Quantum Cultivation

by Jace Kang

  “We’re so far away,” she said. “We’ll never reach them before they hurt the—”

  With a bend in his knees, Master Ryu launched himself toward the Kappa, sailing high through the air. Ken and Aya both gawked.

  “Light Foot Training,” Teppin said, breaking into a hop-run. “Every Path has it.”

  With a shrug, Siena reached out and touched Ken and Aya, then spoke a word.

  The world swirled around Ken. When it came back into focus, they were now on the bridge, not far from the startled man. Four of the Kappa were climbing over the railing.

  Already, Master Ryu’s plan had fallen apart.

  And Ken’s head was spinning from the sudden shift. Aya, too, wobbled on her feet.

  Thankfully, the Kappa looked just as shocked, freezing in place on the side of the bridge for a moment with its dull eyes round like saucers.

  Then, one leaped for the man.

  Aya’s knees had stopped shaking. She moved more resolutely now, and ran to intercept the Kappa.

  Ken had little time to see what happened when another Kappa dove at his legs. He spun around, avoiding the tackle, and found himself on the creature’s flank. He stepped in with the Xingyi Earth punch towards its head.

  The Kappa turned at the last second, and Ken’s punch landed on its shell. Pain flared in his knuckles, but a cracking sound echoed from the carapace. It winced, and then shifted and grabbed for Ken’s extended leg.

  Ken pulled his foot back, then spun and dropped his weight onto his opponent. His shoulder slammed into its side, knocking it face-first into the pavement. It let out a squeal. With a roll, Ken ended up sitting on its shell. He reached for the bowl, which had shifted to the back of its head.

  It bucked up, sending Ken lurching forward into the air. The pavement drove upward to meet his face. At the last second, he shot his hands out into the ground and threw his legs in such a way that he inverted and went head over heels in a smooth motion. He rolled back up onto his feet and twirled around, just in time to avoid the Kappa’s lunge into his knees.

  A quick scan of the area revealed that the man had run off the way he’d come. Siena had knocked the bowl off one Kappa’s head, leaving it a quivering mass cowering on the pavement; she was now, like Ken, avoiding the other’s attempts to take her to the ground.

  And there, Aya was wrestling with the last, despite the master’s advice to avoid engaging them on the ground. Still, she was holding her own, gliding through techniques like an eel through water. Not only had she learned things well, she could already apply them to combat.

  His own opponent shot in towards his right leg, but Ken spun counterclockwise and swept him aside with the brushing hands of the Xing Yi Water Form. He reached for the bowl…

  And missed.

  The Kappa had ducked beneath his grab and tucked into a forward roll. Slippery little eel.

  This time, though, its back was to him, and Ken pursued, raining a flurry of Wing Chun punches into it. They landed first on its shell; then, as it turned around, into its side, then chest, and finally face. Each blow sent pain into his fists.

  It reeled back, and with a transition into the Xingyi Metal Form, Ken slammed his punch into the Kappa’s bowl. It went flying off his head, water splashing out. It swept a hand out to catch it…

  But Ken leaped into a flying kick and sent the dish clattering away.

  All fight drained out of the Kappa, and it sloshed onto the ground.

  Opponent vanquished, Ken took a quick look around. Siena spoke a nasty-sounding word that didn’t match her pretty mouth. The beads around her neck glowed blue, and darts of fire sprung from her fingers and struck her foe. Steam rose and sizzled, and it howled.

  Over to the side, Aya was still tussling with her own opponent, more or less controlling him from the Turtle On Its Back position. Threading her arm under his in a Snake Slithers Under Branch technique, she turned its upper body into a less threatening position. Her form looked good, but sweat clung to her brow, and she looked even paler than normal. With its greater strength, it recovered.

  It wriggled through her guard, and now straddled her. Her response was sluggish, as her energy was undoubtedly flagging. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, but nothing but a rasp came out.

  Down on the bank, Master Ryu cried out.

  Chapter 23:

  The Cultivator

  R yu landed on the riverbank, one fist to the ground, just behind the Kappa leader. It spun around, beak agape. In its hands…

  Its walking stick. Runes were inscribed along its shaft, and power surged off of it.

  Ryu reached out through the water vapor and wrapped his consciousness around the artifact. A Qi-Smith of at least Third Rank had carved and engraved it, layering in undeterminable martial powers.

  If only he had his own staff to counter it.

  At that moment, the Kappa’s own sense slithered over Ryu.

  “You’re from back home,” it said.

  Ryu shrugged. “Technically, I’m from here, but that’s a long story. About eight hundred years long.”

  “A Fourth Rank Water Path practitioner, all by himself.” If a beak could form a grin, the Kappa’s would. It raised a hand, gesturing to its comrades.

  When none came, it hazarded a glance over its shoulder. Teppin was making short work of one Shirikodamanuki, while the remaining four had continued up to the bridge.

  The leader turned back to Ryu. “Well, nothing like a good challenge.” It pointed its walking stick at him.

  The wood’s runes lit up as the Kappa’s Core connected to it. A web of water droplets shot out, sparkling in the moonlight. Launched by a Level Three weapon and reinforced by a Fourth Rank practitioner, they were too powerful for Ryu to disperse with Watershaping or evaporate with Fireshaping.

  Instead, he leaned back under its trajectory.

  It left him in a vulnerable position. The Kappa slammed the stick into Ryu’s legs. The augmented force of the artifact knocked his feet out from under him. He threw his weight back, hitting the sandy bank with his shoulders, then windmilled his feet up so he was standing again.

  In that blink of an eye, the leader had planted the stick upright into the sand and closed the gap. He now reached out with both arms. Ryu redirected its hands with a rotation of his own, using the Lazy About Tying Coat technique from Chen Taiji. It would send a lesser opponent face-down into the earth, leaving them open for a double-palmed Buddha Warrior Pounds Mortar or Splashing Hands.

  The Kappa wasn’t a lesser opponent. It transitioned smoothly, blending with Ryu’s shift, then winging back and sliding foot-first at his legs. When Ryu sidestepped, it hooked his ankle in the crook of his elbow, then whirled up, feet first, around his knee.

  The smoothness of the technique took Ryu by surprise, forcing him to the ground to prevent the dislocation of his knee. He hit shoulders-first in the Ditang Fist falling technique. Already, though, he was playing the Kappa’s game, just as he’d warned the others to avoid doing.

  In a deft move, the Kappa surged into the mount, hooking its legs around Ryu’s, squeezing its knees into his ribs. With its head coming closer, Ryu knocked the bowl on its head, but the Kappa’s Watershaping technique kept the water in. Its hands shot towards Ryu’s throat, and proved too slippery to redirect. Its arms deftly slipped around his neck. Its bones dug into his carotid arteries.

  The perfect technique would’ve cut the blood supply off to anyone in this world right now…

  Except for Ryu.

  Having Cultivated the Yin aspect of the Fire Path to the First Rank, his blood vessels were both supple and strong, refusing to bend to the Kappa’s pressure. Combined with his Iron Shirt from his First Rank in the Metal Path, he resisted the choke which would’ve knocked anyone else unconscious in four seconds.

  It didn’t keep the Kappa leader from trying. Its limbs stretched and contorted with its Path’s special technique, creating more leverage. Even though Ryu remained safe from suffocation or an artery
seal, it was nearly impossible to move. The pressure on his chest alone made it difficult to draw a breath.

  Thankfully, he’d Cultivated the Yang aspect of the Fire Path, as well. Connecting with his Core, he channeled a blazing heat through his blood vessels.

  The Kappa yelped as the flesh of its arm sizzled. Its grip loosened.

  It was just enough for his Second Rank proficiency in the Earth Path to help him. The First Rank Yin aspect had fortified his slow-twitch muscles, while the Yang aspect had enhanced his fast-twitch muscles. The combination of speed, power, and endurance was more than a match for a Kappa. With brute strength and quickness, the little gap created by his expression of Yang Fire allowed him to work free.

  With the spinning windmill of Ditang Fist, he launched the Kappa off of him. He twisted and landed on his feet.

  Like the Western superhero in movies from Ryu’s youth, the Kappa landed in a one-knee kneel, a dozen feet away, fist to the ground. It looked up and glared at Ryu. “You’re not just a Water Path Cultivator!”

  “No.” Ryu grinned.

  It pounded its fist into the sand. The waters of the river surged out like blades.

  Leaping and spinning, Ryu found the open spots between them. When his feet touched the ground, he rooted and flowed into a Watershaping form. Bringing his arms together, he took control of the water, fused it into a column, and speared it at the Kappa.

  The closer it got to the creature, the more it was able to gain mastery over the water. It anchored itself and swam through its own form, sliding low while twirling its arms. The column of water split into thousands of droplets, which it launched at Ryu like pulses from the shocktrooper’s minigun.

  Closer to him, the water obeyed his command, and he lifted both hands to transform the droplets into a sheet of water. Charging forward to maintain dominance, he thrust his hands at the Kappa.

  It spread its arms outward and charged. Halfway between them, the water spread out into a curtain as both tried to impose their wills on it.

  Evenly matched, they drew closer until they faced one another on either side of the vertical sheet of water. Ryu punched through it, striking the Kappa in the hand. It rained down like a waterfall, sloshing into the sand and kicking up mud.

  Ryu launched a slicing arm, sweeping kick, and then wheel kick, which the Kappa redirected with a Brush Hands, Twirling Fountain, and Undertow. It riposted with an attempted Surging Wave takedown, coming up from a low stance.

  Give ground to take ground. Ryu’s own advice to his students rung in his mind. He retreated out of the reach of his opponent, transitioning to the low stances of the Earth Path, to guide the Kappa’s forward momentum down. As it headed into the ground, Ryu connected to his Core, opening his meridians to let Fire blaze through his blood vessels. He unleashed an onslaught of Fire Path punches into the Kappa’s shell, each blow sizzling with heat.

  The Kappa slammed face-first into the ground, cutting off its screams. Its walking stick stood just beyond its reach, and it scrambled on all fours toward it. With the benefit of his Earth-enhanced muscles, Ryu sprang and reached the weapon first.

  As soon as his hands wrapped around it, the Laboring Palace acupuncture points in his palms tingled. His Qi had linked to the stick’s runes. This weapon had been inscribed by a Fourth Rank Qi-Smith, and contained the Core of a Fourth-Ranked Cultivator, and two Cores from Third-Ranked practitioners. It was imbued with speed, control of water, and more.

  As he focused his Qi into it, the runes lit up. With muscles enhanced by Earth, blood vessels coursing with Fire, connective tissue linked through Wood, skin enforced by Metal, and bones fortified by Water, Ryu slammed the staff into the Kappa’s head.

  Its bowl took the brunt of the force, denting from the impact with a resounding clang. The water started to trickle out, and this time, the Kappa did nothing to stop it. It clambered to its feet, wobbling.

  Spinning the walking stick around, Ryu jabbed the creature in the chest, followed through with a hack to the side of the knee, and finished with a blow to the side of its head. Each landed with a cracking of bone. With a finishing technique, Ryu swept its legs out from under it. As its body went horizontal, he slammed down with Splashing Hands on its chest. Focusing his intention past its sternum, Ryu projected the force directly into its heart.

  It slammed into the dirt and didn’t move.

  Ryu shook out his arms and shoulders. It had been close when he’d been taken to the ground, but in the end, while humans could Cultivate the basics of many Paths while specializing in one, many yokai like the Kappa could not. Had they met in the World of Rivers and Lakes, where it would’ve still fought as a Fifth-Ranked Cultivator, it might’ve been a different story.

  As if to prove the point, he looked over to where Teppin had easily vanquished his opponent, and was now waiting for Ryu’s instructions.

  Ryu studied the stick, examining the materials that had gone into the runes. Maybe he could scrape them out, retrieve the Cores, and create a Pill that could help in his mission.

  At his feet, the leader’s body had turned to jelly, leaving behind only its shell, the dented bowl, and its glowing black Core. Ryu knelt down and scooped them up.

  “Master!” Kentaro yelled from the bridge.

  Ryu looked up.

  The guardrails only provided a view of Kentaro from his shoulders up, including his wildly gesticulating hand as he ran. The flash of golden hair was either Siena or Aya.

  It was Siena—Aya was nowhere to be seen—now running toward Kentaro. Was Aya on the ground, beneath Ryu’s line of sight?

  Coiling his legs, Ryu launched himself up to the bridge and landed behind the boy. Three of the Kappa were dissolving, their porcelain bowls empty of water. The fourth…

  …was wrestling with Aya. Its leg was hooked around her neck in a triangle choke.

  Chapter 24:

  The Hacker

  A ya gasped for air as the Kappa’s arms tightened around her throat. The attacks and counters that’d been coded into her neural pathways should’ve worked perfectly, but had failed to take into account the weakest link in the elements needed to fight.

  Her.

  Though the combat programming provided experience and knowledge, she didn’t have the strength, let alone the endurance, to execute the techniques. Not even against a tiny creature that didn’t come up to her chest. It was just too strong, its reflexes too fast.

  It was lying in the Sunbathing Position, while she lay on top of it, face-up. Its legs had wrapped around hers, its ankles locked; the pressure between its arms tightened around her neck, despite her feeble attempts to pry them off.

  She’d struggled to draw in a breath her entire life, yet none of that compared to the feeling now as it tightened its noose around her neck. Pressure built up in her head, and her vision darkened at the edges. Billions of thoughts jumbled together beyond her coherence.

  One thought rose above the swarm:

  This was it.

  She was going to die.

  It was even worse than losing parts of her Avatar code.

  Colors flashed across her visual field. Kentaro. His form shifted. Loud cracks mixed in with the pounding in her ears. What he was doing was impossible to tell, but the Kappa’s grip around her neck loosened. She sucked in a breath of air. Sweet coolness filled her throat and lungs.

  Metal clattered across the pavement. The Kappa’s arms fell away completely. She heaved in two more breaths, even as her head swam.

  Kentaro knelt by her side, stroking her hair. “Are you all right?”

  Was she? She started to push back on the pavement with her arms, but her hands slid into something slimy. Her elbows wobbled, and she collapsed back.

  Kentaro caught her and helped her sit up. “Deep breaths.”

  Head pounding, she turned to the side and vomited.

  How humiliating.

  “It’s okay.” Kentaro rubbed her back.

  Ryusuke, followed by Teppin and Siena, came and kn
elt in front of her. “Are you all right?”

  She tried to nod, but it made her head hurt.

  “Your internal heat is too intense.” He took her hand and rubbed his thumb into the webbing between her index finger and thumb. A dull ache throbbed there, but then the hot compression drained from her head. “Feel better now?”

  This time, she was able to nod.

  “Good, now take deep breaths, use the Microcosmic Orbit. Imagine as you inhale that you are bringing up cold water from your tailbone, up your spine. When it reaches your head, it is cooling the fire blazing there. Then, when you guide it down, the warm water fills your Core.”

  She did as she was told, and with each breath, the heat and pressure in her head ebbed.

  Now it was easier to think.

  Oh, shit.

  The cameras.

  During her tussle with the Kappa, she’d dropped the emitter and rolled over it. Had it made a cracking sound at the time? She scrambled around on all fours, patting the concrete.

  “What’s wrong?” Kentaro asked.

  “The emitter!”

  “This?” Teppin asked, kneeling down and pointing.

  There the box was, underneath the jellied remains of the monster. The blinking green light hadn’t even turned to red—it was completely out.

  With the emitter broken, the cameras would’ve captured the end of the fight here—and everyone in their group. It might not be too late to corrupt those files, but she was too tired—not to mention too scared, after the damage done to her in the Ministry of Defense’s EtherSpace—to hack into the hub.

  “We need to leave,” she said.

  “Why?” asked Siena, now coming up to her.

  “All of the cameras.” Aya waved a hand in a wide arc. “I lost control of them.”

  Siena frowned. “Which means they captured our images.”

  Kentaro wrung his hands. “It also means Peacekeepers—”

  “Stay where you are!” yelled a voice from the other side of the bridge.

  Aya turned, even if the pain made it feel as if her brains were spilling out of her ears.