Breakfast was quiet. I had Gauntlet mass produce a bunch of plates of food and bring it to each individual's room instead of having everyone feast in some massive dining hall. I didn’t like the idea of talking while I ate.

The ‘tournament’ would be happening around noon. It would be a multi-round fight and only the weaker individuals would participate, all fights being against someone of their own rank. I personally didn’t care for it, but it seemed like every sect member here had confused my uncaring attitude for that of happy embracement. Everyone seemed to be rushing to prepare themselves to give a magnificent show of strength and power.

Oh well.

Gauntlet was my only official disciple. But the thought of him fighting any of the sect members was ridiculous, so this little tournament would have to be between the sects themselves. Gauntlet could take out the owners of this whole damn empire much the less, these fellas.

"Master Bill, I have been meaning to speak with you!"

Gai Lu came up and around the corner. I was currently sipping tea in a private courtyard, but the man had just walked in here as if he owned the place.

"Gai Lu, this is my private residence. Do not bother me."

"Ahh, but I merely wished to speak to you about-"

I glared.

"What do you want, Gai Lu?"

There was a small flare of fear and anticipation in the man’s aura.

"I merely wanted to discuss the possible establishment of a temple down-"

"No, I mean why do you test me?"

"I do not know what you mean honored mast-"

"Lies. You keep pushing me, and if I were a more prideful man you’d be dead by now."

"I- I apologize if my musing were disrespect-"

This time I pushed down hard and exerted my aura harshly. But I noticed that the fear fled and was replaced with relief. He was content, almost joyful at my reaction. His face kept up the act of fear and horror, but his aura was reeling with relief. I paused. I slowly let up the pressure and as I did, his aura went from relief to anxiety and then back to fear.

"Why do you want me to kill you?"

Gai Lu looked down at the ground for several seconds and fidgeted in place like a child confronted with a lie.

"I- I thank you for sparing my life honored master-"

"There are fates worse than death Gai Lu. Now speak, why do you want me to kill you?"

"I do not wish for you to kill me," he spoke. "I- I merely wished for an honorable death."

"Explain."

Gai Lu sighed as he stood up.

"I will die, honored master. If not by your hands then by someone else's. Death in battle is virtuous for a monk and-"

"Ahhh," I said finally wising up to the situation.

"Someone is going to kill you, but that type of death is something you can’t accept. You seek virtue and recognition and the death that they would give you wouldn’t have any of that. No, it would mar your reputation and expose something, something that would paint you as unvirtuous."

The man’s aura almost leapt at me with that confrontation and I could see his hands tighten with stress. For a moment, he was thinking about attacking me. The qi gathered in his fists and there was the slightest release of killing intent before he smothered it all the best he could.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"What could you possibly have done to drive you to this?" I wondered.

Gai Lu gave me a short bow.

"I apologize for my transgressions," he stated. And with that, he quickly walked himself out of the area.

"What a psycho," I muttered.

But it was to be expected from these people. Daos consumed you in a way, forcing you to live your life to their expectations. That was part of the reason that I had never fully practiced one. They were scarily overpowering to your identity.

In the monk’s case, he was obsessed with virtue. But virtue could mean many things. It was like the idea of being a good person. For some people, being a good person meant living as one, for others, it was about how you were seen by other people.

Either way that would be the monk’s dilemma, not mine. After a few more hours of lazing around, I got myself up and walked over to the courtyard. I was greeted with a barrage of bows. Most of the weaker individuals didn’t talk, and people quickly shuffled aside to clear my path, but the ones at fifth rank or higher felt the need to greet me verbally. I got a few compliments about our mattress and the head of the Hidden Viper Sect said that ‘she wouldn’t mind sleeping in them again, if only they were a bit warmer.

Jeez.

All the participants stood trying their best to look aloof and capable. Those of the Hidden Viper had makeup, while the Hollow Echo members slowly unraveled the blindfolds. I didn’t care about the results of the fight, but I could guess the results with a slight glance. They all wore fancy silk garments hidden underneath thick warrior’s clothes.

Cultivators didn’t wear armor. It wasn’t out of pride but rather that armor couldn’t truly defend against a qi-enhanced attack unless the armor itself was enchanted. And even then, you could always channel qi into a blade when you needed to attack, but defense was different. You would need to funnel qi into the armor constantly, otherwise, an unseen attack could damage it or possibly cut through it. It also limited movement speed and reaction times, as well as being a constant drain on your qi reservoir. So most cultivators learned to defend with their weapon of choice, and there was a myriad of techniques to push back opponents and block attacks.

The first fight was between a Hollow Echo member and a Raging River member. The Raging River kid won, but the fight was close until the end. At some point, both of the Raging River’s eardrums had burst and the Hollow Echo boy had almost been dry-drowned.

After that were more fights. River versus Viper. Viper versus Flower. Flower versus Fist. We went through all the brackets until an interesting one finally caught my gaze. It was the Flowering Sword Sect versus the Hollow Echo, and representing the Flowering Sword was Cai Xiun.

The Hollow Echo member nodded and bowed and Cai did the same. They both raised their sword, each ready to parry the other. Then, they circled, each keeping their distance from one another.

There were some mutterings of confusion from the younger members of the audience.

"He’s keeping his distance," I explained.

"One of the weaknesses of the Flowering Sword Style is the amount of time it takes to weave the attack. Cai is refraining from attacking first because if he does, his opponent can rush at him during the small time it takes him to weave his blade. Whereas his opponent is waiting for him to use the Flowering Sword Style so he can break it and attack him while he’s distracted."

The murmurings got louder with my comments and many of the older cultivators nodded in agreement.

"It’s true," one of the Flowering Sword Sect’s members said. "The Flowering Sword Style needs a quick hand to weave its petals. At its most complex it can be thousands of sword strikes all woven within a single instant, but the young are rarely able to achieve such a feat."

"It’s true, but young master Cai is capable," another member responded.

"Tai Lui, you put too much faith in the boy. His blade is strong but his opponent is three minor stages ahead of him. At best, it comes down to a battle of attrition and that would only be worse for young master Cai. What do you think Honored Master?"

"The difference in strength is obvious but if Cai can end this quickly, he still has a chance at winning."

"See Bi Xin, young master Cai can pull through," the man called Tai Lui said happily.

"He can do it," Bi Xin snorted, "If only the Dao allows."

The two young cultivators suddenly stopped circling one another, before they both lunged forward with their blades drawn out. Blade met blade and thin metallic tings echoed through the courtyard.

Cai’s opponent leapt and released a wave of sound qi. In return, Cai released a defensive slash and moved back onto his heels. His opponent landed on his feet and howled. A deafening scream was released, and the audience members, having seen this move before, all put their hands to their heads to block out the noise.

Cai looked a little battered but his aura flared with resilience. This fight was going on for far too long. The issue was that cultivators were great at adapting mid-fight. Regardless of how skilled your opponent was, if you could figure out their method of attack and counter it somehow then the fight would turn to a match of stamina instead of skill. The longer the fight went on, the more pure might and qi quantity mattered. And in this fight, Cai’s opponent had a clear advantage in that catragory.

Then the boy did something that surprised the audience. His qi pushed and circled flowing into a rhythmic pattern. It was a Flowering Sword Style attack and it was one that had been seen before in this tournament.

No, what made this attack truly different was that it was imbued with both the Dao of the Flowering Sword and the law of water. Swirls of liquid bloomed into a many-petaled attack and exploded from Cai’s blade.