“Emperor?” Gong Shuren said. She thought for a while and nodded. “Yes, he would be. But does an emperor matter before a god?”
Before he could say anything, she walked into the time-contraction field. She swiftly sat down, and the blue light of attunement began to wash over the clock tower at the back.
“Well, then,” Cha Ming said to Sun Wukong. “What’s next?”
The Monkey King shrugged. “Wanna play Angels and Devils?”
“Yeah,” Cha Ming said. “Angels and Devils sounds wonderful.” He had many preparations to make before their exit from the Sea God Trials, but that could wait. He’d switched from hopefulness to rage to heartrending disappointment and back to hope again. He had much to do, for sure, but much time to do it in. For now, he needed to rest his weary mind.
They summoned an old board, an incomplete game. They’d been playing it for days, but neither wanted to give in. Sun Wukong had had the initiative most of the game, but his play was hampered by two stones Cha Ming had stuck in the center during the game. The earlier moves he’d allowed Cha Ming to make had set him up for a comeback. They were now the cornerstone of a new offensive, and if he grasped it, Cha Ming would win.
As they played, Cha Ming glanced at the blue stone and the medicinal pill near the Sea God Clock Tower many times. If either of them matured, he could transcend. And regardless of whether they worked or not, it seemed like he’d have a Sea God Clock Tower-wielding goddess with a belly full of rage on his side.
They weren’t just continuing their old game with Zhou Li; they were flipping the board.
Chapter 28: Changes in Haijing
Violet light danced around Zi Long as the specters of his past, present, and future roamed around him. They taunted his hopes and tugged at his dreams. Real and unreal alike, they attacked their creator, furiously ripping into his beliefs with mindless purpose. And by doing so, they made him stronger. Illusions were born of the heart; increasing their power required constantly testing it, bringing it ever closer to the violet gemstone it was close to becoming.
Zi Long appeared helpless to external observers. His body seemed weak, and his mental state distraught. But beneath this fragile exterior was a will of iron. Yet at this moment, the iron wavered. His brow twitched in consternation as he opened his eyes. Simultaneously, a violet mist emerged from his spiritual sea and appeared before him. “Something’s wrong. Something’s changed.”
The holy spirit nodded slowly. “The mood of the people has shifted. It must have something to do with their new emperor.”
The new emperor. He had emerged from the Sea God Clock Tower while his master hadn’t. Though the Alabaster Group had confirmed that Cha Ming wasn’t dead, that didn’t mean he was doing well. To make matters worse, the Emperor seemed to favor Zhou Li, and their return had come with many unfavorable policies for their dwindling membership.
Sighing, Zi Long stretched out his stiff limbs and walked out of his residence—one of many reserved for normal members—and into the courtyard. On the opposite side of the courtyard, he saw a small commotion breaking out. A short man whose name he couldn’t quite remember was yelling at two men. One of them was an elder. He picked up snippets of their conversation as he approached.
“This is my residence!” the man shouted. “You can’t take it from me. I earned it by applying fair and square. My lease isn’t due until the end of the year, and even then, I have a perpetual renewal clause.”
“Yes, I understand that,” the elder said. It was Elder Gan, the leader of all the elders. He, of all people, was the least likely to be arguing with a normal member. “Unfortunately, the newly appointed headmaster has decreed that our faction isn’t contributing enough to the general knowledge pool. Since we’ve refused to supply more, they’ve reduced our quota for residences and time-essence discs. All we can do now is move some of our members outside of Haijing Academy. I assure you that it will only be a slight inconvenience.”
“But it’s my home,” the man said, quivering. “I’ve been studying quietly here for sixty years. Sixty years! Moreover, you’re not just taking away my residence, you’re taking away most of my laboratory time. Most of my library time.”
Elder Gan sighed. He was tired and worn out, the dark patches under his eyes a testament to his fatigue. He glanced at Zi Long briefly before continuing. “We’re all suffering. Not just you, but every single member of our faction. Even the elders are suffering, and I’ve taken on a lion’s share of the cuts. It’s a new reality that we have to adapt to.”
Suddenly, the man’s eyes lit up. “I could leave the faction,” he said excitedly. “All I’d need to do is forget. If I forget what I learned from the Alabaster Group, I could stay.”
Elder Gan’s eyes narrowed. “You can. Many have. But we’ll never take you back if you do. I’d suggest you think about it carefully.”
Sensing that the man was about to do something desperate, Zi Long stepped in. He used the softest illusions he knew to alter the man’s state of mind. His anger lessened, and so too did his sense of attachment. It was a slight change, just enough for him to think through it rationally.
“Why don’t you take some time to think about it?” Zi Long said. “It’s never too late to consider leaving, but with a single misstep, you’ll be falling out with our entire organization. No one wants that.”
The man gulped, nodded, and hung his head. “I’ll think about it. I’m just so…”
“Confused,” Zi Long finished. “You don’t know the right way forward. That’s fine. No one does. You’re suffering right now, but so is everyone. We’re a
