“Where were you?” Liu Mei asked as the creaking of a wooden chair informed Shao that Xiahou Ren had just sat down.

“I was scoping out the competition at the ceremonial field, of course,” Xiahou Ren said. “Everything’s in place for us to carry out the plan we agreed on last night.”

“Really?” Liu Mei asked with some small amount of annoyance in her voice. “Do you really think Xu Fei can survive the Rite of Initiation?”

Liu Mei’s words caused Shao to look up from the table in shock. He spotted Xu Fei out of the corner of his eye and cringed slightly as he felt a slight pressure begin to press upon his temples. Xu Fei carried a short sword at her hip, and the robes she was wearing the previous night had been replaced with more comfortable - and more form-fitting - robes. Shao cut this train of thought short and erected a mental barrier around his mind.

Did Liu Mei say that they were bringing Xu Fei with them to the Rite of Initiation? Why? Shao assumed that it would be impossible for a one-star to survive the Rite.

Xiahou Ren gestured for everyone to follow him. “That’s a question that can be answered while we walk to the ceremonial field. The Rite doesn’t start for a few hours, but we should get there early.”

As everyone rose from their seats and began to walk toward the front entrance of the building that they had been using as a headquarters for a few days, Shao walked up to Ren and, in a hushed voice, asked, “Are you sure about this? Won’t the Rite be a bit much for a one-star?”

With a smile, Xiahou Ren said at a volume loud enough for everyone present to hear, “There’s no need for anyone to worry. I ‘convinced’ an outer disciple at the Field of Ceremonies to tell me everything he knew about the Rite of Initiation.”

As they passed through the front door of the structure and stepped onto the street outside, Ren continued. “With this information, I decided that the best course of action would be for Louis, Liu Mei, and Xu Fei to take the eastern path and for Yang Shou and I to take the western path.”

Liu Mei grimaced. “Fine, but my debt to you is paid as soon as this is over, Xiahou Ren.”

“Is this really what you want, Xu Fei?” Shao asked, pointedly not looking in her direction.

In a slow, purposeful voice, Xu Fei said, “Last night, Xiahou Ren told me that I had two options: either come with you to Shigong Temple or manipulate a high-level Lianqi to become my protector.”

“The second option sounds a lot easier,” Shao said, trying to sound reasonable. “Being a disciple at Shigong Temple is incredibly dangerous and physically strenuous. You’ll have to spend every day training your body just to catch up. Why not just rely on a cultivator for protection?”

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“I don’t want to manipulate people for my own benefit. More than that, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life reliant on others.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Shao said. “If there’s anyone who understands the desire to get stronger, it’s me. You can only rely on yourself, after all.”

The group of five spent most of the rest of the walk to the Field of Ceremonies in silence. This silence was broken by the occasional conversations between Louis and Xiahou Ren, but Shao had no idea what they were talking about. At one point, Shao asked Xu Fei why she was breathing differently, and she said that Xiahou Ren had taught her a breathing technique that allowed her to limit her ki output. Apparently, this breathing technique was meant to limit the effects of Xu Fei’s bloodline talent, which she called the “Curse of Jade.”

Zhoushan City soon disappeared behind them, and a massive mountain range rose from the horizon. As different paths traveling east from the city converged, the group of five found themselves surrounded by nearly a dozen people dressed in cultivator robes all walking in the same direction. Shao had to conceal his body’s fear response as he noticed all of the cultivators staring at his group. His iron staff creaked as his powerful grip on it tightened.

“Peace, Yang Shao,” Xiahou Ren whispered to his teammate. “They’re just watching us because we’re the only ones in a group.”

Ren was correct. Every other cultivator walking on the road was alone. They were the only ones out of place due to how bunched up they were on the road. All the other cultivators kept a healthy distance from one another, for fear that any one of them could attack without provocation.

“Remember the plan,” Ren whispered to the group. “When everything starts, you guys go down the eastern path while we go down the western path.”

“Oui.”

“Got it,” Liu Mei muttered.

“I understand,” Xu Fei said with an unsteady voice.

The trees lining the path began to thin, and soon the group found themselves within a massive clearing. The path terminated at a large field that contained dozens of people dispersed across a square area about five hundred cun on each side.

Two large structures marked the field: a three-story stone pagoda where the road met the field and a huge stage in its center. People dressed in black robes like the ones Wei Da wore when Yang Shao met him were funneling newcomers into the pagoda.

A long line of cultivators had formed outside the pagoda, and Shao’s body tensed as he entered the line just behind Xiahou Ren. Though Shao’s group received many unfavorable glances, none of the nearby cultivators said anything or made any physical moves indicating aggression.

One of the men standing near the pagoda wore a long blue coat over his black robes, and he rested his unsheathed sword against his shoulder. With a strangely casual voice, the man in blue said, “Remember, if any of you cut in line, I will strike you with my fist and throw you to the back. If I see any of you fight in the Field of Ceremonies, I will cut your hand off.”

Having delivered his threat successfully, the man in blue leaned against the pagoda and continued to stare at the long line of cultivators with obvious annoyance.