Destiny in Cinders

So sages mess around with bad wordplay too? Next, you'll tell me that you love dad jokes... An Jing almost lost it at how Overseer Cao managed to link his alias with Ming Guangchen's sobriquet just by inverting the sounds. Who knew that the name from his past life coincidentally mirrored the title of someone in Void Embrace?

Overseer Cao's imaginative capabilities were impressive to the point of making a coincidence out to be something intentionally planned. This was a level of comedy that would send the deities in the heavens above bawling in laughter. Then again, it was a good misunderstanding. The overseer seemed to buy Sage Mystic Mirror's explanation completely.

"I see... So you were the one who sent this child to scout out what was going on. You really thought of everything, huh?" The overseer gave An Jing a look before turning to the sage. "Ming Guangchen, I will remember how you abided by the True Martial Treaty and joined hands with me against the heavenly fiends. However, I still have to warn you not to stick your hands into Grand Chen's internal matters!"

"Of course I wouldn't! I only came here at your request to wipe out the heavenly fiends, nothing more. The heavenly fiends that manifested at Keensight must have something to do with the ones that manifested at Direlife Manor too, so I sent my disciple here to look into it just in case. I didn't think he'd actually find something out."

"No wonder he has such a precious mirror too. You must've been the one who gave it to him." Overseer Cao already came up with a reasonable explanation for why An Jing had hesitated to explain the mirror. Whether it was because he needed the funds for his plans or something else, he had had no choice but to pawn off the precious mirror his master had given him. It was no wonder he didn't want to talk about it!

As for why An Jing had spread word that he was a Dustdawner, it must've been to prod Honor Pavilion and get them to act per his master's orders. Without doing so, he wouldn't be able to lure out the heavenly fiend that lay in hiding as well as the members of the True Fiend Cult that had infiltrated the administration. All of it fell into place. True though it wasn't, it was all too reasonable.

An Jing felt a shift from the stream of spirit qi coming the sage's hand on his shoulder. Others might have missed it, but he detected a sense of relief coming from the spirit qi reverberations. An Jing figured that the sage had noticed something, perhaps how he was potentially acquainted with You Ruhui, and came to his aid. He had probably predicted that the overseer would come looking for An Jing and had been waiting nearby for the convoy to leave. What a sly fox! Even though his techniques seem yang aligned, he's a sneaky fellow!

"Interesting." Overseer Cao knew that there was no way he would be able to hold An Jing back despite the minor doubts he still held. The only reason he came looking for An Jing in the first place was how Zheng Mo had praised him from hell to the high heavens and begged to keep the mighty Dustdawner around for some kind of position. Even if he refused, the authorities still had to find some way to keep in contact with him somehow.

His curiosity piqued, Overseer Cao began to gather information about the kid, only to sense something fishy from all of it. An Jing had entered the city and did everything with a high profile. Not only did he not back down after Honor Pavilion's warning, he even struck back with full force, taking the initiative to capture fiend followers to rescue their captives. Had the True Fiend Cult not been a temporary ally, Overseer Cao would've cheered for An Jing!

Most martialists would have held back and watched when they encountered situations like that, so the fact that An Jing didn't showed just how capable and fearless he was. He had to have someone who backed him, which raised the question: who? Were they the remnants of the Heavenly Demon Cult that survived the purge? Or, was it the most dangerous possibility: the Reformists behind King Jing?

Just as he was cautiously pondering his next move, Overseer Cao heard about how An Jing entered a dao-comprehension state after witnessing the activation of the major terrestrial-vein formation. This heightened his caution even more than before, which was why learning that Sage Mystic Mirror was behind him was a good thing. At least, it wasn't the worst-case scenario and was merely some minor interference from the five Dustdawn Sects.

The only odd thing about this was why Voidsight Mountain would send a genius capable of experiencing the dao-comprehension state to carry out a mission like this. But when the overseer recalled how Sage Mystic Mirror had been around the whole time and could come to An Jing's aid if he encountered any real trouble, the overseer figured it was nothing more than a field trial for An Jing.

So, the mess on the True Fiend Cult's end was what allowed Princess Mingjing to escape. Bearing that thought in mind, the overseer turned to An Jing and spoke in an emotional voice. "You truly are your famous master's disciple. Your master, Ming Guangchen, managed to enter the dao-comprehension state on his own too back in the day. Then, he was able to overcome all eighty-eight trials of the Heavenly Pillar. I didn't think that his disciple would be that outstanding as well. I really wonder how you managed to gain insight from the Keensight Bell. If you're able to resonate with it in some way, I can even borrow it to give you a closer look!"

This was the final obstacle. Though Overseer Cao sounded congratulatory, An Jing had his full guard up. The overseer still doubted whether he was really Ming Guangchen's disciple! The Keensight Bell was of the yang aspect, which Sage Mystic Mirror was a master of. If An Jing couldn't come up with any insights into the aspect of yang, there would be reason to suspect that Ming Guangchen wasn't his master!

Not proving himself was out of the question either. If An Jing had really gained insight from the Keensight Bell, it had to be related to the yang aspect somehow. In fact, nobody in his position would turn down the opportunity and be allowed to observe a divine armament up close! Unless... An Jing wasn't truly Ming Guangchen's disciple!

Within the borders of Grand Chen, Overseer Cao didn't need to give Sage Mystic Mirror any special regard. If the overseer insisted on arresting An Jing, he couldn't be sure that the sage would fight for his sake!

Fortunately, he came prepared. He smiled eagerly as a few thoughts flashed across his mind. "Alright, forgive me for this embarrassing display..."

Even though what he had prepared was a bit of a stretch, it was just enough to fool the overseer! He raised his hand and gathered pure, burning-hot Evenstar metal qi in his palm. This metal-aspect qi had been forged by fire and let out lots of heat. Metal-aspect innate qi of white and gold gradually took form, forming a miniature golden bell that looked a bit like a swirling vortex. The bell was like the sun, radiating a yang-like aspect, but its hum was sharp and was painful to listen to. Blazing sun-like patterns of gold could be seen spreading across the surface of the bell, manifesting a faint presence of the Evenstar.

Both Ming Guangchen, who had secretly gripped his fists earlier and prepared himself for a fight, and Overseer Cao, who didn't think too much beyond casually testing An Jing, looked flabbergasted.

"An ability?!"