The Jade Shadows Must Die [Cultivation LitRPG]

Rix's staff tore through the air, hurtling towards Luna's shoulder. The girl arched her spine, causing the attack to miss by mere inches. She followed up by snapping forward, her sword a blur as she lashed out multiple times, but Rix was already pivoting seamlessly into defence, his staff turning her blade at every approach.

"Not bad," Luna said with their weapons momentarily locked. "That attack would have ended you last week."

"Guess you'll need to stop 'holding back'," he replied.

She shot him a wicked grin. "If you say so."

And then she was launching at him once more.

It was the day after their duel in the arena, and they were in the training yard, testing the improvements to his style. The difference was stark. Master Zhen had described the rank up from Low to Mid as being a synergy of the mind, and Rix now understood why. Everything came more easily. It was like the walls between his style and consciousness had been shattered. Where previously he'd felt the style, an external force imposing on his mind, now he had trouble discerning where one stopped and the other began. Gone was any sensation of having an instructor riding around in the back of his head. Movements, techniques and strategies flowed from his body as if they'd always been there.

He only had one disappointment. The gap between him and Luna hadn't closed as much as he'd hoped.

They traded blows. Luna sidestepped a particularly vicious thrust and hopped over the following sweep with infuriating ease, forcing him back with a precise flurry that exploited the tiny recovery window he hadn't even known existed until she was through it. She still had her physical advantages, but it was more than that. His own style now felt learned, integrated, but Luna moved as if her limbs simply knew, an unconscious efficiency that he wasn't sure he'd ever reach. He'd assumed her style was Mid Rank, but now that he'd hit that benchmark himself, he was starting to think he'd underestimated her. Could she really already be at High Rank? Given the way she described her training with the Falling Leaf, perhaps that wasn't so shocking.

He considered asking, but the last time they talked about her style, she'd closed up. It was clear that anything to do with her sect was a sore spot.

Whatever the case, it didn't take away from his own progress. Basically overnight, he'd become a lot more dangerous.

Eventually, Master Zhen called for a halt.

"Not bad," he said, addressing Rix. "I'm loath to use such strong language, but I might almost consider describing your current efforts as 'passable'."

Rix grinned. "I will take that for the compliment that it is."

"As I've said in the past, I don't trade in compliments, boy, only wisdom," Master Zhen said, though there was a twinkle in his eye. "Any interpretation to the contrary is a failing on your part."

"Of course, elder," Rix replied. "My mistake."

Master Zhen sized the two of them up. "You now both have half a foot in the Cauldron, it seems. How far from your essence caps are you?"

"We're getting there," Rix said. "Less than a month and we'll both be at 100%."

"And will you seek out your Spark-tier fades immediately?" Master Zhen asked.

Rix and Luna shared a look. "When we're ready," she offered, though there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice. Rix had noticed that tone before. It had come up earlier when he'd broached the idea of considering escape. She'd been enthusiastic initially, but some of that had bled away once he'd mentioned that it needed to be the Cauldron. He'd tried to ask her about it, but she brushed him off.

What she had been vocal about was asking after the meeting with Kokuryu. Rix had offered up what he could, while omitting any of the personal connections. The idea of another source of cultivation knowledge was extremely exciting to Luna, and Rix promised to introduce them when he could.

Obviously, the meeting had been world-shaking in a number of ways for him, and he was still processing much of that news, but it also gave him some tangible takeaways. After the Han fight, it was clear that his immediate goal would be to tier up to Spark and move to the Cauldron. Not only was that the only place Wellspring could offer any real aid, but it was the only lead he had regarding the possibility of escape. He just had to hope Sho was slow to react. Goro had said the man often travelled, and was rarely in the city, so that would hopefully buy Rix some time.

"Do you have any advice, elder?" Rix asked. "For fighting a Spark-tier fade?"

"Try not to die before it does," Master Zhen replied.

Rix rolled his eyes. "Why didn't we think of that?"

"Stupid questions beget stupid answers, boy. The trials of the Martial Path are designed to test our worth. They are not exams that can be studied for. Fighting a tier up asks a lot of any Martial Soul, and it will be the sum of your Path that decides the outcome, not any words of mine."

A wolfish smile spread across his face. "But perhaps I can offer something that will help."

He strode out towards the middle of the training cell.

"While my words will be of no use, I can provide you with an opponent who is stronger than any Spark." He gestured to the two of them. "Come, I will spar with you both at once. We'll see exactly how much that style rank up helps against a real opponent."

Rix glanced at Luna and saw her eyes filled with as much excitement as he felt. Luna hadn't engaged Master Zhen for any training, and as such, she had yet to actually fight the man.

"You don't need to ask me twice," she said, moving around until she stood on the opposite side of the elder to Rix. "A heartstone to the one who hits him first?"

Rix snorted. "One day I'm going to say yes just to surprise you."

Master Zhen's smile grew. "Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer, girl. Not to mention that it gives old men extra motivation to put arrogant children in their place."

Luna scoffed. "Well, go on then."

The elder inclined his head and dropped into a combat stance. "Very well. Begin."

In unison, Rix and Luna raised their weapons and engaged. They'd fought together long enough now to understand the value of superior numbers. A good team was more than the sum of its parts. When fighting an opponent of roughly equal power and skill, the ability to strike together in an act of overwhelming force could often decide a fight in the first few seconds.

But Master Zhen was not 'roughly equal' to them by any metric.

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Despite being unarmed, he blocked their weapons with utter confidence. As they had countless times before, Rix and Luna attacked from different angles: him low, her high. The elder caught Rix's staff strike on the ball of his foot, kicking out to send Rix stumbling off balance. Meanwhile, he used his palms to turn Luna's blow to the head before slamming a fist into her stomach that sent her staggering backwards several steps.

"To make this a worthwhile exercise, I will modulate myself to have roughly the physical capabilities of a Spark-tier fade. So, all you have to overcome are my vastly superior skills, decades of experience, and razor-sharp instincts."

"That's very generous of you," Rix said, even as he began swinging again. This time, he led with a [Sunspot] to try and set up a jab to the chest, but Master Zhen simply closed his eyes to avoid the technique before dodging Rix's thrust. Rix's eyes widened as he realised the movement had two purposes. At the same time as he attacked, Luna was unleashing a vicious downward cut from the elder's other side. As he'd sidestepped Rix's attack, he'd nudged Luna's blade to the side, putting the two weapons on a collision course.

They both pulled their blows somewhat, but still, they made contact.

"I thought you two had some experience fighting as a team?" said Master Zhen smugly. "Let me offer some advice. It's usually advisable to hit your opponent, not each other."

Rix couldn't help but laugh. With nothing on the line, there was a joy in being so thoroughly humbled, in staring down the personification of how much further you had to climb. Judging by the exhilaration painting Luna's face, she felt the same way. He gave her a firm nod.

And so they continued.

Despite their best efforts, Master Zhen proved to be nothing short of untouchable. It didn't matter what techniques they used or how they structured their attacks, the Weaponmaster was always too fast, too nimble, too perceptive. They tried exploiting his blind spots, boxing him into corners — at one point, Luna literally threw her sword at him — but it all amounted to nothing. The battle ended without either of them having landed a single clean blow.

Nonetheless, the experience gave Rix the full measure of how much he'd improved. He'd fought the elder once before, when his style had first set, and comparing that with this was like night and day. The rhythm he found himself slipping into felt more natural than ever before.

When they'd finished up, Rix and Luna both collapsed to the sand, faces red, lungs struggling for air. Naturally, Master Zhen looked fresh as morning dew.

"Heavens blood," said Luna, idly rubbing a spot on her stomach. "That felt like duelling Elder Mito, though he tended to be…gentler."

Rix had a similar sentiment. Unlike last time, the man hadn't pulled his punches. Rix knew he'd be covered in bruises tomorrow.

Master Zhen sneered. "You don't forge a blade with gentle taps, girl."

"Well?" asked Rix. "What's the verdict? Are we going to die a horrible death?"

The man considered them for a beat. "I have some small hope for your survival."

Rix laughed. "That's practically a glowing endorsement."

***

The next few weeks followed a similar rhythm. Rix trained, he dove, he pushed himself like never before. Front and centre of his mind was his Mountain Gate.

Breaker seemed to have an endless supply of escalating exercises for just this gate. Once Rix had mastered holding the cycling technique in the single-leg stance, they moved on to more direct methods of distraction.

"Your lack of talent will be your downfall, Zao Rixian."

"You will never progress beyond simple tricks. Your cultivation will wither like fruit on the vine."

"Your resolve fractures like cheap steel, child. Is that truly all the willpower a 'Martial Soul' can muster?"

"You look like a constipated crane standing like that."

That last one was Luna, and it was the one that shattered his concentration. He opened his eyes and glared at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Don't you have your own exercises to be working on?" Rix asked.

"You looked like you needed the help. And judging by the outcome, it seems you might benefit from a little of my unique style of teaching." She lifted her chin slightly. "In conclusion, you're welcome."

With that, she pointedly closed her eyes and returned to carving out her meridians, though there was a tiny smile still playing on her lips.

Rix grimaced and turned his attention to Breaker, who had been watching the exchange with vague amusement.

"She may have been seeking her own distraction," he said, shooting Luna a pointed look, "but she's correct. Disturbance comes in many forms and you must inure yourself to them all."

Rix sighed. While the physical exercises were ostensibly more taxing, he found this latest approach particularly difficult to deal with. Years of being told he'd never amount to anything gave those words power. He thought that his last few months of progress might erase some of that lingering psychological damage, but apparently those wounds ran deeper than he'd realised.

Perhaps that simply meant this exercise was even more important than it seemed for him.

Given that he couldn't practise having insults lobbed at him when alone in his cell at night, he was also given the next escalation of the physical exercises too: cycling while slowly moving through a kata. While Breaker initially tried to teach him one of his own, he eventually conceded that several of those Rix had learned from Master Zhen would be adequate. It was the first time he'd ever acknowledged the quality of something taught by a practitioner of the Martial Path.

The kata Rix chose basically called for him to maintain horse stance while moving through a series of strikes and blocks. He thought that, given his current mastery of cycling in the stance, this escalation would be easy, but adding movement of any kind completely destroyed his concentration anew. He found it almost impossible to focus when part of his mind was occupied with what his body had to do next.

As always, Breaker said it would come with practice, though after a few days with no progress, even he began to show concern.

In an effort to give himself more hours in the day, Rix sought out Wux in the library.

"I was hoping to read some poetry," he said as he approached the counter.

Wux grinned. "I believe I have something in the back that you'll like."

Rix was led again to the storage room where Wux turned to face him. "I was wondering when you'd come back around."

"Been busy," Rix replied.

The man nodded, like that was expected. "Well, what can I do you for?"

"That is a good question."

Over the next half hour, Rix explored the full breadth of what the Shadow Runners had to offer. His time running with the Porcelain Knives had given him some familiarity with the spectrum of drugs that flowed through Cloudpiercer's veins, but most of his knowledge was focused around regular products for mortal use. Almost everything the Shadow Runners had for sale was partially fuelled by mana.

There were all manner of options for all manner of uses, though Wux made sure to reinforce what Huan had driven home the first time he brought Rix here: everything came with a cost.

"I'm not planning to become a long-term user," Rix assured him. "I just need a little push over the next few weeks. I'm close to tiering up to Spark, you know?"

While treasure hunting was far from the top of Rix's priority list, he'd still built up a reasonable amount of credit over his time with the Shadow Runners, which meant he could afford to sample a few things. He walked away with three. There were two roots: Mindroot Extract and Midnight's Mercy. The former supposedly sharpened your mind, but left you unable to sleep and plagued by vivid dreams. The latter let you go without sleep, burning your mana to keep you alert, but slowing its regeneration for half a day afterwards. He also grabbed a handful of Bloodthistle seeds: small glowing kernels that accelerated healing but left you weak the following day.

The seeds were a complete bust. He'd hoped they would help ease the ache in his muscles and let him push himself more physically, but the aftermath was just too much. Any time that he gained was subsequently lost in a fugue of chills and tremors.

The other two, however, were more promising. Mindroot Extract did indeed heighten his concentration, and while it also damaged his ability to sleep, he was already doing that by taking Midnight's Mercy. Together, the two gave him an extra three or four hours a night of high alertness and focus. He suspected that the long-term ramifications of only sleeping half his normal time would be dire, but he only needed it for a few weeks to push through this bottleneck.

The only other side effect was Midnight's Mercy's impact on his mana regeneration. It meant he had to be more careful in the Fractured Realm, but with Breaker and Luna at his side, it didn't matter significantly.

That was particularly true now that his style had ranked up. He was destroying similar tier fades with more ease than ever before. Even weeks later, he still marvelled at how seamless combat now felt. His body and his mind seemed perfectly in tune.

Master Zhen said the next step for his style would take significantly longer. Ranking from Mid to High was a synergy of the body, and that was earned through ceaseless repetition. The Weaponmaster also emphasised that Rix's hand-to-hand training would only grow in importance here. People who were raised in a martial life had the fundamentals drilled into them from a young age, and though he'd made some progress, Rix still had some catching up to do.

Tensions with the Iron Hand had wound right back. Wing reported that, as far as the larger gang situation went, they were effectively back to a neutral relationship. Even with regard to Rix, who had usually been a key target of their ire, things felt like they'd cooled. Han still wore his hate nakedly, of course, reminding Rix of the sword that hung over his head, but at least now he knew when it would fall.