024 Fourth Day

  The fourth day of the festival had arrived. For me, it was almost the fifth day since I’d been thrown into this world.

  An attendant led me through the grae manor of the City Governor, Ren Jin. The walk was slow—painfully slow—because the attendant was just a regur mortal, and this pce was huge. Every step I took on the polished stone floors echoed softly in the quiet halls.

  So why was I here?

  Well, Ren Jin had been kind enough to offer me lodging while Elder Lei Fen worked on transposing Gu Jie’s cultivation teique into something she could use at the First Realm. While I wasn’t the type to sit around waiting, I wasn’t about to let my follower deal with her misfortune alone.

  I took in the sights along the way, appreciating the absurd wealth on dispy. The walls were lined with intricate paintings, the wooden pilrs had gold-inid carvings, and the inse that burned in the er filled the air with a refined, expensive st.

  Just as I was starting to enjoy the luxurious stroll, a familiar presence appeared beside me.

  Fan Shi.

  I had already sensed her tailing me for a while thanks to Divine Sense, but now she finally decided to show herself.

  “How may I help you, Ms. Fan?” I asked without breaking stride.

  She narrowed her eyes. “What is your cultivation realm?”

  I sighed. This question again? Did everyone in this world have a realm obsession?

  “That’s something I wish to keep to myself.”

  Fan Shi studied me for a moment lohen nodded. “I have a match, so please excuse me, Senior.” With that, she turned and walked away.

  I finally arrived at the heavy wooden duarded by two armored cultivators.

  The attendant gave a respectful bow. “We are here, master cultivator.”

  The two armored cultivators standing at attention beside the heavy wooden dave me a quice-over before pushing them open. The doors swung inward with a smooth, weighty motion, revealing the opulent VIP box beyond. The st of fine inse drifted in the air, and the polished wooden flleamed uhe soft glow of ented nterns.

  I stepped iaking in my surroundings.

  The VIP box was a grand space, far more extravagant than I had expected.

  Five seats were arranged in a slight arc, an excellent view of the arena below. The ter seat beloo Ren Jin, the City Governor, his regal presenanding attention even while he sat at ease. To his left was an old man I recalled seeing before—he wore the flowing robes of the ist Sect. Further left sat a middle-aged man with sharp eyes and an even sharper aura, likely from the Sword opy Sect.

  To Ren Jin’s right, there were two seats: one was already occupied by a representative of the Isotion Path Sect, and the other, I assumed, was mine.

  I took my seat, quietly the people around me.

  The man to my right turoward me and greeted me with a polite bow. “Greetings, Senior, my name is g Fan, a disciple of—”

  Unfortunately for him, the Elder from ist Sect cut him off before he could finish.

  “Where is Lei Fen?” the old man grumbled. “It is quite rude of him to leave us here like this. Does watg the geion bore him so much?”

  I suppressed a sigh. Cultivator power pys were such a bullshit thing.

  g Fan stiffened, his expression caught between fear of offending the Elder and loyalty to his Sect.

  I decided to step in before this got unnecessarily tense. “Lei Fen is absent for the simple reason that he is doing a favor for me.”

  The Sword opy Elder, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke. “And you are?”

  I rexed slightly. No way a fight would break out here, right? This was a civilized setting. Surely, these elders wouldn’t be that temperamental. Still, it was best to tread carefully. The way I phrased my answer could make all the differeween satisfying their curiosity and actally provoking trouble.

  “My name is Da Wei,” I said, keeping my tone even. “I’ve invenienced Lord Ren Jin with a certain… debacle outside his walls—”

  The Sword opy Elder interrupted, “That was you?”

  Rude.

  I tinued smoothly, “Sihen, I’ve apologized to his lordship. I am grateful for his hospitality and generosity.”

  I could feel the two elders’ gazes b into me, their qi sense probing at my presence like invisible tendrils.

  Acc to Gu Jie, when qi was used to sense someo felt like tiny pinpricks on the skin. I wasn’t feeling anything like that, but—God bless my Perception stat and Divine Sehey couldn’t have been more obvious.

  While Divine Sense was inally just a scouting skill for deteg hostility in the game, I had retly realized it could also pick up on things like killing i and presehe feature wasn’t something explicitly listed in the meics, but I vaguely remembered reading in some fvor text that it had additional uses. If I trai enough, I might be able to push its versatility even further.

  I suppressed a sigh. The two elders weren’t radiating killing i, but their hostility was just enough for Divine Seo mark them.

  Ren Jin, ever the courteous host, decided to step in before things got awkward. “I believe introdus are necessary.” He gestured toward the elder from ist Sect. “Daoist Da Wei, this is Daoist Pan Xia of the ist Sect.” Theioo the other. “And beside him is Daoist Long Xieren of the Sword opy Sect.”

  Pan Xia gave a slight nod and snapped open a folding fan, lightly airing himself with an easygoing smile. “Greetings, fellow Daoist. If you don’t mind me asking, what is your realm?”

  I sighed. Here we go again.

  “Why does it matter?” I asked, keeping my toral. “Isn’t it sidered rude to ask about someone’s cultivation the first time you meet them?”

  Long Xieren scoffed. “That’s what you say, but you have little to no cultivation. Except perhaps your body refi.”

  Oh? So that pretty much firmed it—they couldn’t detect mana.

  Lei Fen couldn’t. Ren Jin couldn’t. Jiang Zhen couldn’t.

  If they could, they didn’t seem to uand it.

  A quiet sense of fidetled over me. I really ’t be detected by their normal means. That meant I had a signifit advantage when mingling with cultivators. Of course, that didn’t mean I had to enjoy being interrogated like this.

  I shrugged nontly. “Sect Master Jiang Zhen said the same.”

  The name drop did exactly what I wa to.

  Pan Xia’s fan stopped mid-wave, and Long Xieren’s brows furrowed slightly.

  I didn’t say anything explicit. I didn’t o. Just enough to imply that something was going oween me and a high-ranking figure like Jiang Zhen.

  Su that, old man.

  g Fan, the Isotion Path Sect disciple, spoke up with a calm but firm voice. “Master Da is an honored friend of our Sed a peer of the Sect Master of Isotion Path Sect. I ask my seniors to please treat Master Da with the same respect afforded to the Isotion Path Sect.”

  Oh? Now that’s an iing spin on things.

  Pan Xia raised a brow, snapping his fan shut with a soft flick. “Ho~ what an iing development. Five my impertihen, but may I ask of Senior’s ins and affiliation?”

  This ist Sect Elder really had it in for me. His tone remained impeccably polite, even going so far as to address me as Senior, but his question was anything but i. A barbed probe, disguised beh courteous words.

  Still, I had already been named a peer of Isotion Path Sect’s Master. That alone must have made them see me in a different light. Might as well py along.

  I gave a slight, measured nod. “I e from a faraway nd. A traveler, if you would.”

  Long Xieren huffed. “Unbelievable. A peer of the Isotion Path Sect Master? That golden fsh outside the city must have been you exging pointers with him. You have admirable strength, fellow Daoist.”

  Oh, dude. If only you knew.

  I held back a sigh. So that was the clusion they reached? Not bad. I work with that.

  Pan Xia, pying the cautious schemer, decided to keep his distance—for now. He tinued addressing me as Senior, likely to avoid provoking an unknown faeanwhile, Long Xieren took a different approach, treating me as an equal. They clearly had their own motives, but I wasn’t sure yet what they were angling for.

  And then, something clicked.

  The au.

  I recalled Gu Jie rep to me whispers about a signifit au happening soon. It wasn’t listed in the festival’s itinerary, but I had a strong feeling it would take p the st day.

  Were they wary of me because they saw me as a potential petitor?

  Iing. I had just ehe high society of cultivators, and already, they were treating me like an unknown pie their board.

  The tour had reached the quarter-finals. The crowd outside the VIP box buzzed with excitement, a chaotic hum of voices anticipating the matches ahead. Cultivators and mortals alike gathered in the arena to withe battles of the geion.

  Down below, the arena’s elevated stoform had been reinforced by formations, ensuring that the destructive force of the uping fights wouldn’t cause unnecessary damage. The sun hung high, casting sharp shadows as two figures stepped onto the stage.

  Chief Enforcer Liang Na, standing in the ter, acted as the referee. Her expression was as unreadable as ever, her official robes giving her an imposing presence as she looked betweewo petitors.

  One of them was Fan Shi, the Isotion Path Sect disciple I had met earlier. Dressed in her signature bck robes with silver trim, she exuded the same quiet, eerie pressure she had dispyed i match. Her long, dark hair was tied up, exposing the cold, sharp lines of her face.

  Opposite her stood her oppo—a female disciple from the ist Sect.

  If Fan Shi was a jade beauty, then this woman was an ice beauty.

  Her presence was regal, her expression posed like a winter ndscape untouched by warmth. She wore white robes edged with silver mist patterns, her long, frosty silver hair casg down her back like a waterfall. Her aura was distant, refined, and carried the faint st of frozen lilies.

  I leaned ba my chair, gng at the others in the VIP box. “So, anyone here wants to do a entary?”

  Silence.

  I looked around. Pan Xia, Long Xieren, and Ren Jin were all watg the arena with the serious expressions of seasoned cultivators analyzing a battle of importance.

  Even g Fan was studying the field with careful eyes.

  Damn. I got spoiled by Gu Jie too much.

  She would have already started spoutiails about the petitiving me a helpful breakdown of sects, fighting styles, and notable achievements. But now, I was left with a room full of solemn old men and their scrutiny.

  Luckily, g Fan was a helpful chap.

  He turo me and asked, “Master Da, what is it you wish to know?”

  I gestured to the ice beauty. “I know Fan Shi, but not the al.”

  g Fan gave a knowing nod. “That’s to be expected, Master Da, since you are not from around here.”

  Pan Xia leaned back, waving his fan with an air of satisfa. “She’s our Sect’s pride and treasure, a direct desdant of our noble lineage. Her roots trace back to the Pare of ist.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “What’s a Pare?”

  It was an i enough question, ohat shouldn’t have raised suspis. If I ying the role of a traveler unfamiliar with their s, this level of ignorance should be fivable. Still, Pan Xia clicked his tongue in annoyance, clearly displeased at having to expin something so obvious—at least, obvious to them.

  Thankfully, g Fan was much more aodating. “Master Da, some Sects expand their influence by establishing branches in different provinces, and in rare cases, even across entire tis. The Pare refers to the inal Sect that gives rise to these branches.”

  Huh. So something like a franchise, but for cultivators?

  g Fan tinued, “The ist Sect has a long and illustrious history, its roots trag back to the main ti.”

  Main ti? That was new. I’d read a fair bit since arriving here, and Gu Jie had shared stories, but I hadn’t e across a proper world map. From what I gathered, Riverfall ti was just one of many uhe dominion of the Empire. If the main ti was beiioned so casually, that meant there was a rger world beyond what I’d seen so far.

  g Faured toward the stage. “Jia Yun of ist Sect is a rising star, currently at the Sed Realm, Sixth Star, Mid Stage.”

  I rubbed my . “And Fan Shi?”

  g Fan’s expression turned serious. “Fan Shi is stronger, but… her path is different.”

  I gnced down at the arena, where both fighters were already fag each other. Jia Yun stood with ahereal grace, her pristine white robes edged with silver, trasting sharply against Fan Shi’s darker, more ominous attire.

  Liang Na, the ag referee, stepped forward and raised her hand. The match was about to begin.

  I leaned ba my seat.

  Fan Shi moved first, stepping forward with a graceful bow, her movements precise and deliberate. "Disciple of the Isotion Path Sect greets Jia Yun of the ist Sect."

  Jia Yun, in trast, barely put in any effort. She cupped her fist iurn, her expression indifferent, her voice carrying a zy drawl. “…The same.”

  From my seat in the VIP box, I observed them closely. The trast betweewo was striking. Fan Shi exuded a quiet menace, her dark robes blending with the eerie stillhat surrounded her, while Jia Yun stood like an untouchable figure of ice, pristine and unmoved.

  Liang Na, standing as the ag referee, gave them both a level look. “The same rules apply as yesterday. The dition of defeat is to be out of bounds, drawing first blood, a call for surrender, or incapacitation.”

  The tension in the arena thied. The crowd, sensing the impending csh, hushed in anticipation.

  A moment of silence.

  Then—

  “Fight.”

  Jia Yun didn’t move.

  Fan Shi didher.

  A subtle but unmistakable pressure radiated between them, her willing to make the first move.

  I narrowed my eyes. This wasn’t just a battle of teiques—it was a battle of will.