116. Fates Disciple
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Weiyan gasped softly as a sleek and beautiful pink blade suddenly rested at her throat.
The scents of flowers filled the air, and Weiyan raised her gaze to find a woman so beautiful that even time might slow down to steal a glance. Such beauty could surely cause wars across the three realms, and Weiyan blinked, concluding that this was the most beautiful person she had ever seen...
'Second most beautiful...' Her mind foolishly corrected, reminding her of the moment her eyes had first fallen on Yin Bailong at the Lava Sea.
'No. Even his mortal appearance could bring forth jealousy, even in women!' She thought. Then...
'Should I be thinking about this right now?!' The string of thought snapped Weiyan out of the trance, reminding her to move and leap away from the beautiful woman.
The impossibly sharp sword had lightly nicked her skin, and she wiped the blood, never taking her eyes off the woman.
She was too ethereal to belong here, so it wasn't difficult for Weiyan to deduce,
'She's not mortal!'
But was she an Immortal or a demon?
"Oh? You broke my floral charm so quickly..." Qin Yuelian smiled, running a finger along the now bloody edge of her blade. "It's not as effective on women, since they can't admire me too much, but..."
She was suddenly at Weiyan's ear. "This was still too quick."
Weiyan drew in a shocked breath, as a brilliant wave of floral aura wove around her, drawing her into the trance again...
But she recognized the signs and instantly dispelled it, swiftly slipping away again.
"Not once, but twice..." Qin Yuelian turned to her with a brilliant smile. "You're going to hurt my feelings if you keep doing this."
Weiyan shook her head to clear the remnants of the charm. "A spell which makes one freeze, staring at the caster with endless awe and admiration." She observed aloud.
"It won't work on someone whose entire heart and mind is filled with someone else." She finished, and the longer she stared at her attacker, the easier it was to see past such blinding beauty.
Immortal or demon, she couldn't afford to take this woman lightly.
"Hmph. I'm one of the eldest Immortals. Even the most lovestruck Immortal would find it hard to break my spell, yet a mere mortal acts like it's nothing?" Qin Yuelian was saying. "I could have killed you twice now, but you've piqued my curiousity...
"Who are you?" Qin Yuelian scowled prettily. "Some hidden entity? Even that face of yours surpasses the blandness of the Mortal Realm, so who are you, and why does everyone pay attention to you?"
Weiyan's irises followed as Qin Yuelian paced, voicing her deepest questions.
"You supposedly 'killed' Yin Xiaolong, but why do the Sky Emperor and Fate Immortal despise you?
"Why is it so easy for you to dispel my charm?
"Why is Yin Xiaolong willing to give his life for your pitiful one?"
Weiyan's eyes fell at that question... She really did not deserve Yin Bailong harming a single strand of his hair for her sake...
But she gripped her sword hard after she heard,
"Most of all, why is my mistress interested in you? She went as far as guiding you to Caoyang, and now she is sending me, Floral Deity of the skies, to squish an insignificant mortal like you?!"
'She's with the cloaked woman!' Weiyan realized, and instantly scribbled an air talisman directed at Qin Yuelian.
But Qin Yuelian swatted it away with delicate fingers. "You can't seriously hope to harm me in any way?"
Weiyan indeed harboured no such hope, but she knew one thing for sure...
If they were approaching her, it was most likely to get to Yin Bailong!
Like they had done at Caoyang...
She would never surrender and make things easy for them!
"Hao! I like the look in your eyes!" Qin Yuelian held up a hand and a lotus appeared above her palm, sending endless vines shooting up around her feet.
"Let me teach you the difference between mortals and Immortals...!"
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Meanwhile, a battle raged between another Mortal and Immortal.
Fei Yun, the Fate Immortal, shot forward in a trail of brilliant green light, his robes fluttering in the wind, but Luoyin remained calm, meeting his attack head-on, the sea-blue sword clashing against the deep green sword.
"You should not exist!" Fei Yun raged, "Yin Bailong has already been erased from the stars and Fate Mirrors! You are nothing but a stain I must cleanse!"
Luoyin's lips curved into a cold and wicked smile. "Hao! If I knew you had this kind of hobby, I would have entrusted you with my house for cleaning!" He pushed off Fei Yun and struck again, the two clashing a few times.
They moved so fast that they resembled two streaks of blue and green lights zipping through the city, each of their clashes louder than thunder, shattering the already desolate place.
But as destructive as their clashes were, Luoyin could sense an odd demon aura which seemed to keep the impacts in check, almost as if it was shielding the entire city, preventing it from being completely destroyed.
'It's probably her!' He concluded, his mind instantly going to the cloaked woman. 'She indeed picked this city for more reasons than one!'
Luoyin had suspected from his first day here, that something strange rested within this city, and it wasn't just the demon aura...
But he shook his head at present, refocusing on the battle.
Though his clashes with Fei Yun were being controlled, it was still more than enough to destroy their surroundings and the mortals around, so with each clash, Luoyin redirected the impact to avoid the dazed citizens who went about like they could neither see nor hear the raging battle around them.
"Have you forgotten your own role as Fate Immortal?!" Luoyin berated, swinging his sword in trails of brilliant blue arcs. "You killed so many back then, but at least they were Immortals...
"Is the Fate Immortal- the one set in charge of Mortal lives, now going to harm innocent mortals?!"
"To destroy you, there's nothing I won't do!" Fei Yun growled and the sky split, sending a jet of green lightning towards Luoyin, but Luoyin narrowly evaded, skidding backwards to a halt.
The sheer force of the lightning drove him to one knee, his chest heaving as a crimson spray burst from his lips.
"Lightning...?" He wiped the blood with the back of his hand. "Among the Bird Tribes, only Phoenixes have power over the skies."
Luoyin eyed Fei Yun's hair which had turned even greener. "Hmph. You're blatantly abusing your fate powers now? Do you even recall my words from long ago...?"
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(Flashback)
Three friends reclined on the elegant couches of a familiar balcony which overlooked a part of Central Sky Realm.
These three bore carefree expressions, and at the moment, were defeated by Bailong's (Luoyin) new batch of fox and berry wines!
"Congratulations!" Fei Yun raised one final cup, but Bailong and Tianlong burst into laughter, as they were there to celebrate Fei Yun who had just been appointed as Fate Immortal.
"Fei Yun! Who is congratulating whom?!" Bailong seized the cup from him, then turned to Tianlong with a laugh. "Hao! Sky Emperor, this is your good Fate Immortal!"
"Bailong, how could you let me select him?! A few drinks and he might twist world events!" Tianlong teased and the three laughed into the night...
But the light of day brought the shadow of worry to Fei Yun's face, as the warmth and assurance that came with wine faded away like dawn mist.
He sighed at the ornate balcony, staring off into the distance.
"Tch! If you sigh any louder, you'll wake the entire palace." Bailong joined him, yawning as he went.
"Are you worried?" He asked knowingly. "We can laugh and congratulate you, but the mantle of 'Fate Immortal' is a heavy one... You and the Night Immortal might bear weights on par with the Sky Emperor himself."
Fei Yun sighed again. "I wasn't the best candidate, so Tianlong certainly wouldn't have picked me..."
The truth hung in the air.
Of Fate Hall's current internal disciples, Fei Yun was merely third, and apart from the two leading disciples, there was an older, more powerful Immortal.
Fate Hall's current Vice.
High Immortal *Sun Liang...
(*The one who eventually led Weiyan's procession home and tried to cheat her of the Light tiger cub)
By right, Sun Liang should be Fate Immortal, and if not him, then the 1st or 2nd disciples respectively.
At that time Tianlong's reign was still unstable, and a few older Immortals were constantly trying to shake his rule, finding blame everywhere.
By picking Fei Yun as Fate Immortal, Tianlong would face endless accusations of placing his friends in power.
"Yet I somehow got appointed." Fei Yun was saying. "Naturally, I confronted him, and he says you're the one who pulled the strings...?"
Bailong grinned. "I simply helped *Grand Immortal Ye do some housekeeping within Fate Hall! The 1st disciple is weak and irresponsible - using family resources to bribe his way into that position.
(*Grand Immortal Ye- previous Fate Immortal, and the one who eventually gave his last breath so Kai Zhen could resurrect Bailong into Luoyin)
"The 2nd disciple is indeed stronger than you, but he's a spy from my brother's palace. And as for the Vice, Sun Liang, don't you already know he might harbour ill-intent...?"
They had recently discovered Sun Liang was the secret son of a certain Grand Immortal. Precisely Grand Immortal Jin, Tianlong's biggest threat at the time.
Grand Immortal Jin was known for his cruelty, and it was common knowledge that he wanted to be Sky Emperor.
Bailong continued. "I simply revealed these things to Grand Immortal Ye and he made his own decision!" Bailong gave a satisfied smirk.
"But why go so far?" Fei Yun turned a worried expression to him. "Why pave the way for me? I feel inadequate- Like I'd fail and indeed cause problems for you and A-Tian!"
"Don't worry so much." Bailong placed an assuring hand on his shoulder. "You have all it takes." He sighed, then turned to stare down at the beautiful floating islands and houses.
"I'd be lying if I say there's absolutely no selfish desire to elevate a friend, but it's much more than that... The winds in Sky Realm are stirring in unpleasant ways, and different powers are rearing their heads.
"I recently found that Grand Immortal Jin has been meeting with my brother Yin Zhi... Those two would forge a scary alliance!
"We're not entirely certain that Sun Liang will answer to Grand Immortal Jin, but both have certainly been meeting a lot. If Sun Liang becomes fate immortal, the power scale would likely tip in their favour, and it won't be long before Grand Immortal Jin seizes the throne.
"Such a cruel person shouldn't be allowed to rule both realms!" His brows furrowed.
"Tianlong is young, but fair and just, so I'm assured if he's the one in that high seat. You're good and kind, and... Ahem!"
He grinned. "You're not inclined to break rules when I'm not around! So I'm also assured if you're the Fate Immortal, which also gives Tianlong someone else he can count on amongst the Core Deities."
He turned to Fei Yun. "You are also one of the most talented among your peers! How can you doubt your own capabilities?!"
"But what if I do something wrong?!"
"Tch. Did you say 'What if'?" Bailong shook his head. "You will probably make a few mistakes... We all do! Didn't you hear Tianlong berating me in a thunderous voice the other day?! Seriously, he could have spared me some embarrassment!"
Bailong placed a hand on Fei Yun's shoulder again. "Mistakes are in the nature of all beings... But take responsibility for your actions and learn from them. You'll be fine as long as you always have the people in your heart...
"Never take lives flippantly, immortal or mortal, no matter how big or small, powerful or powerless. Never forget Grand Immortal Ye's teachings. They'll ground you in your core duties, and most importantly..." Bailong turned to face his friend.
"Don't ever manipulate fate without Tianlong's permission...!"
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