Nui Feng knelt on the cloud, the Future Sight Mirror held aloft as if in offering. A dozen swirling visions danced across its flawless surface.

  She wished she were elsewhere, maybe down below, with Fan Mei and the others.

  The thought blossomed for an instant, then she snuffed it out. Nothing must show on her face. Not here. Not in front of such an esteemed audience.

  Ancestor Qing, as mild as ever, regarded the mirror with a rueful expression. His gaze lingered on one vision: two cultivators dueling above a bustling bazaar, the crowd below cheering.

  By contrast, Song Shaoyue – that utter bitch, another thought she would never let escape – looked utterly bored. Her bodyguard, or more accurately, her source of strength, Han Wenqing, was absorbed by another vision: a fight fully covered by a shroud of red mist.

  One vision on the mirror resolved, and the man beside her, gazing deferentially, announced the outcome aloud. “Fu Zhan defeats Chu Bai near the Grand Crimson Betting House. Chu Bai is eliminated.”

  She did not know Qu Reshi by sight, but she knew him by reputation. Acting as announcer and public arbitrator for the bonus round, he had been appointed by the Nascent Soul cultivators present. Outside of these duties, he was famed for his mastery of sound and rhythm, weaving soulful songs on his natal artifact, the Grass Woven Pipe. Yet tonight, like her, he had been… conscripted into another role.

  Unlike her, she suspected he did not mind the 'honor.'

  Ancestor Qing leaned back and sighed. “This round is progressing acceptably, so far. However, I do not approve of the Five Peacock Pavilion’s tactics. Seven elders protecting one child, ensuring she reaches the third round without a fight?” He shook his head with regal disapproval. “They need a reminder why such methods are forbidden.”

  With that, he flicked a hand, sending a completely imperceptible – at least to Nui Feng – wave of qi down to the cloud ring below. She felt a flicker of pity for those seven elders. Their night was about to become truly miserable.

  Still, she forced herself not to roll her eyes. It wasn’t as if anyone outside the fold could see, yet Ancestor Qing clung to his performance. Hypocrite. She knew full well that the contestants the elders wished to pass would remain undisturbed, while anyone they did not favor would “be reminded why such tactics are forbidden.”

  She froze that thought before it could color her qi.

  “Lady Song,” Ancestor Qing continued, a polite smile on his face, “is there anything you wish to add?” His tone was open and indulgent, as if speaking to an old friend.

  Song Shaoyue waved a bored hand, not even bothering to hide a yawn. “I already told you. As long as Ming Tailong and… my dear little cousin pass, I have no other concern. The rest can do as they wish.”

  Ancestor Qing nodded, as if her words were both reasonable and polite. “Of course. That will be arranged as promised, a little later, to allow us time to deal with a few other groups in hiding.”

  Song Shaoyue grunted, and that was that.

  Privately, Nui Feng thought both this bitch and the Song clan were mad. Everyone knew of the animosity between the mainland forces and her, yet to care about only one slot each in the third round; was that confidence or madness?

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  It mattered little to her. She already knew that, for Ancestor Qing, the only names that truly mattered were Fahai Sattadeva… and perhaps Bai Ning. As long as those two advanced, he would not contest much else. To Old Devil Fu? Only his grandson mattered. And the Lord of the Lonely Roads – would he even bother with such a thing? For all she knew, he was completely unaware of this match-fixing, and likely, just as unconcerned with it. One did not earn a reputation for ignoring everything except cultivation without actually ignoring almost everything in the world except cultivation.

  “Hmm,” Ancestor Qing said, leaning forward. “That group of children…” His eyebrow twitched. “…they are being guarded by Fairy Rushi? How remarkable.”

  Even as he spoke, he flicked a sleeve, and Nui Feng knew: no matter how remarkable he found it, this Rushi was still going to be in a world of trouble tonight.

  But-

  A wave surged across the entire cloud platform hosting the Nascent Soul cultivators. It clashed with Ancestor Qing’s qi and canceled it entirely.

  Both Ancestor Qing and Han Wenqing stiffened, and the others froze. A heartbeat later, the Nascent Soul cultivators relaxed.

  “How… amazing,” Ancestor Qing said at last, his tone dripping with restrained incredulity. Whatever he meant, amazing was clearly not the right word. “My old friend acting out like this. I daresay I have never seen him pay attention to such things in my entire life. Truly amazing.”

  Nui Feng agreed. If her reading of the situation was correct, and it had to be; she prided herself on her sight and intuition, then the Lord of the Lonely Roads had intervened, ensuring Liu Rushi and whoever she was protecting would not be eliminated. That was… unprecedented.

  Next to her, Qu Reshi announced the conclusion of another match. “Jin Rou of Blackrock Island defeats Tang Qing of the Harmonious Rain Sect near the Puppeteer’s Hall. Tang Qing is eliminated.”

  Nui Feng did not recognize either name, so she paid little attention. Her focus was already on another fight, playing across her mirror.

  Fahai Sattavdeva had cornered three demonic cultivators at once. She allowed herself a fleeting thought: would Ancestor Qing subtly intercede in the monk’s favor? But he seemed completely at ease. Well, she reasoned, he wouldn’t have placed all his favor on the monk without some trust in his abilities.

  True to form, it took barely a minute before Qu Reshi had another announcement to make. “Monk Fahai Sattavdeva defeats Rong Xueya, Mu Yeshou, and Gu Yansha near the Lesser Residences. All three are eliminated.”

  Ancestor Qing nodded, a faint smile on his face, before pointing at one of the images. “There. Another coalition of cultivators protecting their juniors. Let’s remind them why that’s not allowed.”

  Nui Feng’s face betrayed nothing as the ‘reminder’ unfolded. Seriously, who was he performing for? And it wasn’t as if the rules forbade cultivators from hiding or seeking help. In fact, they had expressly danced around that aspect so that the actual favorites could remain protected.

  She truly wished she were elsewhere.

  Then-

  Qu Reshi stirred beside her, anger clear on his face. His attention was fixed on a fight where a male cultivator was attempting to… take a non-participant hostage. What a fool.

  Qu Reshi’s qi flared through a flick of his finger. A battering ram of force shot down to the cloud ring below, stopping the fight before it could spiral further.

  He boomed, “Li Haotao of the Tail Fan Islands is eliminated for attempting to harm non-participants during his battle with Fairy Yun of Azure Wall City.”

  A resounding impact followed as the fool was hurled off the cloud ring. “Begone. He is hereby banished from the cloud ring.”

  …

  And so the night continued. Below, the children fought with all the earnestness of youth, oblivious to the invisible scaffolding shaping their battles. Above, the senior cultivators moved like puppet masters, each flick of qi and each subtle intervention, nudging outcomes, protecting favorites, and punishing those who overstepped.

  Nui Feng watched it all from her position as she knelt, the mirror reflecting a dozen duels at once. She saw the patterns, the favors, the carefully orchestrated “reminders,” and the absurdity woven through it all. Ancestor Qing, ever regal and composed, was a study in hypocrisy. Song Shaoyue flitted through boredom, indifferent but calculating. Qu Reshi fumed, righteous and explosive, every move a declaration of justice.

  And she? She remained silent, fully aware that she was watching the stage from above while everyone below danced like marionettes. Such was the reality of power. Such was the future even she did not like seeing.

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