Shi Qingxuan stared at the blinding pillar of light before him.
Vast amounts of pure spiritual energy thundered from the heavenly ascension before him, the civilians and cultivators alike behind him gasping in awe at the sight. The pure white power that was tinged with a grand gold reached up to the sky, piercing through the lofty clouds.
Qingxuan stood silent, eyes soaking up the sight before him. He could feel his own spiritual veins pulse in response to the call of the heavens, reminding him of what he had to do.
The boy, just shy of reaching fourteen years of age, burned the once in a lifetime image into his brain. He could immortalize it later through a drawing or a sculpture for his brother's followers to worship when his influence grew, but there was something he needed to do now before it was too late.
He clutched the fan in his hands tighter, his knuckles going white at the strain.
His eyes closed as he breathed in and out, calming himself and slipping into a meditative state. He could feel the flowing spiritual energy in the air, filling the skies with its abundant power. His own meridians reached out to those rivers of energy, tapping into their reserves. They throbbed as they began to slowly but surely tug a portion of those reserves closer to themselves, absorbing the heavenly light.
Qingxuan bit down a hiss of pain as he got a bit too careless with one such portion, the spiritual vein that was absorbing it withering instantly from the strain of taking the brunt of the unchecked divine energy.
It felt worse than receiving a bad heart attack.
And Shi Qingxuan, who had lived and died at a young age before he was even 'Shi Qingxuan', would know how that felt.
As the effects of the ascension began to fade, taking the pure spiritual power with it, his own spiritual veins, having been heavily boosted in raw power, stretched out to grab the last bits of the divine energy as it faded.
Shi Qingxuan opened his eyes, catching the sight of the last of the heavenly lights dimming into the natural lighting. He felt his own cultivation jumping up in severe leaps of progress, propelled by the power he gained once the pure spiritual energy began to properly assimilate with his own spiritual veins.
Everyone else was watching the heavens. Their eyes were focused on a particular spot in the sky where the clouds had burst apart, pierced through by the ascension of Shi Wudu. When noise picked back up again, it was in smaller, quieter whispers at first. The crowd was filled with amazement at what they had witnessed.
Those whispers quickly evolved into proud cheering, for they had witnessed the event of a lifetime. Several of their cultivation brothers surged forward to congratulate the younger Shi on his elder brother's ascension, glee written all over their faces at the prospect of one of their own ascending to the heavens.
The town was filled with cheer for days to come, everyone hastily working to erect a temple in worship of Shi Wudu, the newly ascended Water Master. This event alone would become something that brought honor to their land for years to come, after all. After what had happened to the poor boy's parents, the united community was the one that practically raised the two brothers, after all.
Shi Qingxuan smiled as he accepted everyone's good words with polite greetings and thanks. These were the same townspeople that sneered at the two only days before, the same martial brothers who took one look at their deceased parents and made snide remarks to the two who, in their eyes, were lower in status then they would ever be.
It was fine though. Everything was fine.
He zoned out everyone's cheering eventually, looking down at the palm of his hand. He began to lightly trace the palm lines etched onto his skin, feeling his own power shine through even his mortal body.
Qingxuan clasped his hands together, a shiver going down his spine.
No matter how different in personality he was to the original, the end result it boiled down to would be the same. His fate had still been traded, and an innocent man's fate had still been stolen. Fate was inescapable. It was just that it was up to him to determine how he lived through the choices he had the freedom to choose.
"A-Xuan!" A youthful voice called out from behind him, causing the boy in question to turn around. "We're carrying some salvageable parts of the shipwreck back to town, mind helping us?"
Qingxuan turned around to see the son of the town doctor, Yanyu, waving him closer. He was carrying some wooden planks stacked neatly on top of each other. Yanyu gestured towards another stack of similar size beside him, smiling all the while.
"Of course." The younger of the Shi brothers agreed, gently pushing through the crowd with polite apologies to reach him. "I'd love to help."
It was all he could do, after all. Living with a stolen fate and thriving on borrowed time, he felt the guilt more than anyone. His brother was completely unaware that he knew the truth behind the sudden disappearance of the Reverend of Empty Words. Shi Wudu had sacrificed practically everything to save his beloved brother, and was willing to live with the choices he had made.
Shi Qingxuan could do nothing but help those around him with delicate smiles and his hard work. Even if he did put effort into advancing his cultivation, to ascend into the heavens, it would all be handed to him on a silver platter at the cost of another's success.
The only thing truly unaffected was his own reactions, his own choices to make when treating those around him. He could bite back at the hands that fed him, bitter at the world and its unfairness, and he would receive nothing but his own short-lived satisfaction among the bitter rage he would stir up. Or he could accept what he was given, the hand he was dealt. Shi Qingxuan had ruined one life; he would not ruin another.
Kindness was the choice he was given, and his answer was yes.
Shi Wudu brought him up to the heavens as his first and only junior official not long after.
The heavenly officials that had observed the process whispered behind their backs, their age old boredom fanning the flames of gossip. They talked of a cold and aloof elder brother, so young yet so strong, already gaining mass respect as the beloved Water Master. They talked of a kind and warm younger brother, one even younger and not even having reached the age of fourteen before he was brought up to the heavens.
Several officials shrugged this off, saying that it was no more than familial love that had brought him to the Lower Court of the heavens. Most of this died down once both Shi brothers began to become a bigger presence within the courts.
Shi Wudu became rather infamous for his sharp tongue and arrogance, as well as his growing power that was still booming with new worshippers flocking to build and serve at his newly built temples. His power also received a huge jump when he demanded that all ships that wished to sail must make an offering to him in advance, which made both his influence and infamy soar. It also carried with it the title of the 'Water Tyrant', naming the man a bad influence, though nobody would dare say it to his face.
His younger brother, on the other hand, gained a rather glowing reputation for his eagerness to help and lend a hand. All you had to do was ask him for a quick favor and he would agree, no strings attached. Most heavenly officials, those of all courts alike, tended to drop a duty or two onto the young boy once they checked that he was credible and his work was fine.
The higher ranking civil and literature gods in particular jumped at this, as their palaces were often overworked with the trouble the martial gods stirred up. It wasn't entirely uncommon for the deputies of said martial gods to ask for assistence on cleaning up after their generals either, much to the annoyance of Qingxuan's older brother
Shi Qingxuan could always be seen walking around the streets of heaven, arms full of materials and more likely than not working diligently on a report some random Middle Court deputy thrusted onto him. The sight did deter one or two of those asking for extra hands on deck, but most ended up asking and receiving anyways.
It had first started with smaller favors from less influential civil gods hoping to get some help in sorting through or writing out some of the files, but once others caught wind of his willingness to help paired with his competence, eyes were quickly drawn and favors were quickly exchanged.
One request in particular was from a god of the Middle Court, one that served under a martial god of the east. He asked for Qingxuan to complete a task in the mortal realm; he had planned an outing with some friends beforehand, and the time limit for the task interfered with that. He said he'd send the information through a scroll the next day, which was when the task needed to be started if he wanted to finish on time. Shi Qingxuan had agreed, not thinking much of it at the time. Gods asking for tasks to be done in the mortal realm wasn't too common, but he assumed it was the usual collecting some rare plant or sending of a message.
Shi Qingxuan had been too overwhelmed to think much of it. He was practically swimming in assignments given by the gods around him, and it would be nice to take a break in the mortal realm where nobody could just walk up to him and ask for yet another favor.
He had celebrated his fourteenth birthday with his beloved brother not long ago, and had received many congratulations. He didn't get many requests that day, only about eight or so from those unaware of the special day. Qingxuan accepted them gratefully, and used the free time to complete the tasks he needed to catch up on.
There had been a rather large influx of people needing assistance afterwards though, so he could really use the time to finish the tasks he was given.
It turned out that the task he needed to complete was the eradication of a minor nightmare curse in a village within the martial god's territory. Qingxuan got the sneaking suspicion that this wasn't a task the deputy god was just allowed to hoist onto a junior official, especially one with his age and experience, but shut down that train of thought quickly.
He was asked to help, and so he would. He forced himself to look on the positive possibilities, that the deputy god must've had some kind of unrevokable meeting of great importance and needed the task done.
Qingxuan descended to the mortal realm with some assistance from his brother, who seemed sour at the very idea that his brother was being pushed down all the way to the mortal realm for a task some random god couldn't be bothered to complete.
His younger brother had placated him, saying that he wanted to visit anyways and how the curse was an interesting subject of study. Shi Wudu still wasn't happy at his departure, but like their difference in opinion about Shi Qingxuan's insistence on helping everyone and anyone around him, the elder of the two eventually relented and let him go.
Shi Qingxuan coughed out impressive amounts of blood as he leaned against the outer walls of the mayor's manor near the center of the village, his body shaking at the strain.
He could feel the throbbing demonic energy of the curse reach out to choke the life out of him, and batted the attempts away with a pulse of his own spiritual energy. It detered the forces long enough for him to catch his breath, but the effect wore out quickly and the demonic energy lunged at him once more, this time latching onto his meridians.
Qingxuan bit back a scream as he stumbled, the impure energy having tainted a branch of his spiritual veins and rapidly searching to do the same to his core. He was forced to shove his eyes closed as his vision blurred, the last of his concentration reaching into his cultivation to tap into his reserves.
He could feel the heavenly spiritual power that he had absorbed from his brother's ascension respond to his call. It had integrated with his own system, and was likely the only reason it had taken the curse so long to take affect on his cultivation.
The curse itself had been misclassified from the start. It wasn't a nightmare curse, but rather one that degraded and absorbed the spiritual energy of the people it affected, regardless of if they were cultivators or not. The nightmares were only a part of the side effects of the curse ripping apart the natural energy of its prey. It certainly couldn't be called anything minor, and he had doubts that it could even be called a 'curse.'
Qingxuan could feel the demonic energy locate his core, the rotten energy reaching out to taint it as well when he forced his pure reserves of spiritual energy to purge it from his system, flushing out the curse with an overwhelming amount of heavenly spiritual energy.
He commanded his own pure energy to do to the curse what it had tried to do to him. The pure energy latched on to the impure energy generated by the curse, and chased it down to its core. He could feel the central ball of resentment that formed the curse flinch back at the heavenly power, scrambling to prepare its defenses.
With so little time to prepare them, the curse began desperately channeling its demonic energy to coil up on itself, to buy what little time it could. It was no use, as the divine energy cut through it like butter. The demonic core began to crack under the pressure, and the suffocating air surrounding the village began to clear.
The remaining townspeople, realizing the shift in the atmosphere, took tentative steps and peeks outside their homes. They could see a young man, a cultivator by the looks of it, faintly glowing with spiritual energy. The demonic energy that had swirled across the town's ghost streets in clumps were breaking down, skies that had been perpetually covered in storm clouds were beginning to shift, letting precious rays of sunlight peek through the openings.
The curse seemed to withdraw on itself, curling up before it exploded in a jet black wave of demonic aura. The cultivator bit down a hiss of pain at the sudden shock that was sent to his meridians, divine energy working hastily to steady his cultivation.
The curse had lifted, and the suffocating aura had disappeared. Shi Qingxuan fell on his knees, pain overwhelming his senses. The sky parted, revealing a clear blue sky and a shining sun that shined down on the town.
The townspeople stepped out of their homes and under the bright sky, in awe at the sight that they had missed for so long. They looked to the young cultivator on the ground, and felt nothing but wonder at the boy who had cleared their plight at such a young age.
Their awe accumulated until it turned into raw power, the divine energy integrated within Qingxuan's system pulsing in recognition at the energy being generated. It reached out to grab onto the energy, pulling it in and restoring the boy's spiritual reserves as they eased the pain.
It grew and grew in might, cultivation soaring at the power of the people's awe, at the people's worship . The spiritual power grew until it began to take shape, reaching for the sky from the cultivator's back and core area in the shape of two pure white wings. Their desperation to reach the heavens did not go unheard; the gates of heavens creaked in recognition of the call, and opened to welcome their newest child to the land of paradise. v
The earth itself thundered as a pillar of light stretched, spreading massive spiritual energy across the land. The ray could be seen for miles, and the mortals who witnessed it knew exactly what it was. The light parted the clouds in the sky, dispersing the clouds for as far as the eye could see. And yet despite the lack of cover, the people could feel the telling drops of rain fall from the sky. Despite the lack of clouds, the heavens wept tears in response to the boy's bravery. They had been blessed with a sunshower. The ascension of a god was truly something to behold.
Shi Qingxuan had ascended, barely fourteen years of age. He was going to be fourteen for the rest of eternity.
He opened his eyes to see the gaping faces of heavenly officials and the grand streets of the Upper Court, the smiling face of the Heavenly Emperor greeting him. Shi Wudu broke apart from the crowd, rushing towards him and placing a hand on his shoulder as his eyes hurriedly scanned him for injuries.
Qingxuan didn't feel injured; he felt great, actually. Though, he did feel weighed down a bit, and tried to check by looking behind him to see a pair of pure white wings casually present on his back. He couldn't hold back the gasp of awe that escaped his mouth as he tried stretching the new appendages, curiously amazed at the development.
Shi Wudu sucked in a sharp breath as he lightly brushed his hand against the feathered limbs, narrowing his eyes. He had an unreadable look on his face as he stared at his younger brother.
"Welcome to the Upper Court." The voice of the Heavenly Emperor, Jun Wu, said. The two brothers turned to him and the rest of the heavenly officials standing behind him at those words. "This one greets the Wind Master, Shi Qingxuan. Congratulations on your ascension."
The elder of the brothers wrapped a protective arm around Qingxuan's shoulders. His eyes flashed with an emotion Qingxuan couldn't see before it was gone in an instant, Shi Wudu squeezing his shoulder once before letting go.
Shi Qingxuan answered, "Many thanks for your kind words. This lowly one greets the Heavenly Emperor."
Jun Wu only hummed in reply, a contemplative glint in his eyes and a gentle smile on his face. He seemed to look over the newly ascended Wind Master before nodding, turning to walk back to his palace and whatever duties he had to attend to.
Almost as if an invisible dam had been broken, heavenly officials that Shi Qingxuan vaguely recognized as those who'd asked for favors and the like surged forward like the tides of the sea, sending congratulations and bright greetings his way.
Shi Qingxuan accepted them with a happy smile and thankful words dripping with gratitude, but he knew better.
These were the same heavenly officials that were willing to hoist all of their unwanted work onto a fourteen year old. These were the same heavenly officials that sneered behind his back at his naivety, only to come crawling back, smiling with poisonous sweet words asking for more of his assistance.
Shi Qingxuan calmed the bitterness that had begun to creep into his thoughts, and dismissed anything that could ignite anger in his character. Gods were human once, and they all have their flaws. He told himself. It is up to you to give your kindness. It was the only choice you were given and you will make the most of it.
And so he accepted their praise with hidden intentions and flowery words with double meanings. He accepted the reminders that the gods gave them of their relations, of the reminders that he had yet to complete the task they gave him.
He acknowledged and accepted their favors and their faults, and watched silently as his rose-tinted glasses of a perfect heaven fell apart and shattered at his recognition of the venomous snakes that gathered, camouflaged within the lovely flower garden of saints.