Shin Sumi saw at first glance that the platform was unusual. From afar she could see smaller floating landmasses just like the ones she had used previously converging onto this one path.

From that it was easy to deduct that some other disciples would pass through the area.

"I think that from the other two that succeded the first trial before me, the closest was around fifteen light pillars away. I wonder how many pathways lead to this specific platform" she wondered.

Shin Sumi hesistated for a while between settling down and recuperate from the long hours of running and leaping or try to advance.

It wasn't in her habit to act rashly without thinking and if there was even a chance that another disciple in the lead had to go through the same way as her, she wanted to avoid them as much as possible.

"Stopping now would be unwise. In the off chance that I misjudged and they are closer than I expected, I can't afford to have a yellow robe attack me while I meditate."

Shin Sumi knew there were some talismans and artefacts that could be used to locate cultivators in the vincinity. Although this key landmass seemed at least two full days of running long, she wasn't sure she could find a place remote enough to meditate peacefully.

Unbeknownst to her, another cultivator had already gone through the same dilemma on the same particular crossway.

***

Tai Bu was hiding in a crevice that ran along the edge of a rocky cliff. Dark sparks seemed to dance around his body as he was sitting, unmoving.

Being admitted in the Dark Sky Starry Sect as a yellow robed disciple at only the age of sixteen, Tai Bu had been promised a bright future almost immediately.

He had instantly caught the eye of Elder Peng, one of the top ten Elders of the sect. Since then, it was almost as if he had become his blood relative, having a profund connection as Master and Disciple.

Elder Peng had poured his soul into cultivating his precious disciple, who in only two years rose from a mortal to a bright student who even opened twelve Shinsoo Passageways during his breakthrough.

Tai Bu had been about to try his hand at breaking through the Liquid Realm one day when Elder Peng had arrived at the immortal cave he had provided to his Disciple. It was then that Tai Bu learned in advance about the Rising Star Tournament, in much the same way that Shin Sumi had with Elder Zhu.

Tai Bu had delayed his breakthrough for an entire month in the hopes of finding the right opportunity during the Tournament, ensuring his success as well as a good place within the Inner Disciples of the Liquid Realm.

Patiently waiting for the second trial-taker to arrive to his landmass, Tai Bu was stroking and stretching a leather whip leisurely. It had been given to him by his master at the same time as other artefacts, like the dark sparks that powered his hiding illusion, and had become his weapon of choice.

Back in the Grand Hall of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Elder Peng was scrutinizing the jade screen with filial love in his eyes.

"Young Bu, don't make me lose face. That red robed boy coming your way may have great mental aptitudes, but there's no way he can escape your Flaming Whip. Make him understand how big the gap between you two is!"

***

Shin Sumi was starting to feel the effect of the loss of stamina. She had been running for three days in a row since she last stopped. Since she took her decision to continue forward, only five hours had passed.

"I may have overestimated myself. I need to rest soon. Who knows what this trial by fire has to offer, but I must ensure I'm always in peak condition to fight, just in case."

Her mind was starting to slowly form a plan, as she came to understand the specificity of this stage of the tournament more and more.

"It is a race, so I can't afford to rest for too long. But if the goal is to reach the huge continent at the end of the path, it can take weeks or even months! So one had to judge when to stop and for how long efficiently..."

Shin Sumi decided to run to the top of a small hill that was not too far from her path on the elongated landmass. In front of her, maybe less than two kilometers away, she caught a glimpse of a rocky area where the landmass reduced in width.

From afar it looked like some sort of canyon and passing through appeared to be the only way to get to the end of this platform and reach the next.

"The perfect place for an ambush" she thought, "but also a good place to stay alert if somebody comes."

Shin Sumi's reasoning was simple. If she stopped to rest and replenish her Shinsoo levels right after the canyon, she would be able to sense any person incoming, giving her enough time to leave before being noticed hopefully.

Pretty tired but not yet exhausted, Shin Sumi closed in on the ravine. Two sharp walls of grey rock rose up in the air in an intimidating fashion. The red light coming from the strange sky overhead progressively became dimmed as it couldn't reach the bottom of the canyon.

"Another day another ravine" thought Shin Sumi, suddenly missing her cultivation spot within the sect's training grounds.

At the same time as she took her first step on the slight slope marking the entrance of the canyon, a figure clad in invisible black sparks opened their eyes a few hundred meters away.

"Here they come" murmured Tai Bu, "The talisman has activated, someone is entering the ravine already!"

Only a cultivator in the middle of the Liquid Realm could sense someone's presence from this far away. Thankfully for Tai Bu though, his Master had crafted a few paper talismans that he could link to his divine sense.

Given his own lack of cultivation level, the quality of the talismans was greatly reduced but Elder Peng was a Core Development Elder! Every item given to Tai Bu was leagues away from those a random Honorary Disciple could get their hands on.

Silently, Tai Bu stretched and readied his whip. He only had to wait for the arriving disciple to walk on the narrow pathway under him and his surprise attack would be an instantaneous success.

"They wont even know what happened to them, hehehe."

Not even thirty seconds later, Tai Bu's excitement was reaching its apex when a figure clad in red robes walking along the narrow path came into his field of vision.

For a split second, Tai Bu was taken by surprise. "How can it be a red robed disciple?" he asked before reassuring himself.

Considering the time he spent hidden waiting for another person to arrive, the first to cross paths with him should definitely not have been a low level disciple.

In accordance to the first stage of the tournament, only the disciples with the best mental aptitudes should have reached the second stage that fast. Tai Bu was thus expecting a yellow robed disciple or at least an orange one.

But why did it matter after all... A grim smile crept up on his otherwise dignified face.

"As it turns out, this boy doesn't even qualify to be my stepping stone. I'll make him pay for wasting my time, hehehe!"

Shin Sumi whose features were that of a male cultivator was only ten steps away from under where Tai Bu was hiding. She was advancing with care, doing her best to look around but still oblivious to the impending menace.

A few meters above, Tai Bu started counting in silence.

Nine steps.

Eight steps.

Seven steps.

But right when he was down to the last six digits and his leg muscles were already flexing and about to launch him towards the newcomer, something unexpected happened.

Shin Sumi's eyes suddenly darted upwards, locking straight into Tai Bu's. An uneasy feeling instantly overtook him but he wasn't even able to think "How can he see me?!" before a short dagger appeared in the disciple's hand.

With a speed that should have been impossible for a low level disciple, the dagger was thrown... right in Tai Bu's direction!

In the crevice that was his hiding spot, Tai Bu was stuck directly on the path of the flying weapon. His reflexes acted before he could even understand what was happening, prompting him to dodge the only way that was possible, by jumping down inside the canyon.

"This red robed trash must have had a special artefact capable of finding me. There's no other way. But now that it has come down to this, I can beat him even with one hand and my eyes closed!"

Tai Bu wasn't completely wrong. After all with the dark sparks concealment given to him by a Core Development elder, how could a random disciple see through him so easily?

Had he waited a bit less, maybe his surprise attack would have been effective. But seven steps had already brought him right into the range of the Copper Bell.

The tiny Copper Bell was without a doubt a profound magical artefact, and its ability to create an illusion was only equal to its ability to dispell one.

Shin Sumi hadn't understood what happened at all but Tai Bu had appeared out of nowhere in the corner of her eye. Although she maybe wasn't as strong as Tai Bu, her extensive training in the Dark Sky Starry Sect's training grounds had forged spontaneous reflexes that most of the disciples her age wouldn't possess.

Her body had reacted with incredible speed, taking out Chao Long's dagger and throwing it at the suddenly appearing threat.

Following up on her first attack, Shin Sumi took out another weapon and jumped towards where Tai Bu was going to land before he even reached the ground.

Tai Bu's descent was met with a golden shine held by Shin Sumi's small but firm hand. Her face was an impassible mask and her breathing was almost as calm as it could be.

Ziiing.

The thin blade of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword vibrated in the air right under Tai Bu. In an incredibly short time, the latter managed to push his hand that was still holding the Flaming Whip downwards.

The Flaming Whip was a genuine Liquid Realm level weapon and thus absorbed the brunt of the force from the incoming sword. The momentum was still enough to change the direction of his fall and even projected Tai Bu a few meters ahead of Shin Sumi.

Shin Sumi was surprised. She took a deep glance at the coiled whip that was intact even after a full blown impact from her sword.

That was the same sword that had cleanly cut in two a huge Stone Leaf Tortoise!

"This... this whip is incredible!" she thought while moving again.

Tai Bu groaned on the floor. The strength of the sword strike had instantly rendered his right hand numb and he had collided with the rocky ground at great speed.

His unattention due to his groggyness only lasted for a second before he tried to shoot to his feet but it was already too late.

Using her physical strength to its limits, Shin Sumi reached Tai Bu in a single step. This time she used the pommel of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, immediately making Tai Bu lose consciousness.

Wheeeeeew. Shin Sumi let out a long breath. The fight had only lasted about five breaths of time and had been completely one-sided but happened too suddenly.

Shin Sumi replayed the images of what had just happened in her head. She was glad Tai Bu had managed to block her sword.

"In the spur of the moment, I actually delivered what could have been a fatal blow..."

She had acted completely on instinct. From the moment the Copper Bell rung and Tai Bu's figure had appeared above her, her mind trained with the constant threat of powerful spirit beasts in the jungle near the sect had only focused on two points.

Someone was ambushing her and she was in danger. It was only after she had managed to overpower Tai Bu that she had calmed down enough for her judgment to recover its clarity.

***

When Tai Bu regained his senses, Shin Sumi was long gone, just like his precious Flaming Whip. His bag of holding had also been emptied while he was out cold.

A tremor suddenly ran through him. For the first time since he stepped into the cruel Immortal world, he had faced death in the eyes. He, who had great talent and a master who was willing to nurture him fully never once felt a fear like that.

"Who is this guy? How could he be so strong with just a red level talent?! And he didn't even seem older than me... What a terrifying monster" Tai Bu reflected on the short exchange with Shin Sumi.

In the Grand Hall of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Elder Peng was fuming.

"This is outrageous!!" he vociferated, "This thief deserves death! He cheated somehow! A nobody wearing only red robes, there is no way he could beat my Tai Bu. I'm gonna skin this bastard alive!"

His eyes were becoming bloodshot and a lot of Elders present wondered if it was because of Tai Bu losing the encouter or the fact that the Flaming Whip had been stolen along with the numerous artefacts that he had given his disciple.

Elder Peng was about to continue his rant when all of a sudden a formless pressure spread out on him. The stiffling sensation was akin to a mountain pressing down on his shoulder, cutting his breathing short and silencing him in an instant.

"Brother Peng, calm down. Your disciple losing that badly to a red robed youngster isn't enough, you want to lose even more face by taking arms against a junior?"

The Dark Sky Starry Sect's Patriarch Sen had spoken. Without counting the reserve powers of the sect that were in secluded meditation, he was by far the strongest cultivation practicionner in the sect. His words carried all of his power with them and the pressure that emanated from him far surpassed Elder Peng's capacity, forcing him into submission.

Right below the Patriarch, Great Elder Chu snorted coldly "Tch. To think that Brother Peng's disciple was only this promising. It's like an embodiment of 'All bark and no bite'. The jade screen only relays image and sound to us but from even without sensing their use of Shinsoo, from that brief encounter its clear that Tai Bu lacks practice and combat training. Maybe he had the raw power to beat most of the Honorary Disciples, but without sufficient reflexes and instinct, there's no use in brute strength."

Although his words seemed quite harsh at first, Great Elder Chu was actually calming down the situation. As he explained clearly, his words made sense and even Elder Peng in his rage could not retort a single thing.

Great Elder Chu still recognized Tai Bu's strength and even gave pointers as to what he should be training next. After all, even though they had all seen the same scene unfold before their eyes on the giant magical screen, strategy and reflexes were the only logical explanation. Never in the world could they have thought that the red robed unknown disciple could have had more strength than Tai Bu.

Patriarch Sen's dominating pressure quickly receded, allowing Elder Peng to catch his breath once again, finally calmed down.

"Consider your disciple to be lucky to still be alive. The Rising Star Tournament is far from over yet."

Elder Peng silently bowed towards Patriarch Sen, then towards Great Elder Chu before sitting back down on his chair. His eyes had cleared a lot although they still contained a dark glimpse of malice while they focused on the red robed figure displayed on the third square.

***

This time Shin Sumi felt as if she had struck gold. She had been cautious all along, expertly judging the terrain she progressed into as a good ambushing spot, but she could never have expected it to go that well.

Shin Sumi had only been in the Dark Sky Starry Sect for a little bit more than a year and had spent most of her time practicing cultivation alone, as a recluse. Her number of friends in the sect could be counted on one hand and she didn't know well what was going on with the other Honorary Disciples.

Had it been anyone else from the red up to the yellow talented individuals, they would have definitely recognized Tai Bu at first glance. But for Shin Sumi he was just a guy with a yellow robe.

She had been waiting for an ambush but it had gone way more swiftly than she expected.

"For some reason he appeared out of nowhere in an instant but he didn't jump at me. Could it be...?" she thought deeply about the matter as she advanced.

"I didn't pay much attention because of how cautious I was, and afterwards I was too occupied with the fight, but now that I think about it I felt a tug in my very soul" she said as she brought her hand close to her chest that was unexpectedly flat.

"Oh that's right, the Confusion Pill mixed with the Yang Shinsoo of the Copper Bell turned me into a boy. I had forgotten for a second!"

It was only at this point that light shone in her mind due to a revelation. The tug at her soul! There wasn't many things in her arsenal that could provoque such a sensation. Due to the limited strength of her divine sense, she could also rule out a direct sensing of her opponent from as far as a few meters away.

The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had been hidden in her bag of holding until the beginning of the fight, so she could rule that out too.

"The only other magical treasures that are linked to me in a deep way are the little nut and the Copper Bell!"

Of course she was most used to the nut's warnings, which is why her mind instantly turned to the Copper Bell.

"This tiny blood-stained bell... Not only can it power up powerful illusions regarding the type of Shinsoo around and inside me, but it can also dispell other people's illusions?! What else can it do?"

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. And the more she felt an urge to test out all kinds of things with the Copper Bell.

Just like when she had experimented with the nut's ability to refine objects, a devious smile slowly spread onto her boyish features in excitement.