A Will Eternal

A rain of fire descended onto the Bai Clan, illuminating everything with bright red light. The clan was immediately thrown into a huge commotion, and power was poured into the spell formation to defend against the incoming flame.

Countless clan members rushed out of their residences to look up into the sky, whereupon astonished shouts began to fill the night sky.

“What... what is that?!”

“Don’t tell me we’re under attack!?!?”

“Aaahhh! It’s a rain of fire....”

The heat from the fire was almost at the level of twelve-colored flame, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as the clan’s defensive spell formation twisted and distorted. One by one, powerful clan members flew up into the air.

“What happened!?!?” Bai Qi was there in the crowd, looking shocked, as was Madam Cai, who had emerged from her mansion to see what was happening.

“Twelve-colored flame... that’s... twelve-colored flame!? How is this possible! It’s raining multi-colored flame?!?!!” Numerous chosen from the auxiliary bloodlines were all looking on in shock and wonder.

From a distance, it looked like the entire Bai Clan was being bathed in fire. Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun was now outside of the city, looking back in utter shock at the scene playing out.

“Don’t blame me... I didn’t do this on purpose....” Scalp tingling in fear, he gritted his teeth and took advantage of the chaos in the clan to use his Undying Hex to head back to the north district.

Even as he returned to his hut, the clan’s spell formation finally couldn’t last any longer, and began to teeter unstably beneath the barrage of fire. Just when it seemed like it was about to collapse, several enraged shouts could be heard from the east district as eight shadowy figures shot up into the air. Shockingly, all of those figures emanated the fluctuations of the Nascent Soul stage.

These were the Nascent Soul clan elders, who quickly split up and manned key areas of the spell formation. By bolstering the formation with all of their power, they gradually stabilized it.

It was a shocking sight to Bai Xiaochun, who sat there nervously in the north district, looking at the flames outside the shield and scowling on the verge of tears.

“I doubt anybody realizes I’m the one who caused this....” How could he have ever anticipated that trying to conjure some flame would lead to such terrifying results...?

Even as he stewed in his anxiety, a middle-aged man appeared in the east district.

He wore luxurious clothing, and was the type of person who seemed threatening without being angry. There was something grimly impressive about him, and apparently, he was in the mid Nascent Soul stage. As soon as people caught sight of him, looks of respect could be seen in their eyes, and they clasped hands and bowed.

“Greetings, Clan Chief.”

That man was none other than Bai Hao’s father, the current clan chief of the Bai Clan. Looking up into the sky beyond the spell formation shield, his expression turned icily ominous. It looked like he was just about to speak, when all of a sudden, a cold snort echoed out from a subterranean chamber in the depths of the city. It sounded ancient, and as powerful as thunder, causing the clouds above to churn. The sound of it even seemed to merge with heaven and earth, as if this person were becoming one with everything. The heavens were embodied in this person, and vice versa!

“Disperse!” That single word caused the crimson clouds up above to shatter into countless fragments. Then, it was as if an enormous, invisible hand swept them away, clearing the sky.

There in the north district, Bai Xiaochun could sense an incredibly powerful divine sense within that word, something hair-raisingly terrifying that replaced the will of the heavens.

“A deva!” he thought, trembling. At the same time, he once again made sure that his own aura was well concealed.

Having no foundation, the rain of firebolts gradually began to thin out. Thanks to the power of the spell formation, and the fact that the cloud had been destroyed, it disappeared, and the Bai Clan was spared of any disaster....

From deep within the subterranean chamber, the grim and domineering voice of the Bai Clan patriarch spoke: “Someone transformed twelve-colored flame into a devious attack on our Bai Clan.... Investigate immediately, and find out who did this!”

Virtually everyone in the clan responded by kowtowing reverently and voicing their assent.

That included Bai Qi, Madam Cai, and everyone else. As for the clan chief, although he didn’t kowtow, he did clasp hands and bowed deeply, a respectful expression on his face. Upon completing his bow, he waved his sleeve and spoke out in a tone that brooked no argument.

“Hall of Corrections, Hall of Justice, and all other members of the clan, hear my orders. Do everything in your power to find out what happened here tonight!!”

That night, virtually no one in the entire clan was able to rest. Under the leadership of the clan elders, as well as the Hall of Corrections and the Hall of Justice, a thorough investigation was carried out.

Internal inquiries were made first, but the scope of the investigation soon led people to the ornamental rocks where Bai Xiaochun had been working. Although it was quickly determined that those rocks were the location in which the incident began, no clues had been left behind. However, the investigation only continued to intensify.

Bai Xiaochun was feeling very nervous, and was aware that he had yet again caused a huge disaster. Plus, this wasn’t the River-Defying Sect, it was the Bai Clan, which had treated his own apprentice with frigid brutality. However, he still felt that he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“It’s not like I did it on purpose! What are they making such a big deal out of it for?” The night passed quickly, and yet, the matter didn’t end. During the following several days, people came to ask him questions on several occasions. In the end, though, no headway was made in the investigation, and eventually, the matter came to be somewhat of an unsolved mystery....

Bai Xiaochun knew that it was a tense situation, and therefore, he didn’t dare to attempt any more flame conjuring. However, he continued to study and analyze the topic, and kept trying to ascertain why he had failed.

“I can’t believe it actually caused firebolts to rain down. Just what exactly did I do wrong...?

“That fire was pretty powerful, and yet, it was only twelve-colored flame. What if it had been fifteen-colored flame? In that case... the Bai Clan... might have been wiped off the map.” On the one hand, he was moved by how powerful the fire had been, but on the other hand, was worried about why he had failed. As he continued to analyze the matter there in his hut, five days went by. By this point, he was looking a bit thin and haggard, and had already reached the limits of what he could analyze mentally.

“Logically speaking, I shouldn’t have failed....

“Everything was going smoothly the entire time. The sudden failure at the end seemed really suspicious....

“Plus, it actually formed soul medicine....

“Just where exactly did I go wrong?” Clenching his hands into fists, he yet again reviewed every step he had taken, and analyzed them thoroughly. Finally, sometime in the afternoon, he shivered and looked up, his eyes shining brightly.

“Don’t tell me... it was my clone!?!?” The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that the problem had something to do with the fact that he had used a clone to help conjure the twelve-colored flame with his true self.

“If it was because of my clone, then that would explain everything. I created that clone with a deva soul, and even I don’t know what divine abilities might have existed in that soul. Perhaps... that really is the reason.” After pondering the matter for a bit more, he left one of his clones behind and then went out into the darkness alone.

Although things were tense in the clan, he was still itching to go do some more tests to see if he was right.

Therefore, he raced along, leaving Bai Clan territory and finding a cave deep in some mountains. There, he began preparations to make another attempt at conjuring twelve-colored flame.

This time, he didn’t use any clone power. He relied only on himself, using the same methods as before. It was difficult, and he very nearly lost control on two occasions. However, by bolstering himself with spirit alcohol, he ensured that he always had enough power at his disposal.

It took a bit more time as well, and soon, his head was aching with pain. By the time the sea of fire formed down into the tongue of twelve-colored flame, he was soaked with sweat and panting with excitement.

“I didn’t do anything differently than before.... The only difference was that I didn’t use my clone to help conjure the flame! Therefore, it definitely has something to do with my clone! My clone was made from a deva soul. It must mean that using a clone to conjure necromantic flame... causes unforeseen complications.”

Excited to have found the reason for his previous failure, he rose to his feet, his eyes shining.

“In that case, I guess I’ve actually created... my own necromantic divine ability! A magical rain of fire!”