Chapter Two
958 Words
Rain.
It began as a gentle drizzle.
Within moments, it became a merciless downpour.
The disciples who had gathered so proudly only moments before scattered across Qingyun Peak, hiding beneath pavilions and corridors.
Only one person remained kneeling on the Ascension Platform.
Bai Lingxi.
The rain soaked her white robes until they clung heavily to her body.
Her long black hair fell over her face.
The broken pieces of the Heavenly Spirit Crystal lay around her like shattered stars.
No one came back for her.
Not her fellow disciples.
Not her elders.
Not even her master.
The mountain that had once called her its greatest pride now watched in silence.
…
“Lingxi.”
The voice was familiar.
She slowly raised her head.
Her master, Elder Qingyuan, stood beneath an umbrella of spiritual qi. His snow-white robes remained perfectly dry despite the storm.
His face, usually warm and kind, carried an exhaustion she had never seen before.
He walked toward her.
For a long moment…
Neither of them spoke.
Finally…
He removed his outer robe and gently draped it over her trembling shoulders.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
Lingxi’s lips quivered.
“Master…”
The single word broke into a sob.
She threw herself into his arms like the little girl he had found sixteen years ago wandering alone in the snowy mountains.
“I can’t feel it…”
“My qi…”
“It’s gone…”
“I tried…”
“I tried again and again…”
“I can’t find it…”
Her voice dissolved into helpless crying.
Elder Qingyuan slowly closed his eyes.
He had taught countless disciples.
Watched many rise.
Watched a lot of fall.
Yet never had he witnessed Heaven destroy someone so completely.
His hand gently rested upon her head.
“You have worked harder than anyone.”
“You have never disappointed me.”
Lingxi shook her head violently.
“Then why?”
“Why did Heaven not choose me?”
He had no answer.
No elder did.
No immortal would.
After a long silence, he whispered,
“Sometimes…”
“Heaven is cruel.”
…
By sunset…
The news had spread across the entire cultivation world.
“The Heavenly Genius Has Fallen.”
“The Child Blessed by Heaven Has Lost Everything.”
“The Azure Cloud Sect’s Phoenix Has Become a Mortal.”
Within a single day…
Admiration became mockery.
Rumors spread faster than wildfire.
“They say she offended Heaven.”
“No.”
“I heard she cultivated f*******n techniques.”
“Didn’t her engagement already end?”
“What a waste.”
“I knew someone so talented couldn’t stay lucky forever.”
The words drifted through every corridor.
Every pavilion.
Every tea house.
Each one pierced deeper than a blade.
…
That evening…
Lingxi returned to the small courtyard she had lived in since childhood.
The peach blossoms outside had already begun to wither.
A lonely swing creaked softly in the wind.
She walked into her room.
Everything remained exactly as she had left it that morning.
Her sword rested against the wall.
Her cultivation manuals sat neatly on the shelf.
A half-finished embroidery of white cranes lay upon her table.
It looked like the room of someone whose future had already been written.
Slowly…
She picked up her sword.
Moonlight reflected from its polished blade.
This sword had accompanied her through countless competitions.
It had never failed her.
She held it tightly.
Closed her eyes.
Gathered every ounce of strength she possessed.
“Rise…”
Nothing happened.
The sword remained motionless.
Not even a tremble.
Her breathing became ragged.
Again.
“Rise!”
Silence.
Again.
“Please…”
Nothing.
Her knees gave way.
The sword slipped from her fingers and struck the stone floor with a hollow clang.
Lingxi stared at it.
Then she laughed.
A quiet laugh.
One that sounded more painful than crying.
“So…”
“It wasn’t a dream.”
She curled herself into a corner of the room.
For the first time since she was six years old…
She could no longer hear the flow of spiritual qi within her body.
The silence terrified her.
…
High above the mortal realm…
The Jade Palace floated among endless seas of clouds.
Its jade pillars reached into the heavens.
Celestial rivers flowed beneath crystal bridges.
Immortals walked silently through halls carved from white jade.
On the highest terrace stood one solitary figure.
Mo Xuanyuan.
The Imperial Jade God of War.
His silver-and-jade armor shimmered beneath the moonlight.
His expression remained as cold as frozen water.
Before him floated a mirror of clouds.
Within it…
A young woman sat alone in a dark room.
Curled into herself.
Crying until she had no tears left.
Mo Xuanyuan watched without blinking.
Behind him, a young celestial general cautiously knelt.
“Your Majesty.”
“There has been no demon invasion.”
“No disturbance in the Nine Heavens.”
“May I ask why you summoned the Heavenly Mirror?”
Silence.
The God of War continued watching the mortal girl.
Only after several breaths did he answer.
“I heard…”
“…someone cried.”
The general frowned.
Someone?
Among the billions of living beings across the Three Realms?
Why would the undefeated God of War care about a single mortal’s tears?
The general dared not ask another question.
As he lowered his head…
He failed to notice something impossible.
The jade pendant hanging from Mo Xuanyuan’s waist—
One he had worn unmoving for over one hundred thousand years—
Suddenly emitted a faint emerald glow.
And somewhere far beneath Heaven…
A single crimson thread quietly tightened.
Neither end knew it yet.
But destiny…
Had already begun pulling them toward one another.
- Writer
