On the day Heaven's Eye shone scorching orange, the yearly procession of the Seven Clouds Sect was coming to an end.
Where a thousand finalists would battle their way to supremacy, for a chance to become an Inner Disciple, and to reach for the clouds above. The Seven Clouds Sect made sure to have refractory cloud mirrors at all ten battle stadiums, to give the citizens of Cloud City the drive and inspiration to work hard, and one day, join the glory of their sect.
For they needed talent and hidden gems now more than ever, with the advent of their status as a Rank 5 Economic Province.
The sect would all gather at the base of the seven mountains at the centre of Cloud City. Though the Inner Disciples would climb the mountains to be a part of the Seven Clouds, the base would train and garrison the military force and station all of the Outer Disciples. The Evening Clouds, a dark crimson and orange painting of buildings that circled around the brilliant grey and white mountains.
Overseer Juan, alongside two of his colleagues, stood on a floating desk far above all ten of the floating stadiums. Watching as each were filled with a hundred disciples, all whom performed well on the written examinations, Talisoul grading, and Qidense Stage calculations, were ready for the finale. They would either become an Outer Disciple, groomed to be the military force of Cloud City as Cloud Knights, or manage to grow into Inner Disciples, becoming the cream of the crop.
"The Talisoul Grade average has been much higher this year. We have far more Silver Grades and Iron Grades than before. Even the Bronze Grades have been rather impressive," Overseer Juan commented as his fingers tapped on an opaque slab with several buttons. With each tap, the stadiums were controlled, the cloud mirrors were recalibrated, and everyone's location was clear to them all. Three overseers per stadium would be enough to handle everything.
The Talisoul, in the beginning, referred to your average cultivation speed and amount of Spirit Meridians. From Bronze, Iron, Silver, Gold, Jade, and even the Mythical Grades after it, all focused on the body's capabilities of absorption of Qi.
But Talisoul wasn't rigorous as it used to be. Spiritual Meridians could be expanded through training your Talisbody as well, and the more you cultivated and understood the flow of Qi. The true powers and abilities of the Talisoul would only expand after Rank 2.
"Perhaps it is a sign to come. The more powerful Cloud City has gotten, the more talents have popped up per year. This year seems the most promising," a colleague next to Juan said, stroking his beard.
"Indeed. So let us change up the finale today." A cold voice, akin to a sharp blade, appeared right in front of Overseer Juan.
He couldn't even figure out when this man had appeared.
He was a man with a broad frame, with long black hair that fell to his shoulders. With a dark amber eyes, narrow like a phoenix, he held a neutral expression, with one hand over his ornate sword sheathe.
"Elder Swordfall! This is sudden, the Sect Leader has decided to change our processions from now on?" Overseer Juan stammered, his fingers that worked on the formations coming to a halt.
"Today is a break for you all. The Sect Leader has a new creation he wishes to make use of," and with those words, Elder Swordfall disappeared from Overseer Juan's sight.
One of his colleagues took out a few cold drinks from his spatial storage, placing it in front of them. "Well, we may as well enjoy the show, eh?"
But Overseer Juan had his gaze at the top of the sky, where two other elders appeared. An old man with a beard that flowed to his chest, with eyebrows drooping over his eyes. And the other, a majestic middle-aged Silvent man, with flowing viridian hair combed to the side, and branched horns that stood high to the heavens. "Old Elder Spiritweaver, and Elder Kuveiros are here as well? What exactly is this new examination they wish to begin?"
"Hahaha, it is all part of the Sect Leader's plan. A way to polish even the gems hidden amongst other gems, like an Elysial Fruit. Because now, more than ever, we need to find the hidden dragons and phoenixes that stem from even the lowest of beginnings." A hearty man with a great white heard and flowing hair said, having taken one of the drinks on Overseer Juan's table to enjoy for himself.
He didn't need to ask, of course.
"G-Grand Elder Wanshang as well?! If even the right hand man of the Sect Leader is here, then it must be of important news." Overseer Juan didn't dare comment on his drink being taken, of course.
"No, not really. It's just…" Grand Elder Wanshang gazed at the ten stadiums, filled with the potential of their city.
He took a large sip of the cold fruity juice.
"We're going to change things up a bit."
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Tez stood on the tenth levitating stadium, observing his wooden sword. "So the quest is to defeat 10 opponents in this battle, huh," Tez muttered, before staring at the person next to him.
Liu Shuren stood with his arms crossed, cradling a wooden staff and wearing an ornate autumn robe. Presumedly patiently waiting for the battle to start, he heard Tez's musings and retorted back.
"A mere Stage 2 Qidense, the weakest of this group, wants to beat 10 opponents? You'll die a worthless death if you keep up such foolish thoughts. I'll allow you to mess around and see how long you last before sorting you out."
Tez narrowed his eyes at Shuren. To think they had ended up placed next to each other, the world was absurd. Even if they ended up exchanging fighting words, Tez still tried to avoid Shuren as much as possible.
And as if he'd understand that battles weren't measured with just numbers.
Yet Tez still couldn't gauge his strength. He'd need to get to a higher stage to even gleam some basic information on this man.
Damnit, I didn't expect him to hear that. I really need to cut this habit fast. Best to steer clear of this bastard and go for the weakest fighters. Just looking at him pisses me off.
Tez focused his sights on the rest of the stadium, absorbing the information of all 99 fighters waiting evenly beside each other on grids, roughly the size of ten metres wide.
Too bad the System can't even unanimously examine anything I look at. I have to actually be strong enough and improve my Examine Skill to see more info-
WARNING. HIGH RANK ANOMALY DETECTED
RANK ??? BEING
VEILING SOUL AND MIND TO FOREIGN QI SENSE
The blaring of red screens appeared in Tez's mind, but that wasn't what he was focusing on.
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All warmth from his body disappeared, as if he'd been plucked and thrown into Antarctica without even his clothes. Breath escape hid body, and he struggled to move, his knees shivering. With all his might, he tried to stand still, and the urge to tumble over and fall crept closer to him. But Tez barely managed to stand his ground.
One of the Elders of the Seven Clouds Sect appeared on the battlefield, exuding his presence with no mercy to all participants. Elder Swordfall stood, with a sheathed sword by his side.
Only Tez's eyes could dart around, and dozens of people dropped like flies under the pressure. Yet, when he saw Shuren, the man stood his ground without dropping a sweat. Though his jaws were clenched, and he used his staff to balance himself, he barely showed anything else in his expression. His eyes still remained firm, gazing at the elder.
But when he gave a sideways glance to Tez, he huffed two words out. Words that even Tez wasn't sure what to feel about.
"Not bad."
Tez moved his focus away to Elder Swordfall, whose gaze seemed to linger on Shuren for a while, before clapping his hands, cutting off his pressure.
Tez could only take a deep breathe with relief, warmth once more returning to his body. Just with an elder's existence, the System went all mad on me! His rank must be ridiculously high, is he also a Rank 5; a Nascent Soul cultivator like the Sect Leader?
Elder Swordfall's voice resounded across all ten battlefields, and amongst the spectating crowds as well. "We're changing the finale from now on. There will no longer be multiple battlefields, all thousand participants will fight against each other. All your wooden weapons will be replaced with steel."
The ten floating stages, each with a hundred participants, moved amongst the air, dripping with colourful clouds. They all stacked on top of one another, slowly inching towards each other, and Tez felt a creeping feeling that if it continued anymore, he'd be flattened like a Sunday morning breakfast's pancake!
Tez felt the sword by his side feel heavier, and the rest of the battlefield participants observed their new weapons as well. A light blue glow appeared at the centre of their chests, along with a pillar of light shooting from across all ten battlefields.
"Those who die will fail."
As the ten platforms formed into a cube with intersecting lights, a stream of clouds, of nine rainbour colours, swarmed and writhed around the platforms, veiling every participant from the world. Multiple lights danced until a sphere formed.
And then it shrunk.
Until nothing was left.
When colour once more returned to the world, Tez was back in a stuffy and humid place, with the chirps of crickets and all sorts of bugs whizzing about.
He felt a cold presence circling around his wrist, and Tez looked. A clean silver bangle, and though it had no engravings, the more Tez stared at it, the further he could see small lines moving almost like clouds.
A wisp of Qi was forcefully taken from his body, injecting itself into the silver bangle, and Tez could see a veil of opaque clouds forming into a box.
With it, a list of rules were written down.
The examination was a points based system, those with the highest points would receive the most rewards and benefits. They were sent to a Fractured Minor Realm organised by the Sect Leader.
You would receive points for beating fellow participants. Increased points for having a multiple streak. Points for battling different categories of beast found across all the biomes of the test. Even points for strategies, and finding secret traps and artifacts that controlled the environment, allowing even the weakest person to use their wits and creativity to win more points.
All injuries in this world would be real, but the moment you die in this realm, you would be sent back to the Evening Clouds.
Tez pinched himself.
The pain was all too real.
He once more looked at his active quests. There was no change.
Reading one of them again, Tez's eyebrows twitched and his mouth ran agape as he gradually came to a realisation.
"Wait… I have to defeat 10% of all participants… Doesn't that mean I have to now defeat a hundred fighters?"
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Shuren stood in the scorching desert, having read the rules. With his metal staff in tow, he threw it up a few times to feel its weight. To make sure his body knew how much more strength to control when using it.
"I did not expect Cloud City to be in hold of a Fractured Realm of such size and diversity of the environment. Even employing such a feat on a large scale with a fake death, perhaps it is only my mind and soul that is here, and my body is still asleep in the outside." With a finger to his chin, he considered the options.
Fractured Realms were unstable existences found in the realm between the seen and unseen. The world was vast, and the secrets hidden even on the surface were boundless. "Perhaps it's remnants of an Immortal Cultivator's inheritance that was repurposed by the Sect Leader? It's quite strange they would have a such a thing in their hands… Father was indeed right."
Shuren's father had expressed his interest in the growth of Cloud City severely. He had complete confidence that the Sect Leader would soon ascend into Rank 6; becoming a Grand Pathstrider. One with increased longevity, whose body, soul and spirit would be fully reformed, and step into the world of Immortal cultivators. Instead of absorbing Qi from his surroundings, he would generate Immortal Qi within his own body, able to cut himself from the constraints of the world.
And it would be like a snow ball effect, elevating the status of Cloud City even higher.
"With a thousand participants, things have only gotten more interesting." Shuren tensed his body, Qi flowing through it. "Very good. I need at least this much to go all out! I'll become the first ranker in this entire contest!"
As if the world heard his proclamations of victory, the sands of the desert shook with intensity, sensing Shuren's arrogance.
His forced use of Qi made him like a brilliant light to the beasts hidden within. With this, I can lure out creatures to gather points faster than anyone else.
A dark crimson snake with scales that bounced seven-coloured lights slithered from the ground, at least thrice the size of Shuren. With its white dried tongue hissing, hunger was at its peak.
A Stage 4 Beast in the Qidense Realm, eyeing Shuren as his prey.
He raised his chin, battle intent coursing through his veins. He held his metal staff in a back stance, the bottom dragging through the hot sand.
"Good. A worthy appetiser."