With all the enthusiasm of a man going to his execution, Zou Tian walked into the Alchemy Pavilion and climbed the stairs leading up to Wan Ai’s private lab. For all he knew, he metaphorically was doing just that.

When he arrived at his destination, however, his girlfriend wasn’t there. Which was weird. She spent over ninety percent of her time in that room, using it for eating, cultivating, and practicing alchemy.

A bit worried that something was wrong, he searched the building. His investigation didn’t last long. He found her on the second floor in one of the group labs with Bai Xinyi, Wan Ai’s second in command, and Cui Su, the best alchemist besides the other two girls in the room.

“Zou Tian,” Wan Ai said warmly. “You’re just in time. I explained to these two what the sect leader told us about the tournament.”

“She wants to leave the selection up to us, Senior Brother,” Bai Xinyi said. “And she refuses to compete herself. Will you please talk some sense into her!”

Everything that he’d learned as a street rat in Sixth Flawless Flowing City had taught him that the biggest threat to a leader was the person placed second in command, so he kept expecting the girl to try to usurp Wan Ai’s position. In fact, he kept a close eye out for any signs of treachery. If Bai Xinyi was making any moves of that kind, though, he certainly couldn’t find any evidence. Maybe there was a big difference in behavior and attitudes between people raised in a small village and those that came from the streets of a city, and his expectations needed to be reset.

Actually, he encountered far less backbiting and squabbling overall than he would have expected. The only true schemer he’d found was Sun Hua’s mother, but the girl herself seemed to be loyal and grateful as well as competent.

As for Bai Xinyi’s request, though, Zou Tian had to respectfully decline. “You do understand the danger, do you not? There is a definite nonzero probability that our sect members attending the tournament will be kidnapped or killed. I’d much prefer that Wan Ai remain behind, and the two of you should consider doing so as well.”

Of course, he was positive his girlfriend wasn’t planning on staying behind out of any worry about the hazards. No, she would simply desire to avoid the spotlight. The idea of people’s eyes on her as she competed was her ultimate nightmare. Well, second only to the thought of all the attention she’d get if she actually won.

“We shouldn’t go?” Bai Xinyi said. “But it’s the city. I’ve never even been a mile from this village my entire life, and we have an opportunity to travel to the actual city. It’s different for you since you grew up there. To us, it’s a literal dream.”

Beside her, Cui Su nodded emphatically. Only Wan Ai seemed dispassionate about the whole affair.

“I didn’t say you shouldn’t go. I said that you should weigh the risks.”

“The sect leader will protect us, right?” Bai Xinyi said. “He just defeated two Nascent Soul cultivators by himself. Who could be more powerful than him?”

Zou Tian sighed. “I have every confidence in Master, but it’s not so simple. A well-organized attack might target multiple sect members at once, and you two are uniquely vulnerable due to your comparative lack of martial skill.”

The two looked crestfallen.

“If it’s that important, you can go,” he said. “Master is allowing basically anyone who wants to participate to go. He wouldn’t do that if he felt the danger was too extreme, and you’ll get contingency rings and whatever other protective measures he devises as well. I’d still suggest at the very least spending some time at the Martial Pavilion learning how to avoid ambushes and kidnapping attempts.”

“But you’re not going?” Bai Xinyi said.

“I am not participating in the tournament.”

He’d stated his response if a very particular way, one that kind of did and kind of did not answer her question. From the look Wan Ai gave him, she immediately picked up on the difference.

“You’re going?” Wan Ai said. “But you’re not participating. Why?”

He sighed. Having that particular conversation in front of the other two girls wasn’t optimal. “Master asked me to carry out a mission for the sect that requires me to go to the city.”

Again, that wasn’t a lie, though he’d withheld a certain crucial detail.

Wan Ai huffed, clearly not pleased at the thought of him putting himself in danger. “Fine.”

“Really?” he said.

That was unexpected. He thought there’d be much wailing and gnashing of teeth before she gave in.

“Yes,” Wan Ai said. “But if you’re going, so am I.”

Well, shoot.

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Yang Xiu might not have ever been so excited in her life. A tournament. A real cultivator tournament. And she would be a participant.

Growing up in a small town well away from any major sects, she naturally had a huge curiosity about cultivators. They seemed so powerful and mysterious as they passed through every couple of years to test the young people who had come of age since they last were there. Her only source of information on them had been novels.

She wasn’t stupid, understanding that such tales were surely biased and edited for dramatic effect. And she doubted that they were written by actual cultivators. For all she knew, the author knew no more about sects than she did.

Still, one constant in the novels, an arc she always enjoyed, was the underdog protagonist proving to be more powerful than all that looked down on them by winning a tournament. That was always one of her favorite parts of the book.

She never would have believed she’d actually get such an opportunity to participate in one. Then again, sect life had been even better than the novels in just about every way. Instead of being weak and getting bullied, she possessed high talent and was one of the sect leader’s favorites, and her master was exactly like a supremely powerful hidden master straight out of one of those books, mysterious and wise and able to do just about anything. Sure, he barely won against two Nascent Souls, but she was willing to bet everything she had that, if he faced a dozen of them, he’d still come out on top.

He did have a bit of a flare for the dramatic, and she loved it!

Master had given her a task, however, and she needed to get to it. As co-leader of the Martial Pavilion, it was up to her and her brother to choose the other tournament participants. Thus, she’d gathered him, Kang Lin, Huang Yimun, Hou Yazhu, and Zi Delan in one of the building’s many small rooms.

Of the council members who were also part of the pavilion, only Zou Tian was missing since he’d been asked to stay behind by Master. Though Yang Xiu would have preferred to have his guidance, she felt that the rest of them could handle coming up with a plan, especially since Kang Lin probably had knowledge of how such selections were handled.

“First of all,” Yang Xiu said, “does everyone here wish to participate?”

Yang Ru grunted, the one he used for expressing affirmation, and both Huang Yimun and Zi Delan nodded vigorously. Hou Yazhu didn’t look quite so sure, which made sense in that he’d voted “Stay.”

She turned to him, raising her eyebrows in question.

“I was a wagon driver by trade, Senior Sister. When I was asked to lead one of the guard squads, I agreed as there was no one better to do it, and I think I’m doing okay at that job. Mostly, though, my squad is tasked with detecting an intruder and calling for help. We’re not nearly as highly skilled at fighting as you others are, and we don’t enjoy it as much. Mostly. There are a couple of young ones in my group who might want to, but most of us…”

That attitude wasn’t something that Yang Xiu shared, but she understood that some people simply didn’t enjoy battle or even sparring. She’d felt so powerless during that whole situation that led to her to flee her home that she relished having the ability to defend herself. The more she could experience actually using her might, the better.

“That’s fine,” she said. “It’s not mandatory for anyone. Kang Lin?”

“I’m hopeful that Grandfather will have a spot for me with the Poison Claw contingent.”

Ah. Yeah. Sometimes, Yang Xiu almost forgot that her kind of sister wasn’t an actual member of the Rising Tide Sect. That was okay, though. Everyone had their flaws, and Yang Xiu would forgive the other girl that one, even if it was a fairly major one.

Hopefully, she’d end up transferring sects soon enough. If Yang Ru ever got off his duff and proposed. Everybody with eyes could see the two of them getting closer together, and everyone knew it would happen eventually. Heck, if they were back in the town, the elders would have had the two of them hitched months ago.

“So far, we have four participants for the fighting contest,” Yang Xiu said. “How many are we looking for, and how do we choose them?”

The question was somewhat rhetorical as she had no intention of waiting for one of the others to interject.

She rushed forward before any of them could speak. “I say we limit it to ten members. Master said that we shouldn’t take too many, and to figure out the other six, we should have our own tournament!”

The idea of sponsoring her own internal Marial Pavilion contest was almost as exciting as going to the one in Sixth Flawless Flowing City.

Yang Ru shook his head. “All our Foundation Establishment members should have the opportunity to go.”

“Both of us are… Oh.”

Jin LiJuan was a kid. Barely twelve. And the girl was advancing so fast that her skills clearly couldn’t keep up with her raw strength. She’d need a lot of work to defeat someone in the same realm as her. On the other hand, her bonded beast would be allowed to fight with her, and that creature was tough.

So…

“Okay. Good point,” Yang Xiu said. “Jin LiJuan and Ganzou make five. Everyone is agreed that we hold a tournament to select the remaining five?”

No one voiced an objection.

Perfect!

The next several months were going to be so much fun.

As a shop clerk at the Swift Hunter Weapon Vault back in Sixth Flawless Flowing City, Shi Long knew he wanted to forge blades and hammers and polearms and such, but since his family couldn’t afford to apprentice him to a blacksmith, selling weapons was the closest he could get. For the opportunity to live out what he felt was his destiny, he’d always be grateful to the sect leader.

Currently, Shi Long technically had two masters. The sect leader filled that position in terms of cultivation, though Shi Long didn’t have nearly as close a relationship with the man as some of his fellow disciples did.

Shi Long’s real master, though, was Xun Wu, who was teaching the former shop clerk to be a blacksmith and enabling him to live out his dream.

“Master,” Shi Long said, “will we participate in the tournament?”

Xun Wu frowned. “You want to, don’t you?”

“It would be nice to see my family and, honestly, to compare myself with other apprentices.”

“You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be in your development and skills, lad. Better than most.”

“I know, Master, but I can’t help but wonder.”

Xun Wu sighed. “I won’t stand in the way of you seeing your folks. Just be mindful of the danger.”

“I will, Master.” Shi Long cupped his hands. “Gratitude, Master.”

“I don’t expect any of the others will want to go. The sense I get is that the village is plenty big enough for them. Even the sect is stretching things a bit much for their liking. I guess it wouldn’t be fair to send you as our sole representative from the Blacksmith Pavilion.”

“You’re going, Master?” Shi Long couldn’t hide the delight from his voice.

“I might as well. Placing high will do my reputation good, and I’ll need that if I ever want to be considered a Master Blacksmith.”

Not wanting to disappoint either of his masters, Shi Long had a lot of work to do to get ready for the tournament. Busy hands made time go quickly. Five months was sure to pass fast.