The Jade Shadows Must Die [Cultivation LitRPG]

"I don't know what else to do," Rix said. "I feel like I've hit a wall."

He was once again seated in their section of the Fractured Realm with Breaker. Luna was nearby in another ruin, continuing the process of opening her meridians.

"These things take time, Zao Rixian," said Breaker.

"So you're saying this is normal?"

Breaker hesitated ever so slightly. "While it's true most people find getting to where you are now to be the hard part, every cultivator is different."

Rix exhaled sharply. He'd spent the last week fighting Peak Whisper fades under Breaker's watchful eye, all to no avail. By this point, the cycling technique never wavered. His focus was steady as a surgeon's hand. Even yesterday, when he'd taken on multiple opponents at once and had actually been at real risk of death, his qi continued its rhythmic circuit of his body.

With every cycle, he felt that same trembling sensation at his gate, though at this point it felt more like a taunt than something auspicious. No matter how many times he repeated it, the gate never broke open.

He hesitated. With his single-minded focus on opening his Mountain Gate, the things Kokuryu had said about energy cultivation had slipped his mind, but now they felt like they might be important.

"I was thinking about the book I learned from initially," said Rix, keeping his voice casual. "I remember it mentioned something about energy cultivation. I think it might have used the word 'attuned'? There isn't anything I could be doing with my qi to help this process, is there?"

Breaker blinked several times. "I think we've already established that that book of yours was hardly a manual from the heavens. It's true, qi attunement is a stage on the path of energy cultivation, but it's not a requirement for what you're currently doing. If it would help, believe me, I would teach it to you."

The man had a point. He was invested in Rix's success too.

Rix let out a sigh. "In that case, what would you suggest I do next?"

Breaker ran a hand through his hair, a rare sign of agitation. "That is the question, isn't it? By all measures, you should have succeeded by now. I…I confess, I do not fully grasp the impediment."

"Well, some teacher you turned out to be," Rix fired back before he could stop himself. It was petty, and he knew instantly that he'd made a mistake.

Breaker's expression darkened. "Zao Rixian, I offer you a certain amount of leniency in the way you speak to me because I understand your upbringing was troubled and our situation is somewhat unique, but that does not mean I will tolerate disrespect." His voice was like iron, heavy with threat in the way it had been the first few times they'd met. "In these endeavours, I am still your master. My understanding of cultivation is as deep as the sea of stars itself. You would do well not to question it."

Rix swallowed hard and gave a quick nod. "I'm sorry, Breaker. You're right. I'm just frustrated."

Some of the anger drained from his expression. "As am I, Zao Rixian. I have much riding on this as well."

Rix still had time. The duel with Han was still a few weeks away. But that was small comfort given he appeared to be stalled. Everything so far had been so regimented, resulting in steady, tangible progress.

"All you can do is continue to try," said Breaker.

"Should I consider switching to another gate?" Rix asked.

"That won't make a difference. While all the gates have different demands, they all require the same degree of focus. It is simply the technique and circumstances that change. If you cannot find the mental unity required to open the Mountain Gate, you will find the same problem with the others."

He deflated a little. It was worth a shot.

For a few moments, he toyed with asking the question that had been on his mind for several days.

"Are some people just incapable of opening even one gate?"

Breaker hesitated again before nodding. "There are those who are simply not made to cultivate. It may be their potential, their mindset, or some other ephemeral element of their self. At least a fifth of those who walk through a clan's doors will fall at the first hurdle."

Rix felt a brief moment of vertigo. Meeting Breaker had seemed like a turning point. The opportunity to start making up for his deficiencies and become the sort of person who might actually have even the slightest chance of killing Xu Han and pursuing his revenge.

But what if it was another dead end? What if he truly was someone for whom all doors to power were closed?

"What do we do then?"

Though he suspected Breaker didn't realise, the man's eyes flicked to one side in the direction of the ruined hut where Luna was cultivating. "Let's not plan for such an outcome yet," Breaker said. "Your dedication has been exemplary, and I still believe it will be rewarded. Cultivation is a path of mysteries. You simply need to unravel this one."

That didn't instil confidence, but he had little choice but to try and believe it was true.

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The alternative was not something he wished to confront.

***

"Do you need me to hit you some more?" Luna asked as they were walking back from the portal. "Because I can definitely do that."

They'd experimented with everything they could think of over the last week, including all manner of obscure training regimes. Luna's favourite involved Rix putting literally all his mana into his mantle, and then letting her whale away at him with her practice weapon while he offered no defence. Unsurprisingly, that strategy had left him bloodied and bruised and with no progress to speak of.

"I'm not sure that's the solution," he replied.

"Not with that attitude, it's not."

He sighed. He thought he was beyond feeling sorry for himself, but it was so frustrating not knowing where the problem lay. "What if I don't get there, Luna? What if I'm one of those people that Breaker talked about who's just fundamentally incapable?"

Luna shrugged. "Then you find a different way. The Martial Path isn't a straight line, Rix. We've all got our own limitations to deal with."

He snorted. "Let me know when you find yours."

Offence flashed across her face. "You don't know everything about me, you know."

Her tone brought him to a halt, and he looked at her more closely. He'd expected her to take that with her usual irreverence, but her expression showed something much more earnest.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just mean, what limitations could you possibly be dealing with? You're basically the most dangerous Whisper in here aside from Han."

"'Aside from,'" she scoffed, though it was clear that was just a deflection. She spent a few moments chewing over the real answer. "My style," she said finally.

Rix furrowed his brow. "The style that consistently kicks my ass? What about it?"

Another pause, and then all in a rush, she blurted out: "There might be a small chance that I'm not using a System style at all."

Rix opened his mouth, then closed it again. That was so far out of the realm of things he'd considered that he didn't even know where to begin processing it.

"What?" he asked eventually. "So when you fight, that's just…you?"

She nodded. "It's the same style everyone in the Falling Leaf uses, but the System isn't telling me what to do."

Rix shook his head in disbelief. "How? The difference between style and no style for me was night and day."

Luna shrugged. "Like I said, we trained a lot. Our elders wanted us to know the style well enough that we could get to Mid Rank the first week after getting System access. Most of us get to High Rank before our first year because we just have so much practice."

"I legitimately thought you were already at High Rank," he said. That explained why fighting Luna felt so strange. She wasn't being guided by anything other than her own supremely honed instincts. "Still, that's unbelievable. You're a monster, Luna."

A swell of pride filled her. "I try."

"Okay, next question," said Rix. "Why? I mean, they must have offered you a System style when you arrived."

"They did," she said. "I tried it a bit those first few days, but it just felt so wrong. I've spent more than ten years learning Whipping Vine Style. My body knows those movements almost as well as it knows how to walk. I couldn't get the crappy System style to set."

"I can relate to that," Rix replied.

Luna nodded. "Anyway, on my second dive I decided to try old faithful, just to see how it went, and even though I had no System guidance it felt so much better. So, then I just never went back."

"I still can't wrap my head around how you can make that work," Rix said.

"The Falling Leaf are a lot of things, but one thing's for sure: we know how to train fighters." Her expression turned wistful. "Most of that is lost to me now. All the techniques I've seen my elders use, I'll never get any of them. But this way, I get to keep a little piece, you know?"

"I get it," Rix said. His discussion with Kokuryu had cast his cultivation in a new light. He may not have had anything physical left of his family, but by pursuing their path, he was remaining connected to them in some small way.

His mind came back to the matter at hand. "Well, given that this mostly seems like just a massive brag, I'm guessing the thing you're worried about is your tier-up?"

Luna gave a heavy nod. "Nobody can tell me definitively whether it'll work. The exact System language only specifies 'mastery over your weapon'. It doesn't explicitly say you need a Mid Rank style. That's just the conventional benchmark people use because nobody can ever think outside the System."

"Does Master Zhen know?"

She nodded. "He was the first person I asked. He thinks I've got a reasonable chance of it working. Martial Souls with Low Rank System styles basically never succeed, but he's heard stories of people progressing with no style at all. They just have to be really bleeding good, apparently. But even then, there are no guarantees."

"I mean, you're definitely really bleeding good," Rix replied. This was a lot to take in. Just the fact that it was even possible to compete with System users without guidance was a revelation, although perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised. At this point, it was clear the System wasn't the only source of power in the universe, so it made sense that it wasn't the only way to fight either.

Luna nodded, like that was a given. "I just hope it's enough." Her voice got very small. "If you do manage to find some way out once this is all done, but I'm still stuck down here…"

She didn't complete the thought, but he understood. "I'm not going to leave you behind, Luna. We'll work something out." He was surprised by how confidently he said that, and he realised it was true. He'd do everything he could to make sure they got out together.

That seemed to buoy her spirits a little.

"I dislike that I'm even thinking this," she said, "and I will kill you if you tell anyone I mentioned it, but…have you considered just running? Han clearly loves his position down here. If you just tier up to the Cauldron and make him choose, there's some chance the whole thing goes away. Not just him, but his father too."

Rix's expression hardened. "There's no way I'm running from him."

This time, it was her gaze that lingered on him. "I'm going to be honest. Even with your whole 'closed book' act, it's been pretty bleeding clear for some time that the animosity flows both ways with you two. You look at him like he ate your cat. I wasn't going to pry, but given we're in story time…" She raised her eyebrows.

Rix grimaced. She had a point. She'd shared so much with him, and at this point she was wrapped up in things with Han herself. Was there really any harm?

"I came here to kill him, Luna." It felt good to say it out loud.

Surprise spread across her face as she took this in. "And here I was thinking you were just a bad criminal."

"I was a perfectly adequate criminal," he replied. "I'm here because I need to be."

She hesitated. "You mentioned your parents…"

"And my sister," Rix said, his voice cold. "She was only four."

"Hells, Rix. I'm sorry."

He drew a steadying breath. "Han was part of the group that killed them." He met her eyes. "But he's just the first. I'm going to see them all dead eventually."

"Sounds like a long road," Luna replied, though Rix couldn't quite get a read on her voice.

He felt some of the steel bleed out of him. One of the reasons he never mentioned his mission was that he knew how it came across. While the Martial Path was brutal in many ways, not everyone had an appetite for literal targeted assassination. "Is that a problem?"

She made a gesture that was half shrug, half shake of her head. "Plenty of people deserve to die. It sounds like they're among them."

"I promise you they are," Rix replied.

"Then I take your word for it."