Boots

2.41 - Inner Sect Tournament: Quarterfinals

He Yu could hardly believe his eyes. There was no way Tan Xiaoling was merely Body Refining, late stage or not. She’d been pitted against a cultivator who had been at the late stage for a year longer than she had. And she’d crushed him.

Li Heng let out a heavy breath next to him. “I’ve never seen her go all out before,” he admitted. “That was…frightening.”

“If heaven is merciful, I won’t ever have to face her down,” Yan Shirong said. “She’s a monster.”<...

2.40 - Tan Xiaoling Repays a Debt

When Leader Zhou Shanyuan called the name of her opponent, Tan Xiaoling’s blood roared in her veins. Xiao Jun. In the fourth round—the round that determined eligibility for the inner sect. Zhang Lifen had made good on her promise. Maybe the arrogant woman wasn’t so bad after all.

The smug expression on Xiao Jun’s face was like a spring festival gift. She couldn’t help but smirk when she saw it. Her father would have admonished her for such a display—it was inappropriate for ...

2.39 - Inner Sect Tournament Pt. 4

Leader Zhou called Sha Xiang and another disciple named Deng Qi onto the stage next. As the two of them descended to the arena floor, Sha Xiang trembled with barely concealed rage. It was almost enough for He Yu to feel sorry for her opponent, who had only recently achieved Body Refining so far as he could tell. He’d be going against an angry Sha Xiang at her full strength. He Yu had had a difficult enough time when she’d already been spent.

While a part of him understood that it ma...

2.38 - Inner Sect Tournament Pt. 3

The second round of the tournament was little different than the first. Easy victories for the disciples who were paired against opponents far weaker than themselves, and fairly uneventful matches for the rest.

Sha Xiang and Cui Bao both displayed the same cruelty as they did in the first round. Xiao Jun similarly humiliated his opponent. Qiao Xia was the only disciple among them who treated her opponents with any amount of respect.

Chen Fei’s fight in the second round was again...

2.37 - Inner Sect Tournament Pt. 2

The third day of the tournament’s first round saw Tan Xiaoling take the stage against another Body Refining cultivator.

“Why didn’t she get matched against a Foundation stage disciple?” He Yu asked. “Surely they don’t think that her desire to fight is in question.”

“They don’t,” Li Heng said. “I suspect they’re using the other disciple as an example. Watch.”

The two fighters faced one another across the arena. Unlike Xiao Jun the day prior, Princess...

3.36 - Inner Sect Tournament Pt. 1

The second day of the tournament began with Li Heng taking the stage against a Second Realm. With the memory of the humiliation that Sha Xiang had delivered to her opponent the day prior still fresh in He Yu’s mind, he was grateful that Li Heng conducted himself more or less how he always did. As a noble.

Upon stepping into the arena, Li Heng saluted and bowed, despite his higher advancement and station. They were—for the duration of the tournament, at least—to treat each other as...

2.35 - The Tournament Begins

Three days later, one hundred twenty-eight disciples stood in ranks on the newly constructed tournament stage. They faced the formation-inscribed pavilion where the sect elders were seated upon a raised dais. He Yu recognized Elder Cai and Elder Wen among them. In the center sat the sect leader, Zhou Shanyuan. He was flanked by four elders on either side. Although all nine were of similar advancement—each somewhere in the Seventh or Eighth Realm—they exerted no more spiritual pressure on ...

2.34 - The Last Out

A week before the tournament for the inner sect was set to begin, He Yu broke through to middle Body Refining. With his continued cultivation of the Cloud Emperor’s Peerless Judgment, along with the addition of the Empyrean Ninefold Body Tempering, the amount of heaven qi in his presence had steadily increased. During his time cultivating to prepare for his breakthrough, his inner eye had repeatedly shown him a lonely mountain peak, shrouded in dark clouds.

There was a different chara...

Interlude - Sha Xiang

Sha Xiang leaned up against one of the trees in the copse and waited. She’d been waiting for the better part of a day, now. The longer she waited, the angrier she grew. That bastard, Xiao Jun, had told her over and over again how important it was that she was on time. Told her when she needed to leave, how long it would take to get here, and what she needed to do when the Emissary arrived. And now, Xiao Jun was late.

Anger rolled off her in waves.

Cui Bao glanced over at her fro...

2.33 - Preparations

Several weeks after the failed attempt to plumb the mountain’s depths via the waterfall cave, He Yu stepped through a formation barrier and onto one of the sect’s training fields. Fang Yingjie sat meditating on the far side, wind qi swirling around him as he cultivated. Without looking up, the Inner Sect disciple pressed a fist into his palm in salute.

“You have achieved much, Junior Brother,” Fang Yingjie said, his voice as soft as it was deep. Still, He Yu had no trouble heari...

2.32 - Cave Dwellers

The disciples wasted no words. Tan Xiaoling struck first, her paired dao sabers flashing in Chen Fei’s formation light. Her sandstorm moved with her, and for a moment both she and the creature were obscured. When she broke off her attack, twin wounds scored the thing’s shell, and ichor oozed from within. The creature’s chittering clicks increased in volume and pitch, and a pungent scent filled the cavern.

“It calls for aid!” Yan Shirong shouted. He’d pulled himself up and aw...

2.31 - Entrance to the Depths

The qi coming from inside the cave was noticeably more potent. Just crossing into the entrance, He Yu felt a tingling sensation prickle his skin. The aspect was mostly mountain, but there were traces of other aspects mixed in as well: water, likely filtering in from outside; traces of metal and earth that hadn’t yet formed into mountain qi; and shadow seeping up from deeper in the cave. At the far end of the chamber, a cleft in the rock led deeper in. While it was too dark to see much of wh...

Updates, news, and such

Hey all, just wanted to give a quick update on the state of things, what's (sort of) in store going forward, and all that good stuff.

First off, a big thanks to everyone who's jumped on board to support me. It means a lot, and while it may not be much to you, it goes a long way to helping me be able to do this.

Second, I'm a bit over 2/3 of the way done with Arc 3. I should be wrapping that up in a couple of weeks. Once that's done, I'll be revisiting some of the chapters in Arc 1...

2.30 - Waterfall Cave Revisited

When they returned to the central plaza, they found Tan Xiaoling standing before the path leading up to the men’s living area. It wasn’t exactly a surprise that she’d achieved Body Refining while they’d been gone. She’d been half a step into the Third Realm when she entered the sect and had secluded herself immediately after Xiao Jun and his followers had ambushed her. What was a surprise was that she’d already reached the middle stage.

Physically, she was no different than ...

2.29 - A Moment of Rest

The first thing that hit He Yu once he was away from the stench of his breakthrough was the hunger. He was absolutely famished. Although he’d been needing to eat more and more food as he advanced, he shouldn’t have been secluded for that long. The first step was to wash himself off, though.

He emerged into the central courtyard of his home to find Li Heng practicing his sword forms. The noble seemed different in a way that was difficult to pin down. The most obvious change was the t...

2.28 - Body Refining

It was well past dark by the time He Yu and Chen Fei had finished catching up. She had reached late Foundation over the winter, cultivating higher up on the outer sect mountain. Even though she could have returned once she’d slain the spirit bear, she had elected to stay. 

At first, it had simply been to give the hide time to cure before she had it fashioned into the defensive treasure she now wore. She stayed because the qi was much better for her cultivation base up there, and ...

2.27 - Return to the Shrouded Peaks

In the main plaza of the outer sect mountain, Sha Xiang stood over her opponent and sneered. The darkness wrapped around her dantian howled in delight, reveling in their victory.

“Just dump it out,” she said.

The boy, she couldn’t be bothered to remember his name, looked up at her. Blood trickled down from his split lip, and several bruises were already forming on his face. “Bandit,” he spat.

She kicked him. “I won. Don’t make me remind you.”

He finally...

2.26 - Reflections

He Yu glanced over his shoulder, back in the direction of the bandit camp. Water and fire aspected qi clashed in a wave of power that carried the sickly scent of blood. It was so strong he could almost taste it in the air.

Activating the Sky Dragon’s Flight, he surged forward, thankful for the robes Yongnian had given him. Even with his advancement, he wouldn’t have been able to use the technique this easily, or freely. The disciples had done as they were told and fled.&n...

2.25 - The Court Revealed

The bandit king’s corrupted fist slammed into the ground, cracking the earth beneath it. Although He Yu hadn’t seen her move, Zhang Lifen stood a good twenty feet away from the impact, the hem of her gown drifting as if underwater.

She held an exquisitely crafted composite bow of black lacquered wood and gleaming white horn. Silver formation characters shone along its length. The treasure radiated a spiritual weight nearly as intense as Zhang Lifen herself.

2.24 - You Were Here All Along?

The disciples moved as one. They needed no discussion. Whatever was happening to King Hao, they needed to stop it.

He’d been so close to death, but now his qi surged anew, aided by whatever power he had called upon. And it was another power, not his own. That much He Yu could see even without the aid of the Peerless Judgment.

Attacks from all three of them landed within the space of a single heartbeat. He Yu’s guandao scored a deep gouge in the bandit’s...

2.23 - Suffer Justice

Killing intent rolled off the bandit in waves as he readied his mace. What was worse, his qi had somehow increased in potency. Thankfully, the foreign presence faded, leaving only a hint of red in his eyes. Had he been holding back all this time? No, He Yu told himself. If he had, the Peerless Judgment wouldn’t have reacted the way it had to the change. Something had happened to the bandit, and it had something to do with that faint presence he’d felt a moment ago.

Yan Shirong stepp...

2.22 - King Hao

The first two sentries never had time to realize what had happened. Before they lay dead in the road, the three disciples were a good three dozen yards up the path. The second set of sentries fared a little better, at least managing to get their weapons out before they, too, were cut down. Shouts rose from the bandit camp, a makeshift thing with the beginnings of a palisade that suggested the group had intended to settle in for an extended stay in the region.

The alarm didn’t help tho...

2.21 - The March of Justice

When the He Yu awoke the next morning, Old Guo’s hut was silent, dark—and most importantly— sealed with a powerful formation barrier. If he’d needed a clear signal that there would be no fond farewells to mark the end of his training, that was it. Despite the near-certainty that Old Guo was deep in cultivation, He Yu still offered a salute and a deep bow before they left. Old Guo’s comment about them owing him more than they could possibly pay was as true as the sun was bright.

Interlude - Zhang Lifen

Zhang Lifen stood with her hands folded in the sleeves of her gown while Master Cai tended to his garden. He’d called her here for a purpose, and he’d speak when he was ready. When he did speak, it was mostly what she’d expected.

“Your reliance on good fortune will be the end of you,” he began.

“What ever do you mean?” she asked with a smile, trying for all the world to sound as innocent as she wasn’t.

“We’ve been over what happened with Disciple Sha enou...

2.20 - Arrival of Spring

The next month was the most intense of all the time they’d spent with Old Guo. They awoke at dawn and spent the morning training their spiritual presence using the Stonewrought Pines. During He Yu’s time away, both Li Heng and Yan Shirong had refined their spirits. Li Heng’s had changed the least, but the sense of night, moonlit snow, and sharp cold had become all the more clear when he flexed his spirit. Yan Shirong’s spirit had gone from the suggestion of an umbral cloak that hung a...

2.19 - Thunder God's Shrine

As He Yu followed Yongnian deeper into the temple, the spiritual weight of the place grew heavier and harder to bear. Just as he was about to say something to the spirit, to protest that he couldn’t handle the weight of wherever they were going, they came to a massive set of iron-banded double doors.

Unlike the rest of the temple, the doors were completely intact and in good repair. The door frame was carved from the living mountain itself and adorned with formation characters. That w...

2.18 - Storm Spirit Yongnian

He Yu cupped his fist with his palm and bowed. “Great Spirit, forgive this one for trespassing in your august domain. I had not sensed your presence before entering this place.” At least this time he could be certain he was dealing with a spirit, unlike when he’d first met Zhang Lifen and mistaken her for the same.

“I hid myself when I sensed your approach. But answer me, if you did not mean to trespass, then why have you come?”

Although he couldn’t detect any anger in...

2.17 - The Heavenly Temple

“You’re going where?” Yan Shirong fixed He Yu with a stern look as he planted himself firmly in the path leading east into the forest.

“I’ll be back in a few days. A week at most,” He Yu said.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I already told you where I’m going,” he shot back. He really didn’t want Yan Shirong coming along for what he’d decided was his adventure. He’d probably just pocket anything and everything of any worth and leave He Yu wi...

2.16 - Old Guo Provides Direction

After a month or so, He Yu was pushing up against the boundary of the late Second Realm. These results were far beyond his expectations, given that he’d only just reached middle Foundation. It shouldn’t have surprised him, on further thought. 

He’d been in near-constant combat or training since leaving the sect. He’d been feasting on awakened beast meat and absorbing the qi from the cores they collected. He couldn’t even begin to calculate the equivalent amount of spirit ...

2.15 - Li Heng

Li Heng’s ancestral blade crashed to the stone, and the silver light shimmering along its length winked out. His shoulders and arms ached, and a sheen of sweat had broken out on his forehead. He heaved a breath, and he picked the weapon up once again.

“Three,” Old Guo said. The disapproval contained in that single word set Li Heng’s teeth on edge.

“Again,” Li Heng forced out. He raised his sword into a guard position.

Across from him, the old cultivator curled hi...