Chapter 326 – Plots, Plans, and Pests
Sun Hua had a much better time watching the tournament matches than she'd expected. Growing up in such a small village, she had obviously never been to a sporting event, but from what she'd heard, she had doubted very much that one would be to her liking.
Large crowds. Sweaty men and women beating each other to a pulp. Violence. None of that seemed appealing to her.
Mother had trained her for such a situation, of course. If the event was important to her boss, she should attend and feign interest. Otherwise, such activities were a waste of time.
Reality turned out much different than expectations. Rather than feeling stifled by the thousands of people surrounding her, Sun Hua had gotten caught up in the excitement and the energy. It was especially fun watching people she knew, like Zi Delan and Huang Yimun and Zhong Yun compete and win.
The actual fighting didn't appeal to her overly much, but cheering on her sect along with hundreds of her fellows made her feel like part of a team. Considering how isolated she'd previously felt in the village, it was a pleasant change.
And the food was good, too. The variety for offer in the stalls was Senior Sister's favorite part, and she convinced Sun Hua to try a bite of everything. She'd never realized so many types of food existed!
Overall, the Rising Tide Sect was seventy-three for seventy-three in the first round of the Qi Gathering division of the martial contest that took place over the first few days of the tournament, and she had enjoyed herself much more than she would have believed. By the end of the round, though, she felt bad for the clan most of her sect members had fought. Not all the contests were as one sided as Zi Delan's but many of them were.
Those poor people!
After the last of the Rising Tide members, Ren Ning, won his match, the contingent all prepared to leave for their compound, ready for the day off before the start of the second round. Sun Hua walked along with Senior Sister, listening to her talk to Senior Brother about the performance of the individual fighters—what they did well, what needed improvement, ideas for new techniques, etc.
A man wearing a blue robe of the Swift Blizzard Sect waved, and for a moment, Sun Hua was quite confused. The person definitely was trying to attract her attention, but why? She didn't know anyone from that sect.
But he looked familiar.
His name hit her. It was Wu You, the guy she'd sat beside at the logistics meeting.
Sun Hua planned to ignore him as surely nothing good would come from making contact with him. Unfortunately, he caught Senior Sister's attention as well.
"Junior Sister! Who's the guy? Have you been holding out on me? And someone from the Swift Blizzard Sect, too! Forbidden love?"
Sun Hua remembered being terrified the first time she'd encountered Yang Xiu. Two months ago, Sun Hua would have been aghast at such comments being directed at her from one of the sect's designated heirs. After working so closely together for so long, though, she simply rolled her eyes.
"Spill, Junior Sister. Who is he?"
Sun Hua explained that she'd met him at a meeting. "I have no idea why he might want to talk to me. There are no legitimate logistical concerns to discuss. Honestly, I suspect nefarious intent."
"How nefarious?" Yang Xiu said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Sun Hua rolled her eyes again.
"If you really think he's trying to draw you into a trap," Yang Xiu said, her tone turning serious, "you should go talk to him."
"With respect, Senior Sister, if he's trying to draw me into a trap, I should stay far, far away. Which is what I plan to do."
"If the Swift Blizzard Sect is plotting against us, we need to know about it." All hint of Senior Sister's playfulness disappeared. "I'll keep you safe, Junior Sister. Trust me."
"You want me to go talk to him? Really?"
"It's for the good of the sect."
Sun Hua could hardly say no to that. She glanced at the man and then back at Senior Sister. The distance between the two was about a couple hundred feet.
"Ru'er and I will wait right here for you and watch your every step. I can have an arrow on its way in less than a second even with my bow starting in my ring. You're perfectly safe."
If there was one thing in the world that Sun Hua didn't want to do, it was pretend she was some kind of spy. She'd leave that to Zou Tian. But maybe she was being too timid. Every other member of the sect would gladly give their life for the chance of protecting the rest.
Resigned, she trudged toward the man, wondering why he'd picked her for whatever scheme he had planned.
"Greetings, Esteemed Cultivator," he said once she drew near.
"Greetings."
She should have added an honorific of some kind, but she really just wanted to get the ordeal over with. Hopefully, her rudeness would cause him to get to the point quickly. Or give up entirely. Either was fine.
Silence stretched between the two of them. He opened his mouth to speak but didn't actually end up saying anything.
Good grief. She felt like grabbing his mouth and physically dragging his words from him.
"You wished me to approach you, correct?" she said.
He nodded.
"Why?"
"Apologies, Esteemed Cultivator." He scratched the back of his neck. "It's been a long time. I forgot how difficult this is."
She had no sympathy for him. Scheming and plots should be difficult.
"I'll just lay it out," he said. "Will you have a cup of tea with me?"
"Now?"
"Uh… Maybe tomorrow? Say early afternoon?" He named a tea house near the tournament grounds.
Sun Hua really wanted to refuse outright, but Senior Sister would not approve. Besides, Mother would say to accept, too. Who knew when having a contact from another sect might become advantageous. As long as Senior Sister guaranteed Sun Hua's safety, the correct thing to do was to accept.
She sighed again. "Okay. I'll see you then."
"Gratitude, Esteemed Cultivator."
Whatever.
She turned and stalked back to Senior Sister, who inexplicably was grinning widely.
"What's got you so amused?" Sun Hua said.
"Somebody's got a date!"
"What? No. It's a scheme. A plot."
"It's a date."
"No. It's not."
"He asked you to tea," Yang Xiu said. "That's a date."
"He just wants to get secret information from me or to ambush me or something."
Senior Sister laughed. "Your children will be attractive but nerdy."
Sun Hua shook her head. So many times in her youth she'd seen friends teasing each other, and some part of her had desperately yearned to have a relationship like that. What, exactly, had she been thinking?
To say that Wan Ai was nervous would have been a massive, massive understatement. If the contest had been closed, viewed by just her and her fellow competitors, things would have been fine. But it wasn't closed. Instead, it was in a large, open area on the first floor of a gigantic pavilion, and there were stands just like at the arena. And just like at the arena, those stands were packed.
And way too many of those eyes were staring at her.
Feeling very self conscious, she smoothed out her robe. While doing so, her hand encountered something odd—a hard shape inside her pocket. She was almost positive that pocket had been empty when she dressed that morning.
Reaching inside, she found a note, and her heart leapt. She'd been in Sixth Flawless Flowing City for over a month, and she had neither seen nor heard from Zou Tian. If the note was what she thought…
She unfolded it. It was!
Dearest Wan Ai,
It's been way too long since I've been able to enjoy the pleasure of your company. Missing you is, by far, the most difficult part of this mission.
Please know that I'm watching and I love you. Good luck in your contest, though I know you won't need it.
Yours,
Zou Tian
She nearly cried as she read the short message. The only thing that stopped the tears from flowing was the fact that so many eyes were on her.
As she re-read it for the third time, though, an obvious fact occurred to her. He had slipped the note into her pocket. The pocket inside her robe. Next to her skin.
Her face heated.
After reflecting on what he'd done for a moment, she decided she didn't mind. In fact, the thought of him being near her like that was … good. One of the biggest things stopping her from discussing marriage with him was her fear of the physical implications.
She'd always thought that the things men and women got up to together sounded awkward and embarrassing. But for some reason, the thought of doing those things with Zou Tian brought a warmth to her instead.
A decision slid into place in her mind. She was ready. As soon as they got back to the village, she'd drag him in front of Master, and they'd be wed.
Wait. No. Not Master. He'd surely want to make a big deal out of the whole thing. Probably put on some kind of huge, mortifying ceremony in front of literally everybody.
The mayor would say a few words in his study, and it would be done. Yes. That would work. She'd drag Zou Tian to the mayor's house the moment they returned to the village. Just the two of them.
Or … maybe Senior Sister and Senior Brother. Zou Tian would want them there. And Bai Xinyi would be disappointed if she wasn't there. And a few of the other girls from the Alchemy Pavilion.
Yes. A small group. The mayor's house. Perfect.
With the embarrassing and awkward parts of marriage not seeming quite so daunting, she could think about other aspects. Like babies.
Her parents had sent her to the village while they and her older siblings stayed on the farm, wanting to protect her, the only daughter, as the danger of spirit beasts grew. News of their loss had been devastating.
Having a baby wasn't something that she wanted for herself, necessarily, but she remembered her mother speaking all the time about "when you have children of your own." Little ones would honor their memory.
It was a well known fact that it was quite difficult for cultivators to become pregnant. Qi interfered with those particular natural processes, requiring either a formation or an alchemical solution. Both of those possible remedies, however, were normally quite hit or miss. If she were a member of any other sect, she would have despaired about how unlikely it was she'd ever conceive.
The manuals Master provided, however, held recipes for a couple of pills, which were likely to be more effective than what most alchemists could produce even if they were only meant for Foundation Establishment realm practitioners.
They problably wouldn't be perfect, but they'd help.
Wan Ai's plans firmed in her mind. First, marriage, of course. Then maybe a year or two of enjoying wedded bliss. Then, babies. At least two. Maybe three. Four would probably be a bit much. She'd have to see.
With a small smile on her face at the idea of how her mother would have felt about seeing little grandchildren, Wan Ai returned her attention to the contest, which was about to start. She was in a group of ten for the first round, and only the winner would advance.
Soon, a voice sounded a countdown, and she entered a small chamber with a table filled with herbs, a prep station, and a cauldron sitting atop a heating array. Walls laden with formations blocked any sight or sound to either side of her, not allowing her to see her fellow competitors nor they her. Unfortunately, the front of the chamber was open to the audience.
The objective of the contest was simple—prepare ten mortal grade Concentration Enhancement Pills. That wasn't a type that Wan Ai had made previously, but from her manuals, she was familiar enough with it that she knew the recipe and how to make it. There weren't, after all, very many standard pills that alchemists could make while still in the Qi Gathering realm, less than two dozen all told.
To pursue Alchemy was to pursue perfection. The more perfect each step in the process was, the better the end result. And Wan Ai had trained hard the last several months, subjectively much longer than that, to attain that perfection.
First, she'd reached the very peak of Qi Gathering, which annoyed her to no end. She was one short step away from advancing to making true pills, not just mortal grade ones. But Senior Sister had impressed upon Wan Ai how important the tournament was.
She had, of course, disagreed, but only internally. There was no sense arguing with Senior Sister. And besides, the girl had been so supportive at the beginning. Wan Ai owed some consideration. Until Zou Tian came along, Yang Xiu was a rock in the fast changing stream the village became after Master appeared.
Committed to her course, Wan Ai had considered the best way to improve her craft while stuck at Qi Gathering. The manuals were heavens sent for that purpose, of course, but she discovered a huge hole in her skill set—perception.
A true Alchemist used all their senses to examine a herb, not just the spiritual sense they gained upon reaching Foundation Establishment. The way a herb looked told an Alchemist something. The way it smelled revealed different information. Taste. Feel. Even the way air passing through stems and leaves sounded gave clues if one knew enough.
Wan Ai's senses were not that adept, though. She needed a technique. It hadn't required much effort to convince Master to give her, and all the other members of the pavilion, one specifically tailored to detect minute details that revealed all a herb's secrets.
Having used a Time dilation room to get that technique to Mastery, Wan Ai felt in her element as she approached the table piled high with herbs. For a moment, she simply stood before the materials, allowing the sights and scents to wash over her.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Motion. Tiny movements counter to those caused by the circulation of air in the room, though barely perceptible, were present. Yes. Pests. Mites. The herbs were infected.
For a moment, she was concerned about sabotage, but she rejected that suspicion. If the contest were unfair, Master would deal with it. Her job was to simply do her best.
Detecting the pests in the first place was the real challenge. Once she knew they were there, it was a trivial task to determine the exact type. And any Alchemist worth anything knew how to rid the herbs of them without impacting the efficacy of the base material.
Wan Ai found herself lightly humming as she worked.
Chapter 327 – An Unmitigated Disaster
Sun Hua really didn't want to go to the tea shop. Trying to discern a scheme being foisted upon her by a member of an enemy sect was already well outside her comfort zone, and Yang Xiu's teasing only made things worse.
Senior Sister had much different view of boys and courting. On one hand, she could have had her pick of suitors from any of the young men in the sect. On the other, she'd had a really bad experience with a creep who admired her, and that situation had made her wary of such attention. It felt like she enjoyed living vicariously through her girlfriends romantic lives.
Which was quite problematic for Sun Hua. She didn't know how to explain to that she wasn't nearly as objectively attractive nor was she outgoing. Boys did not pursue her. They didn't even notice her existence. And at twenty-two, well past the prime age for marriage, it wasn't a situation that had any possibility of changing.
Her experience meant that she was absolutely positive that Wu You had not intended their meeting to be a date because no man had ever asked her on a date, and frankly, Yang Xiu's insistence regarding the subject was more than a little upsetting.
Sun Hua gave herself a look in the mirror and sighed. Ordinary. Plain. Mousy. Those were the most complimentary words used to describe her. She wished she had straight, shiny black hair like Senior Sister's instead of a dark brown jumble that degenerated into a complete mess once exposed to the slightest breeze.
Definitely a scheme.
Enough dallying, though. Yang Xiu had arranged to meet Sun Hua at the front entrance of the compound, and it wouldn't do to be late. She arrived, of course, nearly ten minutes early, and when Yang Xiu arrived exactly on time, there was a surprise inclusion—Kang Lin.
Sun Hua cupped her hands. "Senior Sister. Esteemed Cultivatior Kang Lin."
Her words were a simple greeting but her tone carried the question of why the Poison Claw Sect member was present.
"She's been avoiding me ever since we got here, so I dragged her along," Yang Xiu said.
"I have not been avoiding you." Kang Lin sighed. "You realize, right, that I was away from my sect for over half a year? There was a lot I needed to do."
Yang Xiu rolled her eyes.
Kang Lin turned to Sun Hua. "I have more knowledge of and experience with the Swift Blizzard Sect than most in your sect. If there is a scheme afoot, your Senior Sister believed I'd be more likely to determine its nature than anyone else who is available."
"This assistant expresses much gratitude for your help, Esteemed Cultivator."
The three walked from the compound to the tea shop. While Kang Lin and Senior Sister chatted, Sun Hua counted her blessings that she wasn't required to have guards escorting her.
Well, really she did have guards. Either Senior Sister or Kang Lin could outfight an entire squad of Huang Yimun's finest. Still, though, it didn't look like Sun Hua was some very important person who needed guards to go to a tea shop. Instead, she simply appeared to be accompanying her much more powerful and important ... friends? More like associates. Yeah, associates.
Tagging along after the two girls was much less embarrassing. She could simply shrink back, unnoticed, as the other two drew all the attention.
Perfect.
Her only regret was that they walked so fast, making them arrive at the tea shop way too quickly. Actually, ending up there at all was terrible in and of itself not even accounting for how soon. She was an administrative professional, the sect leader's assistant. She was not a spy or a fighter. Dealing with a rival sect should only come in the form of discussing logistics. Period.
Maybe things would go her way and the man wouldn't show up. Yeah. That would be truly perfect.
Ahead of her, Yang Xiu giggled as she entered the tea shop. Sun Hua suspected she knew why. When she went through the doorway, she discovered she was right. Wu You was seated at a small table in the corner just big enough for two people. The lights in the area surrounding him were low, and there was a candle on the table.
Sun Hua groaned.
Not only was the guy obviously setting her up for some nefarious scam, but he'd decided to go the faux seduction route. And she had to suffer through that particular humiliation while Senior Sister would be listening in, giving her plenty of material for future teasing.
Compared to Ye Zan giving his life for the sect, Sun Hua's sacrifice was sure to be trivial, but the words sounded hollow in her head. If there was one thing she was sensitive about, it was her lack of a husband, and to have an enemy use that weakness against her went beyond the pale.
She should stop right there and tell Senior Sister to kill the guy. Yes. That would be an appropriate response.
Only it wouldn't.
For one thing, Senior Sister was likely to actually do that if requested, and that act might draw the Rising Tide Sect into a war immediately. The sect leader clearly believed that he could end things by himself once the ambush was triggered, leading to no losses among the members. What if Sun Hua's reluctance to suffer through a single conversation led to someone in the sect being killed?
An even more important consideration was that she wasn't a fighter. She'd never killed anyone or caused anyone to be killed or even hurt. Something like that was not something she wanted weighing on her conscience, even if the victim were completely deserving of it.
With a sigh, she trudged toward the table. He stood when she neared, probably to pull out her seat. She reached it first and rudely pulled it out for herself. Just because she agreed to attend the farcical meeting didn't mean she had to act like she wanted to be there.
"May this one dispense with honorifics, Esteemed Assistant?" he said after they'd both sat. "Informality seems to fit the occasion."
She glanced back and to the right. Yang Xiu and Kang Lin had taken a table several rows back. With their enhanced Foundation Establishment senses, they'd have no trouble hearing every word.
"Sure," Sun Hua said.
If nothing else, fewer words meant they would spend a shorter amount of time talking.
"I've taken the liberty of ordering you my favorite blend of tea," he said. "I tried to determine your favorite instead, but your fellow sect members were not very forthcoming about your preferences."
Sun Hua doubted many knew what tea she liked or much else about her, either.
"Gratitude," she said in the flattest tone she could manage.
He sighed. "This is not going to go well, is it?"
"Did you truly believe any other outcome was possible?"
"I can be naïve sometimes." He shrugged. "But can I ask—is it something personal about me or is it simply the rivalry thing?"
"I do not consider using a derivation of the word 'simple' or 'rivalry' an accurate assessment of the current situation. Do you somehow feel otherwise?"
"Honestly," he said, "most of the animosity stems from the branch sect leader, and I'm from the main sect, brought in to help manage the tournament. Swift Blizzard Sect members from outside Sixth Flawless Flowing City don't put the Rising Tide Sect in their eyes."
That information was interesting, if he were telling the truth. Which was unlikely. Still, it was something that should be reported to the sect leader.
"Regardless, none of that tells me why you have invited me here today," she said.
"Oh. I … uh, thought it was obvious."
She gave him a blank look.
"I … intended it to be a date?" he said awkwardly.
As was proper when seated at a table and not actively eating or drinking, she kept her hands in her lap, which meant they were out of his view due to the table. That he couldn't see them was good because she would have otherwise felt uneasy when she clenched them into fists.
Beyond the pale. Beyond.
Sun Hua was tempted to leave right then and there. The trap had become obvious—exploit her vulnerability as an unmarried woman well past her prime to lure her into betraying her sect.
Now that she knew, however, the proper move would be to go along with it so Senior Sister could set up some kind of reverse maneuver or something. Sun Hua didn't know exactly what such would entail, but she was sure that was exactly what was called for. She should … flirt with him somehow? Which wasn't a strong point of hers.
When she opened her mouth, though, what came out was, "You disgust me! That you would attempt such an underhanded tactic brings disgrace to cultivators everywhere. You have dishonored your sect here today."
She tensed as she realized what she had said. There weren't many words worse than those to rise the ire of a cultivator. They lived to bring honor to their sect.
Instead of angry, though, the man appeared devastated. Despite feeling that he was probably just manipulating her, she hung her head.
"You have to see how this appears to me," she said.
"In retrospect, I do. Like I said, I can be naïve at times. This lowly one apologizes for the misunderstanding."
"There is no misunderstanding. Why don't you just tell me what you're trying to accomplish. That way Senior Sister and Esteemed Cultivator Kang Lin don't have to beat you up."
"There is no ulterior motive," he said. "I simply wanted to get to know you better in a social setting."
"You keep saying that you're naïve, but really, you must think that I am to believe such a thing."
He ran a hand across his face. "This is a disaster, an unmitigated disaster. My wife would have laughed at me so hard right now."
His sect hadn't even sent someone competent to seduce her. They were barely into the conversation, and he'd already accidentally admitted to being married.
"Your wife would laugh at you trying to get to know another woman in a social setting? She must be mighty tolerant."
"She's dead."
Oh. Sun Hua didn't know how to respond to that.
"Three years ago," he said. "Childbirth. Neither she nor my daughter survived."
It was well known that, for cultivators, conceiving was difficult and bearing a child was dangerous. Sun Hua had gained many benefits from joining the sect and becoming the sect leader's assitant, but giving up the possibility, as slim as it had been, of having children was definitely a huge negative.
"I think what I miss most is simply having someone to share my day with when I come home, you know?" he said. "Someone to share funny stories with or frustrations about the leaders set above me. Someone who cares
"When I heard about a young woman from the Rising Tide Sect who was renowned for the same kind of work that I do, I tried to find out more about her. I discovered that she was quiet and hard working and extremely competent, all qualities I respect and admire. I thought, 'Now that is a young woman worth taking a chance to get to know.' But I guess I was wrong."
Wu You cupped his hands. "Gratitude for agreeing to see me. Apologies for wasting your time."
He stood and exited the establishment without another word.
Chapter 328 - Devastation
Ren Ning wasn't a talented or top member of the Rising Tide Sect. In fact, he was decidedly average. He'd gotten a big boost when his spirit roots had been raised from F+ to E-, but that left him, relatively speaking, in the same position he'd been in previously—about average.
His only—very small—claim to fame was a congratulations he'd received from the sect leader. Only council members and very few others were addressed by name from him, and somehow, Ren Ning randomly became part of that number after he'd advanced his spear technique to Large Success.
He didn't let that event inflate his ego, though. His dad had impressed two pieces of advice upon Ren Ning from the time he was a small boy—keep your head down and work hard.
That counsel had served him well in the days prior to the sect leader arriving in Prosperous Gray Forest Village. Back then Ren Ning's only goal was to help his parents provide for his two younger siblings. He'd avoided drawing attention to himself, letting his work ethic speak for him. Whereas some of the flashier and even some of the more connected villagers his age had drawn the ire of those who needed help tending crops inside the walls, Ren Ning had kept his head down and did what he was told, never trying to tell the person directing the work that he knew best.
Food was still scarce, but his reputation got him enough jobs to keep his family from suffering hunger pangs.
Then, the sect leader had appeared, and soon after, food scarcity stopped being a problem. Ren Ning's solid reputation had once again benefited him as he was included in the second group of fifty villagers to be inducted.
He'd then proceeded to do what his dad had told him—kept his head down and worked hard. And he'd been … average. So average, in fact, that he'd been quite surprised when he'd done well enough in the Martial Pavilion tournament to qualify to go to Sixth Flawless Flowing City. Once there, he'd been less surprised to get past the first round as his Body Cultivation and superior spear technique carried the day against his opponent from the clan.
The second round, though… That was much tougher. Along with about three quarters of his sect mates, he'd eked out a victory. Leading him to the third round.
As one of the lower seeded of the sect, he'd been matched up with a talent from the Poison Claw Sect, one who'd had a bye for the first two rounds.
Ren Ning had tried his best, utilizing his superior speed and strength, but nothing he did mattered. His opponent was simply too good. Too talented.
The match wasn't a rout. The Poison Claw Sect member had even given what appeared to be a respectful bow at the end, and Ren Ning held his head high as he exited the arena floor.
He was looking forward to being an observer for the rest of the tournament. Huang Yimun, Zi Delan, and several others had made it through to the fourth round and still had a chance at the finals. And, after the Qi Gathering round ended, the twins would fight as the low Foundation Establishment competitions began. That promised to be entertaining.
Yeah. Things were looking good for Ren Ning. Until he reached into his robe's inner pocket for his contingency ring.
His stomach sank as his hand came away empty. Desperately, he patted himself all over. Maybe he'd put it in a different pocket. But no, there was no sign of it.
The next thing that occurred to him was that he might have dropped it on the arena floor, but looking back, he didn't see any metallic glint. And, honestly, if that were where it ended up, he would never find it as the soft sand quickly ate almost anything that was dropped upon it.
His only other thought was that maybe he could have somehow taken it off in his room? Maybe after removing it to wash, he'd never put it back on?
He wanted so badly to run back to the compound and search but couldn't. The sect traveled to and fro as a group. Until the matches were over for the day, he was stuck.
Anxiously, he waited, unable to keep still, his feet bouncing up and down. He couldn't have told anyone who won or lost or even who fought.
Finally, after what seemed like days and days, the group returned to the compound, and Ren Ning rushed to his room, where he proceeded to tear the place apart—not that there was much in there to begin with. After fifteen minutes, he was sure that the ring was not in the room, but he still searched for another hour.
Eventually, he had to admit to himself that the contingency ring, which had been created and personally gifted by the sect leader, had been lost. By Ren Ning. He'd lost the ring. The very valuable device created by a Master Blacksmith and Formations Master.
A priceless item, and he'd lost it.
Devastation didn't begin to describe how he felt.
A truly horrifying fact occurred to him—he had to tell someone. Right? Or could he hide his carelessness? Pretend that he still had the ring secure in his inner pocket. No one had to know.
After all, once he admitted his idiocy, the Punishment Hall was the least that he could expect. Elder Mo Nuying had a fearsome reputation even before she became a cultivator. Ren Ning had always managed to avoid her ire by keeping his head down, but he'd surely be sent to her.
If he wasn't cast out of the sect altogether. It hadn't happened to anyone yet, but someone had to be the first. Stories of sects always talked about how important discipline was and how harshly mistakes were punished.
Admitting that he's lost the ring would bring shame to himself and his entire family.
He hung his head. The only thing he could do to bring more shame was to hide it.
A few minutes later, he found himself outside the door of the sect leader's study. While it wasn't unusual for a sect member to speak with him, it was rare for anyone outside a council member to meet him uninvited. So Ren Ning hesitated.
He could go to the Guard Captain, who was in charge of security. Or to Senior Brother or Senior Sis… No, that would be stupid. To Senior Brother.
But either of those options felt like cowardice. Ren Ning had wronged the sect leader who'd made the ring. The sect leader was the proper person to talk to.
Ren Ning rapped on the door, lightly, twice.
"Come," a voice called.
The sect leader's voice.
Ren Ning took a deep breath and entered, striding purposefully into the room, and sank to his knees. He slammed his forehead into the hardwood floor. "This lowly one has erred, Sect Leader."
"I see. What exactly have you done to merit such an apology?"
"The contingency ring, Sect Leader. This lowly one has lost it. This lowly one has no excuse."
Ren Ning's heart thudded in his chest. Time to learn his fate.
Nearly a week had passed since Sun Hua's disastrous meeting with Wu You, and she found it hard not to keep thinking about it, wondering if he could possibly have been telling the truth. Her entire life experience told her that there was no way he was being honest, but there was a tiny voice in the back of her head saying, "Well, maybe…"
At Yang Xiu's insistence, Kang Lin had promised to look into the matter, and the two girls would meet soon. Sun Hua was, of course, invited, but she was so very conflicted about going.
Did she want to know? What good would it do? Finding out that she'd ruined her only real chance for a marriage wasn't exactly a positive outcome. Neither was hearing that he was just using her for some scheme.
Two possible outcomes, both bad. Going made no sense.
Still, when the time came, she found herself knocking on Yang Xiu's door.
"You need to understand a couple of things," Kang Lin said. "First, I could not devote the full resources of my sect to this endeavor. There are other, more important priorities."
Yang Xiu frowned, but before she could say anything, Sun Hua cupped her hands. "Of course, Esteemed Cultivator."
"Second, I'm learning that nothing about determining people's motivations is a sure thing. A man might do the right thing for the wrong reason or the wrong thing for the right reason. It's difficult to predict."
Even Yang Xiu had to agree with that comment.
"That being said, I did a lot of work researching this man, Wu You, and presented my findings to one of our top researchers."
Sun Hua tensed.
"To begin with, his story checks out," Kang Lin said. "He gained admittance to the Swift Blizzard Sect and used every bit of influence he collected to have his sweetheart from his village inducted despite her D- roots. They soon married, and they devoted all their contribution points to alchemical solutions that eventually allowed her to become pregnant.
"Unfortunately, that expenditure left them with few resources for the birth itself. Complications arose that required a talented healer. Without sufficient funds, none would make themselves available, and both mother and child perished."
"So he really did seek to date me?" Sun Hua said.
She found that so very difficult to believe, but Mother had always taught her to trust verified facts.
"Not necessarily. His easily verifiable story being accurate does not mean he was not part of a scheme. There were no indications that he sought a new wife among the members of his sect."
"So it was a scheme then?" If anything, Sun Hua felt relief at the news.
"Not necessarily."
Sun Hua clenched and unclenched her hands.
"Like I stated at the outset, it is difficult to determine a person's motivations. Wu You is valued by his direct superiors as a competent clerk, but overall, Swift Blizzard Sect members do not seek out clerks for marriage. Like in most sects, martial prowess or excellence in a crafting profession is much preferred, and his C- roots are not strong enough to overcome the detriments of his profession. It is quite possible that he simply saw no opportunities for a match."
"Give us the bottom line, sister," Yang Xiu said. "You're killing Sun Hua."
Kang Lin sighed. "Our best guess—emphasis on guess—is that his desire for a date was genuine. There is simply no indication that he's affiliated with the factions within his sect that are hostile to yours or that he has ever been involved in schemes or spying."
Sun Hua buried her face in her hands. "I actually had a chance at marriage, and my doubts made me ruin it. How could I be so stupid?"
She'd gone to bed so many nights as a child and even into her teen years literally crying due to her mother's coldness, promising herself that one day she'd have a son or daughter and bring them up in an atmosphere of love and happiness, only for circumstances to make marriage impossible for her. Then, finally, a man actually showed interest, and she didn't even give him a chance.
A fool. That was what she was. A complete fool.
Chapter 329 - Mitigation
Benton was torn. He didn't know whether to be impressed or amused. In the end, he settled for a mixture of both.
The kid, Ren Ning, was entirely too earnest. He'd strode into the room like a man on a mission and practically thrown himself on the floor—Benton had winced when the boy's forehead slammed against the floor—and confessed to losing his contingency ring.
"That is potentially an act of great carelessness," Benton said. "Did you take it off and leave it somewhere?"
"No, Sect Leader."
"Did you … lend it to a friend?"
"No, Sect Leader."
"Did you … sell it at the market or use it for barter?"
"No, Sect Leader."
"I know what it must be! You messed with the re-sizing function and make it so big that it fell off your finger unnoticed, didn't you?"
"No, Sect Leader."
Throughout the interrogation, the boy's voice never grew the slightest bit heated. He didn't lose the pure agony in his tone.
"Did you do anything to cause the ring to be lost?"
"No … I mean, yes… I mean…"
"Rise, please, Ren Ning."
The boy did as ordered, his expression one of confusion mixed with fear and agony.
"The ring was stolen from you."
Ren Ning's face twisted into anger.
"When you entered the arena, there was a stealthed Golden Core from the Swift Blizzard Sect. He snuck his hand into your robe and took the ring. It was not your fault. There was no way you could have detected him."
If not for a message from Zou Tian that had been passed to Benton from the Poison Claw Sect, he might not have noticed, either. The Golden Core was quite good.
"I was planning on telling you in a little while," Benton said. "Honestly, I was still deciding how best to react to the situation."
The boy stared blankly, obviously bewildered at the direction the conversation had taken.
"If I would have realized how worried you were, I would have come to you as soon as possible to ease your mind." Benton cupped his hands. "Apologies."
He'd hoped that expressing his regrets would have made the boy relax, but if anything, it only seemed to make him more agitated.
"I commend you for your action," Benton said. "It couldn't have been easy for you to come up here and metaphorically throw yourself on your sword. Your actions demonstrated both bravery and fine moral character. Be thinking about what kind of technique you most want when you advance to Foundation Establishment. Let me know, and I'll give you one of your choice specifically attuned to your aspect."
Benton cupped his hands again. "I believe the Rising Tide Sect will eventually be the best on the entire planet, and when that future comes to fruition, I'll look back and know that ascension was all because of fine young people like you."
Stunned.
That was the only way Ren Ning could describe how he felt. He'd gone to the sect leader's office expecting to be cast out or, at the very least, to be sent to the Punishment Hall.
To then find out that he hadn't been at fault and that a rival sect had stolen his ring—he was livid. And to use a Golden Core to do so. It was the height of shame to use such a high realmed cultivator to steal from a junior.
The Swift Blizzard Sect had no honor.
And to hear that the sect leader had planned to come to Ren Ning personally to assuade his guilt about losing the ring… That was amazing. Not many could boast that the literally most important person in the sect had made a personal visit to him.
Then, as if that revelation hadn't been enough, Ren Ning had been praised and promised a future reward.
And, oh, what a reward! A Foundation Establishment realm technique attuned specifically to him? That cost ten thousand Contribution Points. Ten thousand. He had a bit over a thousand, just enough to buy himself a regular Nature aspected technique to go with the two standard ones he'd receive.
Instead of starting out his next major realm with three techniques that almost any of the villagers could use, he'd gain one tailored just for him, one to build his entire combat style around.
Ren Ning would no longer be average.
"I do have one request of you," the sect leader said.
"Anything, Sect Leader."
"Have you told anyone else that your ring was missing?"
"No, Sect Leader."
"Good. Don't. Everything that I just told you is to be kept completely secret until we get back to the sect. I'll tell the council, but I don't want you speaking a word about it to anyone, understand?"
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"Great. I'm proud of you. Your performance in the tournament was as good as I could have asked for, and your willingness to risk punishment to do the right thing is exactly the kind of behavior I want to see from my sect members."
Ren Ning cupped his hands. From the depths of despair to being enthusiastically praised by the most important person on the entire continent in such a short amount of time, he'd experienced a bit of emotional whiplash, but having the chance to rise above the mean was completely worth it.
He left the sect leader's office with a smile on his face.
Benton grinned as Ren Ning left. It was clear the kid was on cloud nine, both from the sincere praise and the reward.
Good. He deserved it.
The event that brought him to Benton's office, though, had possibly severe ramifications. Obviously, as long as Benton continued to respond to contingency rings, the JCSB alliance could summon him into an ambush at will. And, honestly, his first reaction was, "Bring it. Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind, jerks."
That was the attitude that had almost brought him low during the fight with the two Nascent Souls, however. Benton was strong, yes. Very strong. Able to handle a good number of enemies on his own, but he shouldn't underestimate his opponents. Some of them had literally hundreds and even thousands of years of combat experience.
So, really, he should negate the possibility of walking into an ambush. Which was easy enough.
He sighed. Okay. Time to get crafting.
With that decision made, however, it brought up another concern. The formations laid in the square by the supposed master were not exactly the best crafted arrays Benton had ever seen, but they were created compently enough to raise some concerns. For instance, one array prevented Teleportation. Benton's technique was of a high enough grade that, with his mastery, he could simply use a bit more qi to overcome the disruption if, for some reason, he couldn't disable the formation first.
The kids, though, couldn't do the same thing with their talismans. He hadn't tested it, but he was almost positive that the array would simply stop the Teleportation effect from the cards, even the highest qi one.
That effect horrified Benton as the kids' ability to escape at will was their best safety measure. More crafting would be required.
The problem was that he was reluctant to go heads down on a project while his sect members were exposed and vulnerable, which led him to reconsider the whole matter.
Past Benton probably would have decided that he was good enough to win without the extra crafting, that he and the kids would be just fine with the way things were. The Benton who'd barely survived against the Nascent Souls made a different choice—mitigation.
First, he fired off a message to Yuan Yaozu, followed by one to each of his council members present at the tournament asking them to meet him immediately after curfew.
Benton spent the interim period planning his crafting session, and by the time the council arrived, he had a solid idea of exactly what he needed to do.
"Greetings," he said to his gathered members. "Tonight I will do something that I preferred not to do—leave all of you here at the tournament grounds while I return to the sect."
None of the council—not a single one—showed a bit of concern. They placed way too much faith in his formations … and on his ability to return in a flash. Of course, none of them truly knew how long even a nanosecond was to a Nascent Soul attacker.
"I am taking the following precautions. One, the compound will be under a strict lockdown for the duration of my absence." Benton met Huang Yimun's eyes. "The guards will enforce that lockdown completely. No one in. No one out. Understood?"
"Yes, Master!"
"Two, I'll have Yuan Yaozu take my place while I'm absent. Three, I will inform Kang Ya-Ting and ask him to have the Poison Claw Sect Nascent Souls ready if anything happens."
No one said anything, but Yang Xiu wasn't exactly one to keep her thoughts from showing on her face.
"Go ahead," he told her.
"It's just that it seems like those precautions might be a bit extreme, Master."
"Honestly, it's likely that absolutely nothing will happen in the short time that I'm gone. Probably, our enemies won't even know that I've left. There are a couple of problems, though. One, I refuse to risk any of you getting harmed because I underestimated our enemies. And two, those enemies have proven themselves to be honorless curs. Going after juniors with Golden Cores is truly shameful, and if they're willing to sink that low, what else are they willing to do?"
Yang Xiu looked like she wanted to say something else but instead cupped her hands.
"Gratitude, all. Please be diligent and observant while I'm away."
"Yes, Master."
Benton Teleported to the sect, Teleported Yuan Yaozu back to Benton's office in the compound, and finally Teleported to the crafting area of the Administration Hall.
First order of business—new contingency rings for all the sect members at the tournament. The updated rings looked and functioned exactly like the old ones except for one crucial difference—a tiny modification to the signal's spiritual frequency that it broadcast when popped.
It would take a Nascent Soul with a finely tuned sense to notice the difference, and even then, that person would have had to test both the new and the old ring in order to spot it.
Benton briefly considered replacing all the rings, not just the ones for the members in Sixth Flawless Flowing City, but determined that would be overkill. After all, he would sense if the signal came from the village or from the City. If the former, he'd just have to be on alert for a possible trap.
His second crafting task was two new talismans. The first featured a skill gained when he became a Formations Master—the ability to sense if a particular technique would be prevented by a currently active array. The second was a combination of techniques, a Quickstep followed by Teleportation.
The idea was for each of his sect members to be given plenty of the former talisman, so they could check for potential traps. If they discovered that Teleportation was hindered, they'd used the second talisman to Quickstep far enough from the array for the long range Teleportation to work.
Benton was almost positive that the double skill would do exactly what he wanted. He even set up a Teleportation blocking array based on the one in the square and tested it. And it did work.
But…
As a Nascent Soul Formations Master, Benton knew the exact limits of the blocking array, which made it a simple matter for him to Quickstep outside that boundary. His sect members wouldn't have that same advantage.
Obviously, an easy solution to the new problem would be to simply create another new talisman that would sense the area covered by the array. Unfortunately, that kind of data being stuffed into a mind required either higher Spiritual Cultivation or higher Mind Cultivation than the kids possessed.
Instead, Benton had to go with Plan B—crafting pylons that created a qi shield that protected the user from attacks thrown even by Nascent Souls. He'd give each of the tournament goers four of the pylons, enough to surround them.
Sure, it would only hold up for two or three strikes, but that gave them, him, or their allies time to figure something out. Additionally, he made it to where the pylons were stackable, so that two sect members could stand together and double their protections or an entire team could create a large area.
None of the solutions he created provided absolutely perfect protection, but they did mitigate some of the problems that he could see arising. Overall, he hoped those measures would never be needed, but if they were, he knew he'd be forever grateful for having created them.
Chapter 330 – A Test of Judgment
Wan Ai stood in front of a table with a cloth draped over it, shielding everything beneath from her sight. Before her was a crowd of way too many people, and walls concealed her views of her fellow contestants to each side.
If only the front was blocked, too.
She couldn't believe she was in the finals of the alchemy competition. It wasn't that she didn't think she was as good as the members from the bigger sects. She actually had a lot of confidence in her diligence and in the techniques and manuals that Master had provided her.
No, the reason she had trouble giving credence to the reality of her situation was that she was willingly doing her best each round even knowing that victory meant more attention on her. Before she'd started the tournament, she was confident that, if she made it past the first round, she'd have deliberately underperformed in the next one.
After easily winning the initial contest—the mites had been present on all the sets of herbs, but she'd been the only one to notice—she obviously advanced to the second round. In that one, she'd also faced off against nine other participants with only the top finisher moving on. That time, she'd discovered that her heating array was faulty, with a full quarter of the circle putting out significantly less qi than the rest, meaning she had to continuously rotate her cauldron while stirring the mixture.
Despite all the contestants in that round having won their section of the previous one, three of them somehow didn't notice the problem with the formation. Of the seven that did, Wan Ai's pill turned out to have the greatest purity, giving her the victory.
The third round went similarly, with her discovering that her cauldron had a defect, a dead zone that would not conduct qi. That was a chore to maneuver around since she literally couldn't let any of the mixture touch the dead portion while at the same time ensuring that each part was heated evenly.
Very difficult. Her purity barely made it to seventy-one percent, a truly dreadful result. Luckily or unluckily, her nine opponents all did even worse.
That win put her, along with Bai Xinyi, into the top fifty and the subsequent fourth round. For that one, they competed in groups of five, where they were given a recipe for a pill Wan Ai had never even heard of. In studying the preparation instructions, though, they'd seemed off to her.
Talk about a difficult choice. She generally liked following rules. If someone in authority gave her instructions, she did her best to comply with those directions. On the other hand, her every instinct told her that the recipe was just plain wrong.
Despite the risk of failure or, worse, looking like an idiot with so many people watching, she went with her gut. It turned out that her gut was right, and she coasted to an easy triumph.
Bai Xinyi instead followed the recipe and didn't make the finals.
Everybody in the Rising Tide Sect was beyond ecstatic that Wan Ai made the ten for the alchemy contest, which was apparently a big deal. At that point, there was only the potential for four of the martial members to do the same and, of the other crafters, only Xun Wu had also placed in the finals.
Which meant that everywhere she went, her fellow sect members congratulated her. All the attention was excruciating. Having to talk to so many people made her want to hide in her room and never come out, but she was instead once again participating in a contest. She wanted to shake her head in frustration, and she would have done just that if so many people weren't watching her.
It was all Zou Tian's fault. He delivered a note to her before each competition, and even if she hated the recognition her accomplishments brought, she couldn't quite seem to pass up the chance to receive another one of his messages.
Well, that was the main reason for her continuing to win but not the only one. If Wan Ai were being completely honest with herself, she found it hard not to try her best when it came to alchemy, no matter the consequences. Intentionally doing something wrong just felt … well, wrong. Like her actions would be fundamentally in conflict with the core of her being.
She sighed. Aspects. Hers controlled her actions to a much greater degree than she would have ever expected, and that influence would apparently increase the higher in realm she ascended.
Still, that was a small price to pay for the ability to create miraculous cures.
With less than five minutes to go before the start of the final round, it was time for her to begin her calming routine, beginning with checking her inner pocket. She patted it from the outside and discovered a rectangular patch that was harder than the robe's fabric.
Yes. There really was another folded piece of paper. He'd done it again.
How? When?
Despite her doing her utmost to keep constant focus on her surroundings, he'd somehow gotten close enough to her to touch and actually got his hand inside her robe.
She blushed.
What she didn't do was pull the note from her pocket and read it. After the first time, she realized that doing so had a chance, however small, of exposing Zou Tian's actions. Just knowing that it—and him—were there was enough for her.
Besides, depending on what he wrote, it might cause her face to redden even more than it already was.
Still, thoughts of him sent her to a happy place, making a good distraction from all the eyes on her, and when the contest started, she felt much calmer.
The drape was suddenly lifted from the table, and her eyes went first to a timer. One hour. Much shorter than the other rounds.
A paper with instructions drew her attention next.
Using only the resources found in your cubicle, create a pill. The contest winner will be judged on the complexity of the pill created and the quality and purity of the end result.
Yikes. So open ended. All the previous contests had directed her to produce a particular product.
Feeling more than a little pressure from the short time period, she quickly looked over a large pile of herbs. On the plus side, the heap contained just about anything she could want for creating any of the pills she knew how to make. On the other hand, all the herbs were jumbled together, meaning it would take time to find the exact ones she wanted, and there was something visibly wrong with all of them.
Just from a glance, it appeared that each of them was inflicted with large black patches. A blight.
If literally any of the malady contaminated the final pill, it would be completely ruined for use, if it formed a shell at all. More likely, it would remain a congealed mess that would have to be scraped from the cauldron.
From her experience with the previous rounds, she'd expected there to be some problem with either the materials or the equipment, so with the issue with the herbs diagnosed, that meant the equipment was probably fine. Probably didn't mean definitely, though.
Wai Ai tested the heating array and noticed that its energy fluctuated wildly. One moment, it would work normally, and the next it would reduce the qi emitted to almost nothing. And the next, the output would flare.
Yikes.
Having detected problems with two out of the three provided elements, she suddenly had little confidence that the third would be fine, and that concern was proved out as soon as she looked inside the cauldron. Rust. There was actual rust visibly coating the inside of the device.
How was she supposed to remove all that in the allotted time? Cleaning it to her standards would take almost an hour on its own.
Whereas the previous rounds had focused on achieving perfection by circumventing one major problem, the current one challenged her to do the best she could with flawed resources. It wasn't her abilities that were to be tested but her judgment.
Instead of working with the natural inclination of her qi aspect, she'd have to work against them just to get some kind of finished product.
Focus.
There was nothing to be done about the heating array. She didn't have the knowledge base needed to repair a formation. All should could do was identify that there was a problem and call Master, which wasn't an option during the tournament.
That portion would simply have to be accommodated as best as possible during the process.
The rust inside the cauldron could be resolved to perfection if she had long enough, but she didn't. The obvious solution actually helped with a bunch of issues—choose a pill that required the least amount of material possible.
Yeah. That way, she could clean the rust from a relatively small area of the bottom of the cauldron. As long as the mixture didn't stray from that spot, the final product wouldn't pick up any contamination. And a small amount of material meant less time sorting through the herbs and preparing the ingredients.
Of course, the pills that were the least material intensive were also the least complicated, which would impact her final score. Better to get something done than nothing, though, and it was the only path forward that she could see.
One Stamina Pill coming up. The mortal grade medicine only used two ingredients and basically provided a small boost of energy. Master called it a Monster Pill for some reason that no one could figure out and jokingly—she thought, anyway—suggested that she make it into a drink.
She searched through the pile of herbs and discovered both guarana and kola nuts. Perfect. Exactly what she needed. The latter even appeared to be mostly blight free with her only having to cut out small portions.
The guarana, on the other hand, was more problematic. The only part of the plant that was useful were the black seeds, resembling eyes, that were found inside the red fruits. She quickly found, however, that none of the fruits were ripe enough to split open. Which meant that the potency of the seeds wouldn't be at their optimal state. Worse, though, was that the seeds were absolutely consumed with blight.
Out of each one, she only got a tiny, tiny amount of useable material.
Again, not optimal. As long as she didn't accidentally get even trace amounts of the blight into the cauldron, though, the lessened quantity of seeds would only result in a smaller pill instead of a failed product. The size would reduce her final score, but she'd at least remain in contention.
Her instincts chafed at the many compromises she was making, but she had no choice. To make any pill at all in the time provided with the obstacles presented would be a victory.
Wan Ai looked at the pile of crushed kola nuts and tiny bits of guarana seeds and desperately wanted to keep adding more of the latter to it. A glance at the timer, though, dissuaded her. Whatever she had in the heap would have to do.
The only good part about the tiny quantity was that she didn't need to clean much of the cauldron, which meant she could focus on making that spot as pristine as possible. Which was really to the good.
A low quantity of materials simply meant a smaller pill. Introducing rust meant increasing impurities or even complete failure.
She took a provided wire brush and scrubbed like she'd never scrubbed before, suddenly very glad of her pavilion's policy that every member, including her, cleaned up their own messes. Some of the most experienced Rising Tide alchemists had pushed to have the new members do all the cleaning as part of their chores, but she and Bai Xinyi had both agreed that was a horrible idea.
Hours and hours spent removing every bit of sludge left over from a failed mixture paid off as Wan Ai's hands and fingers knew exactly what to do and didn't tire during the process.
Soon, she rinsed and dried the area, satisfied that no rust remained.
Of course, part of her shuddered at using a cauldron that was still so heavily contaminated over most of its surface area, something she would not have stood for any of her pavilion members doing under any other circumstances.
In an ideal world, heating the mixture would have been easy after all she'd gone through getting to that point, but with the malfunctioning heating array, she had to constantly monitor the temperature and physically lift the cauldron off the plate when the formation flared. The fault made the entire process just that much more stressful, especially with the timer continuing its inexorable countdown.
Luckily, though, a brown shell formed seconds before time was up, giving her a finished product. A tiny finished product, granted, but she'd take it.
An attendant came by to collect the pill, and the contestants were called before a panel of judges. Three of the competitors had failed to produce anything other than sludge and were declared tied for eighth place. The products of two others were lumpy and barely formed. They took sixth and seventh place.
Of the remaining pills, all were clearly better than Wan Ai's. The winner, a girl from the Swift Blizzard Sect, apparently knew enough about formations to repair the heating array. She'd also used that knowledge to somehow dissolve the rust, leaving her with a pristine cauldron. Given her expertise, it was no surprise that her Vitamin Pill had a purity of eighty-nine percent.
Wan Ai was actually quite pleased with fifth place. The other contestants were clearly better than her, and she'd tried her best. She would walk from the pavilion with her head metaphorically held high.
In reality, she'd duck down as low as possible, of course, to avoid what attention she could.
Chapter 331 – Tyranny of Talent
Huang Yimun was honestly surprised to make the final ten of the martial division. He definitely wasn't as talented as his opponents. Of course, the combination of his Body Cultivation and the quality of the scriptures provided by the sect leader closed some of the gap.
Honestly, though, Huang Yimun attributed most of his success simply to being older than his opponents. There was a world of difference between fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds, barely considered adults, and him being twenty. He'd seen more. Experienced more. He'd been in fights where his life was on the line.
That gave him an edge against youths who mainly sparred with their peers in completely safe environments where even pain settings were reduced.
Huang Yimun's astonishment at making the finals only enhanced his pride at standing on the stage with the finest cultivators the sects on the continent had to offer. With the exception of him, barely being an E with that minus designation, and Zi Delan, all the combatants were members of a big three sect with spiritual roots in the A and B range.
Still, Huang Yimun had barely made it onto the stage, ranking eighth. Zi Delan was even closer not to have made the cut at the very bottom, tenth.
Final ten was final ten, though.
It was almost a year to the day since Huang Yimun first departed Sixth Flawless City, and that version of him would have been absolutely astounded at where he'd ended up. Not only was he a cultivator in a powerful, up-and-coming sect, he was a leader in that sect—the guard captain.
To survive growing up on the streets and transition to earning a living in a respected manner as a mercenary was already beating the odds. To have almost no talent and be inducted into a sect was almost unheard of. To then achieve such success as to stand next to the best of the best was like something from a child's overactive imagination.
But he had done all that. He deserved to take a moment to reflect on his accomplishments. He only wished that Ye Zan was there to share the moment with him.
The announcer recognized each of the contenders by name, to the cheers of the crowd. The Rising Tide Sect's section—and the clan's section for some reason?—went absolutely crazy when Huang Yimun and Zi Delan were introduced.
After the cheering died down, the finalists were ushered off the stage, and the first match began between the top ranked Swift Blizzard Sect member and … Zi Delan. The favorite to win the entire competition obviously wanted to reveal as little of his power set as possible and didn't use any techniques, fighting instead with simple, clean strikes.
Zi Delan did his best. He kept good concentration and used his speed and strength to his advantage. Small mistakes added up against a superior opponent, though. Being an inch out of position here and a fraction of a second late with a block there led to a fairly fast defeat.
Within less than a couple of minutes, Zi Delan lay bloodied on the sand being fed a healing pill.
The battle of number two versus number nine went about the same, with the higher ranked combatant easily overwhelming his opponent. Thus, only several scant minutes after the final bouts began, it was Huang Yimun's turn.
As he faced the number three finalist, a gray robed young man from the Jade Chameleon Sect, Huang Yimun discovered that he wasn't nervous. While winning would be fantastic, it was both unlikely and unnecessary. In the history of the tournament, only very few members of clans or small sects made it past the middle rounds of any contest, and the number that actually made the finals was a tiny percentage, almost negligibly so.
With him, Zi Delan, Wan Ai, and Xun Wu all making it that far, the stature of the Rising Tide Sect was proved beyond any doubt. Huang Yimun could only imagine the forces behind inviting them to the tournament pulling out their hair after every match.
His job was simply to do his best and to be a good sport whether he won or lost, both of which he could and would do.
Of course, losing was sure to be unpleasant. The Rising Tide Sect and the Jade Chameleon Sect were as hostile as they could be toward one another without outright war being declared. He could only imagine that the gray robed young man would do anything and everything he could to rub in his victory.
The match started, and the Jade Chameleon took the initiative, charging forward with his sword held at the ready. His speed, power, and precise movements indicated that he utilized a technique.
In a blink, he went from standing a dozen yards away to swinging his jian.
Only the advantages provided by Huang Yimun's Body Cultivation gave him a chance to block the strike. He shifted the haft of his spear to intercept the blade, trusting the alchemically treated Orange Vigor Spirit Wood to handle any blacksmithed metal outside of what the sect leader could produce.
Thunk!
Already an underdog, reacting to his opponent's attacks was not the way to pull out a win, so Huang Yimun sought to go on the offensive. Unfortunately, the Jade Chameleon was already doing so, seamlessly turning his blocked swing into a backhanded thrust.
Huang Yimun had enough experience to recognize a technique when he saw it, and all he could do was try to move his spear quickly enough not to be impaled.
Which he managed. Barely.
Two exchanges. Two techniques. That was the advantage of talented cultivators. They could learn techniques quickly and typically got more benefit from them. Members who were focused on winning the tournament could accumulate five to ten skills to Mastery above and beyond generalized weapon training as long as they were patient enough not to rise through the Qi Gathering realms too fast.
Even with Body Cultivation and the sect leader's superior scriptures, it was difficult to compete with the power and speed provided by a technique. Not to mention that cultivators with higher spirit roots simply gained more from cultivation than lower ranked practitioners.
Huang Yimun stifled a sigh—the tyranny of talent.
If he had moved faster and with more power, his block could have forced his opponent out of position and left an opening. Dreams of such were only a fantasy, though. He'd barely intercepted the blade at all, forcing it just wide enough to prevent it from penetrating his stomach.
The Jade Chameleon flowed into another swing. There was no hesitation, not a single hitch in the motion. The speed, gracefulness, and power displayed were incredible. Another technique.
He'd earned his position as the number three rank.
If Huang Yimun were watching from the stands, he would have been very impressed and felt quite a bit of sympathy for the poor slob who had to face the guy. Unfortunately, Huang Yimun wasn't in the stands. He was the poor slob.
If there was one thing he didn't want to do in combat, that his every instinct told him was simply wrong, it was turning his back on an opponent.
But there was no choice, no time for Huang Yimun to determine an optimal way out.
The blade was coming for the back of his left shoulder, and his spear was completely out of position to block it. His only chance was a last resort.
He spun to his right, moving as fast as he ever had in his life.
Well before he could move the tough wood shaft between him and the oncoming steel, the blade bit into his right shoulder, cutting deep into his back.
Or that was what it felt like, anyway, with the arena's arrays transmitting the feel of the strike if only allowing a shallow cut through cloth and skin.
Regardless, Huang Yimun was done. He collapsed onto the sand and pulled a healing pill from his pocket.
Three moves. That was all he lasted. His opponent used three techniques in quick succession. As expected from the third best combatant in the entire tournament.
Huang Yimun rose, faced the Jade Chameleon, bowed low, and cupped his hands. "Gratitude for giving this one pointers, Senior."
The gray robed young man—surprisingly considering the animosity between their two sects—returned the bow and the cupped hands. "It was a good match. To match my speed and power without techniques is exceptional. Well done."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Huang Yimun tilted his head at the young man's actions and words. It just went to prove that there was no accounting for individuals. There were obviously at least some good people in a sect that was considered by the Rising Tide to be evil.
Yeah. That guy was all right. Talented and respectful. Hopefully, he wouldn't be killed when the sect leader destroyed the higher realmed members.