A week isn’t really enough to recover from the beating she received, but blunt force trauma isn’t really considered all that noteworthy for the sect. She could just not show up, but, well, image. So it is that she walks to the centre of the field facing a girl who, frankly, looks terribly smug. Tantra might feel offended, if she had an ounce of cultivators pride. The crowd gathers in anticipation, as they always do when a match starts. It’s starting to get old, there’s been almost fifty matches a day for the past week, how do they stop themselves from getting bored? Ah well, cultivators, that can just about explain any deviation from normal human behaviour.
“To think I’d be fighting you,” the girl says, “truly the gods have deigned to bless this humble disciple”
Tantra raises a brow, “do I know you?”
“of course not, little harlot.” she sneers, “but I know you. Feel free to grovel for forgiveness”
“Apologies, honourable rival, but forgiveness for what?”
The girl scoffs, “surely you cannot think me such a fool to believe this little act of yours?”
Tantra is thoroughly confused, is this girl high? She must be high. There are plenty of Rolsam flowers in the DarkWoods, though they’re much deeper in, maybe she buys them from her sect's merit hall. A bit of a waste but she’s not one to judge, or care.
“It’s no act,” Tantra says, getting into her stance, “but I feel as though you won’t believe me.”
“So there is some wisdom in that head,” She says getting into her own, “shame I’ll be beating it out of that brain in just a few moments.”
Tantra decides that maybe she should be more proactive in fights and rushes forward. Also she’s kind of done with the banter. She sets herself up with a jab that is pushed aside and countered with a hook, Tantra ducks and brings her fist up in an uppercut. The girl dodges and then jabs her in the face, Tantra barely blocks the following cross coming for her sternum and crosses her legs before bringing her right into a crescent kick that hits the girl in the side of the head. She staggers and Tantra takes advantage with a roundhouse to the side followed by-
Suddenly a fist is digging into her stomach and Tantra doubles over. It was too fast to see, let alone react to. The girl grunts as she brings her elbow down on the back of Tantra's head, bringing her to the ground. Tantra groans as she is kicked in the side.
“What?” the girl coughs out blood, “not going to get back up?”
Tantra goes to do exactly that but she is kicked in the side and brought back down to the floor.
“Come on,” the girl taunts, “where’s all that fire?”
Tantra goes to get up again and is kicked down, again.
“It’s a shame really,” the girl says, “every now and then someone comes along who doesn’t know their place, no need to worry though, I’m a very thorough teacher.”
Okay, fuck this bitch.
The next kick that goes for her side Tantra catches and as her hand screams in agony. She squeezes. She can feel the girl's ankle breaking under the pressure, and her own forearm tearing apart in front of her eyes.
The girl screams.
Tantra pulls and trips the girl, getting her down to her level. Then she straddles her and starts raining down punches with her left hand. The girl weathers the storm admirably, but with a broken ankle she can’t get the proper leverage to throw Tantra off, trying desperately to trade blows from her disadvantaged position. Tantra coughs blood in her face and continues her barrage.
Then the girl grabs her right arm and squeezes. Tantra screams as the girl takes this as an opportunity to start punching her in the face. Tantra growls and grabs the girls hand, digging nails into skin, trying to loosen her grip. It doesn’t work as she continues to squeeze Tantra’s very vulnerable hand. Tantra screams and then, likely due to the brain damage, comes down and headbuts the girl in the face.
It works, the girl lets go of her hand and Tantra comes down for another blow. This time the girl is ready, blocking then pulling her in, she takes one hand and pulls on Tantra’s hair while her other arm starts elbowing her in the temple.
One,
Two,
Thr-
-
“Papa!” Tantra yells as she jumps into her fathers arms.
“Ahh, there’s my little jewel,” he says as he squeeze her tight, “truly you are a sight for sore eyes”
A slight smile graces her fathers weathered face.
“Father,” a man says from behind Tantra, “Did the journey prove successful?”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Tokar Sol gently places down his daughter, Tantra pouts and her father chuckles.
“Now now Tantra, you know business always comes first,” Tokar says.
“But you’ve been gone for soooooo long,” Tantra whines.
“And what a journey it was!” Her father laughs. “If only the world were safer, then I could take you along to witness all its wonders.”
The man coughs into his hand.
Tokar looks sheepishly at him, “apologies Dozen, I tend to lose myself around this little devil.”
“Devil! I’m an angel!”
Dozen puts on a bemused smile, “She does have that tendency.”
Her father laughs, “Indeed she does, indeed she does.”.
-
Tantra wakes to a familiar brown ceiling while laying on a familiar grey cot.
She can tell she isn’t dreaming, after all, dreams don’t hurt so much. The bone's right arm, from the tips of her fingers to the end of her elbow feel as though they’ve been ground down to a fine dust and her muscles put through magma. She…probably used too much Qi. Still, she broke that bitch’s ankle meaning she’ll either have to forfeit her next match or fight with one leg. Personally Tantra would forfeit, but you can never tell with disciples, most of them have tremendous brain damage after all. Her too, but that’ll sort itself out once she’s done with her foundations, which should be anywhere from ten to twenty years from now. Fuck that’s a long time to maintain the same agonizing routine, cultivators do this for lifetimes? How? Do they just secretly hate themselves? Or are they really just masochists?
Even immortals keep training after they’ve reached what is essentially the goal, at least according to all the books about them, and if Tantra chooses to stick with this life, that’ll be what awaits her.
She shivers, no, absolutely not.
The door to her room opens to a creak, and while she expects to see Toka instead she finds the librarian. Caramel skin glistening as he looks out the window of her room with…are his eyes literally twinkling, oh this can’t be good.
“Tantra!” he says with a wide smile as he turns to her, which is horrifying, “congratulations!”
“Forgiveness master, but for what? I lost the fight.” she says carefully.
“Oh it’s nothing so banal as that, you got the attention of Jorin! And Korosona. Which means that I can officially give you this!” He says as he hands a white leather journal to her. She just stares perplexed at it, then back at the librarian, she decides to ask the obvious question first.
“What is it?” She asks.
“Oh it’s nothing much, just a manual on how to advance through foundations quicker,” he says smugly, “It’s rare that one so young got approval, rarer still for two”
Tantra blinks, “what do you mean master? Isn’t there only one way to progress to foundations?”
He waves her off, “that’s what we tell everyone so they don’t commit accidental suicide, but each sect has their own secrets, and this is one of ours. Don’t show it to anyone.”
Tantra blinks some more because what?
“What do you mean accidental suicide? ”
“Connect the dots girl, aren’t you supposed to be smart? Nevermind just read the book.”
Tantra is overwhelmed by the cheery disposition of the usually grumpy librarian. Why is he so happy? Did he advance while no one was looking? She decides to shelve that as ‘cultivator weirdness’ and grabs the book.
“Uhm, thank you master?”
“No need, no need. Hurry and open it child.”
Tantra does as she says and turns to the first page.
The Serpent’s blood infusion technique.
What she proceeds to read is, in fact, a very colourful way to commit suicide.
“Master…how am I supposed to boost my heart with Qi without dying?”
“Keep reading girl, keep reading.” and so she does.
In the heart there are four chambers where blood pools before…
Tantra reads, amazed, the amount of control this would-
Oh.
“Did you plan this?” she asks the man accusingly.
“Now now, is that any way to speak to your patron? I may or may not have moved some pieces on the board, but what does it matter? It’s a pretty good deal for you all told.” He says
Tantra squints at him, nothing is free.
“What do you want?” she asks slowly.
He gives her a sad smile at that, “would it be so surprising if I just wanted to see someone disadvantaged rise to greatness? We always read those stories, but rarely do we get to see their beginnings.”
“You think I can become an immortal?” she says, in utter disbelief.
“Why not?” he questions, “your deficiencies will stop mattering once you anchor your soul, and you already display a drive that could take you to the end of the path. Even though it’s for your family rather than cultivation.”
“How do you know I even have the ‘drive’ master, did you watch my every move?” She asks.
“You have no meridians in your arms.” He says simply.
Tantra’s never going to stop being confused, is she? “So?” she asks.
“You have no idea how impressive it is to boost your arm with pure control, do you? Especially so early on in the book I gave you, have you already reached three threads?”
“Yes?” she says slowly.
“Oh you silly foolish girl, you have no idea how long that should take, I didn’t expect you to get there until perhaps the end of the year.” He says
She blinks at him, “that’s only four months away master, in the timeframe of a cultivator that’s practically nothing.”
He sighs, “you really should give yourself some credit, I don’t know if it's dedication or talent, but you’ve proven yourself. Why argue against it? Isn’t that contrary to a merchant's philosophy?”
Tantra looks down, embarrassed, “I’m just not meant to be a cultivator.”
“And why not?”
She huffs, “I don’t want to live my life dedicated to violence master.”
He blinks, “Then don’t” he says simply.