"What's the first world?" he asked suddenly.
Elder Mo blinked. "Ancient court intrigue."
Yin Wuwang's eyes lit up.
Ancient? Court intrigue? He had lived for three thousand years! What dynasty hadn't he witnessed? What power struggle hadn't he experienced?
"Not buying."
He lifted his chin, arrogance snapping back into place like armor.
"A mere ancient world? This sovereign could handle it with his eyes closed. Spend ten million on some broken artifact spirit? Do you take this sovereign for a fool?"
Xie Qingyan frowned. "Yin Wuwang, are you certain? That Little Deer Assistant earlier..."
"That was ABO! Interstellar!" Yin Wuwang declared with absolute confidence. "Heat cycles, mechas—I'd never seen any of that before. Of course I made mistakes. But ancient courts?" He waved dismissively. "Relax, Fuguang. With the kind of schemes mortals can cook up, you think they can outwit this sovereign? With me here, you'll walk through that world sideways!"
Elder Mo's mouth twitched. "Fine then."
He waved his hand. Two faint lights shot into their foreheads.
"Bzzt... esteemed... bzzt bzzt... welcome to... bzzt..."
A child's voice echoed in Yin Wuwang's mind—fragmented, breaking up, like a broken... like a broken something. He didn't even know how to describe this piece of junk!
"...bzzt bzzt bzzt... signal unstable... bzzt..."
Then silence.
Yin Wuwang's eye twitched. The same thing was happening to Xie Qingyan.
"What kind of trash artifact is this?"
"The free version." Elder Mo looked completely matter-of-fact. "Little Deer Assistant—economical and practical. Just occasionally loses connection, occasionally gives wrong information, occasionally..."
"Occasionally what?"
"Occasionally gets you killed." Elder Mo beamed at Yin Wuwang's bulging eyes and Xie Qingyan's icy stare. He waved a hand. "Just kidding."
Yin Wuwang had a strong feeling he wasn't kidding at all.
Elder Mo tossed two red threads toward them.
The threads wound around their wrists of their own accord and sank into their skin, vanishing from sight.
"These are Kindred Bonds. Once bound, you'll be able to sense each other's location no matter how far apart you are."
Yin Wuwang's ears flushed faintly pink. He snuck a glance at Xie Qingyan.
Kindred Bonds?
He knew what those were! Dual cultivation partners often used them to—
Wait. What was this old man implying?!
Xie Qingyan's expression remained unchanged. He merely frowned. "Why do we need such a thing?"
"Last time I sent out a pair, they split up to cover more ground. One went east, one went west. The eastern one got captured and locked in a dungeon. The other spent three days and nights searching, couldn't find him, and nearly tore that entire world apart." Elder Mo clicked his tongue. "So you see, this is for your own good. With these bonds, you can always find each other."
Xie Qingyan felt warmth spread across his wrist. Strange—he could vaguely sense Yin Wuwang's location now. Three feet to his left.
A bond that lets me find him no matter how far apart we are...
For reasons he couldn't explain, the thought didn't displease him as much as it should have.
Yin Wuwang felt it too.
"Alright." Elder Mo clapped his hands. "Everything that needs to be said has been said. Everything that needs to be... ahem... given has been given. Off you go."
"Wait." Xie Qingyan spoke up. "What are our identities in that world?"
"Oh, almost forgot." Elder Mo adopted the expression of a forgetful old man. "Xie Qingyan, you're the Regent—first-rank official, controls the entire court."
Xie Qingyan nodded slightly. Regent. A position with real power. Court minister. Familiar enough territory.
"And him?"
Elder Mo pointed at Yin Wuwang. "Duke of the Realm. The Empress Dowager's younger brother. Commands the imperial army."
Yin Wuwang raised an eyebrow. First-rank military commander, controls the army—that suited his status.
"However..." Elder Mo's tone shifted, his smile turning meaningful. "In that world, you two are mortal enemies."
Xie Qingyan frowned. "Mortal enemies?"
"That's right. The power minister and the imperial in-law—fire and water, utterly incompatible." Elder Mo clicked his tongue. "The kind who fight to the death every single day."
The two exchanged glances.
Yin Wuwang's heart churned with conflicting emotions.
On one hand—getting to openly interact with Fuguang day after day? The thought was... rather exciting.
On the other hand—oppose Fuguang? Even if it was just acting, he didn't like it one bit!
Xie Qingyan's thoughts were calmer, but no less complicated.
Mortal enemies. Just like in our original world.
But this time... it's only a role to play.
Why does that feel like a relief?
Elder Mo watched his conflicted expression, smile deepening. "What's wrong, Lord Duke? Any objections?"
"None!" Yin Wuwang ground out through clenched teeth.
"Excellent." Elder Mo swept his hand through the air. The island beneath their feet split open. "Go forth, my wage slaves. Remember to perform well. Try not to blow up another world."
"Wait! This sovereign still has questions—"
"You'll figure it out when you get there!"
BOOM—!
They plunged into the space-time currents once again.
Yin Wuwang's furious roar echoed through the void:
"YOU CRUSTY OLD BASTARD, JUST YOU WAIT—!"
[Mending Heaven Station · Elder Mo's Perspective]
As the two figures vanished, Elder Mo's smile faded.
He turned to gaze at the withered Wordhart Tree behind him.
Lines of text floated across its bark—the original manuscript of "The Path to Nine Heavens." But large sections had degraded into corrupted code, glitching and flickering. On its branches hung a single small lantern. The orange glow within wavered uncertainly, like a candle flame about to be snuffed out at any moment.
Elder Mo sighed.
He lifted his gaze toward a whirlpool churning in the depths of the Ink Sea. There, a "PAUSED" rune blinked on and off.
"That boy refused to spend money on a proper artifact spirit... Well, whatever. An ancient court world—they should be familiar enough with that setting. It's just..."
He shook his head, a bitter smile crossing his weathered features.
"They don't know yet how deadly that world's plot really is. I hope that proud little demon lord doesn't end up regretting his choice."
[End of Prologue]
Next Chapter: Volume 1 — Power Over the World
In which we enter a world of imperial scheming, and discover that being "mortal enemies" is harder than it sounds.