Lin-Lin was beginning to feel strange about the whole situation. It was clear that Zhang He had designs on her. Although she never reciprocated her feelings, she still did consent to being taken on various dates across the City, to places she would never forget, but she was unable to love Zhang He.

She could love, but Zhang He wasn’t someone that she could. Aside from his philandering personality, she was more devoted to her father than Zhang He. She knew that the moment she consented to being bound to him, she would never have the right to leave Lao Chen’s side again, and it wasn’t an intimidating thought at all. In fact, she relished the opportunity.

She knew that her and Zhang He wouldn’t love each other, but at the end of the day, he had things she wanted, such as access to the deepest library levels of the Blood Dragon Sect, a place which he agreed to take her after the Second Round concluded with his one-sided battle against some “no-name country hick” as he would have put it.

On the top of a ladder, she sat and read an alchemist tome. At this point, she had learned about several dozen different Essence Flames and how to command them.

An Essence Flame was the most important part of Alchemy because after hacking and dicing and crushing the ingredients, the impurities of Earth needed to be burned out, and only an Essence Flame could burn these impurities.

Everyone’s Essence Flame was different, but their power depended on three factors. Understanding of a certain Dao, as the alchemist’s chosen Dao reflects largely on what kind of Flame it would become. The second factor was level of cultivation, obviously enough, as the Essence Flame depended on Qi output.

The third, and final factor was Qi purity.

What was Qi purity? Although she was sure that she was never born with any impurities, she still wanted to know what they were. Purity was the complete absence of impurities, but what where they? Undesirable black lumps existing within the body, only to be dispersed the higher one’s cultivation reaches?

After reading multiple tomes on the subject, she understood that Qi was Heaven, all else was Earth. Heaven is divine and pure. Earth is degraded and impure. Humans are children of Earth and are born with the qualities of Earth; impure and degraded beings destined to suffer. Qi was Heaven’s relief, but even it couldn’t truly erase all the impurities Earth’s children were created with, because while a body could be purified, the soul was a fixed construct of Heaven and Earth. At the very least, that’s the popular consensus.

Quite opposite most beginner alchemists, her issues didn’t lie with the second or third factor. She was a Core Formation Expert with no way forward (unless she created her own Nascent Soul, an idea she liked to play with) that drew strength directly from her father who just broke into the realm of Dao Seeking. Her cultivation base had plenty of Qi to draw from, and she was not a creature of Earth, as her father had created her as a Heavenly being made of pure Qi.

The Dao was the only thing that was lost on her. Her father sought the Dao of Dreams, but she wasn’t sure on what hers would be. By his own admission, his father was a dreamer and that was where his passions lay.

All she needed was to find her Dao, meditate on what she wanted her Essence Flame to burn and she would become an Alchemist, capable of creating the most fragrant of pills.

Ah, wouldn’t that be a beauty to behold?

“Do you do anything that can’t be considered boring?” An androgynous voice called out to her, causing her to furrow her eyebrows in annoyance.

On top of the shelf, right above her sat a dark-haired young boy dressed in nothing memorable, smiling deceptively.

“What’s your issue?” she asked.

“Oooh, a feisty one,” he replied. “Just wondering why you aren’t fighting in the Gala is all. You do realize we need as many young talents as possible.”

“I’ve got no talent, stranger. I know my own limits,” she replied as she diverted her eyes back to her book.

“See, now that’s a lie,” The voice came from below her now. There was no one at the top of the book shelf. The youth was leaning on the ladder. “I can show you why that’s a lie.”

With a flick of his finger, the ladder rocked to the side and toppled along with her. She stopped herself from flying just in the nick of time, letting herself fall and hit the ground gracelessly. Luckily, the blue dress that she wore was made from the silk of a magical beast, so it did not suffer any damage.

Getting up on her feet, she glared at the youth. “Why is that a lie?”

“Because you’re still standing, princess,” the youth cackled. “Now, tell me. Your brother’s out fightin’ the good fight while you’re out and about leading on young masters. Between the End of the World and the Azure Empire knocking on our door, we’ve got a lot on our hands. Don’t you feel at all guilty for slacking?”

“I wasn’t aware that the Dragon Flight Gala was to occur until after the fact,” she admitted truthfully. “And unlike my brother, I had neither the thick skin nor the inclination to jump right into the arena, and I do believe the age limit for entering is sixteen, is it not?”

The youth raised an eyebrow, stupefied at her words. “Wait… You ain’t sixteen?”

“I’m not answering your questions any longer. Now, I’d love if you could tell me why you know all this. Begin with your name, intruder.”

With a bright smile, he began his introduction. “Name’s Wang Chun. Just a fan boy wanting to take a closer look at my prize horse’s family. Now, how old are you actually?”

“I’m not sixteen or older. That’s all you need to know. Now, begone,” with a wave of ill intent, Wang Chun hopped backwards several dozen meters, all the way until the end of the aisle.

“Dao Seeking?” Wang Chun whispered under his breath. “An empty Dao?”

With a neutral expression, Wang Chun hopped forward again, towards her, this time much more carefully.

“What does this city have for a Dao Seeker like you to desire?” He asked.

“You still ask questions, Wang Chun?” she frowned.

With a hesitant sigh, Wang Chun stuck out his tongue downwards, flattening it so a marking could be visible.

A “玉” mark within a coiled dragon was tattooed on his tongue in luminescent green the colour of green jade. The symbol for Jade.

“Servant of the Emperor greets Dao Seeker,” he said, clasping his hands in a salute. “I ask questions on the behalf of The One Under Heaven.”

Lin-Lin sighed. “Have we done anything to provoke the Emperor?”

“Not as of yet,” Wang Chun admitted. “Now, if you would answer.”

“We’re out on an adventure. Gold Stone City simply caught our eyes first.”

“Is your allegiance to the Emperor?” Wang Chun asked.

“Define allegiance,” she narrowed her eyes.

“Are you willing to kill for him, or die if it comes to that?”

“Then, no.” She responded swiftly. “It is not.”

Wang Chun sighed. “B-but… you are not willing to act against the Emperor, right?”

“Depends. As of now, no,” Lin-Lin responded truthfully.

Wang Chun swallowed. “Thank you for your time, Dao Seeker. Now… if you mind me asking; how old are you really?”

“Go.”

Wang Chun did.

--

There was nothing normal about this situation at all for the Inquisitor.

Wang Chun was not very certain of anything at the moment. On one hand , he had assured himself that their new guests were residents of the empire, but on the other, they were being led by a Dao Seeker that wasn’t even sixteen yet who explicitly stated that she could go go against The One Under Heaven if wronged.

The worst part of it all? Dao Seeking. There are less than ten Dao Seekers Empire-wide, and if she decided to fight the Empire, or worse… if the Emperor, in his hubris decided to subjugate her, that could cost the life of one of their Dao Seekers.

The Azure Empire had nine Dao Seekers, too, each enough to match up against the Jade Empire’s. If one was wounded or deceased, the scales would tip drastically.

The damn Blood Dragon Patriarch had been a half step into Dao Seeking for two goddamn centuries and by now, his eventual rise didn’t look that much imminent these days.

This Lao Lin wasn’t normal. Despite having an empty Dao, she was still too powerful and had way too much potential. How could someone below the age of twenty be a Dao Seeker? Moreover, how can anyone below twenty be anything above Foundation Establishment? Even a person with a single Dao Pillar at the age of fifteen would be lauded as a peerless genius in their age group.

Was… was she even human?

Wang Chun looked at the seal on the palm of his hand. An eye with the symbol of Yin and Yang on its iris opened itself up upon his query. The Truth-Teller’s Eye.

Lao Lin did not lie about anything aside from her immense talent. That much he knew. Neither did Wu Shan. If they really did come from a village within the empire that could hide away such potential, either the Empire had encountered a landmine of opportunity or they had become unfortunate enough to suffer a rebellion.

Lao Lin and Wu Shan had been questioned, and the only one that remained was the old man, the third person that was brought along into Gold Stone City. Although Wang Chun knew that he was most likely just a manservant mortal or a cultivator nearing the end of his longevity, he could receive valuable answers on this elusive village.

Wang Chun was ready to lie about its existence to The One Under Heaven if it meant that nobody would get hurt. This village was bad news. All he needed was a definitive. While the ‘As of now, no’ comment was a smidgeon reassuring, it wasn’t enough for him. Although Lao Lin held the final say, she could be bluffing. Her manservant would be able to tell him the truth he required. Whether this village was a rebellion waiting to happen.

Even if it was, Lao Lin’s flippant admission regarding its existence was anything but strategic. She should know that he would be on their tail, now, if she were to say that. Perhaps she was seeking to double bluff him into complacency. If there was a cause, they would make sure to keep it under wraps for as much as possible, and such a flimsy declaration of loyalty to the Empire was sure to blow up on their faces in the long run.

But it wasn’t Wang Chun’s choice to fall for a bluff. He was a Servant, and if there was even the hint of rebellion, he wouldn’t stop investigating.

He would have his answers, even if it meant kidnapping the old relic of a man.