"The Boundless Martial Sect?" San Yongli's eyebrows lifted for a moment as a light of bewilderment clashed through her pupils. She was unable to figure out which cultivator amongst that World Sect she had any relationship with. Since she'd reincarnated through time and space, given a second chance at life, she hadn't had many interactions with that sect filled with arrogant and forceful Martial Cultivators.
Observing her confusion, San Luoyang became suspicious if that disciple had lied about their relationship. However, he didn't simply dismiss the cultivator, saying: "He's called Yi Yun; a half-blooded elf with half-platinum and half-black hair. Do you not know him?"
"Yi Yun?!" San Yongli was instantly jolted by the name. When she arrived in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, shortly after establishing her connection with San Luoyang, she went out to find the True Martial World Emperor, a figure depicted in the Book of Heaven's Path as a blessed cultivator with great fortune, and one of his first fortuitous encounters were within the Elven Sanctuary's Woodland Moon's Oakfall Village, a nondescript village without any exceptional qualities besides possessing astral-grade wood material—Astral Oak.
While searching for this fortuitous encounter, she met Yi Yun, a strange half-blood that was extremely discriminated against amongst the elves, and while she couldn't confirm, she had her suspicions of being the True Martial World Emperor! According to the Book of Heaven's Path, the True Martial World Emperor had many of their initial encounters of blessed fortune in the Elven Sanctuary, so it made sense if he would be an Elf or Human slave.
However, Elves were an 'inferior' race with severe issues when cultivating, as within the thousands of years of their presence, they had been unable to give birth to any Ascendant beings, not even an Exalted—a 'false' Ascended at the Mystic Star Phase. It was clear they as a race were highly incompatible with the Mystic Dao, an issue with their genetics, souls, or their cultivation path.
Seeing the hybrid, a genuine half-half hybrid, she felt that only this little kid could one day attain the 'Emperor' title reserved for Worldly Saints amongst the Elven Race!
She spent a month or so observing him as he cultivated, witnessing every speck of his daily life, viewing his determination towards cultivation from the shadows, and it was an undeniably inspiring sight. Her opinion of this child elevated to verified levels, especially after learning that his seemingly ordinary younger sister and mother were taken by masked figures. After doing some investigation, she learned the masked figures belonged to a subdivision of Trueborn.
Trueborn was a large conglomerate of an organization that was divided and tasked with different purposes, leaders, tools, and talents. Wei Wuyin had been brought to a Yang farm while Venerable Bloodtorrent had been brought to an experimental Bloodline farm. The operation that took his family was not ordinary, so there had to be more to their family.
But what confirmed her thoughts was when he arrived at the area of the fortuitous encounter that the Book of Heaven's Path described, and she swept in and grasped it herself—a Cultivation Method within his necklace! It was called the True World, Martial Way Cultivation Method, and it focused on cultivating one's bones, blood, and physical cells to the limits. It allowed a cultivator to absorb raw mana to temper their bodies to absurd levels, and thus strive for a path in the Martial Dao that was unprecedented.
She was unable to determine the origins of the cultivation technique, but she had stealthily copied it for herself during its awakening. Considering the eventual fortune of the True Martial World Emperor, it was best not to divert his path too much.
Shortly after, just as she was about to leave the Elven Sanctuary, Yi Yun met her by sheer coincidence, and she decided to establish a relationship and told him a few things, including his enemy's name and what direction to take to pursue greatness. For example, join the Boundless Martial Sect!
She had contemplated seriously on if her actions would change the future too sharply, but the Book of Heaven's Path foresight regarding the True Martial World Emperor remained unchanged, and she had been rather busy dealing with other matters.
San Luoyang realized that San Yongli knew this strange hybrid youth of one of the great World Sects in the Aeternal Sky Starfield and revealed a gentle smile. "He's waiting for you," he informed before glancing at Highlord Spiritwalker. Her state was extremely worrisome, clearly a result of a life-and-death encounter. However, he didn't probe further.
"Father," San Yongli called out as San Luoyang was about to leave, causing him to pause curiously. "Are you close?" She asked.
San Luoyang was briefly taken aback, and then he heartedly chuckled, nodding as he replied: "Very." Then, he gave a goodbye before activating the spatial formations of the Ancient Sky Realm, vanishing amidst rippling waves.
Bing Tian was lost in her thoughts; the news San Luoyang brought was too outrageous and unbelievable to digest easily. She couldn't help but recall that young girl that was recruited by their clan after discovering her unique innate physique, and how she chased after the now Grand Knight of Neo-Dawn when he slaughtered her announced marriage partner and stole precious resources.
She's been feeling extremely uneasy recently, and given how swiftly Wei Wuyin had amassed tremendous power and seemingly invincible means, the chances of him acting against the Bing Clan were exceptionally high if he misunderstood their intentions. After the thoughts settled, she cursed: "Fuck." Her icy visage shattered as panic began to arise in her eyes alongside a sense of urgency.
"Miss Yongli," Bing Tian anxiously called out, "I need to return." Her voice was solemn and pressing.
San Yongli looked at this icy beauty, thinking that she felt the urge to return given the Bing Clan's relations with the Imperial Clan, especially against the Temporal Reincarnator Wei Wuyin who might initiate war against them. After all, the Bing Clan and Tian Clan were interlinked by numerous marriages throughout the generations, such as one of Tian Muyang's wives.
Nodding, she looked to Highlord Spiritwalker and decided to leave her here given how sensitive her current state was. With a talisman in hand that resembled a translucent glass pearl the size of a fist, she poured her spiritual force into it and various runes manifested wildly and beautifully within. The two were enveloped by spatial energy and ripples swallowed them whole.
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"Junior Brother Yi, I thought you decided to join the Ascendants, so why did we come to the Everlore Association?" A charming bronze-skinned elf with a boho ponytail anxiously looked about as she stood beside a tall, lean, and handsome youth with a strong, steady gaze and exceptional bearing forged from conflict, diversity, and discrimination. The sharp-tipped ears and duality of hair colors signified his status as a perfect hybrid of a pure-blooded elf and pure-blooded human, an exceptionally rare sight for the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region.
Yi Yun!
The two sat comfortably in a vast, luxurious waiting room of the San Clan. They were currently on planet Third Sky within the Everlore Domain, a planet ruled by the San Clan, and led by San Luoyang, an illustrious Prime Alchemic Sovereign, and Earthly Saint! While he wasn't the designated Clan Leader, he was a Patriarch of the highest pedigree, and so he exceeded every other authority figure in the clan, and after his cultivation reached the peak, he was among the strongest.
The elf was none other than Ai Juling, and her anxiety was warranted given the tension between Wei Wuyin—her lover, and the Everlore Association. Despite her uneasiness, she still followed her Junior Brother to help speak on his behalf by talking to Wei Wuyin about accepting Yi Yun after he rejected their offer before. Given how strict the recruitment process of the Ascendants was, Yi Yun's only remaining opportunity was her advocating, and he had met her and asked for help for that very reason.
"There's a senior here that helped me when I was younger that I owe and greatly respect; I want to seek her opinion," Yi Yun answered.
Ai Juling frowned, "A senior?"
Just as she wondered who this person could be, San Yongli and Bing Tian walked into the room. The latter glanced at the two elven-blooded cultivators, noting their outfits signifying themselves as the Boundless Martial Sect. When did the World Sect begin to accept elves as members? The entire world mostly saw them as a waste of resources and investments, being unable to reach the Mystic Ascendant Realm severely harmed their potential value.
It was less shocking to see a pure hybrid here, but this Ai Juling was as pure-blooded as one could be among elves. Moreover, from her distinct skin tone and eye color, she wasn't a native of the Elven Sanctuary, but a foreigner from the Everlore Starfield. She had curiously researched the Elven Race for a brief spell after more diverse members entered from beyond the Stellar Region.
"Big Sis Yongli!" Yi Yun's eyes sparkled as he walked forward and respectfully greeted her. San Yongli was immaculately beautiful with an innate bearing that was incredible to witness. Her Heart of Cultivation resonated with his own from the moment they first met, realizing they were both of the same breed—Determined. They both had missions they had to complete, and they were both willing to do anything to achieve those goals. This mentality established a firm impression among them both and helped form a connection of trust.
"Little Yun," San Yongli rarely smiled, but when she did, the entire world lost its colors as all the world's beauty was concentrated on her as if by heaven's will. Given her beloved she was by the Heavenly Daos, this attributed to such a strong phenomenon, a lingering quality of an explosive usage of Karmic Luck.
Yi Yun and Ai Juling were both dazed; San Yongli was simply too gorgeous! However, Yi Yun regained himself swiftly, causing San Yongli to faintly smile with admiration.
"Big Sis Yongli, I've come to seek your opinion!" Yi Yun strongly stated. He glanced at Bing Tian, her aura carried the unfathomability of an Ascended, yet there was an icy chill that formulated a wall of separation between her and the world.
San Yongli noticed this, saying: "Highlord Frostwind if you have anything else you need, don't hesitate to contact me."
Bing Tian's expression slightly changed. She knew when she was being sent off, so she nodded and left. She decided to rush back to the clan and not pay attention to other matters for now.
When just the three of them remained, San Yongli invited Yi Yun to her quarters to discuss, and the two left as Yi Yun apologetically glanced at Ai Juling, and they went into a luxurious room with two chairs and a table. They sat down while tea was being prepared, and only when the tea was served did they speak.
"What's the issue that you had to use my command token and likely a heavy cost to come here?" San Yongli was curious about Yi Yun's situation, especially given how he'll eventually become an outstanding figure that the Book of Heaven's Path took note of.
The True Martial World Emperor!
"Big Sis Yongli…" Yi Yun hesitated for a moment, but then he decided to explain with a strong resolve. A few years ago, he met an Ascendant who tried to recruit him, and he declined that offer. The Ascendant had mentioned that he didn't need to abandon his sect, as long as his sect didn't prevent him from joining other organizations, and that there was no need to swear any intense oaths, merely simple ones that prevented information leakage, betrayal, and slaughtering of fellow Ascendants. That said, fighting was completely allowed.
He didn't think much of it before, but…
Wei Wuyin had reportedly taken down the Shadow Eggs of Trueborn spread across the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region in a viciously calculated assault and was the leader of the Ascendants. They referred to him as 'His Majesty' or the Ascendant Emperor. Given his accomplishments lately, this title that might have been ridiculed was a point of praise and an indication of his future potential as the public's opinion changed!
He was given a token to join the Ascendants at a later date, and while he had suspicions that it was a tracking device of some sort, he kept it sealed for a distinct possibility of cooperation after learning that Wei Wuyin was waging war against Trueborn. He might be able to help! Yi Yun just didn't expect Wei Wuyin to have dominated Trueborn so swiftly, and his current cultivation was utterly insignificant.
He had lied to Ai Juling; the token allowed him to join after a requisite testing process after his rejection, so he didn't 'need' her to join the Ascendants. She was there so that he could talk to Wei Wuyin directly and investigate the whereabouts of his…
"Your family?" San Yongli frowned slightly. She had told Yi Yun of the origins of the kidnappers—Trueborn, and this forged his determination and gave it direction. But if his family was being imprisoned, then chances were they had been kept in the incomparably difficult-to-locate and breach Shadow Eggs that even Earthly Saints feared.
After just learning about Wei Wuyin's recent exploits, she understood why Yi Yun was here.
"You want to know if you can trust the Ascendants?" San Yongli asked.
"Yes! I want to know if I can trust Wei Wuyin!" Yi Yun solemnly revealed.
The Ascendants were rising in reputation especially since their members were only mortals and yet even Ascended beings at the Soul of Mysticism Phase now feared them.
San Yongli didn't immediately answer Yi Yun but asked about the circumstances of his recruitment. Did it seem coincidental or purposeful? When Yi Yun heard this, he was baffled for a bit, and then after thinking about it, it did have some odd points and the cultivator seemed to have been there for a reason, and that reason could've been him.
San Yongli's eyes flickered. 'I had similar thoughts of doing what he's doing too, recruiting those written in the Book of Heaven's Path, but it's hard to figure out their identities. But if Wei Wuyin paid any cost, it wouldn't be hard given the clues left behind by the Book of Heaven's Path.' This only confirmed that Wei Wuyin was taking a different path than her, and he was gathering the strength of those with outstanding futures and nurturing them.
With all the evidence, she no longer thought that she had triggered this absurdly great difference in Wei Wuyin through some strange butterfly effect. He was like her! He had to be! But this…this wasn't exactly a good thing given Wei Wuyin's aggression to the Everlore Association and her foundation was entirely here. She quietly pondered for a long, long time.
Moreover, if Wei Wuyin had Yi Yun's family…
"Yi Yun," San Yongli abruptly said, startling Yi Yun, "This is what I need you to do…"