The sun had gotten quite high up in the sky by the time Aki and Keen Blade were done plotting. Aki, however, was a tad conflicted about the new plan. He was standing in front of a mirror in Keen Blade’s tent, frowning at the figure he saw within it. The Liquid Sect elder was waiting behind him, but Aki just kept staring. She frowned at him.

“What, don’t tell me you’re getting doubts now, it’s far too late for that.”

Aki turned his head back to look at her. “Remind me, exactly how many glasses of spirit wine were in me when I agreed to this?” He asked, though his voice was very different from usual. His deep bass voice had changed to a much higher pitch – the first part of the new disguise plan. The right pill could do almost anything in this world.

She shrugged. “I don’t know, can’t have been more than seven or eight glasses at that point.”

“Damn” Aki cursed as he turned back to the mirror. “That means I was still mostly coherent. I do see the sense in this, but it just feels so wrong.” He finished, frowning further.

“I can understand your apprehension, but the pills I had on hand were a bit limited.” She walked next to him and looked over the changes. “Still, you are doing well with the look. Not everyone could pull it off as well.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about being suited to... this.” Aki replied, gesturing at the mirror.

Inside the mirror, a figure gestured back at him. A distinctly female-looking figure.

Aki shivered. “Seriously, it’s scary how easy this was. Get rid of the beard, soften up my angles a bit, add a bit more curve, and blam! Suddenly I look like some graceful lady.”

He was still dressed in his sect elder’s robes, but the figure wearing them was very changed. His skin was smooth and unblemished, his features were softer and more feminine throughout, and his face was missing his trademark beard. The only feature not changed at all was his long flowing hair.

He felt at his chest to make sure the changes hadn’t gone too far and felt reassured. At least his underlying biology was unchanged. “Don’t even have to do anything drastic, and still the effect is this powerful.”

“What, are you dissatisfied or something?” Keen Blade asked from beside him. “I can maybe procure some more... thorough pills if these ones aren’t enough.”

Aki shook his head fervently to deny her. “Nonono, this is quite enough. A surface change is all I need here. It’s not like we’ll be getting out of our robes in the realm after all, right.” Suddenly he turned a suspicious look at her. “Wait, we won’t, right?”

She smiled enigmatically at him. “I can’t be revealing too much information on the realm, now can I? I think my disguise assistance is quite enough on that front.”

Aki had to agree with that. Even if he found the current plot a tad distasteful, he could not deny that it was more reliable than what he had thought up before. Masks, robes, talismans – they are all things that make it obvious you are hiding something and can be removed from one’s person to dispel the disguise.

Pills, on the other hand, are different. Once eaten and dissolved, they are much harder to detect and dispel. Additionally, it’s not obvious that one is under their effect. If you seem like you have nothing to hide, why would someone investigate you?

It only took a voice-change pill and a few cosmetic pills and Aki was outwardly morphed into the spitting image of an elegant jade beauty. There was a similarity to his previous look, but who would expect a wizened sect elder to show up as a youthful lady?

Aki understood that this plan had some sense in it, but he also felt some suspicion that Keen Blade had proposed it for her own amusement. She was hardly blinking – it was almost like she was trying to burn the image of female-Aki into her mind. Aki was glad he was not in the era of handheld cameras. Wait a minute, I’m sure there are techniques and tools for that.

He looked at the woman with suspicion. “Alright, be honest. How much of this plan was for your own amusement?”

She grinned. “Only like 50, alright 60 percent maybe. I promise.”

“What? Only 40 percent of this was because it was a good plan?”

She smiled wider. “Oh no, that part is 10 percent. the other 30 percent was so I could gain some good blackmail material on you.” She gestured at the empty spirit wine bottles. “I do need to ensure that future shipments are timely after all.”

Aki shivered. I’ve almost forgotten I’m dealing with a tax lady here, shouldn’t have let my guard down! I’ll have to re-establish my dignity here.

“Your blackmail would be useless! None of my disciples would believe such slander!”

She laughed. “Alright alright, I’ll give up the blackmail plot. This has already been quite entertaining enough for me. Shall we get back to the practicalities?”

Aki nodded. Most of the practicalities had already been taken care of. He had gone to inform his disciples that he would be gone on some matters for a few days, while Keen Blade had arranged a cover story for his current identity. He was to be introduced as a distant relation of hers who she was allowing to participate as a personal favour.

Aki was glad for the help – it would be much simpler and secure for his cover identity to not have any connections to his real sect.

“The hidden realm test is for 5 days, while you said these pills would last for 10. How will we handle the last five days?” Aki asked, back to studying his image in the mirror.

“Well, I’m sure we’ll figure out something. Could have you sent as a guest back to your sect or something – there are quite many options.”

“Well, alright,” Aki said, then walked away from the mirror. “However! I still want to do the mask and brown robe. I’m not giving up on Mysterio.”

“Well, I guess there is no harm in it...” Keen Blade answered thoughtfully. “The mask could serve as a misdirect, so people wouldn’t even imagine you were faking the face too.”

Aki walked behind a room divider to change out of his sect elder’s robes and switched to the brown ones he had taken along. He then put on his wooden mask and went to look at his image in the mirror again.

This time he looked like a mysterious warrior, and Aki was quite happy with the look.

“You’ve still got your personal knife on.” Keen Blade reminded him.

“Ah, true that.” Aki said and took the knife and its sheath off, then frowned as he looked at the mirror. The mysterious warrior look did not quite look correct without any weapons on him. “It would feel strange to not carry any weapon at all.”

“I can loan you a basic sword and sheath if you want.” Keen Blade offered, and Aki accepted. Soon he had a simple wooden sword in a sheath by his waist, which really completed his look. I don’t think I’m ever going to actually pull this sword out. I just really like the style.

Satisfied with his outfit, Aki sat down to meditate for the rest of the wait. Then he realised that just meditating in some other person’s tent would be pretty rude, so he stood back up and chatted with Keen Blade for the remaining time.

Time flew by, and soon it was time for the hidden realm to open. Before that though, Keen Blade brought Aki out to be introduced to the other Liquid Sword sect members.

“Greetings disciples, this is Mysterio, an associate of mine who will also be participating in the hidden realm this time.” She said, pushing Aki into the gaggle of staring disciples.

Aki thought it would be pretty cool if he just was silent and moody for the introduction, so he decided to only nod silently at the others – not speaking a word.

The others stared at Aki doubtfully. With his mask and robe, he looked like the perfect picture of a mysterious rogue cultivator – at least in Aki’s mind that was. Most of the others just thought he looked a tad silly.

Aki walked into the mass of disciples, taking care to go into the corner of the group so he could get a proper distance from the others. Keen Blade waited for him to join the others, then started addressing the group.

“The realm should be opening in a few moments, so we’ll do a final revision of the situation. Inside you should find spots of power, where Qi has been steadily gathering for the last 500 years. Find a suitable spot, defend it and cultivate the Qi there. You all already know how beneficial this can be, so I expect you all to put forth your best effort.”

Right on cue, a massive surge of energy rippled out above the encampment. Threads of Qi began swirling around, forming a vortex in the sky. The vortex gradually expanded further and further, until it covered the encampments of all the sects present.

Aki watched with wonder as a glassy surface started to spread out from the centre of the vortex, showing a swirling blankness behind it.

“The time has come! Everyone, you have 5 days! Make sure you return while the return portal is open, otherwise you will be a bit stuck for the next 500 years! Let the trial begin!”

Disciples started jumping up into the air and flying into the glassy surface. It let them pass through it, covering their bodies in a glistening membrane for a split second before they disappeared through it.

Aki looked in the direction of his own sect’s camp, and saw that his disciples were well on the way to the realm. He smiled beneath his mask. Hopefully things work out well for them, and if they don’t, I’ll be there to help! Sure, it’s supposed to be a strictly solo affair, but what kind of sect leader wouldn’t engage in just a bit of nepotism?

As he saw the distant figure of Passionate Seeker flying towards the vortex, Aki turned to Keen Blade and gave her an appreciative nod. She nodded back at him, and then he was off. He felt the density of Qi increasing and increasing as he approached the vortex, until he could glimpse a mirror image of himself on the glassy membrane.

His hood was blown back by the winds, releasing his long hair to twirl behind him. He looked like a graceful warrior beauty on a mystical quest, ready for any challenges that he might face. I might not be able to avoid fights too well out there – I may actually end up taking part in some. I wonder which sects I will face.

He ran the various factions through his mind. The Slime sect he was not too keen on engaging in battle, as just imagining their techniques made him shiver inside. He grit his teeth. Well, I guess I’ll have to wait and see. My combat skills may not be anything amazing, but surely, I’ll be able to use my sagely intellect to win some conflicts.

He steadied his breathing and passed through the vortex. Everything faded to black.

Aki woke up with a start and noticed that he was laying on hard rocky ground. He stood up vigilantly and started to take in the landscape around him. The hidden realm seemed to be a misty and mountainous place. He stood alone on a tall mountain peak, with deep valleys on either side of him.

He couldn’t actually see into the valleys, as they seemed to be covered in a deep mist from which other mountain peaks were poking out. The sky was clear, and he felt the rich Qi in the nature around him. I’m not even in a spot of power yet, and the Qi feels this strong! Why doesn’t everyone have their own personal realm like this? It would be so convenient!

Before he could explore the moment further, however, Aki felt an approaching presence behind him. He cast out his senses and readied himself for whatever would come. Hmm, this presence feels strangely familiar – who exactly am I going to be dealing with?

Aki felt a bit thrilled at the prospect of his first trial in this realm, but was not ready for who it was to be. As the presence came closer, it started to become clearer and clearer to him. Wait a minute, this feels too familiar by far...

His thoughts were interrupted as Passionate Seeker jumped down from a cliff, revealing herself from the mist. For a moment her gaze was curious – until it fell on Aki’s wooden mask. She narrowed her eyes, and began readying combat weaves in both her hands.

“Hey, you there. Where did you get that mask? Answer very carefully.”

Aki had never seen his apprentice with a face so grim. Wait a minute, just how am I going to solve this without revealing myself?