The Calm Before the Storm

In a country near Crouching Tiger Kingdom, a young woman sat on her flying sword, boredom visible on her face. Beside her, two older women were flying, without the need of any artifact such as the young woman's sword.

"How important can this inheritance be anyway? No one born in such as small place could have been a great expert, let alone stronger than my master, whose inheritance I will already have." spoke the young woman, having been forced into her current voyage.

"Young miss, we are not here to listen to you complaining. As for the inheritance, your master is the smartest person I have had the pleasure of knowing, so I am sure she has her reasons!" said the woman on the left, slightly annoyed at the spoiled young woman.

The three were from Myriad Soul Palace, and the old women were protectors for Bo Ai, both reputable elders of their sect. Bo Ai was the young miss of Myriad Soul Palace, bound to become the next leader of this force, which had an incredible influence over the entire continent.

"I hope there will be fighting, at least. And by the way, when does this even start?" asked Bo Ai, leaving the two elders undecided on which question to answer.

"Your master has informed me that there will be other forces such as the Divine Water Clan there, so fighting will most definitely occur. In fact, we cannot protect you inside the trials, so hopefully you shall be okay." explained one of the women, not as worried as her words implied.

Continuing, she also answered Bo Ai's second question, "As for when the inheritance begins, that would be sooner than you think."

Bo Ai rolled her eyes at the vague answer, but did not pry any further, since the elders were not required to even talk to her, and were simply there as a favor to her master.

_____

In the Flaming Saber Sect, Phoenix Peak.

"Shen Zan, it has been my pleasure to be your disciple for this year, but I am afraid I have been lying to you" Yun Mei said, looking extremely sad about what she was about to reveal.

Shen Zan, sitting on a rocking chair, simply smiled, before saying, "Xiao Mei, do not worry. Did you really think that I, a man that has devoted his life to alchemy, would not recognize a member of the Divine Water clan when I see one."

Yun Mei looked shocked as she heard his words, the feeling of guilt invading her. "Then why... why did you help me and Yun Huan anyway?"

Shen Zan sighed at this, explaining, "At first, I simply wanted to understand the purpose of your presence here, but I think over time I grew happy at having a disciple, and there is no doubt that your are the most talented alchemist I have ever seen. My thought process was that eventually you would be a great figure in this continent, and I would have been one of your teachers. This desire of mine to be recognized blinded me from what was happening, until it was too late. Now... our sect is doomed!"

Yun Mei's eyes were red by now, since this year had changed her in a way that she had not expected. The first day she had set foot in the Flaming Saber sect, disdain was all she had felt, and she had only wanted her mission to finish as fast as possible.

After becoming Shen Zan's disciple, though, she had grown to respect this small sect, and understand that the only reason she was stronger than other people was her background. Shen Zan had treated her like any other disciple, not sparing any criticism when it was needed. This was new to Yun Mei, who had been used to always being complimented by people, who feared her for her identity.

"Master, I, I really am sorry, but my, my family forced me to!" mumbled Yun Mei, sobbing.

"It is fine, Xiao Mei, both me and the Grand Elder knew that forces would covet the inheritance after that attack eighty years ago, so after the initial surprise of seeing Divine Water Clan members in our sect, I understood your purpose for being here. Large families are not easy to deal with, and I understand that you need to follow your parents' orders. I only hope that you will not forget your time here, and cause no harm to the sect, which might be soon torn apart by other forces." said Shen Zan, an oppressive feeling of sadness crashing into him, as he understood what was about to happen.

"Yes, master... no fellow disciple will be harmed by my family!" Yun Mei struggled to say, before flying away, sobbing.

Hearing her refer to the members of the Flaming Saber sect as fellow disciples, Shen Zan had a smile on his face, having at least in part achieved his goal, and changed a person for the better.

_____

In the Yin Manor, Yin Shing and Song Xiu were healing their wounds, while talking about the upcoming fights.

"Fortunately the assassin boss got to us in time, or that crazy old man would have killed us!" said Song Xiu, still shook from the near death experience he had gone through when being chased.

"Yeah, but we need to be careful of the boss, otherwise we might not be able to get what we want!" replied Yin Shing, more worried about the person who had saved them, since he was the leader of an assassin organization.

"Have the other sects begun the attack?" asked Song Xiu, an evil grin on his face.

"Yeah, the Flaming Saber sect cannot defend against the other two sects and the royals. What I don't understand is how they let the news spread to stronger forces such as Myriad Soul Palace, ruining all of our chances at treasures." Said Yin Shing, somewhat angered at the great sects.

When he and Song Xiu had discovered the memoir of Ts'ui Ru, which had been hidden deep in one of the sect's forests, they had initially informed the Grand elder, who had placed the book in a secure spot in the library's seventh floor.

The problem with this was that the inheritance trials would only occur a few decades later, and Yin Shing and Song Xiu would be too old to participate. The Grand Elder, of course, would not allow elders of the sect to steal the inheritance from a disciple, so they had no way of getting the treasures that they so desperately wanted.

After some thought, Yin Shing and Song Xiu had decided to use other sects against the Flaming Saber sect, so they had struck a deal. In return for information about the inheritance, the two great sects and the royals would give the grandsons of Yin Shing and Song Xiu a chance to enter the inheritance trials, and would not go against them if they actually came out with treasures.

This deal was beneficial for all, since it was a way to deal with the Flaming Saber sect before it grew stronger, and a possibility to gain rewards from the inheritance.

Surprisingly, though, the news had been leaked to forces in the mainland, which meant Yin Shing and Song Xiu had a few more enemies that they had to watch out for.

"Do you think our grandsons have any chances, or is our best bet stealing the treasures?" asked Song Xiu, still not sure their plan would work.

"I gave Yin Jing a fragment of Soul Ice, so he should be stronger than ever. That said, I still believe we should use our knowledge against our enemies!" replied Yin Shing, recalling the struggle he had gone through to find the rare Soul Ice for his grandson. Yin Jing had now broken through to the Core Consolidating realm, and mastered a powerful new skill.

"Well, my family took years to find the spirit beast that Song Fai now owns, so I think his chances are quite good." stated Song Xiu, proud of his grandson. The only issue that he was worried about was whether the mainland forces would get jealous of the spirit beast, and steal it when Song Fai came out of the inheritance. Fortunately, he and Yin Shing knew where the exit would be, and they were the only people with this knowledge, since it was the one thing they hadn't divulged when dealing with their "allies".

"We should stop talking, old friend, and turn our plan into reality. First stop... Flaming Saber sect!" Said Yin Shing, having finished his healing session, and recovered from the injuries he had suffered under the elder that had chased them.

"Yes, we can't let the sects and royals have all the fun... I want to see the sect one last time, before it disappears from Crouching Tiger Kingdom forever!"