Yu sat at the breakfast table, thinking silently amongst the chattering of the many others.

Why do I feel like there is so much to do, but so little I can do? I need to prep for this spirit realm, but all I can really do about it is exactly what I’ve been doing. Going to classes, increasing and training my skills, building my strength… what else is there? Then, rubbing her ring, she thought, Well, there’s that.

She sighed. Her master was right with he had that evening. She needed to stop hiding. But was now really the time to act on it?

Unsure of her next steps, Yu lifted her eyes from her food. She had managed to avoid thinking about it for a day, mainly by using yesterday’s Day 7 trip into the forest as an excuse.

But right now she looked around the table, still somewhat surprised, but thrilled at the larger group of… people… friends… faction members? Over the last months, their little family had grown from the original four of Ai plus the twins and Yu to what it was now, a group that encompassed almost the entire table.

“Fight anything interesting in the marsh yesterday, Yu?” Minu asked.

She shook her head. “Mostly more toads and bugs. There was an Iron-backed Crocodile, but it was only low grade 3. I’m working up towards high grade 3, but for now I want to play it cautious.”

“Boooooring!” Li intoned.

“Agreed,” Neng Po added. “How was your new grade 2 Darkness skill?”

Yu opened her mouth to answer but didn’t get to when Fan Ran interjected, “Talk about boring! Ignore him, Yu. I know you were finally able to use that Flaming Whip scroll you’ve been drooling over. Tell us how it worked!”

“I don’t know why you even ask,” piped in Lu before Yu could answer. “You know she’s just going to tease us.”

Indignant, Yu was about to tell them she was still a novice at it and couldn’t give them a good description when yet another voice interrupted. “Leave her be,” Shing said while laughing. “I’m sure she’s still exhausted from her slaughter of sleepy frogs.”

The group laughed, but he wasn’t wrong. It was what passed for winter in the weather-controlled area at the foot of the sect’s mountain, and most of the lizards and amphibians were rather sluggish.

Yu huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. “Fine then! I won’t tell you,” and everyone broke into yet more laughter.

“See?” Lu said, pointing at Yu while laughing with the rest.

“Since Yu’s not sharing,” Bing Natong, a girl who Li had brought in from her Wind Warrior classes and had fit in well with the group, asked, “why don’t we tell you how our hunt went?”

She was referring to herself and the twins. Yu looked at the Jao girls, so unlike each other, but always inseparable. Yu was still deeply thankful that they had forgiven her. To this day, Yu still believed she had done the right thing, but it had hurt them and for that she remained sorry. From her left, Ai leaned over and gave Yu a one-armed hug, laying her head on Yu’s shoulder.

“Hey,” Yu whispered and then gave her kiss on the top of her head. How Ai always knew when Yu needed comfort was baffling. She just did.

The group laughed and joked, and Yu smiled at the scene, relaxing somewhat. She moved around the table with her eyes, enjoying seeing her group of friends, compatriots, and allies expand. Most of them had actually come through the twins, directly or indirectly. Apparently, Li and Lu’s success in hunting as a pair – once they had become proficient enough to do so alone – had turned into a bit of a recruiting tool. The rate at which the two had been earning points became apparent when they had started walking into their classes wielding new skills. Of course, they were asked how and the twins told them of their joint hunting. That had turned into Yu – already well known for who she was – becoming something of a celebrity trainer in the art of basic beast hunting. At least for the non-central imperial nobles.

This resulted in yet more people finding out, which led to them asking for guidance; and the cycle continued. It had not been all perfect of course. Some people did not fit in, some were just jerks demanding her time as if they deserved it somehow, and some refused to let go. Yu had actually been forced to drive away, rather violently, a young man who would not stop following her around in the forest. He had been too afraid to go by himself and stalked Yu every time she went alone, attempting to use her to advance himself. It had not been a pleasant experience. Especially for him at the end.

Despite it all, Yu had learned from those negative incidents. She had become more discriminating about who she had been willing to help. Again, some did not take well to her saying no to them while saying yes to others. She just shrugged their complaints off and offered to accept their challenges if they were so displeased.

A few took her up on it, but after a number of broken bones and painful screams, the issue seemed to have gone away. At first it had worried her that her own point balance would suffer from all this training, and it had for a time. But she had adapted. She kept the day 4 mission day to herself and trained others on day 7 only. Another way to offset the loss was that she had passed on a lot of the responsibility to others. Mostly the twins, who taken to it with gusto. If this was a “faction,” which Yu was not convinced of, they would basically be running it. Well them and a few others who were strong enough, like Shing and Fan Ran as well.

Ran had been something of a surprise. He had ben the young man on the law enforcement team who had sided with Yu back in her first week. From what she had understood, he was from one of the five most senior clans in the empire, but had been forced to attend this sect rather than the one his clan usually attended, the Shining Sun and Stars Sect. With the benefit of his upbringing and the resources he had had available growing up, he was very strong. He was also a Fire and Metal Warrior, like Yu’s father. The Fire part was why he had been so interested in the whip skill Yu had acquired after defeating, Mafan, an elder back home in an honor duel.

Well, he had approached Yu three months ago hoping to join her “faction.” Yu, having had a good impression of him from early on, agreed. She was not a fool, of course. She watched him, but in the months since, he had been nothing but extremely motivated to help grow and even run the faction.

At the start, Ran had caught on to hunting quickly, likely because he was not a novice like the others. After only a short while, he took on a training role, along with the twins and a few others who were strong and skilled enough. It helped that he was one of the better-looking male outer sect disciples. Yu kept her distance – not that she didn’t enjoy the view – but the female prospects always asked for him by name as a trainer. She was happy to reduce her own workload by letting them all enjoy themselves.

Just under five months ago, when the twins had started the whole recruiting effort, Yu had expected her master to immediately tell her to stop and get back to focusing on her own growth. It had been an utter shock when he had expressed how pleased he had been. His reasoning however, had been even more unexpected.

“I am pleasantly surprised you thought far enough ahead to start building your own faction of subordinates,” he had told her. “It is very important you have people who can do you bidding and, if necessary, act as sacrifices. You are more important than any of them, individually or collectively, and I approve of you finding those willing to obey you. You, of course, will need to be judicious with sharing just enough information that they understand your superiority and power, but not so much they become liabilities.”

Yu still shook her head, thinking of his interpretation of her actions. She had no desire for subordinates, nor did she want anyone to sacrifice themselves for her. Then again, she was stronger than all but those who had been there long enough to open many more meridians.

And that thought led Yu back to the spirit realm. She ran her eyes up and down the table of her friends and those becoming friends. As she moved along, she cataloged how strong she figured they might be, or might become. One after another, she moved on, recognizing that her master had mostly been correct. They really were not that strong. First of all, they were all outer sect disciples. Second, they were mostly on the younger side and had only been at the sect for as long as she and twins, or perhaps one cycle longer. Finally, her eyes stopped on the only individual at the table who could possibly be strong enough to enter with her.

It would be nice to be in there with at least one person I’m familiar with.

Li, having scarfed down her food, got up and said, “Time to get moving. We need to learn all about spiders today.” Then she shuddered. “Creepy!”

Yu smiled and rose as well, but she quickly went to Fan Ran and whispered, “Can we talk for a moment before you head to your class?” He looked surprised but nodded.

They walked away from the group, who Yu knew would slowly separate to head to their various training or classrooms. She pulled him to an area she occasionally used to step from that rarely saw much foot traffic and said quietly, “Ran, I know how big your clan is, so I’m going to ask a question about something that I think you probably either already know about. Or at least can find out about.” He looked down at her and seemed surprised but interested. He nodded and Yu asked, “Have you heard about the spirit realm from your family?”

His eyebrows, already high, shot right up to his hairline. “I’ve been informed, yes. Are you asking because you want to enter the tournament to get in?”

Yu blinked up at him. “I have no idea what tournament you’re talking about. What I wanted to know was if your family was planning on pushing for you to go.”

“Oh,” he said, confused. “You know about the spirit realm but not how they are planning to decide who goes?”

“I thought it all that was still being negotiated.”

“Well, it is and it isn’t. The negotiations for each empire are still happening and probably will be for quite a while. I’d be surprised if we heard anything before a year and a half with the way the other two empires work. My clan specializes in foreign affairs so I’m pretty familiar with our neighbors and they aren’t like us, politically speaking. But to answer your question, this empire has a pretty strict ruling class, which means we – the five leading clans – already have a preliminary plan in place for our own candidates. None of this is official of course. We don’t know how many each empire will agree to, what sort of restrictions they want to put on everyone, and all that stuff. But for us, we kind of have a plan already.”

Yu expected at least part of that. “What does that have to do with a tournament?”

“Well, from what I understand each of the major clans will get a few seats. The number is unknown because we don’t know how many total will be allowed. But the Gui, Bao, Shen, Ling and my Fan clan will each get to personally assign a set number of people that will be automatically approved to enter the spirit realm. They’re working out how nominations are allowed. For example, do they actually have to be part of the clan or can anyone be a representative?” Then he chuckled. “If they do add that as a requirement, I expect a rush of marriages to take place in the next year.”

Yu giggled but nodded. “So, that goes back to my question. What about you? Will you be on the list?”

He winced. “I’m not so sure. I may be a son of the clan chief, but I’m not the strongest of his sons. Obviously the heirs won’t go, it’s too much risk. But second or third sons might. I’m the fifth son, so I can’t say, but I doubt it.”

Yu bit her lip, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to. “Ummm… Would it help your case if you told them I was going?”

He thought about that for a few breaths. “Not really. Having a spot in the tournament – which is what I mentioned before and is how they plan to fill in the remaining openings – is no guarantee. And, no offense Yu, you’re brilliant, incredibly strong for your age, and obviously gifted, but you’re still young. I’m positive you haven’t opened enough meridians, nor have enough skills, to defeat some of the monsters who will be in the tournament.”

“Ummm…” Her master hadn’t exactly told her it was a secret that he was forcing her in. In fact, he practically told her the opposite. “So, I’m sure your father will hear about this pretty soon. I guess I’m just giving you a bit of advanced knowledge.” Ran was really focused on her now. “So… my master has told me is going to force me into the spirit realm, not the tournament. He told me his is going to do whatever it takes to make sure I get to enter. No matter who gets upset by it.”

Ran froze, his eyes, moving back and forth between hers. “Are you serious?” Yu nodded. “Do you understand what that means?”

She winced. “Some? He basically admitted to me that he would have to kill people and destroy a few clans, but that he was adamant about making sure I get through the… errr… into the realm I mean.”

Fan let out a big exhale. “That is going to cause a lot of issues.”

“Yeah, he said that too. He didn’t seem to care.”

“Of course he didn’t,” Ran mumbled to himself. Then he asked, “That’s why you asked all that about me going?”

Yu nodded. “If I am really going in there, which my master seems insistent on making happen, I would rather have someone I know than a bunch of strangers I don’t trust.”

He nodded back. “And probably already hate you because of how you were forced in.” Then he smiled at her. “I’ll let my father know.” Then he looked hesitant for a moment but clearly firmed his resolved and asked, “Look, I don’t meen to ask an indelicate question, but… do you… you know… have enough meridians?” Then he rushed out, “For it to be safe I mean. I’m sure you have plenty to be strong, but it might end up being a warzone in there and, as I said, you’ll be facing monsters who’ve basically been bred to lead empires, and the beasts could be as high as grade 4 or 5, and–”

“Relax,” Yu said soothingly, interupting Ran’s word vomit. He seemed to deflate a bit. “I’m not offended. I appreciate that you were trying to not to be insensetive with such a personal question. Thank you for asking it the way you did. I can tell you that yes, I have enough meridians. The question is will I have enough… opened… by the time everyone can go in.”

“Okay,” he said as an exhale. “Thanks for understanding. I’ll let my father know.”

“Umm… Can you give it a week or two? I doubt my master will wait long to make his intentions known, but… well… he does things in his own way.”

Ran looked at her and said nothing for a few breaths. “All right,” he finally agreed. “There’s no rush. We’re still really early in the process. A few weeks won’t matter. But I don’t want to wait too long either. Is two weeks fair?”

Yu nodded. She doubted her master would wait that long, but it was better to be safe.

“Thanks for this, Yu,” he said, suddenly cheery. “It’s a huge opportunity for me and I promise I’ll pay you back. You won’t regret it.”

Yu felt a little guilty because she had asked for selfish reasons, but didn’t say anything else. She just nodded, thanked him, and headed to class to learn about creepy spiders.