Path of the Berserker

“Yeah, I’m gold,” I said, eyeing a group of convicts warily as we passed the bars of their cells. “How many people are on this thing?”

“A couple thousand right now,” Jakra said. “What cultivation level?”

I raised a brow. “Why’s that important?”

“It’ll determine which floor I place you on,” he said looking over his shoulder at me. “Need to be sure you’re strong enough to deal with the inmates if it comes to it.”

I stopped short. “What?”

The big gray giant stopped as well to give me a grin. “You didn’t think this was a free ride, did you? The academy is a branch of His Imperial Majesty’s Prisons. You wearing that uniform means you’re officially one of us now.” He then glanced at the convicts in the cells. “In one capacity or another.”

“What do you mean?”

“We walk and talk,” he said taking off again. “Need to get you situated so we can leave this mud ball of a rock you call home. Now what cultivation level are you?”

I huffed out a sigh as I readjusted my duffle bag and weapons.

“Eight-tier Core Realm,” I said.

“Ah, good. We need someone for the upper levels. We have a Ninth-tier Core Realm cultivator up there. You’re fitting in nicely already. What you say your name was again?”

“Iron Bull,” I said. “You can call me Iron Bull.”

He chuckled. “Nice. Welcome aboard the Xin Zhu, Iron Bull. Your serviced to His Imperial Majesty’s Prisons starts today.”

* * *

We walked by more prison cells before ascending some stairs leading to the upper levels of the starship. On the way, we passed by the inner core and sure enough there was a glowing Aertherite crystal hovering in there. Jakra explained the basics of how everything on the ship worked. There was a small crew of ex-naval personnel turned prison guards who ran the actual ship and then about twenty guards and a hundred enforcers who supervised the prisoners.

The bottom levels were for low level cultivators and mortals and were the bulk of the thousand or so prisoners onboard. Some of them I noted were wearing the same tribute uniform as me, save they were gray in color instead of black and the word ‘Tribute’ was written in red characters instead of white.

“What’s up with them?” I asked. “They Tributes too?”

“Prisoner Tributes,” Jakra said. “Not a volunteer like you. You keep your freedom. Those bastards are already condemned to die.”

“Huh?”

“Their planets will make a few extra spirit stones from the imperial treasury for designating them as Tributes. An alternative to a death sentence or a life in prison. If they survive, they’ll earn their freedom, but being this low down in the hold, they probably won’t last their first day at Du Gok Bhong.”

I looked back at them, a small group of perhaps thirty or so, men and women both. Most couldn’t bother to even glance up at me, but a couple stared at me with wonder in their vacant eyes and lemonade in their souls.

“So I guess a volunteer like me is kind of rare?”

“From this far out from the core worlds, yes.” Jakra then chucked. “Nearly a decade I’ve been doing this and you’re honestly the first volunteer I’ve ever picked up from way out here.”

I looked back at the doomed faces again.

One of them, a thin man that looked in his forties with a short beard dared to give me a bow. I stopped and bowed back to him. It must have made his day because he gave me a huge smile and waved.

“Don’t get too attached,” Jakra said, moving me along. “Your post will be far from here.”

We went up several more flights and stopped at a guard station where I surrendered my weapons to an Enforcer who placed them in a safe under lock and key.

“If anything happens, you’ll be given your weapons back to deal with the situation,” Jakra said. “Let me introduce you to your ward mate.”

I followed Jakra into the cell block where there was only a dozen or so cells. All were empty and open save for one at the far end.

“You can pick any of these that you like,” he said. “But I’d advise you to pick one as far away from the inmate as possible…for your own sanity.”

As we approached the inmate in question, I could see he had his back to us while seated in lotus position. He was a burly man, with a balding head and long, disheveled black hair that hung to his midback.

“You got yourself a ward mate, Shen Liu,” Jakra said. “Turn around so you can meet him.”

The man didn’t move and simply let out a chuckle. “Damn you, Jakra. You can see I’m mediating, can’t you?”

Jakra snorted. “You still hoping for a breakthrough to the Sacred Soul Realm before we reach Lung Zept? Good luck.”

The man Shen Liu then laughed and spun about on his ass, remaining in lotus position. “That’d be a miracle indeed. The Qi density of this planet is pure shit. Worse even than in space. Where the hell even are we now?”

“A planet called Terra,” Jakra said and then jerked his head towards me. “His home world. This man is a Tribute. The Iron Bull, they call him. He’ll be managing your ward for the next the two weeks until we reach Lung Zept.”

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The man, who looked in his fifties and kind of reminded me of Hong Feng, lowered his brows as he studied me. I stared right back at him and pumped the throttle with a bit of [Fear the Flame].

His eyes widened at that and then he laughed again. “Well, you’ve got a pair of balls on you, don’t you? How the hell you amass that much Qi on this shit hole?”

His words irked me, but I held my countenance with [Indifference]. “Careful, pal. This ‘shit hole’ happens to be my home.”

“My condolences then,” he said and laughed again. “Damn bumkin colonists.”

Asshole, I thought.

I looked to Jakra. “So what do I need to do?”

“Keep both of you fed and make sure he doesn’t get out.” Jakra tapped the bars with his bamboo rod. “Make sure not to touch these either when the doors are closed. There’s a disruptive current running through them. It’ll scramble your Dantian and cripple you for a week. You remember that too, Shen Liu. Unless you want to scramble your Dantian as a form of penance.”

The man grunted. “You’re lucky I value the use of my Dantian, else I would have broken out of here and slaughtered all off you weeks ago.”

“Well good luck trying that now,” Jakra said. “Got a Gold Bracket contender and Volunteer Tribute watching your ass. I’m sure the Iron Bull here would relish the chance at some last-minute practice before he reaches Du Gok Bhong.”

“Why wait for me to escape?” Shen Liu said and narrowed his eyes at me. “He could jump in here and we could fight it out right now.”

Jakra snored. “Don’t tempt me.”

I merely shook my head as Shen Liu laughed.

He then spun about again and slipped back into mediation. “I prefer my meals hot, Iron Bull. Make sure you bring them on time.”

I felt like kicking his ass straight through the bars, but I settled for the subtle bit of Frenzy the anger produced instead. “Yeah, I’ll make it hot alright. Where’s the kitchen?”

To my surprise there actually was one and I was designated to make the food as well. There was a set of Qi-stones that acted like a stove with a couple of iron pots, cooking utensil and bowls to eat from.

Jakra pointed to some sacks on the floor and some clay pots next to them.

“Rice and cured tofu,” Jakra said pointing to each of them in turn. He then handed me a small bottle. “This is your ration of soy sauce for the voyage. You can give that bastard as little as your like.”

“Nice,” I said. “And where do I eat?”

He stared at me as if puzzled. “This is the food for this ward. Including you.”

I balked at that. “You mean I got to eat this shit too?”

Jakra shrugged. “I hear the food at Du Gok Bhong ain’t much better. I suggest get used to it.”

“Shit…” I said deflated. I was all gung-ho for getting on with my journey but the details were certainly starting to suck ass.

“Like I said…” Jakra pointed to the bottle of soy sauce again. “Give him as little as you like.”

I looked back towards the cell block where Shen Liu was still trying to meditate. “What’s he in here for anyway? Do you know?”

Jakra looked toward the cell block and grimaced.

“He used to be a Warden from one of the core worlds,” Jakra said. “Or so I hear. Real connected to the Jianghu there and was running the back shop so to speak.”

I immediately thought of Hong Feng. “Yeah, I know the type.”

“Anyway, they used to call him ‘little finger’,” Jakra said. “They say that was his favorite method of…enjoying the children they used to bring to him.”

My stomach lurched, immediately sickened. “What?”

“The ruling prince turned a blind eye to it for years since Shen Liu was pulling in so much money but then one day he couldn’t keep his fingers to himself and touched the wrong little girl. A royal princess. Think she was barely three or four at the time.”

I felt like throwing up.

“Why didn’t they just kill the bastard?” I said, my disgust flaring into anger. “I would have cut his balls off and fed them to him as a last meal before I cut off his damn head!”

“Oh, they wanted to, I’m sure,” Jakra said. “But he had too high a position. Revealing the truth would have been too much off a loss of face for both the Prince and the girl’s family. So they made up some other official excuse like embezzlement or something and did the next best thing. They stripped him of his position and shipping him off on a life sentence to Du Gok Shang. That’s the new prison they built to replace the one you’re headed to.”

The last part barely registered, my mind still transfixed on the horrid story. I could only imagine what I’d do to someone if they ever harmed little Su Ling like that. My Flame roared as my heart filled with rage. “You might get that cage match sooner than you think.”

“Easy with that,” Jakra said. “The man is a piece of shit, but he’s protected by His Imperial Majesty’s Prisons now. It’s our duty to get him to Du Gok Shang safely.” He pointed to the bottle of soy sauce again. “This is the most we can do to him.”

Jakra then shrugged before spitting on the floor.

“Like I said…give him as little as you like.”

* * *

The floor vibrated and rumbled as the Xin Zhu pulled out of orbit. Or that’s at least all I could imagine it doing as I sat on my cot and stared the bars of my jail cell. I tried touching them and as expected I didn’t feel a thing. Whatever anti-Qi current they had flowing through the bars had zero effect on me.

Which was a good thing.

In my mind I imagined grabbing a hold of that pervert Shen Liu and slamming his head against them until it split wide open. But as Jakra had said, the most I could do was make his trip uncomfortable.

When it came to making dinner, I gave him not a drop of flavor as I boiled the rice and tofu together like a stew. It tasted damn awful and only slightly less so with some soy sauce spilled over it.

“This tastes like shit!” Shen Liu screamed after I had tossed him his bowl. “Who the hell taught you how to cook? Where’s the damn soy sauce?”

I locked eyes with him and gave him a glare with [Struggler’s Resolve].

“Why don’t you piss in it?” I said. “That should make it plenty salty enough. You filthy animal.”

The anger that burst inside him was immense as he went into a tirade. I then switched the glare to a grin that spiked his anger even more. I walked away laughing but not before subtly cultivating his rage into Frenzy.

I truly wanted to kill the bastard, but he would serve a purpose yet.

I had a two-week journey ahead of me.

And tormenting him daily would generate all the hate I needed to fuel my Dantian.

* * *

Later, at what I thought was perhaps nighttime, I lay awake staring at the ceiling. It had been a mentally taxing first day. Starting with my failure to combine my spectral forms, the cold shoulder I received from Master Hei Dong, the three bird sisters showing up, that weird offer from the princess and now this—having to babysit a disgusting pedophile for two weeks.

It was enough to make me sigh and roll over, but just when I was about to try and block it all out to get some sleep a thought occurred.

Fia’s Quill…

A rush of excitement burst through me as I retrieved it from my duffle bag. My introduction to the ship from Jakra had happened so quickly that I had nearly forgotten it. But now, on the edge of depression, it was just the thing I needed to boost my spirits and restore my soul.

I tapped on a Qi light and squinted at the fine print.

Dearest Max,

I don’t know how to tell you this and I pray I do not make you angry. Please understand I did this with only my love for you and our family at heart.

My own heart nearly stopped as I stopped reading.

What the heck was this?

With trepidation, I continued to read.

You know I have maintained my Qi cycling technique that prevents pregnancy as we agreed, and I planned to do this until we were married. But after we joined together this morning, I have decided to make a different choice.

My stomach did a little flip flop.

What the hell was she talking about?

I read on…

I do not know if the fates will yet bless me with a child, but I could not stand the thought of losing you and not having a part of you stay with me. I know I should have discussed this with you. Or perhaps had more faith in you, but I feared you would have said no. I still have faith that you will return victorious and it shames me that I even had the thought that you might not, but I have chosen to do this regardless.

Please forgive me, Max.

If you do return as I hope, I know I would have made our first child a bastard.

It will be a shame I will have to suffer alone until you return and one you perhaps may hold against me for life, but I just could not bear the thought of not having at least what Yu Li has in Su Ling, if you don’t.

I pray you do not hate me for this.

I’m so sorry, Max.

Please understand.

I love you.

Fia