Destiny in Cinders

The names of that arcanum and ability alone made it clear how impressive their origins were. It was no wonder that they could serve as foundational teachings of the Heavenly Demon Cult. Ming Guangchen had thought that the demonic cult was insane to publicize an impressive legacy like that to all factions, but once he saw the requirements that one had to satisfy to redeem them, he thought that the demonic cult had to have lost their minds.

The requirements to be allowed to redeem the wonder arcanum was to be the bearer of a celestial arc. It was utterly laughable, he thought. Getting a celestial-arc bearer to cultivate one's foundational teachings was not an opportunity available to many sects. Even if the demonic cult offered it for redemption by celestial-arc bearers, would they actually want to learn those techniques?

Bearers of celestial arcs like Natural-Born Master or Lord Under Heaven would never lack abilities or arcana, let alone redeeming a legacy of the demonic cult. Even the infamous Seven Ruins Tribulation that wreaked havoc and destruction could easily awaken abilities as they cultivated techniques related to destruction and ruin.

That aside, Temporal Grasp had many other requirements, such as gaining insight into the dao at special locations rich with terrestrial veins. Divine-arc bearers with good comprehension could just barely manage to meet that requirement. Among non celestial-arc bearers, anyone with ruinous star-associated arcs were best suited for the wonder.

Apart from being an aspectless soul wonder, nobody truly knew the effects of Temporal Grasp. So, Ming Guangchen only thought that it was a practical joke from the insane members of the demonic cult at the expense of the others at Endmost Sky.

When Ming Guangchen snapped out of his recollection, however, he laughed and activated his ability, turning into a stream of golden light and instantly crossed countless mountains and regions as he took flight and headed toward the Lord Inspector of the West. "Interesting!"

Whether the wonder that An Jing manifested was Temporal Grasp or whether he was a divine-arc or an unawakened celestial-arc bearer who gained insight into the dao from the terrestrial veins of Keensight no longer mattered. Ming Guangchen's highest priority was to invite someone like An Jing to Endmost Sky to be his junior, disciple and even comrade. The mere thought of that filled him with endless motivation to give the Lord Inspector of the West another painful beating!

"Old Demon He, get your ass out here!" Ming Guangchen's explosive yell shook the forest and mountains that were illuminated by his golden radiance. "Didn't you say you wanted to challenge me to a duel? Well? I've come to you!"

"Are you insane?!" replied an angered and hurried voice. "Ming Guangchen, do you think I'm afraid of you?!"

"You better not be!"

A furious and bloody battle between sages erupted following a cacophony of laughter and angered roars.

***

"An Jing," Yvelbane said in a thoughtful tone, "Do you think he figured something out?"

"He probably figured out that my lifearc and talent are far better than the best-case scenario he previously had in mind. He's now certain about how extraordinary I am," An Jing said with a hint of laughter, looking in the direction his master flew off to. "Even though I can't fully trust him with everything yet, I don't wish to lie to him on account of him being my master."

"What's there to figure out?" Yvelbane asked. "I thought everyone who met you could tell that you weren't just a nobody."

"That means I wasn't hiding it well enough, then."

Right as An Jing was about to return to the room to stabilize his cultivation, he heard a sudden thud. A door slammed open at one of the rooms in the four-walled compound. You Ruhui, who had also been secluding herself in training, had heard Ming Guangchen's voice and rushed out. She seemed rather confused, but she quickly sensed the different air about An Jing.

Using Ebony Sun Eyes, she looked closely at him and was completely awed. "An Jing... Have you reached the Fortification Realm?"

"Yeah," An Jing said, nodding and smiling. "You'll reach it soon too. All you need to do is to finish regulating your aura to awaken the dormant wonder you already possess."

You Ruhui's foundations were as perfect as they could be. She was also born with an innate wonder. If not for the peculiar requirements of the imperial court's legacies, An Jing figured that she would have reached the Fortification Realm years ago.

"Wonders of the imperial court are rather special. It won't be that easy," You Ruhui said, shaking her head. "Without dragon qi, I'm not able to cultivate a proper foundation. You should know how big a deal dragon qi is. It doesn't have anything to do with my age or level of cultivation. If I wish to reach the Fortification Realm, I have to properly govern the land and people and regulate the terrestrial veins. I also need to gain the acknowledgement of divine armaments and rely on them to wield dragon qi for my breakthrough."

She was happy for An Jing's growth and even applauded him. However, she still seemed somewhat depressed. "If not for the fact that my dragonjade can take the place of divine armaments, I would never be able to reach the Fortification Realm for the rest of my life."

An Jing didn't find that too odd either. "Even though the imperial bloodline is bound by the imperial court, it also rules over the court. It's a symbiotic relationship at the end of the day. But since you have the dragonjade, dragon qi shouldn't be an issue, right? Doesn't that mean that you're untethered from them? What's there to be unhappy about?"

"Naturally, I don't have to worry about my cultivation. My lord father and Uncle Ming have long made preparations for that. I'm more concerned about other matters," she said with a deep sigh.

Then, she motioned for him to follow her. An Jing didn't understand why, but simply went along with it. When they went to Madam Huai's room, he came to understand why she looked so glum.

Madam Huai's life had reached its final stage during the days An Jing trained in seclusion. She laid in bed peacefully. Though she could open her eyes to see An Jing and You Ruhui, she no longer had the strength to speak. Her weak presence continued to wane away; it was clear that she was at the brink of death.

An Jing sighed. "So, it's finally time, huh? You should've said something, madam."

Madam Huai hadn't wanted to disrupt his training, so she chose not to say anything. You Ruhui had been taking care of her in the past few days, but alas, the old lady's final moments were upon them.

"Madam, you have truly been a great help to me." An Jing sat down beside the bed with You Ruhui, nodding in recollection. Had Madam Huai not dealt with the probing of the True Fiend Cult early on, An Jing would've resorted to violence to resist arrest by Keensight's constables. He wouldn't have been able to meet You Ruhui or Ming Guangchen and would probably end up captured by the True Fiend Cult. Things could've gotten far worse.

She was also You Ruhui's benefactor. If not for her, the young girl wouldn't have been able to escape capture due to her injuries, let alone eventually cooperate with An Jing. But to the old lady in question, she hadn't done those deeds in hopes of being repaid. She only did so because she wanted to. It couldn't be simpler than that.

Sensing the warmth from You Ruhui when she grabbed her hand, Madam Huai recalled the warmth she felt when she was saved by the Lord Inspector of the North decades ago.

Father... Mother... I'm sorry... I've lived an odd life, constantly walking on thin ice. But at the very end, I managed to make it to the opposite shore. With those thoughts in mind, she closed her eyes and fell asleep with a smile. Her presence continued to weaken and eventually faded away completely.

Even though You Ruhui had been expecting this for quite some time, her eyes were swollen and red. She simply couldn't help it. After losing her parents and fleeing from her palace, Madam Huai was the first person to show her kindness without any strings attached. Though she wouldn't shed any tears like she had promised, she still couldn't help but feel sad about Madam Huai's passing.

An Jing stayed silent until he noticed that something was amiss.

"Wait a second!" he exclaimed when he looked at You Ruhui's chest. "The dragonjade, Ruhui! It's glowing!"

"What?" You Ruhui turned to look at her chest in a daze. The dragonjade gave off a rainbow radiance, warm as the morning glow, dark as twilight. Like a neon light at night, it illuminated the entire room. Then, the light gradually gathered around Madam Huai's lifeless body.

An Jing and You Ruhui watched in shock as a gentle, lunar lifearc halo and a spirit-like shade that resembled Madam Huai emerged from the body. The soul shade's eyes opened as she looked around, seemingly not understanding what was going on. A moment later, the shade and the lifearc halo overlaid on top of each other and emitted a beam of light that entered the dragonjade!