Path of the Berserker

AS THE SQUARE got back to normal, Jian Yi and I made our way to the Official Head Quarters of the Terran Sect. Despite the fancy name, it was little more than one of the empty apartments on the bottom floor of the complex, which in itself was the dilapidated remains of a Days Inn hotel. The empty room was converted into an office by removing the bed, tearing out the kitchenette and installing a couple of tables and chairs from the square.

Total ghetto style but it was getting the job done.

As we approached the office, I could see the line was flowing out the door already. It’d only been about a week since I’d beaten Hein and taken over the square as landlord, but the word of the newly established Terran Sect was drawing people from the neighboring residential blocks within the Native Housing District. There had to be over a hundred people alone lined up to join.

They were mostly Terrans as expected, but I was surprised to see a few offworld commoners looking to join as well. People of low rank and status with no real claim within the empire. I chose to accept them all. Regardless of where they hailed from, all of the people in the line bent at the waist as I approached, giving me courteous bows of respect.

I waved away the attention, embarrassed, totally unused to it. But after a nudge from Jian Yi, I returned their bows with one of my own, my slightly less deep bow signifying me as their leader.

“Will never get used to this,” I whispered to Jian Yi.

She chuckled. “You’ve earned it as the Founder, Leader, and Warden of the Terran Sect,” she said. “Not to mention being the Iron Bull.”

The moniker I’d earned in the Iron Bracket tournament was now a pseudonym. I’d concealed my identity behind it in the ring before, but now, with the ability to fully mask my hidden Berserker art as well as my front as being the sole member of the Furious Lightning Sect, there was no reason to not let the entire city know just who I was.

And how powerful I had become.

While I loathed the outward attention for it, I was very appreciative of the lemonade the crowd produced based on my title alone, cultivating it to create more Frenzy to store within my Dantian. Shamefully, over the last few days this was the only source of Frenzy I could muster, being far too busy trying to set up the sect, run the administration of renting the housing block, and also prepare for my return trip to the wild.

Luckily, I had a lot of help.

As we entered the cramped confines of the Head Quarters apartment, said help was already busy at work, namely my sister, Yu Li, and my friend Gui Zu. Yu Li was sat at the desk, head down as she registered the payments of the applicants in a ledger. Next to her, Gui Zu collected the money while also bouncing Yu Li’s six-month-old daughter, Su Ling, on his lap.

I wasn’t certain if they were an official couple yet or not, but they looked damn close to me. Gui Zu gave me a crooked-toothed smile as I entered, his massive frame barely fitting within the small chair.

“How’d it go, chief? All sorted out?”

I grimaced with a shrug. “Had to kill one of the fools. So it’ll probably just bring more of them coming sooner or later.”

“I’ll get to printing more self-defense declarations then,” Jian Yi said with a grin, moving to the back-office area that was once the kitchenette. “Speaking of which, don’t forget you already have a number of court appearances set for next month.”

“What?” I said. “Seriously?”

My time was evaporating by the second. I wouldn’t have time to focus on any cultivating at all at this rate.

“Yes, seriously,” Jian Yi echoed me. “Granted, most of them dropped their claims once they found out you were the Iron Bull, but you still have to face one or two in the ring. But don’t worry, they were high-tier Foundation Realm at best. No Core Realm challengers so far. Which is probably a good thing.”

Yu Li, who was Hispanic by birth, with auburn hair and kind eyes looked up to give me a smile. “Not a big deal even if they were though, right, big brother?”

She said it tongue and cheek with playful grin, causing both Jian Yi and Gui Zu to laugh.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said with mock chagrin, before looking over her shoulder at the ledger. “So how many sign-ups do we have so far?”

“Nearly fifty,” she said. “And that’s just this morning. We’re clocking in at around two thousand total.”

My mind spun for a moment. “And all of them have paid?”

Yu Li pointed to the small chest that was sat behind the desk between herself and Gi Zu. It was already a quarter filled with copper Wen and even a few half Taels of silver. The annual Imperial Fee for a sect member was one silver Tael. Yu Li had wisely suggested we add a quarter Tael on top of that for the Sect’s revenue. The rough math had us sitting at 500 Taels of silver already.

And the line for members was only growing.

“Holy crap,” I said. “It’s no wonder people are getting pissed off that we exist.”

Sects made big money.

“It’s like you said,” Jian Yi called out from the back. “Strength in numbers.”

“No kidding,” Gui Zu said with a laugh. “You and I will need to make another trip to the bank soon, Brother Max. I’m sure there will be some opportunistic goons who’ll try to make a grab for this much silver.”

I nodded. “Yeah, no doubt.”

“People are still asking to relocate here as well,” Yu Li said, while still transcribing in the ledger. “Since I cut the rent in half, everyone is looking for a cheaper place to live. Maybe with the extra income from the Sect fees we can purchase the next block over.”

I smiled. Yu Li was always thinking ahead. Since I’d made her the landlord of D Block, she’d been keeping track of the rents with the same meticulousness as she did the sect finances. She was always top of the class back in school and it warmed my heart to see her putting her skills to good use.

“So how much money do we have altogether now?”

“Here, take a look,” Yu Li said, whipping out another ledger and handing it to me.

I looked at the page of text and numbers written in Yee.

Sect Finances

(In Taels of Silver)

Intake

Less Imperial Fee

Total

1.25

1

Members

2113

2641.25

(2113)

528.25

Taels

D Block Rents

Monthly Rent

Maintenance & Admin

Apartments Filled

97

0.5

(0.1)

38.8

Apartments Vacant

3

(0.1)

-0.3

38.5

Taels per month

My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. It was no wonder the whole town was pissed off with envy. We were rolling in silver! And not to mention that as owner of D Block, I was now personally making close to 40 Taels a month and that was after giving all of my neighbors a 50% break in their rent.

Sure as hell beats two Taels a month as a handler, I thought.

But as much as that was empowering, there was only one thing on my mind to spend the sect money on at the moment. “Well with that much money, we should easily be able to afford the supplies I need.”

“What supplies?” Yu Li asked with a raised brow.

I then began to rattle off everything I could think of that the Terrans out in the wild would need. Vegetables, rice, seeds, livestock, tools.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Yu Li said. “What’s all this for?”

I glanced at the line of people spilling out of the doorway, all within earshot. Now probably wasn’t the best time and place to explain that there was a secret enclave of Terrans who had survived the invasion, hunkered down in a bunker out in the wilderness two hundred miles away. Even when I did finally tell my inner circle, I’d have to swear them to secrecy. There was no telling what the empire might do if that kind of information got out. I was just about to open my mouth to give a fake explanation when one of the residents suddenly burst into the office, out of breath.

“Sect Leader!” he shouted. “More challengers!”

I let out a groan, but inwardly I was grateful for the interruption. “What is it? More low-tier clans looking to beat their chests?”

“No.” The man shook his head. “Not low tier. They’re from the ruling clan. It’s the Silver Leaf Sect!”

* * *

I steadied myself with the conviction of [Struggler’s Resolve] as I made my way slowly through the gathering crowd and back towards the square. The fact that representatives from the Silver Leaf Clan had come was not surprising. In fact, it was quite expected. After humiliating Young Master Hein and breaking his beloved magical sword, a response was inevitable.

What was surprising, however, was that it had taken them over a week to show up.

Which meant they weren’t taking things lightly.

They had waited to get their act together before coming to find me. Which meant they had likely involved higher-ups within the clan. Would Hein’s father show up demanding my head? Or some royal aunt perhaps? Maybe even the almighty Warden of Jurin Province, the great Lady Silver Tear herself would show up.

Just the thought of that woman and how she cruelly left my parents and sister to die a grisly death some twelve years ago set my blood on fire—the spiritual root of my Dao stirring my Flame. The idea of someone that powerful showing up truly put the [Odds Against Me].

As the thought steeped it conjured even more Frenzy from the technique and I siphoned it to fill my Dantian, further fortifying my core. While I hadn’t had much time to cultivate over the last week, I had made some advancement in my progression.

I had at least given official names to my new lightning-axe techniques.

Although they weren’t that creative, I had to admit. Most of them were modifications of the original technique names with the word lightning added to them. [Wrath of a Thousand Slain Souls] and [Lightning Splits the Towering Oak] were a couple of the exceptions. And while the names were cool, I still needed to sit down and refine the techniques more.

But there was no time for any of that now.

Whoever I would face, I was bound to have to use them to the fullest if I wanted to survive long enough to kill them.

As the crowd parted before me, the members of the Silver Leaf Sect came into view.

Black robes with silver trim formed two ranks of cultivators, their faces hidden behind black veils, not unlike those worn by the Enforcers. But these weren’t Enforcers. By their casual martial stances, I could sense they had years of experience and training, possible High Tier Foundation Realm practitioners all.

As I stepped into the square, the dozen or so of them rapidly changed formation like something out of a parade, forming two lines with a gap in between. Standing in the gap was a tall middle-aged man, with tan skin and slightly pointed ears, a shortly trimmed beard that looked to be dyed a bright red. A Dharmian. One of the many alien races the Empire had subjugated and assimilated into the Yee dynasty over the millennia.

A fate that I had now sworn to not let happen to the Earth.

Upon his head the man wore a square hat, marking his status as a barrister, or what we might have called a lawyer back in the day on Earth. Behind him were four men hauling a sedan chair on their shoulders, the completely sealed carriage concealing whoever was inside.

My heartbeat sped.

To be travelling like that, it had to be a big shot indeed.

The Dharmian man bowed to me formally and then spoke in a tone that sounded like the equivalent of old English.

“This One is known as Lui Wi, legal counsel to the Silver Leaf Clan and appointed litigator to this matter. Are you the one known as Max Chun?”

I widened my stance but didn’t bow, flexing my Qi-accented core at him instead. “I am.”

The man blinked, no doubt sensing my power, but he held his nerve and produced a piece of paper from his robes and began reading from it.

“Max Chun,” he said in a loud voice, drawing the attention of everyone in the square. “You are hereby served this writ for the destruction of property and assault, namely the assaulting of one Hein Dong, Young Master of the Dong family and the destruction of the artifact known as the Luminous Silver Tear Fang. The charges against you can be settled by two means, payment of the artifact, which is valued at 10,000 spirit stones, or submitting to your death at the hands of Young Master Hein.”

“Death?” I let out a laugh. “At his hands? You’ve got to be jo—”

A jab to my ribs cut me off as Jian Yi stepped by my side. “This One is known as Jian Yi, legal counsel for the Terran Sect. Your writ is misplaced, honorable barrister. Max Chun was not acting on his own accord, but in defense of the Terran Sect in his role as Warden. Thusly, your writ has no merit.”

“I see,” Lui Wi said, unfazed. “So you do not deny that the events did in fact take place? Very good.”

Jian Yi opened her mouth, but nothing came out, lost for words.

“Shit,” she said.

That didn’t sound good.

“What happened? Did he just pull a fast one on you or something?”

Jian Yi swallowed visibly. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’m not a real barrister yet, you know.”

Shit…

“Max Chun,” he said, reading from another set of papers he just pulled from his robes. “Warden, Leader and Founder of the Terran Sect. According to the admissions by your own counsel, you attacked the Silver Leaf Clan by assaulting Young Master Hein Dong and destroying a clan artifact in your capacity as Warden.”

Holy shit…he was using our own clan defense technique against us.

“It was in self-defense!” Jian Yi shouted. “Young Master Hein made an unjust demand against our sect.”

“Oh?” Lui Wi said with a smirk. “According to what writ?”

He then paused, waiting for an answer.

I looked to Jian Yi, but she didn’t seem to have one.

What the hell?

I nudged her. “Yo, aren’t you going to say something?”

“It was a rhetorical question,” Jian Yi whispered. “There is no writ.”

“Huh? But what about that Junior Magistrate guy, Hui Long? Didn’t he make one?”

“No. He officiated the duel so Hein wouldn’t pull any bullshit, but we never went through the courts to file an actual writ. He wouldn’t have the power to do so anyway as just a junior magistrate. And this guy knows that.”

Shit...

They really did take their time to go and lawyer up on us.

“No answer I see,” Lui Wi said, smiling self-righteously. “I shall then continue with the reading of the writ. As this was an unprovoked attack on a sovereign clan, by the powers of the Imperial Magistrate who officiated this writ, the Terran Sect is hereby charged with the repayment of value of the lost artifact and retribution for the assault. This equates to 10,000 spirit stones for the artifact and the execution of 100 members of the Terran Sect for the bodily harm suffered by young master Hein.”

Gasps of fear went up from the crowd.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“The Silver Leaf Sect has however graciously also offered terms of settlement,” Liu Wi continued. “The terms are that you, Max Chun, subject yourself to execution at the hands of Young Master Hein after formally dissolving the Terran Sect.”

My stomach soured at the thought, my Flame burning with ire.

More cries of anguish and confusion came from the crowd.

“This is bullshit,” I said, turning to Jian Yi. “Is this all legal?”

She shrugged, her brow creased with worry and self-doubt. “I don’t know. Probably.”

“How do you plead to this writ, Max Chun?” Lui Wi said, folding the papers and returning them to his robes. “Will you accept the writ and pay the penalty? Or do you wish to settle for the gracious terms of settlement offered? Your choice.”

Heated anger stirred within my gut as the bastard leered back at me, thinking me in a checkmate.

It was a reminder of everything I truly hated about the empire.

The crooked laws and the cunning assholes who wielded them like weapons against the weak and powerless.

But screw that.

Screw all of it!

I wasn’t weak and I was far from powerless now.

This bastard wasn’t going to get the satisfaction of a victory this day.

“I choose neither!” I shouted back at him with [Struggler’s Resolve] and the strength of my iron-willed Frenzy affected even my neighbors in the square, their fear receding as they looked to me with hope in their hearts. “I will challenge this writ in the courts of battle. Name any challenger and I, Max Chun, the Iron Bull will face them as Warden of the Terran Sect! Upon pain of defeat and death, I will defend us from these bullshit charges!”

That got a roar of thunderous applause from the crowd, feeding me with fresh Frenzy, but the bastard Lui Wi merely smiled again, like I’d just fallen into another trap.

“Very well,” he said. “Then you should know who your challenger shall be.”

As if waiting to make an entrance, the doors to the sedan’s carriage opened and a cultivator clad in fine silver robes stepped out hovering on thin air. She was exquisitely beautiful, sharp elegant features, the face of a goddess with short platinum hair, cut in a stylish bob. Three Jian Blades hovered behind her, undulating power.

And as her silver eyes found mine, my heart nearly stopped.

“Mistress of the Silver Shadows and first daughter of the Royal Dong Family, 47th Heir to the Royal Silver Leaf Clan and slayer of awakened spirit beasts, the Lady Silver Light shall meet your challenge in the ring, Max Chun!”

My mouth went dry as I stared back at her.

How the hell was she here?

Why was she here?

“Fia?”

The woman known as Silver Light hovered before me, literally looking down her perfect slender nose at me. My mind was still struggling to figure out why she of all people had come—a woman who I adored and could perhaps even have loved.

Then finally she spoke, giving me my answer.

“You injured my brother and destroyed my father’s sword,” she said coldly, pure malevolence in her soul as she glared back at me. “And now you will pay for your crimes with your life.”