I didn’t have time to think or pick sides.

I was running off the cliff in a leap before I knew it. In some other time and space, I would have been gleeful to see the annoying cultivators die within the jaws of the beast, but now they were the only things keeping those two kids from getting killed.

I thought as fast as I ran, kicking up mud and water in my wake as I weaved between the hundreds of Belrug corpses Li Gong Qui had already slain. The creature was a Fire Salamander, but as for what rank it was, I didn’t know. C Rank? B Rank maybe? I’d never even seen one of them before, much less fought one.

And if Li Gong Qui was having trouble holding it back, there was a pretty good chance I was going to die. The thought fueled me with frenzy. I somehow had to kill this thing before that happened.

A wave of heat hit me as I got closer, the glow of its scales hot like coals on its back and sides. The beast suddenly spun about, whipping its thick tails towards the ice wall and with the sound of a thousand falling panes of glass the wall shattered, sending the cultivators flying into the cliff face hard and landing next to the boys. They were still moving, but just barely it seemed, all of them either dazed or unconscious.

There was no way I could defeat this thing.

It was too large.

Too powerful.

But I was going to fight it anyway.

As [Odds against me] kicked in, I felt a tremendous surge of frenzy like never before. The passage of there being no limit to the technique came to my mind, its power limited only by the strength of my foe and my ability to withstand it. I focused on those words like a mantra as I let out a massive war cry and leapt into the air, aiming at one of the creature’s large, clawed feet.

My [Three Log Chop] struck what felt like steel, but it gave way under the force of my strike and I cut straight through one of its claws. The beast reeled as I drew its attention, but I didn’t stop there, using the well of frenzy churning inside me to propel me quickly under its belly. It felt like I was running under a broiler as I chopped upwards at its under scales, using pure rage to try and make a dent.

I had to get it away from them.

That was the only thought in my head.

Then something struck me from the side, sending me tumbling over the swampy terrain. I realized a half-second later that the beast had spun again and slapped me with its massive tail. My bones ached, but if not for my body hardening, I’m sure I probably would have been killed just now.

In another brief moment of clarity, I looked to the cliff. Sen Cho and Yi Fu were still up there. If I was going to try and defeat this thing I needed to go all out and for that, I needed to be out of their sight. And to do that, I had to lead it away from the easy meal of the knocked-out cultivators and my handlers by somehow keeping its attention. The beast was still somewhat facing me, its mouth a roaring furnace of heat.

I used [Fear the Flame], channeling my frenzy into a primal scream of rage that I hoped would sound like a predatory challenge. The monster focused on me entirely then and I could sense something coming from within it. An anger of some kind. Had it actually responded to my technique like a human would? There was definitely some kind of intellect behind those dark reptilian eyes.

Then I realized this wasn’t just a monster.

It was a spirit beast.

A creature with an awakened soul of its own.

I didn’t know if that helped or hurt me in the long run, but I was going to use it to my advantage now. I channeled [Your Rage is my Strength] to feed from it as I hurled part of a sunken tree log at it. The monster snapped it out of the air, revealing multiple rows of needle like teeth in its jaws.

“Come on and chase me so I can kill you, you giant piece of shit!”

I shouted the curse with [Fear the Flame] hoping to enrage it more as I turned tail and ran towards another Belrug mount in the distance. The ground trembled beneath my feet, confirming my technique had done its job and the giant monster was now giving chase. As I lost sight of Yi Fu and Sen Cho, I poured on the speed with frenzy, distancing myself from the monster’s jaws.

A wave of heat and flame washed over me as a loud roar came from behind. I screamed in shock as my vision was blinded by it, but through the heat I somehow kept running. When I finally turned to glimpse the beast, I could see several of the dead trees were now on fire, as was a portion of my clothes.

Holy shit, I thought as I patted out the flames. Did I just survive it breathing fire on me?

I thought back to the Shuras and sure enough the third stage of body hardening did give me some kind of immunity to flames. I laughed out loud. “Thank you, Zu Tien, you ugly one-handed whore!”

I switched direction and instead of running from the beast, turned to charge at it with a renewed vigor in my soul. The sheer size of it was intimidating enough to keep my frenzy going with a constant stream of fear, but I didn’t feel it myself. All I felt with the rage of bloodlust as I determined to kill this giant monster with everything I had.

I got in another chop at its stubby leg before the creature lunged at me with a giant bite. It took all my wherewithal to redirect my frenzy into my reflexes and somehow I managed to duck just under its jaw, enduring another broiling wave of heat from its underside.

Instinct took over and with its head so close to me, I scrambled right up on top of the thing. The sensation of walking across hot coals consumed every inch of my body, but [Pain Soothes the Frenzied Flame] helped me endure it. Grabbing onto one of its thick scales for support, I wielded my axe in one hand and began chopping savagely into its thick neck.

“Die! Damn! You! Die! Die!”

My words came out like a staccato mantra, reinforcing the strength of each chop. [Odds against me] and my [Lust for Battle] then seemed to combine as I let the demon loose from the struggler’s control. I was either going to cook to death on this thing or kill it and now was my only chance.

Rock like scales and blood flew as the creature whipped me from side to side. I screamed like a madman, hammering away with my axe like I was a blacksmith striking an anvil. I finally lost my grip and was tossed to the muddy water, landing about twenty feet away from the monster.

A strange sort of hissing filled the air as I raised my head to look back at the salamander. One side of the beast’s neck had been cut wide open, a jugular exposed from my hacks. Fresh blood gushed from it by the gallon, but as soon as it hit its glowing scales, it flash-evaporated in large plumes of steam. The beast staggered towards me drunkenly, all the fight taken out of it, slowly dying from my mortal wound.

I felt much the same way, all my frenzy spent and my body refusing to generate any more. A loud cry then filled the air.

“[Divine Avalanche]!”

The words echoed like thunder as Li Gong Qui appeared over the top of the Belrug nest, flying on a cloud of icy condensed Qi. From above the salamander, what looked like the inverted peak of a frozen mountain top appeared and then promptly fell out of the sky. It collapsed onto the beast with a tremendous boom and the shock wave sent me skidding across the swamp a good thirty feet or more.

A huge wave of cold air came with it, soothing my blistering skin.

When the frost cleared, I saw the beast’s torso was twisted at odd angles, the residual heat of its scales sizzling against the huge chunks of ice that had impacted its body. It didn’t move.

The Fire Salamander was no more.

* * *

A haughty and triumphant laugh came from Li Gong Qui as he hovered over the salamander’s body, admiring his handiwork. A few moments later Ren and Rho, along with the two women, rounded the side of the Belrug mound, followed closely by Yi Fu and Sen Cho. The two women cultivators made short work of any Belrugs greedy enough to emerge from the nest and when they were done, they quickly gathered beneath where Li Gong Qui was still hovering in the sky.

To my amazement, Su Wen clapped and cheered at seeing the giant monster’s corpse, like it was a stuffed animal she’d just won at a fair instead of the deadly beast that had nearly killed her a moment ago. Lai Qi joined her and Li Gong Qui landed in between the two women, enjoying a victory kiss from each of them as he grinned with pride.

“Your skill is unmatched, young master,” Su Wen said beaming. “You defeated the beast in a single technique!”

“That I did,” he said and then his eyes fell on me, a look of amusement on his face. “And this one thought the beasts here would be too strong for me. Witness now Chun what it means to be a royal cultivator of the Frozen Cloud Sect.”

The women laughed, pointing at me jeeringly, causing a sickening ire to build in my gut.

I’d just saved all their lives and here they were mocking me?

It was enough to make my blood boil and wish for all their deaths, but I restrained myself with [Indifference]. I needed to let the struggler take back his control. The demon had to be contained and in the end, I welcomed the humiliation.

Because it meant I’d won.

I had pretty much killed the beast without none of them being the wiser, the cultivators’ own inflated egos ignoring or perhaps refusing to believe that a mere mortal could have done anything worthwhile in the situation at all. And under the circumstances, that suited me just fine.

But not everything I did went unnoticed by all.

“You were brave to have distracted the beast when you did,” Sen Cho said as he helped me from the ground. “And you are lucky to be alive. My master needed time to prepare his ultimate technique. You should be thanking him for saving your life.”

“Indeed!” Li Gong Qui said. “Bow to me now, all of you. Show this one respect for saving your lives.”

The women and Sen Cho were the first to fall to their knees. My juniors quickly followed suit, well indoctrinated in the ways of the cultivator’s world. But I hesitated, every being in my body wanting to rebel and thumb my nose at the arrogant, clueless bastard. But I swallowed my hate, fueled it into frenzy and dipped my forehead into the mud in a kowtow.

“You are all welcome,” Li Gong Qui said with a smug and satisfied smirk. “Now chop this beast open. I want to know if it possesses a core.”

* * *

The bastard Li Gong Qui turned out to be as lucky as he was arrogant. After regaining some of my strength, I together with my junior handlers went about the mammoth task of dissecting the salamander. It took about an hour of hacking away with my axe, but I finally exposed where its center would be and sure enough, there inside was a small, red nugget about the size of a golf ball of raw unrefined monster Qi.

Li Gong Qi laughed and tossed it in the air like he was a child playing with a new toy once he had it in his hands. “My ascension is at hand, Sen Cho!” he said gleefully. “Come, we must away. I need to find an alchemist to brew this into an elixir at once.”

“Congratulations master,” Su Wen said. “You have earned a great victory today. The very heavens guide your path towards ascension.”

“Indeed,” Sen Cho said nodding in agreement. “But honorable young master, the affinity of this beast was clearly of the fire aspect. Its Qi would be in contrary to your own, would it not?”

Li Gong Qui’s face went blank for a moment, as if just realizing he’d made a huge miscalculation. His features then contorted into a scowl as he glared at Sen Cho. “Do you think me a fool, Sen Cho? Do you think I do not know…that I cannot use this core? At all?”

The words came out punctuated, bitter with hostility, the realization clearly just dawning on Li Gong Qui himself.

Sen Cho lowered himself to the ground immediately. “I would never dare, Young Master! Surely this one is not wise enough to understand your great logic of brewing the core into an elixir.”

“You surely do not!” Li Gong Qui grimaced.

“Perhaps I am also not wise,” Lai Qi said meekly. “But Master, please tell me, what is the logic of creating an elixir from this core. Its fire will surely not meld with your spiritual core.”

Li Gong Qui looked on the spot again, his face growing tense with anger. “Sen Cho! Tell her! Clearly you must not be such a dullard as to not understand why I would suggest such a thing.”

Sen Cho’s mouth fell open. “I…I.”

I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. Li Gong Qui looked about to hit the man. “Answer her! Answer her, now!”

I stepped forward using [Struggler’s Resolve] bowing my head slowly as I stepped next to Sen Cho. “What Sen Cho was no doubt about to tell you, Master Li Gong Qui, was that by refining the Fire Salamander core into an elixir you could fetch a much higher price in the markets when you sell it. And with that money you could then purchase a similar grade elixir that is more attuned to your spiritual core.”

Li Gong Qui looked at me dumbfounded for a moment as did Sen Cho. I then nudged the man and San Cho bowed once more. “Yes, of course! That was what I was going to say. You are most wise, young master.”

Li Gong Qui nodded with another smug grin. “That’s right. Now let us be off to the alchemist as I said. I must fetch the highest price for this to afford my elixir of ascension.”

* * *

The trip back to the gate was brutal. With all my adrenaline worn off, I was actually starting to feel the few hits the salamander had landed on my body. Thinking back, I wondered if I was maybe a half step to level three in my Reflex Sharpening to have avoided the beast as I had. Or maybe I was just getting better at avoiding getting hit in general after fighting all those toads.

Either way, I was struggling as much as my comrades as I hauled the sedan chair solo from the front again. Thankfully, Li Gong Qui’s constant gloating about how impressive he was to single handedly kill the Belrungs and Salamander kept me fueled with a steady flow of frenzy. It made me wonder just how many cultivators were not only arrogant but incredibly stupid. His bizarre handling of the situation with the core still baffled me.

I was also kind of baffled at how quickly I’d come up with a solution for the problem, saving Sen Cho’s skin by saving his master’s stupid ‘face’. Perhaps all my studying of the orb and the cultivation manual was progressing my mental refinement as well. There were not as many categories when it came to mental refinement. As I tried to recall just how many there were, the table from the manual appeared with crystal clarity in my mind’s eye.

Mental Refinement Category

Stages

Description

Mental Capacity

I to V

Increases your ability to store, retain and recall information. At 1st stage you will be at peak natural conditioning. At 3rd stage you have the ability to recall small portions of information with complete clarity. At level 5th stage you are able to recall several tomes worth of information with clarity. Train by memorizing techniques, texts and transcribing the same.

Mental Quickness

I to V

Increases the swiftness at which you can recall and correlate information you have retained. At 1st stage you will be at peak natural conditioning. At 3rd stage you can quickly recall and correlate information, even under duress. At 5th stage you are able to perform complex computations with ease and correlate information with the subconscious mind. Train by performing calculations or split decision making while under duress.

I could definitely see how I’d been passively training my Mental Capacity all along just by studying, but I wasn’t quite sure how I was enhancing my Mental Quickness. Maybe just my thought process while I was fighting was cultivating that. By the descriptions, I figured that I was perhaps already near the third stage of Mental Capacity and perhaps the second stage of Mental Quickness. I noted there was nothing mentioned to train one’s wisdom, which made sense after meeting the likes of Li Gong Qui. No matter how smart you were, wisdom and common sense were different. No fixing stupid.

Having now advanced not only my body but my mind, it had me wandering just how far I was progressing through my foundation training. As I subconsciously carried the sedan, I pictured the foundation table in my mind.

Realm

Level/stage/Tier

Qi Cultivator

Foundation Establishment

1st

Qi Gathering

2nd

Qi Channeling

3rd

Qi Body Refinement

4th

Qi Mental Refinement

5th

Qi concentration

6th

Qi Manifestation (internal)

7th

Qi Manifestation (external)

8th

Qi Condensing

9th

Qi Hardening

I was still considered a low-tier foundation cultivator perhaps, but I was speeding along. And like I’d experienced, my equivalent power in Qi was perhaps at a much higher tier in terms of effectiveness. Although, I hadn’t even begun to test the mastery of Qi or frenzy manifestation as yet. Li Dong Qui was clearly a master of that though and demonstrated how powerful and godlike cultivators could become at the manifestation stage. I though back to Threja and wondered if her spectral form was some kind of manifestation of her frenzy.

Slipping further into autopilot, I began cycling my frenzy while practicing my Mental Capacity, searching through the mental images of the orb that were now imprinted into my mind. At first, I had doubts as to whether I would be able to recall anything with any sort of reliable clarity, but as I focused, I found that I could see the shuras as clearly as if I were staring at the orb itself.

I searched for manifestations and found them in the 453rd Shura.

Shura 453

On manifestations…

Whether they be internal or external the use of concentrated frenzy to produce physical manifestations must be well thought, for while they may well exceed the limits of mortality, they may undoubtably mark you as a follower of the flame. Take note also, that if sufficient strength is reached, the sight of your manifestation alone may be enough to crumble your foe’s resolve into complete despair. At higher levels of frenzy, manifestation may even be used persistently.

I though about how those Fire Bird members starting panicking when they saw Threja’s spectral form and understood immediately what the text was talking about. A big risk, big reward kind of thing when it came to revealing your ‘true’ form. The text then listed several techniques below it.

[Iron core] – (internal) use concentrated frenzy to temporarily form a layer of protective armor around vital organ and bones to withstand tremendous blows.

[Death’s Door] – (internal) should you suffer a fatal wound use concentrated frenzy to replace any bodily function that is lost.

[Iron skin] – (external) use concentrated frenzy to temporarily form a layer of hardened armor on a specific part of the body. Use defensively to avoid critical strike or offensively on the knuckles, feet or palms when fighting unarmed.

I then noticed three external techniques were lumped together.

Marks of the Berserker

Take special care when utilizing the marks. While initially only one Mark may be used at a time, higher levels can sustain as much as two. In very rare practitioners, all three marks can be manifested, but take heed, as such will quickly frenzy thy flame towards complete madness.

[Mark of the Beast] – (external) take on the likeness of a frenzied beast, greatly increasing one’s reflex and speed.

[Mark of the Giant] – (external) grow in physical size, greatly increase all of one’s physical strength and power.

[Mark of the Demon] – (external) take on the likeness of a demon, greatly increasing the potency of one’s frenzy and the effectiveness of frenzy techniques.

Considering how tall Threja was compared to even Sumatra, I wondered if she had been running Mark of the Giant permanently. And perhaps her spectral form was a mix of Mark of the Giant and Mark of the Demon. Just the idea of gaining that much power had me itching to try it out the next time I got to fight monsters, but I’d have to figure out how to concentrate my frenzy first, since all the techniques seemed to call for it.

Still the idea of new growth and power ignited my flame with a passion to progress like never before. The body enhancing was amazing enough, but the manifestations were more like real superpowers. I chuckled inwardly at the thought of one day being able to withstand even Li Gong Qui’s [Divine Avalanche] technique with a smirk of [Indifference].

One day, I thought to myself. One day.

I was so lost in my own head that I didn’t even realize we had reached the gate until Sumatra’s voice boomed from ahead of me.

“What in the nine hells happened to you, Chun?” he said with a laugh. “You look like shit. And is that mud or shit on you?”

I had half the mind to tell him it was shit and then smear it all over him, but it was half dried now anyway and the blood had oxidized, turning a shit colored brown. “Yeah, welcome back home to you too, boss.”

Li Gong Qui went onto another bragging session as soon as we laid down the sedan, drawing the quick attention of the Imperial Guard and enforcers who immediately seized the core for inspection and began haggling with Sen Cho about paying taxes.

“Elder brother Chun.”

I paused and turned at the unexpected title. There standing behind me in a line was Ren, Rho and Yi Fu. They all performed a coordinated bow in front of me, bringing forth a fresh burst of lemonade.

“Thank you so much for taking care of us today,” Yi Fu said. “You saved all of our lives.”

The brothers Ren and Rho nodded emphatically with quick bows. “Yes, thank you, elder brother! We both hope to be as courageous and strong as you one day. You are an amazing handler. Please allow us to work with you again.”

I wasn’t too sure how much the kids had actually seen. I figured not much since they didn’t really say much earlier, but perhaps they had been holding it in until they were off duty and away from the cultivators.

I played off the complements with [Struggler’s Resolve].

“Hey, I just got lucky out there today. But you all did great too. Nice working with you. We’ll team up again for sure.”

That caused more gushes of lemonade as they grinned at me in admiration and then ran off together, recounting tales of their first day on the job. As they left, another voice came from behind me.

“They speak the truth.”

I looked back to see Sen Cho. The man servant had finished haggling for the taxes to take the core it seemed and was about to depart, Li Gong Qui and his two concubines already waiting for him in the sedan as the normal porters prepared to haul them away.

“I’m not certain how you did it,” he said. “But I’m glad that you did. Please take this…” He then thrust something heavy into in my hand. “For saving my master’s skin.” He then winked at me. “And my own.”

He smiled as he left, joining Li Gong Qui in the sedan.

When I looked, there was the large, crescent-shaped lump of a five-tael silver coin sitting in my palm.

* * *

I could barely contain my excitement as I waited for Lee and Mu Lin to return from the field. When they finally did, I called them over immediately.

“Damn, Chun,” Mu Lin said with a disapproving shake of her head. “What happened to you today. You look like shit again.”

Lee laughed in agreement. “When does he not look like shit?”

“Nevermind all that,” I said. “Did you get the message to Xi Xha for me?”

“Yeah, I sent it earlier,” Mu Lin said. “She’ll meet you in the central markets in a couple of hours.”

“Well, I need you to send her another one. Tell her there’s been a change of plans.”

Mu Lin’s eyes narrowed like she wanted to kill me. “What!? Do you know how much trouble I went through to—”

“Tell her we’re all going to meet her, but in the restaurant district instead.” I then showed them the coin and their eyes nearly fell out of their heads. “Food and drinks are on me, guys. We’re hitting the town tonight.”