Destiny in Cinders

As his lungs contracted and expanded, An Jing expelled a stream of vigor. A brilliant flash of sword light erupted, slicing a clean split right through the door. Once the built-up ailment qi was forced out, the Evenstar lethal qi within him flowed seamlessly, quickly rising to thirty-nine strands. Excluding the three strands that were his vital-origin qi, the remaining thirty-six strands were entirely at his disposal.

Yvelbane voiced its admiration. "To possess such a natural affinity for the dao... Congratulations, An Jing, on unlocking the true meaning of this technique. Henceforth, the eighteen arcane seals of Spirit Awakening and Qi Refinement will be smooth sailing for you!"

"Is that so?" An Jing was slightly puzzled. From his perspective, he was simply following the steps—circulating the technique, condensing qi, refining lethal qi, and forming the seals. The seamless flow of it all already felt hard to believe, but he never dreamed he was doing far better than he realized.

"Of course," Yvelbane said nonchalantly, "You have entirely grasped the true essence of the Evenstar seal seed and begun reshaping your foundation, drawing the very favor of the Grand Dao's divine light. Even with the backing of your lifearc and the protection of fate, this is nothing short of a staggering achievement!"

From Yvelbane's perspective, the divine light had allowed An Jing's soul to fuse with a trace of Evenstar metal qi refined from the Evenstar seal seed. This process typically occurred after the ninth and tenth arcane seals, when a cultivator finally began integrating the seals into their soul.

However, An Jing had unlocked this profound step ahead of time. As a result, every new arcane seal he condensed would fortify his soul. For a cultivator already preparing to transform their psychic will into psychic sense and lay the groundwork for Foundation Building, this marked a definitive step into the peak of Qi Refinement. An Jing's already powerful soul would grow even more resilient. Though Yvelbane had long foreseen that An Jing would face no obstacles at this stage, the effortless progression still brought it immense joy.

"I sense that this isn't just feedback from my lifearc, but also because of the great fortune you've brought me." An Jing, however, began to see the truth. While he was undoubtedly a top-tier genius, he wasn't naturally talented to such a monstrous degree. The boost from his lifearc merely granted him a flash of insight. Without a solid foundation, achieving this would have been impossible.

It was the presence of the former immortal sword, Yvelbane, dwelling within him, combined with the boon of its soul as well as the True Talisman, that allowed him to effortlessly control lethal qi and sword qi. It was what made his cultivation path so effortless and fueled his rapid advancement in this sword immortal's technique. However, this was also the fruit of his desperate battles and countless obstacles overcome. In truth, his exceptional talent was hard earned.

"My body... feels so light!" At that moment, An Jing felt a surge of elation as he sensed the changes within his body. Upon condensing the third arcane seal, his body, which had grown progressively heavier from cultivating Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal, felt vastly lighter. His actual weight hadn't dropped; rather, his strength had dramatically surged.

His increased strength made using Profoundstep far easier. Setting his agility aside, his speed had increased, and the force of his movements was powerful enough to send bricks flying.

At the Tide Essence Stage, his Evenstar lethal qi recovered far more rapidly, nearly matching the rate of a regular Qi Refinement cultivator. It previously took him eight hours of cultivation just to recover a single strand of Evenstar lethal qi, but he could now regenerate a strand in an hour. Even if he exhausted all thirty-six strands, it would take a mere thirty-six hours, just a day and a half, to completely recover.

Consequently, An Jing could avoid wasting jadeslice steel and mystic metals, provided he was in a safe environment. Of course, utilizing them would still accelerate his replenishment of Evenstar lethal qi.

He had condensed two seals across his arms and legs in one fell swoop, achieving a qualitative leap in physical strength. With his advancement in both the martial path and the immortal path, An Jing no longer feared any Fortification martialist in Void Embrace. Unless they were at the absolute peak of the Fortification Realm with four or five wonders, he possessed the power to crush them head-on.

Given that the Clearing Realm guardian adept of Keensight had yet to return, An Jing's strength meant he could roam the city as if it were his own backyard. Next, he needed to focus on absorbing and refining qi, manifesting his wonders, and formally entering the Fortification Realm.

"Time to go." Raising his head, An Jing cast his gaze toward the door's undercut.

Though it was still dark, a faint glimmer was already showing. Night had passed, and dawn was breaking. Feeling revitalized, An Jing opened the door and walked out of Blessed Virtue Garden.

The passing attendants and maids noticed his breakthrough and offered their congratulations, earning a somewhat reserved wave from An Jing in return. Although he appeared arrogant, An Jing handed out some copper coins, which delighted them and sparked another round of compliments and congratulatory remarks.

"The city has been restless recently, Young Master Xuan. Please be careful." On his way back to the inn, the manager of Blessed Virtue Garden offered an escort, to which An Jing declined.

Since the guest had spoken, Manager Li naturally held his tongue, but he still gave a quiet reminder. "There's been recent heavenly fiend sightings and unusual movement from the demonic cult in the mountains. The city is safe right now, but we still need to be careful. Who knows if they'll take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble?"

"I see." An Jing noted this but remained expressionless.

The adept of Keensight was known as Majesty Yang Fist. An Jing hadn't connected the dots before, but thinking back on it sparked a few vague suspicions in his mind. The demonic cult's adept who rushed to the Xishan Region, severely injured the vilespawn fiend, and forced it to show its hand, appeared to have used a yang-aspect martial technique. Unless he was wrong, Shu Zheng was the very same cultist adept that had infiltrated Grand Chen, just as Instructor Li had said before dying.

With the demonic cult reaching into this vital border territory, An Jing found it hard to evaluate the effectiveness of Grand Chen's rule. The stark reality was that Keensight plunged straight into turmoil once the cultist adept was gone.

However, none of this was entirely shocking. The chaos gripping the northwestern border region was a result of the clash between the Heavenly Will Divine Cult and the Grand Chen Empire. Operating simultaneously as a hidden pawn of the cult and a Grand Chen official, Shu Zheng could openly suppress local clans while secretly neutralizing threats with the cult's means.

Ironically, because a spy was naturally more meticulous and efficient than regular officials, Keensight actually enjoyed a period of peace. Therefore, he dismissed Manager Li's claim about the demonic cult causing trouble. The cult's regional forces had already been wiped out by the Crimsonguard and the heavenly fiends, and even their most covertly hidden adept had perished at the hands of the latter. Right now, the demonic cult should still be licking its wounds, far too drained to incite further unrest. That raised the question: who exactly was behind the current chaos?

As he walked back to the inn, An Jing continued to turn the question over in his mind. But soon, he realized further contemplation was entirely unnecessary. Because at that exact moment, he suddenly sensed a wave of malice directed at him.

The intent was complex and avaricious; it was driven not by bloodlust, but by a covetous desire for something precious. It was a cold malice that reduced people to dogs, swine, or mere commodities—the exact malice harbored by human butchers and slave traffickers.