Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

Thor's Twin · Nov 10, 2018

The Envoy

Gu Li Na rested sedately in the carriage as her entourage slowly moved through a verdant forest of the Emerald Sea Province. Sunlight gently streamed through the upper canopy of the trees, creating a dappled pattern of light and dark upon the smooth paved stone. Behind her lay a small caravan of guards, merchants, entertainers, and the pack beasts which carried the gifts and treasures to be traded. Each step the entourage took led them deeper into the forest, and closer to their destination, the Ling family home. Currently nestled in some of the darkest parts of the Emerald Sea, it was a difficult, dangerous, but extremely productive journey to make. Hence why father had selected her regularly out of all the other siblings to be the envoy to the Ling in order to resolidify the alliance and work on the newer and more profitable trade opportunities.

Leaves were dyed red from the setting sun by the time Gu Li Na reached the waypoint which was a large clearing housing a bustling town of craftsmen and lumberjacks. As her entourage fully entered the clearing, Gu Li Na saw a small party briskly walk to greet and, hopefully, provide instruction upon where the caravan could rest for the night. The group was comprised of an aging man who had reached the middle stage of yellow, and several uniformed men in red. Gesturing to her driver to stop the carriage, she opened the door and stepped upon the road. Stepping forward to place herself in front of the caravan, she patiently waited for the group to reach her and begin introductions.

It was the same niceties and politeness from her previous times here, with the added twist that they were not expecting a group this large to be passing through. After some quick discussion, it was determined that the town could not house the entire caravan in their taverns and lodges, but that there was space large enough to the west of the village for the caravan to stay and rest for the night. It was an unfortunate, but expected, outcome. Thanking the elder and his guards, Gu Li Na began instructing and directing the caravan where to go, huddling the merchants, entertainers, and wealth in the center and creating a ring of guards around them. Even in an area with properly maintained wards, it was prudent to be cautious. It would be a disaster of the highest order if some spirit beasts were able to sample the more exotic, potent, and expensive materials. And as Gu Li Na looked out across her caravan, she saw her destination in the distance. A small mountain rising sharply out of the forest, creating a sharp contrast with the rest of the canopy as the sun set behind it. For a moment, she thought she saw twin embers blazing upon the summit of the mountain, like the eyes of a god gazing upon an unusual spectacle. But as quickly as that thought crossed her mind, Gu Li Na dismissed it. The Guardian of the Ling has rested and slept for over a generation, and it was the height of folly to think that it would care about her presence now.

With the rising of the sun, the caravan was moving towards the distant mountain again. Farewells were given to the Elder, and now the most dangerous part of the journey began. Transitioning from smooth cobblestone, the current path was paved in polished obsidian which reflected only the bright brilliant lanterns of the convoy. The woods grew darker and even the bark of trees became blackened as if they had survived a great forest fire. Dark shapes danced among the thicking forest as the sun was completely blotted out by the canopy, plunging the caravan in perpetual twilight. Mist began curling around them, kept at bay only by the formations etched into the edges of the road. It was disconcerting, knowing that stepping off of the road may get you trapped eternally in the mists, your perception twisting as the space around you warped, pulling you deeper into the eternally dark forest.

There was a comfort, though, in knowing that the Guardian of the Ling still kept the eon old formations powered. Apparently copying some of the more potent techniques that their ancestor had developed, the formation created mists kept all those who were undesirable from even approaching the Ling Clan's manor unless they used the proper routes and roads. Only members of the Ling Clan could truly walk amongst the mists unhindered.

Still though, seeing the shadows dancing through the trees was a stark reminder of the power that the Ling Clan held. Users of more ancient traditions and techniques than even the Imperial System, the Ling Clan had demonstrated the potency of their arts against barbarians and insurrectionists alike. Nothing seemed to stop a member of a Ling Clan for long, and they had demonstrated a patience and cunning that was only surpassed by the Bai.

Which made them all the more powerful allies, Gu Li Na thought. Cultivators of powerful herbs and fruits, made all the more potent by the powerful qi of the Guardian of the Ling, were always in demand. Especially when the saplings of some of their trees could even survive the destructive qi in the desert. The wealth spent on acquiring those precious saplings was a small price to pay for comfort they gave and the ground they reclaimed.

The darkness in the trees seemed to lighten slightly when the caravan reached the final stopping point. Gathered under the boroughs of a truly massive tree by the side of the road was a collection of Ling Clan members and servants hopefully here to assist in reaching the final destination. Just around the bend in the road rose a veritable wall of flesh and shell, the first actual sight of the massive Xuan Wu that the Ling Clan called home since entering this final leg of the journey. It was humbling, knowing that with a twitch this whole forest could be subsumed in a great fire that would put her own flames to shame.

Gesturing for her carriage to stop, Gu Li Na opened the door and stepped out. Now the song and dance of politics would begin again, hopefully to the benefit of both the Ling and the Gu clan.

A/N:
This omake was inspired by @yrsillar's own Xuan Interlude. Also, it would take place millennia after the current events where Zhengui is already white himself. I hope you enjoy the read, and as always critiques and criticisms are welcomed. Additionally, @yrsillar another omake for the omake throne.

Neshuakadal · Nov 15, 2018

The Far Far Future

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Zheng Lie slipped into hall four. He searched quickly for any familiar faces in the near empty hall but of course found none. He was to be the first cultivator of the Zheng clan. His father was ecstatic, of course, seeing this as a chance to bring the Zheng clan to the greatest heights. To bring the mercantile empire of the Zheng clan up to the heavens! At least, that is what Zheng Lie managed to pick out during his father's drunken ramblings at the parties thrown in Zheng Lie's honor. The last week of his life had been the most confusing that Zheng Lie had ever managed to live through. In one week his father had tried to makeup for 14 years of neglect.. Now though, Zheng Lie was alone and he tried to desperately remember the half hearted lectures his tutors gave him on making friends. At this moment though he could only remember his father telling him to "make connectioshns s-s-so the Zsheng can ma-ma-get money!"

As Zheng Lie looked around at the sparsely populated room his attention was drawn to a boy with short blue hair with a pale green shirt with small golden whorls in a pattern he couldn't quite figure out. The boy had a writing station set out before him but did not seem to be writing anything just yet. The other people that were here had already formed groups of two or three and where talking quietly. This boy was the only other person alone. Moving before his confidence could desert him, Zheng Lie approached the front row.

As Zheng Lie approached, the boy turned to face him. Swallowing his heart Zheng Lie bowed to the stranger. "Greetings, this one is known as Zheng Lie. I was hoping you would allow this one the opportunity to speak with you as we wait." Zheng Lie held his breath. He was hoping that this humble approach would work.

"I of course do not mind. This one is known as Li Yong. I would be pleased to speak to a fellow early arrival. I hail from Fenghou. Where do you hail from?"

Zheng Lie felt his stomach ease. He could do this. As he gently took his seat he responded "I hail from Tonghou."

Li Yong gaze turned thoughtful. "Tonghou? I have heard that name before… ah! Is it not the city recently brought under the care of the Ling Clan?"

Zheng Lie blinked in surprise. That transition had happened five years ago. How was that recent? "It is as you say. The previous caretakers were deemed to have failed in their duties of maintaining the spirit wards along the trade roads." He still remembered the day the mists rolled into the city making it difficult to even breathe let alone walk anywhere. The next day the mists had left and his father had announced to the clan that the venerable Ling Clan had taken on all the tasks and duties that Tonghou would require. "Being in the care of the Ling clan has only brought prosperity to the city of Tonghou."

Li Yong chuffed in amusement. "Of course. Members of the Ling clan are quite zealous in taking care of any imperial duties that fall upon them. Is that not right Mei-Mei?"

Zheng Lie nearly tumbled out his seat as a soft voice spoke right next to him.

"Of course the Ling clan is zealous in imperial matters as all clans should be. And Yo-Yo please do not use that childish nickname anymore or I will have to come up even more childish nicknames for you."

Zheng Lie stared at the girl who had been sitting next to him for spirits knows how long. She wore a pitch black dress that had a silver edge at the hem, the sleeve ends, and the collar. She also wore a matching set of earrings that were a black circle chased with silver. She was resting her head on her hand as she gazed with a look that could be called disinterested were it not for the twinkle of amusement in her eyes. She was by far the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

Zheng Lie hastily stood to bow. "Ah.. Greetings, this one is known as…"

The soft voice cut him off. "Zheng Lie, yes. Please have a seat. There is no need to be so humble or formal. After all we are all still children."

Li Yong gave a wave towards the girl who had apparently been behind Zheng Lie the whole time without Zheng Lie noticing. "This is Ling Meizhen. Since our clans are ancient allies we have been friends our whole lives. Congratulations though Meizhen on a full yellow breakthrough. I had not realized you were so close when we last saw each other."

Ling Meizhen turned her gaze towards Li Yong. "Thank you Yong. My sister is mostly to credit for this state though. She wanted to shine as brightly as possible when she arrived here and so convinced grandfather to give us a training ground far closer to the guardian then normal. I still don't think I have washed all the sweat off. However, I also see that you have breached into silver. Congratulations as well."

Li Yong laughed slightly "I was given a new recipe soon after we parted last time. I have benefited greatly from the new pills I have made."

As the conversation turned towards topics and words that Zheng Lie did not understand his stomach started to twist and turn again. As he tried to swallow his heart again the door to the hall opened. Ling Meizhen's gaze snapped towards the sound.

Ling Meizhen's soft voice now had a slight ringing sound as if there was a distant bell inside her. "Wang Min, Red 1, Gold 2."

As Zheng Lie turned a questioning gaze towards Li Yong he saw there was already a small picture with the name, colors and numbers that Ling Meizhen had rattled off below it. As Li Yong meet his questioning gaze Li Yong gave a small shrug and a small smile.

While Li Yong set aside his brush he started speaking again. "It is best to know where as many people stand as possible to better understand what pills will be in greatest demand. Ling Meizhen as you can see is far better at seeing where people stand then most and is very helpful to this little reference project of mine."

Ling Meizhen's gaze was now resting on something near the front of the room. "Friends help friends."

Zheng Lie and his rapidly sinking stomach both had the feeling as though he had jumped into the deep end of a river without knowing he was jumping, or that he was near a river. Now he could only hope to keep his head above the waters he felt starting to climb at his neck.

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Well guys another omake. This one takes place quite far in the future. I have been thinking a great deal about how the Ling Clan might possibly look like in the future. This is an attempt at showing a possible future Ling clan from an outsider's perspective. I tried for some humorous interplay between two old friends and some one who has has confidence issues. Please enjoy and critique!
@yrsillar An Omake for the Omake Throne!

TehChron · Nov 16, 2018

Chu Song Negaverse

For the second time, you look upon the Outer Sect Mountain from the place set aside for the older Disciples. The failures. Those who could not meet the cut for the Inner Sect. For the second time, you knew that you did not belong here, among the failures and the disappointments. For the second time, you had been unlucky. For the second time, you had been robbed of your well-earned opportunity.

For the second time, for the last time, you resolved yourself to get back on track, and advance on the long road towards restoring your clan.

You are Chu Song, and you will not be denied a third time.

It was the first day since the beginning of the new year, and though the events of the previous one had been tumultuous indeed, you understood keenly that you were head and shoulders above those who would be entering the ranks of Outer Sect Disciples this year. Yes, just like last year. However, this year you were armed with knowledge you did not possess the previous one. Information earned through the grim toll of experience. This year, there was little doubt that Cai Demon's abominable government would remain in some form or another, courtesy of her mewling, oversized idiot of a bootlicker Gan...Something. It didn't matter.

Cai's Big Lapdog is how you always thought of him, and if anyone bothered to correct you you'd let them! But he was the pawn of the Demon, and so he'd try and copy her ways. You might be able to defeat him, your ex-Lil' Bro Ji Rong had managed it, sure, but then he had gotten beaten by the same self-absorbed little snit that had taken you out like you were trash. No less a demon than her mistress, that one.

Sure, you were bitter. You'd try warning her, but a rat's still a rat, no how far they'd climbed out of the gutter. At least you and Ji Rong had been agreed on that much...But damn, that still stung. You'd gotten your hopes in working with the lil' bastard, helped raise him up when he didn't have anyone else, and then what happens? That freaking embarrassment Sun Princess showed up, won you both over with boasts about just how 'brilliant' she was, and how you 'needed to stick together' to beat the Cai demon.

Man, what were you thinking?

You must've been desperate to go along with those promises of hers. And as a result, you lost your lil' bro to the clutches of that miserable little harpy. Pfft. She just wanted to pretend to be some perfect lil' Princess while covering herself in blood. You knew the type. Sun Liling might've had everyone else fooled, but a Chu always sees through people. That's why your clan knew the Demon exactly for what she was, and why you understood just how Sun Liling had been a faker...But you'd bought into it anyway. Like a sucker.

At least Ji Rong had the excuse of getting distracted by that useless fat on her chest, what were you looking for?

Well, whatever. You couldn't do anything about it for a year anyway, not directly anyway, same as with the Demon and her merry band of the Snake, the Turtle, and the Rat. And that mousy little blue haired girl, too. Sheesh. Those two really had to suck all the talent around them into their little circles, didn't they? But as a result...Of the groups left after last years mess, there's still that group under the Han kid and the leftover remnants of the two greater factions too. Plus, with The Worm gone into the Inner Sect, that meant there were a lot of subordinates just waiting to be snatched up.

A lot of people who sure would like to hitch themselves onto the bandwagon you'd make for yourself once you got started on the business of remaking the Clan. Heck, even among the girls still here the only one capable of really contesting you was Wen Ai, and she and you had wildly different views on recruitment. Yeah, you've got this in the bag.

Third time's the charm, right?

Choose One:

[] Han Jian: The guy was the ringleader of a four man squad. Or he would have, ordinarily, but that firebrand Gu girl wound up making it into the Inner Sect at the expense of Wen Ai. You had no love for the hoity toity faker, but there was no way she wouldn't take offense to you lending this group a hand. Especially since the Han kid is still strutting about in that Cai Armor of his. Still, you needed the allies, and he at least wasnt beholden to the Demon.

[] Gan Whatever: Yeah, he was a bootlicker and subordinate to the Demon. But he wasn't the demon herself, and you had held your nose up enough at worse things (like Liling bossing you around) to know that sometimes you needed to make sacrifices of pride in order to get more important payoffs down the line. He's gonna be setting up a fake council or whatever in the Demon's absence, so he's gonna be desperate for strength to help him keep it going. Hey, at least it'll pay better than the pittance that Liling tossed you when you worked under her.

[] Wen Ai: The flower priss wasn't someone you got along with, but rumor has it she was building bonds with Kang Zihao before the end of the year, in the event that one or the other of them didn't make it into the Inner Sect. Wen Ai was definitely going to push herself to make it in after she got blasted out by someone who wasn't even fully third realm at the time, and you needed a good sparring partner. Plus, she might have an in with that beefcake Kang, and you wouldn't say no to saying hello to him, mhmm.

[] Lu Feng: The last remaining bit of Sun Lilings crew, which wasn't saying much because pretty much everyone abandoned that overhyped poser after she surrendered to the Demon. Of those, the only ones that really mattered were your ex-Lil' Bro and Mister Luscious Locks over there. He wasn't exactly the type to lead, more the cloak and dagger type, and if he wanted to strike back at The Demon's lackeys this year, he'd need some muscle to back him up. Besides, it'd be only too fitting if you managed to snatch him away the same way that the lil' Princess had managed to steal what was yours. Turnabout and whatever.

[] Take Your Chances: See if there were any independents left for you to pick up that hadn't really participated in that mess last year. You remember there being some fox half breed with the Rat and her Blue Haired friend that one time, and she didn't even try to get into the tournament if what you heard was right. There's gotta be some other diamonds in the rough just waiting for someone to take them under their wing, right?

Devilis said:
Okay, we need to set up our own bloc. First year? We got rekt because we tried to YOLO everything. Second year? We got rekt because we tried to suck up to someone more powerful than us. This year? We get to be the big girl on campus. It's the only way to win.

twochron said:
We literally tried that at the beginning of last year, man. It went so badly that we wound up shacking up with Liling anyway just to try and salvage that mess of hot garbage as everything went to hell around us. It just isn't a working model. If anything, us half assing working under someone else is what screwed us over! We saw how strong Ji Rong and Lu Feng got after the war ended. Imagine if the Disney Princess had given us some of that dosh too! We'd have swatted that fly out of the air for sure.

bungi angel said:
Hey larsilly, why don't we get the option to try and poach from the newbies?

larsilly said:
What are you planning to do, just creep up around the first year's area and act like a stalker for three months until you can interact with them after the ceasefire ends?

ElasticOgre said:
So Smol Demon's Big Guy shows up one day to ask us if we're 'SongEncore2017' before having us take a seat? :thinking:

White Noise said:
Look, I think we're underestimating the value of the Mystery Box option, guys. We're looking to make our own group, right? So let's find the leftovers that no one cared about from last year, and maybe we'll be able to use them to dominate stuff this year. We even remember where all those second year trials are at, so we can probably use them to bribe some people over to our side if we move quickly enough.

Boateus said:
Look, it's obviously a good idea to take that fire chick's place in catboi's Four Man Band. We're totally hotter than that THOT, right? Right.

A.N. There you go, another Omake as promised, @yrsillar . Regrettably, the only person who's tone I'm sure I absolutely nailed is the Arkeus expy tho.

Neshuakadal · Nov 17, 2018

Exploration for Beasts

Liu Wei gazed upon the small gathering of nail beaked wrynecks. It was a slightly disheartening find. While observing these creatures as the drank sap from the mighty trees was interesting and gave him insights into their natures they were very common grade 1 beasts in the Emerald Sea. He had been hoping that he would be able to see a predator of the wrynecks. The shadows had lengthened and darkened but nothing had appeared. Instead Liu Wei was simply getting a headache from the great deal of noise that wrynecks made. Soon Liu Wei would have to give this up as a lost cause.

As the last lights from the sun died the wrynecks flew off to their nest. Liu started to stretch his cramped legs. Staying still in such a small space for so long was quite hard on his silver body he thought wryly. As he began packing up his tree perch he heard a soft noise against the leaves. The noise sounded a great deal like a silk scarf passing through the leaves above him. As slowly as possible Liu Wei stepped back into his warded perch. Looking outside again he saw a large moth slowly drift down to where the wrynecks had been hammering away. Sap still oozed from the tree as the moth softly settled down and started to drink.

This was fantastic! This was everything that Liu Wei had dreamed about. No imperial bestiary he had memorized had mentioned a moth with this behavior in this part of the Emerald Seas before! Quickly Liu Wei began to take notes about everything he had saw so far. The beast was a low green beast! The color and texture of the moth were changing to match that of the tree! Fastasanting! If Liu Wei had not know it's exact location he would not know where it was now. Slowly he began to prepare his talismans. He had trained and prepared for this. If he could bring back a new beast and record its entry into the imperial bestiary his reputation would increase greatly! He might even be able to leverage this to get access to the Meng clan's marshes. They were quite a bunch of isolationist but surely they would see the value to adding beasts to the imperial bestiary!

Slowly he honed his gaze on where the beast was and focused his attention. With a gasp he dumped as much qi into the talisman as he could overloading it. A net shimmering with a multitude of strange colors burst out of his perch and towards the human sized moth. The moth tried to flee but was far to slow. As the moth gently pushed off the tree the net slammed into it, quickly wrapping around the moth before a pulse of lake qi erupted from the net and sending the beast into a deep sleep and sending it tumbling onto the forest floor.

Liu Wei dove out of his perch towards the beast. He would need to be fast. There were a great deal of dangerous creature that would love to eat both him and the prize he had just caught. Such a pulse of qi would not go unnoticed. His "Monkey Reaching for Branches" art proved its usefulness allowing him to reach the ground faster than he would have been able to only months ago. Blitzing towards the creature he hoisted the moth across both his shoulders. Already he could feel the beast twitching as the lake qi's effect wore off. He activated the talisman on his back. Two straps shot out over his shoulder and connected its matching pair on his chest. Lake qi began to flow through the strap and into the net. Now with the beast firmly asleep he began his long run through the dark woods. Liu Wei grimaced as he heard a howl from a wolf pack closing in. He definitely had a long run ahead of him.

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A.N

@yrsillar an Omake for the Omake throne!
This idea came from a lot of reading about Darwin and other naturalists exploring the world looking for new animals to catalog. Since there is an imperial bestiary someone needs to fill it. But I doubt filling it would be as easy as picking a butterfly off of a flower.

Neshuakadal · Nov 23, 2018

The Weight of Duty
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The tapping of his fingers against the polished wood of his ji brought about a sense of peace as he saw the battle unfolding before him. It was going poorly. He would need to regroup his army soon before a full rout happened. Before he could fully finish his thought his advisor began to speak.

"General Cheng Yu, the right flank is wavering."

"Very well. Ma Xun, order a full retreat. The army will regroup on those hills and we then we can discuss what is happening here."

"Of course General. I shall order the retreat."

As Ma Xun began to signal to signal the different divisions Cheng Yu set his sights on the battlefield for the last time that day. Ghastly arrows poured out of the vast mounds of rubble that used to be a city before Ogodei and his horde arrived. Tight formations of wavering shapes holding shattered equipment held the line against the imperial forces. The injuries were piling up. While the ghosts could not harm his forces easily given the spirits low levels, his soldiers were also not able to deal serious blows given the spiritual nature of the enemy. Now both armies were grinding against each other unable to deal a telling blow. However, ghosts do not need blood or food. If things did not change the imperial army would lose.

His imperial forces had been force marching in order to try to link up with other armies and force an engagement against Ogodei and his horde. Then news of Ogodei and his death reached the army along with new orders. This was to be the second city to be cleansed by their army. The first had offered no challenges and they simply purged it of the spirits and beasts that had moved in and set up a temporary warding array. This city was supposed to be no different. Now though the imperial forces were stuck fighting a ghostly army they could not damage. To Cheng Yu many questions needed to be answered before plans could be formed. The rubble before him must be taken according to imperial decree and he was the one to do the cleansing. As the dying sun's rays illuminated the marred and broken landscape General Cheng Yu stood, as a mountain, watching his army retreat.

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As the moon began its rise General Cheng Yu carefully set the tea he had finished drinking down upon the table showcasing the surrounding area. As the cup was set down he finally spoke to his advisors.

"This is not suppose to be happening. The ghosts that are created from the death of a city should have dispersed seeking vengeance or have been devoured by other beasts and spirits moving in. They should not have kept hold of the city nor should they have organized themselves into such a discipled army. A ghost powerful enough to act as a general of ghosts could not have been formed in such a short time. Has anyone been able to find information about what could be happening in this city?"

Long Gengxin spoke up after a brief silence.

"I have searched through the information available to me and have found some information that helps explain what is going on. This city used to be the seat of the Chen clan. The Chen clan was a small but old viscount clan that was known for focusing on the binding of ghosts and other such spiritual entities. When Ogodei trampled the city the Chen clan vaults would have broken unleashing any stored ghosts into the city."

Ma Xun spoke next.

"This matches the reports I have received from several of my scouts. The scouts have seen what appears to be the leader of these ghosts. It is a cyan level ghost with three green level bodyguards."

Silence meet this disastrous news. While a lone cyan spirit could be meet in the field of battle and likely be triumphed over; a cyan spirit with an army, even an army as low quality as the one that stood before them, was a disaster. The only cyan level support that was anywhere nearby fought at the Wall exacting retribution against the cloud tribes. General Cheng Yu spoke into the silence.

"Are there any members of the Chen clan marching with us?"

Long Gengxin was quick to answer, "I have checked the records and no member of the Chen clan is marching with us." The weight of silence again filled the command tent.

"We can not win a battle of attrition against such spirits." General Cheng Yu broke the silence again. "Ma Xun, do you believe that if we slay the ghost general that the force keeping the other spirits here will disappear?"

"Yes, if the ghost general is killed then at the very least the ghostly legions before us will lose their disciple and we can start destroying them one at a time. Some may scatter seeking vengeance against their killers but those won't last long against the other beasts and spirits in the area."

"Very well the plan is clear. Gather all the green souls and have them meet with me outside of camp at sunrise. We must cleanse this city and we can not seige such spirits out. We will gamble everything on an attempt to kill this ghost general. Dismissed."

As the advisors and camp aides shuffled out his aide gave him a refilled tea cup before leaving as well. He brought the tea with him as his feet took him to a small tree. As Cheng Yu sat watching the moon above he already could imagine the whispers in the camp. Whispers about how he was going to waste all their lives trying to take this pile of rubble when he could retreat. General Cheng Yu and his advisors knew the truth though and the truth was steel in his heart. If such a legion of spirits were to move and disappear into the towering trees of the Emerald Sea then the next time they would appear they would be much stronger and another city would die. It was his duty to destroy this force now while it was still weak. General Cheng Yu would do his duty no matter how heavy it might be.

After a deep sigh Cheng Yu took a sip from the slightly colder tea. He could see the reflection of the full moon stuck in his tea cup. His thoughts and gaze drifted towards the beautiful moon. It was a fine moon tonight. The few clouds that were hovering near the moon gave an ephemeral beauty to the scene. Raising his tea cup towards the moon as if in toast Cheng Yu spoke.

"Thank you for such a night. I am glad that what may be my last night is filled with such beauty."

Silence fell again as Cheng Yu lowered his cup and sat, as an unmoving mountain, watching the moon continue its uncaring course through the distant sky.

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Cheng Yu was watching the sun rise as the other green soul officers arrived at the front of the camp. Twenty cultivators were standing behind him. While General Chang Yu was at the seventh level of green and bronze, most of those with him were far weaker. It would have to be enough. Nodding to each of the men in turn General Chang Yu began walking towards the piles of rubble. Sensing rather than seeing his fellow soldiers moving to form a spear head as they too began walking towards battle. As the first flight of ghostly arrows flew from the rubble General Chang Yu started running.

As an avalanche of rocks strikes a tree line so too did General Chang Yu strike the first ghostly formations that meet him. His ji shining with a grey light as it cut through line after line of spirits. Such weak red level spirits could barely even resist his blade as it tore through them. Now that General Chang Yu was in the ruined city he could feel the powerful presence of the fourth level ghost. The great maze of ruined buildings slowed the twenty men down significantly as they tried to rush through the rubble. Finally with one more group of ghosts obliterated they arrived to the gates of a ruined building in the center ring of the city where the fourth level presence radiated from. The sun had risen to its noon height now and its rays revealed the truth before them. Four ghosts at the fifth stage of green stood in front of the gate.

Ma Xun spat onto the ground. "I guess I need to up the training of my scouts if they missed a fourth green level ghost."

The four ghosts raised their shields and spears and began to advance towards the imperial strike force. Then a pulse of power and and an accompanying scream herald the arrival of the ghost general. The cyan level ghost garbed in ancient armor was holding one of General Chang Yu's officers by the neck with one hand and a jagged scimitar in the other. Around his neck were four severed heads tied to together with string. Mouths open in a death scream and their eyes torn out those severed heads appeared to General Chang Yu as a herald of fate should he fall here.

"Squads two through five deal with the guards. Squad six prevent the weaker ghosts from running interference. Squad 1 with me."

As the ghost general threw the unfortunate officer away the group split. Each man knowing his task and his duty. With one of the weaker officers almost right next to him General Chang Yu starts advancing towards the ghost general. In a near blink of an eye the ghost general was in front of the soldier next to him. It's ghastly blade blurring in a two handed strike towards the poor soldiers neck. It was in this instance that General Chang Yu knew the trap had worked. Even as the ghosts blade struck its target General Chang Yu activated his domain. In a space of 25 meters around Chang Yu stillness was absolute. Everything within his domain felt the great weight of duty, duty as heavy as a mountain. The blade that was touching his officer's neck did not move even as the officer's qi bled freely from him trying to keep him alive. It was not enough though as the weight of a mountain crushed everything in General Chang Yu's domain. The soldier could not even scream as his form vanished; not even blood could withstand the crushing weight.

The ghost generals form began straining against the full weight of a mountain as Chang Yu agonizing steps brought him closer to it. Weight heavy enough to contain a cyan spirit was horrifically difficult even for Chang Yu to bear. Blood began to seep out of his mouth and was staining his teeth as Chang Yu took each step towards the spirit. With a bloody smile, and with his veins nearly popping out, he began to raise his ji into an overhead strike.

A member from each of the other combat groups jumped backwards towards General Chang Yu and began to weave their qi into him. He felt the sturdiness of great trees fill his legs as the roaring of bears filled his ears. He felt the roiling of a storm fill his stomach as the strength of a great river flowed into his arms. As his ji thundered downward he could feel the might of the heavens escaping from his eyes and he felt the weight of his duty driving his ji forward. Everything was gambled on this one strike. There was nothing left to follow through. If the ghost did not die from this one strike they would all die here. With a great cry Chang Yu drove the ji downwards through the spirits shoulder. The blade finally came to a stop in the middle of the spirits stomach.

The ghost general's eyes stared into Chang Yu's bloody face as its form began to lose stability. Slowly the cyan spirit started dissolving into motes of qi that his domain quickly crushed. The severed heads were the last to go. Their eyeless faces dissolving under the weight of his domain. Turning around and withdrawing his domain Chang Yu saw the situation. Two more of his officers had fallen their qi guttering out as they held the green level ghosts at bay. Now though the bodyguards were not fighting together but as separate spirits and he could feel the ghostly army surrounding his strike force dissolving into confusion. He was fortunate that the ghost general had been a lower level cyan spirit. With its death the tide was turning. The weight of duty did not destroy him on this day.

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@yrsillar An Omake for the Omake Throne!

Since the last omake I wrote was in 3rd person past tense I tried to make this one consistently 3rd person present tense. Don't think I completely got it but I enjoyed the process! I hope everyone enjoys this omake as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The idea is based on the idea that after an invasion as massive and destructive as Ogodei's then a lot of clean up work would need to happen.

Pleas critique as it helps me become a better writer!

Thor's Twin · Dec 1, 2018

Sparring with Zhengui

Scorching ash billowed around Ze Tai, searing his lungs and nose with every steady breath. Before him rose a shadow of monstrous proportions, the body of a Xuanwu in it's earliest stages of maturity. Stretching at least ten meters for just the shell, this was a spirit beast of dominating size. Already he could feel the weight of its gaze through the smoke and ash, pressing down upon him like he was an ant. No matter, it would feel the pain of defeat soon enough.

However, this was going to be a challenging fight. Already the entire arena was in his opponent's control and the spar had only just begun! It was better this way though, more of a challenge.

With a cry, Ze Tai lept forward, his spear coursing with the currents of a thousand rivers. In a blink of an eye, he was beside the leg of his opponent striking upward into the joint of the shell at the base of Zhengui's leg. There was an unbearable heat coming from the shell as it turned shades of orange and red, causing steam to erupt from Ze Tai's spear and protective mantle of water.

The spear struck true, however, undeterred by the immense heat. Flesh was gouged and flaming blood began to seep out of the wound. The ground rumbled and shook around Ze Tai as Zhengui shifted in pain, but the victory was short-lived. Roots the width of a man's torso shot out of the ground all around, and Ze Tai had to dance and weave and drill through in order to avoid being entrapped and suffocated.

He sensed the next attack before it came, and dashed forward to go under the fan of molten poison spit out by Zhen. He could see the mirages caused by the heat brush past his hair and could feel the ground melting when touched by the venom. Nasty stuff that.

He needed to end this fast. The long game would be playing into Zhengui's strategy, which meant that the outcome of the spar needed to be decided soon. Formulating an idea, Ze Tai lept to the back of Zhengui, to the part of the shell where Zhen was attached. A wave of fire greeted him, but he pushed through it, singeing his forearm in the process. Stabbing forward, he pierced Zhen's less protected flesh. A roar of pain shook the very air around him, but he stepped forward into the strike digging the spear deeper into Zhen.

Suddenly, a tremendous force picked him up and dashed him into the ground, bouncing him like a doll. Looking up, Ze Tai could see the huge serpentine shadow of Zhen hovering above him, with a glowing fire appearing inside his fanged jaws. Quickly rolling to the side, Ze Tai barely avoided the bolt of liquid fire as it drilled into the dirt beside his torso. Roots burst from the ground seeking to entrap him, but were cut down while he made his escape to safer distances.

This spar… was not going well. The recent pummeling had caused him to lose his grip on his spear which was currently embedded into Zhen's flesh, and without it, there was no way he would be doing any damage through the shell and scale of Zhengui. Grunting, Ze Tai flashed forward, diving into a roll to avoid the snapping jaws of Zhen and to blast through the roots seeking to stop him from retrieving the spear.

Reaching the spear, Ze Tai grabbed it and spun himself around it like a monkey, orienting his feet towards Gui's shell and then pushing off to drag his spear along Zhen's length. Carving through Zhen seemed to do nothing, however, as the flesh bubbled, regrew, and reknitted only slightly slower than the spear. With a grunt, Ze Tai pulled the spear out of Zhen and flashed to the side, landing and rolling to get out of range of the serpent's counter-attack.

Standing with a grimace, Ze Tai began to notice incredible pain in his feet. Glancing quickly to see, he noted that his slippers were melted and feet turning a brilliant red.

"I yield!" Ze Tai screamed.

Suddenly the blinding and choking ash disappeared, replaced by a wave of vitality and regrowth. Plants which were charred and blackened began growing anew, but Ze Tai was already frantically cutting away his slippers from his flesh. Trapping new flesh in melted footwear would be… counterproductive to say the least.

Succeeding, he glanced up into the curious eyes of Zhengui. With a deep rumble, they began to speak in disconcerting synchronization.

"You caught me off guard by using my shell to propel yourself forward into an attack. Cleaver, but ultimately a terrible decision."

"Yeah, yeah," Ze Tai groused, "I didn't realize how quickly your volcanic shell can work when something comes into direct contact with it. I'll do better next time."

"Well, that's the point of the spars! Anyway… I'm a bit peckish so I'm going to see if I can't catch a Black Steal Bear for a snack before Big Sis comes by."

Ze Tai watched Zhengui trundle away from the sparring arena, each step causing tremors to vibrate the earth. How Zhengui caught any food without scaring it all away with his movements, he would never know. Ah well, at least Baroness Ling kept Zhengui well fed, it would be terrifying to fight against him when hungry and looking for food. Ze Tai had no desire to end up Zhengui's mid-afternoon snack, no thank you.

With a grunt, Ze Tai stood up. Time was always moving, like a coursing river. Better get to his meditation chamber to work through the insights gained in the spar, like working on his defensive techniques.

A/N:
So, another omake for the omake throne @yrsillar!

This came out of some brainstorming of how a person would fight Zhengui. The answer for the character in the omake was to target the joints in the shell and to focus on dealing damage to the Zhen portion, given it's not protected by an incredibly tough shell. Alas, the character decided to use Gui's shell to propel himself which caused his feet to come into direct contact with the volcanic shell. Given that this character is more of a dodgy person, this did not prove to be a good decision.

Anyway, critiques and criticisms are welcomed, and I hope you enjoy the read.

TehChron · Dec 5, 2018

Chu Song Negaverse II: The Out-Foxening

There was only one thing for it, in the end.

You paused, before ultimately nodding to yourself. There were a bunch of hangers-on that the Demon and her little minions had assembled in the past year, and most of them were unable to make it to Inner Sect. Well, it was only right. If you couldn't get in that year, what right did suckups like Gan Guangli have to benefit from the resources of the Inner Sect along with those offered by that vile Demon? None, that's right. But just because Guangli and his ilk of suckups were still in the Outer Sect meant that everyone left behind was still loyal to the Monsters of the previous year.

You nodded again, preparing to gather your faithful minions. Time to go hunting.

...

[Speech Rank D12]

"So." You concluded, deep in the forests of the mountain, near one of the pit traps that had been reported by one of your boys. Your quarry was before you, fanged teeth bared over a lip as their eyes glanced at you warily.

"So...what?" Su Ling replied back, fox ears twitching in agitation as your escorts fanned out around her. The girl was one you had only seen once, accompanying that Rat, Ling Qi, in the previous year before you had fought against that Bai Snake. She seemed sensible at the time, fighting for her friends but not for the Cai Demoness. There was room to negotiate there, you think. It's not like she had tried to go for the Inner Sect as well.

[Perception Rank B15]

That meant that she wasn't motivated to stick around the Demon or her retainers. Hell, not even her little friend with the blue hair and the eyepatch. It was just her, all alone.

"I've got a deal for you." You reply, puffing up your chest proudly, looking down on the little half-breed. Sure, she was a mutt for sure, but she was supposed to be some kind of skilled multi-faceted pill-maker and fighter. If the rumors you heard had any merit to them. And based on what you were seeing about her ability to capture and harvest Spirit Beasts...You could see that she'd be a hell of an asset.

"A deal, huh?" Su Ling replied, an eyebrow raised. A pair of furred tails twitched from where they were wrapped around her waist.

"Yup~" You really pop that word, the girl wasn't starting a fight. And that meant you were off to a great start. You felt good about this! Now, to make the pitch, "I know that you didn't want to move for the Inner Sect. Too much political crap, too much competition, too much trouble, am I right?"

The half-breed nods her head, "Sure, let's go with that." You feel yourself grinning toothily at the accuracy of your guess.

"So here's the deal: You work alongside me out here, help me out a bit with those pillmaking skills you're so famous for, and when I get the Chu Clan back up and running you'll have a great spot to help us back up to our proper place in the world." You nod, throwing your head back to finish your pitch, "It'll be like getting in on the ground floor, only you'll be destined for greatness! Sounds pretty good, right?"

Su Ling nods, her eyes shifting to the side as she considers your offer, "Sounds good, but I do have a condition."

What? A condition!? The runt was lucky you were offering her a space among your future retainers in the first place! But...you could afford to be magnanimous, if only a bit considering the desperation of your position, "Alright, let's hear it."

The fox-girls eyes narrowed, "There's a Fox spirit at the Fourth Realm. Goes around abducting mortals and killing them."

"And what about it?" You reply.

"I want to kill it. And I want you to make it so that it can happen. That's my condition."

[Spirit Lore D5]

You pause, considering. Honestly, between hearing about the stories of your clans former glory before being cast down by the House of Cai, you had heard a few stories about a Cyan-level Fox Spirit that wandered around the nearby regions of the Emerald Seas. And how there was a certain Count Family that tolerated its existence among its retainers land. The reasons for it were unclear, given how it was a memory from long before you awakened, but you wouldn't be able to make that happen. You needed the Counts on your side for when it came time to knock the Cai off their stolen throne in the Emerald Seas, and you certainly weren't about to put that at risk for the sake of some Second Realm Mongrel.

[Speech D12]

But that didn't mean you had to follow through with it. You nod once, with a smile on your face, "Deal." And you extend a hand forward to the half-breed, mind already shifting to how you'd put this new resource to it's best use. There was a faint squeaking sound, but you ignored it. Probably just some random spirit beast fleeing after sensing your amazing Qi.

"So, uh...What do you need me to do?" Your latest minion asked, not reaching for your hand.

"Well, first we're going to fuck over that bastard Guangli." You say confidently, "You were supposed to be friends with Ling Qi last year, right?"

"Sure." Su Ling nodded in response, her voice and demeanor casual.

"So we'll use that. Get close to Guangli with that as an excuse, and then we'll set up an ambush and mess up the bastard. Probably steal Yan Renshu's old Pill Furnace. That'd be a nice move, you know? Really mess up his ability to get the new meat on his side."

The fox girl nodded, "Nah, I don't think that'll work."

You pause, blinking. Did you hear that right?

"Well..." The half-breed shrugs helplessly, "It's just that I know you're lying to my face about helping me with taking out the ol' Fox, and that's just not something that makes me wanna work with you, you know?" Wavy brown hair shifts, and a leathery wing pokes out from behind the mutts neck. You feel your arms tremble in growing rage.

"And so what?" You all but spit, "You should consider yourself lucky for someone like me to even be willing to take you on anyway, you stupid half-breed!"

"And another thing," The fox girl nods, her arms folding over her leather outfit, "You actually weren't the first person to search me out today."

The sound of leaves rustling gives way to a sound that was anything but subtle, "FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"A familiar laugh booms through the air, "Did I not say that you would be searched out by the malcontent rebel remnants, Lady Su?" Gan Guangli strides forward, a pair of ham-sized fists clutching the faces of two of your subordinates with a casual strength, his Demon-given armor gleaming in the morning sunlight.

Su Ling shrugs, "That ya did" Two more interlopers arrived then, a pair of girls wielding a mace and harp between them, and the damn mutt gave them a meaningful look, "So, how are we gonna do this?" Her tone had grown more casual after the three minions of the demon had arrived, almost as if she had begun to relax in their presence.

You grimaced.

You were sure that you still had the group outnumbered, the mutt and the new arrivals topping out at Late Yellow Realm in either Spiritual or Physical Cultivation, but the real problem here would be Guangli. He may have been behind you in Cultivation, but it was only just, and his Domain Weapon would probably be as easily a match for your own as Ling Qis had been.

Choose One:

[] Flee
[] Fight
-[] Write-In

twochron said:
Alright guys, uh...Is there any point to us sticking around here? I feel like I've got this terrible feeling of Deja Vu...

Boateus said:
How dare that flufftailed monster lead us on! And to think I was willing to give her a shot. No more, I won't make the same mistake again! From now on, we need to do everything possible to screw her over!

bungi angel said:
Okay...So it's nice to finally see the new system at work, even if it looks like it didn't work out for us. Wasn't it supposed to be scaling off our cultivation level? Then shouldn't our Speech skill have been sufficient to work on a second realm?

White Noise said:
This is ridiculous. If we had still been on the old system at least we would have had a shot to win this and get the fox girl on our side rather than this determinist garbage. Hey @larsilly the system needs a rework! No way is this scaling right if we can't even win an argument against some hillbilly commoner from out in the sticks!

larsilly said:
>system needs another rework

why this

A.N. And there you go, a bit messy and incoherent on my end, but I still enjoyed writing it and it's not like it was ever going to be canon. So here you go @yrsillar another Omake to restore my eldritch power over shoving success points into Formation Skills for next turn!

TehChron · Dec 5, 2018

Warm Dreams

Zhengui remembered...dirt. Trees. Stinky water. Eyes drooping. The smell of the young man, whom he called thought of as his not-fish cousin. The familiar smell of smoke and burning. As the young xuan wu fell into rest, the last thing he saw was his Big Sister's face. Caring, slightly worried, and always watching them, Zhen and Gui both.

Always watching them.

Like something to protect.

Her darling, irreplaceable, precious Little Brother.

...

"Wake up!"

Four eyes snap open, bright sunlight filling them with an irritating sensation. What would pass through his mind but solely confusion? 'But we only just fell asleep! Why do we have to wake up so quickly?!' the pair wailed as one.

"Wake up, Zhengui! You're going to be late!" Maybe it was the sun, starting to heat the cooled fire in their veins. Or perhaps it was the familiar voice, calling up to them from a short distance beneath them, but something about the situation roused the youthful turtlesnake to full wakefulness, and for the first time since waking took a proper look at their surroundings. It certainly was an unfamiliar place. Neither the home that their Big Sister had shared with the Bais, nor the cave that they had moved in to recently. Nor even did it resemble the tiny home in which their Little Sister resided, nor snowy peak with which Zhengui had grown so very accustomed.

No, what surrounded those two pairs of inquisitive eyes were...White walls. Not like the White Room in which their Big Sister had spent so many weeks cultivating only a short few months ago, but simply a set of walls - and a ceiling - that were stained a uniform, plain white.

"W-where are we, stupid Gui?" The beasts upper half asked with an audible gulp.

The beaked head beneath simply shook from side to side in negation, "Gui doesn't know either." His voice came out with a strained trill.

"Zhengui, so help me if Big Sister has to come up there..." A very familiar voice called, and whatever heat had filled their veins abruptly vanished, the two sets of eyes glancing towards one another in a sudden, ingrained fear at the tone being used. Yet even then, a spark of hope flared.

"Coming, Big Sister!" The two cried out in unison, walking through the wide doorframe fit to accommodate his size easily. But then they faced their greatest challenge yet: A set of steep stairs, too narrow for them to move down comfortably, the steps too tiny to fit their feet on comfortably. It was great care that Zhengui moved down then, each movement accompanied by a loud groan as the wood beneath them strained under the Xuan Wu's immense weight.

"Hurry up, Little Brother, or else your food will get cold!" That, more than anything else, grabbed Zhengui's attention. And with a single minded focus the two of them made their way across the strange building in a blur of speed and excitement, tracking down the familiar voice into a spacious room. One which the inquisitive creature quickly recognized as a kitchen.

What greeted them there was a sight both known, and unknown. The figure was something Zhengui would never forget. The very first thing they saw in this world. The loving, and loved, face of their precious ~~mother~~Big Sister, Ling Qi. What was new, however, was the outfit she wore. Rather than the flowing, self cleaning dress which was both powerful and allowed her to fly, Ling Qi today was wearing an outfit that would not have been out of place on a man. All...straight angles, and rather than the dress their Big Sister favored, covering her legs were a simply set of dark blue pants. Tightly fitted, just like the long-sleeved shirt she now wore.

Zhengui, for their part, was confused. Ordinarily, Ling Qi hated to wear tight-fitting clothing, as if she didn't like showing off the shape of her body for reasons unknown to the Turtle Snake. What would cause her to wear such an outfit? Along with such restrictive footwear? And were those glasses?!

However, her smile was still the same as ever, and even then all questions were left unsaid as their beloved Big Sister set down two plates. One with fragrant wood wrapped in the familiar scent of Steel Bear Flank, and the other with a set of cores of the same.

"Now eat up, you two." Ling Qi said politely, reaching over to a large cardboard box emblazoned with the, unknown to Zhengui since he couldn't read, characters for "Pill-Os". Retrieving a bowl for herself while singing a low, haunting tune, the pair watched the taller woman fill the bowl with the fragrant contents of the container, before grabbing a spoon and shoveling them into her mouth with an appreciative hum.

Two pairs of eyes stared at each other.

"Perhaps you are only overthinking things, stupid Gui." The serpentine head muttered with a hiss.

"B-but you were just as confused as I was!" The turtle trilled back. But in the end, the two were of like minds in the same self, and they were hungry this morning. As they always were. Strange clothes and stranger home aside, Big Sister acted like Big Sister, and that was enough for now. Especially with such tempting food before them.

It was only the work of moments of gorging upon their meal that a light knocking sound reached their ears, and three heads turned towards it's source. The tallest of them sighed, glancing into her empty bowl with a gaze full of longing, "I guess it's time for us to head out, Little Brother." Zhengui's Big Sister nodded, reaching to grasp a bag and leaving the kitchen.

Dutifully, the young xuan wu followed the young woman to the front door of the house, where a familiar sight greeted them.

"Is Zhengui awake yet?" Came a soothing voice, crackling like a flame.

Ling Qi smiled, "Well good morning, Linhuo, did you have any trouble trouble waking up Xiulan this morning?"

A feeling of excitement filled Zhengui then. This would be the first time the pair had had a chance to see the little sprite in ages! With an energetic shuffle, the pair charged forward, two heads peering around the opened door to see a floating, humanoid figure composed of flame with a core of heavenly energy. Her form bobbing up and down in the air energetically, as Gu Xiulan stood further away, her expression set in an unamused scowl.

"You know how she is!" Linhuo giggled, "She's always staying up late and pulling an all nighter!"

A dark skinned hand adjusted those glasses, "Really, Xiulan? How many times has this happened this week?"

"We all have our own natural talents, Qi." The shorter woman replied with a huff, folding both arms under her chest as if in emphasis, "You are efficient at work. And I am efficient in more..." She twirled her hand mysteriously, "Social settings."

Zhengui's Big Sister frowned for a second, as if considering a response, before shaking her head, "Well, whatever. We're going to be late." With a satisfied nod, Zhengui and Ling Qi both walked towards Gu Xiulan, accompanied by Linhuo. But as Zhengui's feet left the house, they were struck with a new, almost uncomfortable feeling:

They could not recognize the sensation beneath their feet. It was some hard, unliving substance like stone. But stone like nothing they had ever experienced! It was less carved bricks they strode upon, but more as if someone pulverized a rock into a paste beneath them to walk on! So caught up in this new sensation were they, that Zhengui simply followed Ling Qi's lead before a hand gently nudged the snake head that rested on top.

"Not this way, Little Brother." Their Big Sister said with a chuckle, "School is that way."

"School?" Two heads asked in unison.

"My, you really are still asleep, aren't you?" Ling Qi replied, her smile growing, "Just follow Linhuo you two, and try to pay attention to your surroundings, will you?"

Blankly, the heads of the xuan wu nodded together, and thus found both heads patted simultaneously, "Have a nice day at school, Zhengui." And with that, Ling Qi departed, engaging in high speed chatter with Gu Xiulan as she always did.

"Come on, sleepyhead!" The unfamiliar voice of the forest fire sprite called out, warm hands tugging at Zhen's snout, "You're going to make us late!"

Nodding dumbly, Zhengui marched forward along the unfamiliar material. In the unfamiliar land. The path which Linhuo lead them down was not familiar in the slightest.

...

It was as the three of them made good time running their way to "school" that Zhengui ran into their first obstacle. A strange sensation, almost as if they were being watched, fell over them. With their own senses, the young xuan wu paused, casting out into the earth and plants around them to try and locate the source of that curious feeling. But there was nothing to be found, and the feeling itself shortly faded, eventually forgotten as Linhuo kept on driving Zhengui to greater and greater speeds, tearing down the "street" as fast as they could go.

So fast, in fact, that when a blue shape passed a corner and entered their vision, Zhengui had no time to react, let alone truly stop themselves.

A loud thump, and a louder shout announced the result of their collision. Whatever Zhengui had hit had been quite heavy. And shouted with an incredibly familiar voice. Four eyes blinked in unison at the well-known sight of Hannyi, a piece frozen mouse poking out of her mouth, and her dress riding scandalously high over her blue-tinged ankles.

"Eesh! Watch where you're going you stupid sled!" The snow-child shouted with a familiar glare at the xuan wu, "You could've killed me!"

"Hmph." The crackling voice of Linhuo replied with a huff, blue sparks shooting out from minuscule nostrils, "No way Zhengui could've killed a fatty like you."

Hannyi's jaw dropped, her half-eaten mouse dropping to the ground, "I-i'm not fat!" The snowgirl's skin turning a bizarre pumice, the color of frostbite, "I'm just at a perfectly normal weight! Momma said so!"

The fire sprite merely chuckled, "Is that right?" Her arms crossed under her chest, "Then why were you eating on your way to school? An extra snack because you can't live without ten meals a day? Fatty."

"Uhm not hungry." Hannyi replied bitterly, glancing to the side.

"Then you won't mind if I just get rid of this, will you?" Linhuo snapped her fingers, and the blackened rodent caught fire, burning away into cinders as the larger girl fell to her knees with a cry of anguish.

"Why would you do such a cruel thing?" Hannyi muttered, cradling the smoldering ash in her hands, choking back a sob.

"C'mon, Zhengui we're gonna be late!" The fire sprite said, charging ahead down the road.

"Coming!" Gui shouted back, as Zhen rested his head on their friends shoulder consolingly. Gui joined shortly after, nuzzling his beak into her hand before chasing after Linhuo before they could lose track of her.

Hannyi rose to her feet then with a mucus-filled sniff, "You're such a good-" The snowgirl paused, glancing back at her now empty hands. She blinked, looking up towards the swiftly trundling form of Zhengui, already vanishing into the distance.

"You little glutton!"

But he couldn't help it. In the end, Zhengui thought to themselves, they were still a growing boy!

...

It was a short while later when all of them, panting heavily save the fire sprite, arrived at what Linhuo and Hannyi referred to as the "School". It was a building unlike anything they had ever seen. A large number of buildings, highly angular in design, surrounded by a relatively short wall with the only entrance being a single, wrought iron gate that Zhengui felt they would be able to tear down with some ease. At the gate, however, stood a tall, hairy figure. A giant, blood-red ape glanced at the three of them with a raised eyebrow, before addressing them in an almost maternal voice.

"You're almost late, children. Come along now." An oversized limb gestured towards the gate, and the trio moved to enter the grounds when something else arrived. A sleek, black carriage without anything pulling it nor an obvious driver. Uncommonly short, only coming up to around twice Zhengui's height, it made up for its lack in that department with an incredible length. Tinted black windows reflected the faces of the three companions, when with a soft click Zhengui's eyes were met with two yellow ones, glowing with an inner light that contrasted deeply with emerald scales.

"Good morning, Zhengui." Bai Cui hissed out in greeting, a ghost of a smile on her expression, and the paired consciousness of Zhengui stilled for a moment.

"Good morning, Lady Cui." Zhen, as ever, was the first to respond to her, both heads greeting the Bai scion with shallow nods which the great snake returned. The moment was ruined, however, by a burst of intense bloodlust, vanishing as quickly as it arrived, shaking Zhengui out of their stupor, and causing Bai Cui to narrow her own eyes in annoyance. A forked tongue flicked against the air, before returning with an audible huff.

"Well, whatever." The great snake began to unfurl itself from the back of the carriage in which it had sat, slithering towards the schoolgrounds, and past the two humanoid girls who glared in turn with their own varying levels of hostility.

""Bai-Sempai.""

The arched form of Cui simply flicked her tongue at them in passing, giving no other indication of acknowledgement before her massive length passed fully through the gates. The red furred ape, however, coughed loudly.

"You might want to hurry, you three."

A bell began ringing, and as Linhuo and Hannyi scrambled to get into the schoolgrounds, Zhengui decided that he had no choice but to follow their lead.

A.N.: And there we go, as promised the first part of "Zhengui, Harem Protagonist"

I decided to go all in on seeing if I could run this in such a way as to make it canon, so now imma gonna sell it as a literal fever dream for Zhengui! Yes, Precious' entry into becoming a teenager will be after experiencing his life as the dense protagonist of a Slice of Life Harem Anime! How appropriate! How terrible!

By the way, @yrsillar here you go now there's no escape

TehChron · Feb 26, 2019

Fresh Nightmares

The sound of a bell ringing echoed through Zhengui's ears once more as he trundled behind his friends, a base noise that merely washed over him, rather than penetrate his very own soul like the music made by his Big Sister. What it was, however, was a signal to the fire sprite and snow girl that were before him. Hanyi and Linhuo seemed to pale, the heavier girl turning all but translucent, and the fire sprite dimming in the morning light in a sign of obvious panic. Two pairs of eyes watched as the girls picked up their pace, before Linhuo turned back even as she fluttered swiftly ahead.

"You're going to be late, dummy!" She cried out, before abruptly flying straight into door that had been carelessly tossed open, a large metal-toned bear standing behind it bashfully. Zhen hissed warningly towards it, for the creature to hastily bow its head and retreat in obvious fear of chastisement. But it was still too late for the forest fire sprite, Linhuo falling to the ground even as Hanyi seemed to be filled with a renewed vigor and energy, the snow girl moving at a speed wholly at odds with her weight.

Something deep within Zhengui told them that she was only acting out the proper survival strategy.

"But aren't bears weak?" Gui said guilelessly as he approached Linhuo, slowing down to a stop at her recovering form.

"Stupid Gui," Zhen chuffed, "Obviously Hannyi is not as strong as we are. She was probably just scared of the weakling!" The dark green scales of their snake half reached down, coiling around their friend to lift her onto their shell.

"Y-you're kidding right?" The dimmed voice of Linhuo asked incredulously from within Zhen's scales, "Our first class is Homeroom, and because of you we're both late!"

Two pairs of eyes gazed inquisitively at one another before speaking as one, ""Homeroom?""

The sound of fire-flesh slamming into fire-face-flesh filled the hallway as Zhengui began trotting once more, "You really don't remember?" Linhuo sighed, "For someone with two brains, you're really slow huh?"

"Blame that on Foolish Gui," Zhen hissed, the serpent affronted at the idea of being held accountable for his other half's decisions.

The fire sprite sighed once more, groaning at her continued misfortune for having to babysit Zhengui, "We're both the same age, so why do I feel like I'm the parent here...?"

"Wouldn't that would make you the Big Sister?" Gui trilled ponderously, "But we only have one Big Sister, sorry."

Linhuo glanced to the side, "Well that's good." She muttered, inspecting the spikes on Zhengui's shell, "I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea or anything."

Uncertain of what idea she could be referring to, Zhengui simply carried their friend on the way to the "homeroom" per Linhuo's directions. As Zhen extended to open the door, a brief chill ran through the rest of his body, and so they paused, unsure what to make of it. But destiny waited for no turtlesnake, and so the door was opened.

Into a blizzard incarnate.

"Student Zhengui. Student Linhuo. Good of you to join us. Finally." Hanyi's mother, the snow spirit Zeqing floated within the room, her white hair tossed about in the indoor storm, and it was with some confusion that Zhengui noticed that she did so behind a desk, "Now take your seat, and we will continue the lesson that you have interrupted with your tardiness."

The wind abates, and Linhuo sighs in relief, wiping at her brow with a dully glowing hand. The danger passed, Zhengui trundles into the room, filled with rows upon rows of cramped looking seats-with-tables, in which were trapped a number of smaller spirits. From one such prison, Hanyi waved at the two, expression sheepish. As the arson fairy moved to fill one such unoccupied seat, Zhengui's wandering eyes drifted over to one more such construct, absurdly larger than the others, almost long enough to take up an entire row on its own. So, quite tentatively, the turtlesnek made its way over, legs bending to fit their lower half beneath it in the way that the other spirits legs were, while Zhen proceeded to lounge his full scaly length upon its flat surface.

"Now that we are all present," Zeqing began the moment that he was seated, "Let us begin discussing the mutability of Spirit Beasts," She pauses, eyes passing over Hanyi and Zhengui before continuing, "Now, as I'm sure we all know already, naturally born spirits have a set 'potential' which is determined by their individual lineage and their place of birth. However swiftly or slowly the Spirit grows in power, they shall, barring death, eventually reach this limit. This is especially pronounced in the existence of Spirit Beasts, which are by their very nature expressions of the Qi of the Land in a manner similar to that of humanity. They take form, feed upon the Qi in their environment, and slowly grow in power. As a result of taking physical form, they are defined, but in so doing so obtain a degree of immutability against the other forces in the world. And upon death, their Qi-flesh remains, having retained it's shape even after the passing of their overall consciousness.

'Pure Spirits, by contrast, are expressions of the Qi as tainted by outside factors. They have no direct need to feed upon other creatures or sources of Qi in order to further their growth, merely assimilating ambient Qi to add on to their greater self. But this ease of sufficiency has it's own costs, in that they are many times more fragile than Spirit Beasts of similar cultivation. Thus, many of the lesser Pure Spirits are easy prey for cunning Spirit Beasts to use as sustenance." Zeqing nods towards a pink spider, "And in their passing they return to the ambient Qi from which they formed, becoming part of a new Spirit in the eternal cycle of the flow of Qi."

The snow-woman pauses, looking over the assembled Spirits, "There are other factors as well, such as the nature of one's own Core, but the answers to those questions are something ill understood by our own Greater Selves. We will discuss the many facets of that singular commonality at a later time, but for now we shall discuss the universal method by which we can exceed our limits." Zeqing glances over the classroom once more, "And that is by our bonds to Cultivators. For it is through the constant changing and evolution of a human partner that we can grow ourselves, much like how we can take in outside sources of Qi to further our growth, so too can we take in the experiences of what our partners do in their lives to serve as an impetus and catalyst for our own growth beyond the basic definitions by which we take shape in the world.

'The Fairy which burns out after it's fuel has run out. The child which does not grow for however many decades. The muse which exists solely as inspiration, and never once has the grounding by which to act on it. The Xuan Wu who knows nothing, and thus possesses infinite potential in it's unending curiosity."

A bell rings once more, and Zeqing's still lips seem to grimace even in their lack of movement, "That is all we have time for today, children. Perhaps if all of you had been on time we would have been able to continue this lecture to it's conclusion. As thanks for denying you the opportunity, Linhuo, Zhengui, Hanyi, you shall have the following homework this evening-"

Zhengui did not even know what homework was, but some primal instinct caused both of him to sigh in regret and frustration.

...

The rest of the day passed in a confusing blur, filled with intermittent flashes of the strange presence from the morning. Each time, a chill ran down Zhen's sinuous spine and Gui's spiked shell, causing them to shiver. As the school time came to an end, the three friends began heading back home when the sensation struck again, causing Zhengui to noticeably flinch.

Twin pigtails whipped through the air as Hanyi leveled a glare at them, "You've been like this all day, you stupid sled! What has you so scared?" The pallid girl pauses before glancing away, "N-not that I haven't been paying attention to you or anything."

Linhuo glared at the other girl, the small fairy looking as if she had been slapped across the face. "You fatty!"

Zhen hissed nervously, tasting the air in a futile attempt to gauge the danger around him, "Stupid Gui and I have been feeling someone watching us since this morning. They seem to have followed us from home and all day while we were here."

Linhuo turned to give them her full attention, smoldering eyes turning serious, "Did you see what it was?"

Gui pawed at the ground, beaked head shaking back and forth, but he reached out with his senses through the ground all the same. And his ability to sense the vibrancy of Qi told him that there was no one that Zhen and his eyes could not see for themselves. Except...Zhengui's four eyes tracked to a patch of empty air besides Linhuo, one which was very certainly not odd at all.

The two of them gulped simultaneously, and Hanyi shivered as well, "L-let's go then!" The snow girl called out with forced cheer, "Time to head home!"

With nervous nods of ascent, the four of them left the grounds, waved at cheerfully by the great red ape who incidentally taught chemistry.

They did not get far, however, when a great crimson machine, similar in shape to an incredibly sleek carriage drawn by no horses or other beasts, drew up before them in a flash, growling all the while. Seated within, one hand resting upon a great leather wheel, was the well-dressed figure of what Zhengui immediately recognized as Sun Liling, the girl who had hurt his Big Sister, and Zhengui had been unable to do anything about it!

As the two heads hissed in recognition and hostility, a dainty, scarred hand grasped a pair of incredibly dark spectacles that had rested on her face, jade-colored eyes boring into Zhengui's own.

"So yer the kid, huh?" The Princess of Sun seemed to muse, "I swear, I don't see what's so special about you at all." Hair the color of freshly spilt blood fluttered as her head shook, before the young woman raised her free hand to her mouth, "YO DHARITRI! TIME TO GO HOME!" She drawled loudly, and in a scattering of pollen and golden petals, the caramel skinned spirit partner of Sun Liling appeared with a giggle and wave besides the three younger spirits.

"Dharitri-senpai!" Linhuo launched herself back, arms raised in a combat stance, but the larger spirit seemed to only have eyes for Zhengui.

"See you later~" The spirit said with a mysterious grin, ducking and spinning into Sun Liling's vehicle, somehow managing to casually dodge a hissing mass of dark liquid which splattered in the distance.

Emerald coils snaked into the waiting black vehicle in which Bai Cui had arrived that morning, and with a smell of burning rubber and the unholy screams of the damned, the two machines sped off into the distance.

Red eyes met green, and as Linhuo and Hanyi fumed about "stupid old women", neither half of Zhengui found themselves capable of making sense of their current circumstances.

A.N.: Here ya go all, Part 2 of Zhengui: Harem Protagonist. This one's way weaker than the previous installment, I feel, but I needed to set up the rest of the dynamic with the cast before indulging in full on RomCom slice of life silliness.

Oh and here ya go @yrsillar

Thor's Twin · Feb 27, 2019

Dreams of the Founder

As Ling Chao broke through, sensations flooded his mind. His breath was like the seasonal storms, his blood like pumping magma, his bones like the great trees, his feet felt fleet enough to dance amongst moonbeams, and his thoughts expanding to encompass the heavens above. He had done it, he had begun the journey of an immortal. Opening his eyes, he saw that the meditation room in a different light. Colors were sharper, shadows darker, and the illusory moon projected in the middle of the floor looked… more real and physical.

Opening the door, he nodded to the guard outside the door. It was eerily quiet in the halls. Even with guards for every door. No one else was around, and none of the other doors were opened. Which meant… he was the first! The first of his generation to break through into the red realm! He needed to tell Mother! And Father! And Grandmother! With a start, he began sprinting down the hall towards his Mother's office, oblivious to the amused glances from the guards.

With the speed that Ling Chao had, the various tapestries and murals of the junior meditation hall blurred in a dizzying array of colors. The great silver and jet black doors at the end of the hall beckoned him, seeming to sparkle and shift in hue ever so slightly. It was but a moment, though, before he was pushing past those doors and into the manor proper. And then, as the cheerful sun warmed his form, exhaustion struck. Darkness crept at the edges of his vision, his limbs, once so light and fleet, turned into lead, and his head began to swim. With all the grace of a duckling learning to fly, Ling Chao fell forward onto the edges of the courtyard and fainted.

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Ling Chao felt his consciousness return to him slowly. First came the sensation of warmth and soft mattresses, the smell of subtle perfume came next, then came the sounds of murmuring and whispered conversations. Finally, he cracked open his eyes and saw his bedroom, dimly lit, with the moon shining through the window. Turning his head towards the door, he saw his mother sitting upon a chair at his bedside, writing something on a document held aloft by invisible hands.

With a soft smile, Mother stopped writing and looked up at him. And suddenly, he could feel the strength behind her gaze so much more clearly. A soft strength, born of cotton sheets and gentle nights, but no less expansive for it's perceived softness. Mother's strength felt just like he thought it would feel once he was a cultivator. Once… he was a cultivator! He bolted up straight with an energy he never felt before and smiled at his mother.

"Mother," he blurted out, "I did it! I'm a cultivator now!"

"So you are," his mother replied with a gentle smile to match his own. "And I heard from the guards that you were the first out of the meditation chambers. Congratulations."

Ling Chao twisted his body and hugged his mother. "I'm going to make you proud Mother. I'm going to make the whole family proud."

His mother hugged him back, and gently whispered, "You already have made me proud. Now rest, Grandfather wishes to speak to you in the morrow."

Ling Chao nodded and straightened up, letting go of his mother. "Yes, Mother. I hope that you have a good night."

"I dearly plan to. Goodnight Little Light, and may the Moons grant peaceful dreams."

And with that, his mother simply shimmered away, as if she had been but a dream. Giddy with excitement, Ling Chao buried himself under his covers. Energy coursed through him, and he began the qi cycling exercises that had, until now, merely been theoretical. But now, they were all too real. He had really done it, he had become a cultivator! Soon though, the excess energy had been burned away due to the qi cycling exercises, and Ling Chao fell asleep to pleasant dreams.

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Waking up had been an ordeal, but Ling Chao had finally dragged himself out of bed. The servants had already prepared the bath and had laid out the expected clothes for meeting with the head of the Ling family. After bathing and dressing, Ling Chao ate a quick breakfast in the dining hall. He could feel the daggers of envy from his cousins, but that was to be expected. After all, he was the first of his generation! However, there was no time to gloat or preen. No, Great-Grandfather had asked for his presence. Asked… might have been the wrong word. Ling Chao was sure that it had been polite and observing all the formalities for missives inside the Ling Clan, but as the Head, a request from Great-Grandfather was merely a politely worded demand. A demand that was expected to be fulfilled.

Walking through the Ling Manor as a cultivator was incredibly different than as a mere mortal. The paintings which adorned the hall seemed to hold greater meaning and have deeper colors. The marble busts seemed almost alive in their motion. And the shadows between the sparkling lights seemed even darker. But soon enough, Ling Chao was before silver and crimson doors that marked his great-grandfather's office. Two pair of guards stood at either side of the door, and with a nod from the most senior guard, Ling Chao entered the office.

Immediately, he tasted the tang of copper on his tongue, heard whispered pleas of mercy granted or denied, and felt the shadow of a guiding hand stained with blood above him. And as suddenly as he felt Great-Grandfather's strength, it disappeared. Before him sat an old man, the Head of the Ling Clan, at his desk. Quickly, Ling Chao began to march forward over the onyx flooring accented with crimson rubies, beads of sweat gathering at the small of his back.

Once he reached a small image of the moon before the Head's desk, Ling Chao bowed low and began his rehearsed speech, "Honored Great-Grandfather, you have requested my presence, and I have come."

"Raise your head child," came the soft, weighty voice of his great-grandfather. "I have not requested your presence to pronounce judgment, but to give permission."

Despite the weight of the ceremony, the excitement began to build in Ling Chao. Keeping the excitement out of his voice took some effort, but finally, Ling Chao responded.

"I am honored, Great-Grandfather. For what have I received permission to do?"

"As a cultivator of the Ling Clan, your privileges have expanded, as have your responsibilities. You will have access to the first floor of the Ling archives, to explore at your leisure with appropriate supervision. Resources shall be provided for you so that you may cultivate more effectively. More esteemed tutors will be available to you should you seek further education in an area that interests you. But before all of that, you shall pass the Trial."

Ling Chao's excitement continued to grow, and he bit his tongue to regain control of himself. "May I ask what this Trial is, Honored Great-Grandfather?"

"You may, but I shall not answer. As you shall not answer when others ask you. For it is the right, privilege, and duty of a cultivator of the Ling Clan to undergo this trial. All those who have not undergone the trial are not cultivators of the Ling Clan, and it is not for them to know what the trial is."

With a wave of a knarled, knotted hand a shimmering door appeared on the side of the office.

"Go now, Ling Chao, and become a cultivator of the Ling Clan."

Almost trembling with excitement, Ling Chao quickly sped towards the shimmering door, opened it and walked through. Inside was a dimly lit room, floored with silver and onyx. The roof was a dome upon which all phases of the moon were engraved, each in precious metals and jewels. In the middle, raised upon a dais, stood an archway. Seemingly made of a solid, twisted rainbow and a strange twisted black stone. Carved into the black stone were silver formations, etched in almost impossible finesse. And in between the archway, a shimmering sheet drifted and floated. Confined within the bounds of the archway, it seemed almost hypnotic in its slow intricate motions.

With confidence he did not feel, Ling Chao approached the archway, took a deep breath, and stepped through.

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She[he?] darted around the bread seller's stall with her[his?] purloined goods. The pangs of hunger were like a knife carving at her[his?] stomach. There was enough food in her[his?] hands to survive for days! Dashing with a desperate determination, she[he?] vowed not to get caught. If she[he?] got caught, then there would be a beating, and she[he?] would be too weak to get more food. And then she'd[he'd?] die, and that was unacceptable.

Scenes like this played out for days as Ling Chao took the place of a frail, sickly, and hungry mortal. Reliving her attempts to survive on strange and unfamiliar streets. Whenever the girl introduced herself, the name became a blank, and whenever the name of the city was mentioned, there was a hole in his memory. Other than those strange rules, every brutality the city had to offer he suffered. Every indignity he knew of he did. All to survive one more day.

It was almost unbearable, some days. The thirst for a drop of water, the knife of hunger. But death was unacceptable, and whatever it took to survive he[she?] would do. It was frightening, to see how desperate people acted to just survive one more day. One time, she[he?] stole a cloak off of an old decrepit man simply so that she[he?] could survive the night. It was done… with full knowledge that the man might die because of the theft. And that knowledge was simply ignored. Pity was a luxury that could not be afforded.

One day, suddenly, she[he?] encountered a strange man. A man with a mask who made a simple offer. Become a cultivator, or lose the ability to cultivate forever. She[he?] accepted, and then the dreamer woke.

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Stumbling through the other side of the arch, Ling Chao fell to his knees and retched. He could still remember the smell of scavenging through sewage for a scrap of something useful. The feeling of filth which coated him after a particularly adventurous dive into a trash heap for bits of food to eat. But worst of all, he could still feel the desperation. The desperation to survive at all costs if it meant just one more moment of freedom.

Glancing forward, Ling Chao noticed a person crouching in front of him. Looking even higher, and he recognized the face of his great-grandfather. Great-Grandfather reached out towards Ling Chao, with a clean scented rag.

"Here, child. Wipe your face with this. It will help."

Taking the proffered rag and quickly wiping his face, Ling Chao looked up into the face of the man who sent him through this hell. And there was some measure of… sympathy? And sadness?

"What was that Great-Grandfather? Why did I have to go through that?"

"That was the memories of our founder, Ling Qi. Memories of her time as a child, and much more. Various events are etched into this arch and others like it. Memories so that we remember. Remember where we came from, and of the privileges we have secured because of the hard work of generations. It is to remind us that the world is not the Ling Clan Manor. That the world is full of suffering, and we must fight, daily, to keep our place secure from such deprivations for the future generations to come."

Grimacing, Ling Chao stood. "I… I, understand Great-Grandfather."

With a small, indulgent smile, Great-Grandfather replied, "No, I do not think you do. Not yet, and not truly. However, your mother is awaiting your return. Go to her, and tell her of your experience in the Dream Arch. Remember, you are not alone in your suffering. All cultivators of the Ling Clan have suffered as you have."

Nodding his head, Ling Chao tiredly walked towards the shimmering door. Pushing it open, he was surprised to see his bedroom with his mother sitting on a chair. And with tears in his eyes, Ling Chao cried in his mother's embrace. Cried for a life long since gone. A life which started with such suffering and desperation.

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A/N: If you are wondering why the mother called the Head "grandfather" but Ling Chao called and thought of him as "Great-Grandfather" it is because the Head is literally the grandfather of the mother, which makes him the great-grandfather of Ling Chao.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of a possible future Ling Clan. There was some discussion last thread, and perhaps this thread about throwing Ling Clan children in the slums of streets so that they can learn about desperation and need, but I felt that was a crude method. The method used in this omake is simply to use the memories of Ling Qi and have the children live through those memories. Also, I fleshed out the reason why a clan would do such a thing, as I felt previous reasons were lacking.

As always, I hope you enjoy the read, and I welcome critiques and criticisms. Also... another Omake for the Omake throne @yrsillar

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Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

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