Destiny in Cinders

An Jing was quite aware that Nian Quan couldn’t hold back after receiving such a precious legacy and wanted to repay him whenever he had a chance. It was a typical instinct that a young lad would have.

It wasn’t surprising either. Considering Nian Quan’s talent and personality, while he managed to endure hardship for many years, it couldn’t have felt good. Yet, after obtaining Sword of Empyreal Mortality, he was finally able to display his skills and vent. He had become the school team’s captain and even gained the right to interact with the principal personally, becoming somewhat of a leader figure in school. There was no way he wouldn’t feel thankful to An Jing for changing his life.

Putting aside a void artifact, he would be willing to give An Jing even more precious things without hesitation whatsoever. But as far as outsiders were concerned, Nian Quan’s action was rather remarkable. Huo Qing was quite taken aback that An Jing had made such a good friend without him even noticing.

”The school gave this to me. It’s the reward from the ten-school martial evaluation last time,” Nian Quan said, completely oblivious to their shocked expressions. He smiled shyly and said, ”I never really have a use for it. Most of the time, I only carry a single sword around.”

The wristguard void artifact was silver and white in color, covered in some dull, gray engravings that pulsed with the flow of spirit qi. There were twelve semi-translucent lead-colored jadestones on the top and bottom of the wristguard; these were the very same voidjades that An Jing had learned about.

”This looks like an incredibly high-quality void artifact,” Yvelbane concluded after taking a look. ”It’s not just capable of storage. In fact, it’s also a defensive artifact. Do you see those voidjades? The six on the top are for storage and can hold up to twelve cubic meters of things. The six underneath are inscribed with defensive talismans. You can use them to cast Armorguard six times. However, they have to be replenished once they’re used up. Still...”

Yvelbane sounded somewhat troubled. ”Even though the materials used are so good, why can’t the Armorguard charges restore on their own? If it were me, I would alter the circuits somewhat to make it capable of two casts of Armorguard per day, but include a self-recharge function so that it charges up within a single day. After all, once you find yourself in a dangerous situation to need it, there isn’t much of a difference whether you can use it once or six times. The most important thing here is that it can activate automatically in an instant.”

This is what we call after-sales charge, my friend. There’s no way a world like Skysource would be nice enough to sell you something without charging you for the accessories, An Jing thought as he raised his hand and pushed the void artifact back. ”Wait a second.”

”Umm...” Nian Quan didn’t quite know how to react. He thought that An Jing didn’t want it and removed his sword instead. ”What about this sword?”

An Jing gave Huo Qing a look that seemed to say, ”Why’s this person even more of an airhead than you are.” Huo Qing shook his head, as if saying, ”This is probably just what cityfolk are like.”

Airheaded or not, An Jing could tell that Nian Quan was trying a little too hard to be a good friend. He had probably been far too lonely and had basked in the limelight alone for far too long. Sword of Empyreal Mortality put him in a completely different league. None of his teammates truly understood him. Nian Quan didn’t dare to tell them his many secrets either.

Yet, strong or not, there was no resisting the urge to be understood and feel like one belonged, especially not in one’s youth. No matter how much Nian Quan could endure, he had borne the weight of solitude for far too long until he could no longer hold back from offering anything and everything to someone he could properly open up to.

An Jing took the sword, admired the scabbard, and drew the blade slightly before returning it. ”It is a good sword indeed. But I first need you to calm down.”

As he returned the sword, he brushed against Nian Quan’s body and used bone conduction to tell him something. ”There are some favors that I don’t expect you to return. You only need to do your best and get stronger. That’s enough for me.”

”I see...” Nian Quan finally calmed down. ”Alright.”

”Come stroll around with us. We can slowly catch up as we hang out,” An Jing said.

Principal He, who had already turned to leave, suddenly turned back and looked at An Jing like a hawk. ”Sword intent? Does this badlander kid also have sword intent?!”

Principal He was an expert of the sword himself, being one of the five people to have awakened sword intent as a student of Third Middle School. Nian Quan was the sixth to have accomplished that feat. During the martial evaluation that the principal took part in as a student, he obtained second place among all the examinees, losing only to the descendant of a Goldcore venerated. While his career eventually got in the way of his cultivation to the point that he languished before reaching the Purple Mansion Realm, he was still passionate about the way of the sword.

The instant An Jing held the sword, Principal He felt a pulse of spirit energy that had almost achieved sword resonance. It was incredibly subtle, but it didn’t escape the sword-cultivator principal’s sharp senses. He instinctually felt that a fellow sword cultivator had laid his hands on a weapon.

To be properly considered an initiate in the way of the sword, cultivators with sword intent would be able to manifest true sword qi at will without needing to circulate other techniques. It was an inherent power of the cultivators themselves, one that solved the greatest problem of breaking through to the Foundation Building Realm.

Bearers of celestial spirit roots who showed potential by awakening deeper insights into the sword stood a chance of reaching the Purple Mansion Realm. That was why Principal He wanted to nurture Nian Quan properly. While Third Middle School already had quite a lot of promising candidates in other domains, it never hurt to be affiliated with a potential Purple Mansion sword immortal.

Yet, how could sword intent, something so rare, pop out of nowhere? No, it didn’t pop out of nowhere. Perhaps it’s a sign of mutual appreciation between geniuses in the way of the sword...

Principal He knew that given Nian Quan’s personality, he would never make friends with people he didn’t respect. The fact that he behaved so warmly toward the badlander meant that he considered him someone on the same level. Perhaps he even believed that there was something he could learn from the badlander. It wasn’t surprising that Nian Quan got to know someone like him, considering how poor his household used to be. He could have only gotten to know people from humble backgrounds.

”We have to pay some close attention to this,” Principal He said, changing his mind. ”Huo Qing’s quite a bit older, so it won’t be easy. As for An Xuan, keep an eye out for when he plans to make a household registration in Deepnight City. Make sure to offer a helping hand when the time comes.”

”Principal...” The secretary sounded rather troubled. ”It’s not impossible, but we’ll have to pull quite a few favors for this. It’s beyond my personal connections, so I’ll need your signature.”

”Once we get back to school, I’ll write up a letter of recommendation and stamp it with my seal. I’m sure you’re aware of the higher-ups’ directives as of late. The more promising young saplings we have, the better. Whether An Xuan accepts our help or not, this will surely make Nian Quan even more loyal to us.”

”Very well.” The secretary nodded and went on to make the necessary arrangements through the spirit net.

”A badlander, a gangster and a commoner in the city... What an odd combination indeed.” Principal He looked at the chatting trio one last time before smiling and turning to leave with the rest of the group. Ah, to be young again...