Ave Xia Rem Y

~~~

Feng Zhi moves through the Realm of the Crimson Cloud with speed and grace. A bracelet around his arm keeps his cultivation level hidden, a common enough practice in the Crimson Cloud Tournament. Still, he is careful not to overextend himself. Should he use too much Qi, the artifact might be overwhelmed and expose him before the proper time.

Theatrics are just as, if not more, important than results in events like this. At least, that is what his father claims. Feng Zhi cannot say he cares much for that way of thinking. Results are always what matters the most. There are hidden artifacts in this realm, and Feng Zhi intends to bolster his reputation by claiming as many of them as possible for the Eternal Flame Clan. Anything else is immaterial.

That is why he never once gives the idea of looking for Qing Jin any serious consideration.

The man’s luck might be good–in fact, it is a little good–but it could not be relied on. Certainly, it would help Qing Jin with his objectives, but there was no telling what it would do to Feng Zhi. Though he has no illusions about being able to avoid it forever, Feng Zhi will settle for avoiding it as long as possible. Let Qing Jin involve himself in some needlessly complicated and overly convoluted plot, and let the oaf keep looking for his fists heading towards his face.

He is here to achieve results.

A frown suddenly appears on his face. He senses three presences nearby. For so many people to encounter each other despite the Realm of the Crimson Cloud being so vast means quite a bit of time has passed. More importantly, one of those presences is familiar to him. Very familiar.

With a burst of Qi, Feng Zhi speeds up. Even so, by the time he arrives, it is all over. A thin column of white smoke rises into the red skies, and various trees have been ripped by the roots. Two men lie on the ground with multiple burns on their bodies. Yi Jiao stands over them, white flames burning in her eyes.

They disappear as soon as she sees him. Her face lights up with a smile that makes Feng Zhi’s heart skip a beat. Yi Jiao is undoubtedly beautiful, and the years have only made her more so. However, she is especially beautiful when she smiles. On many occasions, Feng Zhi has written poems about her smiles, though he has no intention of ever sharing them with anyone.

Even Yi Jiao.

“Feng Zhi!” She yells, running up to him and hugging him.

“Yi Jiao,” he says, his voice soft as he embraces her. He is not a person prone to letting down his guard around others, but he always does with Yi Jiao. There is something about her that soothes his soul.

Even when she cheats at cards.

“Who were they?” Feng Zhi asks, looking at the defeated fighters.

“One of them was from the Green Banners. The other one was from the Invincible Sons. At least, that is what they said,” Yi Jiao replies, shrugging her shoulders. “They thought too highly of themselves and believed teaming up would give them a chance against me.”

“You did not kill them?” Feng Zhi asks, noting the two are still breathing.

“Was I supposed to?” Yi Jiao asks, scratching her cheek. “It is not like they tried anything beyond fighting me. Also, I couldn’t recall if the Green Banners or the Invincible Sons had any significant alliances that could cause trouble for us.”

“They have none,” Feng Zhi says, his mind more than familiar with the complicated mess of alliances and vows that tie all the Sects in the Crimson Cloud Empire. “As long as we do not kill someone from a subordinate Sect, people won’t complain too much. However, there is nothing wrong in leaving them alive.”

“Are they eliminated now?” Yi Jiao asks, glancing at the two.

“It depends on whether they can get up in time or not,” Feng Zhi replies. “The Crimson Cloud has a history of not being clear in its standards… or so I have been taught.”

Yi Jiao’s face suddenly lights up. “That’s right! The Crimson Cloud! If you’re here, it means he was right!”

“Don’t say such things aloud,” Feng Zhi says, well aware that the Crimson Cloud could be showing their conversation to everyone in the stadium. Yi Jiao flashes him a guilty smile as she realizes it. “And not necessarily so.”

Even as he says it, Feng Zhi knows his thoughts have drifted toward Yi Jiao more than once since the second stage began. The smug look on her face tells him she knows it, too.

“Liar,” she calls out in a sing-song voice.

It is not that Feng Zhi is embarrassed to admit it. He is not so pathetic that he can’t admit he likes her. No, there is something else. Admitting Feng Zhuo’s theory is correct means admitting his cousin discovered something that no one else, not his father, not his uncle, and not his grandfather, could.

It is very annoying.

Besides, what does it say about him that he is proving Feng Zhuo’s theory? Compared to his father and uncle, Feng Zhi is unremarkable. Yi Jiao might call him negative, but it is the simple truth. If it was as easy as thinking about it, they would have noticed it long before Feng Zhuo. However, they did not, meaning Feng Zhi has achieved something they did not, which makes no sense. He is simply not strong enough for that.

And yet, the Eternal Flame chose him in the Storm Dragon Palace…

It might have done so because of Feng Hao, but Feng Zhi would be lying if he said he had not noticed a change in his flames ever since. He is just not sure what it means yet.

Yi Jiao pokes his cheek.

“You’re thinking of something needlessly depressing,” Yi Jiao deduces. “You know I don’t like it when you do that.”

“I was thinking of something important,” Feng Zhi argues, not sounding convincing at all.

“Is it about what you’re supposed to be accomplishing here?” Yi Jiao asks, putting a hand on her hip. “Because I thought you said you wanted to find artifacts you could show off to your father. And if your cousin is right…”

She leaves the sentence hanging. There is no need to elaborate.

If Feng Zhuo is right about what can be done…

Feng Zhi grins.

~~~

A lion roars while leaping at Liu Jin. Its body is as big as a house and made of solid rock. Its teeth are diamonds that shine as it opens its mouth to swallow Liu Jin in a single gulp.

Purple lightning obliterates the construct in an instant.

[Art of the Roaming Thief]

“Surrender,” Liu Jin orders coldly, his spear touching the back of his foe’s neck.

“I surrender! I surrender!” The young man says instantly, raising his arms in defeat. “Mercy, Emperor! Mercy! I merely sought to test myself!”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Liu Jin studies him for a moment. He is not a representative of one of the Four Great Sects or a member of the Red Group. There is a slight possibility that he is acting under someone’s orders, but the odds of anyone trying to use someone so relatively weak as a pawn against Liu Jin are minuscule.

He is not someone Liu Jin needs to be wary of.

“Very well,” Liu Jin says, putting his spear over his back and walking away. “Next time you seek to test yourself, exercise wisdom when choosing your target.”

It occurs to Liu Jin after speaking that this man might have attacked him, not because he wanted to test himself, but because he was sure he’d be attacked no matter what. However, that motive would not sound nearly as noble.

“You...Your Majesty is leaving?” the participant asks before he can stop himself. He immediately slaps a hand over his mouth, well aware there are times when one should accept their good fortune and be silent.

“I gain nothing in removing you from the competition,” Liu Jin replies. “It might be better for me if you remain in it.”

“I…I see… I understand, Your Majesty!”

What exactly it is that the man understands is not something Liu Jin knows. He does not stay to ask either, quickly resuming his dash through the forest. All Liu Jin meant was that it would be better for him if the second stage lasted as long as possible. The longer it does, the more chances he’ll have to find Su An.

As Liu Jin continues his journey, a red leaf falls over his shoulder. It is not the first time it happens. Trapped in seemingly unending autumn, the forest is full of falling leaves. There is no point in trying to dodge them all.

The ground suddenly trembles and roars.

It twists beneath his feet, forming a face that pushes through the earth and rises into a red beast with oversized arms and long legs.

Its red fist comes down.

“I have to wonder,” Liu Jin says, dodging the punch and running up the Cloud Beast’s long arm. His spear, coated in purple lightning, slices through the beast’s head in a single swing. “Cloud Beasts are only an extra element of danger added to the second stage. They are not meant to be the main cause of elimination, and yet…”

Cloud Beasts of the same type rise around him one after another, knocking down several trees as they do. There are seven in total.

“I cannot help but feel targeted,” Liu Jin says.

[Ground Contraction]

Liu Jin accelerates, his form becoming nothing but purple light as he pierces through one Cloud Beast after another, instantly defeating them.

“Have I offended you somehow, Crimson Cloud?”

Liu Jin is not expecting an answer, yet he receives one.

“Who knows?” A female voice says. “Knowing you, I would not rule it out. You have a way of annoying others. You should try weaponizing it more.”

Liu Jin smiles.

“Lu Mei,” he greets her as she walks into the clearing. Like him, she is wearing the black and gold robes that mark her as a Core Disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan. On this occasion, anything else would be disrespectful towards the Sect. “Useful as that would be, I’ll settle for not unknowingly angering those with more power than I.”

“Now, you are asking far too much,” Lu Mei says. “How did you even make a cloud angry with you?”

“I’d say you’re more qualified to answer that question than I,” Liu Jin replies as he and Lu Mei start walking down the forest. “After all, you are here.”

“Listen, and listen well, Brother-in-law. I discovered this when I was in the Realm of the Crimson Cloud. If not for my Uncle’s desire to rejoin the Eternal Flame, I fully believe this information could give the Eternal Flame Clan complete dominance over all future Crimson Cloud Tournaments. Regardless, pay attention! It is believed that the Eternal Flame and the Crimson Cloud are fully separate, but I no longer believe that is the case. A link remains, and through it, one can influence the other. The Eternal Flame can be used to influence the Realm of the Crimson Cloud.”

The Realm of the Crimson Cloud is a limitless space where one is at the mercy of randomness. Even if someone spends the whole second stage looking, they might not find a single artifact.

However, if Feng Zhuo is right, all of that becomes immaterial.

“How can you be so sure of this, brother-in-law? You only had a limited time to test it.”

“Because, Brother-in-law, it was the Crimson Cloud that led me to Xiao Nan.”

“I am not sure,” Lu Mei says, holding hands with Liu Jin and communicating through Qi. ”My brother’s theory is interesting, but I am not in a position where I can prove it. His grasp of the Eternal Flame far surpasses mine.”

“Yet, you are here,” Liu Jin repeats, using the same method as the two begin to walk through the forest together. “Does that not mean anything?”

“I was trying to find you, but we cannot rule out coincidence,” Lu Mei says. “Still, this place is interesting… It makes the Eternal Flame within me nostalgic.”

Liu Jin blinks. It is not often he hears Lu Mei talk about the Eternal Flame. “It has feelings?”

Lu Mei smiles and brushes a strand of hair behind her ear. “The Eternal Flame is the power, and the Crimson Cloud is the mind. Saying it like that makes it easy to understand, but I believe it is a vast oversimplification. The Eternal Flame is not merely power. Sometimes, I hear it speak. Though I never fully understand its words, I can grasp their meaning. There is a Will within it clearly capable of preferences. Feng Hao is all the proof one needs.”

She raises her free hand and lets gold sparks appear between her fingers.

“In the same way, the Crimson Cloud might be thought of as the mind, but sustaining a place like this cannot be done without power. I feel its energy under my feet. It cannot be taken lightly.”

“Assuming it wanted to kill me…”

“It’d probably be trying much harder than sending one or two Cloud Beasts after you. It is undoubtedly smart enough to think so,”

“Let’s hope it is only that,” Liu Jin says, feeling somewhat annoyed that many of the books in the Imperial Library had been destroyed during the civil war. Knowing the full history between the Crimson Cloud Empire and Storm Dragon Empire would have been helpful. Liu Jin even considered waking up his ancestor to ask him a few questions, but something told him that should only be done in emergencies. “In any case, I’d rather not meet the mind of the Crimson Cloud while I’m here.”

Lu Mei frowns. “If this does not work–”

“I have no intention of blaming you,” Liu Jin says.

“That goes without saying,” Lu Mei replies. “What I want is for you not to blame yourself.”

Ah.

A sad smile appears on Liu Jin’s face.

“I only promise to try.”

“An honest answer. I never understood how annoying they could be until I met you,” Lu Mei says.

“Like you said, I have a way of making others angry with me,” Liu Jin says.

“As your betrothed, I’ll magnanimously try to look past it.”

They laugh, yet Liu Jin’s heart is not entirely in it. He is too tense, and Lu Mei sees it clearly. From the moment he knew Su Daji would participate, the plan had been to use Feng Zhuo’s knowledge to his advantage. Lu Mei would use the Eternal Flame to find him as quickly as possible, and then…

And then, she’ll lead him right to Su Daji.

There is no better time. In the Realm of the Crimson Cloud, there is no way for the Wandering Wind to interfere. The only issue is whether it will work or not, but there are no doubts in Liu Jin’s mind anymore. He had not sensed the moment Lu Mei entered his field of awareness. She had just been there. Lu Mei might not have noticed, but she had not walked up to him. The Crimson Cloud took her where she wanted to be.

Lu Mei and Liu Jin walk together through the forest at a leisurely pace, both of them knowing speed no longer matters. The Crimson Cloud will take them where they need to be, or it will not. All they have to do is wait.

Suddenly, he feels it.

Lu Mei nods when he meets her gaze. A burst of [Ground Contraction] carries him forward into a clearing.

Purple and red eyes meet. Liu Jin feels his heart clench. Su Daji is resting against the roots of a massive tree in a pose he’d seen countless times in Eastern Port City.

Slowly, she stands.

“I… am not surprised to see you,” she says, her voice soft and uncertain. “I am not sure why, but I knew I’d eventually meet you.”

“Is that a good thing?” Liu Jin asks.

“It is odd...” she says. “I thought I’d know for sure when I saw you, but I don’t... All I know...”

Her Qi spikes.

“Is that for some reason I am unspeakably angry with you!” she declares, her Qi blazing around her.

Liu Jin smiles sadly.

“I am not surprised,” he says, purple lightning bursting around him. “I have been told I am an annoying man.”

~~~