For her, he had deliberately altered his intended path, in the end risking his very life to save her from a trap that destroyed the lives of he could only guess how many girls, in this world and in the one he had once called home. And he didn’t regret his decisions, for all that he was now effectively a slave who would be forced to fight in death matches, locked in the meanest of cells.
From what he could gather, there was no other way a Ruidian would even be permitted to enter this sacred temple. So in that sense, he was right where he needed to be.
So long as he survived what was to come.
And right now, that meant avoiding doing anything that might make him look suspicious or vulnerable, at least until he knew exactly what to expect and where he stood.
So after successfully healing himself by channeling the potency locked within a single beast core via Eternal Fox body cultivation, he simply sat there in quiet repose while meditating upon his Dual Path cultivation technique so subtly that anyone casually glancing in the barred door slot would only see him sitting quietly, exactly where he was expected to be.
But he hadn’t dared process a second core, or jump into his ring while here in this cell, never knowing if and when someone would show up to examine him, treat him, or worse.
But no one had come to treat his wounds during the night.
And then night turned to day once more.
No one had bothered to check up on him at all.
And still he cultivated, infusing his body with a constant stream of life-affirming Qi as he slowly chipped away at his monumental blockage, knowing he could only supplant the need for sleep for a limited time, no matter how much he cultivated. So around midnight that second night, he embraced his Eternal Fox restoration techniques instead, clearing away what in another place and time he would have called the neurotoxins slowly building up from lack of sleep. But even that couldn’t completely wash away his fatigue.
But what jolted him out of the stupor he had almost fallen into was the abrupt sound of the door handle turning, the door slowly creaking open… and nothing.
No concerned-looking healer entered the spartan chambers. No contemptuously sneering cultivator came in to mock or harass him.
Dead silence greeted Alex as he gazed down the empty corridor.
Qi Perception activated!
He took a deep breath, focusing himself, doing his best to feel the emanations of Qi, the ripples and flows upon the seas of life they all swam upon. Yet he sensed nothing but the faintest emissions of what could only be a pair of slaves lacking any cultivation base whatsoever.
Of cultivators, he sensed not a trace.
Alex grimaced. Not daring to move.
Why would anyone bother to free him? And without a word being said.
He already knew from the few cultivators he had met that they held him in the lowest regard. He was an awkward, unwanted inconvenience, and for all he knew, they didn’t want him sullying the arena either.
But if said awkward embarrassment were to somehow end up dead thanks to his own folly, say, by getting killed in his desperate attempt to escape… that could be the perfect end to what some might consider a vexing problem.
Alex did nothing but lie down and feign sleep, his body a coiled spring ready for anything, in neither state of mind or position to do any cultivating, save that which he and his friends had trained themselves to do in any circumstances, knowing the steady surge of renewed stamina and repair of injuries could save their lives during any pause in a fight.
And when his door was abruptly slammed shut at first light with the softest of curses, he didn’t even smile, merely feigned sleep, might have actually drifted to sleep, before being jolted back into the moment, when an abrupt knock ended with someone asking only if he was alive.
Alex couldn’t help flashing a cheery grin that made the bareheaded man blanch when he unlocked the door.
Zhao Doushi’s stoic features were composed by the time the door was open and the sleek, muscled cultivator who had radiated such deadly Water Element potency when facing off against Hao Zei was now peering curiously at him, brows furrowed.
“You seem to be in remarkably good health, for someone who didn’t look like they would make it through the night, just two days ago. I can tell you’ve received some sort of healing, but no one bothered to claim credit for treating what they see as the lowest of the low, for all that the point tally would have been generous.” He passed a flask of tepid water as he said this, and Alex didn’t hesitate to drink deep, his interface making it clear it was nothing but mineral laden water.
The man had brought no food, however. Not that Alex needed it.
But the water was welcome.
Alex bowed his head after drinking his fill, just as would anyone without a storage ring who had been without fluid for a day and a half. “This one was fortunate to have earned a boon from his former master who appreciated him far more than the merchant rescued from spirit beasts. That boon included an elixir of healing.”
Alex saw the way the man’s eyes widened, holding back a frown. Alex could just imagine what the man was thinking, unable to believe that any employer, no matter how generous, would be foolish enough to waste an elixir on someone like him. A potion that could sell for several gold at least, which was more than the value of a masterwork blade, and almost the value of a full set of custom-fitted steel armor.
Alex smiled. “The initiates and disciples of Dragon Academy are no doubt very busy with far greater concerns than myself. This one is grateful to have caused no one undue trouble.”
The man flashed a bleak smile. “Oh, you have caused trouble a plenty, Ruidian who wears the collar of a slave.” His gaze hardened. “Now stand up and strip, placing all your possessions before me.”
Alex blinked, hesitating for only a second before forcing himself to nod. He didn’t panic, understanding at once the reason for it.
Hard eyes locked onto his own, giving Alex’s body just the briefest of glances. “Turn around. Good.” He then gave Alex’s old attire an abrupt shake before passing him a well-worn changshan shirt of linen and a pair of loose slacks tied at the waist with a bit of hemp rope. “Don these.”
Alex immediately did so, before being shuffled to a corner of the room while the cultivator did a quick examination of the chamber before giving a satisfied nod.
He turned to face Alex, now sitting quietly in a corner as per the man’s instructions.
“Good. Now there can be no question that you possess nothing of worth. The cell is empty, and I have seized the very clothes you were wearing.” He flashed the iciest of smiles. “I already claimed the cheap pack you were using, and I can verify that it is no storage treasure. It is as mundane as a pack could possibly be.”
Alex said nothing, merely waited for an explanation, if one was coming.
The man snorted. “Are you not even curious as to why I forced you to strip and am claiming every item you brought into this cell?”
Alex shrugged. “This one realizes he is now in no position to make requests, save the boon promised to all slaves forced to participate in the matches to come.”
Zhao Doushi’s eyes narrowed slightly at that. “So you remember. Good. And injuries that I know you bore are now miraculously healed. Whoever your master was who gave you that mystery potion, he was at least Gold, and I will not ask who, since the very idea of any Gold condescending to allow a Ruidian to serve him is beyond absurd. So we will say nothing more on that.
“What I will say is there is a certain man, or abomination now wearing the face of a man, who is absolutely certain you stole his greatest prize.”
Alex carefully schooled his features. “How is that even possible?”
The man smirked. “We argued the same thing, myself and two fellow wardens. The aggrieved party in question had the sense not to attempt forcing himself on academy grounds, but that’s as far as his self-control went. His fancy carriage was smashed to kindling. With his bare hands.”
<
br /> Alex blinked at that. “That seems… excessive.”
The cultivator’s icy smile grew. “He didn’t stop there. While carefully obeying the letter of the accord, he skirted its edges quite viciously, forcing us to witness him dismembering his own horses. Tearing off their limbs, one by one.”
Alex blanched, feeling genuine horror at the image of Hao Zei tearing the head off his own horse in a fit of blind rage. Horrified to think that man might actually be strong enough to do it. The ease with which he had spun Alex around and tossed him over the gate like a stick still shook him.
The man was at least a Silver body cultivator, and inhumanly strong.
Alex lowered his gaze, humbled once more by the incredible chasm of power between mortals and cultivators possessing true strength. And even as a sixth-ranked basic cultivator, no matter that most mortals were now no match for him, Alex had been absolutely destroyed by the lowest of Silvers the second he had been able to grab ahold of him.
So much of what he had survived so far had only been because of surprise, initiative, poison, and luck.
And yesterday his luck had abruptly run out.
At least in that one instance. And that alone had nearly killed him. Would have killed him, if the man hadn’t thought to use him as collateral at the last second.
And if he had known at the time that Alex had robbed him utterly blind… Alex shuddered.
Zhao Doushi sighed, entering the room and closing the door. He closed his eyes, placing his hands upon the door, muttering a few soft words.
Alex’s eyes widened, sensing the flow of Qi, seeing a thin film of water coat the door.
Qi Perception skill check made. You sense Sound Ward. Comprehension is now at 40%. Unorthodox use of standard affinities. You have achieved 20% comprehension of a Water element-based variant. You are presently unable to cast this ward.
Then he turned around, locking gazes with an increasingly-nervous Alex.
“If you compete in the trials, you will, in all likelihood, perish. You know this, yes?”
Alex shrugged. “What choice do I have?”
“None,” the man said. “Which is why I find the whole situation so curious.” His nod was almost one of respect. “You are no fool. There is no way you could be and still get the best of Lady Laobao and the merchant willing to traffic children who had seen him as family. But one could argue you were a fool, when you risked your very life thwarting two Silver-ranked cultivators for the sake of a girl just beginning her path. But then again, young men are often fools when they follow their hearts, are they not?”
Alex flushed, lowering his gaze. He shivered, the room suddenly going deathly cold.
“And we are not such fools as to seek trouble on our own doorstep, boy.”
Alex blinked. “I’m sorry, sir?”
The man sighed, giving an angry shake of his head. “An infernal merchant gets bested at his own game, a madam has her virgin prize shucked from her, a girl is miraculously freed from chains of poppy and contracts of blood before they could clamp down upon her soul. By who? A clever Ruidian boy and a kitsune girl who so subtly stepped up when you fell that few would even realize how well you two worked together.”
Alex blinked at that, realizing that absolutely nothing that had happened had been hidden from this sentinel. And how foolish it had been to think for even a moment that Dragon Academy wouldn’t be able to pierce any ward, even a sound ward, placed anywhere near their property.
“I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand, master.” Of course he had a sense of Hao Yin, having taken her under his wing as well as her cousin, but he had never thought of them as actually working together, as much as he had admired how smoothly she had stepped in when he had been too injured to say a word.
The man snorted. “We are not all fools, boy. Some of us have studied this temple’s history quite thoroughly. All the better to protect it, as its wardens. And you may call me Master Zhao. In deference to my skill and rank alone. I do not claim any ties of ownership to you. You are the school’s burden, not my own.”
Alex swallowed. “I still don’t quite understand what you mean, Master Zhao.”
The man frowned, gazing thoughtfully out of Alex’s barred window. Faint shouts and cries from outside it could now be heard. “Interestingly enough, this cell, like most of those afforded to slaves forced to endure the trials, has an excellent view of the fights to come. Some declared it an act of munificence and grace by a former Academy master, who wanted to give the slaves the benefit of observing the matches to come, to study the tactics of their betters, giving them that much more of a fighting chance. Not that it would do them that much good against even basic cultivators, but the gesture was made.”
Alex turned to gaze out the window as well, surprised to see it really did give an excellent view of the arena, for all that it was only a few inches above the ground and, Alex surmised, the seating was built just above it. Still, it gave a surprisingly good view of a pair of basic cultivators sparring.
“But I suspect the real reason why prisoners doomed to die have such excellent views is to unnerve them with the weight of their own impending doom. To fill their souls with such terror that upon their death they don’t even think of lingering to haunt this academy or this realm, but instead flee immediately for the River of Souls.”
Alex nodded. “Still, it doesn’t seem tactically wise. What if your prisoner’s a cultivator learning his enemy’s tactics?”
Zhao Doushi chuckled at that. “Impossible, boy. No cultivator can ever be made to wear the collar.” His gaze hardened once more. “It is death for any slaver to even dare!”
Alex blinked, carefully schooling his features. There was no way Zhao Doushi, with his piercing gaze and understanding of the dark players daring to truck before his gates could be that naive. But he seemed serious. And the last thing Alex wanted to do was push the man in a profitless direction.
“What kind of opponents will I be facing?” Alex forced a bitter smile. “I guess what I’m asking is, how guaranteed is my death?”
The man gazed thoughtfully at Alex. “You will be fighting basic cultivators with only a few gateways cleared, of course. Those who are so new to their calling that it’s uncertain whether they truly have any talent at all. Those it would be dangerous to have challenge other aspirants far closer to achieving Bronze, rare as even those cultivators are, outside of this school.” He flashed a cold smile. “Obviously, any aspirant unable to best a talentless slave has no business at the academy, no matter how many gates they have opened. And should you survive your first handful of challenges? Then it gets interesting.”
His gaze hardened. “You would then be considered a challenge. An enigma. The sort of talented soldier surviving by savvy and knowledge where most would fall. A worthy challenge for any cultivator who might never ascend to Bronze, which less than one in a hundred basic cultivators can even accomplish, but may well serve honorably and well in the legions. For those future cultivators, learning to best opponents of that caliber would be a worthy use of any slave.”
Alex swallowed. “By best… you mean kill.”
The cultivator shrugged. “Possible. Even likely. And should you actually manage to survive bouts at that rank, then, of course, you will face the Ogre.”
Alex blinked, chilled by the man’s dark chuckle. “Your final opponent would be a Bronze body cultivator who will put on a display for the crowd, demonstrating that, ultimately, no matter how clever or crafty a foe, strength, in the end, is everything.”
Alex paled under the intensity of the man’s glare. “So the prize for survival is no more real than a dream. The school makes sure all the slaves die in the end. Why are you telling me all this?”
Zhao Doushi just held his gaze. “The kitsune is now under the care of Lady Jidihu who mentors the very few of her kind who enter this school. Her life will be the envy of most, able to cultivate in peace under a kind master who will teach her all she is able to learn. And in but
a single day under the Academy’s roof, her younger brother’s ability to calm a frantic horse has already caught the attention of the stablemaster. As for the girl you worked so hard to save… her honor is intact. No shame has been brought upon her from the pair who sought to claim her. She is practicing her techniques in seclusion even now.”
Alex swallowed. “This one thanks you for the information, Master Zhao.”
The man nodded. “Good. Then when next the door opens, you can leave, knowing your friends have the opportunity to reach for greatness within our halls. The path is open to them.” He paused thoughtfully. “I suspect, should you not wish to throw your life away in deadly martial contests… the way will be open to you as well.”
Alex blinked at this, but before he could formulate a single reply, the cultivator had already left the cell.
That night he was jolted out of exhausted slumber he could no longer hold back when the door was quickly opened once more with a single knock… the perpetrator quickly leaving the area, Alex’s Qi Perception making it clear that he was alone once more.
Alex frowned. He thought he understood what Zhao Doushi had been hinting, but had no way of knowing if it was a trap for the school to get rid of an inconvenient Ruidian. For all that he had done his best to save several lives, the memory of a smirking judge and the corrupt Officer Wan who had been all too happy to arrange for his death to claim full credit for Alex’s miraculous feat of sinking a raiding vessel intent on poisoning all of Yidushi was still fresh in his mind, for all that it had happened over a thousand years ago. That bitter memory alone was more than enough to make him hesitate. For in this world of incredible wonder and potential, he had suffered at the hands of treacherous opportunists, slavers, and cultists. It was a world where, no matter how noble your aspirations, if you didn’t have strength of one sort or another, you had nothing at all.
And whether or not the Academy staff actually intended his death, it didn’t matter. There was a Silver-ranked infernalist out there who had been robbed of nearly everything before Alex truly understood just how deadly the man was, a man happy to smash his own wagon to kindling and strong enough to rip the heads off multiple horses before the gate of this school in a fit of infernal rage.
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Reforged: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 2 Page 39
