The tournament was being held at Dragon Spire Sect. One of the largest top tier Sects in the world. We still hadn't been informed why this year was different, and the reason so many tiers would be competing. There were vague hints about prizes and awards, Elder Shadow and Elder Tye had dropped hints and made references while I was training. But there had been no public explanation, no attempt to explain why this tournament was different.

I had tried to pump Tarrah for information repeatedly, but she was as close-mouthed as the Seniors, or she was as in the dark as the rest of the Sect. It struck me while listening to some of the other Outer Sect members gossiping during a meal how isolated I had become.

For the most part, my segregation didn't bother me, I was usually too busy to notice. Plus, it had the additional benefit of making the time I spent cultivating easier. There were no distractions, even if it was lonely. There were times like this when it would have been nice to have a friend to gossip with, to share guesses and ideas with.

I hadn't gotten much sleep. I didn't need much anymore; the time spent in cultivation replacing the REM sleep needed to recharge, but I did require a few hours. I had trained myself to wake at first light, but even rising that early, I barely had time to shower and change before we were required to meet at Billowing Peak, the outcropping the Sect had designated for animal companions capable of flight.

The ledge wasn't huge by any standards, but it was large enough for the Elders and Outer Sect members that would be attending the tournament to gather. As well as enough room for a few mid-size beasts to land.

Since this was a competition to gain advancement from the Outer to Inner Sect, only Outer Sect Members would be making the trip to compete in the martial competition. A few Inner Sect members were joining us, hoping to test their proficiency and advance their rank.

All of the Outer Sect members had been enrolled in two categories. One martial, one their secondary profession. Our advancement into the Inner Sect would include a ranking, an aggregate of points based on how we did in both competitions.

The secondary professions were given a weighted advantage, the points earned doubled before added to your martial scores. This had a certain logic. Sects needed these professions to survive. The income derived from crafted goods allowed the Sect to prosper, even thrive. Members who hunted and gathered resources from kills outnumbered those who practiced their crafts, but even here their contribution to the Sect was not in numbers of animals killed, but the harvesting of body parts, beast cores, and leather hides gathered.

We had been waiting for almost a half-hour before Elder An and Patriarch Amaya arrived. Dragon Spire Sect was two thousand miles from Flowing Water Sect. It had been established almost at the same time as the Empire and enjoyed a location that was dense in Qi, rich in resources, and located near the Capital. The only way for our Sect to arrive at any reasonable time required Patriarch Amaya to extend her Qi field, embrace those members that were going, and fly.

As she extended her power and lifted, I likened the experience to the currents of change. We were like the floss and jetsam of some rapidly flowing river, caught in the wake of the Patriarch's flight. Her Qi field kept us clustered together, safe from the wind and forces that would have stripped the skin from our bodies at the speed she was traveling. She made use of her Dharmic body to guard, to project a martial intent powerful enough to ward off most flying beasts that might attack.

For those that animals that ignored her martial intent, the Elders that rode the Patriarch's contrails, made quick work of them. Elder Shadow was always at the forefront when his protection was required, his sword work was precise and effortless, as much a form of art as my dance of Tessen.

I had trained with him almost a year and had been barely able to grasp or understand his techniques, but even that small understanding was more than my fellow Outer Sect members who gossiped in wonder and appreciation every time he was forced to attack. His success became mine somehow. Each time he killed or turned away an attack, my sense of pride in his accomplishments grew.

He was brutal in his actions, sparing no expense with his motions, always going for the killing blow. He was determined and focused and had no intention of allowing a beast foolish enough to attack, despite the Patriarch's warning and martial intent, a chance to marshal forces.

There was not a second chance, nothing that attacked was able to flee and return to with increased numbers. For all that he impressed those of us who saw him in action, the actual battles were few. We were flying so quickly that often we would blow right past a surprised beast that never had an opportunity to react or attack. The Patriarch was powerful enough, even while ferrying hundreds of people that we outpaced most flying creatures.

A two-thousand-mile trip took a bit under three hours. Patriarch Amaya's Qi never wavering as her speed broke the sound barrier. Protected, most of us spent the time sitting, using these last few hours to continue to cultivate. We had been instructed not to attempt casting Dharmic spells or utilizing martial techniques while enfolded within the Patriarch's Qi construct but were given permission to cycle our Qi.

Dragon Spire Sect took its name from the rock formation that eclipsed and framed the surrounding mountains. A side of the tallest mountain had sheared off, opening a cave network that was guarded by what appeared to be dragon's teeth. At some point, an industrious Sect member or members had taken the time to carve the cave opening, commissioned to transform the rough opening and sculpting a dragon head. The sculpture had expanded over untold centuries, carving into the mountain a body, pair of wings, and details so fine that each scale could be counted.

The dragon was coiled with its maw open, inviting anyone brave enough to step inside and traverse the gullet of a dragon. Additional array's and foundations had been added to give life and sound to the illusion. The dragon seemed to sleep, wisps of smoke wafting from his nostrils. The entrance through required a person to pass between the serrated edges of teeth while fighting strong gusts of wind. A wind that battered those not strong enough to withstand hurricane-force gusts that required you to engage Qi to overcome.

For those that were only at Body Refinement Realm, like me, a Senior was needed to part the wind, or for those industrious and patient enough to time the inhale and exhale of the dragon's breath, there was a small window of opportunity when it was safe if you had a movement skill to run through the entrance tunnel without fighting the wind.

The tunnel opened onto a vast cave system. Unlike Flowing Water Sect, Dragon Spire Sect focused on earth and fire elements. Some tunnels connected seams of spirit stone mines, places that had never been mined. Instead, the Sect had constructed channels within the earth to create a vast formation array, an array that directed the flow of energy from the multitude of spirit stone veins that were left intact. Immense amounts of stones that were riddled throughout the mountain.

The formation funneled a rich atmosphere of Qi, creating an environment of Qi much denser than anything I'd experienced before. And that included the closed-door room I'd used when breaking through. And that was only the ambient Qi available as one entered the Sect. I could only imagine how dense the Qi was in the closed-door cultivation rooms the Sect had available for use.

Dragon Spire focused on metal and forging that metal into armor and weapons. The Sect had perhaps the best Blacksmiths in the empire. Men and women who were able to perfect their skills because of a secondary network of tunnels that had tapped into the lava flow deep underground. The heat from those fires used to provide a forge that was never banked and never allowed to gutter out. The Dragon Spire Elves made masterwork quality spirit weapons and armor as easily as I made a Body Foundation Pill.

In order to control lava and direct spirit veins, the Sect also spent immense effort to recruit and train Array Masters. When taming primal forces like lava, even the smallest mistake could be catastrophic, but those dangers were used as benchmarks to test Sect member's proficiency. When you were testing your skills with applications that dealt with lava, care and precision become second nature.

The current Emperor and his heir were both members of Dragon Spire Sect, another strange facet about this tournament that had yet to be explained. There was no reason for the Emperor to take notice, let alone host a tournament. Some of the wilder rumors and gossip I'd heard as I'd eavesdropped during meals at the Sect had revolved around royal conscription. My fellow Sect members were certain the empire was shopping for young people that might suit as broodmares.

I hoped that was wishful thinking or fearful conjecture. I had no intention of auditioning for the role of concubine or bride under the guise of this tournament. I couldn't imagine anything more boring than to stay cooped up in some drafty castle. Especially, with so much of the world to explore and see.

Then again, I suppose it was the height of hubris to assume I would be selected if that was the goal.