“…and when you leave, don’t forget to take your textbook with you,” the history lecturer reminded his students as he finished up the class.

Verus looked down at the book in front of him. He was unlikely to forget it. It was hard to miss since it was the biggest book he’d ever seen in his entire life. Its spine was thicker than his fist, and the book’s title was written across its face, A Brief History of the Heavenly Empire and its Most Important Worlds, From the Pre-Founding Era to the Time of the Third Expansion. Even the title was ridiculously long!

Grunting in effort, Verus picked up the heavy tome and looked around for Fang. The other disciple was already leaving, so Verus jumped out of his seat and hurried after him as fast as he could manage while carrying such a thick book.

Fang saw him coming. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want?” the scruffy disciple asked as he stopped just outside the classroom. He was laboring under the weight of his own book and not in great mood.

“Excuse me. I was wondering if you had a moment to talk about dueling.”

“Dueling? You’re not planning on challenging me, are you?” Fang asked as he chuckled and gave Verus a disbelieving look. It was slightly insulting.

“No, I simply wanted to get your opinion on something. I’m looking for someone to challenge that’s about my own level. I need to win my first challenge and I’ve been told that no one knows more about the strength of the disciples in our group than you.”

Fang snorted. “I suppose I could help you out. We commoners should stick together, and you’re no competition of mine, but you’ll owe me one.”

“Indeed, I will.”

“Alright then, how strong would you say you are? Don’t exaggerate. I need to know the truth.”

“I’m well trained in hand-to-hand combat and have quite a bit of experience with it. I’m also capable of using all the basic ki reinforcement techniques as well as Vanishing Feather Step.”

“Hmm, not bad. You could definitely use Vanishing Feather Step to defeat a few of the lesser nobles if you caught them off guard, especially the more arrogant ones,” Fang remarked as he looked Verus over. “You’re not exactly intimidating, and they all look down on temple wards anyway.”

“What about their elemental or emotional ki? I haven’t developed any of my own yet,”

“That’s practically an advantage for you right now. At this stage, most elemental ki is simply for show. Only the truly scary fighters like Highcloud will be capable of using it for anything but simple tricks. Avoid taking any elemental blasts head on and you’ll be fine. Dodging works wonders and you know a movement technique.”

“What about emotional ki?” Verus asked. Some of the outer disciples must be developing it.

Fang just rolled his eyes. “You know the Faithful Soul Ward, so that shouldn’t be problem. Emotional ki is even harder than elemental ki to develop into something you can use in combat, especially since absolutely everyone in the empire learns to counter it and fight the spirits and monsters that use it. If you start to feel weird, punch your opponent in the face until the feeling stops. Simple.”

Verus had a strong suspicion that punching people in the face was how Fang solved most of his problems, but he did seem to know what he was talking about. After a bit more conversation, Fang gave him a list of several targets he thought Verus could beat and they went their separate ways.

That done, Verus met up with Warin and they both went through the daily physical training together. Verus then wanted to jump right back into training ki techniques but Warin stubbornly insisted they take a quick break and go to the cafeteria for a snack. They did manage to get a few hours of good practice in and make some progress after that though. Warin wasn’t wrong about training being easier if you ate properly.

The next day, Verus got up early and went to challenge his chosen opponent, a young man named Katar. He knocked on the disciple’s door before he had a chance to leave, so he wouldn’t have to chase him down.

When the door opened, it revealed a sneering young man with brown hair. He was a little taller and more muscular than Verus but not by much, and even though it was so early in the morning, he was well-groomed and his hair was done up in a bun. It seemed he was also wearing more than a few hints of make-up, so he was the very picture of a young scion from a powerful cultivator family.

“Why are you bothering me so early in the morning? The likes of you better not waste my time,” he asked in a contemptuous voice after seeing Verus. His directness was very rude but expected. Verus had chosen him as his opponent because of his arrogance after all. He was the first-born son of cultivator parents who served as imperial functionaries. While not a particularly high position, it was more than lofty enough for one to grow proud and rich enough to afford quite a few cultivation resources.

Verus kept a polite smile on his face as he gave a quick bow. “Good day, fellow disciple. As you know, the end of the week is approaching, and I was wondering if you’d do me the honor of accepting my challenge. I wish to experience combat. The stake will be one red ki shard if you accept.”

Frowning thoughtfully, Katar eyed Verus for a moment. Verus felt the other disciple’s attention on him, measuring his ki level and type. He didn’t resist, but let the other disciple sense his weak basic human ki, while briefly sensing Katar’s level. He had slightly more ki than Verus and some of it was definitely flame attuned.

A smug smile appeared on Katar’s face a moment later. “Sure, I’ll do you the honor of taking a shard from you. Do you want to fight right now? We may as well get this over with.”

“No, thank you. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you with such an abrupt challenge. Rather, I was thinking we should do it tomorrow, after the holy day service.”

“Fine, I’ll meet you at the training grounds tomorrow then. Is that everything?”

“Yes, thank you for your time,” Verus replied as Katar shut the door, leaving him alone in the hall.

Immediately, a satisfied grin appeared on his face. Everything was going perfectly to plan. Katar had accepted the challenge and obviously didn’t consider Verus to be a threat. If Fang was right, that meant he had a good chance of winning.

Today was a free day without classes, so Verus went to meet up with Warin and do some more training. Every little bit helped, and he still hadn’t mastered the technique he was working on. If he could get it down, it would greatly increase his odds of victory in the duel. Thus, Verus trained with his friend until it got dark outside.

The next day was the holy day at the end of each week, so all the disciples got out of bed early and headed off to the sect’s devotary for the Lightbringers’ service. Everyone, regardless of rank or power, was required to attend the weekend service in the Heavenly Empire. Even powerful cultivators could get into trouble if they missed it without a good reason, like closed meditation or open war.

The sect’s devotary was technically within the disciple area, but at the far end of it, where few of the disciples usually had reason to go. Made of chiseled marble and lined with tall windows full of colorful stained glass, it stood out from all the other buildings thanks to its different architecture and the steeple on its roof. There was a slow stream of disciples entering the building through the front door, over which looked the symbol of the archon, a golden eye with lines of light radiating from it.

Verus slipped in among the other disciples and entered the devotary. They were all respectfully silent as they found seating in the pews that looked up at the altar. Hanging above the disciples’ heads, there was a second floor of seating for the elders, and Verus could feel the heavy presence of several powerful cultivators there, although he couldn’t see them.

Light filtered in through the stained-glass windows that lined the walls, each one showing a different scene from the life of saints who’d ascended to join the Archon and martyrs who’d died for him. At the back of the altar, looming over everyone in the devotary, was a statue sitting on a golden throne, the representation of the Archon. His handsome face looked down at Verus and his peers with a stern piercing gaze, as if he could see their secrets and disapproved.

As always, Verus found himself both repulsed and drawn to the Archon’s image. It had always bothered him for reasons he couldn’t explain. Was this really what the Archon had looked like? Was he really an ascended being that was looking out for humanity? It looked and felt somehow wrong to him.

A few minutes later, a Lightbringer walked up to the altar and turned to face the gathered worshippers. “Please bow your heads as we contemplate the great sacrifice of the Archon. He sits upon the Golden throne not because he desires dominion, such things are nothing but a burden to the enlightened. No, it is his love for humanity and his fierce desire to protect us that keep him from leaving us and all his worldly desires behind. Let us be thankful and always vigilant against temptation.”

Immediately, the gathered disciples repeated the familiar refrain. “Always vigilant against temptation.”

Nodding in satisfaction, the Lightbringer continued preaching. Verus calmly sat through it and listened. However, his thoughts quickly turned away from worship and to his upcoming fight. The gamble and its effect on his future dominated his attention. He was thankful that Lightbringers couldn’t read thoughts, despite their other powers.

The service lasted about three hours before the Lightbringer dismissed everyone, but Verus didn’t rush out of the devotary. Instead, he collected himself and calmly walked out amidst his peers. Once outside, Warin joined him.

“Are you ready for the fight?” his friend asked.

“I’m as ready as I’m going to get,” Verus replied.

Upon making his way to the dueling fields, Verus saw that his opponent was already there. Katar was waiting for him at the edge of a ring, which was a square made of square paving stones. He wasn’t alone either. He had a friend with him.

Unsure of what to do next, Verus headed toward his opponent. However, the moment he stepped onto the ring, there was a loud whoosh sound and an elder appeared out of nowhere near the center of the ring. His shimmering black robe flapped briefly in an unseen wind before falling flat, and his dark eyes studied the gathered disciples from behind a grey owl mask.

“Take your places on opposite sides of the ring so that we may begin,” the elder announced in disinterested and formal voice. His powerful aura was being held back, but Verus could still sense it.

Verus bowed in acknowledgement at the elder and then hurried to do as he was told. He was eager to get this over with as well. Winning was his only way of getting more ki shards. If he lost, his ability to test himself for attunements would be heavily restricted next week.

As Verus took up position across from him, Katar grinned confidently at his opponent and summoned a small flame above his palm. “This is going to be easy. Your shard is as good as mine, but try not to get burned too bad. I don’t want to look like a bully.”

“It’s way too late for that,” Verus mumbled under his breath as he eyed his opponent and took a martial arts stance.

“The stakes of this duel are two red ki shards,” the judge remarked in dismissive tone. “… and it will continue until one contestant is disabled or surrenders. I will intervene at any time if I think someone’s life is danger but don’t expect me to save you from the consequences of your own actions.”

Both combatants nodded in understanding.

“Begin!” the judge announced in a louder voice as he chopped his hand down to punctuate the declaration. That done, he jumped back and sailed smoothly through the air until he landed at the edge of the ring, where he would be out of the way.

Grinning with savage glee, Katar immediately charged toward Verus and punched the air in his direction. Swirling red flames formed around his fist and shot toward Verus with a crackling hiss. Verus eyed it warily. He could sense that the burning ki was more than powerful enough to burn flesh down to the bone. He could easily imagine what it would do to him if Katar landed a solid blow. Maybe he shouldn’t have chosen a fire user as his first real opponent.