“Nili?”

  “Yes, Alex?”

  “What were we talking about before I had my dizzy spell?”

  This earned a snort. “Clearly nothing worth mentioning, if you can’t even remember it, don’t you think?”

  Alex shrugged. “Fair. Oh, I think I see the palace!”

  Alex gazed with unabashed wonder at the magnificent display of ostentatious wealth, particularly for this day and age, gazing upon a grand marble edifice of minarets and towers complete with a massive copper covered dome shimmering even under the moonlight. A brilliant jewel of pristine refinement at the heart of a lush garden filled with countless desert blossoms opening their petals and filling the nighttime air with heavenly aromas that lifted Alex’s heart and filled him with an odd sense of peace and joy.

  Alex couldn’t help but chuckle with wonder at the sight of such lush greenery at the peak of the caldera ridge. “It’s so beautiful! And the way all these date palms were so carefully placed, along with the copperthorn vines between them, forms a natural canopy that should keep both the garden and the hedge maze in cool shade even in midday.” He froze, as Forest Sense and experience revealed other secrets as well.

  The origins for the cool mist he felt, the natural humidity in the air.

  There was an ice shard buried here. He was sure of it. And he didn’t need the garden’s anxious rustle to know that was one secret he must never reveal. For it was the farthest thing from the pristine core needed to rescue the falls upon which the entire city depended upon, and Alex could think of no better use for the shard then exactly what it was doing here and now, eternally preserving this lush, peaceful grove, as it no doubt had for centuries. He was sure he was imagining it when a sympathetic pat of the closest date palm eased the rustling forest, superhuman finesse making catching the sweetest dates anyone could ever hope to savor second nature.

  He couldn’t help chuckling though, now not feeling so bad about keeping close to his vest his own treasures, thinking fondly of the discretely hidden arborium he would soon be treating to the exact same boon. Speaking of which…

  He turned to the kitsune by his side, eyes crinkling in dreamy wonder, breathing deep of air redolent with the aroma of countless desert roses. The other evening guests were also making their leisurely way to the palace, and with the winding path they were on, though always in sight of the hard-eyed palace guards radiating a powerful Deep Bronze, for the moment it felt almost like they were in a private bubble with only their thoughts, and the lush greenery all around them.

  “Nili?”

  The kitsune turned to him, an unreadable look on her features.

  “Alex?”

  “I’d like to buy the warehouse, if possible. At the very least, I want to make sure that no one can tear it down or claim anything within. Not without my permission at least.”

  This earned a curious tilt of Nili’s head. “If you’re looking to invest in real estate, Alex, there are a number of highly profitable opportunities I could point you toward. But that particular warehouse…” She sighed, shaking her head. “I have every intention of tearing down. For any number of reasons.”

  “Please don’t.”

  She gave him a curious look. “Why ever not?”

  Alex lowered his lips to Nili’s ears. “Because it’s no longer what it seems.”

  “Alex?”

  He gazed around him, grinned, and turned back to Nili. “Let’s just say, we have a nice little arborium of our own.”

  Nili blinked. “You’ve hidden Mongoose’s remains with plants?”

  Alex shook his head. “No, Nili. The warehouse. The entire warehouse, is now a miniature grove.” He sighed. “And sort of my responsibility. It’s why I’m alive right now, I think, as much as any amount of luck or skill at my end. Mongoose was definitely a trump card, and came a lot closer to killing me than I really want to admit.”

  Nili gave him a long look. “Alex, we’re in the middle of a desert. And the warehouse is a long way from the lush valley in the heart of the caldera. And to be quite frank, Alex, we barely have enough water for the crops and our own thirsty throats. Our people are naturally frugal, and one can keep quite clean with a single pale of water and a wash rag, but proper baths are not a luxury that many of us can afford.”

  Alex gazed at his friend. “I’ll handle that element of things. All I need is the paperwork assuring that no smarmy-faced merchant can come knocking, declare the property and all the assets his, and think he’ll be permitted to cut down my trees without me cutting off his head. And you damn well better believe that his corpse will be feeding my grove.”

  Nili smirked. “That would be rather inconvenient if we’re trying to get you to blend in, dear one.” She flashed him a surprisingly fond smile, patting his hand. “But you devoting yourself to the care of a garden might be just the healthy sort of hobby a wild boy like you needs to settle down and relax. Enjoy peaceful days until you find your beloved and no doubt start a caravan, exploring all the wonders and beauties that the desert holds.”

  Alex smirked. “Next thing I know, you’ll be trying to set me up with some caravanner’s daughter.”

  Nili chuckled throatily. “I wouldn’t dream of it. But there are far worse things than feeling light and free, blowing in and out of countless welcoming cities with fortunes earned and revelries savored, dear one, with life’s troubles touching you as lightly as a desert breeze. Why grow roots if they can be torn away? Far better a happy leaf, eternally riding on currents blowing contentedly above us all.”

  Alex chuckled at that. “Certainly there are worse lives… and wait, I recognize that girl!” He said as they emerged from their peaceful stroll about the garden, now finding themselves falling in line with the other guests. He couldn’t help but smile with warmth when a certain dusky-skinned Ruidian girl spun around, her curls bobbing delightfully, done up in silk ribbons the same shade of pink as her flowery cheongsam, Alex noted, as she flashed him an excited smile.

  “You’re the Ruidian boy who helped me save the caravan!” squealed the excited girl, impulsively clasping his hand, gazing up into his eyes, and blushing most adorably.

  “Rachel, right?” Alex asked, earning a pleased nod in turn.

  “Oh, how sweet. I was hoping you would remember me! Lin, look who it is. Our hero!”

  Lin, the caravan merchant Alex and his companions had last seen after Sunlay had made certain he would receive a handsome profit for his wares, was all delighted smiles for Alex and Nili both. He too was dressed in what Alex suspected were his finest linens, though his simple cap and the emphasis on black and white hues was a contrast to the finery that most of the others were wearing.

  “Oh, how delightful to see the heroes of our journey! Are you here for commendations too? But of course you are! Fear not, I made sure to give a complete account of your marvelous rescue of our imperiled caravan. Without your noble intervention, along with dear Rachel and Timmon holding off those miscreants for as long as they had, I fear our bones would be bleaching in the desert sands, even now!”

  The man shivered with his own declaration.

  “Fortunately, we all survived the ordeal and are stronger for it,” Nili said, her soothing words and gentle smile visibly easing the high-strung merchant as Rachel continued to gaze around the garden they were still at the periphery of with awe.

  “Isn’t this beautiful, Alex? So like the gardens favored by our clans!”

  Alex couldn’t help smiling back at the bubbly, effervescent girl, reminding him so much of Linnea at that moment. “It certainly is beautiful, and few things are more soothing than a well tended to grove or garden.”

  “Exactly!” She said, impulsively clasping his hand and giving it a squeeze. “Isn’t this exciting? We’re going to get a commendation and then we’ll be given top tier delving privileges within the academy!” She frowned at Alex’s startled look. “But all things considered, I think they’d give almost anyone unlimited delving privileges but we won’t talk about that,” she said with a soft whisper and a wink, and Alex couldn’t help but grin, because at least she had thought to modulate her voice, insistently yanking his powerfully muscled arm to get on her tippy toes and whisper in his ear.

  “And Alex?”

  “Yes, Rachel?”

  “Have you grown taller?”

  Alex stood up straight once more and winked. “Maybe just a little.”

  Her eyes widened with awed delight. “You leveled-up!”

  “Pretty much, yeah. But it was only about an inch. Hardly the two Nili claims.”

  “Exactly two,” Nili sniped by his side, voice turning firm. “Now quiet, both of you. Try to look proper. We’re about to be invited inside.”

  And indeed it was so, a somewhat bored-looking guard waving a group of excited-seeming guests though the massive arching gates of the palace, and then they were walking along marbled floors polished to a glistening shine, the merchant and Rachel both gazing with awe at the spectacular display off art and wealth in the form of gold plated statues of historic figures and scores of magnificent paintings of ancient forests, stormy seas, and endless fields of sun-ripened crops. Pictures that Alex was certain had to have been thousands of years old, preserved by arts he couldn’t even guess at.

  And then in a dizzying moment of Shadow and light, Alex’s group had somehow taken an odd turn, now in what looked to be a servant’s passage, free of the arching roof and ornamentation, Nili’s piercing gaze hushing them all to silence.

  “Sometimes discretion truly is the better part of valor,” Nili said, her fingers gently brushing Alex’s cheeks, before she glared at the suddenly trembling Ruidian girl and the confused merchant. “Now listen well. The hero of your caravan was no blond-haired, blue-eyed Ruidan boy. It was a skilled mercenary named Tong, master of spear and guandao. A failed half-step Silver, he proved the worth of his combat skills and valor defending your caravan just as he has a handful of times before,” Nili explained, cold eyes pinning both their companions down until a sheepish pair of nods bade her continue.

  “Good. As to any questions given to your worthy servant, you will apologize and say that Tong, regrettably, lost his ability to speak with his failed attempt at an ascension. A sad end to his tale, and far more common than most cultivators wish to admit, crippled by the scars so many of us suffer, daring to rise too far above our station in life.” She flashed a bitter smile. “Tong. Loyal guard. A half-step Silver and a truly elite warrior, however much his former employers failed to appreciate him. My band came only in time to clean up, the credit is all your own, Lin. Is that clear?”

  The pale-faced and visibly sweating merchant jerked a nod and hasty bow. “Yes, it is, my lady. It most certainly is.”

  “Excellent. Come, I know a short cut.”

  In very short order, after slipping through a handful of corridors that left Alex with the certainty that his kitsune friends were able to use Shadow in ways that went far beyond stealth, they emerged from a side corridor just in time to blend in to the band of dinner guests.

  Alex’s eyes widened at the vast ballroom sized chamber filled with grand dining tables, soft music, and glittering chandeliers, the low murmur not disturbed at all when Nili led them with purpose toward a table filled with men and women wearing an eclectic assortment of attire, including everything from spirit beast hide armor to shirts of steel mail to polished suits of lamellar, though no weapons were presently visible at what was, after all, a royal gathering.

  Alex’s eyes widened when he realized that everyone at that table was either a skilled cultivator of Mid or even Deep Bronze, and all of them following a warrior’s path or some variant on the Path of Peril, such was the hardness of their eyes and the pressure of their foundations.

  Alex couldn’t help smiling in approval as he caught sight of a pair of Ruidians devouring roasted meat and tasty looking stews before his eye was caught by that of a powerfully built man radiating a Silver’s Potency. It was clear that this table truly was for the martial elites, not the nobility. Men and women who had proven their prowess in battle and perhaps, as a group, were to be honored… even if they had none of the status and clout of those wearing the far more elegant and fashionable attire to be seen in abundance at the other tables closer to that of the elevated table of the royal family, Alex noted, taking it all with Qi Perception and a quick glance.

  The Merchant, Lin, was led by Nili to another table filled with men radiating first generation wealth and the excited chatter and sheer energy radiating from those men and women spoke of present and future movers and shakers. Yet they clearly lacked the calculated smiles and cool confidence of those of more rarified air at other tables.

  “So, you’re the pair of mercenaries that kept Lin in one peace?” Querried the rumbling baritone voice of the Silver Giant seated beside Alex, a good half foot taller than the other guests at the table. Yet despite his size, he was gracious enough to keep his voice low enough that it wouldn’t drown out any other table’s conversation.

  “Yes we did,” Rachel happily assured. “Me and Gong joined Lin’s caravan for adventure and profit. And now that we’re here at the academy, we’ll find other ways to make our fortunes. Maybe even find a Water beast core. You never know!”

  Alex forced gave a measured nod, trying to keep his cool even when Rachel began changing the script.

  This earned a grunt. “Are you two a pair, then?”

  Rachel gave a happy grin, leaning against Alex. “He’s my desert husband, and I don’t love him any less for his complete inability to talk! He’s a master of his blade, you understand.” She then gave a saucy wink. “Both of them.”

  This earned a handful of looks from the cultivators, and good-natured chuckles from the pair of Ruidians, male and female, who held hands and shared a smile.

  “Good for you, child,” said the female Ruidian, her bright red hair and freckled features a rich contrast to the brilliant green jewel sparkling on her brow.

  The man beside her, sporting the olive hue and soft brown eyes that most natives possessed, dipped his head in agreement, his sapphire blue gem twinkling as bright as his eyes. “It’s always refreshing when tribes take a more… liberated view of things. Better for us all, in the long run, I think.”

  His wife happily nodded. “Ernest’s jewel flashes as brightly as my own, even if it was three generations before his mother’s line blossomed once more.”

  The Silver Ruidian turned to Alex. “So, what’s it like having a Ruidian wife?”

  Alex’s wink and grin earned a couple of good-natured chuckles, and suddenly he felt welcome at the table.

  “Don’t worry about my husband. He lost his ability to speak with his last attempt at ascension,” Rachel said with a soft, sympathetic sigh, kissing Alex’s cheek before seating herself next to him.

  The Silver giant gave a sympathetic wince, “Few things are more painful than a failed ascension. My condolences. Clearly it didn’t cripple you, though?” The man gave an approving nod. “In fact your body radiates such vitality it’s clear that you managed a half-step ascension, at the very least. Did I not know better, I would think you a fully fledged Silver in truth.”

  “He followed a potent path, once upon a time,” Rachel said with a gentle smile, truly getting into her role. “And there was a price to be paid his daring. Yet none can argue that his foundation is as strong as steel itself, as the bandits that thought us easy prey soon found out for themselves.”

  This earned a solemn nod from the near seven foot tall giant that made Alex feel better about his 6 foot 2 inch frame, hardly ridiculous, before the giant raised his chalice, a gesture quickly copied by all the other cultivators present. “To those of us who dare to ascend past all expectations! May the Path of Peril guide us to greatness, no matter how flawed our foundations. May the eternal sands cushion our fall, even as we leap for the heavens!”

  Alex gladly raised his goblet in sentiment to the toast and drank deep, tasting nothing but sweet rich red wine and a sense of kinship with so many cultivators with cracked and flawed foundations. Men and women willing to strengthen themselves along the path that very few from his old life would have dared by his side, save for Master Panheu himself. And he couldn’t help but look at his laughing, joking, and boasting dining companions, somehow knowing that none of them, save perhaps for the Silver, would have ever ascended past the servants’ plateaus along the golden steps of Rising Phoenix academy.

  Soul Sight Perception Check: Success!

  You are temporarily stunned by your findings!

  Yet somehow, pitting their lives against constant hardship and struggle, they had managed to do just that. Ascend past all expectation. Even if Mid Bronze was the rank most had achieved, they had done it along pathways that Alex found both warped and wonderful, more than one managing the feat with a flawed seventh Meridian gate. They had somehow wound Peril itself into a foundation so knotted and flawed, so heavy with its burdens, that it nonetheless managed to support her like a knotted oak trunk supporting branches soaring for the clouds high above.

  Alex was both humbled and moved, bowing his head in respect to them all, no matter their scars, missing teeth, and rough manners compared to the refined elites he had butted heads with so often in so many lives.

  These cultivators, so radiant with Vitality and potency, even if their violent path made the very scars that warped them part of their strength, part of their identity, showed that the fury of conflict was just as valid a way to ascend as to inherit the most pristine of mentors and foundations. Indeed, Alex fancied he sensed a certain resilience, a certain permanence or reality to these men and women that made him think that, in some ways, like a rough oak log batting to kindling a finely made and polished oak staff, they were far more resilient then some of the most promising Bronze tier elites he had met in either Yidushi or Baidushi.

  Most were no match for Silver, but then again, very few souls were. As far as Bronze went, however, these men and women were truly among the elite.

  Yet as the dinner proceeded and appetizers of tasty stew and fresh fruit gave way to grilled spirit beast meat, poached duck and caramelized pheasant, Alex sensed the mood turning solemn even as his belly squealed with delight. For his table companions were now recounting the final deeds and battles of so many fallen brothers and sisters of the battlefields left behind.

  Alex sighed, knowing that he could say nothing at all in his present role, merely raise his silver goblet in toast and share a sympathetic bowing of his head, reminded once more of the lessons Elder Panheu had taught him. Because for all its incredible potential, the Path of Peril was just that. A way forward that could enable the most flawed cultivator to ascend to heights he otherwise would never have achieved, not even in the most prestigious and nurturing of academic environments. But it might also see them slaughtered before their foes, compost to nurture the endless forests as their souls returned to the eternal river once more.

  As so many clearly had, even in these desert sands. Because the survivors at this table truly were the exceptions, not the rule, in so many ways. And that alone was distinction enough for the Prince himself to acknowledge and honor them, during this one celebratory meal, at least, and that alone made it clear just how perilous a path they walked.

  Yet Alex, filled with both genuine sympathy and the awe of profound revelation, mind and body all but brimming with indescribably potency and well-being after soaring to Silver Rank 3 and 4 in so many attributes, wouldn’t have it any other way.

  That was the moment when a crier’s voice began calling out names, and Alex felt his first twinge of anxiety. Thankfully, the ceremonial commendation was just as brief as he could have hoped for.

  “Gongniu and company, please rise!”

  With those words, the giant Silver and a handful of men and women by his side rose as one, their drinking vessels raised toward the throne, the dapper looking Prince and his elegantly attired consort, who Sunlay clearly resembled, raised their golden chalices in turn.

  “The royal family toasts your triumph by your side. Your heroic acts defended the Western quarter when the dead dared to rise! Your triumph will not be forgotten, for your deeds have been forever recorded in the annals of our city!” Declared the crier. “Together, we morn the passing of those who have fallen and glory in the triumph of your victory over the forces of darkness and despair!”

  Gongniu was blinking away actually tears as his entire company took a knee, drinks still raised, before a tiny nod from the crier bade them seat themselves once more.

  Gongniu and party’s mood turned solemn then, tear-filled smiles exchanged between them as they drank in toast. Alex could only wonder just how bad the undead rising had been.

  “Lisa and Jacob, please rise!”

  The pair of Ruidians quickly rose, holding hands and blushing as they were commended for finding not one but three Bronze tier Wood cores which, Alex was given to understand, would help tremendously in assuring rich, fecund crops, even with the decreasing water supply below. The pair had even earned a title and Alex could only imagine the fortune they had hopefully squirreled away in coin or credits.

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  “It is upon the shoulders of heroes like these that our city’s fortune depends! For land, title, and privilege will forever be the boon that Lord and Lady Jacob have earned this day, their clan always welcome in our fair city! Yet there can be no greater prize or boon to be earned than by any man or woman who might retrieve a pristine core of the elements upon which all else thrives!”

  These words, Alex was surprised to hear, came not from the crier, but the prince himself. His eyes then locked onto Sunlay, looking so different than he was used to, wearing finest silks from head to toe, her skin pale with face paint, save for rouge and rubied lips. She looked nearly the mirror of the girls beside her, clearly sisters, and though their beauty was nearly identical, they lacked the vibrant vitality Alex could feel from Sunlay, even from where he sat.

  And just by chance, she glanced his way.

  The smile on his features froze.

  For all she did was frown and glance away.

  Clearly not recognizing him at all.

  He couldn’t quite suppress a wince, even though he knew that that was exactly what they wanted. And he thought he understood why. Finally got the sympathy he saw in Nili’s gaze.

  What Alex wanted more than anything else was to be able to blend in and just enjoy a peaceful life, where his life wasn’t always roaring forward at a mad crescendo that almost always ended in a disastrous crash, no matter how glorious the peaks of ascension that he would inevitably glimpse might be.

  It was the reason why he hadn’t even looked back when he had left Liushi, somehow sensing that the golden bubble of a fresh start surrounding his soul would be put under ever more strain should he increasingly be the focus of both the prince and headmistress’s attention, making it all too easy to slip into grandiose roles that so often ended in bitter tragedy. Or at least it did for him.

  Far better a light hearted slice-of-life comedy! Or at least light-hearted action and adventure?

  He smirked at his own playful musings, knowing that his life was the farthest thing from a LitRPG tale. But still. No one, save for a handful of girls he might never encounter again, would see the blond-haired youth soon to be strolling the city as anything but an eccentric curiosity. Not a person deserving of any extraordinary attention or focus. Just one more curiosity in a city no doubt full of them.

  Because somehow he just knew that the better he could blend in, the happier he would be.

  So, even if looking into his reflection in his wine cup showed a rather plain-looking man with a stronger Han stamp to his features than most of the desert folk present, Tong’s face and presence was one that would no doubt be forgotten as soon as the night was over.

  And that suited Alex just fine.

  “And what boon would one earn if they could deliver an actual Water Core?”

  Alex’s private musing snapped back into focus, his eyes darting to the coolly smiling man who had spoken. Alex felt a lurch in his gut upon catching sight of the well-dressed emissary, moving with a deadly quiet grace even as he gave the royal couple a half-bow. For he had not been announced and had spoken completely out of turn. Yet the prince did nothing, and Alex couldn’t help but note that this courtier alone, out of everyone save for royal family and their guards, was permitted a ji at his hip.

  A ji radiating fearsome spiritual energies, at that.

  Alex swallowed the bile crawling up his throat, just knowing that was one of Dongfang Hong’s emissaries. One of the men perhaps indirectly responsible for the uptick in banditry and starving out of targeted cities. Just one look at the man’s sneer behind his smile, and the powerful foundation he couldn’t hide from Alex, made that much damned clear.

  “Would such a boon perhaps be worthy of the hand of one of your beloved daughters, Lord Wanshi?”

  Gongniu’s eyes widened with outrage. “How dare that pig speak so freely to his royal highness! Refusing even to use his royal title, as if we were already a tributary state of those—”

  His words cut off when he sensed how firmly Alex’s hand was gripping his tightly corded wrist, freezing it in place. For just a heartbeat, Gongniu locked gazes with Alex. “I will challenge that cur and—”

  Alex coolly shook his head, mouthing the word ‘trap’ without uttering a syllable.

  Gongniu froze, eyes widening with alarm. Though whether it was from Alex’s mouthed word or the fact that he couldn’t budge an inch against the supposed Half-step Silver’s strength was unclear.

  Nonetheless, he gave a begrudging nod, sitting himself back down, Alex following suit a heartbeat later.

  Yet it seemed that the jian wielding functionary had caught wind of Gongniu’s displeasure, the man’s pinched, aquiline features twisting in a smile that was both vicious and mocking as he seemed to flow across the hall, suddenly in Gongniu’s face.

  “What’s this? Did I hear correctly? An upstart guard lacking all sense of decorum, rank, or common sense, actually thinks he’s worthy of challenging one such as I?”

  He smirked right up into Gongniu’s face. The latter’s features twisted in a furious snarl… and Alex could sense that the provocateur before him would love nothing more than to butcher a loyal kingsman, clearly a valued and honored warrior and perhaps one of the strongest pawns to be found outside the king’s elite forces.

  Alex understood instantly what a blow such would serve to the morale of the royal family, how it would serve both to antagonize and perhaps instigate rash actions, which would work right in the hands of those who would love any pretext to cut the king down where he stood… or, perhaps simply seek to weaken Wanshu out of one more vital Silver-tier defender, and reinforce just how utterly outmatched the fragile city state was compared to the might Dongfang Hong could so effortlessly bring to bear.

  Either outcome was unacceptable to Alex, who immediately took steps of his own.

  Combined Strength/Finesse check (modified by Ranks in Golden Realms and Wind Crane Kung Fu) = Critical success!

  You have toppled Gongniu right back in his seat with a simple hip check!

  Gongniu has suffered no injuries. Gongniu has failed an intimidation check!

  Quickness Check made! You have intercepted Enemy Cultivator’s blow.

  The entire court seemed to freeze at the sound of a palm cracking naked flesh.

  Even the emissary was blinking at Alex in surprise, when his palm somehow managed to smack Alex’s lowered cheek, his clear target having somehow fallen back down on his seat.

  “How the hell did you… Failed half-step, my ass!” Gongniu uttered softly, though he quickly shut up when Alex raised a clenched fist, both silencing the man who’s life he was trying to save and, he hoped, making it utterly clear to all that he was accepting the challenge.

  The man before him stepped back. “How did you…”

  Alex answered him with a contemptuous spit by his feet, before giving Rachel a meaningful look that, to his surprise, she immediately understood. As if she was reading his mind, which was strange, because he hadn’t even tried to form a party with her, let alone any sort of gestalt.

  “You have struck my husband who is guilty of nothing more than honoring the prince’s summons at court. He will gladly accept your challenge!”

  The man glared at the spittle on the floor, any surprise or hesitation he felt turning into a cold sneer.

  “Gladly, wench. And since you have declared yourself his wife, I declare you my personal property to do with as I wish, once I take his life!”

  “And with your death, I declare my husband the rightful heir to all your assets and property! The goods he will take from your corpse will be his by right of conquest, and none will contest it!” Rachel Lu said just a bit too gleefully for Alex’s taste, but he forced himself to flash a grim smile, smacking his fists together just as fast as a Silver Giant who had managed to achieve a few ranks in Bronze Quickness as well, a feat many Strength cultivators, who were the majority, failed to accomplish until a deeper Silver had been achieved.

  The man’s eyes widened in outrage, before he snarled and spat. “So be it! And since I see that you speak for your husband, taking out your tongue will be the first thing I do, once I claim you as my property!”

  The entire court went silent at this bold declaration of mutilation amongst the elites, yet Alex could tell that the audience was as much titillated as horrified by the threat. If anything, they were enjoying the drama unfolding. Too few realizing, it seemed, the long term implications for their own lives and futures, should what was effectively their enemy’s forces emerge unscathed and victorious.

  “His Grace shall permit this duel, with the understanding that quarter shall be granted upon request.”

  The entire court froze as Sunlay herself chose to speak, now standing by her father’s right hand side, imperiously gazing down at the Red Prince’s pawns like the ruler she was, instantly asserting her dominance and her father as the true master of the court and all that went on. Alex couldn’t help but feel a certain visceral surge of relief, to note the subtle shadow by her side that was none other than Nili whispering hurried counsel into her ear. “And I will further have the assurance from our visiting emissaries that any duels or disputes settled within these chambers will go no further than these chambers. No blood debts will be incurred, and there will be no pretext to violate treaties or oaths of nonaggression all of you have already given for the duration of your visit, outside of sanctioned duels. Nor will we allow the outcome to adversely effect our own negotiations.”

  Alex could sense the sudden killing glare of a handful of functionaries wielding the finery of sycophants and the cold eyes of Silver-tier assassins in the shadows of a rotund man seated on a leather recliner that had apparently been brought in by his staff. His station was clearly lower than the sovereign prince, yet his very indulgent ease somehow painted him as the true orchestrator of this court. Yet the silken robed man with his jewel encrusted turban radiating powerful spiritual energies waved his hand in casual acceptance, and much to Alex’s interest, actually earned the cool glares of several of those powerful Silvers hiding in his wings.

  “Acceptable. Though I much look forward to Xun Lan’s performance to lighten our evening and bring pleasure to the court, I fear his question does way heavily upon all our hearts, seeing as we only desire the best for our future protectorate. So, in the interest of easing our hearts and minds before the performance, I too am curious to know if the miraculous retrieval of a Bronze or better tier Water or Ice core… would be sufficient to win your approval and heart, honored Princess Sunlay?”

  Sunlay stiffened at those words, and for the first time, it was her father who spoke.

  “Should any hero of our fair city successfully claim such a magnificent prize, then I can think of no greater dowry for my eldest child’s hand.” He flashed his stricken daughter a gentle smile. “And the moment such a stone is secured and our sacred fall roars with vibrancy and life giving sustenance once more, then that is the day I myself would be willing to formalize their betrothal.” His eyebrows narrowed in warning. “Though it shall be with the understanding that her future husband would give his oath to treat my daughter with respect and care, and never deliberately cause, or allow to be caused, any harm to her person or immediate family. Nor do anything or deliberately allow anything to be done that might assure any sudden… abdications.” He flashed a humorless smile before continuing. “Such a man would indeed earn the right to be my son-in-law… though may his foundation crack and crumble to a mortal’s despair, should he ever break his binding oath.”

  The entire court grew silent as the magnitude of the crown prince’s words sunk in. He truly was offering his kingdom to whoever would secure their waters, showing just how incredibly priceless Water and Ice cores had become. Of course there were caveats. Said son-in-law would indeed inherit the keys to the kingdom, so long as he treated Sunlay like a wife, not a tool, caused her no harm, and did nothing to hasten the king’s own demise. And somehow Alex didn’t doubt that the man had the power to enforce an oath so binding that even the Deepest Silver’s foundation would crack, should they deliberately violate it. Still, it was almost a given that Wanshi would immediately become Dongfang Hong’s protectorate, should one of his pawns secure that prize and Sunlay’s hand.

  Yet the look of stricken horror on Sunlay’s face made it clear that even her father’s attempts to assure her independence and safety had done little to soften the blow. Though she was still princess enough to freeze her features to an icy enigma, giving absolutely nothing away, save for that first momentary flash of dismay.

  The king’s words were clearly enough for the diplomat. “Well said, your grace. Spoken with the prudence and forethought we’ve come to expect from a ruler as wise and capable as yourself! And we have no doubt at all that dear Princess Sunlay will know nothing but love and adoration in her future husband’s arms.” He smiled in satisfaction before nodding to his lackey. “Well, Xun Lan? Let’s not keep our fine friends waiting. Put on a show worthy of this august court!”

  The courtier gave Alex a cold smile after the pair stepped into the space cleared in the center of the court, where musicians and several dancers had been performing just a short time before. “Are you prepared to die now, you pathetic excuse for a cultivator?”

  Rachel’s eyes widened when Xun Lan drew his blade. “Wait, why is he permitted live steel? My husband is unarm—”

  “Bleed for our pleasure!” Xun Lan roared, drowning out Rachel’s protest, darting forward with his jian flicking through the air in a dizzying series of moulinets before lashing out with a flurry of whipping cross-cuts. The crowd gasped and applauded when first blood was drawn, Xun Lan’s features taking on a wicked cast when Alex’s life-blood splattered upon the finely polished marble floor tiles.

  Left forearm has been struck thrice with fencing jian! You have suffered 25 damage. Vitality check made! You have suffered no significant impairment.

  Prismatic Fox Restoration in effect! Blood loss stabilized. Baseline regeneration in effect.

  You welcome the pain!

  And it was true, Alex, thought, for all that his forearm burned with the hot sting of steel ripping through flesh… the wounds were less deep than his opponent might have been expecting. Of course, Alex knew to expect nothing less than to bleed, refusing to summon his elemental shields, parrying with nothing more than his forearm.

  Xun Lan mocked him with cold laughter. “I fear it will be a short duel if you don’t show yourself worthy of your contemptuous arrogance! Come, fool. Put up a fight worthy of our audience!”

  Even as he goaded Alex, Xun Lan lunged forward with a blistering series of cross-cuts once more.

  Alex couldn’t help but smile, his eyes glittering with at least as much wild delight as his opponent. For no matter his ideals and aspirations, the quiet storybook slice-of-life he so often promised himself he’d pursue, he never felt more alive than when he was embracing mortal peril, fiercely determined to grow, to excel at all costs. Such as now, bracing himself against his foe’s fearsome killing intent. The malevolence behind Xun lan’s showman’s smile. Knowing damn well that his foe was going for lightning fast whipping slashes and not lunges because he wanted to draw the fight out. No doubt because an instant kill with a lunge to Alex’s heart would earn Sun Lan derisive looks, when Alex was armed with nothing but his fists. But a fight where he teased and taunted, slicing his foe a dozen times with plenty of time to cry yield...until the moment when the mercenary Alex pretended to be chose to roar his outrage and charge forward, a single, clean stop-thrust to the chest would seem as much an act of prudent defense as a cold-blooded kill. That, no doubt, was how this courtier thought to win over his audience and put the so-called commoner cultivators in their place.

  Alex couldn’t help smiling, sensing his opponent’s intentions just as he was slowly learning to sense his foe’s weakness and the flow of Qi through strained meridians, and Alex was happy to play along.

  You have successfully parried your opponent’s barrage! Forearm takes the brunt of countered strikes!

  You have suffered 3 additional Light Wounds.

  Find Weakness Skill Check: Success! You sense the brittleness behind your foe’s strength. You sense flaws within his technique!

  Soul Sight Perception check: Partial success! You sense the corruption of past lives. You begin to feel the weight of the storm!

  His opponent’s cold smirk turned to a derisive sneer. “Is that all you have to show, mongrel? A bloody soon-to-be stump of a wrist?”

  Alex made sure to keep his features stoic and cold, befitting the role of implacable defender that Nili’s guise painted him as, utterly impervious to the man’s taunts and goading.

  Focusing only on the feel of the dance between them, Alex did all he could to embrace this pristine moment of mortal peril to ascend in ways last mastered a lifetime ago as he honed his focus, his discipline, on the whetstone of Xun Lan’s bitter killing intent.

  So he endured the constant biting sting of an exquisitely light spring-steel blade wielded by a man whose strength was in the upper reaches of Bronze, his Quickness befitting the assassin he no doubt was when not goading for political advantage, having already crested past Silver Rank 1… Alex judging him to be just a half-step away from Silver-Rank 2.

  It might have been a fool’s gambit to hone himself against such an opponent, armed with just his bare arms when enchanted live steel was scoring his flesh.

  Constantly.

  Even when the blade bit deep, far deeper than Alex had intended, struggling to find his internal balance and embrace both Water and the storm it was now a part of in ways that would allow him to ward even these infuriating attacks.

  Xun Lan sneered and spat, scoring wounds that sought to cripple, for all that the steel had no hope of cleaving through prismatic bone or the ligaments that secured his frame.

  Yet there was no denying that his mocking foe was holding back no longer, trying to tease him no longer, his silken doublet and leggings now spattered with Alex’s lifeblood, as was the marble tiled floor.

  “Enough of this, fool!” Xun Lan snarled. “If you can do nothing but hold up your arm like a brainless coolly, then you can die like the low-class trash you are!”

  Rachel Lu’s anxious cry echoed through the chamber as Xun Lan quit holding back, flicking his blade at Alex’s face before lunging in for the kill.

  And that’s when Alex felt it, the frisson of connection between himself and his prey.

  No longer were the waves teasing the prow of the ship with spray. Now the waves were crashing in earnest, and Alex found it effortless to steer the prow of Xun Lan’s killing intent into the storm. Sensing the waves part effortlessly to either side, just as effortless as it had been to swipe away a forest of killing blows with a wave of his hand.

  Rachel wasn’t the only one to gasp when a surprised looking Xun Lan found himself lurching forward, his blade sliding along the pristine stormy sheath of liquid covering Alex’s left arm as Alex embraced the dance of the elements he had striven so hard to master, the storm of Qi flowing through him making it effortless to lever the jian aside and send his foe careening to the ground, deflecting the man’s over extended thrust just as well or perhaps even better than White Crane once had, a lifetime ago.

  You have successfully parried Killing Blow using the power of the Storm!

  You have learned a new technique! Storm Wing will allow you to sweep aside any attack it is within your ability to parry, the strength of your defense modified by Storm Wing Rank and Storm Swan Kung Fu Rank!

  Storm Wing is now Rank 1!

  Storm Swan Kung Fu is now Rank 4!

  Master the storm, and master yourself!

  The crowd’s murmurs grew, several formerly cold-eyed men and women looking at Alex in a new, approving light, having sensed the significance of his parry.

  “Well done, challenger,” said none other than Sunlay, flashing the person Alex pretended to be an approving smile.

  Of course the courtier who had crashed to the ground, earning a few derisive snorts, was a member of the definite minority who clearly hadn’t been impressed by Alex’s technique.

  “You think you can mock me, fool, and get away with it?” Xun Lan immediately sprang back to his feet. “You will die for your insufferable arrogance!” he roared, charging for once more, yet this time it was with his blade radiating violet Qi that made more than a few people gasp in surprise.

  “He’s infused his sword with poison Qi!”

  “He’s no simple diplomat.”

  “That’s a forbidden technique!”

  Yet Xun Lan paid no more heed to the mood of the crowd than Alex did.

  And for all that his heart was hammering as Xun Lan closed the distance with a snarl on his twisted features, he couldn’t help but smile.

  Reveling in how sharply he could taste his opponent’s killing intent.

  How clearly he could sense his opponent’s intentions. The way he shifted his balance and hips, feinting with his blade before darting low to lunge right for Alex’s groin.

  And every step of the way, Alex’s arm was there to meet him.

  And for all that Alex’s eyes widened for just an eyeblink when his foe seemed to skip forward a good three feet, it didn’t stop his left arm, now a swirling storm of Water, Wind, and Steel, from effortlessly sweeping aside Xun’s blade, Alex feeling a wondrous surge of jubilation as it all continued to come together for him, sensing so viscerally, so completely, the storm of spiritual energy flowing through his meridians almost exactly like Silver Swan once had, a lifetime ago.

  His opponent stumbled a moment too long as his angle shifted unexpectedly. Just a few degrees, but it was as if space itself had been pushed aside, at least for the tiniest eyeblink in time.

  For a single unguarded moment, Xun Lan was truly vulnerable, collecting himself before righting his balance and turning back towards Alex, a look of surprised disbelief written upon his pinched features.

  At that moment Alex was struck by a sudden epiphany that at first glance had absolutely nothing to do with the storm.

  Yet it had everything to do with another too long neglected element, as what would normally be a buildup could now be instantaneously embraced in this pristine moment, Knowledge and insight coalescing into one unified whole as his fist roared through the air with the sound of countless tons of rock pounding all resistance to dust. Or, perhaps, a glimpse of bitter dark secrets that the sea so often hid.

  And somehow, by some slim chance, Xun Lan had shifted himself just enough to catch Alex embracing a technique he had used in combat so rarely, because of the time it took to build up. For even a full second was an eternity when both cultivators had at least a single Silver tier of Quickness. Yet in that moment, it was closer to the sense of an enemy ship crashing against rocky shoals. Death hidden in the stormy sea’s murky currents until the instant sharp coral and rock tore out the keel of a ship, leaving its doomed crew to drown in murky waters… or their own blood as punctured lungs refused to inflate.

  “No! I yi—”

  CRACK!

  The air rang with a sound like thunder, or perhaps thundrous waves grinding wooden prows to kindling against the rocky shoals of oblivion. It was a crack that echoed through the court as Alex’s fist struck Xun Lan’s chest so hard that imperfect Bronze bone-hardening techniques resisted for only a split second before failing so catastrophically that Xun Lan’s entire rib cage shattered, countless fragments of razor sharp bone shredding both lungs and heart as the body erupted in shattered bone and spilled entrails before everyone’s horrified eyes.

  AVALANCHE!

  Silver Rank 4 Quickness, Strength, and Storm Swan Synergize perfectly with Silver Tier striker technique: Avalanche.

  You have caused CATASTROPHIC damage to your foe!

  Your foe fails to save!

  You foe has been obliterated!

  You have successfully used an Earth Art in perfect conjunction with a normally opposing element as you seek harmony not just with the storm, but with all dimensions of yourself!

  Avalanche is now Rank 2! - You have gained the perk: Instantaneous Strike. When the sea is at its stormiest, there is a chance that you can embrace this art with zero build-up time! For the stormy seas can hide rocky shoals that spell oblivion for any foe trying to cross your waters!

  Storm Wing is now Rank 2!

  You have slain your foe!

  Experience earned!

  Time seemed to freeze as the entire court gazed Alex’s way in shock, ruby red drops of blood falling upon the courtiers like rain, the speed cultivators among them revealing themselves as they flowed effortlessly away from the crimson spray. Lord Guo, white silk cultivator’s robes now stained red with his underling’s blood, was glaring Alex’s way with unbridled fury.

  “Murdering psychopath!” The man roared.

  Alex carefully kept his face an expressionless mask, even as a part of him wanted to howl with fierce triumph and goad each and every one of the four Silver-tier courtiers glaring at him with such furious intensity. Instead, he calmly allowed his eyes to meet each of their glares, noting them as Lord Guo made no secret of his scathing contempt for the man who had just obliterated his tool, declaring that unnecessary and extreme force had been used, voiding the terms of the duel.

  “… Unlike the courtesies my dear young disciple tried to show every step of their contest, giving him plenty of time to retreat and withdraw, that monstrous brute set the boy up to be slaughtered! He gave Xun Lan no opportunity to gauge his strength or to concede the fight. He deliberately taunted my poor protege to over-extend, repeatedly, so he could assassinate him with a single strike! He made absolutely no attempts to show Xun Lan the strength of his form, to allow him to properly gauge his chances, as my disciple did for that thug’s benefit! He didn’t even draw blood once, he went right for the kill!” Lord Guo’s eyes widened as if with sudden revelation. “And by the very terms of our engagement, by the prince’s own words, there was supposed to be an opportunity for either party to withdraw and concede the fight. Yet that thug gave my disciple none! Ergo that was no duel… that was entrapment and murder, and I demand that murderer be remanded into my custody at once!”