Whiteriver town sat between the border of Xia and the Sun Empire. The nearest city was in Xia, named Blood Feather City.
Aurel knew only the traveling word from merchants, tinkerers, and travelers about Xia and Blood Home. The Otherworlders who used qi had gathered and formed the nation. But that was as far as Aurel knew. The rest he would have to figure out.
Aurel continued to walk down the dirt road as the sun rose, his spear in hand. The Will of the World was silent for now, and Aurel was fine with that. He was planning in his mind.
He would go to Blood Home city, whose sole purpose revolved around slaves. Aurel planned to free them and rally the natives of his home planet.
But first, he had to blend in, to gather information. He knew his limits. The law of storms was powerful, but not omniscient, especially now.
Aurel whistled as he walked. Hours passed along the road, and yet he did not see anyone. He stopped at a stream, taking a quick break, but resumed walking. Along the way, he attempted to gain better control of the lightning.
It was only at dusk that he saw someone on the road: a lone figure with a sheathed sword and wearing robes. Aurel recognized it as an outfit that cultivators wore, similar to the Lin Xua and his son he had killed.
Aurel continued, spear loose around him as the figure grew close. The person was young with an arrogant smile. He stopped in front of Aurel and raised the sword.
"Are you a native?"
Aurel did not reply as he continued walking.
"Zhang Wei, Heavenly Blossom Sect. … Hey, are you listening? I've just reincarnated you know. If you—"
Aurel struck with his spear, lightning thundering as he leapt across the short distance. It pierced the man, Zhang Wei, through his throat and out the back. With blank eyes as blood burst from his mouth, Zhang Wei died without uttering another word.
Is this guy an idiot? Aurel thought, retracting his spear as the body slid off.
Aurel stripped the man of everything he had and carried away the man's body.
He walked into the forest lining the road and threw the body into the stream. He donned the man's robes, washing off a splash of blood with water. He also attempted to tie his hair as the dead man had done.
When he looked in the river's reflection in the moonlight, Aurel was satisfied and inspected the man's other belongings. Other than the sword, which Aurel threw to the side, the man had a small pouch and a wooden identification tablet.
He then continued down the road, now assuming the identity of Zhang Wei from the Heavenly Blossom Sect.
For five days and nights, he traveled as daylight allowed. He lived off the land, picking safe berries from the bushes and drinking water from clear streams.
It was on the fourth day, as Aurel began to tire from walking the path, that he reached the city.
Blood Feather city, unlike its name, soared above the skys in a brilliant white. In concentric circles, thick white walls in rings stretched over plains from a thinning forest. But Aurel knew, behind its facade, its main purpose was slavery.
As he walked, he began to see people passing him. They wore the same robes as he did. Most were fair-skinned. Once, a carriage carrying the dirtied faces of slaves behind bars traveled across the road.
Natives of this world, his people. They were enslaved and sold as slaves to these cultivators. Aurel did not act out, did not show any emotion as the carriage driver passed. There was no need. He would free them eventually. Saving a few here would do nothing for the greater good.
Continually passing more people, Aurel looked for someone to gain information.
He needed information cultivators, the city, and Otherworlders. But more importantly, he needed to know if the identification badge was enough to get it.
He spotted a pair of young cultivators, wearing slightly different robes from his. Aurel rather took the chance of asking those from another of these sects, in case he was recognized.
"Good morning," Aurel said, motioning them over. "I am Zhang Wei from the Heavenly Blossom Sect."
The two cultivators looked at each other and at Aurel before bowing.
"Greetings, Senior," they said.
"I have lost my identification tablet."
Both sides paused as the two looked at each other, then at Aurel, their foreheads creased. One stepped forward.
"Senior. Are you of the reincarnation faction?"
Aurel nodded.
"May I ask, when…"
Aurel paused for a moment, gauging their reactions. Perhaps there was a custom he did not know. But he needed to go with it.
"Recently," Aurel said, keeping his statement vague. But the two cultivators jumped in response as though they understood.
"We've just recently reincarnated too senior. Without the identification tablet to get into the city, you have to contact your sect."
"Alright, thank you," Aurel said. They bowed, and Aurel quickly did the same, and then they were off on the road.
This confirmed it. The identification tablet was enough to prove his identity to head into the city. Aurel continued forward on the road, slowly joining the crowd going into the city. A line had formed in front of a gate leading into the city, with guards stationed at either side.
Aurel joined the line, and as he approached, the guard simply extended a hand. Aurel hadned him the identificaiton tablet, the guard glanced over it, looked at Aurel, his robes, and spear, before motioning him on.
The city itself was as clean as it looked. These cultivators were abundant, walking through the streets. Even from here, Aurel could see that the city itself was massive. Just the town of Whiteriver could fit within a courtyard.
What he needed most now was information. Most likely, he needed to threaten someone for it.
He began to scope for an easy target. He spotted a sickly looking young man, whose robes were obvious frayed and in dissary, running through the crowd.
He began to follow.
The city quickly shifted. The white streets began to get dirty, with homes constructed of wood rather than stone. There was trash, albeit little of it, with the streets made of broken stone. The crowds grew slightly larger, with hurried faces and plainer robes.
The sickly man Aurel began to follow through a dark, narrow street, until he reached an old, rotting home tucked beside what seemed to be an inn. The man entered.
Aurel looked around and, after seeing no eyes looking his way, followed him.
As soon as he entered, Aurel felt danger. He ducked a knife that slotted into the wood where his head was. Aurel thrust his spear forward, stopping at the throat of the terrified man.
"Who are you!" he said, trembling.
"I have questions," Aurel said. There was no need to act. All he needed was information. And judging by the dirty bed, the trash, and the broken home, it was clear there was no one else to care for him.
"Alright, please, spare me, senior…"
"What is—reincarnation?"
"Reincarnation?" For the first time, the man's fear dropped as he stammered. "Reincarnation?"
"Yes." Aurel pushed the spear forward, keeping his senses alive for any danger. There was none.
The man took a deep breath. "Reincarnation is another life. Born again. From our original worlds, before we were taken. Either that or is transmigration or regressing. Didn't you experience the, the same, senior?"
Aurel, watching the man, finally retracted his spear. He sat down on the creaking bed, his spear propped up before him as he stared.
The man watched as the weird man stared up at him. What was this man? Why was he asking about common sense that everyone had learned?
But the man could do nothing as this foreign person stared at him with emotionless eyes. He could kill him in an instant, the man felt, without remorse. Was he at the foundation stage? Beyond?
"So you guys came from another world. Then placed here. And in your world, you did this reincarnation?"
"Yes…"
Aurel thought. That meant these Otherworlders, as the Will had said, had broken their own timelines, then were placed in his world.
"And what is this power you use?" Aurel said.
"Power?"
Aurel motioned at the man, at the wisp of strength he felt from the knife behind him.
"This energy, this power… what is it?"
"Energy… Qi?" The man stared, his mouth unable to close. "S-Senior… are you not a cultivator?"
Aurel said no more. Qi, this man called it. He had heard that these cultivators used it, and this confirmed it. How was this different form magic then?
"Then what is mana?" Aurel questioned. The man's blood fled from his face. But soon, a weird sound erupted from him. A laugh.
"Who are you?" he finally exclaimed. "Are you a Unique?"
"Unique?"
"Those who are special. They retained their boons after coming here. Like a system. Hah! You'll be captured soon enough by the Heavenly Blossom Sect. They have elders in the Nascent stage. It's over, you understand." He began to laugh again. "To see a Unique, it's truly an honor."
"Then answer my questions," Aurel said. It seemed Unie's were another type of Otherworlder. Perhaps they didn't use magic or qi. But if it caused this man to answer his questions, he would use it.
"If you did reincarnate, why are you so—weak?"
"Because life is unfair." The man had lost all semblance of fear and had begun speaking in madness. "I was destined for greatness! I had lost everything to a sect in my previous world, the demonic Blood Moon sect. After being killed, I was reincarnated miraculously in another body! It was my second chance! But before I could do anything, I was pulled here. Swept away, just as you were, into wilderness. Outer members of the Pure Blossom Sect found me. They were respectful at first, but upon finding I had been expelled just minutes after my reincarnation, they laughed. Took me away, through me here into the city."
"If only!" The man's qi was in turmoil. "If only I were lucky and stayed in my world until the foundation stage. Some people you see," This man is crazy, Aurel thought. "The time that people are taken from the world is different. Some are taken as soon as they are reincarnated. Others stay in their world, gathering strength, before coming here. I was unlucky! The heavens through me into hell."
Aurel watched as the man fell to the floor. It was clear this man was of no worth. At least he would give him a clean death.
Still sitting, he grabbed the spear, and as the man kneeled before him, Aurel simply cut open the man's throat. He bled, silently, his life slipping away.
Will? Aurel thought. Are you there?
Yes, came the reply.
Is what this man said true?
Most likely. But don't know. Kill more Otherworlders. Unlock. Too weak, these.
As Aurel sat upon the broken bed, the bleeding body before him, he began to think, tapping the spear before him.
So these otherworlders had come from their worlds, taken as the Will said, by the natural laws to fix their timelines. They had done this reincarnation, or regression, or transmigration. When they were taken, they were different, which explained the difference in powers. Their powers were different as well. Qi, used by cultivators. Mana, Aurel had heard for mages. These Uniques most likely had a different power.
He had to cleanse them. All of them.
First, this city, Blood Feather City. He needed power first, measure it against the cultlivators here. From the conversations he had, Aurel knew there were levels. Qi-condensing, foundation, and Nascent. If the Pure Blossom Sect in this city had Nascent cultivators, he needed to be stronger. Much stronger.
So that was his plan. Gather information about the city, the slaves, and the cultivators. Gather strength. Make a plan. And then free the city and the natives, his people.