Destiny in Cinders

The demonic cult made their retreat, but An Jing chose not to press his advantage. Instead, he bolted toward the frontier city. He was well aware that the cult's frantic retreat was merely temporary, no doubt from witnessing the OverSight's incredible range and lethality.

However, it wouldn't take long for the demonic cult to realize that An Jing's sword case wouldn't do much to an airship despite being able to blast flesh and blood apart with ease. That fact wasn't lost on An Jing either.

His spirit-qi crucible could only fire off three flying swords. Forcing a fourth would require taking a stimulant pill and perhaps even overdrawing the energy from his body. He would be able to take out four peak Aura Realm martialists at most. But against an airship, all he could do was punch four head-sized holes in it.

A hole that size would certainly kill a person and perhaps slow the airship, but it was far from enough to ground the vessel or halt the pursuit. If there were a single intelligent and decisive leader among them, the retreat would never have happened. They would have realized that they could exhaust An Jing's reserves by sacrificing a few more men. Then he would have no choice but to surrender. Fortunately for him, his opponents weren't that clever.

We're all just muddling through this. Lucky for me, it gives me a moment to take a breather. With the tracking ability gone, it's down to who's more skilled at getting around.

The white-robed scribe's death left An Jing feeling revitalized. The feeling was hard to describe. The best analogy he could think of was the sensation of feeling one's ears clear up and eyes focus after swallowing consciously.

The most striking thing about gaining freedom was the sudden realization of how heavy the shackles that kept him down were the moment they fell away. Perhaps this was what karmic entanglement felt like.

And to think, these weapons from Skysource would be this useful! An Jing sprinted on, his eyes ablaze as he studied the sword case in his hand.

He was confident in his own strength. There was no doubt he could take down even the likes of Instructor Li or the aged manor lord, provided the fight remained a one-on-one confrontation. He had initially been forced into a defensive position and could only wait for his opponents to slip up. However, the sword case helped shatter that dynamic, instantly flipping their roles.

Sword cases were far from rare in Skysource. While military-grade versions were rarer, standard models were so frequently used by gang members that they had bulletproof mantles designed to defend against both sword cases and firearms.

Although bulletproof mantles couldn't stop a flying sword outright, they were capable of redirecting it away from vital organs. Additionally, they provided sufficient protection against standard bullets and sword strikes. If the cultists thought his mantle served only to mask his figure, they were in for a shock once they closed in for combat or shot at him with arrows.

The demonic cult was no fool. An Jing suspected that if their airship located him again, they would arrive prepared, either outfitted with heavy shields, armor, defensive artifacts, or led by several Fortification or Clearing Realm experts.

I'll counter whatever they throw at me. There's always another path ahead no matter how many obstacles they throw in my way.

An Jing dismissed these thoughts with a slight shake of his head. Without a lifevessel tracking his every move, he knew that he could simply slip into Skysource to find a way out should the need arise. With the resources of two worlds at his disposal and a sword soul at his side, An Jing was more than ready to deliver a relentless series of "surprises" to his enemies.

As he tirelessly rushed toward the border city, the veil of night draped upon the city of Yinzhou miles away. It was situated on the South Han Highway, one of the Three Highways of Hanhai. As the South Han Highway's capital and safest city, it was the first to bounce back from the fiend calamity that had ravaged the area twelve years ago.

With the divine capital's support and the pooled resources from across the South Han Highway, Yinzhou was even more prosperous than before. Though it lay buried under a heavy mantle of frost and snow and a thick canopy of clouds choked out the starlight, the brilliance of the city below saturated the sky with intense light that revealed every curve of the clouds. It was as if the sun had never set.

The site of the Heavenly Divine Cult's northern altar was located at the top of Cloud Tower in Yinzhou. A tall woman with cascading white hair leisurely took in the panoramic night view of the city with a goblet of wine in her hand.

Yinzhou was a picture of prosperity, its streets choked by a tireless stream of carriages. Even the heaviest snowfall would surrender to the city's rising warmth, dissolving into a misty drizzle before reaching the ground.

Countless people scurried like ants through the sprawling city. In her slight inebriation, the woman couldn't help but wonder how many wealthy magnates, martialists, or esotericists she would hit if she were to drop her goblet now.

The woman, marked by a plum blossom between her narrowed phoenix eyes, sipped her wine with relish. She enjoyed looking down upon the masses, and she certainly possessed the strength to do so.

As the Heavenly Divine Cult's Lord Inspector of the North, this sage had few equals and even fewer who surpassed her, even in a city as densely packed with talent as Yinzhou. Without the cult, she would still be a vulnerable washerwoman, destined for miserable old age, and that was only if the fiend calamity didn't swallow her whole first. How could she have ever attained this? How could she have possessed such longevity and risen loftily above the mortal struggles of the world below?

Lost in these reflections, the Lord Inspector of the North raised her goblet for another sip of spirit wine. This pristine nectar, capable of enhancing vigor and innate qi of any ordinary martialist, served only to please her palate with its refreshing chill. Letting herself go, she welcomed the soft intoxication it provided and immersed herself in this fleeting moment of leisure. But as always, an unexpected turn of events inevitably arrived, shattering her tranquil peace.

"Inspector Lin." A sonorous voice rang in her ear. Beside her, the melting frost and snow condensed into a shimmering waterscreen that hovered in the air. The blurred contours of a tall man appeared on the screen.

"The tracking unit has failed their mission. Xu Changjing is dead, and we've lost track of An Jing. Judging by his trajectory, he's making for Keensight or Skybless. I've mobilized all the northwestern personnel under my command to intercept him.

"The situation at the frontier is complicated, and something bigger is at play. Grand Chen has deployed three adepts and a sage from Luan Prefecture. They've all arrived, though their current whereabouts are unknown.

"We must factor in the locals as well. We must tread lightly or we'll be looking at a full-blown war. This is just an advance warning. If this spirals, be ready to move at a moment's notice."

The Lord Inspector of the North frowned at the news. Trouble was approaching.