Today, at the table Mei and her friends sat at, there was a new guest.

A weird wooden puppet... with a really ugly hair-do. It was in sect robes for some reason, but even so, the wooden muscles under its clothes were quite visible.

After getting his new body, Su Qing bugged Mei for clothes so he could be like the humans. Mei's robes were a little too small for the puppet's large frame, however, so the robes were rather tight on it.

Xiuying and Senior Han were holding back laughter as they stared at it.

"You have an... interesting puppet." Senior Han grinned. "Taking it to the tournament?"

"Yeah, I heard you could bring puppets."

"Puppets, hmmm... I don't think I see them much in first tournaments. Not a bad choice though." Senior Han said, taking a bite from his vegetable bun. "Two on one would be difficult for someone new to fighting."

Was all he ate just those buns? Mei remained quiet as Xiuying and Senior Han exchanged small talk. Shortly, the rest of the group arrived together.

"Nice hair," Yingyi smirked.

"Yay!" Su Qing said happily. "See? He like hair! Hair is not bad!"

"Whatever," Mei grumbled.

She spent far too long trying to convince him to ditch the sawdust hair yesterday but to no avail...

Liu Qiang put his food on the table before walking over to Su Qing and poked the sawdust hair.

"Whoa, it's soft!" he said in surprise.

"Yes, soft!" Su Qing said cheerfully.

"Can you change the shape of your hair? Try, um... horns, like a cow!" Liu Qiang grinned.

"I try!"

Two unshapely horns grew from his head like sprouting seeds, making the chubby boy laugh loudly. Apart from the embarrassed Mei, the rest of the group were smiling too.

After getting Su Qing to mess around with his sawdust hair a little longer, Liu Qiang sat down with everyone to eat and chat.

"Hey, come to think of it, how's everyone planning to fight?" he asked.

"How about we keep it a surprise for later?" Xiuying said. "I think it might be better if we leave it as a surprise for later!"

"Eh?" Liu Qiang pouted. "Alright then. Seems a bit unfair to Mei though, since we know how she's going to fight."

Mei laughed to herself inwardly, feeling rather confident despite how little she had been training. Her trump card were the body techniques she learnt, not Su Qing's puppet!

Gathered in the hall before the sect master were hundreds of outer disciples. While there were often a few absentees, today, amongst the many rows of students, the sect master could see that all were present. It was a sight that made him rather pleased.

"I assume all of you know what day it is?" he said.

...

"Ahem... disciples, this is your cue to respond." he coughed.

This time, a loud "yes" from the disciples echoed through the hall. The sect master nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, I won't waste your time then," he said. "Let the tournament begin!"

Tournament begin? Mei was confused. Didn't they have to go to the venue first? Beside her, a sad Su Qing sat, his silly hair removed.

The sect master raised a hand, a green orb appearing in it. Leaving his hand, it floated gently towards the ceiling. There, a massive white orb of jade appeared. Mei got a strange feeling it had been there all along, but hidden by a formation of sorts.

The ethereal orb of green sank into the larger orb, prompting hundreds of intricate golden carvings to form on it.

With a flash, gentle light from the orb washed over her.

Mei felt a bit confused as the light faded.

Before her, the rows of disciples and the sect master were still there. But instead of a ceiling of white, a brilliant blue sky loomed over her.

Were they just teleported?

Rows and rows of seats divided by stairs were placed around in a circular fashion around her, the entirety of the contruct made of stone. In the distance, she saw clouds. Clouds that were level with the floor.

Wait, this place was super high up! Was there really a need for the arena to be up so high?

"Disciples!" the sect master called out. "Welcome to the virtual colosseum!"

Beside him, Li Jie stood, a bored expression on his face.

"This is where the tournaments in the sect are held," he said. "As the sect master said, this is only a virtual colosseum, an illusion. You are only here in mind, but not in body."

It took a few moments before Mei comprehended.

Wait, then did that mean her body was slumped over back in the hall? She hoped she didn't collapse onto someone.

"In such an environment, you can fight to your fullest without worrying about injuries!" the sect master continued. "Well, we aren't trying to train you to become cold-blooded killers though, so... you might find some of your weapons have changed."

Curious, Mei reached for her axe. It was now made of wood, the edge padded with cloth.

Lame...

Well admittedly, she would hesitate to hit someone with an axe though, so she couldn't complain.

"You will all be given a slip with a number on it! Only two people will have the same number, so you will be matched with whoever has the same number as you."

Mei grabbed a slip of white wood as it materialised before her. 15 was engraved on it. Huh, so soon?

"Whoa! I got 1!" Wang Wei exclaimed.

"Nice!" Liu Qiang said. "You're the star student here, so don't disappoint us!"

For a moment, Wang Wei's smile faltered.

"I won't," he said.

"Now that you've gotten your numbers." Li Jie said. "Please be seated. Except for lucky disciples up first, naturally."

The students filed neatly to the seats. Mei sat together with her friends. With how abundant the seats were, they didn't find it that hard to get a good viewing spot. She watched as the sect master and Li Jie flew over to two designated, grander seats.

Only Wang Wei and another disciple remained.

The disciple was a tall, muscular but youthful man with a steeled and resolute face. In his hands, he gripped a huge wooden staff, both ends tipped with padding. With just a look, one would get the impression that he was to be taken seriously.

Meanwhile, Wang Wei was only a young child. The man was practically a giant in comparison.

The man's eyes did not have a trace of belittlement despite the contrast, however. He looked the padded wooden sword in Wang Wei's hands with a serious expression. Mei found it almost comical.

"The name's Zhang Yun. Let us have a fair and honorable fight."

"Likewise." Wang Wei said.