Destiny in Cinders

"What does your blunder have to do with me? All this came to be because of your stubborn insistence to remain in seclusion," said the Lord Inspector of the North, unfazed by the deep and authoritative voice of her western counterpart. "We already agreed on one miracle-arc bearer each, first-come-first-served. Just because you failed to get yours doesn't mean you can take mine away."

She wasn't that surprised by the outcome. Shaking her head, she continued, "Not to mention, securing miracle-arc bearers is hard to begin with. These are children of destiny. It's not just a matter of the power of their lifearcs.

"An Jing bears a miracle arc. As long as he wishes to remain uncaptured, it would be really difficult for us to do so. Xu Changjing's tricks are just that, tricks. It's not surprising that he got countered and suffered for it. The only news that'll catch me off guard now is if you tell me that the others survived."

At that point, her angle took a turn. "I see. You're afraid of Mystic Mirror, aren't you? He's someone who has unlocked all three divine treasures, after all, and the most likely to reach the Altar Sanctification Realm among the Dustdawner's younger generation. Even though I can fight him for a time using my lifearc ability, I wouldn't be able to hold my own in single combat. A crook like you who practices the Lifevore Secret Art stands even less of a chance. You'll lose in a flash once he brings out his mirror of celestial banishment!"

"It's true that I practice the Lifevore Secret Art, but you're someone who practices the Hundred-Lives Transference. Aren't you just as crooked?" the Lord Inspector of the West said with a chuckle. "Mystic Mirror's whereabouts are a mystery. He vanished not long after the heavenly fiend was unsealed. Let's not forget that I ended my seclusion after reaching the Omni Insurmountability Stage, the same stage he's at. Why would I fear him now?"

"Bold words for someone who fled after finding out you were no match for him," the Lord Inspector of the North said, laughing. "I have to stress that I practice Hundred-Lives Transference according to the ancient precepts. During every single transference, I make sure to help them fulfill their dreams. Just ask around. Before they pass away, they always thank me for saving them from this wretched mortal existence. This kind of good karma isn't something a man-eating fiend like you can lay any claim to."

Lifevore Secret Art, Hundred-Lives Transference, Nine Deaths Metamorphosis and Liferisk Inheritance were the four most intricate and profound arcana of the Heavenly Divine Cult. Lifevore Secret Art was known in the past as Lifesnatch Substitution. During the era of the Heavenly Dao, a practitioner of this art would have to find an old lifearc bearer and wait for them to expire and take care of their funeral proceedings. After the funeral rites, the practitioner would then consume the innards of the dead and obtain their lifearc in the process for further refinement.

However, the era of decline had caused the Heavenly Dao's presence to wane. Lifesnatch Substitution evolved into the Lifevore Secret Art, removing the need for the practitioner to keep their old host alive until their natural death. Instead, they only needed to find groups of lifearc bearers, exterminate anyone that had intimate or familial ties with them, before they could be used for refinement into bloody nourishment. This was also how blood-brew pills came about.

Hundred-Lives Transference was known as Karmic Repayment in ancient times. A practitioner would have to find a hundred people with similar lifearcs to them and transfer one's own tribulations to them, thereby attaining void purity and improving one's own lifearc. The ancient technique required the consent of the one to whom the tribulation would be transferred through a blood contract that established a karmic link, allowing the transferral of the tribulation.

But the Heavenly Dao's bindings were far looser than they were in times of yore. Explicit consent from the transferee was no longer required. All they needed was a blood contract that stipulated the terms clearly to practice the art. Most transferees signed the blood contracts without knowing its full implications. Putting aside whether they even got to enjoy what the contracts promised, they were sure to suffer the brunt of the tribulations that were transferred over. Though the Lord Inspector of the North claimed to uphold the ancient ways of consent, most that practiced this art in the present day had long abandoned them.

The Lord Inspector of the West wasn't keen on arguing with his colleague. "Putting that aside, this situation is far from normal. Take a look at this."

The figure in the mirror vanished as the visual transitioned to show a recording of the battle from a high vantage point.

"A combat recording from the airship's waterscreen?" The Lord Inspector of the North furrowed her brow. Airships, whether civilian or belonging to Grand Chen, had waterscreens to record their flights. This recording was from the airship that was used to hunt down An Jing.

Her expression shifted from one of casual disregard to a wide-eyed stare in almost no time at all. She couldn't make sense of it all even with her extensive knowledge and experience and couldn't help but ask the Lord Inspector of the West to replay the whole thing for her.

Only after her second viewing did she remember to breathe. She put the wine in her hand to the side and said, "A flying sword... Perhaps this is some arcanum that uses sword cases! How did our little general get his hands on an esotericist's sword arcanum?! He even mastered it!"[1] 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The Lord Inspector of the North had always found An Jing quite peculiar. The Profound Yin Goddess that she had taken with her from Direlife Manor had been really close to him. The few words she did say about him were full of praise. The inspector truly wondered how in the world An Jing managed to leave such a powerful impression on an absolute genius like Bai Qinghan and earn the recognition of all the disaster children in Direlife Manor.

After the incident, she began to understand better. Putting aside how An Jing even got his flying-sword artifact, he had betrayed the cult, survived the battle of Direlife Canyon, the manifestation of the heavenly fiend as well as pursuit from one of the cult's airships. Even through all that, he was able to make plans calmly and strike where it mattered the most.

Even the most elite soldiers would lose their wits from constantly being chased for days on end and end up doing something wildly foolish. Even if they managed to suppress their fear, most people wouldn't dare to expose themselves in the forest, unlike An Jing who sought out a taller but more visible vantage point to bait the airship closer so that he could land his strike. And land it he did. It only took a single hit to end the scribe's life.

The flying sword's power also left ripples in her mind. "That much power in one single hit... There's no way someone at the Tide Aura Stage can channel so much energy at once! An Jing's most probably still at the River Aura Stage. Even with stimulant pills for his aura, he would require insanely deep foundations to be able to muster that kind of power! Not to mention, he got his hands on that artifact from who-knows-where and even knew how to use guerilla tactics to bait out our forces for a decisive strike."

"This is why I'm so careful," the Lord Inspector of the West said. "He might be backed by some large faction. Perhaps the Dustdawn Sects are involved. We're not just dealing with a rogue miracle-arc bearer. There might be larger players lurking in the background."

"Wait a second." The Lord Inspector of the North frowned at hearing that. "Let's not rush to label him as a traitor. After all, he merely killed a few disposable pawns. In fact, our cult needs people like him, won't you say? People like him will not accept being bound by anyone, not even Grand Chen. I am sure that he will come around and return to the divine cult."

"Don't tell me you still haven't had enough."

"What? Are you saying you'll swallow him up instead?" the Lord Inspector of the North said.

"Hmph." The man's deep voice rang on. "We said that we would split it evenly between us. I already got the short end of the stick because of Grand Chen's assault, while you already made it out with your lifearc bearer. So, I'd appreciate it if you didn't stick your hand into this."

1. Esotericist: a translation of the term 方士, the equivalent of a Daoist sorcerer. Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fangshi ☜