“Alex, it is good to see you!” Yingpei enthused before he went slack-jawed with awe at the striking beauties now before him… before his eyes were pulled to the absolute fortune in magical treasures and spiritual ingredients when his beloved Zhu Bi promptly punched him in the arm.

Hao Chan and Yinzi, both of them now wearing the priceless artifacts Alex had accrued for them in Jin Jin’s inner sanctum, Yinzi a striking sight wearing Princess Xian Hong’s priceless armor, the pearlescent triangular lamellae hugging her curves as if it had been made for her, Hao Chan clever enough to figure out the straps and buckles Alex hadn’t even seen. Now the weight of the already exquisitely light armor was perfectly distributed, such that it seemed almost as if the kitsune girl wore a second skin of dragon scales that went down to her delicate pale hands possessing a grip able to crush wood, now that she had hit Bronze. And Alex couldn’t deny how captivating Yinzi looked, her ivory pale features emphasized by shimmering blue with crimson eyes that seemed to pierce his soul.

“See something you like?” Had been the first thing she said, preening under his gaze, and Alex had just chuckled and bowed.

“Two priceless jewels I would do anything to protect,” he replied, feeling like he had just passed a crucial test as he could feel the piercing gaze of the girl whose dance had captured his heart, now looking so beautiful in her sea foam green scaled armor, hugging the curves of her generous hips and heavenly breasts like a liquid caress that made his cheeks blaze, just catching sight of her.

She was so well protected that Alex knew any attack she could pivot away from in the slightest would just flow away from her. Yet she had never looked so striking to his eyes, so close to being stripped bare in all her glory in armor that, save for a cotton shift between her skin and that enchanted masterwork, caressed her curves with a lover’s tenderness.

Just meeting her gaze when his eyes had been drawn to everything else about her had been a breathless struggle. And knowing that she knew the affect it had on him, that her husky laughter both scolded and approved… and made it clear that she hungered for him just as badly as he did her, was both a delight and a torment.

“Thank you for the treasure, hero,” she had whispered into his ear, sending breathless shivers racing through him. “I now owe you a treasure just as precious.” And how his breath had hitched when her warm lips nibbled his earlobe, before she sprung back, all breathless laughter and flushing cheeks, Yinzi grinning at them both.

“So let’s just embrace this madness. Who cares about a little self-destruction?” Yinze said, her gaze making it clear Hao Chan’s armor was having a certain effect on her as well.

Hao Chan just laughed, and that was when his friends knocked, and how adorable Yingpei Lin and Zhu Bi both looked, arm in arm, gazing with awe and wonder at the magical treasures before them. Fortunately, Zhu Bi was quick to forgive her husband his momentary awe, for Hao Chan and Yinzi were both truly striking in their armaments, both now each possessing one of Alex’s storage rings complete with additional treasures, should they have need of them.

“Alex, heaven’s grace! When... how... did you amass this fortune?” asked an awed Yingpei.

Alex laughed. “Remember the pair of Silver inspectors who were so suspicious of me?”

“And still are,” a ruefully smiling Zhu Bi added.

Alex nodded. “Well, let’s just say we now have proof that Dongfang Hong is both infiltrating Cuijing’s cultivation academies and looting their most precious treasures as soon as he has an established foothold. The merchant who tried to cut me down with the Red Prince’s soldiers in his basement warehouse got more than he bargained for, and he just happened to leave behind all these crates, which are covered in—”

“Runes of blindness and misdirection,” a now scowling Zhu Bi said.

Alex smiled. “Right you are.”

Yingpei Lin’s gaze hardened. “So, our school wasn’t just an isolated incident. The Red Prince is stealing treasures and, if the foul contracts he tried to bind us with is anything to go by, anyone with talent as well. Forcebound to join his armies, to fight and die for him, just like the oath-slaves of old.”

His fists clenched. “We have to get word to the king. We now have proof, and this is tantamount to a declaration of war!”

“Assuming ZhengTu’s sovereign wishes to get involved at all,” noted Yinzi. “What with the Emperor’s eyes on the newest of CuiJing’s princesses with a sacred treasure and a foundation so strong that even the royal sages say the girl might one day achieve jade. With Dongfang Hong in play as a suitor, any move any other noble or royal makes will be seen as mere pretext to attack his position. And should he actually win Cui Li’s hand in marriage and secure the emperor’s own favor, which will also serve to all but guarantee his claimance to the YanTu throne, only a fool would wish to make an enemy out of the Red Prince then. Or should I say… the Crimson King,” Yinzi said while taking off her helmet, her midnight black fox ears springing up as she gave a visible sigh of relief.

“Oh, that’s better. We need to do something about this helmet, Alex. Some padding between the ears, maybe? It wasn’t made for a kitsune, that’s for sure. I’m just glad Hao Chan was able to figure out a way for my tail to be happy!” she said while wiggling her impressive appendage through a back slit Alex suspected had been originally used for other purposes best not to think about unless on campaign, certainly one of those things that never came up in the storybooks, but with some finessing and several thick silver hair rings at the base of Yinzi’s tail, the armor now flowed with Yinzi’s movements as if it had been made for her, and not exclusively for one of the most powerful Royals in YanTu nation.

Yingpei’s eyes widened at this. “That is a very astute point, and please forgive my not properly introducing myself. I am Yingpei Lin of the Yingpei Mercantile Clan, and this is my beloved Wife, Zhu Bi.”

Zhu Bi, however, was blushing furiously, bowing low before a bemused-looking Yinzi. “This lowly cub is honored to meet such an esteemed member of the Midnight Clan.”

And a beaming Yinzi was immediately before her, lifting her up, amber eyes gazing intently into flinching brown. “I remember you! You’re one of the innkeeper’s daughters!” She turned, beaming at Alex and Hao Chan both. “Her family used to be quite famous in certain circles. Her grandmother has a kill count nearly the equal of my mother’s! I mean, before Mother hit Silver and became Black Death and killed absolutely everyone who got in our way. Anyway, the Zhu Clan retired from the game, and now they serve as a neutral safehouse in Baidushi where anyone from any faction can go for information or to negotiate terms, with all bounties considered nul and void on all targets actually on the premises! So no one’s motivated to, you know… cheat.”

And a pale-faced Zhu Bi gazed up at Yinzi in mortification. “Please forgive me, my lady. I’m afraid I don’t recall…”

“Of course not! I was in my other mother’s belly at the time, and you were just a little girl. And I don’t know why you’re all looking at me like that. It’s not like I remember everything that happened before I was born! Though I certainly remember enough,” she said with a frown. “But anyway, I recently started having visceral dreams about the time my mothers went to Baidushi for whatever reason, and then it all came back to me last night! I was in Ning Jing’s womb again, only this time, my mind understood the words being said!”

She frowned, gazing intently at Zhu Bi. “It’s your smell. Somehow, I remember your smell. Which should be impossible since I was in my mother, but maybe babies can smell what their mothers do?”

Her eyes widened. She clasped a speechless Zhu Bi’s hands. “And you’re pregnant! Oh, was it forbidden love? Are your families after you? It’s Yingpei’s, isn’t it? He’s the father, right? Did they swear to kidnap the child, and so you and your love fled a violent mob only for my future husband to rescue you and bring you to this beautiful sanctuary?”

Zhu Bi’s cheeks were absolutely blazing at this point, she buried her face in her husband’s side.

Yingpei gave a self-conscious chuckle. “You certainly are an astute one, Lady…”

“Oh, just call me Yinzi. Everyone does!”

“… Yinzi. With an impressive memory and a regrettably accurate depiction of the political ramifications of ZhengTu risking a war with what has been its chief ally and trading partner for centuries.” He gave a frustrated shake of his head. “And when I look past my own fury and mortification at nearly being enslaved to those monsters via infernal contracts, I can certainly understand how a savvy ruler would enact a weight-and-see approach, only seeking recompense when the dust has settled, and the winners and losers are already apparent to all the best players.”

“So that means we can do nothing, at least for now,” said Hao Chan.

Alex turned and smiled, locking gazes with the girl he wanted to claim then and there. “Wrong, arrow of my heart. What we do is train. Train as if our lives depended on it. Because one day soon, it will.”

Yinzi chuckled throatily. “Because if we don’t hit Silver one day soon, I think all three of us are doomed anyway.”

Alex flushed, especially with the way Zhu Bi was looking at him so intensely. “Grandfather? Are these your…”

He swallowed and smiled. “It’s complicated,” he flashed with his fingers, before turning to Yingpei, showing him the list of the most vulnerable suite holders that today alone he could challenge for the rights to their rooms.

“Here is a list made out of necessity, not pleasure. But one I mean to take full advantage of.”

Yingpei furrowed his brow, a careful manager’s gaze flicking over all the important notes in seconds. Only then did he raise his head, fully taking in the two devastating beauties before him.

“I recall you telling me that you follow a forbidden path,” he said. “And I’m guessing the two strikingly attractive women before you do as well.”

Hao Chan blushed, but dipped her head at the compliment.

Yinzi flashed an evil smile. “That’s right. We need separate rooms, or I’ll end up devouring both of them before long and get into so, so much trouble. So much that I doubt even my father will be able to pull me free!”

Yingpei nodded, deadpan. “That would certainly complicate things if you were to eat our patron. So, it is clear that you need two more suites. To protect yourselves from yourselves, and protect you from, well, everyone else.”

Alex frowned at the thought, but knew just how much of a problem it was. Hao Chan was absolutely captivating, and he’d be lying if he denied Yinzi’s own fey beauty. They would certainly catch eyes. It would be to everyone’s advantage if unforgivable temptation was minimized.

Yingpei frowned at Alex’s notes before giving a slow nod. “So, these are the ones your thinking of?”

Alex nodded. “I’d like to handle this before the hour gets any later. Will you need anything?”

His friend smiled and shook his head. “I still have plenty left over from what you gave us for our little supply trip, and what a mixed adventure that turned out to be. A full third of our livestock gone before it even got here, but plenty of spirit beast meat for the hundreds who don’t have a chance to earn the rights to Palatial suites. At least, not yet.”

Alex frowned at this, yet another concern gnawing at the back of his mind. “Well, we’ll do what we can for now. It’s all we can do.”

Yingpei nodded. “I should have this all taken care of in less than an hour.”

Alex grinned. “There’s something to be said for having a skilled merchant as a friend.”

Yingpei chuckled. “Merchant and manager, and I already swore my eternal friendship to you, after you saved my life before I even took my first step upon the Path of Perserverance. An act I will never forget, hero.”

Zhu Bi bowed her head as well. “Thank you again for saving my husband’s life, Grandfather.”

Alex felt his cheeks flush at that. “Hey, it’s what friends are for, guys. I’ll see you both in an hour.”

He gave a satisfied grin when his friends left, feeling like things were finally coming together when he felt the pair of hot stares on his back.

“Grandfather?” said Hao Chan, a dangerous lilt to her voice.

Alex wanted to discuss tactics, but ended up spending the majority of the next hour explaining his possible relationship to Zhu Bi, which led to a detailed account of his adventures at Risen Phoenix academy, while waiting for Yingpei’s imminent arrival. But the look on his friend’s face when he returned to Alex’s suite made it clear that the news was not good.

“Yingpei?”

The young merchant sighed. “Come with me?”

Feeling a sudden, unexpected twinge of anxiety, Alex did just that, the pair of them walking down palatial corridors and past bowing servitors that would have absolutely awed him in another life. But here and now, his mind was only on how to secure Yinzi and Hao Chan the Silver tier sanctuaries they needed.

“What’s wrong?”

His friend flashed a pained smile. “In one sense, absolutely nothing. No bribes were needed. The servants told me absolutely everything when I made it clear that I spoke on your behalf.” His friend furrowed his brow. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say they could sense the truth of it, which is odd, since they all seem lost in a waking dream I can scarce fathom. And when I look at them sideways, they seem almost…”

“Translucent? Like they’re hardly there at all?”

His friend smiled and nodded. “Exactly.”

“Except for Dong Xiao.”

His friend chuckled. “Indeed. Your seneschal is as real as real can be, my friend. As if he’s the blood and bones of the land itself. Even the deep Silvers sense it, and defer to him almost as if he were the regent in truth.”

Alex smiled and nodded. “Good.”

His friend’s troubled grimace came back. “And it cost me almost nothing to speak with the…prospects. If anything, they seemed almost, well, desperate for any counsel or even comfort that I could provide.”

Alex’s gaze widened at this. “Really.”

His friend sighed. “I think you’d best see for yourself, before you do what you must.”

Frowning, Alex nodded, and it was every bit a bad as he had feared.

From the exhausted young man recovering from inconceivable strain, a broken Silver whose flawed path only became apparent when his foundation was near destroyed. To a young woman locked in a rictus of agony, sobbing with relief when Yingpei gave her some very genuine spirit balm from the Blue Pavilion, Alex’s friend having instinctively ingratiated himself to all the focal points of power since he had arrived. And now he was able to truly play his role to the hilt, everyone’s friend and confidant, coming to the aid of a young speed cultivator who had blazed like a prodigy just a single season, before before being foolish enough to fall for a consort lost to the Purple Path, only to find her own foundation poisoned as well.

Neither said anything when they left the second room on the list. Yet by the third, as Alex looked upon the exhausted, panting features of a once powerful Silver, sensing a terrible strain within his soul, he knew.

And unlike the others, this savvy warrior immediately understood, when his eyes met Alex’s own.

He let loose bitter, broken laughter. “So, the brilliant songbird was a ruse, revealing easy pickings for the raven on his wings.”

Yingpei flashed a smile both jaded and sympathetic, flashing a brilliant spirit pearl so discretely one could pretend it hadn’t happened at all. “Life is complicated, friend Cheng. Perhaps our company isn’t so bad as all that.”

Cheng coughed, before venting a chuckle. “I see before me a smiling merchant and a fully armored Ruidian with eyes even Death would find cold. I fear your company bears nothing but ill tidings for my own.”

Soul Sight check successful. Your target is under too much strain to hold anything back!

“Can you tell me what ails you?” Alex said, though he was almost certain he already knew.

This earned Alex a bitter smile. “Now you look at me as if you actually give a damn. You’re a clever one, Ruidian, because I actually believe you, even though I know I’m a fool to.” The man gazed thoughtfully at Alex before giving a slow nod. “I followed a near flawless path that would take any Earth cultivator to the heights of Silver, assuring cords so massive, and cables so resilient, that even Gold might be possible. Or so swore my father, who walked an identical path. And who was I to forsake my clan’s sacred tomes, written by our most revered ancestors?”

Alex flashed a sympathetic smile. “I’m taking it that it didn’t go quite as planned?”

The man laughed bitterly. “Oh, I got strong, alright. Strong and sturdy as the marble that makes up this magnificent wonder. Strong enough to do even my father proud. But I was slow. I never found a way to coax the stone layers of my soul to slide smoothly. I was forever stiff and cold. It was a flaw I could ignore for a time, easily able to crush my fellows and ignore their blows, but once I hit Silver… I could no longer deny my shortcomings, or the flaws within my foundation.”

“Because something was missing.”

Cheng’s eyes widened. “You can sense it? Tell me, Ruidian, what flaw do you sense in my foundation?”

Alex locked gazes with hard, cold stone. The lack instantly clicking, what a piece of Cheng’s soul clearly cried out for, only needing a single word to convey that truth.

“Fire.”

The man blanched and paled. “Do you truly sense it, or did Lady Chun An betray me?”

“The librarian told me nothing of your affinities or strengths. Why would she? And I will freely tell you that she has found flaws with my path as well. She has serious reservations about the bone strengthening techniques I would embrace, and has not hesitated to share them with me,” Alex confessed, all of which was all technically true.

The man gave a relieved sigh. “Good. I had feared… good. Had she betrayed my trust, then I would know that this dream of sanctuary, of paradise, was a lie. That all worlds are flawed by people looking to use and destroy you, or take advantage of any weakness, just like back home.”

Alex flinched at the unexpected vulnerability in the once powerful Silver’s gaze. “Did the librarian give you a path forward?”

And here Cheng flashed his first genuine smile. “She did. I had to unwind my cables of Silver in a path that, anywhere else, would have surely led to my destruction. But with such high spiritual energies emanating from my private garden, and food fit for the gods and a bed that allows me to sleep utterly free of pain, I’m starting to feel the first flickers of flame sparking in between filaments of stone. So long as I’m willing to endure the pain of my own reforging, the too long denied fires of my soul will follow stone’s passage until the cords of my soul blaze with flame so hot that Fire and Earth fuse into one.”

Yingpei gave an impressed nod. “I can sense your pain, even from here. And the measure of your resolve. So long as you’re able to endure your own reforging, I believe you truly will be able to reforge yourself into Silver one day, and be far more powerful than you ever were before.”

This earned the merchant bitter laughter. “And I have endured weeks of suffering that only now begins to feel more like the hot fires of honest exertion than the torments of the pyre. And I have many more weeks, if not months, which I must endure in these near perfect conditions. Where I will be utterly at the mercy of anyone savvy enough to sense my weakness, and ruthless enough to damn me for their own benefit.”

“Which is most cultivators,” Alex softly said.

Words that earned a bitter chuckle, and a desperate plea in Cheng’s eyes. “Indeed, that is almost all cultivators. Even the proud fool of a man I force myself to look at in the mirror. But maybe fate will be kinder to fools like me here. Only time will tell.”

Alex bowed his head. “May you enjoy a safe and peaceful recovery, Cheng.”

The man swallowed, intense gaze locking with Alex’s own. “May I have your name, Ruidian?”

“Alex.”

The giant sighed and nodded. “Thank you, Alex. Should I survive this ordeal… I hope you will count me as a friend.”

“I would be glad to.” With those words Alex bowed and excused him and his solemn faced friend, the two quietly shutting the door behind him.

Alex met Yingpei’s questioning gaze, slowly shaking his head.

“I can’t do this.”

Yingpei flashed a relieved smile. “Good. Then enough with this damned list. Let’s head to the competitions while there’s still time.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Wait, there are competitions? And here I’m battling my conscience, worried about my disciples while being forced to accept that even I have limits as to how far I will go? I mean… I was getting ready just to head out into the forest and meditate for the night.”

Yingpei laughed. “Come on, Alex. I think you’ll enjoy participating in the weekly matches!”

Alex nodded. “Alright, sounds like a plan. But first, give me a moment.” He closed his eyes and focused. “Dong Xiao?”

Yes, Child of the Heavens?

Please tell Lady Chun An that all the broken cultivators discretely slipped past the competitions are not to be challenged or forcefully moved until she judges them fully healed. If anyone else has a problem with that… they can leave.

“Very good, Child of the Heavens. I shall do so at once.”

Yingpei’s solemn gaze met Alex’s own as they approached the dueling rings. “I must warn you, Alex. Six days days out of seven, the matches are as friendly and courteous as you could hope for, sparring as much for personal growth and forming bonds with men who would fight by your side to protect our shared paradise. It is only on this, the seventh day, that blunt weapons and friendly bouts are switched for full armor, razor sharp steel, and killing intent.”

Alex blinked at this. “Please don’t tell me these idiots are actually fighting death matches?”

Yingpei shook his head. “Desperation has not reduced contenders to such savagery. Not yet, Not with Elder Ru and Lady Chun An’s influence. But you must understand, rumors are now circulating that your palace’s pavilions aren’t merely repositories of the most savory food and restful night’s sleep one could hope for, dreams filled with one’s heart’s desires, and every morning waking up feeling more invigorated than you ever have before in your life.”

Alex smirked. “Put like that, I can see why people are fighting all out.”

His friend sighed. “Alex, there is a rumor circulating that within each of those suites is a secret that will lead the boldest cultivator to the grandest prize of all.”

“Really.”

Yingpei solemnly nodded. “Immortality itself.”

Alex blinked at the absurdity of the thought, then recalled all the stories and legends of magical heroes and secrets that would let one transcend the mortal coil shared about countless caravan campfires he had enjoyed overhearing while on watch, just a few short months, or perhaps a lifetime ago.

But still, when he thought of his own tome and its promise, at least for those who followed compatible paths… when he thought of the truly wondrous treasures his Eternal Palace would make available, did he walk sufficiently far along its numerous paths… or the sacred fruit he only dared offer to cultivators willing to embrace this world not just for a single existence, but all their future lifetimes… he shook his head.

As soon as the fights were over, win or lose, he had several very important things to take care of before he dared commit to anything else.

Alex turned to his friend. “Alright, lets head back and inform the girls. But first, who do I need to speak to and what hoops do I need to jump through, in order to join this competition?” Alex’s brow furrowed in sudden worry. “Assuming all the competition slots aren’t already filled. And can I challenge or bribe someone for their slots if they are? Sort of a wildcard option, maybe?”

Yingpei just smiled. “Fear not, brother. I have already taken care of everything! All you need to do is show up and fight. Now come on, let’s go get your friends, because we really don’t have a lot of time before your first match starts.”