Silvia was red eyed even after 2 weeks. All the servants of the 3rd Princess had either been released or reassigned. Their former mistress had taken all the punishment onto herself. Silvia absolutely believed that fully and smirked at the thought that had frequented her mind of Jia smiling as her life came to an end.
The Emperor had allowed Silvia to sit with Jia until the end. He could not and she knew he would not even if he could. Their relationship was strange for the cultivation world as the Emperor was in the Gold Tier fairly quickly compared to the Iron tier Jia had stopped at. If she had wanted, all knew she could have likely kept going but Jia wanted to become the next 3rd Princess before her brother ascended the throne.
Silvia shook her blonde mane as she adjusted the leather armor she now wore with the sword at her hip. She had been assigned to Astrella per Jia's last request. Silvia knew this was to stop her from following Jia into the next life. The constraints she had imposed on her cultivation were far from Jia, but Silvia could already see that the Gold Tier was not beyond her reach. Diamond would be unlikely at this point in her life, but no one could foresee the future.
The office she was in only had one other occupant with the colors of the Empire. The drapes that allowed the sunlight in were deep lavender with black carpeting and were surrounded by pale stone. It was not as precious as materials the palace used but for the office of the Head Elder of the Academy was plenty.
The dark blonde youth sat bonelessly in one of the red velvet chairs as if the life was gone from his soul. His once bright dark green eyes had been full of curiosity with a smile that inspired more around him. Now, he was just blank.
Silvia had heard that her Highness had attacked him before she could be stopped by Core Students. The token glinted in his hand as he sat there but it no longer gave off any feeling of Qi. The formation had been tied to the imprint of Jia but when she died, it was too weak to maintain itself. Only a weapon or special artifact would retain her soul imprint for millenia to come, but the token was not close to such an important piece to Jia.
Silvia was unsure what she felt but she certainly did not blame the boy. Jia had known the possible consequences of her own actions centuries ago. There had been close decisions over her tenure as the 3rd Princess but only the Emperor and the Darkmoor Kingdom may know of all of them. The 3rd Princess was a check against corruption, but it was not immune to inconvenient political moves.
Thus, Silvia was clear on Lind Frey being blameless. It was not his fault that the convoluted political relations resulted in Jia's death, but the boy clearly was shocked by it. It was a naivety that had surprisingly survived the dark past of his origins. The fine wooden door remained sealed for a long time since she arrived and he had already been here. How long had the boy been sitting in this outer office?
"-y?" A weak voice barely reached her ears. Silvia focused and realized Lind was mumbling now very quietly. "Why was she killed? Why? Why was such injustice allowed?" His voice continued but Silvia tuned it out. His questions were understandable but she knew it was not so simple. Life was not black and white but a nuanced tightrope that only unbeatable strength could overcome.
Qi suddenly flowed into his body like a storm!
Silvia stared wide eyed as a staff suddenly extended from his waist in green flames. It did not even smolder the chair but the elements were flowing like a technique at tier 4 or 5. This was far beyond what he should be able to safely use! She had been about to leap over to him but then the Qi began to manifest physically.
A gentle flame steamed a pool of water as the wind swirled around it. A shell of earth was formed before she realized that a bright spark of light was orbiting the sphere as it began to coalesce into something she did not mistake. It was the world!
The shape of the 3 continents with a smattering of masses floating far out in the oceans as the spark brought a cycle of day and night! What was Lind doing?! How was he doing this?! This was not a simple control of 6 elements into a technique, it was an application of forces made by the combination of those elements.
"Not right. The forces don't balance out. Is it not a sphere then?" Lind was still dead eyed to her eyes but she felt her own dantian disturbed as the live molding of Qi changed shape as the sphere was stretched out flat. The spark of light shifted to the orbit she recognized perfectly but a frown was on his face. "Impossible. This is not stable. It is not right at all. I have to understand."
The model swirled in between his hands as the staff glowed in green flame the whole time. The level of control was far beyond the Soul Realm! Silvia did not know of anyone in any area of the Lotus Empire that could do what Lind was doing at this very moment. His pressure was clearly at tier 4 of the Soul Realm, yet his control far outstripped this low cultivation base. His tempered elements were perhaps a tier ahead at best but she was not proficient in separating foundation from elements.
"Stunning, isn't he?" A voice nearly made Silvia jump out of her skin. An old man stood next to her in a bright white robe with a deep black lined velvet cloak. The Head Elder had snuck up on her out of his inner office without her notice. She saw Princess Astrella staring in shock as much as Silvia herself must have been a few moments ago.
"How is this possible?" They whispered, not wanting to break whatever mental state Lind was in. She had far more questions but she desperately wanted to understand how a Soul Realm could suddenly manipulate Qi so delicately and completely to create a world model.
"Only a guess, but he has to have at least 2 Talents of Soul Eyes and Soul Touch. Further, he must have trained them extensively for some reason. I would guess they have changed qualitatively to the World Eyes and World Touch." Silvia felt her heart freeze. Her investigations had not revealed such Talents in Lind's possession. She had learned a lot, but the exact specifics of his Talents were hard to gauge without testing him directly. "I would even dare to say that he might be pushing the edge to the Sky Realm in both, but there are far too few experts to compare him to."
The last words made Silvia realize Jia had very good eyes. The 3rd Princess had said she felt confident Lind could break through the wall of the World Realm, but only now did Silvia begin to believe it.
"Why is he doing that?" Princess Astrella was blotchy from crying, but she whispered the same as they. Silvia was glad she had calmed down but based on what Silvia had dug up on Lind she knew a possibility.
"A puzzle. He loves puzzles and right now, I think he is trying to make sense of the mortal realm or some aspect of it." Silvia remembered this about Lind but she was unsure what he was so focused on to do this miraculous manipulation of Qi. The 3 watched as Lind seemed oblivious to the world until finally the physical Qi broke down and the staff retracted back into a cylinder.
Silvia was the first to notice that Lind was pale and his dantian was clearly completely drained but the day had almost passed! A Soul Realm had been able to summon and control Qi to such an extent that it physically manifested outside of a technique to replicate phenomena in the natural world. That kind of control was strictly known only in the latter stages of the World Realm.
How much control did this boy have?
Lind's eyes blinked as he looked around him and seemed to be waking up from a fugue state. His eyes were reddened instantly the moment Silvia came into his sight. He slowly stood up and then stood before her. While he had some definition from his cultivation, Lind was still shorter than her. He had a growth spurt left for sure.
"Junior greets s-senior." Lind stumbled as his voice was weak and now husky as well. Silvia nodded at him and waited to see what this boy would say. Her hand clenched into a fist to hit him if he said something idiotic. "I express my condolences. I do not–I do not understand the why of all of this but I do not forget a debt. My life is yours if you ask it of me or you, your Highness."
Silvia trembled as rage tried to escape. This child thought his life was a commensurate price for Jia's death?! Then she froze as Lind produced a jade slip that gave even her pressure. He offered it up without resistance to the Head Elder. The old man looked severely at the boy but took the slip. After a moment, the Head Elder's jaw dropped in shock as his body trembled.
"I–Immortal realm!!!!" Silvia was nearly bowled over. Immortal Realm was a legend. Heaven Realm was a distant dream for any of them save the very talented or lucky. Reaching the Sky Realm was already considered the apex most cultivators could reach in a reasonable chance. This boy had found a treasure of a realm so far removed that even the Emperor would grant a person a noble title.
"I have already memorized what is in this slip but the staff that goes with it is bound to me. If allowed, I will write up all I have learned thus far for the Academy and submit that as well. After that, I do not know what I can do but I dedicate myself to repay this debt to the Empire if allowed." Lind was shaking. Silvia could see it and all her anger drained away. She was wrong.
This boy was not offering up his life to end it, but stating that he would serve those Jia was close to if it was in his ability to do so. Silvia then looked at Astrella and saw her face pale. The 2nd Princess had not had much experience to prepare for all of this and the sudden death of her beloved 'sister' had hallowed her out.
"I am afraid I will have to decline your offer to me, Citizen Lind." The cold tone was very unusual to hear from the young princess, but Silvia already knew what was coming. "Per the Emperor's command and the edict of the Darkmoor Kingdom, you are to be left alone. Further, you are not to be allowed to join any guild or power under the direct control of the Lotus Empire. Your admission to the Academy is the sole exception but you will not be allowed to forge any relations with any member of the nobility of the Lotus Empire."
The shock on Lind's face told Silvia that whatever he had expected, this was far from what he desired. It was not over, however.
"The Darkmoor Kingdom also stated that any demonic powers would not be allowed to forge relations with you either, Lind Frey." The Head Elder was displeased, clearly displeased to Silvia, but his tone was moderated. Silvia noted the surprise and blood drain from Astrella's face. Silvia knew this was essentially a death sentence for Lind Frey if he stayed in the Lotus Empire.
"W–w–why?" Lind stumbled back and fell to the floor. Silvia honestly could not blame him. Being denied any relation in the Lotus Empire included his own Clan and now a massive swath of powers that might reach out via demonic envoys was denied him. Lind was, essentially, being forced to walk alone from this day forth.
"The treaties we have with the Kingdom of Altara to being about our current peace do not allow us to interfere with any royal family member of their kingdom. However, you are also a citizen of the Lotus Empire. The Darkmoor Kingdom negotiated a compromise to allow you to keep attending here and Jia Teng took responsibility for her actions against the 2nd Prince of Altara." Silvia spat at words that made her own heart burn with rage. It was all politics and no one cared who was right. All that mattered was that the strong looked good to the world.
Emerald flames suddenly exploded around Lind himself. The air vibrated as Qi flowed into Lind like he was a bottomless pit but there was no sign of instability or pain. Instead, all 3 watched as he smoothly broke through to tier 5 as easy as breathing.
"Innate cultivator!!" The Head Elder could not contain his words nor his pained look. The edicts of the Empire and Darkmoor bound his hands. This was a 6 elemental with great potential and clear signs of superb control of Qi. All of that possibility was lost to them now!
"I see." Lind's voice had transformed. His visage had become rosy and firm now. There was a smoldering rage in those dark green orbs that left a chill in Silvia's eyes. For the first time in her long life, Silvia knew the Darkmoor Kingdom had created an enemy they should not have.
Lind bowed and left the room without a dismissal. No one corrected him on his rudeness and even Princess Astrella felt regret based on her eyes to Silvia. They all knew that a powerful cultivator had been just scorned by many powers for the petty face of an agreement being enforced at the highest levels. The details of right and wrong were pushed aside for convenience and now, a rare gem of cultivation had been shunted aside.
"What have those fools done?" The Head Elder had quickly moved off after saying those words and neither Silvia nor Astrella could decide who he was referring to.