The ceremony ended on a sour note, but Wu Jian did not get in trouble thanks to Huǒ Yulie and Huǒ Pànguó vouching for what happened. He probably still would have gotten into trouble if this had been a private affair. However, they had been in front of a crowd, and Huǒ Huangdi did not want his reputation sullied by seeming ungrateful to the man who saved his daughter.

He did not get to speak with Huǒ Yulie after they emerged from the Realm of Sacred Flames. She had been immediately taken back to the Flame Sanctuary.

Wu Jian was taken back to his hotel by Hua Xue and Yu Chenguang. According to Yu Chenguang, they would be leaving soon, heading back to the Shang Kingdom. He had been requested to wait in his hotel room for a little bit, while they dealt with the logistics.

“Master, where are we going now? Are we going back home?”

He was sitting on his bed, and the little girl who’d been with him since he emerged from the Realm of Sacred Flame was perched comfortably on his lap. Wu Jian had been shocked when he first saw Youmei’s human form. How such a massive cat could turn into a child was beyond him. However, after thinking about it for a while, he realized her transformation made sense.

A magical beast’s transformation from human to beast was a process that took a magical beast’s self-image and altered it into human form. Youmei’s human form was a mental projection of how she viewed herself. It was like she was overlaying her natural form with a human one. This did not mean her transformation was an illusion. She was now, for all intents and purposes, human. Her body’s very structure resembled those of a human right down to her organs. The only difference between her and humans was that she still contained all of her beast-like strength.

“I don’t know yet. I suppose it depends on what happens from here,” Wu Jian confessed.

“And what’s going to happen?” Youmei asked with a curious tilt of her head.

Wu Jian grinned as he rubbed her head. “Who knows.”

He had been worried for a while that Youmei’s transformation would somehow change the relationship between them. He was glad his fears were unfounded. This was still the same child he had raised since young. She had always been sort of like his little sister even when she was a huge panther. Now she could become more like a real little sister.

Wu Jian glanced at her tiny feet as they kicked back and forth, then frowned.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wear shoes?”

“Eck! Youmei hates shoes! She’s never wearing them!”

“But your feet will get dirty…”

“Youmei’s feet always got dirty anyway! She’ll just clean them!”

“All right…”

He had tried to make her wear shoes several times, but the girl had refused every time. Wu Jian was honestly lucky he managed to convince her to wear clothes.

When Youmei first transformed into a human, she had been completely naked, but of course, having a child run around naked was completely unacceptable, so he’d requested clothes in her size from the Vermillion Bird. Sadly, Youmei had not wanted to wear them. She had refused and tried to run away, forcing him to chase her around the pagoda for several hours. The only reason he even caught her and forced clothing onto her was because he used space manipulation to lock her in place. Even then, she had ripped the clothing apart several times.

The battle had only come to an end when Huǒ Yulie emerged from her isolated training and gave Youmei a lecture about propriety. Wu Jian didn’t understand why Youmei listened to her and not him. He had basically told her the same thing. Was it because Huǒ Yulie was a girl? Did girls have an easier time listening to other girls? It bothered him to think about it.

Someone suddenly knocked on his door. Wu Jian had Youmei jump off him and went to open the door. As expected, he found Hua Xue on the other side, but she was not alone. With her was Zhe Dāozhe, Zhe Fēnglì, and Wu Meiying--still hiding behind her veil. Hua Xue looked slightly putout as she stood there.

“Sect Master, to what do I owe the pleasure?” asked Wu Jian.

Zhe Dāozhe gave an amiable smile. “We are here to discuss your indictment into our sect. Truth be told, I originally planned to give you time to settle your affairs in the Shang Kingdom, but I was informed that it would be in our best interest to bring you into the sect sooner rather than later.”

Wu Meiying must have said something to him.

Wu Meiying was considered a prophet of the Heavenly Sword Sect. This was all thanks to her clairvoyance. She was, in fact, the only reason the Heavenly Sword Sect had retained its position as the strongest sect after the disaster in the Yuan Peninsula. Her position and status had become even more elevated thanks to her quick actions and sound decisions.

“I understand. Does that mean I’ll be leaving with you?” asked Wu Jian.

“Indeed. We will be leaving in a few days, so you’ll have time to get your affairs in order,” said Zhe Dāozhe.

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“Understood. Thank you for accepting me into the Heavenly Sword Sect.” Wu Jian performed a perfect martial bow. “I will offer a proper kowtow once everything is official.”

Zhe Dāozhe raised a hand. “There is no need for that. You should only kowtow to someone you have acknowledged as your master. I am merely the sect master, which is a different position from a true master.”

Wu Jian said nothing, but he nodded along. It was hard to tell of this man honestly believed what he was saying, or if he was trying to curry favor with Wu Meiying, who obviously favored him. However, he did not strike Wu Jian as a bad person. Even if he was trying to gain Wu Meiying’s favor, that was not a bad thing in and of itself. They could also use his desire for their own ends too.

“I have a quick question. I assume my companion can come?”

Wu Jian placed a hand on Youmei’s head. She was hiding behind him, hugging his leg as she stared up at the group of humans. Her eyes were mostly locked onto Wu Meiying, however. Wu Jian had repeatedly mentioned that, if she saw Wu Meiying in front of other people, she could not under any circumstances let everyone know they were acquainted. He had emphasized that it would place Wu Meiying in a lot of danger. Youmei had promised not to say anything, but it was clearly a struggle.

“Of course, I would never demand you be separated from your magical beast companion.” Zhe Dāozhe looked down at the little girl and smiled. “She is a yāomó panther, if I am not mistaken. That is an exceedingly rare species. They are very well-known for both their strength and loyalty. You were quite lucky to have found her, nevermind bonded to her so strongly.”

“Yes, I was very lucky indeed,” Wu Jian admitted as he tousled Youmei’s hair.

“Master was lucky to find Youmei?” asked Youmei, looking up at him with big eyes.

“Extremely lucky,” he confessed.

Youmei buried her face in his pant leg. “Youmei… Youmei was lucky to find Master, too.”

Everyone melted at the sight, even Hua Xue softened, though it was only possible to tell by looking at her eyes. They had become warm pools of kindness.

Zhe Dāozhe grinned. “The bond between master and magical beast is quite something.” Anyway, we will take our leave now. Once you have put your affairs in order, come find us.”

“Of course, Sect Master,” Wu Jian said with another martial bow.

Zhe Dāozhe turned around and walked back the way he had come. His son followed him. Wu Meiying hesitated just a moment to look at him before following the other two. Wu Jian watched them go with a slight feeling of elation. He and Wu Meiying would finally be reunited for more than just a few hours every night, would be able to plan their next moves together, and finally reforge the bond that had been ripped apart that night the Wu Clan was destroyed.

“I cannot believe that man,” Hua Xue muttered with scorn.

Wu Jian raised an eyebrow. “Zhe Dāozhe?”

“Who else?”

“Did he… do something to you?”

Hua Xue’s frown was obvious in the way her eyes crinkled. “He did not do anything to me… but he said plenty.”

“Ah…”

Wu Jian felt some sweat trickling down his scalp. It seemed Zhe Dāozhe had decided to hit on Hua Xue, and she had not appreciated his attention. The man hadn’t acted like anything bad had happened between them. Perhaps he was only doing so because he thought he had a chance and didn’t actually care. It wasn’t really something Wu Jian had to worry about, so he put it out of his mind.

“I guess I should talk to Yu Chenguang,” Wu Jian muttered.

“Yu Chenguang has already been informed. I suspect he will come to see you soon.” She turned to stare at him. “The person you should speak to right now is Mei Xilan.”

“Mei Xilan, huh…”

Wu Jian didn’t know why he should talk to her, but it sounded like something serious had happened, so he decided to find the woman in question. She was not in her room. According to Hua Xue, she was by the arena where their competition had taken place. That being the case, he quickly traveled to the arena. It was empty now. Not a soul could be seen. However, the entrance was still open. He wandered around the inside and eventually found Mei Xilan.

She stood in the arena’s floor, on the platform where they all had their bouts. Adorned in the resplendent attire of the Ice Phoenix Sect, Mei Xilan was a vision of ethereal beauty. Her hair reminded him of a frozen waterfall, transitioning from pure white near the crown to a mesmerizing shade of glacial blue near the tips. It framed her face in a delicate, icy cascade, concealing some of her features while highlighting others.

“So this is where you are,” Wu Jian said as he flew down to the arena floor and landed behind her.

She turned her head. “Wu Jian…”

“Hua Xue said you’ve been coming here since the tournament ended,” Wu Jian walked over to stand beside her.

“MMmm.” Mei Xilan nodded and turned her attention to the arena once more. “I have been thinking about my poor showing. I used to think I was strong for my age, but seeing some of the people in this tournament has shown me that I’m still just a small fish. I used to live within a tiny pond and assumed no one out there could be stronger than me. Now I’m in a wide ocean, and I’ve come to realize how foolish I’ve been.”

Wu Jian said nothing since he understood how she felt. He was strong for his age, but that didn’t mean he was the strongest. The people he was going after were far stronger than him. They could crush him with a thought. As he was right now, he wouldn’t stand a chance against his enemies.

“I owe you an apology.”

“Hmm?”

Mei Xilan turned and bowed to him. “I tried to use you for my own selfish reasons. While I don’t regret what I did, I do recognize that it was wrong of me.”

“I don’t mind,” Wu Jian said. “Were our positions reversed, I’d have done the same. It isn’t wrong to use everything at your disposal to accomplish a goal.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

Mei Xilan raised her head and looked him square in the eyes. “I’m planning to travel. I have learned all I can from the Ice Phoenix Sect. If I wish to become even stronger, then I need to experience more of the world.”

Wu Jian nodded. It was a good plan. He opened his mouth to say something, but his instincts warned him of danger before he could.

“Get back!!!”

Mei Xilan’s eyes widened, but she leapt back just in time. Something struck the arena surface. Wu Jian hadn’t seen what it was, for the attack had been invisible, but he saw the results. The attack had caused the arena floor to cave in, cracks spreading from the point of impact.

He looked around and realized they were now surrounded. Several familiar figures clad in black stood around them. Wu Jian was assailed with visions of the past, of the night the Wu Clan had been attacked. He didn’t need to be a genius to realize the people now surrounding him belonged to the same group that destroyed his clan.