Destiny in Cinders

"Escape Grand Chen?" The meaning of her words eluded An Jing for a moment.

When Bai Qinghan looked up, a flash of midnight blue stirred in the depths of her eyes. With her serene gaze and her porcelain skin, she resembled a sprite that stepped out of a painting, or a young fawn hidden amid the dewy grass at daybreak, radiating a soft, helpless grace. Yet it was from this seemingly "harmless" sprite that such hate-filled words flowed.

"I hate Grand Chen." Bai Qinghan slowly turned her head to face the north as An Jing looked on in shock. Though her tone was perfectly calm, she offered up her most raw and heartfelt feelings.

"No one came when the fiend calamity struck my home. My parents are dead because help never arrived. Grand Chen blockaded the southern prefectures of South Han, trapping everyone inside. They wouldn't even give me a drop of water. Instead, the guards pelted me with stones, calling me a pathetic monkey."

She had never said so much before. Meeting An Jing’s eyes, she spoke with a shaky breath, finally sharing everything she had buried away. "That monster wanted to boil me alive, not knowing that boiling water can't hurt me. Maybe he felt a moment of pity or just wanted to check if I was cooked... Either way, when I threw the water back at him, he was the one who died. And that was how I survived that winter.

"The cult saved my life. They clothed me, fed me, and let me sleep without the fear of waking up bound beside a campfire. Senior Brother, no one has ever treated me well except for you and the cult."

Her eyes appeared like twin full moons that clearly revealed the uncertainty dwelling within.

"Has the cult treated you poorly? Why... why can't you stay?"

She raised her hand, and a stream of water shot out from the river in the canyon, flying straight to her palm. The next moment, Bai Qinghan let out a soft cry. The water, shimmering bright, transformed into a sharp arrow that whistled through the air toward An Jing.

Unable to dodge, An Jing threw up his sword to parry, but the wooden blade disintegrated instantly. The residual force hit him with the weight of a massive bear, forcing him backward as he struggled to dissipate the blow.

But this wasn't meant to kill him; it wasn't even intended as an attack. It was meant only to keep him there.

"What in the..." An Jing barely blocked the strike, only to feel a numbing chill radiating from his broken hilt. White frost crept upward like an icy hand, ready to lock up his wrist and freeze him solid. Dropping the hilt, he locked eyes with Bai Qinghan’s, wearing a complicated expression.

"Manifesting the Profound Yin allowed her to manifest her ability!" A dark glint flashed across the manor lord's widening eyes as he realized Bai Qinghan's true intention. He exclaimed with delight, "It's your ability! You've only just awakened your lifearc but you're already wielding it! Qinghan, you're the Profound Yin Goddess!"

Bai Qinghan stood motionless amidst a swirl of wind and frost. As shards of ice drifted around her, her figure blurred into the dark fog.

This was an "ability."

Lifearcs varied from person to person, granting a wide range of wondrous abilities, from the power to command lightning and fire to enough physical might to overpower apex predators. Among the spectrum of lifearcs, those with root arcs and beyond could unlock abilities. However, most bearers required some time until they could exercise full control over their abilities. Immediate mastery upon awakening suggested a lifearc in total harmony with its bearer, elevating them far above the level of any ordinary bearer.

The arrival of the Profound Yin Goddess filled the manor lord with pure ecstasy. After all, Direlife Manor was just one of many branches of the Heavenly Demon Cult in the northwest region of Grand Chen, and a minor one at that.

The surprise attack by the empire would deplete a century of carefully hoarded resources. Even if the manor lord made it out alive, he would still be punished. But the Profound Yin Goddess would change everything.

Compared to her, An Jing’s escape was trivial. His superiors wouldn’t even flinch at the loss of a hundred or a thousand Direlife Manors and their headquarters at Heavenly Will Mountain. Instead, he would be showered with rewards.

On the contrary, An Jing felt powerless. The conviction on the faces of the rest behind Bai Qinghan confirmed that she wasn't alone in her beliefs. But upon reflection, was it really that surprising?

Haha! After An Jing fled the northern frontier, he was turned away at the gates of Brightmont and the Twinriver guard post alike. With no way into the city or further south, he and his gravely wounded mother were left with nothing but a grim wait for the end in the refugee camp.

There was no relief, no food, no medicine, and certainly no pity. Grand Chen's authorities remained indifferent, offering no strategy to combat the snow calamity. Instead, they intensified their exploitation, turning a blind eye to the rampaging bandits who acted as the gentry’s hired thugs to sow chaos and ruin.

This was the very government tasked with collecting taxes and protecting every citizen of Grand Chen! Yet they ignored the frontier's calamity, permitting the gentry to exploit the disaster, drain the refugees dry, seize their property and annex their lands. Were they any different from man-eating cannibals?

But did they truly have to choose? Why pick the least offensive from a pile of trash? Why not eliminate them all? Couldn't they start from scratch and build something new?

More water arrows surged from the river, suspended in the air behind the girl. An Jing bowed his head and said softly, "So you choose the demonic cult? The very same one that feeds on human flesh? You'll be eaten as well..."

"I've already fed on others. Isn't it only right that I be consumed in turn?" Bai Qinghan said with a hint of confusion as she stared at the Crimsonguard troops who had swarmed the manor.

"The cult paid for me, after all. Since they've spent the money, they'll at least look after me. Tyranny's everywhere you look anyway. If that’s how it must be, I’d rather be oppressed by the cult than ever suffer under Grand Chen's rule."

She turned to An Jing and offered a heartfelt plea, "Come with me, Senior Brother. The manor lord hasn’t made a move because he knows Direlife Manor is finished. He doesn't want to kill his own people, nor does he want to provoke you and drive you away.

"He just wants to take us out of here. Look, the others have already hidden themselves. If we leave together and join forces, think of how high we could rise within the cult. And if you’re tired of their oppression, you can be the one to change that."

Right then, the manor lord couldn't help but say, "Yes, I've stood aside only for your sake, An Jing. I have humored your whims! If you become the divine general, or even the cult leader, you can change anything! Then, your life will be worth more than all those who have perished combined. Even the divine cult itself will transform for you.

"Grand Chen is no better than us. In fact, their tyranny is far worse. They don’t just oppress individuals, but entire cities and provinces. Truth be told, what we're doing is negligible. Our oppression is born of necessity, whereas the rest of the world will only sink further into decay. In time, you'll see that only by overthrowing Grand Chen and upending the current order can we create a better world."