Dear Fia,
Well, today is the day. I’m finally departing for my tour of the Hell Worlds to battle the scourge of the Cursed Stars. I know that sounds kind of dramatic and all. Honestly, they say most of that time will be spent on an army cruiser just getting there and then a single night to get it all done.
It sounds dangerous, I know, but trust me I feel more than ready.
I’ve grown a lot since I’ve been here.
I’ve learned new things.
About myself.
About my path.
Most of all, I’ve finally broken through to the Sacred Soul Realm. I’m a hundred times stronger than when I left Earth and now, I can grow even stronger. Not that I have a manual or anything to guide my progression through the Sacred Soul Realm. Those things don’t seem to exist. At least not here anyway. But like everything else, I guess I’ll just need to figure that part out.
If things go to plan, I’ll be back home in less than a month.
Plenty of time to marry you before the baby comes.
I know you’re going through a lot back home.
But just hold the fort.
When I get back, the Bird Sisters and the Warden are going to pay for what they’ve done.
And then I’ll put everything right.
I re-read the words of my letter to Fia as I rode the Army skiff skyward.
It was like no skiff I had been on before. There were no seats on the inside, only harnesses on the walls to strap yourself into for the violent ride to orbit. For me and my platoon of Graduate Legionnaires it was a jostling rollercoaster ride in a tin can with windows the size of rice bowls.
It reminded me a bit of the prison skiff I had rode down from orbit when I had first arrived at Du Gok Bhong. Now here I was, some seven months later, riding the same kind of craft back to the stars again.
But unlike before, where I had no clue of what I was in for, now I was heading eyes wide open into the fray. A battle that would push the core of my twin Dao. To confront I’xol’ukz and his ilk on home soil. It was what I had trained for, prepared for, felt ready for, but executing it wasn’t going to be a barrel of laughs.
I glanced at my letter again.
By the time it reached Fia, I would hopefully already be done and on my way home to her. But there would be a heck of a lot for me to do in that time. Not least of which, was to ensure that as many of the legionnaires with me, returned home safely again. I looked over the men I was responsible for as they shook back and forth within their harnesses.
The mustached Fly boy, Ten Chui who I had made our chief scout. Juk Sui, the often times pessimistic sword master who liked to question everything, but who was pretty skillful in the Qi technique department. Then there were stalwarts like Jin Po, Li Hei and Ben Wu who I could count on to be perfect soldiers. Rounding up the ‘reliables’ was Dim Wei who had proven herself fairly capable when it came to handling the mining duties. These were the backbone of my team.
But there was one more I had under my charge that was anything but reliable.
Jei Su Long.
The blue-haired prick had been leering at me the whole ride up.
I didn’t know why, or cared, but even the likes of him I had to make sure returned safely home. Although I wouldn’t be going out of my way to guarantee it.
The jostling finally stopped and when I peered through the tiny porthole, I could see our main ride waiting for us in orbit. The Imperial Battlecruiser Xing Long hung in the darkness of space in the form of a giant Chinese dragon made out of brass and stone.
It was a reminder that within the Yee society of cultivators, form played just as much of a role as function. My last star ship had been shaped like a simple pyramid, being a prison transport, but this bore the image of its namesake.
A star dragon.
As we approached the ornate vessel, I estimated the thing had to be at least half a mile long. A door opened within the brass scales on its side, revealing a large hanger and as our craft entered it, I could see thousands of troops lined up in rank and file within a space that was large enough to fit two football fields.
The door to our skiff opened and Infantryman Wei, our liaison from the army, approached me from the front of the craft. He was young, but capable looking with a pair of thin rimmed glasses hanging on the tip of his nose. By his athletic build, I didn’t peg him for a scholar, but he could be one considering anyone in the army needed basic fitness.
“The battalion has been assembled to greet you, Legionnaire Commander,” Wei said. “You may all leave your weapons and personal affects here. I will see to transporting them to your quarters.”
With that, he ushered on board a small team of infantrymen who scrambled to collect our gear. They each gave us bows of respect as they entered and me all the more so being the leader, producing faint amounts of lemonade in their souls.
As Wei led us outside, I gauged what had to be over 5000 soldiers lined up in five companies before us. They were all dressed in olive robes with black trim, but each company had an additional color in the form of sashes across their uniforms.
Yellow, Bright Green, Blue, Red and Black.
I didn’t know what the colors meant besides distinguishing their various companies from one another, but besides that all of the soldiers looked the same. Slim, fit, shaved heads and faces and all armed with simple spears. It was a throwback to the day the Earth was conquered. It was almost laughable to see people wielding spears in the belly of a star ship, but such was the power of cultivation. Our special forces and sniper rifles didn’t have shit on these guys when they came to end our world.
And I was no different from them now.
Even unarmed I could probably take out what would have been an entire army of mortal soldiers back in the day. A testament to my growth as a cultivator and Berserker.
Wei led us to the front of the assembly where three men stood waiting for us.
One was dressed in gray and blue robes and wore a box like hat on his head. He looked in his fifties, with salt and pepper hair cut short with a thin mustache. The man next to him was short and portly, with a bald, liver-spotted head and a short white beard. He wore olive robes with black and silver trim. His chest was decorated with medals and numerous pins that I couldn’t make sense of but that made him look impressive none the less.
The last man looked out of place somewhat. He looked only in his thirties, but carried an air of a man far older than the two next to him. He was tall and clean shaven, with long blue hair, the same color as his eyes. His robes too, were more ornate and illustrious compared to the more functional robes of the military personnel.
But the biggest difference between the last man and the two he stood next to was something I couldn’t sense at all.
The power of Qi.
By his hair and eyes, it was obvious the man was a cultivator of some standing and from a prestigious house given the quality of his robes and the twin Jian blades that hung at his sides. It was also a reminder that most military personnel within the Empire were not gifted cultivators.
They were martial artists who lacked the ability to cultivate beyond the foundation realm most times. People like the Phalanx crew back at Du Gok Bhong or the veterans I’d run into back home at the Golden Spire when Iron Pot Wong invited me over for a visit.
Still even as low tier cultivators, they were much stronger than most mortals.
I brought my men to a halt and then turned them to face the three officials.
Performing a deep bow in unison, I then looked to Wei for what to do next, but he was already speaking ahead of me.
“General, may I present to you, the newest Legionnaire contingent from Du Gok Bhong,” he said. “The 28th Deployment of the 5073rd campaign.”
The short bald guy in the army greens nodded as he stepped forward.
“Greetings Legionnaires of the 28th Deployment,” he said in a voice that seemed aged by too much wine and smoke. “I am General Gong, 3rd Shield Battalion commander within His Imperial Majesty’s Army. I and my men, will be your escort to your target destination of the Hell World of Fhae I’ung.” He then turned to the man in gray robes next to him. “Transport for this mission is provided by Captain Li Jeng of His Majesty’s Imperial Navy. Anything to do with the Xing Long falls under he and his crew’s responsibility. I am certain this will be a step up from what is provided through His Majesty’s Prisons, but I wouldn’t get used to such comfort until you are on your return trip home.”
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He then chuckled making a joke of it.
We all chortled politely, maintaining our discipline as legionnaires.
When General Gong turned to introduce the last man, I could already sense what Jei Su Long had been smiling about the entire ride up. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure they might be related by the hair and eyes, or from the same clan at least.
“We have a special guest joining us on our voyage,” General Gong said. “He is One of our long-standing patrons from the Twin River Sect and a former Legionnaire himself. May I present to you, Master Tai Su Long, 3rd Elder of the Twin River Sect, 2nd Warden and Governor of Planet Lu Shui III and Legionnaire of the 19th Deployment of the 5038th campaign.”
At that, the entire army of 5000 men began a chorus of claps that filled the enormous hanger with sound. The man Tai Su Long waved his hand in the air like a celebrity and from within my ranks I spotted Jei Su Long beaming with what looked like pride.
“I thank you general for your introduction,” Tai Su Long said, giving Gong a nod. “Fellow legionnaires, you may be surprised to see One of this status attending your deployment. But rest assured I come with a purpose. Legionnaire Commander, step forward!”
My heart jumped a little at being suddenly called out, but I acquiesced, stomping my foot at attention as I advanced. A pause of confusion came next as Tai Su Long looked at me with a cross-eyed stare.
“Who the devil are you?” he said, but he didn’t wait for me to give an answer. He instead looked directly at Jei Su Long. “What is the meaning of this, nephew? Why has this man stepped ahead instead of you?”
Jei Su Long didn’t skip a beat, dropping to one knee and then speaking like he’d been rehearsing the encounter the entire ride up. “Honored uncle, the shamelessness of this man knows no bounds. He has forced the president into giving him a leadership position over me by winning but a single competition that should not have been.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and I wasn’t the only one.
The eye rolls that went throughout my platoon was almost palpable.
But all of it was lost on Tai Su Long. The man gritted his teeth in anger. “The indignation! I will not stand for this! You are a member of the Twin River Clan! You shall not be denied your position for any reason.”
“It is his fault,” Jei Su Long said looking at me. “He should be punished. The Iron Bull has usurped my position through mischief.”
Murmurs reverberated within the ranks of the soldiers.
“Silence!” General Gong shouted.
I wanted to punch the hell out of the little prick, but I was back in the cultivator’s world of broken rules and bullshit again it seemed. The ire of it triggered the core of my Twin Dao and filled my Flame with Frenzy.
Endure it, the Struggler whispered to me. Now is not the time.
Tai Su Long glared at me. “I will not waste my time dealing with a mere runt. General Gong!”
The man looked to him questioningly. “Yes, Governor Tai Su Long?”
“I need request you delay departure. I must travel to the surface for a word with the president.”
General Gong stuttered a moment. “Ah… we do have a schedule to ke—”
“I care not for your schedule!” he shouted. “My family donations support half this fleet. I will not be denied my request!”
Gong sighed. “Captain, how long may we delay before we miss the rendezvous window with the stellar gate?”
“47 minutes, General.”
Tai Su Long harrumphed. “More than enough time. Summon me a skiff, I will away at once.”
The General bowed his head. “But of course. How could we deny one of our greatest patrons.”
“You may keep them in rank,” he said as he snapped his fingers for Infantryman Wei to join him for the ride down. “This shan’t take long.”
* * *
47 minutes stretched out into an hour and then some.
The silence of standing in rank and formation was starting to kill me and I mentally retreated into the seclusion of my own mind for comfort as the minutes wore on. As I sat on my private beach with the Red-hued Struggler of my secondary soul, I cursed my fate for what would likely transpire.
How this family held such influence over even the military was beyond me.
It reinforced just how connected Jei Su Long was.
His uncle was governor of a whole damn planet, it seemed.
In Du Gok Bhong Jei Su Long was merely a dumbass prick.
But here he was more than dangerous.
He was Hein squared and had a powerful family to back him to the hilt.
When the return of the skiff stirred me out of my meditation, I was shocked to see that Tai Su Long had not returned alone. There joining him was none other than the President himself, High Marshal Tzu Li Zen.
The president wore a grimace as he followed Master Tai Su Long to the front of the assembly. Tai Su Long gave his nephew a knowing smile and then whispered something to General Gong.
The old man released another exasperated sigh and then addressed the assembly again. “Troops, the great Master Tai Su Long has graced us with another rare opportunity. Be honored that he has seen fit to summon the Academy president himself, High Marshall Tzu Li Zen to grace you all with his presence. Please show him your respect as a High Marshal.”
We all bowed in unison, even the general and the captain, but Tai Su Long barely acknowledged him with a head nod. The Blue haired cultivator then gestured for Tzu Li Zen to address the crowd.
I could sense the anger within him as he stepped forward and when his eyes found mine, he raised his brows in an oy vey expression.
“As the Academy President, it falls under my responsibility and authority to designate those worthy of leading the legionnaire platoons upon their sorties within the Hell Worlds. It is thus with much…embarrassment that an error has been made in oversight.”
The anger within my soul matched that of the president’s.
I couldn’t believe what was happening.
“So,” he continued. “It is with much delay that I now bestow a fitting ranking upon This One, Jei Su Long, for his completion of his training regime within Du Gok Bhong. Jei Su Long please step forth.”
The bastard sauntered forward without an ounce of shame, a wry smile on his lips as he gave me a sideward glance. Those words he had said came back to me. ‘Enjoy your leadership position while it lasts.’
The punk.
He likely orchestrated the entire thing, ensuring he wrote to his uncle to be on the ship when it arrived.
“Jei Su Long,” Tzu Li Zen said. “As we already have a platoon commander, I hereby promote you to the superior rank of Senior Platoon Commander. Congratulations.”
Hisses and mumbles went through my teams ranks, but it was drowned out as Tai Su Long began clapping loudly, causing the General and eventually the entire battalion to do the same.
Heated ire and anger burned in my gut, but I let none of it show as I cultivated it and put on a firm mask of [Indifference] to the bullshit playing out around me. When the applause died down, Jei Su Long took a place next to me at the head of the platoon.
“Looks like you’ll be answering to me now,” he whispered. “I hope you are prepared to pay much penance for your insults over the last few weeks.”
If the little shit was hoping for a reaction, he wasn’t getting one out of me.
My Flame burned with indignation internally, but outwardly I remained non-plussed.
The assembly finally dismissed and the troops behind us began falling out.
Before I could do the same, President Tzu Li Zen approached us, accompanied by Tai Su Long.
“Iron Bull, you may dismiss your troops,” Tzu Li Zen said. “I have need to speak with you and Jei Su Long alone.”
“Wait,” Jei Su Long said. “Should it not be I who dismisses the plat—”
“Legionnaires, fallout!” I shouted before he could even finish, and my team did so with mutters and curses.
“Report to Infantryman Wei,” I said. “He’ll take you to our quarters.”
Wei bowed as he ushered the legionnaires further into the ship.
We were then left alone with the big wigs.
The General, the ship’s Captain, the President and Uncle Asshole, Tai Su Long.
“It is good to see things put right,” Tai Su Long said. “I thank you, High Marshal, for your continued commitment to ensuring all is in its proper order.”
Tzu Li Zen’s jaw flexed, shifting the bright red hair of his short beard from side to side. “It is the least the Academy can do for all that your family has donated over the years.”
Son of a bitch, I thought.
“But I wish to make one thing clear,” he said and then took a step next to me. “As per our agreement, Governor Tai Su Long, the Iron Bull shall remain the field commander for any exercise on the Hell Worlds. Jei Su Long may retain oversight as the Senior Platoon Commander.”
“Certainly,” Tai Su Long said. “It would be beneath Jei Su Long’s station to do so anyway. He will happily command from above. Right, nephew?”
Jei Su Long paused like he didn’t know what to answer.
A swift stare from his uncle got him speaking. “Y-yes, yes of course. I will leave the grunt work to the… Junior Platoon Commander.”
Tzu Li Sen grimaced. “There is no such rank. The Iron Bull has not been demoted. He remains the Platoon Commander.”
Tai Su Long laughed. “I am certain that was said only in jest. Well, thank you for coming in person, High Marshal. It did much to resolve the loss of face I and my clan have suffered this day from the Academy’s oversight.”
“Indeed,” he said with a tone like ice. “I will take my leave then. I’ll see you all in two weeks.”
“It may perhaps be a bit longer than that now,” Captain Li Jeng said.
Tzu Li Zen raised a brow in question.
“We missed the rendezvous with the stargate. It will not reappear for another two weeks. We will need to travel to the next viable jumping point to remain on route.”
Shit… I cursed inwardly. This damn bastard and his family were costing me in more ways than one.
“How far away?” Tzu Li Zen asked.
“An extra seven day voyage to the Scorpion’s Tear Gate and we can pick up the Silver line through the interior before picking up the crimson line again back towards the Cursed Stars.”
My mind spun a little as he said it.
On the prison ship, I had no idea what was happening but now that I was privy to how space travel truly worked, it amazed me. Gates that appeared and disappeared plus what sounded like highways through the stars. It made me wonder if cultivators created all of it, or if they were natural phenomena. Or perhaps unnatural ones, like the scourge of the Cursed Stars themselves.
“Splendid,” Tai Su Long said. “A trip through the interior will take us past Lu Shui Prime. We could have a short stop over so that we may thank you and your men for your hospitality, General.”
Tsu Li Zen cleared his throat. “Most generous, Governor Tai Su Long, but I must remind you that the timing between deployment is important. We don’t want to lose ground that legionnaires have already fought and died for.”
The man chuckled. “I am quite aware, High Marshal. But a single banquet will not hurt. Did you not say that you were departing? I know you are very busy at the Academy.”
Anger burned in my gut and I could sense the same from Tzu Li Zen as Tai Su Long dismissed him, but the President retained his composure.
“Indeed,” he said and then shifted his eyes towards me. “A quick word, Iron Bull.”
As Tzu Li Zen ushered me away, Tai Su Long pulled his stupid nephew into a celebratory hug, slapping him on the back for his great achievement.
“I apologize for all this,” Tzu Li Zen said. “I had no idea his uncle would show up to do something like this.”
“It’s alright,” I said. “I understand the situation.”
“Regardless, I made it clear that he is to steer clear of actually commanding any men. The rank is all they are truly concerned about. When it comes to the actual deployment, I’m sure he will be more than happy to stay out of harm’s way. It was the same for his uncle when he passed through the academy years ago.”
“You were there for Tai Su Long as well?”
“He is even worse than his nephew. But as I told you before. No matter how powerful one becomes, we all have someone to bow to.”
Not me, I wanted to say. Not unless I respect them.
I took the opportunity to do just that.
I bowed deeply before Tzu Li Zen. “My apologies for the disrespect and shame you received today. When it is within my power, I will ensure they pay for what they forced you to do today.”
Tzu Li Zen chuckled. “Why am I not surprised that that sounds like more than just token words. I appreciate it, Iron Bull, but truly, there is no need. When I took this position, I knew there would be times such as this. Even as a High Marshal, there are those who wield power greater still.”
His words were a reminder of what I was truly fighting for.
I needed this rank to face the Warden back home and then the Princess beyond her.
But they both seemed like small potatoes compared to Jei Su Long’s Uncle.
A 2nd Warden and the Governor of a core world.
I’d vowed to defeat even the Emperor, but the reality of it was clearly more complex than that. From the looks of Tai Su Long, there would be a lot of damn mini bosses to defeat along the way.
“Remember your promise,” Tzu Li Zen said finally, before slapping me on the back. “Bring them all home.”
As he turned to depart, I couldn’t help but feel my troubles multiply.
I looked back to Jei Su Long and his stupid uncle, now laughing and cajoling with the General and Captain Li Jeng.
Shit… I cursed. This mission was going to hell already.
And not the hell I needed.