"Did we..." Wei Lin started.

"Just agree to enter the tournament?" Lin Mei finished.

"Pretty sure we did," I replied, already mentally calculating how many time loops I could fit into eight weeks without arousing suspicion.

Wei Lin ran his hands through his hair. "Are we crazy? There's going to be eighth stage cultivators there!"

"Only one eighth stage," Lin Mei corrected, though she didn't sound particularly reassured by this fact.

"Look," I said, turning to face them both, "we only need to pass the first stage. Senior Sister Liu basically admitted she doesn't expect us to go further than that."

"I suppose we should start planning our training schedule?" Lin Mei asked.

"Tomorrow," Wei Lin declared. "Right now, I need food, a bath, and about twelve hours of sleep. Not necessarily in that order."

As if on cue, my stomach growled loudly. We'd been so caught up in Senior Sister Liu's appearance that I'd forgotten how long it had been since our last real meal that wasn’t on the road.

"Food first," I agreed. "We can worry about eighth stage cultivators after dumplings."

"And a bath," Lin Mei insisted, brushing road dust from her robes. "I refuse to plan tournament strategy while smelling like a stable."

We made our way toward the outer disciples' dining hall, already debating the merits of various training approaches. I couldn't help but smile, despite the daunting challenge ahead.

This wasn't the careful, solitary path to immortality that Senior Sister Liu advocated. But maybe that was okay. Maybe there was room on the Dao for different approaches, for cultivators who advanced through cooperation rather than isolation.

Besides, I thought as I watched Wei Lin try to steal a dumpling from Lin Mei's bowl (and get his chopsticks smacked for the attempt), what was the point of becoming immortal if you had to do it alone?

"Master," Azure's voice was unusually gentle in my mind, "your cultivation pace is already something your friends are struggling to match. As time passes, the gap will only widen.”

I stopped smiling then, and turned back to look at my friends, who were continuing to argue over dumplings.

Deep down, I knew Azure was right. The rate at which I could progress using the time loops, combined with my unique cultivation method, meant I was advancing far faster than normal disciples.

No matter how much I wished otherwise, there would come a time when our paths would diverge. But not today. Today, we were just three friends sharing a meal, planning for a tournament that was probably going to get us killed.

The future could wait.

***

The late afternoon sun filtered through my window, casting shadows across Wei Lin, who was sprawled across my bed like he owned it, whilst me and Lin Mei sat opposite him on chairs.

I took a deep breath and finally said what had been weighing on my mind. "I'm sorry to have gotten you both into this mess. The stuff that happened outside the sect, the tournament," I gestured vaguely. "All of it."

Wei Lin snorted and threw my pillow at me as he sat up. I caught it with my right hand before it could hit my face.

"Are you seriously apologizing? After everything that happened?"

"But—"

"But nothing," he cut me off. "If you hadn't been at the Wei compound..." His voice grew serious. "We don't know what would have happened to my father.”

"Still..."

"No more of this kind of talk," interrupted Lin Mei. "We knew what we were getting into when we left the sect, and well – we gained some real-world experience and even recruited a few friends to join the sect."

“Hmm, I don’t know if I’d call the former bandits my friends…” Wei Lin muttered.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Speaking of experience," I said, deciding to change the subject, "how's your cultivation going? We'll need to be in top form for the tournament."

Wei Lin and Lin Mei exchanged a look which could only be described as shy. A light blush spread through Lin Mei's cheeks.

"What?" I asked, looking back and forth between them. "Did I miss something?"

They exchanged a look before chiming in unison: "We're close to reaching the fourth stage."

I blinked. That didn’t make any sense. "But when did you have time to..." The words were swallowed in my throat as I took in their embarrassed smiles.

Oh.

Oh.

"You… you guys…” I pointed accusingly at them. "You actually..."

My spare pillow flew through the room and hit me square on the nose. "See?" Wei Lin called out. "We really were focused on cultivation!"

Lin Mei buried her face in her hands, but I could see her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

"Dual cultivation," I muttered, shaking my head. "I should have known.”

"It's a perfectly valid cultivation method!" Wei Lin protested, though his face was nearly as red as Lin Mei's.

"And very efficient," Lin Mei whispered, though she couldn't quite meet my eyes.

"Hey, as long as it works," I raised my hands in surrender. "If we’re going against an 8th stage Qi Condensation cultivator, we need every advantage we can get."

I'd always relied on myself in battle, but real teamwork meant knowing and using everyone's strengths.

"Let's figure out our roles," I suggested. "What each of us brings to the table."

Lin Mei perked up at this. "My Flowing River Method would make me a good support," she said, her words tumbling out in a rush. "I could start learning some healing techniques." She trailed off, her enthusiasm dimming as a look of realization appeared on her face. "Though after seeing what you did with Wei Ye, maybe I should—

"No, that's really okay," I cut in. "The Wei Ye thing was special," I tried to find a way to explain that my healing abilities mostly involved channeling energy from an otherworldly blue sun. "Other than my self-healing technique, which still needs a lot of work, I'm not really suited for healing."

"Really?" Lin Mei brightened. "Then I'll focus on that. Between my water circulation principles and the herb knowledge from the gardens, I think I could develop some useful support techniques."

"What about me?" Wei Lin asked, leaning his back against the wall. "Please tell me I get to hit things."

I grinned. "I was thinking you and I could be our main combat force. Create opportunities for each other, keep opponents off balance." I paused thoughtfully. "I can also handle reconnaissance."

They both looked surprised at that. Wei Lin raised an eyebrow. "Since when were you a scout?"

I shrugged, trying to look mysterious. "The World Tree Sutra gives me a special connection to plants. Makes it easier to sense approaching danger through them."

"Sense approaching danger through plants?" Azure's voice echoed in my mind. "Is that what we're calling my comprehensive scanning abilities now?"

"Would you prefer I tell them about the artificial intelligence living in my inner world?" I shot back mentally.

"Point taken," Azure conceded. "Though you might want to work on your cover stories. That was barely convincing."

"What about all that formation equipment you bought?" Wei Lin asked, gesturing to the case still sitting unopened by my bed. "Aren't you planning to learn that too?"

I nodded. "Most disciples will have higher cultivation than us, but I doubt many have specialized in formations or something similar. It might give us an edge."

But in my head, I was already wondering how I could use my knowledge from other worlds to speed up my learning in formations. The Two Suns' rune system had some deeper principles that I could apply here, after all.

"That's all then!" clapped Wei Lin. "We all know what to work on."

"We also need to come together once every week for team practice," I suggested. "That's how our chemistry in battle will improve.”

"Don't we need to register first?" Lin Mei asked, her eyes darting between me and Wei Lin. "To participate in the tournament?"

"Right," I said, getting to my feet. "Why don't you two go check on Liu Chen and Rocky? Make sure they're settling in okay. I'll handle the registration."

Wei Lin stretched lazily before rolling off my bed. "Sounds good. Though you do know Rocky probably has better accommodations than us by now? The sect isn't going to pass up a chance to properly house their new stone guardian."

"As long as they keep him and Liu Chen together," I said. "That bond between them is special." I remembered the fierce protectiveness in the boy's eyes whenever Rocky was threatened. "They need each other."

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Just try not to start any fights before the tournament actually begins," Lin Mei warned as she stood. "We've had enough excitement for a year."

"Me? Start fights?" I placed a hand over my heart in mock offense. "I would never."

"Right," Wei Lin drawled. "Just like you would never antagonize Zhou or Wu Kangming."

"Zhou picked on me!" I protested. "And technically, Wu Kangming’s problem isn’t with me, it’s with Wu Lihua…"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Wei Lin patted my shoulder as he headed for the door. "Come on, my beautiful cultivation partner. Let's go make sure Rocky hasn't tried to eat any of the sect's decorative stones."

Lin Mei blushed at the term 'cultivation partner' but followed him out, pausing only to give me a warning look. "Be careful," she said softly. "The tournament registration area will be full of people trying to size up the competition. Don't show too much."

I nodded, touched by her concern. "I'll be good. Probably."

"That's not reassuring!" she called back as she hurried after Wei Lin.

I waited until their footsteps had faded before entering my inner world.

"Azure? What do you think our chances actually are?"

"In the tournament?" He was quiet for a moment. "The first stage should be manageable, especially if we can improve your formation skills. After that... it depends on who we're matched against. And how much we're willing to reveal."

I nodded, already planning how to balance showing enough to advance and catch the eye of an elder while keeping our true capabilities hidden. It would be a delicate dance, but then again, when wasn't it in this world?

"Well," I said, heading for the door, "might as well get started. Time to see who else is crazy enough to enter this tournament."