Lai Wei flashed a cold smile. “I will tell my uncle and earn his gratitude when he is finally released from his black obligation. We profit from your folly! And best of all, it only prolongs your pain! You will still lose before me, Ruidian worm, no matter what you do!”
He roared and charged forth, and it was everything Alex could do to survive the onslaught.
He forced himself to ignore his own searing pain. To push past the anxiety and fear inspired by the homicidal sadist he faced, and focus on the one thing that mattered. The only thing that mattered.
His foe and the flow of his Qi.
Alex blinked and shivered, struck both by insight and by his enemy’s vicious blow, but even as Lai Wei chuckled madly as Alex was smashed back to the ground, Alex was smiling right back at his nemesis, quickly rolling back to his feet.
Lai Wei’s eyes widened. He clenched his dao in a grip Alex thought so reminiscent of English saber. “You should be on the ground. On the ground! Begging for five more minutes to sob in agony before I finally put you out of your misery! And you dare to mock me, as if my blows mean nothing? I will destroy you, worm. See if I don’t!”
Fueled by fury that made his fiery Qi blaze all the hotter, Lai Wei’s attacks became ever more frenzied, a maelstrom of fiery steel eager for Alex’s flesh.
Yet not once did the blade caress his flesh for the forty odd seconds Lai’s furious onslaught continued, before he abruptly pulled back, gasping, glaring at Alex with something beyond contempt.
“You should be splayed out on those sands, begging me to put you out of your misery!” Lai Wei hissed, fury and confusion upon his features in equal measure.
Alex said nothing. Dared say nothing. Just barely tasting the edges of the glimmer of understanding he was so close to embracing, for just a heartbeat sensing all the world, and the actions of all the players in all the cities as nothing more than pieces upon an endless board, every action and consequent reaction almost entirely predictable for the divine genius who could embrace technological wonders without end.
And Alex understood all the moves his opposing piece could make, intentions now blazing fiery hot with every movement of his opponent’s sword and once-more barely dodged fist, his foe’s hot temper letting his intentions blaze forth with perfect clarity for anyone with Alex’s skills to see.
Soul Sight successfully used. A deeper understanding has been reached! You now sense the flow of Qi within your foe! You have achieved partial familiarity with your opponent’s fighting style!
Advanced ranks of swordsmanship and reflexes have been partially mitigated!
It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t at the level of insight he had with Qie Qie’s fighting form, or Hao Hai, whose sheer brutality had worked against him, Hao’s crude but deadly style easier to pierce than the blazingly fast and deadly dao forms used by Lai Wei, almost as chaotic and deadly as flame itself.
And like a hot-burning blaze, Lai Wei redoubled his efforts, assaulting Alex with everything he had, taking grim pleasure each time Alex’s flesh was scorched by a telling blow, bitter-hot Qi then burning Alex from within.
But the now potentially-fatal strikes pierced Alex’s defenses far less frequently than they had before, the damage inflicted nowhere near as bad as it might have been.
Of course, Alex still lost the bind, was still sent crashing to the ground in a ball of agony, Qie Qie ever quick to come to his defense, even so bold as to remind a fuming Lai Wei of his cultivator’s oath.
But every time Alex got up after going through the agony of repairing torn flesh and seared peripheral meridians, he did it with a growing sense of exhilaration through the pain, flashing a wicked smile that threw Lai Wei completely off his game.
Because with each furious exchange, Alex was gaining a better understanding of both himself, his enemy, and the dao itself, until finally the breakthrough he had been so desperate for finally occurred.
Congratulations! You have achieved Rank 5 in Dao! Your blade is now an extension of you, and thus may be combined with all advanced martial techniques!
And when he laughed out of nowhere, Lai Wei spat his hate, spittle scorching the ground by Alex’s feet.
“The pain is driving you mad! Isn’t it, Ruidian? The agony does not abate, it only builds! And soon you will be as crippled as any Ruidian who dares to cross my clan!”
Alex only smiled and raised his blade in tierce, earning a furious snarl.
“I will wipe that smirk off your face with your own life, worm, see if I don’t!”
Lai Wei charged and Alex’s blade seemed to move almost of its own accord, in perfect response to Lai Wei’s furious barrage, and his opponent’s eyes widened with furious disbelief when he could no longer power through the bind, Alex’s blade holding steady with more than just an exhausted basic cultivator’s all too human strength, but held in place by something other.
The storm of Light Qi all White Crane practitioners hoped one day to eventually master was now his own. And when Alex’s dao whipped forth, twisting aside a stunned Lai Wei’s blade before smashing into his mouth, it hit with the force of more than just an exhausted cultivator.
It hit with the might and fury of the storm Alex could now sense howling around them both.
Lai Wei gazed at Alex from the ground in shocked disbelief, spitting out broken teeth.
“How dare you!” he roared. “How dare you!” Launching to his feet and charging Alex with all he had, now holding nothing back as he lashed out in a furious assault, Alex’s own blade shifting and winding around his foe’s, scoring deep grooves in his opponent’s armor before snapping back into guard.
His enemy never let up, and neither did Alex, offsetting cuts and thrusts even as he lashed out with his own dao, his foe snarling in pain when wrist, forearm, and elbow were struck by Alex’s snapping blows.
“You’ll die for that, worm!” promised Lai Wei, charging forward just as Alex had predicted, so bright did his hot Qi blaze.
And so focused was he on Alex’s smirk and blade held in high guard that he didn’t even spot the front kick to his knee that sent him stumbling forward, his face meeting Alex’s clenched fist, Lai Wei’s nose crunching in a spray of blood as he toppled to the ground with a cry.
Alex felt a fierce jolt of triumph.
Qi surge detected!
You have successfully dodged your foe’s surprise attack!
Before darting aside just in time as a bolt of blazing hot Fire lashed out for his face.
“You have crossed me for the last time, Ruidian! Daring to place your inhuman hands against my flesh? You will die in fire for that, worm!” Lai Wei roared, left hand now controlling a long snake-like whip of liquid flame.
“Stop!” Qie Qie cried out. “You’re using a deadly technique! You’re in violation of the rules of the duel! Sword and fist only, by your own words!”
“You shut your mouth, slut!” snapped Lai Wei. “This fool isn’t even human. Words given mean nothing when spoken to animals and vermin!”
What chilled Alex the most was that his enemy actually believed his own words, so would probably take no damage at all from his oathbreaking.
Alex’s gut clenched with fear and dread in equal measure.
Because there was an audience gazing at them, even now. And if they for even a second thought they could get away with breaking their word to him, that he was so reviled by fate that not even words of binding could deter the depredations of others betraying the Ruidian in their midst at every turn… Alex was as good as dead.
Alex clenched his teeth. Realizing there was only one move he could make.
He met Lai Wei’s arrogant sneer and smiled. “Step forward with whip in hand if you dare, Oathbreaker, and find out what happens when one breaks their word to a student of Elder Panheu in the crucible of combat!”
Lai Wei gasped. “You would dare to threaten me? I know your weaknesses! I know how broken you truly are! You die here and now, vermin!” Alex could tell that Lai Wei felt neithe
r fear nor regret, only utter contempt for Alex and all he stood for.
His movements were fast. Chillingly so.
But Alex had his measure, and didn’t even need to see how fast his foe was maneuvering to know exactly where he was going to strike, exactly where Wei’s body would be at any given moment, Alex’s arm already raised to ward the whip as he purposely closed the distance when his foe expected him to back away in terror, a short tight blow no one in the crowd would think significant as, instead of a slash, Alex punched with the hilt of his weapon, aiming for the forearm holding the blade even as the Fire Whip seared his back, Alex desperately visualizing a storm of Light Qi pushing it away in the heartbeat he revealed his hidden card.
Fire Whip has struck you for critical damage! Critical damage mitigated to Medium Wound! You have saved versus crippling injury! Willpower transcends pain!
Adderstrike shatters opponent’s wrist!
Your opponent is stunned!
“Adderstrike!” Alex roared in his mind, his weapon blurring for the heartbeat it needed to smash into Lai Wei’s right wrist and shatter it so forcefully that bone ruptured from the skin in a shower of blood as his weapon was went flying, a screaming Lai Wei instantly losing focus on his whip of Fire Qi.
But Alex wasn’t done. Far from it, as he pivoted around his foe, wrapping both arms around Lai Wei’s neck and pinning him to the ground, knowing he had only seconds before the inhumanly strong cultivator broke free, even with only one working arm and a shocked crowd roaring all around them.
But a few seconds was all he needed, his grip about his foe’s neck so viscerally intense that for a heartbeat, he felt Lai Wei as an extension of himself.
Find Weakness skill check made!
You now understand just how flawed and chaotic your foe’s fire-based defenses really are!
Qi Flood successfully used! You have flooded your opponent’s meridian channels with Dark Qi!
And how easy it was to overcome his nemesis with a flood of black chaos that almost all cultivators did all they could to expel from their bodies, most of them understanding the potential of chaos so poorly, too terrified of its ability to wreak havoc and destroy.
Qie Qie had immediately flipped to pure judge mode, already counting down, albeit slowly, her discipline immediately silencing the crowd and giving legitimacy to Alex’s surprise attack.
So long as he let go by the count of five.
With his friend’s slow pace, that meant around fifteen seconds in total.
“Two!”
Alex flashed a furious smile as his foe’s shrieks resonated through the air, shoving every bit of Dark Qi that he could through his enemy’s meridian gateways, burning them in ways far more savage than mere Fire Qi could ever hope to do.
“Three!”
With a desperate shriek, Lai Wei snapped his head back, Alex’s own nose exploding in a fountain of blood.
But he didn’t care, merely flashing a bitter smile as he squeezed his foe as tightly as his fifteen Strength would allow, feeling the stream of Dark Qi ripen into a flood, all but tasting his foe’s meridian channels burning away.
“Four!”
With a desperate wrench, Lai Wei managed to fling Alex free, albeit with only one good arm, gazing at Alex with fury and horror.
“What did you do to me, you monster? What did you do?”
Alex blinked, momentarily stunned by how hard he had been flung, savvy enough to take advantage of his own disoriented expression, masking it as confusion. “What the hell are you talking about? I tried to get a submission before the count of five, but you threw me off!”
Alex flashed a cruel grin. “Your right wrist is still broken, though. Now admit defeat, or prepare to fight me one-handed!”
Lai Wei snarled his hate. “You will die for daring to touch me, Ruidian!” But when he tried to summon his fiery whip once more, he screamed and fell to his knees, looking at his trembling left hand in horror. “Oh no… no, this can’t be happening!”
Panicked eyes turned to Alex. “What did you do to me, you freak? What did you do?”
Alex furrowed his brow. “What the hell are you talking about? Are you saying you want to stop the match? That’s fine with me. But I’m taking my winnings. Or I’ll fight for as long as you like. That was our agreement.”
Lai Wei snarled, glaring at his own hand. “Fire Whip!” he hissed so softly it was hardly a sound at all, but Alex inferred its meaning, sensing what Lai Wei was desperately trying to do. But save for an agonized cry and the stench of smoking flesh, there was nothing to show for his efforts.
Alex mimed confusion, tilting his head. “Something wrong, Lai Wei?” Alex heard the growing murmur from the crowd, choosing just the right time to strike with his words. “Hey, you were summoning a Fire Whip before. You broke your own cultivator’s oath with that, didn’t you?”
His enemy paled. “No. This can’t be happening. You’re not even human! I don’t have to keep my word to a monster!”
Alex tilted his head. “Really? You sure about that? Okay, if that’s the case, summon your whip of flame again.” He flashed a mocking grin. “I’ll tell you what. You summon it forth, and I’ll give you a free hit.”
Alex gazed up at the crowd that had grown over the course of the two matches, Hao Hai now being tended to by an anxious-looking spirit doctor someone had summoned, but refusing to leave the arena until he had seen his enemy crushed to a pulp, or so Alex inferred from Hao’s lethal gaze, the cultivator’s mangled tongue still unable to spit out an intelligible word.
But now all he did was look at Alex in poleaxed disbelief.
Alex’s return smile was cold as ice.
“You can’t summon it at all now, can you?” Alex asked, looking back down at his sobbing nemesis who trembled and shook, gazing at his own hand in horrified disbelief.
Alex shook his head in mock sorrow. “You broke your cultivator’s oath, and this is the result. I think there’s a moral in there somewhere.”
He then raised his head once more, boldly meeting dozens of wide-eyed gazes. “Anyone else wish to break their oath to me, once given? I hope you do! It will make it that much easier to destroy you, if you ever dare to challenge me in the ring!”
He then strode boldly up to Lai Wei, sword kissing his trembling foe’s neck. “I think you have something that belongs to me.”
Lai Wei paled and snarled. “I’m never giving you those pills. Never!”
Alex’s cold smile grew. “Then unless you want to fight longer, you’ll have broken your cultivator’s oath twice. If you’re hurting now...”
Lai Wei actually sobbed at those words, a desperate sweaty hand tearing free his pouch and throwing it in Alex’s face. “Take it! Take it, you damned bastard! And when next I see your face, we’re fighting to the death! I’m taking your head, you goddamned Ruidian. I’m taking your head!”
Alex didn’t even bother to respond, suddenly sensing he was running out of time.
19
“Qie Qie! We have to leave, now!” he hissed.
Her stunned gaze widened, somehow sensing his panic. To her credit, she didn’t argue or question, merely gave a curt nod, and together they hurried for the far entrance, even as Alex sensed death enter the ring.
“Uncle! Look what that monster did to me!”
Alex didn’t even bother looking back, merely hurrying past the spectators, hangers-on, and other cultivators who had just arrived.
“Where is that Ruidian? I will see him before me this instant!” roared none other than Lai Leng.
But by that time, Alex had already left the amphitheater, his fast walk turning to a desperate sprint as the air seemed to ring like glass with a baritone roar.
Qie Qie paled. “Oh gods above, we’re dead!”
Alex grimaced. “Not if we get to Elder Panheu’s property first. Now run!”
And run they did, at a pace so fast the faces of confused students, lushly cared for lawns, and gardens filled with cultivators med
itating or practicing forms seemed to flash by in mere moments, the pair racing at a dead sprint.
Miraculously, they had encountered no hostile faces, or anyone at all upon leaving the school proper, before collapsing beside the gate, near giddy with relief.
“My god, that scared the hell out of me!” said Qie Qie with a rueful shake of her head, still gasping for breath. Then she paled and swallowed, gazing at the gate almost imploringly. “Alex. Your master still isn’t here, is he?”
Alex furrowed his brow, quickly entering, the gate immediately relaxing the storm of deadly Qi promising oblivion to any who dared to enter, taking a quick look around, though his Qi Perception told him everything he needed to know.
He only spared a moment to check his interface, pleased to note that despite everything else that had happened, he had achieved adept rank in all light slashing blades like the dao or saber, and could now synergize their use with White Crane kung fu. Also, his Qi Flood skill had just hit rank two.
As awed as he was, he supposed the rapid growth wasn’t too surprising, since he seemed to thrive on peril, just like Elder Panheu had claimed. And without Qie Qie’s intervention he could so easily have been killed, having kept so many cards close to his chest. Save for a single stealthy Adderstrike, he had done his best not to reveal any of his secrets before a sea of potential enemies.
As rough an experience as it had been, he couldn’t deny that he had made phenomenal strides in the short time his master left him to fend for himself among wolves, skilling up faster than he had in the entire two months he had spent as the privileged student of a highly-esteemed Silver.
Of course, one could argue that it was only because of his two month’s solid foundation that had allowed such rapid breakthroughs, the carefully-forged blade of his soul quenched in suitably turbulent waters only when the time was right. But ultimately, it didn’t matter. He had overcome tremendous obstacles, and had somehow survived a confrontation with two Bronze cultivators out for blood.
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Forsworn: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 3 Page 31
