~~~
Word of their return reaches every corner of the Eternal Flame Clan before they even make it to the main gates. Some disciples saw them nearing Ember City and, instead of helping them, decided to rush back to the compound and spread the word. By the time Liu Jin and the others make it there, a large crowd has already gathered.
The disciples cheer and point and whisper among themselves. Until now, disciples returned from the Dead Plains one or two at a time. The sight of a group as large as theirs is a shock to many. Only the presence of powerful people like Feng Zhi, Senior Brother Guo, and Mud stops them from getting close.
A Core Disciple guides them to the baths, where they clean themselves and are given new robes. Once that is done, they are taken to the main house to deliver their stones to the Patriarch. Feng Zhi goes first, then Feng Hao. The Core Disciples follow. One by one, they are all called.
It does not take long for Liu Jin’s turn to arrive.
The first time he was invited to the main house, there was a bountiful feast full of guests. This time, the place is silent. There isn’t a single servant to be seen. An older disciple shows him the way but does not go with him. Liu Jin walks down several stairs and across an impossibly long hall until he arrives at an imposing set of double doors. Liu Jin stops in front of them, unsure if he is expected to knock or wait.
The doors open for him before he decides.
Enter.
That one word hits him like a rush of fierce wind. It is the whisper of someone who has left behind the Human Realms of Cultivation and stepped into the Realm of the Divine. Liu Jin steels himself and steps into the room.
It is red.
Red walls, red floors, red ceiling, and even red furniture. Liu Jin struggles to see any other color in the room. It is as if he has stepped into a different world.
The feeling is not helped by the man waiting for him on his crimson throne.
When Liu Jin thought of Patriarch Feng, he imagined a man similar to Old Jiang, not in disposition but in appearance. A man with wrinkled skin whose hair has long since turned white from age. However, the Patriarch of the Eternal Flame Clan does not have a single white hair. Though visibly older than his two sons, his hair retains its red color, and his body looks healthy and strong.
Liu Jin can barely feel his presence.
At his young age, Liu Jin has already been in the presence of more Emperors than most people will meet in their entire lives. He expected Patriarch Feng’s presence to be even more oppressive than theirs. However, it is the complete opposite. The Patriarch is undoubtedly holding back the full weight of his Qi, but there is something else at play. The Patriarch’s power does not spread. It does not rise. It does not subdue.
It just… is.
“Have you brought a stone?” The Patriarch asks him. He speaks normally, yet the words do not hit him nearly as hard as that first whisper.
“I have, Patriarch,” Liu Jin replies.
“Advance and place it three steps before me.”
Liu Jin does.
“Good. Now leav-”
“Patriarch, this disciple wishes to ask a question!”
Silence.
Even Liu Jin is shocked by his own interruption. Gathering the necessary nerve to speak took so much out of him that he just blurted the words out and, in doing so, interrupted the Patriarch. His heart stops as he waits for the man’s response. Anything is possible when dealing with a high-level cultivator, and death is never far.
To his surprise, the old cultivator merely hums and strokes his beard.
“Interesting.” His voice is nothing short of amused. “You are the first disciple to ask me a question. Even my grandsons limited themselves to speaking when spoken to.”
“They merely showed prudence.”
“Are you suggesting you are not prudent? Or that I am such a volatile person that speaking before me at all is an imprudence?”
Liu Jin bows his head lower. “This disciple means no disrespect, Patriarch.”
“And yet, I feel not a shred of respect in you,” Patriarch Feng notes dryly. “Go ahead, disciple. Ask your questions.”
“Patriarch, how is this contest being judged?” Liu Jin asks. “We were sent to the Dead Plains and told to bring back a temple stone. We were told this would determine the next Patriarch of the Eternal Flame Clan. Most assumed this was a race to see who could bring back a stone first. However, it has been a long time since the first disciple returned, and the Patriarch has yet to make a choice.”
“Is that what you think?” Patriarch Feng asks. He places his elbows on the armrests of his throne and leans back. “How can you be sure I haven’t already made a choice and simply not told anyone about it? Perhaps, I allowed you all to be brought before me just so that you may have the opportunity to see a cultivator who has taken a small step out of the Human Realms of Cultivation.”
“As the Patriarch says, that is a possibility.”
“But not one you believe, it seems. It is quite rare when a disciple calls me a liar to my face, but I shall allow it.” The Patriarch’s eyes twinkle. “Tell me, then. What do you believe I meant to do?”
“I…” Liu Jin frowns. “I am not so sure anymore. At first, I was sure the contest’s purpose was to evaluate the quality of your son’s followers.”
“Interesting. Elaborate.”
“Elder Xue once told me that your sons are equal in cultivation and achievements. That is why a choice between them had to be determined by the people below them. Back then, she referred to the disparity in talent between Feng Zhi and Feng Zhuo. However, it occurred to me this contest could simply be an extension of that type of thinking. The contest was set up in a way that encouraged your sons to only look at the Core Disciples.”
Between several Inner Disciples chosen because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and a small group of Core Disciples handpicked by the brothers themselves, it was obvious which one would seem more reliable. It is only natural that not a single relevant person had any faith in the Inner Disciples from the beginning.
“However, it was us, Inner Disciples, who had more opportunities for explosive growth,” Liu Jin says, putting a hand on his chest. “Because we are weak, we had to struggle more to survive. I mean no disrespect to my senior brothers when I say we are the ones who grew the most.”
The Dead Plains held far fewer threats for people like Mud and even Feng Zhi and Xi Mou. For Liu Jin and the others, it was always one danger after the next, and that forced them to grow by leaps and bounds. Even if Liu Jin hadn’t made so many pills, the flesh of all the high-level Spirit Beasts they ate would have still forced several of them to advance.
“Judging a man’s worth by the quality of the least among his followers.” Patriarch Feng hums. “A quaint idea, young one, yet you just said it is one you have lost confidence in. Why?”
“Death Fashioning Scripture.”
The air in the room shifts. Suddenly, the shadows grow, and the red becomes ominous.
“That is not a name you should utter lightly,” Patriarch Feng warns him, “You are lucky to be in my presence and, thus, in the safest place in the entire compound.”
“Perhaps that is something the honored Patriarch should share with every disciple who just returned. The name has become rather popular after their attempt to kill us,” Liu Jin replies, his tone perfectly deferential. “According to Senior Brother Mud, they were there because they knew we would be. It wasn’t just them either. Some of the disciples supporting Lord Feng Shang acted oddly during the contest.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“In what way?”
“They tried to kill us.”
The look Patriarch Feng gives him is amused and pitying at once.
“I realize such things are unfortunately common, but this was different,” Liu Jin defends himself, willing the heat on his cheeks to go away. “They seemed to have no interest in the contest at all. Though they should have had no problem getting here before us, they are nowhere to be found. I… doubt they will return.”
“Quite possibly, yes. They’d be fools to do so.”
“Is that an admission?” Liu Jin asks with far more rudeness than one should use against one so powerful. However, he feels he has a good enough grasp on Patriarch Feng’s personality by now.
Patriarch Feng is allowing him to speak because it amuses him.
It is as his master once told him. When one gets old enough, amusement is all the reason one needs to do something.
“It is an observation,” Patriarch Feng replies. “You have yet to finish explaining your thought process.”
“There is also Feng Hao,” Liu Jin continues. “This began because Xun Huwen was released and tried to kill Feng Hao, yet the answer was to place Feng Hao in danger once more. The conditions of the contest invited Lord Feng Gui to kill his son and Lord Feng Shang to keep him safe. It needlessly placed attention on someone so young.”
“If we go by your first theory, perhaps I merely wished to test Little Hao’s mettle.”
“Feng Hao’s potential is well-known. Placing him in the Dead Plains was cruel and needless.”
“It was certainly cruel.”
But not needless.
Liu Jin narrows his eyes.
“Was it because the Patriarch knew there were other interests at play? Ones that wouldn’t resist the opportunity to grab someone with the Eternal Flame? Did they try to take Feng Hao because he is weaker than his brother, or is there something special about his talent? Did you merely wish to identify those not loyal to the Eternal Flame Clan?”
Liu Jin takes a deep breath.
“Patriarch, how much did you foresee?”
“Foresee,” Patriarch Feng repeats. “That’s an interesting word.”
The Patriarch lightly bounces the stone Liu Jin presented him in his hand. Only when he does it, does Liu Jin notice he picked it up from the floor at some point
“Have you taken the time to play with one of these?” Patriarch Feng asks. “I imagine not. Too worried that you would damage it even though it is far beyond your ability to break. Did you at least try doing this?”
A second stone appears on his other hand, and he brings them against each other.
Sparks.
White and bright. They flash before Liu Jin’s eyes and bring color to the red world around him.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Patriarch Feng smiles. “I wonder. What do you suppose the first men thought when they encountered flint? With these stones, I shall make fire? It shall keep me warm and cook my food? No, of course not.”
More sparks flash.
“They just thought the sparks were pretty.”
He does it again.
“One reaction unchains the next. You do not know how bright the sparks will be or how far they will reach, but you know they’ll happen. People are like that too. They cannot help but react to each other. I did not know everything that would happen, but I did know that if I created the proper conditions, I could see some good sparks. I knew those from beyond the Dead Plains had been growing bolder. I knew some had switched their loyalties to them, and I knew there was a high chance they would try to seize this opportunity.”
“So it was really about them? The contest didn’t matter at all?”
Patriarch Feng raises an eyebrow. “Did I say that? Young one, why must things only have one purpose? Your first thoughts were also not wrong. This was also a test for all of you. I wanted to see the sorts of disciples my sons attracted. How can the Eternal Flame Clan be entrusted to someone who does not raise good disciples?”
Entrusted? Then…
“Does that mean…?”
“Rejoice, child. The man you represented is now my pick for Patriarch.”
Lord Feng Gui as Patriarch. It is what Liu Jin was after. It should make him happy, but…
Patriarch Feng laughs. “You do not seem happy at all.”
Liu Jin looks down. “My thoughts are troubled.”
“In other words, you greatly disapprove of both my sons. That’s completely natural. Do not worry. Gui will grow into the role. Shang will not be happy, but he has proven himself far too unreliable. He was unable to handle the traitor properly.”
Liu Jin blinks.
“Lord Feng Shang knew?”
“Despite what you might believe, my son is not a complete idiot,” Patriarch Feng tells him. “Why, under different circumstances, you might have liked him the best. He knew there was a traitor among the Elders, and he brought him under his wing so he might better observe him.”
The casual words from the Patriarch’s lips make him reel back. Liu Jin suspected there were more traitors than those taking part in the contest, but to think there was one even among the Elders!
“Why didn’t Lord Feng Shang expose him right away?”
“For much the same reason, I am not going to,” Patriarch Feng replies. “The powers beyond the Dead Plains cannot be treated lightly. I know exactly which one of the three I am dealing with now. That is enough. If I were to root out the one working for them, that might encourage them to act more boldly or, worse still, more subtly. Shang understood that. Even releasing Little Huwen was a move made with much deliberation. However, he underestimated Little Huwen and overestimated his ability to deal with the traitor.”
“And now Xun Huwen has gone to the other side.”
“That part I expected,” Patriarch Feng tells him bluntly. “That’s fine. A talent like his will grow more over there.”
“Grow more?” Liu Jin echoes disbelievingly. “Grow more? He’s a menace! I understand he is Elder Xun’s grandson, but Xun Huwen is far too dangerous to be left alone!”
Patriarch Feng gives him a thoroughly unimpressed stare.
“Do you really think Little Huwen was kept alive simply because he’s my best friend’s grandson?”
Liu Jin’s body goes cold.
“If I had deemed it necessary, I would have killed him. Xun would have understood that. He might have even done it in my place. Neither of us did. We kept him alive because we understood a cultivator of his caliber is a rarity.”
“Just for that? Then… you always planned to release him eventually?” Liu Jin asks. His voice trembles with something he cannot quite identify. His hands shake, and he does not know why.
“Just because he is a powerful cultivator?”
"Not just powerful. He is someone who understands what it means to be a cultivator even better than my sons. Should he overcome his chosen obstacles, he will rise to incredible heights. He's similar to you that way."
It clicks. Liu Jin knows what the emotion is now.
It is rage.
"We're nothing alike!"
Liu Jin snaps at Patriarch Feng and even dares to raise his Qi. However, the Patriarch does not grow angry, only amused.
All this time, he has only ever been amused by him.
"What do you suppose creates a good cultivator? Virtue? Force of Will? Daring?"
Liu Jin does not answer.
"A good cultivator is one who rages against the Heavens," Patriarch Feng tells him at last, his smile growing. "We look at the world and find it wanting. We struggle and devour everything in our path so that we might gain the power to shape the world into our image."
He stands up.
"Let's move elsewhere."
Their surroundings shift. Suddenly, Liu Jin is no longer in the red room but on top of a tower that oversees the entirety of the compound.
"What is this place?" Liu Jin asks, turning around. "I have never seen a tower so tall in the compound."
"And why would a disciple who has only lived in the compound for a few months know everything there is to know about the Eternal Flame Clan?" Patriarch Feng asks him with a wry smile on his face. "Look closely at it. Why do you think the Elders are all so far away from each other?"
The question brings Liu Jin pause. He had noticed it since the first day he arrived at the Eternal Flame Clan. Despite how large the compound is, most of the space is empty. All buildings are separated by vast distances.
"Every Elder has shaped their Division into their image. Emperors, in particular, cannot help themselves. They want to look at the world and see themselves."
Elder Xun's quiet and confusing Technique Hall.
Elder Dang's bold and brash Division of Internal Disputes.
Elder Xue's Apothecary with its many hidden mysteries.
“And what of Patriarch Feng? How does he shape the world?”
“Child, I have already done it. This whole Eternal Flame Clan is my body, and you are in it. Now, I exist above others, so they may be forever unsatisfied that they are not in my place. That is why my good friend will never rise beyond Emperor. He is content.” Patriarch Feng’s eyes look into his soul. “You are not.”
Liu Jin flinches.
“I daresay you hate this.”
“Of course I do!” Liu Jin snaps. “Who wouldn’t hate it? Who wouldn’t hate all of this?”
He waves his arm at the Eternal Flame Clan below them.
“You risked our lives and have not a shred of remorse. You spared Xun Huwen, not because he is your friend's grandson but because you deem him a valuable cultivator! Who are you to decide who is worth more? Why should your words matter more than everyone else’s?!”
“Rain.”
It rains.
In the blink of an eye, the sunny sky is gone, and heavy rain pours down from the heavens without stopping.
One word.
Just one word.
“It seems,” Patriarch Feng says. “My words do matter more than yours.”
Liu Jin does not answer.
Liu Jin cannot answer.
He can only glare at the Patriarch in impotent rage.
“There it is. That is a good look. If only my sons had dared to look at me like that.”
Patriarch Feng places a hand on Liu Jin’s shoulder and smiles at him like a kind grandfather.
“You will be a wonderful cultivator.”
~~~