The Alpha had been interested enough in the communication tokens I had gifted her to have one of her aids test it immediately. Before she left, I shared my Qi identifier with the aid, propelling herself as quickly through the water as I could the air.

The Alpha hoping to test the effectiveness and distance of the devices and compare them to their Conchs, had tasked the aid with trying to establish a connection once she had reached a Hindel enclave. That was thousands of miles from our current location and would take days for her to get there, but it would allow me to know if great distance or barriers like water and earthen formations would be a limitation.

I didn't think it would.

Even though I wouldn't have satellites orbiting the planet to bounce signals across the world, the Qi energy should serve that exact purpose. It blanketed the planet; even the most remote places satellites could never reach—places like the planet's core.

If my guess was correct, the world's energy would serve the same function as the electro-magnetic spectrum that radio signals used. I was hoping I was right. If I was, then creating a device that would function similarly to the Internet would be possible.

I was hoping Four Element Sect would be willing to share its methodology to build its internal Intranet. It would save a lot of time and work if they did. The time I could spend researching and designing infrastructure.

I wasn't too concerned if they refused.

Once the communication tokens became marketable, there would be a lot of interest. Enough, I hoped, to entice some higher-tiered professionals to study and build upon what we had accomplished.

"Alpha," I said tentatively, not sure if I should ask what had been bothering me since I joined Four Element Sect or not. Deciding that I couldn't make anything any worse than I already had, I chanced it.

"I wondered if you could explain why the Hindel were so eager to cede this Island to the Empire?"

"Eager?" The Alpha replied. "The Empire came to us to broker this deal. We had no real reason not to exchange land we couldn't make use of for resources we could, so we agreed when the Emperor suggested the trade."

"What could be so important about this island to make the Empire interested in procuring it?" I mused aloud.

"The mystic realm that is about to open," the Alpha explained.

"Mystic realm?"

"The Hindel have people who study the currents of world Qi. People that are adept at seeing shifting patterns in the ebb and flow of currents that exist everywhere. There are sure signs they look for. Changes in Qi patterns associated with Rift breaks. That allows them to make predictions about certain phenomena related to Qi.

"These researchers noticed a double Qi confluence in patterns centered on the island. The shift in energy flow was quickly identified as a double rift formation.

"What made this interesting was that it was obvious that one of the rifts would evolve into an integration opportunity. Whenever this occurs, the fluctuation between a stable rift and one that breaks the barrier between two worlds and allows for integration always results in a Mystic Realm opening."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Why would the Emperor care?" I wondered.

"Because Mystic Realms are different from Rifts. They can open anywhere. There are realms they open into where a world exists with the ruins of a fallen civilization. Realms that are giant farms of herbs. Realms that are home to wondrous beasts," Alpha explained.

"And all Mystic Realms have three things in common. They are an opportunity gifted by the Heavens because rare artifacts, scrolls, and resources can be found. Once open, they will remain available for only a limited amount of time. When it closes, it ejects anyone still inside. And they are permanent—opening and closing with regularity.

"The Heavens decide what treasures might be found, and when a realm closes, they reseed and add items to be discovered before the next opening. It also makes subtle changes to the internal landscape, so each generation of explorers will have to start exploring fresh."

"I wonder what stops the more powerful cultivators from entering and claiming everything for themselves?" Zui asked.

"Ah, I forgot that feature all realms share. One that limits who can enter a realm based on their cultivation level. Most realms limit those that can enter to Body Refinement Realm. I would hazard that 80 percent of known realms have this limitation.

"The Heavens refuse entry to anyone who doesn't fall within the cultivation level, barring their path and marking them as proscribed. It doesn't matter how powerful you are. No one has ever been able to breach a Mystic Realm opening. Those who are persistent find themselves trying to defend against a Heavenly tribulation," the Alpha warned.

Patriarch Umbra had to have known this. She must have known a rift existed somewhere on the island before I discovered it, so why didn't she share that knowledge with the Sect? Or with me when she set her plans in motion?

Knowing a Mystic Realm would be opening at some point explained why so many High-tier Sects had been frantic to get their people installed as Four Element Sect members. The Patriarch couldn't have been the only one with this information. The Emperor would have needed to divulge this information to get the Sects to agree to form a new Sect and supply Four Elements with the resources they needed to build and prosper.

"Is there any way to tell where and when the Mystic Realm will open?" I asked.

"For your people, no. But our Qi pattern masters have been at their craft a long time. They can predict the opening of a new Mystic Realm within days of when it will appear," she bragged.

"The realm will be opening within five months. I don't remember the exact day the pattern masters have predicted, but the Emperor has that information."

Five months? The exact timing as the festival the Sect had planned. The one where I was to be introduced as a new Baroness. The event where I was supposed to network and consider who among those gathered might make a suitable partner for dual cultivation.

I didn't believe for a second that the timing of that event was happenstance. The Patriarch wanted as many people as possible on the island, able to explore the Mystic Realm when it opened.

It explained why a Prince would take the time, wasting weeks on travel, to attend a party.

"Is there a way to know where the Realm will open?" I asked hopefully.

"If you can find the stable rift that has already formed, then yes," she replied. "The Mystic Realm will always open within a hundred miles of that same location."

I would have to review the agreement that Clement negotiated and that I had signed. I might have bargained away my right to determine who would get a chance at entering the Mystic Realm if it formed on my land. Inversely, the Sect was within the hundred-mile radius of the rift. It was possible that it would form within the boundaries of land the Sect claimed.

I didn't believe I had given up control if the Mystic Realm formed on my lands. If I remembered correctly, Clement had used exacting detail in setting where and how a person could enter. The problem was the rift might move and finding it could be problematic. I had stumbled on the current Rift by mistake.

There had to be a change, a warning that would be noticed by anyone examining the rift with their perception. Another reason Patriarch Umbra had agreed to assign guards to monitor who entered and exited. Their real responsibility was probably watching the rift for signs of the Mystic Realm opening.

I would make plans, hoping for the best but expecting the worse. With that many foreign dignitaries taking part in meetings, dinners, and entertainment, I would be hard-pressed to maintain control.

And I didn't want only to maintain control; I wanted an advantage.