gestured to the wide courtyard just a short distance away from the grand Pagoda that Alex was using as a mental landmark. This area, like all the fields and buildings belonging to the college, was adjoining the lip of the massive caldera gazing down upon the lush, fecund valley below.

    ¡°Those of you still cleansing your meridians will have your techniques examined and for those only recently awakened to the world of cultivation, fear not, our school has techniques oriented towards both desert sands and mountain ice, the sun and the moon. For those among you who have actually managed to achieve Bronze, you will be granted one free analysis and access to a suitable cultivation tome so that your Bronze ascent may be free of burs and unexpected hardships.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but smile at the pair of powerfully built men among the more slender aspirants whose eyes lit up upon hearing those words. And he wasn¡¯t surprised at all to hear that they¡¯d be getting access to a cultivation manual, because studying how best to form strong cords of spiritual energy was the farthest thing from immersing oneself in the personal Qi techniques of ancient masters. The latter being the path that Alex was eager, perhaps too eager, to pursue.

    ¡°Of course this all comes at a price,¡± Elder Win said with a smile. ¡°One easily paid in school credits earned by tending to the fields below, hunting for desert herbs¡­ and of course, for those well versed in combat, daring the rifts themselves.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but nod at that, considering it more than fair, even if a few aspirants winced at those words. But since when had any student of any realm not born to privilege not been juggling work assignments of one sort or another alongside their scholarly duties?

    ¡°What¡¯s more, you will all, regardless of your cultivation levels, additionally be provided with pristine meridian cleansing techniques useful for cleansing and purifying both body and meridians that will prove to be useful, regardless of whether you¡¯re a rank beginner, or just a half-step away from Silver.¡±

    Elder Win flashed a reassuring smile. ¡°And this prize will be provided absolutely free of charge,¡± he declared, earning no less than a dozen looks of relief and excitement from the younger members of their group, their instructor¡¯s knowing gaze making it clear he understood the needs and limitations of his newest batch of aspirants as only an experienced instructor could.

    ¡°Of course this is just the beginning of your cultivation journey. You will find that our school library is among the most extensive and prized in the entire desert, so many of our tomes infused with the blessings of those who have come before. Tomes that can be yours to peruse, study, and master, when you have advanced sufficiently in ability and have defined the path you wish to take as a cultivator, and have proven yourselves to our fine school.¡±

    All the younger students continued to nod dutifully, but one of the more experienced looking men, a rugged-faced cultivator radiating Bronze potency with the features of a man in his prime, silently waved his hand, earning Elder Win¡¯s politely raised eyebrow.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°So, your academy offers basic cleansing and cycling techniques, and more advanced ones should we earn credits by farming or culling your rifts.¡±

    Elder Win gave a slight nod. ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°What about the martial elements of your school? Training in unarmed and melee combat, or the advanced arts of learning to channel our spiritual energy through our attacks?¡±

    Their instructor grinned. ¡°An excellent question. Your martial prowess will be carefully graded over the next few days, and your future mentors will help you choose the best path forward. Whether that be mastery of fundamentals or incorporating the power of the elements into your attacks is for your future masters to decide. But rest assured, those of you with the requisite affinities will be given plenty of opportunity to study Qi disciplines with masters of Ice, Earth, and Fire. These techniques are also covered extensively in our library, but here especially, care must be taken to assure that you actually have the requisite affinities, lest daring those tomes imperil the very prize you seek to enhance beyond all others.¡±

    One of the youth¡¯s gazed at Win with wide-eyed awe. ¡°Will our hands become so strong we can smash bricks with our fist? Shatter enemy soldiers with a single blow?¡± He then flushed and lowered his head, despite Win¡¯s chuckle.

    Elder Win solemnly drew a finely made Jian and gestured to a stone obelisk just a few feet from the lip of the caldera. ¡°Force and power are all well and good. But the true master learns to channel his arts with perfect precision, such that a thrust that exerts almost no effort at all¡­ free of all flashy storybook technique¡­ is still more than enough to defend one¡¯s school, protect one¡¯s academy, or guard one¡¯s caravan.¡±

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    With those words, he turned and spun around, striking the solid granite obelisk with a graceful winding thrust that seemed more dance than anything else. Alex¡¯s eyes widened, instantly understanding the significance of that casual movement that had half the class furrowing their brows.

    Yet the wisest among them were exchanging sober glances, quickly bowing their head when a grinning Win flourished his blade, showing neither scratch nor mar, before resheathing it once more.

    One of the youth¡¯s frowned. ¡°Master? I¡¯m not sure I...¡±

    It was at that moment that the granite toppled over, cut cleanly in half.

    A chilled Alex stared at the perfectly sheered granite for long seconds.

    He had seen the thrust that had melted through the stone, an incision a good two inches wide, yet the blade was less than half the thickness of the stone pillar. Which meant that a flick of the wrist too fast for him to see must have widened it to a devastating degree, bringing home once more how vulnerable he was now, compared to when his Quickness had soared to the heights of Silver. No matter that subjectively he felt as alert and fast as he ever had, he realized he had a hell of a ways to go before he dared to take any potential opponent or battle lightly.

    Elder Win smiled into the awed silence. ¡°You will find, dear students, that the best techniques don¡¯t need to be flashy or predictable. The just need to work with a minimum of fuss or expenditure. And I¡¯m pleased to share with you all now that this very technique is available for your perusal in the library for those who have ascended far enough, with an affinity for Water. You¡¯ll find it useful for piercing stone, steel, or the hides of particularly troublesome spirit beasts.¡±

    He then gave a clap of his hands. ¡°And that too we will be practicing in the future. For now, let¡¯s continue our tour. For those of you who show your continued loyalty to our fine institution and have what it takes to achieve Bronze, you will find within our prestigious halls countless opportunities to ascend and grow.¡±

    Alex found himself smiling with excitement as he took in the magnificent architecture of the college with their tour, all of it lining the outer rim of the caldera, a simple stone wall dividing academy grounds with the city beyond. To Alex it had far more in common with a city college campus from his first life than a walled off academy on a hill or mountain top that was divorced from the world. Yet the spectacular view of the caldera basin and the magnificent architecture was every bit as grand as that of Dragon Academy and near the equal of the view at Rising Phoenix Academy as well.

    An academy that was now no more.

    Alex felt an ache in his heart for all that had been lost as he gazed upon graceful multistory pagodas, grand cathedral-like cultivation halls with masterfully engineered domed ceilings soaring high above the awed students, and squared off buildings of granite with wide arching doorways and well-illuminated halls adding a sense of grandeur to what would otherwise be oppressive structures of stone.

    From them all, Alex caught sight of dozens of men and women radiating the potent spiritual energy of Bronze wujen and a handful of body cultivators going about their business and studies, the few glances sent their way professionally polite, free of all condescension, but no more than that.

    It was then that an oddly solemn Elder Win led them into the grandest cultivation hall yet.

    Even the Ruidians among them were utterly silent, all of them feeling the spiritual pressure of the half-dozen cultivators sitting in lotus position upon the intricately tiled floor flashing with spirit pearls, jade, and gold.

    Artificer skill check made!

    Alex¡¯s eyes lit with wonder, sensing and understanding that the massive structure was actually condensing the spiritual energy to levels he¡¯d normally expect to find in the heart of the great forest, or perhaps his own sanctuary. A thought that sent a sharp jolt of melancholy despite the heady rush of illumination.

    ¡°Can you all feel the spiritual energy radiating from the cultivation sanctuary before you?¡± Win smiled in approval at the half dozen nods he received, the others quickly dipping their heads as well. ¡°Good. For this sanctuary is the prize you should all aspire to, and is the greatest of all privileges. To harness and hone your foundation in the most glorious configuration of spiritual energies is a boon that the truly worthy and devoted to this school will have available to them.¡± He gave a satisfied nod. ¡°It is this, as much as any cultivation pill, that can help the most worthy of Bronze ascend, one day, to Silver. And who knows to what heights beyond?¡±

    He then smiled indulgently, leading them past the building-sized spiritual treasure. ¡°And therein ends our tour. Tomorrow, after testing your cultivation techniques and martial prowess, we will begin assigning you all curriculums best suited to your strengths, and make note of the most efficient ways you can contribute to the school. As I¡¯ve already shown you the grand eating hall where spirit beast meat is served and elite dormitories with grand views of the valley below, prizes that will be of benefit to all of you, easily earned with the accrual of sufficient credits, our orientation is officially at an end. You may return to the city proper via any of the exits I have shown you, so long as you display the badges you will each be assigned upon leaving.¡±

    He turned, favoring all of them with a discerning eye. ¡°For those of you new to the city who lack homes of your own, or merely wish quarters closer to the school without paying for Bronze tier lodgings within the academy proper, or those curious as to the best inns and eating establishments near the school where they accept both silver coins and school credits¡­ we shall continue our tour within the city proper. But whether you elect to join us or head on home, please remember that perseverance and dedication are every bit as important as potential. And for those of you who choose to live off campus, your first test will simply be to arrive at the testing grounds tomorrow morning in a timely manner.¡±

    Elder Win¡¯s gaze hardened, revealing just a hint of his true aura. Alex was happy to see that his sense of the man was correct. A Rank 1 Silver who had earned his ascension the hard way, radiating sufficient Potency to crush even the Deepest Bronze who dared to underestimate him. It was an aura that very few could ever hope to achieve, causing more than one basic cultivator to flinch back in dismay.

    ¡°If you lack even the dedication to arrive at the campus in a timely manner, if you¡¯re unable or unwilling to attend all of your future classes with the dedication your teachers expect and that this path demands, then perhaps the cultivator¡¯s life isn¡¯t for you. Certainly, you will leave yourself open to challenge, as is any cultivator¡¯s right to demand when your lack of integrity or dedication puts the collective at risk. And that is a trial I wouldn¡¯t recommend any of you endure on your very first days as members of this institution. Understood?¡±

    The entire class nodded in heartfelt unison.

    Alex hid his smile, somehow certain that attendance at this campus would be a hell of a lot better here than at most colleges where students lived off campus.

    Elder Win then proceeded to a nearby exit different from the front entrance of the school, making a point of showing the gatekeeper his pin of silver. Alex and the others were then instructed to each claim one of the copper ones the smiling guardsman presented to each of them. Alex easily sensed the faint traces of spiritual energy that would prevent it from being too easily counterfeited.

    ¡°Well that was a wonderful tour,¡± Hanz said with an overly patient smile as Linnea enthusiastically showed her ruby pendant just as Hanz did with his sapphire eyed one, both of them earning a friendly nod from the guard, their pendants quite a bit different from the pins that Alex and the other disciples now wore. ¡°Now if we¡¯re done sightseeing, we really need to meet up with the rest of our group for the evening run, cousin.¡±

    Linnea glared. ¡°I told you, I¡¯m joining as a student. Just like Alex here!¡± she said, claiming Alex¡¯s arm.

    Alex blinked. Had he given her his name? And why were they still matching his pace?

    ¡°Then why are you still wearing your jeweled pendant? That¡¯s right, because we were already accepted as Delvers for standard rates. Generous rates, in fact. And that includes honoring our obligations!¡± His voice gained an edge as the entire class of aspirants continued following Elder Win who was introducing them to several smiling hostel-owners who all promised fair school-backed rates for long term students, the most eager proprietress assuring that a single credit worth a full dozen nights under her roof where she would make absolutely sure they got to their first morning classes on time, which Alex thought was probably a good deal, even if the accommodations were little more than a place to rest one¡¯s head. Considering that he had once thought a garden shed paradise, he doubted he¡¯d have any complaints at all. Even if a few, such as the Ruidians beside him, turned up their noses.

    ¡°Can you believe these restaurateurs? Offering a mere seven meals for a full student credit?¡± Hanz hissed.

    Linnea nodded as they made their way past several more upscale eateries. ¡°And that one offering only a full course banquet for a full student credit! I don¡¯t care how infused with spiritual energy the food is or how many fancy cultivators are eating there, it¡¯s far too much!¡±

    Alex winced, knowing that the girl¡¯s words had carried just fine on the air to the handful of cultivators eating at the most upscale establishment they had seen yet, disturbing the serene melodies being played by erhu and dizi by a pair of musicians as numerous cultivators radiating spiritual energy of Deep Bronze, even Silver, made themselves comfortable at lacquered bamboo tables with cushioned seats while sipping honeyed mead and rice wine over games of go or what Alex took to be the local equivalent of chess. Other elite cultivators were savoring banquets comprised of rich, mouthwatering fare radiating potent spiritual energy that Alex could sense even from where he and the rest of the class politely observed while Elder Win exchanged a few brief words with what Alex assumed was a fellow professor.

    Hanz smirked triumphantly at his cousin¡¯s look of dismay. ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s far too expensive for the likes of us, because were jewel masters, not cultivators. We benefit from the potency of our kills, not from eating meats too rich in strange energies after the fact.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s lips pursed in a frown, glaring at the absolutely delicious-looking fare that Alex¡¯s belly was grumbling quite loudly for. ¡°I, for one, quite like spirit beast meat, and I¡¯m still going to attend and learn whatever I can.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± an increasingly anxious-looking Hanz hissed. ¡°But the tour is over, dusk is approaching, and we risk shaming our entire tribe if we fail to complete the delve we signed up for!¡±

    Linnea glared, crossing her arms. ¡°Fine, but only if Alex comes with us!¡±

    Alex¡¯s surprised look was matched only by Hanz¡¯s incredulous stare. ¡°Are you serious? We¡¯ve only just met him!¡±

    Linnea¡¯s resolute nod brooked no argument. ¡°Dead serious, Hanz. I¡¯m not dealing with your father for a second longer than I have to, and I¡¯m only agreeing to this run at all for your sake, because I sure as hell am not returning to that pit of backbiting vipers that you call our family!¡±

    Alex felt like melting into the ground when Linnea¡¯s raised voice earned them looks from not just their immediate fellow disciples but from at least several of the patrons, with expressions ranging from amusement to cool disdain.

    ¡°And with that, our tour is over,¡± Elder win declared. ¡°You have half an hour before true darkness touches the sky. The hostels I showed you include one bowl of porridge per day and will allow you to pay your school credit by the end of the first week. Do any of you need a school escort to the hostels or your personal domiciles? No? Excellent. Class adjourned.¡±

    Alex smiled with relief, it having been a long day in more ways than one. He was about to slip free of the arguing cousins when a small hand immediately attached to his own.

    ¡°Please come with us?¡± Linnea flashed Alex a brilliant smile.

    Alex blinked at the absurdly eccentric girl. Even by Ruidian standards. ¡°Linnea, it¡¯s been a long day, and I could really use a bowl of stew and a good night¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll get a full share from our delve. One spirit pearl minimum, even if it¡¯s mine!¡± the girl hissed with unexpected desperation.

    ¡°¡­ and really, who needs sleep? Thirty Vitality means I can skip a night here and there, so let¡¯s go!¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 41 - Are you done proposing? We have a delve to run.

    ¡°You have a Thirty Vitality? That¡¯s incredible!¡± Linnea squealed, eyes twinkling with admiration and not a little bit of envy. ¡°Mine¡¯s only twelve, and that¡¯s with exercise and training, since I¡¯ve been putting all my level-up points into advancing my spells and Fire Mastery.¡± She turned to her cousin. ¡°He actually knows what we¡¯re talking about! That mean¡¯s he levels up, just like we do, even without a jewel in his head!¡±

    Hanz gazed at Alex for long moments. ¡°Seriously? You put that many points in Vitality? Skewed build much?¡±

    Alex snorted. ¡°Balanced as hell, actually. Strength to match, and Finesse and Quickness are at twenty. Which is Bronze Ranks 3,3,1 and 1, in Cultivator terms.¡±

    Hanz eyes widened with disbelief when the significance of what Alex had said finally sunk in. ¡°Wait¡­ are you saying you¡¯re actually leveling up, with an interface and progression sheets and everything¡­ as a cultivator? We can actually do that? And so many points! How the hell did you get so many points?¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s not the question you should be asking.¡±

    This earned a cynical smirk. ¡°Then what question should I be asking?¡±

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we grabbing several of those excellent looking meat-stuffed barley buns at the stall across the street? And you¡¯re treating, by the way. Because if we¡¯re going to make it in time for your delve, I¡¯m guessing that we don¡¯t want to be any later than we already are.¡±

    This earned a panicked nod from Hanz. ¡°Damn, you¡¯re right. Alright, meat-bun run and then back the way we came!¡± The thin, almost delicate-looking man quickly dashed across the street, switching to the local dialect as he swapped several piping hot meat buns for copper coins and then they were dashing back for the same entrance they had left from, which worked perfectly, to Alex¡¯s mind.

    When the same guardsman who had handed the tokens raised his eyebrow as they knocked for admittance, a hurried declaration that they were running late for a delve was all it took for the guard to immediately let them back in.

    ¡°Have a safe hunt,¡± the man murmured respectfully, earning several hurried nods and a barely concealed smirk from Alex, happily devouring his meat bun filled with savory mutton and deciding that, all in all, this was working out perfectly. Because with 30 Vitality he really could function at 100% and miss a couple night¡¯s sleep, especially if his heart was hammering and adrenaline flowing while on the hunt. Better than any shot of espresso, even if he¡¯d probably be sleeping in all of tomorrow morning.

    Of course, that was only part of it, Alex thought to himself as they quickly made their way around the lip of the caldera, his two companions already breathing heavily, Alex at a comfortable jog he could maintain as easily as anyone else walking. Because as much as he had enjoyed what felt like another slice-of-life fresh start promising days filled with life lessons and cultivation insights, he remembered as well the horrific tragedy the last time he dared enter a cultivation sect with a pair of Ruidians in tow. And despite the grace and politeness he had enjoyed at first, it had very quickly become apparent that thing were just as ruthless, bloodthirsty, and vindictive as they had been at Dragon Academy. Worse, both his acquaintances had been killed.

    So on the off-chance that he was being a blind, delusional fool, and that of course things here were ultimately just as ruthless here as they had been at Morning Dew Temple, he sure as hell wanted to find that out as soon as he could, before he invested himself any further in this school.

    His life could very well depend upon it.

    And recalling full well Elder Win¡¯s words about oaths being given, he couldn¡¯t think of a better time than joining his unexpected companions under the guise of impulsiveness, for a quick look into the very heart of the academy¡¯s greatest resource, secret, and prize. Even better, he had managed to slip back inside for a late night mission without being bound by any oath at all, thanks to the familiarity already established with the guard just moments ago, still recognizing Alex and sensing the urgency of their Ruidian guests. And if the man did furrow his brow for a second, wondering what Alex¡¯s place exactly was, the three of them were already long gone.

    ***

    ¡°So¡­ where exactly are we going?¡± Alex politely asked, enjoying the magnificent view of the valley below as the waning rays of a beautiful sunset caressed the forests and fields below in glorious shades of crimson, just minutes before the escarpment¡¯s shadow cloaked it all in night¡¯s embrace.

    And then it was night in truth, the desert¡¯s skies lit with a glorious panoply of brilliant stars and silvery moons that always brought an undefinable ache to Alex¡¯s chest, the night skies looking just as it had the final night he had clasped hands with the women who he would have given his life to protect beyond all others.

    Women whom he had, in fact, given his life to protect, from the machinations of gods and madmen both.

    Alex shook away bittersweet reverie as a panting Hanz raised his arm while they raced around the lip of the caldera. He was presently pointing to what was rapidly becoming the outskirts of the long strip of land claimed by the academy, and their target immediately became obvious, a row of stairs chiseled right into the rock, complete with copper guard rails and a steady white light from a Qi globe Alex sensed was powered by a beast core, making it clear that the school wasn¡¯t stinting on safety or expenses when it came to their delves, which made sense, considering the importance Silver Sands placed on what they were doing.

    ¡°There. See that light?¡±

    Alex nodded in the affirmative.

    ¡°Good. We¡¯re now heading there. But you sort of, um, want to keep a low profile while we¡¯re heading there, okay?¡±

    Alex glared at his newfound companions. ¡°Is that why you guys are skirting the lip of the escarpment with one hand on the extended railing, to avoid line-of-sight from the occasional cultivators going to and fro evening classes?¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Linnea flashed a cheerful smile, even as she slammed her hand against Alex¡¯s head. Not budging it an inch as Alex caught a good look at a pair of statuesque female cultivators gossiping quietly as they left a well lit pagoda, the pair paying absolutely no mind at all to the furtive figures at the far end of the property, crouching down way too close to the lip of the caldera for Alex¡¯s piece of mind. And not for his own sake, either.

    Surprisingly, neither protested when a grim-faced Alex pulled a tent rope from storage, casually looping it under the arms of both of his Ruidian companions before securing it around himself.

    ¡°I appreciate the thought, but we have no pitons. So what happens if one of us actually slips?¡± Hanz tentatively asked a hard-eyed Alex, presently holding on to the thick stone blocks demarcating the end of the property and the beginning of the caldera''s perilous slope.

    ¡°Then I keep that fool from falling to a tragic death,¡± Alex said.

    Hanz sighed. ¡°As if a surprise drop wouldn¡¯t cause all of us to fall. You¡¯re going to have to trust us, Alex. If we lacked the grace to even walk to our contracted sight, we¡¯d be fools to even dare this Delve.¡±

    Alex took a deep breath, resisting the urge to just leave. ¡°You mean the Delve we went from boldly declaring to the world we were undertaking to one where we¡¯re furtively sneaking to our destination, hoping no one sees us? A delve we¡¯re actually risking bodily harm just to arrive at?¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re overreacting just a bit,¡± Hanz hastily assured, before giving a gentle smile. ¡°Though I appreciate you securing us with your rope. It¡¯s nice to know that you care.¡±

    Linnea animatedly nodded. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time we¡¯ve dared one of the forbidden delves, Alex. As long as we get out there with a modicum of discretion, everyone pretends they didn¡¯t see us, and we pretend we did everything by the book!¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll bite. If things are this much of a farce¡­ why bother with this cloak and dagger crap at all?¡±

    Hanz sighed, though Alex was happy to see that despite his slender frame, the youth had no problem navigating the slope, one hand always on the copper guard rail or one of the weighted stones firmly settled in flat ground. ¡°So that should we die a gruesome death, lost in the city¡¯s most perilous rift, the academy can honestly say to our tribe that we dared that which we were forbidden. No penalty will be enacted by either party.¡±

    Alex grimaced. ¡°So you guys roped me into not just a delve out of the blue, but a forbidden high risk delve the school will happily wash its hands of, should we die in its depths.¡±

    Linnea had the cheek to smile. ¡°Actually it¡¯s you who roped us in, Alex. And do you really think you could hang on without proper pitons if we actually lost our grip?¡±

    Alex held her gaze and smiled. ¡°What were my stats again, Linnea?¡±

    Her eyes flashed with brilliant embers for a quick heartbeat. ¡°You¡¯re so fucking broken I can¡¯t stand you.¡± Her glare then turned to a cheeky grin. ¡°Which is why I recruited you! Who cares if you¡¯re broken if you¡¯re on my team?¡±

    Alex chuckled and shook his head, choosing to pay more attention to what was actually a fairly well tended footpath than to any late-night student or cultivator radiating Deep Bronze or even Silver, who seemed to go out of their way to pay no attention at all to the Ruidians conversing far too loudly in a Germanic-sounding tongue. As if this were all a choreographed performance, and everyone knew their roles, Alex¡¯s bright blue eyes making his role as distinct as everyone else¡¯s, no matter how much he tried to blend in.

    Fortunately, the distance to the glowing orb wasn¡¯t too far, because Alex¡¯s companions were so bad at miming stealth that their supposed sneakiness stretched the bounds of credibility.

    Of course, the white light wasn¡¯t the only thing waiting for them by the steps, as a pair of powerfully built men fully kitted up in steel lamellar radiating the potency of Bronze quickly came into view, each of them holding six-foot long guandao and glaring at the three of them with less than pleased expressions. And the tension they radiated, that of men daring the forbidden, was clearly that of cultivators who enjoyed no cloak of immunity from consequence or censure.

    It was clear as day to Alex that whatever game his Ruidian associates were playing, the stakes were much higher for the pair of Bronze glaring their way even now.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°You¡¯re late. You know what happens if anyone actually catches us here at nightfall, when we have no pretext of class or training this close to the rift,¡± snapped the closer Bronze in a roughened voice quite at odds with a cultivator¡¯s idealized perfection. Which fit his appearance to a T, the man managing to look both like a world-weary middle-aged soldier, and as solid and resilient as weather-worn granite. He could have been a grizzled veteran nearing the end of his years that he¡¯d meet with a body far less decrepit than most ex-soldiers, or he could be centuries old with centuries more to go.

    ¡°Not technically,¡± Hanz corrected with a hard smile, raising his finger just in time to catch the final rays of the setting sun. ¡°It¡¯s still dusk. Plenty of student are still leaving the various assembly halls and pagodas, and we¡¯re here, so it¡¯s all irrelevant. Best of all, we brought someone with us.¡±

    ¡°Hanz, Linnea, what the hell took you two so long?¡± Snapped none other than the middle-aged Ruidian Alex had seen accompanying the pair before, now slipping free of the shadows behind the two Bronze to glare and point his finger at the pair of them. ¡°And why the hell is he here?¡±

    Granite voice furrowed his brow while his partner snorted. ¡°That¡¯s a good question. We normally do this in groups of five. Two to defend, with room to maneuver our polearms, and three of your kind, or a Wujen or two to strike from behind.¡± The cultivator frowned, tilting his head curiously. ¡°And you¡¯re built like a body cultivator, but you¡¯re clearly Ruidian. Name¡¯s Lu Gang, by the way. And this is Su Rin,¡± he said, gesturing to the Bronze behind him, who grunted and dipped his head.

    ¡°Alex,¡± Alex offered with a smile, not hesitating to pull off the white cultivator¡¯s robe he had worn to fit in, covering the armor he wore underneath, his changshan serving as padding under that.

    Lu Gang frowned. ¡°You were wearing that all day before you came here? You didn¡¯t overheat?¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I have an affinity for flame.¡±

    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain why you¡¯re here!¡± Linnea¡¯s uncle hissed.

    Alex raised his brow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I never did catch your name.¡±

    ¡°Lieberman, not that it¡¯s any concern of yours!¡± The man snapped. ¡°Now, why are you here?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s here because I asked him to be here!¡± Linnea hissed. Before biting her lip and sneaking a worried glance an increasingly displeased-looking Lu Gang¡¯s way. ¡°Here¡¯s here because he can fight! He¡¯s really, really good at um¡­ bashing things. Aren¡¯t you, Alex?¡±

    Alex snorted. Before bowing his head Lieberman¡¯s way as he summoned a whirling disk of water. ¡°I¡¯m happy to act as a shield, or blade, or whatever you need,¡± he continued, patting the dao on his hip, deciding to go sword and shield route this time, and not show off his polearm skills which would also mean showing off the fact that he had a storage ring, which he was not about to do.

    His Enhanced Water Shield earned little more than a disparaging scowl from Su Rin. ¡°This is the fool that would claim a share of our haul? His shield¡¯s made of water, Lu Gang. And a dao won¡¯t do shit in the tunnels.¡±

    Lu Gang furrowed his brow, giving a slow nod. ¡°You have a point, brother.¡± He turned to Alex. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ Alex? But I don¡¯t think we need...¡±

    ¡°Try me,¡± Alex said, earning a blink from the pair of men, and a snort from Su Rin.

    ¡°Does this fool think we¡¯re going to waste time and energy testing him? Or good coin and credits getting him patched up if we manage to injure him?¡±

    Alex flashed a humorless smile. ¡°Ah. Words instead of action. The mark of a coward. Very well, you¡¯re afraid of my puny blade and too weak water shield. I¡¯m guessing the leader of our expedition is made of sterner stuff?¡± Alex turned, ignoring Su Rin¡¯s startled splutter, locking gazes with Lu Gang.

    ¡°Try me. Any injury I incur is mine to tend to without any debt to you, for the duration of a single match between us. My cultivator¡¯s oath upon it.¡±

    His last words brought the pair of Bronze¡¯s to a startled halt, both glaring intently Alex¡¯s way.

    ¡°Did this Ruidian half-blood just claim to be a cultivator?¡± Su Rin asked incredulously.

    ¡°Well, he certainly isn¡¯t a Jewel Master, I can promise you that,¡± a smirking Lieberman declared. ¡°The foolish boy has no jewel at all.¡±

    Alex sighed, gazing at the spinning disk of water he had generated. ¡°You can tell that¡¯s a spiritual Water technique, right? Ergo, the obvious answer is¡­ yes. I can cultivate. Clearly.¡±

    Yet the pair of frowns his declaration earned him made it clear that the duo could sense no such thing.

    Lu Gang gave a bemused chuckle. ¡°Alright, Ruidian. If your swirly shield can actually stop my polearm, you¡¯re welcome to join us. If not? We¡¯ll have to ask you to leave. Fair enough?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fair,¡± Linnea declared, much to the surprise of the Bronzes and the relieved smirk of her uncle. ¡°But I¡¯ll be leaving with him.¡±

    Lieberman¡¯s eyes widened with outrage. ¡°You¡¯ll do no such thing!¡± Her uncle hissed furiously. ¡°You¡¯re stubborn recalcitrance ends now!¡±

    ¡°Or what, you¡¯ll drag me kicking and screaming back to the clan and try to force me to marry your friend¡¯s imbred monstrosity of a son?¡± She gave a cold shake of her head as her palm lit with a ball of flame that Alex was both awed and excited to sense radiating no spiritual energy at all.

    You have successfully spotted mana manifestation outside of Cultivation Paradigm!

    ¡°You two will stop this foolishness now!¡± Lu Gang snapped. ¡°You both know damn well that you settle your conflicts before you form up with any of us! Whether you¡¯re a Ruidian or a proper cultivator, bad blood in a delve can get us all killed. Especially this delve!¡±

    His glare, much to Alex¡¯s relief, instantly quenched both Lieberman¡¯s ire and Linnea¡¯s flame.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± she softly said.

    ¡°You may expect nothing but professionalism from both of us, I assure you,¡± Lieberman haughtily declared.

    Lu Gang sighed. ¡°Sure. As long as you all can do your job and take down whatever we encounter, we¡¯ll have a profitable run where we all come out ahead.¡± He then turned to Alex. ¡°You ready to show me what your shield can do?¡±

    Alex grinned, eyes taking in far more than his would-be opponent¡¯s smirk.

    You have successfully infused Enhanced Water shield with metallic salts.

    Find Weakness skill check made!

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Lu Gang grunted in approval, before his bemused smile turned to a murderous scowl as he roared and struck out, lashing out with a fearsome chop.

    Alex would at least give him credit that the blow wasn¡¯t intending to kill, only maim. If the tip penetrated the shield, it would cleave a good inch into Alex¡¯s forearm, no doubt as both an example of his exquisite control and as a lesson to an over-confident fool.

    Assuming Alex allowed it to penetrate at all.

    Contest of skills in effect: Critical Success!

    Alex kept his face carefully neutral when he weaved to the side, allowing his shield to effortlessly deflect the deadly sharp steel at an angle, and that itself would have proven that Alex¡¯s Water Shield was far from worthless. But no one was deaf to the loud screech of the metallic grains in Alex¡¯s swirling shield of water chewing into the guandao, and spinning far faster than most could detect in the less than perfect lighting as the weapon was abruptly wrenched right out of the Bronze¡¯s hands to be sent windmilling in the air.

    It was only because Alex had been careful to ensure a clockwise spin that it didn¡¯t go sailing down into the caldera, far below.

    Lu Gang gazed at Alex for several long moments, before cracking a smile. ¡°Nice shield.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°I certainly like to think so.¡±

    The man¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°Have you ever fought spirit beasts before?¡±

    Alex nodded, feeling no need to elaborate.

    The man¡¯s gaze furrowed. ¡°I don¡¯t mean out on the desert sands. I mean in rifts like the one we¡¯re about to face.¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s say I haven¡¯t?¡±

    The man snorted. ¡°Fair enough. Then we¡¯ll do this the smart way. I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re right-handed, so you can use your Water Shield to guard our left flank. We won¡¯t ask you to use your dao, me and my partner will use our guandao to take out any spirit beasts that slip past the jewel-master¡¯s attacks. You¡¯ll keep them from flanking around our left side. Su Rin will be hugging the right tunnel wall. We keep them boxed in while our friends behind us take them out. All you gotta do is keep your shield active while we¡¯re fighting. Think you can manage that?¡±

    Alex smiled and nodded. ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. With four Ruidians and two Deep Bronze, this delve should be no problem for us, no matter what it¡¯s designation. So let¡¯s get going.¡± He turned to Su Rin, presently handing him back his guandao. ¡°Blondie here might be walking an odd path, but his shield could prove useful. I say we let him join on a provisionary basis.¡± He smirked. ¡°Because honestly, we¡¯d be fools not to take every edge we can get, for this run at least.¡±

    His partner scowled before jerking a nod. ¡°Alright. Even cut. But if he botches with the first encounter, he¡¯s out, no share.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Lu Gang turned back to Alex. ¡°That fair with you, Ruidian?¡±

    ¡°Sounds plenty fair, and please, just call me Alex.¡±

    ¡°Ashamed of your own race, Ruidian?¡± Sneered Lieberman.

    Alex turned and held the man¡¯s gaze for long moments, features perfectly calm, even when the older man flinched and paled. ¡°We got a delve to do, Lieberman. You want to throw down afterwords? I¡¯m game. But until then, we watch each other¡¯s backs and we do the job we¡¯re being paid to do. Agreed?¡±

    The syntax sounded slightly strange, perhaps, Alex using Ruidian terminology surprisingly close to American standard while making sure to use words his fellow cultivators could fully understand¡­ and be comfortable with. Because the last thing he wanted to do was alienate the tanks, right before what was effectively a dungeon run, and one he was increasingly worried that they just might be under-leveled for. It was also the first one he recalled doing without spite and sabotage making a mockery of the whole damn process, so he was both hesitant, and eager to see it through.

    Lieberman sneered. ¡°Agreed. You ward and I¡¯ll strike, and I¡¯ll do everything I can to make sure you pull through¡­ so I can put you in your place when this is done and Linnea¡¯s challenge will be at an end.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes widened at this, but Hanz dipped his head. ¡°It¡¯s fair, cousin. You know it is.¡±

    Her glare would have singed a lesser man, before she lowered her gaze and jerked a nod. Alex was surprised to feel her squeeze his hand so tightly. ¡°Please don¡¯t let me down¡­ my champion.¡±

    A nonplussed Alex blinked in disbelief. ¡°All I said was...¡±

    Linnea blanched, desperately shaking her head. ¡°Please don¡¯t say it!¡±

    ¡°Are you declining the challenge, pale-blood?¡± Lieberman asked a bit too eagerly.

    Alex clenched his jaw. ¡°I¡¯m not declining anything. But I¡¯ve been up for almost two days straight, so I¡¯m accepting no duels until I get a good night¡¯s sleep.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only fair, Father,¡± Hanz quickly said, coming to Alex¡¯s defense.

    Lieberman glared, before dipping his head. ¡°So be it. One full day after our successful delve, the fates willing, we will meet and spar for the right to claim or decide the fate of my niece¡¯s hand.¡±

    A relieved Hanz and anxious-looking looking Linnea bowed their heads.

    ¡°So mote it be,¡± they both said in eerie concert.

    Lu Gang shared a smile with Su Rin. ¡°Ruidian marriage customs are quite strange.¡±

    ¡°Truly,¡± the other said, before turning back to Alex and the Ruidians. ¡°Are you done proposing? We have a delve to run.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 42 - A Perilous Hunt

    The descent down the sheer side of the caldera was enough to get Alex¡¯s heart racing as he was immediately buffeted by surprisingly strong crosswinds. Yet the careful stairway construction and safety rails was more than enough for even the Ruidians with physical stats close to the norm to safely make their way down the escarpment, the stairs quickly leveling to take advantage of a natural overhang providing partial shelter and a wide stone pathway lit by a steady stream of strategically placed Qi lights, which made perfect sense, because why wouldn¡¯t the academy assure a well-maintained and well-lit path to their delve sight?

    What Alex hadn¡¯t been expecting originally was the echoing thunder steadily picking up in volume as the humidity in the air increased considerably, their group turning a shallow bend to be presented with the awe-inspiring sight of a magnificent spray of water shooting free of the tunnel in a brilliant spray of water and mist sparkling under the light of a twin pair of full moons and countless brilliant stars overhead as the life giving waters rained down upon the lush valley below.

    Alex blinked in surprise. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re going to have to fight against the currents to enter the cave? That sounds like suicide for anyone lacking the strength of a Bronze,¡± Alex said to the pair of cultivators taking the lead, earning a condescending snort from Lu Gang.

    ¡°Seriously, boy? You think we¡¯d risk our jewel masters that cheaply?¡± He snorted and shook his head.

    ¡°The path were on leads to a tight bend right into the cavern, fool. We don¡¯t set a single foot in the river, for that is death,¡± declared Lieberman with a certain amount of asperity. ¡°Really, think before you speak, jewelless child, lest you¡¯d insult your clan any more than you already have.¡±

    Alex smirked, but didn¡¯t bother jousting words with Lieberman as an excited Linnea squeezed his hand, pointing at the entrance shimmering with an odd distortion radiating a surprising amount of spiritual energy, both Light and Dark. ¡°Oh, there it is, Alex. The entrance! Now hurry up and party up with me, and we¡¯ll get started.¡±

    Her words were immediately cut off by Lieberman. ¡°He¡¯ll party up with me. As will you. As per protocol.¡± This was said in their tribal dialect, the pair of Bronze patiently waiting on. Alex swallowed, suddenly feeling the idiot for not having known that this was coming. They were Ruidians. Of course they would party up to take advantage of experience sharing and potency surges for emergency healing. And of course they expected him to join them, having absolutely no idea of what that entailed.

    Alex took a deep breath, heart racing as he turned to lock gazes with Lieberman, praying his plan would work.

    ¡°Wrong. You¡¯re all partying with me.¡±

    Lieberman¡¯s eyes flashed with sudden heat. ¡°And what makes you think I¡¯d defer my authority to an unproven whelp?¡±

    Alex flashed a mirthless smile. ¡°Because I can link the cultivators to our party as well.¡±

    Those words caused all three Ruidians to stiffen, gazing Alex¡¯s way with hawk-like intensity.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Lieberman said at last, voice oddly strained.

    To which Alex turned to Lu Gan and Su Rin. ¡°So, how would you guys like to party up with me? I¡¯m not sure if any Ruidian¡¯s offered before, but my mixed heritage lets me open it to anyone. And before you protest¡­ it will allow you to sense where everyone is in relation to yourself, which will make tactical planning a breeze and make sure you never have to worry about your guandao clipping someone in the head.¡±

    Su Rin snorted in clear protest, but a thoughtful looking Lu Gang stared at Alex for long moments as spray from the nearby waterfall matted their hair before soaking through their clothing.

    ¡°Show me,¡± the man said at last, eyes widening in awed surprise when Alex did just that.

    </a> Party invite offered to: Lu Gang. Trace Ruidian ancestry detected. Slave node det¡ª Master node interface-locked! Interactions limited to peripheral sub-routines! Interaction limited to location & potency exchange.

    Alex felt an awful blade of tension in his gut as Lu Gang¡¯s eyes widened, before his brows furrowed. ¡°Strange. I can¡­¡± He closed his eyes and smiled. ¡°I know right where you are in relation to myself,¡± he declared at last, earning an awed look from Linnea and Hanz and a disapproving scowl from Lieberman.

    ¡°Well, I guess we know who our party leader is now,¡± Linnea smirked her uncle¡¯s way, earning a glower in turn.

    ¡°Not helping, Linnea,¡± Alex and Hanz said in unexpected unison as Su Rin grudgingly accepted the party invite at Lu Gang¡¯s insistence, scowling as he rubbed his temples. ¡°This headache better go away.¡±

    Lu Gang snorted. ¡°It does. What matters is whether or not you can sense where everyone is in relation to yourself.¡±

    Su Rin shook his head. ¡°No. Only you and the Blond Ruidian¡­ wait, I sense the girl and the boy too¡­ but I don¡¯t sense the third one.¡±

    Alex calmly held the gaze of the scowling Lieberman, showing no indication of the surge of relief flooding his soul that his so-called Master Node had been pacified to the point that neither Linnea nor her cousin were gazing at Alex with looks of unmitigated horror. Alex just hoped that he could hold on to that odd focus where he deliberately relaxed his mental muscle, for lack of a better word, no matter how much Lieberman personally grated.

    The man stared and spat. ¡°Fine. But that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re getting a leader¡¯s cut!¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not asking for a leader¡¯s cut¡­ this time. Just a fair share.¡±

    Linnea positively beamed. ¡°That¡¯s very fair and generous, Alex. And I¡¯m sure uncle will have no problem granting you such, once you prove yourself on this run.¡±

    Her uncle positively scowled, before unexpectedly backing down with a sigh. ¡°If your odd cultivation class actually lets you sync us all up¡­ then yes. It¡¯s worth us all working together harmoniously.¡±

    He gave no more ground than that, but Alex was happy enough with it, giving everyone a nod of acknowledgment. ¡°Are we set, then? What¡¯s the protocol for entering the rift?¡±

    ¡°We hold hands or link arms so we all port in at the same location and time,¡± Lu Gang said, ignoring the look of surprise Alex cast his way.

    ¡°Wait¡­ you mean these rifts are individual instances?¡±

    ¡°Of course! This is nothing like fighting wild beasts in the desert,¡± Linnea explained, lips curved in a sisterly grin. ¡°But don¡¯t worry. Since we¡¯re all partied up, our connection is even stronger than if we were all lovers holding hands. But just to be safe...¡±

    ¡°Just to be safe, we¡¯re following protocol,¡± Su Rin snapped, linking arms with Lu Gang and a sighing Hanz, who grabbed his cousin¡¯s hand who immediately claimed Alex, forcing him to link arms with Lieberman.

    ¡°Everyone linked up?¡± Lu Gang, the true leader of the group, whatever Alex¡¯s interface said, received nods from everyone before returning. ¡°Everyone have water, backup weapons, and know the plan?¡±

    Alex chose not to argue with any of that as Lu Gang¡¯s hard gaze softened into a smile. ¡°Excellent. We¡¯re going to earn ourselves enough silver and credits to gift every member of your tribe, or feast on high quality spirit beast meat for a month, easy. Now we¡¯re going in on the count of five. Stay linked together. If our link¡¯s broken, don¡¯t panic, just make your way for the exit as quickly as possible, which should be less than a hundred feet away, if it didn¡¯t manifest right behind us. We¡¯ll then meet up and try again.¡±

    With those words, Lu Gang boldly stepped for the shimmering gate sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow whenever the reflected moonlight from the spray hit it, and shadowy gloom when it didn¡¯t. Between one moment and the next, Alex found himself wrapped in a cocoon of absolute darkness and shockingly rich spiritual energy, before blinking open his eyes and taking a gasp of incredibly fresh air radiating spiritual energy so potent and tasty that his mouth began to water.

    Su Rin immediately stumbled to the limestone ground, trembling for long moments as Lu Gang immediately took up a defensive guard with his guandao, concern clearly written on his features.

    ¡°Su Rin!¡±

    The younger man grit his teeth and forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It just¡­ you know how the miasma takes me. Just give me a minute, we¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    His friend frowned. ¡°You didn¡¯t spend enough time cleansing yourself from our last delve. We¡¯re going to call it off early.¡±

    Su Rin ignored his friend¡¯s protest, looking over everyone else in their group. ¡°It¡¯s been a month, and I focuse on nothing but shedding impurities for several glasses before and after high noon every single day.¡±

    Lu Gang shook his head with a curse. ¡°You¡¯re being foolish. The sun should be caressing your skin every hour its out for a full month after every run.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what master Glin says, brother. He assured me that I¡¯d only need to spend three hours a day cleansing myself.¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°Sure, but for how many weeks?¡±

    Su Rin scowled. ¡°Six.¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s only been four.¡±

    Su Rin waved away Lu Gang¡¯s concern. ¡°I¡¯ll be alright, as always. At least the Ruidians all made it. And with four of them¡­ I have high hopes for this run.¡±

    Alex took a moment to close his eyes and center himself, after carefully examining the forty-foot diameter cavern they found themselves in, sensing no hostile threats nearby, quickly setting up his party interface to flag any other sentients radiating spiritual energy as red until proven otherwise.

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Party Leader: Alex Hammer

    Party Members: Lu Gang (Bronze tier body cultivator) / Su Rin (Bronze-tier body cultivator) / Hanz (Rank 6 Lesser Ice Elementalist) / Linnea (Rank 6 Lesser Fire Elementalist) / Lieberman (Rank 7 Lesser Fire Elementalist) - Note! Suppressed Master Node limits access to all character sheets and skill tables!)

    Reds detected to the Northwest.

    Alex jerked open his eyes as Su Rin smacked his chest, none too lightly. ¡°Pay attention! Our lives depend on everyone being alert!¡±

    Alex ignored him, turning his focus to Lu Gang. ¡°There¡¯s something coming our way from the northwest.¡±

    The man scowled. ¡°And just how the hell do you know that?¡±

    Alex gazed down at the sand by his feet, then up at the piercing blue sky when he realized that the light had shifted, surprised to find that they weren¡¯t in caves at all. And why had he even thought that? And wasn¡¯t there a stalagmite? He shook his head, focusing on what mattered, the terrain they were in now. They were in a steep limestone gorge, with a far more sedate river flowing beside them than what was outside. To the left and right were odd cracks in the stone walls forming natural gullies from long dried tributary streams, perhaps caused by many years of desert flash floods. Or perhaps it was simply a manifestation of what he realized must be a pocket realm or rift. Either way, he sensed something within the narrow gully.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just call it a knack with the desert sands. And I¡¯m damn lucky that there¡¯s sand in this pocket realm and that it actually works. Either way, if we¡¯re looking for shit to hunt¡­ we just need to turn left.¡±

    Surprisingly, the pair of Bronze exchanged bemused looks before turning to smirk at Alex. ¡°Are you really that stupid?¡±

    Alex blinked reining in the hot flash of temper he felt. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±

    Su Rin chuckled. ¡°It must be because you¡¯re so new, or because you really don¡¯t belong here. Either way, it should be obvious even to you that the side tunnels are absolutely polluted with waste Qi.¡± He gave a curt shake of his head, glaring down the far more shadowy gully. ¡°No. All your warning does is let us know to be alert for ambushes, but we sure as hell aren¡¯t going to go down those narrow side-passages looking for trouble. Doing that will saturate our channels with so much waste Qi so fast that we¡¯ll be spending a month cleansing ourselves for just a single beast core, if we¡¯re lucky.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°I see. We¡¯ll avoid the side tunnels, then. Thank you for educating me on the matter,¡± he said, the picture of politeness, earning a bemused snort from Su Rin. Which was fine with him. Snarky comments hurt him precisely as much as he allowed them to, which was absolutely nothing compared to the bitter sharp sting of steel or the furious fist of a Gold-tier monster. And this was stuff he most definitely wanted to keep in mind when delving in the future, hopefully with cultivators who were far less of an asshole than Su Rin. Because even if so-called waste Qi was the absolute least of his concerns, such was not the case for anyone else he might adventure with.

    If nothing else, his humility seemed to ease Su Rin¡¯s ruffled feathers a bit, the man snorting and shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is your first run. We all played fools the first time, even me,¡± the man admitted with a humorless smile. ¡°But I¡¯d rather avoid getting over-saturated with Dark Qi, just the same.¡±

    ¡°Which is why we should be making our way up the main tributary right beside the river wicking away most of the waste Qi in the air here, not stand here jawing,¡± declared Lu Gang, before pointing to the other side of the river, which was really just a very shallow stream, and an easy step across.

    ¡°Alex, you stay on the left bank, shield ready to guard our flank. Don¡¯t worry, if you end up stepping in the water, it¡¯s fine, nothing like the current outside that will sweep you a thousand feet down into the valley below,¡± he said with a mirthless smile. ¡°I¡¯ll leap over and cover you, if you manage to grab and lock the attention of anything we come across. Now let¡¯s get hiking. The more ground we cover, the more likely we¡¯ll see some action. Just remember, we have to jog the whole way back when we¡¯re done our run. So if you¡¯re feeling saturated and heavy with waste Qi, you let me and Su Rin know.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Alex said agreeably enough, as they began walking up the river bed at a fast clip, Alex frowning whenever he sensed a pressure coming from one of the side passages, but so far, no creature bothered coming out to play.

    Still, Alex¡¯s thoughts were racing, even as Linnea and her relatives seemed to exult in the extended line-of-sight that this chasm manifestation offered.

    ¡°This is perfect!¡± Linnea crowed. ¡°I¡¯ll be able to Flame Strike those critters easy as cake. You boys up front won¡¯t even have to swing your spears!¡±

    ¡°Guandao,¡± Su Rin correct.

    ¡°Whatever,¡± she shrugged, animatedly whispering in a sighing Hanz¡¯s ear so intently that she didn¡¯t even notice the shadow suddenly blocking the light.

    Not until it was nearly too late, though to be fair, Lu Gang was frowning and raising his head by the time Alex forced the words out of his mouth, already springing into action.

    ¡°Shadow beast over our heads!¡± Alex roared as a pack of oversized pumas sprung in perfect coordination to tear out the throats of the three Ruidians moving far, far to slow to counter.

    Quickness check made!

    You have successfully intercepted Greater Leap!

    Enhanced Water Shield deflects Greater Beast Claws!

    Wind Blade infused with Water and Steel successfully slices open Desert Puma¡¯s throat!

    Alex paid no mind to the interface messages flashing across his mind¡¯s eye as he desperately knocked aside the massive spirit beast that had come so close to tearing out Linnea¡¯s throat.

    Only to witness the second puma widening it¡¯s jaw, just inches away from disemboweling a desperately backpedaling Hanz. Adrenaline flooded Alex as time seemed to stretch with the horror of inevitability as he fought against it with all he had, his blade seeming to cut through molasses for all that he knew he was slicing through the air far faster than his Rank 1 Bronze Quickness had any right to as the air flashed with the crack of lightning and a spray of crimson.

    The spirit beast that by all rights should have ripped Hanz wide open instead found itself biting steel as a roaring Alex cleaved through its skull in a shower of brain and blood, revealing secrets Alex would have rather kept hidden, but were a small price to pay if it kept a panicked Hanz alive, the youth crying out as blood spurted from between his trembling fingers thanks to a raking claw powerful enough to rupture the steel rings of his mail shirt, even in the cat¡¯s death throws.

    ¡°Hanz!¡± Lieberman¡¯s desperate cry was that of a father terrified for his son as a massive roaring spire of flame drilled into the third puma that Alex had successfully slammed aside with his shield, drilling through instantly charred flesh to tear through it¡¯s heart in an explosion of superheated blood.

    Alex¡¯s startlement lasted only a heartbeat, but it was long enough for the final puma to land right on top of Lieberman. Or would have been, if Lu Gang¡¯s planted guandao hadn¡¯t impaled the massive cat, tearing open its belly, the yowling beast now desperate just to twist away from its executioners, claws knocking Lieberman aside, as opposed to killing him outright, before Lu Gang¡¯s furious follow-up swing chopped right through the spirit beast¡¯s spine, dropping it instantly.

    ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± Lu Gang roared, panic inching underneath a voice rigid with brittle control.

    Alex, however, had already closed his eyes, accessing his interface sheet.

    Party member Hanz has suffered a loss of 50 HP & 2 Broken Ribs.

    Party member Lieberman has suffered 70 Damage and 1 Severe Wound. (Partial disembowelment)

    You have accessed Potency Pool! Potency Pool channeled to party member: Lieberman.

    Injuries stabilized! Full healing will occur in 1 minute, 15 seconds.

    You have accessed Potency Pool! Potency Pool channeled to party member: Hanz.

    Injuries stabilized! Full healing will occur in 35 seconds.

    You have used all earned potency for this combat.

    Potency Mastery skill in effect! You enjoy 4 Qi Recovery per second for 240 seconds.

    ¡°Father!¡± Hanz cried out in desperate panic as the pair of cultivators flinched at the sight of the massive gut wound the vicious beast had left, from a stray wild rake that was little more than a chance blow. Only to lurch back and curse in awe as the man¡¯s entrails seemed to suck back inside his abdominal cavity, Lieberman¡¯s flesh knitting and repairing at a visible rate. And had they had any sort of healing gifts, Alex was almost certain they would have understood that their companion¡¯s body wasn¡¯t so much rapidly healing, as reverting to the time before the fight.

    After an anxious minute, a shuddering Lieberman abruptly sprung to his feet. ¡°What just happened?¡± He said with confused alarm, eyes widening at the sight of the dead cats, each the size of a tiger, their skulls in tatters as Lu Gang brusquely tore free their cores.

    He paled and stumbled back. ¡°Did they¡­ did they kill me?¡±

    Alex shook his head, giving the man a reassuring pat on his shoulder. ¡°Nope. You did suffer a bit of a disembowelment, but no blow to the heart, or anything like that.¡±

    The man closed his eyes, bowing his head in relief, before glaring up the chasm walls. ¡°They sprung from above, didn¡¯t they?¡± His eyes, oddly intent, gazed into Alex¡¯s own. ¡°Can you explain to me exactly what happened, so I may learn from it, as if I were there?¡±

    ¡°Myself as well,¡± Hanz said with a raspy voice. ¡°That was too damned close, and I know I blanked out for a couple of seconds. Was I reset as well?¡± He trembled and shook his head. ¡°Sure as hell, those aren¡¯t lesser spirit beasts!¡±

    Alex sympathetically nodded and did just that, the cultivators among them respectful enough of Ruidian customs, it seemed, to mime the entire battle sequence for their edification.

    ¡°Are you all ready to go?¡± Lu Gang gently asked a few minutes later, receiving four nods, some more reluctant than others. He flashed a humorless smile. ¡°Good. And you¡¯ll be pleased to know that our near-death scrape there wasn¡¯t for nothing.¡± When he flashed the beast cores, the wide-eyed looks and pleased smiles earned a smile from him as well. ¡°Bronze tier, at least! Each worth hundreds of school credits or supply slips that your clan can use to buy supplies, including all the restricted items you all pretend to have no need for and we pretend never to sell you.¡±

    All of them laughed at that, some of their chuckles more strained than others.

    A frowning Alex wanted to ask what was meant by Bronze tier, as opposed to just greater or lesser beast core, but he had no desire to stick out as a clueless outsider any more than he already did. He had no doubt that he¡¯d learn it all in time, especially considering his present company.

    Lu Gang¡¯s bemused smile hardened. ¡°And if even one of these beauties had been of Water Affinity, we could call it an end, right here. But since none of them are¡­ we press onward.¡±

    With a final check they all proceeded up stream, Alex turning his focus to the chasm edges overhead where he feared beasts cloaked in Shadow Qi far more than he did the creatures (horrors) he sensed lurking in the side tunnels, which, perhaps fortunately, never bothered to leave the rich thick miasma of Dark Qi they so obviously preferred to hunting two-legged prey out in the open.

    So great was Alex¡¯s focus that he paid little mind even to Linnea¡¯s husky words of thanks when she crossed what was no little more than a stream to speak to him.

    ¡°Alex, I¡­ if I had any doubts before, I know you¡¯re one of us now.¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t do anything but nod his head, eyes immediately snapping upward. Not because he sensed prey approaching, but because he didn¡¯t.

    He sensed nothing at all.

    Not even his companions, save via his interface.

    Which meant that something was suppressing them all, which could only mean one thing.

    Linnea¡¯s piercing green eyes tried to arrest his own. ¡°Alex, I know what you did for my cousin, and my uncle. If you hadn¡¯t flooded them with all of your earned potency, using a skill I don¡¯t even understand¡­¡± She swallowed, shaking her head. ¡°My cousin would have made it, but my uncle would have perished. And as much as I can¡¯t stand him sometimes, he¡¯s still my flesh, my blood. He¡¯s also Hanz¡¯s only living relative. So for his sake, for both their sakes¡­¡±

    Her eyes widened with dismay when Alex seemed to disappear before her eyes.

    Before the ravine rang with his desperate cry. ¡°Silver Beast attacking, ready yourselves!¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 43 - Silver Beast attacking, ready yourselves!

    ¡°Silver Beast attacking, ready yourselves!¡±

    Alex¡¯s words earned only confused looks until the monstrous mantis made of inky darkness blazed a blinking red to all of their eyes, three of them immediately understanding, though the pair of Bronze cultivators were as alarmed by the intrusion in their mind as by the threat itself.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Saving your asses!¡± Alex screamed. ¡°Stop! Stop right now! You¡¯re about to fall into a mantis pit!¡±

    Su Rin had time to scowl Alex¡¯s way before a massive stinger tore through the air, aimed right for the doomed cultivator¡¯s heart. The man''s horrified last-second gaze made it clear he understood his doom as Lu Gang¡¯s furious roar rang through the cavern, the man¡¯s Guandao now radiating fearsome sharpness, though far too late to stop the fatal sting.

    Yet the crack they heard was the farthest thing from Su Rin¡¯s death cry.

    Fortunately, the shattering crunch of ruptured chitin and shredded flesh was all they could have hoped for when the stinger was stopped cold by a prismatic disk of elemental fury, crackling with Fire, Lightning, and all the other swirling elements, Alex¡¯s greatest defensive art now all that stood between Su Rin and certain death.

    You have dared to reveal one of your secrets!

    Prismatic Shield successfully counters Greater Scorpion Sting!

    1 Qi expended countering Silver Tier attack.

    Your Dantian shifts ever closer to its ideal form!

    For a heartbeat, multiple eyes gazed Alex¡¯s way in disbelief.

    ¡°Kill it! Kill it now!¡± he roared, then the air was suddenly filled with sprays of bitter cold ice, blasts of fire, and the ring of steel.

    In short order the weaving Bronze tier cultivators had the monstrous scorpion crippled, darting and striking for the leg joints while the jewel masters melted the creatures eyes or froze its antennae to crackling brittleness. Multiple times Alex endured blows to his Prismatic Shield from both pincer and stomping leg, dodging back from the last attack as the stumbling arachnid crashed to the ground with the majority of its limbs obliterated, and then it was kiting it at range as Linnea and Lieberman, wearing the furious scowls Alex would expect from berserking vikings, obliterated it to a smoking crisp.

    ¡°Stop, stop, you idiots! Don¡¯t risk the beast core!¡± Lu Gang urged. And it was those words alone, evoking the soothing siren call of greed, that pulled them all out of their killing fury.

    Lieberman looked shaken, gazing at the Silver-tier horror that was now a massive smoking mass of charred meat stinking as only burned insects could, peering dumbly down at his own trembling hands. Linnea, on the other hand, was bouncing on her feet, eyes wide with exhilaration. ¡°I just leveled up! Can you believe that? Alex! Hanz! I just leveled up!¡±

    Alex shook himself out of his stupor, doing his best not to meet the gazes of the cultivators gazing at him a bit too intently. Instead, he put all his focus on Linnea, gently clasping her hand. ¡°That¡¯s awesome. Do you mind telling me how many points you get to play with?¡±

    ¡°Six!¡± She cheerfully declared, earning an envious sigh from her uncle and a rueful chuckle from Hanz.

    ¡°You are a gifted one, cousin,¡± Hanz declared. ¡°No one can doubt that.¡±

    Alex smiled. ¡°Then please listen closely. I¡¯m sure you have all sorts of ¡®leet min-maxing builds in mind¡­ but if you want advice from your good friend Alex¡­ you¡¯ll immediately put two or three points in Quickness, Two or three points in Perception, and whatever you have left over in Vitality.¡±

    Linnea flashed Alex a brilliant smile. ¡°That has to be the absolute stupidest advice I ever heard.¡±

    Alex clenched his teeth but said nothing, merely stepping back and putting his eyes to the sharp inclines once more, paying absolutely no attention to Linnea¡¯s angry muttering about spoiled body cultivating idiots having no idea what they were talking about, and Lu Gang and Su Rin eyeing him a bit too intently.

    ¡°She¡¯s right, Alex,¡± Hanz agreed softly. ¡°None of us have access to the strange body enhancing class that you somehow manage to get ahold of, as a Ruidian claiming a body cultivation path. Linnea won¡¯t get a fraction of the value that you clearly do for each point you invest in your physical stats. It would take us multiple levels to get anywhere near thirty, and that¡¯s a huge opportunity cost at what we¡¯re truly good at. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying, Alex? Jewel cultivation strategies are best left to jewel masters.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s one way of looking at it, but there¡¯s another way too.¡±

    Hanz sighed. ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Elite character builds don¡¯t mean shit if you don¡¯t catch sight of the Bronze-tier beasts stalking your back, or the Silver-tier critters lashing out with stingers you¡¯re far too slow to even spot, let alone counter. But a couple levels spent shoring up your weaknesses so you can actually survive a single mistake just might give you time to advance your nice shiny jewel stat.¡±

    Alex sighed and shook his head. ¡°Do you three even understand what I¡¯m saying? No matter how good you mecha¡¯s blaster cannons are, it doesn¡¯t mean shit if the forcefields are so weak, and the neutron mesh so thin, that a single proton missile will send all your systems off-line.¡±

    Alex blinked as the air stilled, Hanz looking at him a bit too intently. ¡°There¡¯s no way you could know about that,¡± he softly said.

    Alex flashed a bleak smile. ¡°Of course I can. It¡¯s part of your vocabulary, the words shining so brightly in your mind. Ergo you clearly know them, so the metaphor works just fine.¡±

    Lieberman, however, was gazing at Alex with something frightfully close to horror. ¡°No. There¡¯s no way you could¡­ I¡¯m one of the lore-keepers of my tribe. It¡¯s forbidden for anyone not of our class to know about what came before!¡±

    Alex snorted. ¡°Sure. Keep telling yourself that. Let¡¯s just all remember the golden rule.¡±

    ¡°And what rule would that be?¡± Lu Gang asked, pointedly gazing at the spinning disk of prismatic colors whirling at a gloriously fast pace upon Alex¡¯s arm, presently costing him no spiritual energy at all, now that he wasn¡¯t actively blocking a Silver Tier attack as a Bronze or perhaps Basic tier cultivator, linked as his ability now was with Desert Fox, happily drinking in the potent spiritual energy all around them.

    ¡°There is no fight club.¡±

    This earned him near half a dozen confused stares.

    Alex smirked. ¡°What goes on in the deeps, stays in the deeps. Because were it otherwise, no one would ever show their secrets when lives were on the line, and people would die because other people had to fear repercussions from extending themselves far more than any prudent self-serving cultivator would ever dare.¡±

    Lu Gang and Su Rin exchanged glances before bowing their heads. ¡°So be it. I care not what secrets any of you clever mixed-bloods care to share. So long as we get through this alive, you¡¯re no more than your jewels or the size of your thews, and we¡¯ll leave it at that.¡± Lu Gang paused, as if for emphasis. ¡°My cultivator¡¯s oath upon it.¡±

    Su Rin¡¯s eyes widened, before he hurriedly dipped his head. ¡°Mine as well.¡± He glared furiously Alex¡¯s way. ¡°And you¡¯re getting my share of the beast core for this monstrosity,¡± he snapped. ¡°And the life debt I owe you is one you¡¯ll never bring up again.¡±

    Alex grinned, dipping his head. ¡°What happens in the deeps stays in the deeps.¡±

    He then turned to the three Ruidians, still staring at him a bit too intently.

    ¡°Well it¡¯s not like we¡¯re stupid enough to reveal your secrets, Alex,¡± Linnea said a bit too breathlessly, her expression one Alex couldn¡¯t for the life of him figure out, especially when she squeezed his hand. ¡°And I put my points exactly where you said I should.¡±

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    And the only thing more troubling than the quick darting kiss she gave him, showcasing a Quickness now far closer to an athlete¡¯s 14 than a skilled amateur¡¯s 12, was the tug Alex felt upon his Dantian¡­ even though she had no spiritual pool at all.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± Alex whispered under his breath.

    ¡°Only if you ask really nice,¡± Linnea teased, giving him a wink before tossing her hair, pretending she hadn¡¯t said anything at all.

    ***

    ¡°Ten o''clock high!¡± Alex roared, prismatic shield crackling to life just in time to counter liquid ropes of malevolent darkness shooting from a pulsating abomination rippling with venom and hate that caused Linnea to scream and lurch away even as Lu Gang and Su Rin lashed out with cleaving guandao, shredding slime-covered limbs while Alex put his all into extending his Prismatic Shield as liquid black tendrils slammed into his defenses repeatedly, desperately trying to defend his companions from writhing tentacles radiating potent toxicity that could so easily kill his companions.

    He didn¡¯t even bother to attack, only defend, leaving long ranged killing to his Ruidian companions.

    Regrettably, the black, rubbery material seemed utterly resistant to fire. Yet Hanz¡¯s sonorous chant that Alex fought and bled to give him enough time to finish resulted in a swirling cascade of frigid cold that froze the surprised-looking creature of darkness to a sickly grey hue.

    After that it took only moments for it to shatter before Su Rin and Lu Gang¡¯s furious blows.

    Alex crumpled to his knees, taking deep lurching breaths, having pushed himself to his absolute limit, channeling Desert Fox with Prismatic Shield to the point that his knees had been trembling and blood coming out of his nose. And even if the glorious messages flickering across his mind made it clear that he had profited mightily with multiple skill-ups after the fifth encounter they had faced that night, he wanted nothing so much as a warm bed and a hot shower and to call an end to their delve.

    Congratulations!

    You have achieved Rank 6 in Prismatic Shield.

    You have achieved Rank 6 is Desert Fox Cultivation!

    Though Lu Gang¡¯s furious cursing and the desperate look in his eyes made it clear that things might not end quite as smoothly as Alex had hoped.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Alex quietly asked.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong is that this thing¡¯s core is an abomination, just like the one before! The deeper we go, the worst it gets.¡± He shook his head in dazed disbelief. ¡°That¡¯s our fifth encounter. The tenth creature whose core we claimed. Eight Bronze, two Silver, daring Liushi¡¯s elite rift, normally the province of Silver tier wujen who gaze at the rest of us as if we were dirt! And not only did we not find any cores of Water or Ice, which would have been worth a small fortune, but the last three abominations have had nothing but cores of darkness useful to no one!¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve met a few of your wujen. I wasn¡¯t impressed.¡± He frowned thoughtfully. ¡°So, how much are the Dark Qi cores we collected worth to the school?¡±

    His words earned bitter laughter. ¡°A handful of credits at best, and not a copper feather more. No one¡¯s successfully used them without utterly tainting their potions and tinctures.¡± He snarled and spat on sands covered in smoking ichor. ¡°It¡¯s good for nothing more than nourishing the soil in careful arrays balancing the five core elements around it. Which means that they¡¯re worth only a tiny fraction of what our other gems are worth!¡±

    Alex frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Would the waste cores even be worth a Silver Eagle?¡±

    This earned him a furrowed brow.

    ¡°I mean the larger silver coins,¡± he added hastily.

    Lu Gang shrugged. ¡°Possibly you could sell it to an unwitting apothecary for a handful of silver. But it would taint their goods and cause you far more trouble than it was worth, down the line.¡±

    To Lu Gang¡¯s surprise, Alex flashed five pieces of silver the size of a quarter. ¡°So we¡¯re saying that those three waste qi cores are worth a fat silver for each of you?¡±

    Lu Gang gazed intently at the coin.

    Su Rin snorted. ¡°Why the hell do you want to waste your money and risk your health claiming solidified waste?¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°Let¡¯s just say spirit herb gardens might be in my future.¡±

    Lu Gang furrowed his brow, before blinking in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re an alchemist?¡±

    Alex emphatically shook his head. ¡°I won¡¯t accept any title that has me cooped up all day making tinctures and using pill furnaces when I could be honing my skills here in the rifts, or learning to master the elements. But that being said¡­ nothing says I can¡¯t buy some property and start a rooftop spirit garden of my own, right?¡±

    The pair of cultivators exchanged a long look, before breaking out in smiles. ¡°Two fat silvers per, and we¡¯ll call it fair,¡± Su Rin declared.

    Alex smirked, seeming to surprise them all when he dipped his head. ¡°Agreed. And I¡¯m still getting a fair cut of the other cores when we cash out.¡±

    ¡°Deal.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but smile in pity at the too relieved looks everyone gave him when he claimed the three spirit pearls radiating such delicious energies of Dark Qi and Shadow, already envisioning the braided beast-hide choker to which he would secure them and other future prizes within, assuming he could find a way to use it in tandem with his newest skills from this incarnation, most especially Prismatic Fox Restoration. It was a gamble at this point, but more than worth half a score of silver pieces.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan at this point?¡± He queried, pretending people weren¡¯t looking a bit too intently at the pouch he had mimed putting the cores in.

    Su Rin gave a tired snort. ¡°Now we get the hell out of here and cash out what we can.¡±

    Lu Gang nodded. ¡°The bad news is we didn¡¯t get any Water cores, which are worth over half a dozen times what any other other type is, Ice just behind in value. Still, we managed to claim at least one Silver-tier beast core free of any taint, and that will still see us in very good standing with the school.¡± He gave a tired chuckle. ¡°Too bad the spirit beast meat is so tainted with waste Qi in this rift, or we could have earned a pretty penny selling at least one corpse right to the Silver Sands dining hall. They would have happily paid us not in credits but actual silver, no questions asked.¡± He gave a pale-faced Su Rin a concerned look. ¡°As it stands, my kung-fu brother and I dare go no further than we have already.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Linnea asked, despite the glare her uncle gave her.

    ¡°Because, girl, we¡¯ve already pushed ourselves too damn hard,¡± Su Rin explained, only now revealing the exhaustion hiding behind the tough Bronze exterior. ¡°It will take us at least a month of desert purification techniques before the waste buildup has left our systems, and we¡¯d be a fool if we dared this delve again for at least twice as long as it takes a healer to declare our toxic buildup purged.¡± He chuckled bitterly. ¡°And perhaps I played a bit of the fool myself, not expelling every last remnant of waste from my last journey into these rifts. But I¡¯m not so stupid as to push myself any further than I already have.¡±

    Alex grimaced. ¡°Sounds as bad as taking too many cultivation pills.¡±

    ¡°Not that bad,¡± Lu Gang assured. ¡°But bad enough.¡± He sighed. ¡°Were the pay not as good as it is...¡± He shook his head. ¡°Enough. Come, let¡¯s head back to the exit.¡±

    His words earned tired nods from everyone save Alex and Linnea, who was clearly still feeling the ebullient rush that came with a level-up.

    ¡°How do you feel?¡± Alex gently asked her, while keeping a very sharp eye overhead, refusing to let fatigue or overconfidence leave them easy prey for yet another ambush predator.

    Linnea practically beamed. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve never felt so vibrant, so alive! Able to think and react faster than ever before, with so much energy I...¡± she gave a delighted shiver. ¡°I think pouring those points into those stats might have been the best move I ever made, no matter how foolish it looks on parchment.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°I think you¡¯re right. And if you were to focus on personal improvement next level¡­ I¡¯d put a point in Strength as well.¡±

    He smiled at her instant skepticism.

    ¡°Or sure, maybe just do some hard core weight training and calisthenics for a few weeks. Those first points are easiest to get when your stats are near baseline mortal average. So why not lock in a free point? But either way, little extra muscle will let you make better use of your speed without straining your muscles. It¡¯s when your physical stats are in harmony that you¡¯re best off. But if your goal is to avoid getting devoured by overlarge beasties like those we faced here¡­ then the allotment I showed you is best.¡±

    Linnea flashed a strained smile. ¡°As grateful as I am for your help, Alex, as wonderful as I feel? Yeah¡­ I owe it to myself to get back on track. The benefits I¡¯ll accrue if I can eventually Rank up to ten in my chosen art are hard to describe, but they¡¯re worth all the dedication and effort such entails, and I don¡¯t have forever to do it. I mean, just look at my uncle. He¡¯s been doing this for years, and he¡¯s now just one level above me. He¡¯s close to Rank 8 in his element, especially after this last run. But look how long it¡¯s taking him.¡±

    Alex dipped his head, before cracking a smile. ¡°And no doubt daring ridiculously difficult delves like this one, full of Bronze and Silver tier monstrosities, is a great way to level up.¡±

    ¡°Oh you know it! Why do you think we were willing to dare a rift clearly reserved for this school¡¯s elite?¡± She enthused, before her expression grew pained. ¡°Even though if you, Lu Gang and Su Rin hadn¡¯t been here¡­ if any of you had declined the delve, my uncle would probably be dead, and maybe me and my cousin as well.¡±

    Alex nodded as they approached the swirling vortex of inky darkness and blinding white light that was their exit point. ¡°All in all, it was kind of fun. But let¡¯s choose a saner delve for our next run, okay?¡±

    Her eyes positively twinkled. ¡°Can¡¯t get enough of me, can you, Alex? You¡¯re damn right we¡¯ll be doing more runs together. Just maybe an easier one where I don¡¯t have to worry so much about dying.¡± She furrowed her brow. ¡°Or maybe that will be my goal after earning at least one more sweet, sweet level. Who knows? Maybe next run we¡¯ll get a half dozen Water pearls and be set for life!¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°One can hope,¡± he said, far less concerned with what loot might drop than he was with his ability to spot and counter whatever spirit beasts or monstrosities they might encounter. Critters that would be doing their best to cut any invading Ruidian or cultivator¡¯s future visits permanently short.

 Book 8 - Chapter 44 - Cashing Out!

    ¡°What a fine prize you have brought before me. Silver-tier, if I¡¯m not mistaken, yes?¡± Senior Cultivator Te Chang, Master of the Delves, and advanced martial instructor to the worthy, or so he titled himself, pinned them all with a too-knowing smile that had Alex¡¯s stomach twisting in knots, for all that he kept his face perfectly blank.

    Su Rin blanched under Te Chang¡¯s benign smile. Lu Gang, made of sterner stuff, merely nodded his head.

    ¡°That is correct¡­ Senior Cultivator Te Chang.¡±

    The man nodded his head, still admiring the beast core giving off such intense Wood Qi. ¡°Indeed it is. And more potent by far than any core I¡¯ve seen pulled from the western rift in quite some time.¡± He tilted his head. ¡°I trust none of you are going to claim that was the origin of your good fortune? For if so, you¡¯ve either delved far deeper and risked meridian toxicity beyond what anyone has been so foolish as to attempt in years, or your luck is that of a fool living a fairy tale life of fortune and favor.¡± He snorted. ¡°If so, may you be spared the bitter end that so many of those would-be morality plays turned into, before our bards, finally realizing that they had no jaded overlords to impress, made happier endings for all their tales.¡± He quirked a curious brow. ¡°None of you are going to suggest you¡¯re characters in such a tale, are you? Or that you were anywhere near the northern escarpment this evening, correct?¡±

    Lu Gang kept his chin high, despite the tremble he couldn¡¯t quite suppress. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare argue with your assessment, Senior Cultivator Te Chang.¡±

    ¡°Good, good! I am so very glad to hear that, Lu Gang. And I know you and your kung fu brother wouldn¡¯t dare defy a direct edict from our headmaster by daring the Southern Delve, deliberately being reserved for our guests expected next week, to assure maximum saturation.¡± He chuckled good-naturedly, eyes twinkling as if sharing an inside joke with close friends. ¡°Even if we all know that daring cultivators slipping between delves that are part of a diplomatic gesture will have a minuscule impact on the quantity and quality of the spirit beasts or other treasures to be found within, no?¡±

    Lu Gang emphatically shook his head. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare! No, Senior Cultivator. We would never defy the headmaster¡¯s direct decree.¡±

    Te Chang raised a bemused brow. ¡°Are you certain? A quick delve, in and out, and no one at all the wiser?¡±

    Lu Gang shook his head all the more adamantly. ¡°We would never defy the master of the college.¡±

    Te Chang¡¯s understanding gaze, inviting confidence and sympathy, faded to a satisfied nod. ¡°I believe you.¡± He then blinked, as if struck by a sudden thought. ¡°Oh, that reminds me. Our banquet hall has recently put in an order in the assignment hall for high quality spirit meat, and they¡¯ll be paying prime rates for it. In credit slips or silver! If you have any kills saved from your most recent foray¡­ assuming they aren¡¯t completely tainted with Dark Qi of course¡­ you could make a tidy profit selling them tonight, just in time for our guests¡¯ first feast on the morrow.¡±

    Su Rin gave a strained chuckle. ¡°Should we find ourselves blessed with the bounty of prime spirit meat, we will of course be willing to sell it all to the Silver Sands dining hall.¡±

    Te Chang nodded indulgently. ¡°Of course you will. I take it that you¡¯re lacking any pristine spirit meat at the moment?¡±

    Su Rin sighed, lowering his head. ¡°That would be correct, sir.¡±

    ¡°Then that means you dared the eastern rift adjoining our academy.¡± Te Chang¡¯s demeanor went from indulgent uncle to cold-eyed disciplinarian in the blink of an eye. ¡°The one delve forbidden to all parties lacking at least two Silver-tier delvers by your side!¡±

    He glared at them all, but most of his ire was focused on the pair of trembling Bronze who could maintain their proud bearings no longer, immediately crumpling into kowtows before their superior. Te Chang was built much like a sumo wrestler, bridging the shadowy gap between bloat and power, his entire body infused with potent spiritual energy Alex felt coming off the man in waves. Rank 2 Silver, Alex judged, with an instinctive fluidity and grace to his movements that showcased just how deadly he would be in any conflict beyond brow-beating a pair of desperately kowtowing cultivators.

    Alex suppressed a smile, having decided that this was one case where he¡¯d happily don the mantel of Ruidian guest, presently being showered with praise and concern by the soft-spoken Bronze tier healer tending to whatever cuts and scrapes the Ruidians in their party hadn¡¯t fully healed, which was very little, and Alex, which was none at all.

    ¡°Now why don¡¯t you tell me what bit of madness enticed you imbeciles to dare the Eastern Rift, defying strictures designed to keep you alive, failing to bring even one Silver-tier with you, and imperiling not one but four clearly gifted Ruidian guests?¡±

    A kowtowing Lu Gang exchanged a quick, furtive glance with Su Rin. ¡°The Northern Rift gave no ice or Water cores at all, when my kung fu brother and I scoured it last month,¡± Lu Gang muttered, Su Rin quickly nodding his head.

    ¡°And Little Lan made it clear that the western rift was no better,¡± Su Rin quickly jumped in. ¡°The spirit beasts and abominations were hardly a threat, yet they were so scarce that it was hardly worth the effort! So there would have been no point saturating ourselves with foulness and have absolutely nothing to show for it,¡± he declared.

    Lu Gang quickly jumped in. ¡°And everyone knows you¡¯re reserving the southern rift for Qianshi¡¯s Wujen, due to arrive tomorrow. So what other options did we have?¡±

    ¡°What you should have done is just held off until our guests finished their delve!¡± A glaring Te Chang snapped. ¡°All you had to do was wait a couple of weeks, and you could have had your fill of southern rift delves. And for your information, the Northern rift is perfectly fine. It¡¯s ideally suited to your strengths and party make up, and it was luck alone that dictated your previous poor haul. As for the west, its strengths never had anything to do with the strength of the monsters, but the purity of the meat, the quality of the spiritual plants and ores to be found within, and a miasma level so low you could have delved in there all day and suffered only a fraction of the spiritual plaque both of you fools have built up over just half a night alone!¡± The man continued to glare. ¡°Now, let¡¯s cut to the heart of it, shall we? You, like every cultivator on the planet, were eager for knowledge and resources, and were hungry for cores that paid multiple times the going rate for any other element. I dare you to claim otherwise!¡±

    The pair of cultivators paled and trembled, immediately kowtowing before the senior cultivator, earning a snort.

    Te Chang sighed, gazing sadly down at the pair. ¡°Now, why don¡¯t you tell me the real reason why you forbore forming a party with any of the Silver Wujen? I know for a fact that both Instructor Lin, Lady Sulia, and Elder Wu have made themselves available to any party that would have them.¡±

    Alex felt a jolt with the final name, doing his best to let nothing on his expression show.

    Lu Gang¡¯s jaw clenched, but he didn¡¯t say a word.

    It was Su Rin who spoke, his acidic tone not even blunted for Te Chang¡¯s sake.

    ¡°With all due respect, sir, Instructor Lin insisted both that we take Lady Sulia along, and that they get three party shares for their assistance.¡±

    Te Chang furrowed his brow. ¡°Three shares for two Silver...¡±

    ¡°Each,¡± Lu Gang snarled, before lowering his head. ¡°Forgiveness, elder. But they wanted three shares each.¡±

    Te Chang¡¯s eyes widened, unable to hide the surprise in his gaze. ¡°They did, did they?¡±

    Lu Gang flashed a bitter smile. ¡°They did indeed. Instructor Lin made it perfectly clear that their putting their exalted lives on the line meant that they should be compensated what they were worth, and that we were fools if we thought any Silver would dare the rifts for less than three shares each.¡±

    Su Rin gave a bitter chuckle. ¡°And it¡¯s a good thing we managed to seize what opportunities we could. Because when word gets out about the games they¡¯re playing and that we refused, no Silver will ever work with us again.¡± His jaw hardened. ¡°Or teach us. So even having survived that madness, winning grand prizes, we still lose in the end.¡±

    Te Chang rubbed his chin. ¡°I¡¯ll look into things and help clear up any¡­ misunderstandings. Declining a party shouldn¡¯t be grounds for any sort of censure, unless you¡¯re actually foolish enough to mouth off to your future instructors, which I wouldn¡¯t put past either of you, thinking you could live storybook lives, not even appreciating just how close you came to death tonight, and how tonight¡¯s good fortune could so easily be your demise, the next time you dare the eastern escarpment without appropriate backup!¡±

    Lu Gang and Su Rin immediately flowed into relieved kowtows. ¡°We understand and will obey you in all things, master.¡±

    ¡°I seriously doubt that,¡± said a once-more chuckling Te Chang. And like flipping a switch, the man¡¯s face lit up with a positively jolly smile. ¡°But all that being said, these are some of the choicest beast cores I¡¯ve seen in weeks! Earth, Wood, and Metal. Wonderful! Our Alchemists and Artificers will be most pleased.¡± With that he wrote down a number that had both cultivators gazing at the flap of parchment with open-mouthed wonder.

    ¡°Now by all rights, I should cut this figure by a full three quarters for your absolute idiocy¡­ but since you managed to get all the Ruidians safely back, and it would be unfair to punish them for your folly¡­ I will give you their full value. This once! With your promise to avoid the Eastern Rift until you have at least two Silvers agreeing to accompany you¡­ with the understanding that they will be demanding no more than two shares each!¡±

    The pair of cultivators immediately fell into dogeza. ¡°Thank you, Senior Cultivator Te Chang. We will heed your words, we swear it!¡±

    The man snorted, before opening his palms, the pair of cultivators immediately surrendering their Bronze Tokens as the man whispered an odd chant that had both of them glowing a warm hue. Then Te Chang handed them back. He then turned to Alex and the others, a warm smile on his face as he impressed the hell out of Alex, actually troubling himself to speak in the local Ruidian dialect.

    ¡°Honored guests, disciples of the elements, you have all outdone yourselves! The correct value of the beast core haul presented is 2,876 credits. I¡¯ve decided to round it up to 3,000 to keep things simple. Split 6 ways, that¡¯s five hundred credits for each of you. Is that acceptable to you?¡±

    By the way Hanz and Linnea enthusiastically nodded, Alex got the impression it was more than fair, so happily nodded as well.

    Te Chang positively beamed. ¡°Excellent! Now if you would present me with your pins, I will be happy to infuse them with my mark.¡±

    Alex furrowed his brow, taking a closer look, noting the bloody thumbprint, to his surprise. He felt an odd shiver, for all that he sensed absolutely no foulness or taint, just the faintest trickle of power. Yet like mastering the half-step elements of Sand and Ice, he was even more surprised to find Blood in use, even to this exceedingly modest degree. He was so bemused, in fact, that he only realized how thin the ice that he himself trod upon was when Senior Cultivator smiled his way.

    ¡°And you, young Ruidian. I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t believe we have been introduced?¡±

    Alex immediately flowed into a 45 degree bow. ¡°Alex Hammer, Senior Cultivator Te Chang.¡±

    The man snorted. ¡°Senior Chang is fine, lad. And though I regret seeing you blooded on such an¡­ interesting delve, I would hasten to assure you that future trips into our rifts will be far smoother and easier than this one. And by all means, if anyone tries to entice you to dare the Eastern Rift once more without at least two wujen among their number, just let me know, and I¡¯ll make everything right as rain! Is that agreeable to you?¡±

    Alex was all smiles. ¡°Yes, Senior Chang.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. Then if you would present your pin?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Senior Chang.¡±

    The man¡¯s smile turned brittle before crumbling altogether as he noted the pin Alex had handed him. ¡°I can¡¯t help but note that this pin¡­ this copper pin, is indicative of a freshly inducted disciple.¡±

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°That would be correct, Senior Chang.¡±

    ¡°Which means that you entered this academy... let¡¯s make sure we understand each other¡­ as someone who channels Heaven and Earth spiritual energy. Not the mana your companions channel through their forehead jewels.¡±

    ¡°That would be correct, Senior Chang.¡±

    The man furrowed his brow, glaring at Alex. ¡°If you would be so kind as to take off your hat and what I note to be a fine steel helm, a warrior¡¯s helm I¡¯ve never seen a Ruidian wear, claiming that such interferes with their jewels¡­ and present to me your forehead? And what an interesting shade your hair happens to be. Like golden wheat. And I can¡¯t help but note that you have no jewel at all.¡±

    ¡°That would be correct, Senior Chang.¡±

    The man¡¯s tired stare belied the intense wave of spiritual pressure Alex now felt crashing down upon him.

    ¡°Are you going to tell me that you¡¯re actually a cultivator, boy? Capable of infusing your body with spiritual energy like the two Bronze fools here who should have known better than to take you along?¡±

    Alex dipped his head, stiffening his knees under the spiritual pressure that had everyone else collapsing to their knees. ¡°That would be correct¡­ Senior Chang.¡±

    The man pinned Alex with his deadpan stare for long moments before breaking out in unexpected laughter. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s rich. Wonderful, in fact!¡± His mirth faded as quickly as it came. ¡°Tell me you weren¡¯t dead weight. Tell me you did at least something to help out your compatriots as they risked their lives against Silver-tier horrors.¡±

    Alex met the man¡¯s hard gaze for long moments, both Lu Gang and Su Rin gathering breath to speak, before freezing under Chang¡¯s glare.

    ¡°That would be correct, Senior Chang.¡±

    ¡°Show me,¡± the man snapped.

    Alex¡¯s heart started to pound. ¡°Do I have your oath that this goes no farther than this room?¡± He managed to utter, finding the words far harder to speak than he had thought, and not having the gall to add ¡®cultivator¡¯ to ¡®oath¡¯, lest he cross a line even he knew better than to dare.

    The man snorted. ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡±

    Alex forced a bitter smile. ¡°Then perhaps this academy isn¡¯t the best fit for me and it would be time for me to seek my fortunes elsewhere.¡±

    The man quirked a bemused eyebrow. ¡°Even at the cost of five hundred academy credits?¡±

    Alex forced himself to nod. ¡°No one ever said the cultivator¡¯s path is easy, and no cultivator worth his salt ever got anywhere who failed to be true to themselves.¡±

    ¡°And my keeping your secret is key to this bitter path that you walk?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Who can say, Senior Chang?¡±

    The man smirked, lips stretching in a feral grin. ¡°Alright, lad. You¡¯ve piqued my curiosity. Show me the worth of this secret that I¡¯m...¡±

    The man¡¯s words died out when the chamber flashed and sparkled with Fire, Lightning, and all the colors of the rainbow.

    Skill check successful! You have successfully summoned Prismatic Sphere under significant Spiritual & Mental Pressure!

    ¡°That spell¡­ or cultivation discipline, is beyond anything that any Bronze could hope to summon forth. So it¡¯s almost like we had at least one elite wujen with us, sir. It¡¯s also why I don¡¯t have a giant scorpion¡¯s stinger in my chest,¡± Su Rin said, before wincing as he gazed Alex¡¯s way. ¡°Which reminds me, I think I owe that brilliant idiot whatever share of my haul was the Silver Tier scorpion¡¯s core.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s half of your credits right there,¡± Te Chang absently noted.

    Su Rin groaned.

    Hanz cleared his throat. ¡°And my father and I would both probably be, well¡­ dead, if our friend here hadn¡¯t managed to intercept a pair of shadow cats eager to tear out our throats.¡±

    Linnea nodded. ¡°And that¡¯s to say nothing of his playing defense while that unholy abomination was trying to tear us apart with its tendrils.¡±

    This immediately got Te Chang¡¯s attention. ¡°No one mentioned anything about abominations!¡± the man snapped, the pair of Bronze immediately flowing into Dogeza once more.

    Alex sighed, presenting the trio of powerful beast cores he had claimed. ¡°No doubt they forgot, all their focus on the cores actually worth something to this school.¡±

    The senior cultivator blanched. ¡°Those cores radiate waste Qi, boy. You¡¯re a fool not to get rid of them immediately! I¡¯ll pay you five credits for each as a courtesy, even though preparing them for a fertilization array is more trouble than its worth and will require 3 days of my putting aside all other duties to purify myself after close exposure!¡±

    The man¡¯s grimace turned to a look of wonder when the waste Qi pressure abruptly vanished. ¡°How...¡± His eyes widened, no doubt realizing that he hadn¡¯t felt it before that moment either, which could only mean one thing. ¡°You have a storage device!¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Hence the oath.¡±

    The man shook his head with a snort. ¡°Very well. Your secrets will be kept by everyone here, I¡¯m sure,¡± he said with a reproving glance for his companions. ¡°It still doesn¡¯t explain why you want waste Qi beast cores.¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°Much like what you said. It¡¯s good for cultivation. Plant cultivation, if nothing else.¡±

    This raised an interested eyebrow. ¡°So you¡¯re an herbalist, are you? Or perhaps¡­ an alchemist?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°What I am is someone who might love a lush rooftop garden of his own, some day. And maybe I¡¯ll buy an out of the way property here in the city and get started on it. One day.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Te Chang said, now looking genuinely intrigued. ¡°So what do you hope to accomplish here at the school?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see if I have any aptitude at all for the wujen¡¯s arts, and I¡¯m more than happy to delve the school rifts as frequently as you¡¯ll all let me, for fun and profit.¡±

    This earned a snort from Lu Gang. ¡°As if he¡¯ll be doing that more than once a month.¡±

    Te Change gave Lu Gang a reproving glare, the man immediately stiffening and dipping his head once more. The Senior Cultivator¡¯s brow furrowed with sudden concern. ¡°Lu Gang, Su Rin, please face me,¡± he said in an oddly calm voice that had both men paling with expressions oddly close to horror.

    ¡°Master, please...¡±

    ¡°Shut up,¡± Te Chang sighed, before placing two fingers on both of their brows and closing his eyes in intent concentration.

    ¡°How are they?¡± Asked the soft voice of the delicate-looking healer so meekly blending into the shadows that Alex had forgotten she was there at all.

    Alex frowned at the unusually petite girl, noting a twinkle in her soft brown eyes and the fullness to her lips that made him wonder if there were any secrets to be revealed underneath her carefully pinned hat complete with unnecessary brim, no matter that it was now closer to dawn than dusk.

    Te Chang sighed. ¡°So full of waste Qi they¡¯d be a fool to do anything else save embrace desert purification for at least six weeks.¡±

    Su Rin paled at that number. ¡°But surely no more than a month is needed...¡±

    Te Chang shrugged. ¡°Sure, you can push yourself, be mostly better in a month, and dare a second delve. No doubt your weapon mastery will improve, but don¡¯t be surprised if your foundation cracks and you find it almost impossible to form another Bronze cord.¡± His smirk turned to an ice cold stare. ¡°Because it¡¯s clear even to me that you failed to fully cleanse yourself the last time you dared the rifts. Even now I sense three stress-lines within your foundation, thanks to waste plaque that has only hardened with repeated rift exposure. Now you can either take the time to heal yourself fully¡­¡±

    Su Rin¡¯s eyes widened in dismay. ¡°Six weeks Desert Purification. We will begin immediately at first light.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t have more than enough credits to see you living high and mighty for the next year at least!¡± The Senior Cultivator declared with a chuckle. ¡°Or it could last you a lifetime if you cash out and invest in a property or a business of your own. Start families of your own, and step off this path that promises peril to match any power you might hope to accrue.¡±

    The pair immediately shook their heads in fierce denial. ¡°We would never betray our kung fu brothers or our school. We swear it!¡±

    Te Chang¡¯s smile was strangely pitying. ¡°It¡¯s your choice, of course.¡±

    He then turned to Alex. ¡°If you would permit me?¡±

    Alex resisted his own natural inclination to flinch, hating feeling vulnerable before powerful men, or putting himself at the mercy of another. It was all he could do to lower himself for the man to rest fingertips against his forehead, and something in the man¡¯s gaze made it clear that he understood just how hard it was for Alex.

    His sympathetic smile turned to a look of disbelief. ¡°Yili, touch his forehead. How much Waste Qi buildup do you sense?¡±

    The young healer was suddenly before Alex, gazing at him with gentle, sympathetic eyes. ¡°May I?¡±

    Alex smiled. ¡°Of course.¡±

    Her gentle smile was replaced by a look of disbelief matching Te Chang¡¯s.

    ¡°None at all, Master Chang.¡±

    ¡°Of course he doesn¡¯t,¡± A bemused Linnea noted, despite Hanz and his father glaring daggers at her. ¡°He¡¯s Ruidian and levels up just like we do, even if he made himself a cultivator class, which should be impossible, but who knows what blond-haired Ruidians can do?¡± She snorted, her gaze an odd mixture of exasperation and hunger. ¡°He¡¯s such a pure-blood, and doesn¡¯t act like an inbred monster at all! Who knows what juicy secrets he has access to that were bred out of the rest of us?¡±

    Hanz groaned, looking like he wanted to melt into the floor. Even Lieberman rubbed his brow.

    Surprisingly, Te Chang favored her with a gentle, almost fatherly smile. ¡°It is good to see you again, Linnea. I sometimes forget just how free-spoken you are.¡±

    She positively beamed at his praise, doing a quick pirouette. ¡°And look! I¡¯m now almost as graceful and quick and nimble as a cultivator! Or at least¡­ I¡¯m faster. Because Alex said I should put some points in Quickness, Vitality, and Perception, so my throat doesn¡¯t get torn out by a spirit beast, and I¡¯m quite happy that I took his advice. Now I feel absolutely great!¡±

    ¡°As well you should,¡± Te Chang said indulgently. ¡°But even you must admit that too many delves isn¡¯t good for Ruidians either.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I know. After half a dozen we get an experience point penalty that can turn to lingering impairment if we don¡¯t quit by a full dozen! Then it¡¯s a full season of tending our sanctuary gardens under the desert sun and all the plaque gets absorbed into our crops and we have the sweetest, ripest tomatoes you could want with your pesto and pita!¡±

    Senior Chang chuckled politely. ¡°So that¡¯s how you get such ripe tomatoes. I know they¡¯re a popular treat whenever your clan comes to the city for trade.¡± He gave an approving nod. ¡°It sounds like you have your path all planned out. Now, we will work on our friend Alex¡¯s path.¡± He turned to Alex, a warm twinkle in his eye. ¡°So, a Ruidian who appears to have a cultivator¡¯s knack, or at least, a Ruidian interface class that mimics those who seek to ascend as cultivators while additionally being open to multiple monthly delves, and eager to explore a wujen¡¯s arts.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°A close enough summation, I suppose.¡±

    He gestured to Alex¡¯s companions. ¡°Are you sure that studying your colleagues¡¯ crystalline paths wouldn¡¯t be of best aid to you?¡±

    Alex solemnly shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. There is a significant difference between their power source and my own. If you¡¯ll recall, the Prismatic Shield I generated that we¡¯re absolutely not talking to anyone else about, and I do hope that includes your clever nurse, is a spiritual energy manifestation. It has nothing to do with mana.¡±

    Te Chang nodded. ¡°And you have no interest in seeing if you have any affinity as an alchemist, apothecary, spirit herb tender, gardener, or cook?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Though I might have a certain knack in those directions, except for the cooking part, somehow, I just know that if I dare that path, I¡¯ll soon find myself happily ensconced in a lush little corner of the valley below, tending to spirit herbs and impressing my supervisor so much that they¡¯ll be afraid to ever let me out of their sight.¡±

    He forced a chuckle under the handful of suddenly too-intense stares. ¡°If it¡¯s all the same to you, I¡¯d rather walk a different path, this time around. And the better I can master a wujen¡¯s arts, the more flexibility I¡¯ll have, daring your rifts and doing my best to claim the Water cores you clearly need.¡±

    Te Chang¡¯s smile instantly hardened. ¡°And what makes you think we need Water cores?¡± he quietly asked with a voice that sent chills down Alex¡¯s spine.

    Alex¡¯s mind raced, suddenly certain that him so easily sensing the Shadow and Water Qi enchantments hiding a telling truth about the northern falls was the farthest thing from common knowledge. He felt a sudden chill, forced to wonder just how far this clearly powerful cultivator would go to hide that secret, did Alex dare to reveal it.

    Sensing the sudden mounting tension Alex turned his worry into a jaded smile, recalling Su Rin¡¯s earlier words. ¡°Because if you¡¯re offering a six-fold bounty on Water and Ice cores compared to what you offer for most others, there can only be one reason. Only a fool would think otherwise.¡±

    Te Chang chuckled. ¡°Fair enough. Though of course we have a healthy reserve, we do place a priority on having as many in reserve as possible.¡± He winked. ¡°The exorbitant bounty is just to keep our loyal students and guests from selling them all to our nearest neighbors, even if they are many weeks away by caravan.¡± He gazed thoughtfully Alex¡¯s way, before slowly nodding to himself and presenting him with a bronze pin.

    ¡°This is yours now.¡±

    Te Chang grinned at the surprised looks this earned him. ¡°Yes, I know, a Bronze pin for a new recruit is definitely out of the ordinary, but your physique is beyond any basic cultivator still clearing their meridians, and your Spirit Shield¡¯s perhaps the strongest I¡¯ve ever seen. And that stays between all of us,¡± he said firmly, earning a quick nod from the diminutive Bronze healer that Alex was certain had at least a dash of kitsune blood in her veins.

 Book 8 - Chapter 45 - Battleforged Book 2 - Contender is LIVE!

    In surprisingly short order, Alex found himself enjoying a scrumptious repast of roasted vegetables, chutney covered pita bread, and perfectly grilled spirit beast meat. If this was the quality of creature he could find in the western rift, he¡¯d happily hunt them for the meat alone, Alex thought with a smile.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this wonderful, Alex? Five hundred Silver Sands credits, for each of us, and you get to stay with us in the Ruidian lodgings free of charge for the next week!¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but grin at Linnea¡¯s cheerful demeanor, eyes positively twinkling as she recounted their perilous delve for the benefit of the small handful of Ruidians also staying at the academy and choosing to eat at the rather late hour. All of them oohed and ah¡¯d at the appropriate places, winced sympathetically at all the perils that had come so close to costing them their lives, and pounded the table in shared triumph with their Silver-tier kills.

    At first, Alex was thrown off by the odd flow of give and take in Linnea¡¯s performance as she took on a bard¡¯s role and recounted their accomplishments and kills, her words slipping into an ever more guttural format, almost a chant with a very deliberate meter and rhyme.

    Poetry, of a sort, employing multiple mnemonic aids representing an oral tradition as well.

    Though Alex wasn¡¯t at all surprised by Hanz quietly eating and listening to the entire recounting with polite interest, what was unexpected was how even Lieberman gracefully held his peace through the whole recounting, even if his eyes and lips had tightened a time or two.

    ¡°My, what an exciting delve you had, ruby sister!¡± gushed the Ruidian woman by the name of Leena who looked like she was about thirty summers, serving as the mouthpiece for her cohort of four with a green emerald twinkling almost hypnotically upon her brow. Her companions, a pair of identical twins wearing sapphire gems near identical to Hanz¡¯s own, nodded in perfect sync, as did the teenager with a ruby gem who looked like a younger version of Leena. Alex guessed he was her son.

    All of them wore matching attire of silken tunics, slippers, and hose of bright flashy colors, much like what a refreshed Linnea and her kin were presently wearing as well, after having taken full advantage of the hot baths the academy provided to their elite guests, students, and of course, their Ruidian guests, Alex shamelessly having taken advantage as the facilities well, and it had been a fight not to doze off right then and there.

    ¡°Our clan dares only the western rift, for obvious reasons,¡± Leena said, kissing her suddenly embarrassed-looking son¡¯s brow.

    She then gave Linnea a coy smile. ¡°You¡¯re rather young yourself, are you not? eighteen summers, perhaps? And I note as well that your clan name has no relation to our own.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Twenty-two!¡± Linnea declared with a certain amount of pride. ¡°And I¡¯m already level six!"

    ¡°All the more impressive! To have achieved such power so young, and to look even younger than you truly are. Your elders were wise indeed, forging your bloodlines.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s enthusiastic grin faded. She furrowed her brow and looked away. ¡°It was my own efforts that forged me. Not the machinations of my elders.¡± Her words invited an uncomfortable silence, broken only by Leena¡¯s awkward laughter.

    ¡°Of course, child. Of course! You forged yourself into a pristine elementalist by your own efforts as well. Sadly, however, my clan lacks flame adepts, my former husband having ties to another clan,¡± she declared with a regretful shake of her head, earning a sympathetic nod from Hanz.

    Linnea¡¯s displeased expression faded into sympathy, as she gazed at the boy now blushing and lowering his gaze. ¡°That must make things challenging.¡±

    ¡°It does, I¡¯m sorry to say,¡± Leena said with what Alex thought was a slightly overdone sigh. ¡°That¡¯s why I was wondering if, perhaps, well, you wouldn¡¯t mind taking Joshua and I on your next run?¡±

    Linnea blinked, while Leena spoke in a rush, both of them ignoring a suddenly spluttering Lieberman.

    ¡°I myself am well versed in entrapping and binding, and can create barriers for defense, even a shelter, should you wish it. And my son and I would ask for no more than a single share between us¡­ though if you would grace my son with individualized lessons¡­ we would happily join you for free! So long as it¡¯s not the Eastern Rift, you understand,¡± she said with an apologetic but very firm smile.

    The freckled boy in the awkward stage of growth that had given him a man¡¯s height but not his width or muscle, quickly nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯ll work hard, Fire Mistress, to learn all that you would be willing to teach me, and I will honor you as my mentor as my legend grows.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s hard, mercenary frown softened into a smile. ¡°Looking to become a legend already, are you?¡±

    Joshua gave an enthusiastic nod, eyes twinkling. ¡°I¡¯ve memorized all the stories, read all the accounts. I dream about fire, almost every night! Ever since the jewel bloomed upon my brow, I understood my path. Now?¡± He licked his lips a bit nervously, but still resolute. ¡°Now I just need a good teacher and I¡¯ll bring honor to both her tribe and mine, and give her no cause to ever regret taking me on!¡±

    Alex smiled, admiring the boy¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°I have no doubt that you will. And it was a pleasure to meet you all,¡± he commended, before politely excusing himself from the dining table.

    ¡°Alex, where are you going?¡± Linnea asked with an unexpected note of alarm in her voice.

    Alex chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s less than two glasses before dawn. Some of us have class tomorrow, and I have maybe three and a half glasses before I need to get up, so I¡¯ll be calling it a night.¡±

    Linnea bit her lip. ¡°Um¡­ do you need help finding your room?¡±

    Hanz snorted at that while Lieberman¡¯s eyes widened with alarm. ¡°No, I forbid it!¡± he hissed.

    Leena frowned, her gaze instantly transforming from concerned mother to sharp tactician, now reading the room and far more into things than Alex would like.

    ¡°I have never seen a blond Ruidian before. What are the strengths of his tribe?¡± Leena asked, her voice now more that of a tribal leader than a casual adventurer.

    ¡°None!¡± Lieberman hissed with a certain amount of satisfaction, glaring Alex¡¯s way. ¡°He lacks any jewel upon his brow at all!¡±

    Leena¡¯s expression flickered rapidly from surprise, relief, calculation then mimed concern. Her son was far less complicated, so green with suppressed envy that Alex thought he¡¯d be better suited wearing his mother¡¯s jewel.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Really. How¡­ unfortunate. No jewel at all. That means it will be generations before his progeny can ever wear a jewel.¡±

    Alex smirked, the implications not lost at him at all, though Linnea glared her uncle¡¯s way.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare act as if he has no worth, uncle. His skills alone are the only reason why we¡¯re her today! Elements? You want to talk about elements? He can summon a prismatic shield conjoining all the elements!¡± She lifted her chin, flinging her shoulders back in pride with the surprised looks this earned her, most especially by her uncle¡¯s clear irritation. ¡°That¡¯s right! What need does he have of a single jewel when he embraces the power of diamond? The power of them all!¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks flush, all the more so with Hanz¡¯s sympathetic grimace, as if to say that this was par for the course with his cousin, who could clearly hold secrets for as long as she could hold a single thought in her head, which was about 2 minutes, unless they were actively hunting, in which case she was as single-minded as any wolf on the hunt.

    But certainly not now.

    Alex cleared his throat. ¡°Leena and company, it was a pleasure to meet you all. But as I am a cultivator, not a jewel master or elementalist, I have classes to attend on the morrow, and I have no desire to be late on my first official day. So if you will all excuse me¡­ I really need to get to sleep.¡±

    ¡°Well then, let me take you to your room!¡± Linnea clasped his hand and gently dragged him behind her before he could get a word of half-hearted protest out. But since she was taking him exactly where he wanted to go, mostly away from the dissecting stares of too many Ruidians now far too curious about him¡­ he decided he was okay with that.

    What he wasn¡¯t expecting was to find himself sinking into a sinfully soft bed clearly lined with spirit beast furs a heartbeat before the door was locked and a very warm and very naked girl was suddenly next to him smelling of wine, grilled meat, and hunger.

    Alex had only a heartbeat to wonder if he had unknowingly triggered some unspoken Ruidian mating custom¡­ but soft warm lips locking upon his own with such hunger soon burned those thoughts away save for needs of his own he had repressed for far, far too long.

    It was only the memory of the beautiful princess who had so fiercely claimed his heart, and the mischievous kitsune girl who was such a perfect echo of his first wife that broke his kiss off with a single pained gasp.

    That and the sudden awful lurch in his Dantian, pulling him free of his sleepy haze to full crystalline awareness.

    He pulled back with a gasp, surprised by the pained gasp from Linnea.

    He winced, cheeks flushing with shame and passion denied. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said in a husky apologetic voice, wincing in genuine regret when he saw the bruise on her arm.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Hurt, alarm, and just a little bit of fear, resonated from her voice. He pretended he didn¡¯t see her jewel flashing with sudden wild heat, barely having held back from a spell that might have spelled tragedy. Or, with his draconic blood and Vitality, done almost nothing at all.

    He flashed an apologetic grimace. ¡°I¡¯m dying on my feet, it¡¯s been days since I last slept, and until a second ago, I wasn¡¯t sure if this was real or a dream...¡±

    Linnea¡¯s hurt gaze turned to a relieved smile. ¡°That¡¯s right. You did say you hadn¡¯t slept for two days, but that your Vitality had you covered! Ha. See? High Vitality doesn¡¯t make you immortal.¡±

    ¡°Depends how high your Vitality is,¡± Alex said with a bemused twinkle, before sighing. ¡°Still, I bruised your arms because I forgot my own strength in a moment of alarm. I¡¯m sorry about that, Linnea. I really am.¡±

    She winced, shaking her head. ¡°You did.¡± Her eyes twinkled with a hunger renewed all the more, as fear of his strength became excitement of another sort, her finger tips gently running down the length of his naked chest, waking goosebumps with her touch. ¡°But there¡¯s a way you can make it up to me, if you want...¡± she said, with a hitched breath and a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

    Alex flashed a rueful grin. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s just one problem with that.¡±

    ¡°And that would be?¡±

    ¡°I walk what some would consider a crooked path. Really, though, its more of a streamlined path. It¡¯s what allowed me to cast that prismatic shield that saved our lives from Silver tier abominations and that you weren¡¯t supposed to tell your friends about, remember?¡±

    Linnea winced, cheeks flushing prettily. ¡°I¡­ you¡¯re right. I sort of forget myself, sometimes.¡±

    Alex nodded solemnly. ¡°I know. I¡¯m glad you shared it only with a Ruidian who was far more interested in hooking you up with her son than giving a rat¡¯s ass about powers unheard of in cultivation circles. I doubt she or her friends were even paying attention. We were lucky, so I¡¯m totally forgiving your slip of the tongue.¡±

    Her eyes widened with alarm. ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t seriously...¡± she shuddered. ¡°He¡¯s so slender and frail. Almost sickly. I¡¯ll bet there are all sorts of sores that his fine silk shirt was covering, even if his clan¡¯s creams hide it on his hands and face well enough.¡±

    She shook her head as Alex blinked in surprise, thinking maybe he had missed something. Then again, he attention hadn¡¯t really been on the boy.

    ¡°You just know that his mother will have him putting points into Vitality, whether he wants to or not! I can tell just by looking at him that he¡¯s borderline inbred.¡± Linnea¡¯s cheeks flushed. ¡°And sometimes I think I might be as well...¡±

    Alex gently squeezed her hand. ¡°You¡¯re an intelligent, talented, beautiful woman. And we all have our quirks and eccentricities. Don¡¯t worry, Linnea. When you find the right man, a man who cherishes you for you and doesn¡¯t have a drop of Ruidian blood in his veins¡­ at least no more than the general population does, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have a home full of happy, healthy children that fill you with joy, without any need for jewels at all.¡± He grinned. ¡°I also know for a fact that mixed Ruidian children are just as talented in the garden as their parents ever were, and some of the best farmers to be found anywhere come from those unions.¡±

    She gave him an arch look. ¡°And how exactly how do you know what?¡±

    Alex opened his mouth to answer, before realizing he had none to give. Just the weight of heavy memories he was too exhausted to glimpse yet again.

    She snorted. ¡°You look adorably silly, with your mouth hanging open like that.¡±

    She turned in the direction of the dining hall, shaking her head at the closed door. ¡°Ever since I leveled tonight, I feel more clear-headed than I have in a very long time. But even at my worst, I would never have consented to any relationship with Leena¡¯s boy. He¡¯s too young, and he¡¯s just such a scrawny thing. I doubt he¡¯s even eighteen. Because if he was, then that means that Leena¡¯s clan bred her at a monstrously young age.¡± Her cheeks flushed. ¡°And I can tell¡­ no matter what his mother says, that we share far too much of the same blood. Just smelling him makes me uncomfortable.¡±

    Alex flashed her an encouraging smile. ¡°I think investing those points in Perception and Vitality was really good for you. And if you were to invest even just one more level-up in yourself by putting more points into Willpower, Scholarship, and Perception, I¡¯m betting that a great many things will snap into focus for you, and we can discuss that another time. For now, just please understand that no one will be sharing my bed for the foreseeable future¡­ even if I wished it were otherwise.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s smile faltered. ¡°Are you um¡­ sure?¡± She flashed a sheepish smile. ¡°Because when I smell you¡­ all I feel is happiness.¡±

    Alex chuckled at that. ¡°I¡¯m glad that my presence makes you happy, Linnea. But I can¡¯t divert my life force from any path save my own pristine cultivation. Not until I break through to Bronze¡­ or whatever¡¯s next for me.¡±

    Linnea blinked. ¡°By divert your life force you mean...¡±

    ¡°Even kissing you is putting pressure on my Dantian.¡±

    Linnea gazed at Alex for long moments, before slowly getting up and approaching the doorway. Her breath hitched. She looked on the verge of saying something but just squeezed her hands in obvious frustration, then opened the door.

    Though not before turning around and bowing at the waste. ¡°Thank you for saving this foolish girl¡¯s life, honored cultivator. This Ruidian is grateful.¡±

    Before Alex could think of a response to that, Linnea had closed the door and vanished like a ghost. And before he could fully puzzle what exactly had happened, he was already fast asleep, sinking so deeply into the plush beast-pelt lined mattress that by the time he finally woke up, it was already closer to midday than sunrise, and Alex had the sinking feeling that his absence had not gone unnoticed.

 Book 8 - Chapter 46 - A new young master rises to the challenge!

    ¡°Well, look who has decided to join us.¡± Elder Win declared with a humorless smile, seated upon a large rock before thirty odd students all turning to stare his way.

    ¡°Our young friend who¡¯s exotic heritage clearly failed to equip him with either a sense of time, or tact, or the common sense to ask for someone to wake him at a reasonable hour, has instead chosen to show after your free spiritual flow examinations, a service that normally costs you all how many credits?¡±

    ¡°Five for a basic purification examination up to fifty for an in-depth customized cycling instruction!¡± A younger student piped up, beaming at the indulgent smile Elder Win gave him.

    ¡°All true. And since all of you received a basic consultation, and our eccentric Ruidian here is clearly beyond the basic purification stage, his folly just cost him ten credits.¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks blaze as the elder snorted.

    ¡°But perhaps this foolish boy thinks he has no need of basic lessons and a strong foundation, wishing to immediately jump into a wujen¡¯s strengths, as if wishes were reality, and poppy dreams alone would get him anywhere without mastery of basic fundamentals!¡± Elder Win sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Indeed, considering that any instructor worth his salt would insist on the most rigorous application of ideal cycling methods before daring to manifest spiritual energy in physical form, I suspect our young Ruidian friend will be in debt to our school for at least the full fifty credits before the day is through.¡± He chuckle ruefully. ¡°And one thing he will quickly learn, that you will all quickly learn when completing assigned tasks, is that punctuality and prompt completion are everything. Now, does everyone recall the first lesson of the morning?¡±

    The same young master radiating the smug confidence of a youth born to privilege, raised his hand once more, immediately called upon by Instructor Lin.

    ¡°The foolish student will quickly cease to be. The humble student learns from his own folly, and the wise student learns from the folly of others.¡±

    ¡°Correct!¡± The bemused elder cultivator gave an audible clap. ¡°And how fortuitous it is that our young Ruidian friend has at least chosen to join us for the latter half of the day, where martial mastery and basic technique proficiency are to be judged!¡± He waved toward a collection of armor and weapon racks on display in the nearby pagoda serving at the moment as an open air armory which, Alex could tell by the tabards, shirts of mail, and in some cases, bronze hauberks worn by some, that the class had already made use of.

    ¡°Now as the intelligent cultivator prepares in advance, as you have, or is wise enough to always be prepared, I think it only right that our young friend accept your challenges just as he is.¡±

    This declaration earned a dozen hungry smiles from students clearly eager to make a good impression on their master, and perhaps kick sand in the face of the one who dared to stick out, as well.

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hold back a smirk, deciding that it was perhaps fitting, both as an object lesson and to put the arrogant student who dared to miss his first classes on his first day, in his place. Especially since Elder Win had made it very clear that lateness would not be tolerated, especially not during these first few days where they were all being tested before being assigned mentors and classes that they¡¯d be training under for at least a semester.

    If anything, Alex welcomed the wolf-like stares he now was being favored with. If he were honest with himself, all the smiles and understanding he had upon first arriving at Luishi had been a bit too much. This sudden tension, the weight of cold, calculating stares and fellow students now opponents radiating killing intent, THIS in his heart of hearts, was what he craved. What he needed.

    What he lived for.

    If only the first two youths whose gazes he met and smiles he mirrored hadn¡¯t blanched and so quickly looked away, their padded staves previously held like warblades suddenly little more than walking canes as their eyes turned to newfound companions to whisper and joke and pay Alex absolutely no mind at all.

    Fortunately¡­ unfortunately? Most of the armed and armored students were still glaring his way, clearly with something to prove.

    He quite deliberately didn¡¯t meet their glares.

    Instructor Win snorted. ¡°So, who will meet the Ruidian in the sparring sands, and water the granite of obstinance with the loam of insight and humility?¡±

    ¡°I will claim that honor,¡± declared the baritone voice of perhaps the largest initiate among their number.

    The man who met Alex¡¯s gaze was the farthest thing from a newly awakened sixteen year old working on his first meridian. He was a powerfully built man with chiseled features and eyes that had clearly seen action, radiating the Strength and Vitality of a man who had achieved Bronze after years along his path. Alex could only imagine the man was here to further hone and refine his techniques, or perhaps correct flaws in his cultivation method or understanding of the Way, so he could break through to the next rank.

    ¡°Wonderful¡± Instructor Win commended with an approving dip of his head, before turning to lock gazes with Alex. ¡°You are forbidden from using live steel. This is a lesson. Not a slaughter. You will use whatever blunt training weapon one of your fellow disciples chooses to toss you. For the new, unprepared guard sleeping as raiders strike has no time for planning or being picky. He must grab what he or she can find on hand, and can only pray he was wise enough to make friends with his fellow guardsmen, lest he be seen as nothing but another body between savvier guards and bandits who would see them dead.¡±

    Instructor Win grinned at the class. ¡°Of course, the fates may decree the silly boy before you meets his fate with nothing in his hands.¡±

    Alex¡¯s would-be opponent, wielding a blunted guandao which would still be devastating even with the edges carefully rolled back, grinned at that declaration.

    ¡°Of course, some of you might pity the foolish guard who slept through the warning bells and show kindness that might blossom to a loyal friendship that could one day pay off considerable dividends.¡± Win shrugged. ¡°Or perhaps you think he¡¯s hardly worth the effort, or you feel no mercy at all should be granted to new-bloods, slackers, and fools. Should the resources available be expended only on those who have already proven themselves worthy? I leave that choice up to you.¡±

    Instructor Wingestured to the arena of sand cut in the lush turf that Alex had originally spotted jogging to the class¡¯s new sight before the lip of the caldera, a few hundred yards from the entrance to the campus.

    ¡°Since most caravan battles and conflicts between cities happen on the high roads and the desert sands, that is where you¡¯ll be fighting. If you gentlemen would enter the ring?¡±

    Alex did his best to hold back ahissmile, already knowing firsthand how to brace and plant himself while sparring and fighting on the desert sands, all the more so after countless sparring sessions with Ya Ling, his Earth affinity and Desert Sense also helping him know just where to step.

    The ex guard or soldier, whatever he was, snorted. ¡°I see no one¡¯s throwing you any sparring weapon at all. See what happens when you put on airs, Ruidian?¡±

    Alex flicked a quick glance toward the assembled cultivators, the young master who had spoke before sneering his way. ¡°If you¡¯re so arrogant that you think your privileged status means you get to mock our ways and miss classes that the rest of us attend¡­ then you¡¯re in for a real surprise when you find that the rest of us don¡¯t think you¡¯re entitled to any special favors.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smirking at this. ¡°Really? You speak for the whole class already? Wow, I take it you must come from a very influential family.¡±

    The young man lifted his chin with a haughty sneer. ¡°You may call me Tan Yi of the Duo Yi clan. We could effortlessly buy and sell your family¡¯s commune a dozen times over, Ruidian. And unlike far too many, we don¡¯t give your kind jobs that should be going to honest hardworking people who truly are one with the desert sands!¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hold back a chuckle, looking at his would-be opponent. ¡°He says that at a school overseeing four rifts. Can you believe this guy?¡±

    Alex¡¯s would-be opponent sneered. ¡°Lord Tan Yi is right. Our city doesn¡¯t need your kind!¡±

    ¡°Lord Tan Yi, is it?¡± Alex said with a smirk, unable to hold back his grin when the boy flinched, certain truths immediately clicking into place. ¡°So, our privileged young master has a loyal family retainer who just happened to think that the time to refine his own techniques was the very day that a Duo Yi scion was about to enter the academy. How very fortuitous!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare mock me, worm!¡± The youth screeched, his voice choosing that moment to crack, earning him countless surprised looks and not a few smirks as the atmosphere subtly changed.

    Though Alex was still without a weapon, Tan Yi¡¯s near success at claiming a good portion of the class as his coterie with Alex as the sacrificial lamb had just come to a grinding halt.

    Elder Win gently cleared his throat, earning instant silence from all of them. ¡°Well then, here we have it, one lone, friendless cultivator isolated from the rest, and the man who would put him in his place.¡± He sighed. ¡°If either of you wish to back out of the match, the school entrance is that-away,¡± he said, pointing with his fingers, his meaning clear.

    Alex sensed the fight about to begin before his eyes widened. Recalling one time before he had found himself in just such a situation, where what he thought would be an honorable touch-match turned out to be anything but, his humiliation and suffering serving as abject lessons to the class entire. So Alex forced himself to speak, refusing to be silenced, even by the Silver¡¯s glare.

    ¡°I would know the terms and conditions of the match. What is and is not permitted? How far are we expected to go? If one yields, is the other obligated to stop?¡±

    Elder Win raised his hand, Alex¡¯s opponent immediately bowed and stepped back. Their instructor looked at Alex pityingly. ¡°Truly, you do not know?¡±

    ¡°Not a clue.¡±

    Win snorted. ¡°Then best hope you can figure it out. Because if you had been here three hours ago, you would know. Fight!¡±

    He roared the last, and Alex¡¯s grinning opponent immediately charged, guandao raised high.

    Quickness check made!

    You have successfully summoned Enhanced Water Shield!

    His opponent¡¯s eyes widened in momentary surprise, before sneering and powering down with his cleaving strike, no doubt thinking to splash right through a disk of an element as fragile seeming as water.

    So to say he was surprised when his weapon went cartwheeling through the air was an understatement, though his widened eyes squinched shut as Alex sprayed the equivalent of water and lemon juice into the man¡¯s face with surprising force.

    The guard stumbled back with a painful cry that immediately cut off when Alex¡¯s fist shattered the man¡¯s jaw.

    Find Weakness skill check made!

    You have struck your opponent¡¯s chin in a moment of supreme vulnerability.

    Your opponent has collapsed to the sands!

    Quickness check made!

    Before the class could react, Alex had already darted forward, claiming the warrior¡¯s own very sharp and very real dagger, now being held against the man¡¯s throat.

    The groaning cultivator immediately stilled. Alex, thinking fast, did his best to embrace a role he hoped their mercurial mentor would appreciate.

    ¡°Captain! I¡¯ve caught an intruder in the barracks! Should I kill him or bind him for questioning? I await your orders¡­ sir!¡±

    The guard was deathly still, disoriented groan replaced with the hiss of a man who knew death was a single mistake away.

    Elder Win gazed hard at Alex for long moments as the student¡¯s broke out into angry hisses and surprised murmurs.

    ¡°Did you see how fast that Ruidian Moved? Impossible!¡±

    ¡°Not for a speed cultivator, it isn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s a Ruidian!¡±

    ¡°He broke Guan¡¯s Jaw with a single strike, and that man¡¯s a Strength cultivator!¡±

    ¡°Did you see his shield? He can actually harness the elements! I thought only wujen could do that?¡±

    ¡°I hear that he tried to apply directly to the elites, but Instructor Lin declared him unworthy in front of everyone.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem that unworthy right now...¡±

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Alex refused to let himself get distracted. All his focus on sensing his opponent gathering all his furious strength for what would no doubt be a desperate gambit to spring free of Alex and put him down with a single powerful¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Alex spoke softly enough that he doubted anyone but his opponent heard. Yet the way the man stiffened, choking back a sob, made it clear that he could sense the killing intent behind Alex¡¯s words.

    ¡°And what happens if you do? You really think a pathetic mixed-blood like yourself can break me?¡±

    Alex calmly gazed down at the man sneering up at him. ¡°Then I end this, here and now.¡±

    Guan¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare take my life, Ruidian!¡±

    Alex said nothing, merely leveraging the pressure of his knife so that with a single twitch...

    ¡°You¡¯re no innocent. The way you move¡­ the way you dare to meet my gaze¡­ You¡¯ve killed before!¡±

    Alex¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°I¡¯m counting to ten. If I¡¯ve heard no word from my commander as to what he would have me do, and if my captive refuses to take a cultivator¡¯s oath to do me no harm from this day forward, then I will consider myself well within my rights to end this here and now! One¡­ Two...¡±

    The entire class went dead silent, gazing at him with the horrified fascination people naturally took on when watching a train-wreck in slow motion.

    Alex¡¯s toothy smile met them all. ¡°Three! Four!¡±

    ¡°I concede! I concede! My cultivator¡¯s oath that I will never seek to harm you...¡±

    ¡°Directly or indirectly...¡± Alex coaxed¡­

    ¡°Directly or indirectly, from this day forward!¡±

    Guan¡¯s eyes widened, shocked by the words that had left his lips, dizzy and stumbling when Alex immediately sprang to his feet and yanked the larger man to his own wobbly feet before giving a half bow and presenting Guan¡¯s dagger to him, hilt first. ¡°A most exhilarating match, fellow disciple! I look forward to our next bout. But let¡¯s make sure we have clear rules and boundaries established beforehand, shall he?¡±

    He said the last with a wink as a trembling Guan desperately tried to resheathe his dagger without cutting himself, before Alex calmly did it for him, the guard still shaking with the after effects of adrenaline and how close he had come to peril.

    Elder Win gazed at Alex for long moments, before erupting with laughter.

    ¡°Well done, Ruidian! And a brilliant lesson to you all! Be wise enough to learn from Guan¡¯s bout, for I can promise you that our dear young master¡¯s protector has learned a valuable lesson himself! Our Ruidian friend did indeed stumble among us for two days in a row as a clueless fool. But who is to say what dark cunning hides within a foolish mien? Could it be that our newest disciple chose to put everyone off their guard just so he could teach you all the most valuable lesson of the day?¡±

    Win¡¯s bemused smile turned hard and cold. ¡°Only a fool takes their opponent for granted. All the more so when you know neither the stakes nor if your foe would fight you in earnest. When you engage in any combat outside of agreed upon sparring, you fight with discipline, focus, and every iota of savage fury that you can bring to bear! You fight as if your life depended upon it, because it most certainly does! And had our Ruidian friend truly wanted to make an example...¡±

    He met Alex¡¯s gaze and winked, before picking up a skull sized stone of hard granite and tossing it Alex¡¯s way.

    Wind Blade has been enhanced by Water and Steel!

    You have Critically Struck Granite Rock.

    Granite Rock has exploded!

    You may now instantly manifest this technique with a skill check.

    Wind Blade is now Rank 6!

    ¡°He could have ended the fight in the blink of an eye.¡±

    The entire class was gazing with wide-eyed awe at the Wind Blade that Alex was now able to instinctively summon forth from his hand to a length of three feet, having honed the skill to a considerable degree the night before. For some reason it reminded Alex a bit of a sci-fi force saber, even if this one was a fusion of both Wind blade and Enhanced Water Strike, complete with bits of swirling Metal that could tear through things just as effortlessly as his water-covered hand had once plunged through steel. It was most definitely not Silver Swan, of course...but close enough. Able to chew halfway through a block of granite before the pressures within caused the stone to explode.

    And had Alex not simultaneously resummoned a swirling disk of water¡­ the stone fragments might have shredded his face as well.

    Alex did his best to land on his metaphoric feet after initially stumbling so badly, and gave their mentor a low, deferential bow.

    ¡°This one hopes that his demonstration will be of use to his fellow disciples along The Way.¡±

    Alex earned more than a few impressed nods, eyes alight not with contempt but rather admiration, even sensing from some a sudden an eager desire to strike a friendship with this strange yet interesting cultivator. And perhaps there was a flush to a few of the girls¡¯ cheeks as they lowered their gazes. Which could have been desire, or shame that they hadn¡¯t had the courage to present him with a training weapon equal to Guan¡¯s own, and thus earned the warm regard of the true champion of their class.

    Alex swallowed and quickly broke off his gaze, feeling a twisting surge in his gut as he often did when Spirit Qi gave him glimpses of thoughts, feelings, and lives that were not his own and frankly, none of his business. Even if it was the element that made Soul Sight possible in the first place.

    ¡°He cheated!¡± Hissed none other than Tan Yi. ¡°That foul Ruidian cheated!¡±

    Elder Win flashed a bemused smirk, but humored the youth with a question. ¡°And how exactly did he ¡®cheat,¡¯ aspirant?¡±

    ¡°He used forbidden Ruidian techniques!¡± The frustrated youth¡¯s eyes lit up with fierce satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s it! He dared to use Ruidian powers on a noble¡¯s house servant. Such acts are forbidden by Liushi¡¯s accords with the desert clans. Ruidians are to only use their powers in the city while engaging in sanctioned pursuits like Rift-cleansing! So this Ruidian must be exiled immediately, his possessions forfeit to the aggrieved party!¡±

    Alex snorted at the sheer absurdity of the statement. ¡°Are you serious right now? I mean¡­ really.¡±

    ¡°Dead serious, Ruidian scum!¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but smirk at the venom in the youth¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯m dreadfully sorry to disappoint, but I¡¯m afraid there are at least three major errors with your chain of logic.¡±

    The youth crossed his arms and glared. ¡°We¡¯ll see what the prince has to say about that, fool!¡±

    Alex rolled his eyes. ¡°While I¡¯m sure that the ruling family is dying to get involved in a spat between a bent-out-of-shape ¡®young master¡¯ and a member of the race helping to stabilize this entire oasis, there¡¯s a couple of points to consider. First and foremost, the basic right to self-defense. In case you missed the action, your lackey, arguably acting on your behalf, struck at me.¡±

    ¡°It was a sanctioned school match! You didn¡¯t have to be there, you could have bowed out and left!¡± Tan Yi sneered.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t think so. Anyway, when Guan swung his polearm for my skull, he sure as hell wasn¡¯t curbing his blow.¡±

    ¡°So you nearly killed him with your Ruidian arts instead.¡±

    Ales solemnly shook his had, summoning his shield once more. ¡°I parried his blow, as everyone saw. And unless you¡¯re going to insist that Ruidians lack even the right to defend themselves in a city populated by at least one powerful clan that clearly despises them, at which point I¡¯ll be recommending that every Ruidian I come cross leave this corrupt city at once¡­ then I¡¯m afraid you got nothing.¡±

    Several other disciples were frowning in thought, reviewing the fight. ¡°He didn¡¯t actually attack with that disc, did he?¡±

    ¡°Nope, he used it to counter Guan¡¯s polearm. And why wasn¡¯t he allowed a weapon again? Anyway, I think he knocked Guan out with a right hook.¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s eyes lit in fierce recollection. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the shield¡­ it was the stream of acid you shot at his eyes! That was no doubt a direct result of your Ruidian arts!¡±

    Alex blinked, gazing at the increasingly irate youngster for long moments.

    ¡°You know you¡¯re an idiot, right?¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡±

    Alex smirked, turning to Elder Win who was gazing at them all with the same half-smile one uses when looking at particularly stupid puppies. ¡°Permission to demonstrate my technique with the young master? I promise that if there¡¯s any Ruidian trickery I¡¯ll be happy to leave the school just as soon as I cash out my credits.¡±

    This earned a curious frown. ¡°You¡¯ve already earned credits?¡±

    Alex nodded.

    ¡°How many?¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to share that number with you after class, if you like.¡±

    Elder Win snorted, before turning to Tan Yi. ¡°Well, aspirant? Would you like our Ruidian friend to show you his technique firsthand?¡±

    The boy¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°But what if he maims or cripples me using advanced Ruidian arts?¡±

    ¡°Then he¡¯ll be banned from the school, which is what you and your family are increasingly after, is that not so? Thus it will work out very much in your favor.¡±

    The boy glowered for a moment, before steeling himself and entering the ring. Alex was impressed despite himself to see the boy actually had the strength to summon such a strong Flame Shield when he had clearly just broken through to Bronze. ¡°You¡¯re Ruidian tricks won¡¯t work on me, fool!¡± Tan Yi then summoned a whip of sanguine flame.

    Elder Win¡¯s bemused countenance took on a frown of concern. ¡°Aspirant Yi...¡±

    ¡°No. If this fool thinks he can mock this school, mock me¡­ well, he¡¯ll have to deal with the consequences personally!¡± Tan Yi¡¯s youthful features took on a malevolent cast as he smiled, Qi Perception and Artificer recognizing a dozen Bronze tier enchantments suddenly springing to life on the youth¡¯s cultivator¡¯s robes as he boldly stepped forward.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Ruidian. You¡¯re right where I want you to be! You¡¯re going to pay for your crimes in the trial of bitter flame. And when you finally surrender to your baser impulses and cheat¡­ we¡¯ll be waiting for you the minute you¡¯re kicked outside of the school!¡±

    Alex burst out in surprised laughter. ¡°Wow, you actually said all that aloud. In front of almost three dozen witnesses! Evil villain monologue much?¡±

    Tan Yi gazed at Alex in surprised confusion before his cheeks blazed with awful heat as a handful of cultivators laughed under their breath, including the girl Alex had seen him looking at before.

    ¡°You think I¡¯ll allow you to humiliate me? Die!¡± The boy roared, charging forward.

    Finesse Check made!

    Yan Tu¡¯s lips stretched in a malevolent grin when he saw Alex fall before his brilliant whip of flame, only for his smirk became a frown as he looked down in slow motion at his smiling opponent and the leg even now snaking out, sliding through the sands¡­ and catching Tan Yi¡¯s own

    Then suddenly Tan Yi was flying forward and down at the same time, his legs too tangled to correct such that he fell Fire Shield first into the sands, dispelling his own enchantment with a yelp.

    The entire group of aspirants had gone dead silent.

    Tan Yi took a shaking breath, determined to race forward and pound the living snot out of that smirking golden-haired bastard who wasn¡¯t cowering at all but was right in front of him¡­ looming over him, cheeks puffed up and what was¡­.

    You have successfully struck your target!

    ¡°Ahh!¡± The youth¡¯s reformed whip faded to a flash of fire and he began desperately rubbing his eyes. ¡°It burns! It burns!¡± He shrieked as the students burst into laughter.

    Alex stepped back, arms casually at his side. ¡°Does it? Strange. Because all I spat was water. Much like your lackey, though he took his spray much better than you¡¯re taking your own medicine. So you see? No Ruidian powers at all. Just decent footwork and training. And in case it wasn¡¯t already obvious...¡±

    He solemnly lifted the hair off his forehead.

    ¡°He¡¯s not a gem master. There¡¯s no jewel upon his brow!¡± Hissed one of the students.

    ¡°So he¡¯s mortal?¡± Querried another.

    ¡°Impossible. You saw how strong he is¡­ he must really be a cultivator!¡±

    ¡°You spat in my eye!¡± Tan Yi howled, his voice breaking once more.

    Alex shrugged. ¡°You wanted to see firsthand the technique I used to best your associate. Now you have. Now since I¡¯m not really into fighting children¡­ I¡¯m considering our match over.¡± He turned to meet Elder Win¡¯s enigmatic gaze. ¡°Sensei?¡±

    The man snorted, shaking his head. ¡°Foolish idealism aside, it never pays to take your eyes off an opponent who so clearly wants you...¡±

    Qi Perception check: Success!

    Draconic Resilience Reduces all damage from Heat & Flame by two full damage tiers.

    You have successfully seized your opponent¡¯s artifact!

    The man¡¯s eyes widened in surprise when Alex¡¯s hand snaked out to parry the Fire Whip a snarling Tan Yi had unleashed at his back. Before being sent stumbling off balance when Alex caught the thin enchanted wire of the youth¡¯s artifact and jerked it right out of his hand.

    Alex didn¡¯t bother hiding his smile or taking his eyes of a snorting Elder Win.

    ¡°Sensei?¡±

    Win chuckled, dipping his head in bemused acknowledgment. ¡°Let this be a lesson to all of you aspirants. It never pays to underestimate anyone as foolish as this boy. Because were he truly so stupid as to antagonize so many powers in a single day, he must be either supremely gifted, or already dead.¡±

    ¡°My spiritual treasure! Thief! That Ruidian stole my spiritual treasure!¡±

    ¡°Prize of war,¡± Alex said offhandedly, calmly walking out of the dueling ring, his prize quickly spooled up and placed in a pocket before being transferred to storage, more pleased than he wanted to admit when a dozen faces that had formerly been aloof or outright derisive were now smiling their congratulations or dispensing their praise.

    Because even if this semi-idealistc oasis of decency, Cultivators were still ruthlessly pragmatic and respected strength above everything else. Real, or implied.

    Conversely, with the submission of his strongest asset, display of his own pettiness and lack of acumen, and a cracking voice that belied any sense of familial weight, Tan Yi had managed to squander all of his political capital in less than a glass.

    ¡°You stole from me!¡±

    Alex stopped, slowly turning around to smile at the furious-looking youth strutting right toward him, jutting out his hand.

    ¡°You stole my property, and you will return it now!¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°What property did I steal, supplicant?¡±

    The youth¡¯s eyes tightened with fury. ¡°The Fire Whip. Don¡¯t pretend you don¡¯t have it! And you will refer to me as Lord Tan Yi de Duo Li. Do you understand, Ruidian trash?¡±

    Alex¡¯s grin widened. ¡°You mean the fire whip that some treacherous rat lashed at my back when I was busy speaking to our sensei? I wouldn¡¯t dream of insulting you by declaring you the owner of such a poorly used artifact. Now silence, supplicant. Our sensei is speaking.¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s dusky features blotched with fury, but Alex paid him no more visible mind, hands behind his back, miming the gestures of his peers when Elder Win cleared his throat just once, instantly getting all their attention.

    Before Win¡¯s words froze Alex to the quick.

    ¡°Now that we¡¯ve all enjoyed watching the fox play with his food, best we get back to the lessons at hand.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 47 - Happy Holidays!

    Alex could barely hear the man¡¯s words over the frantic pounding of his heart. But he let nothing show in his expression, eyes locked upon Elder Win¡¯s own as the man turned his gaze to the trio of cultivators making their appearance. And if Win¡¯s offhand comment that clearly hadn''t been anything more than an expression had thrown him for a loop, the sight of the trio of fresh instructors had him near reeling.

    The largest of the three, stepping forward with proud strides, free of all armaments save for subtly enchanted cultivator¡¯s robes, was a man he didn¡¯t recognize, for all that the six and a half-foot tall stature and potency of Deep Bronze made it clear that he was no one to mess with. But that didn¡¯t really phase Eric. It was the pair of cultivators by his side, one armed with jian, the other with spear that Alex recognized all too well that had thrown him for a loop.

    Ya Ling and Caravan Master Dui Zhong, acting as martial instructors for the newbloods? Really?

    For a moment Alex wondered if he had somehow hopped forward in lives once more or was dreaming¡­ but the barely suppressed flinch Ya Ling gave him, her perfect almond eyes gazing so intently into his own for long moments that he was sure anyone with half a brain could pick up on, even knowing it was his own paranoia¡­ he still forced himself to break his gaze.

    No matter how much he wanted to catch up with her.

    ¡°Greetings, newest disciples of Silver Sands Academy! I am armsmaster Rah, and these are my assistants, Ya Ling and Dui Zhong. Masters of jian and spear respectively. We¡¯ll be testing your martial acumen today, and formally marking your skills. This will be compiled with your cultivation competencies in your personal chart which you will be expected to have on you all times when you engage in individualized training or cultivation sessions. Is this clear?¡±

    The entire class nodded, and Alex couldn¡¯t help feeling like he was a kid struggling to play catch-up after missing the first half of class, having absolutely no idea what Rah was talking about. Or just not wanting to. Because charts? Really? couldn¡¯t bureaucracy and paperwork have been happily left forever behind in his first life?¡±

    Alex let his thoughts wander as the students were tested one by one¡­ his brooding slowly giving away to worry when it became obvious that the instructor and his cohorts, Alex¡¯s acquaintances, were, for some reason, saving him for last.

    ¡°Ruidian, come up here!¡±

    Alex dipped his head, slowly making his way to a frowning Rah who tilted his head curiously. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re in the right place, Ruidian? If you¡¯re looking for sparring partners to test your abilities against, Senior Cultivator Te Chang would happily arrange that for you after your first delve.¡±

    Alex forced a smile, ignoring the wince Ya Ling gave him. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, honored instructor Rah. I¡¯m attending Silver Stands not as a rift-hunting Ruidian but as a student of The Way.¡±

    The man snorted. ¡°So you¡¯re claiming to harness spiritual energy and not some magical variant?¡±

    ¡°That is correct,¡± Alex said.

    The man frowned thoughtfully, before his face relaxed in a smile. ¡°Well, you¡¯re a physically fit specimen, if nothing else. Taller than most of your kind. And looking far less¡­ frail.¡±

    Alex flashed a humorless smile. ¡°I understand your concern. I feel much the same.¡±

    The man chuckled in approval. ¡°Excellent! Then I¡¯ll be the one to test your prowess. Your chart, please.¡±

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°Sadly, I don¡¯t have a chart as I managed to sleep until noon on our first full day, giving our sensei an absolutely glorious impression of me, as I¡¯m sure you can imagine.¡±

    Surprisingly, the man gave a goodnatured laugh. ¡°Oh, I can imagine that damn well, in fact.¡± He winked. ¡°Did you catch the interest of a girl enamored of those sparkling jewels for eyes of yours? With the build of a cultivator and your exotic golden hair¡­ how could she resist? And after so long in a cramped commune, how could you?¡±

    Alex snorted. ¡°More like I was rifting until two glasses before sunrise and hadn¡¯t slept the night before.¡±

    The man¡¯s smile faded, assessing eyes suddenly locking with his own.

    Alex felt the flush in his cheeks, cursing himself for seven kinds of fool.

    ¡°So, you were the odd duck who saved Lu Gang and Su Rin¡¯s hides, and a trio of foolish gem masters who should never have goaded them to dare the eastern rift.¡±

    Alex swallowed, not quite sure what to say, but not wanting to cause trouble for his acquaintances, so saturated with waste Qi that they couldn¡¯t afford to antagonize anyone with lies. But he wasn¡¯t going to throw his Ruidian friends under the bus either.

    ¡°To be fair, I don¡¯t think my companions had to entice anyone to do anything.¡± He admitted. ¡°Every one of us was hungry for the glory of the rifts, and none of us gave a fig for risks that were only rumors. Not until death was staring us right in the face, or leaping at our throats from behind.¡±

    The man nodded thoughtfully before smirking at the youths already being formed up into groups to practice basic forms and demonstrate their mostly fledgling skills, Ya Ling and Dui Zhong showing themselves to be competent instructors as they slowly went over the basics, firmly correcting the half dozen bold enough to emulate their forms while the rest just diligently watched.

    He then turned back to Alex, hard smile in place. ¡°You look like a lad who¡¯s experienced more than most. I¡¯m guessing I don¡¯t have to tell you what this is all about at all, do I?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Nope, I get it. We dare the rifts for fresh spirit beast meat or beast cores. Regular hunts help prevent anything like a beast surge. Most importantly, no matter how some of your associates try to hide it, it¡¯s all about getting as many Water and Ice cores as you can.¡± Alex ignored the man¡¯s tightening gaze, the suddenly controlled look about him as he strove to give nothing away at all. Instead, Alex gazed out at the magnificent sight of the caldera basin, a lush green valley filled to the bursting with fruit groves, spiritual herbs, fresh vegetables, and grain crops. Food and plenitude that could no doubt feed an entire city. No doubt did feed an entire city. And the cool dampness and crystal clear streams, the bounty of life itself, was all dependent on the multiple waterfalls spraying the valley below with a constant shimmering mist of pristine water in its purest form.

    He then turned back to Rah. ¡°No speeches needed. Because you don¡¯t need to be a master artificer or geologist to know that those four waterfalls feeding the basin and the million plus people making their homes around it comes from the interaction of rifts and cleverly placed beast cores, and has absolutely nothing to do with underground rivers in this part of the desert.¡±

    Alex had kept his voice soft, of course, his words for Rah alone to hear. And the way the man looked at him made him wonder if he had just misstepped one time to many. A no doubt fatal miscalculation.

    Instead the man cracked a jaded smile. ¡°And you earned five hundred credits for doing your part, daring those rifts last night.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Indeed I did. And I refused to take anyone else¡¯s cut either, no matter how much they said they owed me. Win win, no motivational speeches needed.¡±

    Rah tilted his head thoughtfully. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re here? To dare the rifts?¡±

    Alex swallowed. In for a penny¡­ ¡°That, sure. But let¡¯s be honest, I can do that for fun and profit anywhere. What I¡¯m really here for is access to whatever tomes¡­ or instructors¡­ will let me learn a wujen¡¯s arts.¡±

    This earned a bemused eyebrow. ¡°A wujen¡¯s arts, is it? Well, maybe we can find a way to help you with that. But first, how about you show me again how you managed to play point man in a Silver-tier rift?¡±

    Alex forced a smile. ¡°Gladly. But we¡¯re using the PG version of things,¡± he said, summoning his enhanced Water Shield to maximum volume and intensity, earning an impressed nod from Rah.

    ¡°PG version?¡±

    Alex rolled his eyes at the now solemn class of students who were now staring their way far more than at their supposed instructors. ¡°Fit to be seen by those around us without totally going ¡®off script¡¯¡±

    Rah snorted. ¡°It¡¯s a pretty shield. Now show me you have the reflexes to go with it! But let¡¯s keep it interesting. Live steel, boy! You draw even a drop of my blood, the match is yours.¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°And how many credits is our match worth?¡±

    The man blinked in surprise, before breaking out in a mercenary smile. ¡°Ten credits if you beat me¡­ and five if I beat you. Agreed?¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t hesitate to nod. ¡°So long as we¡¯re not fighting to maim, cripple, or kill¡­ your on.¡±

    Not hiding the exhileration he felt, Alex allowed an excited smile to grace his features. Before turning into a grimace when a swirling disk of stinging sand formed in front of his opponent. ¡°Show me what you can do, aspirant.¡±

    And Alex did.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Skill check made! Rank 10 Golden Realms vs Rank 5 Desert Sand kung fu!

    You have suffered two Light Wounds! Damage mitigated to superficial injury.

    Alex¡¯s bemused confidence soon turned into serious focus, then fierce intensity as pure technique gave way to a warrior whose shield crashed against his own with the force and fury of the entire desert, forcing Alex to constantly step back, the man¡¯s dao, no more enchanted than Alex¡¯s own, nonetheless wound against his blade like a serpent¡¯s coils, inexorable pressure that wouldn¡¯t be denied, an alarmed Alex forced to dart away, lest his blade go flying as effortlessly as he had made countless others fly free of too many overconfident fools.

    Much like he himself was clearly being when the gleam in his opponent¡¯s eye was the only tell Alex sensed when the hot sting of steel against flesh sizzled against his skin.

    He hissed and leaped back, feeling yet another stinging slash on his shin, earning a bemused chuckle from his opponent. ¡°Nice form there, kid. Nothing compared to the desert¡¯s might, but damn fine for a Ruidian.¡±

    Alex forced a rueful chuckle, more than a little bit dismayed by how easily his opponent¡¯s swirling maelstrom of stand had forced his own disk of water back, despite the odd half-step element having seemed weaker, not stronger versus water, when he had sparred with Ya Ling. But somehow his coolly smiling opponent with the thousand yard veteran¡¯s stare had incorporated just enough hot desert wind to his sand so that not a drop of moisture tainted his shield. Where Alex¡¯s Water Shield, on the other hand, had seemed to visibly diminish. His opponent might not be any stronger than him, but he was clearly well versed in using his Qi Discipline, with years of experience versus the mere weeks that Alex had intermittently practiced with it, and never pressure testing it against an opponent like this.

    Of course, it was true that his sparring partner was using a Bronze tier martial technique, incorporating an element in plentiful supply beyond the caldera, and Alex was relying on technique alone.

    Because he thought countless hours of experience and honing his craft was enough to master someone just as in tune with his elements as Alex was.

    Clearly, he was wrong.

    ¡°I do believe the first match is mine.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°No shame in the student losing to the master.¡±

    ¡°True. And a damn good thing you realize that. Do you want to know what you were doing wrong?¡±

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°Please, enlighten me.¡±

    ¡°When you found that hot sand was a perfect counter to lone Water, you played to defensively, letting me control the bind. And if there¡¯s one thing that years of crushing bandits has taught me, it¡¯s how to master any fool whose shield fails to match my own. Sometimes you have to be aggressive, boy. Even when your shield if suffering for it. Who cares if it gives out in a minute, if you best your foe in half that time?¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°Fair point. Shall we try again?¡±

    The instructor smirked. ¡°Double or nothing?¡±

    Alex laughed. ¡°Have you no shame? There¡¯s no real challenge in beating a student, is there? How about you be a teacher eager to instruct and inspire? Your tip was excellent, by the way. What¡¯s say you inspire me with 20 credits if I actually manage to beat you?¡±

    Rah¡¯s grin hardened. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, with half the class having been caught up in their furious exchange of blows and use of elemental shields to foil each other¡¯s attacks, though Alex could taste the bloodlust just beneath the surface. As graceful, elegant, and he was sure, righteous as most of the students no doubt were, their inner wolves also savored the sight of fresh bright drops of crimson spraying across the desert sands as victory was claimed in the most primal sense imaginable.

    Even if Alex¡¯s flesh wound had closed up just seconds later¡­ the blood was still there.

    But his leg was the last thing his fellow students were focusing on when his shield began to whirl faster than ever, Alex suppressing his smile as best he could when his opponent¡¯s confident grin faltered. For the grit of sand wasn¡¯t simply wicking away water¡­ now it had an ocean¡¯s worth of salts to contend with¡­ some crystallizing to the actual size of steel shavings, as the shield whirled beyond anyone¡¯s ability to make out the details of Alex¡¯s manipulation of the elements.

    And even if it was cheating just a bit¡­ perhaps there were some shavings of wood as well.

    Skillcheck made! You have successfully enhanced your Water Shield to incorporate Wood as well as Metal! For what is stretching boundaries to one who forged a Gold-tier discipline in a life lived long ago?

    Alex ignored the interface message, all his focus on wrapping multiple layers of swirling Water and Steel and Wood¡­ resisting the impulse to flow right into Prismatic Shield, treating this as just another exercise in discipline and focus. He refused to be distracted by ancient memories of women who had once fought so fiercely by his side, smiling so brilliantly when they ascended past what everyone had thought possible¡­ the blissful life they had been on the cusp of sharing what felt like just a month ago.

    However many centuries back it had been.

    Alex squeezed back the sting in his eyes, Qi Perception all that kept his blade aligned with his opponent¡¯s desperate attempt to bind and yank free his own.

    And steel did indeed flash as it went cartwheeling through the air.

    Only it was Rah¡¯s scimitar-like dao slipping free of numb fingers as a whirlwind so like swirling Light Qi tore the blade free. Alex embracing the mirror of countless techniques his former mentor Panheu had mastered over countless decades, before making those techniques his own.

    You have successfully incorporated Wind Crane Kung Fu with Golden Realms techniques.

    You have mastered your opponent in the bind!

    The entire class went silent, a frozen tableau of countless wide-eyed students, even a nonplussed Elder Win, gazing at the sight of a disarmed Rah, shield of sand smashed against his chest as howling Steel and Water shredded gambeson and the skin it came into contact with, Alex¡¯s dao resting against his opponent¡¯s armpit, so expertly held that not a drop of blood was spilled.

    An endless heartbeat later, Alex¡¯s shrieking vortex of water became nothing more than a memory as he step-slid back and bowed before his opponent at a perfect 30 degree angle, his eyes never leaving Rah¡¯s own.

    ¡°Thank you for the instruction, Master Rah. I will do my utmost to master the technique as demonstrated.¡±

    The larger cultivator stared at Alex for several long moments before tilting back his head and giving a proud chuckle. ¡°Wonderful! I have never had a student pick up a technique so fast! You do your former master proud, boy.¡±

    Alex smiled. ¡°I only hope I can be just as worthy of my present instructors.¡±

    ¡°Oh I have no doubt you will, lad.¡± Rah immediately took the mantel of instructor, patting Alex on the shoulder before turning to the still speechless class. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go over what you should have learned from our demonstration, aspirants.¡±

    In very short order, a bemused Alex found himself acting as Master Rah¡¯s teaching assistant, his elemental shield replaced with one of wood and steel, slowly going over techniques for mastering both forearm-strapped round shields and single edged daos in the bind.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what I was doing wrong!¡± Declared a young aspirant glaring down at his hand holding his blunted training weapon as if his weak grip was the culprit. Which it was, but only partly. ¡°I¡¯m not following through correctly, and I¡¯m not guarding with my shield after my cut.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°Correct. The dao, at least those with the balance weighted closer to the guard, can be used much alike a saber, striking and countering in a single beat, when you lead with a high or mid hanging guard. But when you have a shield on hand, you should make full use of it, using it to skew your opponent¡¯s strikes or better yet, trap his blade against his body or shield, before ending the match with your own sword rammed right underneath their hauberks, if it were a real fight. Other good strike points include under the armpit, or in the neck. Whatever the angle allows and where your opponent¡¯s armor is weakest.¡±

    Faster than the kid could blink, Alex¡¯s dao danced, caressing both the youth¡¯s legs so fast he yelped and stumbled back after the fact. ¡°But the bottom line is, wherever you can draw blood, you should, so long as you can guard your line while doing so. Few things are more demoralizing to your opponent than the burst of pain and fear that comes from being cut open by your blade. Your foe will then fight much more defensively, and sloppily, when he tastes his own mortality. He¡¯ll also be much more likely to flee or plead for quarter, regardless of how serious or mild the injury is.¡±

    Ma Guo quickly nodded, eyes bright with the effervescence of youth getting their first taste of power, that wonderful sense of growing stronger with dedication and focus. And few things were more important to the youth now looking up to Alex as if he were some sort of instructor, than learning to master the weapons of war.

    ¡°I think I understand, Sifu Alex. Thank you for the lesson.¡±

    Those words were repeated by the other pair of boys he soon found himself watching over, doing his best to teach the most basic lessons his first friends in this world, Liu Jian and Liu Li, had taught him. Even if long spear had come first for lessons, sword and shield certainly had their place.

    Instructor Rah gave Alex an approving smile by the time the class drew to a close. Still, Alex was surprised when Rah chuckled and clapped his shoulder as Elder Win began organizing the young men and women both smiling and crestfallen, into various groups.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take this one, Win. I think he¡¯ll fit in fine with my morning session.¡±

    Elder Win raised one curious eyebrow. ¡°You would have the Ruidian train with your elite Bronze?¡±

    Alex stilled the surge of surprised excitement he felt at the pronouncement.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Rah declared. ¡°The boy has a sense of the spear and dao both, and by the look of his stance, the way he moves, he will be no slouch with the guandao either, especially if he¡¯s hiding as much of his strength as I think he is.¡±

    Win chuckled softly, before giving a thoughtful nod. ¡°That might be ideal for the boy.¡± He then locked gazes with Alex, face growing solemn. ¡°Are you truly ready for that, Alex? Sparring with a Duo Yi lackey, more thug than cultivator, is one thing. But Master Rah teaches the true hybrid elites within this school. Those who blend the arts of body cultivation with the visible manifestation of spiritual energy. Quite similar to your own style, in fact. It might not quite be a Wujen¡¯s storms, but considering how few body cultivators can manifest their spiritual energy beyond an incredibly resilient physique¡­ it is still an excellent opportunity.¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t hesitate to flow into the deepest of bows. ¡°This one would be honored for the opportunity to learn from my fellow disciples and betters, Master Win. I will strive to prove worthy of this opportunity.¡±

    Win¡¯s hooded gaze locked with Alex¡¯s own for a long drawn out moment, before he gave a slow, satisfied nod. ¡°I believe you will, at that, having already learned the importance of timeliness and the tragedy of unnecessary hardship and folly.¡±

    Alex, cheeks flushing, bowed once more. ¡°It is as you say, Master Win. I will do my utmost never to shame my mentors by being late again.¡±

    ¡°Exactly what I wanted to hear.¡± Win gave an approving nod. ¡°So long as our young Ruidian holds tight to that resolve, I think he will make a fine disciple, Master Rah. Should he, however, surrender to tardiness or sloth¡­ I expect you to show him just how steep a price any caravan guard would be forced to pay for a similar offense.¡±

    Alex winced as Rah chuckled good-naturedly, squeezing Alex¡¯s shoulder so hard he actually felt it. Which meant he was Deep Bronze indeed. ¡°Damn right I will, Win.¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll make sure he knows where your training hall is.¡± He then turned to the class, clapping once. ¡°The martial tests are over. You have all been assigned a mentor and the training hall which you will attend on the morrow.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 48

    Elder Win paused, as if to make sure he had everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Now for your next lesson. If you¡¯ll recall from the day before, our school has access to some of the best meridian and body cleansing techniques you¡¯ll find anywhere under the desert sun that we offer to all cultivators, free of charge, who¡¯ve proven worthy of our pins. Now, you will all be given the rest of the afternoon to learn the basics of a suitable technique and put it to the test as well.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened at this, barely having time to throw a curious glance a beaming Ya Ling¡¯s way, who flashed him a teasing smile and a shooshing motion when Alex solemnly followed behind the rest of his class as Elder Win, much to his surprise and delight, began giving them a scenic tour of the lush valley below from the lip of the caldera, though taking the opposite path that Alex and his companions had the night before. And no one had any need to make use of the rope lining the inside of the trail running around the circumference of the ancient volcano crater. Perhaps it was thanks to the sun shining brightly overhead, but everyone¡¯s steps were sure, and more than a few of their number¡¯s breath was hitched in awe as they gazed upon the distant groves and lush golden fields stretching out for miles below.

    ¡°And there below you is the greatest prize our city possesses, the wondrous jewel of life and sustenance that keeps our entire city fed,¡± Elder Win said with a certain amount of solemnity, before raising his voice in a question. ¡°Who among you can tell us the greatest prize among all of the wonders you see blossoming below?¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smiling when one of the younger cultivators raised her hand excitedly.

    ¡°Yes, Ling Ling?¡±

    ¡°Is it the water, master?¡± She tentatively asked over the murmurs of her classmates.

    Elder Win smiled in approval. ¡°Correct. For all that the caldera''s soil, infused with such potent Fire, Wood, and Earth spiritual energy gives forth crops absolutely brimming with vitality, it is the water from our quartet of falls that makes it all possible. Without that water...¡± He shook his head sadly. ¡°Our wondrous grove would shrink to a hundredth of its present size, and most of the citizens of this city would be forced to leave. And I¡¯m sure you can imagine what their fates would all too likely be.¡±

    Alex winced at the doom pronounced so abruptly, the foreboding words quieting the entire class, now gazing at the various falls with varying degrees of solemnity.

    ¡°Master Win?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Ma Guo?¡±

    ¡°I know our city has rested upon the lip of the caldera for over a thousand years, and we hardly get any rain at all. So what keeps the water flowing down the slopes of the caldera?¡±

    The elder cultivator smiled warmly. ¡°An excellent question. You¡¯ll find the answer, in part, tied to the rest of today¡¯s lesson. And I do believe that is Elder Shi awaiting us, just ahead.¡±

    Alex took a closer look at the salt and pepper haired cultivator in pale yellow robes grinning at them all from a small grassy field recessed from the caldera¡¯s edge as they neared the southern waterfall just below.

    Elder Win took the fork in the path leading up to the top, Alex taking careful note of the fork leading down to the western rift as they passed it.

    ¡°Greetings, disciples. You may all refer to me as Elder Shi. My singular goal during our time together is to instill within each and every one of you the most pristine foundations you¡¯re capable of maintaining. And for that, you will need nothing less than access to the strongest cleansing techniques that our academy has access to. Nothing less than the best to be found anywhere within the desert sands.¡±

    Alex blinked. He had been ready to hold back a smile at the supreme confidence of that statement, but certainly the surprising amount of potency radiating from the man made it clear he truly had forged himself to a pristine ideal. Even if he was the farthest thing from a Gold, the Silver tier potency radiating from the ageless-looking man was the strongest, and purest, that Alex had sensed from anyone since arriving here at the academy.

    And it seemed that his own observation had not gone completely unnoticed.

    ¡°And I see several Ruidians among your number this semester,¡± he declared, giving both Alex and Linnea curious looks, before turning to Elder Win. ¡°Do we truly have two mixed-blood disciples daring a cultivator¡¯s path this year?¡±

    Elder Win chuckled softly. ¡°Only one, I suspect. Our dear Linnea is here for¡­ inspiration as much as anything else, I suspect.¡±

    Guo nodded thoughtfully. ¡°I see. Very well.¡± He turned and smiled politely at Linnea. ¡°You¡¯re of course welcome to observe and take whatever inspiration you may.¡±

    Linnea curtseyed respectfully. ¡°Thank you, elder.¡±

    He then turned to Alex, his voice candid. ¡°Can you truly cultivate Heaven and Earth spiritual energy? Would you mind giving our class a demonstration of your talents?¡±

    You have successfully summoned Enhanced Water Shield with elements of Wind, Wood, Lightning, and Steel! You have successfully hidden multiple elements within your shield!

    Master Guo¡¯s brows furrowed as he studied Alex¡¯s manifestation for long moments. It was all Alex could do not to flinch under the scrutiny, hiding so many secrets in plain sight. But there was no better arena to forge himself than under the hooded gazes of would-be masters and peers. Some were openly admiring, which warmed Alex more than he wanted to admit, and from several other students, most especially Tan Yi and several youths beside him, he sensed nothing but the sharp taste of bitter envy. Which was good, he told himself. It was exactly what he wanted. To hone himself and master discretion under gazes eager for his condemnation.

    Because it was one thing to brilliantly blaze forth with the deadliest art he had ever dared. But to slowly incorporate multiple elements hidden within the veil of one, so subtly that it looked like nothing other than a basic disc of spinning water, was another matter altogether. Even if there was no compounding synergism allowing for near absurd levels of boosted efficacy that Prismatic Shield allowed for, the subtle infusion of harmonizing elements Alex embraced now still granted him a Water Shield that most would find surprisingly hard to counter. Not to mention it¡¯s ability to shred unarmored or perhaps even armored flesh that attempted to strike him directly, as well as effortlessly rip most weapons from their users hands.

    Much like Elder Shi¡¯s casually held quarterstaff, gently prodding Alex¡¯s defenses with what was not coincidentally it¡¯s weakest element. Yet Alex¡¯s Water was infused with both Metal and Wood, in addition to Air and Lightning. The result being Elder Shi¡¯s eyes widening with near comical surprise when his quarterstaff was ripped completely free of his hands and sent lazily cartwheeling into the valley below.

    As much as a part of Alex wanted to grin in triumph, mostly what he felt was apprehension when Guo fixated upon him with hawk-like intensity¡­ that soon faded to the bemused countenance of a man who had intended such all along.

    Casually gazing at the staff whipping through the air down to the alley far below¡­ until he lazily held out his hand and his staff cracked through the air towards him once more.

    Perception Check made!

    You fail to get out of the way in time!

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, danger sense shrieking warning too late for him to do more than hunch over as the staff clocked his shoulder, the entire class oohing in admiration.

    You have suffered one Superficial Wound.

    Elder Shi tutted. ¡°You have a fine technique, certainly, lad. But a shield only guards your front. You must be in position to ward yourself from attacks from all angles before you dare the rifts or wujen with such a limited defense.¡±

    ¡°Stupid Ruidian finally being put in his place,¡± Tan Yi said with a snicker echoed by the more envious.

    Alex, however, not being a fool, immediately lowered his head. ¡°Thank you for your guidance, Master Guo. I will endeavor to take that into account when sparring or delving in the future.¡±

    He held his half-bow for long moments until he sensed Guo¡¯s demeanor soften, much to his relief. Because Alex cared absolutely nothing about the snickering of a handful of fools who, just as he had hoped, failed to understand the significance of his shield. All he cared about was that Guo, who had clearly felt the need to vindicate himself, felt like he had gotten the better of Alex sufficient for any perceived slight to be forgiven, and so would hopefully view Alex with the bemused warmth of an elder correcting the mistakes of an eager student, as opposed to a cocky Ruidian who had dared to show up an elder of the school and thus risk earning Guo¡¯s enmity from that moment on.

    To his great relief, Elder Shi gave a good-natured chuckle. ¡°Nonetheless, it is an impressive manifestation of Water Qi. And did I detect traces of Metal? How fascinating. If you are one of the very few who can infuse two elements in a single ward, then your defenses will be impressive indeed! I would counsel you to practice your Water Shield manifestation without fail for at least half a glass every day. I have no doubt that, with just a bit more diligence and training, your future kung-fu brothers will be quite well-served to have you by their side.¡±

    Alex bowed once more. ¡°Thank you for your wisdom, Elder Shi. I shall endeavor to train daily, just as you advise.¡±

    Alex knew it wasn¡¯t his imagination that Elder Shi¡¯s hard smile had soften to a grandfatherly grin of approval. If social skill checks were a thing in this world, he was almost certain he had passed with flying colors. Or at least, he had avoided failing spectacularly as he had done so often in his last life lived.

    Guo gazed at him thoughtfully. ¡°And now we¡¯ve learned that blond-haired Ruidians, at least, have the potential to harness spiritual energy.¡±

    Alex blinked, quietly certain that there were a couple leaps in logic going on there, but forbore to interrupt the elder he was determined to win over, or at least, not have gunning for him behind the scenes, so he smiled politely as the man spoke on.

    ¡°The question, however, is how well one of your mixed heritage allows you to deal with the buildup of waste Qi, an issue which seems to affect your red-headed cousins far less than it does true-blooded cultivators. Is that not right, Linnea?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely, Master Guo!¡± Linnea concurred with a cheeky grin. ¡°It takes at least half a dozen delves before we feel any buildup of anything at all! And then we just garden in our sanctuaries for a season and we¡¯re perfectly fine.¡±

    Elder Shi grinned indulgently. ¡°Indeed. Our goal this day, however, is to teach you all techniques to purge yourselves of waste Qi and achieve a pristine foundation without needing to revert to direct interaction with the elements of Wood, Water, and Earth, though certainly that¡¯s a viable strategy even among cultivators. But it is only to our benefit to enhance our ability to cleanse ourselves by breathing and cycling techniques alone.¡± He tilted his head thoughtfully. ¡°Are you versed in any cleansing techniques, Alex?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve learned how to use the sun to rejuvenate myself,¡± Alex conceded, recalling how good it had felt at first, just to soak up the glorious warm rays of the sun, as if embracing a dragon¡¯s natural path of both cycling and rejuvenation. It was nothing compared to his Desert Fox Cultivation which incorporated all the elements, but was the first technique he had instinctively picked up when first embracing his new life and just beginning his journey as a caravanner. And of course, he was far more interested in keeping his secrets close while learning what he could. Much to his Pleasant surprise, he didn¡¯t receive more than one snort of derision when he took on the lotus position, loosened his changshan tunic, and just enjoyed the feel of the sun caressing his skin.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    He soon lost himself in the pleasure of the suns warmth that, sensing no active hostility against him at that moment, and had no problem tuning out what he was sure were bemused whispers, until Guo¡¯s words pulled him back to himself.

    ¡°And I note that you use the Fire element as well as Water. Perhaps it is that contrast that consumes and filters the waste? Either way, I sense no undue buildup of toxicities within you, whatsoever. Most impressive, disciple. Though we won¡¯t know for certain if this is, in fact, the best path for you until our final test. But for now, continue to refine your current cleansing technique. An affinity for the sun is never a bad thing, after all!¡±

    Alex blinked in surprise, having expected any number of headshakes and criticism. Especially since the absorbing and refining of the sun¡¯s cleansing energy was more a passive cycling technique than anything else, and he was hardly doing anything conscious with it at all. Nonetheless, he knew better than to protest what was effectively a passing mark and quickly pulled himself back into the moment before standing upright once more, giving Elder Shi a final bow as he stepped back.

    Elder Win, however, looked a tad bit surprised, but elected to say nothing as his fellow instructor then proceeded to carefully watch everyone else¡¯s cleansing techniques with an eagle eye, those who had any such technique at all. And if the class thought that Alex¡¯s easy commendation would serve as the benchmark for their examination, they were sorely mistaken.

    ¡°No, child. You need to refine and cleanse your meridians, not squeeze tight additional spiritual energy on top of it, that will only make things worse! It¡¯s a good thing you enrolled when you did, or you¡¯d have plaque hopelessly embedded. Who taught you this technique? Your mother? Clearly she needs private lessons herself, though I shudder to think of the state of her meridians!¡±

    These words earned humiliated tears and a bowed head from Ying Ying, the girl visibly trembling by the end of Guo¡¯s critique, barely able to focus when he gave her half a dozen immediate pointers. Yet focus she did when his voice suddenly cracked like a whip, and Alex couldn¡¯t help wincing in sympathy.

    ¡°And you, boy. Why are you smirking? Your cleansing techniques are no better than hers!¡±

    These words were directed to Tan Yi, who had the gall to look affronted. ¡°This is my clan¡¯s revered Water technique that has served us well for generations!¡± He said with an outraged huff, just like a young master would.

    Much to Alex¡¯s surprise, Guo¡¯s flash of anger lasted for only a moment, before he muted it into a bemused chuckle. ¡°Aye, your family has quite a number of talented Water cultivators, and their techniques are exceptional. You, however, appear to have skipped multiple steps in your attempts to shortcut the cleansing rituals your family is so well known for.¡± He flashed a cynical smile when Tan Yi¡¯s eyes widened, for all the world looking like someone who was caught with his pants down.

    ¡°Let me guess. You focused all your efforts on the first and final patterns, but felt no need to master the middle seventeen steps?¡±

    ¡°The middle fifteen cycles are redundant copies. All the benefit¡¯s in the first and last,¡± Tan Yi said with a scowl, cheeks blazing as he glared at anyone smirking his way.

    Elder Shi¡¯s smirk turned pitying. ¡°And so you took it upon yourself to modify your clan¡¯s arts without even bothering to learn if deeper meanings and principals were being used than those you could sense when first you learned them? Did you even bother to consult anyone? I know for a fact you must not have, or your father would have correct your cavalier assumptions with brutal efficiency, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    Tan Yi said nothing, didn¡¯t dare to. He just lowered his head and murmured what could barely be called an acknowledgment. Still, Elder Shi was gracious enough to nod his head before giving the young master a handful of terse instructions on how to best incorporate the second and third forms of his family¡¯s technique before coolly assuring that he would make sure Tan Yi had mastered it in full before he would ever call himself a graduate of Silver Sands.

    Guo then flashed a pale-faced girl visibly trembling under his hawk-eyed gaze a disarming smile. ¡°Greetings, initiate. Hopefully you have learned sufficiently from the folly of others and will show me a technique that¡¯s actually worth my time?¡±

    The next two hours passed in a similar vein while Alex spent most of that time meditating and simply enjoying the feel of the warm sun infusing him as Guo quickly went from tearing everyone¡¯s forms apart to rebuilding them to be stronger with more stable foundations than ever before. Such that by the time Guo declared their class adjourned, no less than half the students were gazing about with a sense of wide-eyed wonder. Nearly all of them had achieved mini breakthroughs allowing them to both cleanse and cycle with greater ease than ever before, insights that for a handful at least, seemed to have sparked a profound revelations of one sort or another.

    ¡°Well done, disciples. I sense remarkable improvement in almost a score of you! Now I can think of no better time than the present to put your revelations to the test while you all on the cusp of grand insights. It is time for us to seize the moment and make the most of it!¡±

    With those words and a nod from Elder Win, the pair proceeded to shepherd the students off the clearing and back onto the path, Linnea using her newfound grace to dart effortlessly forward to walk by Alex¡¯s side.

    ¡°Ooh, are we heading back now, Alex? It¡¯s been a long day, hasn¡¯t it?¡±

    Alex shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re done quite yet, Linnea.¡± He lowered his voice, falling back to whisper in her ear. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m almost certain he¡¯s going to have us actually enter the rift.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s furrowed brow turned to surprise when that turned out to exactly be the case as they gathered in the clearing right before the magnificent falls, the rift entrance nestled in the cliff face visible even from where they stood.

    ¡°Alex, half of these kids hardly know what they¡¯re doing! It would be madness to send them into the rifts!¡±

    Alex winced, for Linnea hadn¡¯t bothered lowering her voice. Fortunately, they were near enough to the waterfall that their masters could pretend not to have heard. Though the way a few of the students clenched the safety ropes lining the outer edges of the fortunately wide path overlooking a rather sheer drop made it clear that her words had reached at least a few ears.

    Elder Shi turned around, smiling back at the youths before gesturing toward the vast maw of the gloomy cavern entrance from which the waters leading to the roaring waterfall emanated. ¡°And here, while of many of you are on the cusp of grand insights, we¡¯ll put your revelations to the ultimate test.¡±

    The awed youths, captivated by both the falls and the beauty of the valley below, immediately paled. Some visibly flinched, others like Ma Guo and Ling Ling, put on stoic expressions for all that their white-knucked hands tightly clenched the hilts of their jian or the sashes securing their cheongsams or cultivation uniforms.

    For some reason this made Elder Shi positively beam. ¡°Nervous? You should be.¡± His bemusement turned to a hard glare. ¡°For these are rifts which only the most skilled and talented cultivators dare to explore. Cultivators who have spent seasons¡­ no, years, honing their martial skills and ability to channel spiritual energy. Cultivators who have learned to work and fight together in perfect harmony.¡± He crossed his arms, shaking his head. ¡°Clearly, it will be many seasons before any of you are ready for that. Still, it will serve as an ideal testing ground. You will all be expected to endure at least a quarter of a glass within this Rift, arguably the safest of them all, radiating the least waste Qi of all the delves here in Liushi. Those of you that don¡¯t collapse might actually have a future taking on the most vital of all roles within this city. Once our time is up, then we will return to the clearing and determine just how well your cleansing techniques serve you.¡±

    He said the last with a hard smile for Tan Yi in particular it seemed, though he wasn¡¯t the only one to blanch and drop his gaze.

    Guo¡¯s hard glare turned to a half-smile once more. ¡°I can see the question so many of you are dying to ask. Well, go on, ask it.¡±

    Ling Ling swallowed, one hand nervously pulling her braided hair. ¡°Elder Shi?¡±

    ¡°Yes, child?¡±

    ¡°If the rifts are so perilous, so filled with waste Qi that it puts all our cultivation bases at risk¡­ why would anyone even bother?¡±

    Tan Yi rolled his eyes and his hulking protector snorted. A few others also exchanged amused looks, though Ling Ling wasn¡¯t the only one gazing at the rift entrance with genuine wonder.

    Elder Shi let loose a bright chuckle. ¡°Simple, aspirant. Within those rifts are spirit beasts possessing succulent meat that will nourish you more thoroughly than any meal you¡¯ve ever had before. Spirit beasts that, in some rare cases, possess meat so precious that their hearts and livers can enhance your body cultivation and revitalize your entire foundation! Should you manage to recover any such prizes, you could earn its weight in credits or silver coin from the cafeteria or, if you stumble upon a truly rare find and actually know what you¡¯re doing, you could set yourself up for life, making a private sale to a wealthy body cultivator or their clan who are desperate for a breakthrough!¡± He grinned, eyes twinkling. ¡°Of course your greatest chance of securing such prizes is here, within the depths of the Western rift. But within each and every one of these rifts lies prizes valued by every single wujen within this academy. Can you guess what those are?¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smiling when the man pointedly looked his way. ¡°Beast cores,¡± Alex said.

    The man nodded. ¡°Correct! You have the potential to earn more credits in a single day¡¯s venture with any successful hunt than you could in an entire season of completing more mundane tasks in the assignment hall, regardless of the quality or rarity of the meat, simply by successfully harvesting their beast cores. And should you get a true beauty, a Silver tier beast core of sufficient quality and rarity, you¡¯ll be wealthy indeed. A few such successful runs could see you living comfortably in one of the nicest homes in the city!¡±

    He grinned at the awed excitement he saw in more than a few faces with that pronouncement. ¡°But don¡¯t expect to be daring the Eastern Rift until you¡¯re well into Bronze, with Silver-tier wujen and Ruidian by your side. Your starting rift should be this very one. Liushi¡¯s western rift, where the waste Qi exposure is minimal, the creatures pristine and free of any warping, and their meat truly exquisite, even if their cores are on the smaller side.¡±

    One of the youths frowned at this. ¡°But sir, honored master, even if we should be successful hunting down these creatures¡­ there¡¯s still the matter of actually retrieving the core and dressing the kill¡­ right?¡±

    Elder Shi nodded solemnly. ¡°There is. Some choose to do it on sight, in the rift. Most others will instead to choose to make use of storage pouches and travel bags, not wishing to waste time or risk distraction, and indeed, our restaurant prefers kills kept in perfect status so that they may make full use of the blood, brains, and viscera that too often goes to waste when kills are dressed in the field. Fortunately, we have skilled instructors happy to teach you the basics of dressing your kill, as will your future delving companions once you¡¯ve broken through to Bronze and have sufficient skills and training to safely handle the rifts.¡±

    Of course, there¡¯s always the crack the skull open and tear your prize free method, Alex thought to himself, but forbore mentioning allowed, somehow certain that the elder wouldn¡¯t be too pleased to hear repeated the cavalier practicality that had ruled Alex and his companions during their earlier delve. But considering the size of the beasts and how unappealing meat smelled in that rift, Alex had no problem with ruthless practicality.

    ¡°Alright, then. It¡¯s time we formed into groups.¡± He gestured toward Alex and a half dozen others. ¡°You all, please step forward and link arms.¡± His gaze grew intent. ¡°This is important, children. If you do nothing else right today, at least do this much. Maintain contact with your peers while stepping through the rift, so that we may enter the delve as one.¡±

    One of the youths gulped. He was a painfully skinny youth who¡¯s eyes twinkled with nervous energy, for all that Alex knew already he¡¯d never break through to Bronze. ¡°What happens if we, um, let go?¡±

    Elder Shi¡¯s gentle smile turned hard and cold. ¡°Then you risk appearing in the rift all alone, with nothing but wild jungle on all sides, and shadowy predators where you least expect them.¡±

    The boy paled at those words.

    Elder Shi chuckled. ¡°But fear not. So long as you refuse to panic, and keep yourself calm and collected, you can still avert disaster. Simply turn completely around and peer into the forest gloom until you see a door-sized gate of obsidian darkness flashing with a thousand stars. Step back through and you¡¯ll be none the worse for wear.¡±

    Elder Shi¡¯s words did little to comfort the wild-eyed boy.

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re saying we could end up lost and alone in there? That we won¡¯t be able to find you, even if you¡¯re next to us?¡±

    ¡°These are multi-instanced rifts,¡± Linnea calmly explained. ¡°No one¡¯s quite sure how it works, but my clan theorizes it¡¯s overlapping wave functions collapsing with each new group to manifest. All the city¡¯s living potential, it¡¯s life force, helps generate the manifestation and the jungles and beasts within are simply vessels of potential to process the Dark Qi that only snap into existence when we¡¯re able to measure them with our senses.¡±

    The skinny youth¡¯s eyes widened with both fear and wonder, more than a few disciples gazing at Linnea in a new light, though Tan Yi snorted his contempt.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to allow this foreigner to say such things here, Elder Shi? We came here to learn, not listen to absurd Ruidian blasphemies!¡±

    Alex grit his teeth, glaring at the sneering youth, expecting him to be put in his place.

    Much to his surprise, and dismay, Elder Shi flashed Linnea a reproving look. ¡°You know our stance on discussing religious doctrine in public, child.¡±

    Tan Yi grinned with dark satisfaction as Linnea flushed and lowered her head.

    ¡°This one apologizes, elder.¡±

    It was all Alex could do not to wipe the smirk off Tan Yi¡¯s face permanently.

    ¡°No worries.¡± Elder Shi waved off the apology, making it clear that it wasn¡¯t quite the big deal that Tan Yi clearly wanted it to be. ¡°Now if you aspirants would be so kind as to link up? Excellent. Let¡¯s proceed.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 49 - Predators within the mist.

    Alex was tempted to suggest forming a party, but feared it would do nothing but ruffle Shi¡¯s feathers. He had already stuck his head out too far once with the man. Much better that he keep a low-key profile at least for the rest of the day. Still, he had every intention of being prepared. He concentrated on stretching out his Qi Perception and using his other senses as much as possible while stepping into the portal in sync with Ling Ling and Ma Guo who each had each linked arms with him, as well as everyone else. And after an eternal moment stretched in an infinite cocoon of darkness, Alex found himself grinning from ear to ear as he was suddenly immersed the sights, sounds, and smells of a humid jungle all around them.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± Ling Ling spoke in hushed tones as she stared about in wide-eyed awe at the jungle before them. She flinched before the sharp screeches of monkeys that could be heard within the lush green canopy above their heads, so think that only the occasional ray of emerald green light pierced through rustling branches to caress the loamy forest floor. The air was thick with the scents of countless exotic blossoms and the loamy, earthy smell of gentle decomposition, scattered leaves crackling against their feet.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but grin as he recognized the distinct cries of parrots and cockatiels, though he was awed more than anything else by the panoply of odors bombarding his senses, effortlessly noting over a dozen different varieties of blossom perfuming the air, biochemical mastery synergizing with his sense of smell beyond anything he had experienced in his previous life. For all that a part of him felt like it wast he most natural thing in the world. Like there had, perhaps, been plenty of incarnations where he had relied on that gift and many others, in that moment recalling all too well the first role he had ever taken by his master¡¯s side. Yidushian inspectors bringing as much justice as they could to a corrupt world¡­ before being forced to pay the most bitter price imaginable.

    Alex shook his head, allowing the forest¡¯s grandeur to wash away bitter regrets that had no place in this place and time. He let Elder Shi¡¯s soothing words intending to calm the group of still linked students wash over him and through him as he closed his eyes, accessed his interface sheet, and much to his ecstatic delight, once more tuned in to gifts that not even the envelope between lives could keep from him.

    You have successfully made use of Forest Sense! Forest Sense has synergized with interface map. You have successfully detected multiple anomalies of significance within 100 yards!

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened with wonder and no small amount of delight, his eyes snapping open to look in the direction he had sensed prizes of note as Elder Shi spoke on.

    ¡°See, aspirants? This rift leads into nothing more than an ancient memory of the forests that once covered this land, countless centuries ago. You need but look behind you to see the gate home, just a few feet away. Now, everyone stand at attention. Your goals for the next quarter glass are simply to see if you can sense the buildup of waste Qi within your meridians, and to make full use of your cleansing techniques to minimize the buildup you suffer during our...¡±

    His words cut off when two students began to groan, one actually rolling his eyes and collapsing after just a few seconds exposure.

    Linnea, who Alex was surprised to see had joined them, just shook her head and tutted. ¡°Wow, they really aren¡¯t cut out for rifts at all, are they?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because they¡¯re actually trying to purify their bodies of foul waste and ascend!¡± Tan Yi snapped. ¡°They¡¯re not taint-filled abominations using alien magics and artificial jewels that risk imperiling us all while stealing our city¡¯s treasures!¡±

    Elder Shi¡¯s glare at Linnea soon included Tan Yi. ¡°That¡¯s enough from both of you!¡± He gave a frustrated shake of his head. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re returning a bit earlier than expected. These aspirants will be brought to the infirmary. We will then return with several more of you, and all of you will be expected to stay for a full fifteen minutes without complaint, if you ever hope to have permission to dare the delves at any point in the future.¡±

    These words earn widened eyes and quick nods, more than a few students looking at the fallen pair with either contempt or pity. Yet none raced to help them up before Alex effortlessly scooped up the girl as Elder Shi grabbed the boy. ¡°Very good,¡± he said, giving Alex an approving nod before turning to the others. ¡°No need to link hands now, but best we leave as a group for safety¡¯s sake,¡± he said as they all stepped through the gate once more.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked the ill-looking girl in Alex¡¯s arms, gazing up at him in confusion as a cool breeze snapped her to alarmed wakefulness once more.

    ¡°Nothing to worry about. You got a bit dizzy, so I¡¯m helping you get someplace to rest for a bit,¡± Alex assured her as he and Elder Shi quickly navigated the path up to the plateau once more, pleased to see that a pair of assistants wearing pale white robes were waiting for them. No doubt they were a contingency for just this sort of occasion.

    Alex smiled reassuringly at the girl as he gently placed her in the bamboo and wicker stretcher that the closest attendant nodded toward, complete with a surprisingly soft pillow. Alex didn¡¯t know whether to smile or cry at the sight of a full dozen stretchers, making it clear what the school thought of the student¡¯s chances.

    ¡°What happened is that you found out that the rifts really aren¡¯t a good fit for you,¡± Elder Shi said with a fatherly pat of the girl¡¯s wrist.

    To Alex¡¯s surprise, she looked on the verge of tears.

    ¡°But it was so beautiful!¡± She said with a whispered sigh. ¡°I could sense the beauty, the majesty of it for just a moment, before I was overwhelmed by¡­ well, I don¡¯t even know what it was?¡±

    ¡°No matter, child,¡± Elder Shi soothingly assured. ¡°It¡¯s no mark against you, I assure you. These first few days are about helping us get a sense of your predilections, interests, and how you will best blossom within our academy. If you enjoy gardens and groves, then all is far from lost! We could really use more talented cultivators in the valley below, and I suspect you¡¯ll quite like it there. It¡¯s lush, soothing, and quite a bit cooler than the city at midday, I promise you that.¡±

    The girl¡¯s tired eyes crinkled in a smile. ¡°Really? That would be wonderful.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Now rest here, child. And when you¡¯re ready, practice the cleansing techniques we went over earlier today. Let the healer know if you need anything.¡±

    ¡°I will, Master Shi,¡± the girl solemnly promised, before immediately falling asleep.

    Alex gazed down at the boy had yet to awaken at all. He gave a sympathetic shake of his head. ¡°I had no idea it hit anyone that hard.¡±

    Elder Shi gave Alex a thoughtful look as they proceeded back down toward the rift and the waiting students. ¡°And how do you feel, Alex? Any sense of weight, spiritual burden or pressure, or uncomfortable buildup in your joints or lower Dantian?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Honestly? I feel great! I don¡¯t suppose I can make a quick request?¡±

    Elder Shi gave Alex an intrigued look. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    Alex hesitated for just a heartbeat, debating whether he should say anything at all, but the faintest look of displeasure at his momentary pause spurred him on. ¡°I¡­ sensed what I suspect are some choice spirit fruit and herbs when we were there. Would you mind if I journeyed just a short way into the woods to gather them?¡± He flashed his best smile. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t take more than fifteen minutes, or get lost.¡±

    Elder Shi blinked. ¡°You actually sensed spiritual treasures in the handful of seconds before two of your classmates collapsed?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ yes?¡±

    The instructor frowned. ¡°Alex, you know that most spiritual treasures are harder, not easier to find, than a jewel in a sand storm. Is it possible that you simply saw a pretty flash of color?¡±

    ¡°Actually I did see a pretty flash of color, and I think it might have been a spirit peach.¡±

    Elder Shi gazed at Alex for long moments as they emerged from the path to the cavern entrance once more, catching a score or so of troubled gazes. ¡°All right, Alex,¡± he said with a nod. ¡°So long as you call out so I know exactly where you are, and so long as I sense nothing¡­ untoward.¡±

    Alex bowed. ¡°This humble aspirant thanks you, honored elder.¡±

    Elder Shi snorted before turning to the others. ¡°As you no doubt witnessed, two of your number have already fallen,¡± he said in a no-nonsense tone. ¡°They will both make a full recovery, of course. But neither will ever again be permitted anywhere near the rifts.¡± He exchanged looks with instructor Win, who sighed and nodded.

    ¡°We will now be going in groups of ten, linked as before. I will lead, Master Win will cover our rear. Should anyone else prove unfit for task, he will escort them out.¡±

    ¡°And I expect the rest of you to diligently practice your cleansing techniques until we return! For you¡¯ll certainly need them,¡± Elder Win said with a warning look for the remaining students, earning over a dozen hasty nods as the lead ten linked arms and formed a group once more, a grinning Linnea somehow slipping into place to clasp his left hand far more intimately than protocol necessitated as they stepped on through.

    And then after a moment lost in absolute darkness Alex opened his eyes to find himself in the jungle once again.

    Before furrowing his brow, sensing that something was wrong.

    His eyes widened.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    He quickly turned to Elder Shi. ¡°Master, the forest has changed!¡±

    ¡°Of course it did,¡± Tan Yi snorted. ¡°You clearly don¡¯t know anything about rifts.¡±

    Elder Shi frowned. ¡°Do you sense it?¡±

    Alex swallowed, closing his eyes, knowing exactly what the man meant.

    You fail to detect any spiritual treasures within 70 yards.

    Alex shook his head, cursing softly under his breath, even as his eyes vainly tried to pierce the undergrowth. ¡°No, Master Shi. Though if you didn¡¯t mind my taking a short walk...¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Elder Win snapped. ¡°No party was formed. No protocol or precautions are in place. None of you are trained for a delve. Allowing you children to wander off is a sure recipe for disaster!¡±

    Alex winced and bowed his head. ¡°This one apologizes for his foolish request,¡± he said, making sure that absolutely no blame fell Elder Shi¡¯s way, even if it was clear from Win¡¯s frown that he suspected that Shi would have happily allowed it, and that perhaps such wasn¡¯t entirely per protocol. But considering that the pair were babysitting almost a dozen students now, and that more than a few were looking pasty-faced and visibly panting after less than a minute¡¯s exposure, perhaps it was for the best that Alex stay right where he was.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Ling Ling?¡±

    She began to tremble. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to...¡±

    Forest Sense linked Perception Check made!

    Alex winced when she vomited all over his thousand year old leather shoes.

    Then her eyes widened as he drew his razor sharp dao in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alex!¡± Ling Ling sobbed, gazing at him with naked terror.

    But Alex paid her no mind, any more than he did Elder Win¡¯s furious features, already knowing what he needed to do as he summoned forth his Enhanced Water Shield, infusing it with Wind, Steel, and Lightning.

    ¡°Shadow Pumas!¡± Alex roared. ¡°Everyone get back through the damned gate!¡±

    Time seemed to slow as students and instructors looked at him with either surprise or like he had gone mad.

    Elder Shi furrowed his brow thoughtfully, clearly preparing to pepper Alex with questions there was no time at all for as the suggestion of shadowy death became an abrupt certainty, just seconds away.

    ¡°Alex! Link the party map interface!¡± Linnea hollered in his mind.

    Alex wasted no time wondering how or why their party link was still in effect or if it now came automatically when they adventured together. He didn¡¯t even know he could share what she wanted until he felt a curious tug, the girl somehow highlighting a strange concept his mind instantly translated to a blinking tab. He didn¡¯t even have time to feel alarmed or violated, merely scooping and sharing the image as fast as thought, sensing her immediately stiffen and curse, her eye widening with stunned alarm turning to desperate focus.

    ¡°Cover our front, I got your six!¡± And the air heated with a sudden whirlwind of flame.

    Win¡¯s eyes bulged comically as he desperately summoned what would have been a devastating storm of spiritual energy even as he drew his sword, near crushing Linnea with his killing glare as a brilliant hot stream of ochre red and white-hot flames corkscrewed through the air promising death to any overconfident wujen who truly didn¡¯t realize how much quicker a well trained Ruidian jewel master could strike, or at least Linnea could.

    Quick enough for her fiery Crimson Corkscrew to blast completely through the Shadow Puma who had been springing for Elder Win¡¯s neck, Linnea having managed the miraculous feat of forging a piercing flame strike that somehow pierced flesh as well as any sword, flash-boiling and erupting her prey from the inside out.

    The Silver tier cultivator¡¯s face paled, an odd look of apology, regret, and gratitude flashing over his features for just an instant as he realized he had been about to charge and strike a Ruidian girl that had just saved him from being mangled at the very least. Before cursing when he was abruptly showered with innards of flash-boiled spirit puma.

    A scene Alex experienced as if it were his own, sensing the battlefield more clearly than he ever had before in his life. As if he and Linnea had just combined processing power, and were able to think and strike as one.

    You have saved versus fatal blow!

    Fortunately his dual awareness had no adverse effect in his ability to weave under the pair of pumas that were presently leaping for his back. Time seemed to stretch and slow with the pounding of his heart as he desperately weaved and darted past snapping jaws and disemboweling claws while lashing out with furious windmilling strikes that cleaved through flesh and bone, once more embracing a weapon that in the fury of battle truly belonged in his hands.

    You have critically struck Shadow Puma!

    His prismatic shield had been traded for fangtian ji without a second thought in the mad melee where attacks were coming from all angles, and he needed the full reach of his weapon to rip open the fresh pair of pumas that had just sprang for the trio of terrified students somehow huddling at his feet, one of them bleeding from a devastating injury as Alex roared and struck.

    The Shadow puma that had thought itself so clever, ripping open students just beyond Alex¡¯s range, soon learned the eternal error of its ways when enhanced an extra three feet of Windblade tore right through one paw and sliced open its jugular in an injury Alex could only hope was fatal as he spun around and lashed out with a roar, his polearm head now cleaving completely through the puma that had slunk from behind to tear out his own throat, the whirlwind of razor sharp steel in a swirling matrix of Water cleaving through his target as exquisitely as Black Swan once had in a blinding explosion of lighting sent the remains of the shadow cat spraying back from Alex and his companions, freezing the remaining handful of deadly stalkers in their tracks.

    And for just a second, Alex had sensed the lightning¡¯s hunger to continue its arc. To blast right through the trio of cats now roaring and leaping as one.

    Quickness check made!

    You have brought your deadliest art to bear!

    All thoughts save survival fled Alex¡¯s mind as he desperately dove to the side. But before spinning around with his fangtian ji now shrieking with a maelstrom of energy so intense that Alex felt it like a pressure wave. Daring to channel his deadliest art for the duration of a single perilous swing.

    Prismatic Strike!

    You have successfully struck your targets!

    Fatality!

    And as effortlessly as slicing through over-ripe fruit, the first and second Shadow Puma exploded in lightning and gore.

    Even as the third got off with a single limb obliterated, yowling in middair as it lunged for Ling Ling¡¯s throat.

    Alex¡¯s heart clenched with dread as he met sixteen-year-old Ling Ling¡¯s terrified gaze¡­ right before a furious corkscrewing stream of crimson death hammered into the final cat¡¯s maw, it¡¯s skull erupting in fiery crimson gore that splattered a screaming Ling Ling before she was nearly crushed by the weight of the dead cat that crashed into her.

    But at least, by some miracle, she was still alive to scream.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Alex poured his heart into the gratitude he felt for Linnea, naked and raw, no filter between their mind-melded forms, even as he raced to lift what was a truly massive Shadow Cat off a battered and sobbing Ling Ling.

    And then it was over, Alex blinking as he took in just how many cats he and his friend had taken out.

    ¡°Friend? We¡¯re so much more than that. We¡¯re Battle Buddys, Alex! And don¡¯t you forget it!¡±

    Alex grinned at the thought.

    ¡°And what¡¯s a mind meld? What¡¯s Star Trek? Ooh wait, I¡¯ve seen ships like those before in the sacred tomes!¡±

    ¡°Quiet, Linnea. The elders are giving us looks. We need to put them at ease.¡±

    And it was true. Elder Win was giving him the strangest stare, even as Master Shi¡¯s look of shocked wonder turned to a glorious laugh. ¡°Well done, Alex! Linnea! That was absolutely masterful! I take it you two have hunted before?¡±

    Linnea positively beamed. ¡°Yup! We hunted together last night! That¡¯s why Alex was such a sleepyhead today. We sort of pulled an all-nighter. And since we were still party-linked¡­ it made it easy to fight as one.¡±

    Her cheerful words were met by almost a dozen sober nods, everyone not injured gazing at the pair of them with looks ranging from confusion to ire to outright awe.

    ¡°That was incredible!¡± Whispered one youth as the elders rapidly hurried them to the exit. ¡°I didn¡¯t even see those things until they had already fallen!¡± He declared, flinching shuddering at the sight of one of the massive pumas easily as large as any lion.

    ¡°And how did he move so fast?¡± Said a girl with carefully braided hair who¡¯s name Alex hadn¡¯t caught, now gazing at him so curiously as Elder Win ushered her toward the exit. ¡°Is he a speed cultivator? But we now know he¡¯s definitely a Ruidian, right? So what exactly is he?¡±

    ¡°A bloody abomination,¡± huffed Tan Yi, for some bizarre reason glaring at Alex like the whole disaster was his fault. ¡°This is the safest rift in the whole damned city! For so many of those creatures to ambush us at once is all their fault!¡± He glared and jabbed his finger in Alex¡¯s face. ¡°They radiate a foul taint that enrages the beasts and corrupts the rifts! My family has proof! These mixed-blood mongrels shouldn¡¯t even be here!¡±

    Alex blinked, momentarily speechless, as was everyone else at that declaration, before laughing in Tan Yi¡¯s face. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s some twisted logic, good buddy! Blaming the guy who just saved your bacon for getting stuck in the fire. No ¡®thanks for covering my six¡¯ or ¡®I owe you one, kung fu brother!¡¯ Just ¡®everything¡¯s your fault, let¡¯s pin the blame on you because I don¡¯t like your eyes, or the color of your skin.¡¯¡±

    Alex crossed his arms and shook his head. ¡°And now the whole class knows just how petty and pathetic you and your whole damn clan is, hating us so fiercely that they¡¯ll even use my saving your life as a pretext to get rid of any outsider that they can.¡±

    His bemused smile hardened as he gazed coldly at the wilting students about to pass him and leave the rift. ¡°So let me ask you this, Tan Yi. How many lives would you have saved, if I hadn¡¯t been here?¡±

    The boy opened his mouth, but no words came out. No words could come out. All he could answer with was a snarl. Features that looked so Yidushian despite the darker complexion twisted in a snarl. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for insulting my clan, Ruidian. Mark my words!¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Snapped none other than Elder Win, eyes flashing as he held a groaning student that had come close to being disemboweled. ¡°Exit now, and form an orderly line! We¡¯re heading back up, and those who were injured are going to the healers immediately!¡±

    In short order all that was left was Alex, Linnea, and Elder Shi, pinning them both with his gaze.

    Alex winced under the sudden tension, forced to wonder if the spirit beasts merely marked the beginning of their trials within the rift, because sure as anything, Elder Shi had questions.

 Book 8 - Chapter 50 - Heroes get happy endings? Are you sure thats allowed?

    As much as Alex was discomforted by Elder Shi''s intense stare, he made no move to interrogate them like they were somehow responsible, or demand that they immediately leave or force them to forsake the prizes that would be left behind. Instead, he crossed his arms behind his back, honoring them both with a beaming smile. ¡°Well done, children. Well done indeed!¡± He tilted his head. ¡°When time permits, I¡¯d love to know how, exactly, you manage to both spot and counter nearly a dozen Shadow Pumas with such blinding efficiency that our entire class was humbled by the display. But the first question I will ask is: do you sense any other Shadow Pumas or other hostile spirit beasts in the area?¡±

    Alex solemnly shook his head. ¡°No I don¡¯t, Master Shi.¡±

    He gave Alex a sober nod and turned to Linnea. ¡°Linnea?¡±

    She grinned sheepishly. ¡°Honestly, I was as blind to trouble as you all were. I have yet to develop my infravision, which clearly I¡¯ll have to spend some level-up points purchasing next rank. But honestly, Master Shi, the only reason why I was locking onto and bringing down our targets so well is because I had fully integrated with Alex¡¯s interface.¡±

    Their instructor¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°So he truly has a full party interface you can make use of at will?¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks flush when the ageless man turned to measure Alex with his too-discerning gaze. ¡°Yet I sense nothing but unusually potent spiritual energy I¡¯d expect only from my most dedicated cohorts. And still you can form parties with other Ruidians and react to threats in instantaneous coordinated fashion. How very fascinating.¡±

    Elder Shi¡¯s grin widened. ¡°And what¡¯s more, I sense absolutely no buildup of waste Qi in the time we¡¯ve been here, mild as the miasma is in this particular rift, assuring true boons in spirit beast meat, even if the cores all too often leave much to be desired.¡±

    Alex blinked at this, before his eyes widened with dismay. ¡°Are you serious? That¡¯s so unfair!¡±

    The cultivator furrowed his brow in confusion. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what¡¯s wrong, aspirant?¡±

    ¡°Our kills! Our cores! They¡¯re gone before we could even collect them!¡± hissed a frustrated Alex. ¡°That¡¯s just absurd!¡±

    This earned an amused chuckle. Before Alex could even ask what was so funny, not that he didn¡¯t immediately bite down on his tongue at the very thought of mouthing off to the man who was effectively the gatekeeper for delving, at least as a student, the man flashed a handful of prizes that immediately turned Alex¡¯s ire to sweetest rapture.

    ¡°We got seven cores!¡± Linnea happily squealed. ¡°And they¡¯re not shit, either!¡±

    ¡°Indeed they¡¯re not,¡± Elder Shi declared indulgently. ¡°Seven high quality Bronze-tier cores that I suspect will earn you around 700 credits in total, or 350 for each of you.¡±

    Linnea positively beamed, before near tackling Alex in an excited hug. ¡°Aren¡¯t you glad I came with you today, Alex? We make an awesome team!¡±

    ¡°You do,¡± Elder Shi concurred. ¡°A fine enough team that I will see what I can do about giving you permission to partake of group delve assignments in the job hall.¡± His smile hardened with a hint of warning. ¡°So long as it¡¯s understood that this rift alone is open to you while attending as a student, Alex, at least for now. And considering how perilous today¡¯s foray was...¡± He frowned, and for just a moment Alex sensed how troubled the man truly was. ¡°I¡¯ll make an extra point of insisting upon larger parties from now on, including at least one Ruidian if at all possible.¡±

    His demeanor immediately brightened. ¡°And don¡¯t think you won¡¯t each be getting quite the return on your spirit beast meat! In fact, if you¡¯re willing to let me deliver the kills personally, I¡¯ll see that you both have unlimited access to our premier dining hall and elite dormitory for the next month. A fitting reward for your heroic acts today, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±

    Alex positively grinned. ¡°That would be lovely, Elder Shi. We would be grateful to accept. Wouldn¡¯t we, Linnea?¡±

    But Linnea was grabbing his hand, holding it so tight. ¡°This is absolutely wonderful, Alex! I now have independent lodgings, both room and board, without any ties to my asshole uncle and annoying clan. With unlimited access to the tastiest victuals I could hope for!¡± She beamed happily. ¡°Even if most of my kind can¡¯t stand spirit beat meat, it think it tastes absolutely divine.¡±

    Elder Shi gave an indulgent chuckle. ¡°No worries, Linnea. We have a Ruidian chef that makes the most wonderful fish entrees and fruit salads you could ask for. Of course we do our utmost to take care of our Ruidian guests, or those not so far in their cultivation that they lack the need to balance their diet with sustenance besides spirit beast meat.¡±

    He then turned around with a sigh, gazing at the forest all around them, the air once more alive with the cries of wild birds, monkeys, and other beasts, the air rich with a thousand tropical blossoms, forest loam, and the lingering scent of cat musk, ruptured bowels, and blood.

    The elder frowned thoughtfully for a moment, slowly shaking his head. ¡°In all the years I¡¯ve taught here, not once have we suffered an ambush like this, here, in the westernmost rift. Arguably the safest rift where our prey is almost¡­ docile.¡±

    ¡°They were hardly docile today,¡± Linnea snorted. ¡°Those fuckers were seriously out for blood.¡±

    Alex winced at her crass interjection, but Elder Shi just chuckled agreeably.

    ¡°Indeed those fuckers were,¡± he said with a game nod, before catching their gaze once more. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you two have any ideas or insights that might help us solve the puzzle as to why?¡±

    Alex gently squeezed Linnea¡¯s hand when her eyes widened in hurt surprise, sensing her sudden fear of witch-hunts and persecution. As if the elder¡¯s innocent sounding question hid bitter jewels of peril just beneath the tranquil surface of his words.

    Alex slowly shook his head before Shi¡¯s inquiring gaze, treating it like a genuine and fair question. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Elder Shi. This is my first time within this rift, so I have no prior experience to compare today to. What I can tell you is that I sometimes have a knack for sensing hostile parties¡­ at least when those parties are spirit beasts. When I sensed trouble, Linnea and I just snapped back into party-mode from yesterday and took action.¡± He shrugged self-consciously. ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s all a bit of a blur, now. I was just trying to survive and take out as many of those creatures as I could.¡±

    Linnea nodded. ¡°But the good news is, I managed to level up Crimson Corkscrew from all the sweet, sweet potency released!¡± She winced. ¡°But don¡¯t tell uncle. He expects me to put everything just into developing my class. But why not take my time and make sure I have a few deadly attacks that hit far harder than they otherwise would, and that I can cast my favorite spells in the blink of an eye, so I can better survive the leveling up process in the first place? That¡¯s the lesson Alex taught me, and I wouldn¡¯t have been nearly as effective today if I wasn¡¯t both faster and more perceptive than I had been just a couple days ago!¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t effect your baseline progression rate, there¡¯s no reason why you shouldn¡¯t invest experience into skills as well as the levels themselves. Sideways progression that serves as a force multiplier for you might be just as important as leveling up your underlying class and core elemental affinity. Perhaps even more so. Or¡­ at least that¡¯s how I¡¯d do it, if my internal matrix was actually set up that way,¡± he quickly amended before the pair of gazes now pinning his own.

    Elder Shi nodded as if he could actually appreciate a paradigm so different from his own. He then gave a smile. ¡°Well, if neither of you have anything further to add¡­¡±

    Alex and Linnea exchanged glances, both shaking their heads.

    ¡°Then I propose we call this an end to our first successful class hunt,¡± Elder Shi said, the three of them reaching out and touching the portal in unison. Yet even as Alex felt the darkness engulf him once more, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that, at the very last moment, there were shadows in the forest clearing morphing into figures glaring their way.

    A chilling thought he immediately shook away when the warm light of the afternoon sun caressed his features once more, all extraneous thoughts leaving him as he took in the magnificent caldera vista before him, a craggy rim of volcanic rock with a circumference of miles, dotted with magnificent pagodas and buildings carved right from the stone above.

    A glorious, panoramic view of the city that had become his new home. And just below was a valley so lush and fecund as to serve as the breadbasket for countless hundreds of thousands of souls, no matter that the caldera itself was surrounded by countless miles of desert sands.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Elder Shi asked with a fond smile, his voice easily carrying over the roaring of the falls just below them, his brown eyes twinkling as he savored the moment, before giving Alex and Linnea the warmest of nods. ¡°And it¡¯s thanks in no small part to your efforts and the efforts of people like you that our city continues to prosper, for which you may rest assured you will always have our gratitude.¡±

    ¡°Even when spiteful idiots try to put the blame at our feet,¡± Linnea said with a scowl, earning a sympathetic chuckle from Shi.

    ¡°Even so,¡± he said. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about the Duo Yi clan. They¡¯ve been water merchants for centuries, who once held the city¡¯s fate in the palms of their hands when the only reliable water source was the secret rift that they alone knew the location of.¡± Elder Shi flashed a jaded smile. ¡°So perhaps it¡¯s not so surprising that when King Zheng, long may his name be revered, forged a treatise with your clans 220 or so years ago, promising an end to all persecution, and indeed, a perpetual warm welcome to your kind who chose to visit Liushi along with trustworthy companions and the most generous commissions for every rift you delved¡­ our water troubles began to abate and a certain clan¡¯s power and influence began to wane.¡±

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, genuinely surprised to hear such a candid explanation. ¡°Thank you for sharing. That explains a lot. And I¡¯m genuinely grateful for the heads-up. Though I have to admit, I hadn¡¯t expected any elder to be so, well...¡±

    ¡°Forward? Candid?¡± Elder Shi flashed a jaded smile. ¡°Where most elders find satisfaction in observing young cultivators forge themselves into men and women worthy of their mantel as they strive to find the answers to all their questions through struggle, research, and in the ofttimes bitter crucible of conflict...all paths that allow for growth and far stronger foundations than spoon-fed answers will ever provide anyone, that philosophy doesn¡¯t necessarily hold for those who walk a different path.¡± He smiled at Linnea, who was herself clearly captivated by the magnificent vista before them. ¡°A path where brevity, clear concise answers, and an almost¡­ how did your elder once put it? Ah yes, a scientific approach to things, serves you just as well as a cultivator¡¯s spiritual revelations.¡±

    He then turned to Alex as the chilly spray refreshed them all, smiling with clear approval. ¡°And here you are, striding both worlds. And though I think you¡¯ll find the cultivator¡¯s path to be as much about self-discovery as any of your fellows, when it comes to explaining the political ramifications of unexpected allies and enemies to a Ruidian recently arrived, I believe plain-speak will serve you best here. At least in this arena.¡±

    Alex put palm to fist and bowed his head. ¡°I think I understand. Thank you, Elder Shi.¡± He grew thoughtful as they took the path back up to the slope to the clearing above. ¡°Elder Shi? I know this may sound like an odd question¡­ but can one group of cultivators ever encounter another during a rift dive?¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes twinkled as she abruptly snorted. ¡°Are you serious, Alex? Do you have any idea how absurdly unlikely that is?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Honestly? No. I don¡¯t have a clue.¡±

    Elder Shi gave Alex a reassuring smile. ¡°Afraid of encountering trouble on a future delve?¡±

    Alex smirked, then nodded. Because it was a valid concern, as much as he hated to admit it. ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s go with that.¡±

    ¡°In all the time I¡¯ve served at this academy, I¡¯ve never heard of any occurrence where one party encounters another while delving. Certainly there are numerous instances where linked parties have broken up mid transit, but everyone learns basic protocol of taking stock of their surroundings and immediately locating the rift portal back as their first vital step of any delve. The second vital step being to return immediately if even one party member is missing. With that policy in effect, we¡¯ve lost only a handful of people to party dissolutions since I first became an instructor myself, decades ago.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Alex allowed, choosing his words carefully. ¡°But what if, say, one party was hostile to another? And that¡¯s why no one reports encountering another group?¡±

    Elder Shi sighed. ¡°One would like to think that no one would judge a cultivator¡¯s life worth less than the cores one could collect in a single delve, but I know that some who walk this path are far more cynical than others. Nonetheless, I can comfortably say that most cultivators at this school are on good terms with one another, where they¡¯re fighting for the sake of our home and against a build-up of waste Qi, not against each other. So there is very little reason for such an encounter to turn hostile.¡±

    He raised an admonitory finger as they reached the end of the trail. ¡°And even if shadowy murders were occurring, you would think at least one fortuitous encounter would have occurred in the centuries since records were formally kept, were such encounters at all common.¡±

    ¡°All good points. Thank you, Master Shi,¡± a somewhat Alex said as they crested the plateau once more, whereupon a several dozen curious students and Elder Win himself were all pinning the trio with their stares.

    Linnea visibly winced, though Elder Shi paid no mind, save addressing his contemporary.

    ¡°How are the injured?¡±

    ¡°The healer said they will both make a full recovery,¡± Elder Win assured. ¡°How are Alex and Linnea?¡±

    ¡°Both are doing splendid. Each of them are now up a good 350 credits, which we will finalize shortly,¡± he declared with a grin, immediately earning a handful of murmurs from the onlooking students, who were now whispering and pointing their way.

    Alex winced at how fast his fellow aspirant¡¯s expressions changed from reverential wonder to envy, though most were still favoring the pair of them with friendly nods.

    ¡°Wait, we nearly get killed because of their taint, and they get to profit?¡± Snapped none other than Tan Yi, glaring daggers their way.

    ¡°Enough of that!¡± Elder Win snapped, his glare alone quenching Tan Yi¡¯s declarations, instantly killing the ugly murmurs Alex could sense from the lips of those closest to the glaring youth. ¡°The Ruidians you¡¯re so clearly intent on disparaging just demonstrated to you all firsthand the benefits of looking past old racial stereotypes and appreciating the abilities of those who would fight by your side. Men and women who, if treated with the dignity and respect that our codicils demand, might just save your life, when daring the rifts! If you¡¯re too blind to acknowledge that simple truth after today¡¯s lesson¡­ then perhaps Silver Sands Academy isn¡¯t for you.¡±

    His words earned immediate fervent headshakes of denial, more than a few now daring to wonder if the whole thing had been staged for their benefit, as Elder Win¡¯s had no doubt intended with his careful choice of words.

    Alex quickly suppressed his smile, squeezing Linnea¡¯s hand when she opened her mouth to protest the rumor now swirling about the students.

    ¡°Let it go. This lets our instructors save face. I¡¯ll bet our injured fellows will both make a rapid recovery thanks to the best healers at the school and find a healthy sum of credits in their talismans, or at least the favor of their teachers, if they also go with the flow. And if it isn¡¯t obvious, our very generous boon for the beast cores is also part of that unspoken agreement. This saves the school¡¯s reputation while still assuring that these knuckleheads actually appreciate us.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes widened. She dipped her head and winked, suddenly reminding Alex so much of his baby sisters that he had to blink back unexpected tears.

    ¡°I got no problem with the Ruidians,¡± declared one broad-shouldered youth with a strong chin and clear brown eyes, bowing his head Alex and Linnea¡¯s way. ¡°Once I break through to Bronze, they¡¯re welcome to delve with me any time.¡±

    ¡°As if you¡¯re breaking through to Bronze any time soon,¡± teased the girl by his side, her flawless skin and elegant features hinting at beauty her plain cultivator¡¯s robe and tightly tied hair bun otherwise hid. Her words earned a blush from the youth, even as she claimed his hand. ¡°But thanks to our Ruidian friends, at least we can strive for it.¡±

    Their other classmates shared similar sentiments, and Alex found it the oddest thing, to be looked at with warmth, even admiration as they all sat in the lotus position under the afternoon sun and began to purge their waste Qi with various cleansing techniques, Alex himself happily relying on nothing more than a draconic bloodline and the sun to meditate more than cultivate, all of his absorbed Dark Qi having been greedily claimed by bones that he was somehow certain were just as strong now as they had been during his final incarnation. Yet despite his attempts to distract himself with the sun¡¯s golden caress or using his exquisite sense of smell this incarnation to pinpoint each classmate¡¯s distinct scent, unique mixtures of musk, sweat, waste Qi and cultivation potential, Alex couldn¡¯t help but feel a terrible weight with nearly twenty young souls gazing at him if he was some sort of hero, and only a couple glaring at him with envy, spite, or hatred in their heart.

    It felt like an absolute inverse of the natural order of things, and Alex feared the abrupt realignment to the status quo he expected would come at any moment. So he did his best to focus on focusing on the scents permeating the clearing while enjoying the hot sun against his skin and the spiritual energy flowing through his meridians while his stomach roiled in dreadful anticipation of the disaster he feared would be all the greater for such extended kindness.

    Yet much to his surprise, the day ended with the same warmth as just after the delve, the young couple who had first declared their respects going so far as to actually invite Linnea and Alex to explore the city with them and maybe get a bite to eat afterwards, even referring to them as a couple.

    Of course, the way Linnea held Alex hand and immediately said ¡°Yes, we¡¯d love to!¡± didn¡¯t change that impression, especially when she then invited the young couple, whose names turned out to be Quing and Lilly, to instead join them for dinner.

    ¡°In fact, you should all join us for a celebratory survival meal!¡± Linnea called out with cheerful enthusiasm just as the group broke up for the day. ¡°It¡¯s the custom among my people for everyone who dares a rift together to celebrate together afterwards! So, you should all come to the academy dining hall with us and eat your fill of our fresh-caught kills by our side!¡±

    She turned to a bemused Elder Shi as the entire class turned around to gaze at Linnea with surprise and gratitude written on all their faces. And though they didn¡¯t cheer with excitement like a high school class might have, Alex sensed it was a very close thing.

    ¡°Is that alright, Elder Shi? Can I gift the class with some of my meal credits?¡±

    Elder Shi exchanged a smile and with Win. ¡°We¡¯ll do you one better. This evening alone you may all eat and drink your fill of mead and spirit beast meat without limit at our academy dining haul and not lose a single credit!¡±

    This did earn a cheer, Alex noted with a certain amount of bemusement, though he too was grinning as wide as any of them.

    And the night was just as sweet as he could have hoped for, sharing drinks, listening to the life stories of his fellow aspirants, and savoring the tastiest fare he had in what felt like a lifetime, spiced as it was with potent spiritual essences and the promise of friendships he would never have expected.

    And even if the night had ended with Linnea curling up in his arms and confusing the heck out of him after a single drunken kiss¡­ still not good for his Dantian¡­ he would count the day an absolute win.

    Even if he was nagged by the troubling thought that he was forgetting something crucial, that an unexpected pitfall was somehow waiting for him, as it always was. And because he couldn¡¯t relax without brooding over every negative event that occurred over what had been a triumph of a day, he couldn¡¯t help thinking over Tan Yi¡¯s final disparaging comments while stuffing his face with spirit beast meat from the pumas Alex had slain while still glaring daggers his way.

    ¡°That Ruidian abomination sure as hell didn¡¯t save my life, and that ambush wasn¡¯t staged by any fool here. The elders outright failed us!¡±

    Alex sighed and shook his head. The boy really was an idiot. To both be so certain that the ambush hadn¡¯t been staged, yet utterly unwilling to believe that he was in any real peril or that he owed anyone a lick of gratitude at all just showed what a deluded little monster the boy truly was.

    Unless he had somehow known¡­

    Linnea moaned softly, snuggling up against him once more. And though he was fully clothed, Alex could no longer deny the flash of guilt he felt. He had done his best to give the girl as sweet an evening as she deserved, after helping him to save their classmates¡¯ lives.

    But now it was time for him to slip back into separate quarters, and finally get a full night¡¯s sleep. So after tucking in the beautiful, talented, and eccentric girl he absolutely wasn¡¯t falling for, he secured separate quarters from a deferential servant, whispered a nighttime prayer to the memories of the women he had loved a lifetime ago, and promptly fell asleep.

 Book 8 - Chapter 51 - You dare to challenge me, Ruidian half-blood?

    ¡°Alex, help!¡±

    The alarmed cry instantly jolted Alex out of sleep, a furiously whirling water shield forming so fast that it might have saved his life from a shadowy assassin before he had even opened his eyes. Yet the sound of cracking wood and the abrupt drop to the ground as his bed literally collapsed when his spinning shield sawed it in half made it clear that all he had done was earn himself a mighty tab.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± He cursed allowed, now fully awake as his eyes darted about the dim room, Qi Perception and Shadow Qi affinity making it clear that he was utterly alone, save for flying woodchips and fragments of tattered wool and silk in the air, a sharp contrast to otherwise luxuriously appointed quarters filled with polished hardwood furniture and more than a few ink portraits of desert sands and the life-giving valley below to hammer home the point that he had just lost a fortune.

    But he wouldn¡¯t call his shield stupidity, because far better being out a handful of credits than his life.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    His thoughts jolted back to what mattered.

    Linnea. Still linked by party interface, and clearly panicked.

    His shield immediately dissipated as he headed towards the door, sparing a quick final glance at his bed, relieved by the double-body sized intact area of the shredded mattress that at least his shield would have served to protect anyone who would have shared his bed, not shred them in a farcical tragedy that would have had all his ancient enemies chortling with bitter satisfaction.

    Even as he committed to summoning stationary wood or stone shields the next time he was jolted out of sleep, he was already darting out the bedroom door, relieved to see only a single sleepy servitor glancing his way.

    ¡°Linnea?¡± He shouted, sensing her nearby, slipping past the servitor and racing to the dining hall.

    His eyes widened with dismay to see Lieberman grabbing her arm and dragging her toward the exit while castigating Linnea who was screaming right back at him as an anxious-looking Hanz trying to placate them both.

    ¡°You¡¯re coming with me, niece. This farce ends now!¡±

    ¡°Unhand me, uncle. You have no right to bind me with your will!¡±

    Lieberman coldly shook his head. ¡°You took the clan oath before we left, as our elders insisted. Per our clan codicils, you¡¯re my ward and my responsibility while we¡¯re in this city! That means you¡¯re duty-bound to obey me!¡±

    Linnea glared through her tears from underneath her crimson curls. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere! I won room and board for the next thirty days! That¡¯s guest-rights for a full moon that have absolutely nothing to do with you or our clan elders!¡±

    Lieberman gave an angry shake of his head, and the only thing abating Alex¡¯s sudden killing fury at seeing her manhandle her was that he finally let go of Linnea, simply crossing his arms and glaring at her. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, niece, and you know it. It will be a mark against your mother and your cousins if you dare to defy the elders in this. A mark against Hanz. Are you that eager to cause your cousin further censor and hardship? Haven¡¯t you done enough?¡±

    He shook his head with scathing contempt. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to embarrass myself, Hanz, and the whole clan, traipsing about with cultivators and a wild-blood without a care in the world. You¡¯re humiliating all of us with your consistent mockery of custom and tradition! Our elders had you both take an oath for this very reason!¡±

    Linnea¡¯s bitter tears turned to sudden fury. Alex¡¯s eyes widened as he sensed sudden heat coming off her in waves. ¡°That entire oath¡¯s bullshit! Our ¡®elders¡¯ made me take that oath to control me! So some asshole elder like you would have absolute authority over everything I say and do! Like I¡¯m your fucking slave!¡±

    Lieberman coldly shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re a free people and you know it. The freest in this broken world. No one made you give your word.¡±

    ¡°Freedom? How the hell am I free? How are any of us free?¡± Linnea angrily hissed. ¡°The elders make it absolutely impossible to even leave that prison of a commune unless I allow you to be my fucking keeper!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you are a child, Linnea, by the laws of our clan. As you are proving to be even now, embarrassing us in front of half a dozen natives, after making a mockery of our clan traditions ever since you met that wild-blood!¡±

    ¡°Father, we don¡¯t know for sure what Alex actually is...¡± Hanz tried to interject, before wilting as his father and Linnea didn¡¯t even bother glancing his way.

    ¡°I¡¯m a child by the laws of our clan?¡± Linnea let loose a tittering laugh that made Alex¡¯s teeth grate. ¡°I¡¯m twenty two years old! I had my first blood six years ago! I¡¯m an adult in every way that matters!¡±

    Lieberman coldly shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re considered a ward of the commune until you¡¯ve proven your maturity before the counsel. And your foolish behavior this trip has been so egregious that I doubt you¡¯ll be permitted to leave again until you¡¯ve proven yourself in the only way that matters.¡±

    Linnea blanched, stumbling back, eyes widening with horror. ¡°No, no, I absolutely refuse!¡±

    Lieberman sighed. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have a choice, Linnea. I¡¯ve already spoken to Senior Cultivator Te Chang. He, at least, respects our traditions. You won¡¯t be permitted to delve or pester the students any more than you already have.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes widened with horror that quickly turned to outrage. Alex felt the sudden pulse and thrum of wild mana as her hands abruptly burst into flame.

    ¡°You absolute bastard!¡± She hissed, glaring at her uncle.

    Qi Perception check made!

    ¡°Linnea, don¡¯t! It¡¯s a trap! He¡¯s setting you up!¡± Alex roared, now coldly glaring at Lieberman, doing his best to ignore the half dozen cultivators dressed in silken finery baring witness to the fiasco, all of them radiating Deep Bronze or actual Silver potency, clearly enjoying the show. All of Alex¡¯s focus was on Lieberman¡¯s half smile, like a master chess player cornering his opponent.

    Linnea¡¯s eye widened. The white-hot fire blazing in her hands abruptly snuffed out. She took a shuddering deep breath and stepped back, crossing her arms that now radiated absolutely no offensive energies at all, angrily shaking her head. ¡°No. I won¡¯t let you goad me into getting kicked out! I¡­I¡¯m not leaving, no matter what the hell you say or do.¡±

    Lieberman¡¯s half-smile turned to a feral snarl as he glared Alex¡¯s way. ¡°You dare to interfere again, wild-blood?¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help snorting at that, doing his best to reign in his own hot temper. ¡°Wow, you managed to think up a disparaging insult for the one supposed Ruidian that doesn¡¯t quite fit your mold. Just goes to show that any group will disparage anyone that they can for pretty much any reason, and that you lot are no better than the true-bloods when the tables are turned.¡±

    Lieberman snorted, his mocking smile returning. ¡°Pretty words that mean absolutely nothing. And as you have proven yourself unwilling to accept challenge, your actions have absolutely no weight with my clan. We need no longer acknowledge your presence.¡±

    Alex blinked in confusion. ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡±

    Hanz gazed apologetically Alex¡¯s way. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember, Alex? When you offered to fight my father for Linnea¡¯s hand?¡±

    Alex opened his mouth, but no words came out as Linnea¡¯s panicked look returned and Lieberman¡¯s smirk grew. And of course the flawless featured cultivating elite that could afford to eat here every morning were savoring every word of the free entertainment playing out before them.

    Hanz sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Father waited between dusk and dark at the main courtyard for your challenge, just as custom dictates. You failed to show.¡± He lowered his gaze, sounding genuinely regretful. ¡°That¡¯s automatic forfeiture. I¡¯m sorry, Alex.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes bulged. It was all he could do not to laugh. Because of course there would be some crazy unexpected twist. And who could he blame but himself? He knew he had been forgetting something last night! His challenge to Lieberman. That had been it. Of course!

    ¡°I¡¯m not from your tribe. My customs are different!¡± Even as he said the words Alex¡¯s thoughts raced. Yet by the looks the cultivators were giving him, he was just coming off as a fool. Still, if Hanz¡¯s furrowed brow was any indication¡­ ¡°I was honoring my commitments to the school, after assisting Masters Win and Shi with our classes¡¯ first delve¡­ and Linnea was as well! We were also honoring our commitments to this school!¡±

    ¡°By daring to sleep with my niece in your arms?¡± Lieberman abruptly roared. ¡°Deflowering her with your tainted blood?¡±

    ¡°No one was deflowered last night!¡± Alex angrily shot back.

    Lieberman¡¯s faux outraged turned to a pleased smile as Linnea gazed his way with horror. ¡°Then that means my niece is still a virgin. Excellent. Then she is still my clan¡¯s property uncontested, and there¡¯s no need for this discussion at all.¡± He glared down at an utterly defeated Linnea. ¡°Come, child. This farce ends now.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in alarm, as Hanz gave him a sad shake of the head, realizing that he had just been played.

    Thinking frantically he smirked and shook his head. ¡°Um¡­ you do know that last night wasn¡¯t the first night your niece shared my bed, don¡¯t you?¡±

    He forced a smirk as Lieberman¡¯s eyes widened with outrage.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°That you would dare!¡±

    Alex¡¯s grin widened as he gave a nonchalant shrug. ¡°Like I said. No one was deflowered ¡®last night.¡¯ I was trying to save face with the cultivators here, before realizing that I didn¡¯t really care if they knew or not.¡± He winked at the cultivators as if including them in the farce, several of them chuckling.

    ¡°Point is, Linnea and I were both fulfilling our obligations after escorting the newest aspirants through a delve. That obligation included the customary feast after surviving their first rift, which was actually far more perilous than anyone had anticipated. And that is definitely following tradition, as I¡¯m sure you will agree.¡±

    Hanz¡¯s eyes widened. Much to Alex¡¯s relief, he gave a pleased smile, nodding his agreement.

    ¡°His words actually make sense, Father. If he¡¯s from an entirely different clan¡­ we have to give consideration to his dueling customs. And I know for a fact neither of us thought to confirm with him the dueling hour for his tribe! And he¡¯s right as well about the feast. Did you know that he and Linnea actually managed to save half a dozen lives between them? Maybe more. So certainly honor had been accrued with the academy and they would have insulted our hosts, if they had failed to attend the celebratory feast!¡±

    Linnea¡¯s features grew tight with strain as he clenched his jaw and glared Alex¡¯s way. ¡°No more excuses or prevarications, wild-blood. I formally challenge you for my niece¡¯s hand. Accept or refuse, this farce ends now!¡±

    Alex gazed Linnea¡¯s way. ¡°Linnea?¡±

    ¡°Please, please, please!¡± She sobbed, racing to Alex¡¯s side and clasping his hand. ¡°I¡¯d far rather be with you than be forced to marry that inbred mongrel that my uncle¡¯s trying to foist off on me!¡±

    Now it was Lieberman whose features blotched with fury, the cultivators in the room shivering and frowning as the air dropped a good ten degrees in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Careful, father!¡± A panicked Hanz warned.

    Alex glanced the cultivator¡¯s way, before turning to glare at his would-be opponent. ¡°Alright, Lieberman. Assuming it doesn¡¯t violate any school protocol, I¡¯d be happy to accept a challenge, so long as we can agree on the parameters of the fight, including the location and the time, and assure the safety of those around us.¡±

    Lieberman¡¯s eyes glittered with satisfaction, a tight smile caressing his lips. ¡°Excellent! We will duel for my niece a quarter glass from now, within the dueling grounds that the college permits us to use. We will enter at opposite ends of the arena grounds, and all attacks are permitted. We duel until death or submission!¡± Lieberman said, crossing his arms and raising his chin, glaring coldly down at Alex, which was a neat trick, Alex thought, since the man was considerably shorter than he.

    Alex smirked, grateful that he had been paying enough attention during the college tour to appreciate the advantage this would give his opponent. ¡°Opposite ends of a forty yard wide sparring ground? When you know I¡¯m a melee cultivator and you specialize in ranged attacks? Skew the odds in your favor much?¡±

    Linnea paled at Alex¡¯s snark, Lieberman¡¯s glare turning into a cold smile. ¡°Are you refusing to fight for your would-be mate, odd-blood?¡±

    Alex blinked at the latest insult, but just shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not refusing anything, what I¡¯m saying is...¡±

    ¡°Good. It¡¯s decided. We¡¯ll meet there in a quarter glass.¡± With those words, Lieberman stormed out of the room.

    Hanz paled, glancing between a bemused Alex and a shaken Linnea.

    ¡°Are you alright, cousin?¡±

    Linnea¡¯s dazed look turned to angry tears. ¡°Alright? How can I be alright!? The minute I get a taste of freedom, your asshole father does everything he can to get me to heel, trying to force me back home and into the arms of a sick mongrel before I have even a chance of setting my eyes on someone else!¡±

    Hanz blanched, then lowered his gaze. ¡°I know.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes flashed with furious heat. ¡°All so he can claim a girl younger than me! Tell me it¡¯s anything more than that.¡±

    Hanz¡¯s cheeks blazed. ¡°It¡¯s not¡­¡± He swallowed, furtively glancing up at the half dozen cultivators hanging on to their every word. ¡°Perhaps this isn¡¯t the best...¡±

    ¡°Just say it, cousin! Because it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll ever be able to speak up or even leave my future hovel for the rest of my shitty life, if my uncle has his way!¡±

    ¡°He just wants another son,¡± Hanz whispered huskily in their own dialect. ¡°He wants an heir.¡±

    ¡°He has you.¡±

    Hanz flashed a bitter smile. ¡°I¡¯m a dead branch and will doom any chance of his passing on his gifts, and you know why as well as anyone.¡±

    Linnea pressed her lips in tight pity, though it was well tempered by bitterness and the pressure of her own situation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry things are the way they are, Hanz. But that doesn¡¯t change the fact that your uncle thinks nothing of controlling my life, like I¡¯m his fucking property!¡±

    Alex quickly strode to Linnea¡¯s side, gently squeezing her hand, for moral support as much as anything else, even as she burst into tears and wrapped him up in a fierce hug.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. By the end of today, you¡¯ll be a free woman. I promise.¡±

    The smile this earned him warmed his heart, Linnea¡¯s features strikingly beautiful as her face lit up like the sun. ¡°Thank you, Alex. For just¡­ for being willing to fight for me, for coming to my rescue¡­ I can¡¯t thank you enough.¡±

    Alex¡¯s tense features eased into a grin. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Come on, let¡¯s get to the sparring arena and go over tactics while we still have time.¡±

    With those words the three left the dining pagoda and quickly made their way along the hardpacked path splitting the lush courtyards within which so many cultivators could be seen doing their morning meditation, cultivation, and training within. Not that Alex blamed them, with the pristine view of the rising sun lighting the eastern sky that they all got to enjoy, as well as an excellent view of the lush valley below.

    It was the most picturesque of walking paths Alex paid little heed to, focused as he was on what was to come.

    ¡°Alright, Alex, you already know my father¡¯s favorite tactic while rift hunting, but it¡¯s different while dueling,¡± Hanz began. ¡°He has access to a powerful swirling storm of ice he can surround himself with, and he can do more than throw straight line ice spears at you.¡±

    Linnea nodded. ¡°He can lob crystals that look innocent, before exploding into deadly shrapnel, and he can fill the field with deadly sharp ice caltrops you won¡¯t even see until your feet are shredded.¡±

    ¡°And if you get too close, he¡¯ll just send you tumbling back with a blast of icy wind,¡± Hanz said with a mournful shake of his head.

    Linnea paled. ¡°That¡¯s right. He can do that too. Won¡¯t do shit against a massive four-legged behemoth, but against a single human? He¡¯s pretty deadly.¡±

    ¡°And this is after Alex saved his life, and my own.¡± Hanz gave an apologetic bow of his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my father¡¯s doing this, Alex. Considering that we¡¯re only alive because you were a perfect fit for that last delve...¡±

    Alex sighed, patting the young man¡¯s slender shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Hanz. We¡¯re cool, but your dad is definitely going on the prick-column of people that I¡¯ve met this time around.¡±

    Hanz chuckled. ¡°Fair enough.¡± His strained smile turned to a desperate look. ¡°Just go.¡±

    Alex stopped, frowning at Hanz. ¡°Sorry?¡±

    Hanz¡¯s voice grew strained, glancing around furtively as if afraid his father might somehow overhear him. ¡°Just take my cousin and leave Liushi. There are other cities you could...¡±

    His voice died off when it was Linnea, of all people, who shook her head. ¡°He can¡¯t do that, cousin. If Alex flees your father, he¡¯ll be in his right to call a moot and have Alex declared anathema with all the clans. And considering the hate hard-on he has for Alex, he¡¯ll do just that. And you know what happens then.¡±

    Hanz winced then reluctantly nodded. ¡°All clans will be turned against you, and they¡¯ll use their influence to make sure neither of you are permitted to set foot in another academy again. Not to mention put a bounty out for your capture.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Wait¡­ you guys actually have that much pull, now?¡±

    Hanz gave him a curious look. ¡°Well¡­ yes?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not every academy, Alex,¡± Linnea sighed. ¡°Just the ones depending on rifts for water cores and whatever else they need for sustenance from the desert sands.¡±

    ¡°Which is pretty much all of them,¡± Hanz said. ¡°All but the smallest that just ride the shirttails of the larger ones.¡±

    ¡°Who could order their underlings to boot us out in a minute,¡± Linnea whispered with a curse, shaking he head before turning to glance apologetically up at Alex. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I got you caught up in this,¡± she said, as the arena grounds came into view, complete with a coldly smiling Lieberman at one end, and no less than three dozen cultivators already gathering around the stone steps carved into the shallow slope behind.

    ¡°You actually came,¡± Lieberman said with a satisfied nod, wearing an air of superiority as a whirling wind of ice and snow surrounded him. ¡°I¡¯m surprised. And pleased. It¡¯s time to put you in your place, half-blood, as all failed members of our clan should be.¡±

    Alex blinked at that. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s talking about all the Ruidians who failed to manifest a jewel, or even have one implanted artificially,¡± Hanz said with a sigh.

    Alex frowned. ¡°But wait¡­ isn¡¯t breeding for nothing but jewel-gifts what has you guys so close to extinction by inbreeding in the first place?¡±

    ¡°The council refuses to see it that way,¡± Linnea said with a bitter snort. ¡°And my uncle¡¯s a major power in the council of our tribe.¡±

    ¡°Of course he is,¡± Alex said with a sigh, bowing to his friends and catching at least a few familiar faces in the crowd before heading down into the shallow bowl of the arena, set only a short distance back from the caldara lip.

    ¡°You can do it, Alex!¡± Cheered none other than Ling Ling. Quing and Lilly were also present and holding hands, the young couple having the look of two people who had just discovered the sweet joys of dual cultivation together. Both of them nodded in greeting, bowing his way.

    ¡°I hope that freak crushes Alex,¡± snarled Tan Yi, who glared Alex¡¯s way and spat on the steps below.

    And those weren¡¯t the only familiar faces Alex noted.

    Alex felt a twist in his gut to see none other than Elder Win attending, along with what was, in fact, their entire class.

    ¡°We are looking forward, Alex,¡± Win said with an enigmatic smile. ¡°And since you¡¯re fulfilling your cultural duties in pursuit of¡­ matrimony? It won¡¯t even count as missing class.¡±

    Alex forced a smile and a bow for their sensei. ¡°This one thanks you, Master Win, and will do his best not to disappoint.¡±

    Lieberman ignored the already excited crowd, glaring Alex''s way. ¡°Well, challenger? Are you ready to begin?¡±

    Alex smiled, forcing himself to take slow deep breaths, doing his best to feel with his now bare feet the remnants of an ancient pact, gifts that he prayed would forever be his, no matter how thick the veil placed between himself and ancient gifts hated by jealous tyrants Alex hoped never to encounter again.

    His smile grew slightly as he seemed to grow an inch, earning just a couple of considering looks sent his way. Though none from Lieberman.

    ¡°Ready when you are.¡±

    Instructor Rah rang a hammered bronze gong. ¡°Then begin!¡±

    And before Alex could even wonder how, exactly, half the school and everyone he knew had managed to get to the arena grounds in less than a quarter glass, the air was already filling with spikes of ice as a snarling Lieberman roared, and Alex was darting forward for all he was worth, racing across the grassy field.

 Book 8 - Chapter 52 - Let the fight begin!

    ¡°Alex!¡± Linnea shouted in his mind, no matter Hanz¡¯s glare, for outside assistance was clearly frowned upon, but it didn¡¯t matter.

    He already sensed the peril ahead.

    In the few seconds that Alex had to analyze the terrain, he saw that it had already been prepped by his opponent with barriers of frigid ice designed to keep Alex at bay, and what Qi Perception made clear were traps of another sort in seeming breaks in his opponent¡¯s icy bulwarks, so he immediately understood what he had to do.

    There was no point in staying in the periphery, fruitlessly dodging the storm of icy shrapnel even now coming toward him in a deadly wave, looking for a clear passage that he wouldn¡¯t find.

    And why the hell had Lieberman been allowed to prep the field? When had he had the time? Was this whole thing a setup hours in the making?

    Alex gave a curt mental shake of his head. Because none of that mattered, he thought, as he forced himself to dive under a massive ice spear now streaking through the air, and right into what would be a full score of icy caltrops he could sense just under the inviting looking patch of grass his dive was forcing him into, projecting his shield over his head as he did so.

    Greater Ice Spear pierces enhanced Water Shield! Ice is one with water! Metal and Wood elements fail to counter!

    Quickness check made! You have successfully avoided Icy death!

    You have knowingly dived into Icy Caltrops!

    A part of Alex was wide-eyed with desperate alarm. He knew Ice would be a tough element to counter. But he hadn¡¯t thought Lieberman¡¯s attack so deadly as to pierce it like it was nothing!

    He quickly reigned in his alarm as he braced for impact, glad that at least some things were working out just as he had hoped.

    All he needed was to have faith, recalling how well his gifts had snapped back into focus when he had dared the first rift within this world¡­ and how in tune he had felt with the jungles of the last.

    Even so, it was everything Alex could do not to form a desperate shield and position himself for a hard landing where he¡¯d be stationary for long seconds as Alex sensed his foe readying another storm of deadly ice his way.

    Instead he slid into a leaping roll, tumbling right through the opening so invitingly provided, allowing himself only a moment¡¯s fierce satisfaction when Lieberman¡¯s eyes opened in wide-eyed surprise.

    ¡°You should have been impaled!¡±

    Alex smirked, because it was true. Those caltrops had been carefully placed in a dip filled with lush grass. Grass that effortlessly supported his weight, as springy and easy to leap from as any forest branch, as Alex felt old gifts he had tread so carefully around using blossom to full life once more.

    If anything, his renewed connection felt stronger than it ever had before.

    Because maybe he had unleashed a cataclysmic quark bomb of destruction that might or might not have obliterated a thousand miles worth of woodlands.

    But he had also gifted an entire world with a primal forest as vast as the continents themselves.

    He was hoping for at least a wash.

    As it stood¡­

    You have embraced an echo of Forest Flight!

    Veil has been maintained.

    Forest Flight has transferred to Effortless Spring!

    You may now maneuver effortlessly within all sources of foliage, whether soaring elder trees, grassy fields, or the lichen upon rocks!

    Skillcheck made!

    You have managed to avoid Icy Shrapnel!

    You have successfully leaped over Frigid Barricade! Pristine grass has aided your leap!

    Alex held back a breathless laugh as fierce exhilaration flashed through him as fast as countless welcome system messages as he leaped through the air with nearly the same power as he had once enjoyed while leaping between the trees. Soaring up and over the barrier and locking gazes with the momentarily stunned Lieberman.

    And how easy it would be to charge forward once more. Yet Alex felt like he was on the cusp of an odd epiphany, a sage¡¯s insight as a new skill that was an echo of so much that had come before sprung into existence within his mind. He shivered with wonder, suddenly tasting the potential to make it so much more.

    So instead of racing to a far closer Lieberman and immediately engaging, he sprung to the left.

    ¡°Ready to concede, old man?¡± Alex goaded. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to break you too badly for your son to have to drag you home all alone, because your niece sure as hell won¡¯t be joining you!¡±

    His mockery had the intended effect, Lieberman¡¯s alarmed features blotching with sudden fury. ¡°Die, wild-blood!¡± The man roared, unleashing a wave of deadly frigid shrapnel, and Alex could help but wonder if maybe he had tugged the tiger¡¯s tale a bit too hard there, but that didn¡¯t matter.

    All that mattered was weaving and darting past the onslaught at speeds he wouldn¡¯t have thought possible just the day before with his lowered Quickness¡­ a feat he just barely managed even if he had to twist his neck painfully to the side while diving as low as he could.

    His head was suddenly ringing with the shocking bright red flare of pain as his left ear was sheered off¡­ before springing back to his feet and dashing in a zig zag portion once more.

    ¡°Uncle, you¡¯re going to kill him!¡± Linnea screamed, but Lieberman didn¡¯t flinch from his chosen course.

    Neither did Alex, his grin widening as he embraced his own peril, never feeling so alive as when he was embracing the Path of Peril¡­ already knowing what Lieberman¡¯s next move would be.

    ¡°Die, scum,¡± the man snarled, tossing one of his icy grenades that would cut through most shields, or the feet of anyone who didn¡¯t dart completely behind their force ward¡­ which was why he tossed another, hoping to tear through both of Alex¡¯s flanks, guaranteeing his loss, one way or the other.

    But Alex had already darted back, leaping behind the nearest icy barrier as the air cracked with a double explosion of icy shrapnel that would have been devastating¡­ had Alex not darted back so fast it had seemed near instantaneous, earning wide-eyed looks from the entire crowd.

    ¡°Did you see how fast Alex moved?¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    ¡°That fool nearly killed us!¡± Snarled one observer, glaring past the pair of wujen shielding the audience from an unapologetic Lieberman.

    But a madly grinning Alex paid no heed to any of them as the mad rush of epiphanies flooded through his soul. The entire battlefield suddenly became an extension of his interface even as it fused with Effortless Spring.

    A skill that was now coming so naturally to a laughing Alex, darting about so effortlessly from one patch of lush green grass to another that it was almost an extension of himself.

    As if the entire field were an extension of himself.

    A field within which he could spring not just with the force of a sapling snapping him forward like an arrow from a bow, the metaphor he sensed from Linnea as a roaring Lieberman hurtled a good half-dozen balls of icy explosive death his way, but rather at the speed of the breeze now brushing through the grass, each tip bending and caressing the other, flowing as one.

    Flowing as Alex did, Lieberman¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief when Alex seemed to disappear in the gust of air washing over the grassy field¡­ before reappearing right before Lieberman in the blink of an eye.

    Spring Step is now Rank 2!

    Spring step is now Rank 3!

    Spring Step is now Rank 4!

    You have had a MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH!

    You may move as fast as hurricane winds blowing through a grassy field! As fast as forest¡¯s rustling leaves inform the entire grove of pacts made or peril endured.

    Previous mastery of Internal Techniques allows for Unorthodox Adept Tier Perk!

    You have chosen the Perk: Instantaneous Movement.

    You may now move through any forest or grassy field just as fast as you once Bullrushed through the Battlefield!

    Spring Step is now Rank 5!

    Sprint Step will now be referred to as Bullrush and now mirrors Bullrush in all things, save for reduced Qi drain and the need to make us of vegetative terrain. Higher skill ranks will have decreasing vegetative requirements!

    Lieberman stumbled back, though the wild panic in his eyes was replaced by a feral smile Alex could only partially see through the whirlwind of icy shrapnel now surrounding the man. ¡°Your luck ends here, failed half-blood! No matter how clever your feet, it pales before the might of true elemental mastery! You can¡¯t touch me, no matter how close you get!¡± The man snarled. Though his eyes widened when a thoughtful-looking Alex took a bold step forward, right into the icy field.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Lieberman¡¯s eyes lit with furious mocking triumph. ¡°Suicide? I¡¯ll gladly help you¡­ no!¡± The Ruidian blanched and stumbled away in disbelief when he found Alex still upright, none the worse for ware than a single scratch along his temple.

    Alex flashed a too bright smile. ¡°I¡¯m finally realizing what an idiot I was, not to understand all the pieces of the puzzle before me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re damn right you¡¯re an idiot, interfering in affairs that are none of your concern!¡± Lieberman spat.

    Alex smirked and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that,¡± he said, eyes still wide with the flood of insights still shivering through his soul, his Sage¡¯s Epiphany not abating a bit, at least not yet.

    Instead it grew.

    As if eager to unveil so many secrets far too long suppressed.

    ¡°I mean, let¡¯s take Wind Qi, for example. So like White Qi that I managed to forge an entire Martial Discipline around manipulating it just like White Crane that I even got it up to Rank 7!¡± He gave a rueful chuckle, eyes crinkling sadly. ¡°And I never once thought to manipulate it like White Qi where it really counted,¡± he said, slowly pushing forward with his palm

    Lieberman¡¯s eyes widened in alarm as his own protective icy whirlwind of shrapnel slowly bent under the pressure.

    The jewel master trembled, frozen in horrified disbelief, the tension of the moment allowing Alex to savor pressure testing himself in absolute peril, and oddly, safety. At least for that singular heartbeat of time between the two of them, subduing the man with cordial explanations as he embraced arts he had thought forever lost.

    ¡°So why the hell can¡¯t I use Qi Deflection, just like I used to? Even if Qi Absorption¡¯s off the table, at least for now, it should work just as well as White Qi for deflecting any element that uses air as a medium. And let¡¯s be honest, even your own use of mana isn¡¯t quite as pristine as you like to pretend. You¡¯re clearly manipulating both air and ice. And why not? Expand your horizons! Goodness knows I am. And if Ice bends before my Wind Crane Kung Fu, then Fire, which flickers so violently in any draft, should do so effortlessly as well. Hell, I¡¯ll bet Wind Qi Deflection will work just fine against all mana spells and most spiritual disciplines that have any sort of physical interaction with the air! Save for Spirit, which terrifies your kind, and Lightning, which is the province of imperial bloodlines¡­ I¡¯ll bet Wind Qi Deflection will work just as well as my former master¡¯s trump card!¡±

    Alex flashed a cold smile, looking straight at the man. ¡°I wonder if Piercing Strike will work the same? Maybe not against most physical counters, but tell me, Lieberman, do you think I can blast my fist right through your Ice Ward and tear free your heart without taking a single scratch? We could find that out together, right now!¡±

    Alex roared the last, the entire speech in the clan dialect his opponent knew so well, as did Hanz and Linnea, both screaming desperately in his mind.

    ¡°Please, mercy for my father! I beg of you!¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill him, Alex. I couldn¡¯t live with that!¡±

    Desperate thoughts, clawing at his conscience, for all that the two youths were too frozen with awe and fear to say a world aloud.

    So Alex sneered and struck, howling with fierce vindication when countless hours of desperate training synergized with the insights he could only glean on the cusp of death solidified into one glorious, deadly whole.

    You have successfully Pierce your opponent¡¯s dual element Mana ward!

    You have successfully quantized Wind Piercer Strike at Rank 1!

    Previous experience with similar techniques will result in accelerated learning curve!

    You have avoided being shredded by icy shrapnel.

    You have successfully quantized Wind Qi Deflection at Rank 1!

    Previous experience with similar techniques will result in accelerated learning curve.

    You have critically struck your opponent!

    The crowd gazed down in momentary silence at Lieberman¡¯s crumpled form.

    ¡°Father!¡± Hanz cried, racing out into the field.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t!¡± Alex roared. ¡°He booby trapped the entire field! You could get killed crossing it, Hanz!¡±

    The youth froze. He was no fool. As talented as he might be in the rifts¡­ with his near mortal build, he knew as well as anyone that the icy caltrops would instantly sheer open his feet. And if the six deadly-looking icy balls that Lieberman had thrown actually went off like the ticking time bombs Alex saw them as¡­ multiple people could perish.

    Alex furrowed his brow, catching the gazes of Master¡¯s Rah and Win. ¡°Those six ice balls on the ground could erupt at any minute, and the Deep Bronze Wujen playing shielders won¡¯t be able to protect the students. I recommend we evacuate to avoid any further tragedy.¡±

    Elder Win gazed at Alex for long moments, gaze unreadable, before he chuckled softly. ¡°What a most fascinating student you are turning out to be, Alex.¡± He then turned to the class. ¡°You all heard your Ruidian classmate. The grounds have become perilous, and I can tell that at least some of you are on the cusp of fresh epiphanies, with the glorious demonstration of arcane and spiritual powers we have seen on display this morning. Come, children. Let¡¯s return to our designated pagoda.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°We have a pagoda?¡±

    Win snorted. ¡°We do indeed, which you would know if you weren¡¯t constantly missing class, Alex.¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks flush. ¡°Fair point.¡±

    Win nodded. ¡°I will leave you in Master Rah¡¯s care for the remainder of the day.¡± The bemused twinkle in his eyes hardened into a warning glint. ¡°Though I expect to see you bright and early at our pagoda on the morrow, Alex.¡±

    Alex immediately bowed, before falling over to his own consternation and a few mocking chuckles.

    ¡°What a fool,¡± Lan Yi sneered.

    Quing and Lilly turned to glare at him like he was dirt. ¡°Seriously, Tan Yi? You would say such a thing after that incredible display? He¡¯s tired, clearly. And he deserves your respect.¡±

    Tan Yi glared at the girl. ¡°Sold out so quickly to the nearest man to show you a bit of affection, Lilly? You¡¯re an insult to your family,¡± he sneered, stalking past the pair of them.

    Lilly¡¯s cheeks blazed hot. Quing looked ready to kill the boy, before Elder Win, with a gentle touch on the boy¡¯s shoulder and cool shake of his head, instantly froze the youth in place, even as Lilly claimed his hand.

    ¡°He¡¯s not worth it, Quing. I¡­ had the misfortune of being betrothed to his brother. A family alliance I had to pay dearly to break.¡± She trembled and shook her head. ¡°A chapter of my life I¡¯d rather forget, if it¡¯s all the same to you.¡±

    Alex tuned out the words that were no real concern of his as a panicked Hanz who this time had the prudence to race around the arena and approach from the near side, was now hovering over his father¡¯s crumpled form.

    ¡°Father!¡±

    Alex winced, rubbing his head that felt increasingly stuffy, his thoughts moving at a drunken pace, as if he had drunk far too much wine, and had no skill to account for the toxicity.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I just gave him a smack because he¡¯s such an overbearing twat. I might have broken his nose, but no worse than that.¡±

    Hanz¡¯s eyes lit with desperate hope. ¡°Truly? He lives?¡± He sobbed, hugging Alex as tightly as Linnea had before the fight. ¡°Thank you for sparing him, Alex. I know he¡¯s a bit domineering, but he is my father!¡±

    Alex chuckled, giving a wry shake of his head. ¡°I know. It¡¯s fine.¡± He then furrowed his brow. ¡°But the fight¡¯s over, right? We won? Linnea¡¯s now a free woman?¡±

    ¡°We did indeed win! Right Elder Rah?¡± A jubilant Linnea excitedly squealed, wrapping Alex up in a fierce hug, tears streaming down her cheeks as she kissed Alex with a desperate passion he hadn¡¯t expected and couldn¡¯t believe his Dantian was taking a nap for once, not bothering him at all.

    ¡°You did indeed win, Alex.¡± Elder Rah happily declared. ¡°You¡¯re now free to marry your chosen and make a proper woman out of her.¡±

    Alex¡¯s smile stiffened, but sensing the sudden fresh panic from the girl he was still party-linked to, knew better than to say certain things aloud. ¡°Well, at the moment what I am is dizzy and exhausted. I had something of a battlefield insight, there...¡±

    ¡°I know. We all saw. Quite remarkable!¡± Elder Rah said with an admiring glint in his eye. ¡°You broke at least three rules of cultivation that I can think of off hand, but who knows what gifts a hybrid Ruidian who can both cultivate and use magic can do?¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Who knows indeed.¡± He then cracked a yawn, cheeks flushing at how out of sorts and tired he now truly felt.

    Elder Rah gave Alex a knowing look. ¡°Come, let me escort both of you back to your suite. How nice it must feel for you to be permitted to enjoy a full month¡¯s on campus living in accommodations so luxurious that even a Deep Bronze would envy you. Well done, Alex, Linnea. May you both savor rest well-earned.¡± He gave them both a too knowing wink by the time they got back to the fancy dining hall that also included suites fancier than anything he had seen in his last two lives, save for his own palace, of course.

    Elder Rah gave them some final words of assurance. ¡°I¡¯ll be having words with certain parties. You are all free to delve and make use of the school facilities as you see fit. I¡¯ll enter into our own records that your challenge was won, as witnessed by two score observers, so by the very laws of your own clan, you should face no further challenge, Linnea. Though I wouldn¡¯t put off the wedding for too much longer, for obvious reasons.¡±

    Alex blinked at this, but very carefully held his counsel until after he had freshened up and returned to his quarters, about to sink into the depths of slumber.

    ¡°Linnea?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Alex?¡± asked the girl who now insisted on sharing his bed¡­ no matter what strictures he was under.

    ¡°Why the rush on you know what?¡±

    Linnea stiffened. ¡°You really don¡¯t know?¡±

    Alex shook his head, then yawned and spoke. ¡°Nope. Not a clue.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still not truly safe from the would-be guardianship of others¡­ I can only truly be free when I¡¯m an adult. Until then¡­ other interested parties can challenge for my hand.¡±

    Alex blinked at this. ¡°But you¡¯re twenty-two, right? How are you not an adult?¡±

    This earned a bitter laugh. ¡°Clearly our tribes have different customs, Alex.¡±

    ¡°Well yeah, clearly. So why aren¡¯t you an adult?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m not married.¡±

    Alex froze, eyes widening in consternation. ¡°But Fitz is.¡±

    ¡°Of course. He¡¯s a boy. They¡¯re considered adult with an adult¡¯s rights when they first manifest any ability at all with their jewel.¡±

    ¡°But if you¡¯re a girl, or unable to use a jewel...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re considered a child, under your clan¡¯s care, and expected to heed the counsel of your elders in all things.¡±

    Alex choked out a bitter laugh. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that a girl only wins the freedom to make choices in her life after her relatives have already chosen her husband who she must accept, no matter how deformed and inbred he might be, and she¡¯s already stuck with him?¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°So even if a girl wants to escape the nightmare of sickly children or a beastly husband or being tied to someone she doesn¡¯t like for whatever reason¡­ she can¡¯t. She¡¯s a powerless child and her future is utterly in the hands of people using her as, what, a broodmare?¡±

    Linnea choked back a sob. ¡°I never wanted to see it that way before, Alex. Most girls have parents who love them. Who want the best for them. Most parents let them choose whoever they want for a husband. Some are even permitted to marry an outsider. Sometimes. But the bottom line is¡­ yes. Should their fates be tied to a power-mad asshole of an uncle who never was this bad before I met you, and suddenly he¡¯s worried about all his plans going up in smoke¡­ then yes. Those girls are basically completely screwed. Both figuratively and literally.¡±

    For long moments Alex did nothing but hold her, seeking to comfort her in the dim quiet light of their chilled quarters, very much as their kind supposedly preferred. Soon Alex¡¯s breathing steadied and he felt as if he were slipping into a dream as Linnea¡¯s tears dried, her eyes now bright with newfound hope for the future, for all that he sensed both her tingling excitement, and her fear.

    ¡°Alex? I know you said you couldn¡¯t do certain things, but do you want to¡­ um¡­ see what maybe we can do?¡±

    Alex would have chuckled at that, sounding just like he had as a teenager eager to explore various possibilities with a girl who had caught his heart in his very first life¡­ and he so wanted to tell Linnea just that, but the last of his Spirit Qi connection left him as he finally fell into the soothing embrace of deepest sleep.

 Book 8 - Chapter 53

    ¡°Ah, Alex, you actually made it on time, today. How refreshing,¡± declared Elder Win with a teasing smile. ¡°No doubt your betrothed is having a good influence on you.¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks flush under the bemused regard of his instructor and thirty odd pairs of eyes looking his way from the cushions upon which his classmates sat, embracing morning cultivation in an open air pagoda that was almost a gazebo, and Alex couldn¡¯t help but whistle in surprise when he noticed the faint uptick in spiritual energy, realizing that their morning cultivation spot was doubling as a cultivation array.

    ¡°Yes, Elder Win! I made sure to get my Alex up bright and early, even if he is a bit of a restless sleeper!¡± Linnea happily declared, still holding his hand before leaning against him, her affection deepening the flush on Alex¡¯s cheeks. And even if a surprising number of his fellow students were gazing at them in warm approval, like Quing and Lilly who were themselves holding hands, others were looking at them with open disgust.

    ¡°This is a cultivation academy, not a brothel. The least they could do is have the decency to leave this school and carry on elsewhere,¡± Tan Yi sneered.

    ¡°All they¡¯re good for is delves,¡± declared Guan, the Bronze thug that Alex had soundly put in his place just days ago, now sitting up proud beside what everyone knew was his master. ¡°It¡¯s an insult to all true-bloods that we have to suffer their presence outside of their singular duty.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not even good for that!¡± Tan Yi glared at his now flinching henchman. ¡°They taint the very rifts with their presence. They should be exiled from the city altogether!¡±

    Guan quickly nodded. ¡°They should all be exiled immediately.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s cheeks flushed, her eyes widening with hurt surprise at the sheer weight of their contempt.

    Alex felt a protective fury welling up in his chest. It didn¡¯t even matter that he and Linnea were still just friends, and no more. He still felt fiercely protective of the girl who had slept by his side and had earned his trust. Jaw clenched, he caught Tan Yi¡¯s sneering gaze, breath inhaled to roar challenge to the uppity asshole, yet the mocking smile on the youth¡¯s lips made Alex pause.

    Was he being set up somehow? Was this another trap?

    And the slightest gesture from Win¡¯s hand was enough to freeze Alex¡¯s ire, wise enough to say nothing at all, save give Linnea¡¯s hand a reassuring squeeze.

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing how much they shriek and chatter, just like their monkey cousins in the western rift,¡± Alex sent with wink.

    Linnea¡¯s downcast expression perked right back up, transforming from insecure vulnerability to supremely confident. ¡°Haters are going to hate, you know? I sure as hell am not going to let them ruin my day.¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s eyes widened with outrage when Linnea dared to meet his gaze before her lips curled with disgust, as if he was little more than dung on her shoe, easily wiped off, then utterly ignored.

    ¡°How dare you look at me like that! Lower your gaze, Ruidian, or Guan will challenge you here and now!¡±

    Guan sneered and cracked his knuckles. ¡°And we¡¯ll do it at three paces. No way in hell I¡¯m giving the whole length of the field for you to practice your twisted magics. Three steps you get to scream, then I rip that pretty face of yours right off, and we¡¯ll see how well your mongrel lover likes you then!¡±

    ¡°That will be enough.¡±

    Win¡¯s smile didn¡¯t waver at all. Yet the spiky weight of his aura made both Tan Yi and the glaring Bronze by his side flinch and lower their gazes, though their instructor didn¡¯t reprimand them any further. Instead, he turned to the rest of the class, acting as if the spat was utterly beneath them all.

    Definitely a different approach than that of Rising Phoenix, where challenges were actively encouraged, Alex thought to himself, but maybe there was something to be said for letting things go, lest he end up getting caught up in yet another vicious cycle of vengeance and retribution, inevitably escalating until glorious disaster consumed the whole city, for better or worse. At which point Alex would end up embracing chaos and change to the ultimate degree yet again, then paying for it, as he always had before.

    He took a deep breath, relaxing his clenched fist. All he had to do right now was reign in his temper, and savor a life far more peaceful and sweet that it otherwise would be. Which was easy enough to say, but just looking at Tan Yi¡¯s haughty features made him want to challenge the little shit so dearly that he could taste it.

    Alex did his best to put the little shit stain firmly out of mind, turning his focus to a calmly smiling Master Win.

    ¡°You all now know your spiritual energy proclivities, your aptitude for rifts, and how best to cleanse and strengthen your meridians so that you may advance to as close to perfection as is possible for each of you. All of you are additionally familiar with your assigned martial instructors, and each of you has a progression chart listing our goals and expectations for you over the coming three years. Assuming you all successfully pass this first semester, of course.¡±

    He flashed a gentle smile at their mixed expressions. ¡°And I don¡¯t doubt that each and every one of you has what it takes to prosper at this academy, so long as you¡¯re willing to put in the effort to ascend just as far as you can. Now there is but one major component that needs to be addressed, and your tenure as students here is all but assured.¡±

    Luo and Xiao exchanged looks before flashing practical smiles. Alex grinned at the pair of guardsmen, glad that they at least understood, even if half the class was gazing at Elder Win with puzzled expressions.

    ¡°And what¡¯s the final component, Master Win?¡± Ling Ling tentatively asked.

    ¡°He means credits,¡± Tan Yi sneered. ¡°Are you truly that dense?¡±

    Ling Ling¡¯s cheeks flushed a pretty shade of crimson.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Elder Win said with a cool nod. ¡°And there is no shame at all in asking questions. Only in being so foolish as to think that you already know all the answers. Because if that were truly the case, than why are you even here?¡± This was said with a pointed look at Tan Yi who flushed and glowered before quickly lowering his gaze, and Alex was almost positive that half the class were smiling on the inside as Tan Yi was subtly put in his place.

    But only subtly, Alex noted.

    Only with the softest of kid gloves.

    Which made it damn clear that despite his blatant hostility toward Ruidians, his clan clearly had enough pull to assure him a relatively smooth and easy passage while he was here. As to just how much political clout the Duo Li clan did or did not have, Alex had no idea. He only knew that he¡¯d have to be careful. Because as exhilarating as it might be to challenge the status quo, he was damn sick of everyone he had thought neutral or even benevolent abruptly turning cold, ruthless, and desperate when his enemies put the squeeze on all third parties, pressuring them to take sides and strike out at Alex with everything they had.

    Just for once, he¡¯d like to enjoy a safe, stable environment where peril and spite-filled young masters weren¡¯t waiting for him around every turn.

    And if that meant he had to ignore a certain smarmy little shit as opposed to take immediately ruthless action, then so be it. At least he was already in a much better place than he had ever been at Dragon Academy, so he had a hell of a lot less to worry about in terms of petty bullies.

    In the end, it was gloriously simple.

    All he needed to do to succeed here was ignore petty bullshit and focus on his own advancement.

    And if Elder Wins bemused nod was anything to go by, that was the silent counsel that he was giving his students as he silently stood up and left the pagoda, the entire class flowing right behind him, and somehow it was an angrily huffing Tan Yi and his surly eyed lackey who were two steps behind everyone else.

    Alex could barely hold back his smile. ¡°How the hell did he arrange for such a classy insult, without saying a thing?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a Silver tier cultivator. They have their ways,¡± Linnea thought knowingly back at him.

    Alex smirked. ¡°You have no idea either.¡±

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°Not a clue!¡± She happily conceded, clasping his hand and wrapping his arm around her shoulders as their instructor began extolling the virtues of the assignment center and all the ways they could earn credits while finding a professional path that was absolutely perfect for each of them.

    The entire class smiled animatedly and nodded in oddly perfect sync, all of their questions and replies flowing absolutely perfectly into a carefully woven conversation whose strands somehow kept a surly cursing Tan Yi completely out of the loop.

    Alex enjoyed the view of the lush crops and fruit groves below, a cool oasis that served as a wonderful contrast to the fierce bright morning sun of the desert, which he found exquisitely invigorating as Elder Win ushered them through the grand brownstone edifice that was clearly the job hall.

    ¡°And here you may take your pick of assignments, class,¡± Win explained, pointing to numerous hardwood boards covered in placards of ivory and bone. And quite unlike any other academy job hall Alex had entered before, this one was tended by no less than four smiling women dressed in matching qipaos of navy blue, bowing their heads as one. ¡°Welcome to the Silver Sands assignment hall. How may we assist you today?¡±

    Alex blinked, surprised to hear the girls speaking as one, their voices in harmonious sync.

    He couldn¡¯t help but think that they practiced for just such an occasion, and certainly they had impressed the students as Elder Win smiled.

    ¡°My students are eager to learn the particulars of how things are done at our job hall.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Master Win,¡± said the closest assistant with a solemn bow of her head, before turning to the students. ¡°Welcome, aspirants. It¡¯s always a pleasure to see new faces, and I look forward to being able to assist each and every one of you.¡± She then gestured toward the closest bamboo board covered in brass hooks with bone placards hanging off of them. ¡°Your fellow students, instructors, and school administrators will make use of these placards to offer assignments to both students and professors in return for school credits. Upon these boards you may find everything from requests to assistance with farming crops to cultivating spiritual treasures for those amongst you with a horticultural knack. For those interested in the crafting professions, we have postings for alchemists and artificers seeking long term assistants. Assistance that can easily turn into apprenticeships for those of you who are judged to have talent as well as enthusiasm,¡± she declared, smiling before a couple youths whose eyes widened when the word ¡®alchemy¡¯ was mentioned.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help noting that, save for hurried first day placement with an assistant eager for those who had already proven themselves, no one had made any mention of honing new aspirants into crafters of one sort or another, which Alex thought interesting. He allowed the young woman¡¯s enthusiastic voice to fade into the background, already knowing the path he was most interested in pursuing.

    The assistant then made her way to the central board, gesturing with a smile at what were perhaps the most ornate collection of tiles of all those in the hall.

    ¡°And for those of you willing to dare the rifts, we have our beast core, spirit herb, and spirit meat hunting assignments.¡±

    She solemnly handed out several of the placards, much as she had from the other boards. The contrast was immediately obvious, several student¡¯s eyes bulging with surprise.

    ¡°Wait, this request for a week¡¯s assistance learning the basics of tending spiritual herbs is paying a single credit¡­ but if we can obtain even a rudimentary Metal beast core for one of the workshops, we can earn a hundred credits in less than a day?¡±

    The assistant flashed a professional smile.

    ¡°That is exactly the case. You will find, I think, that Silver Sands masters offer a generous premium far beyond that which you might find at any of our city¡¯s far smaller academies, as we boast the most skilled and sought-after artificers and alchemists in the entire region.¡±

    The young man whose name Alex hadn¡¯t quite caught shook his head in disbelief. ¡°But why? It makes no sense!¡±

    ¡°It makes all the sense in the world,¡± Linnea coolly declared. ¡°When you dare the deeps, you put your very life on the line, as at least half our class knows firsthand. And considering that one can only endure a certain number of delves before the buildup of waste Qi becomes unhealthy¡­ your time is also at an absolute premium. So why wouldn¡¯t Silver Sands pay us a generous premium for putting both our lives and health on the line?¡±

    The youth blinked at those words. ¡°Wait, you were part of that group. You and the blond Ruidian. I hear that if it wasn¡¯t for you...¡±

    ¡°We would have been fine,¡± Tan Yi sneered. ¡°And these two fools made a mockery of this entire hall, each earning 350 credits for a farce of a fight that the elders could have handled themselves in the blink of an eye!¡±

    ¡°Yet they were the ones who took down the spirit beasts and claimed the cores,¡± Elder Win gently reminded. ¡°And thus they were rewarded for both their efforts and the countless hours of training they invested in themselves. Training that allowed them to think and act as one, just when it was needed. So yes, they profited mightily, as well they should have. For the lives that their quick thinking might save when it is far more than a test cannot be measured in simple credits.¡±

    ¡°Cheap Ruidian tricks that no true cultivator would depend upon,¡± Tan Yi haughtily declared.

    ¡°A trick that kept your head on your shoulders, you absurd little popinjay!¡± Lilly snapped, glaring at the arrogant young master before bowing her head Alex and Linnea¡¯s way. ¡°Some of us, at least, are capable of a little gratitude. And I now know exactly who I want with me, when me and mine are ready to dare the deeps.¡±

    Quing squeezed her hand, dipping his head at her words. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s lips pressed in a thin line as more than a few aspirants snickered at his expense before the chuckles abruptly dropped off, his icy glare promising ugly retribution to anyone who dared to mock him.

    Elder Win gestured to the perfectly still assistant, who had seemed to blend into the background the instant the comments turned barbed, now speaking as if there had been no tension in the room at all.

    ¡°The reward to be earned daring the rifts on behalf of our city are indeed exemplary. Those who earn sufficient credits will have access to far more than some of the most luxurious accommodations and fine dining in the city. You will also earn the opportunity for private study lessons with any number of skilled practitioners among multiple disciplines. And with your instructor¡¯s permission, you can even earn access the most sacred tomes of our library, where the echoes of the insights learned by ancient masters can catalyze similar revelations within your own soul!¡±

    Ling Ling squealed with excitement. ¡°My brother said Silver Sand¡¯s vaults are filled with spiritual treasures and powerful artifacts! Is it true we can actually buy enchantments with our credits?¡±

    The young woman stiffened, stealing a glance Elder Win¡¯s way.

    Their master gave an easygoing chuckle. ¡°Though I fear your brother¡¯s tales might have been a bit exaggerated, we do, in fact, have any number of enchantments, both powerful and useful, available for even first year students like yourselves. So long as you manage to accrue the necessary credits. Why, you can even earn a consultation with our resident alchemist who can design customized batches of cultivation pills facilitating your next breakthrough with an absolute minimal strain to your foundation or any buildup of waste Qi. Waste Qi which, thanks to our school¡¯s elite techniques, you are now learning how to wick away with greater ease and aptitude than almost any other cultivator out there! So continue to master your lessons and work diligently, and there¡¯s no telling just how far you all can ascend!¡±

    Alex¡¯s fellow caravan defenders and Dui Zhong¡¯s former guardsmen each raised their hands. Alex smiled, bemused by how carefully they avoided doing anything but give him the slightest of nods in passing, so diligent they were on muddying the waters of their mutual past. It just went to show how trustworthy and honorable they truly were, Alex thought, though he hoped they could give up the farce soon and form fast friendships once more.

    ¡°Is there a reason why we can¡¯t just stick to rift assignments?¡± Xiao tentatively asked.

    ¡°Because your meridians will corrode if you delve too often,¡± Guan said with a snort, frowning as he looked at the pair. ¡°I can tell you two know what it means to fight. Desert caravanners?¡± he asked.

    The pair froze, slowly nodding. As if they sensed both that Guan was definitely on the opposing side of team Alex, but the question was fair one.

    ¡°We do,¡± Luo confirmed. ¡°My kung fu brother and I enjoyed a fortuitous encounter in a desert rift. That¡¯s both the only reason why we¡¯re here, and why we¡¯re older than most of you.¡±

    ¡°Understandable,¡± Elder Win declared with a nod. ¡°No doubt your life experiences will prove extremely useful for confirming your path and understanding your personal dao. But it¡¯s important to understand that rifts formed in the desert are both similar and quite different to the rifts that blossom along ley line confluences filled with the essence of life. For that which allows said rifts to blossom in such close proximity, and, indeed, allows for our entire oasis sanctuary to blossom with such rich, fecund life, are also tied to the cycles of decay and renewal in the most primal sense.¡±

    Luo blinked at this.

    ¡°The city¡¯s waste Qi is claimed and filtered by the rifts, before being further transformed and processed by all the rich life in the valley, where the crops, filled with fresh vitality, are harvested before filling our bellies, and the cycle is renewed continuously,¡± Alex calmly explained.

    Guan frowned Alex¡¯s way, before giving a reluctant nod. ¡°The half-blood¡¯s right. You can only delve in city rifts sparingly, or you risk straining your cultivation.¡±

    Their instructor nodded. ¡°Fortunately, if you stick to the Western rift and master the purification techniques you¡¯ve been shown, you¡¯ll be able to delve closer to once per moon than every other month. And if you find that you have a taste for the peril and the adventure of it, you could go quite far indeed, and wouldn¡¯t need to worry about taking on any other assignments, unless you wish to.¡± Win¡¯s bemused smile hardened. ¡°So long as you¡¯re wise enough to form a party with like-minded individuals who know what to expect, and train diligently together to fight and counter threats in a coordinated and disciplined fashion. Individuals far more interested in getting safely back in one piece than trying to make a big score are the ones most likely to survive and flourish as delvers.

    He then turned to the rest of the class. ¡°Many of you got a firsthand taste of just how exciting those rifts can be. An excitement that certainly isn¡¯t for everyone. And thus, our school prides itself in offering many paths forward that you can all take full advantage of.¡± He quickly scanned the listings, before smiling and claiming a bone tile. ¡°And today we will take a joint assignment that shall count as a full credit in all of your favor.¡±

    He smiled at the polite looks this earned him as he solemnly passed the tile to the assistant. Her gaze brightened. ¡°Ah, you will be weeding the spirit herb garden of the Yui residence. I believe it just received a new owner, and I have no doubt that they will be quite grateful for the assistance! Best of all, the property adjoins the caldera rim just past the college, which means you won¡¯t even need to travel down to the basin to earn your credits. Wonderful!¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 54

    Alex shared a smile with Linnea as the class made their way along one of the many paths winding around the lip of the caldera to what were clearly high-end properties just beyond the school campus proper, complete with soaring pagodas, fine looking manors, and spacious gardens. Just what Alex would expect from property enjoying such choice access to the school itself. No doubt the homes they approached were the domiciles of the school¡¯s elite Silvers.

    She sighed as they made their way to their destination. ¡°I¡¯d so rather be in a rift right now.¡±

    Alex quirked an eyebrow. ¡°You mean you¡¯d rather be reveling in the rush of exploration and fighting for your life while claiming sweet prizes and leveling up to a more powerful version of yourself than spending the day weeding with our class?¡± He smirked at her expression. ¡°Tell you a secret¡­ so would I.¡±

    She chuckled softly, squeezing her hand that she had never quite let go of as the students beside whispered eagerly about learning the secrets of harvesting spirit herbs while others fantasized about becoming famous alchemists making spirit pills that would send them hurtling to the deepest reaches of Silver, and on a more practical note, a few were discussing they¡¯d they were planning to do with their future school credits.

    ¡°Now that I know that I¡¯m wind aligned, the first thing I¡¯m doing is seeing if I can learn a Wind Blade technique like Alex¡¯s, so I can actually be useful in a fight!¡± Quing enthused, his strong cheekbones, symmetrical features, and intent brown eyes momentarily giving his words a weight and an authority beyond his years, looking so much like a handsome young master preparing for his destiny as the breeze chose that moment to ruffle the locks on his brow.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, tasting something remarkable in the air¡­ before the spell was broken by a single displeased huff, as an exasperated Lilly glared his way. ¡°I thought we agreed that we were saving our credits for pristine cycling techniques? Weren¡¯t you the one telling me the other day that no matter how strong our individual affinities, it was the strength of our foundations that would determine how far in life we went as cultivators?¡±

    Quing swallowed, doing his best to ignore the stares and smiles he received as they continued winding their way along the campus. ¡°Yes, but that was before...¡±

    ¡°Before you found out you had such a strong affinity and weren¡¯t just limited to being a body cultivator like most of us are?¡± She softened her tone with a gentle smile. ¡°We¡¯ll get there, Quing. Together. At least now we have something to look forward to, once our foundations are secure.¡±

    ¡°She totally has him wrapped around her finger,¡± Linnea flashed Alex a smug smile. ¡°I bet she¡¯ll be navigating their path through the stars of their life, and he¡¯ll love her all the more for it.¡±

    Alex chuckled softly. ¡°Who can say? As long as they¡¯re happy, that¡¯s all that matters.¡±

    ¡°True.¡±

    The excited murmurs of the class continued until they reached the end of the common grounds and entered a gate through which the private residences of the school¡¯s elite were to be found. Alex¡¯s eyes widened as he got a closer look at some of the grand pagodas now before them as they made their way along the ornate walkway separating the properties. The view from a distance had been spectacular, and up close the properties were even more impressive, all of them graced with magnificent gardens filled with brilliant flowers and fruit trees in full bloom, Alex detecting more than a few spiritual herbs carefully placed in the collections to add a vibrancy and arboreal flavor that translated into a breathtaking display of perfectly balanced scents and colors. And though food crops certainly weren¡¯t the focus, the ripe peaches, plumbs, and lemons he caught sight of all looked to be at the perfect peak of ripeness.

    Which made the contrast between those properties and the one they suddenly found themselves for all the more jarring.

    The pagoda itself was a stately structure made of marble and exotic hardwoods¡­ though it gave off the empty feeling of a property that had been abandoned for years. But what really served as a source of discordance was the garden itself.

    Whereas the others were strikingly beautiful collections of perfectly tended flowers, fruit trees, and the occasional spirit herb, this garden had clearly once been an apothecary¡¯s pride and joy. And just as clearly, it had been neglected for years and whatever prizes had managed to survive despite the far more arid conditions had been all but choked out by a profusion of weeds.

    Restoring it was definitely going to take a considerable amount of work.

    Which suddenly explained why their entire class was now at this property that was clearly being restored once more. Considering the state of the garden, there wasn¡¯t too much that the class could do to make it any worse, and perhaps some would showcase a talent for bringing some sense of order to the garden as a whole.

    ¡°And here we are, class,¡± said Win with a half-lidded smile. ¡°Your assignment is simplicity itself.¡± He gestured towards the small pile of spiky grass, thorny vines, and hearty-looking weeds clearly pulled free of the garden. Just the tiniest fraction of all the weeds that were hiding so many spiritual treasures he could sense with just a glance that it sent an excited shiver down Alex¡¯s spine, realizing just how valuable this place truly was.

    ¡°You are to take a careful look at the handful of weeds now on display, and remove those plants, and only these plants from the garden.¡± Instructor Win pointed to a number of steel shovels and bronze weeding implements before them. ¡°You will use these to pull free the weeds, careful to include their roots, while simultaneously avoiding any damage to the roots or leaves of any of the other plants. So long as you focus only on removing these four varieties, the new owner will consider your assignment complete.¡±

    Alex held back a groan when the cream of the class, the strongest, most capable looking young men and women in their group, frowned and picked over the implements on loan as if being forced to hold alien slugs.

    ¡°Master Win, surely there are other ways that we might earn credits?¡± asked one nearby youth wearing fine silk cultivator¡¯s robes that day, with the mien of a favored scion who never had to work a day of his life, outside of daily lessons with a jian, no doubt given by some private instructor who was far more effusive with praise than actual combat lessons, because the boy¡¯s stance at present was terrible, nearly losing his balance with the slightest hint of Win¡¯s killing aura as he coolly stared at the suddenly blanching youth.

    ¡°Bendon, yes?¡±

    The boy paled, quickly nodding in the affirmative.

    ¡°You wished to ask me something, Bendon?¡±

    The boy blinked before his survival instincts abruptly kicked in. ¡°No, sir. I am very much looking forward to this exciting opportunity to expand my skill set and unlock hidden affinities, Master Win.¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡± Elder Win¡¯s smile didn¡¯t quite reach his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll find the weeding implements right behind you. If you¡¯re having any issues with them, I¡¯m quite certain that you can ask one or more of your classmate¡¯s for assistance.¡±

    Bendon quickly nodded. ¡°Yes, of course, Master Win.¡± The boy wilted like a flower himself as he turend around and trudged toward the gardening implements, which, to be fair to poor Bendon, no one else in his clique seemed to understand any better than he.

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hold back a wince, already knowing what was coming. He dreaded it even a he accepted the inevitability of it, though he held out hope for long moments that someone with half a clue would pick up the slack and guide the thirty odd clueless youth on at least the basics of tending to a garden.

    Linnea¡¯s gaze grew troubled. ¡°Alex, you do know that they have no idea what they¡¯re doing, right?¡±

    He sighed. ¡°These idiots are going to absolutely destroy the garden. What¡¯s left of it, anyway.¡±

    She tutted, shaking her head. ¡°They look like they¡¯re at risk of snipping their own fingers off. And it¡¯s painfully clear that they have no idea how to treat anything with leaves, let alone understand the garden¡¯s layout. They can¡¯t even see the inward spiral being used to channel all the rich mana in the air.¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°I would have said Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy¡­ but yeah. That¡¯s an elite tier configuration clearly intended to channel energy inward to the heart of the garden. And they¡¯re utterly clueless.¡±

    Linnea sighed, shaking her head. ¡°They don¡¯t even know how to use a three-tined hoe!¡±

    Alex groaned. ¡°We¡¯re so going to get stereotyped as Ruidians with green thumbs.¡±

    She snorted. ¡°That¡¯s because we are Ruidians with green thumbs. Or are you blind to the travesty of what your most obnoxious students are about to do to those spirit he--¡±

    But Alex was already moving, his natural gifts allowing all the spirit herbs to pop out in his vision much like magical plants in his favorite game of all time where he once spent hours foraging for brightly colored plants in peaceful evergreen forests until he woke up for the first time in his second life, finding that he could do it for real. Only now it was the spiritual energy they radiated that popped out like a 4-D color display to his mind¡¯s eye.

    Like the absolutely priceless ivory white blossom that Tan Yi was about to stomp and grind into the soil, as he had countless other spirit blossoms when he thought no one was looking, glaring with contempt at the spade in his hands.

    But not this treasure, Alex, thought, the desperation of the moment compelling the use of a gift he had hoped to put out of everyone¡¯s mind.

    Quickness check successful! You have managed to cross the garden in the blink of an eye.

    Spring Leap is now Rank 6!

    You have successfully intercepted your foe¡¯s killing blow!

    Time seemed to freeze as Alex snatched Tan Yi¡¯s ankle and jerked him straight up, the young scion¡¯s robes tangling about his face in an unsightly heap as he furiously flailed at Alex with his gardening implement.

    Which Alex effortlessly snagged out of the air with a negligent swipe of his hand, sending the tool instantly in storage while miming flinging it behind him, thinking the fool had done quite enough damage already.

    ¡°Unhand me right now, Ruidian trash, or I swear you¡¯ll be crying tears of blood before my clan is done with you!¡±

    Guan, who had been quietly following behind his master as the angry youth vented his frustrations on the garden, snarled and stepped forward, dao springing into his hand. ¡°Unhand him now, Ruidian!¡±

    The good-natured complaining and chatter of the entire class died to strained silence as they broke through the thick vines to behold the tableau before them.

    Alex, holding a hollering and cursing Tan Yi by his foot while a snarling Guan tried to close, hampered as he was by undergrowth that seemed eager to catch his shoes, pants, and belt, arms already covered by scratches from thorny vines that seemed almost eager to whip about his wrists.

    ¡°Unhand me now, Ruidian scum, or I¡¯ll see you kicked out of this school for assault!¡±

    ¡°Alex? What is the meaning of this?¡± said none other than Elder Win, choosing that moment to make an appearance.

    Tan Yi¡¯s increasingly reddened face lit up with desperate hope. ¡°He¡¯s assaulting me, Elder Win! Help! He¡¯s a threat! I told you he was a threat! He shouldn¡¯t even be allowed in the city! Mark my words, when my clan¡¯s done with him he¡¯ll be kicked out without a water flask to his name!¡±

    Elder Win gave a tired sigh, gently shaking his head. ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°This ¡®aspirant¡¯ was too busy grinding precious spirit herbs to paste to pay attention to where he was going and tripped, sir. Before I could right him back up, his henchman unsheathed his dao and approached.¡±

    Elder Win¡¯s smile didn¡¯t reach his cool gaze. ¡°You know for a fact that Tan Yi was deliberately crushing spiritual treasures?¡±

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°I do. And with your permission, I can prove it.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Tan Yi snarled. ¡°all that comes out of your mouth is spite and twisted lies!¡±

    Alex ignored his captive, his gaze firmly on Elder Win until he got the nod he had been waiting for.

    With that, he dropped his captive onto a soft patch of turned earth.

    But not before claiming both his shoes.

    Tan Yi¡¯s eyes widened in sudden alarm. ¡°You took my shoes! You¡¯re endangering my feet in a yard full of thorns. Give them back, I say. Give them back at once!¡±

    ¡°You heard him!¡± Guan roared, snarling as he closed the distance. ¡°Return Master Yi¡¯s property or face the consequences.¡±

    Alex¡¯s heart pounded with exhilaration as he met the cold gaze of a man clearly eager for his death.

    ¡°Shall we have that rematch, then, Guan?¡±

    ¡°Gladly!¡± the garden rang with the Bronze¡¯s cold laughter. ¡°I¡¯ll happily feed the garden your lifeblood!¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°What a fortuitous choice of words. I was about to say the same myself.¡±

    ¡°You will both stop this foolishness¡­ NOW!¡±

    Elder Win¡¯s voice cracked with furious intent. Even Alex felt the wave of killing aura that had a suddenly pale-faced Guan falling to his knees and dropping his blade.

    Alex quenched his rage, turning it into a bow. ¡°This one apologizes for surrendering to the heat of the moment¡­ and presents to you his evidence.¡± He dipped his head once more, presenting Tan Yi¡¯s fine silken slippers radiating an actual protective ward, because practical leather heels were clearly too mundane for the young idiot, before Win¡¯s critical gaze.

    Only then did Alex turn them upside down, showcasing the splotches of inky color all over the bottom, radiating Spiritual essence so sharp that even his classmates could sense it, more than a few rubbing their eyes as if they stung, or inhaling the sharp rich fragrance.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°At least six different varieties of spiritual herbs were crushed under a certain ¡®young master¡¯s¡¯ spiteful feet. And as for proof that it was malice and not simple stupidity¡­ here is his assigned implement. As you can see, the bronze tines are utterly free of dirt or sap, because he didn¡¯t use them to tear free any weeds at all.¡± Alex turned to glare at a furiously flushing Tan Yi trying to cover his humiliation with angry protests, but Alex refused to allow him a word edgewise.

    ¡°He deliberately ground those precious, priceless herbs to paste. And he did it in fine silken slippers. Which would have been stupid if he were stomping vines¡­¡±

    ¡°Because vines have thorns!¡± Linnea brightly interjected. ¡°Whereas most spiritual treasures, at least those in this garden, do not.¡±

    Elder Win frowned, gazing intently at the stained slippers before his nostrils dilated with a single sharp inhale.

    Eyes widening, he turned to Tan Yi. ¡°What do you have to say for yourself, Tan Yi?¡±

    ¡°What do I have to say for myself? Ha!¡± The angry scion feigned outrage. ¡°I would say that I was minding my business, examining the garden before determining how best to start my task, when this Ruidian assaulted me out of nowhere, as I warned you that he would!¡±

    Elder Win frowned. ¡°Then how do you account for near half a dozen spiritual treasures crushed against your slipper?¡±

    ¡°Well how the hell am I supposed to know what¡¯s precious and what¡¯s not in this mess of vines and neglected spirit-herbs? It¡¯s not like you bothered showing us anything, save what we were supposed to clip!¡± His eyes lit up as if inspired by sudden revelation. ¡°If anything, the fault is yours¡­ is it not, Elder Win? You didn¡¯t tell us anything was to be avoided or how carefully we were to watch our step, so I did nothing I was instructed not to. In fact, the entire reason why I was so slow in pruning is because I didn¡¯t want to make a mistake!¡±

    He flashed a twisted smile. ¡°So I did nothing but what I was instructed to, and my reward for my efforts is to be assaulted and threatened to within an inch of my life!¡± He turned around, jabbing his finger Alex¡¯s way. ¡°So I demand that you cast out this Ruidian menace out at once and remand him to my clan¡¯s custody until he can be tried for assaulting the scion of a noble house!¡±

    More than a few of their students were gazing at Tan Yi in sheer awe, speaking in low murmured tones that Alex¡¯s uniquely enhanced Perception picked up as if they were whispering directly in his ear.

    ¡°That he would actually have the gall to say that, after we all saw him smashing those flowers!¡±

    ¡°Of course he would. He¡¯s old blood. Probably has absurd pull. So why the hell is he even here, tormenting the rest of us?¡±

    ¡°Why the hell is Elder Win putting up with his lip all the time?¡±

    ¡°He probably has no choice.¡±

    ¡°Clearly his clan just wants to rub it in our faces¡­ but don¡¯t tell him I said that.¡±

    Elder Win glared at a smirking Tan Yi for long moments. Moments that filled Alex with something close to horrified dismay as the young asshole¡¯s smirk grew, leaving Alex forced to wonder if Tan Yi¡¯s blatant lies would still manage to force Alex on the run while Tan Yi laughed and kicked dirt all over his hopes and dreams, making it clear that even in this life, power was everything, idealism was for fools, and those who got involved in the machinations of the corrupt and clever would inevitably and always be ground to dust.

    A thought that filled Alex with a killing fury echoed in the hot howling winds suddenly whipping across the garden.

    Winds so violent that more than one youth cursed when their ubiquitous desert-ware hats were torn free of their heads in a cyclone of hot fury Alex could so viscerally taste in that moment as he squeezed his fists so tightly his knuckles cracked, in that moment visualizing squeezing tight those winds around the suddenly blanching Tan Yi who¡¯s eyes were bulging for some inexplicable reason.

    Tan Yi¡¯s hands were now clawing at his own throat as he stumbled to his knees, his horrified gaze that of a dying man unable to catch a single breath.

    It was a sight so alarming that it jolted Alex out of his killing haze, his attention snapping to Elder Win¡¯s increasingly impatient querry.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    He all but snapped a salute. ¡°Yes, Elder Win?¡±

    ¡°Tan Yi of Clan Duo Yi accuses you of deliberately assaulting him. Do you concede to that accusation?¡±

    Alex took a steadying breath, lips curving up in an innocuous smile as Tan Yi continued to cough and sob for breath on the ground before them, looking for all the world like he had seen a ghost as he stumbled back to his feet. ¡°Not at all, Elder Win. I was doing my best to save the young master here from making a terrible mistake and crushing any more spirit herbs than he already had.¡±

    Elder Win smirked. ¡°Well, then. As young Tan Yi has freely admitted to being so blind to the value of the spirit herbs before him that he will happily walk on them all as if they were grass, then I find it perfectly reasonable to believe that he was about to inadvertently crush a spiritual treasure, and you were but doing your part to ease the financial burden his family might otherwise be forced to pay in reparations to the new owner of this property.¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s smirk was instantly wiped off his features. ¡°What? You¡¯re saying this fool¡¯s assault was justified? That you won¡¯t be surrendering him to my custody?¡± His eyes bulged with outrage. ¡°And that I¡¯m somehow responsible for destroying spiritual herbs that have been neglected and ignored for at least half a decade!?¡±

    Elder Win¡¯s smile didn¡¯t waver, yet they could all feel the sudden pressure in the air. ¡°What an intriguing declaration, Tan Yi. What makes you so certain that the spiritual treasures here were neglected for half a decade?¡±

    Tan Yi opened his mouth, then snapped it shut when no words came out, his expression of outraged indignation turned to anxious uncertainty, made all the worse by the increasing murmur of the class at large, pointing and smiling at his expense.

    ¡°A lucky guess?¡±

    Elder Win snorted. ¡°An incredibly astute guess at that. Because that is exactly how long this garden was neglected, sadly, for reasons none of you need worry about. Nonetheless, such an astute observation would normally be the province of scions belonging to clans steeped in alchemical tradition. Like, for example¡­ your own, Tan Yi?¡±

    Tan Yi blanched, eyes growing wild with desperate fury, like a trapped animal about to lash out.

    Elder Win sighed. ¡°So you owe our young Ruidian friend thanks, I think, for helping you ato void compounding your folly by crushing ever more precious spiritual treasures, such that your sheer ignorance would end up making your entire clan look incredibly foolish. And since I know you that have absolutely no desire to bring such shame to your clan, a simple debt of, let¡¯s say¡­ 75 school credits will be added to your account, the particulars of which I¡¯m sure we need not worry about ever being spoken of again once we leave this garden. Are we all agreed?¡±

    His warning gaze the student¡¯s way was more than enough to have them all nodding in solemn agreement.

    Elder Win wiped his hands as if clean of filth. ¡°And that is the end of this affair. I assume that is acceptable to you, Tan Yi of Clan Duo Yi?¡±

    Tan Yi clenched his jaw at the pronouncement, about to speak when Alex coolly interjected.

    ¡°The herbs you crushed were all of excellent quality, heightened by surviving for so long in what was, for them, extreme conditions. Each of them was well above median market potency. And I¡¯ve worked at a local apothecary. If I were to take a wild guess¡­ I would venture to say that you managed to destroy well over 300 silver¡¯s worth of spirit herbs.¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s eyes widened, before twisting into a petulant glare as he lowered his gaze. ¡°Yes, Elder Win. Perfectly acceptable.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. Alex?¡±

    Alex blinked, for a moment not knowing what was expected, before it suddenly clicked. The hot-headed scion of a very powerful clan had just lost face in front of the entire class. Best Alex give him back some, for the sake of the class, if no one else.

    Alex bowed at a precise 45 degree angle. ¡°This one apologizes for unduly startling you, Tan Yi of Clan Duo Yi. I regret not having the opportunity to personally instruct you on the worth of each of the spiritual treasures within this garden, and wished only to spare you and your clan the shame of destroying precious spiritual herbs that any alchemist would be eager to claim as their own.¡±

    Elder Win clapped his hands almost before Tan Yi gave an infinitesimal nod, the matter now officially closed.

    Not that Alex was stupid enough to believe that there wouldn¡¯t be serious repercussions down the line.

    And he would be lying if he didn¡¯t admit that he was increasingly looking forward to them.

    Blood would be spilled when things finally came to a head.

    And he¡¯d do his utmost to make sure it wasn¡¯t his.

    Yet it seemed that he wasn¡¯t going to get off Scott-free that day either, for all that he had been doing his best to avoid the garden until the travesty that was Tan Yi became too much for his conscience to bear. A truth that Elder Win had immediately picked up upon.

    ¡°A most interesting morning!¡± He looked Alex¡¯s way. ¡°I take it that you have experience tending spiritual gardens, Alex?¡±

    Alex winced, forcing himself to dip his head in acknowledgment. ¡°That would be correct, Elder Win.¡±

    The man¡¯s smile grew. ¡°Alright, then. Let us assume that this garden is now under your care. Not only that, I will assign you the full allotment of class credits for todays¡­ lesson.¡± He blithely ignored the handful of murmured protests, as fellow classmates wisely told those complaining to shut the hell up and focus on what mattered.

    ¡°All that we ask of you is that you show us all, step by step, how you would restore this cultivation garden.¡±

    Alex sighed, accepting the inevitable, before closing his eyes and pressing his hands to the soil.

    Of course his eyes and ability to see the flows of spiritual energy had already told him a shocking amount. Far more than he had recalled ever gleaning from a garden in a single go. He wasn¡¯t just spotting the Median Market Potencies of various individual herbs, but getting a sense of the overall health and flow of spiritual energy as a whole.

    And as it stood¡­ it wasn¡¯t good.

    Yet with his hands on the ground as he took a deep whiff, ignoring Tan Yi and several other¡¯s derisive comments equating Ruidians to being pigs rooting in the soil¡­ he could sense its potential.

    Forest Sense skill check: Critical success!

    Because it was far more than just a collection of plants. It was a symbiotic ecosystem exchanging both nutrients, spiritual energy, and water, with a secret at its heart that put an excited smile on his face, like a child who had just discovered a wondrous prize to be kept sacred and cherished.

    He swallowed his suddenly dry throat, gazing at Elder Win searchingly for several long moments, ignoring the increasing murmurs of the class, wondering if there was a deeper meaning to all this. But all Win did was furrow his impressive brows, giving Alex a curious look. ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex forced a smile, deciding that he would treat this as a genuine opportunity to teach and guide, knowing that he could give no greater gift than a bit of reverence for this wonder of life and growth that was the heart of their miniature ecosystem upon which all their lives depended upon.

    ¡°First, let me say that the former gardeners were doing a lot more than just planting orderly rows of plants. Even the Copperthorn vines have their place. Everything was planted here for a reason.¡±

    Quing and Lilly gave him curious looks.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Ling Ling curiously asked. ¡°I thought Copperthorn vines were just, well, weeds that need to be removed?¡±

    Alex smiled and shook his head. ¡°For all that it¡¯s true that they themselves aren¡¯t spiritual treasures in the normal sense, they don¡¯t produce leaves, or roots that we use for compounding tinctures or poultices, they serve other roles vital to any garden so near the desert. And if you can actually get the conditions just right, you¡¯ll be rewarded with fruit so sweet that even our city¡¯s best dates will be put to shame.¡± Or such was the promise of potential whispered by rustling leaves, a half-smiling Alex himself curious to test that claim.

    He gazed for long moments at a thicket of Copperthorn vines, his smile filled with gentle fondness even as he gently grasped a handful of said vines and slipped them free of the pile of plants they had wound so tightly around as easily as plucking noodles from a pot. Not once did he get pricked, scratched, or show signs of any undue strain as he pruned the thicket by a good two thirds. He then proceeded to one focus on thick cluster of Copperthorns after another, otherwise ignoring the hundreds of precious spiritual herbs he was nonetheless careful never to crush with his feet, pruning each of them by a good two thirds.

    ¡°The Copperthorns are actually wonderful for providing shade when terraces are established and the vines are appropriately interconnected. They¡¯re also perfect for trapping moisture that then condenses and rains on the plants below them. Thus you can grow a surprisingly varied selection of food crops or spiritual treasures under well-tended thickets, despite living on the desert¡¯s rim. The problem is balance. Because no one¡¯s tended to these Copperthorns in half a decade, they¡¯ve grown far beyond the ideal ratio, collapsed their trellises, and are throwing the alkalinity of the soil completely out of balance. In other words, for this garden to be restored to it¡¯s former glory, the flow of spiritual energy must be fully restored.¡±

    ¡°So it adheres to the principles of feng shui?¡± Quiang dutifully asked.

    Alex smiled at the eager-looking youth. ¡°You could say that, sure. The important thing is balance.¡±

    He then frowned at the soil, noting the Sageroot which was in suprisingly good shape, and the Silverblade stalks and Tigersbalm which were on the cusp of being utterly salvageable. Of course, he had already deduced the secret at the heart of this beautiful sanctuary, and was steadily unraveling how best to access it in his mind¡¯s eye. Till then, there were other ways he could tend to the garden, but it wasn¡¯t something he could do in minutes or hours, especially not with mere Bronze tier stats.

    Still, there was a lot that he could do, one task effortlessly flowing into the next as wooden trellises restored themselves and Copperthorn vines wound about the rapidly recovering structures, quickly forming a latticework synergizing Wood and Water Qi elements so well and thoroughly that by the time a full two hours had past, increasingly impatient glances became touched with genuine wonder when hair was ruffled by a breeze that wasn¡¯t only cool, but moist as well.

    ¡°I feel rain in the air!¡± Ling Ling said with an awed smile as she gazed at the now thick green foliage over her head, secured by countless trellises that weren¡¯t just restored but were actively budding, as if the very rotting wood had been granted new vibrant life, which Alex decided he was fine with, as the wood in question was Qi neutral and the innocuous roots would stabilize the wooden posts to better secure the overarching canopy of vines that Alex was increasingly certain weren¡¯t truly meant to form a canopy without any counterbalancing foliage.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Elder Win politely asked as Alex continued to ignore murmurs of both wonder and impatience, took a winding path through the now at least partially restored garden, not hesitating to summon his Water Shield, allowing it to spray the garden with the gentlest shower, infusing it with just the salts he needed with Earth and Metal Qi to enrich the soil with the boon it needed to blossom forth with fresh fecund life once more.

    Skill check made! You have successfully used an Advanced Application of Enhanced Water Shield!

    Alex shivered, suddenly filled with an undefinable sense of yearning within this increasingly lush patch of once-abandoned foliage. For just a second, he had felt as if he were connected to the great forest itself¡­ before the feeling went away.

    Alex sighed, feeling unusually melancholy and surprised to see his Spiritual Energy reserves down considerably, for all that he hadn¡¯t used any formal techniques at all.

    Though the looks his classmates were giving him told another story.

    ¡°Look at all these plants now in bloom! It smells just like the valley below.¡±

    ¡°The garden was nothing but dried vines when we first got here.¡±

    More than a few were gazing up with no small amount of wonder at the restored canopy of Copperthorn vines that Alex had finally tamed into some semblance of their original function, and Alex couldn¡¯t help smiling with a certain amount of pride at the gentle mist they could all feel against their faces.

    ¡°Incredible!¡± Lilly gazed at Alex in genuine awe. ¡°Are all Ruidians capable of this?¡±

    A beaming Linnea immediately shook her head. ¡°Nope! It would normally take our whole tribe at least a week to restore the garden to this point. But the composition and alkalinity of the underlying soil still needs a bit more work to balance, and the moisture you feel is mostly thanks to Alex¡¯s Water Shield, though the Copperthorns are now helping to trap the moisture, just as intended.¡±

    Alex tried to hold on to his epiphany under the midday sun but he knew better than to force it when he took a deep breath, shuddering to full wakefulness before gazes filled with admiration, boredom, or outright contempt, finding solace in at least one interface message, even as his wonderful sense of connection to a forest perhaps lost to ancient history faded to bittersweet memory.

    Congratulations! Your communion with nature has grown fresh roots. Your understanding now transcends individual plants and now incorporates entire ecosystems!

    Forest Sense is now Rank 8.

    ¡°Well that was a waste of half a day for the sake of a garden that will shrivel to nothing in less than a week,¡± Tan Yi muttered for Guan¡¯s benefit alone it seemed, glaring Alex¡¯s way as Elder Win led them to the front of the property. ¡°What did we do but puff up an arrogant Ruidian¡¯s pride? And charging me for herbs no one would ever use is just adding insult to injury.¡±

    Guan nodded silently, but Alex could sense that not only was he not gaining any traction with his fellows, but that people were actively avoiding all eye contact with him.

    He was becoming pariah, and didn¡¯t even realize how badly he had overplayed his hand.

    People might fear him. But sure as hell they didn¡¯t respect or like him. He was becoming a burden they might have to tolerate for the sake of his clan¡¯s reputation, whatever it was, but people would only sigh with relief when he was finally out of their sight.

    Alex did his best to keep his smile in check, but there was a definite spring to his step as they made their way to the front of the property, Elder Win saying only, ¡°Come. Our host is eager to treat you all to a meal under his roof, in thanks for your efforts this day.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 55

    ¡°This way,¡± said an officious looking house seneschal, leading them all to a series of fine hardwood tables placed in depressions unlike anything Alex had seen before, though he didn¡¯t hesitate to follow Linnea¡¯s lead when she immediately slipped off her footware and took a seat, sighing with delight while her feet soaked in a hot foot bath filled with flower petals and aromatics.

    ¡°Come on, and sit, Alex! This is delightful! I haven¡¯t had a good footsoak since, well,¡± her smile faded a bit. ¡°Since leaving home. And since I¡¯m never ever going back to that pit of overbearing tyrants again¡­ clearly we¡¯ll have to save up and afford ourselves a pagoda just like this one!¡± She said, flashing him a teasing smile that earned more than a few grins from their classmates.

    Alex laughed it off with a smile. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll need to hunt an awful lot of beast cores to earn a prize like this,¡± he allowed with a smile, taking note of how most of the class slipped off their footware before soaking their feet in the bath like it was second nature to them all. Alex hesitated only a moment longer before doing the same, eyes widening in surprise when he felt the tiniest nibble on his toes.

    Linnea¡¯s grin widened. ¡°They actually have proper rufas! Doesn¡¯t that feel nice?¡±

    Whatever Alex was going to say completely fled his mind when the seneschal presented the master of the manor who chose that moment to make his entrance, the sharp Silver tier aura, turning out to belong to none other than a coolly smiling Qing Wu, dressed in fine silk cultivator robes with herons that perfectly complimented both the ink drawings on finely polished hardwood slats and the exquisitely rendered lifelike herons depicted upon multiple tapestries throughout the foyer and dining hall, clearly a key theme of the cultivator¡¯s new home.

    Alex¡¯s eyes were riveted on his boon companion, mentor, and friend during the caravan journey from Qianshi to Liushi, having fought by his side through bandit raid, rift, and undead legions as well. They had parted ways by deliberate design to throw any possible threat off the trail, and Alex¡¯s surprise couldn¡¯t be more genuine than to see Qing Wu here and now, looking so distinguished with his gorgeous attire, scholarly gaze, and freshly trimmed beard.

    The entire class was humbled to stillness, for all that they sat before a veritable feast of roasted fowl, tureen¡¯s full of rich hearty soups, and silver platters filled with perfectly ripened fruit and fresh bread dipped in olive oil and covered in either chili, cheeses, or chutney. More than a few were shivering before Qing Wu¡¯s potent Silver-tier aura of frigid winter snows that Alex had long since grown used to, which made the hot foot bath under the table all the more delightful and welcoming.

    Still, the warmth he felt in his chest only grew when Reny made an appearance moments later, wearing the cheongsam with the sky-blue ribbons signifying a married woman, looking both elegant and motherly with her high cheekbones and healer¡¯s gaze, radiating an ageless beauty as potent as her husband¡¯s vibrant vitality. Yet even Reny¡¯s beauty paled before Ya Ling, at that very moment presenting herself three deferential steps behind her grandparents before honoring the group as a whole with the tiniest of curtsies, wearing a sheer qipao that perfectly balanced the bridge between demure elegance and sensual grace, complimenting her physique to glorious effect.

    The soft whispers immediately rose in pitch and Alex could sense more than a few boy¡¯s hearts skipping a beat when Ya Ling¡¯s beautiful almond eyes calmly hovered over them all, before settling at last on Alex.

    The soft, half-smile she wore instantly froze, her face growing hard and cold before she looked away.

    A stunned Alex had time only to blink in confusion, before Qing Wu finally spoke.

    ¡°I bid warm welcome to Silver Sand¡¯s newest disciples.¡± Alex¡¯s caravan mentor then gestured to the heaping silver platters filled with delectable deights. ¡°Please, relax and partake of the feast before you. The great majority of you have earned it, both in diligence as you dare to take on unfamiliar challenges, and in the wisdom shown when allowing an experienced hand to show you the path of the herbalist, the farmer, and those with a talent for mastering Earth and Wood in its various forms.¡±

    His benign expression abruptly hardened, as cold and unforgiving as a sheer granite mountain face. In the blink of an eye, Grandfatherly features had transformed to the cold glare of a judge passing pitiless sentence, whipped free of all moisture under bitter cold winds, scoring all warmth and mercy away.

    Tan Yi froze, silver spoon full of stew caught halfway between his already filled bowl and suddenly blue tinged lips.

    ¡°And some of you have shown a contemptible lack of any of the virtues that one would expect of anyone who cared for the land upon which all our lives depend. Crushing out of spite, that which the wisest know to treasure above all else.¡± He gave a cold shake of his head. ¡°I fear that your tale will become quite tragic indeed, if you continue to damn the pages of your future to the fires of your hate.¡±

    He then released a shuddering Tan Yi from his icy stare to address the class as a whole. ¡°To you all, I provide before you the bounty of my table, and my blessing as well, and the true, hidden blessing that this day, which yes, most definitely was a test, would grant you.¡±

    His gaze grew intent, icy blue eyes locking upon each of their own. ¡°To all of you who tended to the garden with even an ounce of concern, rejoice. You will find that our beautiful caldera reciprocates grace in equal measure, echoing the balance between cultivator, farmer, and sanctuary that has been Liushi¡¯s wont for countless centuries. So do not be surprised if you find your mind brimming with fresh insights and revelations, or simply an added touch of serenity, in the weeks ahead.¡±

    He then waved at the table once more. ¡°So by all means, eat your fill! My wife and granddaughter will be happy to take any questions you might have if you felt any sort of connection with the garden you tended, or have any interest in caring for spiritual plants in the future.¡±

    He then waved once more at the table as Reny and Ya Ling seated themselves at the head, and Alex pretended he didn¡¯t feel Ya Ling¡¯s gaze boring into the side of his skull as he focused desperately on spreading olive oil and a delightfully fragrant soft cheese on bread that tasted of triumph and regret in equal measure.

    He tried not to wince when Linnea animatedly raised her hand. ¡°Master Qing Wu?¡±

    The elder, who had engaged in quiet conversation with Elder Win, instantly schooled his features, showing not the trace of irritation that quickly slipped from Elder Win¡¯s features as well.

    ¡°Yes, child?¡±

    ¡°What about students who didn¡¯t treat your garden with that ounce of concern?¡± She asked innocently, most definitely not glaring Tan Yi¡¯s way. ¡°What about those who, say, happily stomped on 350 silver¡¯s worth of priceless spirit herbs while carefully avoiding clipping even a single thorny vine which my fiance says is absolutely vital for balancing the spiritual energy flows in what¡¯s actually a natural formation!? He even figured out how to use the Copperthorns to trap moisture, so your garden won¡¯t dry out in the desert air every day! Isn¡¯t Alex clever?¡±

    Alex wanted to sink into the warm pool massaging their feet when he sensed Ya Ling¡¯s unmistakable flinch, stealing a quick glance at eyes wide with shocked dismay and a mouth she only clamped tight when her grandmother silently pinched her.

    Elder Wu, to his credit, didn¡¯t miss a beat. ¡°Having seen your fiance¡¯s work firsthand this morning, I would say that he does indeed have a gift for gardening, as I understand that many Ruidians do.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely!¡± Linnea positively beamed. ¡°In fact, Alex and I would absolutely love working in your garden, if that would be alright with you. We don¡¯t even need the credits. We would do it just for fun! It¡¯s absolutely bubbling with glorious potential! Isn¡¯t that right, Alex?¡± She gave his hand an affectionate squeeze.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Alex¡¯s heart was pounding. Yet for Linnea¡¯s sake, he nodded solemnly, refusing to contradict a single thing that a certain hostile party would gladly use against her.

    Qing Wu chuckled goodnaturedly. ¡°Of course you are both are more than welcome to stop by and care for the garden whenever you are free. I have no doubt that my wife would love to speak with both of you, and see just how far we can take your obvious gifts. And fear not, we would most definitely compensate you for your time with fair credits, though your enthusiasm definitely counts in your favor.¡±

    His genial smile hardened as he glazed Tan Yi¡¯s way once more. ¡°As to your other question, we will abstain from passing judgment upon wayward students, little more than children, who clearly have little understanding of their path. That being said, anyone who allows bitter spite to rule them while tending our garden should expect no blessings from our feast whatsoever.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Ooh, wasn¡¯t that a wonderful meal, Alex? And Qing Wu said we could stop by whenever we liked!¡± Linnea gushed as the delightful meal wound down and the students made their way with smiles and bows of gratitude, Elder Win declaring the day officially at an end, and that the class was free to use the rest of the day for independent study as they saw fit, whether meditating, sparring, or getting fresh work assignments, for those who wanted to get ahead of the credit curve.

    Alex nodded despite his mixed feelings. For Reny had shown herself to be a marvelous hostess, fielding questions sent her way with equanimity, and in very short order feeling like everyone¡¯s aunty as opposed to the powerful Deep Bronze that could make or break their stay here that she so obviously was. And for all that Ling Ling had garnered Alex¡¯s concern with her clear intolerance for the rifts, Reny seemed quite eager to snatch her up and take the delicate young cultivator under her wing, having seen something of a healer¡¯s gifts in her. Or such was Alex¡¯s impression, which boded well for his classmate¡¯s future, whether it would be that of an empathetic healing assistant or become a genuine healer in her own right, should Ling Ling actually manage to burst open a partially sealed final meridian and achieve the power of at least a Half-step Bronze.

    Yet despite Reny¡¯s grace, Ya Ling¡¯s haunted gaze had been a weight on his heart, and his stomach, for all that his hands seemingly couldn¡¯t help themselves, stuffing his face with the absolutely scrumptious fare. And even if 30 Strength and Vitality and a young man¡¯s physique all but demanded steady nourishment, still, the meal was sitting heavy on him now, pinning him with his friend¡¯s hurt gaze, as Alex and a still animatedly chatting Linnea were somehow the last to leave.

    Then he froze in place, feeling a soft fingers clasp at his changshan jacket.

    He swallowed, cheeks flushing as the blood roared through his veins, ignoring Linnea¡¯s look of confusion as he turned around.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    He forced himself to smile as he met Ya Ling¡¯s forlorn gaze.

    ¡°Hi, Ya Ling.¡±

    Linnea blinked, abruptly cut off from an animated conversation that she was having with Reny who somehow read Linnea perfectly and knew just how to engage her. Yet Alex¡¯s shift in mood and stance immediately brought her right into the moment, scattered thoughts instantly locking onto what mattered, having her battle buddy¡¯s back. Or, as far as she was concerned, her future husband.

    Her lighthearted flighty self immediately snapped into a hard-eyed awareness far more worthy of her enhanced mind.

    ¡°I take it you know these people?¡±

    Alex nodded, bowing his head in warm regard to both Reny and Elder Wu. ¡°I do.¡±

    Linnea furrowed her brow, having already dried her feet and slipped on her leather shoes, now stepping back to take in all four of them before giving a slow nod. ¡°And you¡¯ve fought with them before. Partied with them before.¡± She flashed a bemused smile. ¡°I can tell.¡±

    ¡°We met on the road,¡± Ya Ling softly said. ¡°Traveling from Qianshi to Liushi. He arrived just in the nick of time to warn us of raiders, and chose to fight by our side, earning both our friendship and our trust. We soon became the best of friends after that,¡± Ya Ling said, bowing her head. ¡°I saw you during the second day martial rankings, but never had the chance to properly introduce myself.¡±

    Linnea solemnly bowed her head in turn, perfectly mirroring Ya Ling. ¡°Linnea. Ruby. formerly of clan Redrock.¡±

    Reny raised a polite eyebrow. ¡°Formerly?¡±

    Linnea jerked a nod, eyes flashing with undisguised heat. ¡°Formerly. My family expects me to marry the man of their choosing. A sickly inbred thing that makes me puke whenever I smell him, and I absolutely refused!¡±

    Reny gave her a sympathetic nod. ¡°I don¡¯t blame you a bit, darling. The heart can never be forced, and there is much to be said in finding love far outside of one¡¯s birth city or clan.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Linnea enthused. ¡°Because if my clan intermarries any more cousins, we¡¯re pretty much doomed. And I don¡¯t care how strong our elemental magics are, if it takes multiple level-up points invested just to correct for abnormalities and achieve a normal lifespan, then we¡¯re doing something seriously wrong!¡± She then touched her nose. ¡°And humans can smell pheromones for a reason. It¡¯s mother nature¡¯s most primal way of detecting a healthy mate and avoiding too much genetic inbreeding.¡±

    This earned several furrowed brows.

    Alex sighed. ¡°Remember, they don¡¯t have any high tech background reference points, no matter how many generations lost, Linnea.¡±

    ¡°Right. What I¡¯m saying is, any good goat herder knows you need to bring in fresh blood for healthy livestock!¡± Linnea said brightly. ¡°Only my clan¡¯s too stupid to understand that, so I left.¡±

    ¡°Is Alex from a neighboring clan? Did you fall in love with him during a clan gathering?¡± Ya Ling asked politely, for all that her voice was clearly strained.

    Linnea gave a happy chuckle. ¡°Not at all! I met him within minutes of him using me as cover to sneak into the city! This is my second time daring the Liushi rifts through the school¡¯s patronage, but this time I thought it would be fun to do it as a student, which we are allowed to do, and Alex agreed to join my family and I when we did our first delve here, just a few days ago!¡±

    Ya Ling blinked. ¡°So you¡¯ve only known Alex for a handful of days?¡±

    ¡°Precisely!¡± Linnea said, eyes alight with happiness. ¡°And my nose knew straight off that he was the one for me! I mean, look at his muscles! he¡¯s at the peak of health, cultivates by leveling up in ways that no Ruidian has ever done before, and with his blond hair and blue eyes, he isn¡¯t at all genetically related to me! Also he¡¯s a sweetheart and he saved my life, so how could I not fall in love with him?¡±

    ¡°Oh, how did he save your life?¡± Reny asked while subtly leading Linnea back in the family foyer, where a fresh pot of green tea was already waiting for them, Linnea taking a grateful sip.

    ¡°Oh this is absolutely delightful! Thank you! So, let me tell you about the first delve Alex and I did with my uncle and cousin and a few Bronze body cultivators besides. First, we sneaked into the eastern delve sight, though it wasn¡¯t really sneaking since everyone was deliberately not looking our way as we took the lower path to the rift, but we all like to pretend it¡¯s forbidden, and wouldn¡¯t you know it? The flood of spirit beasts in there nearly killed us! Alex is very good as slicing things open with his fangtian ji, however, so it was us leaving alive, and we were all up 500 credits a piece!¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s when Alex proposed to you?¡± Ya Ling asked just a bit too intently, earning a look from her grandmother as she sipped hot tea with a bland smile while Alex¡¯s belly tied up in knots.

    Linnea shook her head. ¡°Nope! That¡¯s when uncle asshole got incredibly jealous, however, and challenged Alex for my hand, and that¡¯s after he saved his life! Can you believe it?¡±

    Ya Ling paled, eyes widening in shock and pity in equal measure. ¡°Wait¡­ your uncle was going to force himself on you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no. Not even he¡¯s that disgusting. Clans that do that really do die out fast, from what the old records tell us. No, he was trying to force me to marry his best friend¡¯s sickly inbred son, so my uncle can go ahead and marry his best friend¡¯s daughter, because he¡¯s that desperate for a heir that will continue his line!¡±

    Ya Ling paled. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re saying he actually has that power over you?¡±

    ¡°Not any more!¡± Linnea happily declared. ¡°Alex beat the snot out of him in a formal duel for my hand! So I¡¯m free of my uncle and will be considered an adult just as soon as Alex marries me!¡± Her beatific smile faded. ¡°Which he can¡¯t do, until he fixes his cultivation issue.¡± Her glare pinned Alex as he was sipping tea. ¡°Something which I hope he does very, very soon.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 56

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes crinkled as she chuckled softly. ¡°Dantian issues still troubling you, Alex?¡±

    Alex rolled his eyes. ¡°No comment.¡±

    But Linnea, not nearly as clueless now that she had booster her Perception, Scholarship, and Vitality, immediately picked up on innuendo touching upon her presumed mate.

    Hard eyes locked with Ya Ling¡¯s own. ¡°So you know.¡±

    Ya Ling tilted up her chin. ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Because you wanted to make him your own.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened, a bright flush coming to her dusky cheeks. Her grandparents said nothing, graceful enough to somehow blend into the background, for all that they were just feet away.

    ¡°We were together a month,¡± Ya Ling said at last, before flashing a bittersweet smile. ¡°He saved my life as well, and earned the greatest prize I could give him.¡± She smirked at the look Linnea gave her, before finally relenting. ¡°My heart,¡± she whipsered, and never had Alex felt lower than he did at that moment, for all that, for the life of him, he couldn¡¯t think of a better way to handle things than he already had. Or at least, not under the pressure and time constraints that he had been forced to endure, repeatedly.

    Linnea¡¯s hard gaze softened into a gentle smile. She tilted her head thoughtfully. ¡°I think I like you, Ya Ling. You¡¯re honest, forthright, beautiful, and you have a good heart.¡±

    Ya Ling quirked a smile. ¡°I think I might like you as well, Linnea. For the same could be said of you.¡±

    ¡°So, how well can you fight?¡± Linnea asked brightly.

    Ya Ling blinked at this, Alex sensing a sudden tension from the grandparents casually sipping tea and looking out the flat-paned glass windows at the garden Alex had already done so much to restore.

    ¡°You wish to spar with me?¡± Alex sensed a sudden tension and hunger with Ya Ling¡¯s words.

    Linnea laughed. ¡°No, not that! What I mean to ask, is how are you with daring the rifts?¡±

    Ya Ling blinked at this, turning to face her grandparents, now very much gazing their way. ¡°Grandmother?¡±

    Reny gave Linnea a curious look. ¡°Didn¡¯t you and Alex already dare two rifts in as many days, child?¡±

    Linnea nodded animatedly. ¡°Oh we did, and it was so exciting! I only nearly got killed once, and Alex and I can now fight as one, instantly sinking into a gestalt battle-meld! It¡¯s really epic, but I¡¯d love to have some more battle brothers and sisters that I can delve with that aren¡¯t necessarily family members. I mean, Hanz is alright, but I know he secretly wants to become a painter and settle down with a nice boy, and I haven¡¯t forgiven my uncle for being a complete horse¡¯s ass, even if he¡¯s just lonely and wants someone to love him. I¡¯ll bet there are thousands of girls here that he could marry, if he doesn¡¯t care that they¡¯re not pure-blooded Ruidians, and if he stops acting like an angry anxious grump all the time!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s gaze grew intent. ¡°What was it like?¡±

    ¡°Incredibly exciting! Such a rush, when our hearts pounded with exhilaration, and the sheer rush of peril and power when death came springing from the underbrush! Of course, Alex could instantly sense all the forest¡¯s secrets, and my Crimson Corkscrews tore right through those shadow cats before they could kill any of our classmates! And then it was such a sweet, sweet rush of experience and potency and now I¡¯m already halfway to my next level!¡± She frowned thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure if I¡¯m going to take Alex¡¯s advice and invest in my stats, or put all six points toward Rank 7 in Elemental Flame, or maybe I¡¯ll spend a few points mastering Crimson corkscrew and one each for Perception, Vitality, and Quickness.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened with wonder, a small smile caressing her lips. ¡°Truly? You gain strength and power directly from your kills, like a Greater Spirit beast?¡±

    Alex winced, afraid Ya Ling¡¯s words might have been construed as offensive, but Linnea happily nodded her head. ¡°Exactly like spirit beasts. Only we¡¯re a hell of a lot smarter and more versatile.¡±

    Ya Ling bit her lip, before turning around to face her grandparents, the three silently locking gazes for a long breathless moment.

    ¡°Can we?¡± Ya Ling¡¯s breathless request hovered in the air for long moments as Elder Wu and his wife exchanged a long poignant glance.

    ¡°Elder Win made it clear that even the Western Rift now needed to be treated with the utmost caution,¡± Reny noted.

    ¡°Before making it clear just how well his favorite disciples had the jungle terrain mastered with what he swears must be a druidic heritage,¡± Elder Wu gently noted in turn. ¡°And we already know that Alex thrives in terrain so unlike the desert that the rest of us lived our entire lives within.¡±

    Alex tried not to wince before their quiet smile as they shared a nod.

    ¡°I think an exploratory delve to get your feet wet, Ya Ling, beside our old friend who can safeguard you best might be a fine way indeed to spend the evening, and perhaps profit from mightily as well.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help grinning at those words. ¡°Fantastic! I¡¯d love to share a delve with you all.¡±

    Ya Ling chuckled throatily. ¡°A delve you¡¯ll never forget. Right, Linnea?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely!¡± She gushed. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll even run into another pack of shadow beasts and make another fortune in credits!¡± Her smile turned wry. ¡°Because the sooner I can earn another five hundred credits, the sooner I¡¯m free of all obligations to my former clan and am truly a free woman.¡±

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go out and earn those credits!¡± Ya Ling enthused, eyeing Linnea thoughtfully. ¡°Do you need to change into anything?¡±

    She smiled and shook her head. ¡°Nope! I¡¯m always battle ready, just in case!¡± She then lifted up the hem of her blouse, revealing a high quality shirt of steel mail. ¡°And I have quilted leggings and a quality aketon underneath! The padding makes me look lush and cute and not too thin, because I am too thin¡­ and my fire affinity means I don¡¯t overheat, which is great!¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Ya Ling turned to Alex. ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Give me five minutes.¡± And with a bemused nod from Elder Wu, he stepped into the presently empty ablution room and shortly thereafter was fully kitted out in his favorite armor of high quality steel lamellar and helm claimed from the richer raiders they had tousled with, along with a fine mail shirt, bronze greaves, quilted leggings, and a padded aketon.

    ¡°And he¡¯s back,¡± he said, returning with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to delving with all of my closest friends once more. Is Dui Zhong joining us?¡±

    Elder Wu gazed at Alex for long moments before the air rang with his chuckle. ¡°Cutting right to the chase as always, Alex. How refreshing. And why not? Everything worked out even better than we had hoped.¡± His gesture took in the whole of the grandly appointed manor before him. ¡°The beast cores we retrieved were even more valuable than we could have hoped, most particularly the Water core, and the boon we received was everything we could have hoped for.¡±

    Alex blinked at this, choosing his words carefully. ¡°That is indeed wonderful to hear. If I may ask, when did you complete the sale?¡±

    ¡°Just yesterday, as a matter of fact,¡± he said with a satisfied smile. ¡°The bursar was the height of courtesy, and Reny and I were immediately inducted as full Masters with unrestricted access to the campus facilities and senior reimbursement for whatever courses we choose to teach. Not that we have to teach anything for the next century, with our current balance.¡±

    Reny didn¡¯t hesitate to give Alex a hug at that point, showcasing her own grace by managing to do so without Alex¡¯s armor being any sort of hindrance, which should have been impossible, a bemused Alex thought, but Reny would always be Reny.

    ¡°I, for one, would love a batch of enthusiastic students, whether with a natural affinity for growing things, alchemy, or the healing arts, and we thought, what better proving grounds than to see who would put some honest effort into tending a garden the three of us had thought a complete loss?¡± Reny gave a rueful shake of her head. ¡°Truly, we didn¡¯t even take a good look at it until you had actually managed to dart through the trees so fast that you were halfway across the garden in an eye-blink, stopping that hot-blooded fool who was actively destroying priceless spirit plants I had been a fool not to carefully check if they were hiding dormant under the vine¡¯s protection, as opposed to being outright dead.¡±

    Alex clenched his jaw in memory of Tan Yi¡¯s sneering satisfaction. ¡°And to think, that asshole could actually sense those treasures, and used that insight not to revere or cherish, but to destroy, out of petty spite, simply because he didn¡¯t want to be here.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s excited smile had faded to a hard cold line. ¡°He¡¯s a contemptuous little shit, just like all of the Duo Yi clan. I had hoped that the ugly rumors I had heard were baseless, but if Tan Yi is anything to go by, the entire clan amounts to nothing but stuck-up assholes still riding on stories of their former glory, and all of them bitter as hell that they don¡¯t have the entire city locked within their vice like they did centuries ago.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°That about sums him up.¡± His smirk turned hard and cold. ¡°But I think there¡¯s more to it than that.¡±

    Elder Wu gave Alex a curious look. ¡°Well, don¡¯t leave us in suspense...¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°What I mean to say is that almost everyone I¡¯ve met since I got to this wo¡­ since I joined your caravan have been incredibly kind, gracious, and thoughtful. The exact opposite of how I¡¯ve been treated elsewhere¡­ far away from here. And to see someone being so petty and vindictive, very much like the worst sorts I used to know is almost comforting in it¡¯s familiarity. Only now, when I think about it, do I realize how bizarre it is that Tan Yi¡¯s been such a vindictive shit toward me since the moment we crossed paths.¡±

    Alex shook his head. ¡°But it¡¯s not just me. He¡¯s been challenging and trying to undermine Elder Win¡¯s stance and authority on more than one occasion, and though Elder Win countered successfully¡­ maybe even brilliantly, putting Tan Yi in his place while showing the world what a petulant little brat he is so subtly no accusatory finger could be pointed his way... Not once did he call Tan Yi out for his shit, or beat the crap out of him, leaving him a single glare away from death, which would have been the right of any master at the academy I used to attend.¡±

    Unexpectedly, these words earned concerned looks from his friends.

    ¡°Just how ruthless was your former school?¡± Ya Ling asked.

    Alex shook his head. ¡°Irrelevant. The point is that there¡¯s no way he could be that much of an arrogant shit and still be here, without significant power to back him up. And I think I now understand what that power must be.¡±

    He held his breath, letting it out slowly, before gathering his friends close together with a single wave of his hand. Reny and Elder Wu were gracious enough not to question, only to lean forward when Alex whispered words so softly that not even spying kitsune ears would twitch at the utterances.

    ¡°The city¡¯s down to three water cores.¡±

    Reny and Elder Wu immediately froze, exchanging a look.

    Ya Ling furrowed her brow. ¡°But that¡¯s impossible! Senior Cultivator Te Chang himself gave us a tour! The waterfalls were a glorious sight, and the beautiful valley below, so full of lush green life...¡±

    ¡°Is an illusion,¡± Alex said, to their hitched breath and surprised looks, before modifying his words. ¡°Not the valley, but one of the falls. Three indeed are spewing tons of water into the valley below, and thank the more benevolent gods for that. But the fourth? Only illusion rains on the greenery below. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if any brave soul that dared to check below would find the current for the northern face river and its tributaries to be running the wrong way. Because it¡¯s the pressure of the other three rivers that are filling the lake in the heart of the basin.¡±

    Linnea froze, gazing at the rest of them with wide, frightened eyes. ¡°Oh, this is bad.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Alex said.

    ¡°No, really. We both know what an obnoxious shit Tan Yi is. And he knows that we know it. He knows the leverage his clan now has over this city! Because if we go down to two cores¡­ the city will be bowing and scraping for access to the Duo Yi hidden waters, and they¡¯ll gleefully use that to seize control and make all Ruidians pariah, and bring back the bad old days where we were hunted and killed for sport! Unless we fought back, and then entire armies would be raised to purge us. Just one of the reasons why we never bring outsiders to our hidden sanctuaries.¡± Linnea¡¯s eyes grew haunted. ¡°Friendship in good times isn¡¯t worth risking death when the purges come. Because in the end, they always come.¡±

    Her voice died off in a trembling whisper, and Alex found himself holding Linnea suddenly shuddering in his arms, eyes wide with memories that couldn¡¯t possibly be her own.

    Ya Ling angrily shook her head. ¡°I absolutely hate that you¡¯re right, Linnea. And they¡¯d have every reason to eliminate Ruidian access to the rifts, if not try to purge them altogether. Because the fewer people there are who can delve, the less likely we¡¯ll find fresh Water cores any time soon, and the more dependent the city will be to that clan of arrogant assholes. Which is no doubt exactly what they want.¡±

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Alex nodded, all the pieces suddenly clicking together. ¡°Which means that Tan Yi is deliberately playing the instigating fool. It¡¯s not just stupidity. He¡¯s deliberately testing his limits, seeing just how far he can push, how much his clan¡¯s clout will protect him. And if he can bring a few stalwarts down with him before he¡¯s inevitably kicked out, so much the better.¡±

    ¡°Because if his clan actually succeeds in their schemes, he¡¯ll be returning to this school as a prince expecting everyone to bow and scrape before him, before absolutely destroying anyone who had failed to bow and scrape at his feet before,¡± Elder Wu said with a bitter shake of his head, before exchanging a tired glance with his wife. ¡°And to think, our goal was to avoid these sorts of politics.¡±

    Reny gave a tired sigh. ¡°It was. And it¡¯s a very good thing we only cashed out a fraction of our fortunes. Perhaps an extended sabbatical researching lost ruins or tracking down lost techniques hidden away in near forgotten temples within distant cities will be our path in the not too distant future.¡±

    Ya Ling nodded animatedly. ¡°If Tan Yi¡¯s anything to go by, we can start our bloody sabbatical right now. All the new-bloods are clueless when it comes to using the dao or jian, so I doubt I¡¯ll gain much of anything save prestige in training them. And of course, we¡¯re bringing our Ruidian companions with us, if we do decide to leave.¡±

    Alex blinked, and Linnea gave a relieved smile. ¡°Thank you, Ya Ling. That means a lot to me.¡± She bit her lip awkwardly. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose my cousin and, well, my uncle could come? If you¡¯re really planning on leaving?¡±

    Ya Ling furrowed her brow. ¡°You mean your uncle who tried to set you up in an arranged marriage?¡±

    Linnea sighed, but nodded. ¡°Yes. That one.¡±

    She turned to her grandparents. ¡°Grandmother?¡±

    Reny snorted. ¡°If it really comes to that, then yes. There¡¯s nothing wrong with having skilled Ruidians by our side if we find ourselves taking a far longer caravan ride than we ever have before. But hopefully it won¡¯t come to that.¡±

    Ya Ling shook her head. ¡°We all saw Tan Yi¡¯s smirk when he was pounding through our garden, before actually trying to get Alex kicked out for saving it. The look on his face was that of a shithead who knew he was actually going to get away with it! It¡¯s obvious that the Duo Yi clan already has it¡¯s claws about the prince¡¯s throat. So why the hell wouldn¡¯t it come to that?¡±

    ¡°Simple,¡± Alex said. ¡°We find a fresh Water core, and all our problems are solved.¡±

    Reny and Elder Wu exchanged a worried glance, before turning to gaze Alex¡¯s way. ¡°The issue of our own sale aside¡­ it¡¯s now painfully clear that such are not commonly found.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Well then, it¡¯s about time we started our own delve, don¡¯t you think? Because however slim the odds of getting the right core¡­ and Ice cores are almost as precious as Water, for what that¡¯s worth, every delve we dare is one step closer to saving the city and breaking the Duo Yi clan¡¯s now obvious political stranglehold.¡±

    Elder Wu chuckled softly. ¡°Even knowing we only dare so many a season¡­ yes. We¡¯ve wasted enough time brooding about matters we have no control over. Best we focus on what we can control.¡±

    Reny, however, had her arms crossed, glaring at the pagoda before her.

    ¡°Wife?¡±

    Reny sighed, shaking her head. ¡°We got the title to this house and the deed to the land with the sale of the very core they need. The Duo Yi clan¡¯s stranglehold should be broken! But the confident sneer on that boy¡¯s face made it clear that he hadn¡¯t gotten the message, and Elder Win clearly hasn¡¯t either. Why is that, do you think?¡±

    All of them exchanged grim looks. ¡°Maybe they just need a few days to install the fresh Water core?¡± Alex offered.

    ¡°Or maybe that too cheerful bursar sold the Water core to the Duo Yu clan after buying it off of us, and made a killing on the trade,¡± Ya Ling cynically suggested.

    Elder Wu flashed a cold smile. ¡°Well if that does indeed turn out to be the case, we¡¯ll hunt those rifts until we do find a fresh Water core, and I¡¯ll present it to the Prince myself! One of the benefits of my rank, even if it¡¯s one I¡¯d be a fool to exercise, save in situations as dire as this one may soon turn out to be.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smiling at that, the awkwardness of moments before replaced by a comradely sense of excitement as Elder Wu made his way out of the manor, the other four following in his wake, as if master and disciples going about their business, though Alex did make note of the talisman Reny placed on both front door and garden gate.

    ¡°Because that hot-eyed boy looked just a bit too spiteful for me to not think he wouldn¡¯t happily come back and finish what he had started, and I won¡¯t force our seneschal into a confrontation with any member of that twisted clan,¡± Reny said with a sad little smile, earning a grunt and a nod from her husband.

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened at the thought. ¡°In the middle of the day? He¡¯d have to be bold indeed, and his clan already Liushi¡¯s masters in all but name. And things haven¡¯t gotten that bad yet, have they? Because if so¡­ best we head for the caravans and forget the rifts altogether.¡±

    ¡°On the other hand, if we enjoy a profitable hunt and don¡¯t get back til after nightfall...¡± Linnea offered as they cut through campus grounds to the well-worn path circling the entire grand valley below and connecting to all four of the rifts. A path that was actually public, Alex had learned, though inconvenient to access for anyone who wasn¡¯t a member of Silver Sands.

    ¡°A profitable hunt would be wonderful!¡± Ya Ling enthused, a loose lock of hair slipping free from her steel helm to blow in the windy breeze that always seemed to circle the caldera periphery as she gazed with wonder at the lush green valley below. Her joyful smile faded. ¡°Assuming we don¡¯t over-saturate our meridians with waste Qi.¡±

    Alex¡¯s excitement immediately dampened. Because Ya Ling¡¯s point was a good one. However much he and Linnea thrived in the deeps, the same wasn¡¯t necessarily true for the typical cultivator. The potency they gained might lead to revelations, but nothing like the rapid experience-driven progression of Ruidians. And even the latter would eventually feel the weight of waste Qi, a burden Alex would never have to bear.

    Then he froze, gazing at his friends for a long moment before shaking his head with a rueful chuckle.

    Ya Ling tilted her head, eyes twinkling as she gave him a look. ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex grinned, thinking she looked truly fetching wearing form fitting armor with her spear held in such a competent grip, and there was so much he wanted to explain, but there just wasn¡¯t a good time, and with the way Linnea was anxiously holding his hand, with a new now threat brooding over her future, there might never be. But even the darkest storm clouds sometimes had glorious silver linings.

    ¡°I just realized what an idiot I¡¯ve been.¡±

    This earned a bittersweet smile. ¡°Maybe, but you¡¯re still the sweetest idiot I know.¡±

    Alex smirked, thoughts still racing, frustrated by his lack of access to an element that had once served him to such glorious, deadly effect.

    Yet it wasn¡¯t actually denied to him, it was rather a case of it being greedily consumed by what he was increasingly sure were divine tier bones, his one remnant that not even his enemies could strip from him, in this life or any other. Even if he would be poorly advised trying to take a swim any time soon¡­ and they wicked away all the Dark Qi he had access to like a vacuum.

    But once upon a time, he had the ability to flood his opponents with all the Dark Qi he had access to.

    So why the hell couldn¡¯t he reverse that flow now? With what he suspected were prismatic bones vacuuming all that delicious waste Qi away.

    But still¡­

    His heart was racing way too fast as he gazed upon his friends¡¯ curious stares, Elder Wu growing a tad impatient.

    ¡°Discretion is still our greatest virtue, Alex,¡± he softly remonstrated. ¡°It¡¯s one thing if it appears as if we¡¯re heading toward one of the many paths leading down to the caldera floor proper, and you might find life tending to that lush green valley a far sweeter doom than you and my daughter fear it to be. But standing here gazing upon the valley floor without moving at all will gather notice I¡¯d rather avoid.¡±

    Alex forced himself to speak. ¡°What if there was a way we could dare the rifts more often than once every other month?¡±

    Linnea grinned. ¡°There is for us, because we¡¯re Ruidian! But as our friends are completely native...¡±

    ¡°¡­ not really, actually,¡± Alex smirked.

    Linnea rolled her eyes. ¡°The point is that waste Qi is much harder for them to shed and very bad for their cultivation! So twice a season, or even once a month if they push it, with dozens of hours baking happily in the sun between delves, is the only safe way for them to do it.¡±

    Ya Ling flashed a regretful smile. ¡°As much as I hate the thought of you leaving me behind, Alex¡­ she¡¯s right.¡± These words earned a bemused head tilt from Elder Wu and a reluctant nod from Reny.

    ¡°For all that I¡¯d dearly love to be able to spend more time foraging for truly precious spirit herbs in the Western rift, the only one even close to being pristine¡­ the price we would pay for too much exposure without enough rest in between is not one I would ever care to pay.¡±

    ¡°But what if you could?¡±

    Suddenly there was nothing but stillness and silence. The sound of the wind whistling against the stone face, and the distant roar of waterfalls crashing to the basin hundreds of feet below.

    Elder Wu gazed intently at Alex for long moments. ¡°Have you truly found a way to tame waste Qi itself, Alex?¡±

    Alex held his former mentor¡¯s gaze for long seconds, forcing himself to say it. ¡°What if I have?¡±

    Wu snorted, shaking his head with a fond smile. ¡°Then I¡¯d say you¡¯re a fool¡­ and far closer to dusty old legends than even the fanciful color of your hair would imply.¡±

    Alex froze at those words, locking gazes with all of them. ¡°Let¡¯s form a party right now. And we¡¯ll see what happens once we enter the rift.¡±

    Elder Wu snorted, then gave an agreeable chuckle. ¡°Why not?¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes twinkled with genuine excitement. ¡°Can you really make it so we can delve without limits?¡±

    Alex grinned as they approached the western rift. ¡°Only one way to find out.¡±

    You have successfully forged a party with Linnea (Rank 7 Lesser Fire Elementalist ¨C Possible romantic interest!) / Ya Ling (Deep Bronze cultivator ¨C Possible romantic interest!) / Elder Wu (Early Silver tier cultivator ¨C ice specialist.) / Reny Wu (Deep Bronze cultivator (Healer).

    Limited node access allowed! All lesser nodes have retained full autonomy.

    As always, the flash of notifications sent a chill down his spine, and Alex flinched far more than he should have, perhaps, as he met everyone¡¯s gazes, dreading the thought of them gazing at him with looks of unmitigated horror, fearing that their wills, self-identity, and autonomy would be ground down to nothing by the master node that was somehow his mind.

    The anxious twist in his gut became a flood of relief when he saw nothing but looks of consternation or bemusement.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Elder Wu¡¯s gentle admonishment disguised as a query snapped him into focus once more.

    ¡°No worries. We¡¯ve successfully partied up! Though I guess we should still link arms, just in case.¡± He then furrowed his brow. ¡°Though I guess we should have coordinated things better if we were going to bring Dui Zhong, but if this works out...¡±

    Reny, however, was giving Alex a bemused smile, before dextrous hands revealed a paper crane.

    Alex blinked, his lips stretching in a surprised smile. ¡°Wait¡­ is that signifying what I think it is?¡±

    This earned a good-natured laugh as they found the former guard captain already fully kitted out in lamellar and helm with guandao held in hand, waiting for them by the rift entrance, flashing a similar paper crane in his own hand.

    ¡°Your timing is perfect! The last of my students completed their training half a glass ago, and I was wondering when I¡¯d get the chance to experience Liushi¡¯s delves.¡±

    With a casual wave, he sent the paper crane into the air¡­ and Alex¡¯s eyes widened with delight when the paper took animated flight, flapping right back to its twin in Reny¡¯s waiting hands.

    ¡°Okay, now I¡¯m really interested in learning whatever skill is allowing you to make magical flying paper cranes,¡± Linnea gushed enthusiastically. ¡°Do you think a Ruidian could learn it?¡±

    Reny gave an enigmatic shrug. ¡°Who can say? Certainly you might find learning the art of paper folding to be a relaxing and rewarding craft to master all on its own, regardless of your affinity for enchantment.¡±

    Linnea beamed happily. ¡°Then I definitely want to learn!¡± She then turned to Dui Zhong. ¡°I remember you! You were one of our trainers the other day, along with Ya Ling. So was that just a cover, so you could all meet up with Alex again?¡±

    ¡°More like a convenient pretext for us to join the academy,¡± Dui Zhong said easily enough. ¡°Though having a chance to join our favorite blond-haired hero once more is certainly a nice bonus,¡± he allowed, before gesturing to the gate. ¡°Shall we link arms?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Even better, accept my party invite!¡±

    Dui Zhong chuckled, but he did so readily enough, then his eyes widened, as everyone else¡¯s did when Alex activated his party interface, even to the limited degree he felt comfortable doing.

    ¡°By Long Wang¡¯s hammer, I can sense you all!¡± Dui Zhong said with reverential wonder. ¡°Is this what it means to party with a Ruidian?¡±

    ¡°I know, it¡¯s wonderful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Linnea gushed. ¡°And I almost think I have the knack for doing it myself! Even if it will cost me a level-up point next level, I think it might be totally worth it.¡±

    Dui Zhong exchanged looks with Elder Wu and the others, all of them being careful to avoid standing too close to the ledge, despite the copper guard rail and ropes, until their mild disorientation became true mastery of their shared environment. ¡°A truly remarkable blessing.¡±

    ¡°It is,¡± Elder Wu allowed. ¡°And makes me feel a bit better about delving in what might be the safest Liushi rift, but still has its share of peril.¡±

    Alex furrowed his brow, having more suspicions than ever about what he had seen or thought he had seen the last time he had dared this rift with his classmates. And if his suspicions regarding the Duo Li clan were at all on the mark¡­ He shook his head, knowing those suspicions would avail them nothing without definitive proof. Besides, from what his friends had said before, the likelihood of outside interference within a rift was pretty damn close to infinitesimal.

    Alex caught Elder Wu¡¯s gaze. ¡°In your experience, has any group ever been able to enter another group¡¯s instance?¡±

    Elder Wu furrowed his brow. ¡°You mean interact with another group without partying up? Frequently,¡± he said with a hard smile. ¡°But that¡¯s out in the great desert. Here, with four rifts linked to a city of over half a million residents¡­ no. As to why that might be?¡± He shrugged. ¡°One popular theory is that it bubbles inside like a cauldron filled with waste or Dark Qi, with a separate bubble forming around any party that dares to enter its depths and plumb it¡¯s treasures. No matter how many parties might enter at one time, within reason at least, there will always be plenty of Dark Qi to immerse them all.¡±

    Alex smiled, oddly relieved to hear it, happy to hear that the Duo Li clan might be a threat, but not even they could affect a rift dive. Or so he hoped.

    ¡°Excellent. Are we ready to enter? I¡¯ll take position as point man and scout, if Ya Ling and Dui Zhong wish to serve as our front line, Elder Wu and Linnea as our ranged attackers, and Reny as our healer whom we guard at all costs.¡±

    Even as the words left his mouth Alex realized he was speaking out of turn before Deep Bronze and most especially Silver, but all Elder Wu and the others did was exchange half-smiles.

    ¡°He does sound like an experienced delver, doesn¡¯t he?¡± Reny said with no small amount of pride.

    Elder Wu grunted. ¡°Well, we all know our roles, then. Alright, Alex. We¡¯ll let you take point.¡± His gaze hardened. ¡°But unless you can pull off a miracle, time is our greatest enemy. Our first goal is pristine spirit beasts, whatever you sense. Our second goal is whatever spiritual herbs Reny might sense on our way.¡±

    Alex nodded agreeably enough. ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll see what I can find us, once we get inside.¡±

    ¡°Well then, what are we waiting for?¡± Linnea chipped in, linking arms with both Alex and a bemused Ya Ling who was linked with everyone else, all of them stepping forward into the obsidian rift entrance flashing with a million stars as one.

 Book 8 - Chapter 57

    Qi Perception check made! You are one with the forest. You sense no hostiles within 80 feet of your party.

    Alex took a reassuring breath of humid jungle air, face blossoming in a fierce smile as he felt a renewed connection to the beautiful arboreal wonderland all around him, savoring the sight of so many majestic trees reaching for the heavens, the jewel green canopy enlivened by splashes of brilliant color in the form of countless blossoms perfuming the air from the branches overhead.

    Immediately the interface in his mind¡¯s eye lit up with multiple sights of interest, hawk-like gaze immediately catching ahold of brightly shimmering spirit fruit dangling larger than life from a nearby branch that his friends¡¯ eyes seem to slide right past.

    He gave an exultant chuckle. ¡°You were right, Reny. There are prizes aplenty in here, and we don¡¯t need to tangle with a single spirit beast to claim them!¡±

    Reny flashed a pleased smile. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful to hear, Alex. I assume you¡¯ll point them out to me?¡±

    Dui Zhong cleared his throat, almost apologetically. ¡°My pardon, Lady Wu, battle-leader. But the jungle is deep, with unknown predators, and we have the least exposure to waste Qi, so long as we stick beside the shallow river. And with time at a premium¡­ perhaps it¡¯s best if we stick to hunting spirit beasts?¡±

    Just as Reny furrowed her brow, Alex gave the man a reassuring clap on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re looking out for us, Dui Zhong, but best as I can sense, there are no spirit beasts in this stretch of the jungle at all. Just some choice fruit that we would do well to claim.¡±

    The guard captain¡¯s eyes lifted politely in acknowledgment. ¡°Is that so? Remarkable. We still have the issue of limited time that we dare this rift, no matter how beautiful and pristine the flowers and trees blooming so brilliantly before us. Time, if you¡¯ll forgive me for saying, I¡¯d far rather spend hunting rich prizes than waiting for another to collect plants that personally do me little good.¡±

    Alex frowned, before nodding his head in acquiescence. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Alex acknowledged, despite Reny¡¯s sigh. ¡°Us standing here collecting waste Qi is a stupid use of our time. So let¡¯s change that.¡±

    Alex ignored their looks of consternation when he went perfectly still, closed his eyes, and gently touched Linnea¡¯s shoulder. Because for all that their relationship was an odd one and he saw himself as her champion far more than he did her future husband, knowing she needed the pretext for independence, however, the truth remained that she was the one who meshed best with him.

    And when he strove to remember what it felt like to infect an enemy with Dark Qi, she only hissed for half a moment, not fighting him at all.

    ¡°Alex? Please, it hurts!¡±

    Alex winced in apology. Both ashamed to have caused her discomfort, and relieved.

    Because that meant that some locked skills were far more accessible than others, particularly in rifts, particularly regarding elements that his divine enemies loathed. Now, all Alex had to do was chase that feeling of toxic giving and reverse it.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    ¡°Please¡­ just a few more seconds?¡±

    ¡°Only for you,¡± she whispered, Alex swallowing as he desperately strove to catch the tentative thread of something¡­ there!

    At firsti, it was just the tiniest trickle of something.

    ¡°Alex? I¡¯m feeling a little bit sick...¡±

    ¡°Alex, what are you doing?¡± Reny¡¯s alarmed scolding nearly broke his focus entirely, but Alex held on as a tiny thread became a tightly wound fiber and then a cord of thick, luscious darkness he claimed from a now gasping Linnea, gazing at him in wild-eyed wonder, shuddering as if she had peaked, before collapsing against him, gasping for air as her legs trembled, having such a reaction as to immediately snap him out of his half-trance.

    ¡°Linnea?¡±

    ¡°What did you do to her?¡± snapped a genuinely irate-looking Reny, glaring Alex¡¯s way as the dappled sunlight piercing the canopy ceiling raced over her crossed arms.

    Alex took a shuddering breath of his own. ¡°How do you feel?¡± He tentatively asked.

    Linnea chuckled throatily. ¡°Wonderful!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened with surprise, then dismay, before settling for an exasperated chuckle. ¡°Here and now of all times and places, Alex? Seriously?¡±

    Linnea quickly shook her head. ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand! That wasn¡¯t a climax¡­ or rather, it was, but rather of the best sort!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s blush was a mirror of Alex¡¯s own. ¡°You didn¡¯t actually have to say it...¡±

    ¡°He purged it!¡±

    Ya Ling blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    ¡°All my waste Qi! Not just the nasty plaque you feel like gummy residue on your teeth if you forget to scrub them with soft-bark and peppermint. I mean the sticky tarry plaque all over my joints and soul that I wasn¡¯t even aware was stuck there until just now, when Alex scrubbed me as fresh and clean as I last felt at fifteen!¡± She shook her head in wondrous disbelief, before clasping Alex in a fierce, tight hug.

    ¡°Alex, darling, I don¡¯t even know what to say! I¡­ I feel better than I did during my last level-up where I invested all my points in enhancing my body!¡± Her laughter actually had tears in it. ¡°I¡¯m just so used to a certain cruddy feeling that the glory of flame helps me forget, and it fades so steadily during the growing seasons that I hardly realize how bad it had gotten or how much it had bothered me¡­ but to have it gone all at once, it¡¯s such a striking contrast! And not just the most recent plaque¡­ but so much awful gunk I never even knew was there!¡±

    Linnea trembled, actual tears in her eyes. ¡°Alex, I feel reborn!¡±

    Ya Ling was gazing at Linnea in poleaxed disbelief. ¡°Alex did it,¡± she whispered breathlessly. ¡°He gathered all the plaque and degradation in her entire body. In one fell swoop.¡±

    An absolutely striking Linnea pouted. ¡°What do you mean degradation? I¡¯m in wonderful...¡±

    Her words cut off when Ya Ling solemnly handed her a beautiful glass mirror backed in silver. Linnea paled at the sight before her, tears coming out of her eyes. ¡°Oh my goodness, I look absolutely fantastic!¡±

    And she did, Alex thought. She had always been a beautiful girl, and a few laugh lines and blemishes was perfectly normal for anyone who embraced the outdoors, let alone the inhabitants of a desert culture. It was only cultivators who achieved any sort of perfection, and more Bronze Body cultivators than not showed features that were the farthest thing from flawless beauty. Rather, their body was so infused with vitality that the flaws hardly seemed to matter. But not so with Linnea. All signs of aging skin had vanished. No tiny laughter lines, moles, or blemishes of any sort. Her skin had the ageless flush of a true beauty who was only now reaching her majority. She looked far closer to 18 than 22, and was now absolutely glowing with health and Vitality.

    For all that Alex had been the instigator, he was as stunned by the transformation as anyone else. But perhaps he shouldn¡¯t be. He had unlocked the secrets to ageless perfection with not just one but two healing arts. Was it that surprising that the potential for transformation had been catalyzed to rejuvenate countless cells before the excess left entirely? It was exactly how he had learned to cultivate Dark Qi when mastering Eternal Fox, a lifetime ago. And somehow the transformative pattern had stuck, the Dark Qi leaving its host only after one final rejuvenating revolution of the cells they had flooded¡­ just as he had taught himself.

    Of course, what was truly remarkable was that it wasn¡¯t applying solely to himself. It was that the pattern still worked even if he was claiming that dark boon from another.

    Elder Wu¡¯s eyes widened, before locking gazes with Alex¡­ then wordlessly bowing before him.

    Alex was at a sudden loss for words.

    Even Ya Ling looked startled. ¡°Grandfather?¡±

    ¡°Bow your head, child,¡± Elder Wu said in a husky voice. ¡°For the disciple before you has done what no known master has ever accomplished before.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. She visibly trembled while holding Alex¡¯s gaze and bowing before him, Reny and Dui zhong immediately following suit.

    Alex forced a chuckle. ¡°Wow. Now I¡¯m really under pressure not to fuck up.¡±

    Elder Wu chuckled quietly. ¡°Indeed you are.¡± His gaze held Alex¡¯s own. ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    With a quick survey of his interface map showing no glaring reds or the subtly dark pressure he had learned to recognize as Shadow Puma, he dipped his head. ¡°Dui Zhong should keep an eye out¡­ but give me your hand, Elder Wu, and I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±

    He pretended he didn¡¯t see the anxious look Reny sent their way, or how Ya Ling wrapped her grandmother, who really didn¡¯t look that much older than a beautiful woman in her thirties, in her arms.

    Instead he closed his eyes and, with exquisite care, probed his friend who somehow knew without a word being said to lower his deepest defenses, revealing a trust that humbled Alex utterly.

    Soul Sight skill check automatically passed. You sense the flow of spiritual energy within Elder Wu!

    Qi Perception check successful!

    For a moment Alex felt an unwelcome sense of dismay as he looked at the exquisitely complex knotting of countless spiritual fibers and cords. Before his grim frown transformed to a relieved smile when he sensed the link he shared with the much older man even now, their hands joined as one.

    He then opened his eyes and stepped back, smiling almost apologetically into the older man¡¯s crestfallen features. A painfully vulnerable look that near instantly transformed to stoic calm.

    ¡°Disciple?¡±

    Alex gave Elder Wu his best bedside manner smile. ¡°May I speak freely, revered one?¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°So long as you¡¯re not going to tell me that I¡¯m doomed to die of a wasting disease in the near future.¡±

    Alex smirked at that. ¡°No, Elder Wu. Nothing of the sort. But you are indeed blessed with an¡­ extremely complex weave of threads that make up your spiritual cables.¡±

    Elder Wu flashed a bitter smile. ¡°The struggle to Silver was fierce and hard-fought. I was a half-step for years, and no one was more gratified than I, when a transcendant breakthrough allowed me to bridge the gap and ascend a second Silver Rank.¡±

    Alex bowed his head in acknowledgment. ¡°It was a most remarkable feat, and your meridians and Dantian both share the tale. For your foundation is a miracle of anchor points and synergistic strengths giving you lift where others would have crumbled to dust. But were I to do anything at all to affect that, were I to scrape away even a trace of the Dark Qi plaque which you brilliantly used in ways even I have trouble comprehending to cement the cracks in your foundation to a glorious second Silver Cable...¡± He shook his head. ¡°Your foundation would crumble to dust. Your ascension to Tier 2 Silver was a miracle. I dare not touch a thing.¡±

    For an infinitesimal heartbeat, the killing aura of an irate Silver washed over him¡­ before Elder Wu¡¯s fierce, hard features softened into a grandfatherly smile. ¡°And you say that just as plainly as my awkward grandson would have.¡± He chuckled softly, then shook his head with a sigh. ¡°And I know I should feel only gratitude to you for your counsel¡­ and find solace in even making it this far along my cultivation journey.¡±

    ¡°That you should,¡± Reny said in a scolding voice filled with deepest love and affection as she claimed her husband¡¯s hand. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to carry on for centuries after repairing yourself from bitter rinds when others would have given up and crawled away, forever broken men.¡±

    Elder Wu nodded philosophically before bowing his head Alex¡¯s way. ¡°Thank you for your counsel, disciple.¡±

    ¡°But there is one bit of good news,¡± Alex hastened to add, earning a bemused brow from Elder Wu.

    ¡°And that would be?¡±

    ¡°I dare not touch a single fiber of your own brilliant creation. But at the very least, I¡¯ll be able to claim every last scrap of Dark Qi pouring into you from our delve.¡±

    Alex smiled as Elder Ru¡¯s eyes widened, the man gazing down at his palm, where Alex had last held his hand. ¡°I feel it flowing right out of me!¡± He said with whispered wonder.

    Alex winked. ¡°Yup, right into my hungry hungry bones.¡±

    Reny¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Alex, be careful! Allowing excess waste Qi into the bones is a recipe for the most painful of deaths, no matter the short term strength some desperate fools actually claim to feel!¡±

    Alex flashed a bittersweet smile. ¡°Believe me, I know.¡±

    Reny shook her head. ¡°I fear you don¡¯t.¡±

    Alex gently squeezed her hand, locking gazes with the petite woman. ¡°I do.¡±

    Her eyes widened. She flinched and looked away before giving a rueful chuckle. ¡°And somehow I¡¯m now certain that you do.¡± Her eyes filled with bemused warmth. ¡°And now you have me under your power, hero. What will you do?¡±

    Alex blinked and flushed. ¡°Just had to make this awkward, is that it?¡±

    Her only response was to open up her soul to him, Alex¡¯s eyes widening when another automatic success with Soul Sight made it clear that Reny¡¯s foundation was even more tumultuous than Elder Wu¡¯s had been.

    ¡°I can tell that you and your husband both overcame fierce obstacles to get where you are,¡± he acknowledged at last.

    This earned a bittersweet smile. ¡°We did indeed, enduring hardships I will spare you children from having to hear.¡± She sighed. ¡°So, is there any hope for Silver?¡±

    Alex winced, earning a smirk. ¡°I know. It¡¯s a miracle I ever achieved Deep Bronze,¡± Reny confessed.

    Alex then frowned, finally registering the oddity of the mass of tangled threads and cords and what it truly meant. ¡°Wow, I¡¯m actually impressed.¡±

    Reny blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to turn a weakness into a strength! Your foundation is incapable of forming a proper cable, so instead, you¡¯re wrapping Bronze cords directly about yourself, while using your own knotted masses to leave room to anchor spiritual abilities as well! And the beauty of it is, you can ascend past Bronze Rank 7. You¡¯ll never hit Silver, but further ascension as a Bronze, countless steps along the path of ascension is not beyond you,¡± he admitted at last.

    Reny and Elder Wu exchanged a look.

    ¡°Do I even want to know how impossible what Alex is doing is?¡± Dui Zhong asked with a smirk, arms crossed.

    Reny chuckled throatily, taking a deep breath. ¡°No, you don¡¯t. But however humbling the analysis, we¡¯ve both managed to claim the true prize we were after with this.¡±

    This earned a cocked eyebrow. ¡°Really.¡±

    Reny nodded. ¡°The ability to delve, at least as a member of the party we¡¯re now all part of, without any limitations in the length or frequency of our delves.¡±

    The former caravan master¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, you mean he can actually claim our waste Qi?¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°Only one way to find out,¡± he said, before repeating the process with both Dui Zhong and Ya Ling, pleased to see that both of them had had a far easier time of progressing than Reny and her husband had, and that Dui Zhong actually had the potential for Silver. And as for Ya Ling¡­

    Anxious eyes locked with his own long minutes later, Ya Ling¡¯s hand gripping him with almost painful tightness. Which at thirty strength, was definitely saying something.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Her word was almost a plea.

    Alex gave her his most reassuring smile. ¡°It¡¯s alright. The hairline cracks to your foundation have fully healed.¡±

    Ya Ling gave an exultant cry before wrapping Alex up in a fierce hug, sobbing against his shoulder. ¡°Thank you, Alex. Thank you!¡±

    ¡°I guess you two really were close.¡±

    Alex winced at Linnea¡¯s acidic thought, carefully keeping his own thoughts guarded, because the last thing they needed was bitter recriminations and divisiveness now, when they were on the cusp of forming a party, and friendships that could last them a lifetime, or at least for countless delves to come.

    ¡°You¡¯re giving me too much credit, kung fu sister. I but reminded you of the feat you yourself managed to accomplish. And if you seek to further hone your martial skills and forge yourself to new heights in the crucible of battle, or at least the hunt, then I have news equally as good.¡± He gently squeezed his hand. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to delve the Western rift, by your grandparents¡¯ sides, of course, as often as you all wish to come here by my side.¡±

    Her eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯re actually doing it. I can feel you!¡± Her cheeks blushed at her grandmother¡¯s arch look. ¡°I mean¡­ I can feel myself lightening, like I¡¯m cleaning my bedroom, only my bedroom is me, and you¡¯re the damp rag wiping all the soot away.¡±

    ¡°Pretty much!¡± Alex quipped. ¡°Because my bones delight in tasty soot.¡±

    ¡°And what tier would these waste-Qi heavy bones be that you don¡¯t collapse with blood poisoning inside a month, my dear wayward boy?¡± Reny said teasingly, for all that her eyes were heavy with worry.

    Alex winked. ¡°Divine tier, of course. Nothing less than the best for these bones!¡±

    Ya Ling laughed at his saucy smile. ¡°Sure, Alex. Let¡¯s go with that.¡±

    Elder Wu gave them all an indulgent nod, breathing deep of the primal woodland air, rich in exotic blooms and the scents of tree sap and rich loamy soil. ¡°A sight of beauty, isn¡¯t it? And now we can savor it¡¯s wonders without the pressures of limited time or fears for our cultivation bases.¡± He clapped Alex¡¯s shoulder, bowing his head as to an equal. ¡°Thank you, Alex. You may rest assured that you have both our gratitude and our discretion.¡±

    Reny flashed a teasing smile when Alex¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°So generous of heart that he didn¡¯t even think til now the ramifications if word of his gift gets out.¡± She raised her hand. ¡°No need to say a thing, Alex. Your life is your own, as are your gifts, and we are already delving for the highest of causes, the prosperity and stability of the city we would make our home once more. You owe nothing more than you care to give, and that will never change, so long as we have anything to say about it.¡±

    It was a weight off Alex¡¯s chest when all his friends nodded in unison and support.

    Alex swallowed the lump in his throat, surprised by how touched he felt. Not necessarily by the commitment, but by the warmth and comradeship that came so naturally to these people that he met and befriended this time around, so very different from the utterly ruthless temperament that had been the wont of even his allies, a lifetime ago. Everyone except those he would have married in a heartbeat, if the machinations of his enemies hadn¡¯t foiled him at nearly every turn.

    ¡°Thanks for that,¡± he said, with a rueful chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s good to know that a moment¡¯s inspiration and blind luck won¡¯t turn around and bite me on the ass.¡±

    ¡°How eloquently put, Alex,¡± Reny teased. ¡°Now, assuming that no one senses trouble in the immediate vicinity, I do believe there are any number of choice spirit herbs that my protege and I would do well to find.¡±

    Alex blinked at the pointed look Reny was now giving him. Protege? His heart skipped a beat, surprised to find himself so excited to find a new path suddenly opening before him, wondering if maybe he had it in him to be a healer after all¡­ or at least an alchemist, he supposed, calmly walking by Reny¡¯s side when he, much to his relief, sensed neither hair nor hide of any spirit beasts at all. And for all that he wanted to forge a completely new path this time around, that didn¡¯t mean he had to deny making any strides along alchemy¡¯s path, with all its wondrous potential to both refine, purify, and heal, even if he had walked several of those steps before.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sensing anything, Lady Wu,¡± Dui Zhong declared, getting similar shakes of the head from Elder Wu, Ya Ling, and Linnea. ¡°How about you, Alex?¡±

    Alex took a deep breath, and gave a thoughtful shake of his head as he led his friends to where he could all but taste a glorious cache of spirit fruit. ¡°No, I don¡¯t sense a thing,¡± he said with a smile, for all that Reny was beginning to scowl as Alex continued leading them around winding pathways that perhaps only he could see.

    ¡°Alex, I see absolutely no trace of spiritual treasures. I don¡¯t even hear the chatter of monkeys! Where exactly are you going?¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t bother answering. All his focus was on feeling out the path before him, ignoring all distractions, whether they be lesser spirit herbs or even the flash of golden nuggets, glittering so prettily within a nearby wooden stream. Because the moment he pulled himself free of the winding trail that even Linnea was complaining in his mind, he knew he¡¯d loose it.

    Lose that path that could lead them all to a wonder that would surly be worth the trouble so far.

    Or at least, that was his hope, he thought, as Reny, now glaring, ground to a halt. ¡°Alex, stop! You¡¯ve passed at least two spiritual treasures that I sensed so far!¡±

    ¡°And I swear I saw a lump of gold in the stream!¡± Dui Zhong said excitedly.

    Ya Ling¡¯s gaze grew concerned as Alex squeezed his eyes shut from sudden dizziness. ¡°Alex, where exactly are you taking us?¡±

    Alex blinked back a bitter tear, afraid that something beyond priceless would now slip away, before laughing with relief, realizing that he was exactly where he needed to be.

    ¡°Look in front of you,¡± he said with a reverential whisper, earning silent frowns from the group entire.

    Ya Ling stared at the thick foliage before her. ¡°Alex, that¡¯s just a massive wall of very pointy looking vines, covering a ledge of stone.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Is that a fact?¡± he said, before gently waving the vines back, ignoring the whispered curse and looks of awe this earned him, revealing a narrow passage they could just squeeze through, which Alex promptly did.

    ¡°Alex, wait up! You don¡¯t know what...¡± Ya Ling¡¯s words cut off in wide-eyed awe when she glimpsed the sight before them all.

    A grove within the forest, a copse of pristine lychee trees blowing in an unseen breeze and glistening with perfectly ripened fruit glistening like rubies, kissed by morning dew, sunlight, and absolutely radiating vibrant Wind Qi.

    Ya Ling squealed with delight, racing toward the orchard.

    Reny turned to gaze Alex¡¯s way with something surprisingly close to awe. ¡°And I didn¡¯t sense a thing. Even as you drew us ever deeper in, I wouldn¡¯t have thought even once to break through those thorny vines, and they moved with a single wave of your hand!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes were wide with both wonder and a desperate sort of hunger. ¡°Grandmother! These fruit! I can feel the potency the radiate! Please tell me these lychee are best eaten fresh off the vine?¡±

    Reny¡¯s awed gaze grew grave. Her eyes widened as she raised an anxious hand Ya Ling¡¯s way. ¡°Wait, grand daughter, these are Gold-tier spirit fruit! It¡¯s perilous to eat unless its affinities match your own!¡±

    Her anxious gaze turned to panicked desperation when Ya Ling¡¯s eyes dilated with a desperate hunger. ¡°It compliments me. I can feel it!¡± She flashed a joyous smile, having eyes for nothing save the fruit in her hand. ¡°It promises a gift like no other.¡± And before anyone could do anything, or even raise a hand to stop her, she had plopped precisely seven carefully peeled lychees into her mouth, then swallowed them with a look of sheer rapture upon her features.

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡± Elder Wu¡¯s voice was filled with panicked despair as he stumbled forward, only to be pulled back by none other than his wife. ¡°No, look, husband, It¡¯s best we don¡¯t interfere,¡± she whispered, and Alex couldn¡¯t help but agree as Ya Ling¡¯s collapsed form was hovering prone at waist-height, surrounded by a protective cocoon of wind.

    ¡°Alex, that fruit totally charmed her! Do you think it¡¯s an evil mind-melding¡­ Alex?¡±

    But Alex paid no heed to Linnea¡¯s query, also captivated by the fruit in his hand, calling out to him in ways that it seemed everyone save himself and Ya Ling found easy to resist.

    If there was a Willpower check he clearly failed it as his fingers rapidly pealed the carmine red skin from each of the fruit, before placing exactly seven of the indescribably aromatic treasures inside his mouth, tasting its promise and power as as it whirled through his meridians.

    For only a second did he fear disaster.

    Then, when he found how effortlessly he could channel its flow to mimic the Qi flow that had once been at the heart of his Qi Deflection technique, now mirrored by his Wind Qi Deflection technique¡­ he knew he had played the wise fool once more.

    Or at least the lucky one, though wise enough to immediately assume the lotus position and allow the furious maelstrom to roar through his meridians and infuse a bit of its eternal insight and essence into his own soul, sensing how this experience too was both enhancing his awareness of all of life¡¯s potential and possibilities and unlocking further avenues of advancement and mastery. All of which was causing his own super cable to spin about what might have been his Dantian or perhaps a pristine singularity at ever greater speeds.

    You have imbibed sacred Spirit Fruit! You now understand the element of Wind with greater clarity than ever before!

    You now enjoy Greater Wind Affinity!

    Note. Pristine divine tier configuration does NOT allow for additional meridian enhancement, but you sense the flow of wind through your environment with greater clarity than ever before, bringing you secrets others would keep hidden, and the scents that none but the most savvy blood hounds could detect.

    Perception has been permanently increased by 1 point to 19!

    You have increased affinity with any Qi Discipline incorporating the element of Wind! You will master Wind Qi skills far faster than otherwise and be able to use them at reduced cost!

    Wind Qi Deflection is now Rank 2!

    Wind Qi Deflection is now Rank 3!

    Wind Qi Deflection is now Rank 4!

    Alex had never expected to savor such a fortuitous encounter himself on what he had hoped would only be a safe expedition with his friends in what should have been the ideal rift. But he was wise enough to take full advantage of the opportunity to solidify his gains, consciously directing the flow of fearsomely potent Wind Qi through his meridians and skills and enhancing his understanding and affinity for that sacred element in so many ways, even as he sensed it rewriting an element of Ya Ling¡¯s very soul.

    And for all that the tiniest part of him mourned Ya Ling¡¯s state and prayed she¡¯d be alright, the vast majority of his psyche was invested in embracing the howling winds now roaring through his soul to the utmost. So that he might use them to sail to new heights, where one mistimed thought or action would otherwise see him founder and crash upon the shoals of his own ineptitude.

    Fortunately, it seemed that both Reny and her husband understood the perils and pitfalls of what he and Ya Ling had perhaps quite foolishly dared, at least knowing enough not to interrupt what was either the grandest of breakthroughs¡­ or the inevitable crumbling of their foundation.

    Alex was surprised by the breathless silence from his friends when the dream of Wind roaring through his soul had transformed to a gentle breeze he could even now feel curling his golden locks, taking a final moment to gaze upon the character sheet of his soul and appreciate just how far he¡¯d already come before opening his eyes and preparing himself for whatever reprimand was no doubt to come.

    ___________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

    Rank 6 Cultivation Achieved!

    Physical Characteristics

    Strength ¨C Bronze Rank 3 (30)

    Vitality ¨C Bronze Rank 3 (30)

    Quickness ¨C Bronze Rank 1 (20)

    Finesse ¨C Bronze Rank 1 (20)

    Spiritual Characteristics

    Scholarship - 14 (Exceeds 84% of Population.)

    Perception - 19 (Exceeds 99% of population.)

    Willpower ¨C 25 (Rank 2 Bronze achieved the hard way! - You have the resolve to walk in the Valley of Death and slip free of the River of Souls.)

    Qi Pool ¨C  19

    Health Points: 455

    Perks

    Insightful ¨C Rank 2

    Charismatic ¨C Rank 3

    Lesser Shadow Affinity

    Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.

    Draconic Ancestry.

    Greater Wind Qi Affinity (You have increased affinity with any Qi Discipline incorporating the element of Wind! You will master these skills far faster than otherwise and will be able to use them at reduced cost!)

    Favored Skills

    Golden Realms Kung Fu ¨C Rank 10

    Wind Crane Kung Fu ¨C Rank 7

    Poison Spitting ¨C Rank 6

    Stealth ¨C Rank 4

    Lock Picking ¨C Rank 4

    Qi Disciplines

    Enhanced Water Shield ¨C Rank 6 ¨C Enhanced Salt Water Variant Learned.

    Enhanced Water Strike ¨C Rank 8 ¨C Enhanced Water Strike may now be used in conjunction with Wind Strike and may pierce Silver tier or lower wards with a skill check. (**most definitely not Black Swan!)

    Thorn Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Oak Strike ¨C Rank 5

    Fire Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Flame Fist ¨C Rank 4 (5)

    Earthern Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Stone Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Forest Flight ¨C Rank 5

    Dark Qi Absorption ¨C Rank 4 ¨C Effortlessly absorb Dark Qi from your environment, your friends, or hostile forces! All will be consumed and used by your Divine Tier Prismatic Bones!

    Spring Leap ¨C Rank 5 ¨C This skill is effectively Forest Flight but includes grassy fields and lichen. You also enjoy instantaneous movement over forests and fields involving dashes of 50 feet or less.

    Wind Piercer Strike ¨C Rank 1 ¨C Pierce most Qi wards, walls of flame, or shrapnel barriers with ease! Much less effective against rigid metal or stone.

    Wind Qi Deflection ¨C Rank 4 ¨C Deflect most Qi Disciplines and physical attacks! Note! Ineffective against Lightning & Spirit Qi!

    Wind Blade ¨C Rank 5(6) (May now be used in conjunction with Enhanced Water Strike with a skill check! You may now instantly summon forth Wind Blade with a skill check. - Adept perk chosen: Spiritual Harmony: You may use this elemental attack freely, with minimal spiritual energy expenditure!)

    Storm Blade ¨C Rank 5(6) (Infuse your weapon with the power of the storm at its most fearsome, to cut through any foe (or deliver a healthy dose of lightning) from three feet beyond the edge of your blade! - Adept feat chosen. Internal Harmony. The strain of this technique has been limited to Bronze, stabilized by Advanced Comprehension.)

    Prismatic Shield ¨C Rank 6 ¨C Can now counter half-step elements & dark curses! - Note! Unorthodox meridian configuration is prerequisite! - You have chosen the Adept Perk: Spiritual Harmony. Spiritual Energy expenditure to maintain this technique has been significantly reduced! Prismatic Shield now draws energy directly from Desert Fox. Prismatic Shield Rank may not exceed Desert Fox Cultivation rank!

    Prismatic Strike ¨C Rank 6 - This is a Pristine Technique! All elements are boosted by previous elements in a Divine Tier cascade only Long Wang and his chosen disciples understand. Note! No mortal may wield this technique before Gold Tier without saving versus Meridian Rupture!

    Your Divine Tier Meridians are immune to rupture!

    - Spiritual Energy Cost: Significant! Best only to embrace when fueled by P**e**y Ma**ery or when your Qi Pool is well into Bronze!

    Dantian shift has stabilized. You must achieve Deep Bronze (Rank 4 or better) to safely expel Life Force without straining your foundation!

    Qi Perception-linked Disciplines

    Artificer ¨C Rank 7

    Find Weakness ¨C Rank 7

    Qi Perception ¨C Rank 8

    Soul Sight ¨C Rank 7

    Spiritual Teacher (Student) ¨C Rank 8

    Forest Sense ¨C Rank 7 (8)

    Congratulations! Your communion with nature has grown fresh roots. Your understanding now transcends individual plants and now incorporates entire ecosystems! Forest Sense is now Rank 8.

    Alchemy ¨C Rank 4 (Foundation Restoration Tincture)

    Desert Sense ¨C Rank 2

    Additional Abilities & Techniques

    Full Regenerative Capacity

    Gift of Tongues

    Biochemical Mastery ¨C Rank 8

    Desert Fox Cultivation Technique ¨C Rank 6

    Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique ¨C Rank 6 You now have a base passive regeneration rate of: (32) health point per minute. Your focus on mastering the interplay between heat and entropy has unlocked the Ageless Perk. - You enjoy your Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique Rank as a bonus in saving versus all poisons, toxins, mental ailments, curses, taints, and all other areas where another UNDEFINED art had once reigned supreme! Continue to master your body and yourself to expand this art and it¡¯s capabilities!

    Sacred Perk ¨C Can now neutralize all infernal taints.

    Prismatc Fox Restoration Technique is now incorporates Basic Blood Mastery! (You may use Blood in place of Water for all Water Qi Applications. Note! Additional cost of Health points in addition to Qi Points will be expended upon such use and application, subject to normal regenerative properties of Prismatic Fox.

    ________________________________________-

 Book 8 - Chapter 58

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex blinked, focusing on a concerned looking Elder Wu. ¡°How long was I meditating?¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°You mean how long were you riding the cusp between enlightenment and the complete destruction of your cultivation base, incorporating foreign elements my wife had no chance to analyze before you and Ya Ling embraced absolute idiocy?¡±

    Alex winced at the man¡¯s acerbic tone.

    The man relented with a sigh. ¡°Almost a full day and a half. And did we not have the grace of your party-link, ensuring that we suffer no waste-Qi buildup, we¡¯d already be in dire peril. Every one of us.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a reason why I asked you two to wait,¡± Reny snapped, several feet away, pausing only long enough to glare at Alex for a painful second before her eyes widened and she snapped her focus back to Ya Ling, only now coming to as the whirling winds around her finally died off and she placed shaky feet upon the loamy soil before the lychee trees before opening her eyes with a gasp.

    ¡°Silly child, how could you do such a thing? You scared this old woman half-to-death! Reny sobbed, for all that she could have easily passed for a woman in her thirties. Anxious eyes then peered firmly into Ya Ling¡¯s own.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to grandmother, child, tell me honestly. How do you feel?¡±

    But the look of ebullition wonder and awe upon Ya Ling¡¯s features didn¡¯t turn to dismayed confusion. It only grew wider as she rose several inches in height, and awed Alex only then realizing she was hovering in the air.

    ¡°I feel incredible!¡± Ya Ling declared with a fiery glint to her gaze. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt so in tune with my body and mind since we were last in the deep desert!¡± She then licked parched lips. ¡°But I could really do with some water and perhaps a moment to¡­ refresh myself?¡±

    Soul Sight skill check made!

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, sensing the massive change that his friend had undergone, transformed in ways he had never thought possible, outside of any cultivation tome.

    ¡°Ya Ling¡­ all your meridians...¡±

    She flashed Alex a wolf-like grin. ¡°I know. I know! they¡¯ve grown and expanded. I feel spiritual energy coursing through me like never before!¡± She chortled with glee after happily chugging down a full flask of water, then began spinning around with sheer delight, as fast as any figure skater could pirouette.

    Yet it was more than enhanced channels, as incredible a boon as that alone was that almost any cultivator of his past life would have gleefully killed for. Because in addition to that boon, Alex sensed a whirling storm of wind around the spiritual echo of a pristine lychee within each and every one of Ya Ling¡¯s meridian channels. A transformation both spiritual and physical, for Alex could sense her newfound affinity for Wind just as sharp and bright as she had once tasted of the desert sands when he kissed her.

    Yet it wasn¡¯t just one, rather both elements now echoed through her soul. A howling desert storm of potential she could now forever call her own.

    He flashed a rueful smile, somehow certain that whether she continued along the Body Cultivator¡¯s path, or took this incredibly fortuitous encounter to ascend as a wujen, she¡¯d never run out of spiritual energy while channeling her arts, being aided by the same mighty currents as propelled massive ships across countless seas.

    Solemnly, Alex withdrew his dao the moment they both returned from refreshing themselves.

    ¡°Show me,¡± he said, and she instantly understood what he met as his blade was suddenly surrounded by a fearsome whirlwind of cutting air. A whirlwind howling in ethereal currents he knew that few could hear far more furiously than it ever had before. And the effortless ease with which it sliced through the piece of toughened rawhide that Dui Zhong lobbed his way with a nod made it clear that his affinity was more than just unrealized potential. His understanding of Wind now bordered upon the profound.

    He then nodded to a suddenly anxious-looking Ya Ling. Who nonetheless gamely unsheathed her jian, and in just a few seconds, whirling currents of wind were caressing the length of her blade as well.

    ¡°Awesome! Can you incorporate sand into the mix?¡± An excited Linnea asked the minute she had been nudged free of her obvious nap, whereupon she met Alex with a fierce hug before letting him go with a smile to admire Ya Ling¡¯s own blossoming as a cultivator.

    Their entire group bore silent awed witness as the whirling currents surrounding Ya Ling¡¯s jian turned white with sand, showing an affinity for and ability to master two elements that Alex could tell by the tears of happiness in her grandparent¡¯s eyes had never been her wont before.

    Her eyes lit up with wonder. ¡°I did it! I visualized the cutting winds of the worst sandstorm¡­ and here it is, right before me!¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Excellent. Now let¡¯s see how well it cuts!¡± He then tossed one half of the cleanly sliced rawhide Dui Zhong had lobbed his way. Out of reflex Ya Ling struck at it, her balance and form less than ideal. Yet that didn¡¯t hinder the effectiveness of her blade in the least, slicing through it as easy as a butter knife through cream.

    Ya Ling paled, her hand actually trembling as she gazed down at her own blade, humming with such furious intensity as the sands shrieked upon ethereal winds that Alex suspected few not attuned to Wind would ever hear.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Her gaze was equal parts wonder and confusion. And even if Elder Wu looked a bit put out that he wasn¡¯t the focus of his granddaughter¡¯s search for answers, Alex¡¯s calm reply had them all looking his way in stunned disbelief.

    ¡°The spirit fruit you consumed has blossomed into a tiny wind tree within each of your seven meridians.¡± Alex flashed an encouraging smile. ¡°It might take some work to incorporate that potency into your cultivation path, but, so long as you now account for the Wind element in your cycling techniques, I can tell already that you¡¯ll be forming Silver tier cables before the century¡¯s out.¡±

    Ya Ling fell to her knees, wind blade dissipating, eyes wide with the shock of it all, as if only now realizing the significance of what she had done. Yet even as Reny swept her granddaughter into her arms, it was Elder Wu who confronted Alex with a gaze hard as granite, desperate for answers.

    ¡°How, Alex?¡±

    ¡°How what?¡±

    The wujen seemed taken aback, before sighing and shaking his head. ¡°How exactly is it that you sense whatever transformation has occurred within my granddaughter?¡± And here his voice was filled with both cynicism and desperate hope. ¡°And how can you possibly be so sure that she¡¯ll ascend to Silver? That this act of brilliant folly and the fool¡¯s own luck won¡¯t actually spell the end of her cultivation journey?¡±

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Alex gazed at his mentor and friend for long moments before finally answering. ¡°I can see the flow of spiritual energy through her meridians and the strands she even now forms into cords, combining Wind and Sand along with placeholders for so many other elements.¡±

    He tilted his head thoughtfully, leaning against a friendly nearby branch. ¡°Though the balance is quite different from the eight primary Light Qi elements I forged my own path with, along with Dark Qi and three additional placeholders¡­ I can still sense the strength of Ya Ling¡¯s path. And I know she owes it all to you,¡± he said. Because if most of the strands within Ya Ling¡¯s cords were effectively placeholders, the cordage still needed to be as strong as possible if one were to even dream of one day forging a Gold core...or at least becoming as strong a Silver as one possibly could.

    Elder Wu¡¯s hard gaze met Alex¡¯s guileless features for long moments before he gave the tiniest nod of his head. As if acknowledging that they both had secrets that were perhaps best never said allowed, even with as few outsiders among them as there were. Because Dui Zhong was a good man for certain but it would still be awhile before he resonated as kin¡­ and no matter how much he cared for Linnea, Alex wasn¡¯t blind to the fact that until very recently, she had been an absolute chatterbox as good at keeping secrets as a puppy was not barking at the front door.

    ¡°Hey I sensed that!¡± Linnea said with a mock huff, before flushing. ¡°And, um¡­ yeah. Sorry I said maybe more than I should have during our last feast.¡± She flashed an apologetic smile. ¡°Forgive me? I¡¯m getting better, I promise!¡±

    Alex chuckled softly. ¡°I think the real test for you will be not saying a word of our delve to anyone.¡± He traded solemn glances with everyone there, including Ya Ling, still holding her grandmother¡¯s hand. ¡°Because I get the feeling that those lychee were an order of magnitude above your typical spirit fruit.¡±

    Reny gave a rueful shake of her head, before gazing up with sheer wonder at the mystical lychee tree before her, radiating such pristine spiritual energy that it seemed to glow like the evening sun as warm currents filled with the fragrant scent of lychee blossoms filled the air.

    ¡°What you and my granddaughter dared to imbibe with such mad impulse was the stuff of legends. Lychee of ancient fable. Here within the Western Rift! The possibilities this has for anyone with alignments mirroring or complementary to Wind could bring a new generation of geniuses to ascension!¡±

    Her husband coughed politely. ¡°Not so close to the portal as all that. As I¡¯m sure you all noticed¡­ the path we took is unlike any I¡¯ve ever walked before.¡±

    Those words earned Alex a number of considering gazes as he flushed and waved his hand. ¡°No need to look at me like that. I¡¯m no hidden genius. I was just following a hunch, trusting the feeling in my gut, and letting the forest take me where it would.¡±

    Dui Zhong took a fresh look at the tiny grove surrounded by rocky crevices covered in bitter sharp thorny vines. Even Alex would admit that the rock looked ancient, weathered, and perfectly natural, and like it had been deliberately placed to hide this spiritual wonder from the rest of the forest. ¡°All I can say is if I had a navigator or merchant leading me to fresh trade opportunities of your caliber¡­ I¡¯d be a trade prince before the decade was out.¡± His hungry eyes gazed raptly at the wondrous Gold-tier spirit fruit hanging so invitingly from the ever-swaying tree. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you how much I would love to taste one of those lychee for myself...¡± He then paled and shook his head. ¡°But something inside me tells me that it would be a very bad idea.¡±

    Reny gave the man a gentle smile. ¡°It is good that with you, at least, your common sense exceeds your aptitude for folly. For you are the rigid bedrock that kept our travels stable for well over a year, my friend. And a cultivator of your temperament would find the bedrock of his foundation worn away by wild winds so alien to his nature, whereas my granddaughter, so in tune with the shifting sands that she can become one with them and move through them at will, has integrated the wild whipping winds howling through her soul effortlessly. As if they had always been an extension of herself. And as she is far more symbolic of constant movement and action than stillness, the Wind is in perfect accord with her half-step element. For what is Sand but earth in constant motion? Graceful, beautiful, and deadly.¡±

    Ya Ling flashed a cheeky smile at that as she turned to lock gazes with Alex. ¡°So tell me, hero, do you also savor the howling wind blowing through your soul?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Actually my blessing¡¯s a bit different. The nature of my cultivation path means that nothing else can incorporate itself within it. It¡¯s already at, well, maximum density, I suppose you could say. But the lychee did gift me with an affinity and sense of that element that¡¯s nothing short of profound. Which means that my Wind Qi abilities should benefit, because I too can taste Winds power, fury, and potential like never before, even if my meridians are the same as they ever were.¡±

    Ya Ling chuckled throatily. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that this round is mine.¡±

    Alex smiled. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go with that.¡± He turned to the others. ¡°Elder Wu? Reny?¡±

    Reny flashed a sad, regretful smile, Elder Wu chuckling and shaking his head. ¡°I suspect that the trees before us are far more than they appear. My wife and I both know the elements we harmonize best with¡­ and how much we struggled just to achieve what we have. Though I would normally never turn down a spirit fruit promising profound revelations and breakthroughs¡­ I¡¯m quite certain that this fruit isn¡¯t for me.¡±

    Alex flashed a cheeky grin. ¡°Even if those Ice Spears definitely had a taste of wind in them?¡±

    Elder Wu sighed, gently reaching out with one of his hands as if to brush the lychee dangling from a nearby branch¡­ only for the branch to pull away. Oddly politely, as if it wasn¡¯t rejection so much as a gentle gust at just the right moment, and Elder Wu was far too polite, and wise, to press.

    Reny flushed rather prettily. ¡°And perhaps I was a bit more insistent, and the splinter in my palm only came out when I retreated from my foolishness, humbled as any over eager creature of the forest. For Wood is certainly my element,¡± she said, before revealing a rather wicked looking splinter touched with crimson. ¡°But Wind is not. So not even fruit that I would pluck for my own garden will I be claiming from this spiritual tree that is closer to legend than anything I¡¯ve ever encountered before.¡±

    Elder Wu cleared his throat. ¡°However, if a favored disciple were to claim several fruit of his own, clearly having no problem taking them...¡±

    His words abruptly cut off when the breeze around the trees stilled.

    Alex gently shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Elder Wu.¡± He realized that he didn¡¯t need to say anything more than that, that his exquisite sense of the forest¡¯s acceptance of him, and its sudden quiet warning as certain words were carried in the very Winds he now understood so well, were clear as day upon his features.

    Though he didn¡¯t expect to see Elder Wu pale so quickly, fists clenched, before turning to bow before the tiny grove, as if in apology.

    Had his face really said so much?

    ¡°This one apologizes if he has transgressed, and is grateful for boons already granted,¡± Elder Wu solemnly declared. Reny¡¯s eyes widened, and she quickly did the same.

    Ya Ling furrowed her brow, a worried cast coming over her features. ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex gave them all a gentle smile. ¡°No harm done, I think. Now let¡¯s be off. I¡¯m somehow certain that this forests holds all sorts of delicious treasures in its bosom, in addition to this wonderful grove¡­ for which I too give thanks.¡± His eyes widened, remembering old rituals between himself and primal woodland.

    ¡°And a gift of my own.¡±

    He didn¡¯t hesitate to draw his dao and caress his wrist with the shallowest of cuts, ignoring the hiss of alarm when crimson droplets rained upon the roots of the lychee trees that had gifted Ya Ling and himself with such boons.

    Alarmed words soon became awed curses when the blood seemed to fade a heartbeat later¡­ as if greedily sucked in by the roots growing toward Alex¡¯s bounty as he used Prismatic Fox Restoration to repair the superficial injury in a few seconds as he gave a final bow.

    He turned to his companions. ¡°Shall we?¡±

    Reny and Elder Wu just stared at him for long moments, not saying a word.

    He suppressed a wince as Linnea squeezed his hand. ¡°Alex, was that a druidic ritual?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a tough question to answer. But it¡¯s always worked for me and the forest, so I leave it at that.¡±

    Dui Zhong snorted. ¡°You do know that we¡¯re a desert people, and that the great forest was lost to these lands countless centuries ago, don¡¯t you, Alex?¡±

    Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°I know it all too well. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 59

    Alex quickly led them through the passage back to the forest proper, only now noting how different the forest was compared to the entrance. Here, the forests consisted of giant redwoods with an undergrowth of deciduous trees that looked surprisingly like elm, hickory, ash, and magnolia. Alex took a deep breath of pine-scented air, smiling at the sight of lush greenery as far as his eyes could see, instantly spotting delectable looking fruit hanging off the vine, near to bursting with juicy ripeness. But when his friends exclaimed with wonder at the ripe treasures that enticed them even from here with their deliciously fragrant citrusy scents, Alex¡¯s hand was the first to reach out and grab shoulder or wrist, solemnly shaking his head, no matter their rank, not even Reny¡¯s miffed stare staying his hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said with an apologetic smile. ¡°But I think it¡¯s best that we go back exactly the way we came.¡±

    Dui Zhong¡¯s impressive brow furrowed into a glower. ¡°Is there a reason why we can¡¯t claim those spirit apples even I can see hanging upon those branches in the distance? You and our desert princes might have profited mightily this day, but the rest of us would enjoy prizes of our own to remember this delve by.¡±

    Alex¡¯s smile grew strained. ¡°Because once we leave this trail, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll ever be able to find it again.¡±

    The entire party stilled at that. Qing Wu gave Alex a pointed look. ¡°Is that so.¡±

    ¡°Honestly, I can¡¯t even tell where were going. My sense of direction is just¡­ off,¡± Ya Ling confessed, giving Alex a curious look. ¡°How can you even tell...¡± The her eyes widened, as she shared a knowing grin with him. ¡°You smell it. Don¡¯t you. On the wind.¡±

    Alex winked. Because it was true. Not only the quiet rustle of the forest all around, but the wind as well served as a gentle guide, leading him back the way he had come. Even after enduring more than one flutter of anxiety by how close he came to abruptly losing the path, somehow he could always sense the way. No matter how how strange the twists and turns became. It had gotten bad enough that he had to link arms with his friends when, for some reason, they just couldn¡¯t seem to register the latest twists to their path as he darted between the roots of a massive sequoia leading suddenly to far more humid air.

    ¡°How the hell did you do that, Alex?¡± asked a wide-eyed Dui Zhong as the others solemnly stared on while they caught their breath underneath the foliage of palm trees as the scents of pears, peaches, and apples were replaced by the scents of passion fruit, wild blossoms, and the faint whiff of feline musk.

    ¡°Do what?¡± Alex asked, puzzled by the looks his friends were giving him.

    Ya Ling shook her head. ¡°We came so close to falling into that ravine¡­ or was it a cliff face that I almost bumped my shin against?¡± She shook her head. ¡°I feel dizzy, just thinking about it. How did you even navigate that path?¡±

    Alex frowned, now truly thrown off by the puzzled stares everyone was giving him, finally over his earlier odd flight of fancy that any deviation would be their doom. Because now he could clearly sense the rest of the way to the entrance, the entire forest lighting up on his interface map, the rift an odd void in the lush greenery.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that hard, guys. And you were right, Ya Ling, the breeze did help a bit, always revealing a hidden path through the foliage. Anyway, I think I have a better sense of things now. It should be no problem going back the way we...¡± His voice trailed off as he looked back the way they came, as did his friends.

    The redwood was gone.

    And the path that Alex had followed so faithfully wound around to nothing but thick underbrush in just a handful of feet.

    Alex rubbed his temples, suddenly feeling dizzy.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Linnea?¡±

    ¡°Where did those giant sequoias¡­ that was the name you had for them, go?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Honestly, your guess is as good as mine, at this point. But the entrance is that way.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s anxious expression immediately blossomed into a smile. ¡°Oh yes, I see! The interface map came back. Yay!¡±

    Ya Ling gave her a strange look. ¡°Interface map?¡±

    Linnea gave an animated nod. ¡°Me and Alex can see a 3-D holographic representation of the forest. Think of a map floating above your head that you can see with a thought, that doesn¡¯t effect your normal vision at all. Anyway, it was gone while we were taking that strange path to find that mystical lychee tree that granted you and Alex wonderfully strange powers that wouldn¡¯t mesh with me at all, but now our map is back. Thank goodness! That means we can leave, without being stuck in some 4-D pocket of folded space.¡±

    Ya Ling paled at those words. ¡°Somehow, that doesn¡¯t sound like a good thing.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s really terrible!¡± Linnea assured with a smile. ¡°But with the forest¡¯s bounty and Alex¡¯s gifts, we could probably survive for years before growing old and dying inside of it.¡±

    Reny exchanged a glance with her husband. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s time for us to count our blessings and call it a day. For we¡¯ve already profited mightily in life experience and fortuitous encounters, and for all of us who received no prizes of note¡­ nor have we suffered the inevitable build up of waste Qi that dooms all adventurers in the end.¡±

    Dui Zhong snorted, before giving a rueful chuckle. ¡°Fair enough. Not every delve will be profitable, and the fact that I feel absolutely no buildup of waste Qi at all is a boon that can¡¯t be understated.¡± He gave Alex an appreciative nod. ¡°Especially if our champion isn¡¯t opposed to another delve in the hear future?¡±

    ¡°After today¡¯s fortuitous encounter, I¡¯d love nothing more!¡± Alex said wholeheartedly. ¡°What could be better than the hunt for rich prizes and treasures, after all? Especially if there¡¯s no long term consequence to us.¡± His smile hardened. ¡°And that¡¯s a good thing. Because if we¡¯re not willing to risk these delves on the regular, at least until we can claim a Water core, it¡¯s only a matter of time before a certain asshole clan tries to seize power. If that happens, I doubt Linnea or I will have any chance to delve these rifts at all.¡±

    Linnea nodded grimly. ¡°Yeah, at that point I think me and my kind will be fleeing this city before those assholes can outright lynch us. Because if the malicious glint in Tan Yi¡¯s eye is anything to go by, it would only be a matter of time before they try to do just that.¡±

    ¡°Well we sure as hell aren¡¯t letting that happen!¡± Ya Ling declared fiercely. ¡°We¡¯ll do whatever it takes to defend our friends and bring those Li assholes down. Right, grandfather?¡±

    Qing Wu flashed an enigmatic smile. ¡°We will of course do all we can for our friends. And Alex and Dui Zhong have the right idea. So long as it¡¯s safe, we can dare these delves until we can secure this city¡¯s future with a prize that will see us in good graces with headmaster or prince, because I¡¯m most certainly not surrendering another Water core to anyone else. Then our position in the city will be secured, the Li¡¯s will be considerably weakened, and disaster will be avoided without a bloodbath.¡±

    ¡°And now that that grim conversation is out of the way, and our young Ruidian friends sense the way back to the entrance, perhaps we can take the time to gather what spiritual treasures are on the way?¡± Reny pointedly asked, getting an abashed nod from Alex as he immediately led her to a handful of choice looking purple blossoms radiating a delightful mix of Air and Wood Qi, his own enhanced senses and connection to Wind sharpening his awareness like never before, suddenly aware of half a dozen prizes a now happily humming Reny would love, needing only moments with her trowel and the use of her ring to claim the spirit plants before her.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Pristine Purple Blossoms detected! Unknown median market potency.

    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Reny said with a satisfied nod as she smiled up at Alex. ¡°And I just know with those keen senses of yours that another prize can be found nearby?¡±

    He gave rueful chuckle that took in all his smiling friends, Reny now definitely leading their expedition, before he suddenly froze.

    Sensing what was wrong.

    It wasn¡¯t what he sensed, but the complete lack of it.

    The branches were no longer rustling at all. Despite the gentle breeze he sensed trying to tell him something. Something important.

    But now there were now absolutely no scents at all.

    No rustling leaves that he could hear. No avian chirps or cries of locust or cricket.

    And no cry of monkeys whatsoever.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in alarm. He tried to keep his voice cool and calm. ¡°I think we should head back to the exit right now. Come on.¡±

    Reny furrowed her brow, before paling by whatever she saw in his gaze. ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Come on. No time!¡±

    He caught Linnea¡¯s worried gaze. ¡°Full mind-meld time.¡±

    ¡°Alex? What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    And Alex only felt a moment¡¯s lurch of dizziness as suddenly he was a young woman anxious about impressing the too-handsome muscular boy who both terrified and excited her, and who was hiding so many secrets even now from her. But she didn¡¯t care. Her heart didn¡¯t care. She only wanted to be¡­ then her eyes widened as their senses combined. Alex¡¯s affinity for Spirit and Fire Qi meshing so well with a girl born with a ruby¡¯s brilliant affinity for flame.

    Flickering points of angry red lit in the shape of jungle cats, wrapped in cloaks of Shadow so thick that no one lacking kitsune blood (wait, kitsune? They died out centuries ago!) could possibly hope to spot them.

    Cats even now sniffing air smothered of all noise or sound that would reveal them, so great was their gift. Maws parting in gaping wide grins as teeth flashed, and they gleefully sprung for the unsuspecting prey below.

    ¡°Now!¡± Alex roared, the air flashing with a whirlwind of flame suddenly roaring to life to surround vulnerable cultivators who could see nothing at all as the predators leaped.

    Far more clever than even Alex had realized, knowing just where to strike.

    The air rang out with Reny¡¯s desperate cry when shadowy claws burst through furious flame to rip open her belly with a single swipe.

    For an awful, endless moment Elder Wu and Ya Ling stared stupidly at the sight of Reny collapsing, hands desperately clamping down upon blue-gray entrails spurting from her abdomen as she crumpled with a cry.

    And for just a heartbeat, glaring yellow eyes snarled through the fire, eager to snap off the crumpled woman¡¯s head with a single bite.

    Then it was gone.

    The air was suddenly filled furious yowling of a tiger-sized monster fleeing from the flame that even now lit up its right paw in obliterating retribution as the maimed creature now hobbled away as fast as three intact limbs could take it. It was clear to all that Linnea¡¯s whirling vortex of flame was the only thing that had spared Reny from plunging into the cold eternal waters below.

    Yet even now, two other cats were leaping through the air.

    Alex felt time slow down to a desperate crawl, at that moment somehow both Linnea holding tight to the maelstrom of fame she could manifest for only so long before she herself would collapse, and the young man desperately cleaving forth with his fangtian ji, now surrounded by a fierce whirlwind howling about the blade at monstrous, flesh cutting speeds.

    Yet the cat that had struck Reny had darted back so fast he that had no hope of striking it.

    And the second massive panther that tore through Dui Zhong¡¯s lamellar armor with chilling ease, sending the man lurching back with blood and steel plates raining down from his hip was so fast that Alex¡¯s swing had no hope of connecting.

    Alex¡¯s heart began to pound as he was forced to appreciate the enormity of their peril.

    Somehow, the supposed safest delve in the entire caldera had become a kill zone for the most fearsome pack of Silver Tier Shadow cats he had ever faced. When he was far below a Silver tier¡¯s quickness, and they most definitely were not.

    It was only thanks to Linnea¡¯s furiously blazing swirl of ascended flame, and a debt he would gladly pay the forest in blood later as they left burning branches and embers in their wake, that they were even alive, the massive Shadow Panthers choosing only to snipe with swiping claws that were inevitably kissed with flame, as opposed to leaping for their throats in unison and ending this losing battle in one bloody swoop.

    ¡°Grandfather! What do we do?¡± Ya Ling¡¯s desperate words were like molasses in the air as Alex did what he swore he would never do. But if he did nothing¡­ their death was all but guaranteed.

    ¡°Linnea! Keep the fire vortex two paces beyond our friends! Head for the exit at a steady pace!¡±

    ¡°Qing Wu, enact Ice Storm around our party. Follow Linnea.¡±

    ¡°Dui Zhong, gather Reny. Follow Qing Wu.¡±

    He had no time for words, just a rush of desperate thoughts that in two cases were far more than pleas. And if Qing Wu¡¯s eyes became slightly glassy as a fierce maelstrom of icy shrapnel howled between Linnea¡¯s barrier and their companions, then that was the burden Alex would bear when it was time to pay his due. Fortunately, Dui Zhong carefully grabbing a thrashing Reny in the height of mortal extremis was well within his capability, because there was no time for even an emergency healing. His friends had to flee for all they were worth, even as furious shadow claws now dared both ice and fire to make his friends bleed. And the sound of Ya Ling¡¯s agonized cry made it clear those monsters had found blood once more.

    Alex wanted to howl with fury as Ya Ling gazed stupidly at the spurting stump of her left wrist.

    The cats had struck so fast that he had no time to counter.

    Their death was now all but assured.

    ¡°Ya Ling, clamp left wrist under right arm. Minimize bloodflow to left arm. Follow Linnea.¡±

    As he did what he should have done seconds ago. But had been too terrified to do. Forced to cross a line from which there was no going back. Making a puppet of a girl he could have so easily fallen for. A girl whose fierce spirit, passion, drive, and vitality had touched his heart.

    Yet with her crystalline thoughts, thanks to Ruidian traits that could never be expunged from her genome, no matter how powerful a cultivator she became, she was little more than a puppet before his will, thanks to his mother¡¯s ancient gifts and a history he doubted he would ever know. Knowing only that the Ruidians who had fled to this world had done it to escape a race of monsters that absolutely terrified them.

    Monsters just like him.

    Able to control a Ruidian¡¯s thoughts the moment a link was established. Whether physical, psionic attack, or via interface.

    And the most horrifying truth of all was that not even that was enough to save them from the shadow cats that were even now lashing out with fearsomely fast claws a desperate Alex couldn¡¯t respond to fast enough, even when he embraced every remembered lesson, every killing arena he had ever dared before, his fangtiang ji rupturing the earth, the shaft of the weapon propelled to impossible speed and fury as Wind Crane kung fu added devastating momentum to his blows.

    Only once did he draw blood, as his skills evolved in darkest peril once more.

    You have successfully struck Greater Shadow Panther!

    Greater Shadow Panther has suffered Superficial Wound!

    You have achieved a breakthrough! You may now harness the force and fury of the winds to aid all your martial strikes!

    Wind Crane kung fu has successfully evolved!

    The words flashing through his mind meant little compared to the sudden rush of insights flooding him. Feeling the subtle shifts in air pressure, the silent vibrations his shadowy foes could no longer muffle from him. He could now instantly feel the subtle shifts in air pressure against his skin. Which means he knew exactly when his foes were about to spring, desperately twisting and furiously lashing out with his blade when the most powerful thrum of vibration made it clear that at least one Shadow Panther would brave the howling storm of ice and fire to launch for the throat of the only one successfully putting up a fight.

    Alex himself.

 Book 8 - Chapter 60

    Alex¡¯s roar was an explosion of air blasting from his lips as his fangtian ji, howling with blood and bitter fury, flashed through the empty air.

    Before the air was suddenly filled with the wild-eyed presence of a massive jungle cat stretching wide open maws that could have effortlessly torn off Alex¡¯s head.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fangtian ji, cleaving through the air exactly where it needed to be, to tear the cat¡¯s deadliest weapon completely free.

    You have successfully struck your foe with Wind Blade!

    Critical Hit causes catastrophic damage! You have successfully DECAPITATED your foe!

    Experience earned!

    Wind Blade has evolved!

    Experience successfully channeled to: Mortally wounded party member!

    Alex didn¡¯t need to think about it, he just flooded his connection to Reny with all the potency he had just claimed from a Silver-tier woodland killer.

    Reny¡¯s eyes went blank as she was floored by healing potency that was a wild and frothy mix of both his Prismatic Fox Restoration technique and her own varied healing arts. And how they had managed to synergize so perfectly he neither knew nor cared, grateful only that he sensed a tingling surge of excess potency that he then channeled to Ya Ling¡¯s spurting wrist. Even if it was only enough to seal the stump, at least she wouldn¡¯t die of blood loss.

    Not before their shadow foes finished them off, anyway.

    The forest erupted with furious roars from shadowy cats now swarming about their defenses more intently than ever. And how ironic it was that all their lives now hung on Linnea keeping the pace, knowing she should be utterly terrified of the monster she had dared to fall in love with, his gentle smile hiding the dreaded culmination of her entire culture¡¯s worst nightmares¡­ were she not simultaneously him, tasting the grief, regret, and terror he felt even now, desperate to see them all safely out. She could empathize to an absolute degree because, at that moment, she was as much him as he was her. And if they weren¡¯t willing to fight together as true battle-buddies, then the battle was already lost.

    ¡°At least one person understands me,¡± Alex thought with a shared smile, both a girl who had never quite fit in, and a boy who had lost far too much to ever open his heart fully again. Both united in the desperate fear they felt for their friend¡¯s peril, and a fierce determination to make the monsters so intently hounding them pay for every drop of blood they shed.

    It was only at that moment, surrounded by reds repositioning themselves to strike once more, that Alex remembered a choice snippet not from a treatise manual, but from an epic tale he had once savored in the comfort of his family library a lifetime ago.

    When flanked and surrounded by enemies on all sides, standing your ground was a death sentence. You had no choice but to charge forth and attack. For movement was life, forcing one¡¯s foe to reposition was hope, and breaking through enemy lines was salvation.

    Yet for Alex, at that moment, it was something more.

    It was a connection to the forest all around him, to the precious lives in dire peril, and to the predators who had absolutely no business being this far from the deeps of the rift, brought here by some unknown agency. A plague that had already devastated all the local wildlife and shredded countless trunks against their claws.

    So when Alex dared to embrace his newest gift in the crucible of combat once more, it was as if the very branches came to his aid. Not a single twig crackling under his footsteps as the entire map of the forest came to vivid life in his mind¡¯s eye.

    You have designated Spring Leap as: Bullrush! Note. This Bullrush variant costs minimal Qi expenditure and is only effective in areas with high concentrations of plant life.

    You have successfully spotted your prey.

    Bullrush!

    Bullrush!

    Wind Strike!

    You have critically struck your foe!

    Alex flashed a fierce grin as he became one with the endless rustling trees all about him, the scent of his blood and fury coated by a thousand blossoms and the rich green sap of countless branches he brushed across.

    He once more embraced the rush of blinking through the air faster even than Forest Flight, an arboreal echo of what had once perhaps been his greatest ability, traveling through the forest in fifty-foot hops that flashed so fast that it was all one continuous heartbeat of deadly focus, cold stillness, and furious retribution.

    An eyeblink and he was away from the desperate arena of fire, ice, and steady pricking blows bleeding them and draining their strength. Now there was nothing but rich soothing green all around him for a single precious mometn.

    An eyeblink later and he was on the thick supportive bough of a tree overlooking a red-eyed Shadow Cat glaring down at the whirling barriers of ice and fire, sniffing out the best way to break through and savor the sweet red taste of human flesh once more.

    Before frowning, realizing that something was wrong. But just a heartbeat too late. As even Rank 1 Silver Quickness gave the cat no time to turn when a wild-eyed human appeared right before him, feet resting on the wind itself as his fangtian ji tore through the air, crackling with the very howling winds holding so many bloody secrets that the cats had strove to suppress.

    Yet still, the furiously snarling beast moved faster than should be possible twisting to the side as much as possible. So what should have been a spine-cleaving blow instead tore open its flank, spraying the rich loamy soil below with pink frothy blood as the cat yowled and stumbled from the tree, only to crash to the ground, stunned for long moments before desperately trying to scurry away from the battle that had some close to being its doom¡­ and its fellow shadow cats that would gladly finish what the human had started.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Flickering thoughts that had somehow become Alex¡¯s own as he desperately Bullrushed yet again, this time appearing right over the swirling vortex of fire and ice, to strike a wild-eyed cat leaping for the prey right below, Alex¡¯s fangtian ji now whipping through the air at speeds far beyond Bronze Rank 1 Quickness as multiple skills synergized into one lethal blow, showering the pinned adventurers in a shower of freezing blood, boiling brains, and shattered skull.

    And Alex refused to waste even a second worrying about how he was keeping his footing in mid-air, knowing only that he had to LEAP right now! As two more shadow cats sprung for his friends, both losing a single paw as they howled and crashed into the whirling maelstrom of fire and ice, Alex¡¯s fresh commands to his friends below abruptly inspiring surges of potency that caused the inside of their dome to explode with fresh fire, ice, and gore as the crippled cats toppled through icy shrapnel and liquid flame only to be finished off by Dui Zhong¡¯s furious blows.

    Then Alex was racing through the forest once more, choking back a silent scream as he zeroed in on one slinking presence after another, so many feline eyes glowing in the dim light, eager to devour fresh prey.

    Before the crack and boom of lightning, or the flash of steel singing a song of howling winds and bitter storms sent one vibrant cat after another limping back with devastating wounds or crippling injuries.

    And he was savvy enough not to stick around to finish the job.

    For surprise alone had culminated in actually marking the flesh of his enemy, and it was Wind Strike enhanced by Wind Crane kung fu and Lightning that allowed him to penetrate Greater spirit beast hide and mark his would be executioners with the best deterrent there was.

    Blinding pain and crippling injuries. Then blinking away before the too fast cats could even bring their other limbs around for a deadly raking rebuttal that would have seen the end of his desperate gambit.

    By the time they turned to strike, he was already blinking through the woods to his next unsuspecting target, taking full advantage of his Greater Wind affinity to appear right on the branches occupied by his foes, flanking them perfectly, then lashing out with such desperate fury that not one managed to completely escape his wrath, or his fangtian ji.

    For all that more than one had scored him as well, Alex now bleeding from half a dozen lacerations that were no where near as deep as they could have been¡­ would have been, if he hadn¡¯t committed to hit and run tactics only, while embracing the element of surprise.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re good!¡± Alex declared, popping up in the midst of his companions once more, delighting in the smile his other half gave him, before his¡­ her? Eyes widened at the sight of him, covered in vicious half-healed claw marks and blood, minus two fingers from his left hand that he still didn¡¯t remember how the cat had managed to claim, only that it was too damned fast, even when mortally wounded, and Alex had been lucky as hell to jump away in time.

    He spat up bright frothy pink goop he refused to look at too closely, knowing that he needed to heal, but having had absolutely no opportunity to do so after the second kill.

    The other dozen strikes had all been hit and run. Because it wasn¡¯t about killing his enemies or collecting cores. At this point it was about survival, and nothing more.

    ¡°Alright, come on everyone! We press on for the gate!¡±

    Fortunately, they had been moving steadily, if a bit too slowly, and Alex¡¯s words, coached just as any friend¡¯s would be, coaxed them to move just as fast as they damn well could while still being coordinated.

    Linnea¡¯s haunted gaze met his own for just an instant¡­ but Alex knew her smile of relief and approval were genuine. Because her thoughts were still his own.

    ¡°What¡¯s the status?¡± Linnea asked for the benefit of the group.

    ¡°All the fuckers are limping or bleeding. Hopefully that will slow them down just enough for us to get the hell out of here!¡±

    Fortunately, it was. Even when Ya Ling slipped on dizzy feet, giving Alex a look equal parts terror and confusion. He didn¡¯t waste time with regret, only snatching her in his arms before she collapsed. He kept up a steady pace toward the exit, helping the group past vines, burs, steep depressions and thick undergrowth he could have effortlessly slipped through, letting nothing deter him. Yet he still urged his companions to move ever faster when he sensed a handful of the deadly half-step Silver-tier beasts gathering themselves together to head his way once more, filled with a furious hunger that demanded blood, no matter their wounds suffered.

    ¡°Alex...¡± He flinched away from Reny and Qing Wu¡¯s gazes, having deliberately eased the painfully tight grip he had had on all their minds.

    ¡°No time!¡± He said hoarsely, smarting from his own wounds, praying that they could all chalk it off to the madness of battle and the conformity of the herd in times of peril¡­ while knowing just how unlikely that was.

    He ignored the gazes now burning holes in his back as he desperately led them from the forest to the clearing, as the wounded but still mobile cats did all the could to head them off and set up ambushes for them. The power of his interface, enhanced Wind affinity carrying so many scents that Biochemical Mastery picked up like a scent hound, as well as having already marked them with his steel and Linnea¡¯s sudden ability to sense heat so brilliantly that they now effectively had infravision were the only things allowing him to spot his Silver tier stalkers at all.

    And then between one endless panic-filled moment and the next, a final row of trees was past, and there was the clearing, lush grass waving invitingly in a soft breeze that revealed so many secrets, the portal just a short distance away.

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes filled with tears as she sobbed with relief. ¡°There¡¯s the exit. We¡¯re free!¡± She tumbled out of Alex¡¯s arms, racing forward with surprising speed despite blood loss and a missing hand, the Wind itself seeming to carry her forward.

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡±

    Alex¡¯s desperation did nothing to slow her desperate sprint, having gently eased the tendrils of his influence so far from everyone¡¯s mind so carefully that he prayed they¡¯d hardly note the difference. So thoroughly that there was barely any party link between them at all, and his panicked surge of warning meant nothing without the words behind it, and with death stalking them so skillfully, there was no time to say a word.

    Only a jolt of panic shared between Alex and Linnea as her left hand raised and shot out a white hot meteor of furious plasma and despair, knowing she would be just a heartbeat too late, even as inky darkness revealed the wide-open maw of a furious Shadow Panther about to disembowel Ya Ling with a single vicious swipe of his paw.

    Time stretched as Alex¡¯s soul screamed.

    He howled with bitter fury as the tale of his life once more seemed eager to mock him. Yet he refused to let horror freeze him where he stood.

    Instead he MOVED.

    Space itself seeming to twist as he communed with the grass beneath his feet. An extension of all grass on these killing fields beside the entrance, hiding so many gory secrets. So many connections between predator and prey as two points became one and with a single step Alex STRUCK his prey for all he was worth.

    Embracing the one attack he could unleash in the blink of an eye, the one technique not wildly altered by his new affinity, Wind Blade shrieking through the air as his fangtian ji blasted forth, cleaving through the Shadow Puma¡¯s throat as Alex shielded Ya Ling¡¯s body with his own, giving her just enough time to leap through.

    Yet Alex, in his desperation to reach his friend in time, had failed to account for the Shadow Puma¡¯s monstrous speed and power.

    A single swipe sent him spinning through the ground, dismayed by the sight of his own crimson blood spurting forth from his mangled shoulder.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    An eyeblink later, he was slammed to the ground, desperately trying to summon a shield that took too long, far too long with howling Wind enhancing everything to such an extreme degree.

    And before he could blink, before he could even draw the dao sheathed at his hip, the furious cat was before him, mouth open wide to crack open his skull with a single monstrous bite.

 Book 8 - Chapter 61

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    Alex struggled desperately against the final moments destined to him, all too able to imagine the agony of slowly asphyxiating as stomach acid slowly crushed his desperate restoration technique, assuming he¡¯d be in any position to use it at all to stave off death for however many seconds he managed, before waking up in bitter cold waters, Shui Jun¡¯s bitter laughter making his doom complete. Reminding him that, in the end, no matter how far he fled, he would always return to her once more, frozen and strangled in her coils.

    As he no doubt had countless times before.

    Yet instead of panicking as the stench of musk, saliva, and rancid meat washed over him, as massive fang¡¯s clamped onto his skull and monstrous pressures that would have crushed steel were applied, he spat his furious rebuttal into the maws of his would-be executioner.

    And Silver tier Quickness once again showed its devastating edge on the battlefield as Alex found himself spinning madly through the air, wrenched and flung with such a vicious snap by the canines that had been clamped upon his skull.

    For all that his face had been near torn off, at least his skull hadn¡¯t ruptured under the pressure, nor had his neck hadn¡¯t been snapped by the furious wrench that had intended just that.

    Yet he was still dazed and disoriented as the air rang with awful tormented howls, and it was all he could do not to sink into blackness as he hurtled through the air.

    ¡°Alex! Snap out of it!¡±

    Linnea¡¯s scream was undeniable. Unavoidable as she forced his battered mind to snap back to crystalline clarity, the horrific pain of his disfigurement becoming the sharp fires of absolute clarity as he somehow became an extension of her.

    He sensed what Linnea was capable of just as her furious barrage of Crimson Corkscrews ripped through the air to slam into the writhing flank of twisting shadows that was the largest Puma of them all. A puma that had been waiting for them so cleverly, there to ambush what its monstrous pack had so skillfully herded, after being marked and blooded by the humans that had dared to enter their territory.

    Yet the humbling realization that Linnea was herself somewhat empathic and was channeling the flood of experience she had earned that day into boosting her infravision more than anything else didn¡¯t retract from a suddenly clear-headed Alex¡¯s need to do SOMETHING as his hurtling body was about to slam into a massive unforgiving trunk.

    In a flash he recalled the many times his greatest battlefield advantage had saved him from certain peril, praying that his latest gift too was as forgiving of momentum as it was direction, distance, and orientation.

    He needed to be one with his environment, one with the lush green canopy above, and the emerald fields below.

    And his timing needed to be beyond perfect as his mind raced at speeds he realized he had never quite forgotten even if his physical body couldn¡¯t keep up.

    Yet a surge of will, a single plea, and winds now beating against Alex just enough to slow his momentum a crucial amount was all that was needed for a long branch to shift just enough to scrape his face, and for him to have just enough time to touch it, as his shadow rammed into the rock-hard trunk.

    For he was already one with the forest and field all about.

    One with the grass crushed underneath the feet of panicked cultivators and a furiously focused Ruidian as they desperately fought to escape the closing trap, one with the bloody patch of gouged soil as a massive alpha silently roared from a seared open throat, fighting off spasms as impossibly potent Silver Tier venom enraged the monstrous cat who knew that it had less than a minute before caustic toxins sent it crashing into the blackness of death.

    More than enough time for the furious shadow beast to rip open the throats of the rebellious fiery-haired girl who dared to think searing its flanks and blinding it would stop its final lunge.

    Only to find the infuriating blond haired cultivator before it once more, once more spitting caustic death into its maw.

    And before the cat could tear out the throat of the infuriating human it had crashed on top of, it wheezed and died, heart cleaved in twain as Alex pumped every last shred of potency he had into blasting through the spirit beast¡¯s chest with the concentrated power of a single element.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    You have critically struck Elite Shadow Puma with Silver-tier spirit beast venom!

    Elite Shadow Puma has been mortally wounded!

    Elite Shadow Puma has caused critical injury to left arm! (Bones intact.)

    Elite Shadow Puma has successfully clamped upon your skull!

    Elite Shadow Puma is unable to crack your skull! Puma has whipped you away!

    Your face has been shredded! You neck remains intact!

    Quickness check made! You have Bullrushed in time to avoid critical injury from: Tree trunk!

    You are unable to generate Prismatic Shield at this time.

    Yet as troubling as the last message had been, the final one gave him hope.

    You have successfully slain Alpha Shadow Puma!

    Experience Earned!

    He could sense Linnea¡¯s furious satisfaction as she leveled up with that final deadly encounter, splitting her points between Quickness, Vitality, and Perception, as well as locking in her new Infravision ability, such that over a dozen shadowy Pumas that had come close to slipping out of Alex¡¯s perception with the death of their leader snapped back into brilliant focus once more. Their Mind-meld was now even stronger than it had been just seconds before.

    Only then did he pay attention to the fresh flood of boons flooding his psyche as well, even as he desperately channeled Prismatic Fox Restoration into himself, crying out with a sudden sharp throb of pain as torn flesh knit and repaired itself with a fiery agony even worse than Eternal Fox had once been, the stench of filth ground into his injuries burning away in the humid jungle air.

    Spring Leap is now Rank 6!

    Enhanced Wind Piercer Strike is now Rank 2!

    Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection is now Rank 5! Specialization has been chosen!

    Alex blinked at this, even as he recalled in his mind¡¯s eye the desperate surge of something that had shifted the oversized cat¡¯s claws to digging into his shoulders instead of ripping out his throat. Slowed down and redirected for that tiny split second that made all the difference at their speeds.

    It had happened so fast it had almost felt instinctive.

    Now he sensed that the subtly swirling winds of spiritual energy that were more able to interact with and deflect physical attacks than ever before. Even if all Wind Qi Deflection did was mitigate a blow or skew it just a bit from a critical hit¡­ he realized what a precious boon his skill now was. Even if his ability only countered elemental attacks with a somewhat physical component, and he might never deflect Lightning or a Spirit Qi attack, with luck, he would never have to worry about arrows again. And his ability to now force even melee strikes just slightly off true would no doubt make all the difference in fights to come.

    Enhanced Wind Blade is now Rank 7!

    In defense of those you cherish, you have pushed your body and mind to new heights and have enjoyed a breakthrough as your body races to catch up to the speeds of tactical insight and thought that had once been your own¡­ a lifetime ago.

    Quickness has ascended to Bronze Rank 2!

    Warning! You have dared to incorporate Legendary Lychee Wind Fruit into your cultivation foundation! Your Divine Spirit Cable spins ever faster as you continue to compress peril, insight, and life experiences into a greater understanding of the dao and your own future ascension!

    Note, however, that all hybrid arts combining Wind Qi and any other element must be retrained before you can use them without penalty! (Assuming you can figure out how to use them at all!)

    Alex wanted to groan at the last message, but instead settled for sobbing out a curse as he choked back a scream in the time it took for his shoulder to finally heal. He knew he had needed to surrender a good bit of potency to make that happen, but it wasn¡¯t like he had any choice.

    Not if he was going to avenge his party the agony they had suffered, and do what little he could to maybe give the next party that dared what should have been a safe rift a fighting chance.

    One way or another, he had to see this through.

    ¡°Alex!¡± He spared a heartbeat to gaze Dui Zhong¡¯s way. The man was gazing at him with wide-eyed disbelief.

    ¡°That damned cat had your skull clamped between its jaws. And the way it whipped and flung you?¡± He shook his head. ¡°You should be dead, boy. Thrice over! And yet somehow you stand strong and tall¡­ or maybe like you¡¯re about to spit blood and keel over. Your face looks like absolute shit! But at least your eyes are intact, and still you stand!¡±

    Alex forced a bloody smile that was agony but didn¡¯t say a word, even as Linnea, still protecting them with a massive fire ward, led them all to the rift.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Come on, Alex, it¡¯s time to go,¡± Reny gently said, clearly eager to catch up with Ya Ling.

    He frowned, realizing that he had lost his fangtian ji.

    Before smiling with relief as he jogged away from the group, as both forest and the scent of spirit-beast enhanced oak, steel, and blood, revealed it¡¯s location.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex turned to smile back at Reny. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you all go ahead.¡±

    Elder Wu¡¯s brow furrowed. The powerful Silver looked on the verge of saying so many things as the breeze furrowed his bloodstained robe and whipped his salt and pepper hair. Hard steely eyes met his own.

    Alex¡¯s heart quailed, but he forced himself to meet the man¡¯s gaze, even as he sensed death closing in once more.

    Much to his relief, Qing Wu settled on a tired shake of his head. ¡°We nearly died here, boy. And would have, if it weren¡¯t for your Ruidian gifts and party formation techniques. It¡¯s best we leave now. As a group. While we still can.¡±

    In answer, Alex jogged back to the massive Shadow Puma, his fangtian ji held high, glaring down at the beast that had come so close to killing Ya Ling and himself as well.

    A shadow beast that could have so easily ended them all.

    The wind howled as his fangtian ji flashed, faster than it had at any point since he had awoken to this world. Alex paid no heed to the splash of blood, the spray of viscera and gore, that the wind now kept from his frame as he finished hacking the massive head free.

    Before solemnly tossing it a bemused Dui Zhong¡¯s way.

    ¡°This things a monster!¡± The man said with a chuckle.

    Alex nodded. ¡°And I have no real skill at claiming beast cores.¡± He flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Except for how to use them to forge indestructible weapons that never need sharpening. But considering how priceless the right beast cores are to this city¡­ I¡¯d be a fool to follow that path now.¡±

    The former caravan master gave Alex a long look before drawing a wickedly sharp filleting knife and expertly coring the cat¡¯s brain, as he reached his hands right into the skull, earning a handful of too intent gazes before revealing a pristine pearl over an inch in diameter.

    A prize that would have been worth an absolute fortune, if it had been of the right element. As it was¡­

    The caravan master cursed in disgust. ¡°Worthless!¡±

    Reny¡¯s desperate features turned hard and regretful. ¡°Come. We¡¯ve wasted enough time. We¡¯re fools letting Ya Ling out of our sight for even a minute, especially after the injuries she suffered, stricken with fear¡­ in a school which I fear might still be filled with shadow predators of another sort.¡±

    Elder Wu¡¯s brow furrowed. He said nothing further, merely squeezing his wife¡¯s hand and heading to the rift. ¡°Bring the tiger corpse and come. The meat and hide will at least be worth good silver.¡±

    Alex flashed a sad smile as the pair left, before jogging back to Dui Zhong and claiming the core a heartbeat before the man could throw it in frustration.

    He ignored the concerned look this earned him.

    ¡°Alex, waste Qi stones are worthless unless you know exactly what you¡¯re doing, and can corrode...¡± The man stopped, chuckling before Alex¡¯s hard smile. ¡°But of course waste Qi doesn¡¯t really affect you, does it?¡±

    ¡°I do have an edge,¡± Alex admitted, clapping the man on the shoulder. ¡°And this isn¡¯t a waste Qi beast core.¡± He gazed thoughtfully down at the grey-black orb that seemed to skitter away from the eyes, holding so many secrets. ¡°It¡¯s Shadow. And you really should jump back through the gate, my friend. Because about a dozen cats are circling around to make this clearing the perfect kill zone, and to hell with their injuries.¡±

    Dui Zhong nodded grimly. ¡°I believe it. And I know we¡¯re only alive thanks to you.¡±

    ¡°And me!¡± Linnea happily chirped, earning a gentle nod from the powerfully built Bronze.

    ¡°Let it never be said that I didn¡¯t appreciate a Ruidian friend at my back,¡± Dui Zhong said. ¡°Now let¡¯s get out of here while we still can.¡±

    Alex dipped his head, gesturing toward the exit.

    The long time caravanner furrowed his brow, guandao at the ready just in case, and exited the rift.

    Alex took a deep, shuddering breath, shaking his head as he turned around to meet Linnea¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Her smile oddly mirrored his own, Alex feeling only a moment¡¯s disorientation at seeing his own rueful gaze.

    ¡°You know I am. If we don¡¯t take out these cats here and now, there¡¯s no way in hell anyone will ever safely delve this rift again. Not for a very long time. Not until they have a party of nothing but powerful, dedicated Silvers and at least one pair of eyes that can pierce Shadow as well as our abilities now allow us to,¡± Linnea said.

    ¡°And by that point, these rifts, or maybe the school as a whole, or hell, the whole city, could be firmly under Duo Yi control,¡± Alex said.

    ¡°And for all we know, we¡¯d be kill-on-sight to those assholes,¡± Linnea said. ¡°Now quit acting like a furtive puppy. We got a dozen hot bastards eager to finish us off. So how about you make it so we think and act as one again and ooh¡­ bonus points for me, because your totally illegal skill Potency Mastery lets me burn my fire ward so bright and hot, and it doesn¡¯t cost me a thing! Not for another 2 and a half minutes, anyway.¡±

    ¡°Linnea.¡±

    Her smile grew strained. Alex winced at the pain he saw flashing across her gaze. ¡°Let¡¯s just do what needs doing, okay? Because if we don¡¯t handle this here and now...¡±

    She didn¡¯t need to say anything else.

    Between one heartbeat and the next, the two of them were one once more.

    As much as it might horrify him at any other time, Alex had never felt so complete as he did at that moment. Both consummate warrior and mistress of flame, reveling in his abilities and knowing that half of him would be screaming her head off when all of this was over. But none of that mattered, because five cats were daring the clearing even now, sliding through the knee-high grasses like cruise missiles while the rest settled in ambush points along all the woodland trails leading out of their trap.

    And the whole batch was about to close on the tasty-looking Ruidian girl so exhausted that she couldn¡¯t even summon her...

    Bullrush!

    Bullrush!

    Wind Strike!

    Even as Alex blinked through the grass and struck, his enemies were twisting around through headache-inducing shadow, lashing out in return with devastating claws elongated by ebony blades of darkness. Grasses effortlessly shredded as the loam and rocks underneath were sliced clean through, one of the cats revealing abilities that not even the largest among them had, making it clear who had truly broken through Silver, and how close Alex had just come to joining Shui Jun once more.

    The air rang with furious hisses. Because the cats clearly weren¡¯t stupid. The united five were now on ground they could pivot upon near instantly, as opposed to steep branches or narrow winding woodland trails, graced with a Quickness far beyond Alex¡¯s own, and painful bleeding reminders of Alex¡¯s first round of crippling hit and run strikes.

    Yet save for a single splash of ruby blood, the deadly Shadow wielding cat¡¯s claws revealed no wild-eyed Ruidian choking on his own blood. Only the rustling of the grasses as their nemesis retreated as fast as he had struck, two of the great beasts yowling in surprise, for Alex¡¯s wind blade could strike a considerable distance beyond even the razor-sharp head of his weapon. Nine feet of death that had marked a pair of them twice, all of them, including Alex, now leaking blood.

    Yet even the cleverest Ruidian left tells the wise hunter could track, so it was indeed a surprised-looking Alex, humbled as only a man facing his own execution would be, looking into death¡¯s hungry gaze as the deadly Shadow-clawed cat spun around to greet Alex¡¯s blinking form with a smile promising oblivion.

    Before the world erupted in white-hot flame.

    Your opponent takes the bait!

    Your other half has successfully struck Elite Shadow Puma with Enhanced Crimson Corkscrew!

    You have successfully struck three cats with Silver Tier Caustic Brew!

    Vitality check made. You risk mineral depletion.

    Alex felt a fierce sense of exhilaration as his opponent twisted and snarled before being washed in fiery oblivion, Alex not hesitating to spit out yet more caustic deadly brew that had come so close to killing his friends just weeks ago, now an added torment as the three closest cats exploded with spiraling streaks of flesh-piercing plasma.

    Still, Alex didn¡¯t stick around to admire his handiwork like a fool, instead blinking away before the far faster cats could collect themselves and make him pay in the blink of an eye.

    Instead he seemed to vanish in the wavering grass once more as the frantic blazing cats yowled and lashed out at the grass and each other¡­ before sharing an oddly sapient look and darting for the trees as one.

    But Alex sure as fuck wasn¡¯t going to let them get off that easy.

    Not when any mercy he showed would be paid for in the blood and tears of any cultivator less skilled than he, who actually believed that any of the rifts would ever be safe for anyone, ever again.

    Not when so many shadowy players benefited from the nightmare that these delves had become.

    Quickness check made! Wind Qi Deflection mitigates disemboweling strike!

    You have suffered 1 medium wound.

    Your opponent has been blinded by fire!

    You have critically hit your foe!

    With focused desperation, Alex did his utmost to become one with the battlefield before him.

    To feel the flow of spiritual energy both through himself, through the windswept forest and fields, and through the massive shadow beasts even now roaring for his blood.

    So that when they lashed out with claw or disemboweling back foot, he was already leaping away.

    Yet their speed, even injured, was a nightmarish thing.

    A devastating edge that necessitated Alex moving at superhuman speeds just to land a single telling blow¡­ or to perfectly coordinate each assault from unexpected angles with explosions of flame.

    He paid a price in blood and pain and the terror of imminent death, just a single mistake away.

    But he was rewarded for every second he survived with claws growing ever more disoriented and panicked, fierce gazes growing ever wider with fear the equal of his own, and fur growing brilliant red as it was increasingly kissed by flame.

    The air became thick with crimson mist and copper¡¯s cloying scent as great gouts of blood spurted form first one, then a second cat that finally fell to his fangtian ji.

    Only then did the remaining three break and flee in unison¡­

    Because now, it was only a matter of time.

    Time to blink in the endless green as giant felines tried fruitlessly to hide in shadows that were inevitably broken by steel¡¯s bitter sharp embrace. Time to show that there was no mistake, even among cats who traded stealth for speed, darting across the fields and the most direct woodland paths that they could find. Speed which brought them a few seconds but no more, for Alex was now one with this forest, and any dappling shaft of light could be replaced by wicked-sharp steel and hamstring cleaving cuts in the blink of an eye.

    Then it was a desperately struggling spirit beast suddenly fallen lame, multiple injuries now making it all too clear who was the predator and who was the prey.

    A single moment¡¯s startled agony quickly became blissful peace¡­ as oblivion claimed the shadow beasts once more.

 Book 8 - Chapter 62

    Alex spent long moments catching his breath while hunched over the bulky remains of his kills, the air heavy with the scents of wet cat, ruptured bowels, and the coppery tang of blood.

    He could feel Linnea¡¯s concern for him, even as he grinned in approval as she channeled her potency not into leveling yet again, but rather mastering her skills, most particularly her infravision as the surviving cats popped all the brighter in his interface.

    And just in time too, as soothing shadows promising the peace of oblivion coalesced into the hot angry lines of a cat even now springing for the back of the foolish human who had dared to slump over his kills.

    Before disappearing in a sudden flash.

    And the cat, no fool, already knew what it meant, immediately springing away the minute its paws touched the blood-soaked ground.

    But it was already too late.

    It had time only to snarl and swing around, pinning a wild-eyed Alex with its furious glare before its skull parted from its neck in an explosion of lightning and gore.

    And no one was more surprised than Alex when he instinctively brought forth a synergized art after daring little more than Wind until now.

    But this time Alex knew not to stick around.

    Already leaping free as fresh shadowy forms leaped into the clearing from whereabouts no rustling leaf or creaking branch would attest to.

    As if these shadowy monsters were beyond even the forest¡¯s ability to spot or predict.

    A horrifying thought as Alex leaped through the trees, only now replaying the messages surging inside his interface.

    Battle-Buddy has enhanced Infravision to Rank 4(modified 11). You have successfully spotted Elite Shadow Panther!

    You understand the secret boon to Wind¡­ it only enhances the Storm!

    Enhanced Wind Strike has evolved to Enhanced Storm Strike!

    Note. Your Lightning has transcended Silver¡¯s province.

    Warning: There is a cost for embracing a typhoon¡¯s madness: Triple standard Spiritual energy cost must be now be paid!

    Potency mastery boon in effect: You¡¯re presently enjoying 4 Qi regeneration per second for the next 4 minutes!

    With the monkeys and birds vanished to feline depredations, the only sound to be heard was the crashing of underbrush, the crack and boom of thunder and lightning, and the startled yodeling screams of massive spirit beasts bracing against a storm beyond their ken before they were forced to leave this realm for all time.

    ¡°Alex! Where are you going?¡±

    Plaintive words flashing across his mind¡¯s eye, the distant echo of a voice he had been so tightly entwined around his psyche what might have been moments or hours before.

    He came to himself shuddering under torrential downpour that he didn¡¯t think should be possible in a rift, yet somehow was¡­ still holding on to the desperate, wild Sage¡¯s Insight that allowed him to channel howling winds that would have been utterly beyond him just a day before, let alone blending it with Water and Lightning into a fearsome storm of potential now whipping so violently around his fangtian ji head.

    He was panting for air, caught between exhaustion and a roaring surge of energy that just wouldn¡¯t quit, his mind in an odd state between crystalline clarity and absolute mental exhaustion, remembering so exquisitely the feel of massive silvery claws cleaving through the air and his locks of hair, missing his naked flesh by just inches as he arched his head back just enough to avoid being shredded while whipping his own fangtian ji around to blast through the over-extended cat¡¯s paw in an explosion of blood and gore.

    And Silver tier quickness meant nothing, it seemed, as Alex finally saw the secrets Shadow had so well hid before.

    The surge of gloom that presaged the moment that thought became action, such when his foe was about to twist and pounce, Alex was already weaving past his foe¡¯s desperate attacks before they were even launched, finally embracing so many lessons learned haphazardly in his life most recently past, only now coming together into one exquisite unified whole. Such that when lighting flashed again, it was the impossibly fast and deadly shadow cat that was splayed in a steaming pile of cooked flesh upon the forest floor, and Alex that stood over it with a triumphant roar, his half-moon axe heads flashing through the air one last time to cleave his foe¡¯s skull and seize the most precious prize of all.

    Soul Sight skill check made! You can now effortlessly sense the flow of spiritual energy through feline spirit beast opponents. Not even Shadow Qi can hide from your gaze! Shadow Puma Quickness tier has now reduced by four effective ranks!

    Then Alex was wrapped in the rustle of trees before the branches parted, and he was nowhere to be seen for any cats that were even now stalking him¡­ before Alex once more did his utmost to make sure that the predator became the prey.

    ¡°Alex, there are too many of them! We can¡¯t keep this up¡­ I can¡¯t keep this up¡­ you¡¯re going too far!¡±

    And as much as that furious killing side of him hated to admit it¡­ Linnea was right.

    She who hadn¡¯t flinched or run away when she understood the true horrific significance of what he was and what that meant. Who had instead been willing to join him so utterly, so completely, that her will had been subsumed, and two had become one.

    Trusting that he would let her go when the peril had past¡­ brave enough to alert him even now, now that she was free, instead of fleeing for the rift just behind her.

    No.

    Instead she chose to warn him when his madness was taking him over a cliff edge from which there was no going back.

    Not when a single mistake could mean his grisly death.

    After dozens of furious assaults had won them so many priceless boons, all he needed was one moment of disoriented fugue to spell his doom, when a sage¡¯s desperate insights at last became a fool¡¯s fatal folly.

    The only question was, could Alex able to accept that there was just no winning against this tide of Shadow beasts so ruthlessly and completely claiming this rift? He was exhausted, his epiphanies and sage¡¯s revelations soon to become a fool¡¯s folly. So was he wise enough to get out in time?

    Alex would let that answer ring in the rustle of the leaves and the waves of grass blowing in the breeze.

    Because somehow he just knew that the moment he revealed himself before his partner would be the moment that shadows unseen struck.

    So Alex revealed nothing at all as he blinked through the grass to plunge through the shimmering gate, a single silent command assuring that Linnea was right behind him, a final fiery whirlwind for any furiously howling legendary Shadow beast the only parting gift they would leave behind.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    You have successfully slain fifteen Elite Spirit beasts!

    You have discovered Wind Walking! A successful skill check will allow you to stand upon an updraft you control, or race along currents of air!

    Enhanced Wind Piercer Strike is now Rank 3!

    Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection is now Rank 6!

    Enhanced Wind Blade is now Rank 8!

    You have successfully Enhanced Storm Strike!

    Note! A skill check is now needed to embrace the storm unless embracing a Sage¡¯s insight.

    You have infused legendary spirit fruit into you cultivation base. You now enjoy Wind Qi Affinity! Note. You must re-calibrate all complex techniques involving the element of Wind.

    You have successfully returned! Qi Perception check made: You sense oddities in the wind.

    ¡°Alex? Alex, are you alright?¡±

    Alex squinted against the bright light of the sun as he took a steadying breath, fighting off dizziness and exhaustion and the desire to slump to his knees and sob with relief that they had successfully escaped the combined hate of well over a dozen murderous Silver-tier spirit beasts.

    Alex felt tears prickle the corner of his eyes as he gazed upon the bucolic view of the lush valley below, so much of it cooled and sheltered by the caldera slopes, mist-shrouded trees, and the cooling waters from the rifts. An oasis of life in the hot, near lifeless desert that Alex increasingly feared might be crawling with the undead.

    A sanctuary to preserve at all costs.

    Now more imperiled than ever from within and without.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    He forced a smile, turning to Linnea, feeling a lurch in his chest when his exhausted gaze beheld her lush full lips, cheerful smile, brilliant twinkling green eyes half hidden by loose auburn curls and the hot blush now covering her cheeks.

    She bit her lip, flashing him such a teasing, hungry smile as he blushed in turn, realizing that they were still connected on so many levels. That she sensed just how hungry he was for her, as the furious rush and exhilaration of battle became exhausted relief and dismay at how close they had both come to death. Both of them now filled with sweetest gratitude for the sweet sacred bounty of life, and Alex was filled with the fierce desire to lose himself in the passionate embrace of someone he cared for. Had fought side by side with.

    A true battle-buddy, as she had put it.

    A girl whose mind he had completely dominated¡­ and there it was¡­ her features paling as she flinched and pulled away.

    As did Alex, his cheeks burning with shame.

    He swallowed the lump in his throat. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll go check on the Wu family and make sure they¡¯re alright. Then¡­ I¡¯ll go.¡±

    He was startled by how tightly Linnea gripped his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± she said huskily.

    Alex froze. His heart was pounding. ¡°Don¡¯t what?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me.¡±

    For long, silent moments they stood there, Alex gazing into the bucolic valley below, his thoughts roiling, exhaustion, dismay, triumph and melancholy a bittersweet collage in his soul. But this¡­ this shred of hope¡­ uncertainty? He hadn¡¯t expected.

    ¡°Linnea...¡±

    ¡°Yes, I know.¡±

    ¡°You know what I did.¡±

    ¡°You saved my life. You saved all our lives.¡±

    He swallowed, flashing a bitter smile. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m just glad that you¡¯re not looking at me in horror, desperate to escape my presence, or so panicked you¡¯re trying to strike me dead.¡±

    ¡°Like what happened¡­ in your previous life.¡±

    Alex froze at those words.

    Linnea grabbed his limb, gently wrapping his arm around her.

    ¡°You know.¡±

    She nodded her head. ¡°Remember Alex, you didn¡¯t mind-rape me. Not really. We fused. Because we trusted one another. Like battle-buddies should. Like a husband and wife. Two halves of a whole. Because our ancestors knew. Before things turned so bad between our clans when your Darklords took over absolutely everything, it was how we controlled our mecha on the killing fields of a dozen worlds. Or at least it was, according to the records that our elders left behind. Entire squads fighting as one.¡±

    Alex blinked at this, stunned by those words. ¡°Paradigm shift, much?¡±

    She smirked. ¡°Like the battlemech cartoons and movies you used to watch. Just like this world is a¡­ what, afternoon kung-fu theater fantasy for you?¡±

    Alex¡¯s cheeks flushed. ¡°Believe me, it¡¯s a hell of a lot more real than that.¡±

    ¡°But this isn¡¯t the world you were born in. This isn¡¯t the realm you grew up in.¡±

    Alex froze, slowly shaking his head. ¡°No. It isn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°And I know that because we fused as one. We fought as one. And while your mind was on the cats, desperately trying to make full use of your Soul Sight to read the flow of Shadow Qi, far trickier in a Shadow Puma than most other spirit beasts¡­ I was pouring all our earned potency into boosting my infravision¡­ and yes, maybe I was, half in panic, half in wonder, opening the back doors to your mind and trying to get a read on the man who had captured me so utterly.¡± She squeezed his hand before he could protest. ¡°And that includes my heart.¡± Sultry green eyes met his own, her dusky cheeks flushing, for all that her words were husky and bold. ¡°Remember, Alex, according to the laws of my tribe¡­ you¡¯ve already claimed me. So we¡¯re two halves of a single whole.¡±

    And before Alex could even think of a response to that, her lips had locked with his own.

    His heart was suddenly pounding with fierce vigor and a desperate hunger, adoration and despair searing fresh channels through his soul.

    An endless moment as sweet as honeyed wine, for all that Alex wanted to weep with shame. Feeling only the slightest twinge, which suddenly opened up the terrifying possibility that maybe they could do so much more.

    More than he had dared in the entire life he had lived before.

    And that he was so desperate to do just that¡­

    He closed his eyes and shook his head, but he didn¡¯t let go of her hands. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Linnea.¡±

    To his profound relief, she was neither hurt, nor angry. She merely squeezed him close. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I know. You loved those two so dearly. Just months ago. Even if you¡¯re now certain it was actually a thousand years ago. And now you have no idea what to do.¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks flush. He chuckled ruefully. ¡°And I have no sense of your secrets at all.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eys twinkled brilliantly. ¡°I know. Out of affection and respect, and I¡¯m going to pretend a husband¡¯s love¡­ the minute the peril had passed, you pulled free of my mind completely. Refusing to take any secrets or liberties not offered.¡±

    Her eyes locked intently onto his, as she gently led his trembling hands to her hips. ¡°But what you fail to understand, Alex, is that I want you.¡±

    Alex blinked as those words roared through his skull. She wasn¡¯t horrified by him. She wasn¡¯t fleeing the sight of him. Even when he had invaded her mind so deeply that they had thought and fought as one¡­ she wasn¡¯t pushing him away.

    ¡°You¡¯re damn right I¡¯m not pushing you away, Alex. Why would I? I know the taste of your soul.¡± She flashed a brilliant smile. ¡°It¡¯s lovely and sweet. And sometime very soon¡­ when I¡¯m ready¡­ I want to share my mind with you once more.¡± Her breath hitched, her ruby jewel flashing with undeniable heat. ¡°But now there¡¯s something else I want to share with you, Alex Hammer, just as badly as you want to share it with me.¡±

    For long moments Alex felt himself helplessly falling into that fiery red jewel of her heart, captivating eyes promising love, acceptance, and a sweetness he had been desperate for like a man trudging through the desert, desperate for a single sip of ice-cold water. And here she was, promising paradise in his arms.

    ¡°Excuse me¡­ honored Ruidian guests, but you¡¯re sort of¡­ blocking the way.¡±

    Alex and Linnea froze, their flushing cheeks and the loosening of Linnea¡¯s armor and blouse making it damn clear that they were more than casual acquaintances, and were about to act on that in ways Alex still couldn¡¯t believe was on the verge of happening, yet somehow actually was¡­ only to find himself facing a quartet of powerful Silvers and one flawless featured young woman wearing enchanted form-fitting armor with a spear radiating the essence of Metal and absolutely devastating sharpness.

    If anything, Alex¡¯s flush deepened. Because of course the first person to witness his fumbling attempts at¡­ whatever this was about to be, was true-blood nobility of one sort or another. Yet instead of contempt, there was only strained courtesy, for all that the closest Silver, a powerfully built Silver Giant, snorted and shook his head. ¡°The entrance to a rift isn¡¯t the place for Ruidian courting,¡± he offered with a craggy smile. ¡°Doesn¡¯t Silver Sands grant your kind entire dormitories for that sort of thing?¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 63

    For all that the man tried for a friendly smile, Alex got the definite vibe that if the Silver Giant had encountered a pair of low class servants in the way of his obvious noble ward, he wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to throw them both right into the basin.

    Alex cleared his throat. ¡°Forgiveness...¡± He took a deep breath, the following words coming out in a rush. ¡°But we just survived the very delve your thinking of taking on only by the skin of our teeth. It¡¯s relief just to be alive, not¡­ impropriety that guides us.¡±

    This earned a snort from the giant, a cold glare from the pair of cultivators that were obviously wujen, and a curious look from the young mistress among them.

    The giant was about to speak, far more forcefully than before, Alex sensed, yet a casual wave of lacquered fingernails instantly stilled him.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± The girl offered an exquisite smile, inviting confidence, and Alex pretended Linnea hadn¡¯t just stomped his foot.

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it is.¡±

    The noblewoman frowned thoughtfully. ¡°And here were were informed by our hosts that this was indeed the safest delve of the entire caldera.¡±

    ¡°Oh it is, my lady, I assure you!¡± Said the fourth member of her entourage, now glaring daggers at Alex and Linnea. ¡°Regrettably I don¡¯t know what¡¯s gotten into our Ruidian guest¡¯s heads¡­ certainly they know better than to dare a delve without proper support, including strong body cultivators and at least one wujen to round out the party. No doubt foolish young flights of fancy and youth¡¯s passion got the best of them and only now do they realize the folly of seeking to escape notice in a rift, of all places.¡±

    The man¡¯s smirk was condescending, if not actually cruel, yet the Silver giant and the female wujen were all but sneering in satisfaction at that answer.

    Even the young mistress was wearing the half-smile of someone who had already solved a puzzle only to find an intriguing mystery had the most tawdry and base origins, as head been suspected all along.

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hold back a sigh, not caring about the handful of glares this earned him, thoughtthankfully not from the girl who clearly led this ill-thought expedition, whose life he was now dead-set on saving.

    ¡°If this one were to reveal a secret¡­ may I trust that it will be kept in confidence?¡±

    He chose his words carefully. Respectfully. Not daring to tie a noble to any sort of Cultivator¡¯s Oath, that being something that clearly was just not done here. Still, he was relieved to see her nod unreservedly, no matter the glares this earned him from the others.

    ¡°That this silly fool of a boy would even dare to presume¡­!¡±

    The girl didn¡¯t bother waving her hand, her furrowed brow was enough to instantly muffle her attentive guardians, clearly exquisitely attuned to her every mood and gesture.

    Alex had to admit it, he was more than a little bit impressed.

    Yet her displeased frown immediately softened into a professional dip of her head for Alex¡¯s benefit. ¡°You have my word that your secret will be kept in confidence, so long as such does not threaten the welfare of the school, valley, or our party, of course. So please, share what tidbits or advice you have for the Sunlay clan and earn our gratitude for your trouble.¡±

    Alex took a steadying breath, forcing himself to reveal what he had done his best to keep hidden, lest unseen jackals appear out of the woodwork to claim his treasures for themselves, under artifice, pretext, attempted intimidation¡­ or outright murder.

    It was grim thoughts of such, including the glares of the four Silvers before him, that stilled his hand for long moments¡­ but it was worry for the young heiress of the Sunlay clan before him that finally coaxed him to reveal his prize. A massive Shadow Puma¡¯s skull, locked in a furious eternal snarl, that he pulled free from the slimmest of belt pouches.

    The Silver Giant cursed in alarm. ¡°That thing¡¯s as big as a desert tiger!¡±

    ¡°He pulled it from his belt pouch,¡± hissed the nearest wujen, glaring at Alex as if he had committed some crime. ¡°Did you see? That Ruidian boy possesses a cultivator¡¯s belt pouch!¡± She glared as if the offense upon Alex¡¯s person was far more significant than the massive skull he held.

    Fortunately the girl and the second wujen were not so short-sighted.

    The girls¡¯ eyes widened as the male wujen blanched.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Shadow Puma, my lady. They¡¯re among the most deadly of ambush predators to be found in any Rift! Very few have ever been caught or¡­ dealt with, but the features are unmistakable.¡±

    ¡°As is the Shadow Qi radiating from the head,¡± the girl said with some asperity, before turning to the other scowling wujen. ¡°And yes, the boy is wearing a cultivator¡¯s storage vessel, which should tell you all that you need to know.¡±

    The wujen frowned, before her eyes widened. ¡°And you think¡­ my lady, how could it be? He¡¯s clearly a Ruidian male, younger even than the girl before us!¡±

    Linnea pouted at that. ¡°I¡¯m twenty two, and hardly a little girl!¡±

    Alex gently squeezed her hand. ¡°It¡¯s alright...¡±

    She immediately bowed her head. ¡°Sorry, husband.¡±

    Surprisingly, this earned an indulgent smile. ¡°Then you¡¯re a credit to your family, for rarely is anyone gifted with such flawless skin without a cultivator¡¯s personal refinement tempering their body and soul.¡±

    Alex blinked at those words, before abruptly recalling what other secrets had been revealed in the rifts, having momentarily taken for granted Linnea¡¯s pristine flawless beauty that had been revealed when he had claimed every last trace of excess waste from her crystalline matrix. Of course, it didn¡¯t hurt that she had additionally boosted her Vitality to an exceedingly healthy 14.

    Yet the young mistress wouldn¡¯t be deterred, even from Alex¡¯s momentary distraction. She merely waited a patient moment until the growing glares of the Silvers present snapped him back into focus.

    Lady Sunlay¡¯s gentle smile didn¡¯t waver. Yet her words cut to the quick with absolute precision. ¡°Is it true?¡±

    Alex blushed, for some odd reason finding himself embarrassed as he nodded. ¡°It is.¡±

    Her coterie snorted. ¡°Impossible!¡± The closer wujen muttered, the others seeming of similar sentiment, yet the young mistress just smiled.

    ¡°Are you so sure? His body is unlike that of any Ruidian I¡¯ve seen before now.¡± She gazed pointedly at the decapitated Shadow Puma head. ¡°Your handiwork?¡±

    He nodded solemnly.

    The Silver Giant snorted ¡°Highly unlikely.¡±

    Alex¡¯s smile didn¡¯t waver as two Shadow puma heads became four. Then a full dozen as incredulous stares turned to expressions of shocked disbelief, wonder, and dismay.

    Even the young heiress''s poise and confident demeanor cracked, revealing genuine awe as she stumbled back.

    Her gaze, when Alex raised his head up from his grizzly display, was that of a girl gazing at her executioner.

    Alex flashed a sad smile. ¡°And this is why I¡¯m warning you away. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t think that you and your companions are highly trained and skilled cultivators, well versed in working together. It¡¯s that even a single shadow cat springing upon your back and snapping your spine from the shadows can turn what should have been triumph into tragedy. And as you can see, it wasn¡¯t a solo cat that we had to worry about.

    ¡°Yet you killed them. A full dozen shadow cats,¡± Sunlay said breathlessly.

    Alex didn¡¯t bother denying it. ¡°I did. But it was a team effort.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    Alex frowned thoughtfully, thinking how best to answer. Then Linnea did it for him.

    ¡°We formed a cognitive gestault¡­ a mind-meld!¡± she happily declared. ¡°I used my infravision to sense their heat signature while he leaped from forest and field to cleave open their skulls a heartbeat before they could cleave open his!¡± She frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Of course my own whirlwind of killing flame kept them from striking me directly, but that didn¡¯t protect my husband. And didn¡¯t that alpha almost kill you, Alex?¡±

    Alex chuckled self-consciously at the surprised, disbelieving looks this declaration earned him.

    ¡°It was certainly a more perilous encounter than I was hoping for,¡± he admitted.

    The Silver giant furrowed his granite-ridge of a brow. ¡°And you single-handedly killed an alpha...¡±

    The man¡¯s voice cut off when Alex sighed and brought out the remains of the largest spirit beast to fall before his blows, hoping for a prime return on the carcass and what he was hoping was a spiritual energy-rich heart, depending on what Reny might say.

    ¡°Most remarkable,¡± Lady Sunlay whispered before Alex immediately popped the body back into storage, not wanting to risk the decay of any precious stat-boosting potions or the like.

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°And this is why I¡¯d like to advise you, most strenuously, to avoid this rift in particular. At this point, I have absolutely no idea how safe the other rifts might be. I can only tell you that I¡¯ve encountered ambush predators in two of them, and ironically, this, the easiest rift, is turning out to be the most perilous of all.¡±

    He glared up at the Silver Giant¡¯s snort. ¡°And I don¡¯t mind sharing with you that I was basically racing away for all I was worth after my final assault, because those monsters just kept coming, which makes absolutely no sense!¡± He gave a dismayed shake of his head. ¡°And now I¡¯m almost certain that something ugly and monstrous is now stalking the entrance, and the next party that dares this rift will almost certainly find themselves with torn throats and ruptured abdomens before they can blink, let alone orient themselves. Unless, of course, they¡¯re all speed cultivators capable of moving through grass or the sky so fast that the mortal eye can¡¯t even follow. Then and only then would I say that they even had a chance.¡±

    Much to Alex¡¯s dismay, the giant crossed his arms. ¡°And you expect me to believe that you, a Ruidian who certainly is no Silver, whatever else you may be, actually managed to take down over a dozen of these shadow-cloaked ambushing Silver-tier monsters, including this alpha? Preposterous!¡±

    Alex blinked for a long moment, unable to register that the man would rather believe it trickery or some sort of twisted foul play than accept the evidence Alex had put right in front of him. Because sure enough¡­

    The man¡¯s smirk turned to an angry glare, his killing aura radiating from him in waves as he loomed over Alex. ¡°What¡¯s your game, Ruidian?¡± He snorted his contempt. ¡°There¡¯s no way you two would have been about to embrace beastly acts right when we appear. You are here by design. Admit it! So which clan put you up to this?¡± The man¡¯s lips curled in an angry snarl as he abruptly slammed his fists together.

    Alex¡¯s ears rang with the resultant shockwave. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder just how devastating that monster¡¯s fists would be, slamming into his gut.

    The monstrous Silver¡¯s lip curled in a snarl. ¡°Unless you wish to see firsthand what happens to those who think to plot against my mistress, you will reveal everything, and you will do so now! Which faction do you really serve?¡±

    Alex gazed at the man for long, disappointed moments as the strained stillness between them heightened, their frozen tableau broken only by the whisper of wind rustling their locks of hair and the sparse grass about their feet, noting that not even Lady Sunlay was intervening, making it clear that, gentle courteous demeanor aside, this interrogation was all under her unspoken approval.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Alex ignored Linnea¡¯s panicked surge of fury, a gentle squeeze of his hand a request, but free of all compulsion. That he would never do again.

    ¡°You¡¯re that desperate for me to demonstrate my prowess that you would threaten me, when I do nothing but warn you of peril, with the evidence of the predators you would face right before you?¡± Alex sighed and shook his head, not hesitating to methodically put away all evidence of his kills, despite the glaring, looming Silver.

    But he was no fool. The caldera lip was just feet away, and the roiling air as lively as the surge of his heart. Qi Perception made it clear that the giant was clenching his fists, but his mistress¡¯s subtle headshake made it clear that she would not suffer him striking Alex while he was looking away.

    ¡°Very well,¡± Alex said at last, before pointing to the fork in the path a short distance away. ¡°This rocky trail is flat and wide enough, but I can show you nothing that you wish to see here. If you wish to see why I¡¯m alive and why I fear all of you would perish, then you have but to follow me up to the grassy field adjoining the lip of the caldera, and I¡¯d be happy to explain.¡±

    He locked gazes with a the frowning young mistress. ¡°I¡¯m not here to interfere with your passage and I have no stake in whatever clan or city intrigues you fear. I truly am meeting you by chance, and my only interest right now is in saving your lives. If you wish to meet my concern with contempt, even physical challenge, after I have shown you evidence of the peril you would face¡­ very well. One final demonstration. You may make of it what you will, and should you decline to heed my advice, I will do absolutely nothing to stop you.¡±

    He flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Honestly, my only goal now is to warn Senior Cultivator Te Chang about the threat as well as turn in my cores.¡±

    The Silver Giant¡¯s eyes lit with sudden avarice. ¡°Then tell us, Ruidian, what cores did you claim¡­ or steal?¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Seriously? I¡¯m trying to save your hides, and you¡¯re now accusing me of theft?¡± He flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Will this be used as a pretext to rob me blind? Maybe hurtle my broken body off the escarpment as a final ¡®righteous act¡¯ as you tie up all loose ends?¡± He snorted. ¡°I take it no city leader signed any charter assuring the sanctity or safety of Ruidians where you¡¯re from.¡±

    The Giant¡¯s eyes lit up with sudden fury, and Alex realized he truly was being a fool when the man reached out and snatched his changshan with a massive fist radiating deadly Earth Qi.

    ¡°You¡¯ll pay for your insults and innuendo, Ruidian filth!¡±

    ¡°Quickness and Strength at the Silver tier,¡± Alex managed to gasp. ¡°Clearly your mistress chose well, taking you on.¡±

    Even as he said the words he reluctantly prepared for the bitter tragedy about to occur, one that would have had Shalu cackling in his own corpulent filth, if he weren¡¯t currently writhing in the extremis of mortal agony in an ancient life-preservation pod. The very thought of which brought a moment of fierce dark joy to Alex¡¯s features as his cheeks filled with the promise of death to fools who would rather kill him than heed his counsel.

    ¡°Quing Da. Stop.¡± The noblewoman said with a negligent wave of her hand. Her earlier sweet, polite, overly warm demeanor had faded to cool reserve with soft brown eyes that seemed to calculate every possibility.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help flashing a bitter smile. ¡°Warmest greetings to the real Lady Sunlay as she reveals herself.¡±

    This earned an infinitesimal glare. Qing Da¡¯s lips curled in a snarl, and an amused Alex halfway thought he¡¯d throw him right off the ledge. Truly a time to test his newest skill. But not a good time for Linnea. Push aside this fool¡¯s folly, and think! He scolded himself, sensing Linnea¡¯s growing anxiety.

    Fortunately, the young mistress took his sass in stride. ¡°Either you really are a cultivator who would pull the tiger¡¯s tale or perhaps was pushed by fate¡­ or you¡¯re a very clever pawn indeed.¡± She smirked. ¡°Very well. We will ascend the path, as if you had no trap planned for us at all.¡± With those words she nodded, and Alex felt the gentle rustle of a breeze that had nothing to do with the wind, even as Linnea¡¯s eyes lit up, and suddenly they were one once more, his exquisite nostrils putting the final clue into place.

    ¡°You have a kitsune associate!¡± Said Linnea, voicing Alex¡¯s thought.

    And suddenly the air seemed to grow ten degrees colder, and Alex couldn¡¯t deny the sudden surge of panicked alarm coming from the party before him, nor how close to genuine peril he truly was, as the Silver Giant¡¯s bluster abruptly faded, now looking at him with the cool gaze of the professional killer that he was. As all good sworn servants of the lords of this world almost had to be.

    ¡°Mistress?¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Alex forced himself to say, speaking carefully as he held back a gift under his tongue. ¡°Before you do something we¡¯ll all regret, I have nothing but warmest regard for anyone who managed to survive whatever purges made their race but a memory around here. Don¡¯t you think my kind would be? That we have to worry about the same peers? That at any time, saying the wrong thing to the wrong group, even if it¡¯s just to save their lives, could get us all summarily executed?¡±

    He snorted at the unexpected flash of guilt floating across Sunlay¡¯s noble features before they stiffened once more.

    ¡°Believe me, we¡¯d love to learn whatever they¡¯ve done to hide from the eye of their would-be executioners without being, well, executed,¡± Alex assured.

    ¡°And now you know we¡¯re telling the truth!¡± Linnea urged. ¡°Because how can we claim to have spotted over a dozen Silver-tier Shadow Cats if we can¡¯t even spot one lone...¡± And much to Alex¡¯s surprise and relief, she actually stopped and measured her words. ¡°One lone you-know-what?¡±

    Once again the air was filled with deadly tension as Alex forced himself to do what he was so reluctant to until one of the wujen snorted. ¡°The fools actually make sense. And can you imagine the karmic debt if we were to take care of them and they were just well-intentioned children of a protected race guilty only of trying to save our lives?¡±

    ¡°Over a dozen elite shadow cat skulls in a pouch of holding? Owned by this boy? Far too pat, if you ask me,¡± Quing Da reiterated. ¡°The whole thing stinks of a multilevel set-up. Make no mistake, Lady Sunlay. Our enemies are doing all they can to strike us here and now, with everything they have.¡±

    Sunlay, however, gave a tiny shake of her head. Her gaze grew haunted as she continued looking Alex¡¯s way with an intensity he most certainly hadn¡¯t expected to see.

    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure that¡¯s the case,¡± she whispered, her voice holding a hint of disbelief or wonder, as if she herself couldn¡¯t believe the words leaving her lips.

    Intent brown eyes locked upon her own. ¡°You never did say your name, Ruidian.¡±

    Alex¡¯s heart started to pound. Hoping that her gaze didn¡¯t mean what he feared it did. But that also meant¡­ her very words¡­ feeling the weight of oath and obligation.

    ¡°It¡¯s Alex.¡± He flashed a cool smile, now focusing on her with every iota of his attention. ¡°And I never actually said that I was a Ruidian.¡±

    She was good, he¡¯d give her that. But her flinch was unmistakable.

    ¡°My lady!¡± said a young voice all but trembling with excitement that Alex sensed all too clearly with Linnea¡¯s infravision, not to mention the pressure wave an invisible presence left behind¡­ Qi Perception synergizing with Wind Affinity so acutely that it was like he could now sense the impression she left in the air in the shape of a young kitsune female with perky ears and an excited bounce to her step. Words that Shadow Qi might wish to hide, his newly enhanced senses and Lesser Shadow Affinity effortlessly plucked from the air. ¡°The field above is filled with a dozen new aspirants undergoing remedial training along with an Elder Win. No one and nothing else is up there.¡±

    Alex winced. Shit.

    His reaction didn¡¯t go unnoticed. ¡°Is your scheme unraveling already, Ruidian?¡± Quing Da sneered, still glaring down at Alex.

    He groaned, rubbing his face. ¡°More like Elder Win will kill me if I¡¯m late to class again.¡± He turned to Linnea. ¡°Just how long were we in there?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°Long enough for us to completely lose track of time while foraging, exploring, and then madly fighting for our lives? Oh, and you and Ya Ling were enjoying that breakthrough. That took a day and a half too. It would have been boring, but it was fun getting a chance to make new friends and enjoy Reny¡¯s delicious cooking and just rest before a magical tree with my uncle being so far away he could never reach me even with a dozen clan elders, so I really didn¡¯t mind!¡±

    Alex groaned. ¡°Two days? Shit. That really isn¡¯t good.¡±

    Quing Da frowned. ¡°You¡¯re declaring yourself no more than a student here?¡±

    Linnea nodded. ¡°A rank beginner one too! We just started a week ago, and we could get kicked out if we so much as look the wrong way, once Elder Win gets ahold of our latest escapade!¡± she declared just a little too brightly for Alex¡¯s taste.

    This earned a smile from the kitsune woman Alex could now see perfectly clearly. ¡°Oh they look so cute together, mistress. Both of them have positive karma, thought the boy¡¯s tastes very recent, and there is an extremely strong bond of Spiritual energy connecting them. They look young, but they¡¯re clearly pair-bound. I wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised if she¡¯s already pregnant. It would explain the Spirit Qi connection being so profound.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°You can sense all that?¡±

    The kitsune chuckled merrily, even as the others hissed and glared. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s pierced my veil, and I¡¯m good!¡± She gave a satisfied nod, seeming to come to some conclusion. ¡°I believe him. Those were genuine Shadow beasts, still radiating spiritual energy laced with the taste of their own brutal demise. If he had been blind to me, there¡¯s no way those two could have survived.¡±

    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain how, exactly, they survived,¡± the Silver Giant glared.

    ¡°True.¡± Lady Sunlay said, before giving Alex an oddly apologetic smile. ¡°My associate vouches for you, and yet I must admit that my curiosity has been genuinely piqued. If you wouldn¡¯t mind showing us how you managed to survive¡­ perhaps it would aid us as well.¡±

    Alex nodded gamely enough. ¡°No problem. Come to think of it, maybe we don¡¯t need to go up there and risk my professor¡¯s wrath, after all.¡±

    With that, he was free of the suddenly blinking Silver Giant, universal lubricant and a sudden gust of wind seeing him slipping free and right upon the grassy lip of the slope, between the scree path and the dropoff, where the relatively shallow slope, protection from the scorching midday sun, and the surprisingly damp ground here, thanks to sporadic bursts of spray carried by the occasional gusts of wind allowed for a surprisingly lush strip of grass, where Alex now stood.

    Quing Da, no slouch at Silver 1 Quickness, immediately turned Alex¡¯s way.

    ¡°Ruidian trickery? You seek to warn your associates after all!¡±

    Alex pretended bemused sangfroid, for all that his heart quailed with sudden worry for a very alone and frightened looking Linnea. He immediately drew attention back to himself, however, when he seemed to disappear, only to step back on the trail, right behind the rearmost wujen.

    ¡°Can you believe that guy?¡± He said to the startled wujen, who was desperately twisting around with a whirlwind of shrapnel around herself, glaring at a coolly smiling Alex. ¡°I mean, I get that he¡¯s being bombastic as the straight man bodyguard to Sunlay, so she can play the cool and reserved noblewoman while he asks all her questions and takes the heat for it¡­ but he¡¯s really overdoing it just a tad, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    All of them were speechless. Even the young mistress was momentarily nonplussed, for all that the kitsune girl squealed and clapped, a goofy grin upon her face. ¡°That¡¯s how he did it! A wild cultivator¡¯s gifts! He¡¯s one with the forest and the western rift is mostly forest! He and his wife sensed the cats, and he must have struck them from behind! That explains it. That explains how he¡¯s alive! He¡¯s not plotting against us. He¡¯s just a dreamer of a boy trying to find his fortune so he can buy a house in the city for his wife and future child. I¡¯ll bet that¡¯s exactly what it is! Isn¡¯t that right, Alex?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°That¡¯s a very sweet take on things. Sure, we can pretend that¡¯s what it¡¯s all about.¡±

    The wujen, however, was lurching back. ¡°This one is dangerous, my lady! Look at my ward. It bends around him!¡±

    Alex affected a guileless smile, all of them taking on the whirling maelstrom of metal daggers surrounding the woman, noting how they pressed inward like a bow wave at Alex¡¯s admittedly close proximity.

    ¡°Well, yeah. I would hope so. I mean, you wouldn¡¯t want to accidentally cut me, right? Anyway, if you¡¯ll excuse us? We have to report what¡¯s happened to this rift as soon as possible, so that we can save as many lives as possible.¡±

    Alex kept his manner polite, showing absolutely no offense for the earlier interrogation, doing all that he subtly could to defuse any lingering tension. But if Quing Da or any other thought Alex would allow them to intimidate or threaten Linnea...

    Sunlay peered at Alex thoughtfully before the subtlest of nods made it clear she had come to a decision.

    Alex braced himself, ready for absolutely anything.

    ¡°Join us.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    ¡°She means you should come with us!¡± The kitsune enthusiastically explained, eyes twinkling. ¡°You¡¯ve explained the risks, and you and your wife counter them so well that you actually managed to take out a dozen of those things just between the two of you? Imagine how much better we could do if we all worked together! That¡¯s assuming that all instances are affected, of course. Maybe you just hopped into a rare, perilous one? Either way, the data we gather will be valuable, and I know my mistress will pay you handsomely for your trouble!¡±

    Alex blinked, both surprised and oddly pleased by the offer. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest¡­ my gut tells me something strange is going on. I wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised if pretty much every instance will inevitably warp towards Shadow beast ambushes. Or maybe something unexpected happened causing instances to crash into each other and pumas from one forest instance to infect another. Not that I know of any way to know for sure.¡± He flashed an apologetic smile. ¡°And believe it or not, any other time and I might actually consider taking you up on your offer, after an exchange of oaths assuring mutual safety. But not now. Not after pushing ourselves so damned hard that if I didn¡¯t port out...¡±

    ¡°You would have stumbled and collapsed like the drunken fool you look like even now!¡± The kitsune nodded animatedly. ¡°Of course, it makes sense, now! That¡¯s how you survived, right?¡± She turned to her mistress before Alex could ask exactly what she met. ¡°He¡¯s clearly suffering a Fool¡¯s Folly after a Sage¡¯s Revelation. If he doesn¡¯t take a few days to rest and meditate, consolidating his breakthroughs, I fear he¡¯ll be less than worthless.¡±

    Sunlay frowned. ¡°I hate wasting time, Nili.¡±

    The kitsune, Nili, bobbed her head. ¡°Of course, mistress. On the other hand, since we only dare these rifts twice a season, two days is just that. Two days. And with this boy¡¯s haul as a reference point¡­ imagine if even half of these shadow pumas have worthwhile beast cores!¡±

    The nearest wujen snorted, crossing her arms. ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee we¡¯ll earn any such prize.¡±

    ¡°But she does have a point,¡± Sunlay nodded, before flashing Alex a congenial smile. ¡°You do indeed look like you could use a good night¡¯s rest. Come, allow my party to escort you to your superiors where you may make your report, before we treat you to a feast worthy of your accomplishments, where we may formalize our upcoming venture.¡±

    Alex grimaced, before bowing his head, accepting the inevitable. ¡°Perhaps we will do just that. But right now I have the disapproval of a certain master to face¡­ because even the risk of getting kicked out pales to the weight of lives that will be lost if anyone even more foolish than I dares these rifts.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 64

    ¡°Ah, our favorite wayward disciple returns, having missed yet another day of classes.¡±

    Elder Win flashed an ice cold smile as an exhausted Alex stumbled onto the field by the lip of the caldera overlooking the Western Rift. Had the master said they would be training there that day? Alex realized he had no idea at this point, the days and nights blurring into a stream of life threatening battles and the brilliant flashes of insight that only seemed to come to him when he dared Peril¡¯s Path.

    Alex forced himself to bow¡­ before toppling over.

    ¡°Look at that fool!¡± Tan Yi said, his eyes twinkling with unmistakable glee. ¡°A drunken oaf with delusions of cultivation.¡± He sneered and spat. ¡°You broke covenant with our class for the last time, Ruidian trash. Elder Win already made it clear that anyone who failed to meet expectations for the rest of the week were unworthy of attending.¡± The smug look he gave Alex made his blood boil. ¡°So I do believe that means your out.¡±

    He turned to Elder Win, now still as a statue, Tan Yi¡¯s arrogance a cloying weight Alex was surprised their master would willingly bear. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Elder Win?¡±

    Alex¡¯s gut clenched at the look of disgust and pity on the older man¡¯s face, in that moment realizing to his despair that he had fallen into a trap that Master Win had thought him smart enough to avoid. Which meant that despite all Alex¡¯s efforts to safeguard and protect, he was still about to lose his place at the school.

    Just as a smirking Tan Yi had attended all along.

    So he forced himself past his own numbed dismay, belting out the words before Elder Win could make his pronouncement of doom, whereupon Duo Yi lackeys would no doubt appear out of nowhere to boot Alex right out of the school.

    ¡°Elder Win, we have a problem that goes far beyond the flaws of a single wayward student.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re out, you arrogant stuck up foreigner!¡± Tan Yi cackled with unmistakeable glee. ¡°Do you understand? You¡¯re no longer welcome here! Not that you ever were.¡± Tan Yi sneered and spat at the last, eyes twinkling with unmistakable malice.

    Yet Elder Win, to his credit, raised a single eyebrow. ¡°Is that so?¡± He said, so many other reluctant words clearly being put aside for the nonce.

    A relieved Alex bowed his head.

    ¡°The rift below is absolutely filled with Shadow Puma, master Win!¡± Linnea breathlessly assured. ¡°And they¡¯re stronger than before, so deep in Shadow that even we almost missed them! Not that we will anymore with my evolved powers, but we almost did when we were in the rift.¡±

    Elder Win¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I was assured that our misfortune the other day was a fluke. By multiple sources.¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s face flushed with sudden rage. ¡°It¡¯s because of them. It¡¯s the Ruidian taint that I told you about, master! They infect and taint everything! This is why they shouldn¡¯t even be here!¡±

    Alex did his best to ignore the malicious slander. ¡°We faced down over a dozen Shadow Puma¡­ and there were at least half a dozen left. And that¡¯s not the worst part.¡±

    Tan Yi snorted, about to shout Alex down when Elder Win abruptly held up his fist, Tan Yi¡¯s voice fading so fast his eyes bulged in surprise.

    ¡°There is worse, you say?¡±

    Alex solemnly nodded, peripherally noting both Ma Guo and Ling Ling looking at him with genuine regret in their eyes, Quing and Lilly bowing their heads in respect and, Alex was painfully certain, farewell. He shook aside all distractions and forced himself to focus once more.

    ¡°Their numbers were increasing. Even for the duration that we were there.¡±

    Elder Win furrowed his brow. ¡°Are you sure of this, Alex? The very nature of rifts and separated potentialities would suggest anything but.¡±

    Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Very sure, Master Win. It was one thing when we faced a dozen separated, injured Shadow beasts¡­ but when that number increased to over a score, half a dozen of which were in pristine health and ready to strike as one unit¡­ even I knew I¡¯d be a fool to do anything but retreat just as fast as I darn well could.¡±

    Elder Win stared at Alex for long moments. ¡°Were you and your betrothed truly able to hold them off?¡±

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°We did our best and saved our party.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Tan Yi snarled. ¡°If you had really encountered those Shadow cats, you¡¯d already be dead!¡±

    Alex blinked, feeling a surge of alarm before couching it in a mocking smile. ¡°Easy kills, Tan Yi. They were just cats, no biggie. I took care of them easy as pie, and left when I got bored.¡±

    Elder Win blinked, before giving a slow nod. ¡°Commendable.¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Tan Yi snarled. ¡°Silver tier Shadow beasts from the very depths of the delve that no one has dared since Golds walked this school? Ha! You ran like the shit-eating coward you are. Admit it!¡±

    Alex flashed an innocent smile, tilting his head just so. ¡°Silver tier Shadow beasts from the very depths of the Western Rift? Fascinating. I had no idea that¡¯s what they were. My question is¡­ how did you?¡±

    Tan Yi froze, face twisting in a sudden rictus of spiteful contempt. ¡°Because my clan has seers, fool! And they warned that that was just what we should expect, if Ruidians were allowed to continue polluting the rift!¡±

    Alex flashed a bleak smile. ¡°Is that a fact? Well then, I have a proposal for you. Let¡¯s both give our cultivator¡¯s oaths that what we¡¯ve said this day is, to the best of our knowledge and belief, nothing less than the absolute truth.¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°That you would dare insult any cultivator with such degradation. Threatening their entire cultivation base with your twisted traps! For that alone, you will be expelled. Mark my words, Ruidian trash!¡±

    Alex held the furious, blustering youth¡¯s gaze. ¡°Is that how it works around here? How convenient it must be for lying, conniving little finks, then. Alright, I¡¯ll sweeten the pot. We¡¯ll both take oaths to the extent that if we¡¯re lying, we leave Silver Sands. What do you say?¡±

    Tan Yi stiffened, wild eyes like a trapped animal promising to see Alex dead.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Elder Win cleared his throat. ¡°Alex...¡±

    Alex sighed, already knowing what he would have to do, lest Tan Yi¡¯s spite, prevarications, and to-be expected interference made Alex¡¯s attempted intervention pointless, as an increasingly cynical Alex was almost certain was the case. He turned to Linnea, the bag holding the prize ready.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to make my report now, Elder Win. But it¡¯s vital that no one dares the western rift unless they have half a dozen Silvers and can sense Shadow Qi. Anything else will result in casualties, I¡¯m afraid.¡±

    This earned a pair of furrowed brows and the heavy weight of a less-than-pleased Silver, before Alex nodded at Linnea who positively struggled under the weight of the sack before finally revealing their prize.

    ¡°Heaven¡¯s mercy, that¡¯s huge!¡± Quing declared, wide-eyed with awed disbelief as he gazed upon the massive alpha cat¡¯s skull.

    ¡°Its incisors are as long as my forearm!¡± Ma Guo said with a shudder while Ling Ling paled and stumbled back, clearly shaking with remembered horror from the last time she had dared the deeps, a Delver¡¯s life clearly not suited for her, not even in the best of circumstances.

    Alex flashed a bleak smile. Humbled once more by just how close he had come to death at the hands, or maw, of that massive cat. If he hadn¡¯t somehow kept his prismatic bones, bones that had bound him so tightly to Shui Jun... he shuddered to think about it, or to remember anything of those awful, endless years that thankfully troubled him little more now than the occasional nightmare he did everything he could to forget.

    ¡°No. There is no way in hell you could kill that thing!¡± Tan Yi snarled, as if personally affronted that Alex had somehow managed to come out on top.

    Alex smirked, not even bothering to acknowledge his nemesis, merely turning to Elder Win. ¡°For the good of the school, I¡¯ll make my report now.¡±

    The elder solemnly dipped his head. ¡°You do that. And Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder Win?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to bother with the formalities of our curriculum. You have proven yourself to be an exemplary Ruidian delver, and may freely dare any rift you choose, with any group that will take you.¡± He flashed an oddly gentle smile. ¡°And with the boon that you will no doubt earn from that kill, I suspect that you and your betrothed will have no problem finding quarters here, or in the finest apartments in the city.¡±

    Alex froze for an endless moment, sensing so much in those words and the man¡¯s gaze. Even the twisted mixture of triumph and frustration that was Tan Yi¡¯s features revealed so much.

    He had clearly failed as a disciple of the academy, and whatever gambit Tan Yi had initiated to assure that his failings would not be overlooked had clearly worked. But it was clear as well that Elder Win was making it known publicly that Alex was to be welcomed and honored as a Ruidian delver, even if he had failed as an aspirant, and was welcome to dare the rifts as he so chose.

    He choked back the painful lump in his throat, bowing low enough that none could see the sting in his eyes.

    Even if Linnea did have to keep him from toppling over.

    ¡°This unworthy student of the Way thanks you for your counsel, Elder Win. I will make my report now.¡±

    With a final farewell bow to the small handful of friends he had made in class, he turned around and descended to the path below once more, hearing so clearly Ling Ling¡¯s hitched sob, and young Ma Guo¡¯s despair sigh.

    ¡°Come on, Alex. We¡¯ve left Lady Sunlay waiting, and even I know better than to leave a noblewoman cooling her heels.¡±

    Surprisingly, however, Sunlay¡¯s expression was oddly sympathetic when Alex returned to the noblewoman¡¯s party once more. Clearly Nili had been directed to report on whatever had transpired above.

    But before anyone could say anything on it, Alex flashed a determined smile and began walking at a very fast clip. ¡°The sooner we get there, the sooner we can assure the school¡¯s safety and the sooner I¡¯ll be ready to dare these rifts again.¡±

    ¡°After a good night¡¯s sleep, husband,¡± Linnea cautioned with a teasing smile.

    Alex grinned back, even if he was afraid that Linnea was enjoying their role a bit too much. But considering all she had willingly endured, daring to delve with him, and actually wanted to claim him as her own instead of running away in horror¡­ maybe he should at least be brave enough to admit that he had feelings for her as well.

    And the way her cheeks flushed and she flashed him a secret smile when he admitted that bittersweet truth to himself made it clear that on some level, they were connected still.

    The time it took to cross half the caldera and reach Senior Cultivator Te Chang¡¯s pagoda passed by in a surprisingly fast blur, noteworthy only in the startled looks, worried glances, and outright glares Alex received as he strode what he quickly learned were discrete paths reserved for the busy elite, walking by Lady Sunlay¡¯s side, per her own insistence, no matter Quing Da¡¯s glare and murmurs about Ruidian boys knowing their place.

    Alex couldn¡¯t deny it was a bit gratifying when he passed Tan Yi¡¯s brother of all people, walking in step with several other obvious members of his clan, all of them wearing the same Yidushian stamp to their bronzed features. He savored the wide-eyed looks of surprise and outright glares sent Alex¡¯s way before the trio of faces schooled themselves to perfect stillness as the entourage passed on. Alex couldn¡¯t quite suppress the smugness to his smile even as his nose itched with an odd scent, earning a raised eyebrow from Sunlay, that didn¡¯t effect her ground-eating stride in the least.

    ¡°Members of a clan who don¡¯t take kindly to Ruidians not knowing their places. Cousins and brother to the one that took such delight in belittling me on the training grounds above the rift.¡± he said as an aside.

    Sunlay blinked at this, before her stern countenance softened into a smile. ¡°The three did have the look of haughty ¡®young masters¡¯ like so many you¡¯ll find at any cultivation academy under the sun.¡± She chuckled softly. ¡°I halfway think the elders of every sect allow them such free reign to forge us all in the fires of conflict that are far less lethal than an actual battlefield.¡±

    ¡°For the most part,¡± Alex said with a bitter smile.

    Quing Da glared at his flippancy, but Sunlay gave a surprisingly throaty chuckle. ¡°For the most part indeed.¡±

    ¡°And I think it equally likely that most young arrogant masters have one or more relatives deeply immersed in the politics of the city or academy such that any instructor with an ounce of self-preservation knows to treat them with silk gloves instead of the metal rod they deserve¡­ so long as they save their abuse for those struggling outsiders that are less favored than they. But we¡¯ll say it¡¯s all about forging us in conflict. Easier that way,¡± Alex quipped.

    The atmosphere immediately grew tense, and Alex winced, sensing that he might have gone to far.

    Surprisingly it was Nili¡¯s melodious chuckle that broke the sudden ice. ¡°Fool¡¯s folly, mistress. For no boy or girl can wade through a dozen greater spirit beasts, no matter how clever their tactics or well synergized their skills, without inviting the lost god¡¯s madness with every step.¡±

    ¡°You and your old tales,¡± snorted Quing Da with a surprisingly gentle smile.

    Nili flashed the grumpy bodyguard a saucy grin that had Alex looking away, suddenly certain that there was a lot more to Quing Da than he had given the man credit for, to have so clearly caught Nili¡¯s interest. Or at least that was the tale of pheromones his absurdly sensitive nose was telling him, catching so many interesting scents in the air.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    Finesse check made!

    Enough that he had almost taken a nasty fall, far too close to the caldera¡¯s lip, as Linnea¡¯s anxious panic washed over him.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Alex said with a reassuring smile. ¡°I¡¯m just feeling a bit¡­ dizzy? It¡¯s been a long day. And oh look, Te Chang¡¯s offices are just ahead.¡±

    Ignoring the flush in his cheeks, knowing his new associates had a hard time associating the clumsy loose-lipped goofball with whatever skilled practitioner had managed to survive such perilous odds, he was happy for the immediate change of atmosphere when he knocked on the door and immediately fell into a deep bow when it was abruptly opened not by a servant, but by Te Chang himself.

    ¡°Alex?¡­ Lady Sunlay! Is something wrong? Please, come in. Refresh yourselves, and tell me how I may be of assistance.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 65

    In short order, the group was seated with small lacquered cups of green tea Alex gratefully sipped, immediately feeling a spark of clarity to his increasingly disjointed thoughts. He shamelessly tore into the roti canai before dipping it into the spirit-beast curry absolutely exploding with flavor in his mouth, and even if he had grunted with pleasure, certainly it hadn¡¯t been worth the death glare Quing Da sent his way, or Nili¡¯s snicker, as Lady Sunlay, who had taken but a single sip of tea, turned to address the Senior Cultivator.

    ¡°Are you aware of the situation at the western rift?¡±

    Senior Cultivator Te Chang stiffened. ¡°We had multiple groups dare that rift since the unfortunate incident experienced by several of our newer candidates, including the pair of Ruidians I now see accompanying you. Let me assure you all that since that unfortunate encounter, absolutely no one has reported any irregularities of any sort!¡± He flashed a brief smile. ¡°If anything, they reported a rift far too calm and docile for their taste, retrieving plenty of spirit herbs we made sure to pay top coin for, and only a handful of spirit beasts, only one containing a core no bigger than your thumbnail. Since the waste Qi buildup is only a fraction of what it is at most rifts, and since all know what to expect at the Western Rift, they were easily placated but...¡±

    Sunlay turned to Alex. ¡°Show him.¡±

    Te Chang furrowed his brow, pinning Alex with his gaze. ¡°Is there something you wish to show me, aspirant?¡±

    Alex did his best to ignore the shiver the man¡¯s odd tone sent racing down his spine. Perfectly sensing the tension of demanding the truth, yet knowing as well the displeasure that would radiate when certain truths were made manifest. Yet considering what he had already faced, risking the displeasure of a man he would have loved to have in his corner was a burden he was more than willing to bear.

    Solemnly, Alex revealed the dark prizes he and Linnea had claimed, one by one. It was all he could do not to flash a bitter smile at Te Chang¡¯s increasingly wide-eyed countenance, outright blanching when he pulled out the largest head of all. A massive shadow cat who had been larger in life than any tiger.

    ¡°I suspect that complaints of a too tame delve run will be the last thing on anyone¡¯s mind, right before these ambush predators tear out their throats from behind,¡± Alex declared, earning a soft snort from Linnea, who was presently happy just to sip her tea and lean against him.

    Alex shivered against the unexpected chill he felt before Te Chang¡¯s suddenly too intent gaze.

    Intense eyes locked with his own. ¡°Tell me everything that happened. In sequential order. Leave nothing out.¡±

    Alex took a slow breath, and began doing just that. He didn¡¯t bother overstating his exhaustion. At this point he assumed it was pretty much obvious to everyone, and urgency took precedence over personal comfort, so he shared the details of his adventure even as Te Chang rang a silver bell, quietly spoke to several deferentially bowing servitors, and a busily scribbling scribe was soon quietly ensconced in a discrete corner of the room. Alex dared pause in his account only long enough to take fresh sips of his perpetually refilled tea cup before going on.

    ¡°...And that was when I urged everyone else through,¡± Alex said, pausing as Te Chang raised his fist.

    The man was now peering at Alex with hard measuring eyes.

    ¡°Let me make sure I understand, Alex. You had multiple Deep Bronze, even a powerful Silver tier ice specialist by your side, and your first instinct wasn¡¯t to flee¡­ but was to take on a full pride of shadow killers with no one but your betrothed by your side?¡±

    Alex flushed at those words, only now appreciating how sharp and perilous the situation had been, how utterly extreme the danger. How much he had imperiled the girl by his side that he found himself caring for far more than he had ever intended. And even the warm glow of her approving thoughts couldn¡¯t allay the sudden sharp twist of guilt he felt, lowering his head.

    He swallowed, forcing himself to say it. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s correct.¡±

    He didn¡¯t need to see the disapproving glares of kitsune, guard, or noblewoman to sense their unified disdain of a man who would drag his supposed life partner into such perilous waters.

    ¡°It¡¯s not his fault, he did nothing wrong!¡± Linnea, of all people, said in his defense. ¡°You already know we¡¯re Ruidian. And we¡¯re a couple. We can do what others can¡¯t. When it comes to a fight, we can think and act as...¡± Her eyes widened when unexpected peach flew her way from the shadows, far too fast for her Quickness to intervene, even if the shot would have done nothing more than splat against the padding on her chest.

    Yet it wasn¡¯t too fast for Alex to claim, even in his presently exhausted state, even though he wasn¡¯t looking that way at all.

    He pretended he didn¡¯t see Te Chang¡¯s hard smile through Linnea¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°We can think and act¡­ and fight as one,¡± Linnea said with a shudder, gazing down at Alex¡¯s clenched fist, trembling way too tightly with the test, peach juices squirting everywhere as she covered his hand in gentle flame.

    Hard emerald green eyes met Te Chang¡¯s own, ignoring the wide-eyed whispers their actions were earning from Lady Sunlay¡¯s party. ¡°With Alex¡¯s ability to blink through foliage and strike, sensing their weaknesses, and my ability to see the fiery hot blood pumping through their bodies¡­ we knew it fell to us to put down those cats before they took any more innocent lives.¡± Her gaze hardened. ¡°And before the Duo Li clan could use the fear of a doomed rift to wrestle ever more power from Liushi¡¯s counsel and try to squeeze Ruidians free of the privileges and opportunities we¡¯ve enjoyed here for centuries, to the city¡¯s benefit, and our own.¡±

    Te Chang blinked at this. ¡°So you stayed in the hopes of clearing that band of spirit beasts, for the sake of future delvers?¡± His gaze turned sympathetic. ¡°Although I sincerely appreciate your good intentions, you do know that each band of adventurers enters a slightly different, well, story of what the Western Rift can be, no?¡±

    Lady Sunlay nodded. ¡°Which means that the cats you met won¡¯t necessarily trouble us¡­ and the cats you kill in the hopes of protecting your fellows won¡¯t do a lick of good for anyone else who dares that rift.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s spine stiffened. ¡°I know you all think that, but Alex doesn¡¯t. And now I¡¯m not sure either.¡±

    Te Chang furrowed his brow. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean.¡±

    Linnea lowered her gaze, suddenly embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m sure it might sound silly to you, but to me, the air felt¡­ heavy. Heavy with richness, with potency, with meaning. And after running into an actual legendary fortuitous encounter¡­ I thought that perhaps, well, it was like rolling the dice. With each version of the rift being a distinct pip on a square die¡­ only now it¡¯s a thousand dice rolled at once, and all the combinations are true.¡± She paused, locking gazes with everyone in the room. ¡°Every miraculous intervention, fortuitous encounter, or deadly peril you could hope to find in that rift is now in effect, as if all the possibilities are now in play at the same time.¡±

    Her words died off in the thoughtful silence, a cynical Alex noting how every one of their gazes was now fixated on the massive Shadow Puma skulls.

    ¡°Personally, I wanted to test it by going back and seeing if we could find the bodies these cats are tied to. If so¡­ then it¡¯s clear that something, or someone, has somehow tampered with the rift. And if we can get to the root cause, we¡¯ll be able to assure the safety of future delvers. But right now I¡¯m about to collapse, so I don¡¯t dare go back until I¡¯ve had a chance to rest and consolidate my gains.¡±

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Te Chang sighed. ¡°A most interesting story.¡± He then flashed a sad smile. ¡°It looks like our situation has grown more perilous than ever. I take it you weren¡¯t able to finish off the pack?¡±

    He chuckled softly at Alex¡¯s look. ¡°I don¡¯t even need to tell you how astoundingly beyond the pale it is to find a pair of Ruidian youths who by all rights should be celebrating their engagement, not be forced to fight for their lives, who had actually managed to take out a dozen spirit beasts that might spell even a Silver-tier party¡¯s doom. Especially if they failed to spot an ambush in time or lacked the spiritual treasures ideal for the most perilous of delves. But if there is a dark echo of spirit beast manifestations now resonating through the rift¡­ a clean clear will do much to ease those ripples.¡±

    Alex sighed and shook his head. ¡°I tried,¡± he said, only now shivering as the fierce exhilaration of perilous battle became the shudders of a man forced to recall his own madness of just an hour ago, where reveling in fierce combat was all that allowed horror to become exhilaration and for him to thrive where most others would fall. ¡°But they just kept coming. Their pack size only grew!¡±

    This cause more than one brow to rise with alarm.

    ¡°Are you sure, Alex? It¡¯s a large forest. Even the most talented Ruidian...¡±

    Alex solemnly shook his head, not bothering to explain, eager to keep at least a few cards close to his chest. ¡°The Shadow Puma count was exactly as I stated. Trust me, I would know.¡±

    Sunlay gazed intently at Alex for long moments before dipping her head. ¡°I believe him.¡±

    Te Chang sighed, rubbing his temples. ¡°So do I. And that¡¯s the problem. With the Western rift turning that perilous, we¡¯ll need to make at least one Silver-tier cultivator a mandatory requirement with all future delves.¡±

    ¡°Or allow for pair-bonded Ruidians!¡± Linnea said brightly, earning a tolerant smile from the Senior Cultivator.

    ¡°Or that,¡± he allowed, honoring Alex with a closed-fist salute. ¡°And I will make sure that it is known to all that you two are permitted to delve without restriction in the Western rift, being uniquely suited to it¡¯s environment, though I¡¯d prefer it all the more if you were part of a strong group.¡±

    ¡°Well that works perfectly then, as the pair has agreed to adventure with us, just as soon as they¡¯re rested,¡± Sunlay said with a pleased smile.

    Te Chang blinked, gazing at the noblewoman for long moments before giving a thoughtful dip of his head. ¡°Perhaps that would be for the best,¡± he allowed. ¡°Especially if our Ruidian friends¡¯ racial gifts allows them to form unusually¡­ cohesive parties.¡±

    Sunlay nodded. ¡°And we can see for ourselves if the plethora of Shadow cats was but a fluke, or is a significant risk that must be accounted for in all future delves.¡±

    Quing Da gave an angry shake of his head. ¡°My lady, as much as I appreciate the desire to hunt and hone yourself in a crucible less deadly than war¡­ we must be careful. If the accounts I¡¯ve studied and my own experiences clearing desert rifts is anything to go by, stalking predators, masters of Shadow arts, promise great peril for minimal reward.¡±

    To this Alex smiled, including Te Chang with his words. ¡°In this alone, I have good news.¡± With a flourish of his hands, he presented prizes that had instantly silenced the soft murmurs of Sunlay¡¯s party gently urging caution, Alex noting the busy scribbles in the back only by their absence. For just a moment he felt multiple crushing auras before startlement and envy were reigned in by fierce discipline, Alex quietly pleased to see so many tests of character passed, all for the simple cost of showing his hand.

    Before placing his prizes in a silk pouch with ceremonial formality, then placing the entire hoard into Te Chang¡¯s hands.

    He couldn¡¯t help grinning into the man¡¯s disbelieving gaze. ¡°It appears that maybe there is some sort of karmic balance in play here, after all. For every cat I had a chance to both kill and bag had a core to claim, and would you believe it¡¯s actually effortless to separate the pair when placed in a pouch of holding?¡± He dared a cheeky grin. ¡°I, for one, am glad that I didn¡¯t have to savage their majestic skulls claiming their prizes.¡±

    Te Chang gazed at the bag before him and the noble party as well, before coming to a quick decision.

    ¡°Fu Tan, if you would get the golden plate and monocles?¡±

    Even Nili whistled, impressed, when Te Chang¡¯s assistant with both a healer¡¯s gifts and other skills as well, it seemed, appeared from the shadows holding the prizes requested, as Te Chang solemnly placed the golden plate on his hardwood desk before solemnly emptying the contents of Alex¡¯s silken bag upon it, only then making use of his golden monocle as two other cultivators radiating a solemn gravitas and Deep Bronze cultivation Alex sensed as being closer aligned to mastery of sacred skills than the violent crucible of battle stood quietly by Te Chang¡¯s side by the time he finished examining the second beast core. The three men moved with odd precision, the latter pair nodding at all but the final markings Te Chang made upon a leather-bound ledger.

    Te Chang flashed Alex a smile as everyone waited with breathless tension. ¡°It appears that my colleagues and I are in agreement in regards to the value of all but the final core, to which we will offer for our highest appraisal.¡± He paused for breath, gazing at Alex for long moments. ¡°We mark these Silver tier prizes as being worth no less than five thousand seven hundred and seventy credits. And to keep things simple, we will round it up to six thousand, or three thousand for both you and your fiance.¡±

    If it was quiet before, the sudden tense silence had Alex¡¯s heart surging with more excitement than when he had been fighting for his life, just hours ago.

    Te Chang furrowed his brow, please smile slowly fading. ¡°Is this acceptable to you?¡±

    Alex blinked, startled into a response.

    ¡°Alex, say something!¡± Linnea urged.

    ¡°Yes, of course!¡± Alex said. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t just me and Linnea that was in that delve. I¡¯d like an equal share to go to my companions who dared to take on those beasts by our side.¡±

    Te Chang blinked, looking both surprised and oddly pleased. ¡°There were four others, yes? That will bring your share to one thousand for your latest venture, or 1,800 Silver Sands credits to you both, considering that you two explored the same delves together. Is that acceptable to you both?¡±

    Alex blinked, realizing that in his efforts to treat his friends right, an argument could equally made that he and Linnea were the ones who had fought tooth and nail to both slaughter and claim those Shadow Pumas, and that not only did they more than earn the full 6000 credits, but a true mercenary would have expected a reward for saving their companion¡¯s lives.

    Fortunately, Linnea¡¯s happy nod made it clear that she also liked the idea of giving their friends an equal cut, as everyone had acted in good faith to the best of their abilities, and lasting friendship was indeed more important than a single haul. And considering how badly he feared Ya Ling had suffered from the ordeal, having earned both boon and bane in a single delve, Alex now felt much better about the whole thing. Because if regenerating a lost hand was as treasure and resource intensive as he feared it was, Ya Ling and her grandparents now had an extra 3000 credits to put toward it, which Alex had the sense was worth a hell of a lot at this school and in this city, to make that happen.

    ¡°Absolutely!¡± Linnea declared with an affectionate squeeze of Alex¡¯s hand. ¡°They¡¯re our boon companions and our friends! It¡¯s hardly a friendship if you¡¯re coldly measuring every ounce of their contribution. They had our backs and we had theirs. In and outside the delve.¡±

    Te Chang smiled at this, eyes twinkling with warm approval. ¡°I will make a note of their boons on our ledger. Fear not, they will receive their just compensation before the end of the day.¡±

    Lady Sunlay gave a pleased smile as well, nodding her head in approval as she took a sip of fragrant tea. ¡°They will make a most worthy addition to our party, I think.¡±

    Alex was more touched than he wanted to admit when her companions uniformly nodded, even the wujen who had never surrendered their names. Fortunately, the gazes of the man and woman were far less cold than they had been a short while before.

    Te Chang then gave Alex a knowing smile. ¡°And I suspect you¡¯ll be wanting to return to your quarters as soon as possible. And please don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be happy to give your friends the good news.¡±

    Alex blinked, wanting to protest, before he felt Linnea¡¯s gentle hand squeezing his own. ¡°Come on, Alex, let¡¯s get you to bed.¡±

    A bemused Alex soon found himself being led back to the luxurious suite reserved for him in the high-end quarters he could now reserve pretty much indefinitely, if he so chose. Yet he could tell by the way Linnea was looking at him when they returned to quarters that sleep was the absolute last thing on her mind, and boy was he grateful that biochemical mastery allowed him to effortlessly take care of dirt and odors without having to make use of the steaming hot copper tub calling out to him invitingly, a hungry-eyed Linnea already undressing with an impish smile. ¡°I think it¡¯s time for our bath, don¡¯t you, husband?¡±

    And there was so much Alex wanted to say to that, to admit that yes, she was strikingly beautiful, and had things been different, had a thousand years not felt like a mere two months, had he not been burdened with a shifted Dantian once more, for all that he sensed greater strength within him and less pressure with flirtation than he once had¡­ for all that he wasn¡¯t even sure if he was basic or Bronze¡­ none of his thoughts escaped his lips. Just the delightful comfort of the warm, silky pillow as he sunk into his down stuffed mattress¡¯s soothing embrace and allowed exhaustion to claim him at last.

 Book 8 - Chapter 66

    ¡°Alex, you¡¯re alive!¡±

    Alex blinked, surprised to find himself choked up with emotion when he caught Ya Ling¡¯s tear-filled gaze across the already blooming garden now protected by Copperthorn vines forming a lush canopy of blossoming pink carnation-like flowers that protected near the entire yard from the harsh glaring light of the midday sun. Of course he knew the garden¡¯s best kept secret, one he was determined to keep for as long as possible, until all was lost and his foes played their final card.

    He froze, momentarily speechless as Ya Ling flung herself into his arms, sobbing and holding him so tightly, Alex fiercely grateful just to see her hale and healthy under the brilliant midday sun.

    Yet his heart broke as well. For where her left hand should be was a stump wrapped in gauze steeped in exotic herbs and healing compresses, the formulae unknown even to him.

    ¡°Alex, you made it! You¡¯re alive. Thank the gods above, you¡¯re both alive!¡±

    Alex swallowed back his almost reflexive snark, instead focusing on what mattered. ¡°Ya Ling...¡± He shook his head ruefully, for all that he grinned from ear to ear. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you how good it is to see you!¡± His widened eyes filled with wonder.

    Soul Sight check successful! You know your friend at least as well as she knows herself!

    ¡°And the whirlwinds within your meridians. They haven¡¯t weakened or settled down in the least. They¡¯ve only grown stronger. They, like you, revel in the fierce, clean desert air. The whole world, or at least this part of the city, stretching as far as we can see. Utterly free of the rift¡¯s constraints at last!

    Ya Ling laughed with merriment, spinning away from Alex to do a little pirouette in the air.

    Linnea gazed at her in slack-jawed wonder. ¡°Alex, she¡¯s floating on top of the grass. And now she¡¯s dancing upon the air! It¡¯s like¡­ is she flying? Truly?¡±

    Alex laughed for sheer joy to see the look in his friend¡¯s eyes. And when she teasingly raised a hand his way and said ¡®join me!¡¯ he did just that. Losing himself in the glorious dance of air currents and wind, sensing the echoes of lost remnants of ancient arts that had once been his.

    At first he stumbled, as might be expected, earning tinkling laughter from the faerie now dancing a good five feet in the air as Alex tasted the memory of walking on currents of mist, his connection to Water once so exquisite as to be able to support himself on nothing more than the humidity in the air.

    Yet compared to that, embracing the air directly all around him was child¡¯s play. Because it wasn¡¯t just springing off it like chaining a dozen Bullrushes had once been before being limited to forest and field¡­ it was about letting it caress and carry him, as Storm Flight¡¯s brooding echoes resonated in his mind with such illumination that it suddenly all clicked.

    At first he was swimming in the air as Wind and Water, neighboring elements, shared their secrets and their burdens. Then it was striding with baby steps before walking, skipping, then dancing as effortlessly as the girl before him was, who had traded a priceless hand for a connection to Wind that marked her incredible potential as a wujen sorceress like nothing else as the pair danced and cavorted in the breeze.

    Wind Walking is now Rank 2.

    Wind Walking now incorporates full range of motion!

    Wind Walking is now Rank 3!

    ¡°You¡¯re doing it, Alex!¡± Ya Ling¡¯s laughter rang through the air, her smile shining in the glorious light of the sun.

    Then bittersweet joy turned to fierce, wild focus in the shared beating of their hearts, shared mingled breath as the Wind became their own, awakening a restlessness that neither could deny.

    ¡°Show me what you can do in the Wind¡¯s embrace, Alex!¡± she cried, a training jian suddenly in her dominant hand. And how it warmed Alex to see the sheer brilliance of her forms. To realize in that moment that every hour she had spent gazing at him slowly mastering his Wind Crane martial technique in their month-long caravan ride had been the farthest thing from idle hungry staring or wasted time.

    You have successfully pulled free training staff from storage ring!

    You have successfully countered Winding Lunge!

    You have successfully weaved past Wind¡¯s Passing!

    You have won in the bind!

    Your foe has surprised you with Wind Blast!

    Alex was beyond awed by his friend¡¯s fierce onslaught, her combined mastery of jian, along with having also incorporated so many elements of his own dao form that she could immediately shift stances, balance meaning little in the whirling winds as she then swung her blade with the power of a straight-edged dao and an entire spring storm behind it.

    At first he was careful. Cautious. But it quickly became apparent that his concerns were unnecessary as his wrists and forearms rapidly began to smart with snaking blows and winding lunges so like the ones he had once mastered by Panheu¡¯s side, the normally overwhelming advantage of a properly spaced two-handed grip now neutralized with the power of Wind itself serving as a monstrously strong limb along both hilt and blade.

    Alex¡¯s lips curved in a fiercely approving grin as Ya Ling, now just as fast as his Rank 2 Quickness, pushed him to the absolute limits of his own form, Alex feeling his spiritual energies slowly drain away as his ability to stay aloft began to slip from his increasingly spotty concentration.

    Still, he managed a cheeky smile as he gazed upon a sweat-covered Ya Ling¡¯s heaving chest, glaring daggers at him.

    ¡°Is that all you got?¡± He quipped, before being sent tumbling head over heals as she roared and shouted, Alex was stunned by what he swore was a ¡®Fus!¡¯ somewhere in her titanic roar. And the fact that he had been sent flipping head over heals before his own waning control righted him once more. Laughing, he rose both hands in mock surrender as he sunk the rest of the way to the ground.

    Congratulations! You have achieved Rank 4 in Wind Walking. You have used 17 of 19 Qi!

    ¡°Wow, that was incredible!¡± Linnea cheered. ¡°Ya Ling, you totally kicked his ass! Well done!¡±

    ¡°The match is yours!¡± Alex said with a rueful chuckle, gazing at a now positively beaming Ya Ling with unmitigated awe. ¡°That was incredible. Absolutely incredible! You¡¯ve taken in that element and mastered it to such a degree in what, just a single afternoon?¡± He shook his head in amazement. ¡°If I didn¡¯t now better, I¡¯d say you got a Major Affinity and that Elder Wu didn¡¯t hesitate to give you access to some pretty high tier spiritual energy-laden tomes and let you absorb them directly! But even those treasures should have taken weeks to master!¡±

    Ya Ling was positively beaming. Doing effortless somersaults in the air before leaping and spinning like a ballerina, it was clear to an increasingly dumbfounded Alex the acts were effortless to her. She felt absolutely no strain or spiritual fatigue at all.

    With a teasing smile, she slowly settled back down to earth. ¡°Finally, I was able to beat you at something!¡± She quipped, before wiping away another unexpected tear from eyes that Alex swore were twinkling with happiness, not regret. ¡°Even if the cost...¡± she shook her head.

    Alex swallowed. ¡°Ya Ling...¡±

    She quickly shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± She gazed at her stump, her attempt at a smile turning into a shudder as wide haunted eyes gazed at sights Alex feared he understood at least as well as she.

    ¡°It¡¯s been three days, Alex. Not just a single afternoon¡¯s rest.¡±

    Alex blinked, dumbfounded. ¡°I¡­ are you sure?¡±

    She snorted, shaking off her haunted gloom. ¡°Yes, Alex. I¡¯m pretty damn sure.¡±

    She bit her lip and trembled. ¡°And we were terrified you were a goner. That you two had given up your lives for the rest of us. When you didn¡¯t come out...¡± She shook her head, before giving him the strangest smile. ¡°And then none other but Senior Cultivator Te Chang personally comes to visit grandfather, giving him the bow of an equal and presenting us with tokens bound to our talismans, each of which are worth a thousand Silver Sand credits.¡± She gazed at Alex for long moments, shaking her head in wonder. ¡°Do you have any idea how profoundly valuable that is? The library resources now at our disposal? The spiritual treasures we could buy from the school directly?¡± She flashed a teasing smile. ¡°And that¡¯s not including all the property that Dui Zhong immediately snatched up for himself in the choicest quarter of the city. Not that I blame him even a bit. Not with the way I saw a certain girl making eyes at him through the whole caravan trip, whose only crime isn¡¯t being a cultivator like us.¡± She flashed a teasing smile. ¡°Not that it stopped him from kissing her beneath the stars more nights than not.¡±

    Alex blinked, surprised despite himself. ¡°Dui Zhong fell for someone during the caravan ride? I had no idea.¡±

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    This earned an eye-roll. ¡°Of course you didn¡¯t, Alex. You and grandfather were lost in your own heads so often that you hardly noticed the rest of us.¡± She softened her gentle scolding with a smile. ¡°Not that you ever hesitated to spar with me, and maybe you were doing exactly what you were destined to, and that¡¯s the only reason why we survived the desert¡­ or the western rift.¡±

    She swallowed, before bowing formally and low. ¡°Thank you both, from the bottom of my heart. On all our behalves.¡± She had the grace to include Linnea in her respects, her face utterly avoid of anything like jealousy or dismay. ¡°We are sincerely grateful to both of you. Had you both not been willing to literally put your lives on the line for us, treating us like closest family¡­ there¡¯s no way I would have had the chance to access Silver Sand¡¯s most sacred Wind tomes, all with Te Chang¡¯s open blessing.¡± She trembled, eyes growing haunted once more. ¡°Without you, my dream of ascension and the revelations and breakthroughs that flooded my soul these last three days would have instead ended only with the horror of being eaten alive. Consumed by shadowy monsters tearing free all our hopes and dreams, one bloody chunk at a time.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, alarmed by how fragile his fierce friend suddenly seemed, before she began to break down in choking sobs as Linnea gently wrapped her up in sisterly arms, cooing to her as she would a wounded dove.

    Alex shook his head, feelings a whirlwind of admiration, awe, and profound solemn gratitude. To see his precious beautiful friend blossom so fiercely under the most fortuitous of blessings, a Greater Wind Affinity somehow synergizing with her Sand to absolute perfection, and immediate access to the most prestigious of tomes after such a breakthrough allowed her to forge an understanding of her arts mirroring his own mad breakthroughs at peak levels of absurd grace.

    Only now did he realize that her three days of deep-diving into tomes that could have utterly consumed her, did she lack the appropriate degree of affinity, had been her own desperate attempts to escape absolute nightmare¡­ her maimed limb, the lingering taste of death at the back of her throat. Knowing that had fate¡¯s dice shifted a single pip, she wouldn¡¯t be glorying under pristine blue skies, reveling in her absolute mastery over the breeze, but be choking her last gulps of air before a massive shadow cat finally tore out her lungs and heart, right before devouring her utterly.

    To have mastered flight, to suddenly understand so well the secrets of Wind Crane Kung Fu he had shared with her dozens of times while sparring was beyond remarkable. To say nothing of the projected blasts of wind that might be unfocused, relatively speaking, but spoke of fierce wujen potential as she continued to master her arts.

    Alex bowed his head in genuine respect, bowing and saluting with hand over closed fist. ¡°This student of the Way greets wujen Ya Ling. May your studies take you far. May you never lose sight of your path.¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go inside. I have no doubt that grandmother already has tea and snacks prepared.¡± She took one furtive look at the adjoining yards. Smiling when the property to their right showed nothing untoward, seeming all but abandoned, though wincing when she saw more than half a dozen students staring at them open-mouthed on the academy side of their yard.

    ¡°Did you see them? They were flying in the air!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Ruidian pair that dared three delves in a week¡¯s time? But Ruidians can¡¯t fly, can they?¡±

    The youngest looking observer adamantly shook her head. ¡°No, I hear the boy¡¯s actually a cultivator.¡±

    This earned a snort from the oldest, glaring Alex¡¯s way. ¡°My friend says they¡¯re a menace, that they taint the rifts. I hear that they were both kicked out of the aspirant¡¯s classes.¡±

    A flushing Alex quickly turned away, ears burning with words that now carried even more perfectly than before, thanks to his newfound affinity with the wind. And if Ya Ling¡¯s sympathetic look was anything to go by, she had caught ever whispered words as well.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go inside. I know Reny wants to speak with you, and I suspect grandfather does as well.¡±

    Only then did Alex freeze, abruptly remembering why he had been so willing to sleep in the luxurious quarters provided without first checking up on his friends. At least not before he had a good night¡¯s sleep to prepare himself. Not if they had sensed just how far his hold over their bodies and minds had been.

    To his genuine surprise, it was Linnea who gave his hand a soft squeeze.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, future husband. You did naught but save their lives.¡±

    ¡°Linnea...¡±

    ¡°And mine as well.¡±

    He turned Linnea¡¯s way as Ya Ling led them inside, unable to disguise the shame he felt, and the memory of another beautiful redhead who had once gazed at him in terror, once she understood what he was capable of.

    Yet to his profound relief, all he received was a gentle smile. ¡°I hear that when two people make love, or dual cultivate, they become one in body, mind and soul. So why should I fear when allegory becomes reality?¡± Linnea flashed a teasing grin. ¡°Even if we¡¯re not actually making love. At least not yet.¡±

    Alex gently squeezed her hand, truly grateful for her words, and forgiveness, even if he still held so much of his feelings back. And it seemed she understood that as well. She knew that if his heart wasn¡¯t already spoken for¡­ and he sensed how she patiently waited for acceptance of the past to wash away bitter regrets in the present, and allow them both to savor the sweet sharp joy of savoring the moment¡­ and each other.

    He flushed, sensing her unguarded thoughts, earning a saucy smile before both their focus turned to the luxuriously appointed foyer and grand dining hall just past, where Alex had savored his tastiest meal at the college so far, prepared by Reny herself when she treated his entire class¡­ with a feast that was somehow even grander than before.

    And there a smiling Reny and benevolent-looking Qing Wu waited for the three of them even now. Even Dui Zhong was there, giving Alex the fierce approving smile of one warrior to another. And the one thing he didn¡¯t see in anyone¡¯s eyes was horror, dismay, or the lingering fear of Alex¡¯s will scurrying across their psyche, infecting their souls.

    Alex was almost choked up with relief. He then bowed before his hosts.

    ¡°This one greats his elders and gives thanks for meal you would share with him and his.¡±

    ¡°The food looks delicious, and I can¡¯t wait for another foot bath!¡± Linnea declared in wholehearted agreement.

    Reny beamed. ¡°Please have a seat, both of you! The rufas are in high spirits today, and I would count it a personal honor if you were to partake of this humble fare.¡±

    ¡°Indeed!¡± Qing Wu said, now giving them both the personal honor of pouring strong brandy-like spirits into thimble glasses for both of them. ¡°Make yourselves at home and share your adventure with us! Eat, drink, be merry, and finish the tale we had started together!¡±

    Alex and Linnea shared a glance and began to do just that, Alex¡¯s friends at first cheering their accomplishments, then their faces grew ever more grave, brittle smiles cracking under the pressure of remembered horror, when they came to understand just how grave the situation had been, how perilous Alex¡¯s daring, and how deadly the delve now truly was.

    ¡°So that¡¯s it. It looks like Liushi¡¯s just lost it¡¯s safest delve,¡± Dui Zhong said with a soft curse.

    Qing Wu¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°And the spirit beast count continued to increase while we were there? Even more so after we had left? Are you absolutely sure of that, Alex? Sure that there were cats that had simply cloaked until the¡­¡± his words died off under Alex¡¯s resolute gaze. He gave a frustrated shake of his head. ¡°Damn. This is bad.¡±

    ¡°Especially since it works right in the Duo Li clan¡¯s favor,¡± Linnea glared at her spirit beast stew. ¡°Tan Yi was all but gloating, he or his clan having somehow forced Elder Win¡¯s hand to make our getting booted from the class official, and the looks in his cousin¡¯s eyes when we passed them were that of men who would eagerly see us dead¡­ and were working behind the scenes to make that so.¡±

    ¡°Although to be fair, that¡¯s just speculation,¡± Alex conceded. ¡°We just know that they hate our kind. But still, Tan Yi seemed almost offended that we managed to survive the western rift,¡± he said with a snort. Then his smile faded. ¡°But as things stand, something has to be done, or this city¡¯s future will be jeopardy. Because if the Duo Li clan successfully leverages the fear and panic that will no doubt ensue when a second waterfall inevitable dies out, I suspect that the citizens of Liushi will pay a terrible price.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s features paled. ¡°They¡¯ll start purges. Where there had been centuries of peace¡­ those bastards will embrace the old ways like they had never stopped.¡±

    Reny lowered her gaze in shame. Qing Wu gave a tired nod. ¡°Probably. It¡¯s only thanks to your tribe that so many Water cores have been successfully found over the years. And how odd it is that this city is suddenly suffering such a shortage that they need illusions to cover their unforgivable failing.¡±

    Dui Zhong sighed and shook his head. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t we have had this conversation before I invested so much in local real estate?¡± He rubbed his brow. ¡°And there isn¡¯t anything necessarily devious about the lack of Water cores. In all my years traveling the desert, I only uncovered a single Ice core. And that¡¯s what allowed me to walk the sands as a caravan master in the first place,¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°Still, if anyone¡¯s hoarding, the rates I¡¯m hearing in certain circles make it clear that the prince is as aware of the situation as anyone, and revealing such a prize will not only earn you silver and property, but peerage as well.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eye widened. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re saying we could earn noble titles just by presenting him with a Water core?¡±

    ¡°Or Ice,¡± the former caravan master said. ¡°He¡¯s not picky. Both work quite well for securing the basin, and the Ice cores grant a cooling effect as well, even if they don¡¯t last quite as long as Water.¡± He then gave a glaring Qing Wu a sympathetic smile. ¡°It appears that a certain bursar did indeed play us all like fools. And he¡¯s nowhere to be found, by the way. We suspect he fled the city a truly rich man, or he¡¯s a shriveled corpse with his throat cut somewhere in the desert. Either way, he¡¯s beyond our reach now.¡±

    ¡°And he might not have even sold it to the Duo Li clan,¡± Reny sighed. ¡°Liushi isn¡¯t the only desert city depending on beast core enhanced water sources.¡±

    ¡°At least we made sure that the deed and title to our property is well and truly ours,¡± Ya Ling added. ¡°That bastard was at least not so stupid as to forge those documents, though that¡¯s small consolation, all things considered.¡±

    Alex gave a sympathetic nod, before flashing a rueful smile. ¡°I think we¡¯ve all been played by that clan to one extent or another. Because even if both Elder Win and Senior Cultivator Te Chang made it quite clear that I was always welcome to delve the rifts as often as I chose, with whomever I chose¡­ it was also made clear that I can no longer be considered a disciple of the academy.¡±

    Alex looked sadly down at the pin an oddly apologetic Te Chang had given him. Copper had been replaced with a rather pretty brass alloy, with a clear crystal jewel at its heart symbolizing his own odd path as best they could. For a Fire specialist might receive a ruby jewel and a frost specialist a brilliant blue Sapphire, but there were no jewels for body specialists, as he was now referred to as, so Te Chang managed to claim a very old and no doubt valuable pin. Certainly it worked as well if not better than their standard artifacts, instantly imprinting the 1800 credits Alex was owed. Yet it was a Ruidian jewel master¡¯s pin he wore, not a cultivator¡¯s. Which both meant he had privileges that students did not and absolutely no strictures to his freedom. But it also meant that he was denied all access to the library. For what point was there to Ruidians studying sacred texts? Even if he could at least hire wujen to help him emulate spiritual energy forms with pure mana. A boon for many an elementalist looking to diversify his or her arts, he was sure.

    But that did him absolutely no good at all if his goal was to finally be able to study cultivation tomes rich in spiritual potency. Precisely what he needed in order to advance his arts, and the one prize he had just been cut off from all access to. Clearly, if he was going to advance further at this academy, it would be either through paid instructors with nothing better to do who might take months to teach what he could absorb from a manual in days, or through the Path of Peril, just as it had always been before.

 Book 8 - Chapter 67 - Cross-Series promo :) Battleforged Book 1 in now on Audible!

    Alex was surprised by the bitterness in his own voice when he explained what had happened, just as he was touched by the concerned looks all his friends gave him.

    ¡°At least you have no strictures at all for purchasing property and supplies, Alex,¡± Dui Zhong said in an attempt at comfort. ¡°Silver Sands credits are as good as coin. In some circles, they¡¯re worth even more.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Alex said with a humorless chuckle. ¡°If I don¡¯t mind buying property in a city just a hairsbreadth away from a purge, it¡¯s great. But if I actually came here to grow as a cultivator, being denied all access to spiritual tomes which would allow me to learn so much quicker than by simple observation is about as cruel a blow to my future as I could suffer, and probably exactly what that Tan Yi shithead hoped would happen.¡±

    Surprisingly, it was Linnea who shook her head. ¡°No, Alex. He was hoping you¡¯d get kicked out altogether, so you¡¯d be easy pickings for his clan. That¡¯s my guess. I saw the hunger in his eyes. The way he looked like he wanted to explode with fury when Elder Win made it clear that you were still very much welcome to stay at the college and dare the rifts¡­ because the gods above know they need Ruidians willing to take on those Shadow cats and get what cores they can¡­ even if you¡¯re not longer able to benefit from free instruction or any access to the library at all.¡±

    Alex slowly nodded, conceding the point. He then flashed a bleak smile. ¡°I¡¯m almost tempted to leave school grounds right now and enjoy all that the city has to offer. And on the off chance any thugs feel like following me and making it clear how ¡®unwelcome¡¯ I truly am with the clan eager to seize control¡­ I¡¯ll be more than happy to let them know just how I feel about their strong-arm bullshit.¡±

    Qing Wu snorted. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, disciple. Besides, I happen to know for a fact that absolutely nothing prevents any cultivator from tutoring any associate of the school however they see fit¡­ and that includes making use of whatever spiritual treasures they might have available.¡±

    With a knowing smile he turned to Ya Ling who flashed a beatific grin. ¡°That¡¯s perfect, Grandfather! We received the same blessing consuming the same legendary treasures, so maybe it will work just as well for him as it does for me!¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Yet almost before he said the words, Ya Ling was gone in a flash and a gust of wind¡­ only to return moments later holding a treasure radiating so much spiritual energy that Alex felt the world still at the sight of it.

    His heart began to pound, instantly understanding the significance of that glorious glow. The hyper-realness of the prize causing everything near it to pale to gentle insignificance.

    He gazed at Ya Ling in profound wonder. ¡°You actually have a tome of that caliber. Here. In this city. How?¡±

    He quickly looked around, relieved to see that Qing Wu was already two steps ahead, sensing the frigid wards now surrounding the property.

    Qing Wu gazed at him for long moments, before giving a nod of bemused approval as Ya Ling placed the tome in Alex¡¯s trembling hands. ¡°I see you understand its significance. And the way you hold it, the look in your eyes...¡±

    Reny¡¯s gaze widened. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time this boy has held an artifact of this caliber.¡±

    Even Ya Ling blinked. ¡°I know. He didn¡¯t topple over under its spiritual weight!¡± She flashed Alex a curious smile. ¡°Do you truly understand what this is?¡±

    Alex slowly nodded. Also knowing better than to say it aloud. Just in case.

    A Gold tier tome.

    Here, in Liushi. A city with a double handful of Silvers at most.

    But what was most remarkable of all, Alex thought, was that it wasn¡¯t simply a tome emphasizing proper cycling and core formation exercises. In fact, if he didn¡¯t know better...¡±

    He gazed up at his smiling hosts. ¡°May I?¡±

    Qing Wu snorted. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have revealed it if I didn¡¯t expect you to peruse it.¡±

    Alex flushed then grinned, before beginning his most careful perusal, wise enough only to glance at the upper left corner of each page, without allowing himself to get sucked into the story of its creation, or the tales of the authors within.

    Reny gave an approving nod. ¡°Good. It seems that our young prodigy here is both talented enough to understand the ramifications of spiritual communion with a cultivation tome¡­ and wise enough not to lose himself before he¡¯s truly prepared.¡±

    After long moments of perusing the tome, an increasingly bemused Alex turned back to Reny and Qing Wu. ¡°It¡¯s a heritage treasure that radiates so much potency that I thought¡­ but it has nothing beyond forging multi-strand cables while making use of half-step elements. Fascinating, yet it has nothing on forging a proper Gold Core.¡± He shook his head in wonder, ignoring the odd looks these words earned him. ¡°Yet the techniques it offers¡­ with Ice, Sand, Wind, even Lightning¡­¡± He gazed at his friends in wonder. ¡°This tome is priceless. Beyond priceless. The pristine nature of the techniques within are as refined as is possible.¡± His eyes crinkled in a heartfelt smile. ¡°This is a truly priceless treasure.¡± He sighed. ¡°What my librarian would give for a copy of this tome.¡±

    Qing Wu snorted. ¡°And just how prestigious is your own background that you keep from us that you actually have a library of your own, let alone a librarian?¡±

    Linnea exchanged a long glance with Alex that caused his cheeks to blaze. Reminding him once more that this beautiful redhead now had access and awareness of secrets not a single other living soul knew in this time and place.

    The young Ruidian flushed and looked away, sensing his dismay.

    Alex winced. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°I would never break your trust, you know that,¡± she whispered with her mind alone.

    Alex squeezed her hand in gentle apology before turning to his friends. ¡°To have stumbled into such pristine good fortune...¡± he slowly shook his head. ¡°No. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll believe that you actually stumbled upon this treasure just by simple chance.¡±

    Reny and Qing Wu both exchanged satisfied smiles of there own. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that there was more than one reason why we came back to Liushi,¡± Reny conceded, eyes twinkling.

    Qing Wu flashed a hard smile of his own. ¡°When word came to be that an old acquaintance had passed on¡­ the source of so much contention and half the reason why we became nomads so many years ago¡­ I thought it high time we return to our roots.¡±

    ¡°And reclaim the heritage treasures that another had dared to claim in our steed!¡± Reny declared, eyes flashing with sudden heat, before it faded in a sigh. ¡°We knew there were no guarantees, of course. But when we saw that this property was currently in contention...¡±

    Qing Wu flashed a hard smile. ¡°Let¡¯s just say we were eager to make it our own. And if a certain Bursar was open to aiding us in circumventing unwanted competition¡­ we were not opposed to making it worth his while.¡±

    Alex gazed at his friends for long bemused moments, before breaking out in laughter. ¡°And here I thought you were the aggrieved property. But you were using that missing asshole just as much as he was using you!¡±

    ¡°And we had thought ourselves so clever,¡± Reny said with a rueful chuckle. ¡°Our focus being on making sure that we had the royal bursar¡¯s own stamp of approval on our deed to match the one our own fixer was using. Only to find that we had been focusing on entirely the wrong things.¡±

    Qing Wu nodded. ¡°We should have realized that not all was as it seemed when everything flowed together so easily and well¡­ not a single delay on the paperwork at all!¡±

    ¡°Because we had no idea how precious the Water core we had traded truly was,¡± Reny admitted with an embarrassed shrug. ¡°So of course everyone involved went out of their way to facilitate a smooth transition. It secured them a fortune beyond what even we were aware of.¡±

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Yet to that, Alex couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, patting the tome now before him. ¡°And I¡¯d still say you made out like bandits with the trade, were it not for the situation here in the caldera. Still, as far as your own fortunes go...¡± He gazed with renewed wonder at the tome before him. ¡°Tell me this tome alone isn¡¯t as precious as almost anything else you¡¯ll find in the library.¡±

    Surprisingly, Qing Wu snorted at that. ¡°There are indeed treasures in the secured vaults of the library that some would consider its equal. But those are few and far between, carefully secured so that only the most favored disciples will ever have access to them.¡± He nodded with pride at the ancient tome in Alex¡¯s hands. This is a true treasure regardless, and one tied to our bloodlines. So it works far better for those with my clan¡¯s blood in their veins than anyone else.¡± He then turned, peering at Alex thoughtfully. ¡°The only question that remains is how well it might or might not work for you?¡±

    Alex blinked at that, genuinely touched by the trust he had been shown just in presenting him with this prize.

    He swallowed the lump in his throat, bowing from the waist. ¡°I will treasure the opportunity to learn from it, and I am truly honored to have the privilege to do so.¡±

    ¡°But don¡¯t fret, even if it does you little good,¡± Reny urged with a reassuring pat of his hand. ¡°In truth, the I find the tome as hard to understand as my husband after too much rice wine. It¡¯s possible that such is the case for anyone not of his blood.¡± She snorted at his expression with those words as Ya Ling erupted with silvery peels of laughter. ¡°So true, grandmother!¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s gaze then grew intent. Hungry with a need Alex could scarce fathom, as she clutched his hand with her good one, before bowing to Linnea. ¡°If this one might borrow your fiance...¡± She turned to gaze at Alex with her soft brown eyes. ¡°Before anything else¡­ tell me, how did you enjoy our practice today?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Very much. I needed a good workout like that.¡±

    Ya Ling seemed to melt into her self with relief. She closed her eyes before nodding to herself. ¡°It will be midday in just a glass. Alex?¡± She bit her lip worriedly. ¡°Would you mind sparring with me again? Only¡­ not here.¡±

    Alex blinked, curiosity piqued. ¡°Of course. Where did you want to spar?¡±

    She gazed at him for long moments. ¡°How about the desert sands?¡±

    Alex smiled. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m in.¡±

    Her eyes widened with surprise. ¡°Just like that?¡±

    ¡°Just like that. I can tell this is important to you. I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re looking to synergize Wind and Sand? And where better than the desert at high noon, am I right?¡±

    Alex was surprised to see the ears in the corner of her eyes. ¡°Alex I¡­ thank you. You don¡¯t know what this means to me.¡±

    Linnea bit her lip, before bowing her head. ¡°Alex? I need to check on my uncle and cousin.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Really?¡±

    She winced. ¡°It¡¯s been almost five days¡­ and I know they¡¯re worried. And honestly, despite my row with Lieberman, I¡¯m worried to. We both know that things are no longer as simple as they were a week ago¡­ so I want to make sure that they know the score.¡± Her brow furrowed. ¡°And know that maybe these rifts aren¡¯t really safe for us to delve at all. Not with Shadow beast infestations and a clan actively planning our downfall.¡±

    Alex winced, then bowed his head. ¡°I hate to say it, but you¡¯re probably right.¡±

    She sighed. ¡°I know I am. I guess I¡¯ll meet you back at our apartments at nightfall?¡±

    ¡°You are always welcome to make yourself at home here as well, Linnea,¡± Reny gently remonstrated. Her eyes twinkled with unmistakable warmth. ¡°In fact we¡¯re going to be having some wonderfully spicy lamb curry tonight.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes lit with unmistakable pleasure. ¡°I absolutely love lamb curry!¡±

    ¡°Then by all means, join us. Your relatives are welcome as well.¡±

    Linnea gave Reny an impulsive hug, before darting back to kiss Alex on the cheek, then darted out the door with a farewell wave.

    Alex gazed at her for long moments, cheeks flushing with the bemused looks his friends were giving him.

    ¡°Alex...¡±

    Alex flashed Ya Ling his gentlest smile. ¡°Let¡¯s get going, shall we?¡±

    His first real friend since waking up in this time and place gave him a hesitant nod, and together they left without another word.

    For all that Alex felt an unexpected weight between them, it faded rapidly with his first snarky comment about the prudish looks on half the young self-important cultivator¡¯s faces that they passed by, her silvery peels of laughter brightening Alex¡¯s day almost as much as the brilliant sun overhead caressing them with its warmth as they left the campus and made their way along the streets filled with palm trees, market stalls and a busy populace. The cheerful smiles and warm looks they received from both date vendor and casual passersby by further served to lighten Alex¡¯s mood and make it clear that the average citizen had no idea how precarious their lives might soon become¡­ if fresh Water cores weren¡¯t found soon.

    Ya Ling squeezed his hand, as if sensing brooding thoughts. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she said between handfuls of salted nuts and dates, ¡°everything will work itself out.¡±

    Alex smiled. ¡°I certainly hope so,¡± he said as they approached the eastern gate, new to Alex but clearly not to Ya Ling who traded a few quips with the guards dressed in lamellar armor along with white tabards which were all but a necessity under the midday desert sun, in addition to the shade provided by trees alongside the portcullises.

    The closest guard offered them a respectful nod. ¡°Your camels are waiting for you, Lady Wu.¡±

    Ya Ling grinned. ¡°Thank you, San. And here¡¯s something for you both to help with the desert sun,¡± she said, passing a flask Alex just knew was filled with rice wine.

    San pocketed the flask with a finesse that would have done any Bronze speedster proud, even if he was still in the first steps of basic cultivation himself. ¡°Enjoy your meditation,¡± the guard said with a knowing nod Alex¡¯s way, earning a polite chuckle from Ya Ling. Far different from the offense Alex might have expected.

    With a farewell wave, Alex and Ya Ling were soon riding a pair of surprisingly sedate camels, and Alex totally knew things would be much more challenging if the beast he was on wasn¡¯t content to follow its partner, because certainly it was paying no attention to Alex¡¯s reins¡­ so Alex wisely didn¡¯t try to lead it at all. He did note that the pair of them weren¡¯t continuing in a straight line but curving around the caldera, soon out of sight of the guards with nothing to see but scrub bush, sand, and the steep cliff face of the caldera itself, the city they now called home hundreds of feet above the sands they now strode upon.

    Ya Ling took a deep breath of the hot desert air, eyes twinkling with life and mirth. Wordlessly, they leaped off their camels and began walking up the nearest dune. He looked at the mounts with some concern.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯ll be fine for days, even with no water at all. Besides, they know the way back to the eastern entrance, should worst come to worst.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°Good.¡± He then spun around at the sound of leather against steel, as a grinning Ya Ling unsheathed her new jian, held in a hanging one handed grip, and Alex couldn¡¯t help but gaze upon her form with wide-eyed awe as twirling streamers of sand and wind wrapped about body and blade both. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to synergize the flow of both arts in just a couple of days?¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s laughter echoed through the desert. ¡°Days? It felt like months that I was one with that tome, it¡¯s nature calling out to my blood.¡± The whirling sands eased slightly, revealing her brilliant smile, the tears flowing down her cheeks. ¡°I can only tell you now how crushingly awful it felt, to have lost my hand and come so close to dying.¡± Her eyes grew haunted. ¡°How close we all came to dying, if it hadn¡¯t been for you and your¡­ fiance.¡±

    ¡°Ya Ling...¡±

    ¡°The point is, we came so close to losing absolutely everything. Only the swirling winds within my meridians gave me solace, even when Reny made it clear that my foundation couldn¡¯t endure any sort of flash healing. That it would have to be slow and careful and would take months. Months! If I wanted my peripheral meridian channels to grow along with my flesh¡­ if I wanted to be able to feel the flow of Wind through my blade¡­ or commune with sand as I used to, ever again.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°Months, huh?¡±

    She winked. ¡°It was only then, at my lowest moment, my missing hand throbbing with agony as if it weren¡¯t just there but was on fire, that grandfather revealed to me the prize kept just where he had hidden it when we were forced to leave our family home here, over twenty years ago.¡± She flashed a wicked smile. ¡°The terms of the agreement meant that grandfather had to surrender all his prizes, as our enemies had conspired. They did not, however, demand our revealing where exactly they were hidden. So for all that a dozen lesser tomes are now no doubt in the vaults of that scheming clan, our greatest prizes remained intact still.¡±

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°Very smart. I¡¯m glad your family tome is intact and in one piece.¡±

    Ya Ling snorted. ¡°Not like it would have done them any good, anyway. Their affinities match grandmother''s. And as much as I love her with all my heart, even touching the tome just gives her a headache. If my affinities had been for Wood, Fire, or Metal, I¡¯d probably feel just as she does.¡±

    ¡°But those aren¡¯t your affinities,¡± Alex noted with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re a true queen of the desert, as the winds and sand swirling around you even now show us all.¡±

    Ya Ling nodded and arched her head back.

    Alex¡¯s heart pounded in his chest as the entire dune began to tremble. The desert air grew heavy with grains of sand, Alex instinctively stepping back as the mournful howl revealed a storm of wind and sand forming in the dunes right behind them.

    Alex gazed slack-jawed at the sight of his friend raising slender arms to summon forth a massive twister, shrieking and howling with sand-filled winds that could have sucked down an entire city block.

 Book 8 - Chapter 68

    Alex¡¯s heart was pounding with awe and wonder as the hot dry desert sands whirled about him, and he actually felt himself near jerked off his feet, compelled by the currents until he revealed his own affinity with the Wind.

    For long moments Ya Ling¡¯s eyes remained closed, her hair whipping across her brow as she strove to master the storm that shrieked and howled behind them, seeming to channel the will of the desert itself. Then she abruptly collapsed, Alex darting forth to catch her as the desert sands were replaced by clear still air once more, the enormous twister fading as abruptly as it had come into being.

    Alex gazed down at his friend with concern. ¡°Ya Ling, your lips are pale. You look exhausted. Are you okay?¡±

    Ya Ling managed a soft chuckle. ¡°I recall embracing that ritual countless times before, reliving the life of an ancient ancestor, her story becoming my own. But to cast it in real life, is like onto a dream suddenly become reality¡­ and I have nowhere near the Spiritual energy reserves that my ancestor did.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°You¡¯re still a Bronze, and I know rituals and spells haven¡¯t been your focus¡­ save for being a badass warrior, a true mistress of the sands. But Ya Ling, who cares? What you did was incredible! You have the makings of a wujen as well as that of a kickass warrior. Of that, there can be no doubt.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s lips curved in a bemused smile. ¡°Impressed you, did I?¡±

    ¡°That massive tornado could have devoured an entire block! I¡¯m more than impressed, I¡¯ll tell you that.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you marrying the Ruidian girl?¡±

    Alex blinked, at a momentary loss for words at the abrupt change in conversation.

    Ya Ling had the grace to lower her gaze, dusky cheeks flushing prettily even as Alex handed her a water flash. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t even intending to say that out loud! It just sort of...¡±

    ¡°Slipped out?¡±

    She winced. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Alex sighed, sitting on the once more still desert sands. ¡°Have a seat. Maybe it will make more sense if I explain it.¡±

    Ya Ling solemnly did just that, her eyes widening when he explained his duel with Lieberman, and the customs, as he understood them, of the Ruidian tribes in this part of the world.

    ¡°So you literally have to marry her or her uncle can force her to marry some sickly inbred?¡±

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think malice is motivating him either. As much as I want to hate him¡­ I genuinely think that he thought he was doing right by her. That he believed their clan ¡®elders¡¯ declaring it a safe match. And yeah, I think he¡¯s desperate to marry and have another family of his own while he still can, lest his own gifts and family heritage die out.¡±

    She furrowed her brow. ¡°But doesn¡¯t he have a son?¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°Linnea, once her anger cooled, seemed far more sympathetic toward him that I thought warranted. Then she explained how life normally was in the clans. The pressures that had been constantly put on him and everyone capable of doing what we do¡­ and the death of his wife and daughters.¡± Alex shrugged and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t think he ever got over it.¡±

    Ya Ling scowled. ¡°Well the solution is simple, then. There are nearly half a million people here in this city alone, and Ruidians are both welcomed and valued, at least as long as the Duo Li clan doesn¡¯t ascend. It would take very little effort at all for him to win the notice of any number of women, especially since a single beast core will set you up for years, if not for life, in the more modest areas of the city. With that kind of earning potential¡­ and being both stronger and healthier than the average mortal even if he¡¯s nowhere near a Bronze tier cultivator¡­ it¡¯s only his stubbornness that prevents him from seeing the opportunities before him right here.¡±

    The last she said with a pointed look that had Alex¡¯s cheeks blazing.

    She solemnly clasped his hand. ¡°He could have the world, if he wanted. Even if it took two generations for his gifts to manifest once more.¡±

    Alex¡¯s heart was pounding with the way she was looking at him right now, her dusky lips surprisingly close to his own. ¡°What do you think, Alex? Could he find a prize worth waiting a generation for a fresh jewel?¡±

    Alex swallowed. ¡°He¡¯d be an idiot not to try.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I think too.¡±

    Finesse check failed!

    Alex then found his feet swept from under him as he fell to desert sand so soft it felt like a cloud, blinking to see Ya Ling gazing impishly down at him before her lips brushed against his own.

    And before he could even react, she was curled up against him, her cheek against the changshan tunic that was all that stood between her soft form and his too hot skin, wrapping his arms around her.

    ¡°I missed you, Alex.¡±

    Alex swallowed at the hitch in her voice. ¡°I did too.¡±

    Soft fingers stroked his cheek. ¡°Are you going to do it?¡±

    ¡°Do what?¡±

    She gave him an arch look. ¡°Marry her?¡±

    Alex sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    She snorted. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t marry someone you¡¯re ambivalent about, you know.¡±

    Alex chuckled softly. ¡°I know. But she¡¯s my friend. A dear one. As are you.¡±

    She squeezed him close, soft brown eyes pinning his own. ¡°What if I want you to be more than my friend?¡± She bit her lip. ¡°Far more?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Then I would say that the Alex who didn¡¯t have a Dantian shifted out of true would be very, very lucky to claim you.¡±

    Her teasing expression fell. ¡°So that¡¯s still an issue, I guess?¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°I¡¯m afraid so.¡±

    Her look turned arch. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that might leave you, once you ascend?¡±

    ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m in such a hurry to delve, train, and learn as much as I can?¡±

    ¡°So you can gain enough inspiration to ascend and break through to Silver!¡±

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Alex winked. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s gaze grew thoughtful. ¡°Linnea¡¯s not a bad girl. I think I could grow to like her, over time.¡±

    Alex grinned with relief. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡±

    ¡°But I still want to be first-wife.¡± She immediately broke into laughter. ¡°Oh you should see your expression!¡± Ya Ling sprung to her feat, gently bringing Alex back to his own with her one good hand. ¡°Thank you, by the way.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°For what?¡±

    She glared down at her arm stump. ¡°For never looking at me with pity, or worse, contempt. For not letting your eyes always drift to my pathetic stump.¡±

    Alex wrapped his arms about her in a supportive hug. ¡°It¡¯s alright. The important thing is that we survived.¡±

    She nodded solemnly, before her eyes turned fierce. ¡°Worst case scenario? The damage is permanent. At least until I reach Silver.¡±

    Alex blinked, chilled by those words. ¡°but I thought...¡±

    Ya Ling smiled bitterly, shaking her head before allowing her eyes to longingly gaze upon the endless desert dunes. ¡°It¡¯s the price that I might be forced to pay, Alex. At least it is if I ever wish to be one with the desert sands again. And after daring to fuse my meridians with the power of Wind and Sand conjoined, I must hold fiercely to that union. To my current sense of self.¡± She sighed, lowering her gaze. ¡°If those cats had chosen any other time to strike¡­ but they didn¡¯t. So the damage they inflicted at the worst possible time could very well be forever. I sense it, and I know that Reny does as well, for all that she absolutely refuses to admit it out loud.¡±

    Alex swallowed the sudden bitter lump in his throat, wishing at that moment so fiercely that Fire was one of her elements. Then he could change absolutely everything for her, show her paths of metabolism and regeneration so like the ones that had formed the cornerstone of his greatest art. But she lacked any flame affinity at all, so he had no other good way to correlate his first world metabolic conceptualizations with the flow of Qi in this realm. Which meant that he had no idea how to heal her at all. ¡°So that¡¯s it, then? You have no choice but to give up?¡±

    Ya Ling took a steadying breath. ¡°Not necessarily,¡± she said, now boldly meeting his gaze before giving him a shy, anxious smile. ¡°Do you remember all our desert sparring of just a week or so ago?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Yup, one of the sweetest, most carefree months I can imagine, save for all the creatures and diabolists and undead trying to kill us, I mean.¡±

    She snorted. ¡°Yeah, except for those. Anyway, do you recall how I managed to beat you all those times?¡±

    He grinned. ¡°Of course! All you had to do was become one with the...¡± the words died in his throat. He gazed for long moments at the endless ochre-colored sands and the blushing girl before him, now deliberately unwrapping the bandages around the ugly mangled stump that Reny had closed with a flap of skin. He winced. The stump had been successfully sealed with Reny¡¯s liniments and Alex¡¯s own surge of potency, but the ugly red scars were still puffy and inflamed. Alex didn¡¯t think it was infection so much as a body desperate to fight its own maiming¡­ yet constrained by the limitations of all higher order mammals. Limitations that cultivators could normally surpass, though Alex had had no idea that it might come at such a cost.

    He looked at the pitiable stump to the otherwise sleek and healthy girl before him, radiating a Bronze¡¯s Strength and grace, and a fierce determination to ascend far beyond her own limitations.

    His breath caught in his throat. ¡°Do you think it will actually work?¡±

    Ya Ling forced a trembling smile, choosing that moment to unsheathe her blade. ¡°I think it¡¯s worth a try. Don¡¯t you?¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, suddenly understanding. ¡°Where else but the crucible of battle would you feel so in tune with who you truly are?¡±

    ¡°When I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to survive. To dodge your blows. To blossom into my true self.¡±

    Alex locked gazes with the striking desert queen he faced before nodding solemnly, summoning both dao and a shield of his own.

    Or at least, trying to.

    You have failed to synergize Wind Shield with Water Shield!

    Alex hissed, dismayed by his failure, dismayed by how hard it now was to infuse Water with the Wind that now howled so freely through his soul.

    Certainly Wind wasn¡¯t a problem. It came at his beck and call easier than it ever had before. But balancing that breeze that had become such a glorious whirlwind of potential, Wind Blade slicing through foes with chilling ease in the killing jungles of the Western Rift, revealed at last the bitter sharp double-edge to his gift.

    He might enjoy power like he could scarce fathom with that one element, thanks to his bold, perhaps foolish consumption of spirit fruit unlike any he had ever savored before. Determined to grab a hold of treasures as if desperate to hoard good fortune that might never be his again¡­ only to find that his very act of defiance against the pitiless heavens might be what destroys him in the end.

    He grimaced, slowly shaking his head, before summoning the power of endless oceans once more. ¡°No way in hell will I give up after forging multiple prismatic techniques! I just need a bit more power. I just need to keep tight control.¡±

    And it was endless moments before he found the secret to infusing Water into the howling winds. Yet find that balance he did, even if his Qi Pool rapidly depleted before he finally found the balance he needed, tying down the swirling streams of spiritual energy given elemental life with knots of Qi.

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened at the howling storm of wind now forming the core of his Water Shield when he was finally done.

    ¡°Alex, I¡¯ve never seen it radiating that much potency before!¡±

    He forced a strained smile. ¡°Thanks. Now if only it wasn¡¯t three times as hard to summon and control than it had ever been before, I¡¯d consider it a win. But as it is...¡±

    Ya Ling flashed a suddenly sympathetic smile. ¡°That¡¯s right. You once told me you had an affinity for all eight major elements. And your balanced techniques reflected that. But the legendary boon we both embraced¡­ that kind of threw it all off for you, it seems.¡±

    Alex grimaced, all his concentration just on maintaining his shield. A shield he deliberately made as blunt and forgiving as pounding rapids, which wasn¡¯t perfect, but a damn sight better than infusing it with steel shrapnel and bitter sharp killing intent.

    Because he was sparring with a friend. A friend he refused to hold back with any more than he had to, knowing how desperate she was for a fresh breakthrough in her striving for a miracle, yet still knowing better than to form a shield infused with sharp, killing intent. Because few appreciated just how deadly effective water could be at flaying and piercing ones opponents than himself and the girls he had once cherished so deeply.

    Ya Ling¡¯s focused gaze softened. ¡°Alex, are you alright?¡±

    He jerked a nod, forcing a smile. ¡°Yup! I think I got a two-element shield under control. Finally.¡± He flashed a fierce smile. ¡°And I don¡¯t recommend you take it for granted, even though I did blunt it¡¯s killing intent.¡±

    This earned a smirk, Alex¡¯s eyes widening as the girl before him effortlessly formed a swirling shield of Wind and Sand that she felt no need to anchor to her left hand at all, meaning she was as handy as any warrior, with a shield far more powerful than most.

    Yet no matter Ya Ling¡¯s triumphant grin or the tilt of her chin, Alex could sense the fear underneath her bravado.

    ¡°Ya Ling, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    She flashed a rueful smile. ¡°Nothing, Alex. It¡¯s just¡­¡± she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯d never want to cross your instincts, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    He blinked, tilting his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand?¡±

    She chuckled softly, eyes twinkling as she stepped back. ¡°Alex, what elements are best for countering sand?¡±

    Alex blinked, gazing at her for long moments before flashing a proud smile. ¡°Wind! That¡¯s right, You managed to find harmony with at least one of the elements that could tear apart any sand dune. But at the same time, when properly harnessed, Wind and Sand make the most fearsome of storms together. So your stronger than ever before, turning your weakness into a strength that you only could with a half-step element!¡±

    She flashed a sad smile. ¡°True. But what do you think will happen if I¡¯m dueling with someone who could tear through me with a whirlwind of water? The power of a hurricane Alex, ripping through mud like a knife through chutney.¡±

    Alex winced, not hesitating to let his whirlwind of water ease to a gentle spray of mist, soon replaced by rich green sprouts winding themselves into a leafy wood ward excellent for catching blades and deflecting blows.

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°Much better, hero. An element combination that won¡¯t jeopardize me. Now I¡¯m just worried about you!¡± She said, patting the exquisitely sharp steel blade at her hip.

    Alex grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t be. Because no matter how well Steel bests wood, green springy brambles and gummy sap are still the bane of any masterwork blade.¡±

    This earned a wince from Ya Ling. ¡°True.¡± Her gaze brightened. ¡°Which means this will actually be a challenge!¡± She saluted Alex with her sword. ¡°Shall we?¡±

    He dipped his head.

    And in the blink of an eye, they charged as one.

 Book 8 - Chapter 69

    Steel flashed under the light of the desert sun as probing feints became teasing slashes, Alex reveling in the feel of the blade in his hand as he knocked aside Ya Ling¡¯s lightning fast strike before countering with a graceful flick of his blade that would have drawn blood had it hit, his opponent arching her chin back from what would have been a painful nick. Alex couldn¡¯t hold back his grin as he reveled in their contest, darting forward to trap her blade, forcing her weapon up high before slamming against her elemental shield with his own.

    Only to find that he was the one sent sprawling back, and he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as whirling wind and blistering sand showed just how powerful affinities could be, as his own shield was sent flying and only a desperate twist kept her razor sharp steel from kissing his hips.

    ¡°Almost got you there, hero,¡± she teased.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but grin in agreement, saluting her with his blade before approaching with a high hanging guard. His footwork was aggressive but his teasing blade refusing to over-extend. Instead he teased her out, taunting her with steel until her smirk became a frown of deadly serious concentration. Then, in the blink of an eye, Alex was reminded that he wasn¡¯t necessarily the fastest cultivator in this patch of the desert, it being all he could do to counter the sudden flurry of slashes that was normally not the forte of the jian, but with the power of Wind behind every blow, Alex¡¯s dao was jolted with each slash he parried or forced off line.

    Until a gust of grit caught his eye and the sting of fiery pain truly put him in his place once more.

    You have successfully countered Wind Flurry!

    Finesse check failed. You have failed to counter sand blast!

    You have been struck for one Light Wound! (Draconic resilience mitigates to Superficial Wound.)

    ¡°Alex!?¡± Qi Perception made it clear that his friend had stepped back, the worry plain in her voice as she spoke on. ¡°Oh, deserts mercy, I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t meant to cut so deep! I just reacted instinctively after over-extending my flurry to cover myself.¡±

    Alex waved away her concern, Prismatic Fox reducing both the sting on his hip and in his eyes to a tingle within seconds, Biochemical Mastery giving him a surge of lubricating tears. Then the grit was gone after a single eye-wipe. ¡°Actually that was spot on what you should do. We¡¯re using live steel and fighting in earnest.¡± His gaze grew intent. ¡°Even if we¡¯re pulling our blows, this all means nothing if you don¡¯t truly feel that sense of jeopardy and peril that¡¯s so necessary if we¡¯re going to push ourselves to the next level. So you¡¯re darn right you should use every trick at your disposal, just as you would for bandits or spirit beasts.¡±

    He chuckled softly. ¡°It¡¯s me that should apologize for not taking you as seriously as I should have.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened, sensing the storm of wind now surrounding him in a tight protective shell. ¡°Alex, what art are you using? I can tell it¡¯s Wind related. It all but calls out to me!¡±

    Alex smiled. ¡°Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection. Let¡¯s just say I was inspired by historical accounts of a true badass who rocked the battlefields with a similar variant, and even if this won¡¯t do crap against Lightning or Spirit Qi, it has the advantage of deflecting both physical strikes and Qi attacks relying on a mostly physical medium.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s features broke into a hungry grin. ¡°You¡¯re so teaching me that technique just as soon as we¡¯re done here.¡±

    Alex flashed her a teasing smile. ¡°That all depends on whether or not you can beat the secrets out of me, doesn¡¯t it, princess?¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s only answer was to renew her onslaught with greater force and fury that ever before. Her eyes were wild with excitement and hunger in equal measure as her killing steel darted forth like a serpent¡¯s strike.

    Had Alex¡¯s Quickness not ascended to Bronze Rank 2, he knew he would have been marked already. Were his own strikes and parries not enhanced by 7 ranks of Wind Crane kung fu, her blows would have slammed effortlessly past his guard.

    Tearing through all resistance with more force than Elder Win¡¯s own sheering blow, Alex had no doubt that steel would have been pierced, and stone exploded under the force of her onslaught. All of which was enough, just barely enough to give him hope that all was not lost. He prayed that Ya Ling was truly one with her blade, the wind howling all around them, and the desert sands stretching for endless miles.

    Because it was time for him to stop holding back.

    Find Weakness skill check: Success! You sense the flaws in your opponent¡¯s form, still not used to being without her left hand.

    Soul Sight skill check: Success! You effortlessly sense the flow of spiritual energy coursing through a girl who would claim you as her own!

    You have successfully trapped your opponent¡¯s blade.

    You have successfully BLUFFED your opponent with your killing intent!

    You have taken one Medium Wound!

    You have avoided crippling injury.

    Alex would have to give her credit. Her jian, so heightened with the essence of Wind and a technique enhanced killing thrust, was far beyond what any steel blade could counter, even backed by Golden Realms mastery and 7 Ranks of an elemental killing art and Bronze Rank 3 strength.

    So Alex didn¡¯t bother even trying, instead allowing the mesh of sap-laden wooden slats, vines, and leaves to catch her blade. Of course, the latticework did nothing to stop the piercing blow, now tearing into his forearm. But wood that parted so easily to steel¡¯s killing edge could latch onto the smooth sides of the blade with surprising efficacy, thanks to tensile strength and sap that proved the synergism of Wood, Biochemical Mastery, and the echo of ancient forests long gone but never forgotten.

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened in surprised dismay, her own hungry intent wilting before the sight of Alex¡¯s crimson blood spurting from his forearm, thanks to steel that bit far more readily than even she had anticipated.

    ¡°Alex, No!¡± Her word of dismay became desperation of another sort, when she simultaneously realized that she had just blooded and infuriated her friend with a crippling blow, and that she couldn¡¯t slip her sword free. That the overlapping latticework of fibers, in fact, had completely trapped her blade. At that moment, forced completely off balance with her shield poorly positioned to counter, Ya Ling was utterly vulnerable to a furiously roaring Alex¡¯s bitter sharp steel blade being RAMMED right into her¡­

    Before Alex stumbled to the desert sands in a puff of wind.

    Heart hammering, Alex quickly rolled for all he was worth when the air hissed with the slick sound of steel piercing three feet of desert dune.

    Laughing, he didn¡¯t stop, continuing to roll as the hiss of steel against sand grew ever closer. A dozen lethal blows in just a handful of seconds. ¡°Damn you, Alex! You could have killed me!¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t dare hesitate for even a second, springing back to his feet and roaring with mimed fury once more, this time crashing into her with a shield of crushing stone, just barely keeping his footing as he sent her stumbling back, both hands raised to defend herself as Alex snarled and struck. No longer holding back his own ferocity as his dao roared with fire that would have instantly cooked flesh¡­ had his blade passed through anything but sand.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The momentary glare of a perfectly carved statue chilled him with such a look of hurt betrayal before crumbling to the desert sands.

    And then Alex was dodging a furious whirlwind of howling grit. Eyes shut but he didn¡¯t need them with Qi Perception, Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection muting hot desert sands capable of flaying flesh from bone into mere stinging irritation as Alex roared and crashed once more into a horrified looking Ya Ling, stumbling back, crashing to the ground, both hands raised in sudden panic as a howling Alex lifted high a blade now crackling with the explosive power of the storm.

    Willpower check made!

    Alex froze in horror, gazing down at a girl that in another time and place¡­ he fell to his knees, gut roiling with shame. He swallowed the painful lump in his throat as he slowly resheathed his blade, Ya Ling staring at him with an odd mixture of confusion, horror, and desperate hope.

    ¡°Alex? Alex, what the hell was that!?¡±

    Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°That final moment was me realizing that I was being the biggest fool in the world, channeling Water and Lightning as if against an enemy, not a friend I hold so dear to my heart as you,¡± he whispered under the glaring midday sun.

    Ya Ling blinked at that, shuddering as she regained her feet, glaring at him, before bursting into tears. ¡°Damn you, you could have killed me! You scared the shit out of me! What were you doing? What the hell were you doing?¡±

    Alex chuckled softly, now flashing a shit-eating grin. He said nothing, slowly stepping forward, hands open before him.

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. Her breath hitching her throat, gazing at him so intently as he took another step forward, gently clasping her right hand with his left¡­ and her left with his right.

    He stepped even closer, forehead gently touching her own as her breath came in hitched gasps and he saw every beauty mark and flaw of her dusky features, ignoring the sudden flare of painful heat from his Dantian, no longer able to deny how very much he hungered for her.

    Instead, he gently rose her left hand to his lips and kissed her palm, delighting in her startled shiver.

    ¡°I was just helping you remember who you truly were.¡±

    ¡°Your future wife?¡± she teased with a husky laugh.

    Finesse check failed!

    Alex blinked in surprise, dismayed to be foot-swept twice in the same afternoon by the same girl. The last coherent thought he suffered for long seconds when soft warm lips met his own and his world became a searing flame.

    Until he lurched back with a hiss and a painful wince, flashing a truly regretful smile.

    ¡°If only I didn¡¯t walk such a crooked path,¡± he groaned.

    Ya Ling¡¯s look of hurt confusion turned to a rueful smile as well. Her cheeks flushed prettily but she gazed at him boldly. ¡°We really need to get you to Silver, don¡¯t we, Alex?¡±

    Her smile froze him where he stood. ¡°Because make no mistake, I am claiming you, hero, if it¡¯s the last thing I do.¡±

    She then stood up, offering her hand to help him back to his feet.

    So of course he pulled her close and flipped her over, gazing down at her as he pinned her hands with his own.

    Her eyes widened, and her sudden smile promised the world. ¡°Take me. Here and now.¡±

    ¡°You have no idea how much I want to do just that.¡±

    She bit her lip. ¡°Grandmother has tinctures like you wouldn¡¯t believe. I know she knows how much I want you. I know she was working on something...¡± she flushed, chuckling softly. ¡°I think she knew this would happen.¡±

    Alex blinked. Hit by the sudden desperate hope that there actually was such a thing¡­ but all he had to do was think of WiFu¡¯s sad smile to know that there was no way in hell any force on heaven or earth would allow him to slip free of a noose even now shrieking with all the force and fury of a singularity both in the core of his dantien and an entire universe away.

    Enduring the desperate pounding of his own heart, Alex whispered the words he most needed to say.

    ¡°Can you break free of my grip?¡±

    Ya Ling smirked. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s me who¡¯s gripping you. Maybe I¡¯m the jealous, greedy type and in the end I decided that I¡¯m not sharing you with anyone.¡± She chuckled throatily, twisting and shoving with her hips as the entire sand dune responded to her will, and suddenly it was a slightly dizzy Alex who was being pinned by the desert angel on top of him, arching her spine as she smirked down at him, her hands squeezing his so tight before she brought his palm to her lips and kissed him.

    ¡°Sorry, Alex. I¡¯m not letting you go.¡±

    Biochemical Master skill check made!

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened when Alex¡¯s left hand slipped free.

    Then her smile grew. ¡°I still have you, hero.¡±

    Alex gazed pointedly at the hand she held. ¡°Yes, you do.¡± His gaze grew strangely intent. ¡°Now close your eyes and center yourself while squeezing my hand as tight as you can! Never forget that feeling, Ya Ling. Never forget the feel and weight of your own hand.¡±

    Only then did Ya Ling freeze up, eyes wide with disbelief.

    She began to tremble, tears streaming down her face.

    ¡°Alex, I don¡¯t want to look. I couldn¡¯t bear it if...¡±

    Alex gently kissed her lips. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Ya Ling. I can feel it. I can feel the blood coursing through it. It¡¯s you. You¡¯re now the same as you ever were. More powerful than you ever were. And now you know that no matter what happens, with the kiss of the desert sands under the noonday sun, you¡¯ll be restored as you were meant to be, all injuries fading away like the dreams they are, as you awaken to the reality of the most beautiful desert queen under the sun, whole and unharmed once more.¡±

    With those words, before she could do more than gasp, he pricked the tip of her finger. She flinched, then her eyes grew wide at the sight of the single drop of blood glistening on the surface.

    Her breath hitched, she locked his gaze with her own. ¡°It¡¯s real. It¡¯s actually bleeding!¡±

    Alex solemnly nodded. It is real. As real as the nose on your face. And now you know exactly what to do to make that injury no more real than dream.¡±

    She trembled. ¡°But what if it doesn¡¯t work? What if I fade to sand and...¡±

    He grinned. ¡°What if you instead emerge two inches taller and as strong as me? Claiming even more of the desert¡¯s potency as your own.¡±

    She smirked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work that way.¡± She furrowed her brow. ¡°At least I don¡¯t think. It just restores me to my pristine form.¡±

    He winked. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    She gazed at him for long moments before disappearing in a gust of wind.

    He laughed when he felt the kiss of steel touching his throat a heartbeat later¡­ her soft lips nibbling his earlobe a second after that.

    ¡°Thank you, Alex.¡± Her arms snaked around him and she squeezed him tight. ¡°I was hoping, desperately hoping that you¡¯d understand what I needed to do. Even though I had reservations¡­ serious reservations, and I was so afraid that I¡¯d flinch, that I¡¯d fail even to use my ability, that I wouldn¡¯t take it seriously enough. But the look in your eyes, that killing intent¡­¡± She shivered against him. ¡°Somehow, I just knew that if I didn¡¯t commune with the desert sands that very instant, I¡¯d be...¡±

    ¡°Doubting yourself still,¡± Alex said, turning around and gently tapping her forehead. ¡°But you did it. We did it. That¡¯s all that matters.¡±

    The beatific grin she flashed was a knife in his heart, reminding him once more of everything he had lost, when he had dared to defy the gods yet again.

    He swallowed the lump in his throat, gently squeezing her hand. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s head back. The night comes quick in the desert sands.¡±

    She sighed and nodded, pert brows furrowing as she took in the rapidly falling dusk. ¡°Strange how fast time flies when we train.¡± She chuckled softly. ¡°And my muscles aren¡¯t nearly as sore as they should be.¡±

    ¡°The advantage of being able to reset your body completely, when you become one with the desert sands,¡± he said with a fond smile, tousling her hair.

    Before freezing stock still, seeing the look of horror reflected in her eyes, the evening suddenly ringing with the frantic peels of bells.

    ¡°Ya Ling, what the hell is that?¡±

    She trembled, eyes widening. ¡°We have to get back to the city, Alex. We have to get back right now!¡±

    ¡°Ya Ling?¡±

    But his friend was already racing a top the dunes as fast as her feet would take her, Alex just a few steps behind.

 Book 8 - Chapter 70

    Thanks to Alex¡¯s exquisite sense of smell, the slightest breeze in the air was all it took to fill him with a sense of looming disaster that had him racing across the desert sands just as fast as the girl beside him, suddenly understanding what those frantic peels had to mean.

    The city, for all that a large portion of it was made of pumice, granite blocks, or tempered clay bricks, a fair portion of the shops and residences were made of wood as well, and almost all buildings had wooden roofs, lattices, and support beams.

    So Alex could visualize all too well what would happen if any sort of fire got out of control in the city above. And with the frantic pealing of those bells¡­

    ¡°Alex, come on! You have to go faster!¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t waste time shouting back, already running for all he was worth. For long moments there was nothing but the distant cacophony of panicked bells and the pounding of his heart as Ya Ling raced pass Alex, whose own feet seemed to sink into the sand, no matter how much he visualized stiff Earth beneath his feet.

    So he did what he should have done from the start. Turned panicked energy to calm focus, feeling the breeze shift from a wild current to a comforting hand on his back propelling him forward. A push that soon became an ever-building pressure as he fused focus with subtlety, eager to balance his growing understanding of Wind with a sadly limited Qi pool. Yet each moment of calm focus allowed the wind at his back to gain ever more force and momentum, to the point it was both propelling him with every stride, yet was efficient enough to use that his Qi Pool barely lowered at all.

    You have successfully found the balance between speed and efficiency, now able to run along stone steps or desert sands with the Wind adding speed to your steps!

    Wind Walking is now Rank 5!

    You may now use Wind Walking to boost running speed and minimize fatigue for minimal energy cost!

    Ya Ling wasted no time trading words with the pair of guards and the panicked milling crowd about the gate entrance as they closed with a rapidity well in excess of any racing horse.

    ¡°Nodin, no time to waste! Where¡¯s the fire?¡±

    The guard¡¯s panicked gaze met her own. ¡°Multiple fires, Lady Wu! Several smaller ones by Silver Sands Academy, and half the Southwest quadrant is now blazing out of control! The water pumps aren¡¯t working!¡±

    Even those words caused the crowd by the now closed gate to mill with growing panic, some wanting to be let back in, others screaming to be allowed out, to join the caravan that clearly chose just the right time to depart.

    Ya Ling gave an angry shake of her head, cursing furiously. She turned to Alex, flashing a brief smile to see that he had caught up.

    ¡°Alex, we can¡¯t afford to waste any time, you understand that, right?¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°We¡¯re heading to the Southwest quadrant, aren¡¯t we.¡±

    She flashed a humorless smile. ¡°Please tell me that you¡¯ve been holding back all this time and that you can actually fly as well as you sprint?¡± Without even waiting for an answer, she turned back to Nodin. ¡°No time to waste, we¡¯re going over the wall!¡±

    The man blinked, before he went slackjawed at the sight of Ya Ling literally running through the air.

    ¡°I have rope, Alex, but we need to...¡± Her gaze became one of relief to see Alex cheekily flying right alongside her.

    ¡°Yes, I was holding back. Now we¡¯re wasting time and our spiritual energy reserves. Let¡¯s find that fire and do what we have to do,¡± he said urgently, and whatever exhilaration he secretly felt at seeing the entire glorious city spreading out before him, he broke out in a cold sweat that was a single gut-check away from panic, when he caught sight of the roaring fire on the other side of the city.

    It wasn¡¯t just a few uncontrolled fires.

    It was an entire quarter of the city that was now burning wildly out of control.

    Alex paled at the sight. ¡°Fuck me.¡±

    Ya Ling flashed a humorless smile. ¡°Fuck us both. Are you ready for this, Alex?¡±

    Alex¡¯s features froze, hesitating to answer. But it said something, he thought, that he was still racing toward the hellish flames, as was Ya Ling, no longer worrying about Qi Expenditures. Not with the distant sound of cries and shouts¡­ all too easily able to imagine the countless calamities unfolding at that very second as dozens or perhaps even hundreds of innocent souls either perished of smoke inhalation, or were burnt alive.

    Never before had Alex missed his ability to forge gates through will alone than he did at that very moment, now utterly cut off from the world he had forged, perhaps forever.

    Yet still¡­ there had to be away.

    Ya Ling didn¡¯t bother asking what their plan was, as compelled by desperation and a panicked need just to be there, every bit as much as he was. Yet their pace and the rapidly growing scent of charred wood and thick black smoke wasn¡¯t enough to distract his racing thoughts, desperate to come up with something as the fire grew to an angry inferno in the distance, bright yellow flames flashing and flickering against the smoldering red.

    Never had Alex felt quite so insignificant as he did right at that moment, as he and Ya Ling sunk to the ground by silent accord, knowing there was absolutely nothing that they could do.

    Not against that fearsome blaze.

    ¡°Alex...¡±

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Alex held her shuddering form close. ¡°I know.¡±

    Ya ling choked back a sob. ¡°I thought, maybe with my Wind, if it was small enough¡­ or maybe I could smother it with sand¡­ but no. I don¡¯t think anyone could do anything against that. Not unless we had an entire lake¡¯s worth of water!¡±

    Alex gave a frustrated nod, scratching his neck as he bemoaned his own bitterly tight Qi reserves.

    Before his fingers froze their habitual rubbing of a neck that now wore no beast core collar at all.

    Alex¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he slowly drew a prize that made Ya Ling hiss and step back in alarm.

    ¡°Alex, those things are dangerous!¡±

    But Alex paid her words no mind. Didn¡¯t dare to. All his focus was on the beast core that was so different from the pearlescent cores he recalled during his last incarnation. Once they had seemed attuned to hardly any element at all. But here and now, they had gained a specificity, and a potency, that they had never had before.

    Yet where others saw a glossy dark pearl and thought of crippling waste Qi and crumbling foundations, Alex saw it for what it truly was.

    An incredible font of untapped potential.

    For all that it would be greedily gulped down by his bones in the blink of an eye, if he wasn¡¯t careful.

    Alex took a deep breath, locking gazes with an anxious Ya Ling. ¡°If I can generate water¡­ And I do mean a shit ton of water¡­ Ya Ling, just how strong is your mastery over Wind?¡±

    The girl before him held his gaze for long moments. ¡°No limit, Alex. Or at least, not that I know of.¡± She flashed a shaky grin. ¡°At this point, the howling Winds in my meridians make unleashing gusts about as effortless as, well, passing gas.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hold back a chuckle at the analogy.

    ¡°Well good,¡± he said. ¡°Because I think I have a monumentally stupid idea we could try.¡±

    With those words he closed his eyes and carefully focused inward at the swirling storm of spiritual energy he could so easily channel into a whirlwind of water in the shape of a four foot diameter disk that served as an excellent defense, especially when combined with other elements.

    But today it was pure water alone he summoned, relieved that his mastery was such that now it hardly cost him any energy at all.

    ¡°Alex? Um, I hate to break it to you. But that shield alone...¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Alex furrowed his brow in concentration as he slowly released the instinctive barrier that kept him from absorbing the beast core in his hand right into his Dantian or hungry bones.

    ¡°Damn,¡± he cursed, surprised and dismayed by how fiercely strong a pull his prismatic bones had on the stream of Dark Qi he was allowing through a tiny crack in the barrier between himself and the stone¡¯s potency. Like water crashing down a mighty fall, Alex was powerless to stop his bones from claiming every iota of power he tried to release. To fight that current was like trying to swim upstream through perilous rapids.

    ¡°Alex.¡± Ya Ling¡¯s voice grew worried. ¡°I think we¡¯re running out of time.¡±

    Alex angrily shook away the distracting voices of men and women shouting in panic, crying for water brigades, arguing over shattered cisterns as the smoke grew thick and heavy in the air.

    But what was worst of all were the distant screams as the skies grew crimson with the sun¡¯s parting, the city now lit by the hellish backlight of flames that might consume them all, if they didn¡¯t do something.

    Alex glared furiously down at the stone in his hand. ¡°Why the hell won¡¯t this work?¡±

    A gentle hand clasped his wrist. ¡°Come on, Alex. Let¡¯s see if we can do any good at all. If not? We¡¯ll go back to the house.¡± She gave a bitter shake of her head. ¡°Let¡¯s hope the whole city doesn¡¯t burn down before we¡¯re forced to flee yet again.¡±

    Alex froze then, glancing at the beautiful girl pulling the hem of his changshan. Allowing him to be pulled a single step, then another, his thoughts racing as her expression grew increasingly exasperated. ¡°Alex...¡±

    But Alex had already closed his eyes, desperate to grab ahold of that glimpse of enlightenment. That sense of pulling. Of going along with the flow.

    Ya Ling wasn¡¯t fighting against him so much as directing his movements.

    His heart started to race, suddenly visualizing waterwheels and gristmills¡­ tools that respected the current¡¯s force and didn¡¯t seek to best it¡­ merely to direct its flow.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened as it all finally clicked, finally understanding what needed to be done.

    Ya Ling¡¯s pained expression grew severe. ¡°Alex, come on! Now¡¯s not the time for...¡±

    She froze, gazing at the swirling disk of water before him curiously. ¡°Alex, how¡¯d you get it that big? And why¡¯s it spinning that fast?¡±

    Alex turned to Ya Ling, a wild light in his eyes. ¡°How¡¯d you like to be a hero worthy of the storybooks? Because this city sure as heck could use one.¡±

    She blinked, looking suddenly taken aback. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re serious?¡±

    In answer, Alex leaped to the skies, racing along hot air currents that somehow cut the cost of Wind Walking to a fraction of what it should have been, even as he channeled the power of his Dark Qi pearl right through the now ten foot wide swirling disk of water he held before him. He swallowed, turning his head, catching Ya Ling¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°I have absolutely no idea if this will work. But I do know that the water I summon is real. And I¡¯m thinking that maybe if your wind funnel is constantly ripping it free of my disk...¡±

    Ya Ling flashed a fierce smile. ¡°Are you serious? Alex, that just might work! But there¡¯s no way that¡¯s not going to drain your Qi reserves in seconds.¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°Let me worry about that part, kung fu sister. As long as you can control our water hose¡­ I¡¯ll keep the pump flowing. Deal?¡±

    ¡°Deal.¡± Ya Ling¡¯s excitement was tempered by sudden worry. ¡°Alex, I don¡¯t know how much you know about flame...¡±

    ¡°To much,¡± Alex admitted with a wry grin.

    ¡°Sure. But this is going to be hot. We¡¯re going to be right over an inferno. I¡¯ll be having to balance cooler winds blowing over us just to keep the heat off, and that¡¯s in addition to flight and seeing if I can actually pull the water free of that disgustingly massive Water disk you have spinning way too fast.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°All good points. Are you up for it?¡±

    ¡°Damn right I am.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡±

    Ya Ling, gliding along the air currents far more gracefully than he, squeezed his one free hand before pointing to where they needed to go.

    Alex grimaced and nodded as the sweat beaded upon his brow, knowing he had no right to complain. Because if he was feeling the warmth even with draconic blood pounding through his veins¡­ Between toxic fumes, radiant heat, and deadly updrafts¡­ He could only pray he¡¯d see Ya Ling safely on the other side.

    Yet even knowing all that, she didn¡¯t hesitate to race by his side into the flames.

    He had never felt such admiration for her as he did at that moment. He only hope it would be enough.

 Book 8 - Chapters 71 & 72

    Alex''s racing thoughts stilled to crystalline focus as he blinked back stinging smoke, tormented by distant despairing screams. He was desperate to hide from the blazing inferno below, and all those who had already fallen to smoke and fire.

    His only barrier, of course, was the whirling disk of water he now summoned forth with every ounce of his being. Where normally he felt a river¡¯s worth of current, now it felt like the entire ocean. An ocean he wasn¡¯t just willing but eager to see slip past all restraint, his normally tightly controlled disk, so disciplined and sharp that when enhanced by Metal it could cut through flesh and bone, was now overflowing with crystal-blue waters that were pulled away by furious winds that didn¡¯t abate, not even for a second as the hot dry air grew suddenly misty and cool above the burning city as it suddenly began to rain.

    At first it was just a trickle of droplets that evaporated before even touching the heart of the hideous inferno as an entire quarter of the city faced almost assured destruction.

    But then that weak drizzle of a pair of young cultivators learning just how far they could push themselves rapidly became a torrential downpour. It was a downpour that refused to abate, no matter how hot the fires below blazed, the night growing dark as the waters continued to drench the inferno below.

    Slowly but surely, the pouring rain finally began to make a difference. And for every building that had been blazing inferno before being reduced to steaming piles of hissing, lifeless embers, there were countless lesser fires that had been extinguished, leaving intact countless homes and businesses, saved by the valiant efforts of those below, and the lone pair above.

    Soon the despairing cries below turned to joyful sobs of those thanking the heavens, and the shrieks and wails of those who had already lost the things and people they loved the most.

    It was those cries more than anything else that compelled Alex to keep ahold of the now massive disk of whirling water above what was now the hottest part of the city, no matter how mentally exhausted he was after holding the swirling disk for so long. He could sense Ya Ling¡¯s tremble, the pair of them holding hands even as they controlled Water and Wind together, all their efforts focused on quenching the bitter hot holdout flames that refused to abate, no matter how many gallons of water Alex poured into what must have been the origin point of the entire flame.

    Qi Perception check made!

    That¡¯s when frustration and growing exhaustion turned to tingling awareness, suddenly understanding what the hell was wrong.

    Alex blinked away the stinging smoke that still remained from the one roaring inferno that just wouldn¡¯t quit, glaring down at the building holding such dark secrets.

    ¡°There¡¯s an artifact of some sort down there. Either that, or a ritual. This fire was set on purpose! If we can¡¯t find it and claim it, this fire will never stop burning!¡±

    Alex was expecting at least a grunt of agreement, preparing himself to do what he really, really didn¡¯t want to, charging right into the flame with his massive water surge and draconic blood at least buying him time to do something, when the howling wind he was now so attuned to it felt like an extension of his own abilities abruptly fell off, and Ya Ling toppled over, collapsing from the skies.

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡± Alex¡¯s own fierce daze of insights, exhaustion, and revelation turned to a desperate desire to save his friend from peril, castigating himself for being an absolute fool as Ya Ling, clearly pushed utterly past her limits, began cartwheeling through the air, doomed to crash into the fiery hot hellscape of glowing embers, ash, and ruin below.

    Quickness check made! Willpower check made! You have successfully pushed yourself in ways never dared before!

    In desperation he dived down to grab onto her, not hesitating to manipulate the winds he had communed so deeply with while connected to his dear friend, the skies itself seeming to elevate to hold his exhausted friend aloft just long enough for Alex to swoop down and catch her before immediately making a beeline away from the smoking ruins and the blazing hot inferno at its heart that he couldn¡¯t for the life of him extinguish.

    And the minute he flew free of that hellscape he wanted to laugh for the sheer joy of surviving that madness, taking deep breaths of cool desert air, such a sharp contrast to the taste of hot ashes in his mouth when he sensed it. Not just one, but a half dozen powerful figures radiating Deep Silver flying through the sky far faster than him.

    He felt a sudden jolt of panic as his arms tightened protectively around his friend that thank all the gods was still breathing, dreading the thought that perhaps the instigators of the deadly flames had come to investigate their handiwork, and perhaps put an end to whatever fools had dared to interfere with their plans of burning down half the city. Because with the artifact or ritual at its heart, he had no doubt that such was exactly what was planned.

    Shaking with equal parts dread and exhaustion, feeling his Qi Pool rapidly approaching zero as the remains of an actual Silver-tier Dark Qi core abruptly crumbled to dust against his neck, Alex stumbled to the ground, grunting under the weight of Ya Ling as his ankle, knee, and hip throbbed with pain after stumbling to the ground.

    He choked back a hiss of pain before going absolutely still after making sure his friend was breathing without difficulty, praying that the half-dozen wujen above weren¡¯t looking his way in the pitch black night skies, the smoke so great as to obscure the stars, for all that Alex and Ya Ling had kept the air around them as fresh and vital as they possibly could.

    His eyes widened at the voices he heard carried by Wind that he now felt more affinity to than ever before.

    ¡°Elder Wu, Lady Sulia, report!¡±

    ¡°The flames appears to have been successfully extinguished along six of the seven blocks that caught fire, Headmistress!¡± Lady Sulia snapped in a crisp voice.

    ¡°Save for the fire at the heart of it all,¡± Elder Wu declared in a sharp, authoritative tone so at odds with the grandfatherly demeanor Alex had come to know so well.

    The petite cultivator they addressed, effortlessly floating in the heavens, gave an imperious nod. ¡°So I¡¯ve gathered. Do we know which clans or independent Silvers were responsible for putting out the flames?

    Both cultivators shook their heads.

    ¡°Headmistress, please examine this!¡± requested a voice from below, sharp with urgency, just a bit too close to Alex for comfort as he made his way back in the thankfully pitch darkness, making sure Ya Ling¡¯s heartbeat was strong and sure as he gently positioned her in his arms before hastily leaving the area in the direction of the school.

    ¡°Yes, Tang?¡±

    ¡°The fires, my lady. We suspect an infernal source at the heart of the blaze that wasn¡¯t extinguished, but what¡¯s most interesting is the method used to secure the six recovered blocks!¡±

    ¡°And what techniques were used?¡±

    ¡°None at all, my lady. Just access to a lake¡¯s worth of water!¡±

    Those words seemed to grab the attention of the entire band of Deep Silvers that Alex found himself sensing way too well for someone now running as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

    The headmistress¡¯s voice was oddly intent. ¡°How? The lake water below wasn¡¯t accessed, was it? We¡¯re having enough trouble without losing what reserves we have.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m uncertain, Your Grace, but whoever our benefactors are, they must be Deep Silver with an extremely strong Water tier affinity. There can be no doubt.¡±

    This earned a distinctly feminine sigh. ¡°Then I will trust you to find our benefactors and make them an offer they can¡¯t refuse. As for this final building...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it¡¯s like before,¡± Elder Wu said in a clipped tone. ¡°The curse is breakable, but I¡¯ll need time and supplies.¡±

    ¡°Then that you shall have. Lady Sulia, organize the ritual to suppress the flames and aid Elder Wu in shattering the curse. Tang has his own assignment, and I must needs make a report to the prince as soon as possible. He¡¯ll want to show his involvement to the citizens, so expect plenty of city guards around to secure the perimeter and assist you in whatever ways you require. Please make sure they have something to do, no matter how trivial.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Headmistress,¡± Lady Sulia bowed her head before turning to the others. ¡°Standard five element configuration. We support Elder Wu until we have completed our task.¡±

    Alex turned his attention from the soft murmurs he heard so well to focusing on the environment around him, ducking out of the main boulevard to make full use of a parallel street thankfully free of the fire¡¯s devastation. Yet he fond it increasingly challenging hiding from the gazes of so many people staring at the smoldering ruins of a good portion of the city, gesturing wide-eyed at the disaster site, even if the fire had, by and large, been put out before it could consume the city entire.

    ¡°Heaven¡¯s mercy, that fire lit up the night sky like dawn! I feared we were all doomed,¡± declared one senior, presently being held by a younger woman who looked just like her as a pair of toddlers sobbed by their feet.

    ¡°The college arrived in time, thank goodness.¡±

    ¡°How can you say that? Half the city was burned!¡±

    ¡°Only a handful of blocks, grandmother. I shudder to think how much worse it would have been, if they hadn¡¯t arrived when they had.¡±

    Her littlest toddler just by chance glanced Alex¡¯s way. Dim as it was with the ash and smoke blotting the heavens above, a trace flicker of flame hit Alex¡¯s frame at just the moment to earn the child¡¯s wide-eyed stare.

    ¡°Mother, look! Someone¡¯s carrying a woman through the street!¡±

    ¡°Smoke inhalation. We got too close to the flame!¡± Alex quickly explained to any and all who might be listening. Even if it would be easiest to just race and blend into the shadows, if there was even the tiniest chance that someone would make out his features, or sense the different shade of his hair, tough as that was in the near darkness¡­ the Duo Li clan would gleefully pounce on that rumor to the detriment of all Ruidians.

    ¡°Do you need any help?¡± Asked a pair of men just outside the nearest mud brick building set up like primitive apartments, clearly intended for those of limited means a good distance beyond the arterial boulevard running through the heart of the city.

    Soul Sight skill check made!

    Alex sensed no ill intention in their words or posture, nor did he have any brooding sense of opportunistic malice planned. He simply saw a pair of honest faces wearing threadbare togas. Most importantly, he didn¡¯t want to act out of character for a supposed good Samaritan, peripherally sensing the young mother carefully herding her children back into her own apartment, grandmother in tow, clearly wanting to risk no confrontation at all with such an unknown as he.

    ¡°Sure, you¡¯re welcome to join me if you like. I¡¯m heading back to Silver Sands to request the aid of a healer I did a favor awhile back for,¡± he said, which was entirely the truth. A confession which would hopefully alleviate any suspicion, and best of all, any rumors would circle right back to those who could indeed set anyone straight as to Alex¡¯s ethics or intentions, at which point Reny would no doubt give them, and him, an earful.

    But if it kept ever more malicious rumors form circulating¡­ then it was worth the trouble.

    One of the men, making use of a lantern, widened at the sight of Alex. ¡°You¡¯re a Ruidian! And you¡¯re carrying her so easily?¡±

    Alex forced a good-natured laugh. ¡°That¡¯s correct. We were in the area and heard shouts and cries. We were hoping to help anyone caught in the flames, before being nearly done in by the smoke ourselves!¡± He forced a forlorn sigh. ¡°Maybe we should have left it to the Silvers who specialize in this sort of thing and just kept to our place. And now I have a long path to run. My repentance for exposing my friend to my folly, I suppose.¡±

    All was said at volume, for the benefit of anyone listening, but the lantern-holder was still looking at Alex in disbelief.

    ¡°But you¡¯re carrying her. And you¡¯re a Ruidian!¡±

    Alex forced another chuckle. ¡°A cultivating Ruidian, and she¡¯s my kung fu sister.¡± Now if you¡¯d like to escort me, I¡¯d be grateful for your company on this brooding night, but I¡¯ll be going at my normal running pace, so please don¡¯t push yourselves on my account. No doubt folks could use a helping hand here as well.¡±

    He quickly replaced words with action and took off at a loping unhurried jog that rapidly became a sprint, the pair of men stumbling to a halt after a few seconds, shaking their heads with rueful smiles.

    ¡°A cultivating Ruidian, who would have thought?¡±

    Alex winced, afraid that it would be all too easy for Qing Wu or others to figure out just what Alex and Ya Ling had been up to, at least to a point. But he¡¯d far rather be scolded for foolishness by a cultivator who wasn¡¯t opposed to his very existence than have to face down rumors of kidnapping Ruidians ravishing innocent maidens. Fodder his enemies would absolutely revel in if he failed to cover his tracks both socially and physically.

    Which meant that as discrete as his mad Wind-enhanced dash through the city was, he raced toward, not away from any passersby who caught his gaze, hollering. ¡°Quick, my friend¡¯s been injured! Which way to Silver Sands?¡± Getting hurried answers and concerned words but not one suspicious glare.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    Until he was at last before the same lush green courtyard and magnificent pagoda that served as the city landmark and would see him safely inside¡­ and no doubt subject to a dozen questions by the pair of Deep Bronze cultivators that were now guarding the closed front gate.

    Alex furrowed his brow, suddenly having doubts. Both men were fully kitted in high quality steel with guandao in their hands. He was almost sure that the headmistress was taking steps, just in case panic consumed the city if the fires couldn¡¯t be controlled. But on the off chance someone was in the Duo Li clan¡¯s pocket¡­ He quickly darted down a side street and raced parallel to the main thoroughfare until he got to the end of the campus, knowing that the Wu residence was just past formal school grounds.

    He avoided the front entrance, instead making his way past high-end storefront shops to the widely spaced pagodas and luxurious manors hidden behind them before coming to a panting stop right before the Wu residence. Alex grinned with a warm sense of satisfaction when he caught sight of the magnificent garden that seemed to be in full bloom, countless flowering varieties revealing their petals even under the moon¡¯s gentle light, all of it sheltered by a trellis of Copperthorn vines that somehow perfectly controlled light and humidity, now possessing dozens of tiny budding fruit hanging from the vines that Alex sensed were already ripening¡­ the secret at its heart now undeniable to Alex¡¯s acute senses.

    You have detected Copper Berries at 250% of Median Market potency! Rejuvenating properties detected.

    Qi Perception Check made. Biochemical Mastery check made. You understand the secret at the heart of this garden!

    Alex shook away the notification, pausing only to breathe deep of the refreshing floral scents, such a delightful contrast to the cloying aroma of soak radiating from him and the girl now peacefully sleeping in his arms, her breathing strong and sure. Because if it hadn¡¯t been¡­ Alex would have revealed himself immediately to Qing Wu and headmistress alike, and damn the consequences. Yet as it stood¡­

    He felt only the slightest icy shiver as he passed over wards he should have suspected from the start, yet he was able to cross into the garden without issue. As if he was already a recognized part of the family. What he hadn¡¯t expected upon knocking on the front door, his charge in tow, was for it to be opened by none other than Linnea, gazing at him with teary eyes and a joyful expression on her face, Alex barely able to make out an exasperated Reny and a bit of unexpected company just beyond her exuberant form.

    ¡°Alex! Thank fate¡¯s mercy that you¡¯re alright! Of course I could sense that you were still alive, but all the panicked stress filling you! I just knew you were in the heart of the fire and I so wanted to race out with Lieberman and Fitz and rescue you, but Reny said that would be a foolish waste of life, that the smoke and fumes would kill us long before we could do any good at all, and that the Western Quarter was all but doomed!¡±

    Alex chuckled softly. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Linnea. I take it our party link is still in effect?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± She enthusiastically gushed. ¡°And I¡¯m never letting you out of my head ever again, because you¡¯re my fiance, remember? And I like having your thoughts to lean on. Much more comfortable than my own worries spiraling in lonely circles.¡±

    Alex blinked, not quite sure how to respond to that. Honestly, he was a little bit nonplussed at her taking actual comfort in something that most people from his birthworld would have found anathema... another person¡¯s psyche intruding into their own. Or being taken over by another as their minds became one.

    But then again, how many men and women secretly craved games of dominion and control? Finding rapture in submission? As alien as it was to him, he certainly couldn¡¯t speak for everyone¡¯s taste, and maybe it was different when you willingly submitted to someone you adored?¡±

    He then shook such extraneous thoughts away as Linnea flashed him a teasing grin before quickly moving out of his way.

    ¡°We have all sorts of delicious things to talk about when you¡¯re ready and willing, hero of my heart. Now give your poor second wife to Reny already and let her look over her! We can both see that Ya Ling¡¯s suffered no permanent injury on our shared interface, but you know Reny won¡¯t feel right until she sees for herself.¡±

    Alex blinked, freezing only for a moment from Linnea¡¯s powerful stream of thoughts and hunger before lurching forward to gently approach an anxious looking Reny.

    ¡°I brought her back as fast as I could,¡± Alex assured. ¡°I know it might not look like it, but...¡±

    But the glare she gave him froze Alex where he stood. ¡°Let me guess. You two fools had such a hunger to play the hero and the fool that you raced right toward flames that any creature would have immediately fled?¡±

    Alex¡¯s cheeks flushed. He ruefully nodded. ¡°Guilty. And for what it¡¯s worth, I think it¡¯s exhaustion more than smoke inhalation that has Ya Ling sleeping on my shoulder.¡±

    This earned only a cool shake of Reny¡¯s head, the weight of her aura pressing down against Alex like a physical thing. ¡°I¡¯ll be the judge of that, boy. Now come, no time to waste!¡±

    In short order Alex was gently placing Ya Ling¡¯s sleeping form upon a bamboo latticework of cross-thatched strips that was as much hammock as bed, but Alex supposed made sense for what was clearly a treating room for the sick and injured, even if Reny hadn¡¯t formally called it any such thing. Still, springy bamboo strips would be far easier to clean than a hay tick or any sort of mattress, and was no doubt far more comfortable than resting on flat wooden planks.

    Reny¡¯s glare turned to an exasperated huff. ¡°You can do that much at least, excellent. Now how about you stand there and pay attention.¡± At which point Reny began to strip off Ya Ling¡¯s tightly fitted cultivation uniform. She snorted at Alex¡¯s obvious discomfiture. ¡°If you wish to be any sort of healer, or hero¡­ you¡¯d best get used to appreciating the human body in all its flawed beauty, if you wish to do any good for the injured at all.

    Yet despite the words Alex noted that she left Ya Ling¡¯s small clothes on, her furrowed countenance growing ever grimmer as she closed her eyes and listened to her granddaughter¡¯s heartbeat before turning her over with surprising strength, or perhaps not so surprising for any Deep Bronze, no matter her cultivation affinities, before placing a reed cone to her ear then pressing it against Ya Ling¡¯s back. Her hard countenance softened to a relieved sigh. ¡°I hear no rails or wheeze. No rasping whisper of smoke-seared lungs.¡± She closed her eyes with a grateful sigh. ¡°A miracle, all things considered.¡±

    Alex forced a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I kept an eye on her the whole time we were together, and her mastery of Wind is now at the point where heat and smoke found her a challenging target, to say the least.¡±

    This earned an arch look. ¡°And what exactly were you doing together for half the day, Alex?¡±

    Alex ignored the flush creeping up his cheeks as he solemnly pointed to Ya Ling¡¯s now intact left hand. ¡°I¡¯m sure after a lifetime of her being fit and whole, the significance of the chance escaped notice. But if you take a closer look...¡±

    Reny paled, eyes widening as she turned around before giving loose a joyous cry as she tenderly cradled Ya Ling¡¯s once more intact hand. ¡°You did it! Heaven¡¯s mercy, you restored her limb! And I sense no disturbance or weakness of her meridian channels or peripherals at all. It¡¯s like she was never injured at all! How?¡±

    Alex gazed fondly down at Ya Ling sleeping so peacefully. ¡°Exactly what you must suspect. We dueled together in the desert sands. Lost ourselves in its secrets. Such that when she was forced to become one with the sand to evade my blows¡­ she reformed free of any injury at all. Just as she remembers herself being.¡±

    Reny¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Do you know what this means, Alex?¡±

    ¡°I have a pretty good idea, yeah. But let¡¯s not jinx it. I certainly won¡¯t advise her to take any fight as less than deadly serious, but at least there might be a way for her to fully heal herself after every brush with peril.¡±

    Reny gave a firm nod. ¡°Precisely. And you and she are most definitely sparring in the desert sands once she¡¯s recovered enough to be mobile, Alex.¡±

    Alex smiled. ¡°As time permits. But I¡¯m almost positive that you have nothing to worry about.¡±

    Reny gave Alex a sad look. ¡°If only I hadn¡¯t lost your confidence from bitter life experience.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s different for Alex!¡± Linnea chirped in out of nowhere, appearing by his side and squeezing his hand with a puppy¡¯s enthusiasm before smiling down at Ya Ling. ¡°Our party interface marks her as fully healed, just with the exhaustion debuff! Once she¡¯s slept she should be good as new. She might even have leveled up!¡±

    Reny furrowed her brow. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as leveled-up among natives, child.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. You guys have revelations, epiphanies, and breakthroughs. Maybe she had one of those, or formed another Bronze cord?¡± She then turned to Alex. ¡°How about you, Alex? Did you have any breakthroughs?¡±

    Alex chuckled at that, and just for kicks, did his best to manifest his character sheet in condensed form within his party interface, more surprised than he cared to admit that actually worked.

    Wind Crane Kung Fu is now Rank 8!

    Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection is now Rank 6!

    You have successfully leveled up Enhanced Water Shield!

    Enhanced Water Shield is now Rank 7¡­

    Enhanced Water Shield is now Rank 8¡­

    Enhanced Water Shield is now Rank 9...

    You have achieved Rank 10 with Enhanced Water Shield after channeling an entire lake¡¯s worth of waters through your art!

    You now enjoy the Endless Waters perk! You may now form Water shields of nearly any diameter, and you will find it far easier to liberate those waters for autonomous use! Additionally, you now enjoy a full 10-fold efficiency in channeling Beast Cores through your arts!

    Wind Walking is now rank 6.

    Wind Walking is now Rank 7! You have learned the Effortless Stride perk! You may now effortlessly channel Beast Cores, Soul Stones, or personal potency to affect effortless flight without depleting Qi Reserves!

    ___________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

    Rank 6 Cultivation Achieved!

    Physical Characteristics

    Strength ¨C Bronze Rank 3 (30)

    Vitality ¨C Bronze Rank 3 (30)

    Quickness ¨C Bronze Rank 2 (25)

    Finesse ¨C Bronze Rank 1 (20)

    Spiritual Characteristics

    Scholarship - 14

    Perception - 19

    Willpower ¨C 25

    Qi Pool ¨C  19

    Health Points: 455

    Perks

    Insightful ¨C Rank 2

    Charismatic ¨C Rank 3

    Lesser Shadow Affinity

    Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.

    Draconic Ancestry.

    Wind Qi Affinity (You have increased affinity with any Qi Discipline incorporating the element of Wind! You will master these skills far faster than otherwise and be able to use them at reduced cost!)

    Beast Core Mastery (You now enjoy a 10-fold efficiency bonus when channeling the potency of Dark Qi beast cores through your arts!)

    Favored Skills

    Golden Realms Kung Fu ¨C Rank 10

    Wind Crane Kung Fu ¨C Rank 8

    Poison Spitting ¨C Rank 6

    Stealth ¨C Rank 4

    Lock Picking ¨C Rank 4

    Qi Disciplines

    Enhanced Water Shield ¨C Rank 10

    Enhanced Water Strike ¨C Rank 8

    Thorn Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Oak Strike ¨C Rank 5

    Fire Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Flame Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Earthern Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Stone Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Forest Flight ¨C Rank 5

    Wind Walking ¨C Rank 7

    Dark Qi Absorption ¨C Rank 4

    Spring Leap ¨C Rank 6

    Enhanced Wind Piercer Strike ¨C Rank 2

    Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection ¨C Rank 6

    Enhanced Wind Blade ¨C Rank 7

    Enhanced Storm Strike ¨C Rank 6 (Note. This skill cannot be used until minimal harmony with Wind Qi Affinity has been achieved!)

    Prismatic Shield ¨C Rank 6 (Note. This skill cannot be used until greater harmony with Wind Qi Affinity has been achieved!)

    Prismatic Strike ¨C Rank 6 (Note. This skill cannot be used until greater harmony with Wind Qi Affinity has been achieved!)

    Qi Perception-linked Disciplines

    Artificer ¨C Rank 7

    Find Weakness ¨C Rank 7

    Qi Perception ¨C Rank 8

    Soul Sight ¨C Rank 7

    Spiritual Teacher (Student) ¨C Rank 8

    Forest Sense ¨C Rank 8

    Alchemy ¨C Rank 4

    Desert Sense ¨C Rank 2

    Additional Abilities & Techniques

    Full Regenerative Capacity

    Gift of Tongues

    Biochemical Mastery ¨C Rank 8

    Desert Fox Cultivation Technique ¨C Rank 6

    Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique ¨C Rank 6

    ________________________________________

 Book 8 - Chapter 73

    Linnea gazed up at him in wide-eyed awe. ¡°Alex, that¡¯s incredible!¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Thanks, I think.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean it. Your baseline stats and your rate of growth are absolutely absurd!¡± She flashed a beatific grin. ¡°You learn and grow at the rate of an old master knocking the rust off a much beloved skill. Not a 20-year-old noob actually learning it all for the first time.¡±

    Alex flushed before his eyes widened, seeing the twinkle in Linnea¡¯s eyes. ¡°Linnea¡­.¡±

    Her countenance took on an innocent mien. ¡°But that would be absurd, of course. This is the real world, not the home of thousand-year-old legends.¡±

    Alex froze painfully still when Reny gave them both an exasperated look. ¡°How about you tease your man outside the sick room, Linnea? I think there¡¯s enough tension in this house as it stands.¡±

    Linnea lowered her head, a rosy blush coming to her dusky cheeks. ¡°This one apologizes,¡± she whispered, but Reny was already waving her concerns away. ¡°The important thing is that those we love got home safe. Now it¡¯s time to rest and recover ourselves and allow the true powerhouses of this school to put to rights what malice or simple neglect has so grievously wronged.¡±

    ¡°Oh it was definitely malice,¡± Linnea adamantly declared. ¡°Alex sensed the infernal formation in the heart of the one building he and Ya Ling couldn¡¯t put out¡­ but um¡­ forget I said that, okay? Ha ha. Oh look, there¡¯s my cousin. I¡¯m sure he wants to tell me something important! Bye, love!¡±

    She flashed Alex an impish, apologetic smile as she darted out of the room as fast as her feet could take her, Alex closing his eyes and sighing because it was bad enough that Linnea could read so much of the story of his soul. The fact that she still sometimes forgot herself and allowed her tongue to run away with her made it that much worse.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex winced, the no-nonsense tone in Reny¡¯s words preventing any easy exit as she pinned him with her stare.

    He immediately went the innocuous smile route. ¡°Yes, Lady Wu?¡±

    But her hard eyes made it clear she wasn¡¯t having any of it. ¡°Is it true?¡±

    ¡°Is what true?¡±

    ¡°Alex...¡±

    He winced under her glare.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he admitted with a dip of his head. ¡°There¡¯s the remnant of an infernal formation in the heart of the central block that caught ablaze.¡± Alex¡¯s solemn gaze turned hard as salt. ¡°Which means that the inferno was deliberately set with malicious intent.¡±

    Reny¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°Clearly the storm my husband and I thought long past has only gained power in the time we were away.¡±

    Alex shrugged saying nothing.

    ¡°My question is¡­ how exactly do you know that?¡±

    Alex held her gaze for long moments. ¡°Let¡¯s just say, six of those seven block fires were put out long before the headmistress of this school and her coterie of Silver wujen arrived to finish the job.¡±

    ¡°My husband¡¯s part of that coterie, Alex.¡±

    Alex flashed a rueful smile. ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°And you didn¡¯t think to immediately report to him?¡±

    Alex held her gaze for long moments. ¡°Assuming even one of the Silver wujen present had ties to what was going on there or wanted the prince deposed, what do you think their response would be to me sticking out like a sudden sore thumb?¡±

    Reny paled, before sighing and shaking her head. ¡°Attempting to instantly obliterate you with their most powerful spell, before immediately apologizing and claiming it was a heat-of-the-moment reaction to an obvious threat¡­ before doing everything they could to somehow pin the fires on you.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°And even if I could normally guard myself from anything they cared to throw my way¡­ it¡¯s a bit trickier now with my new Wind Qi affinity, and Ya Ling was helpless in my arms at that point.¡±

    Reny¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°That¡¯s right! With your absurd synergy of affinities¡­ having one so out of sync with the others in terms of potency¡­ I can see how it would be challenging bringing them all in line.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°And it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve had any time to do so, with so much shit hitting the metaphoric fan¡­ never mind. The point is, today was all about restoring Ya Ling to the best of health. I thought I¡¯d have all the time in the world I might need to better myself, but it seems that life events are demanding desperate action without giving a damn for my own preferred pace of doing things.¡±

    Reny gave Alex a sympathetic smile. ¡°You¡¯d be surprised how often that¡¯s the case¡­ or perhaps not.¡±

    Alex chuckled ruefully. ¡°Well, on the plus side, my Wind Qi arts and abilities are advancing at a gloriously absurd pace¡­ but nothing like my Water Shield. A shield I can now bring to such vibrant life that it¡¯s nothing short of absurd.¡± His gaze grew intent. ¡°And even if the headmistress and her coterie had only the best of intentions¡­ what do you think would happen if they found out that, between us, Ya Ling and I could manifest an entire lake¡¯s worth of water to quench a fire designed to wreck havoc through the entire city?¡±

    Reny instantly stilled, gazing at Alex for long moments. ¡°It was you?¡±

    Alex winced, then forced a nod. ¡°Six blocks and most of the seventh¡­ but the building the fire originated from was burning with all the bitter hate of a hell that has nothing to do with the River of Souls. But before we could investigate further, Ya Ling collapsed in my arms from exhaustion and the headmistress was rapidly closing in on our location, so I let them claim all the credit, happy just to get out of there while I could.¡± He winced, shaking his head. ¡°Even if I had to reveal a couple of truths to the dozens of frightened people looking our way, lest rumors of kidnapping Ruidians surface, which would please my enemies to no end.¡±

    Reny gaze at Alex for long moments. ¡°If you can truly generate enough water to fill a lake bed...¡±

    Alex winced, dipping his head. ¡°No need to say it, Ya Ling and I will find ourselves pampered song birds in unbreakable cages of steel bars and privilege. Not to mention the prince¡¯s enemies would then do all that they could to assassinate the pair of us, because trying to burn the city and sabotage the rifts just isn¡¯t enough.¡±

    Reny¡¯s eyes widened in alarm. ¡°Ware your words, Alex! If you have no proof...¡±

    Alex angrily shook his head. ¡°I know. I know! But after the Western Rift went from being safe as houses to a shadow cat deathtrap...¡± He suddenly froze, eyes widening, when it suddenly clicked. ¡°I knew something seemed off in that rift!¡±

    Reny tilted her head. ¡°Alex?¡±

    But Alex just shook his head, the tightness in his chest telling him like nothing else that they were running out of time.

    ¡°I think I know what¡¯s wrong with the Western Rift,¡± he said, eyes growing strangely intent. ¡°If I¡¯m right...¡±

    Reny clasped his hand with grandmotherly concern. ¡°I think what you need most of all is a good night¡¯s sleep, Alex. I¡¯m sure everything will become clearer with the dawn.¡±

    Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°With so many things happening so quickly, our enemies slamming so many cards down at once¡­ I¡¯m not sure if we dare delay, not even for a second!¡±

    He then bowed once at the waist in respect to a bemused looking Reny before turning around and racing to Linnea¡¯s side, feeling a mix of excitement and awful tension, all at once.

    Alex was more pleased than he wanted to admit to see Linnea¡¯s heartfelt smile. And when a rueful-looking Hands caught his gaze with a sheepish wave, he grinned right back, as if there had never been an awkward moment between them.

    ¡°Alex!¡± It¡¯s um¡­ good to see you.¡±

    ¡°And you,¡± Alex said right back, clasping the relieved-looking youth¡¯s wrist.

    Hanz flashed an awkward smile. ¡°First, let me apologize on behalf of my father. I know he comes across as abrasive and headstrong, but he means well, in his own way, and he¡¯s desperate to fulfill his duty and keep our clan safe and well-fed.¡±

    Alex clenched his jaw and nodded, already knowing what was coming.

    Hanz flushed, lowering his gaze. ¡°I know it¡¯s a lot to ask, but is there any way my father could, um¡­ make amends for previous differences?¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s the line he¡¯s going with?¡±

    Hanz¡¯s flush deepened. ¡°You¡¯ve proven yourself a strong fighter, a worthy opponent, and so have um¡­ successfully quenched any argument that could be made against your bloodline. For nothing proves worth to the tribe better than glory and triumph in battle.¡±

    Alex snorted at that. ¡°How about he stop hiding in the foyer and actually come out here and face me? He can say whatever he wants to say to my face.¡±

    Hanz winced. ¡°You¡¯re not going to make this easy, are you?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re wasting time. In about thirty seconds I¡¯m heading to the campus quarters to see who¡¯s willing to join me on what¡¯s likely to be the most perilous mission of their lives.¡±

    Hanz paled at that. ¡°Alex...¡±

    ¡°I was wrong!¡±

    Alex blinked, surprised despite himself to see a pale-faced and trembling Lieberman suddenly prostrating himself before Alex, the man¡¯s words coming out in a desperate flood.

    ¡°You were right! I was...not. I was so desperate to achieve my own dreams that I lost sight of my duty as an uncle. As Linnea¡¯s adoptive father. To find her a strong mate who wasn¡¯t just fit biologically, but fit her heart as well.¡±

    Alex glared down at the man but didn¡¯t interrupt as Lieberman took a ragged breath and spoke on.

    ¡°When you bested me so completely in the ring¡­ that proved your worth beyond what any pedigree or breeding program could possibly hope to. At that moment, I should have welcomed you as kin with open arms.¡±

    The man sighed bitterly. ¡°But in my own bitterness and despair¡­ I failed to do so.¡± He forced himself to rise to shaking feet. ¡°This one apologizes sincerely for his shortcomings.¡± Lieberman flashed a mirthless smile. ¡°The past few days has given me plenty of time to reflect upon my many failings. It is my sincere hope that you will give me the chance to make amends for my mistakes¡­ battle-leader.¡±

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Battle-leader?¡±

    Lieberman immediately bowed to his waist once more. ¡°This flawed jewel-master prays you will give him the chance to redeem himself, fighting by your side.¡±

    Alex blinked, truly surprised, turning to whisper to Hanz. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll admit that it¡¯s nice having him give me some face while acknowledging that he fucked up, finally getting off his absurdly high horse. I don¡¯t hate him nearly as much as I did five minutes ago. Hell, maybe I don¡¯t hate him at all. That duel we had was actually pretty good for my own cultivation, and he¡¯s the only opponent I ever recall apologizing to me with even an ounce of humility. I¡¯ll give him points for that. But calling me battle-leader? Eager to redeem himself in my eyes?¡±

    Hanz flashed Alex a sad smile. ¡°The Duo Li clan truly is a rot without end. They¡¯ve successfully managed to poison the school¡¯s view of our tribe to a degree not seen in years. Add to that their veiled threats against any cultivator seen associating with our clan in any way whatsoever...¡±

    Linnea nodded. ¡°Basically, none of the Bronze delvers are willing to delve with us, and considering how hard the Duo Li clan¡¯s working to get the entire city to despise us once more, though I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve managed to do more than intimidate a few cultivators pragmatic enough not to risk antagonizing one of the most powerful clans in the city¡­ maybe it¡¯s time for our clans to find another desert city willing to forge treaties with us that aren¡¯t so deeply enmeshed with a bitter old clan of former water merchants who can only prosper when we fall.¡±

    Alex furrowed his brow. ¡°Last I checked, the average citizen has nothing but warmth for us. So those assholes can intimidate a handful of Bronze. What about Silvers? I doubt they care for the Duo Li clan¡¯s bluster.¡±

    Hanz chuckled bitterly. ¡°In case you haven¡¯t realized, the city¡¯s in a panic right now, with fires on multiple fronts, both literal and metaphorical. Rumors have recently started claiming that half the waterfalls are nothing but illusion, and that we barely have enough water to survive, and that our cistern is actually empty. And the completely dry pumps so desperately needed to put out the fires lends unfortunate credence to their tales, made even worse when those bastards say it¡¯s our fault that no Water cores have been found in those delves for months.¡±

    Alex gazed at an apologetic Hanz and a kowtowing Lieberman for long moments, before sighing and nodding his head. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re both in.¡±

    He quickly raised his hand before Hanz¡¯s relieved smile and Lieberman¡¯s look of joyous gratitude.

    ¡°Thank you so much, battle-leader! I swear to you that...¡±

    Alex¡¯s bemused smile turned hard as granite, cutting off their words with a clenched fist. ¡°So long as it¡¯s understood that we¡¯ll be communing as closely as mecha pilots, thinking and acting as one.¡±

    He ignored Lieberman¡¯s horrified blanch, Linnea¡¯s joyous grin, and the look of confused curiosity on Hanz¡¯s features.

    ¡°Because we¡¯ll be facing down Silver tier ambushing Shadow Cats, and if you lack a Deep Bronze¡¯s physical reflexes, than we¡¯ll be relying on casting as fast as thought, and we¡¯ll be a hell of a lot better off if we¡¯re thinking and fighting as one.¡±

    Lieberman¡¯s eyebrows rose comically high as his eyes danced between Alex and Linnea, the pair of them communing as one once more, the words alternating from each of their mouths.

    Hanz¡¯s eyes were wide with wonder. ¡°They did it. They¡¯ve actually formed a gestalt!¡±

    But Lieberman stumbled back in panic. ¡°No¡­ such things are forbidden!¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Alex and Linnea said as one. ¡°This is a feature of our common ancestors, not a bug. No matter how badly your clans fear it.¡± The pair flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Feared it enough for a splinter faction to flee an entire world, hoping to make a fresh life in this one, before finding out that the spiritual energy rendered electromagnetic and electromana currents obsolete, which meant no high tech toys to overwhelm the natives. Even if your elemental powers have never been greater than they are now, without any advanced equipment at all.¡±

    Lieberman gazed at Alex for long moments, shaking his head with dismayed wonder. ¡°After struggling to flee your kind for millennia, somehow you found us still. All of us, just slaves to your master race of tyrannical pilots.¡±

    Here, Linnea gave a sad shake of her head. ¡°You do know that he has absolutely no idea what you¡¯re talking about, don¡¯t you, uncle?¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Lieberman hissed. ¡°The old texts warn of his kind!¡±

    ¡°His kind. Uncle, if he were a tyrannical monster, do you think he would have opened himself up to a gestalt with me?¡± She gently squeezed Alex¡¯s hand, pressing it up to her cheek. ¡°He¡¯s a mixed blood. He doesn¡¯t even know who or what his mother truly is, or its significance. Yet I understand it with the gentlest brush of his psyche. Even these words wound him, that I can sense truths he is blind to. Just as I¡¯m humbled by his insights. Through his eyes I see what a foolish, impulsive girl I can sometimes be. Suffering from a genetic impairment, thanks to being born to an inbred clan¡­ and that I¡¯m just a couple Perception, Scholarship, and Willpower points away from correcting it for once and for all. Both for my own sake, and my future children. Because together we are stronger and see what the other misses. Together we are gestalt, not master and servant.¡±

    Hanz gazed at the pair for long moments before flashing a cheeky smile. ¡°Heck yeah, I¡¯m in! Reporting for duty, battle-leader!¡±

    Lieberman¡¯s features paled. ¡°Hanz¡­ no.¡±

    Hanz flashed a sad smile. ¡°With the Duo Li clan making their move now, there¡¯s no way anyone else will even give us the time of day. Not until our enemies rise triumphant or are crushed to dust by opposing forces. Any smart cultivator worth his salt knows the peril of politics and will be keeping their heads low until trouble has past. Which means that few will openly insult us, but their smiles will become strained and they will find a thousand and one reasons to reschedule any delves for another day. Which, if those Li assholes have their way, will be never.¡± He sighed. ¡°Father, let¡¯s face it. If we¡¯re going to get any delving done at all, it¡¯s going to be by partying up with Alex. Besides, if the old tales are right, a gestalt is truly a lethal and deadly configuration. Almost impossible to take out by normal soldiers still relying on shouted commands to communicate.¡±

    Lieberman trembled, clearly struggling with himself. ¡°But what if he never lets us go?¡±

    Alex smirked at that, before closing his eyes and letting Linnea free of his mind.

    She immediately gave him a crestfallen look, biting her lip far more fetchingly than he wanted to admit, her emerald green eyes holding his own. ¡°Why did you do that, Alex? I was so warm and comfy feeling you in my mind. Now I feel so alone¡­ and I have no idea what you¡¯re thinking!¡±

    Alex flashed a sad smile. ¡°And now you¡¯re totally free. And I¡¯d never do anything with you that you didn¡¯t want me to.¡±

    This earned a teasing grin. ¡°Silly boy. I want you to do everything with me! Except leave me feeling sad and alone.¡±

    Alex flushed, Hanz chuckling ruefully, and Alex could sense Reny¡¯s embarrassed smile as she turned her gaze back to her still sleeping granddaughter.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s clear that theirs is a very¡­ consensual relationship, father.¡± Hanz then turned to Alex, swallowing once, nervously. ¡°I¡¯m ready, battle-leader.¡±

    Alex grimaced, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. ¡°Sure. Just um¡­ please remember that I can¡¯t exactly control my thoughts. They are what they are¡­ and I mean no offense by them.¡±

    Hanz nodded. ¡°Of course. The same goes for me.¡±

    With those words Alex clasped the man¡¯s thin shoulder and a heartbeat later their connection was forged.

    You have successfully forged a Gestalt with Slave Node designated as Hanz-A1. Autonomy has been granted. Surface thoughts open to shared communion. Note. As designated Battle-leader (and the only member with a Master node!) thoughts and actions will be by your direction. All parties will move and act in communion with your will, for your will IS their will!

    Alex grimaced as the words washed over and through him, sensing Hanz¡¯s flush as he locked gazes with him.

    ¡°So you know,¡± Hanz softly said, lowering his gaze. ¡°That¡¯s embarrassing.¡± Then he frowned. ¡°But why should it be? You like who you like, and a high Perception is an asset, not a flaw.¡±

    Alex and Hanz smiled as one, the mild embarrassment of Alex¡¯s lack of interest and gentle pity for the youth becoming newfound respect for his obvious talents and mastery of Ice. Alex immediately sensed a dozen ways he could put the youth¡¯s ability to freeze and unleash storms of ice spears and shrapnel to deadly effect against their shared enemies. After a few seconds and receiving a nod from both halves of himself, he then opened his communion to Linnea once more.

    As one, they then turned to Lieberman.

    The man paled, before giving a tired sigh. ¡°Perhaps it is fitting that the punishment for my arrogance is to be forced to face my greatest fear.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one,¡± Alex said with a wry grin as the man trembled but still found the strength to put his slender palm upon Alex¡¯s shoulder¡­

    And suddenly Alex was hit by a wave of grief and bitter regret for the memory of a woman he had loved so dearly for so many years¡­ only to lose her in childbirth, tormented with the knowledge that if they had just met and fallen in love a few years before, Lucia and the twins would be alive even now.

    He closed his eyes feeling a painful envy for the three youths he was also now a part of, able to find their chosen partners and love freely, with no one shaming them for their slender builds, bitter temperament, or age they hated and fought against every day they lifted steel bars for strength, or ran for endurance, determined to live as a strong vital man for decades, achieving heights of elemental mastery few in his clan could match. He could be a worthy and loving husband to anyone, if only another woman would look past his graying hair and give him a chance.

    Then his eyes widened in wonder, and the flood of warmth and gratitude he felt toward the pilot of their gestalt knew no bounds. ¡°You have the answer¡­ you found the cure!¡±

    Alex flashed the man a sympathetic smile, as his pain was now Alex¡¯s own. And Alex¡¯s own struggles and a tale so bitter he knew it would give him nightmares, glimpses of secrets he knew the youth was still desperately trying to hide but of course couldn¡¯t since he had foolishly, bravely, fused them as one¡­ made it clear he understood.

    Lieberman bowed to that half of himself that had just revealed the first glimmerings of genuine hope that he had felt in half a decade. ¡°Do you really think it¡¯s possible?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°I do. Dark Qi isn¡¯t wrapped up in and around your meridians in a plaque I dare not jostle too heavily as it is with cultivators, particularly those who have been around for awhile. It¡¯s far more¡­ crystalline in nature with jewel masters, and far easier to remove.¡±

    Lieberman¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°But do you really think that if I dared to invest so many points into Vitality...¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Honestly, what do you have to lose? If things work as I hope¡­ as we hope¡­ you¡¯ll be able to fight endlessly, level up endlessly, with no worries about Dark Qi buildup. So why not all three of you see if you can surpass 20 Vitality? Achieving what would be, for any mortal, inhuman Vitality. That accomplishment, along with the removal of all Dark Qi buildup, and I think it just might unlock an Ageless perk you can purchase, that will act very much like an art I dare not mention allowed that¡¯s open only to cultivators.¡±

    Linnea grinned. ¡°Eternal...¡±

    Before Alex put a hand over her mouth¡­ hers following a heartbeat later, Alex smirking at their odd mixture of gestalt and autonomy, as he slowly eased their tight bond to a looser association. ¡°That¡¯s one of those things...¡±

    ¡°That I shouldn¡¯t say aloud,¡± she finished with a cheeky grin. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Alex. I¡¯ll be putting those points exactly where they need to go, with my next level up.¡±

    Her gaze then filled with heartfelt concern. ¡°And I can feel our crystalline focus slipping.¡± She tilted her head. ¡°When was the last time you had a good night¡¯s rest, Alex?¡±

    Alex blinked at her teasing smile.

    ¡°That was a rhetorical question, Alex. Because you managed to have no less than seven breakthroughs in the form of skill-ups since the last time you slept, and we¡¯d be an absolute idiot if we dared Silver-tier abominations with your brain, anchoring us all, foggy with amino acid waste buildup when survival is a single mistake away.¡±

    Alex would have opened his mouth to protest, had Linnea¡¯s bemused worry not struck such a strong cord within him. For her thoughts truly were intermingled with his own. ¡°Because together we are stronger and see what the other misses,¡± Alex admitted with a rueful chuckle.

    Cheeks flushing, he turned back to the sickroom, all four of them fearing what Reny would think of what they had so openly dared in the middle of her home.

    But all she did is gaze at Alex with kind, motherly eyes, silently leading Alex and Linnea to a wicker bed lined with plush spirit beast furs. She frowned only momentarily to chide Alex. ¡°If I couldn¡¯t sense your fatigue and if you were anyone else, I¡¯d have you sleep in the yard til you properly bathed, but...¡± Her eyes widened. ¡°But you have no smell at all.¡±

    Alex flashed a cheeky smile. ¡°I know, right? Biochemical mastery for the win. And my attire, well, let¡¯s just say you can¡¯t keep this changshan shirt down for long.¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s magical,¡± Linnea whispered with a cheeky grin of her own.

    For some reason, Reny was smiling fondly at them both. ¡°I¡¯ll let you two get some rest.¡± Her smile turned strained. ¡°I sense that tomorrow will be a tumultuous day for us all. But you¡¯ve already more than done your part, and I¡¯ll make sure that the right people know, and that no one else knows a word.¡±

    Alex frowned, knowing there was something vitally important that he had to do, before Linnea¡¯s gentle hand had him lying prone, snuggling in soft furs as she wrapped her arms about him.

    The warmth of Reny¡¯s voice soothed him to gentle clouds of oblivion and dream. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We have plenty of guest bedrooms for your companions, and Ya Ling, by some miracle, is already perking up like the desert blossom that she is. I have no doubt that she will be eager to join you on your adventures come morning.¡±

    Those words were the last thing Alex could sense before drifting off with the gentle breeze he felt circulating through the room, whispering so many intriguing secrets as Linnea sighed, muttering exasperatedly about fools who just had to knot their Dantians when sweetest bliss could be a single breakthrough away.

    And maybe Alex did grin just a bit as his thoughts left with the breeze, but then he was swirling in warm eddies about the pagoda even as his body fell into deepest slumber.

    Alex could only pray that nightmares wouldn¡¯t jolt him immediately awake once more.

 Book 8 - Chapter 74

    Alex''s dreams were surprisingly peaceful, as he rode gentle air currents like a kite caught in the wind¡­ pleased to sense so many sleepy docile sounds of families resting in their homes of kiln-fired bricks, harvested wood, or ancient stone. Alex could sense the relief in so many parent¡¯s exhaling susurrations as they held their children close, the cares and worries of a near disastrous fire in the end successfully quenched, their city safe once more.

    ¡°Is it done?¡±

    Alex froze, recognizing the voice¡­ or at least one very similar to it. It was the voice of an aristocrat with nothing but contempt for his lessors. A voice so very like Tan Yi¡¯s own.

    ¡°It is.¡±

    Cold laughter filled the air, carried on air currents Alex now felt like an extension of himself.

    ¡°Good. Excellent! You are dismissed.¡±

    ¡°An honor to serve, my lord.¡±

    A momentary pause was followed by a satisfied chuckle. ¡°That¡¯s two rifts we¡¯ve successfully corrupted. And a third formation of fire. Now, all we need to do is wait for another core to finally crack, and their illusion will rupture, revealing ugly truths plain to everyone with eyes to see!¡±

    ¡°But what about the Water core?¡± hissed a third voice that could only be Tan Yi himself. ¡°If we¡¯re going to be the city¡¯s saviors, we have to be in position to snatch it!¡±

    The air rang with a smack.

    ¡°Father!¡±

    ¡°Quit asking foolish questions and think! Which rifts have we tainted?¡±

    ¡°The western rift and the southern one, Father.¡±

    ¡°Precisely. And the fire right in the heart of peasant student housing allowed us to place a black formation right under these damn fool¡¯s noses without having to corrupt the busiest rift in the whole damned caldera. So that¡¯s two rifts that are now corrupted with shadow beasts free of Water¡¯s cleansing sustenance that will make daring those rifts a perilous endeavor for anyone lacking our clan¡¯s direct blessings, and the Eastern rift will never manifest Water or Ice ever again, with Fire¡¯s Wrath eternally burning away it¡¯s opposite. And I assume you¡¯re not such a fool as to fail to understand the significance of this configuration?¡±

    ¡°No, father. Of course not.¡±

    This earned a contemptuous snort. ¡°Really? Then why did you even need to ask? Though I suppose I shouldn¡¯t be surprised, after your managing to foul up your sole assignment within the western rift!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault!¡± The younger voice angrily hissed. ¡°Those damned Ruidians interfered. There was nothing I could do without giving everything away!¡±

    ¡°Well, they won¡¯t be a problem for long, should things go as planned,¡± the elder voice declared. ¡°How are things at the school?¡±

    ¡°Lan Li and Xuon Li have done their part, father. Now all the cowards that are too afraid to back us directly at least know to keep their heads down and avoid the Ruidians at all costs, if they wish to weather the storm of ascension to come.¡±

    ¡°Good. It was too much to expect their backing, but so long as they know better than to interfere with what¡¯s to come¡­ and know to avoid those Ruidian abominations, that will suffice.¡±

    ¡°Father, the foreign nobles...¡±

    ¡°Are of no real consequence either way. We need not worry on their account. Now, explain what the hell happened with the western fires? They were supposed to keep the damned headmistress occupied for the entire night! Had things gone as planned, the illusion would have already been disrupted, and we could have forced a vote of no-confidence this very night!¡±

    ¡°All I could find out was that there was a chance shower right overhead.¡±

    ¡°Really? On what was hours before a cloudless day, right before we went ahead with our plans? I find that hard to believe. There must have been wujen interference from a third party!¡±

    ¡°All my scouts spotted was a few students suffering from smoke inhalation after getting too close to the blaze. But maybe it was a storm master protecting their home?¡±

    The older man snorted. ¡°Why do you think we chose the poorest quarter? Ancient wood too long desiccated and the poorest quality fire-kilned mud bricks dependent on wooden struts and support beams would make a poor home for any cultivator, let alone a Silver-tier wujen. No. This was something else, and we¡¯d best find out what! Unaccounted variables must not be allowed to interfere with our ascension!¡±

    ¡°Understood, father. I¡¯ll have our agents keep an eye for anything untoward at the school.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± The man¡¯s voice brightened in ways that would have sent shivers down Alex¡¯s spine, had he been anything but the wind. ¡°What¡¯s the status of the Ruidians at the college. Are we ready for some tragic accidents?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s just the Ruidians that were in my class and the other pair at the moment. Unfortunately, they seem to be on good terms with Senior Cultivator Te Chang, and they¡¯re never out of each other¡¯s sight.¡± The youth snorted cynically. ¡°The look in their eyes is that of a hunted animal, no matter how much old edicts should have assuaged all their fears.¡±

    This earned a cold chuckle. ¡°So they know what¡¯s coming. Good! But the blond-haired one sounds far too savvy, from what you¡¯ve already let slip. Keep an eye on them. If any of them are foolish enough to wander off half drunk from the quarters reserved for them, let our men know there¡¯s a 500 Silver purse in it for them, but only if they can make the death look like an accident. And encourage our pawns to offer them rift slots that are doomed to end... unexpectedly. Te Chang¡¯s a headache we still have to deal with for now, so we must keep our assassinations as discrete as possible. But make no mistake, boy. Once we achieve our ascension, none of them will be leaving this city as anything but desiccated corpses!¡±

    This earned a snort from the youth. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a problem to handle them, one way or another. It was nothing to coax Elder Win to expel the pair of fools from cultivation classes altogether.¡±

    ¡°Which was stupid, boy. You burned needless capital pressuring him on something so trivial. What is cultivation to those fools but a lark? With the pressure for Water cores mounting, even your instructor refused to kick them out of the school outright. And now those Ruidians have nothing to distract them, save daring the rifts. They¡¯re far too important to the current regime¡¯s power base for them to be denied entrance, and we all know it.¡±

    ¡°But no one will delve with them, father!¡±

    ¡°None of the Bronze. You did that much good at least. Which should make it all the easier to pressure them into delves that can have only one ending for those abominations. But make no mistake, when our enemies finally appreciate just how perilous their situation has become, how quickly their comfortable life could topple to ruin¡­ you¡¯d better believe that the Senior Cultivator Te Chang himself and the most powerful Silver tier instructors will suddenly find time to take pity on their poor Ruidian guests.¡±

    ¡°Which is why we need to eliminate them before those fools wake up to their fate!¡±

    ¡°Only if our men can make it look like an accident! If you¡¯re going to kill them in a delve, best make sure no Silver of note is there with your pawns. I will accept no foolish risks or mistakes when we are so close. Do you understand, boy?¡±

    ¡°Yes, father. I understand.¡±

    ¡°Good. Now get back to your post. We have a city to claim.¡±

    ***

    Alex jolted from his sleep, heart pounding. Linnea¡¯s sleepy whimper hit him, his cheeks flushing in sudden shame before recalling that he had done absolutely nothing untoward with her at all.

    Even if she did like sleeping in the buff.

    Sparing only a moment to cover her in silk, Alex left the chamber at a hurried, pace, immediately catching sight of Qing, Reny, and Ya Ling taking their ease, sipping tea.

    He could tell by Reny¡¯s smile and the quip on the tip of Qing Wu¡¯s tongue that they were going to make a newlywed jokes at his expense, before their lighthearted banter froze to sudden tight concern, when they caught sight of his expression.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex swallowed, intent eyes boring into Qing Wu¡¯s own. ¡°Could someone pass me wax tablet and stylus, or parchment and quill?¡±

    This earned three puzzled stares. ¡°Alex...¡±

    Alex arrested Ya Ling¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯m humbled by how many secrets the Wind reveals, when one has the wit to hear it. It¡¯s possible that me and my dear kung fu sister aren¡¯t the only ones with such a gift.¡±

    His friend¡¯s cheeks flushed for some reason, but she didn¡¯t hesitate to dip a head. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    Qing Wu¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Any fool who dares attempt breaching these wards will feel nothing but Winters¡¯ wrath. I assure you of that, my boy.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Alex quickly said. ¡°But even the wisest wujen knows there must be flexibility in all wards, lest he cut off the very Water, light, and Wind letting in fresh air that makes sustenance possible in the first place.¡±

    If anything, Elder Wu¡¯s granite countenance grew harder, before Reny patted his knee. ¡°The boy always spoke as if he were an equal when peril is greatest, you know that as well as I.¡±

    She then turned to Alex who only then realized he had been using a command inflection in his urgency, overtly doing what was only subtly implied in English¡­ and the other language he had spoken so frequently before.

    He blinked in startlement. He was speaking the language of YanTu nation, which had hardly drifted at all since the days of Rising Phoenix, or so it seemed. Had the Red Prince ended up annexing this territory in the end, despite all Alex had done to destroy him? Had all his efforts truly been in vain?

    He held back a painful wince, wondering just how catastrophic a certain explosion had been. Had he truly turned countless miles of ancient primeval woodlands into a massive desert basin? And why didn¡¯t the forests, even those of pocket realms, absolutely despise him?

    Yet he already knew one possible answer, only having to gaze up through the window allowing a cool breeze into the centralmost foyer they presently gathered in, spotting the pale blue moon above.

    A satellite world with oceans and continents of its own.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    So reminiscent of his own realm, upon which endless forests stood tall and proud, sanctuary to a city he had tried so desperately to save. Fifteen million souls that might have grown and flourished before setting up countless satellite cities halfway across the globe over a thousand years¡­ to say nothing of the vast, world-spanning woodlands that would absolutely thrive before the waste Qi generated by so many sacred cities

    He shook his head, having so many questions to which he feared he¡¯d never have a good answer.

    ¡°One moment, Alex,¡± Reny said with a gentle smile, Ya Ling giving Alex a concerned look as her grandfather leaned back in his chair, rubbing his bearded chin, capturing Alex with his thoughtful gaze.

    A stolen glance Ya Ling¡¯s way made it clear that certain secrets had already been revealed, just by the way she blushed and lowered her gaze.

    ¡°I¡¯m given to understand that you and my daughter were very¡­ busy last night,¡± Elder Wu said, before tilting his head in a nod of respect. ¡°I suspect a great many people owe you a debt of gratitude, but for reasons perhaps best not mentioned, discretion might well be the better part of heroism¡­ in this matter at least.¡±

    Alex gave a relieved nod with those words. ¡°I agree completely.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s intent gaze locked with his own. ¡°Alex, it¡¯s really important that Linnea knows it as well. If word gets out...¡±

    Her words cut off abruptly with her grandfather¡¯s gentle pat. ¡°Our young friend here is no fool. I¡¯m sure he understands,¡± Qing Wu¡¯s eyes belied his gentle smile. Alex quickly bowed his head.

    ¡°I think I do, Elder Wu.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. And there is the ink brush and vellum, if you wish to channel your¡­ inspirations into calligraphy, now is the time.¡±

    Alex flashed a bemused smile at the pretext, before quickly coming to Reny¡¯s side where she expertly set up vellum weights, ink pot, stone and brush, and Alex quickly got to work transcribing both the events of last night as concisely as he could, before taking a deep breath, and transcribing near the entirety of his dream.

    Alex frowned at his work when he was done, praying that superhuman finesse meant that his amateurish attempts at writing with ink and brush words that he normally only read¡­ words he only now realized were written in letters and symbols he had no recent experience writing at all.

    He took a breath before gesturing for an Qing Wu to take a look, the man¡¯s furrowed brows widening as he read the entirety of what Alex had written.

    Alex felt a twinge in his gut with the look Qing Wu gave him when he finished reading it.

    Ya Ling, reading by her grandfather¡¯s side, grew increasingly horrified as she read on.

    ¡°Grandfather, if this is true¡­ our entire city is in peril, and it¡¯s all thanks to those damn...¡±

    Quickness check made!

    Her eyes widened in anger when Alex clamped a hand over her mouth, for just a single heartbeat before he apologized with a bow. ¡°Forgiveness, kung fu sister. But consider carefully the weight of your words, lest they be carried by the same breeze as brought so many secrets to me.¡±

    ¡°In your dreams,¡± Qing Wu said curtly.

    Alex winced. ¡°Well, yes. There is that.¡±

    Elder Wu shook his head with a sigh. ¡°Alex¡­ having visceral dreams after fighting against peril, working to the point of exhaustion, is hardly strange or unusual. We don¡¯t decide people¡¯s fates, or risk further exposing ourselves to censor by blindly accusing obvious political opponents without damn good proof of wrongdoing.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes flared with ire. ¡°Grandfather, you know damn well what that¡­ clan is capable of! If Alex is right, about any of it, than all the Ruidians here are...¡± Her voice dropped to a whisper. ¡°In trouble if they¡¯re ever caught off guard or alone.¡±

    ¡°Which is as good a reason as any to keep them partied up with me,¡± Alex said with a nod, his stance firming as he caught Elder Wu¡¯s gaze. ¡°And you need proof. The headmistress, if you¡¯re to trust her with this, will need some kind of proof. So that¡¯s what I¡¯m off to get.¡±

    He gazed out the window once more, happy to finally see traces of the starry night sky, hoping that meant that the worst of the awful smoke had passed. ¡°How long was I out?¡±

    ¡°Just a few hours,¡± Ya Ling quickly assured, her eyes twinkling with her smile. ¡°One of the advantages of Bronze tier Vitality and restless sleep, no? Dawn¡¯s less than an hour away, though.¡±

    Alex gave a relieved nod. ¡°Good. Then we have a little bit of time to plan. There¡¯s a group led by a noble from a neighboring city who would like to take advantage of my and Linnea¡¯s knack for handling a certain rift. With luck, they won¡¯t mind a few extra companions to better the odds.¡± His gaze turned thoughtful. ¡°Hopefully, they won¡¯t mind a change of plans and us daring the Southern rift. Because I can think of nothing that would more definitively verify that my dream¡¯s more than illusion than if Shadow beasts suddenly made an appearance there.¡±

    Ya Ling furrowed her brow. ¡°I thought that rift was off limits for the sake of noble guests?¡±

    Alex flashed a bleak smile. ¡°Funny how that worked out. I wonder if a careful investigation of these so-called noble guests would reveal ties to a certain clan eager for a change in the political landscape? Or perhaps they were just used as patsies. What we do know for sure is that if things abruptly changed¡­ maybe there¡¯s some credence to my dreams after all.¡±

    Elder Wu frowned.

    ¡°He has a point, husband,¡± Reny said at last. ¡°Though I admit to not being a fan of the idea of Alex putting his life on the line yet again for the sake of this city.¡± She then shook her head with a pained smile. ¡°Yet few know as well as we just how effective he and his fiance are when fighting in concert against Shadow beasts.¡±

    Elder Wu sighed. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll have a word with the headmistress.¡±

    Alex blinked, immediately understanding the significance of the man¡¯s clout within this school, or at least the credit he had earned, working by the headmistress¡¯s side earlier that evening.

    Alex bowed his head, appreciating his mentor being willing to so quickly spend his own accrued political capital. ¡°Thank you, Elder Wu.¡±

    Elder Wu chuckled softly at Alex¡¯s praise. ¡°If your suspicions are correct¡­ it is we who should be thanking you. And on the off chance that the Wind¡¯s secrets really were whispering in your comatose ear¡­ letting her know that it might be a good idea if we did a cursory examination of the dormitory ruins wouldn¡¯t go amiss either.¡±

    Reny frowned. ¡°The exposure to so much soot and smoke so soon after the fire isn¡¯t good for you at your age, dear.¡±

    This earned a mirthless smile. ¡°Neither is being forced to deal with yet another infernal configuration without a handful of days to cleanse the waste Qi burden I¡¯m already...¡±

    His eyes widened with surprise before chuckling softly when Alex gently clasped his shoulder.

    ¡°With your permission, Master Wu?¡±

    The man¡¯s bemused nod instantly became a wide-eyed hiss that turned to an awed grin by the time Alex removed his hand.

    You have successfully incorporated Elder Wu into adventuring party!

    Autonomy declared Sacrosanct. Free Agent status maintained.

    Elder Wu has given you ¨C Full Physiological Access!

    You have successfully claimed Excess Free Floating Dark Qi within meridian channels and vasculature system.

    You have stabilized endothelial layer of party member: Elder Wu.

    Inflammatory waste Qi in the form of unstable plaque deposits has been successfully removed!

    Alex felt a shiver with the unexpected words at the end, even though the stream of Dark Qi he absorbed was barely worth mentioning, at least compared to the Silver-tier beast core that he had consumed like a waterfall of potency the night before.

    Alex forced a smile at his mentor¡¯s joyful expression.

    ¡°Wonderful, boy. I swear I feel like I¡¯ve spent a full month cultivating under the desert sun¡¯s purifying rays, thanks to that gift of yours.¡±

    ¡°He does have the makings of an alchemist specialized in the tinctures that matter most,¡± Reny said with a smile, before her demeanor grew strained, seeing something in Alex¡¯s eyes. ¡°Alex?¡±

    He tapped his chest, before glancing a still pleased-looking Qing Wu¡¯s way.

    Her features blanched. ¡°Oh no.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. But I¡¯d recommend shifting cultivation focus away from elemental mastery and straight into body cleansing and vitality for at least an hour every day from now on. A small price to pay for what might be centuries to savor all of life¡¯s adventures. I also happen to know an apothecary who makes a wonderful tincture of garlic, turmeric, and ginger.¡±

    Alex gave her Yana¡¯s address through mapsign. He found himself missing her smile and the hours they had spent just embracing their healing art and servicing customers and the unexpected peace he had felt, working by her side. He promised himself that he¡¯d take the time to visit sometime soon, when the city wasn¡¯t in the midst of a major power struggle.

    Reny wasted no time, grabbing her surprised husband by his arm. ¡°I knew I should have thought twice before falling in love with a man two centuries older than me,¡± she said with a forced smile. ¡°Come, husband. Time for me to do what I should have been doing every morning for the last fifty years.¡±

    Qing Wu¡¯s surprised protest died in his throat when his wife led him to their personal quarters, Alex grinning at the flurry of emotions coming across the man¡¯s features before he took on a studius air. ¡°My wife and I will be meditating, but fear not. I will make a point of assuring the support of old friends and new acquaintances alike. I trust you will carry yourselves professionally and act with prudence and caution as always,¡± he said, before he and his wife slipped away.

    Ya Ling¡¯s cheeks were actually blushing, and it was All Alex could do not to laugh.

    ¡°Goodness! Is grandmother that eager for another baby to care for? I know her cultivation path is closely aligned to motherhood, but it¡¯s been almost a century since her last!¡±

    ¡°I think your grandfather¡¯s going to be as surprised as you to find out that¡¯s not her objective. At least¡­ I don¡¯t think,¡± he said with a smile.

    Ya Ling gave him a curious look. ¡°Alex?¡±

    He whispered softly in her ear. ¡°All the exposure to Dark Qi might have dislodged some arterial plaque I just happened to be in the right time and place to stabilize. To put it another way, he was in danger of a heart attack or stroke.¡±

    He gently squeezed her hand when she flinched, eyes wide with dismay. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You live in a magical world full of cultivating healers, after all, and body strengthening techniques that I¡¯m betting were designed by countless older cultivators eager to extend their lives for as many decades or centuries as possible. Now that Reny¡¯s aware of what¡¯s going on, I¡¯m betting your grandfather will be right as rain for centuries to come.¡± His smile grew strained. ¡°Though I don¡¯t think your grandfather should be Rift delving any more¡­ at least not for the foreseeable future. Especially if I¡¯m not around.¡±

    Ya Ling looked visibly pained by Alex¡¯s words, rubbing her now fully intact left hand. Which made it all the more surprising when she spoke up. ¡°I hate those bastards, for what they did to our city! And I absolutely refuse to sit here and just worry my head off like a girl in a stupid tale.¡± Her eyes took on a fierce glint. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡±

    Alex frowned worriedly, his gaze straying to the back bedroom. ¡°Ya Ling...¡±

    His friend gave a no nonsense shake of her head. ¡°I read your shoddy attempt at calligraphy as well.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± she smirked. ¡°But if your hunch is right, and our enemies are indeed controlling the flow of things through formations¡­ formations that are probably hidden, how the hell do you expect to find any sign of it in the Southern rift?¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s actually a good point. My Forest Sense is far better than my Desert Sense, but there¡¯s hardly any point in starting with the Western rift, since I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll just be fighting for my life against those Shadow Pumas nonstop there, with no time at all to sniff out whatever¡¯s off in an entire forest of strangeness and peril.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Which is why the Southern Rift is the first rift we should try to clear of any formation or odd taint. If it¡¯s only been corrupted for a day, the Shadow beasts should be weaker and less frequent than those you¡¯ll find under cover of the jungle in the Western rift that nearly killed us all! At the very least, they should be much easier to spot¡­ and whatever they did to alter the rift should be far easier to detect,¡± Ya Ling said with a triumphant smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s actually a very good point,¡± Alex conceded.

    Ya Ling flashed a cheeky smile. ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it? But don¡¯t worry, if something¡¯s off¡­ I¡¯ll know pretty damn quick. And as we both found out, there¡¯s literally no safer delve for me to dare than an eternal desert under the midday sun.¡± Her expression grew coy. ¡°So best we leave now, Alex, before anyone thinks to stop us.¡±

    Alex¡¯s gaze widened. ¡°Shit, with all that¡¯s going on¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if someone did attempt a curfew.¡±

    ¡°At least they might for me,¡± Ya Ling said, her demeanor now deadly serious as she quickly kitted up in padded aketon and tight mail shirt before shimmying on the lightest of silk cultivators uniforms on top of it, which would allow her to pass at least a cursory examination without anyone thinking too much of her attire. The helmet and spear Alex was happy to place in his storage ring, she could secure those vital elements when they were actually before the rift.

    ¡°Thank you, Alex. Now come on, let¡¯s gather up your¡­ wife and in-laws, and meet up with your foreign noble friends who at least haven¡¯t been cowed to submission by those Duo LI bastards.¡±

    Alex winced at the sudden tightness in her gaze. ¡°Ya Ling...¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Alex. I saw how well you two were in sync with each other.¡± Her expression turned wry. ¡°Literally. Now let¡¯s get everyone and get out of here before grandmother even knows we¡¯re gone.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 75

    In very short order Alex found himself slipping out of the manor in the pre-dawn light with his friends just behind him, grateful that Ya Ling took so well to the idea of them forming up as a party even before leaving her family¡¯s domicile. He momentarily smiled in memory of her awed look of delight when her mind joined theirs, even if only in the tiniest periphery of their shared psyche, such that she did naught but sense where they were in relation to one another

    Alex found it telling that she was also able to sense both Hanz and Lieberman summoning the tiniest swarm of ice crystals in their hands and Linnea¡¯s tiny candle¡¯s worth of flame on the tip of her finger, just as well as she could sense Alex¡¯s swirling Water Shield, for all that three were mana manifestations, and one comprised of pristine spiritual energy.

    Then Alex¡¯s combined awareness snapped to the moment as they slipped past the garden and were in position to directly cross the property boundary into the school.

    He could sense it so clearly, the heat signature of three nighttime sentinels that had taken full advantage of the pre-dawn gloom.

    Alex flashed a fierce smile, bracing himself for what was to come.

    The wind¡¯s whispers hadn¡¯t been false.

    A certain young master and his father really were conspiring to take out any Ruidian they could get away with murdering. Even if they would only strike when opportunity presented itself, even if they knew better than to do anything but fade into the rustling leaves of the date trees they perched themselves upon when Alex and his gestalt showed themselves en-masse, it didn¡¯t change the fact that assassination was on their minds.

    If Hanz had been enticed by a midnight rendezvous, or Lieberman had gone out to clear his mind and focus on the possibilities of the present while finally daring to dream of starting a family of his own again¡­ their lives would have been snuffed out in the blink of an eye.

    Their bodies claimed¡­ and no trace of them to be found anywhere.

    Alex felt a sudden surge of killing fury.

    To think that predators had once more caught his scent.

    And worse, were now looking the Wu clan¡¯s way.

    He exchanged glances with Linnea, but their thoughts were already one.

    He then turned to Ya Ling, his racing heart making him bold as he did what was needed to entice and distract their prey from the threat soon to unfold.

    To his shame and delight, Ya Ling actually gasped when Alex turned around to lock lips with her, kissing her fiercely before clasping her in his arms.

    She sobbed against him. ¡°Fine, you bastard. I¡¯ll be your second wife! Just don¡¯t you dare break my heart.¡±

    Her words cut off when Alex whispered in her ear. ¡°Three assassins are drawing a bead with crossbows. The trees are kind enough to rustle and wind just enough that they don¡¯t dare shoot, even if they just serve as scouts for now. But rest assured, if you or I or Linnea had taken an evening stroll¡­ quarrels would fly and the shock of piercing steel would be the last thing our Ruidian friends would ever feel.¡±

    Ya Ling froze, before locking him in a kiss once more. ¡°What do we do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take care of it. You¡¯re going to listen to the wind while summoning the most powerful shield you can. See if any scout has their eyes on our assassin. If so¡­ we¡¯ll handle that as well.¡±

    She flinched him his tender embrace. ¡°Alex?¡±

    But he was already moving.

    Bullrush. Bullrush!

    Forest flight allows effortless use of Spring Leap in all directions!

    You have successfully surprised your prey!

    In the blink of an eye, Alex was right behind a man dressed in midnight leathers, the would-be killer not even aware of death perched right behind him.

    Not until steel flashed as death snarled, the night awash with a spray of crimson rain as the assassin¡¯s mouth opened wide in a silent scream as his head toppled to the ground.

    Yet death¡¯s deliverance flashed along the trunk of grass and trees faster than a shrieking soul trapped in a dying head could fall, two other targets only now reacting with wide-eyed horror at what they struggled to make out in the pre-dawn light while their would-be targets were suddenly surrounded by whirling maelstroms of Wind and Ice.

    One killer had time to curse softly before pivoting to descend the date tree he perched upon, only to shudder against the hot bit of bitter sharp steel as a dao blade erupted from his chest.

    He couldn¡¯t move¡­ couldn¡¯t think¡­ eyes wide with horror the equal of his agony. And then death was gone before he had even gotten a good look at the furious blue eyes that had heralded such a jagged sharp end to his life. Only then did he finally leave the treetop, body toppling over to crash to the ground in a motionless heap as his soul plummeted straight into the eternally frigid waters waiting endlessly far below.

    ¡°Yuren! Benzhuo!¡±

    The final would-be killer had time enough only to process a head and a body falling from separate trees before his instincts took over and he was scurrying down the trunk of his perch as fast as his hands and feet could manage, not hesitating to spring down the final ten feet and roll with the impact before springing to his feet once more and racing for the boulevard, desperate to flee now that he was the target.

    He didn¡¯t even register that he was airborne until he had crashed upon the ground, desperate for air that just wouldn¡¯t come as his back erupted with horrific pain and an awful numbness that filled him with monstrous dread.

    Sure enough, when he tried to regain his feet and flee, not even daring to face the monster that had killed his allies and struck him before he could blink¡­ he found that he couldn¡¯t move his legs at all.

    The man gave a desperate whimper, all the more so when he felt a powerful killing aura suddenly behind him. And before panicked fingers could reach for deadly gifts that might give him a chance¡­ his arm was already wrenched back, and a fresh scream erupted from his lips as his wrist was twisted as far as it would go before tendons were ruptured and ligaments torn. Then a scream erupted from his lips when his nemesis blasted his palm right through a hyper-extended elbow, the air resonating with a sickening crack when the joint was ruthlessly forced the wrong way.

    A horrific shriek burst from the man¡¯s lips before his jaw was ruthlessly clamped shut. He felt himself being smothered by a dark deadly presence so terrible that his scream turned to a panicked whimper.

    ¡°Please¡­ mercy! Mercy!¡±

    ¡°Like the mercy you were going to give us?¡±

    ¡°We weren¡¯t going to kill you. Just keep watch. That¡¯s all!¡±

    Alex chuckled coldly. ¡°And that¡¯s why each of you fools had crossbows?¡±

    The man froze.

    Alex¡¯s voice became an ugly snarl. ¡°I already know your orders, asshole. Keep watch. If any Ruidians are foolish enough to go out alone, out of the sight of others¡­ that¡¯s when you take us out.¡±

    The man¡¯s flinch told Alex all he needed to know as he pressed steel behind the man¡¯s ear. ¡°Your spine is shattered. You¡¯ll never use that arm again without a Silver-tier healer which we both know gutter trash like you will never have access to. It would be a mercy if I took you out right now.¡±

    ¡°Please!¡± The man whispered. ¡°Please, don¡¯t kill me¡­ take me to a healer¡­ I can make it worth your while. I swear it!¡±

    ¡°Where were you going to meet your contact?¡±

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    The man flinched. ¡°Please, I gave an oath!¡±

    His plea turned to a shriek when Alex¡¯s thumb tore into the would-be killer¡¯s eye socket, splattering the grass in fresh blood and gore.

    Before slamming shut the man¡¯s shrieking mouth with a palm strike that shattered teeth and bone.

    ¡°You have one eye left. Unless you wish to be both crippled and blind...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m JiangHu, you fool! You¡¯ve just signed your death sentence¡­ Aah! Mercy!¡±

    The man didn¡¯t dare bluff any further when Alex wrenched back his left arm and ripped the middle finger right out of its socket in a fresh spurt of blood.

    ¡°Where were you going to meet your contact?¡±

    ¡°Please¡­ just let me go. Please don¡¯t kill me, please!¡±

    ¡°Ah well. Crippled and blind it is, then. I¡¯ll give you a life expectancy of under two hours when I leave your broken body in the poorest part of the western quarter.¡±

    ¡°In the back of the Heron eating house an hour after dusk! We¡¯re to give our benefactor a daily report of the Ruidians¡¯ comings and goings and make a note of whoever they make contact with!¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°I see. And considering that all four Ruidians were at the Wu residence...¡±

    ¡°Yes, our master knows¡­ please, I can help you! You don¡¯t know how much danger you¡¯re all in. Our master¡¯s already taking steps! You need me to help you¡ª¡°

    The slightest pressure on tortured limbs instantly jolted the man to silence, panicked plea cutting off to an agonized whimper.

    ¡°What¡¯s your contact¡¯s name?¡±

    The man gasped. Alex could sense how the panicked man¡¯s heart was pounding. Understanding that his cultivation base would crack if not outright rupture under the strain of a shattered JiangHu oath. Yet they both knew as well the most agonizing death imaginable waited for the man if he dared hold back.

    Alex spoke before the man could prevaricate or lie.

    ¡°Is it Dui Zhong? Is it Instructor Rah? Is it Luo or Xiao? Is it Lu Gang? Is it Su Rin?¡±

    Alex carefully measured the man¡¯s body language as he glared into the face of his shattered target, refusing to register Ya Ling¡¯s horrified gasp of dismay. He bombarded the man with a stream of names he suspected no reaction from at all, beyond the agony and despair the man was clearly already feeling.

    ¡°Is it Te Chang?¡­ is it Tan Yi of the Duo Li clan?¡±

    The last pair of names alone earned a flinch and tremble. Alex¡¯s lips curled in a fierce smile. ¡°Bingo. And that confirms it.¡±

    The JiangHu assassin visibly crumbled, somehow looking even sicker and weaker than he had moments before. ¡°You¡¯ve shattered my foundation.¡± He gave a bitter laugh. ¡°Congratulations, asshole Ruidian. You¡¯ve managed to cripple me, half-blind me, and destroy any hope of advancement. You might as well just finish me off and end my pain, because now I have nothing le¡ª¡°

    You¡¯ve Critically struck your target!

    The man¡¯s words died off, eyes widening in shocked surprise as if unable to believe Alex would actually follow through when he jammed the hilt of his blade into the would-be killer¡¯s skull and twisted, the man¡¯s final desperate plea transforming into dying grunts and death spasms before the body collapsed entirely.

    And then there was silence, and an awful tension in the air that Alex alleviated in the only way he knew how.

    By making it all go away.

    Before anyone could say a word, before Ya Ling could give a horrified cry or scream or accuse him of being a savage, bloodthirsty barbarian¡­ Alex having embraced murderous ruthlessness so quickly, so utterly, especially considering Spirit Qi¡¯s sporadic ability to grace, or curse him with his foe¡¯s final thoughts... the body before him disappeared.

    Because the stakes were too damned high for any other path. A city was in peril by monsters happy to gamble with the lives of half a million souls, to further their own twisted schemes.

    The blood sloughed off both his features and his once more pristine changshan tunic and ancient hose as he flitted to each of the other bodies, gathering them all up with a single gentle touch of his palm. For storage devices that could never take hold of a sapient creature had absolutely no problem storing and preserving freshly made kills.

    Only then, after closing his eyes and bidding the date trees and grass to drink deep of crimson sustenance, did he open them once more and give a curt nod, with no trace of blood or gore to be found at the scene of the incident, or upon his person.

    Ya Ling opened her mouth, but no words came out.

    Alex sighed, giving her a sad shake of his head. ¡°Make no mistake, they were here to pick us off and take us out, just as ruthlessly as the assholes who tried to ambush and slaughter us on the caravan. And now we know that my dream was real. Which means that two delves really were contaminated with black formations, and that our enemies are maneuvering themselves for a bloody coup that will at the very least end with the death of all Ruidians and those that support them. So how about you judge my methods when your life, your grandparents lives, and the lives of all our friends and everyone who would otherwise die of dehydration or starvation aren¡¯t being imperiled by the Duo Li clan playing their sick games?¡±

    Ya Ling swallowed, lowering her gaze. ¡°I know, Alex. Just¡­ let¡¯s go. It will be light soon, and best no one associate us with what just happened.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. Best it seem as if the three had disappeared to the night winds, and that our enemies gain a newfound respect for crossing the house of a Deep Silver.¡±

    In short order they were cutting across the academy grounds, making their way to the prestigious on-campus dining hall where they were to meet their noble acquaintances and where Alex and Linnea still had rent free accommodations for a full moon¡¯s duration.

    Yet despite the tight knot of anxiety in the pit of Alex¡¯s stomach slowly unwinding, he grew increasingly uncomfortable with the tension he felt from the first friend he had made here. Forced to see him far more savage and ruthless than he ever hoped to have her see.

    ¡°Ya Ling?¡±

    She abruptly turned his way, her face now an expressionless mask.

    He sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    She blinked, her face running through a gamut of emotions. She slowed down her pace, Alex and the others happily letting her do so as she rubbed her temples and shook her head. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be. No, Alex. Were it not for you, we wouldn¡¯t even have realized the danger. Because your hunch was right. That bastard Tan Yi and his father really are out not just to hinder us, but to outright eliminate us. They¡¯ll happily kill you, if they think they can get away with it, and no doubt want punish me and my family in the worst possible way for daring to give you shelter and treat you like kin.¡±

    She turned, glaring back the way they came. ¡°They were hovering over us like jackals. They might not have dared a killing shot as we were together, but if they had caught me enjoying the garden alone with my grandparents off doing their duties¡­ they would have happily taken me out and put my body in storage device to smuggle out just as easily as you did to them.¡±

    Her eyes flashed with sudden heat. ¡°Because those Duo Li bastards would happily destroy the entire pristine valley below, providing food and sustenance for over half a million people¡­ if they thought it would secure their dominion over us all.¡±

    Alex¡¯s relieved smile wilted under her measuring gaze.

    ¡°But you enjoyed taking them out. Don¡¯t pretend you didn¡¯t.¡± Ya Ling shook her head and sighed. ¡°Just like a desert cat stalking his prey.¡±

    Alex flushed, unable to deny that despite the tension and outraged fury he felt when his friends were put in peril, he did indeed revel in showing his enemies just how far he¡¯d come since the days he¡¯d been an easily broken young disciple with a single digit Strength.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with reveling in the hunt,¡± Linnea declared, locking gazes with Alex. ¡°Especially when you¡¯re removing a threat to those depending on you to protect them.¡±

    Ya Ling gazed at Linnea for long moments, before flashing an ivory-white smile. ¡°True. Some hunts are righteous.¡± She locked gazes with Alex. ¡°And some prizes are more than worth the bittersweet struggle of obtaining them.¡± She gently stroked Alex¡¯s cheek. ¡°So long as one remembers that there are other things¡­ precious, beautiful things¡­ are just as important to life and happiness as taking down choice prey.¡±

    ¡°Oh she¡¯s right, Alex! Dual cultivation is every bit as important as taking out our enemies!¡± Linnea said brightly, effortlessly hopping in and out of the gestalt to a degree that surprised even Alex. Because she really did have full autonomy. A truth that wasn¡¯t lost on Hanz or Lieberman either as they shook themselves free of their daze as they approached their destination, Lieberman giving Alex an odd look.

    ¡°So righteous, feeling such fiery wrath at the thought of strangers killing my niece¡­ killing me.¡± Lieberman solemnly bowed his head. ¡°I now both fear and respect you, Battle-leader.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°I don¡¯t want you or any of my friends to fear me, Lieberman.¡±

    ¡°Too late for that,¡± Hanz said with a sigh. And something in his gaze made Linnea pale, taking a step back.

    ¡°Oh Hanz, please tell me they didn¡¯t.¡±

    Hanz swallowed, lowering his gaze. ¡°I¡¯m afraid they did.¡±

    Lieberman blanched, clasping Hanz¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Son, what happened?¡±

    Hanz flashed a sad, sad smile. ¡°The final man Alex, our battle-leader, so ruthlessly dealt with. Let¡¯s just say that I recognized his face and his voice. In fact, I know him on a very personal level.¡±

    Alex winced, stomach twisting in knots. ¡°Hanz, I didn¡¯t¡­ I¡¯m so, so sorry.¡±

    This earned a bitter laugh. ¡°Are you kidding? You saved my life, Alex. Who cares if that asshole thought me handsome enough to fuck a time or two? He was just setting me up to discretely take out after having his way with me yet again. His words proved it. Your Soul Sight skill that we were all attuned to through our gestalt left no room for doubt or error.¡±

    Hanz shook his head, wiping away a bitter tear. ¡°You saved my life from a two-faced bastard playing with my heart. I knew he was just having his fun and would leave me in the end. But if I had known his goal was to cut my throat while I was lost in the rapture of his gaze...¡±

    He trembled. Linnea didn¡¯t hesitate to sooth him, wrapping her arms around him like a mother hen.

    ¡°Thanks for saving my life again, Alex. That¡¯s really all I can say.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 76

    Lieberman¡¯s gaze turned hard as a pitiless winter gale. ¡°You did well to execute those three just as you had, battle-leader.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°Let¡¯s not bring any of that up with our soon-to-be companions alright?¡± he said as they approached the grand dining hall serving meals to the true elites of the school¡­ and the Ruidians that risked their lives in the Rifts, in addition to other well-connected guests, Alex deduced, upon entering the establishment before his party was immediately greeted by an anxious-looking young woman in a demure changshan dress.

    ¡°Welcome to the Golden Pagoda, revered guests of the academy. We must apologize but we¡¯re running low on a number of spirit beast entrees so our fare might not be up to our normal exacting standards...¡± Her anxious gaze eased into a relieved smile when Alex reassured her with his own grin.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite alright. We¡¯re actually meeting friends, this morning. If you could direct us to Lady Sunlay¡¯s table?¡±

    The servant¡¯s kohl-lined eyes measured Alex speculatively before she nodded her head. ¡°Right this way. Please make yourselves comfortable, someone will be with you shortly to serve you,¡± she said, discretely departing once Alex made contact with a tense-looking Sunlay who¡¯s elegant features immediately softened into an approving nod.

    ¡°You made it just after dawn, just as we had agreed.¡±

    Alex blinked at this, not quite recalling any iron-clad agreement, but he dipped his head in acknowledgment of her words, even as his eyes took in a handful of other diners radiating the aura of Silvers or deepest Bronze, cultivators content with their feasts of fresh green vegetables, hearty looking stews, and spirit boar meet, paying no attention to Alex or the nobles across from him whatsoever.

    Alex took a deep breath, bowing his head once more. ¡°Lady Sunlay, may I introduce you to my good friend Ya Ling Lu, and my Ruidian companions Linnea, Hanz, and Lieberman. In light of the increased peril and rewards the rifts now promise, I thought it prudent to ask my Ruidian associates to join us. Together, you¡¯ll find us even more effective at taking out enemies and protecting our flanks than even the best of us are, individually.¡±

    Sunlay frowned. ¡°I have heard a number of rumors that both the western and southern delves have become perilous forays needing the largest, most well-organized party to dare delve safely.¡± She then locked gazes with him, taking his measure. ¡°And I have heard any number of rumors that suggest that daring any Delve with Ruidians by my side will heighten my risk like nothing else¡­ and antagonize various parties I was assured that it is in my best interest to stay on good terms with.¡± Here she flashed a humorless smile that Alex easily matched, squeezing Linnea¡¯s palm as she huffed with outrage.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. There¡¯s a certain faction hungry for power that¡¯s absolutely no fan of any tribe that can delve frequently enough to secure enough Water cores so that this city isn¡¯t forced to bow and scrape before corrupt water merchants who would enjoy having absolute dominion over every living soul forced to live within the desert¡¯s maw. If that faction is savvy enough to alienate the one group that could spare this city that fate, and if people are actually foolish or fearful enough to actually believe their lies and propaganda, or simply too afraid to do what¡¯s right for the sake of this city, then a villainous future coup is all but assured. And thousands will no doubt perish, or simply die for lack of water, while the perpetrators of panic, chaos, and horrific deprivation claim a ruler¡¯s mantel with crimson-colored hands.¡±

    Alex¡¯s voice, hard and cold, cut through the dining hall.

    The soft murmurs were replaced by deadly silence. The air now alive with tension so tight that Alex could cut it with a knife.

    ¡°Alex!¡± Ya Ling hissed in alarm. blanched at Alex¡¯s words.

    But he wasn¡¯t a complete fool. As hot as he felt under the collar, clenching his fists at the cowards that this room, this entire school, was filled with, he forbore making eye contact with any of them, lest unspoken accusation and their own inadequacies fill them with unthinking rage and perilous challenges that benefit no one as they try to expunge their own growing sense of cowardly shame.

    He carefully avoided the gazes of a roomful of powerful cultivators, allowing all to save face. Even if his words would ring in their ears long after Alex had left and maybe inspire at least a few to do something besides nothing, waiting for the Duo Li clan to seize control and jeopardize the lives of countless thousands, if Alex¡¯s worst fears proved correct.

    The pair of wujen seated by Sunlay¡¯s side glared at him like he was an idiot.

    Yet Sunlay herself was gazing at him with a certain fiery twinkle in her eyes. ¡°Not afraid to speak your mind or reveal bitter truths that too many would hide from, even as it slowly poisons their whole city from within. I like that.¡±

    She turned to regard the Ruidians by Alex¡¯s side. ¡°Fire and Ice.¡± She gave a thoughtful nod. ¡°Assuming you four can work cohesively, I don¡¯t see a problem.¡±

    ¡°But my lady, that¡¯s four party shares. Five if we count the young girl beside them!¡± Said the powerfully built Quing Da, fully kitted in steel lamellar as always. His beard bristled as he glared Ya Ling¡¯s way. ¡°We should offer them only a half share each, taking so many. Five unknowns, and four of them are younger than my oldest son!¡±

    Lieberman¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°A full share each, and you¡¯ll be glad you did when storms of ice and bolts of liquid flame keep your companions alive against monsters so treacherous that almost no one now dares those rifts.¡±

    Quing Da¡¯s eyes widened in mock outrage, but Sunlay just patted his arm. She tilted her head curiously. ¡°And what makes you so sure that no one now dares the rifts?¡±

    Alex flashed a cynical smile. ¡°The fact that the concierge herself apologized for the lack of spirit beast meat. And the Silvers in the far left corner are enjoying a delectable looking meal, but the only meat I see in evidence are cured boar sausages which were no doubt prepped weeks or months ago.¡±

    Sunlay nodded her head in approval, ignoring the increasingly angry murmurs and glares being sent their way. ¡°If the outright flat refusal I¡¯ve received from multiple bands of cultivators is anything to go by, everyone¡¯s waiting to see which way the wind blows before committing their sails in any direction. But since I have no stake in Liushi politics and limited time, I feel no need to rest on my laurels any longer than I already have.¡±

    She turned to her companions with a hard smile. ¡°A full share for each of our newest companions. Should the threats prove minimal and our friends fail to impress, then at least we¡¯ll have a basic understanding of the perils and challenges of the caldera¡¯s greatest prizes.¡± She turned to Ya Ling with a thoughtful tilt of her head. ¡°And what do you bring to the table, girl?¡± A soft smile tugged her lip. ¡°Besides being the beau of our blond-haired Ruidian?¡±

    Her dusky cheeks blushed scarlet before she stiffened her spine. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what. If I prove worthless? I¡¯ll forgo my share. But if we¡¯re daring the rift that I think we are, you¡¯ll be very glad I came.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hardly a satisfactory answer,¡± hissed the female wujen, a slender older woman who Alex could sense had just barely broken through to Silver, a remarkable achievement that only 1 in a 100,000 could accomplish, to be fair, even if she would never advance any further. Yet Alex wasn¡¯t foolish enough to under estimate her. Those pale grey eyes looked to have faced down dozens of foes and Alex wouldn¡¯t be a bit surprised to find that the woman had embraced the Path of Peril to forge whatever epiphanies had allowed her to break past Bronze.

    ¡°It will do for now, Zichen,¡± Sunlay assured. Her servant¡­ bodyguard? Immediately bowed her head. ¡°Of course, my lady.¡±

    ¡°Good, it¡¯s settled then. Shall we?¡±

    Alex turned to his friends, who nodded as one. ¡°Let¡¯s.¡±

    With that, the party of nine quickly made their exit, and it was only when they were well and truly away from both the dining area and the still steady flow of students and instructors as they approached the lip of the caldera proper and the trails that led to the various rifts that Alex whispered a question still on his mind.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see a certain friend.¡±

    Sunlay smiled, saying nothing, and Alex wisely let it go. ¡°I would like to talk to you about the delve situation,¡± he said moments later, after exchanging glances with his friends.

    Sunlay furrowed her brow at that. ¡°I thought we had agreed on the western rift?¡±

    Alex sighed, choosing his words carefully after a final look around for trouble or spies. ¡°It¡¯s a bit more complicated, sadly. It appears that there is a reason why the rifts have suddenly become far more perilous, and right now the Western rift is now perhaps the most treacherous of all.¡±

    Sunlay gave an angry shake of her head, her hand clenching the shaft of the jian at her hip, sliding free a half-foot of enchanted steel radiating the essence of sharpness before slamming it back in its sheath. ¡°This whole thing stinks of politics.¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Ya Ling said. ¡°The fire two nights ago was a distraction from our enemies, a clan I know I need not name, here and now.¡±

    Sunlay¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°That they would dare to act so boldly. And no steps have been taken?¡±

    Ya Ling ignored the words. ¡°Multiple fires were lit. One holds a cursed flag formation designed to damn the eastern rift. Within the western rift another formation was placed, and just days ago, a cursed formation was placed in the southern rift. Since the southern rift was most recent, the disturbance should be minimal. Or at least, that¡¯s what we¡¯re praying is the case. And if we¡¯re lucky¡­ maybe we can do something about it.¡±

    ¡°Politics!¡± the female wujen hissed. ¡°Tread carefully, my lady.¡±

    But Sunlay was gazing at Ya Ling intently. ¡°You¡¯re serious? You know for a fact that two of the rifts have been directly tampered with?¡±

    Ya Ling flashed a hard smile. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that we had 3 independently corroborating witnesses who vindicated our suspicions.¡±

    Sunlay turned to gaze down at the valley below the caldera ridge-line, momentarily distracted, perhaps, by the glorious bounty of lush green crops and groves of ripened fruit trees below, several fields of golden wheat seeming almost to glow under the fiery gold light of the rising sun. ¡°That damned arrogant pact of highborn pretenders who were so very good at scowling and veiled threats, but rebuffed any attempts at conversation or even clarifying their city of origin and station.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°I knew they were fake, of course. But we had no idea what political quagmires we might unleash if we made that fact known.¡± She sighed. ¡°Clearly we made the wrong call, and the school truly had no idea what was going on. Obviously, they were the ones who tainted the rift.¡±

    ¡°You acted prudently, Your Grace,¡± Her bodyguard soothed. ¡°We¡¯re in unfamiliar territory, many miles from home, and it would have been foolish to deliberately earn the ire of six clearly well-trained saboteurs and killers, and perhaps an entire faction as well.¡±

    ¡°Even delving with these children is foolish,¡± sniped Zichen, the wujen glaring Alex¡¯s way once more. ¡°We should have just accepted that bitter fruits were all that would be harvested here and left for fresh pastures days ago.¡±

    Sunlay¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°Not yet, Zichen. Not until my questions have been answered and I¡¯ve dared at least one delve.¡±

    Alex raised his brow in polite curiosity. ¡°Questions?¡±

    Sunlay dipped her head. ¡°For all that I refused to expose myself to the risks of directly confronting them, my¡­ associate has gone out of her way to deduce both their motives¡­ and origins.¡± Her eyes tightened with sudden worry. ¡°But from what you¡¯ve told me, the stakes are a lot higher than I first realized.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯ll be alright,¡± Assured the male wujen in their party with a smile, a handsome middle-aged man wearing silk cultivator¡¯s robes and a sheathed dao tucked in his belt sash. ¡°She always is.¡±

    Quing Da gave a solemn nod. ¡°I never would have let her go, had I thought otherwise.¡±

    Sunlay turned to Alex. ¡°So, what can you tell us about the Southern delve?¡±

    Alex nodded Ya Ling¡¯s way, who promptly grinned, taking up the conversational reins. ¡°The Southern rift is endless desert dunes and blowing sands under the midday sun. Which, when you think about it, is a very good thing.¡±

    Quing Da snorted, crossing his massive arms. ¡°From what I heard, the western forest sounded a lot more appealing to me. Rich in shade, game, and countless priceless spiritual herbs and similar treasures.¡±

    Ya Ling dipped her head. ¡°Normally, I¡¯d agree. But there¡¯s no way in hell we¡¯ll find any trace of a tainted formation in that thick jungle now absolutely filled with ambushing predators. Predators that will find it a lot harder to ambush us in the southern delve, with nothing but deep blue sky and desert sands.¡±

    Sunlay gave the idea a few moment¡¯s thoughtful consideration. ¡°I believe that will work out quite nicely,¡± she said at last, patting the hilt of her blade. ¡°I¡¯d far rather have excellent coverage and a view of all my horizons when dealing with potential ambush predators, than to have my line of sight blocked by endless trees that could be hiding any number of secrets.¡±

    Ya Ling dipped her head. ¡°And just as importantly, if this formation configuration is tied to the desert, which it almost has to be¡­ I¡¯ll find it.¡± Her eyes lit with a fierce, inner fire. ¡°No matter how well they buried it, or think they buried it, the truth will come out in the end.¡±

    This earned a scowl from Zichen. ¡°And how could a girl of barely twenty years hope to unravel a formation twisted by masters spearheading an obvious attempt at a coup?¡±

    Alex blinked, surprised to hear it said so boldly. But then again, this party had no ties or obligation to the prince or the Duo Li clan. So why not speak plainly while they could?¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s smile grew supremely confident. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I have a strong connection to the desert sands.¡±

    The wujen¡¯s gaze sharpened. ¡°Really.¡±

    ¡°Come on,¡± Alex said. ¡°We¡¯re wasting time.¡±

    This earned him a hard look from Quing Da. ¡°Why the hurry?¡±

    Linnea scowled. ¡°Because if you think the Duo Li clan¡¯s going to sit on their laurels while we risk springing their deliciously corrupt trap, you truly are living in a dream world.¡± She shook her head. ¡°If we¡¯re going to do anything for this city, it has to be now.¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes widened in both alarm and growing consternation. He turned to Sunlay. ¡°My lady, I¡¯m going to advise that we cancel this expedition and go home.¡± He scowled Linnea and Ya Ling¡¯s way. ¡°The stakes have clearly gotten far too high.¡±

    Alex quirked a cynical smile. ¡°They¡¯ve already seen you leave with us. Do you think fleeing with your tail between your legs will lessen whatever retribution those bastards might have planned?¡± He spoke into the sudden tense silence. ¡°Far better you leave rich in whatever prizes your cores earn you with the college than empty handed. And if we can actually secure a Water core, I have it on very good authority that we will earn the prince¡¯s personal regard.¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯ll be smart, this time, and hand it off to him personally,¡± Ya Ling huffed, clearly still smarting from the bursar who had played their whole family like fools.

    Sunlay¡¯s crimson lips lightened into a grin. ¡°And few things would earn the prince¡¯s gratitude or a city¡¯s alliance, than saving his own from an enemy¡¯s coup.¡± She gave a decisive nod. ¡°I do believe the reward outweighs the risk. We proceed.¡±

    Her body guard scowled before at last dipping his head. ¡°As you will, my lady.¡±

    Alex felt a weight off his shoulders he hadn¡¯t even realized was there as they finally made their way to the rift, solid in their purpose and resolve. Yet the worried looks Ya Ling sent his way made it clear that she would take nothing for granted at this point, and Alex too felt a growing pressure as they approached the Southern rift. She anxiously squeezed his hand.

    ¡°Alex.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± he soothed, for all that he felt it too. A growing pressure that for some reason made him think of being crushed by the endless depths of the abyssal seas, or an executioner¡¯s hands slowly squeezing a priceless vase.

    Even their newest party members flinched and scowled under the unseen weight.

    ¡°I fear the hour is later than we thought,¡± Zichen murmured, hands nervously clenching about the hem of her cultivator¡¯s robe, Alex sensing the protective wards ready to spring into being at any second.

    It was then that they felt it, an abrupt crack that echoed through the air¡­ ringing through the awful numbing silence of a deafening explosion or crash¡­ leaving them all stumbling, for all that not a sound could be heard.

    Ya Ling blanched, stumbling to the grass between trail and ledge, mouth locked in a silent scream.

    Alex didn¡¯t hesitate to gather her up, grateful to find that everyone else had at least kept their feet.

    And that was when Alex saw it, eyes widening with horror as they were pulled to the distant western waterfall across the basin, watching the crashing flood of precious liquid abruptly cut off to nothing before his eyes.

 Book 8 - Chapter 77

    ¡°The western fall¡¯s lost,¡± Linnea said with a horrified whisper, sound returning once more.

    Alex¡¯s heart was pounding. He forced himself to think, no matter how much it felt like they would be forced to survive at a mad sprint, an entire city¡¯s fate now thrust into their hands.

    His mind raced at the horrific implications, of not one but two rivers abruptly cut off. He was now certain that this had been the ultimate goal of the Li clan¡¯s dark formations. It hadn¡¯t been about just making the rifts perilous to anyone save perhaps themselves. It had been about shattering the Water cores and plummeting the city into absolute chaos.

    And If the precious sanctuary below, an oasis of rich green life in a desert of endless sands were to be lost¡­ and tens or hundreds of thousands of people die to deprivation, the Duo Li bastards and their allies were clearly more than willing to have others pay that price.

    That¡¯s when Alex heard it, mocking laughter that made his blood boil.

    He glared towards the Southern rift entrance they had been less than a hundred yards from when disaster struck.

    A full half dozen men wearing lamellar stepped out of the shadows with cold smiles on their faces. The largest of the group patted the hilt of the dao at his waist, favoring them all with a condescending smirk.

    Qi Perception check made!

    Alex felt a cold chill of dismay as he sensed that all of them were at least mid-Bronze. These were experienced warriors. It was a horror that quickly turned to fury, however, when he noted the pin that each and every one wore on the linen tabards they wore above their armor.

    A pin that matched the one worn by Tan Yi¡¯s bodyguard Guan.

    ¡°This rift and all the others are now closed. Go back the way you came,¡± the leader said with an imperious sneer.

    Sunlay¡¯s back stiffened with outrage. ¡°Impossible. Senior Cultivator Te Chang himself gave me permission to dare any delve I so chose with anyone I so chose without restriction.¡±

    This earned a contemptuous snort. ¡°Senior Cultivator Te Chang is not who you should be worrying about.¡± He turned to gaze at the western rift, the once glorious waterfall flooding the basin with life-giving water was now utterly free of any but the faintest trickle even Alex could barely make out. The man turned back to regard Sunlay with contempt, a mocking twinkle in his eye. ¡°Things are going to be changing for the better very soon, lady. And considering the company you keep¡­ I¡¯d turn right around, join the nearest caravan, and never look back.¡±

    Alex clenched his jaw, heart hammering as he noted the cold smirks all of them wore.

    They knew.

    Their eyes showed no shock or surprise as the sudden surge of spiritual energy that had flooded the basin. And the way they gazed at the western rift satisfied smirks made everything shockingly clear.

    They were in on it.

    Each and every one.

    But still, even as time seemed to stretch and Alex¡¯s mind raced to capture every nuance and detail of their relaxed, casual stances, the way they favored a certain posture, the contemptuous disregard half of them had for Alex¡¯s party¡­ even as Alex felt the desert winds howling furiously as he tempered his fury with Water and the bitter sting of iron¡¯s truth¡­ he had to make sure.

    He had to give them one last chance.

    ¡°Outrageous!¡± Sunlay snapped. ¡°The Senior Cultivator¡¯s authority is second only to the headmaster herself! And it would seem to me that any loyal disciple of this academy would be racing to dare the rifts in desperate pursuit of Water cores before all is lost.¡±

    This earned nothing but a cold chuckle from a man who revealed himself to be Silver, as he unleashed his formerly cloaked killing aura. ¡°Change is in the air, foreigner.¡± He glanced at the western bank once more. ¡°And if you ever want to dare these rifts again, then I¡¯d suggest you turn around and go back the way you came.¡± He flashed a cold smile that didn¡¯t reach his icy gaze. ¡°In the game of kings and thrones...¡±

    ¡°¡­ it¡¯s the pawns that will crushed to dust under the pieces that would rule the board,¡± Sunlay finished for him, crossing her arms. ¡°Have you never stopped to wonder that your masters are using you as pawns as well?¡±

    The man¡¯s smirk hardened into a contemptuous glare. ¡°Unless you wish to make enemies of the Duo Li clan, you¡¯ll turn around and leave right now.¡± He then sneered and spat. ¡°And you Ruidians better leave right now as fast as your scrawny frames can take you. You¡¯re no longer welcome here.¡±

    Alex forced himself to smile, holding the shaft of his fagtian ji like a walking stick as he deliberately stepped off the scrabble path and onto the lush grass just beyond, careful not to step too far, lest he go right off the escarpment and be forced to reveal things before it was time.

    He deliberately held the leader¡¯s gaze. ¡°This isn¡¯t just about politics and your masters reclaiming lost power. You know that, right? This is about the lives and well-being of almost half a million innocent souls that you and your Duo Li cohorts are putting at risk with these games.¡±

    The man chuckled coldly. ¡°Of course I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about! But if fools who care nothing about the water cisterns that nurtured this city for a thousand years found themselves paying a bitter price when false water from tainted stones gathered by mongrels like you are forced to go thirsty, well that¡¯s the price they¡¯ll pay for supporting a corrupt puppet throne and a race of mongrels that should be purged from this desert forev¡ª¡°

    Bullrush!

    Stormstrike!

    You have successfully decapitated your foe!

    Before the man could even finish his sentence, Alex was before him. A single step all that was needed to close fifty yards of grassy turf and swing his fangtian ji now shrieking with a killing edge of Wind, Water, and Steel shrapnel howling at speeds he couldn¡¯t have imagined before daring his affinity for Wind.

    Prismatic shield was still beyond him, Alex barely able to balance the trio of elements with such a fearsome and wild base. But it was enough to cleave flesh from bone, tearing through steel like butter as Alex¡¯s bitter sharp blade kissed Silver Tier flesh, Alex having expended long moments getting the measure of his targets, how fast the shifted their balance, how quickly they jerked their heads when stones out of nowhere clattered behind them, a certain kitsune who had been one with the caldera cliff-face shadows choosing to reveal herself with twinkling eyes and a bright smile, knowing just what to do to in the seconds before Alex struck.

    Even as the trail rang with surprised cries and furious curses, even as he sensed the horrified surge of disbelief behind him, Alex got to work.

    He had given the Duo Li pawns a chance to walk away. With their laughing contempt for the tens or hundreds of thousands that would suffer for their master¡¯s political machinations, not a single flicker of dismay or regret had been shed by any of them, so Alex knew how this had to end.

    And by the desperate looks in their gazes as they drew their dao and readied their spears, so did they.

    You have critically struck your opponent!

    Fatality!

    Alex weaved and dodged past confused men gazing at him in disbelief, still drawing their weapons.

    Alex, not being a fool, struck with savage ferocity, determined to cut down as many flat-footed foes as he could before they were in a position to retaliate.

    Yet they moved so slowly, like clumsy oafs, a dispassionate corner of Alex noted as the rest of his psyche embraced retribution¡¯s storm. A second enforcer collapsed, then a third, their furiously thrust dao and spears effortlessly forced off line with the indestructible haft of his weapon before Alex¡¯s devastating rebuttals leveraged past flawed defences to cleave through flesh, bone and steel with shocking ease. Even as the vortex in his soul howled, Alex struck with a berserker¡¯s savagery and a fencer¡¯s grace. Darting and weaving past spear and dao crackling with Fire, the essence of sharpness, or raw killing intent, his fangtian ji flowed past all resistance like a summer storm.

    Lightning flashed, leaving only the stench of ozone and spurting flesh left in its wake as men screamed and stumbled back, gazing with horror at their own missing limbs spurting their life blood before lightning flashed once more and a howling storm of fury washed all resistance away.

    ¡°No! What you¡¯re doing is forbidden! You will be hunted down and put to the sword!¡± Screamed the final enforcer, stumbling back from a pitiless Alex before tripping on the dismembered remains of his companions. He shrieked as he caught sight of empty gazes already glimpsing whatever horrors awaited them in the river that would soon be his own.

    </a> ¡°No, please. Please don¡¯t kill me!¡± The man shrieked, face set in a terrified rictus as he desperately tried to flee, a look of desperate madness in his eyes as he abruptly darted for the escarpment edge, willing to risk a perilous tumble if only to escape the bloodthirsty Ruidian who had just butchered A Silver and four Bronze in just a handful of seconds.

    Only to cry and stumble to the ground when his knee was parted with a single whisper of deadly wind, his panicked shriek as he stumbled abruptly cut off as still blinking head tumbled and spun through the air, leaving a patina of scattered crimson raindrops behind as it fell to the valley hundreds of feet below.

    And then it was done.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Alex came back to himself with a gasp, eyes wide as he gazed upon the killing field he had wrought, refusing to flinch before the sight of six savaged bodies almost all of which were missing limbs, the stench of blood, ruptured bowels and death heavy in the air.

    Before disappearing almost as quickly as it came, Alex working with chilling efficiency as six bodies became heaps of compost in a storage pouch, and shattered steel tiles, bent blades, and a fortune in steel armaments vanished just moments later.

    Alex took a deep steadying breath as he wiped the last of the gore from his own steel lamellar hauberk before clenching his jaw and turning back to meet the gazes of the men and woman looking back at him with an odd mixture of horror, disbelief, and other expressions as well.

    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Alex said in a voice far rougher than intended

    ¡°Murdering monster!¡± Hissed Zichen, only now shaking out of her shock enough to respond to Alex¡¯s sudden burst of brutal savagery. Her male wujen counterpart nodded coldly, the air suddenly alive with steel blades and swirling flame.

    Alex quickly shook his head at the looks Ya Ling and Linnea were giving him and the pair of wujen a heartbeat from striking.

    ¡°No, do nothing! Our future depends on you doing NOTHING to hurt them!¡± Alex mentally roared to his three Ruidian companions.

    He then solemnly shook his head, as if he wasn¡¯t phased at all by the swirling storms of steel and fire slowly forming to do him in.

    ¡°In case you haven¡¯t already figured it out, the Duo Li clan is the one responsible for setting the fires, tainting the rifts and, I¡¯m almost certain, shattering the western Water Core.¡± He took a shuddering breath, glaring down at the still bloody kill sight, before turning his focus to Sunlay alone. ¡°Those bastards were in on it. You saw the way they looked at the western rift. You felt the same awful pressure I did. As if our world was shattering, as if something had just gone horribly wrong, right when that Water core ruptured and the falls stopped. Yet those assholes were utterly unfazed. They were smirking even, because this was all part of their plan! Those six bastards were part of a coup happy to let half a million people die of thirst, if it secures the power of their master. So yes. I seized the Vor and struck them down with everything I had.¡±

    He gazed with fierce pride at the howling storm of Water and Wind still surrounding the head of his fangtian ji, himself surprised by just how well it had torn through even a Silver tier cultivator¡¯s body and enchantments, thanks to the steel shrapnel carried so well by Water and Wind.

    Fortunately, there had been no Speed cultivators among them, rare even in the last life he had lived, or he would have struck them first.

    Alex flashed a brittle smile, knowing he was kissing the power of Black Swan, an art he had utterly mastered in a life he still remembered so clearly. He had reforged Silver Swan and all its killing variants in all but name.

    He dipped his head in respect of the killing elemental storms before them, but did not flinch from either. ¡°Sure, you could strike, and you¡¯ll note that my friends are doing absolutely nothing to harm you. Because they are utterly innocent of my choice, and because I desperately hope that we can still delve as a group. Because the fate of a city literally depends on us finding a fresh Water core.¡±

    Alex flashed a bemused smile at Sunlay¡¯s enigmatic gaze.

    ¡°And if you ever wanted to be a hero, if you ever wanted to get noble recognition from the prince himself, coming to his city¡¯s rescue now, in its most desperate hour, is certainly one way to win his regard. And who knows? Perhaps his heart as well.¡±

    Sunlay¡¯s eyes widened, her cheeks taking on a surprisingly rosy hue. ¡°You have absolutely no idea what you¡¯re talking about!¡± She snapped, even as her glare had both wujen desultorily easing back on their own killing intent, storms of Fire and Steel fading to nothing in seconds.

    Alex bowed his head in apology. ¡°You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t. And clearly there¡¯s nothing to see here,¡± he declared as Ya Ling glared at the blood stained path that had sufficient sandy soil for it to bubble and swirl over the stained remains. Within seconds, there truly was nothing to be seen.

    ¡°And I don¡¯t know about you, but I, for one, would love to play the hero and earn the warm regard of a prince who will no doubt be more than willing to forgive all sorts of unorthodox approaches, so long as the city¡¯s saved by the end.¡±

    He flashed his brightest smile. ¡°The southern rift is now right before us. Who¡¯s up for playing hero and pretending that the last five minutes never happened?¡±

    ¡°Oh I most definitely am!¡± Declared none other than Nili, the adorable little kitsune popping out of nowhere with a cheeky smile and a teasing bow to Alex as she made her very serious-looking double-shot crossbow vanish in the blink of an eye as Sunlay gave her a discrete nod.

    ¡°What a delightfully bloodthirsty little savage you are! Fortunately, I can corroborate your claims.¡± She then turned to her mistress, giving a solemn bow of her head as her demeanor changed from almost childlike playfulness to the deadly grace of a highly skilled professional. ¡°It is as you feared, my lady. The Duo Li clan is behind the attempts on your life. The immediate agents involved have been dealt with. The primary parties should suspect nothing, as per your orders.¡±

    Alex blinked, a tiny smile creeping to his lips. ¡°A double-shot of all things. Never thought I¡¯d see it here, but historical China was famous for its mechanical crossbows long before anyone else, so why not?¡± He then chuckled. ¡°And don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t spot that Crimson Wort poison on those quarrels, Nili. I thought I saw the third cultivator stumble at the perfect time to follow up.¡±

    He dipped his head. ¡°I guess thanks are in order.¡±

    ¡°She would have killed you, had I given her the order,¡± Sunlay said with a half-smile.

    Alex winked. ¡°But she didn¡¯t. Instead, she crippled the fastest Bronze before he could pivot behind me, so all she has is my gratitude.¡±

    This earned a throaty chuckle from the beautiful kitsune. ¡°Were I not already happily married with a houseful of kits, I would gladly cash in on that, Alex.¡±

    Now it was Alex who felt a flush creep up his cheeks as Linnea and Ya Ling both snorted. ¡°But I meant¡­ you don¡¯t look a day older than me!¡±

    Nili grinned. ¡°Wonderful isn¡¯t it? The joys of cultivation. And maybe falling in love a bit young, even for my kind. Now I do believe you mentioned a rift to dare and perhaps a chance for my lady to earn the regard of a certain prince?¡±

    Alex chuckled at that, leading the way to the rift after a final look around, neither Qi Perception nor borrowed infravision telling him anything he didn¡¯t need already know, surprised but at least in control of himself not to react when a gentle hand patted his shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Nili whispered. ¡°Your kills were righteous. You gave those fools multiple chances to back down. In the end, you placed the lives of half a million innocents above the schemes of would-be usurpers who thought nothing of trying to assassinate visiting nobility.¡± She winked at his surprised glance. ¡°Most importantly, no one was looking our way. These fools were here to take care of would-be delvers like us. No one thought they¡¯d be taken out by a single boy.¡±

    ¡°With a bit of help,¡± a grinning Alex noted, earning a bemused smirk.

    ¡°A single bolt, and I sensed you flowing even as he moved, almost as if you could sense all the players on the field, even without having your eyes on them.¡±

    ¡°Everyone except you,¡± Alex noted as they approached the rift now radiating potent waves of deliciously Dark Qi.

    But Nili froze and paled, her banter immediately ceasing. She turned to gaze Sunlay¡¯s way. ¡°Change of plans, dear one. We leave now. With this much waste Qi radiating from the rift¡­ your foundation will be in jeopardy within seconds. And you¡¯ll be rendered barren by the waste within.¡±

    Alex blinked, knocked out of his bemused state by the spikes of dread and dismay he sensed from all his newest companions. Even Ya Ling flinched and paled.

    ¡°Alex...¡±

    Zichen gave an angry shake of her head. ¡°Those fools are messing with forces they don¡¯t understand, trying to rupture the Water crystals powered by these rifts, forcing so much energy through at once that they¡¯re compounding the waste Qi as well!¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes lit up with sudden understanding. ¡°So that¡¯s why we claimed so many delicious Silver tier cores so quickly! It was all being compressed and funneled at once!¡±

    Alex frowned. ¡°Personally, I thought some sort of gate was being setup from the depths of the delves, forcing critters to rise up to the surface, and that explained both the peril and the high spiritual energy levels.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter either way,¡± Quing Da said, in a voice rough with alarm. ¡°Come, my lady. Enough of this cursed place. We leave at once!¡±

    ¡°Alex...¡±

    Alex winced before Linnea¡¯s pleading gaze, bemusedly realizing in that moment that his dear friend had already come so far in the short level or two she had invested in herself more than her power. Already putting so many stray facts and experiences into a logical construct, sensing the outcome. An outcome she immediately shared with him. An outcome he already knew.

    If the rift wasn¡¯t dealt with, it would rupture, and soon. And then the fate of Ruidians would be as bleak and bitter as it had been hundreds of years ago. And with the ruthless malice the Duo Li clan had shown since the fires, Alex had no doubt that they¡¯d do all they could to purge the desert sands of all Ruidian clans, so that there would never again be competition for the rifts, or any chance of any desert city surviving without the graces of the most ruthless water merchants imaginable.

    Heart racing, knowing damn well the risk he was taking, he cleared his throat. ¡°What if there was a way you could all dare these rifts without suffering any buildup of waste Qi¡­ or any damage to your fertility at all?¡±

    The party of visiting cultivators froze at Alex¡¯s words, gazing at him in wide-eyed disbelief.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Zichen snapped, for all that her eyes burned with a desperate hope.

    Sunlay¡¯s elegant features met his own. ¡°Truly? You have access to such an exotic technique?¡±

    Nili gazed at Alex for long moments, tilting her head as her lips quirked in a curious smile. ¡°I do believe our cultivating Ruidian friend has stumbled upon a most interesting path. Or at least¡­ he believes he has.¡±

    Alex unflinchingly held Sunlay¡¯s gaze. ¡°Would you be willing to give your cultivator¡¯s oath not to deliberately reveal whatever secrets or techniques I reveal before you, save amongst ourselves?¡±

    ¡°That you would even dare suggest such a thing!¡± Zichen hissed and stepped back, hands crackling with fire, and even Nili¡¯s gentle gaze turned hard and cold.

    Alex felt his cheeks flush with tension and unexpected embarrassment, but refused to back down.

    Quing Da glared Alex¡¯s way. ¡°That this offensive mongrel would dare try to bind royal blood!¡± He hissed.

    ¡°I would do no such thing!¡± Alex snapped, voice cracking like a whip, for all that he refused to take his eyes off the noble woman before him. ¡°I do naught but assure that I don¡¯t become an asset enslaved to the whims of the powerful or a target that assholes like the Duo Li clan would do everything in their power to suborn or destroy. Even sharing as much as I have, in sincere good faith, puts me at risk, and we all know it.¡±

    He flashed a bitter smile. ¡°You all could turn around right now and report what I¡¯ve implied to any Duo Li asshole you like and leave this city with fat purses and fast friends, all past misunderstandings forgotten, I have no doubt, even as I find a collar around my neck as the city falls, the prince is removed, and a new power claims the throne.¡±

    Even as Alex said the words, he felt his cheeks flushing with his own foolishness.

    Really, he should have said nothing at all.

    Nili, now acting nothing like an over-exuberant isekai fox girl at all, gave a cold shake of her head. ¡°Come, Your Grace. I believe we are best off counting our blessings and leaving this boy¡¯s doomed tale while we still can.¡±

    Alex lurched, feeling a cold chill clawing at his guts with those words. He forced himself to face the knowing gaze of a kitsune who clearly was no fool. ¡°You¡¯re not even trying to pretend you don¡¯t know.¡±

    She flashed him a bittersweet smile. ¡°You do know why a third of YanTu nation is a desert, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Alex froze, staring at her with speechless disbelief. His pounding heart roared in his ears.

    ¡°A third of ZhengTu? It was just a city. Just a single bloody city!¡± He trembled, filled with sudden horror.

    Nili gave him a strange look. ¡°YanTu nation. Not ZhengTu. Do you even know where you are?¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 78

    Alex was so shaken with dismay that Nili''s words barely registered. ¡°It was just a city. A city I saved! How? What happened here?¡±

    The kitsune''s gaze was one of genuine pity. ¡°You truly have no clue, do you? You poor, poor lost boy.¡± She sighed, shaking her head, turning back to her mistress, her words shifting in tone and inflection, Alex only then realizing that they had been speaking in an ancient tongue different from the language filled with rolling R¡¯s and W¡¯s that was the common tongue of Liushi and quite similar to the high tongue of YanTu, at least compared however many years ago it had been since he had last spoken it.

    The words Nili urgently shared with Sunlay and the others washed over him, Alex desperately trying to process what the kitsune had implied, if not actually said.

    Was he truly responsible for turning a third of the nation into a desert? Had ZhengTu ultimately been consumed by the Red Prince?

    He shook his head, gazing at his own trembling fist, momentarily overwhelmed by horror as the potency of countless millions continued to spin with ever greater speed about the swirling void impossibly far away as he grew ever closer to mastering his deadliest arts, and himself.

    His ears rang with both the horror of what he might have done, and the dissonant screams of an accretion disk howling around the singularity of his own soul from which there was no escape. Not for himself, or all the pitiable souls he had somehow consumed.

    He trembled, crashing to the ground even as he could feel a terrible power growing inside him, a dozen deadly epiphanies just a few life and death battles away from blossoming along paths he increasingly feared to tread.

    ¡°Alex...¡± Linnea¡¯s silent plea pulled Alex free of his deadly dismay. Her smile was filled with understanding, sympathy, and fierce hope for the future. Saying so much as she clasped his hands. ¡°We can do nothing for past regrets, or pasts lives that are no more real to us than ancient history texts. All we can do is learn from the triumphs and mistakes of our ancestors. Even if those ancestors are our own previous incarnations, as we forge a present and future that we can all be proud of. And what could be more noble than coming to the rescue of a city being stripped of all water in high summer?¡±

    Alex trembled with the weight of words he had never expected to hear from anyone else as Sunlay gave an unexpected glare Nili¡¯s way, before meeting Alex¡¯s gaze once more and surprising them all with a curt nod.

    ¡°Alright. I agree to your cultivator¡¯s oath. So long as my life or those of my friends aren¡¯t on the line, your secrets will be safe with me, only to be discussed amongst ourselves.¡± She then flashed her most winning smile. ¡°Now please, show us what you can do. Because as is becoming increasingly clear, time is one thing that¡¯s in short supply, and Nili¡¯s made it clear that even standing a mere dozen yards from the entrance is exposing us to increasing corruption.¡±

    Alex swallowed, taking a long moment to gather his thoughts and steady himself before giving a solemn nod. He inhaled deeply before exhaling all hesitation and regret for a past he could never hope to change.

    Expelling it all free of his body and soul.

    Because in the end, he could only control the present. Save as many lives as he could and forge as many happy endings as possible in the present moment as they forever raced to the future. The past, bitter and tragic as it so often seemed to be, could only serve as a compass pointing to a better future.

    Or so he hoped.

    ¡°A third of a nation? How many lives did I take? How much of a monster am I?¡±

    He desperately shook away those horrific thoughts as he clasped Sunlay¡¯s hand and offered her a party invite.

    The bottom line was that he could do absolutely nothing to change what had come before. No matter how badly he excoriated himself. But if he manned up and did what needed doing, then maybe he could help save a city of half a million souls that had, for the most part, treated him with a degree of warmth and welcome he had never experienced before.

    You have offered party invites to¡­ Princess Sunlay. The hidden princess of Wanshi city! / Nili, the JiangHu head of Wanshi city and devoted friend of the Sunlay Clan. / Quing Da, the sworn bodyguard of Princess Sunlay / Zichen, Fire wujen and second cousin to Princess Sunlay / Elden, Metal wujen and second cousin to Princess Sunlay.

    All party members have accepted! Full third-party autonomy maintaned! All sub-nodes will be aware of all other sub-nodes and master node at all times!

    Sunlay¡¯s eyes widened with awe. ¡°I sense where you all are. This tactical interface is incredible!¡± She said, even as Quing Da stumbled, rubbing his temples.

    ¡°Too much,¡± he muttered.

    The pair of wujen, if anything, were looking even worse off than he.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you get used to it pretty quick!¡± Linnea cheerfully informed them, before turning to Alex with an excited smile. ¡°Now do it, Alex! Wick all their waste Qi away!¡±

    Alex winced as Linnea¡¯s words carried a bit too well, but fortunately no one else was anywhere near a rift now radiating such chaotic energy. Energy which soon filled Alex with a fierce sense of vitality and well-being as his bones greedily drank in the whirlwind of Dark Qi, and Alex felt increasingly certain that he could channel the potency into shields of Water, Wind, and hopefully offensive applications as well. With nine souls now tied to his own, the stream of sweet dark potency approached that of squeezing tight a pearl of glossy Dark Qi.

    He took a deep breath, feeling almost guilty with how damn good it felt to feel so vibrant and alive, drinking so deeply from peril¡¯s crimson chalice and the potency of his kills. No matter that he was still haunted by Nili¡¯s offhand comments, words that implied tragedies of unimaginable depth and scope, and the dreadful certainty that somehow the fault lay upon the shoulders off himself and his ultimate master, the god of Chaos and Change.

    Alex closed his eyes and leaned his head back, allowing the morning sun to dry his bitter tears.

    He ignored the looks of discomfort this earned, even as Ya Ling¡¯s hand gently squeezed his own.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Alex.¡±

    Alex cracked a bitter smile. ¡°Is it? I killed nine people in less than an hour¡¯s time. And I¡¯m as cool as a fucking cucumber, which I¡¯m sure makes no sense to you.¡± He swallowed the lump in his throat, gazing at his own two hands, fangtian ji secure in his storage ring once more, no longer caring who among their group knew the absolute least of his secrets. ¡°I¡¯m on the cusp of a breakthrough, remembering so many bittersweet lessons I had thought, maybe, this time around...¡±

    He shook his head, before turning to force a bright smile on his features, gazing at five pairs of eyes that were peering his way with various degrees of apprehension and uncertainty.

    Looks of vague discomfort, that soon became looks of wonder, when Alex, with a hesitant nod from Sunlay, gently touched the bare skin of her neck.

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    ¡°Sunlay!¡± Nili gave an anxious cry when the noblewoman paled and stumbled to one knee.

    But just as Nili¡¯s killing aura flared and Alex sensed death in too quick hands that were definitely at deepest Bronze, an awed-looking Sunlay raised her fist.

    ¡°Stop, Nili. It¡¯s alright!¡±

    Nili froze as Sunlay¡¯s trembling fingers caressed Alex¡¯s brow in awe. ¡°It¡¯s more than alright. Far more!¡±

    Neither Quing Da nor her wujen looked reassured. ¡°My lady, what happened?¡±

    Sunlay swallowed, turning around to boldly meet the gazes of her awed companions. Her cheeks now glowed with unmistakable Vitality. The formerly elegant features of a Mid Bronze who looked an ageless thirty were now the unlined exquisite features of a woman savoring womanhood¡¯s first blush, barely past twenty.

    Zichen paled, eyes wide with disbelief. ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible! To wick away so much waste Qi as to set back a clock that can only be slowed? It cannot be done!¡±

    ¡°And yet it has,¡± her male counterpart declared with an awed whisper.

    Zichen, who was so clearly holding on to whatever scraps of Vitality she could, looking like a woman desperate to hold on to forty and losing the battle, now gazed at Alex with desperate eyes. ¡°Is it true? Can you truly...¡±

    Alex flashed an apologetic smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but the deeper your foundation, the further you¡¯ve advanced, the less I can do to wick away waste Qi that¡¯s not already embedded in your foundation without any balance or harmony. But that doesn¡¯t mean I can do nothing,¡± he quickly added, sensing her dismay as he held out a hand that she eagerly clasped.

    Alex met Sunlay¡¯s gaze as Zichen trembled, revealing a vulnerability Alex sensed she would never normally show, desperation alone compelling her. ¡°This might take a few minutes,¡± he softly warned.

    ¡°Take all the time you need, hero,¡± assured a positively beaming Sunlay, who was gaze gazing with a beatific smile at the reflection showing from the silver hand mirror her smirking kitsune assistant had handed her.

    Alex nodded, doing just that, refusing to rush a few precious minutes that meant so much to the woman who had sacrificed so much in her desperate pursuit of ascension, pained by bitter regrets that the power and prestige she had earned could allay only somewhat. Only to tremble with wonder of her own as ancient deposits of plaque, waste, and regret washed themselves free of ancient, newly regenerated flesh as waste so akin to a Basic breakthrough¡¯s ascension briefly filled the air before being absorbed by the grimly smiling Ruidian as a stooped Zichen seemed to blossom and fill out before their eyes. And where a bitter woman who appeared to be in her late forties had stood, there was now a vibrant lady who didn¡¯t look a day past her prime. A graceful, elegant cultivating beauty of perhaps thirty summers who was now openly sobbing as she clasped Sunlay in a fierce hug, the minute a beaming Sunlay showed her her reflection.

    ¡°Your grace, forgive me¡­ this is the greatest gift I could have ever...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Sunlay said, with a teary sparkle in her eye. ¡°I feel the same.¡±

    Alex winked at the kitsune. ¡°You already look fantastic, but as long as you¡¯re here...¡±

    Her knowing smile froze him where he stood, before gentle throaty laughter thawed him with her warmth once more. ¡°Please, hero. Give me a gift that I know will please my husband to no end.¡±

    Alex chuckled, gently clasping her warm hand and closing his eyes, taking nothing for granted as he gently coaxed what he thought of as the equivalent of arterial plaque from both meridian channels and vasculature as well, giving hints to just how old the beautiful looking kitsune before him truly was, even as he coaxed free the buildup of waste Qi in cells that seemed far more adaptable than most, and probably explained why she looked as good as she did.

    ¡°And now you look about eighteen,¡± Ya Ling noted with a wry smile, minutes later.

    The kitsune winked. ¡°And I have absolutely no problem with that.¡± Her teasing demeanor turned serious as she solemnly bowed before Alex. ¡°This lowly fox thanks you, hero, and bids you to have a care. You¡¯re already revealing far more than is good for you, no matter how well my ultimate ancestor seeks to cloak you in artifice or time.¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks blaze under the kitsune woman¡¯s probing gaze.

    Now there could be no doubt that even if most everyone else save for his gestalt was still clueless¡­ she most certainly was not.

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°I will do my best, Nili. That¡¯s all I can do.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± she said sympathetically, before turning to the pair of men gazing at Alex with barely concealed hope that soon turned to grateful chuckles and fierce grins when Alex did for them what he had done for the others, pleased with the message he himself received.

    Dark Qi Absorption is now Rank 5

    You have given five additional cultivators the boon of youthful appearance and longevity! You have gained significant positive karma for your deeds. All your party members now feel as close to you as kin and the cords of fate could easily flow into patterns of love and devotion with multiple potential partners! Note. Karma transcends any single incarnation. You now have nine additional souls that will find themselves warmly disposed to you in countless lives to come!

    Congratulations! Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique is now Rank 7.

    Synergism with Dark Qi Absorption is now in effect.

    Ancient memories past and present have blended to grant you mastery over the arts of rejuvenation!

    You may now wick away the waste Qi of any compatible mortal or cultivator, permanently rejuvenating their physiological clock by skill check + 10 years! Note, reduced efficacy with repeated use (save for Ruidians, who are particularly amenable to this art) ¨C rate of aging after cellular restoration is dependent upon targets cultivation foundation.

    The wujen known as Anjen bowed solemnly before Alex. ¡°Thank you for your kindness. You have granted me an incredible boon. My name is Anjen, and you may call upon me any time you need a favor, a friend, or simply a place to stay.¡±

    Quing Da gave Alex a hearty chuckle and a firm clap of his shoulder. ¡°I will say the same, boy! So long as it doesn¡¯t interfere in my duties to Sunlay, I should be honored to assist you however I may, should the desert sands blow us of all together once more.¡±

    Alex swallowed, surprised by how choked-up he felt by the sudden burst of warmth and affection, and the kind words from so many who had viewed him with frank suspicion, such a short time ago. But he was most shaken by the interface message he had gotten regarding karma, wondering why he hadn¡¯t received any messages about all the others he had assisted since waking up to his fresh new life¡­ not to mention all the rot he had so ruthlessly purged.

    Yet it only took a moment¡¯s insight to realize that those messages, both the soothing and the bitter, were there. It was more a case of him having muted down interface messages that almost seemed a taunt with his Cleaved Fate¡¯s card¡­ having forgotten, it seemed, that during this precious life he was free of that card¡¯s burden, for better or worse.

    Here and now, he was once more very much a part of this precious desert world and the people he was even now desperate to save.

    Alex cleared his throat, catching so many ebullient gazes. ¡°Assuming you all are still up for it, if we¡¯re going to dare the rift¡­ it has to be now.¡± He flashed a cheeky smile. ¡°Either that, or we all leave this doomed city in tandem, along with a couple additional friends, just to make sure we survive whatever intrigue, ambush, or folly might meet us between here and your own home city, which I would very much like to experience since it isn¡¯t here!¡±

    This earned more than a few chuckles.

    ¡°No way we¡¯re fleeing with our tails between our legs now,¡± Sunlay declared, summoning forth a spear glinting with the essence of sharpness. ¡°Not when I feel younger and more vibrant than I have in well over a decade. Not since my very prime! Only with the experience of one who¡¯s embraced Bronze for over twenty years.¡± She gave a hard nod, glaring at the rift entrance that was somehow both inky dark and dazzling with a myriad gently flickering stars that perhaps could have just been the glitter of water spray and morning light.

    She turned to her companions, including even the Ruidians with her infectious smile. ¡°Are we all ready?¡±

    As one, they nodded.

    ¡°Good. Then Nili will scout ahead and position herself for ambushes, should we not be swamped the very moment we enter. Alex, Quing Da, and myself, will form the bulwark of our team while Ruidian and Wujen arts obliterate our foes from the rear. Any questions?¡±

    Alex grinned, nodding his approval. ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± he said, everyone else echoing similar sentiment. Delaying no longer, they linked arms and approached the rift, reaching out their hands to enter as one.

 Book 8 - Chapter 79 - BATTLEFORGED CONQUEROR is now out on AMAZON!

    Alex squinted his eyes against the brilliant light of the desert sun shimmering through a heat haze above his head. The air smelled of hot desert sands, cinnamon, cardamon, and priceless spiritual treasures in the form of desert flowers he could just barely see beneath the shade of a distant palm tree, squinting his eyes against a magnificent vista of endless sandy dunes and the brilliant blue sky.

    Ya Ling, beside him, shivered with wonder, eyes twinkling with the same exhilaration and sense of coming home that Alex knew was probably on his features whenever he was surrounded by lush green forest, preferably free of predators trying to kill him.

    ¡°Alex, I can feel it!¡± She gazed down upon the desert sands, lifting up a handful of brilliant sandy-white crystals so unlike the soft ochre colors of her own desert, captivated by the streams of tiny grains flowing through her hands like water. ¡°It¡¯s not any sort of construct, artifice, or dream.¡± She shook her hand with wonder, perhaps even reverence. ¡°This desert is every bit as real as our own.¡±

    ¡°Alright! Bulwark front and center! Support stay behind, Nili, you scout!¡± Sunlay barked, before turning to Alex and Ya Ling, frowning thoughtfully.

    ¡°What are your gifts, girl? So I know best where to put you.¡±

    Ya Ling blinked in surprise, then flashed a cheeky grin. ¡°Skirmisher and scout. Because the desert¡¯s secrets are now my own.¡±

    Nili frowned, gazing at her curiously, as Sunlay smirked. ¡°Really.¡±

    Ya Ling grinned as a whirling disk of sand blowing at flesh shredding speeds suddenly formed by her side as she calmly unsheathed a broad-bladed jian shaped such that it was a straight-bladed dao in all but name. A perfect accompaniment to her shield, Alex thought with a proud smile, awed by how far his friend had already come in her training as she assumed a balanced stance, blade at the ready as she winked.

    ¡°Really.¡±

    ¡°Wind and Sand. And she has an extremely strong affinity for both,¡± Zichen said definitively, the wujen¡¯s voice now that of a sensual woman in her prime, the bitter brittle voice of before gone like a dream.

    She flashed Ya Ling an approving smile. ¡°Perfect for the delve we face.¡±

    Sunlay gave a pleased nod. ¡°Excellent. You can serve front line by our side.¡± She then gave Alex a hard look as he spent several moments closing his eyes, taking this moment of what he feared would be the briefest respite as he sensed death honing in on them, reaffirming the connections that would mean the difference between life and death.

    ¡°Assuming my second won¡¯t be thrown off with you serving in the front line?¡±

    Alex snapped open his eyes and calmly regarded the now exceedingly young-looking noblewoman who stepped back in surprise when four pairs of eye regarded her in unison, Alex taking a moment to process four points of view simultaneously even as his gestalt mind raced at unfathomable speeds.

    His smile was mirrored by his three Ruidian companions. As one, they all turned to gaze Ya Ling¡¯s way in unison. ¡°Why don¡¯t you show her what you can do?¡±

    Ya Ling blanched. ¡°Alex, you¡¯re voices¡­ you¡¯re all speaking at once!¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°What we¡¯re doing is necessary. If you open yourself to the desert, I think you¡¯ll understand why.¡±

    Ya Ling stilled, eyes widening as she turned towards the distant palm tree, horror in her gaze. ¡°The desert sands¡­ abominations are heading this way!¡±

    Sunlay¡¯s eyes widened as Nili cursed.

    ¡°Details!¡± Nili snapped as Zichen and Anjen¡¯s hand filled with flame and swirling razor sharp steel blossoms.

    ¡°Massive sand worms are heading this way!¡± Ya Ling screamed. At which point the now shaking sands erupted with an awful vibration, a roar that made Alex¡¯s teeth vibrate as the nearby sand abruptly exploded, revealing a massive serpent as large as a python now leaping through the air, opening a mouth like a lamprey¡¯s, filled with spiraling, inward facing teeth. The horrible thing of inky blackness swam through the desert sands as effortlessly as the ocean, possessing no eyes, scales, or markings save for that horrible maw of spiraling serrated teeth.

    It was a sight so horrible that it immediately grabbed everyone¡¯s attention for a perilous moment as alarm bells abruptly screamed in Alex¡¯s mind.

    Feint above, strike from below.

    The thoughts blazed through Alex¡¯s mind in the same instant as he sensed Ya Ling¡¯s peril.

    ¡°Burn and Ward!¡± Alex screamed in his mind, acting even as he thought, taking full advantage of the superhuman speed his Perception and Bronze Tier Quickness allowed, Linnea lashing out and blasting the leaping lamprey-like sand worm with a spiraling blast of liquid flame that seared right into the open mouth of the abomination about to clamp down on a stunned Sunlay¡¯s face. Just as Alex simultaneously darted forward, his fangtian ji windmilling through the air to cleave through the sandy dune beneath their feet in an explosion of sand as he struck the abomination about to swallow Ya Ling from below.

    Crimson Corkscrew has critically struck target!

    Internal organs have been ignited.

    Experience earned!

    Crimson Corkscrew mastery has gone up one full rank!

    You have successfully shoved party member: Ya Ling free of ambush!

    Wind Blade has critically struck Desert Lamprey.

    You have decapitated your target.

    Experience earned!

    You have successfully summoned Ice Ward.

    You have successfully summoned Winter¡¯s Gale.

    Is everyone alright?¡± Alex cried out in four-part harmony as he scanned the desert sands, his still budding desert senses picking up an additional half dozen furiously tunneling abominations heading their way, his rough sense of their location heightened as Linnea¡¯s own infravision brought their targets to brilliant life.

    He managed to catch Sunlay¡¯s shocked gaze, realizing only an instant had passed, the shocked woman even now being spattered by steaming gore as Linnea¡¯s obliterated desert lamprey fell to the ground.

    ¡°Oh, I hope that didn¡¯t destroy the beast core,¡± Linnea said with a sigh that was all her own before sinking back into their gestalt once more. Alex winced in sympathy, her pang now his own as he didn¡¯t hesitate to gather up the scorched prize and the decapitated head of the second ambusher as well, before exchanging glances with Ya Ling.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time to become one with the sands,¡± he said with a wry smile.

    Nili¡¯s panicked gaze met his own before skittering to Sunlay. ¡°I sensed nothing, my lady.¡±

    Her cheeks flushed with shame. ¡°There is no Shadow in play here at all. Just the bright desert light and worms buried in the...¡±

    Her words cut off as Ya Ling vanished in a puff of sand before springing to her side.

    Nili¡¯s alarmed eyes widened, reflexively clenching the hilt of her blade, visibly resisting striking out at Ya Ling as her better senses somehow understood their had to be a reason, just a heartbeat before a massive inky trifold lamprey maw clamped onto her foot and chomped right through.

    The kitsune¡¯s eyes widened in terror, her crimson lifeblood now spurting on the sands.

    ¡°Alex!¡± Ya Ling¡¯s panicked voice washed over him, because as capable as she was of flowing in the sand, she had no way to protect anyone else.

    Yet Alex had no time to respond. Not with near half a dozen sand worms about to erupt at once.

    All he could do was fully embrace his gestalt as a panicked Quing Da gathered Sunlay back in his arms before racing for the entrance¡­ only to stumble with a cry when yet another sandworm boiled forth from the desert sands, clamping on the furious, panicked man¡¯s ankle, blood spurting in the desert air.

    Before the creature was cleaved in twain, Alex roaring and striking with the blade of his fangtian ji now surrounded by a storm of Wind, Water, and Steel, swirling about at whirlwind speeds, cleaving right through the inky black flesh of his prey in a flash of lightning and an explosion of gore.

    ¡°Get back to the gate! We need to retreat!¡± Quin Da cried, eyes widening with horror matching Alex¡¯s own when the shimmering obsidian gate was suddenly lost in an explosion of sand as the most massive desert worm yet sprung on top of it, as if eager to consume it, to no avail. It was no more real to the creature than shadow¡­ but it was more than enough to block their exit.

    Zichen then cried out in dismay, the wujen¡¯s once more youthful features filled with such vibrant hope but minutes before were now twisted with terror as she stumbled back just in time to avoid having her feet be torn off by yet another sand worm as the sand boiled with death beneath their feet.

    A worm that was shredded an instant later in an absolute maelstrom of steel shrapnel and ice from Lieberman, Hanz, and Anjen, the male wujen now hovering protectively over a panicked Zichen.

    It was then that Alex, or the combined gestalt that he was, thought of the obvious solution, what they should have done a full twenty seconds before.

    ¡°Freeze the desert sand in a platform of solid ice! We all race for it!¡±

    As fast as he thought it, Lieberman and Fitz risked their lives ignoring the peril rapidly closing in on their own feet. Alex could sense the fifteen by fifteen foot disk of thick frigid ice and frozen sand slowly forming, and didn¡¯t hesitate to spring forth and cleave the sand with furious chops, desperate to buy his friend¡¯s time.

    His heart pounded with horror and dismay. Even with his limited affinity with the sand, he could move across it as effortlessly as he could concrete, but he had no movement affinities within these sands.

    He could rely on nothing but his own natural Quickness as he desperately raced forward, catching sight of the massive worm that had just exploded through the desert sands, having smelled the kitsune¡¯s precious lifeblood. Ya Ling desperately helping her and the powerfully-built Qing Da stay upright. And even if the kitsune girl had lucked out unbelievably, losing just the tip of her shoe and perhaps a toe, Alex sensing luck and shadow magics resonating through the air, it still wasn¡¯t enough to stop the sweet stench of lifeblood spurting from the man holding her so protectively from permeating the air, or the monstrous worm it had summoned, now erupting underneath their feet.

    ¡°Run!¡± Alex screamed in his mind. Ya Ling, who hadn¡¯t hesitated to race to the couple¡¯s side and bear an injured Qing Da¡¯s weight, was now too petrified to move before the horror they faced, for all that she was the sand.

    The doomed kitsune looked back his way with a bitter, hopeless smile.

    ¡°Why do your tales always have such bitter endings, Eternal Disciple?¡± Nili said with eyes that had seen far too much as Ya Ling finally snapped out of her daze and tried desperately to urge her teammates forward, only surrendering to the sand¡¯s call and fleeing just as the shadow of death came for them all.

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    The awful question in Nili¡¯s eyes seared through Alex¡¯s soul as his fangtian ji screamed with a storm of elements that blazed like the sun, echoing the howl of the whirling accretion disk about his soul. Now compressing with such intensity that a pulsar¡¯s flash echoed with the howling resolve roaring through him.

    ¡°Because everyone I¡¯ve ever loved or cherished falls to the laughter of my enemies. Because I¡¯m always too damned slow to save them!¡±

    Yet he remembered what it was like to race about at such terrifying speeds that not even the bitter hate of his enemies could dodge his strikes. Not even death in the form of an eternal serpent could stop his blows. A speed he REFUSED to forget, pushing his body in ways he remembered doing all too well, less than two months ago.

    A lifetime ago.

    Just a single push away.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened with fierce resolve as he gazed into the eyes of a kitsune girl mirroring the eyes of so many loved ones he had loved and lost as he shattered the precepts of Bronze and claimed the kitsune girl and the man willing to die by her side just an eyeblink before the massive maw of oblivion could burst from the sands to snap the doomed couple in two.

    You have transcended Fate¡¯s bindings as the event horizon of your soul grows ever closer to ascension!

    Strength is now Bronze Rank 4!

    Quickness is now Bronze Rank 3!

    Alex allowed the words to wash over him, having absolutely no time to pay heed to anything save the monster who¡¯s attention he had claimed, now leaping through the sands to obliterate that which had dared to claim its prey.

    A monster far greater than the paltry defense his gestalt had managed to create.

    ¡°The ice platform is ready, battle-leader!¡± Linnea crowed triumphantly in his mind. ¡°But it sure as hell can¡¯t take on that thing!¡±

    Alex, instantly sensing where the ice disk was, tossed the stunned couple within a dozen feet of their only defense before racing away for all he was worth while flaring the full furious might of his killing aura, doing his damnedest to entice every predator still stalking the sands his way.

    ¡°Bring them to the ice disk!¡± Alex yelled, grateful to sense Ya Ling reforming just in time to aid the couple the last double handful of feet, reaching shelter along with everyone else, Alex fiercely pleased to sense through gestalt infravision that the vicious swarm of worms had been heightened to a frenzy, now racing toward him from the rear even as he charged for death ahead. In that moment, saturated with the experience he had earned from the lesser worms slain, he sent a quick surge of potency Nili and Quing Da¡¯s way.

    It was a shot in the dark, counting on Ruidian heritages shared, and he was surprised and gratified to hear them both crying out with the pain of punctured calf and snipped toe instantly sealing themselves into what might be ugly puckered scars, but would at least allow them to get back on their feet and fight once more.

    Then Alex was darting past death blasting through the sands to claim him, having time for no further thought as he weaved and dodged as fast as he could, desperate just to survive as he leaped free of exploding sand as a giant inky black desert lamprey, or sand worm perhaps, roared its monstrous fury.

    A fury that was echoed in Alex¡¯s heart. Yet so too he felt a fierce sense of joy as so many disparate observations and thoughts flowed together into a battlefield epiphany like no other, his body filled with so much monstrous energy and sweet, sweet potency, drinking in the rift¡¯s Dark Qi roaring like a tidal flood.

    Caressed by the potency of multiple greater beast kills, Alex had never felt so focused, so alive, so one with his environment as he did at that very moment, leaping and twisting aside as death pounded through the sand, as if eager to taste his flesh above all else.

    Time seemed to slow as Alex¡¯s limbs tingled with fiercest potency, now one with the desert all around him. The serpent-like beast that was such a piss-poor echo of Shui Jun circled in the sands for another strike.

    Alex flashed a fierce smile, sensing the howling winds high over head that were now swirling about his fangtian ji like never before.

    Alex could taste it, the pressure of a storm, like his own pent up ascension, cracking at the seems as his chosen weapon erupted in a storm of Water, Steel, and Lightning, even as his own flesh continued to tremble with potency he only recalled overwhelming him once before as he flipped back with impossible grace as the sand exploded under his feet, before lashing out with a strike of his own, his fangtian ji striking the lamprey maw in an explosion of lightning and gore.

    You have successfully weaved past death yet again with speed and grace far beyond what you should be capable of!

    Quickness is now Bronze Rank 4.

    Finesse is now Bronze Rank 2!

    You have Critically struck Ancient Desert Worm with Storm Strike!

    Storm Strike is now Rank 7! You have become one with the storm!

    Your opponent has been temporarily stunned!

    ¡°Now! Strike it now!¡± Alex screamed In the party interface as the momentarily dazed Wyrm was suddenly bombarded by storms of flesh cleaving Sand and barrages of Metal shrapnel. Exploding blasts of superheated plasma, and seven foot long shards of deadly ice ice.

    And punctuating the barrage of furious death raining down upon the creature¡¯s inky black carapace were repeated flashes of near-blinding lighting, causing the monster to flinch, spasm and twitch helplessly as a furiously grinning Alex did his best to stun-lock their monstrous foe.

    A foe that, if Alex lost his momentum for even a second, could simply ignore Alex and leap across the sands to smash into the icy disk inured to the ambush attacks of lesser worms, a maneuver which would doom all his friends save perhaps Ya Ling¡­ and Alex would be crippled by the death of newfound friends and the gestalt that was now just an extension of himself.

    ¡°Like hell I will!¡± Alex roared, face twisting in a furious snarl as the creature writhed and twisted, coming so close to crushing him¡­ would have crushed him, if his battle reflexes in the form of Quickness and Finesse hadn¡¯t ascended mid combat. Which didn¡¯t feel alarming or disorienting at all. Merely like he was finally awakening from a dream where he had been floundering in quicksand for painful long months and now, finally, step by desperate weaving step, in the glorious crucible of battle, he was at last breaking free.

    Finally coming into his true self once more.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    A single desperate cry.

    A shiver of dread crawled down his spine as exultation turned to anxious dread.

    Because the second giant worm that had clearly grown board trying to consume the gate it couldn¡¯t even touch now turned its focus to far more lively prey.

    ¡°Look out!¡±

    Alex¡¯s instincts shrieked sudden desperate warning, but it was almost too late.

    For all that he had reveled in his deadly dance with the monstrous desert worm before him as he honed his soul against the crucible of peril to the most extreme degree possible, he had known damn well that he could afford only one mistake.

    A single heartbeat¡¯s distraction had almost cost him everything.

    Quickness check made!

    Barely!

    As it was, the titanic creature could strike as fast as the smaller lamprey.

    Faster, even.

    And as the shocking flash of pain brought him back to his sense made clear, the desert sands now alive with the sharp crimson tang of his own blood¡­ he too was just a single mistake away from either ascension¡­ or death.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    His mistake had cost him a boot, his other boot immediately going into storage as he desperately leaped and twisted out of the way of the now infuriated titan, clearly eager to devour him and consume whatever potency it could rip free from Alex¡¯s body.

    Yet only flesh and a sliver of muscle scraped off with utter agony had that creature been able to claim, Alex¡¯s prismatic bones too strong for the creature to truly sink its serrated teeth into¡­ or the fight would have already been lost.

    Still, it was a frantic handful of seconds before he could do anything more than desperately leap and dart away, taking full advantage of inspiration¡¯s surge as he hopped and skipped and tumbled about like mad, every second stretching to infinity as his limbs trembled with the sudden surge of spiritual energy roaring through his frame.

    The sands vibrated atonally as his ears rang with the sound of his own distant super cable reaching inconceivable speeds as he continued to hone himself in the crucible of peril, sending ever more of the accretion disk that was the trapped potency torn free of countless foes into the singularity that was his soul.

    You have successfully directed Prismatic Fox Restoration into injured left heel.

    Healing is now complete!

    You have managed to weave and dart past a Greater Silver tier beast far beyond your means, with a grace that should be utterly beyond you, yet somehow isn¡¯t!

    Finesse is now Bronze Rank 3!

    Alex didn¡¯t let up his pace. He didn¡¯t dare, not for a second, Potency Mastery and the intense flood of spiritual energy in this super-saturated Rift was all that allowed him to fill the sky and his monstrous opponent with massive bolts of lightning¡­ but fill them he did.

    The sweet glory that was his own ascension was the farthest thing from his mind, however. All that mattered was dodging death time after time as he desperately pivoted past his enemy¡¯s attacks and maneuvered to deliver deadly rebuttals of his own.

    His powerful thews snapped forward, half-moon axe heads delivering devastating wounds spraying blood before explosions of lightning blew those gashes wide open, scoring the massive spirit beast with lightning to sear it inside and out. Yet even as Alex lost himself in the glorious haze of battle, moving faster and striking more furiously with every passing moment, he was still filled with terror for his friends, sensing their imminent peril.

    The air cut with Ya Ling¡¯s desperate cry. Alex allowed himself only an instant to commune with his gestalt, to see the deadly peril of the second massive spirit beast preparing to leap from the sand to smash open the ice disk protecting his friends. Sunlay and the others were desperately striking out and cutting down the swarm of lesser worms springing from the sands that were attempting to overwhelm them. The double blasts of steel shrapnel and fire from the pair of wujens were at least keeping the majority at bay even as Quing Da and Nili made short bloody work of any that slipped through, their potency-sealed injuries hardly hindering them at all.

    As for Sunlay herself, she was an angel in silk and steel, her blade flashing with the essence of sharpness as she guarded everyone¡¯s flank, her blade moving at speeds worthy of any young Silver as she did her best to keep their life raft of ice in hostile sands clear of the monstrous wave so clearly intending on sweeping them all away.

    Yet even she flinched and wilted before the sudden emergence of the second giant sand worm suddenly before them, and Alex could think of only one mad play that could possibly work.

    Willpower check made! You resist terror!

    Find Weakness check successful!

    Soul Sight check made!

    The heavily wounded giant worm that Alex had been honing himself against reared itself once more and prepared to strike.

    Alex flashed a mirthless smile, knowing he could do nothing for his friends unless he somehow survived the threat before him, even now rearing to plunge its giant maw right for Alex as it plunged for the sands once more.

    Just as Alex knew it would, gathering all the information he could in the perilous moments before revealing an ace he had kept hidden until just that moment, leaping for the air even as his scorched and bleeding opponent crashed into the sands one final time, Alex soaring high above it, feeling the swirling winds and brooding clouds above infuse his fangtian ji with all the howling fury of the storm, just as he plunged straight down, lashing out with his weapon to deliver a final bolt thick and black with the power of oblivion itself as he cried out desperately for the sake of his imperiled friends.

    Yet even he was sent flying back, stunned by the power of what he had unleashed, his foe consumed by black streaks of oblivion searing through pristine Silver Tier flesh as effortlessly as fire through parchment.

    Now!

    And that was when Alex sensed his foe¡¯s ultimate weakness, directing a massive bolt of black lightning crackling right for the pulsating heart of spiritual energy he could see so clearly in the spirit beast whose dance he had mastered so well.

    You have critically struck your foe!

    FATALITY!

    Greater Silver-tier Sand Worm has been slain!

    Experience earned!

    Breakthrough made! You have found your foe¡¯s weakness! You have struck your foe¡¯s core with all the force and fury of oblivion!

    Enhanced Storm Strike is now rank 8!

    Enhanced Storm Strike has evolved into Doom Strike.

    You may now channel Dark Lightning through your foes!

    Note! There is a price to pay for a technique that can obliterate even the deadliest spirit beast¡¯s core!

    Alex howled with a fierce surge of joy and agony, burns covering his form as he dared to channel arts in ways he never had before. He exulted in the steaming mountain of smoking flesh even as he charged, howling, for the second titan of a beast, just seconds away from crashing into his delving companions.

    Nine precious souls gazing at the heavens in panic, dismay, and absolute despair.

    The hopeless howl of frustration he heard from Ya Ling¡¯s lips, felt echoing in Linnea¡¯s heart, filled Alex with a towering fury that made the agony of smoking limbs and charred skin nothing as he dared channel what was now his deadliest art a second time.

    Embracing an element he had thought lost to him, the province of his bones alone.

    Yet as the interface messages screaming across his mind¡¯s eye made absolutely clear, there was a way to channel it after all, even if there was a price to be paid as well.

 Book 8 - Chapter 80

    ¡°Quing Da!¡±

    Nili¡¯s panicked voice rang through the air with such desperation that even Linnea, lost in the ecstasy of gestalt, flinched before the young-looking kitsune¡¯s obvious panic as the obvious princess in disguise¡¯s bodyguard was yanked off the ice platform, sent tumbling into the lamprey-like maws of the swarming beasts that sure as hell shouldn¡¯t be flooding the entrance of any delve.

    Linnea, her thoughts racing at a Bronze Speed Cultivator¡¯s efficiency, thanks to forging a gestalt with a being that both terrified and exhilarated her, noted the tragic scene unfolding through both her own senses and her cousin¡¯s and uncles, as the desperately striking Quing Da slowly toppled over into death, a stoic look on his bristly bearded features, lips curled in a snarl even as his wicked-looking guandao cleaved right through the ebony carcass of yet another lunging lamprey.

    Before being shoved with a stumble, right back into the center of the massive disk of impossibly thick ice that her uncle was concentrating so much elemental ice and cold into forming and reinforcing, to the point that their barrier was now two feet thick, even as Hanz and Linnea blasted a pair of lunging lamprey with swirling blasts of fire and spears of deadly ice. Each of them savored the glorious, terrifying sensation of simultaneously being utterly autonomous in their actions, and perfectly calibrated cogs of a uniform whole. Linnea could sense both her uncle¡¯s fierce determination to bring his family safely home and her cousin¡¯s terror inspired resolve to slay their foes, rescue a city, and never delve again, just as much as she embraced her own feelings of being a wild firebrand absolutely reveling in her searing blasts of plasma in the form of crimson corkscrews as she obliterated yet another lamprey attempting to ambush the ambusher as the kitsune girl steadied the gruff, powerfully built man that Linnea was now certain was the father of her kits. Which meant that both parents were here, so who was protecting their children?

    A stray thought that had no place in these killing fields, Linnea instead feeling a warm glow as all her new friends pulled their weight, thinking and acting as one, even if theirs was only a partial gestalt, and for a brief moment as Linnea shared a fierce sisterly smile with Ya Ling who had managed to save Nili¡¯s husband from certain death¡­ Sunlay gazing at them with the eye-twinkling warmth of a queen adoring her beloved soldiers¡­ Linnea actually thought they had a chance.

    Then the impossibly glorious and perfect desert sun overhead was blocked by the doom Linnea had been desperately pushing out of her mind, as one second bled into another and all of them fought not for cores or to solve the riddle of this hellish place, but simply to survive.

    Yet it appeared that their time of triumph was at an end and the tragic final act of their life stories was now about to unfold.

    And Linnea didn¡¯t even need to look up.

    She could perfectly see the reflection of death in Ya Ling¡¯s wide-eyed gaze.

    Yet she couldn¡¯t help but twist around to glare at the absolutely enormous desert worm now rearing up above their heads, spiraling teeth vibrating as it let out a thunderous howl that sent the smaller worms fleeing and Linnea crashing to her knees in sudden dizziness, never having seen death so clearly, or having felt the sense of utter inescapable doom resonating through the psyche and souls of her entire gestalt.

    All, save one.

    A fierce howling flame of bitter hot rebellion, lashing out against the crushing synchronicity of certain doom.

    Eternal defiance before death¡¯s unforgiving gaze.

    A blond-haired blue-eyed boy now racing through the heavens with lightning crackling with his every step, fangtian ji held high as he charged right into the maw of certain death¡­

    Before the world exploded in lightning and flame.

    Zichen, the female wujen who, along with her obvious partner Anjen, had been unleashing blasts of fire and steel that had perfectly complimented Linnea and Hanz¡¯s own elemental strikes gazed up with trembling wonder. ¡°Black lightning. He would channel death itself!¡±

    And it was true.

    Even as Linnea felt Alex¡¯s agony as the very element of chaos, change, and ultimate destruction that he dared to unleash turned on him right before being sucked right back into his bones, it was a distant thing. Their pilot, the master of their gestalt, had somehow pulled himself all but free, allowing Linnea and her kin to think and act in a hyper-accelerated state while being able to act independent and autonomously of him.

    Just like the very best pilots of old, fighting wars using machines of death and destruction she could barely fathom, in a universe that was home to electromana currents and forces that didn¡¯t even exist in this reality.

    But their legends would never be forgotten, and their abilities still shown through as Alex weaved and darted around the massive snapping maws of oblivion with more than inhuman quickness and supernatural grace.

    The man she now desired above all others wove about their monstrous foe like a dancer embracing the performance of a lifetime. A dance where the slightest mistake would result in a horrifically gruesome death.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Somehow, oftentimes by only the slimmest of margins, Alex always managed to dodge each monstrous lunge, bite, and deadly blast of spice-scented sand that Linnea just knew would effortlessly rip flesh from their bones, had that titanic abomination directed its breath weapon their way.

    It was as if Alex knew precisely where the creature would lunge before it did itself, and Linnea was strangely certain that such was exactly the case.

    Even as Alex choked back a howl, agonized by the very forces he dared summon forth to buy them even a few minutes of survival¡­ before that agony shattered his perfect flow, jarring his supreme battle meditation for just long enough for the monstrous worm to score his left foot with a blast of caustic sand, sheering the flesh right off Alex¡¯s left calf, the air suddenly alive with the crimson spray of his blood.

    ¡°Linnea! Abort mission! Get everyone to the gate! Now, Now, Now!¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes bulged, sensing his urgency as Alex desperately dove and somersaulted through the air like the best pilots, cutting off his enemy¡¯s deadly spray of sand that was coming so close to spraying their way with an explosion of ebony lightning that scored massive bloody furrows on the giant sand worm, pulling it¡¯s focus to Alex once more as he desperately tried to lead it away.

    Still dripping his lifeblood.

    ¡°Alex! Seal your wound!¡± Linnea cried out, terror turning to relief when she sensed the sudden easing of just a bit of the terrible weight of potency already threatening to crush her if she didn¡¯t grow the crystal of her soul and level up very, very soon.

    But there was no time for that.

    There was no time for anything at all.

    ¡°Ya Ling! Princess Sunlay! Mission is aborted! We flee now, while we can!¡±

    Six pairs of eye immediately fastened upon her, her kin already acknowledging it with a thought.

    ¡°This¡­ this is a Deep Silver dungeon at the very least, it¡¯s death for anyone save a legendary Gold Titan to even enter!¡± A horrified Zichen whispered.

    Sunlay grit her jaws, then nodded, eyes hurriedly going to the absolute flood of shredded sand worms all around their shelter.

    Linnea flashed a fierce smile, instantly understanding. ¡°Yes, collect and store their heads! The two dozen swarmers remaining were scared off by their elder¡¯s cry, but they¡¯ll be back, and soon!¡±

    ¡°We have no time to pick free their beast cores!¡± An anxious, frustrated Ya Ling cursed.

    ¡°No need to worry!¡± Nili quickly soothed, gently squeezing the girl¡¯s arm. ¡°Just hack off the head portion a good foot or so down, and I can store them all in my storage ring!¡± She braved a trembling smile. ¡°And thank you, Ya Ling, for saving both my life, and my husband¡¯s. I won¡¯t forget.¡±

    Ya Ling blushed, oddly flustered as the pair of wujen proved chillingly effective at tearing right through spirit beast flesh with streams of razor sharp ice and steel, Quing Da effortlessly cleaving through trunks as well with his guandao, though not before also favoring Ya Ling with a look of genuine gratitude.

    And in just a handful of seconds that stretched forever while Alex furiously danced and spun around the worm that was so much greater even than the earlier giant that he had already brought down¡­ it was done.

    Fifteen ambushing desert worms that had come so close to killing them all were now the prizes of the most perilous battle that delve had ever been a part of.

    Ya Ling, eyes blazing like one born to the desert sands, gave a fierce, satisfied nod. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s done!¡± She then pointed unerringly to the distant desert sands. ¡°See the way the sand shakes and trembles? The heat shimmer over the air? That¡¯s not temperature, that¡¯s spiritual energy! The swarm¡¯s returning, and there¡¯s more of them than ever!¡±

    Her eyes took on an urgent intensity. ¡°You all have to go back, now!¡±

    Sunlay paled, freezing in horror as she caught sight of the approaching storm of worms and death.

    Linnea was awed to sense the very earth tremble and shake, eyes widening at the fierce swarm of heat she sensed gathering in the desert sands.

    ¡°Now, now!¡± Ya Ling screamed, breaking them of their deadly trance as Alex desperately fought for his life while drawing away the massive worm.

    Sunlay paled and jerked her head. ¡°To the gate, as one!¡±

    It was almost comical, their stumbling steps through the porous sand as they desperately raced to the shimmering gate. A sliver of perfect darkness in the bone-white sands that both seemed a void that would devour them forevermore, as if they only existed during these moments they fought and bled and raced through the desert sands and the minute they entered¡­ they would be no more.

    ¡°Faster, you have to move faster!¡± Ya Ling¡¯s desperate urgency filled Linnea with an awful sense of dread, suddenly certain that those sand worms were racing far faster than they ever had before.

    It was as if they sensed their prey was on the cusp of escaping, and they refused to let anything leave these bone-white sands.

    Then Linnea was struck by sudden inspiration. Or perhaps it was Alex or her cousin, as thought became action and Hanz and Lieberman acted as one, projecting their will over the hundreds of yards between them and salvation. The stiffened sand was by no means a frozen slab of worm-proof rock. But it was suddenly more than firm enough for a cultivator¡¯s mad sprint, and much to the credit of Ya Ling, Quing Da, and even Sunlay herself, they all gripped their Ruidian companions by waist or shoulder and helped sprint them across the desert sands.

    Just seconds before the chilly bridge of sand was shredded to oblivion by nearly two score sand worms.

    Holding back a scream clawing at the back of her throat, Linnea swore she felt the caustic maw of lamprey jaws snapping at her leather boot heel¡­ heard the wujen couple giving a desperate cry, before a gust of hot desert sands literally lifted them off their feet, all of them hurtling toward the sliver of starry darkness as desperately flailing hands touched the gate in tandem, and Linnea disappeared as if she had never been there at all.

 Book 8 - Chapter 81

    You have suffered multiple Serious Wounds from Dark Qi overload!

    Alex grimaced past the pain, not daring to let himself be distracted again even as he channeled just a fraction of the monstrous potency flooding his frame into Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique.

    He couldn¡¯t instantly heal or bring himself back like he could his Ruidian companions, cultivation being so much more complex than the crystalline paradigm favored by his fellow otherworlders, but damn if he couldn¡¯t channel the potency now crackling through him much like he had once used beast cores to boost Eternal Fox a hundredfold as he lashed out with his fangtian ji once more. Even as he just barely twisted and darted through the air in time to avoid the massive maw of hooked teeth that could so easily spell his doom with a single misstep, his limbs throbbing with the agony of over-exertion and spiritual backlash both, he reveled in the sensation of time seeming to stretch and slow as he raced along the carapace of his foe using the power of flight and furious resolve at speeds so close to Silver as ancient dreams grew flush and clear once more.

    Dancing on the cusp of oblivion, against a serpent eerily similar and completely different from the one that had locked him away for countless years.

    Perhaps it was the fierce desire to hone himself and break free of his shackled limitations that compelled him to race down the writhing monstrous carapace his howling fangtian ji was now ripping open like a fishmonger filleting a choice eel. Perhaps it was simple battlefury. Either way, he couldn¡¯t deny how the crucible of peril honed and shaped him, reforging him anew as his soul shrieked with the added pressure of his super cable whirling with ever more angular momentum around the singularity of his soul.

    Even as the monstrous flood of potency now roaring through his meridians, along with the fierce, absolute focus that survival itself demanded, all but compelled ever more of the howling cries swarming his psyche to cross causalities event horizon, forever fueling the furnace of his ascension.

    Soul Sight skill check made!

    And that was when Alex sensed it, the sudden terrible buildup of pressure.

    Only in that instant realizing that the monstrous titan of a beast he fought and bled against hadn¡¯t been there to destroy him.

    Only to delay.

    Delay as it seemed the entire desert shook with a terrible vibration building to an unspeakable crescendo.

    A sudden terrible pressure in the air making it clear that their enemies hadn¡¯t used darkest rituals to send this rift crashing into the depths of Silver¡­

    but outright Gold.

    Alex had no time for speculation, the muted relief he felt at sensing his friends free turning to heightened dread as he sensed the one soul that dared to stay behind.

    ¡°Ya Ling, get the fuck out of here!¡± He screamed, feinting left before swirling and looping counterclockwise through the air to dodge the hideous lamprey maw eager to devour, now racing through the air to Ya Ling¡¯s determined side, who was gazing his way with such fierce determination.

    Such vulnerability.

    A Bronze in a Delve he realized had broken through to Gold.

    ¡°Alex, the core of the giant you killed!¡±

    ¡°This place is death! We have to leave, now! Now!¡± Alex cried out as he fled the second giant, no matter how certain he was that his foe, now leaking a horrid viscous black fluid and slick blue entrails crackling with spiritual energy from the gaping wounds Alex had left, was now completely unable to submerge without filling its gaping wound with abrasive sand.

    But it didn¡¯t matter. None of that mattered, compared to what was to come.

    Then Ya Ling said words that changed absolutely everything, her eyes lit with fiercest vindication.

    ¡°I know where it is, Alex!¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t dare hope, for all that he raced toward her as fast as he could. Yet she had already turned and began racing ever deeper into the desert now thrumming with the promise of oblivion soon to emerge and consume them all.

    ¡°You were right! There is a formation buried in the desert sands, and I know exactly where it is!¡±

    Alex near froze with those words¡­ before redoubling his speed.

    Away from the entrance that was a life boat in the most stormy sea imaginable, no matter the awful wave of dread that threatened to drown him. A terror he could sense from Ya Ling as well, her face set in a mask of fierce determination, even as he sensed her growing terror.

    ¡°Ya Ling...¡±

    ¡°There!¡± She cried out, jabbing her finger down towards a completely barren stretch of sand like all the others, and Alex desperately stared, looking for something, anything, as they dove from the winds that had so helpfully carried them aloft, Alex buoyed by the potency of his kills just as Ya Ling was her growing wind mastery, the pair now plummeting to the ground.

    ¡°There, Alex! Can you sense it?¡±

    Excited words washed over Alex, but all he could sense was death in the form of half a dozen lesser sand worms that were still monsters in their own right, in addition to the growing rumble of the sandy desert itself¡­ and Alex was filled with the sudden awful sense that this was where the monstrous titan of Gold would emerge.

    ¡°Ya Ling, we have no time!¡±

    Yet even as he said the words, he was the first to crash to the sands, lashing out with his fangtian ji as fast as he ever had before.

    Qi Perception detects Desert Worm swarm!

    You have successfully evaded ankle ambush.

    You have successfully dodged leaping maws!

    Storm Strike!

    Storm Strike!

    Wind Slice!

    You have slain three Sand Worms!

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Alex, buy me time!¡±

    But Alex was already doing all he could after getting a look at Ya Ling¡¯s desperate hopeful features, his fangtian ji snaking through the air to rip open one dark lamprey after another, trading a storm of whirling steel and crackling lightning for the three extra feet of blade length that his Enhanced Wind Blade granted him, his mastery over the winds now so great that he was able to leave devastating gashes with that singular element alone.

    And the triumphant cry as Ya Ling flashed a fiercely proud smile, claiming a massive dark jewel from the desert sands with a surge of Sand and Wind, filled Alex with joy and terror in equal measure.

    Because of course that was the moment the swarm returned in full, doing their utmost to crash over Ya Ling.

    ¡°No!¡± Alex roared, lashing out with windmilling blows as Ya Ling instinctively ducked, two more of the horrors neatly bisected as Ya Ling glared at the desert sands that immediately formed a howling whirlwind around the both of them.

    A whirlwind which couldn¡¯t stop the massive hoard of worms¡­ just slow them down.

    And far from stopping, the vibrations got so bad that they would have knocked lesser cultivators right off their feet.

    ¡°Alex, please hold them off! I just need to get the other four jewels and we¡¯re out of here!¡± She pled, tossing him the one pristine Dark Qi core she had already claimed, Alex immediately putting it into storage a heartbeat before his half-moon axe heads cleaved open the first snake to shove its way through Ya Ling¡¯s whirling ward in an explosion of entrails and gore.

    You have critically struck Desert Worm.

    Fatality!

    Experience Earned!

    Alex paid no more heed to the messages flooding his soul, even as he felt his body move with greater fluidity and grace than it had in quite some time, so many ancient lessons flooding his soul as his core shrieked with devoured potency and his chosen weapon weaved a dance of defiance and death that sent their slinking foes back to oblivion where they belonged.

    Alex flashed a fierce smile, even as yet another worm slipped through to tear into his hip before a spinning heel kick sent it flying. Because at least they didn¡¯t have to worry about the worms striking from below.

    For they were at the gate, and the titanic abomination that might soon break through would brook no competition.

    Just minutes away from emerging, Alex was deathly certain, and devouring them all.

    ¡°Alex!¡± The word jolted Alex out of his battle haze to catch sight of Ya Ling screaming.

    A Dark worm had just latched onto her hand, sheering it right off, as well as the Dark Qi jewel she had retrieved.

    ¡°Die!¡± Alex roared, lashing out with a snarl to cleave open the writhing worm before touching it, commanding both halves into his storage space, sensing both the pristine Dark core and a Silver-tier beast core suddenly present in his storage space as Ya Ling crashed to the desert sands.

    Alex¡¯s heart pounded in panic when she seemed to shrink into the sand. ¡°Ya Ling!¡± he cried, desperate fury propelling his Wind Blade strike like never before, roaring with mindless fury as he cleaved through each and every one of the ebony worms oozing through the wind ward now fading as if it had never been.

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡± Alex¡¯s panic grew desperate as the awful assault finally stopped.

    Panting, wild-eyed, Alex gazed in disbelief at the sight of dozens of slaughtered worms now splayed about the desert sands, and no trace of his companion at all.

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡±

    And that was when he felt it, even his prismatic teeth, unbreakable, still vibrating in sympathy with the monster about the erupt, Alex snarling with bitter hate at what would be the greatest, and perhaps shortest, fight of his newest life.

    He gripped his fangtian ji in a death grip¡­ and then, in the blink of an eye, the pressure was gone.

    Alex stumbled back, gasping as the awful killing aura of a Jade-tier monster he hadn¡¯t even realized he had been fighting against was suddenly no more real than a dream.

    He fell to one knee and took a shuddering breath, panicked eyes flickering over the corpses as he eyed the desert sands.

    He blinked back a tear of horror, afraid he was already too¡­

    ¡°Miss me?¡±

    Alex gasped and spun around, lips stretching wide in a disbelieving smile to behold a beaming Ya Ling glowing with health and power and unmistakable potency, flourished her entirely whole hands to reveal a prize of dark beast cores that Alex immediately claimed as she gave a throaty chuckle.

    ¡°I realized I was being an idiot! The instant I healed myself, I recalled that no worm would dare the sands below the formation, so I didn¡¯t have to fear them tunneling through me. So why not just claim the stones all at once?¡±

    Alex shook his head in wonder. ¡°I think you did it,¡± he dared to whisper. ¡°The pressure of that awful Gold...¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s beautiful features grew solemn. ¡°I know. It¡¯s gone.¡±

    The desert sands then echoed with the roar of the wounded monster now slowly approaching throgh the desert sands.

    Ya Ling turned to glare in its direction. ¡°That abomination¡¯s still alive, and you know it¡¯s a half-step Gold. But if we compare it to the horror that almost emerged...¡± She shook her head and sighed. ¡°There¡¯s no way we could have finished off that living cataclysm. No one could. Nothing could!¡±

    Her eyes turned to furious slits. ¡°The bastards who tried to doom this rift weren¡¯t just making it perilous, they were assuring it could never be used at all, by anyone! This wasn¡¯t just political maneuvering. The Li clan imperiled the entire caldera for their own selfish ends.¡±

    Alex gave a hard nod, before eyeing all the corpses. ¡°So what¡¯s say we claim all the lamprey heads and get the hell out of here?¡±

    Ya Ling grinned, quickly nodding. ¡°Damn right.¡±

    As one, they got about the both grizzly and thrilling work of decapitating the Sand Worms and storing away their prizes. And when Alex sensed that his storage devices were utterly full, he couldn¡¯t help chuckling darkly. ¡°I¡¯m guessing we can¡¯t let our guard down, even now.¡±

    ¡°Of course not. More worms could come at any moment.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Alex said, Before flying off a short distance, earning a surprised look from Ya Ling, just seconds before he dropped prizes he¡¯d rather no one ever suspect he had.

    Ya Ling¡¯s features blanched as one lifeless corpse after another crashed to the ground in painfully still heaps.

    Alex blinked then felt a flush crawling over his cheeks, forced to wonder what thoughts were going on inside Ya Ling¡¯s pretty little head as she saw nine bodies dropping lifeless to the sands.

    So damn ruthless, and so necessary it had been.

    What woman could possibly be comfortable with someone as savage as he?

    Yet she said not a word, only giving him a sympathetic smile as the sand itself suddenly swirled over the bodies.

    ¡°Come on, Alex. Let¡¯s finish up and get the hell out of here.¡±

    And together they did just that.

    Before being stopped cold by the final emperor worm that had maneuvered itself to block the gate.

    The giant abomination howled, the air vibrating with its killing aura, and Alex choked back the bile in his throat, fierce inhuman vitality and flashes of perilous insight tempered with the first tinges of true exhaustion.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    He could taste Ya Ling¡¯s terror and dismay in the pitch and timber of her voice, and by her growing panic, overwhelmed and exhausted, that he sensed from her mind.

    He grit his teeth, glaring at the soaring titan sinuously winding about its own coils as if it were a serpent and not a worm at all. Certainly its lamprey mouth was open wide to hideous effect, pointed right at Alex, as if challenging the mortal that had dared to hurt the sky-scraper sized monstrosity to a final showdown.

    And if Alex wanted to ever get out of there¡­ he had no choice but to endure one final battle.

    No matter how perilous it might be.

 Book 8 - Chapter 82

    ¡°Alex, what do we do?¡±

    Alex¡¯s heart was pounding, ears filled with the howling storm of spiritual energy that was this entire rift, and so much more. Dark Qi so thick he could taste it, the shivering sands resonating with the thrumming roar of his super-cable now spinning so fast it was truly a blur.

    He gazed up, up at the giant worm that was as much dragon as lamprey, an abomination the big screen could never do justice to as it undulated above the gate, soaring hundreds of feet high, even if the only lightning unleashed had been Alex¡¯s own.

    His mind still reeled at the epiphany that had allowed him to channel raw Dark Qi tied to the element of Lightning, a feat that broke who knew how many laws of reality and cultivation, as the laws of reality itself bent to his furious will.

    As to whether or not his technique would work outside the rift¡­ that was another matter entirely.

    And it hardly even mattered, Alex realized to his dismay, steeling a single glance for the charred ruin that had been the other emperor worm. Skyscraper-sized titans that damn well should be considered Gold-tier for there ability to cause destruction, if nothing else.

    Alex could sense all too easily how, if these creatures somehow squeezed through a gate far too small for them, they could destroy an entire city, and without attacks that channeled pristine lightning, or Dark Qi that could tear through the impossibly potent wards Qi Perception made damn clear were now stronger than ever. Without Soul Sight or Dark Qi or possibly lightning to pierce them, the creature could devour an entire city and even the deepest Silver would be helpless to defeat it.

    Because what did it matter that the creature couldn¡¯t catch you, if it destroyed your home entire, and forced you to flee into the parched desert without a lick of water, shelter, or hope?

    And these were the creatures that the vile ritual the Duo Li accomplices had hidden in the sand had summoned forth. And to think that even worse had been just minutes from emerging. A horrific abomination that would have unquestionably spelled the end of Liushi, leaving Alex suddenly wondering if perhaps the water merchant fools were themselves puppets being played by another.

    He then froze, dread clawing at his stomach even through his dazed fury, feeling the entire realm shudder once more with the massive abomination that had come so close to bursting through just seconds ago¡­ the ground shaking as it hammered against the barrier between pocket realms with such intensity that Alex feared it might actually manage to break through... only now fading into the ether of endless possibilities, a doom averted by the narrowest of margins.

    But what filled Alex with true dismay was the realization that even if the emperor worm presently dooming himself and Ya Ling couldn¡¯t slip through that gate, somehow the abomination that had almost broken through have would have done just that.

    Deep Gold?

    Hell, that thing had felt like Jade.

    And he would know.

    But neither those realizations nor the ringing in his ears of his own too strong resonance with this place would get them out of here alive.

    A point brought home when Ya Ling¡¯s steely resolve began to crack, an unexpected sob slipping free of features filling with despair, tears flowing freely from red-rimmed eyes.

    Her haunted gaze met his own. ¡°I love you, Alex.¡±

    She chuckled even through her sob at the surprised look he gave her. ¡°Even if I know that Ruidian girl¡¯s already claimed your heart, able to fight in perfect sync with you. Even if I know your fearsome path is so monstrously twisted that you can kill six Deep Bronze and an actual Silver in just a handful of seconds.¡±

    She shook her head, flinching at the sight of the monster still before them, dooming them both as it roared in challenge. ¡°And I know I should be horrified of your ice cold gaze but I¡¯ve never wanted anything more than to claim you as my own and I¡¯m the biggest fool in the world telling you this now but I¡¯d never forgive myself if we end up dying here, and the words of my heart, my greatest truth¡­ remain forever unsaid.¡±

    Alex trembled with the weight of her confession, the blood roaring in his ears drowning out the howling thrum of both emperor worm and spirit cable as he gazed at the strikingly beautiful desert princess who, if he wasn¡¯t haunted with the memories of those he could have loved so fiercely for a thousand years, an imperial princess who matched him so perfectly, and a kitsune girl who reminded his scarred soul so very much of his first wife¡­

    It didn¡¯t matter if he had lost them both a thousand years ago. Perhaps many thousands of years ago. Even if they had both long since turned to dust in the sands of time. All that mattered was that, as far as his heart was concerned, he had lost them only months ago.

    And if that meant every single life he lived since that day his heart demanded he mourn for countless years, an echo of grief that would never end as even the goddess that tends to reborn souls had turned her back on him, refusing to grant him the boon of forgetfulness between lives after he had done his utmost to slaughter her monstrous abomination of a grandson¡­ so be it.

    He would mourn.

    He would accept those bitter tears.

    He would endure the agony of his heart, no matter how many years it grieved.

    And he would do everything in his power to save Ya Ling from the abomination that threatened them both. So she, at least, could live a beautiful life full of innocence, joy, happy memories, and gentlest ascension.

    A true desert rose, allowed to blossom before the ones who cherished her the most.

    Alex might never be able to return the affection that would kindle into a blazing pyre of fierce love so potent it would span lifetimes¡­ but he would do everything in his power to make sure that one day she could savor that dream with someone actually worthy of her heart.

    He gave her his gentlest smile, heart in his eyes, praying she would understand. If the twisted machinations of gods and men hadn¡¯t been so cruel¡­

    He grit his jaw when Ya Ling¡¯s sobs tore through the thrumming desert air, before being drowned out once more by the roaring rumble of the massive emperor worm that was clearly content to wait no longer, its massive maw filled with inwards spiraling serrated teeth seeming to fill the heavens as it whipped forth with surprising speed for such a massive behemoth, eager to claim them both.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    ¡°Move!¡±

    Terror instantly burned away heart¡¯s torment as Ya Ling crashed into the sands while Alex flitted through the air, a heartbeat before an explosion of sand and wind cause a near-blinding storm as Alex desperately raced through the air for new heights, howling with furious horror as he gazed upon the monstrous depression below.

    Sand still flying in all directions, multiple black specks that could only have been lesser worms shattered by the impact sent flying as well.

    As if a meteor had struck.

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡±

    Alex howled, feeling like such a fool not to have grabbed her and darted!

    Instead she had followed her instincts, flowing into the sands she had mastered years before coming to understand Wind.

    And if the shockwave had struck her¡­

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡±

    Alex glared at the titanic behemoth writhing in the sands below, heart pounding with a wrath that sent his blood on fire.

    His face twisted in a rictus of bitter regret and fiercest hate, his fangtian ji summoned once more.

    He did not care that the gate was suddenly revealed before him, that their plan of goading it and fleeing was now just a single darting sprint away.

    This creature had torn yet another desert rose from his heart.

    And he¡¯d be damned if he left before claiming a bloodprice that would leave this abomination a shriveled wreck.

    ¡°Die, motherfucker!¡± Alex howled, words lost in the wind that the worm had no chance of hearing.

    Yet it certainly felt it, Alex took fierce bitter satisfaction in that as an explosion of black lightning blasted into the monstrous carapace of the abomination before him. A horror made of compressed chitin plates so utterly resistant to spiritual energy that no attack should penetrate. yet Soul Sight and Find Weakness revealed to him just how damn brittle it all was when struck by bitter sharp steel vibrating at the frequency of his supercable¡­ itself thrumming as speeds that would have shattered any bones not forged in the divine crucible of hate his enemies had relished in gifting him, Alex howling with agony that was ecstasy as chitin exploded and black lightning scorched his prey, inside and out¡­ and himself as well.

    Soul Sight modified Quickness Check made!

    You sense your foe¡¯s desperate rebuttal just as well as you sense your own.

    Even Gold tier abominations flinch before your fury!

    Black Lightning scorches your target for Titanic Damage!

    Gold tier Soul Stone saves versus rupture: Your prey lives still!

    You have taken one Severe Wound, For Dark Lightning is the epitome of chaos and destruction and recognizes no master!

    Your bones ground excess lightning.

    Damage mitigated!

    You have learned to accelerate your rate of recovery through the environment alone, using Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique!

    Prismatic Fox is now Rank 8!

    You are now Power Healing!

    Alex howled with the fury of the storm both consuming this rift and ringing through his soul, lashing out with his fangtian ji with furious abandon that was anything but. Controlled chaos as he mimicked the wild fury of the storm, lashing out with the deadliest of all elements as the worm howled and writhed.

    Yet his own smoking wounds were greater than what even the Power Healing allowed by this miasma-thick rift allowed him to embrace through Prismatic Fox such that, no matter how great his fury, eventually he had to dart away from the roaring worm frantically tearing apart the sands with fearsome pounding blows of its tail, unleashing craters that would have obliterated even the Deepest Silver as the air filled with a toxic maelstrom of choking, glassy sand particles, Alex had no doubt.

    He glared down at his foe as he gained attitude, desperate to finish healing in the seconds he allowed himself, knowing that with Potency Mastery about to wear off, he was rapidly running out of time.

    Not even he was stupid enough to risk channeling a Dark Qi core while manipulating black lightning. Not unless he wished to be at ground zero of an explosion that still wouldn¡¯t guarantee this behemoth¡¯s death.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    Then he glared down at the beast that had¡­ he didn¡¯t even want to think of it!

    His vision grew red with killing intent, body trembling with the potency now crackling along his limbs as flesh sizzled and regrew at shocking speed.

    ¡°Alex, be careful!¡±

    And that one desperate cry froze Alex on the precipice of madness. Had he been any closer to his foe¡­ but thankfully he wasn¡¯t and that one vulnerable second didn¡¯t cost him absolutely everything.

    Instead, he turned to the wide-eyed, clearly shaken girl now effortlessly embracing the winds to fly by his side. ¡°Alex, please¡­ forget the stupid bleatings of a clueless young kit you heard earlier.¡± She flashed a hopeful smile. ¡°Even now it slithers to strike at us, its hate so deep. We can dart right around and hit the exit!¡±

    Hopeful eyes locked with his own. ¡°Don¡¯t you understand, Alex, we¡¯re free!¡±

    But Alex shook his head, locking eyes with Ya Ling¡¯s own. ¡°Not until this fucker is dead.¡±

    ¡°Alex...¡±

    Hard eyes locked with her own. ¡°I have Soul Sight. Which means that I now know exactly what it¡¯s capable of.¡± He flashed a bitter smile. ¡°This goes a hell of a lot deeper than a power-hungry clan. If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d say they themselves are patsies for what¡¯s coming next.¡±

    Ya Ling blinked, ¡°Alex, this is hardly the time...¡±

    ¡°Whoever¡¯s orchestrated this bullshit, the formation bullshit at least, isn¡¯t interested in overthrowing Liushi.¡±

    Her gaze hardened. ¡°Alex, we know damn well that the Duo Li clan is...¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re trying to destroy it.¡±

    She froze at those words. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    HE flashed a bitter smile. ¡°No, actually. But that¡¯s a city-killer worm. And unless you can channel black lightning or pierce indestructible Gold-tier chitin with impossible skills or Divine tier resonance¡­ once that thing slips out? Nothing¡¯s saving this city.¡±

    She pointedly gazed at the fangtian ji in his hands. ¡°But you can crack it¡¯s carapace.¡±

    Alex smiled, feeling his seared flesh crack and bleed. ¡°Not without paying a price¡­ but yes, I can.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    He took a deep breath, gazing at her for long moments. ¡°I can channel Dark Qi.¡±

    She blanched, gazing at him for long moments, before finally nodding her head. ¡°It makes sense. With your gifts¡­ the miracle of you being able to wick away the awful waste Qi build up now so heavy I think it would cripple most cultivators within minutes of being in here¡­ I guess it only makes sense that you can channel it as well as...¡±

    ¡°Consume it?¡± He said with a wink.

    She dipped her head, eyes widening with sudden fierce hope. ¡°Poison!¡±

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°I agree completely. You see the handful of wounds along its torso covered in enhanced Spider Tier venom and Universal Solvent?¡±

    She frowned down, squinting at the skyscraper beast, still howling its hate, now attempting to spray them with massive clouds of caustic particles that, thanks to their Air Mastery, failed to hit them or cause any damage at all. For all that Alex was damn sure that it would eat away the flesh, or lungs, if any hapless mortal inhaled. A dragon¡¯s breath weapon indeed.

    Ya Ling quickly shook her head. ¡°No. I don¡¯t see any wounds more than the puss-leaking rents on its side¡­ and the scorch marks of your lightning.¡±

    Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Ya Ling paled, only now getting a good luck of the bright red dust the creature had exhaled that she was so effortlessly manipulating with her two favored elements.

    ¡°Alex, if that creature actually manages to escape and exhales this¡­ spice? It will poison anyone who inhales! Blind them permanently as it erodes the skin from their flesh...¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    Her breath hitched. ¡°We have to stop it!¡±

    But Alex didn¡¯t respond, only gazing intently at her absolute mastery over wind and sand, struck by sudden epiphany.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex took a deep, steadying breath, desperate to channel his sudden epiphany, to infuse it with the potency now absolutely roaring through his soul, to keep his focus despite the first whispers of fatigue that once presaged a fol¡¯s folly but now he could only hope to stave off for as long as he possibly could with his impossible arts and desperate focus. And for at least this precious heartbeat in time¡­ he thought he just might be able to do it.

    Flipping his fangtian ji back into storage, he solemnly unsheathed his dao before meeting Ya Ling¡¯s gaze. ¡°Pull out your jian, and give it the Winds¡¯ blessing, just like I have.¡±

    Her eyes widened, before she quickly nodded and did just that, a three foot projections of swirling sand both lining her blade like an impossibly deadly saw and projecting over half her body length out further still.

    Alex dipped his head, now accepting what his next step had to be if he was to make full use of Spiritual Student and Teacher.

    You have removed autonomy blocks within all nodes.

    You now have unfettered access to Slave Node designated: Ya Ling 01!

    Ya Ling shivered, snapping her gaze to meet Alex¡¯s own. But he said not a word, for there was nothing ot be said. Even if she suddenly felt a yawning emptiness that was the hunger of his own howling vortex of a Dantian, eager to feast upon the swirling maelstrom of potency that his mad daring, constant ascension, and refusal to depart from peril¡¯s path assured was feeding the impossibly dense seed of his core like nothing else ever could. An accretion disk of power and peril slowly feeding what would soon be his core.

    That which his foes feared above all else.

    He could taste that sudden truth as Ya Ling blanched and paled¡­ but none of that mattered.

    All that mattered was assuring that the strikingly beautiful girl before him who hadn¡¯t lied when she said she loved him would be safe for years to come. For all that she hardly knew him at all.

    But now she did.

    Just a tiny bit. Sensing the monster in the void, the avatar of chaos and change that he had forever been doomed to become.

    Her eyes widened when she gazed into his eyes and saw her own¡­ sensing the thoughts that now resonated so effortlessly between them both.

    Yet the smile he gave her was just as heartfelt and gentle as it had been just minutes before, when she had dared to thaw the bitter ice around his heart, just as Linnea had.

    A gesture for which he would be eternally grateful, no matter how badly he had to use her now.

    ¡°Ya Ling, just how far can you extend your blade of wind?¡±

    All confusion, dismay, and uncertainty left her gaze as she focused on the only thing that mattered. Projecting her Wind Blade with her new affinity¡¯s blessings to the utmost of her ability as three feet became five, then ten¡­ and stretched longer still.

    And Alex could feel it. He could taste it, how the wild Wind whipped through her meridian channels so gracefully as her will was effortlessly made manifest, a fifteen foot projection now radiating from the tip of her blade, wind howling so fast it would easily tear through skin and perhaps even rip flesh from bones.

    Alex smiled, dipping his head. ¡°Good. Yes, I think I see.¡±

    The trick, Alex realized, as he extended his own blade to Ya Ling¡¯s awed gasp, was not to fight the Wind. There was nothing to push against, nothing to resist, for all air was Wind. There was no resistance, no resistance at all. Just clearly defined boundaries between his now near silent blade slicing effortlessly not through air but the pocket left behind by high and low pressure on either side of the blade. Because as far as the ten foot projection of his own blade was concerned, his domain was absolute, and all currents knew to heed its sovereignty.

    His only regret was that despite the intense sense of spiritual dilation he felt, channeling so much potency into the perilous affinity he was about to embrace¡­ he couldn¡¯t quite stretch it to fifteen feet.

    But that was okay.

    He was just getting started.

    It wasn¡¯t quite time to deplete himself utterly with the final sprint.

    Not quite yet.

    Skill check made: Critical Success!

    You have had an epiphany!

    Wind Blade is now Rank 8!

    You have pushed this skill beyond all previous limitations at 5 feet!

    You have have successfully extended your Wind Blade to 10 feet in length!

    Wind Blade is now Rank 9!

    You have channeled excess potency into mastering this skill!

    Spiritual Student + Complete Node Interface means a true genius''s understanding of Wind has become your own! You may now exert your Authority over the element of Wind within 10 feet of you!

    Ya Ling¡¯s look of wonder was more comforting than he wanted to acknowledge. ¡°Alex, you stretched your blade out to ten feet, just like that! And I know how long you were well...¡±

    Alex forced a smile. ¡°Thank you, but I also ate the same fruit.¡±

    ¡°But they didn¡¯t implant themselves into your meridian channels like I did!¡± She flashed an impish smile. ¡°I know you¡¯re a madman trying to balance 8 elements, not just two, Like me, so blessed to find that Wind and Sand blend so perfectly well together.¡±

    Alex forced a smile. ¡°Nine elements. Because yes, Dark Qi also counts, no matter how much it dismays most cultivators to hear that. But we¡¯re not done yet. You say that your Sand is just as potent as Wind? That¡¯s exactly what I wanted to hear.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s smile paled, for all that her Wind Blade was still straight, and if anything, was whirling about at faster speeds than ever. ¡°Alex...¡±

    His gaze hardened. ¡°Please try. A hell of a lot of people are counting on us to get this right.¡±

    She blanched and swallowed, and much to Alex¡¯s relief, she didn¡¯t waver or shirk before the challenge. The steady flow of grains of sand into the howling winds currents seemed as natural to her as breathing, and Alex studied the formation for long moments, before slowly dipping his head.

    For him the wind had always been a carrier and component of the storm, intimately tied to Water and Lightning and only then would he infuse the whole with the weight of Metal, a very powerful synergism where all four elements magnified each other¡¯s potency, transforming into a devastating whole.

    Yet that wasn¡¯t the only path forward, especially not with ten feet of Wind. As Ya Ling¡¯s grains of sand made so clear, there was more than one method of carrying death and making the most of his gifts. And Alex was fiercely pleased to find that the wind held even when filled not with grains of Sand but Metal.

    Even when the air seemed to tremble, Alex¡¯s whole world becoming a single glorious fusion of Wind and Metal he was pretty damn certain could slice through flesh like it was nothing¡­ Yet it would do little to pierce a Gold-tier¡¯s carapace.

    And the orderly weight of Metal was almost more than the howling chaos-aligned stream of Wind could bare. Yet somehow Alex managed, already knowing what he needed for symmetry and balance. Much like the ivory black and white pieces of countless games of strategy in this world, there was balance and symmetry when two halves of a whole were one. Black and White. Liquid darkness fused to razor sharp Metal fragments in ways that could only be done through an application of monstrous will, masterful understanding, or simply daring to explore the depths of a rift so filled with Dark Qi that it would doom any lesser cultivator.

    The how of it didn¡¯t matter, Alex thought, daring to laugh with fierce triumph as he rode vanguard¡¯s furious epiphany as ten feet stretched to twelve, his Wind Blade now stronger and more cohesive than it had ever been before.

    Even if Ya Ling was shivering, gazing at his creation with either awe or horror.

    ¡°Alex...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s our only chance.¡±

    Yet even as he said that, even with the magnificent four¡­ now five Qi points he was rejuvenating per second thanks to his hidden skill Potency Mastery, it still wasn¡¯t enough. He still felt his reserves draining far, far too quickly. Perhaps it was because of his Prismatic bones¡¯ terrible hunger. Perhaps it was simply the nature of daring to skirt a wujen¡¯s arts after countless millenia walking countless variants of a body cultivator¡¯s path. Either way, his heart twisted with the bitter realization that his ploy wouldn¡¯t work, and that a city might fall for his paltry skills.

    ¡°Alex...¡± Fortunately Ya Ling¡¯s concerned words, sensing his distress even now, was all it took to shake him free of growing despair, realizing that the answer was right in front of his face. Hadn¡¯t the pair of them managed to save an entire quarter of the city, after all? With no more than a handful of abilities¡­ and a Silver tier beast core he had used without hesitation or regret.

    A beast core very much like the faceted beauty he now held in his hands, Alex shaking his head in awe. Because of course the core that had been hand crafted by a genius or a madman who had been forced to pay the most bitter of prices might be a glorious instrument of destruction, a tool that could be used to rupture rifts and destroy desert cities from within. Yet Alex sensed the sweet, sweet flow of potent spiritual energy it was more than eager to surrender, and it took little more than embracing the most basic of arts, the very first he had learned, when Alex fastened the pristine Dark Core to the pommel of his dao, the prize seeming almost to snap into place, as if his adhesive wasn¡¯t needed at all.

    You have successfully generated 1 ounce of Universal Adhesive.

    You have successfully bound Pristine Silver tier (faceted) Dark Jewel to the hilt of your indestructible dao!

    You may now channel Dark Qi within and through your artifact at will!

    Single element artifact has affinity with: Metal Qi. Your chosen weapon has no incompatibilities with arts currently in play.

    Additional Wind Blade Variant discovered: Doom Blade! You may now infuse the power of Wind (up to 12 feet beyond the length of your metal weapon) with Dark and Metal Qi!

    Full properties of Doom Blade: To be discovered in combat!

 Book 8 - Chapter 83

    ¡°I¡¯m going in, cover me!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a Gold-tier abomination, Alex!¡±

    Alex flashed a fierce smile as he picked up speed, embracing the element of Wind more gracefully than ever before, now truly flying as he plummeted down toward the massive maw of serrated death waiting for him, before twisting to the side so fast that the snapping of teeth vibrated through his bones.

    ¡°The size of a building, and that fucker¡¯s gotten faster!¡± Alex cursed under his breath, Ya Ling clearly sensing his alarm. It was only because of its vast, monstrous size that Alex had had any shot at all. Had it been the size of a man, it would have struck and killed as fast as he could blink.

    But now it was him racing at speeds he would never have dared before, Wind Ward effortlessly keeping the air out of his face and generating a perfect slip stream as he glared intently at the thick carapace of pearlescent darkness he passed, Find Weakness sensing the vulnerability behind its near indestructibility as he looped around the fearsome beast.

    He didn¡¯t strike yet, didn¡¯t dare to. Not until the madly whirling blade of Wind, liquid Darkness, and Steel shrapnel was just as stable as it had been while gazing down at his enemy from near the top of the anomaly containing this rift, an increasingly anxious Ya Ling even now keeping an eye on him, summoning swirling maelstroms of sandy grit that barely served to distract the titanic monstrosity, yet distract it did.

    At least long enough for it to spring forth with horrific momentum, bursting completely free of the sand.

    The ground shook. An explosion of gritty sand erupted as a near-skyscraper¡¯s worth of essence-infused flesh warded against most-any wujen¡¯s spells burst free of the sand, snapping at a suddenly panicked Ya Ling, screaming in the wind.

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡± Alex felt a frisson of terror so great at his friend¡¯s peril that he delayed no longer, trusting that even if his desperate manipulation of his gifts, stretching his arts in ways never intended, blew up in his face, it would at least buy Ya Ling time.

    Yet not even he was ready for what would happen when he summoned Doom Blade once more while racing at hundreds of miles an hour, spiraling around the massive, momentarily airborne carapace as he steadied his weapon, twelve additional feet of Dark Qi-infused steel spiraling about his target, skittering across the thick carapace, near blinding him with scattered shrapnel that was just a heartbeat from spelling disaster.

    You have taken one Light Wound from Metal Shrapnel not even you defenses can fully protect you from!

    Alex choked back a cry, knowing it was hopeless¡­ yet he had sensed how tightly the massive chittin plate vibrated¡­ sensing how close it was to bursting as his flying form tore through the air, weaving around the massive sentinel radiating Gold-tier killing intent that only enduring the hatred of both Jade tyrants and spite-filled gods allowed him to so readily endure.

    His laughter was tinged with madness. Instead of breaking off and darting desperately away, humbly accepting his Bronze-tier limitations, knowing his place, and retreating with his friend from this rift and city, knowing that everyone was doomed, he instead redoubled his efforts, replacing one stream of steely shrapnel with two, crying out when he received multiple Wound notifications as the shrapnel tore into his flesh before he could absorb his own essence.

    Then abruptly punching through.

    You have successfully used Doom Blade against Gold-tier opponent in combat!

    Doom blade has been successfully quantized!

    Doom Blade is now Rank 2

    Doom Blade is now Rank 3!

    Wind Piercer strike is now Rank 3!

    Wind Piercer strike has Synergized with Doom Blade! Effortlessly rupture positive Qi wards and rip through brittle chitin or steel with every strike!

    You have saved versus Crushing Blow!

    Alex wanted to howl with fierce vindication and triumph as he dragged his dao across the impossibly thick chitinous scales of his foe, Soul Sight and Find Weakness both allowing him to understand it¡¯s incredible resilience and its vulnerability both. For all that they would shrug off any elemental attack, and the scales cushion the incredibly thick flesh beneath against the pounding force of any spear or mace, or turn the blade of any axe, sword, or fangtian ji, they were also brittle, like diamonds.

    Yet no defense below Jade was perfect. And perfectly resistant chitin had its own flaws. Massive plates under such titanic pressures, vulnerable to the discordant vibrations unleashed by multiple streams of Dark Qi-covered steel shrapnel pounding against the carapace until finally a crack became a tear and the howling winds were filled with massive streams of steaming viscera squirting from the massive gaping wounds spraying the air at unthinkable pressures as Alex¡¯s endless draw cut ripped open the titanic beast like a bandsaw zipping around his prey in a massive spiral of of death.

    The creature¡¯s deadly maws were just a heartbeat from snapping Ya Ling in half.

    Alex, at that terrible pristine moment, was so flooded with breakthrough revelations that he could see and feel through her ears and eyes just as well as he could master Oblivion¡¯s own currents to tear through the carapace before him.

    Understanding Wind¡¯s desperate secrets as the hot spicy breath of spiraling rows of shredding teeth surrounded her¡­ before surrendering to that which terrified her so deeply.

    Yet there was no fear greater than oblivion itself, they realized, as a single fatal mistake promised just that¡­ before she embraced the gentlest of exits, no more real than a gust of wind as hot spicy breath carried her aloft, Alex¡¯s screams echoing against the titan worm¡¯s thrumming roar, and for one glorious, terrible moment, Alex was the currents all around. The hot desert winds, the icy gusts from the rift the worm had been so desperate to rip through, invading their world, and the spicy breath that promised oblivion.

    Ya Ling was all those things and more.

    Alex snapped back into himself with a cry, redoubling his efforts as he tore through the air, the worm now only focused on him as it crashed to the ground, attempting to crush him.

    Alex blinked back desperate tears in the wind as the horizon became the blackness of a titan seeking to crush him, yet failing to do anything more than crash upon the bone-white sands, the monstrosity now completely filleted as Alex ripped around the back. Doom Blade tore through the spiraling incision he had made all along its length like a crimson candy cane as he raced back up the way he had come, now zipping up the spine and feeling a fierce, terrible vindication as the titanic beast shuddered and collapsed, as countless tons of viscera and gore burst from flaps of flesh and shattered chitin opening right up like the flaps of a perfectly dressed kill.

    ¡°This is for you, Ya Ling!¡± He screamed in furious vindication and desperate denial as the air filled with the foul stench of snake viscera, worm innards, and cinnamon, Alex¡¯s eyes wild with furious hate as his keening blade tore a final fifteen-foot deep incision up to the creatures tri-fold mouth, snapping at his form one last time and kissing nothing but air as Alex streaked at speeds that would have been impossible, had he not already been on the cusp of ascending yet again.

    Only then did he dare turn around and gaze down at the monstrous sight below.

    Shuddering in awe, wonder, and dismay at just how close he had come to being both crushed and devoured by the titanic monstrosity below. Hundreds of yards of flayed flesh that he had managed to fillet with countless spiraling cuts before unzipping the entirety when it had devoured (no, don¡¯t say it, don¡¯t think it! She escaped!) Ya Ling.

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡±

    It was a desperate cry.

    Alex raced down to the travesty below, as gory and gruesome as a whaling boat, the sands covered in the visceral of the fallen titan. A desperate part of him prayed he got there in time to rescue her from what were effectively the bowels of hell, praying his own Doom Blade hadn¡¯t sliced her open, so massive the rents had been, finally forcing himself to remove all doubt as to her fate, opening his mental interface to track her down¡­ where her remains would be down as the grit-filled wind stung his eyes with bitter tears¡­

    But not before filling the party bond between them with just as much essence as he could.

    Just a tiniest fraction of the howling storm of potency that he feared was a heartbeat away from destroying him utterly.

    Slave Node: Ya Ling-01: REVERT TO SAVE STATE!

    It was an order. An inescapable command that she had no choice to obey as reality screamed and twisted in response, entropy¡¯s edicts defied by the Disciple of Chaos and Change as countless scattered wind currents abruptly formed into a comatose girl hovering half a dozen feet above the desert sands¡­

    Quickness Check made!

    Only to collapse in Alex¡¯s arms.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°Ya Ling!¡±

    And that was when he was struck by a surge that he feared would be his end.

    Congratulations! You have successfully defeated Emperor Sand Worm!

    Experience Earned!

    You have successfully claimed Emperor Sand Worm potency!

    Doom Blade is now Rank 4!

    Doom Blade is now Rank 5!

    Adept Tier perk chosen: Shattering Blow. - Doom Blade will now shred flesh, shatter bone, and rupture most physical wards with greater ease than ever! - Note: enhanced effect when used in conjunction with Piercing Strike!

    Enhanced Wind Pierce Strike is now Rank 5! Enhanced Utility! - Enhanced Wind Piercer Strike may now pierce rigid metal and stone as effectively as Qi Wards or shrapnel barriers! You have successfully evolved your ability to emulate a Lost Skill without rupturing the Divine-tier veil protecting you!

    Enhanced Wind Piercing Strike has effectively evolved into Piercing Strike!

    Piercing Strike (Spell Cleave) is now Rank 10! using this ability with Storm Strike will give an additional bonus of +3 + Storm Strike Rank to rupture wards and deflect all incoming spells!

    Alex collapsed to his knees, shuddering with the power and potency roaring through his soul as his mind was flooded with images of battles fought a lifetime ago, superimposed upon his deadly struggle against the monstrous abomination he had actually managed to take down, new lessons synergizing perfectly with the old as he realized just how brittle his foe¡¯s monstrous-seeming defenses had truly been, laughing with wonder and terror as a favorite skill pulled free of oblivion¡¯s maw was his once more.

    His heart swelled with joy as the beautiful girl in his arms opened her eyes in dazed wonder, seeing his rough features spattered with blood, gore, countless scratches healing so damned quickly, enchanted by sapphire blue irises before Alex¡¯s eye widened all the more and he flinched¡­ instantly pulling himself free of her mind once more.

    Full autonomy has been restored restored to Slave node: Ya Ling-01

    ¡°Alex, what happened?¡±

    Alex swallowed the awful, painful lump in his throat, choosing to answer in the only way that mattered as he strove to lift them off the now thrumming sands¡­ Alex sensing countless smaller worms finally closing in¡­ before near toppling over with dizziness as the howling scream in his psyche that he had put off enduring for too long picked up with renewed fury.

    Her dreamy voice snapped into cold focus as she tore herself free of her daze. ¡°Alex!¡±

    He flashed an exhausted smile. ¡°I think I¡¯m definitely in Fool¡¯s Folly territory right now¡­ I need to rest. And¡­ ascend. But we need to get out of here.¡±

    ¡°Alex, what...¡± Her voice died off in a gasp of wonder as she gazed, wide-eyed at the massive fallen behemoth now before them. Alex didn¡¯t resist when she gently, effortlessly, lifted him up off the desert sands as first a handful, then hundreds of ebony black worms burst free of the sands and twisted and writhed about the corpse of what Alex suspected must have been their brood mother.

    Ya Ling¡¯s features paled, both horror and wonder flittering across her features.

    Her steely grip, Bronze Rank 1 at the very least, tightened upon his exhausted form. ¡°Alex, are you seriously going to tell me you managed to kill that monstrous mountain-sized fucker?¡±

    Alex flashed a shit-eating grin before his gaze hardened with steely intensity, pushing away the all-consuming storm of potency screaming for release as he focused for a few final precious seconds. ¡°Come, bring me down to its maw.¡±

    Ya Ling gave him a curious look but didn¡¯t hesitate to do just that.

    Alex flinched at the awful stench, before shuddering at the sight of those monstrous serrated teeth, so very like a giant lamprey¡¯s own.

    Forget leaping down the throat like a mad-cap adventure against a giant spirit wolf. He would have been shredded and ground to a pulp within a second, had he dared that bit of foolishness¡­ and that was with prismatic bones assuring the most agonizing of deaths as every inch of flesh was torn free of his bones.

    But now that it was dead¡­

    Alex glared down at his now inert dao before flashing Ya Ling an exhausted smile, pointing to the massive rent that one of Alex¡¯s earlier slashes had managed to inflict upon its maw. ¡°If you could stretch that just a bit, partner?¡±

    Ya Ling gazed at Alex for long moments. ¡°You¡¯re about to collapse. You know that, right?¡±

    Alex winced and nodded, all too aware of that truth as Ya Ling furrowed her pretty brows and sliced with a surgeon¡¯s precision, the wind blast enough to widen the incision in the vulnerable flesh of their foe¡¯s maw and then it was Alex making full use of monstrous Strength that was only increasing with every passing second for all that his Finesse was slipping away with exhaustion.

    Ya Ling winced at how effortlessly bone and chittin cracked before Alex¡¯s hands as he widened the rent and tore free the price that Qi Perception had pinged with exquisite accuracy free.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    He smiled into her eyes as tears streamed down her cheek, collapsing to her knees with awe matching what he knew he should feel¡­ if exhaustion and dread weren¡¯t so close to overwhelming him utterly.

    ¡°That¡¯s... you did it! You¡­ Alex?¡±

    He choked back the bile in the back of his throat, feeling that awful tingling sensation equivalent to being just a second away from hurling from the worst stomach bug imaginable. He was on the cusp of ascension. Yet he was terrified that he¡¯d soon be overwhelmed by a breakthrough like no other that he dare not endure here.

    Desperate eyes met her own.

    ¡°Come on, we have to head to the gate and get me back home¡­ or anywhere I can hole up and mediate. Please!¡±

    Ya Ling nodded with heartfelt sympathy, not hesitating to gather him up in her arms and race for the gate.

    It was all Alex could do to keep himself stable as his whirling Super Cable picked up ever more terrible momentum and then they were crashing through the gate and all was starry blackness. Kissing oblivion as they became one with a thousand million stars¡­ before taking deep breaths of fresh desert air alive with the scents of wildflowers and distant fields of grain from the oasis below.

    Ya Ling sobbed with relief, gazing down at Alex¡¯s trembling form beneath the backdrop of a thousand sparkling stars. ¡°Alex, we did it. We¡¯re alive!¡±

    ¡°And not a moment too soon,¡± whispered the tense voice of none other than Nili, the once cheerful woman now radiating a tense anxiety and relief far more suited to a worried mother than a playful kitsune girl. And her gaze? Definitely that of someone well-versed in life¡¯s bitter struggles¡­ no matter how much she enjoyed playing the innocent around newfound acquaintances who were themselves little more than children in her eyes. All that Alex could sense¡­ just as he could the recognition in her eyes when she caught his stare, before flashing a playful smile.

    ¡°And you, my dear boy, look on the cusp of ascension. Perfect timing.¡±

    Alex forced a smile, realizing they were all alone, except for the three of them. Yet he could hear distant yelling, and could feel a tension in the air.

    Fortunately, there were no screams or smells of ancient hardwood burning, so he could only pray they weren¡¯t too late.

    ¡°Nili! Great, you¡¯re here. Come on, we have to...¡±

    She cut off his words with a gentle finger upon his brow. ¡°Shush, Alex. The only thing you need to do is rest, before a fool¡¯s folly becomes the final mistake you ever make.¡±

    Alex froze at those words.

    Ya Ling¡¯s anxious gaze met the kitsune¡¯s. ¡°Nili, what¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°Politics, girl.¡± The kitsune flashed a jaded smile. ¡°The games of the powerful and those hungry for such power, as wise men, warriors, and fools dance the same dance that they have for countless generations. But since none of us are fools without at least a shred of wisdom, we¡¯re taking shelter away from the storm.¡±

    Ya Ling frowned, tightening her grip upon Alex who really could get up, he was sure, but the grass felt so comfortable, soothing him to desperately needed sleep.

    ¡°Nili...¡±

    The kitsune glared, revealing the tiniest sliver of her well-concealed Silver aura. Ya Ling froze. ¡°We have no time to butt heads or jockey for rank. This is about survival, child. Now come. Follow me. Please.¡± Her gaze turned oddly pitying. ¡°For both your sakes.¡±

    ¡°But Aunt Nili,¡± Ya Ling said, using a familial honorific that earned a strained smile from the kitsune. ¡°We have a house in town. We can just rest up there!¡±

    The kitsune gave Ya Ling a solemn look. ¡°You¡¯re smarter than that, child.¡±

    Ya Ling paled. ¡°Oh no, please don¡¯t tell me...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying anything. Come with me, to shelter! After I know you children our safe, then we can make our next move, and we¡¯d be fools to do anything if we¡¯re not at our best. Enough talking. Follow me.¡±

    The last words were a command, not a request. Ya Ling looked surprised to find herself nodding, and Alex really could look after himself, he thought, the thick brush along the face of the escarpment grabbing his wrists and ankles just fine no matter how dizzy he felt, Alex pointedly ignored Ya Ling¡¯s anxious cry and Nili¡¯s awed cursing when he scooted past both of them.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going, silly boy! You almost fell, and you don¡¯t even know where...¡±

    Her words cut off with a look of comical surprise as they continued scaling the rather steep terrain, partially hidden by a rocky overhang that fortunately had plenty of roots from escarpment-loving olive trees and tough stubborn weeds that gripped his hand so well as Alex made his way to the near perfectly concealed tunnel entrance, giving his friends a triumphant smile as he spotted the whole gang. Sunlay and Quing Da were gazing at him with comical surprise as the pair of wujen looked his way with panicked alarm that soon turned to relieved smiles as he made his way inside, before stumbling on his face on the tiled floor, only to find Linnea¡¯s anxious form huddling over him, Hanz And Lieberman just a few feet behind. ¡°Alex, what happened?¡±

    ¡°You made it!¡± Sunlay declared with relief that genuinely touched Alex to hear as he closed his eyes, never mind Linnea¡¯s panicked shaking. ¡°Alex!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, leave him be, child,¡± Nili gently scolded. ¡°Somehow, the pair of them survived, and it¡¯s clear that Alex, at least, is ready to ascend.¡±

    ¡°But how did they even manage to escape?¡± An awed Sunlay asked, at which point an excited Ya Ling shared their adventures in dramatic detail as Alex was gently placed on warm padded furs in the back of what might have been an ancient study or dormitory, perhaps once part of the school and long forgotten, or perhaps it was the sight of far less savory affairs, once upon a time. Regardless, Alex took great comfort in finding himself safe and warm in shelter that was thankfully free of creatures trying to kill him, and somehow wasn¡¯t surprised at all that Nili, the head of a JiangHu sect of a foreign city, knew of its whereabouts.

    Then all such concerns left him as he slipped free of all cogent thought and let himself slip into oblivion¡¯s soothing waters at last... before waking up with a jolt, gasping for air as inconceivable pressure crushed him from all sides, and there was nothing but icy cold darkness in all directions, as if he were lost in the void.

 Book 8 - Chapter 84

    Congratulations! You have reached Rank 7 along the Boundless Path! You have 12 potency points to spend! How will you shape the contours of your soul to best endure oblivion¡¯s caress?

    Even as the words from his too cheerful interface washed over him, Alex was desperately choking back a scream, the absolute blackness of the void replaced by a sight both wondrous and horrific, Alex catching sight of a massive silver cable whirling about a brilliant white ring that was itself spinning about a core of absolute darkness.

    His ears, roaring with silence just moments ago, now vibrated with the thrum of that terrible cable, whirling about with so much angular momentum that space itself seemed to bend, the accretion disk warping and doubling in upon itself as light was twisted, and Alex¡¯s wide-eyed awe to see firsthand the impossibility of a true event horizon became horror when he finally made out the sound beneath the thrum of his cable, sending ever more of the accretion disk hurtling into the singularity.

    Feeding it.

    Feeding him.

    The sound. That awful sound.

    The wailing shrieks of countless souls¡­ their potency consumed as Alex cried out with sudden awful agony, his muscles seeming to swell to the point of bursting, his soul on the verge of erupting, Alex filled with the sudden dreadful certainty that if he didn¡¯t reinforce himself right NOW! He was just as doomed as the poor spirits swirling into the singularity that was somehow his Dantian, his soul, and a distant point in the night sky, impossibly far away.

    Desperately, he pulled up his character sheet as the wonder he had felt hours, minutes, or days ago as his body grew by leaps and bounds, earning multiple ranks in his physique just by honing himself in the crucible of peril had seemed like such a joyous blessing, like he was finally regaining what he had lost, finally coming in to his own¡­ only now did he truly understand it¡¯s significance.

    His body was infusing itself with potency, much like when he had honed himself against the whetstone of Shalu¡¯s hate and Shui Jun¡¯s core¡­ infusing him with so much potency that he would have exploded, had reality¡¯s pressure been any less than it was.

    And now he was a fresh, new incarnation, his body not yet forged deeply enough to endure the ultimate pressures he had once embraced so readily.

    Yet endure he must, and claim at least a portion of the potency shrieking within his soul.

    Desperately, he pulled up his character sheet, recalling that he had 12 points to spend. Double what Bronze ranks normally would be, and if his hunch was right¡­ yes¡­ Bronze Ranks could be increased at the rate of one Rank per two points.

    Even crushed by unimaginable pressure, haunted by the horrors of memories he was desperate to forget, he still couldn¡¯t help but be awed by his growth. Strength and Vitality had jumped form Bronze Rank 3 to 4 while daring that perilous rift. Finesse had also shot up a rank as he sought to master his body and mind with absolute grace, cleaving through countless spirit beasts. And Quickness, wonder of wonders, had shot up not 1 but 2 Ranks, without any level increase at all. Because if he hadn¡¯t been faster, far faster than he was¡­ he and all his friends would already be dead.

    He clenched his jaw, gazing down at his Qi Pool, so close to the magic number he needed. If old formulas held true, investing in triple body cultivation ranks would yield an immediate boon of power. Yet the temptation of achieving a 20 in his Qi Pool and the added benefits that had still enticed him.

    Still, it was important that he make absolutely sure that he wasted nothing, his inner gamer demanding that he maximize his own potential for far more than games.

    Doing just that had saved his life countless times before.

    Tentatively, he placed points in Strength, Vitality, and Quickness, Ranking them all up and feeling an immediate sense of relief as some of the awful pressure filling him began to drain away. Even better, he sensed Finesse increase a rank as well, as if seeking to balance and harmonize his whole.

    He chuckled. Even if he could hear nothing over the howling cacophony of his own shrieking soul, still he reveled in the sweet surge of safely directed potency, and the rueful knowledge that circumstance and common sense were forcing him along familiar paths once more.

    Perhaps he wouldn¡¯t have that one measly point left over to earn a Qi Pool of twenty, despite the massive boon that such would immediately earn him.

    And maybe that was okay, the thought, taking a closer look at that 19, how it seemed so close to blossoming to twenty by his own efforts alone, after all the spiritual arts and combat techniques he had practiced and done his utmost to master in a shockingly short period of time.

    ¡°Why is it that it¡¯s always conflict where I seem to shine and grow, and never by embracing the vaunted tomes and lessons I keep being promised, keep promising myself I¡¯ll get around to studying, one day?¡± he smirked, on some level already knowing the answer. Whether it was due to the machinations of the gods, or just as likely, his own inability to leave things well enough alone, he thrived in the crucible of peril, and could never allow the shortsighted malice of man to taint the pristine lessons and insights he would love to glean from sacred texts, tomes, and masters¡­ should he ever walk under the arches of a school not lost to internal struggles, strife, and turmoil.

    Assuming such a pristine institution was anything but an ideal, a perfect form to strive for. Achievable in his own realm, perhaps, a realm now no more real to him than a much beloved dream¡­ but something to aspire towards, nonetheless.

    For now, it was gazing at his Rank 5 Bronze Strength and Vitality with bated breath, and dare to hope that¡­ YES!!! The laws of blood held still.

    A draconic physique was still his own, he thought, elevating both stats to Silver and Quickness to Bronze Rank 5, which brought Finesse to Bronze Rank 4.

    He flashed a satisfied smile. Spending a quick moment savoring just how far he had come while honing his arts, recalling in full skills he had feared forever denied to him until he backdoor-tunneled his way to full access and cognizance once more, Piercing Strike and Spell Cleave now as accessible as it had ever been. His recollection of how it felt it slice spells and pierce wards was now just as clear as it had been a thousand years ago. Even more remarkable were the battlefield revelations that had led to the use of arts unlike anything he had ever dared before. Somehow he knew this to be true, as at least a few ancient strictures had been lifted.

    Black Lightning that could sear through absolutely everything, even if he paid a price in pain and peril as well. And a blade of swirling sands, steel grains and Dark Qi utterly unlike Silver Swan or the variant he must never use again, yet able to rupture any ward even without Piercing Strike, with steel grit capable of obliterating flesh, tearing through steel, and bursting bone.

    As to whether or not he could use either newly discovered art on the surface world, free of the sweet dark potency of the nether realm, was another matter entirely. But at least he was blossoming in arts that skirted a wujen¡¯s province, and he sure as hell had incredible tools with which to take on the Rifts, should he ever dare them again.

    He had no doubt that he would, and soon.

    Even if he had paid a price for his daring as well, Prismatic Ward and Prismatic Strike temporarily unavailable to him until he managed to harmonize those arts with his now major Wind Affinity. Still, he was extremely hopeful that his powers would soon blossom stronger than ever, after a bit of practice.

    Yet his satisfied smile turned to a brow furrowed in concerned surprise when he realized that he couldn¡¯t close his character sheet¡­ and that the pressure was growing.

    Pressure that threatened to overwhelm him¡­ if he couldn¡¯t figure out something NOW!

    A sudden flash of dread turned to a frisson of understanding and a bemused chuckle when he suddenly sensed what he was overlooking.

    Draconic Strength and Vitality. Which meant that the final 5<sup>th</sup> Bronze rank had cost 1 point, not two.

    Which meant that he still had two points left!

    Quickly, he placed 1 point raising Finesse to Bronze Rank 5 and his Qi Pool to twenty.

    His anxious hope as he risked destruction turned to glorious vindication when his Qi Pool Shot from 19 to 20 to Silver Rank 5 in a breathtaking flash that both filled him with delight and relief as the horrible pressure that had felt so close to consuming him abruptly drained away.

    _____________________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

    Rank 7 Cultivation Achieved!

    Physical Characteristics

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Strength ¨C Silver Rank 1 (65)

    Vitality ¨C Silver Rank 1 (65)

    Quickness ¨C Bronze Rank 5 (40)

    Finesse ¨C Bronze Rank 5 (40)

    Spiritual Characteristics

    Scholarship - 14 (Exceeds 84% of Population.)

    Perception - 19 (Exceeds 99% of population.)

    Willpower ¨C 25 (Rank 2 Bronze achieved the hard way! - You have the resolve to walk in the Valley of Death and slip free of the River of Souls.)

    Qi Pool ¨C  Silver Rank 5 (165!)

    Health Points: 785

    Perks

    Insightful ¨C Rank 2

    Charismatic ¨C Rank 3

    Lesser Shadow Affinity

    Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.

    Draconic Ancestry.

    Greater Wind Qi Affinity (You have increased affinity with any Qi Discipline incorporating the element of Wind! You will master these skills far faster than otherwise and be able to use them at reduced cost!)

    Beast Core Mastery (You now enjoy a 10-fold efficiency bonus when channeling the potency of Dark Qi beast cores through your arts!)

    Favored Skills

    Golden Realms Kung Fu ¨C Rank 10

    Wind Crane Kung Fu ¨C Rank 8

    Poison Spitting ¨C Rank 6

    Stealth ¨C Rank 4

    Lock Picking ¨C Rank 4

    Qi Disciplines

    Enhanced Water Shield ¨C Rank 10 ¨C Enhanced Salt Water Variant Learned.

    You have achieved Rank 10 with Enhanced Water Shield after channeling an entire lake¡¯s worth of waters through your art!

    You now enjoy the Endless Waters perk! You may now form Water shields of nearly any diameter, and you will find it far easier to liberate those waters for autonomous use! Additionally, you now enjoy a full 10-fold efficiency in channeling Beast Cores through your arts!

    Enhanced Water Strike ¨C Rank 8 ¨C Enhanced Water Strike may now be used in conjunction with Wind Strike and may pierce Silver tier or lower wards with a skill check. (**most definitely not Black Swan!)

    Thorn Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Oak Strike ¨C Rank 5

    Fire Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Flame Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Earthern Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Stone Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Forest Flight has evolved into: Spring Leap ¨C Rank 6 ¨C This skill is effectively Forest Flight but includes grassy fields and lichen. You also enjoy instantaneous movement over forests and fields involving dashes of 50 feet or less. Spring leap will internally be perceived as a variant of Bullrush, with added limitations and almost 0 Qi drain!

    Wind Walking ¨C Rank 7 ¨C Stand upon a gust of air with a skill check, or race alongside the winds! You now enjoy full range of motion and may swim, dance, fly, or battle fluidly in the breeze. - may now use to effortlessly boost running speed for almost no fatigue or spiritual energy cost.

    You have learned the Effortless Stride perk! You may now effortlessly channel Beast Cores, Soul Stones, or personal potency to affect effortless flight without depleting Qi Reserves!

    Dark Qi Absorption ¨C Rank 5 ¨C Effortlessly absorb Dark Qi from your environment, your friends, or hostile forces! All will be consumed and used by your Divine Tier Prismatic Bones!

    Enhanced Wind Piercer Strike has evolved into¡­

    Piercing Strike (Spell Cleave) is now Rank 10! ¨C Pierce Qi wards and wujen barriers with ease! Enhanced Wind Piercing components recognized! You can also pierce physical barriers with enhanced efficacy, thanks to Wind origins enhancing White Qi base!

    Using Spell Cleave with Storm Strike will give an additional bonus of +3 + Storm Strike Rank to rupture wards and deflect all incoming spells!

    Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection ¨C Rank 6 ¨C Deflect most Qi Disciplines and physical attacks! Note! Ineffective against Lightning & Spirit Qi!

    Enhanced Wind Blade ¨C Rank 9 (May now be used in conjunction with Enhanced Water Strike with a skill check! You may now instantly summon forth Wind Blade with a skill check. - Adept perk chosen: Spiritual Harmony: You may use this elemental attack freely, with minimal spiritual energy expenditure! NOTE! When using Wind alone, you may extend its length to 15 feet!

    Doom Blade ¨C Rank 5 (Additional Wind Blade Variant discovered: Doom Blade! You may now infuse the power of Wind (up to 12 feet beyond the length of your metal weapon) with Dark and Metal Qi! - Adept Tier perk chosen: Shattering Blow. - Doom Blade will now shred flesh, shatter bone, and rupture most physical wards with greater ease than ever! - Note: enhanced effect when used in conjunction with Piercing Strike!

    * Note. The range is this technique suffers significant limitations when used outside of Dark-Qi saturated environments.

    Enhanced Storm Strike ¨C Rank 8 (Infuse your weapon with the power of the storm at its most fearsome, to cut through any foe (or deliver a healthy dose of lightning) from three feet beyond the edge of your blade! - Adept feat chosen. Internal Harmony. The strain of this technique has been limited to Bronze, stabilized by Advanced Comprehension.)

    Doom Strike ¨C Rank 4 ¨C You may channel the black lightning of ultimate destruction through your foes! Note. There is a backlash! Said currents will also channel through you! You will suffer backlash (Save versus Vitality to determine severity) per use, before residual currents are successfully grounded within your bones.

    NOTE! YOU ARE CURRENTLY UNABLE TO USE PRISMATIC TECHNIQUES Until harmony with enhanced Wind Affinity has been achieved!

    Prismatic Shield ¨C Rank 6 ¨C You can now counter half-step elements & dark curses! - Note! Unorthodox meridian configuration is prerequisite! - You have chosen the Adept Perk: Spiritual Harmony. Spiritual Energy expenditure to maintain this technique has been significantly reduced! Prismatic Shield now draws energy directly from Desert Fox. Prismatic Shield Rank may not exceed Desert Fox Cultivation rank!

    Prismatic Strike ¨C Rank 6 - This is a Pristine Technique! All elements are boosted by previous elements in a Divine Tier cascade only Long Wang and his chosen disciples understand. Note! No mortal may wield this technique before Gold Tier without saving versus Meridian Rupture!

    Your Divine Tier Meridians are immune to rupture!

    Qi Perception-linked Disciplines

    Artificer ¨C Rank 7

    Find Weakness ¨C Rank 7

    Qi Perception ¨C Rank 8

    Soul Sight ¨C Rank 7

    Spiritual Teacher (Student) ¨C Rank 8

    Forest Sense ¨C Rank 8

    Congratulations! Your communion with nature has grown fresh roots. Your understanding now transcends individual plants and now incorporates entire ecosystems! Forest Sense is now Rank 8.

    Alchemy ¨C Rank 4

    Desert Sense ¨C Rank 2

    Additional Abilities & Techniques

    Full Regenerative Capacity

    Gift of Tongues

    Biochemical Mastery ¨C Rank 8

    Desert Fox Cultivation Technique ¨C Rank 6

    Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique ¨C Rank (8) You now have a base passive regeneration rate of: 128 health point per minute. Your focus on mastering the interplay between heat and entropy has unlocked the Ageless Perk. - You enjoy your Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique Rank as a bonus in saving versus all poisons, toxins, mental ailments, curses, taints, and all other areas where another UNDEFINED art had once reigned supreme! Continue to master your body and yourself to expand this art and it¡¯s capabilities!

    Sacred Perk ¨C Can now neutralize all infernal taints.

    Prismatc Fox Restoration Technique is now incorporates Basic Blood Mastery! (You may use Blood in place of Water for all Water Qi Applications. Note! Additional cost of Health points in addition to Qi Points will be expended upon such use and application, subject to normal regenerative properties of Prismatic Fox.

    Synergism with Dark Qi Absorption is now in effect! Ancient memories past and present have blended to grant you mastery over the arts of rejuvenation!

    You may now wick away the waste Qi of any compatible mortal or cultivator, permanently rejuvenating their physical body by skill check + 10 years! Note, reduced efficacy with repeated use (save for Ruidians which are particularly amenable to this art) ¨C rate of aging after cellular restoration is dependent upon targets cultivation foundation!

    Power Healing now in effect! You may now use Dark Qi beast cores to power heal!

 Book 8 - Chapter 85

    ¡°Alex, you¡¯re awake!¡±

    Alex blinked away gunk in his eyes he wasn¡¯t expecting, his exquisite perception hit by a ripe, awful odor that he realized much to his chagrin, was himself.

    He found himself covered in a film of what could only be called gunk. He was genuinely surprised, having thought his abilities had given him a free pass, and perhaps they had. Perhaps this residue was the waste free of even Dark Qi¡¯s blessing, mortal gunk of the lowest sort. Either way, it was clear from the relieved looks and strained smile of Ya Ling now gazing down at him with such odd intensity, that she had been putting up with his stink for quite some time.

    Cheeks flushing, he quickly took stock of his situation, finding himself in a small cot lined with beast hide, divided from what Qi Perception made clear were multiple adjoining cots separated from one another by thinly slatted dividers decorated with ink renditions of distant mountains, cranes, and endless desert sands, a master artist conveying so much with a few brief strokes of an ink-covered brush.

    Alex noted as well the clay water urn and a copper bucket of water with faint hints of lye, that and the sponge in Ya Ling¡¯s hand and his own near naked scent making it clear that someone had been tending to his body¡¯s breakthrough regularly. A part of him could only wonder how bad the stench had been or would have been if even now he felt the filmy residue, while the rest of him just stared at the girl gazing so intently at him, her beautiful soft brown eyes filling up his world as she bit her lip and flashed him a welcoming smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you awake, Alex. It¡¯s been over two days, we were worried! How are you feeling?¡±

    Alex swallowed, shaking away the momentary discomfort as he gently claimed the sponge from her hand and gave his near-naked body a final wipe. Just a touch of biochemical mastery was all that was needed to remove the final bit of residue, revealing skin glowing with health and vitality that was nothing short of miraculous.

    He shook his head, humbled by his own transformation.

    ¡°I feel¡­ incredible? So filled with vigor and energy, like I could race a hundred miles at a sprint, do hand-flips down the caldera escarpment, or shatter a stone wall with my fist.¡± He flashed a fierce smile, his laughter a mixture of profound relief and exhilaration. ¡°Oh Ya Ling, I can¡¯t tell you how much the pressure of that last level-up felt like it was crushing me to a pulp¡­ like I was drowning in dizzy exhaustion and about to explosively hurl. I was terrified something would go wrong, that it was just too much, that I might not even survive or suffer serious impairment, but¡­ no!¡± He shook his head in wonder, gazing down at his powerful hands he could move with exquisite grace. ¡°I haven¡¯t felt this good, this in tune with myself, infused with so much vital essence in¡­ well, a very, very long time.¡±

    Ya Ling flashed a relieved smile, eyes twinkling with relief and something more. ¡°Alex, that¡¯s wonderful! Waiting here these last two days¡­ I don¡¯t mind telling you it hasn¡¯t been easy, even spending all my time cultivating, consolidating the wonderful, terrible breakthroughs that we endured in the rift¡­ getting ever closer to my own ascension, yet despite all that, with what¡¯s happening in the caldera at large, happening within the school¡­ it¡¯s been hard as anything to sit still.¡±

    The sweet joy Alex felt in his own ascension was dampened by the anxiety he so clearly heard in her voice, his own gut clamping in sympathetic dread. ¡°Ya Ling, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Even as he said the words, Nili¡¯s cheerful face popped from the other side of the divider. ¡°Oh good, you¡¯re awake!¡± Her nose twitched. She flashed a bemused smile. ¡°And I can¡¯t tell you how happy to see you back on your feet.¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°Because I can clean myself off properly? Finally?¡±

    Nili nodded, denying nothing, before handing him what looked to be his own carefully folded attire. ¡°Here¡¯s your clothes, smelling fresh and clean and looking like they were made just yesterday, without a single rip, tear, or trace of blood or effluvia.¡± Her eyes were gazing intently at him, behind her smile. ¡°And do you know what the most remarkable aspect of that transformation is, Alex?¡±

    ¡°No idea.¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t do a thing.¡±

    ¡°Except fold them, of course. It¡¯s all about how you fold, am I right? I mean, just look at the work of the artist who turned these dividers into works of art. If he can do that with a couple strokes of his brush, why can¡¯t a skilled kitsune¡¯s flick of her wrist snap my garments free of a couple of annoying stains?¡±

    Nili chuckled. ¡°That must explain it.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Works for me.¡±

    Her gentle smile was that of a worried mother bearing bad tidings, hardly looking like the deadly spy and assassin Alex already knew her to be. ¡°Alex, can we talk?¡±

    Alex dipped his head, gently squeezing Ya Ling¡¯s hand. She dipped her head, graceful enough to step away with a worried frown, to which he gave a reassuring wink before turning his full attention to the kitsune now before him. ¡°Of course. What¡¯s up?¡±

    Nili sighed. ¡°I take it our dear Ya Ling filled you in on the goings-on above?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°More like she told me that things weren¡¯t good, but I think I can fill in the blanks.¡±

    The kitsune¡¯s solemn gaze made it clear just how bad things had gotten. ¡°The Duo Li clan successfully disrupted the illusion on the basin. The city now knows that we¡¯re down to two functioning sources of water, and our enemies are now in the process of executing a coup over both this school, and the city at large.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°That¡¯s bad.¡±

    Nili laughed mirthlessly. ¡°It¡¯s worse than that. The head of the Ya Ling clan has actually organized for the arrest of the headmistress, declaring her traitor of both the school and the city. They¡¯re presently awaiting a mockery of a trial inside the Duo Li compound itself.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in outraged disbelief. ¡°How the hell did those bastards manage to kidnap and threaten the life of the headmistress? I¡¯ve seen her. She¡¯s a powerful Silver, and you would have had to compromise the entire¡­ fuck.¡±

    Nili smirked. ¡°Fuck indeed. And yes, they have brought the loyalty of over half the senior wujen of this school, the rest have been browbeaten into submission with wild threats of them all being put to the headman¡¯s block for their so called act of betrayal against the city itself.¡±

    Alex felt his blood run cold. He knew that clan was both powerful and corrupt, but to find them able to squeeze the purse of power this tightly! He shook his head in dismay. ¡°I¡¯m pretty damn sure that all the higher-ups knew about it, and were agreed that it was a necessary illusion to keep people from panicking. We all sensed how desperate they were for delvers to locate Water or even Ice cores. So how the hell did a clan of fallen water merchants amass so much power and influence that they could intimidate the entire senior counsel?¡±

    Nili¡¯s gaze went bitter cold. ¡°By slipping a Gold Titan into the city during the desperate panic when a quarter of the city was ablaze. A Gold Titan even now contesting the prince¡¯s title and position. A vote of no confidence is to be held in less than twenty four hours, so it¡¯s a good thing that you¡¯re awake.¡±

    Alex¡¯s mind was whirling with the flood of unexpected and dire news as Nili¡¯s gaze grew strangely intent.

    ¡°Please tell me that your suicidal daring actually paid off!¡± She said with desperate urgency. ¡°Please tell me that you actually managed to find a Water Core.¡±

    Alex took a deep breath, locking gazes with the too intent kitsune.

    Somehow he knew that there were deeper currents under the urgency of life¡¯s rapids¡­ just as he knew that the kitsune¡¯s near panicked alarm was genuine and that she truly cared about the fate of this city and the people within. And the golden cord of karma he could now sense so clearly, much to his awe and wonder, between them, after he and Ya Ling had saved her life twice over, freeing them from the dungeon so that she and her husband could return to their children once more.

    Heart pounding, Alex dared reveal truths and confidences he might otherwise have kept, even as other secrets he kept close to his breast.

    ¡°We actually managed to disrupt the formation dooming the Southern rift,¡± Alex said with a bittersweet smile. ¡°Not that it does us any good right now, and how ironic it would be if our enemies took advantage of our sacrifice for their own ends.¡±

    Nili¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°Damn.¡±

    ¡°But yes...¡± Alex dared to say. ¡°I do happen to know the whereabouts of a certain Ice Core that will at least restore one of the falls. At least for a time.¡±

    Nili¡¯s eyes lit with desperate hope. ¡°Thank the heavens.¡±

    ¡°Hardly.¡±

    ¡°That might be just what we need!¡± Her gaze took a desperate intensity. ¡°We need all the evidence you and Ya Ling were able to gather regarding corrupt formations. That will throw the Duo Li¡¯s own claims of moral superiority into question just as a quickly recovered water fall will both boost the confidence of the entire population which will hopefully reassure the spineless city counsel. With any luck, that will be all that it takes to reaffirm the rule of Liushi¡¯s prince, which will utterly disrupt the Li Clan¡¯s schemes.¡±

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean shit if the headmaster is actually under their thumb. And how the hell did that happen anyway?¡±

    ¡°Poison,¡± Nili said curtly. ¡°Putting both the headmistress and her closest confidence in a stupor so deep it was effortless to transport them. And as they were still alive, no retributive strikes were enacted.¡± Her expression growing pained. ¡°I think we all know who the guilty party must have been to successfully poison one of the most well protected and warded women in the entire city.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°A Kitsune.¡±

    Nili dipped her head. ¡°Which is why it must be my party who frees her, Alex.¡± Her features tightened. ¡°You understand that, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Alex sighed, before nodding. ¡°Actually I do. But are you sure you don¡¯t want my help?¡± He dared flash her a knowing smile. ¡°This wouldn¡¯t be the first time I helped a kitsune handle necessary business.¡±

    Surprisingly, Nili chuckled. ¡°Oh, I have no doubt of that, Alex. None at all.¡± She sighed. ¡°But you¡¯ll be needed for a mission just as important. It will be up to you and your companions to restore the waters of life that keep this sanctuary from being consumed by the desert once more.¡±

    Her gaze grew haunted. ¡°You can¡¯t imagine the dread and terror a city dependent on a single rift feels when their water has gone from roaring falls to a dying trickle, and it¡¯s only a matter of time before they¡¯re forced to flee¡­ or wear chains of binding more horrible than anything you can imagine.¡±

    Alex¡¯s guts twisted at the very thought. ¡°Nili, what happened?¡±

    She gave a quick shake of her head. ¡°Nothing, Alex. Nothing happened that you can do anything about. Save come to the rescue of this city that needs you, right here and now.¡± She flashed a bleak smile. ¡°And perhaps let me earn some good karma doing my part to save this city, me and my lady both. That way¡­ perhaps the scales will balance when all is said and done and you, the headmistress, perhaps one might even dare to hope the prince himself, will see my mistress and our city as a staunch ally in times to come.¡±

    Alex carefully smiled, noting that she had once again avoided saying exactly where she was from, or who, exactly, Sunlay was. And none of that mattered. All that mattered was solving the crisis before them.

    Alex found himself dipping his head. ¡°If you scouted out the situation sufficient to know what happened to the headmistress and think you actually have a shot of breaking into a compound now affiliated with a Gold Titan, and how the hell did our enemies manage to find one of those? I thought these deserts were limited to¡­ never mind. Anyway, if you truly think you got that, then yes, I¡¯m more than willing to do my part. Only thing is, I have no idea how the hell I¡¯m supposed to fix anything.¡±

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°There should ritual sights placed at all the major compass points around the caldera that correlate precisely with a given rift, and you will definitely need the help of someone who¡¯s been involved in the ritual before.¡± Nili¡¯s gaze turned thoughtful. ¡°The only individuals I know of are the prince himself, the headmistress, and Senior Cultivator Te Chang. Perhaps his wife as well.¡±

    Alex blinked, before dipping his head. ¡°Well, two of those people are clearly out of reach. But I¡¯ve met with and I¡¯d like to think made a fair impression on Te Chang, so he¡¯s a possibility, though I don¡¯t know anything about his wife.¡± He then flashed a hard smile. ¡°And if it¡¯s the desert sands we¡¯re talking about, after what Ya Ling and I experienced and survived, we¡¯re probably more suited for traversing the dunes around the caldera than anyone else in this city.¡±

    ¡°That was my thought as well,¡± Nili said. ¡°Normally, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. But with so much Waste Qi flooding out from the tainted rifts¡­ the dead have grown extremely restless, and we dare not wait til morning.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in alarm. ¡°Shit. Walking dead. No wonder you¡¯re recruiting me for this arm of the operation!¡± He then recalled just how fearsome his final foes had been, before looking down at his own well-developed form, his changshan jacket now fitting his torso just as it did when he had first claimed a Dragon¡¯s heart. ¡°I¡¯m in,¡± he said with a nod. ¡°Though I gotta admit, I¡¯m bloody starving. Please tell me we have some food?¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smirking at the sight of grilled spirit beast meat, knowing exactly where it came from, and finding it absolutely delicious as he devoured multiple cabobs while their entire party went over the plan, after giving Alex relieved hugs or nods of respect, seeing his full recovery.

    ¡°Alex, you look absolutely delicious¡­ I mean, fantastic!¡± A blushing Linnea giddily declared, Hanz nodding in equal admiration, while a strangely serene-looking Lieberman nodded his heartfelt respect. Alex had blinked at the sight of the man, doing a genuine double-take. His body had filled out and he now radiated Vitality, looking even younger than he had after Alex had claimed all the waste Qi plaque plaguing his friends than he could. He now looked far more like a fit thirty year old athlete than a man pushing fifty.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking good, Lieberman!¡± Alex said with a cheeky grin, earning a rueful smile in turn.

    ¡°Only thanks to you,¡± Lieberman said right back. ¡°And risking our lives in absolute madness that earned me two full levels and a Vitality that¡¯s opened a path to future happiness well worth fighting for,¡± he solemnly declared, before his gaze grew haunted. ¡°Even as our enemies flex their fangs and attempt to tear open the throat of a sanctuary that¡¯s nestled us for centuries. Monsters that will no doubt do all they can to purge the desert sands of our kind with their monstrous lapdog, should they actually manage to seize the throne.¡±

    ¡°And we¡¯re not going to let that happen,¡± Alex declared.

    ¡°No we aren¡¯t,¡± Sunlay agreed, chewing on her own meat stick. ¡°We¡¯ll rescue the headmistress, you all will restore the basin, and together we¡¯ll be heroes and this sanctuary will be restored.¡±

    ¡°So we hope,¡± Ya Ling whispered.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help wincing, gently squeezing her hand in agreement. ¡°Right now I can only see one problem. Well, two, actually.¡±

    ¡°And what would those be?¡± Asked Zichen, the female wujen, leaning against her partner.

    ¡°Well, for one thing, I have no idea if the original edict regarding Ruidian relations is being held, or if Duo Li influence means that Ruidians will be attacked on sight? And the other thing is, I only know of Te Chang¡¯s official pagoda. I have no idea if he¡¯s even keeping normal hours in the middle of a coup, or where he or his wife and family live.¡±

    ¡°Within the city itself, there is no change at all in how the common citizenry see Ruidians.¡± Nili flashed a fierce smile, eyes twinkling. ¡°I have a few honorable contacts spreading the good word.¡±

    Alex raised an eyebrow at this. ¡°The good word?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°For every rumor Duo Li and their ilk are spreading, hoping to pin the ruptured rift on Ruidians, my agents are declaring it all a Duo Li coup, insisting that they¡¯re responsible for the fires, the dark rituals, and that it was a Ruidian water specialist who managed to save the city from flame.¡±

    Alex furrowed his brow. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s partially true, but not exactly what...¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Nili coolly said. ¡°All that matters is that for every disparaging tale there is another painting Ruidians as heroes, both true and exaggerated, with every suspicion we have regarding the Duo Li¡¯s involvement now being whispered amongst the poorer quarters as if absolute fact.¡± She flashed a fierce smile. ¡°A reality that frustrates Xuon Li and the would-be headmaster to no end, let me assure you.¡±

    Her twinkling eyes then grew grave. ¡°As for the school itself¡­ even in the midst of a coup, few cultivators are as callous and selfish as our enemies hope, and more practically speaking, most are wary of tainting themselves with bad karma when it¡¯s clear as day that Ruidians are half the reason why this city remains standing at all. But the best you should hope for is for cultivators to embrace the same role as they have with your kind daring so many dangerous rifts over the years. Looking the other way and pretend they haven¡¯t seen you, though a few might go out of their way to advise you to leave the city as fast as you can. Certainly the college grounds. Just to be safe.¡±

    Sunlay¡¯s eyes flashed. ¡°But you¡¯d damn well be ready to fight. Because if the cultivators you run into are Duo Li pawns, you¡¯d better believe they¡¯ll try to arrest you¡­ before ripping open your throat in the nearest abandoned alley that they can find.¡±

    Alex nodded his understanding. ¡°So, it¡¯s take no prisoners then. My favorite type of engagement.¡± He quickly summoned his fangtiang ji from his storage ring, and then his dao as well. ¡°We know who our enemy is. If they dare to make a move, we all know how it has to end. Good. That keeps things simple.¡±

    Still, even as he said the words, he noted the sudden tension in the air. Which was strange, he thought. Considering what they had all been through and just how high the stakes were, he was surprised that any of them might flinch at a little bit of bloodshed. Then a strained whisper clarified their source of alarm.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Nili?¡±

    ¡°Did you actually fuse a Dark Qi jewel to the pommel of your dao?¡±

    Alex flashed a fierce smile. ¡°Damn right I did. And it helped me bag and tag some very big game.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. But I wouldn¡¯t wear that openly. The sight of a source of so much meridian-damaging waste will alarm most.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s not giving off any dark mana at all!¡± Linnea hastily assured. ¡°At least, none that I can sense...¡±

    Alex nodded, though he was quietly surprised to find that the jewel radiated mana as well as Dark Qi. Or maybe Dark Qi crossed the metaphysical spectrum somehow? He then pushed such thoughts aside. Speculations for another day. ¡°The tiny amount leaking out as I hold it is all sort of, well, let¡¯s just say I¡¯m grounding it. As long as the hilt¡¯s in my hand or the blade¡¯s resting at my hip, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for anyone, even if they aren¡¯t party-linked to me.¡±

    But all Nili had to do was gesture to her companions for Alex to realize just how unusual his sangfroid approach to Dark Qi truly was. He couldn¡¯t help but note the wujens¡¯ looks of horror and Sunlay¡¯s strained expression, despite the fierce gratitude he so clearly saw in her gaze. Even the protective way that the bear-like Quing Da held his diminutive wife close while also blocking Princess Sunlay from direct exposure with his body made it was painfully clear to Alex just how troubling the sight of his weapon was to anyone who understood the significance of the sparkling obsidian jewel he had so casually fastened as a pommel to his blade.

    Alex sighed and bowed his head, putting his deadly prize back inside his storage ring. ¡°Fair point,¡± he conceded. ¡°I suppose our next step is simply figuring out where our targets are¡­ and from there, doing our part to save both city and school.¡±

    ¡°Actually, that shouldn¡¯t be too much trouble,¡± Ya Ling said. ¡°I mean, for Senior cultivator Te Chang at least.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Really.¡±

    ¡°Yes. For the most part, everyone¡¯s straddling the line. Going through the motions of every day expectations, so no matter who ends up on top¡­ they all survive the upheaval, so long as they follow their expected roles. I¡¯ll bet Te Chang¡¯s in his office, same as always, even if things might be a bit¡­ tense, and we¡¯ll have to be careful heading there.¡±

    Alex took a deep breath, then nodded his head. ¡°Well then, I guess there¡¯s no time like the present.¡±

    He met Sunlay¡¯s gaze. ¡°It¡¯s been an honor to fight by your side.¡±

    The smile she gave him was both bright and heartfelt. He understood the twinge of bittersweet regret he saw in her gaze. If anything, it relieved him to see it, proving that his sense of her character hadn¡¯t been misplaced. What he hadn¡¯t expected was the 90 degree bow, or the intensity of her gratitude when she met his gaze once more. ¡°Thank you, Alex. You¡¯ve done more for me than I can ever put into words. Just know that I¡¯m extremely grateful, and that you and your kind will always be welcome within Guanshi City.¡±

    Seeing the alarmed look in Quing Da¡¯s gaze, Nili herself radiating rare consternation, Alex made sure that his bow matched her own. ¡°You are more than welcome, Sunlay. May parched lands be renewed with water, life, and hope for your people.¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡± Linnea¡¯s panicked voice was instantly soothed by Alex¡¯s smile.

    No matter the sudden tension he could cut with a knife.

    Near half a dozen grins frozen on countenances radiating sudden desperate intensity.

    Yet Alex¡¯s serene smile remained firmly in place.

    Of course it was Nili who broke the tense silence with a rueful chuckle, still safely tucked in her husband¡¯s arms. ¡°So, you know. Of course you know. Who better than my ultimate father¡¯s favored disciple to pierce the schemes of desperate rulers and doomed kingdoms?¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. She turned to Alex, blanching and stepping back from whatever it was that she saw.

    Which Alex thought more than a bit strange. He was exactly the same as he had been just days before. Even if a bit, more, well, muscly. But after what she had seen of his abilities when death¡¯s dice were rattling¡­ a single offhand comment was what threw her off her game? Alex quietly snorted.

    The wujen blanched simultaneously. Sunlay was now gazing at Alex with surprised consideration and more than a little bit of awe.

    ¡°Is it true?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Does it matter? I¡¯d say the past is a lot less relevant than our present dilemma. And as to your own city¡¯s dilemma¡­ Let¡¯s just say I understand. Whereas our water supply was cut in half, we still have two rivers flowing, and you have a city in dire peril with no time to waste.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I...¡± Sunlay¡¯s cheeks flushed, all the more so under Ya Ling¡¯s look of hurt betrayal.

    ¡°So, you do have a Water core!¡± Ya Ling hissed, eyes alight with fierce intensity.

    ¡°Of course they do,¡± Alex soothed. ¡°They have a Water core and a city of at least a hundred thousand that¡¯s living on the final dregs of their cistern from a rift that will soon dry up completely, if it hasn¡¯t already.¡± Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Where we have to deal with the perils of a hostile coup and psychopaths who would gladly purge their political enemies, her people must deal with the dire threat of death within a matter weeks, I¡¯m guessing, at best.¡±

    ¡°Either that or wear the slave collars of the bastards who would claim us all,¡± Sunlay cursed under her breath.

    Alex flashed a sympathetic smile. ¡°I¡¯m guessing a bleak and bitter tale haunts your past as well. And perhaps there will be time to share it. One day. But right now we have a city to save, right here and now¡­ and our friends do as well.¡±

    Sunlay¡¯s cheeks flushed. She flowed into a bow that was so close to dogeza that Alex immediately jerked her back to her feet, moving even faster than a hissing Quing Da could react. Though Alex was surprised to see tears in her eyes when she caught his gaze.

    ¡°I know exactly how fast and strong you were just four days ago, Alex Hammer. Yet you lift me as gracefully as a master of motion about to to Ascend as a Giant¡­ and your Strength is already there.¡±

    She shook her head in awe. ¡°You ascended from mid-bronze to Silver after enduring a rift that would and should have doomed all of us that weren¡¯t Gold. Would have doomed us if you and your desert rose, so attuned to Wind and Sand, hadn¡¯t risked so much to save us.¡± She blinked back tears Alex never expected to see. ¡°My dearest confident and guardian is right, isn¡¯t she? You really are, well, him.¡±

    Alex swallowed, but knew better than to deny it. ¡°And that is a secret I pray you will all keep silent, lest the desert winds alert ears far less friendly than your own.¡±

    Ya Ling trembled, turning to gaze at him with a strange vulnerability he had never expected to see in her eyes. Tears flowing freely as shaking fingertips gently stroked his cheeks. ¡°I had thought¡­ we had all thought your kind had abandoned us when the forests were consumed by desert, countless centuries ago.¡±

    Alex chuckled ruefully. ¡°All I can tell you, kung fu sister, is that I awoke from a sleep that might have been just that long to find myself stumbling upon strange desert sands¡­ before spotting a caravan about to get ambushed. Everything after that moment, you know just as well as I.¡±

    Ya Ling just stared, looking at him with the same wide-eyed disbelief as a girl witnessing a figure from her favorite fairy tale suddenly coming to life. ¡°Alex...¡±

    He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, leading her and his quite Ruidian companions free of the shelter that had hid them so well. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s head back to the manor. There¡¯s something we need to pick up first, before we talk to Senior Cultivator Te Chang.¡±

    ¡°But Alex, what about...¡±

    He shook his head, giving a solemn-looking Nili and Sunlay a grateful smile. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is that our new friends now have the means to save their own city and will do their best to rescue our headmaster, and no doubt any other captured innocents trapped on Duo Li property as a way to balance the karmic scales between us, and do their part for the sake of Liushi.¡±

    Quing Da¡¯s expressive eyebrows rose. ¡°We swore to no such...¡± His wife smacked his chest before bowing her head Alex¡¯s way. ¡°So long as I can keep my wards safe, Alex Hammer, we will do our utmost for your school. On that, you have my word.¡±

    Alex dipped his head in turn. ¡°For that I thank you, Nili, Lady Sunlay, and the rest of your noble crew. Farewell!¡± Raising his fist in a warrior¡¯s salute, Alex then turned back around and left their hidden sanctuary for what he suspected would be the final time. Perception and Forest Sense both lead him to the scrabble switchback path through the thick grass tended by goats, the plants hearty enough to thrive on damp morning and evening dew alone, it seemed, as they quickly scrabbled back up the caldera rim.

    And even if Linnea almost slipped off entirely with a panicked cry, Alex prudently kept himself behind all his friends, finding it far easier to play the hero here, on a too steep caldera slope, than bracing his friends against the spiritual weight of golden steps spiraling upwards to the heavens above.

 Book 8 - Chapter 86

    ¡°We made it!¡± Linnea gave a thankful groan as she scrabbled up the last of the ascent, earning quiet nods from Hanz and Lieberman and a gentle pat from Alex, though Ya Ling had flowed up the side as effortlessly as a squirrel.

    ¡°Trust me, there are far worse ascents. Now come on. With any luck, we¡¯ll be able to get to the compound without any interference at all.¡±

    And much to Alex¡¯s relief, the cloak of night, even with a star-filled sky, was more than enough to slip through the college grounds all but unnoticed. The handful of students who weren¡¯t feeling the tension pressing against the foundations of most still knew better than to do anything but hurry on their way without even glancing in their direction. And with Qi Perception now giving him an 80 yard radius sense of where any soul radiating a cultivator¡¯s potency might be, it was almost effortless for Alex and his friends to avoid stray gazes that would probably be as happy as not to avoid all trouble and pretend they hadn¡¯t seen a thing.

    Or so things stood until the Wu clan pagoda was finally in sight.

    But just as Ya Ling gave a happy squeal, clearly eager to race inside and greet her grandparents, Alex quickly held her back, spotting the pair of figures callously tearing up the garden that he had put so much time and effort into restoring.

    ¡°It¡¯s not here!¡± snarled an unfamiliar voice as Alex raised his fist, his linked party immediately sinking into squats behind a thorny hedge, not making a sound.

    ¡°You want to tell Xuon Li that? Feel free,¡± said another voice with a snort. ¡°But the kitsune bitch spying for our masters made it clear that there¡¯s a prize to be found here, and if we want to shine in Xuon¡¯s eyes, we damn well better find it!¡±

    Ya Ling froze, eyes wide with a sudden sense of betrayal, but Alex frowned. It was true that Nili was both skilled, resourceful, and the head of another city¡¯s JiangHu sect. Which definitely pointed to a certain willingness for ruthless efficiency. But to so blatantly betray them, and use such amateur buffoons while doing so? Clearly there was more to what was before them than met the eye. And she was clearly far more than any Duo Li clan lackey.

    So even as Ya Ling trembled with rage, Alex gently shook his head. ¡°Wait.¡± Even if she was unable to read his thoughts, their party bonding in that perilous rift had at least gifted them with a shared emotional connection. She sensed his hesitation, and his suspicion, slowly loosening her outrage.

    If worst came to worst, his foes would unveil the very prize he had come there for, and depending on the party they brought it to, it might end a very bitter and bloody night indeed.

    But Alex sure as hell hoped things wouldn¡¯t skew that far from the trust, and honor, he had been so ready to honor Sunlay¡¯s party with. Still hoped to honor her and Nili with, certain that they were worth it.

    And his choice to wait bore unexpected fruit, even if not quite in the way he had expected.

    ¡°You fools better find the prize our clan alone is fit to claim, or shining in our master¡¯s eyes will be the least of your worries,¡± declared a chill voice hidden in Shadow until suddenly, thanks to Forest Sense, Qi Perception, and Linnea¡¯s integrated infravision as Alex embraced their shared gestalt once more, he and the three Ruidians linked to him were suddenly aware of three additional players steeped in darkness, all of them radiating the potency of Deepest Bronze, just a heartbeat away from Silver. Serious heavy hitters, in this time and place.

    ¡°And pray I choose to forgive you using our master¡¯s name so lightly,¡± the cold sneering voice continued. ¡°Our lord doesn¡¯t tolerate failure from those who dare presume themselves worthy of our clan. So unless you wish to find yourselves exiled naked to the desert sands by first light, you will find that damned core! Garden or house, hounds, you will use your affinities for Wood to track it down!¡±

    ¡°Yes, at once, Lord Gui!¡± assured the now panicked pair, voices formerly filled with avarice now laden with anxious panic that Alex sensed pleased the coldly smiling trio of cultivators armed with bladed staves as well as blackened suits of spirit beast hide lamellar armor as the tallest of the trio addressed the one who had spoken for them.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a full day since that bitch reported, and I see no sign of any prizes, Ruidians, or Wu Clan allies stopping by. I suspect the fox-blood made up tales to entice, to slip into our master¡¯s good graces just as these desperate hounds are so eager to do.¡±

    He frowned when the man beside him gave a curt shake of his head.

    ¡°Qing Wu¡¯s granddaughter is still unaccounted for, and the prize being offered by Prince Wonang is one that our master is most interested in, so we will wait until he says otherwise,¡± declared the clear leader of the three, rubbing his mustache and chuckling coldly. ¡°If all goes well, he will be declared headmaster by the new prince by first light and we will finally be permitted to end this farce and take the lead in purging this school of the unworthy.¡±

    Alex felt a chill with those words, softly spoken as they had been, and Ya Ling as well, tensing as the Wind whispered its secrets.

    ¡°They captured my grandparents!¡± a panicked Ya Ling hissed.

    Alex silently nodded. A tiny corner of his mind prayed that they were being safely contained beside the headmaster, and that Nili would free them as well as their main objective in her unspoken mission to prove her and her mistress worthy of the priceless Water Core they had silently claimed from the prizes seized from the sand worms for the sake of their own city, but Alex knew that was a desperate hope.

    In all likelihood, their enemies had struck Elder Wu and his wife completely unawares, while Alex and his companions were desperately delving for cores. And what a fool Alex had been, to have assumed that the original trio of assholes was anything but an opening move. It didn¡¯t matter if Elder Wu was in a delicate position, his recent healing needing a healer¡¯s touch and perhaps a wife¡¯s love. If anything, that should have made Alex hold off. Delay for a couple more precious hours. How could he have been so stupid as to not even give them warning? To assume they could protect themselves, to not insist that they come along?

    Alex silently castigated himself in his own mind as he clenched his trembling fists, barely hearing the voices of the pair of Duo Li hounds daring to tear up the garden he had tended to so tenderly, just a handful of days ago.

    ¡°Yuchun, what did you do? The Copper Root vines are writhing!¡±

    ¡°I did nothing, it¡¯s the wind, idiot¡­ and look, there¡¯s the prize! Under the roots of the¡­ Aagh!¡±

    A surprised scream cut off to a choking gurgle as Alex took advantage of the sudden distraction of the trio of heavily armed sentinels, coldblooded killers working for the Duo Li clan, now turning to glare in the direction of the pair of writhing men.

    ¡°What the hell are you fools doing? You¡¯d better be finding that core!¡± Snarled the scowling lead.

    His second turned to him, no longer leaning on his bladed staff as he frowned, peering at the furiously rustling garden.

    ¡°I think those fools triggered a ward.¡±

    This earned a cold chuckle. ¡°Then they better cut themselves free and get back to work! Master Xuon doesn¡¯t take ki---¡± His words abruptly cut off with a read flute¡¯s mournful whistle, frantic hands desperately grabbing for the spurting wound in his throat as he crashed to his knees, mouth wide open in horror as steel flashed through the air faster than the pair of thugs by his side could blink.

    Yet they were Deepest Bronze. Professional soldiers who immediately raised their weapons in overhand grips as their leader collapsed, eyes peering desperately in the wildly writhing garden they now found themselves in, their shuffling feet tripping over roots and blades of grass as a snarled curse became a shocked scream from the shortest of the trio when steel flashed faster than the man could blink, and his furiously cursing compatriot was suddenly without a head.

    Bullrush! You have successfully pivoted behind your opponents!

    Piercing Strike ruptures Lesser Qi Wards.

    Your fangtian ji flows effortlessly in your grip!

    You have successfully decapitated your opponent with Silver-tier Strength and martial skills alone!

    The final would-be killer¡¯s scream as he gazed wide-eyed at his slumped over companion spurting blood from his neck and the monstrous glaring Ruidian with hair like the sun and sky-blue eyes promising final judgment glaring down upon him was abruptly cut off by Ya Ling furious hiss, tearing free the man¡¯s helmet with one hand while simultaneously pressing the blade of her jian against his throbbing jugular.

    ¡°Please, mercy. Mercy!¡± The man sobbed against the background screams and choking gurgles from the thieves now desperate to escape the garden they had so wantonly destroyed.

    ¡°Where are they?¡± Ya Ling snarled in the trembling man¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Where is who, where is what!? Are you JiangHu? Lady Ding Xiang herself made it clear that she wouldn¡¯t interfere with the coup or inform anyone of our intentions, so long as she¡¯s permitted to continue operating in the city!¡±

    Alex blinked at this, but before he could ask any questions, Ya Ling¡¯s voice cut through the night. ¡°Tell me where my grandparents are now, you bastard! What the hell did you Duo Li bastards do to them?¡±

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    The man froze, his expression flickering from contempt, to dismay, to a desperate half smile ill befitting his rough-hewn features. ¡°Ah, you mean Lady and Lord Wu, of course, yes? They are presently¡­ guests of our centralmost compound. But fear not! With my help, we¡¯ll be able to clear up any misunderstanding, and reunite you with them right away!¡±

    Alex flashed a cold smile. ¡°And I assume the headmistress is enjoying similar accommodations?¡±

    The man flinched, glaring Alex¡¯s way before terror froze the sneer off his lips. ¡°The former headmistress has agreed to step down in return for a reduced sentence for her crimes of betraying the school¡¯s most sacred mission and deceiving the entire city with just how bad the water situation has gotten.¡± He flashed a desperate smile. ¡°But don¡¯t misunderstand. Lady Zha is hardly a captive. She is under Lord Gui¡¯s personal protection, as a guest of the compound!¡±

    Alex¡¯s smile was all teeth, shining in the reflected moonlight. ¡°Do you know why my partner is resting her jian against your jugular, worm? It¡¯s so she can measure the beat of your pounding heart. It skips when you lie, you see.¡± Alex¡¯s icy smirk grew when the man flinched and paled as the faintest trickle of blood flowed from a minuscule cut that could so easily become so much more. ¡°Should you lie too often, or your deception prove too grievous, your pounding heart might just cause my partner¡¯s blade to¡­ slip.¡±

    He gestured to the headless corpse by his feet. ¡°Much like my blade slipped, just seconds ago. And my partner is far less cool-headed than I am about this entire affair.¡± Alex then smiled fondly at his blood-spattered fangtian ji, the gore already sliding free of the pristine steel of his near indestructible weapon. ¡°So I suggest you seek solace in truth, and perhaps my weapon will spare you the icy cold rivers of death that will be your final resting place this night.¡±

    The man hissed, visibly trembling as his rough conniving voice turned to a desperate plea. ¡°Please, I know nothing. I am from the outermost ring of my clan! I¡¯m permitted access only to the outer compounds. But I will tell you what I can! Just please¡­ please spare my life, Ruidian!¡±

    ¡°Where are my grandparents?¡± Ya Ling hissed once more, fist trembling with the desperate hunger to end her would-be kidnapper¡¯s life.

    Alex slammed the haft of his fangtian ji down, arresting the man¡¯s attention once more. ¡°I already made it clear I will spare you my blade¡¯s kiss, but only if you answer her questions without delay!¡±

    The man sobbed, quickly nodding his head despite the blood now liberally flowing down his neck. ¡°Yes, of course, honored warrior. The elders were brought to the innermost compound. I believe that they will be kept just as¡­ secure and protected as the headmistress herself.¡±

    ¡°What does that bullshit even mean?¡± Ya Ling snarled. ¡°Secure and protected¡­ you mean locked up in a cage, don¡¯t you?¡±

    The man squinched his eyes tightly shut, before jerking a nod. ¡°I¡­ yes. Yes, my lady. Please, I beg of you, mercy! I have no influence or sway with political currents. I¡¯m just a piece on the board of lords and princes, doing what he¡¯s told!¡±

    ¡°Where exactly are these cages kept?¡± Alex snapped.

    ¡°I¡­ know not. Only that they are cells. But don¡¯t despair, the honorable Lord Xuon takes excellent care of all his¡­ guests.¡± He blanched, choking back a whimper, clearly aware of just how bad that sounded, voice taking on a frantic pitch. ¡°Please, I¡¯ve told you everything I know!¡± His eyes lit with panicked desperation. ¡°Spare me and I will happily share the location of water reserves and resources. My clan¡¯s secrets can be yours, if only you will spare me!¡±

    Alex smiled even as Ya Ling flinched, knowing damn well when a whispered promise was too good to be true.

    ¡°Let me get this straight. You, a pawn of the lowest circle by your own admission, know your clan¡¯s best kept secrets? The source of your water, your hidden power that shines in worth and wealth only in times of desperation like these¡­ and your clan head would have entrusted the secret with anyone who could sell them out?¡± Alex smirked and shook his head. ¡°You can do better than that, pawn. Tell me who can tell us the secret, not an agreed upon ambush sight whereupon your clan¡¯s tools will use any sighting of outsiders to spring a trap of your own.¡±

    Alex flashed a fierce smile at the way the man flinched and shuddered, even as the trickle of blood became a spurt.

    Bullseye.

    A shot in the dark that had actually hit home.

    The man¡¯s voice grew panicked, sensing his peril as his blood flowed. ¡°No, please! Only Lord Xuon Li and his sons know those secrets¡­ but spare me and I can take you right to them, I swe¡ª¡°

    His words cut off in a dying gurgle as a snarling Ya Ling tore open his throat with a single furious wrench, leaping free of the writhing man spraying his lifeblood on the thirsty garden as he choked out a desperate whistle, rolling over to pin them with his horrified gaze, mouth open in a silent bloody plea before his gaze grew glassy and Alex sensed the shuddering of his spirit as it slipped free of its body before fleeing into the chill waters of oblivion.

    Alex coolly stepped back, not even acknowledging the misty waters he knew were right there, only holding a shuddering Ya Ling now sobbing against him.

    ¡°I killed him, Alex! I was so furious and wanted to make him suffer, but now I...¡±

    He gently patted her back as Ya Ling crumpled in a shuddering ball.

    ¡°I cut open his throat in hot blood!¡±

    ¡°You did.¡± Alex acknowledged. ¡°And there was no way we could have let that monster live without imperiling ourselves and risking those bastards threatening to cut open your grandparents¡¯ throats if we didn¡¯t surrender immediately, at which point we¡¯d all be lucky to see the week through without being summarily executed by torture.¡± He flashed a gentle smile. ¡°And that¡¯s why I made him focus on my own promise not to cut him down with my fangtian ji. I made no such promises on your behalf, because you cutting his throat was pretty much a given.¡±

    He didn¡¯t sugarcoat his words. He believed every one of them. And he was relieved to sense her bitter dismay turning to hard acceptance, now glaring down at the corpse joining the two others.

    ¡°They came here to ambush us!¡± Ya Ling hissed, glaring with renewed anger. ¡°They¡¯ve done all they can to destroy us!¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Alex said. ¡°They came here to claim this garden¡¯s most sacred prize at the final hour, to assure that there was absolutely no way we could save the city before it was too late. These monsters would have thought nothing about imperiling the lives of half a million souls.¡± He glared at the bodies even as thick green shoots grew in sudden fecund abundance, hiding all evidence in less than a minute as Alex used his Water Shield to nurture the garden even as he calmly claimed the Ice Core from the clawed grip of the bulging-eyed pair of men who, even in death, were clawing at the thorny vines that had encased their bodies, suffocating them much like a boa might, Alex dispassionately thought, before the writhing vines grew thicker, more abundant, the night echoing with the dull crack of bone being crushed, and Alex was somehow certain that come first light, there¡¯d be no sign of the intruders at all.

    He gave the now impossibly thick serpentine vines a fond pat. ¡°Thank you for understanding. If the city dries up, desperate fools will tear you to pieces for sustenance before the desert sun finishes the job. If things work out, the city will be at peace, and we¡¯ll have plenty of opportunities to restore you to perfection. And don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll do my best to water you all regularly, until I can find a spare core for you.¡± He then turned around, flashing a satisfied smile Ya Ling¡¯s way. ¡°Come on. We have what we need.¡±

    Ya Ling, however, was staring a bit too intently at him.

    ¡°I¡­ I know what you can do. Even though I still can¡¯t quite believe you¡¯re anything but the man I know, I¡¯ve read the stories¡­ but still, how exactly did you do that?¡±

    Alex blinked, feeling a sudden sense of foreboding. ¡°Wait¡­ what stories? And do what, exactly?¡±

    She gazed intently at the surprisingly lush greenery, eyes inexorably drawn to the pair of human-sized bulges in the massive knot of coiled vines in the heart of the garden. ¡°That.¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, it was the garden.¡±

    She gave him a look. ¡°Alex¡­ gardens don¡¯t trip people, throttle enemies, or hide bodies.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Not that it matters. I¡¯m just grateful that those bastards won¡¯t ever hurt anyone again.¡±

    She choked back a sob, gazing at Alex with imploring eyes. ¡°What do we do now?¡±

    Alex gently stroked her cheek. ¡°Just what we planned. We find the senior cultivator and restore the waterfalls and the people¡¯s confidence in our school and the prince. That will hopefully be enough to assure that the headmistress keeps her position, and if both headmistress and prince remain in place, I¡¯m betting that the Duo Li clan¡¯s influence will wane pretty damned fast, and maybe their ¡®guests¡¯ will find themselves free and with pockets fat with prizes of one sort or another, our enemies desperate for whatever grace or concessions they can earn that doesn¡¯t end with them exiled from the city, or on the headman¡¯s chopping block.¡±

    ¡°But they have a Gold,¡± she whispered.

    Alex winced. ¡°I know. But I¡¯d like to at least think that if they¡¯re trying to seize power politically¡­ something prevents our opponents from wholesale slaughter.¡±

    Ya Ling nodded. ¡°Hopefully we¡¯ll at least be able to win their freedom, if not the exile of those water merchant bastards.¡±

    ¡°And if we¡¯re lucky, our friends will make those measures completely unnecessary.¡±

    Ya Ling trembled. ¡°Assuming they didn¡¯t betray us to begin with.¡±

    Alex shook his head. ¡°I felt the threads of karma that bind us. If they had¡­ I think I¡¯d know.¡±

    This earned a hard stare. ¡°You can sense karma so well, can you?¡±

    Alex flashed a bittersweet smile. ¡°Spirit Qi. And after so long free of those threads¡­ it humbles me to feel them settle about my soul with every life I save¡­ or take away,¡± he said, sighing at the fading black cords tying him to a handful of souls that would feel a desperate urge to flee his presence, or an unreasoning surge of hate, if they ever met again in a future life, even if they were all just children. Not that Alex expected to be reborn as anything but a relatively young adult with what were now far too many painful memories for anyone of just twenty years.

    On the plus side, he took solace in the deep cords of gold now binding him to both Ya Ling¡­ and the three patient Ruidian companions that were in an odd wonderful way an extension of himself, his own mind, thinking his thoughts and feeling his feelings, even as their senses carefully scanned the surroundings, making sure no ambushers were closing in.

    And it wasn¡¯t that strange, he thought to himself. It was much like playing so many of his favorite RPGs of a lifetime ago¡­ where he controlled a party of four, and was fond of all of them.

    ¡°But we¡¯re real people, and I want to marry you more than anything in the world,¡± he sensed a part of himself thinking. He flashed Linnea who was grinning his way a fond smile. He tried not to wince at the spike of hurt dismay she felt at him holding back so much of his heart, yet at the same time that part of his psyche understood and sympathized with his pain, the grief and regret of ancient loves lost, for in that moment of perfect empathy, they truly were all one.

    Then Alex gently pulled himself free once more, peripherally connected to his now beloved companions, even as his gestalt assured that the three could continue to respond and fight as one.

    Alex turned to a still clearly shaken Ya Ling. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay. We have the prize that will help stop a coup from enemies who would gladly purge this school of anyone not directly beholden to them.¡±

    He flashed a cheeky grin. ¡°Now come on! It¡¯s time for us to save a city, be heroes, and try to put this awful night behind us.¡±

    Ya Ling flinched before giving a solemn nod, trembling hands stilling with controlled discipline as she cleaned and resheathed her jian. Then she turned around and left the garden and its gruesome secrets without once looking back.

 Book 8 - Chapter 87

    ¡°But Lord Xuon, we¡¯re in a crisis! Isn¡¯t it the duty of the headmaster to encourage as much delving as possible in this, our most perilous hour?¡±

    ¡°How many cultivators have already lost their lives to your desperate foolishness, Te Chang? Too many!¡± A cold, imperious voice declared as Alex and his companions approached the Senior Cultivator¡¯s grand pagoda.

    ¡°My decree stands. As acting headmaster, all delves are now forbidden, save for those under my direct supervision. Is that clear, Senior Cultivator?¡±

    A drawn out pause so tense that Alex could taste it in the air as he and his companions quickly pivoted to the rear of the pagoda.

    The cultured voice turned to an angry snarl. ¡°I said, is that clear, Senior Cultivator?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ Lord Xuon. Your words are perfectly clear.¡±

    ¡°Good. And should any Ruidians dare to reveal themselves to you, you will remand them into my care at once! It¡¯s becoming increasingly clear that they¡¯re to blame for the repeated disasters occurring at this academy and to the delves remanded to our care. Is that understood, Senior Cultivator Te Chang?¡±

    If anything, the tension between the pair of men inside the pagoda grew thicker, Alex sensing multiple other presences as well. At last Te Chang spoke. ¡°My apologies¡­ acting headmaster. But the Royal Edicts forbid me from enacting any pogrom against our Ruidian guests. They are specifically protected from racial profiling or group-wide persecution. Of course if you have any evidence of individual misdeeds committed by any particular Ruidian, I will treat that with the utmost seriousness¡­ just as I do when any school cultivator or guest is accused of a crime.¡±

    ¡°Not good enough!¡± Lord Xuon roared. ¡°Our city is in peril. The fate of this school hangs on a single thread, and I will not have your intransigence imperil this centuries-old institution! You may consider yourself relieved of all duty, as of this very moment. Men, escort him from the school.¡±

    ¡°You go too far, Xuon!¡± Snapped none other than Instructor Sulia, Alex remembering all too well her cool, imperious gaze. She was a woman who had clearly expected perfection from all her students, and clearly she was unwilling to accept a blatant coup right in front of her face either.

    ¡°Being appointed interim headmaster is not a license to shape the school into a tool for your clan, no matter how dearly you wish it were so,¡± snarled Instructor Rah, the cheerful arms instructor¡¯s voice turning hard and cold.

    Then Alex heard Dui Zhong as well, snorting his contempt. ¡°This is what I traded my camels in for? A corrupt backstabbing bastard eager to use the school¡¯s misfortune to grab power for his clan? A clan that has a vested interest in making sure that the rivers never flow soundly again? You¡¯re a farcical disgrace, Xuon! And my contemporaries may be too graceful to say it, but none of us are blind to your blatant attempts at a coup! And where is the headmistress, anyway? She was to be confined to her quarters with nothing more than an honor guard, yet no trace of her can be found whatsoever!¡±

    ¡°Enough of your insolence!¡± Roared a voice promising oblivion as the weight of a Deep Silver abruptly washed over them all. The farthest thing from those who had just broken through or even a half-step away.

    The air was suddenly thick with killing intent.

    Alex¡¯s heart was pounding. Knowing he was entering a powder keg¡­ yet absolutely refusing to let his friends fall to a monster and his pawns without doing his part, however paltry it might be with no access to his Prismatic Ward or Strike. Flaws he had every intention of correcting and reforging as stronger than ever¡­ if only he had the time.

    Instead his fist pounded against the door. ¡°Senior Cultivator Te Chang! We demand your immediate attention! Your school has turned hostile to our kind, so we¡¯re here to cash our credits and leave!¡±

    The door was torn off its hinges by a powerful gust of wind, Alex finding himself meeting the hot-eyed gaze of a deep wujen glaring down at him with a hook-nosed sneer that he recognized so damn well that his own heart pounded with sudden killing intent.

    The man sneered and stat. ¡°You! Ruidian scum dare to linger here in our academy after all you¡¯ve done? Men! Arrest them at once!¡±

    ¡°You will do no such thing!¡± Te Chang roared behind him. ¡°You heard his words as clearly as I. They already sense your clear contempt for their kind as you seize the reins of power. None of us are fools, Xuon! They wish to cash out their credits and leave? Then we will allow them to do just that! Or are you that eager to see if you and your thugs can handle ten of us at once?¡±

    The would-be headmaster paled, eyes flashing with killing fury as the pair of men behind him, dao¡¯s abruptly unsheathed, radiating the essence of razor sharp Metal and bitter cold.

    ¡°You would dare, Te Chang?¡± Xuon¡¯s words froze the grass at their feet as a massive spike of ice formed in his hand. He flashed a killing smile. ¡°To threaten the headmaster violates your oath, fool. Your cultivation base is already forfeit!¡±

    Te Chang flashed a chilly smile as a shield radiating the essence of the mountain formed in his off-hand, his body suddenly radiating the gravity and presence of the caldera entire. ¡°I would never threaten the headmistress. Only the pretender who profits far too greatly from the destruction of multiple rifts and the fall of our school.¡±

    The closest of the pair of sentinels at Xuon¡¯s side burst out of the pagoda, a massive Giant wielding a guandao more than capable of slicing a spirit ox in half. Alex, heart pounding with pre-battle exhilaration, could sense all too well the powerful enchantments and wards radiating from multiple spiritual treasures on the man, giving his plain-looking cultivator¡¯s robe near to bursting from the mans muscles the strength of quarter-inch steel plates at least. ¡°You will surrender yourselves to us at once, Ruidian scum. Or be executed on the spot as the treacherous worm you are!¡±

    The man¡¯s sneer froze as Alex drew his blade of obsidian darkness now whirling with the shriek of metal dyed obsidian along the edge of its blade. Even with his heart pounding with fierce exhilaration from the crimson taste of battle in the air, he kept focus, kept control. And kept his Doom Blade from extending even an inch beyond the steel now resonating with Dark Qi, sensing all too well that the Qi Drain would ensue.

    Once blood was shed, however¡­

    Alex felt his lips crawl in a hungry wolf-like grin even as three other halves of him filled the air with ice and flame.

    To Alex¡¯s fierce satisfaction, the Silver Giant paled. Even the would-be usurper Xuon paled, only in that moment, perhaps, realizing that against so many opponents, some using attack modalities he clearly wasn¡¯t familiar with, the outcome was far from assured, no matter his own status as a Deep Silver or the sneering giants by his side.

    ¡°What foul arts do you dare practice, Ruidian?¡± The man hissed, glaring Alex¡¯s way before jabbing a finger in sudden accusatory glee. ¡°You dare channel darkness itself! Admit it, cur! You are responsible for the loss of our water as creatures of darkness seize our rifts!¡±

    Alex¡¯s grin widened as a swirling storm of Water, Metal, Wind and Lightning formed in his shield hand, causing all three of their would-be opponents to step back with a hiss. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be convenient? If I was actually stupid enough to destroy the very things assuring Ruidians sanctuary and decent treatment in your city? If I were to ruin the only bulwarks against your clan seizing control of this city before enacting genocidal pogroms, eager to purge the desert of all clans that you can¡¯t control? Lest your own clan lose Water supremacy once more?¡±

    Xuon visibly flinched as Alex dared say aloud what had only been hinted at before.

    Without moving a muscle, his opponent struck, as swirling winds grabbed ahold of his hair with sufficient force to send him hurtling into the sky.

    Qi Perception check made! You sense Maelstrom attempting to seize and destroy you!

    Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection & Wind Affinity allows you to slip free of whirlwind!

    Wind Walking successfully anchors you!

    Spell Cleave has ruptured your opponent¡¯s ritual!

    ¡°Alex!¡± Ya Ling¡¯s panicked voice washed over him as he was suddenly consumed by an exquisitely controlled cyclone of wind.

    Xuon chuckled coldly. ¡°See what happens to all those who dare to defy the Duo Li clan! One way or another, we will always emerge victorious over our foes!¡±

    His sneering countenance transformed to horror when he finally noted Alex¡¯s smiling countenance, not moving an inch from the ground, for all that his hair whipped wildly about in the whirlwind he dared stand tall within. ¡°Impossible!¡± Xuon shouted, stumbling back before the crack and boom of lightning, blinded by the momentary flash only to open his eyes and see Alex standing there, smiling so coldly as his obsidian blade crackled with Lightning and the promise of oblivion.

    Alex¡¯s smile grew cold and hungry. ¡°Is that really the best you can do?¡±

    Xuon lurched back. ¡°You would dare to attack the headmaster? That is a killing offense!¡± He turned to his lackeys, gazing at Alex with the fierce intensity of warriors who were no longer underestimating their opponent.

    ¡°He moves like a Silver,¡± noted the first.

    ¡°His killing aura doesn¡¯t lie,¡± acknowledge the second with a cool nod that was almost one of respect, twirling his Guandao about his powerful frame in a flashy display of martial prowess. ¡°Very well, Ruidian. I acknowledge you as more than broken jewel trash. Show me what you can do.¡±

    Alex chuckled coldly. ¡°Let it be known that I have attacked no one here! I merely wish to collect my prizes and leave this school.¡± His lips hardened in a snarl, even as Linnea¡¯s maelstrom of fire grew into a massive pyre of death just a single whisper away from drowning them all in killing flame. ¡°But if you dare impede my cashing out my points, then your own codicil gives me free rights to do whatever I must to seize treasures owed.¡±

    Xuon¡¯s eyes widened as he took a shuddering breath, unable to completely hide his fear after Alex had so easily shredded his Wind arts. He immediately grabbed the arm of the Silver Giant who looked so eager to test Alex with a snarl. ¡°Come. This trash isn¡¯t worth the effort.¡± He turned to sneer at a completely expressionless Te Chang. ¡°I will exercise merciful forbearance this night alone! Cash these Ruidian abominations out. Give them their full worth in prizes and make it clear that they are never welcome in this institution again! And you¡¯d best pray I choose to forgive your insolence by first light, Te Chang,¡± Xuon said with a final glare before leaping into the night sky and flying aloft in chilly currents as Alex smirked at his retreating form.

    The pair of Silvers looked momentarily nonplussed to find themselves alone and surrounded by nearly a dozen cultivators and elementalists staring them down.

    The closest straightened the collar of his robe, cracking his neck. ¡°Another time, Ruidian,¡± he said with a parting sneer, brazenly making his way from the pagoda, and Alex calmly stepped back, giving the man plenty of room to pass.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Alex and his companions found themselves staring intently at the backs of the pair of Silver Giants for long moments, Alex taking a final look up at the star-filled sky for any trace of a certain would-be headmaster, calming his pounding heart with the caress of hot desert sand mixing with the scents of distant fertile fields and night blossoms perfuming the air.

    ¡°Why, Alex?¡±

    Alex turned to Ya Ling, instantly understanding the question in her luminous brown eyes.

    Why hadn¡¯t he struck Xuon down when he had the chance?

    His overconfident enemy had all but begged for death, and so many problems could have been solved with a single determined cut.

    Ya Ling knew damn well the power of his obsidian blade, humming with Dark Qi at that very moment. She no doubt recalled how furiously he had fought to take down a Gold tier Sand Worm with scales that had once seemed impervious to nearly any attack. If the two of them had managed to overcome such odds...why hadn¡¯t he done his utmost to tear through whatever Wind Wards the acting headmaster had used to defend himself? The element that, ironically, Alex and Ya Ling were now best at countering?

    Alex flashed a bitter smile, Lord Xuon¡¯s arrogant sneer something that he would never forget, mirroring so closely the countenances of other headmasters and would-be usurpers who had found themselves at just the place and time to make Alex¡¯s life a living hell¡­ and doing all they could to make that a reality.

    ¡°Because we would have suffered a retributive strike that would have been our doom.¡±

    Those words earned a surprised wince from Ya Ling. ¡°That actually makes perfect sense. I was an idiot not to consider it.¡±

    Alex shook his head, already knowing that the foolish conniver might be many things, but a battle tactician was not one of them. Protective wards he had a-plenty, but not one retributive blast that would have served as a deterrent at least as strong as wards that Alex was quietly certain his Doom Strike would have cleaved right through.

    Yet it wasn¡¯t Lord Xuon that Alex was worried about.

    It was the monster who¡¯s face he mirrored. Yet another many generations removed descendant of Lord Justice who was anything but. A bitter, spite-filled god who, along with his foul offspring, had taken such monstrous delight in countless generations of Alex¡¯s suffering. And after suffering such awful tribulations, even enduring a thousand years lost from the world just to finally be free of their spite-filled gazes, Alex now felt nothing but horrified revulsion at the thought of doing anything to ever get on their radar again.

    And if that meant actually having enough discipline not to attempt the slaughter of the one single man in the entire city with ties strong enough to actually alert his ancient foes to his continued existence, then Alex would damn well find the discipline to keep his blade in its bloody sheath, no matter how much his aching wrist shook with need.

    He had suffered enough. Far more than anyone had the right to demand of him. He had endured the bitter for far, far too long. And after all he had been through, all he was risking even now, throwing himself into peril yet again for the sake of a city he had enjoyed for just a double handful of days, damn if he wouldn¡¯t at least hold tight to the protections that assured that he would finally be able to savor the sweet, enjoy years of growth, warm sunsets, happy memories and maybe, if and when he finally managed to ascend, sweetest love and children not doomed to die to a tyrant¡¯s hate.

    If the price to finally be able to savor those dreams meant keeping his blade sheathed and marking some people as forever off limits, then he would do just that.

    Let someone else play the righteous hero and cut down Zheng Yi¡¯s many generations removed descendant. Some other idealistic fool could deal with the horrific fallout. Alex had no intention of even going near Lord Xuon or giving Lord Justice cause to suspect his continued existence ever again.

    Only then did he turn to catch Senior Cultivator Te Chang¡¯s luminous gaze, feeling the sudden weight of too many auras as former acquaintances and instructors dissected him with their stares while Te Chang abruptly welcomed them in his pagoda with a wave.

    ¡°Your timing is exceptional, young Alex. And your display¡­ most impressive. Please come in.¡±

    Alex dipped his head and did just that, waiting until his friends had entered as well before securely shutting the door. And before Te Chang or his fellows could completely pepper him with questions, he held out a clenched fist that startled them all.

    ¡°Is this place secure?¡±

    Instructor Sulia glared at his insolence. ¡°You have potential, boy. I see that now. But you will show respect to your elders, as is only proper!¡± she scolded, but Te Chang waved their concerns away, dipping his head in acknowledgment of the question before turning to the diminutive healer curled in a corner like a frightened rabbit wilting before the killing auras of a pack of wolves.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Fu Tan,¡± Te Chang soothed. ¡°We just need to make sure the chamber is secure.¡±

    The young woman quickly nodded and placed her hands on the door, closing her eyes before flashing him a bright smile. ¡°All is well, master. No one unauthorized will hear a whisper of your conversation.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± snapped Sulia, turning to glare at Alex, hands on her hips. ¡°Now perhaps you can explain what¡¯s going on with the rifts and why you¡¯ve focused exclusively on them since you arrived.¡±

    Te Chang raised his eyebrows. ¡°Sulia...¡±

    ¡°It needs to be asked, husband, you know that. Better he explain it to us than a hostile jury controlled by our enemies who wish only for an excuse to claim his head¡­ and ours as well.¡±

    Alex flashed a cold smile. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s skip the small talk.¡± With a grace beyond most cultivators, he flourished his hand to reveal four pristine faceted jewels that glittered with obsidian brilliance in the lamp light, and the lurching gasps and angry shouts his stunt earned him made it perfectly clear that everyone understood their significance.

    ¡°Remove those things from our presence at once!¡± Sulia hissed, glaring his way. ¡°Are you truly so stupid that you don¡¯t realize their peril?¡±

    Alex smirked when Ya Ling huffed. ¡°And are you truly so stupid that you don¡¯t recognize the significance of his blade? You know, glowing like a black sun, that scared the shit out of that pretender?¡±

    Alex groaned internally as Ya Ling added wind to the fire, but couldn¡¯t deny how satisfying it was for so many powerful cultivators to look at him with something very close to awe¡­ or perhaps it was horror. Nonetheless, he had the grace to put away both dao and the four faceted jewels in the blink of an eye.

    He held up a hand before their outraged protests.

    ¡°The point is that someone thought pristine Silver tier beast cores that so many of you hold as worthless, so no doubt are eager to get rid of for a pittance, was worth the effort of carving into brilliant-cut jewels.¡± His smirk hardened into a scowl. ¡°Jewels that had been deliberately placed in a cursed formation designed to flood the rift with what some might call choice beasts of extreme potency.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Or at least, that¡¯s what my gut¡¯s telling me. That, and Rank 7 Artificer with a unique affinity. Anyway, I suspect it¡¯s the bastardization of some exotic delve-hunters technique. But whatever its original purpose, the configuration is being used to overwhelm multiple rifts with Dark Qi and predatory abominations and spirit beasts as eager to hunt you as you are them. Far too much for any casual party of delvers to dare try to take on without using a highly coordinated and well trained group. Not without taking casualties. This, in turn, has drastically cut down on the number of parties daring the rifts, and our guess is that the build up of Dark Qi and Silver tier spirit beasts is causing such pressure on the fragile and I suspect already strained Water cores that are now bursting under pressure, or simply running dry.¡±

    Alex paused for a moment, surprised that he wasn¡¯t being flooded with questions or disparaging criticism. That, in fact, Te Chang and the group who had clearly been readying themselves for a desperate rift delve were, in fact, hanging on to his every word.

    Alex took a deep breath and continued. ¡°The good news is that me and my friends managed to claim the Dark Qi jeweled cores and disrupt the formation plaguing the southern rift.¡± He dared to smile. ¡°And you don¡¯t even want to know just how outrageously awful that delve happened to be. Profitable as hell, mind you, but deadly enough to wipe out any party under Gold tier.¡±

    Alex paused, and couldn¡¯t deny the tiny bump of satisfaction he felt when Sulia¡¯s hard stare turned to wide-eyed dismay. ¡°It¡¯s true. Even Gold Titans would have been imperiled if they weren¡¯t properly equipped. Or at least, that¡¯s what he believes. His foundation doesn¡¯t tremble in the least with his words.¡±

    Instructor Rah furrowed his brow. ¡°These children actually cleared a Gold tier Rift? I¡¯m afraid I find that extremely hard to believe.¡±

    Alex smirked, but gave a conciliatory shrug. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Believe what you like, so long as you accept as well that at least the southern rift is now free and clear of the darkest of formations, which hopefully means that the water jewel supporting the falls there are stable and other delvers should be able to make free use of it, with no more difficulty than whatever the norm was.¡± Alex frowned in thought. ¡°Or at least, that¡¯s my thought. When this nightmare is finally over, I¡¯d advise an elite team of Silvers to run every rift at least once, and judge for themselves just how safe they are or aren¡¯t for cultivators of various skill levels as well as various levels of Ruidian allies.¡±

    Instructor Rah grunted. ¡°What you advise is nothing less than basic common sense. Of course we would do no less, and will do far more. Now, before we move on to other matters, is there anything else you have to report?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°At this point, I¡¯m just curious to know whether or not Elder Wu was able to break whatever configuration was hidden in the burned buildings by the school over the eastern rift before the Duo Li clan intercepted and captured him. Because if so, we only have the western rift to worry about, seeing as the Duo Li¡¯s will be camping the northmost rift. Their seers are predicting that the next Water core will show up in that rift, thanks to the spiritual pressure they¡¯re generating, or were generating, in all the others.¡±

    Te Chang¡¯s eyes widened in genuine surprise.

    Dui Zhong chuckled ruefully, giving Alex a respectful nod. ¡°This lad definitely has his fingers in multiple pies, and knows far more than any supplicant or free-agent hunter should. I wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised if he has kitsune blood flowing in his veins, along with everything else!¡±

    His gaze then turned mournful. ¡°Unfortunately, we don¡¯t know Elder Wu¡¯s fate. All we know for sure with your grandparents, Ya Ling, is that the group they were a part of never returned to the school, and that bastard aping a headmaster¡¯s airs declared with far too cocky a smile that agents attempting to sabotage our rifts have been caught and scheduled for execution.¡±

    Ya Ling paled at those words. ¡°No. They wouldn¡¯t dare!¡±

    ¡°It will be alright, child,¡± Te Chang soothed. ¡°I¡¯ve already put in the school¡¯s formal protest to any presumptuous execution and demanded a full trial with all accused parties given the opportunity to defend themselves from accusations levied against them. That should manage to stay any snap decisions for at least a short while. And as soon as our just and honorable prince manages to weather the storm of accusations being levied against him, I have not doubt that we will be able to clear these matters up in a matter of hours.¡± He bowed his head in genuine gratitude. ¡°If you and your companions would sketch for me exactly what the tainted formations looked like, that will aid our cause tremendously and allow us to focus our efforts on purging the rifts of taints, as well as helping to stave off the persecution of the very delvers daring so much to save our revered institution.¡±

    Yet Sulia was giving a bitter shake of his head. ¡°All that depends on our prince keeping his throne. With two waterfalls down, the odds of that are increasingly uncertain. Especially with a Gold Titan appearing out of nowhere to make a bid for the seat! That bastard Xuon set us all up perfectly, revealing the veil covering our greatest failing just as a second waterfall failed. And now we find out that there are foul rituals behind it all. Of course there are! And only a fool would think that bastard uninvolved!¡±

    Alex locked gazes with the distraught woman. ¡°In your opinion, what are the odds of the prince keeping his seat if we manage to restore one of the waterfalls?¡±

    This earned Alex the piercing stares of all the senior cultivators present.

    Te Chang¡¯s gaze grew desperate. ¡°Alex, if you know anything that could lead us to a core¡­¡±

    ¡°That would make all the difference in the world, boy!¡± Dui Zhong assured.

    Instructor Rah nodded. ¡°It would dispel the most dire fears infecting the populace. If we could revive even one of the falls that ran dry, it would be effortless to assure that it was all thanks to the prince, and we just need a bit more time. And with rumors now swirling about the western quarter of the city painting the Duo Li clan in a less than favorable light from some benevolent power¡­ it would be effortless to shift blame to them, or at least muddy the waters sufficient that their own attempts to seize the reins of authority are thwarted. Especially with evidence of faceted Waste Qi jewels that only a fool would think lacks significance¡­ and by the design I see dear Ya Ling transcribing, yes, that looks very much like an infernal pentagram. Don¡¯t ask how I know this. All that matters is that a case can be made that our would-be saviors are, in fact, the villains we all know them to be, and we just need a little bit of time to foil their plots and set the world right once more.¡±

    ¡°But none of that does us a lick of good if we lack any Water cores,¡± Sulia said bitterly, the tired stares and bitter shakes of her companions¡¯ heads emphasizing that bitter truth above all others.

    To which Alex flashed a Cheshire grin. ¡°Sadly, my hand lacks any Water Core to wash away all our city¡¯s problems.¡±

    Te Chang gave him a pointed look. ¡°Then why are you smiling?¡±

    With a flourish, Alex revealed his prize, the cool white glow freezing near everyone silent as stoic shells of fatalistic acceptance cracked open with the bittersweet flames of hope unexpectedly rekindled.

    ¡°Because I have Ice instead.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 88

    Lady Sulia gazed at Alex for long, disbelieving moments, the rest of the cultivators just staring at the priceless core in his hands. ¡°You actually managed to retrieve a usable core that none of us have been able to for months. And you¡¯re what...¡± Her gaze was one of genuine confusion. ¡°Basic? Bronze? For some reason I can¡¯t¡­ just what exactly are you?¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°I just broke through to Rank 7, and I pushed my breakthrough as hard as I could. But none of that matters. What matters is the core in my hands. Just how valuable is this to the city right now?¡±

    Senior Cultivator Te Chang¡¯s gaze met his own. What Alex saw there sent chills down his spine.

    ¡°That bad, huh?¡± He swallowed under the tension he felt coming from both Silvers present, and the Bronze as well. All save Ya Ling, whose wide eyes were filled with as much concern and alarm as Alex¡¯s was.

    ¡°All right then, take it.¡± He solemnly placed the priceless core in Te Chang¡¯s unresisting hands.

    ¡°Alex...¡± The man¡¯s voice was oddly strained. ¡°Lest I¡¯d break my oath and crush my own foundation, karma and the prince¡¯s latest edict demands that I inform you that the prince is offering land and title to anyone who comes forth with such a prize. There¡¯s no way we can match the worth of this core.¡±

    Sulia gave a bitter shake of her head. ¡°Never mind that the prince¡¯s rule will soon suffer a vote of no confidence, and whatever prize you find will end up the hands of a Gold eager to subjugate us all, even if he would shower you with wealth for playing right into his hands.¡±

    Alex just smiled in response, realizing that there was indeed a way he could move his piece forward in completely unexpected directions. One that would tell him so much¡­ tell him everything he needed to know. Maybe. Or perhaps it would tell him nothing at all. But if it worked¡­ dare he walk the hero¡¯s path yet again?

    ¡°Damn right I will,¡± he whispered aloud.

    Words that earned a furrowed look from Te Chang, before his eyes filled with surprised disbelief, when Alex abruptly bowed his head. ¡°I renounce all claim to the ice core now in your hands. Please, use it as you see fit, for the sake of the city.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s surprised gasp broke the breathless silence of so many people staring at him in surprised disbelief. ¡°Alex, are you sure? With things being as desperate as they are, you could buy a quarter of the city with that!¡± She bit her lip, her eyes pleading with his own. ¡°We could free my grandparents with that.¡±

    ¡°No matter what happens, we¡¯ll see them free before the week is out. I promise you that.¡±

    Alex swallowed the lump in his throat, tearing his eyes free of Ya Ling¡¯s imploring gaze before meeting Te Chang¡¯s solemn countenance once more.

    ¡°It¡¯s a gift. Freely given.¡±

    The world didn¡¯t shake with his mortal utterances¡­ but it didn¡¯t need to.

    For Alex was blinking in abrupt surprise as an awed smile caressed his features when he sensed, for just a heartbeat¡­ a tiny golden flicker around Ya Ling, gone a second later when he rubbed his eyes.

    But when he turned around to catch his friend¡¯s awed and bemused expressions, he saw that they all had it. For just a heartbeat in time.

    The slightest gold nacre about their auras, fading a moment later as confused looks were replaced by awed smiles, and Alex felt a his legs give out from under him, as he collapsed in the chair beside him.

    ¡°Jeezus, just how close were you all to serious jeopardy?¡±

    Instructor Rah gave a disbelieving chuckle, for all that his eyes lit up with fierce admiration. ¡°Determined to play the Ruidian hero like in one of your people¡¯s tales? Well I¡¯d say you¡¯ve just done a fine job of it, boy. A damn fine job indeed.¡±

    Ya Ling swallowed, wordlessly claiming Alex¡¯s hand and squeezing it tight. ¡°He¡¯s already a hero, Master Rah. He saved an entire caravan. But this?¡± She furrowed her brow, turning to Te Chang. ¡°I know the Duo Li clan¡¯s scheming like the backstabbing bastards that they are, but just how much trouble is our city in, Senior Cultivator?¡±

    The man flashed a mirthless smile. ¡°Trouble enough that your beloved now glows with a hero¡¯s mantle.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened, looking at Alex with a bemused smile on her lips. ¡°Just like in the storybooks, hey, Alex?¡±

    Dui Zhong gave a relieved chuckle. ¡°I knew the fates were playing their games when you appeared hale and hearty, with no signs of exhaustion or exposure as you dashed through the middle of the desert to give us warning out of nowhere. But after tonight...staring down the would-be pretender himself, shrugging off that damned whirlwind he¡¯s used to send more than one irate cultivator screaming into the heavens like it was less than nothing, only to boast like a youling storyteller with salvation held so casually in your hand? A prize you¡¯d give with no strings at all, simply for the sake of a city in peril and the glory of your own tale?¡±

    He gave a solemn nod, eyes twinkling with fierce pride. ¡°I¡¯d say at least one of those ancient stories is coming to life before our very eyes.¡±

    For just a heartbeat, Alex allowed the warmth of the moment to fill him, daring to feel a fierce sense of joy that he had arrived at this city at just the right moment to play the hero, and was actually the recipient of not one but an entire room full of grateful stares, with oaths of friendship and irrevocable shifts in the tide of fate just moments away.

    And the surge of horrified dismay he felt then left him feeling as if he had just fallen head first into the River of Souls.

    So much karma generated, which might naturally fade back into the mists of time.

    So much acknowledgment given.

    Acknowledgment which could so easily transform to tales that irate monsters would be infurated to sense the creation of, eager to make him pay.

    Alex clenched his jaw, bitterly shaking his head.

    Already sensing the miraculous veil which had granted him the blessed mercy of sweet anonymity without any unearned hostility at all¡­ was far too thin a veil to cloak a hero¡¯s mantel.

    ¡°We¡¯re not done yet,¡± Alex said abruptly, heart heavy with the step he knew he must take before any other.

    A certainty that grew all the greater when the room seemed to suddenly lighten, as if darkest shadows had just slipped free.

    Insight check successful! You sense what should have been obvious from the start!

    Te Chang gave Alex a reassuring smile. ¡°Alex, I don¡¯t even have words to describe the debt our school, no, our city owes. Just rest assured that you¡¯ve earned a prince¡¯s accommodations, and whatever instruction you wish, is yours. Now just let me get my¡­¡± He frowned, looking around in confusion. ¡°Where did she go?¡±

    Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°You do know your assistant¡¯s kitsune, right?¡±

    Te Chang stilled. Gazing at Alex for long, intense moments. ¡°Alex...¡±

    ¡°And she¡¯s gone. A girl you didn¡¯t even see slip away. None of us did. A girl I note didn¡¯t swear any oath of silence at all.¡±

    Sulia¡¯s husband, and how odd was that? Gave him a faint smile. ¡°As much as I¡¯m both awed and humbled by the mad vision that guided you this far, I fear your Sage¡¯s Insight is rapidly transforming into a Fool¡¯s Folly.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡±

    Sulia snorted. ¡°Because our healer is no kitsune, child. She has a gift for sensing unwanted attention, and is the best assistant my husband has ever had. But she¡¯s no more than that. As for being a member of a mythical race, well, that would be quite challenging, seeing as the last of their kind died out over a thousand of years ago.¡±

    The words struck like a blow to his heart. For long moments he could make no sound as he choked back a furious bitter scream. His next utterances a growl more than words, but he forced them out, nonetheless.

    ¡°What do we need to do to secure the beast core, Senior Cultivator?¡± Alex smirked at the man¡¯s cool gaze. ¡°Let¡¯s just assume for the sake of argument that a kitsune you refused to believe in just slipped through Shadow Qi I¡¯ll bet you doubt the existence of as well. Let¡¯s even go so far as to assume Xuon Li is about to catch wind of the prize now in our possession. What do we need to do to secure that Ice core to make sure that at least one of the rivers flows true for years to come?¡±

    Te Chang¡¯s glare softened. ¡°You¡¯re serious. And you believe every word you¡¯re telling me.¡±

    Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°I¡¯m not even sure of half of what¡¯s going on, but I¡¯d listen to whatever that boy¡¯s saying to you right now,¡± Dui Zhong declared, giving Alex a nod.

    ¡°It¡¯s too risky!¡± Sulia warned. ¡°The Duo Li clan is out in force tonight, and leaving the walls is as perilous as any delve!¡± She glared at her fellow colleagues. ¡°We all know what happens to the desert when so much waste Qi is generated in so much time.

    Ya Ling, however, glared at the hesitant cultivators. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re that worried about conniving bastards we already cowed and the walking dead? My kung fu brother just gave you the key to saving this city and thwarting our enemies¡¯ plans to take over both the school and Liushi. If you¡¯re unwilling to act, just give us the core and tell us how to enact the ritual and we¡¯ll save the city¡­ if you¡¯d rather all stay here, in the heart of our enemies¡¯ power.¡±

    Her words had an immediate sobering effect on the entire group of cultivators. Dui Zhong gave a reluctant nod, even Rah shaking his head. ¡°She¡¯s not wrong,¡± the latter said bitterly. ¡°We¡¯re fools to stay. And if our plan is to slink into the city and shelter with our families¡­ far better we do it as a united whole, and make our way to the Southern gate at first light where I¡¯ve been assured several caravans will be leaving the city.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve faced the walking dead before,¡± Dui Zhong admitted. ¡°It¡¯s not pretty¡­ but they¡¯re not impossible to outrun or outmaneuver. I say let¡¯s reach the wall and let you experts do what you need to do. At least then we have a chance at playing hero, and if all else fails, believe you me, I¡¯ll pull in all the favors I can to get you and your families on the next caravan out of this hellhole of a city.¡±

    Te Chang and Sulia exchanged nods. ¡°The children shall be escorted to our guest hall with security put in place. We¡¯ll gather the elders,¡± Sulia said, giving Alex an odd smile. ¡°As strange and unexpected a night as this has been, to find myself taking counsel from a Ruidian boy, of all things.¡± She turned back to Te Chang. ¡°Husband, convene the counsel with all our allies who oppose Xuon Li¡¯s soft coup as much as we do. I¡¯ll return shortly. Together, as one united front, we¡¯ll face down whatever abominations stalk the desert sands and perform the ritual that will save this city.¡±

    The look of relief on both Ya Ling and Dui Zhong¡¯s faces, Rah¡¯s as well, was almost palpable. Alex almost felt guilty about the words slipping free of his mouth. ¡°Yeah¡­ that would be the classic side-character mistake right now,¡± Alex said with more snark than he perhaps should have. ¡°The minute we split apart, getting stuck with side quests, is the minute our adversaries get in position to take us out, one by one. Xuon Li already has the local JiangHu chapter in his pocket, so it¡¯s almost a given that you won¡¯t see the kill shot coming. And since I assume you don¡¯t want your children to be fatherless, Lady Sulia, I suggest that your husband Te Chang stick by our side so you don¡¯t come back to find his throat cut. And you can quit giving me the death glare now. You know I¡¯m right.¡±

    The cultivator¡¯s hands clenched into fists. ¡°That you would dare speak to any of us so!¡±

    Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what. Hate me all you like, after we get that ice core secured.¡±

    Sulia¡¯s haughty demeanor cracked. She gazed imploringly at Te Chang. ¡°Husband?¡±

    The man flashed a humorless smile. ¡°It does suddenly appear as if we¡¯re in one of the Fox¡¯s ancient tales.¡± He gave a soft chuckle. Alex did his best to suppress the awful chill of foreboding he felt with those words. ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s humor our eccentric young friend. Assuming my assistant is a hidden member of a lost race who has been informing our enemies of our every step for the last two years...¡± His bemused smirk hardened. ¡°Which would explain quite a lot, actually.¡± He gave an angry shake of his head. ¡°But we have no time for that. To the northern gate we go, then.¡±

    Alex blinked in surprise. ¡°Wait, we¡¯re not actually entering the caldera?¡± He furrowed his brow. ¡°But I thought, with the way the waterfalls were set up¡­ we¡¯re not somehow fastening the core to the rifts?¡±

    Te Chang exchanged a bemused look with Sulia. ¡°To have even surmised that much on guesswork alone. I think he¡¯s one exception you should have made, wife.¡±

    Sulia shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no way we could have known he was anything more than an arrogant mixed-blood before today, husband. By his own admission, he knows nothing of a wujen¡¯s arts.¡±

    ¡°Only how to counter them,¡± Alex said with a smirk, before furrowing his brow. Because with his Prismatic Shield temporarily unusable until he found harmony with his latest affinity, there were definite holes in his defenses and he was beyond fortunate that his Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection and reforged Spell Cleave directly derived from Wind Piercer Strike was the absolute perfect counter to a man he didn¡¯t dare touch, let alone kill. He had no doubt that there were countless elemental combinations and attacks that could see him dead, if he weren¡¯t damn careful and willing to lash out with extreme prejudice the instant anything or anyone gave him the slightest inkling of danger.

    The tension he was now feeling was already leaving him queasy, and he knew it would only get worse as the night went on.

    Alex winced under the weight of yet another doom he felt settling all to comfortably upon his shoulders, knowing they were running out of time.

    ¡°Alright, so we¡¯re going outside to secure this core? Now your fears about the undead make sense. It isn¡¯t just a few fallen unfortunates in the fecund valley below. It¡¯s an entire desert full of angry undead lurching through the night.¡±

    Senior Cultivator Te Chang¡¯s eyes twinkled with gallows humor. ¡°That about sums it up. Everyone willing to dare a hoard of undead abominations and political enemies coming for us before we even leave, follow as you will. Everyone else?¡± His gaze turned solemn. ¡°Gather our families and prepare to leave at first light via the southern caravans.¡±

    Yet much to Alex¡¯s relief and Te Chang¡¯s as well, if his relieved smile was anything to go by, none of them backed down. All of them made their way to the school gate we their heads held high, the haughty look in their eyes all but daring the nonplussed guard on duty to challenge them.

    But the man was no fool, only unlocking the gate and quickly stepping out of the way. ¡°A good evening to you all, honored cultivators.¡±

    Te Chang gave an imperious nod, but didn¡¯t say a word, and within seconds they were walking the late-night streets of Liushi.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but feel a pang of emptiness as he looked at the too quiet and strangely desolate boulevard, utterly free of the normal warm bustle Alex had for some reason expected at all hours of the night, like in one of the sacred cities. Countless food stalls and shop stands stood silent and empty, desolate abandoned stalls standing quiet sentinel in the hours before dawn. On the plus side, they could now increase their pace beyond what most mortals were capable of without sticking out too much, Ya Ling effortlessly keeping pace with the increasingly worried Silvers as they passed grand pagodas and pavilions on their way to the northern gate.

    ¡°Now we just need a reasonable excuse for daring the midnight desert without alerting our foes,¡± Ya Ling murmured.

    Alex grinned, struck by sudden inspiration. ¡°We¡¯ll use that as our excuse!¡±

    Te Chang gave him a strange look. ¡°What are you saying, Alex?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying that we tell anyone who would dare to question us that we¡¯re hunting undead revenants!¡±

    ¡°And why the hell would we do that?¡± Dui Zhong asked.

    ¡°For Beast cores, of course! Because what would be more likely to have an Ice core than an undead revenant stumbling about in the chill of night?¡±

    ¡°Preposterous!¡± Sulia snapped. ¡°No revenant has any sort of core!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong,¡± Alex said with a too knowing smile, before realizing he was being an idiot. ¡°I mean¡­ as far as any gate guards are concerned! Look, it doesn¡¯t really matter the state of those revenants. Or, hell, we can say we¡¯re hunting wild spirit beasts in a last ditch effort to save our city¡¯s water supplies. And slim as those chances are, since we don¡¯t have to worry about waste-Qi build up out there¡­ it makes sense why we¡¯d be daring the sands as opposed to yet another rift.¡± Alex was relieved to see that at least his final last-second pretext earned a couple thoughtful nods, even if the elders seemed dead set against even implying that they¡¯d dare hunt restless spirits.

    ¡°What matters is that, however we spin it, the guards believe that we believe it. Then what possible reason could they have to deny us passage? With the perilous state of the waterfalls now public knowledge, it would seem stranger if no cultivator was making desperate strides to secure much-needed cores, earn noble titles, and save the day!¡±

    Instructor Rah¡¯s furrowed brow became a pleased nod. ¡°Your final idea actually has merit to it, no matter how absurd it might seem at first.¡±

    Te Chang nodded. ¡°Spirit beast hunting under the moons wasn¡¯t unheard of even a handful of years ago, before the undead began slipping free of purgatory¡¯s waters, for the very reason you mentioned. Whether one had a successful hunt or simply savored the chance to enjoy cool nighttime breezes under the magnificent, star-filled heavens, a build up of waste Qi was the one thing we don¡¯t have to worry about, hunting for cores and challenges in the desert sands.¡±

    ¡°As if we should have to make up any story at all,¡± Sulia snapped waspishly, before her hand was claimed by her husband and given a gentle squeeze. ¡°We should be home with our children. How close will they come to being orphans this night? And our perilous task has just begun!¡± She choked back a sob Alex never expected to hear. ¡°Were our city not about to be usurped by those who would bind us to twisted oaths or see us dead...¡±

    Alex blinked, missing a step as he was suddenly forced to process the arrogant haughty cultivator with a mother who was loved and adored by her children, frightened for her life, fearing for her little ones.

    But of course she was. Most people had families, even cultivators. And how many formerly happy wives and children had he made widows and orphans while chasing his mad visions and dreams of ascension? How much chaos and grief had he caused in his pursuit of a better world, a more righteous existence?

    Alex shivered, more shaken than he wanted to admit by bitter truths he had no real stomach for, forced to appreciate once more the terrible cost in upheaval and uncertainty that all too often came with harbingers of chaos and change.

    ¡°If this works out, you and I will never have to dare any rift again, my wife,¡± Te Chang said soothingly.

    ¡°And that would be a shame,¡± Linnea said sympathetically. ¡°Because spirit beast hunting is an awesome way to level up! Even if my party did sort of um, get close to getting killed during our last run. All of our runs, this time around, now that I think about it. So¡­ yeah. There is that.¡±

    Te Chang gave Linnea a friendly bow. ¡°It is good to have you and your kin by our side for the sake of our city, friend Linnea. Rest assured, your clan¡¯s courage and daring this night will not be forgotten.¡± His gaze turned solemn. ¡°But it must be said that you¡¯ve already done more than we have any right to ask of you, helping Alex retrieve the most vital of prizes. Are you and yours truly intending to march by our side into the heart of the desert? With so much chaos and discord within the caldera, with the rifts themselves now in flux, I fear that revenants are more than likely to be found walking the desert sands this night, and I know that your people are extremely uncomfortable fighting the living dead.¡±

    Linnea beamed. ¡°Oh, of course! Undead revenants might be foul abominations, but Ice is great for freezing them, and they tend to catch fire pretty easily when washed in flame!¡±

    She then locked gazes with Alex, she and her relatives having slipped out of gestalt to avoid making the cultivators uncomfortable. But their silent communication was as strong as ever.

    Pretty green eyes then glared into the darkness. ¡°Do you really think someone¡¯s going to try to intercept us?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Considering all the shit we¡¯ve been through already? Almost certainly. Besides, it never hurts to be careful.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help noting that the ever perceptive Te Chang was now giving them a curious look, as if sensing their silent communication.

    Linnea smirked. ¡°So, are you going to offer to party up with them?¡±

    Alex dipped his head, turning to the others. ¡°So, who wants to be able to sense where their companions are in relation to themselves for the rest of the night? Just give the word, and I¡¯ll send party invites.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 89

    To Alex¡¯s surprised relief, not one of his companions declined his invite, and within seconds he had an additional four blinking green dots pinging on his interface.

    ¡°What a remarkable Ruidian gift,¡± Sulia said with genuine wonder as they passed under the foliage of a fig tree filled with ripe prizes that effortlessly dropped into Alex¡¯s open palm, now happily munching his anxiety away as he pointedly ignored the looks the others were giving him.

    Dui Zhong gave a delighted chuckle. ¡°Remarkable! I can now sense where you all are in relation to myself, without even having to look your way. This will come in pretty handy, should we end up facing cultivators or walking spirits.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully neither,¡± Sulia whispered, earning a nod from the former caravan master.

    ¡°Hopefully.¡±

    The continued walking in companionable silence. The tension clawing away at Alex¡¯s stomach grew to a fever pitch. His eyes flickered along every alleyway and thoroughfare, yet his senses pinged nothing but sleeping mortals, and much to his surprise, the nearest gate was now in sight without them having run into any trouble at all.

    Te Chang¡¯s pursed lips eased into a satisfied smile. ¡°We¡¯re now approaching the Northern Gate. No one¡¯s dared to trouble us, and indeed, few would be foolish enough to do so, and even fewer have reason to. But just in case...¡±

    ¡°We tell them we¡¯re hunting the dead to keep the city safe and harvest cores,¡± Ya Ling declared. ¡°That will throw them off, hopefully, even if it¡¯s complete nonsense. I mean, are they really going to argue with esteemed cultivators trying to keep the city safe and the water flowing? If they were letting you pass without trouble before now, they should do so again, even if they¡¯re corrupt assholes brought and paid for by the Duo Li Clan¡­ or maybe even the bastards at Qianshi city.¡±

    Her fist clenched as she said the last, and Alex noted how hard she fought not to spit, a particularly egregious insult here in the desert, oasis aside.

    Instructor Rah gave Ya Ling a reassuring smile. The date palms lining the boulevard rustled peacefully overhead as the brilliant splash of glittering stars gave an almost mystical air to the night, despite how serious their mission was.

    ¡°The most important thing we can do, child, is keep our cool. Though I¡¯ll be the first to admit that the sooner the core is safely secured such that no force could break it free without destroying the rift itself, the better I¡¯ll feel.¡±

    Sulia snorted, blowing a stray strand of hair lying flat between her brows. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to destroy a rift, as you well know, Rah.¡±

    The powerfully built trainer chuckled in agreement as Alex¡¯s instincts flared to sudden brilliant life.

    ¡°True,¡± he said, looking movie star perfect at that moment, not a single lock of hair out of place.

    Just as Sulia¡¯s lay flat against her stern yet striking features. Because despite the near constant breezes as warm desert sands met humid cooler caldera air during the day, Alex already knew that things reached a sort of equilibrium just a few hours before dawn, when the air was dead still, at least for a time.

    Which meant that the trees¡¯ rustling was utterly out of place.

    Unless, of course, something was in those high-up branches¡­ or the trees themselves were rustling of their own accord.

    A final whisper of warning, no matter the eons of triumphs and tragedies that had bound and broke them all.

    All those thoughts flickered to life in the heartbeat Alex had, choking back the sudden surge of dread he felt to summon a massive shield of wood. Far larger than any he had ever summoned before. Echoing a forest¡¯s worth of growth¡­ before it had been lost to flame.

    ¡°Ambush!¡± Alex cried as he somehow pushed the memory of an entire forest growing from a single dream of creation a lifetime ago¡­ before so much had been lost with the rupture of a gate, the destruction of a territory, and the death rattles of a god.

    Congratulations! You have dared to shape your arts in ways never done before!

    Silver tier Shield of the Burning Grove summoned!

    Alex howled in silent despair as the area flared to life with no less than a dozen furiously blinking reds, and all his friends startled at him in startled stupefaction, unable to process the severity of their peril in the split second they had.

    ¡°Ambush! Duck under my shield.¡±

    By the horrified looks a handful of his friends gave him as they found themselves huddling within his umbrella-like shield of spinning lattices of blazing wood and fire, he knew he had crossed a line from which there would be no going back.

    All the more so when he roughly grabbed Te Chang by the back of his loosely flowing cultivator¡¯s robes, no Qi wards blocking his wrench and throw at all.

    He could so viscerally taste Sulia¡¯s panic and fury, Alex having instantly surrendered her will a heartbeat after commanding her, as Te Chang was send slamming to the cobblestone road.

    The man¡¯s eyes lit with sudden wild-eyed fury as liquid magma swirled around the man, just a heartbeat from being released. An unexpected fusion of Fire and Earth, an exquisitely controlled man-sized ball of hot liquid death Alex was sure was capable of catastrophic damage.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    And the look of furious vindication in Te Chang¡¯s eyes, as if having found the serpent among them, turned to dismayed confusion when the night filled with furious roars and orders, a heartbeat before the sharp snap of crossbow strings echoing between the buildings. Sulia screamed, desperately chanting multiple wards as her eyes pulled from Alex and her husband to armed men manifesting in the windows of multiple buildings on both sides of the road, and from the tops of trees as well.

    Wards far too slow to stop the fearsome power of a siege bolt from blasting through flesh and bone from any but the strongest of Bronze body cultivators.

    No wujen who was unprepared would escape unscathed.

    Which was why Alex had dared what he had, the interwoven latticework of sap-covered vines catching over a dozen quarrels, before they all burst into flame, with massive wards of ice placed right under Alex¡¯s construct as a mind-linked Hanz and Lieberman instantly backed up his desperate defenses with their own.

    ¡°Metal beats wood, but sap can dull any edge and turn any blade, and fire is the bane of steel,¡± Alex said with a hard smile as he summoned his fangtian ji, not needing to mime a shieldman¡¯s grip with the ward that was even now tapping his spiritual energy at a prodigious rate, making it clear what his next move had to be as a smirking man dressed in gold threaded robes gave a mocking clap as he emerged from behind the nearby palm tree.

    ¡°Well done, Senior Cultivator Te Chang. I must admit, even I¡¯m surprised that you managed to summon your ward in time to stop death.¡±

    The man flashed a cold smile while Te Chang¡¯s gaze widened, before his killing aura flared to sudden furious life.

    ¡°Wei Gui! That you would dare to start a clan war here and now of all times. And with the aid of assassins? The prince himself will have your head when he hears of this!¡±

    The man¡¯s smile twisted into a sneer of absolute contempt as a half dozen hard-eyed men and women radiating deepest bronze, and in two cases Silver, suddenly made an appearance. ¡°Then we will make sure word never gets out. Kill them!¡±

    The air erupted in flashes of fire and explosions of bitter ice, yet Alex was already moving, already knowing what his next move had to be as he raced as fast as he could sprint, suddenly in no position to meet the charging would-be assassins. He could only pray that his friends could handle meeting their frontal assault¡­ as he struck from behind.

    Leaping to the nearest date tree welcoming him so openly before leaping from one to another and suddenly he was behind his prey, their senses drowned by the din and hue of battle and the brilliant half-dome of Ice, Wood, and Fire.

    He didn¡¯t need the ding in his interface to know that his stealth check had been successful.

    He could feel it as perfectly as any hunter stalking his prey.

    Before Alex all was flames and chaos, madness and death. He thought he heard Ya Ling¡¯s desperate scream and a cold man¡¯s laughter¡­ but all he could see before him were a trio of powerfully built guadao wielders radiating the strength of powerfully built Bronze cultivators¡­

    Before the night flashed with lightning, and they radiated nothing at all.

    Storm Strike!

    Storm Strike!

    You have critically struck your opponents!

    Alex howled with silent fury as his fangtian ji tore through the air, the closest assassin¡¯s skull exploding in smoking chunks of crimson gore. Just enough time for the man beside him to flinch in surprise as smoking fragments of bone smacked his cheek¡­ an instant before steel flashed, and his head was cleaved completely free, eyes blinking wide in disbelieving surprise as his head slowly crashed to the ground.

    Which was still too late to save Alex¡¯s boon companion from the bitter sharp steel that had just plunged into his abdomen.

    ¡°You¡¯ve chosen the wrong side, fool! Now you will suffer the fate of all those who dare to oppose the Duo Li clan!¡± Rah¡¯s would-be executioner roared, spitting in the groaning instructor¡¯s face as he crumpled to the ground, his bloody hands desperately holding back the blade from plunging any further than it had as his smirking opponent sneered and twisted, eliciting a scream from Alex¡¯s fallen companion.

    Rah¡¯s look of agonized dismay, however, became a desperate grin of relief when the twisting pressure abruptly stopped. Rah¡¯s would be tormentor gazed down at his weapon in consternation for a heartbeat before his brain could even register the blood spraying from the stump of his arm.

    ¡°What?¡± The doomed cultivator¡¯s look of dismay became one of horror, eyes bulging as frothy blood spurted from his lips, spraying Rah with bone, blood, and ruptured viscera as his ribcage exploded under the force of Alex¡¯s fist as he roared and struck with all his killing fury.

    And perhaps Alex had momentarily forgotten just how fast and powerful he had become with his latest ascension, moving with the instinctive stalking caution of a low Bronze.

    Nonetheless, Silver Tier Strength and Eight ranks of Wind Crane kung fu was more than enough to send the mortally wounded cultivator careening through the air, spraying the entire battleground with arterial blood.

    ¡°Alex,¡± Instructor Rah wheezed, warm blood pouring from between his lips. ¡°Right where you¡¯re needed.¡±

    ¡°Shut up and heal,¡± Alex commanded silently, lips pressed tightly together, pretending he hadn¡¯t seen the horrified look the man gave him when a single command to his node had the man exercising traits he never knew he had, screaming and spasming not from death, but from his mind forcefully claiming party potency to heal his mortal wound¡­ no matter what damage the crystalline override would have on his own sense of ego or self.

    With any luck, he¡¯d pass out and chalk it all up to battlefield madness¡­ assuming they survived at all.

    And no one knew how perilous their situation was more than Alex, stalking a roaring Silver tier wujen tearing through a panicked Sulia¡¯s wards of shimmering ice with a white hot drill of flame as a sobbing Ya Ling pulled free a mangled and clearly dying Dui Zhong free of the fight.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened with horror, sensing his gestalt fade to oblivion as his Ruidian companions collapsed. Alex¡¯s blaring interface made it clear that poisons had been in play from an unseen vector, forcing Alex to spend desperate moments flooding their interface with life-giving potency, grateful that at least their crystalline matrices claimed the boons far easier than his cultivating companions.

    ¡°Hold, wife! You must hold!¡± Te Chang shrieked as his own wards began to fail before the mocking cultivator who had initiated the entire ambush.

    ¡°Poor fool. Is this all your vaunted school is capable of? A handful of rats sneaking off with a prize that is not theirs, that will never be theirs, in the dead of the night?¡± The Yidushian-featured aristocrat smirked. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing my own little mouse has been keeping tabs on all you fools,¡± the man sneered, before his mocking sneer became a snarl of furious hate. ¡°Now it is time for me to avenge your innumerable offenses to my clan, and claim the prizes that is ours by ancient right!¡± The man roared, his entire body lighting up with a swirling surge of Metal and Earth Qi that Alex knew would spell the end of both husband and wife if Alex didn¡¯t act NOW!

    Perception Check made!

    You sense death rapidly approaching!

 Book 8 - Chapter 90

    Alex had only survived so long by trusting his gut, so when his gut twisted with death¡¯s dirge, he was spinning around even before a fresh red appeared on the board, Alex finding himself gazing into the twisted countenance of Te Chang¡¯s former secretary, now radiating the killing aura of a Deep Bronze with an emphasis on deadly speed, and she was already weaving past his over-extended fangtian ji as venom tipped daggers plunged for his chest, kitsune ears revealed at last from a bonnet torn free by her own darting movements, her lips curled in a furious snarl as she went in for the kill.

    Before they widened in surprise when the fangtian ji vanished. And she was in no position to block the powerful fist slamming into her solar plexus in an explosion of blood and fire.

    You have critically struck your target with Flame Fist!

    Deep Bronze Kitsune Assassin has perished!

    Flame Fist is now Rank 6! You have achieved Adept tier with Flame Fist! You have chosen the Adept tier perk: Synergism. You may now blend the element of Flame into all your elemental weaves with greater ease than ever before!

    The air cracked and boomed with death¡¯s thunder once more, the girl who had once smiled so sweetly at him gazing at him in sheer disbelief before the sudden violent shift in internal pressures caused her eyes to explode as her ribcage crumpled and her entire body was sent ragdolling away in an explosion of flame.

    You have been struck by twin venom daggers!

    You have 100% Immunity to Yellowbane Extract. You have 100% Immunity to White Willow Venom.

    You have suffered two Superficial Wounds.

    You have access to multiple Beast Cores. (All cores of Water and Ice have been designated off-limits.)

    Prismatic Fox Power Healing Engaged!

    Heart pounding with terror for his friends, Alex paid no more mind to the kitsune the moment her broken body was airborne, her red blinking light having already grayed out to the next life. All his focus was now on the pair of Silver Tier monsters still standing, trying to take out his friends under the glaring brightness of his still maintained half-dome of Wood and Flame, all that was keeping his friends from being peppered with fresh crossbow bolts.

    Alex swallowed his fury, turning his outrage to bitter cold focus as he picked his next target, fangtian ji once more in hand.

    ¡°The Ruidian bastard is the threat! We bring him down now!¡± Wei Gui snarled, curling his lips as he spun around, catching Alex¡¯s gaze before blanching and stumbling back before Alex¡¯s killing intent.

    The man sneered, shaking away the fear in his eyes as he clenched his fist. ¡°I will not be cowed by the likes of you! You have interfered in our affairs for the last time, halfblood!¡±

    Qi Perception check made!

    The ground immediately exploded in shrapnel off metal and stone, but Alex was already on the far side of the nearest tree trunk, suffering a handful of cuts and bruises for his trouble.

    Because this wasn¡¯t the first time Alex had gone up against Wujens aligned with both Earth and Metal. So when he saw his opponent make gestures eerily similar to the first Silver tier Wujen to try to kill him within tunnels far closer to the nether-realm than anyone wanted to admit, he already knew what his only hope was.

    To spring for the cover of the thick trunks all around.

    ¡°Wei Gui, did you get him?¡±

    ¡°Shut up Soh Lan, and finish off the woman. I¡¯ll worry about the brat!¡± The saturnine-featured cultivator snarled, glaring at the tree Alex had darted behind. ¡°You think that will save you, fool? I¡¯ll shred this tree and the entire damn block, if that¡¯s what it takes to bring you down!¡±

    The surge of Silver tier potency now flooding the man was enough to make even Alex blanch, and the resulting explosion of metallic slivers caused multiple trees to slide to the ground in shredded chunks as Ya Ling¡¯s shriek made it clear both that she had been hit and that, for the moment at least, she was alive and poison-free.

    Alex could only pray that she stayed that way, darting across the foliage so quickly that he managed to avoid death altogether even as a single leap took him entirely across the street.

    ¡°Te Chang!¡± Sulia¡¯s desperate cry underscored how perilous their situation as Alex leaped through the treetops lining the boulevard, desperately dodging explosive shrapnel as one tree after another slowly crashed to the ground, a night-blind Wei Gui glaring into the darkness, sneering at what he saw of the shattered cobblestones.

    ¡°Finish that bitch off, Soh Lan!¡± Wei Gui glared into the night. ¡°I¡¯m going to make sure that obnoxious monkey is finally dead!¡± His laughter only grew as desperate blasts of plasma and spears of icy shrapnel shattered fruitlessly just inches from his skin.

    The man didn¡¯t even flinch, just chuckled and spat, eyes glinting cruelly.

    Artificer Skill check made!

    Alex felt a cold chill of apprehension, finally understanding why multiple waves of fire, ice, and steel shrapnel from his allies had done nothing but earn Wei Gui¡¯s contempt.

    The man was protected by a shimmering ward of such power that it could only be Gold.

    There was no way in hell his friends would be able to scratch the cultivator before them, let alone take him out, and Alex felt a cold chill of foreboding. If Wei Gui was this well protected, if the Duo Li clan was this well connected¡­ he was forced to wonder just how well protected the would-be headmaster Xuon Li had actually been, once more grateful that he hadn¡¯t risen to the bait and tried attacking him. Because the bastard might well have had a retributive ward after all, in addition to what, in Wei Gui¡¯s case, were neigh unbreachable defenses.

    Finesse check made!

    Not for the first time, Alex felt a fierce sense of vindication in how well Qi Perception allowed him to sense all the players on the battlefield, now making full use of the inky black night beyond the roaring shield his Potency Mastery allowed him to maintain almost effortlessly, at least for a few minutes.

    He would normally have been filled with a fierce sense of price and wonder at his construction of Wood and Flame, his creation still shielding all of his companions from elevated crossbow fire, maintaining it a good seventy feet from where he had originally summoned it into being¡­ but he was too busy calming the roaring panic of his heart as he scooted behind a shattered trunk to focus on anything but the immediate hunt, sensing death rapidly approaching.

    ¡°Where are you, Ruidian, monkey? I know you¡¯re here somewhere!¡±

    And Alex¡¯s vindication instantly turned to despair when he sensed another awful surge of Qi. For a heartbeat having forgotten that he wasn¡¯t facing Bronze tier body cultivators limited by what they could strike in front of them. He was facing down an irate Silver-tier wujen who was clearly more than happy to destroy the very city, if it meant he could bring Alex down. Then it was a desperate race up one of the few remaining trees as he leaped for cover while his ears were deafened by the roaring crunch of yet more of the road exploding in shrapnel and shredded wood.

    Quickness Check made. Barely!

    You have suffered 2 Light Wounds.

    Alex did his best not to cry out, lips tightly shut still as he endured the pain of shrapnel shards tearing in to his side.

    If there was one benefit to his cackling foe venting his fury on the entire block, it was that there was no way the monster could hear a thing over the roaring destruction he had caused.

    And that was when he saw it. A chance glance down an utterly clear alleyway that the swaying tree he held on to would have allowed him to effortlessly dart down and flee this madness, and somehow he just knew he¡¯d escape his enemies¡¯ furious gazes for good, if he chose that path.

    Yet the screams of his friends compelled another course as Linnea¡¯s abruptly cut off cry filled Alex with sudden sharp panic. She, the only one of his Ruidian companions now fighting, for all that all three of them had been successfully purged of poison. It was her plight as much as anything else that compelled him to leap to the rooftops a single spring from the tree, keeping low and out of line of sight, praying that the sound of his feet on shingles, wooden slats that cracked, and sturdy tiles that made no sound at all would continue to go unnoticed as the alleyway he had been so tempted by abruptly exploded in shrapnel as the pair of adjoining buildings began to collapse.

    FUCK!

    A silent scream as Alex¡¯s heart roared a furious staccato beat. And he was now racing silently to his target. Fully committed. Praying his sense of the nature of the man¡¯s ward was accurate, Glaring down at his foe who wasn¡¯t even targeting him anymore, but just delighting in the sheer destruction he caused, faced twisted in a demonic grin.

    Knowing he¡¯d only get one chance before being forced to pay a very dear price.

    ¡°You thought you could mock me, Liushi? You thought you could humiliate my clan and get away with it? Fools! My brother will claim your academy and our clan your entire damned city!¡± He laughed like a madman as a full dozen men kitted up in bronze lamellar suddenly came into view from a side street, half armed with spears, the other half wielding crossbows held high, searching for targets.

    It appeared that the city guard had finally arrived.

    Before their angry roars for order and the sharp cry of whistles abruptly cut off, their faces wide-eyed with horror as they gazed upon a wildly laughing Wei Gui.

    ¡°Wujen battle. Get back, get back!¡± Cried their obvious leader, but it was already too late, as a trio immediately crashed to the ground, writhing from crossbow bolts jutting from their chests and throats as the dozen or so mercenaries hidden in the nearby buildings finally found a target they could shoot at.

    ¡°Retreat, retreat! We are under att¡ª¡± and before the surprised soldiers could even gather themselves or collect their wounded, the road exploded in shrapnel as the entire squad was shredded to crimson paste.

    Wei Gui¡¯s twisted face grew truly hideous as he laughed like a madman. So caught up in his twisted display of power that he only noticed the brilliant flash of lightning behind him at that very moment, Alex¡¯s fangtian ji spinning at inconceivable speeds as a whirlwind of Water, Wind, Steel, and Lightning swirled over the half-moon axe heads of his weapon.

    The wujen¡¯s eyes widened with surprised disbelief an instant before the night flared to life with a brilliant crackling boom as the wujen was thrown back.

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    As was Alex as well.

    You have successfully Sensed Wujen Ward Weakness!

    Storm Strike modified Spell Cleave enjoys + 21 Modifier to rupturing all wards.

    You have successfully disrupted a Gold-tier artifact!

    You have been thrown back from your foe.

    ¡°You!¡± Arrogant Yidushian features that were no longer unearthly in their malicious perfection glared Alex¡¯s way as Wei Gui spat out blood. ¡°You would dare to strike a prince of the kingdoms? You will pay for that, Ruidian scum. Pay for that with your head!¡±

    The man¡¯s malicious smile grew as he abruptly tossed from a gold storage ring a full dozen obsidian axes that immediately began spinning around him.

    With a contemptuous sneer, the man strode boldly towards a still silent Alex.

    Alex was dismayed to see that the triple whirling orbits of those obsidian blades would make a finishing blow extremely tricky, even if the original ward had been shattered, Alex noting the shallow cuts all over the man¡¯s neck and face, and the remnants of the enchanted amulet he had spotted, even now falling to the ground.

    A glaring Alex tossed a random piece of rock the wujen¡¯s way, the man instinctively flinching like any man unused to combat, before smiling as one of the obsidian axes managed to knock the rock aside.

    ¡°You think your paltry weapons can strike my flesh? My blades will cut you alive the second you approach, fool! So run! Run for your life! It will do you no good when the very ground explodes under your¡ª¡°

    Wei Gui¡¯s words were cut off, his eyes bulging in surprise when his face was hit by a stream of clear liquid which his obsidian blades utterly failed to counter.

    The man¡¯s reflexive snarl turned to a look of horror when his face began to smoke and wither, inhaling for a desperate scream that turned to a choking wheeze.

    Wei Gui abruptly crumpled, both hands going to his throat as he gazed in bug-eyed horror Alex¡¯s way before he began to spasm and thrash as multiple Silver-tier solvents dissolved his face. His melting features warped in a silent scream, blind eyes already glimpsing frigid waters that filled the writhing cultivator with horror as poison continued searing through blood and brain as the man frothed and spasmed, his writhing body twisting with such tension that bones began to crack and splinter.

    But Alex didn¡¯t bother sticking around to watch his enemy¡¯s last moments, racing with desperate urgency back to his friends, just in time to see a roaring Linnea on her bloody knees, no loner protected by Alex¡¯s ward of vines and flame, fist clenched as she howled, jerking down her hand in time to overwhelm the enemy fire wujen with a massive bolt of swirling flame, all her own.

    Soh Lan roared and stumbled back, yet the same Gold-tier ward that had protected his ally surrounded this predator as well, Linnea¡¯s fearsome flames failing even to singe her enemy¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Fool! Thinking a Ruidian trick can match a true master of Flame?¡± He glared at the windows of the nearby building that hadn¡¯t been destroyed by a power-mad wujen, ignoring the crumpled cultivators still desperately huddling under Linnea¡¯s weakening wards.

    ¡°Strike her down!¡±

    Immediately multiple crossbow bolts twanged from the building.

    ¡°Linnea!¡± Alex screamed in his mind as the girl looked his way with soft luminous eyes before collapsing to the shattered pavement in a growing puddle of blood.

    The sneering wujen, covered in a fresh corona of flame, turned to glare Alex¡¯s way, eyes widening with surprise. ¡°You! You should be dead!¡±

    The man¡¯s look of surprise turned to a snarl of contempt as a roaring Alex charged forward, Fangtian Ji now howling with the full force and fury of the storm.

    ¡°Wei Gui failed to kill you? I will not. Die, worm!¡± The man¡¯s hands twisted like a spider¡¯s limbs as a whirling series of fiery comets sprung free of the man¡¯s flesh before arcing around, straight for Alex.

    A Silver tier killing spell which would have once spelled his doom.

    Instead Alex laughed, unleashing the full force of his killing hate as he leaped for his target, swinging his fangtian ji in a furious arc that could have only one outcome as his opponent¡¯s mocking sneer turned to a look of horrified dismay when brilliant flashes of light caused Alex no worse than the mildest of burns.

    Soh Lan lurched back in panic, arms raised as he screamed a desperate chant that broke off in a howl of agony as steel flashed and the wujen¡¯s limbs were sent flying through air now rich with the scents of ash, scorched flesh, and blood as the parched cobblestones drank deep of the sudden arterial spray.

    Spell Cleave successfully disrupts Heaven¡¯s Fire!

    Spell Cleave successfully disrupts Heaven¡¯s Fire!

    Spell Cleave partially disrupts Heaven¡¯s Fire! Heaven¡¯s Fire explodes against you!

    Fatal Wounds have been reduced multiple damage tiers as Wujen Flames yield before your own!

    You have sensed the weakness in your foe¡¯s defenses!

    Piercing Storm Strike successfully ruptures Gold-tier ward!

    Alex¡¯s world became one of bright, blinding agony as his back erupted in white hot flame even as lightning flashed and his decapitated foe exploded with the force and fury of Alex¡¯s ward-rupturing strike.

    For long moments there was nothing but the horrific throb of white-hot agony as he was overwhelmed by the awful stench of cooking flesh.

    His own.

    He was desperate to escape the blinding heat, light, and pain.

    Yet as much as he wanted to sink into the soothing darkness calling out to him, a fading part of his mind knew that doing so was death.

    Enemies still stalked the night.

    Enemies with crossbows.

    Enemies that were trying to kill his friends.

    So with desperate panicked focus, he grabbed tight hold of that blinding fiery pain, channeling that wild energy into a soothing healing light.

    You have successfully embraced Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique.

    Skillcheck made!

    You have accessed potency to engage in Power Healing!

    Yet it wasn¡¯t his own agony that was tormenting him, but the imminent death of a friend who had been struck by cruel crossbow bolts, poison, and flame in a handful of seconds, too fast for even Alex to keep up with.

    ¡°Linnea! Heal! You must heal now!¡±

    Party member Linnea (Slave node Lin0x47) is suffering catastrophic damage.

    Cognitive impairment suffered.

    Neural Matrix collapse imminent.

    Slave Node can no longer be accessed.

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Alex hissed through his pain, sensing the flickering connection, no matter what his interface said. His eyes widened. He might not be able to force her own body to reset to an earlier state if her node was damaged¡­ but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t heal her in other ways.

    They were a party. All of them were partied up!

    Prismatic Fox skillc heck made!

    You have successfully linked all Slave Nodes to your own.

    You have begun healing all secondary nodes!

    Note! Your secondary nodes will be catatonic for the duration of this healing.

    Alex¡¯s heart pounded, exhilaration replaced by dismay.

    What he was doing was remarkable. Beyond remarkable as what had once been one of the most exquisitely complex of feats, swirling the maelstrom of spiritual energy through his meridians to revitalize and nurture his body, had become as effortless as walking. As natural as setting similar cycles of power flowing through all his friends.

    At first it was slow going. He could only restore one at a time.

    He feared he wouldn¡¯t have time to do what he needed to, sensing so much critical damage, before realizing it was only because Linnea was so close to death. When his sense of himself and his connection to his party members grew, when his sense of his own Power Healing sharpened, he found it similar to juggling multiple balls in the air. The first two were easy. The third was extremely hard. The fourth? Easier.

    Yet all the while he did that, his guts twisted with dread.

    Because the drawback to what he dared was losing himself so deeply in his party¡¯s nodes that he lost himself as well.

    For the long endless seconds that he worked on restoring his party¡­ he was splayed out on the shattered cobblestone road, vulnerable to anyone that might be lurking in the shadows¡­ such as a handful of armored mercenaries choosing that very moment to strike.

    He counted it a miracle he could hear at all, for his eyes saw nothing but the flows of spiritual energy he was desperately applying to his friends.

    Doing all he could to keep them alive.

    No matter how much they might hate and despise him in the days to come, should they ever understand just how much control he had over them all.

    ¡°Our enemies have all fallen, sir! None of them are moving!¡±

    A long tense pause, as if a commander was considering.

    ¡°The fire ward¡¯s still up. Where the hell are Wei Gui and Soh Lan?¡±

    ¡°Fallen, sir.¡± Alex knew he wasn¡¯t imaging the hitch in the man¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Fallen? How!?¡±

    ¡°The Ruidian, sir. The blond one. He charged Soh Lan. The monster struck just as Lord Soh Lan¡¯s magics took him out from behind.

    Audible cursing could be heard. ¡°Impossible! Their artifacts made them utterly indestructible! These men were to rule as our master¡¯s seconds, just as soon as he assumes control of this city. Are you sure Lord Soh Lan¡¯s dead? Not injured?¡±

    ¡°The Ruidian decapitated him, sir!¡±

    ¡°Damn it! Where¡¯s Wei Gui?¡±

    ¡°Fallen, sir!¡± Said another voice. ¡°His face¡­ I think he was struck by a powerful wujen attack, sir. Maybe other enemy wujen are closing in?¡±

    The captain could be heard quietly cursing, before he spoke up once more. ¡°Alright, you all know our orders. Search the bodies for beast cores. Once completed, or once fresh guards can be heard approaching, we slip through the shadows for our exit point.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    Alex desperately worked to stabilize the two fragile flickering flames of life he sensed still in danger of fading out, knowing he was running out of time.

    Skill check made! You have successfully stabilized Party member Linnea (Slave node Lin0x47).

    You have failed to stabilized Party Member: Ya Ling! (Slave node Ya0x44)

    You sense enemies rapidly approaching!

    Alex forced himself to slow down and focus, even as he could feel the vibrations of feet nearby.

    His enemies first checked the remains of Soh Lan, cursing softly.

    Now they were approaching him.

    He heard the ring of steel leaving a sheath, instantly knowing what the soldiers were intending.

    The cultivators they approached might be dead or just injured. Either way, they¡¯d slice Alex and everyone else¡¯s throat, just to be sure, before searching their corpses.

    Alex howled silently in his mind, knowing he was out of time.

    Skill check made!

    You have successfully stabilized Party Member: Ya Ling! (Slave node Ya0x44)

    Quickness check made.

    You have surprised your foe!

    Alex wasted no time. The instant awareness of his body came back to him, he was rolling frantically away, even as he felt the awful hot sting of sharp steel kissing the side of his throat.

 Book 8 - Chapter 91

    Alex desperately lashed out with his foot, heel making contact with flesh and bone that instantly gave out with a sharp cry as he sprang back to his feet, hand smacking the side of his throat as he opened his eyes and roared, freezing a half dozen soldiers in their tracks, a heartbeat before they began slicing throats.

    Their surprised looks turned to outraged alarm.

    ¡°He¡¯s still alive, bring him down!¡± The captain roared, before his face exploded in flame.

    You have critically struck your opponent with Fire Fist!

    Opponent has perished!

    A roaring Alex held nothing back, still not sure how badly cut he was, but determined to keep all their focus on him, giving his companions the seconds they desperately needed to orient and wake up as he weaved and dodged past frantically thrust swords before lashing out with a vicious series of overhand crosses, straight punches, and hooking blows, sending his opponents flying in crumpled heaps. He was momentarily surprised by just how slow his enemies moved before him, yet it didn¡¯t mitigate his killing fury as his fist caved in the closest soldier¡¯s rib cage, the man spraying him with blood as bent and broken bronze tiles scattered from the man¡¯s armor, his ribs shattered like glass.

    Alex felt the kiss of steel against his hip from the soldier that had managed to stab him in the back, and somehow he had all the time in the world to twist and weave away, the blade barely indenting his skin before Alex¡¯s furious punch shattered the surprised soldier¡¯s teeth and jaw before pounding into the back of the man¡¯s throat and tearing right through it all in a spray of bright red frothy blood.

    Alex ripped his fist free of the seizing man crumpling to the ground, eyes rolling in the back of his head as his death throws worsened.

    A snarling Alex paid the fallen no mind, his hot eyes catching sight of only two soldiers left. One wild-eyed man wearing a uniform fancier than the others, and a hard-eyed crossbowman, drawing a bead on Alex.

    The man sneered and squeezed the trigger. ¡°You¡¯re dead, Ruidian.¡±

    The man¡¯s sneer quickly turned to a confused look when Alex seemed to blur, clearly unable to follow superhuman quickness.

    And then he followed noting at all when Alex was suddenly before the sneering crossbowman, yanking his arm back and ripping out his throat.

    Fifteen strength is utterly unable to compete with a Silver Giant¡¯s might! You have successfully intimidated your primary target!

    Alex slowly turned to face the desperately backpedaling leader of the mercenary band, his cold smile unflinching under the spray of the dying crossbowman¡¯s blood.

    ¡°You monster. You tore out his throat!¡±

    Alex dipped his head, calmly approaching the captain as he let out a strangled cry, stumbling to the ground.

    ¡°I did.¡± Alex calmly said as the officer began to whimper inaudibly, trembling hands scrabbling over the shattered tiles covered in blood and shards of metal, stone, and ice that just wouldn¡¯t melt. Yet the captain paid no heed to his sliced open palms, just desperate to crab-walk back from the coldly-smiling monster with eyes such a chilling shade of blue, smiling like death come to claim his due.

    Then the inhuman monster crouched before him, eyeing the captain like a cat about to claim his dinner.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t kill me¡­ you can¡¯t kill me!¡± The officer sobbed. I¡¯m a commissioned officer of Qianshi city! If you murder me after I surrender¡­ you¡¯ll be sentenced to death!¡±

    The blond-haired monster snorted, before impossibly fast hands darted out to wrap around the now shrieking captain¡¯s neck. ¡°Your cause is lost and you have failed. Utterly. Your supposed leaders, high on their own power and grandeur, have perished while unleashing their malice upon the entire city block. Their bodies will be discovered, and there is no way they will be able to hide from their crimes, nor anyone who assisted them. Whatever you were before, that is gone forever.¡±

    Alex sneered and shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re no fool. No one who successfully leads men can afford to be. Even if you manage to escape this city, you know damn well what will happen to you if you dare report back to your former masters, with not one but both Silver-tier ¡®lords¡¯ you were to watch, scout for, and assist, dead while under your care. The puppet masters behind your schemes will interrogate you, accuse you of treachery, and make an example of you.¡± Alex gave a sympathetic shake of his head. ¡°They¡¯ll probably make an example of your entire clan, in fact. Especially if they¡¯re no more than basic cultivators or worse, mortals. Just to make sure that all soldiers like you understand that they¡¯d be far better off dying to the last man than daring to come back home without their masters in the best of health. So for all intense and purposes, your old life is over.¡±

    Alex could sense it. So much of the captain¡¯s unspoken confidence and assurance about himself and his place in life abruptly fading to panicked uncertainty and despair. Suddenly forced to accept that his old life was well and truly over. Knowing that he could never go back home.

    Alex glared down at the trembling man, feeling a certain twisted satisfaction as he sensed his foe breaking before him.

    Finally, the former captain bowed his head. ¡°I know.¡±

    Alex smirked, clapping the man on the shoulder. ¡°So, time to start your new life fresh. Answer my questions and take what you need, including all the coin on your men¡¯s purses, with my blessing. But best answer me quickly and concisely, because the minute the guards show up, your window of opportunity will have closed, and you already know what your doom will be.¡±

    The man¡¯s shoulders slumped and he jerked a desperate nod. ¡°Alright, Ruidian. I¡¯ll tell you everything you want to know.¡±

    First in halting words, wincing as he let secrets slide, then with a growing sense of urgency no longer bothering to hold anything back, the night air filled with words that had both instructors Rah and Sulia gazing at the man with horrified dismay, before glaring in the direction of Qianshi.

    It was Senior Cultivator Te Chang who finally broke the silence when the captain¡¯s desperate stream of words abruptly broke off, wide-eyed and flinching as he was forced to endure the glares of every single cultivator his squad had dared to attack, now hale and healthy before him.

    Alex was surprised to see Te Chang upright at all, considering the severity of his injuries even with Alex¡¯s healing, before noting the empty flask in the man¡¯s hand and the pallor in his cheeks, Sulia hovering anxiously beside him.

    Yet Te Chang¡¯s cold smile gave absolutely no trace of his weakness away as the captain flinched and sobbed. ¡°Please, I told you everything!¡± the man pled, as the air erupted with fresh whistles and cries for help in the distance.

    Te Chang dipped his head. ¡°I believe you.¡± He even went so far as to hand the man a small purse, a flask of water his wife had gathered, and a pat on the shoulder. ¡°You have kept your end of the bargain, and we will keep ours. Now, best you be on your way before the city guard arrive, or I fear you will find their enhanced interrogation methods extremely¡­ unpleasant.¡± He sighed and shook his head. ¡°Honestly, it would be a miracle if you survived to morning. So best you get going while you still can.¡±

    The captain gave one last panicked look at all of them before scurrying to his feet, then bowing profusely to them all. ¡°Thank you. Thank you for my life. I will never trouble you again. I swear it!¡±

    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    With those words the man lurched off, still holding his injured hand.

    Alex¡¯s grin of relief at seeing all his friends upright and alive turned to an uncomfortable wince as the silence between them all grew.

    Te Chang was the first to speak, clearing his throat. ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex forced a smile. ¡°Yes, Senior Cultivator Te Chang?¡±

    To his complete surprise, and apparently his wife¡¯s as well, the man bowed solemnly before him. ¡°I believe we all owe you a debt that can never be repaid. As to what happened here? We need never speak of it beyond this night. Beyond knowing that we were well within our rights to do anything and everything in our power to survive.¡± He gestured to the shattered corpses all around him, the broken ground covered in blood, entrails, and more than a few heads cleaved free of their bodies entirely, pinning them with their glassy-eyed stares.

    Alex swallowed back the bile crawling up the back of his throat as he forced himself to gaze at the remains, eyes helplessly fixated upon shattered suits of armor covering cratered chests and crumpled helmets that had failed to protect shattered skulls.

    It had been a vicious slaughter, as if by a savage beast.

    And Alex knew, as did everyone else, that almost all the kills had been his own.

    Te Chang¡¯s oddly knowing gaze grew unexpectedly sympathetic. ¡°It is only because we dare to accept the bitter costs of both survival and righteous liberty that others may cherish idealized lives sheltered from bitter realities that we know all too well.¡±

    Alex was surprised to see multiple nods of solemn agreement, even from Sulia, who was looking Alex¡¯s way with only a fraction of the horrified disgust that she had been, just moments ago. Dui Zhong gave him a comradely smile of one brother-in-arms to another.

    ¡°Truly, boy, you fight with the strength and fierceness of a Silver Giant! And I had thought you but a half-step from Bronze, less than two moons ago!¡±

    Alex beamed at those words, warmed by the solemn nods honoring his martial prowess by near everyone present. Yet Ya Ling, he was dismayed to see, refused to look his way at all.

    He then turned to Linnea, relieved to see her flashing him a fiercely determined smile, Hanz and Lieberman right behind her, giving him the respect of any adept to his battle leader, yet he sensed all too well the horror and dismay they all felt, all three of them, such that, once their life-saving gestalt ended this night, he viscerally understood that they never wanted to walk a path this bloody, or perilous, ever again.

    He nodded his head in solemn respect to their unspoken wish, a wish felt by three quarters of the being he now was, before slipping free of their gestalt to focus fully on Te Chang¡¯s solemn words once more.

    ¡°Now as much as I would like to rest and meditate until this awful night feels a dozen years in my past, a monumental task still lies before us. One that we must resolve before it is too late.¡± He gazed sadly at the corpses at their feet, and the ruined buildings just beyond. ¡°A task that would assure that the sacrifices of all those who have already fallen this night are not in vain. For the sake of our school¡­ for the sake of our entire city, we must press on.¡±

    Dui Zhong glared in the direction that the captain had gone. ¡°But what about him? We¡¯re really letting him get away?¡±

    Te Chang flashed an enigmatic smile. ¡°Are we?¡±

    This earned furrowed brows until Sulia spoke. ¡°My husband, as you no doubt noted, slipped our prey a very fine coin pouch. One the former commander is unlikely to want to surrender. Yet nice enough that anyone who intercepts him might dearly love to claim for themselves.¡±

    Te Chang flashed an enigmatic smile. ¡°And once the captain or his superiors start talking¡­ we¡¯ll hear every word they say.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, genuinely impressed. ¡°So you effectively have him wired. That¡¯s awesome! Maybe we can actually get some evidence on him, so it¡¯s not just hearsay.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the hope. And perhaps tomorrow, placing my talisman before the academy heads¡­ perhaps the Prince himself¡­ will both earn us clemency for the actions of this night, and vindicate the captain¡¯s declarations¡­ or not.¡±

    Ya Ling frowned. ¡°Wait, we¡¯re not going to take action before our enemies find out what we know?¡±

    The older cultivator sighed and shook his head. ¡°We will focus exclusively on our mission to rescue this city from the perils of drought. As to the plots and intrigue our dear captain let slip, we have no proof, other than his word. The man could have been making up stories, or worse, giving a per-rehearsed spiel setting up an innocent party. We have enough cause to investigate, but not to act. Yet.¡±

    ¡°But once that asshole captain starts speaking allowed...¡±

    Te Chang nodded. ¡°Then, we can act. Yet for now, other duties demand our attention. Arguably far more important duties.¡±

    Alex furrowed his brow. ¡°Assuming we can even leave the city tonight without corrupt officials or bribed guards in our enemies¡¯ pockets deliberately waylaying us. Or even worse, once we leave the city.¡±

    The cultivator beside him chuckled ruefully. ¡°There is that. So let¡¯s hope for the best, shall we?¡± Despite the mock levity in the man¡¯s tone, there was a hardness to his eyes that Alex hadn¡¯t seen before the perilous fight for their lives. It became clear that the master was no longer holding back his aura, when the pair of anxious guards who came racing up the road made a beeline for them, before blanching when Te Chang met their gaze.

    ¡°Honored cultivators, there has been a disturbance,¡± the taller of the pair declared, earning a humorless smile from Rah.

    ¡°Indeed there has,¡± Rah said.

    The soldier blanched. ¡°Then, forgive me, honored cultivators, but I must...¡±

    Te Chang slowly shook his head. ¡°We have business to attend to, and no time for delays.¡±

    The man visibly swallowed. ¡°But, honored cultivators...¡±

    ¡°That will be all,¡± Te Chang said with a finality that allowed no argument.

    ¡°Of course, honored cultivators. I don¡¯t suppose you know exactly...¡±

    ¡°What we know is that various parties will do anything they can to assure this city¡¯s downfall, and we will do whatever we must to stop it,¡± Sulia snapped, eyes crackling with icy heat. ¡°And unless you wish for your own wives and children to be without food and water, you and your men will stop asking pointless questions and start doing your damned job!¡±

    The soldier visibly trembled, before falling into dogeza. ¡°Please forgive this foolish soldier for questioning you. May Liuishi prosper for a thousand years.¡±

    Alex sensed the pair of men holding their pose for long seconds. Long enough that when the man raised his head once more, Alex and the others were gone.

    Te Chang gave his wife an unfathomable look. ¡°Wife?¡±

    She snorted. ¡°They might fear us, but they¡¯re not fools. They know damn well we¡¯re the ones who slaughtered those bastards. Best we get our spin on it early, before whatever carrion jackals that infected our prince¡¯s counsel put their own spin on it in an attempt to damn our entire academy. Because if they were bold enough to strike at us in the open, tonight of all nights, with Xiun¡¯s claws already about the academy...¡±

    Ya Ling, who had been lost in brooding silence since the battle, shuddered at those words. ¡°You think there will be a successful coup.¡±

    Sulia chuckled coldly. ¡°As things stand right now? I have no doubt.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Then we have to go warn the prince. Right away!¡±

    To Alex¡¯s surprise, Sulia shook her head. ¡°No, child. What we have to do is get that Ice core exactly where it needs to go. Three falls are only a single core away from being full. It will immediately restore our city¡¯s faith in tradition, their faith in us, the guardians of Liushi. We might even be able to spin the claims that our enemies faked and exaggerated the water shortage, which should quickly shift the populace¡¯s onus and ire onto our opponents. Either way, anchoring that core is our only hope of assuring that a prince sympathetic to our academy and the Ruidians who are so vital to it remains in power.¡±

    Rah gently patted a troubled Ya Ling¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We will takes steps. I promise you. But the minute the alarm goes out, the city will be locked tight. Which means that we will be stuck here. And should our enemies actually succeed in whatever they¡¯re attempting¡­ it¡¯s unlikely that any of us will survive the purge to come.¡±

    Ya Ling trembled, catching Alex¡¯s gaze as if for comfort, before blanching and looking away.

    Alex felt an awful knot in his heart, already knowing what her look meant.

    Even if the rest seemed clueless or oblivious as to what Alex had done¡­

    She knew. Or at least suspected, especially after experiencing it on two separate occasions.

    At any moment he could seize the psyche and soul of anyone who had ever accepted his party invite, like puppets on a string. Forced to dance to his whim. Even if he would never dream of doing such a thing to those he considered allies and friends.

 Book 8 - Chapter 92

    In short order their hurried pace led them past luxurious pagodas and walled off manors before opening into a well organized market with the gate just beyond. Though artificial light was minimal, the cloudless heavens were brilliant with countless stars and pale moonlight washing over them all.

    Only the distant portcullis was well lit with multiple lamps giving what would normally be just a pair of guandao-wielding guards a highly visible space to defend, for all that their night vision would be near blind beyond thirty feet. Still, word of a disturbance had clearly gone out, as there was now close to a full platoon of men guarding the gate.

    Alex felt his heart rate speed up, catching sight of the soldiers¡¯ hard, uncompromising stares.

    Yet Te Chang refused to slow his pace, the others following quickly behind.

    Alex furrowed his brow, sensing there were several ways the senior cultivator could play this. But the most daring gambit that would virtually guarantee safe passage would also imperil them if the guard was in fact compromised.

    Alex wasted no time, mentally feeling out some of the prizes he had claimed in the first desert rift he had ever dared, in addition to what was, perhaps, the greatest prize of all, claimed moments before fleeing the final rift for good. Of course he hadn¡¯t felt the need to share such prizes with all those present, for a variety of reasons that had made sense at the time.

    But all politics and potential abuses of power aside, there truly was no greater good than the wellbeing of the entire city. And if there was even a chance that a middle road would allow them to walk free without difficulty, regardless of whether the guard was compromised or not¡­

    He took a steadying breath, claiming the tiny prize, far smaller than the ones he had surrendered so willingly just hours ago, and solemnly strode up to where Te Chang and Sulia were confronting a surprisingly sharp-eyed guard captain gazing coolly at the pare of cultivators before him.

    Alex winced. The man was a Bronze so Deep he was just a half-step from Silver. Clearly, he would not be cowed, not even with two full silvers confronting him.

    ¡°It is imperative that you unbar the gate and let us through immediately, Captain Goizing!¡± Sulia snapped, hot eyes glaring at the heavily armored man.

    The captain crossed his arms, chin jutting in clear refusal, though his words were polite enough. ¡°Our apologies, honored instructor, but our duty is to protect this city at all costs. There¡¯s been a disturbance in the city. Until we¡¯ve fully ascertained its nature, the gates will remain secured.¡±

    ¡°Husband!¡± Sulia snapped.

    Te Chang¡¯s lips thinned, eyes flashing with dangerous heat.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, wondering if the strain of the night had finally taken its tole, as the normally unflappable man appeared ready to explode.

    Alex winced as the tension suddenly ratcheted up, even the captain stepping back and glaring, a heartbeat from shouting out orders that would result in a bloodbath.

    If Alex was going to act, it had to be now.

    ¡°Forgive my delay, master. I found it!¡± Affecting the mien of an anxious student, Alex quickly scooted to the front, crouching slightly and stooping his shoulders, cultivator¡¯s robes having already been donned over bloodstained armor, with his hood covering more secrets still.

    He quickly bowed to a suddenly still Te Chang and the captain as well.

    ¡°Forgive me, honored captain. My master¡¯s frustration lies with my own foolishness. I can only pray that he will forgive me,¡± he said, flashing a fragment of the shattered core from the first Titan worm he had killed with black lightning, though his Doom Strike had only managed to slay the monstrous beast by shattering the glorious prize it had held. Alex wasn¡¯t even sure if broken shards would serve the city¡¯s needs, and he sure as hell wasn¡¯t ready to answer any questions, not yet, but its icy brilliance and what it signified couldn¡¯t be denied. His display earned a surprised gasp from the captain, his voice going from granite hardness to soft wonder. ¡°Your school actually did it. You found an ice core in the final hour!¡±

    And with that one phrase and the score of hopeful stares at the glittering prize made it clear that neither Captain Goizing nor his men had anything but the city¡¯s best interests at heart. Had it been otherwise¡­ even if Alex¡¯s broken fragment had been seized, at least the prize Te Chang guarded so fiercely would still be intact and in his possession.

    Senior Cultivator Te Chang nodded solemnly, all traces of his earlier killing ire so far gone it would be an insult to see him as ever being anything other than the gently concerned cultivator appealing to the better nature of his fellows.

    ¡°We have indeed, Captain Goizing. And it is my sincere hope that you and a select squad of your best men will do us the singular honor of escorting us to the Northern anchor point. For your concerns are more than justified. Foul deeds have indeed been committed this night. My students and fellow instructors were lucky to escape with our lives from an ambush meant to see this city deprived of water and a population more easily swayed and influenced, perhaps destroyed, by our enemies.¡±

    Captain Goizing¡¯s eyebrows immediately shot up, and Alex couldn¡¯t help but nod in approval. Just because they had no proof as of yet didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t use rumor and suspicion to immediately point anyone who would later cast a disparaging light at their actions as being co-conspirators with those who would try to doom their city, forcing any accuser on the back foot.

    Because in politics, intrigue, and warfare, the best defense was almost always a good offense.

    No matter how many people Alex had rather savagely butchered that night. It had, after all, been for the sake of Liushi¡¯s rescue.

    And all it took to add irrefutable legitimacy to their assertions was revealing a single shattered fragment of a beast core that now, much to Alex¡¯s heartfelt relief, turned potential adversaries into actual allies.

    ¡°My men and I would be honored to escort you to the anchor point,¡± the captain quickly assured, slamming fist to chest.

    Te Chang gave the man a friendly nod. ¡°Your grace and assistance during these trying times will most certainly not be forgotten, captain. I promise you that.¡±

    The man chuckled. ¡°So long as the city is safe, that is all I could possibly ask for, revered cultivator.¡± He then nodded to his men. ¡°Open the portcullis and assemble the men immediately.¡±

    And in less time than Alex would have thought possible, he was savoring the myriad scents of cool desert air as the entire platoon, moving like a well-oiled machine, was walking through the sands around the elevated rock face of the caldera''s rim upon which the city had been built. A natural elevation that was even better than a city wall, showcasing just how massive a volcano must have been here to form a rim so incredibly thick.

    ¡°I can only imagine the work that went into making this city,¡± Alex wondered aloud, stealing a glance Ya ling¡¯s way.

    The girl gave a tight, strained smile. ¡°It¡¯s always been this way. Gone so far back that no one remembers the initial construction of any of the desert cities. Powerful wujens beyond the might of even Gold are credited for flattening the ridge and constructing most of the roads and buildings¡­ but that¡¯s just a guess. No one knows for sure.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°Thank you for enlightening me.¡±

    Ya Ling gave a tight nod, immediately looking away.

    ¡°Ya Ling...¡±

    But she didn¡¯t say another word.

    Alex swallowed the painful lump in his throat before turning his focus back to what mattered. The safety of the city. And for all that Alex knew he had nothing to worry about with their party mostly at full strength and the addition of the half-step Silver and a full squad of his best men¡­ still, he worried. Scanning the distant desert sands, seeing nothing but endless desert, just as he had expected.

    Before stumbling with a curse, his gaze catching sight of things he had fervently hoped never to see again.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Asked none other than Dui Zhong, a concerned look on the man¡¯s features.

    Alex shook his head, glaring at the glowing yellow-green eyes in the distance, knowing it could mean only one thing. ¡°We got walkers.¡±

    The cultivator frowned. ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Living dead,¡± he hissed. ¡°Like the ones we fought before!¡±

    Dui Zhong frowned, peering off into the distance, before cursing under his breath.

    ¡°The restless ones have returned.¡±

    Sulia¡¯s brooding features widened with unmistakable fear, for all that she was suddenly radiating the fearsome killing intent of a wujen in her absolute prime. ¡°Where? Point them out!¡±

    Alex¡¯s hand pointed unerringly to where he could sense the aberrations.

    Sulia furrowed her brow in consternation. ¡°I sense nothing, boy. Are you sure you...¡±

    Her words were cut off by her husband¡¯s hand tightly clenching her own. ¡°The boy is right. They seek to cloak themselves in Shadow, but twenty years on the road has given Dui the sight he longed for, and at this point it would be strange if the Ruidian boy wasn¡¯t surprising us with yet another unexpected feat.¡±

    Captain Goizing paled. ¡°Undead? I sense nothing. Men?¡±

    Solemnly, the dozen shook their heads, but that didn¡¯t prevent them from picking up their pace to as fast a clip as the yielding desert sands would allow without utterly exhausting the lower ranked basics among the soldiers.

    Alex paid no attention to their byplay, thoughts racing as to what his next move had to be, if the things turned their way.

    There was still a chance they were simply...

    Ya Ling whimpered, eyes widening. ¡°Alex, I can feel them now. Like a blight upon the desert sands. They¡¯re coming. They¡¯re coming this way!¡±

    Alex flashed a bitter smile as her hand clenched his own. Apparently whatever dismay she felt at his presence paled before the presence of creatures so wretched as to slip completely free of the River of Souls.

    As if she was the one sensing his thoughts, her cheeks flushed prettily in the moonlight, her hand slipping free.

    ¡°Alex, I...¡±

    ¡°No time,¡± he curtly said, pulling his fangtian ji from storage, paying no heed to the half dozen wide-eyed looks this earned him from the soldiers glancing his way.

    He remembered all too well how their last encounter with the dead had gone. How horrifically impervious they were, where even a master ritual could do no more than freeze them in place¡­ before they broke free.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Alex turned to Te Chang. ¡°The walkers are coming.¡± He then shifted his gaze to what could only be their target, seeing the spot along the sheer northern cliff face that must be the ritual sight. His gaze widened with wonder as he caught sight of dozens of giant silver sigils halfway up the face of the caldera that must have been larger than half the school pagodas flashing in the moonlight.

    He shook his head in awe, wondering just how magnificent the sight would look under the morning sun.

    ¡°Once the core¡¯s in place...¡±

    The captain furrowed his brow, savvy enough to sense the shift in Alex¡¯s demeanor. His frown quickly turned to a look of surprise when Te Chang dipped his head to Alex, as if to an equal.

    ¡°Once the gem¡¯s sealed, no force on earth, not even a Gold, will be able to pull it free.¡±

    Goizing cleared his throat. ¡°Elder Te Chang, who exactly is this...¡± The captain¡¯s eyes abruptly widened, finally catching sight of something far more alarming than an uppity Ruidian. He cursed under his breath. ¡°I see them now. They¡¯re heading right for the ritual sight!¡±

    Alex cursed under his breath. Because if that was correct¡­

    ¡°How?¡± A horrified Sulia gasped. ¡°They¡¯re unthinking monsters! Not calculating demons¡­ how would they know to intercept.. they should be charging right for us!¡±

    ¡°Actually that¡¯s not true,¡± Ya Ling whispered, wincing before the increasingly panicked wujen¡¯s glare. ¡°They¡¯re the souls of those so vile that the River provides them no rest, forcing them to endure the agony of their darkest sins being washed away in those bitter cold waters. The ones who slip free are the most evil, the most desperate to escape, and the most clever. Which mean that the more powerful the restless spirit, the more resourceful and malicious it¡¯s likely to be. Even if only one of them is that self-aware¡­ the rest will happily follow right along.¡±

    Sulia gazed at Ya Ling in surprise. ¡°How do you even know this, child?¡±

    ¡°Our caravan was attacked by a greater revenant and his thralls just days before we arrived.¡±

    Sulia cursed softly under her breath. ¡°Husband, this cannot stand. We need additional backup!¡±

    It was at that moment that the night rang with ear-piercing hums.

    Alex twisted around, looking for unseen enemies before realizing that the alarm was coming from his pin.

    Sulia paled. ¡°Our worst fears. No!¡±

    The captain¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°My lady, your pin! We have to return, right now!¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t dare return!¡± Te Chang snapped, glaring at the captain who flinched and paled before his unrestrained killing aura. ¡°Don¡¯t you understand? We¡¯re in no better position to help right now than to secure the city¡¯s water supply for as many years as we can! That stability, that assurance, will only strengthen our position! Because by the time we get back...¡±

    ¡°It will already be too late,¡± Sulia whispered, haunted gaze cutting Alex to the quick.

    ¡°Worse, if the coup that we fear was instigated by outside forces and they emerge victorious, they will happily seize all the cores we possess to supply their own city before cutting off all our heads!¡± Te Chang hissed. ¡°Now come. Our only hope is to secure our water supply and stabilize the political pillars upon which both our prince and academy stand!¡±

    Even knowing only a tiny piece of everything going on, Alex couldn¡¯t help but agree. The captain himself took comfort in their leader¡¯s words, and was about to charge forth when the night rang with eerie barks and howls.

    Half the men blanched, stumbling over their own feet. ¡°The dead call their own. We¡¯ll never make it in time!¡± Goizing whispered.

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Alex forced himself to say. ¡°What we need is a diversion.¡± Now racing past the group, he caught Te Chang¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯m going to hit their flank. See if I can sow some glorious chaos within their ranks.¡± He flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Good luck. And your wife¡¯s ice will do absolutely nothing against them unless she can cast ritual tier spells. Hanz and Lieberman can at least help defend you with their own arts, so try not to die.¡±

    ¡°How dare you presume to speak for me!¡± Sulia snapped, fear turning to anger in the blink of an eye. Not that Alex blamed her a bit, with emotions and desperation running so high. So he paid her no mind at all, simply increased his loping jog to a sprint, Desert Sense somehow evolving to a mastery over the terrain, knowing just where to step as Prismatic Fox Restoration infused his muscles with boundless energy.

    Despite his growing sense of dread, his teeth flashed in the moonlight as he once more charged fate¡¯s breach where only heroes and utterly doomed fools would dare to tread.

    Still, he reveled in the glorious growth his resolve had already earned him. A Silver Giant¡¯s Strength was his once more, and few things were sweeter than movement so effortless that it was like soaring across living dream.

    ¡°Alex, they¡¯re undead! What you¡¯re doing is suicide!¡± Te Chang¡¯s voice made no impact on Alex¡¯s forward momentum. Not even Dui Zhong¡¯s rueful chuckle. ¡°You¡¯d be surprised by just how resourceful that lad is. Now come on. Let¡¯s not let the boy¡¯s sacrifice be in vain.¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡± Ya Ling¡¯s voice alone slowed his momentum. ¡°You need me,¡± she softly said, sliding effortlessly by his side, her true strength as a queen of the desert sands manifesting once more.

    Alex swallowed the lump in his throat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ya Ling. I only wanted to save your life. I would never...¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened, before she gave an angry shake of her head. ¡°Now¡¯s not the time.¡± She softened her words with a tight smile. ¡°Now we play at being heroes, holding so tight to the fox¡¯s tale that he¡¯ll be forced to see us through to the very end! Or we¡¯ll slip free and splash right into the river where all idealists and dreamers eventually end up, fools to our own folly. Or so the stories go.¡±

    She flashed him a surprisingly cheeky grin. ¡°This is nothing compared to those titan worms! Now are you ready to grab on tight, Alex?¡±

    The deserts rang with his bitter laughter. ¡°As if I could ever let go.¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll distract, you strike.¡±

    Alex grit his teeth but forced a nod, the head of his weapon now giving a high pitched hum as a whirling storm of Air, Water, shards of impossibly sharp Steel and crackling Lightning swirled in a remarkably energy efficient storm of destruction.

    He could only hope it would be enough¡­ or with almost a score of eyes glancing their way, he¡¯d have no secrets at all.

    ***

    Alex¡¯s heart roared in his ears so fiercely he didn¡¯t even hear the guttural hisses promising eternal damnation slipping free of the parched lips of countless revenants snarling and lurching his way, glaring with eyes that shone with what he suspected was the reflected light of the river they were fleeing even now. Desiccated creatures of inky darkness and hideously elongated limbs, clawing at the night with tainted talons that would have destroyed any cultivator¡¯s foundation with a single swipe, before the poor fools decomposed in screaming heap of rotting flesh.

    Yet much to the surprise of the closest revenants, their deadly claws didn¡¯t phase Alex at all.

    You have successfully dodged cleaving blow!

    You have slipped past Enemy Barrage.

    You have critically struck your opponent!

    The air lit up in a brilliant flash of lightning as Alex channeled his dread into pristine fury, lashing out with tight arcing blows that cleaved through the air and the skulls of snarling revenants with equal ease, his headless foes collapsing as dark ichor and gore splattered their violently hissing comrades.

    The entire pack of abominations stumbled in their furious charge. As if even with their alien thoughts, they sensed the sudden shift in the sands of inevitability and fate, the sweet prizes radiating such potency they could no doubt sense was now impossibly far away as death itself faced them with a bitter cold smile that reminded all too many of them of the very same chilly waters they had striven so desperately tear themselves free of.

    A handful or roaring revenants leaped for Alex who twisted and weaved past ebony claws that made the midnight air weep and howl.

    A miasma of excitement shivered through the abominations as Alex positioned himself right where he needed to be, all his enemies¡¯ focus now entirely on him. The vulnerable prey that had foolishly over-extended. Only then did he reveal his true self, his desperate weaving and dodging quickly becoming the opening movements of a graceful, deadly dance that could have only one ending.

    The air abruptly lit up with a staccato burst of flashes as mangled revenants collapsed in burning heaps. Wide yellow eyes among those still upright flinched back when they too heard the desperate screeches of those who had felt the bite of Alex¡¯s cleansing blade, now once more howling their torments within the River of Souls.

    High on battle, Alex¡¯s cold laughter washed over them all. ¡°Sorry, assholes! Going to have to burst any mad dreams you have of slaughter. It¡¯s back to the river you go. And I promise that by the time I¡¯m done with your shattered spirits, you¡¯ll be scrubbed so clean of malice and spite that you¡¯ll be no more sentient than the lice in your rotting hair, when you finally slip free of purgatory¡¯s waters once more!¡±

    The furious hisses and glares made it clear that his threats were perfectly understood, even if he could sense Ya Ling¡¯s confusion in their party link, a part of him realizing that he had been speaking a language as old as the desert sands.

    It was only a moment of fugue, but more than enough to goad a handful into attacking, including the largest, clearly the leader of the pack, who swiped at Alex with shadowy claws that dripped vile ichor.

    Claws that stretched unnaturally as the moon hid behind inky clouds, finding their mark as Ya Ling screamed in the pitiless dark as their foe chortled at the taste of Alex¡¯s blood.

    You have been struck by Greater Revenant!

    You have taken one Medium Wound.

    You have critically struck your foe!

    The mercurial desert air suddenly tasted of ozone and summer storms, Alex¡¯s hair whipping wildly as he roared and lashed out with his Fangtian Ji.

    Ya Ling cried out, staring in horror as Alex was pierced by ebony claws¡­ a heartbeat before the largest revenant of them all disintegrated in a lightning bolt so massive that nothing was left but the distant howls of a doomed spirit more imagined than real.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    Gentle blue eyes locked with her own. ¡°Duck!¡±

    She hissed and darted around, only then sensing the pair of dark shadows making a beeline for her.

    The deadly pair of revenants found themselves stumbling on treacherous sands when the queen of the desert disappeared before their eyes, only for the desert to give birth to a wild-eyed dervish, slashing through joints and tendons with a jian worthy of any princess of the sands.

    ¡°Ya Ling, rainfall!¡±

    Perhaps the girl heard him, but paid little mind as Alex weaved and darted past his foes, slipping past rending claws or darting under snapping teeth before sheering steel and pitiless lightning ripped through the darkness, gouts of superheated flesh shocked free of all spiritual possession before rotting to dust in the time it took the remaining abominations to break free of Alex, now desperately fleeing back the way they came.

    Alex ignored the rough cheer he thought he heard somewhere in the distance behind him, vindication turning to a black fury that such abominations were even permitted to walk this world thanks to the eternal spite and twisted games of powers that thought themselves gods.

    And even if he wasn¡¯t willing to spend eternity in those freezing waters cleaning up their asinine mistakes¡­ it didn¡¯t mean he¡¯d hesitate for a second to put these foul abominations before him back where they belonged.

    You have critically struck your foe. Revenant has perished!

    You have critically struck your foe. Revenant has perished!

    You have graced the desert sands with cleansing lightning.

    All revenants in sight have been successfully sent back to the River of Souls.

    Experience earned!

    Enhanced Storm Strike is now Rank 9!

    Alex laughed and roared his triumph as the clouds opened up with an impossible deluge of water, raising his fangtian ji high as the night flashed and he was struck by a glorious bolt of lightning that didn¡¯t taste of his enemies¡¯ spite or malice at all.

    Pristine and free of all taint.

    Perfect for cleansing the desert sands.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex gently smiled, his former killing fury transformed to a look of wonder as he took in the beautiful ochre sands, now wet with rain, ripe with the promise of life as death decomposed to richest soil and ancient taints were washed away¡­ the air tasting of ozone and his own glorious abilities, just on the cusp of comprehension.

    So close he could taste it.

    A breakthrough like no other.

    Unlike anything he had ever dared before.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex chuckled softly, reaching out a hand for Ya Ling, her former perfect grace somehow transformed to that of an awkward teen as the violent summer storm turned his desert princess into a muddy girl who could barely stumble through the changed terrain.

    Yet when she calmly shook her head and stepped back, her gentle smile melted away whatever hurt he might have felt at her rejection.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, hero. But right now you¡¯re sort of um¡­ crackling with lightning. And I don¡¯t think it would be a very good idea for me to hold you or do anything else with you right now.¡±

    Alex frowned, but before he could think of a good response to that, distant voices somehow carried perfectly to his ears, despite the near torrential rain.

    ¡°Did you really think you¡¯d be permitted to enact the ritual, Te Chang? Fool! For the death of my nephew, all you¡¯ll be permitted is a slow, lingering demise!¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 93

    Alex glared at the distant sight of a pair of haughty looking men with sneering lips and hooked noses dressed in silk robes radiating a Silver¡¯s power. Unlike the dozen guards of basic tier cultivation at best who were backing fearfully around Te Chang and the others, their newest opponents on the board were surrounded by several dozen hard-eyed cultivators covered in helms and hauberks of steel that had clearly achieved at least the first Rank of Bronze. All of them were armed with narrow-bladed spears perfect for bursting mail links, or vicious looking guandao, with sheathed gladii at their hips. All of them had the look of professional soldiers, well experienced in the killing arts. The equivalent of true elites, in this time and place. Far more powerful than the typical guard.

    Yet as chilling a sight as it was, Alex¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but be pulled by the captivating sight behind them, the perspective of distance revealing the caldera¡¯s splendor in all its wonder. Somehow it was only from this angle that he could tease the meanings of the magnificent series of interlocking silver designs across the entire caldera ridge line. Realizing that what he was glimpsing was a spiritual echo of the heavens themselves. All the seasons, the phases of the moon, and countless twinkling stars were now revealed in those grand silver sigils. Yet the showpiece of it all was the yin yang symbol that was actually the rising sun from which golden rays originated in all directions. It was the lowest symbol as well, close to the desert floor in a shallow alcove, within reach of any tall man, with a single divot in the center of the taijitu symbol.

    Alex felt a thrill of wonder, understanding instantly what it was for.

    The sneering pair of nobles who looked like older versions Tan Yi and Soh Lan, imperiously held out their hands. Alex felt a desperate twist in his gut, somehow dead certain that both those bastards had also obtained Gold tier wards in a desert where there should be none. The only upside was that they lacked the stamp of Lord Justice¡¯s features upon their spiteful countenances.

    ¡°Give us the Water Core and I¡¯ll permit you fools to flee into the desert, with your cultivator¡¯s oaths never to return!¡± The closest of the pair sneered and spat upon catching sight of a scowling Linnea and her kindsmen. ¡°But you¡¯ll be leaving that trash behind to stand trial for their numerous crimes against our fair city!¡±

    Te Chang glared at the pair of nobles and their elite bodyguard staring coldly back at them for an endless moment. Fortunately, Alex¡¯s party was shielded at least for the moment by the ward of swirling ice Sulia had summoned, enhanced all the more by Hanz and Lieberman, before flashing a single brilliant white core.

    ¡°You dare to accuse us of your wrongdoing? We found the Waste Qi stone formations your pawns left in the rifts¡­ and in the burnt husk of the buildings right over them!¡± Te Chang flashed a fierce grin when the pair of corrupt Duo Li nobles blanched and snarled. ¡°You bastards are the ones responsible for tainting the rifts and attempting to destroy our access to clean water. All so you could seize the reins of power in both the council and the school! Well rest assured, your failed coup ends this night, and it is you who had best flee into the desert sands, you and your entire cursed clan, or face the headman¡¯s axe when the prince learns the full extent of all your schemes!¡±

    A part of Alex wanted to castigate the man for a fool, revealing all their cards at once. Another part of himself thought it absolutely brilliant, as the unguarded hate in their foes¡¯ eyes made it so damned clear that they had hit the bullseye on all counts. So whatever doubts Te Chang might have had about Alex¡¯s wild assertions had just been put to rest, and if their opponent was the one to initiate bloodshed¡­ any oaths or edicts broken would be his burden to bear.

    Duo Li¡¯s cheeks mottled with fury. ¡°You will pay for those insults, fool! For that offense alone, one of your children just lost her head, and the rest will be spending their remaining miserable years pleasing my clan in our personal compound until we grow bored of your slatternly daughters and slice open all their throats!¡± He and his brother sneered gleefully when Sulia¡¯s eyes widened with a mother¡¯s fury, so distracted by the dismay he saw in his targets that he paid little attention to the hair on his own head as it slowly lifted off his brow, the very air now crackling with unseen potential.

    ¡°How dare you threaten our children!¡± Sulia screamed, fists clenched with sudden seething hate, though wise enough not to get goaded to the point of lowering her ward.

    The pair of corrupt lords flashed positively wicked smiles Alex could now see so clearly as he closed the distance, darting through the air right above the desert sands, no longer feeling the need to hide his gifts in this, the final hour... savoring the sweet crackling potential in the air like never before.

    The larger of the pair, the man that Alex was increasingly certain was the head of the entire Li clan, laughed like the monster he was. ¡°You think it matters what you know? What you only think you know? You think that mockery of a prince will save you? Fool! This is just the first step. By the time this night is over, the prince¡¯s clan will be just as extinct as your own!¡±

    Distract Them! - A silent plea all his party members heard. The farthest thing from a command.

    But Alex needed time. At least a few precious moments to unravel the complex weave of spiritual energy surrounding his foes as the pressure of the storm near consumed him.

    For a heartbeat he felt pristine dismay, for all that he had burst similar barriers in a fit of glorious madness before, it hadn¡¯t been while holding so fiercely tight to the sense of the storm as a whole.

    Then his eyes widened in sudden comprehension, sensing how similar the wards were to the silvery weaves once used by an Alchemist he had taken such fierce pleasure in striking dead before leaving Dragon Academy with so many enemies wanting him dead.

    Artificer & Lightning-enhanced Spell Cleave skill check: Critical success!

    Gold tier artifacts as fragile as they were resilient, cursed with flaws that suddenly explained how such prizes would end up here, in the middle of nowhere. Undeniably, the weaves of Air might have earned a king¡¯s Gold and been more than capable of countering any number of Silver-tier attacks. Yet even those prized treasures were forced to yield before the power of Imperial might, the heavenly storm in all its righteous fury.

    Linnea abruptly laughed, eyes twinkling with a fiery glint all her own. As if she understood that which even the cultivators had been too occupied to sense. ¡°Of course my family would choose the very month Liushi falls to a coup to make our fortunes here. But if you think we¡¯ll be the only ones to fall this night, then you¡¯re just as stupid as those robes make your scrawny bodies look!¡±

    Imperious gazes widened with absolute fury. The pair of Duo Li wujen turned to glare at the foreigner who would make such audacious insults. ¡°That you would dare raise your voice before your betters, you unforgivable mongrel creature! Mark my words, your people¡¯s days tainting the desert sands will soon be at an end!¡± Roared the smaller of the pair, so distracted that he didn¡¯t even respond to the rustling of enchanted cultivator¡¯s robes that had lain flat against his stick-thin frame, just seconds before.

    Linnea chuckled coldly, for all that she was now at the center of a swirling maelstrom of flame. ¡°So says the fool who knows the desert so poorly that he doesn¡¯t even understand what it means when your hair stands on end.¡±

    The pair of noble cutthroats frowned, eyes widening when they caught sight of each other¡¯s hair, turning as one to glare at Te Chang. ¡°You will cease what you¡¯re doing at once, or our men will cut you down this second!¡±

    Te Chang smiled coldly, gathering his own whirlwind of spiritual energy even as he slowly shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to blame another for that bit of madness, Zoun Li.¡±

    The hooked-nose wujen snarled and spat. ¡°What other one?¡±

    ¡°The hero about to kill you. Who else?¡±

    Zoun Li furrowed his brow, taking a quick look around, as did his men.

    But at that moment a furiously howling Alex racing through the air as fast as a hawk could fly was already among them, savoring a revelation like no other as he embraced the crackling weight of ozone in the air and became one with the storm.

    Yet Zoun Li didn¡¯t flinch, merely laughed with twisted mirth as his hand squeezed the crimson talisman in his hand, the ward around his frame now visible to all. ¡°Fool! No Ruidian abomination has any hope of piercing the glory of Gold!¡± He turned to his sibling and the soldiers attending them. ¡°This farce ends here! Kill them all this instant, while I dispatch this Ruidian menace. Let no traitor to our cause live to see first light!¡±

    Artificer skillcheck made! You understand the spiritual weave used construct this treasure!

    Modified Spell Cleave skill check made!

    Storm Strike has successfully shattered Tainted Pendant!

    Storm Strike has evolved into Lightning Blast!

    You have critically struck your foe!

    Seven additional targets are seizing in the rain!

    Alex¡¯s fangtian ji windmilled through the air, facing no resistance at all as the Golden ward vanished, just as the prize Zoun Li held exploded in his hand, leaving a spurting stump in its place. Yet the sneering lord didn¡¯t even have time to scream before half-moon axe-heads cleaved through his skull and the night exploded in a brilliant flash sending over half a dozen of the elite troops that had been guarding their leader rag-dolling through the air.

    ¡°Brother!¡±

    Alex froze, shivering under the weight of profound revelation, even surrounded as he was by momentarily stunned foes.

    For the very first time in his life, he thought he was beginning to understand what it meant to channel the elements beyond himself. To understand, at least in part, what he had been doing wrong.

    ¡°Kill that abomination! Strike him dead!¡±

    He didn¡¯t need to project the lightning directly, like he had once tried to project shards of ice, a feat which he had proven to be utterly hopeless at. He just needed to see the entire cluster of his remaining foes, so many still upright and roaring their hate his way under the direction of their second master, as a single unified body that he would allow the storm¡¯s energy to channel through as it liked.

    Of course there was a price for his revelation, as he strove to dodge and counter half a dozen frantically plunging spears and guandao while embracing the sense of being both himself and just an extension of the entire area. He was nearly jolted out of his wondrous epiphany by sudden hot fiery pain as a furiously jabbing soldier¡¯s spear bit into his thigh.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    You have taken two Light Wounds.

    You have taken one Medium Wound from Steel-enhanced strike!

    Willpower check made!

    Yet despite the sudden flashes of pain and screams of fury from his enemies could distract him from the furious revelation he savored. For if his hips and legs paid a prize in suffering desperately thrust spears, his windmilling fangtian ji suffered no opposition at all, slicing through his targets with surprising ease as they exploded in storms of lightning that ruptured their lamellar hauberks and the organs beneath before blasting right through whatever men were right behind them.

    And suddenly no one was sniping a madly laughing Alex¡¯s legs at all as he effortlessly whipped his polearm around in fiercely controlled arcs, the night now alive with brilliant flashes of lightning in addition to flurries of icy bolts and explosions of flame.

    You have successfully learned the Wujen Art: Lightning Blast which you may now chain to Storm Strike! Note. This art can chain off any other art using Lightning as a key element and strike (three times skill rank + 1-5) additional targets per blast. All targets suffer one Serious Wound, the effects of Stunning Blow, and must save versus Cardiac Arrest or perish! Lightning has additional bonuses to pierce through all protective wards. Summoned creatures must save versus abjuration or be instantly banished!

    Using this Imperial Wujen technique before achieving Silver Tier risks Meridian Rupture.

    You have achieved Rank 7 in a Cultivation Tier that is currently UNDEFINED.

    Your Divine Tier Meridians are immune to rupture!

    ¡°No! Impossible!¡± the increasingly panicked-looking Duo Li clan noble roared as he caught sight of a wild-eyed Alex windmilling his weapon through the skulls of another pair of collapsing Bronze henchmen while the four soldiers behind them also collapsed in trembling spasms as explosions lightning tore through them.

    Seizures that were stopped immediately when a snarling Alex tore open each of their chests with a single chopping blow of his deadly sharp fangtian ji.

    ¡°You¡¯re no Ruidian! You¡¯re an abomination!¡± the final Wujen snarled, before lashing out with a roar, a sudden geyser of wicked sharp metal flying free of his open palms to shred right through the hapless soldier still trying to stand before Alex, before being deflected by a whirling disk of Wind, Water, and Steel.

    Qi Perception check: Success! DUCK!

    Alex didn¡¯t analyze his instincts, he trusted them, jolting out of his fury to duck his head as fast as he could, his neck hairs lifting as a massive pillar of metal tore through the air just above his lowered head.

    Quickness modified skillcheck made! You have successfully summoned Storm Shield!

    Fangtian ji is now in storage ring.

    Enhanced Wind Qi Defection counters Stealth Strike!

    You have suffered no damage.

    Their final opponent stumbled back, quickly surrounding himself in a miniature whirlwind of spinning metal shards, eyes widening as the fog of wrath cleared from the wujen¡¯s vision and he realized he had completely failed to injure the Ruidian smiling at him with a shield of Wind and Water in one hand, and a dao covered in lightning in the other.

    ¡°Men, to me! To me now!¡± The wujen screamed, as if unable to fathom the twenty corpses before him. Some had been burned to a crisp, others perforated by spears of ice, and far too many covered in electric burns with massive rents in their chests that had been torn open like a pig on feasting days¡­ those that still had heads attached at all.

    Alex chuckled coldly as his foe stumbled back, arrogant countenance only now cracking to reveal the wide-eyed fear of a man who only now understood that his karmic tab had finally come due.

    ¡°Poor would-be mastermind of a city¡¯s final fate. With nothing but contempt for the tens of thousands¡­ hundreds of thousands that your plots would consign to death by starvation and awful thirst. Yet now that you¡¯re utterly alone, you suddenly fear so acutely the darkness to come.¡±

    Alex¡¯s mocking voice turned chill with contempt.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you frightened little sadist whose thoughts are so bright and sharp and so very sweet with terror, eternal blackness will not be your doom.¡± Alex¡¯s crackling dao danced through the air in lazy moulinets as he glared down at the malevolent coward only now trembling with the terror and despair he would so happily inflict upon others. ¡°Eternal cold from which there is no escape as you experience the exquisite agony of drowning endlessly in the River of Souls as your sins are pounded free of your spiritual flesh... That will be your fate, I fear. Though for however many months, years, or centuries you will be forced to endure those torments?¡± Alex shrugged. ¡°Your guess is as good as mine.¡±

    His opponent, hair now slick with rain, stumbled back upon the slick muddy sands with a panicked cry, his shimmering gold ward faded like the first rays of dawn chasing night¡¯s gloom away as he collapsed to his knees. ¡°No. Please, this cannot be.¡± His eyes widened, only now getting a good look at Alex with his golden hair and bright blue eyes, helm knocked free in the madness of battle. ¡°You!¡± He desperately shook his head. ¡°No. Impossible! The stories are meaningless. The old gods are dead. You cannot be!¡±

    Lightning roared and flashed across the heavens in perfect time to his words.

    Alex laughed, uncaring of his companion¡¯s solemn gazes as he gloried in the storm all about him, the revelations of lightning still shivering through his soul.

    ¡°And yet here I am. And now I sense who you really are. Goodbye, Duo Li. The duplicitous schemes of your corrupt clan of asshole water merchants will die along with you this night, this I promise you.¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes widened with desperate fury. ¡°You don¡¯t dare strike me, worm!¡± The man sneered through his terror, spitting at Alex¡¯s feet as he raised his hands. ¡°Let the counsel judge my actions, Ruidian cur! I demand that as my right as a Lord of the Sands!¡±

    Captain Goizing blanched, eyes widening with dismay. ¡°He¡¯s right. By our cultivator¡¯s oaths, we are duty-bound to honor his parole as we make our case before the counsel.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened with outrage. ¡°Wait, are you serious? This monster just tried to have us killed! Are you saying we can now do nothing? That we have to let him walk free so he can buddy up and bribe his cronies and make sure that the city counsel lets him off with a slap on the wrist? Assuming we even have a city counsel. Assuming everyone honest wasn¡¯t already taken out in the coup orchestrated by this asshole¡¯s co-conspirators!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what you will do, desert whore!¡± Duo Li laughed like the cold-blooded monster that he was. ¡°You will do nothing, for you can do nothing! For your masters are bound by oaths they dare not break, and rest assured, when the counsel, my counsel, hears about this, it is your heads that will be hung on pikes before the city walls¡­ not mine, fools!¡±

    Te Chang¡¯s features took on a sickly cast. For all that his fists were tightly clenched... he sighed in defeat. ¡°Alex, I¡¯m sorry. But we¡¯re oathbound to follow the laws swore to. We need¡ª¡°

    Alex raised his hand. ¡°Let me make sure I understand this. You¡¯re oathbound to do all you can to accept his parole and make sure he¡¯s brought in safely, right?¡±

    Te Chang gave a bitter nod of his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid so, Alex. But don¡¯t worry. Our situation isn¡¯t quite as dire as this treacherous worm is making them out to be.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, fools!¡± Duo Li sneered, laughing at them all as he sprang back to his feet, hands still raised. ¡°When the counsel¡¯s done with you, you¡¯ll have nothing left! Your families penniless, your children consigned to the slave markets, your heads on pikes for the entire city to witness your downfall!¡± He laughed as Alex¡¯s entire coterie paled with dismay, before tilting his head thoughtfully. ¡°That is, unless of course, you surrender the ice core you fools should have delivered to my clan door in the first place. Just as we have claimed every other Water core to come out of those rifts¡­ one way or another. Should you be willing to do that, I will give you all my oath as a Lord of the Sands to permit you a full three days and nights to flee the city before the counsel, MY counsel, enforces its warrants for all of your arrests!¡±

    Ya Ling, trembling with fury, could no longer hold back. ¡°You think you¡¯ll get away with your crimes, bastard? You tried to overthrow our entire city, sowed chaos at the academy, and kidnapped my grandparents you ruthless, slimy bastard! You will pay a price, yes you will!¡±

    Her furious accusations earned nothing but a contemptuous smirk from Duo Li. ¡°Is that so? Well, little harlot, it pleases me to no end to assure you that by the time the morning sun paints the sky red, you¡¯ll never have to worry about those ancient fools ever again!¡±

    Ya Ling paled, hand squeezing tight the hilt of her blade. ¡°NO, No, you goddamned bastard, you won¡¯t touch a hair on their heads!¡±

    Duo Li mocked her with his laughter. ¡°Oh, I promise you, little desert whore, they will not perish to my actions, but to your own!¡± He snarled, eyes glittering with hate. ¡°If you truly think any kin of yours will be allowed to live after your unforgivable offenses to my clan, you¡¯re just as much of a fool as the fox¡¯s dead disciple!¡±

    Ya Ling turned pale with fury, drawing her blade before the smirking monster with a desperate cry.

    Quickness check: Made!

    Only to be stopped by none other than Alex, Rank 5 Bronze Quickness and Finesse allowing him to grip her hand before she could bare steel.

    Her eyes lit with furious alarm. He wasn¡¯t that much quicker than her, after all. But with Silver Tier strength¡­ her furious struggles availed her nothing.

    Her look was one of hurt betrayal.

    ¡°Ya Ling, think! He taunted you without admitting his own involvement in anything! He wants you to attack him! Why? What will that trigger? Are you bound to any oaths?¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s froze, tear-filled eyes wide with horror. ¡°No. They swore to us that it could never be used against us like this!¡± She crumpled to the sands with muffled sobs.

    ¡°By all the fallen gods, this man¡¯s a monster!¡± Instructor Rah cursed in wide-eyed disbelief.

    Alex sighed, ignoring Duo Li¡¯s imperious demands that they all surrender their weapons and kneel before the man immediately. He leaned down to gently disarm his friend while kissing her brow, before standing up once more. It was painfully clear that his worst suspicions were on the mark, even if the particulars weren¡¯t clear. Not yet.

    Alex turned to the others. ¡°So, what exactly happens if we kill him now?¡±

    Sulia flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Whoever¡¯s responsible will crash to the sands a broken man. Or woman. Their foundation destroyed forever. Because we all swore oaths as citizens of Liushi to never assault those blessed by Water, save in self-defense. Which was somehow twisted to be exclusive to the Duo Li clan, and not the cultivators and Ruidians who risk themselves for cores of Water and Ice. And that particular monster just surrendered. And no, Alex. None of us can knowingly allow our fellows to execute him.¡±

    Duo Li¡¯s imperious features twisted in outrage. ¡°That you would even dare to entertain such murderous thoughts! Rest assured, Ruidian, it¡¯s the gallows for you, no matter what indulgences I might grant your foolish companions!¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in feigned dismay, utterly ignoring the blathering lord¡¯s words.

    ¡°But what about the walkers? What if they had gotten to him? Or what if he slipped on a stone and broke his neck? Would you still be at fault?"

    Sulia¡¯s tired gaze narrowed. ¡°Of course not, Alex. None of us can change the vagaries of fate. But the walkers are dead, and there are no rocks on the¡ª¡°

    Alex¡¯s companions cried out in surprise when the night exploded with lightning once more.

    You have successfully decapitated your foe!

    Lord Duo Li has perished. Experience earned!

    Note! Your actions this night has resulted in the accrual of significant negative karma with all surviving members of the Duo Li clan. All will view you with suspicion, even if they¡¯re not quite sure why!

    Alex¡¯s companions froze in speechless horror as Duo Li¡¯s wildly blinking head, mouth still silently voicing its scathing diatribe against Alex, tumbled to the desert sands.

 Book 8 - Chapter 94

    Te Chang gazed upon the fallen lord in stunned disbelief. ¡°Alex, what have you done?¡±

    Alex¡¯s ruthless grin didn¡¯t budge an iota as he solemnly bent down to pick up a piece of flat sandstone by his feet. ¡°Oh my. A rock. I guess I slipped. How tragically unexpected and sad.¡±

    Te Chang¡¯s eyes bulged in outrage. ¡°You stupid fool! Do you even realize what you¡¯ve¡ª¡°

    His words cut off when his wife desperately squeezed his hand. ¡°It was out of our control, husband. Do you understand? The wild acts of a foolish Ruidian boy who was never made to take any Cultivator¡¯s Oath at all¡­ utterly unpredictable. Topography hidden by wild desert storms. Such things are utterly beyond our ability to fathom or understand. Do you not agree, husband?¡±

    Te Chang blinked, exchanging awed looks that slowly became fierce grins with everyone else present. ¡°I do believe you¡¯re right, my wife. Absolutely none of us could have predicted that an aspirant cultivator would be so utterly foolish as to slip on a rock and accidentally decapitate a noble prisoner in front of a score of witnesses!¡±

    The soldiers suddenly broke out in nervous laughter. ¡°My foundation¡­ I feel fine!¡±

    The Captain gave a relieved chuckle of agreement, gently squeezing the shoulders of a few dismayed-looking soldiers. ¡°As well you should! Lord Duo Li¡¯s passing had absolutely nothing to do with any of us! We couldn¡¯t have stopped a wild swing or¡­ someone tripping over a stone, any more than I could have saved him from those walkers a certain hero actually managed to bring down. Saving all our lives. Including a certain scheming power-hungry lord¡¯s. Wouldn¡¯t you lads agree?¡±

    Captain Goizing¡¯s smile hardened, glaring at his troops, who all quickly nodded in unison. ¡°In fact, for all we know, that fallen fool wasn¡¯t the just and honorable Duo Li at all!¡±

    Alex grinned, dipping his head in agreement. ¡°No doubt it was a foreign agent trying to besmirch the Duo Li name and sow dissension within our ranks.¡± He gave Linnea a knowing look. ¡°And considering how badly his body was burned when we confronted the enemy agents and thwarted their schemes¡­¡±

    Linnea blinked in confusion before Ya Ling gently squeezed her hand. ¡°It means you should fry that asshole to a crisp.¡±

    Linnea positively beamed. ¡°With pleasure. That bastard! I mean¡­ enemy city agent? Wanted to kill me! I just acted in self-defense!¡± She declared, wild eyes dancing with flame as she unleashed a torrent of fire that absolutely obliterated the lord¡¯s remains, though not before Alex had stripped him bare.

    Captain Goizing gave a satisfied grin. ¡°Well done. And best we protect the honor of the Duo Li clan by putting this entire band of impostors to the torch and letting the desert winds scatter their ashes.¡±

    Everyone nodded their relieved agreement, and if Linnea¡¯s triumphant chuckle had turned to a mad cackleas she set the corpses ablaze in a magnificent pyre, no one bothered to comment upon it, only sigh with relief when all that was left were melted lumps of bronze, a few warped steel spear heads and swords, and piles of oily ash. All of which Ya Ling effortlessly consigned to the desert sands, the twinkle in her eyes making it clear that they would be hidden from even the most inquisitive explorers for a very, very long time.

    Ya Ling collapsed with a sigh, gazing up at the star-filled nighttime sky with a bemused smile on her face. ¡°I think this has been the longest night of my life.¡±

    Alex gave her a sympathetic smile. ¡°And it¡¯s not over yet,¡± he said.

    Her gaze turned solemn. ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°Our trials were all for this moment,¡± Sulia declared, her earlier relief replaced by tension once more. ¡°We¡¯ve faced unspeakable peril multiple times this evening, from both the living and the dead. Yet so long as we can accomplish this final task and restore this waterfall upon which our city depends...¡±

    ¡°All our hardships will have been worth it, and all misunderstandings will most certainly be forgiven,¡± Te Chang declared solemnly, gazing up at the magnificent display of sigils and runes completely covering a good chunk of the smoothly polished cliff face before them.

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Sulia whispered.

    Her husband nodded, solemnly approaching the cliff face with the ice chip Alex had first handed him, just in case the guard weren¡¯t as upright as they had thankfully proven themselves to be.

    Alex, along with most of the cultivators beside him, gazed on with awe when the silvery sigils began to glow with a gentle luminescence as the powerfully built cultivator solemnly approached the carving of a pedestal in the center of a scene depicting dozens of figures kneeling before a waterfall.

    The closer Te Chang got, the more the image seemed to waver and the more sharply defined the pedestal became, quickly transforming from basalt bas relief to a massive pedestal of pristine white jade.

    It was a sight that filled Alex with awe, only noticing at the last night that, for all his sangfroid and control, even Te Chang was paying a cost in exhaustion and stress, forgetting his own deception. In fact, he was completely oblivious to Alex¡¯s presence until he desperately grabbed the man¡¯s hand just a second before he could push the icy fragment through what now looked to be a wavering reflection of the pedestal.

    Eyes tight with surprise and barely suppressed killing intent glared into Alex¡¯s own.

    ¡°Is here where you will betray us all?¡±

    Alex blinked in surprise, before realizing that he was still covered in blood, and had shown his companions a side of himself that was far more ruthless, and savage, than he had intended to that night.

    If he were to unveil himself as a double agent reveling in slaughter on all fronts¡­ he sadly doubted that anyone would be surprised at all.

    ¡°Are you forgetting?¡± Alex gently asked with a smile. ¡°That ice chip¡¯s the bluff. The prize we can afford to lose to our foes. Why not instead use the ice core that might assure our city had fresh clean water for how many years?¡±

    Te Chang¡¯s eyes widened, before he chuckled ruefully. ¡°For decades, Alex. And that ice chip, imperfect and flawed as it is, would be lucky to last a week.¡± He gave a rueful shake of his head. ¡°If only we actually had whatever ancient core it originated from, we¡¯d never need to worry about water again. And for both of these prizes, you have my eternal thanks.

    With a solemn bow that earned a hiss from his wife, showing such deference to one who was the rank of failed student and no more, was utterly beyond the pale, Alex had no doubt. Though when he turned to smile she flinched and stepped back, which Alex wasn¡¯t expecting. Then again, he had moved and struck as a Silver forged in the crucible of peril. The farthest thing from a stumbling basic or newly forged Bronze.

    Te Chang chuckled softly before moving in a flash that sent shivers down Alex¡¯s spine, as if to underscore just how much he was still underestimating the cultivators around him. Speed that could have just as easily have been a knife through his own throat. Yet Senior Cultivator Te Chang¡¯s prize was the farthest thing from an instrument of death. Instead he held so tenderly a precious treasure in the form of a core as big as a plumb. A prize so rich and blue that in gentler times, Alex could lose himself for hours staring into its depths and trying to puzzle out its secrets. It was a magnificent wonder that earned gasps from all who saw it.

    ¡°That¡¯s no sliver of a shattered ice core,¡± Captain Goizing said with unmistakable reverence, before turning around, glaring at his men. ¡°About face, soldiers, eyes all around! If there was ever a time for our enemies to strike...¡±

    Those words were an abrupt wake-up call to all of them. If enemy seers or sages were about, casting their senses to the desert winds, looking for impossibly rich prizes or cracks in the foundation of Liushi¡­ now would be the perfect time to strike.

    Alex winced before the feeling of sudden terrible weight upon his soul, dismayed to find that he wasn¡¯t the only one feeling it.

    ¡°Husband!¡± Sulia desperately gasped. And Alex¡¯s eyes widened with horror to sense the formation of a rift just a short distance away¡­ and a deadly pressure slowly growing that could only be Gold.

    Qi Perception check modified by previous skill mastery: Critical Success!

    For just a heartbeat, he could sense it¡­ the inconceivably complex weaving of Earth, Water, and Spirit Qi being used to create a gate between two distant points in space.

    Enemies were amassed in terrifying numbers¡­ countless miles away.

    The air suddenly tasted of a Gold-tier Wujen¡¯s killing fury.

    And Alex was still just a dreaming remnant of the mighty hero he once had been.

    Then, in a flash of blinding silvery light and the peels of golden bells, a gentle wave of spiritual energy washed over them that left Alex feeling as refreshed and clean as if he had just emerged from the depths of a pristine blue lake.

    Between one moment and the next, the light was gone, the caress of Water had receded, and they were all back in the desert sands once more.

    ¡°Prepare yourselves!¡± Captain Goizing cried in a ragged voice the moment his vision cleared, no doubt having sensed the peril as well as Alex.

    But the feeling of furious spiritual pressure had receded. If any hostile presence had been spying on them or readying an ambush, it was gone.

    And Alex had to do was turn around to understood why.

    The priceless Water Core was now affixed to an exquisitely carved white jade pillar, glowing with a gentle radiance that left Alex breathless as the entire cliff face began to pulse with a soothing sapphire glow. He didn¡¯t even need Qi Perception to sense the gentle shield of spiritual energies now pulsating through the entire interconnected masterwork. And when Te Chang gave a satisfied nod, wiping his hands and declaring with no small amount of pride that an entire army could strike at the cliff face for a century without damaging a single sigil or glyph¡­ Alex believed him.

    Even from where he stood, he could sense the entire weight of the inconceivably massive caldera somehow giving added potency and resilience to the glyphs and sigils both empowering the ritual and securing the core.

    Alex¡¯s heart heart skipped a beat as he dared meet Te Chang¡¯s eyes.

    Knowing all too well how close they had all come to peril just then.

    If whatever that was had actually broken through¡­

    But still, for the sake of an entire city, Alex was willing to dare peril¡¯s kiss one more time.

    And he¡¯d be the farthest thing from a wise fool if he didn¡¯t at least make sure it wouldn¡¯t all be in vain.

    That of course was the moment that Sulia spoke, haunted eyes boring holes in Alex¡¯s back.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time you told us where you found that sliver of ice¡­ hero.¡±

    Alex braved the chill winds of her regard. ¡°In the Southern rift, Lady Sulia.¡±

    He allowed the weight of their regard to press upon him before speaking further. ¡°Upon the corpse of a massive worm that must have been at least a hundred meters long, lying deathly still upon the desert sands.¡±

    His words earned surprised hisses and gasps from all those present, Sulia¡¯s expression suddenly wide with alarm. ¡°No, it cannot be. Those things haven¡¯t been sighted for centuries!¡±

    The captain blanched. ¡°If such a thing escaped the rift...¡± He gave a tired shake of his head.

    ¡°What, Captain?¡± Whispered an anxious-looking guard before being cowed to silence by the glares of his seniors.¡±

    The captain flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Then such an abomination would obliterate the entire city and poison the entire caldera, devouring everyone and anything not fast enough to evade it¡¯s awful maws. The survivors will die of thirst in the desert, with not chance of gathering supplies, and the final the remnants of our city lost to the desert sands. Our home would then become its nest, and a scourge would soon be unleashed upon the desert kingdoms that we are ill-prepared to face.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Or such is the accounts we have regarding the fate of at least one other city in the last five hundred years, and the desperate efforts taken when it and its brood sought to spread. And for all that humanity emerged victorious, it was at the cost of the very few Gold champions that called the desert sands their home¡­ and not a single Gold has ascended in all the years since.¡±

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Save for the Gold now trying to claim our city!¡± Ya Ling hissed.

    Sulia flinched, face growing ever more pale with every word the captain spoke. For all that her eyes made it clear that she knew it all at least as well as he, Alex was sure it had never felt so real as it did this night, after all the trials and tribulations they had faced, all of them having seen just how fragile their lives were¡­ how perilous existence was upon the warm desert sands.

    ¡°Tell me true, children! This is vitally important!¡± And the way she pinned Ya Ling¡¯s flinching gaze made it clear that she knew they had both been involved, and didn¡¯t bother hiding her knowledge in this, their most perilous hour. ¡°Did either of you see any other signs of Emperor Worms? Please, children. This is vitally important. Our city¡¯s fate depends upon it!¡±

    Ya Ling opened her mouth.

    Alex smoothly clasped her hand and gently squeezed.

    His actions were lost on no one, though he did naught but smile as he met their gazes. ¡°We did indeed sense a monster beyond even an Emperor worm¡­ but the minute my kung fu sister tore those Dark Qi stones free of our enemy¡¯s foul configuration, the strange warping and stretching of reality seemed to snap into place, and we sensed no further sign of that abomination. And we saw no traces of living worms larger than the far smaller sand worms by the time we darted back through that portal.¡±

    Ya Ling stiffened at Alex¡¯s words, before smiling and quickly nodding her head, earning furrowed brows from Te Chang and Sulia both, having clearly sensed something¡­ but Ya Ling was utterly sincere when she said, ¡°All that is true and correct, honored cultivators. Breaking that formation stopped the sand¡¯s dreadful trembles, and by the time we left, we had gathered over twenty sand worm beast cores¡­ and Alex had managed to claim several Ice fragments from the dead monstrosity that was there when we left.¡±

    Of course the Silvers among them were no fools. Dui Zhong and Instructor Ren both giving them pointed looks. But before they could speak further, Alex forced himself to speak¡­ no matter the glorious prize it would cost him, or the perils his daring might inspire.

    Though his throat was surprisingly dry when he asked¡­ ¡°The shattered fragments of an ice core that I retrieved¡­ you said it be enough to restore the final waterfall for at least a few weeks, yes? Is there any way we could fuse several such fragments together at once?¡±

    Te Chang exchanged a look with his wife, who gave a sad shake of her head. ¡°Unfortunately not, Alex. No matter how incredibly priceless or massive the original core might have been, a core that might have been so close to perfection as to last our humble caldera a thousand years, a mere brittle fragment so skewed from perfection cannot be repaired, and would only last a few short weeks before dissolving to nothing.¡±

    Alex flashed a relieved smile. ¡°A couple of weeks is a heck of a lot better than nothing, right? So who¡¯s up for daring the ritual one more time!?¡±

    The tightness of Sulia¡¯s gaze as she forced a nod made it clear just how strained she felt.

    The captain of the guard, however, frowned. ¡°For us to leave our posts any longer on this night of all nights, with our foes attempting a coup and undead prowling the desert sands¡­ and it won¡¯t be any quick jaunt, either. We need to travel a full quarter of the city¡¯s diameter to get there. Farther, as we¡¯re past the caldera rim, treading upon the desert sands.¡±

    ¡°And yet we must,¡± Te Chang said, flashing a tired smile. ¡°Whether a few weeks or a dozen years, what matters is that the water flows before the counsel is forced to vote. If we can manage to get all four rivers flowing at peak strength once more...¡±

    ¡°The prince will be safe, and so will we,¡± Instructor Rah finished, before flashing a cynical smile. ¡°Or so we can only hope.¡±

    Linnea nodded in heartfelt agreement. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you all how sleepy I¡¯m feeling, but it hardly matters! Because if our enemies manage to put both prince and counsel under their thumb¡­ then there¡¯s hardly any point in my kind returning to the city at all.¡±

    ¡°And we¡¯ll be lucky if their new puppet head doesn¡¯t make a point of trying to purge our clans altogether,¡± Lieberman said, voice laden with dread he couldn¡¯t quite hide with his stoic demeanor.

    Te Chang¡¯s gaze softened. ¡°No matter what else happens, we won¡¯t let things come to that,¡± he assured, with a gentle clap on the man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Cynical and ruthless as driven cultivators often are, an equal number are as warm and compassionate as the morning breeze, and all of us know what group has done more for our city¡¯s water supply than any other. Even if Duo Li¡¯s corrupt clan manages to enact their darkest schemes, with so many familial heads already fallen to our blades, not even they can force my colleagues and former students into committing acts of genocide.¡±

    He turned to his wife, sharing a nod. ¡°There are other cities scattered across the desert sands. I have no doubt that any number of them could use a few dozen or a few score talented cultivators and a Ruidian clan or two that knows what it means to work hard for the benefit of the collective.¡±

    Lieberman swallowed, before bowing his head. ¡°I always knew you were an honorable sort, Senior Cultivator Te Clan. My clan was right to delve under your patronage.¡±

    Te Chang flashed a genuine smile. ¡°It pleases me to hear you say that, Lieberman. Certainly you have proven your worth and your clan¡¯s honor many time over this night, already.¡± He furrowed his brow, gazing off into the distance. ¡°Yet it is my sincere hope that you and your kin will have no need to do so, ever again.¡±

    Hanz chuckled softly. ¡°Assuming no further night stalker, assassin, or Duo Li flunky tries to kill us, I hope so as well.¡±

    Ya Ling flashed an encouraging smile. ¡°I think you all should trust your feet. You might find it easier to stride the night time sands than you had all thought.¡±

    This earned her a number of frowns and curious looks before people noticed just how steady their feet were upon rigid sand that gave no more than a dirt trail, their stride now nearly that enjoyed while walking the boulevards along the city proper.

    ¡°What a blessing this is!¡± The captain commended, his tight features loosening with a relieved smile. ¡°This should cut the time it takes us to reach the northern face into just a fraction of what it would otherwise be.¡±

    ¡°And best of all, no walkers,¡± Instructor Rah commended, now using his spear like a walking staff as half the guard did their polearms as they continued along their way.

    Alex felt the slightest tingle of alarm, fearing his acquaintance had set off red flags of one sort or another, but even his eagle eyes spotted nothing but cool desert sands, a brilliant starry nighttime sky, and the steep, almost overbearing ledge face of the caldera to their right. As far as revenant walkers, corrupt soldiers, or ambushing assassins went, he saw neither hide nor hair.

    Yet still, he knew he¡¯d be a fool to lower his guard. Even if his senses could detect nothing but the mournful desert breeze and the near certainty that they weren¡¯t entirely alone. Yet their pace was quick with the sand so firm beneath their feet, Alex sending a grateful smile Ya Ling¡¯s way.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    She flinched for only a heartbeat, before giving him a heartfelt smile. ¡°Still awed by the sight of the caldera accepting our gift.¡± Her gentle gaze then hardened, eyes turning flinty as her voice dropped to the softest of whispers the others were graceful enough to pretend not to hear. ¡°And I can¡¯t tell you how good it felt, to see that bastard die by your...¡±

    Quicker than she could blink, his powerful hand gently touched her soft lips.

    Beautiful brown eyes caught his own.

    He winked.

    ¡°To a tragic accident. A pretender daring to disguise himself as a just and honorable water clan member who got exactly what he deserved... thanks to folly of his own making.¡±

    Ya Ling blinked, before matching his Cheshire grin with her own. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Alex gave her hand a gentle squeeze before picking up his pace, intent eyes scouting the lonely desert sands as far as he could see. Yet there was nothing. Nothing save the glorious panoply of stares blazing overhead and the ocher windswept sands. Of undead abominations or hidden assassins¡­ he saw no trace at all.

    Which did nothing to ease the tension in his gut when Te Chang cleared his throat, immediately gathering Alex¡¯s attention. His eyes went from the politely smiling man to the magnificent display softly glowing silver runes overhead. He took an awed breath and couldn¡¯t wipe the silly grin from his face. Glorying in the majestic perfection that was near identical to those on the far cliff face. Even the bas relief carvings were near perfect copies of one another.

    ¡°Are you ready, Alex?¡±

    Alex smiled, dipping his head and embracing gestalt with his Ruidian friends, even as the others looked his way curiously.

    ¡°Ready how?¡± asked the guard captain in a concerned whisper.

    ¡°He means enter communion with his Ruidian friends,¡± Ya Ling whispered back. ¡°It allows them to fight more effectively. As a cohesive unit.¡± She quirked an eyebrow. ¡°As you no doubt saw earlier.¡±

    ¡°Well of course,¡± The captain said, flustered expression immediately turning to professional focus. ¡°Ready yourselves, men! If our enemies were to attempt any last second interference¡­

    ¡°It would be here and now,¡± Dui Zhong noted, glaring out in the darkness as he held his guandao in an experienced grip.

    Te Chang, delaying only enough to share a smile and nod with his wife, solemnly approached the mother-of-pearl alcove that began to visibly glow as he held his tiny sliver of an ice core high¡­ before he was sent stumbling back with a cry.

    ¡°Husband!¡±

    Sulia¡¯s alarm was mirrored in all their faces¡­ yet no enemies had emerged. The alcove and the bas relief carvings surrounding it remained utterly undisturbed.

    The strained hush was broken by Te Chang¡¯s rueful chuckle. ¡°Ah, what fools we are, to think we can outsmart the Jade tier makers who brought our cities salvation in the first place!¡±

    ¡°Husband?¡±

    The man sighed and shook his head. ¡°As if a masterwork artifact a half-step from a divine creation would be fooled by a cheap fragment of a core. Of course it was rejected,¡± he said, gazing sadly at the pile of frost salts now in his hand. ¡°I suppose I should be thankful it didn¡¯t suck me dry of all cultivation and life-force for my daring.¡±

    Sulia blanched, before peering at the alcove with an odd mix of both wonder and fear. ¡°Perhaps this is for the best, husband.¡± She squeezed him tight, smiling as if trying to put the best spin on things. ¡°Can you believe the reactions of any delvers if all they achieved for their daring were the smallest of cracked beast cores and herbs so weak that the treasures in the basin would be of greater spiritual potency? That alone would imperil our reputation. Worse, the delve would contain water cores no better than the shattered fragment in your hand.¡±

    Te Chang sighed, bowing his head in deference to his wife¡¯s point even as Alex¡¯s heart raced, stunned by the words he had heard.

    ¡°Wait¡­ wait, wait, wait! Are you saying that the quality of the beast cores within depends upon the quality of the core we instill in these alcoves, here and now?¡± Alex¡¯s urgent words earned displeased hisses from the men behind him, and glares from both Sulia and Te Chang.

    ¡°Know your place, disciple,¡± Sulia said in a huff, Alex so lost in his racing train of thought that he barely registered the significance of her words. ¡°But yes, that would be correct.¡±

    Alex shook his head, stunned by the revelation to the point that he actually began to laugh. ¡°Oh this is too much. And here I thought¡­ but all the care and exquisite attention to detail, crafting treasures that would surely doom whoever forged them! Such a sacrifice just for the sake of destruction made no sense. Who in their right minds would give up so much of themselves just for bitter satisfaction? But what if the point wasn¡¯t destruction¡­ but salvation?¡±

    Alex ignored the increasingly irate looks most were giving him, lips stretching wide in a fierce grin. ¡°Now, it all makes sense! Destroying our city was the first step. Reforging it in their image was the second! Where those who took a knee and surrendered their freedoms would find salvation, and all others would be forced to eat bitter salt and die.¡± He gave a rueful shake of his head. ¡°In fact, I wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised if those Duo Li idiots didn¡¯t even understand the original intent of these double edged prizes¡­ and were using it only to weaken the caldera and force city-wide dependence on them alone! Because their seers might have predicted a Water core to one day emerge from the North, but how could it, with no core installed at all? Clearly those arrogant fools are being played just as much as they think they¡¯re playing us.¡±

    He shook his head in wry bemusement, paying no mind at all to the increasingly intent stares he was receiving, everyone¡¯s countenance a mixture of varying degrees of alarm, displeasure, and concern.

    Yet it was Ya Ling alone who dared to interrupt him. ¡°Alex, just what the hell are you talking...¡±

    Her voice broke out in an awed gasp, as did the entirety of those who bore witness to that which he suddenly revealed.

    ¡°A miracle. A bloody final hour miracle!¡± Dui Zhong cried triumphantly.

    The captain and his men had fallen to one knee themselves, and looked a heartbeat from saluting him as Te Chang chuckled softly himself. ¡°You never fail to amaze, disciple.¡±

    Sulia was gazing at Alex¡¯s prize with open-mouthed wonder. ¡°Is that¡­ by all the saints, that¡¯s an intact Gold-tier beast core! Where? How?¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°Let¡¯s just say there was more than one Titan worm in that rift. And we weren¡¯t lying when we said that none remained by the time we left.¡±

    ¡°And you, a mere boy, killed it?¡± She asked incredulously.

    Alex¡¯s grin widened. ¡°Does it matter, so long as the prize is in my hand?¡±

    She swallowed, quickly shaking her head. ¡°Not in the least,¡± she hastily assured. ¡°Now if you would be so good as to hand it to my husband¡­¡± Her eyes widened in sudden alarm. ¡°Hurry, we¡¯re running out of time!¡±

    But Alex felt it too. A sudden sharpness to the air. As if this sweet, halcyon moment of redemption was but the sweetest of serenades right before the shark discordant notes of malice, avarice, and fury, abruptly tainted the air.

    Te Chang cursed. ¡°Grey seers. Here!¡± He turned to Alex, a desperate look in his eyes. ¡°Boy, we have no time! If you would save...¡±

    But Alex had already tossed the priceless, baseball-sized glittering jewel into Te Chang¡¯s trembling hands before darting off into the desert sands. The older cultivator wasted no time, immediately striding toward the pedestal once more as the entire cliff face began to take on a rich, golden glow.

    ¡°Husband, be careful!¡± Sulia cried, before flinching and stumbling under the sudden terrible pressure she felt bearing on her.

    Now bearing upon them all.

    Orders of magnitude above a Deep Silver¡¯s ire, or the paltry toys of a defensive prize that might deflect a couple half-hearted blows.

    This was the essence of a Titan¡¯s might, a Ruler¡¯s privilege, and wujens that could devastate entire armies with the deadliness of their prowess.

    This was the killing weight pressing down upon all of them, earning awed curses and desperate cries.

    ¡°Move, husband! Now! It¡¯s our only chance!¡±

    Sulia¡¯s desperate cry was abruptly cut off, when even she crumpled to the ground with a groan.

    Qi Perception check: Success!

    Willpower check successful! For what is a Gold-tier monster¡¯s hate before one who has survived the roar of gods eager for his head?

    Yet there was wonder even in the horror that came so close to freezing Alex where he stood, before sheer stubborn grit had him racing above the sands on wings of wind. An exquisite tapestry of sigils and runes of Earth, Water, and Spirit¡­ and perhaps a seer¡¯s mastery over fate as well. All of which abruptly revealed itself as a mesh-work of silver sigils pulsing to life right above the ochre sands as a trio of dark shadowy shapes flickered free of the portal so fast and covered in inky gloom that Alex could sense nothing save their killing intent.

    His heart stuttered in terror, suddenly certain that if those flickers of shadow crossed the sands to his friends¡­ not one of them would survive.

 Book 8 - Chapter 95

    Alex didn¡¯t dare hesitate for even a second, immediately reforging his gestalt with the trio of companions who had also been floored by the wujen¡¯s killing aura. The instant his psyche was linked to their own, it was all he could do to resist the crushing weight of dread, pinning them where they lie. Much like poor Te Chang, who was desperately struggling to put the massive golden core in the pedestal so clearly designed for it, assuring the city¡¯s survival, even if they were all doomed to fall.

    All for naught, as Te Change collapsed with a cry when the cold bitter laughter of an ancient seer washed over them all.

    ¡°What a fine prize you have gathered for me, Senior Cultivator Te Chang.¡± It¡¯s lilting mockery turned to a hate-filled snarl. ¡°Now to your knees, dog, with my prize held high! My hounds will gladly take it from you, before snapping chains of binding that will assure that you and your companions know the eternal price of daring to cross the ultimate master of these desert sands!¡±

    Whatever else the wujen was going to say was cut off in a blinding flash of flame, followed by a howling whirlwind of Ice and bitter cold.

    You have successfully forged Greater Ice Ward!

    You have successfully forged Greater Fire Ward!

    You have successfully tapped into the desert¡¯s heat to fuel your wards.

    Congratulations! You have achieved Rank 1 of basic Mana Mastery! - Note! You have no mana pool! This skill is extraneous to all cultivation paradigms! This skill cannot be used outside of Mindlink!

    Alex ignored the blinding headache he suddenly felt as he pulled free of communion, trusting Linnea and the others to maintain the wards he had compelled them to summon, summoned as an extension of himself as he howled in the wind, all his attention on the shimmering matrix of power serving as a gate between Liushi and her would-be conquerors, so unlike the portal doors he had once used to brilliant effect when connected to his worldseed. And thankfully, nothing like the twisted mix of malice, brilliance, and madness that had been Shalu¡¯s own.

    In comparison to those wonders, the portal he approached was crude beyond belief.

    Yet it was utterly beyond his ability to rupture with storms of Wind, Water, or even lightning, manipulating secondary concepts of space and elements he had no access to at all. For how many times had Fate pulled him in directions that had promised nothing but endless bitterness and struggle?

    So he couldn¡¯t understand why the Gold-tier wujen¡¯s eyes widened with something surprisingly close to alarm as dozens of intricately laid crimson runes and exotic jeweled artifacts blazed to pulsating life upon his form. As if he was prepared for the unthinkable.

    ¡°You! Impossible!¡±

    Those words almost froze Alex, which would have been instant death, as the air cracked with an explosion of boulders shot with such force that they exploded against the cliff face like cannonballs¡­ for all that not a single Silver sigil was marred.

    And Alex realized to his horror that even the Shield of Wind, Steel, and Dark Qi that he was in the process of summoning forth would do almost nothing against that level of kinetic force.

    Find Weakness skill check: Success!

    Yet not even the snarling wujen¡¯s roars would force Alex to retreat.

    Not when he finally understood just how utterly impervious that gate would be to anyone under Gold Rank, immune to pretty much any attack imaginable.

    Save for one.

    Because Alex didn¡¯t have to overpower a Gold-tier monster¡¯s defenses or destroy the pristine artifacts that allowed the monster to bend reality itself.

    All he had to do was strike the vulnerable points in between.

    The gaps in his foes¡¯ armor.

    The chinks in his defenses that would spell doom every time.

    The sneering wujen¡¯s eyes widened when Alex drew his dao. Near three feet of razor sharp steel that had gone as dead and cold as a sliver of the void that, if one listened closely, was really just the whine of countless Steel fragments whirling about a matrix of Wind, each and every steel piece saturated with the essence of darkness itself.

    Alex grinned fiercely when the wujen blanched, before mocking Alex with cold laughter as his form glowed with a rainbow of overlapping wards shivering with energy unlike anything Alex had ever seen before.

    The gaunt man pinned Alex with bloodshot eyes, revealing iron grey teeth emblazoned with sigils when he smiled.

    Quickness Check made!

    Alex desperately averted his gaze as the ancient monster roared with laughter. ¡°You think a novice¡¯s basic mastery of Waste Qi will make any difference, fool? Your paltry grasp for power will do nothing save shatter against my wards!¡± The wujen waved his hand in mocking invitation and an inviolable barrier now stood wide open before Alex. ¡°Come, worm. I dare you to strike with all your hate! When your blow is snuffed out with the least of my wards, it will be my eternal pleasure to collar you to my will for all time!¡±

    Alex smirked at the invitation, for all that the sight of the cold-forged iron collar filled him with visceral dread. A collar rippling with enchantments that he sensed were far beyond the comparatively crude collars used by the slavers that had once gotten the best of him when he had been slumped over in exhaustion after having fought against the currents of the river between worlds.

    ¡°I have no doubt that you would like to do just that!¡± Alex taunted as he closed the rest of the distance before flooding as much potency as he possibly could in his blade. So much that he felt it, even with a Rank 5 Silver Qi Pool. So much that even the faceted dark jewel in the palm of his blade was at risk of rupturing, which all but promised fantastically fatal results.

    ¡°Yet I note that you¡¯ve made not one move, haven¡¯t shifted a single foot out of your torture chamber to wrap things up in the desert yourself!¡± Alex taunted as he did his best to focus not on the wujen, but on the disturbance of the portal itself.

    The wujen¡¯s mocking taunt became a furious snarl. ¡°As if I had time or inclination to deal with the likes of you!¡± He snorted in laughter. ¡°No, worm. It is you who will be coming to bow at my feet¡­ one way or another.¡±

    Alex smiled as his interface blinked frantically, Linnea¡¯s infravision combined with his Qi Perception and Desert Sense, along with Shadow Qi affinity, making it damn clear exactly what approached him.

    Alex¡¯s heart began hammering, sensing Linnea¡¯s growing fatigue, knowing that Fire and Ice were on a rapidly ticking off timer, and if he were going to act, going to do anything¡­

    Artificer skill check made!

    He would do it now.

    The wujen laughed when Alex swung his dao.

    ¡°Fool! Do you fear my might so much? You clearly missed...¡±

    The wujen¡¯s words cut off with a surprised his, sensing at the last possible second that the dao wasn¡¯t just three feet of steel, but an additional six feet of darkness.

    The wujen¡¯s wards flared to life.

    Momentary panic turned to mocking laughter when Alex¡¯s dao failed to stop even of the wujen¡¯s defensive wards.

    But Alex¡¯s target wasn¡¯t the wujen covered in enchantments so thick that Alex suspected that even Gold titans would be pounding it in supreme frustration¡­ that it might survive even a Jade¡¯s fearsome blows. At least one of them. Certainly no attack below Soul Cleave had a hope of cleaving through the man in a single blow. And Alex¡¯s novice melding of Steel and Dark Qi? Laughably impotent against the sneering monster before him.

    Somehow, Alex knew that without a shadow of a doubt.

    Which was why his target wasn¡¯t the wujen at all.

    It was the golden portal he had formed all around him, Alex charging not for the entrance but for the sides, which had the added benefit that there was no way the wujen could respond in the heartbeat of time he had, without leaving the gate himself. An act that the man was clearly reluctant to do. Though to be fair, the wujen¡¯s mocking smear was replaced by a look of outraged terror and wild desperation only at the last moment, as if Alex having the ability to sense, let alone effect, arts used to generate folds in space was unthinkable. Even if Dark Qi was absolutely perfect for cleaving those impossibly fragile stands¡­ so long as someone could cover all elements involved, and knew exactly where to strike.

    The snarling wujen pinned Alex with a killing glare so intense that it would have instantly stopped the heart of any mortal.

    Then, in a flash of brilliant golden light and the frustrated howl of a thwarted monster, he was gone.

    But Alex was already spinning around, daring to press his madly vibrating sword pommel and rapidly draining Qi Pool for just a few more seconds, once again summoning forth six additional feet of Dark Qi beyond the length of his dao.

    The costs for his daring, outside of a Dark Qi rich rift or the underworld itself, was absolutely absurd.

    As were the results.

    That was the moment that the would-be assassins, unable to penetrate the massive triple ward surrounding Alex¡¯s companions in a whirlwind of ice and flame, instead bee-lined right for Alex who could now sense them perfectly as Linnea¡¯s mana-based infravision effortlessly pierced shadowy arts dependent on spiritual energy alone.

    And if they had any inclination to take him alive, that ended the moment the wujen¡¯s gate was ruptured. The shadowy trio¡¯s eyes were filled with dismay and outrage. Alex¡¯s heart hammered, acknowledging at last a shiver of dismay as two moved at speeds damn close to Silver as the third pulled out a crossbow and drew a bead on Alex¡¯s twisting form.

    You have successfully summoned Storm shield!

    Yet even as he felt the pommel of his blade begin to vibrate and crack, he didn¡¯t dare retract its edge.

    Not when shadowy death lunged so fast that he felt cold steel sliding past even his desperately lowered shield, a line of ice and fire ripping through his shin, causing him to stumble.

    The one who marked him with such inhuman speed paused to smile and lick the blood off his blade. ¡°Far too slow Ruid...¡±

    Doom Slice!

    Alex¡¯s killer blinked with the strangest look on his face, opening his mouth for words that would never come again as his head tumbled free in a geyser of crimson droplets.

    You have critically struck Silver-tier assassin. All defensive wards have been ruptured.

    You have decapitated your prey!

    The pair of killers Alex could now sense so clearly trying to flank him both lurched back in shocked surprise for just a heartbeat. Giving Alex the time he desperately needed to tumble forward. But before he could ascend to the air, the closest killer¡¯s blade tore into his flank so fast that he was already tumbling away before Alex could do anything but flinch and hiss with fiery pain as the desert sands were sprayed with his blood.

    The man twisted around, scarred features curling in a cruel smile. ¡°This ends here, Ruidian scum,¡± he whispered in a guttural voice, using a dialect Alex had never heard before but instantly understood.

    Just as Alex understood that the man was just a feint. Or at least, in the lightning-fast calculus of battle, chose to treat him as such, already spinning about and whipping his blade around, ignoring the fresh burst of agony this caused. Agony that Rank 1 Silver Strength and Vitality allowed him to push right through, desperate to tag the third killer no doubt springing for his back at the very moment his ally distracted.

    And indeed the assassin was lunging at that very moment¡­ before pulling back with a sneer, well out of range of any dao, no matter how wildly their target flailed.

    Yet it was Alex¡¯s would be killer that collapsed with a startled cry, looking down in dazed disbelief at the ropes of slimy blue grey intestines now spurting from between his trembling fingers.

    You have critically struck Silver-tier assassin.

    You have disemboweled your prey!

    ¡°Fu!¡± cried out his uninjured partner as the dazed man collapsed to the ground, giving Alex the strangest look, his dazed lips twisting in agony.

    ¡°But I dodged your blade¡­ how?¡±

    Alex answered in the only way that mattered, twisting about and lashing out with steel for the one survivor, gazing at Alex in wide-eyed surprise that he could sense his final desperate attempts at an ambush, having no idea that three more pairs of eyes and a sense of the battlefield as a whole were now Alex¡¯s own.

    Monstrous, Silver-tier quickness saved the man from Alex¡¯s shrieking steel.

    But not the six foot extension, near invisible in the dark that cleaved through the air at shocking speed, Dark-Qi infused steel shrapnel rupturing Silver tier wards and chewing through beast-hide lamellar as if it were no thicker than the shadows the man strove to hide himself in with his final desperate moments.

    For an eyeblink Alex met furious defiance as the man¡¯s lips curled in a hate-filled snarl¡­ before the man¡¯s eyes rolled up and he collapsed in a bloody heap upon the desert sands, spurting a geyser of blood from the wicked rent in his chest.

    Alex spun around to catch the gaze of the final crippled would-be assassin, frozen in horrified disbelief at Alex¡¯s smiling form, trembling hands still desperately trying to keep his intestines from spurting upon the pitiless ocher dune he had collapsed upon.

    ¡°And now there is but one,¡± Alex said, finally having a moment to embrace his own Power Healing, sensing the dizziness he was on the verge of being consumed by, shuddering to think just how much blood he was now leaving on the desert sands from what he was increasingly sure was a perforated kidney.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    He spat blood and focused only on healing and keeping his crippled opponent well in his sights, even as he eased at last his mental grip upon the blade, the massive Qi Drain and strain to his Dark jewel instantly easing as his steel blade alone retained the color of ebony darkness.

    The now wild-eyed assassin gazed at Alex in stupefaction. ¡°No. We are Silver! There¡¯s no way you could fell two of my brothers with your parlor tricks! There¡¯s no way you should be standing. I tore open your kidney. You should be in at least as much pain as me!¡± The last was said with a bitter, pain-filled chuckle that ended in a groan that made even Alex wince as the man¡¯s voice faded to a whisper. ¡°You¡¯re just a Ruidian. Nothing more.¡±

    The man¡¯s mocking smile, the look of a would-be hunter knowing he had played the fool as much as anyone else, soon turned to the dazed look of a man getting ready to accept his own death.

    And that was a stupor Alex would deny his dying foe, even as he fought the fiery agony of his own forced-healing.

    He startled the now groaning man back to full alertness with a furious roar. ¡°Just who the hell are you and what¡¯s your interest in Liushi? Why are you even here?¡±

    The man blinked, opening his mouth only to let out a piteous groan of agony that made even Alex wince with pity. Pity he burned clear of his gaze before the monster that would doom an entire city. Before they were both abruptly washed over by a magnificent wave of pristine golden light flooding the area and Alex felt a glorious rush of accomplishment, knowing that their mission was complete.

    Golden healing burst mitigates your injuries!

    You have gained positive karma with the entirety of Liushi city!

    This alone brought a genuine relieved smile to Alex¡¯s lips that grew to heartfelt relief as the last of his injuries that he knew would take more than a bit of dedicated healing abruptly faded away.

    No matter what political travesty might or might not occur this night, at least the city was safe. That was something that he could take comfort in, no matter what political shenanigans went down, even if, despite all their efforts, they were still all forced to leave with their tails behind their legs.

    What mattered now, Alex decided, was simply to get as much information from his target as he could.

    Or course, that was the moment the bastard, blessed by the same Gold-tier healing burst that Alex had been, threw a smoke bomb so like the ones Alex used to both make and use, before trying to run.

    Only to cry out with surprise when the desert sands abruptly formed into the face of a furious young woman who¡¯s jian whipped across both his wrists before pressing against his throat, disarming the man and sending him crashing to the ground before he could blink.

    ¡°Where are my grandparents, you murderous little fuck? Tell me, or I swear I¡¯ll rip out your throat!¡±

    But Alex dared not waste a moment looking her way when there were two other killers that would slice their throats out if they had been blessed by that same golden light¡­

    And never had Alex been so relieved to catch the glassy stare of eyes void of all life.

    One with a massive rent in his chest that Alex just knew had ripped heart and lungs clean in half¡­ and how troubling was it to see the wound half-closed?

    But the glassy stare remained.

    Yet not even that was as chilling as the lifeless head that had grown an inch-worth of neck before the healing burst had faded¡­ or the body that had attempted to grow a chin¡­ forcing Alex to wonder just how far Gold-tier healing could take one.

    And just in case, miracles aside¡­

    Alex¡¯s blade flashed twice more, spraying the desert sands.

    Because Alex wasn¡¯t about taking chances this late in the game, no matter how much he suddenly wanted to heave.

    ¡°Tell me!¡±

    Alex then turned his attention to a furious looking Ya Ling and the assassin desperately pleading for his life.

    An assassin who¡¯s right wrist wasn¡¯t nearly as wounded as his hunched form would suggest, sending a frisson of alarm racing across Alex¡¯s spine.

    ¡°Ya Ling, duck and flow!¡± Alex shouted for all he was worth, hating the fact that he was too late, that even with the Wind now fueling his desperate flight forward, he would be too slow to intercept the serpentine dagger wet with poison that the now wild-eyed killer was plunging for a startled Ya Ling¡¯s hip.

    ¡°Die, bitch!¡± The man cursed in his guttural tongue.

    Before frowning in confusion, when all he struck was sand.

    His wild-eyed stare allowed him to register Alex¡¯s furious charging countenance and the swing of Alex¡¯s blade from several yards away even as he collapsed back to the desert stands, wide-eyed with sudden panic, hands reaching out in desperate futile effort to staunch the spray of blood now spurting from his neck.

    Alex glared with cold satisfaction at the man whose hourglass he had just cracked. Because Enhanced Wind Blade at its most basic might not be anywhere near as powerful as Doom Blade, but it could still cut deep enough against even a Silver-tier speed cultivator¡¯s minimally protected throat.

    Especially when used by someone who had mastered the art of piercing spell wards and artifacts that shattered like glass before carefully focused bursts of spiritual energy, much like the strike that shredded spirit puma leather and cut half an inch deep into the flesh underneath.

    Of course, a paltry half inch was nowhere near enough to decapitate the desperately writhing assassin now spurting his lifeblood upon the desert sands.

    But it was still more than enough to assure his demise. Or at least, it would be if the man was mortal. Which this would-be assassin most certainly was not.

    Alex huffed as the righteous wrath that had carried him so far had faded, his friend¡¯s whirling wards of fire and ice fading as their mana risked complete depletion and the danger had, after all, passed.

    Now it was a handful of dazed cultivators looking at both the alcove and Alex with looks he had no time to decipher.

    Now with one final loose end that needed to be tied.

    A threat Alex dared show no mercy toward, monstrous speed having made it clear just how vulnerable he was when a single mistake could have cost Ya Ling her life, and his as well, had his foe thought to jab his sword in the back of Alex¡¯s neck, and not his kidney during their first engagement.

    Wild eyes gazed desperately up into Alex¡¯s own as the man desperately trying to control the spurting blood from his throat scurried back, feet desperately kicking the sands. ¡°Please, spare me! I¡¯ll tell you everything I...¡±

    And between one heartbeat and the next, Ya Ling was upright once more, walking by Alex¡¯s side, a ward of swirling wind in one hand, her vibrating Jian in the other.

    Alex flashed her a relieved smile, but all she had eyes for was the would-be killer, trembling in the sands.

    ¡°You¡¯re damn right you will! Now why the hell are wujen working for the Duo Li clan? And tell me where my grandparents are!¡±

    The man blinked in surprise, painful laughter bubbling from his lips, speaking with a thick accent.

    ¡°This is what you wish to ask me? This is who you think I am? Foolish child. I know nothing of your kin, nor this Duo Li clan!¡±

    This was enough for both Alex and Ya Ling to halt their steps, sharing a quick look of confusion, though neither was stupid enough to let the man before them out of their sights, for all that he trembled as his blood continued to ooze from his wound.

    But nowhere near the gusher it should have been.

    Alex¡¯s gaze grew hard and cold, already knowing what he¡¯d have to do as the dark gloom lightened up with the crackling lightning now racing up and down Alex¡¯s dao.

    The man¡¯s eyes widened with fresh dismay. ¡°No. An emperor¡¯s art? There is no way one such as you could wield the noblest of elements!¡±

    ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    The most pertinent of questions, asked by none other than Senior Cultivator Te Chang, surrounded by a whirlwind of Ice summoned by none other than his wife. Sulia glared down at the fallen assassin even as she kept tight hold of her husband, and Alex thought it a miracle she hadn¡¯t finished off this threat to her loved one already.

    Alex stole a quick glance at his companions, all of them now forming up before the killer, earning a cold chuckle from the monster before them.

    ¡°Is it not obvious, fools? The core! The priceless Golden core you would waste on a city¡¯s singular waterfall.¡± His eyes lit with fanatical outrage as he furiously rubbed his wounded neck, and the air suddenly smelled of orange blossoms and sandalwood.

    ¡°You think our seer was blind to your find? That she didn¡¯t instantly sense when a priceless Golden Water core had been revealed? Fools! You know the desert edicts as well as anyone! All sacred treasures are to be gifted at once to the prince of these desert sands. It should have been immediately brought to his eminence in Qianshi, not wasted here!¡±

    Te Chang furrowed his brow, drawing breath to answer the obvious follow-up question before a faint frown of confusion marred his features, and he collapsed to the desert sands.

    Biochemical Mastery skill check made!

    ¡°Husband!¡± Sulia cried out in panic before stumbling herself, to the cold satisfaction of the resourceful killer who had just filled the air with poison, sneering even as he darted away, the wound in his neck reduced to an angry red scar¡­ and no worse.

    Yet clever as the would-be killer was, now smart enough race away while keeping his distance from Alex, it did little to protect him from the swirling corkscrew of liquid flame tearing open his back and sending him flying in a burning, screaming heap, his screams cut off when his body was perforated by a dozen massive ice spears cast by Hanz and Lieberman. Their matching hard expressions truly did make them look like father and son, Alex thought with a smirk, even if Lieberman now looked more like an older brother, thanks to investing so heavily in himself with his last two level-ups.

    Pausing only to make sure that their foe was truly dead, Alex quickly raced over to his fallen companion¡¯s side.

    ¡°Te Chang!¡±

    ¡°It will be okay,¡± Alex soothed, gently shifting the only momentarily outraged-looking Sulia before risking her wrath, daring to spit in her husbands mouth before rubbing his throat.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± She snarled, and Alex was suddenly dead certain that if he wasn¡¯t hovering over her husband she might already have run him through with ice, no matter that she herself was so dizzy she could hardly keep her feet.

    Yet her outraged glare turned to a relieved cry when Te Chang took a wheezing gasp, eyes springing wide with the strangest look for Alex before solemnly bowing his head and accepting his wife¡¯s fierce hug.

    Alex then proceeded to spit in his water flask before passing it to each of his reluctant-looking companions. ¡°Shut up, don¡¯t argue or say anything. Just take a good swig and we never talk about this again. Agreed?¡±

    And it said something, Alex thought, that not one man or woman said a word as they passed around the flask. Everyone grimaced, most especially the soldiers under their captain, but none protested, even though Alex felt the weight of far too many stares as he turned to examine the alcove, cracking a smile at the sight of bass relief figures bowing before the carving of a brilliant sun that hadn¡¯t been there before. Nor dark clouds blessing crops with rain.

    Alex gave a satisfied nod, somehow certain that no force below Jade would be pulling that sun free anytime soon.

    He then turned around, smiling brightly into too many staring faces. ¡°It¡¯s certainly been an exciting night, hasn¡¯t it? We¡¯ve successfully restored the waterfalls. Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s enough.¡±

    Sulia gave Alex a pointed look. ¡°Do you mind telling me why we all drank from that flask, disciple?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°I was an apothecary, remember, and my old employer might or might not have had, ahem, JiangHu ties. So when I recognized the scent of a particular poison, I knew what had to be done. Simple as that.¡±

    She quirked a bemused eyebrow. ¡°Your spittle cures poison?¡±

    Alex forced a chuckle. ¡°Perhaps. Or perhaps it was a distraction that worked so well that over a dozen of my boon companions failed to see what else I added to that flask.¡± He grinned. ¡°Come now. What alchemist is going to reveal his or her secrets to anyone? But I sure as heck wasn¡¯t going to let my friends die to something I could treat so¡­ yeah. Call it a compromise.¡±

    Much to his relief, for all that a few of the captain¡¯s soldiers were gazing at him with suspicion or outright disgust, more wore thoughtful expressions on their features, a handful even going so far as to bow their heads in gratitude, and his friends didn¡¯t hesitate at all.

    ¡°Always where your needed, boy. You have the fool¡¯s own luck, and glad I am for it,¡± Dui Zhong declared with a chuckle and clap on his back, earning a wince from Alex for words that hit a bit too close to home.

    Instructor Rah seconded that sentiment. ¡°Yet only a fool would deny what a boon companion our young Ruidian friend has proven himself to be. A just cultivator that I would be happy to have adventuring or fighting by my side at any time.¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks flush when Te Chang and even Sulia seconded that sentiment, Alex¡¯s Ruidian friends grinning as well, clearly feeling fierce pride for the acknowledgment that one of their own had received.

    It was enough that they all managed to ignore the sneer of disgust one pair of soldiers quietly shared.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I had to sip from that fool¡¯s flask! If I never see him again after this night, I¡¯ll count myself a lucky man.¡±

    ¡°Our work here is done, my friends,¡± Te Chang quietly said to his companions once Dui Zhong had calmly and thoroughly looted the bodies, Ya Ling then burying them in the desert sands. ¡°I think it¡¯s time we headed back.¡±

    Alex saw more than one nod of heartfelt agreement, for all that their haunted eyes made it clear that none of them were quite sure what to expect. Had a coup successfully taken place? Were their lives in jeopardy if they even approached? Was the prince still in power?

    And Alex clearly wasn¡¯t the only one worried about their reception when they got back, exquisitely sensitive hearing allowing him to catch quietly whispered words that the desert breeze whipped free of the ears of most.

    ¡°And if the currents are perilous, husband?¡±

    ¡°Then we slip inside via the western gate, where no one has reason to expect us, retrieve our children, and blend in with the morning caravans heading to Zhongshi City.¡±

    Sulia sighed, squeezing her husbands hand. ¡°We should do that regardless. And if we encounter opposition?¡±

    Te Chang¡¯s normally gentle gaze hardened. ¡°We take no chances. We assume hostile capture will result in our family¡¯s elimination, so we strike them dead before they can blink.¡±

    Sulia flashed a mirthless smile. ¡°No different than when we had to flee Qianshi, all those years ago.¡±

    Te Chang snorted. ¡°The desert is a cruel mistress. Nothing is promised, and the sweetest sanctuaries will turn foul with corruption faster than most.¡±

    Sulia sighed, dipping her head in agreement.

    Linnea bit her lip, skirting through the sands to Alex¡¯s side. ¡°What happens if it wasn¡¯t enough?¡±

    Alex flashed a gentle smile. ¡°We did everything we could for Liushi¡¯s sake, to make sure the water would continue to flow. That was the most important part. If it also secures the reign of a ruler sympathetic to our cause? Then all the better.¡±

    Ya Ling nodded her agreement. ¡°We¡¯re heroes, either way. But if the prince loses his throne, we¡¯re all as good as dead.¡±

    Linnea paled. ¡°Then we¡¯d better pray that saving the falls is enough to save the prince¡­ and our hides.¡±

    Dui Zhong chuckled and nodded. ¡°We¡¯re playing high stakes go this night, dearie! And if our side wins, our enemies might actually be given a chance to surrender! After all, the just and honorable prince hasn¡¯t tried to gut his enemies in the streets for over a decade.¡±

    Sulia snorted. ¡°As opposed to whatever puppet the Duo Yi¡¯s are putting up, who tried to take us out twice in a single night.¡±

    ¡°Assuming there aren¡¯t other players as well,¡± Instructor Rah solemnly reminded them, the Gold tier presence of that wujen and the lightning-fast assassins he had sent through his portal, assassins prevented from absolutely tearing through their party thanks onlyh to their Ruidian friends¡¯ wards, would not soon be forgotten.

    Alex chuckled awkwardly only once when jokes were made about Ruidians who got a head¡¯s up on their foes and what he must be compensating for, the gallows humor soon turning genuinely mirthful as jokes were traded between soldiers and academy cultivators, and in very short order everyone had the demeanor of men and women out for a midnight stroll or enjoying the easiest of patrols.

    Alex smirked at the banter along with everyone else, knowing they were just trying to keep each other¡¯s spirits up and laugh off the growing anxiety welling in their guts as they approached the gate.

    Their banter died down as they made their way to the still open portcullis, the air alive with the sounds of shouts and accusations as Captain Goizing slowed down and signaled everyone to gather.

    ¡°That the gate¡¯s still open. That¡¯s a good sign. The yelling is not. Let me take the lead and assure us safe passage. As far as anyone else is concerned, we were on a mission of mercy for the benefit of the entire city, and it went off without a hitch¡­ or any unexpected disturbance of any sort.¡±

    Linnea nodded animatedly. ¡°So we don¡¯t tell anyone about the living dead or all the baddies that Alex killed.¡±

    Alex winced, then nodded. ¡°Exactly. Best we leave the talking to our elders and not say a word at all.¡±

    He exchanged a meaning-filled glance with a worried looking Ya Ling who immediately nodded her understanding. She gently clasped Linnea¡¯s hand and began whispering into her ear, making Linnea blush and squeal, the pair sharing animated gossip as they approached, with Ya Ling¡¯s hand ready to put over the young elementalist¡¯s mouth should worst come to worst. Because one thing Alex was not going to do was abruptly wrest control of his dear friend¡¯s mind. Not when she had given him so much trust, and helped him find a beauty in shared communion that was so far from domination that it was like comparing the sweet joy of making love to one¡¯s soulmate with¡­ Alex winced, refusing even to make the comparison. Instead, he kept his focus firmly on the moment, sensing the tension heightening amongst the entire party.

 Book 8 - Chapter 96

    Alex swallowed as they approached the gate, heart pounding as they walked the flat cart-friendly road carved right up the face of the caldera to behold the sight of half a dozen guards wearing uniforms matching Captain Goizing¡¯s¡­ and over twice their number wearing the lamellar armor favored by Duo Yi¡¯s personal guard.

    Alex caught sight of a hot-eyed officer clearly following a body cultivator¡¯s path, towering over the lesser cultivators about him, banging the hilt of his guandao upon the cobblestones with a resounding crack. ¡°And I say you will close the gate as you¡¯ve been ordered to do, by Lord Duo Yi himself! You are expected to LOWER and secure that gate until after the vote!¡±

    The half dozen soldiers flinched and retreated a step before Captain Goizing boldly stepped forward, reinforcing the skeleton crew with his own men, over a dozen having survived the night¡¯s perilous encounters.

    ¡°The city orders are quite clear, sirrah. The gates are to remain open unless there is a visible threat to the city, or the prince himself orders their closing.¡± Even as he said the words, the captain pushed forward, forcing the snarling cultivator and his men a single step back as Te Chang and the others quickly rushed through, much to the displeasure of the irate-looking soldiers.

    ¡°Lord Duo Yi heads the counsel, fools! If he says there¡¯s a threat, you best listen!¡± The opposing cultivator glared at the captain. ¡°You countermand his commands at your own peril. Now who are these spies trying to sneak through the gate right under your very noses?¡± His lips curled in a malevolent smile. ¡°They will come with me at once. The counsel has questions for them all.¡±

    Te Chang stepped boldly forward, glaring at the sneering Duo Li lackey. ¡°We are the farthest thing from spies, soldier,¡± he said, smiling coldly as the guard¡¯s sneer turned to barely concealed panic as the Silver unleashed the full weight of his killing aura. ¡°And you have absolutely no right to issue orders to esteemed Silver Sands faculty under any circumstances.¡±

    ¡°And what were you doing outside the gates, when the signal was given for every loyal alumni of our greatest academy to defend the school and guard the rifts from surges!?¡± Asked the guard with an imperious tone that immediately set Alex¡¯s teeth on edge as he glared at the Duo Li puppets

    Sulia flashed a cold smile. ¡°It just so happens that we were embracing our most sacred duty of all. To keep Liushi¡¯s eternal waters flowing.¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes widened in surprise that quickly turned to a glare. ¡°Impossible. Lord Duo Li is out there himself, personally guarding the ritual sight! If anyone had...¡± The man caught himself as Te Chang crossed his arms.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying Lord Duo Li is actually out there, right now?¡± The senior cultivator shook his head and tutted. ¡°That he would abandon his counsel duties, on this night of all nights.¡±

    ¡°He abandoned nothing!¡± The Duo Li officer spat out. ¡°He merely guards the ritual sight that no one may dare to tamper with it! If you actually recovered a Water core... surely he was there to assist you when our city is most vulnerable to spies and provocateurs?¡± The man furrowed his brow suspiciously. ¡°If you truly were at the sight, you should have encountered him. No, he should be leading your expedition back to report his success to the entire city counsel!¡±

    Alex exchanged a smirk with a wide eyed Ya Ling. ¡°Do you get it?¡± he softly asked.

    The girl beside him nodded. ¡°Duo Li sympathizers somehow used the oathbound talismans to pin our own masters at Silver Sands with a false alarm so they couldn¡¯t patrol or defend the city, once he had an emergency contingent ready at the ritual sight. No doubt Xuon Li, trying to seize control as headmaster, was instrumental in doing just that. Maybe Lord Duo Li himself was to be the final bulwark to take us down when their first contingent failed, or maybe their plan all along was to enact the ritual after his men in the city cut us down and tried to claim our prize.¡± She flashed a mirthless smile. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if his ultimate plan was to return to the city to be hailed as a hero over our dead bodies!¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°And considering how fast Te Chang¡¯s treacherous assistant had set up the ambush, not to mention tainting multiple delves so quickly and skillfully¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised if they¡¯ve been working on this scheme to cause panic and seize control for quite some time¡± He smirked and shook his head. ¡°For all we know, they¡¯re the reason why this city was so vulnerable in the first place. Who knows how many students came back in triumph, bragged a little bit too loud, only to disappear with no trace of themselves or their precious cores of Water or Ice? Or maybe it was a softer play and outside agents just made them very lucrative offers that they knew better than to refuse. Either way, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the city¡¯s shortage of Water or Ice cores had a very human element to it.¡±

    Her words were a whisper, and his were as well. Yet he had deliberately conveyed it all through his party interface, and the way all his companions stiffened, they all understood the implications at least as well as he did, and Linnea was nodding along animatedly.

    ¡°And this is why my clan avoids politics!¡±

    Alex turned his attention back to Te Chang, currently pinning the blanching Duo Li lackey under his pitiless gaze, now hiding nothing of his killing aura. ¡°Yet as you can see, your master is nowhere to be found. Clearly he has failed in his duties, and rest assured, he will be held accountable when this night is through. Now step aside or accompany us as you will, for we are most definitely going straight to the city counsel!¡±

    The Duo Li lackey paled with fury and desperation.

    Alex felt a sudden lurch in his gut as he caught the man¡¯s panicked gaze.

    This wasn¡¯t a man eager to get an edge on his master¡¯s political opponents. No. His look was that of a man forced to face public disgrace and execution. A terror so stark that Alex couldn¡¯t help but read in the man¡¯s eyes, windows to his soul.

    Qi Perception Check made!

    And that alone told Alex all he needed to know, and just how ruthless and determined their opponents were to end the night in their favor. They had already over extended themselves on multiple fronts. Anything else save victory and dominion over the city and her resources was probably a death sentence for them.

    So Alex didn¡¯t need the telltale twitch of the man¡¯s gaze to know that they were all in jeopardy.

    But it certainly helped.

    Lesser Shadow Affinity successfully pierces Shadow Cloak.

    ¡°Enemies of the state! Kill them now!¡± The mustachioed man roared, Alex sensing the sudden flash of killing intent from the trio of powerfully built cultivators radiating Deep Bronze potency by the captain¡¯s side.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Sulia wasted a precious moment in outrage, and Alex was already lashing out.

    Not for the trio of sneering Bronze ogres bringing guandao to bear against Rah and Dui Zhong, but against the dark slivers of shadow even now trying to strike them from behind.

    The torchlit bailey flared with the flash of brilliant lightning as a sneering figure in shadow snarled and lunged for Alex¡¯s back with a blade of darkest shadow radiating rot and death. Red rimmed eyes abruptly widened in surprise when Alex weaved aside impossibly fast.

    It was the last expression the shadowy assailant would ever make as his head was cleaved free in an explosion of lightning and gore.

    Storm Strike!

    You have critically struck your foe!

    A blinding flash that stunned his shadowy companion for a perilous split second as the second would-be assassin swung wildly at an intently focused Linnea, who was presently punishing the Duo Li contingent with whips of searing flame.

    A cruel thrust doomed forever to miss as the terminally confused assailant found himself crashing to the ground, Shadow knife dissipating in shock as the would-be killer found himself unable to rise at all, before letting off a single piteous moan, realizing only then that he had been stabbed cleanly through the heart by a hot-eyed Ya Ling who had blossomed almost as fiercely as Alex had in that perilous night where an entire city¡¯s fate rested heavily upon their shoulders.

    Alex exchanged a fierce grin with his desert rose before spinning back around, his weapon held at the ready, carefully eyeing the shadows around the courtyard for any other hidden assailants as his friends quickly turned the tide against their increasingly desperate foes.

    He was pleased to see that between Instructor Rah and Dui Zhong, their control of the front line was masterful. The pair of them had no problem forcing over half a dozen foes back with their polearms, despite the soldier¡¯s spears, their guandao effortlessly weaving and darting past desperate defenses to slip through their opponent¡¯s guards and caress their bodies like an artist delivering the gentlest of crimson strokes as one combatant after another collapsed in sprays of frothy blood, such that before long not a single soldier dared step close to the grimly smiling pair of defenders, no matter how their mustachioed commander screamed in increasing panic for them to press forward. It was then that Sulia¡¯s furious barrage of jagged icy bolts tore through their armored foes, all of those hit collapsing with groans and sprays of blood.

    Before the increasingly panicked Duo Li lackey could issue any further orders he was suddenly writhed in white-hot flame. A vicious searing blaze that tore through one screaming opponent after another, leaving nothing but charred flesh in its wake. And of the half dozen strongest opponents who had managed to avoid the maelstroms of ice and fire, their final charge petered off to a bloody stop when one explosion of stone shrapnel after another unleashed by an unforgiving Te Chang tore through them, leaving shrieking cultivators spurting blood from mangled limbs.

    Alex did his best to tune out their increasingly desperate cries. Because no matter how much they screamed and pled for quarter, after attempting to assassinate multiple Silver Tier wujen and instructors, everyone knew that there could only be one outcome.

    ¡°It is done,¡± Sulia coldly declared moments later, after the final dismembered Bronze¡¯s shrieks were silenced under fresh spears of pitiless ice hurtled with such force that they cracked the stone tiles the doomed soldier slumped down upon.

    Captain Goizing, who had held his men back in reserve to avoid perilous confusion in battle, bowed solemnly and low. ¡°My sincere apologies for the delay, master cultivators. My men and I will clean up here. May you get to the counsel in time.¡±

    Senior Cultivator Te Chang stared at the captain for a long tense moment, before dipping his head. ¡°You were wise to keep your men in reserve. Confusion in the battlefield would have done us little good.¡±

    ¡°And it would have made it harder for us to know who to kill!¡± Linnea enthusiastically agreed. ¡°Since it gets confusing picking the good guys from the bad guys in the middle of the night, in pitched battle.¡±

    ¡°And this way no one can accuse you of taking sides, or doing anything but your duty. An important path to survival in a city far more lively than I had expected,¡± Dui Zhong noted with a cool chuckle.

    Captain Goizing was wise enough to say nothing further, merely smiling and bowing his head.

    Te Chang wasted no further time. ¡°To the palace,¡± he said, their stately walk quickly turning to a jog, then an all out sprint.

    Alex was impressed despite himself, that Sulia managed to keep up with the body cultivators so well. Despite his initial poor first impression of her, she was clearly far more than an elitist wujen who didn¡¯t think he was good enough for her private class. And to be fair, perhaps he wasn¡¯t. Despite all his dedication and effort, it was only while embracing the Path of Peril in the school¡¯s deadliest rift that he had managed to evolve his Storm and Wind blades into attacks that could channel Dark Qi itself, even strike a modest-sized area at once. And with how hard he had fought for a life free of the gods¡¯ notice, he was loathe to channel Dark Qi here in the city. Even the handful of times he had made use of Doom Blade that night courted disaster, he feared, but it was either that or allowing a Dark Sage¡¯s portal to remain open and a trio of half-step Silvers who had broken through in speed, at least, from making short bloody work of his party. Because if his Ruidian companions¡¯ wards hadn¡¯t managed to hold¡­

    He shivered, shaking his head, all too well aware of just how close they had all come to grizzly death, that night. All the same, he knew better that to dare embrace Dark Qi or Lightning save in the rifts, or when the situation unquestionably demanded it, for he would be leaving no enemy survivors to spread tales in his wake.

    Regardless, he was certainly no wujen.

    Still, he had to admit, for all that he knew it would be an uphill struggle to continue along his present path, the Lightning Blast he could now stack onto Storm Blade was pretty damned sweet.

    Even if he¡¯d be a fool to use it out in the open here in the city, save in direst circumstances in the dead of night. Like right now.

    Then Alex blinked in alarm, immediately pulled free of his thoughts when Linnea gave a despairing wheeze.

    He turned, feeling a sudden tightness in his chest when he saw how badly she was struggling to keep up, hunched over and wheezing as she ran, a heartbeat away from collapse.

    She had strength only for a rueful chuckle. ¡°It looks like I didn¡¯t put enough points into Vitality after all, Alex.¡±

    She closed her eyes, clearly about to collapse, which would be a very foolish thing for a lone girl to do tonight of all nights, Alex thought, when distant screams and the scents of uncontrolled fires permeated the air.

    She gasped in surprise when Alex effortlessly gathered her in his arms, relieved and surprised to see Hanz and Lieberman keeping up.

    ¡°My son chose to walk in my footsteps, battle leader, so that he too may be strong for those he loves,¡± Lieberman said with surge of fatherly pride. ¡°Yet for all her encouragement in us perfecting our bodies as well as our gifts, my niece thought it best to invest this night¡¯s incredible boons on empowering her mind. So that her thoughts would be as clear as diamond, and so a certain man might find her worthy.¡±

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Alex flushed at the pointed look he sensed through their link as Hanz gently snorted.

    ¡°I told her to shoot for a twenty one Vitality first, and purchase the Ageless Perk like Father did, or the Pristine Form perk that showed up for me¡­ or whatever populated for her. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s allowing our bodies to effortlessly compensate for any adverse recessive traits, but she couldn¡¯t stand the thought of having thoughts more sluggish than your own whenever we commune.¡±

    Linnea might not have listened in on the silent communication, but the pretty flush to her dusky cheeks made it clear she understood the jist. ¡°And here I thought I¡¯d have a chance to impress you,¡± she said with a rueful smile. ¡°Only to find you carrying me as effortlessly as you would a falcon¡¯s feather.¡±

    He winked, flashing her a cheerful smile. ¡°Your crimson corkscrew was epic at blasting through even a half-step Silver¡¯s spine, and that fire ward was exactly what we needed to get those elite killers to back off while Te Chang put that Water core exactly where it needed to be.¡±

    ¡°Just how high is your strength now?¡± She asked breathlessly.

    Alex grinned. ¡°Silver, Rank 1. In other words¡­ sixty five.¡±

    Luminous eyes locked with his own. ¡°You¡¯re so broken it¡¯s absurd.¡±

    Alex laughed. ¡°I know, right?¡±

    ¡°Kiss me?¡±

    Alex nearly stumbled upon the cobblestone steps when she whispered those words. Still loud enough for a couple of his companions to give a bemused snort.

    So Alex grinned and kissed her forehead.

    Linnea pouted, before she winced at the high pitched scream of a woman in distress in one of the nearby buildings, her nose wrinkling with the scent of thick black smoke at odds with the lighter scents of carefully controlled dinner fires or servants preparing the morning tea.

    Her eyes widened with alarm. ¡°Someone¡¯s in trouble.¡±

    ¡°I think so too,¡± Alex said, gently putting her down, stroking her curls before turning to catch Te Chang¡¯s concerned gaze. ¡°I¡¯m going to investigate.¡±

    The man¡¯s features tightened. ¡°You know how important this is.¡± Before he dipped his head. ¡°But how can we claim virtue, if we allow tragedy to unfold without doing a thing?¡± He locked gazes with Instructor Rah. ¡°Accompany our friend. Meet up with us as soon as you do. You know where we have to go.¡±

    The man gave a curt nod, Alex relieved to see that Dui Zhong didn¡¯t hesitate to pick up Linnea, even going so far as to tease he with a smile. ¡°I, for one, think you¡¯re would-be beau¡¯s a fool. Shall we?¡±

    With those words, Alex¡¯s companions dashed along the main road while Alex and Rah darted down a wide yet curving side road decorated with carefully tended rose bushes that made it clear that this property belonged to someone of considerable means.

    The pair skidded to a sudden halt when they were confronted by a pyre of flame.

    Rah shook his head with a curse, his heavy gaze peering up at what had once been a luxuriously appointed manor of hardwood, complete with a meticulously tended garden overlooking the fecund valley below, sheltered from the bustle of city life from the sentinel-like stone buildings dividing this once picturesque sanctuary from the bustle of the main boulevard just two blocks back.

    ¡°It¡¯s an inferno, Alex,¡± Instructor Rah said, gently squeezing a cursing Alex¡¯s shoulder when the despairing wail he had heard moments ago was joined by the sound of children shrieking for their mother, and an infants panicked cry.

    Alex wasted no time, darting for the once lovingly decorated arched entrance covered in vine-covered trellises that had once been carefully watered to bring this entrance to life, now shriveling to ash under a maelstrom of flame.

    ¡°Alex, there¡¯s nothing we can do!¡±

    But Alex paid the man no heed, all his focus on what he needed to do.

    Skill check made! You have summoned Enhanced Water Shield!

    Alex took a steadying breath of air hot enough to sting anyone lacking the blood of dragons pounding through their veins while making use of one of the lesser beast cores he had claimed as he focused on pushing his water shield to the same degree as he once had when attempting to rescue an entire quarter of the city, just days ago.

    Of course then he hadn¡¯t been right in the thick of it, at risk of collapse from fumes and fire.

    Yet he knew damn well he needed control as well. He ignored Rah¡¯s awed curse when the swirling disc grew in size from that of a round shield to swirling disk equal in circumference to himself¡­ then bigger as Alex jutted his hand forward, holding it a good five feet above the ground. The spinning disk was now a roaring cyclone of water, and Alex spent long precious seconds infusing it with cooling Wind, sans any trace of Metal, before entering the scorched doorway. It was far trickier than when Ya Ling was the one providing the Wind, but doable.

    So long as he wasn¡¯t also trying to project a river¡¯s worth of water,

    For all his potential, even he knew he had limits, especially in how many skills he could manipulate at once. But fresh clean air was an absolute necessity, no matter how potent his blood. Because even if he was pretty sure his bloodline and Eternal Fox restoration could handle it¡­ should his overconfidence lead to his collapse, then he feared he¡¯d once more be waking up to another thousand years in Shui Jun¡¯s bitter cold coils.

    The hell with that.

    His kept up his intent focus as he proceeded deeper inside, feeling like he had just entered an oven as warm waves of heat caressed his skin. The heat he was surprisingly completely fine with. It was the smoke that stung his nostrils and brought tears to his eyes as he continued to modify the Spiritual Energy weave whirling Water and Wind before him.

    His slow, cautious pace as he acclimatized himself to multiple Spiritual Energy expenditures turned to a panicked lurch when he heard the sudden crack of shattering wood.

    ¡°Alex, it¡¯s going to collapse on you!¡±

    But Alex just shook his head, instantly realizing what the problem was, slowing the rotation of his disk not to shred and destroy, but to coat the entirety of the corridor he now went through in a constant flood of water.

    Skill check made! You have successfully infused Enhanced Water Shield with Wind! This is a (much) lesser variant of Prismatic Shield and may now be used without any skill checks! Note. You have modified your shield for maximum size and a constant gentle release of water in all directions save your own. You have modified your shield to generate a current of Wind in your direction alone. You are now suffering moderate spiritual energy drain from complex spell weave!

    Spiritual energy expenditure recouped by Potency Mastery.

    Warning! You have less than 90 seconds of Potency Mastery remaining.

    The distant cries of children compelled Alex forward, the awful anxiety he felt mitigated only by the violent hissing as smoke was replaced by steam and a constant stream of fresh desert air as he raced for where he sensed the heart of the inferno must lie, near stumbling into a grand central chamber filled with furious flames and billowing black smoke.

    Qi Perception Check made. Your draconic affinity with flame guides you!

    He wasted no time as he squinted against the awful heat that even he was beginning to feel, stumbling through a hellish inferno of angry red flames roaring and crackling, forced to make his way through a deadly fog of thick black smoke from which fiery red embers constantly flared.

    In that moment he knew that any attempt on his part to put out this flame in its entirety was utterly beyond him as he grew dizzy with fumes that even the whirling air from his shield could only mitigate. The blazing logs of the central hall that he managed to extinguish, sent hissing and sputtering with clouds of steam and white smoke, were only a stopgap measure. Orders of magnitude beyond the comparatively mild fires that had set the entranceway ablaze.

    There was no way in hell he could out this inferno in its entirety while inside the building. At least, not without Ya Ling by his side.

    His heart began to pound in panic, Qi Perception and his interface giving him a perfect sense of his location, and the only reason why he wasn¡¯t stumbling around like a confused fool in a chamber far too wide and grand for any apartment complex, before collapsing to his death.

    You are currently embracing Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique!

    Your lungs are enjoying steady regenerative effects.

    (Note. Penalties have been partially mitigated.)

    Alex winced, both relieved and dismayed to find that his newly forged healing skill was able to help him survive this toxic deathtrap¡­ but it was no Eternal Fox. He didn¡¯t have complete metabolic mastery, and had no way to access Dark Qi to survive on that alone, should he lose access to oxygen altogether.

    His heart lurched in sudden panic, recalling that besides having to worry about carbon monoxide poison, fires greedily ate oxygen. Good thing he had a steady stream of Wind blowing in his face. Hopefully it would be enough. Sure as hell, playing the hero flooding the skies with a torrent of water from on high with a friend was a hell of a lot safer and easier charging into the heart of an inferno, even if he only had a single building to put out, not dozens.

    Fortunately, his interface map and newly budding Fire Sense meant he knew right where he needed to go, wheezing fresh air from his manifestation as he raced desperately for the far corridor as he sensed the crack and groan of central support beams in the chamber just beyond.

    His vision tunneled with the distant screams breaking off in choking coughs that mirrored his own as he darted into the far hallway and raced for all he was worth, before windmilling desperately forward as he stumbled upon the first of many bodies, eyes widening in the bitter smoke to see the mangled faces of men and woman who hadn¡¯t passed away to simple smoke inhalation, as the crushed skulls, disemboweled torsos, and sliced open throats made all too clear.

    Over a dozen bodies collapsed in this hallway wore the robed livery of servants and guards, faces locked in expressions of agony or outrage.

    Which made it clear, even to Alex¡¯s increasingly scattered thoughts, that these people had been butchered long before the hallway had filled with choking clouds of thick black smoke.

    This was no housing complex. This was a single grand home, filled with servants and staff. All of them slaughtered, the house set ablaze after the fact. And as for the increasingly desperate cries that had by now died off to choking gasps¡­ all of them were on the far side of the reinforced door now before Alex. A door crackling with potent wards of Wood, Fire, and Earth.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened despite the sting of smoke and ash, and he began pounding on the door.

    ¡°Open up! I¡¯ve come to get you out of here!¡±

    With the fire fully extinguished in this hallway, even if the massive central haul was an awful inferno, he focused on shifting his spinning disk of Water and Air to emphasize ever more of the latter, turning around so as to block off the heat and fumes of the doomed central chambers by embracing nothing but Wind.

    His eyes widened with sudden clarity, his Wind Affinity coming to the fore as he embraced a singular element technique, channeling winds that roared and howled down the hallway, such that at least tiny section of the corridor and the room beyond were suddenly filled with fresh air that tasted of desert wildflowers and warm baked sands.

    Alex took deep breaths, feeling so much better as he coughed out the awful gunk in his nose, mouth, and no doubt his lungs, taking a moment¡¯s satisfaction in the latest handful of messages to pop up in his mind¡¯s eye.

    Congratulations!

    You have achieved Rank 2 in Lightning Blast!

    You have learned the Water Shield Variant: Storm Shield! Storm shield may be infused with multiple additional elements including Air, Lightning, and Metal!

    Storm Shield is now Rank 5! Adept Perk Chosen: Flexibility! You may combine and manipulate additional elements with greater ease while using Storm Shield.

    Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Wind Blast!

    Wind Blast is now Rank 1!

    You may now project a roaring blast of Wind capable of putting out flames, sending lesser cultivators off their feet, or tearing down weaker structures! Mana Cost: Significant (area/target specific) Note. You enjoy Reduced Cost and greater efficacy, thanks to your Wind Affinity!

    Alex¡¯s relief and the momentary fierce pleasure at sensing his steady growth, particularly after facing multiple perilous encounters in a single night, quickly soured when he received no response from the chamber at all.

    He banged on the door yet again. ¡°Please open up! I¡¯m here to help! Don¡¯t worry about the smoke, I¡¯m a cultivator! I can fill your chamber with fresh air!¡±

    Yet there was no response. He was increasingly certain that he was just a few seconds too late.

    And if that was a case¡­ he knew of only one way to push forward.

    It was of course at that moment that his potency mastery duration expired. Fortunately, his actions had filled a good portion of the now soaking wet hallway with cooler air. But blistering hot ash and fumes were already spilling back into the corridor, which meant he could either smash through the wall separating the corridor from the outside¡­ or risk exhaustion and dire peril with one final gamble for the sake of lives that might already be too late to save for anyone without a healer¡¯s background¡­ or memories of the first life he had ever lived.

    He took a deep breath of air before it went sour once more, glared at a barrier that had no doubt thwarted and infuriated whatever monsters had butchered the household staff to the point that they sent the entire manor ablaze in a furious final attempt to either kill their marks or cover up their tracks¡­ and would have no doubt achieved both their twisted ends, were it not for one final trump card Alex would to his best to keep hidden from all potential foe for as long as he could.

    Alex¡¯s fangtian ji began to swirl with a whirlwind of Wind and Steel as Alex collected himself, Dark Qi Jewel in hand, and dared to project his will upon the razor sharp steel fragments whirling at extreme speeds around his halfmoon axe heads.

    It was hard. Far harder than he wanted to admit, and something he¡¯d be foolish to embrace in combat when his scimitar was so much easier to use when channeling Metal, as it was a singular element weapon. But when it came to chopping down doors, nothing beat a two-handed axe. In this case, a two-handed axe swirling with Dark Qi about the head of the weapon. Dark Qi which would hopefully rupture any protective wards.

    Or so Alex desperately hoped, determined to bend the strings of Fate to his will as he lashed out with his fangtian ji.

    Remembering at the last second the fragile lives he hoped to save, channeling his deadly windmilling strike into a surgical slash at both ends of the door.

    A blinding flash of light erupted from both strike plate and hinges, wild explosions of fire consumed by the prismatic blaze Alex cut off the moment he sensed the last of the enchantments rupturing.

    Alex was momentarily stunned, though unharmed, as the massive steel-reinforced door slowly topped over, though he had the presence of mind to stumble back as the door crashed and shattered the clay tiles, Alex having already taken care of the jammed bodies in the only way he had available to him.

    Congratulations! You have successfully ruptured multiple Silver-tier wards!

    Doom Blade successfully counters three retributive strikes.

    You have suffered 3 Light Wounds reduced to Superficial Injuries.

    You have saved versus Dizziness! You have saved versus smoke inhalation!

    Doom Blade is now Rank 6!

    Alex felt an odd surge of exhilaration and dread for what he would find as he peered into the smoke-filled chamber beyond, his elation turning to panic when he saw no less than six bodies slumped over finely lacquered hardwood furniture and a plush bed, including several women wearing the attire of servants, as well as a couple wearing the fine silk robes of lords. Yet what truly broke his heart was the sight of young children flopped like dolls beside them.

    Alex¡¯s horrified stupor snapped into desperate action when one of the children took a struggling gasp for air.

 Book 8 - Chapter 97

    Mind now racing at desperate speeds despite his growing fatigue, Alex eyed the steel grill letting in the only air available to the family. Reinforced just as the doorway had been, so tightly that no Silver tier wujen or warrior could hope to break through.

    A safety measure which had become a deadly trap from which there would be no escape for the doomed family, as the hallway filled with the roar of the building collapsing upon itself, due to superheated flames that could only have been brought forth by a wujen in the first place, Alex was increasingly sure.

    A dying child¡¯s glassy gaze met his own. A beautiful little girl who couldn¡¯t have been older than four gazed at him with desperate eyes as she choked a wheeze that was killing her, lungs being seared by caustic fumes that draconic blood alone allowed Alex to endure for so long.

    Her eyes the very mirror of his daughter¡¯s, so many lifetimes ago.

    The first of his family that Shalu and his vile ilk had consigned to bitter flames.

    ¡°IT DOES NOT END HERE!¡±

    It didn¡¯t matter that he was teetering on the cusp of absolute exhaustion, his massive Qi Pool that should have lasted indefinitely now utterly depleted. His attire seared off his flesh, hair a smoldering ruin. Alex¡¯s heart pounded in furious rejection of bitter cold cards played by laughing gods a thousands years ago. The torment of countless lives lived and lost, precious angels he could never hold or love or bring comfort to, ever again.

    He squeezed his fists tightly upon the haft of his weapon as the low pitched thrum forever resonating through his soul began to roar. At that moment he was both a young man moments from collapsing from toxic fumes and exhaustion in a panic room that had become the ultimate trap, and bearing witness to the massive accretion disk around his soul that had just caught ablaze. Countless potencies swirling into the inky black vortex of Alex¡¯s Dantian.

    Then the vision was gone as his fangtian ji blazed to hot furious life once more, a storm like no other as he struck the wall he now faced, a neigh indestructible barrier just as well warded as the door and grill was.

    Wards that erupted in an explosion of wooden support beams, ruptured enchantments, and stone as Alex howled and lashed out with his fangtian ji, this time holding nothing back as he blew out a massive hole in the chamber that should have been a death trap.

    He refused to collapse from a Prismatic Strike, momentarily embracing all the elements that should have been utterly beyond him as he sensed exhaustion trying to pull him under once more as the final wheezes of a little girl dying in her mother¡¯s arms rang endlessly in his skull.

    Somehow he found the strength to lurch back to his feet, arms trembling not with weakness, but fury. White hot fury for bitter fortunes, spite-filled gods, and murderous bastards who would so casually slaughter an innocent family for their own ends. Alex howled with the fury of countless mocking smiles and contemptuous sneers he had once endured over lives forever lost to him, for all that the pain lived eternally on, an open wound in his soul.

    A wound now filling him with the furious hate he needed to defy immortal edicts and rip free of restrictions others had dared to put upon his soul.

    His heart pounded in furious rebuttal.

    He refused to let yet another child die of smoke and despair in this life, or any other.

    You have dared to stretch the divine envelope constraining your soul, pushing your spiritual energy reserves beyond all mortal limits!

    You have successfully saved versus oblivion.

    You have successfully saved versus divine detection!

    You have had a spiritual Breakthrough!

    YOU HAVE ACHIEVED RANK 6 SILVER SPIRITUAL ENERGY RESERVES!

    Your Soul now stretches beyond the scope of Silver tier curses!

    All previous penalties and strictures have been lifted.

    New Qi Pool: 190.

    The interface messages flashed before him in the blink of an eye.

    Yet he cared nothing for it as his limbs trembled with a sudden storm of power and potency, both awed and dismayed to find that, even with Rank 5 Silver earned such a short time ago, unseen banes had still been crippling his power in ways he hadn¡¯t even sensed until now.

    Well no more, he thought with a fierce, wild smile of hope, desperation, and furious resolve as his Qi Pool expanded beyond all past precedent, blasting through any curse his foes had once used to bind him over countless lifetimes he had been forced to play the bitter games of gods and madmen.

    If he had tapped into the storm¡¯s fury before, now it was a cyclone that could wash entire cities away.

    ¡°Avalanche!¡± Alex roared as he abruptly struck the ward-shattered wall before him, and the entire wall gave way in a sudden explosion of shattered stone and gravel that sprayed out in a glorious plume over the carefully tended back yard facing the lush valley that this once prestigious manor stood sentinel before, and Alex dared to laugh through his tears as the night sky in all its beauty was revealed, along with the sweet aroma of life-giving air rich with the scents of the garden before him and the valley below.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    And Alex wasted no more than a single heartbeat before racing back to tend to the six painfully still figures as his stomach churned with sudden desperate hope as he tenderly grabbed the beautiful little girl that could so easily have been his own, placing her gently upon the grass before darting back inside for her sister, parents, and the two serving girls who couldn¡¯t have been any older than him.

    He allowed himself only a single panicked whimper, taking full advantage of Rank 5 Bronze Finesse and Quickness and superhuman strength to gently retrieve all six in less than a handful of seconds, holding on to the desperate flickering embers of hope that he wasn¡¯t too late.

    Recalling with exquisite painful clarity at least three distinct screams, less than 30 seconds ago.

    It wasn¡¯t too late.

    It wasn¡¯t!

    Slave nodes successfully accessed.

    You have successfully formed a party with Xu Tie clan!

    Warning! Detrimental neural cascades are in effect. Neural matrices must be stabilized within 60 seconds or party members will be lost!

    Current party members have participated in no forms of experience point accrual. Current party members are unable to receive rejuvenating potency.

    Note! Servants lack accessible nodes.

    Heartbeats were faint in three, non existent in the others.

    Alex allowed himself time for a single cry, before getting to work.

    ¡°Instructor Rah! Get over here now!¡±

    He gently tilted up the heads of the fragilest victims, delivering two rescue breaths to each child before delivering a series of gentle chest compressions, knowing he was running out of time, desperate to save their lives.

    ¡°Instructor Rah!¡± He screamed as his hands carefully did their work, gazing desperately upon both dying girls. Before swallowing the awful lump in his throat and screaming for another.

    ¡°Seneschal! I need your help now!¡±

    But of course there was no answer. He knew that. Yet he couldn¡¯t help but call out for the gentle smiling seneschal of his world seed whose dapper grace and gentle demeanor hid the power of a divine spirit. Once his most loyal helper, what might have been a thousand years ago.

    ¡°Reny! If you can hear me, I need you!¡± A panicked cry, before realizing he wasn¡¯t out of moves yet.

    ¡°Ya Ling, can you hear me?¡±

    He would have winced at the horrified jolt this caused in a girl he could so easily have fallen in love with, in a lifetime where he wasn¡¯t haunted by so many past memories¡­ sensing with agonized clarity the absolute dread she now felt, sensing him in the back of her mind. Knowing how easily he could¡­

    ¡°Please! I¡¯m back at the sight of the fire we sensed. It wasn¡¯t an apartment complex, it was a lord¡¯s manor! The staff inside was butchered. I only managed to pull six free, and I can¡¯t get them to breathe!¡±

    Miraculously, he sensed her horrified disgust turn to pity and a flash of warmth, the monstrous image she had been struggling to suppress now morphing into the gentle warm version of him that she had formerly seen him as in her mind¡¯s eye. A bit handsomer, gentler, with darker skin and a softer smile¡­ her mental image of the man she had once thought she might marry.

    Before tasting the horrific ease with which he could control her with a thought.

    ¡°Please! Is there any word from our delving companions? Was their mission a success? Are Reny and Elder Wu safe?¡±

    She said something then, but Alex paid it no heed, eyes widening with heartfelt relief when first one, then the second girl began to cough and wheeze for breath, tears streaming out of their reddened eyes.

    He then immediately gave both parents two rescue breaths and a handful of panicked chest compressions he was afraid might have cracked a rib or two before desperately crying out once more.

    ¡°Rah! Where the hell are you?¡±

    Qi Perception check made!

    Alex immediately spun around, panic replaced by fury that only grew as he sensed the faint threads of vitality fading from the lives he was desperate to save as mocking laughter filled the air.

    The sneering countenances of a full half dozen cultivators faced him. Each and everyone of them radiating the strength of a Bronze, all of them wearing the armor favored by the Duo Li clan.

    And at the front of them all, eyes twinkling with malice, was none other than Tan Yi himself. ¡°Sorry, Alex, but I¡¯m afraid Rah won¡¯t be answering your call anytime soon.¡± His grin widened at Alex¡¯s horrified look, smirking and tilting his head in approval as his most powerfully built lackey, the monster¡¯s brutal features twisted in a sneer as he licked the blade of his blood-spattered guandao. ¡°You see, he came down with a bad case of decapitation. Just like you¡¯re about to.¡±

    The youths features twisted in an ugly snarl. ¡°You were a fool cross me, dog! Had you thought to surrender your Ice core to my clan, you would have been spared. More than spared, we would have allowed you to leave our city with your pockets full of gold!¡± he sneered and spat. ¡°Now you¡¯ll get what all enemies of our clan will have coming to them, once this night is through!¡±

    Tan Yi then flashed a mocking smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad my father chose me to scout our targets and clear out all loose ends. And don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you and your companions did at the gate! You¡¯ll answer personally for that insult to our clan. But don¡¯t think that they were anything but the least of our forces. Free mercenaries for us to use as we wish! What you face now, fool, is my personal guard!¡±

    It was at that moment that Alex¡¯s blood ran cold, Ya Ling¡¯s panicked cry suddenly echoing through his mind. ¡°Alex, we can¡¯t make it to the palace. We¡¯re being cut off along multiple paths!¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s twisted smirk once more graced his aristocratic features. ¡°Is that panic I see in your eyes? Or worry for your friends?¡± He laughed coldly. ¡°As if we¡¯ll actually allow them to attend the emergency vote. Fools! We would have never forced it, if we hadn¡¯t already planned for every contingency!¡±

    ¡°Run! It¡¯s a trap!¡±

    The only words Alex could clearly formulate as his heart pounded and all he saw was red. His words a pronouncement of doom his foe was too stupid to sense.

    ¡°It was you, Tan Yi. You¡¯re the one who burned them alive.¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 98

    Tan Yi¡¯s cold laughter rang through the ruined courtyard. ¡°Of course we did! Fools thought a panic room would save them. They actually believed that their wards, scribed by that old doddering fool Qing Wu over twenty years ago, would do any good against us!¡± He glared down at the sobbing pair of children. ¡°And you¡¯ve dared to interfere with my clan yet again. Two sickly roots of a dying house are best cleaved entirely free of our city¡¯s aristocracy!¡± He turned to his men. ¡°Take this Ruidian fool down. I already know all his tricks. He¡¯s capable of no more than a Water shield and an air blade that can cleave through our Shadow Pumas, which is why you all have my father¡¯s amulets!¡±

    </a> He curled his lip, glaring Alex¡¯s way as he said the last, before waving his soldiers forward. ¡°We countered your only move, fool! Now strike him down, men! Your guandao will make short work of¡ª¡°

    Tan Yi stumbled back as Alex unleashed his killing aura, his furious roar now echoing through the courtyard.

    ¡°Kill him!¡± The panicked Duo Li scion screamed to his men before stumbling back when the courtyard flashed with lightning. The air shivered with a high pitched wine emanating from a fangtian ji now crackling with all the elements of the storm, swirling about the weapon head at unfathomable speeds.

    </a> Tan Yi¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°No. Impossible! Where did you get that artifact? Men! Take his head and seize that prize at¡ª¡°

    The youth lurched back in clear surprise when his foe moved faster than he ever had hunting spirit beasts as a student, effortlessly winding past the lead guard¡¯s thrust, his blade leaving a brilliant crackling after-image as he cleaved the giant before him in twain.

    The other five Bronze guardians lurched back in surprise as the largest among them began to writhe and scream, blood and viscera spurting from his rent torso, unable to stop the flow of entrails with spurting wrists cleaved free of all resistance. He had time for one final horrified scream before his eyes rolled up and his body thrashed in its final death throws.

    Alex¡¯s hate-filled glare froze the half dozen elites in their tracks, so many cocky smiles instantly wiped off the faces of men suddenly realizing that they faced not a naive idealistic student, but a hardened killer well used to cleansing the battlefields in the blood of his foes.

    All of them shivered before the promise of death in Alex¡¯s eyes. Most especially a suddenly blanching Tan Yi.

    ¡°No. there¡¯s no way you could cut a Deep Bronze open like that! His armor was forged by Master Ya Tin himself!¡±

    Alex let the meaningless dribble wash over him as he locked gazes with the closest guard who flinched, slowly raising his weapon, shouting to his companions. ¡°We charge him on three! One¡­ two...¡±

    But Alex was already racing forward, giving vent to his fury as he windmilled his fangtian ji in a tight powerful arc that knocked aside a pair of guandao before cleaving right through the lead guard¡¯s armored skull in an explosion of lightning and shattered steel tiles, washing the battlefield in a shower of crimson rain.

    Quickness check made!

    And Alex was already leaping back, yanking his weapon free of the corpse before him as the pair of Bronze that had tried to flank him desperately lashed out, putting their all into drawing blood before Alex could reposition himself.

    And draw blood they did.

    Quickness check successful! You have suffered two Glancing Blows!

    But little more than that, their experienced veteran¡¯s gazes widening in dismay as they sensed their sudden peril, having thrust point first in a spearman¡¯s instinctive attempt to skewer an off-balance target, showcasing the vulnerability of lunging attacks that left one vulnerable for the heartbeat needed to reposition when not surrounded by men guarding one¡¯s flank.

    Just as Alex had intended, sensing their flank and goading them both to attack him as one. Desperately they tried to fall back, jerking up their spears in a last-ditch attempt to ward his windmilling strikes cleaving through the air as he roared and charged.

    The first spear haft wasn¡¯t even in mid guard before Alex¡¯s half-moon axe heads struck true. The second would-be killer just barely raised his spear shaft in time¡­ only for Alex¡¯s crackling fangtian ji to blast through it like rice paper. And faster than Tan Yi could cry out, the flash of lightning blinded him.

    By the time he rubbed the dazzle his way, two more of his men were collapsing in showers of crimson gore. One dying man gazed down in stupefied disbelief at the massive rent through his chest revealed a fresh crimson waterfall to feed Liushi¡¯s parched soil that his one desperately clasping arm had no hope of staunching. The other had already collapsed when his skull exploded like a pomegranate, now possessing only a spurting stump where his skull used to be.

    The remaining pair of Bronze sentinels lurched back, eyes wide with dismay.

    ¡°No Ruidian should have that speed and strength. He weaves his weapon around like it¡¯s weightless! That bastard fights like a Silver-tier monster!¡± The nearest cultivator cried, glaring Alex like he was an abomination.

    His partner cursed and spat, glaring Alex¡¯s way. ¡°His monstrous artifact is the only reason why he still lives. Retreat! We need clan elders to take out this threat!¡±

    Tan Yi, no fool, was already sprinting back the way they had come, screaming for aid.

    Alex¡¯s lips curled in a snarl, ready to rein final death upon them all¡­ his furious dash cut short only by a child¡¯s desperate cry.

    ¡°Father, please wake up! Mommy! Mommy! Please, I¡¯m scared!¡±

    Alex froze where he was. Sensing that for the moment that he and the fallen family were alone, praying that his desperate gambit had worked.

    Only then did he dare check the interface messages now flickering across in his mind¡¯s eye as he raced to the children¡¯s side, falling to his knees in relief when the children¡¯s despairing wails turned to sobs of joy as the father¡¯s eyes bolted open and he wheezed for breath before bending over and retching ash and bile.

    ¡°Father!¡± He was immediately swarmed by his sobbing children as Alex raced to their mother¡¯s side, sensing a life so perilously close to being rescued, a single spark of potential away.

    You have successfully channeled potency into Xu Tie Slave Nodes!

    Slave node Xu0714 neural matrix has been successfully stabilized.

    Slave node Xu0715 neural matrix has been successfully stabilized.

    Insufficient potency to restore cardiac stability to Xu0715.

    You have successfully channeled Lightning Qi!

    Lady Tie¡¯s heart beats once more!

    The sobbing girls hovered anxiously around their father as he wheezed and sobbed for desperate breath. Their terrified expressions immediately filled with joyous relief when their mother cried out a second later, right before retching out black bile as Alex gently shifted her as she gasped for sobbing breath.

    ¡°Mother, you¡¯re alive!¡±

    It was some moments before the clearly exhausted woman could find the strength to nod as her daughters clung tightly to her, all semblances of noble decorum shattered in the face of all they had endured and the sheer joy of surviving.

    So great was their exhaustion that Lady Tie didn¡¯t even question being propped up by the concerned-looking Ruidian covered in ash and blood until she could find the strength to stand once more, suddenly wrapped up in the arms of her husband, now gazing Alex¡¯s way with a look of wonder and awe.

    ¡°I know not who you are or why you chose this hour to come to my families aid, but thank you, Ruidian. From the bottom of my heart.¡± The lord of the house took a ragged breath, a once proud man now radiating the power of a Deep Bronze wujen that was clearly his birthright, unable to hold back the tears streaming freely from his soot-stained face. ¡°You have rescued my family, and I will forever be in your debt.¡±

    Alex took a ragged breath, suddenly overwhelmed by a hot sting in his eyes he had never expected.

    It was as if, in sparing this family the horrors of what he and his loved ones had once endured, he was finally able to put just a few of his own memories to rest.

    ¡°You¡¯re more than welcome,¡± Alex said as he swallowed the lump in his throat, wiping his eyes from the ash still in the air. ¡°But you¡¯re still in danger,¡± he said with a bitter glare for the corpses littering the once beautiful garden facing the lip of the caldera. The former manor that was now a raging inferno had no doubt once enjoyed a beautiful view of the lush green valley below.

    ¡°The Duo Yi clan has chosen this night to orchestrate their coup. And though I don¡¯t have a damned clue who all the players are, they¡¯re clearly intent on seizing power at any cost, and that includes cleaning up all loose ends.¡±

    Lady Tie¡¯s eyes flashed with bitter heat. ¡°Those treacherous monsters dared to enter our home under pretexts of negotiation. If our alarms hadn¡¯t gone off, if my husband hadn¡¯t sensed the peril of Silver and immediately rushed for our warded chamber...¡± She shuddered with remembered horror. ¡°And still, we came so close to death. I thought¡­ I thought we had died, in fact.¡±

    She shook her head, staring in dazed disbelief at the corpses in various states of dismemberment upon the yard, then gazed at Alex with something close to wide-eyed awe, holding her sobbing daughters tightly against her soot-stained robes, as her home blazed in an all-consuming inferno, protecting her children as best she could from the horrors of war.

    ¡°We must get to the council chamber at the palace,¡± Lord Xu Tie uttered, eyes flashing with the blazing embers of his ruined home. ¡°Once my compatriots find out just how treacherous and vile the Duo Yi clan is, they will refuse the vote of no confidence our prince now faces!¡±

    Alex frowned at those words. ¡°This vote of no confidence¡­ from what I understand, the Duo Yi clan is actually sponsoring an outsider, a very powerful outsider with no previous ties to Liushi, to claim that post. How likely are your fellow counselors to actually allow an outside power like that to replace the prince?¡±

    Lady Tie laughed bitterly. ¡°All too likely, I fear. All the fools taking Duo Yi¡¯s bribes and all the others who would blame our prince for the lack of Water Cores. Declaring him and the former Silver Sands headmistress as being guilty of deception, when the decision to use illusion magics to hide the tragedy of the northern face was a move that the Duo Yi clan¡¯s pawns had themselves insisted upon!¡±

    Alex¡¯s cold expression transformed to a tight-lipped smile. ¡°Well in regards to the flow of water, at least, I have good news. All the barren ritual sights now have fresh Water Cores. And if my understanding of the artifact fused to your city wall is right, no force below Jade could hope to pull them free. And if the words my ally was whispering under his breath at the prize I gave him are accurate, at least one of those cores should last for decades, the other for upwards of a thousand years. So that¡¯s a hell of a lot of water security right there.¡±

    Lord Xu¡¯s eyes widened with desperate hope. ¡°Truly?¡± He asked, before falling into a fit of ragged coughing.

    Alex solemnly nodded. ¡°Truly. It was a pristine Gold-tier Water core claimed from a Titan Worm. And I¡¯ll let you guess who tried to interfere with our rescue of the northern falls.¡±

    ¡°Duo Yi himself!¡± Lord Xu Tie said with a furious snarl.

    Alex smirked and nodded. ¡°Got it in one. That asshole even had spies at the academy, with his brother Xuon Li seizing the role of headmaster. So he was right where he needed to be to intercept us. Only thing is, it didn¡¯t quite work out for him the way he had expected. So¡­ yeah. One less enemy at your back.¡±

    Lord Xu Tie eyes widened with an odd mixture of hope and dismay. ¡°Are you saying that Elder Yi has perished?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°All I¡¯m saying is that the desert sands have revealed and covered all sorts of interesting truths this night, and maybe the Duo Yi clan over-extended as well.¡± His gaze turned solemn. ¡°I hope that, at least, can bring you some comfort. Unfortunately, our enemies have clearly been planning this gambit for quite some time. From what my friends tell me, all paths to the palace have been blocked.¡±

    He closed his eyes, sending his thoughts Ya Ling¡¯s way. ¡°Linnea! Ya Ling! Lord Xu Tie lives! Are you guys safe? Do you need my help?¡±

    But there was no answer, only a blurred panicked vision of his friends running for their lives.

    Alex¡¯s blood ran cold, sensing their peril even as his eyes snapped open, heart going out to this vulnerable family in what he had once thought a beautiful sanctuary, now overrun by jackals and wolves.

    ¡°I have to go. Is there somewhere safe you all can shelter? At least until I get back?¡±

    Lord Xu Tie¡¯s desperate gaze met his own. ¡°All our allies are either at the counsel or no doubt fell afoul of Duo Yi¡¯s treachery this night, just as we have.¡±

    Alex¡¯s response was cut short as his interface map of the local area flared with a surge of reds, Qi Perception allowing him to sense all hostiles within eighty yards. ¡°Head to the lip of the caldera, behind your manor, and stay down!¡± Alex hissed, just before the air rang with Tan Yi¡¯s voice once more.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    ¡°There he is! That damned Ruidian! Destroy him, Tan Tan! Make him pay for daring to cross us!¡±

    Alex, racing toward his foes, made out Tan Yi¡¯s mocking smile, his early cockiness restored, no doubt thanks to the older-looking version of himself that was probably a sibling radiating a Silver¡¯s potency, surrounded by a swirling maelstrom of Ice, and flanked by crossbowmen on each side.

    Alex wasted no time, instantly summoning forth the only defense he had against enemy wujen, surrounding himself with a whirling shield comprised of half of the eight Light Qi elements he knew, his dao now vibrating with the ebony sheen of darkest Metal ready to cut through all resistance.

    Skill check made! You have successfully summoned Doom Blade! Dark Qi contained along length of dao. Beast core strain minimized. Qi depletion minimized.

    His eyes widened, so many ephemeral truths coming to sharp crystalline clarity in that perfect moment.

    Holding tight to epiphany''s grace, he dared to infuse his swirling disk with another element as well. Tied fiercely tight to Metal¡­ yet he knew, eventually, he could infuse it directly into Water as well. As he once had to such devastating effect in the last life he recalled living.

    You have had a breakthrough!

    Skill check made!

    You have successfully infused Storm Shield with Dark Qi!

    Flexibility perk now allows for Dark Storm to be summoned at will! Qi Cost per minute has tripled!

    Alex allowed himself a quick half-smile at Tan Yi¡¯s look of wide-eyed surprise as Alex¡¯s fangtian ji was instantly replaced with a whirling shield of Wind, Water, Lightning, and razor sharp furiously spinning steel splinters that he doubted his foe could sense at all. Before the entire thing was infused with glittering obsidian darkness, more powerful than any shield he had dared since losing access to his prismatic variant.

    Of course, in doing so, in addition to infusing his dao with a whirling corona of Wind, Steel, and Dark Qi, he knew he was taking a serious risk, if rumors of his ebony blade and shield ever slipped free.

    Because if anyone with connections to hostile powers only fools thought were truly dead realized just how significant his abilities were becoming¡­ the results could well be catastrophic.

    But as far as he was concerned, the instant his enemies had returned, so eager to tie up loose ends, they had all made their final move upon the board of fate.

    Alex wasn¡¯t intending to allow any of his prey to slip free.

    ¡°Kill him! Kill him now!¡± A no longer cocky-sounding Tan Yi screamed, gloating bravado replaced by fear once more as the air filled with steel quarrels and icy bolts, Alex jerking behind his ebony shield, praying it would keep together as he dared to think it might. For the onslaught struck with a force and fury that could have totally shredded the wagon he had once called home.

    Contest of skills: Rank 6 Dark Storm Shield versus Silver-tier Ice Barrage.

    Critical success!

    Alex blinked as he braced himself, and continued bracing himself as slivers of icy mist forced him to blink stinging eyes for a heartbeat¡­ and he suffered no more than that.

    He could sense so clearly the arrogant sneer on Tan Tan¡¯s lip morphing into a grimace of surprise when, far from piercing Alex¡¯s exotic shield and sending his opponent cartwheeling into death¡­ ice shattered against steel shrapnel covered in darkness before becoming consumed by the primary element Water.

    Far from disrupting Alex¡¯s shield, his enemy¡¯s power was actually making it stronger. Alex couldn¡¯t help but flash a bleakly satisfied smile as a now panicked-looking Tan Tan hurled everything from icy daggers to crystalline spears, all of which shattered and was consumed as Alex tapped into one of his Dark Qi cores, having absolutely no problem relying on the same roaring flood of potency that had once helped put out an entire quarter of the city.

    For what was a storm of hail and ice to the crashing fury of the sea itself?

    ¡°That¡¯s a master ward. No Ruidian should be capable of such!¡±

    Alex heard Tan Tan¡¯s surprised hiss so clearly, and he couldn¡¯t help but find furious satisfaction in his shield. For Tan Tan¡¯s deadly spears of ice and bitter hate, that could have effortlessly skewered a pure body cultivator lacking his gifts, was no more effective than Tan Yi¡¯s desperate screams for his men to reload and fire once more.

    Tan Tan¡¯s desperate voice suddenly rang with the words to a wujen ritual Alex recognized all too well. The very words that had once frozen an entire platoon in its tracks, including a demonic cultivator. And tasting the sudden influx of Icy Qi and what he sensed were deliberate shortcuts¡­ Alex knew it was time to stop fucking around.

    His enemies were foolish enough to challenge him in the ruins of a garden, even after Tan Yi had seen just how fast he could move, when even the grass at his feet obeyed his will.

    And perhaps Tan Yi had at least a glimmer of a suspicion that things weren¡¯t going to go completely their way.

    ¡°Brother, wait. We need to flee!¡±

    But Alex had already vanished in a spray of shredded plants and tuft.

    ¡°Creo Frigidium Eternum!¡± Tan Tan crowed in sudden triumph. ¡°Die Ruidian Sc--¡±

    Bullrush!

    You have successfully shield bashed your opponent!

    Steel component of Storm Shield shreds through your opponent¡¯s defenses!

    Lightning pierces your opponent¡¯s wards!

    Dark Qi pierces your opponent¡¯s wards!

    Tan Tan has failed to save versus Stunning Blow!

    Tan Tan has suffered Critical Injury!

    Wujen battle-ritual successfully disrupted!

    You have saved versus backlash!

    Multiple opponents have failed to save versus backlash!

    Alex howled as he charged for all he was worth, slamming out with his shield that was weapon as much as ward, earning a choked off cry when Tan Tan¡¯s jaw was shattered, wards simultaneously rupturing as his face and hands were struck by lightning and shredded by Dark Qi-covered shrapnel swirling around Alex¡¯s shield arm at hurricane speeds.

    At that moment, nearly half of Alex¡¯s would be killers stumbled back with desperate cries from the eruption of bitter cold emanating from Tan Tan¡¯s disrupted casting, Tan Yi himself crying out and stumbling back, losing an ear that ruptured into icy splinters, yet surprisingly nothing more while the closest Bronze sentinels standing beside him tipped back and shattered into bloody frozen chunks.

    Tan Tan himself managed to resist his own backlash with a Silver-tier¡¯s art.

    As did Alex, the furious swirling storm he dared to hold like a shield sucking in the cold as the sea did even the iciest winter storms, Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection helping to mitigate the bitter cold with the help of the swirling warm currents of air now surrounding him, his Draconic Blood the final component that kept his nose from freezing off and his lungs from bleeding, even if he still took a Light Wound¡¯s worth of frostbite, so fierce was the chill that actually got through.

    Tan Tan somehow found the strength to smile through his shredded face, his still intact eyes clearly seeing Alex¡¯s skin turn pale blue from the bitter, bitter cold.

    Yet what he failed to register was the dao Alex held, so saturated with Dark Qi that he effortlessly plunged it right into the man¡¯s trails, Alex sensing over half a dozen powerful wards and defenses pierced like parchment as Rank 1 Silver strength allowed him to rip his indestructible and razor sharp steel point right through the thin shirt of steel links the paranoid young scion wore, just in case any foe managed to rupture his interwoven mesh-work of wards and talismans.

    And if Tan Tan¡¯s horrified expression was anything to go by, he certainly hadn¡¯t expected any single blow to pierce all his defenses at once.

    The man gasped, opening his mouth as if to plea for quarter, but before he could utter a word, Alex tore his blade free with a savage twist, sending sending steaming hot entrails spurting all over the ruined garden.

    Tan Tan crumpled to the ground with an agonized groan.

    Alex took quick note of the rest of Tan Yi¡¯s troops, for the moment stunned and disorganized after the wujen¡¯s defensive wards had been pierced and ruptured, Tan Tan¡¯s disrupted spell hitting them hardest of all.

    But these were trained men and veteran killers. Alex knew he had only a seconds before they recovered themselves in full.

    ¡°Please, spare me! Spare me and wealth and power will be yours, I swear it!¡± Tan Tan found the strength to gasp, gazing up at Alex with desperate eyes as a scholars¡¯ hand tried desperately to stem the flood of viscera seeping from his wound while the other sipped a potion with such quick practiced ease that even Alex had to dip his head in respect to a skill well practiced, one he should perhaps take heed of as well.

    ¡°There is now way you should be able to disrupt a wujen¡¯s killing arts so easily!¡± Tan Tan hissed after gulping down the tincture radiating Wood and Water Qi so potent that Alex was suddenly dead certain he knew exactly where it came from, even as the man¡¯s gaping wound began to seal itself in the darkness.

    ¡°Who are you, Ruidian, to make such a mockery of our arts?¡±

    Alex smiled coldly, understanding that his enemy was just trying to by himself time. So he gave Tan Tan the only answer his foe deserved.

    You have critically struck your foe. Decapitation!

    Your opponents are now demoralized!

    Alex wasted no time, his brutal execution of his foe buying him only seconds as he roared and charged for the Bronze sentinel closest to recovering fully, the monstrous giant already roaring and swinging his guandao with a furious roar.

    Only for Alex to effortlessly knock the haft of the weapon off-line and weave past the strike a heartbeat before running the man through.

    The giant¡¯s eyes bulged with surprise. He looked on the verge of saying something before pink frothy blood spurted from his mouth, eyes taking on a dazed cast as he crashed to the ground, the clatter of his steel echoed by half a dozen of his fellows in no time at all.

    You have critically struck multiple opponents!

    Storm Strike successfully pierces all wards!

    Alex flashed a fierce smile as the oddly chipper messages soothed the bitter horror of treachery and murder that the night had become.

    A friend lost to these bastard¡¯s blows¡­ a family that had come so close to dying, just like his own had, countless lifetimes ago.

    Alex channeled his fury into a masterwork of retribution, trading dao for fangtian ji once more, his crackling blade the brush with which he painted the battlefield in red.

    Every scream from a snarling Bronze who over-extended, every strangled cry from an enemy Alex disarmed before running through¡­ all of it was a symphony of bitter retribution until the ground was littered in the gurgling cries of the dying. Until it was only a heaving Alex who remained upright, now glaring down at a clearly panicked Tan Yi jabbing his finger Alex¡¯s way with the arrogance only young masters possessed, completely oblivious to the doom stalking at his rear.

    ¡°You¡¯re an abomination, Ruidian!¡± Tan Yi snarled, eyes wide with furious dismay. ¡°You¡¯re ruining everything!¡±

    Alex flashed an ice-cold smile. ¡°Is that a fact?¡±

    His opponent and one time fellow student gulped. ¡°It is!¡± He said in a rush, frantically speaking as if in a rush to defend himself, justify himself, or perhaps savor final gasps of precious life that even he knew were soon coming to an end.

    ¡°My family¡¯s only goal is to rescue this city. To save it from all those who would see it fall to ruin! You know nothing as an outsider. You don¡¯t know how the prince was imperiling us all! Refusing to see reason, refusing to understand the benefits of compliance, the security of becoming a protectorate to a power that would otherwise grind us into the desert sands! And we¡¯ve come so close to success¡­ so close to triumph, and you¡¯re in jeopardy of ruining it all!¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Really. So your attempt to force a vote of no confidence was what¡­ altruistic?¡±

    Tan Yi nodded desperately, eyes wide, the last of his self-aggrandizing anger replaced by desperation as furtive glances caught sight of nothing but corpses and men seconds away from their final dying breaths. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m saying! Sometimes hard measures have to be taken when you¡¯re trying to save an entire city!¡±

    Alex chuckled coldly. ¡°Your speech would be worth a lot more if you hadn¡¯t been gloating about how your family was going to purge everyone who had ever defied you, once you had seized control.¡± His eyes grew ice cold and he did nothing to prevent the doom soon to befall the shivering youth before him. ¡°Maybe I would even pity you, just a pawn of your family who couldn¡¯t be expected to be any different from the people who had shaped you¡­ if you hadn¡¯t taken such joy at the thought of cutting down two innocent children whose only crime was surviving your attempted genocide of an entire clan!¡±

    Tan Yi took a shuddering breath, clenching his fists. ¡°You don¡¯t dare strike me,¡± he said desperately. ¡°I am a direct scion of house Duo Li. My grandfather is the head of the entire family!¡± He stole a glance and paled at the sight of Tan Tan¡¯s headless body, crumpled beside so many others that had fallen to Alex¡¯s ruthless blows.

    ¡°All else can be forgiven!¡± Tan Yi whispered desperately. ¡°I will speak to my grandfather personally!¡± He flashed a desperate smile. ¡°More than forgiven, you will be rewarded for your forbearance and wisdom. With a home, a manor of your own! My cultivator¡¯s oath, Ruidian¡­ Alex. I¡¯ll make you rich! This night doesn¡¯t have to end in tragedy for either of us. It can be a triumph, for both of us. Just present me alive to my grandfather, and all will be forgiven!¡±

    Alex captured Tan Yi¡¯s desperate gaze for long moments, making sure he alone was the center of the terrified youth¡¯s world, before slowly sheathing his blade. ¡°Alright, Tan Yi. You need fear my blade no longer. We¡¯ll let the consequences of your actions alone decide you fate.¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s face lit up in a relieved smile. ¡°Thank you, Alex. You won¡¯t regret this, I swear it! Now come, but escort me back to the palace and I¡¯ll see you¡ª¡°

    His words broke off with a cry as he was abruptly yanked and spun around, forced to lock gazes with a furious Xu Tie, the wujen¡¯s hand shivering with a coppery sheen.

    ¡°I let you into my house as an honored guest after breaking bread with you, just days ago. You and your father ate at my table! My daughters washed your feet! And this is how you would repay us? Slaughtering my servants? Laughing like a madman as you tried to burn us all alive? All because we refused to become a protectorate of the corrupt jackal that has taken control of our neighbors?¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s features took on a deathly pallor as he stumbled back from the furious lord now looming over him.

    Xu Tie snarled his contempt. ¡°You wish to join the arena of the men who forged this city? So be it. Draw your blade, boy. We finish this now!¡±

    Tan Yi¡¯s terror turned to desperate hope as he yanked free a dao of finest steel¡­ and something else a well.

    ¡°Ware, Lord Xu Tie! His blade is poisoned!¡± Alex shouted out as Tan Yi snarled and charged.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you still, and sit by my father¡¯s side!¡± Tan Yi shouted as he lashed out with a furious barrage of cuts, desperate to kill his opponent before he could even unsheathe the blade he wore.

    Tan Yi¡¯s sneer turned to wide-eyed dismay when Xu Tie contemptuously parried the blade with nothing more than his arm.

    An arm covered with the essence of Metal so hard that Tan Yi¡¯s blade clanged discordantly, flying free of his hands.

    ¡°No, wait! I sur¡ª¡°

    His words were cut off in a torrent of blood as Xu Tie lashed out with a spear hand strike radiating the essence of sharpness. Slipping effortlessly between Tan Yi¡¯s ribs in a shower of shattered steel rings, bursting through the steel mail shirt as if it weren¡¯t even there.

    Tan Yi stiffened with a high pitched gasp as Xu Tie snarled and tore free his fist.

    Holding nothing less than the young scion¡¯s life in his hands.

    And the look on Tan Yi¡¯s face as he was forced to gaze at his own beating heart spurting blood in the hands of his glaring executioner was an expression Alex would never forget. Tan Yi¡¯s look of horror faded to oblivion as his body went slack, and Alex could clearly sense the spirit¡¯s screams as it desperately fled for the River of Souls.

 Book 8 - Chapter 99

    Xu Tie dropped his bloody prize as he glared and spat at his fallen foe before shuddering once, shaking his head, and gazing Alex¡¯s way once more. His look was that of a man shaken by his own actions. A father humbled by the rage that had nearly consumed him, even if embraced in the defense of those he loved.

    Biochemical Mastery skill check made!

    Alex flashed a sympathetic smile, presenting a cloth treated with both cleansing compounds and a floral scent. ¡°Your wife and children are coming. Clean up with this before you turn around. And put on this robe. Your presently covered in gore and poison that you don¡¯t want to expose the rest of your family to.¡±

    The man nodded gratefully, a surge of his power slicing the tainted robes he wore to shreds at his feet as Alex tossed him clean attire before he quickly placed all the bodies in a storage ring that shouldn¡¯t have nearly the storage that it somehow did, but Alex sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to complain.

    Within moments, Xu Tie¡¯s wife and children were held tight in their father¡¯s arms, tears trickling down soot-stained cheeks, for all that the blood and gore of moments before was thankfully gone.

    Alex felt an unexpected lightness in his chest. As bleak and deadly as this night had become, utterly destroying his one-time fantasy that he would ever be permitted a gentle halcyon slice-of-life existence ever again, the solace of bringing four precious lives back from the brink of death eased the bitter weight of over a score of lives that he had already sent to the River of Souls, this night alone.

    ¡°Hero?¡±

    The unexpected title jolted Alex from his thoughts as he turned to meet Xu Tie¡¯s sober gaze while his wife gently coaxed their kids inside a masterfully made rickshaw before sliding in primly herself, gazing at Alex with wide, hopeful eyes.

    Alex smiled. ¡°Please, call me Alex.¡±

    Surprisingly, this earned wide-eyed looks from all four present.

    As if they actually understood.

    As if his past hadn¡¯t been eaten away to oblivion over a millennia lost to time.

    Or was that what he thought each time he jolted awake within that sand-strewn cave? Every century just a bit further out of touch with the history that had once been his? The women he had once so dearly loved?

    He shivered and looked away, suddenly unable to bear their too-hopeful gazes.

    He fought not to flinch when a powerful hand gently clasped his shoulder. ¡°What you¡¯ve done for me and my family is a deed I couldn¡¯t hope to repay in a single lifetime, and you have our eternal gratitude.¡± Both weary-looking mother and daughters nodded solemnly with those words, shuddering in remembered horror, holding each other close.

    Alex grinned when he he spotted the leatherbound tome that the oldest of the girls held as tightly as her sister was squeezing her rag doll, no doubt a book of favorite bedtime stories that bespoke of happier times and innocence that might never be recovered.

    The Liushi nobleman cleared his throat. ¡°Nonetheless, I must ask for one final favor if I possibly can this night.¡±

    Xu Tie paused, as if the very words pained him to acknowledge. ¡°My greatest barrier has been breached, and I suspect that my clan¡¯s staunchest allies are already at Council¡­ or have already perished to Duo Yi blades.¡± Intent eyes bore into Alex¡¯s own. ¡°My family and I are not safe anywhere in this city¡­ save within the palatial grounds themselves, where any counselor may take shelter with the entire royal army honor bound to protect us. An emergency contingency few have dared to embrace in the last century, for all that the edict was made with political purges like this one in mind.¡±

    Eyes revealing such a bittersweet mixture of strength, honor, and sheer desperation implored Alex¡¯s own. ¡°Can I count on you to see this night through by our side, Alex?¡±

    Alex clenched his jaw and dipped his head, knowing there was only one answer he could give.

    Even if the slowly revealed book cover slipping from a tired girl¡¯s hands hadn¡¯t left him momentarily speechless, made all the worse by the way Lady Tie looked at him when she hastily gathered the ancient tome before it could clatter out of the rickshaw.

    But not before the ruffle of fine parchment paper revealed block prints of a scene no picture could possibly do justice, yet somehow managed to capture so much of the desperate horror of that moment.

    Alex shuddered and forced his gaze away, catching Xu Tie¡¯s naked fear for just a heartbeat¡­ before a man desperate for a hero emerged once more.

    ¡°Linnea! Ya Ling! What¡¯s your status? Where are you?¡± His thoughts raced, desperate to find the best path forward to save everyone that he could.

    ¡°We¡¯re fine for now.¡± Ya Ling¡¯s voice took on a desperate urgency. ¡°Lord Xu Tie¡­ Please tell me he made it?¡±

    Alex nodded, which was of course stupid, as she couldn¡¯t see the gesture. ¡°Yes. He insists that I take him to the palace, assuming it isn¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°Yes! Please, Alex. Take him to the palace as fast as you can. He heads a critical voting block. It¡¯s why they¡¯re fighting so hard to take us all out!¡±

    ¡°Then consider it done. Are you sure you¡¯ll be...¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. Better than fine! Your kitsune ally actually came through! Grandfather and grandmother are now here with us!¡± He sensed Ya Ling¡¯s dark mirth. ¡°We¡¯re going to send these assholes on a spirit fox chase like you wouldn¡¯t believe, and pull everyone that we can away from the palace. It¡¯s our only shot at getting you through.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but grin in fierce approval. ¡°Well then, one honorable councilmember coming right up!¡± His brow furrowed. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be okay?¡±

    ¡°Sure as can be, Alex. Alright, more assholes for us to distract are heading this way. Got to go!¡±

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Alex solemnly dipped his head as Xu Tie took the handles of his family rickshaw.

    ¡°I¡¯ll lead and cover your flank. You just point to where the palace is.¡±

    The man¡¯s look of relief was palpable, his wife leaking tears of gratitude with her smile.

    And they could all pretend they weren¡¯t carrying a book filled with fairy tales so unlikely to be here at this place and time as to be beyond the pale.

    ¡°Mommy!¡±

    ¡°Rest, Fang. Hold your sister tight.¡±

    Alex was almost grateful for the opportunity to lope ahead, eyes glaring into the darkness for trouble he was sure would come their way in this night of panicked cries, shouts, the clang of bronze and steel and the haze of smoke blocking out the fainter stars above.

    Hiding as an inky blot in the darkness would be their best move if poorly lit boulevards were all they had to worry about. But with the light increasing the closer they made it to what he assumed was the palatial quarter, already knowing the trouble they would inevitably face, and how certain bastards held no qualms about shooting with crossbows first and asking questions later¡­ there was no question about what his next move had to be, especially with just four minutes remaining in the rapidly replenishing whirlwind of spiritual energy he sensed surrounding him much like Light Qi had, once upon a time.

    You have successfully summoned Dark Qi-infused Storm Shield.

    Enhanced size in effect!

    Alex pivoted his once-more massive shield to protect Xu Tie and his entire family at the first hint of ambush, pleased to sense it¡¯s growing strength and ease of use as combat experience and the potency he was absorbing from so many fierce pitched battles turned to increased mastery of those skills so crucial to saving his life.

    He couldn¡¯t help but be filled with a certain measure of pride at just how far he had come, despite all the limitations and setbacks he had faced, despite the perils of the moment, as bands of crackling lightning, deep blue waters and a thick overlapping rings of Dark-Qi infused metal shrapnel swirled in a perfect barrier before him.

    A shield so strong that it had countered multiple Silver-tier attacks just minutes ago, thanks to the Dark Qi he had successfully infused to his multi-element ward. And for all that it was tapping into a significant portion of his potency, his beast cores and four more minutes of potency mastery meant he had no fear of it depleting him, at least until he got to the palace. Or so he hoped.

    What mattered was that it was the strongest defense he could summon forth at this time.

    More than strong enough, along with his Wind Qi Deflection, to handle the sudden barrage of crossbow bolts erupting from the front row of soldiers wearing the black and red bands of the Duo Yi house as they roared and glared Alex¡¯s way, flooding around a corner as one coordinated unit, Alex¡¯s Qi Perception having failed to detect a thing.

    Chilling Alex to the quick, who instantly understood the significance of his failure.

    Clearly, his foes already knew where their targets were, even if Ya Ling and her party were serving to pull some heat away.

    It obviously wasn¡¯t enough. And if Shadow Qi was in play¡­

    Alex desperately looked around¡­ Qi Perception Check ******!

    Unable to see a thing.

    ¡°Lord Xu Tie and his family! Don¡¯t let those bastards anywhere near the palace!¡± Roared a pox-scarred barrel of a man, glaring professional contempt Alex¡¯s way as the crossbowmen expertly stepped back in perfect sink, time enough for a full row of guandao wielders to roar and charge forward while the crossbowmen set to work re-cocking their crossbows with practiced ease.

    The children screamed.

    Lady Tie gave despairing cry while her husband roared like a desperate lion determined to make a valiant last stand.

    But Alex was already charging forward, batting aside the closest pair of cleaving polearms even as he drew and struck in a flash of pristine lighting and a killer¡¯s roar. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    He had hesitated too long unleashing certain attacks, fearing peripheral backlash to the precious lives behind him.

    But if a kitsune assassin was getting ready to strike even now...

    Dark Storm Shield successfully parries multiple basic bronze attacks!

    You have unleashed Stormstrike!

    You have obliterated your opponent!

    You have unleashed Lightning Blast!

    Five cultivators have failed to save versus cardiac arrest.

    Fatality!

    The crack and boom of thunder covered the cries of surprise as lightning tore through his opponents, sending half a dozen collapsing to their wide-eyed deaths as a man cloaked in shadow with a pair of serpentine daggers radiating peril collapsed in a heap after ramming into Alex¡¯s back.

    He was chilled to think how close he had come to getting his throat cut, and already the powerful kitsune radiating a Silver¡¯s killing grace was forcing trembling muscles to move, and unless Alex wanted to get his throat torn out by a Silver tier speedster he had to act NOW!

    Darting forward as the would-be killer stumbled back with a snarl, whipping his neck away from Alex¡¯s crackling dao with a desperate lurch¡­ that did nothing to protect his hips as Alex¡¯s blade bit deep in an explosion of ozone, lighting and blood, the air shrieking with the sound of steel shrapnel infused water ripping open spirit beast hide before tearing through flesh and bone and the kitsune boy was suddenly screaming, screaming in desperate agony as blood spurted in the dark.

    And Alex couldn¡¯t stop, dare not stop, even as he sobbed and roared his panicked fury, forced to gaze into despairing eyes for the flickering moments it took to shred desperately raised limbs with Water and Steel before blasting his pleading foe with lightning¡­ choking back a sob when the youth fell back in a broken heap, blood spurting from the ruins of his ruptured skull.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in horror as the last of the youth¡¯s desperate Shadow Qi faded with death, seeing all too well the horribly familiar collar of tainted blood and steel still fastened about the ruins of the young kitsune¡¯s neck.

    He trembled with furious outrage, even as the narrow road echoed with the furious cry of a wild-eyed cultivator glaring Alex¡¯s way as an additional half-dozen cultivators aimed their reloaded crossbows his way.

    ¡°Fire!¡±

    Quickness Check made!

    The storm of bolts slammed against Alex¡¯s Obsidian Shield before deflecting off the adjoining buildings and all Alex felt was a bitter killing fury for the monsters that were enslaving kitsune in the same vicious manner as they clearly had been for the last thousand years.

    Centuries of torment, of what could have been joyful peaceful lives turned to bitter despair and murderous fury, so many lives destroyed for the sake of the most corrupt and ruthless of all monsters who somehow always managed to come out on top like the smirking bastards that they were.

    Well not to tonight, Alex thought as he roared and charged straight for a wide-eyed sergeant as his men struggled with their crossbows.

    Alex desperately tried to scrub away all memory of those despairing amber eyes he was in no position to save this time around, where a single mistake would mean his death and the loss of an entire city.

    He howled, his sword raised high, tasting the bittersweet currents of killing fury in the air, tingling with the storm¡¯s ultimate wrath, just a heartbeat away.

    And now he could sense over a score of fresh reinforcements racing around the bend to back up their companions, all of them armed with spears and guandao as the crossbowmen desperately scurried back and fled.

    ¡°There he is!¡± Roared a man kitted in robes sparkling with half a dozen warding enchantments, wearing the stamp of the Duo Yi clan, snarling his hate Alex¡¯s way. ¡°Our hound is dead! This abomination killed him! Strike him down now, before he closes!¡±

    The man¡¯s words cut off in a flash of brilliant lighting, Alex¡¯s roar drowned in the crack and boom of thunder as he embraced once more what it truly meant to be one with the storm. To feel the power of unstoppable winds and lightning both, trembling through his soul as the increasingly desperate wujen screamed orders to his men and quickly raised defensive wards of his own.

    Which turned out to be not quite fast enough.

    You have successfully ruptured the wards of Shadow Master Wonang Li!

    You sense your opponent¡¯s weakness.

    Storm Strike enhanced Spell Cleave successfully Ruptures Silver tier Warding Cloak!

    Concussive foe knocks over your opponent.

    Concussive force disrupts killing art!

    You have successfully triggered Storm Blast!

    Qi Perception check made.

    Unknown tier artifact absorbs fatal lightning blast!

    Alex blinked away the blinding glare as over a dozen men crashed to the ground from the crackling discharge.

    His furious exultation froze to dread when the elder cultivator at the heart of the blast failed to take any damage at all. He alone wasn¡¯t on the ground groaning with crippling injuries, or wide-eyed in death, after lightning stopped or outright exploded the hearts of Alex¡¯s foes.

    Instead, the bristle-haired elder unleashed his full killing fury.

    ¡°You would dare to strike a lord of the Tan Yi clan with your tainted arts? You will die for that, worm! You and everyone who ever dared to call you ally or kin!¡± The cultivator¡¯s lips twisted in a vindictive smile as words twisted with dark infernal potency tainted the air.

    Then he hissed and lurched back, as if no longer seeing the face of a dismayed Ruidian boy, but rather the face of someone bearing the weight of countless millions of fallen souls¡­and a blade now the color of midnight.

    ¡°Artifacts so twisted they can absorb even lightning¡¯s promise.¡± Alex dipped his head in cold acknowledgment. ¡°So be it. Dark Qi it is, then.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Wonang Li¡¯s words cut off with a desperate cry as he spat a curse and jutted out his hand, spraying the boulevard with a deadly stream of fire and stone that stunk like sulfur and death¡­ utterly obliterating one of the few groaning guards to have survived Alex¡¯s initial lighting blast, only to utter a single sharp shriek before his entire torso dissolved under a spray of caustic lava¡­ that sprayed harmlessly off of Alex¡¯s Storm Shield, once more echoing the howling storms of the endless Sea of Ghosts¡­ impossibly vast waters that could quench even a volcano¡¯s eruption.

    Compared to that, a little bit of magma was nothing at all.

    ¡°No, impossible!¡± The elder shrieked. ¡°You¡¯re not one of my master¡¯s chosen! You¡¯re his sworn enemy! There¡¯s no way you could¡ª¡°

    His words were cut off in an instant as Alex¡¯s blade shrieked with oblivion¡¯s promise, Dark Qi covered steal tearing through all wards and spiritual energy counters. The only resistance at all was the thinnest weave of fabric caressing a withered neck.

    Darkness flashed and the deed was done, Wonang Li¡¯s eyes bulging in impossible disbelief as his head tumbled upon the remains of his men, neck-stump spraying the dying soldiers in a torrent of blood.

    Far more blood than even the most corrupt cultivator¡¯s body should hold.

    Artificer skill check made. Find Weakness skill check made.

    Dark Qi ruptures all infernal wards!

    You have successfully ruptured Deathward artifact!

    You have successfully decapitated your foe!

    Potency Earned!

    Doom Blade is now Rank 7!

    Storm Shield is now Rank 8!

    Lightning Blast is now Rank 3!

    Alex took a shuddering breath moments later, glaring down at the fallen armsmen. A few were covered in electric burns and groaning. Most were still as the grave. Alex seriously doubted any survivors would be giving any of them trouble this night, at least. But far too many were gazing at him in horrified awe, unable to tear their gazes from his ebony blade and shield of storms.

    ¡°Alex...¡±

    He shook away the unspoken question in Lord Xu Tie¡¯s voice, not sure if the man was going to counsel him to spare or kill the survivors, and happy to avoid the conversation altogether, already knowing what his next move had to be.

    ¡°No, no, please!¡± The final armsman pled, desperately dragging himself back on feet trembling with such terror that he was scooting back on his armored ass like a child as Alex continued his implacable pace toward the soldier who had witnessed Alex ruthlessly cleaving the heads off every foe to fall before him, whether they were groaning and pleading for mercy, or were still with death.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me!¡± The man desperately raised his arms and shrieked as Alex loomed over him, a surprisingly soft voice allowing the man to dare a moment¡¯s hope.

    ¡°So, what was the plan after you and your men killed Lord Xu Tie?¡±

    The man wheezed in panic for long seconds before daring to meet Alex¡¯s ice cold gaze.

    He sobbed once, already understanding his fate. ¡°What does it matter what I say? You¡¯ll kill me either way.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°True. Well, goodbye then.¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait!¡± The man desperately pled. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything, everything! Just spare me, please!¡± He hurriedly spoke on in a mad rush. ¡°Did you know that Master Duo Li¡¯s already secured the senate floor? He holds forty seven men under his control, and with the purges we enacted tonight, over a dozen of our opponents have fallen. He now has a super majority. He¡¯ll be able to push through a vote of no confidence, no matter what you do! My masters know who you are. What you are. There¡¯s a bounty on your head worth your weight in silver! When Lord Xien Tang claims this city, hunting you and your friends down will be his first priority. You are all fated to die!¡± declared the surviving soldier who knew far too much to be common trash, his Deep Bronze vitality perhaps the only reason why he was still alive.

    The doomed soldier flashed a desperate smile. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t have to end this way. My clan knows of half a dozen ways in and out of this city! If you spare my life, I¡¯ll aid you all in escaping this city this very night, my cultivator¡¯s oath upon it!¡±

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°An interesting proposal. There¡¯s just one problem.¡±

    The guard¡¯s brow furrowed before blinking in bemusement when Alex tossed him an Ice Core fragment. At first glance, it was an absolutely precious prize the warrior¡¯s hands couldn¡¯t help but instinctively grasp for. Far better to be bribed than butchered, after all.

    It was a prize the desperate man successfully caught, before his eyes bulged wildly, body locking in fatal shock as Alex¡¯s midnight blade tore open his heart.

    The man¡¯s mouth opened in what would have been a desperate plea, had his throat not been filled with pink frothy blood¡­ had Alex even bothered to look the dying man¡¯s way after retrieving the ice chip and returning to his horrified-looking charges.

    Alex clenched his jaw, a trace of his frustration leaking free.

    But all he had to see was his blood-spattered countenance in the eyes of those who had seen absolutely everything to shudder in disgust as he turned back around and summoned a shield of stone.

    ¡°Come on, we¡¯re wasting time,¡± he said, savagely kicking aside the fallen corpses a bit harder than he had to in order to make room for the rickshaw filled with sobbing children, pulled by a man breathing far to rapidly to be feeling anything but growing panic, and Alex absolutely couldn¡¯t stand the scent of fear in the air.

    ¡°I did what had to be done,¡± he declared. But the family didn¡¯t say a word.

    ¡°That asshole admitted that his clan was hunting down their political opponents, cutting down half a dozen families just like your own! Any one who opposed their coup were butchered like swine. Monsters like that don¡¯t deserve to live.¡± He choked back a furious sob. ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with these types before.¡±

    Alex glared down with furious hate at the last of the crumpled corpses they passed. ¡°These fuckers got nothing less than they deserve!¡± He glared down at his own trembling hand, easing his will upon his terrible ebony blade, allowing it to reconvert to indestructible spirit beast tempered steel before sheathing it once more.

    ¡°And they saw too much,¡± he admitted to himself as much as those silently listening on. ¡°The minute I was forced to reveal arts that my enemies would kill to possess is the minute they signed their own death warrants.¡±

    He locked gazes with Lord Xu Tie. ¡°Mercy for those scumbags was never an option.¡±

    To his surprise and relief, the man flashed a bleak smile. ¡°I quite agree, Alex Hammer. I quite agree.¡±

    Alex nodded, feeling a curious sense of relief as an unseen weight lifted from his shoulders before his eyes widened in startlement, nearly tripping over the stone tiles before him.

    He clenched his fists as the air around them grew heavy with awful tension¡­ before taking a shuddering breath and picking up his pace. ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t have much time,¡± he said, pretending he hadn¡¯t caught what Lord Xu Tie had let slip.

    In the brief time he had befriended this tiny clan, he had never once stated his full name.

 Book 8 - Chapter 100

    ¡°The palace is just ahead. It looks like we¡¯ll make it!¡±

    Alex winced at those words, praying they hadn¡¯t just raised a dozen red flags as he beheld the magnificent collection of grand pagodas, spiraling minarets, and gold-leaf covered domes that they were rapidly approaching. Yet by some miracle, the well-lit grand boulevard before the palace was actually clear of any obstacle, ambushing enemy squad, monstrous silver-tier cultivator, or any other unexpected complication or peril.

    The sheer emptiness before the pair of gold-plated gates, the complete lack of any ambush or threat, was enough to make Alex¡¯s skin crawl. Yet for all that his instincts screamed ambush as they approached the gate, Lord Xu Tie, the last man Alex would have thought a fool, thought nothing of striding boldly up, and placing his hand on the jade green phoenix head on the center of the gate radiating spiritual energies that would have done even a Gold proud.

    Xu Tie¡¯s orator¡¯s voice effortlessly projected his request. ¡°Counselor Xu Tie with family and retainer formally requesting entrance and asylum.¡±

    The gate clicked open with those words, and they entered without anyone popping out of the blue to impede their way at the last possible second, Xu Tie immediately retiring the palanquin within in the sheltered courtyard where it was immediately attended to by a liveried driver before hurrying Alex and the others into the large domed foyer just inside. A pair of servants dressed in light blue robes were suddenly before them, effecting an air of solemn gravity and radiating hardly any spiritual pressure at all, for all that Alex was certain that at least one movement technique must have been in play.

    The lead servant¡¯s inscrutable features revealed the tiniest of smiles. What Alex almost thought might be relief as he dipped his head. ¡°Greetings, lord Xu Tie. You are just in time for the final council arguments. Please, come right this way.¡±

    Xu Tie dipped his head. ¡°Excellent. My wife and daughters will be staying for the duration as well.¡±

    ¡°Of course, my lord,¡± whispered the other servant, bowing before his family. ¡°Right this way, Lady Tie.¡±

    Xu Tie¡¯s wife gave the first genuine smile of relief Alex had seen since their rescue. ¡°That would be wonderful, Nan. Are the other ladies and children attending?¡±

    The servant known as Nan flashed a sad smile, solemnly dipping his head. ¡°More than ever before, Lady Tie.¡±

    Her smile faltered, eyes growing haunted for a split second as her daughters anxiously squeezed her hands. The one still carrying the recovered storybook was gazing Alex¡¯s way with too wide eyes as her mother snapped out of her momentary fugue with a brittle chuckle. ¡°Wonderful! By all means, Nan, lead the way. I¡¯m sure myself and the others will have plenty to discuss.¡±

    Alex ignored the anxious twist in his gut, reassured by the absolute trust Lord Xu Tie obviously had for these guards and servants and the palace¡¯s security as a whole. He gently clasped Alex¡¯s shoulder, sober gaze meeting his own. ¡°Every lord may bring at least one witness when presenting his case before the council. Can I count on you to take on that role for what may well be the most important council meeting since the founding of our city?¡±

    Alex swallowed, reminded once more of just how grave the city¡¯s circumstances truly were. Particularly the future wellbeing of any Ruidian or those clans opposed to the tyranny of Duo Li rule, as they would happily allow foreign pawns to seize their board.

    He solemnly bowed his head. ¡°Of course, Lord Xu Tie.¡±

    The man flashed a relieved smile, whispering rapid council Alex¡¯s way as a fresh servant led them down a corridor that could only be described as palatial, decorated in tiles of copper and gold in masterful overlapping patterns, broken up only by exquisitely painted murals of lush oases rich with life against a backdrop of desert sands and portraits of no doubt historically significant city founders, to say nothing of dozens of alcoves graced with busts and life-sized statues that looked like actual living beings frozen in stone.

    He could only pray their gambit would be successful as Lord Xu Tie painted in broad strokes their plan while the silent servant solemnly presented the pair of them to the armsmen standing at attention before a grand arched double door. The servant then bowed to Lord Xu Tie before presenting him to the pair of sentinels standing tall before the final door. The pair radiated the potency of half-step Silvers and were fully kitted in steel lamellar radiating potent spiritual energy and a pair of guandao that had clearly been blessed with the essence of sharpness.

    They glared at Alex for long moments as Lord Xu Tie spoke to them in a quiet voice, and it was all Alex could do not to squeeze the hilt of his blade and summon his strongest ward, before they simultaneously bowed solemnly before Lord Xu Tie while banking the butts of their polearms against the marble tiled floor.

    ¡°Lord Xu Tie and witness now entering the chambers!¡± One formally declared as he opened both doors and swept them through.

    Alex blinked at a sight so reminiscence of scenes of Roman senates and American founding fathers in council, spotting scores of well dressed men and a handful of women standing or seated upon hardwood benches before finely polished tables, all in pristine white robes secured with various types of ropes and sashes. Nearly everyone present radiated at least Bronze potency, their conversations momentarily pausing as they uniformly stared Alex¡¯s way.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Alex immediately noted that they were in two general clusters of nearly the same size, the rightmost cluster gazing Lord Xu Tie¡¯s way with unmistakable relief, the other cluster¡¯s stares hard and cold, giving nothing away.

    But the sight that sent chills down Alex¡¯s spine, freezing him where he stood as Lord Xu Tie¡¯s gentle tug became a fierce whisper in Alex¡¯s ear, were the figures seated in grandly ornamented chairs upon the council floor.

    One wore the jade green colored robes of a ruler, calm grey eyes radiating a Silver wujen¡¯s potency who seemed to be coolly measuring the worth of all those within the senate chamber.

    The other was a powerful figure clearly seated in opposition to him. Even in these sacred council chambers, the giant was fully kitted in lacquered armor radiating powerful spiritual energies he wore as casually as another might wear a changshan tunic, seeming to mock the entire council as he took his ease with a grim smile.

    But what froze Alex where he stood wasn¡¯t the man¡¯s powerful frame or jaded smirk. Or the look of a man used to getting whatever he wanted, someone certain he had the entire council in the palm of his hand, for all that his brows had furrowed in momentary consternation when Xu Tie¡¯s presence made itself known.

    It was that the earlier rumors were actually true, not just political theater.

    The seven foot tall giant was actually radiating the spiritual pressure of a Gold.

    A rank that Alex''s companions had painted as near mythical. Save for a Gold-tier spirit beast or two, and a wujen who refused even to leave his portal, sending assassins in his stead, this Titan was the only one Alex had seen since coming to life upon the desert sands.

    ¡°Alex, come. We must take our seats now.¡±

    The unexpected urgency in Xu Tie¡¯s voice immediately pulled Alex free of his stupor, his feet following the suddenly anxious lord of their own accord as he solemnly made his way toward the right half of the council chamber, ignoring the furrowed brows and hooded looks being sent by the other party.

    Of course, there were at least a few who were determined to make their feelings on the pair¡¯s late arrival known.

    ¡°Objection! Lord Xu Tie is late! I move that his votes have no weight in this council meeting!¡± Roared a man glaring their way.

    Alex clenched his jaw, somehow not surprised to spot the familiar stamp of Duo Li features upon the man¡¯s inbred face.

    ¡°Objection overruled,¡± declared the powerful baritone voice of a man who looked far more suited for the battlefield than political maneuverings. But considering that political fumbles or the avarice of corrupt councils was what led to wars in the first place, Alex could think of no better place to stick a retired general or two than into a council just like this one.

    The man solemnly bowed his head toward Xu Tie. ¡°Past precedent has long established that every lord who makes it to council before the final votes are passed may participate in full measure.¡± His grin hardened. ¡°Especially on nights such as these, Lord Lan Yi.¡±

    The objector stiffened. ¡°And just what do you mean by that?¡± The one known as Lan Yi demanded.

    This earned a smile from the former commander. ¡°An excellent question. Why is our esteemed council member late? I will allow Lord Xu Tie to answer that question himself.¡± He dipped his head Xu Tie¡¯s way. ¡°Lord Xu Tie¡­ you now have the floor.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t quite hold back a smile as Lan Yi fumed, perhaps realizing that he had just played into the former commander¡¯s hands, his very objection creating the opening that Xu Tie needed to justify speaking so late in their conference.

    It was an opening Alex¡¯s companion didn¡¯t hesitate to claim.

    ¡°Thank you, Lord Shi.¡± He then turned to face his denigrator, flashing a chilly smile. ¡°You raised an excellent question, Lord Lan Yi. Why am I, a councilmember who has always embraced the virtue of punctuality, late on this night of all nights?¡±

    He turned, pinning over half the council with his gaze. ¡°Could it be for the same reason why there are bands of armored thugs roaming the streets? Or a dozen fires that would have set this entire city ablaze, had we not already learned such bitter lessons after nearly losing the Western Quarter to arson so similar to what too many clans will be suffering this night?¡±

    His hard gaze took in the entire council chamber.

    ¡°I suspect it¡¯s for the same reason that over half a dozen of your fellow council members have failed to attend this vital meeting, upon which the city¡¯s entire fate will be decided!¡±

    ¡°Are you daring to accuse the council of foul play?¡± Lan Yi¡¯s glare turned to a contemptuous smile. ¡°Careful, Xu Tie. You know well the penalty of false accusations within this council chamber!¡±

    Xu Tie met the man¡¯s gaze with his own. ¡°Until last year, all were free to make declarations openly. It was only when parties were found defaming our prince that steps were taken.¡±

    He bowed before the seated figure in jade green, who Alex, thanks to Xu Tie¡¯s hurried lessons, understood to be the prince, a man with almost unlimited power, whose very word was law, save for rare circumstances like now, when he was being judged by the council itself. One of the few checks to the man¡¯s power that there was. A power that Xu Tie had made clear that the prince had never once abused.

    ¡°And it was you, Lord Lan Yi, who demanded censors be put in place, to avoid dishonoring the prince with defamatory statements. How curious I find it that you now champion a foreigner utterly opposed to the prince. A cultivator who has no family heritage here, who has committed no great deeds on our city¡¯s behalf.¡± Xu Tie snorted his contempt. ¡°A man who has never once stepped foot in this city before this visit where he tries to entice us with the prospects of vassalage! Demanding that we pay a yearly tithe of gold, grain, and slaves, an institution we banned centuries ago, to the new ruler of Qianshi!¡±

    Xu Tie¡¯s voice grew into a roar as he glared Lan Yi¡¯s way. ¡°This man is no champion of our city. He¡¯s demanding our surrender!¡±

 Book 8 - Chapter 101 - End of Book 8, 2nd Arc!

    ¡°Wrong, you fool!¡± Lan Yi roared right back. ¡°Prince Quiang has failed us with the most vital resource we have. Water!¡± He flashed a cold smile as Xu Tie¡¯s voice went silent. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he said, turning to face the council. ¡°We all know the truth of it. The northern falls have gone dry, and the prince and his accomplice within Silver Sands academy, the former headmistress herself, have been revealed as trying to hide that fact with artifice and illusion while forcing the good citizens of this city to suffer the consequences! You wish to know why food prices keep increasing? Why there were not one but two water shortages in our city¡¯s vaunted plumbing that this fool Xu Tie and his cohorts dared to declare sabotage? It¡¯s because the rifts are being so poorly maintained that all the rivers are running dry!¡±

    He turned to flash the smirking Gold Titan a sycophantic smile. ¡°And unlike our present prince who does nothing for the betterment of our people, the honorable Xien Tang will make a point of daring the delves not just once a month, but multiple times every week, until pristine Water cores are secured for all our ritual sights, and our city¡¯s water supplies are secured for another hundred years! Who cares about a token tithe to our neighbors, after all, if it assures steady water for our families for decades to come? Especially since we know that two more of those cores, Ice cores, not even proper Water, and the just the tiniest of slivers remaining, are about to run dry, which will leave us no water at all, and the city utterly doomed! At that point, we will be begging Qiangshi to take over and spare our miserable lives, even as our city dries to dust and we¡¯re all forced to flee! And you all know damn well what happens when hundreds of visitors become thousands and neighboring cities are overwhelmed. The suffering compounds. Tolerance turns to contempt, and before you know it, we¡¯re all in chains, slaves to fresh masters of cities far more fortunate than our own!¡±

    Lan Yi then bowed his head toward the Gold Titan. ¡°Yet the soon to be Prince Xien Tang has promised to spare our glorious city that fate! Who cares if his clan has only just been formed? Should he manage to save our city, I think we can all agree that he will be worth every honor we can bestow upon him! And what¡¯s a small yearly grain tithe, compared to no grain at all? We¡¯ll put the burden on the lazy farmers who fail to do their job, right where it belongs! Prince Xien Tang is even willing to lend us his strongest farmers in return for our chaff. Hungry mouths that produce nothing in return. Hardly a sacrifice at all, it is a trade that¡¯s entirely to our benefit!¡±

    Those words froze the council, even Lord Xu Tie¡¯s allies flinching before his gaze, as everyone was forced to face what was no doubt their greatest fear. Alex¡¯s dismay turned to a bleak smile. Of course no one in the counsel knew exactly what had transpired. There were no cell phone signals in this time and place, and instant messages via party chats were something that only those who treated Ruidians like battle brothers would ever know.

    Alex doubted he would have had any chance against such a powerful, deadly clan as the Duo Lis if they hadn¡¯t been forced to divide themselves into multiple squads that night, so desperate they were to secure their coup. And it was their great misfortune as much as Alex¡¯s luck that his daring attempt at a rescue meant that he was forced to tear through so many Duo Li sympathizers as they sought to control both the city entrances, the council building, and the ritual sights, all while additionally disposing of as many opposing political voices as they could.

    So how could any council agent here fathom what he and his companions had actually managed to accomplish that night? Especially since Alex had embraced acts that would surely haunt his dreams to assure that there would be absolutely no survivors spreading tales once he had left the battlefields in question.

    Lord Xu Tie flashed a worried look Alex¡¯s way. Alex nodded encouragingly even as the mood in the council shifted. He pointed to the set of pristine glass windows on the far side of the grand council hall that their plan depended upon, dawn now less than half a glass away. Alex was only surprised that Xu Tie hadn¡¯t spoken of his own ordeals, but he assumed that the man knew what he was doing.

    ¡°Let me make sure I understand the thrust of your argument, Lord Lan Yi. You feel we would be best served surrendering over a thousand years of independent rule by becoming a vassal state in order to secure the services of a Gold who would¡­ what¡­ be able to delve our rifts more frequently?¡±

    ¡°Because he can guarantee a fresh water supply indefinitely!¡± Lan Yi snapped. ¡°My clan¡¯s water caravan service has stood the test of time for centuries! We supply water to all the outposts that need it, and gained our titles servicing Liushi during the last drought to effect our people. So I know better than most the vital importance of backup sources of water! What you fail to understand, fool, is that not only is the just and honorable Prince Xien Tang willing to delve for our benefit, as a vassal state, our nominal yearly tithe will also assure us unlimited use of Qianshi¡¯s own reservoirs. Our so-called ¡®token submission¡¯ does nothing more than secure our city¡¯s future for the next century! And if you¡¯re too shortsighted to appreciate that fact, then maybe you¡¯re not a true son of Liushi at all.¡± The man said the last with a sneer.

    Alex sensed Xu Tie boiling with outrage, and gently squeezed the lord¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re being goaded,¡± Alex whispered, pretending he hadn¡¯t sensed the man wince under his gentle squeeze.

    Xu Tie cleared his throat, speaking in a much calmer voice than his opponent hoped for. ¡°The point stands. The bottom line isn¡¯t tithes or protection. It¡¯s water. Is that fair enough, my fellow councilmembers?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a whole host of things!¡± Lan Yi snapped, though an increasing number of councilmembers nodded on both sides of the isle.

    Lord Xu Tie frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Let¡¯s say that despite our significant differences¡­ I agreed with you that securing a safe and steady water supply was the number one issue facing our city, Lord Lan Yi, and to that end, I would be willing to entertain the idea of bringing on whatever resources were needed to secure it.¡±

    Lan Yi blinked in surprise, before giving Xu Tie a thoughtful smile. ¡°Then I would say that perhaps I¡¯ve misjudged you, and you¡¯re capable of common sense, after all.¡±

    Xu Tie¡¯s answering smile didn¡¯t quite reach his cool gaze. ¡°Then it is equally my hope that should the north and western rift¡¯s waterfalls be fully restored, not with any cheap illusions, but pristine water flowing cold and true once more, that my fellow councilmembers will be equally willing to concede that we don¡¯t need to sell our souls to outsiders! Especially on a night where half a dozen of our fellow brothers and sisters of the council who would oppose an outsider¡¯s rule end up missing on a night that smells of ash and bitter tears.¡±

    He then turned to glare at the Gold, which Alex thought damn impressive, considering the strength of the now distinctly displeased-looking giant¡¯ aura. ¡°Because if the bloody events of this night is what this Gold Titan being on his best behavior is like, imagine how tight his fist will squeeze when it¡¯s around all our throats!¡±

    ¡°That is slander! Vile slander!¡± Lord Lan Yi screamed in outrage. ¡°You will be jailed for that, fool!¡±

    Xu Tie laughed coldly. ¡°You see, my brothers and sisters of the senate? Accusations and threats are the ultimate refuge of those who would crush your liberties. Playing off your fears to force you to acquiesce, dishonoring our ancient ancestors who fought against all odds to secure our freedom, our independence, our liberty!¡±

    Alex blinked, surprised to see that the councilman¡¯s words had near the entire counsel on both sides of the chamber peering his way with unnerving intensity. Though whether it was because they were actually moved by his words, Alex sadly wasn¡¯t sure.

    Xu Tie turned to glare at Lan Yi. ¡°You declare me guilty of slander? The very night our city¡¯s enemies tried to burn me alive in my own home? Where multiple bands of mercenaries tried to execute me on my way to this very meeting? You need only look at the ruins of my home to see the truth of my words!¡±

    ¡°You have no proof!¡± Lan Yi roared in protest. ¡°No proof of anything you have claimed! Therefore you are guilty of slander and will pay the price!¡± He flashed a hate-filled smile full of malice. ¡°And the price you pay will be steep indeed.¡±

    Xu Tie snorted, gesturing to the spite-filled councilmember. ¡°And there you have it, my fellow senators. He doesn¡¯t even deny that my house was burned to ash, or even bother asking for proof, merely insisting that I have none. Almost as if he knew in advance.¡± He roared past Lan Yi¡¯s shouts of denial. ¡°This is the face of the man who would sell you all out for a silver pittance, so long as he gets to master what would be a farce of a council before the Gold Titan glaring at us all with unmistakable contempt, even now! If you wish to have that man placing chains about your children¡¯s necks before the year is out while the sellouts among us laugh in our faces, you need only cast your vote in his favor. But before you do so¡­ I invite you all to look out the far chamber walls of the palace, when the rising sun touches the caldera''s face. I think you¡¯ll witness a sight breathtaking enough to put this awful night behind us like the bad dream it is, refuse this vote of no confidence, and be remembered by your children and children¡¯s children as brave men and women who refused to surrender our city to connivers and tyrants!¡±

    Lan Yi¡¯s eyes widened in genuine, unmistakable dismay as the first pink lights of dawn pierced the farmost eastern windows of the grand senatorial hall at that very moment. The chamber filled with whispers of disbelief. As first one, then another, and then a flood of senators raced for the windows from which Alex sensed multiple enchantments that his Artificer pinged as both assuring structural integrity and somehow enhancing sight.

    Alex bowed his head, genuinely impressed with the man¡¯s timing.

    ¡°Not so remarkable as all that. The vote of no confidence is scheduled for first light. The rest is arguments and bluster,¡± Xu Tie murmured. Almost as if he could read Alex¡¯s mind.

    Alex blinked, finally feeling the effects of racing and fighting the whole night through. Had he formed a party with the man he increasingly admired by his side? He shook his head, realizing he didn¡¯t have a clue.

    ¡°Is it really wise for us to antagonize a Gold?¡± Alex whispered, stealing a sidelong glance at the Titan glaring daggers of hate their way. A killing intent so fierce that Alex had to make a willpower check not to flinch, and he could now sense the pallor in Xu Tie¡¯s cheeks underneath his cool, confident air.

    Surprisingly, Xu Tie smirked. ¡°He¡¯s under oath. No ruler or contender is permitted retribution against the council or the city for being deposed or denied office. Even a Gold Titan would suffer consequences should he break it.¡± He flashed a bitter smile. ¡°If nothing else, we¡¯ve brought ourselves plenty of time where our foes can do nothing, if this is the strongest piece they would bring against us. Assuming, of course, that my fellow councilmembers actually believe the sight before them.¡±

    Yet even Alex found himself moved by the sight of the morning sun shimmering upon multiple waterfalls splashing into the lush valley below, and dozens of hopeful gazes, more than a few squeezing shut eyes leaking tears as they murmured their gratitude, made it clear that the entire council felt the same.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± A wild-eyed Lan Yi declared, before flinching before the Gold¡¯s increasingly displeased gaze. ¡°You restored not one but both water falls? But you have no access to cores of Water or Ice. That¡¯s an illusion! It must be!¡±

    ¡°And why must it be illusion, Lord Lan Yi?¡± Asked the barrel chested cultivator with salt and pepper hair and the air of a former legionnaire that had come to their political rescue minutes before. ¡°Isn¡¯t it the sacred duty of our premier academy to retrieve the cores we need? Surely if they were going to pull a miracle from their rings, it would be this night of all nights.¡± Lord Shi chuckled with mirth. ¡°Ha, for all we know, they¡¯ve had a prize in reserve just for such an occasion. No doubt this will increase the schools prestige like nothing else. Isn¡¯t that right, headmistress?¡±

    If Lan Yi had looked dismayed before, now he looked absolutely petrified, and Alex could well imagine why.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened, catching sight of an ageless woman with jade green eyes and a bemused smile, wearing a form-fitting robe that was almost but not quite a kimono, radiating the imposing spiritual energy of a Deep Silver. Her eyes twinkled as she dipped her head the former military cultivator¡¯s way, and Alex couldn¡¯t deny that she totally gave off Silver Academy headmaster vibes, and hardly looked like she had just been freed from enemy confinement.

    Alex¡¯s heart swelled with gratitude for Nili and her companions. That adorable kitsune who just happened to be the head of her own JiangHu clan had truly come through in the nick of time. He flashed a satisfied smile, only slightly nonplussed when the headmistress¡¯s measuring gaze locked upon his own, before flashing him the tiniest of smiles in return and dipping her head. Far lower than any struggling and recently expelled student deserved.

    Almost as if she somehow understood just how great a role he had played in the events leading up to this moment.

    ¡°It is just as it should be. My elites completed a series of runs that yielded rich rewards indeed,¡± the headmistress declared, gazing at the trembling Lord Lan Yi calmly, as if she wasn¡¯t well within her rights to strike him dead after his clan had forcefully imprisoned her.

    Lan Yi¡¯s eye bulged with dismay, but even he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to remark on her freedom, instinctively acting as if he had no idea just how close she had come to losing her head to the wiles of her enemies. Enemies that included the entirety of the Duo Li clan. ¡°You found a Water Core? It should have been reported to the council immediately!¡±

    The Headmaster raised one manicured eyebrow, causing Lan Yi to flinch and stumble back.

    ¡°You would tell me my job, Lord Lan Yi?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± he blathered. ¡°But we should have been informed!¡±

    She slowly shook her head. ¡°The more people we told, the greater the risk of interference, and I place the wellbeing of the city above political maneuvering, a stance I expect each and every one of my fellow senators to hold.¡±

    She flashed a warm smile, taking in the entirety of the senators gazing with genuine delight at the roaring falls. ¡°As you can all plainly see, all four of our falls now flow strong and true. As the windows so clearly show, windows you yourself insisted be enchanted by Qianshi outsiders with glyphs of piercing sight, the falls are genuine and true. So let this dispel the last of the false rumors that any illusion was crafted by our school with any trace of malicious intent!¡±

    Alex hid a smile of his own, for all that he was well aware that illusory enchantments had most definitely been in play. But since her intent had been the height of altruism, she was technically correct, and wishing to dispel false rumors wasn¡¯t the same thing as denying her part in the deception altogether. She said absolutely nothing about true rumors, after all. A double deception assuring that her cultivation base would remain strong even in a political den of vipers, Alex thought. At least the entire counsel was now nodding in either open enthusiasm or gruff acceptance, Alex now certain that all accusations of impropriety on her part would quickly dry up like a water puddle in the midday desert sands.

    ¡°You did exactly what was proper, honorable headmistress,¡± Lord Shi declared aloud, his fellows nodding in animated agreement. ¡°You secured both the northern and western falls and informed us in the most magnificent way possible, the proof before our very eyes! And this way, no third party has a chance to interfere before the deed is done!¡±

    The headmistress dipped her head Lord Shi¡¯s way. ¡°Precisely.¡±

    Lord Lan Yi visibly blanched, voice growing desperate. ¡°But what about the other falls? You managed to recover one more too thin ice core. So what? That buys us months. Only months! Two more falls will soon expire, and then we¡¯ll be in worse trouble than ever!¡± He forced a placating smile. ¡°Far better we take advantage of our improved position and bargain with the just and honorable Xien Tang for even better terms! Maybe the slave quota can be removed in deference to our own, ahem, gentler customs?¡± He gazed anxiously the Gold Titan¡¯s way.

    At least the man didn¡¯t lower himself to even acknowledge Lan Yi¡¯s obvious desperation, Alex noted, though he looked the farthest thing from happy. Still, Alex noted the furrowed brows and worried expressions of a good chunk of the senate body. Best to strike while the iron was hot and assure victory before his enemy could claw it back.

    Alex caught Xu Tie¡¯s gaze. The Senator cleared his throat.

    ¡°Headmistress. May one of your students speak on behalf of the college?¡±

    This earned a number of curious glances and a thoughtful nod from the woman whose jade green eyes pinned Alex where he stood for a long awkward moment as he slowly pulled free a treasure that had the entire council gazing at him in wide-eyed awe.

    Even if he held but a handful of Water Core slivers, their sparkling beauty certainly caught the eye, and perhaps they had other uses besides the rifts. Such as Reny¡¯s garden, Alex offhandedly thought, before bowing his head and speaking to the headmistress of the school he was technically kicked out of.

    ¡°We had a profitable run, honored headmistress.¡±

    She smirked. ¡°Indeed you have, aspirant. And may I ask why you¡¯re currently in possession of such a precious prize upon which the fate of our city rests?¡±

    Alex flashed a cold smile. ¡°Because the men who tried to kill us on our way to the western caldera face would never expect someone like me to be carrying the city¡¯s salvation.¡± His words immediately caused the council to break out in furious whispers.

    ¡°Lies!¡± Lan Yi roared, glaring with genuine hate. ¡°You¡¯re a Ruidian outsider. Your accusations mean nothing!¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help snorting at that. ¡°Who said I was accusing anyone here of anything? I¡¯m certainly not saying that any member of your clan and a score of armed mercenaries were waiting to intercept us at the ritual sight, actually thinking they could take out our school¡¯s elites before we could instill our Ice core and rescue the city.¡± Alex then spoke over the man¡¯s furious shouts of denial. ¡°And it was the farthest thing from a Lesser Ice Core. And I have it on very good authority that the Gold-tier Water Core we then instilled at the northern ritual sight will keep those falls flowing with water for a thousand years or more!¡± He cried, now holding nothing back as he allowed the handful of shattered Water core fragments to splash from one hand to the other in a priceless waterfall.

    ¡°For where this golden core was shattered, the one we installed was not! The most pristine and beautiful Water core you could imagine! Now permanently affixed to our caldera basin, a prize that no foe below Jade could hope to pry free!¡± He belted the words out like a challenge.

    And much to Alex¡¯s awe and horror, the massive Gold Titan caught his eyes and glared. Bold, granite features more terrifying than handsome locked onto Alex¡¯s own.

    As if attempting to crush Alex with his killing hate alone.

    Yet much to the giant¡¯s visible surprise, Alex neither crumpled nor wept. Instead his lips stretched wide with fierce hunger as his heart pounded in his chest, roaring with a desperate desire to dance with his old friend Death once more, embracing the Path of Peril for the ultimate prize.

    ¡°The boy¡¯s lying! It¡¯s all a trick! The boy holds worthless glass only!¡± Lan Yi¡¯s eyes lit with feverish desperation. ¡°Clearly, Silver Sands academy is compromised. They tainted the windows, there¡¯s no fall flowing at all on the northern summit. It¡¯s an illusion!¡±

    Alex tore his gaze away from the Gold he was a fool to even think of goading, sneering at Lan Yi''s pathetic bluster. ¡°If that¡¯s what you think, then I invite the honorable headmistress to examine my prize, and if she finds it worthy, to claim it for herself to use as she sees fit for the betterment of our city.¡±

    The bemused headmistress calmly approached.

    Xu Tie immediately flowing into a bow so low it was almost a kowtow, Alex copying his movements while still presenting the twenty ice core slivers with a dancer¡¯s grace, earning a twinkling smile.

    ¡°Please rise, honored patron and student of Silver Sands, while I examine your prize.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Alex felt the pearlescent slivers leave his palm, rising up alongside Xu Tie, suddenly feeling an anxious twist in his gut as the strikingly beautiful headmistress frowned down at the prize she now held in her ivory white hand. What was taking her so long? Unless...¡± Alex felt a surge of dread as her eyes slowly lifted to meet his own.

    ¡°Twenty fragments, each as potent as a lesser beast core. Though not one of them are worthy of the basin itself, all still have utility for both alchemists and artificers, and there can be no doubt that this was once a Golden Water Core.¡± She gazed at Alex for long, thoughtful moments. ¡°And all one has to do is look out the window to witness for themselves just how powerful the arterial flow of the western river now is. A marvel of Gold that might well last a thousand years.¡± She dipped her head and smiled her approval. ¡°Well done, aspirant. We shall have to speak more of your adventures this evening at a later time.¡±

    Alex bowed once more. ¡°It would be my honor, revered headmistress.¡±

    She then turned to face the council, raising the glittering core fragments up high. ¡°By my oath as headmistress, I declare this boy¡¯s account to be genuine and true. These fragments alone are worth ten thousand credits, which will be immediately added to his Silver Sands balance.¡±

    She turned to glare Lan Yi¡¯s way, instantly cutting off his spluttering protest. ¡°No doubt my esteemed council colleague merely wishes to verify the quality of the cores now secured to both the northern and western ritual sights. I wholeheartedly support our doing such immediately, so long as we can all agree that examining the falls firsthand, dipping our hands into the flowing waters and sensing the purity and rapidity of their flow, is all the proof we need to verify and vindicate this heroic accomplishment. The matter will then be finally and definitively put to rest, at which point I think we can all agree that our dear prince who has done so much to protect this city and fund our greatest college should never have to face a vote of no confidence from any councilmember again!¡±

    The headmistress then bowed her respect to the counsel as a whole.

    ¡°I, in turn, will redouble my efforts to assure that delving quotas are always kept full, and that all Ice and Water cores are sold directly to the college. I will further enact oath-binding measures that ensure that no delver is permitted to hoard or sell Water or Ice cores for themselves¡­ or to sell to any third party intent on surrendering them to foreign interests.¡± She said the last with a glare Lan Yi¡¯s way that had the man positively fuming. ¡°A measure which I¡¯m sure will delight the Duo Yi clan, forever concerned with our city¡¯s welfare, to no end.¡± Those words earned several derisive snorts, making it clear that more than a few councilmembers suspected Lan Yi and his family of dark schemes indeed. ¡°...And I will reaffirm with you all that doing our part to keep our city fed and watered will remain Silver Sand¡¯s highest priority, as always. Are we all agreed?¡±

    The air filled with murmurs of ascent, and more than a few groans at the thought of facing a long hike in the morning desert sun after being up all night and the chaos consuming the city.

    Alex¡¯s bemused smile froze when he heard whispers from those who insisted that they examine the ritual sites themselves¡­ and too many other councilmembers absolutely refusing to risk any chance of facing the restless dead¡­ some whispering that caravans were now reporting revenants that could survive at least the first few hours of dawn.

    Lord Shi cleared his throat. ¡°I, for one, take the evidence before my eyes as proof of good faith and feel no need to risk whatever troubles might be brewing in the desert sands. The pristine falls speak for itself, as do the brave and meritorious actions of Headmistress Shweng Fa and her disciples.¡± He dipped his head Alex¡¯s way.

    Alex immediately bowed low in response, hiding his bemused smile at how many lords and ladies of the court quickly protested any need to go out into the hot desert sands filled with walkers and possibly enemy agents, or even take a hike around the ridgeline trails surrounding the basin proper, suddenly feeling no need to examine all four falls firsthand.

    ¡°Well then,¡± Lord Shi said with no small amount of satisfaction. ¡°Let¡¯s take our vote, so long as we agree that anyone who would oust our good and just prince must at least examine the falls for themselves before they dare to judge our school, our city policies, or our leader! Any objections?¡±

    Lord Shi flashed an increasingly flustered looking Lan Yi a smile mirroring Xu Tie¡¯s own as the vote was cast, every councilmember slamming down a tile of either ebony or ivory.

    Though Alex felt an increasing amount of tension, and the Gold Titan¡¯s glare caused more than a few councilmembers to blanch as they held out their tiles, when the tally was done the council rang with words that would shape the fate of the entire city, and Alex¡¯s place within it.

    Lord Shi bowed his head to the now smiling prince. ¡°The vote of no confidence has failed. Long live Prince Quiang! Long may he rule!¡± He abruptly roared, slamming fist to chest, a gesture immediately mirrored by every councilmember present, Alex witnessing the gamute of emotions from relieved triumph to existential dread, yet not one councilmember refused to salute.

    Not even Lord Lan Yi, who no doubt had absolutely no idea of just how heavy a blow his clan had suffered that night, though the headmistress sudden appearance no doubt gave him an inkling that where others were embracing the dawn, his long night had just begun.

    The prince gave a satisfied smile, rising from his chair on the council floor to ascend gracefully to the gilded throne above them all.

    ¡°We accept the Council¡¯s Judgement and commend it¡¯s wisdom,¡± the prince declared, flawless features seeming to simultaneously lock gazes with them all. ¡°We commend as well the foresight of our premier academy, its headmistress, and its most loyal members for putting our city above all other considerations. Their sacrifices will not be forgotten.¡± His gentle smile firmed. ¡°As there have been multiple fires reported, we will now dispatch rescue squads led by Ice and Water specialists, reinforced with security contingents, lest unaligned third parties seek to profit from the chaos.¡±

    He then turned to a wild-eyed Lan Yi who looked like he was staring at the executioner¡¯s block.

    ¡°Lord Yan Yi. If you would escort our guest to the caravan awaiting his convenience where he may expect generous boons for his troubles, we will continue our session.¡±

    ¡°At once, Your Grace,¡± Lan Yi¡¯s voice was little more than a dry whisper. He visibly trembled as he approached the hard-eyed Gold. Alex could sense the moment the murmured conversation dwindled, everyone with half an eye on the seething Titan, readying themselves, even if a room full of Bronze with just a sprinkling of Silver had no real hope against a Gold.

    Only the headmistress and one or two others had even a chance of putting up a retreating fight for at least a few seconds, buying precious time to allow at least some of the council to escape, Alex easily sensing the swirling strands of Qi that a handful of Silvers and the headmistress herself were desperately readying¡­ just in case.

    Yet Alex could tell by the contemptuous smile Xien Tang favored them all with, just how pathetic and ineffective those desperate chants would be, if the monster decided to take them all out, here and now. And by the way his eyes twinkled, craggy lips creeping up in a dreadful smile, it was obvious he was contemplating just that.

    Alex felt such awful tension that it was all he could do not to summon his fangtian ji.

    Xien Tang abruptly tilted his head back and roared with laughter. So unexpected that half the council jolted in surprise. So powerful that Alex could feel the entire chamber of stone vibrating, the glass windows rattling, and this filled him with genuine dread.

    This was no half-step cultivator. Xien Tang had well and truly broke through to Gold. Despite his earlier mad daring when he forced himself to meet the Titan¡¯s smile, refusing to back down or cower, Alex still knew he would be an absolute fool to underestimate the monster before him.

    He knew that. As assuredly as his next breath, he knew the Titan below could tear right through the city single-handedly. And the fire in his eyes made it clear that the Xein Tang knew it as well.

    The monster¡¯s laughter ended as abruptly as it began. ¡°And so I leave. Oath given and kept. Just remember¡­ this was your choice.¡±

    He flashed a cold, pitiless smile. ¡°Your lives could have been so sweet, if you had only had the wisdom to swallow your pride and kneel before masters that would have been far gentler than you fools deserve.¡±

    ¡°Are you threatening us?¡± The headmistress herself said, her voice a furious, strained whisper.

    The giant¡¯s grin grew hard and cold. ¡°Do you think me a fool, witch? Oh no. I wouldn¡¯t dream of violating the word of our¡­ covenant. I will leave peacefully and depart for Qianshi, and I will do nothing to alter the course of my return. Exactly as sworn.¡± He snarled and spat. ¡°And you will never have to worry about me daring these council chambers again. Exactly as sworn.¡±

    The sights of relief were audible as the monster stomped towards the exit. Before abruptly stopping.

    ¡°Because if I ever choose to return, the first thing I¡¯ll do is knock this farce of a counsel hall to the ground!¡± He roared, his killing aura promising them all that their days were numbered as he angrily stomped off.

    Alex exchanged looks with Headmistress Shweng Fa and Lord Xu Tie as the entire assembly erupted in anxious shouts and frantic whispers.

    ¡°He¡¯s bluffing,¡± Shweng Fa assured. ¡°He risks his cultivation base if he ever returns.¡±

    Lord Xu Tie cleared his throat. ¡°Regrettably, headmistress, the Duo Li clan was responsible for his oath bindings. If they were deliberately sloppy, or included clauses that our clerks were too foolish to spot, then it¡¯s quite likely that he will be in a position to return. As to whether he¡¯ll have free reign to lead troops against us or attack the city as a whole¡­¡± He turned to glare at a wild-eyed Lan Li, presently shouting at his cohorts. ¡°When dealing with a clan of snakes, anything is possible.¡±

    Alex sighed at those words before putting the panicked shouting behind him out of mind and taking a moment to gaze out at the crystalline waters splashing from the falls, assuring that their valley would continue to thrive as a lush green oasis in the desert for many years to come.

    Despite how perilous a night it had been, the lives lost, the horror endured¡­ in the end, he and his companions had done it. They had restored the rivers vital to life in the caldera, foiled the cold-blooded machinations of their enemies, and rescued this beautiful city that had shown such gentle warmth, even genuine concern, to a tribe of people Alex had never expected to suffer anything but perpetual hardship and scorn.

    Alex didn¡¯t know why he was smiling so brightly, wiping the sting from his eye as he beheld the glorious sunrise promising a fresh new day, innocent of the treachery and horrors of his endless past. He only knew that the entire city now had the faintest of golden glows¡­ and was truly humbled to find it now so deeply connected to himself. He couldn¡¯t help but dare to entertain the idea that maybe, just maybe, this city might be a place where he could truly begin anew.

    The joy of friendship¡­ such a beautiful, precious thing that he had caught genuine flashes of in the smiles of his boon companions, despite the perils and demands of the hour. And there was no mistaking the look of fierce gratitude in Lord Xu Tie¡¯s eyes, or the unspoken promise that had been in the headmistress¡¯ gaze as well.

    He had made friends as well as enemies, this time around. Powerful friends who need never fear Alex bragging or gloating about his own accomplishments, or even spreading stories about this night at all. Yet the gazes he had held before bowing his head in polite humility, were those of men and women who knew damn well that their triumphs and, in some cases, their very survival, was only thanks to the intervention of the one band of heroes willing to challenge the fate of an entire doomed city, and had, by some miracle, seen that madness through.

    He flinched, knowing better than to say anything, or even respond when a soft voice whispered in his ear.

    ¡°We have much to discuss about your future plans. Both in the realms of cultivation and your role within this city¡­ young hero. I expect you at my office two days hence. And I expect you to be a bit more prompt for my pleasure than you were for poor Elder Win.¡±

    Alex froze at the gentle admonishment and request from the most powerful cultivator now in the room, second only to the monstrous Gold Titan that could have so easily crushed them all. Before this night, he would have thought himself utterly beneath the notice of the powerful. He was both gratified, and beyond embarrassed that the headmistress, of all people, knew of his escapades so well.

    But he was still savvy enough to know better than to respond. The gentle touch to his shoulder and whisper in his ear was all that needed saying, and was more than enough to send his heart racing with more than simple mental fatigue. Knowing darn well that he¡¯d need more than a few days peaceful reflection and meditation to consolidate his gains¡­ or perhaps process the trauma and horror of no less than six lethal engagements in a single endless night if he were being honest with himself¡­ though he increasingly suspected that was the purpose it served for most cultivators, regardless of what it was called.

    Yet if anything, the unexpected heady joy he felt only grew. He couldn¡¯t help but think that perhaps all past censure and restriction regarding his place at Silver Sands had bee lifted. Or perhaps¡­ it had effectively never happened in the first place.

    He swallowed the lump in his throat, realizing that his dreams of being able to study in peaceful tranquility with masters genuinely interested in helping along any path save that of endless peril, with access to countless tomes of Deepest Silver, would soon be open to him. With the headmistress herself interested in his future, and he could only assume a freed Reny and Elder Wu as well, he would finally¡­ finally! Have the chance to ascend along paths far, far sweeter than any he had ever dared before.

    And best of all, what truly brought undisguised tears to his eyes he no longer felt any shame in failing to hold back, was how free he felt. Utterly free of the awful foreboding weight of spite-filled deities glaring down at his piece, wishing only to make him suffer for their own bitter pleasure.

    Xuon Li had been a test of sorts, indirectly at least, Alex was absolutely sure of it. The singular cultivator in the entire city radiating Lord Justice¡¯s malevolent stamp upon his features¡­ and Alex had stayed his furious hand, stepping back and leaving the man to his own fate, whatever it might be. It had been one of the hardest struggles he could recall, not ending this awful night right there¡­ and he couldn¡¯t describe how grateful he was at the self-control he had exhibited, lest his own impulsive actions awaken sleeping gods to the enemy still living and breathing in the world below. An act that he had absolutely no doubt would doom this city in a heartbeat, and renew his endless bitter struggle against titanic forces forever beyond his comprehension in terms of power and malevolence, who, until now, had forever been eager to make him suffer, just so that his master in some small way would as well. He had no idea what Xuon Li¡¯s fate would be, and frankly he didn¡¯t care, so long as he could avoid crossing paths with the man, ever again.

    To finally be free of that hideous trap, that maze of madness, was more than enough reason to permit salty warm tears running freely down his cheeks, he decided, even if no one less than Lord Xu Tie himself, also with tears in his eyes as he viewed the dawn by Alex¡¯s side, gave his shoulder the warm squeeze of a beloved kung fu brother. The golden cord of karma between them shining so brightly that even he could sense it, and Alex¡¯s heart swelled with a sensation he was terrified even to acknowledge, lest the naming of it cause it to be taken away.

    Instead, what he chose to feel was profound humility and gratitude.

    So grateful that he finally had the chance to savor the isekai life he had always hoped for. Free to live, learn, explore, and grow. Free to savor all of life¡¯s possibilities, to make lasting friendships that wouldn¡¯t abruptly shatter¡­ perhaps even learn to love again, one day, without living in constant fear of it all being torn away.

    So, despite all he had sacrificed in terms of power, he truly felt like he had come out leagues ahead of where he had ever been before. And considering the speed and rapidity that ancient skills under new names were coming back to him, including a mastery of both Dark Qi and Lightning that was already approaching what he had been capable of in his last life¡­ he knew it was only a matter of time before he would surpass all that he had ever been before.

    Best of all, he could sense it¡­ the thrum of a certain super cable whirling about his soul promising the most glorious ascension imaginable.

    So close he could taste it.

    Just a single world-shattering revelation away.

    Now the only pressing question that remained was how long they could keep their precious city safe from the depredations of a Gold Tier monster and the unseen forces behind him who were clearly eager to take it all away.

    Character Sheet

    _____________________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

    Rank 7 Cultivation Achieved!

    Physical Characteristics

    Strength ¨C Silver Rank 1 (65)

    Vitality ¨C Silver Rank 1 (65)

    Quickness ¨C Bronze Rank 5 (40)

    Finesse ¨C Bronze Rank 5 (40)

    Spiritual Characteristics

    Scholarship - 14

    Perception - 19

    Willpower ¨C Bronze Rank 2 (25)

    Qi Pool ¨C  Silver Rank 6 (190)

    Health Points: 785

    Perks

    Insightful ¨C Rank 2

    Charismatic ¨C Rank 3

    Lesser Shadow Affinity

    Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.

    Draconic Ancestry.

    Greater Wind Affinity

    Beast Core Mastery

    Favored Skills

    Golden Realms Kung Fu ¨C Rank 10

    Wind Crane Kung Fu ¨C Rank 8

    Poison Spitting ¨C Rank 6

    Stealth ¨C Rank 4

    Lock Picking ¨C Rank 4

    Qi Disciplines

    Enhanced Water Shield ¨C Rank 10

    Enhanced Water Strike ¨C Rank 8

    Thorn Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Shield of the Burning Grove ¨C Rank 2

    Oak Strike ¨C Rank 5

    Fire Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Flame Fist ¨C Rank 6

    Earthern Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Stone Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Avalanche ¨C Rank 1

    Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection ¨C Rank 6

    Wind Blast ¨C Rank 1

    Enhanced Wind Blade ¨C Rank 9

    Doom Blade ¨C Rank 7

    (Dark) Storm Shield ¨C Rank 8

    Enhanced Storm Strike ¨C Rank 9

    Lightning Blast ¨C Rank 3

    Doom Strike ¨C Rank 4

    Dark Qi Absorption ¨C Rank 5

    Piercing Strike (Spell Cleave) ¨C Rank 10

    Forest Flight (Spring Leap ¨C aka Bullrush!) ¨C Rank 6

    Wind Walking ¨C Rank 7

    Note.You are currently unable to use Prismatic techniques until harmony with enhanced Wind Affinity has been achieved!

    Prismatic Shield ¨C Rank 6

    Prismatic Strike ¨C Rank 6

    Qi Perception-linked Disciplines

    Artificer ¨C Rank 7

    Find Weakness ¨C Rank 7

    Qi Perception ¨C Rank 8

    Soul Sight ¨C Rank 7

    Spiritual Teacher (Student) ¨C Rank 8

    Forest Sense ¨C Rank 8

    Alchemy ¨C Rank 4

    Desert Sense ¨C Rank 2

    Additional Abilities & Techniques

    Full Regenerative Capacity

    Gift of Tongues

    Biochemical Mastery ¨C Rank 8

    Desert Fox Cultivation Technique ¨C Rank 6

    Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique ¨C Rank 8

    __________________________________

 Book 9 - Chapter 1

    ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smiling, pulled out of the soft downy cocoon of exhaustion¡¯s caress he had been floating in for, well, he couldn¡¯t even guess how long now, only that it was a relief to hear a voice he recognized so well, one that filled him with a sense of brotherhood, kinship, and fondest memories.

    Cheng Lei. Alive and well and so full of vibrancy and good cheer, his now jade green eyes gazing Alex¡¯s way with a look of such warmth and concern.

    Yet the warm smile of greeting froze on Alex¡¯s lips when he realized that his friend wasn¡¯t looking at him at all, but rather someone right next to him, and all thought left Alex¡¯s speechless countenance when he beheld a vision of tormented beauty that broke his heart to witness. Gone were flawless features and a seven-foot talk statuesque grace. Instead her cheeks were wan, almost gaunt, eyes shadowed by desperation and need. Yet her amber eyes were unmistakable and speared Alex¡¯s heart.

    His beloved Hao Chan, a dream, a vision, what he now feared was a wisp of memory countless years old as he drifted like a spirit through history¡¯s vaunted halls. His disciple looked the farthest thing from the immaculate vision of glorious perfection as she had been the moment she had ascended. Now, much to Alex¡¯s horror and dismay, she looked like a girl who had slipped with no one to catch her. One who had indeed stumbled into vice and despair, a bittersweet path from which there was no escape save self-destruction for far too many.

    For all that another part of him wanted to scream in outrage, in fury, that fortunes could turn so bitter and cruel after having sacrificed so much¡­ yet the fact that Cheng Lei, his beloved kung fu brother was here, by his beloved¡¯s side, meant that there was hope. There was hope! No matter how bitter or broken her path with so much malevolence thrown their way and Alex no longer there to stop it, at least Cheng Lei had been there to pull her free.

    Yet his beloved Hao Chan wasn¡¯t near any house of healing, no peaceful sanctuary where she could rest and heal from torments Alex didn¡¯t even dare guess at. And she clearly wasn¡¯t in the realm she herself had helped to shape, or Alex knew his seneschal would have moved heaven and earth, their heaven and earth, to heal her at once, freeing her mind of bitter memories that were a literal world away forever.

    No.

    Alex could sense it.

    She was about to be judged in the most imperious court imaginable, her exhaustion and vulnerability visible even beneath all the clearly applied makeup. Shadows and gaunt cheeks visible no matter that her wan beauty had been accented by gold tinted lips, cheeks, and mascara, crimson butterflies painted upon each of her sallow cheeks, dressed in layers of silk and lace with her faded mane of ebony locks strung with beads of pearl and gold.

    Now forced to enter living nightmare. Soon to be so fiercely judged while still consumed by her own inner demons.

    And Cheng Lei would force her to endure this now?

    Alex shook his head with dismay. Yet for all he knew, his friend had no choice.

    Yet the look in his beloved¡¯s eyes was unmistakable.

    Dread.

    That¡¯s what it was.

    And for all that Cheng Lei was immaculately dressed in azure silks with the air of a prince of the empire, his poor, trembling Hao Chan¡­ it broke Alex¡¯s heart even to think of it, looked like a girl used up and spat out, trying to hide the ugly marks of her shame covered in gaudy finery.

    An absolute mockery of who and what Alex knew she truly was.

    How?

    How did it come to this?

    Alex wanted to scream his dismay, rip free of this awful dream he couldn¡¯t shake himself free of as Cheng Lei took her arm and led her past fearsome looking guards who actually radiated the power of half-step Golds, and into a massive gateway gilded in gold and lined with exquisitely carved jade treasures that lead right to the audience hall just beyond.

    Already knowing what was in store for them all as they entered a grand hall so stupendous in terms of scope and grandeur, a magnificent showcase of countless works of art, jewelry, and magical treasures that were absolutely blinding to Alex¡¯s spiritual treasures. In truth, it took even Alex¡¯s breath away.

    But still, a moment¡¯s admiration couldn¡¯t deny the inevitability of what Hao Chan was being forced to do while in such extremis of her own. It was madness. Cheng Lei should have fled!

    But no. They continued down into the grand hall proper.

    A clearly broken imperial princess about to be presented before her father.

    Alex shuddered at the implications, his own heart pounding for all that he was no more than a spirit, finding himself helplessly floating behind Hao Chan and the two handmaidens covered so completely in silks, faces lowered to such a degree that they were but featureless additions to Hao Chan¡¯s entourage. Her left hand was held in Cheng Lei¡¯s gentle grip as her right was held behind her back. She walked forward with the stumble of a drunkard, the farthest thing from a dancer¡¯s instinctive grace. Yet Cheng Lei¡¯s own supernatural Finesse covered for her perfectly as they sedately made their way along the gold-veined marble walkway, crossing what truly was a magnificent courtier¡¯s hall grand beyond any earthly concept of excess with a dozen tables groaning under the weight of exquisitely ripened fruit, roasted spirit beasts and magnificent tureens of enchanted fish stew to name just a few of the dishes radiating so much potent spiritual energy that it absolutely took Alex¡¯s breath away.

    Even as countless dozens of imperial nobles broke off from their whispered conversations and sumptuous repasts to gaze curiously from the silk-lined cushions they all sat upon at the unexpected figure suddenly in their midst.

    And Alex could instantly sense the weight of all those stares, the pressure of not just one or two but dozens of Gold-tier cultivators gazing her way pressed down upon Hao Chan¡¯s exhausted form, who seemed to wilt before the measuring stares. Even so, her progress along the spotless walkway between the tables earned even more curious whispers with just an undercurrent of ire from a distant corner of the massive chamber Hao Chan refused even to acknowledge with a glance. Her eyes both forward and lowered, lest she gaze upon the dais elevating the shimmering jade throne upon which the true beating heart of the dining hall and, indeed, the empire itself.

    Even Alex hesitated to look too closely, for all that he knew he was lost in dream, yet even so, he could feel the incredible spiritual pressure of one who had actually managed to achieve Jade. A Jade so deep and pure that none in the court dared gaze upon anything save robes saturated with so much spiritual potency that Alex suspected an entire regiment of Gold-tier monsters could unleash God¡¯s Fire upon the emperor¡¯s silk cuff and not even singe the fabric.

    It was then that Alex heard the noise and bustle of the entire court, one voice that filled him with darkest bile immediately ringing discordant upon his inner ear, saying the words that filled Alex with dread and fury.

    ¡°So it is clear, Your Imperial Majesty, that Baidushi has been lost to infernal arts and trickery at the hands of infernal Ruidians and treacherous kitsune both! Over fifteen million lives lost, thanks to these godless heathens that our entire pantheon despises, your eminence. Thus I believe our next move is clear. We must purge our lands of these infernally aligned abominations once and for all!¡±

    Alex¡¯s heart lurched, his eyes now locking upon the coolly smiling countenance of Dongfang Hong himself, as he, along with a full half dozen wujen radiating the powers of Deep Gold, presented what looked to be multiple images of the enormous crater that was all that was left of Baidushi and the wildlife for over a hundred miles in all directions.

    Alex shivered and looked away despite himself, knowing all too well what his own role in that devastation had been.

    The entire court gasped at the display made of Water, Fire, and Air spiritual energy that nonetheless conveyed the image so damned well. Murmurs could be heard spreading through the imperial court like wild fire.

    Dongfang Hong flashed a chill smile. ¡°These are true and accurate depictions of Baidushi, taken just days ago! A city that would never have fallen if infernalists had not been allowed to corrupt both the city and the ancient academy watching over it. It is for this reason above all others that our enemies must be wiped from the face of the Golden Realms and never allowed to return!¡± His disgustingly melodious voice washed over the entirety of the court. Alex¡¯s stomach dropped as a smirk it seemed only Alex could sense grew upon his enemy¡¯s malevolent features, wondering if this was where the purges had begun.

    At that very moment Cheng Lei cleared his throat.

    And moving so fast it was clear that Dongfang Hong¡¯s lead wujen had at least dabbled in Silver-tier Quickness before achieving Gold as a wujen, then man¡¯s sharp voice barked through the curt.

    ¡°Silence, Blue! You know the rules of court! You are permitted to say NOTHING!¡± His lips curved in a cruel smile and Alex realize he actually recognized that spite filled countenance as one of the twisted Golds who had sworn that he would oversee the Ruidian purges firsthand.

    The wujen beside him chimed in. ¡°Your turn has passed, Blue! After us is Yellow, Green, and Black!¡± The man had the gall to sneer at a stoic-faced Cheng Lei. ¡°The seasons will cycle in full before your lips may utter a single word against us in court!¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in outrage. Who the fuck were these sneering bastards to insult the emperor¡¯s own grandson right beneath the Jade¡¯s feet?

    Yet it seemed, if the lack of outrage was anything to go by, that was indeed per the rules of this ancient imperial court. Yet still, it appeared that the wujen¡¯s bluster wouldn¡¯t prevent Cheng Lei from silently walking forward with a trembling Hao Chan by his side.

    It was a sight that, much to Alex¡¯s growing fury, earned little more than a disdainful smirk from Dongfang Hong, eyes glittering cruelly as he peered Hao Chan¡¯s way, the tension in his tightly clenched fists turning to a smug gloat.

    As if he knew. Knew what had happened to her and reveled in her destruction.

    As if he had never faced her on the arena sands, not even for a few heartbeats, to know what she was truly capable of. Or¡­ had been capable of.

    Alex squeezed his eyes which shed no tears in dream, wondering where he had gone wrong in his techniques. His training.

    Had the despair been too much? The death of so many? Had Hao Chan retreated to old vices without Alex there to steady her path?

    The entire grand court seemed to hold its breath as Hao Chan and Cheng Lei silently strode toward the grand dais forged of bronze, silver, and gold upon which rested the jade throne from which the most powerful figure in the entirety of the Golden Realms viewed the entire feasting hall.

    Alex found it almost eerie, even chilling, how the monstrous titan said not a word, just as he ate absolutely nothing. He was far too august a personage for such mortal trifles.

    Instead he observed the court and all its intrigues in its entirety. Somehow, Alex could sense that in his dreaming state as well, just as he knew that it would be perilous for even him to dare raise his gaze to meet the imposing presence of¡­ Alex turned his focus away from that terrible pressure and focused instead on his Hao Chan, radiating such shocking vulnerability that it had caught the notice of the entire court. Or so Alex sensed, seeing so many hooded gazes peering her way with everything to cloying pity or a rapt hunger that made his skin crawl, while others gazed coolly on with enigmatic expressions or smiled with what seemed genuine warmth, as if absolutely delighted at the latest entertaining diversion to dare the imperial hall.

    Yet the only ones who dared raise their voice beyond softest murmurs were the three men painted in crimson, silver, and gold, who stood like sentinels before the massive dais upon which the imperial throne sat.

    ¡°Who dares to approach the imperial throne?¡± Roared the man dressed in crimson silks, glaring Hao Chan and Cheng Lei¡¯s way with the crushing aura of a Gold.

    Hao Chan flinched, lowering her gaze before the red voice of the emperor as Cheng Lei gently squeezed her wrist, and spoke in her steed.

    ¡°It is I, Cheng Lei, scion of Lan Tu, who dares approach my grandfather¡¯s throne.¡±

    A hush immediately overtook the entire hall, and even Alex could sense that his friend¡¯s choice of words carried a weight, a significance, that was anything but typical.

    A pressure suddenly filled the air that even Alex could sense. As the speaker dressed in crimson eyed Cheng Lei with hard intensity before giving an infinitesimal scowl.

    ¡°You know the rules of the court, Cheng Lei of the Blue. So long as your own pieces or progeny are not in immediate peril, you may ask for no succor nor audience until it is your turn once more.¡±

    Alex felt a terrible fury and tension with those words, all the more when each and every wujen by Dongfang Hong¡¯s side smirked their contempt in perfect concert¡­ as if trying to goad Alex¡¯s friend into making the most foolish decision of his life.

    Yet Cheng Lei¡¯s gentle smile did not waver. ¡°The matter I wish to speak of transcends the maneuvers of royal princes and has nothing at all to do with the banners of conquest.¡±

    The crowd went silent with that pronouncement, the red and silver attired spokesmen sharing a glance before silver gave Cheng Lei a cautious nod.

    ¡°Very well, Cheng Lei, grandson of the Heavenly Emperor who wards and protects us all. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?¡±

    Cheng Lei¡¯s cool, imperious gaze melted into a warm smile as he deliberately looked the way of the speaker dressed completely in gold. ¡°I bring tidings both bitter and sweet, and most important of all¡­ I bring before the Heavenly Emperor, may his reign continue for another 10,000 years, a precious jewel gone missing from our court for far too long. I present for his judgment: Hao Chan Huangfei.¡±

    The entire court froze at those words. Even Alex felt a bolt of alarm at his friend¡¯s choice of words. Judge? Who the hell was anyone to judge the queen of his heart? Yet before confused dismay could turn to furious panic, the speaker in Silver spoke.

    ¡°Remove her attire.¡±

    Alex¡¯s alarm spiked at that, before being mollified, somewhat, by the practiced way the pair of handmaidens behind her gently lifted off the silken wimple and scarf that had so elegantly hidden so much, even as another lifted off the voluminous gown of silk and lace to reveal a diminutive cultivator¡¯s robe as sheer as any slip. Covering all that needed to be covered for a cultivator¡¯s modesty, perhaps, yet Hao Chan¡¯s striking figure was now revealed in it¡¯s entirety. Only now, with the sudden deathly hush of the entire hall did Alex appreciate just how much the enchanted silks had done to disguise her personage, as the woman of Alex¡¯s dreams was revealed in all her glory.

    It was almost as if the wan, pale-faced girl who had lived far too hard for her tender years had been but an illusion. The Hao Chan before the court now looked to be in perfect health, for all that she stood no taller than Alex¡¯s shoulder. Yet traces of her earlier ascension remained. Amber eyes gazed boldly into the gold-hued spokesperson as if challenging him to deny her claim¡­ for even she was wise enough to keep her gaze lowered from meeting the emperor¡¯s directly.

    And it was obvious by the wide-eyed look of outrage on Dongfang Hong¡¯s features that a hale and hearty Hao Chan was the last thing he had expected.

    Alex chuckled silently into the ether. It appeared that his friend somehow had access to illusions so strong as to work even in the imperial court. Or perhaps it was every skilled cultivator¡¯s gift to suppress their aura so well that a bit of face powder and grey makeup could make a haggard addict out of the most virile and exceptional warriors? No spiritual treasures needed at all. Yet the minute one allowed the slightest trace of their true aura to show.. the illusion lifted to reveal the warrior within.

    Yet Alex still couldn¡¯t quite suppress his troubled frown, for his beloved was radiating the potency of someone who might have achieved Silver and no more.

    Then Alex saw it, his heart skipping a beat.

    A ring upon her finger whose province he instantly understood.

    No matter how much he ached with the centuries¡¯ chasm between them.

    For it seemed that his master had made moves that had nothing to do with Alex at all¡­ and he was suddenly forced to accept that he wasn¡¯t always the center of his master¡¯s bittersweet tales.

    And perhaps that wasn¡¯t nearly the bad thing that the foolish spike of pride inside him feared.

    That it was, in fact, the best of things. That, perhaps, he was finally free.

    So long as his beloved wasn¡¯t forced to take his place.

    The gold spokesperson stole a glance that Alex suspected few would spot toward a wujen radiating the power of not just a half-step ascension, but a deep, powerful deadly gold. An ageless beauty herself who approached with an expression of awed disbelief on her features. She almost but did not quite dare to look up the emperor¡¯s way even as one exquisitely graceful hand brushed lacquered fingertips against Hao Chan¡¯s brow.

    Yet if Hao Chan flinched, the ageless beauty was the one to lurch back with a gasp.

    The entire court seemed to freeze, the pressure so great that Alex¡¯s heart was pounding before at last, the woman spoke, a look of unguarded wonder upon her face. ¡°My great, great granddaughter¡¯s only child. Lost to us so many seasons ago. Yet here you now stand.¡± The woman¡¯s eyes filled with unshed tears. The entire court gazed in awe, wonderment or delight¡­ and in a handful of cases, blind fury.

    ¡°May I?¡±

    A question asked so tentatively, causing Hao Chan¡¯s eyes to widen with surprise, as if one so grand and high above her in station would ask for anything at all. Hao Chan solemnly nodded, not resisting at all when the ageless, ancient wujen gently pressed her fingertips to brow.

    The ancient beauty sighed. ¡°It is as we had feared. An outsider dared to move against us.¡±

    The entire court radiated a sudden killing fury that left Alex both shocked and profoundly humbled. For as much as the spectators gave off vibes of countless sycophants and nobles to be found in all places and times, it was equally true that they were all Golds of one degree or another and working in concert¡­ Alex shuddered, suddenly profoundly certain that the Golden Realm Empire¡¯s thousand plus year history was no freak accident. There was a fearsome power behind the throne. Yet even the combined killing aura of the entire court paled before the sudden monstrous pressure radiated from the emperor himself.

    At that moment the elder wujen¡¯s eyes widened with something close to awe. ¡°But all traces of it have faded. Our dear lost blossom¡­¡± She shuddered, suddenly paling. ¡°She has dared to walk beside an immortal, losing herself in tales we know all too well.¡±

    Hao Chan¡¯s beauteous expression transformed to one of shock, hurt, then hard resolve when hear ears caught the sudden furious whispers behind her, all around her, even her supposed ancient ancestor gazing at her with dismay.

    ¡°Pray forgive these words,¡± Cheng Lei interjected softly. ¡°Hao Chan Huangfei and I both crossed paths with living legend and ancient conflict while arriving at or attending cultivation academies. And for all that edicts prohibit rulers from deliberately taking part in matters of religious doctrine, ancient precedent establishes all cultivation academies, sanctuaries, and areas of scholarly learning as being neutral ground.¡±

    ¡°But only if your rank is hidden!¡± Roared the wujen spokesperson for the sneering Dongfang Hong.

    Alex frowned. Clearly Dongfang Hong¡¯s vitriol wasn¡¯t being curbed. Probably because it was still somehow the Red Prince¡¯s turn in a game that Alex halfway wondered might be a derivative of the god¡¯s own.

    Cheng Lei grinned. ¡°Then let me assure both the court and my distant cousin¡¯s overly concerned counselors that I entered Rising Phoenix academy as the humblest of students, daring the same golden steps that all who decline the Ruler¡¯s Gate are forced to climb. It was on those steps, in fact, that I had my first brush with an immortal.¡± He gazed at Hao Chan with gentle warmth. ¡°And my dear aunt had no idea as to her rank and station at all.¡± His gaze hardened. ¡°Not until the fall of Baidushi, where so many ugly secrets were revealed.¡±

    He slowly turned his head to peer into the shadows, daring to meet the eyes of the prince who was glaring back at Cheng Lei with seething hate.

    Yet much to Alex¡¯s surprise, Cheng Lei neither challenged Dongfang Hong, nor roared any accusations. He did nothing to highlight the monster who had caused such strife, pain, and misery within CuiJing Province. Merely turned his head to nod respectfully towards Hao Chan¡¯s ancestor.

    Her eyes, still filled with tearful happiness, gazed gently into Hao Chan¡¯s own.

    ¡°Forgive me, child. I know this is much to ask, and I sense that you have already endured trials I would wish upon none of my descendants.¡±

    Hao Chan¡¯s smile said it all. ¡°Ask what you will, honored elder. I will do my best to answer.¡±

    The wujen¡¯s gaze was filled with a grandmother¡¯s understanding. ¡°Did Cheng Lei rescue you from a pavilion that must be scored from existence? Does your womb know the weight of motherhood? Does vice still haunt your steps? But tell me the names of those who have profited from you, and steps will be taken to score the very weight of their souls from the pages of history for all time. But let me know the hungers that foulness has inflamed, and our healers can cool those torments forevermore, and they will never be spoken of again.¡±

    Hao Chan froze, her gentle smile turning hard and bitter. ¡°I knew the taste of poppy for less than a week before breaking free. Vice can never touch me again. And I have never known the touch of a man, save for the kiss of the hero who perished for us all.¡±

    The ageless woman froze at those words, a flash of unexpected hope gracing her countenance for a heartbeat as feather-light fingers touched Hao Chan¡¯s belly.

    Though her expression remained stoic, the relief the elder radiated was sudden and unmistakable. She gave the gold spokesmen the tiniest of nods. Both the crimson and silver spokesmen seemed to visibly sigh with relief.

    The gold attired spokesman gave Hao Chan an ebullient smile, eyes glowing with warmth and heartfelt approval. ¡°His Imperial Majesty welcomes a lost blossom back into the fold of the imperial court!¡±

    The ageless cultivator nodded, now daring to speak before the court in its entirety, turning to face them. ¡°This child is pure. I acknowledge her to be of my line. Her flesh is utterly untouched by corruption. She would make a worthy wife to any king!¡±

    The last earned awed looks and admiring whispers as countless dozens of courtiers gazed almost hungrily upon Hao Chan¡¯s flawless features and form. And if Hao Chan felt at all alarmed by the direction the conversation had taken, she was wise enough to school her features, revealing nothing at all.

    Only with a nod from the wujen did Hao Chan¡¯s handmaidens attire her with efficient grace once more, dressed as elegantly as anyone else at court, though Hao Chan¡¯s ancestor coolly shook her head at wimple and veil as if Hao Chan¡¯s exquisite features and healthy glow should be present for all to see.

    And for all that Alex¡¯s heart lifted, relieved to find that his beloved¡¯s weakness had been feigned, no doubt so their foe would underestimate them, he wasn¡¯t blind to the fact that only the ancient grandmother on her mother¡¯s side had welcomed Hao Chan as kin. The emperor¡¯s spokesman had given her the court¡¯s welcome, but no more than that. Yet with all the intrigue that must occur in an imperial court, Alex could certainly appreciate that prudence and caution must forever rule the day, or there would be no way that an empire many times the size of Earth could possibly remain intact.

    A single empire containing surface area over twenty times that of Earth. The very idea left Alex humbled. To think that he was right now catching the barest half-remembered glimpse of a time when his beloved had successfully arrived at her father¡¯s court where such incredible power was gathered that it defied any earthly comparison.

    Yet the look in Dongfang Hong¡¯s eyes, of blind fury and warped desire that his stoic expression somehow hid so well, save from Eric alone, it seemed, was all too human, all too flawed. He was the type of monster that would destroy the ideals of the entire empire and happily let it burn, should it advance his own piece forward a single move.

    Hao Chan looked every bit as awed and humbled as Alex felt. When her great grandmother¡­ or at least the woman who claimed to be such, gently claimed Hao Chan¡¯s hand, leading her to sit by her side, she did not resist.

    Then it was only a coolly smiling Cheng Lei standing before his grandfather¡¯s heavenly throne as the crimson spokesperson addressed the Blue Prince directly.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°Cheng Lei, as you have spoken upon one vital topic, reciprocity demands you address another.¡±

    The Blue Prince bowed his head. ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Accusations of foul play by various factions within our great and glorious eternal empire have been made.¡± The man¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°Accusations that declare you as playing a pivotal role in the destruction of Baidushi, aiding and abetting of thousands of Ruidian and Kitsune infernalists responsible for the city¡¯s destruction, and the maiming of one of our great generals. How do you respond to these accusations?¡±

    Cheng Lei flashed a smile both serene and genuine. ¡°I deny them fully and completely of course.¡±

    The entire imperial hall froze at the young prince¡¯s words, Alex himself wincing at the sudden escalating tension.

    He wanted to scream for frustration.

    Why wasn¡¯t his friend explaining exactly what had happened? The depth Dongfang Hong¡¯s hideous manipulations binding so many innocent souls to infernal contracts so that he could have mastery over them in this life alone. The absolute flood of hostile forces preparing to tear through the Golden Realms. The lives already lost to the madman daring to attend that court, even now.

    No one was more surprised than Alex, save perhaps a wide-eyed Hao Chan, when the golden speaker abruptly lifted his head and gave an exultant cry.

    ¡°Let the historian¡¯s record show that Cheng Lei has denied all accusations of involvement with the destruction of Baidushi! Let none gainsay the words of an imperial prince whose words bespeak a truth as real as the seasons themselves. Rejoice, one and all! For the Blue Prince¡¯s innocence has been proven! None save another prince may gainsay those words!¡±

    The countless nobles and courtiers immediately began clapping with fingertips to palm for a precise count of ten before immediately stopping, allowing the silence to permeate the chamber in its entirety once more.

    Then smiles became gasps wide-eyed looks of surprise, everyone looking at the Red Prince with expressions of scorn or disbelief, the man holding aloft a black tile, glaring Chen Lei¡¯s way.

    ¡°The Red Prince dares to challenge!¡± whispered the silver speaker in surprise, the entire court aloft with whispers as Dongfang Hong dared what clearly was almost never done.

    Yet all hushed whispers instantly stilled when the silver speaker cleared his throat. ¡°Does Red wish to challenge Blue?¡±

    Cold glittering eyes glared Cheng Lei¡¯s way, the malice in the glare matched perfectly by the half dozen Gold-tier wujen Alex recognized all too well, having seen at least half of them participating in trying to force infernal bindings or outright slaughtering countless cultivators and bystanders at Rising Phoenix¡­ before they left in unison swearing to make Alex pay at all costs.

    ¡°Red challenges Blue,¡± Dongfang Hong declared in a clipped, imperious voice.

    Eric¡¯s eyes widened. He had no idea how things worked in the imperial court, but he recalled damned well just how deadly Dongfang Hong was with his twisted Silver Core, having earned so many ranks as a Silver. Cheng Lei on the other hand¡­ He had just managed the first rung of Silver, two at most.

    Eric grit his teeth.

    It was such an obvious setup, yet somehow Alex doubted that imperial princes, even several generations removed from the emperor, would allow themselves to get drawn in to forced duels or no-win power struggles. Which was why he was all the more surprised when Cheng Lei actually acknowledged the challenge.

    ¡°Stake and terms,¡± Cheng Lei said with a sangfroid smile, as if he hadn¡¯t been tortured to within an inch of his life by that very monster, earning a snarl from Dongfang Hong.

    ¡°The hand of Liu Li. The surrender of all contested property.¡±

    Cheng Lei paled with unspoken fury, because as they already knew, the monster was never intending to let Liu Li live. Just use her, leverage her, then destroy her.

    Dongfang Hong¡¯s cruel smile only grew. ¡°And in return¡­ I will let you lead the campaign.¡±

    Cheng Lei¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What campaign?¡±

    ¡°Red has revealed his story,¡± said the silver attired spokesman. ¡°Neither seer nor sage can detect falsehood. The duplicity and treachery of both kitsune and Ruidians has thus been proven according to imperial precedent.¡±

    The Blue Prince¡¯s eyes widened with unmistakable dismay. He flinched as the handmaiden behind him gasped softly, licking his lips as dread turned to fierce resolve. ¡°I will accept a martial duel with standard precedent.¡±

    ¡°I accept!¡± Dongfang Hong quickly said, gazing at the Blue Prince with a certain dark hunger in his eyes.

    Cheng Lei¡¯s flinch was barely visible, yet his smile was plain for all to see. ¡°Excellent. Now you need but wait for me to tell my tale. Should I win, that will be the story that shapes this court¡¯s rulings.¡±

    The air was filled with startled gasps and hushed whispers.

    Dongfang Hong¡¯s eyes widened with outrage. ¡°You would dare to question my narration?¡±

    Cheng Lei¡¯s smile was all teeth. ¡°I believe that my tale will speak quite well for itself¡­ Dongfang Hong.¡±

    He turned to the Silver speaker. ¡°If I may begin?¡±

    ¡°We have not fought! It is not your turn! You may not speak until our duel is finished!¡± Dongfang Hong hissed.

    Cheng Lei¡¯s eyes twinkled with darkest mirth. ¡°It was you who agreed to both a martial duel and standard precedent. Precedent is established so that I may speak at least once before I die upon the sands of conflict, should I stand triumphant, my words become truth and law, and speak I shall.¡±

    The silver speaker was positively beaming. ¡°Then speak, Prince of the Blue. Speak and share with this court a tale worthy of a duel between princes!¡±

    And speak Cheng Lei did, carefully not looking a pale-faced and furious Dongfang Hong¡¯s way as he recounted a tale of intrigue, betrayal and horror. A tale where multiple Crown Princesses had been shattered and broken by tyrants. Where thousands of innocent soldiers and aspiring cultivators were bound to infernal contracts that risked dooming their very souls, all so that a madman could consolidate his power while annexing a neighboring territory, shattering countless treaties and accords while doing so.

    Yet what really impressed Alex was how every jab he made seemed to strike the now absolutely furious Dongfang Hong like a blow, generating ever greater murmurs, cold looks, and sneers of disdain for the man, all without mentioning the Red Prince¡¯s name at all.

    ¡°...And thus the foolish prince fled before a far wiser fool than he, and it is our precious realm that was ultimately forced to pay the bitter cost all rulers incur when daring to use religious contention to further their own ends. Countless miles of territory obliterated, and a city vanished as if it had never been.¡±

    The Red Prince looked ready to explode. ¡°Lies! All of it!¡± He roared. ¡°The seers themselves were forced to vouch for every word to leave my lips!¡±

    Alex felt a cold chill with those words. He wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised to find out that somehow spiteful immortals were indeed twisting the metaphoric arms of the seers to assure that the man¡¯s words would ring true regardless. Or perhaps it was infernal bindings, or simple greed and corruption. And if the tightening of the eyes of Hao Chan¡¯s ancient relative was anything to go by¡­ perhaps she understood as well.

    Cheng Lei refused to rise to the bait, however. Instead he shrugged and smiled. ¡°A very good point, Dongfang Hong. So perhaps I should take the logical step and bind those words to my very foundation. If I¡¯m found to be lying, let my very foundation shatter! Is that acceptable to the court?¡±

    Dongfang Hong crossed his arms, snorting with contempt.

    The gold speaker flashed a pleased smile. ¡°It would please the imperial court greatly. Please bind those words to your soul if you dare, Prince Cheng Lei!¡±

    With those words the air turned alive with the whispered murmurs and excited energy as the living drama played out before them all.

    Before everyone¡¯s excited murmur dropped to frozen stillness as Cheng Lei calmly withdrew a prize none could deny.

    The air was alive with the flashing of ebony jade so pure that the entire room seemed to shimmer with added color and life as Cheng Lei revealed his Jade-tier talisman, held it tightly in one hand, and bowed before the imperial throne. ¡°Upon my cultivation base, upon my life, I, Prince Cheng Lei of Lan Tu nation believe that the account I gave is absolutely and unequivocally true. Names alone I have left out, in deference to the codices of the Imperial Court itself.¡± He flashed a tight smile.

    He then turned to Dongfang Hong. ¡°Tell me, Dongfang Hong, would you be equally willing to give your own oath upon the talisman you yourself received at Royal Phoenix Academy? Proving to the entire court that no seer has been warped, manipulated, or bound by infernal contract so good at slipping past so many countermeasures to serve as your pawns?¡±

    Alex could feel it then, even as a spirit countless thousands of miles and perhaps years away as half the audience groaned and crumpled, even the pair of princes wincing before the crushing weight of a Jade.

    A horrified-looking silver spokesman looked on the verge of a pronouncement before Dongfang Hong spoke with surprising speed.

    ¡°I accept your duel, Blue! The winner shall be vindicated, and the loser¡¯s cultivation base¡­ shattered!¡±

    Cheng Lei visibly blanched at that as Dongfang Hong sneered¡­ before the Blue Prince turned around, gazing almost apologetically toward Hao Chan.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this.¡±

    ¡°I must! You know damn well he¡¯ll kill you if you take him on.¡±

    ¡°Cheng Lei!¡± The last was said in a panicked voice Alex knew all too well, sensing the beautiful kitsune, his very first friend in the world, who had served as Hao Chan¡¯s temporary handmaiden.

    Alex decided not to be bothered that he could now sense the panicked thoughts of his friends. All that mattered was the poignant mix of fear and resolve in his beloved¡¯s eyes.

    The Red Prince then flashed an avaricious smile. ¡°Come, Blue! A duel you want? A duel you shall get! We shall spar for the emperor¡¯s pleasure! Let the truth of our words be evidenced by the wholeness of our bodies, and the victor¡¯s honor never impugned upon again!¡±

    Cheng Lei sighed, bowing his head, before meeting the gaze of the silver spokesman. ¡°The terms are acceptable. With your permission, however¡­ there is another who would like to duel in my stead.¡±

    The momentary confusion in the man¡¯s gaze was replaced by odd bemusement when Hao Chan, ignoring her grandmother¡¯s hiss, removed her exquisite dress, armaments of silk and guile replaced by the enchanted seafoam-hued triangular scale armor that had served her so well before.

    The entire court was breathless as she calmly stepped down from the seating to the heart of the imperial throne room, looking every inch the seven foot tall warrior that she was. Whatever enchantments had been somehow keeping her diminutive form and aura in check had faded entirely, the queen of Alex¡¯s heart now truly looking every inch the seven foot tall battle maiden that she was.

    ¡°Gold. That child radiates the might of a Gold!¡±

    ¡°Impossible. She¡¯s not even twenty summers old!¡±

    The gold attired spokesman gave Hao Chan a sad smile and clapped, instantly freezing her where she stood. ¡°Only those of imperial blood may stand in for another in contests of martial might. You have been recognized as a princess of an auxiliary house. Is this not enough for you?¡±

    Hao Chan took a hitched breath, exchanging a pained look with Cheng Lei, as if even this had been discussed, for all that she dreaded the step she must take.

    ¡°Every word Cheng Lei uttered is true. With your permission, I would swear it upon my own talisman and allow his imperial majesty to judge whether or not I am fit to duel in my nephew¡¯s steed.¡±

    Her words earned a curious look even as the entire court held its collective breath, as if her presumptuousness was grounds for instant immolation. Yet the gold-attired spokesman¡¯s eyes lit with good humor, indulging her with a nod.

    ¡°Your Gold ascension buys you the clemency of excellence, but it will only do so once.¡± The words were said with gentlest reproof, but Alex couldn¡¯t help shivering along with Hao Chan, even as Dongfang Hong looked on with a curious smirk, as if eager to see the uppity girl blasted apart by lightning from her own sire.

    ¡°Very well, child. Make your¡­¡±

    His words cut off. As did the entire hall when Hao Chan revealed her greatest prize.

    ¡°A triple sigil Jade tier talisman!¡±

    ¡°She is the emperor¡¯s daughter! No other could possibly be worthy!¡±

    Hao Chan trembled, though whether it was with the weight of her oath, the realization of what she was doing, or the fact that absolutely everyone¡¯s eyes were now upon her¡­ she still managed to say the words.

    ¡°I count as true every last word Cheng Lei uttered regarding the fate of Baidushi, the innocence of the Ruidian and Kitsune peoples, and the malevolence of the mastermind behind the failed coup, who most definitely was channeling the divine malice of a spite-filled tactician who has always hated jesters and fools. My Cultivator¡¯s Oath upon it!¡±

    The last she said in a rush that was almost a roar, trembling as her face grew momentarily wan¡­ before she took a deep breath, somehow looking more whole and vital than she had even moments before.

    For all that her words echoed through the vast chamber even now.

    As countless stares of wonder became ones of horror and dismay.

    Even Cheng Lei blanched.

    As if he too feared that Hao Chan had gone to far.

    Yet the gold colored spokesman said only: ¡°The imperial hall and all administrative and political halls of power throughout the empire are to have no truck with the divine.¡±

    Hao Chan blushed and lowered her gaze as the spokesman continued. ¡°And should Blue be vindicated¡­ immediate steps will be taken.¡± This was said with a cold glare to a suddenly blanching Dongfang Hong.

    ¡°Is your weapon ring at the ready?¡±

    Alex blinked, thrown off only momentarily by the querry as Hao Chan nodded, raising a mercury-hued ring on her left pinky, a smirking Dongfang Hong doing the same.

    ¡°Very well.¡± The golden spokesman received nods from no less than half a dozen gold tier wujen seated to either side of the emperor. ¡°Your rings have been unlocked! Let the duel commence.¡±

    Artificer skill check made!

    You sense disaster!

    The words, said so casually, came as a bit of a shock to a still blinking Hao Chan, who suddenly found herself in a sand-filled arena, globes of spiritual energy now giving the entire court an unobstructed view of the tiny portal realm that Hao Chan and Dongfang Hong had somehow been teleported to. Hao Chan clearly needed a second to get her bearings, but a fiercely smiling Dongfang Hong had clearly been expecting it. His lips stretched wide in malicious glee as his ring glowed and the same vile nagamaki he had once used against Alex manifested once more.

    A glaring Hao Chan rubbed her ring as well¡­ and nothing happened.

    Qi Perception check made!

    In a horrifying epiphany as time seemed to stretch and slow, Alex could sense it. The tight spiritual grip that no less than three Deep Gold wujen among Dongfang Hong¡¯s coterie had on Hao Chan¡¯s storage ring.

    It was a betrayal that filled Alex with horror and fury in equal measure.

    ¡°Hao Chan, look out!¡±

    It was a desperate cry that he knew would do no good against the bulwark of history, yet he cried it out nonetheless, suddenly desperate to flail against the callous hands of time. And it did nothing to stop the inevitability of a cackling Dongfang Hong racing forward, his killing weapon held high, the arena echoing with words so filled with vitriol and hate that the ground itself warped and shook.

    ¡°Now you will die by my hand, wanton harlot! As do all pieces of excrement that dare to consort with my eternal foe!¡±

    Alex screamed as he furiously tore at the web of Spiritual energy twisted about Hao Chan¡¯s ring. Pointless. Futile. Clawing against the utter inevitability of ancient history. But he didn¡¯t care as his features twisted into a furious grimace, the warm halcyon haze and dreams of a sweet serene life shattered before the vindictive might of gods and men. All conspiring to hurt his loved ones yet again, all eager to make him suffer as Alex helplessly watching from behind time¡¯s veil which he knew damn well could never be breached.

    Which, of course, made the messages ringing in his head all the more outrageous and unexpected.

    Piercing Strike has SUCCESSFULLY disrupted Wujen Curse!

    Storage ring is now fully accessible.

    Yet even those words were a mockery of hope as a roaring Dongfang Hong struck with such impossible speed that it was beyond even Alex¡¯s ability to counter on his best day, back when he had reached the peak of Silver.

    Alex choked back a scream.

    Yet even Dongfang Hong lurched back in wide-eyed dismay.

    Because as true as it was that Dongfang Hong¡¯s twisted Silver Rank was at least Rank 6, greater than what Alex had once enjoyed on his best day, Hao Chan wasn¡¯t Silver at all.

    She had already ascended to Gold.

    The Red Prince¡¯s eyes widened with dismay. ¡°No, impossible! There¡¯s no way you could ascend so far! This is more of the fox¡¯s foul tricks!¡±

    Hao Chan¡¯s lips twisted in a snarl. She inhaled as if to shout her outrage and fury at her sneering foe, before immediately darting forward, her ko-naginata cleaving through the air in a furious flurry of cleaving strikes and daring lunges, her blows crackling with the pent fury of the storm.

    And how sweet it was to see the unmistakable look of fear in the corrupt prince¡¯s gaze.

    For long moments, as a furious Hao Chan overwhelmed her opponent with her furious flurry, it almost seemed like she had a chance.

    Yet somehow he had managed to counter every blow, even if Alex had sensed not one but two Gold-tier wards when his beloved had uttered words that made the very air shiver.

    ¡°BLACK SWAN!¡±

    Yet still, his wards had protected him, even if a countless fortune in protective treasures, the fortunes of a true prince, had been squandered in their battle already.

    Yet what it had brought their foe was time. Time for Hao Chan to embrace the monstrous, the bestial, and reveal to the entire court what a monster he truly was.

    Time enough to become that which Alex feared would slaughter even his beloved princess.

    his face twisted as his skin turned a fiery ochre, muscles bulging and popping as his customized armor made it painfully clear that he had enjoyed this twisted transformation many times before as he roared and grew before Hao Chan¡¯s dismayed gaze. It dismayed to see his foe moving faster than he ever had before. Stronger than he had been just seconds ago as he roared and beat off Hao Chan¡¯s Gold tier quickness and strength with a single blow of his terrible weapon, his nagamaki now radiating infernal flame to slash open Hao Chan¡¯s left thigh in a spray of blood and despair.

    ¡°Cursed. That artifact¡¯s cursed! That monster actually brought tainted artifacts to the imperial court!¡± Roared none other than Hao Chan¡¯s ancient ancestor, who¡¯s golden arts made sure that her words carried through the entire court.

    ¡°It does not matter,¡± muttered a nearby courtier with a tired sigh. ¡°The trial ends only when one party has fallen. Not even the emperor will interfere with such a trial.¡±

    ¡°Hao Chan!¡± Eric cried to the pitiless void of time and space, knowing it would do no good as the battle continued playing itself out.

    The mad wheezing cackles of a twisted god that should be trapped in torment in a divine tier restoration pod was somehow able to inhabit his former pawns nonetheless, and how that monster glared with twisted glee at the stink of suppurating flesh as Hao Chan groaned from the wound on her leg.

    Hao Chan¡¯s desperate winding parries grew ever more frantic as she struggled against Dongfang Hong¡¯s furious assault, her eyes widening with fear as the incensed monster pressed his advantage. ¡°You will fall before me, bitch, as do all mortals that dare to defy me!¡± Dongfang Hong roared, eyes wild with glee as his nagamaki turned blood red with the twisted power saturating the artifact so utterly that it the very air seemed to twist and bleed.

    Alex silently howled when Hao Chan seemed to fold, her crippled leg giving out utterly as her foe charged in, eager for the kill. ¡°You¡¯re stronger than this, Hao! Have you forgotten all that I taught you? Use your abilities to the fullest!¡±

    Of course it didn¡¯t matter what he said. For he understood that he was watching an ancient reel play out the final scenes to a play he wished he could halt forever.

    Before his eyes widened with awe, when his beloved was suddenly moving in the one direction her opponent didn¡¯t expect. Straight up with a single powerful heave of her uninjured leg before twisting around to snarl down at Dongfang Hong, who was stumbling in the sands after unleashing a titanic strike Alex knew there would have utterly obliterated anyone below Deep Gold as a massive blast of caustic tainted blood and rot boiled away half the arena, the air shrieking with the howls of the damned.

    The Red Prince¡¯s face was beet red with fury, hate, and the weight of divine malice, panting for breath as he wildly searched for his target.

    ¡°Impossible! I saw how you limped. Nearly crippled! Your foundation is tainted. Cracked! You cannot escape me! You cannot defy me!¡±

    ¡°Divine tier Eternal Fox trumps the shit out of your curse, you goddamned bastard!¡± Hao Chan screamed so fast and fierce it was a single surge of feeling and fury that nonetheless conveyed itself to the entire court as the miniature snow-globe like arena filled with lightning, a bolt as wide as Dongfang Hong himself striking the Red Prince as he howled in monstrous fury before disappearing before their eyes.

    ¡°STORM STRIKE!¡±

    Hao Chan¡¯s ultimate attack, that which she had once used to send a greater demon spiraling into hell. Yet what seemed most shocking to all present was the sudden disappearance of Dongfang Hong himself.

    ¡°How did he escape a Jade-tier dueling ring?¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    ¡°Very possible. The fool was using a divine tier portal ring.¡±

    ¡°He dares to rule as a pawn of the gods? Such things are forbidden!¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    Then a heartbeat later, it registered to all of them what it meant, the brilliant light causing so many of them to squint in awed disbelief.

    ¡°She summoned lightning in a pocket realm. How?¡±

    ¡°Imperial Blood. There is no other explanation! She truly is the crown princess!¡±

    The entire court was at a low uproar when a panting Hao Chan manifested before them once more, stumbling to one knee, grimacing for the obvious pain she felt as Cheng Lei raced to her side. ¡°Hao Chan!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Lei. I just¡­¡± Hao Chan squeezed her eyes shut. ¡°Just let me push the rest of the taint out, okay?¡±

    And before the entire awe-struck court, her ugly wound, stinking of necrotic filth and infernal taint so badly that a pair of Gold-tier healers rushed to her side¡­ began to heal.

    The pair of women froze, gazing at each other in wonder. ¡°We don¡¯t even have to remove the limb. She can heal an infernal taint!¡± One cried, the falling to her hands and knees, kowtowing before a dazed Hao Chan.

    ¡°We beseech you, honored princess. Teach us your art, so that we may better serve the court.¡±

    Hao Chan froze, daring to creek her neck not toward her father¡­ but toward the positively beaming spokesman in Gold. ¡°If it would please his imperial majesty...¡±

    Before she could even finish, all three speakers for the crown spoke as one.

    ¡°Blue has been vindicated! His words are declared true!¡± Then, as one, they turned to glare at Dongfang Hong¡¯s wujen, half of them frozen to speechless dismay¡­ the other half disappearing in the blink of an eye.

    And how interesting it was, a cynical Alex noted, that it was the ones he had sensed tampering with his beloved¡¯s ring that were unable to leave, no matter how furiously they twisted the rings on their hand.

    Undeterred, the three speakers pointed their fingers at the three wujen who remained, all of them collapsing to their knees. ¡°You have all been found GUILTY in the crucible of combat! For your crimes, there can be only one sentence!¡±

    The entire court froze when triple brilliant bolts of lightning tore through the massive hall, obliterating all three wujen before they could utter a single word of protest. When the blinding flash past, there was no trace of anything save three smoking puddles of darkened ooze that a pair of Silver-tier servants rushed into the chamber to scrub away.

    ¡°The Red Prince has been found guilty of trucking with the Divine! The Red Prince has been found guilty of trucking with the infernal! Save for chance encounters along the disciple¡¯s path, no member of the ruling class is permitted to truck with the divine! In no circumstances are those of royal blood permitted to truck with the infernal!¡±

    All three then raised their hands in a splayed formation as the very image shown by the very corrupt wujen so recently banished and slaughtered manifested once more, showing the smoking crater where once a glorious city and countless acres of woodland had once stood.

    ¡°Dongfang Hong¡¯s sentence has been commuted. For he has communed with the divine and imperial law holds no weight with the divine. Dongfang Hong and all his progeny are forbidden the mantel of rulership! For he has communed with the divine, and by ancient treaty between emperor and immortal, no immortal will interfere with secular rule! When the General and the Fox make cities and principalities their battlegrounds, civilization itself pays the price!¡±

    The announcer¡¯s voices shifted on a dime from the cold pronouncement of death to the rapture of life reclaimed once more, positively beaming with joy as they gazed upon Hao Chan¡¯s stunned countenance.

    ¡°Rejoice one and all! Imperial blood has proven itself in the crucible of combat! A lost princess has been found! Forty days and nights of feasting shall commence at once!¡±

    Alex wanted to shout for joy, heart filled with relief and triumph for the sake of a girl he loved so dearly, now separated by a gulf he feared he¡¯d never be able to bridge.

    If only the look of dread in her eyes wasn¡¯t so great as she was quickly whisked away, her ancient wujen grandmother at her heels, immediately lecturing Hao Chan on the hundred and one things she¡¯d have to know and master as an imperial princess.

    ***

    Alex jolted awake with a gasp, heart aching with such a profound bittersweet melancholy that he had no words to describe it. So he closed his eyes, prayed fiercely and fervently to his patron, hoping that the crown of an imperial princess hadn¡¯t stopped her from taking charge of her life and living it to the fullest.

    Only then did he force himself to open his eyes, heavy with the weight in his heart, knowing that their worlds were now forever apart.

    And that was when he noted the collapsed heap of shattered sandalwood that had been his bed, grateful that at least he hadn¡¯t put too many holes in his mattress as he took in his top tier quarters within Silver Sand¡¯s most luxurious accommodations once more, with Linnea giving him a mock glare from the adjoining bed as the cool light played upon her dusky features.

    ¡°So this is why you insist upon separate beds, even though my freedom depends on us being married?¡±

    Alex flashed a pained smile. ¡°Depends on everyone thinking that we¡¯re married, you mean. But considering that Hanz and Lieberman are now most definitely in our corner, as well as the entire city, I don¡¯t think that will be a problem any more.¡±

    Linnea pouted, before giving a rueful chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re right, of course. Still, I¡¯d love it if we could be more than¡­¡± Her emerald green eyes widened. ¡°What happened, Alex? You look like you saw a ghost! I mean, more than usual, since you¡¯ve always been pale, but still!¡±

    Alex sighed, flashing his friend a sad smile. ¡°Haunted by dreams that might be memory, or the past¡­ or have never happened at all.¡± He turned to look out the window, finding solace in the first rays of dawn. ¡°I can only hope that what I had dreamed was true. Someone I cared about triumphed, and a much hated villain got his just comeuppance.¡± He snorted. ¡°Now that I think about it, it probably was a dream, since life rarely actually works out that way and I think I affected my dream at least once so¡­ history¡¯s right out.¡±

    He rubbed eyes still blurry with the sting of longing before turning to the windows once more, eager to start his day. ¡°Good. The sun¡¯s almost up. No need to deal with any more darkness or dreams. Best of all, I might actually get to class in time today.¡±

    ¡°Because your still determined to live out your dream of a happy, peaceful cultivator¡¯s life,¡± Linnea teased with a gentle smile.

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Maybe. But after foiling what would have been the destruction of Liushi and the purging of countless innocents¡­ I think we¡¯ve earned a chance to just relax and chase our passions¡­ however silly they might be.¡±

    ¡°I quite agree,¡± Linnea said, giving him a squeeze from behind before sighing. ¡°I¡¯ll join you for class, because what else am I going to do between delves?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to, Linnea.¡±

    ¡°I want to,¡± she said, taking his hand. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be about beast cores and leveling up, you know.¡± She blushed as she said it. ¡°I mean¡­ not all the time. I¡¯m happy just to enjoy your company. And even if they swear that the southern rift with its endless deserts is safe now¡­¡±

    Alex shivered and nodded. ¡°Yeah. I know. If there¡¯s any chance any instructor gets the crazy idea to pull their students into a delve, chasing after the glory of Ice and Water cores themselves¡­ we¡¯ll be able to protect them far better as a team.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°And it¡¯s way more fun than Sulia¡¯s class, where all she does is laugh at your absolute and utter lack of a wujen¡¯s potential.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°Come on, hero. Let¡¯s go surprise Elder Win by showing him that even you are capable of getting to class on time.¡±

 Book 9 - Chapter 2

    ¡°What¡¯s he doing here? I thought the Ruidian was forbidden from attending this class!¡± Declared a silken robed aspirant glaring daggers at Alex whom he instantly recognized as one of Tan Yi¡¯s cronies. The now very former Tan Yi, he thought, which put a grim smile on his face as he met the young aristocrat¡¯s sneer, earning a blanch and step back in turn, which was strange, since he hadn¡¯t said anything at all.

    Instead it was Elder Win who spoke. ¡°Indeed, our Ruidian aspirant certainly has his share of flaws, but a reluctance to do his part for the sake of our precious jewel in the desert isn¡¯t one of them,¡± he said with a pointed look at the suddenly flushing youth, a declaration which earned a pair of smiles from Quing and Lilly, holding hands and radiating the glow of warmth and gratitude as they gazed Alex¡¯s way. Luo and Xiao, the former guards turned budding cultivators thanks to a fortuitous encounter, also nodded respectfully his way as their mentor spoke on, giving Alex and Linnea both an approving nod.

    ¡°For these two young Ruidians and their companions didn¡¯t let up their hunt for cores during our city¡¯s most perilous hour, even when countless other individuals¡­ individuals content to let the tides of vicious change sweep over us all, took shelter against a storm they had thought inevitable.¡± His pointed look caused more than a few students to flinch before his gaze, not that Alex blamed them for even a second for keeping their heads low while the Dou Yi clan had effectively staged an attempted coup. For to stick out the other night was to invite death in anyone below Deep Silver, especially if they lacked a strong crew. Still, their instructor¡¯s gentle reproof put all those who would protest Alex¡¯s presence on the defensive.

    Then Elder Win¡¯s hard gaze lightened, his smile suddenly filled with warmth and understanding. ¡°Not that anyone blames a young cultivator for taking shelter when winds of change blow through our lives. It is the smart move. The prudent move! Which makes the noble actions of our Ruidian friends here all the more remarkable. Even if the pair of them only managed a couple Earth cores.¡± He said the last with a gentle chuckle. ¡°Yet their dedication was still sufficient for them to shine in the Headmaster¡¯s eyes brightly enough that she has ruled that from this day forward, all Ruidians are to be permitted to audit and observe any class they like!¡±

    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make them cultivators, does it?¡± Asked one girl, giving Alex and Rulia a curious look free of any animosity. ¡°I mean, that¡¯s how they came to our rescue in the Western Rift, right? Their Ruidian magic just happens to be very good for handling delves, on account of their own spirit-beast like nature, yes?¡±

    Alex gently squeezed Linnea¡¯s hand when he sensed the flame whip forming.

    ¡°Spirit beast indeed, the little bitch. And damn her for being right!¡± Linnea scowled, self-consciously rubbing the jewel on her brow and glaring the suddenly flustered girl¡¯s way.

    Elder Win shrugged. ¡°Who can say? Whether mana or spiritual energy, should observing our disciplines inspire breakthroughs of their own, it can only be of benefit to the institution that sponsors them. Now, assuming there are no further questions? Excellent. Let us make our way to the cultivation pagoda. I expect you all to continue to master the purification and cycling lessons Elder Shi and myself have been assisting you with.¡±

    Alex soon found himself walking along with several dozen other energetic students, either whispering, gossiping, or just taking in their environment, all of them without a care in the world, as if having no idea just how close their fragile little oasis had come to collapsing all around them. The life-giving caldera floor below, several miles wide and filled with fields of sun-ripened wheat and glistening groves of fruit trees might have been a dry, parched wasteland in just a few week¡¯s time, had it not been for Alex and his companions.

    So he took a deep breath of air smelling of both the desert and lush farmland and allowed himself to savor a relaxing halcyon morning practicing both Desert Fox and Prismatic Fox cultivation and restoration techniques, searching in his own mind for the harmonious balance between drawing in fresh spiritual energy and using it to revitalize and strengthen his body.

    Of course his gains outside the heat of combat felt infinitesimal, even if he sensed he was close to another breakthrough, but the important thing was just how good he now felt. Relaxed, serene, with an exquisitely coordinated body and a Strength that very few could match, at least not in this time and place.

    The martial training before lunch was a bit harder to deal with, mostly because of the noticeable absence of Instructor Rah. A weight came over all of them when Ya Ling and Dui Zhong made it clear that Rah wouldn¡¯t be joining them, after he had sacrificed so much for the city he loved. Both of Alex¡¯s friends gave him warm smiles, yet Alex could sense the strain underneath, especially in Ya Ling¡¯s countenance.

    They had gone through an incredible ordeal together, had earned both the prince and headmaster¡¯s respect and gratitude, and all parties agreed it would be best to keep their roles as quiet as possible. For their own sake and the city¡¯s as a whole. Not that they hadn¡¯t been awarded handsomely in both silver, royal favor, and school credits, but all of them certainly appreciated the need for discretion. And, as much as it broke Alex¡¯s heart when they had been so close¡­ at least when the other option had been death¡­ Alex could tell that at least one of his friends needed time alone to process all that had occurred last night. Or at least, time away from him.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Alex blinked, slowly turning around and putting on his gentlest face to deal with the source of that voice after receiving a bemused nod from Dui Zhong who had actually managed to best Alex in the bind twice, which showed just how distracted Alex was.

    ¡°Hey,¡±

    ¡°Hey yourself,¡± Ya Ling said with a sad smile that soon became strained as she opened her mouth, yet no words came out. Even Linnea gave her a sympathetic look.

    Alex could tell she was trying to gather up the courage to say something and could all too easily guess what it was.

    ¡°We certainly had quite a night, didn¡¯t we?¡± He said with a grin, before bowing solemnly and low. ¡°Even if we agreed that discretion¡¯s the better part of valor¡­ thank you, Ya Ling.¡±

    Ya Ling blinked, suddenly looking flustered before shaking her head. ¡°No, Alex. I didn¡¯t do anything. It was you who¡­¡±

    ¡°You mean it was you who actually managed to disrupt that formation in the Southern Rift using gifts that no one has besides you. It was you who became one with the sands and pulled free those stones. Without your timely intervention, a massive Gold or hell, Jade tier wyrm might have already made a nest of our caldera and city, filling it with toxic fumes. Which would have forced hundreds of thousands of souls to flee and die in the desert sands.¡±

    Her cheeks flushed, even though Alex had been speaking soft and low. If Elder Win¡¯s exquisite hearing had picked up on anything, the look the man had given him before already made it clear that he knew, or at least suspected, that Alex had a hand in last night¡¯s proceedings, even if the prince and headmaster were the ones currently being celebrated as heroes, with a citywide festival now being held in their honor. As they were the faces of their institutions, their added fame would only add to the stability of the city as a whole.

    ¡°Alex, about¡­¡± She rubbed her temples and shook her head. ¡°By the bitter sands, I don¡¯t even know how to say it!¡±

    ¡°You need time,¡± Alex said with the softest of smiles. Ya Ling flinched, lowering her gaze, making it clear that Alex had hit the mark. ¡°After what happened last night¡­ the things some of us were forced to do no matter how much we regret it¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t regret saving my life,¡± she whispered.

    ¡°Never! The point is¡­ I understand. You need time to figure things out. To see how you feel. To see if continuing our¡­ friendship is something you feel comfortable continuing. Because what¡¯s most important is that it¡¯s something you choose.¡±

    Ya Ling slowly tilted her head up, and how it broke Alex¡¯s heart to see the unshed tears in her eyes. ¡°Alex¡­¡±

    It was all he could do not to step in and hug her, but he knew it would break his heart to feel her flinch. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m always here if you want to talk, or¡­ whatever.¡±

    She swallowed, flashing a bittersweet smile. ¡°Yes¡­ thank you, Alex. Thank you for understanding.¡±

    Alex swallowed the painful lump in his throat when he returned her smile. ¡°Still want me to fix the garden?¡±

    She gazed at him for long moments, before finally nodding. ¡°That would be lovely. My grandparents would be extremely grateful. It¡¯s just¡­ if I¡¯m not there at the time, I hope you won¡¯t hold it against me?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. You¡¯re a busy girl, both student and instructor, and you have your own concerns. I¡¯m just happy to put that garden back to rights! Make it a place you can retreat to. Cool shade, lush fruit, beautiful flowers. Peace and serenity.¡±

    Ya Ling bit her lip, her eyes gazing at him for long moments before she bowed one final time.

    ¡°Goodbye, Alex.¡±

    ¡°Goodbye, Ya Ling.¡±

    And then she was gone.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡±

    Alex ignored the mocking smirks sent his way by a pair of cronies who were now missing their leader, his focus instead on the concerned gaze of the girl before him.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s okay.¡±

    For some reason Linnea didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°You saved us, Alex. All of us.¡±

    Alex forced a laugh. ¡°Come on. We¡¯ll be late for Sulia¡¯s class if we don¡¯t get going, and considering that she¡¯s only just coming around to seeing me as anything other than an arrogant clueless pain in the ass¡­ let¡¯s not compound our failures with lateness, shall we? I¡¯m sure lessons will be hard enough.¡±

    You have failed to hit your target.

    You have failed to hit your target.

    Skill modified finesse check made! You have successfully struck your target!

    Wind Blast is now Rank 2!

    Alex took a surprisingly ragged breath, more drained than he cared to admit under Sulia¡¯s unforgiving gaze, ignoring the soft snort behind him and the sheer smugness radiating from half a dozen future wujen as he struggled repeatedly to strike the paper crane one of them effortlessly slid through the air, protected by what the smiling girl swore was the thinnest ward, yet Alex had found harder to penetrate than hammering his fist through steel.

    ¡°Adequate,¡± Sulia said at last after a painfully long stretch. ¡°For a rank beginner.¡±

    ¡°And it was only five yards. That¡¯s hardly any distance at all! How is this silly fool a wujen?¡± Snorted one boy to a grinning girl beside him, clearly looking to impress.

    Sulia smirked, clearly having heard, but doing nothing to correct the boy, and Alex froze his momentary spike of ire, counseling Linnea with a gentle squeeze of her hand to do the same. Sulia had always had reservations about him, and here he was butting into her class by the caldera edge, just days after she had declared him unworthy. Of course, a lot had changed in a very short period of time, especially after Alex had proven himself fighting by her side on a desperate mission to save the caldera, and his actions had certainly garnered her respect. But how could it not rankle just a tiny bit, the loss of face that Alex being thrust upon her now represented?

    So Alex bowed, saying only. ¡°I agree with you completely, honored instructor. I¡¯m eager for any counsel you can give this aspirant.¡±

    She smirked at that. ¡°Asking for counsel from someone clearly your superior? That¡¯s a mark of wisdom I wouldn¡¯t have expected¡­ but am glad to see.¡± She gave a thoughtful nod. ¡°Continue practicing with Ping, just as you are. Ping? Extend the paper crane a foot farther for every time he manages to ruffle the wings. You will continue with this exercise until the hour is up or you are drained, at which point you will cultivate until you are fully restored.¡± She then gazed thoughtfully at Linnea. ¡°As someone who¡¯s seen your affinity with Fire firsthand¡­ most impressive. Come, let us exchange pointers with the rest of the class. I suspect we could learn a lot from one another. Insights that would benefit us all.¡±

    With a silent nod from Alex, his companion¡¯s hard glare immediately brightened to a winning smile. ¡°I¡¯d love to!¡± Linnea gushed, and Alex didn¡¯t blame her a bit. Far better to spend her time fruitfully in practice, seeking inspiration from the techniques the rest of the students immediately began embracing with whirlwinds of air, golems of ice, and serpents of flame skittering through the air. Far more fun than just staring at him do his best to strike the paper crane a second time as a clearly displeased Ping clamped her will tightly about the parchment, her eyes making it damned clear that she¡¯d far rather be practicing with the others than babysitting him.

    To be fair, at least he got to savor a fantastic view of the valley below and the deep blue sky above while training in Sulia¡¯s class, with plenty of wind gusts from the play of hot and dry and warm and damp air that did necessitate some sort of wind ward with something so delicate as paper this close to the caldera¡¯s edge, even if Alex was almost certain that the girl ¡®training¡¯ him was as eager to put him in his place as much as anything else.

    You have successfully hit your target.

    You have failed to pierce Wind Ward! You have FAILED to synergize piercing strike with Wind Blast!

    Ping raised a single mocking eyebrow. ¡°Really, Ruidian? You couldn¡¯t manage to knock this absurd crane a second time in the quarter glass we¡¯ve been standing here pointlessly?¡± She gave a condescending shake of her head. ¡°Why are you in this class again?¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Alex frowned. Not because of the girls clear disdain, but simply because it seemed to be far harder to enhance his one genuine ranged attack with abilities like Spell Cleave. Yet as humble and near pointless a skill as Wind Blast seemed now, Alex¡¯s excitement and focus wouldn¡¯t be deterred. Because this singular skill represented a path forward that transcend all ancient strictures he now realized that Long Wang had never truly been bound by, and perhaps it was time for him to break free of those limits as well.

    Still, he certainly wasn¡¯t playing to his strengths, at least not for the moment, but he had high hopes that with time, persistence, and dedication, they just might become such.

    He turned his frown into a bow before the girl could claim offense. ¡°This one thanks you for your assistance, honored classmate.¡±

    She snorted, deliberately putting down the paper crane a good ten yards from him, at the very lip of the caldera¡¯s rim. ¡°Clearly this is a waste of my time. So let me put your little crane where you can caress it with wind all you like, and you can come bother me when you can actually do something useful with your gift.¡±

    Alex clenched his jaw but said nothing, merely dipping his head. And Sulia seemed anything but irate with Ping¡¯s initiative.

    ¡°You¡¯re done tutoring the Ruidian? Wonderful, Ping. Let¡¯s pair you up with the Fire Adept here. I think you¡¯ll be surprised by just how useful she is as a training partner. If you would be so kind, Linnea?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Lady Sulia!¡± Linnea enthused.

    If anything, Alex was glad that Linnea was taking a shine to them. It meant that his purely mental Spirit Qi visualizations of a shield to guard his thoughts might be working, which assured both greater mental privacy and Linnea not getting overly upset by the petty slights and insults Alex didn¡¯t really care about at all.

    Compared to the hazing he had suffered in other times and places, this was the gentlest of initiations, really, and without malevolent external forces trying to screw him over, he just might turn some of those scowls and jaded looks around if he could actually blossom into a student worthy of their time.

    Right now, of course, he was seen as little more than the class clown, the farthest thing from the rumors now on everyone¡¯s lips, according to the excited whispers and gossip carried in the wind. The city was alive with tales of a valiant band heroes who had rescued a noble family, battled undead, retrieved an actual golden core, and struck down traitors to the city as they went about rescuing the entire caldera.

    If anything, the fact that absolutely no one associated Linnea or himself with that mysterious band was a source of relief. At this point in his cultivation journey, being able to hide his potential was still the greatest defense he had, no matter the divine veil that would hopefully continue to shield him from the ire of his most hated foes.

    There were no doubt plenty of powerful and ruthless men and women who would have profited mightily from a shift in the status quo that would no doubt be more than eager to give him and Linnea payment of the bitterest sort. The fact that more than a few rumors were now painting the Sovereign Prince himself as the leader of the band that had done so much to rescue the city was absolutely perfect, Alex thought, never mind that Prince Quiang had effectively been held hostage for most of that night. Legends had a way of being very forgiving with cold hard facts, especially after time. Most importantly, it strengthened the position of a man who had nothing but gratitude for Alex and his companions, or so he hoped, and Alex and the others being so willing to play ball and fade into the background while the prince used the events of the night before to solidify his own political capital was just common sense.

    It assured both Alex and all his Ruidian companions the staunchest ally they could ask for, whose position was now so secure that Alex doubted the man would ever have to worry about an internal coup again. Not for decades at least.

    Skill check failed! You have failed to successfully manipulate Wind Blast at thirty feet!

    Your wind crane has fallen into the caldera.

    Bullrush!

    You have successfully claimed your paper crane.

    Wind Walking skill check effortlessly made!

    Alex frowned as his hand just barely snapped out in time to catch the paper crane as it flew right over the lip of the cadera, Alex dangling for a heartbeat with just one foot on the grassy gnoll and gravity already pulling him down, yet it was nothing for him to stride across the air so buoyant and alive with moisture and updrafts for a single gust to carry him right back where he had been standing, moments before.

    ¡°He¡¯s flying. That Ruidian¡­ he can fly?¡± Whispered the boy who had been mocking him so readily before.

    ¡°No. That¡¯s impossible. It must be some trick! Even Silver tier wujen struggle to learn that art. He could barely touch that crane!¡± said another of the students, shaking his head with either awe or dismay. Perhaps both.

    ¡°I heard rumors that a pair of students had been seen flying in the air, sparring with swords. I thought it was just silly rumor¡­ but now?¡± Whispered a girl now gazing at Alex with a desperate intensity that actually made him a bit uncomfortable.

    ¡°I saw you teleport. How?¡± Hissed none other than Ping, her earlier disdain turning to awed disbelief.

    Alex smiled politely. Instead of answering, he turned to meet Sulia¡¯s enigmatic gaze before giving a respectful bow. ¡°This one apologizes for nearly losing your crane, Lady Sulia.¡±

    She snorted, but couldn¡¯t hide the oddly pleased look in her eyes. As if, as much as she wanted him at least slightly humbled after finding herself duty-bound to teach what she feared would be an arrogant novice who thought a single night¡¯s luck and fortune¡¯s momentary favor somehow made him a young master in his own right, at the same time it pleased her to show the class that she hadn¡¯t been forced to favor fools with no talent at all.

    ¡°Good. Your responsibility for the rest of this semester includes keeping that crane in perfect shape¡­ and learning the art of folding one yourself.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened at that, not having expected origami to become part of his curriculum, but he was wise enough to keep his thoughts to himself.

    ¡°Now put that away and focus on replenishing your reserves for the rest of the session. We will talk once class is adjourned.¡±

    Alex nodded before making his way to the nearby pagoda covered in a Qi gathering formation to do just that, enjoying the feel of the cool breeze and the warm sun as his body greedily drank the rich streams of spiritual energy that were absolutely nothing compared to the monstrous supercable shrieking about his singularity of a soul¡­ but was invigorating to his physical body nonetheless, as well as helping him to achieve a state of calm serenity, as meditation always had before.

    He smiled as he heard more than one wujen student worrying about compressing enough spiritual potency to ascend to the next rank as a Bronze. At least that wouldn¡¯t be a problem for him. Power was something he had in absolute spades. An entire continent¡¯s worth of obscene power that he shuddered to think about too closely.

    Instead, he simply kept the one personal truth he knew above all others to heart. Skill mastery and expanding himself in new directions was what he needed now to truly find harmony with the hideous flow of potency he supposed he was still digesting, on some level. And whether it took months or decades, so long as he focused on bettering himself, he knew he would continue to ascend the ranks, and probably far faster than anyone lacking imperial blood had a right to hope or expect.

    Of course, there was the one path forward that led to shockingly fast growth, at least for him, but if he were honest with himself, he was happy to leave the Path of Peril for at least a few halcyon summer days. And if those days could turn to peaceful years of tranquility, he was increasingly certain he wouldn¡¯t say no to that either.

    ¡°Alex, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Linnea¡¯s gentle note of concern pulled Alex out of his meditative trance.

    ¡°What?¡± Alex asked, coming back to himself, rubbing away stinging grit from his eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re crying.¡±

    Alex found himself smiling, feeling curiously happy for all that the bittersweet ache in his chest throbbed still.

    ¡°After the dream I had last night¡­¡± He shrugged and sighed, now gazing out at the beautiful caldera, rich with its bounty of hope and life, with a clear blue lake supporting an entire city. ¡°I guess I¡¯m still haunted by the past, even if a part of me dearly wants to savor this life, right here and now, lest I pine endlessly for what I can never have again.¡±

    Linnea all but glowed with a beautiful smile, knowing that she herself played a precious role in his life now, and was, quite unexpectedly, wise enough to say nothing at all.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smirking, because clearly his friend had invested her points quite well.

    ¡°Alright, are you fully refreshed? Good. I assume you now know to always be prepared for anything after last night¡¯s adventures?¡±

    Alex slowly turned to Sulia, now calmly addressing him as the last of her students left their practice area. If any thought it at all odd that she was conversing quietly with Alex and not them, they were wise enough to turn around and keep such thoughts and speculations to themselves.

    Alex blinked, processing the instructor¡¯s words before giving a firm nod. ¡°Always, but what¡­¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt, aspirant. Just come. We have to be at the western rift by dinner¡¯s bell.¡± Much to his surprise, she handed both him and a pleased looking Linnea leaf pouches filled with figs, dates, cashews, and almonds, munching the contents of one herself. His ambivalent instructor frowned thoughtfully at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you have a rather impressive fangtian ji at your disposal?¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°In my storage pouch, along with my armor. Is everything¡­¡±

    Sulia gave a curt shake of her head. ¡°No, Alex. Things won¡¯t truly be alright until the Western Rift is clear.¡±

    Linnea paled at that. ¡°But Sulia¡­ I mean, revered lady instructor Sulia¡­¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°Sulia is fine while we delve, child.¡± She gave Alex a half-hearted glare. ¡°But seeing as you¡¯re now my student¡­ Lady Sulia is how you will refer to me.¡±

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°It will be as you say¡­ Lady Sulia.¡±

    Linnea nodded. ¡°Okay, but um¡­ the Western rift is filled with really nasty, really ambushy Shadow Cats and even if it was fun playing the hero and risking our lives on the role of fate¡¯s dice last night¡­¡± She flashed an anxious smile. ¡°I was kind of hoping I could take it easy¡­ for like¡­ ever?¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°You say that, yet I see the fire in your eyes, child. Admit it. You¡¯re every bit as exhilarated as you are afraid.¡±

    Linnea flushed and nodded. ¡°Okay, maybe. But still¡­¡± She squeeze Alex¡¯s hand ¡°You know.¡±

    This earned a snort, both ignoring Alex¡¯s flush. ¡°I have four children. Of course I know. So best we get this handled now and assure that we have absolutely no problems to worry about later. Because it will be all the harder to push yourself when motherhood takes center stage in your life. And the stronger our foundation within the caldera¡­¡±

    ¡°The more prepared we are from trouble without,¡± Said none other than Te Chang himself, striding over to great his wife with clasped hands and foreheads touching, Sulia¡¯s stern features melting to a look of such tenderness and love that Alex felt an ache in his chest. A feeling that soon turned to awe when he saw all the august personages awaiting them by the rift.

    Alex immediately flowed into a kowtow, joined by Linnea. ¡°Your Grace, this one is honored by your presence!¡± He instinctively said, after catching sight of not just the surviving members of last night¡¯s party, everyone save poor instructor Rah who was butchered by Tan Yi¡¯s lackeys, but Prince Quiang himself, and Headmaster of the entire academy, Schweng Fa as well.

    ¡°Rise, worthy disciple.¡± The prince¡¯s melodious words spoke of good humor, which was a weight off Alex¡¯s chest. The man¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t go ice cold with sudden unexpected hate, and Alex sensed nothing but approval from the enigmatic Headmaster herself. That, and he noted the incredibly thick multifaceted layers of deep silver enchantments around them both¡­ and the rest of the party as well.

    ¡°You and your companions have served both the school and the city exceptionally well, and are to be commended. Now we have but one final task before us to put the machinations of our enemies completely behind us before we can focus all our attention on strengthening our city¡¯s foundation once more.¡±

    Alex blinked and swallowed, but knew better than to say anything that might question the prince¡¯s authority, lest his patient smile turn hard and cold and Alex play the fool in the worst possible way.

    He bowed his head. ¡°It will be as you say, Your Grace.¡±

    ¡°Excellent.¡± The prince¡¯s hard smile softened. ¡°Expect good things to come your way in the very near future, my Ruidian friend. Now, I understand that you and your companions might need a few moments to¡­ compose yourselves?¡±

    Alex bowed once more to the prince covered in enchanted steel Alex could only hope would ward the bites of massive shadow pumas before turning to a smiling Fitz and Lieberman.

    ¡°We¡¯re ready whenever you are, battle leader,¡± Lieberman said.

    And for all that Alex hated so many measuring eyes beneath the genuinely friendly smiles as both headmaster and prince looked on, between one breath and the next, he and his Ruidian companions were one.

    Congratulations! You have successfully formed Gestalt with Ruidian Slave Nodes designated: Battle Companions!

    You have elected to serve as spokesman for your group (lest alternate words slipping free of various sections of your hive mind prove unnerving to the uninformed!)

    ¡°We¡¯re ready whenever you are, Your Grace,¡± Alex said even as he took in a far clearer and detailed picture of his word from four pairs of eyes instead of one, infravision also kicking in to full effect. And though he could sense only a slight increase in the heart rate of Dui Zhong, Te Chang, and Sulia, the Prince and Headmaster both seemed momentarily taken aback, Alex and his extended psyche only then realizing that they were moving, blinking, and bowing as one.

    Yet the prince did nothing but smile gamely. ¡°Very well. Battle plan will be for our Ruidian friends to immediately initiate wards of fire and ice, which I understand you are all exceedingly skilled at. The Headmaster and I will enhance your arts with our own once we see them in place, and I assume I can trust the hero of the hour to keep us informed of our shadow friends whereabouts before they strike.¡±

    The Headmaster nodded. ¡°It will be as you say, Your Grace. Lady Sulia and I will focus on obliterating our opponents while Dui Zhong and Te Chang guard us and strike any cat that manages to pierce our wards, unlikely as I think that will be.¡± She caught Alex¡¯s eye. ¡°I understand that you¡¯re able to direct your team to best affect. So strike to kill. Our goal now is to thin whatever herd there might be. Afterwards, we will do our best to hunt down those stones and if I understand correctly, you, Alex, have both a knack for the terrain and an understanding of what we¡¯re looking for?¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± Alex solemnly said, heart racing as he looked the Headmaster in the eye, knowing he was at risk of grave consequences if he dared to expose himself in the way he was planning¡­ but what if something unforseen did occur and he had done nothing to prevent it? And practically speaking, with half his party already knowing what he was capable of, were he not to offer it to the prince and Headmaster herself¡­

    The Headmaster tilted her head. ¡°Is there something you wish to say, aspirant?¡±

    Alex forced himself to nod. ¡°If you and His Grace were to accept my party invite¡­ you would both be graced with an intuitive sense of the battlefield, sensing where everyone is in relation to everyone else.¡± At that moment Alex was glad that Ya Ling wasn¡¯t here, even as he flared the idea of absolute autonomy like an alarm through his head, so not even for a heartbeat was he in danger of committing the most vile sin imaginable.

    To enslave the ruler of an entire city state to his will.

    Alex shuddered at the very thought, wise enough to understand what the repercussions would then have to be. In truth, he had never expected to find the prince here and now¡­ or he would have done everything in his power to avoid this encounter. But as it stood¡­ to deny the prince a gift he hoped the man would refuse would itself risk the very offense he was desperate to avoid. And though he hated to say it, it could well save the man¡¯s life, and there was at least a chance that he wasn¡¯t susceptible at all.

    It was with an odd mixture of relief and dismay that Alex found all of his companions accepting his boon, and after a minute of everyone adjusting themselves to the sensation of knowing where all their adventuring companions were with a thought, they linked arms and proceeded through the rift.

    And Alex most definitely did not look at the brightly flashing interface messages flaring off in his mind¡¯s eye, all his focus on the delve ahead.

 Book 9 - Chapter 3

    Between one moment and the next the hot desert air had been replaced by a humid blanket as the air trilled with the cries of countless exotic jungle birds and the chirp, whine, and buzz of hoppers, crickets, and countless other bugs. Alex took a deep whiff of blossom scented jungle air, a smile coming to his lips even as he accessed Forest Sense, infravision enhanced eyes peering carefully through the trees as the Prince¡¯s sharp commands cut through the air.

    ¡°Everyone assume your positions! Fire and Ice shields now!¡±

    Even when the furious cyclone of Linnea¡¯s flame turned lush foliage into blazing leaves and charred trunks, fires put out an instant later as they slowly stepped forward thanks to Hanz and Lieberman¡¯s conjoined cyclone of a howling storm of ice shards five feet ahead of them, Alex could still sense the jungle terrain perfectly in his interface.

    Everyone quickly got into position as the prince turned to Alex. ¡°I¡¯m given to understand that you understand this jungle as well as anyone. Do you have any sense where the corrupting formation might be hidden?¡±

    Alex, lips pressed tight with concentration, slowly shook his head. ¡°Apologies, your grace. It might take a few¡ª¡± His voice abruptly cut off, eyes widening.

    The prince¡¯s expectant gaze firmed. ¡°Aspirant¡­¡±

    ¡°I sense it!¡± Alex said with something close to awe, not having expected any chance of spotting the forest disturbance without a very thorough search and dodging shadow puma death around every tree trunk. Yet sense it he did, thanks in part to knowing the feel and configuration of those dark stones after delving by Ya Ling¡¯s side, reflexively summoning one of the exquisitely carved obsidian stones in his hand to check¡­ feeling the connection grow even stronger.

    His eyes widened. He really was sensing it, reading the forest¡¯s pains beyond Linnea¡¯s fire, the pressure being experienced by the entire pocket realm as if squeezed and crushed by impossible deadly pressure.

    ¡°Disciple, that you would dare!¡±

    The Headmaster hissed, eyes wide with outrage as a wincing Alex came back to himself, realizing the grave offense he had no doubt given. Had this been any other situation where his skills weren¡¯t vital¡­

    He instantly made the stone disappear with a deep bow no mysterious seneschal bothered correcting, this time around.

    ¡°My sincerest apologies, Headmaster. Please rest assured, I was absorbing all the Dark Qi radiating from the jewel. My unique path renders me all but immune to the deleterious effects of Waste Qi.¡±

    The prince¡¯s expression, fortunately, was far closer to excitement than offense. ¡°Do you sense where our prizes lie, worthy aspirant?¡±

    Alex swallowed, feeling an odd flush come over his cheeks with so many eyes now turned his way. ¡°Actually, yeah. As a matter of fact I do, your Grace.¡±

    This earned the warm smile radiating such benevolent majesty that Alex couldn¡¯t help but feel a lightness in his step before the pleased-looking prince. ¡°Wonderful. Then by all means, aspirant. Lead the way.¡±

    Alex slowly did just that, his gestalt moving as he willed for they were an extension of himself, their wards of ice and fire the protective dome under which they all carefully traveled.

    It was all he could do not to flitter ahead through the lush foliage and scout for trouble, yet three quarters of his mind seemed to think that was a very bad idea. And he couldn¡¯t disagree. For at the moment, even with infravision, all he sensed were rapidly fleeing birds, a handful of monkeys, and foliage being incinerated before Linnea¡¯s fearsome heat. So if there were no shadow cats ahead, there was no reason to split away. And if they were so well hidden that he could sense absolutely nothing¡­ then Bullrushing ahead could easily become his death sentence.

    So much now depended on the wards of ice and fire surrounding them.

    Fortunately, Alex knew his partners were in no danger of running out of mana anytime soon.

    Still, Alex kept his fangtian ji at the ready as the tension built, all but tasting the weight of the storm he would summon in a heartbeat, if needed. Then Sulia hissed. ¡°The air is tainted!¡±

    This sent instant prickles of alarm through Alex¡­ before his lips softened in a bemused smile.

    ¡°Actually that¡¯s a good sign, Lady Sulia.¡±

    This earned a glare. ¡°Are you mad?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because the stones forming the configuration we need to break are in the clearing just ahead.¡±

    It was then that Alex spotted his objective, a jungle glade filled with wildflowers, bushes filled with luscious looking spirit plumbs, and the largest hoard of spirit beasts that Alex had ever seen.

    Alex froze as he sensed so many things through the fire and ice wards he now really wished that his gestalt mind had learned to form far more subtly.

    Dozens of powerful Shadow Pumas radiating such wicked killing intent, no longer hiding in that clearing. No. They were bristling with rage and killing intent. As for the leader of that pride...

    Alex recalled all too well the terror he had felt the very first time a Gold tier spirit beast had roared its outrage after he, Liu Li, and her alchemist father had dared to steel the Silverbells hidden so carefully under the shelter of ancient spiritually-attuned trees.

    Of course, Alex had grown in ways countless and profound since then.

    Yet it didn¡¯t change the fact that when the massive Shadow Puma spared a heartbeat to glare his way¡­ his death was absolutely assured in those eyes of blazing shadow.

    ¡°Husband, we must leave, now!¡± Sulia cried in a voice that seemed so faint and far away.

    Yet the impossibly deadly Gold-tier Shadow puma that could have effortlessly ripped through their wards and killed them all spared them only half an instant. As did the dozens of powerful Silver stalkers, clearly all in their prime, facing what had grabbed their attention in full.

    Alex¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Already knowing it was only by wild luck that they were not already being torn and shredded and about to suffer massive, overwhelming casualties.

    As the low-pitched throaty growl that made Alex¡¯s ears bleed made all to clear.

    For the Shadow Puma Lord hadn¡¯t gathered all his men to stalk the human fools who dared to enter his domain. At least not until he had take care of the threat they now faced.

    Two score of massive stone hounds that seemed elemental as much as spirit beast, with thick black curls of smoke coming from their nostrils, every bark belching fame.

    And the largest of them all, the one the Gold-tier Puma had all its focus on¡­ he gave off fury and might painfully similar to the woodland dragon Alex had once dared to bargain with on a mad run through the forest, so very long ago. A dragon that, thank goodness, didn¡¯t end up roaring for his head.

    Unlike so many other powers of the world he had left behind.

    And right underneath the massive stone paws of the Gold-tier Stone Hound was the prize that none of the fools who dared to follow Alex had a chance in hell of getting. For their prizes were glittering in plain sight, guarded by two hosts of Silver tier monsters led by leaders of Gold, those prizes infused to a tainted artifact of cursed stone.

    Artificer Skill Check Made: You sense a rift¡¯s torment!

    Alex shuddered with horror, sensing the awful warping pressure of this construct that was somehow so much worse than the one that had been loosely conjoined in the rift of sand. It was a forced melding of not a dozen but hundreds of what should have been countless overlapping probabilities somehow fused into one continent-sized actuality with such terrible spiritual weight and pressure that when it finally burst¡­

    Alex wasn¡¯t entirely sure what would happen, but he was pretty damned sure that the caldera would be doomed.

    Which meant, once more, that the Duo Li clan that had wanted absolute unyielding control, but certainly not the absolute destruction of their home, had been played like fools.

    And none of that mattered. Now.

    ¡°Back, back, back!¡± Alex hissed, four voices speaking in curt unison, such was their dread.

    Because all that mattered was backing up because once those elemental stone hounds got their scent...

    ¡°By all the gods, can you not sense it through the wards? There are dozens of those horrors!¡± Te Chang hissed.

    ¡°The have multiple Gold! There are Gold among their numbers!¡± Sulia declared in a panicked voice.

    The headmaster said nothing, eyes wild with what Alex refused to call panic.

    The far calmer prince caught his eye. ¡°We have to retreat. Now.¡±

    Alex nodded, already doing so, he and his friends moving and thinking as one so fluidly that the pressure of their wards immediately abated from the hideous killing pressure of a pair of Golds and scores of Silver about to embrace war.

    Yet still, as the awful knot in the pit of Alex¡¯s stomach made clear, the glares he had received had been quite clear.

    A stay of execution had not been granted. Merely a momentary reprieve.

    ¡°We need to get back. NOW! Once they finish doing whatever they¡¯re¡­¡± The deadly quiet of this part of the forest, finally feeling the unbridled auras of the pair of Golds now seeking to intimidate each other, was replaced by ear shattering roars and barks. The ground shook. Blasts of fire tore through the canopy.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    The two armies were going to war.

    ¡°RUN!¡± Roared the prince, Alex and his Ruidian companions just struggling to keep up with the pace of multiple deep Silver.

    When Linnea flagged, Alex didn¡¯t hesitate to scoop her up. Nor Lieberman, nor Fitz.

    Strength Check made! Finesse Check made! You¡¯re effortlessly able to carry your companions!

    Even if he had earned a wide-eyed look from a panting Sulia, who soon found herself in her grimly smiling husband¡¯s arms as they tore through the undergrowth, thankfully mostly clear as it was the path by which they had first come. ¡°The boy has the right idea.¡±

    Yet before Alex could even flash a rictus of a smile¡­ the roars increased in pitch and fury, filling nearly half the party with mindless dread.

    And then, by some miracle, they were abruptly before the gate once more.

    Only at that moment, a heartbeat before they could jump through, did the prince slow to a halt, his look of furious terror becoming one of furious determination. The headmaster itself, wild-eyed like a panicked animal and heaving for breath, somehow managed to stiffen her spine before the prince¡¯s hot glare.

    ¡°We have to go through. We have to go through!¡± Sulia sobbed.

    Her husband, just held her, panting for breath, locking eyes with the prince as Alex gently put his gestalt down.

    The haunted eyes of a ruler met Alex¡¯s own. ¡°You know what will happen if we can¡¯t gain control of this rift.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already lost to us. We have to accept that,¡± Sulia sobbed. ¡°We did what we could. Water cores of silver and gold. It will be enough, Your Grace. It has too!¡±

    The Headmaster¡¯s gaze hardened. Te Chang, still holding his wife, glared right back. The Headmaster sighed, shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it isn¡¯t that simple.¡± She too turned her focus to Alex and his companions, noting the look the prince was giving him.

    Alex swallowed, forcing himself to say the words. ¡°Six silver-tier Dark Qi stones were placed in a shattering configuration. A cursed configuration. It wasn¡¯t designed to flood surface levels of a rift with the treasures of the deep¡­ it was designed to rupture the rift entirely.¡±

    This earned a number of blanches and wild-eyed glares.

    ¡°How could you possibly know this!¡± Sulia hissed.

    Alex¡¯s gaze turned sympathetic as he took in the drained and terrified mother of four who had already done so much to protect the city her family now called home¡­ and just as clearly was overwhelmed with the horror of how cruel and savage the world truly was, how close her children had just come to being orphans where even achieving Silver wasn¡¯t enough to protect one from being smacked free of life¡¯s game board with a single twist of fortune¡¯s wrist.

    ¡°If that configuration remains intact, our home will be flooded with Gold and Silver-tier Spirit beasts, thanks to the awful pressure of countless overlapping versions of this delve forcefully fused together. It will be a slaughter of monstrous proportions and spell the end of the city,¡± Alex forced himself to say, ignoring the looks of horrified dismay his words earned him.

    The prince blanched, his powerful hand reflexively clenching the hilt of his jian. ¡°There has to be a way to stop it!¡± He turned to the Headmaster. ¡°Lady Shweng Fa. Your artificers¡­ should we be able to find those who could infiltrate the heart of the jungle without alerting those creatures¡­¡±

    The Headmaster flinched, before seeming to regain her composure, stiffening her spine and dipping her head. ¡°I will see to it at once, Your Grace. I can only pray that¡­¡± She swallowed, a haunted gaze looking back the way they had come.

    Prince Quiang looked that way as well. ¡°I know. It is a most fearsome task. You need but gather those artificers willing to rise above all others in the service to our city while I recruit the services of a woman who I believe is an absolute perfect fit for this mission.¡± He flashed a bleak smile. ¡°It goes without saying that anyone who can avert the disaster I now fear is every bit as great as the one we faced last night will be awarded property, stipend, and title. We now have a number of ¡­ vacant properties and businesses in need of strong leaders and powerful allies.¡±

    His bitter smile made it clear who he was referring to, Alex having no doubt that the Duo Yi clan had been forced to pay a price even steeper than they had feared for daring to cross their prince.

    Yet Alex, to his dismay, knew it was all for nothing.

    He swallowed the anxious lump in his throat, forcing himself to meet the man¡¯s haunted gaze. ¡°Your Grace¡­¡±

    ¡°Speak, my Ruidian friend.¡±

    Alex took a steadying breath, forcing himself to say what needed to be said. ¡°The one you hope to cloak your artificers in shadow is, I suspect, already days away.¡±

    He ignored the flinch and glare this earned him, the alarm in his fellows as he dared cross a line most instinctively understood¡­ never piss off a prince. ¡°Even if she were here¡­ even if our ally might be a match for a Silver-tier Shadow Puma, their king is Gold. Gold in stealth and I¡¯m betting at least high Silver in the stat that determines the fate of so many battles. He¡¯d instantly pierce a certain girl¡¯s wards¡­ then tear out all their throats before they can blink.

    The prince ground his teeth. ¡°Do you expect us to do nothing, to simply let those abominations destroy our sanctuary¡­ our home?¡±

    Alex slowly shook his head. Locking gazes with the prince once more. ¡°Right now, at this moment, Shadow Pumas and Stone Dogs are vying for control. Were it otherwise, most of us would already be dead.¡± He flashed a bleak smile at the hisses and soft curses this earned him from his companions.

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Sulia whispered. ¡°It¡¯s only because they were distracted that we¡¯re even alive.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°And the minute the battle is won, one way or another, is the minute this entire delve becomes the territory of Silver and Gold-tier monsters¡­ days, weeks or months before this rift erupts and spills those abominations all over the caldera. Should those Silver tier Shadow pumas escape, the entire city will become their hunting grounds. And if any of the Gold-tier monsters escape¡­

    ¡°We¡¯re all as good as dead,¡± the Headmaster whispered.

    The prince held Alex¡¯s gaze, daring to smile. ¡°But you have a plan.¡±

    Alex flushed only slightly, before lowering his head. ¡°I do. If the artifact can be disrupted, if even a single black jewel can be knocked loose of it¡¯s configuration¡­ we have a chance. Maybe. It would be even better if we could gather them all, like what me and Ya Ling did in the Southern Rift, but the pressure is far greater here. The devastation will occur much quicker. But, well, it also means that the jewels are under pressure.¡± He swallowed his suddenly parched throat. ¡°A lot of pressure. If the configuration can be disrupted in any way¡­¡±

    ¡°It will save our home,¡± Headmaster Shweng Fa declared.

    Alex dipped his head, not taking his eyes off the prince. ¡°That is my sincerest hope.¡±

    ¡°But those abominations will surely kill us the minute we launch our attacks!¡± Sulia whispered.

    Alex nodded. ¡°And that¡¯s why I need to do this alone.¡± He turned to meet Linnea¡¯s gaze, gently pulling out of the mind meld, though keeping her gift of infravision. ¡°Though you and I still need to keep our link, your infravision might just be key.¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes were wide with anxious worry. ¡°Alex please! I know you think you can break it, with your mad gifts and wild luck¡­ but you know it will probably kill you!¡±

    Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Trust me, Linnea. It was only a matter of time.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this,¡± Linnea said desperately, not even caring that she was implying he should shirk the fate of a city before it¡¯s ruler. Strangely, the prince didn¡¯t seem to take offense.

    Alex gazed fondly back at her, brushing a tear from her emerald green eyes. ¡°As a matter of fact, yeah. I do.¡±

    ¡°Alex¡­¡±

    He gently held her when she sobbed and squeezed him tightly.

    ¡°You know how fast I can blink through the forest, and the trees hide my presence. If anyone¡¯s going to succeed at this, Linnea...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t kid yourself, Alex! There are two dozen Shadow Puma and two Gold you would be antagonizing if you dared to shatter the warping prize they clearly wish to control for their own ends!¡±

    Alex chuckled mirthlessly. ¡°Then I¡¯d better be as fast as I damn well can.¡±

    Hanz gathered his now sobbing cousin into his arms.

    The prince¡¯s smile was radiant with hope, pride, and admiration as he gently squeezed Alex¡¯s shoulder. ¡°If you can do this for us, Alex¡­ you would be feted and honored as the hero you are by the entire city.¡±

    Alex blinked at that, a momentary flash of alarm turning to an odd feeling of wonder. Somehow sensing that his hero¡¯s mantel was now thick enough, resilient enough, that yes¡­ yes, he truly could stand tall and proud and be loved and cherished by at least a tiny city lost in endless desert and not immediately be targeted by spite-filled gods. The mantel he had¡­ the sacrifices he had made¡­ really were enough to see him through.

    Alex closed his eyes, absolutely hating that awareness.

    Hating the knowledge that he now had something he could truly look forward to.

    A life he could live free of fear and malice.

    A family he could have without having to constantly worry about their very survival.

    Honor, glory¡­ even happiness.

    They could all be his.

    And he was about to risk it all on an act of insanity, not just walking but racing at full speed along the Path of Peril once more¡­ when he finally had things worth fighting for. Worth living for.

    When he wasn¡¯t haunted with the bleak realization that oblivion WAS the mercy his life promised, the only mercy, so why not push himself to insane heights yet again? And grow stronger¡­ ever stronger¡­

    As if his enemies had finally realized that there was a price to be paid if his only relief, his only solace, would be watching them all burn.

    And now, by some unexpected miracle, it was different.

    It could all be so different!

    And he was about to throw that away.

    Because whether he liked it or not, whether it was fair or not, the fates of almost half a million souls now rested squarely upon his shoulders.

    Alex closed his eyes, centering himself, before he turned back to his boon companions and friends. ¡°If things start to change, if the land seems to stretch and shift¡­ flee through that portal as fast as you can. If you hear sudden roars and shouts, like the entire jungle¡¯s about to erupt in chaos, leave as fast as you can.¡±

    Alex flashed a painful smile. ¡°Honestly, I just need Linnea to stick around as long as it¡¯s safe to aid me with heat vision. But the minute I role the dice and do what I can only hope will work, things might get a bit crazy so¡­ yeah. I¡¯d rather it just be me that falls than all of you.¡±

    The Headmaster gazed at Alex for long moments. ¡°We will stay as long as we can, our wards protecting your paramour for as long as we can maintain them, hero.¡±

    Sulia bowed her head in humility and respect. ¡°And once again you prove that there is far more to being a hero than manipulating paper cranes.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Actually those were really good lessons, and goodness knows I need all the practice I can get.¡±

    ¡°Well, I promise you this, Alex. When this night is done¡­ my students will be paying you the respect you deserve.¡± She solemnly bowed to him. As did everyone save for the duke himself.

    ¡°We all will, hero,¡± said the Headmaster.

    Alex didn¡¯t know what to say to that, so he merely bowed to them all, before addressing the prince once more. ¡°It¡¯s time, You¡¯re Grace.¡±

    The man dipped his head. ¡°Hunt well, hero. We will hold for as long as we can. The moment we sense Gold-tier pressure, however¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. If furious Golds are charging for the rift entrance, I¡¯m guessing it will mean that my mission was a glorious success...whether or not I¡¯m around to enjoy it.¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡± Linnea sobbed, before her eyes widened, caught utterly off guard when Alex held her tight and kissed her fiercely.

    Before letting her go with a final sad smile. ¡°Goodbye, Linnea.¡±

    And before she could say another word, he was gone.

 Book 9 - Chapter 4

    Spring Step skill check: Critical success! You are one with the forest. Your enemies are far too distracted to worry about the likes of you!

    The words washed over Alex as he stood in perfect stillness while the world roared and shook all around him, Gold-tier auras and Silver-tier devastation generating a perfect storm of absolute chaos as fire breathing Stone Dog and disemboweling Shadow Cat fought against each other with everything they had.

    Because his interface was absolutely right. When battling one¡¯s obvious mortal foe, why bother with a puny mortal so week he was still a half-step from Silver, so well cloaked by forest as new skills embraced all the perks of old that one seemed hardly significant at all? No more significant than the terrified monkey shivering in his arms. How it had even gotten there Alex wasn¡¯t even sure, his hand gently stroking it¡¯s head before putting it down as he thought very strongly of being one with the forest.

    A forest that surrounded the twisted configuration fused to bloodstone that was even now sending pulses through the football -field-sized clearing that was growing ever larger from the fearsome collateral damage inflicted by vorpal-tier claws and obliterating fire.

    Yet not one lick of flame or feline claw dared nick the heart of that clearing, six evenly placed obsidian jewels from which rust, or perhaps blood, seemed to pool from the bloodstone it had somehow been embedded in.

    Yet no matter the metaphor of his thoughts, the tormented scream of the entire delve, all it¡¯s permutations being forced to exist and fuse in one never-intended whole was nothing less than the darkest of truths. And one that would very shortly have catastrophic consequences.

    Nothing compared to the fate of a certain gate, of course.

    But the difference was only by degree.

    Alex¡¯s heart quailed, struck with the same dismayed disbelief of someone being handed a life-sentence for a misdemeanor intended as a lighthearted prank by a judge who clearly despised them.

    Because as much as he had wanted to believe in a heroic arc with a happy ending¡­ the pulsating discordance now radiating from that hellish artifacts as it strobed with ever growing power inciting the spirit beasts to a frenzy wouldn¡¯t just spit out Gold tier abominations.

    It would destroy the caldera in its absolute entirety.

    Malice to an unthinkable degree.

    Whoever had set up this configuration wasn¡¯t trying to dominate or subjugate Qianshi.

    They wanted to destroy the city entirely.

    An example, perhaps.

    The most violent and vicious imaginable.

    For just a heartbeat, he was filled with a killing range for a certain smirking Gold. Wondering if this was how he would get back at the city for daring to defy him. Oath kept, he would do nothing to attack the city outright. Because the seed of its oblivion had already been planted. A seed he might have had every intention of removing¡­ though Alex wondered if even he would have survived Gold tier killing shadow or dragon-tier flame.

    FUCK!

    ¡°Alex! Alex, I can sense it! Everything! It¡¯s a death trap! This whole place is a¡­ a Quark bomb?!? No, Alex, we have to leave now! NOW!¡±

    Alex¡¯s gut twisted at the panic in Linnea¡¯s mind.

    Because she was right.

    ¡°Gather all of them and tell them to leave NOW! This place will go in less than 24 hours.¡± He thought back at her as hard as he could.

    ¡°How? How do you even¡­ oh. That¡¯s right. Your impossible artificer skill just went up another rank. Congratulations.¡±

    Alex flashed a bleak smile. ¡°Go to Qing Wu¡¯s house. She can fly your family and hers right off the wall and out.¡±

    He knew damn well how unfair it was. Because there was no way in hell half a million would successfully flee into the desert in less than 24 hours¡­ but at least his closest friends would have a chance... Make that 12 hours, he thought, as another spike of Spiritual Energy wildly sprayed from the cursed configuration and a third Gold tier creature manifested. A Second Stone Dog, which made it quite clear why the beasts were fighting so furiously, so desperately for control. Wise enough to sense the configuration¡¯s power¡­ utterly unaware it would lead to all their destruction.

    Alex flashed a bleak smile as any chance of his survival went from miniscule to infinitesimal as the newly summoned stone dog turned it¡¯s massive ground shaking presence around to face not the cats striking the smaller dogs with wild abandon when they weren¡¯t being burned alive in desperate howls¡­ but toward Alex.

    As if the twisted configuration sensed the threat Alex posed.

    But that was okay, he thought, as he continued to stare at the pulsating bloodstone. Because his hesitation might have just cost him his life¡­

    But at least he had gotten bang for his buck.

    Find Weakness skill check made! You sense the flaw in the infernally aligned artifact 100 paces away!

    ¡°Alex, please! You have to flee! You have to!¡±

    ¡°Too late, beautiful,¡± he whispered under his breath as the massive abomination of stone and liquid magma sprung through the clearing to slam into the forest where Alex had been hiding far faster than physics should allow.

    But it didn¡¯t matter. Because Alex was already one with the forest once more.

    Bullrush. Bullrush.

    You have SUCCESSFULLY Chained Spell Cleave with Enhanced Storm Strike!

    Storm Strike successfully triggers Lightning Blast!

    You have successfully destroyed gold-tier configuration of oblivion!

    A single heartbeat and Alex was before the artifact radiating such bitter cold malice, promising power and violence within every creature to reforge itself in hatred¡¯s image.

    Of course it was utterly impervious to any lesser cultivator¡¯s attacks. Truly, part of the most vicious of gambits to assure absolute submission at the hands of a Gold, or oblivion so utter it would prove a horrific lesson to anyone who dared protest the hidden mastermind¡¯s designs from that moment forward.

    Even in that instant, Alex couldn¡¯t help but think of Dongfang Hong and Shalu. Which only made his hatred all the more blinding as he channeled all his fury into an abomination of an artifact that mocked him on every level imaginable.

    An absolute study in contrast and extremes, power generated by malice and abhorrence, inside and out.

    For even if the cursed configuration inspired hatred and loathing in all thing summoned, that too was a reflection of itself.

    Hatred beyond imagining within every cursed rune carved into once noble rock¡¯s pores¡­ obsidian rotten teeth that throbbed with twisted power such that its artificially constructed soul was itself a thing of torment without end.

    Torment that ached for only one thing more than the destruction of all that would dare to exist in the same world as it.

    And that was simply to be free of the awful burden of its own existence.

    A desperate wish granted with a single cleave and the cleansing power of lightning, as a solid ton of stone and six pristine obsidian cores were, for a single heartbeat, permitted to slip free of the infernal bindings linking them all together.

    All it had required was for every binding rune to be covered in cleansing lightning for a single moment in time. Weaking the chains of binding just long enough for things to slip free.

    Everything to slip free.

    As the entire forest roared and shook with a pressure wave that tore through acres of forest, sending shredded cats and shattered dogs flying through the air even as a certain ghost of the forest flittered past branches and trunks so fast that it was always the tree right behind him that exploded as the ground was torn and shredded by the inconceivable pressure wave as a panicked Alex Bullrushed from trunk to crown to wildly swinging branch to patch of Shadow blossoms to peach tree to a countless other incarnations of the lush green that seemed without end as time seemed to stretch and blur as much as space in his desperate panic¡­ knowing that had he not evolved Spring Leap to serve as a Bullrush so efficient that it cost him almost no Qi Reserves at all, he¡¯d almost certainly be dead.

    And the way space itself seemed to stretch in all directions as Linnea¡¯s desperate panicked cry washed over Alex from what seemed an impossible distance away¡­ he already understood what happened. What must have happened.

    ¡°The configuration ruptured and the instances are separating! GET OUT NOW! While you still have access to a gate!¡± Alex mentally screamed.

    He could only pray that she had heard him, because her panicked mental cries had just faded to nothing at all.

    And Alex had just been struck from behind.

    You have been AMBUSHED by Silver-tier Shadow Puma!

    You¡¯re already moving at the speed of Bullrush!

    You have saved versus crippling blow!

    You have taken one medium wound!

    You have successfully blinked to another tree!

    You have a successfully chained 37 additional Spring Leaps!

    Alex¡¯s eyes bulged as furious blinding pain ripped along his back, and all he had done was pause for a single heartbeat to shout his mental warning to Linnea.

    Yet an eyeblink in time was far more longer than he could spare.

    Even as he thought the words, he was flittering as fast as thought through the trees once more, now sensing dire peril just behind him.

    His teeth curled in a rictus of a grin, somehow knowing that the blow he had suffered to his spine should have killed him. But his bones were indestructible and the Gold-tier claw had skittered off the vertebra even as he was blinking away.

    The only reason why he was alive.

    Because no fucking doubt, the creature that had chosen to chase him with every intent to kill absolutely had to be a Gold.

    Fuck fuck fuck fuck!

    Mental thoughts Alex shrieked, because he didn¡¯t dare utter a word allowed even as he began to sweat a thick viscous liquid that was a combination of universal lubricant and a contact poison made of the most monstrous and venemous horrors he had run into in his most recent pair of lives. At least those that wouldn¡¯t deplete nutrients he really couldn¡¯t afford to lose at the moment, flittering through the jungle in a chaotic random absolutely desperate attempt at evasion¡­ only for his instincts to scream as he DUCKED!

    Just a heartbeat before impossibly fast and deadly gold-tier Shadow Puma could rip him open from crotch to belly.

    A creature just as malicious as it was aware, and most definitely determined to make Alex pay.

    You have successfully Bullrushed 56 times!

    You have suffered two Light Wounds. You have suffered two Medium Wounds.

    You have successfully saved versus crippling injury!

    You have successfully saved versus disembowelment!You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Spring Leap is now Rank 7!

    Alex¡¯s world became one of terror and transcendence as he danced with death at a pace he had never fathomed before as his arms were shredded, his skull mauled, and his abdomen so close to being ruptured that had thought and action not become one, he would have already perished.

    Had his pours not covered his body in universal lubricant and the most toxic of poisons as well, he would have perished.

    Had he not been communing so deeply with the woods as a whole as vindictive shadows that seemed always a split second ahead tore open his thigh, gouged his ribs, scraped at his ankle¡­ he would already be enduring the most excruciating agony being digested in the stomach of a Gold tier monster before coming to in the choking bitter cold of the eternal river, strangled in Shui Jun¡¯s coils once more.

    Instead Alex embraced the perilous dance that this truly and eternally was, dodging death with near supernatural cognizance as cruel injuries meant to cripple and torment became furious strikes that only just hit as a Gold¡¯s furious roar of frustration shook the forest as Alex darted about at speeds he last recalled a lifetime ago.

    Daring to smile even through his terror as limbs fueled by dread and desperation found it ever easier to dodge, dart, and Spring Leap away from claws that were no longer intending to merely maim but now wished to outright kill the vile interloper who¡¯s ears were now filled with the endless thrum of his supercable shrieking through the spiritual ether at ever greater speeds, saturating his body with the potency of so many who had died in the final act of the Fox and General¡¯s most recent battle.

    Power that was slowly becoming Alex¡¯s own.

    Congratulations! You have successfully dodged Disemboweling Blow!

    You have been critically struck by Shadow Puma!

    You have taken one Serious Wound!

    You have saved versus stunning blow! (which would have been a death sentence!)

    Legendary Shadow Puma fails to rupture your skull!

    Alex¡¯s fierce smile became a mask of horror once more as a single instant¡¯s blinding pain became his world... jaws snapping from everywhere and nowhere snapped against his skull.

    Before sliding right off, Universal lubricant and indestructible prismatic tier bones allowing Alex¡¯s most perilous foe to tear off half his scalp and his left ear before sliding right off his divine-tier skull a screaming Alex was Bullrushing so fast and far that the entire forest seemed to blur as he poured every iota of his focus and being into moving FASTER than he ever had before.

    And by some miracle, it worked.

    Or at least his momentary flash of agonized panic had turned to unbreakable focus once more¡­ once more he was one with the endless jungle as he sprung from tree trunk to lush thick foliage to branches rustling with the passage of death as the massive spirit beast moved to intercept him once more, massive shadow claws lashing out with fury to shatter the stout trunk of the tree Alex was about to spring to before abruptly twisting about and Spring Leaping to the very crown of the tree because he was finally listening to the desperate rustles of the countless leaves warning Alex of peril¡­ and salvation, just a single sliver of oblivion away.

    You have successfully dodged FATAL PERIL!

    Spring Leap is now Rank 8!

    You have had a breakthrough!

    You have ASCENDED TO SILVER!

    You spot a gate just ahead!

    The messages stunned Alex for less than an eyeblink, having no time for joy, hesitation, careful planning, or any other move at all save to dart with all haste and fury right for the shimmering rift of obsidian darkness crackling on the treetops just ahead.

    Of course he knew what to expect from a Gold tier monster so impossibly fast and deadly that it had managed to strike at Alex and rend his flesh over half a dozen times would certainly be waiting to end him, at just the moment he thought himself free.

    Yet Alex didn¡¯t bother trying to dart around while changing position and altitude with the use of his Spring Leap and Forest Sense. The cat had already proven far too skilled at predicting his movements. Whenever he landed on a branch or perch was when he was most vulnerable.

    So he kept his vulnerabilities to an absolute minimum was he charged forward with one final Spring Leap now every bit as great as his original movement skill had once been at it¡¯s prime, having ascended up to Rank 8 in this one excruciatingly deadly encounter.

    Allowing him to clear the distance in a single leap.

    But because he took absolutely nothing for granted, the split second leap was done with a howl that was more a furious scream of defiance than anything else, Alex whipping his Fangtian Ji around in a Darkness Infused Storm Strike that tore right into the furious snarling maw of the Legendary Shadow Puma that of course was right where it needed to be to tear Alex¡¯s throat out and finish him once and for all.

    Only it was somehow the puma gazing at Alex with eyes bulging with disbelief as the air exploded with impossibly bright obsidian lightning that tore right through Alex¡¯s monstrous foe¡­ and himself as well.

    You have critically struck Legendary Shadow Puma!

    Legendary Shadow Puma has taken: Serious Wound!

    You have suffered 1 additional Medium Wound!

    Prismatic Bones ground (& absorb) Dark Qi backlash!

    Shadow Puma has FLED the vicinity!

    You have touched Wild Gate!

    Do you wish to port through?

    Warning! Exit point is currently: Unknown!

    Alex didn¡¯t hesitate. He knew damn well that it had been surprise as much as anything else that had allowed him to wound the Legendary Shadow Puma to the extent he had. Because as much as he gloried in the speed and grace with which he had swung his fangtian ji, he knew there wasn¡¯t a chance in hell that he¡¯d get in an other swing before that monster had pivoted around him and struck him from behind, jaws clamping not on his skull but his throat before it disemboweled him with endless rending kicks. Such would have been his fate the moment after he had dared to disrupt that cursed configuration, had he not spent every moment wisely fleeing for all he was worth. Because in this jungle he was most definitely not on top of the food chain.

    And when death was a sure thing behind them, then pushing forward was the best option there was, no matter how perilous the unknown.

    You have chosen: YES!

    You have successfully accessed Wild Gate!

    Shadow Puma FAILS to crack your skull before you leave the area!

    And save for a final awful jolt that disappeared almost as soon as he felt it, making it damn clear what his fate would have been had he hesitated for even a moment¡­ Alex slipped free of that chaotic dungeon instance now forever separated from countless thousands of others, never to return.

    ***

    You have successfully achieved Rank 1 Silver! How do you wish to ascend?

    A bemused Alex found himself drifting in what seemed endless starry heavens that he could sense in all directions. For some reason he was neither anxious nor afraid, and much to his relief, he was in no pain at all. It was as if he was a drifting spirit whose isekai privileges allowed him to bypass the River of Souls shenanigans entirely and did he but wish it, he could peacefully ride these starry currents for eternity.

    An instant later he snapped himself out of that dreamy reverie, realizing he hadn¡¯t felt like he was drifting in the heavenly skies so much as taking a warm gentle bath¡­ and that soothing hypnotic drift was definitely something he had experienced before. Because on some level the river was the spiritual drift of the entire galaxy, and all the countless billions of souls upon billions of worlds drifting from incarnation to incarnation¡­ or at least that¡¯s how he thought of it.

    And perhaps the same handful of gods that had tried enticing him with honey instead of bitterest vinegar this time around might be devious enough not to drown him in frigid cold waters when the gentle soothing warmth of a delicious tale drawing to a satisfying conclusion and get him out of their hair from centuries. Because hadn¡¯t he effectively just saved Qianshi twice over in just a handful of days? Not bad for the end of a hero¡¯s journey! So why not take a soothing nap of a thousand years before feeling any urge to leave these luxuriously warm waters at all?

    Alex winced, now fearing that wonderful sense of warmth and ease he was now experiencing just might be another trap of sorts.

    His heart¡­ did he still have a heart? Was now pounding in his chest. Or it might have been¡­ Alex quickly shook away his wildly racing thoughts that did him no good at all.

    Because he certainly had no time to waste! Just a handful of level up points to invest before springing out the other side of the gate¡­ absolutely no time lost at all.

    Certainly no more months, years, or centuries lost between incarnations, with his friends, or even the memories of his friends, increasingly lost to the cycles of time, rebirth, and reincarnation. Or so he fervently hoped as he desperately tried to pull up his character sheet, feeling heartfelt relief that he could do just that. Because that meant he was still alive! Still in his latest life¡­ right?

    Still, his character sheet looked solid. Spring Leap had ascended to Rank 8 after that absolutely insane dash away from that Gold ranked Shadow Puma that would have absolutely slaughtered anyone else that had tried to fuck with the configuration Alex had successfully disrupted, he was now damned certain of that. And how sweet it was that Spring Leap was so effective and efficient that he was basically able to Bullrush for just a tiny fraction of a Qi point, a near unlimited number of jumps, at least with his Qi Pool. Which was really the only reason why he was alive at all¡­ and those hundreds of leaps¡­ had it been hundreds? Thousands? Was all that had allowed it to grow at an exponential pace as he honed himself in the crucible of absolute peril.

    Spring Leap was Rank 8, and his Quickness, much like his Strength and Vitality, were now at a glorious Silver tier rank 1! And now he had 12 points to play with.

    He then froze¡­ the memory of his eyes widening as it finally clicked, the boon he had been granted¡­ it appeared that he had been granted a Rank of Quickness without having spent any of his 12 points at all...putting it on par with his Draconic Strength and Vitality¡­ which implied that were he to invest another four points¡­ it might rank up again! Or had that ascension to Silver been the limit of just how fast he could become for this level? He couldn¡¯t be sure. Not until he spent the points.

    Sure enough, the moment he tried to gently coax four of his Ascension Points into Quickness¡­ it effortlessly blossomed to Silver-tier Rank 2 as a certain metaphoric super cable continued to pick up angular momentum¡­ and a certain ancient being locked away in an even more ancient pod began to writhe and howl.

    ¡°It worked¡­ Fucking hell, it actually worked! Rank 1 Silver and My Quickness is already Rank 2!¡±

    Even if he alone could hear the words, he couldn¡¯t help but crow his excitement. Because after his battle with a certain fearsome cat that had come so close to ending him, he was more humbled than ever by just how utterly vital Quickness was for pretty much every aspect of combat. Being able to process and react to your opponent¡¯s movements before he had finished countering your own, then moving and striking before your foe had even readied his weapon or shield, and hitting so much harder with even the tiniest increases to Quickness.

    Of course he¡¯d be an absolute fool not to maximize the power that enhanced Quickness promised by increasing both his Strength and his Vitality. So that the weapon he held in his hands would feel light enough for him to flick about just as quickly as his enhanced stat promised, without inertia slowing him for lack of Strength, not reflexes. And Vitality was that which gave him the endless reserves he¡¯d need to attack all out, and survive damage in turn.

    And just as his Draconic blood promised, Each Silver-tier rank of Strength and Vitality cost him only 2 points to bring up a full rank. And best of all, as had been promised long ago, his efforts to keep in balance paid off once more when Finesse, pulled upwards along with 3 other enhanced physical stats, also ascended to the Realm of Silver. Which meant that he had managed to enhance 4 Silver tier stats for a total of 8 Ascension points with 4 more to spare.

    Despite all he had endured up to this moment, he couldn¡¯t deny that there was a tiny part of him that wanted to squeal with a gamer¡¯s glee. So much potential! To push a given skill to new heights with just a couple points. For a single point, he could get Doom Strike to Rank 5, or Enhanced Storm Strike to Rank 10! Who knew how those skills might evolve, what useful perks might now be available to him?

    Yet he quickly clamped his will upon the sudden delicious desire to spend his precious points. For the exact same reason why he had held off so firmly, so resolutely, during his previous life. Because he truly had no idea how many points he¡¯d have to shape his soul once he hit Gold¡­ assuming he ever hit gold. Would he have 18 or 24 points to advance with? Would stats cost 6 points to Rank up, assuming a 2,4,6, progression, or 8 points, if it doubled, or even 16, if powers were involved? Both chilling and humbling, even if also underscoring just how awesome a height he had reached to require so much potential to ascend in any one direction¡­ and how fortunate he was that Dragon Blood mean that Strength and Vitality Ranks could always be purchased as if they were 1 tier lower. That alone would save him a heck of a lot of points.

    But regardless, one fundamental truth still seemed to hold. If he could manage to get 3 physical stats to ascend in tandem, he¡¯d get the fourth to increase 1 rank for free. And if he could rank up all 4 physical stats up to the cusp of the next tier, then they were all effectively primary stats for his class. And thanks to his blossoming in terms of his Qi Pool to the extend he had, his Boundless Path definitely meant that a Wujen¡¯s Potential should be open to him this time around. He was already starting with Qi Pool at Rank 6 Silver!

    It was then that he was struck with yet another delicious possibility.

    His next level, if he invested his points as he had this level¡­ would see him with 8 Ascension points banked. So why the heck couldn¡¯t he invest all 8, right then and there, to ascend all 4 of his physical stats a second step in a single level?

    He chuckled silently at the thought. Sure, it was absurd, gloriously so. Yet he sensed that one possible boon of him effectively having started over was not simply him recovering his former potential at what was truly an incredibly fast pace. It was finding new avenues of ascension and paths of possibility opening to him as well.

    He was pretty sure he had never dared the wujen¡¯s path before¡­ or at least so rarely that those incarnations had been pretty much wiped from even history¡¯s recall. Yet now he sensed potential like never before. So why not see all the other ways he might grow beyond even the limitations of his previous life, as glorious an ascension as that had been?

    With a satisfied smile, he took a quick look at his condensed character sheet, taking a moment to appreciate just how far he¡¯d come in such a short time.

    _____________________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

    Rank 1 Divine Silver Cultivation Achieved!

    Physical Characteristics

    Strength ¨C Silver Rank 2 (90)

    Vitality ¨C Silver Rank 2 (90)

    Quickness ¨C Silver Rank 2 (90)

    Finesse ¨C Silver Rank 1 (65)

    Spiritual Characteristics

    Scholarship - 14

    Perception - 19

    Willpower ¨C Bronze Rank 2 (25)

    Qi Pool ¨C  Silver Rank 6 (190)

    Health Points: 785

    Ascension Points Banked: 4

    __________________________________

 Book 9 - Chapter 5

    Over days or hours that might have been mere moments, Alex felt a growing pressure upon his psyche, realizing that there was indeed an end to his journey through the void. Several endings he could choose from, in fact! Yet as exciting as this revelation was, he was also filled with the sudden sense that if he didn¡¯t take advantage of the faint tugging he now felt on his soul¡­ he truly would be drifting in endless astral currents until he found himself slipping into an endless doze once more upon the River of Souls.

    Rank 8 Qi Perception and Extensive past experience has allowed your soul to sense MULTIPLE EXIT POINTS from Ruptured Portal Exit!

    Alex¡¯s eyes lit up with hope and sudden desperation in equal measure. Feeling almost like he had fallen asleep in waters so warm and soothing, that it would have drowned him effortlessly if he didn¡¯t break free of the water and catch his breath NOW! But it was like someone had covered the top of the water with a tarp.

    Panicked, Alex immediately pressed the weight of his psyche against what he sensed were three distinct, nearby exit points, panic turned to surprised disbelief at the interface¡¯s interpretation of each of those doors.

    Congratulations! You have successfully found a rift exit resonating with the Path of Prosperity! - Exit this path and dive right into streams of good fortune and perfect serenity as you find yourself swept up in a lifetime filled with warm memories, warmer laughter, sweetest bliss and the pristine joy of a peaceful life well lived. If you¡¯ve ever yearned for a path free of the desperate accrual for ever more power, a life free of all woes and regret, then this is the door for you! (The first of seven pristine lives you have been promised. For even Shui Jun recognizes the gift you gave her¡­ With the understanding that you STILL owe her Shalu¡¯s heart! And you¡¯ll be plucking it free of his suppurating body as soon as your seven sweet lives have run their course, or you can expect nothing but eternal suffering from that moment on!!)

    What had started as a moment of awed wonder quickly transformed into dismay when it became painfully obvious that stepping through that door WOULD mean starting a new life, putting an end to the wild adventure he had relished, as bittersweet as he had been. And after coming so close to illumination, so close to remembering all that he had experienced in both those incarnations that his cultivation had ascended at a furious pace and his pristine Super Cable that spun around like an accretion disk around the singularity that would serve as the mantel for his core¡­ would effectively have never been.

    But still¡­ to be able to taste sweet halcyon days of joyful innocence and tender moments in the arms of a woman who loved him¡­ cherished him¡­ and would never slip away to tragedy¡¯s clinging embrace¡­ that alone was priceless. Yet after experiencing countless years wrapped in Shui Jun¡¯s coils¡­ he knew damn well the price of playing his 7 lives card now when a ledger balance still lay between them. Because after everything he had endured in this life, he sure as hell doubted he¡¯d ever have the strength to endure it again. Especially not after seven sweet lives where he wasn¡¯t being constantly forged in the crucible of pain and peril.

    Which meant that after seven lifetimes to savor for eternity, he¡¯d never ascend past an eternity of suffering.

    With a shudder, he turned away from the door, his mind immediately sensing the shape and weight of the next.

    Door of Bitter Triumph

    Ready to embrace a world RIPE for your righteous wrath? Then dare to tread past the crimson lintel and embrace your new life.

    You will find no allies here.

    No heartfelt friends to share your triumphs or mourn your woes.

    Instead you will find overweening contempt and Machiavellian plots, intrigue, and treachery worthy of most celebrated grimdark fantasies of the world you LONG left behind! A game of kings and thrones like no other, where even the maidens you save from certain peril will have a dirk kissed with blackest poison the minute your back is turned!

    For their cultivation is based on purity alone and absolute CONTEMPT for any who dare to look different, act different, speak out of turn, think differently, or walk any path other than their own.

    Be reforged by their bitter cruelties and twisted cultivation practices and embrace your WRATH like never before! Feel JUSTIFIED in forging the darkest of all the Fox¡¯s bittersweet tales once again and work to destroy an entire city¡¯s, nation¡¯s, WORLD¡¯S twisted tale and feel JUSTIFIED in giving them ALL the gift of eternal oblivion!

    For we all know how the darkest of tales starring the Fox¡¯s Eternal Disciple ultimately end.

    Only now, you¡¯re not just claiming their bodies, are you, Alex Hammer Highblood?

    And who can blame you?

    What idealistic fool would stop with a little bit of blood, when you can claim their very SOULS!

    All of them.

    And a new God of Death shall be forged.

    A desperate Alex couldn¡¯t pull himself free of that terrible, awful door fast enough. Yet much to his dismay, unlike the almost ephemeral door leading to a Path of Prosperity that was so alien to his nature that it would have been a struggle to finally slip through that wondrous portal¡­ the pulsating crimson lintel overshadowing a door of black bitterness and regret drew him in like the event horizon of oblivion itself.

    Calling out to a soul that understood it so well.

    For all that Alex desperately struggled against the pull, the remembered roars of defiance and shouts of despair echoing and resonating over countless lives pulled him inexorably toward the door that was now as inevitable as slipping past the event horizon of any black hole. The arrows for time and space had flipped. Now all directions aimed toward the event horizon of the blackest of ascensions, time itself the inevitable singularity event of a howling Alex crashing into the bitter black destiny that desperate hope and self-delusion had kept at bay for far, far too long.

    ¡°Ancient disciple! Please¡­ I know there¡¯s not a chance in hell you can save us. I know that boy hiding in plain sight and daring to live yet another one of his wild tales can¡¯t possibly be you. But if you can hear this message¡­ please. Save this foolish fox if you dare. Or at least protect my kits from the depredations of a Gold monster who would torture and kill us all.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in desperate hope and fierce resolve.

    Recognizing Nili¡¯s voice, the beautiful kitsune woman who now looked far closer to twenty than the hundreds of years she probably was. A woman with children who needed her. A woman now wearing the weight of a black iron collar around her neck. As were all her companions, including her husband, if the flash of terror and despair he saw in the kitsune¡¯s haunted gaze was anything to go by.

    Alex desperately struggled for all he was worth to dart his soul along this unexpected tributary, so damn close to the falls that promised a dark ascension he absolutely refused to embrace. He could almost imagine a dark bitter voice howling in furious dismay¡­ before realizing it was his own voice. His own darkness hungry for validation, bittersweet mourning, and the destruction of all his foes for all time.

    Then, between one moment and the next, the terror of the space warping singularity that was his own howling bitter soul about to consume him for all time was replaced by a blinding flash of light as Alex collapsed and wheezed desperately for breath.

    Tears sprung to his eyes, gasping as if he had run countless sprints¡­ or just narrowly avoided drowning.

    ¡°That was too close,¡± he sobbed to himself, taking a quick look at his character sheet, grateful as all hell to find that the glorious ascension he had dreamed was, in fact, his actual status, and that it hadn¡¯t faded to the memory of a life lived long ago.

    Only then did he open his eyes and take in his surroundings, surprised by how comfortable he was before feeling the soft itch of sandy grit against his bare skin, his ears catching the mournful sigh of desert winds as the air smelled of salt and sand and distant sobs and orders roared.

    His eyes widened with unmistakable wonder.

    Was he really back? Did he actually make it back to the desert before countless years or lifetimes had past?

    Fearing grogginess or trouble, he carefully eyed his surroundings before slowly getting up to his feet, seeing nothing but endless desert dunes¡­ save for a handful of individuals in the distance wearing either black leather armor or underclothes.

    His brow furrowed, noting the hunched posture of those stripped of robes, armor, our outer garments, making it painfully clear the nature of the group.

    Captives, and those who would dare to collar them.

    Alex¡¯s jaw tightened, feeling like he was waking up after recovering from a bad fever, sweaty and just slightly out of sorts, haunted by fever dreams that he was forced to acknowledge at that moment might have become all too real, had he dared any path save this one.

    Saved by a kitsune¡¯s desperate plea.

    Seeing distant figures hunched before others in the distance.

    His nose twitched at the scents of terror, fury, and sacrifice.

    He clenched his jaw, summoning his fangtian ji as he carefully eyed what he just knew would be his distant opponents.

    OF course that was when the limitations of what was now his favorite movement technique of all time became apparent. He might be a god of maneuverability in lush jungle canopy, but here on the desert, he was reduced to striding across the sands same as the figures in the distance. Whatever his strengths, it certainly didn¡¯t include mastery over sand.

    Then he held back a chuckle, leaping for the air with limbs that hadn¡¯t felt so spry and powerful since before he had woken up in a cave as a basic cultivator, all those weeks ago.

    And now he had ascended to Silver once more.

    His lips stretched wide in a fierce grin as he took to the skies, racing after what he suspected were his friends so silently that no shadow cloaked foe, no matter how clever, would feel the trembles of his feet upon the ground.

    You have successfully embraced Wind Walking! You are now flying faster than any falcon!

    Your foes fail to sense your presence.

    ¡°Damn right they do. I¡¯m stalking them from altitude, behind them,¡± he said to himself, for wind mastery meant that his words would carry to no ears save his own.

    Instead he peered down at the ant-like figures below, diligently trying to make out the distant female shapes he had seen from afar.

    His eyes lit up as his interface map pinged with fellow adventurers he had bonded with once before, refusing to think too deeply about what allowed him to zero in on them with unerring accuracy. Before stopping cold, eyes widening with awe and dismay, when he took in just how many thousands of armed men were waiting just a mile or so away from captors and captives.

    Not just a handful of spirit beast leather-clad warriors like the handful that had come so close to intercepting his party when they dared to fuse cores of Silver and Gold to Qianshi¡¯s basin, assuring centuries of pristine water. No. Where before there had been a deadly handful¡­ now he saw countless thousands upon the desert sands. And in the distance, just a few miles away, he spotted, the basing that he knew and loved, his interface map pinging a perfect match.

    He was home. Or at least, as close to home as he might ever come again in this desert world.

    Which meant that Nili and her band had been intercepted and captured while leaving Qianshi¡¯s territory¡­ but hadn¡¯t they set off at least a couple of days ago? Alex shook such extraneous thoughts away. What mattered was that they had never even had a chance to head home to wherever that was, before being intercepted.

    Intercepted by powerful men radiating deadly Silver intensity and the exact same attire as that worn by the killers who had been so eager to steal Alex¡¯s prizes just days ago. Killers from Zuihaoshi. Or the final city. A presumptuous name fitting for the arrogant tyrant who thought he had the right to claim whatever desert treasures he desired. Yet as was evidenced by the handful of Silvers that had managed to capture his friends, and the thousands of soldiers below¡­ it was painfully clear that this mysterious tyrant could back his words up.

    Alex shivered with apprehension, realizing what he was doing as he gazed upon the handful of Silvers soon to meet what Alex suspected was the main contingent of their forces, all of them so clear from his present altitude, a mile away still, though rapidly closing.

    He was delaying.

    As if fearing ultimate peril, recalling all too well what happened the last time he had taken on an entire army. Even if it had been many times bigger than this one.

    ¡°Bullshit! We fucking DO THIS and we do this NOW!¡± He castigated himself even as he dove with silent, furious determination, falling to the earth a good thirty feet behind his prey. Yet even so, even with full control over the air currents around them, one of the Silvers raised a gauntleted fist, seeming to smell the air, before slowly turning around.

    Artificer skill check made!

    So Alex dashed forward for all he was worth, refusing to hesitate. Knowing he didn¡¯t dare delay and that the only option he had was to spring forward NOW!

    He slipped past the furiously glaring men moving with odd slowness for Silver-tier speed monsters as Alex darted right past them, his dao instantly summoned as he struck his target.

    The air rang with a surprised scream instantly cut off as the white bearded man who had been holding both collar box and a wand made of bone collapsed to the ground holding his ruptured belly before his neck started spraying gore when it lost its head a split second later, the clean desert sands now smelling of coppery blood and freshly spilled offal.

    You are using Wind Walking to effortlessly race just above the desert sands!

    Spell Cleave successfully ruptures all wards!

    Rank 7 Doom blade enhanced by Tier 2 Silver Strength and Rank 8 Wind Crane Kung Fu EFFORTLESSLY ruptures all wards and armaments!

    You have critically struck enemy Wujen!

    YOU HAVE DECAPITATED YOUR FOE!

    You have claimed Collar Control box!

    You have claimed the body of your foe.

    Collars are now safe from retributive blasts! (You are unable to remove collars with control box at this time.)

    You have switched dao for fangtian ji!

    Four Silver tier cultivators designated as Zui Flunkies are charging you!

    ¡°Collars are inert! Strike at will!¡± Alex roared as he flanked his foes, glad that the four hot-eyed killers were now putting all their focus on him.

    Alex flashed the would-be killers a fierce smile.

    ¡°Hi assholes, how¡¯s it going?¡±

    The closet thug¡¯s eyes lit up in surprised fury. ¡°It¡¯s the blond-haired Ruidian! He dares to interfere outside his doomed city? Strike him dead! Prince Xien Tang has offered a five thousand silver bounty for his head!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t do anything, Alex! The collars bind our abilities!¡± Sobbed Zichen, earning a glare from both Quing Da and Nili. Yet it seemed that her reminding their foes just how vulnerable they are wasn¡¯t the death sentence it might have been, all four Silver monsters charging straight for Alex with furious roars and blades covered in poisons identical to the ones their fellows used just days ago.

    All of which brought a happy smile to Alex¡¯s lips as he backpedaled as if in fear, making sure that his enemies were well and truly separated from his allies.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°Look at him run, the coward! Poison daggers out now! We finish this!¡± Roared their obvious leader.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help laughing at that. ¡°Seriously? What the fuck, man? Just how slow are you assholes? The shits moved so much faster than you just three nights ago! I mean, talk about inferior quality Silvers!¡±

    This earned Alex bulging eyes and outraged snarls. ¡°That you would dare say such things to Prince Xien Tang¡¯s elite? Death by torment can be your only reward!¡± The closest assassin roared before his words choked off in surprise.

    Because a coldly smiling Alex was now right in his face. And before the thug could regain his balance, initiative, or get his weapons back in play after Alex had so smoothly dodged the man¡¯s poisoned throwing knife with the slightest tilt of his neck¡­ the air erupted with the crack and boom of thunder and an explosion of lightning so perfectly dark that the main encampment wouldn¡¯t see a thing.

    Or such was Alex¡¯s hope even as he accepted yet another handful of furiously stinging wounds¡­ and system notifications that made his bitter heart glow with sudden warmth.

    You have successfully struck your opponent with Doom Blast!

    Dark Lightning has ruptured ALL Silver tier wards.

    All major organs have been ruptured.

    Fatality!

    You have taken 3 Light Wounds.

    ¡°No shit,¡± Alex thought with a snarl, forced to blink away boiling blood and brain while smarting from second degree burns all over his arms before his prismatic bones greedily drank in the majority of the backlash from what truly was his most perilous skill.

    The three remaining thugs were blinking at Alex in momentary surprise, caught absolutely flatfooted and Alex happily took advantage of their sudden confused hesitation, refusing to slow down for even a second as he pivoted and darted at an angle, missing another pair of poisoned daggers to collide with the largest of the three, who was even now roaring and chopping at Alex with a pair of obsidian axes glowing with tainted infernal Qi that Alex recognized all too well.

    Yet surprisingly it was almost effortless for Alex to weave and dart past the tainted axe heads that promised soul sickness and a most agonizing death before responding in the only way he could.

    Countering foul embers with the cleansing power of rain. A rain so heavy and filled with so many metallic salts that it was practically the sea. Or the sea if it was so violent that it could rip through spirit hide like a water jet through tissue paper. Just like his fangtian ji cleaved through his foe from hip to armpit, a jagged bisection that was Enhanced Water and Wind strike with a hell of a lot of razor sharp Dark-Qi covered metal thrown in.

    Most definitely not Black Swan.

    But just for shits and giggles...

    Rank 8 Synergized Enhanced Water Strike infused with Dark Qi infused Metal shrapnel and Rank 9 Enhanced Wind Blade has pierced all defenses! Synergized combo has successfully bisected your foe!

    NOTE! This attack is most definitely NOT the metaphoric echo of arts relegated to a life lost long ago.

    NOTE! You have chosen to name this synergized attack BLACK SWAN for no reason whatsoever!

    Synergized attack will from now on be referred to as Black Swan!

    You have successfully dodged past the remaining pair of desperate Silvers that are somehow slower than you!

    You have struck your targets!

    Black Swan!

    Black Swan!

    You have DECAPITATED your foes!

    Experience earned!

    Enhanced Water Strike is now Rank 9!

    Enhanced Water Strike is now at parity with Enhanced Wind Strike!

    Do you wish to permanently imprint Wind/Water/Steel/Dark Qi infusion as a separate attack?

    You have chosen: YES!

    You have successfully learned this four element attack ideal for cutting through any defense (and almost everything else) below Gold-tier effortlessly!

    Congratulations! Black Swan is now Rank 9!

    It was all Alex could do to resist the urge to howl with fiercest exultation as his fangtian ji glowed with the might and fury of the storm once more, a bloody crimson spray even now washing upon the midnight desert sands as the final headless Silver collapsed in a geyser of crimson, head rolling down the shallow dune.

    He laughed in the midnight air, the brilliant starts above twinkling as if in warm approval as his boon companions of just days ago stared at him in stark disbelief, awe, and perhaps just a little bit of fear.

    ¡°Hell Yeah! Black Swan¡¯s back, baby!¡±

    His furious exultation immediately cooled when he sensed just how exhausted and terrified his would-be rescuees were. Now gazing at him as if he were the monsters.

    ¡°Um, guys? It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m, ha ha, here to rescue you, princess,¡± he said, looking a shaken Sunlay¡¯s way.

    Her eyes widened, cheeks flushing a warm hue against her dusky skin. Wait, hadn¡¯t she told him that she was a princess?¡±

    Nili fell to her knees. Her eyes fell with tears as she held her hands together as if in prayer.

    ¡°You came! By WiFu¡¯s mercy, you actually came!¡±

    Alex gazed at her for long moments, feeling his cheeks blaze just as hotly as Sunlay¡¯s. ¡°Well, yeah. I was in the area and you called. Of course I came.¡±

    Her husband held the shivering kitsune close, Quing Da giving Alex the strangest smile. ¡°I take it you didn¡¯t come from the city?¡±

    Alex swallowed, gazing at those too knowing eyes. ¡°Um¡­ that¡¯s sort of a complicated question.¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°You do know you¡¯re as naked as the day you were born?¡±

    Alex froze. Feeling his cheeks heat up as he realized just how comfortable, soothing, and all embracing the desert breeze was to his exceedingly resilient, and sensitive, skin. ¡°Um¡­ yeah. Then how did I¡­¡± He decided not to think too deeply about where the hell he had summoned his weapons, or where exactly the body he had claimed and had thought put into storage actually went, instead recalling that he hadn¡¯t always woken up fully clothed.

    Sometimes he was buck naked with clothes in his hand, needing just a moment to put them on before an outraged guard or such chased him up a tree. And other times¡­

    He closed his eyes and smiled, raising up a hand to catch the prizes revealed by a gust of wind. Treasures left by a long lost caravan, perhaps, only now revealed and lifted upon a nighttime breeze.

    Alex ignored the looks his friends gave him as he donned his favorite changshan jacket, pants, and bone button shoes once more. And the tricorn hat and inspector¡¯s cloak were nice touches as well, Alex thought, his fingers feeling out a ring in the pants pocket that somehow slipped on his finger as if it had always been there. And perhaps it had.

    He doffed his hat with a rakish grin for the flustered looking Sunlay.

    ¡°So, how do I look?¡±

    ¡°Like a hero stepping right out of the pages of grandmother¡¯s book of tales,¡± Nili whispered, the tears in her eyes shining so brightly under the stars high above.

    ¡°How did he do that?¡± Anjen, the male wujen dressed in what were now tattered cultivator¡¯s robes, was giving Alex a look of slack-jawed disbelief.

    Alex smirked, doffing his tricorn hat once more. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not that hard. It¡¯s how you smile when you flow into the one-legged bow so you look like your paying respects while simultaneously giving off smug vibes of insouciance that drive everyone crazy.¡±

    Nili shook his head, chuckling softly. ¡°You and eldest were always good at that, weren¡¯t you, hero?¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°I, of course, have absolutely no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± He then pointedly looked heavenward. ¡°But the less we actually mention certain wild tales aloud¡­ the less chance of headaches of a certain nature coming our way, you know?¡±

    Nili blanched. ¡°May they never look our way again.¡±

    Alex carefully said nothing,

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you would happen to have the key to this collar on you by any chance, hero?¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°As a matter of fact¡­¡± With an act of will he pulled the fallen wujen¡¯s control device out of storage, earning nearly half a dozen reflexive flinches, making it damn clear that their enemies had already inflicted torments on them at least once.

    Alex clenched his jaw, his killing hate for the corrupt Gold, the city he represented, and his cronies only grew. ¡°It¡¯s okay guys. We just need to tap the right button¡­¡±

    ¡°No, wait!¡± Zichen, the female wujen, cried. ¡°If you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing you¡¯ll¡­¡± Her look of fright turned to one of wonder when her neck collar latch popped off, the woman immediately yanking it off her neck a split second later, as did everyone else.

    Alex winked. ¡°Rank 8 Artificer, and I¡¯ve dealt with these things before.¡± His smile turned to a pained grimace. ¡°You¡¯d better believe the first thing I did was neutralize the kill-surge.¡± For some reason his words didn¡¯t seem to make his friends feel better. Not until all their collars were off, at least, and then it was Princess Sunlay, choking back sobs as she hugged him tightly, shuddering in his arms for long moments before taking a steadying breath and stepping back, eyes twinkling with warmth and gratitude.

    ¡°Thank you, Alex. We owe you a debt that I fear we¡¯ll never be able to repay.¡± Soft delicate fingers reached out and clasped is hand. ¡°But if you wouldn¡¯t mind accompanying us to Wanshi city¡­ I will do my best to fete you as you deserve. With rank, honor, and title¡­ hero.¡±

    ¡°Alex is fine,¡± he said, smiling gently, sensing the anxious desperation behind the princess¡¯s declaration. He sensed as well how truly perilous their situation remained, no matter how miraculous and storybook like this singular rescue might have seemed for them.

    He turned to glare in the direction of the corrupt Gold and his men. ¡°And why the hell is that bastard lurking in the shadows of Qianshi city anyway?¡±

    Even as he said the words, he noted how everyone save the princess were rapidly flipping over the bodies of their would be kidnappers and perhaps executioners, claiming armaments, weapons, and other prizes Alex didn¡¯t bother looking too closely at, already knowing the ultimate prize they sought.

    Sunlay gave Alex a pained smile. ¡°I¡¯d caution you against getting any closer than we already are, Alex. There are several thousand desert-warfare specialists led by a Gold. It¡¯s a miracle that you came when you did. Had it been any later, had we crested the sand dunes just ahead, we¡¯d already be in their sight and fleeing for our lives with little hope of making it.¡± She swallowed, giving Alex a haunted look. ¡°Alex, I¡¯m sorry. So sorry. Had I known what they were planning, I would have warned you on the instant.¡±

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°I have no doubt of that, Lady Sunlay.¡±

    Her hand squeezed his own. ¡°Please, just Sunlay. Far more convenient with boon companions on the road, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±

    Alex¡¯s smile matched her own. ¡°Fair enough, Sunlay. So, did those assholes explain it all with gloating monologues?¡±

    Sunlay snorted even as a crestfallen Nili strode up to the princess, giving a despairing shake of her head. ¡°They are, or were, elite Silver tier speed cultivators who had also managed to ascend past Bronze in Strength as well. Some of the deadliest foes you can imagine, and well aware of their own importance. Of course they gloated, while spitting in our faces and calling us worthless trash.¡± She shuddered as she gazed down at the assassin squad that had been so ruthlessly cleaved through. She then swallowed, locking gazes with Alex once more. ¡°That monster Xien Tang who I refuse to call a prince manipulated the largest water clan faction in Qianshi city to aid them in installing dark formations within multiple rifts.¡± She took a steadying breath. ¡°Those Duo Yi fools thought the Ice and Water cores would rupture and the waters stop flowing, forcing the city to bow before that corrupt Gold and the water merchants who had given him an in. But it was more than that. Far more than that.¡±

    Her companion¡¯s went deathly silent as she uttered those words, even Nili radiating uncharacteristic fear, frozen like frightened animals before him. As if fearing that Alex would blame them for Qianshi¡¯s peril.

    ¡°Alex, what you have to understand is that Xien Tang is the most ruthless and savage of monsters. He might have been bound by oath not to invade Qianshi directly if they failed to elect him prince¡­ but that doesn¡¯t mean that he didn¡¯t leave contingencies in place such that your entire city would be forced to pay a terrible price if he was forced to leave before he could diffuse his own traps.¡±

    Alex¡¯s jaw clenched. ¡°So. He¡¯s the bastard to blame. Why am I not surprised?¡±

    Nili gave Alex a concerned look as Sunlay spoke on.

    ¡°Alex, it¡¯s more than just a carefully orchestrated attempt to choke off Qianshi¡¯s water supply and force submission. Those configurations were designed to unleash waves of monster breakouts from multiple rifts that will doom your entire city and force everyone to flee the caldera or perish to the abominations that will soon be overrunning the entire basin.¡±

    Nili glared in the direction of Xien Tang¡¯s men. ¡°And that¡¯s when Xien Tang plans to strike. When the survivors of your city are fleeing and desperate. Easy prey for slaughter, slave collars, and absolute dominion. Once outside the city, the truce that Xien Tang was forced to sign will have zero weight upon him and he will be able to do exactly as he wishes. Whether through conquest or desperation, promising the citizens that he will clear the threat, or just outright slaughter and collaring everyone he can, he will claim your city before the week is out.¡± She lowered her head, ears wilting, ¡°I am so sorry, Alex. Even with all my investigating, I could only pluck a few strings free of the plot before, well¡­¡±

    Alex gave her a fond smile, before plopping his hat and cloak about her head and shoulders.

    He could sense Quing Da¡¯s alarmed glare, instantly fading to a bemused smile when he realized what Alex had done.

    Nili¡¯s eyes widened, gazing at the cloak now donning her petite frame, and the hat that fit her head so comfortably as if it had been made for a kitsune.

    ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself, Nili. You didn¡¯t have your dashing inspector¡¯s uniform on! If you had this on your person, you would have run down the culprits in no time, crying out ¡®the game¡¯s afoot, Watson!¡¯ whenever we pass a shady establishment and the bad guys would have been falling out of every gambling den and speakeasy, fleeing in clear guilt or bragging so loud that we would have picked up all the juicy tidbits. Or perhaps they would have left scraps of paper with clues we would have tracked down just at sunset before dueling the masterminds with sabers¡­ or dao¡­ upon a steam locomotive or maybe a merchant wagon!¡± He laughed aloud. ¡°It would have been awesome!¡±

    His friends stared at him for long moments.

    ¡°Alex, you do know your city¡¯s in dire peril, right?¡± Sunlay snapped. ¡°Even worse, those rifts are being flooded with Silver tier abominations even now! Not just a handful but dozens, perhaps hundreds! It would be absolute suicide to¡­¡±

    Her words choked off when a smiling Alex revealed treasures even he hadn¡¯t been aware that he had been carrying, revealing over half a dozen prizes obsidian prizes reflecting the stars under the midnight sky before making them banish once more.

    ¡°Those things are perilous, fool! You¡¯ll poison us all!¡± Anjen cried.

    But Nili was shaking his head, her gaze one of stupefaction. ¡°The way you¡¯re smiling¡­ even knowing the peril your city faces¡­ you did it! You and your friends actually managed to rupture their ritual sights!¡±

    Alex gave a rueful chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t give me too much credit. The Headmaster and the prince were the true power houses. They let me hold on to the Dark Qi stones since I can store them pretty effectively. And I won¡¯t even bore you with how close we came to getting absolutely slaughtered. But somehow we made it, and I just happened to be in the area and heard Nili¡¯s cry so¡­ yeah. Here we are.¡±

    Sunlay gazed at a smiling Alex for long moments, as if unable to believe the words she was hearing. ¡°Alex, are you certain? Both the West and South¡­¡± Her awed smile grew. ¡°It¡¯s true. I can see by the look in your eyes that you actually managed to break the formations in both rifts. Were it otherwise¡­¡± Her eyes grew haunted as she gazed toward the caldera. ¡°I fear your citizens would already be fleeing for their lives, and right into that bastard Xien Tang¡¯s trap.¡±

    ¡°According to our enemies¡¯ agitated mutters, at least one of the rifts should have already burst by now. I suggest we leave the area with all haste, my lady, before Tang and all his thousands of soldiers grow restless,¡± Zichen urged.

    Sunlay¡¯s relief turned to tense anxiety once more. She turned to Nili. ¡°Did you find it?¡±

    The kitsune lowered her gaze. ¡°I fear not, mistress.¡±

    Sunlay gave a bitter laugh. ¡°All this effort and hardship, and in the end we¡¯re no better off than when we¡­¡± Her words cut off with a gasp of wonder at the prize a grinning Alex gently placed in her unresisting palm. ¡°Oh look what I just found. It¡¯s amazing what pretty stones you¡¯ll find in these ochre sands.¡±

    ¡°Alex, you did it! This is the Water core that¡­¡±

    ¡°The wujen who was never here had stolen from you? Could be. Or maybe it was just a loose stone among the sands.¡±

    Quing Da¡¯s expression tightened. ¡°My lady, we must be off. But first we must see to the bodies, lest the madman so eager for conquest realize just how close his prey is to capture.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle that,¡± Alex said, quickly darting from corpse to corpse, until only a few splatters of blood remained, quickly absorbed by the thirsty sands, and it was as if the Silver-tier thugs had never been.

    ¡°Well, that takes care of that,¡± Alex said brightly. ¡°Now, shall we get going? I¡¯m guessing Wanshi is some distance away, and there¡¯s getting there in the nick of time like heroes¡­ or getting there too late for anything but a tragic ending.¡± Alex winced at the haunted looks this earned him. ¡°Okay, sorry. That hit too close to home. Let¡¯s look at the bright side! You¡¯re free, you have a water core, now let¡¯s get going while the going¡¯s good!¡±

    The pair of wujen exchanged looks before catching Sunlay¡¯s eyes. She gave the slightest of nods, earning a pair of resigned bows. ¡°At once, Your Grace.¡± Alex could sense Sunlay¡¯s wince as her cousins gave what was no doubt a well-conditioned answer. Though it was nothing he hadn¡¯t already suspected, Alex keeping his gaze at the beautiful star-filled night sky, pretending he hadn¡¯t heard a thing.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Sunlay said with a smile. ¡°I already know you know. Now come. Let me show you something that will ignite a spark of wonder even in someone as remarkable as you.¡±

    Alex smirked, meeting Sunlay¡¯s gaze, before his eyes widened with genuine awe as he looked upon the exquisitely woven rug covered in a collage of harmonious abstract designs absolutely saturated with Wind Qi as the whole thing began to float in the air.

    ¡°Are you serious? An actual flying rug? You have this?¡±

    Nili chuckled. ¡°Finally, something that impresses you! Well, come on, hero. In case it wasn¡¯t obvious, there¡¯s no way we would have had any chance of exploring multiple rifts in time to save our home if we lacked any means of transport faster than a trade caravan. And thank all that is merciful that those thugs were too stupid to realize just how much of a prize this rug truly is.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but nod as he slowly crawled on to the rug, smiling with awed bemusement when the entire thing began to rise, feeling more like sitting on a water bed than anything else as the rug floated higher and higher in the air.

    ¡°Be careful, Zichen. We don¡¯t want to fly too high right now, and we want to be well out of sight of Xien Tang and his men!¡± Sunlay urged, earning a curt nod from her wujen and suddenly they were off, racing along the desert stands parallel to the trade road so clearly visible even a hundred feet up by starlight.

    Alex closed his eyes and sent an anxious Linnea a final, heartfelt message before saluting his friends with the silver chalice a laughing Quing Da handed him.

    ¡°To honored friends and fortuitous encounters!¡± Quing Da declared as they drank, everyone¡¯s eyes alight with the sheer joy and wonder of being alive after having escaped what had no doubt seemed certain doom.

    Alex then took his ease, enjoying the sweet fermented drink with dates and honey as he gazed at the starry heavens above while they raced past the dunes below at breathtaking speed. He couldn¡¯t help but laugh for the sheer joy of having survived certain peril before ascending straight to Silver, now reveling in the feel of strength and potency flowing through him. And though he was all but certain that the next leg of his journey with his boon companions would be filled with peril, he savored this halcyon moment of friendship and camaraderie, eager for the adventure to come.

 Book 9 - Chapter 6

    ¡°Look, there¡¯s Wanshi below, Alex. Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡±

    Alex¡¯s lips curved into a gentle grin before Sunlay¡¯s bubbly enthusiasm, her relief and excitement palpable as her home was finally in sight. It was another beautiful caldera sparkling like a jewel in the endless desert sands as their magical carpet soared across the deep blue cloudless sky after a full day¡¯s travel, the sun¡¯s warm rays reflecting off the lake at the heart of the bulwark against the baron wastes, though Alex couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brow. Because if the dearth of crops and the distance from the surrounding buildings of white sandstone on the lip of the caldera was anything to go by, their lake had shrunken considerably from what it had once been before.

    And that wasn¡¯t the only troubling sign.

    ¡°My lady, those bandits are ambushing a caravan!¡± Zichen hissed, pointing a distance along the eerily straight desert road, in that regard at least, it was no different from any of the grand highways that he suspected were ley lines as much as anything else, crossing the Golden Realms, surprisingly free of the sand that otherwise streamed through the desert. Just as the roads bisecting the great forests were free of all growth, for all that the lush canopy of trees spreading out on either sides of the road would do wonders for keeping caravanners cool and comfortable. Not so here, where the road provided no shelter from the suns rays... or the eyes of bandits.

    Quing Da cursed. ¡°My lady, that¡¯s no bandit hoard!¡±

    Alex frowned, realizing that the Silver Giant was right. For all that the caravan was desperately trying to circle and defend with crossbows and spears, the attackers had sprung up from camouflage with fast desert ponies, weapons instantly at the ready.

    They moved with the grace and deadly efficiency of experienced soldiers, many of whom had clearly broken through to Bronze.

    Alex¡¯s senses seemed to sharpen, taking in every detail of a distant cold-eyed soldier expertly darting under a caravanner¡¯s panicked lunge before skewering the man with a wicked thrust of his dao. And there was no mistaking the nature of the caravan being struck.

    ¡°That¡¯s a grain caravan,¡± Quing Da said with a curse. ¡°It¡¯s a calculated assault to starve and isolate us. It must be!¡±

    Alex¡¯s heart began to pound. ¡°Alright, take us down, now!¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡± Sunlay¡¯s voice hitched, an anxious plea in her eyes, and Alex already knew what she was going to say.

    ¡°Alex, we need to get the water core to my father as soon as possible! For all we know, this is just one prong of a multifaceted approach. They could be trying to pressure him even now for access to our city!¡±

    Alex clenched his jaw, but he couldn¡¯t deny that she had an excellent point. ¡°Alright. Go on ahead. We¡¯re still party linked. I¡¯ll catch up with you later.¡±

    Sunlay¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Alex we don¡¯t dare sto¡ª¡±

    Her words cut off with a disbelieving cry when Alex leaped off the side of the rug, summoning his Fangtian Ji as he glared down at the too disciplined band of soldiers taking orders from a man crackling with a wujen¡¯s might from the rear.

    The Wind he now embraced so easily as he swooped down like a bird of prey kept no secrets from him, not even from this distance. He could now make out the desperate screams and cries of the caravanners, and the barked out orders from the smug faced asshole with scarred cheeks and crimson scaled armor revealed when his dark cloak was blown back by the desert winds. Alex¡¯s eyes widened in dismay.

    There could be no doubt.

    They were the Red Prince¡¯s colors, even if everyone else was wearing the local armor.

    ¡°Strike them down, all of them! No slave collars and no survivors!¡± The wujen roared, sneering his contempt for the desperately struggling caravanners, before cursing his fury when one of their number actually managed to put up a swirling Sand ward.

    ¡°A desert charlatan would dare to match arts with me? You will pay the ultimate price, fool!¡± The sneering wujen declared, before erupting in an explosive flash that momentarily froze the entire company of soldiers as half a dozen screamed and collapsed as lightning blasted them off their feet.

    You have successfully embraced Wind Walking! You are now flying faster than any falcon!

    Your foes fail to sense your presence.

    Piercing Strike has synergized with Storm Strike to EFFORTLESSLY rupture all enemy wards!

    Storm Strike has successfully OBLITERATED enemy Wujen!

    Experience earned!

    Lightning Blast has struck an additional 6 hostile soldiers marked: Enemy Reds!

    You have stunned 2 Bronze tier cultivators.

    You have slain 4 Basic tier cultivators.

    Rank 4 Potency Mastery is now in effect! You enjoy 4 Qi Recovery per second for 240 seconds!

    The air cracked with the boom of thunder as thought became action, Alex now blitzing cross the gap between the shredded remains of the wujen and the scores of soldiers ruthlessly attacking the desperately defending caravanners. Which meant that all their focus was on their would-be victims, not the roaring monster tearing into their flanks, Alex¡¯s crackling fangtian ji, tearing through flesh, bone, and steel as effortlessly as the dirk of the chortling soldier just ahead tore into a screaming child¡¯s abdomen, just a heartbeat before Alex sent the would-be killer to hell.

    ¡°Tan! We¡¯re being attacked!¡± Cried the closest of the soldiers, finally cognizant of the threat that had torn through their flanks. Yet the looks of alarm and furious resolve as dozens of distracted soldiers turned their focus to the new threat meant nothing to Alex, his ears ringing with the desperate sobs of a mother cradling her mortally wounded child.

    Despair turned to fury as the blood pounded through his veins.

    ¡°There he is! Ruidian gem master! Kill hi¡ª¡± Words grew tinny and slow as Alex tore into his prey, Rank 2 Silver Quickness and Rank 10 in multiple martial skills allowing him to weave past furious thrusts and sweeping blows that would have been a fearsome thing to face for any mortal soldier. But now it was as if they embraced the moves of a carefully choreographed dance. Desperately swung swords missing by inches while plunging spears kissed nothing but air before the air rang with the sheering screech of steel tiles exploding in showers of blood. Faces filled with cold disdain slowly morphed into expressions of consternation, then fear before the monstrous speed cultivator effortlessly tearing through their ranks.

    ¡°He¡¯s a monster. He¡¯s not human!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a desert spirit! Run!¡±

    The words meant nothing. Nothing compared to the sobs and laments of the surviving caravanners, so many cut down so ruthlessly in just the handful of seconds it had taken Alex to fall from the heavens. And if these MOTHERFUCKERS thought he would just let them flee¡­

    ¡°No, no, leave me be! Leave me be!¡± Shrieked one wide-eyed soldier, freed of both helm and dao as he stumbled through the desert sands that pitilessly sucked at his leather boots as he stumbled to the ground with a panicked cry. He desperately scurried back to his feet before blanching back in horrified dismay to see the wild-eyed Ruidian covered in spattered gore, holding a massive fangtian ji drenched in blood.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me! Please!¡±

    The blond-hair executioner¡¯s cold lips twisted in a bitter smile. ¡°Wow. The very same words the caravanners were screaming before you assholes began slaughtering them.¡±

    The soldier froze, eyes widening in horrified dismay. ¡°No, wait, you don¡¯t have to do this! I could serve you. Pledge my life to¡ª¡± His words were cut off in a shower of shattered steel, ruptured organs, and blood.

    You have successfully bisected your opponent! Experience earned!

    ¡°Fu Tan! Strong resistance! Get your ass over here and deal with it!¡±

    Alex¡¯s lips stretched in a fierce rictus as the grizzled voice of a sergeant filled the air, and he could sense it. The weight and pressure of Silver.

    Good.

    He spun around to catch sight of a giant of a man radiating power dwarfing all the other soldiers present, quickly surging up from the sands as the surviving soldiers all gave relieved shouts, pumping their fists.

    ¡°You show that bastard, Fu Tan!¡±

    ¡°Bring me his head!¡± The grizzled sergeant with his salt-and-pepper beard and hooded gaze roared, jabbing a crooked finger a smirking Alex¡¯s way.

    ¡°With pleasure!¡± Roared the giant seven foot Strength cultivator now lumbering forward, wielding a massive obsidian hammer in one hand, devouring a roasted pig in the other. He glared at Alex as spittle and food sprayed from his cavernous maw.

    ¡°You interrupted my meal, fucker! And for that, you¡¯ll pay!¡±

    And suddenly in a move so fast that it clearly caught the entire regiment by surprise when the pig abruptly disappeared, replaced by a whirling shield of stone as the man roared and raced forward, the ground suddenly as hard as granite beneath his feet as the clearly Earth aligned warrior able to harness spiritual energy in ways few body cultivators could, lashing out with his hammer and striking the ground Alex had been standing upon in an explosion of sand and stone shrapnel.

    The man smirked, clearly feeling no need for a direct hit. It was a Silver-tier killing blow radiating the potency of Avalanche that would have no doubt proven lethal to any number of would-be opponents.

    ¡°You got him, Fu Tan!¡± Cheered one of the soldiers as the air was filled with sand and grit.

    ¡°Make that Ruidian pay!¡± hooted another, the entire regiment celebrating the kill, their relieved laughter and excited shouts an awful counterpoint to the panicked sobs and pain-filled moans of the caravanners themselves.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Yet when the dust cleared even Fu Tan was furrowing his brow, gazing down where he struck. ¡°Doesn¡¯t make sense. I¡¯ve killed dozens with that technique. There should at least be traces of¡­¡±

    A smirking Alex, positioned right behind the man, chose that moment to clap.

    ¡°Nice one, Fu Tan! Let me guess, you¡¯re an Earth aligned Body Cultivator who found a path that lets you enhance Strength and Speed, am I right? Because that was at least Rank 1 Silver Quickness and that blitz attack might have caught even me off guard a while back.¡± Alex chuckled into the disbelieving silence before his mocking grin turned hard as ice. ¡°But that¡¯s the thing about life. It¡¯s all about choices. I chose to get stronger, you chose to attack a caravan full of innocent traders. Now we get to see how all our choices play out.¡±

    The seven foot giant hissed, before spinning around with a snarl, his obsidian hammer radiating crushing energies Alex knew he¡¯d be an absolute fool to let himself be struck by, so he didn¡¯t.

    ¡°You think to mock me, worm? You won¡¯t be the first Speed Cultivator I¡¯ve faced!¡±

    Alex cracked his neck, fangtian ji in hand as the desert wind whipped back his blond locks, tricorn hat and cloak safely stored away once more. ¡°That may be, but I promise you I¡¯ll be your last.¡±

    Fu Tan furrowed his impressive brow. ¡°What?¡±

    Find Weakness skill check made!

    Soul Sight Perception check successful! You sense the flaws in your opponent¡¯s technique!

    Golden Realms & Wind Crane Kung Fu have been fully synergized.

    You have mastered the bind!

    Fu Tan¡¯s eyes bulged in disbelief as Alex effortlessly trapped his furiously descending hammer, Wind somehow countering the massive weight of Earth that had gone into the blow, sending the hammer flying as impossibly sharp steel kissed the man¡¯s forearms now covered in his own blood. Even if the surprisingly resilient Silver tier monster as too tough for Alex to cleave right through bone without using advanced techniques.

    ¡°No, impossible!¡± Fu Tan roared, glaring at Alex as if he had committed some monstrous affront.

    Alex¡¯s smile grew. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not done yet.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re damn right, we aren¡¯t! Spirits of the Ea¡ª¡±

    ¡°BLACK SWAN!¡±

    The look on Fu Tan¡¯s bloated face was one of utter confusion when Alex¡¯s fangtian ji, now howling with a swirling storm of Wind, Water, and Dark Qi-infused Steel, tore through the giant¡¯s Earth infused bones as if they were glass.

    Rank 9 Black Swan has been boosted by MULTIPLE modifiers! Your fangtian ji successfully cleaves through all Silver tier Defenses!

    ¡°You cut through Fu Tan as if he were nothing!¡± The man giving sergeant vibes that Alex took for their de facto commander now that the wujen was dead, declared. ¡°No Ruidian cur should have that kind of power! You¡¯re an abomination! An affront to the gods and the natural order!¡±

    Alex chuckled coldly. ¡°So says the soldiers playing at bandits, happy to slaughter innocent caravanners just so they can expand their cold-blooded master¡¯s power.¡±

    The man¡¯s face twisted in helpless fury. ¡°Kill him! Kill that monstrous abomination! Follow my lead, men, we strike now!¡± He roared, drawing his own dao and charging right for Alex, his men roaring in concert, joining his charge.

    Artificer skill check successful!

    Alex flashed a bleak smile even as he prepared to meet his enemies¡¯ charge, not at all bothered when the sergeant seemed to get lost in the swarm of soldiers. Soldiers that Alex wasn¡¯t even considerate enough to let surround him, instead coldly picking them off one by one as furious shouts were met by singing steel and the clang of split helms, the crunch of shattered bronze and steel tiles, and the screams that came from disemboweled torsos and cleaved limbs. All of it forged into a dark dirge of exquisite complexity, a song that could have only one end.

    The final notes were put off only for seconds when the final dozen soldiers, sensing just how precarious their own odds were before the blood spattered Ruidian now striding atop the mound of corpses he had wrought of their men, all broke ranks and ran.

    Only to collapse in agonized screams as they crumpled to the sands, their spines shattered with blows of Alex¡¯s furious fist.

    Shadow Qi affinity enhanced Perception check made.

    You successfully spot your prey!

    Alex allowed himself a tiny smile as he flew just above the desperately running man who thought himself camouflaged so well by a cloak that perfectly matched the sand. Though Alex felt the anxious weight of the imperiled caravan behind him, he needed to be sure.

    The tension he felt at wasted time turned to anticipation when he spotted the odd looking dune just ahead, before realizing it made sense. A company so skilled at striking from camouflage no doubt had both scout and commander outposts similarly set up, and this was apparently such a one when a flap abruptly opened, revealing a saturnine featured man with a half-sneer on a face that screamed Yidushian pureblood.

    ¡°What are you doing here, fool? You¡¯re breaking proto¡ª¡± The wujen¡¯s words died out when he got a good look at the panicked sergeant¡¯s face.

    ¡°We were ambushed, Captain. We have to get out of here, now!¡±

    The captain¡¯s eyes flashed. ¡°Control yourself, Erlu, and tell me the nature of this threat! How many men were present? Were they wearing the city¡¯s colors?¡±

    ¡°No, Captain. It was a lone Ruidian.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The air grew chill with the wujen¡¯s clear disapproval.

    ¡°Sir, he fought like a monster! Commanding storms of lightning, striking us with a magical fangtian ji, moving so fast I couldn¡¯t even see him.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why I assigned you Fu Tan,¡± the captain said acidly. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you were too cowardly to kick him out of his food stupor?¡±

    Erlu trembled. ¡°Fu Tan¡¯s dead¡­ sir.¡±

    The wujen¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Impossible. With his earth affinities and resilience? There¡¯s no way any mere elementalist could have¡­¡±

    ¡°He was cleaved in half. Sir.¡±

    The captain froze, gazing at the sergeant with desperate intensity. ¡°And the culprit was one Ruidian, you said. Tell me, soldier. Was his hair blond, by any chance?¡±

    The man jerked a nod. ¡°That is correct, Captain.¡±

    But the wujen had already turned around. ¡°This changes things. You will gather the survivors and hold your position here. I¡¯ll bring word to the city contingent.¡±

    ¡°But sir, everyone else is dead!¡± The suddenly panicked sergeant screamed, but the Captain was already putting distance between them, flying for all he was worth.

    A part of Alex wanted to laugh in cynical mirth at the pristine act of cowardice being shown, an officer desperately fleeing the scene, his troops seen as no more than stumbling blocks to their own personal safety. But most of him was filled with horrified dismay, because now there could be no doubt. These soldiers were identical to Dongfang Hong¡¯s troops in every way. Even if it was troubling to realize that, unlike what had been the case in his most recently past incarnation, his foes had at least a sense of what he looked like.

    Because a certain bitter hand was no longer in play. Or at least¡­ suspended.

    Which meant, if he was very, very lucky, that he was free of a certain dark game and the spite and ire of those so much more powerful than him. So long as he forbore from certain acts. So long as he toed an unspoken line. Everything that had happened so far, even word of his actions on the desert sands, could have easily spread even this far in the time he had been here.

    So long as he embraced this new life and made sure never to directly cross certain enemies from the one he had left behind.

    The Sergeant flinched when the air flashed with the crack and boom of thunder and lightning, expression unreadable as a coldly smiling Alex slowly floated down before him.

    The older man crashed to his knees and bowed his head, knowing that his time was at an end. Still, the words he sobbed through clenched teeth were filled with furious dismay.

    ¡°You butchered him. Our captain, the dread bane of a dozen battlefields, slaughtered like he was nothing!¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°I had the drop on both of you and came in at him from the sun¡¯s angle. Since I can¡¯t Bullrush through the desert or air this time around, I couldn¡¯t take the risk that he¡¯d outmaneuver me with his flying boots and pepper me with who knows how many spells he might have had at his disposal. So embracing the element of surprise and taking out his self-destruct collar with Piercing Strike seemed like the most expedient way to get rid of any backlash. Even if the collar¡¯s location meant that I had to decapitate the bastard to do so.¡±

    He bent down to peer intently into the eyes of the trembling sergeant gazing up at him with helpless dismay. He might have been corrupt, but he was no fool. He had to know what it meant, that Alex was willing to speak of such matters so freely.

    Thus, Alex¡¯s next words came as quite a surprise.

    ¡°So, this is where you come in, Erlu. Congratulations. You¡¯re the last man standing. If you¡¯d like to keep it that way, you¡¯ll answer my questions.¡±

    Erlu¡¯s eyes widened with sudden hope that quickly died off with a bitter chuckle. ¡°Then I suppose it¡¯s time for me to fall beside my men. For I will answer none of your questions, no matter how desperately I wish to flee these desert sands for all time.¡±

    Alex furrowed his brow. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not from around here at all? I mean, the armor was a dead giveaway that a certain asshole¡¯s influence has spread pretty damn far and wide, but I would have thought your master was training local troops.¡±

    The soldier blanched, before giving a furious shake of his head. ¡°I have nothing to say to you.¡±

    Alex nodded solemnly, before whispering in the man¡¯s ear. ¡°Because Dongfang Hong had you forcefully bound to serve him via an infernal contract. Didn¡¯t he?¡±

    The man lurched back in horror when Alex dropped him back to the desert sands. ¡°No. There is no way you could know that. No way!¡±

    ¡°Are the rank and file similarly doomed? Or is it still just his officers and noncoms?¡±

    His foe flashed a bitter smile. ¡°As if you cared.¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Believe what you like.¡±

    ¡°Are you going kill me now?¡±

    ¡°That depends,¡± Alex said, tossing the man a water flask Erlu drank from greedily. ¡°I know you can¡¯t reveal anything about the Red Prince, but maybe you can tell me what hmm¡­ lets say, changes a visitor to Wanshi city could expect?¡±

    His grizzled opponent froze, breath turning ragged as he dared allow a flicker of desperate hope to mar his stoic countenance, before giving a slow nod.

    ¡°Yes¡­ this¡­ this I could say. New travelers should be careful coming to Wanshi. Especially traders. The roads are no longer safe. And all that will pass just as soon as the royal family authorizes exclusive trading rights with Zuihaoshi merchants.¡±

    Alex flashed a cynical smile. ¡°Exclusive trading rights made all the sweeter as a tributary state?¡±

    The man flashed a sickly smile. ¡°Certainly it is true that any good protectorate would honor the fiduciary interests of their¡­ benefactor.¡±

    Soul Sight Perception Check made! You sense the irony before you!

    Alex nodded. ¡°Thank you. And for what it¡¯s worth¡­ I don¡¯t think you or your men have to worry about damnation, save for the decades of purgatory you¡¯ll be enduring when your souls is scrubbed free of all the sin you accrued in the final hour of your lives.¡±

    The sergeant blinked. ¡°But I was bound. We all were!¡±

    Alex flashed a cynical smile. ¡°Recruiting and maintaining the loyalty of native soldiers is a lot different than forcefully recruiting the elites of a neighboring nation. Hao Zei is dead, and it¡¯s far cheaper to make a man believe he¡¯s bound to sin than to actually pay the cost in infernalist time and effort to make it so.¡±

    The man blinked, gazing at Alex with wonder, as if he had just gotten a new lease on life. ¡°That means I¡¯m free!¡±

    Alex nodded, before moving so fast he was an exercise in explosive power before the exhausted soldier could even form a smile.

    ¡°Free to start your next life without all the nightmares of this one tormenting you all your days,¡± Alex said as he took to the skies and raced to Wanshi for all he was worth.

    His already distant form was glimpsed for a final agonized moment by the doomed head as it toppled to the ground in a shower of crimson rain, and how fitting it was that the sergeant¡¯s final sight before roaring blackness consumed him was the glassy-eyed stare of the decapitated wujen who had ordered the ruthless slaughter of all the caravanners they ambushed in the first place, before trying to flee the blond-haired Ruidian just minutes before. Most surprising of all, the doomed wujen was still alive, barely, eyes gyrating as his mouth gulped for air in a silent scream right before he faded into the blackness alongside his sergeant, the doomed pair now walking in perfect step as they embraced the ice cold waters together. The screams of the innocent women and children they had struck denied them the mercy of warmer currents or rest. They were forced to endure in perfect wakefulness the agonies of their own bitter cleansing until they were reborn once more.

 Book 9 - Chapter 7

    ¡°Please, husband. Hold still or you¡¯ll lose your arm!¡±

    Alex¡¯s hasty flight became a careful glide back down to the desert sands as he noticed his friends tending to the wounded caravanners. For all that his heart broke to see so many grieving families, he felt a sense of relief as well that the casualties hadn¡¯t been far worse. Yet for every caravanner who had gotten off with the lightest of injuries, spear thrusts to limbs that hadn¡¯t pricked deep enough to critically injure or kill before their assault was interrupted, there was an equal number who had been grievously wounded with the first blow the raiders had inflicted.

    Alex¡¯s gaze then fell upon all those groaning and writhing in obvious pain, being tended to by none other than Nili, Zichen, and Sunlay. For all that Alex understood the need for sharp priorities in these final hours when an entire city skirted peril, he couldn¡¯t help but be grateful that, in the end, his friends had decided to back him up. Even after all they had been through. All the while Nili and the others focused on healing, her husband and the male wujen Anjen stood careful sentinel over them beside them.

    Alex frowned, noting that Quing Da¡¯s guandao was covered in gore. Alex took a moment to truly taking in the killing field that was the desert sands sprayed with blood, gore, and fallen bodies. And not all of them had been struck down by the bull-stopping thrusts and cleaving blows of his fangtian ji, either. Enough of the disguised soldiers bore the telltale sweeping slashes of Quing Da¡¯s favored weapon to make it painfully clear that Alex hadn¡¯t cleared the battlefield nearly as well as he had thought, even if the caravanners still had armed men of their own.

    Yet it was those stalwart defenders who were the most grievously wounded, the closest to death, who had been triaged to receive care last of all. His friends were focusing on the patients they could hopefully save, not on those who would heal on their own or were beyond whatever healing aid they could give.

    Alex¡¯s features tightened when he saw that armed caravanners weren¡¯t the only ones who had been mortally wounded. A mother was sobbing over her shuddering child, tiny hands unable to hold back the blue grey streams of intestines spurting from the mortal wound. Alex couldn¡¯t suppress his horrified shudder, recognizing the soft brown eyes of the very girl he had been just a heartbeat too late to save. His ears then caught a dying gasp, spotting a dark skinned Ruidian woman with an ochre jewel upon her sweat-covered brow, perhaps she was the one who had guarded the caravan with a storm of sand and wind. Yet now the only wind was the breeze rustling Alex¡¯s brow as the fallen jewel master¡¯s eyes went wide with oncoming death, her breathing rapidly fading to a dying wheeze.

    ¡°Fan!¡± The mother sobbed, tears splashing upon her daughter¡¯s dying cheeks, before she instinctively looked up at the presence looming over her covered in gore, radiating fearsome potency, and holding out salvation in his hands.

    ¡°May I?¡± The only words Alex had time for, immediately acting as the woman just began to dip her head, knowing he had only seconds.

    Alex allowed a globe of water to form on the tip of his finger, surrounding and cleansing the grit free of burst entrails even as he gently pressed the now gathered ropes of intestine before gently forcing it into the dying child¡¯s abdominal cavity.

    For all that his gaze was tender, his grip was like steel when the little girl screamed and thrashed before shuddering as shock left her utterly breathless, her screams replaced by her mother¡¯s desperate cry. Then and only then did Alex dare to place a few calibrated drops from the crimson vile he had claimed from the silver tier wujen he had so recently decapitated. A potion whose potency Alex knew all too well.

    If anything, the child¡¯s thrashing grew more desperate before she finally collapsed in her mother¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Fan!¡± The mother screamed in despair before horrified sorrow turned to a look of wonder as her child opened her eyes, gazing with wonder at the gut wound that was now no more than an ugly pink scare.

    ¡°Mommy?¡±

    Alex could spare no time for the woman¡¯s joyful sobs, immediately turning to the Ruidian that even now he sensed slipping away with her dying breath.

    Alex gazed into amber eyes the same shade as her jewel that had known their share of bitterness, sorrow, triumph and joy. A young woman eager to find her fortune as a delver and to honor her clan, making the smart choice to earn coin while embracing safety in numbers by escorting a caravan all the way to Wanshi.

    The final flickering thoughts of a dying woman, that was jolted to horrified awareness when a blood covered palm smacked against her forehead and claimed her for all time.

    Slave Node successfully accessed.

    You have successfully formed a party with Rachel Lu!

    Warning! Detrimental neural cascades are in effect. Neural matrices must be stabilized within 17 seconds or party member will be lost!

    Current party members have participated in shared experience point accrual. Inter-party experience points may be freely exchanged and manipulated!

    You have authorized RESTORE TO SAVE STATE.

    You have successfully directed claimed potency of Slave Node Lu0866.

    Additional potency needed.

    You have successfully channeled personal potency into Lu0866.

    Party member¡¯s neural matrix has been successfully stabilized!

    The air filled with a woman¡¯s high pitched scream as Rachel Lu stumbled to her feet in wide-eyed horror, her eyes darting around with animal-like terror that immediately muted to confusion then exhausted sobs moments later.

    Alex gave the confused and clearly shaken young woman his gentlest smile, solemnly passing her a fresh water flask. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    She blinked, lurching back for an eye-blink before furrowing her brow in confusion, as if having no idea why she would be horrified of him¡­ before taking in with growing dismay the carnage all around them.

    ¡°What by all the desert sands happened?¡±

    She had a soft, husky voice that Alex thought suited her slender form. Her skin was darker than most Ruidians, even those belonging to this desert. Her complexion, high cheekbones, and epicanthic folds made her look far more like a true-blood native than a Ruidian, to the point she could have easily passed as a native, save for the jewel sparkling proudly and brightly in the center of her forehead that she made no effort to hide.

    Alex grinned. In truth now that the fear of a death forever erased from her psyche had passed, her twinkling amber eyes were filled with genuine curiosity and a joy of life, her healthy physique radiating a vibrancy that made it clear her clan¡¯s liberal intermingling of bloodlines had been to their most definite benefit.

    ¡°Exactly what it looks like. An ambush.¡± Alex gazed fondly at the little girl he had saved, now wrapped in the tender arms of her teary-eyed mother. Only then, after finding solace in the two lives he had already saved, did he force himself to examine the other critically wounded, ignoring the merely mildly injured, for all that they were now looking his way with an odd mixture of both fear and wonder.

    ¡°Fortunately the good guys won, and the raiders paid the ultimate price.¡±

    The young Ruidian¡¯s lips pressed tightly together, pert features furrowing as she rubbed her temple. ¡°Why? Why can¡¯t I remember anything?¡± She shook her head in dismay as Alex rapidly made his way to a grizzled caravanner who looked just seconds away from dying.

    ¡°Timon!¡±

    The grizzled caravanner, hands holding his own entrails as he wheezed for agonized breath, flashed a weary smile the panicked Ruidian woman¡¯s way. ¡°Don¡¯t be lookin¡¯ so crestfallen, Rachel. That Sand ward of yours brought us the time we needed. Time for help to arrive. You did good, girl.¡±

    Rachel blinked in confusion, clearly not remembering a thing. ¡°Timon, hold on, we¡¯ll get you to a healer! We¡¯re less than a mile from the city¡­ aren¡¯t we?¡±

    This earned a rueful chuckle, the man not bothering to resist when Alex effortlessly ripped open the ragged jack of bronze plates that hadn¡¯t done nearly enough to protect the old caravan guard, exposing the ugly wound it hid.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s a bit late for that, girlie. But at least I skewered the bastard who did this to¡­ By Long Wang¡¯s Hammer, what are you doing?¡±

    The man¡¯s words cut off as his eyes rolled back, Alex effortlessly holding the man¡¯s sturdy limbs as he bucked and thrashed while Alex methodically gathered the man¡¯s spilled entrails, cleaned them in a fresh ball of pristine water he formed, and shoved it all in the gaping abdominal wound¡­ before sprinkling a handful of drops from a crimson healing potion that Alex was determined to use as sparingly as possible.

    Two gut wounds in under ten minutes. Alex guessed he was glad he wasn¡¯t getting any snarky interface messages, for all that such were one of the few types of wounds where the victim would suffer for an extended time period, even if there was little that most save the supremely gifted, or resourceful, could do to save them.

    Yet save them both Alex was determined to do, even if he had to hold his patient down while Timon screamed and thrashed, before he finally collapsed with an exhausted sob, gazing down at his own puckered scar with awed disbelief before turning his gaze up to Alex with a look of hope and reverence that made Alex wince.

    ¡°Honored hero, thank you! Thank you for my life! Please forgive my ah, bloody hells!¡±

    The man paled and groaned.

    Alex frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Alright, even with my pretreatment, cleaning, and shoving everything back in place, an adult needs more than a couple drops of tincture. Noted. Open your mouth, please?¡±

    Timon blinked in momentary confusion.

    ¡°Timon, he¡¯s clearly a healer! Open your mouth!¡± Rachel urged.

    Timon did so, whereupon Alex sprinkled three additional drops of his crimson tincture, and the poor caravanner collapsed and began to shudder and groan.

    Alex frowned. Because with only a single Meridian open, Alex knew that using it had been a risk. Yet after a few seconds a shaky, exhausted looking Timon opened his eyes, took a deep shuddering breath, and laughed for joy. ¡°It¡¯s gone. The pain is gone!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± Alex allowed with a gentle smile, carefully putting away the precious potion he was wise enough to use very sparingly, clearly being intended for far stronger cultivators of Bronze or Silver, at least those with fully intact Meridian configurations, even if only a couple people in every thousand of the general population normally enjoyed such.

    His hopeful gaze then turned to tightly pursed lips, concealing his dismay. Because of the critically injured he hadn¡¯t gotten to yet, there were only a pair of corpses, glassy-eyed men who had suffered grievous injuries before completely bleeding out upon the desert sands.

    The young Ruidian woman smiled up at Alex, her hand gently reaching to squeeze his own. ¡°Thank you. My name¡¯s Rachel, by the way,¡± She said.

    Alex smiled. ¡°Alex. Happy to help.¡±

    Rachel¡¯s amber eyes peered intently into his own. She inhaled as if to ask a question, before abruptly lowering her gaze. ¡°We were fighting for our lives, and I don¡¯t remember a single thing. I think that means¡­¡± She trembled, squeezing her arms. ¡°My father once told me that the most elite delving groups can form such a communion that they can use the potency of their kills to heal almost any wound. Even those of their teammates who have fallen, if they act in time. But I¡¯m all alone out here. Foolish. And here you are, a Ruidian boy who doesn¡¯t look like anyone I¡¯ve ever met before. Not from my clan, which is hardly a clan at all now, and not from the neighboring tribes that all look down on us, even if I can use my jewel as well as anyone just starting out.¡± She sighed, and Alex totally wasn¡¯t expecting her to lean against him, her hand now entwining with his own, or the curious scents of cinnamon, cardamon and hope that tingled against his nostrils.

    ¡°I owe you a life-debt, don¡¯t I?¡±

    Alex solemnly shook his head. ¡°You owe me nothing at all.¡± He lifted his head to meet Nili¡¯s awkward grimace while Sunlay tended to a wounded guardsman, revealing talents Alex certainly hadn¡¯t expected, but perhaps should have, in a Water-aligned noblewoman. ¡°I was traveling with friends, and we caught sight of raiders far too focused on what they thought was easy prey to spot us at their back. Between your stalwart defenders and our own men,¡± he said with a nod to his companions including Anjen and Quing Da who solemnly nodded back, looking oddly relieved for some reason. ¡°We made short work of those assholes.¡±

    Timmon snorted at this. ¡°You make it sound like it was as easy as filling your plate with bread. There were Bronze-tier monsters amongst that crew!¡± The man paled, wincing at the memory of death narrowly avoided. ¡°It didn¡¯t matter how well positioned we were or how bravely we fought, those monsters just tore right through us!¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°Have you not felt my friend¡¯s presence yet?¡± He said, nodding towards Quing Da whose expression turned rueful when Timmon¡¯s eyes widened with awe.

    ¡°I can feel it, even from here! And his size¡­ by Zheng Yi¡¯s beard, is that man actually a Silver?¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°Do you really think these ragamuffins stood a chance?¡±

    The rank 1 Basic, still enough of a cultivator to at least sense and understand a Silver¡¯s potency, rapidly shook his head. ¡°Not with a man of his caliber coming to our rescue.¡± He took a shuddering breath, gazing intently at a still smiling Alex. ¡°Or you.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Me?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Rachel gazed up at him, eyes twinkling merrily. ¡°You radiate potency I can all but taste in the air, for all that I see no jewel upon your forehead at all,¡± she said, lips curving in wonder as delicate fingers brushed his naked brow, earning an unexpected shiver.

    He stepped back abruptly. ¡°Forgive me, I believe my friends will want us to get going before nightfall. All things considered¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Timmon quickly agreed, looking at the vast empty desert all around them with a worried light in his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a miracle so few of us fell, all things considered. We¡¯d be fools not to take full advantage of this blessing and seek the shelter of Wanshi¡¯s pristine walls before the hour grows any later.¡±

    Alex smiled and dipped his head, pretending he didn¡¯t see the odd questioning look in both their gazes as he quickly made his way to Quing Da.

    ¡°Good to see you,¡± he softly said, nodding in approval at the corpses by the powerfully built Silver¡¯s feet.

    Instead of returning his smile, Quing Da solemnly bowed his head, Anjen¡¯s cheeks actually heating up as he looked away.

    ¡°Guys?¡±

    Quing Da sighed, a powerful hand gently clapping Alex¡¯s shoulder. Yet his words were kind enough. ¡°It¡¯s good to have a light in the darkness traveling by our side. One who can remind us of the righteous path, when it is all too easy to go astray¡± he softly said, earning a bemused snort from Alex.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m not even going to pretend to know what that means, but I say we do what we can to get the caravan organized and safely trading its wares within Wanshi¡¯s walls before it gets any later than it already has.¡±

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Quing Da nodded his agreement, catching his wife¡¯s eye. Nili immediately shifted gears from reassuring the despondent looking man dressed in rich silk and dyed leather who was obviously the own of the caravan to cajoling him for immediate action.

    Much to Alex¡¯s relief, it appeared that of all those injured in the original seconds of the blitzkrieg assault, only three had expired to their wounds. Everyone else was either healed, on their way to recovering, or suffering only superficial wounds already cleaned and treated with liniments.

    In truth, Alex was surprised that his companions didn¡¯t break away to make use of their carpet once the camels were soothed, stirrups and saddles straightened, and the wagons were once more making their plodding way to the cit. Yet he was content as anyone to enjoy a peaceful hour¡¯s meditative walking, electing not to sit on any of the raised seats or wagon beds, despite being offered his choice of seats. He had always found it far easier to meditate or distract himself with motion than stillness, and there was something to be said for a meditative walk under the waning light with the cool desert breeze now brushing against his skin.

    ¡°Thank you, Alex.¡±

    He blinked, not expecting Sunlay to be matching him stride for stride, let alone peering at him so intently, the rest of their band a respectful distance back.

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°For reminding me of what truly matters.¡± She bit her lip, cheeks flushing underneath her dusky complexion. ¡°I was so busy thinking of the big picture, and yes¡­ if I¡¯m going to be honest, still feeling the sting of helplessness, powerlessness, and that collar that had been around my neck less than a day ago. And I¡¯d be lying to myself if I didn¡¯t admit that it was fear as much as prudence that held me back, making it so easy to tell myself that we had other things to worry about. And we were all getting ready to turn our focus right back to the city when you actually jumped right off the carpet hundreds of feet in the air.¡± She shook her head with wonder. ¡°For a half-second, I feared the worst, before remembering the odd talent that let you swoop so nobly to our rescue such a short time ago.¡±

    She gave a soft shake of her head. ¡°And what an awesome sight it was, to see that charming eccentric Ruidian boy transform into a living weapon, tearing through those vile pawns of our enemies as effortlessly as a shadow puma could tear through all our throats.¡± She shivered, eyes growing wide at her own words. ¡°At first, I felt shamed. There you were, throwing your life away like a foolish idealist embracing dreams of heroism. Then it quickly became apparent that you¡¯re the farthest thing from a fool, and a foe to be feared by anyone below Gold.¡±

    Alex awkwardly raised his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s not tempt fate. I¡¯m a Rank 1 Silver with a decent foundation. A powerful enough Silver could easily crush me, let alone a Gold-tier monster.¡±

    Sunlay chuckled softly, biting her lip as she took Alex¡¯s measure. ¡°But that¡¯s just it. You somehow managed to ascend to Silver. In what, the space of a week? A legend? A fortuitous encounter? How? In what world could anyone, even a wealthy scion with unlimited resources at his disposal, accomplish such a feat before his forties, even if he would look a perpetual twenty for centuries?¡±

    ¡°An excellent point, my lady,¡± Nili agreed with a grin, stepping free of the growing gloom as if she had been walking beside them all along. ¡°And we all saw what he did to the Wujen commander, before that fool could cast a single spell.¡±

    ¡°And that monstrous Silver Giant, who had managed to align himself to an element, in addition to infusing his body directly!¡± Sunlay declared, now peering intently at Alex¡¯s fangtian ji. ¡°And what enchantments allow your wondrous weapon to cleave through a Silver Giant¡¯s stone wards and unbreakable body so effortlessly?¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°Let¡¯s just say Fu Tan isn¡¯t the only one with strong Elemental affinities.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Sunlay quickly agreed. ¡°But to actually cut through his defenses like it was nothing!¡±

    ¡°Just requires the right infusion of Wind, Water, and Steel, among other things.¡±

    His words died off when he saw the intent looks that the pair were giving him.

    ¡°That¡¯s three elements, at least,¡± Nili calmly noted.

    ¡°Um¡­ maybe?¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m almost positive I saw you unleash lightning as well. Against an entire handful of Xien Tang¡¯s henchmen.¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Who can say?¡±

    The pair of women exchanged pointed looks.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sunlay?¡±

    She looked strangely uncertain, even anxious. ¡°Some might consider our hesitation¡­ unworthy.¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°What are you talking about? Your timing was perfect! My Wind Walking ability is basically flight and moving how I wish through the air at this point, and you all had a rug to steer. The way I see it, we did it perfectly. I struck like a hammer, Quing Da and everyone else doing their part, sweeping up all the pieces I had scattered. Fom there it was healing and helping those we could before regrouping and heading to Wanshi, only now we¡¯re up an entire caravan of valuable grain to give hope to a city full of people I¡¯m guessing have been living half-rations for at least a while¡­ and equally importantly, it gives us excellent cover, posing as mercenaries ourselves, just in case the situation in your native city¡¯s even more precarious than we had realized.¡±

    Nili gave Sunlay a pointed look. ¡°I told you this boy was no fool. Or perhaps I should say¡­ he¡¯s the best kind of fool. The kind you want on your side. Always.¡±

    ¡°Your words are more accurate than I wish to admit,¡± Sunlay said with a sigh, before her eyes brightened with her smile. ¡°But you¡¯re right. This caravan will give at least a bit of hope, and with the prize now in our possession, if all goes well¡­ it¡¯s only a matter of time before our fields are flourishing once more and everyone can eat and drink as much as they like.¡±

    ¡°Sunlay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Alex?¡±

    ¡°You did the right thing. The city¡¯s welfare has to come first. What I did was tactically idiotic, risking my life for relatively little, compared to what was truly at stake.¡± Alex gave a helpless shrug. ¡°Only thing is, there¡¯s no way I could have lived with myself after hearing a child¡¯s desperate screams than to jump right into the thick of things and give those raiding assholes the comeuppance they so richly deserved.¡±

    Sunlay bowed her head, smiling freely despite the moisture in her gaze. ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re exactly what this world needs. A hero who would put aside games of rulers and thrones for what really matters. The safety and wellbeing of all the innocent lives caught between the madness and machinations of too many titans who see the entire world as nothing but a game board for their own amusement.¡±

    Alex chuckled bitterly. ¡°If only you knew how right you truly were, Sunlay.¡±

    Nili flinched at those words, haunted eyes making it clear she understood all too well what Alex would never be stupid enough to say. Not now, anyway, when he had finally freed himself from the most vile game of all.

    And how easy it would be to fall right back in, he thought ruefully as, between one moment and the next, Wanshi revealed itself in all it¡¯s pristine lacquered glory. Alex was captivated by the sight of a city of hundreds, perhaps thousands of brilliant white marble buildings around a caldera just as vast and grand as Quianshi¡¯s own.

    Alex traded looks with a grimly smiling Quing Da, more than halfway expecting to see the entire city surrounded by the Red Prince¡¯s hard-eyed troops. But there was no one at all.

    Much to his surprise, and relief, the rest of the trip to the city was proving to be as quiet and peaceful as a stroll through a city park.

    Alex actually dared to let himself relax, before the tightness in Nili¡¯s gaze made it clear that he was once more playing the fool.

    His fingers flashed in handsign. ¡°What is it?¡±

    She blanched, holding the hand of her husband so tightly, strained features carefully not looking in any direction but straight ahead. ¡°Our death, if you¡¯re not careful, pup!¡±

    Alex blanched at this, feeling an awful tingling between his shoulder blades, as if fearing an assassin¡¯s mark that could strike him dead at any minute¡­ and then the pressure was gone.

    Nili gave a heartfelt sigh moments later.

    She gave Sunlay the tiniest of nods. She seemed ready to collapse with relief.

    Alex¡¯s lips pursed into a tight frown. He knew he should let it go, but¡­

    ¡°Relax, Alex. I spotted them. They don¡¯t know that I spotted them. But at least now we have a chance.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened with growing anxiety, fingers flashing with frustration. ¡°Nili, what the hell are you talking about?¡±

    She glared his way. ¡°I¡¯m talking about certain death, for all of us, if we dare to tangle with the sleeping tigers content to let us pass. For now.¡±

    ¡°Nili!¡±

    She glared his way in exasperation. ¡°Another hidden band that allowed us to pass only because they think themselves truly hidden. Had they truly gone unnoticed, I¡¯d fear for our city¡¯s ultimate fate. But now, since we know they¡¯re coming¡­¡±

    ¡°We have a chance,¡± Sunlay whispered, making it clear that Nili had served her well in teaching her so many secrets, including handsign, that he suspected few nobles went to the trouble of mastering.

    Yet Alex was far from comforted.

    ¡°let me guess. There¡¯s another nest of enemy dickheads and we¡¯re not rooting them out because why, again?¡±

    ¡°Because they¡¯re Silver Tier, you fool!¡± Nili snapped in the interface that had blossomed so strongly between them after she had literally summoned him between worlds.

    And for all that he felt his cheeks flush, feeling as if he had just been castigated by his mother, he couldn¡¯t let that particular sleeping dog lie. Forcing himself to ask the question that would make clear what his next step had to be.

    ¡°And why are a cluster of Silver tiers waiting here? Within sight of the city, but not inside?¡±

    Nili frowned, refusing to meet his gaze.

    Alex turned to the noblewoman staring at them both so intently. ¡°You get it though, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Sunlay¡¯s beautiful features tightened with worry. ¡°Yes, I think I do.¡±

    ¡°Sunlay¡­¡±

    The noblewoman flashed her kitsune companion a sad smile. ¡°Alex¡¯s right. There¡¯s only one reason. IF they dared enter the main gate while radiating a Silver¡¯s power and refusing to take the oath¡­ that would be a declaration of war, right then and there.¡±

    Quing Da winced, cursing under his breath. ¡°Damn. If only I didn¡¯t know what that meant.¡±

    ¡°But you do,¡± Alex softly whispered. ¡°We all do. They refuse to enter until their diplomatic pawns have put whatever gambits they have in play. Because the minute they do, their objective is as clear as day.¡±

    Quing Da sighed. ¡°Through stealth or direct assault, they intend to force a coup.¡±

    ¡°Or slaughter the entire royal family in the dead of night,¡± Nili said with a dark scowl.

    Alex flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Yet right now, at this very moment, with at least half an hour of sunlight left, we know exactly where they are. And they have no idea that we know. We have the drop on them. Only for this precious moment, perhaps, but this moment is ours.¡±

    Nili blanched. ¡°Alex, those are the farthest thing from raw recruits. At least half of them are Silver! Such a concentration of power, here in the deep desert¡­¡± she shuddered with dismay. ¡°And Xien Tang, so eager to overthrow Quianshi, is an actual Gold. How is it that our enemy has so many deadly pieces at their disposal?

    Alex flashed a bitter smile, afraid that he already know the answer, which filled him with hope and dread in equal measure. He didn¡¯t know for sure yet, but he was now filled with the increasing suspicion that maybe he hadn¡¯t committed the unforgivable crime of turning all of CuiJing Principality into a vast desert, centuries ago. Maybe he wasn¡¯t where he thought he was at all.

    Either way, it was clear that his old enemy still had access to incredible resources he could bring to bear to crush the will of the desert cities¡­ and there was little his new friends and allies could do to stop him.

    If there was any truth to his odd dream and Dongfang Hong had either fled or been exiled¡­ maybe here was where he was intending to forge his own desert empire, for reasons Alex could only guess at, or perhaps the oldest reason of all. The accrual of power and dominion over everything within one¡¯s domain. No matter how many lives pursuing the Path of Conquest might cost. With a foundation as twisted as that monster¡¯s had been, once the puppet of a spite-filled god¡­ perhaps still the puppet of a spite-filled god, perhaps it was the only path available to the former Red Prince.

    Alex felt a sudden chill.

    If Shalu really was still inhabiting Dongfang Hong like a puppet, perhaps he was trapped inside, or maybe it was his only relief from a divine body undergoing well-deserved torments as it lingered between immortality and death. And the one thing above all else Alex was dead certain of was that under absolutely no circumstances did he want to encounter that creature ever again.

    The precious improbable and glorious veil protecting Alex with a fresh start, a second chance at a life free of malevolent influence, would pop like a soap bubble if that monstrous abomination ever caught sight of him again, he was sure. Somehow, Alex was certain that the Fog of War that had no real bearing on his new life was still protecting that mad possessed fanatic from understanding any report regarding Alex that was sent his way. To that man alone, descriptions would become muddled and wavered, knowing only that an unknown individual was interfering with his plans.

    But Alex refused to duck his head in the sand and allow that monster the absolute freedom to pillage and destroy the fragile oases that were the only sources of life and hope in this beautiful yet barren desert. And perhaps that was okay. Maybe Alex could successfully defend a few cities from afar.

    So long as he didn¡¯t take it to extremes.

    So long as he was never forced to meet the living heart of Zuihaoshi city¡¯s newfound military might.

    Should Alex ever find himself meeting Dongfang Hong¡¯s gaze¡­ should he dare to force the fight his opponent that had fled countless years, decades? Ago¡­ he just knew that the odd, unexpected truce between him and a pantheon that absolutely despised him would be at an end. As would any hope of a peaceful life free of horror and tragedy that Alex was so desperately eager to embrace.

    He wasn¡¯t even sure how he knew these things, just that he did.

    And until he hit Gold¡­ he shook his head with dismay, somehow certain that he would never be able to sense, let alone find, access, or enter his own precious realm until that near-impossible milestone had been reached. An additional silent accord between various parties that Alex just knew to be true. And one that he was fine with, already knowing the terrible price that would be paid should a version of Alex, perhaps countless lifetimes from now, whose memory had been wiped clean, dare to enter his created realm before he had achieved that milestone, no matter how many lives it took.

    He scowled, pulling himself free of his own brooding thoughts and pointedly looking away from the score or so of Silver-tier killers hidden in the sands, because his friend¡¯s unspoken plea was right on the money.

    It was one thing to risk his own life, rescuing a doomed caravan from certain peril. But to pick a fight here and now against such an overwhelming force¡­ an act that could so easily lead to the slaughter of everyone he had tried to save over the last two days, showing just what a fool he could be after pushing himself with such arrogance¡­ no. He was a better friend than that.

    Even if he made damn sure he knew exactly where his opponents were on his growing desert interface map, even receiving a notice to that effect.

    Congratulations! Your desperate efforts to mark the location of a band of killers that could so easily wipe out any desert city¡¯s elites has paid off. Desert Sense is now Rank 3!

    Nili¡¯s eyes widened with surprise, quirking a relieved smile when Alex dipped his head.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, this isn¡¯t the time. Now that we know the location of the threat¡­ let¡¯s get your charge and this caravan to safety. But you know we all need to take an added precaution now.¡±

    Sunlay¡¯s eyes widened in an unspoken question to their silent conversation.

    Nili sighed and nodded, gently squeezing her charge¡¯s hand, speaking aloud for all their benefit.

    ¡°It means that we must be very careful when we return to your father¡¯s side. Our presence alone must serve as our reassurance while we do nothing to disrupt the status quo.¡±

    The young noblewoman looked momentarily outraged. ¡°But that would make it effortless for our enemies to manipulate him unmercifully!¡±

    Alex flashed his fingers in ways that made Sunlay flinch.

    ¡°And pacified diplomats, certain that your father will come to heel, will feel no need to destroy all their own hard-won efforts by sending out messenger boys, or maybe paper cranes, to alert these assassins with a kill order against your family.¡±

    Sunlay flinched before his warning gaze, before lowering her head. ¡°So, you know.¡±

    Alex wanted to roll his eyes even as Nili and Quing Da tensed. ¡°Really? Like it wasn¡¯t obvious with so much resources brought to bear on your behalf? With you acting with such unspoken confidence, like the hero of your own story?¡± Alex quirked a smile at their expressions. He wasn¡¯t going to say anything more than that out here in the desert, of course, with the caravan and a score of presently quiet Silver-tier foes at their back. Some things, after all, were best left completely unsaid.

    And when the caravan finally reached the impressive city gates, all of them, even Alex, was filled with a giddy sense relief at having actually made it in one piece. Of course, no one they had rescued dared contradict Sunlay when she made it clear that she and her companions were nothing more than hired mercenaries who had taken out a handful of bandits barely worth the trouble of mentioning.

    And then they were through the massive gate, Alex hurriedly stepping free of the imposing portcullis to behold the awe and wonder of white-washed towering buildings on either sides of a stately date tree-lined boulevard looking every bit as magnificent as Quianshi, men and women dressed in white robes or loose flowing blouses and shirts could be seen hawking figs, dates, and all matter of goods at the handful of stalls leading in the direction of what must be the central market, and Alex couldn¡¯t help but smile in relief from ear to ear even as a handful of smiling children approached with excitement, open palms Alex happily filled with dates, and offers to serve as tour guides.

    He turned to smile with heartfelt relief shared by his companions.

    Against all odds, they had successfully made it to Wanshi city, with desperately needed resources at hand, enemies carefully spotted and noted, and nothing worse than a teary-eyed and grateful caravan clan that actually knew of their presence.

    Maybe, against all odds, their mission might actually have a happy ending.

    Yet the tense look in Nili¡¯s eyes made it clear that it wouldn¡¯t quite be as easy as walking boldly up to the palace with prize in hand.

    Still, Sunlay was looking as relieved and filled with hope as Alex felt, her beautiful brown eyes twinkling with all the warmth of the glorious fiery gold sunset now gracing the sky.

    ¡°Come on, Alex. Let me take you to the best inn in Wanshi city. From there, we¡¯ll plan our next move.¡±

 Book 9 - Chapter 8

    The trip through the city was a sharp contrast to the quiet of the desert. Firstly, it was bustling when they came through the entrance, and when man oozing pomp and self-importance declared with a certain amount of relish that the city counsel would be taking direct control of the grain, it was all Alex could do not to give the presumptuous bureaucrat a piece of his mind, even as the half dozen soldiers accompanying him gave the caravanners cool appraising glances.

    Yet before Alex¡¯s hackles could rise too much, Sunlay had gently squeezed his arm before addressing the officer directly. ¡°Then we are quite happy to see you, honored servant of the city. For the just and noble Wanshi counsel does assure a full 150% payment for any grain or produce shipments it appropriates above standard market rates, yes?¡±

    The haughty-looking man stiffened, yet much to Alex¡¯s surprise, the man¡¯s look of surprise that anyone would actually question him became a begrudging nod. ¡°You have the right of it, Lady¡­¡±

    ¡°Lin Lin is fine,¡± Sunlay said with a smile, before solemnly nodding and claiming the caravan owners hand. ¡°Here is where we part, honored caravan master. For I have absolutely no doubt that the honorable officer of the council before us will make sure you¡¯re recompensed in full for all your noble efforts to feed our beleaguered city in it¡¯s hungriest hour, and the profit you bring home will encourage all your fellows to do the same.¡± She turned to beam once more at the pompous-looking popinjay. ¡°Is that not right, officer?¡±

    The man¡¯s lips were pinched tight but he didn¡¯t stint from pulling out a bag clinking with denominations of both silver and gold as the soldiers smoothly closed ranks from any prying eyes while the dozen or so city employed laborers got to work unloading the caravans in surprisingly short order.

    ¡°I take it a full two silver per hundredweight will suffice?¡±

    The merchant¡¯s eyes widened, his face lightening in a beaming smile. ¡°Indeed it will, honored officer of the council! I shall make sure that my fellow caravanners know of the rich bounties to be hand making the trip to the fair city of Wanshi! Now, if you would be so kind as to direct us to the nearest healers¡­¡±

    Sunlay gave the caravan master a wink and a friendly wave as she and the rest of their party broke off from the caravanners and made their way into the heart of the city. Alex couldn¡¯t help but grin with a certain amount of excitement for a new city to explore.

    He refused to let his sense of adventure and excitement, and the sheer joy of exploring a new city, be spoiled by the tension he felt for the game of intrigue that was just getting started. If anything, it just added to the thrill of the moment. The adventure of his life that he was now determined to enjoy to the utmost!

    Though the streets were wide and airy, much like Quianshi, the two and three story buildings comprised of the same stone that made up the caldera appeared to be carved and worked from a different tradition. There was an emphasis on curves and arches, for all that the rooftops were perfectly flat, just like in Quianshi, though most of the rooftops had been further renovated with light frames of bamboo or wood allowing one to work on the rooftop and enjoy the view of the city and the desert far beyond, much like a rooftop gazebo. In some cases thin plank walls had been added, effectively building an additional story to the buildings of much lighter construction than the brownstone building that served as its foundation. A feature which appeared quite common and went hand in hand with the greater population density of Wanshi versus Quianshi.

    Even if the wide boulevards were still a common theme, Alex saw a multitude of lighter wooden huts, no doubt made of reeds or softwood grown in the caldera valley below, were to be found in growing abundance adjoining the more permanent brownstone buildings. He noted as well that most of the wood seemed quite dry, even brittle, and it certainly made sense if shrinking water supply and wood as a resource meant that there was little material to repair or replace those houses. Still, Alex couldn¡¯t help but frown even if the fronds of massive date palms rustling in the gentle desert breeze was just as common here as it was in Quianshi, making it clear that at least people weren¡¯t being stupid enough to cut down such important sources of shade, comfort, and sustenance. Still, when cities grew too crowded without proper plumbing or sanitation¡­

    He turned to Sunlay after exchanging smiles and greetings with the ever polite desert people that were so much more cheerful than the pinch-faced true-bloods of Yidushi.

    ¡°Wanshi is truly an impressive city. The population looks to be considerably bigger than even Quianshi!¡±

    Sunlay beamed with pride. ¡°My family has always done its utmost to lead our people to prosperity as best we can, Alex. And you¡¯ll note that the date trees are still intact, even in these trying times.¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°It¡¯s true. Though the date palms are stripped bare, snack sellers are at a minimum, and the prices I heard shouted were¡­ exorbitant. And everyone seems to be a bit on the thin side.¡±

    This earned a snort from the kitsune. ¡°And are you at all surprised?¡±

    Alex sighed, slowly shaking his head. ¡°Not in the least, Nili. Though I do wonder about all the um¡­ additions to the buildings.¡±

    Sunlay turned her gaze to the many bamboo and wooden huts sprouting from the brownstone buildings and claiming a good fourth of what was still an impressively wide boulevard.

    She gave a measured nod. ¡°I know. Our city, against all odds, and even down to a single rift, has been enjoying a significant population boon. Don¡¯t worry, paradoxically, the pressure of so much life has made the caldera basin so fertile that farmers are now among the most revered and envied of professions, not even cultivators stinting from the honor of working the fields¡­ and having first pick of the choicest fruits and freshest vegetables. We still have enough produce to feed everyone at least one meal per day, and our edicts are quite clear. No one who isn¡¯t a part of a given clan, which means having full access to the main domicile¡¯s sewers and water supply, is permitted to build any huts adjoining other people¡¯s property. And throwing waste of any sort into the street, or anywhere save in the carefully maintained sewers, is absolutely forbidden. Finally, no more than a fourth of the boulevard is to be sacrificed for domestic use. It¡¯s a compromise that has stood us in good stead for as long as I¡¯ve been alive.¡±

    Eric gave a thoughtful nod. ¡°It seems like everyone¡¯s thinking ahead and everyone we greet is still smiling, no one looks sick or miserable, so the city¡¯s rulers are clearly doing a good job during trying times.¡±

    Sunlay grinned, her twinkling eyes making it clear she appreciated his indirect compliment, even if no one listening in would think her anything more than a well-to-do traveler seeking accommodations in a nicer part of the city.

    Her eyes brightened as the road took on a slight incline, and for all that they could have hired a rickshaw, the fact of the matter was that their casual pace was faster than the handful of rickshaws they passed¡­ and pretty much everyone else who wasn¡¯t at least a Bronze tier cultivator. And that perhaps explained the reflexive smiles being sent their way as much as anything else.

    Besides warmth and welcome being the cultural norm here, it always paid to be on the good side of powerful people, especially during perilous times. Even more so if there was a Ruidian or two amongst them, as their daring the one working rift might make the difference between stability and starvation, should the absolute worst happen and the final waterfall run dry.

    Alex also noted a change in architectural quality that occurred a bit more sharply here than in Quianshi as they ascended the gentle caldera slope. Sturdy brownstone constructed buildings were replaced by those faced with brilliant shimmering marble, the very stone that had so caught his eye with their sparkle on their original approach, giving the entire quarter of the city they now calmly walked through a rich, pearlescent sheen, sparkling so prettily in the final shafts of the waning sunset. Perhaps the most significant contrast was that there were no more huts or bamboo extensions of the main brownstone homes as had become almost commonplace in the quarter just passed, even if what amounted to rooftop open air pavilions were just as common here.

    ¡°Come on. Our destination is just ahead!¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but smile at seeing the twinkle in Sunlay¡¯s eyes, so clearly excited to be among familiar buildings in the city she had called home for most of her life. No doubt she was more than eager to reunite with her family, even if she agreed with Nili¡¯s insistence that they feel things out very cautiously before presenting themselves before the court once more. And considering the prize they now held that could change the fate of the entire city¡­ Alex certainly understood the need for caution, and for decisive action, once they had a feel for the lay of the land, lest hesitation cost them as dearly as doing nothing at all.

    ***

    ¡°Lady Han and entourage. So good, as always, to see you!¡± Gushed the proprietress of what Alex had to admit was indeed a handsome establishment, an impressive four stories of cleverly fitted wood and stone. The front entrance was especially classy for this time and place, sporting graceful silver filigree upon the grandly arched front door that was itself lined with sandalwood inlay polished to a soft gleam, along with half a dozen wide windows made of perfectly clear paned glass that gave a glimpse of a fine eating hall from which dozens of patrons could be seen taking their ease, sampling countless drinks and gustatory delights. Clearly these individuals weren¡¯t suffering from any limits to their daily intake.

    Alex¡¯s belly grumbled just glimpsing it.

    The door was quickly opened for them by an elegant servitor who radiated a cultivator¡¯s grace with a short jian at his hip that he managed to wear as if it were just an accessory to his white and blue silk tunic and tight-fitting hose .

    Alex had smiled in bemused approval as the man needed only a single glance Sunlay¡¯s way to deduce that she was a noblewoman of note while flowing into a graceful bow before leading the way to the proprietress herself who was even now gushing and curtsying as if Sunlay was a favored and much-loved guest.

    Which did absolute wonders for assuring them immediate quarters and seating at what was not just the dining hall but a private room on the side, their table soon tended by no less than three women serving the roles of musicians who immediately took up harp, zither, and erhu while their sunken table was filled with bowls of steamed rice and porridge; pita, humus and chutney; and dozens of small game animals poached, roasted, and grilled, covered with sauces or crisped up much like a drumstick of a lifetime ago.

    Alex was beyond thrilled to eat some truly tasty fare, though the look he gave Nili spoke volumes.

    Nili, no fool, just smiled and nodded while their musicians and pair of quiet, deferential servants awaited their pleasure.

    ¡°A bit much, I know. But don¡¯t worry. Lady Han is an old cover and has facilitated our entrance and exit from the palace at will for the last three years.¡±

    Alex frowned at this, but really, what could he say? That using that role right now smacked of coincidence and pushing their luck to an extreme? That it would have been better to sink into anonymity until the moment they revealed the prize that would pull Wanshi from the bring of utter disaster?

    He sighed and shook his head. Because ultimately, it wasn¡¯t his call. It was Sunlay¡¯s. And if her spymistress approved, then who was Alex to say anything? He doubted anyone knew the particular circumstances and how best to go about things in any locale better than those who were native to the area.

    Yet despite his acceptance, his fingers still flashed his misgivings.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it. Because there¡¯s no way that no one has put two and two together over that long a period, which means your cover is just a known alias for who you really are. Even if that information was worth little before now, with so many things in play and with enemies no doubt eager to weaken your own faction at every turn, I fear it could bite us in the ass when we least expect it.¡±

    Alex winced internally when both Nili and Sunlay glared at his pronouncement, realizing that his fingers, after days of nonstop battle, had spoken far less diplomatically than was his normal wont.

    He cleared his throat and took a sip of hot summer tea. ¡°I can¡¯t help but admire both the beauty of Wanshi and her people,¡± he said aloud with a disarming smile, saluting his companions with his tea. ¡°This humble Ruidian is grateful to travel in such august company and prays that our joint venture will assure a lifetime of prosperity for all of us,¡± he declared, going along with their plan despite his reservations, earning a hard smile from Nili as they all drank in turn.

    ¡°To desert fortunes and strong companions,¡± Sunlay said with a lilt to her lips. ¡°With the natural cistern we discovered, our future as the most prosperous water merchants of Wanshi is all but guaranteed.¡±

    All of them cheered and drunk as one to that.

    And if one of the beautiful musicians missed a single note in their performance, no one else missed a beat. For such was their cover story and one that would certainly invite interest from all sorts of potential parties. Yet news of a hidden oasis or other source of water that one had to journey for, a source that could be controlled or blockaded altogether, was far less of a threat to their perceived enemies than the prize they actually carried.

    It was hopefully enough to excite interest and perhaps efforts to entice or bribe¡­ but news of a new, easily controlled water supply that Wanshi would be unable to access if an actual blockade was put into effect? Hardly a reason to abandon diplomacy altogether when proper enticement and pressure might win their enemies both the city and an extremely valuable desert resource besides.

    Or such was their hope as they allowed the carefully calibrated rumors to slip free of their control, assuming they were being spied on at all. And should anyone know Sunlay¡¯s true identity¡­ she was far safer being thought the holder of a secret desert oasis than an actual city-saving Water core.

    Still, Alex couldn¡¯t deny the way his heart raced as the geisha focused so diligently upon their instruments, the servants so intently filling their cups with both honeyed mead and rich red wine, which must have been horribly expensive, and precious water which he feared would soon be just as dear to the countless tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of citizens whose lives would be in utter jeopardy the minute the city¡¯s singular waterfall stopped filling the caldera basin with its ever waning bounty.

    And how had this grand city that had at least the population and thus rift-stabilizing Dark Qi saturation as Quianshi, ended up with only one rift? It was a question that gnawed at him, even if it was one that would have to remain unanswered. At least for now.

    ¡°Come, Zhang. Master Chaoxiang will will be most interested in the fortuitous tidings of our latest guests!¡±

    That was when he heard it, focusing so hard on his senses that he hardly noticed his food, the Wind whispering secrets in his ears that Rank 8 Qi Perception did not, focused as it was more on the movements of the pair of cultivators that were manservant and the zither-playing geisha, more than the far more faint mortals. Yet there could be no mistaking the curt whisper caressing Alex¡¯s ear when he gave Nili a pointed look.

    ¡°Who is Master Chaoxiang?¡±

    Nili froze for just a heartbeat, before roaring with laughter at the awful story Zichen and Anjen were gleefully recounting about their one encounter with bandits and desert boar. Nili then leaned against a smirking Alex, a heartbeat before her arms wrapped around him and her lips locked against his own, sending his heart racing with a fiery, passionate kiss.

    Alex froze almost as much as Nili¡¯s husband Quing Da, even though he had known it was coming, not having to act at all when his arms instinctively wrapped around the beautiful, lithe Kitsune woman and he kissed her back, fiercely and hard, losing himself for half a second as Quing Da¡¯s laughter rang through their private dining room, only pulling back with flushed cheeks when his Dantian actually twinged.

    And the teasing look Nili gave him was just too much, biting his lip as she whispered loud enough for half the table to hear. ¡°That was yummy. Now take me to bed and kiss me like that again.¡±

    Her tweasing quip set his cheeks blazing all the brighter even as he lifted himself to his feet, arm wrapped around a purring Nili as he locked gazes with their party leader.

    ¡°With your permission, Lady Han¡­ the hour is late.¡±

    Sunlay sighed, giving her presumed employees an exasperated smile. ¡°I fear it has been a long day for all of us. Best we make use of the quarters provided, and we could all use a good-night''s rest. Come, my friends. To quarters. Tomorrow will be an exciting day.¡±

    She turned her gaze to the ever attentive servitor beside the doorway who was either Bronze or just a half-step below, now bowing fluidly at the waste.

    ¡°Please follow me. I shall show you all to your quarters and the steam baths below, should you wish it.¡±

    Time passed in an odd blur as Nili captured Alex¡¯s lips yet again, and this time his Dantian was definitely twinging, which filled Alex with hot shame, to find that the wild hunger he happily put on display for their presumed audience wasn¡¯t entirely the act he had intended it to be.

    Nili chortled huskily. ¡°Come, my pet. Let me show you the true delights that our fair city has to offer,¡± as she slipped into the first room that the coolly smiling servitor led them to, pulling Alex along and slamming the door shut.

    Only then did she chuckle huskily, still leaning against Alex, her heart racing just as fast as his.

    The look she gave him when she stepped back left Alex¡¯s throat dry.

    For long moments they just stared at one another, her fingers gently reaching to caress his cheeks, her flush lips half opened as her breath hitched, soft brown eyes taking up his entire world and Alex froze, stiffened by shame, desire, confusion, and being totally caught off guard.

    For an endless moment they stared at each other, Alex¡¯s Dantian now definitely twinging, before Nili broke off eye-contact with a chuckle, quickly spinning around, fingers slipping free of a hand he hadn¡¯t even realized had been holding her own so tightly.

    ¡°Good acting, Alex,¡± Was all she said as she quickly adjusted her attire.

    Still, it was several long moments before they had both fully collected themselves, sharing an awkward smile when a storm of something that neither of them had been expected finally passed.

    ¡°So¡­ are you ready for a meeting with the local head of an organization I was once intimately familiar with?¡±

    Alex, still not trusting himself to speak, and perhaps more ashamed than he wanted to admit, just dipped his head.

    This earned a snort. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. ¡®Master Chaoxiang¡¯ as he now calls himself, has always been a creature of habit. His efficiency and careful methodology is what earned him his present position. He never dared to betray me in the years he worked under me, for he knows as well as anyone that JiangHu chapters where advancement through the ranks occurs through bloodshed rather than merit tends to be branches where the average life is both short and brutal, all the more so as one goes up the ranks. Such organizations are also far less likely to have amicable ties with the government at large and the populace they are supposed to at least nominally, protect. They might even be hunted down, for good reason. And that¡¯s the last thing a creature of efficient self-interest would abide.¡± She flashed a saucy wink. ¡°Mostly, though, he knew I¡¯d gut him like a shrike, and he¡¯d linger a hell of a lot longer than a handful of days.¡±

    Alex swallowed, forcing himself to speak. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that your protege was no saint, but he was a creature of efficiency and enlightened self interest. Someone who I¡¯m guessing rewards profit and efficiency and discourages treacherous assholes because that works out best for the organization as a whole. In other words, he¡¯s someone who can listen to reason. Someone who we can negotiate with.¡±

    Nili nodded. ¡°And if nothing else, he¡¯s someone who we can trust to give us the lowdown on what¡¯s really happening in Wanshi. Because a stable city without the populace and his own people at risk of dehydration, starvation, and slaughter truly is in all our best interests.¡±

    Alex frowned. ¡°Even so, that being said...¡±

    Nili¡¯s eyes twinkled with mirth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, little cub. I have absolutely no intention of revealing secrets that our ours alone. There¡¯s enlightened self-interest, then there¡¯s tossing truffles to swine that would happily churn our city to a mud pit.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Noted. But if all we have is the location of a desert cistern with access to an underground river¡­¡±

    ¡°That makes us intriguing, certainly. We might even get a discrete offer or two. But Chaoxiang will still know it¡¯s in his best interest to inform us about where things truly stand in the city. Because, if by some miracle, should things actually turn out for the best¡­ he knows he will be reward in all sorts of ways that go beyond coin. The acceptance, favor, and legitimacy that the counsel could grant him or anyone else for their diligence in the coming days will serve as a path to security and respectability he would have no other way to earn.¡±

    Alex nodded at this, finally having calmed his racing heart, and his breathing. When he next looked at the coolly smiling Nili he saw a strikingly beautiful woman who didn¡¯t look a day over twenty, thanks to his own ability to remove so much compressed Dark Qi plaque from her cells and meridians. But certainly he wasn¡¯t in danger of falling in love with her.

    Not when she was happily married, had a houseful of kits and a very loving husband, and there were other are brighter fires in his heart. Because for the first time in months that had felt like years, he actually had hope that the girls he had thought forever beyond his reach¡­ just might not be.

    Still, something in his expression brought a sympathetic smile from the Kitsune.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, puppy. Your acting skills are top notch.¡± She winked. ¡°One day very soon, I think you¡¯re going to make a certain special girl very happy.¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks blaze as he turned to the door. ¡°Come on,¡± he said, his voice not at all husky. ¡°We got a city to save.¡±

    ¡°So dramatic,¡± she snorted, her fingers now brushing his cheeks, brow, and chest in ways that had nothing to do with romance and everything to do with Shadow Qi. And even he couldn¡¯t help but smile at his reflection in the silver wall mirror polished to such a sheen that it was almost as good as glass.

    Alex found himself gazing upon the friendly smile of a young aristocratic-looking true-blood who just might have a bit of Ruidian ancestry with the set of his eyes and jaw. But he wore it well and looked good enough that even in Yidushi, he doubted he¡¯d receive any disparaging comments at all.

    Here in the desert cities, where a lot more intermingling had occurred than most people seemed to realize, no one would give him a second glance. For he pretty much was the norm. And with Shadow Qi, it was best to stay true to the original as possible, as was the case with most illusions and disguises, or so Alex was given to understand.

    Though she did squeeze his hand teasingly as they slipped out the door once more, Nili quickly leading him down unnaturally shadow corridors where the busy flow of people he knew were there seemed to always be a room or half a corridor away, a bubble of coincidence, dim light, and distraction assuring that no one saw them at all as they slipped out the backdoor and into the night.

    Nili took a deep breath of desert air smelling faintly of smoke, fried meats, and a caldera far dryer than it should be.

    She gazed up at the stars. ¡°Beautiful, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    Alex smiled and nodded. ¡°They are.¡±

    She squeezed his hand once more, still not letting go as she turned around to meet his gaze, a twinkle in her eyes. ¡°Come, hero. Let¡¯s see if racing through shadow gets your heart racing as fast as my kiss did.¡± With those teasing words they were off before he could utter a single syllable of protest, and within moments he had no desire to protest at all, eyes alight with wonder as they raced across the shadowy streets with the same perfect flow as a dream of flying, darting from pools of shadow to rooftops to puddles of darkness as they slipped by dozens of disinterested eyes and scores of conversations before flowing into the darker areas of the city where there was no true need for Shadow magics at all. Yet it was magic Alex happily embraced, once daring to laugh aloud as he picked up a happily squeeling Nili by her hips and took to the air.

    ¡°Alex!¡± She said with a breathless squeel, yet a smiling Alex knew they were safe. He could still feel her magic wrapped comfortably about them both as he kept his flight just feet above the ground, well within the domain of building and Shadow that he knew her city-bred gifts worked best with.

    As they had for at least one woman who had touched his heart, countless lifetimes ago.

    He blinked back an unexpected tear, feeling a tightness in his chest as her slightest shift in focus had him instinctively slow his pace and lower them to a convenient patch of liquid shadow. As if his body knew the movements to an ancient dance between partners that his conscious mind had forgotten countless years ago.

    Nili chuckled breathlessly in the darkness. ¡°You were made for this, Alex.¡± She squeezed his hand, eyes twinkling with warmth and excitement. ¡°A Kitsune girl is in you future, hero. I see it as clearly as if it were already written in the stars.¡±

    Alex flashed a sad smile. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be something? I¡¯ll bet it would be a sweet life, at that.¡±

    Nili froze, cheeks flushing as the excitement faded and she realized what she had said. Who she had said it to.

    ¡°The desert air makes this fox foolish. Forgive me.¡±

    Alex snorted. ¡°For what, enjoying our gifts for a few minutes? Come on, Nili. The sooner we get the lowdown on what¡¯s really happening here, the sooner we can head back and plan for tomorrow.¡± Alex grinned. ¡°And the sooner you¡¯ll have an outlet for hungers that go far beyond savoring your gifts. And if the look Quing Da was giving us was anything to go by¡­ your children will have another sibling to cherish in very short order.¡±

    Nili chuckled throatily before favoring Alex with a smile filled with such gratitude that he had to look away.

    ¡°Only thanks to you, Alex. Using gifts I can¡¯t even fathom to lift age¡¯s gentle mantel and leave me feeling as passionate and hungry as a twenty year old girl, with all the wisdom of a woman many time that age¡­ and don¡¯t ask how many.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t dream of it.¡±

    She snorted. ¡°And the way my husband¡¯s been going at it, a new addition to the family will probably be happening in very short order. Oh, the looks on my daughter¡¯s faces when they see the trouble their dear mother gets up to,¡± she said with a sultry chuckle, before her warm smile faded and the cool-eyed focus of a true professional came to the fore.

    ¡°Alright, Alex. It¡¯s time. Are you ready?¡±

    Alex nodded, feeling that same rush that he always did when fate¡¯s dice began rattling inside his head. No matter how often he embraced conflict, no matter how horrific the price he had paid for daring his perilous path, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel a frisson of excitement, as if he was at the beginning of an exciting new twist in the story of his life as they approached what he just knew was another pivotal moment in Wanshi¡¯s own tale. Yet he didn¡¯t let his excitement show, keeping a perfectly calm sedate demeanor as they approached the nondescript doorway of a perfectly ordinary if somewhat neglected stretch of town that was still lively enough. There were a handful of men casually drinking and enjoying the night air from the cantina across the street.

    Nili gave him a pointed look, fingers flashing in the darkness. ¡°Alright. You understand where we are and what the plan is, yes?¡±

    Alex gave a curt nod. The fumes wafting through the door alone giving him a hint as to the nature of this place, and he supposed Nili¡¯s kiss had been a test as much as plausible cover for those who didn¡¯t already know Nili personally. ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Good. And don¡¯t worry. Everyone within is here by choice, and gentle paths to other professions are offered for anyone who wishes to take advantage of them. That being said, this is a place of business. Men and women come here for silver earned in a single passionate night that it might take an unskilled laborer who lacks any trade or clan weeks of grudge-work to earn anywhere else. Appetites run high, for both coin and pleasure.¡± She gave him a pointed look. ¡°Even with Shadow¡¯s touch, you are an exceptionally handsome boy. Whether or not you wish to accept any girl¡¯s offer is, of course, your own business. But until our city¡¯s safety has been secured¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep it strictly professional. Scout¡¯s honor,¡± Alex assured, not that he would indulge, even in the best of times. Not with love¡¯s ideal still an ache in his heart, and passion¡¯s promise still an ache in his Dantian.

    ¡°Good. Odds are that we¡¯ll be in and out in short order. But on the off chance Chaoxiang seems particularly amenable to a mutually beneficial arrangement, he might wish to speak to me personally. I doubt he¡¯d be so foolish and to try anything untoward when I¡¯ve already given him free reign in return for the smallest of considerations, and he knows both my skills and my reputation.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Especially since we¡¯re literally trying to save the very city his livelihood depends upon.¡±

    Nili flashed a tight smile. ¡°Say no more on that, even with your fingertips. And you¡¯re right. Now come on, we¡¯re burning time.¡±

    Alex braced himself for anything as they opened the door, only to be greeted by a warmly smiling madam wearing a lilac-colored cheongsam that went down to delicate ankles, her sprightly feet caressed by a pair of silken slippers.

    The elegant woman quickly dipped into a bow, her glossy locks kept in place with a pair of silver capped wooden hair pins. ¡°Sir and madam, an honor to greet you tonight. Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable. We have tea, wine, and whatever you need to relax and unwind during these trying times.¡±

    The woman¡¯s smile was both inviting and professional as she led them inside a well appointed entryway with fine silk rugs and what looked like the world¡¯s most comfortable chairs of finely polished hardwood lined with spirit beast furs and what looked to be truly soft, supple leather.

    Alex was left momentarily speechless. In a world full of hard wooden chairs and bamboo mats, where even the chairs of rulers emphasized elegant craftsmanship and jeweled adornment but certainly not comfort or anything like padded pillows... soft indulgent chairs were an almost unheard of sight.

    Why? Why were there not more of these things? Why were the first chairs that looked like his father¡¯s stressed leather wingbacks of a lifetime ago only to be found in some random house of excess?

    Alex exchanged a look with Nili, his fingers flashing in the dim light. ¡°I¡¯m taking these chairs with me. You know that, right?¡±

    Nili blinked, clearly at a loss for words.

    He caught the faint sound of laughter and the scents of hashish and poppy, seeing a comfortably lit room separated by strings of beads just beyond the greeting area, catching sight of yet more comfortable-looking chairs, these almost recliners, and they too would be his¡­ as well as a fair number of hookahs and glass bottles containing exotic drinks as a trio of musicians expertly played drum, flute, and erhu while a strikingly beautiful pair of girls gracefully danced around an elevated platform, with more than a few men looking on in admiration, almost all of them accompanied by one or more women wearing near identical high-hemmed dresses of sheerest silk that left very little to the imagination.

    The madam caught Alex¡¯s roving eye, flashing an approving smile. ¡°Oh yes, please do feel free to watch our performers and partake of some of the finest wine, spirits, and hashish you¡¯ll find anywhere in the desert sands! We would be honored as well to provide you both with a hostess that will happily see to your every¡­¡±

    ¡°I want the recliners,¡± Alex said in utter seriousness. ¡°And the leather wingbacks in the foyer. One way or another, that¡¯s happening.¡±

    Their hostess laughed as if Alex had told the most humorous of jokes. ¡°Oh my, our dear guest is in rare form tonight! Well, if you¡¯d like to take your ease in any of our recliners and enjoy a massage from any of our girls, of course you may...¡±

    Her words died off as widened eyes took in Nili¡¯s cool smile, the subtle enchantment of artifice and Shadow slipping free to reveal her true self once more.

    The woman instantly froze, trembling as she dropped into a kowtow. ¡°My lady, please forgive me. I had no idea!¡±

    ¡°That was sort of the point, Ling,¡± Nili said, quickly rising her former associate back to her feet. ¡°I assume Chaoxiang is in his back office as always?¡±

    A slight flicker of alarm crossed her features. ¡°My lady, I¡­¡± She tensed, before giving a solemn nod, the tension leaving as quickly as it had come. ¡°Yes, my lady. I believe he is. Shall I let him know you¡¯re paying a visit?¡±

    ¡°That would be for the best. And Ling?¡±

    ¡°Yes my lady?¡±

    ¡°This stays between the three of us, yes?¡±

    The woman paled even through her carefully applied patina if face paint. ¡°Yes, my lady. Of course!¡±

    Nili smiled and shook her head as Ling darted off. ¡°Always good at welcoming the customers and taking care of the girls. She hates surprises, though, and certainly I¡¯ve thrown her off kilter for the night.¡±

    Alex smirked at that. ¡°I¡¯ll say. She looked like she saw a ghost when you came in!¡±

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Nili sighed. ¡°That she did.¡± Her eyes twinkled as she teasingly gestured to the chamber beyond with its music, hostesses, and dancing girls. ¡°You look a bit tense yourself, Alex. All this talk about¡­ chairs. Are you perhaps compensating for other desires?¡± She grinned at his expression. ¡°Perhaps we should give ourselves a chance to relax before getting back to business.¡±

    ¡°Ha ha. Seriously though,¡± he said, switching back to handsign, ¡°Are you sure Ling¡¯s on the up and up?¡±

    For just a heartbeat, the good humored adventuring companion¡¯s smile faded, replaced with the countenance of an experience professional, who both knew the score and did whatever had to be done to eliminate trouble and keep her undercity running smoothly. And if one arrogant upstart boy dared to question her like she was a wet-behind-the-ears novice¡­

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but smile at her expression. ¡°Wow, you and Jidihu could be twins, with the look you¡¯re now giving me.¡±

    Nili froze, and she actually lowered her head in apology. ¡°And after you sprung from the skies like a miracle, saving our lives, just a day ago. I apologize, Alex. You, of all people, should be allowed to question as freely as you like.¡±

    Alex held up his hands. ¡°Sorry! Of course you know you¡¯re business far better than I ever could. But I can¡¯t deny that Ling looked nervous as a farmer being paid a visit by hungry tax collectors.¡±

    ¡°Perish the thought.¡±

    ¡°I know, right?¡±

    The pair traded innocuous quips and Alex did his best to practice his skills by getting a sense of everyone nearby, picking up a bit more than he cared to on the floor above and below, even if it was good to have a sense of the true, impressive dimensions of the building they now found themselves in.

    Seconds later, a somewhat flustered Ling reappeared along with the one of the hostesses who walked a deferential step behind her. The younger woman¡¯s soft brown eyes glanced up at that moment, pinning Alex¡¯s own. He refused to call what he felt in his chest any sort of cosmic lurch, even if she was both strikingly beautiful and unusually voluptuous, compared to most desert girls. She pinned Alex with her wide almond eyes, giving him a curious smile.

    Ling¡¯s lips stretched in a nervous grimace. ¡°My lady, the master of the house would be honored to consult with you and awaits your convenience.¡±

    Nili, if anything, looked pleased. ¡°Excellent. If you¡¯ll lead the way?¡±

    ¡°Of course. And the master sends his compliments at your new protege and hopes you will allow Lilly to entertain him until your meeting is concluded.¡±

    With those words the petite young woman who couldn¡¯t have been any older than Alex flowed into a graceful curtsy. ¡°It would be my honor to attend to the young master¡¯s desires.¡±

    Nili, if anything, looked relieved. ¡°Yes. That should work quite well,¡± she said, eyeing the young Lilly speculatively, her mixed bloodlines obvious to all. ¡°Ruidian?¡±

    The girl blushed faintly. ¡°On my father¡¯s side. I think¡­ I think he used to delve the city rifts. My mother is a musician and lives in the lower quarter. I have no ties to any clan, nor any jewel upon my brow. But I am a skilled flautist, and many have praised my dance.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. I¡¯m sure my associate will enjoy your company¡­ so long as music alone is played,¡± she said with a raised eyebrow. Lilly¡¯s cheeks flushed, she immediately sunk into a low curtsy, stretching the hem of her dress as much as she could without tearing.

    ¡°I will be as you say, my lady.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Nili¡¯s eyes twinkled as she caught Alex¡¯s gaze, her fingers flashing. ¡°Behave. Or not. So long as you are ready to leave when it¡¯s time.¡±

    Alex nodded, yet despite the enormous respect he had for Nili, he refused to take anything for granted, keeping his ear cocked on the low intense conversation she was having with her former employee.

    Though admittedly it was hard to focus on the soft murmurs when Lilly flashed a relieved smile, her light brown eyes twinkling, her voice slipping from deferential to frank very quickly.

    ¡°So serious, those two are.¡± She gave Alex a thorough once-over, biting her lip with a teasing grin. ¡°I can see why she¡¯s so protective of you. A jealous lover?¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t all relationships?¡± Her laughter was like music. When soft fingers clasped his hand, he didn¡¯t resist. ¡°And what should I call you, honored sir?¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Alex is fine,¡± he said, before wondering if it really was fine, since Fog of War was no longer in play, but by then it was already too late.

    If anything, the mischievous twinkle to her eyes only grew. ¡°My, your parents are bold, aren¡¯t they?¡± She laughed throatily, squeezing his hand. ¡°Come, Alex. You can watch me play my flute, or I can play yours, and I¡¯ll let you experience just how good a musician I am.¡±

    Alex opened his mouth, but no words came out as she gently pulled him in her wake. In very short order she was leading him up several flights of stairs, then down a narrow hallway before unlocking a door and coaxing him and into a well-appointed boudoir where Alex noted several well cared for flutes and zithers, and several hookahs as well.

    There was an open window, so the air smelled only faintly of hashish and opium, scented as well by the clean desert air and the scent of date fronds and the distant whiff of the lush crops still growing in the still fecund caldera valley upon which the lives of so many people depended.

    Alex gazed in the basin¡¯s direction, for all that he had no clear line of sight, feeling an unexpected warmth and sympathy for the people of this city, knowing all too well the plight of their final hour, even if they hardly knew him at all.

    He took a deep breath, promising himself that even beyond the intrigue of the moment and assuring that his friend Sunlay had her meeting with her father and strategized how best to execute the next phase of their city¡¯s rescue¡­ that he would stick around until water was pouring into the basin with the full force of a fresh Water Core in the basin and, one way or another, the threats imperiling their city were removed.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    He blinked, only momentarily cursing himself for a fool for allowing his thoughts to drift, no matter how noble his resolution, in the middle of what was effectively an intelligence gathering operation, where their safety was by no means assured.

    Fortunately, he still had the presence of mind to keep his aura in check and turn around slow enough that he¡¯d seem no more than an athletic mortal, though what he saw did indeed catch him off guard.

    His eyes were captivated by the sight of a young Lilly who he was now certain was far closer to eighteen than twenty, smiling at him wither her cheeks flushed prettily, holding a flue in her hands yet otherwise as naked as the day she was born. Alex was captivated by breasts pert and ripe with both youth¡¯s bounty and a young mother¡¯s blessing, a droplet of milk leaking free of single dusky aureole that was flush and full.

    ¡°I love to play you a song, Alex. Unless, you¡¯d like me to play your flute instead?¡±

    She smiled at his expression, a teasing quip on her lips hading to a hitched breath when she saw what had captivated him. Her cheeks flushed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I know most true-bloods don¡¯t like it when a girl is, well, leaking. Though some¡­ anyway, I already fed her before¡­¡±

    Alex forced a smile. ¡°Is your baby alright?¡±

    Lilly blinked, momentarily at a loss for words before quickly bowing her head. ¡°She is fine. My mother cares for her.¡± She sighed, flashing a rueful smile. ¡°She might not completely approve of my working as a musician here. But with three younger siblings to care for, two eager for apprenticeships, and my own mother unable to work, and now with a child of my own...¡± She shrugged. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say I¡¯m grateful to make new friends with gentlemen who feel a touch of pity for a girl who¡¯s sort of lost her way.¡±

    She bit her lip. ¡°I hope it doesn¡¯t bother you that I¡¯m, well...¡±

    ¡°A mother?¡±

    Lilly took a deep breath and slowly let it out. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°No, not at all. I can only imagine how tough it must be to raise a child, especially when you¡¯re the only breadwinner for your entire family.¡±

    ¡°You have no idea,¡± she said, with a rueful smile, shaking her head. ¡°But enough about me, Alex. All that matters right now is me making you as happy and comfortable as I possibly can. Because I can tell you¡¯re sweet, and I think we might become really good friends, Alex. And I want you to think fondly of me, if you ever pass this way again.¡±

    Ales felt his own cheeks heat up at that, eyes helplessly drawn to the captivating sight of her natural treasures once more.

    She flashed a teasing smile. ¡°Do you like what you see, Alex? Perhaps you don¡¯t mind my being a mother after all?¡±

    ¡°I would never mind it,¡± he said huskily, before shaking his head at her impish grin. ¡°And I¡¯d love nothing more than for the gifted flautist before me to regale me with music as graceful she is beautiful.¡±

    She chuckled throatily. ¡°I like seeing you blush, Alex. You¡¯re so sweet. You remind of, well, more innocent times.¡± She slowly approached, treasures swaying captivatingly, her Ruidian bloodlines leaving her far more endowed than the average desert girl.

    When her hand gently clasped his own, he was surprised to find that he hadn¡¯t resisted.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°I think I could make us both very, very happy, if you¡¯d let me.¡±

    Alex winced at a very sharp throb. Then his eyes widened, pretty sure it could mean only one thing. He took a deep breath, peering closely at what was before him, knowing better than to dismiss anyone out of hand, no matter their apparent bloodlines. Especially not in these desert cities.

    A long second¡¯s pause, Lilly¡¯s smile growing ever more bold, certain he could only be captivated by one thing.

    ¡°Lilly?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Alex?¡± whispered the girl whose lips were suddenly very, very close to his own.

    ¡°Did you know you have a cultivator¡¯s gifts?¡±

    She froze, cheeks blushing, before stepping back with a glare. ¡°Is that supposed to be a joke?¡± She squeezed her fists before the fire in her eyes immediately faded as she wilted before him. ¡°Or is this your way of mocking a girl who¡¯s fallen so far in life?¡±

    Alex firmly shook his head. ¡°Neither. All I see is a talented musician who¡¯s clearly been forced to endure some hard life choices. And if you can land on your feet and find work that you actually enjoy, meet customers who both tip you really well and are genuinely fond of you? Then I think you¡¯re actually a lot better off than countless others.¡±

    Her hard gaze softened, she gave a soft chuckle. ¡°You really are a sweetheart, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Alex laughed. ¡°You¡¯d be surprised by all the people who think I¡¯m anything but. Yet for the sake of a hardworking young mother doing the best she can¡­ I¡¯d say to see about unlocking your meridian gates and seeing just what you¡¯re capable of.¡±

    Her teasing smile faded, her gaze now that of a woman seriously listening, and considering. ¡°You¡¯re not lying. After all I¡¯ve¡­¡± She shook her head, her gaze one of gentle wonder. ¡°You actually believe every word you¡¯re telling me, don¡¯t you?¡± She sighed, her fingers reaching to caress his cheek. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I meet you just a year ago?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°You met me now. The past is already written, Lilly. And as sensual and beautiful as you so clearly are, as much as I can tell you find pleasure in what you do¡­ I think you¡¯re capable of so much more. But only if you wish to embrace that path. Certainly, don¡¯t shame yourself for where you are today. You¡¯re taking care of your entire family, and that¡¯s no small thing. But maybe cultivation could lead you to a future you can truly be proud of.¡±

    Lilly gave him a look. ¡°You make it sounds so easy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s anything but.¡±

    ¡°And if I like where I am?¡±

    ¡°Then enjoy yourself,¡± he said with a gentle smile. ¡°But keep your head clear enough that you can be good to your daughter, and yourself. Save up, buy a house, or an apprenticeship in whatever interests you, so the Lilly of ten or twenty years from now will be filled with satisfaction and peace, not bitter regret.¡±

    Her gaze turned thoughtful. ¡°Maybe I will, at that.¡± She then flashed a teasing smile. ¡°Sweet and thoughtful as you are¡­ I¡¯ll bet someone¡¯s already claimed your heart, haven¡¯t they?¡±

    He nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid so, Lilly.¡±

    She sighed. ¡°Then she¡¯s a very lucky girl.¡± She suddenly looked a bit flustered, naked with a flute in her hand, advances turned down, Alex having taken the role of concerned mentor, the farthest thing from a randy young buck hungry to taste her most intimate secrets.

    Alex smiled. ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mind playing a soothing song, Lilly, to help me relax and meditate? I¡¯d really appreciate it.¡±

    Now she chuckled softly. ¡°Because you¡¯re actually a cultivator.¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°Maybe I am.¡±

    She quickly switched attire to a slightly longer, more elegant looking cheongsam Alex assumed was what she wore when she was acting as a musician, not a courtesan, and certainly the first soft golden notes she played put a smile on Alex¡¯s face, easing away worries he hadn¡¯t realized had been so heavy upon his brow until that very moment.

    He closed his eyes and concentrated on what mattered most, allowing the breeze filled with a thousand whispers to wash over him, ears perked for a single voice amongst hundreds, then dozens, as if he were sinking into deep blue depths, all but losing himself in his trance. Knowing better than to fall asleep¡­ but it was perilously close when he nodded off to find Lilly gently stroking his bangs.

    He gasped and chuckled apologetically. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s been a long day.¡±

    ¡°How about you lie down and relax then? I give wonderful massages.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Next time.¡±

    ¡°Good. It¡¯s a date,¡± she teased, though her twinkling eyes suggested it was anything but, as she lifted the lute to her lips once more. ¡°Go on, meditate. I¡¯ll play the same lullaby my daughter favors.¡±

    Alex felt his cheeks flush, but he nodded, allowing his thoughts to drift with the gentle melody¡­ relaxing more than he should, of course, when he jolted with a frisson of connection.

    There!

    ¡°Nili, Nili! Be reasonable. Of course our duty as loyal JiangHu representatives is to put the city¡¯s welfare above all else. But sometimes it is corruption and incompetence, not to mention piss-poor handling of a certain cultivation academy, that leads to a city¡¯s downfall. Not any grand plots or intrigues of any sort. The rumors of armed men are just that. Rumors! You know as well as anyone how good our ears and eyes are throughout the city. Believe me, if anything untoward were happening, I would be the first to know! Now, let¡¯s quit chasing rumors and instead focus on the good we can actually do for the city! Word on the street is that you and a certain free spirit of the royal family actually managed to find an ancient water cistern that refills from an undergound network of streams? This is wonderful news. Absolutely wonderful! This alone will put us in excellent standing with the entire council and the royal family! But allow me to present it and you¡¯ll have done our community a service beyond compare. We will be in your debt, and I assure you, dear Nili, everyone will know to give you full credit for the discovery!¡±

    Alex sighed. It sounded like a certain JiangHu head, or the public face, at least, was far more interested in chasing Nili¡¯s bait then actually providing them with useful information. And should Alex be surprised? Within cities that were only a tiny fraction of the population of one of the Sacred cities, Silvers were as rare here as diamonds. With Dongfang Hong having a score of Silver-tier infiltrators and assassins hidden just outside the city¡­ it was no wonder that these people hadn¡¯t seen anything untoward at all.

    Yet before Alex allowed his awareness to drift back into the waking dream that allowed the wind¡¯s secrets to flow so naturally to his ears, he was jolted out of his half daze by the sudden pressure of a pair of Bronze rapidly making their way down the corridor. Customers eager to taste sweetest passion? Perhaps.

    But just in case¡­

    A sudden hard knock jolted Lilly from her entrancing lulluby, the air air ringing with a discordant note.

    She turned to face the door. ¡°This room is in service!¡±

    ¡°Open it, Lilly. Now.¡±

    Cold, hard words that brooked no insubordination. Lilly paled, eyes wide with genuine fear.

    ¡°Yes, sir. Give me but a¡ª¡±

    The door latch broke with a crack as a pair of brooding men with powerful shoulders and cold, hungry eyes let themselves in.

    Lilly wrapped her arms about herself and trembled.

    ¡°Get in the corner, Lilly. There¡¯s a good girl. Now how about you play us something nice,¡± ordered a hard-eyed lead man with a short but powerful build, radiating superhuman quickness. A sharp contrast to his scarred compatriot, sausage fingers tapping his short steel truncheon secured at his hip, who was six feet if he was an inch, radiating pure brute Strength.

    Alex knew it was out of character, but he couldn¡¯t quite wipe the smile from his lips when Snake, as he had mentally nicknamed the shorter, wiry man, flashed pearl-white teeth, fingered the blackened steel dagger at his hip, and deliberately got in a seated Alex¡¯s space.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re the hired help that our old boss brought along, hey?¡±

    Snake asked the question that was no question at all as he snagged Lilly¡¯s wine carafe and drank deep. The formerly hauntingly beautiful notes from Lilly¡¯s flute had become strained and brittle, her fear almost palpably radiating from her trembling body to the notes of her instrument.

    And the way Snake smiled¡­ he knew. He knew, and he liked sensing Lilly¡¯s fear.

    Scar was no different, sneering at Lilly before giving her a lewd wink. ¡°You¡¯d better keep practicing, girl. You¡¯ll be playing mine soon enough.¡±

    Both men laughed at the crude, mocking jest. Making it clear just what they thought of the girl huddled in the corner.

    Lilly¡¯s cheeks flushed with shame.

    Alex¡¯s jaw clenched underneath his smile.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said.

    Snake gave him a condescending snort. ¡°Why are you thanking me, outsider? You haven¡¯t even heard our offer.¡±

    ¡°Nope, but you¡¯ve definitely made a morally grey area a lot easier to paint an absolutely delicious shade of red. But enough about me. Let¡¯s talk about you! Such as why you saw fit to break my hostess¡¯s door? Are you truly that eager to talk to me?¡±

    Snake forced a chuckle. ¡°Yeah, sure. We¡¯re that eager.¡± His smile became a contemptuous smirk as he loomed over Alex. ¡°Now, word has it that you just might know the whereabouts of a giant underground cistern that could do our poor beleaguered city a lot of good. Now your boss¡­ former boss? Might be holding out, but Master Chaoxiang has a good feeling about you. One look was all it took for him to know that you¡¯re our kind of people. So, let¡¯s cut to the chase. How¡¯d you like to be a hero and luck in to an absolute fortune in silver? Think about it, kid. Why settle for your master¡¯s scraps when you can come to the table as a fully made member of the JiangHu sect? You¡¯ll be doing Master Chaoxiang a big favor, and you¡¯d better believe he¡¯ll make it worth your while.¡±

    He turned to gesture at the now trembling Lilly. ¡°You like the mixed blood mongrel? You can have her all you want, for as long as you like! But why settle for the scraps your old mistress gave you? You can have your pick of the finest ladies here. Pure-bloods, worthy of a man of your stature!¡± He stepped back as if appraising a coolly smiling Alex.

    ¡°I think he sees the light, don¡¯t you Ku?¡±

    Scar crossed his arms, giving a begrudging nod.

    Snake actually smiled. ¡°But wait, I know what you¡¯re thinking. What if your old boss finds out and cuts your throat? Well no worries there, friend! We¡¯re not going to say a word. Why would we? You and the Kitsune will leave with the master¡¯s blessings, and if negotiations don¡¯t pan out between them, how¡¯s that your fault, am I right? Best of all, your new master, a generous soul, will leave you a thousand Silver¡¯s credit down at the bar that you can make use of whenever you come to our little slice of Purple Pavilion paradise! And as soon as your advice pans out? You¡¯ll get another two thousand in hard coin and an offer you won¡¯t want to refuse.¡±

    Snake stepped back, no longer looming over Alex, with a big confident grin. ¡°So, what do you say, kid? Ready to play with the big boys and take your pleasure whenever you desire?¡±

    Alex¡¯s hear was hammering, sensing his worst fears inevitably coming true.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I must have misheard you, earlier. I know how deeply most city folk revere Ruidians and what they do for the cities whose delves they frequent, the good that the cores they retrieve do for everyone, in terms of enriching crops, facilitating the manufacture of various potions in the hands of apothecaries and alchemists, and the creation of magical treasures at the hands of cultivating artificers. And of course, the grandest prize of all. Fresh cores of Water or Ice. The greatest of all prizes in a city with only a single rift producing water, am I right? So, I can¡¯t quite wrap my head around why you would call Lilly, a second generation Ruidian, probably the daughter of a delving jewel master herself, a mongrel? As if she were trash, utterly unworthy of your respect.¡±

    He kept a hard eye on both Snake and Scar¡¯s scowls, looking for the slightest shred of doubt or remorse.

    Scar sneered. ¡°Because that¡¯s exactly what she is. A half-blood harlot, like her mother before her.¡±

    Alex tuned out Lilly¡¯s choked sob, knowing that calling attention to her was the absolute worst thing he could do right then. ¡°Still, it¡¯s curious. Very curious. When I say Ruidian, I don¡¯t see your features lighten with hope, I see your lips curl in disdain.¡±

    A distinctly displeased Snake no longer bothered with false bonhomie. Instead he drew his dagger, smirking as it flashed and darted through the air in a series of moulinets that would have been impressive¡­ if viewed by a mortal. ¡°Last chance to make the smart move, kid. Now, if it were up to me? Me and Ku would have fun getting what we want from you the old fashioned way. But like I said, Master Chaoxiang saw something in you he liked, when he caught a glimpse of you. So, if you want to make the smart move, be up a thousand credits and on your way to a hell of a lot more, quite stalling and show us what we want to see.¡±

    He turned to scar who grunted, immediately pulling out a surprisingly detailed map.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened as he took a moment to truly appreciate the intricate details of what he just knew was a topographically accurate depiction of Wanshi city. And in the distance, somehow distinct and clearly visible, despite what should be hundreds of miles distance, was Quianshi city as well.

    Alex¡¯s heart began to pound with wonder as well as growing dismay. Because for these men to be showing off such an incredible prize¡­

    He already knew his worst fears to be true.

    Yet the moment he sat transfixed by the map was all Snake needed to feel like he¡¯d finally convinced him, all smiles once more as he brought forth a quill that shimmered with Spirit Qi.

    Snake even had the gall to wink. ¡°And hey, no hard feelings, kid. You like the girl? Lilly¡¯s yours. Scar won¡¯t even have her one last time to say goodbye. Will you, Ku?¡±

    The larger man solemnly shook his head. ¡°Not if our buddy here is smart.¡±

    Time seemed to freeze as Alex took in every last detail of the roughened visages before him. Seeing so clearly the marks of vice, cultivation shortcuts taken. Drugs savored.

    Infernal contracts made.

    ¡°Alright, before we do this, I have one last question for you both,¡± Alex said, his voice whisper-soft.

    Snake smirked. ¡°And what would that be, boy?¡±

    ¡°Why did you say that my employer was Kitsune?¡±

    Scar stiffened, caught off guard by the question.

    Snake¡¯s bonhomie faded to a cold smirk. ¡°Because she is, boy. And you should be damned glad. Because we¡¯re willing to work with you, whereas with her kind, you can expect nothing but a dagger in the dark.¡±

    Alex forced a smile despite the blood pounding through his skull. ¡°Interesting you should speak so casually of them. Because among these desert people, Kitsune are no more than myth and legend. Isn¡¯t that right, Lilly?¡±

    Lilly, who had gone pale as a sheet, just gave Alex a horrified look, clearly able to sense the deadly tension in the air.

    Alex smirked. ¡°See? She¡¯s speechless with your cavalier sangfroid.¡±

    Scar¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What did you call me?¡±

    Alex chuckled coldly. ¡°I called you Dongfang Hong¡¯s lapdog. Here to pry what secrets you can before you do your utmost to slice both our throats. Isn¡¯t that right, you infernally bound sycophantic lick-boot?¡±

    Snake¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°He know! Kill the gir¡ª¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence, Alex drove his fist through the man¡¯s chest, and tore out his heart.

    Find Weakness skill check made! You sense the flaws in your opponent¡¯s tainted techniques! Find Weakness 100% penetration bonus in effect!

    Enhanced Water Strike (Black Swan) effortlessly pierces your target!

    Rank 2 SILVER Strength allows you to claim your prize!

    You have successfully slain Rank 1 Bronze Body Cultivator (Tainted Foundation).

    Experience earned!

    Time seemed to slow as Lilly lurched back, inhaling for what would no doubt be an ear-splitting shriek of horror.

    Scar had time only to blink in confusion before his steel truncheon was effortlessly plucked free of his grip before Alex whipped it around with such deadly ferocity that it completely tore through Scar¡¯s skull before lodging itself in the man¡¯s chest.

    You have critically struck your foe!

    You have successfully slain a Rank 2 Bronze Body Cultivator (Tainted Foundation).

    Potency Mastery in effect! You are now regaining 4 Qi per second for the next 240 seconds!

    Quickness check successful!

    Before Lilly could even finish her scream, Alex¡¯s hand was over her face. His cold words froze her to shuddering sobs.

    ¡°Your entire organization has been infiltrated and compromised by the most ruthless sons of bitches on the continent. Assholes who would gladly purge you and me for our ¡®impure¡¯ bloodlines. Monsters who would see us all in chains, bowing to one corrupt monster. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying, Lilly? Nod once if you do.¡±

    The terrified woman trembling in his powerful grip jerked a quick nod.

    ¡°Good. Then listen well, Lilly. If you so much as utter a peep that alerts our enemies, the first thing they¡¯ll do is take every girl up here hostage to assure absolute compliance. Hell, they might even come after your families. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±

    Lilly jerked a nod, and Alex slowly backed off, wiping the gore off of his changshan tunic with a single flick of his hand, his attire spotless once more. Just as biochemical mastery letting him cleanse the gore off his face as easily as taking off a shirt, a single wipe sending it all into the storage space he refused to think too deeply about, along with the remains of both Snake and Scar and the most visible bits of gore now staining Lilly¡¯s boudoir.

    Alex had expected horror, dismay, even a glare of betrayal from the girl. What he hadn¡¯t expected was such a bitter smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re too late, Alex.¡±

    Alex blinked at that, guts already knotting in anticipation, yet knowing that he had to ask the question. ¡°About what?¡±

    Lilly sighed, shaking her head. ¡°The JiangHu sect has been fully infiltrated. Our new masters know where all of us girls live and all the members of our families.¡± She glared out the window into the darkness. ¡°Everyone we love will be put down like dogs if we dare disobey them in anything.¡± She flashed a bitter smile. ¡°We fuck who they say to fuck. We slip drugs into the drinks of whoever they say to. And we can only pray that they will let us go in the end.¡±

    Alex, far from condemning her as she no doubt feared, flashed a sympathetic smile. ¡°But you already know how it will end.¡±

    She choked back a sob. ¡°Yes. Of course I do. The things they call me, treating me like filth on any night I don¡¯t have a customer¡­ so you better believe I always try to find a gentle customer I can entice to spend the entire night with me¡­¡± She shook her head, tears dripping free. ¡°I know that me and the other girls are as good as dead, but it¡¯s not like we can flee, can we? Not without our families paying the price. At least our families should be safe, even if us girls will probably have our throats cut by the end of it all.¡± She gave a bitter chuckle.

    ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s anywhere for us to go.¡±

    Lilly glared at her hookah. ¡°That right there¡¯s my only escape. I hardly ever used it before. And now? Now, I can¡¯t go a night without it. And it only ties me closer to those assholes.¡±

    ¡°When did they first infiltrate the organization?¡±

    ¡°From what a nobody like me can tell? Almost a month ago,¡± she admitted with a hitched breath.

    ¡°Is there anything else you can tell me?¡±

    She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. ¡°I just do what I¡¯m told and try not to let what they do hurt me too much.¡±

    Alex gently squeezed her hand in heartfelt sympathy. She flinched, before breaking down in tears, and then somehow she was sobbing in his arms and holding on to him like a lifeboat in a storm. ¡°Gods¡¯ mercy, Alex. What do we do? How do I get out of this alive? How do I keep my family safe?¡±

    ¡°Alright. Here¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen. You¡¯re going to take what you value most here, and you¡¯re going to discretely knock on every girl¡¯s door on this floor that you trust.¡± He pointed out the window. ¡°You see that roof over there?¡±

    Lilly gave a hesitant nod.

    ¡°Good. In about five minutes, you¡¯ll all be sheltering on that rooftop. Out of everyone¡¯s sight, out of everyone¡¯s mind. Then you¡¯re going to slip down the stairs and head home. I know, it¡¯s a temporary solution, but you¡¯d better believe those assholes will have a hell of a lot more to worry about than terrifying girls they don¡¯t really care that much about. But just to make sure you¡¯re okay¡­ do you know mapsign?¡±

    She gave him a curious look. ¡°Back when I had dreamed of making it as a musician, performing at so many high end gatherings in the Northern Quarter¡­ yes, I do.¡±

    Her eyes widened when Alex¡¯s fingers flipped against her palm. ¡°Do you know this inn?¡±

    ¡°Alex, this is one of the most luxurious spots outside of the palace!¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°That¡¯s where I should be staying. Show up there. Tell them you¡¯re there to give me a private performance.¡± He winked at her expression. ¡°We¡¯ll hide the truth in plain sight. And if you¡¯re inside¡­ you¡¯re safely inside, and any informants would have to be damn careful before they tried to cross the Bronze tier security playing at being a concierge that¡¯s on staff.¡±

    She stared at him for long moments. ¡°Alex¡­¡± Her eyes widened when he solemnly handed her the pouch of silver coins that Snake had had on him.

    ¡°For you and the other girls. Even if you don¡¯t want to follow up with me, this should help you all to disappear and find safe places to relocate in the city until this all blows over.¡±

    ¡°Alex, this place is filled with infiltrators! Almost all the original sect members have either been turned, were smart enough to flee¡­ or were, well¡­¡±

    ¡°Killed?¡±

    She sighed and dipped her head. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Alex flashed a fierce smile. ¡°Well, all the more reason to clean up house, and no time to delay. But first, you have to tell me where the hell this Chaoxiang is. Because he might be playing softball right now, thinking I¡¯m either in your arms or telling Snake and Scar all my secrets¡­¡±

    ¡°Snake and Scar?¡±

    ¡°The assholes I just took out. Please, don¡¯t flinch. They¡¯re the bad guys, remember? Anyway, we know that Chaoxiang will stop playing nice with my friend the second the alarm is raised, which is why I need all you girls already out of here on the neighboring rooftop. And yeah, take whatever ¡®supplies¡¯ you have. Not to lose yourself in bliss for a few nights, but to taper off. Do you know what I mean by that?¡±

    Lilly¡¯s cheeks flushed. ¡°Yeah. One or two girls, they tried¡­ but it¡¯s hard. Especially now, when every night we¡¯re either sick with fear, or in pain from the wrong sort of customer.¡±

    Alex winced in sympathy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But you better believe any girl looking to make a purchase will draw the wrong kind of attention and will have nothing but a hell of a lot of pain and a quick death to look forward to.¡±

    Lilly whimpered at those words. Alex did his best to soother her. ¡°That¡¯s if things don¡¯t go according to plan. But trust me, Lilly, I¡¯m going to see this through. When this is done, I¡¯ll see what I can do about getting you and your friends the help you need, including a healer, for a fresh start. But for now, we need to move!¡±

    With those words, Alex was out the corridor, going at a slow but measured pace, looking every inch the well-to-do gentleman while Lilly hurriedly knocked on multiple doors. A handful of wide eyed girls were gazing Alex¡¯s way with an odd mixture of hope and horror were soon following behind, almost all of them with customers dozing in their beds. Whether just asleep or drugged, Alex really didn¡¯t care.

    The girls whispered in growing concern when Alex led them all to the rooftop, finding it very much set up like the rooftop verandas with wide open airy views on all sides.

    ¡°Lilly, who is this boy? How is he going to get us out of here? Does he have a rope?¡± Asked one curious girl even younger than Lilly who looked both excited and terrified, smelling of wine and poppy and so much fear that it broke Alex¡¯s heart.

    Alex gave her his gentlest smile. ¡°None of that. Now, Lilly told you to take enough for a gentle taper, right? Because none of you are coming back.¡±

    Of the five girls present, one froze in outright alarm, another smirked in disbelief, while Lilly nodded, squeezing the youngest girl¡¯s hand. ¡°It will be alright. We¡¯ll stick together and do this together. Just like we swore we would, the minute we got a chance to break free.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t break free,¡± said a tired looking girl with beautiful if strained features and a husky voice. ¡°You know that, right? The dung beetles who now rule this sect with an iron fist know where our families live. If they think for a second that we are no longer obeying their every wish with a smile¡­¡± she shivered.

    Lilly swallowed, she alone having complete confidence in Alex, having seen what he was capable of, even if it had horrified her. ¡°I believe him,¡± she said softly.

    She turned to Alex. ¡°Alex, take me there?¡±

    It said something, how willing she was to trust a complete stranger while approaching the lip of the gazebo, about to fall into empty space.

    She flinched, squeezing Alex tightly when he let he leaped.

    ¡°Lilly!¡± the youngest girl¡¯s panicked cry became an awed gasp. ¡°He¡¯s doing it. He¡¯s actually flying?¡±

    The girl beside her nodded. ¡°It isn¡¯t the hashish¡­ or if it is, I¡¯m seeing it too.¡±

    And within seconds it was over, Alex gently depositing his charge before returning for the other four.

    The teary-eyed looks of wonder and gratitude he received from all of them touched his heart, though the oldest girl who couldn¡¯t have been older than her early twenties, even if hers was a strained beauty, wiped away an angry tear. ¡°Please, hero. Don¡¯t play the fool like in half the tales? Give our stories a happy ending? Our families are in jeopardy if even one of those bastards escapes¡­ whatever it is you¡¯re going to do.¡±

    Alex froze at those words. Caught between five pairs of very intent stares. ¡°Wait¡­ you understand¡­ how?¡±

    Lilly chuckled softly. ¡°Whatever magic you were using to disguise yourself faded when you took flight¡­ hero.¡± She gave a rueful shake of her head. ¡°But really, I should have known. When you actually seemed to take an interest in me as a person. To care about a worthless harlot. And you¡¯re name. That also sort of gave it away.¡±

    Alex¡¯s cheeks blazed. ¡°I see. Well, then. Try to be safe?¡± His gaze hardened. ¡°Hopefully when I¡¯m done, you and your families won¡¯t have anything to worry about at all.¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lilly?¡±

    ¡°There are other girls there. Lots of girls! You saw them downstairs, right? Please don¡¯t hurt them?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on it.¡±

    With those words, Alex leaped off the roof, racing through the air to the rear of the building, Lilly having conveyed through mapsign as much about the innerworkings of the massive manor like building serving as the local purple pavilion as Alex had about where they could meet in the future.

    He strove for absolute quiet when he discretely slipped behind the one tired-looking sentinel guarding the back entrance. Yet he refused to make a single move against the man until he had confirmed his worst suspicions twice over, as the man leaned back and cursed his boredom, before taking a sip from a small silver flask.

    Stealth check made.

    Your foe has no idea that death stalks him from behind!

    The Bronze suffered from a corrupt foundation, a consequence of embracing quick power for a body that would age far faster than most Bronze, even if slower than the average mortal. But it was clear from the way the man was rubbing his joints and cursing in the same soldier¡¯s cant that Dongfang Hong¡¯s troops favored that the soldier was already paying the price for impulsive choices he now no doubt now regretted every day.

    But not nearly as much as he regretted the feel of sharp steel piercing the base of his spine before he collapsed in a boneless heap¡­ and then he regretted nothing at all.

    You have successfully slain Rank 1 Bronze Cultivator (Deviant Cultivation) with Fangtian Ji!

    Experience earned!

    Potency Mastery is now in effect.

    Alex furrowed his brow, surprised to find the backdoor locked¡­ and the guard lacked any key.

    Fortunately, Alex¡¯s mastery of Water now saturated with Dark Qi allowed him to feel out the tumbler and align all the pins to their sheer point, before turning the handle with a silent click.

    You have successfully unlocked Reinforced Door!

    You have successfully countered Poison Needle Trap.

    Congratulations, Lock Picking is now Rank 5!

    Alex paused for a moment, using the wind and his heightened Qi Perception to sense the layout of the room.

    From what he could tell, there was no one around. At least not in the foyer just beyond the doorway.

    Of course, he knew better than to take that as a given in the heart of what was effectively JiangHu territory that had been completely overrun by the Red Prince¡¯s agents.

    Alex took a deep breath, focusing himself as best he could, before he stepped inside.

    Because whether or not any hue or cry had been given, the hour was even later than he and his friends had thought, and Nili was in dire peril.

    Alex only hoped he could get to her in time.

 Book 9 - Chapter 9

    Alex did his best to become one with the shadows and gloom of the darkened chamber he glided across on his leather shoes, searching for the branching corridor that would lead to his destination.

    Yet he found nothing of the sort. Only freshly lit lamps and the sound of rich laughter as he found himself taking a flight of stairs and down along a corridor far wider than it had been before. He froze, just before turning a corner, sensing at least a dozen men and women engaging in licentious acts where hedonism was worshiped to the most extreme degree. He frowned, spending a minute to take in his surroundings, pressing his hand against the finely polished hardwood, sensing the stone blocks just beyond.

    His eyes snapped open, immediately understanding. The dimly lit corridor had effectively been a passageway between buildings, and if the exotic perfumes and other aromatics he was smelling, along with the silk tapestries of sybaritic delights and leather recliners he caught a glimpse of just a short distance away were anything to go by, this establishment was perhaps even more exclusive than the one he had left beyond. Perhaps this one was for truly exclusive clientele or those who simply preferred a slightly different atmosphere. With a city population in the hundreds of thousands, he knew it shouldn¡¯t be too surprising that the JiangHu sect would try to capitalize on them all, including different entrance and exit points, since discretion was probably sought after almost as much as vice itself.

    He gave a frustrated shake of his head.

    He was missing something. He knew it! But suddenly the laughter picked up in volume, Alex catching sight of several sensually swaying shadows belonging to tipsy women singing drunkenly with their arms wrapped around a powerfully built man with jaded eyes and a basic cultivator¡¯s strength and stature. The client had the mien of a merchant celebrating a successful run in the split second Alex had to race back the way he had come, past the discrete sliding door panels leading to currently empty rooms that could only have one purpose, racing away as fast as his Quickness would allow with his growing air affinity assuring that no stray rustle of air would mark his passage.

    He stopped in the middle of the sunken passageway, cursing softly under his breath.

    If Nili was holed up with Chaoxiang in the upper floors of a second brothel, there¡¯s no way he could get past both staff and clientele without being painfully obvious in ways that would either make it damned clear that he already had blood on his hands from tonight¡¯s actions¡­ or by walking a path of slaughter from which there was no turning back.

    He gave an angry shake of his head, fearing that a clever man¡¯s tactics had gotten the best of him, and he¡¯d have to wait like a good little pawn and pray that he could act in time if their foes revealed their claws in full and tried to strike Nili then and there. He sighed. Though it was galling to find himself waiting and praying to kind fortunes after talking such a tough game with a group of girls whose safety was now most definitely his burden¡­ it seemed that the most prudent thing he could do now, raising the fewest flags of alarm, was to wait.

    He had left no trace of the pair of thugs he had taken out, after all. For all the hostess knew, the pair had enticed the girls to run away with them and start their own operation. Certainly no one had cause to think foul play at Alex¡¯s hands. At least¡­ not this early in the game, and hopefully not until Alex had done whatever needed doing.

    It was only then, when he accepted that was best served simply leaving the complex entirely and see if he could triangulate the second purple establishment that had to be nearby from the outside, perhaps infiltrating as a prospective customer, that he heard it.

    The soft whisper of what could have been nothing, yet the sense of Fate¡¯s strings pulling so tightly made it clear was absolutely everything.

    So much was suddenly on the cusp of being lost forever.

    An unseen variable that could crumple unseen foundations. A crack in Wanshi¡¯s walls from which so much blood and tears would fall.

    Alex shivered, doing his best to shake the surge of meaningless anxiety away. Sure it was that. Because his time of being the protagonist of anything was long gone. He was no longer some favored trump card thrown in play until the faded print of his soul faded to oblivion with such constant use. No. This was a fresh start, a new chance to embrace a life where he dodged the madness of¡­

    He froze, shivers tingling up and down the back of his spine, knowing what he heard.

    Even though the air was completely silent, the Wind whispered its endless secrets nonetheless.

    What he had heard had been a terrified cry.

    The plea of a child hidden in Shadow.

    Shadow a now hot-eyed Alex would allow to bar his way no longer. Slowly turning around, walking, then running to the middle of the shadowy corridor between buildings, where lack of throughtraffic meant that there was no reason to waste lamp lights here.

    Especially when the shadows could hide so many secrets.

    And that was when he spotted it¡­ before it vanished like the flickering revelations of a dream you were on the cusp of recalling when...He frowned, at first failing to catch sight of the stone steps leading to the bowels of what was effectively a grand manor, so perfectly flush it was with the adjoining wall and corner. Yet now the breeze circulating fresh air through numerous cleverly placed air vents and ducts gave away so many secrets.

    For not even Shadow could hide completely from Wind¡¯s teasing caress.

    Nor the desperate plea it contained.

    ¡°Please let me go! I took a wrong turn. I¡¯m not supposed to be here!¡±

    Wind enhanced Qi Perception check made! You sense the peril before you!

    Alex froze before he had taken more than three steps along the perfectly empty chamber he had descended down into. The room was bare, save for a few rice paper etchings hanging on the walls, the oil lamp that hardly broke up the gloom, the pair of hard-eyed men slipping through perfectly empty and innocuous shadows, and a slatted bamboo divider decorated with a pair of graceful cranes painted so vividly with a few strokes of dark ink.

    Alex frowned, wondering why he was so distressed by an empty room, struck by the sudden desperate compulsion to head toward better lit hallways. Which was strange, because with his Qi Perception he shouldn¡¯t be affected by normal darkness at-- DUCK!

    The whistle of the wind¡¯s passage was the only evidence that a pair of darts had been fired from compact blow pipes, streaking through the air where Alex had been standing to pierce the bamboo slats of the room divider which began to smoke and sizzle on contact. Soft sounds that were drowned out by the snarls and grunts of men lashing out in earnest, a pair of vicious looking bladed staves slashing and thrusting at the coldly smiling Ruidian whose features were no longer hidden at all. Yet their weapons failed to penetrate the guard of what should have been a far slower, more cumbersome fangtian ji, twisting to catch and trap the poison tipped blades between crescent axe heads and razor sharp spear point. Alex then roared and lunged, not holding back his strength when he plunged his fangtian ji right through his foe¡¯s heart with such speed and ferocity that the weapon head tore right through the back of the body in a shower of blood, visceral, and steely scale tiles tinkling upon the fine hardwood slats.

    The second would-be assassin desperately slashed at Alex¡¯s wrists in the heartbeat he was fully extended from his devastating lunge.

    Quickness Check successful! Your foe if effectively moving in slow motion!

    The swordsman¡¯s look of contempt quickly became one of dismay when his bladed staff avoided with a cold smile before the crack of broken bones and a desperate cry made it clear that Alex had just shattered his forearms with his snap kick. His weapon slipped free of unresponsive limbs and the would-be killer was suddenly wheezing for breath, helplessly kicking the air, his arms in too much agony to even move as his icy blue-eyed opponent raised him effortlessly in the air.

    The sound of desperate gurgles temporarily stilled for a question given by one who wasn¡¯t straining at all against the struggles of the doomed assassin in his grip.

    ¡°Where is Chaoxiang?¡±

    The wild-eyed man choked out an unintelligible answer.

    Alex eased his steely grip the tiniest iota. ¡°No games. Answer, or I tear out your throat.¡±

    ¡°Please! He¡¯s down the stairs. There¡¯s no need for you to kill me! Clearly there¡¯s been a¡ª¡± The man¡¯s only tell was the curl of a panicked lip that would have been a vindictive snarl as his punch dagger rammed under Alex¡¯s ribs.

    Or would have, had superhuman quickness not allowed Alex to catch the man¡¯s wrist, sensing an odd brace of Shadow somehow supporting the man¡¯s limb just enough to allow for one final killing blow. A tiny part of Alex was impressed by the Qi manipulation and dearly would have loved to study it.

    But there was just no time.

    Strength check: Rank 2 Silver versus Rank 1 Bronze Vitality and Rank 3 Bronze Shadow arts.

    Piercing Strike effortlessly cleaves Shadow arts!

    You have effortlessly ruptured Shadow-Splint.

    You have shattered your opponent¡¯s wrist! Wrist and forearm are now Crippled! Your foe is unable to move this limb without excruciating pain!

    The air thrummed with the sickening crunch of pulverized bone.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Yet before the killer could do more than jerk an inhaled breath for an agonized scream¡­ all he could exhale was a gout of hot blood as Alex tore out his throat.

    The would-be killer¡¯s final moments were spent in a dying daze as he fell to the ground, the glossy sheen of his crimson blood spraying everywhere soon became a midnight black pool of hideously chilly waters that he found himself plunging helplessly through, thoughts slowing to a crawl. Yet denied any rest, his spiritual skull ringing with the final dying wails of every man, woman, and child he had once happily butchered for coin.

    Alex shuddered and nearly stumbled as he collected both bodies and blood, making it all disappear, even if his Spirit Qi and affinity with those waters gave him a far more visceral sense of his foe¡¯s plunge than he necessarily wanted to see. Yet he hardened himself as he slipped down into the bowels of the corridor that had been so well hidden by the sentinels¡¯ Shadow arts.

    Fortunately, there was no one in the corridor he now walked along, and it was only when he found himself navigating it effortlessly, dim light, Qi Perception, and Wind Sense giving him a near perfect sense of the layout, that he understood that the hallway above had been a chillingly exquisite Shadow trap. At the time, he hadn¡¯t even completely appreciated how odd it was that his visibility and senses had all been so completely limited to that of a confused mortal making their way through the gloom to the stairs beyond. Which wouldn¡¯t have been at all unusual for a mortal courtesan being led to please and entertain her masters, but for a cultivator, it was unusual indeed. And Spirit Qi¡­ to cloud even his mind, however temporarily...

    He shivered, jaw clenching as he tasted the barest whiff of an Infernal taint in the air, forced to wonder just how dark and corrupt was the game now being played, more anxious than ever to hunt down the source of the desperate plea still ringing in his head.

    His jaw clenched, heart hammering with genuine worry as he proceeded down the corridor with its roughshod brownstone walls. A part of him was desperate to feel ahead for Nili¡¯s wellbeing with his senses, but he didn¡¯t dare split his focus, having come so close to being ambushed. Even if a pair of Rank 1 Bronze should prove no threat, with poison needles that smelled quite similar to toxins he already had 100% resistance to, he refused to play the overconfident idiot that had been the defining characteristic of so many Silvers he had taken down himself.

    No. He¡¯d proceed with caution, fangtian ji traded for a dao and a swirling shield of liquid ebony darkness as he slipped through to the end of the corridor, still fully infused by Potency Mastery, eyes widening when he realized the significance of what he had stumbled on to when he reached the corridor¡¯s end, presented by another locked gate, this one of solid iron.

    Alex frowned and took a moment to carefully his surroundings as Qi Perception gave him a sense of the reclining guard in the chamber just beyond. He felt an uncomfortable chill when he sensed just how deep he was, and the nature of the rock overhead.

    His eyes widened when he sensed the deadfall trap just above his head. He cursed softly under his breath, a part of him now certain that the best move he could make would be to sprint right back up that corridor just as fast as he could.

    Instead he braced himself, slowly slipping the essence of Water Qi infused with Steely resilience and liquid darkness, carefully lining the pins to the sheer line as he slowly pulled down the latch of the reinforced door before him.

    The air filled with the softest of clicks.

    ¡°Please stop! Please let me go!¡±

    And he was through.

    ***

    Qi Perception check made!

    Time seemed to slow with the racing of his heart as Alex poured his focus into his swirling shield of Wind, Water, Metal, and saturated Dark Qi while taking in his environment with desperate focus, ready for absolutely anything. He halfway expected a blast of Gold-tier God¡¯s Fire that he feared would obliterate even his Dark Qi shield.

    Yet relief that he had not been turned to a blazing pyre transformed to ice outrage a heartbeat later when he caught sight of the back of the guard, even now forcefully tearing the clothes free of a shrieking young woman begging him to stop.

    ¡°You thought you could use your Shadow arts against someone like me, foolish half-breed? Well now you¡¯ll pay ultimate price before I cut your¡­¡±

    The man¡¯s words died off in open-mouthed confusion, the powerful Bronze Cultivator completely unable to find the words he wanted to say as the young kitsune girl shrieked in the man¡¯s confused grip. He opened his mouth one final time, blinking the blood out of his eyes as trembling fingers reached for the top of his skull that was no longer there.

    With a look of confused horror, the doomed guardsman collapsed, the remains of his lobotomized brain tearing completely free of its skull as it smacked against the cold stone tiles, his soul crashing into a colder river still.

    Black Swan!

    You have successfully bisected your foe¡¯s skull!

    A sheering strike carefully calibrated to minimize risk of collateral damage allows your foe to appreciate his final moments of lobotomized awareness before embracing the death he so richly deserves!

    For a long moment there was only silence as Alex gazed into the wide-frightened eyes of the kitsune wearing the partially torn remains of tight-fitting leather armor that seemed to naturally blend in with her surroundings.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Alex inwardly cringed, knowing it was a stupid thing to say. Of course she wasn¡¯t alright. But far better an awkward query that showed his concern than to gaze at her at her most vulnerable with the cold eyes of a killer.

    The girl¡¯s cheeks flushed, her carefully pinned bonnet torn free, revealing tangled curls and ears that perfectly matched those of Alex¡¯s ultimate mentor.

    The young kitsune lowered her gaze, before giving a quick nod. ¡°I¡­ yes.¡± She swallowed ¡°He did no worse than beat me and tear my mother¡¯s leathers. But a few seconds longer¡­ and it¡¯s the Fox¡¯s own luck I¡¯m not already carrying that bastard¡¯s child. Or worse, since he would have probably cut my throat, once he was done the deed.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    The girl chuckled softly, panic replaced by a Cheshire grin so fast it made Alex¡¯s head spin. ¡°Don¡¯t be. You killed the bastard, after all, a gift for which I owe you my life. And believe you me, I¡¯m a girl who always pays her debts. Just not¡­¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Alex said with his gentlest smile.

    Her cheeks blazed. She quickly nodded, imploring eyes meeting his own. ¡°It¡¯s a miracle you¡¯re even here. That anyone would even care to help some silly lost Kitsune girl when the whole world acts like we no longer even exist, so none of us ever dare show our ears in public. Not ever. Anyway, are you the boy I saw in my dreams? Is that why you came?¡±

    Alex blinked at this. ¡°I came here to look after my friend. To make sure she¡¯s alright. And once I know she¡¯s safe, I¡¯ll be taking care of this little problem the best way I know how.¡±

    The girl furrowed her brow. ¡°You¡¯re thinking of taking over this chapter? I don¡¯t think these assholes are JiangHu at all,¡± she said, glaring down at the remains a heartbeat before Alex made it disappear with a gentle touch of his fingers¡­ and the blood too.

    The girl¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯re definitely one of us, aren¡¯t you, hero?¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°An old friend declared me her lieutenant, once. But I¡¯m not seeking to reform this chapter.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you¡­¡±

    His gaze hardened. ¡°I¡¯m going to purge it of every last member of Dongfang Hong¡¯s little infestation. Punishing the bastard who thought he could use this sect to infiltrate and invade Wanshi city by embracing the same damned tactics he had used in so many other cities, however many seasons or centuries ago it might have been.¡±

    The kitsune girl gazed at him for long moments. ¡°My name¡¯s Lini,¡± she said at last, before giving a solemn bow. ¡°I will lend you the cloak of my night and the edge of my blade for so long as you wish it, Liutenant.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Mine¡¯s Alex. A pleasure to meet you, Lini. Your name¡¯s quite similar to that of my friend, interestingly enough. Is there a naming convention among the kitsune clans I should know about?¡±

    But Lini was gazing at Alex in surprised disbelief. ¡°Alex? Your parents actually named you¡­¡± Her features paled. ¡°No. The old ones are dead! There¡¯s no way you could actually be¡­ and I was named after my mother.¡±

    Alex froze at those words. He swallowed his suddenly dry throat. ¡°Lini¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, Eternal Disciple?¡± She smirked at his look. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. But you must have heard the tales countless times in your childhood for your parents to have actually named you¡­ why are you looking at me so strangely?¡±

    ¡°What is your mother¡¯s name?¡±

    She bit her lip. ¡°Nili.¡±

    Alex blinked. ¡°Of course it is. And why should I be surprised? You really do look just like her.¡±

    ¡°And if she finds out I¡¯m here when I should be safely holed up with my little brothers and sisters¡­ wait, what do you mean ¡®of course it is?¡¯ Who do I look like?¡±

    Alex sighed. ¡°Who do you think I¡¯m here to look after?¡±

    Lini gazed at Alex for long moments. ¡°Oh no.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ! Lini¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You know my mother? Oh no. Oh no, no, no! If she finds out I¡¯m here, I¡¯ll never hear the end of it. She¡¯ll keep my locked up until I¡¯m old and grey¡± She then flinched, truly taking in what Alex had said. ¡°Wait. She¡¯s here? Then that means she¡¯s in danger! These bastards aren¡¯t JiangHu, and they¡¯re kidnapping girls, I¡¯m sure of it! I came here looking for proof, but now I just want to find her and get out of here!¡±

    ¡°Agreed. And if we¡¯re going to do that, we¡¯re going to use our heads. Which means you keep your eyes opened, your ears perked toward me, and your words at a whisper. Or absolute silence when my blade is bare.¡±

    The girl flinched. ¡°Yes, Lieutenant.¡±

    ¡°Right now its about reconnaissance, and reuniting you with your mother. Then you two will leave and I will get to work.¡±

    Lini bit her lip, before slowly nodding. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± She flashed a brave smile. ¡°I came here following threads of Fate, looking for my missing friend. I certainly wasn¡¯t expecting these soldiers you mentioned, let alone men versed in Shadow Qi!¡±

    Alex flashed a cold smile. ¡°Don¡¯t look so surprised. My enemy had access to the cream of his crop, apparently, before he was exiled. So here he now is, with his overly talented psychopathic contingent, eager to carve an empire for himself in these hot desert sands, far away from any Sacred City. Now that I think about it, that¡¯s probably more common than anyone ever admits aloud. So long as would-be tyrants leave Sacred Cities and the farming network they depend upon alone, no one cares what happens in the wilder parts of the world. And since most of the time I lived in a Sacred City, I never had any reason to care either. Until now.¡±

    Lini gave him an odd look. ¡°I don¡¯t entirely understand what you¡¯re saying, but if this would-be king has access to powerful soldiers well-versed in Shadow Qi and other arts, then we really are in trouble.¡±

    Alex gave a measured nod of his head. ¡°So the best thing we can do is find whatever weeds Dongfang Hong¡¯s left to grow in his stead, and cut them all down to size.¡±

    Lini gave a fierce nod. ¡°And I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    ¡°Yes. By making full use of your Shadow Qi, so we can track down your mother with the least amount of interference. But I expect you to leave any fighting to me.¡±

    ¡°Gladly,¡± she said with a haunted look to her eyes as the shadows and gloom soon filled the corridor. Not quite as expertly done as Nili, let alone Jidihu, but that along with their suddenly soundless footsteps hopefully meant that they would have a chance to explore this underground maze of rooms without drawing too much attention, and hopefully find Lini¡¯s mother before it was too late.

 Book 9 - Chapter 10

    Alex proceeded forward with deadly caution. It chilled him to think that his enemy might already setting up enemy bases within the city to facilitate a bloody coup. And Alex couldn¡¯t think of a better target than this JiangHu base, which was clearly far more extensive than any single manor. No doubt it was connected to multiple fortified establishments, and could serve as a choice base of operations for who knew how many enemy soldiers.

    He couldn¡¯t deny the anxious prickle in his gut, facing an unknown threat without Gold tier Strength or access to his extremely useful gates. And he would have to do it while watching out for a teenage kitsune who couldn¡¯t have been more than sixteen.

    He pushed aside his worries before exchanging a nod with Lini, knowing that it was too late for second guessing himself. His friend was in danger, and there was no way he was letting this child go hunting for her mother alone, nor would he coldly hold her back and deal with the horrific fallout, should Nili perish for his cowardice.

    Really there was only one path they could take, and that was forward. So they did, quickly darting for the main corridor in tandem. It was bare of all ornamentation, with only shadows from sporadically placed oil lamps to give any shelter from prying eyes that thankfully weren¡¯t around at that moment. Though the tension he felt only mounted with how well he could sense and hear so many soldiers around him. The entire base thrummed with the low bustle of a military camp echoing through the corridors, even if most of the reinforced doors they passed were closed.

    Alex didn¡¯t know about Lini, but all sorts of alarms were ringing in his head. There was no way he¡¯d think this a simple purple pavilion operation or the like, with all these safeguards and fall-backs. Whatever its original purpose, it had clearly been co-opted by what he was increasingly sure was at least a splinter of Dongfang Hong¡¯s former forces. So the last thing Alex wanted to do was risk alarming an entire hive of hotblooded soldiers. He reaffirmed to himself that this mission was one of stealth and reconnaissance. He certainly didn¡¯t want to risk getting overwhelmed with no exit point, or a fumble at his end putting Lini or her mother in unnecessary peril. If Nili was in friendly negotiations with a corrupt Chaoxiang, the last thing he wanted to do was blow her cover and risk an entire hidden regimen trying to cut Alex and an unprepared Nili down.

    At least he had had the forethought to make full use of both his odd storage space and Water Qi affinities to remove all traces of his earlier kills, which should hold up to at least a cursory inspection before he, Nili, and her daughter fled for their lives.

    Alex frowned as the corridor forked off just ahead, keeping ever aware of the rooms he was passing, most especially those that contained warm bodies or supplies, his Qi Perception and Wind affinities revealing so many secrets. It was then that the faint trod of leather boots seemed to echo like thunder to his hypersensitive ears as a pair of men made their way down the central corridor.

    Alex wasted no time, grabbing a startled Lini¡¯s hand and darting into the nearest storage room he had sensed. He was relieved that she hadn¡¯t argued his call, or taken offense that he wanted to be out of their sight, no matter how stealthy she thought she was.

    Fortunately, Wind-enhanced hearing and quick reflexes had let them both slip out of sight before the pair of soldiers rounded the corner.

    ¡°Ready for some fresh meat, Fan?¡± Joked one to the other, eliciting a bark of laughter as the pair continued down the corridor while Alex and his companion remained perfectly still within a room filled with dry rations, spears, suits of lamellar armor, and crossbows. The latter especially was a troubling sight. And the look Lini gave him¡­ she knew exactly what such a cache meant, and the chilling implications it had for her home.

    Alex¡¯s heart was pounding. He was now most definitely in his enemy¡¯s camp, and with Nili still unaccounted for¡­ he had to be careful. And discrete. He made sure the pair of men were well past his location before slipping into the corner once more. Lini, ears pressed anxiously back into her thick mane of curls, was clenching his wriste like a lifeline. Alex gently patted her hand while scowling at the distant pair of guards before breaking completely free of the doorway they could dart back into¡­ finding it odd that the pair hadn¡¯t turned to take the route back to the main brothel, but instead walked deeper along the tunnel before slipping through a door at the far end.

    That was when the far corridor door abruptly opened, the wind whispering secrets that changed absolutely everything.

    ¡°Fresh conscripts acquired, captain. We¡¯ve now met our quota.¡±

    ¡°Good. Ready them for transport. They all leave tonight.¡±

    Yet what a horrified Alex heard behind the distant curt voices wasn¡¯t the sound of freshly indoctrinated troops fed clever propaganda, now eager to ¡®see the world¡¯ as a soldier. No. What he heard were the high pitched sobs of terrified girls.

    Alex¡¯s blood ran cold, just as his ears prickled with laughter he recognized all too well from the opposite end of the corridor. Nili¡¯s voice, regaling the supposed master of this operation with a fantastical account of how they had found their imaginary cistern, receiving nothing but warm praise in turn.

    Lini¡¯s ears perked up, eyes widening. But before she could say a word, Alex placed his finger upon her upper lip, curtly shaking his head.

    His thoughts raced as his priorities instantly shifted, now paying only peripheral attention to his friend¡¯s patter, with no signs that this Chaoxiang had done anything untoward at all. At least not yet. And had Alex not heard the damning words that had washed over him, had he not just rescued Lini from an act of depravity, he might be forced to wonder if his killings had been justified at all.

    But he had. And the looks in the eyes of the girls he had encountered had told painful tales all their own. And even if they had been but professional actresses sensing unspoken cues and telling him what they thought he wished to hear after watching him take the lives of their clients, the distant sobs had been the farthest thing from planned.

    He quickly spun around, Lini gasping and stepping back as she sensed the intensity behind his gaze, the pressure of his foundation that he so often strove to keep in check.

    ¡°Lini, I need you to stay here for now. Will you do this for me? I¡¯ll be back when it¡¯s time to come for your mother, and that¡¯s a promise.¡±

    The young kitsune furrowed her brow. ¡°Alex, I don¡¯t think¡ª¡± Her words caught off when Alex summoned his fangtian ji from storage, a look of horrified dismay coming over her features. She paled and quickly bowed her head. ¡°It will be as you say, Liutenant. This lowly disciple will wait here for now.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± He didn¡¯t both parsing her choice of words, he didn¡¯t have time. Not if he was just seconds away from averting fresh tragedy, yet another unforgivable loss of innocence.

    Alex¡¯s heart pounded with both dread and outrage as he made his way once more down the corridor. He gave one final warning glare back from Lini, who quickly darted back inside the storage room.

    Alex could only pray that she would do as he had instructed, needing all his focus for what was to come.

    It was all he could do to hold back his killing fury. Fingers tightly squeezing the shaft of his near indestructible weapon as he approached the door from which he had heard the faintest of despairing cries and soldiers coldly reporting their fate.

    He took a steadying breath as he glared at the door before him.

    Before slowly pulling open the door to glimpse whatever secrets his enemies had thought safely hidden away.

    ¡°Who the hell is he?¡±

    ¡°He shouldn¡¯t be here! Strike him down!¡±

    The pair of alarmed soldiers turned to glare his way. Yet the killing aura of those half-step Bronze was absolutely nothing compared to the towering fury of a Silver forced to confront a seen straight out of his nightmares.

    Dozens of young women muffled and bound, shaking with fear and exhaustion. Clearly innocent, clearly terrified, forced to look on as one of their number had her ropes cut by naked steel and was just seconds away from being forced to endure torments that would scar her for life. Torments that it was damned obvious that every single one of these women would be forced to endure for the rest of what would no doubt be short, horrifically miserable lives.

    The pair of glaring men shouted meaningless words that were drowned out by the furious roaring in Alex¡¯s ears. He dare not let loose the towering fury of his killing aura, lest he destroy that which so desperately needed saving.

    Instead, he channeled his fury in the only way available to him.

    Several girls blinked, the young woman huddling on the ground before him barely had time to flinch, so fast did Alex¡¯s weapon flicker. The girls were spattered by a handful of crimson drops as he darted forward, catching both falling bodies and tumbling heads, making them all disappear so fast that hardly any effluvia struck the girls at all. Almost as if those two monsters had never been there at all.

    And then it was done.

    The room was now filled only with girls sobbing in fear, or looking his way with dread and, in a surprising handful, hope.

    Alex did his best to calm his fury, nose overwhelmed with the stench of sweat, urine, feces and terror as he solemnly bent down to soothe the shaken and still sobbing girl who had come so close to being violated.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s done. They¡¯ll never be able to hurt you again.¡±

    The girl keened and rocked herself, refusing to look him in the eye.

    One girl, perhaps more resourceful than the others, had somehow undone her hand bindings and chose that moment to tear free her gag.

    ¡°Eternal Disciple, please save us!¡±

    Alex froze at those words, heart hammering as if fearing even that utterance would bring divine ire his way. Yet he sensed nothing but the desperate hope he now saw in ever more pairs of eyes, pausing only to shut the door before working as fast as his Quickness would allow, doing his best to free each and every one of those trembling captives.

    And Lini was right there, staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Because of course she had followed him. Of course she had seen everything. Yet he had no time for the questions on the tip of her tongue. They had things they needed to do and absolutely no time to waste.

    ¡°Help me free them,¡± he curtly said, voice rough with the pain in his heart and the fury still pounding in his blood.

    Lini immediately nodded, darting through the crowd and freeing the hostages even faster than he.

    So many flinched at his touch. While countless others wrapped him in fierce hugs, crying their gratitude, begging him to take them home. That they would do anything for him, even marry him, if only he would take them home.

    It was with a pained smile that he very carefully loosened their desperate mortal grips. ¡°Please. I¡¯ll do my best, I promise. But I have to cut everyone else free, okay?¡± His words echoed oddly in the vast domed chamber lined with watertight clay bricks that he thought might have once served as an emergency cistern, yet now the barren chamber lit only by a single flickering lamp was being used to imprison nearly seventy young captives who were guilty of nothing more than catching the wrong person¡¯s eye.

    The air filled with a growing murmur of relief, gratitude, sobs and hope as Alex freed each and every one.

    ¡°Who is he?¡±

    ¡°He must be a royal solder. The prince has come to free us!¡± whispered one girl wearing a fine hemp qipao.

    The girl next to her shook her head. ¡°Doubtful. He¡¯s Ruidian. And look at his hair. I¡¯ve never seen a shade that looked like spun gold.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ well, we all know who he must be. A blond-haired Ruidian boy with ancient clothes and a weapon like that coming to rescue us in our hour of need,¡± Declared another girl who had slipped free of her gag.

    ¡°I seriously doubt that,¡± snorted the first girl. ¡°Everyone knows that the gods abandoned us, centuries ago. If they ever existed at all. Those legends aren¡¯t anything more than fanciful caravan tales.¡±

    Alex let the anxious, excited commentary wash over him, the part of him not filled with desperate worry and towering outrage grateful that at least some of the girls were doing their best to sooth and comfort the girls who had broken down in terrified sobs. Even Lini was doing her part, the shadows muffling sound that would normally echo in a cistern like this one, almost everyone sensing the desperate need for silence. Stillness. To deny their enemies, so many enemies like rats burrowing through the rafters of an ancient home, any clue as to their sudden shift in fortune.

    Alex froze for a moment, shivering before sudden insight.

    Ignoring hopeful eyes turning wide with confusion and growing tension, he immediately spun for the door. Refusing to over analyze his sudden perception and understanding of the flow of sound and vibration, patterns that meshed so well with all the spiritual treasures he had studied, countered, and destroyed since first awakening with a collar around his neck and destroying an infernalist who had thought to enslave his entire band.

    However many years...or centuries back that had been.

    He had ascended divine steps and died at least once or twice since that fateful day.

    He quickly shook away a moment of bittersweet melancholy, mind blazing with one desperate question.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    After shattering so many constructs and configurations of spiritual energy channeled in ways that imperiled him, would it really be that hard to form a configuration for a cause that could save so many lives?

    He gazed intently at the door, mind whirling with countless overlapping images of complex knots of Qi¡­ shivering with ancient memories that weren¡¯t entirely his own¡­ yet were utterly his own. Such that when he caressed the door with a single touch, Greater Wind Mastery served as a bridge between past brilliance and present desperation.

    His eyes widened, genuinely surprised by how easy it was to tie a fresh knot of potential, needing only a tiny trickle of the flood of spiritual energy surrounding them all, enhanced by the raw desperation of so many nearby souls¡­ and the potency of those who had fallen to his killing blows, just minutes ago.

    Congratulations! Thanks to Rank 8 Artificer & Greater Wind Affinity, you have had a profound breakthrough!

    You have unlocked the secret of generating wards!

    Barrier of Silence has been quantized at Rank 1+6 (Greater Wind Affinity) = Rank 7!

    You have taken a crucial step along the Wujen¡¯s Path!

    At any other place or time, Alex would have been utterly filled with jubilation and excitement.

    Now, all he felt was a terrible sense of tension, knowing that he was running out of time on so many fronts.

    Yet at least now he could raise his voice, addressing the girls directly, once the last had been freed.

    ¡°Please, hero! Do you have any water?¡± Asked one timid voice before he could say a word.

    ¡°That really is a good question, Alex,¡± Lini agreed, flashing a sheepish smile. ¡°If I¡¯m feeling parched, imagine how these girls are feeling.¡±

    One of the nearby girls spun around, looking a suddenly flustered Lini right in the eye. ¡°Wait! His name is Alex?¡±

    Alex swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, eagle eyes quickly spotting one of many sub basins in what had once been a massive water cistern, no doubt assuring clean water even in times of shortfall. It said something unfortunate about the administration, in Alex¡¯s opinion, that this cistern had been completely abandoned when the city was currently surviving on a single fading Water core.

    Still riding the rush of potency from kills made less than 4 minutes ago, Alex summoned a Water shield and found it effortless to fill that miniature trough that was remarkably clean and dry, if a bit dusty, with gallons upon gallons of fresh water.

    ¡°Sure. Please. Drink your fill.¡±

    And the looks of awe and wonder this one act earned him was even more profound than his taking out the pair of guards so ruthlessly in the first place.

    ¡°Did you see what he did?¡±

    ¡°Drink it. It¡¯s fresh. Heaven¡¯s mercy, it tastes like pure spring water!¡±

    ¡°No wujen can make water like this, right? Just ice that eventually turns to mist, and only those who advance to Silver can make true ice that melts, and only in limited quantities and no one ever dares demand that they¡­¡± The girl of clearly wealthy origins gave a suddenly awkward-feeling Alex an appraising look before turning to the girl who had made such a bold proclamation earlier.

    ¡°I think perhaps you¡¯re right, sister. Maybe a hero does walk among us once more.¡±

    Alex flushed at that. ¡°It¡¯s just water.¡±

    This earned a bitter smile from more than one girl now gazing at him so intently.

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as ¡®just water¡¯¡­ hero. Not when our city¡¯s fate is hanging by a thread, sustained by a single fading beast core.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it. You¡¯ll tempt fate!¡±

    ¡°Stop it. You know it¡¯s true. Our dying lake tells the tale, no matter how diligently the farmers use the water that remains, or how lush or fast-growing all those crops have become, with so many cultivators now tending to our food supply.¡±

    There were so many questions Alex wanted to ask, but now was most definitely not the time. Instead, he forced himself to focus on the immediate matter at hand.

    ¡°How were you girls transported here?¡±

    ¡°They kidnapped me!¡± Sobbed one girl. ¡°After savoring the sweetest of dreams¡­¡± Her cheeks abruptly flushed. ¡°I was taken from my home in the dead of night! Now I don¡¯t even know if my parents are alive!¡±

    ¡°I was stupid enough to follow a handsome man who made such promises¡­ how foolish I now feel,¡± admitted another girl softly.

    More than a few girls broke down in tears, or castigated themselves with regret.

    ¡°How could I have been so foolish as to trust any man?¡± One cursed, yanking her hair and smacking her face until Lini grabbed her hand and the girl broke down in tears.

    ¡°I just want to go home!¡± Another sobbed.

    One young woman of around twenty, wearing what a surprised Alex swore were cultivator¡¯s robes, solemnly pointed down the length of the cistern. ¡°That way,¡± She said in a husky voice, standing tall and proud, now that her bindings had been removed. ¡°About five hundred paces. Through a warehouse built when trade was at its peak, since abandoned for warehouses closer to the various gates.¡±

    Several girls looked at the white-robed girl in surprise. ¡°She remembers?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a cultivator, of course she remembers. Even if she was tricked as easily as the rest of us!¡± Hissed another girl.

    For some reason those worlds made the young cultivator flush.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a very good one. I¡¯m just a student, still clearing my meridians. But my master would never forgive me not doing all I could to facilitate my own rescue,¡± the suddenly shy girl whispered.

    Alex dipped his head in appreciation. ¡°Thank you. That¡¯s exactly what I needed to know. Can you tell me if there are any guards, back the way you came?¡±

    The girl frowned thoughtfully. ¡°I think there were a couple men at the warehouse? They said things¡­ crude things, but with the air of people long used to their roles. I think¡­ I think they have been bringing girls here for some time.¡±

    Alex dipped his head. ¡°How frequently do they¡­¡±

    ¡°Bring new girls?¡± She asked with a bitter smile.

    ¡°Well¡­ yes.¡±

    The young cultivator sighed, a hand nervously pulling her braided chestnut curls. ¡°I think¡­ I think we¡¯re it? At least for now? The men¡­ they were discussing transporting us. One was joking that it would soon be time for the next phase. But I don¡¯t really know for sure.¡±

    Her words elicited fresh sobs in some of the other girls.

    ¡°Wait, please, have any of you seen a girl named Jinni? I can¡¯t find her!¡± An increasingly distressed Lini said aloud, after half a dozen girls she had whispered to shook their heads regretfully. ¡°Jinni? Are you here? It¡¯s me, Lini! I¡¯m here to rescue you! Are you hiding?¡±

    The handful of girls who had shown themselves brave enough to speak exchanged looks before calling out to those still too fearful to say a word. ¡°Does anyone recall any girl named Jinni?¡±

    Only silence answered her desperate cry.

    Thoughts racing, Alex quickly planned his strategy. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but he knew what would happen if the enemy soldiers spotted almost seventy previously captured girls flooding the streets, eager to report their mass kidnapping. It would generate alarm. Alarm that might be sufficient to cause anxious diplomats and agents to think that diplomacy was now a lost cause and unleash their Silver-tier killers to force a royal vacancy and put their own pawns in place. Either that, or give the signal to start the invasion that would cost the lives of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of citizens, not to mention all but assure the deaths of his friends.

    But there was no way in hell that he was leaving these girls to their fate.

    He grit his teeth, already knowing what he had to do.

    ¡°Alright, wait here. And that means you too, Lini,¡± he said with a pointed look at the flushing kitsune. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Please keep an eye out for my friend, Jinni. She¡¯s¡­¡± Lini¡¯s anxious gaze peered beseechingly into Alex¡¯s own. ¡°She¡¯s part Ruidian, but she doesn¡¯t have any jewel on her brow or anything like that. Yet I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t even matter. She¡¯s exotic looking and pretty. And these animals¡­¡± She bit her lip, squeezing back tears as one of the closest girls squeezed her hand sympathetically as she choked back a sob, wiping away the tears streaming down her cheeks.

    Alex bowed his head. ¡°I will.¡±

    He then dashed down the cistern and into the main tunnel just beyond, ignoring the panicked cries behind him. Because even if he wouldn¡¯t be leaving immediately, he had to make sure no flesh-hungry soldiers were heading to the girls from the opposite exit as the one Alex had entered.

    And much to his unexpected relief¡­ there was nothing but a sturdy looking door before him, clearly barred from the other side.

    He flashed a smile on utterly silent feet, Qi Perception picking up the impression of a long corridor beyond, devoid of any presence. No one was moving toward the door. Which meant that the girls were effectively hemmed in¡­ but no one was immediately coming back this way.

    Good.

    If things went according to the hot fiery plan forming in his head¡­ he¡¯d be coming back soon enough.

    He then made a quick alteration before racing back the way he had come, muffling his feet to effortless silence, using hardly any energy at all.

    Congratulations! You have evolved your Water Walking and Wind Walking Skills!

    You may now effortlessly walk on the ground without generating a trace of sound, or vibration! Your feet weigh so lightly upon whatever surface you tread that you could effortlessly walk across bamboo paper, water, or a leaf!

    Wind Walking has been enhanced by Lightness Technique! No ripples will form in your wake!

    Water Walking has been enhanced by Lightness technique!

    Wind Walking has been enhanced by Silent Steps Technique! No gusts will alert your foes to your hovering right above their heads!

    Wind Walking is now Rank 8!

    Water Walking is now Rank 8!

    Walking upon any surface is now effortless and as silent as you wish it to be! (save for the River of Souls, which still takes some effort!)

    Surprisingly to Alex, something in his gaze awoke something in the young freckled cultivator now gazing at him so raptly.

    ¡°You¡¯ve had a breakthrough. I can tell!¡±

    Lini gave Alex a look, eyes widening. ¡°You have. You¡¯ve embraced silence! Even though you¡¯re not¡­¡± She stole a quick look around her, adjusting her makeshift bonnet. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re not making any sound at all now!¡±

    Alex gazed at the pair young cultivators for long moments. ¡°If worst comes to worst, can either of you fight?¡±

    Lini flushed, wiping away the last of her tears before stiffening her spine and saluting him, fist to chest. ¡°Yes, Liutenant. I¡­ I won¡¯t dishonor my mother with fear. I can use a spear, though not as good as my parents.¡±

    Alex smiled. ¡°One spear coming up,¡± he said, giving Lini a short, light spear with a narrow head, ideal for piercing the weakest points in any armored foe, his movements buried in Shadow as Lini gazed for long moments at the ring on his finger. ¡°Nice trick,¡± she softly said.

    The other cultivator gave a solemn nod. ¡°I am a student of the staff.¡±

    ¡°Does that include the bladed staff?¡±

    The girl dipped her head. ¡°Though I use it more as a short spear,¡± she said with a glance at Lini¡¯s weapon. ¡°I¡¯m still a basic, but my master¡¯s almost certain that one day¡­¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right. You have seven intact nodes. Even if the final two are quite filled with compacted waste.¡± Alex flashed a bemused smile. ¡°Probably because your last couple of lives were quite a bittersweet brew of vice and virtue.¡± He winked. ¡°I get the feeling that this serene cultivator¡¯s life you¡¯ve been embracing up until your capture is the exception, not the rule. And good for you. It does the soul good, embracing serenity when and where you can. Hopefully, by this time tomorrow, you¡¯ll be back in your master¡¯s care, and can put all this all behind you.¡±

    It was only after the observation had left his lips that he realized what he had said. His tongue slipping way from him, forgetting that he wasn¡¯t with companions who understood his nature¡­ friends of a lifetime ago.

    Instead he received multiple looks of breathless awe.

    ¡°He can see our past lives?¡±

    ¡°He read her soul! Coaxin is right. Just look at the water we¡¯re drinking. Water he made effortlessly! And a Ruidian counseling a true-blooded cultivator? There¡¯s only one person that could possibly be.¡±

    The girl next to her nodded solemnly. Wide brown eyes locked on Alex¡¯s blushing form. ¡°He¡¯s a character right out of the stories. Our city¡¯s lost hero, come to rescue us in our hour of greatest need!¡±

    Lini¡¯s look of wonder turned to a wry smile. ¡°Does Mother even know what you are?¡±

    Alex ignored the heat in his cheeks, his focus on the trembling girl before him.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Li Li.¡±

    Alex smiled, pulling free a bladed staff from the ring he was still wasn¡¯t ready to examine, paying no heed to the fresh looks of disbelief this earned him. ¡°Can you use this?¡±

    The girl blinked, wide eyed, before jerking a nod. ¡°I¡­ yes?¡±

    ¡°Good. You¡¯re now Lini¡¯s spear-sister. The pair of you will serve as our young friends¡¯ guardians and protectors. Of course if trouble does come, your first job is to yell. Can you do that for me?¡± His fingers gently brushed both of their throats, earning a surprised blink from Li Li, and flushed cheeks from Lini.

    He smiled reassuringly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll hear your battle cries, if it comes to that. Or just whisper, and keep me abreast of whatever¡¯s going on.

    ¡°You¡¯re a wujen!¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°Just a student with a strong affinity for Wind.¡±

    His smile faded to something hard and cold. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of water. You girls will wait here until I get back. If trouble comes¡­ don¡¯t risk your lives foolishly. Surrender peacefully, so they don¡¯t cut your throat. Just let me know where you are and what¡¯s happening, and I¡¯ll come when I can.¡±

    The pair of girls nodded breathlessly as Alex girded himself for what was to come, allowing the gentle concern of a dreamer that these fragile souls needed to see and be comforted by to be replaced by the hard-eyed focus of a man willing to do whatever the hell he had to, to see his mission through.

    ¡°Hero! Wait. What do I call you?¡±

    ¡°His name¡¯s Alex,¡± Lini said brightly as Alex gave a final wave before leaving the chamber.

    Alex turned to the door, channeling his anger, letting it build in a surge of steady heat as a lock melted and a door sealed. One would have to be very serious and following protocol before deciding to break through that door, and both the noise and disruption of his ward would give him all the warning he needed to race back to the girls¡¯ rescue, if that happened.

    Or so he hoped.

    But if things went according to plan, the sealed door would soon be the last thing on the soldiers¡¯ minds.

    His face became a study in grim focus as he approached the first barracks door, placed his hand upon its surface just long enough for the gentle flow of air beyond to whisper its secrets, then he yanked open the door and got to work.

 Book 9 - Chapter 11

    Author¡¯s Warning: This chapter has graphic elements involving both abuse and Alex¡¯s perception of righteous retribution. If that¡¯s a bit too intense, then please skip this chapter!

    ¡°You here for the girl already? I¡¯m afraid she won¡¯t be much good for your regular customers. Not unless they like them toothless and well-tenderized,¡± sneered a cold-eyed soldier before flipping over an oddly decorated card upon a pile of copper coins. The other half-dozen men seated at their gaming table chortled coldly, all of them kitted in linen gambesons with dao at their hips, their sneers turning to icy glares and cold frowns when Alex calmly shut and sealed the door behind him.

    Wind Ward successfully formed.

    Barrier of Silence is now Rank 2(8)!

    Alex cracked his neck, feeling the increasing tension and hot glares from the men who clearly cared nothing from the victim they had so cruelly broken. Only then did he allow himself to register the bruised and battered girl covered in blood underneath the soldier still rutting on the bed farthest from their gaming table.

    ¡°We¡¯re allowed access to the girls all fucking night! So go tell your mistress to fuck off, you Ruidian mongrel. She¡¯s lucky we even let you¡ª¡±

    Black Swan!

    You have obliterated your target!

    Sound grew tinny and faint, drowned out by the hot-blooded fury roaring through Alex¡¯s skull as his fangtian ji tore through air. Or perhaps it was the howl of the storm crashing through him, flowing through his meridians and body much as it had, a lifetime ago.

    He felt things shift within, his Dantian coming over closer to embracing an alignment so ideal for channeling the storm¡¯s wrath as he became like the wind, weaving under a desperate thrust before blowing right through the closest living soldier. Or perhaps he was the crashing currents of the river, the entire chamber now awash in a sea of blood and gore.

    All he knew was that haunted desolate eyes upon a face covered in blood could have been Hao Chan¡¯s own, in the awful life her tormentors had so eagerly anticipated. Eyes that pinned and tormented him with their desperate intensity. A silent plea that might never be uttered. A voiceless cry that summoned the might of an ancient storm.

    It was as much howling hurricane Winds as Water crashing through and obliterating all resistance, the stone walls themselves scored of all ornamentation under the furious Metal salts saturating the bitter tears of that storm. Blackened waters filled with Dark Qi and regret. Yet somehow, there was a bubble of tranquility in that storm of bitter retribution, a single girl¡¯s shattered bed the only bubble of calm in that furious cauldron of rebuttal as every last soldier save one drowned in that bitter black sea¡­ before slipping into far colder waters still, where the howls and screams of every last victim to fall to their blows would haunt them for centuries, if not eternity.

    The only one left standing when the violent storm passed was a heaving Alex, drenched in the crimson aftermath of his fury, ankle deep in the spattered viscera of his foes.

    The girl in the far bed trembled, gazing at him with an odd mix of awe and horror as System messages rang inside his head, even as he felt his Dantian finish settling comfortably and irrevocably back into the position that he had embraced so utterly a lifetime ago, now perfectly aligned to channeling the storm that was and had always been one with his soul.

    Congratulations, you have had a breakthrough! Visions of the past and insights in the present have helped you unlock a Silver Tier Martial Art! This art embraces the flow of howling winds so drenched with Water and fury that they might as well be rivers of retribution, smashing through all your foes. Move with the grace of the swan as you weave and dart past all foes while forging a masterwork of retributive destruction!

    You have Learned Storm Swan Kung Fu at Rank 1.

    This art fully incorporates the elements of Wind and Water, and you sense it has the potential for SO MUCH MORE!

    Each Rank of your art Adds to all applicable Silver-tier combat modifiers in martial contests against your foes!

    Alex felt almost as if he were in a trance, for the first time in this lifetime feeling so viscerally the flow of joyful sparring and furious battle that had comprised so much of his adventures in the life he had lived before. Embracing the dance that had gained him a world and love of his own, and had cost him everything as well.

    Yet even a lifetime away, so deeply had he imprinted Silver Swan upon his being, forging an art that had allowed his disciples and would-be wives to ascend the golden steps of ascension all the way to the first steps of divinity, that it had clearly left an imprint upon his soul as well.

    Even if he only sensed a whisper of its potential, it was as if a damn had cracked, bringing water to a lifeless desert. Yet his own lessons and experiences of a literal lifetime ago had benefited from his most recent forging, his greater mastery over Wind as he learned to embrace the echo of that ancient pristine art and reforge it anew. This time echoing the howling weight of nature¡¯s mightiest storms. Skies blackened with the weight of bitter rain, unleashing downpours so furious and violent that it might as well be drowning in the sea.

    A sea so welcoming of lightning¡¯s fury. A sea just a heartbeat away from incorporating the bitter Dark Qi saturated metallic salts of a thousand lifetime¡¯s worth of tears¡­ or perhaps just the salty tang of the sea itself as Air and Ocean became one, Wind and Water fused, and Alex¡¯s art was reforged anew.

    Yet it wasn¡¯t entirely the art he had mastered at least once before, having evolved it organically, incorporating an entirely new element. An art demanding a flexibility that ancient ascended masters utterly rigid in their perfection couldn¡¯t hope to understand.

    It was a path that would allow him to embrace old masteries once again¡­ and hopefully stay forever out of the bitter gazes of ancient, presently sleeping, foes.

    Foes he was desperate to avoid at all costs.

    At least until he could ascend so far and assure a victory so complete that they would never dare challenge him again.

    He trembled with that furious thought that earned the memory of a rueful chuckle from a certain mischievously smiling inspector before fading to reverie once more¡­ and Alex found himself ankle deep in gore, gazing upon a girl so shell shocked and damaged that his heart ached for the fragile soul eager to leap into the river she could just barely perceive as being all around them, and end it all. A river Alex refused even to look at, already sensing that he was going adrift, slipping ever further from the safe and happy shores of blissful anonymity a part of him was desperate to embrace for this one lifetime, at least.

    Yet the hopeless tear-filled gaze of the girl shivering beside the groaning soldier still on the bed demanded that he embrace that hero¡¯s mantle once more.

    No matter how bitter and cold its burden eventually became.

    ¡°I¡¯m dreaming, right? I¡¯m dreaming, and this is the end? Please tell me this is the end?¡±

    Words Alex barely heard through bloody lips, cracked jaw, and broken teeth.

    Yet he still felt a desperate glimmer of hope, willing to embrace a path that made him so uncomfortable¡­ appreciating all too well how it could lead to a life of monstrous tyranny. And with so many of the desert¡¯s children of mixed decent¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m going to touch your brow, and no more than that, alright? Please close your eyes.¡±

    The girl trembled. ¡°Please¡­ the pain!¡±

    Alex¡¯s fingers touched her blood spattered hair.

    Shivering when his cheerful interface rang with the messages he both dreaded and was relieved to hear.

    Slave Node successfully accessed.

    You have successfully formed a party with Ling Ri!

    Warning! Multiple organs have been bruised. Internal bleeding detected!

    The girl¡¯s eyes bolted wide with horrified disbelief. ¡°No, no, no, no!¡±

    ¡°Ling Ri?¡±

    ¡°Please! Make it stop! Make the pain stop!¡±

    ¡°Only you can make it stop, Ling. Do you see the man beside you?¡±

    The girl trembled, eyes filled with an unexpected mixture of horror and fury. ¡°He¡¯s still alive! He has no arms or legs, but that bastard is still alive!¡±

    Alex nodded, solemnly putting the soldier¡¯s own blackened steel dagger in her terrified hands. ¡°How would you like to be healed in full, with no memory of the horrors you suffered tonight? And, should you wish it, no memory of your life before whatever fateful choices had you walking the path that led you here.¡±

    The girl trembled and sobbed. ¡°I want to forget. I want to forget it all!¡±

    Alex flashed a gentle smile, before his eyes turned hard and cold, glaring at the whimpering monster who lived only because Alex¡¯s mastery over Water was potent enough that he refused to let the monster before him bleed out. No matter that the predator was now filled with agony and despair near the equal of his victim¡¯s.

    ¡°Then thrust the dagger right there,¡± Alex said, gently placing the point of the blade upon the carotid artery of Dongfang Hong¡¯s foot soldier. ¡°And plunge. Do that and¡ª¡±

    She didn¡¯t bother waiting for any further explanation, eyes going wild with fury as she snarled and plunged the blade deep into her foe¡¯s neck. No matter that the man was a Rank 2 Bronze, his resilience brought him only a final handful of agonized seconds before he too joined his friends in bitter cold waters they would drown in for centuries.

    Ling Ri trembled, stick thin arms dropping the dagger as haunted eyes gazed into Alex¡¯s own. ¡°Please, make me forget? Forget ever coming here,¡± she sobbed. ¡°Please make me forget all of it!¡±

    Alex swallowed, knowing that there was one question that still needed to be asked. ¡°Do you have any children?¡±

    The girl flushed, shaking her head. ¡°No. I only had my uncle, but he perished as a guard on a caravan expedition. And then I was alone, and didn¡¯t know what to do. And then¡­¡± She shrugged helplessly, fresh tears flowing from her eyes. ¡°And then I ended up here.¡±

    Alex nodded, gently touching her brow. ¡°Then let¡¯s reset the clock, Ling Ri. And give you a fresh start.¡±

    Current party members have participated in shared experience point accrual. Collective party experience points may be freely exchanged.

    You have authorized RESTORE TO SAVE STATE.

    You have successfully directed claimed potency of Slave Node Ri74365.

    Warning! Decreasing biological age beyond short term storage limitations WILL revert all cognitive experience gains to biological age chosen.

    Warning acknowledged.

    Party member has been RESET to biological age of 16.75 years.

    Party member cognitive experience has been reset to 16.75 years.

    Spirit Qi Skill check successful! You have successfully implanted revulsion to all previously imbibed narcotics!

    It was several seconds before the girl in his arms jerked herself awake, gazing at him in puzzled confusion.

    He couldn¡¯t hide the relief in his smile.

    The gaunt cheeks and dark circles under her eyes had transformed to the plump vitality of healthy youth. And the awful wounds, shattered teeth, and thousand yard stare of a girl who wished only for death¡­ those traumas were gone as if they never had been.

    His smile assuaged her fear, causing her to look curiously up at him and somehow ignore the blood and gore as they quickly made their way down the completely empty hallway, Alex¡¯s air ward so powerful, and now incorporating Earth as well, that neither sound nor vibration from Alex¡¯s slaughter had disturbed anyone in the adjoining chambers. Still, he walked at a fast clip back to the water cistern as the girl in his arms gave him a puzzled look.

    ¡°I know you, don¡¯t I? You helped me¡­ rescued me from something?¡±

    For just a heartbeat, a flash of horror overcame her features, replaced by confusion just a second later.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Alex smiled reassuringly. ¡°You were at a cantina, spilling your troubles to a nice-seeming gent who was anything but. He plied you with poppy infused wine and tried to talk you into going away with him, but one of the serving girls talked you out of it. She told you what the life he was trying to entice you with was really like. You swore off poppy-infused anything for life, and made a new friend as well as a possible work contact for a future job, now that you¡¯re living on your own. Of course, that was when you and dozens of other girls were kidnapped. Fortunately a nice guy with a really big fangtian ji happened to be in the neighborhood, so we¡¯re now sorting everything out.¡±

    The girl gazed at him for long moments, a strained smile caught between wonder, disbelief, and fear. ¡°Is that what really happened?¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°The beautiful thing about the past is that it can be whatever we need it to be. So long as we move forward. So long as we leave no loved ones behind.¡±

    Ling Ri looked suddenly on the verge of tears. ¡°My uncle¡­ he¡¯s all I had left, and now he¡¯s gone!¡±

    Alex gave a sympathetic nod. ¡°I know. Let me introduce you to some new friends. You¡¯ve all had a rough time of it, and together, I think you can all pull through.¡±

    Alex hurried his pace to superhuman speed once he braced the girl who gasped against his chest, grateful that his attire was so resistant to battlefield spatter, the gore fading away like a summer mist seconds after the storm of conflict had passed. Then he was carefully slipping inside the vast cistern, the still shaken and confused girl in his arms inviting whispers and looks of surprise, confusion, and concern.

    ¡°Jinni?¡± Lini¡¯s hopeful features immediately fell as she and the young cultivator approached, though her expression turned tender with concern a second later for the girl in Alex¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Hero?¡± Li Li gave him and the girl a pointed look. Somehow, she knew not to say anything that would break the fragile peace Ling Ri¡¯s psyche desperately clung to, the other girls already following the young cultivator¡¯s lead.

    Alex smiled. ¡°Ling Ri¡¯s another one of the captives that I was able to free in the nick of time.¡± His gentle smile turned intent with meaning. ¡°She¡¯s been through a nightmarish ordeal and has no family left at all. It would mean a lot to me if she could find friends who might know a place where she could work and start life anew.¡±

    Li Li exchanged looks with a girl who¡¯s discerning gaze and thoughtful frown reminded Alex so much of his merchant friend Yingpei Lin of a lifetime ago. She and Li Li shared an understanding nod that eased the bitter storm still howling in his heart.

    ¡°Good. I might be back later with more captives. Once I¡¯m finished handling things, then we¡¯ll head out and find your families.¡±

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Alex¡­¡±

    He caught Lini¡¯s worried gaze. ¡°And I¡¯ll keep a look out for your friend as well, Lini. I promise.¡±

    He then turned around and headed back towards the exit, his exquisite Perception picking up their whispered comments as he left the cistern once more.

    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s he doing? Why can¡¯t we all leave together right now?¡±

    Li Li¡¯s gentle voice soothed the other girl¡¯s panic. ¡°Because he has to make sure they can¡¯t follow us, or kidnap anyone else.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s he going to do that?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not stupid, Sulia. I think you can figure it out.¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s just one man!¡±

    Lini snorted. ¡°You know who he is, right?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Sulia¡­ have you never read the Fox¡¯s tales?¡±

    ¡°Of course I have. But those are fables! Everyone knows that the gods and their champions left the world when lush forests and fields became endless desert.¡±

    ¡°Tell him that.¡±

    The whispers and murmurs from girls caught between hope and dread cut off with absolute finality when he placed his Wind ward across the once-more sealed door. They would hear anyone trying to get in, as would Alex, and be able to take steps, but no one would hear them from without.

    Alex gazed at the near dozen reinforced doors lining the hallways that had been repurposed into an extensive barracks. He quickly considered the opportunity costs of slow and cautious versus fast and furious. Foolish as he might be when allowing his passions to get the best of him, he was still wise enough to know that he couldn¡¯t expect a slow pace to work for very long. Sooner or later a slip would be made, guards would catch sight of him and alert both Nili and Chaoxiang. And If his kitsune friend was vulnerable, with her daughter effectively trapped here with nearly seventy other captives¡­

    Alex frowned as he considered his next step while still trying to hold on to his near transcendent epiphany, his exquisite sense of the storm of Water, Wind, and bitter tears he was so close to understanding completely, so ready to embrace bitter retribution once more.

    His hands tightly squeezed the hilt of his resummoned weapon as he slowly made his way to the next room, before changing direction and racing all out for the farmost door leading to Chaoxiang¡¯s wing. Because the solution was obvious, once it finally clicked.

    He didn¡¯t need to prevent his targets from alerting anyone else. He just needed to keep them from alerting Chaoxiang.

    Not until it was time to spring the trap in full.

    And wash this entire underground base in crimson tides without end.

    Skill check successful!

    You have successfully placed a Barrier of Wind and Earth upon East Wing door.

    You have successfully synergized Wind and Earth into one unified technique.

    You have successfully incorporated Earth¡¯s impermeability with Wind¡¯s buffer!

    Now neither voice nor vibration will alert your targets before it¡¯s time.

    Barrier of Silence is now Rank 3(9)!

    Alex allowed himself a single fierce smile of satisfaction, all the more so because he could still hear the voices of Nili and presumably Chiaoxiang like a tiny echo inside his head, as he got back to work.

    The pair laughing and chatting like old friends.

    Alex placed his fingers upon the hardwood face of the next door.

    He sensed the desperate screams within.

    And with a single twist and click of the door, he was through.

    Qi Perception check allows you to sense all the foes before you.

    You are now one with the storm!

    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡±

    ¡°That Ruidian fool dares to bare live steel before us? There can be no forgiveness! Cut him down no¡ª¡±

    Alex¡¯s fangtian ji moved in a blur so fast that an eye-blink would have missed it when the closest guard¡¯s still-blinking head finished tumbling to the stone tiles in a sea of blood and shattered steel tiles.

    The remaining half dozen soldiers gazed at Alex and his blood-spattered weapon as if he were their worst nightmare. And certainly the wild-eyed monster with blond hair whipping about his head in currents affecting him alone would have startled even him, were he not already seeing smiling death reflected in their eyes.

    Just a heartbeat before the vision was split in twain forevermore, along with his target¡¯s skull.

    Bronze Tier cultivator FAILS to resist the fury of the storm!

    Your opponent has been cut in half!

    ¡°He¡¯s a monster, we must flee!¡±

    ¡°Warn captain Dong! He is our only¡ª¡±

    You have critically struck your foe!

    ¡°Run! Run for your lives, fools! It¡¯s the monster we were warned about!¡±

    Alex allowed the howling winds wet with so many bitter tears to flow right through him, and from him to his foes as together they became far greater than the sum of their parts.

    Through the fury of conflict a spark was ignited that catalyzed a storm that washed completely through the underground compound, gouging floors and ceiling, tearing off numerous iron reinforced doors, before drowning one chamber after another in a sea of blood that left nothing but cleaved limbs, ruined bodies, and shattered suits of armor in its wake. For not everyone had been lax in their dress or behavior, yet all of them fell to the storm just the same.

    Alex felt it then, the pressure of an actual Silver in a sea of low and half-step Bronze that could have devastated a smaller unprepared city all by themselves¡­ if not for him.

    The final door before his ultimate target burst open as a wild-eyed man wielding a pair of obsidian axes glowing with dark enchantments and pristine sharpness burst into the hallway, covered in thick armor reinforced by infernal wards and runes.

    The Silver-tier monster chuckled coldly as Alex stopped and took his measure.

    ¡°Your slaughter stops here, Ruidian scum!¡± The man roared. ¡°Su Lin, Gonzi! Unleash the trap, now!¡±

    The man¡¯s smile widened when filaments of twisted Qi smelling of rot and despair spun about Alex like a spider web, earning cold dark laughter from the pale-faced pair of wujen who slipped out just behind the powerfully built Silver radiating such fearsome killing intent.

    ¡°Well done, Lion,¡± whispered the older wujen in a raspy voice, smiling so coldly as Alex stood perfectly still, hair still whipping about with the fury of his own breakthrough. ¡°This Ruidian beast has earned the unenviable displeasure of our master. And as it is us that have caught him, it is we who shall profit when he is finally in our master¡¯s¡ª¡±

    Artificer Skill check successful!

    You understand the nature of this trap!

    ¡°Dongfang Hong is your master, right?¡± Alex let the words slip out with a furious hiss, earning a flinch and snarl from the pair of pale-faced, almost sickly-looking wujen, and a sneer from the powerful Silver.

    ¡°That foolish mongrel would dare to ask such a question aloud? For that offense alone, he should be put to the stake!¡± The Silver Body Cultivator roared.

    The older Wujen smirked, rubbing his long spindly fingers together, a sickly contrast to the fine silk robes radiating protective wards that he wore.. ¡°All in good time, Lion. For now, we but need to...¡±

    His words were caught off in an explosion of lightning.

    Storm Strike enhanced Spell Cleave combined modifier of +22 effective ranks UTTERLY obliterates Silver Tier wards!

    Your foe has been temporarily stunned by backlash!

    The older wujen groaned and stumbled back.

    ¡°Master!¡± Cried the younger wujen as the roaring Silver-tier cultivator charged, obsidian axes positioned low and high with the deadly grace of a man well versed in his killing tool.

    A sight which brought a fierce grin to Alex¡¯s lips.

    ¡°The dirge of your existence ends here and now, Ruidian Scum!¡± Lion roared.

    Alex answered with Steel and Storm, his fangtian ji weaving low, winding under the man¡¯s warding axe and lunging for his foe¡¯s sternum, an instant before his snarling foe hooked the haft of the polearm with his second axe in a clearly well-rehearsed technique.

    Alex¡¯s blow earned a sneer of contempt. ¡°Fool! You think you can overpower a Strength¡ª¡±

    Lion¡¯s eyes bulged a horrified surprise when his obsidian axes failed to redirect Alex¡¯s weapon shaft, the axes effortlessly pushed aside by currents of Wind and Water far beyond Lion¡¯s ability to counter, no matter his Strength and the Metal Qi radiating from what Alex instantly understood to be deadly artifacts, able to cut through stone and steel like butter. Yet Lion¡¯s affinity was balanced and countered by the metallic salts that now infused Alex¡¯s art, ancient lessons brought to the fore once more, thanks to the bitter tears of horror and conflict he had just endured.

    Lion¡¯s desperate snarl of denial became eyes bulging with horror as blood shot out from between his lips when the bitter sharp spear head of Alex¡¯s fangtian ji blasted right through the man¡¯s reinforced steel plates like hail through a spider web.

    The air shook with Lion¡¯s furious roar, the snarling Silver lashing out with Metal-reinforced axe after-images that tore right through the stone where Alex had been standing, the air ringing with the crack of shattered rubble, the air thick with dust and splintered stone.

    But Alex had already darted back, fangtian ji held in a high hanging guard as he flashed his foe a vicious grin, eyes wild with the crackling fury of the storm.

    Lion spat blood and laughed coldly, a heartbeat before he slashed through the air with his eerily glowing axes, ghostly after images that could shatter stone now whirling through the air for Alex¡¯s head.

    Spell Cleave successfully counters Ghost Axe!

    You have successfully ruptured your foe¡¯s Mid-Range Qi Manifestation!

    ¡°No, impossible! My Ghost Axes should have severed your arms!¡± The furious cultivator¡¯s snarl turned to a look of confusion as he spat pink, frothy blood, as if only in that moment sensing the spurting hole in his chest.

    ¡°My armor is warded!¡± Lion cursed, before sparing a single moment to glance down at the steel tiles of his lamellar armor, all of them turned rusted and brittle, whatever enchantments that had been on it long since faded, leaving only the corruption that all such avenues to power eventually gift desperate students who dare such tragic paths.

    ¡°Now anymore,¡± Alex said with a pitiless stare. ¡°And you should thank me. The infernal cords damning you to the blackest pits of tartarus for the weapons and armor you value so highly have been severed as well.¡±

    ¡°No¡­ no, no, no! You don¡¯t have that power, no one has that power!¡± Lion howled in protest, ignoring the still spurting wound and charging Alex with fury that bordered on desperation, as if, in that instant, his wild eyes were all too aware of the price he would pay for his corruption. Desperate to do all he could to escape his fate, including abruptly stop his charge, scoop the panicked younger wujen by his head, and toss him right for Alex before fleeing into the east wing and slamming the door shut behind him.

    Alex blinked at the act of impressively brazen cowardice as the younger Wujen who was a half-step Bronze with physical stats that were all too mortal howled in surprise as he tumbled awkwardly through the air towards Alex. Yet the words he screamed in his panicked desperation revealed the undeniably ruthless practicality of Lion¡¯s cowardly act.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯m warded! We¡¯ll both¡ª¡±

    Artificer skill check: Critical Success!

    SPELL CLEAVE!

    You have ruptured all infernal wards!

    You have decapitated your foe!

    The howling storm tore through all resistance as pounding rains of crimson hue met lightning¡¯s rebuttal as ancient talismans that hadn¡¯t changed an iota between Alex¡¯s most recent lives were effortlessly cleaved in twain.

    As was the neck that the warding collar had been forcefully bound to.

    Alex smiled coldly down at the stunned elder wujen who was only now shaking off the backlash of his ruptured art, for only a handful of seconds had actually passed. Yet in a world of blindingly fast cultivators who had both achieved at least one rank in Silver Quickness, entire battles might have played themselves out in that time.

    The ancient wujen¡¯s eyes were wide with desperation as he gazed upon Alex. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have been able to break through my trap. You shouldn¡¯t be here! You¡¯re an abomination. The elder gods are dead!¡±

    Alex choked back his killing fury. As much as he wished to embrace the absolute depths of his epiphany¡­ there were other causes beyond his own crimson ascension. So he stayed his killing blow for one fateful second too long.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing a man like you has plenty of reason to fear what comes next,¡± Alex said with a smile that didn¡¯t quite reach his pitiless gaze. ¡°If you ever wish to feel the warmth of the sun caressing your skin for a few more precious days before being strangled in infernal vines that will tear free every last shred of power your soul had ever claimed as you drown in the river for countless centuries¡­ then I suggest you tell me everything you know about Dongfang Hong¡¯s operation here in Wanshi.¡±

    The wujen blanched. ¡°No. No! There¡¯s no way you could know. No way! But you do.¡± The man flashed a twisted smile. ¡°Good. That information, the knowledge that you¡¯re actually here¡­ my master will be most eager to find this out.¡± The shriveled old man began to cackle, eyes glittering cruelly. ¡°Farewell, fool! When next we meet it is you who will be squealing at the end of my dark magics, fool!¡±

    Alex felt a cold chill when he sensed something change. He wasn¡¯t sure what, or how, he just knew that all wasn¡¯t as it seemed.

    And his foe was delaying him. He could taste the odd desperation and excitement in the wujen¡¯s twisted mind. Somehow, Alex just standing there would lead to his death. His enemy was certain of that fact.

    So Alex lashed with his blade once more.

    You have FAILED to strike your prey!

    Alex glared at the afterimage of the wujen as the smirking old man laughed mockingly Alex¡¯s way, somehow growing ever more distant even as he was lying prone right before Alex, yet Alex¡¯s fangtian ji couldn¡¯t hit the man, even while embracing the fury of the storm.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened with dismay. For even saturating the fury of the storm with Dark Qi, such that the metal salts would cut through almost everything, wasn¡¯t enough.

    ¡°Fool! You¡¯re too late! Nothing you can do will touch me, worm! When my master hears of this, he will demand retribution immediately!¡±

    Alex blinked, feeling a cold shiver of dread and illumination, realizing his mistake just a heartbeat before it was too late. He was following concepts and ideas tied so closely to the physical conceptualization of the storm that normally served him so well. Infusing his Dark Qi to the metallic salts howling through the Winds and Waters of his wrath.

    But there was another path he could take.

    One where Dark Qi was free to strike out in directions both physical and spiritual. Even if the backlash was one that he too would feel.

    ¡°Wanshi will fall, fool!¡± The ancient Wujen chortled, now little more than a ghostly after-image, about to slip out of Alex¡¯s reach entirely. ¡°And the blood of every Ruidian and mixed-blood within will be on your¡ª¡±

    Doom Strike!

    You have channeled Black Lightning and have successfully struck your foe!

    The currents of oblivion recognize no master! You have suffered: Backlash! Severe wound minimized to Medium Wound. You have managed to choke back your own scream!

    The wujen¡¯s parting sneer turned to a look of surprised disbelief. He opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was blood and boiling darkness as inky black lightning tore through his spiritual form.

    The wujen¡¯s eyes abruptly bulged open and he began to shriek silently in ethereal currents Alex couldn¡¯t fathom as the ancient cultivator¡¯s body¡­ his soul? Seemed to twist and stretch impossibly vast distances as his flesh boiled furiously into the ether like water splashed upon a superheated kiln. The entire shrieking spirit twisted and stretched in hideous multidimensional knots before seeming to wink out of existence altogether.

    Alex shivered, ignoring the quickly healing burns sizzling on his forearms as his prismatic bones greedily drank in the majority of the Dark Qi backlash from his most perilous attack. One that embraced Dark Qi far beyond using it to simply enhance a cleaving blow.

    He wasn¡¯t exactly sure what he had seen, but sure as hell, whatever art that man had been using, Alex wanted no part of it. Not ever. As to whether or not that bastard¡¯s allies would sense that not everything was right with their plans in Wanshi, or if his foe had effectively vanished without a trace¡­ Alex wasn¡¯t going to bet on a best case scenario.

    The clock was now most definitely ticking, and he feared it was only a matter of time before a certain contingent of Silver-tier killers slipped inside Wanshi¡¯s walls with the goal of eliminating Wanshi¡¯s royal family before putting puppets in their place.

    ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck! I should have been quieter. I shouldn¡¯t have given that asshole even an instant to prepare!¡±

    Alex took a deep breath, turning frustration into focused resolve. What was done was done. There was no point in castigating himself over may-have-beens. Only learning and moving forward.

    He glared at the door before him. If there was one tiny bit of consolation it was that no one had yet broken the sound ward. Which meant that he had done at least one thing right, besides purging this quarter of the underground facility of every pawn of the Red Prince that he could find, in addition to rescuing another handful of girls¡­ though sadly, he had found no girl named Jinni, and most of those girls would have to endure their trauma without the benefit of a Ruidian mental wipe.

    As much as he might have wanted to do more¡­ he had done all that he could safely do.

    He glared at the door now before him, knowing that the mastermind behind so much betrayal and horror could be found just beyond. And as much as he wanted to ask questions, so many questions, he couldn¡¯t help but fear that the wujen¡¯s almost successful exit was thanks to an enchantment or device that perhaps all of the Red Prince¡¯s favored pawns might have access to. A weaker, flawed version of Shalu¡¯s original Divine-tier artifact, but effective enough, in the right circumstances. Such as when Alex wasn¡¯t around to channel black lightning through it. Still, all it took was a single alarmed pawn giving Wanshi¡¯s enemies an accurate account of the situation that could spell absolute peril for the entire city.

    So before Alex pressed his hand against the lock, aligned the tumblers into place and slowly opened the door, he made sure his thoughts were cold and focused.

    He had stepped off the stormy heights of ascension.

    Now there was only the icy gaze of a man prepared to do anything and everything necessary to stop his foes from emitting even a single cry of warning¡­ even if it meant bathing these richly appointed chambers of silk and luxurious excess in pink frothy blood. No matter how desperately Nili might scream for him to stop.

 Book 9 - Chapter 12

    ¡°And that¡¯s when we left the patrician¡¯s guards darting about the entire warehouse in a tizzy, so desperate to secure the shipment of priceless jade we had claimed before those boxes were ever delivered, and all their panic did was cover our tracks so perfectly that not even the elite inspector that madman hired could find our trail!¡±

    Chaoxiang¡¯s eyes twinkled with mirth, sharing a warm smile with his old counterpart as they clinked a pair of jade goblets from that very heist, savoring exquisite and absurdly expensive rice wine that only a few desert calderas were so hydrated as to export in any quantity.

    ¡°Those were indeed fine adventures we shared, Chaoxiang,¡± Nili said with a fond smile, taking a luxurious sip of her drink. ¡°Emblematic of far simpler times, when the world¡¯s cares were the farthest thing from our minds, when we needed to worry about nothing more than our next big score.¡±

    Chaoxiang gave a knowing chuckle. ¡°Oh, but that¡¯s when the fun and excitement truly began, little Nili! For taking the role of the reformed rogue and concerned patron, you were able to elevate your, ahem, protege to quite exceptional heights, were you not? Soaring so high that she went from hot-headed little monster no one cared to teach or tutor, to a study in elegance and grace, talent and refinement. She is a jewel now polished to such exquisite perfection that, should tumultuous times consume our guiding lights once more, the counsel will have very little say in deciding our next ruler. Wouldn¡¯t you agree, Nili?¡± The rotund guildmaster flashed Nili a too knowing smile. ¡°I¡¯ll bet our dear Princess Sunlay could claim Wanshi¡¯s throne and win the hearts of the people within a single season, should the vagaries of fate and fortune put her in line for such a path.¡±

    Nili¡¯s smile stiffened, jade chalice frozen an inch from her lips. ¡°May such a necessity never come to pass,¡± she said.

    ¡°Oh indeed, indeed! May his royal grace live on, our esteemed and vaunted scholarly Silver, for a hundred years...a millennia! Whatever leads to the continued safety, security, and prosperity of our home! For that¡¯s the real reason why you choose to walk in the princess¡¯s shadow, is it not, my dear former master? Your vested interest in the safety and integrity of our home. And having a princess sympathetic to the many benefits that strong JiangHu relations can have¡­ showcasing the best attributes of our, ahem, enlightened organization can only be of benefit to us all! Where the benefits of unlimited trade with our neighboring cities will be found in ever-full bellies for our people and, of course, mercantile fortunes that will soon be beyond all compare. With a fair portion of that going to the royal coffers as well, no? Ha ha!¡±

    Nili gave the man before him a pointed look. ¡°No, dear Chaoxiang. I suspect even our dear princess would be loathe to sacrifice more than the tiniest patches of our exquisitely fertile but painfully limited farmland to the cultivation of poppy and cannabis. For all that the medicinal benefits in modest quantities is something that even the most prudent apothecary will acknowledge. And a bit more grown for controlled vice and placating violence also has it¡¯s place, as you and I both know. But any more than what¡¯s already grown would be a burden we can ill afford until the waters flow far more heavily than they are now,¡±

    Nili crossed her arms, gazing pointedly at her counterpart. ¡°And don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t spotted a number of rooftop operations in this quarter of the city, Chaoxiang. Tiny operations that might supply a dozen here or there with relief of one sort or another, which we have chosen to turn a blind eye to. But such forgiveness, such leniency, doesn¡¯t mean that our princess is keen on the idea of giving up food independence for a chance to corner that particular market. Because we both know what happens when such exotics are suddenly in great supply, and a rare seasonal indulgence becomes a much craved treat one simply cannot live without¡­ no matter the wrack and ruin that makes of too many fragile, mortal lives.¡±

    Chaoxiang raised a dispassionate eyebrow. ¡°An indulgence that could have hundreds upon thousands bending their knee in supplication to our future queen. The blessed benefactor who will turn all their cares to sweetest bliss, so long as food and silver flows into our silos and coffers¡­ or force them to suffer the consequences of an open palm becoming a closed fist of denial, subjecting them to weeks of agony like fire in their veins, without our having to lift a single finger, sacrifice a single cultivator, or field a single army.¡±

    He gave a cold chortle. ¡°Can you imagine it, Nili? If any of our so called competitors actually protested? Fielding their armies to starve and wilt in the desert heat, pounding fruitlessly against our caldera walls when a third are writhing in the agony of desperation? Why, our queen could offer citizenship and unlimited supply of bliss to whoever was willing to kill their superiors and swear allegiance to our cause, and it would be as if our enemies had hand delivered us an army to serve as our own!¡±

    Chaoxiang¡¯s laughter faded, Nili¡¯s expression void of all emotion as she took a thoughtful sip from her goblet, her gaze not leaving her former disciple.

    Chaoxiang¡¯s smile only grew. ¡°And this leads right to a topic near and dear to both our hearts. The continued safety and prosperity of our home. For nothing matters more than the survival of our much beloved people, yes?¡± He gave a satisfied smile, sipping his drink as Nili simply stared.

    ¡°You¡¯re no fool, Nili. I see the twitch of your ears beneath your bonnet. I think you already know which way the wind is blowing. So is it not in our best interest to secure what stability and resources we can?¡± He nodded at his own question. ¡°Of course it is. Of course it is! And a strategic water cistern would do much to alleviate pressures in all sorts of directions. Do you understand, Nili?¡± He took another sip of his drink, peering intently at his enigmatic countepart. ¡°Should certain resources be made available, should certain promises be made¡­ there is absolutely no reason why your deepest desire cannot be made manifest. No reason why the young scion you have spent so many seasons grooming can¡¯t claim the throne that is her birthright, while solidifying an alliance that will see Wanshi stronger than it¡¯s ever been before!¡±

    His eyes twinkled with warmth. ¡°Do you understand, dear Nili? We need not fear being crushed before the forces confronting us. Or, to quote an ancient proverb, you need not fear being washed away by the river¡¯s currents, if you can channel them for your own ends!¡± He sighed, sat up, and pointed his jade chalice toward an exquisitely rendered painting on carefully treated bamboo slats that depicted the entire basin as if seen from up high. He thought nothing of casually poking a bronze tack into the bamboo. Nili¡¯s eyes widened, taking the color of the tack¡¯s top.

    ¡°You understand as well as I the threat we face, should we refuse to channel the river¡¯s might for our own ends. But the beauty of it, Nili, is that we actually have a choice! Should we aid the current, fate¡¯s currents will favor us in turn! Currents that will see our precious princess washed upon Wanshi¡¯s throne with a powerful Deep Silver who will dote on his future wife¡­ currents and networks that will then make the flow of poppy effortless, far greater and more efficient than our cobbled-together amateur caravanners, most of them petty criminals overstaying their welcome in any one caldera who hardly know what they¡¯re doing on their best days!¡±

    Chaoxiang positively beamed as he spread his arms wide, eyes alight with the grandiosity of his vision. ¡°We will turn our crimson enemies into bosom buddies! Allies that will happily ship our glorious spices of delirium throughout the desert. Our Princess will truly be a queen free to indulge in her every passion and desire, the weight of the crown resting lightly upon her privileged brow as you and I forge an empire within the one even now being formed! An empire of top quality products and fanatically loyal customers that will see our humble little sect rising to such glory that we will become the stuff of legends! Self-made entrepreneurs able to navigate the winds of fortune to unfathomable heights! We will be that which every aristocrat will weep tears of envy when our fortunes eclipse theirs own. We will be the ideal to which every aspiring JiangHu associate will aspire to be! Do you understand, old friend? A world of exciting opportunities lies before us. We can sidestep our own extinction and assure undreamed fortunes, just by reaching out and seizing hold!¡±

    Nili took a long sip of her drink, gazing so intently at the man before him. His charming smile could light up a room, even if not the shadowy corners within which other figures hid. And the fortunes he offered, such an enticing prize¡­ or so her thoughtful smile suggested, the tiniest of nods making Chaoxiang beam all the wider, before her calm reply froze him where he stood.

    ¡°So. Let¡¯s lay all our cards on the table, dearest associate. The new hidden master of Zuihaoshi, in his eagerness to conquer the desert, is in need of strategic water sources that don¡¯t depend on penetrating reinforced caldera basins. In return for access to this resource, and a willing princess with which this city could be effortlessly claimed via a single casualty-free engagement, we¡¯ll be given exclusive distribution rights for unlimited poppy and cannabis production with which we can enslave the hearts and minds of countless cities. And, since our future associate is no fool, I¡¯m assuming this will be done to sap the will and drive of opposing cities who are not yet protectorates of our future master. Thanks to unlimted access to the highest quality poppy grown in the heart of our caldera, not merely rooftop operations, we will have the resources needed to both entice and enslave them so utterly, that it will all but ensure compliance. Thus formerly impassable city gates will quickly spring open with one city surrendering after another in what will be remarkably bloodless coups.¡±

    She smirked, raising her jade chalice at the cool gaze of so many pairs of eyes, hidden and not. ¡°And of course, our profits will soar beyond all comprehension! For it will be the highest echelons of society that we enslave with vice. For they control the purses, gates, and flow of power while diligent workers will be of sound mind and body. Or at least sound enough to work the fields and produce the goods and services that keep our desert calderas functioning!¡± She allowed herself a throaty chuckle. ¡°And we will be at the heart of it all. The chief suppliers, the orchestrators of a bloodless coup and a city devoted to our future master¡¯s cause. Well done, my dear Chaoxiang! Truly, you have outdone yourself with the scope and grandeur of your plan.¡±

    Chaoxiang¡¯s features had turned frightfully cold with the first words Nili had uttered, hand clenched in a fist as tight as the glare that immediately thawed to the warm smile of a beloved uncle when he saw Nili¡¯s knowing smile, heard the warm laughter that melted all ire away. If anything, he seemed giddy with Nili¡¯s approving nod.

    ¡°Wonderful. This is wonderful! I knew you would approve, if only we gave you an opportunity to be a part of the process. To work with us to elevate our city to heights undreamed! To protect it from the trials and tribulations to come, and, of course, to make ourselves absolutely indescribably rich!¡±

    With a flourish, he unfurled an exquisitely detailed map radiating both Spirit and Fate Qi, depicting dozens of exquisitely detailed cities upon a map that must have stretched for several thousand leagues in all directions. Yet somehow it was all contained in the four by five foot patchwork of living skin Chaoxiang had so casually placed upon his hardwood table that had been polished to a burnished glow in the lamplight.

    Nili suppressed a shiver as best she could, but Chaoxiang hardly seemed to notice in his excitement.

    ¡°Now, here is Wanshi. And if we unfurl our map all the way down to Liushi, where several of our associates swear they spotted a band of adventurers much like your own crew, my dear mischievous old friend, but of course they were wrong and none would dare suggest otherwise, especially when we show them all the value of the information you gained in your...ahem¡­ reconnaissance of the surrounding areas. Now, if you could aid us by pointing out where, exactly, that wondrous water cistern and its underground water system can be located, our position within the upper echelons of our now expanded, ahem, organization will be beyond approach, and we shall enjoy virtually unlimited seed capital to start our own enterprise that will see us rolling in silver before the year¡¯s end!¡±

    Nili¡¯s heart was pounding. It was all she could do to force her self to take one graceful step after another towards that awful map of living flesh. And was Chaoxiang truly so blind he couldn¡¯t even sense the dark arts keeping that foul construct working? The souls trapped and strangled by Shadow, roping nodules of Spirit Qi twisted together in a working so foul that it was beyond horrific?

    Her ears wilted at the silent shrieks echoing through the ether. Even with all her planning and rehearsing with her beloved husband, in case either should find themselves in this situation, it was all she could do to grip the pen Chaoxiang gently placed in her hand.

    It was only then that she felt the sting, her eyes widening in alarmed dismay, realizing she had been a complete and utter fool to not assume the absolute worst, once her former underling had unrolled that map. But she had been seduced by conversation and wine, embracing a certain role so well she had become the overconfident blind fool¡­ and the weight of the two powerful Silvers hidden in Shadows that hid nothing at all from her, made it clear with their cold, soulless eyes that they could obliterate her in the blink of an eye, if they so chose.

    It was all Nili could do to pretend she didn¡¯t notice them at all. So focused on maintaining this role. Telling her old employee exactly what he wanted to hear, just so she could leave this place with her ears and tale intact. To report to her mistress and, if she had her way, take her kits and leave this doomed city as fast as her feet could fly across the desert sands.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    She whimpered when Chaoxiang smiled. Yet far from malicious, his look was amused.

    ¡°Really, Nili. Why such a look for your old partner? Right when were on the cusp of forging something truly grand together? Of course this artifact needs a drop of your blood to assure the¡­ ahem¡­ accuracy of your depiction.¡±

    Nili jerked a nod. Controlling her frantically racing heart as best she could. Because the truth was that she and her husband truly had uncovered an impressive number of secrets hidden in the desert sands over the years. And there were few better deceptions than those that could hide perfectly in the veil of absolute candor.

    So, Nili lowered crimson quill to damned parchment and did just that. But not before infusing the blood demanded with thrice its wait in liquid Shadow. Even if the effort left her so drained that she was weak in the knees. The cold looks this earned her, if anyone understood her actions at all, was immediately mollified when Nili marked one of her family¡¯s most precious secrets upon that map. Surrendered so damned quickly, when she sensed her own life truly was on the line.

    Chaoxiang frowned. ¡°My. I didn¡¯t realize it was so far from Wanshi. Closer to Liushi than here¡­ but no matter, no matter!¡± He gave a pleased chuckle, gently taking the cursed quill from Nili¡¯s suddenly slack fingers, his eyes lighting up with odd warmth. ¡°Yes¡­ yes I taste the truth of it! Who cares if it isn¡¯t right next to Liushi? Who ever said it was? We said no such thing! Indeed, we have completed our end of the bargain, just as I swore we would! No doubt this will prove very useful with the flow of¡­ no matter. What matters is that you have seen the light and have chosen the path of prudence and profit. As I knew you would, yes I did!¡±

    Nili pretended she didn¡¯t feel bone-deep relief when the killing aura of the pair of wujen glaring from the shadows eased to simple disdain, one of the pair actually closing her eyes as if to meditate, having far more important things on her mind than a simple insignificant fox who had already bared her throat to the powers-that-be.

    Chaoxiang was all deference and smiles once more. ¡°Some more rice wine, dearest Nili?¡±

    ¡°Please,¡± she said, forcing her lips into the most graceful of smiles, in complete control, even amused by the turn of events and so dearly looking forward to mercantile conquest of the most ruthless sort. Even if she wanted to grimace and scream and flee into her husband¡¯s arms before hiding their entire family in deepest shadow they need never depart¡­ but it wasn¡¯t time for that. Not yet.

    And just when she thought she might actually survive this unexpectedly perilous encounter, of course that was when fate¡¯s dice were rattling loudest, her ultimate sire¡¯s ultimate catalyst of chaos and change left too long upon the hot coals of endless possibility¡­ so of course that was the moment everything would explode into absolute chaos.

    Just like in all the tales, she thought with utter dismay as she darted to the ground so fast she only registered it after the fact when a massive body cultivator shrieking about a blue-eyed ghost ruptured every ward upon the triple-sigil door closing off Chaoxiang¡¯s private wing from all the mundanities of daily JiangHu operations.

    ¡°Lord Gru, Lady Asp, He has come! The demon we were warned about is here!¡±

    It was telling, Nili reflected as her thoughts raced far faster than even her Bronze-tier Quickness could respond, that Chaoxiang¡¯s boldest warrior that her former disciple had been so happily bragging about when first they shared wine was now completely ignoring his supposed master, instead addressing the pair of wujen sentinels who had hid from Nili behind tainted wards from the moment she had entered.

    It wasn¡¯t hard for her to school the horrified surprise she felt at the pair of cold-eyed wujen making themselves known at that moment. For all that she had been aware of them from the start, and all too painfully aware that her life had hung by the thinnest of strands from the moment she had first started sipping rice wine with her former colleague.

    ¡°Chaoxiang, who are these people?¡± Her voice was a squeak, and she was utterly ignored.

    Good.

    Far better that she be dismissed as less than nothing that obliterated out of hand, just in case she was an additional threat.

    ¡°Lion, report at once!¡± Chaoxiang bellowed, yet Lion, whose black-steel armor radiated the stink of infernal enchantments that had been shattered by some inconceivable force, utterly ignored him. Just as he did the blood trickling from a wound that would have been fatal in any mortal, Nili had no doubt.

    ¡°Report,¡± hissed the woman known as Lady Asp.

    ¡°A blond-haired master of the fangtian ji! He successfully countered my blood axes like they were less than nothing!¡± The powerfully built cultivator¡¯s anxious gaze turned to outrage. ¡°There¡¯s no way any half-blood should be so powerful a cultivator that he could counter my arts. The arts of a third circle Silver! He is an abomination, a twisted amalgamation of ancient magics and the wiles of our enemies. There is no other explanation!¡±

    Nili cursed in her mind, instantly knowing the source of the chaos, debating whether or not she could slip away with both wujen occupied by Lion¡¯s desperate recounting.

    Of course that was the moment that the door that had relatched itself behind the Silver cultivator exploded in a shower of twisted steel, blasted wood, and a flash of lightning so brilliant that the room was filled with startled cries, even Nili momentarily seeing stars despite Shadow¡¯s caress.

    ¡°So, I take it you must be Chaoxiang, and the ugly, infernally scarred pair of assholes next to you are your wujen cohorts?¡±

    Nili¡¯s mind shrieked a desperate warning that of course the towering blond-haired fool with such piercing blue eyes was completely oblivious to, antagonizing not only her former partner who had been so close to letting her slip free of his deadly net, but also the pair of wujen who were Silver tier monsters and could slaughter them both in the blink of an¡ª

    ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± Lion shrieked. ¡°The one we were warned about! He ripped through master Dung¡¯s wards like they were nothing! Strike him dead now before he can flee!¡±

    That was when Nili felt it, powerful wards of twisted might thrumming about both wujen, even as that thrice damned fool flashed his madcap grin. At least he hadn¡¯t given any sign that he knew her, yet. He would give him credit for that much¡­ and no more. If they actually survived this¡­

    ¡°So, seeing how much you two clearly don¡¯t give a fuck about Chaoxiang blathering orders in your ear, you must be Dongfang Hong¡¯s lackeys, and I¡¯m guessing that the bloated buffoon beside you is just a temporary tool you¡¯ll be disposing of the moment he¡¯s no longer useful?¡±

    Chaoxiang blanched at Alex¡¯s callus words, yet Alex¡¯s goading earned him nothing but contemptuous glares.

    ¡°You¡¯ve interfered for the last time, Ruidian Scum,¡± snarled the scar-faced woman known as Asp, her dead serpentine eyes locking with Alex¡¯s own.

    The male wujen flashed a bitter smile, even as his hands flashed sigils that flared with infernal brilliance through the air. ¡°I do look forward to teaching you the many errors of your ways, filth. When we are done with you, you will be beyond eager to embrace your place at the foot of our master, a broken dog who knows he is filth, embraces his filth, and will willingly disembowel himself for the pleasure of he who commands us all!¡±

    The man gave a cold chuckle so malevolent that it sent shiver¡¯s down even Nili¡¯s jaded spine.

    ¡°The lesson begins now, you appalling wretch! Prepare for pain that sears not just the flesh, but your very soul!¡±

    Nili felt it then, a foul corrupting taint so awful that all she could do was close her eyes and curl into a ball, for just a heartbeat feeling like a tiny wisp of sentience lost in bitter cold waters, surrounded by endless screams she could do nothing to escape.

    And much to her horror¡­ Alex didn¡¯t even dodge the blow. She sensed it wash right over Alex, a horrific art so vile that Chaoxiang fainted, and even Lion was crumpling to his knees, eyes bulging with dread as he spat blood from the wound on his chest, trembling not with pain but with terror, tears streaming down his cheeks.

    Tears no different from Nili¡¯s own. The pair of them shared an odd communion, an awareness and understanding that this horrific feeling, their souls drowning in endless blackness, was a fate they wouldn¡¯t wish on their worst enemy. In that moment, Nili knew that should she and Lion be forced to face one another, both would let the other flee, both eager just to escape with their lives and their souls intact.

    Yet what was almost as awful as the wave of soul-crushing despair leaving Nili a screaming wreck in her own mind was the discordant laughter suddenly all around her.

    The laughter and madcap grin of a wildcard who was utterly without fear.

    Yet his eyes¡­ his eyes hinted at witnessing firsthand horrors that would send them all shrieking into oblivion. Twisted states of torment that made the vile wujen¡¯s arts seem no more fearsome than a drunken mother¡¯s lullaby. Off-key, but utterly harmless. That¡¯s what Alex¡¯s smile conveyed.

    ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s the best you can do? That¡¯s NOTHING like the River of Souls!¡±

    Then, to Nili¡¯s horrified amazement, Alex was suddenly right IN FRONT of the startled Gru. Moving at such shocking speeds it was utterly beyond Nili¡¯s ken.

    ¡°Would you like to see it?¡± Alex queried as if it were the most natural thing in the world, while slapping away the wujen¡¯s limbs with a fangtian ji covered in darkness so thick that not even ghostly hands could pierce the haft.

    ¡°What trickery is this?¡± Gru roared, eyes incensed with fresh outrage. ¡°No one can counter Spirit Hands! You buy yourself but a handful of seconds, fool! Even now, retribution for all your crimes is at¡ª¡±

    The man lurched when Alex suddenly wasn¡¯t there, just in time to catch a face full of infernal fire from his partner Asp who had been positioning herself to attack from behind. Yet all she managed to do was burn through her partner¡¯s wards and sear his face. Of course, with wards as strong as theirs, only the lightest of burns were suffered. Yet it was enough to make the man roar.

    ¡°This fool dares to mock us! He will pay for that! Asp! Grab the kitsune! That fool has a soft spot for them in all the tales. We¡¯ll use her to¡ª¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll use her to do nothing.¡± The words were cold as ice, all mocking warmth turned to a bitter cold storm of howling hail which Nili had only seen once in her life. A freakish experience that had been beyond rare.

    Almost as rare as the flash of lightning followed by a crack and boom that had Nili collapse, too stunned to think or speak as her ears rang, the gentle patter of warm rain washing down upon her from the neck stump that had been a Silver tier wujen, just a second ago.

    Asp screamed. It wasn¡¯t the roar of a warrior desperate to avenge her fallen comrade¡­ it was the scream of a woman who had just lost her beloved.

    Yet before Nili could even process the irony and horror of it all, she found herself pinned by a killing aura so intense that she knew her demise was a foregone conclusion as the woman jabbed death¡¯s finger in her direction, piercing her Shadow cloak as if it wasn¡¯t even there.

    ¡°Die, vermin!¡± She screamed. A heartbeat before Asp was sent stumbling back, gazing at the stump of her wrist spraying blood, turning to stare at the wild blood-spattered countenance of the Ruidian butcher among them.

    How odd it was to hear words of confused disbelief. Sounding so¡­ normal. So human. Free of the deadly resonance of a Silver-tier monster secure in her power.

    ¡°How? My wards are beyond anyone below Gold.¡±

    Alex paused to stare at the woman. ¡°Really? You think that? I mean, clearly that¡¯s not the case. Just look at your own spurting wrist! And ooh¡­ that smile! I know what you¡¯re up to.¡± Alex chortled and winked, and how odd it was that the woman was giving Alex a hard bitter smile in turn as if, despite the devastation of their battle, she still had one final card in play.

    And then she didn¡¯t.

    Alex snapped his head around so fast that Nili was momentarily speechless. ¡°Get out of here, Nili. NOW! Our friend¡¯s about to port out. I don¡¯t dare risk holding back. Get on your feet and MOVE!¡±

    But Nili could only gaze numbly on, sharing a confused look with Chaoxiang, who seemed as stunned by the lightning fast turn of events as Nili herself was.

    Lady Asp¡¯s cold laughter filled the chamber as Lion, confidence puffed up by Alex¡¯s seeming distraction, roared and charged Alex.

    ¡°You¡¯re an abomination!¡± Asp hissed. ¡°When my master hears about your foul, twisted arts, he will countenance the systematic genocide of every Ruidian clan that thinks to hide itself in desert sands, and I will happily lead the purge! And you will have only yourself to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Come on, Mother. We have to go! Now!¡±

    Nili hissed when she felt an unexpected hand grab her arm and drag her back, a furious response transformed to instant agonized guilt and dismay, along with twisted relief and awful worry, when she caught the scent of the girl pulling her out of that deadly chamber, a heartbeat before it flashed with lightning so black that Nili was blinded, crying out in dismay as hideous power seared through her flesh like the coldest waters of oblivion as she stumbled to the ground.

    ¡°Mother!¡±

 9 - 13 - Great News :) Book 8 will soon be on Amazon!

    Spell Cleave critically ruptures enemy wards!

    Your foe is drifting away in spiritual winds.

    The air rang with the roar of Alex¡¯s foe, and he knew there was no way he could avoid the snarling Lion¡¯s axe. Not if Wanshi¡¯s fate hung in the balance.

    You have critically struck your foe with Black Lightning!

    Silver tier wujen FAILS to save versus oblivion.

    Silver tier wujen¡¯s soul has been lost to Ethereal Currents.

    You have been critically struck by Metal infused axe!

    Right arm has suffered Severe Wound.

    You your right arm has been partially crippled!

    Tainted axe head FAILS to cleave through prismatic bones!

    Alex cried out as his forearm was infused with sudden awful fire and he could no longer hold his fangtian ji in a proper two-handed grip.

    ¡°You thought you could strike imperial forces without consequence? Fool! When I present your head before the feet of my master, I will be rewarded beyond all other men!¡±

    Lion¡¯s ugly laughter filled the air even as Asp¡¯s doomed spirit shrieked her last before being shredded to oblivion, Alex having only a split second to wonder if her fate was now worse than even the lowest soul lost in the depths of the frigid waters, for she had been denied the river of death and rebirth completely, so terrible was the art she had dared.

    Yet the cost of Alex¡¯s killing blow was black lightning that had stunned him for a split second needed for his foe to land a crippling blow, even if the same backlash had Lion stumbling back as well, blood spurting from burns up and down his arms even as Nili and Lini both cried out, having clearly suffered injuries despite leaving the room entirely.

    As for the supposed head of the JiangTu Sect who had taken Nili¡¯s place, the man was wheezing and groaning on the ground.

    Lion roared. ¡°Die, Ruidian scum!¡±

    He swung like a man who had nothing to fear. For he had indeed crippled Alex¡¯s right arm, fangtian ji now worthless to him. So he let it fall as his madly grinning foe charged and lashed the air in a deadly series of cross cuts sure to slash open Alex¡¯s throat.

    Yet the howling storm of Alex¡¯s fury wouldn¡¯t be so easily washed away, Alex weaving under the deadly pair of axes that could have sprayed his blood across the chambers so easily. Instead, they kissed nothing but air even as Lion lurched back and wheezed, blood shooting from his nostrils, gazing down in utter disbelief as Alex¡¯s stiffened hand covered in shimmering liquid Qi plunged into his chest and pierced his heart.

    Find Weakness skill check successful!

    Enhanced Water Strike (Black Swan) now incorporates all the lessons once learned a lifetime ago!

    You may now embrace piercing and cleaving blows with your deadliest art!

    You may now embrace Black Swan with your naked limbs just as well as with dao & fangtian ji!

    You have successfully pierced the heart of your foe.

    Silver tier body cultivator has been slain.

    You now feel the storm of ascension howling through your soul!

    Potency-enhanced Prismatic Fox fully repairs Crippling Injury. You have full use of your right arm once more!

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but shiver with revelation, sensing that he was on the cusp of a Sage¡¯s Insight. A state of truly sublime awareness of self and environment that was almost transcendent, but treacherous. For no soul could bear its burden who wasn¡¯t actually ready to transcend to Divinity or the next life, and he knew all too well how flawed actual divine personages were. He suspected that it touched a path far closer to Nirvana and oneness, becoming one with the heavens as opposed utterly defying it. Yet either way, it was a perilous state in one who was the farthest place from a safe cloistered sanctuary where favored elites could safely push themselves to the limit without any worry of consequence when exhaustion eventually struck.

    The irony was that those who dared the Path of Peril could only dare transcendent epiphanies and the resulting exhaustion at the risk of extreme peril. Just one more reason why perilous and seemingly ruthless duels were in fact a vital method of walking Peril¡¯s Path, where, win or lose, most students would be assured escort to shelter and safety to meditate on their failings or breakthroughs.

    Yet Alex couldn¡¯t deny the profound breakthroughs and insights he was on the cusp of embracing¡­ a storm of potential he rode with the lightest of steps¡­ a howling storm he allowed to lift him, buoy him up like a kite upon a breeze.

    For he could taste just how close he was to crashing through to Rank 10 in what had once been his favorite art. His deadliest art, before combining so much in Golden Crane, forging that legend right before challenging the gods themselves. The free enhancement his own quantized interface would allow him to evolve, a backdoor path to power gifted by his ancient mentor in a format no native could comprehend and no one from his culture would even think to deny, was truly a double-edged sword. It was an evolution that could tie the powers of his path to the reality of his present like nothing else¡­ if he were not very, very careful. Already skirting the razor¡¯s edge with the cloak of anonymity that he pushed so hard along Peril¡¯s Path, as Enhanced Water Strike, now in a form that echoed his deadliest art, and Storm Swan Kung Fu, which enhanced all his Silver Tier martial maneuvers in a style that was now undeniably Hao Chan and Yinzi¡¯s own, though with a few more air bubbles thrown in, were both just the slightest push from exploding in rank once more.

    It was all he could do to take a deep breath and center himself. Steady himself. To ride the howling winds and roaring rapids and not crash over into profound revelations and the exhaustion to come.

    And his movements were effortless as he rode those perilous currents of air and sea¡­ seeming to float upon the ground as he picked his way through the now shattered former office of the piteously groaning man that had thought to coax and intimidate his former master, who was himself either a cold-blooded sociopath with nearly seventy girls paying the price for his gluttony, or the biggest of fools with absolutely no awareness or control over his own supposed operation.

    Either way he was Nili¡¯s problem, not Alex¡¯s own, he decided as he effortlessly plucked the whimpering fool with his now fully regenerated forearm and turned back to the hallway where his serene state of mind was pricked by bitter chagrin.

    Gazing upon the glaring form of Nili, sporting burns over face and hands and a death glare for Alex. And Lini, looking so much like a chastised cub, for all that she suffered no worse than reddened hands.

    ¡°You brought my daughter into this, Alex Hammer? How dare you! I don¡¯t care what twisted games you and your ancient master so enjoy playing with us all! Tiny little pawns upon heaven¡¯s game board and no more than that, yes? No, you bastard! You don¡¯t get to play with my daughter¡¯s piece like that! Not after abandoning us for a thousand years, you don¡¯t! Not after allowing the entire world to turn into a desert with your callous neglect!¡±

    Alex winced, deciding that now was not the time to bring up that he had never told her his last name¡­ nor the look of wide-eyed wonder Lini was now giving him.

    ¡°Mother¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up, cub! Daring to dance with this fool? I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re sixteen! He¡¯s the last boy you should ever bring to your bed! You¡¯re lucky I don¡¯t clip your tail, right here and now!¡±

    ¡°Okay, first of all, in my culture, sixteen is way too young for marriage, so you don¡¯t have to worry that I would ever¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Alex sighed. Dropped the whimpering Choxiang covered in shreds of charred silk and lightning burns, then turned to face the furious kitsune. ¡°Did you know that women are being held here, Nili? Does this fool who lives only at your sufferance, know?¡±

    ¡°Everyone is here by their own choice!¡± Nili snapped. ¡°Some girls like a little vice and bed play! And we take care of those who are ready for a fresh start. We¡¯re not monsters! Not everyone chooses to walk the same path as you, disciple!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the women above, Nili. I¡¯m talking about the difference between adult consent and girls being forced! 70 odd girls who were kidnapped and imprisoned here!¡± Alex snapped, loosing control of his voice, his patience, allowing his killing aura to flare just the tiniest bit.

    Nili blanched, her daughter whimpering by her side.

    It was all Alex could do to rein in the killing storm. ¡°That¡¯s right, Nili. Nearly seventy captives. Innocent victims who are about to be shipped right to Dongfang Hong¡¯s troops who would use them up until nothing was left. And they¡¯ve already begun using a half-dozen in ways you damn well don¡¯t need me to describe. Girls now so badly abused by the hidden troops squirreling themselves away here in the bowels of the city that four of them went catatonic!¡±

    Nili¡¯s eyes widened with absolute horror¡­ before turning to a deadly glare for Chaoxiang alone.

    ¡°Did you know?¡±

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Her words were a sibilant hiss. Her former underling, who moments ago had so enjoyed giving her a hard sell, lording it over her even as he promised her a fortune, sobbed and whimpered like the broken man he now most definitely was.

    ¡°You will answer me, you pathetic sack of filth, and you will do so now!¡±

    And it was at that moment that distant sounds had Alex jolting with sudden alarm as his cistern ward was suddenly breached, exchanging a look with Lini who, unlike Nili, wasn¡¯t even trying to hide her quivering ears.

    ¡°Alex! I hear soldiers trying to break through the far cistern door! Come on, we got to get back before they slaughter everyone we rescued!¡±

    Yet Alex was already sprinting at full speed, the wind at his back, even as Nili and Lini¡¯s conversation continued to was over him.

    ¡°Lini! Embrace Shadow, you foolish chit! This complex is full of enemy soldiers!¡±

    ¡°Yes it is!¡± Chaoxiang gurgled in a scarred, broken voice. ¡°You must leave, now! Just go, Nili. I will make sure no one ever knew you were here!¡±

    ¡°Oh we don¡¯t have to worry about that, Mother. Alex already slaughtered them all!¡± Lini said in a too cheerful voice.

    Chaoxiang gave a despairing whimper.

    Nili hissed. ¡°He slaughtered¡­ you know this? Lini, did you participate in this?¡±

    ¡°Oh no. I didn¡¯t kill anyone. He asked me to wait with the other girls. We met when he cut off the head of the guard who captured me sneaking in. I don¡¯t even know how he saw me! Anyway, he was trying to ravish me when I most definitely did not want to be ravished, and I wasn¡¯t even really sneaking in¡­ it was more like investigating! So please don¡¯t give me that look, Mother. It was important! I was looking for Jinni, my best friend who you made baklava for once, who was most definitely kidnapped. Only we didn¡¯t find her. But we did find seventy other girls!¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± her mother said in an increasingly cold, angry voice as Chaoxiang audibly tried to scurry away. Before stopping with a yelp.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. All he did was tear my leathers. I mean¡­ your leathers? But Alex took care of him anyway. And there were also the guards trying to ravish the girls in the holding chamber¡­ forcing all the other girls to watch, probably to break their spirit and wills and force compliance, but Alex bisected them all quite neatly as well! But since I like hiding far more than I do, um¡­ sticking my spear in people screaming at me to stop, no matter how well you and Father trained me, so I kind of didn¡¯t do any killing? Mostly, I¡¯ve been hiding in Alex¡¯s shadow and watching. And learning. He¡¯s really very good at chopping things up, isn¡¯t he? And he hasn¡¯t even noticed!¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± her mother said with audible relief.

    ¡°But now we really have to get moving or the invading sons-of-goats will be killing all my new friends!¡±

    ¡°Agreed. Allow me to take care of one tiny issue here first.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Mother.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no! Nili. You don¡¯t have to do this! Please! I had no choice but to serve them. I had no choice!¡±

    ¡°Did you know, you thirteenth generation horse¡¯s ass? Did you know about the captured girls? Did you know they had captured my daughter?¡±

    ¡°Nili, please! See reason! If our enterprise is to get off the ground, concessions had to be made! Seventy is just a tiny, tiny fraction of the population! The soldiers would have been happy, we would have all been safe, and our opium enterprise would flourish. Before long, we would have dominated all the desert cities with the Red Prince himself acting as our logistics partner! Don¡¯t you not understand, Nili? It would have been an economic conquest every bit as significant as the Prince¡¯s own military coup!¡±

    His voice turned to a desperate plea, but Alex paid it no head. For the clever knot of Wind he had placed around Li Li¡¯s neck was now ringing in his ear with the girl¡¯s terrified scream.

    A scream that turned to a choked off gurgle and the distant sound of soldiers chortling coldly as Alex sprinted down the corridor and smashed the cistern door right off its hinges with a heel kick, instantly catching sight of dozens of terrified girls and the cold-eyed glares of half a dozen soldiers lifting blades from a handful of fallen girls while glaring Alex¡¯s way.

    His heart clenched with horrified dismay when he caught Li Li¡¯s doomed gaze as she desperately held back entrails spurting from her belly wound.

    The howl of outraged fury in his soul was far louder than Chaoxiang¡¯s dying shriek he somehow heard so clearly as Nili forced her former underling to pay the ultimate price for selling out their city¡­ and for imperiling her daughter.

    It was a scream that a roaring Alex was eager to hear echo through the throats of all the hard-eyed men charging him even now, as he embraced the storm once more.

    You have successfully weaved past gladius thrust!

    Bronze tier Strength and Basic martial techniques FAIL to counter multiple Silver Ranks of Strength, Quickness, Finesse, and your growing mastery over the Storm!

    You have successfully decapitated your foe!

    Multiple Bronze tier soldiers charge you in unison!

    Combined Barrage FAILS to mitigate Silver-tier martial art!

    You have successfully countered all blows!

    Steel lamellar tiles FAIL to counter your wrath!

    You have successfully cleaved through 3 soldiers in a single swing!

    You have successfully bisected one additional foe!

    Final foe attempts to flee!

    Alex let the interface messages wash over him as he became one with the howling storm of grief, regret, and fury now roaring through him as he effortlessly weaved and dodged past the blades of bloodthirsty monsters moving so slowly, stumbling like buffoons, earning nothing but Alex¡¯s wild fury as his fangtian ji channeled his shrieks into the howling storm, embracing winds that could punch straw through the trunk of a thick otak. Or, in his case, indestructible steel cleaving right through lamellar, flesh, and bone.

    The cistern floors were soon covered in fresh spatters of crimson rain, a final shrieking foe right about to trample the very girls who had fallen to their blows, which a furious Alex would NOT allow, roaring and punching the fool¡¯s back with such force that Dongfang Hong¡¯s pawn was lifted right over a dying Li Li¡¯s gasping form to crash a few yards away in a crumpled, broken heap.

    Alex ignored the stares of awe and fear being sent his way, having eyes only for the young woman gazing at him with such an awful smile, eyes already glimpsing death¡¯s waters now watching his own.

    ¡°So the rumors are true. The gods haven¡¯t all faded into the desert sands. You really are the Eternal Disciple.¡±

    Alex swallowed the lump in his throat, trembling hands stilling as he placed his hands upon the spurting wounds and strove to embrace the very techniques desperation had allowed him to forge after a caravan¡¯s defenders had fallen to gut wounds so very like this ones. Vicious debilitating wounds promising a slow, lingering death that Dongfang Hong¡¯s troops seemed to specialize in, sadism and cowing their foes ingrained into every facet of their being as soldiers.

    ¡°I tried, Alex. I promise you. I just¡­ They were Bronze and I¡¯m a basic and I¡ªHeaven¡¯s mercy, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m cleaning your entrails with Pristine Water and packing them back inside. Please shut up, Li Li. I¡¯ve only done this twice before, and I like batting a thousand.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking¡ª¡±

    Her words cut off in a guttural scream when Alex calmly dripped four drops onto the wound from a precious vial he had ironically claimed from the very enemies so devoted to slaughter, at which point Li Li began to tremble and froth at the mouth.

    And just seconds later, after choking back gut-curdling screams, it was over. ¡°You bastard!¡± Li Li sobbed even as her eyes teared with gratitude and relief. ¡°That hurt!¡±

    Alex nodded sympathetically. ¡°I know. Please hold out your tongue, Li Li.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, not again.¡±

    ¡°I mean, if you want to internally bleed out and enjoy a slow lingering death after coming so close to a full¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, fine!¡±

    The other girls looked on with wide-eyed awe as Li Li shivered and allowed Alex to place a single drop from his vial onto her tongue.

    ¡°Did you see the way he cut those men down? He was a¡­ I don¡¯t know! For a second, I thought we were all going to be swept away by a spring flood.¡±

    ¡°We haven¡¯t had rain in three years!¡±

    ¡°I know. But he definitely moved like a force of nature.¡±

    But Alex refused to be comforted or embarrassed by those words. Feeling only shame. Not for the girl he had been able to save, but for the two mortal children who had already slipped into death¡¯s waters. Girls who had been unarmed and defenseless. Cut down as if their hopes, dreams, and lives meant absolutely nothing.

    Cut down by sadists who would gleefully claim this city, and all the desert lands.

    Alex felt a towering fury building up within him, clenched fists upon the hilt of his fangtian ji now crackling with currents that had the girls nearby whimpering and flinching away as Alex strode to the far gate. The gate that he, like an absolute fool, hadn¡¯t sealed as tightly as if death were coming for them all. And two innocent souls had paid the price for the madness of bloodthirsty soldiers and one unforgivably stupid fool.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡±

    Nili¡¯s voice, so different from her bitter accusations of minutes before.

    ¡°The hell it¡¯s not. I could have done better. I SHOULD have done better!¡±

    ¡°You cleared out a full platoon of Dongfang Hong¡¯s Bronze elites. I saw the bodies, Alex. No one who wasn¡¯t a Deep Silver should be capable of that. Not without backup. Certainly not a lost fool who is as much clueless child who barely looks older than my clueless daughter as he is any sort of divinity. A boy who doesn¡¯t even know where his soul will blow off to in the endless sands of time, between one life and the next.¡±

    ¡°And none of that matters, Nili. I should have sealed the door. I should have cleansed the far passage of any trace of threat before taking out the nest!¡±

    Nili sighed. ¡°And by the time you were done, the soldiers making a barracks of a JiangHu safehouse, MY safehouse, would have discovered the freed girls, cut down my cub, and probably me as well. So don¡¯t you dare blame yourself, Alex. You¡¯re no wujen. Not this time around. There wasn¡¯t that much you could do to seal a door against a Bronze soldier¡¯s strength, the enchanted cutting blades he might or might not have on him. Not without being there to cut them down yourself. Which you did. To the best of your insanely gifted ability.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m cleaning out this nest, Nili. And I won¡¯t stop. Not until it¡¯s done.¡± Alex glared at the dark passageway from which the soldiers had emerged, readying himself for what was to come.

    Nili wasted only a moment cursing stubborn fools under her breath. ¡°Very well, Alex. You do that. I will lead the girls to safety via routes that not even these fools have uncovered. Certainly not the bastard of a goat I had once trusted with my sanctuary, willing to sell out Wanshi¡¯s children for his own advancement. And then, Alex, we will have to return to make sure that no traitor remains to give the game away and doom us all.¡±

    Alex gave a curt nod, trusting the former JiangHu head to do her part.

    He knew there were countless strategies they should be going over, contingencies that they should be planning for. But not now. Not when seventy innocent souls, some utterly broken, many still believing in dreams of love and happy endings, could hear them.

    Not when the dying screams of disemboweled children were howling so furiously through his soul in a cacophony that could only be silenced with the death of his enemies.

    So he ignored the whispers and murmurs at his back as he entered the ancient tunnel and readied himself for what was to come.

 Book 9 - Chapter 14 (Now in the right order!)

    ¡°Ming, Skunk! Where are you fools?¡± The words uttered by a scowling man holding a lamp, glaring into darkness. ¡°It¡¯s shift change! The rest of us want our¡ª¡±

    His words were cut off when the light from his lantern flashed off of brilliant steel and the wild-eyed countenance of a creature he had no name for, the whisper of an ancient tale his mother had once rocked him to sleep with flickering across his mind for only a heartbeat before we was struck by blinding pain so horrific that all he saw was a shocking blaze of red. As if his skull had been cleaved right open.

    And then he fell with a splash into ice-cold waters, and felt nothing at all.

    A storm of retribution flowed through the passage, washing all resistance away.

    A shower of blood and shattered steel scales emerged into a massive warehouse filled not with dozens of soldiers. Just a single Silver-tier cultivator radiating power and confidence, now gazing his way.

    The man was casually leaning against a hardwood post with a pair of dao at hips sheathed in spirit beast hide, as was the rest of his powerfully built frame.

    The air rang with the echo of mocking applause. ¡°So, the mysterious Ruidian ghost that has disrupted multiple operations in a surprisingly short period of time is more than rumor and excuses to cover for utter lack of discipline and shoddy execution. Excellent!¡± The man¡¯s mustachioed upper lip curved into a smile. ¡°It means a few less heads will have to roll as an example to others. Always refreshing when fate so often arranges things in the opposite direction. Wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±

    ¡°Did you know?¡±

    The man sneered, eyes glittering cruelly. He was no fool. Of course he knew exactly what Alex meant.

    The decrepit wooden warehouse rang with the man¡¯s oddly melodic laughter. As if he were a charming bard with his flawless, perfectly symmetrical Han features, twinkling eyes, and brilliant smile. Not an absolute psychopathic monster.

    ¡°Know? Of course I know. Foolish boy. How do you think so many were lured free of their mother¡¯s street stalls? Their father¡¯s secure compounds? Enticed by rickshaw and sedan to ease their feet after a long day studying within Wanshu¡¯s pathetic excuses for institutions of cultivation, mathematics, arts, and the drivel they dare to call higher learning? Believe me, all it took was a single whisper, a gentle caress, and they were eager for far more carnal lessons, which each and every one of them took to with delightful gusto. Proving just how fit they all truly were to serve their betters!¡± The man roared with laughter. ¡°What, you think yourself some hero out of a dusty tome? Fool! You will find no pure virgins to seduce in this corridors. For I have plucked the first blushing petals free of all the delightful roses that will soon be forced to wilt under the desert sun for the pleasure of my master¡¯s eternal army! And you, outsider, will now pay the price for daring to interfere with¡ª¡±

    His words were cut off with an angry hiss when Alex roared and charged, fangtian ji whirling with a deadly storm of furious currents, fit to wash any foe to oblivion.

    Yet save for a contemptuous smirk, the predatory Silver did naught but weave aside with chilling grace as Alex¡¯s fangtian ji exploded against the wooden slats covering a foundation of brownstone that erupted in a crater, showering them both with stone shrapnel.

    The man¡¯s sneer turned to a half-smirk. ¡°Good, good! I welcome a challenge beyond breaking the hearts of so many sweet young fillies before lashing them tight with ropes of despair! The look of heartbreak in their eyes is my inspiration, as is the fury in your own!¡±

    And indeed Alex felt both frustrated and humiliated when his impossibly fast opponent seemed to flicker, lancing Alex with multiple whipping cross-cuts when Alex dared to take the offensive lashing out with a series of windmilling strikes that would have cleaved right through lesser men.

    Strikes that his sneering opponent effortlessly weaved past, fire kissing Alex¡¯s forearms, both forearms, when he dared to over extend, before he could snap his fangtian ji back in mid-guard, hissing when he felt the curious awful burning crawling up his arm, his interface blinking with alarm that he understood all too well, when he began wheezing for breath.

    You have been struck with Black Asp Poison!

    Your diaphragm has been effected.

    Vitality has been lowered!

    You have saved versus Cardiac Arrest!

    You have failed to save versus nausea.

    You have failed to save versus (mild) disorientation!

    Biochemical Mastery engaged.

    Power Healing engaged!

    The man mocked Alex with his too bright smile. As he momentarily seemed to double and fade in and out of Alex¡¯s struggling perception. ¡°Ah¡­ I see it¡¯s already working. Wonderful! You may call me Mongoose, foolish dreamer doomed to die of the most bitter of brews. And what shall I call you?¡±

    ¡°Alex Hammer Highblood!¡± he roared. ¡°The one that will see both you and your ultimate master drowning in the black waters of oblivion!¡±

    Alex knew damned well that any proper JiangHu agent or spy of any sort would call him the world¡¯s greatest fool, revealing such truths in waters as dark and treacherous as this. Yet riding the storm howling through his soul, now forced to fight poison¡¯s treachery that could so easily drown him, demanded a truth transcending so many games he and his ancient master had played so many times before.

    As he dared to embrace the shrieks of impossible currents, dared to force the accretion disk of a super cable whirling around a singularity that defied both quantum physics and all astrological constraints to spin about at ever greater speeds, pristine resolve and acceptance of who he was, what he was, were just two of the foundational blocks upon which his fate and future now rested.

    And if that meant acknowledging names whispered in his ears by ancient guardians of Death, flashes of memory painting a childhood far more unorthodox than he had ever realized, mixed bloodlines that went far beyond disparate cultures a continent away¡­ a world away¡­ the pitiless crucible of evolution, his own ascension, demanded nothing less than the bitter truth.

    His truth.

    Wherever it may take him.

    No matter how much blood he had to shed to get there.

    Perfecting techniques that were the echo of all he was or had ever been as he charged his sneering foe with a furious barrage of cleaving blows and windmilling strikes, earning nothing but mocking smiles from an enemy far faster than any he had fought in ths lifetime¡­ even as his arms burned with snapping rebuttals that left his foe¡¯s blades crimson with his lifeblood.

    And he, wheezing for breath as he was infected by multiple additional poisons for which he had no name.

    As had happened over countless battles before.

    Over countless lifetimes before.

    And as always before, even as his foe laughed, and mocked and taunted¡­ calling him a fool, a dreamer, doomed to die choking on his own vomit... just one more Ruidian whose head would be put on a pike for daring to act above his station¡­

    Alex felt ancient memories and the crucible of ancient battles reforge him anew.

    As the storm within his soul grew to unparalleled heights.

    As biochemical mastery slowly but surely, as he wheezed and struggled for breath, made those poisons his own. Just one more bucket of potent brew filling the endless seas crashing through his soul.

    As it had countless times before.

    For death¡¯s waters would not be denied.

    No matter how many times panicked gods clawing at dreams of divinity had abjured him before.

    He would rise again.

    He would always rise again.

    For the River of Souls, that which the gods feared above all else, were now his eternal domain.

    Abruptly Mongoose hissed and retreated with an odd look coming across his smug, flawless features with which he had, by his own unforgivable admission, doomed and damned countless scores of innocent girls. Yet his sudden hesitation was something that the tiny corner of Alex¡¯s mind not focused on slaughter thought strange, for Mongoose was the one who had scored yet another blow with his monstrous Quickness, hammering home the merits of speed above all else, which Alex already knew all too painfully well.

    His forearms were stinging with yet another crimson splash of blood, pattering across the ancient wooden boards. Boards that, remarkably neither of their impossibly fast footsteps, pivots, and stamps were shattering, both of them having clearly learned Lightness techniques from one Cultivation path or another.

    ¡°Your wrists should be stumps! I cleaved right through your flesh, I can cut through steel like water! You should on your knees, choking out your lungs while dying of bloodloss, you appalling monster!¡± Mongoose hissed, eyes glaring with actual offense as Alex took advantage of the moment to breathe deep of the howling winds and exhale the pain and bitterness welling up from within.

    Potency Mastery (still) in effect! You are regenerating 4 Qi Per second!

    You have saved versus Crippling Blow!

    You have saved versus Lethal Venom!

    You have achieved 54% Immunity to the effects of multiple Qi-based toxins!

    You have suffered one additional Medium Wound.

    Power healing engaged! Pulmonary swelling reduced to insignificance.

    You have successfully healed multiple wounds to wrists and forearms.

    Yet even as Alex felt the tingling abate, Mongoose¡¯s look of furious contempt turned to one of growing alarm, sheer outraged disbelief. Alex¡¯s continued survival, his refusal to fall, was clearly getting under the man¡¯s skin, matter how effortlessly the psychopathic playboy dodged past Alex¡¯s windmilling strikes that tore through the floorboards with explosions of shattered stone and floorboard splinters.

    Elemental Mastery skill check made! You have avoided Peripheral Blast. The elements know their master!

    Mongoose¡¯s eye flickered to his own impossibly sharp blades of crimson steel. Blades Alex could sense were sharp enough to cut through the highest quality armor, even in a mortal¡¯s hands.

    Yet in the hands of this Silver-tier speed cultivator¡­

    ¡°No! You dare to mock the Crimson Path! There can be no redemption for you, only death! It matters now your odd Ruidian resistances to Blackroot Venom if I tear out your throat!¡± Mongoose roared, flinging himself right for Alex as his blades seemed to blur, flashing for Alex¡¯s eyes before darting low for a wicked disemboweling cut¡­ his arrogant threat but a feint.

    A feint which Alex had understood before his opponent had even sprung forward. Flowing in a liquid medium that the atorm knew so very well.

    Yet even knowing he would soon be experiencing bitter sharp PAIN once more¡­ Alex took full advantage of his weapon¡¯s six foot long haft and widely spaced two-handed grip, assuring him a reach and leverage that his foe couldn¡¯t break through by might alone.

    Yet when the wild-eyed Mongoose snarled and threw Water into the mix to force himself past Alex¡¯s guard, roaring and propelling himself forward¡­ it was his eyes that widened with surprise when the shockwave of his blows were leveraged aside by the howling winds of the storm.

    Soul Sight Perception Check: Success!

    You have dared to duel a Silver Tier expert for the duration of a dozen lethal exchanges!

    You recognize Water¡¯s rhythm in the fluid mastery of your enemy¡¯s tactics.

    You have claimed the endless pounding waters as but one element of the Storm you seek to master!

    Techniques modified by Silver Tier attributes and Rank 10 skill with your chosen weapon.

    Soul Sight Modified Storm Swan has successfully bested Rank 4 Poison Waters Kung fu!

    Your opponent¡¯s Rank 3 Quickness FAILS to counter the wrath of the storm!

    Storm Swan Kung Fu has crested Rank 3!

    The Speed cultivator was looking at Alex with unguarded disbelief when he found himself cartwheeling through the air in the instant it took Alex to trap the water¡¯s currents in whirlwind eddies and propel the water through the howling winds of his fury, the tumbling cultivator crashing in a stunned heap in the far side of the warehouse for just long enough to gaze at Alex with something surprisingly close to fear.

    All the more so when Alex took another deep breath, flashing his glaring opponent a shit-eating grin, no longer feeling that debilitating pressure in his diaphragm at all.

    Biochemical Mastery has achieved 100% Immunity over 4 additional Qi-Based Toxins!

    You may now generate these toxins at will! (Note. Temporary penalties from mineral depletion may ensue.)

    ¡°No, No!¡± Mongoose hissed, as an ugly red glow began to come over both body and blades. ¡°I have achieved the fourth Circle in a master¡¯s art! There¡¯s no way you could match me! I have scored your flesh a dozen times, infected you with so much poison you should be on the ground, squeezing your own swelling throat! There is no way you could know my art, an art which I have used to poison the blood and rip open the bodies of countless upstarts like yourself, who thought themselves better than me!¡±

    And that was when Alex truly sensed his peril. Eyes widening as he lowered his balance and turned every iota of his focus on the foe before him, feeling ever more attuned to the howling storms of his life, the currents of his soul, and the bitter flow of his enemy¡¯s arts then he did at that moment, realizing much to his dismay that their duel had just begun.

    So why was he smiling so fiercely?

    Soul Sight made it clear that his opponent had just lit the fires of his soul at both ends.

    The wild storm of bitter hate before him had just ballooned in both ferocity and peril.

    Even if it was doomed to snuff itself out, should it fail to take out Alex in time.

    One way or another, one of them was going to fall over in death before this night was through.

    Mongoose saw something in Alex¡¯s eyes. A wariness, a caution, that filled him with manic glee. ¡°Yes, yes, you sense it! Don¡¯t you, you foul abomination? Sense that your death is inevitable. Sense that I will strike you with such quickness and ferocity¡­¡±

    Alex¡¯s instincts screamed, leveraging his fangtian ji in long guard an instant before his opponent seemed to appear right before his eyes, twin dao shrieking through the air, lashing out with a blistering series of cross-cuts that would have sliced open both sides of Alex¡¯s throat, had he not shifted his weapon in time with the storm¡¯s currents, keeping his foe at bay for the precious split second between life and death.

    ¡°I will tear out your throat!¡± Mongoose, now in his face, roared, just as Alex managed to leverage himself away once more, the howling winds all that allowed him to wind his fangtian ji in position to counter another half-dozen flickering mirror image assaults, his old master¡¯s White Crane arts incorporating so well with Wind and the howling storm that it was the only reason why Alex wasn¡¯t spewing far more blood from a ripped jugular and pierced heart than he could possibly hope to regenerate before his foe finished him off for good.

    As it stood¡­

    You have suffered three additional slashes to your left forearm!

    Prismatic bones RESIST all efforts to break through!

    Forearm pivot and Golden Realms anatomical lessons mean you are only suffering MILD Impairment to your grip!

    Strength check made!

    You manage to hold your weapon securely as you spring back from your foe!

    It had been nothing more than a flicker of instinct, as fast as his opponent¡¯s impossibly deadly flickering dao, shifting his grip so only the outer ridge of his forearm was sliced¡­ where tendons and ligaments were protected by the angular pivot alone. As horrifically sharp as his foe¡¯s dao were, they were still stopped cold after slicing skin and drawing a few drops of blood, cracking against the bone so close to the surface on that part of the forearm.

    Yet still, he knew it a lucky miracle that Mongoose¡¯s weapon hadn¡¯t successfully flicked open the undersides of both his wrists.

    He knew it, and he knew that a sneering Mongoose knew it as well.

    Alex did his best to center himself. To feel his footing upon the wooden floor boards through his ancient, thin-soled leather boots.

    His eyes then widened with desperate hope as he felt an ancient connection, long dormant, renew itself once more.

    Yet he knew better than to be distracted by his foe¡¯s mocking laughter as he licked Alex¡¯s blood off the edge of his blade and winked so mockingly, his speed now so monstrous that even with Alex¡¯s connection to the howling storm, sensing the flow of bitter waters that was Mongoose¡¯s spirit, it was still all he could do to shift and pivot his weapon in time to meet his foe¡¯s furious barrage while juggling the needs of his own internal imperative.

    Understanding so much as his wild-eyed opponent met his gaze and smiled, Alex shivering as he shifted his grip, left arm perhaps a bit too forward as he prepared for a stop-thrust of an attack¡­

    And his opponent moved so fast he seemed to disappear once more.

    ¡°NO!¡± Alex screamed. Biting back a shout of pain clawing at his throat as, this time, his foe¡¯s weapon slid past the howling storm to tear right through multiple tendons of his left wrist.

    The pain hurting even worse than he had feared.

    Biochemical skill-check: Critical Success!

    Quickness check: FAILED! Your foe has CRIPPLED your left forearm! You are no longer able to hold your Fangtian Ji properly!

    Fangtian Ji switched for dao!

    You are attempting to retreat!

    The air rang with mocking laughter as Alex¡¯s heart pounded with something perilously close to fear.

    No matter how desperately he tried to master his environment, no matter the flare of hope he had sensed upon seeing a single budding leaf upon the lintel of an upstairs window through which the moon shown so brightly and full¡­ a single miscalculation, daring to underestimate his foe¡¯s quickness for even an eyeblink, had just cost him an agonizing wound, severed tendons snapping back deep in his forearm as his hand clawed itself, horrified to realize that his injury would take much more than a split second to heal.

    ¡°That¡¯s my blood! My blood upon your blade! You¡¯re a monster. A monster!¡± Alex shrieked, letting his voice break as Mongoose¡¯s eyes grew wild with fiercest glee, elongated tongue taking such joy in licking his blade clean, no matter how much Alex screamed in protest.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, little fool. My blade drinks your potency whenever I draw your blood. Could you not feel it?¡±

    Alex¡¯s face scrunched up in visible dismay, features one of absolute terror as he forced himself to nod, allowing his foe to savor the inevitability of this moment, his steps becoming plodding, assured. Mongoose loving so deeply the sound of his own voice that he hardly seemed to notice when his lightness technique left him, the creek of ancient floorboards becoming the dull thud of flattened roots and living soil.

    The man hardly seemed phased at all. Laughing like a madman, eyes wild with glee, Mongoose was shivering with delight. ¡°And I taste your power, mongrel. So rich. So sweet! Water, Earth, and so much more! Lightning, of all things! An imperial element! How GOOD it will be to claim your head and give it to my¡ª¡±

    Mongoose¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, before his brow furrowed in consternation as a hunched over Alex focused only on retreating, on giving his foe the whipped-dog look he so craved seeing in all his victims, whether in the bedroom or on the battlefield. For Soul Sight Perception made it clear that Mongoose craved absolute dominion in all things.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    But arrogant as the man was, he was clearly no fool.

    His eyes bulged in sudden alarm when he wheezed for breath, movements far jerkier than they were just seconds ago.

    ¡°Poison!¡± He snarled, glaring Alex¡¯s way as he stumbled for only a heartbeat against a support post now budding with fresh new leaves reaching toward the moon, high above.

    It chilled Alex to see his foe¡¯s momentary look of alarm turn not to dismay, but to fury.

    He didn¡¯t need his interface screaming warning to know that the Black Widow Venom, his strongest Silver Tier toxin this time around that he had infused in the blood of his left arm like a sacrifice, foolishly underestimating just how deep his foe¡¯s blade would cut, had failed to cripple his foe. Instead it had enraged Mongoose, his soul burning ever hotter as he attempted to consume both poison, and Alex, in a desperate bid for survival.

    ¡°You fall now, Ruidian mongrel!¡± The man¡¯s scream stretched the length of the warehouse now rustling with leaves that did little to muffle the madness of the furious Silver, darting forward so fast that he almost seemed to teleport.

    Yet when he roared and slashed with blades now glowing red with infernal fury, he did naught but tear out chunks of living wood from the tree the post Alex had been leaning upon had become.

    For where his foe was darting around with Quickness perilously close to Gold¡­

    Alex had teleported away in the only way Rank 2 Silver would allow.

    By embracing his newly blossoming environment, and putting the very same skill that his survival had depended upon just days ago to the test once more.

    Communion with the Eternal Grove has borne fresh fruit!

    New shoots have sprung from ancient wood for a promise you are determined to keep.

    If you survive!

    You are now surrounded by at least traces of living greenery once more.

    Bullrush!

    You have successfully dodged Killing Blow!

    ¡°Impossible!¡± The furious Mongoose roared, snarling and glaring like the demonic cultivator he was increasingly looking like, as flawless features that could only be called beautiful warped and twisted with nodules of hate and corrupted Qi. His once pristine physique knotting with powerful cords of muscle that gave him a hunched appearance, but didn¡¯t detract from his beastly Quickness in the least.

    ¡°Where are you, you mongrel wretch? I will find you! I will kill you!¡±

    A desperately panting Alex allowed himself a single grimace of a smile as he choked back the pain of reconnecting tendons and sinews severed by bitter black steel and darkest curses that it still took Alex long moments to cleanse with Biochemical Mastery and Prismatic Fox Restoration both.

    Painful, agonizing seconds that his foe put to dark, methodical use. ¡°You summoned this forest, did you not, worm? Well I will chop it down, burn it all down with you in it!¡±

    The air filled with the sound of tainted steel tormenting wood Alex had given so much of himself to gift with life anew. Yet the outrage he felt was a trap, he knew it, biting his lip as he glared at his wrist and FORCED it to heal¡­ choking back a sob when his mastery over his own life currents allowed the last of the tainted steel shards to spurt free of his wound, and then he was whole once more.

    Exhausted, overwhelmed, on the cusp of a Fool¡¯s Folly, but whole, once more.

    Yet it was all he could do to keep his focus, his balance, to close his eyes even as the tree he now crouched within began to vibrate with the furious chops of the madman below. Forest Sense now pinging him and the fallen trees around him that were still alive, despite their torment, and that¡¯s all Alex needed to know.

    Bullrush!

    Bullrush!

    The forest heeds your cry.

    You are one with the storm!

    Alex wasted no time on gloats or declarations as he ported behind his foe in the blink of an eye, his fangtian ji whipping through the air. And there was no denying its presence, crescent axe heads howling with the storm as he embraced that attack that had forged and defined him on so many battlefields.

    Of course his foe with monstrous half-step Gold quickness could sense it, twisting around what was no impossibly fast, glaring at Alex with what were now lined and wrinkled features filled with furious hate and impossible shimmering power, making it clear that both of them had been holding back, as the man¡¯s blood-red blade blasted into Alex¡¯s chest, in the same instant he leaped away.

    Before stumbling with surprise, only then seeing all the roots that had wrapped about his feet.

    And that was all the time he had before Alex¡¯s weapon tore through him in an explosion of flesh and bone, ruptured curses, and blackened steel.

    BLACK SWAN!

    You have critically struck your foe!

    You have been struck in turn by HeartSeeker!

    Tainted steel FAILS to pierce Prismatic Bones!

    Fatal HeartSeeker Blow reduced to Light Wound & temporary -1 to Strength checks (damaged muscle).

    Alex was struck by such monstrous force that he was sent flying back by a blow that should have shattered his solar plexus and pierced his heart¡­ but was stopped cold by one gift that his foes hadn¡¯t been able to take away with his rebirth. The very gift that assured that the next time he slipped into those eternal waters completely, he was doomed to sink all the way to Shui Jun¡¯s coils once more.

    Yet the look on Mongoose¡¯s warped, hideous features made clear the benefits of accepting that particular doom.

    ¡°You should be dead. I should have cleaved your heart in twain!¡± The doomed cultivator snarled, discarding the hilt of his shattered dao and doing all he could to stand up once more¡­ and failing utterly.

    Alex forced himself back to his feet, the storms now howling in his soul so discordantly that he felt like he would topple over at any moment. Then he did topple over as Mongoose chortled and wheezed with laughter.

    ¡°My poisons have effected you at last. You are doomed, fool. Doomed!¡±

    Alex snarled, forcing himself upright once more. Knowing damn well that his brilliant stream of insight, becoming absolutely one with the storm for so long and pushing himself hard enough to take on, at least for a time, an elite Silver-tier killer who had come so close to spelling Alex¡¯s doom, had pushed him over the edge. He was no longer in equilibrium, having pushed his Sage¡¯s Insight far harder and longer than he otherwise would have dared.

    Forced to take on the man sneering his hate even now, features visibly warping and crumbling as he pushed ever more of his essence into trying to heal the massive rent Alex had torn into his abdomen. A blow that would have cleanly bisected any less nimble foe.

    As it was, the snarling Mongoose was desperately scrabbling in a hip pouch for what Alex guessed was a bottle he was intimately familiar with, only for his eyes to widen when he removed nothing but leaves and bitter thorns.

    ¡°No¡­ no!¡±

    Alex forced a cold smile as he desperately focused on controlling the ever wilder storm, in desperate need of rest, yet there was no time. No matter the consequences, he had to see this through. Mongoose¡¯s eyes grew wild with animal terror, frantically chopping at the roots that had entwined so rapidly about his legs with his one remaining dao, before switching focus with a whimper to hack at the viny like roots now probing the man¡¯s very entrails as Alex¡¯s lurching walk became a stumble, fangtian ji raised high.

    ¡°NO!¡± The desperate man screamed, raising one limb now infused with so much of his essence blazing away to nothing in a furious bid for survival¡­ Only to lose both limb and head as Alex lashed out with an attack so in tune to his soul that even upon the cusp of a Fool¡¯s Folly, his swing was perfect. Slicing through flesh, bone, and a retributive collar in a flash of lightning that tore through them both as Alex stumbled to the ground, the storms within his soul now so violent that he could no longer stand on his own two feet as his foe¡¯s spirit managed one final shriek before toppling right into the River of Souls as his body was consumed by an absolute storm of vines.

    Alex then found himself hurtling into tumultuous currents of his own as he was flooded with all the locked potency of his latest kill.

    Congratulations! You have successfully Decapitated your opponent!

    Spell Cleave successfully Ruptures Retributive Ward!

    Experience Earned!

    A flood of additional messages washed over him then, but all he could pay attention to was the sense of himself being hurtled at impossible speeds through the endless reaches of space, eyes blinded with a the reflected glare of a singularity that sucked all light and heat at its core, even as its accretion disk flared so bright it was blinding. Now spinning so fast that it rang with an eerie endless note as countless filaments were drawn into that disk. What was, in fact, the impossibly potent super cable now shrieking with so much potency locked in the form of momentum as it continued spinning around what would one day be a core like no other.

    Alex had pushed himself so hard, racing along the Path of Peril with such furious intensity that he found himself once more gazing down at all the endless potential of his soul.

    And all the horrors that lay within.

    Yet he sensed as well the terrible, glorious potential before him, as well.

    His Sage¡¯s Insight had been sufficient to allow for the evolution of multiple skills, replaying battles so recently won and endured countless times as his body rested after his insights and epiphanies, a whole new art springing from one of his greatest masterworks. Storm Swan and Silver Swan differing only in that Wind and Water now twisted together in a mad glorious helix all their own¡­

    Yet he sensed as well the potential for more.

    So much more.

    A hundred million pathways forward¡­ fuel to ignite and catalyze even a god¡¯s dimmed core.

    Which, of course, he was the farthest thing from.

    Yet those insights, the transcendent communion between mind and body as he became one with the elements, his elements, forging himself into his own pristine ideal along the Path of Peril, over and over again, constantly, was enough¡­ more than enough to fuel a second evolution within his Super Cable.

    For it was mastery as much as power that would propel him forward from this point on.

    And he would do it, one tiny Silver step at a time.

    It was all his soul could endure. And only after pushing himself to master his skills¡­ to master himself, to grow in ways sublime and profound, as he did every time he managed to survive odds that should have seen him dead.

    He was forever chasing a Sage¡¯s Ascension before oblivion consumed him once more.

    And finally he was wise enough to appreciate, in that terrible moment, just how dreadful and glorious a path to power it truly was.

    Risking himself in the crucible of conflict in ways that no other member of his pantheon could possibly conceive.

    Turning his greatest weakness into a furious strength.

    His was a path that would either see him dead in a shockingly short period of time¡­ or roaring to Gold at an inconceivable pace.

    Either way, his choice was made.

    Countless insights, epiphanies, and breakthroughs all channeled into greater mastery of himself.

    Greater mastery over the impossibly vast singularity-spanning accretion disk of a super cable that, simultaneously, was no wider than his soul.

    But there was a price to be paid for daring to ascend so quickly, no matter how unorthodox his origins.

    Even as it spun, Alex sensed the faint discordant notes within his cable, within himself, that desperately needed to be harmonized. So he paid no attention to his body now surrounded by impossibly thick thorn covered brambles somehow filling the entire warehouse, as if the forest or the memory of that ancient woodland knew he needed safety and shelter.

    He was now utterly and completely vulnerable to his foes.

    Should Nili fail to eliminate any final fleeing agent, should any hidden foe successfully traverse the blooming warehouse and find his prone form¡­

    And it didn¡¯t matter one iota as Alex did his best not to be swept away by the massive singularity he sensed was just a single nightmare away from forming, struggling not to be consumed by his own mad daring, refusing to see any path forward save ascension, right here and now, just days after his first Silver-tier breakthrough, upon the pyre of his recently slaughtered foes. And if he failed to harmonize his super cable in time¡­ A cold chill wracked his soul even then. Suddenly, for the first time, the very first time, having a tiny bit of sympathy for the gods that were so utterly opposed to his very existence, as he sensed the nature of the streams of endless potential flooding his super cable with such potency. A flood that only grew as he continued to forge and hone his abilities, and himself.

    It was a truth he tried so hard to push away, yet was reminded of every time his third eye was pointed inward.

    Countless millions of souls.

    Every one to have fallen when an infernally tainted gate was destroyed, a malicious god critically maimed, and nearly two hundred million lives, many of them exceedingly powerful cultivators, lost in a battle between Fox and General that was just one of innumerable battles through countless ages.

    Souls that were inexorably drawn to the pristine dream of his core.

    Souls that had given him the power to break free of a trap worthy of the gods.

    Power that he must now do all he could to channel into pristine advancement, lest he be destroyed by his own daring, and take a sizable chunk of this desert realm along with it.

    And that final flickering thought more than any other forced Alex to focus on his own growth, his own forced evolution, to review the flow of combat and his growing mastery over the Storm that was now incorporating ever more elements of his being as discordant notes shifted to pristine perfection once more, his soul stabilized, his potency harmonized.

    Even as his mind flickered with awful visions of Nili on a desperate, futile quest to sniff out all the rats before they could warn the nest, only to be trapped and cut down by Dongfang Hong¡¯s gloated forces at the last possible second, just before they flooded countless underground tunnels and took over the entire city by storm.

    Thousands dead as the night air rang with the screams of the vanquished and the fires of the fallen.

    All of his friends shrieking for mercy, Sunlay looking the farthest thing from a noblewoman and very much like a panicked girl as she gazed his way with panicked eyes before she was ritually disemboweled, her head stuck on a pike as the grunting pigs below ravished her corpse.

    It was a nightmare he desperately pushed aside, focused only on maintaining inner harmony, channeling the furious surges of potency he had catalyzed by walking the Path of Peril yet again...

    Until at last he received the notification he had become increasingly desperate for, struggling to harmonize his cable, fearing his hunger for advancement had just doomed an entire city¡­ a single mistake costing him absolutely everything.

    When the pressure left as abruptly as pulling himself free of nightmare.

    Dread turned to wonder in the blink of an eye, as he locked in all his gains with a Super Cable stronger than ever. More harmonious than ever. Far less likely to erupt with absolutely catastrophic results¡­

    And one step closer to achieving the glorious heights of Gold.

    And finally being strong enough to protect all his friends.

    Or so he could only hope.

    You have dared to push yourself to unfathomable heights, just days after breaking through to Silver.

    Congratulations! Absolute annihilation has been avoided!

    You have successfully achieved Rank 2 Silver as a Disciple of the Boundless Path!

    He could sense it then, the flood of endless potential to shape and redefine himself and his abilities as his Massive Silver Super Cable shifted to a higher order quantum state, the physical manifestation of the boon his soul had already quantized.

    His mind flashed over the battles he had fought just in the last couple of hours, reviewing every strike, counter, and riposte. Feeling the flow of every Qi Discipline he had used to survive the increasingly perilous encounters. Until the final battle where he had truly been forced to push his foundational abilities to the utmost, holding off only on a handful of attacks.

    It would be so easy to enhance and strengthen his connection to the Storm, the flow of Air, Water, and so many other elements in blows and counters he had embraced while fighting for his life against the foul predator who¡¯s beauty had faded so quickly to reveal the twisted ugliness hiding within. So too, his communion with the endless forests of a lifetime ago had proven vital. Who knew what glorious breakthrough awaited at Rank 10 of what was now effectively Forest Flight and Bullrush linked together? And Black Swan. So close! A Rank 10 epiphany would have profound effects on just how far he could push that gloriously deadly skill, he was sure of it! And Wind Walking at Rank 8¡­ With two more ranks, would he fly as fast as the phoenix? Doom Blade, his enhanced Wind Blade capable of fifteen feet of bone-sheering deadliness in Dark Qi-Rich environments, Lightning Blast¡­ so many skill begging for the next evolution! So many worthy places to put his points. All it took was just a couple of points carefully placed in a few choice skills that would allow him to achieve breakthroughs that would be borderline transcendent.

    And yet somehow he found it within himself to avoid plucking free the delicious fruit begging to be harvested, no matter how sweet its bounties would truly be.

    Not when he could turn his focus instead to nurturing the roots and foundation of his abilities¡­ strengthening them in ways that might make all the difference in the battles to come. Because as unspeakably deadly an edge as Rank 10 in Doom Blade might grant him¡­ skills, unlike Silver tier Attribute gains, could be learned and honed with time, and patience. Even if it took closer to months or years than the days or weeks lex had needed to first ascend those increasingly challenging ranks.

    Yet the wisdom that had stayed his hand upon achieving Rank 1 in Silver was just as true now as it had been then. He had absolutely no idea how much Gold or Jade tier ranks might cost him. It might require every point he had banked. So best to strengthen his foundation and increasing his Attributes right now, as best he could, so he didn¡¯t end up stunting his growth, unable to meet the requirements for Rank 5 in the next tier of attributes when he finally broke through. Assuming he could ever break through.

    Yet regardless of the uncertainties of Gold¡­ his next move was clear.

    You have successfully invested 8 of your 16 points in enhancing Strength/Vitality/Quickness!

    And much as before, he received an additional welcome message.

    Finesse has gone up in sync with other 3 major physical attributes!

    Alex ignored the pounding of his heart, as much soul as physical body, all his focus on the final eight points rattling like dice, eager to be released into the world.

    So he placed them exactly where he prayed they¡¯d do the most good.

    Knowing he was taking a gamble, and eager to see the result.

    You are attempting to ascend your physical attributes a second time in a single level-up!

    You are now attempting to place 8 of your 8 points in enhancing Strength/Vitality/Quickness!

    Alex felt a shiver of wonder. Because far from the fierce struggle of resistance he had feared, wondering if he would, in fact, be a fool to force that growth¡­ his spiritual body and the shell housing his soul drunk in the potency greedily. Filling him out, his potential out, exactly as it had before.

    You have successfully enhanced 3 key physical characteristics! - Symmetry has been achieved! Finesse has increased one additional rank!

    Yet even as the messages washed over him, Alex saw it all so clearly. Felt it all so clearly. Reliving his duel with Mongoose, seeing the striking difference his enhanced attributes made.

    What had seemed devastatingly fast the last time he had replayed the frenetic pace of combat now slowed in his mind¡¯s eye, his foe¡¯s imperfect form and minute over-extensions were suddenly plain as day to see. Alex was able to pivot his fangtian ji past his foe¡¯s guard with surprising ease, lashing out with a devastating barrage of cleaving strikes so quickly that his weapon effortlessly danced about his foe¡¯s desperately flailing blades, moving as gracefully, as lightly, as a perfectly balanced reed in Alex¡¯s hands.

    And no matter how many times Alex replayed the battle, the results were the same.

    His foe dead by his feet before he even had a chance to evolve into that hyper-powered monster Mongoose had become during the latter half of their actual battle, burning away the wick of his own cultivation potential in a desperate, furious bid to take Alex down.

    And there too was a crucial lesson that he was determined to take to heart.

    It was only because he had pushed himself, honing his arts in the crucible of battle against fearsome odds, that Alex had been flooded with the revelations and potency he needed to evolve and transcend, as perilous as it was so soon after his first Silver-tier ascension. Yet he was also humbly aware of the just how close he had come to embracing utter folly once again. For despite his own bitter struggles and all he had accomplished and endured, a single one of Dongfang Hong¡¯s elite units had come painfully close to killing him.

    No matter his latest explosive surge of growth, he¡¯d be a damned fool trying to take on half a dozen, let alone a full score of Silver-tier monsters if there were multiple Speed Cultivators who could also channel the elements among them. So he¡¯d have to come up with an effective plan, divide and conquer, and strike so fast and hard that his enemies would have no idea what had hit them. Whether or not it worked¡­ it was his best shot at surviving any engagement with them, short of fleeing the city altogether

    At that moment he could appreciate what a hotheaded idiot he had been, even if a gloriously heroic one, charging into Dongfang Hong¡¯s hidden base so blithely. He no longer had access to his Chamber of Doors. He couldn¡¯t teleport out or divide the field of battle to suit his needs. So many things could have gone wrong. His saving grace was that his foes had themselves been quite sloppy, easy to divide and conquer, having no reason to expect a homicidal Silver dead set on purging them all. So too, he was surprisingly easy to underestimate, seeming nothing more than an unusually fit Ruidian, the potency he radiated perhaps being mistaken for a gem master, before they saw no gem upon his brow when his hair blew free of his forehead with the desert breeze which might give them a moment¡¯s relief, not even thinking him capable of serious cultivation till after he had taken their heads.

    Even if it brought him only a second¡¯s advantage, his race, deceptively powerful frame, naked brow and guileless gaze had still proven to be a remarkable edge.

    Yet things could have so easily ended on a tragic note for him, and joyous victory for his enemies.

    All it would have taken was for the overconfident Strength Cultivator he had fought to be a Deep Silver Speed specialist instead. Maybe one well used to working with Wujen buffing them and hindering their enemies. And as unlikely as that combination might be, even if there were a dozen or more Rank 1 Silver Strength cultivators for every Rank 2 or 3 Speed Cultivator, If he wasn¡¯t careful, the next time he was facing Dongfang Hong¡¯s elites¡­ that might be exactly the match he would face.

    Alex sighed, taking a moment to internally acknowledge both his accomplishments and his follies, before putting all such gloomy thoughts away, pulling up his character sheet, and savoring just how far he had come.

    _____________________________________________________

    Alex Hammer

    Class ¨C Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

    Rank 2 Divine Silver Cultivation Achieved!

    Physical Characteristics

    Strength ¨C Silver Rank 4 (140)

    Vitality ¨C Silver Rank 4 (140)

    Quickness ¨C Silver Rank 4 (140)

    Finesse ¨C Silver Rank 3 (115)

    Spiritual Characteristics

    Scholarship ¨C 14

    Perception ¨C 19

    Willpower ¨C Bronze Rank 2 (25)

    Qi Pool ¨C Silver Rank 6 (190)

    Health Points: 1540 + 170 = 1710

    Ascension Points Banked: 0

    Perks

    Insightful ¨C Rank 2

    Charismatic ¨C Rank 3

    Lesser Shadow Affinity

    Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.

    Draconic Ancestry.

    Greater Wind Affinity

    Beast Core Mastery

    Ascension Points Banked: 4

    Favored Skills

    Golden Realms Kung Fu ¨C Rank 10

    Wind Crane Kung Fu (Bronze Tier) ¨C Rank 8

    Storm Swan Kung Fu (Silver Tier) ¨C Rank 3

    Poison Spitting ¨C Rank 6

    Stealth ¨C Rank 4

    Lock Picking ¨C Rank 5

    Qi Disciplines

    Barrier of Silence ¨C Rank 3(9) (+6 bonus due to Greater Wind Affinity!) - Now it incorporates Earth.

    Enhanced Water Shield ¨C Rank 10

    Enhanced Water Strike ¨C Rank 9

    Black Swan ¨C (Wind/Water/Steel/Dark Qi) ¨C Rank 9

    Thorn Shield ¨C Rank 5

    Shield of the Burning Grove ¨C Rank 2

    Oak Strike ¨C Rank 5

    Fire Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Flame Fist ¨C Rank 6

    Earthern Shield ¨C Rank 4

    Stone Fist ¨C Rank 5

    Avalanche ¨C Rank 1

    Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection ¨C Rank 6

    Wind Blast ¨C Rank 3

    Enhanced Wind Blade ¨C Rank 9

    Doom Blade ¨C Rank 7

    (Dark) Storm Shield ¨C Rank 8

    Enhanced Storm Strike ¨C Rank 9

    Lightning Blast ¨C Rank 3

    Doom Strike ¨C Rank 4

    Dark Qi Absorption ¨C Rank 5

    Piercing Strike (Spell Cleave) ¨C Rank 10

    Forest Flight (Spring Leap ¨C aka Bullrush) ¨C Rank 8

    Wind Walking ¨C Rank 8 (Silent Steps/Lightness Technique)

    Water Walking ¨C Rank 8

    Note.You are currently unable to use Prismatic techniques until harmony with enhanced Wind Affinity has been achieved!

    Prismatic Shield ¨C Rank 6

    Prismatic Strike ¨C Rank 6

    Qi Perception-linked Disciplines

    Artificer ¨C Rank 8

    Find Weakness ¨C Rank 7

    Qi Perception ¨C Rank 8

    Soul Sight ¨C Rank 7

    Spiritual Teacher (Student) ¨C Rank 8

    Forest Sense ¨C Rank 8

    Alchemy ¨C Rank 4

    Desert Sense ¨C Rank 2

    Additional Abilities & Techniques

    Full Regenerative Capacity

    Gift of Tongues

    Biochemical Mastery ¨C Rank 8

    Desert Fox Cultivation Technique ¨C Rank 6

    Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique ¨C Rank 8

    __________________________________

 Book 9 - Chapter 15

    Alex jolted awake to the smell of blossoming copperthorns, sandalwood, and honeysuckle, covered in thorny vines that flowed effortlessly away as he sprung to his feet and darted up the trunk of the foliage-rich tree before him as fast and effortlessly as a dream. He blinked in momentary wonder as Rank 8 Forest Flight in addition to Quickness and Finesse having transformed in a single night to the Deeper end of Silver meant that his movements were now as effortless and fluid as he could normally only achieve when lost in the trance of battle, truly one with his weapon.

    Only now¡­

    It wasn¡¯t so much embracing a wondrous dream as waking up from one. Only now did he truly feel awake, alive, and wholly himself once more as he reclaimed ever more pieces of his potential, his soul, from the eternal dream that was the River of Souls.

    Yet he knew it was time to brace himself for nightmare and bitter regret. Fearing the terrible price that must be paid after daring to use his breakthrough to ascend an entire rank, before being forced to spend what had felt like ages harmonizing the accretion disk of his soul.

    A transcendent super cable now spinning about the singularity of his future core without any trace of wobble at all. Pristine notes ringing harmoniously against his psyche, all but promising him that his potential was now unlimited. As for averting internal disaster and any sort of crack in his foundation, he felt nothing but heartfelt relief. Now he could see that his forced evolution had been the equivalent of taking a spirit pill, so eager he had been for a fresh breakthrough. A stunt that could have so easily strained his foundation to catastrophic results, yet by some miracle it hadn¡¯t, and he had no plans of ever pulling such a stunt again. He promised himself right then and there that, no matter how much he felt his opponents pressuring him, he would rush no further level-ups. He would take all the time he needed to perfect and master his skills, to condense as much potency as he could into his super cable¡¯s pristine transversal momentum, and only when the pressure got so great that his evolution was all but inevitable would he let it blossom.

    Only when his foundation was absolutely pristine and as strong as it was possible to be would he allow himself to ascend at all.

    Yet it was all he could do to suppress the surge of guilt, wondering what awful price this city had been forced to pay at the hands of gloating monsters, for the sake of Alex¡¯s own ascension.

    As it turned out, much to his awe and wonder, the answer seemed to be¡­ nothing at all.

    All was quiet. Peaceful in the depths of the night. And whether it was that same night or he had been out for days, weeks or months, he could sense no distant screams, no smell of any wood more valued than scraps burning. In truth, he sensed no trace of anything at all being amiss on this glorious night.

    His lips curved in a gentle smile as wonder-tinged laughter filled the air, now gazing out at the city at large from the top of the crown of the massive date tree that had paid heed to his call. A touch of wood, a dream of the forest, now turning a ten by twenty yard piece of abandoned real estate into a graceful arborium with just a few walls intact that were now living wood, for all that they appeared planks from the outside still, the roof having transformed to the lush green canopy of fig, apricot, and date trees ripe with a sweet bounty of luscious fruit.

    And Alex sensed but a single request he didn¡¯t dare deny the miracle of greenery that had saved his life, its formation having allowed him to dart between the trees as fast as teleportation, just a second before Mongoose could rip open his throat.

    You have summoned forth: Enhanced Water Shield! You have summoned forth¡­ gentle showers! Note. You are channeling the potency of no kills. You are using no beast cores. You may maintain this shower for 10 minutes without penalty.

    And the minute he sensed the miniature grove¡¯s thirst slaked, Alex switched to a different bounty, though this too was delivered only in moderation, and before the roots of the largest trees, those that had helped him when he had needed it the most.

    You have given the gift of Divine-tier blood to multiple representatives of the Eternal Forest.

    The Eternal Forest recognizes your boon!

    Your status within this Minor Grove is now that of Revered Ally!

    You are currently suffering from: Mild Anemia: -1 to all Strength Checks.

    You have paused to imbibe trail rations and 2 flasks of water. Homeostasis restored.

    Alex spared a final fond look for the miniature grove he was leaving behind, giving a gentle pat to the front building face that was now living wood, though Alex suspected very few who lacked a cultivator¡¯s insight would be able to tell, promising himself that he¡¯d do what he could to purchase the property and see the grove tended to. He smiled, patting his hip, pleased once more that no matter how hard a certain headmaster had glared in expectation, he had donated only what he wished to. Indeed he had been happy to surrender a good portion of his prize for the sake of the city and school he had so recently left behind. But he had still kept a good measure for himself, trusting in his own instincts, and the worth of his story being at least equal to whatever Silver Sands academy might or might not be able to pull off with his donation. As for the hidden grove he had just created, once he took steps to assure that this property would well and truly be secure... free from predatory opportunists or legal capture, then he¡¯d happily plant what boons he might to assure a bountiful garden for countless years to come.

    Shadow Qi Perception Check: Success!

    Alex¡¯s wandering thoughts froze to crystalline focus, realizing he was being a fool the instant he sensed shadows shifting in ways they were never meant to. And considering that he had just obliterated an entire company of Dongfang Hong¡¯s seasoned Bronze, including a Silver-tier elite¡­ multiple Silver tier elites¡­ he would be a fool not to suspect that one or more of the score in hiding in the deserts below Wanshi¡¯s caldera would be here to track down the culprit responsible for the cessation of young victims being kidnapped to feed the rapacious needs of the Red Prince¡¯s butchers.

    Far faster than a mortal could blink, Alex had darted around the nexus of shadow, drawing his fangtian ji in the blink of an eye, weapon raised for a devastating windmilling blow that would shatter concrete to powder without channeling any Qi discipline at all. Then Alex took a closer look at his prey.

    His cheeks to flush at the sight of Nili¡¯s features, surprise, alarm, and exasperation flickering across her exquisite countenance, so like her daughter¡¯s, that they could both pretend that she hadn¡¯t been momentarily terrified that Alex would end her life. A tragedy that would fill their enemies with darkest mirth.

    Nili blinked, slack-jawed only momentarily, before giving a low chuckle. ¡°If I ever had any doubt before¡­¡±

    Alex¡¯s cheeks flushed as he lowered his fangtian ji. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    She smirked. ¡°Apologize for nothing, hero. Even if I had to spend the entire night of our engagement chasing down and butchering rats eager to flee a sinking ship and hop right into the arms of our enemies.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡±

    Her sardonic smile grew. ¡°And all of the following day and the next, discretely returning sixty odd girls to parents and guardians who, I was grateful to see in most cases, had missed them dearly. It took time to ascertain that the parents were both as upright as we could hope¡­ and sympathetic to the ordeal that the girls had suffered.¡±

    Alex winced, feeling acutely embarrassed for the girls, but knowing that in this day and age, things needed to be said. ¡°Nili¡­ about the girls, and the kidnapping. It¡¯s¡­ complicated.¡±

    She nodded solemnly. ¡°I know. They were all seduced. Each and every pristine innocent child had been deflowered utterly before being kidnapped and claimed. On the one hand, this would be disastrous in almost any situation and pretext. But one thing a certain sniveling rat did make clear was that the culprit was a powerful Silver.¡±

    Nili chuckled ruefully. ¡°You¡¯d be surprised the clemency and¡­ understanding? This brought. Girls that would otherwise have to worry about being cast out and abandoned are now instead being gazed at a bit too intently by elders hoping for a powerful Silver to be born into their clan.¡±

    Alex winced. ¡°Ah. That must be¡­ awkward for the girls.¡±

    ¡°Unbelievably. They were seduced by a powerful master of Spirit Qi and a predator along the Purple Path, though many choose to conquer it by declaring it their choice, however foolish a choice it was. Still, they¡¯re caught between feeling ashamed for not being the innocent prizes their parents had hoped to marry off¡­ while simultaneously being seen by their family as valued broodmares. When it was made clear that they were rescued before anyone else could touch them¡­ almost all the parents welcomed their children with tears and open arms, all agreeing to put the night behind them as if it had never happened¡­ and if the girl quickens, the grandparents will in all likelihood claim the infant as their own right after they have been weened.¡±

    ¡°So girls can still be married off,¡± Alex said with a sad smile. ¡°Almost as good as new, and with a future Silver, hopefully, in the family.¡±

    ¡°More or less,¡± Nili conceded. As for the others? Most of those parents were still talked around to forgiving their daughter¡¯s¡­ indiscretions when I discretely promised to double their dowry. Within reason.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened. He then gave a relieved nod. ¡°Good. Not perfect, but¡­ thank you, Nelly. That¡¯s a weight off my conscience.¡±

    ¡°Mine as well,¡± She said, eyes growing haunted as they quietly made their way along the brownstone road. ¡°Alex¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You trusted your underling while doing your part to save this city by Sunlay¡¯s side. Chaoxiang allowing the girls who did work under your roof to be so badly taken advantage of¡­ that¡¯s his fault alone. Not yours.¡±

    She gave him an arch look. ¡°As if you knew exactly what I was going to say.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Just a hunch. I could be¡ª¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Dead right. Though now I have a full dozen girls eager for a gentle taper and a fresh start, with half of those girls deciding that they¡¯re all desperately in love with a legend come to life, the hero of their dreams, each and every one eager to fill your nights with bliss, should you care enough to grace them with your patronage.¡±

    Alex forced a chuckle. ¡°I hope they can all find professions and paths that fill them with contentment, and men who appreciate the healthy, empowered women they are blossoming into, without judging the follies of their past.¡±

    Nili gave him a curious look. ¡°You do have a unique perspective on these things, Alex.¡± She sighed sadly. ¡°Truly an idealist and a dreamer. Bringing to life so many ancient tales.¡±

    Alex flushed and lowered his gaze, carefully taking in his surroundings, most definitely not paying attention to Nili¡¯s comment or the sad look in her eyes.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan?¡± He asked, eager to change the subject.

    ¡°A great question, Alex. First, I assume you took care of the Silver who had been leading the operation?¡±

    Alex gave a curt nod.

    This earned a fresh snort. ¡°A man who, by all accounts, is a Mid-tier Speed Cultivator who, if he had half a mind to, could have probably broken into the palace and eliminated any number of key players, even if traps and countermeasures are in place that would assure his death along with his targets¡¯.¡± Her gaze hardened. ¡°A man who should never have been able to slip by the gates without being held to the strongest of oaths. And you dealt with him as easily as exterminating rats from a granary.¡±

    Alex snorted. ¡°First of all, it¡¯s actually a pain in the ass to purge a granary of any kind of rodent.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°And secondly¡­ it was a damned close fight. Close enough and perilous enough that I had another breakthrough and only came back to myself minutes before we met up.¡±

    Nili looked him over with a measuring gaze, lips pressing together in a frown.

    ¡°Nili?¡±

    ¡°I believe we might have a bit of a problem, Alex.¡±

    Alex felt a twist of apprehension, but forced a laugh. ¡°When are we not dealing with problems? So spit it out, and we¡¯ll deal with it.¡±

    His semi-flippant remark earned a look. Then her features eased into odd approval. ¡°The problem is you, Alex.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    Nili nodded. ¡°We need to get you some fresh attire to wear to court. His Grace will be giving commendations to the bold caravanners that dared the deadly sands to bring a considerably hefty grain shipment to our fair city, and both sponsoring merchant and the pair of Ruidians who managed to fend off bandit raiders will be feted by the city. Of course His Grace is hoping that such awards and commendations will inspire ever more merchants to dare the sands, the premium rate he¡¯s now willing to pay allowing for the hiring of more guards as well.¡±

    Alex slowly nodded. ¡°Sounds logical to me. So, what¡¯s the problem?¡±

    ¡°The problem is that you¡¯ve grown almost two inches, Alex. And the way you move¡­ with the exquisite grace of a master cultivator, your every movement an extension of the dance¡­ whether that of art or combat hardly matters. What I¡¯m saying, Alex, is that you now radiate a Spiritual Pressure that will leave most mortals breathless, and no experienced cultivator will see you as anything other than what you are. An extremely powerful and talented body cultivator with multiple elemental affinities who¡¯s managed Deep Silver while barely twenty years old!¡±

    Alex blinked at that. ¡°Okay, first of all¡­ I¡¯m only Rank 2. Even if my stats are, well¡­ yeah. No complaints there.¡±

    Nili furrowed her brow. ¡°You¡¯re saying you only had one breakthrough since you first ascended to¡­¡± she shook her head, looking more than a little bit awed. ¡°And how could it be otherwise? We first met when you were Bronze, and no weakling then, either! We only sensed your Silver pull when¡­¡± She paled, slender fingers instinctively reaching up to her neck before she forced her hand down.

    She shook her head in disbelief. ¡°Whatever your supposed ¡®Rank¡¯ or whatever paradigm you use to define yourself¡­ you¡¯ve still managed to hit Deep Silver potency in less than a week. And that, dear Alex, isn¡¯t just shockingly absurd, it¡¯s outright impossible¡­ No. It¡¯s outright legendary.¡± She gave him a pointed look. ¡°Do you see the problem, Alex?¡±

    Alex winced, then forced himself to nod, conceding the point. Though he didn¡¯t feel like he was any taller than he had been before¡­ more like he had just corrected something that had felt the tiniest bit off since he had first woken up to his new life, regaining the very height he had had when daring to defy the heavens, a lifetime ago.

    ¡°I¡¯m radiating too much of my killing aura.¡± he forced a smile that was more a grimace, eyes glaring in all directions. ¡°After coming so close to¡­ not being here after my last fight, I feel this need to truly be in the moment, to sense my connection to everything and everyone around me. To be ready for extreme violence the instant something feels off. Because the slightest mistake, the tiniest miscalculation¡­¡±

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°I know,¡± Nili softly said. ¡°Believe me, you¡¯re not the only cultivator who¡¯s ascended along Peril¡¯s Path. Far from it. Myself in more perilous times included. Yet the disadvantage is that it can be very difficult to pull oneself in. To not feel like one has to be utterly connected to everything around them, even if we use but a metaphor. But equally true, if we allow the pressure of our anxieties, alarm, or outrage to fade, if we instead concentrate on flowing into our environment instead of dominating it¡­ I find that such does wonders for helping to hide one¡¯s natural killing aura.¡±

    Alex nodded, taking a deep breath, trusting in the competence of the companion by his side. He was safe. Their foes were defeated. All was well. No need to glare so fiercely into the dark, daring all foes to fight or flee for all they were worth. No. Alex was just a former apothecary¡¯s assistant enjoying an evening walk with a beautiful kitsune companion. A youth awed to have earned royal commendation and excited for a chance to see the wondrous palace for himself.

    Alex closed his eyes for a couple seconds, recalling so viscerally the innocent joy he had experienced with a certain young Apothecary who had seen him as little more than a charming fellow herbalist who had been there for her when she had needed him. A warmhearted friend who had set her up with a fortune in priceless potions, only to fade away days later, never to be seen or heard from again.

    Nili gave him a curious look. ¡°Remarkable.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You hide it so well¡­ so naturally. Are you sure you have no Shadow Qi Affinity?¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°As a matter of fact, I do have a mild affinity. But only in terms of detecting it. I have no ability whatsoever to manipulate it.¡±

    Nili shrugged. ¡°Either way, you now give off the spiritual pressure that¡¯s precisely what one would expect from a newly awakened disciple.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Yup! It¡¯s all about drawing it in. All you need to radiate is your smile and the warmth of your good intentions.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Though I¡¯m guessing there¡¯s not much we can do about your walk?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my walk? It¡¯s a perfect normal walk¡­ I think.¡± Alex sighed. ¡°Please don¡¯t make me stumble, over analyzing my own two feet!¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°The problem is how you move, not your walk per se.¡±

    ¡°How I move?¡±

    She needed. ¡°Eerily graceful. Like a cultivator who has absolutely mastered his own body.¡±

    ¡°But my Finesse is Only Silver Rank 3. We don¡¯t hit normal Silver tier maximums until Rank 5, right?¡±

    Nili gave him a strange look. ¡°What¡¯s so bizarre is that I think I know what you¡¯re saying¡­ Alex, do you even know how rare it is for any Silver tier cultivator to survive and train and evolve long enough to earn three breakthroughs in a single characteristic?¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°Mongoose had Rank 3 in Quickness. Rank 5 when he boosted himself later in the fight. And he was a monster.¡±

    Nili¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°Mongoose. That was his name?¡±

    Alex nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what he called himself. Why?¡±

    The kitsune squeezed her eyes shut before shaking her head with a sigh. ¡°I fear things might be even more dire than we thought¡­ no, Alex. Please don¡¯t brood. Keep your thoughts light. Light as any aspirant dreaming of a perfect, glorious cultivator¡¯s life. A fantasy free of hardship and struggle. There. Better! And to answer your question, Yes, achieving five miraculous breakthroughs in a single, highly focused aspect of one¡¯s physical or spiritual being is supposedly what unlocks the gate to shockingly powerful growth, should one actually manage to break through to the next tier. Which, in your case, is Gold. But such a feat is borderline legendary. Were it not for the monstrous presence of Xien Tang that had come so close to claiming Liushi¡­ I¡¯d wonder if Golds themselves were just idealized dreams of cultivation, much like the gods themselves were ideals of concepts, or metaphors for the avariciousness and petty power-squabbles of man¡­¡± Her cheeks flushed when she caught Alex¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Apologies.¡±

    ¡°No need. I¡¯ve met the individuals you¡¯re referring to. Hardly an ideal among them that¡¯s not based on absolute power and dominion and crushing anything that flies in the face of their fanatic obsessions, so I know precisely how bad they are.¡±

    His words caused Nili to stumble.

    It was surprisingly easy for Alex to catch her and steady her back to her feet, even as her tremble grew. Haunted eyes met Alex¡¯s own. ¡°Please, Alex. Be careful.¡±

    ¡°Always.¡±

    This earned an arch look, even as Nili gracefully slipped free of Alex¡¯s steadying grip. ¡°Really?¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°Okay, that part¡¯s a lie. How the hell am I going to ascend Peril¡¯s Golden Steps if I¡¯m cautious and prudent and trying to advance at anything like a sane pace?¡±

    Nili gave him a look nearly identical to the one his mother used to give him as a boy, after his genius plans somehow turned the kitchen to a disaster zone. Before snorting with mirth. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s so much I could say to that, Alex Hammer. But since your insane risk taking is the only reason why my husband and I aren¡¯t wearing slave collars right now, the only reason why my sworn charge is safe, my daughter not in some man¡¯s¡­¡±

    Her voice broke off as she rubbed the haunted look off her features, giving the softest of chuckles. ¡°All I can say is that your madness clearly works, no matter that your path would spell absolute disaster for anyone else. And here you are, just three days after charging headlong into the den of the deadliest Silver ever to slip past Wanshi¡¯s walls¡­ and instead of being maimed, disemboweled, and left to die a hideous death like the handful of guards whose bodies we so recently found¡­ you¡¯ve emerged noticeably taller, your shoulders broader, and even if you still appear to be in the Bronze end of the cultivating spectrum and not a Silver Giant by any means, you still radiate such potency when you¡¯re not careful that no cultivator would dare take you for granted.¡± She frowned, gazing down at what he thought was a perfectly innocent walk. ¡°And still moving with a liquid grace that any warrior would envy, and we can only pray that all of that won¡¯t give your nature away.¡±

    Alex frowned. ¡°My arms don¡¯t feel that much bigger, and my changshan tunic fits me just fine.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure your magical clothing that the wind tossed into your hands the moment you lifted your arm before all our eyes fits you just fine, Alex. The problem is, I¡¯m not sure my tailor will be able to alter the outfit I picked out for you in time.¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°So I just wear what I¡¯ve always worn¡ª¡±

    ¡°Alex, we¡¯re going to be presented before the prince. I¡¯d prefer that you not embarrass yourself or our group¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°Good thing I¡¯m never embarrassed.¡±

    Nili gave him an arch look. ¡°Another exaggeration? Because I know a dozen girls who would be eager to test that claim. Girls I am willing to devote quite a bit of resources to aiding, for the sake of a heroic ideal that¡¯s brought inspiration to so many of our¡ª¡±

    ¡°Fine! Let¡¯s go to your bloody tailor. But if he sticks me full of pins, I won¡¯t be happy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a she, Alex. And I expect you to obey the rules under a seamstress¡¯s roof.¡±

    ¡°And that is?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely no talking. It¡¯s a woman¡¯s sanctuary, and women alone converse within.¡±

    Alex blinked at that, trying to process what his friend had just said. ¡°But that means¡­ what if a guy doesn¡¯t have, well¡­¡±

    ¡°Have you ever seen any unattached men strolling about casually without a mother, sister, aunt, daughter, wife, or betrothed in any desert city? One who wasn¡¯t hurrying to or from his place of instruction or business as fast as he could? Certainly not casually taking in the sights or at risk of catching any unmarried woman¡¯s eye.¡±

    Alex frowned, realizing he actually wasn¡¯t sure about that.

    ¡°But Nili, I never had a problem with¡ª¡±

    ¡°Really? Are you sure about that? From what I recall, there was either a certain pretty Ruidian girl or a female cultivator friend by your side whenever I caught sight of you, limited as that was. Sometimes both. And besides, as far as our people are concerned, you¡¯re Ruidian. An entirely different culture, so allowances were made.¡±

    But before he could say anything else, they stopped before a well-maintained building free of any huts or add-ons as they approached the boarder between the merchant¡¯s quarter and the marbled quarter that the well-to-do called home.

    ¡°Ah, here we are. Now keep your adorable lips shut, Alex. I will, of course, handle everything.¡±

    And in surprisingly short order, Alex found his arms being carefully raised and lowered as an eagle-eyed seamstress with a dozen pins in her mouth draped him in fabric that was both silky smooth, airy, and a strikingly attractive shade of sea-foam blue.

    Fortunately, the fitting wasn¡¯t nearly as dull as Alex had feared, finding the myriad bolts of beautifully patterned satin, silk, wool, hemp, and lace carefully placed in their hardwood racks quite soothing to look at, and he felt that he was now getting quite used to modifying his movements so as to blend in perfectly with everyone else.

    The handsome woman in question who definitely had a few intact meridians open, beamed with pleasure several moments later. ¡°I believe we are done, my lady. And what a fine specimen you have brought before me!¡±

    Nili¡¯s features softened with a smile. ¡°I quite agree, Mingi. Thank you again for working on such short notice.¡±

    ¡°Not at all, not at all, my lady! You know I always love a challenge. And it is so rare to find cultivators sporting the ancient bloodlines so strongly!¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened at that, earning a smirk from Nili.

    ¡°Indeed it is. Ancient royal bloodlines thought lost in the cataclysm aren¡¯t quite so alien to the desert cities as most would think.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the boy could pass perfectly for a Ruidian. Were he not radiating such monstrous potency, I¡¯d think him just that! Will your guest be attending the college, my lady?¡±

    Nili ignored Alex¡¯s surprised blanch. ¡°That remains to be seen, Mingi. Perhaps he will, at that.¡±

    Shortly thereafter, a dazed Alex found himself wearing attire even he could admit would be worthy of any lord, gazing at Nili with something close to awe.

    ¡°How did she, and you, know about YanTu Royalty?¡±

    Nili flashed Alex an oddly pitying smile. ¡°Of course I do, Alex. I was a scholar once, and this is YanTu nation, after all. Believe it or not, history was my focus when I first entered Wanshi¡¯s grand academy as a scholar¡¯s daughter, years ago. Don¡¯t you dare ask me how many years, child, and no, no one knew of my mixed bloodlines.¡±

    Nili, now looking no older than Alex, no matter her years, stopped and sighed, gazing at the brilliant, starry night sky above them and the graceful marble fronted buildings and perfectly placed date trees lining the wide streets of this part of the city, seeming completely oblivious to Alex¡¯s shell-shocked stare. It was all he could do not to stumble as so many anomalies snapped into place, his heart swelling with relief and desperate hope.

    ¡°Not that very much remains of our once great nation. Just the dying embers clinging to life in the vast desert that I sometimes fear that the whole world has become¡± Nili whispered, wiping away a tear as she gazed with fondness at the city, and the vast, endless desert their elevated quarter of the city had such a glorious view of, even from the central boulevard. Together, they silently gazed out at the vast desert seas far beyond the caldera that fed and watered an entire city. Just one of a handful of islands in an endless sea of desolation. All that it was left, it seemed, of the great YanTu nation.

    But still, a breathless Alex had to be sure. ¡°So this isn¡¯t¡­¡± He swallowed, heart hammering, having stumbled to a stop. ¡°This isn¡¯t ZhengTu kingdom? This isn¡¯t CuiJing Principality? I¡¯m not responsible for destroying an entire¡­¡± He blinkeda way hot stinging tears, too choked up to speak.

    ¡°So this isn¡¯t my fault?¡± He whispered at last, like a child so terribly afraid that somehow he had lit the fire that had turned his family¡¯s manor to ash¡­ and burned everyone alive inside it.

    Nili flashed Alex a smile so sympathetic it set his heart lurching painfully in his chest.

    Nearly identical to the look his mother had given him when first she read the cold, dispassionate chart that had effectively been Alex¡¯s death warrant. Stage 4 cancer. No repeals, re-rolls, or second chances.

    ¡°Of course you did, Alex. You, Your wife and sister disciple, and the mad fox that led you all against the Ancient General so set on eliminating you madcap fools that our entire nation was destroyed.¡±

    Her smile grew even more pitying when Alex stumbled to the ground, fighting not to hyperventilate as his fingers clawed the brownstone blocks at his feet so hard that stone cracked in his grip, a hoarse sob slipping free of his lips as his mind filled with visions of vast armies, crimson battlefields, and entire cities erupting in flame.

    Flashes of a wild-eyed nemesis screaming his eternal hate.

    Shui Jun¡¯s face. Not that of a cold-eyed serpent, but the beautiful young woman she had once been. Her Japanese features just as alien to these people as his own Scandinavian features had been. And the uniform she had worn¡­ he recognized that uniform, even as Shui Jun screamed and howled her wrath, the equal of his own. Summoning death¡¯s waters in a nightmare of apocalyptic vengeance.

    And WiFu roaring with a fury Alex had never seen before in this life or any other that he could recall, as together, he, Shui Jun, and his mentor set the entire world ablaze.

    ¡°No¡­ no, no, no!¡±

    Alex¡¯s howl was endless and eternal, suddenly flooded with the bitter fruit of so many faces mirroring his own. And not just his own. Countless generations of beloved offspring once savored by eternal parents, slaughtered to the last innocent child.

    The air filled with the mocking laughter of a bloated monstrosity so filled with malice that nothing would ever appease, save for the absolute destruction of his deformed youngest sibling, his disciples, and every reflection of happiness or joy that Alex, WiFu, or Shui Jun had ever experienced.

    In that moment, Alex knew with searing and utter clarity that there could be no peace. No truce. No cease fire of any kind between him and his sworn foes of a thousand incarnations.

    ¡°Alex, please. Get up. Your soiling those silks just minutes after we¡ª¡±

    Something in his eyes, perhaps. Nili¡¯s gaze widened with what Alex knew damn well was fear when he regained his feet once more.

    ¡°No, Alex. Please. NO!¡± She fell to her knees, sobbing with terror, desperately pleading with her gaze. Looking so young. So innocent. So like one of Alex¡¯s lost children. ¡°No, no, you mustn¡¯t. Please! The hour isn¡¯t that late. It can¡¯t be! You can¡¯t doom us all again!¡±

    Yet her words were nothing to him as he howled his wordless fury to the heavens, so filled with heart-wrenching despair that he could utter no words beyond a mournful cry so terrible that stone cracked and date palms crumbled to ash. And the handful of innocent mortals who had been making their way peacefully through the city street that had chanced to look his way, each and every one of them collapsed, spirits washed away by death¡¯s waters as their bodies corroded, aging centuries in seconds, before being blown away as white ash upon desert winds. Even Nili had collapsed in a heap. Blood trickled from every orifice upon her terrified countenance, looking up at Alex as if he were death, come to claim her soul.

    And then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

    ¡°Soon, my disciple. Soon it will be time.¡±

    Alex jolted awake, stumbling on his feet, gazing about with confusion.

    ¡°Nili?¡±

    Alex winced, genuinely worried. Why did his friend look so terrified?

    ¡°Nili, what¡¯s wrong?¡± He rubbed his throbbing skull. ¡°And why the hell does my head hurt? I have Tier 4 Silver Vitality. At this point, headaches are absolute bullshit!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what your mumbling about, but we¡¯re late, Alex.¡± Nili snapped, glaring at him very much as a mother would a particularly stubborn child. ¡°And you¡¯ve somehow managed to get your silks dirty within minutes of purchasing! Are your sure you stabilized your foundation, Alex? Because stumbling like a drunkard makes me think you need a good couple weeks meditation¡­ or the same taper your devoted doves will be suffering through.¡±

    Alex furrowed his brow. Wasn¡¯t Nili upset about something? But she didn¡¯t look upset. Save maybe at him? And was that blood around her¡­ no. Just a trick of shadow and light. She looked flawless as always.

    Alex flashed a sheepish smile. ¡°Yeah, I felt like I was on top of the world, just¡­ what, an hour ago?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Then we got these clothes? Odd, it feels almost like a dream. And then we were chatting and¡­¡± He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Nili. Maybe forcing two Silver tier evolutions in twice that number of days with almost no sleep wasn¡¯t exactly the smartest move I could have made.¡±

    This earned a playful snort. ¡°Truly the lucky fool as always,¡± Nili huffed, before patting his hand like a mother, leaving him feeling oddly cared for, for all that her eyes were firm with reproof and gentle with concern. ¡°Now come, Alex. We¡¯ll pay our respects to the prince, you¡¯ll just smile and nod and do absolutely nothing to imply you¡¯re anything other than a powerfully built half-blood guard. Then we¡¯ll head back and you¡¯ll be free to sleep and consolidate your gains for the next week. And who knows? If you¡¯ve had enough of cultivation academies, you might just find yourself hungry for the road once more. There¡¯s a whole world filled with exotic cities desperate for caravan guards and heroes.¡±

    Alex grinned, eased as always by his friend¡¯s patter. ¡°True. I get the gut feeling that my story will be happiest if I don¡¯t linger any place for too long¡­ especially places where I stand out!¡± He said with a fond chuckle. ¡°Like Liushi. It sounds terrible, I know. I made friends that I dearly care for there, but after wearing the hero¡¯s mantel so strongly that both prince and headmistress acknowledged me¡­¡± he shuddered, shaking his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe I didn¡¯t want it all to go to my head?¡± He sighed. ¡°Somehow, I just knew it was time for me to go.¡±

    Nili gave him an understanding smile. ¡°Yours isn¡¯t an easy burden to bear, Alex. But I¡¯m glad you chose to leave when you had. Otherwise¡­¡±

    ¡°Otherwise, Dongfang Dickhead¡¯s troops would have had way too much fun harassing my friends, and that¡¯s a big no no as far as I¡¯m concerned,¡± he said with a certain twinkle in his eyes. ¡°Alright, why are we standing around here for? Let¡¯s go pay our regards to the prince, secure a certain prize, save a city, and walk off as fresh legends with no trace that we were ever here!¡±

    Nili chuckled throatily, squeezing his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s do just that!¡± And with a flick of her fingers and a brush of shadow, the odd stains on his fancy silken attire disappeared as if it had never been, and soon they flowed through the city at a pace that seemed oddly graceful to the passersby, even if they darted past at a speed that no horse could hope to match.

 Book 9 - Chapter 16

    ¡°Nili?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Alex?¡±

    ¡°What were we talking about before I had my dizzy spell?¡±

    This earned a snort. ¡°Clearly nothing worth mentioning, if you can¡¯t even remember it, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°Fair. Oh, I think I see the palace!¡±

    Alex gazed with unabashed wonder at the magnificent display of ostentatious wealth, particularly for this day and age, gazing upon a grand marble edifice of minarets and towers complete with a massive copper covered dome shimmering even under the moonlight. A brilliant jewel of pristine refinement at the heart of a lush garden filled with countless desert blossoms opening their petals and filling the nighttime air with heavenly aromas that lifted Alex¡¯s heart and filled him with an odd sense of peace and joy.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but chuckle with wonder at the sight of such lush greenery at the peak of the caldera ridge. ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful! And the way all these date palms were so carefully placed, along with the copperthorn vines between them, forms a natural canopy that should keep both the garden and the hedge maze in cool shade even in midday.¡± He froze, as Forest Sense and experience revealed other secrets as well.

    The origins for the cool mist he felt, the natural humidity in the air.

    There was an ice shard buried here. He was sure of it. And he didn¡¯t need the garden¡¯s anxious rustle to know that was one secret he must never reveal. For it was the farthest thing from the pristine core needed to rescue the falls upon which the entire city depended upon, and Alex could think of no better use for the shard then exactly what it was doing here and now, eternally preserving this lush, peaceful grove, as it no doubt had for centuries. He was sure he was imagining it when a sympathetic pat of the closest date palm eased the rustling forest, superhuman finesse making catching the sweetest dates anyone could ever hope to savor second nature.

    He couldn¡¯t help chuckling though, now not feeling so bad about keeping close to his vest his own treasures, thinking fondly of the discretely hidden arborium he would soon be treating to the exact same boon. Speaking of which¡­

    He turned to the kitsune by his side, eyes crinkling in dreamy wonder, breathing deep of air redolent with the aroma of countless desert roses. The other evening guests were also making their leisurely way to the palace, and with the winding path they were on, though always in sight of the hard-eyed palace guards radiating a powerful Deep Bronze, for the moment it felt almost like they were in a private bubble with only their thoughts, and the lush greenery all around them.

    ¡°Nili?¡±

    The kitsune turned to him, an unreadable look on her features.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to buy the warehouse, if possible. At the very least, I want to make sure that no one can tear it down or claim anything within. Not without my permission at least.¡±

    This earned a curious tilt of Nili¡¯s head. ¡°If you¡¯re looking to invest in real estate, Alex, there are a number of highly profitable opportunities I could point you toward. But that particular warehouse¡­¡± She sighed, shaking her head. ¡°I have every intention of tearing down. For any number of reasons.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡±

    She gave him a curious look. ¡°Why ever not?¡±

    Alex lowered his lips to Nili¡¯s ears. ¡°Because it¡¯s no longer what it seems.¡±

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    He gazed around him, grinned, and turned back to Nili. ¡°Let¡¯s just say, we have a nice little arborium of our own.¡±

    Nili blinked. ¡°You¡¯ve hidden Mongoose¡¯s remains with plants?¡±

    Alex shook his head. ¡°No, Nili. The warehouse. The entire warehouse, is now a miniature grove.¡± He sighed. ¡°And sort of my responsibility. It¡¯s why I¡¯m alive right now, I think, as much as any amount of luck or skill at my end. Mongoose was definitely a trump card, and came a lot closer to killing me than I really want to admit.¡±

    Nili gave him a long look. ¡°Alex, we¡¯re in the middle of a desert. And the warehouse is a long way from the lush valley in the heart of the caldera. And to be quite frank, Alex, we barely have enough water for the crops and our own thirsty throats. Our people are naturally frugal, and one can keep quite clean with a single pale of water and a wash rag, but proper baths are not a luxury that many of us can afford.¡±

    Alex gazed at his friend. ¡°I¡¯ll handle that element of things. All I need is the paperwork assuring that no smarmy-faced merchant can come knocking, declare the property and all the assets his, and think he¡¯ll be permitted to cut down my trees without me cutting off his head. And you damn well better believe that his corpse will be feeding my grove.¡±

    Nili smirked. ¡°That would be rather inconvenient if we¡¯re trying to get you to blend in, dear one.¡± She flashed him a surprisingly fond smile, patting his hand. ¡°But you devoting yourself to the care of a garden might be just the healthy sort of hobby a wild boy like you needs to settle down and relax. Enjoy peaceful days until you find your beloved and no doubt start a caravan, exploring all the wonders and beauties that the desert holds.¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Next thing I know, you¡¯ll be trying to set me up with some caravanner¡¯s daughter.¡±

    Nili chuckled throatily. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it. But there are far worse things than feeling light and free, blowing in and out of countless welcoming cities with fortunes earned and revelries savored, dear one, with life¡¯s troubles touching you as lightly as a desert breeze. Why grow roots if they can be torn away? Far better a happy leaf, eternally riding on currents blowing contentedly above us all.¡±

    Alex chuckled at that. ¡°Certainly there are worse lives¡­ and wait, I recognize that girl!¡± He said as they emerged from their peaceful stroll about the garden, now finding themselves falling in line with the other guests. He couldn¡¯t help but smile with warmth when a certain dusky-skinned Ruidian girl spun around, her curls bobbing delightfully, done up in silk ribbons the same shade of pink as her flowery cheongsam, Alex noted, as she flashed him an excited smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re the Ruidian boy who helped me save the caravan!¡± squealed the excited girl, impulsively clasping his hand, gazing up into his eyes, and blushing most adorably.

    ¡°Rachel, right?¡± Alex asked, earning a pleased nod in turn.

    ¡°Oh, how sweet. I was hoping you would remember me! Lin, look who it is. Our hero!¡±

    Lin, the caravan merchant Alex and his companions had last seen after Sunlay had made certain he would receive a handsome profit for his wares, was all delighted smiles for Alex and Nili both. He too was dressed in what Alex suspected were his finest linens, though his simple cap and the emphasis on black and white hues was a contrast to the finery that most of the others were wearing.

    ¡°Oh, how delightful to see the heroes of our journey! Are you here for commendations too? But of course you are! Fear not, I made sure to give a complete account of your marvelous rescue of our imperiled caravan. Without your noble intervention, along with dear Rachel and Timmon holding off those miscreants for as long as they had, I fear our bones would be bleaching in the desert sands, even now!¡±

    The man shivered with his own declaration.

    ¡°Fortunately, we all survived the ordeal and are stronger for it,¡± Nili said, her soothing words and gentle smile visibly easing the high-strung merchant as Rachel continued to gaze around the garden they were still at the periphery of with awe.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this beautiful, Alex? So like the gardens favored by our clans!¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smiling back at the bubbly, effervescent girl, reminding him so much of Linnea at that moment. ¡°It certainly is beautiful, and few things are more soothing than a well tended to grove or garden.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± She said, impulsively clasping his hand and giving it a squeeze. ¡°Isn¡¯t this exciting? We¡¯re going to get a commendation and then we¡¯ll be given top tier delving privileges within the academy!¡± She frowned at Alex¡¯s startled look. ¡°But all things considered, I think they¡¯d give almost anyone unlimited delving privileges but we won¡¯t talk about that,¡± she said with a soft whisper and a wink, and Alex couldn¡¯t help but grin, because at least she had thought to modulate her voice, insistently yanking his powerfully muscled arm to get on her tippy toes and whisper in his ear.

    ¡°And Alex?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Rachel?¡±

    ¡°Have you grown taller?¡±

    Alex stood up straight once more and winked. ¡°Maybe just a little.¡±

    Her eyes widened with awed delight. ¡°You leveled-up!¡±

    ¡°Pretty much, yeah. But it was only about an inch. Hardly the two Nili claims.¡±

    ¡°Exactly two,¡± Nili sniped by his side, voice turning firm. ¡°Now quiet, both of you. Try to look proper. We¡¯re about to be invited inside.¡±

    And indeed it was so, a somewhat bored-looking guard waving a group of excited-seeming guests though the massive arching gates of the palace, and then they were walking along marbled floors polished to a glistening shine, the merchant and Rachel both gazing with awe at the spectacular display off art and wealth in the form of gold plated statues of historic figures and scores of magnificent paintings of ancient forests, stormy seas, and endless fields of sun-ripened crops. Pictures that Alex was certain had to have been thousands of years old, preserved by arts he couldn¡¯t even guess at.

    And then in a dizzying moment of Shadow and light, Alex¡¯s group had somehow taken an odd turn, now in what looked to be a servant¡¯s passage, free of the arching roof and ornamentation, Nili¡¯s piercing gaze hushing them all to silence.

    ¡°Sometimes discretion truly is the better part of valor,¡± Nili said, her fingers gently brushing Alex¡¯s cheeks, before she glared at the suddenly trembling Ruidian girl and the confused merchant. ¡°Now listen well. The hero of your caravan was no blond-haired, blue-eyed Ruidan boy. It was a skilled mercenary named Tong, master of spear and guandao. A failed half-step Silver, he proved the worth of his combat skills and valor defending your caravan just as he has a handful of times before,¡± Nili explained, cold eyes pinning both their companions down until a sheepish pair of nods bade her continue.

    ¡°Good. As to any questions given to your worthy servant, you will apologize and say that Tong, regrettably, lost his ability to speak with his failed attempt at an ascension. A sad end to his tale, and far more common than most cultivators wish to admit, crippled by the scars so many of us suffer, daring to rise too far above our station in life.¡± She flashed a bitter smile. ¡°Tong. Loyal guard. A half-step Silver and a truly elite warrior, however much his former employers failed to appreciate him. My band came only in time to clean up, the credit is all your own, Lin. Is that clear?¡±

    The pale-faced and visibly sweating merchant jerked a nod and hasty bow. ¡°Yes, it is, my lady. It most certainly is.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. Come, I know a short cut.¡±

    In very short order, after slipping through a handful of corridors that left Alex with the certainty that his kitsune friends were able to use Shadow in ways that went far beyond stealth, they emerged from a side corridor just in time to blend in to the band of dinner guests.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened at the vast ballroom sized chamber filled with grand dining tables, soft music, and glittering chandeliers, the low murmur not disturbed at all when Nili led them with purpose toward a table filled with men and women wearing an eclectic assortment of attire, including everything from spirit beast hide armor to shirts of steel mail to polished suits of lamellar, though no weapons were presently visible at what was, after all, a royal gathering.

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened when he realized that everyone at that table was either a skilled cultivator of Mid or even Deep Bronze, and all of them following a warrior¡¯s path or some variant on the Path of Peril, such was the hardness of their eyes and the pressure of their foundations.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smiling in approval as he caught sight of a pair of Ruidians devouring roasted meat and tasty looking stews before his eye was caught by that of a powerfully built man radiating a Silver¡¯s Potency. It was clear that this table truly was for the martial elites, not the nobility. Men and women who had proven their prowess in battle and perhaps, as a group, were to be honored¡­ even if they had none of the status and clout of those wearing the far more elegant and fashionable attire to be seen in abundance at the other tables closer to that of the elevated table of the royal family, Alex noted, taking it all with Qi Perception and a quick glance.

    The Merchant, Lin, was led by Nili to another table filled with men radiating first generation wealth and the excited chatter and sheer energy radiating from those men and women spoke of present and future movers and shakers. Yet they clearly lacked the calculated smiles and cool confidence of those of more rarified air at other tables.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re the pair of mercenaries that kept Lin in one peace?¡± Querried the rumbling baritone voice of the Silver Giant seated beside Alex, a good half foot taller than the other guests at the table. Yet despite his size, he was gracious enough to keep his voice low enough that it wouldn¡¯t drown out any other table¡¯s conversation.

    ¡°Yes we did,¡± Rachel happily assured. ¡°Me and Gong joined Lin¡¯s caravan for adventure and profit. And now that we¡¯re here at the academy, we¡¯ll find other ways to make our fortunes. Maybe even find a Water beast core. You never know!¡±

    Alex forced gave a measured nod, trying to keep his cool even when Rachel began changing the script.

    This earned a grunt. ¡°Are you two a pair, then?¡±

    Rachel gave a happy grin, leaning against Alex. ¡°He¡¯s my desert husband, and I don¡¯t love him any less for his complete inability to talk! He¡¯s a master of his blade, you understand.¡± She then gave a saucy wink. ¡°Both of them.¡±

    This earned a handful of looks from the cultivators, and good-natured chuckles from the pair of Ruidians, male and female, who held hands and shared a smile.

    ¡°Good for you, child,¡± said the female Ruidian, her bright red hair and freckled features a rich contrast to the brilliant green jewel sparkling on her brow.

    The man beside her, sporting the olive hue and soft brown eyes that most natives possessed, dipped his head in agreement, his sapphire blue gem twinkling as bright as his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s always refreshing when tribes take a more¡­ liberated view of things. Better for us all, in the long run, I think.¡±

    His wife happily nodded. ¡°Ernest¡¯s jewel flashes as brightly as my own, even if it was three generations before his mother¡¯s line blossomed once more.¡±

    The Silver Ruidian turned to Alex. ¡°So, what¡¯s it like having a Ruidian wife?¡±

    Alex¡¯s wink and grin earned a couple of good-natured chuckles, and suddenly he felt welcome at the table.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about my husband. He lost his ability to speak with his last attempt at ascension,¡± Rachel said with a soft, sympathetic sigh, kissing Alex¡¯s cheek before seating herself next to him.

    The Silver giant gave a sympathetic wince, ¡°Few things are more painful than a failed ascension. My condolences. Clearly it didn¡¯t cripple you, though?¡± The man gave an approving nod. ¡°In fact your body radiates such vitality it¡¯s clear that you managed a half-step ascension, at the very least. Did I not know better, I would think you a fully fledged Silver in truth.¡±

    ¡°He followed a potent path, once upon a time,¡± Rachel said with a gentle smile, truly getting into her role. ¡°And there was a price to be paid his daring. Yet none can argue that his foundation is as strong as steel itself, as the bandits that thought us easy prey soon found out for themselves.¡±

    This earned a solemn nod from the near seven foot tall giant that made Alex feel better about his 6 foot 2 inch frame, hardly ridiculous, before the giant raised his chalice, a gesture quickly copied by all the other cultivators present. ¡°To those of us who dare to ascend past all expectations! May the Path of Peril guide us to greatness, no matter how flawed our foundations. May the eternal sands cushion our fall, even as we leap for the heavens!¡±

    Alex gladly raised his goblet in sentiment to the toast and drank deep, tasting nothing but sweet rich red wine and a sense of kinship with so many cultivators with cracked and flawed foundations. Men and women willing to strengthen themselves along the path that very few from his old life would have dared by his side, save for Master Panheu himself. And he couldn¡¯t help but look at his laughing, joking, and boasting dining companions, somehow knowing that none of them, save perhaps for the Silver, would have ever ascended past the servants¡¯ plateaus along the golden steps of Rising Phoenix academy.

    Soul Sight Perception Check: Success!

    You are temporarily stunned by your findings!

    Yet somehow, pitting their lives against constant hardship and struggle, they had managed to do just that. Ascend past all expectation. Even if Mid Bronze was the rank most had achieved, they had done it along pathways that Alex found both warped and wonderful, more than one managing the feat with a flawed seventh Meridian gate. They had somehow wound Peril itself into a foundation so knotted and flawed, so heavy with its burdens, that it nonetheless managed to support her like a knotted oak trunk supporting branches soaring for the clouds high above.

    Alex was both humbled and moved, bowing his head in respect to them all, no matter their scars, missing teeth, and rough manners compared to the refined elites he had butted heads with so often in so many lives.

    These cultivators, so radiant with Vitality and potency, even if their violent path made the very scars that warped them part of their strength, part of their identity, showed that the fury of conflict was just as valid a way to ascend as to inherit the most pristine of mentors and foundations. Indeed, Alex fancied he sensed a certain resilience, a certain permanence or reality to these men and women that made him think that, in some ways, like a rough oak log batting to kindling a finely made and polished oak staff, they were far more resilient then some of the most promising Bronze tier elites he had met in either Yidushi or Baidushi.

    Most were no match for Silver, but then again, very few souls were. As far as Bronze went, however, these men and women were truly among the elite.

    Yet as the dinner proceeded and appetizers of tasty stew and fresh fruit gave way to grilled spirit beast meat, poached duck and caramelized pheasant, Alex sensed the mood turning solemn even as his belly squealed with delight. For his table companions were now recounting the final deeds and battles of so many fallen brothers and sisters of the battlefields left behind.

    Alex sighed, knowing that he could say nothing at all in his present role, merely raise his silver goblet in toast and share a sympathetic bowing of his head, reminded once more of the lessons Elder Panheu had taught him. Because for all its incredible potential, the Path of Peril was just that. A way forward that could enable the most flawed cultivator to ascend to heights he otherwise would never have achieved, not even in the most prestigious and nurturing of academic environments. But it might also see them slaughtered before their foes, compost to nurture the endless forests as their souls returned to the eternal river once more.

    As so many clearly had, even in these desert sands. Because the survivors at this table truly were the exceptions, not the rule, in so many ways. And that alone was distinction enough for the Prince himself to acknowledge and honor them, during this one celebratory meal, at least, and that alone made it clear just how perilous a path they walked.

    Yet Alex, filled with both genuine sympathy and the awe of profound revelation, mind and body all but brimming with indescribably potency and well-being after soaring to Silver Rank 3 and 4 in so many attributes, wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.

    That was the moment when a crier¡¯s voice began calling out names, and Alex felt his first twinge of anxiety. Thankfully, the ceremonial commendation was just as brief as he could have hoped for.

    ¡°Gongniu and company, please rise!¡±

    With those words, the giant Silver and a handful of men and women by his side rose as one, their drinking vessels raised toward the throne, the dapper looking Prince and his elegantly attired consort, who Sunlay clearly resembled, raised their golden chalices in turn.

    ¡°The royal family toasts your triumph by your side. Your heroic acts defended the Western quarter when the dead dared to rise! Your triumph will not be forgotten, for your deeds have been forever recorded in the annals of our city!¡± Declared the crier. ¡°Together, we morn the passing of those who have fallen and glory in the triumph of your victory over the forces of darkness and despair!¡±

    Gongniu was blinking away actually tears as his entire company took a knee, drinks still raised, before a tiny nod from the crier bade them seat themselves once more.

    Gongniu and party¡¯s mood turned solemn then, tear-filled smiles exchanged between them as they drank in toast. Alex could only wonder just how bad the undead rising had been.

    ¡°Lisa and Jacob, please rise!¡±

    The pair of Ruidians quickly rose, holding hands and blushing as they were commended for finding not one but three Bronze tier Wood cores which, Alex was given to understand, would help tremendously in assuring rich, fecund crops, even with the decreasing water supply below. The pair had even earned a title and Alex could only imagine the fortune they had hopefully squirreled away in coin or credits.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°It is upon the shoulders of heroes like these that our city¡¯s fortune depends! For land, title, and privilege will forever be the boon that Lord and Lady Jacob have earned this day, their clan always welcome in our fair city! Yet there can be no greater prize or boon to be earned than by any man or woman who might retrieve a pristine core of the elements upon which all else thrives!¡±

    These words, Alex was surprised to hear, came not from the crier, but the prince himself. His eyes then locked onto Sunlay, looking so different than he was used to, wearing finest silks from head to toe, her skin pale with face paint, save for rouge and rubied lips. She looked nearly the mirror of the girls beside her, clearly sisters, and though their beauty was nearly identical, they lacked the vibrant vitality Alex could feel from Sunlay, even from where he sat.

    And just by chance, she glanced his way.

    The smile on his features froze.

    For all she did was frown and glance away.

    Clearly not recognizing him at all.

    He couldn¡¯t quite suppress a wince, even though he knew that that was exactly what they wanted. And he thought he understood why. Finally got the sympathy he saw in Nili¡¯s gaze.

    What Alex wanted more than anything else was to be able to blend in and just enjoy a peaceful life, where his life wasn¡¯t always roaring forward at a mad crescendo that almost always ended in a disastrous crash, no matter how glorious the peaks of ascension that he would inevitably glimpse might be.

    It was the reason why he hadn¡¯t even looked back when he had left Liushi, somehow sensing that the golden bubble of a fresh start surrounding his soul would be put under ever more strain should he increasingly be the focus of both the prince and headmistress¡¯s attention, making it all too easy to slip into grandiose roles that so often ended in bitter tragedy. Or at least it did for him.

    Far better a light hearted slice-of-life comedy! Or at least light-hearted action and adventure?

    He smirked at his own playful musings, knowing that his life was the farthest thing from a LitRPG tale. But still. No one, save for a handful of girls he might never encounter again, would see the blond-haired youth soon to be strolling the city as anything but an eccentric curiosity. Not a person deserving of any extraordinary attention or focus. Just one more curiosity in a city no doubt full of them.

    Because somehow he just knew that the better he could blend in, the happier he would be.

    So, even if looking into his reflection in his wine cup showed a rather plain-looking man with a stronger Han stamp to his features than most of the desert folk present, Tong¡¯s face and presence was one that would no doubt be forgotten as soon as the night was over.

    And that suited Alex just fine.

    ¡°And what boon would one earn if they could deliver an actual Water Core?¡±

    Alex¡¯s private musing snapped back into focus, his eyes darting to the coolly smiling man who had spoken. Alex felt a lurch in his gut upon catching sight of the well-dressed emissary, moving with a deadly quiet grace even as he gave the royal couple a half-bow. For he had not been announced and had spoken completely out of turn. Yet the prince did nothing, and Alex couldn¡¯t help but note that this courtier alone, out of everyone save for royal family and their guards, was permitted a ji at his hip.

    A ji radiating fearsome spiritual energies, at that.

    Alex swallowed the bile crawling up his throat, just knowing that was one of Dongfang Hong¡¯s emissaries. One of the men perhaps indirectly responsible for the uptick in banditry and starving out of targeted cities. Just one look at the man¡¯s sneer behind his smile, and the powerful foundation he couldn¡¯t hide from Alex, made that much damned clear.

    ¡°Would such a boon perhaps be worthy of the hand of one of your beloved daughters, Lord Wanshi?¡±

    Gongniu¡¯s eyes widened with outrage. ¡°How dare that pig speak so freely to his royal highness! Refusing even to use his royal title, as if we were already a tributary state of those¡ª¡±

    His words cut off when he sensed how firmly Alex¡¯s hand was gripping his tightly corded wrist, freezing it in place. For just a heartbeat, Gongniu locked gazes with Alex. ¡°I will challenge that cur and¡ª¡±

    Alex coolly shook his head, mouthing the word ¡®trap¡¯ without uttering a syllable.

    Gongniu froze, eyes widening with alarm. Though whether it was from Alex¡¯s mouthed word or the fact that he couldn¡¯t budge an inch against the supposed Half-step Silver¡¯s strength was unclear.

    Nonetheless, he gave a begrudging nod, sitting himself back down, Alex following suit a heartbeat later.

    Yet it seemed that the jian wielding functionary had caught wind of Gongniu¡¯s displeasure, the man¡¯s pinched, aquiline features twisting in a smile that was both vicious and mocking as he seemed to flow across the hall, suddenly in Gongniu¡¯s face.

    ¡°What¡¯s this? Did I hear correctly? An upstart guard lacking all sense of decorum, rank, or common sense, actually thinks he¡¯s worthy of challenging one such as I?¡±

    He smirked right up into Gongniu¡¯s face. The latter¡¯s features twisted in a furious snarl¡­ and Alex could sense that the provocateur before him would love nothing more than to butcher a loyal kingsman, clearly a valued and honored warrior and perhaps one of the strongest pawns to be found outside the king¡¯s elite forces.

    Alex understood instantly what a blow such would serve to the morale of the royal family, how it would serve both to antagonize and perhaps instigate rash actions, which would work right in the hands of those who would love any pretext to cut the king down where he stood¡­ or, perhaps simply seek to weaken Wanshu out of one more vital Silver-tier defender, and reinforce just how utterly outmatched the fragile city state was compared to the might Dongfang Hong could so effortlessly bring to bear.

    Either outcome was unacceptable to Alex, who immediately took steps of his own.

    Combined Strength/Finesse check (modified by Ranks in Golden Realms and Wind Crane Kung Fu) = Critical success!

    You have toppled Gongniu right back in his seat with a simple hip check!

    Gongniu has suffered no injuries. Gongniu has failed an intimidation check!

    Quickness Check made! You have intercepted Enemy Cultivator¡¯s blow.

    The entire court seemed to freeze at the sound of a palm cracking naked flesh.

    Even the emissary was blinking at Alex in surprise, when his palm somehow managed to smack Alex¡¯s lowered cheek, his clear target having somehow fallen back down on his seat.

    ¡°How the hell did you¡­ Failed half-step, my ass!¡± Gongniu uttered softly, though he quickly shut up when Alex raised a clenched fist, both silencing the man who¡¯s life he was trying to save and, he hoped, making it utterly clear to all that he was accepting the challenge.

    The man before him stepped back. ¡°How did you¡­¡±

    Alex answered him with a contemptuous spit by his feet, before giving Rachel a meaningful look that, to his surprise, she immediately understood. As if she was reading his mind, which was strange, because he hadn¡¯t even tried to form a party with her, let alone any sort of gestalt.

    ¡°You have struck my husband who is guilty of nothing more than honoring the prince¡¯s summons at court. He will gladly accept your challenge!¡±

    The man glared at the spittle on the floor, any surprise or hesitation he felt turning into a cold sneer.

    ¡°Gladly, wench. And since you have declared yourself his wife, I declare you my personal property to do with as I wish, once I take his life!¡±

    ¡°And with your death, I declare my husband the rightful heir to all your assets and property! The goods he will take from your corpse will be his by right of conquest, and none will contest it!¡± Rachel Lu said just a bit too gleefully for Alex¡¯s taste, but he forced himself to flash a grim smile, smacking his fists together just as fast as a Silver Giant who had managed to achieve a few ranks in Bronze Quickness as well, a feat many Strength cultivators, who were the majority, failed to accomplish until a deeper Silver had been achieved.

    The man¡¯s eyes widened in outrage, before he snarled and spat. ¡°So be it! And since I see that you speak for your husband, taking out your tongue will be the first thing I do, once I claim you as my property!¡±

    The entire court went silent at this bold declaration of mutilation amongst the elites, yet Alex could tell that the audience was as much titillated as horrified by the threat. If anything, they were enjoying the drama unfolding. Too few realizing, it seemed, the long term implications for their own lives and futures, should what was effectively their enemy¡¯s forces emerge unscathed and victorious.

    ¡°His Grace shall permit this duel, with the understanding that quarter shall be granted upon request.¡±

    The entire court froze as Sunlay herself chose to speak, now standing by her father¡¯s right hand side, imperiously gazing down at the Red Prince¡¯s pawns like the ruler she was, instantly asserting her dominance and her father as the true master of the court and all that went on. Alex couldn¡¯t help but feel a certain visceral surge of relief, to note the subtle shadow by her side that was none other than Nili whispering hurried counsel into her ear. ¡°And I will further have the assurance from our visiting emissaries that any duels or disputes settled within these chambers will go no further than these chambers. No blood debts will be incurred, and there will be no pretext to violate treaties or oaths of nonaggression all of you have already given for the duration of your visit, outside of sanctioned duels. Nor will we allow the outcome to adversely effect our own negotiations.¡±

    Alex could sense the sudden killing glare of a handful of functionaries wielding the finery of sycophants and the cold eyes of Silver-tier assassins in the shadows of a rotund man seated on a leather recliner that had apparently been brought in by his staff. His station was clearly lower than the sovereign prince, yet his very indulgent ease somehow painted him as the true orchestrator of this court. Yet the silken robed man with his jewel encrusted turban radiating powerful spiritual energies waved his hand in casual acceptance, and much to Alex¡¯s interest, actually earned the cool glares of several of those powerful Silvers hiding in his wings.

    ¡°Acceptable. Though I much look forward to Xun Lan¡¯s performance to lighten our evening and bring pleasure to the court, I fear his question does way heavily upon all our hearts, seeing as we only desire the best for our future protectorate. So, in the interest of easing our hearts and minds before the performance, I too am curious to know if the miraculous retrieval of a Bronze or better tier Water or Ice core¡­ would be sufficient to win your approval and heart, honored Princess Sunlay?¡±

    Sunlay stiffened at those words, and for the first time, it was her father who spoke.

    ¡°Should any hero of our fair city successfully claim such a magnificent prize, then I can think of no greater dowry for my eldest child¡¯s hand.¡± He flashed his stricken daughter a gentle smile. ¡°And the moment such a stone is secured and our sacred fall roars with vibrancy and life giving sustenance once more, then that is the day I myself would be willing to formalize their betrothal.¡± His eyebrows narrowed in warning. ¡°Though it shall be with the understanding that her future husband would give his oath to treat my daughter with respect and care, and never deliberately cause, or allow to be caused, any harm to her person or immediate family. Nor do anything or deliberately allow anything to be done that might assure any sudden¡­ abdications.¡± He flashed a humorless smile before continuing. ¡°Such a man would indeed earn the right to be my son-in-law¡­ though may his foundation crack and crumble to a mortal¡¯s despair, should he ever break his binding oath.¡±

    The entire court grew silent as the magnitude of the crown prince¡¯s words sunk in. He truly was offering his kingdom to whoever would secure their waters, showing just how incredibly priceless Water and Ice cores had become. Of course there were caveats. Said son-in-law would indeed inherit the keys to the kingdom, so long as he treated Sunlay like a wife, not a tool, caused her no harm, and did nothing to hasten the king¡¯s own demise. And somehow Alex didn¡¯t doubt that the man had the power to enforce an oath so binding that even the Deepest Silver¡¯s foundation would crack, should they deliberately violate it. Still, it was almost a given that Wanshi would immediately become Dongfang Hong¡¯s protectorate, should one of his pawns secure that prize and Sunlay¡¯s hand.

    Yet the look of stricken horror on Sunlay¡¯s face made it clear that even her father¡¯s attempts to assure her independence and safety had done little to soften the blow. Though she was still princess enough to freeze her features to an icy enigma, giving absolutely nothing away, save for that first momentary flash of dismay.

    The king¡¯s words were clearly enough for the diplomat. ¡°Well said, your grace. Spoken with the prudence and forethought we¡¯ve come to expect from a ruler as wise and capable as yourself! And we have no doubt at all that dear Princess Sunlay will know nothing but love and adoration in her future husband¡¯s arms.¡± He smiled in satisfaction before nodding to his lackey. ¡°Well, Xun Lan? Let¡¯s not keep our fine friends waiting. Put on a show worthy of this august court!¡±

    The courtier gave Alex a cold smile after the pair stepped into the space cleared in the center of the court, where musicians and several dancers had been performing just a short time before. ¡°Are you prepared to die now, you pathetic excuse for a cultivator?¡±

    Rachel¡¯s eyes widened when Xun Lan drew his blade. ¡°Wait, why is he permitted live steel? My husband is unarm¡ª¡±

    ¡°Bleed for our pleasure!¡± Xun Lan roared, drowning out Rachel¡¯s protest, darting forward with his jian flicking through the air in a dizzying series of moulinets before lashing out with a flurry of whipping cross-cuts. The crowd gasped and applauded when first blood was drawn, Xun Lan¡¯s features taking on a wicked cast when Alex¡¯s life-blood splattered upon the finely polished marble floor tiles.

    Left forearm has been struck thrice with fencing jian! You have suffered 25 damage. Vitality check made! You have suffered no significant impairment.

    Prismatic Fox Restoration in effect! Blood loss stabilized. Baseline regeneration in effect.

    You welcome the pain!

    And it was true, Alex, thought, for all that his forearm burned with the hot sting of steel ripping through flesh¡­ the wounds were less deep than his opponent might have been expecting. Of course, Alex knew to expect nothing less than to bleed, refusing to summon his elemental shields, parrying with nothing more than his forearm.

    Xun Lan mocked him with cold laughter. ¡°I fear it will be a short duel if you don¡¯t show yourself worthy of your contemptuous arrogance! Come, fool. Put up a fight worthy of our audience!¡±

    Even as he goaded Alex, Xun Lan lunged forward with a blistering series of cross-cuts once more.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but smile, his eyes glittering with at least as much wild delight as his opponent. For no matter his ideals and aspirations, the quiet storybook slice-of-life he so often promised himself he¡¯d pursue, he never felt more alive than when he was embracing mortal peril, fiercely determined to grow, to excel at all costs. Such as now, bracing himself against his foe¡¯s fearsome killing intent. The malevolence behind Xun lan¡¯s showman¡¯s smile. Knowing damn well that his foe was going for lightning fast whipping slashes and not lunges because he wanted to draw the fight out. No doubt because an instant kill with a lunge to Alex¡¯s heart would earn Sun Lan derisive looks, when Alex was armed with nothing but his fists. But a fight where he teased and taunted, slicing his foe a dozen times with plenty of time to cry yield...until the moment when the mercenary Alex pretended to be chose to roar his outrage and charge forward, a single, clean stop-thrust to the chest would seem as much an act of prudent defense as a cold-blooded kill. That, no doubt, was how this courtier thought to win over his audience and put the so-called commoner cultivators in their place.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smiling, sensing his opponent¡¯s intentions just as he was slowly learning to sense his foe¡¯s weakness and the flow of Qi through strained meridians, and Alex was happy to play along.

    You have successfully parried your opponent¡¯s barrage! Forearm takes the brunt of countered strikes!

    You have suffered 3 additional Light Wounds.

    Find Weakness Skill Check: Success! You sense the brittleness behind your foe¡¯s strength. You sense flaws within his technique!

    Soul Sight Perception check: Partial success! You sense the corruption of past lives. You begin to feel the weight of the storm!

    His opponent¡¯s cold smirk turned to a derisive sneer. ¡°Is that all you have to show, mongrel? A bloody soon-to-be stump of a wrist?¡±

    Alex made sure to keep his features stoic and cold, befitting the role of implacable defender that Nili¡¯s guise painted him as, utterly impervious to the man¡¯s taunts and goading.

    Focusing only on the feel of the dance between them, Alex did all he could to embrace this pristine moment of mortal peril to ascend in ways last mastered a lifetime ago as he honed his focus, his discipline, on the whetstone of Xun Lan¡¯s bitter killing intent.

    So he endured the constant biting sting of an exquisitely light spring-steel blade wielded by a man whose strength was in the upper reaches of Bronze, his Quickness befitting the assassin he no doubt was when not goading for political advantage, having already crested past Silver Rank 1¡­ Alex judging him to be just a half-step away from Silver-Rank 2.

    It might have been a fool¡¯s gambit to hone himself against such an opponent, armed with just his bare arms when enchanted live steel was scoring his flesh.

    Constantly.

    Even when the blade bit deep, far deeper than Alex had intended, struggling to find his internal balance and embrace both Water and the storm it was now a part of in ways that would allow him to ward even these infuriating attacks.

    Xun Lan sneered and spat, scoring wounds that sought to cripple, for all that the steel had no hope of cleaving through prismatic bone or the ligaments that secured his frame.

    Yet there was no denying that his mocking foe was holding back no longer, trying to tease him no longer, his silken doublet and leggings now spattered with Alex¡¯s lifeblood, as was the marble tiled floor.

    ¡°Enough of this, fool!¡± Xun Lan snarled. ¡°If you can do nothing but hold up your arm like a brainless coolly, then you can die like the low-class trash you are!¡±

    Rachel Lu¡¯s anxious cry echoed through the chamber as Xun Lan quit holding back, flicking his blade at Alex¡¯s face before lunging in for the kill.

    And that¡¯s when Alex felt it, the frisson of connection between himself and his prey.

    No longer were the waves teasing the prow of the ship with spray. Now the waves were crashing in earnest, and Alex found it effortless to steer the prow of Xun Lan¡¯s killing intent into the storm. Sensing the waves part effortlessly to either side, just as effortless as it had been to swipe away a forest of killing blows with a wave of his hand.

    Rachel wasn¡¯t the only one to gasp when a surprised looking Xun Lan found himself lurching forward, his blade sliding along the pristine stormy sheath of liquid covering Alex¡¯s left arm as Alex embraced the dance of the elements he had striven so hard to master, the storm of Qi flowing through him making it effortless to lever the jian aside and send his foe careening to the ground, deflecting the man¡¯s over extended thrust just as well or perhaps even better than White Crane once had, a lifetime ago.

    You have successfully parried Killing Blow using the power of the Storm!

    You have learned a new technique! Storm Wing will allow you to sweep aside any attack it is within your ability to parry, the strength of your defense modified by Storm Wing Rank and Storm Swan Kung Fu Rank!

    Storm Wing is now Rank 1!

    Storm Swan Kung Fu is now Rank 4!

    Master the storm, and master yourself!

    The crowd¡¯s murmurs grew, several formerly cold-eyed men and women looking at Alex in a new, approving light, having sensed the significance of his parry.

    ¡°Well done, challenger,¡± said none other than Sunlay, flashing the person Alex pretended to be an approving smile.

    Of course the courtier who had crashed to the ground, earning a few derisive snorts, was a member of the definite minority who clearly hadn¡¯t been impressed by Alex¡¯s technique.

    ¡°You think you can mock me, fool, and get away with it?¡± Xun Lan immediately sprang back to his feet. ¡°You will die for your insufferable arrogance!¡± he roared, charging for once more, yet this time it was with his blade radiating violet Qi that made more than a few people gasp in surprise.

    ¡°He¡¯s infused his sword with poison Qi!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s no simple diplomat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a forbidden technique!¡±

    Yet Xun Lan paid no more heed to the mood of the crowd than Alex did.

    And for all that his heart was hammering as Xun Lan closed the distance with a snarl on his twisted features, he couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    Reveling in how sharply he could taste his opponent¡¯s killing intent.

    How clearly he could sense his opponent¡¯s intentions. The way he shifted his balance and hips, feinting with his blade before darting low to lunge right for Alex¡¯s groin.

    And every step of the way, Alex¡¯s arm was there to meet him.

    And for all that Alex¡¯s eyes widened for just an eyeblink when his foe seemed to skip forward a good three feet, it didn¡¯t stop his left arm, now a swirling storm of Water, Wind, and Steel, from effortlessly sweeping aside Xun¡¯s blade, Alex feeling a wondrous surge of jubilation as it all continued to come together for him, sensing so viscerally, so completely, the storm of spiritual energy flowing through his meridians almost exactly like Silver Swan once had, a lifetime ago.

    His opponent stumbled a moment too long as his angle shifted unexpectedly. Just a few degrees, but it was as if space itself had been pushed aside, at least for the tiniest eyeblink in time.

    For a single unguarded moment, Xun Lan was truly vulnerable, collecting himself before righting his balance and turning back towards Alex, a look of surprised disbelief written upon his pinched features.

    At that moment Alex was struck by a sudden epiphany that at first glance had absolutely nothing to do with the storm.

    Yet it had everything to do with another too long neglected element, as what would normally be a buildup could now be instantaneously embraced in this pristine moment, Knowledge and insight coalescing into one unified whole as his fist roared through the air with the sound of countless tons of rock pounding all resistance to dust. Or, perhaps, a glimpse of bitter dark secrets that the sea so often hid.

    And somehow, by some slim chance, Xun Lan had shifted himself just enough to catch Alex embracing a technique he had used in combat so rarely, because of the time it took to build up. For even a full second was an eternity when both cultivators had at least a single Silver tier of Quickness. Yet in that moment, it was closer to the sense of an enemy ship crashing against rocky shoals. Death hidden in the stormy sea¡¯s murky currents until the instant sharp coral and rock tore out the keel of a ship, leaving its doomed crew to drown in murky waters¡­ or their own blood as punctured lungs refused to inflate.

    ¡°No! I yi¡ª¡±

    CRACK!

    The air rang with a sound like thunder, or perhaps thundrous waves grinding wooden prows to kindling against the rocky shoals of oblivion. It was a crack that echoed through the court as Alex¡¯s fist struck Xun Lan¡¯s chest so hard that imperfect Bronze bone-hardening techniques resisted for only a split second before failing so catastrophically that Xun Lan¡¯s entire rib cage shattered, countless fragments of razor sharp bone shredding both lungs and heart as the body erupted in shattered bone and spilled entrails before everyone¡¯s horrified eyes.

    AVALANCHE!

    Silver Rank 4 Quickness, Strength, and Storm Swan Synergize perfectly with Silver Tier striker technique: Avalanche.

    You have caused CATASTROPHIC damage to your foe!

    Your foe fails to save!

    You foe has been obliterated!

    You have successfully used an Earth Art in perfect conjunction with a normally opposing element as you seek harmony not just with the storm, but with all dimensions of yourself!

    Avalanche is now Rank 2! - You have gained the perk: Instantaneous Strike. When the sea is at its stormiest, there is a chance that you can embrace this art with zero build-up time! For the stormy seas can hide rocky shoals that spell oblivion for any foe trying to cross your waters!

    Storm Wing is now Rank 2!

    You have slain your foe!

    Experience earned!

    Time seemed to freeze as the entire court gazed Alex¡¯s way in shock, ruby red drops of blood falling upon the courtiers like rain, the speed cultivators among them revealing themselves as they flowed effortlessly away from the crimson spray. Lord Guo, white silk cultivator¡¯s robes now stained red with his underling¡¯s blood, was glaring Alex¡¯s way with unbridled fury.

    ¡°Murdering psychopath!¡± The man roared.

    Alex carefully kept his face an expressionless mask, even as a part of him wanted to howl with fierce triumph and goad each and every one of the four Silver-tier courtiers glaring at him with such furious intensity. Instead, he calmly allowed his eyes to meet each of their glares, noting them as Lord Guo made no secret of his scathing contempt for the man who had just obliterated his tool, declaring that unnecessary and extreme force had been used, voiding the terms of the duel.

    ¡°¡­ Unlike the courtesies my dear young disciple tried to show every step of their contest, giving him plenty of time to retreat and withdraw, that monstrous brute set the boy up to be slaughtered! He gave Xun Lan no opportunity to gauge his strength or to concede the fight. He deliberately taunted my poor protege to over-extend, repeatedly, so he could assassinate him with a single strike! He made absolutely no attempts to show Xun Lan the strength of his form, to allow him to properly gauge his chances, as my disciple did for that thug¡¯s benefit! He didn¡¯t even draw blood once, he went right for the kill!¡± Lord Guo¡¯s eyes widened as if with sudden revelation. ¡°And by the very terms of our engagement, by the prince¡¯s own words, there was supposed to be an opportunity for either party to withdraw and concede the fight. Yet that thug gave my disciple none! Ergo that was no duel¡­ that was entrapment and murder, and I demand that murderer be remanded into my custody at once!¡±

 Book 9 - Chapter 17

    The crowd went silent before Lord Guo¡¯s declaration.

    The man flashed Alex a cold smirk that promised an excruciating amount of pain in his future.

    Yet as stoic as Alex tried to keep his features, he couldn¡¯t help but smirk at the man¡¯s logic, as none other than his supposed wife¡¯s words filled the air.

    ¡°So let me make sure I understand. Your bloodthirsty disciple armed with a jian who tried to slice my husband apart before our eyes even after I pointed out how unfair the match was¡­ he¡¯s the victim? After slicing my husbands arm a dozen times with his blade, taunting my dear Gong about what he would do to me once he killed my husband, who by some miracle deflected the killing lunge¡­ my Gong is at fault? Because he actually managed to hit your psychotic pawn with one punch after enduring a dozen cuts against a clear speed cultivator? How is it my husband¡¯s fault that your protege¡¯s bones were just as brittle as your argument? Both doomed to shatter with a single successful counter!¡±

    Lord Guo blanched, eyes narrowing with outrage at Rachel¡¯s temerity, a commoner daring to speak so to a noble, no matter that it was on her husband¡¯s behalf, or so Alex sensed as the court¡¯s look of surprise at the man¡¯s original demand turned to snickers and derisive smirks, the mood turning completely against Lord Guo who, it seemed, had been tolerated for any number of reasons, but certainly not welcomed.

    ¡°Is he serious? Our prince made it clear that there would be no vendetta, and that fool would try to twist His Grace¡¯s own terms as an excuse to break those terms.¡±

    ¡°The man was quick, but all it took was one punch to bring him down, and now that emissary wants Gong¡¯s head.¡±

    ¡°Of course he does. We all know he just wants to weaken us as much as possible before he tries to claim our city.¡±

    ¡°If we weren¡¯t in such dire straights with our fading water core¡­¡±

    ¡°Quiet, fool. We¡¯re still in court!¡±

    It became harder for Alex to hold back his smile as the court¡¯s whispers were revealed with the cool breezes that the wind catchers brought from the clever ventilation shafts throughout the palatial chamber.

    It seemed that even Guo could sense the hostility and contempt just underneath the surface that carefully bland court features hid so well, and only in deference to the power the man represented. Yet even the threat of a steel fist behind a silk glove that all were aware of wasn¡¯t enough to sway the court.

    Princess Sunlay¡¯s gaze flattened. ¡°If you¡¯ll recall, Lord Guo, the terms of the duel were quite clear. Any duels or disputes settled within these chambers will go no further than these chambers. No blood debts will be incurred, and the outcome will not be used as a pretext to violate treaties or oaths of nonaggression.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°These were the terms you yourself agreed to, just minutes ago. And I¡¯m afraid surrendering the champion of said duel to your custody after your disciple perished to a single counter punch, the only one Gong threw while enduring over a dozen cuts delivered by your own fallen champion who was armed with enchanted steel, whereas our guest was not, would most definitely be violating the terms of the duel in the most egregious way possible.¡±

    The Crown Prince¡¯s calm demeanor gave nothing away, but Alex sensed that he was pleased with his daughter¡¯s words. Though his brow furrowed as his daughter spoke on.

    ¡°And that you would even suggest such a betrayal of our trust, after doing absolutely nothing to curb your disciple from initiating the duel with live steel before our guest, honor bound to bring no weapons into court, even had a chance to arm himself properly, leaves us all wondering just how fairly you would truck with us in the weeks and months to come. How badly would the odds be stacked against us, if we actually became the protectorate of your¡ª¡±

    Her words were instantly silenced when her father rapped the armrest of his throne. She froze, before bowing her head. ¡°The court sees the just and honorable duel as resolved.¡±

    Lord Guo looked ready to protest before he stiffened to instant silence when one of the coldly smiling courtiers before him gently touched his shoulder.

    And in that instant, everything changed. Alex noted how the of emissaries and sycophants shifted in deference to the sleekly muscled man wearing a bemused half-smile upon flawless classical Han features. Though the man wore no cultivator¡¯s robes, and was, in fact, kitted in changshan jacked and tight fitting pants with silken slippers, they were clearly form-fitting and didn¡¯t hinder his movements in the least. Yet what was most striking besides the probing eyes that Alex felt as keenly as a scalpel, eyes that reminded him so much of his former fellow kitsune nightwatchmen who had taught him so much of the killing arts what now felt like a lifetime ago¡­ was the sheer power that the man radiated.

    Alex felt both exhilaration and a warning chill of apprehension, sensing a Silver so deep he was on the cusp of transcendence.

    On the cusp of Gold.

    Yet for some reason, when the man flashed Alex a hungry smile, his sense of foreboding turned to exhilaration, his grin mirroring the man¡¯s own.

    The man chuckled in odd approval, nodding his head even as a pair of men dressed grey robes with crimson sigils cleaned up the remains of Xun Lan within seconds, leaving with a stretcher wrapped in blood-stained sheets, leaving nothing but spotless marble in their wake.

    The man gave a bemused nod. ¡°I see a man who dares to follow his own path, dares to channel conflicting elements in ways that risk Qi deviation¡­ and dares to walk the Path of Peril.¡±

    Alex smiled but said nothing. Because really, there was nothing for him to say. Not only was he playing at being mute. Besides, there was no way in hell he would give his opponents a deliberate clue as to how his paradigm worked. Or even admit to himself that not even he was sure how Earth had sprung so naturally from Water¡­ which are normally in direct opposition¡­ yet it wasn¡¯t earth so much as sharp stony rocks in a stormy sea bitter with the salty tears of more hardship and peril than most could endure, let alone understand. And perhaps that was the answer right there. For a placid clear lake would forever hide the pebbles upon its bottom. But a wild stormy sea, crackling with lightning and the iodine tang of metallic salts, would most definitely wash all and sundry upon the rocky shoals of oblivion. For Metal was a bridge between those opposing elements, and Wind and Lightning both played roles in facilitating connections between the five classic elements that not all understood or appreciated.

    But mostly Alex said nothing because nothing needed to be said. Regardless of the court¡¯s intentions, both parties knew what was to come. As inevitable as the moons tides and the stormy seas.

    ¡°You may call me Xien Su.¡±

    Alex dipped his head.

    The man chuckled, whipping free his jian and plunging it so fast that even Alex felt a chill of apprehension when it tore into the far stone wall to the hilt, the loud resounding crack freezing the entire court. And that was with the blade still in it¡¯s sheath. Making it clear that Alex was definitely dealing with a monster of one sort or another.

    Yet Xien Su only smiled, calmly lifting his bare hands, his challenging smile freezing words even upon the Crown Prince¡¯s lips, Sunlay and Nili both looking on with wide-eyed dismay as he tilted his head Alex¡¯s way.

    ¡°I fear that the least of my former companions failed to give you challenge worthy of your stature. Perhaps you would be willing to trade pointers with me in his stead?¡±

    Alex could sense Rachel¡¯s sudden surge of panic. ¡°No, my husband does not¡ª¡±

    Her words were cut off with a little gasp of dismay when Alex held out his clenched fist, turning to glare her way, before softening it with a head shake and a sympathetic smile.

    He then turned back to Xien Su, stepped back, slammed fist against palm, and nodded his consent.

    Xien Su¡¯s eyes twinkled with savage delight, a sharp contrast to the melodious laughter that would have done any yuling bard proud. ¡°Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful! Same terms as before¡­ Your Grace?¡±

    The last he said with a polite smile and dip of his head toward the Crown Prince. Who, being no fool, sensed that the man was giving him much-needed face¡­ after radiating such a potent killing aura that there was no doubt at all that he could have bathed the entire stunned court in blood.

    The Crown prince nodded. ¡°So long as both parties agree¡­ you may fight for our pleasure!¡±

    Xien Su had the gall to wink Alex¡¯s way. ¡°Shall we?¡±

    Alex¡¯s smile said all that needed saying. He sensed both the grave peril before him, and an opportunity like no other. The chance to truly hone himself in the crucible of Peril, without having to hold back. A chance to grow, or perish in conflict far more fulfilling than simply applying overwhelming force or the lightning fast blitzkrieg strikes of actual war.

    Unlike the first fight, Xien Su waited until the prince¡¯s seneschal had rung the bronze gong he held.

    And unlike the first fight, Alex was pushed to his absolute limit.

    One instant Xien Su was smiling hungrily. And the next, it was all that Alex could do to survive the absolute barrage of furious strikes being sent his way.

    Snapping kicks that could shatter stone pillars. Spear hand strikes that tore into his desperately dodging flesh like a white-hot knife through butter. Sweeping blows that sliced through Alex¡¯s skin like a saber, for all that only the fingertips made contact.

    Alex¡¯s interface blared with warning messages as the ocean¡¯s waters began to froth and boil

    Storm Wing FAILS to counter Steel Flame technique! You have suffered one medium wound! You save versus crippling blow!

    Draconic bloodlines mitigate crippling burns to one additional Lesser Wound!

    Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection FAILS to counter Steel Fan technique! You have have suffered one additional light wound!

    The pain jolted Alex into the moment, as the combination of blazing hot yet bitter sharp steel burned the last of what he now realized was arrogant overconfidence to the ether, where it belonged. He refused to feel chagrin or despair, realizing just how overconfidently stupid he had been, to assume that every opponent he faced would be the equal of those he had met until now, when the very nature of his foe had been his clue.

    Because Dongfang Hong didn¡¯t have a mere handful of a desert caldera''s worth of Silvers at his disposal, where just one Silver per generation per hundred thousand would normally be found, which, at most, might explain the handful Alex had faced before now.

    No. His enemy might or might not be possessed by the most malicious and bloodthirsty tactician it had ever been Alex¡¯s displeasure to face, and had faced, over countless lifetimes¡­ but one thing that was damn certain was that, before his exile, he had enjoyed access to not just a handful of modest caldera cities to draw his forces from, but every sacred city within every province that made up his entire kingdom. A kingdom that had once covered a surface area equal to the landmass of the planet of his birth. A kingdom with a population of well over a billion people, not even including the countless hundreds of millions in myriad woodland communities and trade towns that served to feed those impossibly vast sacred cities. And even if he had had access to only a tiny fraction of that before being formally exiled, that could still amount to a dozen Gold tier opponents, easy.

    Men and women perhaps bound so tightly to the Dongfang Hong, by dint of loyalty or the blackest of soul-bindings, that they would serve their master even here. And with powerful cultivators living as long as they did, it didn¡¯t matter if Dongfang Hong might have been exiled here, centuries ago. He could still have access to a dozen Golds and perhaps hundreds of truly elite Silvers that would absolutely destroy the average Rank 1 Silver Strength cultivator that had just broken through.

    Just like the coldly smiling Xien Su who was even now shredding Alex¡¯s defenses with an unorthodox combination of Fire and Steel and something else Alex couldn¡¯t quite parse. A technique that cut right through the waves of Wind and Water Alex was focusing on mastering, before piercing his flesh with the ease of the deadliest jian.

    Alex leaped back with a ragged breath after their last exchanged, more grateful than he cared to admit that Potency Mastery was giving him a steady supply of spiritual energy to rapidly accelerate his base regeneration level without having to dip into his extremely precious beast cores.

    Xein Su gave a low baritone chuckle, nodding his head in approval. ¡°Wonderful. Wonderful! To feel the ocean¡¯s waves battering against my form, to cut through it so cleanly, so precisely! To show the flaw in Water and Wind as Fire turns your techniques to impotent steam and Steel tears through sweet, fragile flesh!¡± He flashed a wild grin. ¡°How invigorating it is to find a worthy opponent at last.¡±

    Alex grimaced, his mind a whirlwind of surprise and alarm. Never before had anyone pierced his defenses so well. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t the only one who had found a way to use supposedly incompatible techniques¡­ and this man was clearly a master of his art. Yet before Alex could even think of what would possess him to reveal aloud so many secrets best kept close to his vest, he realized that the man had been speaking in the highblood imperial dialect of YanTu nation. Not the local desert tongue at all.

    Yet before he could even worry about the implications, Xien Su had sprung forward once more, and it was all Alex could do to juke and weave past the whirlwind of killing blows.

    Steel Flame has struck you to the quick! Prismatic ribs AVERT lethal strike!

    You have taken one additional Medium Wound.

    You attempt to save versus existential dread!

    Time seemed to stretch and warp as the excited murmurs of the courtiers grew tinny and faint. In that moment, there was only Alex and the coldly smiling killer whose spear-hand strike had come so close to piercing his heart.

    ¡°So close, no? No worries. We still have time. Don¡¯t we, pawn?¡±

    Alex pretended he couldn¡¯t understand every word the man was saying, realizing that THIS was the fight that could finally do him in, as he faced a man that was both as strong as him and Quicker, with mastery over arts designed to pierce the elements he was working so hard to master. Arts that had pierced his own flesh multiple times, his enhanced Water mastery over his own blood the only thing preventing him from spurting his crimson life blood upon the tiles as he desperately strove to repair old damage as new wounds piled up.

    Then he laughed, realizing that his dread was actually exhilaration. It was the very pressure of existence demanding that he commit himself utterly and completely to this moment and the opponent before him. To grow attuned to the shifts in balance and stance that presaged his moves, and slowly, bit by bit, the flow of Qi as well. But more than anything else, he strove to understand the martial art behind the cultivation techniques. Studying his foe far more intently than Mongoose, such that when Xien Su next lashed out with Steel Flame, Alex was already weaving aside, giving him the split second he needed to shift the flow of Water Qi before his foe could tear through his flesh.

    And that tiny moment¡¯s head start made all the difference in the world when Xien Su¡¯s spear hand strike was shifted a few crucial inches off course, inflicting a bloody furrow against Alex¡¯s desperately dodging flank¡­ and failing to slip under the ribs entirely.

    Storm Wing SUCCESSFULLY Mitigates Killing Blow!

    Storm Wing is now Rank 3!

    You begin to sense the flow of ancient currents once more.

    No one else understood the significance of what happened, perhaps, yet Xien Lu¡¯s suddenly stormy expression spoke volumes.

    Alex took a deep Qi-filled breath, shivering with exhilaration he could scarce put into words. He knew he faced mortal peril, yet he couldn¡¯t help but see Elder Panheu in the man¡¯s stance and movements.

    ¡°You would dare smile at me, coolly, after bleeding repeatedly for my pleasure?¡± Xien Su¡¯s glower turned to a cold chuckle. ¡°Good. Good! Continue to entertain me! Continue to serve as the whetstone to my final ascension!¡±

    The chamber shook as the man roared and charged forward, and Alex was already flowing back, winding parries now just a split-second faster, a tad bit more fluid than they had been before.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    And Xien Su was still drawing blood, as the crimson splashes washing over them both did attest. Yet this was already acknowledged and compensated for. It was already a part of the dance they both chose to embrace. Xien Su ever advancing forward, Alex ever step-sliding away. And each exchange had the former looking ever more frustrated, as killing thrusts skewed ever more from their ultimate target, Xien Su¡¯s faster hands making no difference, it seemed, when a warding arm was already pulling the currents away from his foe.

    Counters which no longer struck head on, allowing Xien Su to pierce right through, but rather pull away, forcing the man¡¯s deadliest attacks off kilter as the current pulled them off course. Ever more off course to the point it seemed that space itself was bending with the flow of Alex¡¯s parries.

    Xien Su paled, earlier sneer turning to an outraged snarl. ¡°No. There¡¯s only one abomination that ever dared this art, and that fool is dead! Dead by my master¡¯s hand!¡±

    Yet Alex paid no heed to those words, understanding them for the distraction they were as violent steel tore from low to high, a snapping kick that would have ruptured organs, before being checked by Alex¡¯s shin.

    Alex grimaced. The snap kick had been fueled by strength and technique alone. A faint before the Steel Fan ridge hand strike designed to tear right through Alex¡¯s throat.

    Yet it was his opponent that paled when he attempted to crack prismatic bone only to find his own fibula paying the price as bone was strained to the breaking point when the man lurched forward with a snarl, only to find his arm slicing through a misty spray of wild currents and wind.

    And as so often happens when a foolhardy captain over-commits, the sea dips to reveal devastating shoals¡­ eager to shred unprepared keels before fierce waves smash all that remains to shattered timbers.

    Your opponent fails to save contest of durability!

    Storm Wing successfully pulls your foe¡¯s strikes off target.

    AVALANCHE!

    Your foe has been sent flying!

    Sien Su¡¯s look of surprise was almost comical as Alex¡¯s fist crashed against his temple with enough force to send the man cartwheeling through the air.

    But Alex was no fool. at that point he was riding currents just as fierce as the one sending his opponent cartwheeling, now racing upward to meet his surprised foe who somehow had kept his wits about him and his skull intact, sufficient that even while spinning through the air, his hand was jutting out with a fiery killing intent once more, ready to pierce the cultivator who dared ascend the air itself to meet him.

    Only for his off-balance thrust to be countered with a sweeping parry, skin barely singed before Alex¡¯s own ridge hand strike hammered right into his opponent¡¯s throat.

    Find Weakness Skillcheck: Critical Success!

    Piercing Strike successfully ruptures all Qi Wards and Physical Barriers!

    You have critically struck your opponent!

    You have become one with the storm!

    Storm Swan Kung Fu is now Rank 5!

    Avalanche is now Rank 3!

    Sien Su¡¯s arrogant mien had been replaced by horror, Alex¡¯s blow slicing through multiple defenses as if they were no more than gossamer strands before hammering into the man¡¯s vulnerable neck with such fearsome focus that Alex could feel bone cracking and major arteries deforming as multiple pressure points were struck and crushed.

    Yet before the man had even finished crashing to the ground, Lord Guo was screaming, eyes wide with naked fear.

    ¡°Quarter! Xien Su Yields! Xien Su Yields! The fight is over!¡±

    And before Alex could do more than settle his feet back down to the ground and pretend he hadn¡¯t been cloud-stepping in plain view of the entire awed court, the bronze gong was rung and Lord Guo himself was racing toward Xien Su who was gulping in wide eyed desperation for air that just wouldn¡¯t come before the ambassador pulled out a glowing crimson vial and placed three drops on the dying man¡¯s tongue, rubbing additional drops upon Xien Su¡¯s throat.

    The critically injured warrior began spasming so hard that Lord Guo was knocked back, crashing into a table full of guests, splattering food and drinks everywhere. Alex''s eyes then snapped back to Xien Su as the wounded man took a wheezing breath before curdling in a ball, gasping for air.

    Alex felt a curious mix of dispassion, and a queasy sense of discomfort as he mentally replayed the fight, wondering just how hard he had struck his opponent with Avalanche, how many defenses were already ruptured, how badly the neck was already strained from the blow a split second before he had raced upward to deliver the coup de grace. One thing was for sure. As much as Lord Guo was looking at him like he were an abomination, the three other Silver tier warriors playing at being diplomats were peering at Alex with newfound respect. And Xien Su, wheezing for breath, stumbling to his feet despite a Water-aligned healer begging for him to sit down so he might be attended to, was gazing at Alex with what could only be wonder.

    Then he actually gave a wheezing laugh.

    ¡°Well done, wanderer. Well done!¡± The man declared, before tossing a purse Alex¡¯s way.

    Bemused, Alex caught it. Ignoring Nili¡¯s furious flurry of handsign suggesting it could be a trap. Alex found that it was anything but. A quick glance revealed an absolute fortune in gold, platinum, beast cores and Spirit Pearls of all things. Alex blinked, not quite sure what to make of such a gesture from a man he had fully intended on killing. A man he was now forced to see as something other than a complete monster when Xien Su winced and chuckled, struggling to bow.

    ¡°A most worthy battle, honored Gong. And the stakes¡­ truly invigorating! A purse is a small price to pay for illumination, and I¡¯ve learned much from our brief spar. I suspect you have as well.¡±

    He gave Alex a measuring look, both of them ignoring the fierce whispers, rebukes, and pleas from those around them. At that moment, there was only the pair of them.

    ¡°I tasted it, you know. A glimpse of what could be. And thanks to you, I sense my flaws. Unforgivable weaknesses I must correct if I am to hone myself further. If I am to ascend.¡± He gave Alex a curious look. ¡°You sensed it as well, did you not?¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t bother denying it, or insulting them both by pretending he didn¡¯t understand what Xien Su meant. Instead he gave the man a solemn nod.

    Xien Su flashed a pleased, broken-toothed smile, though Alex had no doubt he¡¯d have a perfect set of chompers soon enough. ¡°Good. Good! I sensed you also growing along your path. A path we ascend together, even in pristine opposition, for only in courting death like the most intimate of lovers can we continue to grow. You know this, yes?¡± And the warmhearted chuckle he gave when Alex denied nothing, flashing a cold smile of his own, silenced the entire chamber of murmurs, all of them now gazing at the pair of them like they were monsters, or legends.

    ¡°Good. Good!¡± He smirked toward the anxious-looking healer. ¡°I go now to¡­ rest. Rest and meditate upon our encounter. Perhaps we shall be able to trade pointers again at a later date?¡±

    Alex shrugged, committing to nothing. Yet even this was enough for a satisfied nod as the man allowed himself to be led away in a concerned healer¡¯s bustling wake, leaving a flustered Lord Guo looking utterly out of sorts. Even more than that, he looked¡­ yes, Alex thought he saw a trace of fear mar the man¡¯s perpetual arrogant mien. As for the three other Silver monsters who Alex now knew better than to underestimate, their eyes were filled not with hatred or killing intent or fear¡­ so much as respect. Several sent cautious nods his way, which Alex coolly returned.

    Perhaps unsurprisingly, the court¡¯s spirits seemed to lift, the musicians playing dizi and erhu with particular fervor as the Red Prince¡¯s emissaries departed. Sunlay was positively beaming and even the prince looked pleased. It was only then that the honors and accolades were granted to those noteworthy individuals who had proven themselves either directly or indirectly serving their city. Alexwas given to understand that guards, mercenaries, and commoners who had acquitted themselves honorably were recognized several times a month, which did much to boost both morale and productivity both. All in all, Alex thought it a smart move, though he wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about the prince singling him out to fete personally, and the look Sunlay was giving him would have made a less stoic Gong¡¯s cheeks blush.

    Fortunately, Sunlay now knew who he was, if Nili¡¯s earlier animated whispering and the princess¡¯s look of surprise had been anything to go by. But the smile she gave him certainly wasn¡¯t fit for any married man, which he supposedly was, and he didn¡¯t want her to inadvertently lose face in court, so he merely bowed his head solemnly, accepted the kind words, and allowed a still highly animated Rachel to do the speaking for him, though he increasingly.wished he hadn¡¯t been coaxed into playing the role of a mute.

    ¡°I do hope you will both consider yourselves guests of the court,¡± Princess Sunlay had said at the last, earning a solemn kowtow from Alex and an excited squeal from Rachel until Alex gently lowered her to give face to the smiling prince as well.

    ¡°We would love to, Your, Gra¡ª¡± Rachel winced when Alex gently squeezed her hand. ¡°That is¡­ our goal is to challenge the rift and pluck what treasures we might. Perhaps even a Water stone, if fortune truly favors us.¡±

    Her words earned indulgent laughter from the princess, even if a few courtiers had glared at presumptuousness in speaking so boldly to a member of the ruling family.

    ¡°Well then I.wish you both an excellent hunt! Perhaps fortune will continue to favor such heroes as yourselves. We shall make sure you both have access to the sect¡¯s premier suites, and are paid top coin for any cores you retrieve, as we shall for any bold adventurer willing to dare the rift. And of course, should you actually manage to retrieve a core of Ice or Water, you shall be feted and honored with both property, stipend, and title worthy of any lord of our court.¡±

    Rachel froze, wide-eyed at those words, clearly stunned at the idea of actually becoming a wealthy noble with property and wealth to her name. She immediately dipped into a low curtsy even as Alex bowed solemnly and low.

    ¡°We would be honored, Your Grace,¡± Rachel said in a voice soft with wonder before a smiling servant led them back to their table where they were promptly back-slapped and cheered by all the mercenaries who had forged themselves along peril¡¯s path, lacking wealth and resources and often as not of commoner¡¯s stock, who truly appreciated seeing one of their own get the best of arrogant, powerful cultivators who had gotten to play elite young master all their lives without a lick of hardship. Or so the wandering cultivators like Gongniu claimed with good-natured chuckles as they toasted in Alex¡¯s honor.

    ¡°Well fought, Gong¡± The larger cultivator commended. ¡°You gave us face and showed those bastards what it means to cross soldiers who actually fight for a living!¡± His voice then dropped in a confidential whisper. ¡°But you¡¯re just a half-step Silver, then I¡¯ve yet to take my first step as a Bronze!¡± He chuckled good-naturedly, clapping Alex¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Not that I¡¯m gonna pry into the secrets of the man who probably saved my sorry rear, but still. To move with such speed, such grace, and actually be able to channel your elements into your blows, like the most elite of cultivators!¡±

    The seven-foot-tall Strength cultivator gave an awed shake of his head. ¡°Body cultivators who can do that are just a half-step away from being wujen themselves! And you¡¯re as fast as any sword saint I¡¯ve ever seen! And when you hit that poor fool who would have happily run me through a dozen times before I could even cry yield¡­¡± Gongniu¡¯s gaze grew haunted, before he shook his head with a rueful chuckle. ¡°Well, call me humbled! When I sensed the caldera¡¯s weight roaring through your fist, it was like I was in the middle of a thundering storm like you might see once a decade in these parts! I swear I felt a shiver of illumination just watching you. We all did.¡±

    The entire table full of mercenaries nodded solemnly at that.

    ¡°You¡¯d better believe we¡¯ll be meditating on that fight just as soon as this wondrous feast is over¡­ and as you can see, some of us are doing just that, right now.¡±

    Alex grinned, noting three men sitting still, glassy-eyed for all that their backs were ramrod straight, their minds clearly lost in deep contemplation, and Alex had no doubt that were they not at court, they would be embracing closed-door cultivation at that very moment.

    The Ruidian couple merely lifted their goblets in toast. ¡°No inspiration for us, but it was a damned good fight!¡± The man said.

    ¡°Not that we could follow it save after the fact, so quickly did you move and strike. But considering the clear disdain they have for our people¡­ it was nice to see them put in their place,¡± the wife quietly agreed with a nod to Rachel Lu. ¡°You have a strong, powerful mate. Your clan chose well, allowing you to marry him. May you both have healthy and strong children that will bring honor and safety to your clan.¡±

    Rachel positively beamed at that, clasping Alex¡¯s arm and leaning her head against him. ¡°That is my dearest wish, Lisette.¡± She flashed a teasing smile. ¡°Now if only we could claim a Water core and earn actual noble titles. That would certainly be an adventure worthy of the story books!¡±

    The pair of Ruidians seated beside them drank to that, eyes twinkling with pleasure. ¡°Indeed it would. Axel and I would also love such a prize.¡± She tilted her head thoughtfully. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d like to delve together? The sect here offers both generous bounties and comfortable accommodations for our kind. They¡¯re also quite skilled at organizing parties and considering the¡­ state of affairs here, they¡¯re now more accommodating than ever before. Even Silver Wujen will happily party with us for equal shares, and are as courteous to us as we¡¯ve always been taught to be to them.

    Axel nodded. ¡°As much as it saddens me to sense the city¡¯s peril¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to be so clearly valued, without a single disparaging comment from even the most haughty blue-blood cultivator.¡±

    Axel squeezed his wife¡¯s hand. ¡°For all that we feel an affinity for the city, during previous years¡­ let¡¯s just say the sect had had it¡¯s share of spoiled young masters who resented the privileges promised to our people. And their comments were¡­ cutting.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s now all in the past,¡± his wife assured. ¡°And the common citizens and shopkeepers have never been anything but polite, gracious, lovely people who appreciate hardworking customers with coin to spend.¡±

    Rachel¡¯s eyes positively lit up. ¡°Oh yes, shopping! I would love to explore the market here. It will be my first time!¡±

    ¡°Well then you absolutely must let me share with you the best stores and stalls. I know, we should plan a trip together! Do you know mapsign?¡±

    Lisette and Rachel shared a glance at their men and immediately huddled together, whispering counsel.

    ¡°No doubt their planning on how best to spend all our coin, friend Gong,¡± the man said with a fond smile for his wife.

    Alex shrugged and smiled, taking a sip from his goblet before looking up and catching Nili¡¯s gaze. The slightest of nods and he understood.

    He faked a pained grimace, gazing at his still bloody forearm with a rueful chuckle.

    A gentle nudge with his foot and Rachel began to tut and fuss over the injury. ¡°Darling, you put on a brave front, but now it¡¯s time to rest and recover. Come, let¡¯s see if our hosts will give us the aid of a healer?¡±

    ¡°You do that,¡± Gongnieu said, with a gentle clap on Alex¡¯s shoulder. His eyes were filled with brotherly warmth. ¡°You did me a good turn, and I won¡¯t soon forget it. If you ever need a kung fu brother by your side, the Silver Oxen have your back!¡±

    Alex blinked, having so many questions with that one statement, but settled for bowing his head and smiling in thanks for his offer. Then, seconds later, a concerned-looking healer who looked far too young for the role in Alex¡¯s opinion before instantly sensing why, made an appearance from a discrete side corridor.

    ¡°Come, brave warrior. Allow us to tend to your wounds. It is the least we can do after your valiant battle.¡±

    Alex¡¯s face froze in a grimace, instantly recognizing Lini¡¯s twinkling eyes and mischievous smile. But she didn¡¯t break character and neither did he, giving his companions a final grunt and wave farewell with his uninjured right hand, still gripping his chalice which he slugged back and put down before following the supposed young healer, Rachel Lu hopping to his side and grabbing his uninjured hand once more.

    ¡°Well done, hero,¡± Nili whispered with a cheshire grin, once they slipped into a side passage off the grandly appointed hallway, the thick shadows effortlessly hiding the transition from stoic, plain-faced cultivator to blond haired blue-eyed youth once more.

    She gave a satisfied smile, eyes twinkling with mirth. ¡°You put on quite a show, Alex. Those fools have absolutely no idea what to make of our friend Gong. And best of all, any spy or agent who comes along to research you or, well, remove you, will find nothing but dead ends. Mother will spread the word. As far as the city¡¯s concerned, you and your beautiful wife snuck out this very night, slipping right past any supposed ¡®bandits.¡¯ And we¡¯ll be floating additional rumors that you¡¯re now the prince¡¯s sworn guardian, which will hopefully make those assholes think twice before breaking their oaths and accepting harsh penalties to their cultivation, if they think they can take the prince out in one quick attack.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened with concern. ¡°Shit, how likely is that?¡±

    ¡°Hopefully not likely at all. Most cultivators at the upper end of Silver take their cultivation very, very seriously and aren¡¯t about to let some secular ruler jeopardize their paths to ascension. But considering how scarily focused and ruthless these people are¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°Mother said better safe than sorry. And that being said¡­¡±

    She turned to Rachel. ¡°With your permission, we¡¯ll change both your eyes and your hair. And here. A sun hat that will hide your jewel for so long as you wear it.¡±

    Rachel¡¯s mouth opened, her formerly excited smile turning sad and forlorn. ¡°So¡­ we won¡¯t be going delving together? Are you sure? That might be just what we need to um¡­ ally suspicion. And help your cover.¡±

    Lini chuckled before Alex could say anything. ¡°Oh it¡¯s fine. Because now Alex will look like a Ruidian and you will look like a mortal when out in public. Nothing says you can¡¯t delve as a group. We just want to avoid assassins putting two and two together.¡±

    Rachel paled. ¡°That¡¯s, um¡­ actually a good point.¡±

    Lini nodded. ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll let me take you to the sect compound that serves as Wanshi¡¯s cultivation academy, we¡¯ll get you squared away.¡±

    ¡°But what about Alex?¡±

    Lini grinned. ¡°Of course he¡¯s coming along. Where else would an exotic looking Ruidian go? Ooh, before I forget¡­ here¡¯s a hat. Not your odd tricorn, Alex. We want you to blend in! And if your hair is covered, you can blend right in.¡±

    ¡°As a Ruidian,¡± he said.

    ¡°Right.¡±

    ¡°A six foot, two inch tall Ruidian man as solidly put together as a powerful Bronze?¡± Rachel said with a smirk. ¡°Even with the straw hat, he¡¯s going to stand out.¡±

    Lini sighed. ¡°And that¡¯s what I¡¯m here for. It wouldn¡¯t matter most of the time, no one would care. They¡¯d just love you for coming here to delve for their fortunes and help our city, like all Ruidians do. But for today? Yeah. Just stand in my wake and we should all blend in.¡±

    She flushed at Alex¡¯s pointed smile. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say a word! It¡¯s hard to blend in to a wall right by a guard! No matter what I do, I¡¯m going to stand out there. But out in public? Blending in with everyday expectations is sort of my specialty.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to say anything,¡± Alex assured.

    ¡°Sure you weren¡¯t. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Alex and Rachel nodded, though the latter¡¯s eyes widened when Alex casually wiped off the blood he had deliberately left on his forearm, revealing smooth, flawless skin with no sign of injury, the shadows hiding him for a precious moment as he slid out of his elegant court-worthy attire and into comfortable slacks and a bone-button changshan shirt that no stain could set upon.

    ¡°Incredible.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he talented?¡± Lini said jubilantly, happily claiming Alex¡¯s other arm. ¡°And Alex?¡±

    ¡°Umm. Somehow I don¡¯t think that me holding both your hands is going to blend in.¡±

    ¡°Shut up and let me handle that, okay?¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°Anyway¡­ thank you for saving my life.¡± Lini¡¯s wry good-humored expression turned solemn. ¡°The world needs more heroes like you.¡±

    Rachel nodded. ¡°I agree completely,¡± she said, her face a perfect expression of courteous grace, yet the way she was squeezing Alex¡¯s hand and staring at a calmly smiling Lini¡­ made it clear that something was going on beneath the surface.

    Alex cleared his throat. ¡°Come on. The sooner we get to the academy, the better.¡±

 Book 9 - Chapter 18

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it beautiful, Alex?¡±

    Alex turned from gazing at the heavens glittering with a myriad of colorful stars all the hues of the rainbow to admiring the magnificent tower of marble and quartz that sparkled like diamonds under the light of the full moons. Heart lightened by a peaceful walk through what was admittedly the nicest quarter of the city, he and his companions had received nothing but warm nods and oddly hopeful looks from both workers and well-to-do citizenry as they made their way to the grand sect building serving as the city¡¯s cultivation academy that they stood before even now.

    ¡°Thank you for your service!¡± Had been a phrase that warmed his heart to hear. Eyes so filled with warmth and unguarded hope had met their own, conveying in no uncertain terms just how desperately the average citizen sensed their city¡¯s peril and hoped for a miracle¡­ giving thanks to those people willing to fight for that miracle, that it served to soothe old bitter scars in his psyche for traumas long forgotten save in the recesses of his soul.

    Yet on some level, the unsung hero who had striven so hard for a righteous path only to be scorned and mocked and reviled by the very people he had fought so hard to save¡­ souls that were all too often a reflection of bitter jealous gods above, or perhaps innocent pawns infected by cards of fate they couldn¡¯t even fathom twisting about their lives, playing them like marionettes to a game as grotesque as it was awesome¡­ had turned hard and bitter.

    Yet the gentle words of grace and gratitude brought unexpected tears to his eyes as old wounds were finally soothed. To see that he was respected, valued, appreciated, however far removed it truly was from the bitter perils of days long past. Yet still, it was enough. Enough to bring tears to his eyes, to allow ancient bitter howls to be soothed and comforted with the simple smile of a hopeful child waving at him from her mother¡¯s arms.

    And somehow, a choked up Alex knew, that if this weren¡¯t his final life, the solace he felt right now, walking gently along pristine brownstone blocks as smooth as any idealized roman road of a lifetime ago, with the stars shining overhead and two beautiful souls happy to walk by his side¡­ this memory might be the solace a later version of himself might need not to walk down certain dark paths he was increasingly certain had been his own, at least one time in three. Far better to embrace lives where he would serve as a bastion of mercy¡­ not a final arbiter of darkest wrath and vengeance, knowing all too well that both of those facets were as much WiFu¡¯s as his own.

    Both of them marked by pain for their hearts to bleed for countless souls suffering as they once had.

    Both of them marked by pain sufficient to set the world ablaze with their wrath.

    And the paths they sometimes walked, well, there was a reason why tales of the Fox and General were said with such hushed guarded whispers and too many furtive glances from those who had even the tiniest inkling of who he and his mentor might be. Because when their blood ran hot¡­ the world would burn.

    He shivered and pulled away from unwanted memory. Flashes of joy and pain flickering ever more across his soul. He suspected his increasing memories of lives not entirely his own was because he had, in fact, come back thrice so far, in this final tale, without any cognitive wipe at all, as a certain grandmother of the river had withdrawn the mercy of forgetfulness in retribution for the painful lessons he had instilled upon her vile monster of a grandson.

    At that moment, lost in wonder at the beautiful sight of the magnificent edifice of marble and shimmering quartz, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if something other than spite had motivated her. Perhaps she too bled for the endless torment that had been her youngest grandchild¡¯s lot for far, far too long. Maybe even she had to acknowledge that Shalu had more than earned his scars. Perhaps Alex truly was a pawn in a game who¡¯s serpentine intrigues and maneuvers had been evolving for literal eons, and her ire with his daring was the perfect pretext to remove the veil of forgetfulness which had both soothed his soul¡­ and blocked him from the bittersweet lessons extending over who knew how many lifetimes.

    Perhaps it was time to remember.

    Perhaps it was time to become a force to be reckoned with.

    Far more terrible than anything that had ever come before.

    Or perhaps he was reading into things far too deeply, and Grandmother Yi Wang simply wanted him to suffer, like every other asshole at that divine table.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    He winced at the unexpected fear he heard in Rachel¡¯s soft, husky voice.

    He quickly shook away the dark bitter thoughts that had almost overtaken him. Almost overtaken his pristine mood that brought a sense of peace that was almost transcendent.

    So he answered the shadows of ancient memories best allowed to lie like sleeping dragons with a gentle chuckle, the golden peals of warmth and hope putting to rest so many unrequited dreams.

    Because here in the smiling promise of two young women before him, two girls he would honor as the friends and companions they deserved, was all the hope and joy and appreciation he had craved for countless lifetimes. Because he knew that all he had to do was reveal his heart to these girls, and all his dreams and desires would be fulfilled.

    Yet it was a line he wouldn¡¯t cross. Not just because of mores adopted since his first incarnation and always embraced, but because his heart had already been given to another. Two others. One of whom awoke the fires of passion like the most glorious of summer storms. As for the other... He closed his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat, seeing so clearly the beeming features of the first woman Alex had ever married in any world, right before a spite-filled Shalu had slammed down a card of bitter fruit, consigning his spouses and progeny to suffering and hardship over countless lifetimes. Perhaps the only reason why so very few people in the world bore any trace of his features at all.

    Yet a few did. Because even with that monster¡¯s spite, he and WiFu had still found ways of sheltering that which was most precious to their hearts, and all of his descendants that he found would now be able to live peaceful lives in a once tiny pocket realm where they were embraced and accepted.

    A world seed that had already grown to the size of ancient Earth.

    A world that was his own, with a magnificent palace filled with magical wonders fitting of any Jade Emperor or fledgling deity.

    ¡°Alex, what are you thinking?¡± Lini gazed at him with a curious look, a blush coming to her dusky features.

    Alex chuckled. ¡°Nothing at all, kung-fu sister. Just feeling grateful to have friends I can count on.¡±

    Lini squeezed his hand without saying anything. And if she leaned into him a bit closer than he thought appropriate for someone her age, he wouldn¡¯t embarrass her here in public, amongst a handful of other traders and cultivators still clearing their meridians wearing similar light grey robes, all of them waiting to be allowed admittance into the grand edifice before them. Especially not while under the careful regard of a pair of white-robed cultivators radiating the strength of experienced Bronze, both with bright smiles upon their faces as they quickly made their way through the line of those patiently waiting their turn to pluck Alex and his companions and lead them through the grand arched doorway, heedless of the grumbles and glares Alex could hear at their back.

    ¡°Why is the Autumn sect being treated this way? We have every right to be here as our elders agreed!¡±

    ¡°Of course, honored cultivator. We but follow protocol.¡±

    ¡°Why? Because Spring won a single duel? We trounced you fools three years running. This edifice is ours in all but name, and the delve as well! And we never put Ruidians before honest cultivators when we were organizing the delve.¡±

    ¡°And that might explain the lack of Water cores,¡± sniped a jaded voice behind the loudest complainer.

    ¡°What? How dare you accuse Autumn of incompetence! I should challenge you right now!¡±

    ¡°You will do no such thing, honored cultivator,¡± said the less than amused guardian overseeing the line.

    ¡°If you cannot show the basic discipline expected of all those who dare the delves¡­ you may leave.¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but crack a smile as the teasing wind whispered the angry murmurs of those behind them, explaining, perhaps, the concentration of Bronze when normally one would expect far more aspirants in the meridian cleansing stage.

    They weren¡¯t students returning to the sect academy after a day in the city. They were warriors in their own right, looking to dare the rifts. And Alex supposed it made sense. With countless overlapping pocket realms allowing for unlimited numbers of parties to enter, it behooved the city to have everyone who could endure the buildup of waste Qi delving for as long as they safely could.

    Still, it did leave Alex more than a bit curious, enough so that his attention quickly went back to their host, unusually gregarious for a cultivator, explaining the history of their Sect, named after one of the four seasons which Alex found quite interesting in the desert. It seemed that the Spring sect had only just recently taken custody of the grand edifice whose marbled hallways were lined with frescoes, silken tapestries and strikingly beautiful paintings of both desert sunsets and lush ancient forests lining the walls they walked through. Apparently, they were still figuring out how they wished to organize delving privileges and procedures, which no doubt explained why there were any delays at all, when the number of delves cultivators of even this city could safely endure in a season was very limited indeed. Of course, with the Red Prince breathing down all their throats, no doubt they were all feeling the simultaneous desire to forge a legend in their names and do whatever it took not to end up a city of subjugate slaves to a psychopathic tyrant, forced to sell their children and their souls for precious water.

    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°And so, under Spring¡¯s custodianship, our academy seeks to do everything possible to facilitate as exceptional a delving experience as you and all your Ruidian counterparts could desire,¡± their guide continued. ¡°And that includes access to our exclusive dining hall, hot and cold baths, cool underground sleeping quarters, and training facilities tailored to your people¡¯s preferences. Why, we even have a private garden you may tend to, should you wish to expel your waste Qi right here, bringing fecund life to our fields and earning top coin for your produce just as we offer credits and the specialized services you know and trust from us for any quality core you bring us!¡±

    Rachel¡¯s eyes widened in visible delight, squeezing Alex¡¯s hand in excitement. ¡°Wait, you have your own private garden?¡± Her eyes took on an excited gleam. ¡°Could we even have access to the fertile land withing the caldera proper?¡±

    Lini¡¯s eyes widened. She looked ready to jump in in case they offended their host. But the perfectly bald and moderately portly cultivator radiating so much Earth affinity Alex thought he must be Wujen merely chuckled goodnaturedly. ¡°Of course. Of course! Ruidians are always welcome here! Not simply to delve but to farm as well!¡± He gave Rachel a conspiratorial wink. ¡°In fact, for those Ruidians not afraid to make our city their own, we offer prime farming rights you can purchase for a song! In point of fact, we actually have a growing Ruidian community comprised of over a dozen families who have decided to call Wanshi home, and I don¡¯t mind telling you that they have earned nothing but praise from both our mortal farmers and the cultivators who¡¯s affinity with Water and Wood has made them absolutely indispensable for helping to feed and nurture our fair city.¡±

    Their leisurely walk through halls befitting a noble¡¯s grand manor ground to a halt, a stunned Rachel just gazing at the beaming cultivator as if he had grown a second head. A head made of gold that he was now offering it to her with no strings.

    ¡°Wait¡­ are you serious? We can buy prime caldera basin real estate and set up our own farming commune? And we¡¯ll be welcomed? The land¡¯s not all tied up in ancient family lineages? And our neighbors, our fellow farmers and cultivators, would actually welcome us?¡±

    ¡°With open arms!¡± Their guide assured with a chuckle, brown eyes twinkly warmly. Knowingly. ¡°Our prince has put a number of edicts in effect during these trying times, and we are happy, no, thrilled to say that it has payed dividends none of us lesser men expected. Thanks in part to our growing Ruidian farming commune, which property you purchase would adjoin, Our food production has gone up over twenty percent! Because our newest citizens have not been shy in sharing their secrets for maximum yield low-water harvests, earning the love of the city and the warm regard of the prince himself! So yes, child. Should you or your clan find the trials of living in the center of an extremely hostile desert trying, you are all more than welcome to make Wanshi your new home.¡±

    He said the last with a chuckle. ¡°But of course, you are here to make your fortunes as delvers, no? I¡¯m sure you all must be hungry from your long journey, so lets head to the dining hall where our chefs are preparing some of the tenderest cuts of spirit beast meat to ever melt upon your tongue! With all the freshly baked bread, hummus, congee, and wine that you can always expect to flow freely upon our table, thanks to the desert grapes your people cultivate so well! Of course we can go over the specifics of what you can expect within our delve in the morning, where we¡¯ll do our best to put together parties that can emphasize your strengths!¡±

    With those words, he led them to a dining hall filled with polished hardwood tables covered in spreads of roasted spirit boar along with multiple soups and stews, tureens filled with spicy congee, and bowls of hummus alongside loafs of bread dipped in olive oil. The air was also filled with the fragrant aroma of all the fresh fruit Alex could desire.

    He couldn¡¯t help but whistle softly, sensing as well the spiritual auras of over a score of Deep bronze and over half a dozen Silver-tier cultivators of various degrees of potency, all of them dressed in their finest cheongsams, tunics, and robes, and in many cases, makeup and jewelry as well. And what did those normally arrogant titans of power and privilege do when they gazed the way of three clueless guests? Alex was more shaken than he wanted to admit that he received not one derisive sneer or cold sniff.

    No. What they got were a number polite nods before most people returned to their conversations and meals, yet a good third where gazing their way with what Alex felt was an almost desperate intensity. Free of any hostility¡­ there was definitely a hunger for something besides food.

    Alex suppressed the chill he felt, though Rachel seemed completely oblivious, all but squealing with delight as she slipped the first morsel of perfectly roasted spirit boar into her mouth as an obsequious pair of servants went to filling all their plates with whatever they desired. As if they were the elite privileged inner disciples of a powerful sect. Not fresh visitors who had yet to prove themselves in any way, or pay for a single thing so far.

    Yet all their host did was flash a pleased smile. ¡°Is the food to your liking, honored guests?¡±

    ¡°Oh it absolutely is!¡± Rachel gushed. ¡°This spirit boar is positively scrumptuous!¡±

    Their host gave a content bow. ¡°Wonderful. Then I¡¯ll return in an hour and take you to your quarters and we shall speak more on delving opportunities on the morrow.¡±

    Yet before their surprisingly gracious host could get up to leave, Alex politely cleared his throat, flashing an apologetic smile. Because the weight of so many intent measuring gazes being sent their way made it clear that their meal would be far from undisturbed, and the memory of certain faces might stick out far more than either of the girls by his side would prefer.

    ¡°Forgiveness, honored host¡­ Senior Wei Lin, yes?¡±

    Please, ignore the title. It¡¯s Brother Wei to all my Ruidian friends.¡±

    Alex chuckled warmly, forcing a rueful expression despite the grumbles in his belly. ¡°It has been an exhausting day, Brother Wei. And as much as the food before us looks absolutely scrumptious, what this one needs most is a good night¡¯s sleep if I¡¯m to be ready for tomorrow¡¯s adventures.¡±

    Their host gazed at Alex speculatively for a few seconds, Alex pointedly ignoring Rachel and Lini¡¯s sigh as he passed up on a truly magnificent looking spread, before giving an understanding nod.

    ¡°I understand. Your people perform exceptionally well when well rested. And we certainly wouldn¡¯t want to do anything to hinder you in performing at your best! Very well. Let me take you to your quarters, and fear not, we will honor your free meal on the morrow!¡±

    Alex dipped his head in gratitude, the group quickly led through grandly appointed halls worthy of nobility and Silver ascendants, several of which he could faintly sense in the floors above before the trio was led to a spacious room that was both cool and comfortable looking with a bed covered luxuriously soft-looking furs from whatever spirit beasts lurked within the rift that so much of the caldera¡¯s fortunes depended upon. He also noted several stressed leather recliners that looked perfect for relaxing, meditating, or reading upon, and might just choose to sleep there than on the admittedly enticing bed. He was also intrigued to notice a book shelf with a full half-dozen leather bound volumes and what looked like a pair of puzzle games.

    Yet despite the luxurious accessories, what was most striking about the room was just how large it was. Did well-to-do Ruidians enjoy lots of space? Was it a Silver-tier accommodation thing? In truth he didn¡¯t know. Though the lighting was nothing but soothing, the room was lit by a soft pale blue orb giving off gentle spiritual energies, the cleverly crafted wind catchers throughout the grand marble and quartz edifice allowing for wondrously cool breezes sufficient to rustle his hair, even here. Alex nodded in satisfaction when their gracious host showed the clever lever for the bronze grill that could be easily shut should the deserts night time air turn too cool for comfort, and the silk rope that would cover the blue spirit-orbs lighting up their chamber.

    ¡°And of course, here is your water pitcher. Should thirst trouble you, you may pull the rope by your door and a servant will be by your quarters shortly to take care of your needs. And please, no need to worry! The first night is gratis to all visiting Ruidians and cultivators, even if most of the latter enjoy far more modest quarters! But please, enjoy the spacious amenities to the fullest! You will no doubt find that with your first delve in the days to come that successful hauls will net you sufficient surplus to enjoy our amenities for months at a time!¡±

    Alex and the girls bowed their heads in gratitude as Brother Wei took his leave.

    It was only when the door finally closed that Lini sighed sadly, taking it all in and shaking her head. ¡°Such a pity. Look at how well they made use of all the leather and spirit beast hide they have perfect access to! This is basically a palatial suite! Ooh you Ruidians are so lucky, being in such high demand right now when the city¡¯s existence is basically hanging in the balance.¡± She sighed. ¡°I would have loved to spend a few nights here,¡± she teased, giving Alex a look that made him laugh as Rachel blinked in confusion.

    ¡°Wait, why wouldn¡¯t we?¡± Rachel blushed at the pointed look Lini gave her before lowering her gaze and giving an embarrassed chuckle of her own.

    ¡°Oh. That¡¯s right. All of this¡­ it was just¡­¡±

    ¡°An act, to get our dear friend here safely away from those Silver-tier psychopaths eager to claim the city and every virgin within.¡±

    Rachel blanched uncomfortably at those words.

    Alex sighed. ¡°Lini¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true and you know it. And I still haven¡¯t found any trace of my friend.¡± The girl¡¯s anxious eyes hardened back into focus once more. ¡°And that¡¯s neither here nor there. What matters is that you too are now in their sights, Rachel, and I can¡¯t forever cloak you in shadow like I did tonight. Because even if our hosts will be scratching their temples, not quite sure what you look like come morning, it¡¯s honestly exhausting to keep up because I¡¯m the farthest thing, from well¡­¡± She pointedly glanced Alex¡¯s way, and he knew she was thinking of her mother.

    Rachel swallowed, her dreamy excitement of moments before replaced by a racing heart and fear sweat prickling her back that the breezed picked up instantly.

    Alex gave her his most reassuring smile. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I know my friends made contingencies. But you came to this city to make your fortune, right?¡± With those words, he solemnly handed her the largest three Earth and Fire beast cores, Bronze=tier and of excellent quality, that he had won from the purse of his latest opponent.

    Rachel¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Alex, this is a fortune!¡±

    ¡°Your cover is all that¡¯s allowing me to safely walk the streets now,¡± Alex replied. ¡°Since any enemies looking for blood will be after a man named Gong and, sadly, his wife. Not the odd blond haired Ruidian doing his best to make absolutely no waves in this city at all.¡±

    Rachel bowed her head. ¡°Yes, I understand, Alex. But I¡¯m still the one who owes you.¡± She smirked at his wince. ¡°Yes, Alex. I checked my interface. I¡¯m not such a fool that I can¡¯t tell when a mysterious stranger saves my life.¡±

    Alex swallowed, but before he could say another word, she got on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek. ¡°Thank you, hero. For everything.¡± With a final squeeze of his hand, she turned to Lini. ¡°And thank you as well for assuring to my safety.¡±

    Lini nodded. ¡°Come. The sooner we get you squared away, the sooner you both will be safe and a quickly forgotten footnote that our enemies never think of again.

    Rachel shuddered. ¡°Perhaps that would be for the best.¡±

    Lini then bowed solemnly and low before a bemused Alex. ¡°Thank you for your service hero. As always,¡± She said with a twinkle in her eye, and before Alex could parse exactly what she meant, she had disappeared into the shadows as if she had never been there at all.

 Book 9 - Chapter 19 - BOOK 8 IS NOW LIVE ON AMAZON!

    Alex sighed and shook his head, chuckling softly at what truly had been an eventful day. And as much as there were things he was eager to follow up on, including touching base with Nili and giving a certain bounty to the tiny grove he had discretely created in the shell of an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the city¡­ he knew what he needed to focus on, more than anything else.

    So, after using Qi perception to make sure none were watching, and a discretely positioned leather recliner to assure a trip and stumble for anyone unexpectedly entering¡­ Alex assumed the lotus position and began replaying in his mind the duels he had so recently fought. Not just today, but since first stumbling into the corrupted underground wing of gentle vice that had become a deadly purgatory for so many.

    Yet whereas so many memories were tinged with vague uncertainties, despite how sharply his mind had grown over his trials in his latest handful of lives, he could still recall so clearly in his mind¡¯s eye what it felt like to become one with the storm.

    To sense the howling winds both deflecting his enemy¡¯s blows and aiding his ability to weave and slip past his opponents¡¯ desperate rebuttals. To feel the crashing of stormy seas echoing nearly perfectly the roaring of ancient rivers empowering his hands and feet with all the devastating power of a typhoon. He could sense it, even taste it, how close his newly forged art was to Silver Swan. And a tiny part of him that wasn¡¯t worried about alerting ancient sleeping dragons was eager to rip open carefully placed veils and fully embrace ancient arts¡­ even if he somehow knew that taking the slower path, the more comprehensive path, would not only assure his safety as he deliberately avoided triggering peril¡­ but would only enhance his power in the long run.

    For just he could sense the pristine majesty of Silver Swan, he could now perceive that it was but a part of a whole. Originally an art based on Water alone, he had somehow enhanced it to fully incorporate metal in ways that were perhaps never intended¡­ simply by visualizing the sea. The perfect art for the girl he would have so dearly loved to marry, had the fates not forced him ever forward, a hapless piece upon the game board of the gods until he had claimed a seat at the table for himself. Yet as a fellow Contender, the fierce pressure that hostile parties had put him under had only grown.

    Grown like stormy seas crackling with Lightning that had become his and Hao Chan¡¯s own.

    Grown like the howling winds that were the harbingers of the most fearsome storms. The twin of water with Lightning being the pristine fusion of their bonding, metallic salts emblematic of the bitter tears of strife, struggle, and retribution, carrying their will through all currents.

    The Dark Qi of chaos, change, and transformation. Depicting the stormiest of all seas from which there was no warding the howling winds that sheared right through poorly secured sails and rigging, and the waves that would sink even the largest of galleons.

    And finally¡­ the rocky shoals that would slice open the hull of any ship as Alex found himself walking a stormy path, or now, flowing through the forms of an art so very like Silver Swan, yet with added twists and innovations that had been modified out of what he now realized was a streamlined Silver Tier art. For Silver Swan was absolutely perfect for Water aligned concubines, all the more so when reinforced with Metal¡¯s resilience. It wasn¡¯t so surprising that an imperial princess could incorporate Lightning¡¯s call in such wild seas of potential¡­ yet how common was the cultivator who had access to Air and Earth as well?

    Yet Alex did. And in so doing, he made full use of the spacious chamber to embrace the steps to an ancient, primal art where Water¡¯s force and fury was made all the greater by Wind, Lightning was generated effortlessly through their fusion, conducted with devastating force through metallic-salt infused waters shimmering with Darkest retribution, and the moment one¡¯s opponent lost their focus or balance for even a second, rocky shoals of hidden Earth would tear through the bulwark of their strongest defenses and send them flying, no matter how strong they were.

    Faster and faster Alex flowed through his forms, all the furniture somehow finding itself on top of his bed now in the center of his spacious quarters as Alex continued embracing his dance around that inviolate demarcation, flowing from strike to parry to counter to devastating rebuttal. Angle kicks flowing into wheel kicks, and spinning backfists, a flurry of jabs, crosses, and hooks cutting through the air with no trace of Adder Strike, yet the weight of crackling potential, of Wind and Water and pristine deadly fury made it clear that Alex¡¯s path was a potent one. And the powerful uppercut that rose like a reef ready to tear through all resistance made it clear that Alex could now unleash Avalanche while flowing in and out of the stormy sea¡¯s gentle embrace, without any long buildup at all.

    As surprising and sudden as a ship of war running aground.

    Before stormy seas shattered cracked foundations to kindling and there was nothing left but the skeleton of the once mighty ship drowning in the depths of the sea.

    Alex could now so viscerally picture himself riding those doomed ships, dancing through the stormy sky, channeling that devastating lightning conveyed with each crescent kick and spinning backfist. He wanted to howl with delight and wonder, epiphanies roaring through him even as he made the best of his limited quarters, trusting in Lini¡¯s final shadowy blessing to mitigate the spiritual thrum of his epiphany as he became one with the storm howling through him.

    When at last he closed his eyes, shivering with revelations, he did it floating a foot off the naked stone floor, the crackle of lightning caressing his form brighter than the dimmed blue lights his spiritual discharges had already shattered.

    In the twilight moments he slipped into dreams that were an even more visceral version of the dance he sought to master, he gazed with wonder at the massive super cable spinning so monstrously fast about his soul that space and time seemed to warp and stretch as the countless regrets he had yet to consume were wound about ever tighter to the brilliant accretion disk of his soul.

    Besides the horror of that which he refused to see as anything more than metaphor and dream, he was consoled by several priceless revelations.

    One was that whatever minute wobbles he had dreaded forming when he had dared to ascend two ranks in such a terrifyingly short period of time had stabilized to the point of pristine perfection. And he suspected it was because he had poured every last level up point into claiming not just one but two full rank ups of his primary physical attributes. Eight ranks to stabilize his foundation, where even the most gifted Silvers who were destined for Gold never had more than two, lest imperial blood or a true genius¡¯s gifts flowed through their veins.

    The other was that communing with the path he was on was paying profound dividends as multiple skills ranked up, without him having to shed a single drop of blood.

    And that was when he sensed it.

    A promise temporarily deferred. Yet what he had thought would be only hours had been several days. Fortunately, the forest was resilient. Even the tiny grove he had nurtured from dead husks and ancient seeds. Yet not so resilient was the pair of souls trapped within it.

    The souls of his friends.

    Ya Ling. The desert princess he had communed with so deeply. Once dancing upon the desert winds in a dance that could have led a courtship as old as time. And Linnea. His battle-sister and gestalt companion. A girl who¡¯s smile warmed his heart just as Ya Ling¡¯s had. A girl he could have so easily claimed as his own. And when they fought, it truly was as one.

    Even now, they were racing with growing panic through a forest they didn¡¯t understand.

    It didn¡¯t even matter, the sheer improbability of it. Because in very short order, it would be as if they had never existed at all.

    Alex bolted awake with a gasp, knowing he was running out of time.

    He darted toward the door as fast as his feet could take him, yanking it open so fast that Nili, features set in a worried frown, lurched back in surprise.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Her look of concern turned to dismay. ¡°Alex, what the hell happened to your¡­¡± She paled. ¡°Come on. This way. We have to leave now!¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t bother arguing, happily stepping in Nili¡¯s shadow as they slipped along gloomy corridors that somehow left plenty of room to slip past angrily cursing cultivators.

    ¡°Did you find the source of the spiritual energy fluctuations? No Silver was recorded as renting a breakthrough chamber!¡±

    ¡°Honored senior, there are no records of anyone being in this wing whatsoever.¡±

    ¡°Did we have guests last night?¡±

    ¡°Uncertain, master.¡±

    ¡°How the hell is it uncertain? This room was destroyed! And why¡­ why does it smell so strange?¡±

    Like the sea, Alex realized the man wanted to say with a sad smile, realizing that his breakthrough had been perhaps a touch more profound than even he had realized. Even if he was still just a Rank 2 Silver, Storm Wing, Storm Swan, and Avalanche had each ascended to the next rank. And clearly his breakthrough hadn¡¯t been quite as discrete as he had thought.

    ¡°You are beyond lucky that my daughter sensed something was happening just as she left, and that we were intending to meet up with you anyway, Alex. What were you doing?¡±

    Alex shook his head. ¡°No time. We have to head to the warehouse, now.¡±

    Her glared turned to a look of concern when she saw the intensity of his gaze. ¡°Alex?¡±

    His lips pressed tight with concern. ¡°I just¡­ please, trust me. I have to go there. I have a promise to keep, and maybe it will help.¡±

    Nili cursed softly under his breath. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t saved both me and my daughter¡­¡± she sighed. ¡°If only you knew the headaches you were causing, hero.¡± Her exasperation turned to a soft chuckle. ¡°I had always wondered what it would be like to live a life of excitement and peril, like in the stories my sisters and I used to read late into the night. Now I realize what a foolish kit I truly was. Come, Alex. This way.¡±

    When a crack could be seen in the side of the passageway that he knew would lead right under the shadows of a large date palm that should never have been allowed to grow quite so close to the quartz tower¡¯s foundations yet somehow was, he didn¡¯t complain or question it, simply allowed himself to slip through shadow before taking a deep relieved breath of fresh morning air alight with the scents of the hot desert sands and the lush fecund valley filled with a life-giving bounty of crops supporting an entire city in the caldera basin.

    He took a relieved breath as the growing pressure of angry, confused Silvers was suddenly a thing of the past as he and Nili casually stepped out of the shelter of the date palm¡¯s unusually long fronds and began a leisurely walk toward the center of the city. A walk that soon turned to an all out sprint as they left the domain of cultivators and the elite, Nili now cloaking them so well that all most mortals sensed was a powerful breeze passing them by.

    Soon the fine marble-faced buildings gave way to sturdy and practical plane-faced brownstone as they went from central boulevard to one of a handful of parallel streets where the shadows effortlessly hid so many secrets, before at last arriving at the warehouse that had transformed so utterly that even Nili stopped to gaze up at the stout structure for long moments, muttering softly under her breath.

    ¡°There¡¯s something very strange about this building, Alex.¡±

    Alex just smiled. With a single press of his hand, the door that absolutely refused to budge for Nili gently eased open and the pair were struck with the lush fecund air of primal woodland, smelling of citrus blossoms, wildflowers, forest loam, and rich arboreal life.

    Nili¡¯s eyes widened with awe as she gazed straight up towards the heavens, her face caressed by shafts of emerald tinted light piercing the thick forest canopy.

    ¡°Angels mercy, there¡¯s no roof. This truly is a miniature grove!¡± She turned to look back the way she came, cursing softly as she noted both door and wooden paneling from this angle. ¡°It¡¯s all alive¡­ Alex, all the planks have sprouted branches, roots, and¡­ the walls are alive. Entire building truly is alive!¡±

    Alex instantly raised his fist, silencing his friend as his ears cocked, his smile of joyful wonder turning to anxious concern as he listened to odd rustles that writhed with a desperate growing thirst, his heart immediately going out to the miniature grove that had blossomed to his desperate plea, saved his life¡­ and now desperately needed him to hold up his end of the bargain.

    And so he revealed just one of the prizes he had kept out of the hands of a certain hungry headmistress.

    Nili gasped. ¡°That¡¯s the life of a city you hold in your hands, Alex!¡±

    Alex smirked. ¡°Not really. Unlike the prize you hold so close yourself, this is a just a fragment, one that we know from bitter experience that the caldera will not accept. But just because it can¡¯t be used to empower rifts and waterfalls doesn¡¯t mean it doesn¡¯t have it¡¯s uses,¡± he quietly said as he hesitated from placing the ice chip willy-nilly and tried to really listen to the excited rustles of the branches. To not rely simply on insights gleaned as an apothecary with biochemical mastery but rather to what the forest itself was trying to tell him.

    Before his heart lurched in his chest, realizing that what he had prayed was just him jolting out of nightmare was anything but.

    Such that when he gently placed a single icy sliver six inches under a cluster of happily writhing copperthorn vines that he knew would distribute the water to a good-sized portion of the grove, he sensed by the excited rustle of countless other branches exactly where he needed to place the next fragment he held.

    So he did all he could to focus on the gentle susurrations of tree limb, twig, and branch, and distract himself from the desperate sobs of a pair of girls he sensed rapidly running out of time.

    Because a certain pair of lost companions weren¡¯t alone as they wound about countless woodland trails.

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    And they weren¡¯t meandering along.

    They were racing for all they were worth, and rapidly running out of steam.

    And time.

    ¡°Hold on Linea! Guard her well, Ya Ling. I¡¯m coming!¡± Alex dared to whisper aloud as he gently patted a second ice sliver exactly 90 degrees to the north of the first.

    ¡°Alex, intact core or not, those things are precious! Surely you don¡¯t need more than one¡­ wait, what¡¯s this about your friends in Liushi?¡±

    But Alex paid hjer no mind.

    His gentle meandering steps of moments ago had become a race against time, effortlessly springing from branch to branch as he forged his third anchor between tree bough and eager vine, Nili looking on in helpless exasperation he sprung through the air before placing a fourth ice-blue sliver several feet from true West.

    Then he stiffened, frozen with anxious worry, realizing he wasn¡¯t quite sure where hep needed to be.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Anxious eyes gazed past his worried-looking friend. ¡°I just have to find the fifth locus point.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡±

    Alex shook his head. ¡°The point where all four cardinal directions meet up to¡­.¡±

    ¡°To what?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely certain.¡±

    ¡°Then why do you look like you¡¯re about to explode with anxiety?¡±

    ¡°Because a shadow cat is about to eat my¡ªwait, there it is!¡±

    ¡°Where is what?¡±

    But Alex had already sprung through the trees, placing a final ice chip at a point equidistant to all others.

    And that¡¯s when he felt it, as the sapphire chip sunk into the roots of a tiny sapling and the air itself seemed to grow thick with night¡¯s gloom and the distant cries of his friends.

    Nili¡¯s ears perked, slipping free of her carefully pinned curls, such was her alarm. ¡°Alex! What did you do?¡±

    Alex swallowed even as his heart began to pound, equal parts awe, wonder, and trepidation. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but you might want to hide.¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    But there was no more time to do anything but brace himself as the entire grove seemed to rustle and bend in directions at right angles to any Alex had known before, and the entire world seemed to snap into a new configuration. Alex felt like a massive wave of something had slammed into him, without a single hair on either of their heads being sent askew.

    And then he saw it as Nili lurched back in shocked surprise. The tiny cluster of knotted samplings that Alex could have sworn hadn¡¯t been there, just seconds ago. Saplings that seemed to twist together to form a tunnel through the wood. A tunnel that stayed the same no matter what angle he approached, as if all directions were the same.

    Somehow he knew, that should he dare to enter that strange portal, everything would change.

    ¡°Alex!¡± Nili spoke in hushed tones that conveyed a sense of awed disbelief. ¡°How? How did you actually manage¡­ just, how?¡±

    His heart began to pound with exhilaration and dread in equal measure.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    Nili blinked, as startled as he was by the utterance.

    He recognized that voice. Just as he did the distant cries he heard as little more than rustles in the leaves.

    A panicked cry. A throaty growl. And a brilliant flash of flame.

    Then, so fast that Nili stumbled back with a soft curse, Linnea and Ya Ling dove through the portal of vines before stumbling to their feet, looking wildly around.

    ¡°Linnea! Do you sense it? Is it still¡ª¡± Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened in wonder when she caught sight of a grim-faced Alex, holding his fangtian ji high.

    ¡°Alex, it¡¯s me! Please don¡¯t¡ª¡±

    At that very moment, a panicked Linnea, hands white-hot with arcane energies, spun around to catch sight of Alex as well, face lightening with joy before seeing the expression on his face. ¡°Aelx, it¡¯s us! How did we¡ª¡±

    Her eyes widened in a desperate plea, having just time enough to see the razor sharp steel in his hand before it flashed through the air.

    And before she could offer a single panicked protest, it was done, Nili¡¯s cry resonating with the spray of blood covering all three women as a massive skull was cleaved free of feline flesh, Ya Ling desperately tumbling through the air she had mastered so well as a massive Shadow Puma slammed to the ground right where she had been standing, minus the head rolling into the thick undergrowth.

    You have successfully decapitated your opponent! (Rank 1 Silver-tier Shadow Puma)

    Experience earned!

    Ya Ling stumbled back in horror that quickly transformed to exhausted sobs of relief. ¡°It was hounding us through the rift. A rift we thought finally clean, finally tamed! Then it separated us from the rest of the party and¡­¡± Her panicked explanation turned to wonder, cheeks flushing as she flashed Alex an enormous heartfelt smile. ¡°You¡¯re actually here. You¡¯re actually alive!¡±

    ¡°And he did it!¡± Linnea squealed happily, caring nothing for the bloodied weapon he held as she happily dived into Alex¡¯s arms. ¡°We thought we were done for, and our hero killed the monster that was hounding us with a single swipe!¡±

    Ya Ling wrung her hands, pinning him with her gaze. ¡°I had feared the worst, Alex. We all did. But Linnea was so desperate to explore the rifts, even though everyone knows that there¡¯s only the tiniest chance that any delver¡¯s explorations could possibly link with any other. But since she was a part of your gestalt? She said she could sense you, Alex. Even when the rest of us had feared the worst, she swore that you weren¡¯t dead!¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help chuckling as a trembling Linnea squeezed him as tightly as hse could, his weapon already stored away as he gently returning the hug.

    ¡°You¡¯re alive, Alex! I knew it. I knew you wouldn¡¯t die on us! You¡¯re too strong. Too vital. You¡¯re story¡¯s too important!¡± Beautiful emerald green eyes peered deeply into his own. ¡°And you¡¯ve only grown stronger. So much stronger, in just a handful of days.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Alex whispered to his friend, surprised and humbled to realize how much he had missed both her bright chipper smile and quirky mannerisms. He was grateful to see that she was healthy and hale and, he was quite certain, had recently ranked up herself. Equally, he was relieved to see that Ya Ling¡¯s earlier ambivalence, where warmth and gratitude had been tainted by fear, had been replaced by heartfelt concern when they had all feared the worst.

    ¡°It¡¯s um¡­ good to see you in one peace, Alex,¡± Ya Ling said with the softest of smiles, a slight flush coming to her cheeks as she turned to gaze at the fallen Shadow Puma larger than any Earth bound tiger had ever been. She shuddered at the sight. ¡°And your timing was impeccable. As always, now that I think about it.¡±

    Alex grinned. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too, Ya Ling. It¡¯s good to see you both. Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Now I am,¡± she assured, before giving rueful chuckle. ¡°Though I¡¯m not looking forward to another four hours of wandering through this endless jungle to get out of here. But at least the fruit¡¯s exquisite and at least I get to do it in the company of someone I had feared lost to me forever.¡±

    Alex winked. ¡°All¡¯s well that ends well, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Her features grew solemn. She inhaled as if compelled by hear heart to speak. ¡°Alex, there¡¯s something I need to¡ª¡±

    ¡°But the good news is that you won¡¯t have to backtrack for four hours,¡± he said, casually holding out his hand as a warmly rustling branch dropped a cluster of lychee he happily shared with his friends. ¡°The door out of here¡¯s just a few feet away.¡±

    Both girls gave him a strange look. Alex exchanged smiles with Nili. ¡°And a certain boon companion is with me as well. Which means your timing is perfect! We¡¯re right about to get to the crux of another adventure. Another city to save!¡±

    Linnea and Ya Ling exchanged a confused look.

    ¡°Alex, what are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°He means that you¡¯re not in Liushi at all,¡± Nili said. ¡°Welcome to Wanshi, children. We¡¯re currently under siege by a powerful contingent of Silvers and thousands of soldiers, our city warded by nothing more than a dying water core that will soon spell utter doom for us all.¡± She flashed the pair of stunned girls a rueful smile. ¡°Whether folly or the Fox¡¯s fortune, you both certainly have a knack for popping up at the most ¡®interesting¡¯ of times.¡±

    Alex winked when it looked like Ya Ling was about to burst into tears. ¡°But the good news is that we¡¯re about to secure another water core at Wanshi¡¯s ritual site. And once that¡¯s complete, the city¡¯s water supplies will be secure.¡±

    Nili nodded. ¡°Water Supplies and wards both will be reinforced. It won¡¯t make us impervious of course. But Golds are beyond rare, and with the tactical advantages of unlimited water and the steep caldera slopes, this will vastly improve the city¡¯s odds of surviving any conflict. If fortune truly favors us, our foes will leave under pretexts of having only come this far to establish favorable trade relations with our city. And our prince is a practical man. He has absolutely no problems establishing trade relations, or even paying token tribute, to our would-be conquerors. But we shall keep our hard-fought sovereignty, no matter what else happens. For so long as we draw breath, our flag shall fly free of anyone else¡¯s banner.¡±

    ¡°Ooh, this is so exciting, Alex! Another city to save and more experience to earn! What if we level up again? With the potency of an entire city paying us spiritual tribute if we can pull off a second win¡­ that could be two entire levels!¡±

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at Linnea¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°I see you still enjoy walking the Path of Peril,¡± Alex noted, giving his friend a warm kiss on her forehead. ¡°Honestly, after being hounded by a Shadow Puma that I¡¯m betting only your infravision and fires kept at bay, I¡¯m surprised you don¡¯t want to rest.¡±

    ¡°Well of course I¡¯d love to rest, Alex,¡± Linnea huffed. ¡°Preferably with you in my arms. But earning potency while playing the hero is a thrill like no other!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s right about that,¡± Ya Ling said with a rueful smile. ¡°I grew more by your side, Alex, perilous as it was, than I ever have, before or since. And as much as I¡¯ve learned to truly savor the desert night when all is peaceful and quiet¡­ sometimes the heart craves more.¡± Warm amber eyes met his own. ¡°Far more than even desert sands can deliver. And when fate finds you flying head first into the arms of a beloved adventuring companion with a neighboring city hanging in the balance¡­ how can any delver who took even a single step along Peril¡¯s Path say no to an adventure as grand as that?¡±

    Nili¡¯s eyes widened, genuinely surprised by their answers. Then her lips curved in an approving grin. ¡°Wonderful. Because all three of you are about to sign up for the afternoon delve hosted by the Spring Clan.¡±

    Ya Ling paled only slightly, realizing that what she had perhaps meant in the abstract was about to take place here and now. ¡°Another Delve,¡± she said softly, yet Linnea¡¯s eyes were all but twinkling with excitement.

    ¡°Ooh. The Spring clan won this year, that¡¯s wonderful! They offer the best rates to Ruidians out of all the seasonal clans of Wanshi! At least, that¡¯s what Uncle used to say!¡±

    She turned to give her friend¡¯s hand an enthusiastic squeeze. ¡°You¡¯ll love it, Ya Ling! It¡¯s basically four delves all at one sight! You branch off inside, and you can enter Winter¡¯s Icy Wasteland, Summer¡¯s dry desert, Spring¡¯s lush jungles...though maybe we can skip that one, ha ha, or Autumn¡¯s rich forest of widely spaced fruit grove and that¡¯s where most of the spirit fruit they eat here come from! Too bad it¡¯s not practical to feed a hundred thousand with the limited amount of produce that a handful of delvers can pluck before they grow sick with Waste Qi, but my uncle¡¯s pretty sure they unlocked exotic techniques beyond baking yourself in the sun! Not that I¡¯m supposed to know, or they have anything on Alex¡¯s pristine technique, but delvers might safely dare the rifts ever six or seven weeks here, instead of every two months!¡±

    Linnea¡¯s eyes widened at that. ¡°That¡¯s both remarkable, so remarkable that I¡¯m surprised Liushi hasn¡¯t paid a fortune to acquire that technique for themselves¡­ and sadly not nearly enough of an improvement to make that much of a difference.¡±

    ¡°I can answer that question, dears,¡± Nili said as they left the warehouse, Alex giving the doors a friendly pat that would ensure they would open for no one below Rank 5 Silver Strength, lest they burn or chop through it over what would be a very, very long and painful day. ¡°The techniques will indeed shave at multiple weeks from the idealized recovery time of two months it takes most of those who dare caldera rifts. It will even allow one to push harder, as is needed all too often in these desperate times, delving every month, perhaps even twice a month, for an extended period with much less risk of permanent damage to one¡¯s foundation than one might suffer using the Sun alone as your balm. Even if you must spend half a year or longer recuperating when the peril has passed. But the price of learning those techniques is becoming a member of one of the four sects and declaring Wanshi your home.¡± She flashed a sad smile. ¡°There¡¯s no other way without breaking multiple cultivator¡¯s oaths, I¡¯m afraid.¡±

    She then turned to Alex. ¡°Alex¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The far side of the portal¡¯s now covered in copperthorn vines, and very thoroughly shut. And there¡¯s way any shadow puma¡¯s slipping past the doors. At least not if their stats aren¡¯t higher than mine.¡±

    Nili gazed at Alex for long moments as they made their way along the central boulevard. ¡°Alex, if you actually built what I think you built¡­¡±

    Alex shrugged. ¡°It wasn¡¯t really me, Nili. I was just responding to the grove.¡±

    She blinked, shaking her head. ¡°Truly a wonder.¡±

    ¡°Oh, he is. He totally is,¡± Linnea assured with a pleased grin. ¡°Ooh, look. They¡¯re selling my favorite figs and dates!¡± She then raced to the nearest stand with the happy owner filling a large frond with a bounty of smoked figs and nuts sprinkled with salt and honey that looked absolutely decadent, a treat he hadn¡¯t even seen in the lower part of the city at all. Within moments, Linnea was bouncing cheerfully back and more than happy to share her bounty.

    Alex couldn¡¯t help smiling at the taste of salty sweet cashews and figs, even if it cost twice as many copper feathers as the equivalent might have in Liushi.

    ¡°But after so many hours traipsing around a hot steamy jungle, its worth every copper!¡± Linnea happily declared before taking a sip from Alex¡¯s water flask, her friends nodding in agreement.

    ¡°Perhaps it is, at that,¡± Nili concurred, her gentle smile firming. ¡°I can only imagine how exhausted both of you girls must be. Come, let¡¯s get to the tower and get you accommodations worthy of your station.¡± She gazed thoughtfully at the trio. ¡°Hmm¡­ we¡¯ll imply you three are friends who met along the road and that you, Ya Ling, frequently delve with your companions. If we assure that you three are a set item, it will decrease the likelihood that they split you up or even refuse Ya Ling entrance altogether.¡±

    Ya Ling¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°They would do that?¡±

    Nili shrugged and sighed. ¡°Tensions are running high, and for all that Waste Qi is developing in quite a number of Spring and Autumn¡¯s elites no matter their exotic purging techniques, politics is always a factor. Just be gracious and think before you act, and all should be well. Now, the plan is simple. We¡¯ll slip you in before another change in shift so that Alex doesn¡¯t run into the same confused man he was first greeted by, for that would be a strain to hide, even for my arts. Once Alex is grounded in academy life, however, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Early tomorrow the princess and the rest of our band will join you for a single short delve to establish both our credentials, boost morale, and of course, because we¡¯re still in desperate need of a Water core.¡±

    The look she flashed them sent volumes, and for all that they were cloaked in Shadow, Alex noted that there was still plenty that Nili wasn¡¯t saying. Linnea looked confused for just a second, before Alex squeezed her hand. Because what he had dared to softly say in proximity to friendly trees whose rustles would confuse any outsider listening in, he had no intention of saying out loud where they presently walked, an area of the city without any trees at all.

    ¡°Nili has a Bronze Water core. Dongfang Hong¡¯s spies have infiltrated the court and probably the academy. If everyone sees the princess doing even a token delve, then no one will suspect us of getting ready to plant the core they will secure to Liushi¡¯s ritual sight in the dead of night, in the very near future. In short, we¡¯re assuaging our enemies¡¯ fears so they feel no need to squeeze tight their gentle grip upon Wanshi¡¯s throat, which is right now so light that most don¡¯t even feel it. Yet. Because Dongfang Hong¡¯s emissaries are going for a diplomatic win here. But if they sense us immediately racing for the Northern Ritual Sight, they¡¯ll move to intercept, and it will be all out war.¡±

    Linnea nodded her understanding while devouring her honeyed treats. Fortunately, Ya Ling¡¯s jaded smile made it clear that she understood the situation every bit as well as Linnea, and understood as well just how perilously high the stakes truly were.