Destiny in Cinders

Yvelbane continued excitedly, ”This Skysource kid really does bear celestial spirit roots, after all. His senses are incredibly fine. Why don’t you show him something?”

This was somewhat troubling to An Jing, who actually ended up killing people whenever he wielded killing intent. How would he demonstrate true killing intent without actually killing? Would he drag a corrupt official over and kill him for real?

Then, he recalled that Ming Guangchen had once demonstrated to him the application of aura. Using it on the sword probably achieved a similar effect. An Jing drew the sword and held the tip high. ”Huo Qing, Nian Quan, take a good look.”

The two of them hummed and nodded, watching intensely as An Jing imagined the faces of the lord of Direlife Manor and the Lord Inspector of the West. In that instant, his mind was completely void of anything else. Then, he traced a slash in the air, causing an explosive ring that was of such high frequency that the human ear couldn’t pick it up. An illusory ripple of sword light appeared in the air.

In that instant, both Huo Qing and Nian Quan felt their scalps tingle to the maximum, not to mention their entire body shudder. A primal, instinctual fear washed over them, sharpening their focus on the trace of An Jing’s sword even more, allowing them to grasp every single detail.

Just like Ming Guangchen, An Jing had demonstrated three different ways of applying sword intent, namely, Thunder Grind Sword, Qiform Sword and Sword of Will. Thunder Grind Sword made use of the vibrational hum of aura and spirit qi, creating an edge that can cut through anything, with firmness being crucial. Qiform Sword transformed spirit qi into a blade of qi. It was akin to honing the edge of a sword so that it could cut through metal like butter, the key being accumulation. Sword of Will condensed the will into a piercing point to unleash a mental attack. The key was force transformation. These applications came instinctually to An Jing, but most others probably had to train hard to master them.

”I see... Psychic will can be formed into a sword as well...” Nian Quan instantly grasped the deepest insights from the plain-looking sword strike, muttering without even noticing it as he subconsciously tried to mimic An Jing’s slash with his fingers.

At that moment, his mother’s shadow flashed across his mind. But soon, the celestial river flowed across them, separating life from death. It was as if the river itself had cut open his heart, causing psychic will to spring forth from it. It was none other than Sword of Empyreal Mortality! He swung his fingers downward, causing invisible ripples to form. Just like that, Nian Quan had grasped Sword of Will.

”Wonderful. You understood it.” An Jing wasn’t surprised that Nian Quan could grasp it. He was simply that talented.

Huo Qing did seem to gain some insight too. ”Vibrations, accumulation and the manifestation of the hollow... Vibrations are lightning, accumulations are metal, and the interplay of solid and hollow is like that of water and earth; in solid form, it becomes mud, but when poured out, it becomes a torrent. To think that the sword can be used like this...

”That’s right! I see it now! I was wondering why my formations couldn’t compare to those I saw on the net. I was being far too meticulous! The five phases can transform from one aspect to the next! The nourishing or hindering relationships don’t necessarily have to be present! The different aspects can simply coexist!”

Huo Qing’s words might as well be gibberish to An Jing and Nian Quan. The two sword wielders exchanged confused glances.

”What’s up with him?” An Jing asked.

Yvelbane gave it some thought and said in an uncertain tone, ”I think he’s talking about the generative and destructive interactions between the five phases, and something about mutual assistance within formations and conversion using the central pivot.”

Surprised, An Jing asked, ”How did he get all that insight into formations from witnessing a sword technique?”

”Sigh...” Yvelbane didn’t seem as taken aback. ”The countless paths in the world ultimately converge. Everything about Void Embrace’s martial path, even the way of the sword, is based on formation theory. This big friend of yours was a body refiner who studied formations to begin with. Not to mention, he managed to learn the Imperial Sky Art. I’m quite certain that he’s long seen the connection between martial techniques and formation theory.”

”I guess it’s a good thing, then.”

”Indeed.”

It was always good whenever his friends made progress. Even though neither of them could master all three applications of sword intent like him, An Jing didn’t force it either. He could just teach it to them again another time.

At that moment, he could also feel the hitherto dormant star, one of the Seven Ruinous Luminaries of his lifearc, tremble. It caught his attention, though he wasn’t surprised. ”Oh? Is someone going to pair up with it?”

Pyrestar came from An Jing himself, while Evenstar came from Yvelbane. It was likely that the dormant Stablestar was derived from Cang Linzu. As for Dawnstar and Cyclestar, they were still awaiting their fortuitous encounters. Yet, he just felt his own Dawnstar resonate with its corresponding remnant, Apogee.

Even though heaven sets the courses of destiny, it is human agency that traverses it! An Jing was quite moved by this notion. The reason he had worked so much to elevate his friends was so that he could try to fulfill his lifearc by altering destinies. He also wanted to see whether nurturing friends with lifearcs that corresponded to his would trigger more feedback from his celestial arc, and it had just proven to be possible! Nurturing his astral orbiters could stimulate an even deeper awakening of his own lifearc. He didn’t have to sit and wait for the whims of heavenly will to do it!

”So that’s what is meant by ’my will derives from heavenly will, and my will is divine.’” This was the central creed of the Heavenly Demon Cult. An Jing finally comprehended its true essence.

By the same logic, if Nian Quan was able to do something that benefited An Jing even when he wasn’t around just like what Cang Linzu had done, he would also be able to speed up the accumulation of lifearc power. However, An Jing felt that there was something weird about it. If that was correct, didn’t that mean that the destiny of Void Embrace and the destiny of Skysource were one and the same? Was there some intrinsic connection between these two worlds?

Though he wasn’t able to figure it out, it was time for them to part. ”See you next time!”

***

”Was it fun, kid?” Principal He asked Nian Quan when he entered the breakroom of Third Middle School. ”We have to start preparing for the group match. Our main goal in that format is to assess the standard of the other schools and see whether they have any new moves. We’ll only really push for winning in the individual format. Are you confident, Nian Quan?”

”Yeah.” Nian Quan reassumed his emotionless mode of being and nodded softly. ”This time around...”

He had wanted to say that he would aim for the top ten as the principal had requested. But when he thought about the pills that An Jing had given him and the demonstration he had witnessed, a surge of ambition rose up within him. ”This time, I’ll try for first place!”

”Very good!” Principal He laughed heartily. ”That’s the kind of mentality that sword cultivators like us should possess! Even though I said that the top ten is enough, you wouldn’t last a single moment against those monsters from First Middle School if you don’t even have the courage to try for first place. Alright, get cultivating. The special market has special grade-two spirit veins. Make whatever progress you can in the time you have left.”

***

Meanwhile, a massively built tiger-like figure in the breakroom of First Middle School said, ”All of us here are members of the Truthseeker Society, so there’s not much for me to say. Since we decided to participate, we need to secure the top eight, nay, all top ten places for ourselves. We shall not let anyone else from other academies take even one of those spots, got it?”

The others smiled and said, ”Of course, Captain!”