STNS: Chapter 559 (Patreon)

It was a several day walk to reach the Heavenly White Tiger Clan’s city, though Wu Jian used the term lightly. They had traveled through a dense forest and found themselves standing before a massive cliff. Down below were vast circles of hide tents, bone-framed yurts, and open-air longhalls lay sprawled out like the twisting strings of a spider’s thread. They spread as far as the eye could see. If Wu Jian didn’t know any better, he’d say it looked like a hundred separate communities spaced several li apart.

“Do you see that structure over there?” asked Töri Qiang, pointing to something off in the distance.

Wu Jian turned in the direction indicated. “You mean that fortress-like structure?”

“Yes. That’s our destination.”

Töri Qiang had become very docile after his beating. He didn’t even need to be beaten more than once. This didn’t mean Wu Jian trusted him. Cowards were are cunning. Unlike the powerful and brave, who recklessly charge first into every situation and is willing to risk death for his goal, the coward’s greatest drive is to live. The brace warrior charges headlong into danger, the coward studies angles, weaknesses, and exploits them mercilessly. Wu Jian knew this man would betray them at a moment’s notice if he thought it would benefit him.

While Wu Jian and his companions flew down the cliff, Töri Qiang and the kids ran down the cliff wall. He’d never seen anyone do that before. However, he immediately realized what they were doing.

They’re using qi!

The tiger cubs were using qi to cling to the walls. He had never seen anything like this before, not in all his time as a cultivator, but he could see not only the practical application of it but also how he could use it himself as a training exercise. The bottom of the feet were one of the hardest places to direct qi to. This was because there weren’t many accupoints located there. Being able to direct qi to that location in order to cling to a vertical surface was actually extremely difficult and would make for a great exercise. Wu Jian would add this to his training regimen.

On a side note, Wu Jian had gotten relatively close to all the kids. They would often play with him whenever they stopped for a break. He wondered if it was because they smelled Báihǔ on him. 

They reached the ground and continued to move. It only took a day to reach the first village. Just as he thought, the village looked less like an actual village and more like a moveable settlement. All of their architecture was designed to be easily dismantled, carried, and rebuilt. There wasn’t any form of traditional farming because the soil was too thin and scarred by countless battles, but the Heavenly White Tiger Clan did raise several types of animals; it was mostly horned cattle, thunder-goats, and long-furred aurochs, which were all adapted to survive in the harsh plains.

Their group also got a lot of attention from the residents whenever they passed through a city, though he did not blame them. A group of humans traveling with one of their hunters and a pack of their children was definitely odd. He doubted any of them had ever seen such a sight.

“The land here is very different from what I’m used to,” Hou Jingshu said after they had stopped to rest.

Because they were with a pack of tiger cubs, they stopped quite frequently. That was one of the reasons they didn’t fly as well. The kids couldn’t fly and needed naps quite often. At night, they would set up tents, but during the day, they would simply laze about on logs and eat whatever food they made--oftentimes from animals they hunted on the plains and in the forests.

“That is because you humans are soft and enjoy your luxuries,” Töri Qiang said. Wu Jian glared at him, and he flinched. “I-it’s true! And I don’t just mean humans. All of you other races are too used to living a life of luxury. Us Heavenly White Tigers are the only race that lives as nature intended us to. Our society is not based on comfort, but survival and strength. Our homes are temporary, food is earned through blood, and the environment is constantly testing us.”

“The environment?” Zhou Lihua asked, tilting her head. “I haven’t seen anything about the environment that would be particularly dangerous…”

“That is because we have been lucky,” Töri Qiang informed her. “I doubt we’ll run into any dangerous beasts since you all are so powerful, but the weather can be dangerous even to Realization Realm cultivators such as yourselves.”

Wu Jian did not know what kind of weather could be so dangerous, but he found out the very next day when a storm swept through the plains--and not just any storm. Qi lightning raced through the sky overhead, then struck the ground with so much power that it felt like the earth might shatter. Even though the lightning strike was from a distance of over a dozen li, it was so powerful that he felt it rattle his bones. They weren’t even close to the storm yet, but already wind, rain, and sleet was pelting their bodies.

“Shit!” Töri Qiang swore. “Of all the times to be caught in a Qi Storm!” He turned to them as rain pelted his face. “We need to get out of here!”

“I see. Qi storms,” Wu Meiying murmured.

“I’ve heard of these before,” Zhou Lihua said in silent awe as the wind whipped her long hair into a frenzy. “They’re said to be natural disasters. Not all of them are dangerous to cultivators, but depending on how powerful the storm is, they can kill or even cripple Realization Realm cultivators.”

Qi Storms were natural disasters born from excess spiritual energy clashing in the atmosphere. They were exceedingly rare on the Xaio Continent, but on the Da Continent, where magical beasts reign and qi saturates every stone and blade of grass, the land would often build up more power than it could reasonably contain. When that balance ruptured, the heavens themselves crackled with violent energy--birthing storms unlike any normal weather.

This particular storm looked bad. Even from a distance, Wu Jian could sense the spatial fluctuations in the qi lightning. He’d heard that particularly strong qi lightning could even tear apart a person’s meridians and dantian.

“What are you guys doing?! Hurry up!” Töri Qiang shouted.

However, where there was danger, there was also opportunity.

“Mei, take everyone someplace safe,” Wu Jian said after a moment.

Wu Meiying paused, then slowly nodded. “Very well. I have already located a cave not far from here where I can take everyone to shelter the storm.”

“Hey! What’s going on?” asked Töri Qiang.

“Don’t worry about it,” Shuchang said. “It’s just Wu Jian being Wu Jian.”

“I don’t know what that means! Someone explain this to me!!!”

***

Wu Jian walked through the storm. Lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled. The ground was struck not far from where he stood and lightning swept over the area as though electricity was dancing from iron particle to iron particle in the ground. He wondered if this area was perhaps infused with iron because of all the blood that had been spilled.

He soon found what he was looking for in this storm of lightning, hail, and sleet. It took longer than he would have liked. However, as he looked at the large mountain with its spire-like peak, he felt a brief moment of satisfaction before bursting forward. Channeling qi into his feet, he launched himself at the mountain, then began running up it. He slipped several times. It was not only hard to keep a constant, steady flow of qi to his feet, but the rain caused differences in friction. He was forced to constantly readjust how much qi he sent to his feet. It was actually really good training.

It didn’t take long, maybe an hour total, to reach the top of the mountain. The summit was not quite flat but jagged and uncomfortable. He sat down anyway. Taking a deep breath, Wu Jian stared into the storm, and then released his qi in a massive burst. The qi acted like a magnet. The storm clouds that had been traveling chaotically in every direction began to converge on his location. Lightning built up as though the heavens themselves knew he was challenging them. Wu Jian’s eyes lit up with fierce determination as the build up of power erupted before his eyes, taking the shape of a lightning bolt so powerful that it made his bones tremble.

And then it struck him.

Wu Jian nearly blacked out.

***

Wu Meiying led the group to a cave several li from their previous location. She had ignored Töri Qiang’s constant blathering. It was annoying, but she was not interested in answering him. She and the others were soaking wet, so they created a fire to warm up and dry off. Normally, this would have been the part where she, Hou Jingshu, and Zhou Lihua removed their clothes, but none of them were comfortable enough to do that here. If it was just them, or if they were with Wu Jian, then sure, but not when Shuchang and Töri Qiang were present.

Youmei had no such qualms. She stripped down and tossed her clothes by the fire. Fortunately, she had such a childlike body that nobody present found themselves interested in her, except for one young cub who was curious about her human form. He received a slap for his trouble though.

“Is anyone going to explain this to me?! Why did Wu Jian just run off like that?” Töri Qiang asked again.

Hou Jingshu sighed as she squeezed water from her hair. “He’s going to train.”

Töri Qiang looked appalled. “Train?! In this weather?! Is he suicidal?!”

“It’s called Lightning Tempering,” Zhou Lihua explained. “It’s a simple training method, albeit a brutal one. Cultivators who do this sit in the midst of a qi storm, release their qi to gather the storm unto themselves, and let the lightning strike them. Each strike of lightning is infused with volatile qi that will try to destroy their bodies, but if they can circulate the qi, guiding it through their meridians, they can make their bodies stronger than before.”

There was an old story from long ago called The Legend of Jinhai on the Xaio Continent. Jinhai was born with a frail body. While he somehow became a cultivator, he had no talent, and never managed to leave the first subrealm of the Hunger Realm. But what he lacked in talent he made up for in determination. One day, when a bad Qi Storm swept through the country he lived in, Jinhai traveled to the tallest mountain he could find, and there, he let the lightning strike him over and over again.

“If Heaven seeks to kill me, then let it strike me down. If I survive, I shall forge my own path.”

Those had been his words as he let the lightning strike his body, and he did not die. Days turned to weeks and weeks to months. His body was broken down and reformed, broken down and reformed, a constant cycle that happened over and over, until, one day, his body was reborn. When the Qi Storm cleared, Jinhai crawled out, his skin blackened and eyes alight like crackling thunder. His cultivation had not risen at all. However, his physical strength had been such that he could now fight people several realms above him. Anima and Asura Realm cultivators were not his match, and even Human Limit Realm cultivators struggled against him. His legend had gone into the annals of history. It was one of the few documented stories that were actually well-known for being true.

“That’s… insane,” Töri Qiang muttered in shock. “Doesn’t he realize he’s going to die?! Even the Khan himself wouldn’t dare step outside in this storm!”

“Then your Khan is no match for my Jian, neither in strength, nor determination,” Wu Meiying said blithely. “Just sit there and wait. He’ll come back in a few days, and he’ll be stronger than ever.”

“You’re all insane,” Töri Qiang mumbled, but he sat down within the cave and remained quiet after the three women who were intimately involved with Wu Jian glared at him.