Qi rippled through the sky like a stone skipping over the water’s surface, intruding into the Water Elemental Temple domain so gently its formations did not activate. Ascetic Li, who was sweeping its grounds for the umpteenth time, could only frown once these wisps of qi brushed upon his skin. They were becoming more common of late. The twenty years ago, a single wisp of qi passing through unannounced would have been noteworthy, created by a forlorn visitor seeking Imaru’s guidance.

Now…that single wisp of qi, if it could even be called such, carried qi signatures of over ten Divinities. Not the only occurrence today either, a different group of eight, then twenty came from every direction. Flagrant abuses of qi, so close to the temple.

Do I need to remind them where they are, Ascetic Li thought for a brief moment, before shaking his head. No, that would be premature. Ratel was still in closed door meditation, tinkering with that unnamed, unknown Divine Item. A peculiar item but not one that would justify take his own attention for more than a decade, let alone a century. The item was not unique in the slightest, countless ancient beings now long gone left behind similar trinkets – but this one had Ratel’s recommendation and intuition. Then again, perhaps that was why Ratel was one of the greatest Seers in the Spiritual Realm while Ascetic Li could not divine his breakfast tomorrow, or if he would even have it.

Ascetic Li only sighed and shook his head, stowing away his concerns. Perhaps if the other guardians were awake, but many entered their eternal slumber while others sought hibernation. Fifteen years would not be too long before they woke up again. If Ascetic Li left as well, no guardians would remain.

The formations of the Water Elemental Temple came to life, forming a translucent blue dome, dragging Ascetic Li from his ruminations. The first line of defense, and Ascetic Li would be foolish to ignore its significance. As Ascetic Li stepped forward, the world shortened beneath his feet and by the time his right foot touched the ground, he was at the western torii.

Two Divinities, still reeking of tribulation lightning, smashed hilariously oversized hammers against the torii, competing to make the first scratch. Ascetic Li shook his head, stifling his laughter as memories bubbled up. It took millennia for him to so much as to scratch the gates and, the moment he did, he was sent into the water prison for a millennium - a cruel initiation joke if there ever was one. But these were not apprentices fulfilling some greater quest, but intruders desecrating holy lands.

“I came to inform you two that you are desecrating the Water Elemental Temple property. Please leave now peacefully, or remain here forever.” Ascetic Li said, opening the formation for the two of them to leave.

The two kids scoffed, before the shorter one threw his hammer aside and drew his broadsword, which ignited with a giant flame. The kid swung but before his attack even reached Ascetic Li, the flame died, leaving a bare blade that shattered the moment it touched Ascetic Li’s chest.

“Guardians are invincible within their temples. Remember that.” Ascetic Li said, smashing the sweeper against the child, shattering him. A black sword fell to the ground as the vestige of the child disappeared. “Will you die here as well?” Ascetic Li asked, turning to the second child.

“Monster.” The child uttered.

“Only to heretics.” Ascetic Li said, waving his hand.

The boy lurched back, smashing against the ground multiple times as the formation closed behind him, fading away without any aggressor agitating it. Once he stopped, the boy disappeared, blinking away with some type of spatial, escape technique performed almost to perfection. Astounding, given the boy was hemorrhaging qi that should have blurred the technique’s qi boundaries.

Ascetic Li shook his head at such incident as he picked up the blade. A vestige of dead Divinities could be used for any amount of things. This one would be particularly useful for a new bladed weapon or an attack formation. He lacked neither, so he threw it among the pile of trash in the treasury. At least Ratel could rest a tiny bit easier, knowing that another of the Empire’s new Divinities laid to rest.

Back to sweeping the temple grounds. Not that it needed it – the lack of air in the Spiritual Realm made dust more an afterthought, but there was very little to do besides reading scripture… and sweeping the grounds was like scratching an itch. Pointless, ineffective, but it felt like he was doing something at least. Leave it to the one guardian without an element to protect the Water Elemental Temple. Imaru would cry if she ever saw the state of her temple.

Not three sweeps in, a crisp crack resounded from Ratel’s chamber. Ascetic Li teleported into the chamber only to find a puddle of fire where Ratel once sat, the remnants of Ratel’s corporeal body.

Who could kill him in the temple, Ascetic Li thought. Another guardian? Ascetic Li opened his domain and scoured the eternal slumber and hibernation rooms, everyone was accounted for.

No, he needed to calm down, no one from this temple did this and no one else could accomplish this without his knowledge. Ascetic Li took a deep breath before he looked around the room. A purple cube hovered above Ratel’s corpse, shining brightly, adopting a crack on its surface with each passing moment. Only with his eyes could Ascetic Li see the cube, his domain failed to register it. A Divine Item alright.

Ascetic Li grabbed it. The least he could do was put it next to Ratel’s corpse in the graveyard. The honey badger deserved the memento for its….astounding feats. The purple cube crumbled under his touch. From it, fell a mortal boy, perhaps a young adult male and the ghost of a decrepit, emaciated honey badger.

“Li Angry, glad you could make it,” Ratel said, as cheery as ever, as if he wasn’t the one who just died. “Help me stabilize the boy. Use my corpse if you have to. He’s our one shot in saving our homelands.”

Ascetic Li did as he was told, squeezing the puddle of fire in a single droplet of life. Pure primordial yin and yang in balance, something few Divinities bothered to cultivate to completion because it was too tiresome. All to stabilize a dying mortal so ignorant of qi, that the Spiritual Realm, which should have been a boon to any mortal, was the very thing killing him. Ascetic Li fed the droplet to the boy.

“You know, when you said that you had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save our homelands, I never quite pictured that it would kill you in the process.” Ascetic Li said, remembering how confident Ratel was when he grabbed the Divine Item, one out of the thousands within the treasury, claiming he finally found the solution.

“No, no.” Ratel said, waving his hand through Ascetic Li’s head, his hand too fragile that it broke apart as it touched him. “I summoned a boy, with no qi. Got to be a hero from another land.”

Or, more likely, was that the Divine Item was a prank item, like the many in the treasury, which sought to summon a specific type of person from Letavia. It would not be the first item to shatter the barrier between the Spiritual and Mortal Realms, not that one was needed in the first place, and Ratel should know that….of course Ratel should have known that, but he spent all his time in the treasury researching the trinkets to know about the Spiritual Congregations. Ascetic Li squashed that thought, barely stifling his smile at the thought that ignorance about such basic facts about the Spiritual Realm could potentially ruin someone’s divination.

“So what’s the plan? His body is done for. Reincarnate him?” Ascetic Li asked. The ball was now out of his hands, anything from this point on was done out of pity, not practicality. If the boy were to be reincarnated, there would be some basic items to ensure his safety, cultivation techniques that could be learned and used in the womb (hopefully the boy could at least think), a good family to reincarnate him into and more. It would cost quite a bit of temple contribution points, but it wasn’t like they were going to be used anyhow.

“Yep, already made him my champion.” Ratel said, patting his chest with his last good paw. “Covered all the bases.”

Or you have just left an unaccountable champion roam free in the mortal world, with enough time, resources and backing to potentially save the Colorful Peaks but more likely bring it to ruin faster. Might be best if I make the boy think I appointed him as my champion instead, so he doesn’t do anything too ludicrous, Ascetic Li thought.

“Praise be Imaru that this actually works.” Ascetic Li said, saying a little prayer before dumping a veritable lake of holy water onto the boy. A few drops would be insufficient for the tasks ahead of him.

“Praise be Imaru.” Ratel said, divesting what little qi in his body and pouring into the boy. Then he disappeared.

The Water Elemental Temple now felt a lot bigger now that Ascetic Li was alone. He could not remember just how he got duped into guarding the place, but man was this a mistake and a half. But Ratel was the only reason he stayed. It was time he moved on with his life.

No, focus on the task on hand first. There was another champion to appoint, this time by Ascetic Li himself, to ensure that Ratel’s champion did not destroy the world. Being a popinjay and a bit of frivolity was fine, even preferable. A spiritual cloak that measured his spiritual strength so Ascetic Li could keep tabs on him was a must and it was only fitting that the child got Ratel’s cultivation technique, given that physical portion hailed from the Colorful Peaks themselves and the spiritual portion came from Quellion.

After ascertaining everything was in order, Ascetic Li sent the boy off to the Colorful Peaks to reincarnate, with a letter, hoping things turned out for the better. Otherwise, Ascetic Li would rather end both the Colorful Peaks and Quellion fall than allow the boy become a monster

Then again, it was times like this where he should be hoping for the best while expecting the worst. If the boy did save it, then Li might actually believe that Imaru existed for once. If not, Ratel’s death was just a cruel joke.