Alex's racing thoughts stilled to crystalline focus as he blinked back stinging smoke, tormented by distant despairing screams. He was desperate to hide from the blazing inferno below, and all those who had already fallen to smoke and fire.

His only barrier, of course, was the whirling disk of water he now summoned forth with every ounce of his being. Where normally he felt a river’s worth of current, now it felt like the entire ocean. An ocean he wasn’t just willing but eager to see slip past all restraint, his normally tightly controlled disk, so disciplined and sharp that when enhanced by Metal it could cut through flesh and bone, was now overflowing with crystal-blue waters that were pulled away by furious winds that didn’t abate, not even for a second as the hot dry air grew suddenly misty and cool above the burning city as it suddenly began to rain.

At first it was just a trickle of droplets that evaporated before even touching the heart of the hideous inferno as an entire quarter of the city faced almost assured destruction.

But then that weak drizzle of a pair of young cultivators learning just how far they could push themselves rapidly became a torrential downpour. It was a downpour that refused to abate, no matter how hot the fires below blazed, the night growing dark as the waters continued to drench the inferno below.

Slowly but surely, the pouring rain finally began to make a difference. And for every building that had been blazing inferno before being reduced to steaming piles of hissing, lifeless embers, there were countless lesser fires that had been extinguished, leaving intact countless homes and businesses, saved by the valiant efforts of those below, and the lone pair above.

Soon the despairing cries below turned to joyful sobs of those thanking the heavens, and the shrieks and wails of those who had already lost the things and people they loved the most.

It was those cries more than anything else that compelled Alex to keep ahold of the now massive disk of whirling water above what was now the hottest part of the city, no matter how mentally exhausted he was after holding the swirling disk for so long. He could sense Ya Ling’s tremble, the pair of them holding hands even as they controlled Water and Wind together, all their efforts focused on quenching the bitter hot holdout flames that refused to abate, no matter how many gallons of water Alex poured into what must have been the origin point of the entire flame.

Qi Perception check made!

That’s when frustration and growing exhaustion turned to tingling awareness, suddenly understanding what the hell was wrong.

Alex blinked away the stinging smoke that still remained from the one roaring inferno that just wouldn’t quit, glaring down at the building holding such dark secrets.

“There’s an artifact of some sort down there. Either that, or a ritual. This fire was set on purpose! If we can’t find it and claim it, this fire will never stop burning!”

Alex was expecting at least a grunt of agreement, preparing himself to do what he really, really didn’t want to, charging right into the flame with his massive water surge and draconic blood at least buying him time to do something, when the howling wind he was now so attuned to it felt like an extension of his own abilities abruptly fell off, and Ya Ling toppled over, collapsing from the skies.

“Ya Ling!” Alex’s own fierce daze of insights, exhaustion, and revelation turned to a desperate desire to save his friend from peril, castigating himself for being an absolute fool as Ya Ling, clearly pushed utterly past her limits, began cartwheeling through the air, doomed to crash into the fiery hot hellscape of glowing embers, ash, and ruin below.

Quickness check made! Willpower check made! You have successfully pushed yourself in ways never dared before!

In desperation he dived down to grab onto her, not hesitating to manipulate the winds he had communed so deeply with while connected to his dear friend, the skies itself seeming to elevate to hold his exhausted friend aloft just long enough for Alex to swoop down and catch her before immediately making a beeline away from the smoking ruins and the blazing hot inferno at its heart that he couldn’t for the life of him extinguish.

And the minute he flew free of that hellscape he wanted to laugh for the sheer joy of surviving that madness, taking deep breaths of cool desert air, such a sharp contrast to the taste of hot ashes in his mouth when he sensed it. Not just one, but a half dozen powerful figures radiating Deep Silver flying through the sky far faster than him.

He felt a sudden jolt of panic as his arms tightened protectively around his friend that thank all the gods was still breathing, dreading the thought that perhaps the instigators of the deadly flames had come to investigate their handiwork, and perhaps put an end to whatever fools had dared to interfere with their plans of burning down half the city. Because with the artifact or ritual at its heart, he had no doubt that such was exactly what was planned.

Shaking with equal parts dread and exhaustion, feeling his Qi Pool rapidly approaching zero as the remains of an actual Silver-tier Dark Qi core abruptly crumbled to dust against his neck, Alex stumbled to the ground, grunting under the weight of Ya Ling as his ankle, knee, and hip throbbed with pain after stumbling to the ground.

He choked back a hiss of pain before going absolutely still after making sure his friend was breathing without difficulty, praying that the half-dozen wujen above weren’t looking his way in the pitch black night skies, the smoke so great as to obscure the stars, for all that Alex and Ya Ling had kept the air around them as fresh and vital as they possibly could.

His eyes widened at the voices he heard carried by Wind that he now felt more affinity to than ever before.

“Elder Wu, Lady Sulia, report!”

“The flames appears to have been successfully extinguished along six of the seven blocks that caught fire, Headmistress!” Lady Sulia snapped in a crisp voice.

“Save for the fire at the heart of it all,” Elder Wu declared in a sharp, authoritative tone so at odds with the grandfatherly demeanor Alex had come to know so well.

The petite cultivator they addressed, effortlessly floating in the heavens, gave an imperious nod. “So I’ve gathered. Do we know which clans or independent Silvers were responsible for putting out the flames?

Both cultivators shook their heads.

“Headmistress, please examine this!” requested a voice from below, sharp with urgency, just a bit too close to Alex for comfort as he made his way back in the thankfully pitch darkness, making sure Ya Ling’s heartbeat was strong and sure as he gently positioned her in his arms before hastily leaving the area in the direction of the school.

“Yes, Tang?”

“The fires, my lady. We suspect an infernal source at the heart of the blaze that wasn’t extinguished, but what’s most interesting is the method used to secure the six recovered blocks!”

“And what techniques were used?”

“None at all, my lady. Just access to a lake’s worth of water!”

Those words seemed to grab the attention of the entire band of Deep Silvers that Alex found himself sensing way too well for someone now running as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

The headmistress’s voice was oddly intent. “How? The lake water below wasn’t accessed, was it? We’re having enough trouble without losing what reserves we have.”

“I’m uncertain, Your Grace, but whoever our benefactors are, they must be Deep Silver with an extremely strong Water tier affinity. There can be no doubt.”

This earned a distinctly feminine sigh. “Then I will trust you to find our benefactors and make them an offer they can’t refuse. As for this final building...”

“I’ve seen it’s like before,” Elder Wu said in a clipped tone. “The curse is breakable, but I’ll need time and supplies.”

“Then that you shall have. Lady Sulia, organize the ritual to suppress the flames and aid Elder Wu in shattering the curse. Tang has his own assignment, and I must needs make a report to the prince as soon as possible. He’ll want to show his involvement to the citizens, so expect plenty of city guards around to secure the perimeter and assist you in whatever ways you require. Please make sure they have something to do, no matter how trivial.”

“Understood, Headmistress,” Lady Sulia bowed her head before turning to the others. “Standard five element configuration. We support Elder Wu until we have completed our task.”

Alex turned his attention from the soft murmurs he heard so well to focusing on the environment around him, ducking out of the main boulevard to make full use of a parallel street thankfully free of the fire’s devastation. Yet he fond it increasingly challenging hiding from the gazes of so many people staring at the smoldering ruins of a good portion of the city, gesturing wide-eyed at the disaster site, even if the fire had, by and large, been put out before it could consume the city entire.

“Heaven’s mercy, that fire lit up the night sky like dawn! I feared we were all doomed,” declared one senior, presently being held by a younger woman who looked just like her as a pair of toddlers sobbed by their feet.

“The college arrived in time, thank goodness.”

“How can you say that? Half the city was burned!”

“Only a handful of blocks, grandmother. I shudder to think how much worse it would have been, if they hadn’t arrived when they had.”

Her littlest toddler just by chance glanced Alex’s way. Dim as it was with the ash and smoke blotting the heavens above, a trace flicker of flame hit Alex’s frame at just the moment to earn the child’s wide-eyed stare.

“Mother, look! Someone’s carrying a woman through the street!”

“Smoke inhalation. We got too close to the flame!” Alex quickly explained to any and all who might be listening. Even if it would be easiest to just race and blend into the shadows, if there was even the tiniest chance that someone would make out his features, or sense the different shade of his hair, tough as that was in the near darkness… the Duo Li clan would gleefully pounce on that rumor to the detriment of all Ruidians.

“Do you need any help?” Asked a pair of men just outside the nearest mud brick building set up like primitive apartments, clearly intended for those of limited means a good distance beyond the arterial boulevard running through the heart of the city.

Soul Sight skill check made!

Alex sensed no ill intention in their words or posture, nor did he have any brooding sense of opportunistic malice planned. He simply saw a pair of honest faces wearing threadbare togas. Most importantly, he didn’t want to act out of character for a supposed good Samaritan, peripherally sensing the young mother carefully herding her children back into her own apartment, grandmother in tow, clearly wanting to risk no confrontation at all with such an unknown as he.

“Sure, you’re welcome to join me if you like. I’m heading back to Silver Sands to request the aid of a healer I did a favor awhile back for,” he said, which was entirely the truth. A confession which would hopefully alleviate any suspicion, and best of all, any rumors would circle right back to those who could indeed set anyone straight as to Alex’s ethics or intentions, at which point Reny would no doubt give them, and him, an earful.

But if it kept ever more malicious rumors form circulating… then it was worth the trouble.

One of the men, making use of a lantern, widened at the sight of Alex. “You’re a Ruidian! And you’re carrying her so easily?”

Alex forced a good-natured laugh. “That’s correct. We were in the area and heard shouts and cries. We were hoping to help anyone caught in the flames, before being nearly done in by the smoke ourselves!” He forced a forlorn sigh. “Maybe we should have left it to the Silvers who specialize in this sort of thing and just kept to our place. And now I have a long path to run. My repentance for exposing my friend to my folly, I suppose.”

All was said at volume, for the benefit of anyone listening, but the lantern-holder was still looking at Alex in disbelief.

“But you’re carrying her. And you’re a Ruidian!”

Alex forced another chuckle. “A cultivating Ruidian, and she’s my kung fu sister.” Now if you’d like to escort me, I’d be grateful for your company on this brooding night, but I’ll be going at my normal running pace, so please don’t push yourselves on my account. No doubt folks could use a helping hand here as well.”

He quickly replaced words with action and took off at a loping unhurried jog that rapidly became a sprint, the pair of men stumbling to a halt after a few seconds, shaking their heads with rueful smiles.

“A cultivating Ruidian, who would have thought?”

Alex winced, afraid that it would be all too easy for Qing Wu or others to figure out just what Alex and Ya Ling had been up to, at least to a point. But he’d far rather be scolded for foolishness by a cultivator who wasn’t opposed to his very existence than have to face down rumors of kidnapping Ruidians ravishing innocent maidens. Fodder his enemies would absolutely revel in if he failed to cover his tracks both socially and physically.

Which meant that as discrete as his mad Wind-enhanced dash through the city was, he raced toward, not away from any passersby who caught his gaze, hollering. “Quick, my friend’s been injured! Which way to Silver Sands?” Getting hurried answers and concerned words but not one suspicious glare.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Until he was at last before the same lush green courtyard and magnificent pagoda that served as the city landmark and would see him safely inside… and no doubt subject to a dozen questions by the pair of Deep Bronze cultivators that were now guarding the closed front gate.

Alex furrowed his brow, suddenly having doubts. Both men were fully kitted in high quality steel with guandao in their hands. He was almost sure that the headmistress was taking steps, just in case panic consumed the city if the fires couldn’t be controlled. But on the off chance someone was in the Duo Li clan’s pocket… He quickly darted down a side street and raced parallel to the main thoroughfare until he got to the end of the campus, knowing that the Wu residence was just past formal school grounds.

He avoided the front entrance, instead making his way past high-end storefront shops to the widely spaced pagodas and luxurious manors hidden behind them before coming to a panting stop right before the Wu residence. Alex grinned with a warm sense of satisfaction when he caught sight of the magnificent garden that seemed to be in full bloom, countless flowering varieties revealing their petals even under the moon’s gentle light, all of it sheltered by a trellis of Copperthorn vines that somehow perfectly controlled light and humidity, now possessing dozens of tiny budding fruit hanging from the vines that Alex sensed were already ripening… the secret at its heart now undeniable to Alex’s acute senses.

You have detected Copper Berries at 250% of Median Market potency! Rejuvenating properties detected.

Qi Perception Check made. Biochemical Mastery check made. You understand the secret at the heart of this garden!

Alex shook away the notification, pausing only to breathe deep of the refreshing floral scents, such a delightful contrast to the cloying aroma of soak radiating from him and the girl now peacefully sleeping in his arms, her breathing strong and sure. Because if it hadn’t been… Alex would have revealed himself immediately to Qing Wu and headmistress alike, and damn the consequences. Yet as it stood…

He felt only the slightest icy shiver as he passed over wards he should have suspected from the start, yet he was able to cross into the garden without issue. As if he was already a recognized part of the family. What he hadn’t expected upon knocking on the front door, his charge in tow, was for it to be opened by none other than Linnea, gazing at him with teary eyes and a joyful expression on her face, Alex barely able to make out an exasperated Reny and a bit of unexpected company just beyond her exuberant form.

“Alex! Thank fate’s mercy that you’re alright! Of course I could sense that you were still alive, but all the panicked stress filling you! I just knew you were in the heart of the fire and I so wanted to race out with Lieberman and Fitz and rescue you, but Reny said that would be a foolish waste of life, that the smoke and fumes would kill us long before we could do any good at all, and that the Western Quarter was all but doomed!”

Alex chuckled softly. “It’s alright, Linnea. I take it our party link is still in effect?”

“Of course!” She enthusiastically gushed. “And I’m never letting you out of my head ever again, because you’re my fiance, remember? And I like having your thoughts to lean on. Much more comfortable than my own worries spiraling in lonely circles.”

Alex blinked, not quite sure how to respond to that. Honestly, he was a little bit nonplussed at her taking actual comfort in something that most people from his birthworld would have found anathema... another person’s psyche intruding into their own. Or being taken over by another as their minds became one.

But then again, how many men and women secretly craved games of dominion and control? Finding rapture in submission? As alien as it was to him, he certainly couldn’t speak for everyone’s taste, and maybe it was different when you willingly submitted to someone you adored?”

He then shook such extraneous thoughts away as Linnea flashed him a teasing grin before quickly moving out of his way.

“We have all sorts of delicious things to talk about when you’re ready and willing, hero of my heart. Now give your poor second wife to Reny already and let her look over her! We can both see that Ya Ling’s suffered no permanent injury on our shared interface, but you know Reny won’t feel right until she sees for herself.”

Alex blinked, freezing only for a moment from Linnea’s powerful stream of thoughts and hunger before lurching forward to gently approach an anxious looking Reny.

“I brought her back as fast as I could,” Alex assured. “I know it might not look like it, but...”

But the glare she gave him froze Alex where he stood. “Let me guess. You two fools had such a hunger to play the hero and the fool that you raced right toward flames that any creature would have immediately fled?”

Alex’s cheeks flushed. He ruefully nodded. “Guilty. And for what it’s worth, I think it’s exhaustion more than smoke inhalation that has Ya Ling sleeping on my shoulder.”

This earned only a cool shake of Reny’s head, the weight of her aura pressing down against Alex like a physical thing. “I’ll be the judge of that, boy. Now come, no time to waste!”

In short order Alex was gently placing Ya Ling’s sleeping form upon a bamboo latticework of cross-thatched strips that was as much hammock as bed, but Alex supposed made sense for what was clearly a treating room for the sick and injured, even if Reny hadn’t formally called it any such thing. Still, springy bamboo strips would be far easier to clean than a hay tick or any sort of mattress, and was no doubt far more comfortable than resting on flat wooden planks.

Reny’s glare turned to an exasperated huff. “You can do that much at least, excellent. Now how about you stand there and pay attention.” At which point Reny began to strip off Ya Ling’s tightly fitted cultivation uniform. She snorted at Alex’s obvious discomfiture. “If you wish to be any sort of healer, or hero… you’d best get used to appreciating the human body in all its flawed beauty, if you wish to do any good for the injured at all.

Yet despite the words Alex noted that she left Ya Ling’s small clothes on, her furrowed countenance growing ever grimmer as she closed her eyes and listened to her granddaughter’s heartbeat before turning her over with surprising strength, or perhaps not so surprising for any Deep Bronze, no matter her cultivation affinities, before placing a reed cone to her ear then pressing it against Ya Ling’s back. Her hard countenance softened to a relieved sigh. “I hear no rails or wheeze. No rasping whisper of smoke-seared lungs.” She closed her eyes with a grateful sigh. “A miracle, all things considered.”

Alex forced a smile. “Don’t worry, I kept an eye on her the whole time we were together, and her mastery of Wind is now at the point where heat and smoke found her a challenging target, to say the least.”

This earned an arch look. “And what exactly were you doing together for half the day, Alex?”

Alex ignored the flush creeping up his cheeks as he solemnly pointed to Ya Ling’s now intact left hand. “I’m sure after a lifetime of her being fit and whole, the significance of the chance escaped notice. But if you take a closer look...”

Reny paled, eyes widening as she turned around before giving loose a joyous cry as she tenderly cradled Ya Ling’s once more intact hand. “You did it! Heaven’s mercy, you restored her limb! And I sense no disturbance or weakness of her meridian channels or peripherals at all. It’s like she was never injured at all! How?”

Alex gazed fondly down at Ya Ling sleeping so peacefully. “Exactly what you must suspect. We dueled together in the desert sands. Lost ourselves in its secrets. Such that when she was forced to become one with the sand to evade my blows… she reformed free of any injury at all. Just as she remembers herself being.”

Reny’s eyes widened. “Do you know what this means, Alex?”

“I have a pretty good idea, yeah. But let’s not jinx it. I certainly won’t advise her to take any fight as less than deadly serious, but at least there might be a way for her to fully heal herself after every brush with peril.”

Reny gave a firm nod. “Precisely. And you and she are most definitely sparring in the desert sands once she’s recovered enough to be mobile, Alex.”

Alex smiled. “As time permits. But I’m almost positive that you have nothing to worry about.”

Reny gave Alex a sad look. “If only I hadn’t lost your confidence from bitter life experience.”

“But it’s different for Alex!” Linnea chirped in out of nowhere, appearing by his side and squeezing his hand with a puppy’s enthusiasm before smiling down at Ya Ling. “Our party interface marks her as fully healed, just with the exhaustion debuff! Once she’s slept she should be good as new. She might even have leveled up!”

Reny furrowed her brow. “There’s no such thing as leveled-up among natives, child.”

“Oh, that’s right. You guys have revelations, epiphanies, and breakthroughs. Maybe she had one of those, or formed another Bronze cord?” She then turned to Alex. “How about you, Alex? Did you have any breakthroughs?”

Alex chuckled at that, and just for kicks, did his best to manifest his character sheet in condensed form within his party interface, more surprised than he cared to admit that actually worked.

Wind Crane Kung Fu is now Rank 8!

Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection is now Rank 6!

You have successfully leveled up Enhanced Water Shield!

Enhanced Water Shield is now Rank 7…

Enhanced Water Shield is now Rank 8…

Enhanced Water Shield is now Rank 9...

You have achieved Rank 10 with Enhanced Water Shield after channeling an entire lake’s worth of waters through your art!

You now enjoy the Endless Waters perk! You may now form Water shields of nearly any diameter, and you will find it far easier to liberate those waters for autonomous use! Additionally, you now enjoy a full 10-fold efficiency in channeling Beast Cores through your arts!

Wind Walking is now rank 6.

Wind Walking is now Rank 7! You have learned the Effortless Stride perk! You may now effortlessly channel Beast Cores, Soul Stones, or personal potency to affect effortless flight without depleting Qi Reserves!

___________________________________________

Alex Hammer

Class – Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path

Rank 6 Cultivation Achieved!

Physical Characteristics

Strength – Bronze Rank 3 (30)

Vitality – Bronze Rank 3 (30)

Quickness – Bronze Rank 2 (25)

Finesse – Bronze Rank 1 (20)

Spiritual Characteristics

Scholarship - 14

Perception - 19

Willpower – 25

Qi Pool – 19

Health Points: 455

Perks

Insightful – Rank 2

Charismatic – Rank 3

Lesser Shadow Affinity

Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.

Draconic Ancestry.

Wind Qi Affinity (You have increased affinity with any Qi Discipline incorporating the element of Wind! You will master these skills far faster than otherwise and be able to use them at reduced cost!)

Beast Core Mastery (You now enjoy a 10-fold efficiency bonus when channeling the potency of Dark Qi beast cores through your arts!)

Favored Skills

Golden Realms Kung Fu – Rank 10

Wind Crane Kung Fu – Rank 8

Poison Spitting – Rank 6

Stealth – Rank 4

Lock Picking – Rank 4

Qi Disciplines

Enhanced Water Shield – Rank 10

Enhanced Water Strike – Rank 8

Thorn Shield – Rank 5

Oak Strike – Rank 5

Fire Shield – Rank 4

Flame Fist – Rank 5

Earthern Shield – Rank 4

Stone Fist – Rank 5

Forest Flight – Rank 5

Wind Walking – Rank 7

Dark Qi Absorption – Rank 4

Spring Leap – Rank 6

Enhanced Wind Piercer Strike – Rank 2

Enhanced Wind Qi Deflection – Rank 6

Enhanced Wind Blade – Rank 7

Enhanced Storm Strike – Rank 6 (Note. This skill cannot be used until minimal harmony with Wind Qi Affinity has been achieved!)

Prismatic Shield – Rank 6 (Note. This skill cannot be used until greater harmony with Wind Qi Affinity has been achieved!)

Prismatic Strike – Rank 6 (Note. This skill cannot be used until greater harmony with Wind Qi Affinity has been achieved!)

Qi Perception-linked Disciplines

Artificer – Rank 7

Find Weakness – Rank 7

Qi Perception – Rank 8

Soul Sight – Rank 7

Spiritual Teacher (Student) – Rank 8

Forest Sense – Rank 8

Alchemy – Rank 4

Desert Sense – Rank 2

Additional Abilities & Techniques

Full Regenerative Capacity

Gift of Tongues

Biochemical Mastery – Rank 8

Desert Fox Cultivation Technique – Rank 6

Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique – Rank 6

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