Fia breathed in deeply, and centered her Qi, as Sister Mei Mai began to play subtle chords on the Guzheng. They were in the gymnasium as usual, with her mother and Zu Tien looking on as the two sisters, Sei Mai and Mei Mai, acted as both instructors and invigilators of her mastery of the Hidden Sword Dancer art.

She swayed with the gentle tempo of the music, just as she had been practicing for over a week now. Their sessions in the gymnasium were relatively short, about three hours each time, thanks to the distraction Gui Zu and Ju Gong provided to keep her father away, but after the sisters left, Fia would remain for another eight hours on her own, practicing all she had learned that morning.

Today was the final test of all those efforts.

“Go all out, Zu Tien,” Fia said as she prepared herself. She lifted the painted fans in her hands to take the First Form of the technique. “Strike as if this were true combat.”

“Are you certain, my Lady?” Zu Tien looked as nervous as she was, glancing down at her stomach.

Fia was wearing the mummer’s robes, and while her growing abdomen was barely visible, both she and Zu Tien knew the risks of her striking there. Even accidentally.

“Don’t worry,” Fia said, stoking her confidence. “I am certain. You may proceed.”

With a quick nod, Zu Tien dropped into the low stance of the 3rd Martial form of the Hidden Leaf arts. Fia forced herself not to react by adopting the countering 5th Form.

She was not here to defeat Zu Tien as a practitioner of the Silver Leaf Arts.

She was here to prove her mastery as a true Hidden Sword Dancer.

Carefully, she adjusted her fans.

“Come!” Fia shouted and Zu Tien let out a battle cry.

The younger woman pitched forward, executing a lunging strike with her wooden jian blade. Fia forced herself not to move. She had already made the preparation, performing the Hidden Sword Dancer technique subtly.

Now all she had to do.

Was not move.

She closed her eyes briefly and like magic, Zu Tien’s strike hit exactly where Fia had intended. The jian blade touched the outer tip of the fan in her right hand. She was so thrilled that it had worked, that she nearly forgot to twitch the fan in her left hand, to distract Zu Tien’s next attack.

As the second attack too went astray, Fia shifted her body slowly to the next position. She outstretched her arms, putting them as far away from the center of her body as possible. She again twitched the fans and Zu Tien’s attacks hit where she had directed them.

She focused on the rhythm of Mei Mai’s Guzheng as she controlled the pace. Fia moved faster and Zu Tien’s attacks did the same. After a volley of nearly six attacks at once, Fia lowered the tempo, and Zu Tien’s attacks followed suit.

Her heart soared with accomplishment and her confidence grew.

The sparring session went on for another ten minutes, with Fia getting comfortable with the newfound power of the technique. She was barely moving at all, the routine effortless. Meanwhile, Zu Tien was visibly tiring.

Fia finally drew the battle to a close and Mei Mai ended the song with a finishing strum.

In the absence of the music, the only thing that could be heard was the panting of Zu Tien as she rested her hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath.

“That… that was incredible, mistress,” she said in between gulps for air. “I… I could not hit you at all!”

Fia smiled.

The test was a success.

“Well done, Lady Silver Light,” Sei Mai said, who had been simply observing the entire time. “It is quite the accomplishment. I would say you have well near mastered the technique.”

“And in only a week!” Mei Mai said with a smile. “You prove your mother accurate. You are indeed a diligent and skillful practitioner.”

“And a hard worker,” her mother, Rhi Dong added. “Well done, daughter. All of your extra training has paid off.”

Fia bowed deeply to them all. “It was via your instruction and support, that I advanced so quickly. Thank you all.”

“Now then,” Sei Mai said, stepping forward. “The basics are accomplished. Now to the task we truly came for. You can battle one foe. But can you do the same for three?”

Fia furrowed her brow with determination and nodded. “I’m ready to try.”

“Perhaps we shall start with just two,” her mother said, dropping into a martial stance next to Zu Tien. “Are you ready?”

Although physically, Fia had barely broken a sweat, mentally she wasn’t certain if she was prepared. Still, there was no way to know how far she was from her goal without trying it first. They waited a moment more for Zu Tien to catch her breath and recover and then started the sparring match anew.

Mei Mai played the tune and Fia took her position.

Both Zu Tien and her mother attacked simultaneously, and Fia twitched both fans. To her relief, they struck separate ones. Fia, moved positions to reset, spinning a half turn and moving both fans again. Zu Tien missed and her mother struck the same fan, missing as well.

It was working.

Fia kept it up for two more rounds, keeping both Zu Tien and her mother in sight.

Her mother then circled behind her and in an instant, she felt the cold tap of wood on her shoulder.

“You’re hit,” Mei Mai said, stopping the song. “But not bad at the beginning.”

“Try again,” Rhi Dong said.

They reset and played out the scenario three more times. In each one, Fia managed to keep control for but a few rounds before one of them flanked her. Other times they both struck different fan locations, leaving her vulnerable for the next volley.

“It’s no use,” Fia said. “I’d need another set of arms to defend against the both of you.”

“Make that two more sets,” Sei Mai said.

“Two?” Fia asked.

“If you intend to face three attackers that is.”

Fia huffed out a sigh.

Defeat was looming above her, but she would not give in yet.

While they took a break, Fia looked down at the fans. They were the key to the technique. The main distraction. But unless she could keep more than one set of eyes transfixed on them, the whole plan was useless.

Then suddenly a thought occurred.

“Do you have more fans?” Fia asked.

“Yes,” Sei Mai said. “Do you wish to try a different set?”

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“No,” Fia said. “I have another idea.”

It took her close to half an hour to set up, but Fia collected three more wooden jian blades from the walls of the gymnasium and then painstakingly tied the extra fans to them with long pieces of ribbon.

She resumed her stance, but this time tapped into her Silver Leaf techniques. At her level of advancement, she could control but three blades with her Qi. Lifting her fans, she did the same with her blades, elevating them in the air and turning them to give three more targets.

Her mother, Rhi Dong smiled. “I knew you would think of something. You were never one to let a challenge overcome you. Clever girl. Well done.”

Fia blushed inwardly.

It was rare to get such an unabashed complement from her mother.

“I see the concept,” Mei Mai said, studying the three, levitating fan-blades. “But the question is, can you actually make it work?”

Controlling the blades was second nature to Fia now, a splitting of her subconscious to move with muscle memory through the various forms and techniques she had practiced since she was Su Ling’s age.

But now, she would have to employ them through very different movements and be able to keep a third eye out for her would-be attackers as well. She gave it a go, dropping into the First Form of the Hidden Sword Dancer Art.

It was all overwhelming and she felt as if she were trying to do a hundred things all at once, but slowly she went through the basic forms of the Hidden Sword Dancer technique and began to employ the three extra fans.

Having a fourth would be ideal, but she had only advanced to the point of being able to control three swords at yet. After a few more rotations, Fia took a deep breath and looked to her mother and Zu Tien.

“There is only one way to know for certain,” Fia said. “Come at me, both of you.”

Fia assumed her stance as Mei Mai began strumming the Guzheng.

As Rhi Dong and Zu Tien advanced, Fia utilized all five fans, twitching them at different moments while keeping her body out of harm’s way with slow sweeping motions and turns. Their jian blades hit nothing but air and a spark of excitement rushed through her. Rhi Dong circled to her back and Fia split her consciousness to direct two of her jian blades there.

She went through the motions, and misdirected attacks from both the front and behind.

Fia then switched positions, putting Rhi Dong at her front and leaving the less skilled Zu Tien to content with the semi-autonomous fan-blades floating at her back. The result allowed her to go three more rounds before she finally missed a movement with her blades, while also trying to move her hands and Zu Tien tagged her from behind.

Fia collapsed to her knees, more mentally exhausted than physically.

A round of applause came from the Mai sisters as well as Zu Tien.

“That was amazing, young mistress!” Zu Tien said.

“Indeed,” Sei Mai echoed her. “You seem to have created a new style.”

Rhi Dong smiled, but gave a harrumph. “Let us not celebrate too quickly. She has proved the concept can work, but she is far from mastery. Plus, she will be fighting three opponents, not two and would have but a single fan to defend against the third.”

“Can she not advance in her sword techniques as well?” Zu Tien asked. “I believe in the Lady Silver Light. Nothing is out of her reach if she puts her mind to it.”

Fia suddenly felt the path ahead of her double.

Learning a new technique and combining it with another was one thing, but a breakthrough like what Zu Tien spoke of would require an advancement of both spirit and soul.

“That might be a bit out of my reach for now, Zu Tien,” Fia said. “Advancing a new sword rank is not easy.”

“It may be, if all you are learning to do with it is turn a fan,” Rhi Dong said.

Fia looked to her mother dumbfounded. “Truly?”

“This is not an advancement tournament you are preparing for,” Rhi Dong said. “You simply need to beat those three girls in a court of law and protect your baby in the process. Do whatever you need to do to win. Partial mastery and all.”

Fia smiled as she felt her mother’s growing support.

“I will teach you the 4th sword technique,” she said. “Sei Mai and Mei Mai will continue to help you master the combining of the Hidden Sword Dancer and Silver Leaf forms to prepare you to face three opponents.”

It still felt like a tall order.

It was less than six weeks until the court date now.

But she had mastered the basics of the Hidden Sword Dancer technique in only one.

But could she do it?

She would have to work twice as hard now, if not more, to achieve her goal.

Right…It was only two breakthroughs at once, Fia thought with chagrin.

But then she thought of Max.

She need only survive this last ordeal long enough for him to return.

Finally, she nodded.

“Alright,” she said. “I will learn both.” She then raised her fan-blades again. “We start now.”

* * *

I stood on the inner deck of the Xin Long at attention with the rest of my platoon.

It’d been three hours since our departure from Lu Shui Prime and we were already deep into space. Or so the Qi display hovering above the assembled battalion was showing us. There, in crude pictograms, was a dragon which represented us, moving along a line which led to something called Mijin Gate, according to the display.

I was still a little drunk and dead tired from no sleep, but I spent a bit of Frenzy to keep myself alert. After five more minutes of waiting, the top brass entered, and we all gave salutes to greet them.

General Gong entered first, followed by Captain Li Jeng and finally Governor Tai Su Long. I would have expected to see that asshole Jai Su Long following right behind his uncle, if he were not already position at the head of our platoon as the Senior Commander. Still, the words he said earlier haunted me and the constant smirk on his face said that he’d already been in a closed-door meeting with the General and Captain Li Jeng already.

“Battalion!” General Gong addressed us. “Listen carefully. This assembly will serve as a debrief of our recent stay on Lu Shui Prime as well as preparation for the next leg of our journey. You will be pleased to know that, due to a new course correction plotted by Captain Li Jeng, we will be but five days away from our arrival at the Hell Worlds. However, this new route comes with an additional task.” He then cleared his throat and rolled his eyes a little before looking to Tai Su Long. “The Governor here, shall explain.”

Tai Su Long stepped forward slowly. “I need not remind you all of the embarrassing way we had to depart our core home planet. I would belabor the point, but be thankful that General Gong has persuaded me otherwise. Know only that there is only one person responsible for this travesty. He, who shall not be named, shall bear his own shame for his pathetic display of dishonor in the ring. Let us be thankful that there is a highly competent senior command of the legionnaires to keep him in check on the true battlefield.”

My gut lurched with intense anger and rage.

That piece of shit…

Jei Su Long gave me a sideward glance and I could sense his glee. All around me, I could feel something else though. Hatred from spots, here and there, as Tai Su Long turned the battalion against me.

Son of a bitch, I thought inwardly.

I wanted nothing more than to run up to him and take his head off, but I suppressed my anger with [Indifference], lightly cultivating the anger and frustration in my soul instead.

“Nevertheless,” Tai Su Long continued. “A win is a win, in the law of the ring and such was reinforced by our great Princess Rheutera. And as the winner, we, on behalf of the one who shall not be named, have inherited a task that was intended for the defeated and now, unjustifiably disgraced, Lady Rhe Su Long. While it is a personal blow to my family, I as the sponsor of this battalion and you, as her body proper, have been given the opportunity to restore the loss of honor from the damage that, he who shall not be named, has caused.”

My [Indifference] slipped, and I rolled my eyes at my new, ludicrous title.

He who shall not be named…? What an asshole, I thought.

“The planet known as Heu Zen has, unfortunately, become the latest casualty in our battle against the Cursed Stars.”

My anger slipped a little at the mention of that.

I instantly perked up.

Was this the Flame again? I thought.

“Our Great Soul Emperor has prophesized that a Bloodmoon will soon form in the orbit of this insignificant, mortal world, causing all inhabitants to become unwitting vessels for the demonic horde. In his wisdom, he has tasked Sixth Princess Remulah, the youngest sister of our beloved princess Rheutera, with the saving of this backwards planet before it is too late. As a reward, she will be granted its domain to rule as her own to further expand the empire.”

Images of me being eight years old again, went through my mind.

Pagodas in the night sky.

Monsters turned by the Bloodmoon.

Turmoil and death.

Hopelessness and defeat.

This was one of the core roots of my Dao.

The empire was about to invade another world.

Holy shit… was this happening?

“Our task will be a simple one,” Tai Su Long said. “This backwards world will not understand the salvation we bring and will likely resist our help. If this occurs, we are to nullify any such resistance, so that the saving of their people can commence by the Warden tasked with cultural appropriation.”

Cultural appropriation…? I thought. No way…

The two words resonated in my mind like a bad flashback.

That was the Warden’s title back home.

How she first introduced herself to us.

My family.

Right before she abducted me and then left them all to die.

Ire sparked in my soul.

Enslaving us all and separating us from our families was her task.

“Our Princess Rheutera had offered the services of Lady Rhe Su Long to assist with nullifying any resistance as a gift to her younger sister. Due to the actions of, he who shall not be named, this task now falls to us, the 566th.”

That got a mixed response, people murmuring, some looking excited.

I didn’t know how the hell to feel.

I was the damn enemy now.

“It is perhaps fitting that we have legionnaires on board for this,” Tai Su Long said and then looked to us. “You may all consider this a warmup for your assault on planet Fhae I’ung.”

As General Gong gave the order to dismiss and prepare for the assault, my head was spinning. The soldiers around me looked non-plussed. Just another day on the job to them, I supposed. But for me it was much, much more.

I looked to my platoon of Legionnaires and expected to see some distress in their faces like my own. But they were all from worlds too old to remember the horror of being invaded like I did.

“This will be a spectacular way to win back our honor,” Jei Su Long said, turning to us. “And it will be easy too. A chance to slay countless mortals if they heed not to our command. This shall be a glorious battle indeed.”

I couldn’t believe what he’d said but no one seemed to disagree with him either.

He’d been right about one thing though.

I was certainly not about to enjoy this mission, indeed.