The Patriarch had been curious enough to see a Hindel battle for position to add the event to the scheduled events for the Sect. She'd even gone so far as to make sure enough flying beasts were reserved to ferry those interested in attending.

The Beast Tamer facilities were quickly reworked to serve as a landing field, receiving those interested in attending. The Beast Tamers were forced to house their bonded animals in their inner ocean once they had arrived. I hadn't anticipated the increased interest, and although the field surrounding Beast Tamer was large, it wasn't large enough to host a fleet of the giant companions.

The Alpha had reserved one of the flying Pagodas to watch her people compete. I had loaned her my Pagoda instead. She had invited me to observe the proceedings with her, and my Pagoda had control features the others didn't.

I could manually override arrays and defensive settings using an exciting design Bob had suggested. It consisted of a joystick and runic keyboard with emergency settings ready to be keyed with specific pre-arranged programming that I could initiate if needed.

Ming had cobbled together a slate of array programs linked to the keyboard, defenses that could be activated quickly. The most important addition was a way to overclock the defensive arrays to withstand one or two bursts of Qi attacks at the Nihility Realm.

I'd had no choice but to invite the Patriarch and the Prince to join us in my Pagoda. That was the only concession to Elven politics I had been willing to make. I considered the Hindel competition a Hindel event and would not infringe on their traditions. The food that I had prepared was a sample of different cuisines. The only commonality each had was fish and spice.

The Hindel had provided a sampling of different two-star water beasts that my spirit chef approached with orgasmic delight. Lin Li approached cooking the same way most cultivators approached cultivation. She had reached the Qi Gathering Realm, but that was almost accidental. She'd only made the effort when it became impossible to advance her cooking profession without Dharmic control.

The water beasts the Hindel had provided allowed her to create new recipes- recipes and dishes that allowed her to break through and reach the Adept level as a chef. Her talents and this advancement would have elevated her from staff to Outer Sect Member in most Sects, not Four Element.

Four Element would have considered promoting her if not for her Cobalt Spirit Root. I felt that this strict adherence to spirit root metrics was a mistake, one I was happy to capitalize on. Lin Li had proven her talents; established she was willing to invest the time and effort to advance. I would much rather have a hundred Lin Li dedicated to excellence than one person with an exceptional Spirit Root who was too lazy to take advantage of the blessing they had received.

"The first round is a free-for-all event," the Alpha explained. "Every Hindel interested in becoming a consort will need to prove their strength. This round will weed out the weakest.

"For those of you without an affinity to water, it will seem to be nothing more than a chorus of noise. Similar to whale song, it will echo with the deep moans and harmonies that a whale pod might produce.

"Those with an affinity to water will see the water being shaped, as constructs being created align with song. The larger the construct, the more powerful the Hindel. Those too weak to gain control of an area and defend it will find their area of influence co-opted, their constructs destroyed and the water they control conscripted by their competitors."

"I wonder," I said thoughtfully, "if color dyes might be added so that the constructs they create can be given form for anyone watching to see?"

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"An interesting idea," the Alpha mused. "The Hindel are adept at bending light, refraction and reflection are Qi techniques that we consider rudimentary. If we require them to add that as a component of their creation, it should serve the same purpose.

"Akil, inform Themus of a change to the Test of Will. Let him know that each participant must include aspects of refraction and reflection as they shape their constructs. Make sure the participants know that anyone observing should be able to see what they are creating."

"Yes, Alpha," Akil said before swimming away. Akil had been introduced as the Alpha's aid when they arrived. I had come to realize that she held the same position as Gwen and Zui, the real power behind the Alpha.

Themus was the Hindel equivalent of a Captain of the Guard. He was a proven warrior that had reached the Nihility Realm. His strength rivaled the Patriarch, demonstrating exactly how vital the Alpha was to the Hindel.

As we waited for Akil to return, the arena began changing. The center arena was enlarged and filled with water creating an immense aquarium. The Hindel contest would be the day's exclusive event, and the entire stadium was reshaped for a water environment.

"I wonder if this type of contest could be conducted on land?" Wu Chen asked. "It might make for an interesting addition to the Empire's tournaments."

"The use of an element to create a construct and test a cultivator's will? Easily," I responded, proving my assertion by manipulating my water Qi to create a three-dimensional vignette of the people within the room. I'd even given them movement, allowing them to walk, sit, and swim.

"You are very talented," the Alpha replied after taking a few moments to examine the scene I had created from every angle. It was fascinating to see how interested she was in certain aspects of the scene I'd made.

She shared her delight with her people when she noticed I'd included shadow within the construct, ordering her people to save the image to tokens and share the lumens with those competing.

"Thank you, Alpha," I said, bowing in appreciation for her compliment. "I have an affinity with water and fog and have found it useful for training my affinities to form constructs and illusions that rely on those attributes."

"This really is well done," Wu Chen agreed, "you even added the mole on my left temple. That level of detail in the little time it took to create is even more impressive.

"Maybe you should compete to become consort," Wu Chen joked. I wasn't sure if his joke was meant as playful banter or ridicule, but I decided to take my cue from the Alpha and ignore his comment.

Our response elicited a blush from the prince. Perhaps the first time in a while since he had been embarrassed. The Patriarch didn't help matters when she turned a reproachful glare his way.

Wu Chen's embarrassment faded as he noticed movement in the arena. Two lines of Hindel entered, with over two hundred participants moving to find a spot for the opening contest. Having lived their entire lives as aquatic people, they took advantage of the sphere of water to find a place equidistant from each other and in three dimensions.

The only hint that position was important came from a few Hindel that jostled for a spot at the top of the dome of water. Particular locations were ceded by some mechanism I couldn't hope to understand.

The last contestant had barely reached his position when the tones of whale song began. The deep thrumming instantly manipulated the water surrounding each individual, causing it to vibrate. Each person was surrounded by water that started to reflect light, that light separating into an entire spectrum of colors that gave life and vibrancy to the images being created.

Both of our species had exceptional vision, each of us able to see farther into the electromagnetic spectrum than I'd possessed in my previous life. This augmentation of our vision allowed us to see both ultraviolet and polarized light across the color spectrum.

That enhanced vision gave us a variety of hues, saturation, brightness, and gloss that added vitality to the structures. Our vision and our ability to see deeper across the electromagnetic spectrum was one of the reasons the world energy had been discovered and cultivation techniques created. It was also the reason we cultivated in isolation. Qi could be perceived and tracked since it shared characteristics with the traits of an enhanced spectrum.

For those cultivators practicing secret or rare techniques, that ability to track and understand Qi and how it moved was the reason cultivators learned to shield techniques from prying eyes. Even a casual understanding of a person's technique would give a person an advantage during battle, especially if there was enough time to devise a strategy to combat or defend against those secret and rare techniques.