We spent a week enjoying the festival, eating and drinking around town while watching the martial arts tournaments and other entertainments, but eventually, our short vacation came to an end.
Mei, SuYin, and I arrived at the arena early on the day of the exhibition for non-fighter Grandmasters. We wanted to see what the competition would be like and get a feel for how likely it was for SuYin to be selected by the Verdant Forests Sect.
Each of the three major factions had a single observer present. All of them had reached Peak Grandmaster and, if judged by mortal standards, appeared to be in their late twenties. For Grandmasters, this generally indicated they were somewhere in their fifties. Being recruiters for this event showed they possessed some level of authority in their faction, so they would be on the shortlist for positions to ascend to Martial Lord. This festival would be one of their last duties before that happened.
The recruiter for the Verdant Forests Sect was a tall, beautiful woman wearing a light green hanfu. Her poise and posture displayed the elegance of a noble. Her face had a light coating of makeup on it, and her hair was done up in a tight bun decorated with a large wreath of colorful flowers.
The Rising Sun Empire had sent a younger man, possibly in his late thirties, who looked like a peacock. The base color of his hanfu may have been red, but it was covered with so many colorful embroideries of various mythical beasts that it was hard to tell. His face bore a constant smirk, and he never strayed far from the woman from the Verdant Forests.
The man from the Flowing Mountain Sect gave off the feeling of a master craftsman. His hands were rough and calloused, and his eyes glinted with a deep intelligence. He stood back as the other two talked and carefully observed his surroundings.
After a lengthy introduction to the day’s events, the Grandmaster demonstrations finally began.
I expected some jostling to be the first to go on stage, but everyone was quietly deferential to an older man who stepped forward. He was a Peak Grandmaster and had to be at least 250 years old. Unless he advanced, his life would soon come to an end, but would any of the powers present be willing to grant an attempt to do so to someone whose qi had long calcified? Even if he could step into the Lord realm, it would be nearly impossible for him to take even a single step further.
The old man walked to the center of the arena, faced the judges, and gave a martial arts salute with a slight bow.
“My name is Murong NaYun. I am 273 years old this year. In my youth, I traveled the world in search of a path for advancement, but I never succeeded. If you grant me this opportunity, I will serve loyally for my remaining days, no matter how long that is.”
At the end of his short speech, he gave a deep bow to the judges and straightened into a firm stance with both hands balled into fists.
“My blessing has benefited me greatly,” he said as sparks of lighting began to emerge from his arms. “I am not sure exactly how high my lightning affinity is, but I know it is at least six-star.” He began to juggle a bolt of lightning, showing his adept control of the erratic element.
“However,” he continued, “that is only the merest fraction of my blessing. Each time I have ascended a realm, I have been granted a legacy in the art of talisman crafting. I can currently be considered a Peak Rank 3 Talisman Artist.”
Saying this, he took a small piece of paper from a bag at his waist and threw it into the air to his right. It burst into a bolt of lightning that arced over the stands. Following that, he threw another talisman to his left, and small crags of earth exploded from the ground in a line straight away from him.
“My own qi is limited to lightning, but with the help of others, I have been able to infuse any of the five basic or four secondary elements into my talismans. When certain elements are needed, but I do not have access to them, I have found ways to simulate them through combinations of the other elements, such as combining fire and lighting to create light.”
He threw out another talisman, and it acted like a flashbang. It created an incredibly bright light which was accompanied by the loud buzz of an electrical arc.
He gave a final bow and awaited judgment.
“You are indeed skilled, Grandmaster Murong, but my sect cannot provide a proper place for someone with your talents,” spoke the woman from the Verdant Forests.
The man from Rising Sun gave a contemptuous smile. “You may join my empire. We will allow you to craft for us, and if you do a suitable job, we may allow you an opportunity to ascend in due time."
The old man cupped his hands and bowed.
“The Flowing Mountain Sect will offer you a position,” said the final man. “As long as you teach our disciples well, we will grant you a temporary position as an elder that will allow for your advancement. Whether you can keep this position will be up to you.”
The old man began to bow deeply, but the recruiter from Rising Sun suddenly spoke up. “I have already claimed this recruit,” he said with a hint of malice toward the Flowing Mountain recruiter, “are you trying to steal a subject from the Rising Sun Empire? Know your place.”
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“We are equals here,” the man responded with a flat tone, “the Flowing Mountains don’t bow to Rising Sun.”
“Good, very good,” the peacock said before turning to the Talisman Artist. “Make your choice, craftsman.”
Bowing to both men, the old man spoke carefully. “I respect the Rising Sun Empire, but my fate is with the Flowing Mountain. Thank you for your consideration.”
The young recruiter huffed but dismissed the other two men from his consideration.
Following this, a series of unimpressive cultivators made their way to the stage, but none of the recruiters showed any interest. The candidates were simply waved away.
The next person to catch my eye was a mature woman who was wearing sickly green robes. After entering the arena, she placed a variety of plants around the stage.
“Honored recruiters from afar, my name is Na YunJie. I have prepared a wonderful demonstration of my blessing for all of you.”
She held both hands out to her sides. Nothing visible was happening, so I turned on my qi vision. Thick streams of wood energy were gathering around the plants and spreading out, slowly approaching the spectators. I wasn’t sure what the effect of this energy was, but it didn’t look like anything good.
The recruiters just watched as this happened. None of them made any move to intervene. As the energy approached our small group, I used my wood affinity to forcibly divert it, protecting us from whatever effect it would have.
When the energy touched the low-level cultivators in the stands, they instantly began coughing and collapsing. After over a dozen people fell, the woman from the Verdant Forests Sect raised her hand and gestured. Two large men appeared as if from nowhere and rushed the woman. Before she could react, she was swiftly taken away from the stage.
“We’ll keep her for now,” the female recruiter said, “unless one of you wants to deal with her.”
The other two just snorted.
The demonstrations began again, and another couple of unimpressive cultivators showed what they could do, but after that, the stage remained empty. The announcer called for the next person to step forward, but no one did.
“The Rising Sun Empire welcomes you,” said the younger man, “please join me and we can discuss your benefits, but I assure you they will be to your liking.”
Neither of the others spoke, they just shook their heads.
Worried about what was going on, I flipped on my qi vision again and was astounded. In the middle of the stage stood an unidentifiable mass of qi. It was formed of two energies that I didn’t recognize, but they swirled around each other in a mesmerizing fashion. Looking again in normal vision, there was nothing on the stage.
“Illusions,” I muttered. I realized there was danger here, but I didn’t know how to safeguard myself from it. This person could walk up to me and stab me in the heart without me having the slightest chance to respond. The only way I could prevent it would be to constantly look at the world through qi vision, but that wasn’t something I was capable of, and because of the way it changed how I viewed things, it wasn’t something I particularly wanted to do.
I needed to think about ways to defend myself from illusionists like this. I began to take out my journal to make a note of this, but I realized the stage was now truly empty and no one else was walking forward. It was time for SuYin’s audition.
I looked at SuYin. “Are you ready? Remember, just go up there and tell them what you can do. At worst you will just come to Eight Flower with us,” I smiled.
SuYin nodded but didn’t speak. She silently stepped forward onto the stage.
Giving a nervous martial salute and a short bow, she began to speak. “My name is Ye SuYin.” She flared her cultivation, showing her status as a Martial Grandmaster 2. “I am 28 years old. My blessing is a nearly perfect memory. My master has requested that I join the Verdant Forests Sect to learn herbalism. Please allow me to fulfill this command.”
She gave a deep bow to the Verdant Forests recruiter. After a group discussion, we had decided not to have SuYin give any kind of performance of her abilities since anything she could do would pale in comparison to the more seasoned Grandmasters. She hadn’t had time to learn any special techniques, and her blessing didn’t have any flashy effects. Instead, we would rely on her having reached Grandmaster at such a young age to secure her a spot in the sect.
The female recruiter looked at SuYin for a long while but didn’t speak. She simply rolled her fingers on her chair arm while thinking.
“The Rising Sun Empire welcomes you,” said the young man with a lascivious smile. “If you serve me well you will have no need to worry about studying in some sect. Plenty of people in the empire can teach you to farm.”
A panicked expression appeared on SuYin’s face. “Sorry, sir, but my master has requested I join the Verdant Forests Sect.”
“Don’t worry about your master, girl,” he smirked, “I am the young lord of the Yangci clan. It is your honor to be chosen by me.”
SuYin took a step back in fear, but the female recruiter finally spoke up. “I will accept you as a nominal disciple,” she said calmly. “You have not demonstrated any skills, so I must assume you do not have any. This is unacceptable for a Grandmaster of our sect, but I will allow you the opportunity to learn.”
“What?” asked the young man in a flat tone.
“I accept her as a disciple,” she said to the man before looking back at SuYin. “Join my retinue. They will discuss the details with you.”
“She has already been accepted as a member of my empire,” said the man. “Are you opposing the Great Rising Sun Empire as well?”
The woman snorted. “If your personal desires could represent the will of Rising Sun, then you would find that many people oppose the Rising Sun.”
The young man gripped the arms of his chair so hard they snapped. “Very good. The sects will soon learn the price of your arrogance today.” Without waiting for a reply, he stormed out of the stands.
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After the others had left, SuYin and the Verdant Forests recruiter approached Mei and me.
“You are SuYin’s master?” she asked with a disdainful gaze.
“No, not any longer,” I said, “I was able to help her reach her current level, but I am unable to help her any further. I hope your sect helps her develop to her fullest.”
“You know your place, at least,” she said with a cold voice. “SuYin, a teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime. Do not forget your debts, but understand your new position. As a member of the Verdant Forests Sect, you must not treat an outsider as your master.”
“Yes, senior sister,” she said with a nervous bow.
The recruiter looked back at me. “You should have stepped forward too. With your wood affinity, and the ability to control that woman’s poison attack, you could have a future in our sect.”
“I am already with the Blue Wind Pavilion, and I am not looking to join a different force at this time.”
“A shame,” she said with a shake of her head. “Do not bother Disciple SuYin in the future. You are now people from two different worlds.”
Without another word, she turned and led SuYin away.
SuYin tried to turn her head and look back at us, but the recruiter kept her walking forward.