Luo Dong sat at the head of the table, listening to the reports of his elders as they discussed the upcoming Thirteen Kingdom’s Tournament. It was still more than two years out, but this tournament was of paramount importance to sects like theirs. Every sect affiliated with a kingdom wanted to do well since the rewards they could reap if they won were massive.

“I can’t believe they’re only giving us six slots! We’ve been working our butts off to train our core disciples, and they’ve all reached the Asura Realm! We have twelve disciples who are more than qualified for this tournament! Why couldn’t they give us just six more slots?!”

The man who spoke, slamming his hands onto the table, was quite old. His hair was pure white, his eyebrows drooped, and he had a Fu Man Chu mustache that made him look like a hermit. He wore the green and blue robes of the head elder.

“Calm yourself, Mo Zhi. There have always been a limited number of slots, and the Wind-Lightning Pavilion is currently the weakest among the Four Great Pavilions,” said another elder, though this one didn’t look a day over twenty. He had a clean shaven jaw and long black hair.

Mo Zhi clicked his tongue. “I can’t believe how far we’ve fallen. We used to be the number one sect among the Four Great Pavilions, but our position has dropped in the past several decades.”

“It can’t be helped. It is only natural since the Burning Flame, Water-Moon, and Martial God Pavilions have formed an alliance to undermine our authority. We cannot stand up to three sects of comparable size at the same time.”

There were six elders sitting around the long table. Not including Mo Zhi, there was also Shao Jiahao, Song Xue, Du An, Tao Shui, and Hou Yan. Many of them had retained their position as elder for over fifty years. Quite a few of them had been an elder even before Luo Dong gained the position of sect master.

“Let us get back to the matter at hand.” Luo Dong raised a hand to silence those who still looked ready to argue. “Which among our core disciples do you think should compete in the tournament?”

The elders all glanced at each other. Hou Yan, the youngest among their number, turned to Luo Dong.

“Your apprentice will obviously be competing. What was his cultivation again?”

“Half-Step Human Limit Realm.”

“A-amazing! I could never have imagined we would one day have such a young cultivator reach such heights! Forget about the other three great pavilions! I’m sure even members of the Divine Phoenix Sect won’t be able to match his cultivation!” exclaimed Tao Shui, a balding man who had the remainder of his hair tied into a knot.

The Human Limit Realm was the midpoint on a person’s cultivation. This was the realm where other cultivators thought of you as a threat. Cultivators at this realm had far more chi than they did at the Asura Realm, and their control over said chi was refined enough that they could learn Heaven Rank techniques with little effort.

Of course, this realm was only considered high among small nations and the younger generation of large nations. In a country like the Shang Kingdom, someone at the Human Limit Realm would be lauded as a hero, but here in the Ming Dynasty, they were only average.

That said, his apprentice was only twenty-two years old. Such a powerful cultivation at a young age was comparable to inner disciples of the larger nations and the Three Celestial Sects.

“Speaking of, where is your apprentice?” asked Du An.

Luo Dong stroked his chin. “He is traveling to Shēnyuān for the auction. One of the items they plan to auction is a Three-Layered Red Yin-Yang Pill.”

“If he can acquire that pill, he’ll no doubt be able to break through to the Human Limit Realm,” murmured Du An.

“If he can reach the Human Limit Realm before the tournament, there is a good chance he’ll be able to win the entire thing. That will elevate our sect far above the other three great pavilions,” added Mo Zhi.

There was always competition among the Four Great Pavilions to elevate themselves above the others. Power and prestige meant everything to a sect. With power came the ability to do what you wanted, when you wanted, and with prestige came the respect and admiration of the common folks. That was why the competition between these four pavilions was always so fierce.

“That is correct. My hope is that he’ll be able to reach the second subrealm of the Human Limit Realm by the time the tournament starts,” said Luo Dong. “Now, let us decide on the other disciples who will be participating.”

***

Wu Jian and Huǒ Shuchang spent two days preparing for their trip. They would need food, camping supplies, and money for when they reached a city.

According to the map, there were only a few small towns between Chenhou and Shēnyuān, and it took several days’ travel to reach each one.

Travel like this would normally be done alongside a caravan. Cultivators like them were in high demand because bandits, magical beasts, and other dangers lurked on the roads between cities. But unfortunately, there were currently no caravans heading out right now. Mao Yuhan had stamped out almost every business in his effort to reign supreme over this tiny town. The fact that the Xing Family had been able to remain open for so long was surely a sign of Xing Bai’s keen business sense.

Wu Jian gathered the supplies with Xing Zhenya, who offered to help. Yōuměi remained in his shadow since he didn’t want to scare the citizens of this town. None of them were used to seeing a magical beast as large, majestic, and dangerous-looking as his panther companion.

Xing Zhenya acted a little strangely as they shopped. She walked closer to him than normal and would sometimes touch his arm. She had also begun wearing perfume and doing her hair in intricate braids that allowed a glimpse of her swan-like neck.

He briefly considered the idea that she might like him, but he dismissed it. Even if that were the case, he would never consider her potential marriage material. She was pretty and nice, but she lacked the defining qualities that he looked for in a woman.

He also just wasn’t interested in romance right now.

The day he left was soon upon them. The morning sun had scarcely risen into the sky as Wu Jian and Huǒ Shuchang stood outside the town gates. Xing Zhenya, Xing Bai, Xing Lingxin, and Gao Zhou were there to see them off.

“Take care of yourself, little brother,” Xing Zhenya said. “I know you have goals to reach, but don’t forget to take care of yourself. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt.”

Xing Zhenya was close enough that he could smell her perfume, a nice lavender scent that was quite calming. He smiled at her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to take care of myself,” he said. Huǒ Shuchang stood back as the Xing Family said their goodbyes to Wu Jian. He was not close to the family like his companion was, and he didn’t really get along with Xing Zhenya, who often complained that he lacked manners.

“Good.”

Xing Bai stepped forward and held out his hand. “We haven’t known each other for very long, but I am grateful fate granted us the opportunity to meet. You have saved this town and my family from a slow death.”

“I was happy to help,” Wu Jian said as he shook hands. He took a step back and smiled at the group. “You guys take care of yourselves.”

He turned around and walked up to Huǒ Shuchang, who didn’t bother looking at the waving family as he began walking.

Wu Jian only glanced back once. He sighed when he saw that Xing Zhenya looked about ready to cry, but there was little he could do.

“That woman likes you, you know,” Huǒ Shuchang said.

“I know.”

“And you’re okay just leaving her?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I mean, she’s annoying, so I don’t blame you, but she is pretty cute. Most guys would happily make her theirs.”

“I’m not most guys, and if being attractive was all it took to move me, I would be the kind of scumbag who collected women like a hoarder collects junk.”

There were only three women whom Wu Jian was interested in right now. Not only were they far more attractive than Xing Zhenya, but they all possessed qualities he admired. Wu Meiying was intelligent and gifted. Zhou Lihua was a skilled alchemist and had an impressive business acumen. Hou Jingshu had a strong sense of justice and the determination to see her actions through to the end. Not only did he admire them for these qualities, but they made him want to better himself.

Xing Zhenya was nice, but she possessed none of those qualities. She wasn’t particularly good at cultivating, she lacked ambition, she didn’t have a strong sense of justice, and she did not possess any strong convictions. To top it off, the strength of her feelings for Wu Jian paled in comparison to the other three women he knew.

I wonder how long it will be before I see them again…

He was fourteen when Hou Jingshu left, so he hadn’t seen her in almost two years. They had traded letters for a time, but that stopped after the attack on his clan; he had no idea how she was doing anymore.

More than that, he was worried about Wu Meiying, who had paralyzed him and used her powers to draw the attention of their attackers to herself while he escaped on Yōuměi’s back. Was she okay? Was she even still alive?

He shook his head. No. He couldn’t think like that. Wu Meiying had to be alive. She said she would they meet again when he was stronger. That meant she had seen them reuniting at some point in the future. If he kept training hard, then surely the day would come when he would see her once more.

The only one he wasn’t too worried about was Zhou Lihua. He missed her, but she was part of the Zhou Clan, so she should be safe from any kind of strife.

“Hah! I guess that’s true!” Huǒ Shuchang placed his hands behind his head and grinned. “You’re definitely not a normal guy. I imagine any woman who captured your heart would have to be extraordinary. You know, I have a younger sister. I don’t mean to brag or anything, but she’s quite pretty and has a very high cultivation. She’s actually stronger than me, if you can believe it. Would you like to meet her? She might be more up your alley.”

Wu Jian gave Huǒ Shuchang a disgusted look. “Are you seriously trying to hook me up with your little sister? Have you no shame?”

“Shame? What is that? Can you eat it?”

“Tch. What kind of brother tries to hook his sister up with someone he’s only known for a few days?”

“The best kind!”

“The worst kind. You’re the world’s greatest scumbag.”

You take that back! Look here, do you think I would try to hook my sister up with just anyone? My little sis is a genius among geniuses, so naturally, only someone with monstrous talent is worthy of even breathing the same air as her. You’re a monster. Even my sister didn’t break through a whole realm when she turned sixteen. Even so, she’s still amazing. She broke through to the eighth subrealm of the Hunger Realm.”

“That is pretty impressive,” Wu Jian admitted.

“Right? So, how about it? Would you like to meet her?”

“I think I’ll pass.”

“Why?!”

As Huǒ Shuchang continued to badger him about marrying his little sister, Wu Jian looked up at the sky. He wondered how long it would take to reach Shēnyuān.