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In the Golden Feather City of the Chong Kingdom, the night of the gathering ~~~~

The light of the moons shining down was thick. The two of their figures, seemingly closer to the earth than normal, were watching through the open curtain into the most luxurious Inn of the city, the Tranquil Crane.

"How much longer could this endless nightfall continue? I’ve grown weary of the darkness."

Seated over a long, comfortable couch was a man of notable handsomeness. His long, dark-shaded blonde hair let fall freely in his respite. Luxurious robes draped his figure, and they rustled faintly as he adjusted himself, looking ahead at the tall and wide mirror artifact.

Strangely, it didn’t show anything of the room, him, or anyone else in the room. Its reflection showed the scene of all of the patriarchs and kings gathering for their meeting.

And he and his company were listening in on the gathering.

"And if it is a person?" The Xi Kingdom’s King, Xi Huaiwen, the oldest among the kings, asked, his brows furrowed.

None of them answered quickly. For if it were a child that was born in any of their kingdoms or within the ruling regions of any of their sects, then all of their pretences would make this far worse than it might have potentially been.

If it were a treasure or herb, they could merely steal it from one another and fight over it until enough blood had been spilled that ownership became too exhausting to try to maintain.

But if a child had been born blessed enough to drag the continent into this endless night? What directions would possibly be taken? They were only a single individual who could be raised, imprisoned, married into their royal families, sold off into the greater continents for vassalhood, dissected by alchemists, enslaved or turned into cultivation cauldrons, protected, or killed off for the contention that they caused.

The Sheng King, Sheng Zhongyi, finally said, "If it is a person, wherever they might be born, they must be protected and nurtured."

The Jade Gorge Sect Master, Shen Jiuyan’s smile only grew, laughing to himself silently as he shook his head.

"Protection and nurturing are rather lofty words to promise, Elder Sheng. It would be a great ideal to hope to live by, however, I believe you should be more careful in what you say."

The Clear Sky Lotus Sect Master looked over at him coldly, "Do you have better ones?"

"Sheng is right," Fang Yunhe, the Gilded Crimson Crane Sect Master, "They must be nurtured by our conjoined efforts. And like my disciple, once they have matured, we may then send them to the greater continents as another of our continent’s representatives alongside her."

Thereupon, the young man watching the meeting suddenly waved his hand, and the sound cut. He scoffed to himself, unamused by their roundabout nonsense.

If it were a person, the child would be lucky to survive their conflicts and even the next year beyond that. None of them would allow a single one of their entities to nurture an individual of such great talent on their own. Better they be killed off than grow to be an ally for only one of them.

"Muyuan, was your phenomenon exaggerated to such an extent?"

"...No, Young Master." A delicate voice came from beside him.

Seated over the same couch, enduring having the young man’s hand over her shoulder, was a beautiful young lady. Her face drifted away, looking towards where the image of her master, and the sect leader of the Gilded Crimson Crane Sect, sat.

The arm over her shoulder drew her in tighter, and her expression was flushed with shock.

"How much longer will you remain so unfamiliar? I am soon to be your betrothed, Muyuan." His voice had gone lower as he said that.

And thereupon, her hands, reserved over her lap, clenched faintly. Her eyes fell away from the mirror artifact towards the table filled with food and fruit that she had not touched, and her mouth hesitated, breathing out a faint breath, moments from speaking.

Then his arm released her as he suddenly stood himself up.

"It is no matter. You will have more than enough time to warm up to me."

His arms folded behind his back, and he strode away from the couch as she, as silently as possible, released a faint sigh.

A brief wind came into the room then, tousling the curtains. Muyuan had not reacted, with her attention returning to the mirror.

However, the young man spoke seemingly to the empty air:

"How have your days of searching gone, Mao?"

"My lord." Appearing at the next slightest gust of wind was a figure cloaked in dark robes. Their face was invisible beneath their hood, and their voice was distorted. The ground thudded as they dropped to a knee, their fist over the ground and their head bowed before him. "I have not found anything on this continent. I suspect this treasure might be..."

The individual trailed off hesitantly. Muyuan had glanced back in muted shock—she had gotten used to the sudden appearances of the individual by now.

"It must be in the ocean," The young master released a deflating sigh, then shook his head. "How regrettable. It would have made a fair betrothal gift."

Then he glanced over to Muyuan, who had swiftly made it seem as if she had not been paying attention. Shifting where she sat, her face was forward, her back towards the mirror artifact as she seemingly waited for the young master to restore the sound.

"You might as well tell your sect master to cease their needless negotiations. It will save you time and lives. Otherwise, try as you might, you will not be retrieving something that is born in the ocean."

Muyuan didn’t respond for a few moments, and then she released a faint hum.

"My lord, there is another urgent matter..." The voice of the figure here, even though distorted, was very careful in the way that it spoke.

"I am afraid the commotion this caused has caught the attention of the Yan clan. They are the current overseers of this continent and... I have received an urgent message from the Master that they will be sending an envoy."

Clenched as if the neck of prey within the maw of a predator, the young master’s face became ugly for several moments. Then he scoffed harshly, and the cloaked figure almost imperceptibly flinched.

"An envoy? Let them come. There’s nothing that they will gain from this place. I’m more than happy to have them waste their time here instead of making their preparations. It will only aid us down the line." His expression was whetted, flinty, and he growled as he turned on his heel, "The gold diggers."

Suddenly, everyone whipped their heads back, out towards the sky, as a blinding brilliance devoured the night.

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