As Kai Rong stepped through the door of her family's home, she paused to inhale, savoring the distinct scent that filled the air.

Standing there for several seconds, she was only broken out of her trance when a child suddenly called out.

"Auntie Kai is home!"

"Han," Kai opened her eyes, looking at the boy. "Is Grandfather in?"

"He's by Grandma!"

"Ahh, I see," Kai muttered. "Then I think I shall visit her as well."

"Kay!"

Then, just like that, the boy darted off.

So much energy in that one. I do wonder how Lan handles him.

Her younger sister, Han's mother, had six children of her own, not to mention the numerous children her other siblings had.

In fact, Kai was the only one without kids of her own.

Seeing the little ones like Han always reminded me that I'm better off without.

She loved her family and her nieces and nephews, but they were a bit much.

Sighing, she removed her sandals at the door before silently padding through the large family complex. The Rong were one of the oldest families in Ehkorrus; her father –Han's Grandfather– had been amongst the first fifty, one of the few who'd ever met Lord Founder in person.

How strange, to think a character from a father's stories to his children would one day walk off the pages and into real life.

Kai had no shame in admitting she had been one of the many who had believed that the Founder was nothing more than an avatar of E.O.N. meant to guide the early settlers.

A shiver passed through her as she recalled all those months ago, retreating from Ehkorrus, its destruction inevitable. The Chief Protector and those who remained of the Elite Four had remained behind, intending to sacrifice themselves to give the citizens a chance to escape. With their absence, she had been selected as one of the 'leaders' of the tier sevens who were protecting the citizens during their escape.

It had been a moment of utter bleakness. For all the strength she had attempted to cultivate, it hadn't mattered.

And then the sky split open, a flaming vortex descending as if to signify the final throes of Ehkorrus, but rather than heralding death and destruction, from the vortex he appeared. Her family had often been regarded as the most closely aligned with the Lord Founder's affinity, and so while she hadn't seen what went down, she had felt it. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before, greater than the Elite Four, greater than the Chief Protector, greater than even the most powerful tier seven monster she'd ever encountered on her own. The land of Ehkorrus, the concepts and affinities that made up its entirety and woven their way through her family, served him. The pneuma, as far as she could feel, seemed to jump at the chance to obey his command.

When the world itself bowed to the whims of a man, could one call it by anything other than what it was?

Divine.

A heavenly general sent in their time of need; his appearance had shaken many things Kai thought she knew, while reaffirming many others.

Still deep in memory, Kai left out the back of their family complex, admiring the bloodwood orchard. The history of her family and how they had ended up where they were was entirely due to her father. Amongst the first fifty, he had been an early apprentice under Lady Mariah, or Lady Zhizhu as her father had referred to her.

"Father, why exactly do you call her that?"

"Zhizhu. She is like a spider."

"But where exactly does that word come from?"

"A good question," Her father had briefly looked contemplative before shrugging. "A hunch."

Apprenticed under the Lady Zhizhu, her father had taken to one branch of alchemy far more than another, an affinity for alchemical transmutation. Only sixteen years old at the time, he had his first child with Kai's mother within three years, resulting in Kai's birth. Her father, a notable alchemist, and her mother, an early adventurer, quickly established themselves, and from there, even more children were born. From a young age, they had all been trained by both parents, and while her siblings had opted to follow her father's path, she had chosen to follow her mother's.

As for the bloodwoods, her father had shown a proclivity for alchemy related to blood, and after many years, he had even earned himself the honored blood affinity, the same affinity as the Lord Founder. With skill in alchemy and a blood affinity that had been passed down through the family, the Rong clan was the only clan truly equipped for bloodwood farming.

"Good afternoon, Nao Nao," Kai said as she passed through the bloodwood grove, pausing to address a small red bird seated upon the burl of a nearby tree. Nao Nao, technically considered a 'monster,' had been a small egg that her mother had brought home in the early years, hatching it and giving it a home. Far away from being any dangerous monster, a mere tier one, they'd been allowed to keep Nao Nao ever since. Decades later, Nao Nao was still only a tier two, but she was a welcome and common sight within the bloodwood grove.

Pecking the tree once, Nao Nao suddenly turned, facing further into the grove as her beak clicked.

"Ahh, yes, I already heard from little Han that father is with mother, but I appreciate the notice."

Continuing along her path, within the very center of the grove, Kai came to a stop. A small open-air gazebo sat idyllically, assuming one wasn't bothered by the bloodwoods. Within the gazebo, a man knelt in the 'seiza' position, another one of her father's odd terms that he had seemingly made up from nowhere. Clasped between his hands was a teacup, which the man drank from slowly. One of the original fifty, and as a tier four, he was one of the few citizens of Ehkorrus who had shown any real signs of aging, if only to a small degree, his hair having gained a silver gleam within his once purely black locks. If it weren't for the late Old Man Kal, an 'honored elder' as her father had referred to him as, most of Ehkorrus wouldn't have known that one could grow old in the first place.

Across from her father, or more accurately, what her father was kneeling in front of, was a pedestal holding a curved blade with a single jutting back spike.

"Father," Kai pressed her hands together, bowing before turning to the blade. "Mother."

"Welcome back," Her father sighed, indicating with his head for her to take a seat next to him.

Grabbing a cushion, Kai placed it next to her father as she too kneeled.

"I heard you passed through the third round. Congratulations."

"My thanks," Kai bowed her head.

"How was it?"

"He was young, inexperienced," Kai said, recalling her battle against her third-round opponent, a man by the name of Flair. "He's been tier seven for less than a year, and yet he was able to best opponents who have been tier seven for as long or longer than me."

Kai had been a tier seven for around two decades now. Of the natural-born generations, she was the farthest into Tier Seven. The only ones who had been tier seven for longer were those who had undergone a spiritual birth after a wave was defeated rather than a natural birth. Most often, they appeared in their teenage years or early twenties, and they were given a tier from day one. In contrast, Kai spent her entire childhood untiered.

"Formidable," Her father said.

"Indeed," Kai agreed.

"But you won."

"Obviously," Kai responded.

"It was not a question, but a statement of fact." Her father said, the slight crinkle at the corners of his mouth was the only sign of his amusement. "Your mother would be proud."

Glancing at the blade once more, Kai lowered her head.

"It is my duty as the firstborn to carry the will of the family forward."

"You put too much burden upon yourself," Her father tutted.

"But it is the truth. I respect my brothers and sisters for making the family craft a proud tradition, but it was mother who taught me that the way of the world is not always a peaceful one."

"Ahh, so proud, so mature," Her father laughed outwardly this time. "I will not disregard your choices. I am proud of your achievements. Now then, was there anything else of note?"

"The Grinning Demon complimented me," Kai said with a sigh. "She said that one day I might be worth fighting."

"That wild woman has always been that way; do not think too much of her words." Her father said, shaking his head. "Even in the memories of my youth, she has always been that way. That aside, have you yet shared words with the Lord Founder?"

"I have not," Kai sighed. "He remains aloof, apart from the rest of us. He speaks only to the Esteemed Luminary and the Chief Protector."

"Once more, even in the memories of my youth, he too has always been that way. If you do get the chance to speak with him, treasure it, but also make a point of measuring your expectations. The Lord Founder was always different. If you believe the things I say are odd or made up, then the Lord Founder will confound you. He is both unserious and almost childish, while at the same time having a vision that sees far beyond the rest of us, like a curious trickster who may impart foolishness just as readily as he will impart wisdom."

"A prankster god," Kai muttered.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"One might think as much, yes," Her father half-chuckled, half-sighed, almost as if he were considering the possibility himself.

The two were silent for some time, until at last her father spoke up once more.

"Oh, before you next leave, would you mind sitting down with little Han?"

"Is something wrong?" Kai asked, curious.

"No, it's just that, from the direction of his early lessons, I believe his path may more align with that of your mother and yourself. While I can give guidance in the ways of the alchemical arts and our families' interpretations of them, I cannot offer guidance in the ways of battle, of what your mother once taught you and you yourself have since expanded upon."

Kai thought about it for a moment before lowering her head.

"It would be my honor to serve the family."

"And here is what you were all waiting for. The final match of the tournament, the two favorites facing off in a battle to decide the pecking order, and more importantly, who shall receive the honor of gear custom-made by the Lord Founder themselves!"

Kai Rong stared straight ahead, controlling herself from sneering at her opponent, who had no such self-control.

"I wonder what gear I should request from the Lord Founder, right ring girl?" Jaz, her opponent, taunted.

Ignore the words of a fool.

After her battle against Competitor Flair on day three, day four had been far less exciting, the tournament division beneath her own made up of competitors who'd never scratched the top twenty. Her opponent, a Jonathon Kraig, a family name he'd given himself without having any actual family to speak of, had been an archery-based fighter, fighting from afar with skills centered around putting space between himself and his target.

Kai had let him try his best, but switching stances between Reed and Roots, she either completely dodged every single arrow or else punched straight through them. She could have just as easily chased the man down, but it was a good opportunity to focus her mind inward, relying on her senses to react without thinking. In the end, when the man had been on his last arrow, he'd attempted a final, ultimate power shot. Compared to the final attack of Competitor Flair, it was weak and lacked intensity, as Kai had overwhelmed it with only a three-ring Fa Jin-echoed punch.

Which had brought her to the final day of the tournament, against her least favorite foe.

Jazalyn, or Jaz as she was known, had no clan, family, or surname to identify her by, a concept that was still admittedly somewhat novel within Ehkorrus. The woman had been only a few years fresher to Ehkorrus than her own father, and, years ago, she had apparently been considered the 'rising star' of the 'next' generation following the trio of fighters from the first generation. That was until Edward, the 'Quartermaster,' had suddenly found his footing and rhythm and rocketed up. They had even apparently been rivals for a short period before his talent outshone hers, and he took up the mantle as the fourth member of what would eventually be known as the Elite Four.

For fifteen years, Jaz had sat at the top, just below the Elite Four, unchallenged as the next strongest tier seven of Ehkorrus.

Then Kai had stepped into tier seven.

For the next two or so odd decades, the two had butted heads, fighting in the shadows of the fame of the Elite Four. It wasn't until Living Shadow's untimely passing that their rivalry had taken a more center stage. For Jaz, it was her time to finally claim a spot she had felt just shy of for decades now.

For Kai, it was a different matter entirely. The more vulgar aspects of her mind wouldn't deny that the thought of publicly kicking her ass was appealing, but there was more to it than that.

And that was specifically the Lord Founder.

The timing of it all felt too coincidental, as if fate were at play. She'd felt the divine presence of the Lord Founder, a heavenly general who had saved them. Her family was the closest in 'lineage' to the Lord Founder, blessed with a hereditary blood affinity, and her father had even met him in the past. Then the announcement of the tournament itself.

Fate was telling her that it was time - time to cement her family's legacy and establish themselves truly. A family of artisans and her, the lone warrior who was next in line for the head of the clan. She would win the tournament and use the opportunity to learn from the Lord Founder and raise her clan ever higher.

For Father. For Mother.

"Hey, I asked you a question," Jaz taunted once more, drawing Kai from her thoughts.

"An animal is an animal, regardless of the tricks it may learn and the words it may speak." Kai finally shot back, annoyed.

"Flowery words from someone who was pushed to use her ace skill against a green-faced tier seven."

As much as Kai wanted to roll her eyes at the ineffective provocation, she narrowed them instead as she focused herself.

Let your rings do the talking.

"Three"

"Do you remember last time?" Jaz asked, sneering. "When I broke your ribs and shattered your knees?"

"Two."

Let her talk.

"This time, I think I'll smash some teeth and crush some fingers and toes as well."

"One."

Because I'm not the same as I was last time.

Reaching within herself, Kai touched upon what felt like a cool stone just beneath her navel.

First dantian, release.

"Begin!"

Jaz shot forward, her body instantly covered in what appeared to be scale and bone, fused and ridged all over, a behemoth in human form.

Tyrant's Memory, a skill gained after spending years working as hired muscle at the former Tyrant of Earth and Scale's territory. The story went that while underground, she'd found what appeared to be an unbroken egg of all things. The muscle for brains that she was, the woman had decided to eat the natural treasure in hopes it would unlock something within her.

Luck had apparently been on her side, as the process had been rather painful, yet it had done exactly what she had hoped it would do.

While Jaz had no surname, she did have a moniker.

Tyrant Reborn.

As the heavily armored woman shot forward, dorsal plates beginning to glow, Kai Rong stood her ground, letting the cold wind sweeping through her body touch every part of her.

For the longest time, her main shortcoming had been that she hadn't had any form of boosting skill that physically augmented her speed or strength. Reed and Roots could switch between boosting her flexibility and durability, but it offered nothing for her strength or pneuma. Fa Jin was her way around that, the stored echoes of power allowing for strikes that hit as if she were purely invested in strength. Her body was also stronger and more durable than average after years of meditation had given her an innate skill that wove her spirit into her body, spirit and body fused into one.

However, she still lacked a proper boosting skill.

Until now.

"Cinnabar!"

Instantly, the flesh and blood of her arm turned into a blood-red crystal, the application of external bodily alchemy enabling partial transformation. Her savage opponent grinned, still charging forward as Kai prepared her strike.

If only she knew.

In the past, her only way of breaching Jazalyn's tough armor was layering Cinnabar and Fa Jin together in the same fashion she had when she'd put down Competitor Flair. No attempt to use Fa Jin coming from Kai, Jazalyn had no hesitation, certain that Kai Rong would be unable to punch through her armor like all the times in the past.

She was wrong.

As the two opponents collided, it was Jazalyn who was sent sprawling, surprise on her bulky face as a hole had been shattered through the tough bone-scale covering her chest in the shape of a fist.

"What?" Jaz sputtered, taken off guard.

"Come," Kai held out one hand, beckoning, the other behind her back. "Let us dance."

Rory was amused.

In truth, he hadn't expected much from the tournament, and for the most part, he was right. The 'top thirty-two' of Ehkorrus were still beneath the likes of Marcie or Violet, who were beneath the likes of Apostolos, who was well beneath the likes of Rory. Sure, he'd seen a few novel skills here and there, but for the most part, they all fought as if they only existed as far as their abilities went. Of course, Rory was biased, having never had the opportunity to gain combat skills during an ascension, he had never fought from the standpoint of 'whoever has the better skill wins.'

Competitor Flair had been entertaining, mainly from the standpoint of being a rookie who apparently no one had expected anything from. During his first fight, Rory had quickly pegged exactly how his skills were operating, but it wasn't until his third fight that Rory found himself truly entertained. During the early phase of the battle, something had changed, which Rory took as an upgrade to his boosting skill. It had ramped up in acceleration and intensity, but as the man had gradually lost his mind, Rory wrote him off, already confident he knew how the round would end.

And there is the inexperience showing.

Of the tournament, there was only one person he had truly found intriguing, and that had been Competitor Flair's third round opponent, Competitor Kai Rong.

Why does Rong sound familiar?

Given how rare surnames still were in Ehkorrus, the fact that it sounded familiar at all was enough for Rory to dredge up the memories. A young man who had appeared in Ehkorrus only a year or two before he'd left for the volcanic region.

Wait, I got it! Hao Lin Rong. I remember thinking it was curious that he managed to retain so many cultural memories, all while not actually recalling any of the context.

Looking at the woman, he could see the resemblance.

I'm pretty sure her father was of Chinese descent. I wonder what her mother was? Can't exactly ask; I'd have to see her to get any idea.

Part of what made Kai Rong so interesting was that Rory could distinctly sense she also had a blood affinity; it was like a highly recognizable 'smell' to Rory, who'd had a blood affinity since basically day one.

Except I had to commit to ritual bleeding to earn it. Did she go through something similar, or luck her way into it?

That wasn't the only interesting thing about the woman, either.

Her body was odd.

Alright, maybe some rude phrasing.

He had noticed it relatively early on, and after getting a hunch that something was strange, he'd examined her with Eyes of the Architect fully released.

To put it into plain terms, it reminded Rory of Apostolos, but from the opposite direction. Apostolos had quasi-immortality, thanks to his spirit subsuming his physical body, his durability converted into anima, and his body now becoming a spiritual body.

Kai Rong, meanwhile, had a physical body that had subsumed her spirit. Without knowing the full details, all Rory could estimate was that her body had become more physically robust, the opposite of what had happened with Apostolos. The consequence was likely a higher susceptibility to attacks aimed at damaging the spiritual aspects of a person that were ordinarily protected by the physical barrier the body provided, except in her case, her spirit was woven into her body.

The final point of interest occurred during the final day of the tournament. Facing down Competitor Jazalyn-

Did that woman take on the traits of the Tyrant of Earth and Scales? Just seeing that makes my hand itch.

-Competitor Kai Rong showed off one final trick up her sleeve. Watching the fight with his ocular release already fully activated, Rory saw, as right around her navel, what he'd mistaken for some weird physical trait suddenly began circulating pneuma through her body, constantly reinforcing and augmenting her body. It was coursing through her bloodstream, a somewhat inefficient path, given that pneuma wasn't bound by physical constraints. Still, it always ended up flowing back through what Rory presumed was a weirdly magical organ.

He was so focused on simply examining the woman and her odd body that he almost entirely ignored the actual details of the fight itself. Oh, certainly, it was probably an intense bout for the people watching. As for Rory, from what he did 'catch' it was rather lackluster, even with the aspects of the Tyrant of Earth and Scales indwelling her body, Competitor Jazalyn wasn't even half as durable as Zoey.

At least that Kai Rong girl fights in a way that isn't entirely skill-brained.

Her partial transformation skill, Cinnabar, reminded Rory of his own blood crystal projections. The comparison was somewhat shallow, though, as it lacked the lattice affinity that gave his blood crystals their strength.

All in all, when the fight finally ended several minutes later, with Kai Rong standing victoriously over the broken body of Competitor Jazalyn, who'd in the end fallen to an eight-fold echo boosted punch delivered to a spot that Competitor Kai Rong had been wearing down the entirety of the fight, Rory was hardly surprised. Without the strange, magical organ inside her navel that granted her a physical boost, the fight likely would have been a nail-biter, but with its addition, it was evident to Rory that it was just a matter of time.

Still, Rory did his duty and stood, clapping dutifully.

At least I don't have to worry about clearing any dust explosions this time.

With the tournament decided, an ending ceremony concluded with the 'festivities,' a buzz in the air as something like sixty percent of the city had turned out for the final day. Every important figure delivered a prepared speech or the like about duty, honor, and all that fun jazz.

Oh, sure, Rory also gave a speech, but he cheated, spooling off a mental thread that autopiloted all that boring stuff, such as giving a rousing speech and puffing everyone up over the events of the last few days.

Rory's real focus was somewhere more important, after all.

I can use this to my advantage.

Previously, with the custom gear he'd been making, the only person he was hell bent on crafting something super special for was Apostolos. That didn't mean he had phoned it in; he'd still crafted some pretty damn good gear if he said so himself, but Apostolos had meant something special to him.

As interesting as Kai Rong was from an academic standpoint, that alone wasn't a reason enough for Rory's shift in just how dialed in he was. No, the reason was that the woman just so happened to possess many similarities to some of his own skills or techniques.

For Competitor Kai Rong, the gear she would receive would be equipment that carried her through for potentially centuries to come.

For Rory, it was a perfect opportunity to bang out a prototype of his next armor set.

It's not called being a Guinea pig if everyone benefits.

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