74 – The Great Mortal Game

The rest of the week passed quickly. Liu’an City erupted in cheer as dozens of Immortal ships arrived from various sects for the Young Dragon and Phoenix Tournament. Their sails bore the symbols of the Wanshou Sect, Wuqing Sect, Duxin Sect, Bihai Sect, Tianjian and Jiushuang Sect. The very sects that had lost cultivators in the Southern Mountain Range. In truth, attending the tournament had been their original plan, before the mission to kill Xuan Danxing interfered. Whether those missions had been officially sanctioned or not no longer mattered. Their disciples were dead, and the sects now needed to replenish their losses.

Ships continued to arrive from even farther northern sects. The Jiǔyáng Sect (Nine Suns sect) among them, along with the Tiěgǔ Sect (Iron Bone Sect), the Hánshuāng Sect (Cold Frost Sect), and the Lièhǔ Sect (Fierce Tiger Sect). These northern sects, shaped by harsher lands and scarcer resources, were known for their more martial traditions and direct methods of cultivation. Then finally, from the south is the lone ship of the Tianhe sect.

A prestigious event such as this naturally drew a surge of mortal traffic into the city, boosting regional trade and the local economy. Some came out of simple curiosity, hoping to catch a glimpse of true Immortals. Others arrived in desperation, bringing family members in the faint hope that some Immortal might recognize a hidden talent among them. Most significantly, the Wanli Merchant Guild had opened the tournament platform for mortal spectators as well. For a price, of course. This was something quite unprecedented. Events of this nature had always been held far from mortal eyes.

In one of the streets, Ningguang and Wanxia were buying some sweets. They had reflected a great deal over the past week. On the battle in the Southern Mountain Range and all the chaos that had followed. Both of them understood that the trio’s lack of trust had not been entirely unwarranted. After all, the two of them had explicitly placed more trust in the disciples of the Jiushuang Sect than in the brothers of their own. Still, the realization stung. And they both knew they had contributed to it by how readily they had chosen to split away from the others.

The two flew toward the City Lord’s mansion. The recent incident had, of course, soured relations between them and the remaining Jiushuang Sect disciples. It did not matter that they had also been deceived. In the eyes of the Jiushuang disciples, the entire affair had been a scheme orchestrated by the Tianhe Sect. As for Qianxue, the City Lord had decided that her fate would be determined after the tournament. What mattered most for now was that the Liuli had been safely returned.

Ningguang and Wanxia passed through the walls of the City Lord’s mansion. A massive viewing structure had been constructed around the central platform. Large enough on its own to hold tens of thousands of people. They quickly located the VIP viewing tower reserved for the Tianhe Sect, passing by several groups of cultivators from other sects along the way.

“Allowing mortals into a place like this… have they no sense of propriety?”

“This is an Immortal gathering, not a marketplace festival.”

“The Wànlì Merchant Guild grows more shameless by the year. Next they will start selling seats beside the elders.”

The disgruntled complaints followed them as they entered the tower.

“We greet Elder Yinyue.” Both of them immediately cupped their hands and bowed.

Within the room sat Elder Yinyue, the Elder of the Education Hall herself, along with representatives from each of the five peaks of the Tianhe Sect. Senior Sister Zhaoxia was present representing Shengyuan Peak. From Yitai Jian Peak stood a massive body cultivator of the Enforcement Hall, his frame broad and heavily muscled even beneath formal robes. Representing Xianhui Peak was a forgemaster dressed in refined, soot-marked robes that still somehow retained an air of precision and craft. And from Bilian Peak came one of their junior sisters, standing quietly near the side of the room. 

There was also a Qi Refining disciple present, one neither of them had seen before. Though she possessed a refined beauty of her own, it was clear she had only recently begun cultivating. Something that felt slightly odd given her apparent age, and was not usually considered a positive sign.

“Ningguang, Wanxia, come here and sit with us,” Elder Yinyue greeted them warmly. The others nodded in acknowledgment. The elder had privately tutored both of them long before she assumed the position of Education Hall Elder, at the request of their master.

“Qiuhua, come greet your seniors,” Elder Yinyue instructed the Qi Refining disciple.

“This disciple is Jin Qiuhua.” She bowed with refined grace and introduced herself. Ningguang and Wanxia nodded in return.

Though she wore the plain grey robes typical of outer sect disciples, Jin Qiuhua carried herself with a quiet, polished elegance that could not be entirely hidden. The way she held her posture, the measured precision of her movements, and the calm composure in her expression all suggested someone raised among nobility or perhaps even royalty. Even in the simplest of garments, that refined bearing remained unmistakable.

‘She is the newest and direct disciple of Elder Tianjiao. He decided that watching this event would be beneficial for her,’ Elder Yinyue explained to both of them through Voice Transmission.

That alone was quite surprising. Elder Tianjiao had not taken a direct disciple in the last three centuries. Not even during the years he served as Elder of the Education Hall. On second thought, it was perhaps more surprising that anyone had willingly become his direct disciple. As both Ningguang and Wanxia had been privately tutored, they had never been taught by him directly. From what they had heard, however, his lessons were rather… eccentric, and were part of the reason nearly everyone in the Tianhe Sect had developed a fondness for gambling.

“TEN SPIRIT STONES IF YOU CAN FUCK HIM UP!” Elder Tianjiao’s voice would roar the loudest.

“Ten for the same!”

“Twenty here!”

“Thirty against him!”

The rest of the disciples followed along.

“FIVE JUST FOR KICKING HIS NUTS!” A female voice would occasionally add, completely out of place among the rest.

Such were the shouts that once regularly echoed from the Education Hall and the sect’s arena during Elder Tianjiao’s tenure. The atmosphere had been as rambunctious as a slum marketplace and louder than any cockfighting pit. Only instead of chickens, it was disciples being pitted against one another.

“So? I hear both of you found yourselves in quite a predicament,” Elder Yinyue said, pulling them back from their reminiscence.

“We did,” Wanxia answered.

“Tell me more.”

Wanxia and Ningguang began recounting everything that had happened: the ambush in the Southern Mountain Range, the breaking of Ningguang’s sealing bracelet, the trio’s scheme to reclaim the Liuli, and the resulting fallout with the Jiushuang Sect disciples. Throughout it all, Elder Yinyue simply listened, as though she had already expected such an outcome. Jīn Qiūhuá, meanwhile, seemed more absorbed in the story than anyone else present.

“Hahaha! A scheme where one appears to do nothing the entire time!” the body cultivator disciple laughed boisterously. “I don’t think I would have had the patience.”

“And from the looks of it, neither did this Qianxue,” the forgemaster disciple commented. “It is fortunate that the Xuan gave you the express permit that day. Without it, the consequences might have been far more severe.” Though his tone was outwardly appreciative, there was a subtle undercurrent of hostility beneath the words.

Both Wanxia and Ningguang noted that he had referred to Danxing simply as “the Xuan.” They were already aware that the Elder of Xianhui Peak did not share a good history with Elder Xuan, and that enmity had clearly influenced the peak’s disciples. It was a clear sign that the forgemaster regarded Danxing only as a Xuan and nothing more. Unwilling to look further into his character. A character which, in truth, had proven far kinder and more tolerant than either of them had initially expected.

“That is not good,” the Bilian Peak disciple said with a frown. “Sister Ningguang, Master entrusted these to you.” She promptly handed over three boxes of pills. Elder Guyue had already prepared them for her, though there were no sealing bracelets left to replace the broken ones.

“What of my master?” Ningguang asked as she accepted the boxes.

“The Sect Leader has forbidden her from leaving until it is confirmed that you and Wanxia have safely reached the Jiushuang Sect,” Elder Yinyue answered.

The statement surprised everyone in the room. Among those present, only Elder Yinyue had ever met the Sect Leader in person. To the rest, he remained an enigmatic figure who rarely involved himself directly in sect affairs. In practice, it was Elder Chizeng, the Deputy Sect Leader, who managed most matters. No one truly knew what the Sect Leader occupied himself with, and there had never been any word of him entering seclusion either.

“Do not worry too much,” Elder Yinyue reassured them. “From what I have heard, both of you are in good hands.”

“You expected this, Elder?” Wanxia asked.

Elder Yinyue nodded. “He lived twenty-nine years before beginning cultivation. He is well-read and clearly experienced in some form of combat even before being adopted by Elder Xuan.” It was evident that the elder already held a favorable impression of Danxing, despite having met him only twice.

“Come to think of it, where are they?” Elder Yinyue asked.

Wanxia and Ningguang exchanged a glance, both deliberately omitting the fact that Danxing was serving as the Master of Ceremonies when they had recounted the recent events.

“You will see him soon, Elder.”

—

Yè Wǎnzhào (葉晚照|Evening Glow of Ye Clan) strode onto the platform with supreme confidence, the family elder standing at his right side. He came to a halt in the middle of the venue’s entrance as though he owned the place. His audacity drew glances from both mortals and cultivators alike.

It had been a year since his elder brother joined the Tianhe Sect. His talent was comparable to his brother’s, yet there was one achievement he could boast of that his elder brother had not yet attained. Being chosen by, and spending a night with, a Foundation Establishment fairy.

Ever since Fairy Qianxue had visited him over a week ago, Wanzhao had studied the four examination subjects with even greater diligence. He had heard that the examination questions and their answers had been leaked, but he refused to purchase them. In situations like that, questions were often deliberately leaked to expose internal spies. Even if the leak had been genuine, adjustments could still have been made. The fact that the tournament continued without any visible panic or delay only reinforced that belief.

Nevertheless, Wanzhao reveled in the attention as he stood proudly in place. Completely unaware that most of the gazes were directed behind him rather than at him. The elder accompanying him noticed first. The moment he turned around…

Thump.

The footstep sounded thick and deep, drowning out the surrounding noise as it echoed once, then twice. Killing intent rolled outward along with the sound. Only then did Wanzhao realize that no one had been looking at him. Cold sweat immediately drenched his back. He stood frozen, like a deer startled into stillness.

Thump.

The second footstep came even louder than the first, laced with the same heavy killing intent that echoed twice more. Every breath in the vicinity seemed to stop. Even the air itself ceased to move. Wǎnzhào felt himself being grabbed and dragged aside by his elder. Just in time for the approaching figure to walk past them.

Thump.

A shadow loomed with the third step, covering them briefly before moving on. Only then did Wǎnzhào dare to look up. What he saw chilled him to the bone. A massive figure more than twice the height of an ordinary man, wearing a veiled deer skull upon his head. His robes were the signature black and white of the Tianhe Sect. Before Wanzhao could fully process the sight, his elder dragged him once more toward the area where the participants were gathering. Nearly all of them appeared equally frightened and entranced by the figure that had just passed.

Thump.

The fourth step echoed only once as the towering figure came to a stop at the edge of the platform. As the killing intent gradually faded, breath returned to the crowd. The sound of participants swallowing hard could be heard by those nearby. He just stood there menacingly, as though giving everyone a moment to recover.

Then, in a calm and level voice that carried clearly across the platform, he spoke.

“Welcome, participants, to the one hundred and eleventh Young Dragon and Phoenix Tournament.” His voice can be heard by everyone within the massive venue.

“Participants, enter the platform,” he commanded.

At first, some hesitated. But once the first few participants stepped onto the platform using movement arts, the rest quickly followed. They gathered within designated squares whose edges glowed faintly. Then came a long pause. Every gaze turned toward the cause.

A young boy was running onto the platform, gasping for breath. His presence was extremely weak, almost indistinguishable from that of a sickly mortal. His skin was pale, his body thin and fragile. Upon closer inspection however, he was a second level Qi Refining.

Immediately, the surrounding gazes turned to scorn and disgust. More than a few participants entertained the thought of pushing him away from the squares. None dared act on it, however. The terrifying figure at the front of the platform was unmistakably watching. The boy’s condition was clear to those with experience. The signs of Severed Meridians. From the looks of it, he was a rogue cultivator who had practiced incomplete or faulty techniques, resulting in a Qi Deviation that permanently damaged his meridians.

“Now then,” the towering figure continued, “I am certain all of you know that the first phase of the tournament is the Intelligence and Comprehension examination.” Many nodded.

“However, it has come to my attention that the examination papers have been leaked. Therefore, there will be major adjustments to the test.”

Murmurs and quiet curses spread through the crowd. Most of them from those who realized they had been scammed into buying now useless papers. While the other quietly cried at the thought of all they have painstakingly learned to be useless for the test.

“Do not worry too much. You will still be tested on the subjects you have studied. We have simply decided to make the examination a little more… practical.”

He snapped his fingers.

The platform began rising in sections, grid square by grid square. Starting from the square he stood upon, the transformation expanded outward before the surrounding platforms slammed back down into place, all except the one beneath his feet. The surrounding grids then shifted and reshaped themselves into varied landscapes. From the four cardinal directions, four towering pillars rose, each radiating a demonic and ominous presence.

With another snap of his fingers, sixteen stacks of cards appeared in front of every participant. Each stack detailed various races and factions: High Elves, Dark Elves, Dwarves, the Human Empire, Vampires, Pyramid Kings, Lizardmen, and more. Every card listed clear information. Unit statistics, the number of soldiers per unit, leadership values, martial skill, defense, speed, and other attributes.

“Each of you will create an army from a single faction, using no more than twenty cards or twenty units, while remaining within the stated point limit. Afterward, you will lead your armies to the Cardinal Gates and defeat the Four Demon Lords.”

His explanation left the entire platform in stunned silence.

“Participants… welcome to the Great Mortal Game.”

~ Valarion