Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior’s Path

by Johnson, M. H.

  “Thrice our master warned you, and thrice you declined to heed his call, and here you will die, choking on the darkest poison of all. Your damned soul will stand as testament to the futility of defying the Red Prince, and a lesson to all who would dare defy him in the future!”

  Power healing has repaired kidney laceration.

  Left lower ribs now at 20% integrity.

  You have recovered 45 Health.

  Qi Perception skill check success! You sense all the players on the board.

  No one is presently looking your way.

  Dark Qi Metabolism switched for aerobic. Willpower check made. You hold back your gasp of agony!

  Heart roaring with rage as his lungs screamed for air, Alex embraced Water Walking with a surge of will, rising soundlessly from the waters.

  Panicked terror at how close he had come to death was replaced by furious resolve, noting that the pair of cultivators cloaked in robes of shadow that Alex’s eyes just wanted to slide right off of, were so focused on mocking and tormenting their dying prey that they paid Alex’s corpse no attention at all.

  Why should they, after all? They had struck with brilliant precision, clearly knowing that no exhausted, heaving aspirant, making their way over the lip of the final Silver plateau, would be expecting assassins cloaked in slippery shadow to end their life with a single poisoned dagger thrust able to penetrate any armor or ward.

  To Alex’s shame, things had proceeded exactly as their enemies had planned; Cheng Lei, for all his deadly potential, had been caught just as off guard as Alex had been. Their enemies’ daggers, so very like Yumeng’s own, had torn through Alex’s chest and sliced clean through Cheng Lei’s wards.

  With that blow, Alex had been sent flying an additional ten feet. By all rights, he should already be dead.

  But he wasn’t, Alex grimly thought, now coating the deadly dagger he had claimed in his own Dark Qi. Hot fury turned to icy cold calculation as he studied the pair of assassins, one radiating the crackling aura of a deadly wujen, the other a snarling, powerfully built man with cold, soulless eyes, who must have been deep Bronze at the very least, now turning to glower at the man surrounded in shimmering wards, still taunting his victim.

  “Alright, they’re both dead, and I got you in here. You’d better be right about being able to repair my foundation. I can feel my broken oath searing through my meridians already!”

  The shorter man gave his companion a twisted smile, dark eyes glittering with mirth. “Oh, fear not, my mercenary friend. One hundred spirit pearls, along with the thirty already in your purse and the weight of this fool’s head in gold, will be yours just as soon as we leave this place. And of course, the best healers anywhere will be at your disposal. You will find your new master always keeps his word. Now, hold your cloak tight about you. It’s covered with the blood of a freshly slain kitsune whore. Yet even with her screams still echoing through the ether, its potency will only last till first light.”

  The Bronze assassin snorted. “I never did like those damned mixed breeds.”

  Soul Sight skill check: partial success! Silver Naga’s Qi flow is beyond your ability to sense. You sense the malevolence behind his gaze!

  Soul Sight skill check: success! Rank 6 Bronze Cultivator’s foundation is already starting to fracture; strained meridians now blaze brightly before your gaze!

  Find Weakness skill check: success! Familiarity bonus in effect! You sense the cracks in your foe’s flawed Rusted Mountain body cultivation technique!

  Alex glared at the wujen sorcerer, sensing the dark, crackling corona of lightning Qi surrounding the man and knowing that if he made even one mistake, he was as good as dead.

  But if he didn’t act now, his friend certainly would be.

  The wujen hissed, eyes widening. “Something’s wrong. I sense an immortal’s gaze. He seeks my death!”

  In a flash, a shield of swirling fire was in front of the panicked wujen, his breathing turning ragged as he slowly circled the room. The angry Bronze glared at the panicked man’s back.

  “Where is he. Where is he?”

  “Where is what? The Ruidian’s dead. I felt his ribs crack under my—"

  The wujen twirled around as a popping sound much like a burst coconut rang through the air.

  Only to blink away a crimson mist as the oathbreaker’s skull exploded before his eyes.

  And for just a second, he saw that awful glare again.

  A blue-eyed apparition, coming for his soul.

  “No. Impossible! The Infernal Blackroot should have instantly robbed you of all strength, like it did the prince! Your heart should have already stopped. You should already be de—"

  Bullrush chained 5 times! You have gained 350 feet of altitude!

  You have embraced Stormflight! You are charging straight down to your foe! You have encased your legs in Dark Qi at additional cost!

  Adderstrike transformed to Phoenix Strike!

  Save versus oblivion made!

  Temporary invulnerability at moment of impact achieved!

  You have obliterated your opponent!

  For a heartbeat, Alex’s world was nothing but blinding pain.

  He had surrendered to his wrath, his furious need to avenge his friend, striking one foe on the back of his head where he sensed the imperfections in the man’s technique. The rock hard skull would be strangely brittle if struck from just the right angle, and all of Alex’s 31 strength had been focused in a single furious Adderstrike that, even when he had been a basic cultivator, would have easily ruptured bronze chest plates or burst oak stumps to kindling. His foe’s shattered foundation, already damaged beyond repair after betraying his school twice over, hadn’t stood a chance.

  Alex had needed that spray of blood and bone, needed to see that look of horror in his enemy's eyes, to force that flinch, lest he be fried to a crisp with lightning before he could finish this ugly night, once and for all. And he didn’t hesitate to blink to an imposing height during his enemy’s surprised confusion as the panicked wujen blasted the chamber entire with deadly forks of lightning in every direction save the one almost no one ever thinks to look: straight up.

  Alex had come crashing down, a midnight avatar of vengeance, half his body sheathed for a heartbeat in Dark Qi that absorbed much of the peripheral heat of the wujen’s fire shield and the horrific blast of lightning serving as this monster’s death curse the instant before his body exploded under Alex’s heel, absorbing nearly all of his furious momentum.

  So it was only the tiniest fraction of what he inflicted that he was forced to endure, yet even that had resulted in numerous broken bones and Alex nearly blacking out.

  Again.

  Power healing engaged!

  Instead, Alex forced himself to rise, stumbling to his feet with a hiss, his right ankle clearly shattered.

  He directed his Eternal Fox regeneration at that point before all others, sobbing with pain as all his bone fragments twisted back into place—an ordeal that was nothing short of excruciating—before fusing into a structure just as sound as the one that had been shattered, just seconds ago.

  Alex dared not waste another moment, quickly lurching over to a fallen Cheng Lei. His killing fury of just moments before was replaced by desperate panic, seeing the vacant-eyed stare of the young scion he already thought of as a friend, now so close to the next life that he could all but hear the raspy chuckle of Shui Jun, the serpent more than happy to claim yet another of Alex’s friends.

  “Sorry, worm, not this time,” Alex whispered, Bronze-ranked strength allowing him to effortlessly lift up the dying nobleman, who he was grateful to see was at least free of the electrical burns he had feared would be the vile wujen’s final gift. Alex quickly poured one of Yuren’s potions down Cheng Lei’s throat, and another directly into his wound, heightened by his own potent saliva. He could only hope that it would be enough. Praying that he wasn’t already too late.

  You have successfully generated Infernal Blackroot Poi
son Antidote!

  Gold ranked healing potions have successfully restored 200 Health and reversed all major wounds. Your ally’s heart has resumed its normal rhythm! Your companion fails to save versus pain!

  The pool was suddenly filled with the screams of a man’s dying torment as body and soul were forcefully knit and repaired by a potion that could restore life, even here.

  You have successfully retrieved 15 gold, 13 Platinum, 42 Silver, 30 Spirit Pearls, One Rusted Mountain cultivation tome, 5 vials of Infernal Blackroot Poison.

  You have thrown 2 bodies off Pillar of Creation.

  You have successfully generated 2 shooting stars!

  “Alex?”

  Alex smiled down at the groggy youth in formerly pristine robes, gazing at him from the marble bench he was slumped upon.

  “Feeling better?” Alex asked. “Seemed like you could use a power nap, so I didn’t mind keeping an eye on you.”

  His friend gazed at Alex for long moments before shaking his head. “I had the oddest dream. It will sound like sheer madness, I know, but… maybe we had best leave here as quick as we can.”

  Alex nodded gamely. “Are you sure you’re up to that? You sort of collapsed and slammed your solar plexus against the table pretty thoroughly.” He shot his friend a teasing smile. “I assumed it was your way of admitting you were too weak to try for Gold, after all.”

  His friend’s eyes bulged in mock outrage. “For that alone, you’re racing me to the very lip of the Gold plateau!”

  Alex grinned. “You’re on.”

  But when Cheng Lei paled and seemed ready to topple over, Alex was there, steadying him. “Are you alright?”

  Cheng Lei swallowed behind parched lips, then finally sighed and slumped his shoulders. “I was holding out. The accounts I read were so divided on whether drinking purified spring water would aid a thirsty cultivator more than it hindered him that I didn’t want to take the risk, but considering how parched I’m now feeling...”

  Alex nodded sympathetically. “Go for it. Have a sip. You know I got your back.”

  Cheng Lei gave a wondering shake of his head. “I know you do. And for no reason other than you took a fancy to a chance-met companion on the path of ascension.” He chuckled softly, taking a sip from a flask secured just under his robes. “How fortunate I am to meet a soul as kind as yours, Alex.”

  Alex couldn’t help wincing at that, carefully not looking at the patina of blood coating the side of his friend’s face that he never had gotten around to cleaning, having been worried about other things at the time. “Thirst quenched? Awesome. Let’s go.”

  Then Cheng Lei paled, gazing at Alex’s abdomen with something akin to horror. “Alex?”

  “Yes?”

  “You do know you have a sword sticking out of your belly, don’t you?”

  Hit point loss has been minimized and organs have successfully stabilized around injury thanks to Eternal Fox Unified Cultivation Technique! Mild tears to stomach and liver suffered with removal of metal artifact.

  Power healing engaged! Your wounds are now fully mended. You have used 3.5% of your smallest beast core. Your divine Changshan shirt has mended itself once more. You have thrown Tainted Jian free of the pillar of creation!

  Your companion fails to save versus stunned disbelief!

  Alex carefully pulled the blade free of his flesh and tossed it as hard as he could, trying to recall when, exactly, he had been run through, while the pair of them spent a few moments admiring the jian now soaring through the nighttime sky. Only then did Alex bother to carefully inspect his fully healed belly, before turning to look at his disbelieving friend.

  “No swords here. You must be seeing things.”

  Without another word to his sputtering companion, Alex headed for the far golden staircase, though this time at a walk, not a run, anxious not to push his friend too hard after having come so close to death, just minutes ago.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it, Lei?”

  His friend gave up spluttering, instead giving an awed chuckle as he too turned to look up at the glorious heavenly spectacle that continued to evolve with each plateau achieved. Now there were galactic nebulae as thick as clouds blazing with brilliant red-gold fire. Countless thousands of stars sparkled like jewels, flashing colors a chilled Alex realized he had no name for, the sky showcasing not one but half a dozen massive moons that seemed almost like planets, the soothing blue of alien seas and the blazing infernos of hellish planes both visible as vibrant colors painting those heavenly spheres. The spectacular sight was matched only by the majestic mountains in the distance, each and every one capped by a magnificent city of sparkling gold. Even at this distance, the impossibly fine detail of a thousand architectural wonders was visible; buildings crafted in ways that transcended 3-dimensional space, unearthly angles bracing countless minarets, and pagodas that caressed the heavenly nighttime skies.

  Alex gasped with wonder at the sight of it.

  “It’s just as the legends foretold. Truly, to ascend to Gold is to catch sight of the heavens themselves!”

  Alex swallowed, trembling with a profound sense of awe as he and his friend continued making their way up those sacred golden steps, yet he found himself troubled as well. Why had he never heard any tales of the magnificent wonders all around him?

  “Cheng Lei?”

  “Yes, Alex?”

  “Just how perilous are these steps?”

  Cheng Lei flashed Alex a jaded smile. “Come, my friend, I think you know the answer to that already.”

  Alex sighed and shook his head. “I know that no more than one Gold per generation comes from any one city—on average, anyway—and I can only imagine how many Silver are desperate for ascension. If they were to fall after catching a glimpse of the very heavens…”

  “Exactly. We dare the mantel of rulers, my Ruidian friend. Why do you think all past sins are forgiven? None would dare gainsay the honors earned by one who might one day rule millions. To say nothing of the personal power they might accrue.”

  Alex nodded. “And that also explains why I’ve never heard even one tale about glimpsing heavenly wonders, not even amongst dozens of bored herders, merchants, and guards on a caravan that lasted well over a month, and you wouldn’t believe the wild tales they could tell.”

  “Because oaths aside, whispers and rumors would surface, eventually,” Cheng Lei concurred. “But if all those failed Silvers fell as blazing stars, there would be nothing but the brilliant flare of yet another soul falling from the heavens, flashing across the nighttime sky. Only the smallest handful of those who sought Gold would survive the journey, and they wouldn’t dare tell a soul, risking the cultivation base they had fought so hard for. And considering how long Golds might live…”

  “None would whisper the tale save with their dying breaths, and that might not be for thousands of years from now,” Alex finished, earning a nod from his friend.

  “Not too shabby for a Ruidian.” Cheng Lei laughed, smiling brilliantly. “Now come on. Enough coddling me! Let’s see just how tough you really are!”

  And to his credit, Cheng Lei immediately began ascending at a fast hike, Alex carefully keeping just a single step behind him. As much as they shared jokes and laughter on the seemingly endless ascent from Silver to Gold, Alex noted that his friend was finally feeling the flow of the spiritual river crashing over and through them both, hair and robes flapping wildly behind him, for all that his steps remained steady and sure.

  Until at last, as the brilliant morning sun painted the heavenly skies in wondrous hues of fire and gold, their footsteps splashed within crystal clear waters denoting their ascent past the intrigues of Silver to the domain of rulers and all who would stand as equals by their side.

  10

  Bullrush chained 5-fold!

  Perception Check successful! Minor Shadow affinity in play.

  You detect no hostile presence.

  Cheng Lei blinked in surprised wonderment when Alex seemed to
teleport through the air, blinking a handful of times before settling back into the pool with hardly a splash, giving his friend a satisfied nod.

  “I don’t sense any trouble. Hell, I don’t see anyone, come to think of it.”

  Cheng Lei gazed pointedly at Alex’s bronze alloy blades, lined with shark teeth and shimmering with Water and Metal Qi. As unwieldy as he knew those oversized dao would be in the hands of anyone who lacked an Olympian’s strength, with those weapons in his hands, he could channel his deadliest attacks with an ease that was almost uncanny.

  Of course, he had one other weapon capable of channeling the River of Souls so deeply that the world itself would warp and twist around it. But it was a weapon so terrible, even Alex knew he would be fighting for his soul every time he brought it to bear, an artifact that had nearly slain a god.

  A weapon he’d be a fool ever to summon forth within this world again.

  Unless all hope was lost, and it was a choice between that dread weapon and oblivion itself.

  He shook away those dark brooding thoughts, knowing better than to risk any skill with ties to the River of Souls here as he crested the Realm of the Gods itself, and acknowledged the real reason why he hadn’t even bothered peering at the Soul Stones of his fallen foes. Whatever disputes he might have with the powers that be, even he knew that spirits lost in this realm were the province of the gods, their fates for them alone to decide.

  “And you won’t see anyone, Alex. For this is the domain of kings and rulers, and it would be the headmaster himself who honors our feat, should we dare to ring that bell.”

  Cheng Lei pointed to a great golden bell radiating a strange mixture of White and, Alex was surprised to see, Dark Qi, in the middle of a magnificent spa inlaid with jade and a brilliant gold alloy. He could sense the distinct areas of the massive basin, from ice cold pools to miniature bubbling whirlpools that radiated a warm steamy haze calling out to his tired muscles, all of it interconnected, with constant flows of Qi keeping all the different temperatures and salinities separated.