Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest]

[Quest]

Why are my side characters so much more epic than Antonius?

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 40
[Turn 6]
[Yahwen the Bladeless]​

Yahwen the Veridescent Blade and her tragic tale requires no introduction. All of us are aware of how her star rose so high, proving the blood and talent of our sword-masters for all of the divided kingdoms to witness but everyone is also aware of her sudden fall at the last leg of her journey and how when she returned home in disgrace, she was banished.

Many of those in our duchy consider that to be an incredibly harsh punishment to levy on a junior regardless of her talent. Especially when the fault of her failure lies squarely on the shoulders of the honor-less Cerulean scum and their blue dragon overlords. After all, wasn't it by the cowardice of the former that left her without anyone to duel against in order to claim her daily meal? Wasn't it by the treachery of the latter that she was left to starve by the side of the road? Why must the blame fall upon our favoured daughter?

This is because this matter and that of her banishment are completely separate issues. Yes, it was not her fault. She will certainly be avenged and we will have our pound of flesh from both of our enemies for every slight we have suffered here. The true reason she was banished and the true maliciousness of the plots that surrounded her… you might even consider her banishment a mercy rather than a punishment once you understand the true nature of what she suffered.

Now, it would be easy to tell you in words what happened. But to understand the true scope of what took place, we must discuss the concept of Blade Will for it is at the center of these events. Yes, dear readers. It is a concept that you are almost certainly familiar with but there may be children reading these articles or outsiders neither of which can be blamed for their ignorance. So in order to ensure that all may understand, let us discuss the details of blade will.

It is distinct from similar concepts such as Sword Intent or Saber Intent. Blade Will that theoretically any other can achieve but it is a phenomenon that only occurs overwhelmingly among our own bloodline. It is not that none other can achieve it but that those that can have no need to. The concept of Blade Will is simple: like sharpening a hunk of metal, you sharpen your soul by stripping away everything until the only thing left is the blade inside our blood.

It is a method of achieving something skin to a true Blade Dao without ever touching the realm of Core Formation. It was a technique developed because until we collectively grow more powerful, we will forever be barred from the greater realms. Few others require the ability achieve such a capability without the proper foundation to support it and even with the need, it has several pre-requisites before it can be performed.

First you must grasp a unique aspect of qi which we get from the Blade Qi we are born with. Then you have to start as a man and then hone your edge, scraping way every part of yourself until all that is left is the blade's edge. Many of our clan can achieve this during moments of life or death and during days when things just click but achieving this consistently is difficult. It is hard to turn a man into a blade.

But consider for a moment… is that opposite not possible at all? That a child could be born with the essence of the blade inherent to her and then be carefully nurtured to keep that understanding till adulthood? Yes, now you must have begun to understand. Yahwen was this child - in a very literal sense the Blade of the Duchy. This was the source of her boundless affinity for our clan's arts, her own soul having already learned these movements before she was even born.

She was as sharp as a blade… but she was also a hollow, brittle thing. What do you think must have happened, when she was so harshly introduced to the rest of the world? When she stood at the edge of starvation and what helped her was not the blade but something else?

The little mistress broke.

There are many masters of the sword who have travelled beyond the Divided Kingdoms, taken up something other than the sword and then returned renewed with new refinements to the art. Our hope is that someday she will return in the same manner. That she would take her rightful place as our champion. It is a fool's hope, but it is certainly better than the alternative.

To be surrounded by the sword every single day, knowing that you could never again achieve the same heights as before? To be as a broken tool, to be at best pitied and at worst tossed aside? It would have crushed her, stifled her. Instead, by living out in the greater world she can perhaps one day hope to expel this demon that lives within her heart. And if she cannot, then perhaps she can live out a happy life away from the clan where she would not be able to escape from the sword.

Do you now understand?

Do you now see the heights of injustice?

The depths of depravity that they would fall to?

Remember why the Cerulean is our enemy. The talents they ruined. The arts that they stole. The dishonors that they heaped upon us. Hold it in your hearts, a new boulder in the mountain that is our grudge. Hold it tight till it burns and let it temper your Blade Will.

The day will come when we will use it.

The day when we will teach the lessons they deserve.

 

[Quest]

You see what I mean about epicness?

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 41
[Turn 6]
[Deciphering My Dao: Corvina Taurus]​

The first memory I have is of the Wolf. I was just born or at least that's how I remember it and before I had even taken my first breath, I felt its gaze upon me. Even a grown man can be frightened of a wolf, for me - a new-born baby - its mere presence nearly stopped my heart. I will be eternally grateful to my mother's midwife, who not only carefully restarted it but smacked me enough to make me cry and take my first breath.

The wolf soon lost interest after that. It was still there sometimes, stalking, following, waiting for a moment of weakness but I was no longer it's prey; It couldn't kill me just by scaring me anymore and I wasn't worth the effort of greater measures. I still saw it around, following my parents and nearly every other adult in my family. Some people had more than one, my great-grandmother Wilhelmina had a whole terrifying pack.

She was the first one besides me who saw them and when she noticed me noticing, she gave me a conspiratorial smile. I spent a lot of time with her after that and she turned what should have been a source of fear into a childhood game. She asked me to count the number of wolves that followed people, until I began to guess correctly without even counting the wolves.

Then she asked me to study the wolves and taught me to figure out when they were especially eager, nipping the heels of their target to push them on faster or when they showed that familiar naked hunger that was a clear sign that they'd found a target in a state of particular risk or weakness. They were remarkably like dogs at times, yipping and playful except that they found pleasure in the lack of our own.

Nothing in my studies mentioned anything like the wolves, not in my histories or my study of divination. When I asked my grandmother she simply gave me a smile and asked me what I thought with that particularly annoying smirk that adults do when they want you to figure out something on your own.

It was on my tenth birthday when I was being tested for my proficiencies before being sent to basic training that I figured out what they really were. "We are cursed by heaven," I remember proclaiming as if I had stumbled upon some central truth of existence. As if every legionnaire didn't already know that we had heaven's disfavor.

I had to leave my family's home soon after in order to journey to the Dawn Fortress for my compulsory training. My new understanding coupled with finally seeing the world outside, let me gain a new understanding of the wolf. It held no interest in those without the clan's bloodline and those who weren't cultivators also got only a moment's notice.

The stronger you got, the more wolves nipped at your heels. When I broke through as a cultivator, a wolf turned its attention to me for the first time since I was born. Perhaps I should have been terrified… Instead, I took it as a badge of pride. It was only a single beast for all of it's cunning and it was bound to it's instincts. It's reactions told me what I needed to know about any coming dangers and reading it gave me knowledge of the rest of it's pack.

As my training continued, I met the Fox for the first time.

It was during a visit to a Spirit Mine in order to understand where our clan's resources came from. I saw it flit by just at the edge of my vision but when I turned to look, it wasn't there. I was distracted for the entirety of my time there but it was only on my third visit that I recognised the beast running away with our clan's earnings.

Then, I began to notice them everywhere. They had been there all along, just incredibly hard to see. It was just that in the mines they existed in such numbers that it was harder not to notice them, though they still tried to hide from me. Unlike the wolf who managed a more personal hatred for each of us, the fox's hatred seemed directed at the clan as a concept.

Dealing with the Wolf involved carefully reading him and always being prepared, never showing weakness. The fox didn't care. There was really no method of dissuading it as it stole a share of all our spoils as if a tax levied from on high. Using the fox took a different sort of effort. It was both harder and easier than the wolf.

The fox stole from our lands equally and could lead to riches diminished but so far undiscovered. It would take its share of course, but what did that matter? The difficulty arose in tracking the movements of a thief and a trickster. But I could afford to fail. Unlike the wolf who would go for my throat at the sign of weakness, the fox didn't care.

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Unlike most others, heaven's attention is not supposed to be a good thing for my people. As such we have developed countless methods to ensure that it overlooks us, from speaking the new tongue instead of our own to taking local names. Many of those who are aware of these things such as seers or diviners practise this as a matter of course.

For my family who have many diviners, we have a practise of naming children in the new tongue in the hopes of appeasing heaven. But when a child finishes basic training and joins the legion they have the choice to choose their own names. New tongue. Old tongue. It didn't matter. We are acknowledged as adults and deemed capable of making our choice.

Some retain the names of the new tongue out of fondness or simply pick a new name that fit them better. Others took a name of Old Tongue, perhaps out of love for their history or in defiance of heaven. I picked Corvina from the old tongue, after the birds of prophecy and ill luck that have long served as dark omens sent by heaven in the world that we left behind. It was both a challenge and a promise - I would wrench a part of Heaven's Dao for my own ascension.

Ah, the pride of youth.

My family was familiar with seers even if my own abilities manifested far earlier than any other. I had studied the ways and habits of heaven. I had studied conventional arts of divination with the clan and in my own time I deciphered the notes of clan seers born in the past, each of whom perceived the curse in their own unique form of synesthesia.

From my own tiny perspective of the vast machine of heaven, I had learnt to feel it's greater motions in the same manner a master fighter might predict an attack just by seeing an opponent's feet shift. I hoped to further turne what was to be my downfall into my new strength and push upwards, reaching heights that none of my peers could keep up with.

Both the wolf and the fox were both just beasts after all. Despite their numbers and cunning, they were still bound to their instinct. I decided that they could be used by a human who could out-think them. Hubris? Perhaps, but using the very curses of heaven to advance myself appealed to me greatly. Even the tribulations of our clan were cursed, I reasoned. Which to me meant I could use them as I had used the others.

Then I met the Hunter.

His coming was heralded by a loud ringing in my blood, as if my heart beat with all it's might to run from someone but was simultaneously frozen in fear. In the underground bunker with many others of her clan, she could see that they could hear it too. There was no subtlety in his arrival, no cunning in his work. So loud, tried to cover her ears but it was to no avail.

Then came the second ring. The first was a warning, the signal for a game, a sport. The second ring indicated the first participants could begin their work. These were hunters - equals, betters, peers all coming for her head. There was a bounty for her blood and they would be coming to collect it. I might have screamed if great-grandmother wasn't there to calm me down and guide me past the visions of bloody bronze.

A week later came the third ring. Foundation Establishment. My Dao-heart held strong. There was no difference between this one and the last, save one. This time, they did not come for me. I was as overlooked as I was by the Wolf as a child. It was a distant, impersonal relation. I could make it through.

The third ring brought with it a hunter. My heart beat with fear as great-grandmother left to protect us from them… and she didn't return. All we could do was quietly wait and hope no one noticed that they were there. We had too many of those who were injured. The protection of the bunker was judged to be enough for now, not worth the risk of moving into the open for everyone to see.

Then it happened.

I knew bare moments before it did. The fox fled our lands for a moment, in fear of the Great Hunters. The wolves perked up their ears and wagged their tails, more akin to loyal dogs than wild wolves. I sensed the strange feeling in the air.

Then the fourth bell rang… and the wolves fled.

No, they were hunting hounds summoned by their master. We all looked at one another in fear, few knowing what it really meant at first but the pattern obvious for any who could think. We left the bunker, unsure of how to react to these new developments and we all feared what it meant. But only I realised the full scope of what had occurred.

The wolves were gone.

The wolves were gone.

The wolves were completely and utterly gone.

When I heard of the death of great grand-mother and so many other legates, my mind conjured images of them dying to slay all the wolves that had stalked the clan for so long and a Great Hunter fighting the Archigetes for months. I felt the scales tip, dipping ever so slightly in our favor before heaven quickly corrected it.

I'd lost the tools I used for divination.

I'd lost part of my family.

But I felt the scales tip.

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Imagine being surrounded by darkness. Not the darkness where you are afraid of bumping something that you didn't see but a cloying, writhing thing that blinded your sight, twisted your sounds and made every taste like ash. That hid from your vision, lying in wait on the edge of your senses waiting for the moment your attention wanders. And then when it does, it pounces.

But then a light flashed and banished the darkness.

Despite the death and carnage, I was filled with joy.

But reality hit quickly after those first few days. I grieved for the lost. My great-grandmother. Friends and family. I even grieved for the loss of heaven's curse, so intertwined it was with my life that I had never imagined that it might leave. I tried not to think that way, but frustration mounted.

Without the wolves, I had no idea how to See the world.

A Heart Demon, it was called.

Such a well made pair of words.

It was frustrating to be able to see the path one day and then to be robbed of the light that guided me the next. Then to feel the guilt of that feeling because of what those events mean for the ones I care for.

I couldn't stop. I couldn't afford to. I needed to understand the fourth face of heaven, the wrath that falls from heaven in order to ascend and make my great-grandmother proud.

And then I there was her who somehow threw all of my understanding into disarray - that young legionnaire barely out of training who asked to join me and two others at the edge of their ascension to take her with them to the Qiguai Secret Realm. She was an experiment by someone who just wanted to see what happened. Irresponsible and dangerous, but it wasn't the girl's fault. She was skilled and competent. And there was something else about her….

A Shadow in my Sight.

Like the Fox hiding at the edge of my vision, but something far bigger and harder to find. Something important. Something I felt could change my very understanding of the nature of heaven and how it interacted with our clan.

I needed to find it.

 

[Quest]

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 46
[Turn 6]
[The Imperial Soup 1]​

With his eyes closed, Antonius felt strangely blind to the world. It wasn't as if his other senses had deserted him, but it was only after being led down through crowded streets did he realise how much he relied upon sight.

Smell wasn't any help. The air was filled with the smell of steam and spices which could really be anywhere in Mogui City. The sounds of voices around him were overlapping into a cacophony and all his sense of touch gave him was the occasional brush against another person all of which helpfully reminded him he was in the streets.

His spiritual senses weren't any more useful. They let him sense who was around him and weave around the crowds as they moved, but that was it. His ability to tell where they were going was easily thwarted by his inability to read signs and identify buildings.

"Where are we going?" He asked out loud, finally giving up on guessing. He felt Corvina slow down and felt the blob of qi that must have been her head turn towards him.

He felt her squeeze his hand. "The whole point of asking you to close your eyes and trust me, is for you to close your eyes and trust me." She replied, turning back to look at the direction she had been pulling him in. "Anyway, don't worry. We're almost there."

Corvina kept them on course as far as he could tell and he realised they must have come this way behind his back. His focus fell on Yahwen who was right behind him and was doing the spiritual equivalent of keeping her face blank though he still got a sense of anticipation from her. He was fairly certain if it was her rather than Corvina who asked, he'd have been far more suspicious.

Xiao Yingzi was harder to read. Her aura was naturally hard to understand but right now, she was actively suppressing it. He could only catch her presence when her concentration slipped, presumably when she was moving out of someone's path. Was that a game she had made up or just a way of casual training? It could be both with her.

What kind of surprise did they have planned for him? This wasn't really a special occasion and he couldn't recall if he'd mentioned if there was any place in Mogui City where he really wanted to go. In theory, there were several places for several reasons but none that he'd actively mentioned. "We're here," Corvina called out, coming to a stop.

Antonius stopped behind her and quickly opened his eyes to see where they were. He blinked, in his haste he hadn't considered the brightness. He turned his head away from the brightness until his eyesight adjusted. Antonius glanced at Corvina curiously but she just smiled and nodded in the direction she was looking.

Yahwen took the cue to explain. "This is where-"

"Oi. Don't ruin it." Corvina said with a grin, cutting her off. "I want to see his reaction." Then she turned her attention back to him. "Come on. Over there," She said, pointing to where she wanted him to look. He hesitated, looking at Yahwen who grinned and nodded encouragingly.

So he reluctantly turned to the direction she indicated.

A large restaurant stood before him with people in various levels of cultivation streaming in and out. It was a bit richer than usual, but it wasn't very different from other establishments in the city. He didn't really recognise it, but something itched at the back of his mind. Through some instinct he glanced up at the name written in stylised letters.

The Imperial Soup​

A lump formed in his throat.

His eyes went even higher, to a tower jutting up from it's roof, rising higher than the surrounding buildings and then suddenly narrowed into a chimney with smoke flowing out. Near the very end, just before the narrowing began there was a room that you could easily miss if you didn't know that it was there.

He swallowed and turned to his friends.

Yahwen smiled lightly. Corvina looked smug at whatever expression he must have been making. Even Xiao Yingzi was standing nearby, being as close to encouraging as she could be. "How did you even know?" He asked, looking to each of them for an answer.

"Lady Ariadne got in touch with me as soon as she heard we were passing through." Corvina explained. "She made all the arrangements."

"Ah." He asked, turning from her and back to the restaurant. He glanced at the entrance and then up at the room at the end of the tower. "Thank you."

Corvina nodded, giving him a smile. Yahwen leaned in between them and raised an eyebrow. "Let's go in?"

He nodded and just looked at the room at the top of the tower. "Just give me a moment." For a moment, he thought he almost spotted the comical sight of a woman carrying a man twice her size on her back because the man had too low of a cultivation and they needed to get up the tower.

Then he shook his head and sighed. His parents wouldn't be here right now. He looked at the entrance of the restaurant and felt something well up inside him. A strange feeling that rooted him to the spot and wouldn't let him take a step forward.

Then an arm snaked under his own.

He turned to see Yahwen close having locked her arm with his. He frowned at her but she grinned at him. "Come on." She said, practically pulling him inside. He turned to Corvina who gave him a wry smile. She still held his other hand but was now the one being pulled along.

Then Antonius was distracted by the fresh water splashing on his face, except it wasn't really water but qi in the air kept dense with clan arrays and kept carefully neutral so as to be refreshing but not offensive to any particular dao. Antonius instinctively began to breathe it in to augment his internal reserves.

There were attendants all over - all kitchenhands of the Shimmering Soup Sect - in crisp white uniforms and with impeccably polite demeanours. They guided their customers to private rooms so that they could enjoy the personalised meals prepared by the Soup Masters in the kitchen.

It was just as his parents had told him.

He took a deep breath and let it out, trying to relax as one of the kitchenhands noticed them and began approaching. The man walked up to them with a smile, causing Yahwen to slow down and then he gave them a small bow. "May I help you?" He asked them.

Corvina drew a letter from storage and stepped forward, giving the man a similar bow. As she handed him the letter, Antonius noted the Taurus Clan Seal on it's front. "We have a booking under the name of Acting Legate Ariadne Taurus," She answered, causing the attendant to raise an eyebrow.

He quickly grabbed the letter and made sure to check that the bronze seal was both genuine and unbroken, before he opened it. As he began to read it, his eyes grew wider. Finally, he looked up and gave the slightest of nods before neatly folding the letter and handing it back.

"Will you be needing advice on your choices for the evening?" The kitchenhand asked, giving another bow that was deeper than before.

Corvina nodded. "Yes, please."

"I will make the arrangements." He said, giving another bow. "If you'll follow me?"

Once more, Antonius found himself pulled along by both the women beside him as the kitchenhand led them down one of several hallways lined with private rooms until he finally stopped at one and opened the door. "This one is the one that has been arranged for you." The kitchenhand explained. "Please feel free to take your seats and peruse our menus. Your sommelier will be with you shortly."

Yahwen finally unhooked her arm from his and gave him a quick smile before entering the room first. Antonius watched her go and siddle into one of two long seats on a single table before turning to Corvina. "Hey," He said, giving her a smile as he held up his hand still held in hers.

Corvina looked at their hands and quickly pulled hers back before giving him a sheepish grin. "I'll grab my seat then," She said, before heading in quickly and taking the seat opposite from where Yahwen was sitting.

Antonius smiled as a thought occurred to him. When his father had first come here, he'd faced a similar situation. He'd had to choose to sit with either his aunt, the Taurus clan heiress or his mother, the auxiliary. Corvina and Yahwen weren't very far from the same description.

He'd sat next to his mother of course rather than risk sitting next to the Young Mistress in foundation and the rest was history. His history. He glanced between the seats, feeling the weight of history. He wondered what sort of repercussions his own choice here would have?

There was a slight tug on his clothes and he turned to see Xiao Yingzi looking up at him. "Can I go in, please?" She asked and he realised he was blocking the way.

"Yes, of course." He replied, moving aside. She nodded in thanks before moving to sit besides Yahwen. Antonius blinked for a moment, realising how easily that choice had been taken away from him. Then he smiled and took a seat next to Corvina. She turned to him and raised her eyes at his expression to which he could only shake his head.

"It's nothing," He replied. "Just a passing thought." Then he leaned forward and looked down at the menu. "So who wants what?"

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Part one of three I think. For reference, the location is where Antonius' parents Emmanuel and Eleanora met. The events happen here and in the two makes right after if anyone wants to refresh their memories.

 

[Quest]

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 42
[Poetry]
[Struggle]

The earth was flat
In my mortal home
I could walk so far
Yet not see rome

The call of blood
It was so strong
With my mortal life
What was so wrong?

So I climbed up higher
I walked up the slope
I bore the pain
For a distant hope

My ropes would tear
My hands would bleed
Still I'd push on
For a distant need

I wish that at least once
I could stop and see
The world stretching out
Just there, below me

But I have no time
I can't just stop
I need to keep moving
Until I reach the top

It will be worth it
The day will come
I won't falter
I won't succumb

I will climb the mountain
I will reach the skies
I will look up at heaven
See it with my own eyes

Such a distant dream
But I still wonder why
After so long, it's still so far
Was that dream just a lie?

But I cannot stop
For those I left behind
I can't let them see me fail
I cannot have that on my mind

I keep going despite it all
Because this dream isn't just mine
I cannot afford to fail their trust
So I struggle along this incline

From the humble earth
I have climbed up so far
Still I look to heaven
Reach for it's distant star

Even if the reasons change
Even if the hurdles rise
Still I must keep climbing
Until the day of my demise

I wish I could stop
Spare myself some pain
But I can never look back
Only at the limits of what I attain
​

 

[Quest]

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 43
[Turn 6]
[Deciphering the Dao: Antonius]​

Death is a strange thing, Antonius thought as the Snail-back Caravan steadily made its way to it's destination. He had been affected by the shadow of death for a long time. He was what, fifteen when he heard he'd die in a few years because of a simple complication in his bloodline?

His parents had been devastated of course. He wondered if his mother blamed herself. She knew how adaptable the Blood of Bronze was. She had studied the clan's bodies for decades. It was entirely possible that his twisted bloodline was a natural mutation but it was entirely possible that it was introduced from her own side as Yixuan Shan had eventually confirmed.

Then there was his father. His grandfather's art prized the cultivation of their bloodline and considered it the pillar of the clan. He was certain his grandfather's Dao should he have reached Core would have been bronze in some form. His father held great pride in his inheritance and to even suspect that his art may have somehow caused the mutation must have been devastating to him.

And then they found out that cultivation was the only solution. They'd never directly talked about it, but he knew that they never really wanted him to be a cultivator. The reason was simple - the Trials were just around the corner. To face that would be difficult - had been difficult really. And a cultivator's life wasn't something that was easy in general. How could they have known he would have a taste for it?

He couldn't really blame them. Not after experiencing what it felt like to nearly lose them. He saw exactly where they came from, even if he felt like he didn't necessarily agree with their choice. How could he when it was his own choice to walk into the 43rd Legion in order to sign up to the legion? He chose to cultivate, come what may.

And then death found a new hold on him. Cultivation improved his chances of survival and even improved his rate of cultivation but if he couldn't cultivate fast enough, he would petrify and if he did manage to cultivate fast enough then he would face the normal issues of a cultivator - tribulation.

When Yixuan Shan brought him to the heights of the tenth heavenstage, he learnt that he would need at least eighty years of preparation to face it. That was practically all of the life he had left. Difficult, but theoretically possible if things worked out for him. Then of course, things had to happen to destroy his hopes.

Antonius had heard of a phrase that was popular in the clan and he was finally learning the bitter truth behind it. When heaven gives with one hand, it takes with another. He was the living embodiment of that quote. He was blessed with incredible cultivation talent and was checked with a greatly reduced lifespan. He gained incredible luck in the Yuan Secret Realm, and then he lost his parents - his pillars of support - by someone after the very things I earned.

He could understand some of the clans men's bitterness towards the heavens. The curses that he had learnt of - the trials, the tribulations, the ill luck and the poverty - all were akin to his own situation. Even as things were seemingly improving for them with the powerful new generation that he was seemingly a part of, the heavens struck down the old guard who sheltered them - leaving them all with uncertain futures. What use was talent if they were all cut down?

Death had affected them all.

It was natural.

It was inevitable.

But it was also cruel.

So many things were lost. Things unique. Things precious. People like his parents - brave, amazing people.

This concept resonated with him so strongly.

He wanted to live. He wanted his parents back. He wanted the whole world to know his name. But here he was, his potential choked because a Blood Cannibal spy snuck into their confidence and then tried to strike them down because he thought he could take what was theirs.

The clan's problems. His own problems. They were all connected.

If only he could see how.

Did he want to defy death? Defy the heavens? Defy everything that tried to crush him and those he cared for? A part of him was drawn to that path - the same part of him that walked into the legion for recruitment and then punched a Legate out of sheer spite.

But that wasn't a path he could see himself being happy in.

Did he want to escape? Go somewhere with his family, far enough away that even heaven could not reach him. Was that even possible? Did he want to try? That concept also appealed to a part of him. It was the fear that drove him to the legion in the first place, the part of him that wanted to live.

Spite was a nice motivator. It made his actions seem impressive rather than motivated by fear and frustration. Yes, spite was a motivator but there were circumstances that lead to it and he punched the man because he knew he could take it and because having a problem he could hit felt so very good. He couldn't hit this problem away. Strength wouldn't bring his parents back, but perhaps it could help him get something that could.

Strength. Antonius turned that thought over in his head. Power. Ultimately, cultivation was about power. How would a Dao of Power work? It seemed like a blunt hammer but the world was filled with a lot of nails to hammer into shape. It had a certain appeal to it. The appeal of truth. What else was important in the world other than power when individuals were divided so clearly in strength?

Saving his parents was important but he felt like the moment something really clicked - that would be important too. As the snail-back caravan made its way to Mogui City, Antonius turned his thoughts over to various thoughts of his Dao.

 

[Quest]

Needed to get into the character's head. I've written enough that it only made sense to post it here.

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 44
[Omake]
[The Many Faces of Yahwen]​

Yahwen picked up her small blade the way she had seen her father do. Her father had taught her how to make it herself and was even teaching her how to swing it! But the way he taught her and the way he actually moved was different. Hers was all swish and he was all zwing! But everytime she asked him, he told her he'd teach her when she was older.

But she wanted it now! She held her blade up and stood as he stood, then breathed as he breathed. Then she swung at the training post. Zwing! She did it! She couldn't help but laugh out loud. Then the training post split in half and her eyes widened as her father entered the room at the same moment. "Daddy! I didn't mean to cut it, I swear!"

Her father looked at her blade and then at the training post with wide eyes. He turned around and left, to her panic. "Dear! Come quick!" Yahwen's eyes widened.

Oh no, he was calling mother.

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Are you certain she performed the technique?" The old man asked. Yahwen wasn't sure what to think of him. He felt weird and made her parents act weird around him. "Many parents misjudge their children's potential. Not everyone has the eye of a master."

"Yes, sir." Her mother replied with a bow. "My husband was in the army and I was part of the sect's serving staff in my youth. We have both seen the young masters perform with our own eyes."

The old man sniffed and turned to her. "Well, let's see it then."

Yahwen frowned. She didn't like him but when her mother gave her The Look, she quietly turned to the training post and swung. Zwing! The training post got cut in half just like it had last time. She looked up carefully. She really wasn't going to be punished…?

The old man's eyes had widened and her mother looked proud which made her happy. "She's the real thing," He whispered as he looked at her and then at the training post with a strange look. Then he turned to her mother. "Let me present her to the Duke. I will train her as befits her talent."

Her mother frowned but yahwen tell that she was faking it. "I couldn't possibly give away my daughter like that..."

"Your husband will be accepted into the royal guard," The old man immediately replied. "And I will ensure that there is a spot open for you among the Duchess' ladies."

"Ah! I thank the great master for his generosity," She replied, bowing quickly. Too quickly. "That is far more than my humble self deserves."
Something about the old man's demeanour changed at that. "Perhaps," He mused with a frown and then looked at Yahwen with a pitying look.

She didn't like him, she decided.

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Yahwen," Her mother asked, face thick with concern. "What have you done?"

"He insulted you." She replied, as she sharpened her blade. It was just a bit dull and she needed every advantage she needed for her duel. "Said that you were just a scullery maid who used me to reach above her station."

Her mother flinched. "But the duke's heir?" She asked, her face white. "Why did you have to start this?"

Yahwen turned to her with a frown. "I couldn't let his insult go unanswered." She explained slowly. "How dare he say something like that about my mother?"

Her mother turned to look at her father and they communicated quietly as they often did these days before she turned back to her. "You have to go apologise." She began matter-of-factly. "What's done is done, but if we're lucky maybe the mistress will forgive us and let us keep our new work."

Yahwen looked at her for a moment, and then turned to her father who avoided her gaze. "No," She finally replied and lifted up her blade. Sharper, with some of the dull metal removed. It would work well enough.

"What do you mean no?" The woman next to her screeched. She ignored her and simply sheathed her blade, standing up to attend her duel. Yahwen felt the woman stand and she turned to see her lift up her hand as if to strike her.

Yahwen gave her a look. The woman froze and Yahwen walked past her. "You are going to lose!" She heard the woman cry out. "You are going to lose and ruin everything!"

Yahwen didn't look back, but she decided at that moment. She would never, ever lose.

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Are you certain you want to go through with this?" Her master asked. In that moment, he was just as inscrutable as he had been when he first came to her home so long ago. "Just because you won against the young master doesn't mean you are prepared to face the world."

"Just fight me," She replied, keeping her blade steady in case he attacked. "So we can get this over with."

He looked at her with a stern expression before his eyes brightened and he switched his stance to his personal technique. "You have grown tremendously, Yahwen." He told her, face resolute. "You have mastered all of the orthodox arts to a level I doubt I had even when I was thrice your age but you aren't ready to face the world."

"Even if you say that, I have no challenge here." Yahwen replied, angling her blade to intercept. "This is the only way I can keep going."

"I am the challenge here." He proclaimed, stepping forward with the speed and deadly precision of a scorpion tail. She could tell that he expected her to be beaten by his personal style.

"No," She whispered back. "You are not." All things are laid low by heaven's wrath. "Lightning."

Zwing!

Once more her blade was sharpened.

| | | | | | | | | |​

The Young Master of the Viridescent Blade Duchy drew his sword at her. "Yahwen, despite our rocky start I consider you a friend." He replied. "But you need to be stopped. You can't keep going on like this."

"Please." She scoffed. "You are just envious that your father chose me over you."

His face hardened. "He only cares for you as a way to increase his own power." He answered, blade held high. "I need to defeat you, for your own sake."

She sighed. "You can't beat me." She told him, grinning confidently. "You know that better than anyone."

His blade wavered.

She swung.

| | | | | | | | | |​

"You would dare besmirch our gathering?" Asked the Cerulean Blade, so much like the heir from her own duchy. His form was so like that of her own clan, with innovations stolen by both sides until there was no difference between their orthodoxy. "I will not tolerate your presence here."

"Speak with blades not with mouths," She replied, flashing a cocky grin. This would be a good opportunity to test her newly completed personal style. "Or is your blade as lacking as your mouth?"

His face turned white.

As rain began to fall, they both charged.

| | | | | | | | | |​

"You defeated my son," The Cerulean Duke said, looking down at her with barely restrained fury. "You defeated all of my retainers. Do you think I will let you cross the border after all of that?"

Yahwen felt the pressure from his aura but she held strong. "I challenge you to a duel!" She said, angling her blade towards him. "Let's settle it in the traditional manner."

His eyes widened in the sheer outrage. "You would dare challenge me?"

She smirked to hide her fear. "Would you dare deny my right?" She felt a few presences land behind her, her own duke and various members from both their courts. He couldn't deny her in front of all of them and in a duel she would never lose.

He drew his sword.

She gave him a smug smile.

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Damn, you're a good fight." The Axe Fighter said, as he grabbed her hand to pull himself up. "The guys will love you. Up for a drink? I'll pay and we can have another go afterwards."

Yahwen hesitated. "Sure," She replied. "Teach me a few moves as well?"

The man's grin widened. "We'll make a proper axe-user out of you yet!"

She blinked before hefting her sword. "I'll be using my sword."

He blinked before smirking. "You're going to do axe moves with that tiny thing? I've gotta see this. If you can't, you have to buy me drinks."

Yahwen mentally tallied the money she had on hand which amounted to none. "I'll just have to make that bet," She replied with a grin.

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Yo, Yahwen. Are you sure you want to go into Scorpion Territory?" Many-Axe-Smasher asked. "They aren't like your folk or my folk. They can really screw you up."

"It's the only way forward for me." She replied, shrugging at him. "I need a new challenge."

He frowned at her. "Girl, you are absolutely fucked up." He said, before grinning widely. "I guess I'll just have to come with you."

Yahwen froze before giving him a warm smile. "You think you can keep up lugging that heavy piece of metal?"

Many-Axe-Smasher held his axe possessively. "Oi, Barda's sensitive about her weight. Don't talk about that in front of her."

"What happened to Esmerelda?"

"Ah it was heartbreaking, but we had to part ways…."

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Smasher!" She shouted, dragging his poisoned body through the desert sand. "Keep it together! We'll be in the Green Dragon Empire soon and we should be able to find an antidote there!"

Scorpion raiders chased them, their stingers moving sinisterly and their feet having no issues in moving through the sand. One caught up to them and stung. Drawing on the experiences from facing her master, she struck his stinger with Lightning cutting it off and leaving him bleeding in the sands.

Unfortunately, it was enough time for them to surround her and Many-Axe-Smasher. She quickly deposited his body on the ground, making sure that Wilhelmina was safe in his arms before turning towards her opponents.

She needed have to kill them quickly. Why didn't she have a technique that let her do that? She glanced at Many-Axe-Smasher and took a deep breath. She'd just need to do the best she could. She absolutely couldn't let him die.

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Can you heal him?" She asked the Blue Dragon Physician as she dragged the unconscious axe warrior on to the patient's bed.

The physician looked at her in concern. "Are you sure you don't need any help? You look worse-"

"Can you heal him or not?" She asked, ignoring her shuddering muscles and the way her qi hurt as it flowed.

The woman nodded rapidly. "Good," Yahwen replied, leaning against the wall. "When he wakes up, tell him to go home. I'm out of the scorpion lands and I don't need his help anymore."

"What happened out there?" The physician asked with a frown.

Yahwen glanced at her for a moment. "I won."

| | | | | | | | | |​

The townspeople retreated from her when she came into view. None of the shopkeepers took her money. None of the warriors accepted her challenges. And if she focused, she could sense someone watching her just at the edges of her senses.

She wasn't going to get any food here. Her stomach growled and she suppressed it with a slow breath. She glanced at the road. The next town was supposed to be a day away. Could she make it?

What choice did she have?

| | | | | | | | | |​

Once more, the town was avoiding her. She could feel her body weakening despite her best efforts. She glanced at the wilderness. Maybe she could hunt? But she'd never hunted before. Yu had managed that for her or she had just won a meal through a duel. Wouldn't she just become prey to wildlife?

She just had to keep going. The Emerald Blade Duchy was on the path. Home. She could make it. She had to.

She forced herself to move.

If she could just make it to the end.

| | | | | | | | | |​

She awoke to a heavenly odor. She jumped up, reaching for her sword before realising that the man in front of her had the aura of one in the Core Formation. What happened? Who is he?

"I found you fallen on the side of the road," The man explained with a genial smile. He held up a bowl of food. Her stomach growled. "I had been meaning to test a new recipe and you came at the perfect time. Hungry?"

She nodded and nearly jumped on the bowl, a motion he dodged with a quick motion letting her grab it and the chopsticks in his hand. "Glad you liked it," He replied, laughing heartily. "I'm glad you can appreciate it, unlike those Soup fools but you should slurp to show your appreciation! That's just good manners!"

She glanced up at him while eating and began slurping as loud as she could, causing him to laugh. "Let me tell you the story of my enlightenment! 'Our soup is the seas that once nourished the turtle and the heat is the lightning that brings us closer to heaven.' Those soup fools taught me. "But that doesn't make sense! We get nourished by the earth not the sea! You need noodles in there, I told them. Noodles will be the earth! That's when they threw me out and I was forced to study on my own." He shook his head. "Look at me now! As worthy as any of their Soup Lords. You recognise the true beauty of noodles do you not?"

Yahwen nodded, realising that she was crying. "These are the best things that I have ever had."

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Will you be alright?" The Noodle Lord asked, as they sat around the fire. She nodded, glanced at the sandy road and flinched. "You don't look like you'll be alright. Can you really make it through?"

She shook her head reluctantly. "I'll guide you." He said, giving her his hand and she gingerly took it. "Come on, don't be scared. One step at a time. Can you make your own tent?"

She shook her head again and looked away. "I'll help you then." He replied. "We'll have to stay here for a while until you are healthy enough to walk."

She nodded. "Thank you."

"Can you cook?" He asked her, causing her to shake her head again.

He grinned. "Let me enlighten you with the secrets of noodles…."

| | | | | | | | | |​

Returning home was strange. The Viridescent Blade Duchy felt completely different from what she remembered. She walked up past the road to the Ducal Palace, a crowd forming in her wake and filled with whispers.

"It's Yahwen."
"Is she really back?"
"I heard that she went missing near the end of her journey. I wonder what happened?"
"I heard she duelled a troll."

When she arrived at the palace gates, one of the guards of the old guards looked at her with a strange look. He looked incredibly familiar but she couldn't recognise him. She walked past and bowed to the duke.

Her old master stepped in front of her and drew his sword. "Yahwen, you have returned." He said, his voice strange. "Fight me."

Her hands went to her blade, and as she held it's hilt she found herself unable to draw it. The very thought filled her with dread. If she'd journeyed throughout the Divided Kingdoms, would proving herself more capable mean she'd have to travel farther still?

She hesitated and her master saw through her as he almost always did. "Yahwen the Bladeless," There was a gasp across the court. "You are hereby banished. Should you attempt to return, you must face my blade."

As whispers began to fill the court, her face turned to the duke who frowned but nodded reluctantly. Her heart sank.

She turned around and left.

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Take me as your apprentice."

"No," Said the Noodle Lord as they crossed the borders of the Blade Duchy. He glanced at her belt. "Where is your sword?"

"I - I left it, since I didn't need it anymore." She replied quickly, looking away from him. She turned back to him with a sudden fervor in her eyes. "I wanted to focus on my new love for noodles!"

"Hmmm." The man considered her and sighed. "The answer is still no."

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Please, teach me!" She asked him and the Noodle Lord sighed. He paused in his usual reply as he felt a presence he hadn't in a while.

"Soup Lord," He greeted politely and a figure with the aura of a Core Formation Elder appeared out of thin air. "What do you want?"

"You've gotten better, Heathen." The Soup Lord replied. "I require those demon apples you have procured. They are the final ingredient for my new soup recipe."

"They are fit for a noodle!" The Noodle Lord replied. "They will not grace that noodleless disaster you call a soup."

"Then let us duel for it." His eyes flickered to Yahwen. "I can arrange transportation to Qiguai for your apprentice. Surely that would be worth something to you?"

The Noodle Lord scoffed. "She's not my apprentice," He replied. "But I hardly need an excuse to show you the superiority of the Noodle over the Soup, do I?"

Yahwen watched as they dueled, realising that soup and noodles didn't hold enough passion for her as the blade once had. Not enough to duel over ideology like this.

Did anything have that for her anymore?

| | | | | | | | | |​

"Are you certain you wish to remain within Pleuron?" The Noodle Lord asked her. "I have to work as a mercenary for the golden devil clan but you can still accompany me if you like."

Yahwen shook her head. "I wish to remain here."

He nodded in understanding. "So be it." He replied. "I have heard from a friend that a skilled warrior of the clan is seeking passage into Qiguai. Perhaps you can meet him and see if you wish to travel with him?"

She nodded. "I'll see."

She doubted she would.

| | | | | | | | | |​

"You can cook?" The gruff legionnaire of the thermopylae asked her. She nodded in reply. "Hmm. It's too bad you're an auxiliary. Can't let you go around in the back where the customers can't see you."

Yahwen frowned. "Isn't there any other way I can help?"

He gave her a once over. "You are pretty enough." He replied. "Up for a waitressing job? Five contribution points per hour."

She wasn't really sure how much that was, but she nodded anyway. "Yes, I'll do it."

"Then I'll see you in the morning." The man replied, with a grin she didn't quite like. "Looking forward to working with you."

| | | | | | | | | |​

The meeting the Noodle Lord set up for her was hard to make time for between her waitressing and the various jobs she had been taking to fill up her time. Eventually, she just called the person - Antonius - to her work. If he didn't like that, well no huge loss.

When he arrived, he took a seat outside the establishment and began to eat something that made her curious. As she made her way to him she realised what he was eating. "Is that noodles?" She asked him eagerly, despite herself.

He looked up from his meal and smiled. He was young and bronze but something about his size reminded her of Many-Axe-Smasher. "Yahwen?" He guessed. She gave him a grinning nod. He raised an eyebrow. "You work here as a waitress?"

Yahwen glanced down at her outfit. "Yeah." She replied, smile turning sheepish. "I'm trying to get a job as a chef but I don't really have the skills." Or at least, my skills aren't good enough for the owner to hire me.

Antonius shrugged, catching her thoughts. "Sorry, it's not a problem. I've done some waitering myself as an aspirant." He replied, gesturing for her to take a seat. "I just didn't think you would have any trouble getting work as a chef since you're a noodle cultivator of the ninth heavenstage."

Is that what he thought? "I was originally a sword cultivator of the Viridescent Blade Duchy," She explained while pulling up a chair. "I only recently decided to try and learn noodle-making."

"How did that happen?" He asked curiously. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the Blade Duchy wasn't one to let cultivators go - especially if you reached the ninth heavenstage."

"I was supposed to go on a journey to hone my swordsmanship," She replied before pausing. They left me easily enough, she thought. Though perhaps she can't blame them. You have to abandon a blade that's been broken. Antonius raised an eyebrow again and she blushed. Why did it seem like he was reading her mind? "Since I didn't know how to work or hunt, I ended up basically starving." She admitted.

"And then your master gave you noodles to eat and you liked it so much that you decided to become his disciple?" He finished for her. "It's what always happens in these stories."

"Well, you're mostly right." She admitted wryly, except for the most important part. "He didn't exactly accept."

Antonius blinked. "Which is why you are having trouble actually working as a chef." He realised. "Why did he refuse, by the way?"

Yahwen sighed. "I was born with Blade Qi, I've always honed Blade Qi and I was even going to pursue the Dao of the Blade. I think that perhaps he doesn't believe I have the dedication to pursue his arts after abandoning mine?"

The brutal honesty seemed to finally throw him off and she wondered if the meeting was over. Then he glanced at the noodles at his table and then back to her. "Noodles?" He asked, pushing his own cup towards her.

She blinked. It was so adorable she couldn't say no. Plus, it interested her.. "I can try it?" She asked hesitantly. When he nodded, she took his chopsticks and took it in with a loud slurp. It was tasty as tasty as the soup lord's own noodles.

As she ate what had been offered to her, she realised that she didn't want this meeting to be over. She might have even made a friend.

She smiled. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad.

| | | | | | | | | |​

Qiguai. It had been years since the plans were made but somehow, they hadn't really seemed all that real to her. Did she really want to go?

She thought of her new friends. Of Corvina, of Xiao Yingzi, of Antonius. They are all such strong people. She wanted to be a part of their lives and ensure that their journey succeeded.

Her eyes went to the sword that she had kept hidden away and she tried to reach for it.

Her hands shook.

She removed it, instead hand going towards the staff she had won in a duel long ago.

She would do what she could.

 

[Quest]

Not sure if I'm completely satisfied with this one, but I'm going to try and catch up to Turn 8 rather than try to make it perfect. If anyone has any advice or criticism upon reading this, I'd be interested to know.

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 45
[Turn 6]
[Duel's Aftermath]​

"How are you doing?" Antonius asked, kneeling down to face level with the fallen Yahwen. His heart beat fast at the duel's conclusion and a part of his attention was still on the retreating swordsman, but most of it was the woman on the ground before him who seemed more scared than he had ever seen her before.

Yahwen flinched as she heard his words, her expression showing pure panic as her eyes flicked from him to the shattered staff on the ground and then to each of their friends in turn, with the same expression on her face. Anger rose within him and only the fact that she clearly needed him prevented him from chasing the swordsman down. I'll be having words with him… He decided.

"Do you want me to break his legs?" Corvina asked, with forced cheer. She kneeled down next to him and her words seemed to throw the woman for a moment before her eyes widened in realisation and she furiously shook her head. The seer raised her hand to show off her spatial ring. "No? I do have a few poisons if you want me to get creative."

Yahwen looked genuinely perturbed at that follow-up causing Corvina to look lost for a moment. Xiao Yingzi walked over, having finally decided what to do and then she awkwardly placed her hand on her shoulder. Yahwen looked at the hand with a blank expression and quickly looked down at the ground to hide her face.

Antonius leaned in closer and he saw the intake of a breath. Before he could react, there was a flash of qi and then she was gone, slipping past them faster than they could react. He found himself stunned at the sheer speed at which she disappeared.

Corvina was the first to recover.

"Yahwen!" She called out, voice loud with shock and anger. She moved right after, but the crowd - rushing but failing to move out of the way - proved more of an obstacle to her than it had to Yahwen with her prodigious skill and unburdened speed.

Antonius recovered a moment later. Though he was physically faster than Yahwen even with the blood of bronze, the crowd was also more of an obstacle to him with his size. He looked around and pushed his way to Corvina. "I should be strong enough to jump directly, grab hold."

As the crowd began to give him a wide berth, Corvina began to climb onto his back with annoying slowness. Relax, he told himself taking deep breaths to calm himself. He couldn't rush this. Corvina paused and he looked up at her, then followed her gaze to Xiao Yingzi.

The girl shook her head. We were on our own, then.

With a quick nod, Antonius made sure Corvina was secure. Then he bent his knees, summoning water to gather around them to help propel him further. As Corvina braced he jumped, sailing over the houses of the city for several moments. "Where?"

Corvina didn't speak, she just pointed and with the direction given Antonius realised that it was far easier to track Yahwen than he'd expected. Her qi was usually like an assassin's knife, sharp and revealed only for an instant. This time, Yahwen's flares of qi were anything but subtle as she drew on her reserves deeply and endlessly in order to make distance between them.

As gravity began to take hold once more, he repeated his question. "Where?" He asked, tracing her route and wondering about her destination. Where was she even going?

"Out." Corvina replied, pointing to the city gates. "Skull-deer?" His mind flashed back to the hunting lessons his mother had given to him and some of the other legion children. A hurt or desperate prey will tire itself out. Wait until they are on their last legs, before exerting your full strength. Hunting tactics in this situation wasn't what would have occurred to him, but it made sense.

"Yes." He agreed. Outside the city would be more private as well. Antonius summoned water once more, extending from one hand until it stuck to a particularly sturdy roof with tension and he swung towards Yahwen, moving at a steady pace so as to not tire himself out. As he moved, he had a moment to see the chaos that had followed in her wake.

A soup chef threw a spoon at him which he dodged while a woman in similar dress screamed at them as they passed. Kitchenhands, likely working in Mogui City in order to improve their mastery of the Dao of Soup. Though cultivators taking to roofs was generally expected, it was polite to reign yourself in. Yahwen's rampant use of qi had earned the ire of the residents.

Soon, Yahwen's flares of qi began to dim, clearly tiring but she was close enough to the walls that she'd likely make it past. Antonius began to speed up. She needed to get past the gates whereas they could save some time by just going past the walls. Drawing on Corvina's knowledge of the arrays surrounding the city, Antonius found a spot that would let him jump over without much issue. He bent into a runner's start and settled into the starting pose of his father's step technique - Bronze Bound.

It relied upon maximising strength to gain maximum speed rather than dextrous agility, relying upon enhancing the clan's naturally enhanced strength. With Yixuan Shan's water based techniques, he could substitute the subtle weight control required from the technique with water enhancing both speed and control.

Water gathered around his body as he channeled qi into his legs. He heard the roof crack under him and he winced - having not completely obliviated the required muscular control - and then he was off like a bullet through the air. Water spread outwards, shielding them from the forces and steering them in the direction of their friend.

For a second, the world was a blur and then he found himself face to face with Yahwen who regarded their sudden appearance with sheer disbelief. It was enough to shock him out of the landing part of the technique. Then his body crashed into hers and they all rolled into the desert sand.

Direction and landing needs work. Antonius noted, jumping to his feet and moving towards the woman who had jumped to her feet instinctively. She still looked at him dazed from the smash and Antonius went back down into the sand drawing upon tricks taught by his father to slip under her and knock her off her feet.

Before Yahwen could react, he slid his leg to her upper body and locked them together before grabbing her legs with both hands. She kicked instinctively but he flowed with the force, letting her legs stretch before applying pressure to her stretched tendons to ensure that she couldn't move away.

For a moment he marvelled at beating her in a match of technique, something that simply wouldn't have been possible had she not been tired, emotional and completely flummoxed by their sudden arrival. That feeling lasted until she began to resist and he realised that he had to let her go or risk breaking her leg.

And then Corvina went and sat on her chest.

"Okay-" She began before taking a breath. "- What -" She took another breath. "- The hell-'' She paused, this time to stop herself from shaking in anger. "Are you doing?" She glared at Yahwen. Antonius felt a touch of guilt as he realised his technique had left her breathless but that was quashed by his own annoyance at Yahwen that began to return after the rush of battle began to recede.

"Yeah, why the hell did you run?" He asked her, voice more of a growl than intended. I was hurt by that. He realised belatedly. Yahwen struggled again but against his strength and Corvina on top of her, it was futile. "I can keep this up all day and I will if that's what it takes."

Her body went slack but she didn't say anything. He heard Corvina take a deep breath. "Why won't you say anything?" She growled at her. Yahwen didn't reply. The moment stretched on as it began to dawn on him that he might not get any answers from her. He was about to get up and leave, to question another source or to just walk away he didn't know but Yahwen finally spoke up before he could.

"I can't." She finally forced out, her voice raw and pleading. It almost broke his resolve but he steeled himself. He had a feeling they'd never get an answer if they didn't force it out of her.

"Try," He replied, voice as patient as he could make it.

He heard Corvina took a deep breath. "Take your time. We have all day." She said, sounding more threatening than consoling before she heard herself and then repeated it in a more normal tone. "Take your time."

"I-" She stopped and he waited patiently as she took a breath, gulped and found the strength to continue. "I lost." Antonius frowned and wished he could see her face. He considered it and then left his hold, moving up to where Yahwen was. She tested the new freedom of her lower body but she didn't try to run.

She looked at his face and then looked away. When neither him or Corvina reacted, she looked at them in confusion. "I lost." She repeated, as if those words should have so much meaning. They probably did to her.

"Go on." Corvina said, patiently. Antonius nodded.

"I've never lost before." She continued, stopping to gather her strength. Then the words came spilling out of her. "I promised myself that I'd never lose again, but I lost. I promised myself I'd master the sword, but I threw it away. I promised myself I'd never use the sword again, but I resorted to it as soon as things became tough."

Antonius winced and reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shoved it away and turned to him. "As if you'd understand!" She shouted at him and he flinched back. "You lost everything, but you're still going on trying to find a solution." She turned to Corvina. "You lost your family and your Dao, you still came this far trying to find a solution to it. Even Xiao Yingzi has taken up a goal and is risking her life to achieve it. I'm just wasting away."

"You came here too." Antonius pointed out but it turned out to be the wrong thing to say.

"Why am I even here?" She asked him. "I don't have anything that I want so badly that I'd be willing to risk dying. I just want to live my life and die in peace. So why the hell am I even here for you?"

"You're here… for us?" Antonius asked with a frown.

"Of course I am! For all of you!" She screamed at them before looking away. "Why else would I come this far? Turns out, I'm not that useful after all."

"Yahwen, do you think you're the only one who feels this way?" Corvina asks her, her voice seethingly calm. "I've spent my whole life learning about heaven's curses and how to exploit them. They are gone now and so is most of my skill set. I can't even complain given how good it is for everyone else. At least you can maybe choose to maybe pick up the sword again. I can hardly ask for heaven to curse me again."

Yahwen looks away. "But you know… everything." She mumbled. "You aren't useless."

"I know the things I learnt in order to prepare for the attention of heaven's curse," Corvina corrected, voice a bit more traditionally calm. "Just as you are an amazing fighter even without the sword. I'm terrible in a fight, you know? Even Xiao Yingzi is better than me and she's in her twenties. Like where does she get all of that focus in her twenties?"

"I was like that too," Yahwen mused.

"Me too." Corvina replied. "We'll have to make sure that she doesn't end up like us, right?"

Yahwen nodded and looked around. "Where is she actually?"

"Didn't come." She answered. "Probably decided that logically, she would only slow us down."

"Hmmm." Yahwen nodded. "Do you really think that you are useless?"

"Sometimes, yeah." Corvina said, looking away self-consciously. "I've… never really mentioned this to anyone besides great-grandmother but I've always perceived the curses upon us as wolves and foxes."

"Go on," Yahwen said, a light smile on her face.

Corvina smiled back before continuing. "Wolf was the one that hunted us and brought us bad luck while Fox was the one who stole the wealth from our lands. When the Hunters arrived - that's how I perceived the trials - it was hell but the wolves were gone afterwards. It really opened up my third eye, making me see things that are only described in notes from ancient seers."

Antonuis nodded, recalling his interactions with her during the trials. "And then?" He asked, causing her to turn to him.

"And then I realised that after spending a lifetime reading malevolent curses, it was much harder to relearn things what was normal." Corvina sighed. "You know, a part of me genuinely resented their departure. I thought if it were to happen, why couldn't it have happened maybe a hundred years later after I'd reached Foundation?"

"Wouldn't it be worse at Foundation?" Yahwen asked her. "I hear it's all about thinking up a philosophy."

"Well, if it really wanted to be convenient it would show up after I reached the Great Circle for Core, just in time for me to shatter it and ascend to Nascent Soul."

"Is that how ascension to Nascent Soul works?" Yahwen asked, curiously.

Corvina blinked. "Oh... um, yeah. You have to acknowledge that your philosophy is flawed and be willing to shatter your Core."

"Huh." Yahwen said. "You know, any number of factions would sacrifice quite a bit for that kind of information?"

Corvina shrugged. "I guess? I figure if they are good enough to get to Nascent, they already have that kind of knowledge."

Yahwen sighed. "I'll probably never even reach Core, let alone something as unbelievable as Nascent Soul. It's weird that you golden devils can even joke about things like that so easily."

"Eh, I think theoretically you might be on the right path for that." Corvina mused to Yahwen's raised eyebrow. "I mean your power increases based upon the whole population, right? You just need to get strong enough to take over and make sure you pick up the skills needed to increase the population. You're already branching out from swordsmanship, aren't you?"

"I don't quite think that would work." Yahwen replied skeptically. "What if I die before the population grows large enough?"

Corvina shrugged. "That's the problem with all sorts of cultivation. Besides there are ways to speed this up. Like acquiring fertility blessings or buying a Blade Bloodline Infusion Array from the clan."

"I'm sure fertility blessings grow on trees." Antonius cut in wryly. "And it's not like that kind of array would be expensive. Wouldn't it be easier just to sponsor Yahwen into joining the clan?"

Corvina blinked. "Oh yeah, it really would."

"Ah, you'd do that?" Yahwen asked with some surprise.

Antonius shrugged. "Sure, we would. Why wouldn't we?"

"Ah..." Yahwen looked away. "I'll think about it."

"Really do that." Corvina replied. "I'm serious here."

Yahwen nodded meekly. "Will you get off me now?" She asked instead.

"I don't know," Corvina replied. "Will you try to run again?"

"Will you try to chase me down?" She said, as if she was seriously considering it.

"Only if you run." Corvina replied with a grin.

Yahwen looked away. "Sorry, I didn't want you guys to see me like that."

"We're friends, Yahwen." Antonius told her. "This would never change that."

"Hey, Antonius." Corvina said sweetly to him. "We've both just talked about our tragic backstories. Why don't you talk about yours?"

"Ah, I'm good?" Antonius asked, stepping back and ready to run. Corvina got up and Yahwen got to her feet. They both exchanged looks.

"I need to get you back for that Achilles Leglock, don't I?" Yahwen asked, rotating her shoulders.

Antonius grinned. "Catch me if you can." He turned and ran, not using wave manipulation to outrun them completely. He felt the flash of qi behind him as both of the women behind him began to chase him to the gates.

He was glad that she was feeling better.

 

[Quest]

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 47
[Turn 6]
[The Imperial Soup 2]​

There was a knock on the door.

The four of them looked at each other and then at the door. "Come in." Corvina called out.

The door opened to reveal a handsome young man in a chef's uniform with an aura of one in foundation establishment. He glanced over the four of them before nodding. "I will be your sommelier this evening." He told them. "Now tell me, have any of you perused the menu already?"

Corvina raised her hand. "I wanted something that wasn't on the menu but I know you have offered before. Would that be alright?"

The sommelier looked her over with a critical eye. "I can't make any promises but I will do what I can. What do you have in mind?"

"I'm a Seer descended from one Wilhelmina Taurus," Corvina explained. "I believe that she came to your Soup Lord for a specific brew that deepened her sight. I was hoping for something similar to that?"

The sommelier blinked. "Wilhelmina Taurus..." He whispered, thinking. "Yes, I do recall a recipe designed for such a person. She was a Legate, yes?"

Corvina nodded. "That's her. I believe the soup was called the Fumes of Pythea?"

The sommelier nodded. "Based on an ingredient the clan made available to us, yes." He considered it for a second. "I don't think we can prepare the original recipe on such short notice but we have the ingredient in stock and we should be able to create a lesser variant."

"Oh." Corvina replied, looking disappointed. But she nodded after a moment. "That will do, thank you."

"Of course." The sommelier nodded at her. "I will have that prepared."

"What does that one do exactly?" Yahwen asked curiously. "I've never heard of the fumes of pythea."

"It's a seer thing." Corvina answered before realising that would do nothing to stem Yahwen's curiosity. "They create a form of advanced synesthesia that allows your sixth sense to impose sensations onto the physical body. For a seer with a focused mind, it allows a deeper level of interpretation of the future."

Yahwen blinked and turned to Antonius. "It's like… closing your eyes to focus on the qi around you but for seers." He explained, to which she nodded.

Corvina sighed. "That's what I said."

Yahwen stuck her tongue out at her. "Antonius' explanation was better."

The sommelier glanced at Yahwen. "And what about you, young lady? Have you thought of what you want?"

"Ah, no." She admitted, glancing through the book of recipes. "There is a lot to pick from."

The sommelier looked at her and considered it. "Based upon your bloodline, would you prefer the Crescent-blade Moonsoup in order to refine your blade qi?"

Yahwen blinked and looked away. Antonius leaned forward out of concern. "I know you like new experiences." Antonius suggested. "How about the Soul-severing Venom? My mother mentioned it."

The sommelier looked at him curiously. Yahwen glanced at the recipe book. "You mean the one that makes you experience an extremely diluted sense of Nascent Soul cultivation?" She replied, looking at Antonius with an eyebrow raised. "I know I said I like new experiences but I don't really enjoy pain."

Antonius shrugged but gave her a sheepish smile. "Then what do you want then?"

"Um." Yahwen glanced down at the recipe book and then up at the Sommelier. She took a breath. "I think I'll have the moonsoup."

Corvina leaned forward as well."Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to."

Yahwen nodded resolutely. "I know. I'm sure."

"If you are sure," Antonius replied before turning to the sommelier who nodded.

"That will be arranged then." He replied and then he turned towards Antonius. "And what about you, young man? Do you want anything in particular?"

Antonius thinks for a moment. "Do you have anything for focusing on the dao?"

The sommelier considers it. "Perhaps. Am I correct in assuming from your bronze skin that you have a particularly strong expression of the Blood of Bronze?"

Antonius sighed. "Not quite. Mine is a new mutation. Would that be a problem?"

"What are its characteristics?" The sommelier asked.

"Halved lifespan and accelerated cultivation." Antonius replied. "It seems to absorb qi from multiple sources without any issues and the reduced lifespan comes from it absorbing my own resources to enrich my bronze blood."

The sommelier frowns. "I'm unsure what qualities would result in that. While we have some information on the standard blood of bronze and other local bloodlines, your bloodline is unique enough that I'd like some time to understand it before providing any offers."

Antonius nodded. "That's what I thought. Do you have anything that just tastes good rather than affects cultivation?"

The sommelier considered it. "A focus on the taste, presumably not to the extent that it turns into a mind-altering effect?" Antonius raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Do you have a particular preference?"

"Maybe something sweet?" He said carefully.

The sommelier nodded. "Excellent! That should be doable." His eyes turned from each of them until they finally came to rest on Xiao Yingzi. Or more specifically, her shadow. "You also seem to have an interesting method of cultivation."

Xiao Yingzi nodded and leaned forward as the attention fell on her. "It is an emotion-eater." She replied. "It drains my qi of emotion and grants me a more refined essence that I use to push to a higher level of cultivation."

"Interesting indeed but certainly not as hard to understand as the man's bloodline." The man considered. "I can probably think of several mixtures that could interact beneficially with that but it is rare enough that I would still hesitate to suggest anything specific your first time here. I wonder… does it go out of control at any time?"

Xiao Yingzi nodded again. "It is often unruly, but I struggle with controlling it especially when I make the jump to another realm. My cultivation process requires that it reach the next realm before me, if only by seconds."

"Requiring you to subdue it every time." The sommelier concluded. "And how is your cultivation going in general?"

"I have just reached the third heavenstage with the aid of my seniors," Xiao Yingzi replied, giving them a thankful nod. "However, I am currently having trouble with the acu-point awareness stage. My reliance on my spirit seems to have left me with a reduced understanding of the flows within my body."

"Then how about a variation on the meridian-cleansing soup paired with the demon-flushing spice?" The sommelier suggested.

Xiao Yingzi glanced at the book of recipes she had been reading before looking back up at him with a frown. "That was a standard blend that aids the meridian opening process and encourages an open mindset for thinking. I can see how that would aid my ability to feel the flow of qi in my body but what sort of variation are you suggesting?"

"I would suggest adding a second accompaniment - specifically the sin-awakening tincture." The sommelier replies. "It is traditionally used to aid mortals attempting to breach the first heavenstage by drawing out their qi through intense emotion. For you personally, it should give you a strong sense of how emotional qi functions when taken with the demon-flushing spice."

"That certainly sounds useful." Xiao Yingzi replied. "Have you used it before? How long do you think the effect would last?"

"While I have not tested this particular mixture, the practise of exposing oneself to an opposing Dao in order to better understand one's own is fairly well-established." He explains. "I would say that the understanding should last for ten years - perhaps more as you have not truly begun establishing your dao. It is difficult to retain insights of an opposing force, however."

Xiao Yingzi bows. "That is satisfactory. I will take this soup."

The sommelier nodded and turned to leave before hesitating at the door. "Is there anything else?" Corvina asked him.

He turned around with a frown and his eyes landed on the one man that was among them. "I heard a friend of mine had a son with a unique bloodline," He said carefully, looking at him. "She was a close friend of Ariadne as well. Is your mother's name Eleanora by any chance?"

Antonius blinked, unprepared to meet someone who knew his parents. "Ah." He replied. "How did you know her?"

"I was their Sommelier as well as your aunt's," He replied, giving him a slight smile. "I actually served them when she met your father."

"Oh." Antonius said, considering how to word his question. "Have you heard anything about them recently?"

The man shook his head. "Last I heard, you were born." He explained. "And then they were too busy to visit. I haven't heard from them since then." Antonius exchanged looks with his friends which caused the sommelier to frown. "Are they alright?"

Antonius sighed, took a deep breath and told him what had occurred in the Yuan Secret Realm. The more he said, the whiter the man's expression got before he had a hand on his head and was leaning against the wall. "I knew the golden devils were going through some difficulties, but I never imagined..."

Antonius hesitated. "Were you close?" He finally asked.

The man sighed. "Perhaps not so much." He replied. "We only knew each other for a few years at most while your mother worked at Mogui City and after that, after that we only met when they came back here."

Antonius frowned. "I do think you can get to know a person very well in a few years," He replied, glancing at his own friends. "It's the quality of the experience that matters, not the amount."

The sommelier shrugs. "Perhaps," He replied before looking at him. "You are travelling in part to find a cure, aren't you?" Antonius nodded. "Let me know if I can do anything to help. Otherwise… will you excuse me? Your orders will be sent down, but I believe I may need a break."

Antonius nodded, not sure what else to say and the man gave him a small smile before leaving. He turned to Corvina and Yahwen who shrugged. They waited in silence, unable to really think of anything to say after that.

Then Antonius blinked and stood up. "I never got his name." Before anyone could say anything, he rushed out.

 

[Quest]

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 48
[Poetry]
[The Three Boars and the Demon Wolf]​

Once there was a clan of boars
With three sons, but no single heir
To prove themselves, their father said
An equal contest was only fair

Go forth my sons, he told them then
And show me how you can stand alone
For the ruling king needs no support
Go build homes and clans of your very own

So went the first boar, the lover of beauty
And sat and spun till his fingers were raw
He desired a home that would fill all with envy
And so built a house made of golden straw

So went the second boar, the lover of life
Who went and grew a home of living wood
As he desired a home that could live and grow
And also to show that he could

So went the third boar, the pragmatic one
And built his home with sturdy brick
He knew well the dangers of the plains
And so he built his walls both tall and thick

He feared both beasts and bandits
Both the hungering and covetous eyes
And lo and behold came a hungry wolf
Cunning and slinking, slobbering by

First it approached the house of straw
Sure and confident was it's sauntering walk
The boar tried to reason, to lead it away
But the hungering wolf was in no mood to talk

As the boar's words died upon it's lips
The wolf gave a grin that showed it's teeth
It sucked in a breath, its lungs like great bellows
The boar simply ran, it's feet clambering in retreat

He left behind the home he'd built
He turned his ears from the straw that fell
He ran to the second boar for help
Chose the house of wood as his new dwell

The second boar welcomed him in
Paying no mind to the wolf following his trail
Sure steps faltering before the house of wood
The second boar was certain that he would fail

Though the wolf huffed and puffed
All the second boar did was smirk
The wooden house was unshaken
So he left the wolf out to lurk

The morning came with a great crash
The wood torn apart by tooth and claw
The breath wasn't the wolf's only weapon
Forgetting that was the boar's flaw

Once more the two boars fled
Sheer luck having saved their skin
They begged for help in the home of brick
The third boar sighed but took them in

All three hid behind the walls of brick
When they heard the wolf's lumbering walk
It's winds could not blow the house away
It's claws returned only answering mocks

It slunk around as the three boars watched
Before retreating away, with no food to eat
The three boars rejoiced in luck and fortune
They took courage from the wolf's defeat

But with no common enemy, the question came
Who of the three would be fit to lead?
The third boar was clearly the winner
But the other two didn't wish to concede

Arguments flew as two turned against one
But further disagreements were broken by a knock
All eyes went up to the sturdy door
And then onto the thankfully sturdy lock

The first boar went to look through the peeping hole
He saw a woman there, barely twenty years old
Shivering in merely a torn and bloody cloak
He still found her beautiful to behold

Then the second boar went to check
He saw the blood on her cloak, drenched red
His eyes traced the tears made by claws
He saw her eyes glimmering with tears unshed

The third boar saw all they saw
He refused to let in one none of them knew
When his brothers argued against it
He threatened to throw them out too

Fists flew as two turned against one
The second boar finally held down the third
While the first went to open the door
He didn't stop, all warnings left unheard

The door opened and the woman entered
So beautiful, with a smile so warm
With every eye upon her, she walked in
And pulled back her cloak, revealing her form

What big ears you have, the first boar frowned
His eyes on the lengthening ears on her head
She smiled, and broke his skull with fists
All the better to hear you with, she said

What big eyes you have, the second boar fearfully said
Looking at her yellowing eyes and lengthening face
As the red cloak ripped apart to show fur
The wolf girl just killed him and moved apace

What big teeth you have, the third boar said
He knew his fate, his voice was resigned
All the better to eat you with, it gloated
If only your brothers weren't so blind

Then the wolf gave a smile that showed it's teeth
It held up the claws meant to rip men apart
It leaned forward, exulting in the moment
Then it went and ripped out his heart

It finished it's meal and regained it's strength
Then it left to settle an old score
With its newfound strength it was sure
It could break open the home of father boar

 

[Quest]

Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 49
[Turn 6]
[Imperial Soup 3]​

His parents had made a big fuss about the difficulty of climbing this tower. His father had been too slow and heavy to make it up and his mother had to carry him to the top. She had the higher cultivation of course, but it also showed a flaw of the clan's bloodline as well as his father's personal technique.

The only one of them that had trouble climbing up was Xiao Yingzi. It was strange to think of his parents as weaker and younger than him, though had they been younger? Antonius didn't think so. That was a strange thought too.

All four of them had taken the first few moments to just appreciate the view. The first thing he noticed was the Great Crane lit by the dawn's light. Then he noticed the plume of steam that rose in the horizon, the dregs of all the soups and spices that were cooked being funneled out from the top of the Demonic Soup Pot, the home of the Shimmering Soup Sect.

Down below, he could see Mogui City sprawling out from under him - the homes of millions of mortals as well as the far more intricate cultivator establishments, some tall enough to dwarf even the walls and arrays that surrounded the city. Technically, the tower they were standing on was one of those cultivator establishments.

"I wonder what my mother saw when she came up here." Antonius wondered out loud. "I mean, I know the physical stuff but I wonder if she saw something more."

"More?" He heard Xiao Yingzi prompt.

"It's hard to explain." He replied, taking a moment to turn it over in his mind. "When I look at it, I wonder about the people. What kind of lives do they live? There are cultivators and mortals living together in a unique balance for generations. It's interesting."

"Most of the permanent cultivators of the city are disfavored members of the Soup Sect or local cultivator families passing down minor cultivation arts barring establishments like the Imperial Soup whose owner is eccentric." Xiao Yingzi recited off of memory. Antonius turned to her as she gazed down dispassionately. "Most of the mortals are part of the soup sect culture - either growing ingredients, making soup themselves or serving customers. There also seems to be a subculture of cooking duels with their own relevant niches."

"Oh, I saw a duel between a Soup Lord and a Noodle Lord once," Yahwen said casually, causing everyone to turn to her. "The Noodle Lord won and that's how we got the Qiguai tickets."

"That's kind of awesome." Antonius replied, looking at her curiously. "How did you never mention that?"

"Didn't I?" She looked at him and tilted her head. "I'm certain I must have."

"You did." Xiao Yingzi clarified. "I believe he simply did not realise that the duel you mentioned involved two Core Formation."

Antonius shrugged. "I guess. So what do you see when you look down there?"

Yahwen frowned. "I don't know. I just thought it was a great view." She turned to Corvina. "What did you think?"

Corvina blinked at the sudden attention and turned towards them blearily. "It looks like a city?" She ventured carefully.

"Yeah, yeah." Yahwen said impatiently. "But what kind of city? What do you feel?"

Corvina shudders at the last phrase. "I've had enough of feeling for at least the next week."

"Bad soup?" Antonius asked.

She nodded with a grimace. "It was quite a trip and not the good kind. I need to prepare myself more if I ever want to try again. You are lucky you just got that… what was it called?"

"Chocolate," Antonius replied, smiling at the memory of his meal. "Made of some exotic fruit called Cocoa. I'm definitely trying that again."

As her glare, Yahwen laughed causing Corvina to turn to her. "And how was your blade soup? I hope it didn't cut you."

Yahwen gave her a wistful smile in return. "It was… familiar." She replied. "I'll need to think about some things."

Corvina sighed and pinched her nose, before turning to look at Xiao Yingzi for a moment. "I found it very educational." She said, answering the unspoken question. "I believe I might be able to advance quickly once I have access to more cultivation materials."

Corvina turned away from her in disgust which caused Yahwen to smirk. "Come on, you have to tell us what you saw, right?" She turned to Antonius and Xiao Yingzi for support.

Antonius considered it and turned to her with interest. Xiao Yingzi took a moment to see his choice before nodding along. Corvina sighed. "Well.." Then she shook her head. "No, actually. There is no way I'm telling you what I saw. I'm taking those things to the grave."

Yahwen gave her a pleading look but Corvina turned towards Antonius, totally ignoring her. "So how do you feel after seeing all of this and coming here?"

Antonius looked at the place they were in. It was a room on top of a tower attached to The Imperial Soup. There was a high parapet meant to keep people from falling with several pillars holding up a roof and a cylindrical chimney in the center. He could almost imagine his parents here. "I'm glad," He finally said. "I'm happy to finally see the place where they first met."

"This is where they first met then?" Yahwen asked, her voice quiet. "Corvina mentioned it, but I was worried about how you would take it."

"They met before, but this was the first place where they really talked." Antonius told her, just glad to talk about it. "Aunt Ariadne invited my father for some business and after the whole thing was over, my mother took him up here."

"Oh, it's a lovely place." She replied, smiling at him. "Good food. Good view. I can see why she might have brought him here if she liked him."

"My mother told me that she always enjoyed coming up here," He told her with a smile. "Though I don't think she ever knew what the tower was for."

"Isn't it just a chimney?" She asked, stepping forward and turning around to look at the one she had been leaning against.

"Actually," Corvina interrupted."It's an attempt at recreating the demonic soup pot's ability to enhance soup with arrays. The array-engineer died in the trials before he ever finished though."

"You can do that too with arrays?" Yahwen asked before shaking her head. "I suppose I shouldn't be very surprised at this point."

"How'd you find that out?" Antonius asked curiously, noting the information in his head. "Mom could never figure it out."

"It was a Taurus array-engineer." Corvina explained with a grin. "It came up on the records I found before we visited."

"Well, it'll be something to tell mom and dad after they wake up." Antonius replied, looking at the view with a wistful smile. "I'm sure they'll be interested to know."

Yahwen reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll do my best to help," Yahwen replied, eyes on looking at him carefully. "You aren't alone, okay?"

"You know I'll help however I can," Corvina added with a smile.

Antonius smiled at them. "Thanks a lot guys," He replied, placing a hand on Yahwen's. "I'll do my best to help you guys out as well."

Xiao Yingzi cleared her throat causing him to look at her. "I will help as well, as much as is reasonably possible." She said quietly. Antonius nodded in response. "It is the least I can do for the aid you have given me."

Antonius smiling at her. "Thank you, Xiao Yingzi." He replied warmly. He was glad he came here. He lifted his hand and held her own for a second. "We'll get you strong as well."

She nodded in response as if there was no other option and Corvina laughed. Antonius felt the sadness lessen in his heart.

He was glad he came here.