Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior’s Path

by Johnson, M. H.

  Stone Fist comprehension is now at 30%

  Find Weakness Perception check made!

  He couldn’t totally quench the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, taking damage from a Bronze disciple such as Dineng. So much less dangerous than the deadly foes he had faced in the depths of the Underrealm, the young cultivator was yet the recipient of a transcendent breakthrough that had somehow allowed him to achieve mastery of an attack uniquely suited to one who would use stone to smash through all that opposed him.

  Alex snarled even as he winced with pain, sensing no less than three spectators radiating gleeful hate while positioning themselves to hem him in.

  Yet he couldn’t help smiling, despite his peril, as his enemy’s transcendent flow of Qi blazed so brightly to his eyes, allowing him to understand Dineng like never before.

  And when his enemy roared and crashed into his temporary lackeys, Alex had already leaped to the rustling branches overhead, springing so artfully that he doubted anyone had noted his use of Bullrush, save the one looking right at him from behind. The sycophant had received a passing heel kick to his face that sent him sprawling, just as a roaring Dineng crashed into his dazed form and sent him flying into the Spirit Wolves as Alex laughed from the tree branch he was hanging onto with a single arm.

  Power healing engaged!

  Soul Sight Skillcheck made!

  “Well done, Dineng! You sent an innocent bystander flying. I’m sure there’s a penalty for that somewhere in the school rules. But hey, maybe they make exceptions for clumsy fools. What do you think?”

  Alex choked back his agonized cry behind a grimace of a smile as his clavicle fused and bound itself in just a handful of seconds.

  “Get down here, fool! You can’t hang in a tree like that! You’re dodging the fight! That’s cowardice!” Dineng indulged in a vicious smile. “That’s automatic forfeiture!”

  Alex laughed away the claim before it could gain traction, relieved to finally feel the cool black tingle he had been striving for as he finally slid it between his sock and his skin, invisible to all. “There’s no rule that says I can’t choose the terrain! Any soldier worth his salt fights to his strengths and his enemy’s weaknesses! You’re so eager to show me those mighty fists of yours, why don’t you come up here and give it a try?”

  Dineng snarled with strangled fury, racing up to the trunk and pounding it when Alex seemed to flip out of sight. “Get down here now, fool—"

  Before being sent lurching back, nose crushed and teeth flying in a spray of blood as Alex whipped around the trunk, the heel of his foot smashing into his opponent’s skull.

  Dineng stumbled back in surprise, and Alex roared and charged, refusing to give his enemy any room to maneuver or dodge.

  You have avoided right cross!

  Low angle kick critically hits left calf!

  Spinning elbow fails to crack left ocular orbit!

  Low angle kick critically hits left calf!

  Overhand punch successfully parried! You have taken 1 Superficial Wound and no significant damage!

  Alex weaved and struck his roaring, lumbering opponent, skillfully slipping past the powerhouse blows. He found it easier than ever to dart past lumbering charges that were now restricted to painful limps as his opponent’s left calf began to spasm; unfortunately, fueled by fury as his opponent was, it did no more than make him stumble as he continued to lurch forward, desperate to connect his killing strikes with a smiling nemesis that seemed to weave aside at just the right moments before fading back. Vicious blows, which should have shattered stone, instead did no more than bruise toughened forearms that were far too resilient, as if his enemy wore iron gauntlets underneath his changshan sleeves.

  And just when Dineng gave a furious, satisfied smile, finally getting the Ruidian in position for one last deadly shove into the arms of the waiting Spirit Wolf who had promised him so much if he could only force the Ruidian out, his enemy had spun away with a laugh that chilled the fierce young Earth cultivator to the core.

  It was a laugh filled with dark mischief and cold disdain, echoing like the howling wail of a storm which passed before lightning cracked and thunder roared, just like the incredible blast of brilliant pain flashing inside Dineng’s skull as he kissed the rich, loamy soil that slammed into his mouth before blackness sent his thoughts drifting away.

  Silver Swan spinning heel kick has critically struck your opponent! Dineng has collapsed! Experience earned!

  “How the hell did he move so fast!?”

  “Did you see that kick? The way he spun around Dineng, just to build up momentum, before smashing in the back of his head!?”

  Alex ignored the shocked whispers of the students behind him, smiling coldly into the hate-filled eyes of the Silver Giant glaring at him under the rustling branches just a few feet away.

  “You will be facing me sooner or later, Ruidian. It’s just a matter of time.”

  Alex held Duo Ku’s fiery gold gaze, doing his best to reveal nothing of the sudden wave of dizziness and nausea he felt, meridians straining against yet more spiritual potency flooding his soul.

  “I know.”

  The giant smiled back. “I’m going to enjoy breaking every bone in your body.”

  Alex smirked. “You’ll try.”

  This earned a mocking laugh. “You don’t think I’ll be able to? You think you’ll actually be able to do anything, save fill the air with your desperate screams for mercy that will never come?”

  Qi Perception check made!

  Alex smiled and whipped back his left leg as he spun right, catching the feet of a charging cultivator, who went flying right into Duo Ko. The grinning monster moved aside so quickly, it sent chills racing down Alex’s spine.

  Worse, the giant gave a clinical nod. “You’re both fast and graceful, for a mid-ranked Bronze. You also have a warrior’s sense of your environment. This is good. It will make transforming you into my slave all the sweeter.”

  “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

  “Oh, I think it will, Ruidian. Sooner than you think.” Duo Ku flashed a mocking grin before turning about and sauntering away, totally ignoring the spitting, fuming aspirant who had tried to shove Alex past the tree ring.

  “You pushed me!” the youth fumed, hot black eyes glaring into Alex’s own. “You’ll pay for that, you stupid piece of Ruidian filth!”

  Alex just stared at the young man, taking a long, cold look at the backstabbing coward, making sure his contempt showed in his gaze. The young cultivator paled and trembled, lowering his head in sudden fear. Alex, now expecting threats from all angles, couldn’t help but pick up the hushed whispers all around.

  “Did you see Dineng’s face? He was having a breakthrough, and his fist glowed so brightly, I could actually sense the spiritual energy!”

  “I know. Look at that tree he shattered! And he still couldn’t land a solid punch on that damned monkey.”

  “Not true. He struck the Ruidian’s shoulder when Lan snuck in a foot and tangled his legs. I heard the crack.”

  “Well, he still flowed away from Dineng’s blows like the whole thing was a dance, or a play.”

  “Do you think they’re really enemies, or working together?”

  “What would be the point of that?”

  “How the hell should I know?”

  Alex turned around, ignoring the trembling youth still refusing to gaze back up at him, now doing his best to tune out the continued murmurs and whispers of the other initiates as the five instructors from the day before bowed before Master Bang Jiao, who waited beside the five evenly spaced training mannequins once more.

  Bang Jiao beamed at the class. “Good. Everyone is up at first light and ready to train. And some of you have already begun!” His smile turned cold. “It appears our Dineng was the beneficiary of a breakthrough that instilled him with the Earth’s considerable wisdom, much to that tree’s chagrin,” he said, pointing to the shattered pear tree that could have been Alex’s h
ead, if he had been any slower.

  Alex felt a cold chill in his gut, only then realizing how close to peril he had truly been.

  “Alas, his epiphany did not extend to prudence or victory, for all that there was perhaps no better time than for him to gamble what little he did have in the hopes of claiming his old wealth and more. He played the fool, replacing insight with a concussion, and perhaps losing all he had gained. And now he is penniless and in debt to me, lacking even the resources to forge himself into a man capable of getting any of that back.”

  Hard eyes pierced into the class, one student at a time. “Do any of you disagree with that assessment?”

  None dared even raise their gaze, until Master Bang Jiao’s eyes lit upon a grinning Alex.

  Bang Jiao furrowed his brow. “Speak.”

  “Only to say that there truly was no better time to challenge me than when he did. You could call him a fool, or a warrior savvy enough to take the unexpected opportunity that had presented itself. He was not afraid to seize the moment, judging the gamble to be worth the risk. Had he been successful, he would have redeemed himself for all past transgressions in his own eyes, and, I suspect, in the eyes of everyone else here as well.”

  Bang Jiao raised an eyebrow. “And yet he lost.”

  Alex bowed his head. “True.” He glanced at the destroyed tree behind him. “Yet he came close to defeating me, perhaps far more completely than I’d like to admit, to say nothing of earning what I suspect would have been a mighty Spirit Wolf bounty as well.” He chuckled softly. “After all, what do you call a fool whose plan actually works?”

  “A disciple of the Fox?” quipped a smiling Zhu Bi, squeezing Yingpei’s hand as they made their way to the assembled students while pointedly ignoring the few bemused murmurs from their fellow students.

  Alex grinned. “I was going to say ‘inspired’, but that works just as well.” His grin widened. “Unfortunately for Dineng, he’s no disciple of the Fox, and his plan was not quite as inspired as he had hoped. But looking at it objectively—as objectively as I can, anyway—gambling a couple tomes for what he thought was an absolute fortune wasn’t the worst of gambits, especially considering the tree-shattering breakthrough he was riding.”

  Bang Jiao gazed intently at Alex for a tense moment before flashing an oddly approving smile. “I commend your own inspired movements, boy, in spite of the numerous times you have come so close to playing the fool since the moment you first entered this school. But no matter. Victory is yours, and a general’s commendations as well.” His gaze hardened. “But the Granite Mountain Cultivation tome you have acquired is not to be wagered under any circumstances. Is that clear? You may return it to the library or give it to me for secured credits. Or, of course, use it for your own ends, but the only one who may ever challenge you for it is the fool currently resting his bruised ego and skull.”

  Alex bowed his head. “It will be as you say, Master Bang Jiao. However, due to circumstances beyond my control…”

  “I know. Your talisman is unable to resist the challenge or terms of any other, as if it were base Copper, far below even the lowest-ranked Bronze.”

  “So it would seem, Master.”

  Bang Jiao glared at the students present. “Fortunately, no student who managed to make their way this far in life and ascend those steps is a fool in the ways that truly matter. Is that not so?”

  Numerous solemn nods served as a collective response.

  “Don’t worry, we won’t try to claim the book, Master,” assured one student, a smirking Bang Jiao not even deigning to answer that which shouldn’t even need to be said aloud, or so his demeanor suggested.

  “Very well! Then despite the unexpected outcome, you all now see just how powerful true masters of even basic Elemental striking techniques can be, if one has an aptitude for it! You might shatter trees or even powerful enemy cultivators. So many potential opponents lack the ability to channel their spiritual energy in any way beyond raw strength and incredible vitality. But since you all are a cut above the average cultivator, even the average Bronze, I expect you all to master your elemental affinities before you even think of leaving the Aspirants’ quarter on your own!”

  More than one student bowed their head, though one of the two girls Alex had rescued the other day raised a tentative hand.

  “Yes, Jing Le?”

  She swallowed. “What if we’re still just basic cultivators, and we haven’t even broken through to Bronze?”

  “Did you not spend nearly two hours with the librarians yesterday, finding not just one but two purification and rejuvenation tomes that would be absolutely perfect for your proclivities?”

  She paled and hesitated awkwardly. “I… yes, Master Bang Jiao.”

  Bang Jiao smiled. “Then I think you’d better get cultivating, don’t you?”

  She quickly jerked a nod. “At once, sir.”

  “Good.” He gazed into the crowd of students. “Well? I know how many of you are basic cultivators. You had the presumptuousness to think you could actually survive the Golden Steps, and you have! But if you think the path before you will be easy, you are sadly mistaken. I expect each of you to be cultivating between six and eight hours every day, when not engaging in basic weapons practice and doing all you can to better yourselves and achieve your next breakthrough!” His gaze hardened. “And I expect none of you to be so foolish as to take any cultivation pills. At this point in your growth, they will do you far more harm than good.”

  Within moments, the group of students gathered before the five instructors had shrunk to almost half its former size.

  Bang Jiao gave an approving grin. “Excellent! I assume each of you attempted to glean useful insights from your treatises last night. Now it is best that you focus on your chosen element and learn these techniques as fast as you can!” His smile became downright evil. “Because the trial our two most entertaining fools engaged in this morning is something you will all be forced to face when your classmates learn these skills first and crush you to dust with them!”

  This earned a number of winces and furtive glances, and a soft chuckle from their mentor.

  “That’s right, disciples. For those of you who have already achieved Bronze, I have decided that for the remainder of this semester, you may all challenge each other without limit, to the extend that your talismans will allow it. Best you study your treatises and the lessons these five will impart, as if your advancement at this school depended upon it. Because it does.”

  Alex did just that, along with well nearly two dozen other desperately focused aspirants, all watching the demonstrations of fists and shields of fire, water, stone, bronze, and wood being used against their equals and opposites. Alex himself was careful to note the flow of elemental Qi and how they interacted with one another, as well as the actual fighting style of elemental fist and shield supplemented by low, darting snap kicks that could be quickly delivered whenever the opportunity presented itself.

  He knew he had an advantage, able to so clearly sense the flows of spiritual energy between all the exchanges, yet he had yet to read a single elemental treatise, and so many of the other students present had already been at the school for well over a month, and were no doubt either already skilled at these attacks or on the cusp of breaking through, even if not quite so magnificently as Dineng had.

  This was a failing Alex intended to correct as soon as he could, slowly slipping to the back of the cluster of observing students. And the moment he heard his mentor say that the day was theirs to study, cultivate, and challenge, he had already blinked to the Silver-ranked pagoda he had claimed as his own, slipping inside and sealing the door before anyone else had even turned around. He was eager to learn all he could about the technique that could have ruptured his skull, cracking open the pair of treatises Dineng had mastered to such overwhelming effect.

  Spiritual Teacher skill check made!

  Within minutes of opening and reading the volumes, Alex began to sense not
just the words, but the meaning behind the words. What the author truly intended to say.

  And with a shiver of awe, he realized it went deeper than that, tasting the tiniest fraction of the wondrous epiphany that had allowed him to transcribe his own transcendent tome. He caught glimpses of the author’s own experiences, his struggles to grasp the discipline, and the delicious sense of triumph he had felt when not only successfully bringing this manifestation of Stone Qi into existence, but also refining his technique to the point that he had become its master.

  Alex chuckled softly, never having imagined there could be so much meaning between the words.

  Congratulations! You have a had a breakthrough! You have learned the Spiritual Student skill! The rank of this skill will always be equal to Spiritual Teacher skill rank. Successful use of this skill will allow you to understand the cultivation manual or treatise being read as if a portion of the original author’s memories were your own! (Note: All Cultivation manuals are infused with a certain amount of life force to preserve the work and to imprint the transcendent meanings behind the calligraphies used. This skill has no effect on mundane books written by non-cultivators.)

  Stone Fist comprehension is now at 50%

  For the better part of the day, Alex did his best to lose himself in the treatise, pausing only when his concerned friends gave a gentle knock on the door to slip him some hot soup and cold water, otherwise deigning not to disturb him at all, though Zhu Bi graced him with a proud smile and approving nod when, just for a second, Alex felt the flow of Earth Qi snap into existence around his fist, before fading once more.

  Stone Fist comprehension is now at 65%

  “You’re getting there, Alex!” enthused the cheerful girl.

  Alex grinned. “I hope I didn’t miss too much,” he said, earning a solemn shake of the kitsune’s head as she waited for just the right moment to slip out unseen.

  “No, Alex, you’re fine. Of course, Bang Jiao wasn’t happy that you were missing weapons class, but when I told him how well you already fought—before my boy shushed me,” she mock—glared at her grinning boyfriend, “he flashed his typical mysterious smile and said he was eager to see your skills for himself and that, yes, by all means, you should do everything you can to master Stone Fist before you come out of a pagoda you really should have no access to at all, but yet somehow do.”