Boots

Thank you all

It's a bit of a weird feeling, coming to the end of this.

While I'd written 7 novels, 2 novellas, and a good number of short fictions before this, I'd never written a series. Especially not one this ambitious. Saying goodbye to this story has been hard, but that's been tempered by excitement for what's to come.

Anyway, thank you all for reading. Thank you for your support, and thank you for following He Yu on his journey to become a legend.

The first volume of Legend of Asce...

6.50 - Refuge and Return

Together, they approached Jiankang. Or what remained. Smoke from dozens of fires rose to the heavens. Most densely from one quarter of the city, but other fires had either spread or broken out over the course of the battle. As He Yu approached the ruined walls, he braced himself for what he was certain to find. He’d known what this plan would do, and he’d put it forward as the only way. While it had worked, and Jin Xifeng lay dead behind them, that meant the costs had real.

Alongsid...

6.49 - To Stand Together

The fight wore on. With Chen Fei and Li Heng at his side once more, He Yu was bolstered. Facing off against Jin Xifeng by himself had forced him to the absolute edge of his abilities. And once she’d released her actual techniques, the whole cause appeared lost. His saving grace had been her loss of focus and power. As the others did their work in Jiankang proper, her ability to hold both Li Heng and Chen Fei at once had waned. Her ability to shrug He Yu to the side had waned. Her ability to...

6.48 - The Fall of Jiankang

Standing atop her fan of silk and lacquered wood, Zhang Lifen hardened her heart and steeled her resolve. As used to the realities of the cultivation world as she was, this was different. The experts below, the strongest of them in the early Seventh Realm at best, all reacted differently to her sudden appearance alongside the legendary King Tan, the once-hidden patriarch of the Li, and the other two remaining core disciples of the Shrouded Peaks Sect.

Hostility, panic, preemptive attack...

6.47 - To Stand Alone

Jin Xifeng’s spirit flexed, and she shot off toward Jiankang. He Yu saw it before the motion had truly begun, and by the strength of his perception technique, he was ready. If there was only a single advantage he’d always been able to count on, it was his speed. He was faster than anyone at equal advancement, and he had been for years at this point. Faster, it seemed, than even a newly made Ninth Realm.

With the Sky Dragon’s Flight and the Empyrean Ninefold Body Tempering, he prac...

6.46 - Jin Xifeng

Nine gleaming blades flew toward He Yu, each laden with killing intent. Every one of his senses screamed at him. Begged him to run, hide, anything. Anything but stand there and face this monster.

As Jin Xifeng’s flying swords came ever closer, each infinitesimal moment reaching to an eternity in the sight of the Peerless Judgment and his Daoist Mind, He Yu felt the true weight of his opponent. Even now, as a heartless death reached for him, borne on black and withered hands and lit by...

6.45 - Hesitation is Defeat

It only took a few moments for Tan Zihao and Li Renshu to arrive. Tan Zihao on his golden cloud, and Li Renshu on his flying sword. Both their expressions were grim, and He Yu could already tell what they were going to say.

“We need to turn back,” Li Renshu said.

He Yu cast a glance over his shoulder, toward the east. The bloody sunset still hung low in the sky, staining the sky red with Jin Xifeng’s spirit. Even from here, He Yu could feel the weight of her power.

“...

6.44 - Defiance

Storm, mountain, and winter crashed against the pit of swords. Heaven cracked the sky and metal cracked the earth. Over it all, relentless winter marched. And for every step and stone of weight their spirits pressed upon the world, Long Tingguang pushed them to their limits.

In the countless hours he’d spent training against Li Heng, He Yu had never been pressed as hard as he was now. Not even in those early days at the sect, when he’d still been merely at the Qi Gathering stage and...

6.43 - Her True Dragon

Long Tingguang met them on their terms. His jian flashed in the afternoon sun before shadows wrapped around the blade to follow each of his fluid, practiced strikes. Jagged metal blades burst from thin air, their gleam dulled by pits and rust, by flakes of cracked and dried blood. His spirit was a maw. A gaping, sword-lined pit that would swallow all. A void of howling hunger and covetous fury.

The touch of Jin Xifeng’s spirit was strong upon Long Tingguang, stronger than it had been...

Announcement!

Alright... meant to do this sooner, but things got away from me.

Anyway, if you couldn't tell, we're nearing the end. As in The End end. Legend of Ascension will conclude on July 12. The Royal Road version concludes on August 9.

I've been super busy getting everything ready for Amazon. I'd hoped to get everything handled such that I'd have the next story ready to start posting before LoA concluded, but the first half of this year kicked my ass. Such is life.

What does this m...

6.42 - The Eastward March

Although they each had the insights He Yu granted them, it took nearly two months apiece for Li Heng and Chen Fei to break into Divine Soul Apotheosis. Even though Chen Fei emerged from the cultivation chamber fully broken through and with her spirit fully intact, it didn’t stop He Yu from fretting the entire time Li Heng was secluded. Just as he had the whole time Chen Fei had been in the chamber. Despite her efforts to assure him it would be fine, he only fully relaxed once Li Heng likewi...

6.41 - Insights of the Cloud Emperor

When He Yu emerged from the cultivation chamber, he found an unexpected gift awaiting him. An armor stand had been placed just outside the door, and upon it was a finely crafted scale breastplate and a pair of bracers; a shimmering blue and green. He recognized the hide immediately. The wind serpent, Qingzhao, that had blocked his path over the Mountains of Heaven on his way to the great northern steppe.

Even now, having been fashioned into armor, the scales shimmered with the flickerin...

6.40 - Divine Soul Apotheosis

It took all the next day for Chen Fei to finish reconfiguring the formation script on Li Renshu’s cultivation chamber. While she worked, He Yu cultivated atop a nearby mountain. As he centered himself and reviewed his plan with the aid of the Peerless Judgment, his doubts slowly dropped to the wayside like so many cast stones. Once the chamber was ready, he graciously accepted his elixir from Li Renshu before finally secluding himself.

“You’re far too humble, Patriarch Li,” He Y...

6.39 - Immaculate Monarch's Boon

“You’re proposing a massacre,” Li Heng said.

He Yu merely met his eyes and nodded. “I am.”

“They sealed their fates when they made their bargains,” Tan Xiaoling said. “They deserve nothing less.”

Of everyone present, He Yu had suspected she’d have the least problem with his proposal. Tan Zihao and Li Renshu both looked pensive. They were equal parts disturbed and accepting. Each of them old enough, and accustomed enough to the burden of rule to understand...

6.38 - Rebellion

He Yu didn’t allow himself to fully let go of his mounting worry until the walls of Iron Gate City came into view over the horizon. Relief replaced the apprehension he’d felt the entire trip as he laid eyes on the sturdy walls of the fortress city once again. As it had guarded the Western Passage for a thousand years, it stood fit guard for a thousand more.

The ground raced by below as he surged forward on the Sky Dragon’s Flight. When he drew within several hundred li of the wall...

6.37 - Uncertain Journey

Light suffused everything around He Yu, and through his Daoist Mind and the perception granted by the Peerless Judgment, he could feel the world itself warping around them. Aside from the blinding white light, all his other senses were blocked. When he was certain he stood once again on solid ground, the next thing he noticed was the scent of earth and flowers. Then, the feeling of a breeze upon his skin, followed by the soft nearby rustle of cloth.

Vision returned, and He Yu found hims...

6.36 - Trial of the Azure Dragon

As it turned out, rebuilding an empire was a far greater endeavor than rebuilding a single village. Seeing to the well-being of an empire’s armies was a far more involved task than covering a single retreat. And maintaining harmony across even the capital was a greater challenge than doing the same in an ailing sect. But somehow, they managed.

After the initial confusion of their situation wore off, it hadn’t taken He Yu very long to come to grips with things. It was all rather sim...

6.35 - Trials of the Four Symbols Pt. III

Yi Xiurong kept her hands folded in the sleeves of her gown as she listened to the two disciples below make their cases. Most of her attention, however, was focused on He Yu. For someone as young and idealistic as he was, he paid close attention to the proceedings. Although he’d advanced rapidly, she’d assumed he would lack experience and wisdom. He hadn’t quite lived out a full sixty-year cycle yet, if her memory was correct. Yet he showed uncommon judgment, navigating the trials of th...

6.34 - Trials of the Four Symbols Pt. II

Ren Huang had to admit, it was a clever solution. Not one he’d have ever landed on. He at least had enough awareness of his nature that he could admit as much. If he’d been the one in charge, they’d fail this test from the White Tiger.

Of course, that’s why he’d always been content in his role as the second ranked core disciple back at the sect. It was why he’d long deferred to Yi Xiurong during their running fights against Jin Xifeng’s followers, speaking up only when he ...

6.33 - Trials of the Four Symbols Pt. I

Zhang Lifen moved throughout the village, tending to the wounded. She only half paid attention to her work. Frail as mortals may be, they were worlds easier to heal than cultivators, even without the ability to cycle qi to their wounds. When she’d first joined the Shrouded Peaks Sect all those years ago, she’d briefly worked in the medicine hall to earn her contribution points. At least before her talent had set her apart, and earned her tutelage and access to ever greater resources.

6.32 - The Secret Tomb of Yunchang

Standing at the base of the statue, the carved depiction of Yunchang seemed even more imposing up close. The figure towered overhead, its fierce expression a reminder that this was a man who led armies, and was a legendary combatant in his own right. A figure of myth, and the progenitor of many of the legends He Yu had grown up on. Standing in the presence of his likeness was humbling, to say the least.

In the chamber’s gloom, lit only by the pale light of Yi Xiurong’s technique, He...

6.31 - Realm of the Righteous

He Yu formed the Bracing Wind, layering Heaven’s Descending Blade on top of it. A shell of sparking heaven burst outward from him, shattering the nearest of Long Tingguang’s blades.

“Inside the cave!” he shouted. “I’ll hold him off as long as I can. Find a way inside!”

He Yu slammed his guandao down once more, the Crashing Wind surging along the blade as another pillar of heaven reached down to the earth. Long Tingguang raised his jian and met steel with steel. The g...

6.30 - Long Tingguang

“Shit,” Zhang Lifen said softly.

It was a bit of an under reaction, given the circumstances. If there was any upside to Long Tingguang’s arrival, it was that there really wasn’t any point in holding back anymore.

He Yu unleashed his spirit, his presence billowing out from him. The sky turned black as clouds boiled out from nothing. He called down the flashing punishment of heaven and wiped out the half-dozen Nascent Soul and early Soul Refining core users that had been dog...

6.29 - A Running Fight

Ultimately, they decided that a running fight was the best option. Zhang Lifen laughed when she heard He Yu’s suggestion, pointing out that’s what she and the others usually did. If they stood and fought, they risked getting overwhelmed as more and more core users and loyalists to the empress piled on.

Running had its own drawbacks. As fast as they both were, their pursuers were advanced enough to keep up—at least for a time. Even then, they’d have to fully release their presenc...

6.28 - Ambush

The hard-packed road beneath He Yu’s feet turned to silt. With a flex of his spirit, he activated the Sky Dragon’s Flight and called his guandao to his hands. Zhang Lifen moved like a river, flowing away from the spot where an eruption of vines grasped at where she’d just stood.

A staff of thick wood appeared in the core user’s hands as another mass of creeping vines burst from the ground, the verdant tendrils reaching for both He Yu and Zhang Lifen. The technique reminded He Yu...

6.27 - In Search of the Lost

“You dare?” Yan Changpu sputtered. “A worthless son of a minor branch of our family seeks to unseat me?” Shadows boiled up around Yan Changpu’s feet, and he manifested a horsetail whisk from his storage treasure. Half a dozen tendrils of shadow rose from behind Yan Changpu. On the end of each was a clay construct that he controlled like a marionette.

Zhang Lifen arched an eyebrow and gave a wry grin. He Yu couldn’t help but agree. He supposed that on some level, Yan Changpu ...

6.26 - Ministry of Information

He Yu stood in the courtyard of the Li estate with Yan Shirong. They had both long since finished their preparations, and now they only waited on Zhang Lifen. She had completed her advancement to Divine Body Attainment in the dark, early hours of the morning, and immediately set about to collecting everything she would need for their journey.

Her breakthrough had taken several weeks. Although both Li Renshu and Tan Zihao had assured him this was fairly typical—if a bit on the quick si...

6.25 - Mountain, Tide, and Dragon

Atop the mountain where Abbot Liao kept his monastery, Chen Fei reforged herself into an immortal in truth.

With the elixir Abbot Liao had given her upon her return swirling in her lower dantian and through her meridians, she pulled from the very foundations of the world to craft herself anew. From earth and metal and mountain, she forged her bones, crafted her flesh. Remade herself anew. Piece by piece, she became the mountain in truth.

For all the years she’d spent with He Yu ...

6.24 - Plans and Preparations

The attention in the room shifted, all pointed to Yan Shirong. He Yu saw him smirk as he started to explain himself, and had to give him credit. It was a good plan, and one that would do everything he’d claimed. It would help them locate Yi Xiurong and Ren Huang while also striking a blow at Jin Xifeng’s ability to coordinate her response to their actions.

“As you all are aware, I am a minor son of the Yan family. The very same Yan family who currently oversees much of the Ministr...

6.23 - War Council

He Yu stood with the others in the main hall of the Li estates. The hall was a study in contrasts compared to the Tan palace he’d spent the past years at. Where the palace of Jade Mountain Citadel was warm and functionally austere, the Li home was as cold as it was ornate. Murals adorned the walls and guardian statues lined the garden pathways of the central courtyard, but it all felt sterile. Like winter had once gripped the home in years past, and then never let go. Even the lanterns seem...