Chapter 260: Below the Heavens

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It is an odd thing to stand over the corpse of his killer.

Life has already fled the Fleshcrafter’s body. Nine-Headed Snake God’s poison has seen to that. Its potency is such that it will not stop until the Fleshcrafter’s body is completely destroyed. Already, the corpse has turned on an odd mix of yellow and purple, the result of the quick degeneration of his organs. In a few minutes, the Fleshcrafter will be nothing more than a puddle on the floor.

By all accounts, the Fleshcrafter deserves this fate. He was a horrible person, and the world is undeniably better off without him. Liu Jin supposes it wouldn’t be wrong to find some joy in this. However, though thinking about Fleshcrafter elicited violent emotions within him ever since he crawled out of his old body, now that the deed is done, he feels remarkably little.

No joy, only pity.

The Fleshcrafter wouldn’t appreciate it, but Liu Jin cannot help what he feels. The man had been used and tossed aside by the Storm Dragon. Till the very end, he did not realize he’d been nothing but a tool.

How can that be anything other than pitiful?

“Honored Ancestor,” Liu Jin says, his voice echoing across the hall. “Are you still not satisfied? Must you keep the spatial realm up?”

The Storm Dragon does not answer him.

The seconds pass, and Liu Jin is met with nothing but silence. It is a clear dismissal. He has died and awakened a part of himself. He has fought the Fleschrafter and defeated him. All the things the Storm Dragon needed of him have been done. Thus, there is no longer any need for the Storm Dragon to humor him.

In that sense, he and the Fleschrafter are not that different.

“No.”

Liu Jin’s Qi flares up. Gold lightning forms wild arcs around him, destroying the tapestries on the walls.

“Ancestor. I refuse to play along with your games any longer,” Liu Jin says.

The storm answers.

The lightning blinds his eyes, and the thunder deafens his ears. He feels the rain against his face, and the wind blows with such strength it threatens to carry him away. Liu Jin grits his teeth and lays down Su An’s body, creating a snake construct around her to keep her safe. The state of her soul is a mystery to him, and there is no telling who she will be when she opens her eyes. Nevertheless, Liu Jin has already lost her once. He has no desire to be parted from her a second time.

“I am tired of being a piece you can move on a board,” he says, letting his lightning shine purple, proclaiming his royal lineage as it rises into the heavens. “You will not use me, and you will not use those close to me.”

“Is that so?”

The Storm Dragon’s voice alone nearly brings him to his knees.

“You try to speak with authority, but do you really believe you command any?” The Storm Dragon asks. “If I refuse you, what will you do? Cry? Scream? Throw a tantrum? Tell me, whelp. Why should I listen to you?”

“You will listen because you are the one who needs me,” Liu Jin replies, placing a hand on his chest. “The emperor and his son are both of Qing blood, yet you called me here. You could have thrown Su Daji from this palace at any moment, yet you did not. She could have easily become the princess of this country by marrying my cousin, yet you still did nothing. You allowed all that to happen on the chance that I would eventually come here.”

The storm rumbles but does not overwhelm him. Liu Jin takes it as a good sign.

“You have already discarded the other two as suitable successors. The emperor has shown himself to be weak and allowed General He Bin to rule in his place. Qing Guo is not a bad person, but he has been under both their influences for far too long. That leaves only me. I am your only hope for the Storm Dragon Empire and the Qing Family. You need me.”

“I do not need an unruly whelp.”

“If you do not accept an unruly whelp, you shall have nothing,” Liu Jin counters. “Your power is unmatched within the palace. That is why it is so easy to forget how limited you truly are. Outside this boundary, even the lowest peasant is beyond your reach. Keep us trapped here, and the world will go on without us. New rulers shall rise, and you shall remain here. Powerless like the shadow you are. Do you want that? Or will you do as I command and let me enter the palace!”

Liu Jin is shouting by the end, resentments old and new bubbling to the surface. When he ends, all is silent save for the sound of his breathing. He has crossed a line. He knows it.

And yet, the storm laughs.

“Well said!” The Storm Dragon’s laughter booms so loudly that Liu Jin has to cover his ears. “I was wondering how long it’d take you to stand up to me!”

Liu Jin stares.

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“You… wanted this to happen?”

“A ruler should not submit himself, and a dragon should not allow others to dictate his path.”

Liu Jin’s eye twitches.

Did that mean… Had he stood up to the Storm Dragon from the beginning… Had he denied him completely…?

“You feel constrained by the powers of those above you and resent them. That is a good thing,” the Storm Dragon says. “However, resentment is not enough. What good is resentment if your head still bows? On some level, you have accepted your position and, in doing so, turned a blind eye to your own power. That cannot be. I could not entrust this country to someone who does not understand his value.”

Liu Jin breathes.

“Ancestor, I acknowledge your wisdom,” he says. He knows he shouldn’t continue, but he does anyway. “However, I will not be as you wish me to be. This country needs to be guided back to prosperity, but it does not need to be me who does it. If I deem General Nie Dan suitable for the job, it shall be him. If I decide the Eternal Flame Clan can guide this country, it shall be them. I will not be your next emperor.”

“That is your right,” the Storm Dragon says, much to Liu Jin’s surprise. “It is as you say, whelp. I am a Shadow. My role here is done. If my descendants decide to give up their divine right, that is something I must accept. I merely want the decision to be made by someone I approve of.”

“I see…”

“No, you do not, but you might one day. Enter the palace with your head held high, for you have my blessing.”

The storm fades away, and light follows.