Wu Jian, Hou Jingshu, Zhou Lihua, and the others were up bright and early the next morning. No one seemed to know about the conversation that took place between the three of them last night. However, Zhou Wen had eyed them suspiciously. Wu Jian did his best to pretend he hadn’t seen her looking their way. Nothing good would come from appearing guilty--not that he had anything to feel guilty about.

Nothing happened, much to his disappointment.

Everyone ate breakfast in the mess hall. Poor Hou Jingshu was once more pulled to the front with Yu Chenguang to eat, leaving Zhou Lihua, Yu Mao, Yu Qiang, Li Hua, and Liu Heifeng to eat together. She ate with the refined grace and poise expected of a princess at a social function, but it was clear to Wu Jian from the look in her eyes that she would have rather been with them.

It was even worse for her that morning because Húndàn Wang and Hou Gun decided to join her. Wu Jian did not know what they were talking about, but Hou Jingshu’s replies were very short, no more than a single word. Sometimes she wouldn’t even offer that much. He spent some time reading her lips, and she would occasionally just grunt a reply. That sadly did not stop Húndàn Wang from talking. Hou Gun continued to goad the man on while glancing in his direction every so often.

“It’s obvious that Hou Jingshu’s brother knows about your relationship,” said Zhou Lihua.

He nodded. “Yeah… he’s trying to get a rise out of me. That’s why he keeps looking over. The smug bastard.”

Zhou Lihua smiled. “You don’t like him?”

“I was indifferent toward him at first since we had never met, but now…” He shrugged. “If I get the chance to fight him in this tournament, I’m going to cave his face in with my fist.”

“And you accused Hou Jingshu of being violent last night,” Zhou Lihua said with a giggle.

Someone else was present that morning. A woman sat proudly next to Hou Gun. She had similar colored hair and eyes to him, making their relation obvious. Despite knowing she was his mother, he at first thought she might have been an older sister. Her face, while proud and bearing the sharp features of an aristocrat, retained a youth only found in cultivators who had reached the Asura Realm at a young age. She didn’t look much older than twenty.

“So that’s Hou Gun’s mother?” asked Wu Jian.

Zhou Lihua looked up, saw where he was looking, then nodded. “Yes. That’s Fengli Cai. She is Emperor Hou Jun’s first wife and also the daughter of Fengli Gengxin.”

“He’s an elder in the Heavenly Sword Sect, right?” he asked.

“Correct. He’s a highly ranked elder in the Heavenly Sword Sect. If I’m remembering correctly, Fengli Genxin is currently in charge of the Disciplinary Committee. His job is to punish disciples and other elders who break the rules.”

Wu Jian thanked Zhou Lihua for the information and continued eating.

The preliminary matches were set to take place that morning, so after everyone had gotten their fill, the many groups left the hall en masse and followed Húndàn Qie to the arena.

The arena was located near the sect’s center. They walked along a shaded walkway made from beautifully set wooden panels that were elevated above a garden with several rivers running through it. Their footsteps echoed in time and mixed with the sounds of running water. Wu Jian walked alongside Hou Jingshu, who clung to his arm with obvious irritation. Her grip on his bicep was tight enough that she was digging her nails into his skin.

“Irritated?” he asked.

“Is it that obvious?” Hou Jingshu spat.

“There’s no need for sarcasm. I’m not fond of watching Húndàn Wang try to flirt with you either, you know,” Wu Jian said, gently patting her hand.

“Sorry.” Abashed, Hou Jingshu lessened her grip on his arm, though she still held it tight. “I just hate that man. He keeps trying to convince me to marry him even though I’ve repeatedly told him that I’m not interested. Does he think constantly asking me is going to make me change my mind? All he’s doing is annoying me, but I can’t say anything or I’ll risk offending Húndàn Qie and, more importantly, my mother.”

“The way you said mother with such vitriol is inspiring. Is that why she was hovering around you three?” he asked.

Hou Jingshu grimaced like she smelled something foul. “She said it was because she hadn’t seen me in so long, but I know she was just keeping an eye on me. That woman despises me and my brother. She believes our existence is proof of Father’s infidelity. She didn’t like that Father decided to take a second wife and has always made sure to remind us of who is in charge.”

While polygamy was perfectly acceptable, that didn’t mean everyone was okay with it. There were plenty of men and women who believed polygamy was a betrayal of your partner’s trust, or that it was a sign of a poor moral compass. They were mostly ignorant naysayers who didn’t understand how and why someone might marry more than one partner. Wu Jian could agree that polygamy was not for everyone and it was perfectly acceptable to not find it appealing, but to question someone’s loyalty was a sign of ignorance.

They soon reached the arena. It was even bigger than Wu Jian expected. Row upon row of tertiary seating made it look like this space could easily hold ten to twenty thousand people. There didn’t seem to be much reason for an arena to be this big when the Saintly Sword Sect barely had five thousand disciples. This place had been built for the express purpose of hosting this tournament. There would probably be thousands of people coming to watch the matches of the tournament once the preliminary ended.

There were already a few people in the stands--at least a thousand. Hou Jingshu pointed out several of them. Each one was a powerful clan that had a great deal of influence within the kingdom. Wu Jian did his best to remember their faces, but he knew it was hopeless. He just didn’t care about people he didn’t know.

There’s Zhou Lihua…

He found the person he’d been looking for sitting near the front, waving at him. Standing beside her was Zhou Wen, Yu Mao, Liu Heifeng, and Li Hua. He and Hou Jingshu waved back at them.

Set up on the arena floor were ten elevated platforms. Each one had to be at least several dozen square jin, big enough for two people to fight on. Two rows contained three platforms, and the rows on the far left and right ends contained two.

Near the leftmost row was a much larger platform that was about six times taller than the arena platforms where the preliminaries were set to take place. Situated beside it was a stone obelisk with a sealing array. Wu Jian had seen enough of these to know what it was by this point.

Húndàn Qie leapt onto the platform, turned around, and looked down at them all with a smile that was simultaneously sharp and kind.

“Welcome, one and all. This arena is where both the preliminaries and the main tournament shall take place. We have already received the names of everyone set to participate and have created a bracket for the preliminaries. Before you go up, everyone will be called upon to place their hands on the testing stone and channel their chi. We were given your cultivation levels already, but we are doing this as an added precaution against potential foul play.”

While several people voiced complaints, Wu Jian only crossed his arms and nodded. He’d heard of people from other nations killing disciples and replacing them to cause problems during tournaments before. He’d also had been forced to fight someone who had broken through to the Hunger Realm when he was younger. It was important to make sure no one was breaking any rules.

“Wan Jiang. Twenty years old. Eighth Subrealm of the Asura Realm.”

“Yan Meng. Twenty-five years old. Seventh Subrealm of the Asura Realm.”

“Huang Guanyu. Nineteen years old. Ninth Subrealm of the Asura Realm.”

Names were not called in any particular order. People went up, placed their hands on the stone, and were tested for their age and cultivation. Over several dozen people were called before he heard someone he knew.

“Yu Qiang.”

“Guess I’m up,” said the person in question.

He strode forward with a confident gate, ignoring the people who whispered about his relation to Yu Chenguang. Upon reaching the obelisk, he placed his hand on it and channeled his chi.

“Twenty-one years old. Ninth Subrealm of the Asura Realm.”

His words set the people around Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu whispering. Wu Jian eavesdropped on the nearest conversation with his superior hearing.

“I didn’t realize there was someone so powerful at the Shang Kingdom’s academy.”

“That is Yu Chenguang’s nephew, after all. I’d expect him to be powerful given his uncle and his family’s history.”

“Right. The Yu Clan are the guardians of the royal family. I guess their family is the reason he’s so powerful then.”

“Makes sense to me.”

Wu Jian almost snorted, but he held it in as more people were called.

“Hou Chāo.”

Wu Jian perked up as another name reached his ears. Hou Chāo marched out of the crowd and stopped before the testing stone. He turned around and scanned his peers before his eyes locked with Wu Jian. He smirked before turning around, placing his hand on the stone, and channeling his chi. Flames exploded from his body and caused the arena to heat up. Winds whipped around him. It was nothing more than showboating. Channeling chi this way wouldn’t change the outcome of the test.

“Twenty-four years old. Half a step Human Limit Realm Cultivator?!”

Shocked gasps rang out from the crowd as the announcement was made. Hou Chāo was the first person to have reached the pinnacle that stood between the Asura Realm and Human Limit Realm. Wu Jian worriedly glanced at Hou Jingshu, but she didn’t seem to care. She stared straight at her brother with defiance in her eyes. He smiled and looked back as Hou Chāo stepped off the platform.

“Hou Jingshu!”

It was finally Hou Jingshu’s turn. She smiled at Wu Jian before stepped away from him and Yu Qiang. Her gait was confident and unhurried as she marched to the front, stood before the obelisk, and placed her hands upon it.

Hou Chāo’s act must have spurred her into action because, the second after she placed her hand on the testing stone, a draconic roar that shook the very air erupted. Powerful chi exploded from her body, a bright golden color, and scale-like patterns formed along her skin. Several people squinted as the pointed at Hou Jingshu’s back.

“Hey! Hey! Are those wings?!”

Indeed, wings sprouted from the woman’s back. They were nothing more than ethereal wings formed from chi, but they were still visible--dragon-like pinions that flapped about behind her. The chi soon died down and the testing stone revealed the information about her.

“Seventeen years old. Ninth Subrealm of the Asura Realm!”

Wu Jian paid no attention to the people excitedly whispering beside him and instead sought out Hou Chāo. The young man was glaring at Hou Jingshu like she had personally insulted him, and who could blame him? Being half a step into the Human Limit Realm was impressive, but a seventeen year old at the peak of the Asura Realm was even more incredible.

Hou Jingshu came back to stand beside Wu Jian, who took her hand in front of everyone, invoking another chorus of chatter from the peanut gallery.

“You’re being… very bold,” Hou Jingshu murmured.

“Do you not like this?” He held up their conjoined hands.

“… I love it,” she muttered, cheeks red.

Wu Jian almost felt like basking in the looks of jealousy he was getting. At this point, he cared little for the jealousy of people who couldn’t accept Hou Jingshu’s relationship to someone other than them. Most of them knew they didn’t have a chance with her anyway and still allowed their envy to get the better of them.

Among that group of people was none other than Húndàn Wang. The son of the Saintly Sword Sect’s Sect Master looked at Wu Jian with lips drawn into a thin line. Wu Jian didn’t even glance his way, which only further irritated the young swordsman.

“Húndàn Wang.”

Tearing his eyes away from Wu Jian, Húndàn Wang walked up to the testing stone and placed his hand upon it. He did not release his chi like Hou Chāo and Hou Jingshu, but the results that were revealed was enough to shock everyone.

“Twenty-four years old. F-First Subrealm of the Human Limit Realm?!”

Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu both stood straighter as the people around them began shouting. Some called his entrance unfair, others called foul play, but none of them could do anything more than whine. Testing stones could not be fooled. That meant Húndàn Wang was perfectly eligible to participate in this tournament.

“I’m surprised,” Hou Jingshu murmured. “I did not think Húndàn Wang would be able to break through within such a short amount of time.”

“Do you think he was able to find a Three-Layered Red Yin-Yang Pill?” asked Wu Jian. Húndàn Wang had participated in the auction, but he had not come away with the pill in question.

“He must have.” Hou Jingshu took a deep breath and sighed. “There’s no other explanation. I’m sure Húndàn Qie received one from the Heavenly Sword Sect. Unlike the Shang Kingdom, they have an abundance of those pills.”

They might have had a lot more resources than most nations, but they didn’t hand out their pills for free. Free lunches didn’t exist. Wu Jian wondered what price Húndàn Qie had to pay to receive the pill his son needed. It was definitely pricey, though perhaps not as expensive as the even higher-tier pills.

Húndàn Wang glanced at Wu Jian, smirked, and walked off the stage.

Like that, the testing continued.