It was early in the morning. The sun was still resolutely below the horizon and the sky was crimson. At this time of day, the air was cool and damp. Yuan and Harald had prepared themselves for the journey ahead. They were both feeling much better as their wounds had been healed. Yet they also looked restless, walking up and down, waiting for Hua to come. Although neither of them trusted Hua, they had no choice but to accept her terms. They were not ready to lower their guard though.

"Do you think she has some scheme in mind, brother?" Harald asked.

Yuan sighed. "I've got no idea..."

It was at that moment that Hua arrived, accompanied by Jianhong and three swordsmen. She gave a stern look at Jianhong and said, "Make sure that everything goes according to plan. You personally shall be responsible for any failure; and, as you know, I don't take failure well."

Jianhong bowed before his Sect leader and said, "Yes, Mistress! I shall do my best."

"Good."

Hua then turned to Yuan and Harald. She smiled to Yuan and asked, "Shall we get going?"

Yuan forced a smile. "Yes. Let's get going."

"How are we going to reach Mount Kunlun?" Harald asked. "The Orthodox Sects, the Demonic Cult and the Imperial government will be going after us."

"We shall be going to Mount Kunlun through the Western route," Hua replied.

"The Western route?!" both Yuan and Harald exclaimed in unison.

"Yes. Do you really expect me to fight off all your enemies? The West is outside of Imperial control and I do not think your enemies will be crazy enough to follow us there."

The Western route was the most dangerous way for someone in the south to get to the north. Even the most desperate fugitives would think twice before going through that route. One would have to go through the Great Forest with its dangerous bandits, the barren Desert of Death and the frozen plains of the Kingdom of Swagen. To Yuan, following this route sounded like a sure way to commit suicide.

"The people who have survived a journey through the Western route can be counted on my one hand," Yuan said. "We will have to face all sorts of bandits and extreme weather."

"It would still be easier to go through that route than facing all your enemies. Almost everyone in the Martial Arts World is after you. Of course, if you are too afraid, we can always stay here and not get the medallion to Mount Kunlun."

Yuan sighed. He resignedly nodded in agreement. The fate of the entire world depended on Elder Rong getting hold of that medallion. He couldn't give up.

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Xiao's hands trembled. He walked up and down in the hall. His eyes twitched. He breathed fast. He felt dizzy. He needed to drink wine; the urge was getting stronger. An inner voice in his head was urging him to go grab a drink and not give a damn about the consequences. He clenched his fists. 'I can let go of wine...' he thought, trying to convince himself that he could put behind his addiction. He slapped himself. 'I can do this! I will not disappoint my Teacher.'

He had never thought that letting go of wine would be so difficult. Only now did he realize the depth of his fall and how addicted he had become. Feelings of self-pity flooded him. He, once a carefree swordsman, had become a depressed drunkard, unable to let go of drinking for even just a few days. Xiao would love to be able to blame something or someone else; his bad luck, the unfairness of life, the death of his friend. But deep inside him, he knew that he had no one else to blame but himself. This realization hurt him the most. It was like a dagger stabbing his heart; he had to accept how flawed he was, how irresponsible he had become, how he had let his emotions get the best of him.

'I am a failure...' he thought. Giving up and accepting his fate began to seem like the most realistic option to Xiao. He could not fight his urges anymore, he could not discipline himself. As he was about to leave the hall and go grab a drink, Master Yi walked into the room. He was accompanied by a teenage boy; he looked as if he was fifteen or sixteen. He was slim and tall for his age but his face had boyish features. He had short black hair. He was wearing a long blue gown.

"Teacher!" Xiao said as he respectfully greeted his Master.

"Xiao," Yi said, "I see that you have not disappointed me."

Xiao forced a smile. In fact, he had failed to discipline himself and had just given up on his efforts to quit drinking. Not wanting to disappoint his teacher, Xiao lied to him. "It is difficult but I believe I can make it."

Yi smiled and nodded in approval. He could tell that his disciple wasn't completely honest but he had indeed made an effort to quit drinking, so Yi did not pursue that matter further. Instead, he presented the teenage boy. "He is Ya Yun. He is a new disciple of Mount Kunlun."

"Greetings!" the boy said as he respectfully bowed before Xiao.

"Yes...?" Xiao had no idea why his teacher would bring that boy to him.

"He will be under your care," Yi said. "You will be his teacher."

"Me?!" Xiao asked. "Teacher, you cannot be serious about this. I am not ready for such a responsibility yet. I have my own problems and I am not among the best disciples of Mount Kunlun."

"I know you have your own problems; that's why Yun will be your disciple. I understood that if I want you to become a more responsible and mature person, I need to give you responsibilities."

Xiao sighed. He could not discipline himself; how could he hope to discipline someone else? His skills with the sword were not bad; in fact, he was among the four best disciples of Mount Kunlun. Yet he had no idea whatsoever on how to teach those skills to someone else. Suddenly he felt burdened. Now, his actions would not just affect himself but also Yun. While he may have been willing to give up and accept that he was a failure before, now that he was responsible for this boy he knew that he could not give up just yet.

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The midday sun shone brightly on the sky. Yuan, Harald and Hua were walking on a dusty dirt road. They had been on the road for hours; they had decided that they would rest only after reaching the Great Forest. As they walked forward, they could see on the horizon a lone figure clad in black. As they approached, they saw that this figure was an old woman. She was dressed in a long black gown and cape. A dark hood covered most of her face. From what Yuan could see, her face was wrinkled and her hair white. Her eyes were red and puffy. She looked frail and she walked with the help of a cane.

"You have arrived!" she said with a stern voice. "Good. I have been expecting you."

"You are...?" Yuan asked.

"Once I was known as the Lady of Darkness... now my name is Aaren..." the woman replied. "I felt the medallion's presence. I know you have the Flaming Medallion."

"I have no medallion."

Aaren smirked. "I can sense it's aura. It is indeed a powerful object. You cannot lie to me."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Suddenly, Hua unsheathed her sword and charged at Aaren. The old woman simply waved her hand and created a shield of internal energy around her, which parried the attack. She sighed. "Youth these days... so impatient!"

Harald roared and slashed his axe at Aaren but she once again waved her hand, sending an invincible wave of internal energy at him. Harald abruptly felt as if a hammer had hit him; he was sent flying down the road, falling on the ground and rolling until his head hit a rock. His head began bleeding and he felt dizzy. With a swift move, he ripped part of his clothing and quickly bandaged his wound.

"Is that all you've got?" Aaren asked.

Hua smiled. "You are good; but not as good as me!"

Hua pointed again her sword at the old woman and thrust it towards her. Aaren didn't even move her feet. Her cane flickered and hit Hua's shoulder. She cried out and let go of her sword.

Yuan could see that this old woman was more powerful than even Elder Rong. He was sure that her cultivation was at least at Level 5 of Power Formation. Yet, he could not let her have the medallion. He unsheathed his sword and channeled his internal energy into it. He then slashed at her with all his prowess. As Yuan charged at the old woman, Hua quickly grabbed her sword and slashed at her too. Harald, holding his axe in his hands, attacked again despite his injury. Finding herself under attack from all sides, Aaren once again used her internal energy to create a shield around her but this time her shield was broken. Finding herself vulnerable, she skipped nimbly around Yuan, dodged Harald's axe and parried with her cane Hua's sword.

Aaren channeled her internal energy into a lightning bolt and threw it at Yuan. He leaped backward and downward, dodging the bolt which passed right above him. Yuan then lunged forward, aiming at Aaren's chest. She smiled and waved her hand, sending a wave of internal energy at the young hero. He was violently pushed back and fell to the ground. As he inhaled the dust, he coughed.

"Do you want to listen to me or do you need me to beat you more?", Aaren asked. "I can do this all day long."

Yuan, Hua and Harald had to admit that they could not beat this old woman. All three of them were surprised by her prowess. She looked so frail, so weak, so vulnerable and yet she turned out to be the most powerful of all. Yuan was the one who was the most terrified. He had been in Mount Kunlun for more than five years during his previous life and he had seen many powerful immortals, including Elder Rong, Grandmaster of Mount Kunlun and the most revered among the Orthodox Sect leaders. Yet, even Elder Rong's skills were inferior to those of Aaren.

"What do you want?" Yuan asked.

"I just want to make sure, for my own reasons, that the medallion gets safely to Mount Kunlun," Aaren replied as she took a deep breath. "That is what you want too; am I correct?"

"You are..."

"Good. I will be coming with you on your journey to Mount Kunlun. I also want you to promise me to do me three favors."

"Or what?!" Hua interrupted.

"I am not talking to you!" Aaren barked. "I am talking to your friend, so do not talk!" Aaren sent an energy wave at Hua, hitting her hard. She fell to her knees and vomited some blood. "If you interrupt us again, I will kill you!"

"What favors?" Yuan asked.

"The first favor is for you to accept me as your teacher. As for the other two, I will tell you when the time is right."

"I already have a teacher!" Yuan protested. Although Elder Rong was his teacher when he was still Yang Jing, he still considered himself to be his disciple. He could not betray his teacher's trust.

"You do not have much of a choice, do you?"

"I would rather die!"

"So you would rather doom the entire world to destruction? Are you that selfish? So much for being righteous... You put your own 'principles' above the well being of the world. Such a hypocrite!"

Yuan sighed. The old lady was right. If he did not get the medallion to Mount Kunlun, the fate of the entire world would hinge in the balance. Although he did not want to betray his principles, he had to do so for the greater good.

"Fine..." he said and let out a deep breath. He kowtowed thrice before the old woman.

Aaren smirked. "Good, my disciple."

Yuan stood silent for a moment. "Why? Why me?"

"Because you are special. I can sense your destiny. I can tell that you have the potential for greatness."

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Yao and the other disciples of Mount Kunlun sent to hunt down Cheng Yuan were walking in the grassland. The flat grass was simmering under the wind. As they walked forward, they found the field littered with dead bodies. Some of the corpses had begun decomposing. Black crows were feeding themselves with the flesh of the dead. Although all of the disciples chosen for this mission were experienced, some who had not before seen carnage on such scale puked. Yao's face turned ashen white. "What happened...?" he asked himself.

As he approached the bodies, he could see that some of them were Imperial soldiers, some were disciples of Ma Sect and some others were clad in black. "This must be the party sent by the Ma Sect to hunt down Cheng Yuan..." he noted. "Yuan and his goons must be the ones who massacred them. We must find him and bring him to justice!"

"Where will we find him?" one of the disciples asked.

"He shouldn't be too far away. We should split up and go in different directions," Yao replied.

He then assigned the Kunlun disciples into five groups. He made sure that each group was made up of disciples who knew each other so that they would be more cohesive. He then talked to them, explaining them their mission. "Your mission is to find Cheng Yuan, not to face him by yourselves. If you find him, do not attack him. You should notify the other groups through pigeon messengers and simply stalk him until we are all together. I repeat; do not be reckless. That man is dangerous. Just look at all those dead bodies and remember that this will be your fate if you act without thinking. I am responsible for all of you, so do not disappoint me by getting yourselves killed."

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The sun sank lower in the sky, the light of the day draining away, giving way to the velvety dark of night. Yuan, Harald, Hua and Aaren could see before them the Great Forest. The Great Forest was one of the most dangerous regions of the Jia Dynasty. Even though it was nominally under Imperial rule, in reality, it was controlled by bandits. The geography of the area meant that the bandits could easily set up ambushes and massacre Imperial soldiers, so the central government did not even bother trying to restore its control over the area. As such, only very few people dared to travel through that forest. The few who did were either skilled swordsmen or rich enough to hire powerful bodyguards.

"Ah... the Great Forest!" Aaren said. "It has been ages since I've last been here."

Hua humphed. "We do not have time to listen to stories about your old days..."

Aaren smiled. "Well, you are right about that. So let's get going."

The party entered the forest. They were surrounded by thick trees and plants. They followed a narrow path, which was made uneven by the knotted roots that crossed it, branched at intervals. As they walked deeper into the forest, only the faintest of light shone through the leaves.

"It is getting dark," Harald said. "I say that we rest here for the night."

"The Swagen warrior is right," Aaren remarked. "But one of us should stay awake. This place is filled with bandits."

"I will!" Yuan said.

"Good."

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Yuan was lying on the ground, looking at the leaves of the towering trees and the starless, night sky. The others were sleeping, so he was all alone. His face showed no visible emotions, but inside his mind, he was thinking about all sorts of things. Ever since he had been reincarnated, he did not have a chance to sit down and seriously think about how his life had changed. Events were happening in rapid succession. With so much happening it was hard for Yuan to focus on himself. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise because as long as Yuan was preoccupied with other things, he did think about how his life had turned upside down. While having a second chance and escaping death was something to be happy about, his loss of his identity wasn't. He had lost his name, his identity as a disciple of Mount Kunlun, his friend. He was no longer the descendant of the famous and proud patriotic Yang warriors. Now, he was someone despicable. Yuan found it hard to reconcile his consciousness with the crimes that the old Yuan had committed. While he wasn't the one who had committed those crimes, he was Yuan now and so he felt a moral responsibility to all those he had harmed. But the worst part was that he was confused about who he really was; was he Yang Jing or Cheng Yuan? He knew that he wasn't Yang Jing anymore but while he had assumed the name and body of Cheng Yuan, he still did not feel like this was his true identity. He still remembered the oath he gave before the memorial tablets of his ancestors to seek justice for his clan. He still remembered his father, Yang Wanli, the proud pillar of the Jia Dynasty. He still remembered his teacher, Elder Rong. This despaired him the most. All those feelings he had been ignoring for so long came pouring out. Yuan clenched his teeth and fists. He tried hard to hold back his tears.

Slowly, he released his breath through clenched teeth and sighed.

"Having a hard night?"

Yuan turned around and saw that it was Hua speaking to him. "Maybe..."

She smiled. "I don't really care about you but I am bored and cannot sleep, so do tell me what is troubling you."

Yuan laughed. "You sure have a way with people..."

"I certainly do!"

"Have you ever felt a loss of identity? Of not knowing who you are?"

"I can't say that I have."

"Well, that is what happened to me. I feel that I lack an identity."

"You are overthinking things," Hua replied. "You dwell too much on abstract philosophical questions and miss the present. It is your actions now that define you. If you do nothing and think only about your past and future, then you will truly have no identity."

Yuan smiled. "You are right. I've been thinking too much. I need to focus on the present."