[Last Emperor] Chapter 25 - Warping and Fire

Tao Zi received an additional couple of notifications for cultivating his first true technique and surviving the process without interruptions or anything killing him. Earning him a whopping 90 Qi Exp and 22 Body Tempering Exp. Both of which he refused to use on the Basic Shop System even if the burning desire to run the risk of getting another good skill was nearly overwhelming. 

His primary goal had to remain his development and stabilizing his foundation. 

Figure out how to use what he currently had now. 

Having two dozen powerful skills would do him no good if he had no clue how to use any of them. Just the Avatar of The Phoenix Risen, Heron, alone would take him considerable time to understand. There were too many possibilities of what it could do and what it couldn’t for him to move on to the next shiny object he got. 

Most important was learning how to make it stronger—

“Wait a moment.” Tao Zi said. 

He pulled his status page up one more time and stared hard at the increase in his progress. Only his Qi Cultivation grew and only by one percent. His Body Cultivation did not budge. Over a hundred Qi experience only for it to barely move painted a difficult image for him. 

Tao Zi would need to work many folds harder just to make marginal advancements. 

An expectation of scaling difficulty was normal, but this was beyond that. He did not expect it to be a multiplicative factor, one that he was not smart enough to calculate. Or more likely, too lazy to do so. Levels and progress would come as long as he kept getting experience, it was just surprising to notice how much more it took compared to the previous realm.

He looked back into his core, noticing changes there as well. It hadn’t been long, but he should have had much more Qi available to him. Yet, it was only a marginal amount compared to the lake that was available to him. 

It was still more than what he had at full capacity as an Initiate, so there wasn’t much to complain about. Just a curiosity he needed to test. He had been hoping for a lot more so he could try bigger, stronger, and far more violent attacks, but would instead have to limit himself to things he had accomplished in the previous realm.

Tao Zi stood up from the seat, fighting off the fatigue he felt from his bond to Heron. He placed the little child-like avatar onto the rock outcropping and stepped away to his testing grounds. 

He took a deep breath. Still remembering the burning pain of his new technique arriving. 

Concentrating was quite simple when there was an object he could focus on in his core, namely the dragon. He forced his focus on it and shifted his core to move the flames that doubled as Qi as he pleased. Finding it harder than he thought it would be. 

It reminded him of how lethargic it felt when he first arrived into the rift. Slow, molasses-like, and endlessly irritating now that he had a taste for a much more fluent, flowing form. Reaching the Journeyman Stages had been an epiphany. A realization of how much power a cultivator could potentially hold and how they looked so graceful at all times.

Yet, now he stood there moving a tiny portion of the dragonic flames through his core and around in his meridians. He could feel the heat swell up within him. No burning or build up of smog he feared. 

Tao Zi came to a realization as he kept moving it through the meridians and back towards the core. 

It wasn’t lethargic.

The Qi was heavier than what he was used to. Thicker and more concentrated than anything he had used before. It was a strange feeling of having to try getting the Qi to move when it had been as simple as breathing, even if he was unpracticed with it before. 

He couldn’t quite get the hang of it, but continued to test it out. 

Tao Zi eventually pulled out his sword. He commanded the Qi to move as he desired, coating his sword with light blue flames that had tints of white within it. Brighter and of a fairer color when compared to the Azure Flames he had been using previously. It crackled loudly, snapping back and forth looking for something to destroy and bring ruin to. 

Wisps of smog and black smoke rose from it. 

It matched the voraciousness he saw within his core. The burning desire to eat and consume filled its entirety. He could already imagine how dangerous it would be if it touched anything that could catch on fire. 

Monsters included. 

He slashed in the air, the flames trailed after it. They stuck to the air for a few seconds before vanishing with crackling pops. 

Tao Zi wondered how well it would do against Zarfu’s natural skin and body cultivation. He had struggled to pierce him with anything that was strong enough to be fatal last time they fought. Would the same exact amount of Qi used here cause more damage? Would its weight be the difference before its dragonic essense did the job?

What about the scales of the HellHounds?

A burning desire to test it out on something stronger than a stone wall filled his chest, but he was no idiot. There was no attempting anything crazy without first getting used to his reaction time, change in speed, and most importantly, how to move the heavy Qi quicker without it taking conscious effort. 

He did not want to fail a Qi attack in the middle of a battle because he was unprepared only to have his head taken off by the monster he faced. 

Let’s do this, Tao Zi! A simple cut.

Tao Zi lunged forward towards the stone wall, cutting at it, but intentionally missing by inches. His dragonic flames screamed as it surged forward. Leaving black scores and a thin line cut into the wall. 

He stared at the damage it caused for a few moments. Surprised at the terrifying sounds it made during the cut more so than the burning flames that still lapped at the stone even after a few seconds passed.

It took a bit for them to finally vanish into the ether. 

Tao Zi took another deep breath and began a series of strikes, cuts, stabs, and more with his blade. Keeping the fire going the entire time, but otherwise not attempting anything fancy. He would let  it do its job while he delivered the payload directly. 

It didn’t take half an hour before he was soaked thoroughly. Through multiple levels of clothing too. 

The blue flames left more deep scores in the stone than he was willing to count. Only his diminishing Qi reserves stopped him from pushing further and testing more things he could use in a battle. 

He doubted any fight would last that long. More so with the fire active the whole duration of the fight. His attacks would be more of a pendulum between the two worlds. More mundane cuts, slices, hacks, and stabs to set up his attacks with the voracious flames on them. He didn’t need his enemies planning ahead for him. 

Or worse, learning his abilities and countering them perfectly. 

Tao Zi could see someone like Zarfu doing exactly that, extending the fight and learning his movesets. 

No. He would plan around that—

Tao Zi let the flames die out and revealed his precious blade to himself. He cursed. 

His blade had begun to warp and change shape. Affected by the flames that had been covering it the entire time. 

Fuck! I can’t lose this sword! 

It wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but it was a sentimental item he received from the only living family member he had. A distant uncle that hadn’t introduced himself, considering they were family and were supposed to know each other. 

Just an Uncle Tao signed at the end of a letter and a gift wrapped sword. 

Tiger shifted in his spot. 

Tao Zi noticed the cat’s attention violently snap towards the entrance of the cave. It stood up and bolted to the boulder, ignoring the startled Heron. It meowed and chattered loudly as it clawed at the entrance. Doing its best to try to sneak out through a tiny hole it was by far too large to fit through. It fought like its life depended on it to the point of starting to hurt itself. 

He hurried to the cat and tried to pick it up, only to get sharp claws swiping at him and hissing that promised pain if he tried to stop it. 

Tiger needed to go somewhere or do something.

Why? He had no clue, but he was intent on finding out. Tao Zi may not say it out loud, but he actually felt a connection to the orange rascal. Maybe, just maybe, he may also see him as family. Distant annoying family, but family nonetheless.