āChi Bupang! 1. Get out here right now!ā Just then, a womanās voice full of anger and alluring promise echoed through the forests.
In that instant, the colors of this whole world seemed to change. The vibrant expanse felt like it came grinding to a halt, or perhaps more fitting was to say it was a picture. Everywhere he looked, it was like a hundred thousand detailed paintings layered on top of one another. Even he looked like a painted reflection of himself.
āRip!ā The sound was followed by a hand that appeared to tear open reality and pull itself out. Cracks spider webbed out from the hand and crackled in all directions. They shook and quivered for a moment then, as though they were glued together, things returned quickly back to normal.
Jue Di thrust himself between Lan Jue and the strange hand, and in that moment Lan Jue felt like he was a towering mountain standing in his defense. And yet, there was a sense of instability in his masterās power. Noā¦ that wasnāt right. Not his power, his emotions.
A figure appeared in the air above them. It dissolves in to a beam of light that shot to earth, and coalesced once again a few feet away.
From behind Jue Diās wide shoulder, Lan Jue could see a very attractive, middle-aged woman. She wore tight-fitting jeans that made her legs look long and shapely, a white jacket that accentuated her other features. Her hair was pulled back in to a simple pony tail. If it werenāt for that strange light in her eye, Lan Jue would have assumed she was around twenty years old.
Right now those eyes were blazing with fury, and they were fixed dead on Jue Di. The whole place was suffocating under the weight of her rage.
Lan Jue knew it without having to ask ā she was a Paragon. The brief moment he experienced the flare of her power, he could sense that it was stronger than the God of Wine heād encountered before, Bize. However, in his memory Lan Jue couldnāt remember a Paragon with these abilities.
Long ago the Clairvoyant had said that there were a number of hidden Paragons out in the universe. This woman must be one of them, and whatās more, she seemed to know his dad.
In a situation like this there was nothing Lan Jue could do to help. He stayed put behind Jue Di, and didnāt dare try to join in with his Discipline.
Jue Di looked embarrassed. āHo-ā¦ how did you find this place?ā
The woman glared at him with eyes like frozen daggers. āHiding! Youāre hiding from me! Chi Bupang, I swear, you could run all the way up to heaven and dig all the way down to hell and Iāll still find you! But this time Iām not letting you go anywhere!ā
āHeh, ehā¦ Xianniā¦ you see we have a young man here. Help me save a little face.ā Jue Diās voice was placative and apologetic.
Lan Jue could only watch, with his mouth hanging open in shock. What the hell is going on?! He thought to himself. I this the same Jue Di? Heās scaring my melons off. 2
In every instance he could remember, Jue Di was always in a position of power. His strength, wisdom and character assured that he was never seen as lesser than anyone else. Forget never seeing or hearing anything like this, Lan Jue downright couldnāt believe what was going on.
āFace? Do you even know what that means? Face. What about my youth?! Ten years wasted, and where are we now?ā The angrier she got, the fiercer her aura became.
āYou head back first,ā Jue Di said, speaking over his shoulder to Lan Jue. He curtly waved the younger man away in attempts to hide his humiliation.
āOh.ā Lan Jue didnāt protest or ask questions. He knew when it was appropriate to ask question, and in this case it would be safer to watch from a distance.
āWait right there!ā The woman roared.
Lan Jue froze in place. His wide eyes slowly turned to Jue Di.
At last the newcomer turned her eyes to Lan Jue and looked him up and down. She narrowed her eyes to angry little slits. āWhatās your relationship with him?ā
Jue Di hurriedly piped in. āDisciple! Heās my disciple.ā
Her eyes hardened further. āJust a disciple? Young man, what do you call him?ā
Lan Jue just stared at her.
She took a step forward, and in a blink she was mere inches from Lan Jueās face ā like she just appeared there. He was familiar with interdimensional powers from the Wine Master, otherwise he would have assumed that was what she was using. This was different, though it seemed to have something to do with interdimensional space.
āI asked you a question. Did you not hear?ā She hissed the words mere centimeters from his face.
A smothering pressure bore down on Lan Jue. He found himself speaking in spite of himself. āFather, thisā¦ā
āFATHER?!ā She screeched. Her voice was so pregnant with indignant rage that Lan Jue stumbled backward to get away from her. By then she had railed on Jue Di, and the little thirty-something woman looked ready to tear him apart. Reality swirled and warped frantically around them.
An orb of black appeared suddenly, as deep and dense as a black hole. It swelled until the two were swallowed up, and then disappeared just as quickly. Lan Jue stood alone now in an empty field, too stunned to react. 3
It wasnāt that he was confused, he knew had happened. When a Paragon reached the third level ā Nirvana ā they were able to flee to interdimensional space.
Jue Di was the undisputed master of such skills, but he knew his fatherās energy signature and that wasnāt it. It was hers! She wasnāt just a Paragonā¦ she was a third-level Paragon!
Lan Jue remembered a talk he had with the Pharmacist, where he vaguely recalled her mentioning that Jue Di was the only one that may be a fourth-level. Her own master, Celestial Master Qian ā was third level, or possibly fourth if he was alive. The Eye of Tomorrow had just entered in to third level when he sequestered himself. Other than those three, the remaining known Paragons were level two or below.
This woman was an unknown factor, at least not a Paragon heād ever heard of, and actually at Nirvana level. Since when where there so many Paragons running around? Was she really that strong?
He suspected there was more to this. Who knew the true identity of this woman his father didnāt seem able to handle?
After thinking for a moment, Lan Jue pulled up his communicator. He had a sneaking suspicion that this new Paragons Domain was similar to the Wine Masterās. He could sense the dimensional ripples she created, but they werenāt as pure as the oneās heād sensed from his old friend. It felt moreā¦ solid. Perhaps the Wine Master would know something.
āUh.ā 4 The Wine Masterās voice crackled on the other end. He sounded as somber as the day they got back from Luo.
āDo you have a minute to talk?ā Lan Jue asked.
āIām having some wine.ā It was code, meaning if it isnāt important, donāt bother me with it now.
āYeah? What are you enjoying?ā
āRieussec.ā
Lan Jue chuckled. āThey say Rieussec is good when youāre in a good mood or when youāre lovesick. So which are you?ā
āIf youāve called to waste my time with nonsense then Iām not interested.ā The Paragon growled.
āIāve found another Paragon, a new one,ā Lan Jue said. āIāve never heard of her. A new player certainly changes things, donāt you think?ā
āWho does she work for?ā He asked.
Lan Jue explained. āIām not sure. Sheās a woman in her thirties or forties, and very pretty. Her Discipline had vestiges of strong dimensional ripples, and her protogenia seems to somehow segment reality. It was like everything existed in a cracked mirror. What I can tell you is that she can summon the Protogenic Singularity. That must mean sheās entered Nirvana.ā
On the other end, the Wine Master was quiet. Lan Jue didnāt trouble him, he knew the old man was thinking.
A little while later the Wine Master spoke up again, but there was a strange note in his voice. āIs her last name Luo?ā
āI dunno,ā Lan Jue admitted. āBut I heard someone call her Xianni.ā
He heard the old man yelp. āHer? Where is she? Iāll be there right away.ā
Lan Jue chuckled sheepishly. āIām sorry, I canāt tell you where we are. It concerns an elder family member.ā
The Wine Master was a Paragon, and had a wealth of experience in controlling his emotions. His momentary shock was replaced quickly with calm once more. He was also aware of this enigmatic āelderā Lan Jue spoke of. āHim?ā
āYeah.ā Lan Jue didnāt need to hide everything from the Wine Master.
āSo you know this lady, Xianni?ā Lan Jue inquired.
He heard the Wine Master chuckle dryly. āI donāt just know her, sheās my aunt.ā 5
Lan Jueās face twisted in confusion. āBut, sheās so much younger than you.ā
āBullshit!ā The Wine Masterās tone was irritated. āA Paragonās appearance remains the same as the day they broke through, until they die. My aunt had incredible talent, and broke through when she was only thirty-seven. Of course sheād look younger than me.ā
āWhy havenāt I heard about this Luo family ancestor until just now? At her level of power, she should be widely known! Sheās not on the Paragon listā¦ā
The Wine Masterās tone eased again. āThat involves Avenue secrets. All you need to know is that she was one of the founders. The Clairvoyant was the Councilās chairman at the time, and she was his right hand. She was also part of the reason the Clockmaker left. Later, for reasons I donāt know, she had a falling out with the Clairvoyant and left. Sheās isolated herself ever since. She used to be the Avenueās secret weapon, if she were still here then we wouldnāt get so much trouble from the other groups. Itās been so longā¦ itās incredible youāve run in to her. Tell her Iād like her to come back.ā
Lan Jue scratched his head. āWell, ehā¦ Iāll try. Your aunt has quite the temper, heh.ā
1. The characters sound like āeat and not get fatā, I wonder if itās the authorās play on Jue Diās insatiable need for new experiences. OR Iām reading too much in to it.
2. Okā¦ yesā¦ that doesnāt make sense, but itās funny and you get the idea. Itās a direct translation.
3. Yup.
4. Grunting is the preferred way to answer summons in China, though āweiā is usually used when speaking on the phone.