I've heard some of the rumors. I was hoping for some facts before I explore this Near Shore. [ He accepts the books with a nod, setting them down and opening the first one. ] I haven't left this place yet with all the warnings of how I need a shinki to fight.

[ He wasn't the young warrior anymore, willing to toss himself at the danger without first knowing his limits. His Dixing power was still in his blood, the dark energy flowing as if he had never linked with a human's energy and corrupted it. There was a part of the temple that echoed with the dark energy that he could go to and let his flagging strength get recharged even. The texts called Xuanwu a dark god, a warlord and magician, and he wondered if that area of the temple was part of it. Didn't some Haixing look at Dixing abilities as a kind of magic? ]

I also do not want to treat mine unfairly. I know some may see them as incomplete, but that is not how I see them. [ The Lord Black Cloaked Envoy may be cold and unbending in his duties but he was not cruel. Swift and efficient, yes, and even brutal if he needed to be, but he never saw the point in cruelty. ] It would be cruel.