Desperate to change the subject, I picked out the person paying the least amount of attention to our conversation. “Fairy Zhao Xiuying. Why are you trying to join the Indomitable Will sect?”

She had been just about to take a bite. After she carefully put her chopsticks down, she glared at me.

I smiled back.

She let out an annoyed breath and said, “My clan didn’t agree with the direction I wanted to take my cultivation. Rather than wait for them to open their eyes to reality, my parents and I decided that ‌it would be best if I joined a large sect who could teach me something substantial.”

That was vague.

Little Spring was still having a glaring match with McTraitorFace so I gave him a bit more meat as an encouragement to calm down and eat. He scowled for a second, but went back to picking up his food.

I glanced at Hu Bolin who had just taken a bite. “How about you, Fellow Daoist Hu Bolin?”

He awkwardly chewed his meal and swallowed. It seemed to go down the wrong tube because his face turned lobster red, and he coughed.

Yeah, that was my bad. Typical waitress move from my past-past life.

Once he didn’t look like he was about to choke to death,he asked, “What?”

“Why did you choose to enter the sect?”

He grinned. “My brothers and I all wanted to join this sect because of the great opportunity it gives its disciples. Since I’ve made it this far in the sect trials. I want to do well enough and invite my brothers to cultivate with me.”

“Cultivation is often a lonely pursuit. Chances are you will leave your brothers behind in the dust. Are you prepared for that?”

“I’ll think about that when the time comes, rather than focusing on something that hasn’t happened. I’d rather spend my time with my family while I can.”

Ah, this was a good kid. I wouldn’t warn him that his dream might get him stabbed in the back. He’d figure that out soon enough.

Though, it would be nice to see at least a family like theirs stick together.

I was about to turn to Wang Chunyu, who I hadn’t paid too much attention to during the round robin part of the trial, when Icy Tsundere Fairy turned to me.

“You keep asking why we’re entering the sect. Why don’t you tell us for once?”

“That’s obvious. The only way I can worship my teacher as my master is if I join the sect.”

“Isn’t it about this wager you made with one of the peak masters?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “And how did you learn about that?”

She shrugged. “It's a bit of gossip that’s flying around the various groups of disciples.”

“You also mentioned it when you were making a bet with me,” Young Master Zhang helpfully pointed out.

“Well, that has nothing to do with why I’m joining the sect.”

“It's ridiculous that someone as skilled as you is here with us.” Icy Tsundere Fairy looked genuinely upset about it.

Whatever was going on with her had nothing to do with me. Well, not unless she absolutely needed to get first place or something. Then we’d have a problem.

I shrugged. “That’s the sect’s issue. They’re the ones who decided that I needed to go through this trial.”

“Let’s stop this nonsense and just eat,” Young Master Zhang said. “We’ll need our rest for tomorrow.”

For once, everyone at the table agreed.

***

The next day, we shuffled into a special area for contestants.

Cultivators filled the stands... with people who were probably taking a short break. I mean, watching fights like these was like watching other people’s little kids fight. They weren’t going to be all that good. And, while it might be fun if you were going there anyway, you wouldn’t really seek it out.

Then again, in my past-past life, people were suspicious of random adults who hung around kids’ tournaments.

And a person saying that they liked to watch children kick each others’ asses would make them sound even more suspicious.

Of course, the fact that the seats were fairly full, even accounting for people’s general disinterest, just showed how large the sect really was.

Not that the people in the stands were all there to watch children throw weak attacks at each other… It was possible that some were there to see who they should look out for. It was a good recruiting opportunity for factions.

Clever Pear Blossom and Bland Meat Bun once again descended until they were floating just above the stage.

“Welcome to the finals of this decade’s Sect Trial. Whoever takes first place amongst these top eight disciples will have the chance to choose their own master from among our sect elders,” Bland Meat Bun said.

Pear Blossom smiled respectfully. “As long as that elder agrees, of course.”

“There are some updates to the rules for the finals.”

She held up a finger. “First, there is no ring. The whole main stage is where the fight will take place, so the prospective disciples must battle until one gives up or becomes unconscious.”

“We’re also not giving out single-use tokens. If our referee doesn’t reach you in time then death is a real possibility.”

I frowned. While this wasn’t anything new to the Sect Trials, it still made me suspect that this was a possible reason to force me into the finals.

Was whoever was after me going to ‌make another attempt on my life?

If I had one of those silly 8 balls from my past-past life, and it worked here like divination worked... I imagined it would tell me, ‘YES.’

Hmmm. That gave me ideas on how to approach divination. Maybe in this life, to get it to actually predict something, I needed to work on it in my own way. Muahahaha!

But that would be for later.

They went over a few more obvious rules that were more for the children to know.

“Also, we’re limiting the grade of spiritual tools you’re allowed to use. Any tool or talisman that artificially allows you to create a technique above Foundation Establishment is banned.”

That still left a lot of wiggle room for kids at this realm to get seriously hurt or die. Hell, I might even have to break my token from the sect if it came down to it.

“To those prospective disciples, this is your last chance to leave the masters here with a positive impression. Some may be on the fence as to whether or not they’ll take you in as an inheriting disciple or not. A good showing here will let them all know what kind of person you are, and how willful you are.”

With that said, the pair left.

A bored-looking golden core cultivator, who was probably reffing for some easy contribution points, called out two names.

“Zhang WeiWei versus Wang Chunyu!”

Ah! The Zhang Bodyguard versus Wang Chunyu in the green robes.

Wang Chunyu brought out a pole arm from his storage bag, while the bodyguard lowered into a fighting stance.

“Fight!”

Zhang WeiWei threw a hidden weapon towards Green Robes who then blocked it with his pole. Unfortunately for the kid, he was dealing with a bodyguard from one of the great clans. These people were only trained slightly less well than the young masters they served.

The guard used a movement technique and closed the distance. Then his quick steps let him feint left. Once Zhang WeiWei tricked Wang Chunyu into attacking where he thought he’d be, that was when he quickly stepped behind Wang Chunyu and put a dagger to his throat.

The two exchanged a few words. Then the kid gave up.

All that happened so quickly that I almost felt sorry for the guy… But at least he walked away from this with his life. So it wasn’t all bad.

***

“Fairy Lin versus Hu Bolin!”

It was my turn already? And I was going up against a Tiger Brother? Ah, my poor fellow cannon fodder.

When I reached my spot on the stage and pulled out my sword, I half expected this guy to give up. But maybe he hadn’t picked up the rumors because he bowed to me and took out his own sword.

What a good kid.

I returned it out of politeness since I looked a few years younger than him.

“Fight!”

I was looking forward to seeing what this kid could do, so I stayed where I was and allowed him to run up to me. If he’d understood the gossips, then he probably knew that I could have torn him down ten times already.

He attacked. I parried, knocked his blade back, and pointed the tip of my sword at his throat for a second before jumping back.

I could tell that he was still in the beginning stages of learning the way of the sword. He was almost at a point where he could manifest a blade of sword Qi, but he wasn’t there yet.

Let’s see. What usually helped the kids I would sometimes teach when they were in this situation?

I gently attacked him… well, sort of. It was gentle in the sense that he almost couldn’t block and parry my attacks.

Before he became used to this kind of desperate pace, I, without unnecessary flourish, stabbed toward his heart.

His eyes grew wide, and he barely stepped to the side.

That was when I started my lecture. “Remember to breathe.”

I brought my sword down toward his neck. He caught my blade with his and threw it back. Weak. “Your breath empowers your body.”

With a twist, I avoided a clever little attack that would have cut my side. “Your body is one with the sword.”

I threw an attack directed at his sword. He barely managed to hang onto his weapon. “Empowering your body empowers your sword.”

His hands shook. Even as he blocked the slash I aimed toward his shoulder, he seemed to focus on his breathing. As he exhaled, he used a powerful strike toward my stomach.

I blocked it and allowed him to push me back. The sharpness condensed on the edge of his sword. With a knowing grin, I side-stepped just as a newly formed line of sword Qi cut through where I’d been.

The Tiger Brother paused for a second like he couldn’t believe what he’d just done.

From this point, there were two ways to proceed depending on the person. One path was to fight more to get used to using sword Qi. However, this little cannon fodder needed to use the other. He needed to meditate on what he’d just learned.

Before I could get him to surrender, the kid said, “I give up!”

Then he clasped his hands and bowed to me before saying, “Thank you, Senior Lin.”