Destiny in Cinders

”We have a winner!” the announcer cried as he approached Nian Quan, who struggled to even stand. ”Behold, the champion of the individual segment of Deepnight City’s Special-Market Tournament, Contestant Nian Quan of Third Middle School! Congratulations!”

The whole place erupted into cheers. All of the red seats stopped glowing, leaving only the seats of An Jing, Huo Qing and the other supporters of Nian Quan. But instead of blue, the seats shone in a bright, rainbow color. These seats were designed to give the audience a sense of participation. Even so, many people joined in the applause whether they had bet on the correct winner earlier. They were truly amazed by Nian Quan’s amazing reversal during the battle. First Middle School had remained undefeated for far too long.

”There will be chaos in First Middle School,” said an old cultivator from the Skywatch Bureau, shaking his head. ”Little Gao is in trouble, alright. He might be able to course along with his position as principal of First Middle School, but with the loss of their team to Third Middle School’s, resignation alone wouldn’t be enough to account for this.

”Not to mention, that kid from Third Middle School used some rather peculiar techniques. Some of them are at least on the level of arcana, but I don’t recall Third Middle School having anything like that. This young sword immortal’s family background also isn’t that noteworthy. This might merit some investigation.”

The younger cultivator smiled as he squinted, revealing a row of teeth like white jade. ”Though few are scorched by blazing fire, quite a lot of people drown from getting lulled into water’s gentle embrace. The fire of First Middle School’s kids has reached its limit after being doused with oil. Nian Quan, on the other hand, somehow managed to buck the trend. I’m sure that he isn’t operating alone. The other middle schools must also be trying to nurture their own geniuses. What’s there to investigate? I think you’re too paranoid. This is just how things are.”

He turned to the old man and continued, ”Have you heard of dao comprehension? What if that kid simply gained insight into sword intent while he was cutting vegetables? Maybe he learned the move he just pulled off from pickling vegetables. Your investigations are pointless. Instead, you’ll only malign him against us for no reason.”

”Let’s do this instead, then.” The old man bowed a few times and lowered his head, declaring that it was time. He rose and turned to leave. ”Have Little He come see me tomorrow. He used to be a young genius all the way back then. I thought he was wasting away in his old age. Who could’ve expected him to find such a promising young sprout out of nowhere? Seems like the fire within him still burns.”

After Nian Quan was declared the victor, he was sent to receive medical treatment. Principal He had tagged along to keep watch. But before he left, he instructed his secretary to talk to An Jing and Huo Qing.

”Gentlemen, you are Nian Quan’s friends, right?” The unassuming yet smartly dressed middle-aged man handed both of them his business card. ”We are well aware of Nian Quan’s prowess. While he could’ve given Yan Chengju a bit of trouble, we didn’t think it was at all likely that he would’ve won. I’m sure that the two moves he used were something that all of you came up with together, so you two deserve credit for Nian Quan’s triumph too. You’re free to visit him as long as he doesn’t object to it.”

”Very well.” An Jing received the business card swiftly, unlike Huo Qing, who froze up with anxiety. He didn’t even bother to hide the part he played in helping his friend. ”Nian Quan isn’t so much injured as he is exhausted. Rather than treating him for qi trauma, it’d be better to focus on renourishing him.”

”Understood.” The secretary nodded and turned to An Jing, eyes flashing. ”I just passed the message along. I’m sure the medical staff and the principal will do the right thing. Also, please allow me to ask for your names even though we’ve already run some background checks on you two.”

Huo Qing didn’t feel the need to hide it and introduced himself. An Jing didn’t mind sharing his ”An Xuan” alias either.

The secretary smiled. ”An Xuan, you’re still just a guest from the badlands with a simple city pass. I wonder if you would be interested in procuring a proper household registration in Deepnight City.”

Huh... They’re evaluating me quite highly. An Jing knew that this was no doubt done on Principal He’s instruction. He must’ve noticed An Jing’s potential and wanted to try to recruit him. What was left unsaid was their subsequent invitation for him to study at Third Middle School. He was at the right age, after all.

”Of course I’m interested,” he said, smacking his lips. ”But now’s not the time. I’m kept rather occupied by some affairs back home that’ll take me some time to properly settle. But I deeply appreciate your sincerity and hospitality. How about this... I’ll give you a proper answer in half a year. Before that, you can definitely reach out to me through Nian Quan. We can talk about specific terms when the time comes.”

”Haha, in that case, the principal will come shortly to discuss those details with you personally.” This wasn’t something the secretary could decide on himself. Principal He would definitely want to get involved personally. The secretary didn’t want to impose on them and handed them a special-market coupon worth two thousand merits before he took his leave.

”These people are so rich.” An Jing’s cashflow was only in the thousands of merits despite his interworld trading, yet these elites of Deepnight City could just throw around two thousand merits like it was nothing.

”Well, this comes just at the right time.” He flicked the coupon between his fingers and turned to Huo Qing. ”There’s no need to go out of our way to stay by Nian Quan’s side while he recovers. Instead, let’s celebrate with him after that. For now, I want to buy a drone and some lethal-qi-resistant clothing. Do you have something you need?”

Hearing An Jing’s shopping list immediately made Huo Qing recall the theory that he was a dweller of the immortal ruins. Those things were exactly the kind of things someone who wanted to explore the perilous lethal-qi-filled environment needed! He snapped out of it when An Jing prodded him a bit more. ”Ah, of course... But An Jing... There’s something I need to come clean to you about...”

An Jing was taken aback by the sudden change in tone. Huo Qing sounded incredibly earnest. Did he spend all my money or something? Then again, that’s not really a big deal. The two of them went to an unfinished abandoned building outside the special market. Then, Huo Qing took out a disc for a barrier formation.

”Dude, are you serious?”

”Of course.” Huo Qing took a deep breath and said in a stern tone, ”An Jing, Uncle Metalhand confessed something to me... He and my parents are actually from the Justice Restoration Army.”

This was indeed a noteworthy admission for any resident of Deepnight City. But An Jing merely blinked blankly and said, ”Ah, I see. I more or less figured that was the case the second time I saw him. But that’s not really something I’m concerned about.”

”Really?” Huo Qing was mildly surprised, but then again, this was An Jing, after all. Scratching his head, he said, ”Then, about your true identity...”

”My true identity?”

”Well... You’re a dweller from the immortal ruins, aren’t you?”

”... Huh? Me? A ruin dweller?” This time around, An Jing was truly bewildered.