~~~
Liu Jin flies over countless miles and through a myriad of dimensions. He speaks, and reality trembles. No matter how outlandish his whims, the world hurries to obey. When he holds out his hand, there is nothing beyond his reach. When he makes a fist, there is nothing he cannot break.
Of course, none of that is true.
Liu Jin is not the one for whom reality quakes. It is not his roar that shakes dimensions. It is the Storm Dragon’s power and will that make it all possible. He is the one using his body to perform these great feats. Even if Liu Jin were to take back control of his body and use the Storm Dragon’s power as his own, he wouldn't be able to replicate even a fraction of what the Storm Dragon is doing.
Liu Jin keeps repeating those words in his mind because he doesn’t know what will happen if he stops. The line between himself and the Storm Dragon is so thin right now that the truth does not feel like the truth. Even if Liu Jin doesn’t understand how the Storm Dragon is shaping reality, he still feels as though he were the one doing it.
It would be easy to get lost in it. As he is now, the world is neither grand nor wondrous. Its existence is merely something he allows. Only the Wandering Wind feels real. Everything else is just too frail… too weak… too unimportant.
Less.
Patriarch Feng’s face flashes through his mind. Is this how the man feels at every moment of the day? If so, the man must have been impossibly humble before his ascension.
Liu Jin cannot allow himself to fall into the same thought patterns.
“Would that really be so bad?”
He is fighting the Wandering Wind. Reality is unmade and remade with each of their clashes.
He is standing in front of the Storm Dragon in the middle of a vast emptiness.
It should be impossible for both to be true at the same time, but they are. Another impossibility he can experience but not comprehend. Acceptance is the only path forward.
“Yes,” Liu Jin says as the storm rages across dimensions. “It would be.”
“Do you believe a lion agonizes over the lives of ants? Of course not! A lion has eyes for his prey, his pride, and his enemies. Ants are none of those. We do not pay attention to those smaller than us. That is the natural way of things.”
Those are the words of a divinity, so they must be true in some way. Indeed, it would be a lie to say Liu Jin has not noticed it before today. When he was a child living in his father’s clinic, the world around him was largely made up of ordinary people. When Liu Jin joined the Xiao Sect, he began to see his father’s patients less—not right away, but gradually. The faces that represented his daily life changed to those of his fellow disciples.
Nowadays, the people close to Liu Jin are almost exclusively splendid cultivators, generational talents any sect would be lucky to have. Even when the opportunity arises for him to interact with people outside that circle, it is hard to ignore the reality of power. What happened with Rust and Nail made it obvious. He saved their lives, yet it is impossible for him to do something as simple as having a normal conversation with them. They will always be aware of the incredible difference in power between them.
A distant commander. A powerful stranger. Even when he acts as a doctor like he did in Black Stone Village, his power makes it hard for people to trust him.
People cannot ignore his power, and Liu Jin cannot ignore it either. If he’s not careful, his very presence can hurt those in the lower realms. A burst of anger. A sudden mood swing. That is all it would take to bring a lesser cultivator to his knees. If that’s the case now, what will happen as he keeps rising? Will the people close to him today become strangers beneath his notice tomorrow?
No.
That cannot be. That cannot be allowed to be.
“Ancestor, I cannot completely deny your words, and that scares me,” Liu Jin says. “Even now, I am not sure with what eyes I will look at the world now that I have seen a glimpse of divinity. However, people are neither lions nor ants. They are people. If the time ever comes when I agree with you, then I will surely have lost myself. I do not want that.”
“Do you believe you can avoid it?”
“I will try,” Liu Jin says. “At the very least, I do not think it is impossible…”
Liu Jin trails off. The silence is more complete in the emptiness of the void.
“My father used to be a powerful cultivator,” Liu Jin says somewhat hesitantly. “He learned to live among powerless people, though I am not sure if he could have had he not crippled himself first. That tells me how hard my goal is. However, my master, even in his weakened state, still had the power of an Emperor. I understand now, more than ever, how small I must have seemed to him.”
And yet, Old Jiang trained him. Certainly, the identity of his father influenced that choice, but throughout all the time they spent together, Liu Jin never felt that Old Jiang saw him as someone insignificant.
Whenever he thinks back to those times, all he can find is unimaginable warmth.
“I was loved, Ancestor,” Liu Jin says, smiling. “Surely, I am able to love.”
The Storm Dragon does not give him a reply. None that Liu Jin can hear, at least. The roar of the Storm is suddenly too loud for Liu Jin.
However…
Liu Jin could swear that the smile on his Ancestor’s face is kind.
~~~
The Wind howls against the Storm in a world glittering with stars.
“Magnificent!” The Wandering Wind exclaims as she and the Storm Dragon have over a thousand exchanges in the span of a single breath. “You are absolutely magnificent! Had I known this was possible, I would have searched for the child years ago so we could have this fight sooner!”
The Storm Dragon laughs alongside her. There is no arrogance or mockery in the sound but rather something that approaches joy.
“Good! A proper cultivator should be hungry!” His tail tears through dimensions and brings forth thunder. “However, this Storm Dragon is a feast too rich for you!”
“No!” the Wandering Wind shouts. The howl of the wind drowns out the thunder. “I said it already! I am completely confident in my victory!”
“You confuse confidence with recklessness. A reckless wind is a meandering wind. Without direction, it can only fade away.”
“That is fine!”
For the first time, the Storm Dragon looks caught off guard. His influence weakens, and in that moment, the Wandering Wind’s Qi strikes him like a hurricane.
“The Wind does not plan or scheme. It seeks no larger purpose. Thus, I have no need for any of those things. You say your Storm is trial and tribulation. That is fine. There has never been a single trial I have failed to overcome. I am the Wind. I am Untamed. The Storm has no power over me,” the Wandering Wind says. “I will meander as I please until I inevitably fade away. I see no issue with that.”
The winds blow the Storm Dragon across hundreds of miles. They wrap around him and tie his body to the firmament, imprinting a single unnerving realization in his mind.
The Wandering Wind has never once failed.
It is not something as simple as never once having lost. Rather, she has never been in a situation where she has experienced the feeling of failure. Every single problem she has faced, she has overcome. She has never felt helpless. She has never felt hopeless.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Since the day she was born, her evolution has surpassed every single expectation.
There is no grand ambition in her because every single thing she has wanted, she has achieved with ease. She goes from whim to whim and from success to success. That is why she can be the Wind.
The Storm Dragon breaks the winds holding him, yet the realization remains.
“I see,” he says. “I finally understand the source of your confidence.”
His lightning spreads as far as the eye can see, lighting up the endless world around them. A wall of wind rises to block it, leaving the Wandering Wind untouched.
“Ancient One, there is no need for you to pretend,” the Wandering Wind says. “Even in your current state, you are stronger than me. I have no problem admitting that. It will take me time to surpass your current self and more time still to surpass what you were in your prime. Nevertheless…”
The Wind howls.
The Storm roars.
It is an argument without words that outshines the stars in the sky. It is a dance without steps that continues across the infinite vastness of space.
Alas, it is not without end.
Lightning is cut in half. The clouds are blown back, and the rain stops.
Blood flows from the Storm Dragon’s mouth.
“There it is.” The Wandering Wind sounds sad. “It does not please me to win like this, but you already knew this would happen. The child might be brilliant, but he is merely in the Earth Realm. No matter how careful you have been, it was only a matter of time until his body reached its limits.”
The Storm Dragon’s power rises.
“You are dead.”
The Storm Dragon falls, those three words having hit harder than any previous attack.
“You have been dead for thousands of years,” the Wandering Wind continues. “Amazing as you are, that truth cannot be denied indefinitely. A shadow is a fragment left behind by someone who has already accepted their death. You cannot take it back. The lie you have weaved over reality is ending, and your power along with it. The child’s life cannot sustain it any longer. The moment he reached his limits, so did you. From the moment you were unable to kill me, my victory became assured.”
She lifts her hand. The wind sharpens.
It comes down.
He stops it.
The Wandering Wind’s eyes widen as a hand wraps around her wrist. The wind stops in its tracks, and Liu Jin manages to smile.
“A doctor is one who takes the dying and keeps them alive, right?”
The Storm Dragon seizes his chance and brings forth all the power he can muster.
The dimension fades into white.
~~~
The two fighters are brought back to the palace as the alternate space collapses. Liu Jin falls to his knees, divinity fading away from him. The shadow of the Storm Dragon wraps itself protectively around him.
“As far as first attempts to shape reality go, that was not bad at all.”
The Wandering Wind stands tall.
The Storm Dragon’s last attack has ravaged the left side of her body, but that damage is already healing. Within a few seconds, there is none left save for a scar that doesn’t quite go all the way around her neck, the failed strike of the executioner’s axe.
“However, that was never going to work as you wished it to. Your Dao is neither medicine nor healing. It is not even fully shaped.”
Liu Jin does not reply. He has no voice left to do it with. He can barely keep himself from collapsing. His body is nearly whole, but he has gone past his spiritual and mental limits. His mind has seen too much. His soul experienced too much.
He is done.
The Storm Dragon is not.
“It is not often I find myself in a situation like this,” he says. “What shall we do now? You are still in my domain. The whelp cannot be hurt here.”
“I wanted to contest that, but trying to do so now would taint the memory of our battle.” The Wandering Wind’s eyes flick up for a moment. “Besides, He Bin is dead.”
As soon as she says it, Liu Jin strains his weakened senses to confirm it. Sure enough, he can feel General Nie Dan’s presence with clarity, but He Bin’s Qi is nowhere to be found. Liu Jin manages a tired smile.
It withers almost immediately.
General Nie Dan might have won, but what does it matter if the Wandering Wind decides to kill him?
“I wonder. Should I leave?”
What?
Liu Jin is so shocked that he tries and fails to speak. His throat produces nothing more than hacking coughs.
“Do not look so surprised. I told you already. I came here to settle a favor. Fighting the two of you was merely… an unexpected opportunity. One I much enjoyed,” the Wandering Wind says. Her lips curl up in a smile. “However, I have little interest in this country or the Heart they tried so hard to produce.”
“Ho? Are you not tempted?”
“Not by your heart,” the Wandering Wind replies. “Their plans are not my plans.”
“Wh…Wh..oo…”
Slowly and with great pain, Liu Jin forces his voice. He is so tired that even using Qi to speak is beyond him.
“Who… are… they?” Liu Jin asks, panting with each word. “Why… why do all this?”
“Do you really believe I will answer just because you ask?” The Wandering Wind replies.
The Storm Dragon chuckles.
“Why not? Do you really care enough to keep someone else’s secrets?”
“A fair point,” the Wandering Wind admits. “However, you should already understand who. What you really want to know is why, and that information has a price. Fortunately, you have something to offer.”
The Wandering Wind’s green eyes settle on Liu Jin.
“Child… Young Qing Jin, you have experienced divinity. There is not a single other person who can claim to have done so at such a young age. I find myself curious as to how you will develop. It would be very underwhelming if your loss to me somehow disheartened you.”
Liu Jin blinks.
He does not see the Wandering Wind move, but his heart speeds up when he sees Su An’s body suddenly next to her. The construct he left around her to keep her safe must have barely been an inconvenience for the Wandering Wind.
“Giv..Give h..er…”
“Let’s make a deal,” the Wandering Wind says, holding up Su An by her dress. “This girl is going to die if left like this. You made quite a mess of her soul.”
Liu Jin freezes. He waits for the Storm Dragon to deny those words, but he does not.
“As it so happens, I am rather skilled in matters related to the soul. I know how to damage them, and I know how to put them back together.”
“R..uan…Goutin…”
The Wandering Wind blinks.
“I do remember someone by that name. Yes, that was my work.”
That does nothing to endear the Wandering Wind to Liu Jin in the slightest.
“I will take this girl with me and put her soul back together,” the Wandering Wind says. “There is no guarantee she will be the same person you knew, but at least she will not be dead.”
“W…hy…”
“Motivation,” the Wandering Wind replies. “If you want to talk to me again, show me how much you have grown in the next Crimson Cloud Tournament. I might be inclined to answer your questions then. Oh, and do not worry about Bright Sword. I will take him with me as well.”
True to her words, Bright Sword appears in her other hand, looking just as surprised as Liu Jin.
“Till we meet again.”
“Wa…i..t…”
It’s no use.
The Wandering Wind is already gone.
Liu Jin collapses.
~~~
“I object to this.”
“You cannot imagine how little that matters to me,” the Wandering Wind replies, casually walking down the road. Bright Sword looks back. They are already hundreds of miles away from the Storm Dragon Palace. There is no sense in trying to go back now.
Without the Wandering Wind’s support, General Nie Dan would kill him.
“I lost a student,” Bright Sword says as he starts following after her.
“Your inability to properly care for your toys is none of my concern.”
“You killed General Murong.”
“Don’t tell me you actually mind that.”
“I do.”
His reply shocks her so much that she stops walking and looks at him the way one would at a drunk on the side of the road. Bright Sword sighs.
“He was a complete failure as a human, but I rather enjoyed talking to him,” Bright Sword says. “I will miss him.”
The Wandering Wind keeps staring at him.
“Are you… feeling quite alright? Perhaps you have a fever?” The Wandering Wind asks him. “Is this a consequence of being half a person?”
Bright Sword’s eyebrow twitches.
“Never mind, do not tell me. There are things I do not want to understand,” the Wandering Wind says as she keeps moving forward.
“...The Elders are not going to be happy about this. Neither is the Death Fashioning Scripture. They were quite excited about the prospect of having that heart. The Temple of the Thousand Shadows will not make it easy to recover it now that they know.”
“Bright Sword, have I ever given you the impression that I am someone who cares about your politics?”
Bright Sword sighs.
“However,” the Wandering Wind says, “if you’re worried about what to tell those Elders, simply remind them that the Qing Family carries the blood of one of the 108. It would be very foolish if they accidentally lost it. The consequences might be heavier than expected, especially with the ceremony less than a decade away. It would be a shame if something bad were to happen there.”
Bright Sword stumbles. His eyes are wide.
“E-Elder Sister?”
“You should put yourself together soon, Bright Sword. Many great talents are blooming in this age.” The Wandering Wind smiles. “This will be a fun century.”
~~~