“I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” Li Kang whined. Maybe Bai Ning was being uncharitable, but after hearing it more than three times, she couldn’t call it anything other than whining.

  “It makes sense,” Chen Zhuhe said with admirable patience, running a hand over his bald head and drumming his fingers like he did when playing with his bead necklace. “Teams can be disqualified for not showing up with their tiles. We’ll be grouped together for a period, confined to a single area under standard protections. Shen Taixu framed the no-violence rule carefully, but also made it clear we can still obtain the tiles.… everything points to this conclusion.”

  “Besides,” Bai Ning cut in before Li Kang could dismiss them again, “if we were wrong, Master Mo Jian would have said something like, ‘Clearly those jade slips have rotted your brain, disciple,’ or ‘Maybe you aren’t as clever as I thought.’ The fact that he stayed silent? That’s proof we’re on the right track.”

  Li Kang, however, refused to be convinced. Bai Ning wondered if he was stuck in some kind of whiny mode, and that he wouldn’t stop until he had exhausted it. “This is a tournament sponsored by Ancestor Qing and the righteous sects. Do you really think they’d allow, or worse – according to you – make a provision, for stealing?”

  Yue Shuangyi snorted lightly, a hint of amusement in her tone. “Clearly, you have a romanticized view of the righteous sects. Trust me, there’s very little a cultivator won’t do if they feel it’s necessary. My Master has told me enough stories.” She rolled her eyes. “Besides, it’s not just him. The tournament is sponsored by the unorthodox faction too, and cultivators from the mainland are also participating. Hardly a ‘righteous’ tournament, as you imagine.”

  While Li Kang sputtered, the others took the opportunity to examine the assigned residences for the second round.

  It was not yet midnight, but the four of them had arrived early, both to inspect the place where they would spend the next six hours and also to properly discuss their plans.

  All in all, looking at the place, Bai Ning felt that her idea was the correct one.

  The residences occupied a fully sectioned-off portion of the cloud ring. An enormous fence of cloudstone enclosed the area, inside which square, blocky houses were arranged in perfect rows and grids. Each residence was modestly spacious, enough for four cultivators to live with comfort and privacy, yet deliberately basic. Each house was shielded by its own formation: a dome of white, translucent light that shimmered faintly.

  Even from the outside, it was obvious that the formations were both rudimentary and unremarkable.

  They were met at the entrance by a single cultivator in silver robes, dully handing out small wooden slips with house numbers. The team collected theirs, number fourteen, and meandered through the residences to find it. It took less than a minute; the houses were arranged numerically.

  Number fourteen was a square structure made of greyish-brown stone, with simple wooden doors and paper windows. The formation around it shimmered faintly but offered no obstruction. They stepped inside to a plain entryway, which led to a central meeting space and doors to four separate rooms. Furnishings were minimal: only four hard-backed chairs. The rest of the space was entirely bare.

  Bai Ning surveyed the austere interior with a wry grimace. “They couldn’t even spring for pillows?” she muttered.

  “A true cultivator,” said Yue Shuangyi, who somehow looked regal even in such a paltry place, “has no attachment to earthly luxuries.” Then her mien softened. “Still, it wouldn’t have killed them to provide a few creature comforts.”

  Chen Zhuhe, meanwhile, focused on something else entirely. Beside the entryway sat the formation disk controlling the dome over their residence. He placed his hands on it, infusing qi into the mechanism, and within moments, the formation shifted to deny entry to anyone else. Tossing the disk onto one of the chairs, he said, “It’s basically trash. The Five-Point Formation. This couldn’t stop a rank-two demonic beast, let alone a mediocre cultivator. If this is their level of security, we should have an easy time.”

  The others stared at him in surprise. He simply shrugged. “What? I have a passing interest in formations. I know a little.”

  Then he scanned the room, eyes alight. “That reminds me-what if I…” With a swift gesture, five inch-long formation flags shot from his storage pouch, settling into positions around the house. A formation plate, the apparent main disk of the setup, floated from the pouch into his waiting palm.

  A rush of qi surged through the space, and a faint blue dome rose outside the existing white one, enveloping their residence in a second, more intricate formation. He tucked the disk back into his pouch and hummed contentedly.

  Bai Ning watched with keen interest. She hadn’t recognized those flags or the disk, which meant that it was an unfamiliar formation to her. Not surprising; there were countless formations in the world, and she was far from an expert. “Which formation was that, Brother Chen?” she asked.

  “The Wind and Water Clashing Formation,” Chen Zhuhe replied proudly. “It took me considerable effort to acquire the inscription for it, but it has proven its worth many times. We should be safe under it, even if another team tries to target us, though why anyone would, I can’t say.”

  Before Bai Ning could respond, Yue Shuangyi pulled up one of the chairs and spoke grimly, “That brings up a good point. The Fan Team may have set up a personal formation around their residence. What do we do in that situation?”

  A tense silence settled over the room.

  Li Kang finally broke it with a heavy sigh. “Since we’ve come this far, why hesitate? It’s obvious Brother Chen has some attainments in formations. We should scout out their residence once they arrive, then see if we can break through and steal their storage pouches. At the same time, maybe one of us can serve as a distraction…” He lifted a hand to his chin, clearly thinking ahead.

  Bai Ning blinked, surprised at his sudden willingness to cooperate after whining for so long, but she took it in stride. “Sounds like a plan. I know a little about formations myself, so I can help Brother Chen. But we also need to move unseen, and more importantly, we need a way to steal all their storage pouches without alerting them. Getting in is only the first step; we have to plan for what comes after.”

  Yue Shuangyi hesitantly raised a hand. “Loath as I am to admit it… you can leave the sneaking part to me. I have a treasure that allows for unobserved movement. A gift from my master. I can get us close and ensure that, so long as you’re careful with your attempts, we pass unnoticed.”

  The three of them exchanged a look, and wisely chose not to press for details.

  “That takes care of getting close,” Chen Zhuhe said. “But a distraction is also a good idea. Something to draw their attention away, and give us the chance to steal anything right under their noses.”

  “Heh.” Li Kang chuckled. “Maybe I can be the distraction. The proctor said fighting is forbidden, but we can still attempt to trade. So if I position myself outside their residence and be as annoying as I can be…”

  Yue Shuangyi stared at him like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, while Bai Ning and Chen Zhuhe grinned openly.

  “Good,” Bai Ning said, clapping her hands once. “That settles the approach. Now, if we can also figure out a way to put them all to sleep or something once we’re inside, we’ll be golden.”

  Yue Shuangyi coughed lightly. “Now that you mention it… I may have something that can work. It’s not often useful, so it slipped my mind. But if we’re quiet and undetected, and their protections are down, I can actually put them all to sleep within a few minutes. That should be more than enough.”

  Bai Ning couldn’t believe it. She almost wanted to laugh out loud. “Amazing,” she said triumphantly. “It’s all coming together. We can do this.”

  Even Li Kang gave a firm nod along with the others, determination shining in all their faces.

  Yes, indeed, they could do it. The Heavens were clearly on their side.

  ………………………

  “There’s no way we can do it,” Li Kang whined.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Bai Ning ground her teeth. “Weren’t you just cheering for the exact opposite a while ago?”

  Li Kang’s voice took on a distinctly nasal quality. “That was when we had no idea what sort of protections our opponents would have. Look at that! Even I can tell that’s a top?notch formation.”

  Unfortunately, he wasn’t wrong. Chen Zhuhe hadn’t moved a muscle since they had slipped close enough to study the barrier. He stared intently at it, muttering under his breath, while even Yue Shuangyi, who knew little about formation mechanics, looked suitably impressed by the glowing dome and the talismanic characters swirling constantly across its surface.

  “It’s the Endless Worlds Two-Story Formation,” Bai Ning said quietly. “It’s not unbreakable… just hard. And maybe having a famous formation to break into is actually good for us? Since it’s so well known, the weaknesses should be glaringly well known too.”

  The last part she added a little desperately, directing her words toward Chen Zhuhe.

  He ignored her for a long moment, just as he had ignored all of them since beginning his examination. Bai Ning would have assumed he was thinking aloud – he didn’t have the Thousand Arrays Formation in hand – but apparently, he was still managing to analyze it all the same.

  At last, he spoke. “No. It’s the other way around. It’s well known because it doesn’t have glaringly obvious flaws. And they’ve set it down properly too. The qi flows inside and outside are smooth, with no imperfections I can sense.” He sighed. “We can maybe get through it, but there’s no guarantee. Especially not if someone inside is monitoring it constantly. A static formation is one thing; a formation that fights back is quite another. This… won’t be easy.”

  Yue Shuangyi pursed her lips, studying the dome again. “I can keep us hidden, but if we’re going to manage this, then the distraction becomes crucial. I know we joked about it before, but Li Kang, are you sure you can manage it properly?”

  If nothing else, that snapped him out of his whining.

  “Ha!” he boasted, folding his arms. “Don’t underestimate me, Fairy. I have over a dozen younger martial brothers and sisters. I know exactly how to drive any cultivator to the brink of madness with the right words. Trust me, I’ve been pushed to that ledge myself a few times.”

  He shuddered theatrically, and Bai Ning wasn’t sure whether to laugh or shake her head in pity.

  “Then this is as good a time as any to start,” Chen Zhuhe said. “I can start attempting to slip past this formation, and Sister Bai Ning can assist me. Fairy Yue-” he gave her a small, respectful bow, “-will keep us hidden from prying eyes.” He exchanged a look with Li Kang. “Brother, I’ll leave the diversion to you.”

  Li Kang nodded solemnly and slipped out of the moonlit shroud surrounding them. The shroud, conjured by the silver mirror Yue Shuangyi had taken out, muffled sight, sound, and spiritual sense, leaving only a faint glow of pale light in its place.

  Bai Ning watched as he crept toward the edge of the Fan Team’s formation, paused just outside the barrier… and then bellowed at a volume that could have startled passing ghosts.

  “Oi! You bastards of the Fan Team, this Li Kang has come to bargain! Come out and face me, or forever be known as cowards! You, your parents, your sisters, ALL cowards! Your friends and pets too! In fact, your entire family tree is nothing but – and listen carefully now – A GENERATIONAL FOREST OF COWARDICE!”

  He drew a dramatic breath, raising a hand like a poet about to recite a masterpiece. “I should compose a poem for you! Once there was a coward, whose courage ran away; It tripped, fell off a cliff, and hasn’t been found to this day-”

  Bai Ning pressed her lips together to stifle her reaction and turned away, focusing instead on Chen Zhuhe as he finally produced a familiar-looking formation disk. The Thousand Arrays Inscription Formation; mostly useless for its original purpose, but an excellent tool for probing other formations.

  Bai Ning mirrored him, her own formation disk and flags shooting out of her storage pouch to settle neatly into her hands.

  They already knew what formation they were dealing with. This round of probing wasn’t to identify it, but to hunt for clues: any imperfections, rhythms, or subtle detail they could exploit. After that would come the real work: layering another formation atop it without tripping any warnings, then using the resulting clash between the two arrays to force an opening in the Endless Worlds Two-Story Formation.

  For that, they needed a formation similar enough to interact, yet different enough to destabilize the original. Still, Bai Ning wasn’t worried. If Chen Zhuhe didn’t have something suitable in his storage pouch, he would have said so already.

  As they worked, intermittent sounds drifted inside their little concealing bubble:

  “-Let me go, brother! I’m going to kick his ass-”

  “-Will you stop that hollering, you deranged buffoon? How does this not count as violence, proctor?-”

  “-A trembling little bean; his shadow scared him daily, and his sneeze made him scream-” Li Kang continued enthusiastically.

  “-Argh, that’s it! Tomorrow, I’m trading your tiles to someone else, I swear-”

  Bai Ning winced. Their targets were distracted, yes, but this might be going a little too far. They didn’t want to drive them into a full-blown rage. On the other hand, if Li Kang’s performance was truly that disruptive, they could have manipulated the formation from the inside to mute the commotion. The fact they hadn’t implied either they were aware something was going on, and were trying to bait Li Kang into revealing it, or perhaps, she thought with a shiver, they were… masochists.

  Bai Ning quickly wiped that thought away and refocused.

  She leaned closer to Chen Zhuhe, sharpening her attention. Together, they began to break down the formation before them. Time to clear the second round.

  ……………………..

  They hadn’t managed to clear the second round during the night, so by morning they were once again descending toward the island, and the arena, below, joining the rest of the participants.

  “At least it was a good attempt,” Bai Ning said consolingly, offering what comfort she could to the others, who looked just as exhausted as she felt. “We learned enough that another chance should allow us to break in.”

  Only Li Kang looked fresh as a daisy, his energy apparently renewed rather than sapped after a night of reciting horrible poetry.

  Unfortunately, all their humor drained the instant the second round began.

  The first team stepped onto the stage and bowed to Shen Taixu. “We challenge the team with the Fan-stamped tiles to battle.” The cultivator in the front also held up his own tile; displaying a snake emblazoned on its surface.

  The team they were referring to was the very one Bai Ning and the others had been trying to steal from. Instead of fighting or even denying the match, the Fan Team cast mocking glances at Bai Ning and her group, clearly intending to savor every moment of schadenfreude.

  Bai Ning and her teammates exchanged helpless looks, gritting their teeth, before making their way onto the stage. Bai Ning bowed to the proctor. “Our team, bearing the Wheel-stamped tiles, would be pleased to fight on behalf of the Fan Team.”

  The proctor waved a hand lazily. “Allowed. Begin.”

  The word had barely left his lips before the opposing team surged forward. At their head charged a cultivator at the final stage of Foundation Establishment, his twin swords of yin and yang gleaming in stark contrast. Close on his heels, a female cultivator uncorked a gourd and hurled crackling beads of energy across the arena. Behind them came what appeared to be a sibling pair: one raising a heavy shield in defense while the other cast a golden net that unfurled and expanded mid-air.

  All of it was swept aside in an instant.

  Yue Shuangyi stepped forward, lotus in hand, and with a single sweep of her arm unleashed a tide of frost that rolled across half the arena. Bai Ning’s Green Karma Sword descended from the flank, severing the golden net, much to its wielder’s astonishment, before meeting the yin-yang swordsman in a ringing clash of steel.

  Li Kang’s flying sword streaked toward the shield-bearer, pinning him down, while Chen Zhuhe intercepted the woman wielding the gourd.

  Then Yue Shuangyi lifted her lotus once more and breathed softly across its petals. They scattered like shards of crystalline moonlight, each fragment lengthening into a blade of ice that fell upon their opponents in a rain of stars.

  The yin-yang swordsman strained against Bai Ning’s ribbon-like blade, his dual swords spinning in tight, furious arcs as he tried to drive her back. His partner with the gourd fared worse. Chen Zhuhe’s bead treasures were clearly superior; after a single exchange she found herself on the defensive. One of her crackling beads met one of his expanded ones, sent flying from the necklace at his throat, and when the explosion cleared, his bead emerged with nothing more than a scorched surface.

  Her expression tightened; obviously, the gulf between their abilities was wider than she had realized.

  The shield-bearer staggered beneath Li Kang’s relentless strikes, each blow landing like a hammer and denting the defensive barrier around him. Behind him, his sibling tried repeatedly to reshape the torn remnants of the golden net, but Bai Ning’s earlier strike had severed it fully; it now responded sluggishly, as though reluctant to obey its master.

  Above it all, the cold radiance of Yue Shuangyi’s lotus reigned supreme.

  Icy blades rained down in elegant, merciless arcs, shredding the enemy formation. Frost bloomed across the tiled stage, creeping around ankles and numbing fingers, draining spiritual energy with every breath of chilled air.

  The woman with the gourd could not defend herself, too occupied fending off Chen Zhuhe, and an ice blade struck her full in the torso, knocking her out almost instantly. The shield-bearer held on longer, shielding himself and his sibling, but the leading swordsman was clipped by blade after blade. That was all the opening Bai Ning needed: her sword coiled around his body like a serpent and bound his arms to his sides. He thrashed, but Li Kang’s talisman struck him squarely, and he collapsed without further struggle.

  After that, it was simply mopping up.

  The sibling pair attempted a last-ditch resistance, hurling a flying dagger, but Yue Shuangyi caught it out of the air with her bare hand as it arced toward her from behind. Their faces paled. A heartbeat later, they surrendered. With most of their team already downed, it was clear to all present that this had never been a contest.

  It had been a dismantling. Bai Ning and her companions were simply their betters.

  Shen Taixu had watched form the side with his usual indifference, though even he showed a flicker of surprise at the speed and ease of the victory. He nodded once and declared, “Victory for the team with the wheel-stamped tiles. Collect your opponents’ snake tiles, but leave behind any others. Also-” he turned to address the wider circle of cultivators gathered around the stage “-the team with the sparrow tiles is hereby also eliminated, as four of their twelve tiles are now out of circulation.”

  Bai Ning and the rest stepped off the stage after offering a final bow to the proctor, and casting a pointed glare at the Fan team for good measure.

  Li Kang exhaled heavily. “We just need to make sure the Fan team doesn’t lose our tiles, and keep ourselves safe as well. Tonight, we’ll take what we need and clear the second round.”

  Bai Ning matched his sigh, already feeling the weight of the long day ahead. “Here’s hoping that moment comes sooner rather than later.”