The remaining guards trembled in fear, but their mood lightened when the powerful Sea God Emissary smiled at them. “You did the right thing in rebelling against the Emperor. And you, scholars, also did the right thing. You were unfairly treated, but instead of running to the mainland, you confronted the Emperor. For that, you have my thanks.”
She then turned her sights on the frozen gliders and black ships. She clenched her fist, and large spikes of ice erupted around them and pierced the still-frozen artifacts and those within them. Time resumed, and the battlefield erupted in a garden of ice and blood. The sea around them began to move once more, but everyone could only stare in awe at the frightening display of power. Only Huxian seemed undaunted.
“Sister Shuren, that was awesome!” he yelped and jumped over to her. “Can you teach me?”
She ignored him for now and looked gravely at the bowing man who used to be the Emperor. He’d been berated, defeated, and uncrowned. The moment she took away her suppression, he’d likely try to end his own life. “You have sown karma for our kingdom, Xuandi, and for that, you have lost your crown. You have always yearned for it, and I cannot fault you for that; it’s how we were raised.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that we owe karma. We meddled in the North’s affairs, and they have lost many cultivators. The scholars in Haijing have also suffered, the scholars we rely on for our benefit. Much of the suffering can be alleviated with benefits, but the North was still severely weakened by our actions. Therefore, you and the two remaining marshals in Haijing, as well as the strongest from each family, are hereby exiled. You are not to return until one hundred years have passed, and you will support Marshal Feng in all his endeavours, laying down your lives if required.”
The man formerly known as the Sea God Emperor trembled. “I, Gong Xuandi, will end my life instead,” he said, breathing hoarsely. “Fighting is one thing, but living on land is a punishment worse than death.”
“That wasn’t a request,” Gong Shuren said. “It was an order.” The crown on her head glowed blue once more, and he kneeled immediately.
“As you wish, Emissary,” Gong Xuandi said. He then stood up, bowed, and walked over to the astonished Feng Ming.
“Cha Ming, come with me,” Gong Shuren said. She walked off toward the clock tower and beckoned for him to follow.
The remaining troops, under Feng Ming’s direction, began clearing the battlefield and collecting their dead.
Epilogue: The Taotie Rises
Cha Ming and Huxian followed Gong Shuren into the clock tower, and as they did, they felt a change in the space around them. A sensation of crashing waves now permeated the entire structure, further lending to its mystical charm. “No one in our family knew what would happen if the clock tower was attuned,” she said as they walked. “They tried it in vain for tens of thousands of years, but little did they know that it has happened far more often than they realized.”
“Just how old is the Sea God Empire?” Cha Ming asked.
“Hundreds of millions of years old,” Gong Shuren said, visibly shivering. “And I saw it all—the clashing fates on the plane, the destiny of our nation, the rise of heroes and the fall of villains. Not every generation successfully passes on the crown. Sometimes it is lost for tens of thousands of years before it is earned back.”
“That’s a long time,” Cha Ming said. “Is that why you changed? It seemed like you wanted revenge when you began attuning the tower.”
“I did,” Gong Shuren admitted. “But I had time to think about it. Much more time than you could even imagine. And when I saw the past, I also saw the future. It was unclear, undetermined, but I saw a general trend. That’s why everything I did today was measured and proportional. I couldn’t bring back the lives of those who perished today, but I could bring balance to the karma our kingdom owes. The situation is unfavorable for the South, but they have harmed us much over the past thousand years. Even the prime minister’s turning was the product of dozens of years of effort that went far beyond Zhou Li.”
“But why bother with balance?” Cha Ming asked. “You saw how the South is. They’d stop at nothing, even kidnapping and taking hostages and murdering countless innocents to achieve their goals.”
“And they always will,” Gong Shuren said. “They are despicable, and I don’t like them. But over hundreds of millions of years, our empire has experienced much. Just like we shouldn’t ally ourselves with devils, we shouldn’t ally ourselves with angels either.”
“Can’t kingdoms use all the merit they can get?” Cha Ming asked. From what he’d gathered, it was the lack of providence, the lack of merit that caused kingdoms to crumble.
“You haven’t lived long, so you don’t know,” Gong Shuren said. “In this age, the good are rewarded, but the evil are punished. Do you think it will stay this way forever? For all eternity?”
“Shouldn’t it?” Cha Ming asked. “Isn’t this a rule of the universe?”
“The universe was painted in black and white, Cha Ming,” Gong Shuren said. “What goes up must come down, and what rises must fall. Good and evil are shifting tides in the sea of destiny. Every shift is a trial that must be weathered.”
Cha Ming frowned. “Are you saying the rules will change? When? And for how long?”
“Does it matter?” Gong Shuren asked, looking him in the eyes. “Will you change the way you act if they do? Do you want others to change?”
Cha Ming, speechless, shook his head. No, he wouldn’t change even if the situations were reversed. If he was punished for doing good, so be it.
“Soon,” Gong Shuren said. “It could be as little as fifty years, and as much as
