Zane almost jumped out of his skin when Rhian stood up next to him abruptly. They were eating some fruit that Hua Yi had asked one of the guards to get them. It was a little sour and scratchy but left a sweet aftertaste in his mouth.
Hua Yi had disappeared to talk to the Royal General's son, and Zane had merely raised his eyebrows at the fact that she was yet to return. Now, he turned to the direction that Rhian had rushed to. The same man from prior—whose name Zane still didn't know—was smiling brightly at Rhian.
When Zane's staring had become obvious, he averted his gaze from Rhian and met Zane's eyes. Zane blinked back and pursed his lips. This man struck no chord in Zane's brain—he never recalled seeing him aside from the time they were exiting the Temple. "And who might he be?" the man asked Rhian.
Zane cleared his throat. "No one necessary," he murmured.
[
[
[
'Of course it would be,' Zane thought. 'I uttered the name inside a Temple, which binds knowledge within it to be inaccessible by anyone else, as it could hinder the true participation of the players'.
The man raised his eyebrow. "Well," he began. "I suppose I don't need to know. Do you deserve to know mine?"
Zane shrugged. At that, the other man narrowed his eyes. "Wait…" he suddenly said. "Sect Leader Hua said that someone rescued you." He glanced at Rhian. "Is this him?"
Rhian glared a little before he nodded.
The man then let out a puff of air. "Then I suppose you deserve to know mine," he said, almost begrudgingly. "I'm Huang Delan, commander of the secondary army."
The name still didn't ring a bell, but Zane sighed as he at least knew the name now. "How did you get out, though? It was the Celestium, for Draknir's sake," Huang Delan asked.
"Things are usually less complicated than they seem," Zane replied. "However, luck had to be in the level where there was almost little to no security."
Huang Delan made a thoughtful sound as he put his arm on Rhian's shoulder. "What made you save this man anyway?" he asked, patting Rhian's back. "Was it his looks? He looks much better now than he did years ago."
"Gege," Rhian scoffed, elbowing the other man.
"Oh no, he was covered in dust, had an infected wound, and looked like he was high on hikai."
Hikai was a drug that was believed to be a mere painkiller at first. However, it later turned out that the patients that underwent it were in a state of psychosis and crawled back for it by purposely injuring themselves. Ever since then, the drug has been sold in underground black markets and predominantly shipped through the Nerathi Isles.
Huang Delan raised his eyebrows and stood straight. "Were you the one who took hold of Nei Haoyǔ's Executioner?" he asked.
"He passed out right after," Rhian reminded.
"I'll steal your Executioner," Zane threatened.
"Try your luck."
Huang Delan let out another dramatic sound. "My Xiaoshi is grown up now. Oh, how the youth tries to flirt."
"What?" Zane asked. "No one's flirting."
"No one is," Huang Delan mimicked him, no bite behind his words but a teasing layer.
"You know what—I have to discuss something with Rhian," Zane said quickly. "Rhian leave that man alone and come here."
"Oh?" Huang Delan hummed.
[
[
[A
"Look," Zane groaned. "Because of you, the watchers are on me."
"And me," Rhian coughed, closing the direct messages he was receiving. Zane didn't want to check that in either way.
As they began walking away, Zane heard Huang Delan call out behind them. "Enjoy your time!"
[Many
"Kill me," Zane murmured as they stepped out of the garden and entered the outskirts of a forest. He then turned to Rhian. "Who is he?"
Rhian glanced at him before crossing his hands against his chest thoughtfully. "He's… the Sect Leader's friend. Close associate, actually. They studied at the same recesses."
"No, like… his relationship with you."
"Well, he's thirty-eight; let's start with that. I met him when the Hua Clan had suffered a major loss in the war and some… family problems. We didn't lose the war, but we lost some important people who were quite close to the Sect Leader. You know how the story goes: when things like this happen, as a kid you barely get attention and are mostly left to fend for yourselves."
Somehow the age of Huang Delan surprised him more than anything. He looked just over twenty five.
Rhian continued. "He met me when I was practicing with a sword and had accidentally injured myself. And after that he kind of just became my mentor. He taught me most of my swordsmanship and mana control. Perhaps fifteen years back."
"He's a weird mentor."
"He failed his chance to teach at the Akademia because apparently he was too much on all spectrums."
"Elaborate?"
"Well, he was strict—meaning really strict—and really easygoing at times. Plus, his way of controlling the mana was not very looked up to, so he failed to get a stable job."
"Yet you learned it?"
Rhian sighed. "It allows you to unlock your mana core to any desired percentage without much hindrance, provided you've been circulating spiritual energy throughout your body for at least months. Obviously, if you had previously unlocked at least two percent, you can't go to one hundred percent… but you can unlock up to fifty percent."
"And why is this looked down on?"
"Well," Rhian hesitated. "The aftereffects. Not everyone is good at circulating their spiritual energy constantly. For the first few months, it's quite exerting and tiring and can affect your physical strength and stamina. There are always those looking for shortcuts, and although their body can open fifty percent, their body cannot come back to normal after that."
Zane nodded. Yeah, he couldn't do it. He lacked the patience. "What do you mean by 'normal'?"
"Usually, it just means something gruesome. Sometimes the core burns through your heart and kills you on the spot, or it combusts. Additionally, to kickstart the process, you should have to have killed something living. I restarted the process so you'll get to see a live transformation," Rhian sniped.
That's when a thought crossed Zane's mind. "Is that why you could get out of the bars when I gave you that tip?"
"This method requires full control of your spiritual energy. Obviously, I could lower it to none. Plus, I've been there for years. What do you think I was doing all that time?"
That made sense. The method did seem fruitful, but the last time Zane had tried anything close to meditating, he had either fallen asleep or into deep thought. What was it? No pain, no gain, literally.
Their walk continued until they came across a creek. Zane was surprised to see the water was quite translucent. "This is the tributary of River Bei Qing," Rhian said. "It's from that mountain—Huide Guang."
Zane followed his gaze to the mountain whose peak was seen in almost ashen smoke. "What's wrong with it?"
"It's cursed," Rhian replied. "Diabolic talismans surround the mountain from all sides."
Zane supposed he could slip in a little stupid question. "Never tried taking it off?"
Rhian stared at him for a few moments. "If we get the time, yes."
"Seriously?"
"We're screwed up with the upcoming crap in any case," Rhian murmured. "Why would you spend time here?"
'Makes somewhat sense,' Zane marveled.
—
In the Bluelit Chamber, a segregation to Hua Huiliang's personal chamber, Sect Leader Xue sat on the windowsill that overlooked a private garden where Hua Huiliang stood near an old oak tree.
[Your sponsor wants you to aid
'Very well.' Xue Huoqian jumped off the windowsill and stepped into the garden, walking towards the other Sect Leader. "Have you recovered the writing?" she asked Hua Huiliang.
Sect Leader Hua had a piece of parchment that was sitting on an old stone tablet, and by the tree's foot was a small burial he'd made for the carrier pigeon. His palms grew gold as he focused his mana above the text. Xue Huoqian let out a breath as she extended her hand to hover over Hua Huiliang's and triggered her mana. She could feel traces of Sect Leader Lu's mana on the parchment.
"The amount of changes is getting under my skin," Hua Huiliang confessed.
Xue Huoqian was about to speak up, but the parchment being restored to its prior state got her attention. "Sect Leader Hua," she said, crouching down next to the other man.
As they read the information, their eyes grew. "A Jade Palace?" she asked.
"It must be an auxiliary level," Hua Hualiang murmured.
"No, there must be another trigger to it," Xue Huoqian said. "The objective nature of this level is for us to get rid of the Shu Clan. It does not tell us what to do with the Fei Resurrection, but rather, it's asking us to demolish a clan's existence. Now, according to the parchment, it adds that Sect Leader Lu saw Shu Meiying as a participant of the Jade Palace as well."
"It does," Hua Huiliang replied.
"Now, inferring that, I don't think it's an auxiliary level. It has to be a veiled level. News would travel fast if the Lu Clan were to build a Jade Palace."
"But the point is that Lu Huan is trapped in that situation."
"It is. But have faith that he will hold on."
"Of course, he will," Hua Huiliang sighed. "He's resilient. But his soldiers have been attacked. Knowing him, he'd try to treat them first or would try to exterminate the source of the problem."
Xue Huoqian nodded thoughtfully. "Should we call in a siege? My army has been calling me incompetent for attempting to follow through on a peaceful path."
Hua Huiliang paused thoughtfully. "I suppose we have no other option now, do we? Either we wait for the System to call the shots, or we go protect little dignity. And if possible, I'd like to keep the Recesses away from any casualties."
Xue Huoqian stood up and gazed around the garden. "Pity," she said. "I hoped we could've had a small tea party here before we got to the war."
"This is not a joke, Sect Leader Xue."
"How firm. Can we at least try to act like not all of us are going to die? Let's just get to a positive idea where we get rid of the source of the problem?"
Hua Huiliang stood up and couldn't help a small smile that came to his lips. "Unfortunately, your and Sect Leader Lu's obsession with extermination still persists, I see."
"We're less vicious," Xue Huoqian replied. "I'll bring forth my soldiers. Shall we gather at the Military Court?"
Hua Huiliang stared at the open sky. The moon was high, its surface clear to his eyes. "Yes."
Xue Huoqian tried not to shudder as the dense aura surrounding Hua Huiliang grew as he walked towards the door of the Bluelit Chamber. She let herself look at the sky before she followed suit.
[Your sponsor finds the situation inevitable.]