Serena Blacktide left the blonde-haired twerp half dead in the mud. She hadn't planned to do anything to the kid until he started spouting such nonsense as being a cultivator despite lacking a soul flame.

These land dwellers are so strange. Are their heads on straight? In the Abyssal Tide Sect, saying something so ridiculous would result in death. Serena Blacktide pondered as she strode through the storm toward the distant looming building dominating the center of Ashfallen City.

Five years ago, a land dweller stole the stone of Abyssal Tides from her sect. Furious, the Patriarch of her sect ordered everyone capable of taking a ship to the continent's shores to conduct a realm-spanning search. Without the stone, the sect was crippled. In the Patriarch's words, the abyssal tide affinity was not 'naturally occurring' and originated from a higher realm. The crazed man had spared no expense, raiding the sect's ancestral grounds to outfit every cultivator that agreed to leave with as many spirit stones and treasures as they wanted.

Serena Blacktide had naturally jumped at the opportunity to leave the small island they called home with a large starting fund and explore the rest of the world. So here she was, aimlessly drifting from one city to the next while keeping her eyes and ears open for any sign of her sect's treasure. Of course, she had no plans to return if she were to stumble across it. Time inside the abyssal chamber was reserved for the talented disciples—a group she hadn't belonged to and despised. She hated people that were 'talented.' No matter how much effort she put in, her progress in getting to the point she was at now had been grueling, which made that twerp's claim of being a cultivator so laughable.

Using her peak Soul Fire Realm Qi, she warded off the rain and guarded her shoes from the mud as she walked through Ashfallen City. So far, it was one of the strangest cities she had seen. It seemed built among a forest of selectively bred demonic trees? The usual smell of decay that lingered around demonic trees she had seen in the wild was absent. There wasn't even any evidence of half-dissolved carcasses.

Serena Blacktide stepped under the canopy of a nearby tree. Two stone huts sat on either side of its trunk, and with her spiritual senses, she could feel groups of people inside.

More strong mortals? Serena raised a brow. While she had knocked some sense into that boy earlier, it was true that he was above a mortal, as were these people. While none of them were in the Soul Fire Realm, she could tell they were cultivating while waiting out the storm by the Qi's flow. This place is so strange. I've never seen so many people capable of cultivating while all being so weak? It's as if this is the land of the weakest sect in existence... or the strongest, where even their servants and farmers are cultivators. Both options are ridiculous.

Serena frowned as she noticed more oddities with the demonic tree. Wait, how is this possible? Wrapping around the demonic tree like a snake was a root. Running her finger along it, she felt a level of Qi far beyond her own and also a hint of... divinity? There were also Blaze Serpent Roses that she had seen growing in volcanic regions sprouting from the root. While not an especially rare flower, they wouldn't be left alone to grow like this. Especially with how poor the people who live here look. Do they simply not know the value of this flower?

Plucking one, she twirled it between her fingers.

Do they leave them alone because they release fire Qi, which heats up the air? Serena mused. Due to the sheer number of Blaze Serpent Roses that were growing, the air temperature in Ashfallen City was a few degrees higher than it had been in Darklight City just down the road.

This root was also strange. I should cut off a bit. It's very rare to find anything with divinity out here in the wilderness, and it's sure to be a good ingredient for a pill.

Besides, they drained the World Tree of its sap, and that was a Monarch Realm tree. While stronger than her, whatever plant this root belonged to was undoubtedly weaker than the World Tree, so it probably wouldn't fight back. Bringing out a small hatchet from her spatial ring, she held it overhead before swinging down. It bounced off the root like it had hit metal, not wood. Annoyed that she would have to waste some of her precious abyssal tide Qi, which was nearly impossible to come across, she wreathed the hatchet in dark blue soul flames and tried again. This time, the hatchet made the slightest indent—no greater than a papercut. Withdrawing the hatchet, she noticed a black sap coating the blade tip. Running her finger along it, she frowned at how it had a similar viscosity to blood.

"I wouldn't do that miss."

"Oh?" Serena looked to the side and saw a man leaning in the doorframe of his hut with his arms crossed. He was quite a broad fellow with sun-kissed skin and a rogue appearance that alluded to a life spent tending to the fields. Serena had encountered many such people during her travels.

"What should I not do exactly?" Serena asked, genuinely curious.

"That flower," The man's gaze was deathly serious, "It doesn't belong to you."

Serena raised a brow. She had expected the man to be angry because she cut at the root. Not the fact she plucked a single flower. "Who does it belong to?"

"Our savior, the Ashfallen Sect." The man uncrossed his arms and moved toward her, "When the wrath of the heavens came to strike us down, they alone came to save us. They gave us shelter, food, and unfathomable opportunities." He stopped before her and looked down at her with contempt in his emerald eyes. "There's just one rule."

"What would that be?"

The man slapped the hatchet out of her hand, making it fall to the mud below. Thunder roared as lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the man's furious expression.

"Don't touch the fucking trees." The man hissed.

Serena smirked, "And why shouldn't I?"

The man leaned in so close she could smell his putrid breath, "They give us respite from the cold and Qi-rich mushrooms to fend off hunger. But most importantly, if you touch them, the overlords of this place will fucking kill you."

"I see, how amusing." Serena wiped off the man's spittle from her face. "Do you know who else will fucking kill you?" She asked cheerfully as she bent down and curled her spatial ring-laden fingers around the handle of her hatchet.

"Who?"

"Me." She brought the hatchet up and embedded it deep in the man's chin. He yelped and stumbled back, garbling on the blood flowing down his brown shirt from his sliced open throat. "Seriously," Serena shook her head in disbelief, "What is with people in this shoddy excuse of a city not understanding the natural order? A mere mortal stands up to a cultivator over fucking trees? Really?" Serena kicked the man to the ground and sneered, "Besides, your story doesn't make any sense. Why would a sect have any reason to help mortals to such an extent?"

"The..."

"Mhm?" Serena crouched down and leaned closer, "What was that? I didn't quite hear you over the sound of you dying."

"I worship the All-Seeing Eye," the man said, barely audible over the gargling. His eyes widened as if he saw something she did not. "Your actions won't escape its gaze."

"The All-Seeing Eye?" Serena snorted, "Never heard of it. Is that a cult or something?"

"The trees have eyes. Your death won't be painless." The man gave her a crazed, blood-stained grin before his lips relaxed and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He was dead.

"Will it now," Serena placed the flower she had plucked in the man's half-open mouth and stood. "Somehow, I doubt that." She was at the peak of the Soul Fire Realm. In such a backwater city, only the Grand Elder of a sect could match her in strength, and those old fools were usually in closed-door cultivation. They would only appear if the sect was in trouble, not over the death of some crazed mortal believing in an eye or whatever.

She deposited the hatchet in her carefully organized spatial ring, which was still quite healthy with spirit stones and other life-saving treasures she had gotten from her sect. "I should get going," she looked at the building in the distance, "Apparently, the Ashfallen Trading Company is the only good place to buy pills out here." She clicked her tongue, "If not for the airship route to Slymere being blocked until further notice, I wouldn't have even bothered coming here. What a shithole."

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Taking one step away from the corpse, she froze. She turned her head and saw over her shoulder that the flower she had put in the man's mouth was rising. The man's veins had turned black like sprawling roots, and the flower was lifted by what could only be described as a demonic tree sapling. Even in a place rich with Qi, a tree didn't grow so fast, and why was it sprouting from this corpse?

Serena's eyes darted between the strange demonic trees as she slowly stepped back. Within moments, the tree growing from the corpse was already a meter tall. Gulping, she turned and ran off into the storm. Maybe the trees really did have eyes.

***

"Ashfallen Trading Company..." Serena Blacktide muttered as she read the words engraved in a refreshingly simplistic style compared to the overly flowery calligraphy favored by cultivators. Serena had no idea whether it was done this way to be easier for the mortals in this city to read or because they couldn't afford a professional. But after the man turning into a tree incident, she found herself looking at things with more scrutiny.

She had to admit the building was impressive. Dominating the heart of Ashfallen City, it stood as a striking contrast to the surrounding dull grey huts. Crafted from glossy black marble, it soared skyward in the unmistakable silhouette of a towering tree.

Straining her neck to look at the top of the tower, she could see more demonic trees growing on its roof. The whole structure had those same divine black roots spiraling up its exterior, likely to feed the trees on the top nutrients and water. Serena also noted an immense number of spirit stones embedded into the building, likely to power a grand defensive formation. This felt less like a merchant guild building and resembled a powerful sect's treasury. The entrance to such a building was no less impressive than the rest. Two towering demonic trees flanked the doorway like pillars, and Serena could feel the fire Qi emanating from them.

Walking through the open doorway, she felt the presence of a formation wash over her, and her spiritual senses flooded the room. Woah, there's a lot of people in here. From the outside, she hadn't felt the presence of anyone, but the inside told a different story. It was packed with Qi Realm mortals like the man she had killed earlier. They all had a wide variety of weapons of questionable quality strapped to their backs or resting at their sides as they chatted among themselves. Mainly about the fierce storm, the upcoming bad harvest, and a tournament?

"Excuse me," Serena said, tapping a random mortal woman's shoulder.

"What?" The woman turned around with a hint of annoyance at being interrupted from chatting up a guy. She looked Serena up and down before a hint of disgust flashed across her face. "A noble?"

"No, I'm a cultivator," Serena replied. 'Noble' was a title given to those who ruled over others, such as wealthy mortals who ran cities or noble cultivators who lorded from above on mountain peaks. While she was rich, her family name wouldn't inspire any reaction as she was so far from home.

"Duh, we all are," the woman rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Miss Cultivator?"

Serena looked around and realized the reason for this hostility. Everyone here was dressed like mortals, so she stuck out like a sore thumb. Just as she hated the talented people back at her sect, who seemed born with a silver spoon in their mouth, she likely appeared the same to mortals who were born in the mud.

While she would have killed this woman for having such an attitude, Serena was smart enough to realize that wouldn't go so well here. So, with a strained smile, she restrained her bloodlust and asked the rude woman, "What's this about a tournament?"

"Why do you want to know?" The woman snorted, "Does someone like you have a reason to enter?"

"How could I know if I wish to enter if I'm not privy to the details?" Serena tilted her head.

The woman clicked her tongue, "Fine. It's a tournament to try and join the Ashfallen Sect. There's a round for Qi Realm cultivators and another for those in the Soul Fire Realm in a few days."

"Is it to the death?" Serena asked. While she wasn't averse to death matches, she had no willingness to endanger her life and waste Qi to be granted entry into a sect she knew nothing about.

"Why are you asking me?" the woman seemed genuinely disgusted by Serena's presence. "Go speak to one of the representatives. They might be more open to humoring your questions."

"I will do that then," Serena said and mentally marked this woman for death. If she saw her outside this building, well... there might be another tree growing from the mud.

The crowd at least had the decency to part and give her a route to a grand counter manned by many people wearing black robes adorned with red eyes.

"Welcome to the Ashfallen Trading Company, miss. What can I do for you?" A man with short brown hair and a well-kept mustache said as she approached.

"Tell me about the tournament," Serena said calmly.

"Very well," The man withdrew a parchment from under the table and placed it between them. "This outlines the details if you can read. But in short, the tournament is open to all who wish to enter. It begins tomorrow morning."

"From where?"

"Portals will open at various locations, including here and in Darklight City. Participants will then be welcomed to a tournament realm where housing and food will be provided for free during the duration of the tournament."

What? Portals? Serena didn't show the shock on her face, but her mind was racing. It wasn't unusual for sects to have spatial arrays that allowed the sect's Elders to traverse the cities under a sect's rule, but they were expensive to build and spirit stone hungry to operate. Few sects would go through such effort for initiates, let alone for Qi Realm ones?! Also, a tournament realm? What did they mean by that?

"The tournament is safe; participants will be shielded during the fights." The mustache man continued, "Also, victory is not determined by who wins the fight. Rather, the Ashfallen Sect seeks those with latent talent."

"Latent talent?" Serena asked.

"While some are born with talent, others need a little help to make it appear," the man grinned. "The Ashfallen Sect is the only one in the world with the capabilities to awaken said talent, and that is what they seek."

Serena had never heard such garbage in her life. Latent talent? There were no such things. Just like how cultivators were chosen at birth by the heavens, so was their talent. There was no way to change a person's heaven-decided fate.

Before she could voice her thoughts, the man added, "Complimentary pills will also be provided so participants don't have their cultivation set back."

Remembering that was her original reason for coming here, Serena wondered what pills the Ashfallen Trading Company sold to afford such a grand building. If they were willing to give them out for free, they were likely of low quality, and this place made money through other more devious means.

"What types of pills?"

The man grinned, "I'm glad you asked." With a flash of silver, many pill bottles and wooden boxes appeared on the counter, "We have quite a few for sale. Though for you, miss, may I recommend starting with our signature pill?" Picking up one of the wooden boxes, he opened it with a satisfying click and presented a single pill on a cushion. "This is the spirit root improvement pill. Taking one will permanently improve the quality of your spirit roots, making every aspect of cultivating easier."

Serena stared at the pill in bafflement. How could he make such an outlandish claim with a straight face?

"If that doesn't tickle your fancy," The man set that box down and opened another, "This is the heart demon removal pill. Take one and say goodbye to bottlenecks. Though you must be supervised while taking the pill so we can assist in slaying the heart demon once it emerges."

The man held both boxes up and smiled, "So miss, which will it be?"

"I'll take both." Serena decided to give them a go. If they were lying, she would demand her money back.

"Great, are you part of the Ashfallen Sect, the cult of the All-Seeing Eye, or related to an employee of the Ashfallen Trading Company? We offer staff discounts." The man smiled.

"No... I'm not part of any of those." Serena winced hearing the name 'All-Seeing Eye' again.

"Would you like to join the All-Seeing Eye? You can register here and enjoy up to 50% off on pill purchases made with us alongside free pills every month!"

"What kind of marketing tactic is this?!" Serena had never heard something so absurd—no, wait, she had. Everything coming from the mouths of these people had been absurd from the start, and she now dreaded the reality that these pills worked, as that would lend some legitimacy to the rest of this madness.

"So, will you join—"

"No!"

"That's a shame. For you, each pill will be a hundred high-grade spirit stones then." The man said, snapping the two boxes closed before pushing them to her side. "Do you wish to pay now or after you have tested the pills?"

You can even pay after using the pills? Just how sure are these people that these pills work?!

Serena bit her lip. "I'll pay after..." On the off chance they did work, maybe she would join the cult for that discount.

"Very well," the man gestured to a room off to the side with a knowing grin, "Please feel free to use our meditation room. After using both pills, come back here, and we can speak again about payment and maybe joining the All-Seeing Eye!"

"Right," Serena said, taking the two boxes and going to the room. Shutting the door, she let out a long sigh. This place was far too weird. Sitting on the floor, she opened one of the boxes and first popped the spirit root improvement pill. "It's not like these fairytale pills could possibly work."

***

"Well? How were they?" The mustache man asked. It had been a few hours, and it was now morning. Serena felt like she had gone through a rebirth after literally fighting her demons and improving her spirit roots.

"They were alright," Serena said with a straight face. There was no way she would admit to this smug-faced worker that she wanted to kiss the pill's creator.

"So about payment..."

"I'll join the cult—" She didn't even get to finish her words as a black cloak, just like the man's, was shoved into her hands along with a welcome package.

"Perfect, that will be a hundred high-grade spirit stones for both boxes," the man sounded like a demon as he gestured to the other bottles on the table. "Could I interest you in any others?"

Serena was about to ask about them when a sudden pressure descended on the room. Whipping her head toward it along with everyone else in the room, the air crackled before it was torn apart as a portal manifested without a formation. This was simply the raw power of a spatial cultivator.

"Oh, it looks like the tournament is about to begin," the mustache man said from behind. Serena ignored the demon salesman as she scanned the crowd to see their reaction and to locate the spatial cultivator. She couldn't find one with the presence of a spatial master. However, the room now had a few Soul Fire Realm cultivators, her eyes locked with one of them.

The blonde-haired cultivator returned a fierce gaze.

Hold on... is that the twerp. How the hell is he in the Soul Fire Realm now?