1 - A Profound Disturbance
The Immortal God Emperor is dead.
The announcement sent ripples of shock through the Four Worlds. A being that represented the height of cultivation, who was blessed by the gods, the demons, and all manner of man and beast alike. A hundred thousand years of prosperity under his reign, and how he was just gone?
The loss was felt, like something had been ripped from the very fabric of the worlds. There was a gaping hole, and try as they might, no one could fill it.
Instead, Nine Elders of the great Clans banded together to restore the balance of the universe, and in doing so they came across a whisper of power left by the Immortal God Emperor, a message to the people he had for so long ruled.
"My Successor will come in time".
How much time was uncertain, but the reassurance that there would be a Successor was enough. The Nine Elders, knowing that there would be many who would step forward to take the Immortal God Emperor's place, each took one of the nine remaining Tools of the God Emperor. Each tool was imbued with the ability to channel God Emperor's immense power, and thanks to the power they each possessed, spirits with their own will inhabited each item. These spirits may give their loyalty to others, but the only beings who would earn the loyalty of all of them was the God Emperor and his Successor. Originally there had been twelve items, but three had been lost with the God Emperor's death; the Crown, the Seal and the Talisman.
The remaining items that were split among the Elders were the Sword, the Pen, the Scroll, the Armour, the Goblet, the Dagger, the Bow, the Hairpin, and the Necklace.
The Nine Tools that remained held Will enough to understand the plan of the Nine Elders, and hence chose one each as their temporary masters, allowing them access to a portion of their powers. With the Tools lending them Divine Power, the Nine Clans began to rule over the universe in place of the God Emperor.
And so, the Universe waited for the Successor to be born.
And waited.
And waited.
…and waited…
…until the Universe moved on, and the Immortal God Emperor became legend.
It was at this time, when the Four Worlds had found new and exciting paths beyond anything the original Immortal God Emperor could have perceived, that a great disturbance was felt. Like a ripple on a lake, barely anyone noticed it but those who were in a state of high sensory concentration, and of those, there were few who could interpret it for what it was.
The Nine Clans mobilised, determined to go to the source and discover it. For something to cause a disturbance so profound in the fabric of the worlds, it was surely worth possessing.
They were led in the hours that followed to a city called Laou Ren in the Kuran Empire of the Mortal World. It was a B Class City, a population of five million, and a few points of note for the average tourist.
The Clans searched everywhere, the antique market, the cultivation schools, the greatest points of Feng Shui in the city. But while there were some items and individuals of minor note, nothing seemed to resonate in the same way the disturbance had.
Morning arrived, and the mobilisation of key members of all Nine Clans caught the attention of the Media. Rumours of something of great significance occurring in Laou Ren abounded. And while the world turned its attention to the Nine Clans, a common, unremarkable mortal couple drove away from the city with proud and loving smiles on their faces.
"Well, with a short delay we'll be back home in Nui Dan this evening," said the man.
"Oh, but wasn't it a marvellous delay? Our little Kai Lan just couldn't wait to arrive into the world!" the woman gushed, looking over her shoulder at the little bundle of blankets nestled in a baby car seat behind her.
"Couldn't wait is right, nearly gave me a heart attack on the road," the man grumbled, a smile twitching on his lips.
"Oh, stop," the woman huffed, "You're as happy as I am".
"I wasn't denying that," the man smiled.
The couple continued to drive away from the city towards their home town, blissfully unaware that the son they had just had, a week before his due date, was in fact the very disturbance that those great clan figures had been searching for.
They were also unaware that the kind old man who had been in the hospital for his own son who had been in an 'accident' had been fully aware of the kind of child they had had. His cultivation was quite high, and while not on par with the Elders of the Nine Clans, he was not to be laughed at for his accomplishments.
With a kind and generous appearance, he had blessed the young couple, and bid them to have their son wear the lucky seal that he had used for his children when they were young.
"I had my son wear it for his first two years and he was never sick, nor was there anything of concern about his body. Later my daughter was the same, and my second son," the old man had claimed.
"Oh, then we can't possibly-"
"I insist, with a name like Shan Kai Lan, and the aura I perceive upon him, your son will go on to achieve great things, and I only wish to help him along," the Elder had insisted, "I'll tell you what, two years from now, I will come to visit and retrieve the necklace, that way I can see for certain that it has worked. If it hasn't, at least you entertained the beliefs of this old man".
The couple had seen no reason not to take him up on his offer. But the necklace did more than simply block out disease. The necklace was a powerful talisman that suppressed the aura of the wearer, making them invisible.
"Father," the Elder's son had asked as they watched the couple leave with smiles, "Why give the Aura Concealing Jade to an unknown family?"
"Mark my words, son, that boy will grow up to be one of the greatest cultivators in the Four Worlds," said the Elder, "I am simply making sure he survives that long, and if he does, he will be grateful for our favour, and we will have gained a powerful ally".
"Indeed," the Elder's son replied, "Should I prepare a protection detail?"
The Elder shook his head, "No, we want no attention drawn to them, not before the boy is ready. Send only one of the Owls to watch from a distance".
"Yes, Father".