Leo glanced back at the door, recalling Althea’s expression during the explanations.
Auntie allowed a hint of a smile.
That’s because literally Kosmos did the same thing as him.
Auntie held her hands on her lap as they walked, her eyes elsewhere.
Auntie wasn’t wrong. The stars had magically aligned themselves when Bastion Romanos met Xingyu Shen, but perfection came at a cost.
Auntie said,
That’s what everyone was hoping for. Leo had tasted Alexander’s and Althea’s combat prowess for herself. Although they were low-rankers, they could easily fight and win against high-rankers given enough brainpower and elbow-grease. With the ability to copy signatures and [Skills], with the ability to manifest an arsenal of weapons, time was their only obstacle—
Someone gasped before they approached the next corner: a gorgeous, green-haired martial beauty—and an orthodox dog.
Chunhua was paralyzed where she stood, instantly recognizing Auntie, but through her fear, she managed to bend her neck low enough into a meager head-bow. It was the most any orthodox cultivator would give to the head of the Demonic Cult.
Auntie marched ahead, her expression and gait remaining the same, as she burdened the orthodox cultivator with her presence. Whatever happens next is out of my hands. “Li Chunhua of the Maolin Sect. You have quite the rivalry with my niece.”
Chunhua kept her head down. “The alternative is feigning niceties. Everything outside the lines of the orthodoxy is where demons and devils play.”
“Yet your patriarchs and leaders often cross the lines as needed. You’ve witnessed it yourself, girl.” Auntie encroached on Chunhua, hovering over her like a giant to a child. “Countless violations of your so-called ‘code,’ the ‘Precepts’ you all supposedly hold as laws of heaven, all without due punishment. Honor, child, is not how they act, it's what they use.”
Chunhua turned her head away from Auntie’s crimson gaze. Blood was drawn on her lip through teeth. “N-Nonetheless, our honor is our own. You cast it aside—”
“Your ‘honor’ has never been ours, but yes, you have your own honor. That honor framed your benevolent master Li Ying, whom you’ve taken her surname from.” (Chunhua clenched her fist.) “That honor banished you from the Jianghu, leaving you stranded in the western world.” (Blood dripped down her lip.) “That honor murdered your master in front of the callous eyes of the Heavenly Xia Court—!”
“ENOUGH!” Chunhua roared, her voice echoing off the empty halls. She’d taken indignant eyes to the matriarch of the Demonic Cult, an act egregious enough to warrant death without recourse. Deeper emotions ran through her countenance than fury, though. There was grief, because she’d shed so many tears over her master; there was despair, knowing she was an ant compared to the greater powers; but there were flames, a promise to rise and destroy everything that’d scarred her heart.
Chunhua heaved, knowing full-well the consequences of her actions.
Cheonma smiled. “That expression suits you better, girl. Remember these feelings within your bosom. Never let your rage be extinguished. Those who wronged you must know pain. Those who neglected to kill you must know regret.”
“No…” Chunhua slowly shook her head. “I am nothing like your ilk. I… I will have my vengeance on my own terms—”
“Foolish child, revenge with laws is justice. Do not deal in justice, for revenge is boundless. They have sullied the lines they had drawn for themselves, so let nothing restrict you in turn.”
“I… I…”
Auntie placed a hand on her shoulder. “I look forward to your progress, Li Chunhua, and for your eventual return. Do not disappoint me.”
***
Chunhua had been acting strange for the past couple days, but I might be going crazy.
Regardless, training had been progressing for the entire team under the iron hand of Overseer. For me, I was primarily training with my [Mementos], becoming comfortable with switching them out at will and developing my own fighting style. I’d gotten a little better at using [Conviction] too, but it’d be quite some time before I obtained any sort of proficiency.
Everybody else was doing their evaluations for Overseer, showcasing their strengths and weaknesses.
Out of the Special Task Force, I was interested in how a certain someone performed during combat.
[Skill Activation: Zerowalk]
Rei blinked in and out of existence, appearing at different positions in the sparring arena. He was behind Leo, in front of her, to her three o’clock then at her nine, all in a rapid, confusing succession. I wasn’t sure if he was teleporting or running that fast, but the sight was frightening regardless. None of us had anticipated this level of mobility from the kid.
Despite the spectacle, Leo remained frosty, keeping track of Rei no matter how many times he vanished. Her [Twin Heavens] shone in the artificial light, [Mother] and [Father] together, comfortably fitted in her rightful hands.
In contrast, Rei had a standard katana that you could find anywhere. In his hands, though, he seemed confident.
And when he’d gathered enough courage, he engaged.
Metal-song echoed, sending strong vibrations that I could physically feel, but the kid didn’t get through the princess’s defenses. So, he escaped into the ether before Leo could counter. Predictably, he targeted her back and she effortlessly fought him off, so he tried again from the side, then above, then coming lower—and soon, I couldn’t see the duelists anymore.
All I saw was the fireworks their bladeworks made.
You could determine their movements, however, with their sword-arcs; after all, they were a swordsman’s handwriting.
Leo, in spite of my constant ragging, was a cool professional. She wielded two distinct colors—azure and ivory—yet neither color dominated the exchange any longer than necessary. They were balanced, joining as a union of sword techniques rather than one-plus-one if that makes sense. That took more practice and mental discipline than most would realize. I was impressed. The Empress really deserved title of a high-ranker.
Rei, on the other hand, his inexperience showed. His movements were wobbly, uncertain, but if he had one thing, it’d be determination. Despite his flaws, he compensated for quantity and variety of attack, using his movement [Skill] to the fullest. Smart. It showed he was thinking about strategy, assessing his own shortcomings while trying to overcome his opponent. He wasn’t as goofy as I thought—
Something shattered.
“MY SWORD—! NOOO—!” Rei fell to his hands and knees, mourning the stump of his katana. “[Gin (銀)], I’m sorry for failing you!”
Never mind, Rei was still a dork.
That’s the duel, I guess.
Me and Uncle Ali entered the arena as Leo was stuck between comforting Rei or being confused.
I broke the silence first, “Who’s [Gin]?”
Rei pointed at the katana. “[Gin] is the two-hundred-seventy-first sword I’ve named! I-I thought it would last longer, but I underestimated Leo-senpai’s strength! This defeat lies in me alone!”
Leo tucked [Twin Heavens] away and asked, “You name your swords?” (“I think there’s a better question you should ask,” I murmured.) “Wait, what’s the name of the sword you broke back during the Scare?”
Rei sniffled. “...[Taikyuu (耐久)].”
I tilted my head. “You’re welcome—?”
Leo slapped the back of my head. “Dumbass.”
Uncle Ali crossed his arms, thinking. “Why do you name your swords in the first place?”
“Because every kensei needs to name their sword!” Rei stood, regaining a fire in his heart. “A sword without a name is like a bird without wings! Although many were broken by my hands, I’ve named all of them without fail! I can even recite all two-hundred-seventy-one names for you right now! Starting with—!”
Uncle raised his hand and cleared his throat. “That’s, erm, that’s not necessary, Rei. We believe you. I want to know more about your techniques, though. The [Broken Swords]? You didn’t showcase them during the duel."
“Ah, yes…” Rei held his hands together and gingerly rubbed his callouses. “Uhm… Whenever I use those techniques, Overseer-sama, the sword I’m wielding will break without fail. Yet to use them during the duel would be…”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
He nervously glanced at Leo. “You would call it ‘overkill.’”
His answer would have brought skepticism if we didn’t see it for ourselves. Rei had killed the Silverhonor Alternate in a single strike by severing its existence. If his other techniques were on a similar level, then I was inclined to believe him.
I sighed. “Should’ve used it anyway—”
Leo slapped the back of my head. “Asshole.”
“Well, that poses a problem…” Uncle produced his notebook and began writing something down. “I’ll speak with Sage and see if we can speed up your [Loadout]. It’s not practical for you to carry around a hundred swords, but we’ll figure something out.”
“I shall accept whatever you give me!” Rei exclaimed, stars in his eyes.
“Good. Now, let’s talk about the duel itself. Do you mind explaining your strategy first, Rei?”
The stars in his eyes died. “Oh, erm… I was overpowered.”
I commented, “That’s not a strategy. That’s what happened—”
Leo almost slapped the back of my head if I didn’t catch her hand.
***
“Vic? You good?” I caught Vic laying his head down in the HQ library.
Since Uncle Ali decided that he was part-timing at the hospital, he’d been hitting the books again to prepare. In OU, the program he took, expeditionary medicine and healing, was basically combat medicine, which would be pretty different from a civilian environment. I imagine it was a pretty drastic jump compared to, let’s say, healing the Vice Guild Master after he got stuck through the stomach.
Vic mumbled incoherently and pushed himself off the table, laying back in his chair like a dead man. “I wanna kill myself.”
“That’s the worst thing you can hear from the team healer.” I sat on the edge of the table and saw some of the textbooks he was reading. All dense material that I couldn’t wrap my head around. “Pretty tough, right?”
“Yeah, no shit it’s tough. I…” He stopped himself mid-way through and began rapping his knuckles against his forehead. “I shouldn’t be complaining, sorry.”
“Hey, just because Overseer’s my uncle, it doesn’t mean—”
“No, it’s—okay, how do I word this without sounding like a dick? It’s, uh, everything’s going really fast, you get what I mean? I thought I’d be a team healer for a while, but…”
“But…? Is that a bad thing?”
“I dunno.” Vic shifted his jaw and stared at a random spot on the carpet. “I didn’t think I would have to start, y’know, thinking about the next step this soon.”
Now I understood his anxiety behind his new assignment. Vic inherited aspects both sides of his family: the need for action from his father and brother, and the desire to help from his mother and sister. Angels Guild would provide more of the former through the Special Task Force, but after receiving scrubs, the dial was ticking confidently toward the latter.
However, that was today: the start of his career. Where would he be a few years from now? Ten years? Twenty? Would he remain as a team healer, branch out and get a medical degree, or do whatever else healers did? The Special Task Force allowed him to prolong that decision, but my uncle inadvertently moved up the timeline and forced him to stare at his own future.
If he wanted to go further with healing, Angels Guild was where you’d do it. If Wisdom had the best mages and magic, we had the best healers, rivaled only by the Vatican. Angels Headquarters Hospital—according to everybody—contained the best healing-based residency programs. As exciting as that sounded, it meant his decision was that much more stressful.
One of his futures was standing right before him.
“...You don’t have to decide now,” I told him.
He rolled his eyes. “Once my mom hears, she’s gonna push me toward med-school.”
“It doesn’t matter what she thinks, but here’s my advice.” I faced him and made sure he was paying attention. “Treat this as an opportunity. Find out if you like working in a hospital. If not, now you know.”
“Yeah, but I’m a combat healer for a reason. You got all these guys who bring back breacher-skulls, but who’s gonna protect ‘em? That’s where I come in: with a shield and not a sword. At least, that’s what I think I wanna do. I like the sound of ‘Dr. Taslim’ but being called ‘Victor’ is a staple.”
I whistled. “I think it’s the worst codename in existence, but that’s personal taste.” (“Fuck off.”) “Look, Vic, I meant it: you don’t have to decide now. You shouldn’t. Treat the next couple years as a learning period, because I don’t know if anyone has told you yet, but you basically have free access to the entire guild and practically the entire city.”
Reason was starting to seep into his annoying eyes. “You’re…not wrong.”
“Mhm. While you figure out whether or not you want to be called ‘doctor,’ you should prepare yourself for combat training.”
“It’s gonna be fine, though. I don’t think Overseer can be worse than what we had in OU.’
I knocked on wood. “Pick up a Bible alongside your medical textbooks.”
“Dude, what does that mean—?”
“Pick up a Bible.”
***
[Sage]
I’m the team engineer, I shouldn’t be training…
[Problem]
Your uncle is unexpectedly ruthless. Please appeal to him on my behalf.
[Firebrand]
he kicked my ass
how
explain
[Uprise]
This is an automated message from Okano Kotone. She is currently hospitalized from brain-damage and she wishes to share a message with you: go to hell
[Forest Master]
Give my thanks to your uncle for reminding me about my childhood training
I absolutely hate it.
I ignored their complaints and entered the training room. This place had been my second home as of late. I’d touched the ceiling with [Conviction] and returned to the ground after forgetting how to fly.
Althea sat on a bench, preparing for yet another day of hard training. She had it the worst. With the tight timetable, she needed to cram all the necessary skills within two months and study the mission materials and mentally steel herself for a long-term mission.
Her main instructor was our uncle, obviously. Since taking on the role of Overseer, he’d forsaken sleep and instead used his nights to organize our regimens. Not once, though, did he look exhausted. No matter how much labor he put himself through, Uncle always appeared tough as ever. The power of a military background and an addiction to coffee.
I patted Thea’s back as Uncle searched through his bag. “What’s on the list for today?”
“Something different.” He pulled out an old, unlabeled notebook and skimmed through the dusty pages. Glimpses of neat handwriting and annotations stuck out to me, but I couldn’t catch any of the writing itself. “Since I was informed of Operation Sundown, I’d been preparing this for the both of you. Have a look.”
Uncle handed the notebook to me.
Thea stood and looked over my shoulder as I turned the cover. It read:
ZHENLONG SCHOOL TECHNIQUES
Xingyu Shen
If you’re reading this, Alexander and Althea, then my worst fears have come true: you’re living a life where this knowledge is necessary for your survival, without the security of your parents. I’ve entrusted your uncle with this manual, and he’ll teach you the techniques that were beaten into me.
The techniques that he used to invent the Anti-Slayer Techniques.
The techniques created to kill cultivators.
The crown jewel of the Mainland, housed in the Zhenlong Tactical School.
Use them well, my children.
“...This is it,” Uncle quietly said, breaking us from our thoughts. “This is the only known manual of the [Zhenlong School] outside its walls. In the Jianghu, cultivators fear these techniques because they were designed to break them. While we won’t fight cultivators, not yet anyhow, they will be immensely useful.”
“A-Are you sure ‘bout this?” Althea asked through a cracked and broken voice, hands shaking as she held the manual. “This… You know the implications. If anyone recognizes the techniques—”
“It’s better to have them than not.” Uncle took back the manual. “There are two versions of the [Zhenlong School]: systemic and non-systemic, used by their Slayer and human members respectively. I’ll teach you the former. Try to, anyway.
“According to your mother’s writings, the [Zhenlong School] states that every martial art has its own ‘energy’ and thus can be considered as its own ‘person.’ Its founder, Zhenlong, extensively researched this phenomena—by that, he put himself in harm’s way day-in and day-out—and uncovered base patterns across the same forms of martial arts. As a result, he created ten techniques based on these patterns.
“Each technique operates on the principle of ‘negation.' You manipulate your own internal energy to match and negate the martial art in front of you, like forcibly turning an equation into zero. Thus, we get to the thesis: if my Anti-Slayer Techniques destroy the Phenomenon Production System, then the [Zhenlong School] destroys the concept of martial arts itself.
“[Tears of Crying Blood], the energy-destroying technique.
“[Ruinous Hands on Coffins], the unarmed-destroying technique.
“[Dust and Ash Within Soil], the blunt-destroying technique.
“[All Blades Under Heaven], the sword-destroying technique.
“[Thousand Casket Nails], the spear- and staff-destroying technique.
“[Sole Earth Dominion], the formation-destroying technique.
“[Spirit Consumption Curse], the magic-destroying technique.
“[Clipped Sparrows Fall], the ballistic-destroying technique.
“[The Graveyard of Heroes and Earth], the qinggong-destroying technique.
“And [End Forest and Rivers], the cultivation-destroying technique—the main influence of my own.”
Ten techniques and two months. I wasn’t so worried about myself, because I had all the time in the world, but Thea needed to learn as much as possible. However, there was one problem that was bugging me.
“We can’t read qi in the first place,” I announced. “We don’t have the capability yet, and given how complex it sounds already, I don’t think any regular sensory-type [Skill] will suffice.”
Uncle nodded and flipped to the beginning of the manual. “That’s true, which is why your mother has also described the foundational [Skill] of the Zhenlong Tactical School: [Dual Dragoneyes].”
“Man, this Zhenlong guy really loves his angsty names…” Thea muttered before speaking up, “...so how are we gonna learn it?”
“That…” Uncle turned to the next page, then turned again. “Is a wonderful question. Because your mother wasn’t a Slayer, she wasn’t privy to the acquisition methods. She did create several theories based on hearsay and personal research: alchemy, body mutations, cultivation practices, internal energy developments, and you get the point. It’s our job to experiment and work our way to a custom solution.”
Thea asked, “D’you think we can accomplish this in two months, though?”
“Personally? I’d say it's almost impossible.”
I snorted at his bluntness. “Not like we can ask Chunhua for help without revealing our family secrets.”
Thea snapped her fingers. "Let's just ask Cheonma."
Uncle smacked his lips together. "She's...not aware that we have the manual, and I prefer if we keep it that way."
In other words, we didn't want to further fuck with the balance of power. Likely, if we asked Cheonma for help, she would request the manual in return. That would lead to a very messy road.
Thea sighed, understanding the political implications. "Alright, I get it. So it's just us?"
“Just us. Maybe it’s a terrible idea to work on this project given the timeframe, but we should try anyway. We’ll most likely fail, but Baekyong might lead to a breakthrough. You never know.”
“Well.” I nudged my sister. “You up for it? We’ll be his guinea pigs.”
Thea sighed. “I don’t think I’m gonna like the next two months.”