The silence after Bai Zhu’s fall was thick, laden with shock and unspoken questions. Before anyone could move, the leader of the Military Force Branch, a man whose face was a map of scars and contained rage, strode toward the platform.
"Dong Zhen! This... this Qi of his, that fla! This is not the path of blood! This is—"
"Silence."
Dong Zhen’s word was not loud, but it cut the protest like a blade. His authority, usually a constant presence, beca a wall of ice.
He looked at the leader of the military branch, then swept his gaze over all the other leaders whose faces also showed confusion and alarm.
"No questions will be asked." Dong Zhen said, his voice making it clear that this was an order, not a suggestion.
"The decision has already been made. The truth that all saw is this. Kyrian won. He is the champion. The rules were clear. He used the power at his disposal."
He paused, allowing his words to weigh down.
"Therefore, the terms of victory will be fulfilled. The main resources of the Bloody Court for the next five years will be allocated, in first and greatest priority, to Kyrian, of the Main Branch. Only after his needs are t will the surplus be distributed among the other branches, proportionally to the performance of their disciples."
A murmur of resignation passed through the leaders. It was a defeat for their branches, but Dong Zhen’s following statent changed the ga.
"Furthermore, the future of the Court does not depend on just one. Collective strength is what sustains us. Therefore, the following disciples, for demonstrating exceptional talent and potential, will be transferred to the main fortress, effectively joining the Main Branch for intensive training under my direct supervision." Dong Zhen continued.
Everyone held their breath.
"Bai Zhu. Li Fen. Yan Ling. Kai. i Li."
The nas echoed, one by one. Five of the most talented youths of the generation, each from a different branch.
"They, together with Kyrian, will form the core of the next generation of the Court. Over the next five years, they will be my direct disciples. They will be nurtured, trained, and forged here."
The atmosphere shifted instantly. The leaders’ frustration gave way to rapid assessnt.
Yes, their branches lost the largest share of resources, but having their most promising disciple chosen to be personally trained by Dong Zhen? That was an imnse prize, an investnt in the prestige and future power of their branch.
Moreover, the most astute, like Leader ihong and the leader of the Shadows, perceived the political move.
Dong Zhen was consolidating all exceptional talent under his control, preventing inconvenient questions about Kyrian from spreading among the leaders. It was an elegant silencing and a consolidation of power.
No one complained. So even nodded with a mixture of pride and acceptance.
"The tournant is concluded." Dong Zhen declared.
"The visitors and branch leaders are welco to remain in the fortress today. Tomorrow, at dawn, all will return to their posts."
The order was given. The audience began to disperse, the murmur now filled with conversations about the chosen ones and about the gray fla, but all restrained, whispered.
The weight of Dong Zhen’s authority imposed a veil of discretion.
He then looked directly at Kyrian, who was still at the center of the arena.
"Kyrian. Co with ."
Without a word, Kyrian followed Dong Zhen, leaving the arena marked by blood and ashes. They walked in silence through the cold corridors, Dong Zhen’s presence a contained storm.
They reached the office. The heavy door closed, isolating them from the world.
Dong Zhen turned, his sharp eyes piercing Kyrian. There was no audience left to impress. The question ca directly and without preamble.
"How?" His voice was rough.
"You demonstrated an affinity for blood that rivals the best. The core test, your control... the inheritance. Everything pointed to that. Shouldn’t you follow only the path of blood?"
Kyrian remained calm under Dong Zhen’s questions. He had expected this.
"I never said the path of blood was my only path." Kyrian replied, his voice as neutral as ever.
"It is just one of several that I possess." He paused, his eyes fixed on Dong Zhen.
"My true path... is my eyes."
And then, he demonstrated.
Kyrian’s eyes with dancing gray flas transford. The gray color disappeared, replaced by an icy sky blue. At the center, the pupils beca geotrically perfect snowflakes.
A wave of intense, dry cold emanated from him, causing the air in Dong Zhen’s office to drop several degrees instantly, a fine frost forming along the edges of a tal jug on the desk.
Dong Zhen did not move a muscle, but his breathing stopped.
Before he could speak, the vision changed again.
The sky blue and snowflakes dissolved. In their place, a vibrant green erged, the pupils narrowing and elongating, transforming into two tiny, sharp swords.
The energy Kyrian exuded changed completely, now he seed like a drawn blade, sharp enough to cut everything, his presence aggressive and penetrating.
Dong Zhen could not help it. He rose from his seat, an involuntary reaction of pure shock. His eyes, normally so controlled, widened.
"This..." The word ca out like a breath.
He was seeing it. The change was not only visual. Kyrian’s Qi changed with each transformation. From fla Qi to icy, then to a sharp Qi, and finally back to crimson blood.
"What... an aberration..." He corrected himself quickly, not as an insult, but as an observation of sothing that defied comprehension.
"So this is the true nature of an Innate Talent? I should have imagined... to rival a celestial physique..."
Kyrian neither confird nor denied. He simply let his eyes return to crimson, the pressure in the air dissipating. The question that interested him was more practical.
"How will the distribution of resources work?" Kyrian asked, straight to the point.
Dong Zhen, still processing what he had seen, swallowed and regained so of his composure. He sat down again, slower this ti.
"You will have absolute priority. In everything the Court possesses that can help you advance, you will be first."
Kyrian thought for a mont.
"I do not need Qi pills. Nor spiritual herbs that expand ridians or cleanse impurities or that solidify the foundation. Any treasure that affects the body of an ordinary cultivator... is useless to ." His voice was simple and factual.
"As I am a mortal, these things do not work as they should."
Dong Zhen understood. Kyrian’s mortal body was an anomaly due to the Innate Talent. What strengthened a cultivator was inert to him.
"Then? Speak. What you need will be provided."
An almost imperceptible satisfaction passed over Kyrian’s face.
"I mainly need spirit stones. The more, the better. Just that."
Dong Zhen looked at him, sowhat incredulous.
"That’s all? Spirit stones? Nothing else?"
Kyrian nodded only once.
"Yes. At the mont, I see no need for anything else. Besides, of course..." He paused deliberately.
"Access to the Blood Library."
Dong Zhen nodded, the logic being clear.
Spirit stones definitely to fuel Kyrian’s unique advancent, the library to seek knowledge about his own condition.
"Very well. Tomorrow, I will give you an insignia that grants unrestricted access to the library. As for spirit stones... You will have a monthly quota that surpasses any elder. If you need more, co speak with ."
"Understood." Kyrian said. He nodded briefly and turned to leave.
"Kyrian." Dong Zhen called, making him stop at the door.
The leader of the Bloody Court looked at him, his expression now serious, evaluative.
"What you showed today... this stays between us. The Court is now also your ho. Your strength is our strength."
Kyrian looked back, his crimson eyes eting Dong Zhen’s without hesitation.
"I understand." He said it simply and then left.
The path back to his dormitory was different. The few servants and disciples he encountered along the way no longer looked at him with curiosity or disdain, but with a respect mixed with fear and a hint of fascination.
They stepped aside and lowered their heads. News of his absurd victory and of the rise of him and the other five had already spread.
Kyrian ignored them. Upon reaching the dormitory, he closed the door and leaned against it, letting out a long sigh that finally carried so of the day’s tension.
The silence of the small room was the best thing for Kyrian. He could hardly wait for dawn, when the fortress would empty of visitors and return to that inhabited, oppressive, yet comforting silence he had found when he first arrived at the fortress.
Now, however, he would no longer be alone. There would be five others. Potential allies, rivals, and problems. But it was not sothing he was thinking much about at the mont.
What mattered most was the library. Where there would be a sea of books full of answers to his questions and the mountains of spirit stones for his eyes to devour.
The tournant had finally ended, and now he would have ti to focus on other things.
User Comments
0 comments from readers