The night passed quietly. Yoshika was glad that combat meditation had been one of the first techniques she had learned all those years ago. Without it, she’d be at the end of her rope, but a quiet night of watching over the village while the others rested was enough to get her back in shape.

For the most part, anyway. She was still feeling a bit stressed, but in terms of physical and spiritual energy, she was fighting fit.

As dawn approached, everyone gathered near the hut where the divine artifact had been discovered. Nobody had to plan it that way—they simply knew by unspoken agreement.

Jia took a deep breath to center herself. She’d managed to stave off the infighting for a while, but she knew that this wasn’t a matter that would be resolved easily.

“I’ve already promised the divine artifact to Zheng Long. After Chou addresses us, it’s his to do with as he pleases. It may be possible for him to share the techniques within, but that’s a matter of his discretion. Does anyone have a problem with this?”

Xiao Chong immediately raised her hand, but didn’t wait to be acknowledged before speaking.

“Uh, yeah? That’s bullshit. Why should pretty-boy get the reward when all of us worked our asses off?”

Jia sighed. Xiao Chong’s attitude had shifted again at some point, and her hostility towards Yoshika specifically had risen dramatically over the last few days.

“It’s single-use, and only one person can claim it. There’s no way to split it evenly, so how would you decide?”

“By merit, obviously. I killed the most enemies, so it should be mine.”

Eui scoffed.

“That’s one way to measure merit, but what about Han Yu, who produced the qi recovery pills that kept us all fighting beyond our normal limits? Or Iseul, who practically held down an entire quadrant by herself without rest or resources for the entire ten days? What about us, tapping into our personal resources to provide you all with arms that I note none of you have even tried giving back?”

Ruiling stepped forward.

“Hold on, that’s not—”

“Or Melati, who was able to simultaneously provide Han Yu with extra resources while also fighting on the front lines? Could you have survived alone, Xiao Chong? Could any of us have made it through this trial if we were missing even a single person?”

The demon sniffed and turned away.

“I’d have figured something out.”

“That’s a no. The fact is, there’s no way to choose fairly. The other remaining options are to choose arbitrarily, or to fight over it. Zheng Long and I were the first to find it, and I’ve chosen to yield it in the interest of our continued cooperation.”

Zheng Long coughed into his fist.

“Ahem. Actually, it was Miss Lee that discovered it with me.”

Yoshika blushed. She’d been making that mistake more often, lately. Jia tried to ignore the interruption, taking over for Eui.

“The point is that we won’t tolerate any infighting over this. Anyone who challenges our decision will have to answer to us. In the interest of our continued survival, I hope that none of you do—I doubt the trials are going to get any easier.”

Sukarto stepped forward, leaning on a Wind-enchanted spear that he’d accepted from her.

“I can’t say I’m pleased about it, but I accept your reasoning. I just have one question—what of the tomb’s ultimate prize, the reason we’re all here? I’m sure everyone is thinking it, but our cooperation can’t possibly last to the end once the Sovereign’s Tear is on the line.”

Jia shook her head.

“Why not? Whoever leaves this tomb with that artifact is going to have a giant target painted on their back. Every immortal in the world is going to be after your head, including and especially the descended gods. Maybe you survive long enough to get it into the hands of your patron, and maybe Chou is wrong and that actually earns you their favor and protection, but is that really a risk you’re willing to take?”

He pursed his lips, glancing back uncertainly at Long Ruiling.

“I don’t know—is it?”

Ruiling sighed.

“I’m not even sure anymore. I thought that this was a way to get acknowledgement from the Dragon Lord, but I saw how furious he was before the tomb opened. It’s not even about gaining his favor anymore, I’m not sure anything short of recovering the tear would avoid his permanent wrath.”

Xiao Chong shrugged.

“Same here, more or less. Longyan made the price of failure very clear. Maybe he kills me anyway if I succeed, but he definitely kills me if I fail.”

Zheng Long nodded in agreement.

“We’re under quite a bit of pressure as well. Han Yu and I already have a rather dire failure standing against us, Miss Lee, and I doubt the ancestral grandmaster will tolerate another.”

Yoshika frowned. Not quite the response she’d been hoping for.

“Then I’ll be frank—we intend to recover the Sovereign’s Tear ourselves. We’ll do whatever we can to make it up to the rest of you, but I don’t trust the Dragon Lord, or the God-Emperor, or any of the descended gods with it. There’s too much on the line.”

Zheng Long crossed his arms.

“And what do you intend to do with the artifact?”

Jia paused.

“Uh...”

Originally, they had assumed that Jianmo would use it to destroy the divine seal on their world, but that didn’t seem like a plausible outcome anymore, even if they did manage to restore them somehow.

She certainly didn’t trust Do Hye, no matter how compelling his arguments had been. Could they do it themselves? Her hesitation was already drawing skeptical looks from all around, but before she could come up with a response, Yan Yue stepped forward to rescue her.

“We have a coalition of some of the finest minds and most powerful cultivators from across the continent prepared to study the artifact at length in order to find a way to destroy the seal that cuts our world off from the divine realm. The gods abandoned our world once—why would we trust them not to do it a second time?”

Nobody responded. They weren’t satisfied with Yue’s answer, but they didn’t have a rebuttal, either. Jia sighed and shook her head.

“We’ll have to deal with that later. For now, please just accept the promise that I’ll try to make up the difference in any way that I can.”

Ruiling closed her wings around her chest—a new gesture that Yoshika hadn’t learned to read yet.

“Alright. You’ve proven yourself trustworthy so far. We appreciate what you’ve done—I doubt we would have made it through all of this without your support.”

Xiao Chong snorted.

“Why ask if you weren’t going to accept any other answer, anyway? You’re just making yourself look weak again.”

Eui shot her a withering glare.

“Because unlike you, they’ve earned my respect as peers. None of them need to be led around by the horns like petulant little children. Actually, that’s not fair of me—even the brattiest snots I’ve met were better behaved than you.”

Xiao Chong glowered back, but their staring contest was interrupted by a boom of thunder as the first rays of light began filling the empty sky.

Sovereign Chou appeared within the doorway to the hut containing the divine artifact, arms crossed as he regarded them.

“You have survived the test of spirit. In addition to the treasure you have discovered, I offer a boon of knowledge. You may ask me one question.”

Yoshika had hundreds, but she had to think practically. As much as she would love to ask him about things like demiurges, or the nature of the Sovereign’s Tear, survival came first. She didn’t hesitate.

“What other dangers will we face in the upcoming trials?”

The construct looked disappointed, though as usual Yoshika sensed no emotions from him.

“A predictable question, but not unwise. You must face two more trials before my realm will truly open to you—one of the mind, and one of the body. You will not have another chance to rest between them, nor will I reveal the full nature of either. However, I will grant you one final warning.”

He lifted his hand, and a grand palace erupted from the ground just outside the village, as huge and imposing as the massive gate that had led them to the first trial.

“While only mortals are permitted entry to my domain, it will take the strength of a true immortal to conquer it. Rest and train while you can—there will be no turning back once you enter the manor.”

Chou’s avatar vanished with a flash of light and a crack of thunder. Eui glowered at the empty space where he’d been standing.

“Well that wasn’t very helpful.”

Yue shook her head.

“I disagree. He suggested that we’ll have time to rest and train in safety—perhaps that will even give us time to unravel the secrets contained within this artifact.”

Zheng Long crossed his arms and frowned.

“I never agreed to share the technique.”

“But you will, won’t you?”

“I’m not even certain that I’ll be able to. The power contained in that scroll is daunting, and it’s going to take everything I have just to assimilate it.”

Jia furrowed her brows. The time to prepare was undoubtedly helpful, but something felt off. She had an unexplainable sense of urgency pushing her to keep moving forward, and she couldn’t understand why.

The comment about true immortals was also concerning. Did that mean she’d have to ascend before leaving? Could she? What would happen if she suffered a tribulation within Chou’s realm? There was too much uncertainty, and she still didn’t trust Chou’s manual, no matter how eager Zheng Long was to try it.

“I don’t think we actually have that much time. Zheng Long, you can try to assimilate the technique, but I want to get moving as soon as possible.”

Yue cocked her head.

“What’s the rush?”

Jia bit her lip pensively.

“I don’t know...it’s just a feeling.”

“I see. Well then, we’d better hurry. Zheng Long, go meditate on your shiny new artifact, Han Yu I want to spend our remaining downtime on restorative elixirs, I doubt that any of us are going to make it out of a ‘Trial of the Body’ unscathed, and we can’t just rely on Yoshika for healing.”

Han Yu sneered.

“I don’t answer to you, Yan Yue.”

Xiao Chong shook her head and stepped forward.

“Wait, wait, wait—that’s it? Boss has a bad feeling, so we’re wasting our only chance to prepare?”

Ruiling scratched her cheek.

“I hate to admit it, but I think I’m on the demon’s side. I think I trust you, Jia, but that’s not very compelling.”

Yue chuckled.

“Yoshika’s premonitions are not to be taken lightly. I would stake my life on her ‘feelings,’ no matter how terrible she is at articulating them.”

Eui crossed her arms and grumbled.

“We’re not that bad. Besides, it’s not like I want to waste the time we’ve been given, I just...don’t trust it.”

Yue inclined her head.

“There you have it. Now let’s stop chattering about it and move. Shall we make for the palace as soon as Zheng Long is finished with his artifact?”

Yoshika hesitated for a moment before nodding her heads.

“I think so, yes. I need to do some meditation, though—we didn’t really get the chance last night.”