“And for those who are not destined to transcend to Bronze, with imperfect gateways or an incomplete set, they would be wracked with pain and bleed from all their pores with a single excess dose, their clan knowing in that terrible moment the limits of their protege’s potential, and would push no further.”
Intent eyes locked with Alex’s own. “And you would have given even the wisest student absolute folly, twelve pristine doses at once.”
Alex swallowed, chilled.
"I could have killed someone. A cultivator I wanted as a customer or friend..."
“Would have wound up dead, their clan putting a blood price on your head.”
Alex hung his head, filled with sudden shame. His first attempts to walk the alchemist's path could have proven fatal to the very girl he'd risk his life to save. That bitter irony left a sour taste in his mouth.
His mentor sighed, patting his shoulder. "What you did, whatever odd insights led you to your strange techniques, or perhaps simply circumventing the rules of fate, using a divine artifact to bypass strictures that limit the rest of us, has allowed you to make a phenomenal breakthrough. But there is a reason why almost all alchemists follow in the footsteps of older, wiser masters. So much folly can then be avoided."
Alex nodded. "And since I'm the farthest thing from an alchemist who has mastered his craft over many years..."
“You’re a babe stumbling in the dark, daring formulations of unthinkable potency, with no true idea as to consequence. It would be the height of folly to continue. Any elder would agree.”
The man patted Alex’s shoulder. “But your daring would do WiFu himself proud.”
Alex blinked. “Master?”
The older man’s grip tightened. “Your Shadow Meridian Rejuvenation Elixir. I have every reason to believe it will work!”
Alex’s eyes widened with those words.
His mentor snorted. “Of course, as concentrated as your original elixir was...”
Alex paled.
“Don’t worry. I diluted it to a twentieth of its former potency. The tiniest fraction of what I suspect she’ll need to recover fully. But safety, lad, before anything else.
Alex nodded emphatically. “Yes, Master Liu. I feel the same.”
And soon after, a wan-faced Liu Li was gazing nervously at the elixir, wearing an ivory white scholar’s robe, her hair carefully done up with pins of silver and gold, jade green eyes locked upon Alex’s own.
He swallowed, cheeks flushing under her regard. Her hand reached out to squeeze his own.
“Here’s to hoping this works,” she said.
Alex flushed and nodded. “I hope so too. More than words can say.”
She kissed his cheek before he could blink, and before her father could react, she was seated in a lotus position once more. She took a steadying breath, gulped the elixir down, and immediately began embracing the meridian restoration techniques Alex now knew almost as well as she, Liu Li having insisted he practice the techniques alongside her for an hour every day for a full week, just in case he should ever need them.
Not that Alex felt he was in much danger, with his oversized gates, but he wasn’t so arrogant as to tempt fate and dodge the lesson, for all that the almost negligible shift in his sixth blockage made it clear why few would bother with this cultivation path if they were not seeking to heal old injuries as much as pursue fresh growth.
Alex turned to her father. “Sir?”
"Now, we wait. She'll come to us when it's time.
Without another word, they left her cultivating room, though her father spared her one final pained look before the pair headed to the training yard once more.
Intense dark eyes gazed into Alex’s own. He shivered, sensing less of the exasperated but kind-hearted alchemist than he ever had before.
What he saw before him was something else.
What exactly that was, he still wasn’t sure.
"Alright, Alex," he said at last. "You're armed with shield and sword. Show me what you can do."
And he did.
Adderstrike! Adderstrike!
Bullrush!
Alex leaped across the battlefield in a flicker of speed and motion, nearly thirty paces in an eyeblink and he was before his target, his leg snapping out in a shin kick that deformed bronze and crushed wood before he weaved and dodged, fist lashing out to cave in a second foe’s breastplate, not having even bothered to draw his sword.
Master Liu’s gaze was unreadable. He seemed neither displeased nor impressed, so Alex thought it time to show off his carefully worked on maneuver, turning to face a second cluster of armored hardwood mannequins armed with palanquins and gladii.
Only now he didn’t blink-step just before the soldiers to smash into their shield wall.
He ran toward them with a roar before blink stepping 15 paces behind them, powerful thighs now expertly absorbing the remaining inertia without stumbling over, pivoting and turning to crash into the formation from behind shield first, this time using the full momentum of his Bullrush.
And he husbanded his remaining energy, slamming his gladius into the lower back of the one mannequin still upright between lamellar hauberk and quilted leggings in a blow that would have ruptured kidneys, leading to death by blood loss within seconds, before yanking his blade free and foot-stomping his two remaining foes.
He had intended to use no further Qi points, but when inspiration struck, he grabbed hold.
Adderstrike!
In that moment perfectly visualizing his stomp as if he were punching with his fist, eyes widening as his temporarily impervious boot slammed through the mannequin so hard that the oak core ruptured in an explosion of splinters.
Adderstrike!
Repeating the same maneuver a heartbeat later with the second fallen mannequin which was more a log with padded wool and armor wrapped around it than anything else, feeling a visceral thrill as it too exploded.
You have taken 10 damage.
He suddenly cried out, only then feeling the pain.
Eyes widening with horror when he noticed the slivers of wood that had pierced his left calf.
His right leg might have been temporarily impervious to damage, but obviously that protection didn’t extend to his other limb, for all that a chuckling Liu Jian made it clear that it could have been far worse, after he paused to pluck free the splinters and clean the sites, applying a modest amount of liniment before Alex was kitted up fully once more.
“Impressive technique,” Liu Jian said. “As I recall, it was utterly beyond you, just days ago. Yet now you have not only mastered the basics, but have already devised the most unorthodox approaches to its use. Good. I would expect no less from one of my men. But most soldiers would think twice before foot-stomping a foe made of solid oak, let alone risking an explosion of wood."
Alex grimaced. “Yeah, with the log already on the ground, I should have known the splinters would be far more of a risk than if I were punching an upright target.”
“Still, if you’re ever in a life and death struggle with an enemy cultivator, that technique might just save your life.” Master Liu shrugged. “You never know.”
Alex swallowed, lowering his gaze, suddenly recalling what all this training was really for. Not just to impress his master and the girl he felt increasingly close to.
He was training in the arts of death to better survive the twin arenas of cultivation and war. And though he hated the thought of fatally dueling a fellow cultivator for earthly treasures, he knew he wasn’t increasing his strength just so he could one day spar with academy students for rank. He was learning the skills he needed so that he never need fear monsters like Lai Wei ever again. Monsters who would happily take everything Alex had worked so hard to earn with a contemptuous laugh, and a fatal wound if he dared resist.
He would fight to keep what was his, most especially his life and liberty, and he would stop at nothing in pursuit of his goal. To become the strongest cultivator he could possibly be. Becaus
e like it or not, only true strength could buy one freedom in this world, and he was determined to live the life of a free man in every sense of the word. He would hold his head high before all who would dare to look down on him.
Almost as if he could sense what Alex was thinking, Liu Jian flashed an approving grin. “It’s always good to see a committed student. Come. There’s another lesson I would show you. It’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to learn it properly before Silver, let alone Bronze, but there’s no reason not to teach you the basics.”
Alex's eyes widened as with a couple whispered syllables, the battered mannequins reformed before his eyes. It was almost as if time's clock was spinning in reverse, the wooden splinters forming a whole trunk once more, lifting itself up, damaged armor and bent bronze reforming back to true. Alex whistled in amazement. He almost thought he could taste the unique weave of elemental Qi flowing through the ether before shaking the odd thought away.
“Impressive, Master.”
Liu Jian grinned. “Reminding artifacts of their original state is something most cultivators with affinities for Earth and Metal can accomplish. Wood and Water are needed if the target is actually still living. Interestingly enough, there are spells to repair clothing or inanimate wooden objects using either Earth or Wood.”
Alex nodded. It made sense. Whether technology or evolution, many creatures and tools accomplished the same tasks in different ways. Why should it be any different with Elemental Qi?
He then blinked as his mentor took off the bronze breastplate upon the nearest wooden mannequin, revealing the thick padding underneath. He then struck the target with a sequence of blows using fingertips, second knuckles, or the ridge of his hand.
“Do you see the common thread to these blows, Alex?”
Alex nodded. “All of them use minimal surface area, all of them can be deadly if striking the jugular or carotid artery, among other locations.” He smirked. “And if you’re not trained and don’t know what you’re doing, you might break your own fingers with some of those blows.”
His mentor grinned. “And you’ll learn them all. Note the Spear Hand. Note how I strike with it.”
Alex peered closely at his mentor's fingers, nodding as it clicked. His Spear Hand blows were not executed with his fingers perfectly aligned to the angle of the blow. Rather, the fingers were slightly cupped, so the impact would deliver resistance only in the direction fingers were designed to deliver force to; clenching, not extending. Very similar to how he might do pushups on his fingertips.
After a few more demonstrations, his master turned to Alex. “Your turn,” he said, and Alex couldn’t help but think his mentor enjoyed Alex’s wince as he tried to get the hang of Spear Hand without jamming his knuckles.
"Slowly, at first. Feel the flow of force as you strike the padding. You want your fingers slightly angled and your palm cupped so your fingers can express their true strength.”
Alex nodded, finding Knife Hand, Ridge Hand, and Tiger Claw to be far easier to master against his padded target than Spear Hand. So of course he practiced the latter until his fingers were more than sore, his master snorting and applying liniment after their second training session that day.
He gazed critically at Alex's fingers. "It's good you push yourself, Alex. Just remember, there is a time and place for every technique."
Alex nodded. “Exposed eyes or throat. Otherwise, use my fists, knees, elbows, and shins.”
His master said nothing, merely gazing intently at the target they had been practicing on all afternoon.
Alex’s eyes widened as his master whispered soft words under his breath and ephemeral green scales suddenly coated the dummy’s padding.
Liu Jian flashed a cold smile. “And now the purpose of all that training. Try to punch through that Earthen Shield, Alex. It’s a technique used by Bronze cultivators with an Affinity to Earth. Other elements have similar shields, though Earth and Metal are strongest, followed by Wood. Fire is the least protective, but you risk being burned before you even close, any flesh that actually touches the fiery disk burning off.”
Alex winced. “I’m glad we’re starting with Earth.”
His mentor’s gaze hardened. “Punch the target, Alex.”
And he did, grunting at the dull throb, the Earthen Shield as hard as stone.
He glared at the target.
Adderstrike! Adderstrike! Adderstrike!
His fists slammed against the resilient ward.
They were powerful blows, enhanced by his Qi.
Yet only his third blow managed to collapse the shield.
Alex winced. It had burned a total of 3 Qi points, and he would have been vulnerable for a handful of seconds, but he was proud of himself for flowing so readily from one blow to another without needing rest, having alternated hands. And in the end, he did break through.
He bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Master. It’s obvious to me that I still need to strengthen my technique.
But his mentor was looking at him strangely. “Alex?”
“Yes, Master Liu?”
“You shouldn’t have been able to break through.”
Alex blinked, not knowing what to say.
His master chuckled softly. “Impressive lad, but that’s not the point of the lesson.” His bemused gaze hardened. “And against those powerful opponents most likely to kill you, you won't be able to burst their Earthen Shield. And even if you did, the Qi you expend will be far more than they invested in setting up their wards. What do you do then?"
Alex grinned.
Bullrush!
"Run away," he said from a distance of 25 feet.
His mentor’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s one option. But what if it’s your family in peril?”
Alex’s gaze hardened, his own smile gone. “Then I fight to the bitter end.”
His mentor nodded, the Earthen Shield erected once more.
“So, learn how to fight, to assure your enemy’s end is far more bitter than your own.”
With that, his Spear Hand flashed through the Qi defense as if it wasn’t even there, smacking against the target’s padded jugular with what would have been a lethal blow.
Alex’s eyes widened, a curious tingle of awe coursing through him.
His master’s blow had slid through his foe’s defenses as easily as Alex could punch through water.
Liu Jian flashed a cold smile. “This is the purpose behind your Spear Hand training, Alex. So your blow is almost as narrow as a blade, and can slip right through your foe’s Qi defense, assuming you can master the technique.”
Alex swallowed. “I really want to learn that technique!”
Liu Jian nodded. “And I aim to teach you. The first step, Alex, is envisioning all of Qi as a sea. Even your foe’s defenses. You don’t try to pound through iron, you try to slip through the waves, a blow unworthy of notice...”
And for the next three days, while Liu Li cultivated with the help of Alex’s elixir, desperately trying to repair her meridians, Alex spent every morning diligently trying to comprehend his master’s lessons.
They did not come easy, he found, every time he looked up from his aching hand to his mentor’s disapproving glare.
“Focus on the flow of Qi, Alex.”
“But, master. I’m not even...”
“I’m not interested in excuses, Alex. I’m interested in results.”
And his stance was the same when an exhausted Alex would retire for the afternoon in his ring. But not to relax or meditate. Rather, it was all to craft yet more elixirs. For as frustrating as morning lessons were, Liu Jian had nothing but the steepest expectations for his alchemical workings as well. So impressed he had been by Alex's Unorthodox Shadow Meridian Rejuvenation Elixir that he had demanded Alex make rejuvenation elixirs for every elemental combination under the sun!
Fortunately, his master only acknowledged the five basic elements plus Shadow, and allowed Alex to witness his own manufacture of every elixir he create
d. But save for Liu Li's specialized pills, Master Liu didn't bother making any of the combinations he expected from Alex. His purification, cycling, and meridian rejuvenation pills that he had allowed Alex to witness involved only single elements. The only other rejuvenation pill he bothered demonstrating was a basic generalized version that nurtured Qi as a whole, and actually seemed the simplest to make.
Alex frowned at the herculean task, but thought about it logically. Master Liu already had all the ingredients Alex needed, and with a single night's intense focus upon his ring, all of them were now growing in plentiful supply within Alex’s mystical glade, for all that his Dark Qi reserves had taken another hit. Liu Jian had even nodded gamely when Alex asked if he had any Manuals detailing the manufacture of various elemental combinations, though his smile made it clear how much he thought the tomes would actually help him, Alex never having benefited from any years-long apprenticeships which probably helped with deciphering the complex tomes.
Yet as complex as the tomes he had borrowed were, he found the specific formulae easy enough to comprehend when he deciphered the odd sigils indicating how much of a given source of Qi was demanded, where, and when.
True, he had needed a fair amount of experimentation, having wasted more than a few batches. But thanks to his ability to accurately sense exactly how much Qi he was using, at least inside the ring, he soon found following the specific formulae within the tome to be as simple as following his mother's favorite cooking recipes, some thousand years before.
Thanks to his ability to effortlessly separate the strands of Qi from the disk of spinning Qi he had stored within his ring as opposed to using it for his own personal growth, once he got the hang of the basic formulae within the tomes, it was easy to extrapolate the changes he would need to make for versions for cultivators with multiple elemental affinities. Though it took many days of trial and error, he eventually found the potions far easier to create than elixirs involving Shadow, the one element he could only appreciate peripherally.
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Reborn: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 1 Page 37
