Destiny in Cinders

Three minutes wasn't short. Barring the two instructors at the Tide Aura Stage, An Jing was confident he could defeat any instructor within three minutes. Even then, he felt confident enough to defeat them one-on-one.

While consolidating his strength, An Jing grew adept with both his aura and the lethal-qi sword he had awakened upon entering the Aura Realm. However, he had yet to comprehend what it was all about.

"It's your ability." the sword soul said in the dead of night while An Jing practiced manifesting the lethal-qi sword.

"Though it is but a fragment, it proves you already bear a lifearc. With continued practice, its power will become more prominent and eventually reach full manifestation. Your lifearc must be exceptional. To possess an ability before it has even fully awakened shows a level of compatibility that's truly rare."

"My lifearc... I just remembered why the cultists chose us. They believe children of disaster have a better chance of awakening lifearcs." Dispelling the sword, An Jing recalled the five unique children he had seen at the start. They hadn't been seen since, leading him to suspect they had been transferred to the "headquarters."

"Are lifearcs undetectable until they awaken? Now that I've awakened it, will the manor lord and the rest catch on? If they realize what’s happened, they might scrap their plans and move me ahead of schedule."

If that happens, I won't be able to protect my friends.

In truth, had An Jing awakened his lifearc from the outset, he would have been whisked away to the headquarters like the five children and undergone the same ruthless indoctrination that had occurred in Direlife Manor. Stripped of the chance to form bonds or friendships, he would never have developed the emotional ties necessary to resent the demonic cult.

Once his strength matured, he would have inevitably been reshaped by the demonic cult's ethics and worldview, becoming a true cultist. And further down that dark path, even after learning of the tragedies that unfolded at Direlife Manor, he would likely only feel a detached sense of superiority, believing himself to be special. After all, he would have never forged genuine connections with these children. Then those who failed to awaken their lifearcs from the very start had no right to a life like his. It was only right that they should forfeit their very lives just to bridge the gap.

Nauseated by the possibility of such a fate, An Jing felt a spark of white-hot anger that ground away at the rusted sword in his mind.

"The lifearc originates from the heavens. Unless the bearer actively manifests it or a specialized sacrificial formation is used, it can't be perceived through conventional means. To peer into it otherwise requires possessing a rare ability called 'Heavenly Will.' If it were that simple, any cultivator could identify a bearer just by looking at them. Rest easy, the manor lord won't notice a thing."

The sword soul explained the elusive nature of the lifearc, but was blunt in its dismissal of An Jing's earlier question. "To address your earlier point, you're mistaken. The term 'awakening the lifearc' is often thrown around, but strictly speaking, such a distinction doesn't exist. It's simply a question of how powerful it manifests.

"While every man's fate is ordained by the heavens, fate itself isn't set in stone. It's bolstered by 'earthly position' and 'human agency'." The sword soul addressed An Jing’s doubts with a detailed explanation.

"Fate is cast at the hour of birth, a heavenly ordination determined by the circumstances of one's birth into the world. Even if a person's natal chart is unremarkable, devoid of any auspicious stars, to be born into the imperial line, is in itself, a 'noble fate.' Yet, birthright isn't everything. So to truly measure a person's lifearc, one must look past fate and consider their 'earthly position.'

"A person's earthly position encompasses their social rank and authority in the world. As the saying goes, 'circumstances forge greatness.' When an individual ascends to power, their lifearc shifts accordingly, like a lowly serpent transforming into a soaring dragon, just as a simple villager whose fate is rewritten the moment he achieves enlightenment and joins a sect.

"Conversely, in the absence of status, even the noblest of birth will be buried under the weight of the mundane. A royal stripped of their rank becomes unremarkable until the tide of fortune turns. Hence, human agency is the final pillar which represents individual willpower, effort, and opportunity."

At this, the sword soul regarded An Jing with a look of quiet approval.

"An Jing, you stand as a testament to how human agency can transform a person's arc. Your lifearc once lay dormant, marking you as nothing more than a common man. But witnessing the cruelty of life and death ignited a righteous fury within you, and you vowed to purge the world of man-eating monsters and cultists alike. Driven by your own will, you altered your arc and awakened your destiny.

"The demonic cult didn't overlook your lifearc. It wasn't until you found the courage to defy them that you manifested it. How could a child who lacks the will to resist, one who feels no murderous intent or righteous fury toward the demonic cult, ever lay claim to a lifearc as fierce as yours? And even if you were born with such a fate, you would never have tapped into its power, let alone awakened the lethal-qi sword.

"It was your spark and compassion that roused me from my long slumber, yet it was your resolve to crush all evil that moved me to aid you. You are the living proof of how human agency can alter the course of destiny."

"I see." As An Jing absorbed the sword soul's words, he began to gain clarity.

Muttering to himself, he said, "Fate is ordained by the heavens, but its fulfillment lies in human hands. Fate and lifearcs are nothing more than a nudge from the heavens. What matters just as much is a person's earthly position and the infinite variables of human agency.

"It's true. Without the will to fight back and the determination to wipe out these monsters, I’m just another terrified child. A noble fate means nothing if you don't act on it. I'd be meat on the butcher's blade. I can't stop now."

After a brief pause, he added softly, "A destiny not acted upon is no destiny at all."

"Precisely. No matter what fate we're assigned, a cultivator remains true to their own will." Pleased with An Jing's insight, the sword soul led him into a state of meditative contemplation.

Days drifted by in a similar fashion. Lately, An Jing had no opportunity to venture back into the foreign world. But it was more than a mere lack of time; the place wasn't safe. The fact that the heavily armed local cultivators ended up slaughtered meant the ruins harbored terrors far more lethal than he could imagine. He wouldn't return until he was significantly stronger unless he found himself in a dire situation of life and death.

On the surface, at least, everything was calm again. While An Jing patiently cultivated his strength and waited for his chance, an unforeseen incident arose. One of the other children had also come to grasp the sinister reality of the demonic cult. She could be considered an acquaintance, one whose name An Jing had specifically noted. Of the 108 disaster children, she hailed from the most remote region—Bai Qinghan from the South Han Highway.