Destiny in Cinders

”Do you know what you’re doing?!” Despite the excruciating pain of being impaled by a sword, the Blackguard soldier still managed to speak. Forcing a few words through his constricted throat, he barked out a response that sounded surprisingly natural. ”I’m a soldier of the Blackguard, and I’m on official business of the highest importance! Release me and I might show you some mercy!”

An Jing tuned out the mosquito-like buzzing, focusing entirely on sizing up the man’s strength. With mid-to-late Fortification Realm strength, the soldier was undeniably formidable. To put it in perspective, a standard member of the Whiteguard, Azureguard, Ocherguard, or Crimsonguard was typically at the level of mastering mind, body, and skill. At the Aura Realm, one could lead a squad; at the Tide Aura Stage, lead a company, while Fortification martialists were appointed to lead a battalion. Such a force already constituted a martialist army.

Without any cultivation, layfolk possessing only basic physical and martial training were relegated to local militias and city guards. As they mobilized too slowly to march across the vast expanse of Void Embrace, they were excluded from the military’s official rank and file. Thus, by any definition, the term ”army” was synonymous with a martialist army.

In a martialist army, nearly every single soldier was either a martialist or a reserve martialist. Using spells, talismans, and battle formations, a force of this caliber could march thousands of li a day to strike across prefectural borders, cross endless mountain ranges, and execute strategic deployments.

The army of three hundred thousand northern barbarians was, in truth, a full martialist army. That was how they were able to crush the northern frontier’s defenses, forcefully taking over the region.

Unlike the other four colored divisions, the Blackguard had both a superior status and combat power that was entirely on par with the imperial enforcers. This soldier was just a squad leader, yet he possessed the power of a Fortification martialist. It was proof that the commander overseeing Keensight was at least a Clearing Realm adept or beyond. And this commander would have been fully capable of suppressing the True Fiend Cult’s disruption with ease. As soon as he stepped forward, City Manager Zheng Mo would have to stand aside and yield total control of Keensight to him, and yet he was nowhere to be seen.

”Interesting,” An Jing murmured to himself, gazing thoughtfully toward the distant combat zone that was still ablaze with flames. Could it be that Grand Chen never cared about the million lives in the city to begin with? It’s hardly a surprise.”

Meanwhile, the forgotten Blackguard soldier reacted to the blood-lethal qi sword piercing his abdomen, gasping internally. An ability! This cloaked martialist actually has an ability! While a lifearc enabled martial cultivation and exploring its power unlocked traits, transforming a trait into an ability was no feat for an ordinary lifearc bearer.

Under normal circumstances only bearers of root arcs or greater could form abilities. Should a mixed-arc bearer obtain precious medicines or spirit items, these resources could help them condense an ability, though it would require significant cultivation. Even though the helmet distorted his assailant’s voice, the man in the mantle seemed only in his early twenties to the soldier. To comprehend an ability at such a young age implied one of two things: he was either a root-arc bearer with exceptional comprehension or he bore a miracle arc!

The Blackguard routinely patrolled the various regions of Grand Chen. Aside from keeping local martialists in check, collecting intelligence, and executing the imperial court’s orders, they were also responsible for gathering information on lifearc bearers across the empire. Whenever they encountered an individual with real potential, they would take them in to be nurtured and trained.

At this thought, he couldn’t help but laugh aloud. ”You look like someone with no backing or sect. Leaving a talent like you out of the martial academy is truly a failure on the part of the local officials... Well then, kneel and beg for my forgiveness right now, and I might just throw you a bone!”

Given his upbringing and perspective, An Jing found it hard to see how the Blackguard soldier could still be this arrogant while pinned helplessly to a wall. Then again, Void Embrace was full of such people.

”Just like the True Fiend Cult, you fail to grasp the situation.” With a darkening expression, An Jing laughed out of sheer, unbridled rage. ”It seems you won’t learn how to speak properly until you suffer a little first.”

As he spoke, he twisted the blade, churning the soldier’s insides. The man screamed in pure agony, but even as cold sweat drenched his body, he forced out his next words in utter defiance. ”Well done.” As a Fortification martialist, an injury like this was far from fatal. Moreover, the Blackguard soldier would have undergone extensive conditioning against physical punishment, which explained his stubbornness.

In truth, An Jing didn’t need a single word from the soldier to know that he, along with all the others, was hunting You Ruhui. It seemed the True Fiend Cult was a sanctioned tool used to track her down.

But did they truly not care? If the True Fiend Cult succeeded, it would destroy all of Keensight’s terrestrial veins, countless people would perish from the snow calamity, unleashing such a huge mass of dead souls that could give rise to a peak Clearing or even Treasures Realm heavenly fiend!

By then, a million lives would be lost or ruined, throwing the northwestern frontier of Grand Chen into complete chaos. Although the Dustdawner tribes weren’t as cruel as the northern barbarians and were unlikely to launch a full-scale invasion of Xishan, their agreement with Lu Jin guaranteed they would seize the opportunity to move south and settle their people within the borders. Would Grand Chen intentionally allow this to happen?

”It’s no use, An Jing.” It was at this moment that Yvelbane spoke. ”This man has undergone rigorous conditioning and is completely desensitized to pain. No amount of torture will break him.”

”What if I kill him?”

”He’d be afraid, but what good does fear do? He’d rather die than talk. Let me think... There must be a way to deal with someone like him.” Yvelbane paused to think, and soon chuckled, ”I’ve got it, An Jing! Channel Sword of Tranquility, but this time, let your soul spill forth. While tempering yourself, you will forcibly temper his soul as well!”

”Oh?” An Jing arched an eyebrow. Though it sounded strange, he trusted Yvelbane and did exactly as told. The rusty sword slowly rose, polished by the pure light of Sword of Tranquility. Thanks to An Jing’s constant cultivation, the blade had already shed much of its rust, though its surface remained mottled. Bolstered by the power of Yvelbane’s hilt itself, the sword was ready to burst out of An Jing’s purple mansion and strike straight at his opponent’s consciousness.

The sword of his mind was a concrete manifestation of An Jing’s heartsoul power. To some extent, it was similar to the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm, where the heartsoul gathered the entire body’s qi essence to break through the purple mansion, merging with profound essence and various profound qi to form an immortal foundation.

Even if this sword were damaged, it would only roll An Jing’s cultivation back a month or two. Unlike the danger of building an immortal foundation, where the soul could dissipate entirely, the only hurdle here was the difficulty of the technique itself. In short, it was at least a Foundation Realm technique. Yvelbane had faith in An Jing’s talent, and he certainly didn’t disappoint.

”The heartsoul is another form of innate qi. With my Qiform Arsenal ability, I can condense my soul into a weapon just as easily as I wield ailment qi!” In one fluid motion, An Jing’s sword surged from his eyes and pierced straight through the lenses of his helmet, transforming into a crimson-gold blade as it plunged into the soldier’s eyes. While it appeared as if An Jing had killed with just a glance, that wasn’t actually true. In reality, An Jing was using his own sword to refine the sword in the soldier’s mind, bringing clarity. In a sense, he was actually helping the man’s cultivation!