~~~

As far as he can remember, Liu Jin has always lived in Eastern Port City.

Despite that, the port has never been a place frequented by Liu Jin. His house is located near the outer parts of the city, close to the city gates. It is about as far away from the port as possible while still being within the city limits. The promise of seeing the ocean has brought Liu Jin’s steps to the port once or twice. However, most days he simply does not have the time for it. Between helping with the clinic, his duties with the Xiao Sect, and learning under his master, Liu Jin does not have much time to call his own.

Besides, there is not much to see in the port. The city may be named after it, but Eastern Port City’s port is not an important place. Not much happens there, and this day is no different.

With slow but steady steps, Liu Jin approaches the port. There are not many ships, and there are not many people. Liu Jin does not know it, but this is the average amount of activity the port sees. Because the port is rather empty, it does not take long for Liu Jin to spot his master waiting for him at the pier.

As Liu Jin makes his way to him, Old Jiang does not look back even once. Still, Liu Jin does not doubt for a second that his master already knows he is there.

“So you made your way here,” Old Jiang says. There is something deeply melancholic in his voice.

“I have, master.”

“The poison is still in your body,” Old Jiang notes.

“It is, master.”

“The pendant around your neck will stop you from poisoning others, but you must be extremely careful. A moment of careless could have dire consequences.”

“I will do my best to be careful, master.”

“You will remain this way for three years. Surely, you understand this?”

“I do, master.”

“You may have managed to keep the venom under control, but the strain from isolating it will severely hamper your cultivation. I would not be surprised if you remain in the first level of the Inner Realm for three years.”

“I… had guessed something like that would happen, master.”

“Even so, you still call me master?”

“I do, master.”

Old Jiang shakes his head and sighs. “You are entirely too much like your father at times. After what you experienced, even a brave man would be allowed to run away.”

“I know master did not mean that as a compliment, but that is the highest praise anyone has ever given me,” Liu Jin says. His cheeks have gone bright red.

“Entirely too similar,” Old Jiang whispers in a voice Liu Jin barely hears.

“Do you know why this port is so small even though the city is named after it?” Old Jiang asks. The change in topic is so sudden Liu Jin is left blinking.

“I do not know, master,” Liu Jin says. More importantly, he has never once thought of it as strange. As far as Liu Jin is concerned, that is the way it has always been. Thus, there is no reason to wonder about it.

Old Jiang clicks his tongue. “Oh, foolish disciple of mine, if you want to be a doctor even half as good as me, you cannot be so accepting of everything. Someone who accepts everything as it is will never be extraordinary.”

Liu Jin takes the rebuke with a nod.

“Tell me, what do you know of the world beyond this city?”

Liu Jin gives the question careful thought before answering.

“Nowhere near as much as I should, master,” he replies. Liu Jin knows the names of many neighboring cities as well as the names of most major cities within the Crimson Cloud Empire. He also knows the names of the bordering countries. However, his ignorance has been made all too clear to him lately.

Old Jiang nods approvingly.

“Good answer,” he says. “This Crimson Cloud Empire is just one of many countries in the Vermillion Continent. However, there are other continents in this world. Far beyond this coast, you can find the Amaranth Continent. North from there is the Carmine Continent.”

Other continents. Liu Jin believes his master instantly. It is evident in hindsight, yet it shocks him that he never once wondered about such things.

Just how long has Liu Jin allowed the city walls to narrow his perspective?

“Once upon a time, travel between the three continents was common. Ports like this one saw a great deal of activity. Ships brought passengers and merchandise across the ocean. I am certain this city was once a great trading hub.” Old Jiang’s gaze drifts across the port. “I will not say it was a peaceful time, but it was certainly better than what followed.”

Liu Jin tilts his head to the side. “What followed?”

“War,” his master replies. “A great war the likes of which has not been seen since. It lasted for many years, more than you can even imagine. Kingdoms rose and fell. Great Clans and Sects slaughtered each other. Cities burned to the ground. Great empires crumbled. It was a time of great upheaval. Even Gods fell.”

The words make something click in Liu Jin’s mind. “Nine-Headed Snake God,” he mutters.

“Yes, I have no doubt he took part in the war. He fought, and he was killed. Poison Fang Canyon mostly likely formed due to his death.”

“You said it earlier,” Liu Jin says, thinking carefully about what happened in the cave. “Master, you said he was already dead, but how can that be? We saw him. I felt his power as surely as I feel the earth beneath my feet right now.”

“What we saw was a shade, nothing more than an echo formed upon his death. The real one died generations before you were born,” Old Jiang explains. “Gods are that type of existence.”

It is ridiculous. It is so ridiculous Liu Jin wants to laugh. A shade? An echo? There is no way. There is no way something so great is no more than a mere echo of the real thing! The poison that even now flows through his body cannot possibly come from something like that.

Yet…Liu Jin cannot dismiss his master’s words. Something tells him they are the purest truth. It is enough to make him feel pathetically small all over again.

Just how big is the world?

“Nine-Headed Snake God is just one of many who fell. There are countless shades of countless Gods scattered over the three continents. Can you even imagine it, disciple? The type of war it would take to kill something like that,” Old Jiang asks, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

Liu Jin tries to imagine it. He pictures Nine-Headed Snake God in his mind, then tries to picture something that could bring him down.

He can’t.

“I cannot, master,” admits Liu Jin. “As I am, that type of thing is beyond me.”

“That is only natural. Even back then, it was not something people ever expected to witness,” Old Jiang says with a distant look on his face. “The war raged on. The earth quaked. The heavens trembled. With each passing day, something started to become all too clear. Our Vermillion continent was going to lose.”

Old Jiang pauses for a moment as if to gather his thoughts. “The Amaranth continent and the Carmine continent had joined forces, or rather, Amaranth had conquered Carmine and absorbed its forces. Our defeat was inevitable. There was only one thing that could be done. The strongest 108 cultivators of the time gathered together. By sacrificing themselves, they managed to erect a powerful barrier around the entire continent, sealing it off from the rest of the world thus protecting it from any invader.”

Old Jiang says it like it is no big deal. However, the sheer enormity of what he describes leaves Liu Jin gaping. “Is such a thing even possible, master?”

"We would not be having this conversation otherwise. However, there was a downside to it. Due to the barrier, this land has become forever isolated from the rest of the world. Ports like this one lost their relevance. Of course, not many cared about such things back then. What remained of the population focused their efforts on rebuilding. The strongest were all gone. It was up to those who remained to fill the void left by them. Factions like this city’s Yun and Xiao Sects would have never risen to prominence otherwise.”

Old Jiang finishes his story, but Liu Jin stays silent. There is nothing he can think of saying. When Liu Jin left for the port, he was not expecting a history lesson of this magnitude. Liu Jin will admit he was curious as to the nature of Nine-Headed Snake God, but this type of answer surpasses all his expectations.

“What was it about?” Liu Jin asks, at last managing to find words. “The war. Just what caused it, master?”

Old Jiang does not react outwardly, but Liu Jin can see an approving glint in his eyes. “Disciple of mine, what do you know of demons?”

Liu Jin opens his mouth.

“Before you say anything, let me make something clear to you,” Old Jiang adds. “I am not referring to Spirit Beasts. Spirit Beasts are creatures capable of cultivating Qi because they are born with cores. Some of them can be extremely intelligent. Among those, some can even take human form though it is extremely rare. However, I am not referring to those creatures.”

Liu Jin closes his mouth.

“Spirit Beasts are not the only creatures besides humans capable of cultivation. Any organism can harvest Qi as long as certain conditions are met. After being exposed to moonlight and sunlight and the Qi flowing through the planet for a hundred years, even a plant can gain the ability to gather Qi. Of those, only one in a million will gain enough sentience to properly cultivate. Out of that small group, only one in a million will become smart and powerful enough to take humanoid form, and fewer still will be able to take a proper human form. The result of that process is what we call a demon.”

“That sounds…” Liu Jin pauses, trying to pick the right word, “arduous.”

Old Jiang snorts.

“You have a gift for understatement. However, you are right. Becoming a demon is a difficult process. I am willing to bet the number of demons born in this continent since the war finished is no larger than twelve. A few of those have probably gotten themselves killed already. It is hard for demons to exist.”

Old Jiang sighs.

“However, it is a different thing if we are talking about the offspring of a demon. The offspring of a demon will have an easier time clearing the requirements, to say nothing of the aid it will receive from its parents. Like that, it becomes possible for demon societies to be born. Additionally, a newborn demon has as much power as a cultivator in the Earth Realm.”

Liu Jin’s eyes go wide. “That much?”

While there are people in the Earth Realm and above in Eastern Port City, their numbers are almost exclusively found in the Yun and Xiao Sects. As far as Liu Jin knows, most cultivators do not reach that level. For demons to start there… Forget about crawling and walking. It is like a baby being able to fly the moment it leaves the womb.

“Becoming a demon is hard, but those who make it through the process are well-rewarded. Amaranth was home to many demon clans. Unsurprisingly, demons became the dominant species of the land. Meanwhile, our continent was almost exclusively the domain of humans.”

“What of the third continent?” Liu Jin asks.

“Carmine was home to humans and demons,” Old Jiang replies. “Neither species had managed to gain dominance there, but that would change with the war. In a way, that was what started it all. You must understand humans and demons never got along. Humans feared the innate power of demons. Demons feared our overwhelming advantage in numbers. With certain exceptions, the relationship between humans and demons was never what you could call great. Things were cordial enough for trade and treaties to be made between the two species, but there was always tension underneath it all. Human Sects and Clans are always at odds with each other at the best of times. The situation between Human Sects and Clans and Demon Sects and Clans was even worse. Carmine was a hotbed of tension as a result. The war was inevitable when you think about it. Well, that is not important right now.”

His master is right, Liu Jin realizes. He had allowed the greatness of the story to distract him, but the details of this great war are not what he came here to ask about. The thing Liu Jin wants to know most right now is…

“Master, this disciple appreciates your knowledge, but… is what Nine-Headed Snake God said about your condition true?” Liu Jin asks nervously.

Is his master really going to die?

To Liu Jin’s surprise, his master laughs.

“Yes,” Old Jiang says with a smile on his face. “I will die. I am dying even as we speak.”

“B-but I… and father…”

“You saved my life the day we met. That is true. Your father’s treatment has helped stabilize my condition. That is also true. However, the sickness that rots away my soul is not something that can be healed. If it were so simple, I would have already done it. No, disciple. There is no mistake. I will die, and when I do, not even my soul will remain.”

“Why?”

It is the only thing Liu Jin can say. At that moment, Liu Jin looks very much like the small child that he is.

“Oh, there are so many reasons,” Old Jiang says. His smile is entirely too satisfied to belong to someone dying. “This should go without saying, but I am the greatest doctor in this continent by far. In fact, I am the greatest doctor in any continent.”

Liu Jin instantly believes him.

“For me, turning a talentless idiot into someone who can defeat a once in a generation prodigy is a simple matter.” There is not even a hint of boast in those words. There is no pride, just a statement of fact. “Do you remember how I helped your cultivation a little over a year ago?”

The memory flashes through Liu Jin’s mind. “You modified my meridians.”

“And by doing so, I accelerated your cultivation by 30%,” Old Jiang explains, raising a single finger. “Had I wanted to, I could have improved your cultivation speed tenfold. I refrained from doing so because it would have attracted too much attention. With the proper ingredients, I could have increased your cultivation speed even more. By now, you would be the strongest of your generation by far. Do you understand, disciple? That is something I can do for anyone. Can you even grasp how precious this knowledge that will one day be yours is? Do you know how many people have died trying to curry my favor?”

Liu Jin says nothing. There is nothing he can say to that. It merely reinforces how great his master is, and how amazing his father is for once upon a time being his disciple.

“My abilities and knowledge earned me quite a bit of fame,” Old Jiang continues in a melancholic tone. “Emperors bowed before me just so I would raise them strong cultivators. However, with fame comes envy. Many were jealous of my skills. Many sought to steal my secrets. They failed. Many sought to kill me. They failed too.”

It happens in an instant. His master’s expression changes into something so horrifying Liu Jin freezes on the spot. Then it is gone. The moment passes by so quickly, Liu Jin is not sure if he really saw it.

“One day, they did not fail,” his master continues. “I was beaten and poisoned, quite lethally at that. I lost much of my power and was forced to flee before my enemies could kill me. Even now, some of them are probably still looking for me.”

Liu Jin opens his mouth to speak. Old Jiang is once again one step ahead of him.

“Do not waste your time thinking that finding a cure is possible, disciple. It is too late for me. The moment I chose to live in this city was the moment I accepted my death as inevitable.”

“Master?”

“Back then, there were two paths before me. I could use my remaining years searching for a cure that may not exist, or I could find a disciple worthy of my teachings.” Old Jiang snorts. “The second option seemed nothing more than a pipe dream to me, but then I met you, the son of my biggest regret. The Heavens truly had a laugh at me. On that day, I decided to pass on to you all I knew. Everything that made me great. Everything that made me feared and hated. My soul will fade away into nothingness, but you will remain in this world.”

Old Jiang turns to look at Liu Jin. His face is as serious as Liu Jin has ever seen it.

“If that is what you wish, of course. You understand suffering and pain now. You understand the smallness of your existence. I will ask you this one last time. Knowing what you now know, do you still wish to take on the burden I offer?”

It is only now, after hearing everything his master had to say, that Liu Jin truly understands the enormity of what he is being entrusted with.

There is only one possible answer.

“I am honored to be your disciple, master. Teach me as you see fit!”

~~~