A moment passed with quiet exuberance as Wu Xiaolong's final Array is completed. Defensive Artifacts covered him from head to toe; enchanted Pill bottles encased in protective armour.

His study may not have been the best location for his Immortal Ascension, but it seemed the most fitting place after his milenia in this office. No cave nor mountain would feel as safe, no waterfall nor lake as peaceful. Only in this place, near the heart of the sect, will his immortal life or soul obliterating death be decided. He had everything prepared and at the ready. Surrounded by his favourite curios and keepsakes, he was at home, for the last time.

The Heavens Beckon; The Call is exigent. Wu Xiaolong, Supreme Emperor Voidwalker, looked out his window to witness the forming Tribulation Clouds, angry golden streaks running through them like a swarm of serpants. His Dao sang in resonance with the heavens, already stealing Authority over his Claimed Law.

He laughed at the outrage directed at him, much too old to care about such a tantrum. He wasn't the first, and he certainly wasn't the most arrogant. The Heavens should have long accepted it's losses by now, a mere shell of power, ready to be usurped by any immortal or diety that wanders by!

As the Heavens roar, he felt a twinge of terror strike through his ancient heart. Something terrible has set it's sights on the sect.

The Tribulation Clouds parted, Laws collapsing, a battle visible in The Heavens. He saw Thunder Immortal Bai Shen, his Ascended senior, fall through the tear, his Immortal Body bleeding from a thousand holes, his Soul shattered.

A ruinous voice echoed through his very soul… "I, Heavenly Demon Bloodthorn, Hearby Declare; No Immortal Shall Rise From This Accursed Sect; Every Talent Sullied; Every Sacred Land Sundered; Every Lake Poisoned; Every Mountain Split!"

A Divine Magic spread through The Earth, rippling through every disciple, every inch of the sect, as the roars of every one of his seniors lashed out from the Heavens in anguish. He felt every Array in the sect flare up to resist, instantly beginning to shatter and strain, his own barely resisting for a moment. He knew his Defensive Artifacts would soon follow.

There was no time! He must escape! How… The Soul Nourishing Divine Ring! That should hide his True-Soul from the Divine Decree, even if his body is sacrificed! He will loose everything else, even two of his cultivation paths and Outer Soul-Shell, but it should trick the spell, suffering a half-death! The ring was inscribed with Spatial Law and ancient lost runes, he barely understood it, but it should leave this plane automatically… He never had the confidence to experiment with it, not even with a clone, but it's his only chance!

He rushed to it, throwing every healing and defensive pill he had in his mouth.

A third of the way, his final Array shattered.

Halfway, his Artifacts were glowing red.

An arms length away, his Artifacts splintered, molten metal and jade coursing through his every organ.

It was in his hand. His soul left his body, already crumbling.

His True-Soul entered with a pop and a crack. His Outer Soul Shell was no more, Soul-Shards embedded in what's left of the study.

Who?

What?

Inner… Shell.. Da-m-aged…

-}-~-|-~->

Darkness.

'I.'

'I am Alive?' Space. He felt the cold warmth of Spatial energies. He was in his Place. Where he belonged.

Safe.

(Memory is fleeting. Knowledge is Etched. Dao is Immortal)

His Dao Resonates.

His soul remembers; he was…

Supreme Emperor Voidwalker, yes, that was right. Ever since he became a soul sage, he prefered his Daoist Title over his given name. Wu Xiaolong, while not anything to scoff at, it was never as personal to him.

He had Scorched Space itself with his rise to Supreme Emperor, which granted him a few more unimportant titles. He even flirted with a few combinations. Nothing felt quite as right as his Daoist title, deceptively not quite fitting to his Dao, his Psuedo-Divine Soulmark. But ultimately, he walked the void, and nothing else.

These days, the full title had become a mouthful. The original Title had always felt perfect, despite being a name given to him in mockery by his disciple brother after an unfortunate incident. Out in the far void on the edge of this Pl-…

No. His home Plane... Was gone...

The Sect... Gone.

He was… in the Soul Nourishing Divine Ring. He didn't think he would survive after his Inner Soul began breaking down. Normally damage to the Inner Soul was irreversible before Ascension... It must be the eponymous effect of the ring…

As he felt his soul recovering, the darkness gave way to faint mists and a starry sky in all directions.

This space felt larger than he expected… Maybe due to the damage to his soul?

He felt the strange sensation of the spacial energies begin to fade into the background of his mind.

His soul was very damaged, it may take quite some time before he recovered… His soul was too weak to even cultivate actively. His Soul Etching Sutra may be the only thing holding his soul together. He must find some resources to speed up he recovery, as soon as he can.

His knowledge was not intact, many things were dificult to grasp. This should heal over time, between the nourishing effect of the ring and his Soul Etching Sutra, but may pose problems for the immediate future.

As he recited the sutra, he noticed the stars moving. He was heading in a particular direction. He peered deeper into the stars. He felt a sharp pain in the core of his True-Soul… He saw… Strands of Fate.

He vaguely remembered something about manipulating Fate, back when he spent a few pointless decades studying this ring.

He looked deeper, despite the pain. He saw…

A little one, barely six... Alone... Crying...

He snapped back to himself, his Soul shivering with pain, despite his long since developed pain resistence…

However, he now knew what.. or Who, to prepare for.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

This was perfect, the ring was taking him to a child he held Fate with. He should be able to train them, guide them to assist him in his recovery with rare resources. Maybe… even heal his soul directly.

When he saw through the strings of Fate, he felt a resonance with…

Space. The force between all things. The endless beyond.

His Central Dao. The Core Daoseed he used to forge his Soulmark...

This Old Man could work with this!

After some time spent recuperating, he looked through Fate again.

This time, he strained too look beyond their aura, at them directly…

A young girl covered from head to toe in animal skins. A killer already. He sighed. He hoped she would recognise the ring as something other than a rock. She couldn't be an idiot with this level of affinity to space, but... Old Man Soul-Fist taught him not to judge intelligence on daos.

He began to look through his remnant memories for useful Mortal Grade techniques for survival. He had to learn a lot of those when he was assigned to the missions hall as a glorified dao-protecter for some snot-nosed clan brats… Sad times… All the Baldy comments without being able to punish them without them running to other elders…

He got together a few options, and thought about what would be best.

He had a set of basic Low Mortal Grade techniques based on simple living. It was made by a tribe of nomads. It covered foraging, basic tools, and swift killing for beasts. It may be for the best, but it felt beneath him. [Gives small gains to Martial cultivation, and minor gains to Spiritual cultivation when doing strenuous tasks, or fufilling tasks.]

The Sect's [Basic Space manual]. It needed to be actively cultivated, but it worked towards a solid foundation with his other techniques. [When Cultivated, gives Medium gain to Spiritual cultivation, Medium gain to Soul cultivation.]

And finally, the Sect's [Basic Killing technique]. It gave no benefit to cultivation, but it was a good starting combat technique that would carry her through to even High Qi Condensation. A good foundation for combat techniques. It would certainly take less time then the others to learn, but to teach a child so young the art of murder didn't sit right with him...

The Nomad techniques seemed the wisest, she needed a good foundation yes, but survival is required for potential to be utilised. As for the Killing technique...

She was only six, she has time to build her foundation once shes safe. Nomad techniques it is.

He considered for a moment, he hadn't looked at these techniques for hundreds of years, let alone refined them. Maybe he could improve them? He was a mighty Supreme Emperor afterall.

On the other hand, with his soul damaged, it may not be as easy as it seemed. He considered simply focusing on his mantra and recovering until he arrived instead, but any real recovery would take far too long to matter when he had a future Disciple to teach.

As he worked through the techniques, they had far more flaws than he remembered. Quite a few general inefficiencies here and there as well. He got the sense that perfecting it would have been easier than intimidating juniors with a snort if his soul was completely recovered, but that would take time and resources..

He was still fairly happy with the result, it should be more conducive to building a proper foundation now.

[Nomad Techniques - Medium Improvement, +Two Grades. Low Mortal > High Mortal.

Increased potential, technique is now one grade higher. At or below, Low, Mid, and High Qi Condensation; gives Small gains to Martial (Body) and Spiritual (Spirit) when doing strenuous or fulfiling tasks. Gives Medium gains to Martial (Body) and Spiritual (Spirit) when killing or pushing oneself to their limits.

Benefits reduce after reaching Peak Qi Condensation: All benefits from mundane tasks disappear, bonus when killing reduced to minor. Cannot advance Realm.]

-}-~-|-~->

He had his Modified Nomad Techniques ready.

He had his stern old emperor act ready.

He had his Divine Mist Quakes Heart technique ready, with just enough Soul energy left to use it outside the ring.

The new Plane was infront of him.

It was time.

He began to feel a mighty pull. The space around him squeezed inward, no larger than his Spiritual Body.

He began to be compressed and expanded at random intervals. The ring was bending and twisting around folds in space, proding at points in the Voidwall.

As if predicting every shift in space, it flew between cracks and waves as if simply drifting in the current, the strings of fate pulling it along.

And then it breached the Voidwall.

The esoteric nature of space and fate were entwined in this moment, as he witnessed a marvel. This artifact is beyond even the few Immortal Artifacts fallen from the heavens that he had seen in his long life. It was… Inscrutable.

A Divine Dao containing.. Mist? Space? Fate? Re..so..nance…

……Fire………

[Witness to the incomprehensible: Increase in potential in the Daos of:

Space, Fate, Mist, Resonance, Fire, Confounding. Increase is doubled for Space and Fire.]

Wu Xiaolong finally pierced through the veil, quickly shaking off his enlightenment. That shall be returned to later.

He had a Disciple to accept.

The power of space wrapped around him, propelling him from the outer void to directly above the world calling him.

The ring broke through the firmament easily, wreathed in flames.

The ring zoomed through the sky, approaching one of three continents on this world. A continent flowing with rivers and lakes, with massive forests from end to end.

He took a glance at the continent to the north. It was extremely mountainous, but not much else could be made out in the mere moments he was in the sky.

A great blaze of flame tore its way through the very space following his path, carving a great wound that scarred the world. The ring itself ignited with his soul energy when he reached a point within 1000km of your target, the extent of his domain, spreading a crimson star with the dark black of the void flowing through the centre across the sky of the forrested continent. The star began to fill out, forming the imprint of his Psuedo-Divine Soulmark. The void acted as spokes, as a dark red-gold encrusted samsara wheel finally revealed itself over the lands.

He felt the Divine Sense of a multitude of Emperors scan his ring, with a mix of projected impressions. He even felt four other Supreme Emperors give his Soulmark a wary stare.

His Soulmark finally achieved its purpose, obscuring his soul and destination.

He controlled his momentum with a temporary enchantment.

And then, finally, he crashed just infront of the small girl, no smoking trail present, with only a crater the size of a fist.

She was not in the same spot as before, instead nearby a small thatch hut, and a fire. Good, some inteligence confirmed, if… basic.

She did not seem to be as distraught as before, some time likely having passed.

He used his Divine Mist Quakes Heart Technique, forming a mysterious white mist around the small crater. It had a fluffy texture as if an imagined cloud.

Wu Xiaolong projects his Spiritual Body outside the ring, consuming yet more energy for the introduction.

His imperial garb is flawlessly regal, any mortal emperor would throw down their crown if they were in your presence. A starry cloak with flame motifs billowed in the wind behind him, striking a mighty figure.

Ahem

"I grace you with my austere presence, Little one, your struggles and talents have been recognised by the very heavens!" A lightning strike flares off, striking the samsara wheel in the distance, far in the sky beyond.

The Child looked awestruck as his mighty voice projected through the forrest. Mist steamed out from the ring, just barely revealing glimpses of a strange black ring, peppered with small twinkling lights as if ripped from the very night sky!

As she seemed suitably impressed, he gave her his offer!

"Become my, Supreme Emperor Voidwalker's, new First Disciple."

As he spoke, he intensified his projection, his clothes shining and the sky behind him becoming a sea of stars.

He reached out his hand, illusory black and redgold samsara wheel appearing in his palm. He waited for a cupped fist, and three bows. Couldn't have her splashing in the mud afterall.

Time passed as they stared at each other.

She shifted her stance and began to speak with a calculating eye.

"Will ya teach me to live better? And are you gonna take ma soul?"

His imperious demeaner faded somewhat with an old worn grumble about juniors not respecting the traditions. After a moment of curses he responded, "I will, in fact, 'teach you to live better,' by which I assume you mean survive with less effort and thrive… And no, young lady, I will not take your soul. Will you accept?"

She lit up a little when he agreed to teach her, but clearly lost focus at a few words. She gave him a considering look when he said he wouldn't take her soul. She then closed her eyes for a moment and he felt something strange. Which was in and of itself many times more bizarre with his breadth of knowledge. The feeling eventually passed and she reopened her eyes, before spitting into her hand. She then pushed her grimy palm into his Dao covered hand, and gave it a squeeze.

He felt embarrassed to say, but he almost harmed a child this day. But ultimately, with near immortal willpower, he squeezed her hand back, then swiftly let go, before flinging his ethereal hand around for a few moments. Momentum not being enough on its own to clear the spittle, he blasted a small gout of flame from his arm.

His energy nearly entirely spent, he barely noticed the strings of fate and karma twine around them both and fade back into the world.

As his form began to fade, he pressed the Nomad techniques into her soul, running along their newly established karmic connection. "...studythesefastanduseitallillseeyouinaweek…." He got out weakly, before he burst into little sparkles. His fleeing conciousness heard a giggle before being completely reabsorbed into the ring.

This may not be the renewed founding of the Heavenly Sky Sect that he would have picked… But it would have to do.

-}-~-|-~->