The Dawn of the New World

"Fuckin' preposterous. Dozens of lifetimes across seven eras, millions of years in the making and this is what it has come to, for me to be spending time worrying about how things will turn out because of one absolutely inconsequential half-blood WASTREL!"

Jin Wang's brow was locked in such a tight knot that it looked like a crow readying to take flight. He finally could not take any more of Elder Achak and had to leave that place in case he might lose control and do something he might regret.

He stopped in the middle of a busy street to take a deep breath in through his nose and calm his raging emotions. Although as much as he would like to blame these tumultuous feelings on Elder Achak, at the end of the day he was a nobody in the grand scheme of things.

Jin Wang was worried about something else.

"Things are happening too god damn fast and I keep feeling like I'm missing something. I'm afraid I might have to force Hao Xuan to wake up if there is no other way."

The people around him were busy running around since this was officially announced as an emergency by both the council and the Princess herself.

The entire city was in an uproar but thanks to the backing of the elders the process was much smoother than it would have been otherwise. And since Henrik and the other cultivators had come out to help it would probably get done in time.

Jin Wang jumped over several city blocks and landed where he was told Ma Jiang would be. It was at the back of the city near the forest which was recently cleared out. Teams of city guards were bringing in all the refugees while a handful of cultivators were creating houses out of the mud by combining their various abilities.

One of them could manipulate earth while the other could harden and set it using his fire abilities while the third could stack it together to create proper structures. There was some disharmony between them but overall they were making good progress.

Although at this point it might all be a moot point if Jin Wang could not open that vault and soon. They will only be able to hold out here for so long before being overrun if things stayed this way.

He navigated through the groups of people but didn't have to look for long since Ma Jiang stood out like a sore thumb. She was the smallest one here but was running from one person to another like a maniac casting spells back-to-back on the constantly increasing numbers of the sick and injured refugees.

There were dark circles around her eyes, hair unkempt, and the clothes dirty. It looked like she had been awake for days. She didn't even notice when Jin Wang approached her.

"Hello."

He tried to get her attention but without turning around she said, "One moment please, I'll be with you right after."

She was holding her hands over the bruised arm of a young man that would have healed by itself in a matter of days even without her help. She was so utterly focused on the injury that all she saw were wounds on people that needed to be mended.

At some point along the way even Jin Wang had become lost in his own thoughts. This attitude of caring for others even at the cost of their own well-being was all too common among people that were particularly close to nature or the "moral and just" side of things.

He couldn't help but think of another person that was just as benevolent as Ma Jiang he had met in his last life, one of his many apprentices when he was a wizard.

A foolish girl that despite his many warnings and lectures ended up losing her life by helping the wrong person.

*Sigh*

He reached out and gently smacked the back of her head, just like he used to do to his apprentice.

"Ow!?"

With her spell broken due to the "physical assault", she turned around in a huff ready to scream at the assailant but upon seeing Jin Wang's stern expression she couldn't say anything. Instead, she thought back to her own actions and if SHE had done something wrong that warranted such an expression.

Looking into her doe-like eyes Jin Wang could see right through her. All her thoughts and emotions were displayed right on her face after all.

"Relax, you didn't do anything wrong but...did no one teach you any proper healing spells?"

"S-Sorry?"

That was the last thing she expected to hear.

"Did I do-"

"No, you didn't mess up any spells but there are a few things you should always keep in mind. One, prioritize. Injuries like these do not require you to intervene, save your mana for more serious ones. And two, running around like a chicken with its head cut off will not help many people. Compose yourself, channeling mana properly requires a cool head."

"O-Oh...thank yo-"

"I need you to come with me.. There is something I need your help with."