Destiny in Cinders

The intrinsic nature of wonders... Aren't they like special organs that allow a person to activate special traits? An Jing fell into deep thought. His mind raced through everything he had learned and seen. Then, the True Talisman flashed across his mind.

The True Talisman could convert mystical qi to strengthen life and hone destiny. However, its intrinsic nature was to serve as one of the bases of a major pure yang formation. Like wonders, it was quite useful on its own outside the formation, but at the end of the day...

An Jing finally understood it. "Formation bases! The Aura Realm is an initiation. The Fortification Realm builds firm foundations. The Clearing Realm shatters heaven-earth gateways. That means that the microcosm manifested within the body is the base with which one transcends heaven! As for the five wonders of the Fortification Realm, four of them serve as formation bases for the cardinal directions while the soul wonder is the eye of the formation! This lines up with the principle of four symbols and five phases![1] Unifying wonders and manifesting abilities is a crucial part of the path from the Clearing Realm to the Void Divine Treasures Realm!"

"Very good!" Ming Guangchen couldn't help but cheer. He knew that An Jing had derived this understanding on his own as he was sure that the kid hadn't had the chance to learn about this kind of martial knowledge. His derived understanding was entirely correct!

He applauded his disciple and said, "You got it exactly right. The martial path is the martial dao. There's a martial part, and there's also a dao component to it. The dao of the martial way is to build a formation in the body that emulates the cosmos. The martial component allows you to hone your body and become better at fighting and killing, while the dao component changes your body into a universe of its own to extend your life! Now, I will tell you about what a sect's core teachings are."

He raised his index finger and continued, "Different wonders have different affinities with the five phases."

An Jing waited for his master to say more, but then, he realized that Ming Guangchen finished what he wanted to say when he saw the smile on his face. That single sentence encompassed all of the core teachings!

But when he linked it to his previous insights on how wonders served as formation bases and how abilities could be triggered by the formation in the body, he began to believe that the single sentence really was all that the core teachings were about.

"Since it's related to formations, it must have something to do with the hindering relationships between the five phases and the subordination of yin and yang. Every formation's aspect, position and even which part commands which subordinate parts are deeply interrelated," An Jing muttered. If he went on to manifest wonders, even powerful ones, without proper consideration for which ones commanded and which served, they could clash with each other and prevent him from reaching the Clearing Realm. The same principle applied where spirit roots were concerned. Even if he lucked out and broke through, there was no way he would reach the Treasures Realm.

"Normal martialists don't have a choice about the wonders they manifest. They only cultivate whatever they can get their hands on. They care more about getting stronger in the moment than whether they would be able to make it to the Clearing and Treasures Realms. This means that most common people, even if they bear lifearcs, get stuck at the peak of the Fortification Realm if they don't join a proper faction and get proper guidance! Even though the founding ancestor of my clan broke through to the Clearing Realm by sheer luck, he had been stuck at the initial phase and was never able to make any more progress since then! There are so many great filters, from resources, lifearcs, inherited techniques and the secretive core teachings of sects!"

He looked at the smiling Ming Guangchen when he was done and finally understood why Yvelbane was so insistent on him finding a master for the martial path. As expected of an ancient sword immortal from a major sect!

In a world where legacies and guidance reigned supreme, folk geniuses wouldn't amount to much even if they figured a few things out on their own. The saying "different wonders have different affinities with the five phases" alone suggested that there were hundreds of different configurations of wonders that could be matched together.

All this knowledge was the result of countless trial-and-error attempts by geniuses that came before, more often than not at the cost of their own future progress. This was the true great filter and cornerstone that the many proper sects relied on to thrive! Just like An Jing's previous life where people had to test out different mixtures of metals to create alloys with different properties, there were endless paths ahead, just as many that led to huge profit as well as those that led to severe losses.

Ming Guangchen gave his disciple a gentle look. "I believe that even if you don't join a proper sect, you would've had other fortuitous encounters that would have helped you avoid these pitfalls. Still, having me around does make things much easier."

An Jing had thought that Ming Guangchen would immediately extend an invitation for him to join the sect, so he was quite surprised it wasn't.

The well-worn sage fell silent, as if he was reminiscing about the past. When he snapped out of it, he laughed apologetically. "Different sects have different configurations of wonders that are matched with their respective signature techniques. Even if an outsider somehow acquires those techniques, they wouldn't be able to practice them without the right wonders.

"The Brightmirror Sect's unique wonders are Brightmirror Heart, Glass Bones and Dustless Eyes. As these wonders' powers conflict with one another, you should only pick one. There's no rush to join the sect either, An Jing. I won't force you to. You also don't have to pick right away because I'll tell you how to manifest all three of those wonders later on."

"Why?" This was the biggest doubt that had been nagging at him since he met Ming Guangchen. After Ming Guangchen divulged the many other secretive teachings of the sect, An Jing would quickly understand them all given his impressive comprehension.

He simply didn't understand why Ming Guangchen was clearly trying to impart all of his knowledge unto him. It was one thing if he was doing it to get him to join their sect as a promising newcomer. Yet, Ming Guangchen gave those tips to him without any strings attached even though An Jing was already prepared to say yes.

Methods to manifest wonders were crucial treasures of sects. If outsiders managed to manifest wonders according to those teachings, they would be able to derive their own martial technique based on the Brightmirror Sect's. If they were lucky, they could even manifest abilities of their own and form their own sect! Having core teachings leaked was the reason many martial sects in Grand Chen occasionally spawned branches.

"Because the Brightmirror Sect isn't a good place either." Ming Guangchen sat down on a stone tile and dispelled his arcane corpus. He motioned for An Jing to sit as well. "You would have been a divine general of the demonic cult. Had you not betrayed them, you would've been given access to their core teachings as well.

"I understand the reason you betrayed them and escaped. You don't want to be associated with them in the least, right? Given how you were even willing to pose as a Dustdawner rather than return to Grand Chen under your original identity, it seems like you hate Grand Chen just as much. After you met Mingjing, you must've come to feel how toxic Grand Chen truly is for them to have dealings with heavenly fiends."

"That's true," An Jing said without holding anything back. He sat down cross legged beside his master, supported his chin with his hand and put his elbow on his knee. "Are you going to tell me that Grand Chen isn't that bad and the Brightmirror Sect is worse?"

"They're both pretty bad. The Brightmirror Sect is slightly better, since we're not that large of a sect," Ming Guangchen honestly said. "But if you're imagining sects to be so much better than the empire and are akin to paradise, that's simply a pipe dream. A close... associate... of mine just died. Heavenly fiends were involved."

He looked forlornly to the north as if he could see through the void. "Dying at the hands of heavenly fiends isn't the surprising part, nor was the fact that he was one of the few people in the sect that I found noteworthy. However, the mission he was on should've been an absolute secret. He would never have died unless a mole in our sect leaked it.

"Not only do we have moles that work together with heavenly fiends, we also have internal conflicts between different clans and master-disciple lineages as well as many dirty dealings. Cultivating in the sect or in Grand Chen won't be that different, save for the fact that the scale of the conflicts in sects is much smaller, while internal conflicts in Grand Chen lead to who-knows-how-many disasters." Ming Guangchen's words reminded An Jing about the Hanhai Fiend Calamity and how everyone in Keensight almost got sacrificed to the deathtame fiend.

"Why do you have to be so honest to me about this? It wouldn't be too late to tell me all this after I join the sect," An Jing said, sighing. "I'm not someone to go back on my word. Since I called you my master, I must acknowledge the gracious favor you've done me for teaching me the dao."

"You truly are as clear as a mirror. Not only do you have the Spark, you also boast incredible comprehension. That's why, there's no need for me to put one over you. I don't want to use hollow lies, even lies of omission, to trick you into joining. The reason I told you about the Fortification and Clearing Realms is just to make sure that you understand the significance of joining a sect and how it will shape your future. It is a commitment that you cannot turn back on, save for crippling your cultivation and starting over.

"You are incredibly talented, so I definitely want to bring you into our sect, speaking as the lord of Dawnglow Hall and the future lord of Dawnlight Peak. However, I am not just a sage of the Brightmirror Sect. I am also affiliated with Endmost Sky."

He looked deeply into An Jing's eyes. "People like us cultivate not for our own benefit or conquering others. Instead, we do so to investigate the secrets behind the veil of our world. We seek out the truths that are hidden in our history. We can only truly change this world if we understand its secrets and how it came to be this way. What I need is someone who walks the same path and can continue to walk this path as far as possible. I need someone who believes in the path we're walking. You have the potential to be such a person. That's why I opened up to you in hopes that you'll show me the same courtesy."

"It's true that there's a lot of things I haven't told you," An Jing said. "I don't plan to reveal them for now."

Ming Guangchen didn't seem to mind. "Trust is built with time. I don't expect you to tell me anything now. I just wanted you to know the sincere positions I hold about these matters. That aside, I'm teaching you all three wonders because I want someone as talented as you to choose on your own which one to manifest. If you're willing to manifest any one of them, you can already be considered a member of our sect. You don't even have to come back to us. It's not a bad idea to plant a seed outside the sect."

"A seed?" An Jing could infer the intention behind those words and furrowed his brow. "Is it that bad already?"

"Things are fine for now. The seniors, elders and grand elder are all still around," Ming Guangchen said, opening his arcane eyes. "However, this state of affairs won't last. If you really do choose to come to the sect, you will witness its decay and maybe even its fall while you are still growing."

Even though his master sounded pessimistic, An Jing smiled. "To be honest, I kinda want to witness it for myself."

Ming Guangchen raised an eyebrow and looked at him, surprised. An Jing turned to look at Keensight and spotted the administrative bureau. "They're all the same, prosperous but withering from the rot within. Perhaps the Brightmirror Sect's decline wouldn't be the worst off compared to the rest. In fact, it might even serve as a good example of how to handle decline for the rest of the world. This will happen in time with Grand Chen's own decline, so it'll be a good opportunity for me to learn what it's like and how to get used to situations like these."

"The demonic cult did raise you alright. You're incredibly gutsy and fierce," Ming Guangchen said with a hearty laugh. He stood up and said, "It seems like you're already looking far into the future. Very well, since you're so spirited, let us continue!"

An Jing stood up as well. "Yes, Master."

1. Five phases refer to the five Chinese elements of the Wuxing. Four symbols refer to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Symbols ☜