The night was just beginning yet the party continued. Stars were starting to appear in the sky, but they were blotted out by the many lights down below. A convergence of night and day seemed to be taking place. The many lights from the city pushed back the darkness of night, as though refusing to be encroached upon.

Sounds from the festival could be heard even from the high vantage point of the city’s most famous inn. Known to everyone as Phoenix Lodgings, the luxurious twenty-story building had been built upon a dragon vein. It was a leyline that exuded a lot more power than average. The amount of chi flowing through this leyline was enough that someone at the first subrealm of the Hunger Realm could reach the Anima Realm in less than a year even if they didn’t have any talent.

The inn itself was a study in opulence.

Zhe Fēngli stood before Wu Meiying’s door, pacing back and forth. He muttered under his breath.

“You know, there’s a festival going on. Would you like to go with me? No. That’s not very smooth. Ahem. I heard there’s a festival happening right now. Why don’t we go together? Ugh, no. She was there when the festival was announced. This will make me sound like an idiot. Wu Meiying, I would be honored if you’d attend the festival with me. Would that work?”

Zhe Fēnglì was trying to work up the courage to ask Wu Meiying to the festival. He had done so several times before, but he was always politely rebuffed. It took him a while to realize that she had no interest in romance or anything of the sort. Wu Meiying was possessed wholly by the desire to cultivate--admirable really--but now that they were here and a festival was going on, he felt it would be a shame for her to remain cooped up in her room.

He reached out to knock on the door, but he was stopped by a voice.

“Attempting to ask Wu Meiying out again?”

Zhe Fēnglì turned to find his father wandering down the hall. He wore the same resplendent robes as always and carried his sword at his side. The subtle pressure he naturally emitted made Zhe Fēnglì feel like he was staring at an unsheathed blade. He had always admired his father’s strength and longed to reach that level of mastery over the Dao of the Sword some day.

“Father? Well, I guess, yes,” Zhe Fēnglì answered after realizing his father asked a question.

“You know better than to disturb someone when they are cultivating,” his father gently admonished.

Zhe Fēnglì had the decency to look embarrassed. Not only was it considered rude to interrupt a person while they were cultivating, but it could cause lasting harm. There had been incidents where someone who was interrupted during their cultivation had their dantian explode because they couldn’t control the flow of chi through their bodies. Zhe Fēnglì actually knew a young man who had blown out his meridians after someone startled him during his cultivation.

“I know that, but I mean, she’s been in there ever since the festival began… and it’s the last day until the individual tournament,” said Zhe Fēnglì.

His father sighed. “I understand where you are coming from. I, too, once had a woman whom I loved dearly. Your mother was the only one for me. Even now, not a single woman has entered my eye.”

Zhe Fēnglì did not know much about his mother since she died when he was little. She had been on a request to exterminate a magical beast that was ravaging the Qing Province, but she never returned. Searches had been sent out but returned empty-handed. She was eventually declared killed in action even though no body had ever been found.

“However, while I understand your feelings, permit me to say this.” His Father gave Zhe Fēnglì a stern glare. It was not unkind, but it was uncompromising. “You would be much better off not trying to involve yourself romantically with Wu Meiying. Her powers rely on her remaining chaste, and she will never allow herself to lose those.”

“…Yes, Father.”

“If you understand, then come. There is some work to be done, but we can enjoy the festival for a little while.”

Zhe Fēnglì’s father turned around and left, and he, after remaining at the entrance to Wu Meiying’s room for a moment longer, left as well. He wouldn’t give up just because his father told him, but even he understood that her powers were invaluable. Zhe Fēnglì would bide his time until he was strong enough that Wu Meiying wouldn’t have to rely on her powers. Then he would claim her as his woman.

***

Wu Meiying watched with a smile on her face as Wu Jian continued to diligently cultivate. She had been watching him these past three days and helping him where she could, offering advice, guiding him with her several millennia of experience. It wasn’t like she had to do much. Wu Jian took everything she taught and absorbed it like a sponge.

At the moment, Wu Jian was sitting on a circular mat, which floated several chih off the ground. The mat was glowing with a sealing array that absorbed, multiplied, and enhanced any chi that was infused with the Dao of Space. Wu Meiying had seen mats like this before, though she never expected to see one on this planet. Not enough people knew of the Dao of Space here to have one made, which meant it likely came from an outsider who visited long ago.

This world was sealed. She called it a small sealed world because it was not only much tinier than most other worlds, but it had been sealed away by a massive sealing array that prevented anyone above the Perfection Realm from being able to exist on here. She likened the sealing array to a glass jar that engulfed the entire world. A jar could contain only so much sand before it began to overflow. Anyone who reached the God Realm would be automatically ejected from this world.

I do wonder who created this sealing array. It is quite complex, though it’s also faulty. Someone at the God Realm could slip through this array if they use an artifact that suppresses their cultivation. That woman with Wu Jian… I believe her name was Hua Xue. She is at a realm far beyond the God Realm, but her cultivation is being suppressed, so she is able to remain on here. It is unfortunate for her since she’s trying to return home. She won’t be able to reach the God Realm unless she has a very lucky chance encounter.

The God Realm was still technically part of the Samsara Cycle Cultivation Realm, also known as the Mortal Realm. However, it was the first step on the path to achieving godhood. Someone who had reached this realm could live for thousands of years and obtained powers no mortal could dream of. However, reaching that realm was nearly impossible on this small sealed world.

Cultivators gained power by absorbing the chi of heaven and earth. The purer and more potent the chi, the easier it was to increase your cultivation. This world had such impure and weak chi that it was a wonder anyone had reached the Perfection Realm. Wu Meiying had a theory about that. She believed all the people who had achieved that level of cultivation had been aided by people from the Nine Heavens. The most plausible scenario is they found a legacy tomb that contained a powerful cultivation method or a technique that let them absorb more chi.

There’s also the Four Symbols. It seems they have some kind of history with this place.

The Four Symbols were well-known figures in the Nine Heavens. The Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Toirtoise had formed a sect in the Nine Heavens called the Four Auspicious Beasts, though to be honest, it was less of a sect and more of a religious cult. The people on this planet had mistaken the Phoenix who lived in the Xia Dynasty as the Vermillion Bird, but they were in fact two very different creatures. In either event, perhaps that sealing array that surrounded this world had been created by those four when they left this planet.

But why would they seal this place? Is there something here that they didn’t want others to discover?

Wu Meiying had never considered looking into the past of this world until now. Too bad she could not use her powers yet. They had to be sealed while she was in the outside world. Perhaps when she returned to the Celestial Sword Sect, she could look into this, but until then, she would have to remain vigilant. Furthermore, she had the task of helping Wu Jian with his cultivation.

She looked back at Wu jian. Stars swirled around him like a nebula. He was channeling the Dao of Space as he meditated, legs crossed, hands forming the seal for dragon. Hand seals were one method of directing chi through the meridians. There were twelve in total and they were based on the animals that have lucky meanings: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. These signs were created by none other than the Jade Emperor himself, who wanted to select twelve animals to become his guards, turning the twelve animals he had selected into constellations that guarded the gates of heaven. Using the hand seals designated for each animal helped direct the flow of chi through your meridians and dantian, arguably its own small world deep within the human body.

Wu Jian took in a deep breath, then expelled it through his mouth. Black mist with twinkling white lights like stars in the nightsky were released from his mouth as he exhaled. She smiled as he opened his eyes.

“You’re close to breaking through,” she observed. Wu Jian raised his hands and tested them, clenching and unclenching them as the mat slowly settled on the ground.

“Yeah. I feel like I could have broken through now if I wanted.”

Wu Jian stood up and stepped off the mat, stretching. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, so his muscular torso was exposed. Wu Meiying squirmed only a little as she memorized his abdominal muscles like one might a map. She wanted to lick that sweat off his stomach, but she knew it wouldn’t end there if she did. For the sake of their cultivation and her revenge, she needed to hold back until they had both reached the peak of the Perfection Realm.

“Remember what I told you though,” Wu Meiying said.

“I know. I should suppress my cultivation as much as possible and avoid breaking through until the very last minute,” said Wu Jian. “Don’t worry. I remember.”

“Good.” Wu Meiying nodded. She didn’t doubt him, but she wanted to make sure anyway. “By suppressing your cultivation like this, you can increase the power of your breakthrough. Most people, when breaking into the Deva Realm, will only have to deal with one strike of Heavenly Tribulation Lightning, but the more lightning strikes you confront, the higher your cultivation will be.”

“Did you do that?” asked Wu Jian.

Wu Meiying smiled. “Yes, though I only received three strikes.”

“I wonder how many I’ll receive.”

“Hopefully, more than me.”

“I’m not sure I want to be struck by lightning that many times.”

“You know what they say. No pain, no gain.”

It felt good to chat normally like this. Wu Meiying had been unable to speak this casually with anyone in so long. Nobody in the Celestial Sword Sect could be trusted. They all wanted to use her. Zhe Dāozhe wanted her power to predict the future and Zhe Fēnglì wanted her for her body. Everyone else was a mix between the two. Some wanted to use her, some wanted to bed her, but what never changed, was they all wanted something. Wu Jian was the only one who longed for nothing but to remain by her side.

“You should rest up. The tournament starts tomorrow,” said Wu Meiying.

Wu Jian nodded. “How long can you remain here?”

She tilted her head. “The sealing array will last for another hour.” She paused, then smiled. “Why do you ask? Are you planning to do something to me?”

Wu Jian chuckled as he cleaned the sweat from his body, then came over to the bed. Wu Meiying laid back as he pinned her down, straddling her waist and leaning in so close their noses touched.

“Have you become a mind reader now?”

“Pu-lease, I don’t have to read your mind to know what you want.” Wu Meiying reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Now give me my Jianinium. I need a recharge.”

“I still don’t know what that is.”

Despite saying that, Wu Jian leaned down and gave Wu Meiying exactly what she wanted.