After her short session of meditation in order to adjust a little bit to the pressure, Shin Sumi continued to regulate her dantian but at least was able to move more freely than before.

Her clothes were soaked with sweat and now that she realized it, an acrid odor was starting to form from certain areas. Because cultivators were much better than mortals at regulating their bodily functions, it rarely happened that they needed a bath.

In fact since she had started to unclog her Shinsoo Apertures, Shin Sumi had only bathed out of pleasure but not out of need.

Thinking about her courtyard and its pond, back in the sect, Shin Sumi sighted loudly, suddenly missing her comfort after all these months of training and running.

Her eyes darted off in the distance immediately. The stream of clear water that was maybe a dozen meters wide turned in between roots and rocks, forming a shallow neck from which a slight slope created a natural beach.

As she approached the stream, Shin Sumi saw to her relief that the giant fish hastily swam away, as if they were afraid of her.

"If this is a training ground, generations of fish must have been hunted for food by disciples of the sect" she thought, herself wondering if they were as tasty as they looked.

In a swift motion, Shin Sumi disrobed and threw her red garments on a rock to the side all the while jumping in the refreshing water, splashes flying in every direction.

She played happily for a couple minutes, leisurely floating at the pace of the river at times, occasionally propelling her back towards the beach.

Only when she decided she had fooled for long enough did she start washing herself in order to get back to cultivating and exploring around.

Using her hands she rubbed her body, focusing on the areas that were the smelliest, from the armpits on down. She had reached her midsection when she suddenly froze.

"What is..." she started before falling into a deadly silence.

She then let out a scream in which true horror could be heard and almost passed out. Her vision had turned pitch black for half a second before she managed to catch herself.

It was only after that her mind realized what was going on, and her complexion turned as red as the bloody sky. She finished her affair in less than twenty seconds, not daring to look down at her body. Or more accurately at the male anatomy that was hiding her true identity.

She only lowered her gaze after having donned another set of robes, being sure that she was covered again.

She quickly washed her previous clothes and put them into her bag of holding.

Her hastened heart-rate slowly receded, her mind returning to a state of relative calmness.

Never had she thought in all her life that the first time she would see a naked man, it would be herself paradoxically. She thought about her family for a brief moment.

More than a year had passed since she had been ordered to wed an Official from the big city Lord's court. It wasn't the first time she reminisced about that moment, but it certainly was the first time her will wavered.

"I miss my family" she thought, "Mother and Father at home must think I am dead by now. Brother too, and Second Uncle in the library as well."

The weight of breaking her familial duties could be felt on her heart. She knew that at some point she would have to face the consequences of her decisions.

In the Immortal World where everyone had to maintain a righteous mindset in order to progress, torments from the past could become a major obstacle in breaking through to the next level.

If her heart wavered, Shin Sumi would become unable to reach her maximum level, remorse and regrets ever dragging her down.

"When this is over, I will go to them and explain what my life has become. I am sure they would understand. After all, what is a small position like an Official's wife compared to a legendary Immortal, right little nut?"

A hint of sarcasm tinted her words. The 'Immortal legends' she spoke about referred to the myths little kids from the mortal realm liked to hear before going to sleep. They were all about pure-hearted individuals, living enlightened above the clouds. Dragons amongst men.

None of the lecherous and cunning people that would kill others for the sake of their own future. What a joke it was.

The little nut didn't answer her rhetorical questions. Shin Sumi wished her sworn sister Xiao Yue was here.

"I wonder how far along she is. I hope she didn't run into too much trouble. If ever we get the chance, I would like to reunite with her as soon as possible."

Little did she know that Xiao Yue was having the exact same thoughts, reaching the last crossway platform before the central floating continent.

Xiao Yue was a promising disciple who could be said to honor the orange garments that she wore. She couldn't quite compare to the handful of yellow robed Honorary Disciples, but even among her peers she could almost be called a prodigy.

She had fared pretty well in the first stage of the tournament, clearing the illusion after a dozen hours. It allowed her to be part of the first quarter of disciples to arrive at the blood sky path.

She wasn't considerably late compared to Shin Sumi, Tai Bu and the yellow robes disciples in general, but even half a day was a big difference.

On the scale of the whole floating platforms path it was close to nothing but while taking into consideration the physical aptitudes of the differently colored disciples, the timing could only get split further and further.

Xiao Yue was about a week behind Shin Sumi at this point, but with no way of knowing that her sister was actually in front of her.

She would sometimes turn her head towards the light pillars in the distance longingly, thinking about Shin Sumi.

"What are you looking for, Big Sister Xiao?" asked a teenage girl wearing an orange dress too, "do you think people are after us?"

Contrary to herself, Xiao Yue's travelling companion Kan Xi was far from the picture of bravery and excitation. She was a reserved girl that had joined the sect only recently and intensely regretted participating in this Rising Star Tournament.

"No, Kan Xi. Again, I would tell you if there were people after us. Now keep running, I'm not going to wait for you."

Xiao Yue sighed loudly and thought "At least Kan Xi isn't slowing me down too much. Sumi, you have to catch up soon!"

Kan Xi was not convinced. She had seen Xiao Yue look backwards anxiously a lot recently and that in turn made her anxious too. Having been born in a really poor family, her whole life had been about running away.

She thought that it would be all over when a warm and beautiful man had descended from the sky to take her away to the Immortal World.

With her frail constitution she lacked fighting power and her confidence was hence dragged down. Despite her orange robes, she had only been in the sect for a few months and had just recently started to feel the Shinsoo around her.

It was even impressive that she would be able to muster enough strength to follow Xiao Yue as they ran along the path to the floating continent. The latter guessed that her talent wasn't bad at all after all.

"Kan Xi, let's stop at the next platform. We should arrive tomorrow or the day after to this big landmass, I feel that it would be better to arrive with our power replenished. Now sit down and cultivate the way I showed you."

Kan Xi diligently crossed her legs on the ground and closed her eyes after nodding affirmatively. She circulated her energy along a precise path, not deviating from the way Xiao Yue told her to by even a single drop.

Xiao Yue had good eyes and even better experience. From her own tales she had instantly been able to discern that Kan Xi wasn't training to the best of her aptitudes.

It was known that some ways of cultivating were more adapted than others to certain people, as well as the fact that some ways were simply more powerful independently of the individual.

It was the case for Shin Sumi's complete Shinsoo Gathering Manual that was thought to have been lost to the world, instead becoming an incomplete lesser method.

As she was resting too, Xiao Yue once again was lost in thoughts. Her eyes looked up to the floating landmass that now covered about half of her field of vision.

Just like all the disciples with no exception, she was wondering what was the point of this stage of the tournament.

***

Shin Sumi turned around an ancient tree, ducking under one of its roots.

She held a weird fruit in her hand, occasionally taking a bite out of its sweet and juicy green texture.

None of the plants or animals, nor even the rocks remotely resembled ones she was familiar with. She had found that particular type of fruits on the branches of a small tree, being eaten by birds the size of a person, with a tail about four times as long.

According to the known laws of nature, when animals ate some things, it was often safe to assume that humans could eat it too. Besides, a cultivator's physique was stronger than a mortal's and had less risks of intense poisoning.

Shin Sumi had struck gold with that fruit. Its nectar was very sweet and the fragrant taste lingered on the lips for a long time. But even better was the fact that it was full of spiritual energy.

With every drop down in her esophagus, Shin Sumi thought she was drinking pure liquefied Shinsoo.

"It's no wonder the birds in this place grow to this size... I would too if I had spent my life feeding on raw energy."

She could feel her energy levels rising almost continuously but by a small amount.

It was a safe way of cultivating, although it would take a long time to make progress. But it was better this way.

At first, Shin Sumi had wanted to use the Stone Leaf Tortoise's green core to open up the remaining Shinsoo Doors as soon as she stepped on the big floating continent, but now she had changed her mind.

Her dantian was already on the brink of danger due to the ambient pressure, it would be a bad idea to push it forcefully. At least for now.

"Besides I am not sure how long it would take, and that would leave me defenseless in case of attacks" she had argued with herself.

Just like her sworn sister, she often wondered what was the point of this stage of the tournament.

The long paths that spanned months of running had seemed like a race, especially when the speed at which disciples cleared the first stage gave them a headstart or a longer delay. She had thought something would happen upon reaching the central landmass but after three days on there, Shin Sumi was still at a loss. Could this have been a trick? On the mind of the few who had reached this far already, it didn't make sense. What was the point of the first stage entirely if the second stage wasn't a race?

Shin Sumi took a large bite of the fruit in her hand before throwing the core away. She had a large number of them in her bag of holding, having stripped the tree naked to the sad and angry cries of the birds deprived of food.

Unable to determine her orientation clearly in this place where the sky was always uniformly red, she was seeking a high point to gain more clarity when a clear heavenly note resounded through the air.

"There's no mistaking it, it's the Star Zheng! An announcement concerning the development of the trial will most probably be made" thought Shin Sumi upon hearing the vibration inside her head.

No voice followed the note though. Instead, a giant light pillar, similar to the blue one she came from, appeared somewhere in the sky.

The light was yellow, brighter than a sun, and almost as warm. It seemed to be calling the souls of each disciple around. It screamed louder than any message, telling everybody 'this is your end goal'!

What had prompted the appearance of the light pillar, nobody knew. Maybe the Patriarch had decided that it was time, maybe it was because of the number of disciples having finally joined the central island.

When Shin Sumi saw the burst of light flooding the sky above the canopy, she felt an irresistible urge to see it, unable to not know how far the end was.

Using her internal Shinsoo energy to power up her muscles, she climbed one of the biggest trees she could find. It had a dark and brittle bark that crumbled into dust when she stepped on it repetitively.

A dozen vertical steps was all she needed before she was standing on the branches. From there it was simple climbing, from branch to branch, through the door-sized leaves and the bird nests.

The warmth emanating from the light pillar inundated her as soon as she was above the heavy shadows of the canopy. The mix of green and gray with the red and yellow in the sky truly formed a beautiful sight.

From her panorama, she could see the immensity of the floating world. Regions seemed to be laid out in a concentric manner all around the pillar of light, stretching into a cone that eventually faded further away than the eye could see.

The island was perfectly circular, with a lone mountain in the exact center, from the top of which the yellow light burst profusely. After further examination, Shin Sumi saw that dozens, no hundreds of mountains were actually visible, although none of them represented even a tenth of the central one.

Rows of mountain ranges separated the different regions one had to pass through in order to access the end of the trial.

The message was clear. Only the fastest at going through the different regions would reach the pillar of light first and claim an inner Liquid Realm Disciple position.

Shin Sumi wondered what would happen if the one to reach the goal first had not yet broken through to the Liquid Realm. Because even though it was evidently a race, the whole point of the Rising Star Tournament was to nurture disciples in a way so that the younger generation would produce an unprecedented number of Liquid Realm fighters.

Just standing in this spatial dimension was enough to make great progress in cultivation, so the elders of the sect were all hoping to see come out of the trial, not Honorary Disciples but Liquid Realm cultivators.

But what the disciples didn't know yet, was that Patriarch Sen, the highest authority in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, had devised a cunning plan to separate the true geniuses from the masses.

***

"And with that spell from the inestimable Star Zheng, now the youth know the way to the end of the tournament" concluded the voice of the Patriarch as the Star Zheng's illusory form disappeared from his lap.

All the Elders in the Grand Hall had turned their attention of the screen in the middle of the room. A new image had replaced all the squares representing disciples. Instead, a disk with five concentric rings was displayed.

The inner four rings were greyed and looked dull, but the fifth was flashing with wild colors. A certain number of dots were close to the external borders of the disk. With a majority outside and some inside. These dots were mostly yellow in color, although one of them was orange, and another one shone brightly in green.

The dots outside of the disk were all mixed together, most of them red, a few orange, and only one yellow.

The Patriarch didn't have to explain more what all that meants. At a single glance it was easy to figure out that the new display showed a map of the Tournament spatial dimension. Each dot represented a disciple, classified by color of their robes.

The spatial distribution of the individuals was too large to show an image of all of them, but the Elders quickly learned that they could see a visual projection of each disciple when they focused their divine sense on the dot.

Without even looking, all the Elders knew who the single yellow dot to not be on the disk's outer ring was. Elder Peng's complexion instantly darkened while a silent and discrete rage overtook him. The only yellow robe behind the others was of course Tai Bu, who had been tricked by Shin Sumi and left behind for a while. Hadn't he decided to lay an ambush to the following disciples, he would have been on par with the other yellow robes.

But other than Elder Peng himself, nobody spared more than a thought to the isolated yellow dot. Their attention was, of course, on the green one.

In most of their Divine Senses' perception, an image appeared. It was a figure clad in red robes, standing on top of a tree, observing the land below him, all the way to the yellow pillar of light.

"Him... That's the one kid who won against Tai Bu!"

"This guy, so he had green talent all along?!"

"Why does he hide his talent with red robes?!"

The young boy with pretty features was the talk of everyone now. Besides Elder Zhu and the Patriarch himself, nobody knew the secrets of this boy.

After the clamor in the room died down, a few Elders noticed something else on the Tournament map.

"Patriarch Sen, what are these other dots? My Divine Sense doesn't seem able to pick up on them. Please enlighten us, sir" one asked respectfully.

"Ah, the bronze, silver and golden dots? But they are treasures of course" the Patriarch answered calmly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. His mouth held a slight smile, which the Elders who knew him well recognized instantly.

They asked themselves "what devious plan does Patriarch Sen have in mind this time" ?!