Chapter 63

My heart hammered in my chest as I raced to leave the locker room.The healer had come to patch me up, but I had to rush him with only doing half the job. My body felt like it’d been through a blender, and I guess for all intents and purposes it had been. But I couldn’t afford to dally around now.

Time was of the essence.

I limped towards the counter to find Bo Ren, not caring that my bandages were still leaking blood all over the floor. There were a few other cultivators ahead of me in line, waiting to be served, but I pushed past them.

“Official Bo Ren,” I said. “I need your help… quickly.”

The smile dropped from his face the moment he saw me, no doubt picking up on the [Struggler’s Resolve] in my tone. He apologetically ushered the other cultivators away, earning me scowls and looks of contempt, but I couldn’t care.

“What’s wrong, kid?” Bo Ren asked once they had departed, a look of concern on his face. “You okay?”

“I want to withdraw from the Iron Bracket Tournament,” I said. “Immediately.”

“What?” He leaned back from the counter, perplexed. “But you’re kicking ass out there. After knocking out U’Ren Nghi, who knows how far you’ll jump up the rankings tonight once all the fights are done.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, eyeing the entrance to the lobby warily, expecting Hong Feng to appear at any minute. “I have something more important to take care of first. Are you able to process my B-class citizenship right away?”

He raised a brow. “I guess. What’s this all about?”

I reached into my robes and pulled out the tightly folded sect application form that I’d stashed in my locker. “I need you to process this for me. I just need my new B-Class citizenship ID to complete it.”

Bo Ren took the form from me, scratching his head. “I can get you your new ID number, but you know this sect application won’t be processed until at least tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” I said, checking the hallway again. “I just need to get it underway. But quickly.”

Bo Ren looked down the hallway with me, gave me a quick questioning glance, but then after giving a shrug simply nodded. “I’ll get on it right now.”

The process of gaining my B-class citizenship took all of about a minute, with Bo Ren capturing my likeness with a Qi storage device and then printed me a new ID card. He then signed it and handed it to me, freshly minted with my new B-Class Citizenship ID number.

It should have been a moment of triumph. A moment to reflect on all the hardship I’d gone through to finally achieve my goal, but under the circumstances I had no time to savor the taste of victory.

“Thanks, Bo Ren,” I said and began scanning over the application form next.

New Sect Application Form (Non Martial)

Name Sect:

Terran Sect

Chapter No.

00001

Location:

Jurin, Terra

Sect Type(s):

Social

Cultural

Artisan

Sect Size:

Small (1000 member limit)

Establishment Fee

50 Taels (Paid) 任波

Founder:

Max Chun

Citizen ID

Signature

Leader:

Max Chun

Citizen ID

Warden:

Max Chun

Citizen ID

Sect

Furious Lightning

I began filling in my signature and new ID number in the blank spaces, completing them just as a gravelly voice called out to me from behind.

“Chun!”

I glanced over my shoulder to see Hong Feng along with at least a dozen of my Fire Bird brethren. This was the moment I’d been dreading. Not that I was afraid to face them, but that all I had worked to accomplish might be snuffed out because I didn’t complete the sect application in time.

Turning over the form, I quickly wrote Yu Li’s name and address on the back.

“One last favor,” I whispered to Bo Ren. “When the application comes back, can you send it and my ID to this address?”

“Chun! Come here!” Hong Feng barked. “I don’t have all day!”

Bo Ren glanced over my shoulder at him. “You in some kind of trouble, kid?”

I steeled myself with [Struggler’s Revolve] and gave him a smile.

“Always.”

I turned then and plastered on a fake smile to greet my illustrious sect elder.

“Master Hong Feng,” I said as I approached him with a bow. “So nice of you to pay me a visit here at the arena.”

“Stop with the nonsense,” he said, his anger bubbling within him. “We need to talk about what happened today.”

Maybe there was still a chance to bullshit him.

“Today? You mean this morning?” I shook my head with a grimace. “That was all a case of bad lu––”

“Not here,” he said, cutting me off. “Back at the headquarters. Come.”

He spun on his heel and began marching off as the rest of the Fire Birds surrounded me.

Well shit…I thought. I guess this is it.

I knew deep down that this day would eventually come. That I would be forced to face Hong Feng for all my sins. But I had hoped it wouldn’t be so soon or when I was in this bad of a condition. I was already half beaten to death, running on empty with no solid Frenzy to speak of and headed into a conflict unknown.

Worst of all.

I didn’t even have an axe.

“Fine,” I said as I began strolling out of the arena lobby with my orange-robed entourage. “Let’s go have a chat.”

* * *

The trip through the city was a silent one.

Hong Feng stayed up at the front, well away from me while his goons clustered around me, as if fearing I might try to flee. They obviously didn’t know who they were dealing with though. Running from a challenge like this was out of the question.

But surviving it might be a different story.

I didn’t know if I was heading into certain death, but it sure as hell felt like it. The fact that Hong Feng wanted to talk back at the headquarters, though--instead of immediately dragging me out into the wild before the Bloodmoon rose--said that there might be some wiggle room to get out of this still.

Not that I wanted to.

Facing death was what my Flame lived for.

But there was too much still left undone for me to die today.

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Hell, maybe even seeing Fia again.

And not to mention freeing the Earth itself.

I focused on my goals like a mantra as I willed the diffuse Frenzy still left in my system to heal my body. I cursed myself for being distracted looking for Silver Light at the end of the match now. I should have been using that time to cultivate all the free lemonade being spilled by the crowd.

Now the most I could draw upon was Hong Feng’s smoldering anger and rage.

Ju Gong and Du Mak gave me puzzled glances as we passed by them at the sect entrance. Whatever was happening to me, they looked as oblivious as I was. Maybe being the low-ranking doormen that they were, they were kept out of the sect’s innermost proceedings.

I was ushered right through the training room and down into the basement where I was stood in the middle of the square. The Fire Birds formed a perimeter around me on the square’s edge with Hong Feng positioning himself opposite me just below the upper platform.

“Now,” Hong Feng said. “Tell me what happened in the wild. How is it that you and that Silver Leaf woman came back alive and not Shen Ju and his men?”

I glanced about the room, the kangaroo court in full session.

I might as well play it for what it was worth.

“You can blame Shen Ju for that, I guess,” I said and Hong Feng shot me a perplexed stare.

“What do you mean?”

“He lured in an Awakened Reaper Beast,” I said. “It killed all of them, but I guess they weakened it enough for the client to finish it off.”

“An Awakened Reaper Beast?”

“You can go and ask Sumatra if you don’t believe me. He saw its core with his own eyes.”

I could feel Hong Feng’s anger growing. “Yes, I’ve spoken to Sumatra already.”

I had figured that, but then why was he still asking question?

“So you know the whole story then,” I said.

“I know what you told him…” Hong Feng paced back and forth, eyeing me from the side. “But that’s not the whole story, is it, Chun? I want you to tell me exactly what the hell you were doing while that woman was supposedly fighting this beast. Did you hide like a coward? Did you flee? Did you fight?”

I shrugged. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was pretty much pissing myself. You ever seen an Awakened Reaper Beast up close, Master Hong Feng? Not a pretty sight.”

His nostrils flared. “You think this is a joke? Give me specifics! Tell me what you did! Did you help her kill it?”

“Of course I did,” I said nonchalantly and his eyes widened with shock.

The truthful admission had surprised him along with the Fire Birds around me, who all released a collected gasp. They clearly weren’t expecting me to admit that, but had been perhaps suspecting it all this time.

“What else was I supposed to do?” I said, quickly following up on the bombshell. “Shen Ju and his gang never showed up. And I wasn’t just going to throw my life away trying to kill her by myself. Plus, there was the damn reaper beast to worry about. It made more sense to try and survive by helping her to kill it. Hell, I might have even gained her trust out of the deal.”

Hong Feng lowered his brows in a glare. I wasn’t sure if he had bought the story or not, but there was no way he could verify it either. Unless one of the Fire Birds somehow survived. But no. I’d made sure to kill them good and proper. And it was way too close to dark for any of them to venture back out to the flats to check the bodies after I had told Sumatra.

At least I hoped not.

I kept my [Struggler’s Resolve] in place, trying not to give off any signs of deception.

Hong Feng continued to stare at me in silence, anger welling up within him.

“So, from your account, Shen Ju caused his own death and that of his men? Is that what you’re saying?”

“I would say fate killed him,” I said. “I may be just a lowly handler in your eyes, but I have more experience in the wild than any of you. As I told Sumatra, it was simply bad luck. Might have been a different story had a normal reaper beast shown up instead of an Awakened one, but that’s the roll of the dice when you’re out there. You just never know.”

Hong Feng scratched his thick beard as he contemplated my words, the use of my actual experience no doubt helping to plant more seeds of uncertainty in his mind. “Yeah, what incredible luck on both accounts. Bad for him and good for you…”

I shrugged. “Just how it is sometimes.”

He harrumphed. “Well, I suppose that’s it then. A failed operation that cost us a dozen of our best cultivators.” He then raised a brow. “And I don’t suppose you had the brains to harvest their cores before you left?”

I stiffened slightly, wondering if this was some kind of trick question. “Wasn’t an opportunity to do so. The Silver Leaf woman was still close by. I barely had time to check for Shen Ju after we killed the beast. Once I saw their half-eaten bodies though, I knew what had happened to them.”

A pause hung in the air as Hong Feng contemplated it, his eyes shifting back and forth in thought.

“I see,” he said finally with a grimace. “Although I don’t like the outcome, I suppose I have no choice but to accept what it is you’ve said.”

“It’s the truth.” I bolstered my words with [Struggler’s Resolve]. “Shen Ju was unfortunately the one responsible for his own death.”

There was some truth in that, and I used every bit of it to give more credibility to my words. Another long pause ensued, Hong Feng’s eyes never leaving mine as the gears slowly turned inside his head. Then finally he seemed to come to some sort of internal resolution and let out a scoff.

“Fine. You’re free to go,” he said.

Holy shit, did I just manage to pull this off?

I gave him a polite bow. “Thank you, Master Hong Feng.”

Hong Feng nodded slowly and then turned to walk away.

“Oh, one last question,” he said, coming to a stop. “What made you choose lightning?”

“What?”

“When you first came to me, you chose the lightning manual. Why?”

Hong Feng’s brows lowered and I felt myself being pulled into another trap.

I shrugged with [Indifference]. “I don’t know. Just thought it might look cool, I guess.”

The sudden spike of anger that flared within him, said I’d just made another mistake. Shit…maybe I shouldn’t have tried to play it off so flippantly.

“Look cool, huh?” More anger stirred. “You sure there’s not some other explanation?”

What the hell was he getting at?

“Look, I don’t know what you’re----—”

“Bring her in!” he shouted.

Her?

Hong Feng glanced up at the platform and I followed his line of sight to see Sumatra emerging from the stairs to the upper floor. He was dragging someone down the stairs behind him, their small frame squirming within his grasp as he clenched them by their wrists. I already feared who it was, but when I finally saw her face, my heart nearly stopped.

Mu Lin…

She was still dressed in her handler’s uniform, which was now ripped and torn. Her glasses were missing, and her face was swollen with bruises, her mouth gagged. Just the sight of her built anger and rage inside of me like a pressure cooker.

It took all my wherewithal to not just yell her name and flip the hell out, but Hong Feng had us both in check now and I couldn’t let on how much I cared that she was here. Dammit, how could this have cropped back up after all this time? It was like history was repeating itself all over again—fate taking us right back to that day out in the wild.

I glowered at Sumatra. I wanted to tear his damn head off for involving her. He was the only reason why she would be here at all. But I had to be cool about it. I channeled my inner rage into liquid Frenzy, slowly replenishing my reserves.

“What have you done, Sumatra? What is she doing here?”

The big gray giant laughed. “I told you that you weren’t the only one who knew the truth of what happened out there, didn’t I? And she was real cooperative just like I said she would be too. With the right motivation, of course.”

I recalled those exact same words with clarity now, the same he spoke to me when I blew him off earlier today. But dammit, I thought he’d been talking about Fia not Mu Lin.

Shit!

“Just let her go, man,” I shouted. “She has nothing to do with any of this and you know it!”

“Is that so?” Hong Feng said, turning about to me. “Well not according to her. Let the girl speak now!”

Sumatra ripped off her gag off and Mu Lin instantly began to sob. “I’m sorry, Chun!” she blurted. “I had to tell them. They made me. I didn’t know what else to do!”

“Shut up!” Sumatra yelled, backhanding her hard across the face.

She reeled backwards with the hit and my Flame surged with Frenzy and rage.

I had barely moved in reaction, but a split second later, twelve jian blades were pointed at my chest. The cultivators had moved with bursts of Dark Frenzy, faster than I could see. This wasn’t good. My Flame was burning, but my body was still weak. My manifestation techniques weren’t working either.

“Careful,” Hong Feng said with a smirk. “If you value your life or hers, you’ll listen to what she has to say.”

“Just don’t say anything, Mu Lin!”

Hong Feng laughed. “It’s far too late for that. Your friend has already told us much about your meteoric rise and how you achieved it.” Hong Feng then looked up at Mu Lin. “Isn’t that right? Go on and tell us again, girl. Tell us what you saw that day.”

“Please, you promised to let me go,” Mu Lin said. “I won’t tell anyone else.”

“Yes, and you know our deal,” Hong Feng said. “Tell us again and we’ll spare your life.”

Deal?

Mu Lin’s eyes trembled as they found mine, her face curling into an ugly mask of shame and despair. “I…I saw them kill the old man and then take his core.”

“Who?” Hong Feng asked.

“The three Fire Birds…the ones who attacked me. But that’s all I know. I… I woke up with Chun later and somehow they were all dead.”

“And then cue the bullshit story about a rapling nest that conveniently kills everyone except you and Mu Lin, right, Chun?” Sumatra gave me a wicked leer. “Sounds awfully familiar to today’s story now, doesn’t it?”

Hong Feng raised his hand for him to be silent. “And when you saw Chun suddenly gaining strength,” Hong Feng continued. “What is it he told you he was doing?”

“He said he’d gotten some cheap elixirs.”

“And does that sounds plausible to you? As a scholar even?” Hong Feng asked. “Or would it make sense he actually stole and used that lightning core for himself?”

My insides turned to ice.

“I…” She turned her head away from me, perhaps to hide the shame. “I don’t know. I guess he might have.” She then let out a sob. “Probably, yes. I don’t know!”

Shit, Mu Lin, don’t tell them all that!

But she was bad at keeping secrets even in the best of times, much less under duress. I blamed myself though. I’d gotten too sloppy. Too distracted by advancement and achieving my goals. I didn’t stop to consider how Sumatra might use Mu Lin against me like this.

I’d underestimated the bastard.

“They say lightning never strikes the same place twice,” Hong Feng said, turning back to me. “But it would seem you have come out smelling like a rose after two of my operations have gone completely to shit. That’s not luck. That’s trickery.”

I put on a mask of [Indifference] and began cycling my Frenzy. It was getting close to do or die time. I’d gladly turn my entire being over to the Demon to lay all these bastards low, but I hadn’t counted on Mu Lin being here.

I needed to risk my life to save hers instead.

But I’d have to break this stalemate first.

“Now you ask him the question,” Sumatra said, prodding Mu Lin in the shoulder. “Ask him if he used that core to advance himself. Ask him!”

“Chun please…” Mu Lin sobbed, tears falling from her swollen cheeks. “If you’ve used the core, just tell them. Just tell the truth. They said they’ll let us go if you do.”

What the hell? It sickened me to see them using her like this.

“Yes,” Hong Feng said. “Tell us the truth and we’ll let you both live.”

There was zero chance of that happening, but poor Mu Lin probably believed it. I had to stall for more time. Tapping into my fake lightning core, I began drawing in solid Qi.

“Yes, I used the core,” I said. “In fact…I’m still using it.”

Dead silence hung in the air.

It wasn’t the full truth, but it was close enough.

A scowl crawled onto Hong Feng’s lips as his face contorted with rage.

“You little SHIT!” he screamed. “And here I thought you were something special! But you’re nothing more than a bloody thief!”

He flew across the room before I knew it, hammering me in the chest with a Flame-encased fist. I didn’t have time to blink much less raise my defenses. Not that I could raise them anyway, while prepping the [Faux Lightning] technique.

I endured the agony of a rib cracking but kept my focus. I flew backwards into the line of Fire Birds behind me, who walloped me with punches and kicks of their own, sending straight back into Hong Feng.

“You tried to play me for a fool!” He railed on me again. “The Path of Furious Lightning? Utter bullshit!” He struck me closed-fisted across the jaw, making me see stars. I slammed hard into the ground and the world began to dim.

No… I told myself. Don’t pass out. You need to stay up!

A kick landed in my side, rolling me over onto my back.

Hong Feng then came into view, juxtaposed against the ceiling.

“Trying to cheat me is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done in your entire pathetic life, Chun!” he shouted down at me. “But it will be the last thing you ever do as well. Beat the living shit out of him! Make his death painful and slow!”

History repeated itself yet again as the Fire Birds descended upon me with a fervor. Blood erupted from my mouth. My insides were crushed blow after blow, but still I maintained my focus with iron will of [Struggler’s Resolve].

I couldn’t die. Not yet,

Not until I saved her.

“Please stop!” Mu Lin screamed at the top of her lungs. “He told you the truth! Now please! Just let us go!”

“It’s time for you to go, alright,” Hong Feng said looking up at her, pure hatred in his eyes. “Sumatra, send that stupid little bitch to hell!”

“What?” Mu Lin cried, sheer terror in her voice. “No, you promised! Please no!!”

She bucked and kicked against the giant as he leered down at her, her wrists firmly in his grasp. With his free hand Sumatra pulled a blade from his side. “Shame I’ve got to get rid of you like this. You were always my best handler. But you know too damn much now, girl.”

“Sumatra, no! Please!!”

My heart stopped as he brought the blade towards her throat.

There was no time left.

I had to act now!

Bellowing an anguished cry, I thrust my hand into the air and released my [Faux Lightning] technique. The brilliant blue bolt sent a clap of thunder resounding throughout the room, striking Sumatra right in the chest.

The giant of a man hollered with shock and pain, falling backwards. The bolt wasn’t enough to kill him, but it was enough for him to release Mu Lin from his grasp.

“Run, Mu Lin!” I cried. “Ru—!”

A heavy boot stomped me right in the jaw, sending blood flying. I barely caught sight of Mu Lin as she made a break for it, dashing towards the stairway leading to the upper floor. She got all of about four steps when Sumatra quickly recovered and then lunged forward with a savage kick.

It connected with her stomach and sent her flying straight off the balcony with a horrific scream. My blood curdled as she tumbled end over end, falling headfirst towards the concrete floor three stories below.

“Mu Lin!!”

My mind came undone, my Flame consuming every fiber of my being.

I shot liquid Frenzy shot straight to my Jing and the world exploded in a fireball.

“[Burning Rage]!”

Time slowed as the last of my Frenzy sent a shockwave of heat and Flame slamming into the Fire Birds surrounding me. Not stopping, I willed my shattered body to move at superhuman speed, leaping through the viper’s nest of cultivators to catch Mu Lin. I did so just barely, cradling her fall as I slammed shoulder-first into the side of the concrete wall, cracking it with the force of my leap.

The remnants of my fireball filled the air with thick black smoke. Half the cultivators had been thrown against the outer walls. A few even looked dead, I hoped. But Hong Feng seemed to only absorb the flames as his eyes grew wide with fury, his head swiveling about trying to track where I had gone.

I had to take advantage of the turmoil.

It was now or never.

I had to get Mu Lin out of here!

Glancing upwards, I saw getting back to the upper level was impossible now. More cultivators were already running down the stairway, alerted by the lightning bolt or perhaps even the fireball. I looked for other options but could only see one.

The tunnel.

I dashed across the square to it with Mu Lin cradled in my arms, picking my way through the dazed cultivators.

“Chun…”

I looked down at Mu Lin as she coughed and wheezed, blood dripping from her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about that now,” I said as I assessed her quickly. I wasn’t sure how hard Sumatra had kicked her, but she might have bruised ribs or worse. Either way, the both of us escaping down the tunnel was out of the question. She couldn’t move fast enough, and I couldn’t fight while carrying her. But more than that.

I needed to kill all these guys to ensure they didn’t follow her afterwards.

“Mu Lin, listen carefully,” I said as I lowered her inside. “This tunnel leads to the wilds. Follow it out and try to stay alive. I’m not sure how far it goes, but try to get out and back into the city before the Bloodmoon rises. Or just stay inside until morning if you can.”

“What? Chun, no! Come with me! They’ll kill you!”

“There’s no other way,” I told her. “When you get out, find Xi Xha. Stay with her. But don’t tell her about any of this! These people are powerful and I don’t know how far their influence stretches. Now go!”

I used the last of my strength to slam my fist into the roof off the tunnel. Knuckles and bone snapped as I brought down a ton of concrete and steel with a single Frenzy-fueled punch. As the debris settled, I could still faintly hear Mu Lin’s screams from behind the fallen stone and I shouted for her to run again.

I turned about to face my former sect mates turned adversaries. The chaos was waning and the cultivators from the upper floor had now regrouped to reinforce their fallen comrades. There had to be over thirty of them. I was truly facing certain death now. No way could I win this fight in my state.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

I would fight regardless.

Because they were all coming with me.

The thought stirred my inner Flame and I felt my strength returning, its color shifting brighter and bluer.

Then something blurred in front of me, like heat distorting the air and suddenly I was standing face to face with Master Hong Feng. The bastard was grinning, his eyes bulging with psychopathic glee.

A pain struck me in my chest like nothing I’d ever experienced before. A strange sound accompanied it, like gristle and bone popping and my entire body went limp. I looked down to see Hong Feng’s fist buried inside my chest. Then with a yank he pulled it out, clutching something pulsing within his palm.

I stared with incomprehension as Hong Feng showed my own beating heart to me.

Holy shit...this can’t be real.

“Fool,” he said. “Your stolen powers are nothing compared to that of a true demonic cultivator. I only wish I could kill you ten times over for all the shit you’ve caused.”

His words struck like a condemnation as the ground rose up to hit me in the face.

The world grew still.

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t feel.

And then the cold realization finally hit me.

I had just died.