14 Soul Will Paramountcy

"Alright then, Feilian. Help me master this script! Do it now, come on!"

Ling Jian'er, with tightly closed eyes, waited for the creature before her to transmit the necessary information to her brain so she could master the script.

"I will, child, but I must first inform you that, in order to cultivate my Zephyr Art, you need to align your soul with its principles. This means that, other than my Zephyr Art, you will no longer be able to cultivate anything else."

Ling Jian'er snorted coldly, opening her eyes into a scornful glare and saying, "You think you can scare me with crap like that? If I want to cultivate a million different cultivation arts I will do just that, got it!?"

Feilian sighed, waved his arm and conjured up a minor wind storm. That flurry of breezes became a crystal ball, dazzling, sparkling and bright.

"I must show you, child. I fear that you do not understand."

Off to the side, Logean Wuji sneered and folded his arms behind his back. With a face of self-satisfaction he stared closely at the crystal ball floating between the two of them.

"This is a Soul-Seer, child-"

"My name is Ling Jian'er! Call me 'child' one more time and I will never stop trying to kill you."

"Ah, right. Ling Jian'er, this crystal will allow me to show you the properties of your soul. It will also give you the clearest picture of what will happen once you align your soul with my Zephyr Art."

Projected within the crystal was a mass of pale blue, seething with countless dots of bright orange and dark red. Ever so often, the crispness of a clear summer breeze seemed to rush forth out of the crystal and blow into Ling Jian'er's face.

She frowned.

"So it's an aptitude test? I already know my affinities, you abomination."

"Then you will better understand what I'm about to say to you."

Feilian then touched the crystal ball with a hoof, causing it to change within. The bright and lively nature of the crystal went away completely, replaced with a stagnant emptiness devoid of the previous potential for life.

"The soul is almost a physical representation of one's karma, Ling Jian'er. It, when properly felt, can allow us to ascend to the heights of our potential almost instantly. However, all such things come at a cost. If for the sake of growth we exhaust our potential, then for the sake of a completed soul we exhaust our karma."

"What the hell are you saying, freak!?" Ling Jian'er didn't only seem annoyed, she seemed both confused and uncaring as well. Seeing her face, Logean Wuji smirked as the deep shade of reminiscence flashed in his eyes.

"I am saying that my Zephyr Art will strip you of all other branches of karmic fate. You will become the inheritor of my Zephyr Art- and solely that. Your soul will be bound by shackles of pure karma, unable to traverse the infinite optional paths laid out before you now. Your life will be this art and, in turn, the art shall become your life. No one can escape this; the conformity of the soul is absolute."

The very minute that Feilian said this, soft and steady clapping could be heard throughout the house. Instantly, both Feilian and Ling Jian'er looked off to the side where Logean Wuji had now appeared.

"Right on all accounts- Former Wind Elemental- except one."

Feilian scoffed at first, but then his eyes widened as he truly took Logean Wuji in. He realized who Logean Wuji was and, a puff of thick smoke later, Feilian had become an old man in baggy clothes, kneeling before Logean Wuji.

"Please, Young Master Wuji, correct this ignorant one."

Logean Wuji smiled but said nothing to end the act of piety. Instead, he turned to look at Ling Jian'er and smiled deeply, almost seeming to be full of care.

"This little monkey," he said while glancing at the limp tail behind Ling Jian'er, "possesses a variant of the regular Soul Will Paramountcy."

Upon hearing Logean Wuji's words, Feilian shot to his feet and faced the clueless face of Ling Jian'er. Without warning, he began to back away as swirling gales built up around him.

"No, no, no, no. I will not allow it! You will never profane my Zephyr Art! I thank you, Young Master, for preventing me from allowing this monster to nab my masterpiece-"

"Not so fast." Seeing that Feilian was trying to escape, Logean Wuji waved his hand and dispersed the gathered wind around Feilian's body. This put a stop to his teleportation and forced him to stay. After that, the same wind was then used to push Feilian all the way back to his initial position.

"While I do understand where you are coming from, Fei Lian, I do not care. I have already chosen to give her the Zephyr Art and so she will have it."

Fei Lian- which was actually the name of the wind elemental turned bearded man- was crestfallen and terrified.

"But Lord, if she possesses Soul Will Paramountcy, it means she will completely suppress my spirit that resides in the essence of the Art. She will not only defy the Will of the Wind, she will also reserve the right to directly shatter the karmic implications of cultivating it. It will be no different from having my precious Art stolen."

Ling Jian'er looked on, still clueless but enjoying the look on Fei Lian's face.

"So?" Logean Wuji smirked as he said this, causing Fei Lian's despair to further take root in his heart and soul.

"So, Young Master, she will be free to form ties with any and all cultivation arts, suppressing their wills and twisting them into any form she wishes! Soul Will Paramountcy is capable of personalizing laws that should not be personalized, allowing one to wield them far beyond natural order and limitations!"

"Young Master, I beg you, do not allow her to reduce my Zephyr Art to nothing but an insignificant arrow in a potentially endless quiver!"

Logean Wuji smiled, then looked at Ling Jian'er and said, "Was that a good enough explanation of what your soul can do, monkey? I mean, it barely scratched the surface of your particular variant, but it's all I'll allow you to hear for now. The rest will come if you impress me enough at the talent showcase."

Ling Jian'er scoffed and said, "You mean 'when,' I impress you. 'Cause I will, Longan Wuji. I will."

Logean Wuji ignored her and then glared at Fei Lian, not out of anger but as a way of portraying both his superiority and how serious he was in that moment.

"Fei Lian, you will pass the complete Zephyr Art to the monkey, but do not instruct her." Fei Lian nodded and bowed saying, "Understood, Young Master."

Then, Logean Wuji turned to Ling Jian'er and said, "As for you, the bar has risen. You must master the elementary level and also the first technique, 'Wisp of Essence.' If you can demonstrate 'Wisp of Essence' in time for the talent showcase, I shall formerly accept you as my disciple."

Without waiting for a response, Logean Wuji left Ling Jian'er and Fei Lian behind. Immediately facing Fei Lian with a smirk, Ling Jian'er giggled and said, "Now then, give me the complete Art."

With unfeigned, painful resentment, Fei Lian closed his eyes and prepared to pass on the complete script of the 'Divine Elemental's Zephyr Art.' Ling Jian'er smiled gleefully and also closed her eyes, but not before glancing in the direction Logean Wuji had been standing.

Logean Wuji had withdrawn his incarnation in that space. Ye Hong and the others were still in meditation, Bi Xue was cultivating while also exhaling shards of ice, Xiwang Mu, Nephele and Selene were busy chatting it up and Zeus was having a serious meeting with the other gods of the Graikos Realm.

Logean Wuji, through his omnipresence, was able to observe them at once. He was also able to sense that, somewhere in the Graikos Realm's space-time border, a portal had opened up.

"Ah, right on time. It's Nyx."

His incarnation vanished, then reappeared just beyond the limits of space within the Graikos Realm. This was a world of collapsed space, time, matter and energy- or primal chaos- that allowed the containment of worlds through constant contrasting force. Much like an eggshell, it allowed the containment of something otherwise uncontainable like a realm, universe or dimension.

Needless to say, it was present in almost all such realms, universes and dimensions.

Standing within it, Logean Wuji could feel the arrival of Nyx, though she was still hurtling through the chaotic void and yet to arrive. Sensing where the portal was going to open, he spoke, "Come, Nyx."

As previously explained, because time had collapsed within the primal chaos, Logean Wuji was able to take charge of it without implicating anything else existing elsewhere.

Time sped up from a crawl to a sprint and Nyx's portal appeared before him. She would have been propelled from it and into the Graikos Realm, but he stopped her propulsion by taking charge of the law of energy. Much like he did with the law of time, he altered it without implicating anything else in existence, brought Nyx over to him and dispelled the propelling force from the chaotic void portal.

Sighing, he brought Nyx over to a much more unstable and chaotic area of the primal chaos zone. She was a giant of a woman, grey-skinned and barefoot. Her hairs were so dark that they blended with the sunless void around her, and her silky black dress as well. Her eyes were closed, but shadowed with a glittering blackness that inspired the anticipation of when she would open them.

Although pale, her lips were smooth and seemed so soft and supple that they would burst.

Logean Wuji gave her a once-over and then slapped her, "Wake up, Nyx!"

Although his word would inevitably become law, thus forcing her awake, he still felt like he needed to slap her. This was something only he understood, but I'm sure you will theorize as to why...

Nyx snorted, like a startled person being woken from a deep, enjoyable sleep, and frantically looked around. Her most recent memories were of the state of the Mythical Realm before Logean Wuji sent her hurtling through the chaotic void, so it was the first thing on her mind.

"Young Master? Erebus, he- Anu and the Primordial Gods attacked on a united front! My children! Where are they!?" All at once, her emotions and suppressed desires played out, before she was calm again. Coldness and stillness were breathed from the depths of her soul like spores being released from a toxic plant: stifling.

Logean Wuji, of course, was unbothered and already fed-up with her display. He would have slapped her again, but he cleared his throat and sighed when he heard her mention her children.

"Your husband and children have all fallen. I did not act to save them, nor will I so do not ask. I have done more than enough for the Mythical Realm, and also given you a chance to reclaim it for your future descendants."

Nyx, though crushed inside, remained composed. She, more than a lot of people, understood just what the Logean Clan did for the Mythical Realm. Their karmic ties were long severed. For Logean Wuji to save her meant that, despite owing them all nothing, he still acted for the good of the Mythical Realm. She was deeply grateful.

"Thank you, Young Master. Would you mind telling me where we are? I feel a strange calling, but I do not know to where."

"We are within the primal chaos of the Graikos Realm, your spiritual home. Before I send you off to them, I need to ask you something."

Nyx froze, not expecting Logean Wuji to have something to ask her, specifically. She straightened up and gave a clear harrumph, then said, "Of course. What is it, Young Master?"

"It's about one of the Ancient Clans that left the Mythical Realm before my Clan returned to it. I know that aside from the Logean Clan, the Xuyue Clan and the Yahweh Clan, there were four others. Do you know of them?"

Nyx was inwardly relieved, but she also quickly answered.

"I only know of one of them," she said while bowing apologetically. "That would be the Yggdrasil Clan."