Anna had to brute force the puzzles, and yanked it repeatedly for hours. It still didn’t work. She stared at the puzzle, trying to understand what it was trying to do. But frustrated, she decided to stop.

  She tried for hours and didn’t work. Instead, she looked around the room and began to notice strange patterns carved into the walls. The more she stared at the strange patterns, she began to realize they are clues on how to solve the puzzle.

  “Wait. The solution was here all along?”

  She checked the walls some more, and eventually realized they were indeed the solutions, and quickly used them to move to the next room.

  There, she faced a room with four doors once more, with the same four numbers. Half. Three-quarters, Nine-tenths, and One.

  She stared. She didn’t understand what the numbers meant, but there was enough literature on the meaning of numbers in cultivation that she roughly knew that to be one is often profound.

  “One. It means full. It means- all? Okay. That’s probably not good. Not for someone like me.” Anna was realistic with her own abilities, and concluded she wasn’t going to be on that end. So she decided that she was probably on the other side. “Half. Half it is.”

  ***

  A copy of herself stood there menacingly as she felt the floor flashed in light. “Oh. So, original me. Are you better than me?”

  Anna stared at the replica of herself. “What in the world-”

  A metal spear almost grazed her, and yet it missed. Anna managed to block it in time, and ducked.

  She could sense she was fairly evenly matched with the copy of herself. It was just a hunch. A feeling. A vague sensation in her mind.

  Her spear met the opponent. Half. What did it all mean? “What are you?”

  “I am half. It is where a version of you made half of your choices correctly.” The copy said, and the spears sparked as they met. Steel on steel, Anna felt the spear’s force push back against hers. The copy had a set of moves different from hers.

  “You’re not really a copy.” Anna realized.

  “No. I am a simulation. A prediction. You have metal spirit roots, and I possess similar techniques to those of your origin. Like this.” The copy’s skin suddenly turned silverish, and it rammed into her.

  The force of impact pushed against Anna, but yet, she held. Anna knew a similar ability, and she used the spears to support her ground. “Half. If I am as strong as you, that means I made half of my choices correctly?”

  “Yes. But are you as strong as me?” The fake said, and in a burst, pushed against her. “No, you are not. You’re weaker.”

  Anna didn’t believe it even though it did push her back. That burst of strength wasn’t much, even if it did catch her off guard. No. This was an illusion. These words are meant to goad her, just like how so many young masters often taunted her. She briefly wondered how Edison or Larian would fare. In a way, Anna suspected Larian would perform best.

  “So, weakling.” The fake taunted her. “What will you do?”

  Half. There was a world of difference between half and three quarters.

  One was a path upwards, one was a mistake for every correct decision. Though the Fake’s words stung, yet she knew the gap between them was slim. She took a breath. “Me? Easy. I’ll beat you up.”

  ***

  Tundra waited in the large plateau on the mountainside. There were tents all over, and some of the Princess’s men even provided refreshments.

  Unlike that time at the Hailstorm Temple, they were not given entry by the Keymaster to the observation room, so all they could do was wait outside. Maybe because the observation room allowed them to view every other sect’s participants, and that was a larger problem.

  Edison was first to be sent out, something that everyone else noticed. There was chatter, but Tundra ignored it. Zuri walked over, she too was waiting for her disciples to exit from the treasure realm.

  “How is he?”

  “Battered, but he’ll be fine.” Tundra said. Edison slept in a large tent provided by the Princess’s men.

  “I see.”

  “Also, I met your brother.”

  That made Zuri’s face turn red. “My apologies, Lord Fox. My brother- he has a tendency not to filter what he thinks.”

  “It’s a refreshing change.” Tundra smiled weakly. “Honesty is a rare thing in the cultivation world where everyone’s scheming against each other.”

  Zuri coughed. “Only if one has the strength to back it up.”

  “True.” Tundra said, as he picked up the cup of tea he made. He didn’t bring any servants this time, but he wasn’t above making his own pots of tea. “Want some?”

  Zuri looked at Tundra, and back at the other sects. It was about then when one of the other Sect’s elders came over. A man from the Greenstone Hold. “Greetings Lord Fox and Lady Blackpetals. I am Waiyan Lith, one of the Grand Elders of the Greenstone Hold.”

  The man was in the seventh realm, and a peer. The two stood to receive him. “Welcome.” Tundra said, and quickly offered a seat and tea. “Would you like to join us for some tea?”

  The man nodded. “Gladly!”

  The three sat in a makeshift circle around a small fire. A simple steel kettle boiled water over the small fire.

  “So, I saw your- disciple was the first to be ejected. How is he?” Waiyan asked, curious. Tundra merely nodded in sympathy.

  “Son.” Tundra said. “He’s fine. Injured, but he will heal.”

  Elder Lith merely sipped his tea. “I see. I hope he doesn’t take failure too harshly.”

  Tundra merely shook his head, and helped himself to one of the chunks of bread shared by the Princess’s representatives. “On the contrary, I hope he does take it harshly. My boy needs it.”

  “Ah. So this is well, this is well. A good lesson is sometimes needed, how else do we discipline our children” Elder Lith took another sip. Tundra knew that was an awkward response. “They should be in there for up to five days, especially if they managed to reach the pool.”

  Still, Zuri looked at the fellow elder. “So, has the Greenstone Hold decided to throw its support behind her highness Princess Luharl?”

  “Yes.” Elder Waiyan Lith answered frankly. “Princess Luharl represents those of us who wish to be exempt from the upcoming struggle.”

  “Oh?” Zuri asked. “Are you sure Princess Luharl will stand aside and let Prince Gomerl, Prince Yaorl, Prince Kaorl and Princess Ziyarl fight it out? Our sect master doubts Princess Luharl’s ability to stand aside, and also doubts the ability of the other Princes to respect her supposed independence. She will be forced to choose, just as they have all forced us to choose.”

  “I see your point, Elder Blackpetals, but in the wisdom of my Sect Master, Duke Pebblebroth, we are a demon-hunting sect, and our good name should see us through these troubled times.”

  “Your master places much faith in the courage of other sects to speak up for you.” Lady Blackpetals countered.

  “At the very least, we will wait until the winning horse is clear.”

  “Much can change in a moment.” The Crimson Lotus Spire’s elder countered.

  “There are many other cooks meddling with the soup.” Tundra commented. “And many other treasonous sycophants whispering foul poisons that have the ears of the Princes.”

  “That is a dangerous thing to say, Lord Fox.” Lady Blackpetals laughed, and pretended to look around.

  Tundra shrugged, as a second person was suddenly ejected. It came from one of the smaller sects. That sect’s Elder and assistants quickly stepped in to help the injured person. Soon after, a few more were ejected.

  It seemed most of them failed at the stage where they faced a mirror of their own.

  Then, Larian was ejected. Battered and bruised, but he too failed the battle with the mirror. Tundra stood. “It seems my son has also emerged from the sect. We can speak again later.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  ***

  Larian lost, but unlike Edison, he seemed fairly mentally intact. Tundra approached his son, and asked. “How was it?”

  “I lost, but- it felt like I could’ve won. I made some mistakes in the battle.” Larian said after he ate a healing pill.

  Tundra merely tapped his son on the shoulder. “It is fine. Rest well, Edison’s already resting.”

  That surprised Larian. “Wait, Edison’s already out?”

  “Yes.” Tundra helped Larian to their assigned tent. Edison was still asleep. Larian looked at Edison, and back at him. “Is- is he alright?”

  “Yes. In some ways. Rest. The others might take a day or two more.” Tundra answered, and Larian looked at his father with words he wanted to say. For some reason, he did..

  “I- I am sorry, father. We must be disappointments in your eyes.” Larian said, as if it blurted out.

  Tundra paused and looked at genuine sorrow in his son’s eyes, and let out a sigh. “Yes. I do feel a little disappointed. But it is what it is. We will try again, and again. The path of cultivation is a long one. Stumbles are common, and this will not be the first, or the last.”

  The father looked at the son, and the son looked back at him. “Have you stumbled?”

  “Yes. Maybe some didn’t consider it that way, but I’ve tried to find ways to turn my stumbles into sources of learning and new strength.”

  ***

  Blood stained her hair. Blood stained her face. But the fake Anna was dead. One of her hands was broken. Anna won, and a door opened.

  She didn’t know whether there were any other challenges after this, so she ate a healing pill.

  The pill’s effects were much weaker. She took a few during the fight itself, and it strained her spirit. She could feel it.

  She waited for an hour, and some of her wounds closed. Then she walked to the door, and walked through it.

  There was a golden pool on the other side, and on a pedestal at the side, was a silver spear.

  A voice spoke from the walls itself.

  “The trials are over, and here are your rewards. The weapon you see is yours, as are the powers of the pool. Take a long dip into the golden pool, it will heal your wounds and grant you an improvement to your physique and your spiritual roots.”

  Anna felt the tension in her shoulders. “Well, I guess that’s it.”

  The pool was warm, and she felt herself melt into it.

  ***

  Another three days passed, and everyone came out at the same time. The Princess Representative smiled. “These are those who completed the Treasure Realm, and have received a blessing from the Golden Pools.

  They emerged with a valuable treasure, an improvement to their spirit roots and also an improvement to their physique.

  Edison, who was awake, looked distant. He didn’t want to see those who succeed. “I’ll continue resting, father.” He said, as if realizing that this was it. Maybe he knew. After all this time, he finally realized where he stood.

  Tundra gave his son space. “Then have a good rest.”

  Eight of the ten who went completed the trails, though the effects of the golden pool was only on those fifth realm and below, it was a noticeable improvement for all of them.

  “Father.” Anna said, and Tundra smiled proudly. She looked radiant. Stronger. Tundra blinked slightly, and realized how much she looked like her deceased mother. He banished that thought.

  “You did well, Anna.” He tapped her shoulder once.

  “The reward-” Anna wanted to pass the spear to Tundra, and Tundra shook his head.

  “It is yours. It is you who made the journey.”

  Larian, who wasn’t too affected by his failure, was there to greet his half-sister. Then, the rest of his disciples emerged, all a little stronger than before, and with their own set of weapons.

  “Sect Master.” They greeted him, and displayed their rewards. The weapons were all from an older era, made by a master craftsman and likely a strong cultivator. It would serve most of them well.

  Tundra expected all of them to succeed, and they did. “Good job. You all deserve some rest. There will be a banquet to celebrate the successes once we return to Luharlia. It will be customary to say our thanks to the Princess for this opportunity.”

  The banquet was a usual royal affair, with gaudy decorations.

  Those present gave three toasts of thanks to the royal house, though some of them would be invited to meet with the Princess personally. A few of the Princess’s ministers made the rounds to catch up, shore up relationships and generally engage in the ancient art of networking.

  Then came the bombshell. “Sect Master Fox, you’re invited for a private audience.” An agent of the Princess approached him as the event gradually came to an end.”.

  ***

  Edison stared out of the window of the guestroom, and felt empty. The rest of the Verdant Snow would be at the banquet. As the sun’s glow faded and evening came, the skyline was filled with little rows of lanterns. Shops. Homes. Lanterns were a common way of lighting up the night.

  The wounds have already healed. He could walk.

  Yet now there was a scar in his heart. He failed. More importantly, he was the first one to be ejected.

  His father said that failures were common. Yet, it still stung in a way that was different.

  He never felt like running away before. Yet today, as Anna and the rest of the Verdant Snow Sect was at the imperial palace for a banquet, he wondered what it’d be like to run away. What would it be like to vanish into the darkness?

  He didn’t know why. The room felt stuffy. Everything wasn’t right.

  The more he looked around, the more it all didn’t make sense, and so, he walked out of the door. No one stopped him. The guards merely nodded. Larian noticed him walking out.

  “Taking a walk?”

  Edison shrugged, and ignored his older half-brother. His mind was occupied. He was the untalented young master.

  The streets were busy. So many people. There were other cultivators stronger than him here. So many of them.

  Some of the elite guards were in the peak of the 3rd realm, and with their high quality equipment, a group of them could take him down.

  He stared. He wandered the streets.

  Yet he remembered the taunts of the mirror image of himself.

  “You’re a failure.”

  He shook his head, and then, there was a beautiful woman in front of him. “Hello, handsome. You look like you could use a hand.”

  Edison snarled, and walked away. “What do you know?”

  Yet the woman held him with an unnatural strength. “I know a lot. I know you were the first to be eliminated in the treasure realm. You’re a failure.”

  Edison turned as his anger surged at those words. “I am not-”

  The woman was still there, and smiled at him. “But guess what, I love failures like you.”

  “Really?” Edison frowned, a little suspicious. But his mind was still a little hazy, and it felt as if nothing really mattered. He looked at the woman blankly, and sighed. “Whatever, go away.”

  He turned to walk away.

  “OH?” The woman said there and asked. “What if I tell you there’s a way to gain power without the normal ways of cultivation?”

  The young master looked at the woman, and shook his head. He may be a failure, but a part of him still knew of the temptations that existed in the wider world. He shook his head some more, and continued to walk away. “Not interested. I’ll wallow in my pathetic sorrows with some rice wine.”

  The woman blinked.

  Edison walked away.

  The woman seemed unable to believe it, so she said. “If you ever change your mind. Head to the Murian Swamps.”

  Edison just waved his hand while he continued walking away, as if shoo-ing her off. He may be a pathetic failure, but he wasn’t that stupid to fall for such obvious scams.

  ***

  Meanwhile, Tundra Fox felt the gaze of the ninth realm spirit guardian on his flesh the moment he walked through the imperial palace’s doors. The female attendant guided him swiftly, and soon he was in a room with a bamboo screen, and lit with candles.

  Tundra knelt, as he sensed the presence of the Princess behind the screen. He kowtowed, as is customary when meeting the royal family, his forehead touched the knitted floor. “I greet the Royal Princess Luharlia. It is an honor to-”

  “Greetings, Lord Tundra Fox.” She spoke, cutting him off from the rest of the usual pleasantries of imperial interactions. “Make yourself comfortable. I had my people look into your achievements, and it is most interesting.”

  Tundra answered with usual imperial decorum. Humility before the crown. “They are just minor accomplishments.”

  “Oh? I suppose so. Duke Hadrian Thunderstone commented on your contributions most heavily.”

  Tundra blinked. Duke Hadrian Thunderstone of the Scarlet Thunder Sect was affiliated with Princess Luharl?

  “Did you know his mother was my grand aunt?” The Princess declared.

  Tundra blinked again. That- that wasn’t in any records, or in any of the-

  “Ah, never mind. More importantly, I have a task for you, Sect Master Fox.”

  Tundra listened, and wondered what hell he would have to pay.

  “There are agents that work against the Imperial Family. That is known, and though the Golden Dragon is unmatched in the light of day, in the night, even Dragons can be slain. I have a niece, a beautiful young woman. Her imperial bloodline is suppressed, and I want you to take her as a daughter, and as a disciple. Adopt her as your own, train her, make her strong, but keep her imperial bloodline hidden and suppressed. Hide her from the world for me, and those who scheme against us. I trust you to know who you can tell, but here.”

  A green token dropped in front of him. A [Thought Sealing Token].

  “This should keep it secret in the minds of those who you want to tell.”

  Tundra blinked. An imperial family member as an adopted daughter?

  “Now, to make it worth it for you, one of my personal elders will join the Verdant Snow Sect, and he will be at your disposal. Whether you admit him as an elder, or keep him hidden, that is entirely your call. He will also deliver some of the treasures of the Royal Family, some for my niece, and some for your sect to use as you please.”

  He blinked. “Will she have access to the Golden Dragon’s gift?”

  “If she reaches the sixth realm, the seal on her bloodline will be removed, though I suggest you do so carefully. My niece’s gift is far, far stronger than even mine, her connection to the Golden Dragon is something I want to protect, and you should know why.”

  The regressor blinked.

  A powerful tool. But an obligation. “Does she know?”

  “No. As of now, she is just an ordinary girl serving as one of my many, many attendants.” The Princess said. “You’re not convinced it’s worth it.”

  “I am still weighing the cost, your majesty.”

  “I am a seventh realm member of the royal family, Tundra Fox. There is no cost I cannot pay. I have the treasury of all my predecessors at my fingertips. Here. Something to make it worth it.” A golden ball emerged, and Tundra’s eyes blinked. He could feel the power of the ninth realm emanating from within. “A spirit guardian for your sect, entirely at your disposal.”

  A sealed spirit guardian won’t be active all the time unless sustained by a powerful source of power, but in a great pinch, or a sudden attack, it could be a huge boon. No, this was the kind of power that turned the tide of battle. Though nothing compared to the secret spirit guardian of Luharlia, this spirit guardian could still put up a moment of resistance. With the Princess’s personal elder joining his retinue, this was very lopsided in his favor.

  “The threats must be dangerous for you to do so, your majesty.”

  The Princess sighed. “They only are dangerous because the fangs of the family now turn on each other. If us half-siblings were united, there is nothing to fear from these things.”

  Tundra couldn’t help but agree.

  The rot from within is most dangerous indeed.

  [End of Book 1]