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Chapter 66: WHAT SHE WARNS
CHAPTER66WHAT SHE WARNSJIEYUAN—∞—Caoluan was waiting for him on the seventh step down, leaning with her back against the wall. She had her head down, not looking at him. The stairwell had no dedicated lights, but it was evenly, perfectly lit all the same, given it was all brightgold.“So,” Jieyuan said as he reached the same step, settling himself against the opposite wall, arms crossed. “You wanted to talk?”He went for as relaxed a look as he could—but he had Absolute Will Comman...
Chapter 65: A HELD BREATH
CHAPTER65A HELD BREATHJIEYUAN—∞—Gleaming End drove deep into Xianjun’s throat.Xianjun’s body jerked, blood spewing from his lips. His face flushed crimson, his body sagging, limp from the neck—or what was left of it, with the blade lodged there.The strike was so clean, so precise, that though blood bubbled and swelled around the spear’s shaft, none of it gushed out.Not all of the blade had gone through, but enough so that some of it must’ve come out on the other side—through th...
Chapter 64: DARE TO KILL
CHAPTER64DARE TO KILLJIEYUAN—∞—Or it should have been.Daojue was quick. He had hardly finished the swing that knocked off Xianjun’s halberd, before he redirected Gleaming End and charged at the now-unarmed Xianjun.But Xianjun was faster. He didn’t retreat—he advanced, weaving out of the way of Gleaming End, letting it stab the empty air next to his head, as he closed in on Daojue, arms folded in front of him. He made as if to punch, shifting his body to the side like he was preparing...
Chapter 63: TO GIVE UP
CHAPTER63TO GIVE UPJIEYUAN—∞—As the call echoed throughout the venue, the proctor got off the stage in a blur of movement.Daojue broke into a run, Gleaming End held straight to the side, flat against the length of his right arm. Across the stage, Xianjun exploded into motion—only to drop low and stay rooted, thrusting his halberd in rapid bursts at the empty air ahead.The halberd glowed a faint green now—and each thrust loosed a nearly invisible streak that tore through the air.Wind…...
Chapter 62: TO PRELUDE
CHAPTER62TO PRELUDEJIEYUAN—∞—Jieyuan leaned against the brightgold balustrade, arms folded over the guardrail, staring down at the arena floor. Waiting.Hours had passed since his duel with Meiyao, but the thrill of victory still lingered—dulled, yes, but not gone. Now it simmered low, a hazy warmth beneath the skin, no longer the triumphant, euphoric blaze it had been earlier, when he’d had his blade kissing Meiyao’s neck.Probably because he wasn’t thinking about that duel anymore....
Chapter 61: TO PREDICT
CHAPTER61TO PREDICTJIEYUAN—∞—It was Jieyuan’s seventh time on the arena floor—and if he had his way, he’d be back again tomorrow.He was on the center stage, standing on one end of it. His opponent had already taken up position all the way across from him, though they’d arrived together. The proctor was between them, droning on. The brightgold that surrounded them glowed and glared as obnoxiously as always. Familiar sights and feelings all around—by this point, the stage felt like...
Chapter 60: TRUST YOUR BLOOD
CHAPTER60TRUST YOUR BLOODJIEYUAN—∞—Meiyao’s duel against Yongyi was the last one of the day. All that was left was for the delegations to leave. Some elders would be hanging behind to arrange the next day’s matches and whatever else it was that they did, while the other elders would escort the disciples back to their respective palaces.There usually wasn’t much in the way of fanfare to all of this. It was a fairly standard affair. The delegations would file out, one after the other, ...
Chapter 59: DISABUSE
CHAPTER59DISABUSEJIEYUAN—∞—This should be interesting. Jieyuan followed Xianjun’s approach.The Xiyunfeng Clan’s scion might have won his match, but he hadn’t gotten out of it entirely unscathed. His robes, much like Jieyuan’s own, had been swapped out after his duel. There’d have been a large, bloody tear in the cloth around the level of his upper thigh otherwise, and another one over his right shoulder.He had a very subtle limp, his right leg dragging behind slightly. His right ...
Chapter 58: NOT MUNDANE
CHAPTER58NOT MUNDANEJIEYUAN—∞—“What is it with you,” Meiyao said, as Jieyuan reached her side on the viewing floor, “and throwing yourself into stab attacks?”Jieyuan leaned against the railing. The stage below was empty. There’d be a break before the next duel, an hour or so. He was in clean, pristine robes, the cuts he’d suffered tended to. A pair of elders had been waiting for them in the corridor on the lower floor, with new robes, healing pills, and a quick-hardening paste ...
Chapter 57: LET HIM DOWN
CHAPTER57LET HIM DOWNJIEYUAN—∞—Jieyuan didn’t hesitate, didn’t pause to consider it. As Yongyi came at him again, still sandbagging, he didn’t parry but went for a riskier dodge. Yongyi’s blade cut into him—another line across his ribs to match the one on his right—but it freed up his right hand, which he swung at Yongyi’s sword.Yongyi immediately shifted positions, bringing his sword back and up to block it. And that was when Jieyuan dropped the weight of his left-hand Gleam...
Chapter 56: NOT TO WASTE
CHAPTER56NOT TO WASTEJIEYUAN—∞—For once, Jieyuan neither rushed out nor stood his ground against an incoming rush. Rather, after the proctor called the duel and got off the stage, he began walking toward the center, in no particular hurry. And as if they’d agreed upon it beforehand, Yongyi did the same, coming from the opposite direction.Jieyuan wouldn’t go so far as to call their walk casual—they both kept their weapons up, forms ready for a fight, a stalk-like quality to their adva...
Chapter 55: TO MATCH-UP
CHAPTER55TO MATCH-UPJIEYUAN—∞—Jieyuan poked at the rough, jagged line to the left of his stomach. He was sitting on a large, white bed, his back against the wall. He’d undone the upper half of his robes—he’d woken in a new set of inner disciple robes, outer robes topaz, inner robes white—baring his chest and abdomen.A gemstone light in the ceiling lit up the room, white and sterile. He was in the Gleaming Stone Palace’s medical wing, a collection of large but mostly bare suites w...
Chapter 54: A CLEAN WIN
CHAPTER54A CLEAN WINJIEYUAN—∞—“BEGIN!” the proctor announced before getting off the stage.Jieyuan set off running forward. Caoluan similarly bounded forward, long legs eating up the distance in swallowing strides, pushing her fifth-sign speed to the limit.This exact sight was one Jieyuan had seen before. Many, many times.The moment they reached each other, Caoluan threw her arms out, stabbing at him—with a sword that wasn’t there. Jieyuan brought both Shifting Feathers in front of ...
Chapter 53: THE FIFTH DAY
CHAPTER53THE FIFTH DAYJIEYUAN—∞—For how set the Gleaming Nobles had been on killing him, they seemed to have laid off altogether since the tournament began. Or at least put their business with him on hold. Four days had passed since his first duel, and there hadn’t been any assassination attempts since. The Xiyunfeng Clan also hadn’t gotten up to anything, despite his suspicions about them. Sovereign Zhihao, at least, was definitely up to some funny business, even if Jieyuan hadn’t m...
Chapter 52: DRIVE AWAY
CHAPTER52DRIVE AWAYJIEYUAN—∞—Jieyuan froze at the sight of the pair. Before he even knew it he was closing his palms around the shafts of the Shifting Feathers, starting to draw them, and he stopped himself before he could pull them out, killing the instinct.On the other end of the corridor, Sovereign Aoxin similarly came to an abrupt stop on a step about three-quarters of the way down this floor’s half of the stairway. She had her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing him. Then she smirked, chuck...
Chapter 51: A BAD HAND
CHAPTER51A BAD HANDJIEYUAN—∞—Jieyuan only really got a proper sense for the size of the stages as he stepped out into the arena floor. The raised platforms were much taller than he’d thought—taller than his chest—and as he stared across the floor, all the way over to the opposite side, all he could tell about the Radiant Gold Sect disciple stepping out was the color of their robes—those of a core disciple of the sect—and that it was probablya man that he was looking at.There were...
Chapter 50: FOUNDING CLAN
CHAPTER50FOUNDING CLANJIEYUAN—∞—From the second floor, Jieyuan watched the first couple of duels closely. Watched how the competitors fought, what powers they used. Each cabal had its own schools of martial arts for each weapon, as well as its own set of signature realmskills. Jieyuan was really only familiar with the Gleaming Stone Sect’s. This was the time to get acquainted with everyone else’s.Something that became clear pretty early on was that he also had to watch out for the arti...
Chapter 49: IN FOR GOLD
CHAPTER49IN FOR GOLDJIEYUAN—∞—Now, Jieyuan loved gold as much as the next man. He was a merchant’sson. In fact, he’d even say gold was the color he liked the most.But as he stepped inside the Radiant Gold Palace, he was reminded both that you couldhave too much of a good thing, and that just because you could do something, that didn’t mean you should.The outside of the Radiant Gold Palace was already bad enough, but the inside was arguably worse. It was all brightgold. Glaring and gl...
Chapter 48: SUMMIT START
CHAPTER48SUMMIT STARTJIEYUAN—∞—The Radiant Gold Palace was an impressive sight. A sprawl of seven-story-tall spires surrounding a hulking slab of a building. Blocky, almost like a square pyramid, upper floors progressively smaller, blocks placed on top of each other. All sharp edges and angles. All brightgold. Under the glare of the midday sun, the palace as a whole—spires and main palace all—glowed harshly, just shy of blinding.It didn’t manage to hold Jieyuan’s attention for long...
Chapter 47: FEATHER SHIFT
CHAPTER47FEATHER SHIFTJIEYUAN—∞—“And here we are,” Wanxin said, coming to a stop in four wide, squat, building three stories tall.It was an angular, blocky constructions Blocky, in the style favored by the Radiant Gold Palace, but there was not a hint of brightgold—or gold, period—on it. Rather, it was white. And not the soft, understated white stone found throughout both Radiant Gold City and the Gleaming Stone Sect, but a shiny, pearly white, every inch of marble polished and tre...
Chapter 46: SIGHT IN GRAY
CHAPTER46SIGHT IN GRAYJIEYUAN—∞—Jieyuan opened his eyes, blinking wildly, his body jerking back. He desperately drew for breath. And as the cool air flew in through his nose and settled in his lungs, filling it, he came into awareness.He was in a well-lit room. Large, square, luxuriously furnished. He was… He was sitting on a meditation cushion. Right. He blinked a few more times, running his gaze across the filled shelves outlining the walls, to the large, garish gemstone shrine-like ca...
Chapter 45: AND SHE BITES
CHAPTER45AND SHE BITESJIEYUAN—∞—Meiyao gave a sigh. A deep, long exhale of air, as profound as any Jieyuan had ever heard. “Ten years ago… Ten years ago, my mother mysteriously disappeared in a mission outside the sect.” Meiyao had her brows furrowed. She wasn’t looking at him. Rather she seemed fully concentrated on a particular spot in the middle of the pond. “That’s, at least, the official story. In reality…”She trailed off. Just as Jieyuan was thinking she’d changed h...
Chapter 44: SO HE BAITS
CHAPTER44SO HE BAITSJIEYUAN—∞—Jieyuan’s feet were moving, making the decision to go after Meiyao even before he got around to thinkingwhether to stay or follow. He was still caught up with this latest little revelation. The revelation of Meiyao’s engagement. The way that little tidbit weighed on him, occupying his thoughts, wasn’t the result of jealousy, though, or any of the usual reasons, the usual emotions, you’d expected to come from finding out the woman you were interested in...
Chapter 43: TO ENGAGE
CHAPTER43TO ENGAGEMEIYAO—∞—Meiyao was in a mood for murder. She’d already killed two today, and she felt like adding to the tally.Meeting her father’s gaze, she stifled the urge to reach for her saber. She’d just stepped inside the palace’s underground conference room. It was a large chamber under the main building. Its existence was a secret; none but the upper brass of the palace and the sect, plus some hand-picked servants charged with the upkeep of the palace’s underground le...
Chapter 42: THROUGH THE HEART
CHAPTER42THROUGH THE HEARTJIEYUAN—∞—“And you’re dead.” The smugness in Meiyao’s voice was just short of palpable.The tip of Meiyao’s saber hung just in front of Jieyuan’s right eye, like a blurry little dot. Close enough that if he blinked, his eyelashes might brush against it. He was on the floor, half-sitting, half-sprawled, Meiyao having knocked him back during her most recent onslaught.Jieyuan sighed. “So I am.”Meiyao pulled her saber back and extended her hand out. He ...
Chapter 41: HAVE A DEAL
CHAPTER41HAVE A DEALJIEYUAN—∞—Yongyi and Yiming fought in the middle stage. Both, it turned out, were swordsmen—and skilled ones, at that.Jieyuan stood some ways off the stage, looking up, watching the two. The palace’s training room was empty save for them, the other, smaller stages unused. The rings of their swords meeting rang loudly in the vast, empty room.Both Yiming and Yongyi were soul-stilling—Yongyi fully, and Yiming to the same extent as his nephew. Yiming had also lowered ...
Chapter 40: BETTING MAN
CHAPTER40BETTING MANJIEYUAN—∞—Jieyuan’s house back in the Outer Court was small and devoid of everything beyond the barest basics. The same couldn’t be said for the suitehe was assigned in the Gleaming Stone Palace. It was on the topmost floor of the palace’s residential wing, and it came with three rooms. One for meditation, plus a bedroom and a bathroom. The last two were mostly unnecessary, what with Void Communion and cleansing ring, but were there to appeal to cultivators who li...
Chapter 39: PALACE HEAD
CHAPTER39PALACE HEADJIEYUAN—∞—Chief Protector Zhaoyong was the first to step off the cloud. Sect Leader Junjie was just behind him, flanked by the amethyst-robed high protectors.“We’re perfectly on schedule, Yiming,” Junjie said. He sounded unamused.The other disciples started getting off, including Meiyao and Daojue. Jieyuan followed suit, jumping off to the ground. Some of the inner elders that had accompanied them turned around and gathered the composite cloudcraft back into their...
Chapter 38: TO FORBODE
CHAPTER38TO FORBODEJIEYUAN—∞—Radiant Gold City. You’d be hard-pressed to miss it, what with the massive, hundred-foot-tall wall of gold that enclosed it.Jieyuan was high in the sky, on a composite cloudcraft, one much smaller than the one that had been used to transport the disciples to the Gleamstone Forest for the Hunt, but still big enough to carry the eighty or so people—he’d done a rough headcount earlier—on top of it, with room to spare.He was near the back, by Meiyao and Dao...
Chapter 37: TO BE RID
CHAPTER37TO BE RIDJIEYUAN—∞—Early the following morning, Jieyuan got an alert from the inscribed field around his residence of the presence of three people nearby and getting nearer.The next thing he knew, Daojue was batting his thrust aside, and stabbing his spear through his gut. Jieyuan feltthe spear dig into him, saw it sink into his stomach. Wet warmth bloomed around it, and the cloth of his robe where the spear disappeared into his body was quickly darkening. Then Daojue pulled his s...
