Path of the Berserker

I BORROWED SOME clothes from a couple of the farmers that came to put out the fire. I offered to pay them for the threads, but after me helping them tend to the blaze and knowing who I was, they refused to take a single Wen. Granted the clothes didn’t fit too well either, but it was better than walking around town practically naked.

As I stepped through the market district headed for home, I engaged [Mask of the Despised]. The technique caused most people to look away from me the moment I made eye contact and with the state my mind was in, that was just fine with me.

It gave me more time to be alone with my thoughts.

I had some serious situations to deal with now.

Fia, Fire Lady Hin Wu, Lo Feng, random jackoffs trying to destroy the sect and not to mention my people in the wild. Plus, there was the whole lack of spiritual defense thing. I needed to get to cultivating to sort that out as soon as possible. I rolled all my problems around in my mind until some semblance of logic started to appear.

Fia had to go on the backburner for now. She was still my biggest problem, but at least I had time to work through my conflicted thoughts. Deep down, I still wanted to do right by her, but also my people as well as the Flame. It all seemed a jumbled mess at the moment. Maybe some time and distance would help with that.

My other problems were far more immediate.

And for those I needed a plan.

Slowly as I walked, thought by thought, I began to construct one.

And probably as good as it was going to get for now.

“Nine Hells, Chun!” Yu Li said when I stepped into the office. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing,” I said, dropping into a chair. “Just got jumped by some assholes.”

The morning rush looked to be over, the line of Terrans seeking to join the sect finally cleared. Yu Li, Jian Yi and Gui Zu were still at it though, counting money and filling out application forms for the government.

“They attacked you in the street?” Jian Yi said, looking up from her desk. “Do you need a declaration?”

“Nah, this one’s a little different. No paperwork required.”

“Who were they, brother?” Gui Zu asked, while playing with Su Ling in his lap.

“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “They’re dealt with for now. But I’m glad you’re all here and that it’s not too busy. I have something very important I want to share with you guys.”

That got their attention and they all stopped what they were doing.

“What is it, Max?” Gui Zu asked.

“Shut the door, first,” I said to the big man. “What I’m about to tell you. No other living soul can hear.”

* * *

I started by telling them that I had gotten caught out in the wild one night and found a shelter to survive the Bloodmoon that turned out to be a bunker full of Terrans that survived the war. It was a lie of course, but I couldn’t risk their lives and mine by revealing my true nature as a Berserker.

At least not yet.

But the knowledge that there was a small group of Terrans surviving in a bunker somewhere in the wilderness was something they absolutely had to know for everything else I would have to explain afterwards. I kept the details as vague as possible. No locations, no names. Only that there were about a hundred people who had survived the invasion, that were now living in an old military bunker out in the wild.

“Are you serious?” Yu Li’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “People are still alive out there?”

“How did they survive?” Jian Yi said.

“Are they cultivators?” Gui Zu asked.

“It’s been over a decade!” Yu Li said. “Did the Bloodmoon transform them? Like it did the animals?”

The questions came fast and furious after that, too many to handle at once.

“Look, look,” I said, raising my hands in a ‘calm down’ fashion. “I know this is blowing your minds. It blew my mind too, trust me. But we can’t get too excited.”

“Why didn’t you say something earlier?” Yu Li said. “How long have you known about this?”

“Not long,” I said. “And to be honest it was the main reason I was late for my duel with Hein. They’re in a bad way out there. But so much has happened since then, that it never seemed like a right time to bring it up. But now I can’t put off heading back to them any longer. They need me.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about this,” Jian Yi said. “This changes everything.”

“Yes, it does,” I said with a nod. “These people have our history. The true knowledge of who we were and who we are. We have to protect that at all cost.”

“We need to bring them here then,” Yu Li said. “They can’t survive out there, right?”

“No way!” Jian Yi snapped. “You have any idea how the empire would react to that? Us starting our own sect is one thing, but true natives that they wanted executed from the start suddenly emerging from the grave? They’d wipe us all out.”

“What Jian Yi said is likely true, Yu Li,” Gui Zu said, patting her shoulder. “I’ve never seen it myself, but when the Yee empire conquers new worlds, they only keep what they want. Brother Max spoke well in saying not a soul else needs to hear of this.”

“But we can’t just leave them out there!”

“We won’t,” I said. “Not forever. But we can’t bring them here right now. We’re still way too weak.”

“Weak is an understatement!” Jian Yi said with a scoff. “We’re barely out of the cradle in terms of strength. If not for the law and you being the Iron Bull, even the Terran Sect itself would have been wiped out.”

“Maybe we sneak them in then?” Yu Li asked, looking to each of us for our thoughts.

“They don’t speak any Yee,” I said. “And a lot of them are old. They’d stick out like sore thumbs. Jian Yi is right on this one. We’re on the brink right now and a move like that would sink us. We need to be strategic.”

“Well, I’m not a Terran,” Gui Zu said. “But I understand the importance of this. My loyalty is to you as always, Brother Max. Anything you need of me, I am here.”

I smiled and rested my hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Gui Zu.”

Jian Yi leaned back in her chair, looking dazed. “This is a lot to take in. How are we going to do this? What are we going to do even?”

“Don’t worry,” I said with a grin. “I have a plan.”

Jian Yi looked at me imploringly. “Which is?”

“To get so strong that when I finally bring them to this city, not even the Warden herself would dare lay a hand on them.”

“What?” Jian Yi said, looking at me like I was stupid. “That’s your plan? Get strong? This isn’t Young Master Hein you’re talking about, you know? Do you truly understand what challenging the Warden even means?”

I envisioned Lady Silver Tear in my mind and my Flame stirred.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll face her eventually.”

Jian Yi scoffed out a laugh. “How about we bring that optimism back down a few notches, chief? You do realize you need to face Hein’s sister in a year, right? Can you even do that? You need to reach 5th Tier just to qualify to fight her. Even the best cultivators I know would take two years at least to reach that stage.”

“I know,” I said with a smile. “Just means I’ll need to train harder. Harder than anyone you know. I’m going to head out into the wild and kill two birds with one stone. Keep the community out there alive while cultivating the shit out of all the monsters I kill.”

“Huh?” Yu Li said, looking confused. “You mean gathering rare materials for pills and elixirs?”

Oh shit, that’s right….

I had to remember that Qi cultivation didn’t work the same way as I did. I generated Frenzy by facing death and killing monsters. But Qi cultivators killed the monster for their Qi-infused cores and body parts. There was no way to absorb Qi from killing a monster directly. Not unless you were some kind of demonic cultivator like Hong Feng.

“Yeah, something like that,” I said.

“How would you even get the materials past the inspection points?” Jian Yi asked.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I got Lee at my old job to hook me up there.”

“Sounds like a lot of risk,” Jian Yi said, furrowing her brow.

I shrugged. “No pain no gain. But don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

I of course had no intention of putting Lee in harm’s way by trying to smuggle crap past the Imperial Guards, but the explanation seemed to make sense for now.

“How long do you plan to be gone?” Jian Yi asked.

“Not too long,” I said. “But who knows?”

“You need to be here to defend the sect,” Jian Yi said and then held up one of the self-defense declarations forms. “You think any cultivator would respect me giving them this if they knew the Iron Bull was off somewhere else?”

I sighed. “Yeah… that leads me to the other reason I called us all together. I won’t be able to be in two places at once. So it means some things will need to change.”

“Change how?” Yu Li asked.

“I can’t be the only one getting stronger,” I said. “Each of you needs to advance as well. And that goes for the entire sect.”

“What do you mean?” Yu Li said. “We’re not all fighters like you and Gui Zu.”

“There are other ways to fight,” I said smiling at Jian Yi. “Jian Yi, I want you to become our barrister. But for real.”

“What do you mean for real?”

“I mean use some of the sect funds to attend post Foundation school,” I said. “If we want to be taken seriously, we need to stand on the same footing as our foes. Within a year, I want you to be running circles around that clown Lui Wi or whatever his name was.”

“Lu who?” Yu Li asked.

“Fi––I mean Silver Light’s lawyer,” I said, cursing myself for the near slip-up.

I spoke again quickly so they wouldn’t notice.

“And you, Gui Zu,” I said. “I want you to start using some of the funds to further your own progression. You already fight like a tiger. You only need Qi to back it up to be as strong as me.”

Gui Zu laughed. “I don’t think I’d ever be as strong as you, brother.”

I grinned. “Don’t underestimate yourself. Get as strong as you can.”

He laughed. “I don’t know if I’ll ever have the affinity, but I will certainly try.”

“Yu Li,” I said, turning to my sister. “You’ve always had natural talent for cultivation. I want to see you progress as well.”

She shook her head emphatically. “No way. I’m no fighter!”

“I know you aren’t,” I said. “That’s why you need to apply your talents as something else. An artisan or crafter maybe.”

“But I’m no crafter either,” she said with a shrug and then looked a little glum.

“Not now,” I said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “But the more self-sufficient we are the stronger we can become. Trust me, I’ve been to the artisan district and seen how they live and thrive there. As outsiders and conquered peoples even.” I thought briefly of Master Edrik and Lysa then and how they had established a new home in the city to preserve their own culture and heritage. “Trust me. Knowledge will be the key to our long-term survival in this world.”

“How would I even start?” Yu Lu said.

I smiled. “I have a friend who might be able to make a few introductions for you.”

“What craft?” Jian Yi asked. “What are you good at, Yu Li?”

“You’re pretty good at cooking,” Gui Zu said with a smile. “If Max is going to go hunting monsters out in the wild, I’m sure with training you could turn those ingredients into amazing Qi-infused meals. And I’ll need plenty if I’m going to get as strong as he is.”

He grinned then and Yu Li nudged him with a smile. “I think you just want me to cook for you more often!”

“Of course!” he said with a laugh.

Su Ling reacted to both of them with a happy giggle and I couldn’t help but be amazed at how much of a happy little family they had become.

But then Yu Li’s eyes suddenly grew more focused as she considered it seriously. I knew that look. I’d experienced it myself so many times. The burst of wonder and excitement than came with the possibility of advancement.

“You know what?” she said. “I think I could actually get into that. I would love to learn how to Qi infuse foods. And if both you and Gui Zu will need Qi elements for advancement, why not me?”

I smiled. “Now you’re talking.”

“Well, you sneak home the Rapling steaks and I’ll cook them for you!” Yu Li said with a laugh.

I began envisioning the potential myself.

It was a wonderful thought.

But then Jian Yi brought it all crashing down again.

“Yeah, this is a really nice plan, Chun,” she said sardonically. “If you had three years to prepare for your fight with the Lady Silver Light. None of this will help us in the here and now. Gui Zu is great, but he can’t do what you can do. If you’re not here, we need someone who can at least match the Foundation Realm cultivators who keep showing up. Who can we find like that?”

I huffed out a sigh as we finally reached the unbaked portion of my half-baked idea.

I knew plenty of cultivators of that ranking, but most of them would rather see me dead than stand as my proxy. I was just about to admit defeat when Gui Zu suddenly raised his hand.

“I think I may know someone,” Gui Zu said.

My spirits lifted. “What? Seriously?”

“Yes,” he said before giving me a frown. “But you may not like who it is.”