Destiny in Cinders

”Oh no... Is hell going to freeze over or something?” The students of Third Middle School had never seen their cool captain smile. This was the very first time.

Seeing Nian Quan suddenly leave the group with a smile to join two normal-looking youths left them even more flabbergasted. ”Who are they?”

Principal He, who had been discussing something with the dean of studies, noticed it and felt a hint of doubt. Who are those two? Being a Foundation Building cultivator, he could instantly tell that Nian Quan was heading toward the two youths who were busy shopping. However, he couldn’t recall any of Nian Quan’s acquaintances that matched the description of those two.

Nian Quan was the star of Third Middle School and the core to Principal He’s many plans. Naturally, he had done the work to investigate the youth’s history, friends and previous evaluations in his past schools. He had even investigated his neighbors thoroughly. The principal was among the elite in Deepnight City who had deep connections with people in even more established academic institutions, after all, and was sure that he hadn’t seen those two before.

His secretary came close and whispered, ”Principal, we’ve found the identity of that youth. His name is Huo Qing. He only recently obtained citizenship in Deepnight City around half a year ago, quite abruptly. He used to be a member of the Noontigers, who used to have an accountant with the same name. His parents once joined a corporation subsidiary, though information about it is classified and hard to unearth. They met an untimely end more than a decade ago. Since then, Huo Qing was left in the care of his parents’ friends.

”He has made an application to a training academy that operates under the umbrella of Grand Illumination Academy to audit their courses. His cultivation focuses on formations, though his skill level is yet unknown. Among his parents’ friends is someone called Metalhand, owner of a recycling house near Deepnight City who once tried to get certified as a high-grade formationist. Even though he failed to obtain the certification, his results were not the problem. The real reason he failed is unknown.”

Information about Huo Qing had been unearthed in less than a minute, with details down to his family and friends. Nothing was hidden in the slightest. The reason for that was that Huo Qing hadn’t gone out of his way to privatize his data records, not that he had anything worth keeping a secret either. It was there for all to see and provided no information of note, yet it was precisely this that deepened Principal He’s suspicions.

”So, he could be a promising member that the gang sent over. I still remember the formation certification test that Mister Metalhand took part in. I believe the reason he and a few others were not certified was because they had no significant background. There were too many other candidates of stronger backing that had to be passed on that day. Perhaps Huo Qing really is someone with potential. The fact that he managed to acquire an auditing position at a training academy also shows that he is resourceful, so he’s not merely an orphan of unknown origin. But how did the other one get to know Nian Quan?”

The secretary’s eyes flashed a bit more before he shook his head in resignation. ”I found nothing about that, save for something from Pilljungle Town’s entry records. This person isn’t a registered citizen, but he has a city pass. His name is An Xuan and he’s probably a badlander.”

”That’s a clean cover story if I’ve ever seen one. Yet, he doesn’t look like a badlander to me. Even if he were, he’s probably from a large tribe. His upbringing doesn’t pale in comparison to any of the youth in the city at all.” Principal He narrowed his eyes as he kept pondering about An Jing, who had begun to talk to Nian Quan. ”His presence appears rather stable and seamless. He sports a well-proportioned frame. His skin appears smooth as jade, but it doesn’t seem like a body modification. This is probably his natural appearance. As for his eyes, it contains a powerful glow... Huh?”

While the principal wasn’t able to discern An Jing’s cultivation in such a short time, he used his ocular technique on him and was shocked to learn that An Jing had True Spirit Eyes. ”True Spirit Eyes? Isn’t that the heirloom technique of Nian Quan’s family? It’s not anything particularly precious, but it’s nothing to scoff at either. Did Nian Quan pass it to him?”

This all started with a cursory check to make sure that his young star wasn’t fraternizing with some shady people. Yet, when the principal discovered their hidden potential, his interest in them grew. ”I see... These two have a rather decent body refinement technique as well. While they probably aren’t even at Qi Refinement yet, they are filled with qi essence.”

The secretary just received some new information and said, ”Metalhand, Huo Qing’s current guardian, is connected to a fixer from the lower city that recently rebuilt her reputation, Rustfeather. Their online store recently sold a batch of good-quality frostjade, a material for jade focus talismans along with some fey and beast hides and miscellaneous spirit items. The collection of items suggests that they have a supplier from the badlands. It is likely that An Xuan is their supplier. That aside, An Xuan appears to be quite skilled. There was a report from Pilljungle about how he and Huo Qing defeated a small Noontiger squad. He’s likely to be at the Tide Essence Stage.”

”I see.” An Jing’s profile was so common that Principal He didn’t think much of it. ”A young badlander genius who wants to make it big in Deepnight City, I see.”

Deepnight City didn’t just produce powerful cultivators of its own, it also attracted geniuses from all over, eventually assimilating their power into its ranks.

”I suppose a fortuitous encounter brought them together,” the principal said. ”Perhaps they became friends on the net. Nian Quan appeared a little hesitant earlier about going to greet them, after all.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. ”An offline meeting, huh? I recall having a few of those back in my day too.”

Offline meetings?! They were more like offline fistfights! Old man, you were far crazier in your youth than most kids these days! thought the secretary as the principal reminisced about the past. ”Umm, should we do anything about it?”

The principal shook his head. ”Leave them be. Tell Nian Quan to come back when it’s time. We have to hold a group meeting before the tournament starts.”

But when Principal He gave it one last look, he noticed something interesting about the dynamics of the three youths. He hadn’t given it much thought about how Huo Qing appeared to be the one who followed ”An Xuan” around rather than the other way round. Yet, when Nian Quan joined them, he behaved just like Huo Qing as if it was the most natural thing in the world. That badlander kid is more than meets the eye.

***

As the other students watched their stoic captain leave with blank expressions, Nian Quan approached An Jing with considerable trepidation.

”Umm... Nice to meet you... I’m Nian Quan,” he said with a slight stammer, not quite knowing how to greet him.

An Jing smiled and pointed at himself. ”An Xuan.” He then pointed at his friend and said, ”Huo Qing.”

Huo Qing stretched his hand out naturally and said, ”You’re An Xuan’s friend too? You are with... Uh, is it okay if you leave your group behind?”

Nian Quan said, ”They’re from my school. We’re here to join the tournament. I think it’ll be fine. The principal sent me a message and said that I only have to join them for a meeting later.”

An Jing nodded. Deepnight City had quite a lot of tournaments and competitions. Skysource was a world where power was respected, after all. The badlands stretched endlessly outside safe zones, filled with countless fiendish threats. The tournaments were a way to hone the fighting spirit of the general populace within the safe zones.

An Jing was quite curious about something. ”Don’t you people have battle simulations? Those that take place across the spirit net?”

He recalled that the world of his past life had a lot of online games. There were even virtual-reality games with full immersion. Surely, using those was much better to hone one’s combat skills in a simulation.

”We do.” Nian Quan gradually spoke more and more to An Jing in a familiar tone. It looked as if they had known each other online for quite some time and were only just getting acquainted in real life. ”However, the schools are of the opinion that real battles are to be prioritized since matches between those under the Foundation Building Realm are really unlikely to result in death or lasting damage.

”For fights between Purple Mansion sages or above, they take place in the depths of the spirit net using arcane corpora as proxies. People are able to practice while going all out. It’s also used to solve disputes between companies without shaving away the combined might of the human race.” Nian Quan looked at An Jing with a mix of curiosity and nervousness. ”Umm... What did you come here to do?”

Even though he wasn’t related to it at all, Nian Quan was aware that An Jing had most likely encountered a huge incident the last time he visited the black market. This time around, An Jing appeared to be shopping for some rather typical things. Surely, nothing out of the ordinary would happen this time, right?

”I’m here to get a vehicle and a void artifact,” An Jing said without hiding anything. ”We’re still going to look around for a while. Do you want to come with us?” 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Nian Quan’s subsequent actions would catch An Jing off guard. Huo Qing’s eyes also widened with surprise. He took off a watch-like object from his wrist; it was actually a wristguard artifact. ”I have a void artifact. If you don’t mind, I can just give it to you.”

To him, this was the most natural thing to do. He looked expectantly at An Jing, as if he would be disappointed if he didn’t accept it.

”Ah, umm...” An Jing exchanged looks with Huo Qing before looking oddly at Nian Quan. ”Surely, there’s no need for that...”

You’re going too fast! If you’re going to do that, at least keep the smalltalk going for a little longer first!