Let tribulation fall upon those that deem themselves worthy, so that they may know the truth of it and become better still. And let those that fall know that they are not deserted. Never that. For every true child of the Archon may yet rise again. – The Path of Illumination 1:3

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Now that he’d resumed a normal schedule, the content of Verus’s lectures were usually interesting, but classes and homework weren’t his focus. He’d been given a task by his new master, so he spent most his time at an isolated training yard where he could experiment with his void ki in secret. He needed to figure out how to use it as a weapon. Unfortunately, it wasn’t immediately obvious how that could happen. Working with void ki filled Verus with frustration. Its nature did not lend itself to producing powerful explosions, tough shields, or even empowering the body. It was a soft and subtle power that required tight control and a high level of skill to use.

The Unseen Hand was still the most powerful void technique he could come up with. The ability to pull things toward himself and get a good grip on them was useful, but it certainly wasn’t flashy or powerful enough to defeat someone like Highcloud. It certainly wouldn’t stop lightning bolts.

Verus next idea was to tinker with his Vanishing Feather Step technique. By projecting some void ki in front of his body, he was able greatly decrease the wind drag on his body when he did high-speed movements. The void ki allowed him to slip right through the air and actually seemed to pull him forward a little. The problem was how much it complicated the technique. Vanishing Feather Step was already a complex move that required emitting a burst of ki into the ground while empowering his lower body to quicken his footwork, and that was without leaving an afterimage, which made it more complicated still. To make things even worse, it was difficult to use both void ki and human ki at the same time. Any combination of void ki and Vanishing Feather Step was thus impractical for use in a real fight where he couldn’t afford to fail or be distracted.

An idea for a completely new movement technique using nothing but void ki occurred to Verus, but it wasn’t something he would be able to use in a fight anytime soon. Different types of ki behaved very differently when you tried to cycle them, and he was still far better with human ki than void ki, so he decided to stick with the Vanishing Feather Step for now.

The other thing that Verus experimented with was the special ability of his core to suck up ki. He usually had to supress this ability so it didn’t drain the power from his body, but quickly figured out that he could selectively open some of his ki channels and use void ki to guide the suction effect. Thus, by opening specific channels and flooding their entire length with void ki, he could absorb ki from outside his body in a controlled if limited manner. His channels could only hold so much energy at a time and could be damaged. Thus, controlling a rush of foreign ki required concentration and wasn’t easy, with one exception. Both his arms contained unusually large channels that ran from his core all the way to his palms. Using them to absorb ki was much easier than any others, although it still had limits.

The reason for this was obvious thanks to the Soul Mark Tattoos around Verus’s wrist. Those two ki channels had been mutated during his ascension and now the tattoos were giving him the benefit of the mutation while restraining the actual the physical change. Verus shuddered as he imagined all the horrible ways his flesh could have mutated, but he couldn’t help but be curious. Without the tattoos, what would his arms look like? It was impossible to know. Would he have little mouths on his palms, or something even worse? Ugh.

Idly, Verus turned his palms up and activated the draining effect. The ki in the air was immediately pulled through the channels that led from his hands to his core, and once there, the energy was sucked into the orb of void essence at its center. Verus sighed despondently as he felt the ki vanish. Sucking up ki this way didn’t benefit him at all, so he quickly stopped. Instead of actually being absorbed into his core to strengthen his spirit, the ki was simply dumped into the eternal void, where it did him no good whatsoever. It would have been so amazing if he could have absorbed ki gathered this way into his core, but Verus’s luck had never been that good.

The time Verus had set aside to familiarize himself with his new void ki came to sudden and abrupt end after one week. A note was posted to the bulletin board informing all the outer disciples to be ready for a mustering the next morning. They were to be in their dorms and wearing their official green sect robes. Verus stared at the notice for a few moments before going to get his stuff ready. Thanks to his talks with Elder Caligo, he had a good idea of what this was about, the emissary and the tournament. Hopefully, some of his questions about the mysterious visitor from the capital would be answered tomorrow.

The next morning, an elder assembled all the outer disciples and took them to the large courtyard at the temple’s entrance. There, they were formed up into orderly ranks and joined by the inner disciples and quite a few elders. All together, almost a thousand cultivators in matching green and silver formal robes were assembled, and this was but a fraction of the Great Wind Sect’s true strength. As one of the four great sects, they had tens of thousand of members scattered across the world, and many ancient great elders lurking out of sight.

As Verus waited in line, surrounded by other disciples, an elder with a long white beard walked up in front of everyone and addressed them. It was Elder Chu, the master of discipline in charge of all the disciples. “Today, the emissary from Capitar as finally arrived. She and her retinue will be parading through the city, and all of you will be there to greet her and take a place in the proceedings. Do exactly as your ordered with the proper sincerity and enthusiasm, for you are representing the sect. Any improper conduct will be severely punished.”

The disciples were then given their instructions and dozens of elders split up to lead sections of disciples. Verus didn’t recognize the woman in charge of his group, so he just nodded along to everything she said. Soon, the ranks of green-clad cultivators were being marched out into city.

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The main streets of the city were packed with citizens and guardsman trying to control the incredible flow of people. It seemed everyone in the city and the surrounding land had turned out to witness the emissary’s arrival. Verus saw quite a few people in straw hats and simple linen that marked them as farmers. This was the sort of event that normal mortals could tell their grandchildren about.

The crowds blocked the streets ahead of the disciples, but a ripple of power from one of the elders at the head of the sect made everyone start hurrying to get out of their way. Taking advantage of this, the guardsman in scale armor soon had the citizens under control, so the sect continued forward.

They didn’t have to go all that far. The elders led the rest of the sect to a spot on the main street of the city and had them line up next to it. It was the widest road in the city and lined by impressive and well-kept buildings. White marble facades, decorative pillars, and colorful flags were common sights.

Unlike in other places, the guardsman had managed to keep the main street itself completely clear of pedestrians. Everyone had been herded onto the sidewalks so that there was room for the parade to come down.

The Great Wind Sect wasn’t the only group of cultivators present. As they lined up into orderly rows, a similar group was doing the same thing across the street from them. Dressed in red with hints of orange, the Crimson Lotus Sect was out in force. Orange banners fluttered as if in a strong breeze above their heads, carrying the image of a red lotus flower, although the air was still.

Glancing over his shoulder, Verus saw elders from his sect raising banners of their own. They were green with three curved white lines representing the wind on them.

Other sects were also gathering here. There was plenty of room because the main road ran straight from the front gate of the city to the imperial palace. Verus could see dozens of sects, including the other two great sects. Both the Deep Truth Sect in blue and the Unbroken Stone Sect in grey were present. Soon, the length of the main street was completely lined with cultivators in colorful robes for as far as Verus could see.

That was when the soldiers arrived. Dressed in golden scale armor, they marched down the road and split up to take up position in front of the sects, so that the entire road was lined with gleaming golden soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder. The sight took Verus’s breath away. The power gathered in this one place was inconceivable. Thousands upon thousands of cultivators. Enough to conquer an empire, and it was for a simple parade at the edge of nowhere. Truly, the power of Heavenly Empire was unmatched under all of heaven. Heady pride at being a part of it filled Verus. There was also something else building within him, devotion. He felt like a part of something bigger than himself.

From off in the distance, closer to the city gates, exuberant cheering was suddenly heard. As the seconds went by, it continued to grow closer and louder until it sounded like the entire city was cheering. Then, the lead element of the parade came into sight. It was a wedge of golden solider carrying white banners adorned with the Archon’s golden eye. They marched together in perfect unison. Behind them came hundreds more soldiers and a long formation of Lightbringers in their formal white robes. The priests held golden censors that gave off pure white smoke and their voices were raised in supplication to the heavens as they walked past.

At the same time, shadows fell across the ground as shapes flew by overhead, winging through the air. Glancing up, Verus recognized the outline of dozens of flying Seraphim. There were also larger creatures among the metallic beings. They were Soul Beasts of some kind, with the bodies of lions but with the wings and heads of eagles. Verus grinned excitedly as he studied their golden fur and white feathers. They were majestic.

The sound of music drew Verus’s attention downward again. The next part of the parade was a troupe of over two hundred musicians in red that played their myriad instruments in perfect harmony as they passed, and after them came a hundred leaping dancers in purple that spun and waved long purple streamers in tune to the music.

Just when Verus thought he couldn’t take any more, a formation of riders came into sight. Unlike the other groups, they wore no uniforms and rode horses instead of walking. Each carried a shield emblazoned with a different crest, for these were lords and ladies of the empire. They were dressed in the finest fashions and gleamed with wealth. Their finery and armor were many different colors to represent the heraldry of their ancient houses and bloodlines.

Verus watched the young lords and ladies with wide eyes, overwhelmed by what he was seeing, until he spotted the palanquin coming in behind them. It was surrounded by golden soldiers, but these ones wore heavier and fancier armor than any Verus had seen before, with tall elongated helms and stylized breastplates.

However, it wasn’t the soldiers that caught Verus’s eye. No, it was what they were escorting. Four huge shirtless men covered in orange and black striped fur were carrying the palanquin. Not only were they incredibly tall and muscled, but they had cat ears atop their heads and golden collars around their necks. Clearly, these were demi-human slaves, but Verus barely gave them a second glance as his eyes quickly moved to stare at the figures atop the palanquin. At the center of the platform was a throne, with four people around it. The two men wore black robes and iron masks that marked them as Archonite Inquisitors, while the young women were handmaidens in silk and veils.

Verus stared at the inquisitors for a moment. He’d never seen one before, but he’d heard many terrifying tales about them. They were ultimate enforcers of Archon’s creed and no one was safe from their wrath, not even great elders and governors. Even the inquisitors couldn’t keep his attention though, instead it was caught by the figure sitting on the throne. It was a young woman in a shimmering white dress with a silver circlet upon her brow. She was beautiful beyond compare, with long golden hair and startling blue eyes. Regally, she gazed down at the gathered crowds that had come to greet her as if it was simply her due.

Immediately upon laying eyes on her, Verus felt the power of devotion around him intensify. People began whispering about something, but he couldn’t pay attention to anyone but her. There was something about this woman that fascinated him completely. Even the Warrior buzzed along. She was the center of the world, it bent around her.

A sudden wave of power washed over the crowd and Verus felt it resonate through his core. Devotion ki. It sang through him like a hymn, lifting his spirits and focusing him. Its intent whispered to him, and he knew what he had to do. Unthinking, Verus stood up straight and opened his mouth at the same time as everyone else around him.

“We welcome the imperial princess! All heil the Heavenly Empire! May it prosper for eternity!” every nearby cultivator roared at the exact same time. The sound of their voices was like a tidal wave. It washed over the city and even the stone seemed to vibrate. However, the imperial princess upon the palanquin didn’t react at all. Her steely and regal gaze was unchanged.

Verus and everyone simply stared at her with open adoration as she passed them by and headed for the imperial palace.