Chapter 15
Alex jolted awake to the smell of blossoming copperthorns, sandalwood, and honeysuckle.
He found himself covered in thorny vines that flowed effortlessly away from his person as he sprung to his feet and darted up the trunk of the foliage-rich tree before him as fast and fluid as a dream.
He blinked in momentary wonder, finding his movements effortless, limbs flowing from trunk to branch with a profound grace that felt so natural…
and at the same time, utterly alien to the him of just weeks ago.
Yet it wasn’t so much embracing a wondrous dream as waking up from one. Only now did he truly feel awake, alive, and wholly himself once more as he reclaimed ever more pieces of his potential, his soul, from the eternal slumber that was the River of Souls.
Yet he knew it was time to brace himself for nightmare and bitter regret. Fearing the terrible price that must be paid after daring to use his breakthrough to ascend so quickly, before being forced to spend what had felt like ages harmonizing the accretion disk of his soul.
A transcendent super cable now spun about the singularity of his future core without any trace of wobble at all.
Pristine notes rang harmoniously against his psyche, all but promising him that his potential was now unlimited.
As for averting internal disaster and any sort of crack in his foundation, he felt nothing but heartfelt relief.
Now he could see that his forced evolution had been the equivalent of taking a spirit pill, so eager he had been for a fresh breakthrough.
A stunt that could have so easily strained his foundation to catastrophic effect, yet by some miracle it hadn’t, and he had no plans of ever pulling such a stunt again.
He promised himself right then and there that no matter how much he felt his opponents pressuring him, he would rush no further level-ups.
He would take all the time he needed to perfect and master his skills, to condense as much potency as he could into his super cable’s pristine transversal momentum.
Only when his foundation was absolutely pristine and as strong as it was possible for it to be, would he allow himself to ascend at all.
Yet despite the relief he felt with his own transformation, he couldn’t help but dread whatever awful price this city had been forced to pay at the hands of gloating monsters and tyrants while he had been desperately struggling to stabilize himself.
As it turned out, much to his awe and wonder, the answer seemed to be… nothing at all.
All was quiet. Peaceful in the depths of the night.
And whether it was that same night or he had been out for days, weeks, or months, he could sense no distant screams, no smell of any wood more valued than scraps burning.
In truth, he sensed no trace of anything at all being amiss on this glorious night.
His lips curved in a gentle smile as wonder-tinged laughter filled the air.
He happily took in the entire city from the top of the crown of the massive date tree that had paid heed to his call.
A touch of Wood Qi, a dream of the forest, and a ten-by-twenty-yard piece of abandoned real estate had been transformed into a graceful arboretum with just a few walls intact that were now living wood, for all that they appeared planks from the outside still, the roof having become the lush green canopy of fig, apricot, and date trees ripe with a sweet bounty of succulent fruit.
And Alex sensed but a single request he didn’t dare deny the miracle of greenery that had saved his life, its formation having allowed him to dart between the trees as fast as teleportation, just a second before Mongoose could rip open his throat.
You have summoned forth: Enhanced Water Shield! You have summoned forth: gentle showers! Note. You are channeling the potency of no kills. You are using no beast cores. You may maintain this shower for 10 minutes without penalty.
And the minute he sensed the miniature grove’s thirst slaked, Alex switched to a different bounty, though this, too, was delivered only in moderation, and before the roots of the largest trees, those that had helped him when he had needed it the most.
You have given the gift of Divine-tier blood to multiple representatives of the Eternal Forest.
The Eternal Forest recognizes your boon.
Your status within this Minor Grove is now that of Revered Ally!
You are currently suffering from: Mild Anemia: –1 to all Strength checks.
You have paused to imbibe trail rations and 2 flasks of water.
Homeostasis restored.
Alex spared a final fond glance for the miniature grove he was leaving behind, giving a gentle pat to the front building face that was now living wood, though Alex suspected the very few who lacked a cultivator’s insight would be able to tell.
He promised himself right then and there that he’d do what he could to purchase the property and see the grove properly tended to.
He smiled, patting his hip, pleased once more that, no matter how hard a certain headmaster had glared in expectation, he had donated only what Ice shards he had wished to.
Indeed, he had been happy to surrender a good portion of his fragmented prize for the sake of the city and school he had so recently left behind.
But he had still kept a good measure for himself, trusting in his own instincts, assuming that the worth of his story was at least equal to whatever Silver Sands Academy might or might not be able to pull off with his donation.
As for the hidden grove he had just created, once he took steps to ensure that this property would well and truly be secure, free from predatory opportunists or legal capture, then he’d happily plant what boons he might to ensure a bountiful garden for countless years to come.
Shadow Qi Perception check: success!
Alex’s wandering thoughts froze to crystalline focus, realizing that he was being a fool the instant he sensed shadows shifting in ways they were never meant to.
And considering that he had just obliterated an entire company of Dongfang Hong’s seasoned Bronze, including a Silver-tier elite—multiple Silver-tier elites—he would be a fool not to suspect that one or more of the score hiding in the deserts below Wanshi’s caldera would be here to track down the culprit responsible for the cessation of young victims being kidnapped to feed the rapacious needs of the Red Prince’s butchers.
Far faster than a mortal could blink, Alex darted around the nexus of suspicious shadows, drawing his fangtian ji and raising it for a devastating windmilling blow that would shatter concrete to powder without channeling any Qi discipline at all. Then he took a closer look at his prey.
His cheeks flushed at the sight of Nili’s features, surprise, alarm, and exasperation flickering across her exquisite countenance, so like her daughter’s.
No doubt they could both pretend that she hadn’t been momentarily terrified at how close Alex had come to ending her life.
A tragedy that would have filled their enemies with darkest mirth.
Nili blinked, slack-jawed only briefly, before giving a low chuckle. “If I ever had any doubt before…”
Alex’s cheeks flushed as he lowered his fangtian ji. “Sorry.”
She smirked. “Apologize for nothing, hero. Even if I had to spend the entire night of our engagement chasing down and butchering rats eager to flee a sinking ship and hop right into the arms of our enemies.”
“Ah.”
Her sardonic smile grew. “And all the following day and the next, discreetly returning sixty-odd girls to parents and guardians who, I was grateful to see in most cases, had missed their children dearly. It took time to ascertain that the parents were both as upright as we could hope and sympathetic to the ordeal that the girls had suffered.”
Alex winced, feeling acutely embarrassed for the girls, but knowing that in this day and age, certain things needed to be addressed. “Nili, about the girls and the kidnappings. It’s… complicated.”
She nodded solemnly. “I know. They had all just reached their majority, the timing suspicious in the extreme. Old enough for them to entertain marriage proposals or explore the city escorted by no more than friends or without any family aid at all… and young enough to catch the eyes and appetites of countless predators, eager to swoop in and entice an inexperienced girl, or her naive parents, with offers of marriage or scholarships or, in the case of girls attending the collegium lecture halls, vanishing without a trace.”
Alex clenched his fists. “I think I know the monster responsible for scouting out so many girls, looking for his next target. He won’t be a problem any more. I can promise you that.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Fortunately, not a single parent was anything but overjoyed to find children they had feared never seeing again suddenly at their doorsteps.
” She gave an awed shake of her head. “When I think of how close so many of those girls had come to… but apparently the desert captains value untouched prizes, which saved more than a few girls from tragedy. Yet not all were so lucky. Even so…”
“Their parents were still there for them.”
Nili flashed an odd smile. “You’d be surprised by how many still remember the old tales, Alex.
Even the most distraught family knows who to be grateful to, when unexpected fortune comes knocking at their door in the dead of night.
So rest easy, Alex. We didn’t leave single girl behind where she wasn’t welcomed back home with open arms, love and relief plain in their parents’ faces. ”
“Thank goodness for that,” Alex uttered with genuine relief.
“Agreed.” Nili’s gaze grew increasingly troubled as they quietly made their way along the brownstone road. “Alex…”