~~~

The Ash Road is bustling with activity. It is not just disciples gathered but servants as well. There are multiple crates and luggage, and even some tame Spirit Beasts along with their minders. They have all gathered here for a single reason.

They are waiting to be taken to the Storm Dragon Empire.

Lord Feng Gui made the announcement a little under a month ago, and disciples from all divisions volunteered for the mission. Everyone is eager to prove their worth to the future Patriarch. Those present have been thoroughly tested for suitability over the past few weeks. Of course, the disciples trusted by the Elders did not need to go through the process. They had their spots assured from the start.

Just like Elder Xue warned Liu Jin, Elder Fa added quite a few of his followers to the delegation. As the man in charge of External Relations, it is hard to exclude him from something like this. At least, not without exposing him as a traitor, something that carries several risks.

However, that does not mean Liu Jin is without allies.

“I can’t believe Brother Hong won’t come with us!” Huang Shing says. He has his head raised high as he looks over the huge crowd with curiosity. If his self-control was weaker, he’d probably be petting the Spirit Beasts.

“It is understandable,” Liu Jin replies. “He chose to focus on his training.”

Lu Mei covers the lower half of her face with her sleeve and laughs. “That is a kind way of saying he could not stand being inferior, so he locked himself into isolation for a year.”

Bei Hong’s situation is far from unique. Once the initial excitement of returning alive from the Dead Plains died down, many disciples put renewed efforts into their training. Almost dying so many times ended up being an excellent incentive for growth. The isolation chambers, which had been emptying now that many of the disciples there learned about the new Patriarch, were suddenly in demand once more.

Even Liu Jin had undergone isolation training for two months once his lessons with Elder Xue were over. It would have been three had it not been for Lord Feng Gui’s announcement. Lu Mei also went into isolation for a month. Of the three, only Huang Shing refrained from doing so.

“It still doesn’t feel right not having him with us,” Huang Shing points out.

Liu Jin nods. “True.”

Despite their troublesome first meeting, the four somehow ended up as a group. Going on such a long trip without Bei Hong feels… not quite wrong but not fully right either. At the very least, Liu Jin will miss having such a reliable fighter at his side, especially when surrounded by so many unknowns.

Lu Mei, who has known Bei Hong the longest, rolls her eyes. “Oh, I am sure you will manage somehow. Now, stop moping. We need to look our best, especially you, Jin. Everyone is watching us.”

Lu Mei, Huang Shing, and Liu Jin are standing in front of the crowd. They are not the only ones. All the disciples given positions of authority for the duration of this expedition are standing side by side. Some will handle the day-to-day affairs, while others will be more involved in the negotiations. Liu Jin is likely to be part of both.

After all, he wears the black and gold of a Core Disciple now.

“I hardly think it is us they are looking at,” Liu Jin says, glancing at other chosen disciples. Mud is among them. “Not when there are so many impressive people gathered.”

Even as he says it, he realizes he is wrong. Certainly, many people are in awe of the Core Disciples (a group that, he now realizes, includes him), but there are also quite a few disciples looking at the three of them with respect and wonder. Many of them are new disciples, but there are also some who were part of the group that went to the Dead Plains. He can spot Ni Cai and Ten in the crowd.

“Gah!”

The strangled and not-at-all dignified sound cuts Liu Jin’s musings short. Huang Shing’s face is frozen in shock, and his raised finger points straight ahead.

“What are you doing?” Lu Mei hisses at him. Wind blows Huang Shing’s hand back to its place.

“Over there!” Huang Shing hisses back. “Look!”

Liu Jin follows Huang Shing’s line of sight and finds Feng Zhi. The Young Master of the Eternal Flame Clan casually makes his way across the crowd. A servant trails behind him. The assembled disciples quickly move out of the way as he passes.

He is in the Second Level of the Earth Realm.

A single level after so long is not particularly impressive, but it is noteworthy because Feng Zhi has, at last, overcome the First Level of the Earth Realm. There is no telling how Feng Zhi will grow from now on.

As Feng Zhi reaches the front, he stops for a moment to glare at Liu Jin—a glare that Liu Jin meets with complete impassivity—before taking his place among the Core Disciples. The moment is so brief most probably didn’t notice it.

“What of it?” Lu Mei asks. “We knew the Young Master would be here.”

It was a bit of a surprise to Liu Jin when he first heard the news. Elder Xue had explained the reasoning behind the decision to him. Unlike the mission to Night Forest Nation, Feng Zhi is not being sent to be hidden or save face. Rather, his presence is a sign of legitimacy and goodwill towards General Dan. It means the future Patriarch of the Eternal Flame Clan trusts him enough to send his son to negotiate with him.

“Who cares about him?” Huang Shing hisses. “I am talking about her! That’s Yi Jiao! She’s right there!”

Liu Jin blinks. There had been a girl walking behind Feng Zhi, but he had mistaken her for one of his servants. Now that Huang Shing’s words make him pay closer attention, he can see she is wearing the robes of an Inner Disciple. They are freshly washed and with very little wrinkles on them. Her Qi is bright and healthy.

She does not look like a prisoner.

Yi Jiao, assuming Huang Shing is correct, is a slender girl with long black hair and soft brown eyes. Her face would be pretty if it wasn’t frozen in one of the most awkward expressions Liu Jin has ever seen. She is looking right at them, or rather, at Huang Shing. After a few seconds, she ducks her head and looks away.

“I’m going-”

“You will not cause a scene,” Mei hisses at him, sharply jabbing his side.

“I have-”

“No,” Liu Jin says, more with his Qi than with his mouth. He focuses his intent solely on Huang Shing to impress the importance of this to him. “You don’t.”

A breath passes.

Huang Shing relaxes his muscles. Liu Jin does the same. For several seconds, neither does anything. Lu Mei watches Huang Shing with wary eyes, ready to stop him should he try anything.

“She is here, so that means she is coming to the Storm Dragon Empire with us,” Liu Jin says once Huang Shing finally looks away from Yi Jiao. “If you want to talk to her, you will have plenty of chances later.”

Liu Jin wonders if Feng Zhi did this deliberately to taunt Huang Shing or if it just never occurred to him that Huang Shing would try something with so many people around.

He sincerely hopes it is the latter.

“Okay,” Huang Shing says. He takes a big, heavy breath. “Okay. I will wait. I’m counting on you to stop me from doing something stupid.”

“We were always going to do that,” Liu Jin says. That gets a smile out of Huang Shing, but it dies as a massive Qi appears over their heads. It is so powerful every single disciple looks to the sky.

Lord Feng Gui floats above them.

His robes billow in the wind, and his Qi shines around him as though he were some sort of divine being. His presence demands their complete attention. To give it anything less would be an insult. Even Huang Shing cannot find the will to worry about Feng Zhi and Yi Jiao in his presence.

“Greetings, disciples.”

He speaks, and nearly all disciples kneel due to the force of his Qi. There is no doubt in Liu Jin’s mind that Lord Feng Gui is deliberately making a show out of it.

“It gladdens me to see so many of you have volunteered for this mission,” he says, lowering himself but not enough to touch the ground. He remains standing over them.

“For a long time, our allies in the Storm Dragon Empire have suffered constant wars due to their weak and ineffective emperor. Bands of marauders led by tyrants that call themselves generals terrorize the people and plunder their fields.”

Ah. Liu Jin narrows his eyes. So that’s how Lord Feng Gui is approaching this.

“These vile dogs believe the allies of the Eternal Flame Clan are no different from mere peasants. They believe they can threaten and kill them at their leisure. Does that sound acceptable to you? Can the Eternal Flame Clan be so foolishly challenged by mere bandits? Should these savages be allowed to believe they can risk our ire without consequence?”

“No!”

The roar from the disciples is unanimous. It is not just their own emotions acting up. Lord Feng Gui’s Qi radiates his intent and spreads across the crowd. It is all too easy for the more unskilled disciples to get caught up in it.

“Well said! This insult has gone too long unchallenged! You will be our fist upon those who invite our wrath! You will smite the evil and punish the guilty! You will bring order where there is lawlessness! You will burn what is rotten and bring light eternal! These are the words of your Patriarch! Do they please you?”

“Yes, Lord Patriarch!”

Lord Feng Gui grins. “How glad am I to hear that!”

He raises his arms, and multiple fires appear in the sky behind him. Flame-wheeled wagons, the same type of vehicle that once took Liu Jin and the others to Night Forest Nation, appear one after another. Many disciples look at them with awe. There are well over a hundred of them. Enough to fit in all the disciples, their equipment, and the many servants they are taking with them. The wagons streak a path of flames through the clouds and land one by one over the length of the Ash Road.

“Go, my brave disciples,” Lord Feng Gui says. “Go and carry the might of the Eternal Flame Clan with you. Show the Storm Dragon Empire your fire.”

So it begins.

~~~