“These steps are definitely getting harder, kung fu sister,” said a grimacing Yinzi, eyes glinting with strain and fiery determination as she leaned into the veritable storm of spiritual energy now flooding around and through her. Yet for all that her qipao looked in actual danger of being ripped right off her body, hair deliberately knotted into a tight, no nonsense bun to keep it from whipping constantly in Alex’s face, for all that her her muscles were now shivering with the intensity of her exertions, Alex was awed to see that neither of the girls in his care had ever looked as fiercely potent as they did at that moment.

Far from exhaustion, their muscles trembled with exhilaration, their Silver cores taking on an ever deeper luster as the spiritual river continued to hone and refine both their bodies and their foundations. Alex’s gaze widened when he sensed their souls both taking on the same incredibly deep, ebony-flecked hue of gold potential that seemed just a kiss away from breaking through to something even more profound.

Yet regardless of their fierce rictus grins and how they traded quips and snarky remarks with every step forward, they both cried with relief and delight when cresting over the rise to behold a vista like no other.

Even as Alex flashed through the air, dao at the ready, refusing to let his mocking foes high above send his companions crashing down into oblivion in their finest hour.

Yet no predator lay in wait, no trap set to send them careening to endless black waters below.

Just a magnificent spa that truly was a wonder as they waded across a basin filled with waters far more spiritual than anything a mortal would ever dare to drink. Yet he sensed as if it were just an extension of himself, the hot and cold baths, steam rooms, carefully preserved sacred treasures they will have earned with their feat, as well as personal quarters so like the ones in the inner sanctum of the library. Even now, there was an entire banquet hall filled with pristine magical food that would never spoil, each morsel filled with spiritual energy that would fill them with glorious blessings as they declared an end to their journey, and the beginning of carefully curated path that would see them ushered in to administratorships and eventual rule, embracing lives filled with luxury and prestige that could last for countless centuries.

Alex enjoyed the girl’s rapt looks of awe as he shared the chamber’s secrets like a Yidushian storyteller.

“And there’s the second golden bell. Even bigger than the first, and worthy of a second jade sigil on your golden talismans. If you thought the world would be impressed by the floor below, well, now we’re entering the realm of kings and queens controlling entire nations, should we be willing to dare the perils of the imperial court, or live the exquisitely comfortable lives of Crown prince and princesses, should we be happy enough controlling provinces the size of my birth nation, a beloved vassal of our chosen nation, with few willing to challenge us once we achieve the heights of mid-tier Gold.” He shrugged. “Or at least that’s how Cheng Lei explained it to me, so many weeks ago.”

Hao Chan’s eyes lit up with a fierce heat as she glared at the bell and rung it with a Silver Giant’s strength, and Alex couldn’t deny the awe he felt, his love now two inches taller than him once more, and radiating power the equal of the strongest Silver Giants he had ever counted as friend or foe. “And we’re not stopping here, beloved.” She flashed a maverick smile that sent shivers of happiness through Alex’s soul. “Our ascent has just begun!”

“Ooh I love it when you get intense, kung fu sister!” Yinzi squealed, her shorter frame and mischievous smile hiding a power near the equal of Hao Chan’s own as she rang the bell just as fiercely, and Alex couldn’t help but feel a wave of pride, and more than a little bit of wonder.

“Alex, what is it?”

Alex shook his head, locking gazes with the striking Silver Giantess whose body still fought to balance itself between a courtesan’s physique and a warrior queen, radiating a deadly sensual grace that put his foundation in jeopardy just by looking at her.

“You’re already at Tier 5 Silver Strength and Vitality, and Yinzi’s just behind you. You already surpass me, and I am absolutely and utterly blown away, just looking at you two.”

Yinzi preened while Hao Chan blushed and smiled. “Stop it, Alex. Please. Not when were so close to, well… You know.”

Alex nodded. “I know,” he said, as his eyes turned to gaze upon the grandest golden staircase of all, radiating a weight and inevitability that gave even Yinzi pause as Alex’s final ring sent golden peels shivering through the entire realm.

Yinzi bit her lip, gaze darkening with the first hint of genuine concern. “Um… that staircase is looking awfully serious. Definitely radiating the ‘if you’re not the chosen ones, I’ll purge you off my fiery gold steps like the vermin you are’ kind of vibe.”

Hao Chan swallowed, nodding her head in agreement. “But we’re still going to dare it, aren’t we, kung fu, sister? Show the whole world what two so-called broken cultivators daring inferior techniques can do.”

“You know it!” Yinzi gleefully declared. “Race you to the steps!”

And Alex’s jubilation at their mad drive and passion turned to a frown of concern when their mad sprint lurched to a plod as they buckled against what seemed to be howling storm of spiritual energy, Hao Chan and Yinzi wiping away blinding showers that even Alex felt as a gentle mist.

“Definitely a serious set of stairs!” Hao Chan gasped.

“Super duper serious! Like my mother when she caught me sneaking back inside the compound last year! But I also sort of feel like I’m drowning, you know?”

Hao Chan’s grimace held a tinge of desperation. “Even though we can breathe just fine. The air so sweet my blood sings with effervescence!” She gasped. “And yes, I feel like I’m…” Her eyes widened as a mad grin split her features. “Like I’m having another breakthrough!”

Her howl of laughter was both chilling and oddly familiar, Alex recognizing a certain wild glee so reminiscent to his childhood self that loved to race and dance in warm summer storms. The wilder the lightning, the more violent the winds, the more he absolutely loved it. And were it not for the fact that a single misstep could spell her death, Alex would feel nothing but joy for his girl’s manic glee. As it stood…

“Chan, please pace yourself so I’m behind you both! Yinzi can’t...”

Alex blinked in bemused surprised when Yinzi began racing right after her. Whether it was a breakthrough or the sheer spite of not wanting her best friend and competition to get ahead, somehow the girl was keeping pace with the gorgeous giant now a half foot taller than her.

A bemused Alex picked up his own pace, while keeping a careful eye on his footing just in case some spiteful god somewhere had a card of tripping or other such bollocks they could put into play, and was just in time to catch Hao Chan the moment she slipped, caught herself… and sprang into the final basin separating aspiring Golds with the potential for true greatness from all the rest with a triumphant cry.

They had ascended to a magnificent garden sanctuary with the most spectacular view imaginable, an Eden befitting the very heavens. Where before there had been gold-lined baths and pools and marble tables for reclining, eating, and soaking, there was now a magnificent shallow lake surrounded by fields of exquisite flowers radiating incredibly potent spiritual energy, including roses, tulips, and orchids of every color under the sun, along with countless varieties of wildflowers more imaginary than real, flashing and sparkling like a sea of jewels under the majestic heavens above. Beyond the borders of the lake they gazed upon lush verdant fields, endless forests, and a spectacular view of what seemed to be the entire world below in all its natural splendor.

The magnificent view was exactly as it had been when he had first dared these waters with Cheng Lei by his side.

“Hao Chan! Look! Look at the heavens!”

Even the magnificent ivory white palaces and pagodas floating on beds of clouds against the backdrop of the bright blue sky that Yinzi pointed towards with an excited squeal were exactly as Alex recalled.

Save for one significant difference.

The magnificent creature that looked so like a cross between a phoenix and a Chinese dragon, that had once been quietly sipping lake water while gazing calmly at them with golden eyes and a brilliant ivory white horn upon its brow, was nowhere to be found.

“We did it, Hao Chan!” Yinzi squealed. “We achieved the heights of Gold, and found a garden of paradise! Now we get to go off and become powerful warrior queens with a hundred devoted advisors by our side, just like heroes in our favorite cultivation tales!”

Hao Chan gave a cynical chuckle belying her warm carefree demeanor. “Yeah, like those tales ever end well.”

Yinzi nodded. “I know, right? Always tragic endings for fools who don’t know their place in life, serving their betters, as in, whoever sponsored the crafting of those morality plays. But if you stop listening exactly two thirds of the way through, you’re assured nothing but glorious triumph and righteous heroes! So the trick, dear kung fu sister, is to halt the progression of our life’s tale two thirds of the way through.”

Hao Chan laughed. “Or we embrace the tales you’ll find the guards and trade caravan merchants telling by the evening fires, savoring life on the road beside the great forest, without ever setting a foot in the cynical sacred cities dotting our beautiful world. Caravanners, at least, are allowed to give their stories happy endings, with no administrative lackeys ready to audit and fine anyone for improperly told tales.”

Yinzi leaned back and laughed, folding her hands behind her head as she sunk into the lush field of flowers filling the air with the heady scents of spring and sweetest triumph. “I know, right? I swear, half my mothers’ recruits became JiangHu because they were idealists who couldn’t stand being told never to hope, never to dream, and to always know their place. Hardly any of them are natural killers at all!”

She flashed a breathless Alex gazing down at her a positively wicked grin. “Does my hero feel like seducing his kitsune princess?” She chuckled throatily at his blush. “I swear, I feel so close to Gold right now that I’ll bet you could ravish me for hours and it would only hurt a little bit… oww, quit pinching my tail, Hao Chan!”

She flushed under the larger girl’s mock glower. “Not now, Yinzi. Not when we’re so close to being so much more than anyone ever thought we could be!” Her eyes lit with fierce intensity once more. “We achieved the heights of Gold potential and ascended the ranks of Silver in a single night! We’re already living lives no storyteller would dare. So do you know what I say, little sister?”

“What’s that, oversized giant?”

Hao Chan smirked. “I say… why stop here! If reaching the heights of Gold potential pushed us this far already… what do you think will happen if we actually ring the bells of jade?”

A breathless hush came over all of them. Even Alex was awed by the thought.

“Could it really be that simple?” He whispered.

Yinzi flashed a positively wicked grin. “let’s find out. And then it’s me and my sister-wife waiting on YOU to ascend. And you darn well better be quick about it!”

Hao Chan laughed. “What’s our next step, Alex?”

Alex had to take a deep breath to collect himself, before getting up from the flower bed he was taking his ease beside Yinzi on, her fingers twining with his own as he pointed with his free hand toward a golden pagoda surrounded by lotus blossoms and wisteria in the middle of the shallow lake connecting to the basin’s edge. “We ring the bell within. There’s no discrete exit on this level. We’re expected to wait to be hailed with pomp and ceremony and, if we’re not careful, wedded to powerful people connected to the ruling elite before leading armies or territories of our own. And if fortune fails to grace us, it might be years before we’re even permitted to see each other again, if they go for the divide and conquer mentality.”

Yinzi winced. “So we’d be skipping right to the last third of the tale. My least favorite.”

Hao Chan smirked. “I assume there’s another option, beloved?”

Alex grinned, pointing to a series of steps winding up a hill to a portal that crackled with brilliant flashes of spiritual energy. Unlike the golden steps of before, these were all made of emerald-green jade.

“We ring the bell, then we dare those steps.” His bemused smile faded, gaze turning solemn as he gently squeezed both their hands. “I can’t tell you how awed I am by how far you’ve already come. I’ve only walked beside one other who would dare this feat, and I can tell you that even he was pushed to the breaking point, daring what was, for him, his final flight.” Alex swallowed, lowering his gaze. “Even now your potential reads as deepest Gold. A gold so deep I don’t think there’s any limit to how many Gold levels you can earn, daring it.” He flashed a rueful smile. “Even as the both of you achieve a Silver I’m almost willing to believe would be beyond Rank 7 on any character sheet. But I have to be honest. As of this moment, I don’t sense limitless Jade. And I don’t...” He swallowed, blinking back a tear. “I don’t want to risk anything happening to either of you.”

Hao Chan gently tilted his chin, Alex awed to find her Strength was such that she could do that like a mother to a child. “You’re being silly, Alex. You already told us the secret to daring those steps.”

“I did?”

Yinzi’s eyes widened, slowly getting it as well. “Don’t you remember? Back when you were counseling my parents. All three of them. The first steps are always safe. So all Hao Chan and I have to do is dare stride one or two steps, and hone ourselves against the howling storms of spiritual energy I can almost feel all the way from here!”

Hao Chan nodded. “And even if we can go no further, at least we can tell our future children and grandchildren that we dared to stand upon the first steps of Jade and wash our foundations free of any and all imperfections. And maybe we will never stride the world as legendary Jade Queens. Yet for all we know, forging ourselves within the currents gracing that first step is all it will take for Yinzi and I to ascend all the way to Gold in a single night!”

Alex’s eyes widened. He couldn’t help but grin at the thought. “Truly a tale fit for the storybooks.”

“Yup!” Yinzi agreed. “So long as you keep it out of the sacred cities, the caravanners will love it!”

All three of them gazed at each other for long moments, Alex’s thoughts racing in directions that had nothing to do with the most glorious of ascensions.

“Um… all jokes aside, I really think we should get going,” Yinzi said, her voice oddly solemn. “As much as maybe we could use a good nap in a perfect field worthy of kings and queens, I sort of don’t think we’ll last, staring at each other, with only a couple Qipaos and a thousand year old shirt keeping us from supreme bliss?”

Hao Chan flushed, then jerked her head, soft ruby red lips just an inch away from Alex’s own.

“Yeah, that might be a really good idea.” She bit her lip and flashed Alex a wicked grin. “And you damn well better get yourself to Gold as fast as you can, Alex, because your future wives are about to leave you in the dust!”

With those words, the pair of laughing girls raced for the pagoda, ringing the bell that caused the entire magnificent valley to vibrate with such force that a distant herd of snow-white unicorns spun about and began racing across the vast blossoming fields, horns glowing like golden beacons as Alex added his peel to the others and raced for the jade green steps, laughing with the sheer wonder of it all, and the sweet joy of having to push himself to keep up with the pair of angels now even quicker than himself.

All that changed, of course, when Hao Chan and Yinzi dared the first step.

“Alex!”

“You’re doing it, Yinzi! Keep going!” Alex roared, gazing with awe at the pair of girls who he had expected to be howling with exhaustion and agony, much like Cheng Lei had, all those weeks ago. Yet underneath Hao Chan’s fierce gaze and Yinzi’s grimace was a giddy exultation radiating off of both of them in waves near the equal of the blazing streams of spiritual energy surging through their souls, honing their increasingly dense Silver cores and sending them spinning so rapidly that Alex could hear the song of their souls ringing against the jade green steps as they ascended. High pitched notes in perfect counterpoint to the low thrum of his his own super cable's impossible orbit, and Alex didn’t dare tell them he had had absolutely no inkling that the sheer madness of what they dared would impart mass in the form of rotational velocity, bringing to mind images of spinning pulsars flashing through the heavens. Only there was no deadly release of energy, just evergrowing spiritual pressure reforging every cell within his champions, such that their eyes had transformed from hues of ruby and amber to brilliant liquid Silver.

But what really shook him to his core was the look on Hao Chan’s face in that singular unguarded moment, caught between agony and ecstasy, that was so like Cheng Lei’s own.

Alex swallowed. If he had had any doubt as to who she was before… yet where her kin had been ready to crumple against a roaring river’s worth of spiritual energy, Hao Chan’s face lit up with sheerest exultation as she tightly clasped Yinzi’s hand.

Not only did they not stumble, their walk had turned into a run.

“We will ascend!” Hao Chan cried, sending shivers down Alex’s spine the equal of the pristine waters whose increasing chill even he could feel as he gazed not upon a fragile girl and exquisite dancer but a woman wearing the fierce, unstoppable demeanor of a warrior queen. Alex wanted nothing more than to howl in triumph and support of his fearsome angel, but focused only on staying exactly one step behind them both, knowing all too well that even in moments of transcendent revelation, a single misstep was all it took to turn triumph into tragic despair.

Yet Hao Chan’s steps never once faltered, her hand securely clasping Yinzi’s own as they finished racing up the steps in perfect tandem, pausing only to look back Alex’s way with eyes that seemed to pierce his very soul. Then he was by their side and together they touched the shimmering portal of heavenly light and obsidian darkness as one, all of them fading away, as if figments of a heavenly dream.