V4C53: A District’s Tensions

The guardian had appeared with an attack, but he did not proceed to attack her after that, instead waiting for Wei Yi’s reply. If nothing else, that told her that he was not intending to kill her just yet, or that he was very confident in his ability to succeed even without the advantage of a surprise attack.

Either way, since he was giving her the time to talk while not drawing upon his planar energy, she wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to prevent a random battle. She did not think that someone in the Linked Channels realm would be enough to finish her off, but she did know that if she got into a physical altercation, her chances of simply convincing the local Patriarch to work alongside her would decrease. That would not be optimal, to put it mildly, and even if this guardian was someone disliked by the Luo Patriarch, it would still be unlikely to earn her too much favour.

“I intend to enter the district – which I had done already, as you might have noticed – and then I wish to speak with the Luo Patriarch. Is there a problem with that?” Wei Yi said, folding her arms.

“You say that you were here on behalf of the Chao and Bai Districts?”

“Primarily the Ascendant’s Arbiters, of which I am the leader, just so that you are aware. Both of the districts have aligned with us to oppose the Great Families, and whether or not your Patriarch wishes to align himself with this cause, I would like to speak with him nonetheless,” she stated, “Are you able to make objections about the types of guests that your Patriarch will receive, or should I go straight to him?”

“You think your faction to be above two districts?”

“Of course. Have any of you killed a sizeable force of the Great Families in the last thousand years? If you have, was it done by a person that simultaneously uncovered the nature of their spatial realm, Testament?”

The two of them stared at one another, with the guards quietly retreating into the district while they thought that neither of the high realm masters was paying attention to them. Obviously, they had both been reaching out with their spiritual perception, whether to ensure that the other wasn’t doing anything suspicious or to prevent anyone else from sneaking up on them, so both Wei Yi and the guardian were well aware of their departure. Neither one moved to act, however, and instead kept watching the other.

“You are a suspicious figure. There is also that Wei Yi from before, and another woman with a yin-type focus in her cultivation. Before I will even attempt to let you through, tell me how you relate to them.”

“The Wei Yi from before is an annoying distant relative. Our Wei family has a certain style of dress, but she is an annoying brat that can only grab at, then pull hearts out of people’s chests. We may have a certain resemblance due to our strong bloodline, but if you wish to confirm that she and I are not the same, you are free to look at my body. There is a rather major difference there,” she said.

Although she didn’t want to treat her own alternate identity in this manner, it did make for the perfect opportunity to not only introduce the notion of a Wei family, but also to separate herself from the foolish identity that she had previously displayed. Nobody should have been able to identify her usage of star metal in her gauntlets, and even if they could, they wouldn’t be able to perfectly compare the star metal from before to the one she currently wore, since every single aspect of her clothing had already been enhanced once more by the empowered Red Shaper’s Grasp. If anyone wanted to liken her to the previous Wei Yi, they would be unlikely to succeed in that way.

As for showing off her own body, she wasn’t particularly opposed to it so long as it served a purpose. Most people would have been able to learn of her appearance at the Chu District if they searched for knowledge about her, so even if she had issues with this before, there were none now.

“Then what about that other figure?”

“I know little of her myself. I have seen her as I was approaching the Luo District, but other than that, I know nothing. However, her similarity did make me ponder whether she was related to me as well.”

The guardian couldn’t help but cough at her words, since the Luo District was close enough to the Yi District – with only the Ning District separating them – for a number of the Yi family to have gotten to the Luo District for various reasons. He knew well enough that the red hair and grey eyes were a trait of the Yi family, and that, while her eyes may certainly be on an extreme that made them rather different from the Yi family’s traditional features, to assume that anyone with such things was a member of some Wei family instead was certainly bold.

“Your Wei family, what character does it use? I have not heard of it before, but the Patriarch would certainly wish to confirm its existence first.”

“It is the Wei of extraordinary. I doubt that I need to explain the reason for that.”

No, if that was something that needed to be explained to him, he would need to be both blind and deaf, or otherwise lack the very notion of a memory. From the two Wei family members he thought he might have encountered so far, one had been some kind of incredibly powerful maniac, according to all of the talk about her that he had heard, whereas the other was able to bypass one and a half layers of the wall of a district without any obvious trouble.

This certainly did fit the definition of extraordinary, so if all of the other members of the family were the same, then the name would be the most perfect out of all the ones in Yi City.

Naturally, some investigation would need to occur, since he had never head of a single person with the surname Wei, but if there was any evidence out there that this was a true name, then letting Wei Yi see the Patriarch might not be impossible. Of course, the Luo Patriarch would decide that himself.

“So, can I continue, or will I need to sit around until I am arbitrarily decided to be a worthwhile figure? The Greats certainly aren’t sitting around while you conveniently ignore their identities. Being in the sixth realm, I am sure that you have some idea of their identity, so do you think that they aren’t a big deal?” Wei Yi asked after seeing that the guardian continued to stand in front of her, “Is your Patriarch even aware of my arrival yet? I don’t recall observing a single thread of spiritual perception or planar energy being utilised, so…”

“Do you doubt that the abilities of the sixth realm cannot be perceived by a lower realm?”

“I don’t doubt it, I know quite well that I can perceive matters of the seventh realm. You have only sent out an attempt to communicate now, likely due to my prodding, so don’t try to look mysterious.”

Seeing as he was exposed so easily, the guardian froze for a moment before turning around and pointing to one of the outer residences of the Luo District, speaking with his back still turned, “Get into one of those and await a reply from the Patriarch. Otherwise, you-”

He suddenly found her in front of him, having already gotten some distance from him. Although this was what he was telling her to do, at least at first, she soon deviated from a route towards one of the residences and simply went into the district itself, ignoring everything that the guardian obviously wanted to say to her, and about her. Luo Huang had his issues with this, but each time that he tried to leap towards her with a talisman or movement technique, he found her getting further away with each additional movement.

Once it became entirely clear to him that, regardless of the method used to avoid him, he wouldn’t be able to make it closer without some greater effort, Luo Huang was forced to make use of a stronger movement method, quickly closing the gap.

However, it appeared that Wei Yi had also stopped, looking over at a street in which a large number of people had gathered, with there being a clear divide with a fuzzier middle point as some from either side stood near one another, staring at one another in a way unlike how the guardian and the Ascendant had been looking at one another not too long ago. None of them looked to be intending to escalate the situation, but that didn’t stop the tension from being thick enough to cut with a knife.

For that reason, both Wei Yi and Luo Huang stopped, glanced at one another, then used their own methods to get out of the way of the gathering crowds.

Appearing at the rooftop of a distant structure, a little further into the district, Wei Yi turned to the guardian. He had appeared a moment after she did, and while he clearly wished to understand just how she had managed to do so, he wasn’t going to be wasting his time asking questions that wouldn’t be answered.

“So, guardian of the Luo District, don’t you have something better to be handling?”

“That is not something that can be resolved with force. After the faction that your relative was part of vanished without any warning, the structure they lived in being torn apart and looted clean in minutes, and then the rumours of the Great Families spreading, things have gotten a little… unstable,” Luo Huang said, “The Patriarch sides neither with the Greats nor against them, at least publicly, so the people have chosen to express their own views in less than friendly ways. The situation isn’t perfect, but our Patriarch does not see it fit to act.”

“No, that much is clear. Does that mean that he won’t bother speaking with me, then? Will you finally admit it?”

“…”

“That’s fine too, I suppose. I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything better from this district, seeing as the Great Luo had been operating right within your territory without you even knowing about it. That’s what caused the destruction of the faction that my relative had gotten involved with, and if everyone managed to learn of it, I suspect that they will be leaning towards a certain direction once the other districts also come to support the Ascendant’s Arbiters.”

Beside the mess that was the Ping District, there was also the Ning District, Jiang District, and, although it was a bit of a stretch, the Chu District also had a direct route to the Luo District. If they were to side with the Ascendant’s Arbiters, then there would be a total of four districts surrounding the Luo District.

Then, there were also the nations outside of the current borders of Yi City. If the Empire of the Dawn was to somehow be captured, then there would be an enormous territory full of people that could be used to prove to the Luo District that siding with the Arbiters was the better choice, especially if the boom of planar energy continued and was able to boost their trade and local specialties significantly. At that point, if the Empire of the Dawn was also to join with Yi City, then there would be no question that the Ascendant and her Arbiters would easily have contributed the most to the city in the last thousand years.

The guardian froze as he suddenly realised what he was thinking. Where exactly did he get the notion that this woman would suddenly capture a nation?

“Fine, I guess I’ll go.”

“Wait, the Empire of the Dawn isn’t a force that you can defeat!”

“… Wait, did you just assume that I’d leave and try to take over an empire? That… Actually, that’s not a bad idea, so long as they don’t have anyone in the seventh realm. Judging by the fact that the Bai, Luo and Jiang Districts haven’t yet recaptured the outer nations, I assume that they do have that?”

“Ahem, yes, they do. Their Dawn Emperor is in the seventh realm, third stage at the least. Regardless of your ability at evading defences, attacking someone in the seventh realm without any preparation is beyond foolish,” Luo Huang felt the need to remind her, as that strange feeling from before hadn’t fully vanished despite his best attempts to get rid of such an illusion, “That being said, even if I go to speak with the Luo Patriarch, I will be unlikely to give you a different answer to your earlier questions. He will not speak with you.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate. However, Luo Huang, you do realise that the world is changing, right? If we get better, so will our foes, and so will the Greats. I don’t know if they can reach the seventh realm with their particular cultivation, and, frankly, it doesn’t matter. They need to be taken care of as quickly as possible, and if a certain Patriarch doesn’t wish to act on the threat, then… I don’t need to say it, do I?”

She glanced towards the two groups in the open streets of the outer portion of the district, one of whom likely had the belief that the Greats were more stable and sure group for them to support, whereas the other likely sided with the view that the Great Families had too much influence while being too powerful. In this conflict, most of the people on either side weren’t fully aware of what was happening, hearing only a little from various rumours and tales, but they were still convinced of the correctness of their own perspectives. In a way, that too was a law of the world, for none could ever know everything but would still act in a way that made them look as if they knew all.

It was the best that a person could do if they ever wished to take action, and this was a time that absolutely necessitated it. The more they waited, the more one side could win over the other.

After a certain amount of time, there would be no chance for the common people to participate, whether or not they were cultivators, since the Greats and the Arbiters would fight it out and then have a winner who would naturally reach the top, whether or not the people cared. At that point, both factions could once more hide themselves, although there was naturally a chance that the Ascendant’s Arbiters would be far more open about their actions than the faction they oppose.

The moment that one side received support from a formidable figure, they could accomplish far more than a normal force, and those that had been uncertain about the right group to side with might decide that it was suitable to reveal themselves and pledge their assistance to that particular cause.

So long as a sixth realm figure was brought to the forefront of one of these groups, it wouldn’t even be impossible to replace the Luo Patriarch and place someone else in his place, although it would likely be someone else from the Luo family as to not suddenly throw that family away from their current place and change the district to the Wang District, or something of the sort. Ideally, Wei Yi wouldn’t suddenly replace the ruling family of a district since that would just disturb things far too much to actually be useful to her.

Even without that, there were still plenty of people that would like to take over the Luo District. The position of a Patriarch was incredibly valuable, since they would have access to an immense quantity of resources and power from the sheer status that they would obtain, not to mention the various techniques that they could gain as a result.

“Do not act foolishly. The fifth realm-”

“Too weak, insufficient power, gap between realms, right? Anything else you want to add onto this, or should I just get going?” Wei Yi asked, “I don’t need to hear it again.”

“Then I will instead remind you that I am the guardian, Luo Huang. I will not simply stand by and watch things occur within this district, especially not when you attempt to threaten the very person I have dedicated my life to protecting.”

“You’re not doing much to stop me, though. Heard of Ping Waqing, perhaps?”

“The person that harmed him, was that another one of your relatives? I may not be quite as strong as he was, but I am sure that I will not lose in the face of… Ah, damn it. Come with me, Wei Yi, the Ascendant of the Ascendant’s Arbiters. I shall explain a few matters to you, but we need to go further away, since the range of his spiritual perception-”

“Again, not a problem. I can sense that, and have more of a range myself. I do remember a good place for us to go, however.”

Although the inside of the Brotherhood of Power’s headquarters was in quite the poor state, there was a room that still retained much of its ability to seal away and isolate spiritual perception, or, as the seventh realm apparently referred to it, divine sense.

To correct the fact that quite a significant portion of it had been destroyed during the battle against the two members of the Great Luo, Wei Yi siphoned away much of the unnecessary material from the floor and shrunk the room slightly, most of the furniture not being particularly helpful to her or the Great Family member that had resided here before her, and created a shell around them. It was thin, and thus likely far less effective, but she substituted the thickness of the shell with her own methods, adding everything she could to prevent their presence from being detected.

With the contribution of her spiritual will, empowered by a searing mark – since that turned out to be an effective combination, amplifying the invisible nature of her mental energy further – she was able to guard herself to a sufficient extent for the guardian to consider them to be safe from potential observation.

“So, what is it that you wanted to say?” Wei Yi began first.

She could have revealed a number of things first, since she was coming into the Luo District with more information than she might have been letting on thanks to a little bit of information from Shi Bao Ya, but she had still come to the Luo District as a leader of a powerful faction, not as some random cultivator. If she seemed like she would reveal anything anyone wanted at a whim, it wouldn’t be good for the perception of her, and thus her power through the Conqueror’s Eye would decrease, amongst other things. It was better to let him speak first, and she could then speak about anything else.

“The Luo Patriarch has lost the confidence of many as a result of his actions. He is slow and unwilling to participate in the vast majority of events that occur, and thus neither side of most debates considers him to be the most suitable person to lead us,” the guardian said frankly, “If someone else was put in his place, it would be an improvement. It does need to be someone of the Luo family, however, so do not attempt to put yourself in his place.”

“Wasn’t thinking of that. I have my own force to take care of, and even the Master of Yi City never bothered to directly control the district of his origin, not to mention any other,” she replied.

While that was fortunate for the guardian, the implication of her words aside, that did make it more complicated. Had she been the one to select herself or someone from her own faction to take charge of the district, then the matter of deciding who would lead the district would be significantly easier.

Now, even if all they needed to do was point at someone to put them into the leadership position, then they would need to figure out who was most suitable for the position of Patriarch, who wouldn’t be thrown off right away by one of the others, who would have enough support to keep himself in place, and so on. It would be far more tyrannical to just introduce an outside contender, but, if the force behind them included two powerful districts, it happened to be far easier to enforce without being criticized for intervening where they were not wanted – they’d have already intervened far more.

“You’re thinking it too, aren’t you? Tell me, who are the primary contenders for the position? I am guessing that there are some out there who have sided with one side or the other and are now waiting for the right chance, so if I back one of them, they will easily overcome their foes. At that point, only the Patriarch would be left.”

“… You likely don’t care, but I don’t like you.”

“Interesting name for a Luo family member. I would think that I’d have heard something about someone with such a name.”

“The two main contenders for the position are Luo Na and Luo Yunzhen, with the former being on your side while the latter seems to be siding with the Great Families… can they perceive us through here, or is this not sufficient to protect us from Their presence and perception?” Luo Huang asked, looking around nervously.

“Does it matter? The world speaks their names already. Adding one more mention of them, beyond those that both you and I have made, changes nothing at all. In fact, all of us should just keep saying their names again and again, the more the better.”

“I… would rather not do something like that,” the guardian decided, “Luo Yunzhen is a man in his prime years, and highly popular amongst the faction he is a part of. His cultivation is in the sixth stage of the sixth realm, and he cultivates a powerful flame-type technique called Flames of Perfection. Meanwhile, Luo Na is a talisman-focused female cultivator with the same realm but the eighth stage, practising our familial art of Searing Inferno. Despite that, their pure power is similar.”

“Interesting. Conveniently enough, the person I would like to support is the second one, regardless of her identity, so I might as well just go on with it. Where are they located, and what exactly is stopping the reasonable side from defeating the other one?” Wei Yi inquired, keeping that information within her mental domain.

“While it would be inaccurate to claim that both sides are equally matched, they are rather tied when it comes to their overall power. Those on the side of the Great Families have more control over our trade, whereas those on the other side are more capable in talisman creation and are thus more capable of repelling unwanted entry to the Luo District if the other side attempts to allow in reinforcements for themselves,” he told her, “Then there are those that didn’t go to one side or the other. There are still enough for the two sides to be incapable of fighting outright without involving those who aren’t interested in participating, and some amongst them are sufficiently invested in keeping the peace that they would go quite far to prevent combat.”

“That much is to be expected. I won’t waste more of your time than I absolutely need to, so do feel free to simply share the location of this group with me, or, more precisely, the position of the leader, and I shall get straight to it.”

“I can leave you with some more information, but her position is naturally near our talisman creation hall, since she is the elder responsible for it. Whether she’s focusing on that, or on the conflict, she will be staying around there,” Luo Huang said, “If you would like to speak to her… Be careful about her. She is a strange person in some ways, causing most of her opponents to not be fond of her even if they don’t care for the gender of the leader of the district.”

“Everyone’s slightly odd, no? If you don’t tell me exactly what I need to watch out for, then I won’t have a single clue regarding the kind of behaviour that I’m meant to be avoiding.”

“She… she has a certain obsession with illusory talismans. One of them is always active somewhere around her, and, whether by accident or not, most of them tend to put those who enter into uncomfortable scenarios. Some are disturbing, others are concerning. It is said that there have been a number of people who entered, believed that they had been able to bed Luo Na, only to later learn that they had completely embarrassed themselves in front of some other cultivator who had passed through at the same time,” the guardian said.

Wei Yi frowned. That was a very interesting hobby to be occupied with, that much couldn’t be denied. Whether this was being done to become used to illusions, then allowing Luo Na to somehow overcome them, or if she merely enjoyed being in strange situations that didn’t make any sense, but, regardless of the answer, it was not something that she needed to be afraid of.

Her Third Eye was affected by the growth of her mental energy to a small extent, so she was still able to see through more simple illusions, although she would struggle to look through an illusion made with someone’s full effort at the seventh realm. She would manage to realise that it was present, she was almost sure of that, but that was fortunately not something that she expected to encounter based on the description she had been provided. Casual usage of illusory talismans wouldn’t usually result in such grades of illusions appearing around someone.

“Was she aware of what her talisman had wrought?”

“Are you referring to the example I had given? Yes, she was, although she had a very mixed reaction to it. Depending on who asked, and when, she was either pleased with the result, or unhappy with certain factors.”

“I’d presume that she had gotten some people involved and gave them the right idea, whereas others weren’t wanted. Still, that seems like she isn’t some kind of illusion maniac, so I’ll go right away.”

“A girl joins your side, and you immediately send her out to fight?” a woman said, shaking her head in disapproval, “What a terrible idea, in more ways than one. Are your people satisfied with following some unknown girl into battle? Can you be sure that she won’t throw you to your death? Do you even know her name?”

The one speaking was a figure with chestnut-brown hair and green eyes on a bold yet appealing face, with skin that was darker than that of the Central Plains, and yet lighter than the skin of most from the Northern Desert. A number of talismans poked out of her pockets, their frayed yellow edges rustling in the slight wind, while one was held in between two of her fingers. On that talisman, two large and imposing characters had a slight glow to them, illuminating the flesh beneath her skin.

Opposite her, a number of figures gathered behind one that looked almost like she was on the brink of passing out from hunger and exhaustion. Her skin was pale, her body was thin, and yet she seemed oddly stable, as if she was the wind and the wind was the weak branch that could be torn down at any moment. Her long red hair was loose and covered large parts of her face, but her determined silver eyes could still be seen, containing a level of depth that was unmatched by most of the fifth realm cultivators standing next to her.

“I am… Jian Hongchao. I humbly request a duel.”