War of the dragon and the phoenix

Unlike most clans, the Lin clan was ruled by a single Elder—Elder Lin Xiao—ever since the other two have died. It happened in the last twenty years: one perished in a fight, another from a failed attempt to break to the Golden Core.

Elder Lin Xiao had several children, but only one was a strong enough cultivator to count in politics: Lin Deng. With Lin Xiao preparing to reach for the Golden Core, Lin Deng gathered more and more influence within the clan.

From what I saw of him, Lin Deng didn't care about anything but his own amusement, and his high status in the clan was a prime example of corruption and nepotism that crippled nations.

(That thought appeared in my head with so much vehemence that I almost thought I might remember an event connected to it. But… nothing.)

The Elder who died from failed cultivation, Lin Kwan, also had a (surviving and cultivating) son—Lin Chu. Since Lin Kwan was also Lin Xiao's sister, Lin Chu was Lin Deng's cousin.

They were also of a similar age. From what I heard, they would've been bitter rivals if Lin Chu didn't show at every turn that he was above such pettiness.

Some claimed that it made him weak. I decided it made Lin Chu titanically patient and worth a bit of my admiration—the one time I saw the two interact, Lin Deng was needling Lin Chu at every turn.

Everybody was sure that it was only a matter of time until one or both became Elders. For that, either they had to be approved by the entire clan, approved by the majority of existing Elders, or appointed by the Purple Dragon Sect.

That made me smile. In a clan, family ties were everything. But in a sect, a teacher-disciple bond was often stronger than of a parent and a child. Especially if one's parents were peasants and out of the picture.

If Lin Chu became an Elder, in the eyes of Purple Dragon Sect, I will be his heir before his actual children, who were too young.

The perspectives this opened were wider than the Black Land continent…

The first step of my plan was still to make Lin Chu an Elder. He was on a natural path toward it, anyway—but what were the chances of him dying in a war in the meantime?

An advance in status from an extremely brilliant and amazing disciple like myself would be just what Lin Chu needed.

***

I was sitting on my porch, diddling around—but if anyone asked, I was training.

With a wave of my fingers, the whole chicken (headless and bloodless, but still in feathers and not gutted) limped toward me. I raised my second hand for better precision and jerked my fingers like a real puppeteer.

The headless chicken made a little awkward dance in front of my porch. That level of mastery took me more time than I liked, but the result could be quite useful in combat.

Just as I thought that, the chicken flipped and fell. I jerked my fingers, and it jerked up, as if lifted by invisible strings.

I was doing almost nothing but practicing in the last two weeks. Martial training in the morning, then technique practice in the evening. Besides the manuals from Lin Chu, I tried to learn as much as I could by observing other disciples.

Which these assholes caught on to! Now whenever I entered the training ground, everybody below the Qi Condensation stage stopped training or left outright!

Ugh. They were acting like by peeking at their techniques I was stealing knowledge right from their heads. Knowledge wasn't money, it only increased in volume when shared! Besides, we all were martial brothers from the same sect.

If I wasn't Lin Chu's student, I would fear they will gang up on me in a dark corner and beat me up.

However, I still learned Black Snake Arrow and Cloud Summoning techniques.

The Black Snake Arrow shot an arrow of Death energy, which looked like a beautiful black snake, but wasn't actually venomous and was less effective by all parameters than Ice Cutter.

Cloud Summoning let me summon a small personal cloud that rained water on whatever I wanted. Good for gardening, washing things, or getting clear water from thin air.

It wasn't like I learned these techniques because that made me stronger. I could only use a limited amount of techniques in a fight, either way. All I wanted was to show off a little, but other disciples limited me…

A movement in the alleyway leading to my house made my concentration slip, and the dancing chicken did the same. It convulsed as if electrocuted and fell into the dust.

I saw a freaked out servant shriek and step back. You'd think local servants will be more used to Netherworld cultivators.

"Did you need something?"

"Y-yes… There is good news, master—Master Lin Chu has returned!"

I abandoned the chicken and stood up.

"Really?"

"Oh, yes! Those who saw him entering the gate say that he was akin to a pillar of marble that held together the remnants of his squad! Half the soldiers with him had fallen, and all the others, even cultivators, were wounded. Only Master Lin Chu was unmarred, but his clothes were red with the blood of his enemies!"

My face fell.

"Does that mean we are at war now?"

"That's right, that's right! I heard that when the Crystal Phoenix Sect launched their surprise attack, Master Lin Chu had defeated many cultivators from the Crystal Phoenix Sect, and took their Qi. And the survivors ran like the chickens they are! Now Master Lin Chu has returned to gather the clan's forces, because the Grand Elder Ning Lau calls the devout servants of the Divine Dragon to war!"

"Oh. So awesome, indeed." I closed my eyes and dread filled my heart.

Surely no one will send a fresh disciple like me to the frontline, right?

Right?

Even though the lowborn disciples like me were cannon fodder in the eyes of the clan.

I was almost getting used to not having to fight! Exercising daily was exhausting, and spars with soldiers often ended with bruises, but there was no danger of actual death! Hell, physical exercise by itself was fun, and I enjoyed learning. And not being in danger.

"And also, Master Yujin, Master Lin Chu ordered you to meet him on his personal training ground tomorrow morning instead of your usual training."