A Song For The Ages

The morning sun filtered through the mountain mist, casting long golden beams across the upper paths of the Saint Alchemy Branch. Feiyin stood at the base of the Administration Hall, a modest smile curling on his lips as he looked up at the stone structure. Today marked another milestone, another step forward on the path he had carved out with blood, sweat, and vision.

Having reached the Qi Flow Phase, it was time to officially register his advancement. The benefits were not merely symbolic. With his new status as a second-class outer disciple, Feiyin would gain access to better facilities, including a personal room with refined insulation for spiritual meditation and a rudimentary fire vein connection for alchemy. It was a tremendous boon, especially for someone aiming to refine tier two products.

Mu had already gone through this process a few days earlier and had moved into his new quarters. The quiet satisfaction on his friend's face had made Feiyin eager to follow. Now, it was his turn.

Inside the hall, a stone counter carved with runes stood at the far end. A disciple with a grey clerk robe and neatly combed hair looked up as Feiyin approached. The man's eyes flicked to the token in Feiyin's hand, then narrowed as he caught the distinct silver streaks along its side.

"Cai Feiyin, third-class disciple," the man read aloud. "You're here for reclassification?"

Feiyin nodded. "I've advanced to the Qi Flow Phase."

"Proof?"

With calm ease, Feiyin exhaled and let a tendril of essence qi extend from his fingertip. The stream glowed faintly as it flowed out and coiled lightly around his wrist, before dissipating.

The disciple gave a satisfied grunt. "Good control. Sign here."

He passed over a jade tablet. Feiyin pressed his spiritual sense into it, registering his advancement. The disciple placed Feiyin's current token in a device embedded in the counter, a low hum resonated as the stone adjusted its markings. When the token emerged, it bore two silver lines, denoting his second-class status.

"You're now eligible for a second-class residence. Room 94 in the southern quarter. You also now have limited access to one of the branch's auxiliary fire veins. Treat it with care. It's not as refined as first-class or the elder quarters, but it'll help you with your refining."

The disciple gave him a meaningful glance. "And keep in mind, with your promotion, your production quota has increased. You're now expected to either deliver double the amount of tier one products, or meet half the standard output you previously had for tier two products each month. Don't fall behind."

Feiyin accepted the token with a calm smile. "Thank you."

As he stepped back into the open air, a thrill passed through him. With this step, he was one step closer to reaching first-class, where the gate to true power lay.

The gap between second and first-class disciples wasn't just about skill. It was about essence. One had to be an Essence Alchemist and at the peak of the Qi Flow Phase. Feiyin had the former within sight. The latter… he would attain soon. People like Yan Xue had refined tier two products and were undoubtedly Essence Alchemists, but they were still considered second-class due to their cultivation level.

The sect, no matter how specialized each branch was, still held strength above all else.

Later that day, Feiyin stood in his new quarters, eyes tracing over the elegantly arranged space. The furniture was sturdy, carved from smooth dark wood. Reliefs glowed faintly along the inner walls, humming in tune with the fire vein flowing beneath the foundation.

A soft warmth lingered in the air, perfect for cultivation and ideal for refining. There was a small alchemy table to hold and prepare ingredients, complete with stabilizing rings carved into the stone. The attached study chamber offered shelves for manuals and jade slips. A separate refining room bore walls laced with minor formation patterns, designed to vent excess heat or essence safely. These formations were directly connected to the fire veins below the room, and could be activated and regulated through his disciple token, offering a level of safety and control vital for high-level alchemy.

The same disciple token also served as a key, allowing access to his personal room and preventing others from intruding. It was security and convenience, all bound in a single polished jade token.

It was perfect.

Feiyin placed a hand over the central alchemy table. Heat pulsed through his palm as he connected with the dormant fire vein beneath, the formation responding smoothly as it came to life under his token's activation.

"Time to put this to use."

He retrieved his saber and brought it to the refining chamber. This was the beginning of true transformation. He intended to re-refine the weapon from scratch, to suit his current level and to awaken the full potential of the materials within.

He placed the saber on the table, then took out the materials he had prepared beforehand, an alloy composed of refined Blacksteel and a small amount of tier-two Soul-Tempered iron. He had studied their compatibility, learning how their properties complemented each other.

With practiced hands, he began the re-refinement. He ignited the fire vein beneath the chamber, using his disciple token to activate the formation. The room filled with controlled heat. As the saber melted into a molten pool, he added the new alloy to the mix, guiding the fusion with steady streams of essence qi.

Unlike before, his essence qi didn't merely reinforce his body as he swung, it infused with each strike. Each thread of essence qi he pushed into the molten metal felt like a sliver of his will entering the blade. It pulsed with his rhythm, flowed with his intention. His spiritual sense followed closely, guiding the process with clarity and precision.

With every breath, he moved through the five foundational steps of alchemy: Extraction, Purification, Fusion, Refinement, and Stabilization. But now, with his essence qi directly infused, he was no longer just manipulating the process, he was embedding himself into it.

As he extracted the properties of the new alloy and guided its fusion with the molten blade, his essence qi acted like a conductor, weaving his will into the material itself. When he refined the mixture, each pulse of qi helped align the particles more precisely, improving structure and resonance. Finally, as he stabilized the forming weapon, his essence qi held it together like sinew and bone, shaping its rebirth.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

He understood now, alchemy was the art of transforming purpose.

The world created with a purpose. Alchemy elevated it.

As he refined the saber, he could feel the shape of his intent settling into it. The resonance between his essence qi and the material deepened.

"This… is what it means to create," he whispered.

In that moment, he caught a glimpse of understanding, of what runes truly were. Not mere marks, but echoes of intention so complete and harmonious that the heavens took notice. He hadn't formed a rune, so he couldn't verify it, but he felt he was at least headed in the right direction.

With the blade still glowing faintly, he guided it into the quenching bath. Steam hissed and billowed, shrouding the room in swirling mist. As the metal cooled and settled, the saber's shape became sharper, sleeker, refined. He lifted it gently, the blade humming ever so slightly in his grasp. It almost felt alive.

He ran a cloth over its surface, polishing it to a high sheen before giving it a practice swing.

He smiled. "That's more like it."

Before beginning his practice, Feiyin quietly exited the refining room and made his way to one of the rented training rooms nearby. Despite the sturdiness of his new residence, he didn't want to risk damaging anything inside, especially with Baiyu asleep in the next chamber, she would never let him hear the end of it.

The training room was lined with reinforced stone, sigils carved into the floor and walls to absorb stray qi and deflect physical strikes. It was the perfect place to test his limits.

He began practicing his saber technique, -Crescent Wave Flowing Cut-. It was a technique built on channeling qi along the blade's edge, then releasing it in a slicing arc that extended several feet beyond the strike.

Before his first attempt, he took a deep breath and focused inward, drawing essence qi from the lower of his three dantians. Guiding the surge of energy through the precise meridians that ran up his right arm, he carefully modulated the flow. The goal wasn't to send a huge amount at once, but to build it up, a controlled pulse dense enough to resonate along the saber's edge without destabilizing.

It was harder than he thought.

The energy drifted, too thick at first, too diffuse the next. It refused to cling as he imagined, slipping away like sand through his fingers. He tried again, adjusting the channels, the pressure, the pulse. Each attempt brought him a little closer to harmony.

His strong spiritual sense, honed through alchemy, helped him guide the essence qi more precisely. Slowly, he began to accumulate the energy along the blade, pressing it along the edge as densely as he could.

He could feel the resonance building through his oscillation sense, subtle, rising, nearing a crescendo.

When it reached that threshold, he slashed.

The room pulsed.

A wave of energy blasted forward in a shimmering crescent, tearing through the air. It slammed into the training dummies, one of which was severed in half. The others bore deep gouges where the energy had passed.

He froze.

Then, grinning, he tried again.

It took him a few more tries to refine the flow, each repetition feeling more natural.

On a whim, he tried layering his saber intent along the blade as he channeled the technique, letting his will coat the edge before releasing the arc.

The result was stunning.

The energy tore through the dummy and gouged into the far wall, slicing clean through the reinforced stone.

A thrill surged through him.

So this was the true strength of combining proper technique and intent.

He grinned wide, already looking forward to further training sessions. There was so much more potential to unlock.

Leaving the place after thoroughly masking the traces he left, he wiped the sweat from his brow as he headed to the Spilled Cauldron, taking out his newly acquired spatial pouch, and pressed a bit of essence qi into it.

The pouch pulsed in response, revealing its inner space. He explored it with his spiritual sense, a perfectly smooth interior, about one cubic meter in volume. He placed his saber inside, then withdrew it, testing the reaction speed.

"Not bad," he said.

Mu, who was heading in the same direction, smirked as he flanked him. "So? Happy with your new toy?"

Feiyin shrugged, grinning. "It's convenient."

"You're worse than a kid with a new flute."

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Mu."

"Please. I was playing with my pouch yesterday," Mu said dryly, tossing his over his shoulder. "I even gave it a name."

Feiyin blinked. "You named your pouch?"

Mu turned and walked off. "Don't judge me." Leading Feiyin to laugh as he followed.

As they reached the base of the Spilled Cauldron, Lirael waved at them from across the courtyard, her bright voice carrying easily through the air. "Leader! Over here! We've saved you two a spot!"

Feiyin chuckled, shaking his head, while Auren beside her rolled his eyes. "Ignore her. She's been calling you that all morning."

The rest of the Runeweaver Circle, Meng, Yuli, and Zayesh, were already gathered around one of the tables, bowls of fragrant food steaming in front of them. They were chatting, laughing, and sharing updates on their progress.

"You're just in time," Yuli grinned, waving them over. "We were talking about how cool it is that we now have two second-class disciples in our Circle."

"Not just cool," Meng added, spearing a dumpling with his chopsticks. "It changes things. We can negotiate more boldly, and take better spots."

"Exactly," Zayesh rumbled, giving a nod of approval as he cut through a well-seasoned steak. "And the reputation boost is no joke. People are starting to notice us."

Feiyin took his seat and started eating as well, a faint smile curling on his lips.

"Now that we have two second-class disciples," he said between bites, "we're going to need a few more to keep it a proper circle. Maybe I should start recruiting."

"You planning to make a squad out of us?" Meng joked, raising his cup.

"Only if you want uniforms, soldier," Feiyin replied with a grin.

Mu snorted into his bowl. "As long as you don't start giving us ranks, I'm fine with it."

"Oh, but 'Sergent Mu' has a nice ring to it," Lirael teased.

"Absolutely not," Auren deadpanned. "You're going to give him ideas."

Yuli chuckled. "We'll all end up with embroidered robes and matching hairpins."

"Don't tempt me," Feiyin said with a mock-serious nod. "You'll be the first to model them."

Their laughter rang through the air, light and full of camaraderie. Feiyin glanced around the table at the familiar faces, friends who had become something closer to family. He smiled to himself, savoring the moment as he took another bite.

The warmth of their shared meal, the rhythm of familiar voices, it felt like home. For a fleeting moment, he could almost imagine Ren and Yue seated beside him, laughing along. His chest tightened.

"Soon," he whispered inwardly. "We'll be together again soon."

But even that gentle hope couldn't fully drown out the memory that followed, the shadow of Hui's smile, the sound of her laugh, the weight of what was lost.

His gaze lowered, and his smile faded just a little.

"Soon," he promised.