Face twisting into a vicious smile, the fiery cultivator slowly raised his right hand as if it were a claw, focusing all his fiery wrath upon his opponent.
Qi Perception check made!
Artificer skill check made!
You sense the flow of Qi within the arcane construct before you!
“Alex, move you damned idiot!” said none other than a panicked Yingpei as other students gazed on in horror at the magnificent talon of living flame that slowly formed over Alex’s head. Alex acted oblivious as he continued to trade blows with the Fire Adept, circling his opponent.
For a second, he nearly panicked, afraid his friend would seal his own doom by daring to give counsel at such a time, but all Yingpei got was a warning glare from Bang Jiao, still enough to freeze him in his tracks.
Cao’s malicious grin only grew, his fiery claw now the size of a grown man, as much a shield as a weapon with which he would sweep Alex off the board of life forevermore.
Alex feigned horrified surprise when his opponent finally brought the summoned construct before him.
“Only now do you realize the peril of your path; is that not right, Ruidian? Tasting your death, only seconds away? Kowtow before me, worm! Accept your defeat, and I just might let you live!”
The man’s predatory smile and the aspirants’ frantic whispers faded to insignificance, every iota of Alex’s focus on the potent, fiery construct. An attack he could sense that Cao had pushed himself to manifest, and one that Alex had no doubt could fry anyone unprepared to a crisp.
Alex fought back an exultant smile, sensing at last what he had been searching for: the ebb and flow of blazing Qi resonating between construct and caster, knowledge of one soon becoming knowledge of the other.
Bonuses for familiarity are now in effect. Find weakness skill check made!
You sense the flaws within wujen summoning!
You sense the flaws and flow of Qi within your opponent.
Soul Sight skill check made!
Alex didn’t need to hear Jing Le’s panicked scream to sense the instant the fiery claw would smash forward, or see the fierce look of triumph in his enemy’s eyes to feel the surge of blazing Qi presaging the release of that deadly casting.
Already he knew that if he remained too close, the summoning would fry him to a crisp before he had a chance to act.
And act he did, slipping fifty feet back in an eyeblink, panting for all the world like a man pushed to his limit.
“Fool! Did you truly think you could outrun my hand? Your only reward is death for defying righteous destiny!” roared Cao, unleashing the fiery hand that shrieked through the air as fast as a falcon’s cry, lined up to obliterate not only Alex, but the handful of stunned aspirants gazing with wide-eyed horror just behind him.
“Idiot!” snarled Bang Jiao, but his admonition froze upon his lips, as stunned as everyone else when the fiery hand exploded in a rainbow burst of spiritual energy and flame, sending half a dozen young cultivators screaming and fleeing a panic, far less scorched than they otherwise might have been.
Qi Deflection synergistically used with Piercing strike!
You have successfully ruptured Adept Rank Flame Conjuration!
You have saved against temporary blindness. You have taken 30 Damage and 1 Medium Wound from explosive backlash.
Peripheral aspirants have taken 10 Damage and 1 Light Wound from explosive backlash.
Qi Deflection is now Rank 3!
Slipping free of the remnants of that deadly flame, as if the fires hadn’t touched him at all, was Alex, smiling disdainfully at a stunned Cao, who stumbled back in utter disbelief.
“No! Impossible! You should be a smoking corpse, damn you! You’re no wujen!”
Shrugging, Alex simply smirked. “And neither are you.”
“You should be dead!”
Alex chuckled, slowly making his way across formerly damp grass, which was now hissing and smoking under his feet. “And you should be summoning your fire shield and fist while you still have the chance.”
Cao growled under his breath, and Alex could taste his growing exhaustion as the man summoned not the spinning disk of blazing death of before, but rather the basic fire shield he had mastered well enough to teach aspirants. His weapon was a different story, the man still having the energy and skill to summon not just a gauntlet, but also a blazing sword of fiery Qi.
Alex, not bothering to summon anything, taunted him with a ready stance. “Even better. Shall we?”
He could hear the outraged whispers washing over him still.
“That idiot hasn’t even summoned his wooden shield. His hands are bare!”
“He was lucky Master Cao chose not to obliterate the other students with his wujen arts, but goading him any further is just the mark of a fool.”
“Look! He’s actually rushing him; what an idiot!”
Cao’s eyes widened at the implied insult of Alex’s barehanded approach. “You would dare mock me so, you misbegotten dung beetle?! Then I will hold back no longer!”
Alex only responded with a fierce smile equal parts exultation and exhilaration as his enemy howled and charged, and it all suddenly clicked.
Sensing every telegraphed movement, understanding with exquisite clarity the desperate hunger in his enemy’s eyes, knowing what Cao intended.
Knowing just how and when to twist and bend as the sword of flame slashed through the space where his head would have been, the blade bowing out of alignment so subtly that the furious Cao didn’t register it at all. For all that Alex could feel Bang Jiao’s cold stare on his back more intently than ever, he refused to let it affect the dance of fire he embraced, now so in tune with his enemy that their movements became a dance in truth.
Every slash would earn a dip or tumble, every thrust a spinning pirouette as Alex dared the fire again and again, honing his connection with his foe, tasting the blazing heat in his enemy’s meridians as fast as Cao thought to channel it into a strike.
Their pace never slowed no matter how aggressive Cao became, so enraged by Alex’s mocking laughter that his snarl turned bestial as he charged forward with his sword upraised as if to cleave Alex in half.
And that’s when Alex felt it, lost in the dream of perfect communion with the fiery give and take of his enemy’s flames.
The surge of Water and Steel, eager to answer the hot flame which had singed Alex’s clothes a dozen times as he dared utter destruction with his dance, viscerally sensing that right here and now, at this very moment, he had never been more in tune with himself and his deadliest potential, aside from daring the River of Death itself.
He could feel it now, even more intensely than when smashing a certain Silver-ranked mannequin left by a master he had once dared to respect…
Until Bang Jiao had shown them all just how sincerely he had intended to follow the school’s darkest precepts.
Even if it meant selling out the school entire.
Alex’s soul howled as he surfed the growing tidal wave of power building within his core, knowing that if he was truly to forge a unified system…
It had to be now.
“Burn before me, Ruidian!” Cao roared.
Before shrieking in agony as his arm disintegrated in an explosion of shrapnel and bone.
Piercing Strike has successfully ruptured Fire Shield!
You have achieved a state of transcendent insight with the flow of Water and Steel!
Black Swan!
Spear Hand strike cleaves through your opponent’s left arm!
Steel Water Qi surge has overwhelmed Fire configuration! All Fire Qi Wards have been successfully ruptured! Your opponent has suffered Severe Meridian Strain!
Your foe has collapsed!
Saving throw versus meridian rupture made!
You have successfully altered a Tier 3 Silver Swan Assassination Technique!
Straight line attacks may now be incorporated into Silver Swan paradigm! Spear hand strikes may now be used with Black Swan
, with additional risk of meridian strain. You must save versus shattered bones at the moment of impact, until Silver Swan Rank 8 is achieved!
Congratulations! Black Swan (Soul Cleave) is now Rank 7!
Alex laughed aloud as the crimson spray of his enemy’s blood washed over him, his cupped fingers suffering no damage at all, in spite of the fact that he had cleaved completely through his opponent’s arm.
Fortunately, the furious yet panicked countenances of the other Adepts and the angry glare of Bang Jiao made it clear that none of them had seen the exact nature of his strike.
Which pleased Alex to no end.
Yet for all that he wanted to howl with exultation…
He could taste his imminent peril.
Wasting not a second, he darted down to claim his prize of battle, tearing free his howling enemy’s belt pouch, which turned out to be a priceless storage vessel filled with coins, credits, spirit pearls and a handful of other prizes as well.
“Thrice I have won battles where the stakes were absolutely everything, including the hut I now call my own, and the price for Cao’s folly is the storage vessel in my hands!” Alex declared over the shrieks of his downed foe, waving his freshly claimed belt pouch in the faces of enraged Adepts, coolly observing instructors, and wide-eyed aspirants alike. “Do any of you dare gainsay this?”
Master Zha Shi crossed his arms, giving a grudging nod of approval. “You can fight, Ruidian. I’ll give you that much. If you only had the sense to flow with the currents, you might go very far indeed, despite the missteps you have made.”
Alex met his eyes with a bitter smile. “Tell that to the Spirit Wolf so determined to take my head.”
Zha Shi snorted, gazing Duo Ku’s way.
Duo Ku chuckled coldly. “Enjoy your hour, Ruidian. It was good watching you destroy the pathetic worm on the ground before you. But don’t think your paltry display will make up for countless crimes against your betters. Only after your body is broken and you’re pleading for mercy at my feet will you even be permitted the honor of putting my collar around your own neck!”
Alex smirked at his foe. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”
Stealing a quick glance at his pagoda, he caught Zhu Bi’s frantic nod.
Much to his relief, only a handful of students remained around the training ring.
Time to say what he had to say.
Meeting Bang Jiao’s gaze, Alex inclined his head stiffly. “I recall the lessons you taught so well, back when you acted like you actually gave a damn about the students under your care. How important it was to make alliances and understand the political waters in which we all swim. That our ability to prosper in a school filled with predators like the Spirit Wolves was just another test of this academy.”
Bang Jiao’s emotionless smile did not waver. “Alas, you failed to learn those lessons, as did most of your peers, and our time of instruction has now come to an end.”
Alex nodded. “Because you’re playing those games right now, in an arena far bigger than a single school.”
Bang Jiao dipped his head, though the chill in his eyes remained. “It seems you do understand this game, after all. You should have made allies while you had the chance, Ruidian.”
And that was when Alex heard it, everything suddenly becoming crystal clear as the entire school rang with the golden peals of what could only be an extremely powerful magical treasure, echoing with spiritual energy beyond anything Alex had sensed since ascending the golden steps. “Those bells have something to do with this, don’t they?”
The giant Duo Ku grinned. “I would get moving if I were you, boy. You have less than a glass to make our hunt interesting. After that?” He chuckled cruelly. “There is someone who is very interested in meeting you, and he is not a patient man, I’m afraid.”
Bang Jiao only smiled. “Congratulations, Ruidian. You have graduated from the Aspirant’s Quarter. Whereas many of your peers were wise enough to embrace the wonderful opportunities to be found in daring the rift and harvesting an incalculable fortune in crystals and beast cores, others will find that a military career will suit them best. And for those who fail to accept the virtues of either path…” He chuckled coldly. “I fear they will have to find their own way forward.” His gaze hardened. “You have one hour to leave my territory, Ruidian, and no cultivator will challenge you during that time. I suggest you pack your things and go while you can.”
Alex used his Qi perception to take in the blood-spattered grassy field serving as their dueling arena, noting the pair of students now sworn to the Red Prince’s banner who already had a stretcher prepared to rush the groaning Cao to the one of the healing pagodas as fast as their feet could take them. The other four Adepts continued gazing at Alex with an odd mixture of shock, disbelief, and fury.
Alex, heart now truly hammering as he held tight to his sense of the battlefield, of the sweet but deadly dance that was the crucible of conflict, locked gazes with Bang Jiao once more. “Your word has been given then no one will dare to challenge me until an hour has passed, a gift more priceless than gold.” He flashed a cold smile. “Because I already know what happens to cultivators who dare to break their oaths at this school.”
He tilted his head. “But you do understand the freedom inherent in that oath, do you not?”
Bang Jiao’s gaze was now devoid of all humor. “And what would that be, Ruidian?”
Alex’s smile widened, finding it strangely satisfying that the only students remaining were those regarding Alex with sneers and bold contempt, more than a few wearing pins and earrings flashing like brilliant sparkling drops of blood.
“There’s nothing stopping me from challenging anyone I choose to my heart’s content.”
Bullrush!
You are now facing Water Adept!
Water Adept is blinking at you in surprise!
No Challenge May be Refused is in effect! Not even Jade can resist your binding. Water Adept’s talisman automatically fails!
And before the Water Adept could do more than blink in disbelief, his Silver Talisman had faded to colorless translucency before the deadly vortex of Dark Qi that was Alex’s own.
You have challenged your opponent to Deathmatch! The stakes are: Everything!
You have summoned Shield of the Grove!
Your Opponent summons Deadly Whirlpool.
Dark Qi Gauntlets rupture all Light Qi Wards.
The stunned cultivator lurched back in surprise when a shimmering dark gauntlet manifested between one heartbeat and the next, effortlessly blasting through his deadly spinning Water shield that Alex sensed could tear off the limb of a cultivator who failed to execute his attack perfectly. A defense that could do absolutely nothing against his trump card, revealed only now, after Alex had achieved his earlier breakthrough, now having another prize in mind besides simply perfecting Piercing Strike.
Not when he had an additional three cultivators to take down.
Adderstrike!
You have pierced your opponent’s wards. You have shattered your opponent’s left arm!
To his credit, his opponent quickly shook himself free of shock, no matter that his forearm had been pulverized in the blink of an eye, giving an inarticulate roar as he blasted Alex with a spray of icy daggers that tore into multiple students witnessing the fight who had sworn themselves to the Red Prince and now wore his colors in truth. The injured aspirants’ eyes flew wide as their hands clutched desperately at spurting necks and abdomens. Yet Alex didn’t take a scratch, well hidden behind his Silver ranked defense that successfully warded all the icy daggers.
Qi Absorption skill check made! You may now absorb Qi attacks with appropriate elemental shields!
Alex couldn’t help but flash a fierce smile, finding it well within his capacity to extend his Qi Absorption skill to center on his shield, his foe’s Water Qi a perfect match for Wood, the Adept’s surge of d spiritual energy now feeding Alex’s Shield of the Grove. He didn’t doubt that there were limit
s, but his opponent was the farthest thing from reaching them.
The Water Adept stumbled back, eyes wide with disbelief when he saw that his attack, far from wearing Alex down, had only made his defenses stronger.
“NO, impossible! I…”
The man’s protests broke off with a gurgling wheeze when Alex took advantage of his stunned surprise, an unexpected ridge-hand strike slamming into his opponent’s throat and sending him crashing to the ground.
Had Alex used Black Swan, the man before him would be dead. The stunned cultivator himself must have realized as much, raising his one good hand, wheezing for mercy while frantically tossing Alex his pouch.
“You will stop now, Ruidian!” roared an incensed Bang Jiao.
Alex frowned down at the terrified Adept gripping his own throat in both hands, struggling just to wheeze. “So long as his defeat is acknowledged. And you might want to spend your energy treating the aspirants spurting out their lifeblood instead of worrying about the fool who nearly killed them.”
Before Bang Jiao could sputter out a reply, Alex was smacking talisman against talisman, lashing out with his fist and feet once more, this time channeling the force and fury of the storm against a surprised Earth Adept, who burst out in mocking laughter.
“Fool! You think your Water-based killing arts will have any effect on me?
This time, Alex forbore from using Dark Qi to sheathe his limbs, because if there was one element best suited to countering Silver Swan, it was Earth. But since his attack was as much liquid steel as water, its greatest weakness had been muted, or so he hoped. And if this art was truly to form the foundation of the unified cultivation path he would forge and teach the girl he loved, he damn well better make sure it could stand up even to a powerfully built Earth adept, like the one he was currently facing.
Both of them were Bronze, and if his foe was a bit more muscular, Alex suspected his own speed was superior. He aimed a cold smile his enemy’s way.
“Let’s test that theory, shall we?” he said, charging in and striking for all he was worth.
Silver Fox & the Western Hero: Warrior's Path: A LitRPG/Cultivation Novel - Book 6 Page 67
