CC3 -CH13- (Patreon)

The man who had clearly demonstrated a willingness to attack the crown prince, as well as the audience who would be behind Ash, walked off toward the side.

Ash finally felt some weight lift off his shoulders.

He’d managed to put the brakes on everything and the worst possible situations had been dodged. Ash would have to be careful in the future to make sure this wouldn’t blow up later.

To him, it felt like he’d just barely skirted away from the end on the edge of a knife.

We should learn more about him. Clearly there’s something very wrong here and —

Just as Ash was about to dismiss his chains as well as the Dao, he saw the man he’d been fighting against turn and attack. A blast of Qi-energy shooting across the room and blasting into the king, then Ju’s great-uncle.

Before Ash could even react, the man had already attacked.

Life-Qi scorched the air and struck the king in the middle of his chest. A second after hitting him, the man was mostly vaporized. Leaving behind only his head, shoulders, and everything below his stomach.

The middle of his body simply ceased to exist.

Turning his hand with the attack, the beam of life-Qi began to drag and slash it’s way through those who supported the king. It also began to cut into those who supported the crown-prince.

Ash threw out a wall of solid Qi from his palm. It had a triangle attached to the back of it so that it would remain upright even if struck. The whole thing was angled slightly backward.

A second before his impromptu shield landed, Ju’s great-uncle was obliterated. His head and most of his shoulders and one arm becoming nothing at all.

Then the beam struck Ash’s wall and was deflected upward.

At the same time this was going on, Ash opened up a portal in his middle Dantian. He was betting on the fact that he’d need everything and everyone, that include Locke.

Biyu and Liu jumped to the sides of Ash and readied themselves. Jia stood next to Ju along with Chunhua.

Na and Tala had dashed away to line up on each side of the crown prince.

They were protecting their faction and it’s leaders.

If this was an all out attack, the Sheng alliance would need people to lean into and on in the aftermath. Especially now that the king was already dead.

Locke burst free from the portal and came into being in the center of the room next to the Qi wall.

The beam had already been stopped for one reason or another and the enemy was assembling together. Their people arranging themselves in what almost looked to be a formation.

They’ve practiced this.

They likely didn’t expect it to happen today, but they practiced for it regardless. We only accelerated things by showing up when we did.

“Seems like it!” Locke shouted as she dove into the ranks of those supporting Tyan-yu. She immediately began engaging with the closest cultivator.

At the same time, those cutlivator’s who’d been supporting the late king also joined in. The whole thing was now a two versus one battle of factions.

From what Ash could see though, it wasn’t going to be easy for them. They had people to protect and only had a handful of people.

Tyan-yu and Hou were already retreating out, leaving only their combatants behind.

“Na, Tala, take Ju and the crown prince out of here. Liu, Biyu, provide them with support,” ordered Ash. “Jia, Chunhua, with me, we’re after Tyan-yu and Hou.

“Locke? Do whatever you think is best, I trust you. Just make sure you keep one of those people alive for questioning.”

He didn’t need to emphasize “those people” very hard for her to likely know what he meant. They needed to know who these life-Qi users were and what they were up to.

Realizing that he wasn’t sure how much of the inherent assistance Locke provided would be available, now that she was out in the real world, Ash tried to call up an arrow to chase after Tyan-yu. He imagined he could follow the man with Qi sensing but having the arrow to guide him would help.

From nowhere the arrow he was hoping for appeared. It was guiding him out a different door than the one Tyan-yu had exited from.

Ash didn’t question it, he instead turned and began sprinting in the direction of the arrow. He wouldn’t doubt Locke or her dedication to him.

Except the arrow was pointing to what looked to be a wall.

Fine. I’ll just… pretend I’m a big strong fool with a name like Vince and —

Ash lost his train of thought as he came right up to the wall.

Pushing off with Spring Step with both feet Ash enforced his arms and put them across his face. Covering his face, he closed his eyes and turned his head.

He didn’t stop moving.

Going through the wall with the speed and force he had behind him Ash blew it apart. Sending fragments of boards, caulk, and what looked like nails or pegs flying.

Exiting out the other said, Ash could see Hou rushing off down a path. The arrow was pointing in a similar direction though just a bit to the right.

Which meant Tyan-yu was now split off from his son.

“Jia, go after Hou. Bind him up and bring him back,” Ash said and pointed at the young man while starting to run toward Tyan-yu. “Chunhua, with me, we’re after Tyan-yu.”

There was two agreements to his words, but Ash didn’t catch what they actually said. He was entirely focused on ending this here and now.

Ahead of him, he could see a great number of men with spears, wearing armor, and looking very curious at Ash.

“Tyan-yu Langye has killed the king!” Ash shouted at the top of his lungs, pointing at the man in question. “Tyan-yu has killed his brother and his uncle! Stop the traitor!”

A Qi backed shout was very loud Ash found in that moment.

Even the echo that came back to him felt like someone was shouting almost inside of his head. It was obvious that all the guards around the mansion had heard it as well.

Quite a few had their hands to the sides of their heads, as if the shout had been too much. Others were starting to stumble in one direction or another.

There was a third group, however, that was a surprise to Ash.

Royal guards had begun attacking other guards. Not hesitating to immediately stab them with their weapons.

Very much planned out in advance.

Damn it all.

Rushing through the suddenly murderous royal guards, Ash didn’t pay them any mind. He didn’t have time or the luxury to worry about them.

He needed to run Tyan-yu down here and now.

If the man managed to escape, it’d cause a number of problems later.

Having a traitor executed now would be much easier to handle than a rebellious leader later. This was as much a surprise to them, as it was to everyone else.

Giving them any time at all would be allowing them to build and consolidate.

“Chunhua, don’t wait on me if you can catch him,” Ash said even as he sprinted hard. He was even activating Spring Step with almost every single footfall, trying to boost himself onward.

A sudden whooshing sound came to life behind him. It was so loud that it felt like his ears were going to bleed.

Then Ash was launched up into the air.

Or more accurately, carried up into the air.

Chunhua had her arms beneath him and was rapidly ascending upward into the sky. They were moving rather fast and gaining altitude quickly.

“Just in case this fails and something happens,” Chunhua shouted over the sound of the wind. “I really like having sex! Thank you for everything!”

Fucking death flags.

Why do they all throw death flags about as easily as one might marshmallows.

Before Ash could say anything, Chunhua spun to one side and arched her back. They both began to spear toward the ground at incredible speed.

Ash even saw Tyan-yu right before they simply crashed into the ground beside him.

An up-swelling of earth had caught them within a bed of soft dirt. Taking away almost all of the force of the impact and shrinking into the ground.

Before Ash could process what’d happened, Chunhua had released him and jumped off toward Tyan-yu. The man had managed to make it considerably further than Ash had expected.

Must be using some type of item or ability. He didn’t seem to have any Qi inside him though. Nor did he have a Dantian.

Getting out of the clearly magical made dirt bed Ash set off after the two of them.

Up ahead he could see Tyan-yu slip past a group of cultivators and royal guards. They’d made a small gap for the man to get through.

“I’ll handle them and catch up, keep after him!” commanded Ash.

Chunhua jumped into the air with a twirling motion. Her uniform fluttered about her as she streaked through the air. Elemental Qi of various types trailed after her as she buzzed along like a firework.

Ash needed to put himself between her and those who wanted to stop them from chasing Tyan-yu. If he couldn’t, they’d just run off after her.

Pushing six or seven times the amount of Qi into his legs, Ash jumped forward and activated Spring Step.

Like something out of a silly superhero movie, he traveled a great distance in the air. Going right over the top of all those would be pursuers and landing on the other side.

Stumbling several steps, Ash spun around and swept his arm out.

A fan of Qi Chains lashed out from him. Multiple black balls slicing through the air and hitting people.

Ash flung out his other arm and launched a second set of the Qi attacks.

He quickly brushed his hands against his chest and attacked all the new chains there. Adding them to the existing ones from the spar previously.

Speaking of, that man must have quite the reserve of Qi. I’ve been pulling on him this whole time and he’s acting like it’s more akin to a mosquito bothering him.

Apparently the drain I’m putting on him is insignificant compared to his capacity.

All the royal guards that the Qi chains had latched onto, dropped to the ground. Only to die a second later.

They had so little Qi in them, that it was more akin to blowing out a candle when it came to citizens. There was no ability for them to resist the drain of his Qi chains.

Even as the guards hit the ground, seven Cultivators moved forward to go for Ash.

Several of them were throwing Qi based ranged attacks while the other four went in for close combat. There wouldn’t be much Ash could do as he actually needed to keep them here so Chunhua could stay after Tyan-yu.

The flow of this particular scuffle was hectic and fast. Chaotic due to the efforts of the individuals being put forward in different ways.

It was all chaos to Ash.

Taking in the first ranged attack to reach him, he simply redirected it into the closest Cultivator. For the second attack, he did the same.

Unfortunately he couldn’t really focus on the third attack as the other two Cultivators who rushed him were now too close. They were demanding his attention with their fists and feet.

Intercepting one fist at the forearm, Ash stepped to the side and dodged down low, ducking under a ball of fire with a phantom fist in the middle of it.

Weaving back down the other way Ash came up under a kick and slammed his elbow into the groin of the Cultivator.

Grabbing the back of the man as he hunched over his likely shattered family jewels, Ash pulled him in front of himself.

Several ranged Qi attacks slammed into the man. Causing him to scream, try to jerk away from Ash’s hands, even as more attacks struck him.

When it seemed the attacks were done, and that the other Cultivators were closing in one again, Ash shoved his shield at the closest would be attacker.

Attaching all the chains to himself he’d gained, Ash threw out another wave of them at his foes. He couldn’t help but notice they were considerably larger this time.

It seemed that as his Qi drain grew, the amount of Qi he could throw into the attacks grew.

In his head, he could only call it exponential so long as his opponents had Qi to give him. That this was something that could continue as long as Ash wished it.

I’m a perpetual motion machine.

Momentum, machine.

And I’m looking at this wrong. This isn’t six or seven pieces of momentum. It’s just… one large one.

One that isn’t on a single axis but can swing in different ways and different speeds. Like… those desk toys that spin around and around with different orbits.

Or how the engine of a car can be cycling really high, despite being in a relatively low state of movement, yet it’s one piece together.

As soon as Ash thought the words there was a crunching noise from his Qi-sea, followed by an immediate and drastic shift in his middle Dantian.

He didn’t have to look to know that his Dao had grown.

That in recognizing multiple individual things with their own momentum could make up a larger machine with it’s own momentum, his control had grown.

At this moment, he could feel the momentum of this battle and it’s individual components.

Then in the next moment, Ash felt that the battle he was in, was only part of a larger one that was ongoing throughout Xing city.

Then the county.

And realm as a whole.

This was an attack on the king and his realm to take it over. The momentum from this event was far greater than he’d given it credit for.

Unfortunately, Ash had no control over the realm.

No the county, or even the city.

His reach extended to those he could touch at the moment.

The momentum he could influence was the battle he was in. This was his point of control.

But… if I was to be seated at a point where I could control the Sheng alliance, likely Sheng street, could I effect the momentum of the entire alliance?

How deeply does my Dao go?

Is it limited by the amount of Qi I have?

So many questions and no way to get actual answers.

Let’s see what we can.

Ash turned all the Qi he was receiving through the chains out and dumped it into his Dao directly. Filling it up with everything he was receiving that he couldn’t actively hold.

There was a deep clunk like noise, followed by the world of a few seconds from now reeling out endlessly. The longer it went into the future the deeper the demands on the Qi went.

Until Ash could see an entire minute ahead.

Where he could see that he’d defeated all the cultivators who’d arranged themselves against him were dead or down. That Ash had taken off after Chunhua and Tyan-yu.

But he was too late.

Tyan-yu had activated some type of treasure and killed Chunhua outright, then fled off into the city. Leaving no trace of himself behind.

Ash wasn’t about to let that happen.

Not to his sorceress of extreme talent.

Ripping away the Qi he’d been feeding his Dao, Ash did something different. He reversed the Qi he was receiving and slipped in a small needle like attack from his Dao.

Last time he’d done something like this he’d needed physical contact.

This time, he used their own Qi against them.

Ash felt it when the Qi chains fell away at the exact same time their lower Dantian was crippled. Their Qi-sea spilling free in a wild torrent after his attack had struck true.

Not waiting he turned and then dumped half of his entire Qi-sea into Spring Step, then launched himself into the air. He’d aimed himself into the directly that he believed he needed to go, but he had no way to be certain.

Rapidly gaining height Ash was able to look to the point that he’d seen where Chunhua lay dead. Neither she nor Tyan-yu had reached the point yet thankfully.

Orienting himself even as he flew through the air, Ash was preparing for his landing and going to the point that Chunhua would fall immediately.

When he hit the ground he felt the tiles beneath his feet crack and shatter. Though there didn’t seem to be any damage to his feet, legs, or hips. Everything felt entirely normal.

“It’s the constant pull of Qi. Normally this happens much later to cultivators, but your body is very Qi strengthened,” Locke said to his unspoken thoughts. “Happens when you sleep. I gather up most of it for the Hall and myself, but some of it’s still going to reach you, and seep into you. Nothing to worry about. It’s a benefit.”

Ash smirked at that and felt a great deal of relief. If Locke was already back in his head, that meant she’d already cleaned up and handled everything that was going on where this had all kicked off.

“Yes, it’s all done. I’m rather pleased to see you were worried about me. Your loyal wife has done all that you asked of her. I captured two of their number, though I wasn’t able to take their leader into captivity.

“He… blew himself up. Literally. He took in all his Qi and forcefully pushed it out through his meridian’s and Dantian in a fraction of a second. It was very messy.”

Tyan-yu came around the side of a planter in the next moment. He was fiddling with what looked like an iron tube with a dragon’s mouth on the end of it.

His focus was put entirely into the object in his hands and behind him and he didn’t notice Ash at all.

At least, right up until he practically ran into him.

Snatching the item from Tyan-yu’s hands Ash backhanded Tyan-yu, sending the man to the ground. Hitting the stones, Tyan-yu rolled twice, then laid still on the ground.

Moaning, shuddering, and acting as if he’d just fallen from the sky.

“To be fair, you just broke his jaw and dislodged several teeth. That wasn’t a gentle slap you gave him.”

Whatever.

He would have killed Chunhua.

The sorceress he’d just thought of came around the corner in the next instant. Her hat and veil had been lost at some point.

Her eyes found Tyan-yu, then him, and a wide smile spread across her face.

Ash returned the smile and moved to join her.

They’d need to run down Jia next and see how it went with Hou, then double back to where Ju and the crown prince might be.

This was by no means over.