chapter 10:
Talent Reassigned
Wan Jie sat meditating within his austere stone chamber high up in the central palace spire. The elven capital spread out serenely below, now a model of order and prosperity under his guiding vision. But greater realms awaited beyond mortal boundaries.
Today Wan Jie would formally begin his transcendence. The tournament demonstration had been a calculated overture to the celestial realm's guardians. Now came the next act - rendezvous with the embodiments of fate itself.
Deep in his trance, Wan Jie's consciousness drifted upward again through the translucent barriers separating material and celestial planes. But this time no watchful forces interfered with his ascent into the luminous realm of the divine. The first test was passed.
Traversing the tunnels of flowing light, Wan Jie felt wisps of profound awareness brush his senses - the outermost thought-forms of celestial beings. Their minds operated on a scale dwarfed his current existence. But the Jewel Crown granted enough of a foothold for comprehension.
Gradually, a majestic structure emerged from cascading hues of jade and gold. This was the Sanctuary of Reincarnation, where souls were judged and human destinies forged. Wan Jie halted respectfully before its towering gates of engraved ivory, waiting to be received.
With ponderous grace, the sanctuary gates swung open. Wan Jie proceeded inward, eyes drinking in details with awe and reverence rather than his usual analytic gaze. Even his peerless control could not fully suppress profound wonder in this place.
Rank upon rank of meticulously carved wooden shelves filled the inner sanctuary, seeming to stretch endlessly. Upon each rested a single scroll of linen parchment, faintly aglow with pulsating light - human lives from beginning to end elegantly transcribed. This was true cultivation on a cosmic scale.
Wan Jie's footsteps echoed through the silent halls. At last he reached the Chamber of Evaluation, where the hooded Evaluators sat around an orb of pure jade light. As one, their unseen gazes turned to regard Wan Jie, his soul laid bare before them.
The lead Evaluator's voice entered Wan Jie's mind without sound. "Unusual...one who has touched the mortal heights to now stand before us by right. Speak your purpose." The words held neither hostility nor warmth, only guarded assessment.
Dropping to one knee, Wan Jie lowered his head respectfully. "Exalted Evaluators, I seek only to fulfill the potential of our existences. Mortal roads can lead but so far. Thus I humbly request your guidance in transcending."
Silent contemplation passed between the entities linking the Sanctuary. To reject this curious mortal risked stagnation. Yet his turbulent destiny could also upset celestial order. His next words would determine all.
"Rise then, audacious one, and receive our wisdom." At their omniscient proclamation, Wan Jie felt new energy channels open within his soul. Talents beyond his current comprehension, but awaiting development through practice. The Evaluators judged him worthy of attempting the next phase.
Standing, Wan Jie bowed deeply in gratitude. "I shall cultivate diligently and ensure your trust is rewarded, venerable ones." When he departed the Sanctuary, his footsteps seemed lighter, buoyed by new purpose. The trials ahead would pale next to the joy of progression.
Returning fully to his material form, Wan Jie opened his eyes, still adjusting to ordinary existence after the transcendent visions. But the Evaluators' gifts pulsed within him still, metaphysical seeds awaiting nurture. He set to work without delay.
Secluded in his chamber, Wan Jie scrutinized his own life force and spirit. He willed the new energy meridians to activate, flooding his being with resplendent power and perception. Blinding, except...his vision could process the sensations. Adaptation had begun.
Over weeks, Wan Jie explored the extent of the mystical upgrades. Titantic forces hurled as easily as pebbles. The luminous strands of destiny mapped and traced. Even manipulation of elemental essence started intuitively rather than through rigid formulae. But these were mere first steps on the infinite celestial road.
Throughout long secluded days, Wan Jie absorbed scattered knowledge from the elven libraries and tested theories upon the landscape. Golden rain to nourish crops, flickering elementals bound to daily tasks, pocket realms folded into being then dispersed.
But he needed access to more complete teachings if he hoped to unlock the full magnificence of his new talents. For millennia, cultivation had been the jealously guarded secret of a select few orders. But Wan Jie would make all knowledge shine like the sun for any with will to reach for it.
Using psychic suggestion, Wan Jie dispatched his followers to seek out wandering sages and obtain deeper wisdom on his behalf through diplomacy or guile. To tide them over in his absence, he conjured a radiant illusion to issue decrees from the palace steps until he could fully return.
The sages came slowly, cautiously. Some drawn by rumors of divine favor, others coerced by Wan Jie's silver-tongued priests. But each guest brought new teachings to fill gaps in his understanding. He absorbed the stolen knowledge eagerly like parched soil drinking rain.
Many visitors tried concealing their full knowledge at first, hoping to leverage secrets for status and privilege. But none could hide anything within the audience chamber where Wan Jie received them. One transcendent glance stripped all pretense away. Then they eagerly imparted all to remain in his favor.
Months passed in a blur of insight and exponential growth. In meditative trances, Wan Jie restructured his meridians and spirit vessel to contain ever more power and complexity, constantly fueled by new knowledge. He teetered at the boundary between mortal and celestial. But the path ever beckoned upward.
During a rare period of integration, not seeking more understanding, Wan Jie summoned Syla, the elven thief who had stolen restricted archives at their first meeting. Her independent initiative continued intriguing him. Perhaps she was ready for a greater role.
Kneeling respectfully, Syla greeted him. "You honor me, Father. What do you require of this humble servant?" Though once boldly defiant, moons of devotion and obedience now bound her totally to Wan Jie's will. Powerful figures all gravitated to him eventually.
"Rise, Child." Wan Jie smiled benevolently. "Your talents remain valuable to the cause. But clerical duties now limit you. I shall grant you new gifts to serve directly by my side." Reaching out a hand, he ignited her latent bloodline powers through a spark of his spirit.
Syla gasped, eyes glowing violet as arcane knowledge flooded her mind. The ancients had always forbidden anyone not of the royal line this power. But her living god showed favor through sharing what was once restricted. "I will prove worthy of this trust, Father!" she vowed fervently.
Thus augmented, Syla became Wan Jie's left hand, quietly helping expand his influence across surrounding lands through persuasion or focused demonstrations of celestial might. None could deny his new emissary who spoke with the sanction of Heaven itself.
The time soon came for Wan Jie to depart his temporal elven abode, his business in the mortal realm complete for now. He prepared a great ceremony in the heart of his citadel where throngs gathered to witness their god's ascension. Powerful figures from all lands he had touched were summoned to pay homage.
At Wan Jie's sign, the congregation prostrated as one. He raised his hands beneficently over their prone forms. "Cherished children, though I must depart your earthly home, fear not. Our spirits remain linked eternally." His image seemed to shine with holy radiance as he spoke.
"Follow the path of righteousness, and in due time, we shall meet again." As Wan Jie's last words echoed magically throughout the hearts of all present, his form faded upward in a column of scintillating light. Only a lingering aura of transcendence gave testament to his physical presence just moments before. The seeds were planted for the next phase.