Destiny in Cinders

”What makes you say that?” An Jing weighed his words carefully before pressing further. Holding nothing back, Huo Qing revealed the speculations that he and Metalhand shared. The boy’s eyes widened as a look of disbelief washed over his face. ”Heavens, the way your minds work...”

An Jing had only one thought about Huo Qing’s deduction—it was absolutely wild, about as unhinged as suggesting that Grand Chen’s Sacred Emperor Xuan Tianji built his empire by pimping himself.

”Hahahaha!” Yvelbane laughed, its voice ringing in a clear, melodic chime. ”I must admit, they aren’t entirely wrong! A traveler from another world is almost no different from a dweller of the immortal ruins, especially since our departure via the Grandvoid Pathway leaves absolutely no trace for the local residents. And since they can’t reach you, it’s only natural they’d start speculating about your true origins. Furthermore, the strength we have displayed and our proficient cultivation techniques are beyond what the badlands could ever produce. And even if the badlands could nurture such talent, we would have to belong to one of the major factions.”

”Ha!” An Jing laughed. ”If you put it that way, then I guess I really am a ruin dweller. After all, Yvelbane, aren’t you an ancient sword from that era? And since I have the Spark, who’s to say I wasn’t from that era myself? In a sense, we really are ruin dwellers.”

Jokes aside, Huo Qing’s speculation indicated that An Jing’s identity was already raising suspicions among Metalhand and the others. They made some bold assumptions, but were unlikely to pursue the matter further.

Stopping at this point was advantageous for An Jing. But if rumors were to spread and others started digging deeper, he risked exposing the Grandvoid Pathway. That aside, Huo Qing also revealed to An Jing the reasons behind the actions taken by Metalhand and the Justice Restoration Army. The True Talisman in his hand could prove highly valuable for exploring the strange immortal ruins. The Luofu Group originally brought the True Talisman to Deepnight City to open certain areas, only for it to be stolen by the secret agents of rival groups and the Justice Restoration Army. After many twists and turns, it finally ended up in An Jing’s hands.

Furthermore, the Justice Restoration Army was divided into several internal factions. Bo Yan, the man who had handed the talisman over to him, most likely belonged to a different faction than Metalhand and his group. Neither side shared information with the other, allowing him to remain hidden.

After giving it some thought, An Jing felt he still needed to explain. ”The people behind me... are no ordinary force. It’s only natural that the Justice Restoration Army hasn’t been able to track me down. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not from the immortal ruins. My main goal in coming to Deepnight City is simply to use its resources to build up my own strength. The folks back home haven’t given me any specific mission. I definitely want to explore the immortal ruins, but as you can see, I’m in no particular rush.”

”It’s true...” Huo Qing still trusted An Jing. Hearing his calm response, he thought about it for a moment and realized that the details did indeed back up An Jing’s words. First of all, An Jing’s surprise at the existence of the immortal ruins was genuine. Moreover, if he truly was a ruin dweller, An Jing wouldn’t have shown such interest in Pentaorgan Lifeforce Nourishment, given that ruin dwellers were sure to have far superior and comprehensive techniques than his own.

And even if this reasoning wasn’t entirely convincing, An Jing had been undeniably clueless about the world’s history at first. Though Skysource had fallen into decline, it endured. They had lost control over numerous former territories of the Dao Court and were now forced to huddle within a single safe zone, but the general history was still clearly preserved. Since An Jing didn’t even know this much, he obviously couldn’t be a ruin dweller. At most, he was just a badlander with excellent upbringing backed by a powerful faction.

”But what about those techniques?” Huo Qing remained perplexed by a few things. ”They’re too brilliant to be the teachings of a badlander.”

”It’s just a body refinement technique from the ruins.” An Jing wasn’t exactly lying. As far as he was concerned, the Heavenly Demon Cult’s techniques were ancient martial techniques he picked up. ”The spirit qi out in the badlands is polluted, so most techniques center on body refinement. Don’t you agree that this path demands far less spirit qi and relies on pure qi essence instead? Besides, I practice both martial and qi refinement techniques. Of course, I’m not saying you should imitate me. With your talent, focusing on martial techniques and formations would suit you far better. You’ll achieve just as much as anyone else, I’m sure of it.”

”I see.” With his doubts resolved, Huo Qing felt completely at ease. Convincing Huo Qing was the easy part; he had met An Jing at the very beginning and knew he wasn’t lying about this. Dealing with the suspicions of Metalhand and the others, however, would be much trickier.

Time for an honest chat the next time I see Metalhand. An Jing sighed. A single lie always required many more to cover it up. He had no wish or intent to lie, which was why he generally stuck to the truth outside of vital omissions. Even so, it was still incredibly troublesome.

There’s no time left to buy anything. Glancing at the time, An Jing realized his conversation with Huo Qing had dragged on. Just then, he received a message from Nian Quan. He had recovered some of his strength and wanted to thank them both in person for their support.

A short while later, they arrived at the infirmary, where Nian Quan, Principal He, and medical staff were all waiting for them. Nian Quan was lying on a medical bed while a grey-haired doctor analyzed his data with a look of amazement. ”Contestent Nian Quan, your vitals are absolutely astonishing. We were certain that your body would be eroded by various spirit qi and expected to spend over twenty hours performing a meridian-reconstruction surgery. To our surprise, you haven’t been affected at all. Your meridians are severely damaged, but it was entirely caused by your own sword qi. Although recovery will take time, there won’t be any lasting damage. Is this a secret technique passed down through your family, or perhaps a special constitution? If I may be so bold, a skill like this would be incredibly valuable for treating all types of patients.”

”Well... you could say it’s a high-level application of sword intent.” Nian Quan replied with a smile. He wasn’t exactly lying. An Jing could use ailment sword qi because his Qiform Arsenal ability allowed him to gather various qi within his body and expel them as weapons. On the other hand, Nian Quan was able to channel it by using his sword intent to forcefully expel qi. For An Jing, the strain was minimal, while Nian Quan required serious recuperation after a single use.

”I see.” Hearing this, the doctor looked rather disappointed. If this technique could only be used by those who had mastered sword intent, then widespread adoption was out of the question. After confirming Nian Quan’s condition was stable, the doctor left. Nian Quan happily waved An Jing and Huo Qing over. ”I won first place! Champions! Haha, we’re champions!”

An Jing moved closer to examine Nian Quan’s injuries. Just as the doctor noted, there was no sign of qi erosion, only meridian damage caused by overexertion. On top of that, Nian Quan’s spirit qi was actually a bit purer than before. It appeared he had a breakthrough resulting from mental growth and triumph over his adversary.

”You must be Nian Quan’s friends.” Sitting by the fruit basket, Principal He slowly rose to his feet.

An Jing looked up at him. ”That’s right. And you are...”

”I’m He Yongzhi,” he said, ”the Principal of Third Middle School, where Nian Quan studies.”