“As my disciple would say. Remember this moment,” Gen said, turning to look at the head elder.
Gen’s lips peeled back, and he gave the other elders and masters a feral smile worthy of a wolf. “Remember it and wish you had taken a different course.
“Now, stand with me or against me.”
Ash couldn’t help but smile at the display.
“Gen is… ferocious,” Jia said. “I like our master.”
“So do I,” Ash said. “So do I.”
Twenty-Four
Gen and the head elder stared at each other for several more seconds. Neither one seemed willing to make the first move.
Jia cocked her arm back and tossed the cane up to Gen.
Snatching it out of the air, the old librarian set the tip down in front of himself, then leaned over it. He looked just as he always had, except bulging with muscles and with little in the way of clothes.
“How’s young master Deng, by the way?” Gen asked, his tone silken and smooth. “I haven’t seen him since he was thrown out for… well… crippling me.”
The head elder had been staring at Gen this entire time. Clearly at a loss for words or how to handle the situation as a whole.
“He is well. I’ll let him know you’ve recovered,” the head elder said.
“Oh, that’d be great. Maybe I could come visit him,” Gen added.
Coughing into his hand, an elder stepped up and pressed his fists together toward the head elder.
“Senior, we should move on to the examination. There is a certain amount of time that is required to get all the disciples through,” said the elder.
“Ah, yes, of course,” said the head elder, nodding.
“Alright. Everyone, please follow me. We’ll move to the testing area and begin the examinations.”
Gen watched the elders and masters begin shuffling away. He made no move to follow them.
Instead, he turned toward Jia and Ash and walked toward them.
“Ash, Jia,” the old librarian said, coming up to his two disciples. “I believe I owe you two a considerable amount for those pills.
“They didn’t just restore me to what I had been, but allowed me to break through to a point that isn’t far off from where I should be now, if I had been training normally all this time.”
Ash and Jia immediately pressed their fists together and bowed their heads to Gen.
“It is our pleasure,” Jia murmured.
“As our master, it is our strength when you have strength,” Ash added. “Though I must admit, I was quite pleased to see you manhandle them so easily.”
Gen grinned at both of them and then gestured toward the retreating crowd.
“Come. We should follow them, or they’ll rule against us for falling behind. I’ll not forget this, though. It isn’t something a normal disciple could offer a master,” Gen said.
The head elder had led everyone into a building. By the time the three of them caught up, they were able to walk in as if they’d been in line the entire time.
Just at the rear end of it.
Inside was a large open chamber. Large enough to fit everyone comfortably and still have room for more.
“Hmph,” Gen said, looking around. “I’ll go stand with the other masters. And just so you know. Even if you both fail, I’ll make sure your lives in the Outer Sect are fair. Fair and even handed.”
“Thank you, Master, but I think we’ll succeed. I have confidence in our abilities,” Ash said.
“Yes. Though I fear Ash may surrender if it comes down to the two of us at the end,” Jia said.
Gen quirked an eyebrow at Ash and then left.
There wasn’t much else to see or do here. It was just a massive assembly room with a single door opposite the one they’d come in from.
The two of them would just have to wait until the tournament was underway. Sighing, Ash looked to Jia and gave her a lopsided smile.
“Keep your tongue in your head,” Jia said. “It seems they will begin immediately.”
Ash looked over to the spot where he’d seen the elders and masters gathering.
Sure enough, the head elder seemed to be preening himself moments before he planned on speaking.
“Each of you will be allowed to proceed through the door over there.
“Beyond that is a selection of doors. Nine, to be exact.
“You will need to select a door and go through it. I cannot tell you what to expect once you do, as even I do not know,” the head elder said. “This trial was prepared by the Inner Sect elders, and only they know what lies in wait for you.”
Ha, I don’t believe that for a god-damned second. Not only do you know, you already warned your people about it.
“The expectation of you is very simple. Make it to the other side of the challenge hall. If you’re able to do that, you’ll be eligible to make it to the next examination.
“This is a timed challenge, mind you. The fifty with the best times will move on; those who aren’t in that group will not,” the head elder said, folding his hands into his sleeves. “One final note. Each door has a different challenge. It would be best if you do your best to have luck on your side during the selection. Or at least an ability that will help you see through obscuring artifacts.
“Good luck, one and all!”
Jia sighed and put her hands behind her back as she began to walk off to the side. It was obvious she didn’t want to be around anyone else.
Ash followed her, his eyes moving down to the sway of her hips as she moved.
Damn, since when did I become such a horn dog?
Well, actually, that isn’t a fair question. Haven’t gotten laid since I came here.
“And of course, they will all know which doors to take,” Jia said with a shake of her head, her words crashing through his thoughts. “This sect is very corrupt.”
Ash couldn’t help but agree, nodding.
Turning around, Jia faced him and came to a stop.
“You’re not wrong. But… I get the impression this is true for all sects. This is just the way it is. Might makes right,” Ash said.
“It is a pity you are right. Maybe we could travel around and try to find a sect that is not so blind to its needs.”
“Wouldn’t mind that much. As it stands, I’m not sure Yan would want to stay here anyway.”
“Ah… yes. Yan,” Jia said, nodding her head. “I imagine Yue would come as well.”
“Huh? Oh. Eh… I mean, I know she looks at me like a lovesick puppy at times, but I can’t imagine she’d leave here after she’s set up,” Ash said.
Jia looked at him and quirked an eyebrow.
“You admit it?”
“What, that she seems to have an infatuation with me? Well, yeah. I’m not blind. Or stupid,” Ash said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“And Moira?” Jia prompted.
“Wants to get into my bed. For what reason, I don’t know—which is why she’s not in it.”
“Curious. Is that the only reason you resist her?”
Ash opened his mouth to reply, only to have an elder show up in front of him.
“Disciple of Gen, it’s your turn,” said the man. Without waiting for Ash to speak, or to even follow him, he began to walk toward the door on the far side.
Ash smiled at Jia and bobbed his head. “See you on the other side.”
The elder opened the door and held it aside. “In you go.”
Ash walked through and looked around. It was exactly what the head elder had said. Nine doorways.
Behind him, the door slammed shut, the doorknob practically hitting him in the ass.
Glaring at the way he’d come for a second, Ash activated Sneaky Peeky. Turning his eyes to the doors, he started to inspect them one by one.
At first, he didn’t see anything. They all seemed like doors without anything to them.
“Cracked it. You should see consideration-Icons now,” Locke said.
Blinking, Ash looked to the
door in front of him.
Sure enough, the colored icons were there now.
“This route could pose problems; you would probably defeat it,” Ash said aloud.
“So it would seem. There are no doors that seem to be lesser than this one, though there is one other that is it’s equal. All the others would appear to be stronger,” Locke said.
“And how do you justify that assumption?”
“There’s a script written into the obfuscation wards themselves, rating their difficulty.”
“Huh, convenient.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be much of a test if you didn’t have a way to stand out.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Ash grabbed the handle and swung the door inward.
In front of him was a corridor. It was only three people wide, but he could see larger rooms interspersed along its path.
“Interesting,” Ash muttered.
Walking into the corridor, he closed the door behind himself.
No sooner had the door closed, the immediate floor of the corridor in front of Ash fell away.
“Ooook. I mean… sure. Right. No floor.”
Squatting down, Ash looked into the empty floor.
There was no seeming end to the depths as they fell away.
“Yeah. Infinite darkness. Great. So… they said this was a test of Spiritual Sense. Right? That was focus and channeling Qi out through my hands.”
Bobbing his head left and right, Ash thought on the situation.
Holding up his left hand, he began pushing Qi through his body. Channeling it toward his palm.
Rapidly, Qi flowed from his Dantian and out of his hand, faster than he would have expected.
“Ok. And what do we do with it now. I mean… how much can I make? Can I just… make a plank?”
Focusing on the Qi, Ash forced more and more out through his hand. In his mind, he was aiming to create a long plank that would stretch from this side to the other.
Spanning the gap, literally.
In no time at all, his Qi had done as he’d wished. A plank of solid Qi had been formed.
“Great. Let’s cross and then see if we can’t just… take our Qi back.”
Disconnecting the Qi from his hand, Ash stared at the plank. He was wondering if it would vanish or remain where he’d put it.
Taking two breaths, he judged that it wasn’t going anywhere.
Getting up, he brushed the dirt off his knees and then began to cross the chasm.
Putting one foot in front of the other Ash walked along the plank. There was no movement in the board at all. It was stiff. Stiff as concrete, and seemingly unbreakable.
Reaching the other side, Ash leaned down and pressed his hand to the solidified Qi.
Scraping across the tile, the Qi began to enter his palm and zip right back into his Dantian.
“Ok, so… that was easy. And enlightening. I wonder if I could make Qi arrows. Shoot them with a bow,” Ash mused.
“You talk to yourself a lot,” Locke said suddenly.
“If I speak it out loud, it takes longer to do. The thought stays there longer. When I just think it, it runs away. Sometimes I lose hold of it entirely and I forget what I was thinking of.”
“That sounds…”
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyways, moving on,” Ash said, turning around and walking down the corridor.
Reaching the first room, he began to inspect what he was looking at.
It was empty except for five pillars, aligned in a row and facing him.
Each one had a different color. Black, white, yellow, red, and green.
“Alright, so—”
Explosions of Qi shot out from each of the pillars. Balls of colored energy spinning towards him.
“Shit!”
Ash called up his Qi again, formed it into five semi-circles, and shoved it all forward with both hands.
Each semi-circle hit one of the balls of Qi. The force behind his expulsion from his Dantian was stronger than the energy spheres, and the semi-circles cupped them perfectly. Right up to the point that each one hit the ground, trapping the balls of energy against it.
“This is just fucking stupid,” Ash grumbled. “What the hell am I supposed to do with that, huh?”
Walking over to the closest of his Qi manifestations, Ash tentatively lifted up an edge.
Bright-yellow Qi blazed out, causing him to drop the manifestation back down.
“Fine, you keep it. Whatever. I didn’t want it anyways.”
Ash moved to the far end of the room and continued down the corridor.
“This feels strange. I think they switched the door on us as soon as we entered. Or changed the script to be different than what it said,” Locke said.
“That’s no surprise. They’re all out to get me.”
A number of walls of energy flared up in front of Ash. They were all flamelike. Writhing and twisting with tongues of fire toward the ceiling.
Ash stood there, staring at this recent obstruction.
“Uh…”
“This is somewhat odd. You could technically just—”
Ash lifted his hands up and threw out a massive plank of Qi over the entire floor.
With what sounded like a wet fart, Ash’s giant Qi board slammed down. The roar of the flames was gone. The intense light that had flooded the hall no longer existed.
Sighing, Ash walked across the Qi board.
“Yeah. Could just do the same thing. I think this has to do with the density of your Qi.”
“Oh?”
“Remember, they had a test designed specifically to measure the density of your Qi. Your Qi is a solid thing. It isn’t a liquid at all.”
“Uh huh,” Ash said.
Moving to the other side of the massive plank he’d made, Ash bent down and drew the Qi back in.
No sooner than he’d done so, the flames went straight back up to the ceiling.
“Well, whatever. It’s not really an issue. If it’s easy for me, it’s easy.”
Ash started walking down the corridor again.
Then he stopped and frowned.
“So long as I’m in contact with my Qi, I can use it and make it move. So… why not just make a hamster ball,” Ash said.
Holding up his hands on each side of himself, Ash began to channel and form his Qi. In the time it took him to take several breaths, his Qi had formed up around him into a giant square. There was only a single rectangle of space that wasn’t filled in, and it was right in front of his face so he could see where he was going.
Keeping his hands pressed to his Qi on each side of himself, he began to visualize the Qi shifting and rolling itself forward. Slithering along the corridor.
The square jumped forward and Ash felt like he was starting to move.
“Well. That’s certainly one way to do it.”
Something slammed into the bottom of the square, but there was no damage Ash could see on the inside of the square.
“Yup, that was a thing.”
Several more bangs hit the bottom of the square as it ground along. Ash didn’t feel any type of drain on his Dantian or himself.
In fact, he felt pretty good right now.
Red light suddenly flooded the hallway. On the right side of his Qi square there was a loud bang. Followed by something on the left.
“More things… or something. Hey, Locke, can you tell me what they are?”
“Qi attacks using various elements. They’re pretty strong and well formed. Whoever set these up did so to truly punish someone.”
“Which means either they’re just sadistic, or they really did set up a particular corridor for people they didn’t want to succeed, and then moved it as needed.”
“That’d be a logical assumption.”
Ash kept himself moving ahead. Countless bangs and thumps were heard all around him. Making the entire Qi square shudder and jump as he went along.
“Expand the square by ten feet in front of you. There’s another gap.”
/> Ash immediately did so, then raised the ceiling of his square as well. Wedging the corners in firmly, Ash simply filled the entire corridor now.
“That works.”
Ash grew bored as the minutes dragged on.
The bangs, slams, and clangs continued to sound out all around him as he rolled along.
“Seems rather long,” Ash muttered.
“Then you’re in luck, Chosen One. Because we’re about to—”
There was a massive explosion of noise and Ash found himself looking into daylight out his front viewing port.
“Uh.”
“Be free,” Locke finished.
“What in the nine kingdoms!?” shouted someone nearby.
Ash pulled in the Qi that was around him and shoved it back into his Dantian.
Looking back over his shoulder, he could see the corridor.
It was a wreck. There was smashed columns, broken stones, and scattered furniture in every direction. Numerous clouds of elemental Qi and balls of force were rolling around aimlessly. Their launchers having been broken or left active.
Turning his head back to the front, Ash found only a single master staring at him.
“Hi, I’m Ashley Sheng. Disciple of Gen Sheng,” Ash said. “What’s my time?”
The master blinked several times before turning to look at another man off to one side that Ash hadn’t noticed.
“Three turns of the glass. He is… the fastest so far. It might be the fastest ever,” said the second man.
“Ah… good job. You can go inside or wait here. You’re the first to finish.”
“Great. I’ll just go sit down over there, then,” Ash said, motioning to a bench nearby.
Sitting down, Ash smoothed out his training gi with his hands. Then he looked around, sighed, and leaned back against the wall behind him.
Folding his hands in his lap, he wondered how long it’d be before someone else showed up.
A massive explosion shook everything around him. Looking to the building he’d come from, Ash watched as a door was simply blown off its hinges.
Out poured a flood of water and water Qi.
It was as if someone had opened up a hole into an ocean, such was the amount of water that blew out.
Then the flow cut off, and Jia was standing there alone.
“Oh, good show,” Ash said, waving a hand at her when she turned in his direction.
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