He Yu had made it nearly all the way back to the inner sect when he felt the familiar presence of Zhang Lifen’s qi. He activated the Cloud Emperor’s Peerless Judgment, extending his spiritual perception. She was much further away than he’d have thought, but he recalled Yan Shirong’s comment about like calling to like from when they’d first met. The effects of his three aspects would be something that he’d have to keep in mind as he cultivated ever higher.
With a light thump, he landed in front of her and gave a salute. She stood as she typically did, with her hands folded before her in the sleeves of her gown. Her chin tilted ever so slightly upwards, and she gave him an appraising look.
“Congratulations,” she said. “You’ve surpassed even my expectations. It’s been a long journey from barely defeating an awakened squirrel outside of Shulin, hasn’t it?”
He Yu nodded. It had, but there was clearly something else she was here for. Not even for an instant did he think that she’d had any doubt that he would have succeeded. The month they’d spent together in the eastern hills had been preparing him for this. Her nightly lectures had focused on seeking his connection with his Way. The daily combat had focused on manipulating heaven qi without the aid of a technique. Her repeated comments about primordial arts asking high prices.
He recalled the incredibly brief exchange they’d had before he set out. She had known where he was going, and she’d sent him on his way with absolute confidence.
As he stood across from her on the path, with the mists and mountains of the inner sect rising behind her, he saw Zhang Lifen in a different light. Maybe it was because her typical casual, almost flippant demeanor was gone. Replaced by something more serious and intense. She regarded him with a detached air, something more like the way he had always thought higher realm cultivators would act.
“I know why you sought to advance now, of all times,” she said. “You should stay your hand. At least for the time being.”
At least now, after two years, He Yu was no longer surprised at that. He didn’t see any merit in her suggestion, though, and said as much. “Why should I?” he asked. “The whole reason I advanced was so that I could end things with Sha Xiang. Show she can’t push me or my friends around and get Li Heng’s sword back.”
“As you are now, Sha Xiang is nothing to you,” Zhang Lifen said.
“Then why shouldn’t I take this opportunity?”
“Your feet point forward, but your eyes remain fixed behind you. You have perhaps a week—two, at most—before talk of your advancement reaches the rest of the inner sect. It would benefit you to use that time well.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“You are freshly awakened into the Fourth Realm. As such, you’ve only had the smallest taste of your newfound strength. No doubt your principal art has something for you. Spend at least the next few days in cultivation. Discover what your arts provide and familiarize yourself with them. You only get this one chance.”
She wasn’t speaking solely about Sha Xiang, he realized. “One chance to what?”
“To make an example, of course,” she said.
There was a ruthlessness to her tone that caught him off guard.
“You’re in a new realm now. Sha Xiang and her companions have wronged you. You already know what to do,” she said. He Yu tried his best to ignore the coldness in her words. “But have you forgotten what I told you when you entered the inner sect?”
“That others would come after me,” he said.
Zhang Lifen nodded. “Your quick rise within the Third Realm shielded you, in a sense. So too did your friends. You quickly outstripped those of the Third Realm who could threaten you, except those few you’ve already been feuding with. But you’ve left all that behind now.
“Your friends are meaningless, at least until they can advance. I am still bound by my status as a core disciple, though less than I was previously. You are alone now. When you make your move against Sha Xiang, it’s best if you make an example of her. You ought also do it in a way that gives others pause.”
He Yu wasn’t certain of how he felt about that. Would such actions truly align with his Way? At the very least, if he took her suggestion and spent the next few days cultivating, he might have a better answer for himself.
“Also, consider,” she added. “The greater a blow you strike her now, she will be less able to retaliate later. Sha Xiang isn’t the type to forget a defeat, as I’m sure you’ve realized by now. While she’ll continue to carry a grudge regardless, the harder she falls now, the less likely she is to think herself capable of repaying that grudge later. She will wait until she is certain. You already have a massive head start, and this is possibly your best opportunity to make sure she never bothers your or your friends again.”
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“I take it you did something similar during your time as an inner sect disciple?” he asked.
The corner of Zhang Lifen’s lips quirked upwards. “I fought anyone I thought I could beat,” she said. “When I won, I crushed them. Make no mistake, He Yu. You’ve entered a different sort of world, now. Cultivators of the Third Realm are strong, especially compared to mortals. Reaching Golden Core is but the first step to real strength.”
“I feel like I’ve been told something similar with each advancement,” he said.
Zhang Lifen nodded. “I’ve no doubt. But this time it really is different.”
He couldn’t deny that there was a certain ring of truth to her words. Even now he could tell the difference in his qi’s quality. The effect of his presence on the world around him—its new and unfamiliar weight. It was also obvious that even this was a fraction of what he was now capable of.
“How long should I wait, then?” he asked.
She shrugged. “That’s up to you. Like I said, you’ve a week, maybe two, before word spreads on its own. I would suggest taking at least three or four days to familiarize yourself with your new strength. Cultivate any new techniques you have access to and give yourself another day or two to practice. Then strike. When you do, remember that you aren’t just settling a grudge with a rival you’ve left behind. You’re making a statement to the disciples who are now your peers. Ensure they receive the proper message.”
While she spoke, his uncertainty solidified into outright dislike. He could see her point, though. It had merit.
“I thank you for your advice,” he said, giving her another salute.
“Go,” she said, waving a hand. “Think about what I’ve said. I know it’s not something that will sit well with you, but I offered it with your best interests in mind. It ultimately falls to you to decide what to do with it.”
On Zhang Lifen’s advice, He Yu returned home to cultivate. He withdrew his old storage treasure from its hiding spot and took out his cultivation manual for the Cloud Emperor’s Heavenly Palace. Unrolling the slip, the characters rearranged themselves, forming the instructions to a new technique.
Heaven’s Descending Blade.
He read the instructions for the technique, and then hurried to his cultivation chamber. Taking a seat, he cycled his qi in the patterns described by his manual. In his meditations, he returned to a vision from his breakthrough. Once again, he swept his guandao in a wide arc. Sheets of lightning poured down from the sky. This time, however, the sparks of heaven remained flickering along the length of his weapon, clinging to the metal. He executed a series of sweeps and thrusts. Heaven fell upon the earth.
Then he focused on the Empyrean Ninefold Body Tempering. Yongnian had told him it would reveal more of itself when he reached the Fourth Realm. It did so now.
The additional two pillars he’d seen during his tribulation were the next two stages of the body art. They would support and reinforce the first, granting him even greater strength, speed, and durability. Heaven flashed between the three pillars as he sat in their center. It would take some time to truly bring out the additional benefits of the art, but he wasn’t in any hurry. Between his advancement and what he could already tell they provided, it would be enough for what he intended.
It was that intent that he turned his mind to next. He spent some time—he wasn’t sure how long—turning over his conversation with Zhang Lifen. It didn’t take much to see that she was right. Or to see the meaning of the things she hadn’t said.
He’d entered a new world now. Not just an advancement in realm. When he’d first met Zhang Lifen, she had been at a peak Golden Core. Half a step into the Fifth Realm, really. Already he could feel some fraction of that power coursing through his own meridians. The most obvious consequence was that he was now part of the backbone of the sect’s strength. He would need to take on ever more dangerous assignments. He would need to face ever more powerful opponents.
His fellow disciples among them. Now that he’d entered the Fourth Realm, he would need to care more for his reputation. He wouldn’t have the luxury of allowing rivalries to take root and grow. He needed to be as Zhang Lifen had during her time in the Fourth Realm—ruthless.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. As he cultivated, most of his thoughts tackled this very problem. He found no answers. It didn’t come as much of a surprise, though. If there was one thing he’d learned, it was that he would have to figure these things out on his own. His Way was as much about defining what exactly he meant by “being a hero” as it was about actually being one.
Looking back on the fancies he’d held when first coming to the sect, it all seemed obvious now.
But it was easy to see the steps one had already taken. It was those steps that still lay ahead that held the challenge.
As He Yu advanced, he would have to face ever more troublesome questions. Make harder and harder choices. And, he realized, he would be wrong. Probably more often than he was right. That, too, was part of cultivating the judgment of an emperor. One such choice lay before him now.
He Yu stood and exited his cultivation chamber.
It was early morning. He had the sense that it had been more than a single day since he’d come down from the mountain, but he wasn’t particularly hungry. Hopefully, that meant he would need to eat less now. As he’d advanced previously, his appetite had increased almost as fast as his strength had. He also knew that as cultivators advanced, they became increasingly able to sustain themselves with qi alone. If there was ever a time when the balance would shift, Golden Core seemed as good as any.
His core was full, however. Brimming with qi, more potent and more dense than he’d ever felt within himself. He felt as though he could fight for a hundred times longer than he had before. He felt like his techniques could break the sky. He felt like—no; he knew—that his body could withstand the wrath of heaven.
Zhang Lifen had been right to tell him to cultivate first. She’d been right to tell him to study the new techniques he had available. Most importantly, she’d been right to advise him to make an example.
That was exactly what he intended to do.