Hui sighed one last time, then drew his sword. If I’m going to fight, I’d better learn how to fly on a sword. He looked at his sword and frowned. Is it really as simple as Bai Xue says? Is that even possible?

Well, it’s worth a try.

He put his sword on the ground and stood on top of it. Closing his eyes, he let his qi flow without thinking about it or trying too hard to fly. The sword under his feet vibrated, letting out a quiet buzz. After a second, the vibration went silent.

Hui opened his eyes and sighed. I guess that’s that. It didn’t work either—huh?

He hovered a few centimeters above the ground. He looked around, then down at his feet. His sword supported him, glinting darkly in the sunlight. Hui leaned, willing himself forward. The sword shot forward, hurtling toward a tree. He leaned back, startled, and willed it to a halt. The sword stopped dead, nearly fast enough to throw him off.

It really is very intuitive, Hui thought, looking around. He turned his head upward and soared into the sky. His Master’s peak diminished below him, falling away with the rest of Starbound Sect. Hui slowed himself to a halt and hovered there, looking down on the sect.

This high, he no longer had to worry about crashing into trees. He darted around, flying freely in the sky, slowly adjusting to the feeling of flying on a sword. It’s like a bicycle. Once you figure it out, it’s always there. Ready to pop out of the back of your mind when you need it.

He stretched and soared along at an even pace, enjoying the breeze. Abruptly, he felt a chill. Hui instinctively flinched away, then glanced back. Huh? Wonder what that was about.

A second later, his eyes turned outward. He floated idly through the sky, tucking his hands behind him like an unfathomable expert. This All-Heavens Sect… why attack now?

When it comes to Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect, obviously they attacked during the Southern Sect Conference in hopes of infecting the most disciples from the most other sects with their insidious plants. But All-Heavens Sect… they could overpower us at any moment until now. So… why now?

Opportunity… obviously it isn’t that. They forced an opportunity into existence. I suppose it’s true that they could have simply decided to attack for selfish reasons, or that it had to happen some time, and now was that time… But that doesn’t feel right.

Hmm… back in my world… why would countries suddenly attack? If it comes to starting war, and there’s no external reason… obviously, it’s because of internal strife! If the internal numbers are bad, start a war, and the numbers get better! Internal strife… ah, and when one thinks of novels set in this ancient time period, if we’re talking internal strife, obviously, it has to be the death of the Emperor and the ascension to the Dragon Throne! Infighting among princes, the battles between the concubine mothers, what else could it be?

Jianghu… that is, the cultivator world, doesn’t exactly have an emperor the way the mortal world does. The Heavenly Emperor doesn’t count. He’s so far removed from the average cultivator that he might as well be a God… not merely a martial deity, but a being worthy of worship and devotion, rather than someone we could approach or usurp.

However, when we look at the Southern Sect Conference, and the way it bows to All-Heavens Sect, is it wrong to say that the All-Heavens Sect rules the lesser sects? And when we consider the All-Heavens Sect, who else would stand in for the Emperor but the All-Heavens Sect’s Sect Master?

If that’s the case, everything falls into place. From that angle, Gui Delun is either a pawn or a Prince, and I don’t know which, but whichever he is, he’s gathering meritorious service so the Emperor—ahem, Sect Master—will look more positively upon his faction. Let’s assume that Gui Delun’s faction is in charge of the Southern Sect Conference. Then, in the first place, he didn’t want to admit that there was strife within his sector—him refusing to acknowledge the Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect’s wrongdoings. Once he was forced to admit that things had gone wrong, he moved quickly and summarily wrapped it up, sealing Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect inside their sect so they couldn’t cause any more harm, or worse, spread rumors. Then, rather than actually fix the problem with Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect, he decided to target Starbound Sect, because we’re more obviously in the wrong, and easier to fix!

Hui slammed his fist into his palm, nodding, then froze. Eh, wait. But… how are we in the wrong?

Subconsciously, he turned toward the center of the sky over the sect, the place he’d felt cold, an empty space where nothing sat.

“Hui.”

He turned. His Master stood behind him, hovering on his sword.

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“Master, I…”

“Stop trying to remember it. Don’t you feel your cultivation creaking? You’ll destroy yourself,” Weiheng Wu warned him.

“I… eh?” Hui turned his attention inward. To his surprise, his cultivation base was trembling, his internal energy in disarray. He quickly circulated his energy, smoothing it, but the disarray acted like poison and refused to be so easily quieted. He stumbled back, putting a hand to his dantian. What’s happening?

“The Sect Master should have never let you see that place. It’s only because…” Weiheng Wu stopped. After a second, he continued. “…because it serves him to allow you to die quietly.”

“Master?” Hui asked, startled.

Wieheng Wu shook his head. “You aren’t far off, Weiheng Hui. However, no matter how much you struggle, there is nothing you can do as you are. Interfering with All-Heavens Sect is beyond your current abilities.”

“Then… Master, what should I do?” Hui asked. I’m not going to give up. Even if Master says it’s impossible, I can’t simply not try.

His Master nodded. “Soon, the Sect Master will open a realm. You must not enter. Even if everyone else finds good fortune inside, all that awaits you is extreme danger.”

“E…eh,” Hui said, startled.

“Beyond that… Well, I, with a month… but your comprehension is too pitiful,” Weiheng Wu said, sighing. “If only I had a little more time…”

“Master?” Hui asked, stepping close.

Weiheng Wu sighed again, deeper this time. “The All-Heavens Sect has been monitoring us for too long. They’re aware that I made a miscalculation.”

“Master, a miscalculation?” Hui asked. Shock ran through him. He looked Weiheng Wu over, searching for signs of a qi deviation or the withering of life force. Master would never… No, it can’t be! Did Master fail in cultivation? Is he dying?

Weiheng Wu turned his head upward. “Hui, I overestimated the final three realms. Your Master can no longer hold back. Once I passed the seventh realm, it was simply too easy to comprehend the Dao and step onto my path. I’ve already been suppressing my cultivation, but I can’t suppress it much longer. Soon, the final Tribulation will descend, and your Master will ascend into heaven.”

I was getting all concerned for nothing! Dammit, Master! I thought you were dying! But actually, you’re just too damn powerful! Ascending straight to heaven after seventh realm? How quickly did you comprehend the last three realms, huh?

Hui froze. Wait. All-Heavens Sect said Master wouldn’t remain for long. I thought they meant on the time frame of cultivators, where a hundred, or even a thousand years, can be considered the blink of an eye! But instead, they meant it on the time frame of ordinary mortals! No wonder they set the deadline for a month from their arrival. They already knew that Master was on the verge of ascending!

Weiheng Wu stared into the heavens, then shook his head. “Weiheng Hui, the heavens are in disorder. I will have to pay a steep price to interfere in the mortal realm once I step into the heavens. Here.”

He tossed a small jade to Hui. Hui lunged and caught it, slowly opening his hand. A white jade bird stared back at him, carved in the same style as the bird he’d handed Hui before his trip to Bai Clan. This one hung from a tassel, meant to be worn from the belt.

Hui looked at it, then squinted, holding it closer. Eh. Did it look so much like a duck the first time?

“Once, when you need my power, I’ll answer your call, no matter what.”

Hui nodded. He tied the tassel on his belt and looked at his Master.

Wieheng Wu hesitated, then frowned at Hui. “If you end up going into that realm I warned you about—don’t you dare waste the tassel there!”

“Understood!” Hui said, saluting with cupped fists. Master, this small disciple is a coward. In what world would I charge knowingly into extreme danger?

“Ah, I leave the peaks to you, as well. I’ve rewritten the barrier formations. Even the Sect Master can’t step on Unrivaled Under Heaven Peak without your explicit invitation.”

“Master… you aren’t ascending now, by any chance…?” Hui asked, suddenly suspicious.

His Master said nothing, but overhead, thick black clouds suddenly began to accumulate.

Hui backed away quickly. Master!

He paused, then, looking at Weiheng Wu. Fear welled up in his chest, fear and an old, old emotion, one he hadn’t felt in a long time, one he barely knew how to put words to. “I…I’ve learned nothing, Master. You can’t go yet.”

“Incorrect, Weiheng Hui. You’ve learned the most important lesson of all: how to find your own comprehension.”

“You can’t leave. I’m still too weak.”

“Not at all. You are the only reason others perceive you as weak.”

“All-Heavens Sect… without you here, Master, they’ll…”

“Even if I stayed, I would ascend eventually. I could only delay the attack. There is no such thing as a second Weiheng Wu. Even yourself, Hui… I thought I might have found someone with equivalent comprehension on that day I picked you up, but even then… you were lacking.”

“Eh… Huh?” It’s not just because of my good looks?

“Xiao Hui, you are already a man of two worlds. When you become a man of three, and step into heaven yourself, seek me out. Together, we will right the heavens and rid them of disorder.” Weiheng Wu rose into the sky, hair flying around him, robes billowing.

Hui nodded, then blinked. He looked up, meeting his Master’s eyes. “Wait, Master, you knew—”

“That must remain your closest secret, if you wish to survive.”

Thunder cracked. Lighting blasted down from above. Weiheng Wu crossed his arms and harrumphed, rushing up to meet it. All over Starbound Sect, other cultivators stared and shouted. Some others flew up to watch from a safe distance, eyes sparkling. The Sect Master appeared, Lan Taijian and the other Peak Lords arrayed beside him, and crossed his arms, a slight frown on his face.

Left behind, Hui watched Weiheng Wu ascend. Lightning crashed all around his Master, but none of it seemed to reach him. That strange emotion tugged at his heart again, aching painfully in his chest. Not fear. Master won’t lose to a mere tribulation. Not anger, or jealousy. If I could feel true anger or jealousy toward Master, I would’ve rebelled long ago! He rubbed his chest, as if that would make it go away.

The lightning grew stronger. It became a beam of light that swallowed up Weiheng Wu. No longer could anyone see Hui’s master. The beam burned bright, brighter than the sun, so brilliant the world washed out. Then it passed, and the world darkened in the lack of its presence.

Hui blinked. His hand pressed against his heart, and he took a slow breath.

Ah. I’ve been abandoned again.