~~~

The Technique Hall is full of rows upon rows of shelves. Some are so tall they touch the ceiling. Others do not even reach Lu Mei’s waist. They are all full of books, pamphlets, and scrolls, all piled on top of each other and covered in dust. There is not even the slightest semblance of order in this place.

No order. No cleanliness. No elegance.

Only power.

The entire building drips with it. The things stored here are not plain paper and ink. They are the results of over a thousand years of exploration, innovation, and experimentation. Certainly, the more mundane techniques are fairly innocuous, but others...

Others yearn to be used, and their presence fills the rooms of the Technique Hall.

“The path to Master Xun should be fairly obvious.”

That is what Mud told them, and he had not lied. A long red carpet stretches without end. It curves left and right. It goes up a set of stairs, then comes back down and up again. It is the only path there is to follow. Dim flames float at its sides while the rest of the Technique Hall is left in the darkness.

It is a test.

It has to be.

No one watches over them. However, if they were to try to take even a single technique without permission, they’d surely be expelled from the Technique Hall without ever laying eyes on Elder Xun. They both realize that.

And yet, knowing does not make the task easy.

Liu Jin and Lu Mei hold hands, drawing strength from each other and ensuring neither steps away from the path. Much like the entrance exam, this test is one of endurance. The path to Elder Xun is long and sinuous, but that is not a problem. Distance cannot tire them. Darkness cannot impede them.

The whispers, however, cannot go ignored.

The echo of thousands of whispers follows their every step. At first, they are quiet enough to be dismissed as their minds playing tricks on them, but they grow in volume as the Technique Hall grows darker and full of cobwebs.

Eventually, some voices start prevailing over the others. It is no longer a matter of volume but of authority.

I am what you need, they say.

The solution. The answer. The key.

Take me and know glory.

They cannot be ignored. They will not be ignored. They have lain in wait for hundreds of years and yearn to be used. To be tools of glory and conquest.

Lu Mei stops.

It happens gradually. Her eyes begin darting to the left, then her whole head. Her pace is no longer as brisk as before, slowing down until both her legs stop moving.

“Lu Mei?”

His voice seems to bring her back. She blinks and shakes her head. Her free hand moving towards her face.

“I am sorry,” she says, turning away from the bookshelves. “I was caught by surprise… It’s just… It told me it knew how to control the Eternal Flame.”

Oh.

“I know,” she interrupts before Liu Jin can say anything. “There is no point in taking it since I won’t be able to keep it. I know that”

But knowing is not enough.

“Let’s…” Lu Mei forces herself to take a step forward. “Let’s just keep going.”

“Of course,” he says without any judgment in his thoughts or voice. “Let’s go.”

The two keep walking, pulling each other along as they continue on the red road, leaving countless ancient techniques behind in the darkness.

~~~

Elder Xun’s chamber is not full of various projects like Elder Xue’s office, nor does it brim with opulence like Lady Ling’s room or Ruan Goutin’s throne room.

It is empty.

The room is the size of a house, with only a single door leading to it. There are no tapestries on the walls or carpets on the floor. No furniture or ornaments of any kind. The walls are not even painted. Only two orbs of fire float just below the ceiling, casting the room in dim light.

However, Elder Xun is a cultivator in the Ninth Level of the Emperor Realm. His presence gives the room all the grandeur it needs. He sits on the floor at the far end of the room with a pipe in his hand. During the trial, Elder Xun had looked stern and dignified.

Now, he just looks... bored.

“Why is the Technique Hall so disordered?”

Without waiting for them to introduce themselves. Without asking why they are there, Elder Xun fires a question whose answer they have no reason to know. It is not their job to keep the Technique Hall clean and ordered. They are visitors, not disciples affiliated with the Technique Hall.

Yet, Liu Jin and Lu Mei both feel that if they chose to answer like that, they will be thrown out.

“To test the disciples who come here looking for power,” Liu Jin replies. “Only those who push their senses to the limit will be able to discern the technique that best suits them, honored Elder.”

“A partial answer, one that misses the most important criteria.” Elder Xun locks Liu Jin in place with a simple glance. “A cultivator is one that goes against the Will of Heaven. Things die. That is the natural order. We who cultivate struggle against that fate. Thus, the most valuable attribute for a cultivator is not the quality of their meridians, the depth of their knowledge, or the ambient Qi available to them. Rather, a cultivator is someone who can repeatedly and continuously overturn providence. The Technique Hall is a disordered place because only those who can prevail over its randomness have any right to call themselves cultivators.”

Elder Xun takes a drag from his pipe and blows a ring of purple smoke into the air. It neither expands nor loses its shape. The smoke keeps going until it reaches the flames in the ceiling and joins them, casting the room in purple light.

“You came neither bearing gifts nor seeking shelter. What purpose drives you?”

Lu Mei and Liu Jin trade another look. In the end, there is no need for them to deliberate. It is Liu Jin’s idea that has brought them here. What point is there if he does not speak now?

“I came here to seek Elder Xun’s wisdom.”

“As you have already received it, you can leave.”

Liu Jin does not frown, but the muscles of his face tense ever so slightly.

“I came to seek Elder Xun’s knowledge on a specific subject,” he rephrases his request. “Right now, Patriarch Feng Zhang’s sons are fighting over who will be the one to succeed him.”

“And you wish to know why I do not take a side? Is that it?”

Something dangerous enters Elder Xun’s voice. Even though he does not make a single movement, the aura of boredom about him completely evaporates. Liu Jin can feel the pressure pushing against his head, threatening to drive him to the ground if he lowers his guard even for an instant.

“In a way,” He admits, managing to keep his back straight despite the pressure. “This one came here to understand just what exactly does it mean for either of them to become the next Patriarch, honored Elder.”

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“Oh?”

The pressure vanishes. A light exhale from Lu Mei reveals to Liu Jin she had been under it as well.

“This disciple supports Lord Feng Gui because that was the choice most suitable for my goals. However, this disciple knows neither Lord Feng Gui nor Lord Feng Shang... I know of their goals only as far as they relate to my own.”

Lord Feng Shang will keep the stalemate in the Storm Dragon Empire as is. Lord Feng Gui is more amenable towards change. That is all he knows about them.

“Lately, I have started wondering if maybe I have kept my vision too narrow.”

The words of Elder Chang in the Punishment House have left their mark. When he described Lord Feng Gui, Liu Jin did not get the sense he was lying. Elder Chang is someone who came to the conclusion that Lord Feng Shang is the best for the Eternal Flame Clan. Similarly, Elder Xue is someone who came to the exact opposite conclusion.

Elder Xun is someone who decided against joining either side.

Just what is it that motivates those choices? What criteria did each Elder use to make their judgment?

“Oh? Why not ask Elder Xue? She certainly prizes you enough to humor such a question. Why come here, most likely without her permission, to ask me?”

“If I were to ask Elder Xue, I do not believe she would lie to me about her reasons, but her perspective would naturally be a biased one. I came here because Elder Xun is the only neutral party in the Eternal Flame Clan.”

Elder Xun judges him in silence.

“I can hardly be said to be the only one, though I suppose it is easy to put Feng Zhang out of mind when he is so often out of sight. That will not be the case for much longer, but very well.” Another ring of smoke joins the flames. This one turns them blue. “First, let us speak of goals. You joined Little Gui’s side because it is through him that you believe your goals can be realized.”

Little Gui.

Elder Xun calls one of the strongest persons in the Eternal Flame Clan that without batting an eye.

“That is not uncommon. In fact, it is the most common of all things. Everyone seeks their own betterment. Those willing to completely sacrifice their goals for the sake of another are a rarity. Whether they are Elders or disciples, all who have picked a side have done so because they believe they stand to gain something.”

An image of his fight with Huang Shing flashes through Liu Jin’s mind as Elder Xun speaks.

“However, as everyone races for their own gain, it becomes easy to lose sight of one simple truth. They are all simply using the path carved by those greater than themselves. Little Gui and Little Shang each have something they want. Think carefully. Why do they wish to become Patriarch? What is it about the position that attracts them?”

Power.

That is the immediate answer. The position of Patriarch confers power. The one who is Patriarch is the maximum authority in the Eternal Flame Clan.

However, it is not as if becoming Patriarch will raise their cultivation level.

The current Patriarch enjoys maximum authority, but that is because he truly is the strongest. If Lord Feng Gui were to become Patriarch, why should his brother obey him?

“Authority,” Liu Jin says. “The authority to act without the other fighting against him all the time. The one who becomes Patriarch will be able to enact his vision of the Eternal Flame Clan. The other one will have to obey because if he fights back against the authority of the Patriarch, he will be undermining the very system that would give him authority should he usurp it.”

“And yet, people usurp power all the time,” Elder Xun points out. “However, you touched on something important. Both have a vision for the future of the Eternal Flame Clan. Those visions are incompatible, so they fight.” He turns his head lightly to the side. “Girl.”

Lu Mei is startled at suddenly being addressed. “Yes?”

“What do you know of the Eternal Flame you wield?”

Silence.

Both Lu Mei and Liu Jin stare at Elder Xun in shock.

“You were mere feet away from me during the trial, girl,” Elder Xun points out dryly. “I will not blame Little Gui for not noticing, considering how unpolished your connection to it is, but do not be surprised I managed to do it. Now, if you’re done looking shocked, you’d do well to answer my question.”

“R-right!” Lu Mei is as pale as he has ever seen her. “I cannot claim to know much, honorable Elder. I have heard the Eternal Flame is a high-level fire technique, yet the fire within me tells me otherwise. I can feel a connection to great power. It is a door that I fear would consume me in an instant if I were to open it fully.”

“Good.” Elder Xun nods approvingly. “That is more than I expected out of you. You are right. The Eternal Flame is not like other skills. It is not a technique. It is a power that lies elsewhere.”

Elder Xun raises his hand.

Lu Mei gasps. “That’s-!”

Floating in the palm of Elder Xun’s hand is a small sphere of golden flame.

Eternal Flame.

“How?”

“We are the Eternal Flame Clan,” Elder Xun says. “The name was not chosen lightly.”

The flame fades from his hand.

“Thousands of years ago, a great war raged across this land. It sundered nations and broke empires. It killed the young and the old, the mighty and the weak. Even those who stepped into the Divine Realms were not spared from this fate. Many great powers found their end, but not before they left something of themselves behind. To this day, their Inheritances lie scattered over the lands, waiting for someone to find them.”

The way Elder Xun’s gaze focuses on him as he says this leaves Liu Jin feeling utterly naked.

“The Eternal Flame is one of these Inheritances. However, it is peculiar even among them. You see, it is incomplete.”

Incomplete? Try as he might, Liu Jin cannot keep the disbelief from his face.

That terrifying fire that made every instinct in him scream is incomplete?

“When a deity dies, they can leave a shadow of their power behind. This shadow possesses not just power but a mind that will judge who is worthy to receive the Inheritance. However, the Eternal Flame is broken. There is no mind in it, merely a well of power which anyone can link with. This link can even be passed down through one’s bloodline. You could say this is the key to the Eternal Flame Clan’s rise to power. Even Elders can be chosen to link with the Flame. In that way, we all become kin.”

He frowns.

“However, it is still an incomplete power. That is why some within the Eternal Flame Clan seek to rejoin the Flame and thus mend what is broken.”

“Some?” Lu Mei echoes. “Not all, honored Elder?”

Elder Xun scoffs. “Hardly. There are many who think rejoining the Flame is a foolish endeavor. Due to its state, the Eternal Flame has not truly chosen anyone to bear its Inheritance. If it were to be rejoined, it might decide to take its power away from those it sees as unworthy.”

And in doing so, deprive many of the top cultivators of the Eternal Flame Clan of a valuable resource.

“Those in favor of joining the flame argue that even if that were the case, the ensuing boon of a complete Inheritance would be worth the trouble.”

Elder Xun opens his left hand and rests it atop his knee.

“Little Shang has no desire to rejoin the Flame.”

He opens his right hand and rests it atop his other knee.

“Little Gui does.”

To make the flame whole again or not. So that is the main difference.

“Well, there is more to their choices than that, but it does help explain the fundamental reasoning behind their actions.”

“So Lord Feng Gui seeks to find the other half of the flame?” Lu Mei asks.

“Find?” Elder Xun laughs. “You misunderstand, young girl. We know exactly where the other half of the Eternal Flame is. We have known for a long while. It lies with the Imperial Family.”

The Imperial Family.

Just like the Storm Dragon Empire, the Crimson Cloud Empire has an Emperor. It is not something Liu Jin has thought much about, but that is only because not many talk of him. People often talk about the capital and the Four Great Sects.

However, Liu Jin has never heard anyone talk of the might of the Emperor.

“While the Emperor and the Imperial family are not as mighty as the Four Great Sects, it’d be foolish to mistake them as mere figureheads. It is they who hold half of the Eternal Flame. For that reason, we of the Eternal Flame Clan have kept a cordial relationship with them throughout the ages. This, however, has changed in recent decades. Little Shang’s influence has seen our position in the Imperial Court diminished.”

If Lord Feng Shang has no interest in rejoining the Eternal Flame, why should he maintain any closeness with the Imperial Family? In fact, why should he make it easy for his brother to join the two powers?

That is probably his reasoning for it.

“Little Shang values stability. The way we have done things has always worked. Why hurry up to change it for something uncertain? However, Little Gui desperately seeks innovation. Some might say he does so recklessly.”

Elder Xun takes another drag of his pipe. The light turns yellow.

“Well, that is simply a broad way of summing up their conflict. There is far more to it than that. Little Shang, in particular, has many reasons to avoid the Divine Frozen Palace. Though if it were not for that complex relationship, one of you might not be here today.”

Lu Mei almost jumps in place as he tosses something at her.

It is a scroll.

“That should teach you the basics.” Elder Xun tells her. “It should be Little Shang’s duty, but he is unlikely to know you exist. His little pilgrimages were bound to end like this someday.”

“I… thank you, honored Elder!”

“If that is all, you are free to leave.”

It is a clear dismissal.

“There is one more thing, honored Elder,” Liu Jin says. “Your grandson-”

“Do. Not.”

Liu Jin’s body is slammed against the ground by Elder Xun’s presence.

“Talk.”

He doesn’t. Even if he wanted to, Liu Jin doesn’t think he’d be capable of it.

He uses his Qi instead.

“I understand this is not a matter Elder Xun wishes to talk about… However, I believe Elder Xun should be notified that he is to be released.”

“Foolish child, I already know he is to be released. Do you think you can curry favor with me that way?”

“No... I simply believed someone had to inform you. I also did so because… Elder Xun is the only one who can do anything about his grandson.”

The pressure fades.

“Leave.”

This time Liu Jin dares not disobey.

“One more thing,” Elder Xun calls out to them as they reach the door. “My grandson was sealed away because his Dao is dangerous. Child, you may not have realized this yet, but the Dao you are honing is not one that will earn you better treatment. Be wary. Great tribulation awaits your path.”

~~~