HL: Chapter 27

Jackie frowned as he concentrated. Dragon Chi had the opposite kinda problem from Heaven Chi. Dragon Chi was almost too willing to jump to your command. While Heaven Chi don't wanna do what you tell it to, Dragon Chi wanted to be used. You hadta watch yourself when working with Dragon Chi so you don't overdo it. The past couple times Jackie'd tried to use the Qirin's Glorious Coat, the Dragon Chi'd practically poured itself into the technique, and the Old Man'd hadta literally knock him outta the technique to stop Jackie from converting his whole-ass body into dragon scales. That sorta thing woulda killed his ass just as sure as if somebody'd come and blown Jackie's head off or some shit. The Old Man'd basically saved his life by tossing Jackie into the Koi Pond again and again, not that it was fun, mind.

No, Jackie kept getting tossed into the pond with each intervention. The end result of the interventions was that Jackie was soaked from taking multiple dips into the Koi Pond. This latest time was no different splashing down with a big-ass plume of water that seemed to lower the water level in the small lake they had for a Koi Pond by half. As he swam outta the pond, pulling himself up onto the bank, his Uncle Lu conjuring more water to fill in what'd been lost, Jackie looked over at the Old Man and scowled.

"You know, Old Man. You keep doing that and you're gonna give the koi agita. Ain't never heard of fish needing therapy before, but those Koi are gonna be the first." Snarked Jackie.

"The fact is that if you simply succeeded at the tasks I set before you, the Koi would not need to be so traumatized, Grandson. You need to simply focus more to avoid such things." Scoffed the Old Man.

"Be a better teacher, then!" Retorted Jackie.

"Perhaps you haven't cooled off enough with your brief swim? Do I need to throw you back there?" Questioned the Old Man.

"Hey, lighten up, you two. We're supposed to be family." Interjected Jackie's Uncle Li.

"Yes, you're being a bit harsh on the Boy, aren't you?" Queried Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"He needs the discipline! The invasion of Apokalips is approaching, and he is not yet ready!" Intoned The Old Man.

"Hey! Don't fucking talk about me like I ain't here!" Snapped Jackie.

"The Old Man makes a good point, though, nephew. We've got a bit under eleven months before Apokalips shows up if what Hecate told you was true." Nodded Jackie's Uncle Li.

"I have no doubt that it was. That means that every day you struggle to learn a technique is time that could be spent preparing in other ways." Admitted Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"Indeed, Grandson. The longer it takes you to learn these basic techniques of the Boddhisatva-level, the more time is wasted that we could have spent on our own preparations. Why do you think your Uncle Wen left when he did? Did you believe it was simple pique?" Asked the Old Man.

"Fine. I get it. Lemme try again." Huffed Jackie.

"Remember to keep an eye on how much Dragon Chi goes where." Reminded the Old Man.

"Don't let too much flow into the technique." Added Jackie's Uncle Li.

"I got it." Ground out Jackie.

"Indeed, let him focus." Affirmed Jackie's Uncle Lu.

Jackie huffed at that, focusing up and watching his breathing. He pulled up a buncha Dragon Chi and began carefully drip-feeding it into his skin. As he did that, he made sure to keep the Dragon Chi from rushing forth all willy-nilly. He don't need yet another trip to the Koi Pond, after all. That sorta shit was getting real old, real fast. Instead, Jackie kept monitoring the amount of Chi needed to get the technique to work, hoping to find the minimum amount. If he could figure that out, he oughtta be able to call it up quickly in combat situations. No more of this taking half a day to get a basic Boddhisatva-level technique to a usable level in a combat situation shit that he'd done with the last couple techniques.

Fortunately for Jackie, it seemed he'd at least figured it out for the Qirin's Glorious Coat this time. His skin toughened, turning greenish yellow and taking on the consistency of overlapping, adamantine, scales. With a smirk and a flex of willpower, the Greenish-Yellow Scales darkened in color to Glossy Black Scales like some kinda obsidian. Jackie smirked as he cut off the flow of Chi. If folks wanted to call him the Black Qirin of the Yuen, Jackie was damn sure gonna lean into that sorta mythmaking. That shit had a kinda power of its own, after all. At least the Old Man seemed to get it, blowing a frustrated sigh outta his nose and giving Jackie a single nod.

"It's about time. Those are the Basic Boddhisatva-level Techniques of the Thundering Qirin. Now we can move on to the Basic Boddhisatva-level Techniques of the Roaring Lion." Huffed the Old Man.

"What?" Questioned Jackie.

"Come on, Nephew. You didn't think we were done here, did you?" Queried his Uncle Li.

"The family has access to Boddhisatva-level Techniques from four different styles of Chi-enhanced Martial Arts. I'm also going to stick around to help you out with Archmage-level Magic from our Familial Disciplines, too." Added his Uncle Lu.

"I didn't think we were doing this much training." Grumbled Jackie.

"By the time that I return to Taiwan from my vacation here next week, you will have a solid grounding in all of the Family's Basic Boddhisatva-level Techniques." Intoned the Old Man.

"Same for me and shoring up your Archmage-level Magic." Agreed Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"You ready for this, nephew?" Asked Jackie's Uncle Li.

"Ready or not, I don't gotta choice here. Let's get to it." Grunted Jackie, acquiescing.

"That's the spirit, Grandson. Now let us see if you can maintain it!" Nodded the Old Man.

Over the course of the next week and a half, Jackie's Uncles and the Old Man drilled him relentlessly on the Family's Chi Techniques and Magical Disciplines. Jackie ain't never had this sorta intensive training before, 'cept for one time when he was training on Mount Meru under Sun Wukong. Jackie also ain't sure whether the fact that he could compare the Old Man's training to the Literal Monkey King's was a good thing or not. He got a shitload outta the training in both cases, though. While he ain't sure if he'd be able to tangle with the sorta guys that Superman had back when he was alive, he figured he now could go one-on-one with Princess Diana and pull a win outta his ass roughly half the time. That hadta be good enough for the time being.

Because at the end of his training period, a couple hours after the Old Man'd gotten on his flight back home to Taiwan, a giant Dragon Turtle God Thing was gonna show up like some kinda Kaiju looking to wreck Gotham if Jackie don't stop him. That ain't the sorta thing that Bruce's group could handle, which meant that Jackie was the one who'd haveta stop Bixi, the son of Ao Guang, Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, from making like Godzilla and fucking up Gotham.

And that was just as Bixi had planned. . .

XXXX

Meanwhile, as Jackie was training, Bixi made his way across the United States on a Motorcycle that he had purchased with Gold. Originally, his goal was simply to make it to the East Coast of this country to test the newest Boddhisatva in the Mortal Realm. However, that goal quickly shifted. While he had little need to test the Hero known as Green Lantern, as the powers he wielded were identical to the ones wielded by the so-called Dragon Lord, Jong Li, there were many other such heroes that Bixi could observe as he made his way across the Continent. It was perhaps a sidetrack, but if so, it was a novel one. Indeed, Bixi fancied that such intelligence gathering might allow him to inform Mount Meru's decision-making should the subject of powerful mortals be brought to the Court of the Jade Emperor for revision of policy.

His first stop was a city of glittering lights and vice, a towering edifice of glass, steel, and iniquity in the midst of the desert, Las Vegas, it was called. It was here that Bixi witnessed titanic Mystical Forces clashing, as a Woman in odd attire with a tall, cylindrical, black hat did battle with a raging brute that reminded Bixi a bit of some of the Oni who called the Lands of Yamato home. The Sorceress clearly had the Brute well in hand, however. The Brute's unintelligent smashing was powerful, but without direction, the Sorceress swiftly had him captive with bands of mystic power that the Brute could not destroy. Bixi watched as this Sorceress, Zatanna, handed the Brute, Blockbuster, over to the local Guard. If he had to judge, Zatanna was an Archmage-level Sorceress, albeit a recent one.

Next, he made his way to a sight he had not often seen before, two Brethren Cities straddling either side of a mighty river, cutting through the plains in the middle of the Country. Keystone and Central Cities, home of the Flash, as was loudly proclaimed by the signpost. Here, Bixi witnessed a perplexing sight. Someone fast enough that he rivaled even Sun Wukong's prodigious speed. This being did battle with a similarly fast being, who also appeared to possess a level of super-strength. This Opponent of the famed Flash was not as fast as the Flash, but instead of using that to end the fight, Bixi watched the Flash do something he had only rarely seen before, offer to help his opponent.

"Jerry, you have an addiction! Let me help you, I can get you off the Super-Drugs and we can take it one step at a time!" Insisted the Flash.

"You don't get it! How could you? You got your powers the normal way!" Insisted the Flash's Opponent, Jerry.

"So did you! At least when it came to speed! Let me help you off the Super-Steroid, you don't need it, Jerry!" Insisted the Flash.

"Then I'll be just some guy who's not as fast as the Flash, though!" Scowled Jerry.

"You're not just some guy, Jerry! What about Tina?" Pressed the Flash.

Remarkably, that seemed to work, and Jerry stopped trying to punch the Flash. The two Costumed Combatants sat down to actually talk out their issues, and Bixi was stunned when Jerry agreed to get treatment. Truly, the Flash was a hero in the true sense of the word, to have such compassion for an opponent. It warmed Bixi's heart to see such a display. He continued on his journey, heading east, content that the Flash deserved every bit of pride the Twin Cities seemed to take in his being their Hero.

First, Bixi headed North. Here, in a City in the frozen North of the Country, Bixi watched the Wizard's latest champion battle it out with some sort of magically imbued Automaton, all while a Bald Man in a white coat watched on, cackling. The Wizard's Champion, going by Captain Marvel, managed to turn the tide on the Automaton and force the Bald Man, Doctor Sivana, to flee the field of battle. Next, Bixi headed South for a patch of wetland at the Opposite Side of the Country, seeing the current Avatar of the Green aid a new Elemental in controlling her powers while Nabu's latest Agent watched on. Following that, Bixi headed Northeast to watch a team of Teenaged Heroes defeat a soul clinging to the Mortal Realm centuries past his death, the Hungry Dead affecting the manner of a noble. These Teen Titans, having recently lost a member from the chatter, still defeated the Gentleman Ghost, who was attempting to satisfy his ephemeral hunger for wealth with thievery.

On and on it went, Bixi visiting cities and locations associated with these Heroes of the new dawning Heroic Age. He saw an Amazon returned to Man's World and meet with a Pugilist with the eye of Bastet upon him, he saw a man using Science to Shrink himself to levels that even the Gods couldn't achieve, in order to eradicate a Virus before it could break out of a mad scientist's laboratory using some sort of handheld weapon. He saw a man who could bend his body as if it were made of noodles track down a murderer using the skills of a detective, he saw an Immortal Shadow Sorcerer agree to mentor the Bereaved Son of a former enemy in the ways of his father. He saw multiple Superpowered Beings attempt to take up the mantle of a Fallen Hero, protecting a Shining City of Tomorrow.

On and on it went, and Bixi was certain he had not even seen half of the new heroes of this Dawning Age. However, Bixi had an appointment to keep, and could not spend his time too frivolously, hence why he did not return to the West Coast to see beings such as the Avatar of the Red, or the Emerald Archer, who supposedly put Hou Yi to shame. Instead, he found himself making his way to a City that reeked of darkness and corrupted Chi. A Boddhisatva appearing in such a town was not the greatest of Omens, and Bixi could only frown as he saw the pocket of tainted Chi deep underneath one of the several islands that made up the City. Fortunately, the Boddhisatva seemed not to live inside the City Limits, as Bixi sensed him returning to a residential manor on the Mainland across a bridge. Now, he had to think of just how best to lure the Boddhisatva out. His mind hit on a solution shortly after arrival. After all, the old maxim, when in doubt, attack, seemed to be applicable here.

And if Bixi attacking the City in his true form did not spur the Boddhisatva to action, he could not think of what would. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. Jackie is trained up to the minimum standard expected of a Boddhisatva-level Cultivator of the Yuen now, even if his Grandad is annoyed that he can't seem to get the lessons within moments of them being demonstrated. After all, Jackie is a quick study, but he's not a Shounen Protagonist who can copy moves just by seeing them once. Meanwhile, Bixi has extended his trip to the Mortal Realm further, taking the measure of various heroes and villains. I particularly enjoyed writing the Flash sequence there. After all, Wally is my favorite Flash, and he's just a good dude. Wally has only recently taken the Flash Mantle from Barry in the time between Book One and Book Two, but he's already off to a good start.

At any rate, the next chapter will be entirely Jackie's POV and will deal with Bixi attacking Gotham City like he's Godzilla or something. I'll also have a new bio for Jackie out before then.

Stay tuned. . .