“Your situation isn’t as rosy as it seems,” Cha Ming said. “Despite being the crown princess.”
Gong Shuren nodded. “Crown Princess is just the title borne by the most promising child. It gave me the best resources and the best grooming. But that alone is insufficient to claim the throne when my father transcends. And make no mistake, he will transcend. Without fail, every Sea God Emperor or Empress has transcended after ruling for one thousand years.”
Cha Ming whistled. “I didn’t realize your lifespans were so long.”
“It’s the benefit of descending from a god,” Gong Shuren said. “The Sea God has blessed our family in perpetuity, and his gifts have granted us unshakable power on this plane.”
“Thus, Haijing’s neutrality,” Cha Ming said. “There’s no need to involve yourselves in the petty squabbles of good and evil. While children die and mothers weep, you can remain comfortable in your underwater paradise.”
Gong Shuren’s expression darkened. “That was uncalled for. We have our reasons for remaining neutral. Besides, the plane’s karmic destiny is anchored by the World Tree. There’s no need for us to interfere. Eventually, good will prevail.”
“Anchored by the World Tree?” Cha Ming asked.
“It’s not something you should worry about,” Gong Shuren said. “The angelic transcendents who watch over the plane know about it. You’ll find out more if you join their ranks.”
Cha Ming pondered for a moment. “Back to inheriting the throne, then. Are runic arts involved somehow?”
Gong Shuren nodded. “There’s an event every thousand years called the Sea God Trials. One of the tests is a test of runic knowledge. It’s not that I’m ungifted in runic arts, but that my brother is far too talented. That, and he’s older and has more experience.”
“Then why shouldn’t your brother inherit the throne?” Cha Ming asked.
“Yes, why shouldn’t the man who’s so friendly with Zhou Li, envoy of the Southern Alliance, inherit the throne?” Gong Shuren said sarcastically.
“I thought Haijing was neutral,” Cha Ming said.
“That’s something the Emperor enforces,” Gong Shuren said.
“You have a point,” Cha Ming said. “Well, if it’s something Zhou Li wants, it’s my obligation to prevent him from getting it.”
Gong Shuren beamed. “Then you’ll teach me?”
“Starting this week.” Cha Ming nodded. “Who knows? Perhaps teaching runic arts once more will give me the change of pace I need.” He looked to the south as he heard soft footsteps running toward them. Jin Huang appeared inside the courtyard, covered in sweat and soot and panting deeply.
Jin Huang stood catching his breath for a bit. “I didn’t interrupt anything, did I, Master?”
“No, the princess was just leaving,” Cha Ming said. He turned back to her. “Let’s start in a week, Sister Shuren.”
“I’m looking forward to learning,” Gong Shuren said. She bowed lightly and excused herself. Jin Huang looked a little guilty as the woman left.
“Relax,” Cha Ming said, putting his hand on Jin Huang’s shoulder and using his soul force and qi to help him recover. How in the heavens did an early-core-formation cultivator manage to exhaust himself so thoroughly?
“Master, I was on the cusp of a discovery,” Jin Huang said. “Unfortunately, it seems my cultivation can’t keep up with my profession. I need help, or it’ll take another half month to figure this out. It’s unbearable.”
“All right, all right, relax,” Cha Ming said. “I’ll do what I can. Do we need a workshop?” This was the first time Jin Huang had ever come asking him for anything, so he didn’t want to disappoint. Seeing the younger man’s nod, Cha Ming took him to the alchemical lab he sometimes used. He activated the various flame focuses and summoned his transcendent cauldron.
“Tell me, what’s the problem?” Cha Ming asked. He assumed the problem was alchemy related, as that was what his disciple spent virtually all his time on. That and poisons, but he couldn’t possibly help in that regard.
“Follow my resplendent force,” Jin Huang said. Their spirits entered the cauldron together, and as expected, Jin Huang threw in a massive number of ingredients.
Cha Ming was amazed the man could manage so many ingredients and five separate flames despite his limited resplendent force. It looks like an early-grade effervescence pill, he thought. Ideal for boosting resplendent-force growth in core-formation cultivators. Ceases to be effective past early-grade resplendent soul, though, so it’s likely not for himself. His train of thought was interrupted when the familiar recipe suddenly deviated. He moved in to help, as he thought it was a mistake, but his attempt was quickly rebuffed by his disciple.
You’re not familiar with my research, so please keep your soul to yourself until I ask for help, Jin Huang said bluntly.
Unsure of what to say, Cha Ming remained silent. He knew obsession when he saw it. Puddles of melted reagents wriggled under his watch, and before he knew it, they formed runes. Jin Huang wasn’t performing normal alchemy; this was runic alchemy.
Cha Ming watched in awe and wonder as the runes joined together like tightly knit puzzles, reacting in ways moderated by the shape and nature of the runes. Some runes drank reagent puddles, while others combined and formed others. It was a shifting mosaic of runic structures unlike anything he’d ever seen.
Everything was joining perfectly, and then he saw it: a strain. Something wasn’t linking together properly, and he felt a dissonance in the reagents and the runes.
Do you see the problem? Jin Huang asked. Every step prior to this is perfect, and my intuition tells me this is the right rune, but it won’t come together. It’s unstable.
Yes, it’s unstable, Cha Ming said as he inspected the rune. He didn’t know much about runic alchemy, but he knew a lot about runic arts and alchemy as separate subjects. The rune before him seemed slightly unnatural, like there was too much packed in too small a character. May I?
Jin Huang’s soul force allowed him through. Perplexed, Cha Ming prodded at the rune with his transcendent force, looking for where the flaw might lay. There, he thought, using his transcendent force to expand
