Lee looked at the surroundings. The night was calm and a few stars shined in the sky. Sun was keeping guard beside him, while his remaining teammates were either sleeping in the small wagon or guarding the rear. Their captain, Yun Qiang, was meditating on a stone nearby.
He let out a turbulent breath while squinting.
Their small "encampment" didn't have any lights, and he could only rely on his hearing and enhanced vision to check for nearby threats.
Unease filled Lee's mind.
He still remembered how things had slowly gone downhill when they were assigned to the 11th legion.
The first few weeks went well, and they didn't engage in any kind of fight or skirmish. However, with the passing of time, more and more people started dying.
Sometimes an attacking force split up only to get ambushed or intercepted. Sometimes it got directly killed, leaving only a few survivors to report on the matter.
To this day, he still couldn't understand why Lord Tang hadn't ordered a retreat after losing more than half of his legion.
For a second, he felt like he could still hear the pained screams of his teammates, while a ferocious man tore his way towards him.
Lee let out a small whisper.
"Sun, do you think we will win this time?"
Silence fell for a moment before Sun responded.
His voice sounded doubtfull.
"I don't know, but this is not right. This mission is wrong."
Lee turned towards him. Sun was almost invisible in the dark night, and Lee could barely see his silhouette under a nearby tree.
"Why do you say that?" Lee sounded curious while a feeling of uneasiness arose within him.
If Sun had simply said "I don't know," then Lee would have understood. It was a war, and making predictions was difficult. However, Sun specifically said that this mission was wrong, arousing Lee's curiosity.
"Think about it. Our group has ten people in it. Why were we assigned to scouting?"
Lee thought about it for a second.
"Well, they probably picked us at random... the management of the Fort isn't the best at keeping track of teams..."
Sun continued arguing.
"Do you truly believe this? Before leaving, I checked the other teams. Every scouting team has at least seven members. If it's a mistake, then it's a big one."
Lee's pupils trembled a little.
"Well, maybe Liang Wei made a mistake. Besides, we have to scout close to the Astarian Fort. We are bound to lose someone. Even if some of us die, the rest can still retreat and report valuable information to the assault force behind us."
When these words came out of his mouth, Lee felt bitterness in his heart. Saying this was basically admitting that not all of them would make it through the end of the mission.
Sun scoffed at him.
"Speaking of this, why is the assault force behind us by a day? We are attacking a fortress. Even if we report back the location of a few patrol teams, what can they do? A force like that is bound to be spotted by the enemy."
"The only reason to scout ahead is to search for any emergency or killing arrays that could slow down the main force, but we aren't array masters! there is no way for us to find them!"
There was a hint of rage in his voice.
"Wei's plan can't be that simple. There must be something more to this."
Lee fell silent for a second. What Sun said made sense to him. However, Liang Wei was a renowned strategist. There was no way he had miscalculated in a crucial moment like this.
"I trust in Lord Liang's plan. Even if we can't see the complete picture, there must be a reason for this."
His voice sounded hopeful.
"We only need to scout the area that was assigned to us and go back."
Lee smiled. This talk brought back some happy memories to him.
He remembered the days he eagerly followed his master. He was a wandering cultivator with no root or backing. However, the old man thought well of the Liang family, so as his disciple, he had absorbed part of his optimism.
Sun's cold voice snapped him out of his memories.
"Our turn is over. You should rest."
Even if Sun's words were courteous, from the tone he used, he was clearly annoyed. It was obvious that the end of their shift was merely an excuse to interrupt their conversation.
Lee looked at his retreating back before shaking his head and throwing his preoccupation aside. Liang Wei was a famous individual, and it was normal for others to feel envious about other achievements. Thinking about it, Sun was almost twenty-two, making him part of the same generation as Liang Wei.
When Lee realized this, he sighed.
Seeing someone succeed where you failed is already difficult, but seeing someone of the same generation or younger succeed is even more painful. It was normal for Sun to feel envious about Liang Wei's achievements.
In Lee's mind, there was no way Liang Wei could fail.
With these thoughts, his sense of uneasiness started to disappear. Then he slowly approached Aru. It was time to rest.
-Swords of Heaven Sect- Crow Dynasty
Yun Mei watched the sky above; her master had told her that each star represented a cultivator in the world.
Right now, her task was to find her star and link herself to it. This wasn't related to a cultivation method but was related to divination, the specialty of the Swords of Heaven, the sect she had joined.
Suddenly, she felt a strange force pulling her mind. She instantly closed her eyes, chanting the mantra that was taught to her, instantly entering a meditative state.
However, when she opened her mind's eyes, she didn't see her dantian. Instead, she found herself immersed in a sea of stars. Slowly, as she started walking among the shining stars, she felt a strange force pushing her forward toward a certain direction in the endless sky.
As she followed this force, she passed an uncountable number of stars. Some were bright and shone like furnaces, some emitted a cold light like the rays of light reflected on ice, while others were dim like candles.
Yun Mei recalled her master's words. According to him, each star represented a cultivator. If a cultivator's star was dim, then the cultivator was about to face danger, while the cultivators that had a bright star were talented people that had a bright future ahead.
Her master had also talked about the stars' positions and how they could influence each other, but Yun Mei didn't understand it completely. She was new to this, and it would take her time to learn the basics of divination and fortune telling.
Suddenly, the pull she felt became stronger. If before she was the one walking towards her star, now it was her star pulling her forwards. She started accelerating. The stars beside her became blurry, and in the blink of an eye, she had traveled an insurmountable distance.
Before she could do anything, she found herself in front of an extremely bright star. This star was surrounded by a lot of other stars, each giving off different vibes. Some seemed ancient, some looked cold, while others had a youthful feeling to them. Each of these stars was bright, however, none of them covered Yun Mei's star. Instead, they seemed to collaborate to accentuate the light of her star.
The moment she found herself before this star, she didn't hesitate and brought her hand forward. This was her star; she could feel it.
Slowly, a beautiful ribbon of light started forming between the two, connecting Yun Mei's heart with the star.
Yun Mei started feeling warmer, and an incredible feeling of pleasure filled her body. She could feel her cultivation increasing drastically.
In a matter of a few minutes, she completed two stages of the Soul, and if it wasn't for her missing level in the body element, then she would have broken through on the spot to reach the Foundation Realm.
When she reached this limit, the pleasurable feeling abruptly stopped, breaking her out of her meditation.
When she opened her eyes, she briefly gazed at the stars above. Her senses had become sharper, and she could feel a strange sense of familiarity come from the sky.
She let her mind wander for a while. Now that she was connected to a star, she could understand some of her master's cryptic words.
After the sky, her gaze moved towards her two maids.
'Everyone had a connection to fate.'
These two young girls had accompanied her when she had entered the sect, guiding her to the most important places while teaching her the rules of the organization she had just joined.
Now she could see two ribbons of light coming from them.
These two ribbons were plain white and were slightly bent downwards as if bowing towards her.
She smiled. The plain white signified their purity, while the pose signified their loyalty. Their ribbons were only slightly bent. This meant that their loyalty wasn't absolute, but they clearly favored her and wouldn't take any initiative to betray her.
An old, cheerful voice came from behind her.
"Good, my disciple. You can see the ribbon of fate now."
Yun Mei turned around. She recognized that voice. It was her master.
However, the moment she laid eyes on her master, her head started pulsating while her eyes started to painfully burn.
She closed them while bowing.
"I greet master."
The old man caressed her hand.
"You shouldn't watch the ribbon of fate carelessly. Every fate has a weight. If someone's destiny is too heavy for you, then you will suffer a backlash."
His voice softened, a hint of satisfaction could be heard within it.
"Even though it's impressive that you see part of my ribbon without losing your senses."
Hearing this, Yun Mei's pupils shrank. She had only managed to see a strand of her master's ribbon of fate, and she was already in pain. This meant that her master's destiny was extremely important and a lot of lives were tied to it!
Admiration filled her heart. She was lucky to have found such a strong master to follow.
"I understand, master! I will do my best to become stronger!"
The man nodded.
"Good child. Take this, as a reward for your progress. I personally crafted it for you."
A small pendant appeared in front of her.
The pendant was made of a strange blue rock and had the shape of a phoenix. Occasionally, small violet lightning coursed through the phoenix, giving the pendant a majestic and otherworldly look.
"This is made of a piece of thunder crystal I found in my youth. It has accompanied me for my entire life. Now I give it to you. Treat it well."
Yun Mei's eyes shined.
"Yes! Thank you, master!"
The man caressed her hair once again before giving some orders to her maids.
"Tomorrow, bring her to the Pressuring Stairs. I will show her how to train her body."
The maids made a deep bow.
"Yes, Sect Master!"
As Yun Mei left with her two maids, the old man's eyes shined, and for a second, a sea of stars could be seen within them.
"A bright future awaits you, child of heaven."