Destiny in Cinders

It wasn’t enough to defeat Bejeweled; they were far too small of an organization in the grand scheme of things and had collapsed far too quickly. At the end of the day, it was still a conflict between different human parties. The citizens of the city could just as well be worried that An Jing would oppress them next.

However, going after the True Fiend Cult was a different story. If he could claim the head of a heavenly fiend and use it to supplement his claim as a bearer of a divine arc, surely the citizens would start to see him as a protector that could ensure their safety and maybe even keep them fed!

”Senior Disciple, are you planning to wipe out the True Fiend Cult’s presence in Brokeblade Mountain?” Bai Qinghan asked.

Both she and Xu Tai were well aware of An Jing’s intentions from what he said. While Bai Qinghan’s expression was one of understanding, Xu Tai appeared rather unnerved. ”The demonoids of the True Fiend Cult are all scum with no lines they won’t cross.”

”I have an ability token,” An Jing said, remaining calm even as chaos began to spread in the city. ”If I can’t defeat them, running is an option. When it really comes to that, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal even if the citizens of Riverside have to flee from this place. For now, I need you two to try to calm them while I make a short trip to the mountains. I’ll make it quick.”

As he spoke, he took out Froswhite Dart from his void artifact. The silver beast of metal groaned and rumbled. An Jing somersaulted onto the seat and raised the hoverbike as high as he could until he was so high up above the city where everyone could see him. A banner made from blood lethal qi flapped in the wind behind the hoverbike and left a trail of blood red across the sky, drawing quite a few pairs of eyes to it. But that wasn’t enough.

He took out a handful of thunder beads from his void artifact and tossed them out! The chain of explosions resounded across the entire area, scattering the dense snowclouds with the heat they gave off. A warm gust of wind came sweeping down at the city, finally drawing the attention of the frightened citizens who were just about to leave. The notion temporarily disappeared from their minds as they looked up at the sky in guarded fashion at the figure shrouded in ice, wind and fire, fearful yet curious.

An Jing looked around the city as blood lethal qi poured out of his body, making him look like a bright, burning flame in the sky. He became the center of attention as he had wanted, commanding the citizens’ fear and respect.

”The Bejeweled Traders Guild was working with the True Fiend Cult to suppress the commonfolk! But fear not! That matter is over. I, An Jing, bearer of a divine arc, proclaim this city under my watch!” His thunderous voice rang clearly across the whole city. ”I will be opening the food stores to all so that nobody shall go hungry! I will eliminate the fiends and restore peace to your lives. With heaven and earth as my witnesses, I make you this oath!”

He raised his hand and sent blood lethal qi into the rubble of the guild’s building, lighting a flame above a pillar that had yet to collapse. It looked like a massive candle standing in the middle of the city. ”Before this flame goes out, I will return with the head of the fiends’ leader!”

Everyone in the city watched as An Jing left for the mountains. They already knew that something was off with Bejeweled; they had been hiding far too many secrets, yet they weren’t careful enough about it and caused the citizens to become fearful. An Jing’s explanations cleared the mystery away, pinning a firm cause to their woes. He had killed Mo Li far too quickly, so none of the citizens witnessed him fighting for them, hence why they didn’t really feel like they had been liberated. That being the case, An Jing made sure they were paying attention this time and set off to get rid of another one of their oppressors, making them feel like they were participating in the whole thing.

”I knew it! Those Bejeweled scum were working with the fiend cult all along!”

”B-but... If the fiend cult was really planning to take over the city, doesn’t that mean we have an even bigger reason to flee now?”

”If it’s An Jing... If he’s really the bearer of a divine arc...”

His name and reputation were finally coming into play. Many among the citizens of Riverside had heard about how he killed the adepts in Keensight. Putting aside whether they believed the full extent of the tale or not, they were at least able to verify whether the traders guild had been wiped out. Perhaps it really was true.

Not caring about the rumors and chatter, An Jing circled around the city with his hoverbike and repeated what he said once more before he flew straight toward the center of Brokeblade Mountain.

***

Bright fires were lit at a hunting campsite deep within Brokeblade Mountain which the True Fiend Cult had commandeered, accompanied by sounds of merry chatter from men who drank and gambled, intertwining with bestial howls and the terrified shrieks of women. A sinister, bone-chilling sensation was mixed in with the warm atmosphere of the site.

At the center of the site was a small building. A figure within that was as tall as a metal tower but had a face as bony as a shrunken head stood before a warm metal brazier; its the holes allowed the light from the crackling flame within to light up the four walls of the building in a scaly pattern.

Despite being a Fortification martialist who once ran the largest hunting campsite in Brokeblade Mountain before joining the True Fiend Cult to become a squad leader, ”Divine Eye” Wu Qi didn’t seem nearly as relaxed and carefree as his subordinates. He had wanted to extend his lifespan in order to advance his cultivation and made the decision to offer his campsite to the True Fiend Cult years ago. However, he had maintained his connections with his informants and kept up to date on recent events, all of which left him quite shaken.

In the recent decades, the imperial court played their hand quite heavily to the point that even the Reformists who were gradually amassing momentum got severely hampered. The officials that supported the cause of the Reformists were either killed or banished to the frontier regions.

Initially, the Rui clan, who were local officials and distant relatives of some members of the Reformists, offered a helping hand despite their distant relations. It turned out that the tasks Wu Qi was asked to take care of, such as directing the beast tide to destroy local settlements, robbing merchants and stopping convoys all came from a branch family of the Rui clan. Yet, those were all but diversions for their true purpose.

While fiend cultists like him who hid in the mountains and the members of Bejeweled supported by powerful figures all had their own agendas, the interests of those behind both factions were at least aligned. It was upon realizing this that Wu Qi learned that the merry days of strong-arming people who lived in settlements around Brokeblade Mountain and abusing their status as the diversionary squad to extract food and wealth wouldn’t last long.

Once the beast tide came to a proper end, the Bejeweled Traders Guild would have dug their foundations deep in Riverside, while people like them, whether they were actual hunters in diversionary squads or fiend followers, would be left out to hang. Fortunately for those who actually joined the True Fiend Cult, they held no illusions about any happy endings. There also wasn’t any true camaraderie between them.

”At the very least, I finally found a way to make some progress!” The slender man stroked his bearded face as he took out a tome from his chest pocket titled Form Abandoned, to Truth Reverted, its core principle: Cast away the mortal form of flesh and blood to revert to the bony truth hidden beneath. Upon death, the human body began to disintegrate until only bones were left. Then, one was to use that form of bones to establish a martial foundation.

This tome taught a method by which one would use one’s own flesh and blood as the price to cultivate. Then, one could use vigor to stimulate the bone marrow, creating threads of aura with which to reinforce the bones, eventually manifesting one of the rarest wonders of the Fortification Realm, Filthless Marrow!