A woman stood alone in the vast expanse of space, her solitary figure unmoved by Earth’s gravitational forces. At her feet lay the curvature of Planet Earth— its blue oceans, green landscapes and the whirling layer of misty clouds quite pleasant to the eye, much more so than the other barren, lifeless planets in this solar system.

Her skin was a light, milky white, almost glowing with radiance in the endless darkness of space. Her face was comparable to the prized work of a master sculptor— blemish less, angular and untouched by the weathering of time. The woman could be described as beautiful by some, but to most she would come across as eerie— for true beauty lies in imperfections, and the woman had none. Such perfection was not possible in the realm of mortals, and her expressionless, placid face betrayed not the slightest hint of emotions. Her eyes were obscured by a silver veil, but if one were to look past it they would see a black void full of endless stars, before their body, mind and soul burst into ethereal flames, burning bright like a supernova before fizzling out.

She wore a silver breastplate that was layered with multiple layers of imperceptible golden runes, the imprint of a dazzling silver bird etched onto the center, almost feeling lifelike. The rest of her body wore a matching set of armor, complete with platelegs, gauntlets and plated boots, all similarly etched with the protective runes but lacking an imprint of the bird. Thousands of small illusory stars orbited around her, some flickering out of existence, others exploded into supernovae, and then there were a few that were given life, a billion year process compressed into seconds.

Her hands moved with a practiced deftness, arbitrarily shifting the orbit of stars in rapid succession— sometimes her actions resulted in the birth of new stars, while other times entire clusters of stars exploded at the same time. Her expression slightly shifted, as a pitch black planet planet winked into existence in the midst of thousands of stars. She tried to shift its orbit, reaching out gingerly with a serious expression on her face.

The next instant all the other stars imploded in unison, bright supernovae engulfing her in a shower of light. A few seconds later, only the black planet lay unmolested, having devastated all life around it.

Empyrean Shal Xin sighed wistfully, but that was all the emotion she allowed herself— her expression once again reverting to stillness. She felt two tears in the void behind her, but she stood motionless.

A gruff, bearded man walked out, a large bronze hammer hoisted over his shoulder. He wore a heavy set of golden armor, violet flames wreathing across its surface every few seconds— repairing any damage the armor might have sustained in that brief time period. From the other portal a red haired man confidently stepped out, a broadsword almost as wide as himself casually slung over his shoulder— wearing black martial robes, any armor he wore concealed within.

“Fire Empyrean, Valik Shan. Empyrean Weaponsmith, Zanis Kai,” Shal Xin’s sonorous voice echoed out without even gazing back at her visitors, fully unconcerned of her safety.

“First,” Zanis Kai respectfully replied, a slight chill running up his spine. He really hated interacting with Shal Xin, like her master the woman was positively terrifying.

“Wisdom Empyrean,” Valik Shan replied with distaste, almost as if saying the words brought him physical pain.

“Why Valik, still dissatisfied with the rankings?” Shal Xin’s expression remained placid, but her tone aptly conveyed her mirth.

His sword ignited with white flames, the temperature around him so hot that the void itself started to melt and distort under the pressure.

“[Flames of Samsara]?” Shal Xin raised her eyebrows in slight surprise. “Congratulations, Valik,” She seemed genuinely pleased at his growth, smiling like a benevolent older sister.

“What are my chances?” Valik Shan’s brow was matted in sweat, his hands trembling from exertion as he focussed on maintaining the white flames.

“Hmm,” Shal Xin mused, as the planets once again started orbiting around her. She moved at a rapid speed, rearranging orbits with a flick of her finger until the vague outlines of a pattern was visible.

“Eight Percent,” she answered, causing Valik Shan’s face to twitch a few times before he reluctantly let the flames dissipate.

“Monster,” he muttered under his breath, and for once Shal Xin laughed, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

“Have you detected any interference?” Zanis Kai interjected, not really one to care about martial rankings. He was obviously ranked last, considering his specialization was weapon smithing and not fighting.

“That is a sublime set of armor, Zanis,” Shal Xin ignored his question, directing her appraising eye to the self-healing armor set.

Valik Shan snorted derisively. “Of course it is, he had the audacity to approach my father for assistance.”

“Patriarch Shan was more than happy to assist,” Zanis retorted calmly, his voice slightly smug. While only a fraction of power could be imbued in the armor due to the cultivation level difference, that alone was enough to render Zanis’ [Flames of Samsara] helpless. He was a weaponsmith— notions of honor and fairness held no sway over him.

“Enough,” Shal Xin raised her hands, an air of finality in her voice. Both the Empyreans bickered no further, they had been entrusted with an important task after all.

“Master is personally overseeing this trial. So far, there have been seven spies that managed to avoid the system’s detection and pass themselves as mortals, all equipped with powerful concealment and disguise artifacts,” Shal Xin explained, her tone grave.

“Valik Shan pays his respects to the Heavenly Venerate!”

“Zanis Kai pays his respects to the Heavenly Venerate!”

The mighty Empyreans bowed respectfully, even Valik Shan, not willing to show even the slightest disrespect to the Heavenly Venerate.

Both of them had the same question floating in their mind, but they dared not speak those words out loud— they had been overseeing the last fifty integrations, and Earth was located at the very edge of the three realms. Shal Xin’s master had never personally made an appearance in that time.

A small hope had been lit in their hearts, but they dared not have too much faith— for they had been disappointed too many times, too many times to count.

But the question in their minds was….

‘Does that mean a successor has been found?”

Regardless of the outcome, they would protect this planet until the Heavenly Venerable made his intentions clear. At the cost of their lives, if required. Could a millenia long search finally be coming to an end?

“Their actions are impossible to divinate. Once I remove the concealment wards around us, follow the Heavenly Venerate’s orders, and presume nothing,” Shal Xin sighed wearily, tired from constantly carrying out divinations even when she knew her actions were futile. But if there was the slightest chance that she could discover something her master had overlooked, or view the problem from a different angle— she would not let up. She could not let up, as one expected to lead the Three Realms in the future.

The concealment ward shattered a few minutes later, leaving only Shal Xin alone in space, her figure tall and proud, but also lonely. She could feel the threads of destiny coiling around this planet, but it was only slightly above average and her results were inconclusive. Was this her Master’s ploy to sound out their remaining strength in the three realms, the real successor already found in previous integrations?

Inconclusive.