Heaven Above, Distinguish the Loyal from the Treacherous

【At the ferry crossing between Cavebright Mountain and Court Pavilion Mountain, you and A-Dou waited from summer until autumn.】

【At midnight one day, you placed the sleeping A-Dou on Black Wind’s back, then led Black Wind to the ferry crossing to wait.】

【You knew that Ji Wuqing would be appearing there today with the people from the Emberfire Association.】

【While you were waiting, several blue-skinned tribesmen suddenly appeared from who-knows-where nearby, looking just like the blue people from Avatar.】

【These blue-skinned men were shifty-eyed. Seeing that you were alone and had a child with you, they immediately got it into their heads to rob you.】

【“Big brother, where are you taking a child all by yourself this late at night? There aren’t any ferries running at midnight.”】

【They were all carrying gleaming blades.】

【A single glance was enough for you to see that the strongest among them was only a Martial Warrior at the Innate Realm.】

【And they thought they could rob Uncle Chen?】

【Don’t make your uncle laugh.】

【Without even turning your head, you said,】

【“Robbery.”】

【“Yo! You’re pretty sharp. You knew what I was planning the moment I opened my mouth.”】

【“I was talking about robbing you.”】

【It took the other party a good while to process what you meant.】

【“You want to rob us? Hahaha, that’s hilarious!”】

【You raised one finger and used a move you hadn’t touched in a very long time.】

【Star-Shattering Ripple Finger!】

【“Pfft!!”】

【The man who had been laughing moments earlier had his throat pierced straight through. With a hole front to back, he toppled over with a thud and went straight to sleep.】

【“He laughed himself to death. How do the rest of you want to die?”】

【The remaining blue-skinned tribesmen were scared to tears and immediately dropped to their knees to beg for mercy.】

【“Spare us, Senior! This is our first time robbing anyone!”】

【“We’re having a hard time too! We can’t get enough to eat or keep warm! Hic—”】

【“Please show mercy, Senior! We’re all doing our best just to survive!”】

【You cast a disdainful glance at the group of blue-skinned tribesmen and shook your head in disappointment.】

【“You can’t even come up with anything original when you lie. You don’t put the slightest effort into this line of work—you’re an embarrassment to the profession. What’s the point of keeping you alive?”】

【You pointed once more, but this time you used the AOE effect, turning the penetrating beam into a field of shattering light that sent them all on their way.】

【After taking stock of the spoils, you could only let out a long sigh.】

【“The handful of Origin Stones I got from robbing you isn’t even enough to cover the divine power I spent killing you. What a waste of time…”】

【You hadn’t been after their possessions in the first place.】

【You were after their residence-permit compasses.】

【As everyone knew, the immortal qi on first-grade stars came at a price.】

【The Sacred Dragon Association controlled the flow of immortal qi through means unknown. On first-grade stars, where immortal qi was especially abundant, it had to pass through the residence permits issued by them before entering a cultivator’s body.】

【Without a residence permit corresponding to that star, one could not properly absorb immortal qi to cultivate.】

【Strangely enough, even Immortal Kings were unable to bypass this system.】

【“Fortunately, these weaklings were using temporary residence permits.”】

【Temporary residence permits were not bound to any specific person. Anyone could use one, so long as it still had sufficient balance.】

【However, temporary residence permits were valid for only a few years at most, which was clearly insufficient compared to the long road of cultivation.】

【But for someone whose identity was difficult to deal with, they were still a useful stopgap.】

【As a result, large numbers of temporary residence permits of dubious origin circulated through the black markets of first-grade stars.】

【“I’ll make do with these for now. Later, I’ll have Ji Wuqing help me get two official residence permits.”】

【You heard A-Dou mumbling softly on Black Wind’s back. He was probably about to wake up, most likely because the commotion had disturbed him.】

【So you raised a hand and sent out several streams of divine power. Since the qi-refining art you practiced was the Ji Clan’s Threefold Flame Tempering Profound Art, your divine power automatically transformed into Samadhi True Fire.】

【The corpses of the blue-skinned tribesmen were immediately set ablaze.】

【A-Dou woke up and saw several bonfires burning nearby. Curious, he asked,】

【“Uncle Chen, how did these fires start?”】

【“Your uncle was worried you’d be cold, so I lit a few fires to keep you warm.”】

【“Thank you, Uncle Chen.”】

【Don’t thank Uncle Chen. Thank those blue-skinned tribesmen instead.】

【Suddenly, a familiar voice came from a tree by the riverbank.】

【“Hey! Why does the aura from that move of yours feel a little like my Ji Clan’s Threefold Flame Tempering Profound Art? You’re not a member of my Ji Clan, are you?”】

【Ji Wuqing.】

【You had no idea when she had arrived.】

【Ji Wuqing was already at the late stage of the Heaven-Reaching Realm, so it was hardly surprising that she could approach without your detection.】

【Besides, she bore you no ill will, so the danger-detection ability of your “Signal Light” did not sound an alarm.】

【You turned to look at Ji Wuqing. As always, she favored purple robes. Her long hair flowed down like a waterfall, hanging from the tree all the way to the ground.】

【“Wuqing, you’re here.”】

【The world around you turned yellow.】

【Ji Wuqing had tightened her grip around the sword in her hand.】

【“You know me?”】

【You remained completely calm and spoke the code phrase.】

【Ji Wuqing gave a slight nod.】

【“So it really is you. But in the secret messages you sent me, you referred to me by my original name, ‘Xiaoyue.’ How did you know that I use the name ‘Wuqing’ on Vermilion-Purple Star?”】

【You rolled your eyes inwardly. This Old Wuqing really was overly cautious.】

【“I conducted some investigations into the affairs of Vermilion-Purple Star long ago. You’re quite famous there. At such a young age, you’ve defeated many veteran experts who had been famous for years. You’re a once-in-a-millennium prodigy of the younger generation of our human race—a true heroine!”】

【You had spent so long as the emperor of Firelight Star surrounded by flatterers that you had picked up a thing or two from them.】

【Ji Wuqing found those words quite pleasing, and the yellow in your vision vanished on the spot.】

【“I see. So the child on that strange horse is the Destined One discovered on Firelight Star?”】

【“That’s right.”】

【“Hand him over to me. I’ll take him to the base. You can go back.”】

【“No. I have to stay with this child.”】

【“That condition was never mentioned before.”】

【“It wasn’t convenient to explain things in detail through the Emberfire Tree, but now I have to make this clear: I must stay with the child. Otherwise, I would rather raise him on my own.”】

【If A-Dou were left alone at the base, his fate would be the same as in the sixth simulation—his whereabouts would become unknown.】

【Your vision turned yellow once again.】

【Ji Wuqing’s tone had grown somewhat hostile.】

【“This is unreasonable. I’m afraid I can’t comply. The Destined One’s fate concerns matters of the utmost importance. He cannot possibly be entrusted to you alone. Hand the child over to me!”】

【A-Dou was already ten years old. On top of that, he had spent two years with the Myriad Soul Banner and the others, so he was quite sensible. He immediately joined in to support you.】

【“I only trust Uncle Chen! I’m not going with you, you long-haired ghost!”】

【You: “…”】

【Ji Wuqing: “??”】

【The air fell silent for several seconds.】

【Ji Wuqing: “Long-haired ghost?! Ah!! You little brat, who are you calling a long-haired ghost?!”】

【You: “Damn it, Old Wan! What kind of things have you been teaching A-Dou every day?!”】

Myriad Soul Banner: “What the hell does that have to do with me? I’m more wronged than Dou E! Heaven above, tell right from wrong!”