Xinxin walked out of the cave, the sword Wang Tian forged for her sheathed at her side. Her mind was in disarray, still going over what she had learned.

Her Sifu was alive, but trapped somewhere due to his tangled karma. Wang Tian… in a previous life, they were tied together, but that karma had been severed, a result of his own carelessness.

To repay that debt, to reunite her with her Sifu, Wang Tian gave her a sword forged with his remaining powers, the ‘path’ he carved out at the cost of her existence.

But now that Wang Tian was gone. And like that, all remnants of her previous life had vanished.

 “Are you finished?” Titania’s voice echoed.

Xinxin glanced over.

In the rush of getting to Wang Tian, she hadn’t paid attention to the elf. It seemed that Titania had followed Xinxin though, waiting by leaning against a few bamboo trees a fair distance away from the cave.

Xinxin nodded. “Yes.”

And it was. With Wang Tian’s disappearance… he was right. The karma between them was settled, and the only ties she had left were the ones to her Sifu.

To Nowun.

Another headache. That was getting more frequent… and Xinxin didn’t know what they meant.

She frowned and then shook her head to clear it. After that, she looked at Titania and said, “Where are the other three?” While Xinxin could see Titania, there weren’t any signs of Erik or the two girls. The three disciples that Wang Tian took in as his own.

“If you are asking about the obnoxious children,” Titania said. “They mentioned returning to their sect to prepare something for you. As for what that is exactly, I know not.”

Xinxin frowned. “Did they mention where that sect was?”

While Xinxin had gone out of the forest to see the kingdom and had private quarters within the bounded area, she had yet to see where exactly the sect that Wang Tian had founded was located.

Titania shook her head. “Only that they would return soon.”

Xinxin hummed and tilted her head. With Wang Tian’s death… she didn’t really have a reason to stick around. And with what he gave her, she had a means to save her Sifu from the fate that Goddess tied to him.

But then that required her finding her Sifu first. And that…

Titania looked at Xinxin and said, “What do we plan to do now? Will we stay in this kingdom or roam the land? Because if it is the latter, I have a request.”

“A request?” Xinxin smiled. “It’s odd to hear that from you.”

Titania shook her head and said, “I have… accepted my current position. Moreover, you… Master. You are strong. Enough that I can at least be assured I will not suffer a humiliating end at your side.”

Xinxin raised an eyebrow. “Are you not worried about me killing you out of spite? Or to obtain your strength?”

“Even if that is the case, it is better than being the servant of another despicable monkey.”

Xinxin shrugged. “For now… I would like to at least wait and see what those disciples have prepared. After that… if it is not too far out of the way, I will listen to your request.”

They would have to keep an eye out for signs of her Sifu in any case. Because of that, Xinxin had no problem fulfilling her loyal servant’s request.

Titania nodded. “Understood.” After saying that, she was quiet, leaning back against a bamboo tree.

In that time, Xinxin decided to more closely examine the sword Wang Tian left behind and unsheathed it.

Titania noticed and frowned. “Is that your true weapon?”

Xinxin shook her head. “This… while it has the appearance of a sword, it is different.” She paused and then used her spiritual sense on the sword. Perhaps because Wang Tian expected her to, or because his sentiments and will were left behind in the blade, the sword freely offered up details to her. “…It is not a weapon to cut down enemies, but something to sever- no, to control Karma and Fate.”

Titania looked confused.

“You wouldn’t understand.” Xinxin sheathed her sword again and said, “Those who haven’t stepped upon the path to immortality couldn’t begin to comprehend it.”

The sword Wang Tian left behind was a law into itself, a crystallization of his path to defy the ‘Order’ that Goddess had established. Such abstract concepts were intangible to anyone that had not begun walking on their own path to defy the heavens.

Titania scoffed. “Immortality?” She shook her head. “Such a meaningless thing… I can never understand why you humans pursue it so much. Living so long…” She trailed off, her face darkening.

Xinxin paused and then stared at Titania. “That is right. You are hundreds of years old and yet appear so young.” She frowned. “Is that an innate ability of yours, or your race?”

Titania narrowed her eyes. “It is supposed to be a blessing. A gift of the World Tree, granted by that Goddess.” She laughed, a bitter sound. “Long lives to protect her sacred tree. And yet in the end, the Goddess abandoned us.”

“The World Tree…?” Xinxin muttered. When she did, she felt a pulse from the sword at her side. At the same time, a fragment of a memory drifted in her mind’s eye.

Walking through a wooden hall, where the walls were like the hollows of a tree. A young man with indiscernible features.

That-

“Great Heaven Seizer.” A young man’s voice called out.

Glancing over, Xinxin saw Erik return.

The young man with short black hair shook his head and said, “I apologize for our absence. But… there were arrangements that the Heavenly King left for us to do.”

Xinxin noticed that the girls were missing and said, “Your companions are not around?”

Erik frowned. “They are… indisposed at the moment.”

Hearing his tone of voice, Xinxin took a closer look at the young man and realized that his eyes were red. Even so, he stood firm and acted professionally in spite of that.

Xinxin could respect that.

He sighed and said, “With the Heavenly King’s passing, the responsibility of the Heaven-Seizing Dragon Sect falls to me. Thus…” He bowed his head and said, “As the one inheriting the mantle of Heavenly King, I greet the Great Heaven Seizer.” He raised his head and stared at Xinxin, his gaze steady. “Until the end of time itself, we will fight by your side, even if the world becomes our enemy.”

Xinxin frowned. “That… are you not upset?” If Xinxin had never arrived… Wang Tian would still be alive. It might not have been for much longer, but it would have been a natural death. One with plenty of time to say farewells and goodbyes. Instead…

Erik shook his head. “I… we were already aware the Heavenly King would pass soon. He… my Master was also aware of it and made the proper arrangements.”

“I see.”

That Wang Tian… even after his death he had thought about her, huh?

“Anyway,” Erik said. “While this area serves as your private grounds… would you return with me to the sect? Ah, and your… friend?” He glanced at Titania and said, “…Is welcome as well.”

Xinxin considered it for a moment and then nodded. “I might as well see the sect that Wang Tian established. However…” She frowned. “Where is it?”

Erik smiled, a bittersweet expression. “You are standing in it.”

“What are you-“

Xinxin’s eyes widened.

Space rippled and twisted. When it stabilized, Xinxin and Titania were standing atop a balcony overlooking a vast courtyard.

“This…” She took a look around.

The vast bamboo forest and the Jade Mountain she remembered had vanished. In its place, there were a series of elegant pagodas and training grounds scattered across the area.

When she saw that, Xinxin let out a long sigh.

“That guy… so he truly cared that much.”

A domain. It was something that only a Saint could have, an image that they turned into reality with their own will and strength. For most, it was a means to use in combat.

But that Wang Tian… he used it to recreate the place from ancient times. To revisit a location that only existed in his memories.

A waste… but also just like him to do so.

Erik glanced at Xinxin for a moment and then hopped off the balcony, landing on the courtyard below. When he did, a crowd of practitioners gathered, forming neat lines.

Erik clasped his hands in front of him and said, “We greet the Great Heaven Seizer!”

A roar erupted, repeating Erik’s words.

Xinxin instinctively took a step back.

She could see it even from the balcony. Each and every person below her was filled with zeal and devotion. A willingness to lay down their lives at any moment.

“…He was a sick guy after all.”

That was the only thing she could say about Wang Tian. Sick in the head. What kind of person walked a path to the end and then turned around to pick up what he left behind?

Titania tilted her head and said, “…It would appear that you have a formidable backing, Master.”

She nodded.

Erik looked up at Xinxin and said, “A word if you would, Great Heaven Seizer!”

Xinxin paused, staring out at the practitioners waiting below.

They were a motley bunch. Men, women, young, old. Foreigners, a few demons, humans… It seemed that Wang Tian hadn’t been picky in choosing his forces. However, there was one thing that couldn’t be denied.

Each of them were not weak. Well, to her they were, but after experiencing the average level of combatants, she could say that they were at least on par, if not above par.

Xinxin pondered for a moment about what to say and opened her mouth. But before she could, there was an explosion.

In the distance, the front gates leading to the courtyard slammed open and some practitioners flew through the air, landing on the ground with a thud.

A moment later, a male voice called out. “So this is where that Heavenly King is supposed to live, huh?” A man with spiky golden hair and blue eyes stepped into the courtyard. He wore sparkling silver plate mail, and had a radiant long sword held in his right hand. “Funny. For a sect called the Heaven-Seizing Dragon, they don’t seem that strong.”

A crimson-haired woman wearing a pointed hat and a dark violet robe stepped in after him. “That’s because you’re too strong, Alan. What kind of crazy person spends a whole year grinding the same boss just to max out his sword?”

The man, Alan, shrugged and said, “Hey! The last time the Goddess said the mission was easy, we got wiped. I am not going to lose all the items and experience I’ve earned over a simple story mission.”

Another man stepped in, covered in thick plate mail. He held a giant tower shield in his left hand and a halberd in his right.

Behind him followed a woman with long blue hair. She wore flowing white robes bearing a red cross and held a golden staff in her hands.

The man in thick plate mail grunted and said, “The last time was a fluke.”

The woman with long blue hair nodded. “Barry’s right. We won’t be losing this time… you’re not the only one who got stronger, Alan.”

The man with golden spiky hair nodded. “Got it, Diane.” He looked forward at the courtyard and said, “Then… should we start?”

The crowd parted and Erik turned around, walking towards the entrance. “Who dares attack the Heaven-Seizing Dragon Sect?!”

Alan glanced at Erik and said, “Huh? You’re not Asian…” He frowned and said, “That really ruins the immersion of the game, you know?”

Charlotte, the woman with crimson hair, tilted her head and said, “Maybe he’s a player?”

Erik frowned. “Game? Player?”

“…Guess not.” Alan shook his head. “Well, sorry either way.” He raised his sword and grinned. “I’ve been stuck at 499 for a while, so I really need this level up from the quest reward.”

Erik shifted his stance and narrowed his eyes. “I know not where or why you came, Foreigner… but you will find yourself a fool to take us lightly.”

Xinxin watched the event play out at the courtyard and frowned. Those people… she recognized them.

“Master.” Titania glanced at Xinxin and said, “Should I help?”

Before she could answer, the man with golden hair called out.

“Twist with madness… Aeolus!”

Screeching razor winds erupted in the courtyard.

Erik stepped forward, forming a blade with qi and said, “You will not defile the sacred grounds!”

The black-haired young man’s words were echoed by a roar as hundreds of practitioners charged in tandem with him.

“Master?”

Xinxin sighed. “I suppose it would be rude to repay kindness with malice…”

That foreigner with golden hair was an aberration. Even among the different natural energies, his power was an exception. More pure, more dense…

Xinxin leapt from the balcony into the eye of the storm and swept her left hand.

At once, the winds scattered and died down.

Titania landed on the ground behind her, using wind magic to soften her landing.

Alan’s eyes widened when he saw Xinxin. “You… you’re the girl from last time.”

Xinxin tilted her head. “You finally speak in a language I understand.”

Alan shrugged. “The devs thought convenience was better than immersion.”

The crimson-haired woman, Charlotte, spread out her arms, causing an array of runic symbols to appear. “Stop chatting, Alan! That girl’s level is unknown!”

“Meaning that she’s a lot stronger than us, huh?” Alan muttered and turned to stare at Xinxin.

Footsteps echoed behind her, and then Erik and his two female companions appeared. The tomboyish Sarah and the cool-headed blue-haired beauty Mary.

“We will fight with you, Heaven-Seizer,” Erik said.

“Yeah!” Sarah punched a right hand into her open left palm and said, “For grandpa!”

Mary nodded, sending her blue hair scattering, and said, “We will honor… our master’s last wishes. We will protect you.”

Xinxin shook her head. “I do not need protection… but so be it.”

Titania stepped beside Xinxin, ice and wind gathering around her left and right arms. “…Shall I start, Master?”

“Alan!” Charlotte swept her hands across the space in front of her, sending flames surging forward.

“Got it, Cherry!”

“And stop calling me that!”

Xinxin formed a blade from her qi and shook her head. “Childish.”

HappyVainGlory

Right. So Thanksgiving is a thing and I completely forgot about it. I hope that everyone celebrating it has/had a good one. I'll be taking a break for a few days to spend time with family.

Hopefully the chapter was enjoyable, and thank you all for reading this far. I'm really grateful for it, and I hope the story hasn't been too boring. Still trying to get back into the groove of this story.

I'll see you all again Monday!