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I couldn’t really tell them apart, all of them wearing the same identical hairstyle. One of them seemed to take the lead ahead of the other two, however—the leader amongst them perhaps. They all looked to be in their forties, with faces that were still somewhat attractive despite being aged past their prime. They all wore the black and silver robes of the ruling clan. A fact they had come to rub in my face it seemed.

But I knew my rights under the law now.

I cupped a palm over my clenched fist and gave a short bow. “The Silver Bird sisters, I presume. Greetings.”

The woman in the lead opened her mouth aghast. “This Lowly One dares to address royalty in so casually a manner?” She looked to one of her sisters. “Silver Sparrow, give this Bull Man a taste of what he will face in the ring. He needs to be taught proper respect for the ruling clan.”

The woman, Lady Silver Sparrow, narrowed her silver eyes at me. I couldn’t sense Qi but I imagined she was gathering it for some kind of assault. I again forced myself not to react, using a combination of [Indifference] and [Struggler’s Resolve].

“You sure you want to do that, lady?”

My frankness and total disregard for their status caused them all to have another ministroke of disbelief. I followed up quickly to let them know who they were dealing with.

“You may all be royalty, but last I checked none of you were elders. So unless you want to be responsible for the unsanctioned attack on the elder of a fellow martial sect, I suggest you put the idea of laying a hand on me out of your heads.”

That caused them to pause, glancing back and forth to one another.

“What nonsense is he speaking?” the first one asked.

“I do not know,” the other sister answered.

“It is true, Lady Silver Hawk,” Xi Xha said, addressing the leader. “This man, the Iron Bull… he is an Elder of the Furious Lightning Sect, a sub sect of the Fire Bird Clan.”

In a flash, Silver Sparrow cut across me and went straight to Xi Xha.

“Who gave you permission to speak!” she shouted and dragged Xi Xha to her feet by the collar of her robes before slapping her brutally across the face.

The sound resounded in my ears and my world turned red.

“You damn bitch!”

My Frenzy surged and I was about to plough a fist straight through Silver Sparrow’s face when she swiveled her head towards me with a raised finger.

“Careful, Bull Man,” she said cockily. “The law cuts both ways. Attack me and you’ll suffer the same fate.”

Son of a bitch…

Rage boiled within my soul and it took every ounce of the [Struggler’s Resolve] to pull me back from the brink. The woman had taken her frustrations out on Xi Xha for no reason at all. My hand was still balled into a fist, cocked and ready to strike. I glanced down as Xi Xha, now holding her face in pain and had the urge to say to hell with it all and just let my fist fly.

“Don’t do it,” Xi Xha pleaded from the ground, perhaps sensing what I was on the verge of doing. “You’ll doom yourself. It’s what they want.”

Her words brought me back to reality.

But just barely.

My Frenzy was still raging, and I channeled it into [Fear the Flame] as I turned to Lady Silver Sparrow.

“You’re going to pay for that,” I said, letting her feel every ounce of the rage in my soul. “You’re going to get that slap back tenfold when we hit the ring.”

She opened her mouth as if to laugh, but the fury of my technique caught her off guard and her leering grin quickly turned into a grimace of primal terror as fear dripped from her soul. She backed away from me with uncertainty, her gaze shifting to her elder sister as if for direction.

“Is that so?” Silver Hawk said stepping to her side. She then looked down at Xi Xha. “This woman must be special to you.” She paused again and then raised a slender brow. “Wait…I know This One. It’s one of Fia’s little friends. That whore scholar… Xi Xha.”

They all cackled and laughed at that and suddenly all their attention shifted from me to her.

“Stand to your feet so we can look at you,” Silver Sparrow said, pulling Xi Xha’s hood from about her face as she yanked her back off the ground. Xi Xha’s face turned three shades redder than it already was, the handprint across her cheek no exception.

“It makes sense that one such as you would chase after such a revolting man,” Silver Sparrow said as she glanced at me. “A disgrace.”

“Have you no shame?” the third sister, Lady Silver Dove, joined in, drawing closer. “You are Yee born and yet you frolic with the likes of natives? A man who openly opposes the ruling clan in the Iron tournament?”

“Teach her a lesson in loyalty,” Silver Hawk said. “Show her what it means to betray her own kind for lessers.”

My Frenzy surged. “You touch her and—”

“And what?” Silver Hawk said, striding forward. “Will you start a war between our sects over this insignificant whore? You would do well to know whom it is you associate with, Bull Man. If you knew how many men This One has had you would perhaps rethink defending her.”

They laughed in unison again and a sob broke through their cackles.

Xi Xha stood at the center of them in tears.

Humiliated.

Her glistening eyes caught mine—a look of helplessness and shame. One of the sisters shoved her and another shoved her back. Quickly all three of them joined in, laughing like school children as they pushed her back and forth.

Time stood still as I relieved a vision from my past.

Schoolyard bullies pushing me about in just the same manner.

Was this for real…?

These women were in their forties or more—yet still employing the same juvenile tactics. Overgrown children with the power of gods at their fingertips.

It sickened me.

The abuse and entitlement.

The unwarranted disrespect.

My hatred towards cultivators returned with a vengeance as the spiritual root of my Dao was triggered. These were the members of the Silver Leaf Clan that I truly despised. No better than Hein, for all their years. And to think they would do all this right in front of me—taunting me without fear of the slightest recourse.

But not today.

“That’ll be enough…” I said, harnessing the power of my Flame.

Law or no law, these bitches were going down.

All of them!

I let loose a primal roar as my body filled with rage and crackling thunder.

“[Wrath of a Thousand Slai—]!”

My words cut short as a dozen silver needles landed at my feet, puncturing the metal floor as if it were made of clay. From out of the sky, several figures in black descended, forming a perimeter around us.

“Restrain yourself, Iron Bull!”

The voice echoed powerfully from the sky and as I looked up, I saw an angel in silver-trimmed robes descending from the heavens.

Fia…

Her demeanor was cold and no nonsense and she barely looked at me before turning her baleful gaze to Xi Xha and the three women bullying her. She hovered over the top of them, her three jian blades humming powerfully as they floated just inches from her back.

“I implore you to cease whatever this is, elder cousins,” Fia said with authority in her voice, her words taking on a formal and almost legalistic tone. “This woman is an acquaintance of mine.”

“Well if it isn’t little Fia,” Silver Hawk said stepping forward, pushing Xi Xha to the side.

Xi Xha ran from within the midst of them and straight into my arms.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” I said, consoling her, but my eyes were still fixed on Fia.

She was still a goddess in her own right. The short stylish bob, a face of both beauty and strength. She was heads and shoulders above her cousins both literally and figuratively right now. I backed Xi Xha away from them, unsure what kind of conflict might soon explode.

“You would dare acquaint with someone who lies with the Iron Bull?” Lady Silver Hawk said, scowling up at Fia. “I wonder what your mother might think of that?”

I sensed a spike of fear and anger come from within Fia. A conflicted soul. She dared a glance at me, and I could tell what she was thinking. If this was the response of merely being associated with someone who had been with me, then what would her family think if they knew the actual truth?

Fia hid her feelings expertly though, not the slightest hint of distress appearing on her face.

“What Xi Xha chooses to do in private is her own business,” Fia said. “And I would not put much stock in the significance of the Iron Bull. By Imperial Writ, he is due to face me in the court of battle in a year’s time.” She then turned to Silver Sparrow and narrowed her gaze. “A date I am certain he will keep, even after your trivial bout with him in the ring.”

Silver Sparrow’s mouth fell open. “You would dare claim my defeat? To side with a Fire Bird against your own sect?”

“I’m merely stating a fact,” Fia said coolly. “As much as you despise him, you are no match for the Iron Bull.” She then glanced at Xi Xha. “And I do not blame her for wanting to sample such a man before he meets his untimely demise by my hand either. In fact, I’m sure you three are all jealous that she could command such a one’s attention. It is clear you three crones will never earn a fleeting glance from such a man, much less bed him.”

The insult hit like a lightning bolt and the three bird sisters went berserk.

“How dare you say that!”

“You little bitch!”

“You will pay for those words!”

“Let me kill her! Let me kill her now!”

Fia merely laughed and I couldn’t help but restrain an inward laugh of my own.

Talk about being a troll….I had no idea Fia had that in her.

“You will be punished for that!” Silver Hawk said, her eyes filled with hatred and rage.

“Oh?” Fia said. “Do you wish to settle this with combat? There is no law governing intra-sect conflicts, after all. Come and punish me then, if you can, elder cousin.” Fia then placed a hand over her mouth mockingly. “Oh wait. None of you have mastered the [Silver Sail] technique as yet. A pity you cannot even reach me from down there. Perhaps in another ten years we may fight to settle this.”

“You will pay for this disrespect,” Silver Hawk said. “Our mother will have words with yours.”

“I think you should care more about my father,” Fia said. “Or do you forget that it is the Dong Family that the Lady Silver Tear has blessed with imperial rule, not the Shen.”

I sensed anger erupt from within Silver Hawk, the insult hitting deep.

“Your father?” Silver Hawk scoffed and then muttered under her breath, “A lucky commoner is all he is.”

Fia’s eyes grew wide as the same level of anger spiked within her. “What did you say?!”

Three jian blades flashed, and a piercing silver beam shot straight towards Silver Hawk. The woman balked in shock and managed to raise some kind of barrier at just the last second, but it shattered like glass under Fia’s attack.

In a flash, Fia was suddenly on the ground next to her, a blade raised to Silver Hawk’s throat.

Her Silver Shadows reacted with just as much speed, surrounding the other two sisters, six to one. Tension filled the air as a deathly silence took hold, and from within the three bird sisters, all I could sense was fear.

“Remember this, dear cousins,” Fia said with venom in her voice. “Although you are my seniors by more than ten years, I surpassed all three of you by the age of twelve. You still remain within the Iron Bracket while I am Gold. Do not dare test me or my family ever again. Understood?”

Silver Hawk’s fear rose equally with her anger and slowly she swallowed her pride, but not without bitterness.

“This one apologizes. Little cousin.”

Fia pushed her away and sheathed her swords. “Silver Shadows. Do escort these fine ladies to their domicile. I wish to ensure they return home safely to the Shen residence.”

Her subordinates bowed to her and I watched in amazement as the three sisters suffered the humiliation of being followed back to their skiff and then even further after it took off. Fia turned back to the both of us, Xia Xha still in my arms. A deep pain swelled within her as she stared at us, and I could only imagine what she was thinking.

Still, not a hint of distress showed on her face as she finally looked to Xi Xha. “Are you alright, Xi Xha?”

Xi Xha immediately dropped to her knees. “Yes, my lady, thanks to you. You are too kind to have protected me.”

Fia merely nodded.

She looked to me next and despite her stone-cold façade, her eyes welled with tears.

“I see,” she said, motioning slightly to Xi Xha as pain filled her soul. “Everything makes perfect sense now.”

“No,” I said quickly. “It’s not what you––”

“Enjoy him while you can, Xi Xha,” she said, the venom returning to her words. “He has less than a year to live.”

She spun in midair, turning her back to us.

“Fia, wait!” I shouted but she ignored me, not looking back as she sped away in burst of light. I watched impotently as her figure disappeared amongst the patchwork of walkways spanning high above us, flashing in and out of existence as she darted away.

“Shit!” I cursed.

Everything was falling apart again.

I’d already damaged our relationship but now she had the wrong idea about me and Xi Xha as well—an idea that fit all too well within the narrative of me rejecting her. My hands balled into fists. I needed to talk to her. To tell her the truth just like Kelsey had said. But would she even believe me now?

“Go to her,” Xi Xha said softly.

I looked down at Xi Xha, shocked.

She couldn’t possibly have known about Silver Light and I, could she? But the knowing—if not sad—smile she gave me told me she knew exactly what was going on between us.

“Don’t look so surprised,” she said with a chuckle. “A blind woman could see the love you two hold for one another just now.”

I stood there dumbfounded again.

“It’s alright,” she said. “I won’t tell a soul. And for what it’s worth. She, in my opinion, is the very best of what the Silver Leaf Clan has to offer. The Lady Silver Light has a tender and generous heart behind that fierce roar of hers.”

She didn’t have to tell me to know it to be true. I’d seen it for myself. The last few minutes being no exception. Fia had gone against her own clan to protect the both of us just now. And if she were willing to do that, then perhaps she would be willing to go a step further.

“How do I find her?” I asked. “Where has she gone?”

“She will go where she always goes to be alone,” Xi Xha said, looking upwards. She then pointed through the spanning walkways of the atrium. “Top floor, the peak of the third spire.”

I traced where she was pointing, a distance so far it seemed miniscule from here.

I lifted Xi Xha from the ground and embraced her. “Thank you, Xi Xha. For everything.”

She merely nodded, and I could sense a small amount of pain come from within her.

“Go now,” she said as she placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. “You can still catch her if you hurry.”

* * *

I raced through the upper echelons of the Imperial City with [Mask of the Despised] not caring who turned their heads to glance at me anymore. Xi Xha had lent me her hooded robe, and while it fit more like a scarf and shoal than an overcoat, it did wonders to enhance my technique and allow me to pass through the crowds unnoticed.

I reached the upper floor and even the air felt thinner as I huffed it in and out relentlessly. The crowd had thankfully thinned as well, with only one or two people within eyeshot of me as I approached the three spires atop the gigantic pagoda’s outer wall.

I looked upward and was relieved to see a tiny form dressed in billowing silver trimmed robes standing at the top. I took a last glance to ensure no one was looking and then got to scaling the giant 200-foot edifice to the top.

Handholds were easy to find at the base but around halfway the architecture transitioned to smooth brass alone.

“Damn it,” I cursed, craning my neck to look upward. I had come too far to turn back now, and who knew how much longer Fia would stay there. I could still see her at the top, standing on a small platform staring out at the soon-to-be-setting sun. I’d have to make my own handholds if I were to progress any further.

Ah, to hell with it, I thought.

I engaged [Mark of the Beast], my limbs elongating as my fingertips transitioned into claws. I couldn’t let Fia see me like this, but it was the only way to make it to the top right now. I harnessed my Frenzy and fed it directly into my limbs as I took off in a vertical sprint up the wall. My claws dug into the soft metal, leaving small indentations as I traversed the final length of the spire.

I launched myself upwards at the last ten feet, dropping [Mark of the Beast] as I transitioned myself in a somersault to land on the platform next to Fia. She jumped back startled, flaring with luminescent Qi as she flew into the air and assumed a defensive stance with her Jian blades spread wide.

“It’s me!” I said quickly, pulling back the hood.

“Max?” Her blades sheathed as she touched back down on the platform again. Her silver eyes shifted back and forth with a mixture of awe, excitement, and confusion—the fear in her soul mixing with lemonade. “How did you get up here? How did you find me even?”

“Xi Xha,” I said. “And before you say anything else. Know that there is nothing between us like that. What we had before is over.”

The admission seemed to take her off guard, but she didn’t seem to want to dwell on it. “Why have you come here?”

“First to thank you for what you did for Xi Xha and I just now,” I said. “And second to explain myself.”

“Explain what?”

I took a deep breath. “Everything. The real reason I didn’t want to marry you before, Fia, and maybe still can’t now, but I’d like to try and change that.”

Her gaze softened a little, but she was still on her guard, arms folded. “Go on then.”

“When your people came to my planet, I was only eight years old,” I said. “And your great-aunt, the Lady Silver Tear, was the first of you that I ever met.”

Fia’s eyes grew wide with interest as I continued the rest of my story, telling her how Lady Silver Tear separated my sister and I from our parents and how she singled out my sister even further due to her age.

“The last time I saw them, the Bloodmoon was rising,” I said. “She left them for dead, Fia. To be consumed by monsters. It’s something I don’t think I can ever forgive or forget.”

A silence hung between us as I waited for some kind of response, my stomach churning with uncertainty at how she would react. Eventually she made eye contact with me and spoke.

“I had no idea,” Fia said softly. “And this is why you have ought against my family? The reason you do not wish to marry me?”

I couldn’t tell if she considered my feelings valid or petty, but it wasn’t the full truth either.

“It’s more than that,” I said. “You know I’ve created my own sect, yes?”

She nodded.

“It’s my intention to take back my planet through it. I’ve told you of my path. One day it will lead me to face your family, to take revenge against your great-aunt. My goal is to place this world under Terran control once again. I can’t possibly see myself becoming a member of the Silver Leaf Clan and doing all that.”

I steeled myself for her reaction, my Flame burning with the conviction of my Dao.

Her eyes darted back and forth as she studied me, as if trying to decipher if I was insane or not.

“Just so that I understand,” she said slowly. “You wish to kill my aunt and take back control of your world. These are the reasons you cannot marry me?”

“It’s not that I don’t want you,” I said. “I just can’t see myself and your family co-existing.”

Her eyes softened as she smiled. “Max, you misunderstand so much. My family is not my clan, and my clan is not the ones that conquered your world either.”

I paused at that. “What do you mean?”

“You saw the exchange with my cousins just now. There is no love between the various families within the Silver Leaf Clan. We compete and fight with one another even more than we do other sects. It’s far more cutthroat even, because we can actually attack one another without sanction. Those three picked on me my entire childhood until I became strong enough to best them. They envy my family because my father, a commoner, found favor in both my mother and my great aunt’s eyes. They despise him. As they would you if you were to ever marry me.”

“Then why would you even want that for me?”

“Because I want you,” she said and my heart sped a little as she drew herself close to me. “It would be worth it to me. And don’t think that we have much love for my great-aunt either. My mother and all her sisters despise her. But she is our elder and leader. She is respected and feared, but not loved.”

That changed the perspective of a lot of things in my mind, but it still wasn’t sitting well with me. “But I’m still at odds with your immediate family, Fia. What about Hein and what he’s done? Your parents hate me, don’t they? They took out a writ.”

She rolled her eyes. “The writ was my idea. My ploy to get you into our family. And yes, my brother is an idiot, but so what? If you were to spare my life in the ring what could any of them say? They would have to accept you. The same way Lady Silver Tear accepted my father. It’s still the perfect plan, Max. And trust me. My family will come to love and respect you, after they see what you can do and come to know who you truly are.”

It sounded tempting but still I couldn\'t reconcile with it.

“And what about when I grow strong enough to take my world back,” I said. “How would you feel about that?”

“Max, the Silver Leaf Clan are a conquered people just like you. The Yee empire took control of our world the same as yours, only millennia ago. We are considered Yee now, but not always. The vengeance you seek to take back your world is misplaced. It’s not the warden you must face but the very princess. But are you certain you wish such a thing? It’s not something that is possible. In the history of the Yee empire there have been very few rebellions and none that have been successful. The royal family is too numerous and too strong. You’d be throwing your life away.”

My Flame burned only brighter as the challenge loomed.

The [Odds were Against Me] indeed.

“I know the risks,” I said. “But this is the path I’ve chosen. A path where joining your clan doesn’t quite match. But it’s a path I must complete.”

She glanced downwards at the floor. “I see…”

“But I still want you with me.”

I sensed fear within her as she met my gaze. “How? What do you even mean by that?”

I thought briefly of Kelsey’s sagely words to me: Who knows, she might just go for it, but you won’t know unless you try.

“Leave your family and join me,” I said. “I can’t marry into your family, but you can join mine. Help me build a future within my sect.”

The fear spiked in her tenfold and she backed away. “What? T-that’s impossible.”

I raised a brow. “Impossible?”

She raised a palm to her head as if having a dizzy spell. “What you speak is far more difficult than you think, Max.”

“Why?”

“Because I am a lady of a royal household,” she said. “I cannot simply marry into another family outside my bloodline. To do so, I would have to marry another royal or someone of status. A warden or vice warden like my father, perhaps. But even then, it would require a sizable dowry.”

My mind churned at what she’d said. “A dowry like what?”

She shook her head. “Land, artifacts. But it doesn’t matter. These things aren’t possible, Max. That’s why it would be far easier for you to marry into my family instead. Even as a Terran outsider, you would be tolerated within the Silver Leaf Clan due to your show of superior strength.”

“Tolerated?”

“It sounds awful, I know, but bloodlines are important. To do what you said, to marry into your family, I would have to abandon my clan and my bloodline completely.”

I nodded. “And that’s too much to ask. I know.”

“You don’t understand,” she said. “It’s more than that. There is no leaving

one’s clan as a royal lady. To do that is to commit treason. An act punishable by death. I would be marked and hunted by every member of the Silver Leaf Clan from across the stars. By my own personal family even. I would have to flee this world completely and go into hiding. Never to see my family again.”

I sensed the pain inside her.

It was indeed a far greater sacrifice than I thought.

“I’d do it though,” she said suddenly, looking up at me. “For you.”

“What?”

“I mean it,” she said. “True freedom with a man I love? I’d do it.”

My heart suddenly swelled as she took my hands into hers, hope shining in her eyes.

“But you’d have to leave your family and path as well,” she said. “We couldn’t stay on this world. You’d have to leave it behind. Your vengeance. Everything. We’d have to start over someplace else. Live simple lives together as non-cultivators.”

My Flame weakened and suddenly I faced the brick wall in my mind again.

How could I make such a choice?

I shook my head. “I can’t do it, Fia. My path is everything that I am.”

It perhaps didn’t make any sense to her. Qi cultivators didn’t rely on a path for the source of their power, but I did. Even now I could feel the strength of my Flame waning as I envisioned the two of us running away together in some star-crossed bliss. Living a simple life like Master Edrik and Lysa on a distant world. It was a desirable fantasy for sure.

But clearly not one along the Path of the Frenzied Flame.

“Perhaps its hopeless then,” Fia said, her hands leaving mine. “I’m willing to give up my world for you, but you can’t give up your path for me. Where does that leave us?”

I pondered on it long and hard. It was true. I couldn’t give up my path to run off with Fia, no matter how much I wanted to. She would have to be willing to join mine. But how? My thoughts went around in a circle until finally I’d had enough.

“It doesn’t matter?” I said finally.

Fia blinked. “What?”

“We’re thinking too hard here,” I said. “There’s clearly no answer right now, but I know one thing remains true. I want to be with you, Fia. No matter what.”

Her eyes shone with hope again. “But you said you—”

“I know what I said, but we can’t figure it all out right this instant. The day when I finally reach the end of my path could be centuries from now. But I don’t want that to lead me to making a mistake today. I still want you, Fia, and while I don’t know exactly how, I think I can trust in my path to make a way.”

My Flame surged at that.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying let’s not think about the future. There is a problem we need to solve a year from now. We are destined to fight each other in court and I like your solution to the problem. Train me to defeat you. I’m not sure if I can marry into your family or not, but I will marry you, Fia. That I promise. Somehow.”

She looked excited but unsure all the same. “But if you win, my family will be furious unless you somehow become a part of us.”

“Let’s not think about it,” I said, taking her hands into mine. “Let’s take it one day at a time. Just the opportunity for you to train me is all I want. Because it means I get to spend more time with you.”

Her eyes swelled with tears. “Do you mean that?”

I felt something unlock inside of me as I spoke the words deep from my soul.

“You said fate caused our paths to intertwine more than once. Let’s trust in it again. I don’t know what will happen on that day in court, but let’s trust it will provide a way for us to be together. Deal?”

She smiled and nodded. “To fate then.”

“To fate,” I said and leaned in to seal our pact with a gentle kiss upon her lips.

She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me back deeply.

My Flame surged, growing stronger and within my mind’s eyes I saw the closed door suddenly open.

“Oh, Max,” Fia said as she nestled her face into my chest. “I’m so relieved. I thought I’d never feel your warmth again. I truly thought you did not care for me, but now I can see you cared even more than I could have imagined.”

I smiled. “Thanks for still caring for me too. Your Silver Shadows saved my ass more than once.”

She chuckled. “I must declare my interests. No way was I letting that Firey redhead seduce you.”

I laughed and the break in tension felt like a water shed. I hugged and kissed her again, but more lightly and playfully now. My soul felt lighter, like a great burden had been lifted. Something was tugging at the back of my mind, and suddenly I recalled that feeling I had when I kissed her a moment ago.

The door.

Was resolving my feelings for Fia the spiritual block Mu Lin had told me to seek?

There was only one way to find out.

“Just a minute,” I said, retrieving the orb from my pocket. “I need to try something real quick.”

“What is that?” she said, pointing at the orb.

“A focus for a technique I’m attempting to master.”

I felt the door close slightly. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the full truth either.

“Go on then,” she said.

I summoned my Frenzy as I clutched the orb, engaging the [Brand of the Frenzied Flame]. My mind shifted, looking within myself. The translated manuscripts of the orb that I had prepared flowed freely through the open door in my mind and traveled quickly through my soul.

The orb heated in my palm and in a flash, it was done.

When I opened my eyes, the orb was radiating with tiny characters.

The Path of the Frenzied Flame was now secured for a new generation.

“Well?” Fia said, looking at me curiously. “Did it work? I sensed you cycling quite a bit of Qi.”

“It did,” I said, still marveling at the orb.

I’d just achieved a breakthrough in more ways than one.

I’d finally reached Tenth Stage of my Mental Capacity, but more than that, I had unlocked the spiritual root of my Dao by reconciling with Fia. I focused briefly on attempting the [Soul Shield] technique and was rewarded with a small flicker.

Not quite there yet, I thought. But progress.

“What was it?” Fia asked. “The technique?”

I realized she couldn’t see the inscriptions swirling across the orb as I could.

“Nothing important,” I said and sensed the door close a little further. I needed to get off this topic. “But I’ll probably need to master a few of my advanced lightning techniques to defeat your cousin.”

Fia huffed out a laugh. “You’ll be fine. You seem to have gained quite a bit of inner strength already. Plus, my cousins are not as skilled as they hype themselves up to be. Especially that Wi Shen.”

“Who?”

“Silver Sparrow,” she said. “It’s her personal name.”

“Ah,” I said. “Well, I don’t know. I think you hyped me up to be a lot more than I truly am as well. They’re still at the top of the Iron Bracket and I’ve never been there before.”

“When is the fight?”

“Five days’ time.”

“Then we should start training immediately,” she said, shifting to her no-nonsense persona again. “I can teach you a strategy to defeat Wi Shen easily.”

“That sounds perfect, but I’ll need a day before I can start.”

“What? A day?”

I glanced at the orb in my hand, gleaming with the knowledge of the sacred Berserker arts.

“There’s someone I need to give this to first,” I said and then smiled before giving her a quick kiss. “After that. I’m all yours.”