Desert Warrior (Silver Fox & The Western Hero #9)
Chapter 1
Alex knew he was dreaming. Or perhaps he was glimpsing wisps of ancient memory as he drifted like a spirit through history’s endless pages.
Yet still, he was surprised to find himself in a grand chamber the size of a football stadium constructed of massive slabs of intricately carved marble and jade, so saturated with protective wards and defensive arrays that they pulsed with Qi aligned to all the elements.
Everywhere he looked, there were plinths and displays showcasing battlefield portraits, jian and guandao radiating Gold-tier killing pressure, and suits of enchanted armor that were absolutely blinding to his spiritual senses.
It was a marvel of wealth and splendor that could only be the imperial palace.
He understood that immediately. Yet even more striking than the opulence of the palatial throne room—seating no less than a hundred Gold-tier elites dressed in finest silks radiating fearsome spiritual potency—was the sight of those he missed so dearly in the life he had left behind.
And those he despised as well.
The sight of his kung fu brother Cheng Lei brought a ghostly smile to his lips.
His once idealistic countenance was now filled with the wisdom and strength of character one would expect from a prince of the realm.
Alex’s heart was filled with the memory of the comradeship and brotherhood they had once shared.
Before it was soured with a bitter note of discord when he caught sight of Dongfang Hong’s twisted features bearing Shalu’s ugly stamp of bitter envy and scheming contempt. The man was glaring at the entire court as if he’d happily crush them all under his heel.
Yet the vision that captivated Alex above all else was the sight of his beloved Hao Chan, dressed in flowing silks and finery that showcased her grace and elegance without hindering her dancer’s frame in the least. The oddly constrictive bindings he saw being worn by more than a few of the elites present had been foregone for jeweled slippers of silk.
He then noted her sudden look of surprise, and for just a heartbeat, he dared to think that she had actually caught sight of him. Yet his fierce hope turned to sad dismay when her anxious eyes focused on Cheng Lei alone, her graceful fingers rubbing a storage ring that looked oddly familiar.
“Hao Chan! Can you hear me? I’m right here!
” Alex fruitlessly cried. Knowing it was pointless.
Knowing that in all likelihood, he was glimpsing ancient history.
Or perhaps it was no more real than a dream.
For the only words the three responded to were those of the spokesmen dressed in crimson, silver, and gold, apparently speaking for the imperial figure seated upon a massive jeweled throne that drew all the eyes of the court, kitted in exquisitely tailored robes radiating so much spiritual energy that he blazed like the sun.
Alex quickly averted his gaze. Even in spirit form, he could still feel the awful Jade-tier pressure radiating from he who was perhaps the deadliest cultivator in all the Golden Realms, silently judging the entire court from his elevated throne.
The stamp of those imperial features was unmistakable. The emperor looked so very much like Lord Justice, the head of their pantheon. Perhaps he was a descendant who had won the right to rule the earthly realm as his sire did the heavenly realm.
Yet there was one other figure within the court who bore his echo.
The strikingly beautiful dancer who had captured Alex’s heart, when first he started his most recent adventure within the Golden Realms, what felt like just a few short years ago.
The figure in silver before the imperial dais solemnly genuflected before imperial blood.
“Speak, Prince of the Blue. Speak and share with this court a tale worthy of a duel between princes!”
And speak Cheng Lei did, carefully not looking a pale-faced and furious Dongfang Hong’s way as he recounted a tale of intrigue, betrayal, and horror.
A tale where multiple crown princesses had been shattered and broken by tyrants as thousands of innocent soldiers and aspiring cultivators were bound to infernal contracts that risked dooming their very souls.
All so that a madman could consolidate his power while annexing a neighboring territory, breaking countless treaties and accords while doing so.
Alex felt a fierce sense of vindication as his most stalwart friend give a surprisingly detailed and accurate account of what had truly occurred at Rising Phoenix Academy.
He savored the look of growing fury upon his enemy’s features as the tale progressed, noting how Cheng Lei’s dispassionate account seemed to strike Dongfang Hong like a blow, generating ever greater murmurs, cold looks, and sneers of disdain from what was perhaps the entire imperial court now staring at the Red Prince as if he were less than dirt.
And Cheng Lei skillfully told his tale without directly mentioning the treacherous monster’s name even once, even if the guilty party was known to all.
“And thus the foolish prince fled before a fool far wiser than he, and it is our precious realm that was ultimately forced to pay the bitter cost that all rulers incur when daring to use religious contention to further their own ends. Countless miles of territory obliterated, and a city vanished as if it had never been,” Cheng Lei concluded with a solemn bow for the emperor silently judging them all.
Dongfang Hong looked ready to explode. “Lies! All of it!” he roared. “The seers themselves were forced to vouch for every word to leave my lips!”
Alex felt a cold chill with that declaration.
He wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out that somehow, spiteful immortals were indeed twisting the metaphoric arms of the seers to ensure that the man’s words would ring true, regardless of what that monster said.
Or perhaps it was infernal bindings… or simple greed and corruption.
Cheng Lei refused to rise to the bait, however. Instead he shrugged and smiled. “A very good point, Dongfang Hong. So perhaps I should prove the weight of my words by binding them to my soul. If I’m found to be lying, let my foundation shatter. Is that acceptable to the court?”
Dongfang Hong crossed his arms, snorting with contempt.
The speaker painted in gold nodded his approval. “It would please the imperial court greatly. Please bind those words to your soul, if you dare, Prince Cheng Lei.”
With those words, the air turned alive with whispered murmurs and excited energy as the living drama played out before them all. Then everyone’s excited murmur dropped to frozen stillness as Cheng Lei calmly withdrew a prize none could deny.
The air was alive with the flashing of ebony jade so pure that the entire room seemed to shimmer with added color and life as Cheng Lei solemnly revealed his Jade-tier talisman, lifting it high for the entire court to see then bowing low before the imperial throne.
“Upon my cultivation base, upon my life, I, Prince Cheng Lei of LanTu nation, do declare that the account I gave is absolutely and unequivocally true. Names alone I have left out, in deference to the codices of the imperial court itself.”
He flashed a tight smile before turning to Dongfang Hong.
“Tell me, Dongfang Hong, would you be equally willing to give your own oath upon the talisman you yourself received at Royal Phoenix Academy? Proving to the entire court that no seer has been warped, manipulated, or bound by infernal contracts so good at slipping past so many countermeasures, to serve as your pawns?”
Alex could feel it then, even as a spirit countless thousands of miles and perhaps years away, as half the audience groaned and crumpled, even the pair of princes wincing before the crushing weight of a Jade.
The horrified-looking speaker painted in silver looked on the verge of a pronouncement before Dongfang Hong spoke with surprising speed.
“I will tolerate your slanderous mockery no longer, Blue. You wish to vindicate the catastrophe you yourself made of Royal Phoenix Academy before stealing a talisman now rendered so inert with the destruction of that school that it will allow even one such as you to touch it? Then we shall do so in the only arena that matters. I challenge you to a duel, Cheng Lei. The winner shall be vindicated, and the loser’s cultivation base… shattered!”
Cheng Lei visibly blanched at that as Dongfang Hong sneered, before the Blue Prince turned around, gazing almost apologetically at Hao Chan.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I must! You set the trap, but I must be the one to face him. We both know what will happen, if you take him on.”
“Cheng Lei!” The last was said in a panicked voice Alex knew all too well.
Liu Li, daughter of the alchemist and one time general Liu Jian.
The pair had helped and befriended a homeless and hungry youth lost in a cold, uncaring world.
She now revealed herself to an awed Alex after being so artfully hidden by Shadow, wearing the attire of Hao Chan’s handmaiden.
And the look of love and dread in her eyes made it clear that she had found her heart, and knew as well as Alex did that Dongfang Hong would ruthlessly cut down the prince she adored.
Alex decided not to be bothered that he could somehow sense the panicked thoughts of his friends. All that mattered was how close they all now were to dire peril.
The Red Prince flashed a cruel smile. “Come, Blue. A duel you want? A duel you shall get! We shall spar for the emperor’s pleasure. Let the truth of our words be evidenced by the wholeness of our bodies, and the victor’s honor never impugned again!”
Cheng Lei sighed, bowing his head before meeting the gaze of the silver spokesman. “The terms are acceptable. With your permission, however, there is another who would like to duel in my stead.”