Chương 266: Everything that Hua-Xi stands for

"Oh, yes, I have indeed heard of the dalliance. Quite scandalous, wouldn't you say?" Steps Marked in Fallen Fate said, all smiles as the group of young scions laughed and giggled at his implication. He was about to continue when a servant managed to catch his eyes in the distance across the room, a woman dressed alike to all the others serving prominent guests in the gardens of the Heavenly Shadow sect.

This one made a certain and very subtle sign, however, one that made Fallen adjust his plans for the upcoming hour. He had duties to perform, after all, and Mistress Black Wood Mask had placed a lot of faith in him with his many operations during the proving.

"Ah, but I hope you'll excuse me as it seems that I have matters to attend to," he continued, turning back to this little audience.

"But what kind of man would I be if I did not leave you with at least a small tidbit to discuss? Did you hear that the Flowing Viper sect might have made an attempt on the life of the chosen participant from the Fated Severance sect? Yes indeed. Just this afternoon. Did you hear of the explosion on the west side of the city?"

His words left the group abuzz with gossip and speculation as Fallen made his way over in the general direction of where his agent waited, going off into a side room and making sure that his privacy screen was active already before the 'servant' entered after him while sliding the doors shut.

"Well? What are the results?"

"Mixed, Senior Brother," the woman said while she started fiddling with an imaginary spot on Fallen's robes to give some pretence should anyone walk in on them.

"There have been some accusations from lesser members of the Fated Severance sect, but the sect leader and grand elders have all been silent on the matter."

"Well, it seems that our esteemed Mistress might have underestimated this little guild's impact," Fallen mused to himself.

"Given how some of our planted seeds have started going awry as of late, it would not surprise me if they have a hand in that too."

"Should we ask Mistress for counsel?"

"No need. At least not yet," Fallen replied, dismissing the notion with a curt gesture.

"She gave me the mandate to make adjustments, and such we shall make. Increase the priority of investigating the guild. Start tangling them in whatever threads and angles we can. The mistress wanted to use them as a catalyst, so let's set them up to be thrown into the thick of it. Everyone has an angle; a nook where the seeds of Discord can start growing."

"It shall be done, Senior Brother."

"Good. Make sure that my sisters have their assignments nearby too. If possible, I want to try to intercept these little stragglers myself. Now go. I have more seeds to plant among this crowd today." His agent bowed briefly in response before quickly mussing up her hair and clothes slightly to provide another plausible cover for her exiting the room not long before Fallen himself. He followed in her wake soon after, gliding into the crowds like an invisible shark among an unsuspecting school of fish.

Soul's fist met the descending heavy staff with a clap of thunder - literally, as the special attack of the woman opposite her created a sonic shockwave that stung all over Soul's body. The thunderous path of this particular foe - a student of the Hollow Spear sect named Plain Sky - had proven surprisingly impressive, especially since the human woman's simple name hinted at quite the rise through the stratas of life.

While the tournament had started out promising, the three bouts following Soul's first clash against Strides of Conviction had been quite disappointing. None of them had been what she would have called easy, just empty of surprises as she had managed to shift her many styles to find weaknesses in their paths that she could leverage to a relatively straightforward victory.

But Plain Sky had so far proven to have earned her place here in the brackets where the final matches of the initial phase of the Proving were fought. All of those who managed to climb further would get to fight in the venerable main arena of the capital, and Soul had to give it to the woman who expertly parried her return kick followed by a leaping dodge meant to lure Soul into one of the pulsing motes of destruction that she had been strewing around the arena floor; she had talent.

And Soul aimed to test that to the very limit to see who Warrior favored enough to let them keep climbing the brackets of the Proving. A quick burst of mana had Soul teleport to reposition slightly which let her kick impact the woman's midriff, her transcendent burst traded for a rippling retaliatory shockwave whose constant counters kept even Soul's enhanced restorative capacities somewhat in check.

Another staff strike forced Soul to block and accept yet another burst of damage, the small area neatly circumventing the otherwise potent nullification of Immortal Fist that at least left the celestine's fists unharmed.

"The mountain will crack and wither beneath the constant winds," Soul thought to herself as she discarded her more rigid stance of impervious defense that apparently needed quite a lot more work to live up to the concepts she tried to emulate.

"But perhaps the water does not fear the gale?" The flowing motions of Tempestuous River style had Soul speed up even further as she started striving for dodges while using fierce kicks and strikes to try to shift the balance of Plain Sky's heavy staff whose solidity was like an aura onto itself that surrounded the weapon.

When a fierce exchange ended in Soul speeding up to sidestep and overbalance her foe's mighty swing, she finally saw another chance to land not one but three strikes where the two initial ones heralded a proper charged blow. The gathered force proved enough to stagger Plain Sky somewhat, who in turn tried to drag in all of the destructive motes scattered around the arena to form a kind of barrier to ward off attempts at capitalizing on the opening.

Deciding upon a feint, Soul first moved as if to barrel through the gathered barrier that shone like the stars in the night sky while letting her aura give off a similar impression of a forceful charge. Plain Sky took the bait as the screening motes turned into a rippling series of detonations that would have seriously injured almost any silver-ranked being caught in the ferocity. As soon as the flashing light cleared, Plain Sky saw not a hint of her foe, but the brief moment of relief quickly changed to alarm.

But that moment of hesitation was enough." Path of the Executioner" Another of Soul's charged, scything kicks struck from above like the very heavens crashing down upon the arena. The celestine had used her flowing motions to redirect her momentum at the last second, swerving around and leaping upward in a perfectly timed arc that had her descend upon her foe the moment after the motes had detonated.

This particular style let Soul focus the impact of her attacks on a smaller area in a way that let the transcendent damage of her kick strike like a descending axe that seared more than halfway through the other silver-ranker's arm. To not waste another ounce of momentum, Soul also grabbed her opponent's staff on the way down and let the rest of her fall assist in ripping the weapon from Plain Sky's hand as the grip of the injured arm faltered.

To her credit, the other woman swiftly let the staff be ripped from her hand and instead sent another sonic shockwave toward Soul at point-blank range so that the celestine was forced to accept part of the attack as she simply couldn't dodge in time. This might have flayed the left half of her face, but it didn't keep Soul from grinning through the pain in exaltation as she flung the staff across the arena before going on the offensive again.

What followed became a game of maneuvering as Plain Sky fought to take the battle closer to her discarded weapon and tried to work her path to restore her injured arm to functionality while Soul instead needed to keep up the pressure and punish her foe hard for every step.

Plain Sky even got around two-thirds of the way before the end came as she suddenly burst forward in a sonic detonation only to be intercepted by Soul, who managed to reach just a little bit faster as she had been able to sense the impending rush in the other woman's aura.

The problem for Plain Sky was that she had chosen to use the burst of force to make a leap with Soul still very close by, which let Soul reach out with lightning speed to turn the now airborne woman's momentum into a circular throw that sent Plain Sky sailing off in the wrong direction, putting her further away from her staff than when she began.

"I- I yield." Soul had immediately teleported after her foe, the short-ranged teleportation from her onslaught confluence perfect for just this kind of pursuit. She managed to just barely stop her glowing fist a handspan from Plain Sky's face in response to the surrender, creating some distance and bowing to her opponent a moment later.

"Thank you for the assistance in tempering my path. Warrior is proud of us both."

"I… thank you," was all that Plain Sky managed in way of reply as she fought against the obvious disappointment as well as the multiple still glowing injuries inflicted by the relentless onslaught of Soul's transcendent strikes.

She turned and left the arena, but Soul was surprised to soon see that Plain Sky was met not only by a few members of her own sect but plenty of other people she recognized as previous opponents both from the Proving and the time before, with equally surprising compliments on the woman's fight, empathetic commiserations and requests to trade pointers and tempering in the future. And as for her own exit?

"We congratulate the blessed of Warrior on her victory!" over a hundred people of ranks ranging from normal to silver called before bowing as one in respect, while Kite had the audacity to look amused from where he waited for her off to one side.

"What was that style with the descending kick?"

"How would you rate Plain Sky as opposed to the others you've fought? Does she surpass Strides of Conviction?"

"Please, honored Mistress, accept my humble request for tempering!"

"Who do you think you're fighting next?"

"Your beauty surpasses the most radiant skies-" Soul didn't break her stride while giving curt answers to a few of the questions thrown her way before finally reaching Kite and falling into step beside him while he waved apologetically to the crowd.

"Heavens, there's double the number from last time. Your star is truly on the rise in the hearts of the people," Kite noted after activating his privacy screen.

"Better that they focus on the arts of battle than petty intrigue," Soul stated in reply.

"But most of them will have to work much harder to catch the eyes of Warrior.

"Well, true. But I don't think that everyone comes for that alone. I think I heard at least one marriage proposal back there."

"Bah. People are blinded to what matters. They see something that's pleasing to look at and forget the path towards the heavens in an instant. Perhaps they will learn in time. If not, it's their loss."

"Personally, I'm just regretting that we didn't bring a few of the skill books you've helped make for the guild. Just imagine what riches they could have brought us if sold to adoring fans," Kite noted cheekily, quickly raising his hands in placation before the glare Soul directed his way.

"I'm merely joking, I assure you. Either way though, you have my congratulations on clearing the first part of the dueling brackets. You have already beaten out most participants, and the next fight will be in the grand arena."

"Warrior is pleased with this Proving, no matter my performance. But I will admit that the tempering has overall surpassed my expectations. Plain Sky back there would have been a fine member for the guild, had she not been discovered by the Hollow Spear sect." This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Indeed. Although I'm not sure what kind of reaction us openly recruiting would have garnered. Because while you definitely have some fans, I'd say that there is enough ire in the eyes of others to have me worried," Kite noted, vaguely gesturing around them as they walked through the Proving grounds. Soul did not need to glance around herself to know what Kite was speaking of, already feeling the many auras focused on them.

The emotions of some were expertly hidden while others let their resentment out on full display as they followed the pair making their way back towards their pavilion at the edge of the grounds.

"Let the fools quarrel and scheme. Warrior will know the mettle of them all before this is done," Soul replied calmly, and was about to continue when both she and Kite stopped as they felt a shift around them; a shift soon followed by a group of three people barring their paths.

"Strides of Conviction," Kite greeted, albeit a bit warily as it was clear from the auras of the leonid and his two silver-ranked companions from the Thunderous Soul sect that this was not a friendly visit. The pressure they emitted as their spirits ground against those of Kite and Soul stood in stark contrast to the otherwise quite festive Proving grounds, with its rows of colorful lanterns and enterprising street merchants having moved their business to the heavily frequented new district.

However, the standoff had most of those nearby swiftly start packing their belongings and relocating elsewhere, while the essence-users present found it hard to ignore the clashing auras.

"Do you have nothing else to say for yourselves, traitors?" the towering leonid growled, his voice loud and clear in the relative silence that had fallen over their section of the street.

"Pardon me?"

"You! Blessed of Warrior? How can you abide by this?" Strides of Conviction continued, ignoring Kite to address Soul.

"I felt some respect for your path after our clash as you have proved its strength by coming this far. But then I learned who you fight for. That guild of yours… How long will you keep the truth from people?"

"Mine is not a path of deception, and neither is yours," Soul countered calmly.

"Act according to the tenets of Warrior and spit it out instead of dancing around things."

"Fine. How can you act to corrupt our proud traditions like this? This guild has already been spitting upon our heritage since its founding, and now it is revealed that it is basically nothing more than a facade for the Adventure Society. How can someone with a path like yours allow yourself to be the lapdog of those foreigners?" the leonid all but spat, derision and some genuine disbelief coloring his voice.

"Those who look down upon us and want us to forget who we are as they encourage us to walk the path of the meek and hide behind others?!"

"Sounds like a pretty stupid conclusion you've reached," Soul retorted, keeping her calm even though her words caused the leonid and his followers to only grow more irate.

"Where in Warrior's name did you get such a pretty picture painted for you?"

"Do you deny it, then? That this guild of yours have received plenty of contracts exclusive to them in the years gone by and still do as you keep licking the boots of your masters? Because that is what is on everyone's lips, even proven by the interference of that one just the other day when my brethren aimed to keep the peace?" Strides of Conviction roared while pointing at Kite, who in turn felt his brows creasing in concern.

"Someone has apparently started to really dig into things," he thought to himself. He had always known that anyone with the right connections should be able to unravel a lot of the guild's activities, maybe even some of the exclusive contracts given to them as part of the hunt for Discord and their cells. Detailed documentation of the latter was normally kept with some level of secrecy, but simply unearthing their existence even though the contents were unknown might be enough if someone wanted an angle like this.

Perhaps even more disruptive than if the actual details had been out in the open. Kite would need to report this to Temren even though she probably already knew, but for now they had a trio of angry silver-rankers and a confused but muttering crowd forming around them. But for good or ill, Soul was the first to reply.

"So what? A guild, the Adventure Society or a sect; they are all but stepping stones for my path towards the heavens. I have joined my paths to all of these during the years gone by, and so far this guild has been the one to provide the best tempering. You speak of traditions, and isn't being the supreme warrior our true heritage? That which most of you seem to have forgotten even though Warrior's gaze remains upon you?"

Her words had a mixed effect on the crowd, with some nodding thoughtfully while seeming to discuss or consider Soul's words while other reactions ranged from dubious to outraged. Unsurprisingly, Strides of Conviction and his fellows leaned more towards the latter.

"Who are you to speak for anyone when you are so uncaring of the foreigners you are allowing to run free in our kingdom, spreading their influence?!"

"You have witnessed the merit of my path firsthand. That speaks for itself. As for the Adventure Society, I would be surprised to find out that you yourself haven't used their services most diligently. Why you would wish for their withdrawal so fervently is honestly beyond me. Would your sects even be able to stay afloat without them?" Soul's words kept their calm tone, which only further added to infuriate the leonid, and Kite felt that a good moment to insert himself in the conversation.

"I must agree with the blessed of Warrior. Our kingdom will ever value strength, and there the results of the guild speaks for itself," he all but shouted to be heard above the rising murmur of the crowd.

"If you wish to prove our inferiority, I would suggest that you and your brethren should come together like us and work towards not just upholding the traditions of our kingdom, but let their benefits carry to its people. Walk its lands, bring stability and let yourself be tempered through it."

"Silence, outcast. The blessed at least carried a sliver of my respect, but I will not suffer cowards like you," Strides of Conviction snarled with derision as he forcefully tried to spike Kite's aura, the spiritual equivalent of a slap, only for his aura to recoil as if impacting something solid as Kite's training with Ardent made itself known. Everyone with an aura sense in the vicinity could sense it too, which led to a note of shame coloring the leonid's aura before he got it under control.

Which, in turn, Kite knew would only risk becoming an even greater spark to light conflict. One that needed to be snuffed out - or at least controlled - before it got the chance to spread into an uncontrolled blaze.

"Neither of us are part of the Proving now, Strides of Conviction," Kite replied with a steady calm that seemed to have some effect on the crowds around them too as they followed the exchange even closer now.

"As such, I believe that no one should begrudge us the opportunity to settle this in the way of the traditions you claim to uphold instead of through bellowing hot air here that will lead to nothing but inflamed tempers. On behalf of the guild I will accept your challenge, so I will ask you to either get on with it or to go back and reflect on your own way forward for the sake of this kingdom, not just its sects and politics."

Part of Strides of Conviction seemed to want to leap at the opportunity, but Kite could also note how he had carefully been studying both him and Soul; how they walked side by side, neither deferring to the other. There were plenty of conclusions to be drawn from that.

"This whole debacle is beneath us, and I will not waste more time on you," Strides of Conviction snorted, turning to leave as his own conclusions had apparently counseled caution.

"Just know that my last sliver of respect for you, so-called blessed of Warrior, died here. You do not fight for what our kingdom stands for. Know that the Thunderous Soul sect will be watching you and your masters with utmost care to defend everything that Hua-Xi stands for." Kite saw no reason to try and hinder the trio's departure, having said his piece. The exchange was clearly still the talk of the crowds though, easy to listen for while he and Soul continued making their way back towards their pavilion again.

But even while Kite felt somewhat satisfied with his handling of things, he also had the sinking feeling that Discord's cause had still come out on top. Because there was little doubt that their hands were pulling at least some of the strings of these new developments.

"Christine truly was right back then…" he thought to himself, remembering the words of his former instructor from the task group.

"Fighting against the adherents of Discord… is the worst."

"A toast to both Soul and Vista. The honor your performance has so far bestowed upon the north is boundless!" Will called, several more cups joining his before they each drank to the two competitors. While the evening was late outside, the inside of the guild's pavilion was warm in illumination and spirit both. Vista had joined them for the evening's celebration, having passed the first hurdle of monster waves in the mirage arena with flying colors.

This meant that he would continue on towards the round with only four competitors within each simulation along with more complicated scenarios or environments. Still, the young master allowed himself the satisfaction and pride that came with the achievement, as he was now thoroughly under the scrutiny of several important factions trying to make a connection with the mostly unknown dark horse of the proving.

Soul, on the other hand, simply opened one eye from where she sat meditating off to the side to acknowledge the praise. The celestine had seemed quite distant during the time since her final bout, and about half an hour into the festivities the reason why revealed itself.

"-and then you should have seen that final strike! It just shredded all of those floating creepy things like- oh sweet heavens!" Dragonfly called, her retelling of Vista's final round interrupted as light burst from Soul's corner; a bright silver glow containing a single streak of gold.

"Amazing! Congratulations, Soul!" Dragonfly cried, leaping from her chair to embrace the celestine as Soul rose from her feet soon after.

"I- it is but one more step," Soul replied, seeming to ponder which of her grappling techniques would be appropriate for the sudden physical contact.

"One's perception power is bound to be the first anyway."

"Do not sell yourself short," Kite interjected with a smile.

"While it might have been a given before, you know that this step is different. Congratulations on your insight, Soul. May many more follow." Kite was genuinely happy for the celestine even as he also fought against a distinct twinge of jealousy. He had heard of it taking long to reach gold rank, but it was another thing to experience just how slow progression was now that he had stepped above the halfway mark of silver.

The famed wall was indeed just the beginning, even though he now at least knew part of why the ascent became so glacial. Or, in the cases of many, completely stalled out if it hadn't already. The breakthrough breathed new life into the evening's festivities, with new rounds of toasts and tales that were only interrupted for Kite when one of Wander's bodies snuck up to whisper in his ear.

"Hey. Mistress Dew is here to see you outside~."

"Thank you, Wander," Kite murmured, heading for the exit after a whispered explanation to Dragonfly and a glance at River - who had of course caught wind of the exchange - indicating that there was no trouble.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Kite, but there have been developments of which I felt you should be aware," Frost Among Morning Dew said as soon as Kite entered her privacy screen that obscured both her identity and aura from most observers. Kite was once again struck by the sheer presence of a gold-ranker up close, though he supposed that it was further augmented by the severe look of the ice queen that was his former teacher.

"Such tidings rarely wait for an opportune time. What is it?" Kite asked as he sat down beside her at the bench after giving a quick bow of respect.

"Some of the elders might call me a traitor for sharing this with an outsider, but given what you've told me of your purpose here and the forces moving in the shadows, it is necessary. There is… turmoil in the sect. Since the incident with Petal and Scar that your fortunate intervention turned from what could have been a disaster into mere troubles."

"May I guess; some of the elders demand retribution?" Kite asked, feeling a bit tired as the pieces connected with disturbing ease in his mind.

"Yes. There have been internal debates, demands and other such nonsense ever since the incident. While we cannot confirm that the Flowing Viper sect had any hand in this, which both you and I know is unlikely or at least irrelevant given the puppet masters, a sect is not just a collection of people. We live and die by our reputation as much as our power, at least if we want to not give others a reason to come together and drag us under.

And even the rumors of the Flowing Viper sect being behind the attack have left us in a precarious position. Respond in the way tradition would dictate and we play into the hands of Discord, assuming this was their plan all along. And if we do not…"

"Then you risk losing face, perhaps to a degree that might start a downward spiral," Kite finished.

"But surely the elders must understand? Have you spoken to them about the things going on behind the scenes?"

"I have, but an elusive and unseen threat is not enough to banish the wounds on pride in the present. So far, my position is secure due to me being the sole gold-ranker in the sect. But even then, using my power too bluntly will risk losing everything in the future when some upstart manages to gather enough support. Gods, it is frustrating to know one thing yet having to act according to another."

"But is there really no compromise? No way to mitigate the damage without inflaming things further?" Kite asked, concerned.

"If we don't, then even our attempts at clearing a path through this haze of strife will only serve to further add to it. I apologize though, as I might be speaking out of turn."

"Do not worry. I did not come here to command as a gold-ranker, but to apprise an ally," Mistress Dew replied, waving as if to dismiss Kite's worries. As for a compromise… I am working on it. We shall see what steps I have to take though, because I am honestly not willing to risk making a rash move now only to lose the sect in a few years due to the fallout. That would only open it up to become one of Discord's pawns again in the long run. But please inform Director Temren of this.

I suspect that similar attempts will be made in this city before the Proving is over, and it might help you drag enough of the Discordants out into the light to convince the skeptics among my ranks."

"I… Thank you, Mistress Dew. I will," Kite eventually said, quashing his slight frustration as he could understand his former teacher's plight no matter how much part of him wanted not to. He thought the conversation might end there, but instead of rising from the bench outside the pavilion, Mistress Dew had instead turned to regard Kite thoughtfully.

"Mistress?" Kite eventually asked, feeling the pressure of her scrutiny even though none of her aura was added to it.

"I believe I have a question for you, Kite. An important one."