Path of the Berserker

I looked back towards the beast just in time to see nothing but teeth.

White-hot pain erupted throughout my entire body as the broodmother snapped my torso up between its jaws. I cried out as the Frenzy inside me spiked and almost instinctively I manifested my [Iron Skin] technique.

The world went topsy-turvy as the beast shook me back and forth in its jaws, the iron scent of blood filling my nose and mouth. The pressure of its jaws was threatening to crush my insides even through my hardened skin. I cycled my Frenzy to harden my organs with [Iron Core], the pain only slightly subsiding as I finally put up enough defenses to withstand the savage attack.

I didn’t know what to even classify the thing as now. I should have been able to withstand the bite with just my normal Body Refinement alone, but whatever this Dark Frenzy was, it was driving the broodmother up a few notches on the classification scale as well.

I struggled to free myself, but the thing had chomped me sideways, trapping both my arms tight against my sides as my legs kicked ineffectually in the air. Through the glimpses of the outside world, I could see Gui Zu slowly getting back to his feet after being jettisoned about thirty feet away.

More people in black uniforms circled me. Enforcers and Imperial guards along with members of the Silver Leaf Sect. They were all standing at a distance though, the Silver Leaf members throwing their stupid knitting needles while the Guards were attempting to slap the beast ineffectually with iron rods.

“Make sure you don’t kill it!” a familiar voice cried out and I caught a glimpse of the same dour-faced woman who’d led us from the locker room. “Keep using the stun needles. It will calm down soon.”

“No, please!” Gui Zu appeared at the woman’s side, falling to his knees. “It’s killing my friend!”

“Don’t be a fool. Your friend is dead already.”

Son of a bitch…

Her callous words caused me to focus my ire and suddenly I wanted this damn thing dead more than ever, even if it wasn’t already trying to eat me. I struggled to get free again but there just wasn’t any leverage. My arms were locked in place, the monster’s grip on me reinforced by my hardened skin. Desperate seconds passed as the beast continued to thrash me about, trying its best to break me in half while the dumb-ass cultivators kept pinging it with toothpicks to put it to sleep.

To hell with this. They were content to let me die. I needed to do something to get my arm free. I braced myself, mentally preparing for what I was about to do next. Gritting my teeth, I released the [Iron Skin] technique on my right arm.

Blood and pain erupted as the beast’s teeth sank deep into my flesh.

I cried out hellishly, even through [Struggler’s Resolve] as I pulled my arm up and outwards with all my might. The creature’s teeth raked through my soft skin, cutting my arm to ribbons. My cries alarmed the woman and the enforcers who immediately jumped back like I was turning into a demon or something.

I pulled what was left of my arm free from the creature’s mouth, blood gushing from it like a fountain.

I couldn’t care.

This monster was my sole focus now and killing it was all that mattered.

Frenzy flowed faster than the blood pumping through my veins and spilling all over the ground, my healing taking up the slack where muscle and organs had already failed. I hardened my fist with [Iron Skin] and slammed it into the beast’s eye socket.

My ordeal became a rodeo ride as the monster bucked in response and I replied by slamming it repeatedly in its eye, over and over again.

“No!” the woman cried. “Kill him! Kill him before he kills it!”

The guards and Silver Leaf cultivators hopped back and forth like they were attempting to join a double-dutch game, trying to swing at me while also trying to avoid the beast itself. Rage and pain combined to form a single thought in my mind.

This piece of shit monster had to die!

The bloodied eye finally gave way and I plunged my arm deep into its skull through its eye socket. I grabbed whatever I could get a hold of inside and then screamed like a maniac as I tore it out. The beast quivered like it was being electrocuted as it lost its primary nerve center and I thrust the blooded pulp of flesh and brains into the air like a trophy when it finally collapsed and went still.

Frenzy and rage still boiling, I used my free arm to pry its upper jaw from the rest of my body. Bone snapped like dry kindling as I tore its jaw right off its hinges, tossing it into the air like that trapdoor a few moments ago.

Dead silence greeted me as I slowly rose to my feet. I was standing in a swimming pool of my own blood. The crowd was gawking at me like I was either a ghost or a demon. The woman and her crew of guards and enforcers were doing the same. Faintly, I was aware of the Dark Frenzy still permeating the air and I realized that at some point I’d been feeding from it.

My Dantian felt sick…poisoned.

After a few more seconds, the announcer came over the loudspeaker.

“And let’s have it for our Bull Man!”

Another awkward second of silence passed before finally, as if just receiving the correct imperial response to the situation, the pent-up tensions of the crowd released with a massive wall of screams and cheers.

“That’s right, everyone! The royal princess Lunalah spares no expense to entertain you. Even risking the life of our beloved winner of the Wooden Bracket, ‘Bull Man’, was not out of the question. He has become strong like this from slaying beasts in the wild. You too can become this strong if you so choose. Find an official to book an excursion now. But hurry! Spaces are limited and filling quickly! Do not wait!”

I cracked a smile at the irony of it all. Although he was talking completely out of his ass, he was actually spot-on when it came to my progression. But damn it, I didn’t really want this level of attention. Luckily my mask had stayed intact throughout the whole thing.

As the lemonade of praise filled the air, I sucked on it to rid myself of the dank taste of Dark Frenzy in my soul. Finally, the Dark Frenzy stopped and as the source left I suddenly felt much weaker in my knees. My arm was hanging by shreds. I could even see bone in some places.

“Brother Chun?” Gui Zu approached me slowly as if I were already dead and he was speaking to a ghost. Maybe he was. I was certain the only reason I was still standing was due to my [Death’s Door] technique, judging by how much blood I’d lost.

“Are you alright?” he said.

I gave him a wry smile. “Just glad you’re ok, man.”

“Idiot,” the dour-faced woman snapped at me. “At least wave to the crowd to make it look like this was all part of the show.”

I did as she suggested, struggling to raise my good arm as the corners of my vision started to turn black. The last thing I remembered was Gui Zu rushing forward to catch me as I began to lean into the darkness.

* * *

Muffled voices grew in volume as I slowly came to.

I struggled to clear my head and realized I was seated on a bench back in the locker room. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but my arm was being tended to by an artisan healer kneeling by my side. The old man wrapped my arm and torso tightly in bandages while a soothing warmth of Qi radiated from his palm as he waved it over me.

I then became aware of several other people jammed into the otherwise empty locker room with us. There were two Imperial Guards and a half dozen enforcers along with the dour-faced woman. Having a good look at her now, it was hard to tell just how old she was. Gaunt and thin-cheeked, with jet black hair and dark eyes, she could just as easily pass for a sickly woman in her thirties as a spritely woman in her sixties. Either way, her entire countenance spelt ‘bitch’ as she and her imperial entourage faced off against the only other soul in the room.

Gui Zu.

He was on his knees in a kowtow before her, forehead pressed to the dirty floor.

“Please! I beg you to reconsider. This man just saved my life!”

“Then perhaps you should be found guilty of the crime as well,” the woman said, looking down at him.

Crime?

Shit, what have I gotten myself into now? I could only vaguely remember what had happened. Nearly getting eaten alive and then fighting to free myself with Frenzy flying. I supposed maybe I had revealed a bit too much. I thought back to my handler guides and charts. Was a mid-tier Foundation-level cultivator able to survive an attack from a C-class monster? It should be plausible in most people’s eyes. Although that thing was nowhere near a C-class when I killed it.

“Do you have any idea how much that beast cost?” the woman said, and the basis of my ‘crime’ quickly became clear.

“I could probably venture a guess,” I said with [Struggler’s Resolve], trying to pull her attention away from Gui Zu.

The technique worked, the woman’s baleful eyes turning quickly towards me.

“There! He’s awake now,” she said. “Arrest him!”

The guards and enforcers moved on me en masse and the healer quickly packed up shop and got the hell out of the way. I merely smiled as they began manhandling me to my feet, the Struggler fully in control.

“Please! Arrest me instead!” Gui Zu pleaded. “I would be dead if not for him.”

“Then perhaps he should have let you die,” the woman said coolly as she stepped before me. “Or let himself die at least.”

She was a good head shorter than me and I gave her a shot of [Indifference] as I refused to lower my eyes to meet her glare.

“You are being arrested for the destruction of imperial property,” the woman said. “That rapling you killed was worth over a hundred spirit stones. And seeing that you are but a Terran commoner, I doubt you’d have the means to pay that back. You’ll be sent to the southern mines to pay off your debt. Hard labor.” She then smirked. “Perhaps you may be able to pay it off in about ten years.”

My insides began to melt with heat as the Struggler began to lose hold.

“So ten years is the punishment for saving a man’s life?” My inner Flame burned with indignation as I was reminded why I hated the cultivator empire so much.

“You are lucky you are worth nothing,” she said. “Else we would have simply executed you and taken whatever was yours.”

I finally met her glare with one of my own, channeling my Frenzy into [Fear the Flame].

“You think I’m the lucky one?” I said. “You’re lucky I was there to kill that thing. Because if not, all of you would have been dead.”

My words echoed off the walls chillingly and a couple of the enforcers backed away. Even the guards braced within their armor as my technique rattled their nerves. The woman reacted to it as well, blinking rapidly as she jerked away from me.

My hands curled into fists as the Demon grappled for control.

Was this how it was for you, Big Sis? One step forward and two steps back?

Ten years in the mines? She had to be shitting me.

Maybe I could say to hell with it all and just start my rebellion now.

I chuckled inwardly at the thought. All those weeks of planning and strategy. Fighting to save Yu Li and the neighborhood. Training to defeat that creep, Hein. Was it all for nothing now? I’d have to either kowtow to this bitch and lose ten years of my life or say screw it all and go down swinging.

Could I even take on all these guys?

I was starting not to care.

“Where is he?” an authoritative voice suddenly rang out from behind the enforcers. “I want to see him!”

“He’s here, Sub-Warden,” a more familiar voice answered him.

As the enforcers parted, I saw the official who had given me my number at the start of the match, followed by a man I didn’t know who wore high-ranking imperial robes. The dour-faced woman, along with the guards and enforcers, immediately braced and bent at the waist in a deep bow as the man approached. Gui Zu replanted his face to the floor with another kowtow.

Still being held by the enforcers, I didn’t know quite how to respond to him. He was tall and lanky, beaming a smile that creased his face with age. Long gray hair met an equally long gray beard. On his head he sported a tall black hat that resembled something a chef would wear.

“Is this him, Bo Ren?” the man said, hands behind his back as he lifted his chin at me. His voice was surprisingly strong for how frail he looked.

The official, Bo Ren, nodded. “That is him, Sub-Warden, the ‘so-called’ Bull Man.”

Ah shit…what was this now?

An enforcer at my side slammed his club into my gut.

I barely felt it, but I got the message and bowed as the man approached me.

“So… the Bull-man,” he said and then laughed. “I had to see you with my own eyes to believe it. When Bo Ren said you were a Terran, I was about to have him flogged for lying to an official representative of the princess!”

He cracked a smile and then laughed, which seemed to cue the other imperial lackeys to do the same. He then frowned, cutting the laughter short and shot a questioning glare at the dour-faced woman.

“Senior Stadium Manager Wu Hen,” he said sharply, causing the woman to stiffen. “Why is he being restrained?”

She bowed her head. “Sub-Warden Lein Cho, you clearly saw the damage this man has caused. He is being arrested to pay for killing the rapling broodmother.”

He harrumphed. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Wu Hen said, clicking her heels together sharply. “Hard labor. He purposely killed the beast.”

“Only for survival,” Gui Zu blurted.

Wu Hen’s jaw dropped as Lein Cho looked back at Gui Zu quizzically.

“Who is this man?” he said.

“How dare you speak out of turn, you commoner!” Wu Hen shouted.

The enforcers didn’t even need to wait for her orders, rushing at Gui Zu while brandishing their clubs.

“Forgive me!” he cried, raising his hands in surrender. “I speak only the truth, Honorable Sub-Warden! Please have mercy. He fought bravely to save my life and the lives of your men.”

Lein Cho raised his hand, stopping the enforcers. He then looked to Bo Ren. “Bo Ren, I trust your judgement. What say you in this matter?”

Bo Ren looked at me and then at Wu Hen, his eyes flicking back and forth between us until a smile crept onto his lips. “Master Lein Cho,” he said. “You saw the response of the crowd. This boy has made himself into a minor legend amongst the common people. Whatever that beast was worth we’ve already made it back ten times already with new bookings into the wild. I’m sure if Vice-Warden Hei Dong was to learn that we threw into prison the man responsible for making such a great profit, he would clearly think us to be fools unworthy of our stations.”

Lein Cho nodded, stroking his beard. “You speak wisely as always, Bo Ren. I think even my daughter, as high ranking as she is within the Silver Leaf Clan, would be convinced to give the wilds a try after seeing this man’s performance.” His eyes then fell on Wu Hen. “Wu Hen! Release this man, at once.”

“Yes, Sub-Warden!”

The enforcers immediately backed off as Wu Hen snapped her fingers at them.

“Further,” Bo Ren said, leaning over Lein Cho’s shoulder. “I wonder how that beast got loose in the first place? Whose responsibility was it to secure the rapling, Senior Stadium Manager Wu Hen?”

The woman’s mouth opened and closed several times before anything came out.

“It–it was mine,” she finally said.

“Oh my…” Bo Ren gave her another wicked grin. “How unfortunate.”

Lein Cho glowered at the woman. “I want a full incident report on what happened, Wu Hen. I would hate to see the senior manager responsible, making two mistakes regarding this incident.”

“Yes, Sub-Warden!”

Bo Ren kept giving Wu Hen a shit-eating grin while she narrowed her eyes at him with daggers. I didn’t know what kind of backstabbing bullshit had just come to my rescue, but I wasn’t complaining. Lein Cho looked me up and down again and then let out a laugh before shaking his head and walking away.

“I can’t believe it. A bloody Terran. Perhaps this planet has some value after all.”

* * *

“I owe you greatly, Official Bo Ren,” I said with a deep bow after Wu Hen and her gang had cleared out. “My utmost thanks to you.”

“Indeed, thank you, Official Bo Ren,” Gui Zu echoed next to me, giving him a deep bow as well. “You saved me from quite a beating.”

The man Bo Ren chuckled. “After watching you fight, I’m sure you could have taken it.”

We both laughed along with him.

“Forgive me,” I said. “But I’m curious. What made you want to help us?”

The old guy smiled. “I wasn’t always in this position, you know? Let’s just say I’m a kindred spirit when it comes to the underdogs. Plus, I’ve been waiting for weeks to call that incompetent bitch out in front of her uncle.”

“What?” Gui Zu said. “The Sub-Warden is her uncle?”

The man laughed. “How the hell do you think she got the job?” He then paused and added with a hint of rancor, “Or got my job I should say. Even the great Silver Leaf Clan produces its Qi-less duds from time to time. The only difference is that they still get handed a top-level position regardless.”

I was starting to see the picture now. “At any rate. My deepest thanks again.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “You’ve already helped me far more than you know. Also, you have quite a few sect leaders looking for you out front. Everyone wants to meet the winner of the Wooden Bracket now. Who’d have thought it’d become such an honor, huh?”

My stomach sank a little as I glanced at Gui Zu. I almost didn’t want to say anything in front of him, but I couldn’t let things get out of hand either. As popular as my Bull Man persona was becoming, I couldn’t have it linked back to me.

“I’m actually not that interested in joining a sect,” I said. “I’m a free agent so to speak. Don’t really want people to know my face either. Hence the mask, you know? Would appreciate if I could keep it that way.”

Bo Ren smiled. “Underdog to the core. I get it. I might have to start placing some bets on you soon. You are competing in the Iron Bracket tournament, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

He then removed a satchel from his back and handed it to me. “You get to keep the same locker and number. I made sure to reserve it on the Iron Bracket roster as soon as you won.”

When I looked inside the bag, I found another bull mask and hatchet, but they were made out of iron instead of wood.

“These for me?”

“Welcome to the Iron Bracket, kid,” he said with a smile. “The preliminaries start in less than a week. I hope you heal up by then.”

“Wow,” I said. “Thank you.”

He then opened one of the lockers and after rummaging through it for a moment, tossed a weathered overcoat at me that had a hood.

“To help you stay out of sight,” he said. “Take the east entrance out the back. No one should be there. Good luck to you, Bull Man.”

* * *

I snuck out the back of the stadium with Gui Zu, the overcoat covering me from head to toe like a poncho. As soon as we stepped outside, I sensed someone’s presence. Six figures in red and orange robes looked in our direction from a stone’s throw away.

I stiffened for a moment, but then executed [Mask of the Despised] as I attempted to nonchalantly leave in the opposite direction. They had seen me for sure, but maybe I was just being paranoid. None of them had seen under my mask and neither did they know that I had sensed them polluting the arena with Dark Frenzy either.

Still, knots filled my stomach as I wondered if they could sense my Frenzy as well.

Just when I thought we’d made a clean break, one of the men called out to me from behind, his voice coarse and gravelly.

“Made good use of that book I see. Always have an open spot for you within the sect.”

I didn’t need to turn about to know it was Hong Feng speaking to me.

“No thanks,” I said, stopping, but not turning about. “But I appreciate the offer.”

When I didn’t hear a response, I risked a look over my shoulder, but all of them were gone.

* * *

“Unbelievable,” Gui Zu said as he kept a slow pace with me while I hobbled along, my wounds finally starting to grow tender with the waning of active Frenzy. “You have even the Fire Bird Sect looking to recruit you. You are blessed by the heavens indeed, my friend.”

I cracked a smile. “Don’t get so excited. It’s not what you think.”

But in all honesty, I didn’t know quite what to think myself. Hong Feng obviously knew it was me out there in the ring, but did he know anything else? Could he sense me using Frenzy to kill that broodmother? To everyone else watching, maybe they might think it plausible for a mid-core cultivator to take a mauling like that from a rapling broodmother and still survive. But if Chow’s men were responsible for creating that Dark Frenzy, then they knew just how strong that thing had become.

The fact that he had waited for me to leave the arena, just to make it known that he knew who I was left me feeling a bit unsettled.

But I suppose that was his objective.

For what reason though, I wasn’t sure.

As we reached the restaurant district, Gui Zu stopped to give me a final bow.

“I still don’t know how to thank you for what you did,” he said. “But thank you again anyway.”

“Don’t worry about it. You saved my ass too tonight.”

“Farewell, Brother Chun.”

As he turned to walk away, I couldn’t help but notice how dejected Gui Zu looked. As much luck and success as I’d had tonight, I suppose Gui Zu was still walking away from tonight empty handed. But more than that, I felt like we were both walking away from an opportunity.

“Hey, Gui Zu, hold up a minute.”

He turned about. “Huh?”

“The Wooden Bracket went by a bit faster than I thought it would. I was actually hoping to use it to get better at my fighting skills.”

“I say you’re pretty good already.” He gave me another one of his jacked-up smiles. “You managed to beat me, didn’t you?”

I laughed. “Hey, I know you didn’t get what you wanted out of this, Gui Zu, but I was wondering if you still might be willing to help me with something.”

“Brother Chun, I owe you my life. If you need anything from me, you need only to ask.”

“Well, since you didn’t get picked up by a sect and seeing as if you might have some free time on your hands, I was wondering if you might be willing for me to hire you as a trainer.”

His eyes widened like he’d just won the lottery. “Are you serious?”

“I can’t afford to pay you much, but I’ll give you something for your time. Every night of the week leading up to the Iron Bracket tournament. After I heal up of course. What do you say?”

“Sorry, but I refuse to take your money,” he said. “A good meal and a drink after practice would be nice though.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“So long as you cover the ring rental fee, I’ll be there.”

He smiled and we shook hands. “Thanks, Gui Zu.”

“Don’t thank me yet, Brother Chun. You haven’t seen how much I can eat!”

We both laughed and as he turned to walk away, I stopped him again.

“Hey, one more thing,” I said.

“What’s that?”

“Call me Max.”