“I… I have decided that I’ll join the war.”

  Liu Wei took a long, contemplative look at Qingge. Her trembling voice and the sweat on her forehead betrayed her fear, but her eyes were full of resolution.

  “May I ask your reason?”

  “I… to be honest, I had decided to stay here last night. I really, really wanted to. But…Well, I’ve been categorizing members all day. Age, cultivation level, combat experience, type of weapon… I’m tasked with ordering them and assigning them.

  “This hall is primarily made up of warriors. They’re mostly going to the attack force. I don’t even get to meet them. They’re just stacks of paper on my desk. And I’m sending them to the frontlines.”

  Qingge took a deep breath.

  “I know that most of them are probably fine with it. They are warriors after all. But sending them away like this and then staying behind myself, hiding behind my privileged position, feels… dirty. I know the stats and I fit the bill. If I myself were a piece of paper on my desks, the chance that I’d send myself to the attack force is rather large. So I’ve decided to go.”

  An impressive answer. One that spoke of deep reflection. Liu Wei had been worried that Qingge might feel pressured into joining the war to meet some imaginary standards as his disciple, but this reassured him that that wasn’t the case. This was her decision. All that he could do as a master was to support her in it.

  “An honorable reason. Very well, you’ll join the war then. Are you already aware of our strategy?”

  “The three-pronged attack? Yes, I have been briefed.”

  “Then you already know that I will not be part of the same force as you. Meaning I won’t be present to protect you either. Make sure to keep yourself safe, I don’t want to find you wounded upon our reunion. No risky solo maneuvers, your one near-death experience in Moonlake City is more than enough. Understood?”

  “Yes, I understand.”

  “Good. Be aware of your talents and try to make yourself useful with them. Organization, planning, logistics – all often overlooked, but extremely essential parts of warfare. And if you do find yourself in direct combat… well…”

  Liu Wei smirked, and his spatial ring flashed brightly. When the light receded, a full set of armor was layed out on the table between them, snuggly fit between the stacks of paper.

  He had made a detour to the Manufacturing Hall before coming here, just to pick this one up. Having a hunch that the sect would have to join the war, he had already put it in commission several weeks ago. Jiang Peng had made him pay a truly unreasonable price, but that was already to be expected.

  And despite the blacksmith’s many, many shortcomings, Liu Wei had to admit that there was very much a reason that he was leader of the Manufacturing Hall. He had very much delivered.

  The armor was made with some truly powerful beast’s leather, covered in chainmail and reinforced with solid steel in key areas. It struck the perfect balance between being lightweight enough for a cultivator of Qingge’s level to comfortably carry and still being as protective as possible.

  It was both elegant and practical, barely restricting movement. The decorations were beautiful and elaborate, carved in fine lines of gold across the metal pieces, but mostly small and subtle. Enough to establish that the wearer was an important person on closer look, but not flashy enough to attract the attention of the enemy on the battlefield.

  To top it off, Liu Wei’s Soul sense revealed that the armor was carrying multiple enchantment formations that seemed, judging from their quality, like Jiang Peng had employed Sun Liang himself to carve them. It was all perfectly matched to what Liu Wei had wanted from the armor.

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  “Wow…”

  After an initial moment of shock, Qingge seemed awestruck by the armor.

  “A gift from master to disciple. This should keep you safe from harm.”

  “I… Thank you, Master.”

  She traced one of the golden lines with her finger.

  “Can I… try it on?”

  “If you manage to put it on, sure.”

  “Is that… difficult?”

  Liu Wei chuckled.

  “You’ll see. I’ll go greet Elder Shi while you’re at it.”

  He stood up and headed out, leaving a slightly confused Qingge behind. As far as he knew, the girl had never had to put on proper armor, so she wouldn’t know that it was quite difficult to get done by yourself. He could help her of course, but he wouldn’t be present when she’d actually need it in the war either, so it was better if she learned it from the start. Also, a master helping their disciple putting on their armor was a little too unorthodox, even for Liu Wei’s standards.

  Heading straight for Elder Shi’s office, the door swung open on its own before Liu Wei had the chance to knock.

  “Elder Wei.”

  “Greetings, Elder Shi. I hope I haven’t disturbed you.”

  Lan Shi had assumed a meditative pose, hovering a good three feet above the ground.

  “No worries, I’m just doing some casual cultivation to pass the time. What brings you to me?”

  “Several things really, but first and foremost, a favor I’d like to ask.”

  “How can I help you?”

  “I’d like you to look out for my disciple, Qingge. She is going to join the attack force alongside you, and I won’t be there to protect her.”

  Lan Shi nodded seriously.

  “I will try to keep the girl safe.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. It is only natural. What else?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about Elder Bai. Someone needs to keep him in check, should he get any overly reckless ideas.”

  “I see. I was surprised when you suggested him as leader of the attack force. Go ahead.”

  “Well, you see…”

  Liu Wei spent some time explaining his reasoning and how he thought that Elder Bai needed to be handled. Then, the two elders chatted some more about the upcoming war, before Liu Wei bid his goodbye and returned to Qingge’s room. He found her standing in the middle of it with a rather proud grin on her face and fully clad in her new armor.

  “I see you have managed it.”

  “I did.”

  “So how is it?”

  “It’s… amazing! It fits so well; it’s like a second skin!”

  “Hardly a surprise, considering it was tailor-made for you by this sect’s best smith.”

  “It also feels like I am stronger than usual.”

  “That should be the strengthening formation doing its work. It functions basically the same as your soul when you use Qi to strengthen your movements. It’s not quite as well-tuned to your body though, so you’ll have to get used to moving around like this. This enchantment won’t be very useful once you have hit soul-body unification, but until then it’ll keep you good company.”

  “I can feel that there are other formations as well, what do they do?”

  “Well, the strengthening formation is the one on your chest. The one on your back is simply an enhancement formation, it improves the armor’s durability. The one on your head regulates your body temperature, helping you conserve stamina by keeping it low in battle. The ones on your boots improve adhesion, making sure you don’t slip, and the ones on your shoulders, well… try feeding them some of your Qi.”

  Qingge did as instructed, and a dimly glowing shield of energy flickered into existence around her, causing her to gasp in surprise.

  “It’s not particularly strong, because it depends on your own Qi, but this shield is very good at protecting you from the kinds of attack that the armor will be of little use against. Say, a burst of flames, a bolt of lightning or spraying acid.”

  “This armor is… amazing!”

  “I’d hope so, considering the price… In all seriousness, it’s made specifically to aid someone of your level. Most of its functions would be completely useless to a high-level cultivator, because they specifically cover for weaknesses that they don’t have. But for someone your level, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better set of armor… well, I’m sure the Pillar Families have a couple in their treasuries, but these are notoriously hard to get into.”

  “Thank you, Master. I’m not sure how I could…”

  “Repay me? I know a way. Simply make it count and keep yourself safe and sound, so I still have a disciple when the war is over.”

  Qingge’s expression turned resolute. Clad in her silver armor like this, she almost looked like a true warrior.

  “I promise that I will.”

  “That is enough for me.”

  For a moment, the two stood in silence.

  “Very well. I will head out now and depart the sect tonight alongside the other elders in my group. We’ll stop at some of our subordinate sects to spread the word before heading into enemy territory. This is goodbye for now, Qingge. I wish you the best of luck.”

  “Thank you, Master. I wish you luck as well.”

  Her gaze trailed off for a second. Then, she bowed deeply and called out with a loud, firm voice.

  “This disciple greets her master!”

  With a smile, Liu Wei returned a slight bow.

  “This master receives his disciples’ greetings.”