Chapter Eighty-Eight: I, Too, Want to Learn the Dao of Cultivation

After a grueling battle amid the ruins of Destiny Hall, the prince and Hera found the Wheel of the Two Moons.

“Finished brawling?”
The Wheel of the Two Moons hovered above the altar, whirling as if to flee, only to be held fast by an unseen force within the shrine. “Well done, Prince, High Starseer. Which of you wishes to be my new master?”

The prince gave a cold snort. Hera looked at the wheel and felt the immense power radiating from it. It had no master now; in five hundred years, there had never been an easier moment to seize it. A flash of greed crossed Hera’s eyes, but reason quickly subdued it.

She now understood that the Wheel of the Two Moons would bring calamity to whoever possessed it. It was far less useful than cultivation; just now, she had relied on cultivation to defeat a formidable foe...

“Wheel of the Two Moons,” Hera said, “we want to speak with you.”

In the dining hall, the rulers of the two kingdoms entered into a difficult negotiation.

The jewel that could annihilate the night elves was in the hands of the forest elves, and the king would make no concession. He intended to eradicate the night elves’ threat once and for all.

“Your Majesty, you wish to drive the night elves to utter ruin.” Angela’s smile had long since vanished.

She knew the king had no intention of granting the night elves any chance. He wanted them to submit to him. If all that were at stake was ending the war, that would be one thing; but to force the night elves to bow before their enemies was impossible.

“You should know that even if I agreed, the other night elves never would!” Angela’s tone turned threatening. “Are you not afraid we will perish together?”

“I can destroy you before that happens.”

The king remained unmoved. So long as he destroyed the Soul Gem, the rampaging monsters would become the best barrier between the night elves and the forest elves. He did not believe the night elves possessed the means to drag everyone down with them.

“It would be better for you to execute the resisters than to see your kingdom destroyed.” He looked at Angela. “If you accept my terms, the forest elves will send troops to help you clear out the monsters.”

Angela’s expression darkened. This king had the night elves dead to rights. If they did not choose submission, he might truly drive them toward destruction.

Perhaps he had never intended to negotiate at all; destroying the night elves was his priority. With that Soul Gem in hand, neither the night elves nor the Wheel of the Two Moons would remain a threat to the forest elves.

“He no longer sees me as his daughter at all...”

A wave of piercing sorrow consumed Angela’s heart. She clenched her fingers, then steadied her breathing.

“Your Majesty,” Angela said, equally unwilling to yield, “have you not yet heard of the Valkyrie?”

“The Valkyrie?”

The king cast a questioning glance at Lin Wen.

Lin Wen told him of the Valkyrie’s appearance, and the king’s expression changed slightly. “What was the Valkyrie doing there?”

The Valkyrie would not meddle in mortal affairs without reason. Since she had appeared in the night elf kingdom, there had to be a cause for it—and the king did not want the Valkyrie tied to any of this, for that would affect his negotiations with the night elves.

“I’ll tell you why.” Angela found her opening and relaxed. “She was drawn here by demons.”

“Demons!”

The king’s heart sank. His worst suspicions seemed about to come true.

“What do you mean?”

“...Exactly what you think it means.” A smile appeared on Angela’s face. Seeing the iron-faced king forced onto the back foot improved her mood considerably. “The night elf kingdom has been invaded by demons. Yes—that monster is the work of demons.”

The king’s face could hardly have looked worse.

The ruby in his hand cried out, “Nonsense! That monster was created by my own hand!”

Angela lifted her golden eyes. “I hear you spent thirty years designing your appearance. Who told you to do that?”

“Of course it was my own idea...” the ruby said loudly, but then it stopped short. “No, wait, someone did tell me to do it... Who was it? Why can’t I remember?”

Angela’s tone was mocking. “A pawn used by demons often does not realize it has been used.”

She turned back to the king. “Your Majesty, you are convinced that monster is only the night elves’ enemy, but will it truly spare the forest elves from disaster?”

The king did not answer, but if the monster was connected to demons, he could be certain of one thing: after devouring the night elves, it would become the forest elves’ greatest enemy. The demons hated the forest elves even more than the night elves. Their skill at creating monsters was first-rate; they could easily turn the creature’s hunger upon the forest elves instead.

“We are both kingdoms trapped in the demons’ snare.” Angela’s eyes flashed with cold light. “They made that monster appear harmless to the forest elves precisely so you would lower your guard.”

“But if the forest elves do not help us deal with it, in the end it will become your nightmare as well.”

The king stared at Angela, weighing every possibility in silence.

He would not easily trust her words; and yet the timing was too uncanny. Recently, several unusual events had occurred in the human world, all said to be linked to demons.

The king had already caught the scent of war. He knew there was a great deal of truth in what Angela said.

“The upheaval in the night elf kingdom is merely one part of the demons’ larger scheme.”

The king spoke, and Angela nodded. She glanced at Lin Lei. “If he had not uncovered that monster in advance, perhaps all of us would have been in serious trouble.”

“Why don’t the two of us each step back a little and join forces first?” Angela rose and moved to Lin Lei’s side. “We will deal with that monster together, and for as long as I live, I swear I will not wage war against you.”

The course of the negotiation had reversed.

The king fell into thought, but before he could answer, Angela saw a maid rush into the dining hall.

“Xiaoqian?” Angela turned. “What is it? Weren’t you supposed to be protecting the Wheel of the Two Moons?”

The instant she turned away, Lin Lei vanished.

“What—who took him away?”

Angela’s eyes turned cold. The maid hurriedly dropped to her knees.

“Your Majesty, I have urgent news,” she said anxiously. “Destiny Hall has been seized by those resisters. They say they will hand the Wheel of the Two Moons to the little prince. I think... he must have been summoned there.”

“Brazen!”

Angela swept her sleeve and teleported at once to the ruins.

“My queen.”

A figure stood in her way.

“General, what are you doing?”

“We are choosing a new master for the Wheel of the Two Moons.” The general stood at the forefront with a sword in hand, behind him hundreds of night elves in black. “Before the ritual is complete, you may not enter and disturb him.”

“Absurd. He cannot possibly wield the Wheel of the Two Moons.”

Angela looked down coldly at the gathered night elves. Outsiders could never obtain the wheel—yet these people had gone so mad as to place destiny in the hands of an outsider.

Utter fools. Her own negotiation was on the verge of success, and they chose this moment to make a spectacle of themselves. Were they not just causing her trouble?

Angela looked behind the general and saw, to her shock, one of her own trusted aides standing there as well.

“Martha, I ordered you to guard this place. How dare you betray me!”

Countess Martha was white-haired and elderly. One of the four responsible for protecting Destiny Hall, she had instead sided with the general and seized the remaining three.

“Your Majesty, I have thought it through carefully.”
Martha leaned on her staff and stepped forward. “I want to learn cultivation too.”

Her formidable rival Hera had said that cultivation could restore youth, and she had not sounded as though she were lying.