“Welcome, initiates, and congratulations! You have proven yourselves worthy disciples of Royal Phoenix Academy!”

Alex quickly scanned the grand basin before him, quickly taking in the massive tables filled with food and drink worthy of any lord’s hall, each table attended by surprisingly voluptuous women dressed up in little more than makeup, sheer silk kimonos, hungry bedroom eyes, and a sharp, cloying scent that made Hao Chan gasp.

The girls all curtseyed in perfect unison while a powerfully built man radiating a Silver Giant’s aura and the most charming of smiles chuckled good-naturedly, clapping his hands in approval, for all that his measuring eyes sought to pierce Jidihu’s veil.

He squinted and shook his head before covering for his confusion with a bonhomie chuckle and a wave of his hand. “Your trial is over, your impressive feat signifying your worthiness to attend this, the grandest school in all of QuiJing province, is to be commended! So relax, eat, drink, and by all means, make merry. For those of you weary and sore from your ordeal, we also have the finest masseuses in the city who are now permanent employees of our fine institution, dedicated to making the most worthy students as relaxed and comfortable as it is possible to be.”

With those words, no less than a half dozen strikingly beautiful cultivators exuding grace with their every movement stepped forward from a misty side-basin alcove from which Alex could sense a number of strategically placed sofas and beds. All of them, men and women both, had the lithe, sensual builds of dancers as opposed to aspiring giants, and not a one of them had failed to break through to Bronze, even if along a path he would advise no one dare.

Alex forced a smile on his face as he caught the gaze of the Silver Giant who had just gestured for a handful of musicians on a raised dais safe from the basin’s damp to continue playing string and woodwind instruments, filling the chamber with a haunting yet festive melody.

“Come, future students of Royal Phoenix academy. No need to block the chamber entrance. Your fellow disciples are no doubt right behind you!”

Alex was momentarily thrown off by the sheer degree of decadent vice he saw taking place in the same misty alcove that the masseuses had come from, catching sight of multiple hookahs being tended to by girls just as scantily clad as those attending the feasting tables as the sharp scents of exotic herbs, aphrodisiacs, and the favored drug of those enslaved to the Purple Path filled the air. Alex found himself squeezing a suddenly trembling Hao Chan’s hand as his mind raced with the best path forward. He had thought himself ready for anything, but the floors below should have clued him in to the gambit in play.

“Why it looks like a right proper feast, how grand!” Said a pleased-sounding Panheu, giving absolutely nothing away with his bonhomie smile and the shadow enhanced countenance of a plain looking man just beginning his cultivation journey. He then frowned thoughtfully. “Yet I have for so long heard tales of the grand trial of the golden steps, read stories of brave heroes gaining insights from their trials, testing each other with just how far they could go, that I must confess to an interest in testing myself as well!” He then gestured to the mist shrouded steps leading further up the mountain. “So, as much as I’m relieved to know that I have ascended past a servant’s status, I plan on continuing my ascent, just as far as my legs can take me.”

Everyone else nodded on Cue, while the Silver Giant’s bonhomie smile immediately hardened. “There is no need for that, worthy initiate. For the new headmaster seeks to break away from the more archaic traditions of the school that caused such dissent in times past. Indeed, all students now enter this school as equals, with access to mentors, cultivation facilities, and a safe bed to rest their weary heads in after a hard day’s training without ever being made to risk all their possessions in forced challenges with other cultivators.” He man his head, as if in sorrow for violent times past. “Now, rank and privilege are the right of any student willing to prove themselves with simple obedience and dedication. A single oath, and the school’s resources are your own as our instructors seek to forge you all into the strongest cultivators you can possibly be, in ways that will best serve your king and country.”

He waved back at the tables piled high with countless delicacies Alex found himself suddenly ravenous for, the pitchers of wine calling out to him with a thirst he was suddenly desperate to slake.

“Now come, worthy students of Rising Phoenix Academy. Rest and take your ease, and allow yourselves to enjoy sweetest indulgence for so long as you desire. Our masseuses and servants are eager to sooth away your aches and give you comfort in whatever ways you desire. So step forward and enjoy privileges that will be your right to savor every month you are in good standing with the college.”

Alex forced himself to chuckle. “Let me guess, this is just another test! Do we have it within us to continue our ascent. Will we choose spiritual growth when earthly pleasures abound.” Alex schooled his features into a rueful smile. “I admit that the sweet fruit before me would be a delight to savor. But proving to myself just how far I can ascend is a goal that burns within me still.” He dipped his head, as if paying his respects to the cold-eyed Silver only playing at warmth and bonhomie, before proceeding towards the far end of the basin, affecting a calm smile and the manner of someone resisting temptation’s call, no matter that the hairs on the back of his neck were now prickling with apprehension.

Though his heart was pounding and Qi Perception was ready for anything, the atmosphere remained festive, the Silver Giant not saying a word. Not until they approached the far stairs.

The man tried for cheerful bonhomie one more. “Well done! You have successfully bested temptation’s grasp! Now ascend as far as you are able, young disciples! For all that privileges are the same for all of Royal Phoenix newest students, we delight in seeing just how far our newest recruits can push themselves. So ascend those Bronze Steps just as far as you can, and show us how many bars you can earn from the talismans that are yours with each rank earned! We will have a guide ready to lead you back down to the feast when your journey is at its end. And should any of you actually manage to attend Silver, you will earn your choice of servants to take care of your every need upon your oath to this school!”

With those words, each and every man and woman present flowed into a bow.

Alex forced a hungry smile on his features, laughing as if with delight for the boon he would strive for as he took the first step forward, none of them pausing until they were halfway up the steps.

“So that’s the nature of Dongfang Hong’s trap,” Jidihu glared and shook her head.

Hao Chan’s haunted gaze met Alex’s own. “Those girls… those poor girls.”

Alex nodded. “I know.”

Yinzi frowned. “They all stunk of poppy and something that was sour and sad.”

Alex nodded. “It was more subtle in the floors below, but now there can be no doubt. They must have hired dozens of courtesans to serve as an extra enticement for any aspirant making it up this far. And we all know the dangers of any cultivator surrendering to vice with a girl or boy trapped in that life.”

Jidihu’s eyes flashed with unexpected heat. “If this was taking place in Dragon Academy… but it isn’t. This isn’t my school, or my city. Not yet, anyway.”

Tan Wu glared, folding his powerful arms. “No harem so clearly aligned to the Purple would be allowed anywhere near my men. To see my former lieutenant stoops so low...” He shook his head. “Or to be ordered by his commander to stoop so low. Risking the destruction or at least the enslavement of any cultivator who would embrace those festivities. Unforgivable.”

Surprisingly, Panheu gave a nonchalant shrug. “A single night, or week’s bliss, will cause the youths ascending the steps no real harm. Only if they continue to seek vice, or escape in the arms of girls and boys such as those, will they be in any peril. So we cannot pass judgment on that den of vice alone.” He gave Hao Chan a sympathetic smile. “For all that some of our experiences allow us to sympathize with those poor lost souls more than others.”

Jidihu scowled. “Husband...”

“I only say there was no proof of malice. Only enticement. Which means that the Red Prince has done nothing more but try to net strong aspirants early in their careers. The true test was the Silver’s reaction to our continued ascent. Despite his scowl, he turned encouraging soon enough. I think we know what we can expect from here.”

Ning Jing chuckled painfully. “We’ll be cheered on and enticed back to the feast, with every rank we make. So long as we don’t go too far.”

Panheu dipped his head. “That’s my thought as well. I think we can expect a warm reception, at least until we reach, what was that he said, disciple? The Silver plateau?”

Alex nodded. “But it’s not just a singular plateau. Bronze, like Basic, has three levels. Silver, unlike most plateaus, has an extra hidden basin. I have no idea if we’ll be exposed to it this time around, but it’s there.”

Jidihu scowled. “An extra hidden basin?”

Alex nodded. “My last journey through the Silver tiers was with a friend. He explained to me a bit of the school’s history and lore.”

Panheu scowled. “And who exactly is this friend?”

Alex smirked. “I doubt you know him. His name is Cheng Lei, an honorable idealist and a true friend. A true rarity in the ruthless and cynical cultivation world we all know.”

Jidihu froze. “Alex, are you saying you made friends with an Imperial Prince?”

Alex grinned. “As a matter of fact, yeah. I guess I did.”

Ning Jing snorted. “A noteworthy friend for such a foolish boy. Good. Contacts like that might just keep you and my daughter alive, for when your brilliant luck finally runs it’s course.”

Yinzi snorted. “Let’s hope that’s not anytime soon, mother, or we’re all pretty much damned.”

Ning Jing smirked, clearly about to say something before she crumpled and cried out, Alex immediately Bullrushing to be right behind her before she could topple, earning a surprised glance even from Panheu.

Fortunately, her seizures passed quickly enough, though Alex’s eyes widened to see ghostly echoes of Steel and Dark Qi slide free of the trembling women, along with a terrible burden of horror and darkness Alex was both shocked and relieved to see part her form.

“Wife!” Jidihu was suddenly before Ning Jing, holding the woman close as she shook and sobbed. Before forcing herself back to her feet, now struggling just to keep upright, so great was her pain.

“Mother?” Yinzi’s features were filled with alarm alien to her normally carefree features.

Ning Jing forced a smile that couldn’t quite hide the haunted look in her eyes. “It’s alright, child. I’m glad I can finally let go of old burdens and terrible, terrible regret.” She shook her head. “Even if I suddenly have to fear being as weak as a kitten when it’s all said and done.”

Yinzi swallowed, eyes tearing up as she held her mother close.

“Careful, daughter!” Ning Jing gave a surprised gasp. “You’re strong. So gloriously strong now! And I...” She gave a dry chuckle. “I fear my bones might soon be as brittle as any old crones.”

“That’s okay, mother,” Yinzi said with a tearful smile. “You’re finally freeing yourself of all those trapped souls. Finally undoing that evil wujen’s binding that poisoned your karma and would have doomed your soul.”

Ning Jing scowled, before lowering her head. “I know,” she whispered. “I walked a very dark path, before you came into my life and claimed my heart, daughter. For all that I stopped before taking certain black oaths… the damage was done.”

“And now it’s healing!” Yinzi fiercely declared.

Ning Jing took a shuddering breath, her beautiful features showing a rare moment of vulnerability as she nodded her gratitude to a still grimly braced Alex, who’s body hadn’t moved a hair, even with mother and daughter now braced against him before finally stepping back.

“I can feel them leaving me. I can feel them returning back to the river that should have been their home, so many years ago.”

Alex felt a lump in his throat as Ning Jing flashed a tearful smile. “I know they can never forgive me… but I’m glad they can find peace now. Maybe I can as well.”

Jidihu wordlessly nodded, hugging wife and daughter both. “Come, my loves. We have more steps to ascend.” She gave Ning Jing a pointed look. “And no matter what happens, you keep yourself hidden in my shadow’s love. You’re in no position to fight, nor should you have to, after finally surrendering that cursed bone-hardening technique.”

Ning Jing had the grace to look away. “Of course.”

“Don’t worry, mother! You can use Alex’s technique! He uses Dark and Light Qi as a whole to strengthen his bones, and you saw how well he fought my second father!”

Hao Chan laughed. “Two mothers and two fathers. How lucky a girl you are, Yinzi.”

“I know, right?” She gazed imploringly Alex’s way. “You will teach mother your bone strengthening secrets, won’t you, Alex?”

Alex grinned. “Of course! It’s all in my Eternal Fox Unified Cultivation manual.”

Jidihu frowned. “Alex, as much as I’m as awed as anyone at that tome you scribed by WiFu’s side… I know for a fact you’ve written nothing since you finally forged bones strong enough to endure my husband’s blows.”

“Oh, no worries there,” Alex assured. “It updates automatically.”

His words earned him confused stares.

“The book records my insights. When you read it, it’s like you’re living through my own experiences and revelations. My Spiritual Teacher skill bonuses come into full effect. I think it’s because I have access to Spirit Qi, so it’s sort of the cultivation equivalent of a mind-meld.” He smirked. “And that might be because my mother’s background is a hell of a lot more interesting than I once thought, not that anything should surprise me, after finding myself transported to a fantasy cultivation world. Anyway, we’re wasting time, and you guys are staring at me way too hard. So let’s get climbing.”

Ning Jing gazed at her wife. “Did that make any sense to you?”

“Of course not. But my ultimate sire’s disciple is right. Let’s get moving, before the Red Prince’s men can arrange any counter for would-be students who refuse to be ensnared by his enticements.”

A sentiment which brought them all back down to earth, paying little attention to the spectacular view all around them as the focused on carefully ascending the steps as quickly and safely as they could, Alex springing into the fifth basin ready for anything as Jidihu cloaked the rest in Shadow. Yet the chamber was utterly quiet, save for the distant crash of water and a single attendant bowing before them before revealing a husky voice and hungry eyes. “Welcome, hero. You have proven yourself a powerful cultivator indeed. Are you ready to take your ease and savor the delights your achievements have earned?”

Alex flashed a sympathetic smile for the heavily made-up girl smelling so strongly of poppy, desire, and regret. “I don’t think my journey’s quite done yet.” He gazed at the distant steps, a single flash of his hand making it clear that they were all safe, for now, the others sliding past him as no more than the slightest dimming of a chamber lit only by the glorious nebulae and starry night sky high above.

Alex then turned to the young woman gazing at the golden steps herself, surprised to see the tear in her eyes.

“I had once dreamed of ascending those steps myself,” she whispered.

Alex gazed at the still pretty girl for long moments. “Then why don’t you?”

She gazed at him in horrified disbelief. “I can’t. I don’t dare. Not after I...” her cheeks flushed and she looked away.

“I see you have seven fully intact meridians,” Alex quietly said. “And though they are strained… the path to clean them, heal yourself, and start over, is a single trial away.”

“But the pain...”

Alex nodded. “There is that. But there’s something else up those steps that will make the pain more than worth it.”

She chuckled bitterly. “What could possibly be worth what I will suffer?”

Alex shrugged. “Redemption. Living a life you can be proud of. A life you can call your own.” He smiled gently at the girl now trembling before him. “It won’t be easy, but you aren’t the first girl to have stumbled, and I know of one other girl who found redemption daring that path. Redemption, and hope in the form of the Imperial army and healers willing to help her break completely free of the purple, and start her life anew.” He flashed a hard smile. “And I sure as hell don’t mean Dongfang Hong’s army, but I’m sure there is an imperial recruitment center here in Baidushi. If you tell them you’re willing to enlist… I’ll bet they take you.”

The girl flushed and looked away. “So you understand.”

Alex nodded. “I do. And since you have the potential for Bronze, something only one in a thousand does, I’m pretty sure the army will invest in helping you get back on your feet.” He deliberately looked toward the golden steps seeming to ascend endlessly up into the starry night sky. “And I’ll let you in on a little secret. Even if you can only bare to ascend a few of those steps, every second you can survive the currents washing through you will strengthen your foundation and help free you of the chains that bind you.”

He turned back to her trembling form, before gently touching her shoulder, and pointing at a shimmering rift, several feet beyond the basin, blocking the one entrance to the basin that he could see. “And I’ll tell you something else as well. If you’d like a fresh start in a place where no one knows your past or name… with a golden healer willing to help you and a dozen other girls in your position besides… then all you have to do is touch that portal, take the oath that will thrum through your soul, and never look back.”

Alex smiled down at the trembling girl with the haunted eyes before asking the question he should have asked at the start. “You don’t have any children, do you?” She flushed and looked away. Before gasping with awe at the second portal suddenly before her, leading right into an alley right before Baidushi’s busy main street, the sounds of revelry and drunken laughter in the darkness, the sight of brilliantly lit pagodas and the smell of the humid night air just a few tantalizing feet away. “Do you recognize this area?”

The girl now gasping with awe, nodded.

“Do you want to leave this life behind?”

She sobbed. “Yes, but I can’t!”

“Sure you can. Forget the steps and everything else I said. Go home, get your child and whoever you trust, then come back to this alley. When you return you’ll see a gateway leading to a vast flower-filled field with a golden palace in the distance. But say the words to the oath that you’ll feel welling in your heart, and you and your child can step through.” He flashed a sympathetic smile. “And anyone else willing to swear a similar oath. So long as you’re willing to work hard and start over, you’re welcome to do so.”

“And the pain?”

Alex smirked. “I did say Gold tier healer, didn’t I? Gather those you love and trust, step through, and get ready for a fresh start, embracing the life of a cultivator, free of your earlier life’s burdens and regrets.”

Soft brown eyes so filled with hope and pain met his own. “I can tell you aren’t lying,” she said in a husky voice. “Why are you doing this for me?”

Alex swallowed and looked away. “Why the hell not? Not all injuries are the kind that bleed, not all chains are visible. And if I can help you, why wouldn’t I?”

The young woman whose name he had never caught shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. “Just like in the faerie tales.” She gave a desperate nod. “Alright then, hero. I guess my future is sort of in your hands.” And it said something about just how dire her life must have been, that she didn’t hesitate to step through a complete stranger’s gate, gaze back once and bow in solemn gratitude before darting away as fast as she could.

Alex then made a second gate right over the first, so that anyone stepping through the portal would see nothing less than his own realm, but only those who swore the oath or had Jade tier power could possibly break through. “And this gate has no oaths binding it beyond this single night, thank goodness,” Alex said with a sigh, before turning back to the steps, surprised to see none other than Jidihu and Hao Chan waiting behind, gazing at him with wide, luminous eyes.

“Truly, you are a fool,” Jidihu said with genuine wonder.

“Alex...” Hao Chan sobbed, giving Alex a wordless hug.

Jidihu smirked. “Come on, children. The steps await.”

Panheu gave a quiet chuckle when they all met up, Alex focused only on embracing the powerful currents washing over him, eager to perfect the art of slipping between the pounding waves of spiritual energy more than listening to his friend’s gossip.

“And what happens if the Silver finds out you’re poaching his harem?” said Ning Jing with a snort.

Alex shrugged. “Then he dies.”

He then returned his focus back to his present project, haunted by the memory of the fearsome Gold wujen capable of shooting actual bolts of plasma that had come so close to killing him. Because it didn’t matter how many close calls he had, or how often an increasingly worried Hao Chan glanced at him when he nearly went flying off the steps twice more. Learning to master the flow of spiritual energy was perhaps the most vital lesson he could take from the Bronze Tier steps, knowing all too well that as their path progressed, he too would have to focus all his energies into anchoring himself and allowing the roaring currents to purify his foundation, just as he had before.

“Disciple?” So much said with Panheu’s bemused smile.

Alex swallowed, lowering his gaze. “I have to do this. We have no idea what will await when Dongfang Hong reveals the iron fist underneath silken vice.”

Yinzi furrowed his brow. “But it comes so much easier to my second father than it does Alex, and I won’t even dare switch focus, lest I go flying off!”

“And you’d better focus on nothing but grounding yourself, instinctively, as your mother and I do,” Jidihu warned her daughter. “Alex is already a powerful Silver, whatever his actual rank, and your second father is Gold. Of course a Gold tier art can only be fully used by someone who has actually reached Gold. And that you and your sister can already use both Silver Swan and elements of this art as well as you do is itself the height of absurdity.” Her bemused smile turned to a glare. “So best you focus only on strengthening your foundation, child.”

Yinzi, however, was positively glowing, almost giddy with joy. “Oh I am, me and Hao Chan both are. And I’ve never felt stronger or more energized! Have you, Hao Chan?”

An awed Hao Chan slowly shook her head. “No, kung fu sister, I have not.” She then tilted her head and laughed at the glorious vista all around them, taking in mountains now revealing magnificent far off cities of marble and gold atop snowcapped mountains that had no place in the world below, even Ning Jing gazing about with increasing awe, despite the pain that had her trembling beside her wife.

“Hao Chan!” Jidihu snapped, But Alex was already bracing the beautiful girl who had touched his heart, her amber eyes filled with tears and wonder. “I’ve never felt so strong. Never felt so alive! I feel like everything that had ever held me back, all regret, strains, injuries, my own weakness… all of it is slipping away into my past, and all I feel now is the incredible, overwhelming potential of all that the future can bring!” She said, her eyes now glowing with a silver hue that had Panheu and Jidihu beaming ear to ear as Tan Wu gave a proud chuckle.

“I do believe your girl is on the cusp of a breakthrough!” Tan Wu declared.

An awed Alex nodded, for all that Yinzi pouted. “I want a breakthrough too!”

Ning Jing pinched her ear.

“Ow!”

“Silence and be grateful for your kung fu sister’s revelation! And study her experiences well, child, so they may serve as a roadmap for your own.”

Yinzi’s wilting wince became a solemn nod as she slowly came to a teary eyed Hao Chan’s side, the girl panting with wide eyed wonder as her entire body began to glow.

“Hao Chan!” Alex whispered, beyond awed by the spectacle before him, focused no longer on deflecting spiritual energy, but simply bracing himself against slipping back, ready to brace the girl who had so touched his heart as she shook and sobbed with revelation for moments that could have been hours, all of them instinctively knowing not to leave the step, even as Ning Jing cried out with a sob that was as much agony as relief.

“It’s done!” She sobbed. “The last of the trapped souls… they are free. And I… I’m finally free!”

Alex felt a swelling in his heart when Yinzi carefully held her sobbing mother, Jidihu holding them both, Panheu and Tan Wu both gazing protectively on, with oddly proud smiles on their faces.

“What a miraculous night this is turning out to be,” Tan Wu said. Before bowing his head Alex’s way. “Truly I’m glad to find my own life tale mixing with your own.”

Alex couldn’t help groan at those words. “Dude, seriously, don’t raise any flags or tempt fate, okay? I’d rather you live a long happy life than die gloriously in very short order.”

Tan Wu blinked, before chuckling ruefully. “Fair point, boy. I take it all back. You’re a dangerous menace, and I walk by your side purely by chance.”

Alex laughed at his wink. “Sure,” he said, all his focus once more returning to Hao Chan who in the blink of an eye was standing tall and proud before him, glowing with all the power of a Silver, and never had he wanted to kiss her more than he did right then, no matter that his Dantian was screaming at the strain, and hers as well.

So instead he stepped back, and accessed his party interface.

Congratulations!

Party Member: Hao Chan has achieved Rank 1 Silver Cultivation along the Pearlescent Path!

Maximum cultivation now possible along the Pearlescent Path is: Deep Gold.

Eternal Fox Unified kung fu (Silver Tier martial art) is now Rank 10!

Golden Crane Kung Fu now Rank 1! (This gold tier martial art will modify all core skills by its rank!)

Thunderstrike is now Rank 7(8)

Silver Wing is now Rank 7(8)

Black Swan is now Rank 5(6)

Qi Deflection is now Rank 5(6)

Piercing Strike (Spell Cleave) is now Rank 5(6)

Water Walking is now Rank 5(6)

Storm Flight is now Rank 5(6)

Eternal Fox is now Rank 8!

Hao Chan has Achieved Rank 1 Silver in all Physical Attributes!

Alex swallowed, blinking back tears. “You did it, Hao Chan!”

Her smile was a sight that moved him as profoundly as the grand vista marching off in the distance. “Only thanks to you, beloved.”

Yinzi sighed, before giving Hao Chan a fierce hug. “I’m so proud of you!” She sniffled, eyes lighting up with fierce heat. “Now share all your insights with me, so I can break through too!”

Hao Chan kissed her kung fu sister’s brow. “You know my secrets are yours. But all I’ve been doing is allowing the spiritual currents to flow through me, polishing my core and every cell of my body. The same as you.

She chuckled throatily at the young kitsune’s hungry look, before wincing with surprise. “Oh no.”

She flushed at the mischievous grin Yinzi gave her. “I knew you liked me. Too bad the requirements got pushed all the way to Gold, right sister-wife?”

Hao Chan’s cheeks had turned bright red, especially under the knowing smiles Panheu, Jidihu, even Ning Jing were giving her, the three of them clearly well versed in unorthodox relationships.

“I think I’m stabilized,” Hao Chan breathlessly said. “And I don’t feel tired or drained at all! With these waters flowing through my soul...” she shook her head in wonder, pointedly not looking anyone else’s way. “Come on, lets hit the next plateau. We’re wasting time.”

Panheu nodded, indulgent grin becoming focused intent once more. “The child’s right. Much as before. Alex, you’ll serve as our feint. First-wife, cloak us as always.”

Jidihu nodded as they continued to make their way up the golden steps, Alex doing his best to focus on the steps and mastering the flow of the currents all around him, no matter that his gaze was helplessly drawn to the girl who had touched his heart so deeply, now positively blazing with spiritual energy and a hunger he was desperate to quench… but knew they didn’t dare.

Not until they had both transcended Silver, which for him might take countless years, if he refused to walk the path of the ravager. If he refused to claim any soul stone from those who had lived upright lives before. There were exceptions, of course, Dark exceptions he was both eager to encounter, and knew he’d be better off never having to face, fearing the growing hunger that would awaken, just as it had before. Even now he winced at how close he had come to embracing the dark gleeful murder hobo play-through… even more ashamed to realize that countless times before, he probably had.

But this might just be his final incarnation. One where he could tear free soul stones and crush existences into oblivion. Dark gifts he was pretty darn certain he had never had before.

He chuckled and shook his head. “Who the fuck am I fooling? If anyone threatens my girls… when my heart’s pounding with the terror and exhilaration of mortal combat, I’ll probably do exactly what I did before. Because this is my final life. And if it’s my last… maybe it should be my enemy’s last as well.”

“Alex?” he winced at the concerned look in Hao Chan’s eyes.

“Sorry, beautiful. I just...” he shook his head. “I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me, no matter how dark a path I end up walking, when it comes to facing Dongfang Hong and his men.”

Hao Chan, however, was absolutely beaming. “I love it when you call me beautiful. And I would forgive you anything, Alex, you know that.”

Alex bit his lip and shook his head. “Thank you, love. I… I think you might just be too good for me.”

He turned, locking gazes with a cynically smiling Ning Jing and a concerned looking Jidihu. “I’m glad you counseled me to take a moral inventory of myself. I know I was walking down a dark path, and I think it did me a lot of good to take the measure of my own soul.” He flashed a grin Tan Wu’s way. “And now we have a new friend daring these steps by our side. But maybe I’m not the noble hero you so clearly hope I’ll be for your daughter.”

The two former assassins exchanged bemused looks. “Is that what you thought we meant by having you cultivate quietly?” Ning Jing chuckled, eyes twinkling as she gazed upon a nonplussed Tan Wu. “Oh, how lucky you are! Our future son-in-law awakens to grace on a misunderstanding, and a new companion now walks beside us.” She shrugged. “Perhaps not the worst outcome possible.”

Tan Wu blinked, frowning and gazing at them all with widened eyes. “Are you saying I owe my life to a misunderstanding?”

“Not just your life, your very foundation!” a grinning Yinzi teased. “But that’s okay. I like seeing Alex try to play the noble hero! Even though I like him just as much covered in our enemies’ blood!” She flashed a dark smile. “Positively delicious.”

“Behave, Yinzi,” Hao Chan said with a gentle smile. “Tan Wu is now our sworn kung fu brother, and walks by our side.”

Yinzi nodded. “I know! And if I weren’t already in love with you and Alex, I’d gobble him up. He looks positively delicious!” She danced over to give Tan Wu’s massive bicep an impressive squeeze.

“I’m glad our Alex didn’t kill you,” she said with a wink and a laugh, before bouncing away, the spiritual waterfall not affecting her step in the slightest.

Tan Wu gave a nervous chuckle. “So am I, little fox. So am I.”

Ning Jing, however, was giving her daughter a curious smile. “I didn’t realize you enjoyed the strong ones.”

“Of course I do! So delicious!” She flushed. “But all the ones at Dragon Academy smelled like poison pills and were arrogant jackasses who hated my kind so… yeah, even the boys who thought they could claim my tail received only bloody marks and laughter for their efforts.”

Jidihu’s eyes flashed. “Someone tried to seduce you? I’ll have their heads!”

“Why do you think I never told you?” Yinzi snorted. “It was only a few kisses, and clearly it did me no harm. But this fox knew better than to commit, especially since their kisses tasted like bad medicine so… yeah. I found someone far tastier still.”

She flashed Alex a wicked grin. He had the snark to smile back. “I think it’s time to focus on the steps and the current washing through all of us. Let’s refine the pearl of your soul and get you caught up to your kung-fu sister.”

“Sister wife,” she said with a smile, before bouncing ahead, now walking by Hao Chan’s side.

Alex couldn’t help grinning back at a chuckling Hao Chan, captivated by her gaze before she winked and turned back around, squeezing Yinzi’s hand and whispering into quivering fox ears insights Alex could only guess at, leaving him to his thoughts as he prepared to take yet another step. Regardless of what happened here, he was now more determined than ever to claim the hand of his better half and retreat to his own beautiful realm, putting the awful cares of this world behind them when they both achieved the ranks of Gold Titan, at least for a time.

He could only hope that they would make it that far before peril and bitter tragedy struck once more.

He didn’t dare tempt fate or torment himself any farther than he already had.