Destiny in Cinders

While Jin Yanhua was only at the threefold Treasures Realm, she had long comprehended the true meaning of dao and achieved eight folds for her arcane domain. Even though her domain was smaller in scope, typical Sanctification Realm venerateds didn't have foundations that ran as deep as hers.

Even so, this expert from Ancestral Dragon Hall and future contender for one of the positions of the Dragon Gods of the Four Epochs experienced a huge headache after teaching An Jing for a mere six hours. In fact, she already sensed during the first two hours why Ming Guangchen insisted on getting her to teach An Jing, casting away his pride as his master.

"How did you learn it so quickly?!" Jin Yanhua looked at the teaching materials she laid out across the courtyard with her mouth wide agape. Light flashed across her eyes as she gave An Jing an intense look of disbelief. "Even if you have the Spark, that doesn't make sense!"

An Jing nonchalantly put down the battle axe in his hand. He just hacked through three layers of spirit-light walls that Jin Yanhua had formed with her spirit qi. With that kind of power, he'd easily be able to bust a hole through a walls on both sides of a building. It was simply much more than a Fortification Realm martialist could achieve.

That wasn't all either. The moment An Jing picked up a sword, An Jing slashed and stabbed in quick succession, unleashing rainbow sword flashes that immediately destroyed the thirty-six winged snakes Jin Yanhua conjured up with her arcane power.

Since that moment, she sensed that something was really off. The winged-snake test was considered perfectly cleared if he could wipe them out within five seconds. Doing so in ten seconds was enough to pass the test. But An Jing did it in a mere three!

The winged snakes weren't that good at flying, but they were incredibly fast and easy to miss with the slightest distraction, causing the test taker to waste even more time! Yet, An Jing seemed to have charted out the optimal route to take out the winged snakes in an instant. Then, his sword soared through the air, pulsing with his aura as he easily slayed the snakes and gathered them together into a pile.

Later on, An Jing used a blade and unleashed a massive streak of qi twelve zhang in length![1] Had Jin Yanhua not blocked it with her hands, the qi would've destroyed part of the four-walled compound.

After that, An Jing wielded a hammer as if it was a light object and used it to destroy only the second, fourth and sixth bricks in a stack of ten bricks. To prove that his degree of control wasn't a fluke, he did it again, this time destroying only the third, fifth and seventh bricks.

The same situation repeated itself as An Jing used a spear to pierce through twelve layers of metal armor, used a dagger to unleash flying knives of qi, explosive soundwaves to sever pillars of spirit qi and so on. Jin Yanhua had tested An Jing on more than ten different weapons only to see him exceed full marks on every test she devised. All An Jing had to do was hold the weapon for a bit, think, and put his theories into action.

"I already can't think of any other way to test him..." Jin Yanhua had only wanted to get a grasp on An Jing's strengths and weaknesses, only to end up feeling like she was the one who had her limits tested instead.

An Jing merely smiled at the sight of her shock. Naturally, he had used Temporal Grasp to adjust the amount of force he used to a fine precision for weapons he wasn't used to wielding to ensure that he executed techniques flawlessly. It helped him unleash power that he never thought was possible.

Was this the "true combat" that Ming Guangchen talked about? Even if it wasn't, An Jing's martial skill was by no means just average. Had he achieved a level of full mastery down to the finest detail... or was it just the mark of one blessed by heaven? Either way, Temporal Grasp and Heaven's Child Art could greatly amplify his strength even though they didn't seem like combat buffs.

"Is this really happening? Am I falling behind?" Jin Yanhua still found it hard to believe. She sought out You Ruhui and tried to teach her similar techniques before she finally understood what was going on.

You Ruhui learned quickly like the genius she was. However, she still had flaws that could use some adjustment and guidance. It wasn't that geniuses didn't make mistakes the first time around. They simply fixed them faster than others. This was what "normal" was like. An Jing was a monster in a whole different league! Jin Yanhua wasn't the problem, he was!

"In the next four hours, I tested out his application of different forces, the density of his spirit qi, the control he has over it, the strength of his meridians, the toughness of his bones, the explosiveness of his power, his endurance and so on." Jin Yanhua shook her head and snapped out of her recollection. She gave Ming Guangchen a serious look. "How did you think it went?"

Hah, of course he's terrifyingly extraordinary! Did you think I was unaware? Ming Guangchen knew full well that this was Yan Jinhua's manner of speech; she loved to pose rhetorical questions and didn't like it when people actually answered them.

"How did you think it went? If we don't include people who practice exceptional body refinement arcana, An Jing's constitution is close to or far exceeds the limits of the human body! I know you want to say something along the lines of this not being a big deal, but you have to remember that this child doesn't have a special bloodline or any special bodily traits. The fact that he's able to reach the limit alone is horrifying to imagine. Once he reaches the Treasures Realm and uses abilities to alter his base body, he'd be able to cultivate any kind of arcane corpus that he wants! There's no trace of impurity in his body introduced by any bloodline, so he can pick anything without any constraints!"

"How impressive indeed," Ming Guangchen said with a smile.

Jin Yanhua rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. I know he's your disciple. Sigh... I still can't quite accept it. How could there be someone with such extreme talent?"

"His ability is Qiform Arsenal," Ming Guangchen added.

The dragon lady froze for a moment. "Qiform Arsenal? I see... So he's able to use qi to form weapons and enhance them as he pleases with spirit and lethal qi of all sorts. That's also why applied forces come so naturally to him! Wait a second..."

She turned to him, seeming pissed. "You were waiting to see me embarrass myself, huh? Why didn't you tell your Sister Jin about this?"

"Come on, I wouldn't!" Ming Guangchen said, not panicking in the slightest. "I just thought that it'd be faster to get the point across by letting you experience it for yourself. Seeing his incredible talent is believing, is it not? Also, Sister Jin, why don't you try teaching him that?"

She couldn't deny that An Jing was just that talented. She wouldn't have been able to imagine it until she saw it. Jin Yanhua nodded in agreement until the last part. "Hey, you punk, you have your sights on Big Sis's arcanum, huh?"

Ming Guangchen honestly said, "Well, since I didn't manage to learn it myself back then, I want my disciple to try it out."

"Hmmm..." Jin Yanhua fell into deep thought. Given her status, it wouldn't be a problem if she taught others the arcanum. She was the one who invented it anyway, though she did integrate some principles taught to her by the seniors of her sect. All she needed to do was inform the legacy-transfer hall of her sect about it. Not to mention, An Jing was certain to become a member of Endmost Sky one day and was already considered part of the same group as her, Ming Guangchen and the rest.

"Alright, then. I need you to follow me to East Ocean near the central continent for an errand in a bit," Jin Yanhua said. "I help you, you help me. That's how it goes. Otherwise, I won't be able to give my people a satisfying explanation."

Ming Guangchen seemed rather troubled. "I don't really mind, but I'm afraid I'll be busy with the Brightmirror Sect's affairs in the coming years. I also have to prepare to strive for the Sanctification Realm and deal with some issues for my master. I will definitely become a venerated within five years and be able to settle my affairs. I'm sure I'll be of much more help to you when I reach that level of power."

The dragon lady said, "It's just five short years. I'll wait for you. I don't need you to come that soon."

"Very well." Ming Guangchen's brow relaxed. He had misunderstood what "in a bit" meant to the dragon lady, who had a completely different perception of time. "It's a promise, then."

Jin Yanhua nodded with satisfaction and turned around to head back to An Jing. Promises between Endmost Walkers didn't need explicit contracts, for they knew they were the same kind of people. Lying about such things was simply beneath them.

1. The zhang 丈 is a unit that is about ten chi 尺. ☜