Destiny in Cinders

Jin Yanhua had to be a core member of an upper sect for her to know so many mysteries that backwater cultivators of the Northblack Sacrifice Continent had completely no idea about. She probably heard about precious and secretive information like this day in and out.

"The founding ancestor of the Heavenly Demon Cult sounds powerful indeed." An Jing found the tale about the founding ancestor who left the Greater Ebony Cult somewhat ridiculous. The Greater Ebony Cult was the strongest heavenly sect in Void Embrace that had at least one empyrean every single generation. Yet, the founding ancestor of the demonic cult was actually able to fight off so many peers on the same level as him and left with his followers. That feat alone beggared belief.

So the founding ancestor was also a traitor to his cult? It's no wonder the demonic cult has a whole tradition of leading recruits down the path of betraying their cults. Are they trying to recreate something similar?

"Haha," Jin Yanhua chuckled. She loosened the tail she wrapped around You Ruhui and used it to lazily sweep the dust on the ground. "What's decided in a Grand Dao Struggle isn't who's strong or weak or who lives or dies. Instead, the focus is on who's right or wrong."

"Heavenly Demon Cult... Heh, the demonic cult... It's true that they are madmen who often go overboard and lose themselves, making many enemies across the central continent and the Northblack Sacrifice Continent. But there are some questions to which answers can't be found in the dao of the righteous.

"If the Heavenly Will Founder hadn't betrayed his cult and culled the chaff within the cult, the Great Ebony Cult would never have reformed and obtained that many lifearc arcana. They wouldn't have managed to acquire supremacy in the central continent. Putting aside the Greater Ebony Cult, even the Ancestral Dragon Hall that I call home..."

She shook her head and didn't seem like she wanted to elaborate on it. "You have firm foundations, perhaps ones that are even better than mine. An Jing, Guang here has truly lucked out by taking you in as his disciple."

"It's a win-win situation. In fact, Master has helped me much more than I've been able to repay him so far," An Jing said earnestly. "It was my great fortune that I managed to meet the two of you."

"Win-win, huh? Well said." Jin Yanhua smiled beautifully, but only for a moment. She turned to You Ruhui with a pitiful look. "This is why I like you all so much. If only I can be here with you a little longer... Little Mingjing, your parents once promised to join me and rise to the peak of the martial path. Alas, they reneged on that promise."

"Sister... Jin..." You Ruhui was still rather shy about calling an ancient dragon her sister. While it wasn't a big deal to dragons, it was quite confusing for a human girl like her.

She struggled a little harder to break free of Jin Yanhua's embrace. "I am really thankful to you all for coming to my rescue. However, I don't know anything about the friendship that you and my parents shared. Can you tell me more about them in the future? I want to know what they were really like."

After a moment of silent pondering, Jin Yanhua nodded. "No problem. I'm just worried that it will crush the impression you have of your father. He was nothing like the king you know and love."

"That's it! That's exactly what I want to know!"

Jin Yanhua had many more things she needed to tell You Ruhui apart from matters concerning her parents. She needed to know lots of basic information about the Central Balance Dao Continent as well as Ancestral Dragon Hall. After all, it was quite likely that she would have to live there in the future.

"I'm preparing a Grandvoid Pathway to the northern frontier for you right now," Ming Guangchen said, sighing in relief now that the altar was working. "Though I've finally achieved one of the most important objectives, I can't follow you to the northern frontier."

He took out a plain-looking eight-cornered stone mirror and handed it to An Jing. "This is a token that represents me. There's a stream of light from my Celestial Banishment Divine Light Mirror within it. Also..."

Ming Guangchen sighed when An Jing received the mirror and put it away. "I trust that you already figured out that I'm someone who's more focused on abilities rather than weapons or barehanded fighting techniques. I only rely on a single bag of tricks no matter what kind of foe I fight."

That's true. I've never seen you use any kind of weapon, An Jing thought.

His master continued, "This is characteristic of the Brightmirror Sect. Everyone there focuses on building up spirit energy and arcane power to use abilities. This is not a weak fighting style by any means. Many dao progenies[1] never practice any combat arts and focus only on arcana of the Grand Dao as well as knowledge required for governance. This way, they'd be able to rapidly advance their cultivation and the power of their lifearcs."

"I see. The same applies to members of the imperial bloodline, right?" An Jing found the comparison rather fitting. It was the case with You Ruhui, who didn't know many combat arts of her own and focused on studying terrestrial veins, one of the many ways to influence the surrounding environment.

Bearing imperial blood already meant being able to advance rapidly in cultivation. Once they comprehended dao, abilities naturally arose. So what if they didn't know mundane combat techniques? Fights between martialists of that level were more often than not magnificent displays of manipulation of energies in the surrounding environment. This kind of cultivation method was something that could only be afforded by major factions that had absolute control over large territories so as to ensure the absolute safety of their disciples.

An Jing still had doubts. "Then again, what if someone's lifearc and dao requires them to engage in combat? What if they're fated to live a life of fighting? Perhaps for them, learning combat arts is exactly what they need to do to advance to the next realm."

"In that case, there's no beating these people," Ming Guangchen said. "Then again, there can't be many such people among those who seek dao. Surely, those who walk the path of combat can't possibly fight the entire world alone.

"That's all to say that the Brightmirror Sect can't possibly rival the Greater Ebony Cult or Ancestral Dragon Hall for that matter. That's why we still have to learn combat techniques. This also applies to people who have unique lifearcs that necessitate combat."

"Indeed. Guang, my dear, your Brightmirror Sect can at most help him establish his foundations and help him advance his cultivation. However, you're unfit to teach him about combat," Jin Yanhua said, green lightning flashing around her.

She had finished her conversation with You Ruhui and came over to their side. Looking intensely at the boy, she nodded. "Guang told me that you managed to master everything related to force application within two short hours. He has nothing left to teach you where that's concerned. Your talent is extraordinary indeed. It's no wonder the Heavenly Divine Cult picked you."

She raised her hand to stop An Jing from asking a question and continued, "The reason I told you about the origins of the Heavenly Divine Cult is I want you to know that you have a heavy karmic link with them. It's far from insignificant."

Of course. I already manifested Temporal Grasp, An Jing thought, but he didn't let it show. He understood what Ming Guangchen and Jin Yanhua were trying to tell him.

Jin Yanhua wasn't surprised to see the fearless look on his face. She smiled after testing him and said, "Even though it's hard to escape karma, you don't seem like you're even trying to from what I can see. You don't fear it either. That's good. Martialists never fear cause and effect."

She turned to the void altar behind her and calmly said, "This altar's rather elementary, so it can't be used again without cooling down for a few more days. During that time, I'll teach you some actual killing techniques."

***

Six hours later, Jin Yanhua had a troubled look on her face. Her brow was completely furrowed as she went looking for Ming Guangchen, who was laughing nonstop as if he expected this.

The dragon lady hesitated, but she still confessed, "Guang... I don't... I don't think I can teach him anything else! He actually mastered all of the armed combat arts I know!"

1. This term seems to refer to special disciples of sects that get the most care so that they solely focus on cultivation and nothing else. They do not have to do any menial chores or missions. ☜