“Yyyyyyuuuuuuuu!”
Li leaped into Yu’s arms in a burst of whipping wind that sent her simple long braid flapping behind her. The little ball of energy had jumped at Yu from more than ten paces away and was caught in a bone-crunching hug.
“Gods, I missed you so much!” Yu cried into her friend’s short hair.
Li didn’t respond, just squishing Yu back. After a while, the others from the faction that had family in the capital and had been allowed to come as support caught up. Fan Ran was not among them, having warned Yu that he would have to be with his clan until after the tournament, as that was his method for getting a reserved spot.
Li backed up to arms’ length from Yu. “Well, I’m amazing. Of course you missed me!” Li said in a falsely cheerful voice while she wiped the tear streaks from Yu’s cheeks with a concerned face.
Yu sniffle-laughed and nodded, pointing to one of many pathways throughout the city’s massive arena. “Let me walk you to your seats, then I have to go to one of the reserved boxes.”
Li followed and said in haughty tone, “It’s nice of you to walk us there. But of course, since I’m your favorite, you have no choice.”
“I’d walk you anyway,” Yu said laughing. “But you’re my third favorite.”
Li clutched at her chest and stumbled. “Oh, the hurt! The betrayal! It can’t be! Who could possibly be higher than me?”
Yu ticked the answers off on her fingers. “Well, Ai’s first. Then Bai. Then you and Lu are tied for third.”
Li nodded along with the first but then froze. “Wait. Okay, I get Ai. She’s obviously first because you dote on her more than anyone. I can even accept being second to Bai, even though he isn’t even human. But I’m tied with my sister? Are you serious. That big oaf isn’t better than me!”
“Agreed. I said you’re tied.” Li opened her mouth to argue further, but before she could, Yu asked quickly, “Have you had a chance to wander the capital? How have you found it? Anything fun and interesting? Shopping maybe?”
Li jumped and clapped her hands. “Oh definitely!” she said excitedly, now fully distracted talking about her second-favorite pastime, only behind punching people in the face. “Did you know they have like a hundred different shopping districts? We only had time to visit a few, but…” At that point groans came from almost all the guys from the faction following them.
As inner and core disciples were allowed to convert the sect’s dragon points into silver – at a rather severe loss – Li had some spending money. She had somehow cajoled Lei into it. Yu did not ask how and was distinctly disinterested in finding out. She did find it funny, though, that Li and Lu refused to borrow from her, but they were totally willing to mooch off their boyfriends.
Having become immersed in the new topic, Li chattered on about her shopping experiences. Specifically, she babbled about how she had found a new dress that went perfectly with a new pair of sandals, how the guys were nice enough to carry her stuff since her ring was full, how the food was good but too expensive, how the haggling was a lot harder than in the sect market, and on and on.
As usual, Li barely breathed between sentences as she inundated Yu with the stories of their few free days in the empire’s capital city, apparently also known as a “shopping haven.”
After they reached the reserved seats for the guests from the Black Dragon Sect, Li and Yu spent a bit of time with her brother. Lei couldn’t take his eyes off Li, even when he was talking to Yu, which made her so happy for them. It was obvious to anyone who watched them together that Lei was totally smitten even though they bickered like a couple a thousand years older.
“Why men so dumb sometimes? You should be wearing the clothes I bought you!” Li berated him.
“I’m in the sect seating section. I need to wear sect clothes. How else are they supposed to—” her brother tried to explain with his arms pointing to everyone else wearing sect clothes.
“Never mind then. Why would I even want to find you in the stands anyway. It’s not like I’m interested in seeing someone so inconsiderate!”
“Wait, you bought me those so you could look into the stands? What were you thinking? You can’t lose focus while fighting! What if—”
“Oh, so you do care then? You’ll cheer for me? I don’t know if I even want you to anymore!” Li declared after turning away with her arms crossed and a huff.
“Why would I cheer you on?” he said cheeky grin. “I’m here to support my sect.”
“Wait, what? Why you…! You better cheer for me!” Li ordered, turning back to him with a jabbing finger.
“I thought you said you didn’t want me to. I’ll just cheer for one of the other girls in the tournament.”
Li gasped as Yu turned away covering her mouth. “What! Now you better wear those clothes so I can find you. And if I see you even clapping for one of those hussies…”
Yeah. They’re perfect for each other.
Li was handful, but Lei gave as good as he got, usually in a much more subtle way that always ended with him proving how much he adored her. Not that Yu blamed him. Li was so darned cute and full of energy, which helped she challenged him during the times he was being a bossy older brother, which he needed in Yu’s professional younger sister opinion.
But like all goods things in their world, it could not last forever. The girls had to leave him and the rest and find Li her seat. The pair separated without any outward affection, but Li still wore a stupid grin on her face, as they walked away.
So, shortly it became just Li and Yu walking to the participants area, which was wear Li’s serious side came out.
“Okay, you’re a mess. What in the hells happened?” Li asked, all the happiness gone from her voice.
Yu sighed. “My master did something and it was… well, I can’t really talk about it. But it was…”
Intense? Overwhelming? Devastating?
“It was a lot, and I’m… struggling.”
Yu really wished she could share her affinity and the details of that part of her life with Li, but she just would not risk it. Her friends had already been harmed enough because of her, and there was no way she would add even more potential damage.
Li clenched her fists and stomped her foot. “That crazy old bastard! I wish I could just punch him in his stupid crazy old face!”
Yu giggled, “I wish you could too!” The image of tiny little Li jumping up and punching her ancient and unfathomably powerful master in his nose made her laugh so hard she bent over and clutched at her stomach.
After Li helped her recover from almost falling over in hysterics, she asked, “Seriously though, are you going to be okay? I haven’t seen you that upset in a long time.”
“I’m feeling better already.” Yu smiled at her friend. “I can’t even describe how happy I am to see you.”
“Well, you’ll be free of him soon, right? Once I win the tournament, we’ll be in the spirit realm and away from that crazy old man.”
For the last two years her master’s only moniker in Li’s mind had been “crazy old man,” with an occasional extra descriptor added in for good measure.
“I don’t think anyone can ‘win’ the tournament, but I get what you’re saying, and I would love nothing more.”
Far too soon for Yu, they reached the seats for the tournament participants from the Black Dragon Sect, and Yu reluctantly handed Li off to Vice Leader Mingchen. She saw a number of familiar faces, including Bao Qing, who she smiled and waved at. He only gave a small smile and nod in reply and then returned his attention to the vice leader.
Bao Qing and Yu had a… complicated relationship.
They had started in the sect as enemies, but had become… well… not enemies. They weren’t friends really, but they were certainly no longer antagonistic. Qing’s last few years had been very difficult for him, and Yu supported him as well as he would accept from her, which were usually just words of empathy and combat guidance.
They sparred together in their martial class, where, thanks to Yu and his own determined efforts, he had improved dramatically. Once Qing let go of his arrogance, she discovered he was actually rather talented. Not a genius, but he was a quick learner and welcomed feedback. And, most importantly, he was deeply motivated, which was where their relationship got complicated.
Yu knew that Bao Qing was conflicted in his mind, and the reason was the “Bao” as his surname. His family and clan had abandoned him, relegating the young man from one of the heirs into a nobody in a branch family. Yu saw Qing pushing himself and, through their talks, learned that he wanted to get strong because he wanted to win back his place, but also because he wanted to nothing to do with them except revenge. Hence, he was conflicted.
Qing no longer blamed Yu for any of it, having realized her actions in hurting him were only a catalyst to expose a deeply complicated and difficult inner battle within his family. His incapacitation had allowed for opposing factions to marginalize him in the greater clan, which showed to him how much of the adoration he always received had been an illusion. All of this fed into his contradictory motivations.
Yu had shown him a way out of it all. She’d offered her hand, offered to help him step forward into her faction and away from his clan, but he had hesitated. Yu understood. Leaving family behind was hard. Leaving dreams behind was hard.
But she would also not allow him to use her. So, she had, at the same time, said she would only offer her hand once more, and that that decision would be final and would determine his future, at least with her. As she felt he had yet to make such a decision, she had not offered a second time. Thus, their relationship stayed friendly, but complicated.
Yu pondered all this as she wandered, in as circuitous a route as possible, to the box she had been told was for her master and her. Once there, he welcomed Yu but she only nodded, took her seat, and then looked out at the stadium.
It was gigantic. How anyone could see anything with any level of detail was beyond her. Even with her enhanced eyesight, she was barely able to make out the forms on the various stages. At her home arena, the solution for the problem had to do with enchantments that enlarged areas and showed them in front of spectators.
There’s no way those would be enough for a place this big. How are they going to make it so everyone can see?
The answer came quickly as a man in the middle of the most centered fighting stage rose into the air on a thin jade platform.
Okay, that’s really neat. Where do I get one?
A surge of Qi exploded from him and suddenly a huge glowing ten-sided box appeared out of nowhere to float just above his head where it slowly spun. The white light faded and a copy of him appeared on each of the sides.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Woah!” Yu gasped. “Is that Light Affinity Qi? What kind of enchantment can do that?”
“Light, Darkness, and Wind to be precise, although water would have been an option, but the ripples tend to ruin the effect somewhat. As I am not an enchanter, I do not know the particulars of how it is done. I can only tell you that it is either late adept or early expert rank. I am confident that someday you will be able to create its like if you decide to continue pursuing the craft.”
Yu turned her face to him, surprised.
No insult regarding my slowness and incompetence in enchanting? That was even a compliment of a sort.
He glanced back but immediately returned his gaze to the displayed cultivator. “Do not be so surprised. I am confident you can create something that simple once you move beyond the basics. As I understand it, the difficulty of enchanting comes in waves.
“The first big leap is Novice to Adapt and is difficult because you know nothing, but after that there is a bit of a repetitive lull. Next is Expert to Master because there is a marked increase in complexity and variables in whatever it is that makes up multi-part enchantments. Most of the substantial time at the Master level is spent on improving upon the advanced techniques. And finally, the step from Master to Grandmaster is supposedly the most difficult, although I am unfamiliar as to why. It is kept a closely guarded secret among the few Grandmaster enchanters throughout the continent.”
Yu blinked at him, unsure what to say.
He sighed. “I have already said this, things were the way they were for a reason. But as we no longer have to push against your restriction, and as time is no longer against us, you should expect some changes in your life.”
Taking a reflexive step back, Yu felt herself stutter slightly. “W-What?”
He fully turned in his seat then, facing Yu and looking directly into her eyes. “I will say it plain then. I cannot properly express how impressed I was and am with you. No matter what I, others, or the world for that matter, said or did to you, you persevered. The success of your Release Ceremony happened because you made it happen. I and others altered things, yes, but none of the outcomes would be possible if you were not who you are. You should learn to accept that you have earned everything you have in this life. And not only earned, but earned hard. That is a rarer thing than I think you realize.”
He leaned forward slightly, his normally black eyes ablaze with silver light.
“One day, if you survive to see it, you may become one of the greatest cultivators to ever grace this land, and it will not be because of your meridians, or your affinities, or your ability to use multiple Qi type. Those are things that can be adapted for or feigned with external help. No, if you get there, it will be because you will have sweated and cried and bled for every bit of power you will display. You have not faltered in your goals, have not stopped pushing yourself to improve for eighteen years. You have been repeatedly burned to ash and you were reborn each time, Jade Phoenix. That refusal to give up, that will to be more, is what makes you special.”
“Good morning, citizens of the Gui Empire!” echoed throughout the arena. Yu jumped in surprise and unconsciously whipped her head to the floating viewing area. Shaking herself, she looked back, but her master, the silver glow gone, had returned to his relaxed position of watching the show.
A lot of thoughts ran through her head at that moment as she looked down at the shaking hands in her lap, but rather than try to parse through it all, she also turned to watch the floating man.
“Welcome, welcome. I would like to offer a distinct greeting to our special guests who originate from outside the empire. We have, Hana Shin, ambassador to the Meiyo Saiyūsen Empire.”
The display showed a clean-shaven cultivator stand and give a very precise bow. He had black hair, brown eyes, and wore a set of glistening dark blue clothes that were very different from what she was used to. It had flowing sleeves that were much wider than a standard hanfu, almost but not quite poofing out at the ends. The pants were also very loose, but not quite as wide, and mostly hidden by the robe. A belt of cloth showed complicated knots what seemed to wrap around multiple times and not just the waist.
“His clothing is called a ‘kimono,’ in case you are curious,” her master explained.
Yu nodded. Her studies of the empires going into the spirit realm were limited primarily by available time, and thus she focused on their fighting methods and styles. With the little time she could afford, looking into things such as clothing just did not make the priority list.
The glowing display then switched to another cultivator, this one was… large. That was what ran through Yu’s mind. He was just a big man. Wide, tall, muscular, with a gut. His clothing was white with wide black embroidery that appeared sort of a mix of a hanfu and a kimono. It was looser than the former but tighter than the latter. The large man also wore some sort of small conical hat with a tucked brim.
“We also welcome Ambassador Khugsarai Shavar of the Mogoi Noyon Dominion.”
She looked at her master and he got the message. “He is wearing a ‘deel.’ Both of them chose quite traditional wardrobes for the day it seems.”
There was polite applause across the stadium, but Yu did not feel much enthusiasm from the crowd.
I guess ambassadors aren’t that exciting.
Yu personally found the idea of exploring the cultures of other empires quite fascinating. Even the clothing was interesting. She wondered about their food as well, and how different it might be. Of course, discovering the various methods of cultivation was where her greatest interest lay.
Anything to get stronger, right?
Then she reflected on her last thought.
Huh…
Her introspection was interrupted by the announcer’s loud call. “You all know why you’re here. Welcome to Imperial Spirit Realm Tournament!” He was back on the screen, showing wide open arms as if to actually welcome them all.
“Creative name,” Yu mumbled.
Her master shook his head. “They spent over a year planning for this tournament and that is what they came up with.”
Yu looked at him. “Seriously?”
“There was a committee.”
She facepalmed.
Still, Yu looked at her master out of the corner of her eye, wondering if things would truly be different now.
“Oh, by the way,” her master added in a neutral voice, “I have collected the bounty award on your behalf from the Mercenary Lodge. It is relatively substantial as the alpha was rated a mid grade 3, although it was really slightly stronger than that, and its pack was quite large.”
Yu, looked at him, confused. “Huh? Bounty?”
“Indeed. Those Wind Wolves were becoming quite the menace.”
Yu just stared at him.
“At first they did not wish to give the bounty because you disintegrated the bodies, along with everything else within a li, but I convinced them after a chat with the leader of the bounty’s issuing chapter.”
“Can you…” Yu blinked a few times, failing process his words. “What are you talking about?”
“I see. Well, there is no point in going into the details of the Mercenary Lodge now, as you are about to leave for years and it is an unnecessary distraction. What matters is this: what do you want to do with the bounty? Do you wish to keep the silver, or I can offer an alternative.”
“A-alternative?”
“Certainly. You can trade it in to me for a seventh skill scroll for the spirit realm. It is a loss for me, but not a material one. And I figure you deserve a little bit extra.”
“Wait.” Yu held up her hand. “I need a moment here.”
“Allow me explain how the tournament will work.” The floating man continued his introductions.
Not allowing herself to get distracted by the announcer, Yu did some quick thinking. She decided to move on from the whole mercenary thing almost immediately. Her master was right, she was leaving and the Lodge or whatever it was called had no impact on her whatsoever. As far as the reward choice went, she really did not think there was much of a choice. The logic was quite simple: What good were silver coins going to be in the spirit realm?
She simply said, “Scroll.”
Her master apparently agreed with her decision as he nodded. “Good.”
The announcer’s voice interrupted any response she could make. “Now, for those that do not know, a few years ago, something amazing happened! Something that will change the lives of many across our glorious empire!”
The crowd ooohed and ahhhhed.
She decided to just move on. Her master was right, the spirit realm was what mattered and everything else could wait until she exited. Plus, it did indeed interest her how they would tell everyone about the spirit realm.
“Powerful cultivators from our widely-celebrated noble families were exploring the monster-infested wilderness, risking their lives for the betterment of you, citizens of this great empire.”
“Oh, please,” Yu groused with an eyeroll.
“What they found was so wonderful, so momentous that even our glorious Emperor, the Sun of the Empire himself got involved.”
It’s utter nonsense, but I have to admit he’s good.
“What they found was one of the most precious resources in all the world. Something everyone craves, but few can use.”
Yu could almost feel the suspense building in the crowd now.
“What they found was…” she could see the delay was killing them, “the entrance to a spirit realm!”
About half the crowd cheered in excitement. The other half was utterly clueless as to what the guy was talking about.
“A spirit realm, for those unfamiliar, is a place steeped in the powers of the Heavens and Earth greater than even most Qi wells. And what’s more, it is like a world unto itself, which means it is filled with plants, herbs, caves, mines, pools, tunnels, and more that have been filled to brim with Qi. This means there are resources everywhere just waiting for our empire’s greatest cultivators to gather. And as this is virgin land, nobody else has taken advantage. In short, it is a huge opportunity for our greatest to become even greater.”
The crowd went berserk at that point, cheering, talking to each other, trying to figure out what mysterious resources could be there and who would be able to take them.
Yu, though impressed by the announcer’s charisma, just wanted to get on with it. Having been preparing for the spirit realm for the last few years, she was ready to get this tournament over with, never mind started.
The announcer managed to grab the audience’s attention after some effort and continued his routine. “Now, in his infinite wisdom, our noble and generous Emperor, the Sovereign Sun of the Empire, decided that, while we certainly could gain much, it would be all too selfish to keep every resource for only ourselves. He decided to invite our two neighboring Empires, the ambassadors to whom were introduced earlier, to also share in the bounty. And we should all be thankful in our great leader’s beneficence.”
What a bunch of beast poop. Just get on with it already!
“After much effort on our Empire’s part, led by the illustrious five great imperial noble clans, we have decided on how to proceed. First, entrants will be limited to those who are below the Consolidation stage of cultivation. For you unfamiliar with the details of cultivation, that is the first major threshold in a mighty cultivator’s journey. It is where Qi is compressed from a gas into a liquid and denotes a substantial increase in power. To be clear, only those who have not reached that stage may enter. The cultivator can be right at the edge, but must not have accomplished that goal yet.”
The curiosity of the crowd was obvious. Yu wondered why they made it sound like it was a choice rather than a limit of the realm itself, but in the end she really didn’t care. This whole thing was a sham in her mind. After all, they did not mention that there was a meridian minimum either.
“Additionally, your leaders, in their great foresight, determined that this opportunity should be saved for the young, ensuring the future leaders of our empire will fulfill their potential. We all want our glorious empire to last after all, and the best way is for the next generation to be the strongest they can be. This means nobody over the age of fifty summers will be allowed.”
Yu could see that not all were mollified by the justification of the age limit, but again, it wasn’t her business. In this case she agreed, though. First, her personal philosophy was steeped in the belief that supporting the youth ensured the future. And second, what good would it do the empire to send some old geezer who hoped to extend their life a century or two? Especially when there were a limited number of slots, which the announcer hadn’t mentioned yet.
“As far as how many can enter…”
And there it is.
“Each of the three empires may send up to one hundred and fifty young people. And that is the purpose of this tournament. It will determine who gets to go from our glorious empire!”
Cheering filled the stadium the announcer quickly quelled the audience.
“Now, now, before you get too excited, in exchange for their hard work in making this opportunity happen, as well as their generations of service to our magnificent empire, many of those spots have been filled by our noble leaders.” The expected disappointed grumbling followed, but he pushed through it. “So, this tournament will allow those who wish to vie for the final twenty slots to compete in the only way that matters, strength.”
Yu looked curiously at her master, wondering where four of the openings had gone. She had been told that twenty-four spots were available.
“There were some last-minute changes.” She looked expectantly at him and he chuckled. “I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
Yu huffed but was a bit disappointed. Okay, maybe things haven’t changed that much.
“I’m not hiding for the sake of hiding. I just want to see your face when you find out.” His grin was obvious.
That made Yu curious and… oddly pleased.
“Now, that the background is set, let’s get to the rules. There were originally hundreds of thousands of applicants who wished to enter the tournament. Thankfully, we have strict criteria to assure that only the strongest cultivators of the proper age and potential can enter. That reduced the number to something reasonable. Still, if we allowed one-on-one fights for all those who qualified, it would take weeks and weeks to get through them all. So rather than that, we have opted to use another method. Our prospective spirit realm explorers will participate in mass-melees!”
Mass-melee battles were apparently very exciting because the crowd roared at the news.
“Specifically, there will be eighty of them, with ten happening at a time. The last four cultivators standing at the end of each melee will be qualified to enter the semi-finals, in which pairs will be picked to battle each other. The winners will compete, and the twenty finalists will be entering the spirit realm to vie for the abundant opportunities inside.”
Again, the audience was thrilled, sparking Yu’s curiosity.
“Participants, you will be assigned a stage and round based on your seating. Please find…”
The announcer went on to discuss how things would be divided and Yu let his voice fade into the background of her mind. She looked at her master and asked, “Why was the crowd so pleased? I figured individual contests would be more interesting.”
“It seems you have never witnessed a mass-melee before, but I believe you will understand once you experience one. It is… different than any experience you have had before.”
Shrugging, Yu settled into her seat, interested in seeing what the fuss was about.
“Now, without further ado, let’s get this tournament started! Citizens of the empire, aaare youuu readyyyyyyyy?”