After meeting with Sister Jasmine, I spent the next few days holed up in my cabin. Finding out the truth about the Profound Yin Incarnation technique and how it affected Sister Jasmine left me in a foul mood. So much so that it threatened to affect my mental state. Thus, I secluded myself in my cabin to calm down and stabilize myself.

  In the end, I accepted the situation for what it was. Sister Jasmine had already made her choice. Rather than mope about it, I decided to make the best of the situation. If I wanted Sister Jasmine in my life, which I did, then I needed to accept her connection with Cultivator Ryana. The two were bound together now, for better or worse.

  After that, I emerged from my cabin and spent the next few days reconnecting with my friends, since I hadn’t seen them for months. Even the ones who weren’t participating in the upcoming Rising Heroes Tournament still decided to attend, with the exception of Clarissa, since it was such a major event. Seeing them all lifted my mood.

  I also spent time exploring the Dawnfire. It soon became clear that despite its beauty, it was a warship, not a luxury craft. There were a few forbidden areas aboard the Dawnfire. However, other than those, everything else was open. In some of the open areas, I found arrays that served as the Dawnfire’s weapons. Each one was as powerful as a strike from an average Golden Core cultivator.

  There were hundreds of these arrays.

  This realization shocked me. No wonder the Dawnfire was one of our sect’s sacred treasures. It was powerful enough to challenge a mid-sized sect on its own, and that assessment was based on what I saw in the open areas. No doubt the forbidden areas housed even more powerful weapons.

  Other than exploring the Dawnfire and socializing with my friends, I spent the rest of my time training and cultivating. I wanted to be at peak mental and physical condition for the Rising Heroes Tournament. While I doubted that I would win the tournament, or even rank in the top ten, I figured I had a good chance at reaching the top twenty five. This would earn me two thousand spirit stones, as well as a mid-grade Foundation Establishment magic treasure.

  While this prize paled in comparison to the gifts I received from my family, it would be something I earned with my own strength. That alone made it precious to me. The honor and prestige for reaching the top twenty five was also a tempting prospect. However, the biggest prize would be the experiences and insights I would gain. As Sect Leader Twinheart said, the pursuit of immortality was what mattered the most. I needed to keep that in mind, no matter what.

  As for the jade slip I received from Hall Master Bonefire, I gave it a quick look. It contained a mystic art called Purifying Ghost Flame. It was a divine mystic art created to purify wrathful spirits, so that they might find peace and reenter the cycle of reincarnation.

  While limited in application, Purifying Ghost Flame was powerful. Like Soul Thorn Dagger, its strength wasn’t tied to one’s cultivation base. It didn’t come in layers, like most mystic arts. Instead, Purifying Ghost Flame grew more powerful the more karmic virtue one accumulated.

  This was my first time coming across this concept, at least as a cultivator. I had a vague notion that one gained good karma by performing virtuous deeds, but that was the limit of my knowledge. Thankfully, the jade slip also gave a brief overview on the concept.

  In short, by performing good deeds and helping others, one accumulated karmic virtue. Helping restless spirits move on, defending the innocent, defeating evil doers, and so on. This affected the strength of certain mystic arts and techniques, such as Purifying Ghost Flame.

  The jade slip also noted that the heavens favored those with high karmic virtue. This made it easier to deal with the heavenly tribulations that appeared when attempting to break through to the higher realms of cultivation, such as Domain Creation and Path Seeking. However, since I was centuries away from all that, this part mattered little to me.

  I planned on waiting until after the Rising Heroes Tournament before attempting to learn Purifying Ghost Flame. I doubted that it would help me in the tournament itself. More than that, I didn’t have enough time. Purifying Ghost Flame was a profound mystic art, one difficult to understand let alone learn. It was based on principles that differed from the ones I was familiar with. It would take me months to just master the basics.

  During all this, I made sure to play my part and act like bait. Big Sis Sidra and my mother were counting on me, and I didn’t want to disappoint them. If the elders who opposed our family took the bait, that would give my family the justification they needed to act. Besides, I had a personal grudge against this group of elders. After all, they were the ones who wanted me punished for that incident with Cultivator Blood Leaf and the Ancient Blood Sect.

  However, it took them a while before they made their move.

  One of my favorite places on the Dawnfire was the top deck. It was a wide open space that provided a great view of the land below as we flew over it. A thick railing that came up to my abdomen ran along the edges of the top deck, to help prevent anyone from falling off.

  Despite its size, the Dawnfire flew at a rapid speed. It was a smooth flight too. Sometimes, I even forgot I was aboard a flying ship. There were several shields and barriers in place, to protect the Dawnfire from turbulence and so on. This applied to the top deck as well. Wind, rain, lightning, etc. No matter the inclement weather, the top deck remained calm and peaceful.

  There was one time when the Dawnfire flew through a fierce winter storm. Dark clouds surrounded the flying ship on all sides, with the wind howling and screaming, while snow and ice lashed against the barriers. I witnessed it all firsthand while on the top deck. Despite all that, the Dawnfire itself remained unaffected.

  One day, a week after we departed from the Dawn and Dusk Sect, I stood on the top deck’s railing and gazed out towards the landscape below. A vast plain stretched out below the Dawnfire, spreading out as far as the eye could see. The plain was covered in a thick blanket of snow. It was a sight to behold, one that filled me with a serene melancholy, or perhaps it was a melancholic serenity.

  The sky above was gray and overcast. A layer of clouds blotted out the winter sun, only letting a few weak rays of sunlight through. It should have been freezing cold out. However, thanks to the Dawnfire’s shields and barriers, the top deck remained a comfortable temperature.

  Elliot stood a few feet behind me. To entice my family’s enemies into making a move, I decided to go around with only one of the snake twins accompanying me. I figured that if I kept both of them around, my family’s enemies would be less likely to make a move. Ellen had gone to spend time with Harlow. No doubt that two of them were concocting and experimenting with poisons.

  However, my plan hadn’t worked. Nothing happened. My family’s enemies refused to make a move.

  Was I doing something wrong? I was supposed to be bait, yet the fish weren’t biting. Maybe I should try something else. Or maybe I should just act natural. What if my attempts at acting like bait had just aroused the suspicions of my family’s enemies? In that case, my efforts had achieved the opposite of what I wanted.

  Ugh, no wonder Big Sis Sidra wanted me to stay out of sect politics. I didn’t have the head for it. If she were in my position, she would have likely come up with some kind of scheme that would have forced our family’s enemies into making a move.

  I made a vow to never challenge my eldest sister for her position as vice hall master of Flame Fiend Hall. Even in the unlikely event that I became more powerful than her, I would let her handle sect affairs. She was far more skilled and more experienced in that regard than I ever would be.

  I let out a sigh, before I looked over the top deck. It was a lively place, since there were several other disciples here as well. Some of them were meditating or looking out at the landscape below, like me. Others were sitting together and exchanging cultivation insights. A few were even sparring together.

  A part of me wondered if I should socialize with my fellow disciples. As Hall Master Nova’s son, raising my profile within the Dawn and Dusk Sect as a whole could help my family. However, I decided against the idea.

  Socializing with the disciples of Flame Fiend Hall seemed challenging enough. Attempting the same with disciples from other halls… What was the point? Other than helping my family a little bit, was there any benefit to it? I already had my own circle of friends. That was enough for me. I didn’t see the need to expand it, at least not right now.

  I went back to watching the landscape. However, as I did so, I felt someone watching me. The gaze felt hostile. Rather than turn around to look, and alert my watcher, I cast my spirit sense out. It didn’t take me long to find them. A group of disciples, each one wearing the white and gold uniforms of Celestial Warrior Hall, glared in my direction. They must have just arrived, since I didn’t see them earlier.

  There were three of them in total: one in mid Foundation Establishment, and two in early Foundation Establishment. The one in mid Foundation Establishment was a brawny young man with bronzed skin, a shaved head, and piercing brown eyes. His rough features gave him a fearsome and intimidating appearance.

  In addition to his white and gold robes, he wore a yellow stone bracelet on his right wrist and a pair of gray leather boots. Both were magic treasures. The bracelet depicted the image of some kind of turtle spirit beast, while feathers hung from the sides of the boots. These details hinted at their purpose.

  This young man had an aggressive, domineering aura. I felt pressure just looking at him with my spirit sense. I suspected that he practiced the Holy Sunfire technique, one of the three main cultivation techniques of Celestial Warrior Hall, alongside Soul of Divine Fire and Sacred Moonlight. Holy Sunfire was the most aggressive of the three, since all of its innate abilities focused on offense.

  Of the two early Foundation Establishment cultivators, one was a thin young man with rat-like features. A part of me wondered if he was a beastkin with a rat spirit beast ancestor. The other early Foundation Establishment cultivator was a robust young man with a thick layer of fat covering his body. However, I could tell that he had muscles underneath all that fat. He held a small bag filled with meat jerky in his hands.

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  After a few seconds, the trio stopped staring in my direction and started wandering about the top deck. However, despite their roundabout route, it soon became clear that they were heading in my direction.

  ‘Darian.’ Elliot said, speaking to me through telepathy.

  ‘I know,’ I replied without looking back at him, ‘I saw them.’

  ‘Would you like me to intercept them?’

  I considered it for a moment, before I gave him the telepathic equivalent of a head shake.

  ‘No,’ I said, ‘Let them approach. Let us see what they want.’

  Perhaps the trio had benign intentions. I doubted it, but the possibility existed. I would give them a chance before deciding what to do with them. If they treated me well, I would treat them well in return. However, if they caused me trouble, I would give it back to them tenfold.

  The trio, led by the shaven-headed young man, made no attempt to interact with the other disciples on the top deck. Instead, they continued in my direction, glancing at me every now and again. If that was the case, why did they bother taking a roundabout route? They should have just headed straight towards me. Unless this was their attempt at subtlety. In that case, they failed miserably. I wasn’t an expert myself, but even I could do better than them.

  Several minutes later, the trio found themselves near the edge of the top deck, about a dozen feet away from me. The shaven-headed young man mimicked me and leaned against the top deck’s railing, before looking out to the landscape below. For a moment, I wondered if I had misunderstood their intentions. However, when the shaven headed young man spoke up, I realized that no, I hadn’t misunderstood their intentions.

  “Do you know what is most important when pursuing immortality, the Great Dao, Junior Brothers?” He said, pitching his voice enough for me to hear him.

  The rat-faced young man, who I dubbed Ratty in my head, glanced at me before answering.

  “No, Senior Brother Aiden.” He said, his voice nasally.

  “Discipline.” The shaven headed young man, Cultivator Aden, said. “Discipline and focus. Those who let their emotions and their desires rule them will never achieve immortality. They indulge themselves in their base urges, polluting the purity of their spirit. Greed, gluttony, licentiousness, and so on. People like that are little more than beasts. They disgust me.”

  The other early Foundation Establishment cultivator, who I dubbed Fatty in my head, looked at the bag of jerky in his hands. With an ashamed look on his face, he threw the bag over the railing. It fell to the vast, snow-covered plain below and disappeared from sight.

  “Apologies, Senior Brother!” He said, bowing from the waist. “I never realized how much you hated my snacking. I will strive to be better from now on!”

  Cultivator Aiden and Ratty stared at Fatty with flabbergasted expressions on their faces. I resisted the urge to laugh. Now I knew why they tried to act subtle when they approached me, but failed miserably. These three were idiots.

  It was clear that Cultivator Aiden was referring to me, and perhaps even my maternal family, with that little speech of his. It seemed that Fatty hadn’t realized this.

  When I first noticed the trio, a part of me suspected that they were related to the group of elders that opposed my family. Cultivator Aiden’s words turned that suspicion into a certainty. Why else would he and his companions come all the way here just to insult me? Either someone ordered them to, or they were under the elders’ influence somehow and decided to take action themselves. It wasn’t as if I had made any enemies in Celestial Warrior Hall.

  Actually, no. That wasn’t true. Another possibility came to mind. What if Cultivator Aiden was connected to Cultivator Byron? If the latter still held a grudge from what happened all those years ago, then I wouldn’t put it past him to have someone else make trouble for me. Cultivator Byron was from Clan Gold Flame, who wielded significant influence within Celestial Warrior Hall.

  I hoped Cultivator Aiden wasn’t here on Cultivator Byron’s behalf. Not because I feared the latter or Clan Gold Flame, but because I wanted to help my family. If Cultivator Aiden was here because of the group of elders that opposed my family, we could use that to deal a blow to them in return. Well, my mother and my eldest sister could handle that part. I would focus on just being bait.

  “I wasn’t talking about you, Junior Brother.” Cultivator Aiden said, a strained expression on his face. “While your overindulgence in snacks is a flaw, it is a tolerable one.” He glanced at me. “I was talking about other people.”

  Fatty followed his gaze, before his expression lit up with understanding.

  “Ah!” He said. “I see now, Senior Brother Aiden. While I enjoy eating snacks, I don’t let them distract me from my cultivation.”

  Ratty nodded.

  “Exactly.” He said. “You may be a glutton, but you’re not a beast about it.”

  “Unlike some places, our Celestial Warrior Hall is not a den of sin and iniquity,” Cultivator Aiden said. “We are not, and never will be, ruled by wickedness.”

  Right. That was enough of that. These three were clearly trying to provoke me, so I would oblige them. While their words didn’t bother me, I found their presence annoying. The sooner I dealt with Cultivator Aiden and his companions, the better.

  Besides, it appeared as if Elliot was at the end of his patience. Every time Cultivator Aiden opened his mouth and insulted me, my brother-in-law’s killing intent sharpened.

  The question was, how should I go about it? For some reason, my mother’s face came to mind. She carried herself with a confidence bordering on arrogance, secure in her own power. Well, as her son, I should emulate her example. I had a legacy to live up to.

  “Do you hear that, Elliot?” I asked, making a point to not look at Cultivator Aiden and companions. “I think I hear a dog barking.”

  I pitched my voice so that everyone on the top deck heard my words, not just Cultivator Aiden and his companions. We were in a public space, so why not play to the audience? Besides, this was one way to raise my profile without socializing with others. Deeds spoke louder than words and cultivators respected strength.

  “Yes, Young Master.” Elliot said, smirking. He must have realized my intentions. “It’s rather grating.”

  Cultivator Aiden glared at me, his face twisted with anger.

  “What did you just call me?” He demanded.

  “How dare you insult Senior Brother Aiden?” Ratty said

  Fatty didn’t bother saying anything. He pulled a massive hammer out of his storage ring and held it in one hand. Killing intent filled his eyes.

  “There it is again.” I said. “You’re right. It is grating.”

  “Shall we relocate somewhere quieter, Young Master?” Elliot asked.

  “No. I rather like this spot. Why should I move just because a pack of cowardly dogs is barking at me?”

  A crowd started to gather around us. The other disciples realized that something was about to happen and they wanted to witness it. It would be a shame to disappoint them.

  “How dare you call me a coward?” Cultivator Aiden yelled.

  He pulled a red saber out of his storage ring. It was a high-grade Foundation Establishment magic treasure, one with an affinity for Fire. The growing crowd of disciples murmured when they saw it. Moments later, flames sprang to life and coated the red saber. The temperature around us spiked. It would have overwhelmed a mortal or a lesser cultivator. However, I was used to the heat of Flame Fiend Peak. This was nothing to me.

  “What else would I call you?” I said, facing Cultivator Aiden for the first time since he arrived. “It was clear that you came all this way to insult and harass me. Even a blind person could see it. However, instead of confronting me directly like a real warrior, you decided to sneak about. What else would you call it, if not cowardly behavior?”

  A few disciples in the crowd chuckled when they heard this. The expressions on Cultivator Aiden and his companions’ expressions darkened. I imagined this was not how they saw this playing out. In fact, what did they think would happen? Did they expect me to fly off into a rage and attack them? Ha! As if calling me a licentious glutton would anger me. I was a demon.

  “No one calls me a coward and gets away with it.” Cultivator Aiden said, pointing his flaming saber at me. “I challenge you duel, Darian Wind Dance!”

  When they heard my name, the crowd of disciples grew excited. It appeared that none of them had known who I was. Some looked at me with eagerness and amazement, some with interest, and some with skepticism.

  If I had any lingering doubts about Cultivator Aiden’s intentions, his words just now dispelled them. I was a divine demon, so plenty of people within the sect knew my name. However, few knew what I looked like, since I didn’t go out all that much. The crowd’s reactions just now were a perfect example of that.

  “No,” I said in a languid voice, before looking back towards the landscape below, “My time is valuable and I’d rather not waste it on the likes of you.”

  Cultivator Aiden’s jaw dropped, before his face grew so red with rage that it looked like his head might explode. I felt a petty satisfaction at that. However, despite his anger, Cultivator Aiden didn’t attack me right away. A shame. If he had, I could’ve used that against him after this was all over.

  Fatty, on the other hand, was far less disciplined. He roared, before he raised his hammer high and charged right at me.

  “Wait! Don’t!” Cultivator Aiden called out, but it was too late.

  “Elliot.” I said, not even bothering to look.

  Elliot dashed towards Fatty. In the blink of an eye, he put him in a hold, immobilizing him. Fatty never had a chance to fight back. There was too great a difference in strength between the two. Fatty struggled to break free, to no avail.

  That was the beauty of the Grasping Serpent fighting style, which Elliot specialized in. Once he got hold of someone, it was almost impossible for them to break free unless they were overwhelmingly stronger than him. I knew from personal experience.

  With Elliot’s help, I even started learning the Grasping Serpent fighting style myself, though my level of mastery came nowhere close to his.

  “Let go of me!” Fatty yelled.

  Elliot ignored him.

  “What shall I do with this one, Young Master?” He asked instead.

  I continued to look out towards the landscape, pretending to show little interest in the whole affair.

  “He dared to attack a core disciple of the Dawn and Dusk Sect.” I said in a cold voice. “Punish him accordingly. Break his arms.”

  Elliot nodded, before he shifted position and broke one of Fatty’s arms, the one holding the massive hammer. The sound of a bone snapping rang out. The young man howled with pain and dropped his hammer. It hit the ground with a heavy thud. Several disciples in the crowd that surrounded us winced, but made no attempt to intervene. After all, Fatty attacked me first and I was a core disciple of the Dawn and Dusk Sect. I was well within my rights to punish him.

  “Save him, Senior Brother Aiden!” Ratty cried out.

  Cultivator Aiden wore a conflicted expression on his face. It was clear that he wanted to save his companion. However, if he did, he would be at fault too. My opinion of him lowered. In shoes, I wouldn’t have even hesitated, even if it meant getting punished.

  In the end, Cultivator Aiden chose not to help his companion. Elliot proceeded to break Fatty’s other arm, before letting go of the young man. Fatty fell to his knees with tears streaming down his face. I felt a little bad for him, though not enough to regret having his arms broken.

  For a moment, I considered taking Fatty’s hammer as well. However, I decided against it. The hammer was only a mid-grade Foundation Establishment magic treasure. It wasn’t worth the hassle. Besides, robbing a man after breaking his arms didn’t sit well with me. That would be going too far. His crime didn’t warrant such punishment.

  Elliot walked back over to my side. The moment he did, Cultivator Aiden and Ratty rushed over to Fatty. The former’s expression darkened when he saw the severity of his companion’s injuries.

  “Was it really necessary to break his arms?” He asked, his voice harsh.

  I snorted.

  “Considering the severity of his crime,” I said, “He’s lucky I let it go with just breaking his arms. I could have inflicted a much harsher punishment. He’ll be fine after he takes a Healing Pill and gets some rest.”

  Cultivator Aiden stood up and faced me. Meanwhile, Ratty tended to Fatty.

  “Once again, I challenge you, Darian Wind Dance!” He said. “Not only did you insult me, but you hurt one of my friends.” He sneered at me. “Or are you going to hide behind your servant and let him do all the dirty work for you? Ha! And you called me a coward.”

  I have a up and running, if you want to say hi.

  For those who want to show a little extra support, I also have a. Patrons can read up to eighteen chapters ahead of everyone else, and get access to exclusive artwork. As a teaser, free members get access to character sketches drawn by the talented Ms. Tsuu, as well as songs by Lucas Quinn Creations.

  I’ve also posted a DDD short story on Patreon. It’s free for Patrons. However, those who don’t wish to sign up as a Patron can purchase the short story directly instead.

  This chapter was edited by Radriel7