v7c45: Welcoming the Earth

Ulagan Baatar, Master of the Grand Ravine, breathed heavily as he practically collapsed into a chair.

“You were correct, grandson. His presence was….” he trailed off. All those who had not felt Master Rou’s might before were in a similar state, their eyes wide and spirits trembling.

It had taken all of Baatar’s will not to fall to his knees outright and shame his ancestors when Lord Rou had turned his gaze upon them.

His son and grandson had spoken of Master Rou. They had been adamant that his might was beyond all other men. They had described, in detail, how his very presence made the earth tremble.

But so too did Cai Xiulan feel of the Earth. She could make the Dueling Peaks acknowledge her presence as a leading figure. If she called upon her true power she could shake the entire province. Among his people there was some debate on who was the true Herald of the Earth between them.

Had Cai Xiulan not united them? Had she not returned to them their pasts? Had she not proven herself a capable leader? All knew such things to be true. She was a friend of the Ravine. She had the Earth in her bones.

And yet Master Rou’s entrance removed all doubt. Cai Xiulan was a spring, a warm upwelling of strength and embraced by the power of the Earth.

Master Rou was the Earth. His presence enveloped the Dueling Peaks. The venerable mountain allowed Xiulan to command it. It prostrated itself before the man who now stood before them, growing grass and igniting ancient systems.

The very peaks themselves welcomed him home.

A presence of something greater, something that felt like the Ravine’s most sacred place, ghosted around Cai Xiulan.

Now, in Master Rou’s presence, it suffused the very world; It felt like ten thousand of those golden spires their people worshiped as the blood of the Earth. It was heady. Nearly intoxicating. He could feel it upon his shoulders, weighing him down ever so gently. Yet it was not an oppressive weight. It was almost comforting.

“He’s… even stronger now, Tarkhan whispered. “The feeling was nowhere near as intense the last time. Before it was a whisper that I had to listen for. Now, after seeing the memory crystal… it’s so clear.”

“And all shall proclaim them friend. The Sects. The Tribes. Even the beasts and the trees shall bow their heads and know the Herald of the Earth,” Temuulen, who had been here with Tarkhan at the tournament, whispered.

His words caused several heads to bow. “The Wisdom of the Ancestors is without flaw.”

“And their descendants shall heed this wisdom,” Baatar replied. “A dragon is his herald. That would be proof enough. Yet every Spirit Beast he meets serves him, becoming docile and kind. Bi De, who is in the Spiritual Realm. The monkeys of Crystal Hill. The ox who wields a Spirit Weapon as a plow… and even the bees.”

“The bees?” Tarkhan asked; several others also looked confused. Baatar did not entirely blame them. Were he a younger man he might have missed it too.

“They were on top of the carriage, surveying the crowd as if they were guardsmen—no, I suppose they are guardswomen,” Baatar murmured, before another realization was made. “The Wreckerballs. We thought it merely the knowledge of our Ancestors working through On Gang that stopped their feud. Yet is Master Rou’s spirit so vast that he even made those Spirit Beasts willing to talk?”

Again, Baatar was humbled; they all were. The Herald of the Earth’s power was something beyond them, and they had only seen the foothills of the mountain that towered to the heavens.

“What of the two women with him? His servants? They were hiding their Qi, and I could not get a sense of them,” another kinsman asked.

The two women gave Baatar pause. Both hiding and suppressing their might to the point where he would have to be rude to better gauge them, pressing his Qi to touch theirs.

Which meant they were nearly as strong as he was… or stronger.

Two high—at least— Profound level cultivators as guards for his servants and his son.

“I believe they are Yun Ren and Gou Ren’s kin,” his grandson opined. “Their eyes, the shape of their face… it fits, I do believe. The one given the honour of holding Master Rou’s son I managed to catch the side profile of. She had a blue hair tie, with what looked like the symbol of their tribe.”

“Good catch, Tarkhan,” Baatar praised his grandson. “Indeed, their eyes are similar… but I had no idea our northern cousins had such power within them. Perhaps they are more of Master Rou’s disciples?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The room fell into murmuring for a moment.

“What is the path forward, Patriarch?” one man finally spoke.

Baatar did not hesitate.

“That he is the Herald of the Earth is clear. Let none be in doubt. Carry news back to the Ravine, as soon as we are able. As for tonight? We shall watch and wait. Let the others crowd him and try to curry favour. They will be battling to convince him to visit their sects. He has already agreed to visit the Grand Ravine, so this battle is won. Engage with his servants instead. Make conversation, and ensure they have a good impression of us. Greet our cousins, if they are such, and bid them welcome to the Ravine. Engage even the ox and the bees, if they are able to make conversation.”

There were nods all around.

“Grandfather, am I to approach him?” Sarnai asked. His granddaughter looked nervous and excited in equal measure. She was their most beautiful rose; a sincere and sweet girl. She had been informed of the possibility of them offering her as servant… or as wife to the Herald of the Earth, to show their sincerity and bind them closer.

Sarnai clearly was not opposed to the idea. He was the Herald… and from what he could tell beyond that, Sarnai found the man quite attractive.

Yet there was one thing in the way.

That a powerful cultivator had a powerful wife was of course natural; Lady Meiling’s power was in no way lesser than her husband’s… but in spite of that, she hadn’t seemed to make much of an impact. She had greeted them politely, then faded into the background again as Master Rou kept all the attention.

But something about her had kept Baatar’s vision upon her, even after she stepped back.

She was neither one of those Imperial Jade beauties, nor the hawks or wolves Ravine men cherished. She was more handsome than beautiful, with a brace of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

But her eyes.

They had met, when she looked out over the crowd. For a brief moment Baatar saw constellations, soaring over the world before the moment passed, and he averted his gaze.