v4c80: The Wheel Keeps Turning

“By the power the sects of the Azure Hills have invested in this position, Cai Xiulan calls this meeting to order,” Cai Xi Kong’s daughter declared formally. Her eyes roved over the assembled Elders as she spoke. This was the first meeting called with all of them in attendance since that fateful month, where his daughter had revealed her ambitions.

How much things had changed in that short time already. The little seed his daughter had planted was already growing and gathering strength. He had charted its course with great interest, as had the rest of his sect. Like the grass their sect was styled after, it had grown fast, quickly covering the hills in green.

Those who hadn’t been paying as much attention, those whose entire thoughts were consumed by the crystals and the secrets within them, had likely received a rather large shock. They had assumed the hot blood and folly of youth would stymie the growing movement. They assumed that the old grudges they held for each other were inviolate, even with the oaths they had taken.

Needless to say, they had been unprepared for when Xiulan and her allies went on their tour to each and every sect in the province to make their oaths and claims a reality. The youth had not fallen to petty infighting. Instead, Xiulan’s vision had captured them all.

The youth had a dream, a shared vision burning within them. A dream of strength, glory, and respect that they chased after with all the passion and fire their youth gave them. They had something to build, something to create for themselves, and they had grasped it with all their might.

What was worse for those who never intended the organization to be as strong as it became was that Xiulan’s ideas were good… and that they were working.

Cultivators who seemed certain to forever only taste the First Stage of the Initiate’s Realm had surged to the Second, or even the Third. Young Masters and Young Mistresses went from the Fourth at best to knocking on the gateway to the Profound—if they had not broken through already.

It was like some great curse had suddenly been lifted from all of them, like some hand that had been weighing them down had suddenly relinquished its grasp on their souls, and now the children, especially those who had thrown themselves into this new dream, grew like weeds.

It was here where the nature of cultivators worked in his daughter’s favour. She was making them stronger. And thus, she was allowed to work.

Still, some would scheme, some would plot, some would grumble behind closed doors…

But none, right now, could refute that what she was doing was working.

All Xi Kong felt was pride, and a sense of satisfaction.

It was still the early days yet… but this was no longer some mere ephemeral moment. It was an enduring reality.

And today they were about to see more fruits of this reality; for today these Peaks would be hosting a very special guest. A guest that Xi Kong never would have guessed they would have.

“We are gathered today to welcome one of the first benefactors of the Azure Hills, the ones who made it possible for me to share with all the sects the memory crystals you now hold,” Xiulan said to the gathered cultivators. “Captain Tigu, please bring in our esteemed guests.”

Several of them leaned forwards, clearly curious. Xi Kong would have likely been curious as well… but being Xiulan’s father did have some paternal privileges.

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So he was not surprised at all when the doors to the amphitheater opened, and an honour guard walked in.

They were one and all clad in armor, their allegiance to the Azure Hills proclaimed upon the flags they bore. Little Tigu managed to look stern and commanding, a far cry from the boisterous young girl he had known briefly last year; her demeanour all business as she escorted one of the secret movers and players of the Azure Hills.

Several of the Elders leaned back in their chairs, bafflement upon their features. Others had their eyes widened in recognition. Lady Mengde, the woman who had created the Crystal Emporium, and her close friends had featured heavily in many of the recorded memories after all.

“A monkey?” one of the Elders asked, his voice incredulous.

“Presenting, Master Gen Ten!” Tigu declared.

The monkey was one common to the north; some called them a golden snub-nosed, or simply a golden monkey on account of the rich golden colour of their fur. His face was a pale blue, and his nose was non-existent, only having two small holes that made his face look slightly skull-like.

But nobody who saw this monkey could say he was a mere beast.

It was his eyes. Like Bi De and Ri Zu, the monkey’s eyes were filled with a keen awareness and intellect. He did not merely see; he observed, his eyes considering them all.

He walked in on his hind legs, his gait only slightly shuffling. On his back he wore familiar clothes—the same blue colour that Xiulan and her companions had worn. On his back was the symbol for azure, and over his heart was a stylized open palm. His wrists and neck were adorned with crystal pieces—and some of the crystals Xi Kong had never seen before.