Data-Driven Daoist

In Chapter Author’s Notes: I did a rewrite of chapters 10 and 11, then fixed up chapter 12, so everything made sense. Sorry if the story feels off for people who read the last versions.

The monkey turned to the second boy and bashed him on the forearms with the staff. He went flying, too.

The sound of bones breaking echoed like snapping twigs. Duan Xiaolong waved his hands, and two balls of mist appeared. They were grey, with neon green and red leaking from inside like the aurora. He threw the balls, and the mist permeated the two mangled boys with a whoosh.

Their splattered blood rolled back into their bodies, and the snapped limbs twisted into place. Still bruised, but now looking human, at least.

The blue monkey chirped, scratching its furry head. It pointed at the two comatose kids, then at the gathered crowd.

“Squeak!”

The recruits took a collective step back.

“Little Pillar, you have the brains of a lion.” Duan Xiaolong guffawed. “Mice need both reward and punishment.”

The cultivator flicked a hexagonal crystal up like a coin, catching it again. He then threw it at the centre of the arena. It landed with perfect precision on its side. Didn’t even spin. “Challenge others. Prove your might, or forever be prey,” Duan Xiaolong’s voice boomed. “Those who win shall taste the compounding rewards.”

“T-That’s…” a voice said. It was Wu Di. “It’s a spirit stone!”

“Even vermin can recognise a treasure,” Duan Xiaolong said. “Indeed it is. For each triumph, you shall gain more and more. For each loss, you lose all.”

Yu Han recognized the crystal. It was a common item that appeared in Xianxia stories, usually holding some manner of qi, or being used as a currency. A potent energy source for both cultivators and items alike.

Qiao Jinhai had held those same crystals whilst he meditated on the bow of the ship. Although the one Duan Xiaolong offered was far dimmer and smaller, only the size of a fingernail.

“You, heir of the Southern Duchy.” Wu Di pointed a finger at a lanky figure standing far behind.

It was one of his groupies. “Y-Yes, young master?” the boy stuttered.

“This Wu Di has always admired the Threefold Hawk Claw of the Southern Duchy. Today, I shall judge its worth.”

“Young master, you couldn’t possibly mean—”

The blue monkey grunted, adjusting the staff.

“This unworthy one will be in your care.” The boy bowed.

They went to the traditional south and north starting positions of the training hall.

Duan Xiaolong patted his knees. “Good, good! Fight like you’re starving. Only then can you satiate me. Claw, punch, cleave, break! Let us enjoy a bloodbath without fear of death or injuries.”

One of the boys who had been bludgeoned into a bloody mess by Little Pillar stirred awake, coughing out blood. His eyes snapped open, and he rolled over, retching more.

Little Pillar lifted both boys up and disappeared.

Can that mist ball regenerate severed limbs? Yu Han wouldn’t risk it. But that kind of healing… Wow.

“Fight!” Duan Xiaolong sliced the air with his palm.

Wu Di got into his signature stance. “Come, Junior Brother. Let me taste your claw.”

“Pardon my rudeness.” The lanky boy bowed, then lunged forward. He shaped his fingers into hooks and swiped up from below.

Wu Di moved back with a minimal twist of his body. Lanky stepped forward, his other leg spinning into a roundhouse kick. Wu Di blocked with his forearms, then with one straight hook at Lanky’s torso. Lanky’s other foot came up, intercepting the fist with his knee.

Bam!

There was a loud collision.

Lanky’s feet extended into a sweeping kick as the other foot touched down. Wu Di struck the kick on the shins with his elbow. There was a meaty thud and Lanky screamed, losing his balance.

Wu Di lunged forward into Lanky’s guard, only to have a clawed hand grasp his neck from below.

Wu Di grunted, as if suffocated, but kicked out with his knee. Lanky let go, retreating seven steps.

Three gashes were left on Wu Di’s neck. The blood dripped down, painting his chest and abs in crimson.

“Not bad.” Wu Di swiped the gash on his neck, then flung the blood away. “You almost got my artery.”

Lanky was favouring one leg, taking the pressure off the one that had been struck on the shins.

“The Swooping Eagle Pouncing Panther style lives up to its name.” Lanky’s timidness was gone. What was left was a menacing grin. “I shall crush it to the ground.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Let me see you try!” With a roar, Wu Di ran.

Lanky crouched low. Wu Di punched, a right hook. Lanky struck with his left hand, his fingers clawed as they swiped the side of Wu Di’s punch, aiming straight for his face.

He had a longer reach.

Wu Di grinned, then bent his arm mid-punch.

“Wha—”

The elbow struck Lanky’s forearm the moment the joints crossed each other. There was a sound of bone breaking.

Lanky’s scream caught in his throat.

Wu Di stepped into his guard again. Lanky raised his knee, one last desperate attempt—

Wu Di extended his right hook again. It hit Lanky squarely in the jaw. Blood splattered, teeth flew.

The light went out of Lanky’s eyes.

“Bravo.” Duan Xiaolong cracked a finger. “A daring confrontation. Take the reward.”

Wu Di bowed, picking up the hexagonal crystal. There was a glint in his eyes that Yu Han didn’t miss.

Duan Xiaolong threw two more mist balls. One hit Wu Di on the forehead, the other striking the unconscious Lanky. The lost teeth magically reattached themselves, and Lanky’s nosebleed stopped too.

“Fucking miracles,” Li Yao gasped.

“Move the loser to the infirmary. He may reclaim his challenge after a week of rest,” Duan Xiaolong said. “The winner gets respite for the night.”

Wu Di grinned. He bowed again, then walked away.

Until he reached Huang Niuniu.

The redhead loomed above the scared girl. She shrunk even more, her breath growing haggard.

”Qiao Jinhai can’t stop me now. Wait a while. When we get to the sect, I shall show you how a beast claims prey.” He extended a hand, brushing her hair with a finger.

Which was suddenly grabbed by a fist.

The finger snapped.

“None of that,” Duan Xiaolong said. The praise had left his voice, replaced by cold anger. “One can hunt for sustenance, but never humiliate.”

Wu Di nodded. He bit his lips, his eyes trembling wide.

Duan Xiaolong scoffed. He created another mist ball, and threw it at Huang Niuniu. “Wounds not from battle are disallowed, young fowl.”

He suddenly looked up at the ceiling.

“Is this what they say? When the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole lurks behind?” Duan Xiaolong said. “Little Pillar, bring us the pitiful oriole.”

The monkey who had suddenly appeared again chirped, then vanished once more.

A few moments later, a cry rang out from above, followed by a sickening thump.

It was a voice Yu Han recognized. Sima Yan and Pang Jiming paled, while a murmur grew.

A bloody body was thrown over everyone’s heads into the training arena. It fell, then bounced. Miraculously, the boy was still conscious.

“W-Why—?” Ma San asked. “I-If Qiao Jinhai’s your enemy, let me kill him!”

Duan Xiaolong crouched beside the boy, then tapped one bloody cheek, prying the wound there open until teeth showed. “What I do with my prey is none of your business.” He created a mist ball larger than any before and poured the magic through the wound like liquid oxygen.

Ma San screamed. His joints snapped, eyes bulging. The wounds wiggled as if seaming themselves together, but then burst again, splattering blood and gore. But Ma San didn’t lose consciousness. His defiant eyes stared back.

Little Pillar carried the boy downstairs.

“Lucky you,” Li Yao said. “He would’ve come for your ass soon.”

Yu Han nodded.

Duan Xiaolong was a strange character. On one hand, he was cruel, getting his monkey minion to clobber little kids until bone poked through their flesh. On the other, he always healed the kids with the mist after a beating, and after every duel too.

Most importantly, he protected Huang Niuniu. He even healed her.

The redheaded cock was still simmering at the side, nursing his broken finger. Duan Xiaolong hadn’t healed that.

There were some duels after that, between White Lotus nobles and riffraff, then against Martial Eagle scions. Li Yao beat up the large fella with the cleft lip. Sima Yan fought a wide kid from the Martial Eagle Kingdom and triumphed, earning a resounding cheer.

Finally, Wu Di made his move again.

“You think you can beat me with your broken finger?” Pang Jiming said. Before the duel, Duan Xialong healed his broken arm. “Arrogance will be your downfall.”

“Enough talk.” Wu Di beckoned the boy. “Come.”

Wu Di won, taking the spirit stone Pang Jiming had earned from a previous duel, and then twice the total as rewards from Duan Xiaolong.

That night, Wu Di won a total of eight fights.

Yu Han counted. How many crystals was that? Duan Xiaolong didn’t specify how much ‘more and more’ meant.

“This is valiance! This is how prey becomes predator. Good job, mice.” Duan Xiaolong looked as if he was truly enjoying himself. He threw Wu Di a mist ball. “Mend your bones. Tomorrow, you fight again. If you dare.”

Wu Di bowed.

“W-Wait!” a voice growled through the crowd.

“Have you not learned your lesson?” Duan Xiaolong said. “Prey may be weak, but never stupid.”

Little Pillar chirped, thumping the staff on the floorboard.

“Fat bastard!” Ma San pointed at Yu Han. He was bloody, bruised, evidently nowhere near healed. Veins bulged under his skin like wriggling worms. But his voice was resolute. “I challenge you to a fight to the death!”

“What say you?” Duan Xiaolong asked Yu Han.

Yu Han unsheathed his dagger. He would take no chances.

“The little pig has fangs.” Duan Xiaolong laughed. “Tonight, you rest. Tomorrow, the second chapter of the voyage starts proper. You may fight in a week.”

“Bu—”

Little Pillar kicked Ma San’s knee from behind. It snapped. Then, with the sickening sounds of grinding bone over Ma San’s scream, it started healing.

That mist ball… The effect lasts so long.

The recruits dispersed.

“Why did you bring out the dagger if you’re probably gonna stab yourself again?” Li Yao said. “Not only are you going to lose the fight, but you’re gonna lose all face with it.”

“Can you eat face?”

“Pork face ain’t so bad, tubs.”

That night, in Deep Sleep, Yu Han echoed the moment Duan Xiaolong healed Huang Niuniu. He couldn’t do that. He just took her kindness without giving anything back. And after they arrive at the sect, this kind girl would probably suffer misfortune.

So Yu Han should at least make an effort to lessen that misfortune.

Am I doing the right thing, dad?

He replayed all eight of Wu Di’s fights. After he had gained the point in the Memory substat, the mirages had improved. Or was it because Mind Origin increased?

He replayed the duels Wu Di orchestrated before Duan Xiaolong’s arrival next. Punches, kicks, elbow, knees. Yu Han stood in front of the projection, unblinking.

The punches went through him like mirages. The kicks hit him on the temple. Since these never happened to him in reality, he didn’t feel the effects.

But he could train his mind.

Yu Han didn’t look away, even if his body screamed at him. He had to get over the instinct to close his eyes.

After that, Yu Han dispelled the illusions, replacing it with a scene from the ship. It was the mess hall. He sat on a bench before a piping hot bowl of soup. It was red, the chilli oil floating at the top of the broth like a layer of spill.

“I’ll have to hide this. Seaweed?”

Yu Han grabbed the bowl.

The illusions shifted. The stairway. The guardrail. The rope.

Yu Han measured the distance from the hatch to the deck, then the height of the stairway. He brought out a brush, painting the wood where the rope should be. The ink didn’t leave any traces.

The scene was blurry; it glitched left and right. It seemed he could only paint on the mirage of the exact paper he had used to paint in real life, and couldn’t arbitrarily modify other objects.

He’d already figured out that making objects last longer would require more fuel for Echoing Dreamscape. He would pass out faster. But it would be worth the effort.

Because tomorrow…

+11 Arts True Qi -> Echoing Dreamscape

[Echoing Dreamscape]

Type: Auxiliary

Grade: Mortal Level 9

Mastery: Initial Step Level 3

True Qi: 22 (+11)/400

Tomorrow, he was going to butcher a cock.