One hour after fighting us, the Blessed Spear Sect went back up on stage to fight the third First-Class Sect, the Heavenly Saber Sect. As soon as spear met saber, it was clear that these two sects were evenly matched, but after a series of long, grueling fights, the Blessed Spear Sect edged out a win by the slimmest of margins.

Then, just an hour later, before their wounds had a chance to stop bleeding, the Heavenly Saber Sect was forced back up on stage—this time, against us.

Their swordwork was still sharp, but their injuries slowed them, and their muscles had little qi to fuel their strength or speed. Because of this, none of their fighters posed much of a challenge, allowing Kan, YuLong, and Meng LuYao to end the match after three clean bouts.

Was this fair? Maybe not. If they had been given more time to recover, they might have posed more of a threat. However, considering that they had already lost to a weakened Blessed Spear Sect, few would believe that they had any chance of defeating us—no matter how much rest they got. And, in any case, if they weren’t able to recover within an hour of facing the Blessed Spear Sect, they had little chance of overcoming the challenge that the end of the week would bring.

Having defeated both First-Class Sects, we returned to our suite in the Broken Spear Outpost to recover and prepare for what lay ahead. For most of us, there wasn’t much to do. Meng LuYao needed to repair the haft of her guandao, but this damage was superficial and only required a few quick patches.

For JiuLi, however, things weren’t so simple. Her bond with her weapon had been destroyed. Even if she mended its blade, she wouldn’t be able to channel her energy through it with anywhere near the ease that she had in the past. She would need to take another Cicada Pill to reestablish the bond, but she didn’t have time to do this before our next fight.

Worse, with the weapon’s energy structure having been shattered, it was now little more than a mundane stick and a pile of broken metal.

“We have a few ways to deal with this,” I said, sitting down across from her. “We could purchase you a new guandao from the Bureau, or we can do our best to repair the one you already have. Then, we can refine it using guandao qi. This would leave you without the benefits of a soulbound weapon, but it should be enough to carry you through the rest of the tournament.”

JiuLi began shaking her head almost immediately.

“No, that’s… no good,” she said, staring off into space, grasping for an explanation. “Before, the guandao qi always resisted any changes I tried to make with wood qi. My soul imprint was the only reason the two were able to work together. Without it, everything I’ve practiced is useless. I’d need to start over and learn an entirely new combat style from scratch.”

I had never noticed any incompatibilities between guandao and metal qi, so it seemed somewhat strange to me that JiuLi would have a problem combining guandao and wood qi. Of course, I also hadn’t tried to stretch the definition of a ‘guandao’ anywhere near as far as JiuLi and Kan had. Still, why would guandao qi prefer metal qi over wood qi, and why would a soul imprint be able to affect this?

“Another option,” I said, considering, “is to reform your weapon entirely from wood. Then, you could refine it using wood qi, like what’s done in the Nine Rivers Domain. You would need to be extremely careful about engaging in direct clashes with any real weapons, but this would allow you to make full use of your wood qi.”

JiuLi lowered her head, uncertain. “Wood is weak to metal, and weapons refined with elemental qi are significantly worse than those refined with weapon qi. The kind of weapon you’re talking about… It likely wouldn’t be able to withstand even a single blow.”

I nodded. “As long as you’re careful, though, it could be enough to get you through the tournament.”

Something about this idea made JiuLi fall into several long moments of deep contemplation. When she finally looked back up at me, there was a flicker of understanding in her eyes. “What if we did both? A fully wooden guandao infused with guandao qi. Without any metal, the ‘guandao’ would just be wood. So, why would it resist my wood qi?”

I couldn’t quite grasp JiuLi’s logic, but I had also never experienced the resistance she mentioned. Maybe that was because I was using metal qi with a fully-metal guandao. If so, giving her a fully-wooden guandao might actually work. Even if not, there was little harm in trying.

So, after a quick visit to a Bureau-Approved shop, we sat back down, and I did my best to help her create a new wooden blade that she could attach to the haft of her destroyed weapon.

JiuLi started by turning a simple block of Rank 1 wood into the blade of a rather normal-looking guandao. However, when she affixed this blade to the haft of her old weapon, she frowned, clearly dissatisfied, and began flooding it with wood qi, causing it to dissolve from the inside out. When she was done, only a thumb-thick line of wood remained. This line extended from the haft, traveled the path of a blade’s spine, curved, and returned to form a cutting edge, stopping just short of reconnecting to the haft.

This weapon didn’t look like a guandao. It looked more like the idea of a guandao—or perhaps, the concept of a guandao. I couldn’t help but wonder… What exactly had JiuLi gained from the attack that had shattered her soul imprint?

Unsurprisingly, when JiuLi proceeded to enhance and reinforce this weapon with guandao qi, she didn’t encounter even the slightest bit of resistance.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

While I didn’t expect us to have any trouble during the opening stages of our “Heavenly Ascension,” there was always the possibility that someone would surprise us with an overpowered blessing. So, with several days to go before our next fight, my companions and I decided to watch a few of the other matches to help us better understand what we’d be up against.

“Well,” said YuLong, watching a third-round bout between a couple of Second-Class Sects. “They aren’t terrible. They’re nowhere near as skilled as those First-Class Sects, but they at least show promise. With the right training, they might even become decent.”

“That’s what they’re here for,” I said, nodding. “People join Third-Class Sects because they don’t have any other options. Those in the Second-Class Sects, however, are hoping to perform well enough to get recruited by one of the Seven- or Eight-Star Sects. Most don’t have the knowledge or experience it would take to reach that level on their own.”

“And those higher-level sects?” asked Kan. “Why are they here?”

I grinned. “Them? They’re here for us. I doubt anyone actually cares about winning a Seven-Star Tournament in some remote outpost. No, they want the prize for stopping a First-Class Sect’s Ascension. Though, they are probably looking to step on the heads of a few rivals in the process.”

“Oh? What would they get?” asked Meng LuYao.

I shook my head. “I’m not really sure. I never cared enough to look into it. Besides, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not like they’re actually going to be able to stop us.”

“And them?” asked JiuLi, motioning to a couple of youths in light blue robes.

I let out a light sigh as I used energy vision to view the inactive cores of the two men opposite us. “I’d say they’re just here to have fun and seek out challenging opponents. After all, what could this outpost possibly have that would interest a group of Peak Lords who are preparing to ascend to Martial King?”

As a somber mood began to overtake our group, YuLong placed a large hand on my shoulder. “Relax. Right now, they’re just Disciples, the same as us. Fang and I will be able to win without much difficulty. That just leaves you three to secure one final win.”

Both Kan and JiuLi glanced over at Meng LuYao, but she shook her head, unsure.

YuLong placed his other hand on Kan’s shoulder and turned us around to leave. “Come on. I made reservations for one of the outpost’s best restaurants. It sells a few dishes made from Rank 1 demon beasts, and we can use them to bulk up before our next match. Let’s stop worrying about the future and go eat.”

“Again?” asked Meng LuYao. “Didn’t that last restaurant cause enough of a headache?”

“Don’t worry. This is just a normal place to go and eat food—I checked. No crazy challenges, no Young Masters. Trust me.”

Unlike the place we had visited in Black Point City, the restaurant that YuLong brought us to was simple and unadorned. Our room had a couple of windows and a few pieces of calligraphy lining the walls, but nothing indicated it was anything other than a modest, ordinary restaurant.

About ten minutes after we sat down, the waiters began bringing out the dishes that YuLong had ordered. Everything looked good, but right as I lifted my chopsticks for the first bite, the door to our room slid open, and a flustered waiter hurried inside.

“Excuse me,” the waiter said, breathless. “This room has been reserved by another patron. We’ll need to move your group elsewhere.”

Putting down our chopsticks, we all turned to glare at YuLong.

He lifted his hands defensively. “What? I checked. This is just a normal restaurant.”

I looked at the waiter. “Are you sure you wish to kick us out?”

“Sir, apologies. I… I don’t—”

As the waiter tried to explain, three men in black robes walked into the room and looked down at us with mocking gazes.

“Why haven’t you scurried out of our room yet?” the man at the front sneered. “Isn’t that what you’re famous for?”

“Blackblade Hall?” I asked, unimpressed.

Their only response was a round of low, mocking chuckles.

Kan gave these men a tight, strained smile. “What—”

The group’s leader stepped forward and, without hesitation, grabbed several pieces of meat from one of our dishes with his bare hand. And, as he did so, thin tendrils of some unfamiliar energy slipped from his fingertips and wriggled their way into most of the food on our table.

Studying this man more closely, I found that his energy body was… odd. Like his companions, he cultivated saber qi. However, where their qi was nearly pristine, his was clouded with heavy impurities. Stranger still, he hadn’t sent any saber qi into our food, only ‘impurities.’

The only way I could make sense of this was by assuming that he cultivated some type of multi-element technique I had never seen before. If so, where had he gotten it—and where could I find a copy of it?

Off to my left, Kan’s frown dissolved into a grin. “Hey, Fang, the only reason we got in trouble for killing that kid in Black Point was because he was a noble, right? These idiots are just nobodies of some random sect. Does that mean we can off them without anyone caring?”

The idiot on the right glared at him. “What did you say?”

Ignoring this, I turned to Kan. “It’s complicated. These men were hired to punish us during our Heavenly Ascension. If the Bureau decides that we assassinated them outside of an officially sanctioned match, they might levy severe penalties against us, including the loss of any protection from the sect’s Grandmasters. If they were to attack us first—in any way whatsoever—this rule wouldn’t apply. However, if we killed them, the Martial Master who’s waiting right outside would have a valid justification for attacking us.”

I looked from Kan to the three idiots. “That might even be the goal. Sacrifice three pawns to open us up to reprisal. Why risk losing to us in the arena if they don’t have to?”

Smiling at the trio, I reached over, picked up one of the pieces of meat that had been tainted by impure qi, and took a large bite, savoring the flavor.

Upon seeing this, the group’s leader gave me a nasty glare and snorted. “Enjoy your meal.”

As they left, I allowed the foreign qi to invade my body, curious to see what it would do. However, when it only spread itself thin throughout my torso in an attempt to remain hidden, I decided not to take any further risks and expelled it using my qi affinity. Then, I quickly cleansed the rest of our food while doing my best to make it look as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

I still wanted to learn more about that man’s strange mix of energies, but that would have to wait until we faced him in the arena.