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Ling Wei smiled. “Your majesty will no doubt remember that the leadership tournament concluded but three months ago with the Fire Bird Clan claiming victory.”

Lunalah lowered her brows in confusion. “Yes, but what does that have to do with this? Are you saying that they are incompetent?”

“It may appear so,” Ling Wei said. “But the results are inconclusive.”

“What do you mean?”

“The new Warden claims that the poor results are due to the former conflict between the Holy Mountain and Orange Blossom sects, particularly the conflict in Zho Yun village.”

“Where?” she said.

“It’s the village where the conflict started, your majesty,” Ling Wei said and then paused a moment before adding, “…and ended. Through your timely intervention, of course.”

“Oh…” Lunalah vaguely recalled the incident now. “Oh yes. It’s when I made the decision to replace that incompetent Tu’loc Rhen who was allowing the conflict to spiral out of control. Is the new Warden claiming that the poor results are due to Tu’loc Rhen’s incompetence?”

“No, your majesty. It’s where the conflict took place that is of importance. Although a somewhat obscure village, it housed a third of the workforce that is used for harvesting across the entire province. As a result of the conflict, the entire population of Zho Yun village was lost when you rightly punished the cultivators of the Holy Mountain and Orange Blossom sects for their continued defiance of imperial law. Sadly, the mortals killed with them were primarily the laborers who tended the fields during harvest cycles.”

Lunalah’s heartbeat sped. “Is the new Warden accusing my administering of justice to be the cause of his failure?”

Ling Wei quickly bowed her head. “This One would not dare to make such a speculation, your majesty. I can only report that this is the factual reason why the production numbers are so low. A loss of a third of the workforce does independently correlate with a 37 percent loss in productivity.”

Lunalah’s skin bristled with the heat of embarrassment. It was her action that had led to this. But still, it was Tu’loc Rhen’s incompetence that had caused it all. “Prepare a letter to the new Warden. Remind him that it was a known fact that a third of the workforce had been lost due to the conflict in Zho Yun village when the Fire Birds assumed control. They had three months to remedy the situation in Xiang Xian province and instead chose to do nothing. The fault is theirs. I will however be lenient and allow another three months for them to correct their productivity issues.”

Ling Wei bowed. “I shall prepare the letter at once, your majesty.”

“Anything else?” she asked, eager to move on from the debacle.

“Yes. There is a… somewhat odd situation in Jurin province that you may wish to be apprised of.”

“Oh?” she said, perking up a little. “Is it to do with the Iron Bull? His Gold Bracket debut was impressive. Is he to fight again soon?”

“Ah…” Ling Wei lowered her head, blushing a little. “No, your majesty. It has nothing to do with the Iron Bull.”

Her heart sank a little. “Oh. What is it then?”

“News from the local courts,” Ling Wei said. “There is a trial to take place a few hours from now. A junior member of Silver Leaf Clan was found guilty of violating imperial law via an unsanctioned attack on a fellow martial sect, apparently killing over a hundred cultivators of the local Fire Bird Clan including an elder.”

Lunalah’s eyes widened. “What?”

“The case apparently involved the use of a Grand Sage’s testimony as evidence,” Ling Wei said reading from her tablet. “But that’s not the interesting bit. The part that might concern you is that a Silver Leaf Elder, apparently the mother of the accused, has been granted the right of martial contestation by the courts. This would place her against the chief plaintiff, which happens to be the local leader of the Fire Bird Clan.”

Lunalah furrowed her brow. “Why is this important?”

“A sect leader is not normally allowed to be challenged by a lesser,” Ling Wei said. “But according to the court transcripts, the High Magistrate allowed it because the original writ was against the personal family of the accused and not the Silver Leaf Clan itself. Yet still, it would be within the Silver Leaf Clan’s right to replace the elder with a sect leader to match the plaintiff. And you would recall who the leader of the Silver Leaf Clan is in Jurin Province, yes?”

Lunalah had to pause before it all clicked. “Lady Silver Tear…The Warden.”

“Correct,” Ling Wei said. “But that’s not all. The accused is the daughter of the Vice Warden, a Master Hei Dong. His wife, Lady Silver Moon, is contesting. She is deemed no match for the Fire Bird sect leader, Lo Feng. It seems highly possible that the Vice Warden may petition the Warden to intervene on his family’s behalf, especially as she has been now invited to witness the proceedings.”

“At whose behest?”

Ling Wei studied her table. “It’s unclear. Her own perhaps. But even without the Vice Warden asking for her intervention, she may be tempted to do so herself if Lo Feng kills Lady Silver Moon, if only to save face for her clan.”

Lunalah was beginning to put the pieces together for herself. “That would place two Sect Leaders, one being a Warden, in sanctioned martial combat.”

“Indeed,” Ling Wei said. “And if Lo Feng were to defeat the Warden, he would be within his legal right to claim rule of Jurin Province for the Fire Bird Clan.” She then paused a moment, pulling up a map on her tablet. “And with you already having granted the rule of Xiang Xian province to the Fire Birds, to have them gain control of yet another province would place them in the majority control of territory across the planet. I do not have to tell you what that will do to the balance across the other sects.”

Lunalah released a sigh. She could already envision the complaints and requests for restitution and imperial intervention. “It’ll be chaos.”

“Hence why I thought that even such a small matter as this should be brought to your attention, your majesty.”

Lunalah nodded. “You have judged wisely, Ling Wei. This is a matter that could tumble out of control. When is this trial again?”

“In a few hours.”

“Remind me when it is about to start, I shall wish to audit the proceedings myself.”

“Shall I prepare your skiff?”

“Heavens no,” she said. “I would not want to be seen interfering with lawful proceedings prematurely. Even I am subject to the rule of my father through the courts. And me arriving in that backwater will draw far too much attention. The Warden is my legal representative. I will trust she will act in the best interests of the empire and not her clan, but I will observe from afar just in case.”

* * *

The entire bunker community was up before dawn.

They were gathered together to see me off like they had done countless times before.

But today was different.

Today they were saying goodbye to one of their own.

Kelsey embraced her mother for what seemed like five minutes straight as the older woman held back tears with a stilted laugh. The rest of the community then did the same, embracing Kelsey individually while giving her well wishes and words of wisdom. Some even gave her the odd gift request or two.

It’d been a whirlwind two days since our return from the second bunker. We’d left shortly after we’d recovered from our ordeal, which turned out to be a solid six hours of rest. After refueling a bit on what was left of my spirit potions, we made the trip home through the now empty tunnel, which turned out to be a heck of a lot faster than fighting our way in the first time.

We made it back to the bunker by dawn the next day and shared the good news of our victory with Harris and the rest of the community before both collapsing into comas after eating a crap load of food. The calories went to work while we slept and by the time Kelsey and I awoke about 24 hours later, we were completely transformed. The amount of Frenzy we’d both cultivated was off the charts, although we’d both processed it in different ways.

Kelsey’s transformation was far more physical, looking as if she had packed on another ten pounds of muscle and an inch of height to her frame. My advancements on the other hand were more in the metaphysical realm, with the Struggler and my Flame both undergoing a spiritual reformation.

I didn’t even realize it at first until Venja commented on it while I was visiting her in the spiritual realm. But I indeed felt stronger in both clarity of mind and purpose and my Flame was burning brighter than ever after advancing to the next stage of the [Death Mastery] technique.

But the rejoicing of both of our gains was short-lived as we immediately went to work helping the community finish clearing out the bunker and relocating them inside afterwards. It was hard work, but Harris’ leadership put everything in order. Just like with erecting the wall, his engineering mind split my and Kelsey’s labor so that we would have the most impact without tripping over each other’s toes.

In the end we had everything done in half a day and spent the rest commemorating the occasion with tributes to Jim and the fallen and a victory meal for Kelsey and I. That’s when I announced that I wouldn’t be heading back alone and would be taking Kelsey for her first visit to the city.

That started the waterworks from Mom, but after already trusting her daughter to defeat hordes of countless demon space monsters from beyond the stars, a visit to the city was like a trip to Disney World. In the end, Susan thanked me and once again entrusted her daughter within my care along with a strict set of rules.

She repeated them for everyone to hear once she’d finally finished hugging.

“Remember,” she said. “Not a word of English. And you do everything Max tells you. And no running off on your own. And don’t kill anyone!”

We all laughed at that, but with how strong Kelsey had grown, it was a real damn possibility.

“Another rule,” I added. “No flexing your strength beyond mortal capability. I’m yet to teach you how to mask your Frenzy as Qi.”

I pondered on that a moment and wondered just how I’d do that for Kelsey. Getting a sliver of core probably wouldn’t be a problem, but I wasn’t sure if she’d want to go the surgical route like I did.

Maybe jewelry could work.

Chicks did wear bellybutton rings and stuff.

“You have fun out there, Kelsey,” Harris said, shaking her hand. “After all you did, you two deserve some well needed R and R.”

“Thanks, Colonel,” Kelsey said and beamed with a smile.

“May the fates guide your path,” June said with a bow in perfectly accent-less Yee. “I cannot wait for my turn to visit.”

I smiled at her and spoke Yee in return. “Soon to come, June. I promise.”

It was a reminder that it wasn’t just the fact that Kelsey was a cultivator that made her able to make the visit to the city. It was her age. To get everyone to the city, I’d need my sect to be strong enough politically to withstand the backlash of seeing Terrans that should have been killed a decade ago, suddenly walking around alive.

Another goal to spur me along my path, I thought. As if I didn’t still have enough of them already.

But defeating I’xol’ukz and closing that gate was a big one.

I could breathe a whole lot easier now and focus on other things because of that. Like progressing through the Gold Bracket rankings and preparing for my duel with Fia. I smiled at just the thought of it. Much like Kelsey, I was looking forward to it all like a trip to Disney World myself.

We all said our final goodbyes and then Kelsey and I headed for the outskirts of the wall.

“I’m so freaking excited,” Kelsey said with a squeal. “Can’t believe this is finally happening!”

I chuckled. “Hey, like Harris said. You earned it.”

She then grinned at me. “Race you there?”

“Nah,” I said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll mess up your gains by shifting with a form. Hop on my back.” I then winked at her. “It’ll save you the embarrassment of losing to me.”

“Smart ass,” she said, snickering. She then clambered onto my back as I shifted with [Mark of the Giant] and [Mark of the Beast], growing nearly three feet in height.

“Oh, man,” Kelsey said, regaining her balance as I lifted her into the air. “This is going old-school style.”

“What?”

“The first time we did this, remember? I had to hang on for dear life.”

I laughed as I recalled the event all those months ago. “Yeah, we’ve both come a long way since then, Kelsey.”

She threw her arms about my neck to hold on and then suddenly I felt them tightened.

“Yo, what you doing? Trying to choke me out?”

“It’s called a hug, dumbass,” she said snarkily and then she paused, her tone softening and becoming more serious. “I know I probably don’t say it enough, but thank you, Max. For everything. You’re the best damn big brother I never had. I love you, man.”

My heart all but burst from my chest as she squeezed me tighter.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as my eyes welled.

“Alright, alight,” I said, patting her forearms. “I love you too, you little punk. Now cut that crap out before you have us both crying.”

“As if!” she said with a laugh, but I could hear her sniffle back some tears of her own.

“To the city, Max,” she cried out like a stagecoach conductor. “Giddyap, ya hear! Yah yah!”

I neighed like a horse and then broke into a sprint, enjoying the carefree laughter of my Berserker kid sister as I hammed it up like the true Chun that I was. I thanked the heavens for my growing family.

It couldn’t get much better than this, I thought.

At least, not until Fia finally joined my family as well.

* * *

Master Hei Dong sat within the small prison cell deep within the bowels of the arena.

Across from him, his wife, Rhi Dong, sat upon the cot with Fia, cradling the girl’s head in her lap. They had remained with Fia near constantly the last two days, staying with her from dawn till nightfall. Thankfully his influence had allowed him access. Even now the Imperial Guards had repositioned themselves to the far end of the hallway to give them privacy as a family.

As a family, he thought with chagrin. This could be their last moments as one.

Of all the places his family could have ended up in life, never would he have dreamed it would be in a prison cell like this. Fia looked as if she had barely slept. None of them had. What waking moments his wife spent outside the cell she was engaged in a desperate training regime. One that would somehow reverse thirty years of passive cultivation and the most rudimentary of martial training. He was certain Rhi knew her attempts were futile. The first day she had been filled with conviction and spite, but now it waned towards despair as the reality finally set in.

It had set in for them all really.

A quiet somber despair.

“I hear the Warden will be in attendance,” Fia said absently as she tumbled the quill in one hand. “Is that a good sign?”

Hei Dong didn’t know how to answer her. He didn’t know himself really, but he feigned positivity. “I would take it as so…”

But he couldn’t think of what else to add to give it any further credibility. He focused on the quill instead. He had gambled so much on that one small object and now he had lost nearly everything for it. And for the life of him, he still didn’t fully understand why.

“Fia,” he said. “That quill. Why did you ask to keep it? It is the root of our misfortune.”

“Should that not be reason enough alone, to keep it?” she said.

He squinted at her, bemused. He could still sense the conflict in her Qi. “What connection do you have to it? What do you know about it ending up there?”

Fia sat up from her mother’s lap. “I truly don’t know how or why, Father. But it is what it is. The fates have spoken, and my destiny has been cut off.”

“Don’t you say that,” Rhi Dong said, cradling Fia while kissing her upon the brow. “I’ve been practicing. Your fate is not sealed so long as I draw breath.”

Hei Dong wished she had said something different.

For that was exactly the future he now saw.

A future where both his wife and his daughter were dead.

“Have you written to Hein?” Fia asked.

“Not as yet,” Hei Dong said.

“When you do, tell him that I love him.”

“You shall tell him yourself,” Rhi Dong said. “We will get through this just fine.”

Hei Dong smiled to mirror his wife’s optimism, but deep down his soul was already empty inside—a void that not even anger or hate could now fill. The slow relegation that reality now brought, had ensured that all it could now be filled with…was despair.

“Master Hei Dong,” a voice said, and he looked through the cell bars to see the stadium manager, Master Lein Cho, standing patiently outside. “I do apologize for the interruption, but I’ve come to inform you that it is now three hours until the start of the trial. I can permit you to stay perhaps an hour more before you must vacate.”

“I understand,” Hei Dong said. “Thank you, Master Lein Cho, for the past few days. It has afforded our family much needed time.”

He nodded almost sheepishly in response, unable to say anything further.

As the man left, the darkness of despair swallowed Hei Dong’s soul again.

What indeed could any of them say?

Or anyone to such a cruel and horrid fate?

He looked up at the ceiling as tears formed in his eyes.

This would be the final hour he would spend with his family.

Only the fates of heaven could save them now.