Book 12: Chapter 3: Are You Truly So Small
“Judgment’s Gale!” thundered a voice that made the stone of the palace shiver.
Sen looked up from the small mountain of paperwork that had been shoved in front of him by the small army of functionaries that did the actual work of keeping the kingdom running.
“How long?” he asked.
“Lord Lu?” asked the young man who had been left with him for reasons he didn’t entirely understand.
Sen frowned at him, trying again to discern exactly who the young man was or his role. Maybe he’s some kind of assistant to one of the actual functionaries.
“He wasn’t speaking to you,” said Misty Peak, seeming to materialize out of a shadow.
The young man screamed at a pitch that he would no doubt wish later that no one had heard before stumbling back. Sen stared at the young man who was staring at Misty Peak like she’d come to steal his soul.
“Are you well?” Sen asked.
Silence was the only answer.
“He was talking to you that time,” said Misty Peak, gesturing at the young man who flinched.“I… I… I…” stuttered the possible assistant.
“Apparently not,” said Sen before turning his attention back to the nine-tail fox. “How long?”
“Two hours, give or take.”
“Damn,” muttered Sen
He summoned a gold tael from a storage ring and tossed it to the fox-woman. She seemed entirely too pleased with herself in his opinion. She gave him a bright smile that simply dripped with insincerity.
“It was pure luck,” she assured him.
Sen had wagered that the Lunar Tiger Patriarch would wait until evening, or possibly even morning, before he finally lost his temper and came looking for a fight. It seemed he’d overestimated the man. All things considered, the man had been surprisingly deft at not drawing attention to himself. That suggested patience and more self-control than Sen usually expected from sect cultivators. However, that had all been secondhand evidence. It seemed that the man was just as impatient and volatile as every other cultivator when faced with a direct challenge to his authority and honor.
“Oh, I’m sure it was,” said Sen, rolling his eyes.
“You never asked me if I knew anything about his temperament,” she answered.
“That’s true. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Judgment’s Gale!” roared the Lunar Tiger Sect Patriarch. “Are you too much of a coward to face me?”
Misty Peak’s expression went flat and unfriendly.
“You should make sure that whatever you do to kill him is very painful.”
“It usually looks that way from my side of things. So, I imagine your wish will be fulfilled,” said Sen as he stood from the table. “I suppose I should deal with this.”
Sen waved off everyone who tried to swarm him the moment he came out of the room. It was clear from their panic that they intended to inform him about the angry cultivator. As though he could have somehow missed the man bellowing challenges. Even so, he wasn’t going to hurry outside like he’d been summoned. He walked along the halls, got mildly lost once, and then eventually found his way outside. He stopped long enough to look up at the clear sky. It was a nice day to his way of thinking, although he imagined it would still be cold for any mortals forced out into the weather.
He ignored yet another angry, thunderous challenge while he watched a bird so high up that it would have been invisible to anyone without nascent soul eyes. It was only after he’d satisfied himself that it was probably just a bird and not a spirit beast spy that he finally turned his attention toward the front gates of the palace, where he could sense a rather large collection of cultivators waiting. It seems the fool intends to get his entire sect killed today, thought Sen. What an absurd waste. Shaking his head in disappointment, he strolled toward the gates at a leisurely pace.
The Lunar Tiger Sect Patriarch stood on a qi platform that was high enough for Sen to see him over the castle walls. The man’s arms were crossed, and he glared down like he expected Sen to cringe like a chastised child or something. Sen simply started climbing into the air on qi platforms no bigger than his feet. It was such a trivial expenditure of qi that he doubted even the glowering patriarch could sense it. The effect was such that Sen suspected it looked like he was walking on nothing but the air itself. The other man’s eyes widened and then narrowed. Sen had timed his ascent so that his last step would be onto the palace wall.
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“So, you finally show yourself, you worthless cur. Before you stands the assembled might of the Lunar Tiger Sect. It’s time that you learn your place, boy.” ŔâNỘ𝔟Ɛŝ
He ignored the sect patriarch entirely, choosing instead to amble over to the edge of the wall and look down on rank-and-file cultivators. He shook his head and snorted.
“Assembled might,” he said in an amused tone before he let his face go stony.
“How dare you mock us!” shouted the Lunar Tiger Patriarch.
“All I see are fools, led here by a fool. Tell me, Patriarch, are you truly so small that you’d condemn your entire sect to death just to bolster your wounded pride? Do you tremble in such fear of me that you felt the need to bring all these cultivators to do your fighting for you?” asked Sen before he fixed his gaze on the other man. “Do you honestly believe that cowering behind them will save you?”
“You impudent wretch,” choked the patriarch, fury burning in his eyes. “How dare you—”
“Because it won’t,” said Sen. “Save you, that is. Let me show you why.”
The gathering of hostile cultivators had done Sen a favor. There were no mortals nearby to get caught up in what he was about to do. The Lunar Tiger Sect had also organized itself into rows based on advancement level for reasons that entirely escaped him. That allowed Sen to more easily shape his auric imposition and the amount of his killing intent that everyone would be subjected to.
“Be good dogs,” said Sen, “and lie down.”
Between heartbeats, the members of the sect went from a carefully organized group, standing proudly, to a mass of screaming, thrashing bodies on the ground. Blood ran freely from their eyes, noses, and ears. The Lunar Tiger Patriarch had clearly not expected the speed, scale, or ferocity of what Sen had done. The man stared down in abject horror. It wasn’t the choice Sen would have made if their positions were reversed. He would have tried to block the techniques or, failing that, launched an attack on the other man just to break his concentration.
“That’s… That’s not possible,” breathed the man.
That comment truly baffled Sen. Everyone in the city had seen him create far larger and more destructive things. Had this idiot assumed that the formations had done all of the work? He must have or simply been living in pure denial. Those were the only explanations that made even the tiniest bit of sense.
“Clearly, it is possible,” answered Sen. “But, since I don’t want any distractions, let me finish up.”
Sen bore down on all of the cultivators below with his auric imposition. In their current states, it was more than sufficient to leave all of them unconscious. It had taken more than a little finesse not to kill any of those cultivators, but he’d gotten increasingly proficient with adjusting his auric imposition and killing intent over the years. Satisfied with that, he turned his attention back to the patriarch. The man was still staring down at his now-useless followers with a stunned look on his face. Sen thought about just killing him then and there, but he’d honestly prefer it if the man went north to Mount Solace. At least there, the fool could get himself killed doing something useful.
The Lunar Tiger Patriarch shook his head sharply, as if to dislodge something, and lifted his gaze to meet Sen’s eyes. The towering arrogance was gone. It took Sen a moment to identify the expression that had replaced it. Desperation. Sen wondered if the other cultivator actually had been depending on all of those sect disciples, core members, and elders to do the fighting for him. The other nascent soul cultivator was a little more advanced, but not nearly enough that Sen couldn’t overcome him. Perhaps it was the realization of that truth which had undermined the other man’s confidence.
“Have you been lying all this time? Hiding your advancements?”
“No.”
“You must have! You can’t be this powerful as a newly fledged nascent soul cultivator. It isn’t possible.”
“That says more about your lack of understanding and imagination than it does about me,” answered Sen. “Now, shall we take this outside of the city? I didn’t save this place just so you could destroy it with a tantrum.”
The Lunar Tiger Patriarch glared across the short distance between them. Sen could almost see the man doing calculations and trying to decide what to do. Anger was no doubt urging him to attack immediately, which was Sen’s least favorite choice. He’d have to spend half his time trying to ensure that innocents weren’t killed. Of course, leaving the city was undoubtedly the sect patriarch’s least favorite choice. He’d have to stand or fall on his own while facing down Sen’s full strength and undivided attention. Fortunately, the man shared Sen’s problem in that his entire sect was below them and helpless. Based on the way he kept glancing down at those prone bodies, that fact was not lost on him.
For Sen’s part, he maintained a neutral expression. It was an expression that said quite clearly that he didn’t see the other cultivator as a threat, merely as an unfinished chore to be dealt with before moving on to more important matters. That cool indifference seemed to push the other cultivator to greater heights of anger and hesitation.
“Shall I make the choice for you?” asked Sen.
Ever since he’d realized that he couldn’t depend on large-scale techniques to win every fight, Sen had been thinking back. Trying to recall things he’d done in the past that he’d never practiced enough to make them part of his usual fighting style. He drew on an approach he’d used against Elder Bo. It had been futile in that fight, but he suspected it would prove far more effective now. With a moment of concentration, black lightning with a purple hue began crackling around his bare hands. That sight seemed to drain away the other nascent soul cultivator’s will to fight. He lowered his head.
“You said that if I vowed to serve you, you’d spare my life and those of my sect.”
“I did,” agreed Sen.
“Then, let us go somewhere private—”
“No,” said Sen, cutting the other man off. “You made this into a spectacle when you thought you held the upper hand. You can make your vow right here. On. Your. Knees.”
The former Lunar Tiger Patriarch’s fists were clenched so hard that blood dripped from them before he managed to get the words out. Sen hadn’t believed that the other nascent soul cultivator could ever give such a promise in good faith. So, he was surprised when the telltale glow sprang up around the man indicating that the heavens had accepted the vow. Lifting an eyebrow, Sen released the technique around his hands. He didn’t wait for the other man to speak.
“You will travel north toward Mount Solace. There, you will battle the spirit beasts until they are all dead or you fall. On your journey, you will not disturb any mortals or cultivators you find. You will take nothing from them. Before you leave, you will relinquish any sect treasures you carry on your person, including all storage treasures.”
The man was visibly trembling with rage, but he only said three words as he began to unburden himself of valuable items.
“Yes, Lord Lu.”