The limestone in the hall and room were made of distorted sound; echoes of noise had a hollowness to them that suggested there was more to this area. Perhaps it was the quietness that amplified even the smallest noise. The echoes of small sounds given more weight, a break from the solitude and isolation. Chambers and corridors that had been long sealed, disturbed now for the most spurious of reasons. The illusion the array master had created was impeccable, there was no way to tell this wasn't really some long-lost tomb.

As I crept forward, I was having difficulties isolating the sounds I was hearing. It was impossible to locate where the noise originated, the echoes of those sounds bouncing off of walls, floors, and ceilings creating a feedback effect that interfered with my perception. I would think I'd heard something in front of me, only to have the same noise echo from behind or below me. Whoever had created this illusion, had built in a method of sensory overload. I needed to find a way to filter the confusing and contradictory stimuli, or I would not make it past this first round.

I wasn't capable of flight, but part of [Spin and Dive Into the Ocean] allowed me to create a Qi construct, a platform that I could stand on to launch an attack. The ceilings were high enough and dark enough; I thought they might be the perfect place to set up for an ambush or to avoid one.

Stealth should keep me from being easily noticed and removing that hideous dress that was as good as painting a target on my back would help. The dark scaled leather that Yvonne had created would further allow me to take advantage of shadow, blending into my environment.

Leaping into the air, I created a set of stairs, staggered Qi platforms that were firm enough to hold my weight, and constructed with enough ice Qi that they would remain in position until I dismissed them. Using them like stepping stones, I moved from platform to platform, continuing my exploration, straining my perception to find and isolate the person I was certain was hiding.

Whoever had been in that room was either so good I never found him or had given up and moved on. It wasn't long before I came across competitors, a young woman, and a man locked in battle. Both using swords as weapons, I once again gave thanks to Elder Shadow, if he hadn't spent the time testing me to understand how I might best fight, I would probably be another Sect member amongst hundreds practicing sword arts.

Not that there was anything wrong with those techniques, in fact, people chose that discipline because of how strong the martial techniques for the weapon were. The problem was that familiarity. The weapon was too well known, discourse about technique and practical uses were debated publicly. It meant there was a lack of surprise when fighting with or against a swordsman.

They all learned the same techniques, martial forms that were copied and practiced across every Sect. There was little room for innovation or individuality by this point. And if secret techniques did exist, they were hoarded and guarded jealously. Protected from public view so no one could decipher how they were used. What was the point of having a secret technique that you could never use? Or only use as a last stand gambit?

I doubted a sect the size of Flowing Water had one of those secret arts, at least not one available to Inner and Outer sect members. A few of the elders, Elder Shadow most likely, had trained in one of these secret arts. I hadn't seen any of the other Elder's train or fight so I didn't even know what weapon they had trained in, but I had been used as a sparring dummy by Elder Shadow too often not to understand just how effortlessly he made use of his weapon.

I watched silently as the sounds of fighting began to draw a crowd. More and more of the people slowly crept into position, not ready to interfere, more waiting until both people had expended most of the Qi and energy. It was always easier to defeat a weakened opponent. The people fighting had made a huge tactical error, they had begun fighting in a large room that opened into four corridors. There was no way to guard against all areas of egress.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

What did surprise me, was the unspoken agreement among those that were gathering to refrain from attacking each other, to lay in wait. I understood not wanting to make the first move and leaving yourself open to attack; I was following that same tactic. But they had to know, that what was a duel between two people, would turn into a free for all between everyone once someone made that initial move to engage.

I didn't think they would have the patience to wait, but it required intelligence and talent to enter a Sect, and it seemed this group was lacking people stupid enough to risk it. No one wanted to be the trigger, the spark that ignited events into a conflagration.

I used my height advantage, perched on my platforms of ice and air to observe as more and more gathered. I hadn't explored the entire labyrinth, but the number of entrances to this room and the arrival of more and more participants had me concluding that this room served as a major intersection.

It would have served no purpose in a real pyramid, but then neither would a labyrinth. The changes to architecture were made to facilitate the tournament, not to advance understanding of ancient culture. If I was right, then all paths within the labyrinth led here, the rooms that I had passed were dead ends, and because there was only one real path forward, everyone would either find themselves here eventually or stay hidden within one of those dead ends.

My attention was drawn back to the two figures fighting when a burst of Qi was released. The combatants had increased the stakes of their battle, each sword strike releasing elemental Qi that was enough to reduce the surface of the limestone to rubble. Every time they deflected an attack, they left deep grooves in the floor and walls.

I decided my position was still too precarious; I was near the wall, hidden in shadow, but the energy they released was powerful enough to batter anything in its path. I moved to a spot in a corner that allowed me to observe while staying out of the blast radius of Qi infused weapon strikes.

Once I reached the comparative safety of the corner, I began slowly releasing water, air, and fog Qi. Stealth was the real equalizer once I began channeling my Qi, it not only hid me from sight, it masked my use of Qi. It was a slow process, releasing wisps of elemental Qi with slow precision. Stealth had taught me to use my Qi with exacting detail, instead of the roughhewn battering nature I had come to enjoy.

Normally, I would release fog in a burst of Qi, powerful enough to settle near the ground, and cover the entire area instantly. But for this I took a more measured approach, allowing the fog to build gradually. At the same time, I was allowing the water and air I controlled to form storm clouds. The only method I had to attack multiple targets required lightning, if I was given enough time, I could create the conditions to unleash a lightning storm.

The process was tedious, made more so because I needed to release Qi slowly enough that the perception of the other combatants didn't detect what I was doing. One of the few blessings from having Braun and his faction constantly stalking me meant my Qi perception was much more developed than a normal Body Refinement realm cultivator, so I was able to monitor any fluctuations of Qi from those gathering below. My perception was high enough that I would have noticed the build-up of fog and cloud.

I was tested almost daily, and if I hadn't worked to advance my reach and understanding of the finer details my perception uncovered, I would have been a walking mass of bruises and wounds. Braun and his friends had become more and more crafty as each day passed, and I had had to become better in order to evade them. They had given up, that attack in the forest the first confrontation in a long time as I had gotten better at avoiding them. They still harangued me with verbal attacks whenever our paths crossed publicly, but they would need to invest too much time in trying to find me, let alone corner me.

My perception was why I had so easily defeated him and his two stooges.

My precision with the finer details of Qi manipulation was what I was counting on to win this bout.