Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior’s Path

by Johnson, M. H.

  Alex couldn’t help grinning at his friend’s enthusiasm, even as he proceeded to explore several additional alcoves. And for all that they all bore the same insurmountable drawback of being designed for those with a pristine twelve-meridian configuration, he was struck by the same profound flashes of insights that were not his own, leaving him reeling with other men’s inspirations and struggles, the bitter trials and tribulations they had endured, the countless campaigns of bloody conquest they had spearheaded. Some men had achieved incredible breakthroughs in the most violent conflicts imaginable, while others had spent decades in serene cultivation atop mountains that soared to what would have been impossible heights in any Earthly world.

  He was struck dizzy by an overwhelming flood of visions with each massive pillar he stroked, each alcove of interweaving sigils he touched with a single blooded fingertip before the entire recess blazed with crimson fire, and he was struck anew by what should have been crippling flashes of knowledge, yet somehow, he endured.

  During those endless moments that might have been hours or weeks—he couldn’t tell, though he peripherally sensed his friend stopping and eating at least a few times since they had begun—and despite his inability to surpass the insurmountable obstacle of patterns intended for those with a profoundly different meridian configuration than his own, he sensed he had still profited from the exercise. Both the unexpected knowledge gained, and the sheer wonder of catching shadowy glimpses of minds and memories not his own, felt like combining the most immersive book he had ever read with a waking dream.

  You have saved versus disorientation!

  You have made contact with 5 single element Jade Class Cultivation Alcoves.

  Insight gained!

  Though twelve meridian configurations will never be your own, you still understand the flow of individual elemental Qi necessary to comprise a Jade class elemental pattern!

  And in a profound flash of inspiration, Alex at last understood what had been missing from his own technique. He suddenly found himself able to appreciate the single barrier that kept his own priceless creation from being used by absolutely everyone with any cultivation talent at all, whether they be the most humble of cultivators or the crown prince of an entire nation.

  “Alex, are you alright?”

  Alex paid no attention to the words as he found himself walking deeper into the shadows of the vast Parthenon, his friend’s voice sounding strangely distant and hollow. “Friend Alex, please have a care! Here, we are safe by the Path of Emperors, but that way lies a path not even my father would dare!”

  Alex felt an icy chill as he passed two more Alcoves. One held a bloated man peering at the world through cruel eyes, and Alex understood at once that no ancient mortal Emperor had made that configuration. Rather it was a work of the gods themselves, and if Alex wasn’t mistaken, that configuration belonged to none other than his mortal enemy, the god tactician General Shalu.

  Alex flinched, not even daring to look at what would for him be a cursed configuration, desperate to hold onto his epiphany.

  “Alex?”

  So too, he passed the fearsome countenance of the grandfather of all gods, Zheng Yi, Lord Justice and Master of Storms, as evidenced by the massive lightning bolt he held in one hand and the law treatise in the other, his stylized goatee seeming to crackle with living lightning as Alex passed. His was another configuration that Alex dared not glimpse.

  It was far easier passing Long Wang’s alcove, Alex knowing that his was a seven-element configuration just like Alex’s own, and in some ways, at least, they mirrored each other perfectly.

  The difference lay in Alex’s dual-path affinity and tri-state cords so potent that he would dare walk along rivers even gods feared to tread.

  It would do him no good to linger, however, not wishing any curses to affect his own path forward, so he quickly left, head lowered, refusing to risk any final glances at his enemies’ alcoves.

  He soon found himself a good ways from all of them, surrounded by pitch blackness and the growing burble of a river that sounded oddly familiar.

  “Alex!”

  He did not let his friend’s genuine concern pull him from the epiphany he was so close to embracing, tasting the edges of tantalizing possibility.

  Instead, he smiled when his friend approached, though he was surprised by Cheng Lei’s fear-tinged gaze and ragged breathing, as if exhausted by daring the slight incline which Alex only now realized were steps, ascending so very slowly that Alex had hardly felt the gentle flow of the water lapping against their feet at all.

  “Come, Alex, let’s retreat while the plateau is still in our sight! We have only ventured a few perilous steps up the shallowest of inclines that even I can endure unaided, so we are still well within the margin of safety.”

  Alex nodded absently, gazing at the alcove they now faced, separate from all the others.

  As if shunned.

  Alex didn’t need to gaze up to see the mischievous twinkle in the gaze of the massive figure of jade upon a pedestal of ebony darkness.

  Yet when he dared to look for the secrets the massive alcove contained, he saw to his dismay that they were utterly smooth. Pearlescent surface free of all mar, indentation, or sigil.

  Yet still, he could sense its yearning.

  Yearning for that which no mortal had ever been able to gift it before.

  Would you truly sacrifice so much for what so few would ever glimpse?

  He shivered at the words echoing inside his skull.

  Both a challenge, and a plea.

  He turned to his exhausted-looking friend, regarding him for long moments before daring to ask what he must. “Cheng Lei, may I have a single drop of your blood?”

  His friend gazed at Alex for long thoughtful moments before he finally nodded, unsheathing just a few inches of his impeccably sharp sword, brushing his thumb with the tiniest of caresses, and drawing crimson liquid.

  He solemnly squeezed several drops into Alex’s hand.

  Alex swallowed, heart pounding, before slowly turning to the pristine alcove wall, and pressing his bloodied palm against the pearlescent sheen. Then, with a deep, shuddering breath, he held his right hand against the alcove wall as well, blood welling from his fingertips by will alone.

  Biochemical Mastery skill check made!

  You understand the makeup of your friend’s blood.

  Biochemical Mastery, Soul Sight, and Eternal Fox Unified Cultivation technique have been successfully synergized! You sense the perfect Eternal Fox configuration for those with Imperial meridian configuration patterns!

  Memory Stone recognizes you as Disciple of Divine Avatar.

  Do you wish to imprint your complete understanding of Eternal Fox Cultivation Technique?

  You have chosen Yes!

  You have invested 2 Potency Points in your Divine Forging! 9 Unspent Potency Points remain!

  Save versus oblivion made! Your comprehension transcends entropy’s grasp! You have successfully forged a twelve-meridian configuration in perfect balance with all imperial configurations studied! Memory Stone resonates in perfect symmetry with all other Imperial configuration memory stones!

  Congratulations! Eternal Fox Unified Cultivation Technique is now Rank 12! This is a Divine technique! All practitioners of either seven or twelve meridian configurations may now ascend with no limits, save natural aptitude and time!

  Biochemical Mastery insight gained! You may now excrete blood from your fingertips with a successful skill check!

  When Alex came to, he was on the ground, with the vague memory of howling in either ecstasy or agony, though he now felt so exhausted, he could barely move as the water lapped over him.

  It was several minutes before he could even stumble back to his feet.

  He furrowed his brow, wondering why the silence troubled him, when it suddenly came crashing back: where he was, what he was doing, and who he was with.

  When he stumbled back around, suddenly afraid his friend had
already left… or worse, far worse, had made a pact with one of the divine configurations, and how stupid he had been not to warn his friend of the risk… he caught sight of a pale-faced Cheng Lei, trembling with either horror or wonder, his eyes absolutely glued to the shimmering flood of sigils and runes now swirling within the alcove, the golden seven- and twelve-sided diagrams the only solid reference points in the whole.

  “Alex.” His friend’s voice was a cracked whisper which Alex struggled to hear. “Do you have any idea what you just did?”

  Alex swallowed, only now appreciating what madness it had been, surrendering to that impulse when he needed those points so desperately, when he’d had such grand designs for them. Especially when doing so made it made it utterly and unequivocally clear who he was—what he was—to one of the most powerful mortal players he had ever been exposed to.

  But even so, it was nice to know that whatever happened in the mortal realms below, whether or not he ever got a chance to scribe another copy of his divine Eternal Fox tome, whether or not opponents on the mortal or divine boards of existence did their best to stomp out his life, his flame, and all the unorthodox positions he represented, even legitimized… at the very least, a few people would forever have the chance to discover the insights and mysteries locked inside his own masterwork. He was humbled by how well he suspected his Spiritual Teacher ability would synergize with the memory stone’s own mystic properties.

  If nothing else, this gave those cultivators who would dare other than a single Element’s perfection another choice that wasn’t steeped in the curses, commitments, and blood oaths that Alex sensed would require absolute devotion of most other Jades who swore to follow the path of the Storm, The Alchemist, The Warrior, or The Tactician, making them little more than puppets of their masters.

  At least this way, Alex could offer them a choice that preserved their independence from any domineering power, a technique with a prize none other could offer, no matter how comparatively weak his Eternal Fox abilities might seem, compared to so many other choices.

  At least at first.

  Until one of the most precious secrets of all would be revealed to those who would dare his path.

  The chance for eternal life.

  More than that, eternal youth: one’s cells learning the trick of complete regeneration and cellular repair, learning the secrets of harnessing Dark Qi for the purposes of cellular regeneration. They would become one of the very, very few cultivators who didn’t have to worry about their meridian matrix breaking down with continued exposure to excess waste Qi as they learned to manipulate entropy itself.

  Best of all, synergizing his insights here and now, with the lessons within these alcoves resonating with such divine power and precedent, had been exactly what he had needed for his own breakthrough. He now had full comprehension of a meridian configuration quite different from his own, such that seven- or twelve-meridian configuration cultivators could access and make full use of his gifts with ease.

  “Alex?” A soft, disbelieving whisper came as the wide-eyed prince approached, gazing at the glittering ruby-like script holding such marvelous secrets within.

  Alex flashed a mirthful smile. “At least now you can choose a patron that does not necessitate aligning yourself with any force of nature that would use you as the meanest of pawns before throwing you away.”

  Cheng Lei tore his eyes free of the alcove shimmering like rubies. “What are you…”

  “The single element alcoves forged by your ancestors were fine. I sensed no bindings with their study. But WiFu’s clan? All kinds of strings.”

  Alex sighed, smiling fondly at his masterwork. “If you’re looking for sheer power, expect to be irredeemably disappointed. However, if you’re playing this game for the long hall, and I do mean long hall, you might find the lessons within well worth your time.”

  Cheng Lei gazed at the alcove in breathless confusion. “Alex, what tome did this masterwork come from?”

  Alex smirked, tapping his own temple.

  His friend paled. “Impossible.”

  Alex shrugged. “Believe what you like.” His gentle gaze hardened. “But if you really wanted to pay me back, please at least consider not losing yourself to the enticements of the other alcoves here in the… what did you call it? The Hall of the Gods. I sensed no traps in the five single element Jade tomes forged by emperors or the memory of emperors, but WiFu’s brothers would like nothing more than to force you to swear a blood oath to destroy me at every possible turn.”

  Cheng Lei froze. “You’re not… saint’s mercy, you are.”

  Alex nodded. “There are so many things I wish I could tell you, yet when it comes to this city, at this time, I’m permitted to tell you nothing at all.” He flourished a bow, granting his friend a farewell smile.

  “Thank you, Cheng Lei. I enjoyed getting the chance to know you. Between you and me? I think Liu Li could do a lot worse.”

  His friend tensed, staring at Alex so very intently. “Alex…”

  Alex grinned. “I can only imagine how much she’s itching for a decent sparring partner right about now. If you were to profess an interest in learning Golden Realms Kung Fu, I think you just might get to know her on a far more personal level than sparse glances at whatever feasts or galas you encounter her.”

  Cheng Lei blinked. “Ask her to spar with me and teach me Golden Realms? Do you have any idea what her guardian would say to that?”

  Alex could only grin wider. “That it’s a wonderful plan? That poor Liu Li is bored and restless to distraction, and some exercise is a great idea?”

  “Alex, it’s not that simple!”

  Alex’s smile took on a hint of sadness. “It’s just as simple as you allow it to be.”

  With a final solemn bow to his sputtering friend, he began his journey to the far end of the massive temple.

  “Alex, wait! That way lies the Transcendent Realm! Not even those with imperial blood in their veins would dare go any further! Even the ancient treatises I’ve read have no recordings of anyone who ascended further than where we stand at this very moment! Are you truly so willing to risk absolute destruction, after having come so far?”

  Alex turned back, smiling at his friend. “I think you already know what my answer to that has to be, Cheng Lei.”

  His friend gave a rueful chuckle. “You’re going to keep ascending for as long as you can, even should it take you to the gates of damnation.”

  Alex took no pains to hide his ruthless grin. “And I won’t stop even there.”

  To his credit, Lei laughed. “May your ascension never stop, my friend. May you rise to the peaks of wisdom and cultivation and achieve all your dreams in this life, or the next, you who came so nobly came to my aid.” And this time, it was Cheng Lei offering Alex a solemn bow. “May all your travels bear you ripened fruit, and your steps never flag for hunger or thirst.”

  Alex laughed. “May your reign prove long and fruitful. May Ruidians, kitsune, and True-bloods all know peace and prosperity under your wise and beneficent rule.”

  He quickly turned around and all but fled before the prince could say another word, knowing he had definitely said too much already. Yet he couldn’t help but permit himself a fierce smile when, finally, he began to feel the softest of breezes brush against him, began to hear a terrible roar that was as much the ground shaking as it was souls shrieking, as inconceivable quantities of water came crashing down from the heavens above to the netherrealms below.

  The exultation he felt, when the growing incline became a shimmering jade stairway in truth, filled his heart with fierce joy as he continued his ascent, daring a path which even those with the potential for Jade might fear to tread.

  13

  The ascent was beyond remarkable, and he found himself wishing more than once on his journey of a thousand massive jade steps across the heavens themselves, as he admired the magnificent vistas of alien planets, that his friend was still by his side.

  Yet
Alex feared not even Cheng Lei would have survived the storm of heavenly energy he felt washing through him, for all that he gamely continued to ascend. He gloried in dashing up the steps, laughing at the sheer joy of seeming to race between the majestic moons in the silver blue sky, and his eyes alighted with wonder at glimpses of lush valleys and snow-capped mountains upon the moons’ surfaces. For just a heartbeat, he couldn’t help but wonder if his own world seed was among their number.

  He took a deep breath of misty golden light, savoring the pristine revelations flooding him as his lungs flooded with wild Qi. He chose to accept and even revel in the sights before him, no matter how fantastic and wild the visions were, in this realm that was as much metaphor and dream as reality. Or perhaps, it was the reality underlying the wondrous dream he had awoken to just a handful of months ago, but might as easily have been years or countless lifetimes.

  He might never know for sure.

  What he did know was that the pressure was steadily increasing. Remarkably, it still wasn’t affecting his stride, for all that his heart hammered with exultation for the sheer joy of racing across the heavenly white clouds with each jade step, until at last, he had broken through.

  He stumbled to a halt, slack-jawed with awe at the magnificent sight before him.

  A massive throne of Jade, in the center of a pristine white pagoda that rested upon a bed of silky white clouds that gave him a bird’s eye view of the entire world splayed out before him. His vision was suddenly enhanced to such an exquisite degree, it was almost as if he could see the individual leaves swaying upon countless trees throughout an endless panorama of forests and fields covering so much of the mountains and valleys below.

  He shivered with awe and wonder, eyes widening upon sights that filled him with sudden foreboding, before he forced himself to push such earthly concerns out of mind, focused only upon the miracle before him.

  The jade throne enticed and called out to him, and Alex had to bite his lip, savoring the sudden sharp sting and coppery tang of his own blood as he took a sudden lurching step forward, understanding at once the throne’s promise, and its peril.