~~~

Lei Kong is taking a walk when he sees a merchant with a wooden cart trying to make his way up the steep streets of Rumbling Thunder City. The merchant’s cart is so loaded with goods that even the two mules pulling it are not enough. Merchants often pay to have their merchandise transported through the canals, but this one has jumped down from his cart to help the mules push instead. He must not be particularly wealthy.

“Let me help you with that,” Lei Kong says, walking up to the man to help him push.

The cart is heavy, but he is a cultivator in the True Realm. He could carry it with one hand if he wished to. After crossing a few blocks, Lei Kong tells the merchant to get on the cart and leave the pushing to him, an offer the man is all too grateful to accept. He’d been on the verge of collapsing already. Best for him to rest while the mules pull and Lei Kong pushes.

With two hands.

The day his lord returned his arm to him, Lei Kong spent the whole night staring at it. Even now, his eyes cannot help but look at his restored limb with wonder. Where there was once emptiness and the coldness of his prosthetic, there is now warmth and blood that flows. He can feel the aged wood against his palm and the cloth of his sleeve brushing against his skin. He can feel his Qi flowing through every inch of his body.

It is far more than he deserves. However, this is not a matter of merit. His arm is there so he can serve his lord better. His body is whole to endure the tasks ahead.

Lei Kong knows his purpose well.

As Lei Kong reaches the top of the street, the merchant thanks him and even offers to pay him for his help. Lei Kong respectfully declines and continues on his path, making his way across the wealthy streets of Rumbling Thunder City. They are wide and covered in blue cobblestones that shine like jewels. The gardens are green, fertile, and full of flowers. The houses are large and elegant.

He cannot believe a city like this exists in the Storm Dragon Empire he grew up in.

Lei Kong is no stranger to wealth. The Lei Clan is one of Murong Bang’s staunchest supporters, a position they have greatly privileged from over the years. As Lei Kong grew up, he saw the halls of Thunder Blade Fortress restored to their former glory and more. That increased wealth, however, rarely made its way to the lower classes.

Murong Bang encourages success through might. Those who wish for prosperity need to join the army and thrive. The rest are left to waste away. As a consequence, crime and poverty are rampant in his lands. The situation is completely different from that of Rumbling Thunder City.

Lei Kong frowns and shakes his head to banish those thoughts from his mind. Now is not the time for them. He has already arrived at his destination, one of the mansions near the top of Rumbling Thunder City. He walks around and waits near a tree by the back door.

He does not have to wait long.

“Finally,” says a disciple from the Eternal Flame Clan as he leaps down from the tree. He is Ten Zichun, one of the disciples that went to the Dead Plains with his lord. “I was starting to wonder if you weren’t going to show up.”

It is true he is a little late. Had he used Thousand Steps of the Thunder God, Lei Kong could have been here in less than a second, but his lord has forbidden him from using that technique while in Rumbling Thunder City. The odds of someone recognizing it are not zero. Best for all if no one has to ask why there is a member of the Lei Clan in the city.

For similar reasons, Lei Kong chose to walk instead of leaping across the rooftops.

“I had to take care of other matters first,” says Lei Kong. His lord would have approved of him helping that merchant. “But that is not important right now. I am to tell you my lord has not changed his mind.”

In a few days, many of the disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan will depart for the front lines. Naturally, his lord has been chosen to go to the most difficult battlefield. Those who prove themselves are entrusted with more responsibilities, and though he does not seem to realize it, his lord is a natural leader. Many disciples had volunteered for this mission because they wanted to serve under his lord’s command again. Ten is one of them, and he had been eager to go to the front lines with his lord.

However, it is not to be.

“You are to remain in Rumbling Thunder City.”

It is not the answer Ten wanted, something all too easy to see. His body almost vibrates with quiet intensity as he struggles to control his anger. In Murong Bang’s army, this would be the prelude to a brawl. Here, it merely leads to Ten taking a deep breath to drain the tension out of his body.

“Why?” Ten asks him with a mix of anger and desperation. “Why do I have to stay while so many others go? I should be there to help Senior Brother!”

“It is not up to people like us to question my lord’s choices,” Lei Kong reminds him. “Still, my lord has decided to share his reasoning with you. Be grateful.”

Other people would have scoffed at his words. Ten nods seriously and prepares to listen dutifully. Out of the many companions his lord has made, Ten is the one Lei Kong most approves of. He understands the proper respect his lord is owed.

“My lord requires people he trusts to stay here and observe his foes,” Lei Kong tells him. The Core Disciple, Yuan Tao, will remain in Rumbling Thunder City. “It is because of this that you have been chosen. You are strong, Ten Zichun, and you are one of the disciples who returned from the Dead Plains alive. As such, you enjoy a certain amount of prestige.”

Nowhere near as much as his lord, obviously, but there is a reason why Ten is being hosted in such a nice house.

“That makes you suitable to stay.”

“Even so, there are others that could fulfill that role,” Ten says. “I am a disciple of the Armory, and you’re going to a place of swords and armor. Why do I stay while someone like Ni Cai gets to go?”

“Young Ni Cai is a disciple of the Medical Pavilion. His skills are naturally more useful than yours,” Lei Kong tells him bluntly. “Think. How many of your companions have armor for you to fix?”

It is a curious quirk of the Crimson Cloud Empire. Or perhaps it is the Storm Dragon Empire that is the odd one? Lei Kong has not seen anywhere near enough countries to know what is standard.

In the Storm Dragon Empire, the use of weapons is fairly common. In the Lei Clan, for example, young ones grow up learning either the war hammer or the spear. Meanwhile, in the Crimson Cloud Empire, people are as likely to use weapons as they are to use their bare fists.

Similarly, the armies of the Storm Dragon Empire are all clad in armor, while the disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan primarily wear robes. It is not as if one is necessarily better than the other. At the highest levels, the difference between quality robes and quality armor disappears. If anything, the clothes worn by the disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan are superior to the standard armor worn by the common soldier. Mass-producing armor of the same quality would be too expensive.

“Even if all of them did, as opposed to just some of them, you would not find good forges in the front lines,” Lei Kong continues. Those forges are meant to fix the weapons and armor of the soldiers, not the exotic, heavily customized weapons of the disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan. “In the front lines, you will be just another fighter. I understand you wish to help my lord, and I applaud you for it. Please, realize this is the best way.”

“What if I see something here?” Ten asks with great reluctance. “What am I to do? How do I send a message?”

“I will visit you periodically and act as a messenger between you and my lord,” Lei Kong replies.

Unfortunately, that will require him to constantly travel back and forth instead of fighting at his lord’s side. Ten gives him a sympathetic look.

“You have it hard too, huh?”

“That does not matter,” Lei Kong says. “We are not the ones who have it the hardest.”

The way Ten immediately understands his meaning and nods reinforces Lei Kong’s opinion of him.

After all, it is his lord who always bears the heaviest burden. It is important for the people around him to understand that.

~~~