6.2 - Soul Refining Expert

Lei Jianyu spit out a mouthful of blood. His jaw hurt from where he’d just been kicked. It was probably broken. He may be the strongest expert in his village, but he was only a Middle Golden Core. To deal with these raiders, it hadn’t been nearly enough. His meridians ached, and his dantian was perilously empty. He’d put up as good a fight as he could, but in the outlying villages of the Jade Kingdom, a good fight only mattered if you won.

All around him, the sounds of defeat drifted through the early spring air. Raucous laughter, the sharp shattering of porcelain, the desperate sobs of those unfortunate enough to survive the initial attack. Lei Jianyu made a fist with one hand, fingers curling around a clod of dirt. If he could find the will to get up, the strength to fight, maybe they’d kill him quickly.

A part of him—the part that had formed a tenuous connection to his Way as he struggled past a bottleneck that had kept him confined to the middle Fourth Realm—shrank back. That would be the easy way out. He knew it, but he was past the point of caring. Let them cleave his head from his shoulders. It would be a fitting end for one such as him. One incapable of defending those who’d counted on him for protection. Those he’d failed.

He tried not to give himself over to bitterness. Attacks like this one seemed to have become more common in the years since Tan Qingsheng died. The king’s younger brother had given tremendous amounts of wealth to the cultivators of the outlying villages. Many of them had advanced past bottlenecks they’d been stuck at for years. For the better part of two decades, Tan Qingsheng’s generosity had allowed the small settlements to prosper in ways they never could have without his patronage.

Then he’d been killed, and it all came crashing down. Lei Jianyu knew this was the way of the Jade Kingdom, of the Tan family. They’d ruled the same way for centuries, killing one another in an eternal struggle that left only the strongest standing. And while the king’s daughter, Tan Xiaoling, didn’t exactly ignore the people of the Jade Kingdom, Lei Jianyu couldn’t say she was as attentive as her uncle had been.

“Get up,” barked the raider who’d just kicked him. He was a burly man, with a patchy beard and hair cut short. He must have joined this group recently, then. Probably released from prison in the capital. His clothes were just as dirty as the rest, and the cleaver had spots of rust tarnishing the chipped blade.

That a man such as this had managed to advance to the late Fourth Realm stung at Lei Jianyu’s pride even more.

“Just kill me, already,” Lei Jianyu said. “We both know that’s how it’ll end, anyway.”

The raider laughed. It was a harsh, joyless sound. “You’re worth more to me alive than dead. I’ve got a couple buyers who will pay a good amount of mid-grade stones for a wood cultivator. Now get up!”

The raider kicked Lei Jianyu again. This time in the gut. It seemed counterproductive to keep kicking him like that. Even so, Lei Jianyu pushed what little of his cultivation base he had left into his aching muscles, and pushed himself to his feet. Whatever shred of pride he had left, it apparently wouldn’t let him simply lay down and die. Maybe, if the chance presented itself, he could escape.

Lei Jianyu took a faltering step toward the makeshift pen the raiders had constructed to house the other captives. The captives deemed valuable enough to have been left alive. Most of the handful of cultivators inside looked to be in about as bad shape as Lei Jianyu felt. He couldn’t imagine what he must look like. At least the blood gumming his eye shut seemed to have stopped flowing.

The raiders and captives alike all fell silent as an eerie stillness fell over the burning village. Even the gentle breeze that normally blew through the valley at this time of year had died. Lei Jianyu glanced at the sky, where dark clouds gathered. He frowned as he tried to make sense of this sudden shift in the weather. It was far too early in the year for a thunderstorm. Those typically didn’t come until late summer. And they came in the afternoon—not the middle of the morning.

A flash of heaven struck the center of the village square. Thunder exploded from the impact, knocking Lei Jianyu off his feet. He allowed himself a small moment of satisfaction as the raider who’d been tormenting him tumbled to the ground a few yards away. As the fading thunder echoed off the mountains, a gentle rain started to fall. Fires hissed as smoke and steam billowed into the air, and the flames died.

In the center of the village stood a man. His hands remained folded within the sleeves of his robe. Lei Jianyu couldn’t help but marvel at the stranger’s garment—it was of the finest silk he’d ever seen, and embroidered with a pattern depicting a dragon among the clouds. Although he kept his spirit restrained, Lei Jianyu knew this was an expert far beyond any of the bandits. Wind tugged at the hem of his robes, even as the rest of the air remained still. The rain—slowly building in intensity—refused to touch him or stain his robes as he surveyed the ruined village. He spoke softly, but his words carried the distant echoes of thunder.

“Hand over your leader and leave this place,” the expert said. Even though this expert stood a bit on the small side, nearly a head shorter than Lei Jianyu, his spirit towered over all those present. His chin lifted ever so slightly as he surveyed the village before him with the detached coldness of one possessed of true strength.

Lei Jianyu dared allow himself to hope. For a few years now, there had been stories coming from Jade Mountain Citadel, spreading among the scattered towns and villages of the mountain wilderness. Stories of an expert who brought the storm. He’d joined the court of Tan Zihao shortly after Tan Qingsheng’s death. Some even said he’d helped Tan Xiaoling kill her uncle. Regardless of what else the stories said, they all agreed on one thing. He was a righteous cultivator who, unlike most others of his advancement, cared deeply for the small and the weak.

The raiders laughed. Weapons flashed into their hands from within storage treasures, and body enforcement techniques activated all over the village. Dozens of presences unleashed at once, as the raiders made ready to do battle. On the far side of the village, a presence like a hundred swords pointed at Lei Jianyu’s heart, each gleaming with unrestrained killing intent, released and smothered the rest. The raider leader was of the middle Nascent Soul stage—a powerful enough cultivator to have conquered this village all by himself. No wonder these miscreants flocked to him.

For an instant, an expression that Lei Jianyu could only call sorrow flashed across the nameless expert’s features. Then it was gone. The nearest raider attacked. His spirit was a mixture of fire and earth. Flames danced along the length of his podao and earth qi encased his chest and arms in an obvious body enforcement.

A blue disc, about the size of Lei Jianyu’s palm, flashed into being. It turned the raider’s weapon aside as if it were a child’s toy. Then the expert fully released his spirit. The eerie sense of calm vanished so quickly that Lei Jianyu thought he’d just imagined it. In its place, the most violent storm he’d ever experienced.

Wind screamed through the valley. The gale ripped tiles from rooftops, and uprooted trees at the village’s edge. The rain, which had before been a steady but gentle patter, poured down like someone had put the eastern sea into a bucket, then dumped over Lei Jianyu’s home. The midmorning sky had gone black. Angry black clouds flashing with brilliant arcs of heaven blotted out the sun, turning a bright spring morning to night in an instant. It was all Lei Jianyu could do, to throw himself to the ground, huddle against a wall, and cover his head. But still, he watched. How could he not?

A forked spear of heaven reached down from the sky. Touched the raider who had just attacked the stranger. It left only ash. The leader arrived. His bellowed orders spurred his men to action, even though all present could see the truth—this fight was already over.

Lei Jianyu supposed it was a testament to their courage—or stupidity—that they fought, regardless. A full half dozen of the raiders attacked to lone expert at once. Each of their weapons met another of those blue discs, harmlessly turned aside as the expert stood motionless in their midst. A burst of wind and heaven surged out, knocking the raiders away.

The heavens opened. Lei Jianyu had to shut his eyes and cover his ears, as the blinding and deafening fury of heaven poured down from the blackened sky. He coughed up blood and felt more of the same leaking from between his fingers. The only thing he could hear was a painful ringing. When the blinding flash from the lightning cleared, the only thing he saw was charred and twisted bodies reaching up to the heavens in a futile attempt to ward off their judgment.

Only the leader remained standing, but just barely. His breathing was labored, and Lei Jianyu could sense his cultivation base pushing against this unnamed expert. The rest of the village was gone. The explosion of power released by this newcomer having blasted away what was left of Lei Jianyu’s home. Only the expert himself remained untouched, standing just as he had with his hands still folded inside his robes.

The chief raider shouted something and rushed the expert. In a movement that was barely a flicker, like a distant flash of lightning in the corner of Lei Jianyu’s eye, the expert crossed the ruined village square. Another explosion of heaven qi—this time in the form of a great dragon taking the place of the expert’s fist—left a pile of ash where the chief raider had once been.

And with that, it was over. The rain stopped, and the skies cleared. The howling winds died, and only the gentle spring breeze remained. With his presence restrained once more, the expert seemed more human. He crossed over to where Lei Jianyu clung to his last grip on life, and kneeled before him. He spoke, but Lei Jianyu couldn’t hear anything beyond that deafening eternal ringing.

A rich medicinal scent filled the air. Lei Jianyu blinked and then gaped at the open pill box floating before him. Daring to hope, he looked up to the nameless expert who had just saved him. With a kind smile and a nod, the expert motioned to the box.

Lei Jianyu didn’t need to be told twice. He popped the medicine in his mouth and bit down. Medicinal qi flooded his meridians, and his hearing returned. He threw himself to the ground at the expert’s feet.

“Lord Immortal!” Lei Jianyu cried. “This Lei Jianyu swears his eternal servitude! This one’s life was forfeit, but you have snatched me from the very realm of the dead!”

“Um, that’s fine,” the expert said, clearly uncomfortable. “Please get up.”

Lei Jianyu did as he’d been commanded, but kept his eyes downcast as he awaited instruction. He tried to remain attentive, even as the larger part of him marveled at how quickly the medicine he’d been given restored him.

“I am called He Yu. You don’t really need to swear a life debt to me. I’m just helping King Tan, after all.”

“Lord He, this one is most grateful.” Lei Jianyu finally looked up, shocked at his savior’s expression. An expression like he really didn’t know how to handle being spoken to in such a manner—a manner he clearly deserved, given his power and status.

“You can just call me Elder Brother if you must be so formal,” Lord He said. “Anyway, I have to get back to the capital.”

“Allow this humble Lei Jianyu to follow and serve.” He stopped himself before he called the expert “lord” again. Instead, he simply added, “Elder Brother He.”

Lord He sighed. “You should stay here. Your village needs you. A group of soldiers are on their way. They’ll tend to the other survivors and help you rebuild. They should ward off any further attacks, too. If anything beyond their capabilities bothers you, they have constructs to call either myself or my companions. You’ll be safe now.”

Although he was a touch disappointed, Lei Jianyu puffed up his chest, regardless. Lord He obviously expected him to contribute to the defense and rebuilding of the village. It would be an insult to his immortal benevolence to refuse.

“Oh,” Lord He said. “Here. This should get you past that bottleneck. I can’t help you with Nascent Soul, though. You’ll have to do that on your own.”

Lord He held out an elixir that—even sealed within its container—emanated a powerful feeling of wood aspected qi. Like an ancient forest had grown in the palm of his hand. Lei Jianyu couldn’t find the words to express his thanks as he took the elixir from Lord He.

“The soldiers will be along shortly. Make sure you’re ready for your breakthrough before you take that. It’ll work best that way.”

Lord He lifted into the sky, carried by the wind itself. Lei Jianyu marveled. Truly, he’d just been in the presence of a sage. Lord He hadn’t even used a treasure. In a burst of wind, he shot off toward the capital. Lei Jianyu dropped to his knees and kowtowed one hundred times.