In a half-destroyed house, a man regained his consciousness.

It was not a sudden awakening but as his body and mind kept giving off signals of sluggishness and their desire for more rest, his awakening took a while to complete.

When he finally overcame those feelings he opened his eyes and looked at the unfamiliar ceiling.

Where am I and how did I get here?

Echoed in his head before he finally found the need to move anything else but his eyes.

And when he did pull up his upper body to look around, he noticed the things he needed to know but most of all he noticed his daughter sleeping beside him.

She was covered in quite a few bed cloth layers.

“ JiaoJiao? ” As he pronounced those words, memories started to flash into his mind. Memories of her childhood until they finally came to the undesired part he had closed off.

The part where his JaioJiao died and a different Jiao appeared. Again the memories caused him to recollect all the feelings that he had experienced and had already processed. Yet still, they hurt and bit deep as they passed his active mind.

Afterward, memories of the after started playing.

Of her defiance, which had not vanished and had in fact increased, and the change in her everyday behavior.

Her manner of speech sounded mature despite the sometimes unfamiliar words that came out of it or the strange pronunciations.

Moreover, the way she handled herself was very different compared to the daughter that he had spoiled from the day she was born and the love of his life had left him.

The amount of love that he had given her could not even be compared to her older sister and had in return became the resentment that he had often seen in his older daughter.

Then came the memories of her absence and how he had indulged in work and the underlying process for the revenge he had planned on executing.

He had neither rushed them nor waited for the right opportunity.

He would create the opportunity, after all.

Finally came the time of his yearly visit to his older brother and the tournament to observe the progress that the recruits had undergone.

A few of them showed potential but it was what he remembered next that had been the cause of his stay in this room.

He clearly remembered how he had followed his daughter's instructions of pushing his Ability into that little ball of hers when for an unknown reason he lost control of it, despite the many years that he had trained it.

It was such a strange feeling that he experienced for the first time, ever. But what came next was even beyond that.

He began to feel the Jade phantom that his daughter used and the closer his connection to it became the more he felt that something bad was going to happen.

Remembering the next part was easy. It was so ingrained in his mind that he would have trouble ever not forgetting it.

Feeling that vast presence that stomped on him and his daughter, made him remember the first time he was experiencing his father's Stage Oppression.

Only this one was magnified to such a degree that it stole his very breath the moment it appeared.

With the appearance of that presence, he lost a major part of the control that he had over his cultivation and Ability.

And when that happened alongside the rogue cultivation or Inner Devil as it was known, he felt the emotions they were brought forth.

Emotions that he had thought he had overcome.

That presence cared not for his wants, it dug deep from his well and scooped them up one by one.

He remembered them all. The hate, the guilt, the resentment, the sorrow, the agony, the regret, and many more.

The worst part was that all of them were centered on his daughter, his new daughter.

Immersed yet again in those feelings, he felt the sting but what he felt this time could not compare to the sting that he had felt at that time.

Realizing that fact, Yu Liwei wondered why that was when the memory showed the reason.

“ Can you do that? ” She had asked him. “ Will you trust me and let me help you? ”

His new daughter had asked him to let go and let his Inner Devil surface for her to deal with it.

Yu Liwei focused on that part and the feelings that the memories brought forth.

With the connection between him and Jiao, he felt the raging emotions inside her.

At first, he thought that her own Inner Devil had overcome her just like what was happening and would happen soon to him, but as he felt that controlled hate and anger, he realized a simple thing.

Whatever Jiao was experiencing, she had ironclad control over it and that is when he truly realized that his new daughter truly had a way out of this situation and that she was asking for his trust.

Trust that she would be able to help him and wanted to help him.

He knew that he should not do it. He knew that one tiny mistake would cause calamitous damage on every front he could imagine, yet there was something in that Rage-filled gaze.

A certainty that it would go as his new daughter desired.

Seeing no way out, Yu Liwei bet on that certainty and let the Inner Devil overcome him. The negative emotions took the front and he felt his Divine Sense split with ease.

One part for him and one part for the Inner Devil.

Backed by the certainty his daughter had shown, he let that Inner Devil simmer for a bit before he found the much-needed Will to drive the Inner Devil back into his Ability and somehow squeezed it through and into Jiao’s phantom.

Only the Devil did not give up so easily.

As Yu Liwei had pushed it into his Ability, it somehow latched onto the imaginary walls of the Ability itself and without letting go of it, ripped it from him and vanished.

The connection he had to Jiao’s phantom vanished and the enormous presence retreated with it, but the ripping that the Devil had unleashed inside him had caused unimaginable pain.

Combined with half of his Divine Sense missing and the exhaustion he felt he lost consciousness at that point.

After recollecting his memories, Yu Liwei felt strange.

On one side he felt liberated and free like never before and on the other one, he felt weak for he was sure that he had lost his bloodline Ability.

To confirm it as such, he tried to call it forth when nothing happened.

A few more tries only confirmed it.

“ Sigh. It truly is gone. ” He murmured to himself. For the time being, he accepted it and went to examine more of his cultivation. With a few sweeps of his reduced Divine Sense, he found that his Cores were doing fine, if largely empty of Qi.

Leaving the meditative state, he opened his eyes and looked at the barely breathing daughter by his side.

He touched her cheek for a bit and remembered that he had not received a single hug from his daughter ever since she changed.

Shaking away that thought, Yu Liwei got off the bed and made his way outside to find his brothers.

It took but a few steps outside for him to notice that half the building was a ruin.

Sweeping the place with his Divine Sense just in case, he noticed that there were no bodies or blood to indicate the worst-case scenario.

On the other hand, his sweep did notice the number of people that were laboring to clear the place up.

Making his way there, he found a familiar face.

It was Gao Junjie who just stood there with his arms behind his back as he stared at the broken-up house.

Contrary to what he was used to seeing, Gao Junjie currently had a rare expressive face.

Once he was by his side, Yu Liwei spoke. “ Gao Junjie, what happened after I lost consciousness? ”

“ Depends on who you ask. ” He answered with a riddle.

At that Yu Liwei was stumped on how to take the answer before the other parts of his brain supplied a suspicion. “ Ah, that's how you meant it. What is the official story? ”

“ Your older brother decided to officially declare that an Assassin had targeted Jiao only for you to intercept him and receive an injury. ” That… was a plausible excuse, thought Yu Liwei. “ The story has already been spread. Qiao thinks this will make an excellent excuse for your other plans. ”

“ It will make do. ” Yu Liwei responded. “ And unofficially? ”

“ That… is a longer story. ” Gao Junjie replied broadly. “ You see that. ” He pointed at the rabble the workers were clearing. “ That is the result of your Inner Devil and Qiao exchanging a few moves before I was smart enough to realize its true purpose. ”

As he said that he finally observed Yu Liwei deeper. “ Never would have imagined you off all people would have an Inner Devil, but I guess everybody has his weak spots. After I had Ying grab Jiao and run away with her, I joined in on the fight right after and held off the Jaded Devil as Jiao called it long enough to give Ying a lead. If you travel that way you will see the damage wrought by our fight. ” Gao Junjie said. With his right hand, he pointed roughly east of the town they were in.

Looking in that direction, Yu Liwei deployed his Divine Sense to make sense of it.

After a few more buildings in need of help, he observed the scars closer to the town and when he tried to sweep something further, he felt pangs in his head.

Unconsciously he grabbed his head.

“ Ugh. At least the injured part of the cover story is right. It will take me years to recover my Divine Sense to its previous state. ”

Retrieving the Divine Sense he heard a question directed at him. “ You have been unconscious for about a day and Elder He mentioned that you had inner bleeding before he healed you. After recollecting my memories of the fight and going over it, it is easy to guess the Devil took more from you than we first imagined? What happened? ”

“ Half my Divine Sense as it first appeared. ” Yu Liwei said. “ That part I can recover with time. It's the other part that worries me. As I was shoving it away through my Ability, just like Jiao wanted, the Devil somehow got its claws into it and ripped it from me. Right now I can't feel it at all. I don't know if it's gone forever or if it will recover. ”

“ That… is not a good thing, indeed. ” Gao Junjie remarked, before adding on to it. “ You will have to wait for Jiao to wake up for more answers and before you ask about her let me tell you what happened. ”

With that said, Gao Junjie explained to him the story of his daughter. “ After that gray flame entered her body we just let her rest there. You know, there is a saying that shared suffering can bring people closer. Do you think that will happen between the two of you? ”

“ Shared suffering? ” At that Yu Liwei wondered for a bit before he understood his meaning.

Both he and Jiao had lost their Abilities if his situation was any indication, and she had burned her own of her free will. “ If it does, it would be the only good thing that came out of this. I truly hope Jiao knows of a way to recover my Ability, otherwise, I lost a majority of my battle strength for that shared suffering. ”

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“ How strong would you say that the Jaded Devil was? ” Yu Liwei questioned him in return.

“ Strong. Very strong. I think the only reason we were able to hold it back so easily was that it couldn't use Spirit Arts and ours made not even a dent to it. ” Gao Junjie explained. “ It is the only conclusion I came to after going over the fight. My theory is that it was not used to its new form and that Spiritual Arts were used differently and hence he was weaker. If Jiao had not tricked its birth and planted a trap inside it, we would have not been able to destroy it and it would have become a permanent problem. ”

“ Phu, alright. Where is my brother? I need to talk to him.” Yu Liwei asked, interrupting his inner musings.

“ The usual, probably. ” He replied. “ Before you go to him, tell him something from me. Soon I will be entering Soul Creation and as his congratulations gift, I want a new house built on the western side of that mountain, befitting a Cultivator of such a stage. ”

“ Haha. ” Chuckling at that, Yu Liwei agreed. “ Sure, I don't mind sharing some of the Shared Suffering. The western side, you say? Because of the view? ”

Seeing the nod, Yu Liwei made his way to his older brother, after all, it was his idea to mask the incident as an Assassination.

Maybe he had more than just a plain idea?

***

Opening my eyes a familiar ceiling awaited me, or should I say the lack of it.

No matter whether I looked up, left, right, or down I saw an endless white panorama.

Channeling a small sigh, I spoke out loud, for my own convenience. “ Ha, this again? ”

Placing my hands on the white floor that I could barely recognize as a floor, if not for the sense of touch upon it, I push myself up and stand up.

After another look around I notice nothing out of the ordinary.

“ Oy, stop hiding. I know how this happens now. I know you're here, so come out. ” With a shout, I demanded his appearance.

“ Do you, now? ” Came back the result.

Turning around to my back another familiar feature appeared.

Two dark red leather couch chairs with a small table between them and a handsome version of the previous me in Morpheus' iconic tight black leather clothes alongside the iconic mantle.

Making my way to him I sat opposite him and addressed something that I had been over with. “ How are you here? I thought this part was over? ”

“ Dreams within Dreams, Baby. ” Came the reply from an alternate version of me. “ And you're right, that part was over. This is something else. ”

“ Right… Translate these Dreams within Dreams for me. ” I ask him.

“ Hmph, fine I will demystify it. ” My alternate agreed and spoke. “ The reincarnation was so successful that there was enough juice for some extra features. So with you acting as the anchor, a few things were dumped into the local Dreamscape. ”

“ Hmm, will this Dream be similar to the last one and leave me with the required zipped files? ”

“ Naturally. ”

“ Fine, then leave out the explanations and tell me why this Dream was generated in the first place? ” I ask my alternate.

“ There are multiple trigger points but in this case, we can safely say that multiple ones have been ticked off. Care to guess what they are? ”

“ I can easily guess the damage to my Will is one of them. The others though? Wait, you know what, I don't want to bother thinking about it. Tell me now, and let's get this over with. ” With my demand in the air, I saw him sigh slightly.

“ Very well. You're right about the damage. This Dream will quicken the recovery process. ” He explained. “ There are two others. The second is that little Identity proclamation you made and the third is the Rage that you experienced. ”

“ Identity and Rage? ”

“ The Identity part is more of a relief function. It's there to ease your existence. ” He said. “ This part was left out in the first Dream for a reason. After a few tests I have found out that while Identity is important, it is not that important to us. Remember this. It is our memories that shape our identity and the way we use that Identity shapes us in return. So have no fear of losing yourself as you adopt a new life in this new World. ”

“ Interesting, but it does not matter to me, I am who I decide I am. ” I repeated my declaration to it, I only received a nod in confirmation.

“ Good then let's discuss the Rage. ” He said. “ But before I tell you about it, let me ask you one thing. Last time I told you that I did not want to burden you with the past about how things ended for us on Earth. The reason I am asking this now is that. that Rage exists for a reason. It helped us overcome our troubles and as a result, it became part of us in such a way that there is no way to get rid of it, without scrambling our very memories clean. ”

“ Will it matter in how I make use of it, in the future? ” I ask.

“ None at all. “ He answered. ” It is for that reason that I have left this part for this moment. Maybe you would like the knowledge or maybe you won't, but ultimately it is up to you. My recommendation is to just ignore it and live a new life seeking your own destiny instead of being shackled by the past. ”

“ Then I won't, I have a whole new life ahead, the lighter my steps are the better. ”

“ Good choice, now let's start. ” He said and another educated lesson began about what my future Transcendence entailed.

***

Opening my eyes, again, I finally was able to observe the familiar ceiling that I had gotten used to.

Looking around I noticed a familiar figure that sat in a meditating pose on my bed.

“ Tao Fang? ” I spoke in her direction but she did not answer. Probably too deep in her trance to recognize the reality around her.

Pushing myself up I felt some pangs in my head and some other places on my body. They were the perfect indicator that I had not been unconscious for that long.

My stomach on the other hand said otherwise.

Back on my legs, I snooped around to see if there was anything to eat and found nothing. “ Ha, well, I am sure you want me waking you up? ”

Walking around the bed I came before her and started poking her right cheek.

Poke

Poke

Poke

And her body trembled slightly before another poke woke her up.

After brief disorientation, she recognized me. “ Miss, you are finally awake. ”

She hurriedly untangled herself from her meditated pose and stood by my side and gave me a slight, very slight bow. “ How long have I been asleep and is there something to eat? I am starving. ”

“ Three days, Miss. As for food, I did not know when you would wake up so there was no prepared food. There is, however, this. ” She said as she took out a small bundle on the small table beside the bed. Once she had unwrapped it, there was some meat jerky.

It looked quite tender and the smell that rafted out of it only encouraged my stomach for it.

Grabbing it I enjoyed the smoky flavor and meaty texture. “ It will do for now but go and prepare something warm. I am hungry, very very hungry. ”

“ I would love to but I am afraid that will not be possible. ” Said my servant and seeing my quizzing look, she motioned for me to follow her outside the room.

Once we were outside I saw what she meant. “ Fuck, that is more damage than I thought it would be when uncle told me. So I assume the kitchen was in that part of the house? ”

“ Yes, Miss. ” She admitted. “ Elder He recommended not to move you until you wake up. With that being the case, Miss, your father said that we have the option to stay here and wait for the house to be rebuilt or move to Lord Qiao’s mansion. And if that is not favorable either, he said that we can move to the Internals Dormitory and stay there for the time being. ”

“ Ugh… I will think about the choices. Anything else I need to be told? ” I ask.

“ Yes, Miss. Your father also said to tell you to visit him as soon as you wake up. He said an important talk needs to happen between the two of you. ”

“ Sigh. Figured it would be so. ” I said to nobody in particular. “ Is he at First Uncle’s place? ”

“ Should be so, Miss. ” Replied Tao Fang.

“ Alright, let's go. ” I said and made my way there with her in tow and the jerky in hand.

Snacking on it on the way, I saw that a few more buildings were in need of help.

Finding and making my way to the grandest mansion was easy. Status brought power and wealth brought power but you still needed to showcase it for people to realize those things.

Otherwise, they would do as they wish and not as those with power said.

Bigger and grander is a very good way of showing that.

First Uncle’s mansion was always used by previous leaders, so it was only just that he was the one to use it now.

One direct question to a servant there and I had been shown the place my father was in.

It seems a big mansion like this has to have a dedicated room for meditation. Once I was beside the door I had Tao Fang wait for me and knocked on it.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

With them executed first, I opened the room in question.

It was a small room so there was not much inside it aside from a window, a mat on the ground on which father meditated, a small table on the right side of the room with writing utensils, and a bookshelf with some scrolls on them on the left.

It was cozy but I ignored them and focused on the man in the center.

“ Father? ” I said but he did not respond.

Shaking my head away from him, I talked to Tao Fang. “ Go and find me some warm food. Looks like I will be waiting for him to stop meditating before anything can be discussed. ”

“ Yes, Miss. ” With Tao Fang on the way, I closed the room and sat near my father waiting for him to wake up.

At first, I just thought about things, here and there and even after Tao Fang brought me some food, my father had not woken up. So with a full stomach, I meditated a bit to check my own injuries in more detail.

My Internal LE Construct was still up and thanks to it, much of the internal trauma was reduced. It was when I looked inside my head that a peculiarity was found.

In the center of my being where I always kept a few things secured, just in case, I found an anomaly.

A gray flame was nested there and it burned in what looked like slow motion. It did not consume any Life Essence but it also did nothing.

It just stood there.

‘ Weird, that should not be there, I think. Never mind, I will deal with it later. ’

After feeling out my own diminished Will for a while I opened my eyes to see my father turned towards me. So we stared at each other a bit.

“ Father. ”

“ Daughter. ”

“ You called for me to come as soon as I woke up and here I am. What do you need? ” I ask him.

“ An explanation? ” He said. “ But before we get to that let me tell you something. After we all calmed down, we had a meeting yesterday about all the things that happened, and at that time Elder He, brought forth an interesting observation of his. Do you want to know what it is about? ”

“ Well, it is bound to be about me in a way, so I guess. Go on. ”

“ His observation was about you and the events that happen around you when the topic of Life Essence is brought forth. ” That confused me. What events? “ Three times already an event happened when somebody wanted you to discuss it. The first time, he ascended a stage and the topic was forgotten. The second time, a similar thing would have happened if Gao Junjie had enough accumulation. And that strange event we were involved in should count as the third. What do you think? An interesting coincidence, would you not say? ”

“ Umm. ” Was all that came out of my gaping mouth before I realigned my thoughts. “ That is indeed an interesting observation. I guess, I can't deny it but I have no idea if it is true or not. ”

“ Alright, if it happens another time, we will just forget about seeking that knowledge from you. ” He said and dismissed that part of the conversation. “ What we can not ignore is the events we went through. Tell me your thoughts about it? ”

“ Well, I have discussed the same topic with an expert so I am fairly sure I have figured out everything that happened. ” Immediately I noticed his frown when I mentioned the expert. “ The expert being myself, don't bother yourself with how that was possible. As for the cause of the event. The answer is simple and yet profound. It goes like this. When explained simply the Ability Jade Above All that you have simply does not belong to you, at least not yet. ”

His face displayed shock when I said it like that but I could imagine the clickers in his head smashing against each other. “ Yet? Are you saying that it was incomplete? ”

“ Yes, as a citizen of an Empire I am sure you know about Authority better than me, but what about Authority regarding Qi and the Laws of the Universe? ” I ask him.

“ Hmm, Laws and Authority. ” He murmured a bit absently as his gaze went a bit cloudy before refocusing on me. “ Yes, that would be one way of looking at it. Go on. ”

Nodding to him I explained. “ From your tale about how you got it and used it, I guess that that Authority is the thing that you inherited in your bloodline. Somehow you were able to stimulate it and awaken it before the stage of cultivation at which one normally deals with such things. From this point onwards, it's harder to guess, but I do have a theory. ”

“ Go on, tell me? ” He said but when I said nothing for too long, his gaze looked at me, questioning my hesitance. “ Go on, no matter what you say, I won't get emotional. I promise. ”

“ Father, before I speak of it. Tell me something first. ” Seeing him I go on. “ Tell me about Yu Tian, our ancestor. I have been told about him a bit. From what I heard it is said that he had one day just appeared in the Azure WInd Empire and started doing what is written in history. I am curious about his origin? Will you tell me? ”

“ I see where you're going with your question. ” He replied. “ You are interested in the origin of the Heavenly Jade Mantra? ” When I nodded he shook his head and his gaze went cloudy as he explained. “ I think I know what you are thinking of regarding the Mantra. Not many know this and it's kept that way on purpose. You see, even we do not know that much about his early life. He kept it hidden on purpose. Why we don't know but you are more interested in how he gained the Mantra, Right? ”

Indeed that is the important part, so I gave him a nod.

“ This part he has explained. ” Father said. “ One day he was chased by bandits and to get away from them he ran for his life, only to stumble on a tree root according to his note. After falling down a crevice and a few more stumbles, also according to his note, he happened to discover an Immortals Cave. There he discovered a dead body and when he took a closer look, a remnant of the Immortal bequeathed him an Inheritance. With the inheritance, he made his way out and after a few adventures, he came to this Empire to settle his roots. The rest is history. ”

“ As for the Mantra, you were wondering if it was truly a First-Grade one or a Supreme? Right? ” He was indeed correct.

“ Yes, that was my theory. ” I said. “ The reason is simple. The only way for one to not be under the whims of an Authority is for one to either have a strong Will to bend it to one's desire, or have a sufficient understanding of it that you can play with it as you desire. ”

“ And both require decently high cultivation to gain them unless it was inherited? ” He finished for me.

“ Yes. One more reason as to why I am thinking as I am now is that inheriting the Authority is a key requirement for advancing the Mantra to the Supreme grade. ” I said to him.

“ I see. ” He said as he understood my thinking. “ Since we do not know of a way to advance it to Supreme Grade, I have instead used the Authority to develop an Ability. It is an interesting thought but there has to be more to it? What do you have yet to say? ”

“ I do not know about Qi, but in my system of Power, the only way to use Authority safely is when the Ability that uses said Authority is anchored to the Will of the individual. ” I explained. “ If anchored to the body instead it will be influenced by the whims of the body and in return, it will influence the body. That is just not a good solution. So my theory is that the same must be with Qi and the Authority must be anchored to one’s Divine Sense. ”

“ That is a solid theory. ” He remarked but I sensed a but coming. “ But even if it is true, we simply do not have a method of Advancing our Mantra to the Supreme Grade. There is a reason why Mantras dealing with the Mind are so rare. Even a tiny misstep spells disaster for the individual. Besides, there is no need to talk about it now. ”

“ Why not? With my help, it should be much easier than you think. ”

Hearing me he gained a defeated outlook. “ Jiao, even if what you say is the truth. It's simply too late to test it. I have lost my Ability and any of that Authority that I had before I have lost all feelings off. ”

“ What? ”