For just a heartbeat, he had felt more than his own power behind that blow, and he already knew what his strategy would be.
But his opponent instantly slithered free of Alex’s grab. “Fool! Your oil means you’re no better at grappling than I! So be it. Blows alone will decide this match. With my fists alone, I will crack open your skull!”
Alex smiled as his foe bobbed and weaved forward, lashing out with blows that cost Alex a price in pain to counter, but counter he did. Circular blocks and winding parries that assured his foe many bruises upon his target’s limbs, but no blow that hit full force.
An increasingly frustrated Wu snarled and roared, charging straight for Alex, powerful arms gripping Alex only for long enough to drive his knee into Alex’s abdomen, and even a glancing blow quickly sliding off was enough to send Alex crashing to the ground.
Two ribs cracked. Save versus Stunning Blow made! Power Healing accessed!
Wheezing in air as he refused to let pain stun him, rolling before powerful feet could crack his skull as easily as the cavern floor, smiling through his shock and pain.
Because in that instant it all clicked.
Finally sensing the flow of Light Qi around him, and it was those currents as much as his arm, bruises already healing, that parried his foe’s next blow, and Wu’s next, before Alex lashed out with another shin kick, this time hitting with more than his own strength. Far more.
For Alex had found his center and had begun to tap into the storm all around him. The howling storm of Dark and Light Qi whirling around them all.
Xiao Shen paled, eyes widening from the other side of the barrier. “No. Impossible. No one can use White Crane down here. Dark is ascendant, and darkness alone shall rule!”
Had Alex allowed himself even a moment’s distraction, he would have wondered how his enemy could possibly know what he knew. But focus was the one tool he refused to surrender, having found his center at last, embracing the howling storm all around, answering blow for blow with the mountain of Bronze before him, avoiding lethal overhand blows, redirecting hooking punches, blocking quick, darting jabs, and always answering in kind. Not with his fists, but with his shins, in that moment adapting the style of combat his precious Hao Chan favored.
Arms for defense, and legs for the most lethal of assaults.
His crescent kick made his enemy flinch.
His reverse roundhouse sent the man stumbling back.
But it was his repeated shin strikes just above his opponent’s knees that served as the heart of his attack.
Furious spinning heel kicks that would shatter a mortal’s skull, or even a Basic cultivator’s skull, were attacks he used sparingly against his snarling foe, knowing his opponent was already factoring in Alex’s deadly potential as he felt ever more of the whirlwind flowing through him.
A snarling Wu, cold black eyes promising an excruciating death even as he stumbled forward, was just waiting for Alex to over-commit even once...
But he never did.
Even as his enemy grew more flustered, angrier, bolder in his barrage of straight jabs, hooking blows, and knee bombs, Xiao Shen roaring for Alex’s death just feet away, Alex refused to dance to Wu’s tune. He continued to deflect the worst of his enemy’s strikes, allowing his body to absorb the rest. Ugly bruises from glancing blows rapidly healed before his enemy’s eyes even as Alex’s angle kicks continued to blast into his opponent’s thighs, just over the knees.
For he knew that over time, even a mountain could be ground to dust.
As howling windstorms turned to furious typhoons, as Air and Water synergized into the deadliest of storms, even here in the depths of the underworld, the mountain was slowly worn down.
And when Alex, in a sudden epiphany, dared to sheath his fists, feet, and shins in ebony midnight Qi, a direct contrast to the storm of Light he was now tapping into as well as he ever had in the world above, his focus did not falter.
It only grew stronger.
Strong like the ever-growing storm of midnight and brilliant white Qi all around him he hoped one day to weave into the perfect meridian configuration, his blows growing so lethal, so deadly, even Wu began to flinch and pale.
“No! You should be growing weaker, you naked Ruidian worm, you should be quaking before me! I had you beaten and you know it. You were cowed and shaking. I could taste your fear!” Wu roared, charging forward once more, only to gasp, eyes widening as he faltered, muscles as strong as corded steel at last giving way under hundreds, perhaps thousands, of repeated blows.
Congratulations! White Crane Kung Fu is now Rank 7!
You feel the storm of natural Qi all around you!
White Crane Kung Fu may now be used even in the Underworld! The force and fury of the howling storm is now your own!
Silver Swan Kung Fu is now fully synergized with White Crane!
Silver Swan Kung Fu is now Rank 6.
You may now access the force and fury of the sea with all your strikes! Reduced risk of peripheral meridian damage with all Silver Swan power attacks!
Dual Paths Cultivation has fused with your understanding of White Crane and Dark Qi Projection! Dual Paths Cultivation has fused with your understanding of Silver Swan and Dark Qi Projection! You may now sheathe White Crane and Silver Swan attacks with Dark Qi!
Strike at will!
Alex didn’t lunge in to finish off the mountain before him.
He wasn’t so stupid as to take that bait.
What he had seen was enough.
He had sensed his opponent falter, his lead leg finally beginning to give. Alex knew it, and Wu knew that he knew it.
Feet, fists, and shins cloaked in midnight armor, he flashed his snarling, pale-faced nemesis the coldest of smiles and began striking his opponent’s crumbling foundation faster and harder than ever.
Soul Sight skill check made! You have finally cracked the mountain. You begin to sense the carefully hidden flow of Qi through your enemy!
And when Alex’s next shin kick hammered into his foe’s bruised and battered thigh, he couldn’t help smiling at Wu’s agonized gasp, already weaving aside when the man roared and stumbled forward, now leading with his alternate leg, flashing a single fierce smile. “It brought you nothing but time, fool!” Wu roared. “I know you’re weakening! Broken and depleted! It’s only a matter of time before you collapse, and then I will tear you in half!”
But Wu’s desperate prediction proved utterly false.
Alex hadn’t weakened.
He had only grown stronger.
And every time Alex’s opposing shin hammered into his foe’s alternate leg, the blow echoed like a maul slamming meat, Alex’s deadly blows striking with far more than 25 Strength, Dark Qi armor piercing any wards, so the full power of his onslaught hammered into the flesh underneath.
And even with Soul Sight in effect, allowing him to better predict and counter his enemy’s attacks, Alex found no weaknesses, save the one he already knew was there.
Even the strongest mountain could be ground to sand before the fury of the storm.
All it took was time.
And the howling roar it seemed Alex alone could hear reached its peak when Wu stumbled forward, roaring in pain as much as fury as he put everything he had into one desperate final lunge, Alex knowing Wu had every intention of squeezing him tight, accepting any and every blow Alex could deliver, knowing he would endure at least long enough to suffocate Alex with his terrible strength.
For even a crumbling mountain could crush any force of invaders with the avalanches it would release with its destruction.
A futile, desperate move that earned Wu nothing but pain, Alex finally unleashing his penultimate attack, at last synergizing perfectly with the storm of Dark and Light Qi all around them.
Adderstrike! Adderstrike!
Shin strikes pounding into tortured flesh with such terrible power that even the mountain was forced to give way, Wu crying out as he crashed to his knees before collapsing prone to t
he ground, screaming as he clutched spasming legs as bones suffering dozens of hairline fractures at last broke completely apart.
Wu shrieked like a dying man, which he would soon be.
Alex gazed calmly at his enemy, ignoring the roaring imprecations, threats, and demands of Xiao Shen just beyond the ward, the man’s eyes bulging as he surrendered to fury and launched a vicious rain of steely javelins, pounding against the shimmering dome like rain.
And not a single one could pierce the ward safeguarding the temple.
A smiling and fully recovered Alex gazed down at his desperate, sobbing foe.
Wu, the mountain of a cultivator who had looked fit to wear a king’s crown with his imperious gaze just minutes ago, now implored Alex with desperate eyes. “Please don’t kill me, master. Please, I beg of you. Let me live!”
Wu swallowed, a panicked sheen of sweat covering his features. “I can pay the blood price. Please, let me pay the price!”
Alex’s gaze was almost sad. “Had you not made it so clear how little regard you have for me or my kind, had you not come charging in with a slave collar in your hands, had you not surrendered your soul to darkness? I might just give you that second chance. But as it stands...”
“Please, master!” the now desperate man sobbed. “It can’t end here. My life, my search for perfection, all I wanted was to ascend. To better myself. I...”
“Was a victim of a bastard manipulator named Bingwen who played you all like a master puppeteer, forcing you to destroy your cultivation bases or corrupt your souls. Yeah. I get it. But even so, it was your choice to perform whatever dark rites allowed you to prosper down here when all your brethren with gentler hearts wage futile battles against corruption of their cultivation bases just being in proximity above. But at least their karma is pure. How pure is your karma, Wu? How many hapless victims have you helped sacrifice? How many witless adventurers who actually trusted your temple to treat them fairly in return for risking the dungeons have you killed or enslaved?”
Even in his agony, Wu flinched at Alex’s words, turning away with a sob, unable to meet Alex’s gaze. Then he screamed as fresh spasms overwhelmed his body, tortured muscles and shattered bones tormenting him unmercifully.
“That’s what I thought,” Alex said. “Still, I can offer solace of a sort. If you will surrender your treasures, the tomes I know you keep in your storage device, I will offer you a potion that will ease your agony and provide you with sweetest relief.”
“Really?” Wu asked, eyes alight with panicked desperation, grasping at what he could only hope was being implied.
“You will do no such thing, Wu!” Xiao Shen roared. “You will free my man and surrender immediately, Ruidian, or you will die a slow death of dehydration behind that barrier, knowing you never dare leave, knowing I will be watching you every moment of every day until you have breathed your last!”
Alex didn’t even bother to respond, Wu paying Xiao no more mind than Alex was.
It was a shot in the dark, Alex had known, but it seemed the man really did have a storage artifact on him, just as he had hoped.
Alex flashed Wu a reassuring smile. “I will give you one your healer’s own tinctures, let you drink as much of it as you want, in return for your treasures. My Cultivator’s Oath upon it.”
Eyes alight with desperate hope, Wu quickly nodded his ascent. “Mine as well, mine as well! It’s my belt. My storage device is my belt! Here. It is yours. All the treasures within are open to you! Just please... the potion...”
Eyes tearing from agony pled into Alex’s own.
Alex nodded, striding over to the healer’s own storage pack, the sight of which made Xiao Shen hiss from beyond the barrier.
“Right in front of us. All this time, you kept Bolin’s gear here! This area was unwarded before you came. Any one of us, any shadow beast could have claimed it!”
Alex smirked at the furious-looking Xiao. “But you didn’t. You got played like the fools you are, and all your pawns are dead.”
Xiao’s features became absolutely expressionless.
Alex’s smile grew. “I think you already know what happens next.”
“He surrendered,” Xian hissed. “He’s in your power! You have already bested him!”
Alex paid no further attention to a gesticulating Xiao, walking over to a desperate-eyed Wu, tearing up from agony, pleading gaze locked upon the canteen in Alex’s hand. “Here. Tincture of laudanum. This is far sturdier than the vial it had originally been in.” Alex’s gentle smile hardened. “The belt. Now.”
A struggling Wu quickly threw Alex his belt.
Artifice perception check made!
Just looking at the treasure, Alex could sense the odd weaving of Qi he had seen in other storage devices, including the backpack, and he sensed no crimson or tainted black cords that would imply a trap or curse. But still... he imagined himself a vacuum ready to suck any violent Qi down, much as he once had when dealing with the slave collars, in game terms doing his best to boost or at least have ready his Qi Absorption.
But when he dared to access the belt, he sensed nothing but welcome.
And a small but respectable fortune in gold and Shadow-tainted beast cores, and three spirit pearls as well.
He also sensed fine silken clothing, a pile of vellum letters, containers of aged rice wine and, of greatest significance to Alex, not one but three cultivation manuals.
One was Bronze, the other two Silver.
Alex swallowed, filled with a fierce sense of hope and vindication.
Considering how potent his foe had been, he was certain even the Bronze work was of considerable quality. Only time would tell if it would be of use to him.
Alex bowed his head. “You have more than held up your end of the bargain.”
“Does this mean you will allow me to live?”
Alex smiled. In answer he pulled out a flask of the aged rice wine. “Come, drink your laudanum and we will celebrate our agreement with a bit of sake, once you have relaxed enough to enjoy it.”
Wu’s eyes lit with fervent hope. He rapidly swallowed down the laudanum.
“You have to relax your natural and enchanted resilience if you want it to have any effect,” Alex cautioned.
Wu’s eyes widened. He nodded and his pain-filled grimace slowly began to ease, transforming to a look of wonder, savoring the sudden relief of pain followed by sweetest euphoria and the delicious languor it promised.
“How are you feeling?” Alex asked gently.
Wu’s rugged features were almost handsome when he flashed a dreamy smile. “Better than I have since I first embraced this damn dark curse.”
Alex nodded. “A shame about that. But enough on what we can’t change. Let’s instead celebrate a moment of peace in our stormy lives.”
At that he deftly slipped the man the nearly full bottle of finest rice wine after pouring a far more humble portion into one of the tin cups in the healer’s pack for himself.
Wu’s dreamy smile grew as he drank deep. “Fine, fine stuff. My Yen has excellent taste.”
Alex’s return smile was sad. “Indeed she does. Drink deep, my friend, and get some rest.”
Wu blinked back what Alex was almost certain was a tear of gratitude. “Thank you,” he said.
Alex nodded, having no doubt the man would at least fall into a doze, having drunk enough concentrated opium extract and alcohol that any normal human would have shortly died thereafter once breathing crashed to nothing, opioids and alcohol being a toxic combination that had once killed tens of thousands every year in a place and time long gone for him.
But for a Bronze cultivator, even one who had purposely let down his guard...
Soft snores made it clear Wu suffered no worse than catatonic stupor, lost in the final sweet dreams of his life.
Alex turned to catch Xiao Shen’s gaze. “His pain has ended. I have kept my word.”
Xiao clenched his teeth. “If you think sparing him alone will spare you my
—”
Strength check made! You have successfully picked up and thrown 300 pounds of organic material! You have successfully struck Inviolate Barrier!
Organic material has been sublimated!
Ice blue eyes gazed into shocked orbs of black as Wu’s corpse rapidly burst in crackling electricity and flame.
“How dare you! You Ruidian monster! He had surrendered himself to you utterly! And you killed him!”
Alex nodded. “I did.” He flashed a cold smile. “Even now I can feel the power and potency of his soul coursing through my own.” His smile grew as Xiao Shen’s look became one of horror. “I’ve killed all your men, and claimed the power of their souls like ripe fruit plucked from a tree.”
“Monstrous! Diabolical!” Xiao Shen roared. “You are a living blasphemy to the gods! Even Hellions wouldn’t countenance one of your kind daring to claim one of the true people!”
Alex shrugged. “Good thing I don’t truck with Hellions, then.”
Xiao’s eyes bulged with outraged fury. His fists clenched, and the cavern floor behind him exploded as a dozen stone spikes burst forth, spearing the air. “Eventually you will be forced to lower your ward, worm, and when you do, I will impale you with stone and steel before tearing your heart out!”
Alex just stared at the man, his mind superimposing the images of the shattered Ruidian slaves this monster had been responsible for butchering.
“You know you’re next on my list, right?”
Xiao blanched and lurched back, before collecting himself and cursing Alex until he was blue in the face.
Alex smirked. Headed back to his storage pack, pulling out an especially ripe-looking spirit apple and took a big juicy bite, shivering with pleasure. “Bolin did a wonderful job preparing all your rations. I couldn’t have asked for a better cook! Be sure to give him my thanks, once you hit the River of Souls.”
He then paid no more attention to Xiao Shen, not with his eyes, nor his Qi Perception. Which reminded him of a certain dark curse, somehow linked to him, thanks to that bastard and his ritual, and Alex couldn’t help but wonder if there was something he could do about that while forcing himself to meditate upon his damaged peripheral meridians, forcing himself to endure once more the agonizing trial of healing them, only now under the baleful gaze of a man who absolutely wanted him dead.
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior's Oath: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 4 Page 41
