"Lady Heroine is coming out!"
The soldiers stationed on either side bowed in unison, clasping their hands in salute, as Bai Fanxian walked out. Whether they had fought on the battlefield themselves yesterday, or had comrades and friends who had, every one of them had reason to be grateful — to the woman who had saved them from an ancient demon.
"Get back to your posts."
Sage White-Beard waved a hand to dismiss them, and the soldiers who weren't on duty today began to trudge away with their heads down. Then one of those still on post hurried forward, saluted, and reported in a clear, carrying voice.
"There are many people outside waiting to see Lady Heroine, sir! Would you like us to help manage the situation, sir?"
Those words made the departing soldiers whip back around, eyes bright with hope. Looking at every one of his men, the old man could only sigh and give a helpless nod.
"...Just keep it orderly."
Bai Fanxian, listening from nearby, let the faintest smile touch her lips. Sage White-Beard seemed to be a commander well loved by his men. From just that brief exchange, that small negotiation, she had already formed a rough sense of who he was.
"Open the courtyard! The Grand Marshal has given his permission!"
"Opening the courtyard! All visitors, please remain calm. Form an orderly queue once you are inside!"
The order passed down the line, voice to voice. The great gates of the compound swung open, pulled by two officers. The crowd that had been ready to surge forward stopped cold the moment they felt the gaze and quiet pressure of the well-trained soldiers arrayed before them.
In the end, no one dared rush. They followed where the soldiers led to a large training courtyard connected to the main building, ordinarily used for drills. It could comfortably hold well over a thousand people.
The various factions seemed entirely accustomed to this sort of thing. They filed in and waited in orderly rows, Wild Bloom Sect included. However powerful they were in this era, none dared openly defy the Grand Marshal who answered directly to the king.
What was more, they had come today to offer a genuine apology. So they took care not to stir up unnecessary trouble with the host. The old woman at the head of Wild Bloom's procession waved a hand to signal her attendants to set the treasure chests to one side, then stood waiting with eyes closed.
Mu Xia and Su Lin were among the last to enter the courtyard. They were not in the best shape — faces pale, clothes growing rumpled. As they passed Wild Bloom's group, Li Jiyao's mocking smile caught Mu Xia's eye and tightened her fists.
Su Lin caught her junior sister's wrist and pulled her to the far side to avoid an incident. Then they noticed a group entering alongside Sage White-Beard. The young woman who followed him looked just as she had yesterday, every bit as magnetic and wholly unapproachable.
Mu Xia forgot her anger entirely. She kept drifting back to the childhood memory of sneaking into that forbidden hall.
"...She really does look just like her."
The girl murmured. At that very moment, a soldier carrying out his orders called out in a voice that carried clearly across the courtyard.
"All visitors, please remain calm! Those wishing to present gifts and meet with Lady Heroine, please step forward!"
About half of those present stepped up. Those who had come only to watch the spectacle gathered at the back.
"What a shame... If we'd known Lady Heroine would come out in person this morning..."
Of course, some were disappointed. They had arrived too early and already had their gifts passed along through Sage White-Beard, and so had missed this chance to present them face to face.
"Lady Heroine! We of the Mountain Sword Faction are deeply grateful, for it was thanks to you that our brothers and sisters made it home from yesterday's battlefield. Please accept this humble gift!"
With no formal ceremony to observe, the group at the very front stepped forward first. The one who spoke was a powerfully built man in rough leather gear who looked rather wild. Each step he took left craters in the ground. For all his wild appearance, his eyes right now were filled with heartfelt gratitude.
"Forgive us that my sibling is too badly injured to come give thanks in person. This is a branch of the Celestial Peach Tree. Please accept it."
What he opened from the velvet-lined wooden box was a small branch that released a sweet, alluring fragrance the moment it met the air. Its pull was potent enough to make those with poor self-control start drooling.
"Isn't the Celestial Peach Branch supposed to be extinct!?"
"Unbelievable! The Mountain Sword Faction just scored big!"
Bai Fanxian looked it over. This branch was a treasure of at least Grade 5, the equivalent of a Grandmaster-level entity. Even in her own era, it had been no trivial thing.
"Thank you. I like it very much."
She gave a small nod of acknowledgment. A soldier came and took the box away, flanked by a few capable officers standing guard.
"Lady Heroine, we of the Eight Splendor Sect offer our respects. This is a Snow Silk Robe crafted by master seamstresses of Stillstar City. We believe it would suit your beauty perfectly."
Three beautiful young women in blue robes bowed with graceful propriety and produced a light-blue robe that gleamed with quiet luxury. It was no ordinary garment. Beyond its beauty, it gave off a faint, constant coolness.
"Thank you. I like this one as well."
"Lady Heroine, the Iron Horse Faction wishes to present..."
"Lady Heroine, Thunderstrike Hall offers its respects..."
"Lady Heroine..."
The proceedings continued in this simple manner for over an hour. At first, each faction was proud of what they had brought. But as time went on, they discovered they were not the only ones who had thought to bring their finest, for every group had reached in and pulled out their most carefully hoarded treasures to compete with one another.
Their sects' prized possessions.
Things they had once claimed were long lost.
And there was one thing they had all begun to notice: not once — not a single time — had Bai Fanxian personally received a gift with her own hands.
Whether it was simply her habit, or whether none of these treasures had ever been worth her attention to begin with, it was impossible to say. And so they had started to hope that somewhere among those still to come, there might be something that would catch her eye, something that would finally draw out a real reaction.
Until only a handful of factions remained.
In truth, the precise number was two. And one of them was the group most were waiting for. Everyone wanted to know if what this group had brought might finally draw a real response from Bai Fanxian.
Wild Bloom Sect and the Goddess Alchemy Palace.
The old woman who had stood with eyes closed all this time finally opened them. She narrowed her gaze and glanced briefly toward Su Lin. By rights, as the foremost sect, she ought to have gone long before now — but Zhu Yihan had chosen to hold back. She had a particular intention tucked away inside.
She would grind what little confidence the Goddess Alchemy Palace had left to dust.
If those girls still dared present their paltry little gift after she showed everyone what she had brought, they were welcome to try.
Wild Bloom's group walked forward. Two or three treasure boxes were set down in neat order. The old woman clasped her hands in salute.
"I am Zhu Yihan, Second Elder of Wild Bloom Sect. I offer my respects to the Lady Heroine of the battlefield."
"I am Li Jiyao, a disciple of Wild Bloom Sect... I offer my respects to the Lady Heroine of the battlefield."
Li Jiyao had hesitated at first. But under the weight of her master's gaze, she ultimately had no choice but to follow suit.
"My disciple has caused you trouble before. I hope you won't hold it against her..."
Another look from the old woman, and Li Jiyao quickly bowed her head and assumed a suitably repentant expression.
"We haven't come empty-handed today. Beyond the matter of our disciple, we also wish to express our gratitude for the many lives you preserved in Moondrift City. A gift alone wouldn't be sufficient."
She raised her hand and opened the first box.
"This is a legendary seventh-grade Formation Manual. It has the ability to draw and concentrate the flow of heaven and earth's energy. Were you to cultivate within the formation it describes, your cultivation speed would surge several times over."
The moment she finished speaking, a ripple of astonishment ran through the crowd. If the formation's properties were as she described, it would be something truly priceless.
"...That's..."
Bai Fanxian murmured softly, eyes fixed on the record detailing the formation's construction. Seeing her interest spark, Zhu Yihan smiled faintly at the corner of her mouth.
For a cultivator of great strength, what mattered most?
Certainly not trinkets, and not fine robes.
It was how to grow even stronger.
Zhu Yihan had years of experience, and understood this better than most.
And then there was something else...
The old woman glanced sidelong toward Su Lin. The young woman was clenching her fist, biting down hard on her lower lip, holding something back.
"Senior Sister... that Formation Manual..."
Mu Xia whispered, and Su Lin gave a painfully tight nod.
Yes... that legendary seventh-grade Formation Manual had once belonged to the Goddess Alchemy Palace.
But it had been stolen years ago — so how had it ended up in Wild Bloom Sect's hands!?
Zhu Yihan's smile was thin. She moved to the remaining boxes and opened them all at once.
"We were also concerned that you might have been injured or depleted from your battle against one of the ancient demons... So we took the liberty of preparing these medicines as well."
...!
What emanated from those boxes — was medicine.
An enormous quantity of it.
From Grade-4 recovery elixirs all the way to Grade-5 breakthrough medicine. A rough count came to over twenty or thirty pills alone!
And packed in behind them, raw ingredients filling every treasure chest to the brim!
Mu Xia was the first to cry out. Heads turned, but she no longer cared.
Because those medicines were the very ones Wild Bloom Sect had seized from the Goddess Alchemy Palace before the battle.
They were the medicines the Empress herself had prepared for them.
But they had been taken, leaving the Goddess Alchemy Palace disciples to enter the battlefield with nothing but low-grade medicine.
"...If we'd still had those medicines..."
Tears welled at the corners of Mu Xia's eyes. Yes. If those medicines had still been in their hands, they might have been able to save more of their sisters out there.
Su Lin gripped the girl's wrist firmly and shook her head, urging her junior sister to hold herself together. Whatever happened, they could not cause a scene right now.
"So — are you satisfied with these gifts?"
Zhu Yihan's smile was thin. Just seeing the torment on the faces of the Goddess Alchemy Palace girls was satisfaction enough. What she wanted now was to see delight on Bai Fanxian's face.
But.
Bai Fanxian's expression remained unmoved. She gazed at the medicines with a thoughtful look. Then she flicked her hand, and a single pill rose slowly from the box and drifted into her palm.
This was something that hadn't happened once in the whole of the past hour.
Every jaw in the courtyard dropped. Zhu Yihan smiled broadly. It seemed today's plan was going smoothly.
"Mm... I like these very much."
"Thank you."
After examining the medicine up close, Bai Fanxian set it back down and had a few soldiers carry everything away. Wild Bloom's group returned to their place with envious eyes following them every step of the way.
Until at last, only one group remained.
Every eye turned toward the two young women. Mu Xia clutched a small gift box tight in her hands. Seeing that the last group was the near-ruined Goddess Alchemy Palace, many in the crowd could only shake their heads. Whatever they had brought couldn't possibly compare to Wild Bloom Sect.
"...Let's go."
They had come this far. Even if they were laughed at, they had to give what they had come to give. Su Lin took her junior sister's hand and led the way forward with quiet courage.
Bai Fanxian showed no reaction. If the truth were told, she was still turning the Formation Manual and those medicines over in her mind, and was paying the two of them little attention.
"We pay our respects, Lady Heroine. We've brought a small gift today, to express our gratitude."
Mu Xia passed the small box to the soldier at the front. He took it, visibly puzzled.
They weren't going to open it and show everyone what was inside?
But since no one said anything, he accepted it quietly and was about to carry it off to join the rest — when a voice rang out from behind.
"What have you brought? Don't you think you ought to open it and let everyone have a look?"
It was Li Jiyao, considerably more at ease now that the burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She smiled lazily while Mu Xia could only tighten her fist.
The box held nothing but a Grade-4 medicine. How could she possibly take it out and show everyone?
"We apologize, everyone... The Goddess Alchemy Palace hasn't brought anything of great value. It would be a waste of everyone's time."
Su Lin turned and clasped her hands to the crowd. But Li Jiyao cut in all the same.
"You're really going to present something worthless to Lady Heroine? How bold."
"You—!"
Mu Xia couldn't hold it together any longer. Her sharp cry snapped Bai Fanxian out of her reverie.
"What? Where am I wrong? The Goddess Alchemy Palace is barely holding together, isn't it? Even Lady Heroine hasn't said a word. She's probably just wondering how to get rid of this rubbish."
Li Jiyao kept right on mocking, and the more no one stopped her, the more emboldened she became. Some felt she had gone too far, but none could speak up, not with Wild Bloom Sect standing behind her.
"If you don't believe me, ask everyone here. Anyone who thinks I'm wrong is welcome to step right up."
Silence fell the moment those words ended. Mu Xia looked around for whatever factions still had friendly ties with them, hoping for some support. What she got in return was nothing but averted gazes and silence.
Not a single person stood beside the Goddess Alchemy Palace.
Su Lin gripped her junior sister's hand tight. She lowered her eyes, and something raw passed through them. When the Goddess Alchemy Palace had still been flourishing, they had helped the city's people and cultivators alike, never once taking sides. But when it was their turn to need help, why did it come to this?
Just as Sage White-Beard was thinking the situation was about to escalate and was considering stepping in — he found that the young woman who had sat perfectly still all along had somehow already risen to her feet. What was more, she had quietly walked down to stand behind the two Goddess Alchemy Palace girls, who were still facing that harsh reality head-on, wholly unaware of who now stood at their backs.
"...I've stepped right up, haven't I?"
...!
"Who said I wasn't satisfied with their gift?"
In that moment, Su Lin and Mu Xia felt a pair of soft, warm hands settle gently over their heads.
There was something strangely comforting about that touch. Hands just like these had touched their heads when they were small — when they had done something wrong, when they had wanted to be praised. A sensation they had only ever felt from one other person—
"...Empress."
Su Lin's tears came without her realizing it. They should have been strangers. But somehow, standing before Bai Fanxian, she felt a long-forgotten sense of sanctuary — as though every burden she had carried, every crushing weight, had simply dissolved into the air.
Even if they were not the same person, Mu Xia could feel it: a likeness, an unmistakable thread connecting this "Heroine" to the "Empress" they had always known.
Then both girls felt themselves drawn gently into the arms of the young woman standing behind them.
"Your gift... I've received it."
Bai Fanxian whispered softly near their ears. When they looked up, the face that had always seemed cold and impossibly distant was giving them a smile — warm and radiant enough to make both of them flush with a sudden, breathless heat. Bai Fanxian kept an arm around each of them and lifted her gaze to the crowd ahead, eyes cold and exacting.
"As for the rest of you..."
A deep rumble.
A massive pressure surged upward until it seemed to pierce the sky. It tore through the air until nearly every soul in the city trembled! The qi Bai Fanxian released split the earth beneath them, very nearly bringing Sage White-Beard's entire compound crashing down!
"I assume you know where the exit is."