The practice session went poorly. Admittedly, that was better than Boneroot expected.

“When I go in, you need to cover me, you daft—”

“Shut up, Zhi!” Iris yelled for what felt like the tenth time in an hour. “I can’t cover you if your fat ass takes an hour to get into position.”

“It’s called strategy, you oaf! I need time to prepare my techniques to be certain of an effective attack!”

“Oh, well I’m sure our opponents will be very respectful of your needs. By all means, take your time.”

Guang stood off to the side of their enclosed portion of Training Field F, stuck between a reassuring smile and a grimace. Boneroot and Hana Kasumi were all grimace, though. 

“Zhi,” Boneroot suggested. “Why don’t you try to adopt a more supportive role on the team? Your techniques don’t seem to lend themselves to offense.”

“Well, perhaps if you hadn’t stolen my family’s weapons, I could show you what offense really is!”

Boneroot swallowed his retort and tried once more, “Do you have anything similar to that standard bearer technique your brother used? It would make a lot more sense for you to hang back and try to help whoever needs it.”

Unsurprisingly, Zhi Zhen was not convinced. She shouted at Boneroot, “Are you dumb? My cultivation art is by far the most distinguished of this sorry group. How do you not understand that our only chance of victory is through supporting me?”

“Because you’re weak. It doesn’t matter how ‘distinguished’ your art is if you can’t use it. Frankly, it’s not even a matter of discussion. Hana Kasumi and I have the strongest offensive power. Guang and Iris are most effective at area control and denial. Your only role options are to support us, or to be dead weight.”

Frustration practically spilling out of her, Zhi Zhen huffed as violently as the action could possibly allow and turned to leave.

“Hana, we’re leaving. This team is doomed to fail, but that doesn’t mean we can’t stand out regardless.”

The Water cultivator tilted her head back, just staring into the empty sky for a long moment before she followed her friend out of the training field. 

“To be fair,” Iris said in a surprisingly chipper tone. “Being the least useful of a hundred disciples is standing out in a sense.”

Guang guffawed, but he was still focused on the disappointing results of the last hour.

“Do you really think we should plan around them, Boneroot? I’m not sure we can rely on them to even stay with us once the competition begins.”

“For what it’s worth,” Iris cut in. “I think our strategy is pretty sound even if the other two both bail. You and I lock down an area for Boneroot to retreat to when he goes on the offensive. If Hana can also contribute to that, then all the better.”

“I agree,” Boneroot said. “We’re not going to come up with anything better than this in under a week. Those axes can also shift things in our favor if you can get a handle on them quickly enough, Guang. For now, we should probably focus on honing individual skill and trying to find any advantage we can, like Iris said yesterday.”

“Alright, then. I’ll go talk to a couple of the other military guys and see if they know anything. We’re not exactly friends, so I don’t think it’s going to work, but it’s worth a shot, yeah?”

“Definitely,” Boneroot affirmed. “I’ll track down Song and try to convince him to help.”

“I’ll take Biku and Kuroki on a hunt for the arena, then.”

“No, I’m taking you!”

Before Boneroot could admonish his companion, who had been observing the lackluster practice session with Biku at his side, Iris assuaged his concerns.

“Kuroki, you and Biku need to protect and help look. That’s the most important job!”

Iris was becoming quite adept at manipulating the tsovar. He wasn’t sure how she squared that away with her relationship to her own spirit beast, but they seemed to be on the best of terms.

~

Boneroot decided to look around the older noble residences for his friend. As he ambled through the rows of two-story villas of surprisingly variable structures and colors, he received an inordinate amount of disdainful looks. They were something he had grown accustomed to over the weeks, but the sheer concentration of them within this residential district was overwhelming.

Boneroot quickly learned why so many of the higher born disciples refused to wear the sect robes. It wasn’t just out of a misguided sense of fashion, but to serve as an identifier. By walking through the neatly cobbled streets in the standard white and blues, Boneroot all but shouted aloud that he didn’t belong.

He also shouted aloud, which didn’t help. 

Fortunately, that worked in his favor. Song Zeide came strolling into view after he canvassed only a few streets’ worth of annoyed, older disciples. The boy was letting his black hair fall in front of his eyes instead of putting it up in the usual knot and it swung side to side as he trotted down the slight incline.

“Heard you were about! What’s up, friend?”

Song’s familiar way of speaking was a relief after an afternoon spent dealing with Zhi Zhen. 

“I had some questions if you’re not busy.”

“Not at all, not at all. Come with me.”

Boneroot followed the bundle of elegant robes on a winding path through some houses thrice the size of his own until, eventually, they arrived at Song’s residence. Compared to some of the neighboring villas, it was quaint. Compared to the monotonous, little cottages in Boneroot’s district, though, it was a palace.

A thick, iron door sat snugly tucked into the stone facade of the building. The twin spires sticking out from the building’s roof and the blocky architecture were a stark departure from the aesthetics of the nearby structures. The door swung open as they approached and, soon, Boneroot was being ushered into a minimally furnished sitting room by an older man in robes similar to Songs, but less eye-catching.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

When the man left to find some refreshments, Boneroot had to ask, “You have a servant?”

Song looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable as he answered, “Don’t hold it against me. All the noble clans send at least one or two with each of their kids. It’s a matter of face, y’know? Plus, I figured he’d prefer it to waiting on the old bastard back at the state.”

“Does he?”

“No clue,” Song admitted. “He’d sooner flay the skin off his arms than say anything untoward about the household.”

Boneroot didn’t have much of a response to that, so he changed the subject.

“So, these houses are pretty crazy, right? It’s nothing like where I live. Some of these places have three floors!”

Song frowned.

“S’too bad most of them are empty. They built way more than necessary, just in case there’s a surplus of noble Outer Sect disciples one year. Nevermind that they’re the ones who decide how many people actually get to stay here.”

“That sounds... wasteful.”

“To put it nicely,” Song sighed. “Enough about that, though. What’d you come to ask me?”

“Oh, right! I was wondering if you had any secret info about the upcoming competition for the first-year disciples.”

Song laughed aloud before saying, “Sorry, Boneroot. Changes from year to year. The first trial last year was basically a giant scavenger hunt.”

Boneroot, too, was laughing a bit as he replied, “That’s OK. I didn’t really expect much. Do you have any general advice? First up this year is a ‘Royal Battle’. That’s what one of my teammates called it, anyway. Basically, all the teams fight at the same time. Last one standing wins.”

“She Kazemuran? That’s what they call it over there. One of the Shio guys was telling me about it the other day.”

“You know Hana Shio?”

Song gave him a look. “There’s more than one Shio, Boneroot. Sure, a lot of clans like to have people in all three of the major sects, but young cultivators aren’t exactly in short supply. There’s a handful from each major clan here, at least.”

“Ah,” Boneroot gave a sheepish grin. “That makes sense.”

Song waved it off. 

“The guy I’m talking about is nothing compared to the Shio girl, though. Hana, right? She’s a monster. I was pretty surprised to hear you came as close as you did to beating her.”

He flashed a grin that Boneroot returned.

“As for advice, the best I have for you is to expect betrayal. I’m sure you already are, but expect even more than that. Whenever the trial involves more than a few teams competing against each other, alliances are forged and broken a dozen times over in the week leading up to it. You have the Zhen girl on your team, right?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Don’t trust her. Don’t tell her anything. If you can ditch her, do it. Her brother is the best talent the Zhen has had in a while and they’ve invested too much to see him lose. Whether she actually wants to, or not, that girl is going to be forced to act as a stepping stool for their precious clan scion.”

The disgust in Song’s voice was more noticeable with each word.

“One last thing,” he added with a cheeky smirk. “I’ll be secluded for the next couple weeks. Preparing to reach Mid Orange realm and all that. I was gonna leave a message for you, but you found me at the perfect time, it seems.”

“Wait, why do you need to go into seclusion to do that?”

“Nobody told you Orange and Yellow realms need to be cultivated with much more care than the Red?”

“Actually, I did hear that,” Boneroot defended himself from Song’s skeptical look.

“Fine, fine, but you need to take it seriously, K? If you break through, even into Mid or High Orange without preparing, you might put an arrow through your foot.”

Boneroot gave the boy a quizzical look and received a confused one in return.

“It’s an expression! Have you really never... forget it.”

Song resigned himself once he remembered the bizarre origin Boneroot had vaguely outlined to him once.

Song’s servant returned with a number of pastries to accompany a delightfully fragrant tea, providing a convenient pivot in the conversation.

“So,” Boneroot said in between bites of a sweet biscuit. “What do the older Outer Sect disciples actually do all day? I rarely see any of you.”

“Same as any of you, really, but without the Experts’ classes. If you go through the first year without making it into the Inner Sect, they stop paying attention to you. When we’re not training, most of us are trying to accumulate sect points to use for tutoring.”

“Is that useful?” Boneroot asked.

“Very. Maybe not if you’ve got a Sect Expert in your pocket, but the rest of us can take any help we can get.”

Boneroot almost felt guilty for the advantage he had. Then he took a look around at the luxurious house.

Perhaps sensing the awkward dynamic at play in his last statement, Song hastily changed the subject. For Song, though, hastily meant just not drawling too much.

“What’d you win from that duel, anyway. That Sect Expert was pretty keen on making sure you got to keep whatever was in that void ring.”

“Who, Danh? Yeah, he’s... helpful.”

Song eyed him skeptically.

“That’s it? Even most of the disciples in these houses don’t have an Expert in their camp like that.”

“I know. He’s just really annoying.”

Boneroot swiveled his head, expecting to see his irritating mentor pop out of one of the paintings on the wall. 

Song laughed. 

“Introduce us, then. If it means I don’t have to put up with Chih Yuto’s bullshit, I’ll happily take the irritation.”

“Careful what you wish for,” Boneroot warned. “I’ll bring it up with him, but no promises. He’s friendly enough, but not exactly interested in most of the people here.”

There was a brief pause as Song thought over his words.

“So,” Song slapped the table suddenly, yet lazily. “Void ring.”

“Right!” Boneroot flicked the contents of his void ring, minus spirit stones, out onto Song’s carpet. “Weapons, robes, and talismans. I was hoping you might be able to make sense of some of it, actually. We know what the weapons do, thanks to Guang, but the other items are a mystery.”

“Oh,” Boneroot said with a start. “Before I forget, here are a few spirit stones that were inside. Just a thanks for helping me train and looking at the rest of this stuff, if you can.”

“Well, well. I’ll happily accept. Thanks, Boneroot.”

The two shared a grin. Sliding onto the floor with impressive grace, Song started running his hands over the inscriptions on each talisman.

“Luckily for you, enchanting robes is pretty similar to enchanting talismans. Not so much for weapons, but here I can help. The talismans you have can be separated into two categories: disposable and reusable. The disposable ones are all pretty basic, one-off techniques. You’ve got three Fireballs and two Smokescreens.”

“Oh, that’s not surprising. Just about everything in Wei’s void ring was a contingency for fighting at range.”

“Yeah, that’s a Zhen for you. The three reusable talismans are more interesting, though. For instance,” Song gestured to a slip of wood with a maelstrom of shallow gashes carved into its face. “This one is a mystery to me. I’ve never seen this inscription before. You’ll need to ask an expert. The other two, though, I recognize. This one’s a Tailwind talisman. If I had to guess, you can probably use it once a day. Pretty useful supporting technique if your whole team needs to retreat, or cover a lot of ground.”

Boneroot was quite pleased by the sound of that. He listened intently for the final talisman’s ability.

“Lastly, this beauty is a Vital Roots talisman. Very popular and very expensive. You got lucky with this one, that’s for sure. Looks like another once-a-day but you’ll want to experiment with it to make sure. It’ll provide some restoration for anyone nearby, taking care of minor wounds and fatigue. As helpful as it sounds, too.

“What kind of ki does that?”

Song was surprised by the question, but still answered earnestly. 

“Wood. It’s not unlike those salves you see the medical attendants use. The real medical experts tend to people in the Inner Sect and they don’t need to rely on the salves because they have techniques that will do the same thing and more. They still use them for convenience, but it’s an impressive field nonetheless.”

“Do you know any of those techniques?”

“Not yet,” Song winked. “I think knowing a couple of them will mesh just fine with my art, so I’ll probably give it a shot once I hit Mid Orange, actually. Enough about me, though. Let’s look at the last of your loot.”

Song snatched the Zhen family robes off the floor for inspection.

“Decent fabric. No enchantment, surprisingly. Actually, the Zhen never cared much for robe enchantments. They’re all about their iron auras and all that. Our clans don’t see eye to eye, if you can believe it. As for these, I have some suggestions. First, I could buy them off you. Alternatively, you could make use of them yourself.”

“I don’t get it.”

The boy’s sleepy eyes perked up. “Mischief, what else?”

Song’s advice from earlier drifted into the forefront of his mind. If one expected to be betrayed by a certain individual, a a pair of that individual’s robes might come in handy. 

Reflecting Song’s scheming grin, Boneroot asked, “And if I gave them to you?”

“Also mischief.”

“One for me, one for you?”

“Perfect.”

~

Guang, Iris, and Boneroot met back up the next day in Boneroot’s cultivation chamber to practice efficiency and discuss their findings. Boneroot had already found out from Kuroki that his and Iris’s attempt to find the arena was a bust, but he held out hope that Guang came through.

“I did not come through,” Guang admitted almost immediately upon entering the room. 

When Boneroot relayed Song’s advice, as well as the types of talismans, though, their spirits rose.

“Song’s right. We got really lucky,” Iris said. “With these, we might actually make up for Zhi and Hana dragging us down.”

“I’m holding out hope for Hana,” Guang reassured her.

“You and you alone, Guang. I wouldn’t trust her to polish Biku’s horns.”

Iris’ spirit beast was fortunately not awake to hear the turn of phrase.

“Sure, but I trust her to act in her own best interests,” Guang said.

As thrilled as they were to know they’d have access to such potent talismans, they couldn’t help but feel even more curious as to the purpose of the yet unidentified one.

“It’s gotta be a shield, right?” Iris was speculating based on Wei’s predilections. 

While Boneroot ran his hands over the carved wood for the tenth time, Guang posited it may be a large-scale illusion.

“Why not just try it out? Are you scaredy cats?”

Though each of the disciples in the room were usually keen to dismiss Kuroki’s errant and frequently insulting commentary, this time they really couldn’t.

“That’s—”

“Ah”

“Well,” Iris was the first to articulate herself. “We’d have to reserve one of the training fields first, just to make sure nobody’s watching.”

Boneroot frowned.

“But Wei already knows what we have because they were his. He’s definitely going to be coming for us, which means surprise will do us little good anyway. He might even tell other teams what the talismans are depending on how much he cares about being the one to take us out.”

“Fair point,” Guang added. “Training field?”

“Training field,” Iris and Boneroot agreed.

And that was how Boneroot came to find out he was in possession of a Duelist’s Squall talisman. With his friends observing from a safe distance, Boneroot channeled his ki into it and soon found himself in the middle of a violent, cylindrical windstorm.

“It basically creates a little circle you can’t leave,” Boneroot shouted over the roar of the swirling winds. He had to repeat himself once the technique came to a stop.

“I don’t think we could have come in there even if we didn’t mind getting torn up on the way in,” Iris observed.

Kuroki stumbled over, informed Boneroot his new toy was too ‘woozy’ and slumped into his shadow pocket.