Quantum Cultivation by Jace Kang (simple e reader TXT) 📕

Both pulses zipped by as Ryu turned to make himself a skinnier target. With that momentum, he stabbed another assassin in the throat.  As before, the Ministry of Defense knife slipped through skin, muscle, and artery, and the man collapsed.

Down to two, the assassins showed no sign of letting up. Stabs and shots came in wave after relentless wave, putting Ryu back on the defense.

It was time to use another trick they hadn’t seen. As one lunged forward, Ryu stomped and used Earthshaping to open a furrow right where the assassin’s foot would land. It sent him into a stumble. With a sidestep, Ryu landed Splashing Hands into his back.  Without Qi to support him, bones snapped and tissue tore. The assassin smashed into the ground, unmoving.

Ryu turned on the final assailant, who holstered his second gun and picked up a second knife from one of his fallen comrades.

It was almost cute.

With a sink in his stance and a raise of his hands, Ryu drew a column of water out of the river and launched it.

Predictably, the assassin jumped out of the way; but then Ryu spread his arms out and spread the water into a sheet. It splashed over the man.

Pulling back his arms with Fireshaping, Ryu drew the heat out of the water. It froze around the man, immobilizing him from the neck down.

Ryu walked over and ripped the man’s mask off.

Very little shocked him, but Ryu had to take a step back. The assassin’s black eyes were such that it was impossible to tell where his irises ended and his pupils began. They were devoid of any emotion, spark of life, or humanity. And the face itself was gaunt, with skin so tight it looked almost like an old pirate flag. A quick scan revealed no Qi in his meridians. His bioelectric energy powered the millions of nanobots coursing through his blood vessels.

“What did they do to you?” Ryu asked.

The man cackled. “Whatever they did, they think you are better and potentially less expensive without all the wiring. After tonight, I think they are right.”

Militaries. Always looking for new ways to kill. They’d sent these men to capture their future replacement. Of course, that would be impossible without material from the World of Rivers and Lakes—all the more reason to seal off the portals.

The Code meant not harming the defenseless, even if this one would be a danger in the future.

Ryu turned away.

Standing in his path were three Tivari nearly his height and twice as broad. Tusks protruded from their lower jaws. More concerning were the strange-looking rifles they pointed at him. Instead of their uniforms from yesterday, they wore grey skinsuits that went well with their turquoise complexions.

“Master Ishihara,” the centermost one said. “We would like to ask you some questions about the power sources the authorities confiscated. Where did you get them?”

The way Siena spoke about these aliens’ aggression, Ryu wasn’t about to tell them about the World of Rivers and Lakes.  He just smiled. “A street hawker in Boston sold them to me.”

“We left Boston in ruins four hundred years ago.”

The Onslaught. The smugness of the Tivari’s tone was conveyed clearly through Ryu’s ear dot.  “I have places to be.  If you’ll excuse me.”

“Fire!” the leader barked.

Three lines of blue light zipped toward Ryu, but he stepped forward and to the right so that they crisscrossed behind him. Closing the gap, he seized the leader’s rifle and turned it so that the next shot hit one of the Tivari.

The alien collapsed to the ground, foam gathering around its tusks.

Ryu had placed himself so that the leader stood between him and his comrade, who took aim, but hesitated. Rooting, he Watershaped a Water Whip and slashed through the weapon.

Recovering from his surprise, the leader wrenched the rifle back with inhuman strength. Borrowing the force, Ryu launched Butterfly Palms through the weapon and into the leader, sending him flying back and hitting the other.  They tumbled back, but both rolled up and regained their feet.

The leader’s rifle sparked and fizzled. He threw it down, and pulled a hood over his head and disappeared; the other followed suit.  The third, in the meantime, had gone still on the ground, though his chest still rose and fell. Apparently, they’d leave their injured behi—

A punch landed on Ryu’s cheek, sending him staggering back.

Apparently they hadn’t folded space, but were instead using some kind of invisibility technology. Rubbing his jaw, Ryu reached out through the water vapor. One stood in front of him, while the other circled around, knife in hand.

He ducked back under the punch of the front one, simultaneously driving a heel into the alien’s abdomen. It grunted as it staggered back. In the same motion, Ryu kicked himself up into a one-handed backhand spring. As he came down, he wrapped the other Tivari with a scissor kick.

The technique took the alien to the ground, and Ryu rolled over and slammed his elbow into his face. The creature went still.

Kip-popping back to his feet, he intentionally presented his back to his remaining opponent. The shift in the water vapor telegraphed the incoming charge, and Ryu sidestepped, seized the Tivari’s arm, and drove him face-first into the ground.

“Just what is it with your species?” Ryu demanded. “Can’t you just play nice with other species?”

The Tivari snarled. “Your species is weak. It is our destiny to rule over you again.”

“But not today.” Ryu was going to melt some of the ice he’d immobilized the MoD assassin in and use it to detain the Tivari; but discovered the wiry man was gone.

Nothing could be done about that now, so he punched the alien in the back of the head, knocking him out.  He then sprinted back toward Hozoji Temple, where