It took Min several excruciating minutes to extract herself from the cluster of spouses after the dowager had dismissed them. Lady Soaring Heavens was exulting in her triumph. Lady Moon Whispers had a considering look on her face. Hiroko had said nothing, despite Lady Soaring Heavens’ effusiveness, just sat beside the dowager looking tired.

At last, Min escaped and went to find the disciples. They were waiting in one of the lesser pavilions off to the side, sitting on a hard wooden bench and eating. She joined them. There were other people here, guards and scribes, so she kept her voice low as she hissed, "Well, where are Joshi and Chang-li?"

"I told you," said Brother Stone. "They have gone after Feng."

"Alone?" Min put a hand to her head. "Feng still has disciples in the tower. None of his have emerged, and from what you've said, he hasn't lost any. If anything, he's gained one from Li Jiya's traitor disciple. Chang-li and Joshi haven't reached the Peak of Mental Refinement, have they?"

Brother Stone shook his head. "Not yet, no."

"So how can they hope to defeat him?" Min felt despair and hopelessness threaten to overwhelm her. There was nothing she could do for them. How could they be so reckless? Was it something about cultivation that forced you along, made you take dangerous steps? She felt the pull herself during their training time in the tower, the desire to better yourself, to consume more and more lux and let it shape you into something more than just human.

Joshi and Chang-li were both much farther down the path than she was, and she'd never heard common sense preached as a virtue for cultivators. But still, what was she to do if Chang-li was killed?

Her mind shied away from that. No, no, he would be fine. They would make it out somehow. And then, then she'd have to see about cleaning up the rest of this mess.

How could she have misunderstood so clearly? She had thought that Princess Hiroko would choose Joshi over Feng. Surely anyone would. Had the girl merely been dazzled by his cultivation prowess? She thought Hiroko had a better head on her shoulders than that. Feng was attractive, and perhaps the princess thought her rank would protect her from some of his excesses.

Min joined the disciples on the bench, gloomy with despair as they waited. Disciple Cui began to relate some stories of their experience in the tower. Yang joined in, and even Brother Stone chipped in a few stories. Min found herself entranced and impressed. Chang-li and Joshi both had promising futures if they made it out. She'd have to find a different match for Joshi, someone higher ranked than herself who could open doors and make connections for the sect. The next cull was in Vardin City. Maybe she could use her personal connections to advance them, assuming they survived.

Another wave of despair washed over Min. How could they have staked their whole future on going up against Feng? It had been madness from the start. She should have found another way. They’d been intimidated by the debt. But she of all people should know there were always ways to pay your debts if you look hard enough.

Chang-li was a brilliant cultivator and would go far, but he had no chance against a man like Feng, with all the resources of a sect poured into him and farther along in his advancement as well. Feng was ruthless. He'd rip Chang-li apart, and Min would never have the chance to kindle the spark that could have become a blazing fire for them. She hadn't even ever properly managed to thank him for getting her out of a bad spot or to let him know that she cared for him.

Min buried her face in her hands. All she could see was Feng's sneering expression as he ripped Chang-li and Joshi to shreds, then emerged victorious from the tower to claim the princess who Min had so thoughtfully arranged for him to marry. Every time she tried a scheme, it blew up in her face. She should have just stuck to the Court of Gems and left the scheming to people who were actually good at it.

There was a hubbub around her. Min looked up. Someone had just emerged from the upper level and was hurrying toward them. From here, at the far side of the reception party, it was hard to make out details. There were two of them, bedraggled, wearing robes, both men. Her heart leapt. One had a bald head.

Min was on her feet, the disciples following. As the whole crowd surged forward, she pushed through the ranks, ignoring cries of offense from other cultivators. Too late, she realized the last person she'd elbowed past was the Dowager Pearl, then she was stumbling out in front, just as Chang-li and Joshi reached them.

Her heart sang. She couldn't believe it. Chang-li was grinning. Joshi looked tired, bloody, and dirty. But they were here. They were alive. She almost threw herself into Chang-li's arms, but caught herself just in time. Instead, she met his eyes, the smile frozen on her face. She nodded, trying to communicate with one look just how happy she was that he was back, and stepped back into the crowd as the Dowager and the Inquisitor took command of the scene.

"Cultivators of the sect of Morning Mists, have you conquered the Tower?" the Inquisitor demanded.

"No," Joshi answered. "Young Master Feng of Soaring Heavens reached the Tower Guardian first and received his boon."

"Then you turned back?"

"No." Chang-li shook his head. "We exited from the Tower Guardian's chamber. The cull is done."

A shout went up through the crowd of excitement. Men saw Lux technicians hurrying off to get their equipment and guards streaming toward the entrance to the fourth floor.

"Then where is Young Master Feng?" the Dowager snapped. Hiroko was at her outside, looking pale. "We have here the woman who has pledged to marry him. I would congratulate him on his triumphs."

Joshi stiffened. Min saw his expression go blank. Hiroko wasn’t looking at him. Min shuddered; she’d never seen Joshi look so dangerous.

Chang-li cleared his throat. He had a serious expression on his face, but Min could see the dancing light in his eyes. "Young Master Feng challenged us. He was defeated and has fallen."

Lady Soaring Heavens let out a shocked cry. She pushed forward, her cultivator spouse at her elbows. The Grandmaster of the Soaring Heavens sect marched up to Chang-li and Joshi. He was shorter than either of them, bald from age, not choice like Joshi, and his jowls and wrinkles twitched as he jabbed a hand at Joshi's chest.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"You dared? And the rest of his disciples?"

Joshi shrugged as his blank expression faded. "They too challenged us. As per the rules of this tower cull, we met their force with force and were victorious. He died like a dog, begging for mercy.” His voice was rough, and he was most definitely not looking at Hiroko. The Indigo Princess looked like she’d been punched in the stomach. Min made a note to follow up later. Perhaps the princess could be brought into the sect after all…

"You claim you have defeated six of our best disciples as well as the most promising Young Master any sect has seen in a generation? Alone, the two of you, from a sect no one has ever heard of? One a jumped-up scribe with a month's training?" The Grandmaster's eyes bulged. "This is some sort of trick. They must have had help." He turned to the Inquisitor. "Inquisitor, I demand that you look into this matter at once."

The Inquisitor held up a hand. "Silence," he said. "You imply that I would do any less than my duty? This Tower has been watched. No one with a rank higher than Peak of Mental Refinement has been allowed into the fourth floor.”

“Watched, you say, and yet he managed to come into the Tower." The grandmaster flung a hand out toward Joshi. “I say his sect has snuck in a higher level cultivator. Feng was struck down by treachery.

The Inquisitor spoke again. His voice was loud and cutting. He wasn't addressing it to any of them. "Your radiance? It is as I have feared. Do you care to intervene?"

The crowd took a step back. The Dowager's face was pale. Min didn't know what was happening, but clearly some of them did.

Nearby light began to gather in one place. It condensed like a cloud until it became a glowing human shape. It increased until the crowd of stunned onlookers had to shield their eyes.

As quickly as it started the light show died, and a woman was standing there. She was the most perfectly beautiful woman Min had ever seen. Her skin was pale and without flaw. Her long, dark hair, tinged with green, flowed like water down her back. Her eyes were a little too big but in her face, they looked perfect and were a marvelous shade of brown flecked with green. Her pupils seemed darker than midnight. She wore a garment that glittered with every color of the rainbow. Her fingers were tipped with pale pink and white polish. When she spoke, her voice was musical.

“Inquisitor, I have come.”

All around, people dropped to their knees. Many prostrated themselves on the ground. The Inquisitor bowed low. "Your Radiance, Prism Nai Lin, forgive me for calling you."

"I have been expecting your summons, Inquisitor," the Prism said.

Min could hardly breathe. She sank lower into her bow as the sheer weight of the Prism's presence threatened to overwhelm her. She’d seen a Prism in the past, the man who was overlord of Riceflower and half a dozen other provinces, but she’d been a child then with no sense of his power. There were only six Prisms in the entire empire, chosen by the Emperor himself as his most loyal and faithful servants. Most people would go their whole lives never seeing one. Now Min had been admitted to an august company now, the wife of a cultivator with promise. This would not be the last Prism she ever met.

Right now, she'd be perfectly happy never to stand in the presence of one of these again. Looking up through the fringe of her hair, Min saw Chang-li and Joshi. Both were kneeling. Chang-li’s head was bowed. Joshi particularly looked nonplussed.

The Prism raised a hand, and the oppressive presence eased a bit. Min could breathe again. She sat back on her heels as the Prism looked about.

"This tower cull is complete. Why are there so many technicians standing around? Be gone! The harvest waits inside. And take care, I sense at least one very powerful black stone waiting for you."

Several of the Inquisitor's men took this as their cue to hurry away toward the tower entrance. The Prism swept her gaze across everyone else.

"Now, the rest of it.”

“We have had a suggestion that I have taken a bribe from a sect who does not like the outcome," the Inquisitor said. He was on his knees too, his hands trembling. "You, Grandmaster, stand up." She barked the order.

The man stood, his legs shaking. Lady Soaring Heavens was off to Min's left. She buried her face in her hands and moaned.

"Speak for yourself."

"I did not mean to impugn the Inquisitor's honor," the Grandmaster babbled. "Merely that I saw no way for these upstarts from a sect with no name or history to have defeated our Young Master. He was the most promising of his generation, chosen out of all of the others of our sect to represent us here at this tower cull. We had great hopes. Why, even the Indigo Princess had sworn to wed him."

The Prism cut him off. "I care not for such sect matters. Where are the cultivators who killed your young master?"

The Grandmaster pointed a shaking finger at Joshi and Chang-Li. "One of them was a mere scribe weeks ago who broke his indentures to become a cultivator. How is it possible that they could have defeated a man with an impeccable bloodline?”

“So he is your descendant?" the Prism interrupted.

"My grandnephew," the Grandmaster confirmed.

“Cultivators go against cultivators. The strong may be cut down by a sudden blow or laid low by cleverness." The Prism scrutinized Joshi and Chang-li. "What is your sect?"

Chang-li licked his lips. "We are the sect of Morning Mist. We have filed all of our papers. Our senior Young Master, Joshi, has come from the far borders of the Empire to cultivate further. Inspired by his teachings, I have applied to join the sect as well."

The Prism looked Joshi over. "You have the look of a Darwur about you."

Joshi bowed his head. "My people. Yes, I am no longer one of them. I am a cultivator of the Empire and a member of the sect of Morning Mists."

"Wait a moment," the Prism said, and she vanished.

Her oppressive presence lifted. Min looked around herself. Everyone else was staring about in confusion, all except Lady Soaring Heavens, who was now rocking back and forth quietly on her knees, sobbing without a sound.

Time seemed to stretch. No one dared move. Min counted her heartbeats as the minutes crawled away.

Then the Prism returned in another cloud of light. "I have looked for myself. There was no treachery here. Merely, your young master overreached himself, choosing to challenge those he considered his inferiors without the ability to actually back it up."

Chang-li's eyes widened. Min was struck by the careless nature of the prism’s words. The prism had somehow looked back and seen the fight between Joshi, Chang-li, and Feng. How was that even possible? What else might she have seen?

Min's heart raced. If she had looked farther back and seen them cultivating, making use of the forbidden violet lux to extend their training time, or forging sect documents, they could all be taken out and executed.

The prism spoke to the inquisitor. "There has been no treachery done here. You may exert the usual penalties for a false accusation. In addition, this sect is done. They have squandered their resources and their young master at an unimportant tower cull. Have their share of the reward for this tower given over to the sect of Morning Mists in acknowledgement of their victory. I'm done here, unless there's anything else anyone wishes to bring to my attention." She stared around. Nobody said a word. Then, just like that, she was gone again.

The inquisitor let out an audible sigh of relief. As the bystanders got to their feet and awkwardly looked around, he turned on the Grandmaster of the Soaring Heavens sect. "Your sect will be sanctioned and fined. A recording of your unfounded accusation will be placed on file. You have forfeited all profits from this tower cull to the sect of Morning Mists. I suggest you be gone from the camp by nightfall."

The Grandmaster of Soaring Heavens began to protest. Lady Soaring Heavens, despite her white face, stepped forward and pulled her spouse away, whispering to him. They left the group of onlookers and set off for the tower entrance, their assembled servants joining them as they went.

The inquisitor turned to Chang-li and Joshi. "Not many young masters from a humble sect such as yours come to my attention quite as often as you two have on a single tower cull. I look forward with interest to watching your future progress. Congratulations. I will have a summation of your earnings sent to your sect headquarters as soon as they are available now." He looked about. "With the tower cull complete, I am sure everyone here has other business to attend to."

Min didn't need a second offer. She melted back through the crowd, finding the disciples and sending them on ahead. By the time Joshi and Chang-li caught up to her, half the crowd was gone. She was brimming over with questions she wanted to ask, but resolved to hold her tongue until they were out of the tower. After all, who knew who might be listening?