Chapter 174: Worth

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    Word of their return reaches every corner of the Eternal Flame Clan before they even make it to the main gates. Some disciples saw them nearing Ember City and, instead of helping them, decided to rush back to the compound and spread the word. By the time Liu Jin and the others make it there, a large crowd has already gathered.

    The disciples cheer and point and whisper among themselves. Until now, disciples returned from the Dead Plains one or two at a time. The sight of a group as large as theirs is a shock to many. Only the presence of powerful people like Feng Zhi, Senior Brother Guo, and Mud stops them from getting close.

    A Core Disciple guides them to the baths, where they clean themselves and are given new robes. Once that is done, they are taken to the main house to deliver their stones to the Patriarch. Feng Zhi goes first, then Feng Hao. The Core Disciples follow. One by one, they are all called.

    It does not take long for Liu Jins turn to arrive.

    The first time he was invited to the main house, there was a bountiful feast full of guests. This time, the place is silent. There isnt a single servant to be seen. An older disciple shows him the way but does not go with him. Liu Jin walks down several stairs and across an impossibly long hall until he arrives at an imposing set of double doors. Liu Jin stops in front of them, unsure if he is expected to knock or wait.

    The doors open for him before he decides.

    Enter.

    That one word hits him like a rush of fierce wind. It is the whisper of someone who has left behind the Human Realms of Cultivation and stepped into the Realm of the Divine. Liu Jin steels himself and steps into the room.

    It is red.

    Red walls, red floors, red ceiling, and even red furniture. Liu Jin struggles to see any other color in the room. It is as if he has stepped into a different world.

    The feeling is not helped by the man waiting for him on his crimson throne.

    When Liu Jin thought of Patriarch Feng, he imagined a man similar to Old Jiang, not in disposition but in appearance. A man with wrinkled skin whose hair has long since turned white from age. However, the Patriarch of the Eternal Flame Clan does not have a single white hair. Though visibly older than his two sons, his hair retains its red color, and his body looks healthy and strong.

    Liu Jin can barely feel his presence.

    At his young age, Liu Jin has already been in the presence of more Emperors than most people will meet in their entire lives. He expected Patriarch Fengs presence to be even more oppressive than theirs. However, it is the complete opposite. The Patriarch is undoubtedly holding back the full weight of his Qi, but there is something else at play. The Patriarchs power does not spread. It does not rise. It does not subdue.

    It just is.

    Have you brought a stone? The Patriarch asks him. He speaks normally, yet the words do not hit him nearly as hard as that first whisper.

    I have, Patriarch, Liu Jin replies.

    Advance and place it three steps before me.

    Liu Jin does.

    Good. Now leav-

    Patriarch, this disciple wishes to ask a question!

    Silence.

    Even Liu Jin is shocked by his own interruption. Gathering the necessary nerve to speak took so much out of him that he just blurted the words out and, in doing so, interrupted the Patriarch. His heart stops as he waits for the mans response. Anything is possible when dealing with a high-level cultivator, and death is never far.

    To his surprise, the old cultivator merely hums and strokes his beard.

    Interesting. His voice is nothing short of amused. You are the first disciple to ask me a question. Even my grandsons limited themselves to speaking when spoken to.

    They merely showed prudence.

    Are you suggesting you are not prudent? Or that I am such a volatile person that speaking before me at all is an imprudence?

    Liu Jin bows his head lower. This disciple means no disrespect, Patriarch.

    And yet, I feel not a shred of respect in you, Patriarch Feng notes dryly. Go ahead, disciple. Ask your questions.

    Patriarch, how is this contest being judged? Liu Jin asks. We were sent to the Dead Plains and told to bring back a temple stone. We were told this would determine the next Patriarch of the Eternal Flame Clan. Most assumed this was a race to see who could bring back a stone first. However, it has been a long time since the first disciple returned, and the Patriarch has yet to make a choice.

    Is that what you think? Patriarch Feng asks. He places his elbows on the armrests of his throne and leans back. How can you be sure I havent already made a choice and simply not told anyone about it? Perhaps, I allowed you all to be brought before me just so that you may have the opportunity to see a cultivator who has taken a small step out of the Human Realms of Cultivation.

    As the Patriarch says, that is a possibility.

    But not one you believe, it seems. It is quite rare when a disciple calls me a liar to my face, but I shall allow it. The Patriarchs eyes twinkle. Tell me, then. What do you believe I meant to do?

    I Liu Jin frowns. I am not so sure anymore. At first, I was sure the contests purpose was to evaluate the quality of your sons followers.

    Interesting. Elaborate.

    Elder Xue once told me that your sons are equal in cultivation and achievements. That is why a choice between them had to be determined by the people below them. Back then, she referred to the disparity in talent between Feng Zhi and Feng Zhuo. However, it occurred to me this contest could simply be an extension of that type of thinking. The contest was set up in a way that encouraged your sons to only look at the Core Disciples.

    Between several Inner Disciples chosen because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and a small group of Core Disciples handpicked by the brothers themselves, it was obvious which one would seem more reliable. It is only natural that not a single relevant person had any faith in the Inner Disciples from the beginning.

    However, it was us, Inner Disciples, who had more opportunities for explosive growth, Liu Jin says, putting a hand on his chest. Because we are weak, we had to struggle more to survive. I mean no disrespect to my senior brothers when I say we are the ones who grew the most.

    The Dead Plains held far fewer threats for people like Mud and even Feng Zhi and Xi Mou. For Liu Jin and the others, it was always one danger after the next, and that forced them to grow by leaps and bounds. Even if Liu Jin hadnt made so many pills, the flesh of all the high-level Spirit Beasts they ate would have still forced several of them to advance.

    Judging a mans worth by the quality of the least among his followers. Patriarch Feng hums. A quaint idea, young one, yet you just said it is one you have lost confidence in. Why?

    Death Fashioning Scripture.

    The air in the room shifts. Suddenly, the shadows grow, and the red becomes ominous.

    That is not a name you should utter lightly, Patriarch Feng warns him, You are lucky to be in my presence and, thus, in the safest place in the entire compound.

    Perhaps that is something the honored Patriarch should share with every disciple who just returned. The name has become rather popular after their attempt to kill us, Liu Jin replies, his tone perfectly deferential. According to Senior Brother Mud, they were there because they knew we would be. It wasnt just them either. Some of the disciples supporting Lord Feng Shang acted oddly during the contest.

    Grow more? Liu Jin echoes disbelievingly. Grow more? Hes a menace! I understand he is Elder Xuns grandson, but Xun Huwen is far too dangerous to be left alone!

    Patriarch Feng gives him a thoroughly unimpressed stare.

    Do you really think Little Huwen was kept alive simply because hes my best friends grandson?

    Liu Jins body goes cold.

    If I had deemed it necessary, I would have killed him. Xun would have understood that. He might have even done it in my place. Neither of us did. We kept him alive because we understood a cultivator of his caliber is a rarity.

    Just for that? Then you always planned to release him eventually? Liu Jin asks. His voice trembles with something he cannot quite identify. His hands shake, and he does not know why.

    Just because he is a powerful cultivator?

    "Not just powerful. He is someone who understands what it means to be a cultivator even better than my sons. Should he overcome his chosen obstacles, he will rise to incredible heights. He''s similar to you that way."

    It clicks. Liu Jin knows what the emotion is now.

    It is rage.

    "We''re nothing alike!"

    Liu Jin snaps at Patriarch Feng and even dares to raise his Qi. However, the Patriarch does not grow angry, only amused.

    All this time, he has only ever been amused by him.

    "What do you suppose creates a good cultivator? Virtue? Force of Will? Daring?"

    Liu Jin does not answer.

    "A good cultivator is one who rages against the Heavens," Patriarch Feng tells him at last, his smile growing. "We look at the world and find it wanting. We struggle and devour everything in our path so that we might gain the power to shape the world into our image."

    He stands up.

    "Let''s move elsewhere."

    Their surroundings shift. Suddenly, Liu Jin is no longer in the red room but on top of a tower that oversees the entirety of the compound.

    "What is this place?" Liu Jin asks, turning around. "I have never seen a tower so tall in the compound."

    "And why would a disciple who has only lived in the compound for a few months know everything there is to know about the Eternal Flame Clan?" Patriarch Feng asks him with a wry smile on his face. "Look closely at it. Why do you think the Elders are all so far away from each other?"

    The question brings Liu Jin pause. He had noticed it since the first day he arrived at the Eternal Flame Clan. Despite how large the compound is, most of the space is empty. All buildings are separated by vast distances.

    "Every Elder has shaped their Division into their image. Emperors, in particular, cannot help themselves. They want to look at the world and see themselves."

    Elder Xun''s quiet and confusing Technique Hall.

    Elder Dang''s bold and brash Division of Internal Disputes.

    Elder Xue''s Apothecary with its many hidden mysteries.

    And what of Patriarch Feng? How does he shape the world?

    Child, I have already done it. This whole Eternal Flame Clan is my body, and you are in it. Now, I exist above others, so they may be forever unsatisfied that they are not in my place. That is why my good friend will never rise beyond Emperor. He is content. Patriarch Fengs eyes look into his soul. You are not.

    Liu Jin flinches.

    I daresay you hate this.

    Of course I do! Liu Jin snaps. Who wouldnt hate it? Who wouldnt hate all of this?

    He waves his arm at the Eternal Flame Clan below them.

    You risked our lives and have not a shred of remorse. You spared Xun Huwen, not because he is your sons friend but because you deem him a valuable cultivator! Who are you to decide who is worth more? Why should your words matter more than everyone elses?!

    Rain.

    It rains.

    In the blink of an eye, the sunny sky is gone, and heavy rain pours down from the heavens without stopping.

    One word.

    Just one word.

    It seems, Patriarch Feng says. My words do matter more than yours.

    Liu Jin does not answer.

    Liu Jin cannot answer.

    He can only glare at the Patriarch in impotent rage.

    There it is. That is a good look. If only my sons had dared to look at me like that.

    Patriarch Feng places a hand on Liu Jins shoulder and smiles at him like a kind grandfather.

    You will be a wonderful cultivator.

    ~~~