No one spoke for several moments. Wu Meiying didn’t blame them. Hearing that a disaster was looming over them would cause anyone to freeze.

She glanced around the room, noticing the looks being directed her way. They obviously knew she was the reason this meeting had been called. No doubt, these people wanted to know what she had seen.

“What kind of disaster is going to befall us?” asked an old man. He had no hair. His shiny bald head reminded Wu Meiying of a cueball. He had squinty eyes like a fox, a long beard, and drooping eyebrows. His name was Jiànkè He, and he was the head elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

“It seems someone wants to stir up trouble in the Shang Kingdom. To keep our eyes off their activities, they have enlisted the help of someone to enact a wide-scale ritual that will attract magical beasts from the Da Continent,” Zhe Dāozhe said.

Several people sucked in a breath, though it was hard to tell who.

“Are you certain of this?” asked Mei Qi, languidly leaning against the table. Her actions caused her breasts to rest on the surface, pushing them against her hanfu. The act drew the eyes of the men and made them stare as she continued. “I do not mean to doubt the veracity of your claim, but it is a little farfetched, don’t you think? Why would anyone go through so much trouble to attack the Shang Kingdom? They’re just a small nation with an abundance of crops and low rank cultivation resources.”

“I am quite certain,” said Zhe Dāozhe.

“But what if you’re wrong?”

“Are you questioning me?” Zhe Dāozhe narrowed his eyes.

“Perish the thought,” Mei Qi feigned innocent. “Do not misunderstand me. I believe everything you have said. I am merely thinking about the ramifications that will happen should we mobilize our forces against this threat and it turns out to be a false alarm.”

“She has a good point,” said a young-looking man. Most people would never suspect he was over five hundred years old since he didn’t look a day over twenty-five. His short brown hair, dark brown eyes, and jagged eyebrows gave him the appearance of a warrior monk.

“She’s right.”

“We might be strong, but we are not invincible.”

“I’d like to avoid a confrontation with the other two Celestial Sects.”

Wu Meiying bit the inside of her cheek. There were several futures where the magical beast did not invade for some reason, but the mobilization of the Heavenly Sword Sect’s forces caused such a huge stir that it invoked a war that engulfed the continent. She didn’t know if Wu Jian died in any of those futures for obvious reasons. However, Zhou Lihua and Hou Jingshu died in all of those futures, so she’d like to avoid that.

Zhe Dāozhe glanced at her.

Wu Meiying stepped forward. “What you say is true. If this information turns out to be false, it will likely cause a war.”

Her words stirred up the council of elders, but it wasn’t just because of who she was. Wu Meiying was the only person without authority who could interrupt a council meeting like this.

“That is why I propose we send an elite unit to Yuan Peninsula, where the invasion is most likely to take place. We should also send a delegation to the Ten Kingdoms Alliance and Southern Tang Dynasty, to alert the other two Celestial Sects of this matter. There is little chance of them blaming us if we act in a forthright manner.”

The elders murmured to each other.

“Her idea is a good one.”

“As expected of our Madame Oracle!”

“The Jade Goddess of the Sword has once again proven her worth!”

Most everyone seemed onboard with the idea, but while they voiced their approval, several people did not look pleased by this. Mei Qi was one of them because of course she was. This woman was so delusion she thought Wu Meiying wanted to control the Heavenly Sword Sect, which of course made them “rivals,” nevermind the fact that Wu Meiying couldn’t care less about this sect.

“I object! I understand the need to investigate the Yuan Peninsula, but why should we have to tell the others? Do you think that will really solve our problems? Either the two sects will think we’re too weak to handle this on our own, or they’ll think we’re lying to sabotage them in some way.”

Wu Meiying tried not to grit her teeth as the woman stood up and spoke. Her eyes flittered as she searched through the future… but she saw none that ended well. Each one resulted in something bad happening. It sucked, but there wasn’t always a future with a good ending. All she could do now was damage control.

“If we say nothing and the magical beasts really do invade, it is possible that Divine Moon Hall and Supreme Ocean Palace will blame us,” said Wu Meiying. “If that happens, the tension between the Three Celestial Sects will reach the point of no return.”

Heavenly Sword Sect. Divine Moon Hall. Supreme Ocean Palace. These were the Three Celestial Sects, which ruled the Xaio Continent from on high, the three most powerful forces on this continent.

While the world seemed largely at peace, that was not truly the case, as each sect was enacting secret manuvers to undermine the other two sect’s authority. The Heavenly Sword Sect’s alliance with the Shang Kingdom was, in fact, one of those manuvers. In exchange for protection, the Shang Kingdom provided the Heavenly Sword Sect with an abundance of lower rank cultivation resources. This allowed them to elevate all of their disciples to the Asura Realm. Then they used the higher rank resources to bring them even further. Thanks to that, their sect had two hundred Deva Realm experts--far more than any other sect or nation.

Other sects had similar alliances. Supreme Ocean Palace controlled the Qing Province. Many did not know the Mercenary King was merely a puppet for Supreme Ocean Palace’s sect master to spread his influence throughout the world. The Zhou Clan of the Ten Kingdoms Alliance was another powerful force that worked in the shadows. They had spread their influence to every corner of the continent. Even the powerful Xia Dynasty had auction houses, apothecaries, and various Zhou Clan holdings.

Mei Qi looked like she wanted to say something, but Zhe Dāozhe spoke before anyone else could comment.

“We will do as Wu Meiying suggested and inform the other two sects about our findings. However, we will not request aid. We will simply let them know there may be unruly elements seeking to cause chaos on our continent.”

Mei Qi ground her teeth in frustration at the sect master’s words, but she knew better than to push her luck. The sect master had final say in all matters regarding the sect. Continuing to argue could result in her excommunication.

“As you say, sect master.”

Mei Qi and the other elders gave a martial bow, then the rest of the meeting got under way.

***

The meeting lasted most of the day. There was a lot they needed to plan for. First and foremost, it had been decided that Yan Huo would travel to the Yang Peninsula with a group of Asura Realm cultivators. Yan Huo was the young-looking elder who had spoken up during the meeting.

Wu Meiying thought they should have been sending Deva Realm cultivators at the very least, but that would have caused a huge stir. The Deva Realm was known as the Realm of True Strength for a reason. It was the realm where you became a true threat to a nation. Similarly, the Human Limit Realm was a no-go for the same reason. While they were not as much of a threat, sending out numerous Human Limit Realm cultivators could be considered a threat to smaller nations. Divine Moon Hall and Supreme Ocean Palace would not let that slide.

Yan Huo’s goal was to discover evidence of the ritual and, if possible, stop it. Barring that, they were going to mobilize their forces in case the worst should happen.

Mei Qi and Geng Kang would be going to Divine Moon Hall and Supreme Ocean Palace respectively to inform them of what they had discovered.

Wu Meiying had been shocked when Mei Qi offered to travel to Divine Moon Hall. She was suspicious the woman might have duplicitous designs, but when she looked into the future, all she saw was the woman doing her job. It was possible to fool her sight, of course. However, no one in this world should have been capable of that. Hiding from her vision, yes. Deceiving it? No. Not a chance.

The last decision was on what to do about the Zhou Kingdom and their designs on the Shang Kingdom. There had been a disturbing report about the Zhou Kingdom’s military moving west toward the Shang Kingdom’s border, but it seemed they were practicing military manuvers. That was the excuse they gave, at least. It was obviously a lie. However, the Zhou Kingdom had close ties to the Zhou Clan, who controlled Divine Moon Hall. They couldn’t act against the Zhou Kingdom unless provoked.

If the Zhou Kingdom did not attack the Shang Kingdom, there was little they could do.

Wu Meiying arrived at her mountain peak exhausted. She walked through her door, made for the bed, and threw herself upon it, where she immediately curled up into a ball.

Did I make the right choice? I did everything I could, but was it enough? Will this turn out wel;? Or will my decisions bring forth disaster?

Wu Meiying was plagued with doubts. Her enemies hid their timeline from her sight, and she therefore could not see the outcome of her decisions clearly. If she looked far enough into the future, she could see timelines where Hou Jingshu and Zhou Lihua were happy, which had to mean Wu Jian was alive in those futures, but she couldn’t see how to reach them.

I feel so helpless…

She acted strong in front of Zhe Fēnglì and the elders because she needed to be strong, because no one respected the weak. The truth was that Wu Meiying felt nothing but doubt about her decisions. She worried constantly about whether her choices were the right ones.

I wasn’t always like this… what happened to me?

During her other reincarnations, Wu Meiying had always acted as if she knew everything. Every decision she made was the right one. There was no room for doubt. She could see into the future, so her decisions must be right. That sort of arrogant thinking had led her to making so many mistakes, and in her last reincarnation, those mistakes had led to the most traumatic experience of her many lives.

Wu Jian… what should I do when I see you again? What will I say? Will you… be able to forgive me?

A shudder ran through her body. She curled her arms around her legs and pulled them against her chest.

How will you feel when we see each other again? Will you hate me? I don’t think I could bear that.

Wu Meiying could not live without Wu Jian. She was well-aware that she was broken. She had long since lost count of how many lives she had lived, how many eons had passed since she began this endless cycle of reincarnation, but in all those cycles, the one constant in her life had been him. Everything she had done was to stay by his side. She had nothing left. He was the only thing in her life that brought any semblance of joy.

But that might not be the case for him.

And if it wasn’t.

If he said he no longer wanted anything to do with her…

She did not want to think about it, but she forced herself to anyway. His happiness was more important. She had been selfishly following him all this time, but all the pain and hardships he had endured were her responsibility, her fault. If he told her that he no longer wanted to have anything to do with her…

Wu Jian, I’m so scared. I’m scared of losing you forever. I’m scared of making the wrong choice again. Everyone I have ever met aside from you has said that being able to see the future is the greatest blessing, but it’s really just a curse. They don’t realize that be able to see the future also means there are some things you cannot change. Being able to see the future just means there are times when you have no choice but to sit back and watch because attempting to change the future will only result in a worse future. They don’t understand how it feels to watch tragedy strike and know that you cannot intervene because doing so will only cause more tragedy. You were the only one who ever understood my burden, the only one who ever said “it must be hard being able to see the future.” Come to think of it, that must have been the moment I fell in love with you. It was the moment I realized you understood my burden. And yet, despite loving you so much, I selfishly clung to you even knowing how much it would hurt you. I’m so sorry.

…she would have no choice but to sever their bonds and burn up her soul to prevent it from ever reincarnating again.