《License to Cultivate [Progression Fantasy Tower Climber] (Binge Book 1&2 now!)》


 1. The Emperor

    The Emperor of the Central Kingdom hovered five li above the Great Heavenly Cultivation Tower, in the center of his broad domain. From here, thanks to his divinely sharp vision, he could see every corner of his lands¡ªnot just with physical sight, but with the ability to view lux as well. All his cultivation towers were working as they should, peacefully splitting lumos into lux, where it could be gathered by cultivators under his watchful eye and used to fuel their path and the security of his kingdom.


    He made a note of two towers that were showing signs of becoming out of balance. He would inform his administrators to prepare for a tower cull on them before they could spawn an eruption. From up here, he could sense the presence of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators in his realm, from those just starting their path of bodily refinement to the few dozen poised on the precipice of being able to convert lumos into lux on their own, without the need of a cultivation tower. He paid attention to those individuals at all times so that if any of them dared to take the critical step without his approval, he would know. He was considering allowing two of them to fight for that honor.


    He had six Prisms working under him currently, faithfully guarding and administrating the empire, pushing back its borders and keeping his people safe. Three of his Prisms were in the east right now, fortifying their defenses against the rival cultivators from the neighboring Asomeri continent. One watched the north for threats of divine beasts entering from the wilds. Another kept guard over the coastlands and ports of the southwest, where enemies sailed up from the Shashang Sea. In the west, his newest Prism was taking care of the nomad problem¡ªa delicate task that the emperor had watched over for centuries, now at last coming to a head.


    The emperor smiled over his realm, his own personal garden. For a thousand years, he had tended each newly sprouting cultivator, watching for promising sprouts to nourish into great trees to support and defend the empire, rooting out noxious weeds before they had a chance to take hold. He had ruled for so long, even he could barely remember a time before.


    He was about to descend to the imperial palace and seek out one of his consorts when a presence appeared on the northeastern border of his empire, passing rapidly over the vast desert that separated his fertile lands from the next nearest inhabited.


    He reached out with his lux senses, feeling out the newcomer, and stiffened. It was a foreign cultivator, one capable of splitting lumos on his own, therefore a potential threat. What was he doing here? Cultivators of that rank could gain nothing from the cultivation towers within the empire unless they somehow accessed the emperor''s own heavenly tower, which reached floors higher than any other in his land.


    The emperor, quicker than thought, moved to intercept. He considered summoning his nearest Prism. For the interloper to be moving so quickly, he must have full mastery of both indigo and violet lux. No, the emperor decided he would handle this matter himself. It had been some time since he''d had any kind of challenge. Perhaps this foreign cultivator would offer one.


    The emperor pulled his favorite weapon from void space. The enormous sword was twice as tall as an ordinary man, curved and with a sharp hook tip at the end. He infused it with orange lux, then carefully wove a four-color lux pattern that would enable it to slice through a cultivator''s lux barriers. The emperor himself wore a rainbow robe of pure lux, though to an untrained eye it looked like silk. As he raced to meet the newcomer, his long dark hair streamed behind him for li, each strand capable of absorbing lumos. His core was packed dense with pure lumos. Now he set it spinning, converting it to the lux he would need for this fight.


    Then, as he came within ten li of the new cultivator, the vast empty desert stretched out beneath him, he realized his mistake. There was not one presence. There were three. The strongest cultivator had been shielding the other two. Now, having no doubt sensed the emperor''s own presence, the lead cultivator had dropped his shields.


    The emperor reached out and sensed the others. They were nearly as strong as the first, all three capable of cracking lumos on their own.


    Now he could see them with his own eyes. One was a woman with dark red hair that fell to her knees and fanned out behind her. She wore trousers and a low-cut tunic that shimmered with condensed lux, and she carried a bow whose string was made of pure lumos. The other two were men. The first was a tall, strong-looking cultivator who could have been from the empire by his looks, with almond skin and dark slanted eyes. He wielded a pole staff with an orange lux blade at the end. The second was a shorter man, squat, with blonde hair in two long braids and an unkempt mass of hair dangling from his face¡ªa barbarian from a very distant land. He gripped an axe in both his hands.


    The emperor slowed and descended until he was hovering only a few thousand span above the desert. This was a good place for this confrontation. No one except these interlopers would be hurt. He began preparing several techniques as the lead cultivator stepped forward, dark eyes flashing, as he pointed his polearm sword at the emperor.


    "We have come to challenge your will, old man!¡± he shouted. ¡°We shall, by virtue of the strength granted by the heavens, wrest your holdings from you. We shall throw you down and consume your lux on our own ascension to heaven!¡±


    The woman nocked an arrow to her bow, bending it to focus on the emperor. The arrow itself was a braid of green, blue, and red lux, meant to punch through the emperor''s own shields and deal him a nasty blow. No doubt the green and blue lux would afflict him with debilitating ailments which he would be forced to fight off. The short, blonde man said nothing, just growled.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    The emperor smiled to himself. "Thank you for coming.¡± He put his hands together and bowed low, with the respect one cultivator would show an equal. "It has been too long since I faced a sufficient challenge. I welcome you."


    "Enough talking," the blonde man spat. "Time to die." He raced in. The woman loosed her arrow.


    The emperor unleashed one of the techniques he had been storing. A wall of lux snapped up between him and the arrow. As the arrow hit, it was deflected right back at its shooter. The woman''s eyes widened. She jumped away. The emperor unleashed another technique, a complicated weave made of three different braids combining the five base lux and enhancing them with indigo and violet. At the same time, he smashed down his sword hard on the axe wielder.


    His technique hit the prime cultivator square on, blasting the man backward and down to the ground. It scoured a hole in the earth thirty feet deep, kicking up a blast of sand and dust into the air, hundreds of spans high. The emperor''s blade came down on the axe-wielding cultivator, but the man caught it on the hilt of his own axe. The emperor felt his sword rebuffed. That was a nasty shock.


    He revised his expectations upward and considered calling in a Prism. Eri could be here in moments if he called her, but he did not want to give her the satisfaction of helping him. She was the oldest of his Prisms currently, and he had been encouraging her to ascend, fearing he would have to fight her if she refused. This would give her reason to believe incorrectly that she could take him.


    Instead, the emperor pulled a script from void space and activated it. It unfolded into seven identical copies of itself as the violet lux layer burned away. The seven scripts hung in a circle around him. They began to spin about, the fifty-span-long strips of parchment covered with dense writing becoming a whirling dervish of sharp-edged paper. He pushed them outward with a thought, and they flew toward the cultivators, wings and blade at the same time.


    The woman screamed as one of the scripts hit her. It activated as it did, enveloping her in multicolored lux that burned through her defenses. But the emperor''s attention was back on the main cultivator. He had leapt upward from the ground and was flying forward, arms outstretched, spearpoint leading the way as his hair and feet trailed behind. The force of his flight burned the air around him. Lux boiled off of him in every color.


    At the same time, the axe man roared and leapt. The emperor swung, this time sending a weave just in front of his sword. The red and orange of the weave sliced through the cultivator''s defenses. Yellow lux exploded, propelling the inner packet of blue lux into the cultivator himself.


    The emperor followed up with a second technique designed to take advantage of the chink he''d made in man¡¯s defenses. It crashed against the cultivator, and the emperor felt his technique sliding into the cultivator, through his lux channels. The cultivator cried out, dropping his axe as he cycled desperately, trying to drive the foreign lux out.


    The emperor''s attention turned back to their chief. The man''s eyes glowed red with hatred. His spear lengthened, enhanced with orange lux. At the same time, the man began to cast a technique.


    The emperor didn''t wait. He summoned all his stored indigo and violet lux and used his Heavenly Clone technique. Suddenly, there were three copies of him, each moving independently. He heard the woman''s scream as the first copy fell on her.


    The chief cultivator''s eyes widened, and the emperor allowed himself a small smile. This technique was one he himself had invented over a thousand years ago during his rise. It was incredibly difficult, and he had hunted down every other cultivator that he had sensed might be capable of using it. Only his Prisms were allowed to learn this technique.


    As the woman cultivator died, the emperor felt her lux expelled from her body. Her shade screamed in horror as he casually reached out and ripped away everything she had ever been. He cycled it quickly through his core, even as at last he clashed with his main enemy.


    Their weapons struck. Great gouts of flame spurted from them, searing the landscape. Technique clashed with technique. The emperor, casting both offensively and defensively, wove together a seven lux technique on the fly, hurling it between them like a net. The enemy cultivator slashed at his weapon, destroying the lux.


    "You are stagnant, old man," the cultivator jeered, even as his other friend was overcome under the attack of both the emperor''s clones. "You should have ascended centuries ago. Both you and your land are easy pickings."


    But now the emperor had another supply of fresh lux to call on. He ripped apart the axe man''s shade, scavenging its powers, cycling them through his core in the complex Way of the Ten Heavens pattern he himself had designed centuries before.


    "I am not stagnant," he said as their weapons clashed once more. The skies around them bloomed with colors, and the emperor knew anyone for five hundred li would see this like an aurora burning in the heavens and quake at what it meant. "I am not stagnant," he repeated. "I am perfected.¡±


    And with that, he cast his ultimate technique. The foreign cultivator''s eyes widened as he was torn apart. A mortal man would have died too fast to feel anything, but the blessing and the curse of a cultivator meant the intruder sensed himself unraveling, felt his very soul dissolving under the emperor''s powers.


    Almost casually, the emperor reached forward, destroying the man''s shade even as it formed. He didn''t even bother to collect the lux from this intruder, letting it dissipate into the air where eventually it would be absorbed by one of his cultivation towers and used to improve his empire.


    Satisfied yet somehow feeling a bit hollow, the emperor turned his back on the borders, facing into his empire once more. Millions of humans slept, not knowing that he had just faced a powerful enemy on their behalf, one that, had they been able to destroy him, would have gone on to tear the country apart.


    For a thousand years, the Central Kingdom had known nothing but peace. He had made sure of that. He had seen enough suffering in his youth as a mortal and on his path to godhood. He was not strong enough to extend protection over the whole world, but he had vowed a thousand years before that he would protect his own country. And he had. Every decade, his Prisms pushed the borders a little farther, absorbing more people into the peace and security of the empire. Someday, perhaps, it would be enough.


    With one last smile of satisfaction, the emperor descended to his palace. The hundreds of acres of gardens were dotted with beautifully appointed buildings he had caused to be built in his own honor. There, a hundred beautiful cultivators waited for him. There, his children and grandchildren were born, raised to understand their duty to the empire, to help him ensure the peace of the whole realm. It was just as it should be.


    Perfected.


    Just like him.

 2. The Scribe

    Wu Chang-li was about to die, all because Young Master Feng, of the Soaring Heavens sect, was a complete asshole.


    This should have been the opportunity of Chang-li''s lifetime. It was not often that licensed scribes were permitted to enter a Cultivation Tower and gain access to the great treasures of lux therein. A trip inside a Cultivation Tower such as this one should have been a guaranteed step along the Heavenly Climb. Instead, he and a dozen other soldiers, slaves, and scribes huddled together in a small alcove, little more than a cave, while outside, monsters paced and roared.


    "Young Master Feng will be back soon," one of the soldiers whispered. The others turned at him, glaring. Even in the dark cave, the soldier must have seen enough of their expressions. He quailed and shrank back farther into the gloom.


    "If Young Master Feng cared about us, he wouldn''t have abandoned us here after getting most of the rest of our party killed," another of the soldiers said.


    There were eight of the soldiers left, out of an entire eighty-man detachment. The rest had perished when Young Feng had rushed off to engage eight groups of lux-rich tower beasts at once. Because he was past the peak of the Body Refinement Tier, and midway through the Tier of Mental Refinement, Young Master Feng had outpaced the enraged tigers, unholy spirits and weeping geists quickly. Leaving Chang-li¡¯s party to suffer their anger.


    They had fled, of course. What else could they do? Chang-li and a few others reached the dubious safety of this cave, while hearing the screams of their companions all around in the jungle. Now they huddled together, fearful, waiting.


    Nothing would help. None of them were cultivators, at least not in the sense that they had achieved even the first step along the path. Like Chang-li, they all would have spent many hours practicing cycling techniques, learning how to push the puny scraps of lux available to them throughout their body, seeking to understand the soul pathways within them and begin to unlock their own potential. Yet, the quantity of lux available to someone in the outside world was not enough to take even the first step on the tier of Bodily Refinement. Only by entering a Heavenly Tower could a cultivator gather the lux to raise themself from an ordinary human onto the path of divinity.


    Chang-li had been one of four scribes sent in to record the progress of the soldiers and hopeful cultivators under Young Master Feng. Now, he and Scribe Dai were the only ones left. Rounding out the group of survivors, were three slave porters. Two of them huddled together in the back of the cave, whimpering. Their massive iron collars and ragged tunics set them apart from the soldiers and scribes.


    The third slave, a muscular foreign barbarian with a bald head and a fierce expression for anyone who dared look on him, stood near the entrance of the cave. He wore a collar, but it didn¡¯t seem to chafe him the way it irritated the others. He peered out into the night, as if he could see anything through the thick jungle beyond the stone niche. It wasn¡¯t really night here and they weren¡¯t really in a cave. This was just an ancient alcove inside the tower. High above, out of sight beyond the jungle trees there was a ceiling.


    Some floors of a Cultivator¡¯s Tower were labrythian mazes. Others were vast wildernesses. This one seemed to be a mix. While he¡¯d been fleeing through the overgrown section today, some of the others had mentioned rumors they¡¯d heard of ruined buildings, fortresses and lost villages, all made by unknown hands.


    The slave frowned into the darkness. "There are at least eight towerbeasts out there. They are of the third step, I presume," he muttered.


    Chang-li was surprised to hear how crisp his words were. He had assumed the barbarian would butcher the Pure Tongue with a foul accent, but Chang-li had heard other scribes with far worse diction.


    They were on the third floor of this Cultivation Tower, not far from the shattered wall that provided his party entrance. It was incredibly dangerous for ordinary humans like Chang-li to enter a tower on anything except the first floor. The third floor, where he was now, would be a challenge to anyone below the Peak of Bodily Refinement, with the towerbeasts filled with lux until they were a match for a cultivator of the first peak.


    The Divine Emperor controlled access to all the Cultivation Towers. Entrances to the first floors, if known, were carefully guarded. An ordinary man or woman who gained access would be on the path of cultivation. A humble scribe like Chang-li, without family or sect connections, would never receive an unlimited cultivator¡¯s license and permission to enter the first floor.


    Instead, his only hope to advance was just this; to attach himself to a sanctioned cultivation expedition and enter a tower at a higher floor, then glean enough stray lux left by the stronger cultivators to raise himself a step or so along the path. He had been issued a provisional license when assigned to Young Master Feng¡¯s party. The guards outside the tower had scrutinized it along with everyone else¡¯s before permitting him entry. He¡¯d been so excited, sure that with a few trips inside, he¡¯d be able to properly cycle lux and feel the improvements to his own body.


    Young Master Feng¡¯s Soaring Heavens sect was the first to arrive, though more sects were expected any day, and had put together a cultivating party at once. They had entered through the hole on the third floor, to start culling the towerbeasts, preventing a breach. Young Master Feng had brought several junior cultivators of his own sect, along with two squads of imperial soldiers and a small handful of scribes, there to record the doings of the greater folk, and incidentally, practice a tiny amount of cultivation. Yesterday, that had seemed to Chang-li like the opportunity of a lifetime.


    Instead, he was going to die.


    Young Master Feng was a cultivation prodigy. He was currently working on his fifth step of his celestial climb ¡ª the second step of the Mental Refinement Tier. Feng had been sent on this expedition by his sect, along with a handful of their other promising students. As part of the bargain the Soaring Heavens sect had made with the Divine Emperor for access to this tower, the sect was required to shepherd six parties from the expedition camp into the tower every month. This was the first that Young Master Feng had led, and it was a disaster.


    Chang-li had noted that Feng''s reputation around camp was not good. Though he might be a cultivation prodigy, he was boorish, too fond of wine, and more interested in getting into women''s undergarments than in his duties to the expedition.


    The party had entered the tower together, and as the party commander had begun organizing the soldiers into ranks for lux harvesting, Feng had thrown back his head, drawn a sword in each hand, and shouted, "The heavens have granted you leave today to witness what a prodigy of cultivation is capable of. Stand and marvel as I harvest the lux you require."


    He had then raced off into the gloom. Before the expedition had time to do more than glance at each other in surprise and dismay, he was back, pursued by a dozen large wolf-like beasts with jade green fur and stingers on their tail like a scorpion''s. He had dragged the pack straight through the expedition. As the soldiers struggled to get their spears up, the jade wolves laid waste to the party. The commander had been one of the first to die. In seconds, they had been decimated, and Feng had vanished again, still laughing.


    Chang-li and a few of the others had bolted and been lucky enough that the jade wolves were chasing other members of their party. They stumbled about in the strange, thick jungle that grew impossibly inside the Heavenly Tower until finally they had found this small refuge. Now, hours later, they waited for rescue, but Chang-li knew it was not going to come.


    ¡°Young Master Feng will return," one of the soldiers whispered. "He must. He will come for us. What happens if he returns from the tower with none of his party alive?"


    The big slave at the door to the cave turned in disgust. "Do you think your lives matter to a cultivator?" he asked.


    "Silence, slave," the soldier retorted.


    The slave laughed. "We are all going to die tonight. Your life is worth no more than mine. But at least I will die like a man."


    He held a long stick in his hand, presumably snatched from the jungle during their flight. It was knotty and rough, but the slave didn''t seem to care. He tapped the ground with it. The stick came up almost to his shoulder, not quite enough to make a comfortable weapon, but Chang-li thought it better than nothing.


    He had lost his satchel and his scribe¡¯s kit during their headlong flight, not that it mattered. The small pen-knife in his bag had a blade no longer than his index finger. Against one of those jade wolves or whatever else lurked in the jungle beyond, it would have been useless. The slave was right. They were going to die.


    "We fled nearly in the direction of the exit," the slave continued. "I think we are close. It''s possible, if we ran for it, some of us might make it."


    As he spoke, something out in the darkness howled. The sound curdled Chang-li''s blood. He swallowed hard.


    "As soon as we step out there, we''ll be torn to shreds," the argumentative soldier said.


    "Then what do you suggest? Wait here for our death? They will stop toying with us sooner or later. I, at least, would rather die trying to make my escape."


    The slave stood a little straighter. Ashamed that a slave was showing more dignity and courage than he, a trained member of the Imperial Order of Licensed Scribes, Chang-li brushed some of the dirt from his robes. He cleared his throat.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Ah, I think he''s right.¡±He nodded his head toward the slave. "We should try. It''s better than waiting here."


    "You''re welcome to be torn to shreds," another of the soldiers muttered. "Maybe it''ll distract them long enough for Master Feng to return."


    "Anyone else?" the slave asked. He turned his attention to his two fellow slaves cowering at the back of the cave. "Come, Rakhna, Loral, it is better than waiting here to die."


    One of the two shook his head. "Do as you like, Joshi, but I cannot face what waits in the darkness."


    Two of the soldiers broke from the others. "I''ll go," one said, and the other nodded.


    "Anyone else?"


    Chang-li turned to his fellow scribe, but Scribe Dai just shook his head in terror.


    "What is your plan, Joshi?" Chang-li asked, surprising himself both at using a slave''s name and asking a slave to suggest the correct course of action. Yet, Joshi had an inspiring presence and was the only one who was doing anything here.


    "My plan is to run like hell," Joshi said. "If one of those things catches us, we''re done for. The portal hole exit should be about three-quarters of a li to our southeast."


    "Which way is that?" Chang-li asked nervously.


    The slave chuckled. "I suggest you follow me and hope that I do not get killed. City boy?"


    He raised an eyebrow, but it seemed more amused than mocking. He was clearly a barbarian. His features were more rounded and heavy than the true bloodline of the Divine Emperor''s Central Kingdom, his eyebrows a lighter shade of brown than most, and his eyes a dark, dark black. He looked much like a northern barbarian Chang-li had once seen on display in his hometown from one of the horse tribes of the Great Barren Plains. If he could get Chang-li to safety, though, it didn''t matter what he looked like.


    The two soldiers clutched their spears as the party readied itself. Joshi passed through the mouth of the cave, peering out into the darkness beyond. Sometimes the ceiling of the tower emitted a glow, a facsimile of daylight, but at the moment it was ¡®night¡¯. After a moment, he stepped forward into the jungle. Chang-li took a deep breath and followed.


    They set off at a quick walk, moving as silently as they could through the thick jungle that infested this floor. It was dark here beneath the tree canopy, lit only by a strange glow from the bark of some of the trees. Chang-li tried his best to make no noise, but it was hopeless. They rustled branches and bushes as they passed. Grabbing thorns tore at the edges of his robe. He struggled forward, keeping Joshi in his sights.


    A chilling howl sounded off to their left. Joshi seemed to take no notice, continuing his way forward. Chang-li tried to note his direction of travel just in case Joshi were killed and somehow Chang-li escaped, but it was hopeless. In this dense jungle, there were no landmarks, no way he could see of navigating. He didn''t know how Joshi was doing it, or even if he truly was. Perhaps the barbarian slave was fooling himself into thinking they had hope when they had none.


    Chang-li''s heart was in his throat. It pounded more and more quickly with each step. Another howl sounded on their right, closer. They were surrounded. One of the soldiers gave a cry and then raced off away to the left. Chang-li hissed after him, but it was too late. The soldier was gone.


    "Stay together," Joshi sent back in a harsh whisper. "We have no chance against them alone." They had no chance against them together, either, but Chang-li stayed close on Joshi¡¯s heels.


    Then Chang-li stumbled forward and nearly collided with Joshi. The man had stopped dead in a clearing in the jungle. One enormous tree stretched overhead all the way to the ceiling high above, but the ground beneath was almost bare. Except in clearings like this it was easy to forget there was a ceiling on this level. Chang-li could better understand the floors he¡¯d read about that stretched away for miles in every direction. Only a thin covering of brush filled the place. There was a circle of glowing mushrooms all around the edge of the clearing. As Chang-li stepped over the mushrooms, he felt somehow better, safer, more secure. It made no sense to him, but his heart began to beat a little slower.


    Joshi paused. "Something is not right about this place."


    Chang-li spotted the ancient tattered ribbon hung from the branches of the great tree and pointed. "Look! Old scripts. A former expedition was here and used this place as a redoubt."


    "Do you think the wards still have power?" Joshi asked, striding toward them.


    "Perhaps.¡± Chang-li shrugged. "It may be that this place is safer than the grounds around."


    Another howl sounded from behind them. It sounded still closer. The soldier looked nervously from Chang-li to Joshi. "Why are we stopped? We have to keep moving.¡±


    "It is possible this former expedition left something else that could be of use to us," Joshi said as he strode through the clearing.


    As they stepped inside the clearing, past the row of script hanging from the tree branches, Chang-li felt an eerie sense of calm coming over him. Joshi paused, staring out at the darkness. The soldier with them, peered out as well. "I think we lost them."


    "I hope so."


    Chang-li bent double to regain his breath. A flash of color caught his eye: an ancient piece of silk cloth. He touched it, and it crumbled to dust under his fingers. Chang-li pulled back in surprise. Underneath the crumbled silk were long white bones. A dead man.


    Chang-li peered closer at the remains. The skeleton was clutching something to itself. As the soldier and Joshi exchanged quiet concerns, Chang-li brushed away the ferns and dead leaves that obscured the body.


    "What''s that?" Joshi asked sharply.


    "A skeleton.¡±


    The soldier swallowed nervously. "If this was the cultivator who placed these ancient scripts, then perhaps they are not much protection after all. We should move on."


    Chang-li didn''t reply. He had uncovered what the skeleton was holding. It was a satchel of high-quality leather. Dusty with bits of dead leaves, but still in remarkable shape considering the man clutching it had turned entirely to bone. Chang-li opened the flap. Inside, he saw remarkably familiar objects. A book, a pen case, and a couple of folded scrolls. The brush case looked like his own lost one. Chang-li slid the satchel away from the dead man.


    "You were a scribe," he said in wonder. "Why were you here? How did you come to die in this lonely place?"


    A howl rose up, chilling him to the bone. It was close. Another howl answered. A third. They were all around. The three men froze. The soldier took a step toward the center of the clearing. Chang-li, still holding the satchel, joined him. Joshi had a stick in his hand like a weapon.


    "They''re close. Maybe they won''t come into the circle," Chang-li said nervously. "Maybe the scripts will hold them."


    But he doubted that was the case. Something had killed the scribe, after all. His hand slipped into the satchel as he searched for anything that might offer him a way out. He touched the brush case, flipped it open, looking for the small knife that should be inside.


    As his hand touched the inkstone, time seemed to freeze. It was as though he were seeing the clearing with a new set of eyes. Every tree and plant in the place was outlined in white light, and where the dead scribe''s body should be hovered a glowing figure made of pale purple.


    The figure shimmered, becoming more solid. Now Chang-li could make out features. He was an old-aged man, hunched and wizened, with a wispy beard and his hair in a long, thin tail down his back. He held a notebook in one hand and leaned heavily on a walking stick with the other. He raised his eyes to meet Chang-li. ¡°You¡¯re in almost as much trouble as I am, young pup.¡± His voice was thin and quavering, but his eyes flashed with an inner light.


    Chang-li knew he was seeing a shade. He''d seen ghosts before, of course, including his own father''s spirit. When a person died, his or her family helped the spirit pass on by offering incense and food at a family shrine until it was comfortable passing from this world to the next. Of course, the spirit of a cultivator was stronger than that of an ordinary human and would last longer and require more appeasement. Sects often kept around the shades of their great masters, nurturing them in order to keep access to their wisdom.


    Chang-li had never seen a shade quite this strong before. Perhaps this scribe had also been a cultivator. He glanced about the clearing. Joshi and the soldier stood frozen like statues, Joshi''s mouth open, his hand raised as though pointing at something.


    The shade raised his stick and rapped it against Chang-li¡¯s temple. The stick passed right through, making Chang-li dizzy. He stepped back. ¡°Hello, boy?¡± the shade said loudly. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there with your mouth open. Have you no respect for your elders?¡±


    "Wh-what''s happening?"


    "I am taking a moment out of time to speak with you," the scribe said. "My name is Wulan, and I have been waiting here for a very long time for someone to find me." He gave a heavy sigh. ¡°Unfortunately, apparently that is you. Well, beggars cannot be choosers, and I don¡¯t want to linger here for the rest of eternity, so it is your lucky day.¡±


    "What do you want?" Chang-li had heard of vengeful shades, usually of someone who had been murdered, who would linger in the place they had died until they could take vengeance. This fellow didn¡¯t seem vengeful, just ¡ª irritable.


    ¡°Typical. The younger generation never shows respect to their elders.¡± The shade shook his translucent head.


    Chang-li recovered himself enough to remember his manners. He bowed low. ¡°Forgive me, elder. I merely ¡ª seeing you here ¡ª how may I serve?¡±


    ¡°I wish to finish my work," the scribe said. "I have just enough strength in me to help you escape this place. If you swear to help me, I will save you from the ravening beasts that destroyed me."


    "You''re dead. How can you help me?"


    Scribe Wulan gestured with his stick. ¡°In that bag are a pair of scripts written by a cultivator far beyond what you can imagine. In the time I have spent here, I have managed to store up enough lux to activate those scripts. They will allow you to escape from this place. In return, you take my satchel with you. I am bound to my brush case until I have achieved my purpose.¡± Scribe Wulan looked Chang-li over, shaking his head. "You are weak, but you''re all I have."


    "You''re not going to possess me or something?"


    The scribe laughed. It turned into a cough halfway through. ¡°You think too highly of yourself! I wouldn¡¯t take you if I could.¡±


    Chang-li still hesitated. He didn¡¯t want to die, but he didn¡¯t trust the word of a shade. He¡¯d heard far too many tales where a shade¡¯s bargain went horribly wrong.


    ¡°Hurry, make your choice. I cannot hold us here long. It is draining my lux reserves, and I won''t have enough to activate the scripts."


    ¡°What purpose ¡ª¡±


    ¡°If we tarry longer, my strength will be gone. Do you want to live, or not?¡± The scribe sounded cross, reminding him of his school tutors when he¡¯d asked too many why questions.


    Chang-li hesitated. He had no reason to trust the shade, but he didn''t want to die here. He¡¯d take the chance. He looped the satchel over his shoulder. "All right."


    ¡°Swear it,¡± the shade said. ¡°Take my pencase in hand and swear.¡±


    Chang-li cleared his throat. He held one hand to heaven, reaching into the satchel and finding the pen-case with the other. It was cool to the touch. ¡°By the Emperor¡¯s name and power, I swear to do all I can to aid you in your purpose, so long as it does not go against the duty I owe my Emperor or my family.¡±


    The pencase warmed to the touch. Wulan grunted.¡°That¡¯ll have to do. Take the scripts. Hold one in each hand, and I will do the rest."


    Wulan''s outline shimmered. He vanished.


    Joshi shouted, raising his pointed stick as an enormous tower beast lurched through the edge of the trees into the clearing with them. The soldier turned and ran.


    Chang-li dropped the pencase back in as he slung the case around his shoulder. He pulled out the pair of scripts. They were long, thin pieces of paper folded lengthwise four times. He shook them, letting them fall open. As he held them each out at arm''s length, their ends brushed the ground.


    They were covered in intricate characters, inked in three different colors of ink by a precise hand. He couldn''t read any of the characters. It was no script he''d ever been taught.


    The scripts flared to life. Even untrained, Chang-li could feel the lux technique shooting out of them, wrapping him in its protective bands. It expanded outward, washing over Joshi and the fleeing soldier before smashing outward like a violent gust of wind.


    The tower beast menacing Joshi exploded into dust. There were abbreviated howls from the darkness beside them as the techniques lashed outward.


    "Run!" Joshi yelled.


    And they ran.

 3. Hopes Dashed

    Chang-li looked up as the paper and wooden door of his small room in the expedition infirmary was slid back. Inspector Ji''in stood in the doorway. Immediately, Chang-li prostrated himself, leaning forward as far as he could in the bed. "Master, you do this one great honor by descending to my level."


    The inspector carried a fan in one hand, which he folded up and wrapped against the back of his wrist. "Yes, yes, I know, Chang-li. You may raise your face."


    Chang-li struggled upright. He gestured to the sole sitting pillow in the room, positioned in front of the low pallet on which he lay. "Will the noble inspector sit? I regret that I cannot offer refreshment."


    He still wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d managed to escape with no more than a bad case of exhaustion, strained nerves, and a nasty fever which, after two days in the infirmary, had nearly died away. The book he¡¯d found lay wrapped in its oilskin cover, hidden under his thin sleeping mat. No one had noticed it yet and until he got a chance to examine it, he wished to keep it that way.


    ¡°Do not worry yourself.¡± Inspector Ji''in seated himself on the cushion, folding his legs elegantly beneath him. His robe was the finest silk, embroidered with silver and copper threads. He wore carved wooden jewelry, polished and lacquered to a fine sheen, but no gems. As exalted and far above Chang-li as Inspector Ji''in was, he had never raised himself to even the lowest level of the Sevenfold Court.


    "I have finished speaking with the sect leader of the Soaring Heavens sect," Inspector Ji''in continued. "We have heard the testimony of young Master Feng himself, as well as the other survivors of your disaster. It is truly unfortunate that your people encountered a tower eruption in progress. Had young Master Feng not been there, it is certain there would have been a breach of the tower."


    Chang-li blinked. An eruption happened when a tower level went too long without being culled by cultivators. The lux would build up, empowering the creatures inside the tower, until they grew so strong, they were driven from the tower by some unknown need that forced them to seek out creatures in the world beyond. They could rush over the land like a spring inundation, bringing destruction in their wake.


    Chang-li knew that this tower was indeed in danger of eruption. That was one reason why this expedition had been mounted. It had gone nearly four years without a proper cultivator cull. The city of Golden Moon, lying by the sea at the foot of the mountain, was in danger, as was much of Riceflower Province. As some of the most profitable farmland in all the Central Kingdom, the emperor would not permit the risk, hence authorizing this expedition.


    But Chang-li was certain the jade wolves had been no stronger than they ought to have been. It was Young Master Feng''s foolish tactics and disdain for the lives of others that had brought their expedition low.


    He opened his mouth and then saw how intently Inspector Ji''in was regarding him. He bowed low. "I cannot gainsay the wisdom of my superiors. I, being a foolish one, not even a true cultivator, must have mistaken the situation. I did not believe the creatures we faced could pose such a threat to a refined cultivator such as Young Master Feng, but I see I was mistaken."


    "Indeed you were," Inspector Ji''in said crisply. "I have placed a commendation in your file. You did well, Scribe Wu.¡± Chang-li bowed again. "A copy of the commendation, along with a bonus in the form of three months'' salary, is being sent to your mother. She is a widow, is she not?"


    "Yes, in Yellow Sky City," Chang-li said. Already, three weeks¡¯ pay out of four was sent to his mother. The army provided him with food, shelter, and clothing, so he had little need for money himself. His mother and brother, who had worked their fingers to the bones to put him through scribing school, deserved everything he could send them. Three months'' salary all at once might well be enough to move his mother to a better house before winter. Perhaps to see to it that she no longer had to work as a seamstress repairing the clothes of those more fortunate than herself.


    It was, Chang-li realized, a bribe for his silence. Young Master Feng had screwed up massively. The sect leader knew it. Inspector Ji''in knew it. But he was being protected. Why? The Soaring Heavens sect surely had other young cultivators who could step into his place. He had always heard that cultivation was a cutthroat business, that sects were quick to come down on those who made mistakes. Perhaps Young Master Feng had an important patron.


    The more important question, Chang-li realized, was what else could he get out of this?


    Chang-li cleared his throat. "I am honored by this show of the Emperor''s faith in me, Inspector.¡± He bowed low again. "I now realize the true importance of our work here. The idea of beasts such as I saw coming down upon the farmers below us strikes terror into my heart. I wish to do all I can to help. May I please be appointed as a scribe on the next expedition? I feel I am now uniquely equipped to face the dangers within the tower now.¡±


    Inspector Ji''in shook his head sadly. "I am sorry, Chang-li. Surely you know regulations about those who have not achieved Bodily Refinement? Having been exposed to a pre-eruption monstrosity puts you at increased risk. Should you yourself enter the tower, there is a high chance you could be contaminated and become a monstrosity yourself. It is not a risk you can take. I am afraid you will not be permitted to enter the tower again. Your conditional cultivator¡¯s license has been revoked.¡±


    Chang-li could say nothing for a whole half minute. He sat sputtering to himself, trying desperately to compose a polite reply, something that would not incur Inspector Ji''in''s wrath. He hadn''t been exposed to a monstrosity at all! Feng had lied. Ji''in knew he was lying. There was no danger. Not permitted to enter! Not permitted to advance as a cultivator, doomed to remain at the base mortal state for the rest of his life?


    "Inspector Ji''in, I would like to file for an exception¡ª¡°


    But Ji''in was shaking his head. "The notice has already been entered into your file, Scribe Wu. Your record has been updated throughout the Empire."


    He extended a small roll of parchment to Chang-li, who was so upset, he reached for it with his left hand before catching himself. It had been years since he¡¯d slipped up and used his dishonorable left hand for scribe business. As if coming from peasant stock was not enough of a challenge, Chang-li had been born with a preference for his left hand, acceptable in a dockhand but not in an imperial official.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Ji¡¯in looked away as Chang-li unrolled the scroll and read. It was as the inspector had said. Dismay filled him. ¡°Sir, this ¡ª there is no other way?¡±


    ¡°There is not.¡± Ji¡¯in inclined his head. ¡°But you are a scribe. There is no need for you to cultivate. You can serve the emperor where you are, just as I have.¡±


    As if to emphasize this, he placed a hand to the imperial seal scroll hanging around his neck. As chief official on this expedition, Inspector Ji''in carried a seal of the Red Court, the lowest rank of the seven, and an honor to which Ji''in did not actually presume. In his role as an official, he was permitted to exert that authority. Any paper he stamped with that seal would bear the authority of the lowest rank Sevenfold Court officials in the Empire.


    Which was still high enough to doom Chang-li. The thought of pleading his case before a higher ranked official was ludicrous. None of them would give him the time of day, even if he had a good case to make. With no witnesses and his word against the prodigy of an important sect like Soaring Heavens, it was hopeless.


    Chang-li was now banned from ever entering a tower. His chance at progressing had been ripped from him by the selfish young master, who likely didn''t even know what he had done. Fury boiled in Chang-li.


    Inspector Ji''in was examining him closely. Chang-li realized he was expected to say something. He cleared his throat. "And what of the other two who survived with me?"


    "Ah," Inspector Ji''in looked surprised. He frowned. "Soldier Lu will be sent for guard duty in a city far from any tower, where he will not be exposed to further lux contamination. The slave has been sentenced to punishment detail. It is a pity. He was exceptionally strong and better-natured than most Darwur slaves we''ve taken. I had hoped to have a chance to have some of my assistants learn the basics of the Darwur language from him. It''s always good to have a staff who can speak with barbarians, after all, even if Darwur is far from here. One never knows where one will be assigned next.¡±


    Punishment detail. So, Joshi was to be worked to death, soldier Lu sent far away. A cold sweat passed over Chang-li as he realized that would leave him as the sole surviving witness to young Master Feng''s intransigence. He did not like the implications.


    "You may be interested to learn of the arrival of Radiant Dowager Pearl Lin-Ya," Inspector Ji''in said. "She and the first delegation of Heavenly Jewels arrived yesterday and are in the process of setting up the Court of Gems here at our camp. It is possible that a young scribe such as yourself might ingratiate yourself with the dowager. If you do, I can arrange for your posting away from here, perhaps as an adjutant to a small branch of the Sevenfold Court."


    So there was the other part of his bribe, extended at last. The offer of a posting away from the wrath of young Master Feng. A chance at a new career.


    Chang-li bowed. "Yes, of course, Master. Thank you."


    The inspector rose. ¡°As soon as the healers release you, return to your barracks and resume your duties." before backing out of the room and closing the door behind him.


    Chang-li immediately pulled himself into a meditative posture, his legs crossed, palms flat on each knee. He closed his eyes and worked on his breathing technique: in through his left nostril, air passed through his lungs, back out through his right nostril. He searched for any traces of lux in his body but felt unusually drained. Undaunted, he went through the exercises anyway, imagining each of his spiritual channels in turn, from the balls of his feet, up through his legs, his groin, his midsection, into his core, then out again to his chest, his shoulders, his hands, and his head. Then he reversed the cycle, passing the tiny fragment of lux in him down from the top of his head through each stage of his body, into his core, and out to his lower extremities. Then he took another breath, passed the air through himself, exhaled, and repeated the lux exercise again.


    After 15 repetitions of this cycling technique, the Way of the Faithful that every subject of the emperor was taught from the time he could walk, he opened his eyes back up and began to think.


    So, they wanted to close progression to him. He would have to see about that. But first, what of this business with the royal court?


    He knew what that was about. The Revered Pearl would be one of the former brides of the Emperor. At any given time he had a thousand concubines, taking 100 new beauties every year while releasing 100 from their duties. Many of those women were rewarded with high official roles throughout the kingdom.


    This woman''s task would be to accompany a bevy of unmarried princes and princesses of the Sevenfold Court. While their presence here might be disguised under a number of names, it was for one purpose. Any promising young cultivators who emerged from this expedition would be married off to an eligible member of the Sevenfold Court, elevating that cultivator into the royalty of the central kingdom and giving them a direct connection to the Divine Emperor. The Emperor had maintained the peace and prosperity of the land for a thousand years with this method.


    It could also present Chang-li with opportunities of his own.


    He leaned back and closed his eyes, switching from his basic cultivation technique to the one taught specifically to scribes. The Font of Iridescent Ink meditation was more lux dependent than the basic cultivation technique, and he didn¡¯t have the lux to do more than step through the imagery. He¡¯d been so close to actually gaining lux, to empowering his cultivation enough to start changing his body. And now, he would never get the chance.


    As Chang-li went through his meditation, the memory of the book he had found in the tower came back. He itched to unwrap it, but dared not risk it here, where anyone might come across it. Perhaps it contained secrets of a lost cultivator sect, something he could sell. It had laid there for years, perhaps decades, left behind by some prior expedition to this tower.


    Could those dead cultivators have entered the tower in a different place?


    Chang-li called to mind all the tower lore he knew. All across the world, heavenly towers dotted the landscape, embedded into spires of stone, mountainsides, tall cliffs. Anywhere that the land rose up to reach the heavens. While tower theory suggested that each level should have its own entrance, as far as he knew, many towers had only one or two accessible locations.


    This particular tower had a known entrance for its fifth level. To reach it, one would leave the expedition base camp and climb nearly three li higher along a rough, mountainous path made for goats and well-trained cultivators, not ordinary people like Chang-li. The route into the third floor, where he had been, was but a place where the side of the tower had been sheared off, perhaps by an avalanche, perhaps by some previous monster eruption. A series of bamboo and rope ladders, strung precariously together, gave access to that opening. But hadn¡¯t that opening been discovered only twenty years before? That body had looked older. If the dead man had not entered through that opening¡­.


    Was there was a way into the first level?


    What if he could find that way in?


    It would be incredibly dangerous for someone who had not achieved the first step of cultivation to attempt to cultivate on his own, but nowhere near as dangerous as the third floor had been. With a few careful preparations he could gather enough lux to take the first step along the Path of Heavenly Progression. Someone who had already passed the Bodily Refinement threshold would surely not be in danger of transformation into a monstrosity himself.


    It was a thin reed to grasp, yet it was all Chang-li had.

 4. The Journal

    It was mid-afternoon, and Chang-li had finally been released from the infirmary. He made his way down from the highest tier of the camp, along a stone staircase carved into the face of the mountain.


    The cultivation expedition camp had stood for centuries, often abandoned for decades at a time before the Imperial Office of Cultivation deemed this tower ready for a cull. Since the Broken Tower of Riceflower Province offered no way into its first or second floor, it was difficult for hopeful cultivators to use on their own. Only those with backing from a sect, or the Office of Cultivation, could hope to have access to the resources they¡¯d need to survive the third floor as a beginning cultivator. That in turn left the tower neglected.


    Cultivators past the Peak of Bodily Refinement had little interest in this tower. Reportedly, the third-floor guardian had been destroyed when the great breach was opened in the wall of the tower. That was where Chang-li had entered, under the supposed supervision of Young Master Feng. With no third-floor guardian, there was no possibility of earning a boon, and ambitious cultivators needed boons to help them on their path.


    So this tower was largely neglected until the government decided it was at risk of eruption and sent in an expedition like this one. Six months ago, the first laborers and soldiers had arrived to restore damaged buildings and prepare. Chang-li had arrived four months later, sailing along the coast from Hon¡¯ga Province in the company of the officials who would be managing this expedition. Young Master Feng and his fellow cultivators had come two weeks ago, and Chang-li had been the unfortunate victim of Feng¡¯s first trip inside the tower.


    Now Chang-li took a moment to savor the fresh mountain air, so different from the smokey, redolent odor of Yellow Sky City, his home city. For a time he¡¯d wondered if he¡¯d ever see the sky again. Today was sunny, with hardly any clouds. The warm spring breezes pulled at his tunic and hair, which he had yet to put back up after his time in the infirmary. The camp stretched out below him, clinging to the side of the mountain, gray stone and mud-baked brick buildings topped with slate or in a few places tiles hauled up from far below.


    Here at the top was the infirmary, the housing for the highest officials, and the Office of Cultivation branch facility. Down the first flight of stairs was the camp crossroads. To the north, back to the narrow bridge across to the only road in or out, were storehouses and stables. Below that, the slave pens. To the south, housing for honest laborers and then the soldiers¡¯ encampment, including their training ground, the only space wide enough for two hundred men to assemble in this whole place.


    Beyond that rose the Court of Gems, which was only now being occupied by nobles and cultivators and their servants. Chang-li had never set foot inside its walls, though Scribe Dai had been called there two days ago and described it to the other junior scribes in excited detail


    All around the camp crossroads were the buildings that made up the beating heart of the camp; the army quartermaster¡¯s facility, the blacksmith, the leatherworker and weavers, and the scribe house.


    Chang-li made for the scribing house, slipping in the back door and into the privacy of the junior scribes¡¯ barracks. He tried not to notice the missing beds. Scribe Dai, Scribe Ing, and Scribe Lisha had perished in the tower. Their belongings were gone, leaving more space for the other six junior scribes. The other scribes were out on assignment. None of them would be back for hours.


    Sinking down onto his own mat, Chang-li at last unwrapped his prize. The ancient folds of oiled cloth fell away, revealing a battered cultivation journal. He had seen many such slender volumes in his time as a scribe. The emperor demanded that the cultivator sects record their knowledge for posterity so that nothing could truly be lost. To that end, scribes would be assigned to a sect to observe the actions of their great cultivators, recording them in the private characters known only to other scribes. During his training, Chang-li had learned how to keep such records should he ever be called on to stand witness to a cultivator''s journey.


    The scribe should record facts and dates, especially making note of techniques and breakthroughs by a cultivator, and then file his records with the Office of Cultivation. Should the sect be suspected of going against imperial strictures, the cultivation journals could prove them innocent ¡ª or guilty.


    While the sects were not directly subject to scrutiny by the Office of Cultivation or any other government entity, they did, of course, serve the emperor''s pleasure and obey his laws like all other subjects of the Immortal Empire of Heaven. Should they violate their charters by raising up too many cultivators too high without express imperial permission, they might be brought low. That had happened hundreds of times throughout the course of history. Chang-li had read plenty of examples.


    As he looked at the pages of this journal, he felt a deep, unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was not what an official audit of cultivation should be.


    "I, Wulan Zhan, take brush to this page as a testament of my own weakness. For 50 years, I have served as scribe of the Sect of Morning Mist. I have watched my greatest friend follow his path toward the heavens. He applied a dozen times, yet was always refused permission to cultivate violet lux. When he and his bosom chose to attempt it without permission, I stood by and watched rather than raising the alarm.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The Emperor knew. The Emperor always knows. His eyes are always watching, and my friend¡¯s beloved imperial spouse stood strong where I had been weak. The Emperor¡¯s righteous wrath fell not upon me, but upon my friend and his sect. Their elders were crushed, their disciples scattered. Now only a single disciple remains. Son of my oldest friend, he had been away on a journey of self-discovery when his family''s sect was crushed. He returned, swearing to raise up the banner of his father''s sect once again.


    May the Emperor himself strike my head from my body with one merciful blow, I have sworn to help the boy. I know this goes against everything I have been taught as a scribe, and yet I cannot help but be stirred by my young friend''s devotion. And so, as he embarks on his climb, I accompany him. I shall record his deeds. If we fail, then whoever finds this record, please take it to the Emperor''s officials and present it as proof of my intransigence. If he succeeds, then I will bring this book myself, and submit to the justice I have brought upon myself.¡±


    Chang-li swallowed hard as he studied the words on the page. He had never heard of the Sect of Morning Mist. That was no surprise. There were thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of sects across the empire, and most wrapped themselves in shrouds of secrecy.


    The book was clearly very old, perhaps hundreds of years. Some magic of the Tower, perhaps, had kept it preserved all this time. He should give this book to Inspector Ji-in, and yet, and yet¡­ he wished to know more. He had to learn more.


    Scribe Wulan. Had he really appeared to Chang-li, or was that some fevered dream? He went to sleep each night apprehensive that the scribe would appear once more, but he did not.


    As he delved deeper in the tome, he was confronted by two pages written using familiar characters, but the characters themselves did not form words that he knew. He realized at once what Scribe Wulan had done. Sects had the right to keep their own secrets and used their own private languages to do so. Scribe Wulan must have written these pages in the sect''s secret language. He flipped pages until another page of scribe script presented itself.


    "We have come to the largely abandoned Tower rising above Golden Moon City. Most cultivators scoff at this particular tower. Its lux is too varied to offer any one path a good training ground. Its floor challenges vary, even between one climb and the next. Sites have altered enough to make previous records useless, and yet, for our purposes, it is perfect. Since the last cull ten years ago, no cultivator has set foot inside the Tower.


    Posing as hunters of rare butterflies that are known to nest on the mountain''s flanks, Disciple Kang and I have arrived. We carry little beyond the purification tablets I shall need in order to endure what lies beyond. Kang shall provide the rest with his strength.


    Tomorrow we enter the Tower. I am pleased to enjoy one last refined meal at the Inn of Five Stars here in Golden Moon. Kang has left our documents in the cultivator¡¯s vault here in the city, so that if we fail, some part of Morning Mist may still remain.


    The journey to the Tower''s entrance is short but arduous. Disciple Kang assures me he shall help me, but I admit to some nerves."


    Chang-li tensed. The journey from the City of Golden Moon up to the cultivator''s base camp took three days. The path was long and winding. It was not particularly arduous. Either the scribe was incorrect with his assumptions, or they were not making for the same entrance that Chang-li''s expedition used. Eagerly he turned another page.


    "We are encamped within the Tower. The journey was as strenuous as I feared. The river gorge was thankfully low, and we were able to wade through shin-deep water in most places. Disciple Kang had to destroy several fallen logs and boulders in my path, and we saw signs of a..." The rest of the page was unreadable.


    Chang-li dropped the journal to his lap. His hands shook. There was another entrance! Or there had been two hundred years ago. From the sound of it, up a ravine lower on the mountain slopes. Perhaps it had been blocked in the past two hundred years. Perhaps it was still there, just waiting for someone to enter.


    Towers with known entrances to the first floor were strictly controlled by the Emperor. Passing them was permitted only with Imperial writ, because entering the first level of a progression tower meant anyone could take the first step along the path. So long as they had a lux cycling technique suited to them, and a firm understanding of themselves, and of course were willing to take the risk of death and dismemberment that came along with a progression tower. There was nothing to stop them from that step.


    His head pounded. Others had searched for an entrance to the first level and failed. He had read their records in the archive. Eventually, they¡¯d given up. Now everyone agreed there was no such entrance. Some even doubted if this tower had lower levels at all. If he could find the entrance to the first floor of this tower, it would be a secret only he would know. He could progress all on his own, even without possessing a license.


    It would be dangerous. Very dangerous. If he should manage to take the first or perhaps even the second steps along the path, it would be hard to hide that from official notice. Cultivating without license was a crime, but only if you got caught. He had studied the relevant laws in school, part of his scribe''s training, as recording cultivation levels, checking licenses, and validating imprimaturs was part of a scribe''s duty.


    Chang-li shook himself. Was he really considering this? Hunting for a lost entrance that might or might not even be there? Attempting to cultivate on his own, challenge a tower himself, without weapon or skill?


    Before he could stop himself, Chang-li pulled his pen from its case inside his breast pocket. He dipped it in the tiny pot of ink also kept in the case, he turned to the first blank page, half way through the journal.


    He wrote: I, Chang-li, take brush to this page to record my attempt to discover a secret.


    From there he continued to jot notes on the blank page. What steps would he need?


    First, a supply of purification tablets. Scribe Wulan was correct. Until he had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, the amount of lux inside a cultivation tower would be too much for his mortal body to handle. He would need purification tablets if he was to survive inside the tower.


    Second, a better idea of where this entrance might be. He couldn¡¯t spend weeks hunting in the wilderness for an entrance.


    Third, an excuse to be out of the camp. He could not just abandon his post, even if he was going to attempt to cultivate. He needed to be able to return, if anything went wrong.


    There was work to be done. He needed a visit to a library.

 5. Idle Talk

    Over the next days, Chang-li studied the cultivator journal in secret, during snatches of time stolen from his other duties. He kept the journal locked up in his private chest but knew that the lock would not defeat his fellow scribes should they become interested in just what it was that he found so interesting.


    The six remaining junior scribes assigned to the expedition shared a large barracks at the back of the scribing house on the first floor. The three master scribes had quarters on the second floor of the building and never entered the scribe barracks if they could help it, so he was safe from discovery by his superiors, if not his colleagues. The other junior scribes were all too concerned with their own advancement to notice his machinations anyway.


    With Chang-li forbidden from entering the tower again, several of the others were scrambling to position themselves in the next party. They all knew this was their single greatest chance at advancement. While it was highly unlikely any of them could manage to cultivate enough to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement, they all had dreams. Certainly the chance to increase one''s personal lux stores, perhaps even to develop a preferred lux flavor, was not to be passed up.


    Chang-li endured their taunts and barbed wishes for his own health. He took to spending more time with scribes Jun and Shi, both of whom professed not to be interested in entering the tower.


    "Cultivation is a fool''s game," Junior Scribe Shi pronounced one day at their communal breakfast, a kettle of congee split six ways and topped with some dried fish hauled up the mountain from the coastal city far below. "It is almost impossible to manage even the first tier of cultivation without assistance from a sect or a climbing order. Maybe you could join a sect as a scribe, once your indenture is paid off, but when was the last time you heard of a sect wasting resources on their scribes?¡±


    He shook his head as he scraped the inside of his wooden bowl with his spoon, seeking out the last few morsels of delicious, soft rice. ¡°We are already on a path of advancement! Work hard at your assigned duties and climb the ranks of scribe instead. After all, what sect leader or governor can function without scribes at his side to take down his wishes and translate them into action? I intend to make myself useful to the emerging cultivator candidates as they show themselves. Hitch yourself to those stars and ride them all the way to the top, protected by the will of the emperor. What does a bit of cultivation benefit a scribe? Almost nothing."


    "He has a point," Scribe Jun agreed. "After all, to progress past the Peak of Bodily Refinement requires imperial permission for a full cultivator license. That is almost never granted for those without sect or family." He looked around at the other scribes. "If we had those kind of family connections, we would not be here."


    They all nodded at that, even the other hopeful cultivators. Chang-li was not alone in his station. Scribe Jun and Scribe Chang also came from peasant stock, while the others, though from noble families, were all of the lowest rank. Men and women with good family did not get posted to the back end of nowhere.


    "Still, the chance," Scribe Wao said, his eyes alight. "If only I could achieve Bodily Refinement, it would prolong my lifespan and give me time to work on my ambition to write a codex."


    Chang-li had harbored similar wishes, but he wasn''t surprised when Scribe Jun snorted. "If only? Bodily Refinement is peak of the first tier of the Celestial Climb. It requires incredible amounts of lux and expert cycling techniques. The sort of knowledge jealously guarded by sects. You must be remade.¡±


    "Even the first step brings health benefits," Scribe Wao said stubbornly.


    "What, is your family prone to consumption, that you are worried about your health so young?" Scribe Deng taunted.


    Scribe Jun, the senior-most of the juniors, held up a hand to break up the argument. "Enough. Let us finish our meal. Scribe Wu.¡± He turned to Chang-li, who was surprised to find himself addressed. ¡°You have been quiet this morning."This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "I am reassessing my plans," Chang-li said frankly. "With the path of cultivation blocked to me, I must consider. I had always intended to do as you say, aim for the highest rankings of the scribes I had hoped a few steps on the Celestial Climb would further my goal perhaps to make the transition to a political post.¡±


    ¡°A tall enough task for a peasant," Scribe Deng sneered.


    Chang-li decided not to take offense at that. "In the service of the Emperor, all may prove their worth," he said simply. "Even those whose ancestors were rice farmers and dock hands.¡±


    "The Emperor needs rice farmers just as he needs scribes, but he needs a lot more of them," Scribe Fan retorted, and the others shared a quick laugh at Chang-li''s expense.


    After breakfast, they reported to Inspector Ji''in for their assignments. Chang-li was pleased to find himself placed in the camp library today. He had been angling for the posting since the requisition had come over. He reported at once to the camp¡¯s Third Assistant Quartermaster¡¯s Aide, who pointed him at a backroom in the quartermaster''s office.


    "We¡¯ve got two months¡¯ worth of records in there. Our own clerks draw up records and check them against shipments as they come in, but we require a scribe''s aid in properly filing.¡±


    Chang-li bowed low before turning to his duties. The so-called library was a long, narrow room with a bank of windows along the top of the wall by the roof, filled with rickety shelves full of tablets and scrolls. There was a row of baskets near the door filled with more tablets and scrolls, records waiting to be filed.


    Chang-li dumped the first basket out on a table and began to sort through it. The work would be tedious, not hard. Despite the seeming disarray, his trained scribe''s eyes had caught the tags inked on each shelf, characters the previous scribe had recorded to show organization. They would mean nothing to the quartermaster''s clerks, being in the scribe''s private alphabet.


    Chang-li got to work updating the files. He noted as he went that the records were jumbled up through the last month in no particular order, but as he sorted them out, saw that the loads of supplies had been increasing in frequency. He pulled out a scroll listing the purification rations brought in over the last few weeks. Just last week, two whole wagon loads of the rations had been hauled up the steep mountain path.


    Only cultivators still working on perfecting their body, those who had not yet reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, required purification rations. For them, the quality and quantity of lux available inside a tower was too great for their weak mortal bodies to process. Purification rations would help purge the unwanted lux. After finishing the first tier, a cultivator''s body could handle purification on its own.


    This many rations would serve the cultivators Chang-li knew were in the camp for over two years. The camp must be expecting an influx of cultivators.


    Chang-li filed the record away carefully. Then, having made progress, he paused and went down the shelves until he came to what he was looking for: maps of the tower and its surroundings. Not the inside of the tower, of course. The Emperor''s laws forbade anyone from making an accurate map of the inside of a tower. These maps merely showed the mountainside and its surroundings.


    If there was an entrance to floor one, as Chang-li suspected, it would be somewhere lower down on the mountain''s flanks. The journal had implied it was near a river at the bottom of a canyon. It had to be somewhere out of the way, since no one had apparently stumbled upon it. And yet not completely inaccessible, since he had proof that someone had, once upon a time, entered the tower from that level. He spread out the maps and pored over them.


    The path down the mountain zigzagged back and forth. As it neared the base, the land became more forgiving. It traced a long curving arc around the mountain''s foothill toward the city of Golden Moon below, by the sea.


    Chang-li drew a finger along the map. Somewhere here, he suspected, near the mountain''s foot, where several streams ran down, carving narrow canyons and deep gorges on their way to the great river Aksah. But which? He''d need more clues for that.


    Chang-li returned to his task. It would take him at least another day. He reported back to Inspector Ji¡¯in at the end of the shift, who nodded. "We expected as much. Be sure to update the catalog tags when you are done."


    "Of course, inspector.¡± Chang-li bowed and was dismissed. He went at once to the barracks, though his fellow scribes were almost certainly heading for the dinner tent. Scribes knew it was in their best interest to collect their meals early before the more important members of the expedition came down for theirs. That would give Chang-li a few precious moments alone with his book, searching for further clues.

 6. Cultivator Duel

    A woman''s voice called from the outer hall of the scribe''s office. "Hello? I have need of a scribe."


    Grumbling to himself, Chang-li locked his cultivator''s journal carefully in his chest, smoothed his robes, and proceeded out to the main room.


    It was dominated by the long counter where people could present their records and licenses for endorsement. During normal hours, there would always be a scribe here manning the counter, but this was after the end of the day. Everyone should be at dinner.


    A beautiful young woman stood at the counter, her gold-painted fingernails rapping against it. Over her simple sheath-dress she wore a fine robe of white linen, edged with an inch-wide red border, the mark of a member of the outermost level of the sevenfold court. Around her neck, an iron pendant with a red stone indicated she was one of the Court of Gems ¡ª unmarried royalty, able to be courted by those with high connections. She had glossy dark hair falling in delicately arrayed curls to her shoulders, drawn back with wooden pins set with garnets. Her deep brown eyes were sharp and sparkling, her skin just a shade darker than the ideal of beauty.


    He bowed deeply, hands folded together. "My lady," he said politely, "how may I help you?"


    Her eyes swept him up and down, then narrowed as though she didn''t much like what she was seeing. "Are you the only scribe available?"


    He spread his hands apologetically. "My lady, it is after our accustomed hours of business. If you return tomorrow, my master, Inspector Ji-in ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. You don''t think I would come to you on Oaken Band Brotherhood business before dark, do you?"


    Chang-li stiffened. He had been trained, but this was the first time he had ever been asked anything concerning a Brotherhood. At once, he reached for his scribe''s case. This business would not be conducted here at the scribing hall, that was for sure.


    "I stand ready to assist you, my lady."


    "Then come." She looked him over and added, "And you can stop that ''my lady'' business. My name is Min. My brothers call me Elder Sister Min, but you are not one of those. You are here to help us, and therefore you speak as my equal."


    He bowed again to her back as he followed her from the scribing house. Min led at a quick pace through the darkening camp, past the rows of official buildings made of wood and waxed paper window screens, past the soldiers'' barracks. Not, he noted, toward the royal enclave at the far north end of the camp. He had never been called inside the walls of their palisade. Instead, she headed for the east side of the camp, where most of the contracted laborers and skilled artisans stayed.


    Their quarters were far better than the conscript and slave barracks that Chang-li had visited before, though not as nice as his own scribes'' barracks. He estimated there must be about 300 residents here, staying in ten long, low buildings. Two of them had red doors, indicating they were for women and that men were not permitted inside.


    Min led him through and out to the darkness on the far edge of the camp. There, in a place between the last row of barracks and the wooden palisade that surrounded the camp, stood a circle of people. Two circles, in fact. The outer one, a loose assortment of about fifteen men faced outward, watching the area with wary eyes. The dozen who wore colored rosettes on their laborers'' tunics also carried torches and clubs. The blue and gold rosettes identified them as Oaken Band brothers.


    The other five of the outer ring wore the orange-and-purple cultivator''s robes of the Soaring Heavens sect, though their white sashes showed they were all outer disciples, the lowest tier.


    Min led him between a pair of the Oaken Band guards, who dipped their heads to her and resumed their outward watch. The inner circle crowded tightly together, about 20 men and women, mostly Oaken Band members, but a couple of Soaring Heavens cultivators. Min pushed through and brought Chang-li into the center of the ring. He found himself face to face with Young Master Feng.


    Chang-li''s mouth dropped. He stepped backward but ran into an unyielding wall of spectators.


    Feng looked him over. "You brought a scribe?¡± His eyes showed no sign of recognition, just distaste.


    Chang-li realized Feng didn¡¯t remember him. That changed his quick stab of fear to a feeling of resentment. This man had almost gotten him killed a week ago, had been responsible for the death of 30 others, and he didn¡¯t even have the decency to remember Chang-li¡¯s face.


    Min crossed her arms and stared the young master down. ¡°He is a scribe. He will do his duty. These things must be recorded in the proper way."


    Young Master Feng''s lips curled in a sneer. "Scribe,¡± without actually looking at Chang-li, "you are here to witness that this is an honorable duel between two men who have agreed there is no other way to settle their differences."


    Chang-li took a deep breath. At last, something made sense. Someone in the Brotherhood and someone in the sect had a quarrel. The quarrel could not be settled by usual means, and so it must come to a duel.


    Duels were not legal. Should a camp official or a member of the army come upon this, he would be duty-bound to break it up. Scribes did not enforce laws. They merely ensured that what actually happened was recorded. Chang-li was here to watch the duel and write down its outcome.


    Min faced the crowd. More than two-thirds of the spectators were members of her Brotherhood. All of them were armed. And yet, Chang-li would have put his money down on the sect members winning in a fight. At least two of them were cultivators with bulging muscles and the faint glow to their skin indicating they were near the Peak of Bodily Refinement.


    That was not even counting Young Master Feng. From gossip around the camp, Chang-li knew that Feng was well along the second tier of cultivation, that of Mental Refinement. His body was already honed and polished far beyond what a mere mortal was capable of. Though not particularly large or meaty-seeming, the cords of muscle in Feng''s lean, bare arms stood out like iron bands beneath his copper-hued skin. His piercing eyes missed nothing. He seemed to take up more space than he physically should, his presence somehow more than anyone else''s here.


    Chang-li felt Feng''s presence growing even stronger and knew he must be using a cultivator technique. The spectators took a step back. Chang-li''s teeth chattered. He forced himself to stand in place.


    Min, the woman in courtly white and red, stood up straight under the cultivator''s overbearing presence. She was a puzzle. Clearly, she was both royalty and an influential member of this Brotherhood. Now she spoke.


    "Younger brother and sister Lishan bring us their complaint.¡± She gestured to a pair at the side of the crowd. The weeping woman was in her young twenties. The angry man had his arm around the woman''s shoulder. The man''s eyes screamed fury, but he took no step forward.


    ¡°They accused Outer Sect Disciple Hui of forcing himself on Sister Lishan.¡±


    The outer disciple scowled at the pair. He did not appear particularly impressive. If he was on the path, he had not taken many steps along it. "The wench was willing. Now that her husband has found out, she calls it assault."


    "There," Young Master Feng said, "you have heard my disciple''s words from his own mouth. Will you doubt the word of a member of the Soaring Heavens Sect?"If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "I will back my own younger brother and sister," Min snapped. She was definitely younger than either of the Lishan pair. Brotherhoods used "younger" and "elder" to indicate status. Whoever this woman was, she was clearly powerful in the ranks of the Oaken Band.


    Chang-li would have to ask quiet questions around camp, but he knew that the Oaken Band was one of the most powerful fraternal organizations in Riceflower Province. Doubtless, they had placed as many of their people in this expedition. A climbing expedition always offered opportunities for profit, as well as a chance, perhaps, for some of their members to cultivate.


    This woman, clearly of noble stock, must also be well connected in the Brotherhood. She would be here to handle situations exactly like this, forcing the Young Master of a sect to answer for his disciple''s offenses when no one else in her Brotherhood had the standing to make this happen.


    "You dare?" Young Master Feng snarled.


    "I do, and I demand satisfaction."


    The offending cultivator, Hui, sneered. ¡°I¡¯ll face your Brother Lishan right now."


    "No," Min said. "You will not.¡± She gestured, and a man, a good head taller than anyone else in the crowd, stepped forward. He was bald. He wore a tunic with almost no sleeves, revealing vast muscular biceps and shoulders. His hands were nearly the size of Chang-li''s head. He cracked his knuckles and formed a fist and pounded his palm with it.


    "This is Brother Stone," Min said. "He is our champion. He will face your disciple."


    Young Master Feng looked the man up and down. He sneered. "This will be a fine chance to educate you people on the difference between might and power. You," he nodded to Stone, "are a strong man. Clearly, you have been strong your whole life, but that matters nothing compared to a man who is on the path of cultivation." His eyes fell on his disciple, who was shrinking back. "Disciple Hui is under discipline. I do not permit him to fight. Your man may face disciple Zhang, if he dares."


    The indicated sect member stepped forward. This man was clearly farther along the path than Disciple Hui. His skin gleamed with an almost metallic sheen. He moved with a cat-like grace. He faced Brother Stone and bowed.


    "I shall warn you, I have taken the second step along the path. I am nearing the Peak of Bodily Refinement."


    "But you''re not there yet," Brother Stone growled. "I''m not afraid to take you on."


    "Your terms are acceptable," Min snapped. She turned to Chang-li. "Scribe?"


    "Oh, yes," Chang-lifumbled in his bag. Some of the watchers laughed. His cheeks burned as he pulled out a pad of rice paper and inked his pen. He began at once to write out the details.


    ¡°Unlawful but witnessed duel between Oaken Band Brotherhood Member Stone and Soaring Heavens Sect Disciple Zhang, witnessed by Young Master Feng of the Soaring Heavens Sect and,¡± he paused and turned to Min. "My lady, ah, Min, how shall I put you?"


    She reached inside her robe and pulled out a seal cylinder. It had a design on its smooth ivory surface. ¡°Give me ink."


    He produced his inking tray and prepared it before holding it out. She rolled the thumb-length seal in the ink, then pressed it to his pad and rolled, leaving an inked design with the archaic character for Bumblebee over a stylized rice flower in an oval, with a crown atop. The crown bore a single gem.


    Though he''d never seen this symbol before. Chang-li could understand it easily enough. The Oaken Band Brotherhood''s logo, and the crown indicating the girl''s own noble rank.


    Chang-li turned to Young Master Feng.


    "Is this enough for you? Or will you make a mark as well.¡±


    "No one would dare to write my name on a writ of which I do not approve,¡± Feng sneered.


    Chang-li nodded and then stepped back into the circle of observers. Feng and Min did the same as the two combatants came forward.


    The cultivator looked arrogant as he slipped into the center of the circle. His hands were loose and open at his side. He wore sandals on his feet and his robes long about his legs, not bothering to tie them back for battle.


    The Brotherhood man with his open-sleeved tunic and leggings approached carefully, keeping his arms out and the center of weight low like he was a wrestler planning a grab.


    Young Master Feng snorted. "This will not take long. Your man will be dead in three moves."


    Min said nothing, merely watched. Brother Stone stopped just outside grappling range of the cultivator. His eyes were fixed on the man''s chest and arms. Cultivator Zhang raised his hands. Chang-li could feel the lux circulating in the cultivator. His own heart quickened. He slipped into a cycling pattern of his own, trying to see more clearly what the cultivator was doing.


    The man radiated lux. Chang-li''s own lux awareness was not heightened enough yet to tell what color, but he could feel it pulsing off him.


    Then he realized with a shock that Brother Stone was cycling lux as well. Master Feng gave a startled cry. "You cheat! You are unlicensed!"


    "You agreed to this duel!" Min said, a hint of a smile playing across her face.


    Chang-li scribbled furiously, remembering his scribe duties at last, keeping up his cycling technique by directing his lux flows with his left hand.


    Cultivator Zhang released a technique. A ball of red-tinged lux, barely visible in Chang-li''s sight, flew from his hand. It burst over Brother Stone. For a cultivator not even at the Peak of Bodily Refinement, it was impressive. The lux technique washed across Brother Stone like a gentle wave lapping at a rock on the edge of a lake.


    The edges of the technique were sloppily defined. They kicked up a wave of dust around Stone¡¯s body, showering the spectators with dirt. Some of the Brotherhood cried out.


    Brother Stone grinned. "You will have to do better than that!" he taunted as he stepped forward. He grabbed at the cultivator''s waist. Cultivator Zhang slipped aside like a slick brush-handle sliding from his grasp.


    Stone cursed and turned. Cultivator Zhang leapt. He kicked at Brother Stone''s head as he flew forward in an inhumanly high and fast move.


    Brother Stone caught Cultivator Zhang''s ankle and threw him to the ground. Chang-li heard the cultivator''s leg snap. Cultivator Zhang shrieked. Stone dropped on him elbow first, landing hard against the cultivator''s ribs. Cultivator Zhang cried out and lay still.


    "Enough!" Min said, stepping forward. Brother Stone stood up.


    Young Master Feng strode across the ring. He stared down at the cultivator. The man''s eyes were open. Blood trickled between his lips. Chang-li gulped, then stepped forward as well.


    "He''s dead!" Young Master Feng said, astonishment and dismay on his face. "You!"


    ¡°Death is permitted in a witnessed duel,¡± Minturned to Chang-li. "You witnessed all of that?"


    "Yes," he muttered. He turned back to his paper and wrote out the bare ending. Brother Stone killed Cultivator Zhang.


    He looked back up. Feng was shaking with fury. "You! You are an unlicensed cultivator!" he said, jabbing his finger at Stone.


    The man snorted. "Would I be foolish enough to reveal myself to you if I were?" He turned to Min. "Elder Sister Min, my license?"


    She reached inside her robe and produced a small scroll. Its ends were carved wood with a design on them, "The Office of Cultivation." She handed it to Stone, who unrolled it and held it up. Feng looked. He shook his head.


    "A forgery!"


    "Scribe Chang-li," Min said, crooking a finger to him. She was smiling now. Chang-li should find her expression distasteful, her delight in a man''s death disturbing. Yet he didn''t. She had done what was best for her Brotherhood, clearly, and she was proud of that. Cultivator Zhang clearly would have done the same to Brother Stone had he been the stronger fighter.


    Chang-li glanced at the still-sobbing woman, Sister Lishan. He had no doubt that the woman''s accusation was true, that a member of the sect had forced himself on her. It was harsh, but cultivators who considered themselves above the law could be brought to justice only by another cultivator.


    He stepped forward and examined Brother Stone''s cultivator license. It was good. It was very good. The seal looked authentic. The parchment was the exact shade of ecru it should be, with the tiny silver thread along the side. How had they gotten their hands on that? Even the scribes¡¯ office didn¡¯t have a stash of cultivator license parchment.


    Still, there were tiny flaws his expert eye caught. The seal at the bottom, affixed by the Office of Cultivation, should have a subtle metallic sheen to the wax. This was missing. The first character of each line ought to be a tiny bit larger than the rest, but they were all the same size. It would certainly fool an inexpert witness, but Chang-li prided himself on noticing the little details.


    He stepped back, turned to Cultivator Young Master Feng, and saw the sneer on his face, the insolence, the arrogance that had gotten multiple dozens of people killed just two days ago.


    "It''s an authentic license.¡±


    Master Feng stared hatred at him. "You dare contradict me?¡±


    "The scribe attests to the legitimacy of this license," Min said. "This matter is concluded. We are done here.¡± she beckoned. Her people descended on her.


    As they left, the cultivators gathered around their fallen disciple. Chang-li matched strides with Min, not daring to fall behind the protection the Oaken Band offered. "The wax was wrong," he said in a low voice. "I hope you didn''t pay too much for that forgery."


    "Sounds like I should come to you next time." Her eyes sparkled. "Would you be able to do better?"


    "I would,¡± puffed up with pride, and then followed with, "But I will not. I do not deal in forgeries."


    "You don''t deal in them yet," Min said. "Wait until you have something you want enough. Thank you for your work tonight. You will be paid according to the scribe''s schedule. Please file that in the appropriate place for me.¡±


    ¡°How is a royal lady also the Elder Sister of a brotherhood?¡± he asked, torn between worry and curiosity.


    ¡°Well, when one grandfather is a provincial governor and the other is Eldest Brother of the Oaken Band¡­¡± she gave a shrug. ¡°It makes for an interesting childhood, I will say that. Thank you for your help tonight. Should you ever need anything from the Brotherhood, we will remember, Scribe Wu.¡±


    He¡¯d never told her his name. He recalled that only after the brothers left him safely at the scribe¡¯s house.


    That was more than a little disturbing.

 7. The Sister

    Min slipped back inside the court enclave, passing through the inner checkpoint as the guards she had bribed earlier carefully looked the other way. It had hardly been what one could call a bribe. Wia Chin had a young wife who was fond of flowers and Fong Hai had a small gambling debt. Friendly gifts were easy to accept. They soothed the conscience, and a guilt-free mind was open to persuasion.


    The single-story wooden buildings housing the dozen or so courtly scions and their attendants and hangers-on were largely dark. Two of the four were not yet occupied.


    Min had her small sleeping room in the first dwelling on the left. She came in from the garden side, passing the quiet fishpond and the gently rustling willows before sliding open the back door, slipping her outer shoes into her assigned box, and replacing them with slippers. Most of the house was dark, but there was a light in the lounge. She debated going straight to bed, but it was early, and the duel had left her unsettled.


    She had gotten justice for her wronged family. That was good. The Brotherhood depended on its members knowing they could go to their superiors for protection and justice. But an incident like this would spark gossip in the camp.


    The Oaken Band worked best when it worked quietly. The carters and barrel makers would go about their daily business, the cooks and healers'' assistants tending their pots and charges, thinking of themselves as dutiful servants of the Empire first and foremost. Only when the Brotherhood called, or when they had need, should their allegiances surface.


    In this camp, with the climbing expedition barely begun, it was important to keep a low profile. Min had risked exposure of herself and the other senior members of the Brotherhood here, but the insult to Sister Lishan could not stand.


    This is why we need cultivators, she thought to herself as she headed for the lounge. The low murmur of voices emanated from the room. If we had cultivators in the second tier, or perhaps even beyond, then the Oaken Band would be able to step out of the shadows and protect our own.


    She was grateful that her grandfather had sent Brother Stone on this expedition. He was one of the only members of the Brotherhood to have made any progress at all along the Heavenly Path. Min''s top priority was to get him included on enough of the climbing expeditions that he could reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement. Once he did, everything would change. Instead of having to beg and scrape and forge licenses and permissions to cultivate, he would be welcomed along on expeditions, his expertise sought after. Already his Lux pathways were developing. His command of red Lux, the body-strengthening Lux, was quite good from what she could tell.


    Min entered the lounge. There were three people present, which was most of the other royal, noble scions in this place. One was her brother, Jai-lin. The other two were young women from elsewhere in Riceflower Province.


    One of the two wore an orange banded robe. Nima had an inflated notion of her importance. She was currently the highest ranking noble in the camp, aside from the Dowager Pearl. Shisa wore red, like Min and Jai-lin, and rarely spoke.


    Jai-lin rose excitedly. He held a hand out to his younger sister as he beckoned her to sit beside him. "Just wait until you''ve heard this news!" His eyes were aglow.


    Jai-lin was flourishing here. She had always known he would. His skill at the lute and recitation of poetry, his courtly manners, and calm demeanor made him a perfect member of the Court of Gems. She hoped he would be able to find a valuable connection to a cultivator on the rise. Jai-lin was well suited for life at the side of a cultivator.


    The Court of Gems, young noble scions descended from the Emperor himself, served a vital role in keeping the Empire together. Any notable cultivator who made it past the Peak of Bodily Refinement and showed aptitude to go even higher would find him or herself with a noble consort, like it or not.


    High-ranked nobles of the Court were groomed from a young age in all the skills a rising cultivator would lack¡ªcharm, deportment, etiquette, polish, a knowledge of bureaucracy, and skill at court intrigue. Min, her brother, and the other low-ranked nobles from an outer province were mostly here to help fill out the Court of Gems. The real noble scions would be arriving in a few days. But Jai-lin still had a good chance. His character and winning ways could very well catch the eye or heart of a cultivator. She knew that''s what he was aiming for.


    Min was not. Min was here to advance the Brotherhood and herself.


    She allowed Jai-lin to draw her over to the couch, where she settled gracefully, smoothing out the folds of her robe.


    "Did you have a nice walk?" Nima asked her. The way she arched her eyebrow and the ironic tinge to her words told Min that Nima thought she''d been out having an assignation. That was fine. Better to be suspected of having a clandestine lover than of running an underground fraternal organization right under the nose of camp officials.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    "It was a lovely evening," Min replied. "Jai-lin, what is it you wanted to tell me?"


    "The Dowager Pearl sent her aide to us just after dinner, not five minutes after you''d slipped out." His hands almost fluttered in excitement as he spoke to her. "Lady Morningrise, the Dowager''s aide, told us that they''ve had word the first shipload of nobles will be coming down the coast within a week." His eyes shone. "One of them is a member of the Indigo Court."


    Min sucked in a breath despite herself. Indigo was the second highest ranking of the Sevenfold Court, behind only Violet. Violet Princes and Princesses, the Emperor¡¯s own children, were not permitted to leave Imperial Garden grounds without the Emperor''s permission, and never before marriage. Indigo Princes and Princesses were the lowest rank to claim that title. As grandchildren of the Emperor himself, they might leave, but only rarely. For one to come here meant this climb would be attracting cultivators of some worth.


    "How many in all did Lady Morningrise say?"


    Nima shook her head. "It sounds like over a dozen in this first batch, and more to follow. I had hoped it would be another month at least. By the time any of the hopeful cultivators have started to distinguish themselves, we''ll be outnumbered."


    She looked unhappy, and Min understood why. The higher ranked nobles would be much better positioned to catch a cultivator on the rise.


    "You could always try your luck with young Master Feng."


    Shisa laughed. ¡°Not a chance. He could be Heir of the Emperor himself and I¡¯d steer clear of that self-righteous prick.¡±


    Nima snorted. "He has made it clear that he''s aiming much higher than red or orange. I do not care to dally with a cultivator who has no intention of marrying me. I pointed him at the servant girls and let him know that some of them might find his attentions flattering.¡±


    Jai-lin sighed. "He is rather good looking and polished. I feel he may be a cultivation genius. But there''s something lacking in his soul."


    "I wholeheartedly agree," Min said, remembering his attitude tonight, his dismissal of her woman''s complaint, his casual cruelty, and expectation of an easy win for his disciple. "Steer clear of him," she advised the others. "Let the higher nobles deal with young Master Feng. What else?¡±


    ¡°Do we need anything else?" Shisa asked, rolling her eyes.


    Jai-lin, however, nodded. "Lady Morningrise mentioned they would be requisitioning quite a few workers to assist in escorting the nobles up to the camp. The Indigo noble, of course, will need palanquin bearers if they haven''t brought their own."


    Min got the message. She approved. Jai-lin might be suited for court life, but he had not forgotten his origins. He knew she would see that their people got the most plum assignments.


    ¡°The palanquin bearers will be slaves,¡± dismissing that role even as she considered what places her people could fill. "I''m sure we will have to give up a few of our attendants for a time while they help the new nobles.¡±


    Nima scowled. "I doubt they''ve brought enough attendants of their own. Ours will be split between the newcomers, and you can guess who''ll get the lowest end of that bargain." She shook her head. "It''s not fair. My mother spent weeks pulling strings to have me brought up here in the hopes I could make a good connection for our family. And now, a shipload of coddled nobles from the court who''ve always had everything given to them is coming and taking even that chance. I wish I could cultivate."


    Jai-lin drew back in horror. "Surely not. It''s a dirty, dangerous business."


    On the one hand, Min agreed with Jai-lin. Cultivation was dangerous. On the other hand, it wasn''t like she''d ever even be offered the chance.


    She imagined what a few ranks of cultivation would have done for a man like her grandfather if he, instead of approaching his old age, was only now in the prime of his youth thanks to Bodily Refinement, if his already sharp mind was enhanced with the heights of mental refinement.


    "Well?" Nima asked. "What of it? Would you cultivate if you had a chance?"


    "Oh, certainly," Min said, dismissing the notion entirely. "But we won''t be given one, so what''s the point? We''re the cords that bind cultivators to the emperor, not cultivators ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Our divine ancestor ordains everyone''s lot in life," Jai-lin agreed.


    "But cultivators can come from any background," Nima said. "Noble, poor, artisan, even a slave who reaches the Peak of Bodily Refinement becomes a free man and a cultivator. Why not us?"


    Min laughed. "Go ahead and ask young Master Feng to take you inside. See how you like it there."


    It didn''t matter how convenient it would be to be a cultivator at the head of the Brotherhood. It wouldn''t happen. Min had not gotten to where she was, her grandfather''s heir and right-hand woman at the age of only seventeen, by allowing herself to dwell on the impossible. No, she constrained herself to that which was possible, though daring and risky. She wouldn''t lose sight of that now.


    She rose. "Thank you for the conversation," she said politely to the others. "I have a letter to write before bed."


    She needed to send a missive to her deputy in the brotherhood. Once she told him about the nobles about to arrive, he would be able to select the brothers and sisters most ready to exploit this opportunity. Even a simple trip up the mountain alongside nobility could offer opportunities for their people.


    "Good night," she told Jai-lin. "Don''t forget to get your beauty sleep."


    "You too,¡± he smiled. "I''m not losing hope. With the new nobles coming, they must be expecting more cultivators to arrive. We''ll all just have to look our best, won''t we?"


    He tossed back his head and his long, dark hair cascaded down his back. It shone radiantly; Jai-lin brushed his hair with a gold-backed comb a thousand strokes a night. He had never cut it, and it came to his knees. Min kept hers just a little below shoulder length, long enough to properly fasten up in elegant arrangements, but short enough to be practical.


    So be it. Jai-lin would make a good cultivator connection, and bring them home to the family. Min would take care of Jai-lin and the rest of her brothers and sisters. This expedition was a great chance for the Oaken Band Brotherhood.


    Mindful of the possible, Min departed for her room.

 8. Scheming

    Chang-li had never forged a document before. Now he made three in the span of two days.


    The hardest part had been to hide his pilfering of official parchments; they were always accounted for, and taking sheets of the creamy pages used for official business from the tray in the outer scribing office would have been noted. Instead, he snuck into the back room where the scribes kept their supplies, took the sheets he needed from a carton that had not been previously opened, and replaced them with an inferior grade, hiding the counterfeit sheets several pages deep in the stack. When they were discovered, it would be assumed the suppliers had tried to cheat them.


    The seal was easy. Inspector Ji¡¯in never let go of his seal, but Chang-li didn''t need it for these documents, only the quartermaster''s seal. He had access to that while updating the records of the camp office. He had smuggled his sheets in under his outer robe, pilfered the seal. He¡¯d rolled it on the blank sheets in the camp records room, using his own ink, then cleaned it off and returned it to its place before it could be missed.


    Now Chang-li went about the next step of his plan. First, he returned to the quartermaster''s office, where a supply clerk looked up at him from under bored eyelids.


    "You back? I thought you were done."


    "I am. New task," Chang-lipresented one of his forged documents. The clerk looked it over, running his eye down the neat list.


    "I could get that for you. Doesn''t say where it''s to be sent."


    Chang-li shook his head. "I''ll take it.¡±


    ¡°They have you doing porter work now?" The clerk looked suspicious.


    Chang-li shook his head. "I, uh, lost a bet. I''ll come by just at close and collect it if that''s alright with you. I¡¯m doing this in my off hours, to not let it interfere with my actual duties."


    "Understood," the clerk said. "I''ll have it ready for you tonight. What''d you bet on?"


    "Um, some of the cultivators were having an arm wrestling match. I backed the wrong man.¡±


    The clerk winced in sympathy. "I think sometimes they throw the fights just to fleece us ordinary mortals. I''ve lost enough marks on it, I won''t be spending any more."


    "That''s smart of you," Chang-li said, and made his escape.


    He came back, as promised, just at dusk. The clerk had the satchel waiting in a corner for him. Chang-li scooped it up and took it at once to his quarters, where he stowed it in his chest. He had to take out his second-best scribe''s robe, roll it up, and put it behind his pillow to make room.


    Inside the leather bag was a wooden box containing forty days of purification tablets. That was all a cultivator could requisition at one time without further question.


    He had written the script out in the name of Zhang, the cultivator who had died fighting Brother Stone. As he''d hoped, the clerk had filled the order without suspicion. The bag also held a small roll of bandages, a short utility knife, and a fire starter set.


    Chang-li added his worn pants, the ones he no longer wore on duty because they had developed holes in the hem, and his winter boots. He didn''t know what the environment would be like inside the lower levels of the tower. He might want more than his sandals. Then he closed the chest, locked it, and left the room. The rest of his supplies he¡¯d have to acquire later.


    The first part of his plan was complete. The next part was trickier. After all, did the trip down the mountain to collect the young nobles really need a scribe along?


    Chang-li sweated over his next forgery for hours in the privacy of the bunk room, leaping up every time someone came in and hiding his work. At last, it was as good as he could make it. He carried the document to Inspector Ji''in during a particularly busy time of day.


    "What''s this?" the inspector asked as Chang-li presented the document to him. His eyes traveled across the neatly printed characters and down to the quartermaster''s seal at the bottom.


    "They need a scribe, sent down to check up on their clerks in Golden Moon City. It''s because their records were such a mess," Chang-li lied. He''d been laying preparation for this deception for several days, complaining to his superiors about the state of the records he had found in the quartermaster''s office. "They suspect that some of the clerks may be in collusion with merchants to defraud the army. They need one of us to go and investigate as an impartial witness."


    Inspector Ji''in sighed. "Very well. I will assign Scribe Shi, perhaps."


    Chang-li cleared his throat. "Honorable Inspector, I do not mean to contradict you, but I have been studying the records these past few days and know what to look for. In addition, I cannot be sent into the tower on any cultivating parties, so it makes sense for me to be sent on this task."


    Inspector Ji''in seemed to consider his logic. "It does make a certain amount of sense," he allowed. "When did they have in mind?"


    "The army is sending an escort down the mountain in three days to help bring up the newly arrived Court of Gems nobles."


    "Ah, that''s right," Inspector Ji''in said. "I have a request from the Dowager Pearl that we send her a scribe to make a note of some things she needs from the city."


    Inspector Ji''in pulled baskets and trays from under the long counter. He rifled through stacks of official documents before pulling one out. "Here you are. You may as well do both duties. Go and ask the Revered Pearl''s secretary what she needs."


    Chang-li bowed low. "Thank you, Honorable Inspector. I shall do the scribe''s office proud."


    Inspector Ji''in began to dismiss him, then raised a hand. ¡°Down in the city, you will likely find things you cannot acquire here. I will advance you your next month''s salary if you wish."


    Chang-li bowed low. He had been hoping to ask the inspector at a later time, not wanting to push his luck too much at once, but here the inspector was anticipating his wish. "Thank you, Inspector. You are too kind."


    "On one condition.¡± Inspector Ji''in held up a finger. "I shall send you along three silver marks of my own. I wish you to buy me a bottle of the best quality rice wine available at the Lotus Flower Brewery shop. They have their storefront near the docks. It will be easy for you to find."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Of course, Honorable Inspector," Chang-li said, bowing even lower, trying to hide his delight.


    He took the Dowager Pearl''s requisition from the inspector and hurried out. The more valid tasks he had down in Golden Moon City, the more likely it was his cover would hold up.


    He presented the Dowager''s writ to the guards standing outside the stockade to the inner camp where the nobles of the Court of Gems were housed. They scrutinized it long and hard before at last nodding to him.


    "Do what it is you''ve come to do and be gone," one of the gate guards told him. "Do not linger. Do not speak to any of the Court of Gems. None of the ones here are quite high enough rank to demand your execution merely for offending them. But if they were to accuse you of impropriety, then..."


    Chang-li bowed. "I am grateful for your warning," he said and passed through the gate.


    He couldn''t help slowing his step as he entered the inner camp. This seemed like a garden plucked from another world and placed down here in the middle of the military camp. Instead of the neat rows of wooden barracks and two-story headquarter buildings for the various divisions, crowded with soldiers and workers, there were four long low houses with blue tile roofs. All the other buildings in camp had slate tiles taken from the mountainside around them. These had clearly been baked and brought up for the express purpose of decorating the roofs. Trees grew around the edges of the building, willows with long delicate branches, flowering cherry trees, pear trees, and stunted oaks.


    The cultivator camp had existed for hundreds of years. It was abandoned for at least nine years out of every decade, springing to life again when there was to be a climbing expedition or a cull of the powerful beasts that made the tower their home. Chang-li had arrived early in the course of this expedition. The outer buildings were still being repaired. Many laborers and soldiers slept under canvas as the barracks were restored. This place, though, looked as though it had never been abandoned.


    None of the buildings had red doors. There were both male and female nobles present in the camp already. Nobles operated on different rules; they were allowed to mingle, though under the watchful eye of the Dowager Pearl and her aides.


    A towering building, three stories high, stood at the end of this inner encampment, the noble houses flanking it on both sides. That was where Chang-li was to go. He hurried forward, up the wooden steps onto the decking around the tower. Each tier had its own fluted roof of golden roof tiles with decorative corner posts carved to look like dragons. The wood and paper door was slid shut.


    Chang-li knelt, bent his forehead to touch the wooden boards of the deck, and then knocked. A moment later the door rasped open. He did not look up. A woman spoke to him.


    "What are you doing here?" Her voice was astonished and a little scornful. It was also familiar.


    Chang-li looked up into the face of Min, the elder sister of the Oaken Band Brotherhood, who was also a noble of the Court of Gems. Her red-bordered robe had not a fold out of place, but her expression did not quite suit a young noblewoman. There was a hint of fear on her face that vanished as quickly as he thought he''d seen it.


    Chang-li held out his writ. "I am here at the command of the Dowager Pearl."


    "Oh.¡± Min looked at the note. "Yes, she has a list of requests to send down the mountain." Now she had a calculating expression. She bit her lip. "Oh, stand up," she said in an exasperated tone. Chang-li rose. "Who is going to fulfill this order?"


    "This one will be traveling to Golden Moon. He will see to the Dowager Pearl''s request personally."


    "Good, good," Min said. "Come inside."


    She stepped back and he entered the room. A steep stair at the back of the mostly bare ten-mat room led upward to the next floor. A kettle sat on an enameled stove by one wall and a broom beside the door, along with a long low table surrounded by cushions. He realized that Min was here serving the Dowager Pearl as her first line of defense against anyone who wished to see the Dowager. The noblewoman herself must be higher up in the tower.


    Min went and fetched the pot and a pair of clay mugs. Chang-li noted there were finely sculpted and painted porcelain mugs on the shelf higher, but she took the rough clay. It was a good indicator to him of just how important he wasn''t.


    "Sit," Min said briskly.


    Chang-li held his ground. "I am here to speak with the Dowager."


    "The Dowager Pearl is taking her afternoon repose," Min said calmly. "She will not thank us for interrupting her before the third bell. Sit, I will pour the tea."


    Chang-li sat. Min arrayed herself cross-legged on a cushion across from him. It was not the usual posture for a delicate young woman, being the masculine way of sitting. She wore white leggings underneath her tunic, with a thin red stripe up the side; her feet crossed in front of her, showing a lot of very shapely leg. Chang-li raised his eyes up to her face, hoping he hadn¡¯t been staring.


    She poured the tea deftly before shoving one of the two mugs toward him. She picked up hers and sipped it, surprising Chang-li yet again. After all, it was polite to allow the guest to drink first.


    Then he realized that perhaps in Brotherhood circles it was polite for the one who poured the tea to drink first. He had heard stories of the fearsome brotherhoods, how they might poison, stab, or blackmail their rivals.


    Min frowned then sighed. ¡°Well. You''ve got me all off my stride." She set down her mug carefully and quickly slid her legs around so now she kneeled delicately on the cushions across from him.


    Chang-li raised the tea to his lips. It was excellent, the best tea he''d had in this whole camp.


    "Right, enough beating around the bush," Min said briskly. "You know who I am. I know that scribes stay neutral and do their task. It happens that you going down the mountain presents an opportunity for me. I would like to send a packet of messages with you."


    "Imperial couriers go up and down the mountain every day on official business.¡±


    "Yes, well, exactly," Min said, a smile playing on her lips. She met Chang-li''s eyes and leaned forward as though inviting him to conspire with her. Her eyes had remarkable depth. Chang-li could see a couple of white spots in them like a pair of stars. "They¡¯re messages I would prefer not to have pass under the eyes of anyone official."


    Chang-li had just taken another sip of tea. He nearly choked. He coughed, spluttered, cleared his throat, and bowed his head. "Apologies. This is the first time I have ever heard anyone refer to a scribe as not official."


    "You know what I mean," Min said. There was a playful lilt to her voice.


    "Scribes are officially neutral in matters of records," Chang-li agreed. "But this would be a breach of neutrality. You''re asking me to involve myself with Brotherhood?"


    "Shh.¡± Min leaned across the table. "Never mind that. Listen, I can make it worth your while. First of all, that''s a favor I''ll owe you. You have any idea how valuable a favor from the Oaken Band is here in Riceflower Province?" Chang-li did, in fact, but he gave a deliberately vague shrug. "Or, I can afford to pay you."


    A thought came to Chang-li. While he did mean to buy a few provisions in Golden Moon City, the less he had to spend the better. His funds were tight. ¡°Actually, yes. What I could really use is a good traveling cloak. Water-resistant, durable. Like the soldiers use, but obviously not army issue.¡± He wouldn¡¯t want to be accused of stealing army goods, after all.¡±


    Her brow knit together. "Why on earth would a clerk need..."


    "You have your schemes, I have mine," Chang-li snapped.


    There was a look in Min''s eyes as she sat back, considering him as though she were seeing him for the first time. "You have depth," she marveled. "Very well. When do you leave?"


    "Three days'' time."


    "Then there will be a package under your bed coverings the night before you leave. My missives, sealed and marked for delivery, wrapped in a fine traveling cloak.¡±


    Chang-li paused. Here they were, haggling like merchants. If she was a merchant, then she would be offering him less than she was willing to give, and he should bargain. But everything he''d ever heard about brotherhoods told him they did not operate on merchant rules. Brotherhood dealings were based on their words. To suggest that she was offering him an unfair deal would be to impugn her honor.


    Instead, he inclined his head. "Agreed. Who shall I deliver the messages to?"


    "The tavern-master of the Inn of Five Stars.¡±


    Chang-li felt a little thrill. It was the same tavern that Cultivator Kang and Scribe Wulan had stayed at hundreds of years before. Perhaps this was an omen of good fortune.


    "Very well.¡±


    Min rose. "In that case, I think we can go upstairs. We wouldn''t want to keep the Dowager Pearl waiting."


    Chang-li nearly choked again. He set the now-empty teacup down and stood. "I thought you said she was resting."


    "Did I?" She winked at him, and Chang-li felt an odd rush of warmth go through him. Who was this girl, anyway?

 9. The Princess

    Indigo Princess Hiroko disembarked from the junk which had brought her to this strange, foreign city. Overhead, huge birds with black-tipped wings soared, their strange cries calling out. She''d never seen their like. In the imperial gardens, songbirds flitted between the trees. Tiny jeweled hummingbirds, prized by the nobles as living representations of the court itself, were hand-fed by members of the lower courts. This, though, was like nothing she''d seen before.


    Buildings crowded around the docks, constructed from wood and brick, their colors ugly and unplanned. The roofs were thatch. Workers milled about, shouting back and forth, their unrefined tones merry or angry. They wore simple homespun tunics, hurrying to keep out of the way of the nobles. The rest of the junk¡¯s passengers, members of the blue, green and yellow courts, preceeded her.


    Hiroko¡¯s robes were dyed indigo through and through, unlike theirs, which were white with only a band of color. Her tiny, golden slippers made little noise against the rough wood of the wharf. Her attendants, two middle-aged women in black knee-length tunics, kept their eyes downcast.


    ¡°How long until we leave for the camp?¡±


    "Forgiveness, Highness," one of the women said without looking at her. "This one does not know."


    Hiroko sighed. She had tried to befriend the women during the three-week voyage from the court nearest to the Imperial Palace along the coast, kept them with her night and day, allowing them to share a pallet together in her own cabin and enjoy some of the benefits, like the fresh air and sunlight let in by the portholes on her cabin wall. It hadn¡¯t worked. They were clearly terrified of her.


    None of the other nobles wanted to speak with her, either. She knew a few of the Blue ladies. They were around her same age, and had, like her, been raised in the Imperial Palace. None of them would exchange more than a few words with her. She understood why. Her status was so much higher than theirs, they saw her as a threat.


    She wished she could tell them they had nothing to fear. She already had her assignment.


    When the trio of dowager pearls had come to her royal apartments to tell her she had been chosen for this expedition, Hiroko had remained outwardly calm, kneeling with her palms against her legs, just as she had been taught.


    She had been afraid when they came in their black robes and officious, concerned faces, that they were bringing her news of her father. That he had died on campaign. She had not seen her father in nearly eighteen months. Her father, General Li Nu Zhan, the great General of the West, had been sent out by the Emperor to put down an uprising in Honga province, the nomadic barbarian Darwur who still refused to submit to the Emperor''s will.


    She had heard rumors that some of the monasteries in that region had been burned for heresy, for teaching that, though the Emperor was the Chosen of Heaven, other Chosen existed elsewhere in the world. That was a lie. The Emperor was, had always been, and always would be, the sole Chosen of Heaven. It was a sign of just how badly-run the province was, that such terrible lies and rebellions could flourish. Even General Li might struggle against such criminals.


    When the Dowager Pearls told her the truth, she had been so relieved, she smiled. ¡°So I am to be the Emperor¡¯s bridge.¡±


    The Pearl in charge of the delegation, Lady Yu, nodded. Of the three dowagers, she was the only one to wear the white pearl circlet on her head. Like Hiroko''s own grandmother¡¯s white pearl, it indicated she had borne a child to the Emperor.


    The other two dowagers wore black pearls at their neck, showing they had been chosen Courtesans of the Emperor for their allotted ten years, but had no child. They were given honorable retirement and positions in the kingdom. None of them would ever marry. No woman who had been so honored by the Emperor could accept a lesser man into her bed.


    Lady Yu spoke.  ¡°As usual, the sects send their strongest young cultivators to help with this tower exploit. The knowledge that an Indigo Princess is watching will spur them to new heights. You may choose from among the candidates, but the Emperor expects you to select a spouse before the end of that tower exploit. You will also remind the lesser nobles of their duty to serve as the emperor¡¯s bridges, tying their soon-to-be-spouses to the imperium with bonds of custom and etiquette,¡± the dowager continued.


    Hiroko bowed her head. She was one of only three Indigo Princesses of marriageable age and not yet married. There were four Indigo Princes. Most ambitious cultivators tended to be men, and most of them preferred women. Since an Indigo Prince or Princess could leave the Imperial grounds only with Imperial permission, and only to marry, Hiroko had always known she would either spend her whole life within the 10,000 acres of gardens, pleasure domes, palaces, and landscaped vistas inside the great walls of the Forbidden City, or that one day a delegation of dowagers would come to her just like this.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Has my father been informed?"


    "He will be pleased to learn the Emperor''s will.¡± The dowager¡¯s eyes narrowed as she spoke.


    Hiroko wondered if her father would truly be pleased by this. Her mother, Violet Princess Nomi, had died giving birth to Hiroko. Had her mother lived, would she have been proud to see Hiroko now, grown and ready to do her duty?


    Hiroko spent the three weeks of the voyage with every day a constant new delight. She spent as much time as she could up on the deck of the junk, with great triangular sails billowing and creaking in the wind as the ship sailed slowly along the coastline to Riceflower Province.


    It was far to the north of the Imperial City. Some of the other nobles of the court complained about the chill in the morning air. Hiroko loved it. She loved the sunrise over the water and the sunset on the land beside them, pouring golden light across wheat fields and rice paddies.


    They passed small villages, tying up from time to time, but none of the courtly passengers were permitted to disembark. Hiroko would stare out her cabin window at the tiny collections of huts, bustling with people dressed in ways she''d never seen before, men wearing nothing but long strips of cloth wound around their midsections, women in simple dresses with no outer layers or ornament, children splashing about naked in the midday sun. She supposed they must wear more in the morning and evening when it grew cool. Their houses were made of branches and rough-hewn logs thatched with grass and mud. They sang songs as they brought in their boats laden with fish, the men dragging the boats up onto shore to the waiting women armed with filleting knives and drying racks.


    She would never have seen such things had she never left the palace. Whatever cultivator she ended up marrying, she was grateful to him for giving her this opportunity.


    She could picture him in her mind. He would be tall, strong, his limbs infused with the glow of cultivation, his hair pulled back from his head in an elegant queue, falling down his back, tied off with a golden thread. He must be near the Peak of Mental Refinement, to be a candidate for her hand. With her at his side, he would receive an endorsement on his Cultivator¡¯s License to continue his climb all the way to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. Then, together, they would find their place in service to the Emperor, like her father. If they pleased the Emperor, her future spouse might even be permitted to ascend to the tier past Spiritual Refinement.


    A strong cultivator might lead a sect. She would serve as the Emperor''s eyes and ears within the sect, his mouth to remind them of their duties to him, but also their voice back to the court. With her connections, a sect which had once perhaps been on the outskirts of society could be strengthened and drawn into the Golden Circle. It was a symbiosis which had served the Emperor for a thousand years and would serve for a thousand more. Their children would rank in the blue court, able to claim the Emperor as their great-grandfather. That exalted status would gain them admittance anywhere in the Empire.


    And yet, the longer Hiroko traveled, the more she became uncomfortable with the life she had always expected. She saw the world around her, and she wanted not just to see more, but to do more. She wanted to learn the names of the villages they passed, participate in their songs. She wanted to eat meals with them.


    When the other young nobles sat in the main cabin in the evening, talking in the lantern light as they sipped tea, and wondered about the cultivators awaiting their arrival, she sat quietly and listened. They spoke of how their cultivator spouse would help them reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement, a necessity for anyone paired with a rising cultivator.


    Hiroko had been taken inside the Emperor''s personal tower on multiple occasions, and been given enough lux to raise her nearly to that peak. It would not be hard for her to take the final step, as long as the tower had plenty of blue lux. The Emperor''s own tower had little; most young members of the court used the red of bodily manipulation, or perhaps the green of life.


    Hiroko was considered odd for her youthful insistence on cultivating only blue lux. Had she been anything less than an Indigo princess, anything less than the daughter of the great general of the West, it was unlikely the officials of the court would have indulged her. She would either have been forced to cultivate red lux, or removed from the pool of possible cultivator spouses, condemned to a life of idleness within palace grounds forever.


    But that would not be her fate. Now, as she looked around the bustling streets of Golden Moon City, lifting the hem of her indigo skirts high enough to avoid the mud that clung to the cobbled stones, following the guards to the inn they had acquired for the night, Hiroko stared up at the mountain that loomed over the city. The mountain contained the tower in which her betrothed and other cultivators quested for the lux they would need to raise them to the next level of cultivation.


    The green folds of the mountain were lit by the light of the setting sun, making them look sharp. The very top had a white cap of snow. She couldn''t even guess how tall it rose. She had heard the guards say it would be a six-li journey to the cultivator camp, but didn''t know how long that would take.


    "My lady," one of her attendants said, "Sen will stay with you and see to your needs while I ensure your palanquin is in order."


    "My palanquin?"


    "My lady, you cannot be expected to ascend the mountain on foot. Not a princess of your stature. Of course, you will have a palanquin."


    "But I would much rather walk.¡± She had ridden in palanquins once or twice before, permitted outside the walls of the palace for a very special occasion. She hated sitting in a box, uncomfortably trying to recline against pillows, sitting up as the carriers jostled her back and forth, and the way the curtains blocked out any chance of seeing the outside world. "At least I need not have the curtains drawn.¡±


    The attendants looked at each other. "And allow the common bearers to look upon your face, lady?" They shook their heads. "You would not shame the Emperor so."


    Hiroko subsided. She could see it was a fight she could not win.


    She would submit until they reached the top of the camp. So she resolved, as they reached the two-story Inn of Five Stars where they would be staying the night.


    Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the start of a new life.

 10. The Slave

    The manacles that bound Joshi at night were not his real problem.


    The guards set around the slaves'' compound to watch them were not his real problem.


    The long journey down the mountain through forests filled with dangerous beasts, the town full of enemies who would be on the lookout for a man branded with a slave''s mark on his hand, the hundreds of miles back to his own lands were not the real problem either.


    No, the problem was that damned iron collar around his neck. It chafed him night and day, collecting sweat as he worked, rubbing raw places. Some of the other slaves tried to pad the inside of their collar with strips of linen torn from the edges of their shapeless grey tunics. Joshi had tried that in the first months of his slavery. It didn''t work.


    Some of them saved the puny amounts of fat from their meals, collected whatever herbs they could find near their compound to concoct healing salves to use on the wounds beneath the collar. Joshi had more knowledge of medicine than most from his time at the monastery as a boy. He could create a salve out of mere scraps, but it didn''t help. Not when the collar would rub again the next day.


    The worst of it was how the collar blocked him from cycling lux through his body. Most of the slaves didn''t seem aware of that, but Joshi had been taught in the monastery how to use the little lux available to him to the greatest extent. He had seven different cycling patterns perfectly under his command. One was good for healing. Without the collar, he could have eased the pain from those lacerations in mere minutes of concentration and cycling.


    But the collars were designed to keep slaves from gathering lux and cycling it, to prevent any chance they might have of cultivating. Because cultivating was the only way a man bearing a slave''s brand would ever know freedom.


    Well, the only way the emperor recognized anyway. There were lands beyond the emperor''s grasp, though none of the other slaves seemed to believe that fact. Joshi knew it. He had been born in such a land, had spent his life there on the fringe of civilization. If only he had never left.


    The emperor''s armies, pushed the might of empire farther and farther out from the center every year, encroaching on his family''s ancestral grazing lands, capturing their herds of cattle and goats, stealing their horses for imperial officers to ride, trying to make his people''s way of life impossible so that they would settle down in villages along the border, become citizens, and help grow the undying emperor''s lands even further. From the whispers and rumors Joshi had heard around camp in the past three years, the great General of the West''s campaign against his people was not going according to plan. It was one of the few things that could bring a smile to his face in these dark days.


    He lay on his thin cot mere inches away from the next sweating slave in the row of men packed into the tent and thought about his plight. He was the only slave to wear manacles at night, thanks to his previous escape attempts. They didn''t need to bother. He would not try to escape again, not until he had a way to remove the damn collar.


    Some of the guards carried keys, but not all of them, and not the ones who were in regular contact with the slaves. The masters were not that foolish. Should a slave''s collar be removed due to some requirement of their labor, a guard would be summoned from elsewhere in the encampment to remove it. Joshi had not been given one of those tasks in a very long time.


    The gong would sound soon. The slaves would rise for their simple morning meal of rice gruel, which would be the only food they were given until that night. If he was lucky, they would have a little rancid mutton stew, whatever the soldiers hadn''t eaten the night before. In between would be hours and hours of back-breaking work.


    For the last week, Joshi had been put on lumber duty every day. It was usually a task given to a man only one day in three, for it sapped strength like no other task here. He knew why. Since his survival in the tower, he had been marked for death. He had dared to survive where so many others had not, and that was an offense against the might of the Emperor.


    They would extract every bit of work from his body, though, and that refusal to give him a clean death was why he refused to lie down and die. He would find a way to escape.


    Joshi sat up, even as the other slaves snored and groaned in their sleep around him. He cupped his two hands together in line with his navel, closed his eyes, and began a cycling technique. It didn''t matter that the lux wouldn''t respond. Though the collar actively fought against his attempts, he moved through the motions anyway, starting with the simple technique the monks had taught him at age five, along with how to read, how to concoct medicine, and how to throw a punch.


    But most of all, they had trained him for a future as a cultivator.


    His father, the great Khan of the Darwur, had sought to have his youngest son, by the soft, civilized wife he''d captured on a raid against a soft, civilized city, educated in the ways of imperial cultivators. The monks had taught him seven different cycling techniques, as well as what to expect inside towers, how to get along with other cultivators, how to prepare for the Heavenly Climb. And when he was ready, when he had learned all he could, just as he was about to embark on his climb, it all came crashing down.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    It was Joshi''s own stupidity that had gotten him into this mess. He remembered how, on his return to the clan, his father had declared that the monks had turned Joshi soft. At the time, Joshi had not deigned to reply, secure in the knowledge that his father was wrong. Now, with his hands calloused in ways that a horse''s reins could never do, with his body scarred and broken from the harsh labor, he knew his father had been right. He had been soft.


    No longer.


    Joshi shifted from the simplest cultivation pattern to the next, imagining that he was cycling the lux through his body. He made it all the way to the seventh and most complicated cycling technique, the Way of Star''s Light technique, before the gong sounded and his fellow slaves rose to begin another day.


    But this day did not go as Joshi had expected. He was still eating breakfast when a pair of guards marched into the slaves'' compound, pushing them all away from the communal kettle. These were not their customary guards. Joshi eyed them with curiosity, wondering what they were about. They moved through the crowd of slaves, looking the men over carefully.


    "You. You. You." They were picking tall, strong men with a good bit of work left in their bodies.


    Joshi straightened up a bit. He let his bowl fall from his hands. They came closer. He met their gaze as they looked him over.


    "You.¡± They sent him to stand with the others. At last, they had eight slaves picked out. Joshi still didn''t know why, but anything outside the ordinary presented a possibility of escape.


    They were led away from the slaves'' compound, toward the south gate of the encampment. Joshi held his tongue. A slave learned not to ask questions, especially not ones that were likely to be answered soon anyway.


    Just outside the camp, he found a group of three dozen soldiers carrying packs with spears slung over their shoulders, a couple of minor officials, and a cultivator from the Soaring Heavens Sect. His eyes ran across the men, trying to assess what was going on.


    To his surprise, he recognized one of the camp officials. It was the man he had escaped the tower alongside. Their eyes met. The scribe''s jaw dropped, but he instantly recovered. So, he recognized Joshi and hadn''t expected to see him here.


    A few minutes later, a captain appeared to take command of this expedition. Joshi and the other slaves were given heavy packs to carry. He didn''t ask what was in them, merely stooped and lifted it to his shoulders. They set off down the mountain.


    Word trickled up as they went. They were going all the way down to Golden Moon City, there to help escort newly arrived nobles back up to the camp. Joshi shifted his pack and tried to get it comfortable. His collar chafed, but he felt a sense of satisfaction. There might be a chance somewhere on this trip, a chance for escape, if only he could get this damnable collar off of his neck.


    **


    Though Chang-li chafed at the delay, he accompanied the party all the way down to Golden Moon City. The road wound down the mountainside, passing along steep, rocky shelves before plunging into a thick forest of aspens and quaking willows, beech, birch, and conifers.


    For the last two li of the journey, he found himself constantly looking off to both sides, trying to spy where the entrance to the tower might lie. Four tall, arching bridges crossed deep ravines, down which ran frothing water. Up one of these four, he was certain he would find the entrance he was looking for.


    He could have slipped off into the forest and likely not been missed, but he held off. First, he wanted to establish his alibi. Inspector Ji''in believed he was going to be spending the next two weeks in Golden Moon City investigating the Quartermaster''s records. That would give him time to find the entrance and assess just how dangerous the first floor was.


    He would run his errands here in Golden Moon, sending Inspector Ji''in''s rice wine back up the mountain with one of the porters, passing Min¡¯s letters to their recipients, and mingling with the nobles. His hope was that enough nobles would be coming up the mountain to disguise his presence. In the chaos, he could slip off more easily. Besides, he still needed a few supplies.


    Chang-li made a stop at the Inn of Five Stars, where he found the accommodations had all been taken by the incoming nobles. The inn was an uproar. Serving girls ran here and there, carrying buckets of hot water for noble ladies'' baths. The tavern keeper seemed at his wit''s end. When Chang-li slipped him Min¡¯s parcel, he grabbed it, stuffed it under his counter without even looking, and turned back to bark at his table boy.


    "And no," the innkeeper announced loudly to the captain at the head of the expedition, "there is no room for any of you here. The nobles and their servants have taken everything. Perhaps in the stables,¡± he relented. "I have room for five, if you don''t scare the horses."


    The soldier turned to Chang-li. "You and the free porters can have the stables. Let them know. I''ll take the slaves and my own men to the guard barracks here in town."


    Chang-li passed word along before ducking back out into the crowded evening streets of Golden Moon. The city folk were going about their evening routines. Small stalls lined the bustling streets, offering an array of different foods. Chang-li parted with a few of his copper marks for skewers of soy-and-honey lacquered chicken, then followed up with a ripe mango.


    He went first to the wine shop, where he made arrangements for Master Ji¡¯in''s bottle, before visiting a supply store on the waterfront offering to equip sailors. There, he bought eight pounds of dried meat and fruit and a kind of hard bread made from barley that the proprietor said would keep for weeks. It wouldn''t be very tasty, but it was easy to carry and would keep him alive inside the tower.


    He purchased a heavy staff, good for leaning on during the climb back up the mountain as well as, perhaps, defense. He didn¡¯t have the first clue how to use it, but it seemed easier to learn than a sword.


    After that, he wandered the streets, enjoying a sense of freedom he hadn''t known since passing his scribe exams and being assigned to the army. Tomorrow, the expedition would begin the return journey up the hill, and he would be there. But for tonight, there was no one and nothing who had expectations of him.


    Chang-li watched a fire juggler performing in one of the city''s fountain squares. He listened to song drifting out of the taverns and drinking establishments that lined the main road. When at last the moon had risen and the streets were nearly deserted, his feet returned him to the Inn of Five Stars, where he claimed an undisturbed corner of the stable as his own.


    He slept with his head on his pack containing the cultivator journal that had set him off on this expedition.

 11. Attack!

    The next day, Chang-li slipped into the gathering throng as they prepared to leave for the expedition camp. There were eight young nobles, five women, three men, all of high rank. One was draped in deep purple garments. Chang-li knew his courtly etiquette. The Violet royals never left the imperial grounds, so this shade of purple must be Indigo. The girl was being helped into a palanquin. Heavy poles ran the length of the gilt box. As soon as the girl entered and seated herself, her black-clad attendants pulled the curtains closed, shutting her off from sight.


    Eight slaves waited beside the poles, looking tired and sullen. One of them was Joshi, the Darwur slave who had saved his life. Joshi stood near the front of the palanquin, sullen face straight ahead, as the guard approached the slaves. He had a key in his hand, and he unlocked the heavy iron collars around each slave''s neck, carefully collecting them and taking them back to a porter for carrying.


    The collars were made of thick iron, two inches tall and an inch or more thick. They had no padding, and they had cut the necks of their victims cruelly. Chang-li winced at the sight of the sores around the slaves'' necks.


    Chang-li''s family had never owned slaves, being of too poor and humble a stock to afford such a luxury, and his father and brother had spoken dismissively of how slaves would take jobs away from honest working men. He had never realized the petty cruelty involved. What reason was there to force them to wear such heavy iron collars, and why were they being removed now?


    He got the answer soon enough. As the expedition started forward, the slaves lifted the palanquin to their shoulders, resting the heavy carry bars against their necks. The collars would have got in the way.


    Chang-li melted into the throng, staying near the back where the attendants walked. They passed through the gates of the city and onto the road, passing the first li marker, a three-foot-tall stone pillar carved with symbols indicating the camp lay eight li ahead.


    A contingent of soldiers marched quickly past, heading up the road. Though they''d brought down a full three squads, only one was accompanying them back. The other two were being rotated out of this province. Still, twelve soldiers seemed like enough. Six went ahead to scout, the other six remaining close by the palanquin-bearing slaves.


    Chang-li had his pack slung over his shoulders. He wore the warm cloak Min had given him. His pack was heavy. He wasn''t looking forward to keeping up with the expedition today. But every bit of the weight meant just that much longer he might survive inside the tower.


    As they started up the road, he began to grow nervous. He''d been so busy planning this expedition, he hadn''t had time to think about all of the dangers that awaited him inside the tower. He was about to set foot inside a floor that no one had entered for years. The creatures inside would be fearsome opponents.


    He leaned heavily on the thick staff the night before, five feet tall and as wide around as his hand. It made a good walking stick, and he''d be able to use it in a pinch. But he wasn''t trained in the art of staffs. He wasn''t trained in any kind of martial arts.


    He took a deep breath. One step at a time. He had to find the entrance and see what the tower was like. If it was too dangerous, he would retreat, return to the encampment, and make more plans. As soon as he knew where the entrance lay, other opportunities would open up to him. He might make a bargain to reveal its location in exchange for being allowed to progress through to the Peak of Bodily Refinement. Or perhaps he could get hold of a weapon he could use. One step at a time.


    The expedition halted for the midday meal just after they had crossed the first of the bridges. Chang-li ate as he watched the rest of the expedition spread out and relax. He planned to slip away from the expedition as they set off again, acting as though he were stepping off the trail to relieve himself and then melting away. He didn''t think anyone would notice. But he would not make his move until the expedition was ready to go again.


    The slaves had set down the palanquin and stood a little ways away, eating their own meager rations. The palanquin''s curtains fluttered open, and the indigo princess stepped out. Immediately, her two black-clad attendants fluttered to her side. Chang-li could hear their scolding from here. The girl was shaking her head, making insistent motions. At last, the attendants gave up and trailed her into the forest.


    Chang-li was just finishing his food when he heard the scream and the roar. The scream sounded like a dying man. The roar was that of a monster.


    All conversation stopped. Everyone leapt to their feet. Chang-li jumped up, hiking his bag back onto his back and grabbing his staff. The roar sounded as though it had come from farther up the mountain.


    A moment later, a man came stumbling down the road toward him, one of the soldier scouts, his helmet missing, blood streaming down his face. One of his arms hung limply at his side.


    "Run!" he shouted. "It''s..."


    And then a monstrous beast leapt out of nowhere, landing on him, driving him to the dirt. The beast was a jet-black lion, twice as big as the lion sculptures in front of the governor''s palace back home. It had three sets of legs. It brought its front left paw down onto the soldier''s neck with a swipe and cut his head clean from his body.


    Women were screaming in panic. People were running back down the road. The soldiers were trying to get together, pulling out their weapons and shouting. Chang-li''s blood froze. He stood rooted in place, staring.


    Another pair of black lion monsters appeared with the first. They were clearly lux-touched beasts. They must have escaped from the tower. This was exactly the sort of creature that a cull was meant to clear out. Where had they come from? If they had escaped from the third floor, the camp above should have seen and stopped them.


    Could they have come from the first floor? If so, he had no chance at all. But no, surely not. Beasts this large and fierce couldn''t be first floor monsters. They were more terrifying than the jade wolves he had run from before.


    The single cultivator on the expedition, a junior member of the Soaring Heavens sect, leapt forward. He held a black staff similar to Chang-li''s. He twirled it in his right hand, channeling orange lux to form a spearhead at one end and an axe head at the other. Chang-li could feel the power coming off him. He raced forward toward the first of the beasts, showing no fear as the soldiers backed him up.


    The cultivator tossed out a technique, blasting a wave of lux forward at the beasts. It crashed into them, bowling one over. The other two growled and began pawing at the dirt. The cultivator moved in. He swung his staff and cut into the first of the beasts with the orange lux axe head. It severed one whole limb.


    Chang-li felt his heart racing and blood rushing back into his head. This was it. This was his chance. He could stay here and risk being eaten, or he could flee.


    Chang-li ran for the edge of the forest. He dimly noted that two of the slaves were gone, the others cowering together in fear. More than half of the expedition had fled back down the mountain. Chang-li plunged deeper into the woods until the shouts and screams and clash of battle were lost behind him.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Then he slowed. He leaned against the trunk of a spreading beech tree and waited as his heart rate began to pound down. Just as he was about to press on, he heard voices from nearby, women''s voices.


    "Daughter of Heaven, we must go back."


    "You saw those monsters," came a younger woman''s voice. "It''s not safe. But you go back if you like, Fan."


    Chang-li peered around the tree. The indigo princess stood not twenty feet away. One of her black-robed maidservants was kneeling at her feet, tugging at the hem of her robes, clearly pleading. The girl didn''t look at all afraid. More amused and delighted.


    "Go," the princess ordered.


    "I cannot leave you, my lady."


    "Then go tell them I need help. I won''t tell."


    The black-robed woman hesitated. After a moment, she climbed to her feet, glanced at the princess, and then ran off through the woods, back more or less in the direction of the road.


    The indigo princess threw out her arms and spun on the spot, her face filled with delight. She bent and plucked a wildflower from where it grew beside a tree, sniffing it. She let out a deep sigh of contentedness.


    Chang-li watched her in bemusement. She approached a bush laden with ripe red berries and picked one. As she raised it to her mouth, Chang-li realized what it was. He stepped out from behind the tree.


    "Don''t!"


    She turned, her face filled with horror. As her mouth dropped open, her hands fell to her side. She blinked, and suddenly her face was an impassive mask. "Ah, pardon me, gentle scribe." her eyes running across Chang-li. "I merely was waiting for my servant to return with help. Is the crisis over?"


    "I don''t know.¡± Chang-li took a step forward. He shouldn''t have revealed himself. She knew that he was a scribe, and if he was missing at the end of this, she might report on him. He felt awkward. "Ah, it''s just, that berry is poisonous."


    She held a hand to her mouth as she gasped. "Poisonous?"


    He nodded. ¡°Yes, highness.¡±


    The girl looked away. "I should have known," she mumbled to herself.


    "Well, how could you? You''re not used to this." He caught himself speaking to her as if she was almost an equal and reminded himself not to address her.


    She shook her head. "In the Imperial Gardens, every fruit is safe to eat, every flower safe to smell, and yet there''s none of this," she gestured around her. "This wildness, this deepness." She caught herself. "I''m sorry. I shouldn''t be speaking.¡± She sighed. "I should be getting back to the expedition, I suppose."


    There was a roar from a lot closer than the road. They both froze. Then, racing through the bush, burst the bald-headed slave, Joshi.


    "Run, you fools!" he snapped, not even pausing as he raced past them.


    Chang-li glanced where he''d been as the crashing and crashing sounds came closer.


    Another roar.


    "Run!" he told the princess, and staggered after Joshi. The princess shrieked and followed them.


    Chang-li pounded through the woods, hearing the roar of the monster behind as it chased them. The indigo princess''s panting was loud in his ears. She was right on his tail, keeping up remarkably well, considering that she wasn''t dressed for this and presumably had no experience in running for her life through a forest. Not that he did, either. Joshi was out of sight in front of him.


    Chang-li kept his head down and followed the trail of broken branches. The only part of him that could think coherently insisted it must be safer to stay together than to separate.


    There was another roar. It sounded like it might be a little farther back.


    And then, Chang-li made a fatal mistake. He looked back over his shoulder to make sure the princess was there and the monster wasn''t, and his feet slid out from under him. He slipped down a slope, tumbling head over heels. His staff flew from his hand. He heard a shriek as the princess shouted at him, and then he tumbled hard against rocks.


    Water soaked his robes. He blinked. He was on his hands and knees in a mountain stream. Chang-li struggled to his feet. His clothes were soaked and weighed him down. The banks of the river were steep. He set a foot on one and slid back down again.


    A moment later, there was another scream. The princess came tumbling down right after him. He tried to catch her, only for them both to land in the water, sprawled in a mass of tangled limbs.


    Someone laughed. Chang-li looked up. Joshi was standing on a boulder ten feet away, hands on his hips.


    "You''re both a sight.¡±


    Chang-li felt himself annoyed. "Are you going to help us or what?"


    "Why should I?" The slave cocked his head to one side. "I was rather hoping that you''d slow down the monster for me." He looked up the river. ¡°No sign of it now.¡±


    The girl untangled herself from Chang-li and stood up. She put her hands firmly on her hips. "You, there, you will help me return to our expedition at once," she said imperiously.


    Chang-li clamored to his feet. He felt his heart drop. His plan was ruined. He''d have to go back. He didn''t have any excuse not to.


    Joshi shook his head. "Look, your highness, I''m trying to decide right now whether to knock you both over the head and leave you for that monster to eat. It''ll save me a lot of trouble in the end."


    The girl gasped. "How dare you?"


    "It''s because he''s an escaped slave," Chang-li said wearily. ¡°Now we''ve seen him and we know."


    The princess''s eyes went wide. "You ¡ª you would dare lay a hand on me? My father will visit more pain on you than can be believed."


    "I don''t think there''s anything any man can do to me that''s worse than what I''ve been living with," Joshiconsidered them and shook his head. "But no, I was taught to respect the value of human life. If you are not attacking me, I will not seek to harm you. Just go your own way."


    Chang-li started to speak. There was a growl. He looked up the slope. One of the black lion monsters was there, staring down at them.


    "Run!" he yelled and splashed upstream.


    Joshi was already several boulders ahead, leaping from one to the next. The princess screamed and splashed. ¡°Help!¡±


    Joshi stopped like he''d been struck. He turned and swore, raced back to the princess. Her robes were sodden. They must weigh ten pounds now with all the water in them.


    The slave reached out and grabbed the princess''s belt knife. She shrank away. He pulled her to him, one hand on her shoulder, before slashing her belt with the knife. It fell open. He ripped the indigo robe from her, leaving her standing in pure white silk underclothes that clung damply to her body.


    "Now run!" he said and pushed at her.


    The princess sobbed and stumbled upriver. Chang-li followed. There was a splash as the lion monster entered the water behind them. It roared again.


    Chang-li ran. They raced along the ravine, tripping over boulders and leaping over logs. Every time Chang-li looked, the lion was just a little closer. It was toying with them, he realized, like an enormous cat playing with a mouse it had caught. The creature could have been on them already, but it knew they were trapped and it was having some fun.


    They rounded a curve and found themselves facing a wall of stone. The stream ran down it, spreading in a white veil across the face of the cliff, staining the whole rock face with water. The sides of the ravine were far too steep. Chang-li didn''t think he could have climbed out even if there wasn''t a monster waiting.


    Joshi turned and roared defiance back at the monster. He had the princess''s belt knife in one hand. He shouted something in a language Chang-li didn''t know.


    The princess kept stumbling forward, sobbing. She staggered all the way to the waterfall before she tripped, falling forward and vanishing into the water.


    Chang-li stared. She was just gone. Joshi was looking the wrong way. He hadn''t noticed.


    Chang-li was certain what he''d seen, the princess stumbling forward one moment and gone the next. There wasn''t enough room behind the fall of water for her to be hiding, was there? It seemed as though he could see through it to the rock beneath.


    Chang-li approached the curtain of water. He reached through. He couldn''t feel the surface of the rock face. He pushed his face through the pounding veil of water, forcing his eyes open. A great black nothingness gaped in front of him, and he knew he had found the entrance to the tower.


    He turned back. Joshi was tossing the knife from one hand to the next. "Come and take me monster, you cowardly son of an ally cat."


    Chang-li was torn. He didn''t want to reveal the secret to anyone else. The more people knew about it, the less valuable it would be. They would find some way to take it away from him, to keep him from cultivating. And yet, Joshi had already saved his life more than once. He couldn''t just stand there and do nothing.


    "Joshi," he called. "Here. There''s a way. Come."


    Joshi glanced at him, eyes wide. He started forward just as the lion pounced. It must have disliked the water, because it landed on a boulder at the edge of the pool and lashed out with its front paw, knocking Joshi off his feet.  Chang-li darted forward without thinking. He grabbed Joshi''s arm and pulled him back toward the waterfall.


    Joshi regained his feet but stumbled. He fell against Chang-li and they both tumbled forward into darkness. Behind them the lion shrieked in fury.

 12. Into the Tower

    Chang-li stumbled through the entrance to the tower. There was a deep rushing sound and a sensation like his head and stomach had swapped places. He was falling, falling. He took a step forward and caught himself, thrusting his arms out for balance.


    The rushing sensation subsided. His feet had never left the floor. He stood in a stone path with walls on both sides, open to the sky. The gray stone walls reminded him of the canyon where he had just been, except they were perfectly straight up and down. Under his feet were enormous paving stones, cracked with age. Grass and moss grew up between them. A drift of sand nearly a foot deep piled up nearby. The walls rose over his head, 15 feet or more. The distance between the two walls was about twice the height of a man.


    Overhead, the sky stretched like madness.


    Chang-li''s breath caught in his throat. He stared. The sky overhead was a riotous swirl of colors, all the hues of the rainbow, circling and whirling upward like a slow-moving reverse whirlpool. He felt as though he were going to be pulled up into the sky, to the point directly overhead where the colors merged together into a single glowing white hole. The colors ebbed and flowed: mostly blue, now more green, now more red.


    "Where the hell are we?" Joshi''s exclamation called Chang-li back to himself. He looked around. Joshi and the Indigo Princess stood just beside him, and behind them was a wall of stone. There was no sign of the opening they¡¯d just come through. Chang-li reached out his hand and brushed it. His fingers found unyielding rock. His clothes were damp but the wall that had been a waterfall a moment before, was completely dry. He pressed against it more intently. He didn''t want to go back out of the tower, not yet, not with that monster waiting for him. But here they were, trapped. He made a fist and pounded against the stone.


    "There''s no way out," he exclaimed.


    "You want to go back out there? With that thing waiting for us?" Joshi asked skeptically.


    "No, but, I mean, eventually maybe?" Panic rose in Chang-li. The cultivator''s journal had said nothing of an entrance that vanished behind with no way to exit. Perhaps they''d never looked. A true cultivator would be focused on climbing upward, not retracing steps.


    Chang-li forced himself to take a calming breath. Behind him, the princess cleared her throat.


    "Can you explain what happened? Where are we?"


    Joshi and Chang-li turned together. The princess stood, hands on her hips, her eyes sparkling. Probably with anger, though perhaps it was excitement. Her damp undergarments clung to her slender frame, leaving little to the imagination. Her damp, dark hair cascaded down her shoulders, reaching past her breasts, framing her odd features. She had almost an oval-shaped face, with narrow, tilted eyes, and an almond shade to her skin Chang-li had never seen before. The divine emperor called his cultivators from all across the empire. No doubt this woman''s grandmother had been from far away, and she bore the traces of that unknown land.


    ¡°Now,¡± she repeated, "What is going on? Where are we?"


    Chang-li said, ¡°We are inside the first floor of the great cultivator tower, the Tower of the Golden Moon." He felt a swell of pride as he said it aloud. He had found it!


    The princess sighed, relief lighting her face. ¡°Very well. Take me to the cultivators. I shall explain how you both assisted in saving my life." She nodded to both Chang-li and Joshi. "And I will refrain from mentioning how you raised hands on my person," she added, addressing Joshi directly. "I realize you were helping me, and that perhaps we had no time for niceties."


    "If I hadn''t grabbed you when I did, you''d be a dead woman," Joshi said roughly. "Who do you think you are?"


    She raised her chin in the air. "I am Indigo Princess Hiroko, daughter of the great general of the West."


    Something changed in Joshi¡¯s face, a look of disgust and hatred. "Is that so? Well, I''ve got some bad news for you, princess. The scribe here is right. It does appear to be the first floor of the cultivation tower. The problem is, the tower has no first floor."


    Princess Hiroko blinked. "What? How is that possible?¡±


    "The entrance stone is at the fifth level. There is a known breach on the third floor, which is where most cultivators enter," Chang-li provided. "This entrance hasn''t been used in, I think, centuries."Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! It was just there behind the waterfall?¡±


    "A happy coincidence," Joshi said, ¡°considering the beasts that showed up.¡±


    ¡°Well, not quite coincidence.¡± He turned to Joshi. "Do you recall those dead cultivators we found while running away on the third floor?"


    Joshi frowned. "Yes, I do."


    "I found something with them.¡± There seemed no point in hiding it. They were, as far as Chang-li could tell, trapped here on the first floor. Joshi was strong and had a good head on his shoulders. Chang-li''s chances were much better with him as an ally, which meant revealing most of what he knew. "The journal hinted that this entrance still existed. I was planning to find it today. The beasts took me by surprise. I certainly would not have brought companions with me," he added. "I was not prepared for that."


    Hiroko was starting to shiver. It was not particularly cold in here, about like a sunny spring day, but there was a bit of a breeze, and her thin, wet garments offered little protection. Chang-li undid his cape and held it out to the princess. She stared at it like it was a dead rat.


    "Go on, take it."It may not be your color, but it''s warm."


    Hiroko reached out with one slender hand and accepted the cape. She wrapped it around her shoulders. A blush of pink crept across her cheeks.


    "Thank you." She didn¡¯t lift her eyes. "So you knew this door was here?"


    "I hoped it was," Chang-li said.


    ¡°And you did not attempt to sell this information for profit?" Joshi asked.


    "No.¡±


    ¡°And here we are now, inside the tower. Your book tells you of the way out?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "There are a lot of pages I can''t read," he admitted. "I know from the bodies that the cultivators reached the third floor where the one with this journal perished. It is likely there is no way out until there."


    In the sky, the yellow was beginning to give way to blue, though all seven colors of the rainbow were still represented in the swirls. Joshi stared upward. ¡°The colors feel so much stronger here. Was it like this on the third floor?¡± he asked urgently.


    "What?"


    "The lux quantity. Was there so much of it?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "I don''t know. You were there.¡± Chang-li opened himself up and began the simplest cycling pattern he knew, trying to get a feel for the lux all around him.


    "There is a lot of lux," the princess said in wonder. "The emperor''s own tower is nothing like this. There, almost all of the lux is red. Here, it feels more balanced."


    "Yes, the colors in the sky say that," Joshi said. "You really noticed nothing on the third floor?"


    "No," Chang-li snapped as he tried to cycle. "Anyway, you were there.¡±


    ¡°I was wearing a collar that cut off my capacity to sense and take in lux," Joshi snarled. "You had no such handicap, so I take it to mean you are completely untrained in matters of cultivation."


    "Oh, and a slave is," Chang-li snapped back as his cycling technique was disrupted again. He took a deep, calming breath and tried once more. He only had two cycling patterns, one taught by the Acolytes of the Imperial Way to all subjects of the empire, and the other a meditation technique he learned in scribe school.


    "I," Joshi said proudly, "was trained by the sacred monks of Hapiru Monastery, masters of an ancient path of cultivation known as the Path of the Closed Hand. And yes, there is a great deal of lux here. I just don''t know if that''s normal for a tower, or if it''s because no one has entered this level in so long."


    "It is not what I felt in the Emperor''s Tower.¡± Hiroko stared up the sky wonderingly. Her hands were arrayed just so, with the middle fingers touching her thumbs, held out a little above her waist, and Chang-li guessed she was using a cycling technique of her own. "There''s so much blue lux. The Emperor''s Tower has almost none. Gathering enough for me to cycle at all was difficult."


    Though not a cultivator, Chang-li had studied texts on the scientific principles behind cultivation. The seven colors corresponded to the seven pure colors of light: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Just as red was assigned to the most populous and low-strength Court of the Empire, so red lux, the lux of bodily enhancement, was most common.


    After that came orange for weapons, yellow for elemental manipulation, blue, which he was pretty sure was reserved for mental manipulation, green for life, indigo for spatial manipulation, and violet, the forbidden lux, permitted only to the Emperor and his seven prisms. He didn''t even know what violet did.


    Joshi was suffused with a reddish tinge. Chang-li could feel the lux pouring through him. As he watched, the sores on Joshi''s neck began to close up and scab over. The man opened his eyes and smiled. ¡°Fuck the Emperor and all his officials.¡±


    Chang-li blinked at the crude exclamation. He glanced at Hiroko, who didn''t even seem to have registered it.


    ¡°I will die before I go back now,¡± Joshi said. ¡°The path lies ahead. Come if you wish.¡±


    "Wait.¡± Hiroko lowered her hands, clearly nervous. "This is dangerous. Cultivating on one''s own, in an unknown tower where we have no idea what we may face."


    "We don''t have a choice," Chang-li slapped his hand hard against the stone wall behind him. "There''s no way back out. Besides, I came here to cultivate, and that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do.¡±


    The girl stared at him. "Are you mad? There are terrible dangers, and we are not even armed."


    Joshi shrugged. "Better to die a free cultivator than live a slave. You can stay here if you wish. If I escape, I''ll be sure to tell the guards where you are. Only I won¡¯t,¡± he added, ¡°because I am never going back to slavery again.¡± He started off down the stone corridor.


    Chang-li set off after him. There was safety in numbers, after all. A moment later, the princess called, "Wait!" and he heard her rushing to catch up.

 13. Cycling

    Despite setting off with such determination, after the first hour Chang-li was starting to get bored as they trudged along, picking their way past occasional sand drifts, and the ever-present blank stone walls. Every so often, they passed a path branching off to the right or the left. Joshi ignored them, continuing straight on the largest of the paths. His fingers traced along one wall as they went. Chang-li didn''t have a better idea, so he followed along closely.


    Overhead, the sky whirled and changed as first one color, then another, dominated over the rest. Chang-li started getting a little better at his cycling technique. He could only manage his most basic technique while walking, but he felt the lux moving through his body.


    He didn''t feel as though it was any particular flavor of lux, which was disappointing. To progress as a cultivator, one needed to learn to distinguish between different types of lux and attune to one or more. At the Bodily Refinement stage, almost all cultivators specialized in a single flavor of lux. By the peak of Mental Refinement, they were expected to master two or more. If they ever reached past the height of Spiritual Refinement, to the Paragon level, they would be masters of six different flavors of lux.


    Beyond paragon lay the Peak, which only the emperor¡¯s Prisms presumed to strive for.


    For now, Chang-li would have been happy with one kind of lux, showing that he was on the right path.


    At last, Hiroko sighed. "This place doesn''t seem to go anywhere. There''s so much lux, but so little life,¡± she complained. "I can''t sense anything."


    "What do you know of such matters?" Joshi challenged.


    "I told you, I''ve been inside the emperor''s own tower on multiple occasions. The higher-ranking court princes and princesses are raised nearly to the Peak of Bodily Refinement before they are of an age to make a cultivator''s marriage. I''m close to the peak myself.¡±


    Joshi snorted. "So you were taken inside a tower and fed lux like a baby is fed milk. That''s not how it works. That is not progression."


    "And I suppose you know so much about it," she snapped. "What towers have you ever been inside?"


    "Only this one," Joshi admitted. "But the monks of Hapiru taught me what to expect. I would have been a cultivator in a few years, if I hadn''t..." He trailed off as he turned away.


    Chang-li ignored him and addressed Princess Hiroko. "Go on. You were saying that you spent your life inside."


    "I''m attuned to blue lux, whatever he thinks. I may not be skilled as a cultivator," she shot an angry look at Joshi''s back. ¡°But I have a bit of training.¡±


    "Blue is for spiritual connections, yes?"


    "It''s much more than that," Hiroko sighed. "Better to say I can make connections between things which are alive. I can sense them. In the tower of the emperor, there''s so much life feeding off of the lux. Anywhere you go, you encounter it. The princes and princesses absorb lux from the creatures killed. Lux is easier to process if it''s been inside a living creature. You don''t have to be a cultivation expert to do it."


    "It''s a lazy and wasteful method," Joshi said. "I suppose the emperor does it because he is wealthy beyond imagining and because he does not wish his children to learn the secrets of cultivation and talent."


    "You dare question the emperor?" Hiroko demanded.


    "This place is completely dead?" Chang-li ignored the argument. ¡°What does that mean for us?¡±


    They had come to a place where the corridor split three ways. There was a small circle of raised stones about two feet off the ground in front of the split. The three circled the stones, looking for any sign, and at last, Joshi sat down. "All right, if I''m going to be saddled with you two, I at least want to make sure you are not complete fools. You, scribe.¡±


    "My name is Chang-li.¡± He held Joshi''s eyes until at last, the barbarian nodded.


    "Very well. Chang-li. I am Joshi. You,¡± he turned to the princess, "are Hiroko. Right now in this place, there are no princesses, there are no slaves.¡±


    ¡°And there are no scribes," Chang-li snapped. "We''re in this together for now. If we want to survive, we need to work together."


    "Agreed. So tell me, scribe ¡ª Chang-li, what is it you bring?"


    In answer, Chang-li removed his pack, set it on the stone beside him, and opened it up. "I have about two weeks of dried rations for a single man. Water enough for perhaps two days in my canteen. I had expected to be able to find water easily enough, but perhaps I was wrong. I have purification rations enough to last me over a month. Split three ways, perhaps two weeks."


    "What are purification rations?" Hiroko asked.


    Chang-li and Joshi exchanged a look. She might have been in a tower previously, but she clearly did not know the principles.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°We have not reached Bodily Refinement yet, not even you," Chang-li explained. "The lux that we are taking in is too much for a mortal body. We must take a purification ration every day or risk death and madness."


    Hiroko shuddered. "I hope you are willing to share, then.¡±


    Chang-li shrugged. "I have fire starters, a knife, and my scribe''s kit,¡± though that didn''t seem like it would be much use. ¡°And this." He removed the cultivator journal that had started all this and opened it up, showing it to them.


    Joshi shook his head. "That''s not the script the monks taught me."


    "Part of it is in scribe script," Chang-li said. "I can read that part. The other part is the secret language of this cultivator sect."


    "Who were they?" Hiroko leaned forward to peer at the pages.


    "They were called the Sect of Morning Mists, and apparently, about 200 years ago, they displeased the Emperor and were crushed. This account is of the last of their cultivators and the scribe who accompanied him on his journey."


    "His ultimately failed journey," Joshi pointed out, "just in case you were planning to rely on his journal a little too much."


    "It got us in here.¡±


    "And we will have to get ourselves out," Joshi nodded. "Good. You''ve proven your worth.¡±


    Chang-li felt a quick glow of pride, then wondered himself at why he was so happy for praise from a barbarian slave. Joshi seemed like a man in command of himself, despite the circumstances.


    "And you," Joshi said to the princess.


    She frowned, her lips pressing together. "Well. I have been inside a tower before, which gives me an advantage over you both." Chang-li appreciated her spirit. For a coddled noble, she seemed remarkably level-headed. "And I have several useful abilities. I am not fully trained in using blue lux, but I had a lesson or two my father arranged for me. If we get into a fight, I may be able to help. Oh," she added, "and of course, when we get out of here, I will be able to intercede and save both of your lives."


    "That could come in handy.¡± All of Chang-li¡¯s plans were in disarray. He was less and less confident of his ability to slip back into the camp unnoticed, should they actually escape from this tower. Having an indigo princess on their side seemed like it didn''t hurt.


    "But what about you?" Hiroko asked, fixing Joshi with a glare. "Chang-li has knowledge and food. I have knowledge and skills.¡± She stared him down in a deliberately provocative sort of way. "You have muscles, at least, but no weapon."


    Joshi folded his arms across his chest. "I am trained in the Way of the Closed Hand. Should we need to fight, I am ready. And I have been taught what a beginning cultivator should know. I do not think either of you have."


    Hiroko and Chang-li exchanged a quick glance and both shook their heads.


    "Not really," Chang-li said. "I''ve always hoped to seize a chance to cultivate, but scribes aren''t generally expected to rise past the Peak of Bodily Refinement. My masters said that sticking close enough to a cultivator on the rise would let me get there without trouble."


    "You may perhaps reach that peak, but you will never rise beyond it.¡± Joshi looked to Hiroko. "Which I suspect was the reason for your own inadequate training, to hobble you. I am glad you have not reached the peak. There may still be time to repair your foundation."


    "Wait," Hiroko said. "You are an escaped slave, having entered this place for the first time two hours ago, and you are already speaking to us of rising beyond the Peak of Bodily Refinement?" She looked skeptical. "Who do you think you are?"


    "A man discontent with his station in life," Joshi said. "And so should you be, if you ever wish to rise as a cultivator." Now he folded his legs beneath him and put his hands into a posture that was clearly part of a cycling technique. "The most important part of your time in the tower is in learning to deepen and broaden your flux channels. You must cycle constantly. For every hour we spend navigating the tower, we should spend another hour cultivating. It may cut into our sleep time," he admitted, "but the theory is that cycling can take the place of sleep to some extent."


    "So what, we''re supposed to sit here for the next two hours and cycle?" Chang-li asked. "Cycle what?¡±


    ¡°By now your body should have absorbed enough lux for effective cycling. I assume you must know some technique.¡±


    "I do," Chang-li admitted. "I was taught the Way of the Faithful as a child."


    Joshi snorted. "Don''t use that. It is designed to cripple and stunt peasants. What else?"


    "The scribes have a technique. You imagine yourself as..." Chang-li hesitated. ¡°I am not supposed to share secrets."


    "I assure you, I am not looking to steal the secrets of a scribe." Joshi¡¯s words could have been cutting, but he seemed amused. Almost he now reminded Chang-li of his older brother. A stab of homesickness struck him. He had not seen his family in more than a year. They had grown distant in the past few years as Chang-li devoted more time to his schooling, and yet his brother had always been there for him, paying the bills at the scribe school, encouraging him, celebrating his honors and achievements. He would like to see his mother and brother again someday.


    Chang-li took a deep breath. "Imagine yourself as an inkpot. Six colors of ink flow in. You dip your pen in and draw out the black ink. Then you trace each vein of your body outward from your heart with your brush, and the ink becomes part of you."


    Joshi raised an eyebrow. "That''s it?"


    "That''s it," Chang-li confirmed. It sounded hollow to him now.


    Hiroko nodded. ¡°It reminds me of the Way of Meditation taught to me and my cousins in the Imperial Gardens. We learned a cycling technique designed to move lux around in our bodies, but not to distinguish between the flavors. Then, when we entered the tower, most of them were able to achieve red lux affinity easily. That''s the dominant color there. I wasn''t. I always had a very strong affinity for blue lux, which was a problem. Once we resolved that and they helped me gather enough blue lux, I was taught a different cycling technique and told not to use the basic one anymore, as it merely attuned your body to whatever''s most common."


    "Yes," Joshi agreed. "I think that''s the case. Scribes are not expected to rise very high, and so attuning to a specific color is not important. So, Scribe Chang-li, do you wish to focus on your destiny as a scribe, or on the path of cultivation?"


    The question was a challenge. There was only one answer. Still, Chang-li hesitated. He had fought so hard to become a scribe, rising from his peasant stock, passing exam after exam, even to have a chance, and then finally taking honors that won him his role here in the military. And yet, he had come here, to this tower, risking everything for this particular chance.


    "I want to cultivate.¡±


    "Good," said Joshi. "The first thing I must teach you is a cycling technique that will let you identify which lux you are most strongly attuned with already. Later, there will be time to attune other lux. But for a start, we must build your foundation. And for that, you will need to pick one color of lux from another. Now, imagine yourself as a stone¡­.¡±

 14. First Challenge

    It was impossible to tell time in the labyrinth. The sky overhead shifted and changed constantly, with no variance in the level of light. They alternated walking through the bare labyrinth, occasionally climbing through particularly thick drifts of sand, with sitting in clearer stretches and practicing their cycling. After the third cycling break, Chang-li handed out some of the dried meat rations. He passed the canteen around.


    "Be careful with it.¡±


    They had not seen any water, though they had passed two corridor junctions where a long-dead fountain jutted up, dry as bone, filled with sand. Hiroko took a sip, held it in her mouth, and then swallowed.  "What about the purification ration?¡±


    "They are supposed to be eaten once a day,¡± Chang-li replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long we¡¯ve been here.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps ten hours,¡± Joshi said. ¡°How is your cycling coming?¡±


    ¡°Better.¡± He had the pattern of the cycling technique that Joshi had taught him down now, and could do it while walking, though he usually broke the pattern if he had to wade through sand or stepped over a heaved-up paving stone.  "I''m starting to feel a difference between lux, but I can''t tell which is which."


    "There''s very little indigo here,¡± Hiroko said. "So whichever you feel the least of is probably that. Red and yellow seem to be the dominant ones for me.¡±


    "They hum," Joshi said. "If you''re attuned with them, you can tell. They have different pitches." He hummed. "That''s green.¡±


    Hiroko cocked her head to one side. "I never noticed that, but you''re right.¡±


    ¡°I attune to this note." Joshi hummed again. The tone was different than the first.


    "Red?" Hiroko asked.


    "Yes."


    She nodded, as if that made sense to her.


    Chang-li closed his eyes. He held his hands just below his navel, as Joshi had taught him, and concentrated on feeling out his core. He was supposed to fill that with lux, then push it out to the extremities of each limb at the same time. He had mastered one limb at a time. He could only really manage all four at once while sitting still.


    He felt the different lux flowing about inside him, like pools of different liquids that would not quite meet as they swirled around inside a container. Instead of trying to see which was which, he focused on sensing each of them. And they did begin to emerge as seven distinct, different flavors. There was only a faint hint of one, which felt as though it resonated at a very high note. That must be violet, like Hiroko had indicated. The next note in tone down, then, should be indigo.


    Yes, yes, because then green did indeed match the note that Joshi had said. None of them felt quite right to him. He continued down the scale, past blue, and then hesitated. Yellow called to him, but so did orange. Now that he felt it, he could tell the difference between their two notes. They both wanted to enter the deepest swirling pit of his core.


    The first stage in progression would be to solidify his core so that only his chosen lux could enter. That was the root of every more complicated cycling technique he¡¯d heard of, and of learning how to use the lux he did attune.


    He opened his eyes. His fellow travelers were staring at him.


    "Well?" Hiroko asked.


    "I think I''ve learned to tell them apart."


    She clapped. "Good!"


    "That was fast," Joshi said. "The amount of lux we have here to work with is incredible. Even with the help of the monks, who were much better teachers than I, it took me weeks to learn to tell the flavors apart.¡±


    ¡°The notes were the key. Once I realized I could hear them, it was easy to tell them apart. I''m feeling a pull to orange and yellow both."


    "Then you should be able to choose either," Joshi said. "Remember, your first attunement is just about what comes most naturally to you, what it is you want to start with. As you continue your progression, you will branch out further. But your base lux will determine so much of your path forward."


    "Orange is weapons," Hiroko said. "Most of the emperor''s soldiers attune either orange or red lux.¡±


    ¡°That cultivator along on the trip up the mountain was using orange lux," Chang-li mused.


    Joshi spoke up. ¡±Yellow is elemental manipulation. It''s much less common, but elemental wielders are powerful. But I don''t know if it''s something you can learn on your own. It''s not like body reinforcement." He held up a fist. Streams of red lux coated it, pouring down his arm like a bleeding gauntlet. The effect vanished after an instant. "I''m barely beginning to learn. I can''t hold this for long, but it feels natural, like part of me. I think it''s because I''m using the lux to enhance myself. Trying to do anything outside my body would be more difficult. I don''t know if it''s possible without a trainer."


    Every cultivator Chang-li had ever heard of was part of a sect or some other group. Elders taught juniors secrets and techniques. Those were jealously guarded. There could well be techniques in the cultivator journal he carried buried under the sect''s script, but that didn''t do him much good.


    He deflated. "So, I''m attuning orange lux, but I have no weapon. And yellow, but we don''t know what to do with it.¡± He thought about his dilemma. "Yellow," he declared. ¡°I¡¯ll figure it out. Yellow feels right for a scribe.¡±


    "We could give you the knife," Hiroko suggested.


    Chang-li shook his head. "Scribes are not allowed to use bladed weapons. The hand which wields a sword must never wield a pen. That is the Scribe''s Creed. How is it you''re doing that?" he said to Joshi as the bald barbarian once again coated his hand with glimmering red lux.


    Joshi formed his fingers into a fist. He punched against the wall beside him. The air shivered with the force of his blow. He held up his hand, looking at the unmarred knuckles.


    "It''s a refinement of the cycling technique I taught you. Instead of trying to push the lux to every limb at once, you make sure to cycle it through your core, siphoning out the red lux from the rest, and then pushing just that out to the tips of my fingers. The rest is a matter of using my mind to control the form I want the lux to take. I''m not there yet."


    He sounded disappointed with himself, as though this were something he had been working on for days or weeks, not hours. Chang-li closed his eyes again, thinking about what he said.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    He tried to push yellow lux into his core, but the orange wanted to come along. He imagined his core being a ball with small holes in it, holes that would let out only the yellow lux. The orange continued to build up inside his core, but he extruded a small bit of pure yellow lux. He pushed the lux through his channels in his right arm, out to the very tips of his fingers.


    He held up his hand, opened his eyes, and for an instant he thought he saw something shimmer on the palm of his hand. Then it was gone.


    Hiroko leaned forward. "Did you do that on purpose?"


    "I did.¡± He couldn''t help grinning.


    "A good attempt," Joshi said. "Keep at it, but don''t push yourself too hard. The next time we rest, I think we should take one of those purification tablets. Let''s keep going. We need to find water, and we need to determine what this floor''s challenge is."


    "Challenge?" Hiroko asked as they continued along the blank corridor, pressing ever onward. Chang-li longed to hear a bird cry overhead or smell something besides his own sweat. How could this place be nothing but empty corridors and a vast, aching sky? This was a cultivation tower. It was supposed to be full of wonders.


    "Every floor of a tower has its own guardian, and the guardian sets a challenge. Only the worthy may pass and proceed to the next floor," Joshi said.


    "Not the Emperor''s tower," Hiroko replied. "I''ve climbed from the first floor to the second several times. There was no guardian, no challenge."


    "What the Emperor does in the tower he has tamed and re-sculpted is his own business," Joshi said. "I am telling you what the monks shared with me, how climbing towers are meant to function."


    "What sort of guardian?" Chang-li asked.


    Joshi shrugged. "Sounds like they vary. I should ask you, not me."


    "Oh, right." Chang-li dug the cultivator''s journal out of his bag. He stopped trying to cycle. Instead, he kept one eye on Joshi and Hiroko in front of him, and flipped through the journal, looking for entries from this first level. He skimmed, passing the description of entering the tower, and then found what he was looking for. He read it aloud to his companions.


    A vast expanse of sand stretching ahead of us for miles, with oases dotting it here and there. Each oasis seems to have a guardian. Kang has defeated each with ease. To my surprise, there is a great deal of indigo lux here, and I have been able to properly cycle for the first time in years. There is violet lux as well, though not much. My old friend would have been excited at even this much of a possibility. He was forced to ascend because he could not access the violet lux he needed to become a Prism. The Emperor would not permit it.


    ¡°If we do find an entrance into this vast desert, we know to expect trouble at the oases,¡± Joshi remarked. ¡°Good. Keep reading."


    Chang-li continued. There was a pyramid half a day''s journey in, and I suspected it must be some part of this floor guardian''s challenge. But we broke into its chambers and found only cobwebs and broken pottery. Kang says, "Sometimes a floor challenge can change, and pieces remain that were once part of the challenge."


    "Well, that''s helpful," Hiroko said grumpily as Chang-li read the entry. "We don''t want to know what it wasn''t."


    Chang-li flipped past a few pages in cultivator script, hoping that the secrets weren''t hidden beneath that incomprehensible scribbling.


    ¡°Here we are.¡± This place has an odd, timeless aura. There''s no way to mark the passage of hours. At first, I thought that was just an oddity. Now I am convinced it is the secret to unlocking this floor''s guardian. If I am right about the nature of violet lux, that would explain why there is so much, relatively speaking.


    "Go on," Hiroko encouraged as he read that entry aloud.


    "That''s all there is on that page,¡± Chang-li said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep ¡ª¡±


    Hiroko froze. She put out a hand and grabbed Joshi''s shoulder, halting him in place.


    "Wait," she whispered. "Do you feel that?"


    Chang-li tensed. He listened, hearing nothing. He reached out with his newly energized lux sense, but felt nothing. Joshi crouched, taking up a stance with his feet shoulder-width apart, one arm raised, one arm at his side, hands curled into fists.


    They were standing in one of the wider places that marked the branching of ways. The corridor ran along ahead of them, but also off to the left. The path to the left was full of a great drift of sand.


    "I can feel something," Hiroko whispered. "I can feel its life force. It''s¡­"


    She shrieked, pointed, and stumbled back into Chang-li just as the sand began to move, bubbling and spitting upright. A moment later, creatures emerged, three of them. They were the size of small dogs, but they were definitely not dogs. Their green-gray chitinous husks dripped with dark venom. Their tails arched up over their backs, great stingers at the end of each. They raced forward toward Joshi, crab-like claws clacking.


    "Don''t let them sting you!" Joshi shouted, leaping to the side. "They''re viper crabs. Their tail drips venom!"


    Chang-li stepped forward, blocking Hiroko as one of the viper crabs rushed at him. He had no weapon, no idea what to do, but as it got close, he pulled his pack from his back. In the excitement he fell back on old habits, grabbing it with his left hand and swinging it.


    His aim was good. He hit the viper crab right in the head, knocking it backward against the wall. It hit, chittering, and fell to the ground.


    The other two venom crabs were pressing in on Joshi, coming at him in a pincher movement. The barbarian edged sideways and then, as one lunged at him, he moved to meet it and kicked it hard. It flew back and smashed into a fallen slab of stone.


    Joshi''s right hand glowed red. He raced in toward the other viper crab and punched it right in the head. The viper crab exploded. Fragments of shell and flesh flew everywhere. Chang-li raised a hand defensively in front of his eyes.


    "Look out!" Hiroko shouted, as the viper crab that he had knocked against the wall was back up and came rushing at him.


    Chang-li swung his bag again, but he missed, and the viper crab was there, inside his arm length. It stabbed. Its tail barb plunged into his midsection. Pain exploded through his body. The world went woozy. He stumbled backward, swinging the bag again. Somehow, he connected with the viper crab''s midsection, smashing it against the wall. The crab chittered and lay still. Chang-li stumbled back against the wall, sliding down as his eyes lost focus. His hand went to the wound on his stomach. He raised it to his eyes. Blood and purple ichor ran down his fingers.


    "No, no!" Hiroko shouted. She knelt, putting a hand on him. "Joshi, wait! Don''t kill that one!"


    She stretched her other hand out. Through hazy eyes, Chang-li could see that Joshi had halted just before punching the last remaining viper crab. Instead, he backed away. The crab turned on him. Hiroko began to hum a single note, the same note as blue lux.


    Something touched him, wrapping him in an embrace that was gentle and strong, like being tied up with silk. He tried to focus on it to keep from slipping away. Blue light glowed between him, through Hiroko, and out to the venom crab. As he watched, the venom crab fell to the ground. It thrashed and chittered. A moment later, it rolled over, legs in the air. And then, impossibly, it melted away into dust.


    Chang-li''s vision began to return. He took a deep, ragged breath.


    "Is he all right?" Joshi was leaning over him, a hand on his shoulder, looking worried.


    Chang-li coughed. "I''m all right, I think."


    Hiroko sat back. She looked exhausted. Chang-li looked down at his midsection. Blood stained his tunic. He forced himself to look under it, at the wound. There was no wound, just a small pink mark, like a faded scar.


    "What was that? You did something."


    Hiroko''s brow was covered in sweat. "I didn''t know if that would work," she murmured. "I''ve never done that before. My teacher told me it could be done and warned me not to."


    "What was it?"


    She smiled weakly. "Blue lux lets you feel the minds and life force of others. It can let you touch life force as well. Drain it from enemies. In this case, I took all the life force that creature had and gave it to Chang-li. It wouldn''t have been enough to save him, but when you do it that way." She paused to catch her breath. Her hands were shaking and she folded them together. "It can transfer some of their own essential powers at the same time. I was hoping those viper crabs were immune to their own poison, and it seems they were."


    "You saved me.¡± Chang-li stared at her.


    She gave him a wan smile. "It seemed like a good idea. You saved me from the monster outside."


    Joshi straightened up. He looked around at the viper crabs. "I don''t see any more. But we should be on guard.¡±


    "I don''t feel any more," Hiroko said. "I''m going to need to rest."


    "Yes," Joshi nodded his head. "You and Chang-li both should sleep. I will stand watch."


    Chang-li was torn. He wanted to rest more than anything. He still ached from the burning venom that had so recently been in his veins. But if he slept, what was to stop Joshi from taking his bag of rations and leaving them both here? Joshi met his gaze, and he knew the barbarian could tell what he was thinking.


    "I will be here when you awake," Joshi said quietly. "You have my word."


    Somehow Chang-li knew that was good enough. He lay back against the wall of the corridor and slept.

 15. Tree of Death

    Immediately upon rising, Chang-li handed out purification rations to each of them. The tablets were small wafers, about the size of the circle he could make with his thumb and forefinger. They were pale white, like they were made from fine rice flour. He popped one in his mouth, and it melted away on his tongue, tasting of honey and rosewater.


    "Now cycle.¡± Joshi assumed a position.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    "It stands to reason. If it''s to purify us, it''ll be more effective if we cycle." He closed his eyes. Chang-li followed suit, using the new cycling technique Joshi had taught him. It was getting easier. He could cycle lux to one limb of his body or to two at the same time.


    Orange and yellow lux both still filled his core, and though he was getting adept at only letting the yellow out, the orange was building up. He could feel it there in his core, getting denser and denser. What would happen if it completely filled his core? He should find a way to release it.


    Chang-li imagined the holes on the outside of his core being a different shape, and then pushed out the lux, not to his right hand, as he had been, but to his left.


    His scribe mentors had taught him that the left hand was impure, used for touching dead carcasses and beasts, or wiping filth from himself. That was why, as a scribe, he was not permitted to touch a pen with his left hand, only with his right. He had striven for months to perfect characters with his right hand that his fellows mastered in a matter of days. But at the end of it, it had paid off. His writing was as easy to read as any others. And now he found an advantage, because his left hand willingly embraced the orange lux he was trying to bleed off.


    He pushed it out and took a deep, relaxing sigh as he felt the purification tablet doing its work in his body. Emptying his core had definitely been the right choice to allow the tablet to work. He mentioned that to Hiroko and Joshi. Hiroko''s face immediately relaxed. "You''re right," she said after a moment. "It did make a difference."


    Joshi said nothing, but Chang-li saw how his face screwed up with concentration briefly, then went still. So he''d done the same.


    Chang-li climbed up. He brushed a few bits of viper crab off of his bag and slung it over his back again. He felt refreshed. The short sleep, hard bread, mouthful of water, and purification tablet had renewed him. His body felt stronger. Maybe he was just imagining it, or maybe the lux and cycling really was having an effect.


    ¡°Onward!¡± He set off down the corridor again.


    It wasn''t long until he sensed a change. Joshi licked a finger and held it up. "Yes, you¡¯re right. There''s a breeze, stronger now than before. It''s coming from ahead of us," Joshi sniffed. "I can smell trees and water."


    "That''s a good thing.¡± Hiroko closed her eyes briefly, but shook her head. "I can''t feel any life yet.¡±


    ¡°Would you feel anything from trees?"


    "Oh, definitely," Hiroko said. "Some might not, but my grandmother was a master gardener. She was Dowager Pearl in charge of a vast swath of the Imperial Gardens, and she taught me well. I can feel the life force of plants as easily as that of animals, humans."


    "Be wary," Joshi said. "Remember what the cultivation journal said. The oases in this place were guarded by protector spirits."


    Chang-li hefted his canteen. It was two-thirds gone, at least. "If they''re standing between me and water, then they get what is coming to them.¡±


    A short while later, the labyrinth finally ended. The three stopped right at the edge of the corridor, looking out into a vast expanse of green. Hiroko frowned.


    "I still can''t feel it."


    Grass grew. Palm trees waved overhead. Chang-li had only ever seen trees like that in a book. Hiroko was staring at them in wonder. "Be ready.¡± Joshi¡¯s hands curled into fists. He stepped over the threshold. The others followed.


    At once, a wave of warmth and moisture hit Chang-li like he was walking into the sauna room of a bath. Hiroko gasped. "Now I feel it. All around us, there''s so much life."


    He glanced back over his shoulder. The corridor was there at their backs, a stark gray stone trough, open above. On this side, the corridor was buried in an embankment of grass running right up to its edge. Bushes grew along the top, thorny and harsh, as though they''d been planted there to ward off animals. The strangeness was a good reminder that they were inside a cultivation tower, not in a real place.


    "Be careful," Chang-li urged, and they started forward. They passed swaying trees and through stands of grass. There were bushes here and there, nothing in flower, nothing in fruit, and no water. The land sloped down a little, which gave him hope they were heading for some sort of water course.


    It wasn''t until they''d gone perhaps half a mile that he realized there''d been no signs of animals anywhere. No birds in the trees, no squirrels, no mice or any other kind of creature, not even insects. He mentioned it to the others. Hiroko nodded. "I feel something dense with life ahead of us. That usually means an animal or perhaps a human.¡±


    They continued down the slope, then pushed past a last stand of trees and found themselves at the edge of a shallow pond. In the center of the pond, fifteen feet away, was a rocky island, and on the island a tree gnarled and twisted. One portion of the tree was in pink blossom, another deep green leaves, another boasted golden broad leaves stretching out toward the sky, and the fourth part of the tree was barren.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "That''s a heaven cherry," Hiroko said. "But I''ve never seen one like that, with its branches all in a different season. And it''s dense with life. Too dense. Be careful."


    They edged around the pond. Nothing else moved. There were odd white rocks here and there in the pond, and piled up on the shore of the little island. In fact, the whole of the island seemed to be covered in them.


    Something didn''t seem right. Strands of vine ran down the trunk of the heaven cherry tree and in and out through the stones, twisting around them, coming out of holes that gaped like...


    Chang-li gasped as he finally realized what he was seeing. He stepped back.


    "Bones."That island and the whole pond, they''re full of bones. Look at how the vine wraps them."


    Joshi swore and backed away from the pond. They had moved backward just in time. Vines burst from the water right where they''d been, curling up on the shore.


    ¡°Get away!¡± Joshi shouted, pushing Hiroko up the slope.


    Chang-li turned to follow. Something grabbed at his ankles and pulled him down. He cried out. The vines had wrapped themselves around him. They were pulling him toward the water. In panic, he tried to grab his bag to use as a weapon, but the vines wrapped around his arms, too. He shouted. Hiroko and Joshi shouted something back, but he couldn''t make out the words over his own panicked heartbeat.


    Chang-li grabbed at the lux flowing in his veins, desperately crying out to his core, seizing whatever yellow came and pushing it through to his right hand. He closed his eyes, imagining fire leaping from his fingertips to burn these vines. For an instant, it worked. He could feel heat on his fingertips. He could feel the flame. He grabbed at the vines wrapping him, and they shrank back. Something inhuman screamed, far off and nearby, like it was in his head and far away at the same time.


    Chang-li pulled away, but more vines came out of the water and grabbed at him. Joshi came hurtling down the slope, hands wrapped in red lux. He leapt to a boulder sticking out of the water five feet from the shore, and then, with another prodigious leap, onto the island beyond. He punched the tree right in its trunk. It shivered.


    Hiroko was there, kneeling at Chang-li''s feet. The vines wrapped around her hands, and she grinned, showing her teeth. "That''s what I wanted," she hissed. Her face went pale. Chang-li could feel the power flowing through her, hear the chime of the lux that she was wrapping through the vines as she sought to drain this tree of its strength.


    Over on the island, vines were rising, coming to attack Joshi. Chang-li took a deep breath. He grabbed the small knife from his scribe''s kit and raced across the water. It was up to his knees in places. He splashed through, feeling submerged bones shift under his feet.


    Then he was up on the other side and out. He raced forward, swiping at the vines that were attacking Joshi with his left hand and the knife. With his right, he once more summoned yellow lux and called for flame.


    It answered. Not much, but it answered. A tiny handful of flame danced on his palm. He smacked it into the trunk of the tree, then darted back as more vines came at him. He tried again, but his core was too full of orange lux. He couldn''t get enough yellow to summon a spell.


    Chang-li grabbed all of that orange lux and flung it into his left arm, the arm holding the thin penknife. Joshi roared and slammed red-coated fists against the trunk, right, left, right, left.


    Chang-li stabbed the penknife into the heart of the tree. It sunk in deep, slipping from his fingers and plunging deep inside as thought pushed by an unseen force, the orange lux flowing from his hand.


    He stumbled back. The tree was shaking. He could feel its death throes. The pink blossoms turned gray and fell. The golden leaves crumbled to ash. The vines shook and withered, curling up. Then the tree''s branches seemed to droop. Joshi stepped back, lowering his fists and panting. The two men stared at the tree for a long moment.


    "Is it dead?"


    ¡°I think it must be.¡±


    They turned and looked back at the shore. Hiroko was slumped over on the beach. She sat back up and waved a wan smile on her face. "I''m all right," she mumbled.


    Joshi was already across the water, leaning over her. Chang-li went to follow, when his eyes caught something silver gleaming in the tree. It must be his knife. He leaned to retrieve it. His left hand grasped and drew it forth.


    The handle was wrong. It had been a simple penknife with a thin handle a few inches and a two-inch blade for sharpening the nibs of his pen or cutting off the ragged tips of his brush.


    The handle was longer now and thick. A hilt, not a handle. As he pulled the blade free, it just kept coming and coming and coming until he drew it out and stared at the sword he had pulled from the heart of the tree.


    Its hilt seemed to be made of the cherry wood of this very tree, reddish wood polished and lacquered to a shine. It was grooved and easy to grip, fitting his hand as though it had been made for him. The blade was long and thin, perhaps two feet long, curved with a sharp tip and a wicked edge. He held it up. The patterns of the metal rippled in smoky lines all down it. It was beautiful and deadly, and it gleamed with yellow lux.


    Joshi and Hiroko were calling to him. Chang-li turned away from the tree. He splashed back across the water, holding the sword. Hiroko was on her feet now.


    "Are you all right?"


    "I am," she said wanly. "My teacher failed to mention a few things, but I''m getting the hang of it. What''s that?"


    "I don''t know," Chang-li said. "I thought it was my penknife."


    "If that is a penknife," Joshi said, his eyes sweeping up and down the blade like it was a long-lost treasure, "then perhaps my people have more to fear from your empire''s scribes than your empire''s soldiers."


    "I used my penknife. I had no other weapon," Chang-li explained. "I stabbed the tree. I was holding orange lux at the time. My core was too full. See, I couldn''t get any more yellow. I wanted more fire, but I had to get rid of the orange.¡±


    "Hold," Joshi raised a hand. "Let''s fill our canteens and drink and then retreat a little ways from here. I think this is important."


    Chang-li nodded. He knelt at the water''s edge and washed his face, splashing water across the back of his neck. He drank deep from a cupped hand before filling his canteen. The others knelt beside him, and they retreated back up the slope to a safe distance.


    The tree certainly seemed dead. Hiroko assured them it was, but none of them wanted to linger near the pond.


    They sat down. Chang-li offered around strips of dried fruit from his pack. They ate, and Chang-li explained what he had done. Joshi listened intently. At last, he nodded. "I have heard of similar techniques. The monks who taught me did not approve. They were strong believers in building a firm foundation with a single form of lux. In fact, they said that in almost all circumstances it should be red lux, that enhancing one''s body during the Bodily Refinement stage was the best way. I follow their wisdom. And yet I can see for you two that is not the correct path. I think..." He hesitated. "If this path calls to you, then follow it."


    "Why your left hand?" Hiroko asked.


    Chang-li realized he was still holding the sword. He set it down and wiped his hand against his tunic.


    "I was born with a tendency toward my left," he confessed. "But scribes may only use their right for pens."


    Hiroko smiled. "Well, that solves your problem, then, doesn''t it?"


    "What?"


    "You said before, the hand that holds a sword may not hold a pen. There you are. Use your left hand for your sword and your right hand for your pen. There''s no need to choose between being a scribe and being a cultivator after all."


    Chang-li stared at her. Joshi broke out laughing. He clapped Chang-li on the shoulder.


    "I think the princess has the right of it," he said cheerfully. "Scribe ¡ª friend Chang-li, you''ve taken the first step along your very own path of cultivation. Now let us work together to discover the next."

 16. Uproar in Camp

    The entire cultivator encampment was in an uproar. Rumors and gossip reached even the noble quarters, sheltered as they were away from the day-to-day of the camp. Min received messages from her people multiple times over the course of two days, asking her a flurry of questions. Through it all, she walked serene, like the eye of a cyclone, her head held high.


    Her grandfather had always told her disaster was just opportunity wearing a stained tunic. This was her chance to prove she had what it took to succeed him. She wasn''t heartless. As word filtered back through the camp of just how many lives had been lost in the attack on the procession of nobles and servants up the mountain, she did feel a pang of sympathy, but she had never met most of those people, nor could she afford to waste time mourning them.


    The other young members of the Court of Gems went about despondent. Her brother and Nima held a formal tea to discussed what had happened.


    "To be torn apart by ravening beasts like that.¡± Shisa shook her head, "it''s too terrible to think."


    "Now you see why we have such a vital role," Nima declared. "Cultivators hold these threats at bay. If this tower is not culled, it will not just be a handful of travelers at risk, but the entire city of Golden Moon and the farmland all around us. Cultivators protect the empire. We support the cultivators."


    "Besides," Jai-lin said, "this does give us more opportunities, doesn''t it?"


    The women rounded on him. Even Min thought that was a bit too heartless. He held up his hands. "Forgive me. That came out wrong. I didn''t mean because of the tragic death of our distant kin. But word is four other sects are on their way here, and should arrive within days.¡±


    "Really?" Min asked. "Where did you hear that?"


    "I was assisting the Dowager Pearl this afternoon.¡± Her brother smiled contentedly. Min had swapped duties with him so that she could make her way out past the gates and have a word with Brother Stone.


    Her brother set down his tea. "I think in honor of our dead relatives and competitors, we should perhaps consider the words of the poet¡ª"


    "Hang on," Min interrupted, "do we have an actual tally of who''s dead and who isn''t? They all returned back to Golden Moon City, didn''t they?"


    "The cultivators and their servants, yes.¡± Her brother seemed baffled by her interruption. "The surviving soldiers and porters came back up here."


    Min made a mental note to ask Brother Stone what he had learned. By now, he would have spoken to any Brotherhood members who had been along on that ill-fated expedition. She knew he''d been working to get several of their people involved, and only hoped she hadn''t been responsible for deaths.


    That brought to mind Scribe Wu, who had taken a batch of messages down the mountain. She¡¯d asked Brother Stone, who said he was among the missing. That was too bad. Min had liked his forthright manner.


    "I have heard that they confirmed the Indigo Princess Hiroko was killed," her brother said. ¡°Her garment was found, rent by beasts.¡±


    The other girls let out a gasp. Even Min bowed her head at that. She''d never met an Indigo Princess before. They were as high above her as the sun was above the mountains. With so few of them, it was unlikely that another princess of her rank would be dispatched to this expedition.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "To send a Indigo Princess, they must have had some purpose in mind," Min said thoughtfully. "I mean, they wouldn''t have just sent her out here to try to catch some random cultivator, would they?"


    "You think she was intended for a specific person?" Nima leaned forward, her eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Then it must have been Young Master Feng, or perhaps there''s another notable cultivator on his way here right now."


    "Young Master Feng has achieved nearly the peak of mental refinement before the age of thirty," Min said. ¡°That¡¯s not particularly fast, but it does show a propensity for cultivation. His sect is growing in power, and from what I understand, not well tied to the Empire. They have a school somewhere in the mountains to the north."


    "How do you know all this?" her brother asked, giving her a look that mixed admiration and amusement.


    ¡°We can''t all be gifted poets, Brother.¡±


    He nodded in agreement. "I suppose it''s good that someone inherited our grandfather''s business sense."


    Nima sat up a little straighter. "All right. As terrible as this was, and as sorry as I am, especially for the Indigo Princess, this is an opportunity for us, don''t you agree?" She looked around at the others in the room, who nodded. "There''ll be more cultivators coming soon. With luck, before too many other nobles arrive. We can''t waste any time. We''ll need to find our targets and mark them quickly before someone of higher rank comes in and scoops them up. I say we work together on frame-ups. We can recruit some of the other low-level nobles in on it, to make it look more accidental."


    "What do you mean by frame-up?" Shisa asked.


    "Exactly what it sounds like." Nima smiled. "You find a likely cultivator, have a few too many drinks at one of the official soirees, get him or her in a back room quietly, and then arrange for someone to stumble upon you."


    "That won''t be enough," Min said wearily. "Not if the cultivator has good prospects and complains. Not for us red and orange nobles.¡±


    "Oh, yes, it will," Nima said. "You''re not the only one who''s been spending time with the Dowager Pearl, Jai-lin. I poured tea for her this morning and heard all about her thoughts on the morality of young people and how it''s contributing to the degeneracy of the Empire. How the Emperor''s own family must be respected. Cultivators taking advantage of young Gems and then leaving them is, in her eyes, unforgivable. We''ll have the backing we need. Some of these Dowager Pearls are very sensitive about Imperial honor, especially the ones who didn''t have a child themselves," she added thoughtfully.


    "How many Dowager Pearls have you met?" Min asked.


    "Two, counting this one. The point is, I''ve heard stories. My mother spent time in a Gem court herself before settling down with my father.¡± She pouted. "Neither of them made it past the Peak of Bodily Refinement, which is why I''m here trying my luck in the backwater rather than at a more impressive court of gems."


    Nima looked pointedly at the lower-ranked nobles. "Keep that in mind. Your children will be unranked. You''ll be depending on your partner to make enough of a showing to raise your rank high enough to be noted. Do it well, and perhaps one of your daughters will be chosen as one of the Emperor''s Pearls in twenty years."


    The thought filled Min with revulsion. Besides, everyone knew the governors and officials who were in charge of selecting each year''s pearls did choose them for their looks and connections with all corners of the empire.


    Nima did have one point. As Red nobles, she and Jai-lin were in the farthest out layer of the court, and their children would have no rank of their own. It didn''t bother Min herself. She had her plans in mind. Eldest sister of the Oaken Band was a much higher rank than Red, Orange, or even Yellow Court, even if it didn''t come with the impressive title.


    Min rose. "Where are you going?" Jai-lin asked. "It''s nearly dinner time."


    "I need a walk to clear my head.¡±


    She''d need to speak with Brother Stone. There was an opportunity here for their people, especially if she could find a useful scribe who would be willing to help them forge a few unlimited cultivator''s licenses. Too bad her last forger, Scribe Dai, had perished in the tower. She hadn¡¯t heard yet what had befallen Scribe Wu and found herself hoping he¡¯d escaped the carnage on the trail up the mountain. Not just because he¡¯d been helpful to her; she¡¯d genuinely liked the young scribe. It would be a shame for him to fall to such misfortune.

 17. Secrets Laid Bare

    Chang-li cycled as Joshi and Hiroko slept. The shifting colors of the sky filtered through the trees of this oasis. He had the cultivator journal open on his lap and was glancing through Scribe Wulan¡¯s writings for clues.


    We have summoned the Guardian. Our offering is acceptable. We mount the steps to the second floor. To my surprise, I have received the Guardian''s boon as well. I have accompanied cultivators on their journey many times and never before been deemed worthy of receiving a boon. I feel the lux in this place is good for me. Kang encourages me to cycle. He has taught me a swirling technique which I will describe more thoroughly on the following page.


    That page was frustratingly written in the cultivator script.


    We offered the bounty of seven oasis protectors. Kang was certain seven was the key number. After all, there are seven colors of lux, seven basic cultivation principles, seven guiding stars that beckon us heavenward.


    He was correct.


    Chang-li paused.


    Offerings. The Guardian wished offerings taken from the protectors of each oasis. Surely the tree they had fought and defeated was one such protector. Was the sword he had pulled an offering, or had they missed something? He resolved to go back and look more closely after Joshi and Hiroko woke.


    He continued reading. Next came several dense pages written in cultivator script. If only he could read it ¡ª the secrets there would be his key to defeating this floor and making it out alive.


    He closed his eyes, trying to picture Scribe Wulan from their one brief encounter, instinctively dropping into a cycling technique. You said you wished to pact with me. That you had business yet unfinished. If that is so, aid me now, oh great scribe!


    ¡°I may have made a mistake.¡±


    Chang-li opened his eyes. Scribe Wulan stood there, shimmering slightly around the edges of his old-fashioned garments. He peered around nearsightedly. ¡°You¡¯ve gone backwards! I thought you would progress, not start the tower from the beginning!¡± He jabbed at Chang-li with his walking stick. ¡°Fool boy! I¡¯ve bound my eternity to an idiot!¡±


    Chang-li rose to his knees. He bowed low. ¡°Honored scribe, my foundation was weak. To build it up, I sought the beginning. But I fear I underestimated the challenge. Your journal may hold the key to my survival. I beg you once more to aid me ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Wulan said. ¡°Of course you need my aid. At least you have collected enough lux to properly hear and see me. I can help you, but it will cost all the lux you have given me so far.¡±


    Chang-li blinked. ¡°Pardon, my teacher, but I have given you lux?¡±


    ¡°How do you think I am here? My ghost is bound to your core. Some tiny portion of what you cycle goes to me. That¡¯s how I¡¯m manifesting now.¡± Wulan sighed. ¡°Clearly, if I ever wish to complete my task and pass on, I must give you more help. Since you cannot yet channel the lux we need for me to manifest for very long ¡ª reading my journal will be the most use. Yes. Very well, I shall teach you. But until you reach the first step that¡¯s likely all I can do.¡±


    ¡°You know much, for being a spirit,¡± Chang-li ventured.


    ¡°I know what Cultivator Kang told me,¡± Wulan snapped. ¡°This business is as new to me as to you. Now. I will teach you what you want, and you busy yourself cultivating. I do not intend to spend eternity tied to your soul.¡± He reached out a withered hand and brushed Chang-li¡¯s forehead. It felt like a cool breeze tousling his hair.


    Chang-li blinked. He was back in his cycling posture, and his companions still slept. Had he dreamt that?


    He looked back down at the page. The cultivator script swam before his eyes. He blinked again, and now the characters almost leapt off the page at him.


    The Swirling Mists technique, one of the Sect of Morning Mists'' three beginner cycling techniques, as taught to me by cultivator Kang. Place yourself into a comfortable cycling position. Rest one hand on your midsection to aid in sensing your core. Rest the other hand on the earth itself. Feel the lux inside your body. Use the hand on your midsection to direct the colors of lux you wish into your core, while directing the other lux through your arm and into the earth where you are returning it.


    Note, we found difficulty with this technique due to the presence of violet lux, which is resistant to being channeled into the earth. Kang says he does not know why this is, and that I should allow it to circulate through my veins.


    I wonder if perhaps this is why I have achieved success in cultivation that I never before dreamed of. Take care. I have trepidation writing this, for it will be another mark against me when this is read by the Imperial Inquisitor. And yet, I have already willed myself to submit to the Emperor''s justice. My head can only be removed from my body once.


    Chang-li followed the book''s instructions, arranging his legs in a more comfortable seating arrangement, placing his right hand on his stomach, the left hand on the ground. He closed his eyes and cycled lux through himself. He''d become adept at letting the orange and yellow lux into his core while shunting the rest away. Now he found, as he pushed his unwanted lux through his left arm into his hand, down through the palm, spread out against the rich, moist soil of the forest floor, that most of the lux flowed easily, like he was an irrigation channel maintained and kept open for water.


    The tiny fragments of violet lux, though, clung stubbornly to the walls of his channel. Try as he might, he could not push them out into the earth. Giving up, he allowed the violet lux to flow through his channels. He noted as he did that it felt as though his channels were becoming stronger and deeper. That was, after all, the point of cultivation. The violet lux seemed to be hastening the process along.


    Intrigued, he switched back to the cycling technique he had learned from Joshi. This time, though, he purposefully filtered both orange and yellow, but also violet into his core. The effect was immediately noticeable. The violet lux clung to his core. But instead of clogging it, the way the yellow lux had when he was trying to cycle only orange, it was as though the violet lux was making his core''s capacity deeper.


    He opened one eye and looked at his sleeping companions. Joshi might well know what the violet lux was doing to him, but did he dare let Indigo Princess Hiroko hear him speak of actively cycling the forbidden lux? Sneaking into a tower and attempting to cultivate without license was one thing. He was almost certain he could find a way to have his trespass forgiven, especially if he saved the life of Princess Hiroko. Channeling violet lux, though, was something he knew, would place even Spiritual Perfection-tier cultivators subject to an inquisitor. Chang-li decided to keep it secret for now.


    He returned to the journal, turning back to the page where scribe Wulan had spoken of taking offerings to the floor guardian. He painstakingly deciphered the preceding pages. Here, Wulan was more forthcoming about the challenges they had faced.


    The fifth oasis we found was the home of a pack of enormous golden lions. The females attacked us at once. Kang fought them off as I attempted to stay out of the way. I am still in awe of Kang''s progress, though he has passed the Peak of Bodily Refinement and this is only the first floor of the tower. No challenge should prove too dangerous for him. It is not until we reach the third or fourth floor that he expects to find any great difficulties.


    After defeating the females, we proceeded to the lion''s den where an enormous old male sat atop a rocky hill, guarding the cubs. Kang bowed to the lion as though it were another cultivator, and then they began the duel.


    This is the first protector we have met whose lux abilities I was able to perceive. The lion wielded red lux like he was a cultivator himself. He also had a breath attack of fire that focused yellow lux. That puts him on a par with a late-stage Bodily Refinement cultivator. Fortunately for me, Kang is a match for anyone on his own level as he has mastered two forms of lux and is beginning to wield orange in addition to red and yellow. Kang tore the lion apart. When I joined him, we determined that his tribute was his heart. Kang cut it out and stored it inside an infinity bottle in his soul space where it will remain fresh and still beating until we present it to this floor''s guardian.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "You have interesting reading?¡± Joshi had woken while Chang-li was absorbed in his book. Now he sat up, stretching his arms as Hiroko slept on. Chang-li quickly related what he had learned of the floor guardian.


    "Does it say where this guardian resides or how to summon it?"


    "I haven''t found that yet.¡±


    Joshi nodded. "We will go back to the tree and determine what these offerings are. A guardian which must be appeased by bringing tribute from elsewhere on its floor is a common floor challenge. The tower nearest my own lands boasted several floors like that. The monks had prepared me to face such. I should¡¯ve thought of it after we defeated the tree."


    "So how did you get from being a prospective cultivator, and it sounds like one being prepared by a sect, to..." Chang-li gestured. "You know. Where you were."


    "Slavery, you mean?" Joshi asked. He considered Chang-li before shrugging. "First, the monks were not a sect. They would have sponsored me for an unlimited cultivation license. They served as a school to train hopeful cultivators, not as a powerhouse of cultivation. Most of the monks had gone no farther than Bodily Refinement themselves. Second, it was always my father''s idea that I cultivate. I did not object. It would have been advantageous to our people. The monks had finished my training and submitted my application for a license. I took the opportunity to visit my father and brother in our clan''s summer encampment. It had been several years since I had ridden with my people. While I was there, my clan clashed in battle against the army of the emperor."


    Chang-li winced. "So you lost and were taken captive."


    Joshi shook his head. "We won, and that was my undoing."


    He didn''t seem inclined to say anything else. Chang-li was desperate to hear more, but something about Joshi''s face kept him from asking. Instead, he said, curiously, "Why would the monks train a boy from a clan at war with the empire? Wouldn''t that risk bringing the emperor''s wrath on themselves?"


    Joshi shrugged again. "My father presented me to them when I was seven years old. He offered them a choice between training me to become a cultivator or him burning down the monastery, slitting the monks'' throats and flaying their skins to make saddlebags. The monks chose to add me as one of their pupils."


    Well, that answered that question.


    ¡°How long have we rested?" Joshi asked. "Are you in need of sleep?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "Between the rest I had in the labyrinth and all the cycling, no. I think it''s been about two hours. Is that enough for you?"


    Joshi nodded. "Yes. Hiroko seems to require more rest. I think the blue lux is a strain on her. We will have to ask her about it."


    Chang-li felt revulsion at the idea of asking a cultivator, even an accidental and unlicensed cultivator like Princess Hiroko, for details about her abilities. That was reserved for between sect members. Cultivators did not speak of such things with outsiders. But here, their lives depended on understanding what each other could do.


    Joshi leaned forward and shook Hiroko by the shoulder more roughly than Chang-li would have dared. The princess''s eyes flicked open. She sat up, staring around herself before sighing and pulling Chang-li''s cloak around her shoulders. "Oh, right.¡±


    ¡°Are you well?" Joshi asked.


    "Just tired." She stood up. ¡°What¡¯s the plan?"


    Joshi led the way back in the direction of the tree they had fought, as Chang-li explained what he had learned. Hiroko held out her hands as they went. "There''s no signs of life from the tree. I think we really did kill it."I can feel an absence. It''s like the life all around me is a web, but now there''s a hole at the center. The life is moving to fill that hole. Sooner or later, another protector will arise here. But there''s so little life in this place. It may take some time."


    "It makes sense," Chang-li said. "Maybe that''s why this entrance was lost, because this floor is hard to use. It requires killing multiple of these oasis defenders in order to move on to the next floor, and the defenders are limited in number and slow to be reborn. That could be very frustrating, which lowers the value of its entrance as a bargaining point once we get out of here."


    "Only if you are foolish enough to reveal its flaws before you have sold the secret for as much as you can get," Joshi pointed out.


    Chang-li tilted his head to one side. "You''re right. But I don''t think I would sell the location until I''ve gotten every drop of use out of this book that I can." He considered again mentioning what he had learned about violet lux, but held his tongue for now.


    ¡°Why sell the book?¡± Joshi asked. ¡°Just tell everyone we stumbled on the entrance by chance.¡±


    They splashed across the pond, Hiroko taking off the cloak and draping it over her arm as she crossed so as not to soak it, then spread out. Bones crunched under their feet as they searched the tiny three-foot by three-foot island. The dead tree sighed and swayed in the wind, its shriveled branches looking as though it had perished years before. The hole where Chang-li had withdrawn his sword dripped with sap.


    He turned to it, noticing how the sap gleamed and glistened, not reflecting light but glowing itself. Some of it had rolled down the trunk a ways and condensed into a ball like a marble a little bigger than his thumbtip, a little too bright yellow for amber. He pointed it out to the others.


    "That''s it," Joshi declared.


    "How can you tell?" Chang-li asked. He suspected that this was indeed the tribute, but wanted to hear Joshi''s reasoning.


    "It has the same feel as the divine treasures that the monks of Hapiru kept in their most sacred storehouse."


    That was good enough for Chang-li. Joshi reached out a hand and pried it away from the bark. It came away in a perfect yellow sphere. "It''s heavy," he remarked. "Dense like a very hard stone."


    "Put it in my pack," Chang-liheld open the bag.


    Joshi hesitated, then shrugged. "We are allies in this," he agreed, before storing it in Chang-li''s pack.


    After that, they all drank. Chang-li wished he had another canteen. "Our path is set, then," Hiroko said. "We need to defeat six more of these, and then find a way to summon the Guardian and prove our worth. So be it."


    The oasis quickly gave way to a vast wasteland of sand. It piled up in dunes, heaped and sculpted by the wind. If there had been sun overhead, this place would have been intolerable, Chang-li thought, as he struggled up the side of one dune. The sand shifted under his sandals.


    At least he had sandals. Hiroko wore delicate silken slippers. She winced a little as she walked. Joshi seemed to notice. He walked beside her, talking her through a simple red lux cycling technique that would aid her body in strengthening itself. Chang-li made note of it. He gave it a try, and found the simple technique did indeed wash away his weariness, give him a quick spring in his step. Hiroko, though, shook her head in frustration.


    "I can''t get it. I''ve never been able to touch red lux properly. Blue is so easy for me, and everything else so difficult."


    "You have a strong affinity," Joshi said. "That is both a gift and a curse. You find it easy to master blue lux spells. I was surprised at how effective your abilities were against the enemies we fought, but it does make using other lux difficult. Not impossible. Try to imagine the blue lux as a wrapper around the red, letting it flow through your body.


    "Like a dumpling," Chang-li suggested. "A blue lux wrapper around a red lux filling."


    Hiroko giggled. "I once snuck into one of the Imperial kitchens at New Year''s and watched the cooks making dumplings. One of the scullery maids saw me and slipped me a handful. I could have had all I wanted that night at dinner, but these tasted so much better." She sobered up. "My attendants found me and scolded me. They separated all of the kitchen folk out and asked them who had seen me there. I tried to lie and say none of them had, but I had some of the dumpling on my face. Finally, the girl who gave me dumplings confessed. I don''t know what happened to her."


    Chang-li had never thought he would feel sorry for a high noble, but now he did. Hiroko fell silent. After a moment, she straightened up a bit. "It¡¯s working! These dumplings taste almost as good as those did."


    "While you cycle," Joshi said, "tell us more about your abilities."


    Hiroko plodded on, her sentences coming in short gasps. Chang-li matched his steps to hers.  "I can feel out life. That is the one my teachers told me to focus on. I think because it''s the safest. You saw how I helped Chang-li. It''s dangerous. I wasn''t sure I could do it. I wouldn''t have risked it. If he wasn''t dying."


    "But what makes it dangerous?" Joshi urged. "Dangerous to him? To you?"


    "To him, mostly. It opens a connection between two beings. Lets their life be shared. Had the viper crab been stronger or intelligent, it might have seized Chang-li''s life force and drained him. I was there to intervene. Against an opponent as intelligent as a human could mean death for me. And whoever I was trying to help. Both."


    "Then we should not use it unless forced," Joshi said. Chang-li was a little jealous of how easily he walked and talked. He focused on cycling the red lux as Joshi continued. ¡°What of the fight against the tree? Did you use that skill?¡±


    "No, that was more like opening wounds in the tree''s life force. There are always predatory spirits that wish to sap life from others. All I did was make it easy for them. The problem there, though, is I can only affect one target at a time, and I''m not good for much else while I''m doing it. If the tree had allies against me, I would have been defenseless."


    ¡°You do well to share that,¡± Joshi said approvingly. "These are strategies we need to know if we must face another six of these protectors in order to ascend higher."


    "I believe you really are the son of a war leader," Chang-li said. "My scribes'' training doesn''t offer much help with this sort of thing.


    ¡°There are, perhaps, benefits to learning how to fight before one learns how to read," Joshi agreed. "Right now, though, you are our greatest asset. You and that book of yours. Do not neglect your cycling, but if we must remain in one place longer for you to work on unraveling the secrets inside that book, so be it. You are the only one who will know if you are sharing everything you learn, but I beg you, do not hold back. Outside this tower, we are of different stations. Right now, we are all the same, and our lives depend on each other."


    Chang-li nodded, even though he wasn''t sure he could believe it. After all, everything he knew about the nobles of the Court of Gems told him they had been trained since birth to be the Emperor''s spies. Scribe Wulan''s writing made him suspect the master of the sect of Morning Mists had been betrayed by his own imperial spouse. Who might well have been the mother of Cultivator Kang, who had faced down the unknown in this very tower.


    It was hard for Chang-li to imagine a member of the family betraying his or her patriarch. Even harder than it was to imagine anyone defying the Emperor.


    Family, vocation, affiliation. Those were the three points of the triangle on which society was built. The three together formed the base of a pyramid with the Emperor at the top. Remove any of those, and the Empire might teeter. And yet, if any of them tried to elevate themselves on a level with the Emperor, then the Empire was doomed.

 18. Reflections of a Free Man

    Joshi dove in on the middle head of the hydra. His right fist was wrapped in a layer of red lux. To his left, Chang-li was shouting and slashing with his sword, distracting the left-hand head. Hiroko stood some distance behind them both, focusing her attention on the right-hand head. It hung listless and dazed as cords of blue lux wrapped it.


    Joshi punched the head as it snapped at him. His fist pushed through the creature''s jaw, smashing teeth back into its throat. Chang-li was flailing madly with his sword. He came close to slicing open Joshi''s left arm as he struck the hydra, but he severed the head with a couple of desperate hacks.


    A moment later, he reached in. His right hand was wreathed in flame like Joshi''s had been coated in lux. He burned the stump of the hydra''s head.


    Joshi pulled back his fist and summoned more lux from his core. He was getting adept with this technique. His difficulty lay in sustaining it. Though his core had deepened during the past days of cultivating, and he felt he was on the verge of experience the first core condension, he still couldn''t hold as much lux as he thought he should. Each punch had to be carefully considered.


    While he was practicing during his cycling times with using lux to shield his body against attacks, right now he didn''t have the lux to spare. It all had to go into his attacks. His next punch took the hydra right between the eyes, dazing it. Joshi stepped back as Chang-li swung his left-hand blow, slicing through the hydra''s neck. The scribe applied more fire.


    Joshi couldn''t help being a bit jealous of Chang-li''s progress. The scribe was using not one, but two colors of lux at the same time, and it seemed as though his core reservoir was deeper than Joshi''s own. It was hardly fair. Chang-li had not been prepared to cultivate, not the way Joshi had, and yet he was already far ahead. Joshi was scrambling to keep up. Perhaps the years of wearing a slave collar had damaged his lux channels in some way he had not yet realized. He would have to pay attention to that during his next cycling time.


    Hiroko''s hydra head was seemingly asleep. It posed no threat as Chang-li sliced the head from the body and then seared the stump. The hydra body thrashed, and all three of the unexpected cultivators fell back. The hydra had been an enormous beast, the size of one of the mammoths Joshi''s people occasionally hunted far to the north, but with smooth gray-green scales and a tail as long and broad as a birch tree. It wavered and tottered for a long moment before collapsing to the ground.


    Joshi let out a sigh of relief. He released his grip on his lux and cycled it back to his core to regenerate. Chang-li lowered his sword. He wiped his brow with his right hand. Then he started forward.


    "It''s probably the heart," Joshi called. "Try cutting that out."


    As the scribe bent over the bulk of the dead hydra, Joshi turned back to Hiroko. She had sagged to the ground, her knees up in front of her, arms wrapped around them. Her face was gray with exhaustion. Sweat ran down her face. Joshi retrieved their canteen from where the trio had left their possessions before engaging the hydra. He unstoppered it and gave it to the princess, who drank gratefully. She took two long pulls before holding it up and considering.


    "I suppose I overdid it," she said quietly. "Blue lux is dangerous. You get wrapped up in it, and before you know it, you''ve let too much of yourself slide through the connection."


    Joshi was worried about her. As long as they had only a single target, her attacks seemed effective. But if they were to be attacked by more than one creature, she would quickly be overwhelmed. The princess was holding up remarkably well, considering she had been born to a life of luxury and not trained for this cultivation. She kept up with the two of them without complaining, ate her share of the rations, cycled as hard as they did, and was having an impact. He could already tell her spells were growing stronger, just not as fast as Chang-li''s. The scribe must be a cultivation prodigy. It was an offense against the gods, the way the Emperor''s system prevented talented cultivators from trying their hand in a tower. Chang-li was worth a dozen of Young Master Feng.


    Chang-li called triumphantly, "I have it!"


    Joshi bent down and offered his hand. Hiroko took it, her palm resting warm against his. He pulled her to her feet, and they turned to see Chang-li returning with the hydra''s still-beating heart, blood dripped from the severed valves. Chang-li looked down at his hand with some distaste. It was coated in blood. ¡°The cultivator journal mentioned defeating a different creature and taking its heart. They had an eternity bottle and stored it in the cultivator''s soulspace. I don''t suppose you know how to open a soul space.¡±


    Joshi shook his head. "I was told under no circumstances to attempt it without guidance.¡±


    ¡°Imperial cultivation tutors know how to safely open a soulspace. It''s usually done near the Peak of Mental Refinement,¡± Hiroko volunteered. ¡°I think it¡¯s generally given as a wedding gift to a cultivator on marrying into the Court of Gems.¡±


    So, another way the Emperor controlled those who might possibly rise to challenge him, Joshi thought. "We''ll just have to wrap it in one of the leftover ration pouches and hope for the best.¡±


    The hydra''s oasis was more of a swamp than a grove. Joshi led the way through reeds until he found a stretch of open water. There he washed his arms and face. After storing the hydra''s heart, Chang-li followed suit. Hiroko wandered down to the edge and bathed her face and neck in the water as well.


    After that, Joshi set off for a slightly higher hillock lumping out of the swamp not far off. They sat down on the soft grass for a quick bite to eat and some cycling. Joshi kept one eye and both ears open for any sign of company, but as far as he could tell, the hydra was the only living creature in the swamp. "Your cultivating is going well," he told Chang-li.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The scribe went slightly pink. "Ah, thank you. So is yours."


    Joshi shook his head. "No, you are far in advance of me. I''m quite impressed the way you''re managing two types of lux at once. Are you content with your cycling patterns or would you like to learn another?"


    "I''m working on deciphering one in this cultivator''s journal now," Chang-li said. "If I do learn it, I''ll be sure to share with you, but I will accept any guidance you can give me.¡± He hesitated. "Though, my thought is I do not need cycling guidance right now so much as I need lessons on how to use a sword. You are the son of a war leader. You must know more than I do about the blade."


    Joshi nodded. "I am no expert in it. The Hapiru monks preferred fists and staves, but as the son of the Khan of the Darwur, I do know a bit.¡±


    ¡°No doubt more than Chang-li.¡± Hiroko sighed and changed up her posture. "I need to know how to be more aware of everything else that''s going on. When I''m focused on an enemy, that''s all I can do. Manage the lux connection between me and it while keeping the blue lux from stealing my own life force. I know that is a danger to us all should we be attacked by a pack of creatures."


    "Perhaps you should try cycling two colors of lux like Chang-li," Joshi suggested. "Not during a fight, of course, but now in practice.¡±


    ¡°I haven''t managed to touch other colors of lux unless I''m doing that dumpling trick, and that isn''t really letting me cycle another color.¡±


    "Which colors have you tried?"


    "Mostly red. I''m trying to improve my body."


    "Perhaps that''s the problem. You''re so tightly attuned to blue that red is unnatural for you. What of the others?"


    She closed her eyes and felt. "The violet lux is right there. Hard to avoid. But of course, I can''t touch that."


    Chang-li looked as though he might say something, then closed his mouth again.


    "The indigo, there''s not much of it, even less than the violet. But it does seem to answer my touch. How do you manage both, Chang-li?¡±


    "I don''t really know," he admitted. "I was trying to focus on the yellow and the orange just came along too. I think I must be attuned to orange similar to how you''re attuned to blue."


    "Then perhaps I''ll focus on the indigo and see if the blue comes along.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m using Joshi''s basic technique when I cycle both," Chang-li said.


    Hiroko closed her eyes, her hands in the position Joshi had taught her. She was very intent on what she was doing, her face almost blank in concentration. Her once pure white undergarments were now stained with grass, blood, sweat, and sand, changing them to a muddy brownish shade. They clung to her body nicely, though Joshi tried not to let her catch him looking.


    "It''s working. I''m moving the indigo and the blue comes with it."


    "Don''t try to do anything with the indigo," Joshi advised. "It''s considered an advanced form of lux, like the blue. I don''t have any knowledge of how to use it." Hiroko could only safely use her blue techniques because she had been taught them previously.


    Joshi reached out for his own core and cycled, trying to concentrate on packing as much red lux into it as he could. He considered trying to cycle another color of lux, like he''d suggested to Hiroko, but his issue was not with concentration, but with sheer quantity.


    He needed to condense his core. That was his next step toward Bodily Refinement, allowing him to increase the amount of lux his core could hold and the density of that lux. Someday, he would be able to coat his entire body with red lux, turning blows from swords or stingers, blocking arrows, while returning punches that could shatter a stone wall. One day. If he had enough time.


    He had not asked Chang-li how many days of purification rations they had available to them. Chang-li had said enough for almost two weeks. They had taken purification tablets eight times since. Sooner or later, they would run out, and then they would have to find a way out of the tower or die.


    Unless he could somehow reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement by then, able to successfully purge his body of unwanted lux. Then he could stay in this tower for as long as he liked, harvesting food from the tower beasts and plants that grew here. Then nothing could stop his climb. Not a towerbeast, not the emperor himself. He could reach for the heavens and climb high enough that no one could ever put a collar back on him.


    But he knew he wasn''t close enough. His core felt slightly tighter than it had at the start of this, but not enough. Not nearly enough. He could just start to glimpse what the Peak of Bodily Refinement would look like for him. It was a long way off.


    Hiroko let out a sigh and opened her eyes. "I think that''s working. But it''s hard. It''s like carrying heavy rocks uphill. I''ll keep at it," she added. "How about the two of you? Are you making progress?"


    They both nodded. "I feel like I''m on the verge of learning to deepen my yellow lux technique," Chang-li said, "instead of just holding fire in my hand. I want to stab outward with it like a second knife."


    "Then we really must get you some swordplay lessons.¡± Joshi stood and ventured a little ways into the swamp, looking for a pair of suitably strong sticks. When he returned, Hiroko was talking to Chang-li in a comfortable tone.


    ¡°When we get out of this tower, I will be sure to tell everyone how you''ve saved my life. You and Joshi both will be able to get a pardon for your unlicensed cultivation. The young masters will wish to curry favor with me, in the hopes I choose one of them as my spouse. They will listen.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to wed ¡ª¡± Chang-li choked. He leaned over, coughing hard. Joshi found his own eyebrows raising as he sat back down. He began stripping the bark from the pair of sticks he''d brought, unsettled by the sudden stab of anger piercing him.


    "What has so amused our scribe friend?" he asked Hiroko, whose eyes were narrowed with a look of displeasure as she studied Chang-li.


    "He mocks me," she said unhappily.


    "No," Chang-li recovered, holding up a hand. "I''m sorry. I pictured a certain ¡ª never mind.¡±


    Joshi understood what he was saying, having the same concerns. ¡°I do not know why you are so eager for marriage, but I advise you, Highness, choose anyone but Young Master Feng. He is an arrogant fool concerned with his own advancement.¡±


    "It is not for you to say," she snapped.


    He bowed in apology. ¡°Forgiveness, highness. But though my words may offend, I felt I must warn you again Feng. He is not worthy of you.¡±


    ¡°How dare you?¡± Hiroko was practically spitting in anger. ¡°An escaped slave, a barbarian, passing judgement on a true cultivator? And speaking to me, Princess of the Empire, daughter of the greatest general the Empire has seen in three lifetimes, as though I were just some ¡ª some common girl?¡±


    Joshi bit off an angry response. It did not matter. For now, he wanted to keep peace with the princess. Her aid here could mean the difference between life and death.


    As soon as they¡¯d found an exit to the tower, they¡¯d never see each other again, after all. He would die rather than return to slavery, while she seemed eager for her chains. So be it. If she regretted her choice one day, he wouldn¡¯t be around to see it.

 19. The Cube

    Under Joshi''s tutelage, Chang-li''s attempts with a sword became less hacking and slashing, more elegant cuts and swoops. They added an hour of sword practice to every cultivation session. The extra time spent resting seemed to help Hiroko. She perked up as they made their way deeper into the tower.


    Chang-li wasn''t sure, because there was no way to tell time in this place, but he felt as though they were going more than a day between purification tablets. They took one every fourth meal. With two or so hours spent cultivating around meal times, an hour of sword practice, snatches of actual sleep here and there, and interminable plodding through the vast wilderness of this first floor of the cultivation tower, time seemed to have lost all meaning.


    Chang-li perused the entries in the cultivator journal. Scribe Wulan mentioned a similar thought: We have been journeying through this vast emptiness for untold days, weeks, perhaps months, and yet I sometimes feel it has been only a matter of hours. Who is to say if time runs slow here? On none of my previous trips inside a cultivator tower have I encountered such, but this is the first time I have spent day after day inside a tower without returning to the outside. It is forbidden by imperial law, after all.


    After translating that excerpt, Chang-li uneasily broached the subject with his companions. "Are there rules about how often a cultivator should leave a tower?"


    The former slave frowned. They were walking through the sands, the sky overhead yellow and red, heading for a dark spot on the horizon that was probably another oasis. "Access to towers is strictly controlled by the army and whichever sects they have chosen to lead an expedition. The monks of Hapiru told me I would be lucky to spend more than three or four days at a stretch inside a tower. That''s not all bad. If we were able to return to the outside world and spend dedicated time cycling under the supervision of cultivation masters, we would no doubt be making breakthroughs."


    "As compared to being here cultivating day and night?¡± Chang-li asked.


    Joshi hesitated. "Perhaps not. We are all progressing far faster than the monks ever gave me to suspect. Especially you. I believe you must have a hidden gift for cultivation. It would be a shame if you were forbidden from continuing your climb."


    Chang-li felt a flush of embarrassment. He was certain his advancement had to do with his cycling of violet lux. He was now deliberately cycling the violet lux through his channels using a technique he had deciphered from Wulan''s notes. He coated each of his lux channels in turn, especially the ones leading to each of his arms. Scribe Wulan described how to weave the violet lux in with the particular color of lux most desired for a channel. So Chang-li was carefully laying down violet and orange through his left arm and fingers, and violet and yellow in his right. The rest of his body he left undifferentiated.


    He knew he was seeing results the first time he made a ball of flame dance on the palm of his right hand. It lasted for only seconds before vanishing, but he could feel it there, distinct from the rest of him, feeding off his lux.


    The secrets he was hiding from his companions were beginning to weigh on Chang-li''s conscience. He cleared his throat. "The entry I just read in Scribe Wulan''s journal made me wonder if perhaps somehow time passes differently for us inside a tower than it does outside. Perhaps the days we''ve spent in here might be only hours on the outside."


    "How could that be?" Hiroko frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that.¡±


    Joshi shook his head. "Nor I. Yet this tower is clearly larger on the inside than it is on the out. We''ve walked miles. Even accounting for how broad the base of the mountain is, we would have reached a far wall if there were one. So why should time not also run differently?"


    "I hope that''s the case," Hiroko said. "When the Dowager Pearl in charge of this Court of Gems believes I am dead, she will send word to the palace. My father will hear, and they may send a replacement bride for young Master Feng. They''ll likely send a Blue princess. I need to return before that can happen."


    "You''re much better off without Feng," Joshi growled.


    Hiroko chose to ignore him. The dark spot on the horizon heaved up and became a cube, sharp edges dark against the sky. They halted, studying it.


    "Well?" Joshi asked. "What does your book say?"


    "It describes several ruins they came across,¡± Chang-li said. "The first two, they thought, were empty. In the third, they discovered a riddle. It granted them a trophy like the ones at the oasis."


    "Without having to fight?"


    Chang-li nodded. "Correct."


    "What sort of trial?" Hiroko asked.


    "Unfortunately, Scribe Wulan did not describe it."


    "Of course he didn''t," Joshi said.


    They crossed the sands till the cube reared over them. It was twenty feet tall, the same distance along. Around it was a vast, flat, black stone field, a quarter mile in width. Joshi set a hand on the stone. "I don''t feel any lux workings." He took ten strides in, then sat down. "We should rest, eat, and cycle before entering."


    "Good idea," Chang-li agreed, taking off his pack and passing around rations.


    The cube loomed over him as he tried to cycle. He kept losing his pattern. Finally, he switched to the first cycling technique Joshi had taught him. Within its comfortable rhythms, he found himself at ease.


    Moments later, something in his core shifted. He stopped cycling, prodding at it with his lux sense, then swapped to his lux sorting technique, allowing only orange, yellow, and violet lux into his core. It was denser, bigger, like he could shove more lux into the same core.


    He had taken a concrete step toward Bodily Refinement.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Joshi cracked an eye. "I felt that.¡±


    ¡°My core condensed." A smile spread across Chang-li¡¯s face.


    "Good," Joshi said. "The monks recommend doing that at least three times before reaching the Peak of Bodily Refinement."


    Chang-li¡¯s good mood vanished. Twice more. They had used up more than half of their purification tablets, and neither of his companions had reached even this first step of condensing. Chang-li was uncomfortably aware of the pressures on them. They must reach Bodily Refinement or find an exit to this place before they ran out of purification rations. Otherwise, the lux would drive them mad, like a towerbeast suffused with too much lux.


    Uneasily, he joined his companions in a brief hour or so of sleep. When they rose, they circled the cube. On the far side was a door, a mere hole leading into the black interior. Joshi led the way without hesitation.


    The inside of the cube was darkness. Chang-li summoned a ball of yellow lux fire to his hand. It winked out after a mere three heartbeats. He called it again. Its flickering light cast shadows on the smooth walls of the passage. Joshi plunged forward, seemingly uncaring of the darkness.


    Then, as they stepped through the passage into a chamber, light flared all around them. Chang-li let his lux drop. The chamber seemed to be as square as the outside of the cube, but only about ten feet in every direction. In the center of the room were three pedestals holding basins, one raised above the other two. The tallest of the pedestals was about chest height. The light emanated from the walls, a gentle glow more blue than yellow.


    Joshi prowled the corners of the room, running his hands along the wall. "No other exits. I''m not sensing any active lux in this building, but I do feel lux conduits running to those basins.¡±


    Chang-li stepped up. The basins were white as bone and warm to the touch. Hiroko peered into one. "They''re empty. Perhaps we''re supposed to fill them.¡±


    ¡°With water?" Chang-li groaned as he thought of how far it was back to the previous oasis. Even if they had some way of carrying enough water to fill these, it would be a time-consuming business. Perhaps that was the challenge: to struggle across miles of wilderness lugging the water it would take to fill these bowls. Every drop in his canteen would be no more than an inch in a single basin.


    "That can''t be it," Joshi said. "This is a cultivator challenge, not a porter challenge."


    Chang-li crouched. His eyes had caught something, a series of scratches on the face of the tallest pedestal. He ran his fingers along them. Yes, deliberate scratches, making a pattern. He couldn''t quite make it out against the darkness of the stone.


    Chang-li opened his satchel and pulled out his scribe''s kit. He prepared his ink tray, grinding the stick down before adding a little water and mixing the ink. When he had thoroughly coated the surface of the pedestal, he took a scrap of parchment from his bag and pressed it carefully, rubbing hard against it. Then, holding his breath, he peeled it away. Dark lines stood out on the parchment. Characters in the scribe''s script.


    Hiroko clapped. "Well done. What does it say?"


    Chang-li scanned the characters. "Test of lux purity. Each bowl to be filled with a different color of lux, without contamination from other colors. Highest value lux in the center bowl."


    "How can we fill a basin with lux?" Hiroko asked. "It won''t stay there."


    "Perhaps they have been designed for it," Joshi eyed the two smaller pedestals. "These appear to be the same height, so does it matter what color we put in them?"


    Chang-li shook his head. ¡°Just the highest value in the middle. What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Red, yellow and orange are Physical lux. They represent the lowest tier. Green is called Mental lux even though it usually is for healing spells,¡± Joshi said. ¡°Blue, Indigo and Violet are the Spiritual luxes, as they affect the deepest nature of the world itself. So, Blue is the highest we can manage between us.¡± He turned to Hiroko. "Try channeling blue lux into the center bowl. Use the Swirling Mists technique that we¡¯ve all practiced, but retain everything else inside yourself. Do you think we should fill the other two with orange and yellow, or will red be fine for one?"


    Chang-li considered. "Let''s try having you fill one with red lux. I''ll put yellow in the third." He stepped over and began his cycling technique. He siphoned yellow lux into his right hand, then, holding his hand above the basin, pushed the lux out of himself. He couldn''t see the lux leaving his body, but after a moment he could tell the basin had changed. Now it took on a slight golden hue.


    "It''s working."


    Hiroko took up a place in between him and Joshi and began to cycle blue lux. They stood there, draining their lux into the basins. The colors grew deeper and deeper, creeping up from the bottom of the basin along the side. At last, just as Chang-li felt he could cycle no more, the last portion of his basin''s edge turned bright golden, and he heard a soft chiming in the key, in the note of yellow. He stepped back.


    Joshi, too, was done. Hiroko''s basin was deep blue in the bottom half, a paler shade in the top. Sweat dripped down her face. She held her wrist with her other hand, as though trying to force the lux out of herself.


    "You can do it," Joshi said. "You''re doing well. Keep at it. Don''t stop."


    Her face showing the strain, Hiroko kept channeling. Chang-li''s heart pounded as he watched. Somehow he knew if she stopped channeling the lux before the basin was full, they would fail the challenge. At last, the blue tinge suffused the entire basin. A note chimed. Hiroko sagged and started to fall. Joshi caught her under her arms and helped her to a seat against the wall. She nodded thanks.


    Light shot upward in the color of each bowl. The three beams merged together, twisting into a brilliant column of white. It became a spot, five feet up in the air, a ball of white light, growing in intensity, stronger and stronger, until Chang-li could not look at it. He looked away, just as it flared even brighter. For a second, he could see nothing. Then his vision returned, purple splotches in front of his eyes. He blinked them away.


    A glowing blue stone hovered in the air over the top basin. Chang-li stepped forward and took it. It was about an inch around and heavy enough to surprise him. The stone was warm to the touch. It seemed to be made out of the same substance as the bowls. He held it up to show the others. ¡°Challenge completed."


    "Well done," Joshi said. "I think we should take a rest. It''s nice to be in, out of the view of that sky, don''t you think?" He exchanged a glance over Hiroko''s head with Chang-li, who understood what he meant. Hiroko needed time to recover.


    "Sounds good to me.¡± Chang-li stowed the token away in his satchel and sitting down. He began to cycle, concentrating, as before, on his core.


    Hiroko struggled upright. "I''m going to cycle for a bit before I sleep. I''ve seen the two of you. You''re working hard to improve. I''m holding us back."


    "We are progressing together," Joshi said gravely. "We have passed three challenges. We have time yet."


    "I will not be a burden," Hiroko said. "I can stand on my own two feet. I know you think I am a spoiled noble."


    Joshi''s face twitched. ¡°When I first saw you, as your palanquin bearer, I would have been surprised to hear you make that claim."


    "I never wanted to ride in a palanquin," she said quietly. "I have been kept away from the world in a perfumed palace and carefully tended gardens. It was my duty and my role and my honor, but I have always longed to see the real world for myself. I used to dream, as a little girl, of dressing in servants'' clothes and stealing out beyond the gates of the palace to see how they lived. I expect I had a rather more romantic notion of their lives than the reality. I never thought of hunger and sickness¡­ But this chance to see how a cultivator lives, to more understand what they go through, it''s beyond valuable for me. I will be far better able to understand the cultivator that I eventually wed and the others in his orbit whom I am supposed to help."


    "You are not a burden," Chang-li assured her. "You have already saved my life. You have weathered every obstacle alongside us. I am glad to have you with us."


    She smiled. "Thank you."


    ¡°Now,¡± Joshi said, "We should rest. We have another four trials yet to undertake."

 20. The Indigo Princess

    Hiroko was relieved when their next destination also proved to be a challenge and not an oasis. The longer she had to cycle and work on her skills before she was forced to face combat again, the more prepared she would be. She wanted to reach the same level as the two men, fighting fearlessly, holding her own, not being completely useless at the end of a battle. If the fight with the Hydra had gone on longer, she would have been at the limits of her strength. If she had collapsed ¡ª Joshi and Chang-li would have killed the beast.


    She didn''t want them to take care of her. She wanted to stand on her own two feet.


    The conviction had been slowly growing the longer they spent here in the tower. It was so unlike the Imperial Tower she had been escorted through years ago. During her adolescence in the Imperial Gardens, she and some of the other young nobles of the court were taken into the tower, escorted by soldiers who protected them from any danger, allowing them to gather lux and work on their cultivation. That tower had been utterly unlike this place, filled with towerbeasts and dominated by red lux. The soldiers slaughtered towerbeasts, freeing up the lux they contained for the young nobles to cycle.


    The idea was that they should each begin to work on their Bodily Refinement, acquiring enough lux to reach the first condensing of their core. The others had managed that fairly quickly. Hiroko''s progression was complicated by her attunement with blue lux, which there was little of in the Emperor''s Tower. She had felt like a real cultivator, stepping inside a tower and cycling lux. Every trip she had made ¡ª four in all, a few hours at a time ¡ª had felt like an adventure. After that she had made her first core condension and not been allowed to enter again.


    She had sometimes allowed herself to pretend she was a true cultivator on the Heavenly Climb, though now she knew just how far that was from the truth. It was as though she had combined broth and noodles and already prepared meat and vegetables in a bowl and then acted like she had made her own soup. Any true chef would have laughed at her. So would a true cultivator.


    But now, now she knew what it meant to cultivate. She would be a cultivator spouse unparalleled anywhere in the empire. She understood the challenges that a cultivator faced. She would be more able to respond to his needs, raising herself along with him. And perhaps, perhaps they could find a way to gain approval for her to progress past Bodily Refinement. After all, by the time she was done here, she would already be near that mark. Such an achievement was worth noticing, surely.


    Hiroko banished the thought as they plodded along toward the dark blotch on the horizon that was now resolving itself into a pair of towers stretching skyward. One thing at a time. She needed to survive here, and she needed to reach Bodily Refinement. She could feel she was close to having her core condense a second time. Already her lux was becoming stronger, more dense. She could manage her cycling techniques for longer before losing them. She was working now with a technique Joshi had shared with her, cycling the blue lux through her body in two different directions: up and around on her right side, down and around on her left. Like swirling two cups of tea at the same time, but in opposite directions. It took a great deal of concentration but already she could see its benefits. If only she were able to target more than one towerbeast at a time, then she would be much more useful to the group.


    Her companions continued to surprise her. Chang-li was well-educated, politely spoken, and had great flashes of insight. He spent precious hours of their rest and cycling time poring over his cultivator''s journal, looking for secrets that would help them survive, sharing that knowledge freely with her and Joshi. When they escaped this place, she resolved to see that he was rewarded. Perhaps she could have him assigned to her new husband''s sect as their cultivator scribe. Some scribes did, after all, continue their own progression. Chang-li was a talented young man. Nothing should be allowed to stop his climb.


    And Joshi¡­ her eyes found the back of the bald man''s head and slid away. He was marching across the sand, shoulders back, like a proud oak tree striding across the land. Such strength in a barbarian and a slave surprised her. If only he had been born a servant of the emperor, how high he might have risen. His drive and intensity reminded her of her own father, the great general of the West.


    Were Joshi an imperial subject, she had no doubt he would have been a soldier rising high in the ranks of the army. But as it was, she wasn''t sure how she could help him. Perhaps if she told the camp officials that he had not run off, but rather followed and protected her from the ravening towerbeasts. Yes, surely that would earn him at least a pardon from the death sentence hanging over his head. With that brand on him, there was nothing she could do about his slavery. Only the emperor himself could remove that. But death, at least, she could spare him.


    As they approached the towers, it became clear that the farther tower stood on the other side of a vast gorge. The trio trooped all the way to the edge, looked down. The walls fell away beneath them, and after a few dozen feet, the space began to fill with a thickening rainbow-colored mist. It was impossible to see what was at the bottom, or if there was a bottom at all. The nearest tower had an arched opening, and stairs spiraling upward.


    "Let''s climb up and see," Chang-li suggested. "Perhaps the challenge will reveal itself there."


    They trooped up the ninety circling steps and emerged onto the top of the tower. A breeze rustled Hiroko''s hair. She rebraided it after every cycling session, keeping long black locks out of her face.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    The landscape below was undulating brown and tan curves under a yellow and blue sky, rent by a long chasm stretching as far as she could see in two directions. She had almost gotten used to this place, almost stopped expecting to see the sun or moon overhead when she looked up.


    The tower had a low wall around its top, except for a two-foot-long gap closest to the cliff''s edge. She stood by the gap, one hand against the wall, staring outward. The other tower stood perhaps a tenth of a li away. She squinted and thought she could make out a similar break in the wall at the top of that tower.


    Chang-li was pacing the top of the tower, head down, scrutinizing the floor. "I don''t see any hint this time. Spread out. See if you find anything that looks like a clue."


    Hiroko ran her hand all along the top of the wall, making a circuit of the tower. Nothing. She fetched up again on the other side of the gap and stared out once more. Something nagged at her. This place had the same feeling as the cube of being designed and waiting for lux and cleverness.


    "Perhaps we need to have someone in the other tower at the same time," Joshi suggested.


    "I didn''t see any way to cross that chasm, did you?"


    Joshi shook his head. "It was at least eight spans across. Much too far for us to jump, though perhaps a cultivator who has reached Bodily Refinement could do so."


    "Then we''ll be sure to come back here when we''ve climbed that high," Chang-li snapped. He was on his hands and knees now, staring down at the roof of the tower.


    Hiroko didn''t think the answer would be found in a hidden scribe''s message. Not this time. She stared out. The two towers were paired. She was sure of it, even if she didn''t understand how or why.


    Hiroko sent the tiniest trickle of lux through her palm down into the tower. It ate the lux eagerly, draining it away. She clung tightly to the lux, following it the way she did when she had made a connection between herself and whatever towerbeast they were fighting, sensing the flow of the lux, feeling how it wished to go and shaping it.


    The lux was flowing out from this tower right along the gap toward the other tower. "It wants to make a connection."


    "What was that?" Joshi stepped closer to her.


    Chang-li was still busy with his search. She looked up into the frowning, worried face of the escaped slave and found herself doubting her own intuition. Joshi knew so much more about cultivation, about navigating these towers, about the nature of lux than she did. She felt foolish suggesting, but she was trying to contribute. So, pushing away her fear of looking like the ignorant, noble girl she was, Hiroko cleared her throat.


    "I''m cycling just a little of my own lux into the tower, and it''s flowing out there," she pointed with her free hand, keeping the other pressed against the wall, "like it''s trying to make a connection over to the other side."


    Joshi frowned. He set his hand down on the other side of the gap, and he shook his head. "It''s rejecting my lux. Maybe it likes blue?"


    She paused. Blue was on the higher end of the lux spectrum, the first of the spiritual lux. Red, orange, and yellow were the physical lux. Green represented life and was the pivot around which all lux turned. The three highest colors, blue, indigo, and violet, were the spiritual lux. Blue representing the life force that existed in every creature. Indigo for manipulating space. And violet, whose secrets were known only to the emperor and his chosen.


    "Wait." She was thinking aloud now. "What if it''s accepting the blue because it''s closer to what it really wants? Indigo. Indigo is the lux that manipulates space."


    Joshi looked at her, eyes narrowed. "I think I see what you''re saying, but none of us can channel indigo."


    "I can if I wrap it like a dumpling." She''d grown quite adroit with that technique, using it effectively to spread red lux throughout her body. Now she plunged deep into herself, identifying what little indigo lux was in her. She opened herself up to the lux all around and cycled, collecting as much indigo as she could, wrapping it in her own comforting blue lux, and then pushing it out into the structure of the tower.


    She knew she was right. As soon as she felt it leaving her, the tower hummed and vibrated, sounding in the note of indigo, and a pale purple surface extended out from the opening in the tower, arrowing straight toward the opposite tower. It was narrow, narrower than the opening, perhaps only wide enough for someone to stand.


    Hiroko cycled. "Be careful," Joshi said, studying her intently. "You''re pushing yourself hard."


    "I can do this."


    This was easier than fighting an enemy because they had life force to fight back. Even a dumb animal would instinctively struggle against her when she tried to wrest its life force away. These towers were mere receptacles for lux. Her cycling was like trying to push a heavily laden gardening cart up a steep hill. But at least there was no one trying to push it back down on her.


    A moment later, she felt the connection on the other end click into place. She cycled for another three heartbeats to be certain, and then released it. The indigo path remained.


    Hiroko gasped for air. Chang-li was still crawling around, muttering. Joshi glanced back over his shoulder. "You can get up now," he told the scribe. "Hiroko has solved the puzzle for us."


    Chang-li got to his feet. He stumbled over to the opening and stared out. "What is that?"


    "A bridge," Hiroko said.


    And before she could think twice, she stepped up to the opening and stepped out onto the bridge. It was like walking on solid stone; the bridge neither flexed nor swayed under her. Keeping her eyes fixed on the other side, arms extended for balance, she set off. She didn''t dare look down, focusing on one step after another until, heart still pounding, she stumbled off onto the opposing tower.


    Joshi was ten steps behind her, with Chang-li just a little past him. In a moment, they all three stood on the other side.


    A dark indigo gem sat on the floor of this tower, just in front of the exit of the stairs. Hiroko picked it up triumphantly. She held it out to the men to see. Chang-li took it from her.


    "We''ve had blue and yellow already. Perhaps the hydra''s heart is red. Do you think the colors mean something?"


    Joshi shook his head. "You would be able to answer that better than us. What do your cultivators say?"


    "They mentioned the number, but not a color," Chang-li shrugged and stowed the stone away in his pack. "Well done, Hiroko."


    She smiled as both of the men bowed their heads in respect to her. It felt good to have done something herself, to have proven that she was able to stand on her own two feet.

 21. Sphinx Speaks

    A river had sprung up in the middle of the wilderness, right out of a hole in the ground. Chang-li hadn¡¯t read anything like this in his book. They followed it as the land around became lusher and greener. Soon, they were walking through a broad river valley with plants growing up on both sides. Wide-branched, leafy trees overhead swayed in the breeze. Hiroko said they were called palms and grew far in the south ends of the empire, where it was always hot and people went about naked. Some, she said, were nut palms and some date palms, both good to eat, at least out in the real world. There were some in the Imperial Gardens, it seemed, and she¡¯d eaten their fruit before.


    Joshi scaled the odd trunk of one palm. It had no branches until up at its top, where the wide palms spread out like hair. The bark grew in thick, sharp ribbons, giving Joshi good grip as he scaled up barefoot. He threw down some large, round shells. They hit the ground and bounced.


    Chang-li puzzled over them. The husks were much too dense to peel. He bashed one with a rock and it oozed milky liquid all over him. "Do we dare eat it?" he asked Hiroko and Joshi, who had retreated back down the trunk.


    ¡°Cultivators farther along the path eat what they can find in a tower,¡± Joshi said.


    "We ate,¡± Hiroko said. ¡°The emperor''s soldiers gave us some of the fruit growing inside his tower. They said it would strengthen us so long as we ate only what they gave us. But none of us ever spent more than a few hours at a time inside."


    Joshi bashed a hole in one of the strange balls. He lifted it, sniffed inside. "I''m willing to take a risk.¡± He held it to his lips, closed his eyes, and drank. White liquid poured out of the hole and trickled down his face. He lowered the fruit. "Ah, delicious." Then he put himself into a cycling posture. "I feel all right,¡± not opening his eyes. "I do feel like my lux is denser..¡±


    Chang-li watched him cycle before deciding he''d try. He offered the open fruit to Hiroko, who took it, sipped hesitantly, then, seating herself on the ground, proceeded to drink the rest as Chang-li bashed open a third nut for himself. He was just getting ready to cycle when Joshi''s eyes flew open. Chang-li could feel the difference in him.


    "My core has condensed," Joshi said excitedly.


    "Ah!" Hiroko exclaimed. "Congratulations!"


    "This is good," Joshi said. "I felt for some time as though I were on the cusp. I have taken a step toward Bodily Refinement." The first of three, Chang-li thought to himself. He himself could feel himself pushing up against his second core condensation. But he wasn''t there yet. Perhaps he needed something to trigger it, like Joshi.


    He was relieved that Joshi had triggered his first compression. Guilt over keeping the violet lux secret had been gnawing at Chang-li. If he told Joshi, the barbarian would like advance much faster. But a secret shared was a secret endangered. If Hiroko learned he was cultivating violet, she might be convinced it was her duty to report him to the camp officials. And then ¡ª he didn¡¯t want to think about the consequences. Execution. Slavery. At the very least, loss of his post and being sent back to his family in disgrace. Not allowed to progress, ever again.


    No. As long as Joshi was making progress, he would hold his tongue. Chang-li raised the fruit to his lips and drank. The stuff inside had a light and refreshing taste to it. A little sweet but not very. It wet his lips and then spread throughout his body.


    Joshi smashed his fruit against the ground until it split open. He raised a chunk to his mouth and bit the white flesh. "It''s good." He chewed. "Tastes like the liquid. It''s a nice change from dried meat, at any rate."


    They each ate their fruit. Joshi had thrown down more, but Chang-li felt sated after one. The others seemed equally disinclined to eat more. Instead, after they cycled, Chang-li gathered up what he could of the nuts and placed them in his satchel. It was large enough to hold a few, now that their rations were down by almost half. He had to shove aside the parcel containing the hydra''s heart. Thankfully, it had not rotted. It seemed to have shrunk, though he hadn''t opened the parcel to check. It was smaller and heavier than it had been.


    They continued deeper into the oasis. Tall rushes lined the banks of the river. "There''s life here," Hiroko warned. "More than just a single protector. I''m feeling multiple, smaller creatures."


    "We shall be wary, then.¡±


    Chang-li said nothing, just drew his sword from the makeshift scabbard he''d created out of a loop of his belt. The land opened up a little, giving them a good view of the river as it swung wide around a lazy bend. They cut across the inside, past a dense bunch of trees.


    "Look out," Hiroko warned, and they whirled to face the threat as five dark shapes emerged from the trees. They moved like dogs. They were a little bigger than any dog Chang-li had seen before, and their heads were shaped strangely, a little too triangular, with upright ears and slathering mouths. Their tails lashed like a cat''s, long and whip-like. They raced forward.


    Chang-li channeled yellow lux to his right hand, orange lux to his left, and raced to meet them, fire in one hand, steel in the other. He slashed, trying to remember Joshi''s lessons. His sword caught the first dog behind its ear. The creature whimpered and growled as it turned on him, teeth smashing. Chang-li thrust his right hand out, a ball of fire in his palm, striking the dog creature on its muzzle. The dog howled and whined.


    To his right, Joshi leapt into the air and came down hard on a second dog, his hand smashing into the creature as he bowled it into the next one of the pack. He squatted in the way of the dogs, both fists pounding, red lux suffusing both his hands.


    Chang-li slashed again and sliced deep into his dog. He called more yellow lux. The dog whimpered and tried to bite down on his hand, but the fireball in Chang-li''s palm seared the dog''s mouth. It reared back, exposing its throat, and Chang-li thrust. His aim was good. His sword point sank under the dog''s chin. He pulled it back as the dog collapsed.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Joshi had smashed one dog and was punching the next. The two beyond were weaving unsteadily on their feet. Chang-li glanced over his shoulder. Hiroko had both hands extended, her teeth grit in determination.


    "Get it!" she hissed, and Chang-li stepped forward. He swung his sword and struck the head clean off one of the two dogs Hiroko was handling. A second later, the second withered in front of his eyes. It collapsed into a heap of dust at his feet. Chang-li turned back as Joshi smashed the skull of the last of the dog creatures.


    "Are there more?" Joshi asked, whirling, even as the last of the dogs bled out and died.


    "I don''t feel any," Hiroko said woozily. She was still on her feet, swaying a little. Joshi was there, catching her elbow and steadying her.


    Chang-li checked for a token, even though he didn''t think these were the protectors. They hadn''t put up that much of a fight. There was no token that he could see.


    He returned to Joshi and Hiroko, who was beaming as she caught her breath. "Did you see that? I managed both."


    "You did!¡± He couldn''t help share her triumphant smile. They had all come so far. It was hard to believe. Anything seemed possible right now. If only they had enough purification tablets.


    They shared a drink in the river before continuing onward. As they approached an even wider grove of trees, Hiroko paused.


    "I can feel the guardian up ahead. It feels big, like the hydra.¡±


    ¡°Any more of the small ones?"


    "I can''t tell. With the guardian there, it''s all kind of a blur."


    Chang-li and Joshi shared a look and then a shrug. There didn''t seem to be much strategy here.


    "Well, let''s do our best."


    They breached the trees together, Chang-li and Joshi, a couple of steps ahead of Hiroko. Beneath the trees was a swath of green grass. And on the grass, reposed, was a creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man. Around it snoozed more of the dog-creatures, half a dozen of them at least.


    This was bad, but they had no choice. Joshi split off to the left, Chang-li circling to the right to flank the creature.


    It opened its mouth, looked directly at them, and spoke. Chang-li scrambled to a halt. Its voice commanded respect. "You have bested my minions, and so you have won the right to a question."


    The three looked at each other.


    "What sort of question?" Chang-li wondered.


    Joshi cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Ah. you are the protector of this oasis?"


    The beast inclined its head. "I am. I will tell you this in truth: If you attack me, you may win. If you do, you may seize the token from my corpse to present to the guardian of this floor."


    Chang-li felt deeply uncomfortable. None of Scribe Wulan''s entries mentioned protectors who could speak, think for themselves, or knew what their purpose was here. He wondered if perhaps during the hundreds of years this floor had lain fallow, if some of the oasis creatures had become so rich in lux that now they could think and speak. That wasn''t supposed to be possible at the Bodily Refinement tier. Only those at the Spiritual Refinement tier were capable of thought. Yet here was this creature speaking.


    "I am the Sphinx," the creature declared. "From my body, you may seize a yellow token such as you already carry. But if you answer my riddle, I will give you a greater boon, one that I do not think you will be able to achieve anywhere else."


    "What good will that do us?" Joshi demanded.


    "If you present all seven colors to the guardian of this floor, the boon he grants you will be far stronger. Believe me, it is worth it."


    "And why would you do that?"


    The Sphinx turned its gaze on Chang-li.


    "Because I have come to enjoy being alive and would prefer to continue that way. It has been many years since cultivators came here and killed my predecessor, but I remember taking the memories from its corpse. I do not wish such to befall me. So, I say, you have earned a question. Would you like me to ask it?"


    Ah, it meant to ask them a question, not for them to ask. That made a bit more sense. Hiroko stepped forward. "Yes," she said clearly. "We would."


    Chang-li supposed that was the right answer. If the creature was lying, they could always just kill it afterwards. The Sphinx rumbled, something between a sigh and a laugh. "Bravely said, girl. Then I shall ask you. You are cultivators. You strive on a path whose beginning is written in ten thousand pages by a thousand hands. Where does it end?"


    They glanced at each other. That seemed like too easy a question. The Heavenly Climb ended after Spiritual Enlightenment, unless you were chosen to serve the Emperor as one of his Prisms, in which case further progression was possible. But in that case, it meant the path did not end.


    Hiroko was opening her mouth, no doubt to parrot the official line. Chang-li stepped forward, shaking his head. "Hang on," he said in a low voice. "Let''s think about this. He wouldn''t be asking such an easy question. There''s a trick to it."


    "He just wants to stay alive," Hiroko whispered. "He says he''d give us the token if we answer his question, so let''s answer it."


    "But what is the answer?" Joshi asked. "Where does progression end?"


    "In the service of the Emperor.¡±


    Chang-li shook his head. "No, no, I don''t think that''s what he''s asking. It''s too simple."


    Joshi nodded in agreement. His lips were pursed. "There are forbidden texts deep inside the Hapiru Monastery," he said quietly. "Texts which acolytes such as myself were never permitted to read that date from before the beginning of the Empire."


    "That''s ridiculous," Hiroko scoffed. "The Empire had no beginning."


    "Even the Emperor claims only to be immortal, not ever-existent," Joshi said. "My people remember, even if yours have forgotten. Cultivators once sought to ascend to the heavens. Now the Emperor forbids climbing past himself. Yet his prisms come and go. They are not immortal, and I do not think that one who has climbed so high would be content to sit and do the bidding of the Emperor forever. No.¡± Joshi shook his head decisively. "The Heavenly Climb is called that not because it was ordained by the heavens, but because it leads there."


    "Hold on," Chang-li said. "Riddles like this are a scribe game. I played this sort of thing in school." He turned back to the Sphinx and bowed low. "Oh, noble Sphinx, would you repeat your question?"


    The Sphinx blinked and then slowly recited his question again. Chang-li turned back to the others.


    "That''s the key. Where does it end, not where does it lead? I know the answer."


    Joshi raised his eyebrows. "You do?"


    Chang-li stepped forward. He bowed low a second time before the Sphinx. "Oh, Sphinx, I have your answer. The path of progression ends when the cultivator stops."


    The Sphinx rumbled. "That is a simple answer. Speak of it more, that I may know you are not merely playing with words."


    "The path doesn''t end, or rather, it ascends to the heavens and is wreathed there in mystery. I cannot answer, and I don''t think you know the answer either," Chang-li said boldly. "But it ends when a cultivator stops trying to progress, whether that is Bodily Refinement because he''s denied an unlimited license, or after reaching the peak of Mental Refinement because he is tired of the climb, or after Spiritual Refinement, forbidden by the Emperor. It ends when he chooses to."


    The Sphinx nodded its own head in response. "A good answer. Then, if you can answer me this one more, I shall tell you where to find the two colors of offering you lack. Where will you end?"


    Chang-li hesitated. It was unlikely that he could get a license to go past Bodily Refinement. He''d already been forbidden to cultivate at all, after all. Even if he could, Mental and Spiritual Refinement were large steps to take. He wasn''t sure he could master them.


    Certainly, he had never thought of defying the Emperor again. And yet here, under the eye of the Sphinx, under the strange sky full of lux, with his body and mind already raised to heights he had never believed possible, there was only one answer.


    "I won''t."

 22. Slow and Steady

    The Sphinx told them how to find the oasis whose guardian would yield up a green token. His directions were straightforward. ¡°The place is not far from here, and the guardian is a rival of mine. I do not mind you killing her. But you will never find the orange guardian on your own. So here.¡± It gave a low whistle. One of the sleeping jackal dogs leapt up. Chang-li tensed, ready for a fight. The jackal snuffed around the clearing for a moment before bringing a stone to its master. The Sphinx leaned down and breathed on the stone.


    "Come," he said to Chang-li, "take it."


    Heart in his mouth, Chang-li stepped forward. The jackals all raised their heads to watch him. He came all the way up to the Sphinx''s paws, bent, and picked up the stone. It glowed a little. As he held it, he could feel a tug to his right.


    "Follow the stone and you will find what you seek. Be wary. This one hides. You will not see it until it is too late," the Sphinx warned. "Green is closer. Go there first."


    They set off again, following the Sphinx''s direction to an oasis where they confronted a living meadow full of man-high sunflowers that sprang up and attacked them. The flowers attacked with whiplike green cords, lashing out and stinging Joshi and Chang-li, who tried to stay in front of Hiroko. Chang-li¡¯s sword and flame made quick work of the first flowers.


    ¡°You attack!¡± Joshi shouted. ¡°I¡¯ll protect Hiroko.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ll heal you!¡± the princess called. Chang-li felt her blue lux working on the flowers, sapping their strength, and then a whoosh of fresh air across his body as his cuts healed themselves.


    With the three now working in an easy rhythm, the flowers fell. When the meadow lay barren and burned, the largest of the fallen sunflowers yielded up a green stone.


    Chang-li added it to his stash and passed out rations. He looked at the purification tablets. "Do we need to take one now, or can we wait?" he asked quietly.


    Joshi seemed to consider, then turned to Hiroko. "What about you, princess?"


    She stiffened, then forced herself to relax. "I think I''m good. Honestly," she added quickly. "I really do. I''m not just trying to push through this. Maybe it hasn''t been so long since our last one."


    "I think that is possible," Joshi said.


    Chang-li said nothing. He was certain they had gone far more than a day since their last purification ration. He would need one again before too long, he could tell that. But the time between seemed to be increasing. Perhaps that was an effect of their progress toward Bodily Refinement.


    He sat down and cycled, using the technique where he first released as much of the wrong-colored lux as he could into the ground around him, then concentrated on separate cycling of orange and yellow, with the violet deepening his lux channels all through his body. As he cycled the violet back into his core, he felt the core twitch.


    For a moment, it seemed to expand, filling his whole torso. He couldn''t breathe. His lungs were being pushed out of the way. Air rushed out of him in a whoosh, and then it contracted, pulling his organs back into their positions.


    Chang-li cycled what violet lux he had, frantically, as everything inside him shifted. He caught his breath. It came rushing in, as though he''d never had air in his lungs before. He leaned forward, gasping and panting.


    "Are you all right?" Joshi asked.


    "Yes," he managed. He coughed, gasped a few times, then sat up. "My core condensed again. It was nothing like the first time." He turned to Hiroko. "When your core condensed, that was your second time, was it not?"


    She nodded. "It was."


    "Did it feel like, I don''t know, like your lungs were being shoved up into your throat and your intestines pushed downward into... well..."


    "No," Hiroko said, concern plain on her face. "Nothing like that. It was easy, like taking a step."


    Joshi was studying him. "You may be pushing yourself too hard."


    "There is no too hard on the path of cultivation," Chang-li snapped. He was worried that cultivating violet lux had damaged himself somehow. Carefully, he reached for his core. He cycled orange and yellow together, swirling them around inside, feeling it out. It felt fine. He could push more lux inside, condensing it further, and then draw out even finer, more refined strands of the lux.


    He summoned yellow to his right hand and held a dancing flame two inches high on his palm for a whole minute before it vanished.


    "Impressive," Joshi said. "But you''re not doing enough with the orange. Orange is supposed to enhance your weapon work. Come, let''s try sparring."


    He stood up and pulled the pair of sticks he''d been carrying around out of his belt. They were three feet long, stripped of their bark, and Chang-li''s hand knew the knots and ridges on each of them intimately. Chang-li rose and accepted one of the sticks. They took a few steps away from Hiroko, who closed her eyes and began cycling her own lux.


    "You have been using orange lux as if it were red," Joshi said, "just pushing it out to the tip of your hand and hoping it does something. Even I am shaping and sculpting my red lux blows far more than you''re doing."


    "I''ve been focusing on the yellow," Chang-li said. "The orange just takes care of itself. It flows into my weapon and strengthens it. I don''t think I could have cut through the head of that hydra without it."


    Joshi nodded. "I agree. Yet you are using it like a club when it should be," he waved his stick, "a blade. Focus. Wrap your blade in orange lux."


    "It''s a stick, not a blade," Chang-li pointed out.


    "For a sufficiently talented orange cultivator, a stick is a blade," Joshi snapped. As if to prove his point, a small orange sheath appeared around his own stick. Its outline wavered, then vanished, but it had been there for sure.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Chang-li stared. "Was that?"


    Joshi nodded. "I have been practicing with orange. It is very foreign to my fighting style to use on a weapon. But the Hapiru monks have a technique, Spikes of the Closed Fist, where they mix orange lux into the red. The red forms a gauntlet and powers the strike. A small trace of orange form a spike used for piercing. I understand the theory, and I will be practicing with it more. For now, though, we need to practice your swordplay."


    Chang-li centered himself. Keeping his right hand at his side, he extended his left arm, holding the stick as he would his sword. He channeled orange lux into the stick.


    "No, don''t feed it to the stick," Joshi corrected. "The stick doesn''t do the work for you. Your mind controls this. You must learn it now. You are the weapon, not your stick, not your sword. You and your lux technique. Shape it."


    Chang-li grit his teeth. Sweat ran down his forehead. He tried again, pushing orange lux out, imagining it coating the stick.


    "Better," Joshi said approvingly. "Now, attack while holding that."


    He raised his own stick, bare of lux, but his hand glowed red. Chang-li struck. Joshi parried, catching his stick, throwing him back.


    "Again!"


    A dozen times Chang-li swung. A dozen times Joshi caught him. Chang-li was nearly out of the lux his core had purified. He took a breath, sucking in more, trying to cycle the undifferentiated lux through his core and siphon out the orange. He grabbed what he could, shoved it haplessly toward his stick. There wasn''t enough. He imagined it only on the tip. As he swung, he stretched that down a couple of inches along the edge of the stick which would hit Joshi''s blade.


    Joshi raised his own stick to parry, and Chang-li''s orange lux blade sliced through Joshi''s stick. It fell to the ground. Joshi held up his hand, releasing the other half.


    "Good," he said approvingly. "Focus on how that felt. I want you to go back and cycle only orange lux. Hold that stick, if it helps. Form a weapon out of that."


    Chang-li couldn''t reply. He had no breath left in him. Instead, he nodded, then collapsed bonelessly to the ground, arranging his legs in a cycling position. He focused. Joshi, meanwhile, strode a little distance away.


    "Where are you going?" Hiroko called after him.


    "I wish to practice my punches." gesturing to a grove of trees. "I will go over there so as not to disturb your cycling."


    A few moments later, a sound of creaking wood and dull slaps floated through the air. Chang-li focused on his own cycling. Let Joshi do what he needed to do.


    They took purification rations before setting out again. Chang-li counted what was left. Seven.


    Two days. If they took them less than once a day, they might perhaps stretch to three or even four. Then they would be out. He closed up his bag without mentioning it to his companions, though he saw how they both looked at him as he gave them the rations. They could count as well as he did. They knew how long it had been since entering this place.


    "Ready for the last challenge?" Joshi asked.


    "Perhaps the last," Hiroko said. "What if this guardian requires more than offerings?"


    "We shall be on guard," Chang-li declared, and they set off across the desert. Chang-li kept the Sphinx''s stone in his right hand, unsheathed sword in his left, remembering what the Sphinx had said, that they would not notice this protector until it was too late. The tug was getting stronger as they went. There was no sign of an oasis, no sign of a challenge building.


    "I sense no life," Hiroko said again and again.


    The stone in Chang-li''s hand began to hum. He held it up. "Can you hear that?" The others nodded. "I think we''re close.¡±


    Joshi pointed ahead. "You see that group of rocks there?"


    Chang-li shaded his eyes. There was a circle of stones rearing up out of the desert a little ways off. They weren''t very tall, perhaps only five or six feet, and in the strange light from the lux sky above, they were hard to make out. But they were in the direction the stone was beckoning.


    "I''ll bet that''s it." He checked his core. It was full to brimming with yellow and orange lux, ready for him. "Be prepared.¡± He set off, Joshi right beside him.


    As they approached the rocks, Hiroko gasped. "I feel something. It''s huge, and it''s under us."


    The sand beneath their feet began to shift and move. It tugged at Chang-li''s sandals, pulling him backward.


    "Run!" he shouted and raced for the rocks, the others pounding across the sand at his side.


    The rocks were a circle of stones about as tall as a man, half as wide, yellow and gray against the brown and tan sand. The sand inside was moving too, but differently from the sand at their feet. It popped and skittered like hot droplets on a hot metal pan.


    Chang-li raced through the stones. He felt hard ground under his sandals. The sand here was only a thin layer atop rock. The other two pounded beside him. They arrayed themselves back to back. Chang-li stared about. Where was the creature?


    And then, as the rock beneath his feet shifted and he staggered to keep his balance, he realized his horrible mistake.


    Hiroko screamed, "It''s alive!"


    The circle of stones rose up out of the desert. They were standing on the back of an enormous tortoise. The stones were planted on the middle of its hard shell. Ahead of them, its enormous neck rose from the sand. It was facing away from them. Perhaps it didn''t see them.


    "Hiroko!" Joshi barked. "Try to drain it, confuse it. Do whatever you can. Chang-li, with me."


    He sprinted forward toward the tortoise''s head. It was good thinking. The neck was likely the creature''s only weak spot. Chang-li raced down the slope of the shell, across foot-high ridges.


    Joshi was far ahead of him. His feet flashed with red lux. He hadn''t shown that technique before, but it made him faster. As he reached the edge of the shell, he leapt, springing high into the air. Ten, fifteen feet, his fist glowed with red lux as he plunged at the tortoise''s neck.


    He hit. Chang-li felt the vibrating all through the tortoise as Joshi''s lux-empowered fist crushed against its neck. The tortoise shrieked, screamed, throwing back its head. Chang-li staggered forward, desperately trying to keep his balance. He called on his orange lux, coating his sword with it, imagining it sharp, the point extending out from the tip of his sword by feet. As he reached the edge of the shell, he fell forward, thrusting with his left hand.


    The lux tip of the sword sliced into the tortoise''s neck, sinking deep. Chang-li fell forward, driving the sword deeper and deeper. Now the metal point was embedded within the tortoise''s neck. He focused all the orange lux he had on strengthening the blade, making it longer, wider, deepening the cut he was making. He pulled sideways on the blade, hard as he could.


    Meanwhile, Joshi had pulled himself up the tortoise''s neck and was standing atop its head, smashing a fist between its eye sockets. The tortoise was weaving and shaking. Chang-li felt the edge of Hiroko''s technique brush past him. It chilled his flesh. She whipped the technique away, focusing it only on its proper target, the tortoise.


    Hiroko screamed, "It''s fighting me, but it''s weakening. Hit it harder."


    Chang-li yanked back on his sword. It came free. Wrapping it in lux once more, he plunged it deeper into the tortoise''s neck. Blood and ichor ran down the tortoise''s neck. It staggered, then fell forward onto the sand.


    The tortoise shuddered. Hiroko screamed. She was falling down the shell toward Chang-li. He raced to catch her, realized he had a sword in his hand, tossed it aside, grabbed her before she could hit the edge of the sand. He was afraid the tortoise''s death throes would crush her if she slipped from its shell. They lay flat, clinging to the edge of the shell as the tortoise writhed and heaved. At last it lay still.


    Chang-li cautiously picked himself up. His sword had stuck point down into the tortoise''s shell a few lengths away. He rose, walked over to it, pulled it free. Then he turned to look for Joshi.


    The big barbarian stood atop the tortoise''s head. His own head was thrown back face to the sky as he laughed and pounded his chest, chanting something that Chang-li couldn''t understand. After a moment he sobered, leaping from the tortoise''s head back to the shell with the other two.


    "That was a good fight. Now, let''s find the offering."

 23. Up or Out?

    By mutual agreement, the three walked from where they had slain the tortoise to the nearest oasis, which they could see from atop the tortoise. They were careful not to go deep enough to engage its guardian. Instead, they rested at the edge, taking a few hours of real sleep, cycling, eating, and preparing for whatever would come next.


    At last, when they were as ready as they could be, and Chang-li knew he was merely stalling, he pulled out all seven tokens and arrayed them.


    "Now, how do we summon the guardian?" Hiroko asked.


    Chang-li shrugged. "Beats me. Wulan''s journal was short on details. Joshi?"


    The other man shook his head. "I''m afraid I don''t know either."


    "Well, then we''ll just have to work it out ourselves.¡± Hirokoarranged the tokens in a line, running from violet to red, then sat back. "Perhaps we need to infuse them with lux?" She frowned. "That would require channeling violet lux, so that can''t be the answer."


    Chang-li was worried that perhaps it was, but he wasn''t going to start out by suggesting they use forbidden lux. Not until he''d tried a few other things. "Perhaps we just need to channel our own lux into it," he suggested. "The guardian must be expecting cultivators with various different flavors of lux. Maybe he just wants us all to say hello."


    Joshi nodded. "Let''s try that." He sat one hand on the red token. Chang-li leaned forward and touched yellow and orange. Hiroko hesitated only a moment before resting her small hand on the blue token.


    Chang-li focused. He pushed a tiny pulse of lux out of each of his hands. Then, as he heard the notes of each of their four lux colors chime, there was a rush overhead. Wind whipped past them. He looked up.


    The sky was swirling. Not the placid shifting of colors he had grown used to, but like someone was dumping wine out of a bottle. A vortex of color swirled around. The white hole at the center grew in intensity. It was coming closer to them, reaching down straight toward them.


    Chang-li was petrified with fear. The whiteness swallowed up the whole sky, passed over the whole world. And a moment later, he was in darkness.


    "Welcome, Cultivator," whispered a voice. "You have come far. It has been a long time since anyone brought me a worthy offering, let alone a perfect one. Why is that?"


    "The entrance to this floor has been lost," Chang-li replied.


    He couldn''t hear or sense Joshi and Hiroko anywhere. He couldn''t feel anything either. Was he still sitting? Was he standing? What had happened? Was he even alive? What was this place?


    "Ah," whispered the voice. "That is too bad. I miss visitors. Perhaps now that you have found the entrance, you can share it with others."


    Chang-li swallowed. "I''ll be sure to do that," he lied.


    "Don''t worry," the voice whispered. "I do not seek to harm them. Cultivators bring enough harm upon themselves. My duty is the same duty as the guardians of every floor in every tower, save the shackled. But I shall not speak of them here. I am to assess your worthiness to move on. It is simple. You have brought the offerings, and so you may proceed. But you have done more than merely bring offerings. You have brought me one of each, and that means I shall offer you a keen boon indeed. So show me, cultivator. Who are you?"


    A presence was probing at Chang-li''s mind, forcing itself against him. He tried to fight, but it pushed at him. In desperation, he did the only thing he could think of. He pushed thoughts and images at it, showed Young Master Feng racing through the hapless band of soldiers and scribes, bringing death on them, showed him escaping from the tower, showed how he had snuck and cheated and lied his way back in, and then his progress through the tower alongside Joshi and Hiroko.


    The presence retreated. "Very well," it said. "You have done well, young cultivator. You are strong. Receive your boon.¡±


    Chang-li felt its presence settle over him more kindly, speaking in his mind. You have set yourself an interesting path. Twice the challenge, but with this foundation, it may be possible. Be careful. He will not like what you are becoming. If he learns how far you have progressed in this tower, he will send questioners. You must hide yourself. Cloak yourself in shadow. For that, I offer you this boon.


    A pounding headache pressed against Chang-li''s head. He laid a palm against his forehead and groaned as knowledge raced through his mind, all in a moment. For an instant, he saw more than he''d ever seen before, understood how everything fit together, and then it was gone, vanished. But he did grasp one key thing.


    With a quick thought and a twist of indigo lux, he tore open his soulspace. It was like opening a pocket into the heart of himself. He stared into it with his mind''s eye. It wasn''t very large, not yet, but it brimmed with potential.


    He was holding his sword in his hand. Now, with an effort of concentration, he willed for it to enter his soulspace. It vanished from his hand and appeared inside. He closed up his soulspace, then, almost in a panic, opened it again and removed his sword.


    The sword was fine. He was fine. Yes, this would help indeed. Aside from being able to hide the sword that, as a scribe, he was not supposed to have, he was already seeing possibilities. The soulspace could conceal contraband, like more purification rations.


    ¡°And now you must decide,¡± the voice said again. ¡°Two doors. One leads out. One leads up. You will choose. If you step out, you will not be able to return through this door. If you go on, there is no promise of how hard and how far it will be to reach the guardian of the next floor.¡±


    Then light flared all around. Chang-li was standing in a small chamber with Joshi and Hiroko. As the voice had said, there were two doors. One was a gaping cave mouth with daylight filtering through. The other, an arch, with torches flickering on the wall beside it and stone steps leading upward.


    Joshi was looking around, wide-eyed. "You heard that, right?" he demanded. "In or out?"


    Hiroko nodded. "Yes." She looked suddenly very tired. Almost, Chang-li would have said, afraid. He started to ask what her boon had been, then caught himself. It wasn''t his place to ask. ¡°That¡¯s really no choice. We have to leave. We don''t have the rations and anyway, why would we stay here?"


    "To cultivate," Joshi said brusquely. "We have not yet achieved Bodily Refinement."


    "I''m close," Hiroko declared. "I can feel it. My core has condensed a second time. A few trips inside with my future spouse to guide me and I will reach it. It is not my place to cultivate on my own. That is not my duty in life. I must return as soon as I am able."This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Chang-li nodded. "Yes, Princess, you must. I don''t know where this door will lead, but hopefully not too far from the camp. You can tell them that you were lost in the woods for however long it''s been. Try to be vague about just how long you''ve been hiding in case we''re right about time flowing differently inside the tower."


    "You make it sound as though you''re not going with me."


    Chang-li took a deep breath. "I shouldn''t.It''ll be easier for us both to return separately. I have a reason why I could have been down in Golden Moon City all this time. I''ll wait until I can find a party returning to the camp and join them. You should go back at once, though."


    Hiroko nodded. "Yes, yes, I should. I..." She took a step toward the door, then paused, looking at them both. She gave them a smile, but her eyes were sad. "Thank you. You saved my life, both of you. I will do anything I can to return the favor, but it probably is for the best if we pretend not to know each other. It could be hard to explain why you know an Indigo princess."


    Joshi bowed his head. "As you say, Princess."


    She winced as if he had hit her, her eyes filled with tears. "I just... I..." She turned and ran for the entrance, vanishing as soon as she set foot within the arch.


    Now Joshi and Chang-li were staring at each other. "What about you?" Chang-li asked.


    "I appreciate you waiting until the princess was gone," Joshi said. "You know I can''t go back."


    There was nothing for the escaped slave back in the cultivator encampment except a renewal of his bonds. "What will you do? Run? I will not betray you. You should be able to be well away from here in a matter of days."


    Joshi hesitated. "If I go back, they will put me back in a collar, and I will never set foot in this tower again," he said quietly. "If I run, I will be hounded across the empire anywhere that this brand is recognized. I might perhaps return to my own people. We have our own fight with the empire. My family would not betray me, I don''t think. But I will also never set foot in a cultivator tower again."


    "What other choice do you have?" Chang-li asked.


    "How many purification rations remain?"


    Chang-li knew the exact answer. There were seven. But he didn''t say that to Joshi. "You can''t be thinking of going on." But now that Joshi had raised the possibility, it weighed on Chang-li''s mind as well. His core had condensed twice. He didn''t know how long it would take for a third core condensation, nor did he know what the next step was, to complete Bodily Refinement. Perhaps it was mentioned somewhere in Scribe Wulan''s journal, or perhaps he could get the secret out of Joshi. It would likely take more than seven days, though.


    It would certainly take more than three. Of that he was certain. If he offered to share the rations with Joshi, there was no way he could possibly reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement. If he kept them for himself and continued onward, he might make that peak. Then there would be no one to stop him. He''d be able to leave the tower in his own time, on his own terms, then find a place where no-one knew him and start fresh. The world would be open to him. Achieving the Peak of Bodily Refinement well before the age of 30 was supposed to mark the sign of a cultivation prodigy.


    Joshi''s eyes searched his. "I will not leave," the former slave said quietly. "I cannot. I must go on. If you will not give me the rations, I will have to take my chances."


    "You''ll never make it. You haven''t even had your second core condensation."


    "But I must try. I have been a slave. I will die rather than go back to that life. The only chance I have for true freedom is as a cultivator at the Peak of Bodily Refinement. If I have that, there is no one who can put chains on me ever again. They will be forced to let me cultivate."


    "Me too," Chang-li said, hearing how whiny he sounded.


    Joshi shook his head. "You are a free man, a scribe."


    "I''ve been forbidden to cultivate," Chang-li interjected.


    "And you are a devious man who has already found his way into a tower that he was forbidden to enter. I have no doubt you can do so again if you put your mind to it. You have the ability to go back to the camp and enter your old life, perhaps with no one noticing. They have forbidden you to enter the tower, yes, but they have not put a collar around your neck that prevents you from cultivating at all. They have not beaten you, condemned you to death." He lowered his head, almost in a bow. "You are a cultivating genius, the sort that comes along every few generations. I have no doubt you can find a way to make it to Bodily Refinement. And once you do, no one will stop you. They''ll see your worth. But please. Please."


    It hurt to see the proud man beg, his bald head shining with sweat as he spoke. Chang-li swallowed. He opened his pack and took out his scribe¡¯s kit and Wulan¡¯s journal, then passed the whole bag over. "There''s seven of them. It won''t be enough."


    "It will," Joshi said. "Thank you, friend." He slung the satchel over his shoulder.


    Chang-li shook his head. "No, wait. There''s something you should know." He couldn''t look Joshi in the eyes as he made his confession. "You were right. There was more in the scribe''s journal. I didn''t tell you because I was afraid what Hiroko would say when we got back. Violet Lux. The violet lux is the key. If you cycle it intentionally through your channels, it strengthens them. You can push it into your core and it makes your core dense. I''m not a cultivating genius, Joshi. I''ve been using Violet Lux even though the emperor himself forbids it."


    Joshi''s eyes went wide. "Of course. I never thought to try. Though I care not for the emperor and his strictures, I have no cycling techniques that make use of violet.¡±


    Chang-li quickly described how he had used it in the various cycling patterns. He shared details of the one he had learned from the scribe''s journal. Joshi held his hands in a cupped gesture just above his navel. He breathed carefully. "I can feel it," he said in wonder. "There''s no more violet in here. It''s just what''s been in my body that I haven''t been able to purge out. But it does change. If the second floor has anything like the violet of the first, I just might have a chance."


    He opened his eyes and smiled. Chang-li had never seen such an open, honest smile on the barbarian''s face. "Thank you, brother.¡± He clapped Chang-li on the shoulder. "If I die, I die as a free man and a cultivator. If I live, it is because of what you have done. I will owe you a debt for the rest of my days."


    "Then you had better reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement so I can collect," Chang-li said.


    Joshi laughed. He squared his shoulders and set off toward the stairs. Chang-li watched him go. As soon as Joshi''s foot touched the first stair, he vanished, leaving Chang-li alone in the room.


    He had time to consider only once more. He could change his mind and follow Joshi. But the man already didn''t have enough rations to reach Bodily Refinement on his own, not without a blessing from the heavens. Two of them would just eat up the rations twice as fast.


    Chang-li took a deep breath and then set his face toward the other entrance. He stepped through the cave entrance and found himself on a rocky shelf on the side of the mountain. The slope above him was loose shale that would come down if anyone set foot on it. Below, the cliff fell away steeply. The narrow shelf led far ahead. There was no sign of Hiroko. Either she had not come out in the same place or she was already gone. There was no opening behind him, just a smooth rock wall. If he wanted to re-enter the tower, he¡¯d have to look elsewhere.


    Chang-li opened his soul space. He slipped the sword, the journal and his scribe¡¯s kit inside, filling the space, then set off down the ledge. The path wound down to an easier slope covered in trees. And then, working his way along, he found the road up the mountain and realized he was about two li from the camp.


    He stopped and withdrew a little bit into the trees. His plan now was simple. He would wait for a day, hoping to find another party coming up the mountain from Golden Moon City. He could mingle with them, pretending to have been in Golden Moon City all this time, and return to the camp. If more than a day passed and no such party came, he would continue up to the camp on his own.


    What he really wanted was to leave a space between the arrival of the dirty, unkempt, half-naked Princess Hiroko and himself. Whatever happened next, he didn''t want anyone in the camp associating him with her. It seemed like a good way to get himself killed.


    Chang-li sat in his favorite cycling position and began to cycle. At once, he was struck just how hard it was. His body brimmed with the lux he''d brought out of the tower, but the air around him was almost entirely devoid of lux. He pushed it through his body, but each breath he took in contained no new lux, and with each breath he exhaled, he lost some tiny, precious portion of his own.


    He carefully sequestered as much of the precious violet lux in his core as he could. Then wondered if that was the right choice. Could a cultivation master see into his core and realize he had been cultivating the forbidden lux?


    No matter. He cycled and thought about what he would do next. He had to get back into the tower. He knew the entrance for the first floor. It would be hard to overcome obstacles on his own. If the defenders of the oases did not regenerate quickly, he might wander for months before finding enough to once again call the first floor guardian and prove his worth.


    So be it. He would get his hands on enough cultivator rations to last a year, if he had to. He didn''t care how long it took. He would reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement. Of that he was certain.

 24. Joshi Makes a Friend

    Joshi counted the purification tablets a third time. Two left. He had stretched them as long as he could. He could feel his body starting to unravel under the weight of his unpurified lux. How long had it been since his last tablet? Definitely more than a day, though it was hard to keep track of time in here. The tower''s second floor had the same extravagant quantity of violet lux as the first. Time had little meaning.


    Joshi was cuing off his bodily signals, and as he cultivated more and more, those bodily needs were becoming less and less apparent. He ate when his body began to shake with weakness. He cycled after his internal sense told him it had been long enough since the last time. Already he could feel how dense his lux was. Any time now, his core would condense for a third time, then he would be able to begin his final push toward Bodily Refinement.


    "Any time," he told himself again, swallowing the purification ration and sitting in his favorite cycling position. He started with a basic cycling technique to push the effects of the purification tablet all through his body, flushing out the unrefined lux that clung to his channels like lichen on boulders.


    Then, as he refilled his core with the densest red lux he could manage, he switched to the Way of Boulders technique. It was a complicated cycling pattern for this stage of his development, the second most advanced that the monks of Hapiru had taught him.


    First, he filled his core as densely as he could. Then he opened a single lux channel at a time, letting the dense lux trickle out through one channel, then the next.


    Joshi repeated the cycle until he was dripping with sweat, then switched to the Purification of Mind and Soul technique, allowing less dense, unvariegated lux to flow through him. It washed away his tiredness but began the process of building up lux contamination once more.


    As he cycled, his mind wandered back to his encounter with the guardian of the first floor. It had looked deep into his soul, and granted him a boon. ¡°You wish for freedom above all else. I will grant that. From now on, no bond may hold you unless you chose it. But no man will be able to free you from any you willingly choose to keep.¡±


    He had puzzled over that afterward. The first part was clear enough, and welcome. He would die rather than wear the collar again. But the second ¡ª why would he ever willingly choose to be restrained?


    His cycling complete, Joshi got to his feet. He had been seated in a small alcove in an outcropping of rock, sheltered as best he could. Now he emerged, watching carefully for signs of trouble.


    The previous floor had been largely devoid of tower beasts, except at the oases. This floor was another matter entirely. It teemed with life of all sorts, all hostile, all on a scale just a bit too big. He had fought cats that stood on four feet taller than he stood on two, punched his way through squirrels the size of small antelope, and taken on a trio of ornery mountain sheep with spiraling horns tipped with long spears that viciously sought his blood.


    Each fight brought him to the brink of failure. Each fight made him stronger. He had not yet determined the floor challenge. He was running out of time.


    Joshi, senses alert, cycled red lux throughout his body and weaved it as close to his skin as he could. He strode off through what appeared to be a swamp. He was making for a tall promontory that had caught his eye several sleeps ago. Now, as it grew nearer, he was certain that it was an edifice of some type, worn and weathered so it looked from a distance like a rock outcropping. As he drew nearer and nearer, it had resolved into a triangle form; a pyramid, rising high out of the swamp.


    He dropped down into a small valley, the edifice largely disappearing from view behind the next ridge. A wide, shallow stream ran down the bottom of the valley. He hesitated at its edge, ears alert, eyes seeking out a threat.


    And he found one. What he had at first thought were logs, after a few minutes of scrutiny, blinked at him. Joshi had heard of creatures like these, monsters that lurked in lakes and rivers south of his homeland, where it rarely froze.


    He cycled lux to his fists and prepared. His skin was hardened with it, forming almost an armor. Joshi tried to siphon a little orange lux to his right hand but could not keep it in the form he envisioned.


    Combining two types of lux in the same technique was called a chord, while adding a third was a braid. Beyond that, he wasn¡¯t certain; the monks of Hapiru prepared cultivators for the first steps of the climb only. After that it was up to them to prove their potential to a future master or gain admission to a sect, where deeper secrets could be delved.


    Still, he knew that the chord he was trying to imitate was possible. The monks of Hapiru had spoken of weaving orange lux into the red to form a spiked gauntlet over a fist. In time, he would be able to shape the orange lux into blades and spikes. For now, it refused to answer. Chang-li might be a cultivating genius; Joshi had a lot of hard work in front of him.


    Joshi carefully counted his opponents. Four of them, and they would be at home in the water. He retreated, scouting back up the bank, until he found a warren of knee-high rabbits. There, he waited, still as a stone, until one particularly foolish rabbit hopped close enough for him to grab.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    The creature kicked and bit against his arm as he twisted its neck. Snap. It lay motionless. Its fur was tinged blue. At first, he had thought it was the light, then he decided that truly was its color. But if the rabbits had any inborn lux capability, they weren''t displaying it.


    Joshi returned to the river, where he laid the rabbit carcass on the bank about eight feet out of the water. There was a frantic splashing in the water, and then something exploded up onto the bank. Joshi leaped, his legs fueled by red lux. He smashed down onto the scaly log creature, smashing his fist between its eyes. It thrashed and fought to bite at him.


    He punched it again in the same place. It kept fighting. Joshi changed his tactics. He grabbed its upper jaw with both hands, reinforcing his arm with lux and ripped upward. He felt something in the beast''s jaw crack and give, even as its teeth cut into his hands. The creature lay still.


    Joshi stepped away, taking a deep breath, feeling its processed lux left available to him. He sucked it in, cycling it through him. These creatures were heavily reliant on red lux. It eased into his core as though he had cycled it himself a few dozen times to refine it. Out of curiosity, he tried pushing it down. The lux compacted nicely. Joshi allowed himself a grin and changed his plans.


    A few hours later, a dozen lizard log carcasses lay scattered along half a mile of riverbank. Joshi, having cleaned out the nearby area of the monsters, sat cultivating. He pushed out all the lux he could, everything that wasn''t red or violet, then cycled just the violet through his body.


    As Chang-li had said, it strengthened him. He felt as though his core was on the verge of the next compression. Perhaps he would be in time. He focused inward, willing his core to coalesce, his lux to condense one more time.


    Something buzzed at his head. Joshi assessed it as not a threat and focused. It buzzed past again. His eyes caught a glimmer of indigo. Intrigued, he broke his technique and stood up. A ball of light about the size of his fist circled him three times before hovering at about nose level just out of arm''s reach.


    Joshi cocked his head. "And what are you?"


    The ball buzzed with excitement, growing brighter, then darker, then brighter again.


    "Do you understand me?"


    It buzzed again.


    "Do you want something from me?"


    Another buzz. Joshi had read of incorporeal beings living inside of cultivation towers. They were rare, their bodies made nearly entirely of lux. Joshi had never thought to meet one. He held out a hand, palm up. The little ball of violet light hovered over his palm. He could feel it radiating its presence. The creature was curious.


    "And I am curious about you," he said gravely. "What do you want, little one?"


    It buzzed, then zipped toward the nearest dead lizard log and back.


    "You wish me to kill more?"


    It gave a very emphatic no sort of buzz. Joshi considered. Then he wondered what had attracted the creature. His killing of the lizard logs? Perhaps, but it had not made itself known until he had been cycling and venting unwanted lux. Joshi reached inside himself, seeking out any pocket of indigo lux he had. He found a little and cycled it out through his right-hand lux channel.


    The little creature buzzed excitedly, turning a deeper shade of violet. Joshi tried again with blue. It seemed to like that, though not as well as the indigo. It entirely rejected the lesser colors. At last, he expended a little bit of his precious violet lux. The creature buzzed so excitedly he thought it would fly apart.


    "So," he said, "you like lux, and you can''t get it for yourself."


    It buzzed.


    "Not as easily as I can get it for you," he amended.


    Another buzz, this one definitely happy.


    "You''d like me to help you out. What''s in it for me?" He wasn''t being rude, but he was here alone with few resources. Lux was precious to him, even blue and indigo, which he couldn''t do much with.


    It vibrated again. He almost felt as though he could understand it. He fed it a little more violet lux, and now he could feel its presence in his head. It wasn''t quite intelligent, not the way a human was, but it was far more complicated than any of the tower beasts he had fought so far.


    He tried to remember what the monks of Hapiru had told him about such creatures. They were rare. They had the potential for nearly unlimited growth. They were often, but not always, friendly. And in some cases, they had been known to make deals with cultivators.


    "Tell you what," he said, "can you help me get out of here?"


    It hesitated, giving off a buzz-buzz.


    "Maybe," he interpreted. "Well, why don''t you just stick around and we''ll figure this out. I¡¯m out of lux for now, but I''m planning to go look for more lizard logs here once I''ve finished my cultivation cycling."


    It buzzed happily. Joshi sat back down. The little creature of lux hovered over his head as he once again began to cycle. He dropped into the Way of Boulders technique. He could feel his lux resisting him. It had grown so thick that the cycling took concentration, like pushing the aforementioned boulders uphill.


    He cycled, hardly daring to breathe. He was on the verge of the breakthrough.


    The lux ball abruptly flew straight at him. Joshi barely had time to be surprised. He didn''t even break his cycling technique as it crushed against his chest.


    His body rang with the impact. It shook him to his core. Joshi lost his cycling pattern, grabbed for it, almost had it, lost it again, then forced himself to reclaim his pattern.


    He desperately cycled his lux around his body, suddenly feeling changed. Gone was the resistance of a moment ago. Now his lux flew easily along channels that felt too large.


    No. No, they didn''t feel too large. His lux had condensed. He had reached the third condensation. His core was ready for him to take the next step toward Bodily Refinement.


    Excitedly, Joshi dropped the cycling technique. The little ball of lux flew triumphantly around him. Joshi smiled.


    "You may stick around," he told it. "Do you have a name?"


    It buzzed. No.


    "May I give you one?"


    A hesitant, maybe, buzz.


    "My father had a prize golden eagle he taught to hunt for him. It would bring prey back. It was his most treasured companion. When the eagle suffered a broken wing, my father wept and nursed it back to health. In my tongue, the word for eagle is Magen. I would call you Magen."


    The little ball buzzed up and down excitedly.


    "Very well," he said. "And now it is time for me to sleep. Can you keep watch?"


    Buzz. Yes.


    Joshi lay down with his head upon the satchel Chang-li had given him. He closed his eyes. For the first time in many days, he slept soundly.

 25. Mins Reception

    Min couldn''t help feeling the same excitement as the rest of the Gem Court as they proceeded through the expedition camp. They were all wearing their finest: Min in her white robe edged with red, the same as Jai-lin and Shisa. Nima, in her orange-edged robe, preceded them, a polite six steps behind the Dowager Pearl. All five were flanked by attendants in black silks.


    The Gems descended through the cultivator camp. It was the first time that they had officially left the royal seraglio since their arrival. Min had, of course, been down here plenty on Brotherhood business. Now, most of the camp had turned out - not just to watch them, of course, but to greet the new arrivals whose presence the Court of Gems was here to welcome.


    They descended numerous staircases, passing through the narrow streets of the encampment that clung to the side of the mountains. The lower reaches of the camp were, of course, below the notice of the Court of Gems, though Min had been down into the laborer''s quarters several times herself. People watched out of building windows as they went, and as they passed, others joined the procession.


    They proceeded through the forecourt of the officials, where various camp duties were carried out. The scribing house was the largest building here, backed up against the flank of the mountain itself, with its storerooms and barracks dug deep into the mountainside. All of the scribes had come out to watch. There was no sign of Scribe Wu. She wondered if he¡¯d survived the attack on the mountain earlier this week, and hoped so. Their dealings had been straightforward and honest, and she''d liked the young scribe.


    The Dowager Pearl continued on into the arrival plaza. Here, the shelf on which the camp perched stuck out from the mountain a good 200 spans. Storehouses were cut into the mountain on the east side, but the rest of the space was left clear except for a pair of guard towers built on either side of the narrow bridge over the ravine. The guard towers were hung with bright flags today to welcome the newcomers.


    The Dowager Pearl led her charges forward, then arranged them in a semicircle with Nima at the center. Others filled in behind them, leaving a respectful space that their attendants enforced with glares and occasional body checks.


    Min shielded her eyes, peering across the ravine at the road beyond. "I don''t see them yet," she whispered to her brother.


    "Shh," Nima scolded, arranging her own hands neatly in front of her.


    Min felt the heat of the sun pressing against her wide-brimmed hat. The straw of her hat had been dyed red, but otherwise resembled a peasant''s hat. It kept the sun off of her face, which was what truly mattered. She hoped the newcomers wouldn''t be long.


    Hundreds of people packed into the arrival plaza behind them: scribes, camp officials, high-ranked military in the front rows, and then anyone who could get away from their duties behind.


    There was a disturbance as another group came pushing through the crowd. The crowd parted to give way as Young Master Feng, his own master, and his cultivators arrived. They took up a place just opposite the Court of Gems.


    Young Master Feng looked furious as he took up his place at the right hand of Sect Master Liwan. He was wearing his presumably best cultivator''s robes, in his sect¡¯s orange and purple cross-hatchings. It was an unfortunate color combination. Min always felt sorry for the sects who seemed to have been handed awkward colors. Only nobility of the various courts were permitted to use a single solid color. All other affiliations had to use multiple colors together.


    Only cultivators and nobles were permitted to use the seven lux colors. Groups such as the Oaken Band were limited to browns, blacks, grays, and half shades. The Oaken Band themselves used brown and gray stripes, the brown bands twice as wide as the gray, to identify themselves when needed, but the Brotherhoods all tried to stay in the shadows. Her own bracelet, with its delicate tangle of copper wires, would identify her to anyone who needed to know as an important member of the Oaken Brotherhood.


    Jai-lin pointed. "Is that them?"


    Min peered at the path leading down the mountain. From here, they could see it stretch nearly half a li downward before it curved out of sight around a bend. Now, coming around that bend, was a procession.


    The frontmost walkers carried poles with banners trailing from them: yellow and blue stripes, a much better color combination than Soaring Heavens. They bore the logo of the newly arriving sect, a crescent moon with a raven''s feather.


    This was the Moon Whispers sect. Like the Soaring Heavens sect, they had no connection with Riceflower Province. That was by Imperial design. Sects were rarely permitted to engage in a tower cull in their own territory, lest they think of a tower as belonging to them, rather than being granted access by grace of the Emperor''s divine wisdom.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    While the Soaring Heavens were an ambitious new young sect with Young Master Feng as their rising acolyte, Moon Whispers was a well-established sect that Min had heard of even before this expedition.


    They sent plenty of representatives. She counted dozens of servants in the first rows, easily identified by the way they wore tunics in the sect''s markings. Then came the marching ranks of outer disciples, at least a dozen of them, their cultivator''s robes glinting brightly in the sunlight. They carried long spear staffs with curving blades and brightly colored ribbons tied to them.


    Min could hear Young Master Feng''s loud whisper to one of his own subordinates. "Those showy things - no serious cultivator has used one of those in a century."


    After the outer sect disciples came five inner sect disciples, two men, three women, all with long flowing hair and even more elaborate robes. None of the disciples wore jewelry. While wood and wire jewelry did not flout imperial law restricting gemstones to members of the appropriate courts, most cultivators wore no jewelry at all until after they had been awarded a royal spouse. At that point, they would be entitled to wear simple, less precious gemstones in the color of their spouse''s rank: garnet for members of the Red Court, lapsi lazuli for members of Blue, and so forth.


    And then, behind came not one but two Young Masters wearing the tall, boxy hats that marked their rank. Min could hear Feng''s intake of breath. She glanced at him through the corners of her eyes. His fists were clenched, and she could practically feel the rage and lux rising off of him. "They dare," he hissed. "They may flaunt their wealth. I''ll show them Soaring Heavens needs no such displays."


    Finally, bringing up the rear was a palanquin carried by more sect servants. Its trappings and hangings were yellow and blue, but its inlays were gold. This must be a very high-ranking sect member.


    Young Master Feng was the highest-ranking member of the Soaring Heavens sect here, and had until now been the highest-ranked cultivator in the entire expedition. Min couldn''t help but feel a bit of amusement at his predicament. In less than a week, he had lost his intended spouse and his place at the top of the rankings. It couldn''t have happened to a nicer cultivator.


    Perhaps she could develop some allies within the Moon Whispers sect and have Feng dealt with. She wasn''t sure Brother Stone had delivered a strong enough message and was worried about reprisals from the Soaring Heaven''s sect. If she could have them removed...


    As the procession reached the bridge, she banished other thoughts. The newcomers marched across, banners and robes waving brightly in the breeze. The servants and outer sect disciples fell into rank just on this side of the bridge, leaving plenty of space for the rest to cross. Then came the inner disciples, followed by the two Young Masters who approached the Dowager Pearl, bowing low before her. Then the palanquin bearers at last entered the plaza. They carefully set down the palanquin before retreating to join the other servants. The two Young Masters approached the palanquin, drew back its hangings, and then bowed respectfully.


    The palanquin held two people. The old man rose first. He stepped down before extending a hand to the old woman with him. She was decked in head-to-toe blue robes, so she was a very high-ranking noble lady. Not quite a princess, but far higher than Min.


    The lady dismounted. She had sapphires bound up in her hair and silver jewelry holding more sapphires at ears, neck, and wrists. A colossal display of wealth. The Moon Whispers sect must be incredibly wealthy, and this, then, would be one of their Grand Masters. He wore long robes that dragged along the ground as he approached the Dowager Pearl. He bowed to her, more of a head nod than a bow, and then, to Min''s shock, the Dowager Pearl inclined her own head to the master. They smiled at each other.


    "It is good to see you again, brother," the Dowager Pearl said.


    "And you as well, sister," the Grand Master replied. "It has been a very long journey. Allow my disciples to greet your bevy of gems." He gestured, and the two Young Masters, one male, one female, approached the Court of Gems. They bowed low.


    Min sized them both up. If they were here, then they were in the market for a cultivator spouse. She would have to set some of her people to speaking with the servants of the sect, if possible, and learn about them. A Young Master from a rich sect could be a very valuable asset, not for herself, but perhaps for Jai-lin.


    After exchanging courtesies, the Young Masters backed off and allowed the sect disciples to perform their greetings. The first rituals concluded, the Young Masters and disciples continued toward the next rank of officials.


    Min''s attention began to wander. She glanced at Young Master Feng, who was grinding his teeth and staring daggers at the rival sect. She couldn''t help but smile.


    Then she happened to look back down the road. Someone was stumbling up the path toward them. A woman, she thought, based on the long bedraggled dark hair and the slight frame. Min couldn''t help giving a yelp. The Dowager glared at her. Min pointed.


    The Dowager turned. Her eyes widened. With a snap of her fingers, she summoned two soldiers. The soldiers raced across the bridge and met the girl just past the foot of the bridge.


    The girl drew herself up. To her absolute astonishment, Min watched as the soldiers dropped to their knees and bowed very low in front of the newcomer. Then they straightened. The girl proceeded them across the bridge. She strode through the crowd, now whispering. Min stared.


    The girl was wearing a brown cape. One much like Min''s brotherhood used. In fact, it looked almost identical. Underneath, though, she was wearing nothing but stained white linen undergarments. They were covered in mud and blood. Yet the girl carried herself with power and grace. Her eyes passed across the crowd and then fixed on the Dowager Pearl. She marched right up to the woman before placing her hands together and bowing over them.


    "Dowager Pearl. I am Indigo Princess Hiroko. I have survived to return to you."


    Just about the time Min had finished comprehending what she was hearing, the uproar broke out.

 26. Chang-li Returns

    Chang-li spent the night in the forest, very alone and uncomfortable. He had forgotten to get his cloak back from Hiroko, so he curled into a ball and shivered, sleepless through the night. He alternated periods of shivering with time seated, trying to cycle. It was so hard. Every repetition of a cycling technique allowed more lux to leak away from his body. He was feeling heavier by the minute, like being weighed down by the very air itself.


    Chang-li stored as much orange and yellow lux in his core as he could, along with the precious scraps of violet. When morning finally came, he had no food to ease his hunger, having given all of it to Joshi. He hoped his friend was doing well inside the tower, and feared he would never know what became of him.


    About four hours after dawn, Chang-li at last heard the sound he''d been straining to hear since yesterday afternoon. Feet tramping up the road, distant singing as a party came along the mountain path toward the camp. He stayed back in the trees, watching as the party came past. To his delight, it was, as he''d hoped, large and varied. At the front marched a dozen soldiers led by a cultivator wearing the orange-and-purple robes of the Soaring Heavens sect.


    Then came a bunch of slave porters, their tight collars looking unbearable around their necks, now that he knew how cruel the devices were. They were followed by narrow ox carts, each pulled by a single animal, teetering along on enormous rickety wooden wheels and loaded high with provisions for the camp. There were fourteen carts, each accompanied by a drover with a master at the back watching the whole pack.


    After that, the walkers, men and women in clothes denoting their status as laborers. A little ways behind them, far enough back that the dust died down, trailed six more soldiers.


    Chang-li waited until the laborers were almost past him, then stepped out from the trees, rearranging his clothes as though he had been doing his business in the woods.


    He fell in near the back of the laborers, keeping his back straight and trying to act as though he belonged here. His scribe''s robe was dusty and splattered after his time in the tower, and he had nothing to carry. His sword and his journal rested safely in his soul space. He could feel them there. It was an anxious, uncomfortable feeling. He hoped he''d get used to it soon.


    Chang-li marched along, listening to the gossip. The laborers were apparently finally starting to relax. They were past the section where the tower beast attack had happened, after all. Listening carefully, Chang-li gathered the attack had been four days previous. So he had been right. Time did pass differently inside the tower. He had no sure count, but was certain he¡¯d been inside for nearly two weeks.


    He was almost certain that was not the case for Floor Three, where he had been before. The hours he had spent inside, cowering in fear from tower beasts, had corresponded pretty well with the time that passed outside.


    What would be the difference? Was it because there was no proper entrance to the third floor and they had gone in through a hole in the wall? Was it a lack of violet lux? He wasn''t actually sure how much violet lux there had been on the third floor, as he hadn''t been capable of assessing that when he was there. But he was starting to believe that violet lux was responsible both for the strange passage of time and his rapid cultivation progress. Violet lux, he suspected, affected time itself. No wonder it was forbidden.


    An hour and a half later, they rounded the last narrow bend in the road, and Chang-li saw the cultivator encampment laid out for him once more. It was on the far side of a ravine from them. A narrow stone bridge arced the ravine, easily defendable by a couple of men with long spears. The road continued past the bridge on up the mountain, leading to the third floor entrance hole. Any tower beasts that should escape from the third floor would stream past this point, leaving the camp out of the way of their anger.


    On the far side of the ravine, the stone and mud-baked brick buildings clung to the side of the mountain like lichen. The bridge crossed the ravine to the entrance plaza. There the guards came out and checked the caravan¡¯s paperwork. Chang-li had a moment of panic, but kept his head and reminded the guards to check the list from last week.


    ¡°Oh, we thought you¡¯d been with the caravan that was attacked.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Chang-li lied. ¡°I had several days of business down in Golden Moon City. There should be a notation that I might not return with the same group that brought me.¡±


    The guard turned pages of the list. ¡°So it is. I¡¯ll mark you off here as safe and sound. Welcome back.¡±


    Chang-li passed into the outer camp, a narrow canyon-like row of guard posts and storerooms. Then, stairs led both upward and down. Below were the slave quarters and housing for peasants and laborers. Down below, where the camp opened up into a large flat shelf, was more exposed to wind and weather.


    The steps led up. Chang-li climbed them into the section of camp reserved for the army, expedition support, and artisans. This was where the scribing house was and where the army quartermaster''s facility was. Chang-li spent most of his days here. Farther up, of course, was the royal court. He hoped Princess Hiroko had made it back all right.


    Chang-lislipped in the side door of the scribing house. He hoped to avoid seeing any of his fellow scribes until he''d had a chance to change, but luck was not with him. As he entered the junior scribes'' barracks, two of his fellows were seated on the floor talking to each other. Scribe Jun looked up. His eyes went wide. He leapt to his feet.


    "Scribe Wu, you..." His eyes flicked from Chang-li''s face to his feet. "You look terrible, your robe is a disgrace! You just came up the mountain? Were you attacked again by beasts?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "No." realizing he hadn''t thought of a good enough cover story. "Ah, the truth of it is..." He thought fast and lowered his voice. "I finished with my tasks in Golden Moon City last night, and I went out to a tavern to celebrate. There was a girl there. She seemed like she liked me, you know? She was getting me to buy one drink after another. We left the tavern. I was pretty drunk, but I thought... Well, anyway..." He cleared his throat, trying to look embarrassed. "She took me out to a back alley, and the next thing I knew, it was morning, and I came to in a puddle of vomit and blood. My purse was gone."The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Scribe Jun and Scribe Lin chuckled at his misfortune. "That''ll teach you," Lin said.


    "Yes," Chang-li said. "Anyway, I wanted to get cleaned up before I report in to Inspector Ji¡¯in.¡±


    "I''ll bet you do," Scribe Jun said. He hesitated, then sighed. "Look, I''ll run for a quick pail of water. Can''t have you casting bad impressions on the rest of the juniors.¡±


    "Thank you," Chang-li said fervently. He crossed to his own chest and opened it up, taking out a replacement robe. By the time Jun came back with a bucket of water and a scouring cloth, Chang-li had stripped down to his small clothes.Jun set the bucket down on the other side of the paper screen and beat a hasty retreat, probably to avoid Chang-li asking any other favors.


    He washed himself as best he could in the bucket. He''d have to go to the baths as soon as he could, but they were open to junior scribes only one night in three, and he wasn''t sure anymore what night today was.


    He dressed in his spare garments and bundled the filthy rags into a pile. He''d bribe one of the camp laundresses to do her best, but there was a good chance this outfit was ruined, in which case he''d have to requisition another, which would be taken out of his pay. Chang-li went to report to his boss.


    The rice wine Inspector Ji''in had requested was sitting on the inspector''s desk, unopened. The inspector turned a pleased face to Chang-li as the junior scribe slid the wood and paper door shut behind him.


    "Well done, young Wu. I have not tasted this vintage in six months. I''m pleased to have it back. Tell me, how did the army records work go?"


    Chang-li was ready for this. "All sorted out, sir. I dropped the paperwork by the quartermaster''s, and he was very appreciative of our help and our discretion," he emphasized the last word.


    Inspector Ji''in nodded and smiled. ¡°Then there is a favor they owe us. We shall not be so crass as to mention it, of course. Quartermaster Lun understands how the game is played. Well done. Now that you are back, I have plenty of work for you. I''m expecting the number of expeditions into the tower to increase, which means the other junior scribes will be on a heightened rotation. I''ll be assigning you the job of holding down the desk here unless something truly critical comes up."


    Chang-li''s heart sank. "Why will there be more expeditions, sir?" he asked.


    "Well, the attack, of course. I assume you heard of that. It seems as though tower beasts escaped somehow and made an assault on the caravan. Fortunately for you, not while you were there. Fourteen people died.¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course,¡± Chang-li said hastily.


    ¡°The Master of Cultivation believes we may be near an eruption. We must prevent that at any costs. It''s literally his head at stake here. I, of course, have assured him that the Scribes'' Guild stands ready to assist in any way we can, primarily in documenting the parties entering the tower, how long they are there, who participates, and so on. I may have to send a request for more junior scribes since we lost Scribe Dai and yourself from our roster of scribes who can enter."


    "I''ve been thinking, sir," Chang-li said. "Seeing as it''s an emergency, I could take a rotation as well, just here and there. I''ve been doing plenty of cycling using the Way of the Faithful, and I felt no ill effects from my previous exposure."


    "No," Inspector Ji''in said clearly. "Do not speak of it again."


    So much for that hope.


    ¡°In addition, the Moon Whispers sect arrived yesterday. They have only a single scribe with them, so will require our support. I foresee a busy, confusing time coming up. I may have to requisition some municipal scribes from down in Golden Moon city to assist us. At any rate, Scribe Wu, you are in good time. You may have the rest of the afternoon to yourself.¡± Inspector Ji¡¯in sniffed delicately. ¡°Might I suggest you visit the baths?¡±


    As Chang-li went about his scribing duties over the next two days, he felt wrong. His experiences in the tower had changed him, and he wasn''t entirely sure who the new Chang-li was. He tried to remember why he had become a scribe in the first place. He had been the sickly child of a hard-working peasant family, his mother a laundress, his father and his brother dock hands.it had been clear from a young age that Chang-li was not cut out for that sort of physical labor.


    If only his brother could see him now. He marveled, considering his muscled arms hidden beneath his robes. The weeks of cultivating in the Tower had changed him. None of his fellow scribes had yet noticed. Chang-li was taking care to rise and dress before any of them were up. His scrawny frame was built out with muscles now. If this was what condensing his core just twice earned him, he could not wait to see what would happen when he reached Bodily Refinement.


    He had become a scribe because, with a quick mind and a body tending toward sickliness, it had seemed a good choice. His mother''s brother, who had been a city clerk working closely with licensed scribes, suggested it as a possible career for Chang-li and he¡¯d leapt at the chance. His uncle¡¯s friends had sponsored him to the school, while his uncle helped out with fees.


    He had adored Uncle Luan and his friends. Some of those friends had been scribes to cultivator sects for a time before being posted to Yellow Sky City. They had always had the most fantastic stories of accompanying cultivators on their journeys and the incredible things they''d seen. From a young age, Chang-li had been thrilled at the adventures. Somehow, he had begun associating the adventures with the scribes themselves. It wasn''t until he had become a licensed scribe himself that he realized that scribes didn''t have adventures. They just wrote them down.


    For a time, he thought that would be enough. He had position and rank and might climb high enough to become an important official one day. He would never starve. The money he was sending back to his mother and brother would let his mother retire from her duties as a laundress. She would no longer have to spend her days stooping over boiling tubs of linens, breathing in the chemical-laden smoke that had changed her once sweet voice to a rasp and given her a persistent cough.


    That was worth his sacrifice. He had known from the moment he was accepted as a licensed scribe that he would never see his mother and brother again. The emperor, in his wisdom, ensured that scribes could not serve in the same province as they had grown up. That would prevent them from giving their friends and relatives unequal treatment. The empire depended on its records being accurate. A licensed scribe was held to high standards. He could not marry, nor take a long-standing lover. If he indulged too strongly in vices, that would be noticed. Inspector Jin had skirted along that edge, and it was likely why he was exiled to a backwater, supervising a broken tower cull rather than given a plush role in a city overseeing tax collection.


    Chang-li found himself turning to Wulan''s book over and over as though it held the answers. As he lay drifting off to sleep that night, he realized it did. Wulan''s own regrets, the ones the ghost had expressed to him, seeped through the pages and they echoed Chang-li''s own. Wulan had spent his entire life recording great deeds, being witness to them, but not participating. That was what he himself feared, to observe rather than to do. It was no longer enough for Chang-li to be a scribe. He would be a cultivator.

 27. Joshi Climbs

    Joshi stared up at the edifice rearing out of the swamp above him. It was a stepped pyramid, seven tiers high, made of featureless black stone. When he cycled lux out of his body, the vented lux was drawn toward the pyramid and absorbed by its dark surfaces.


    He sat down in a clear spot about 30 feet away, studying the single feature on the entire pyramid, an opening along the base on what he was calling the North Face. All around, the land raised gradually up out of the swamp, a barren hill devoid of life, like the pyramid had devoured everything in the area.


    Magen hovered over Joshi''s shoulder, the little lux creature''s presence a comfort. Joshi cycled a bit of violet lux toward it, and it leapt and devoured the lux before the pyramid could absorb it. He arranged himself in his favorite cycling posture, legs crossed, arms held out with his palms upward, and cycled Purification of Mind and Soul. His channels were full of lux again, clogging the free passage of the red and violet lux he so desperately needed. Channeling shifted a bit of the unpurified lux from his body, but not enough.


    With reluctance, he opened the satchel Chang-li had given him. A single purification ration remained. He pulled it out and stared at it, sighed mentally. He couldn''t push on any longer. He''d gone as far as he could, and he had to purify himself.


    Joshi consumed the ration. He cycled its benefits through his body, purging the unpurified lux with Chang-li¡¯s Swirling Mists technique, packing his newly dense core with as much red and violet lux as he could. He had no idea what he would encounter inside the pyramid, and he had to be ready.


    Joshi checked the satchel. He had a few pieces of dried meat remaining, which he ate, and drank the last sips of pure water in his skin. He considered throwing the satchel away. There seemed no point taking it any further. He ran a hand along the inside, just to make sure he hadn''t missed anything, and encountered a hard lump at the bottom under the lining.


    Frowning, he pulled the satchel wide open and peered in. There was a small lump hidden inside the lining. Joshi pulled and yanked until the lining came free, and a golden signet ring tumbled into his hand.


    He stared at it. The ring showed a crest like one would use to seal a letter. He didn''t recognize the device, but it was obvious what it was. The symbol of a sect. This was probably the sect of the long dead scribe who had left Chang-li the journal.


    It made sense. The scribe had been with a cultivator of some sort. This ring was set with an iron surround, indicating it belonged to a cultivator of the Young Master rank.. He had no use for the ring, but felt he should return it to Chang-li. He slipped the ring onto his finger. It was like making a promise that he would survive this place and meet his friend again.


    That done, he stood up. Magen circled his head, humming eagerly. "Yes, little one," he told the lux creature. "It is time to go."


    They strode toward the tower as Joshi channeled red lux into his strong right arm, curling his fingers into a fist.


    The first step into the pyramid took him to utter darkness. Joshi almost turned and fled, but there was nothing for him back there. There was no exit from this floor. His only hope of salvation was to reach the top of this pyramid. There had to be a floor guardian here. He had seen nothing else in all his time on the second floor that looked like a guardian. If he was wrong, then he was dead. If he went back, he was dead. The only path open was forward.


    He took another step into darkness, and then another. After his fourth step, the darkness began to lift a bit, graying around the edges. He continued forward, his ears keen for the sound of any creature that might be approaching him.


    Then it was light enough for him to see. He faced a blank wall. A corridor led off to the right. Now he could hear scratching and skittering ahead of him. He had no choice. Steeling himself, he went onward.


    The corridor went straight for about 20 feet, then turned hard to the left. Rounding the corner, Joshi found his first opponents, a pair of knee-high rats. They each had two tails and abnormally long teeth. Their eyes glowed red as they rushed forward, their teeth shining with orange lux. Joshi set himself as the first ran toward him. He punched, his fists coated in red lux. His blow struck the first rat square in the snout and knocked it backwards, head over tail. It chittered and rolled, sprang back up.


    Joshi was dealing with the other rat. He smashed a fist against it, aiming a bit more carefully, and knocked it back against the wall hard. Then he lashed out with one foot and crushed its ribs in. The rat flew back to smack against the wall, dead.


    The second rat raced toward him. Joshi finished it with one blow to its skull. Orange and red lux flowed from the creatures. The red was almost perfectly tuned to Joshi''s own. He absorbed the red and offered the orange to Magen, who accepted a bit of it with a hum of distaste. The lux creature clearly preferred the spiritual, not physical, lux colors. The rest dissipated into the dark walls of the pyramid. Joshi had taken not a single scratch in that fight. He pressed on.


    When he turned the next corner, another pair of rats waited, about the same strength as the first two. He killed them, absorbing their lux and cycling it through his body. Their red lux was far denser and purer than the ambient lux he had been absorbing from the environment, or even that which he had received from killing creatures outside the pyramid.


    He cycled it through his body and let it flow into his core. He could feel his newly dense core beginning to accept this lux and knew he was on the path to Bodily Refinement. With lux this strong and pure, perhaps he could reach it. Some fragments of the lux remained in his channels, beginning the process of clogging them once more. But there was no help for it.


    He turned again at the end of this corridor and faced three rats this time, the middle one of the trio a head taller than the other two. They rushed him in a frenzied pack. He knocked one back with a snap kick, smashed a fist against the second, and the third ducked in under his guard and bit at his unprotected chest. He narrowly dodged the rat''s teeth, stepping back and then aiming a kick at it. With the seconds that bought him, he obliterated the first rat''s skull, then, facing only two opponents, fell back into the rhythm he''d used twice before. He finished the fight breathing heavily.


    Once again, he was forced to absorb the dead rats'' lux to replace what he had expended in that fight. Once again, the unwanted orange residue clung to his lux channels. Magen settled on his shoulder. Its soothing presence washed away a bit of his tiredness. He reached up with a hand as if to pet it. He could feel it vibrating against his palm.


    "We can do this, little one.¡±


    At the end of this corridor, he found the stair leading up. Joshi eyed it warily, but he had no choice. He had to ascend. He climbed the steps.


    On the second floor, the enemies he faced were giant lizards, coming up past knee-high on him in packs of three and four. They lashed with their tails as well as attacking him with teeth and claws. Joshi sustained a few wounds to his bare arms. His slave''s pants were little protection, the thin cloth ripping under the attack. These packs used red and blue lux. He hadn''t noticed them make any use of the blue, but it was present in their bodies as he cycled. Magen accepted some of it. The little lux creature seemed to have a taste for blue, though not quite the voracious appetite it showed for violet.


    Joshi wondered if it would get along with Princess Hiroko. He hoped Hiroko had made it back to the encampment safely and resumed her normal life as much as she could. He hoped Chang-li could find a way back into the tower on his own. The scribe was a cultivating genius. He probably would have already reached Bodily Refinement by now with the resources he had given Joshi. If Joshi ever escaped, he would owe Chang-li a great debt.


    The third floor enemies were foxes. The indigo tint to their fur warned Joshi to expect mental attacks. Sure enough, as they attacked him, they often appeared to be a few inches to the side of where they really were.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Joshi took a moderate bite on his left arm when he misjudged one fox''s attack. After that, he learned to trust his instincts and not his eyes. When he suffused red lux throughout his whole body, it responded faster than he could actually think. His punches would land on their target even if his eyes lied about where that target was.


    He burned through lux at an astonishing rate. Each pack provided enough lux to replenish him, but also added to the growing burden in his channels. Joshi wondered if the tower guardian was doing this on purpose somehow. Pushing him, testing him, providing him the tools he needed to prove himself or to die. There was no choice. Joshi would make it through.


    On the fourth floor, the enemies were badgers. They used orange lux to reinforce their claws, just as Joshi wished to do himself. He studied them as much as he could while desperately fighting for his life, seeking an advantage. With the final pack, he drew orange lux from his veins, cycled it through his core, and then pushed it out to his fist. It wasn¡¯t a graceful chord, two lux colors mixed together in a balanced pattern; it was more like sticking a wad of orange lux to the carefully-channeled red and hoping for the best.


    He couldn¡¯t manage the claws that the Harupa monks said should be possible. Instead, a single long spike of orange lux extending out from his fist like he was holding a three-inch dagger between his third and fourth fingers.


    On the final pack, he successfully stabbed the first charging badger through the eye with his lux spike. Joshi laughed aloud in delight. The lux spike dissipated. He''d lost his concentration. He fell back onto punches as the remaining badgers tore at him. He defeated them, but he had lost a lot of blood.


    Joshi sat down on the floor to cycle. He had no food or drink and was weakened from blood loss. His blood clung to his arms and legs in streaks, drying and turning itchy. He cycled red lux throughout his body in the Purification of Mind and Soul pattern he had used to cure the wounds caused by his slave collar.


    It was getting easier and easier to do. Before, just healing a few sores had taken great concentration and huge supplies of lux. Now, he deftly guided the red lux to where it needed to be, touching every wound and causing them to knit back together. None of them were much more than surface wounds.


    The bite he had gotten from a fox worried him. His lux channels felt strained in that area and he worried the fox had carried a disease. Red lux could heal injuries but did not fight off infections. For that, one needed green, and Joshi had no green lux techniques. Instead, he focused on what he could, then switched back his cycling to the Swirling Mists pattern and leaned his head against the wall. He would not sleep here but he could rest.


    When he finished his cycling, an hour or so later, Joshi felt as though he''d just gotten a good night''s sleep. It did nothing to cure the growing hunger in his stomach. He had fought for who knows how many hours now, sustained only by lux. A cultivator past the Peak of Bodily Refinement could consume the bodies of tower beasts for food if he knew how to prepare them. For anyone who had not yet reached Bodily Refinement, the lux impurities in their flesh would kill him.


    He had to reach the top. Joshi rose and started for the stair to the fifth floor, Magen hovering at his side. It felt as though the little lux creature had grown in strength in their time here. Joshi hoped that were so. If he did fail, perhaps Magen would survive.


    On the fifth floor, Joshi faced Chima cats, a beast native to his steppes, with pale tan fur and spots. They were a little larger than the Chima cats he had hunted as a boy, and they fought far more aggressively than the sneaky steppe hunters he had been acquainted with ever had. They attacked him viciously in packs of four and five, leaping past his head and getting behind him.


    Joshi learned to keep the wall at his back as he fought, forcing them to come at him from an arc on both sides. With his right arm, he punched. He channeled orange lux to his left and conjured what the monks of Hapriu had termed a basic one-note shield, a simple circle of manifested lux about a foot tall, that he could interpose between himself and the attackers. They bashed themselves against it, buying him time to take them on one at a time.


    By the end of the second pack, he was finding it easy to manage two colors of lux at once. Many cultivators did not attain such skill until after they reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, but his teachers had told him to strive for it. It was the mark of a cultivator who would rise far. He couldn''t spend time rejoicing, though, not with his growling stomach and increasingly clogged lux channels.


    Joshi had the pattern of these levels now. A single pack of enemies waited in each of the three corridors, and then there would be a stair leading up. The third pack was always harder than the two previous, but would use the same tricks and techniques. These cats used red lux to fortify their bodies, orange to turn their teeth and claws into weapons, and indigo to hide their attacks from him as best they could. Armed with that knowledge, with Magen chirping happily above him, he rounded the last bend and prepared for a fight.


    There were six cats in this pack, and they sniffed him at once, yowling and dashing for him. He summoned his lux shield with his left hand. A cultivator could learn enhance his shielding technique as he progressed, adding more colors of lux to give the shield a stunning effect or perhaps a health leech.


    For now, all Joshi wanted was defense. He pushed as much orange lux as he could manage, at the same time wrapping his fist in red. If only he had the attention and ability to weave the orange and red into armor for his whole body. That sort of chord was far beyond him today.


    The cats were upon him. Joshi''s fist lashed out like lightning, smashing into the whiskered jaw of the first cat, knocking it into the one behind. The two tumbled over each other in a confusion of limbs and tails. The next two cats were already in the gap. Joshi shifted his shield an inch to the side, and one of the two cats smashed against it, seeming to daze it.


    The fourth cat darted beside the shield. Joshi punched with his fist. He couldn''t yet manage to channel orange lux to both hands at once, and so his fist was strengthened by red, but not equipped with an orange spike. Still, he punched right through the skull of the cat. It dropped to the ground, lux coiling off of it. Joshi seized the lux almost without thinking about it, cycling it through his body.


    It clogged his veins even worse, but he desperately needed it, as his own supplies of orange were running thin. Now one of the stunned cats had leapt up and was clawing at him. Another bashed against his shield. He strengthened it with more orange lux, and then channeled red lux to his right foot and lashed out. His toe hit the cat in the abdomen and knocked it away. It fell to the ground, hitting hard, and lux began coiling from its body. Two down, four to go.


    Joshi was running low on orange lux. He made a decision and dropped the shield, instantly pushing what remained of his orange to his right hand to form a spike. Then he sprang forward, shouting as he charged the first cat. His fist smashed into its head, the orange lux point driven deep into the brain behind the eye socket. He whirled as another pair of the beasts attacked his rear and kicked out with one foot. Lux was streaming into him from multiple cat corpses now. He was cycling and fighting just as a proper cultivator should. It wasn''t even difficult. All the cycling practice he had done had made this as natural as breathing. He was able to recycle his enemy''s lux back into himself.


    He shouted and once again drove his lux-tipped hand into a cat, catching it in the neck and skewering it. It fell to the ground, bleeding but not quite dead. He stomped down hard with a foot and felt its vertebra snap. Two left, and Joshi had their fellows¡¯ lux at his disposal.


    The pair came on, seemingly maddened at the sight of their prey fighting back. One lashed at him with sharp claws as he demolished the other with a single blow. The cat''s claws ripped painful lacerations across his torso from shoulder to opposite hip, biting deep. Joshi screamed in pain as he ran out of orange lux. The pain disrupted his cycling concentration. His foe''s dissipating lux swirled around him in the corridor as he was unable to seize it. He called on the last reserves of red in his core, channeled it to both hands, then, hands together, smashed his two fists down onto the middle of the last cat¡¯s spine. It dropped like a stone.


    Joshi sagged against the wall, pain shooting through his body, out of strength and out of lux. He closed his eyes and tried to cycle. The pain was too much. He had only a tiny amount of purified lux left in him. His channels were nearly clogged. Magen hovered over him, humming worriedly. Joshi opened his eye. Was it his imagination, or was the little puffball of light denser than it had been once?


    "Just a moment to catch my breath," he managed.


    Magen hovered, then darted down and lay against his chest, close as a heartbeat. Joshi''s own heart slowed to match the lux creature''s pulsing. Slowly the pain abated. Joshi reached out for all the lux remaining in the corridor. He pulled it into himself and cycled the most basic technique he could, Purification of Mind and Soul. Women in the throes of childbirth could manage this. Men mad with sun delirium. Even small children with broken legs could use the cycling technique.


    Slowly Joshi''s soreness eased. His wounds began to heal. As the pain diminished, he inhaled more lux, cycled it in a more efficient Way of Boulders technique, purifying what he could, expelling as much detritus as possible. There was precious little violet lux in here, and he was feeling the lack. What he did have, he sent down his lux channels in his best attempt to purify them, then vented the little left for Magen. The lux creature snapped up the violet, humming more contentedly.


    After a while, his cycling complete, Joshi stood up. The cat''s claws still marked him, vibrant red pucker wounds marring his chest. He had enough lux to heal them, but he didn''t want to deplete his core. Whatever lay ahead of him on the sixth floor would be stronger and worse than these. He needed every bit of lux he had to face the challenge. His stomach rumbling, his mouth parched, Joshi stood and made his way to the stairs.

 28. Hiroko Recovers

    An Indigo princess listens twice as much as she speaks and watches everything. Hiroko had been taught the admonition from an early age, and falling back on that advice served her well as she was welcomed into the cultivator camp.


    There had been such excitement over her arrival. The Dowager Pearl swooped down at once to take Hiroko under her wing, hurrying her away from the crowd of onlookers who had apparently been welcoming the arrival of another sect.


    The Dowager Pearl fussed over Hiroko like a mother hen to such an extent that Hiroko was surprised, then realized that the dowager had likely been fearing the repercussions of losing an Indigo royal under her watch. She was so glad that Hiroko had returned from the dead that she wasn''t asking many questions besides, "How may I make you more comfortable, Your Highness, and are you injured?"


    Hiroko found herself stripped, scrubbed, her scrapes and wounds tended, and redressed in robes of pure white linen. The servants bowed and scraped, apologizing that they had nothing in the proper shade of indigo and vowing that they would send runners down to Golden Moon City at once to buy the proper dye. By morning, Hiroko would have a set of robes suitable to her station.


    They brought her food, which Hiroko ate as delicately as she could, despite her ravening hunger. She used the time to study those around her. Soon enough, there would be questions for her, and she had plenty of questions of her own.


    She had felt her core condense a second time on speaking with the guardian of the first floor. She was still exploring what that meant. Her core was packed with blue lux, but her lux channels needed cleansing. She didn''t know how to request purification rations without evoking suspicion. On her past trips into the Emperor''s Tower, she and the other royal children had been fed purification tea upon the completion of their trips inside. Would the lux residue dissipate on its own, or would it continue to build up in her channels and cause damage?


    More importantly, she had the floor guardian''s boon to unravel. The guardian had asked her to show her innermost self so that he could choose a boon suitable for her. She had complied, opening her memories and allowing the guardian to sort through them. The guardian told her, "You are one who sees the connections and patterns between living things. Otherwise, you could never use blue lux to heal the way you do. I grant you the gift of knowledge of a special chord."


    Now, she considered what that meant and found in her mind a knowledge of how to weave together two colors of lux, blue mixed in with green. The ratio was three strands of blue braided in with a single strand of green. She''d never considered using lux in such a fashion, but the guardian''s knowledge was embedded deep in her mind.


    She called on it now, even as the remains of her dinner cooled on the table and the Dowager Pearl recited the names of every cultivator over the rank of Disciple in the camp. Hiroko spun out lux through her channels, sending blue to her right hand and green to her left. She kept her hands below the table, to hide her subtle finger-motions. The Dowager was no cultivator. If she sensed anything, she should think Hiroko was merely trying a cycling technique. It took much concentration. She had never tried to channel more than one color of lux before, and only blue had ever easily answered her call. Now, the green did as she asked.


    She went further, spinning out three equal-sized strands of blue lux with her fingers, like when siphoning life away from tower beasts. She added a strand of green with her other hand. The lux melded together inexorably. She could tell from her memory of the guardian that the strands ought to form a pleasing pattern. Her attempt was lumpy and misshapen, the green weaving in and out almost randomly through the blue.


    Hiroko gasped as the pattern snapped into place. All at once, she could see lines extending outward from the Dowager Pearl, radiating like spider webs. They were different thicknesses and hues, none of the primary colors, but shades of brown, bronze, and gray. What did it mean?


    She¡¯d targeted the Dowager with a technique! Panicking, Hiroko tried to feel it out, to sever it before the noblewoman could notice. She schooled her face and tried to look tired and respectful. The Dowager, still recounting a story, didn¡¯t seem to notice.


    A servant entered the room, bowing low, and the Dowager Pearl gestured permission for her to clear the table. There was a thin, gray strand connecting the servant to the Dowager. It didn''t change as the woman cleared away the dishes and vanished. A moment later, an official arrived, knocking at the door, bowing low. His badge showed he was a member of the Office of Cultivation. He was connected to the Dowager by a much thicker gray line. "Revered Pearl, I have a report that the newly arrived cultivators have settled into their quarters. They would like an audience with you tomorrow morning."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    "Tell them midday or after," the Dowager said. "I shall be busy ensuring the comfort and well-being of the indigo princess in the morning."


    The lux that Hiroko had put into the weave wore out. The lines around the Dowager Pearl vanished. Hiroko sagged back onto her heels where she knelt, sighing deeply as a wave of relief washed over her.


    "Are you all right, my dear?" the Dowager asked solicitously. She hadn¡¯t noticed anything.


    "I''m very tired," Hiroko said truthfully.


    "And no wonder, after the ordeal you''ve been through." The Dowager rose gracefully, and Hiroko followed in her wake. "I have set aside the finest quarters in this building for you. We are expecting more gems to join us in the next few weeks, but for now, all of them are housed in this building or the next one. If you care to join them, they usually have an evening in the saloon after supper.¡±


    Despite how tired Hiroko was, she knew it was only a little past midday now. "Would you ask one of the servants to bring me supper in my quarters? I¡¯ll join the others after.¡±


    "Of course," the Dowager said. Her gracious smile told Hiroko she had said the right thing.


    Hiroko rested all afternoon. When the servant arrived with the tray, she ate and finally felt sated. The lux in her core was dissipating through her body. She still had a good chunk remaining to her, but it wouldn''t last forever. Hiroko felt a pang of loss. No matter. Sooner or later, she would find a cultivator spouse and be permitted entry into towers under certain conditions. She would be able to continue to gather lux, cycle it, and progress.


    When had that become a goal for her? she wondered as she finished the bowl of chilled hibiscus soup she had been served with her dinner. Somehow, in the tower, she had come to enjoy cultivation. Even now, as she finished her meal, she cycled through the Swirling Mists technique that Chang-li had taught her. It felt good, though she refrained from venting much lux, even of the colors she did not prefer. The contamination in her channels seemed to be gradually dissipating, to her relief.


    After cycling, she went to find the saloon. Six young Gem Court nobles waited for her, two men and four women, all around her age. Four of them wore red-edged robes, while one was yellow-ranked and one orange.


    Hiroko accepted their introductions. They all knew who she was, of course. She seated herself on a low sofa between the orange lady, Nima, and one of the red young men. They asked a few delicate questions about her ordeal, which she answered as vaguely as possible. Then she turned the subject to something she hoped they would find interesting. "Tell me about the cultivators in the camp."


    That lit up everyone''s eyes. The young nobles leaned in together as they began to share gossip about the men and women who were their prospective spouses. Hiroko listened intently. Young Master Feng, who Chang-li and Joshi had spoken of so derisively, was considered to be a very strong cultivation prospect. He had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement before the age of 18 and was nearly at the Peak of Mental Refinement now, while he was still short of 25.


    One of the women was waxing eloquently about his chivalry. Another of the red girls snorted at that.


    "Are you talking about the same Young Master Feng? The one who chases every skirt in the camp and won¡¯t take no for an answer if the skirt in question has no color?"


    ¡°Min!¡± Nima scolded. ¡°How crude!¡±


    ¡°But true," Min said.


    Hiroko considered her. She was probably a little older than Hiroko, and the sister of the red-robed man seated beside Hiroko. Out of curiosity, Hiroko wove together her new pattern. The lux flowed together more easily now.


    The results took her aback. So many lines flowed out from Min! Hiroko had decided the lines showed connections between one person and another. It made sense that the Dowager had been the center of a spiderweb. She was an important political figure. Min had even more connections than the Pearl. A thick rope of bronze connected her with her brother, Jai-lin. Other bronze links led off elsewhere. The feel that they gave Hiroko was of connecting to someone not nearby, perhaps Min''s other family members. There was a whole web of white, gray, and black threads of various strengths, and they felt close, like they were in the camp. Pale brown lines connected her to the other gem nobles, with a tentative line reaching to Hiroko.


    The lux died away, leaving Hiroko feeling a bit bereft, but more fascinated than ever by Min.


    "What about the other newcomers?" Hiroko asked as the talk of Young Master Feng went away.


    "We haven''t had much chance to see or hear from them yet," Min said. "I understand there''s to be a reception tomorrow night."


    "I look forward to that," Hiroko said. And she meant it. While the Dowager Pearl had said that several more sects had been invited and might still arrive at this towering hall, in all likelihood, Hiroko''s future spouse was already present here in the camp.


    She would evaluate each of the cultivators on his own merits. She was fairly certain her future spouse would be a male cultivator. Not only were there more of them, but she had never felt more than a mild attraction to another woman.


    It was possible Young Master Feng was the paragon of cultivation that Nima and Shisa seemed to think. Min might be trying to scare Hiroko off of what she herself thought was a good prize. But Chang-li and Joshi had not thought well of him. She wished she could ask about the incident that had nearly gotten them killed, but there didn''t seem any way that she ought to know about that. Instead, she sat back and let the talk swirl around her.

 29. Fengs Retort

    For the next three days, Chang-li felt like a fish gasping on the bank of a river, flopping about, desperate to try to reach the life-giving waters. He still clung to the last remnants of his lux, but having been immersed in it for so long, returning to the ordinary world left him feeling like something was missing. He wore his old life like an uncomfortable, too-small coat.


    By day, he worked the scribe counter, helping the rest of the camp with dozens of mundane tasks. He found himself having to remember to bow and scrape to superiors who did not know what they were doing and chafed at being at their beck and call. By night, he tried to sleep, but his body was already showing the fruits of his cultivation. He needed only two or three hours of sleep. He occasionally tried to cycle, sitting on his mat and moving his stored lux around his body. But his fellow scribes woke often enough he was afraid of them starting to wonder what he was up to.


    Instead, he would steal out of the bunkhouse and around behind one of the deserted buildings of the camp. If they woke and found him gone, they might think he had sought out a privy, or perhaps he was having an assignation elsewhere in the camp.


    It was the fourth day that the pebble that would start an avalanche finally shifted. He was working at the scribe''s counter under the watchful eye of Senior Scribe Li Ran. Li Ran was the only female scribe attached to this expedition, a formidable woman in her early fifties with iron-gray hair and a will hard as steel. She took the easier tasks for herself and disappeared for long periods at a time to enjoy tea in the back room. In between, she bullied Chang-li about correcting his forms and critiquing his brush strokes."In my day, we formed ¡®shi¡¯ with two strokes and a dot. The younger generation is lazy. Look how sloppy this is," she pointed out.


    Chang-li merely nodded his head politely. His teachers had taught him to use the new form of ''shi,¡¯ which had been implemented by the Imperium some twenty years ago, as it prevented confusion with ''ahn.'' But he wasn''t going to argue with the senior.


    The bead curtain blocking the doorway from the outside camp tinkled. He looked up as Young Master Feng and two lesser cultivators entered.


    "You help them," Senior Scribe Li Ran said. "It''s time for my tea break."


    She disappeared with alacrity, leaving Chang-li to deal with the cultivators.


    Chang-li bowed low, placing his face parallel to the countertop. "How may this one assist you?" He straightened up as Feng approached the counter.


    The cultivator¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Do I know you? Never mind, of course I don¡¯t. I am here to have an official grievance filed."


    "Yes, of course," Chang-li said. He reached under the counter for the correct bin of parchment. "With whom will you be filing the grievance?"


    Feng held up fingers. "One copy with the governor of this sorry province. One copy with whomever is head of the office of cultivation for the province. Another copy to be sent to my sect elder. And a fourth copy for me personally. I will arrange for its delivery myself."


    "Of course," Chang-li took out two sheets of parchment bearing the correct shade of off-white and one with a pale green, then a lesser quality for Feng''s own copy. "What shall it say, Young Master?"


    "We wish to officially file a complaint about the way this expedition is being run," Feng said. ¡°The bargain struck with my sect was that we would have equal standing with Moon Whispers, yet they have brought twice as many cultivators and a Grand Master as well! Second and even more importantly, the camp commandant and the Dowager Pearl are conspiring to bring in still more cultivators, not even associated with a reputable sect, and impugning Soaring Heavens¡¯ ability to do our duty.¡±


    Chang-Li bent dutifully, taking down Feng''s complaints. He carefully copied down a formal statement from the cultivator, then passed the first page to Feng for his seal. Chang-Li nudged the communal ink tray toward Feng, who quickly stamped the parchment, looking impatient with Chang-Li as he went on to the next copy.


    As Chang-Li continued his work, he felt Feng¡¯s eyes scrutinizing him. "I know you," Feng said. "Don''t I?"


    "Exalted cultivator, this one is far below your notice.¡±


    "No," Feng said. "You. You''re the one who was at the fight. You intervened for that woman." He reached forward and seized Chang-Li''s robe in his fist, lifting him off the floor.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Chang-Li dropped his brush to the counter where it splattered ink. His heart raced. He felt himself reaching for his lux, but rejected the impulse. It would be far worse to provoke Feng. He could feel the strength in the cultivator''s arm. Chang-Li had put on some muscle in the past few weeks of cultivation, but Feng had just lifted him off of the floor as though he were a child.


    The cultivator''s face bloomed with anger. Chang-Li saw death in those eyes.


    "Give me your name, scribe.¡±


    Chang-Li coughed. ¡°Wu Chang-Li. pardon, exalted cultivator, I did not mean to offend."


    "But you have," Feng said flatly.


    For a second time in his life, Chang-li felt the cold, terrifying knowledge in the pit of his stomach that he was going to die, and once again, Cultivator Feng was responsible.


    The floorboards beside him creaked, and Scribe Li Ran''s voice sounded, "Young Master, what is the meaning of this?" She must have returned from her tea break, hearing the uproar.


    Feng said through clenched teeth, ¡°This scribe has displeased me."


    "Cultivator Feng," Scribe Li Ran said, "surely a humble scribe cannot have done anything to incur the wrath of the Soaring Heavens sect."


    "And yet I say he has," Feng said. Chang-li dangled helplessly from his grip. He could feel the strength in Feng. He had known the Young Master was far beyond him, nearly at the Peak of Mental Refinement, but he hadn''t understood what that actually meant.


    Chang-li''s body had undergone many changes already in preparation to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement. He had fought hydras and jackals, endured long days of strenuous travel, cycled for hours to strengthen his lux channels. He was certain he was a match for any ordinary mortal man, but Feng was no mere mortal. Feng was gathering lux. Chang-li could feel him cycling it in a pattern he didn''t recognize. The man was using primarily red, but braided in with both blue and yellow, preparing some technique that Chang-li couldn''t even imagine. Faint echoes of lux, like an aurora, rose off of Feng''s body, gathering around his head.


    "Please, honored cultivator," Scribe Li Ran was saying.


    There was a roaring in Chang-li''s ears. He could feel pressure pushing against him as the force of Feng''s lux came to bear. Feng''s lux was dense, so dense Chang-li couldn''t properly appreciate it. He had so much of it. For just one moment, Chang-li felt as though he could see into Feng''s core. He must have a thousand times as much lux there, compressed down to a tenth the¡ªten times the denseness of Chang-li''s own. His power was incredible and utterly irresistible at this level.


    Chang-li closed his eyes. He felt his own core, sensed the progress he had made. He was not going to die without a fight. Feng¡¯s lux pressed in around him, threatening to crush him and destroy his lux channels. Chang-li realized Feng wasn''t just trying to kill him. He was going to crush his lux channels. In an ordinary man, that would lead to a lingering and painful death, crippled, struggling with each moment to catch enough breath to continue on to the next. For a cultivator, it would be disastrous, meaning he could never again cycle.


    Feng''s lux was so dense. He pressed against Chang-li, opening a connection between them. Chang-li felt the foreign lux pushing against his channels. Feng couldn''t directly channel lux into him, but he could force the pressure against Chang-li''s own lux channels. They would not stand up, crushed from the outside like a ripe grape squeezed between a press.


    Chang-li felt out his core desperately Instinctively, he seized what little violet lux was left and pushed it out through each of his lux channels as though he were cycling. It was no pattern he''d ever done before, just shoving through his channels, trying to reinforce them. The lux presence against him doubled, tripled in intensity, and then it was gone.


    Chang-li lay on the floor, sobbing. He hadn''t felt himself start to weep, couldn''t have fought it if he wanted. He cracked one eye and saw Feng staring over him triumphantly. "There," Feng hissed, "a reminder of what it costs to go against me. You will feel that every day for the rest of your life, miserable scribe, and if you do not wish for it to be even shorter, you will beg me now for forgiveness."


    Chang-li panted for a second, feeling himself out. His lux channels were still intact, but he could tell Feng thought he had badly damaged them. If he realized the truth, he might attack again, and this time Chang-li would not survive.


    Chang-li scrambled to his knees. He bent low, prostrating himself on the floor. "Forgive this one, O great master of the Soaring Heavens sect," he said. He hated himself for groveling, hated that Feng could force him into this. Even as he spoke, he felt a growing resolution burning in his core. ¡°This one grovels at your feet. Please, forgive this one for his failings.¡±


    His hatred was a cold fury, at Feng for putting him in this position, at himself at being so weak he could not stand up, at the world for allowing one cruel man to rise so high above others. Chang-li vowed then and there, he would never again be in such a situation, never again be forced to bow and scrape just because someone else was stronger than he was. He would progress. He would continue the path until he stood at its very peak, and no pissant like Feng could possibly stand in his way.


    ¡°Your trespass is overlooked, scribe,¡± Feng said. ¡°Stand up and stop sniveling. You have work to finish for me.¡±


    By the time Chang-li was on his feet, Feng was gone. Li Ran touched his shoulder gently. ¡°Are you ¡ª are you all right? That cultivator ¡ª¡±


    Chang-li let out a groan. ¡°I will be,¡± he said. He felt as though he¡¯d been in an avalanche. His lux channels hurt. He tried to cycle, and nearly let out a scream at the pain.


    ¡°Go and rest,¡± Li Ran said. ¡°I¡¯ll tell the Inspector. And Chang-li, you are lucky. Most who displease a cultivator of his stature do not survive.¡±

 30. Scheming

    ¡°That was stupid of you.¡±


    Chang-li opened his eyes. Scribe Wulan stood over his pallet, glowing. The old man was as short and irritable as ever.


    Chang-li sat up, throwing off his covers. The quiet snores of his fellow scribes filled him. ¡°My predecessor!¡±


    ¡°That idiot¡¯s assault woke me from my slumber. I don¡¯t have much lux stored. You leak like a sieve. I thought you were farther along. Have you truly have reached the second condensation?¡± Scribe Wulan frowned, leaning heavily on his stick. ¡°Your lux is dense enough, but your channels drip lux. You must seal them.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s something Cultivator Kang used to say. I never progressed even as far as you, remember? But you should find out. And avoid that bully. He¡¯s going to get you killed and me banished to nothingness.¡±


    Chang-li had recovered from his surprise. ¡°Why are you here, teacher?¡±


    Wulan snorted. ¡°Some teacher I am. Your bald friend was a better instructor. Why did you leave the tower? No, no. I understand, you needed supplies. Then why are you still here?¡±


    ¡°Because I do not have a license ¡ª¡±


    Wulan struck him with an open palm. Chang-li flinched back, but the ghost¡¯s hand passed through his cheek as though he¡¯d be splashed with a cool draught of water. ¡°No good! This tower cull progresses. If you waste time, you¡¯ll never reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement. What happens if you leave this place without it?¡±


    ¡°I will be assigned elsewhere. Likely, with no future chance to cultivate.¡± Chang-li understood what Wulan was asking.


    ¡°Is that what you want? I tell you, boy. I had a long, honorable life as a scribe. And then, at the very end, I saw what could have been. I opened myself to a taste of cultivation and for one shining moment I thought I could be more. That chance was ripped away from me along with my heart and liver, but it¡¯s not too late for you. Not yet. Not if you have the courage to seize that which has been denied you.¡±


    Chang-li¡¯s blood was stirring. His heart pounded in his ears. ¡°I will reach the peak, and then beyond. I will progress as far as I can. I will risk anything for that goal.¡±


    ¡°Then you must return to the tower. As soon as you can.¡±


    ¡°I would eagerly hear your suggestion out, master scribe¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one with the fingers and the wits to forge a license or two. Stop dallying, and get back in there.¡±


    Chang-li seized a quick opportunity. ¡°What awaits my friend on the second floor? What is the challenge?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Wulan held up a hand. ¡°Truly, I do not. Cultivator Kang and I navigated the floor, found the way up, and left. If there was a guardian or a special challenge we never saw it. There were some odd creatures there, beings made entirely of lux, but they were no challenge to us; Kang showed me how to process their lux for my own and we were unharmed.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Chang-li slumped. Not that he could have done anything to aid Joshi, but he¡¯d been imagining what his friend was going through, and wishing he knew for sure.


    ¡°Worry about your own troubles,¡± Wulan advised. ¡°You¡¯ve enough of them.¡±


    Chang-li burned with resolve as his body recovered over the next few days. He needed to get back into the tower as soon as possible and reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement as quickly as possible. No one ¡ª not Feng, not Inspector Ji-in ¡ª would stand in his way.


    He had been tasked to take a census of the camp, checking that resources were being properly allocated. Inspector Ji¡¯in had discovered some of the artisans were claiming to have more workers than they actually did, resulting in them having larger quarters and more rations, which were then promptly sold off on the black market. Chang-li was given a list of everyone who was supposed to be in the camp and told to confirm that they actually existed. It was tedious work, with long periods of waiting around for people to be brought to him. It gave him time to think.


    Re-entering the first floor would be safest. He wouldn¡¯t have to get past guards, but he''d need a large stash of purification rations. On the other hand, the higher up in a tower he went, the denser the lux. If he wanted to condense his core for the third time and then take the step from there to the peak, it would be easier on the third floor. For that, though, he needed a license, and he couldn''t get one honestly, so he''d have to forge it.


    That made him at once think of the noblewoman Min, whose Oaken Band member had a forged license. True, it hadn''t been perfect, but she had used the correct paper. Chang-li had no access to that paper. It was carefully guarded by the Office of Cultivation. He''d need to get his hands on some.


    He might be able to forge another requisition for purification rations. With so many more cultivators coming into the camp, he could try submitting the name of an outer sect member from Moon Whispers and hope his deception wasn''t caught. But first, he needed that license.


    Chang-li paid close attention to the laborers and artisans. He saw no sign of Brother Stone, but after spending several hours in the lower camp, going from house to house in the course of his inspecting and certifying that each of them was filled to capacity, he finally found who he was looking for. Sister Lishan, the woman who had been assaulted by one of Feng''s cultivators, was busy preparing vegetables for a communal meal, chopping them as she stood beneath a woven shade that protected her from the beating sun and tossing the slices into a large pot at her feet.


    Chang-li stopped by. Her eyes flickered to his robe, then to his face. Her mouth dropped open. She looked scared. Chang-li held up a hand. "I''m just here to ask if you can pass a message," he hissed. "I need to speak with Elder Sister Min."


    Now she looked terrified. "Why?" she whispered, missing her chop and crudely slicing a taro root into uneven chunks.


    "That is between her and me," Chang-li said. "Just please pass the message along. I know you must have ways of contacting her."


    She shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    "Well, you can tell someone who can tell someone who can tell her," Chang-li was starting to feel irritated.


    The woman looked around nervously, then nodded. "Very well. But don''t come and ask me. I''ll have them contact you directly."


    Two days later, still dealing with scribe business, Chang-li nearly dropped his brush as Brother Stone himself came into the scribe house. The squat, solid Brotherhood man wore the clothes of a laborer. His head, now that Chang-li got a look at him in good light, was covered in scars and his nose had clearly been broken. Chang-li could sense the density of his lux. This man had condensed his core at least twice and was probably close to the same place on the Heavenly Climb as Chang-li.


    There were several others in the room waiting for Chang-li''s attention. He served each of them attentively, glad that Scribe Li Ran was not there. At last, only he and Brother Stone remained.


    Brother Stone approached the counter. "You have a message?"Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "I need to speak with your elder sister," Chang-li said, careful not to use Min''s name.


    "Why?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "Just tell her I need to speak with her.¡± He saw the look of distaste on Brother Stone''s face. "Remember," he urged, "I spoke up for you. I''ve suffered for that. Feng tried to punish me three days ago."


    Brother Stone''s eyes went narrow. ¡°Yet here you stand.¡±


    Chang-li shrugged. "Perhaps even a cultivator is afraid of offending the order of scribes."


    Brother Stone''s lips curled up a little. "Perhaps," he said. He looked Chang-li over. "There is a small, unofficial gaming parlor in the artisans'' quarters. The fourth building on the left after you descend the second stair. Second floor. The password is, for tonight, lotus root stew. But the guard will know your face, and if anyone but you turns up, let''s just say, the Oaken Band pays all of our debts. All of them."


    Chang-li nodded. "Thank you."


    He wished very much for the cloak he''d given Hiroko as he slipped through the darkened streets of the camp. As he passed the stairs leading down to the slave quarters, he heard distant chanting and wondered what was going on down there. He had visited the quarters only a handful of times in the course of his weeks in the camp, mostly to record the arrival of new groups of slaves. Now he couldn''t help thinking of Joshi. Every one of the slaves down there had their own story, though it was hard to believe any of them were quite as compelling as Joshi''s.


    He passed a small licensed tavern where mid-ranking officers liked to drink, a few rooms down from the tea and soju shop that the important officers and officials such as Inspector Ji-in would spend free evenings, then reached the steps to the artisans'' quarters. Then he came to the stairs leading down to the second tier of the camp.


    The broad stone shelf was nearly as broad as the expanse by the bridge at the entrance of the camp. Houses and buildings clung to the face of the mountain, faced by a whole row of flat-topped two and three-story buildings filling most of the available space. Mostly they were made of stone, though a few wooden structures were present. It was to one of these that he was headed.


    He brushed past the heavy curtain hanging in the doorway and a big burly man, as muscled as Brother Stone but half a head taller and wearing the sleeveless brown linen tunic of a worker, like Chang-li¡¯s own brother and father had always worn, stepped in front of him. "What are you here for?" the man challenged, holding his arms across his chest.


    Chang-li looked up and met his firm gaze. "Lotus root stew. I heard it''s the special tonight.¡±


    The man stepped aside and gestured at a narrow wooden staircase. Chang-li climbed and found himself outside a door on a tiny landing. He knocked.


    A slot slid open. A pair of eyes looked out at him. ¡°You¡¯re expected. Come in.¡± The door swung open.


    Inside, the room was dim and full of smoke. Low tables filled the floor, crowded with men and women who sat with teacups or soju mugs at their elbows, smoking pipes, and playing different games. They saw several tiles, matches, two dice games, and in the far corner, two pairs of people bent over shaka boards. A woman approached. Not Min; this one wore a thin linen shift and a wide dark sash atop it. She bowed to him. "This way."


    The rear of the room was closed off with a thin wooden wall and a single door. A man lounged at a table beside the door. He gave Chang-li a look over before nodding, and the girl led him through the doorway.


    The back room was not what Chang-li had expected. It was well lit. A long bench lined two of the walls, plush and embroidered, and three small groups of people sat along the bench, drinking and talking. Min sat in the back corner by herself. There was a teapot on the small table beside her and a pair of cups.


    Chang-li swallowed hard, then approached her, conscious of the eyes on him. He bowed. It was as though she were a noble holding court, with her retainers around, and he was here to petition.


    She gestured. "Be seated, scribe." She sounded amused.


    He slid in to the bench adjacent to her. "What can I do for you?" She lifted the teapot and poured liquid that was most certainly not tea into the two cups, then offered one to Chang-li. He accepted it once, and raised it to his lips. It was a very fine soju, or so he assumed. He''d only ever had rotgut. This had none of the burning taste, only a smooth sensation as it slipped down his throat.


    "I am here to ask a favor.¡±


    Min raised an eyebrow. She looked cool and calculating, but also, in this light, younger than he had thought before, as though here she was relaxed and letting down her guard. "What makes you think I owe you a favor?"


    "The Oaken Band pays all its debts,¡± quoting Brother Stone. "We both know I did you a favor. Cultivator Feng tried to take it out of my hide two days ago."


    Min nodded. "I heard about that. I offer my sincerest apologies, but as you know, Cultivator Feng is a thorn in my side as well."


    "Then you do admit you owe me?"


    "I don''t think I said that," Min said. "But I am willing to hear your request, if you get to it." She looked around. ¡°My time outside the royal quarters is limited, and I have other tasks to accomplish tonight. I hope you appreciate that."


    "I do.¡± He took a deep breath. "The license Brother Stone had. I want a sheet of that paper."


    Her eyes narrowed. Min picked up her own teacup, holding it delicately between two fingers, as he had often seen noble women do. She sipped. "Why?"


    "Doesn''t matter. I need it."


    "It very much does matter," Min said. "That paper is a cultivator''s license. It is not easily come by."


    "I have faith that you can do it."


    "I am not sure that the favor I owe you extends so far." Min picked up her cup and sipped again. It seemed as though she were considering his request. She set down the cup and clapped her hands. ¡°Brothers and sisters, I beg your indulgence. A moment of privacy, please. But do ask Brother Stone to join us.¡±


    Chang-Li felt rising concern as everyone else in the room stood and left, their cups and games remaining behind.


    "You understand," Min said, "that this favor would require me calling in other favors. I need to know more. For example, to whom do you plan to sell this license? I recall you being very vehement that you would have nothing to do with forging licenses, so I''m curious to know why exactly you''ve chosen to change your tune."


    Chang-li let out a tiny sigh of relief. So she thought he wanted to sell a license. That was good. It gave him an excuse, one he¡¯d already thought out. "My business dealings are my own," he said.


    "We in the Brotherhood believe in taking care of our own, yet if the recipient of this license should be caught, there will be questions as to where he got it, questions that could lead back to me and mine."


    Chang-li shook his head. "Never. For one. I am a better forger than whoever you worked with before. My license will stand up to scrutiny."


    "I hope that''s the case." Min looked up. Her expression changed. "Ah, Brother Stone, please sit and have a drink with us."


    Brother Stone was clutching a mug already. "I''ll stick with beer if it''s all right."


    "Anything you like," Min said easily.


    Brother Stone sat down next to Chang-li, squeezing him uncomfortably. The man drained his mug, then turned to Chang-li. "I do owe you," he acknowledged. "I made some inquiries about Feng. Sorry about that elevated prick and his doings. My informant says Feng was boasting he had crippled you, but you seem to be doing all right."


    A quick stab of fear ran through Chang-li, and he brushed it off. "I believe Cultivator Feng may have been exaggerating for the sake of aggrandizing himself."


    "That is possible," Stone agreed. He held out his hand.


    Chang-li stared. "What is that?"


    "In the Brotherhood, when we owe each other a debt of gratitude, we signify it by clasping hands," Brother Stone said.


    Chang-li hesitated, but Min was staring at him, so he held out his hand. Brother Stone enveloped his palm and pressed down hard. Chang-li cried out. For an instant, instinctively, he struggled, cycling lux into his hand, desperate to protect himself and his scribing hand.


    Stone relaxed his grip at once and turned to Min. "No question. He''s been cultivating. He feels close to the Peak, as well.¡±


    Min''s eyes narrowed. "I was suspicious when I heard what Feng had done. Sister Lishan didn''t mention you seeming damaged. Then I remembered the cloak I had given you."


    "What about it?" Chang-li asked nervously, still trying to wrap his brain around what was going on.


    "I was present when Princess Hiroko arrived in camp." Min leaned forward, her eyes scrutinizing Chang-li. "She was wearing nothing but her undergarments and a traveler''s cloak. I thought at the time it looked curiously familiar, but assumed it was a coincidence. Now though, I''m certain that was the Brotherhood''s cloak she wore. How did Princess Hiroko come to have your cloak? How is it you both survived the attack from the Tower Beasts?"


    Panicking, Chang-li shook his head. "I wasn''t there.¡± He could feel himself starting to babble. "I was in Golden Moon City, working. I wasn''t on the procession.¡±


    Min ignored him. ¡°So I ask myself, since you were not in Golden Moon City and you were with Princess Hiroko, and now you wish a cultivator''s license because, as Brother Stone has just determined, you''ve been cultivating..." She paused. Chang-li''s heart was pounding so loudly he could hear it in his ears. What should he do now? How could he make an excuse that would get him out of this?


    "You found an entrance to the Tower. Since you and the Princess both survived, it must be a very low entrance. The first floor, perhaps?"


    Brother Stone¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°But if he¡¯s found an entrance, why does he need to forge a license? Why not just go back there?¡±


    Min leaned forward. "Yes, you found an entrance. But now you want to enter level three, and become an official cultivator with a license and permission to cultivate, instead of sneaking around and risking getting caught.¡±


    Chang-li just sat there, his whole intricate scheme falling to pieces around his ears.


    "Oh, don''t worry," Min said, seeing the expression on his face. "I am not going to turn you in. No, I''m going to give you exactly what you want."


    Chang-li felt as though someone had just taken a great weight off of his chest. He could breathe again. "You... you are?"


    "Yes," Min said. "In fact, I''m going to give you more than that. Scribe Chang-li, welcome to the Brotherhood as our brand new guide to cultivation."

 31. Hiroko Holds Court

    By the next day, more than half of the lux Hiroko had brought from the tower had leaked from her. Cycling became difficult, like she¡¯d tied lead weights to her limbs. The world gradually lost color and verve. She felt the lack like a missing tooth.


    Hiroko resolved not to try to cling to the rest. Instead, she practiced her new skill on servants and the other cultivator spouses and began to understand what she was seeing. This was not an ability she had ever heard of before. It felt incredibly valuable. If she, in her role as a cultivator spouse, could see the web of connections between people, she would be able to use that to aid her future spouse.


    By the evening, she was ready to start putting her tentative theories into practice. What better way to begin practice with her new skill than to employ it at the garden party? Besides, the question of marriage had suddenly become important. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of her duty, but her personal future. Her hunger for lux grew with every drop she lost. She spun her new technique again and again, refining it, ekeing out the value of the lux she put into it, marveling at what it was showing her.


    A stronger body, heightened senses, longer life ¡ª all the benefits of cultivation felt more real to her now that she¡¯d had a taste. Hiroko wasn¡¯t going to stop here, or after reaching the Peak of Bodily Refinement. If she couldn¡¯t progress without a spouse, then she¡¯d better find a good one. Hiroko would climb to the very top, even if she had to drag her spouse along with her.


    The Court of Gems sanctum within the cultivator camp had been set up as though it were a portion of the Imperial Gardens. Delicate paper lanterns swayed in the gentle breeze as they hung from flowering treelimbs. Small tables dotted the courtyard so that cultivators and noble prospects could sit and converse.


    A small court had been set up at one end of the garden rectangle near to the Dowager Pearl''s tower. There, throne-like chairs sat, each wrapped in silk fabric of different hues. The Dowager Pearl''s was black, signifying her rank.To her right stood a pair of chairs swatched in blue and yellow for the master of Moon Whispers and his spouse. The next chair was wrapped in the purple and orange of the Soaring Heavens sect, and a fourth in green and yellow, celebrating the recently arrived Jade Lotus sect.


    The servants outnumbered the nobles five to one. Hiroko and her fellows stood awkwardly in their finery, waiting for the start of the party. At last, the Dowager Pearl emerged from her tower and was seated on her throne. At a gesture from her, a pair of Imperial guards raced to the gates and threw them open. A grand procession entered as unseen musicians struck up harp and lyre, punctuated by a hand-drum.


    First came the Soaring Heavens sect. Hiroko stood with the other nobles and inclined her head respectfully as their Grand Master passed, followed by Young Master Feng. She considered the young man carefully. From the gossip of the other Gem nobles, he was the strongest of the prospects. Yet, Joshi and Chang-li¡¯s warnings held her back.


    He had a sharp face and an intent expression. He seemed fixated on his goal, but when he passed her, he turned and gave her an assessing look. She met his eyes. His own narrowed. There was a faint smile on his face. She couldn''t quite decipher it.


    After him came three Soaring Heavens disciples of lesser rank. No doubt they would be attempting to court the nobles, but she very much doubted if even the red robes would give them much time. She¡¯d need to speak with each and sound them out. Perhaps with her help, one of them might achieve great things? Was it better to join her life to a strong prospect, who might take her for granted, or risk everything with a partner who appreciated her contributions? Could she somehow find both?


    After Soaring Heavens came Moon Whispers, led by their Grand Master and his spouse. Their two Young Masters were a man and a woman about Hiroko''s age, brother and sister by the looks of them. Each of them gave Hiroko a polite bow as they passed. Hiroko returned with a nod. Li Jen¡¯s eyes lingered on her. She noted the way he passed over Min and Shisa with barely a second look, and suspected that this was one young cultivator out to make a good match. That wasn¡¯t necessarily a disqualification. Ambition should be rewarded. His sister Li Jiya bowed politely to all the nobles.


    Finally, the last sect, Jade Lotus, entered. They had three Young Masters, all a bit older than Feng and the pair from Moon Whispers. It smacked of desperation to Hiroko, like the sect did not truly have any cultivation prodigies and had simply brought every prospect they had in the hope of making a good connection somewhere.


    The Master of Cultivation of the camp brought up the rear. He seated himself on his throne, and the Dowager Pearl clapped her hands.


    "May your evening be pleasant, my guests," she said. "Tomorrow, the hard work begins."


    She gestured to the Master of Cultivation, who cleared his throat. "We have concerns that this tower is showing signs of an incident of eruption. To that end, we will be accelerating the timeline for our cull. We wish to have the third floor completely cleared within a fortnight, the fourth floor in a month''s time, so that we can set the race to complete the fifth floor and win the Tower boon before the end of summer."


    There were some murmurs from the young masters. Hiroko gathered that was an ambitious timeline indeed.


    "To that end, we will be approving larger than usual cultivation parties entering, as well as more frequent. There will be oversight. An Inquisitor is coming up from Moon Whispers City within the week. He will aid us in ensuring that no one reaches dangerous levels of lux contamination. Of course, this is less of an issue for those who have passed the Peak of Bodily Refinement, but do not be overconfident. Always remember the example that has been set in the past, and ensure you are being safe."


    Hiroko stored each phrase in her memory, studying them for anything she could turn to her advantage.


    The Dowager Pearl raised a hand, and the Master sat back, clearly done talking. ¡°That is more than enough business for the night. Go, mingle! Speak among yourselves and learn about each other ¡ª but not too much, and my eyes are watching!¡± She laughed, but no one else did.


    As the garden party wore on, Hiroko maneuvered herself to the other end of the courtyard from the Dowager Pearl and her guests. She stood on a little wooden bridge over the stream, which ran artfully through the Court of Gems. It was arranged, no doubt, for their pleasure by the camp architects and engineers. Graceful trees bent over the stream. Hiroko leaned over the railing, staring down, knowing her rank would bring the others to her. Always let the fish come to you, her father had told her on one of their rare afternoons together, spent beside a lake in the Emperor¡¯s Heavenly Gardens, casting hooks bated with squirming worms into the water. Have patience, and your enemies and friends alike will yield themselves to you.


    One by one, the higher-ranked cultivators approached. First, the brother and sister pair from Moon Whispers introduced themselves, expressing how happy they were that her horrible ordeal had ended so easily. Hiroko replied politely, knowing that they were compelled by duty to speak with her. She was fairly certain Li Jiya from Moon Whispers was not interested in her; yet a high-ranking cultivator spouse might be worth a marriage of convenience. Perhaps she thought to try her hands.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    While Hiroko understood the importance of her marriage and that it involved far more important things than her own happiness, she had no intention of marrying someone to whom she was categorically not attracted. Li Jen was overly attentive, uncomfortably so. Hiroko tried to exude friendliness but lack of interest back at the Moon Whispers pair.


    The Jade Lotus trio were all at least five to ten years older than Hiroko and felt a little shopworn and desperate. It was fascinating. Joshi had to be at least five years her elder, yet he did not give off the same feeling of desperation and weariness that these did. To still be attempting to reach Mental Refinement after presumably a decade or more of cultivation did not speak well of their prospects. They seemed to realize this as well and faded into the distance, though not going very far.


    By now, the other gem nobles had joined the group. Hiroko realized she was, in a way, holding court herself, standing on the bridge with the cultivators on the bank facing her and the other nobles just beyond them, attempting to engage the cultivators in conversation.


    Only Young Master Feng had not yet paid his respects. Now, he strode forward confidently, the lantern light falling on his face and making him look regal and proud. Hiroko drew herself up. Yes, Joshi and Chang-li had spoken ill of him, but compared to the other cultivators here, he was at least potentially a better choice.


    There was no doubt of the interest in his eyes as he approached. He bent low, and then, as Hiroko held her hand delicately out, raised it to his lips, brushing her fingers gently. He straightened up. Hiroko considered him. He was six inches taller than she was, dark hair, classical features, piercing eyes so deep she could feel his cultivator''s strength coming off of him, thanks to her own advanced cultivation.


    "Your Highness," he said, "it is my honor to finally make your acquaintance. I had looked forward to this for some time, and I meant to, like the others have, ask after your ordeal. But having met you, I can feel the strength of your core. No wonder you were able to survive in the wilderness. You are much farther along the heavenly climb than I would have expected."


    "Yes," Hiroko said, suppressing a momentary stab of fear. "His Imperial Majesty, my ancestor and patron, has declared that Violet and Indigo offspring are to be taken into his personal tower and begin their cultivation well in advance of any hopeful marriage."


    "You must have reached the first condensation already," Feng said. "Surely a remarkable achievement. Your tutors must be proud."


    Hiroko had achieved the second condensation during her time in the tower, but she had no intention of telling Young Master Feng that. Instead, she turned his question aside.


    "I did have tutors, some of the greatest cultivators in the land. I believe that it is greatly to my benefit to have begun my own path before uniting with a cultivator spouse. I shall be already prepared to be the asset he requires.¡±


    The others gem nobles, hearing how she was addressing Feng, moved closer to the cultivators. Young Master Feng''s eyes sparkled.


    "Indeed, I myself look forward to the day when I can take my bride along with me on cultivating journeys. Together, we shall ascend to the very heavens, or at least as far as your Imperial ancestor permits. I wish only to serve the Empire."


    It occurred to Hiroko that she could judge the truth of Joshi and Chang-li''s accusations better if she had seen Young Master Feng in action. Her own core ached at the loss of lux. Gathering up what precious lux that she still had, she once again used her new ability to get a look at the bonds being forged here between these groups.


    There was a strong connection between the two Moon Whispers cultivators, of course, as well as between them and their sect leaders. The Jade Lotus cultivators were bound by ties lighter even than that of the servants here to each other. Feng had thin lines running between him and some of the lesser members of his sect, but to her surprise, there was a thick red line connecting him to Min. What on earth could that be? She had not yet seen anything like this. Were they lovers? She would have to investigate this further.


    "Tell us about your trips inside the tower," Lady Shisha of the Gem Court said.


    Feng started and turned. "Well, I¡ª¡°


    ¡°I meant Princess Hiroko," Shisha said. She smiled at Feng with a bit of a challenge. "All of us gems are eager for our own first taste of cultivation. Princess Hiroko is, I think, the only one here who has partaken."


    "I can see why you would be eager," Feng said, a bit of bluster in his voice. "There is nothing like cultivation. Why, I myself have accompanied parties inside and seen the delight as they took their first steps along the path.¡±


    Hiroko clapped her hands together. "That''s right, you have," she said. "I heard a rumor about that in the camp myself, that the people you took in were woefully unprepared and some perished because they failed to listen to you."


    Feng puffed up like a peacock, and now Hiroko was certain that her friends had told her the truth. "That is correct. It was a truly unfortunate event, but sadly, this is what often happens when the unprepared begin to cultivate when entering a cultivation tower without proper preparation.


    ¡°Which is exactly what I was saying in praising the Emperor''s wisdom,¡± Hiroko said. "I think all cultivator spouses ought to be prepared and taken into towers before they accompany their spouses. After all, most of us wed spouses who are already at the Peak of Mental Refinement. That is a large gap to make up between starting fresh and achieving Mental Refinement."


    "Yes," Min said, speaking up suddenly. Feng''s eyes fell on her, and his expression hardened. Hiroko could feel the connection between them. It was mutual, and it certainly wasn''t love. No, Feng detested Min, and Min didn''t like Feng either. Why? What had the cultivator done to so offend a mere red lady? Hiroko intended to find out. "I completely agree with Princess Hiroko. Here we are at a tower. That''s an opportunity we ought to take. Why not have the prospective spouses enter and begin their own course of cultivation? Why, it would give us a chance to see our suitors in action and make a judgment on them before we commit to a lifetime at their side."


    "Yes," Hiroko said, glad that Min had offered her the opening. She could feel everyone''s attention on her, and the ties which connected her with the Gem Court were suddenly strengthened as she took this first step in a leadership role.


    This, this was true power. If she could use, refine this ability, and put it at the disposal of her future spouse, who she very much hoped and suspected would not be any of the people here tonight.


    "Yes," Hiroko said again, "we should. The cultivation master spoke of additional parties entering the tower. Now while you are finishing up on the third floor is the perfect time. All of you know what to expect, what sort of threats, and you can help us with our cultivation."


    "What, all of you?" Feng asked, his gaze sweeping around. He turned to Princess Hiroko with a patronizing look on his face. "Your Highness, I believe that I myself could accompany you and a few select others along."


    The Moon Whispers woman stepped in. "Yes, indeed," she said. "Young Master Feng, I believe that we here are all capable of protecting such a party and helping them on their first steps to advancement. And certainly, we would not want to leave anyone here out."


    Feng very obviously did. Hiroko had absolutely no intention of entering a tower with only him as a cultivator protector, but stepping back inside, refilling her lux, working on her own progression¡ªthat was worth a risk or two.


    "Then it''s settled," Hiroko said happily. "I will speak to the Dowager Pearl, and we''ll make arrangements."


    That seemed to end her little court. The other cultivators drew off. Feng tried to speak with her, but Hiroko, pretending she had something to say to the other gems, brushed him off and joined the nobles.


    Min caught her and drew her to one side. "I think the Dowager Pearl will go for this," she said in a low voice. "She''s often said that we gems don''t bestir ourselves enough. This should show her some initiative. Speak to her in the morning, between second and third bells. She''s usually in a good mood then. After that, she needs a nap, and in the afternoon, it''s usually hot. She gets cranky."


    Hiroko nodded. "I can do that."


    Min glanced around. "Nice job handling Feng. He''s made it clear to the others that he thinks you''re his personal possession. Even if you do wed him, make him work for it a little."


    With that, Min wandered off, disappearing back into the crowd as Hiroko stared at her, wondering what she had just let herself in for.

 32. Joshis Climb

    The sixth layer of the pyramid gave off more violet lux than even outside of the pyramid. It seemed to ooze from the walls, like the entire purpose of this tower had been to purify violet lux. Joshi sucked in as much as he could, using it to wash his lux channels. He didn''t remove all of the contamination, but it eased his aching channels a bit. He fed as much as he could into Magen, the little lux creature lapping it up like a kitten drinking milk. Joshi straightened up. Time to find what this floor had on offer.


    A fear he couldn''t quite put into words gripped Joshi as he emerged onto the sixth floor of the pyramid. He took comfort in Magen''s presence. At least he wasn''t entirely alone. He proceeded down the empty first corridor, heart in his mouth, and as he rounded the corner, stopped dead.


    In the hall in front of him stood the camp overseer of slaves, Master Eigen, and two of his harshest brutes. The overseer carried a whip. The brutes, heavy clubs. Joshi had felt both whip and club before. The overseer''s eyes narrowed as he held out his whip hand toward Joshi. "There''s our runaway. Take him, boys!"


    The enforcers raced toward Joshi, their clubs held over their heads. He barely had time to set himself.


    What were they doing here? How had they tracked him this far, this deep? No, gotten ahead of him?


    As the first of the overseers came forward, Joshi put his shoulder down and smashed a red-lux-laced fist into the man''s stomach. The enforcer let out an "oof" and flew backward three feet, staggering as he caught himself. He snarled, waving his club. "You''ll regret that, slave."


    The next enforcer was right there. He smashed his club down hard. Joshi raised his left hand, calling up his shield just in time to take the blow on the orange lux disc instead of his shoulder. The blow smashed against him, pushing him back, and the enforcer recovered, bringing his club around for another swing. Joshi caught the club in his fist. He clenched down. It exploded in his hand. Shards of wood went everywhere. Joshi drove his fist upward, smashing under the man''s jaw and lifting him off his feet. He fell backward.


    Joshi turned to the first enforcer who was approaching him more cautiously, arms wide, one swinging a club, the other ready to grab Joshi. Joshi was outnumbered, but it didn¡¯t matter, he was enraged. These men had made his life and the lives of the other slaves in the camp worthless and painful. Now was his chance at revenge. He rushed forward and launched a flying side kick into the man''s solar plexus. The man flew back in the air and smashed down hard on the ground.


    Meanwhile, the overseer was laughing. Joshi pushed his advantage, racing in toward the prone man and, leaping, came down hard with lux-laced feet against the man''s sternum. He felt ribs crack under his feet. Then blinding pain erupted in his vision. The other enforcer had struck him on the back of his head with the club he''d snatched up from where his fellow had dropped it. Joshi, eyes watering with pain, turned. He punched the enforcer in the gut. The man doubled over.


    Crack!


    Joshi threw up his left hand instinctively, and the whip hit his orange shield. It smashed through the lux of his technique, shattering it. The whip wrapped around Joshi''s left arm and pulled, yanking him off balance. The enforcer, seeing the opening, came in with a club. Joshi grabbed his wrist and twisted. The club dropped from the enforcer''s fingers. Joshi grabbed him by the collar and slamming him into the wall repeatedly. All the while, the overseer laughed and laughed as he pulled against Joshi''s left arm with his whip.


    Something popped in Joshi''s shoulder. His left arm went limp. As he let the second enforcer''s body drop, he turned to face the overseer. Tendrils of violet and indigo lux oozed off of the bodies, mixed in with a hefty helping of red. A strange combination, to be sure, but Joshi didn''t have time to ask questions. He absorbed all the lux he could, cycling the red through his body as fast as he could to replenish his own stores, as he seized hold of the whip with his right hand and pulled, yanking the overseer off his feet and toward him. The overseer stumbled forward, eyes suddenly going wide.


    "How dare you, slave!" he began as Joshi stepped in with an uppercut. It was the most satisfying punch Joshi had ever landed. The overseer''s head snapped back, scattering teeth across the ground. Blood ran down Joshi''s hand, his own and the overseer''s as well, but he didn''t care. With his left arm still wrapped in the whip, he pinned the overseer against the wall. He smashed his right fist into the man''s face, over and over, until his features were a smear of blood and raw meat.


    Joshi let the corpse drop to the floor and absorbed the lux. He stood there, panting, staring at the bodies.


    "Impossible," he said as his red rage began to clear. His wounds healed as he cycled his technique. Magen was hovering over the bodies, wavering back and forth between them. Joshi vented some indigo and violet lux at the little creature. It chirped happily and lapped it up. Joshi shook his head.


    "No. It doesn''t make sense. They can''t be here. We left them behind at the camp. There''s no way they would have found an entrance. This must be some trick. The indigo and violet lux are playing on me."


    He had already suspected violet lux affected the passage of time. Perhaps it could also reach into his past for memories he''d rather not have. Regardless, he drank in their lux, cycling it, pushing as much as he could through his strained lux channels. He didn''t know if he could go on. That fight had taken a lot from him. Yet, how could he stop now, so close, so close to the top?


    Joshi recovered for as long as he dared, then proceeded to the next turn. As he had half expected, more specters from his past awaited him. These were the imperial soldiers who had captured him and brought him into slavery in the first place. Their captain pointed at him. "Look, the rebel who tried to assassinate the general! Seize him!¡±


    Two soldiers, dressed in the livery of the Army of the West, advanced on him. They both carried long spears and would have reach on him. But in these tight quarters, he could turn that to his advantage.


    He waited as they advanced on him, then summoned the largest orange lux shield he possibly could and rushed them. They lowered their spear tips. He used the shield to batter the spears aside, and then he was inside of their reach.


    They swung, but their spears were too long and got tangled up on each other. Joshi drove in for a kill. He smashed a fist into the face of the first, going for a knockout blow. The man slumped back against the wall, seemingly dazed as Joshi turned his attention on the other.


    He avoided a spear thrust, grabbing the weapon with his left hand and knocking it off course then kicking hard against the soldier''s chest. Coming down, he pivoted and punched out, crushing the soldier''s chest through his lacquered armor. Joshi felt splintering under his hand. He cycled lux to repair whatever damage he had done to his own fist before turning back to the first soldier.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Something sharp pierced his shoulder. He looked down in surprise to see an arrow sticking out of him. The captain held a bow and was nocking another arrow to it already. He pulled back and let fly. Joshi threw up a shield, but too late. The arrow was there, and then Magen was in the way, intercepting it. The lux creature interposed itself between the arrow and took the hit. It squeaked as the arrow clattered through its body, then spiraled away over Joshi¡¯s shoulder.


    Joshi finished the soldier in front of him and raced down the hall as the captain fired another arrow. This one pierced Joshi''s other shoulder. Blood ran down his chest. The arrows burned. He aimed a punch and missed badly as his arm refused to obey his commands.


    Joshi roared in rage. He leapt and planted a two-foot kick in the center of the captain''s chest, knocking him to the ground. Joshi stomped the man''s helmet until it crunched under his feet. He staggered away, pain and weakness dizzying him, and slumped against the wall, sliding slowly down.


    Lux pooled all around him. He absorbed what he could, trying to cycle it. The arrows were resisting his Purification of Mind and Soul technique.


    Magen was there, hovering in the air over him, pulsing sadly.


    "Are you all right?" Joshi asked. He tried expending a little violet lux and the ball swooped down to suck it up. It pulsed at him in an affirmative sort of way. "Good."


    Joshi closed his eyes and tried to cycle. He was going to have to take the arrows out of the wounds. Foreign bodies made it much harder to heal injuries like this, but his arms didn''t want to work. He took another deep breath.


    Maybe this was for the best. He was terribly tired and terribly worried about what lay beyond the next turn. And this was only the sixth floor of the pyramid. Whatever awaited him on the seventh was far beyond his hopes of defeating.


    Despite himself, Joshi made an effort and with the last bits of strength in his left hand, plucked the arrow from his chest. It tore great chunks of muscle. Pain more intense than anything he had known filled his body. Joshi screamed and leaned back against the wall, panting as sweat dripped down his face.


    Then he set himself and pulled the other arrow. At last, he cycled lux. He lost the technique three times before finally settling into Purification of Mind and Soul.


    Red lux oozed through his clogged channels, a tiny trickle running through weed-infested ditches, but it slowly, slowly began to aid him. He absorbed what was left from his opponents. When at last his wounds were healed, his core was empty.


    Joshi closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. He was out of lux. Whatever still lay ahead of him, he would have to fight, and he didn''t have anything left. It was too late to try to turn around and find another way out. He was going to die here.


    He opened an eye. Magen was watching. He could feel the tiny lux creature, like a mobile core of lux, just hovering there. It came and settled on his shoulder. He reached up and touched it with one hand, and he could feel all the lux roiling inside it. Mostly violet and indigo, but a good bit of other colors, too. Quite a lot of red. More red than he''d gotten off of any of his kills, in fact.


    He could take it, he realized. The little lux creature nuzzled against him, open to him, just as the cores of his defeated enemies were open to him. He could take this lux and cycle it through his body. He could feel from here how pure it was, how it already matched his own lux, because he had cycled it through himself before feeding it to Magen. All he had to do was take it.


    In fact, the little creature almost seemed to be offering. Yet, Joshi knew he couldn''t take just some. It would rip Magen apart, and he didn''t think the little creature would survive. Joshi allowed his hand to fall back to his side. "It''s all right," he told the creature. "I shall find another way."


    He sat there, and he cycled for what seemed like hours. Then, when the cycling had done everything for him that it possibly could, Joshi got to his feet. His wounds were healed, but he knew this was his last gasp.


    He staggered forward and around the corner. And there they were, just as he had known they would be, his four elder brothers, dressed in their leathers and furs. Tamok carrying his short bow. Radz and Genga holding short swords. Tall Berun armed with a javelin. They saw him, too, and mocking smiles filled their faces.


    "There''s the bastard, then," Berun sneered, "back from his studies with the monks. Did they let you sleep in a bed, little Joshi? Did they feed you fresh fruit with every meal?"


    "He''s forgotten how to ride a horse," Genga mocked. "Look at him. He fights with his fists like a child. You are too weak to be the son of a Khan. Why have you come back?"


    Joshi just kept striding forward. If he got close enough, he might be able to take one down. Then he would have the lux he needed.


    The four spread out, watching him come.


    "Shall we honor him, then, brother?" Berun asked, and the weapon vanished from his hands. He clenched them into fists. "Let us fight like boys, barely weaned, and show this bastard brother of ours that we don''t need weapons to defeat him."


    Now all four moved on Joshi, their fists up, and he knew as if he needed proof that these were conjurings of his own mind. Berun and the others would never abandon their weapons, not even to teach him a lesson. This was his own doubt and darkest imaginings, somehow given flesh.


    Joshi raised his fists as his brothers dove on him. Confusing flashes of faces and fists filled his vision. A punch landed on his ribs, another on the back of his head. He struck out and felt bone break under his fist. More blows rained down on him. He punched, he kicked. His vision went red with anger and with blood that spewed from a cut on his head.


    Then he found himself on his knees, blows still raining down, his brother''s voices indistinct but clearly mocking. Now he was on the ground as their booted feet drove into his ribs and heels. They were going to kill him this time, then. They had always been going to kill him. He had spoken too openly of his ambitions to become a cultivator. When they had seen that as arrogance and a desire to rise above his station, they would never allow that. And so here, at last, he was going to die. He had escaped slavery. He had embarked on a path of cultivation and all for nothing.


    No.


    A tiny spark of resolution flamed in Joshi right where his core was. It grew and grew, encompassing his whole body. He pushed to his knees.


    No, he was not going to die here. He was not going to lose to some fragments of his own imagination that were not even really his brothers. Joshi would persevere. He would endure. He would climb.


    He was on his feet and the spark in his core washed all through his body. It wasn''t a spark anymore. It was a raging fire, and it blazed through him, pushing his lux channels, clear of the debris that had filled them.


    He threw his head back and screamed defiance at the invisible sky above him as the residue of unpurified lux exploded from every pore in his body, splattering the walls of the corridor and the figments of his brothers with black tarry substance.


    And Joshi was remade. Fire blazed in him. The last fragments of lux, previously frozen in  his clogged channels, now burned through him. There wasn¡¯t much of it but it moved so smoothly, so easily. He wove together red and orange as though he had been doing it forever. Now he saw why they were called a chord, because the two notes harmonized together beautifully when he combined them this way.


    He drove a fist of red lux tipped with four-inch-long spikes of orange straight into Berun''s chest. His brother''s eyes widened. He gasped and went down as Joshi yanked away, dismissing the lux blades and then reforming them again as soon as his fist was free. He slashed against Genga¡¯s throat, then turned and delivered a sharp kick to Radz¡¯s chest, driving orange spikes deep in with his red-booted lux foot.


    Now only Tamok stood, the eldest of his father''s sons, his sneer replaced by disbelief and fear. Joshi drove in. He smashed one fist against that hateful face and his brother crumbled away to dust, as did the other figments, their bodies dissolving into lux that Joshi inhaled and gulped as greedily as a dying man drinks cold water.


    He gasped as he cycled. It had never been so easy before. He switched to the Way of Boulders and felt great torrents of lux moved at his direction easily.


    He had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement. He had taken the first true step on the path of cultivation, the Heavenly Climb. He had done it.


    Joshi fell to his knees and wept.

 33. Handling Records

    That night, there were two pieces of perfectly tinted parchment under Chang-li''s sleeping mat. He stored them at once between two pages of his journal. Min had made it quite clear. Her price was for him to forge a license for Brother Stone as well, and get both of them into the tower. Otherwise¡­ well, her threat had been unvoiced. She didn¡¯t need to say it.


    When his fellows had gone to bed, he got up from his mat and snuck into the supply room, where he stole sticks of the correct ink. The seal he would have to forge belonged to the high cultivator overseer of the camp, a separate office from the scribes. Chang-li did, however, steal the two colors of wax he would melt together to create the perfect shade of gold. Then he waited for his opportunity.


    Over the next couple of days, three more sects arrived in camp. An atmosphere of excitement was taking hold everywhere. It was nearly time to really begin efforts to cull this tower. The newly arrived cultivators would be clearing out floors three and four first. Once the danger level there was reduced, they would be permitted to enter the fifth floor to take on the challenges and claim the rewards there. But that was likely several months off. For now, the roster of cultivator parties was growing by the day. Two and even three groups would enter the tower, taking Chang-li''s fellow scribes with them.


    The other scribes swapped bets on which sect would get an early lead on the race for first position on floor five, the top floor of this tower, and the only one with a proper entrance stone. "I have made great progress toward Bodily Refinement," Scribe Chi boasted. "I have already felt great changes within myself."


    It was evening, and the scribes were in their dorm, Chang-li thinking about how he could get his hands on the Office of Cultivation''s seal. Conversely, he pondered how he could remove his name from the banned list. It wouldn¡¯t do much good to have a license if his name was on that.


    Scribe Deng looked skeptical. "What would you know about cultivation, Chi? You probably are just feeling the results of an honest day''s labor. You''ve been looking pretty pallid, sitting at your post all day writing out lists. This is just what it feels like to have to work for a living."


    "No, I tell you, I''ve made progress," Chi insisted.


    "Has your core condensed?" Chang-li asked idly as he pondered whether perhaps he''d be better off putting a false name on the certificate. No, too many people here knew him. Besides, he wanted to be able to cultivate under his own name. Bad enough to have a forged license, but one in somebody else''s name? That was just asking for trouble.


    "What are you talking about?" Scribe Chi asked.


    "Core condensing?" Scribe Shi asked. "What''s that? Are you holding out on us? Scribe Wu? Do you know cultivation then?"


    "Uh, sorry," he said, scrambling to cover himself. Of course, scribes didn''t know the ins and outs of cultivation. He''d had the manual, as well as Joshi''s teachings to help him. ¡°I overheard some cultivators talking while I was performing the camp census.¡±


    ¡°Really? What else did you hear?¡± Now they were far too interested.


    Chang-li shook his head and stuttered. ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t know. They were talking about esoteric theory, combining colors of lux and all sorts of things. It went over my head.¡±


    That seemed to mollify the others. Chang-li withdrew into himself.


    "Anyway, did you hear the news?" Scribe Shi asked. "Inspector Ji¡¯in is being recalled. His replacement is coming up from Golden Moon City tomorrow.¡±


    Chang-li jerked his head up. "What?"


    Scribe Deng grinned. "They say it''s for drunkenness on the job, but really it''s because the new inspector is the nephew of the Chief of Cultivation here in Riceflower province.¡±


    Now that was an opportunity. Inspector Ji''in had been the one to add his name to the list of banned cultivators. If Chang-li could get it removed, the new inspector wouldn''t know he''d ever been on it.


    "Scribe Shi, you were supposed to work in the Office of Cultivation tomorrow, aren''t you?"


    Shi scowled. "Yes, I''d much rather be on a tower party again, but they say we''re not permitted to go two days in a row. I don''t know how they''re going to keep that unless the new inspector brings a lot of junior scribes with him. There just aren''t enough of us now that all the sects have arrived."


    "Yes, of course," Chang-li said. "I have to do work in the Quartermaster''s office again, and I''d rather not. Swap with me?"


    "Why should I? Quartermaster work is boring."


    "I''ll toss in the two gold I made playing shaka the other night.¡±


    Scribe Shi perked up. "Really? Just for swapping?"


    "One shift swap now, two others to be called in at my leisure."


    "One now, one later," Shi countered.


    "Done."


    Chang-li had not been to the Office of Cultivation since returning from the tower himself. Now that there were several dozen cultivators of various ranks in the camp, the office had grown from its sleepy beginnings to a bustling hub of activity. The office was in the top section of camp. Two different sects had taken over buildings in the area to house them: Whispering Moons and another newcomer, Jade Lotus.


    Several Jade Lotus cultivators were out in the square as Chang-li approached in the dawn light, working on their cycling. They wore green and yellow banded robes and were led by a sect master pushing the limits of the spiritual refinement tier. Chang-li could feel the density of his lux boiling off him. Stopping in the shadow of a nearby building, Chang-li watched. The master was using a cycling technique similar to the Swirling Mists Chang-li had employed inside the tower to empty himself of undesired lux, and his disciples channeled an opposed cycle technique.


    After a moment, Chang-li realized the disciples were taking in some fraction of the lux put out by the master. Chang-li was in awe of the sheer density of the master''s lux to be able to pour it out into the lux-poor air of the cultivation camp in sufficient quantities for his underlings to absorb. Not wanting to be caught staring, Chang-li hurried along to the Office of Cultivation. There, he presented himself to the chief clerk. While the office had its own staff of clerks, they were required to submit all official records to a licensed scribe. Chang-li carried a scroll seal from the scribe''s office to stamp all the office''s official paperwork.


    He was shown to a counter on the outskirt of the office''s busy main room and presented with a stack of papers to go through. At first, Chang-li read through each carefully, looking for errors, but he quickly determined that they were largely identical records, having been submitted by each sect as it arrived, containing the details of the sect''s cultivators and copies of their licenses. Chang-li''s duty was to correlate these records against the roster created by the Office of Cultivation. In turn, the roster would be used to compile party lists and also the input list for the guards on duty outside the tower, who would check against the cultivators'' licenses before allowing them inside.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Chang-li got to work. He surreptitiously paged through earlier records, and there it was¡ªhis own name on a page from nearly three weeks ago with a "Cultivation Denied" note beside it. As he sat down to work, he considered how best to excise his name. He couldn''t merely scratch it out; that would be noticed in a heartbeat. It listed his name, his profession, and his auxiliary cultivation license number, which had been revoked. While drafting his own license, he would certainly use a different number as he was giving himself a full license, not an auxiliary.


    Perhaps he could change his name for someone else¡¯s, but if he put down the name of a scribe not in the camp, it would be noticed. He didn''t want to try to forge the occupation as well. All of the records cross-checked. His license number was one issued to scribes ending with a seven.


    He had made plans for this eventuality. Scribe Dai, who had perished in the cultivation tower, had a family name not too dissimilar to his own. It was simpler, with entirely different forward strokes, but it might be possible for him to change the Wu into an approximation of Dai. Then, he could change his personal name, Chang-li, to something else.


    It was risky, but he was counting on no one really scrutinizing that page. It would need to be legible enough for the clerk who made up the entry lists not to have to work too hard to change the entry.


    Chang-li was going to have to try a trick for removing ink from a page. It was not exactly part of the usual scribe''s repertoire, but Chang-li had learned it from a fellow student at his scribing school from another humble background. The other boy had often been willing to forge documents for people in their quarter of the city, and while it would not work on the higher-grade parchment used for licenses and such, on the cheap paper used for record-keeping here, which contained a great deal of cotton fiber, it should be doable.


    Chang-li waited until he had the flow of the office¡¯s activities. Then he carefully turned to the correct page. He drew a solution from his soulspace that he had spent most of last night crafting. It contained a bit of bleach, a little milk, and just a hint of honey bound together with an alchemist''s salve he''d had to spend six silver on.


    Carefully, he touched the substance with one finger of his left hand. Then, as though resting his hand on the page, he smeared the substance across his own personal name, leaving the rest of the entry untouched. He quickly flipped back to the records he was supposed to be working on to give the substance time. It should only take a matter of minutes.


    There was a disruption in the room. Chang-li looked up and turned away from his book. Newcomers were entering. They wore traveling clothes and were covered in dust. There were six of them, and one, with his rich woven tunic and elaborate headdress, was clearly important.


    This must be the new boss of the cultivation. Accompanying him was Chang-li''s superior, Inspector Ji''in. Chang-li at once ducked his eyes to avoid attention. The newcomers stepped into the office. The scribes and clerks at once presented themselves, bowing low over folded hands as the newcomer made his appearance.


    Chang-li listened intently. The newly arrived master of cultivation was a man named Bao Zedong. With him was his nephew, Dah Haixin, who would be replacing Inspector Ji''in as head of the scribes. Master Bao had a presence stronger than young Master Feng''s by a good bit. Chang-li guessed he was approaching the peak of spiritual refinement. Master Bao spoke with a touch of a country accent. He looked to be in his mid-30s.


    His nephew, who Chang-li thought was working on his physical refinement tier, looked almost as old himself. It was possible Master Bao had mastered enough cultivation to have arrested his own aging. His eyes were keen as he swept his gaze around the room, taking in everyone. He lingered on Chang-li for a moment before turning to the others.


    "Inspector Ji''in, my thanks for your escort here. Please take my nephew and acquaint him with his duties. The caravan leaves for Golden Moon City tomorrow at dawn, and I am certain you will wish to be part of it."


    "Of course, Magistrate," Inspector Ji''in said with a low bow. "Please do not hesitate to contact me if there''s anything I can do to ease this transition."


    "Yes, yes," Magistrate Bao said, dismissing Inspector Ji''in and his replacement. Two of the new arrivals went with them. Chang-li guessed they were new scribes. That left the other three men as the magistrate''s underlings. Two of them wore the symbol of the Office of Cultivation, a tower with a moon rising above it. The younger two''s symbol was a brooch carved of wood pinned to their tunics. The third man, who had hard, cold eyes and long hair tied back behind him, had a silver pin and a silver bow tied to his head. That meant he was an Inquisitor.


    Chang-li had never crossed paths with an Inquisitor before. They served the Emperor and had great leeway in dispensing justice and punishment. He shivered.


    Magistrate Bao summoned the clerks around him. The Inquisitor stood to one side, watching. Terror crept up Chang-li as he bent over his records, not really looking at them. If he did not wipe away the solution he had applied soon, it would burn a hole in the paper. Yet if the Inquisitor or the magistrate were to notice him, he could face imprisonment or worse. Not daring to breathe, Chang-li slipped a tiny unguent pot full of the second solution from inside his sleeve. He touched it to his finger, then folded back the pages until he found his record. One dab atop the now blank portion of the page, and he flipped back, letting out a sigh of relief.


    "This cultivation tower attempt is attracting more attention than the chief officials in Golden Moon City had expected," Magistrate Bao was telling the clerks. "Hence, I have been sent from Hyok Nin to oversee matters. The governor fears that if the foreign cultivators are not kept under watch, they may shirk in their duty. How many sects have presented themselves?"


    "Five, Your Excellency," one of the clerks supplied. He listed them off.


    Magistrate Bao nodded. "Yes, all of them have solid reputations. I do not share the governor''s concerns, but," he shrugged, "one does not refuse an assignment from a provincial governor. Anything out of the ordinary with this cull?¡±


    ¡°One of the early parties to enter the tower suffered severe losses. Several soldiers, clerks, and over a dozen slaves. The Soaring Heavens sect has stated that the responsibility lay with the soldiers, who were not adequately trained, but has accepted the responsibility of the financial recompense."


    "Good," the magistrate said smoothly. "How many expedition parties since?"


    "Well over a dozen. None have encountered similar issues. Soaring Heavens declared that the tower beasts within the tower are a higher strength than the floor suggests. Whispering Moons, who has sent in four parties, disagrees, but Jade Lotus supports Soaring Heavens'' suggestion."


    "Then we may have to increase the timeframe for the third floor," the magistrate said.


    The inquisitor spoke up for the first time. "On the contrary, we must hasten matters along."


    The magistrate jerked as though he''d been stabbed. Chang-li perceived that though the magistrate wore the elaborate robes and received the deference of the others, the inquisitor held power he did not.


    The inquisitor continued, "I shall venture in with the next party and make my own assessment, but if this tower has an increased lux strength, we must hasten the culling process lest it erupt. You must remember, broken towers such as this one are more likely, not less, to erupt. Any signs of lux outside the ordinary tolerances should be noted. Be sure to have the scribes accompanying cultivation parties equipped with luxometers and to take readings at regular intervals."


    "Of course," the magistrate said stiffly. He took a deep breath. "Someone show me to my office."


    A moment later, the outer room was nearly empty. Chang-li took a deep breath and flipped back to the page where his name had once been. There, he altered Wu to Dai, the scribe who had perished when young Master Feng''s intransigence brought death down on their party, before adding an entirely fictitious personal name; he¡¯d never known Dai¡¯s. The deed done, Chang-li returned to his own tasks.


    Later that afternoon, he was summoned to the magistrate''s office to take an official letter down. Chang-li dutifully copied down the magistrate''s words as the magistrate dictated a succinct list of which sects had joined the attempt, what they had reported, and who their most promising cultivators were.


    "You''ll need to add a full list of cultivators," the magistrate said after the letter was concluded. "And then it shall be delivered to the caravan master to be taken down tomorrow."


    "Yes, of course, sir.¡± Chang-li spotted his opportunity, he added, "Shall I return this to you for your seal, or¡ª"


    The magistrate shook his head. "I must go and pay my regards to the Dowager Pearl and coordinate with her interactions between the Court of Gems and the cultivators. These matters must be managed. My seal is in the drawer of my desk."


    "Yes, of course, sir.¡± Chang-li bowed low. "Of course, sir."


    When he had finished filing the records and confirmed that the magistrate had gone out, he returned to the room, sat on the floor at the low desk, withdrew the seal, and quickly, pulling the two still blank sheets of parchment from his soulspace, proceeded to seal them with the mark of the Office of Cultivation.


    His heart still racing, Chang-li forced himself to concentrate on his duties so that no scribe would have to be summoned the next day to finish it. He wanted to leave as much time as possible before anyone might detect his forgery.


    That night, he sat up late in the darkness, writing out his name and Brother Stone''s on their brand-new cultivation licenses.

 34. Chang-li Confounded

    Chang-li had decided to get himself and Brother Stone into the same cultivating party. That would make it easier for him to ensure Stone''s license held up to scrutiny. There were a number of licensed cultivators of the first stage around the camp who were not affiliated with any sect. That was a fairly common occurrence. By attending enough tower culls, a hardworking man or woman with a good cycling pattern could work up to Bodily Refinement, assuming they managed to procure a license like the one Chang-li had just forged.


    Getting past the first peak without sect backing was nearly impossible. It required another layer of endorsement on the license, as well as secret techniques and resources zealously guarded by the sects. Chang-li would worry about that when the time came. For now, he just wanted to get back inside and return to cultivating. It had been almost two weeks already, and he was eager to return.


    So, he listened in camp and gossiped with the other scribes, who were all trying to figure out what their new boss wanted of them. Inspector Ji¡¯in had been a very hands-off sort of boss. He liked his drink, would stumble in late in the mornings, clearly hungover, disappear into his private offices, take a few personal appointments, and somewhere in the afternoon emerge to chastise them and check up on their assignments. Their new boss, Inspector Dah, was another matter. He came in like a whirlwind, demanding to see every record in the place. The scribes were kept running late into the night. "According to the records, there should be nine of you. Where are the others?" Inspector Dah snapped.


    "We lost three during an early party into the tower," Scribe Lin babbled.


    "Yes, that fiasco is why Inspector Ji¡¯in has been replaced. Unacceptable. This tower cull is already under imperial scrutiny. Everyone knows broken towers are dangerous. To have a cultivating party disaster so early on, followed up by tower beasts that got past the watchers and attacked an expedition on the outside, is unconscionable. Inspector Ji¡¯in does not realize the trouble he is in, I fear. He will not like the reception he receives at the bottom of the mountain," Inspector Dah said grimly. "Now we are under additional scrutiny from the Office of Cultivation. Magistrate Bao himself tasks me with ensuring that all of you are up to the task. Also, I see here that you have been neglecting your duty rosters. Scribe Wu!"


    Chang-li jumped. He stood at attention as Inspector Dah''s eyes slid across him. "Yes, sir?¡±


    "The records here say you have not entered the tower in weeks. Why is that?"


    "Sir, I was on the expedition where we suffered losses. Inspector Ji¡¯in kindly offered to allow me some time to recover. I am fully healed of my injuries and ready to begin my duties again." He held his breath, hoping none of the other scribes would contradict him, but they all seemed happy to see him being dressed down. He had realized a few days ago that the other scribes hadn¡¯t known Ji¡¯in placed him on the list of those forbidden entry. His cover story sounded plausible, even to his own ears.


    "Good. I don''t like to see slackers. Get on a party soon," Inspector Dah said.


    Chang-li bowed his head before scurrying over to a corner to work on the task he''d been set. Meanwhile, he added Brother Stone''s name to the list of sectless workers qualified to enter with a cultivating party and kept an eye out for the rosters coming in.


    When an incomplete party roster came in from Jade Lotus, he seized the opportunity. They were proposing to send one of their three young masters in, supported by three students, but were requesting four unaffiliated cultivators, a scribe, and some porters to assist them. They would not need the help of any guards according to their request.


    That looked perfect to Chang-li. The Jade Lotus sect was quiet and kept to itself. He hadn''t yet had a chance to observe any of their young masters up close, but they''d been in the camp for nearly a week now, and none of them had made the sort of impression Young Master Feng gave. That was be a point in their favor. He quickly added his name and Brother Stone''s before filling out the rest of the roster from possible candidates and filed it.


    In two days, he would be returning to the tower.


    His sense of accomplishment and excitement lasted until two hours past noon when the cultivating master, Magistrate Bao, burst in.


    "Where is Inspector Dah?" he demanded. The junior scribes all stood at attention and bowed low. "I will fetch him," Scribe Tu said, then hurried off.


    A moment later, Inspector Dah came out from the inner room where he had been verifying rosters. Inspector Dah also bowed to Magistrate Bao.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    "How may this office assist you, Great One?"


    Magistrate Bao''s eyes swept the room. "This is all of your junior scribes?" he asked, sounding displeased.


    "Yes, Great One. We are short three due to the intransigence of my predecessor."


    "Very well. It''ll have to be enough. All of you will accompany the royal expedition tomorrow starting an hour after dawn."


    There was a quick intake of breath all around, and Scribe Tu let out a gasp of "What?"


    Magistrate Bao rounded on him. "You question?"


    "Forgive me, Great One," Scribe Tu said, bowing low. "I merely was wondering at the change in plans."


    "It has been decided that the Young Masters from all of the sects will work together to escort the Gem nobles into the tower so that they can work on their own progression. I am not certain if this is a plan for the cultivators to impress the nobles or if the nobles themselves suggested it, but it is not our place to question, merely to support.¡±


    His words sank in around the room. Chang-li started to see the scope, as the magistrate continued.¡°We will need much logistical support. At least four patrols worth of guards, porters to carry the belongings and provisions for the nobles, and of course all of your scribes."


    "How long of an expedition is this to be?" Inspector Dah asked.


    "My understanding is three days," Magistrate Bao said. "Your office will coordinate with the quartermaster to ensure that we have the necessary supplies. I will make arrangements for the guards, porters, slaves and workers. The nobles will bring their own servants.¡±


    "Yes, of course. We will make sure to be ready," Inspector Dah said. "What of our normal camp duties?"


    "They will be resumed when we return. I need not tell you this is the highest priority. We have an indigo noble in our presence. Any displeasure she has could go up as high as the emperor himself."


    "We will see to it," Inspector Dah promised, and Magistrate Bao swept out.


    In a panic, Inspector Dah turned to the scribes. Chang-li hadn''t seen the man looking so human before. He clapped his hands. "All right, who of you have expertise in the supply needs for a cultivating party?"


    Chang-li raised a hand. "I''ve worked with the quartermaster''s office before. I can coordinate with them."


    "Good. Do you have an idea of how many people this will be? The Magistrate was vague¡­¡±


    "Let me make a list of all of the gem nobles who are present, and I will extrapolate from there," Chang-li said. This was actually the sort of work he was good at. A red-ranked noble wouldn''t be traveling anywhere without at least one servant. It was possible that they might share, but he wouldn''t bet on that. The indigo princess ¡ª Hiroko, he thought to himself, and then banished her name from his thoughts ¡ª would have probably three attendants of her own. The guards would all need provisions. Cultivation rations for the whole team, porters to carry them. Brother Stone could be slipped in as a porter or an underling. Chang-li''s thoughts were full as Inspector Dah turned to the other scribes, assigning them tasks.


    He quickly copied out a list of the names and ranks of all of the gem nobles in the court, followed by the rosters of the cultivation sects. Armed with those, he hurried to the quartermaster''s office, where he found them in a similar uproar. He got one of the clerks aside, and the two put their heads together, coming up with a plan like an island of calm in a storm of chaos.


    Somewhere around dinner time, as Chang-li surfaced for a quick bite, knowing he would be going back to his work for hours yet to come, he realized this meant he and Brother Stone would be going back into the tower a day sooner and in an entirely different fashion from what he had expected.


    Scribe Jun was handling the rosters. Since there were so many people going in, Inspector Dah and Magistrate Bao had decided to treat this as though five parties were going in at once. That meant each of the scribes would be assigned to a party, with the sixth scribe as backup to the largest.


    Jun had assigned himself and his friend, Shi, to the party which would host Indigo Princess Hiroko. Chang-li let it slide. He noted he had been put on the same party as Young Master Feng, and a pang of fear shot through him. He sidled up to Jun. "A word," he said.


    The senior underscribe nodded and stepped aside. Chang-li cleared his throat. "I have run afoul of young master Feng," he said, casting his eyes down.


    "Oh, that''s right," Jun said. A smile played across his lips. "I remember. Gambling debt, wasn''t it?"


    "Something like that," Chang-li said. "I... that is... let''s swap me with Scribe Tu."


    "Hmm," Scribe Jun considered him. "I might do that, but... why should I?¡±


    "I''ll owe you a favor," Chang-li said desperately, wishing he had Min''s skill at driving a bargain. She''d probably be able to manage this in a way that made Jun feel like he was the one who had been done a favor.


    "Favor from you?" Jun rolled his eyes. "No. Money.¡±


    ¡°A week''s pay," Chang-li said desperately.


    "Three."


    Chang-li already sent most of his pay home for his mother. Three weeks'' pay would leave him without coin for months. On the other hand, if he reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, everything about his station could change. "Two weeks," he said, and Jun nodded.


    "Very well. You may make the change, and I will sign the list in a few minutes."


    Chang-li bent over the list. Scribe Tu had been assigned to the party under the supervision of the female Young Master from Golden Moon, Li Jiya. Brother Stone was also on her roster, and they would be accompanying a pair of red nobles who he didn''t know, styled as Lord Jai-lin and Lady Shisa. Relieved, Chang-li swapped his name and Tu''s before returning to his duties.


    Well after midnight, eyes burning, Chang-li and the other scribes crawled into their pallets. They were too excited to sleep, talking quietly back and forth in the darkness.


    Chang-li sat up and cycled. He had only scraps of lux left. Tomorrow he would refill his core, drinking deeply of tower lux. Tomorrow, tomorrow.


    He lay down and went to sleep with a smile on his face.

 35. Joshis Reward

    Joshi still couldn¡¯t quite believe he had made it to the Peak of Bodily Refinement, even as his body told him the truth, over and over. He was remade. His flesh felt somehow more solid and real, like he had just emerged from a cold mountain pool. His muscles taut beneath his skin. The weariness of the last few days burned away. His lux channels ran clear, all the debris and contamination having been forced from his body by the transformation that overtook him as he had reached the peak.


    He formed one hand into a fist and considered his fingers, weaving together his two lux chords. A glove of red lux coated his fist all the way down his arm, almost to his elbow. Three sharp orange spikes appeared, positioned as though growing out from between his folded fingers.


    He slashed the air experimentally, feeling them slice. Magen wove around his head excitedly, the little creature''s happiness matching his own. Idly, Joshi pulled a bit of violet lux from the air and fed it to the creature. He sucked in as much violet as he could, cycling it through his body, following up the purification of his lux channels with a violet wash.


    He could feel the lux taking effect at once, strengthening his newly forged channels and preparing them for an influx of violet lux. Then he cycled the ambient lux in the chamber. It was easy to pull out the orange and red he needed, easy to condense it within his core, refine it, and draw it forth. His previous core condensings had meant he could hold twice as much lux each time. He had expected perhaps another doubling on reaching the Peak of Bodily Refinement. Instead, he found his core seemed to be capable of holding at least ten times as much. It wasn''t that it was larger. The core felt as though it was the same size as before. He could just fit more lux in.


    Joshi cycled until he felt refreshed. Then he stood back up and coaxed Magen to join him. "It is time to face whatever lies at the top of this pyramid," he told the little lux creature. "I am not afraid any longer." It pulsed at him, and he could almost hear a chirp of delight from it. Magen was ready, too.


    Joshi climbed the last stair. He was prepared to face enemies, perhaps more specters from his past. Instead, he found himself in darkness. Joshi turned on the spot. It was warm and dark and silent. He could hear nothing, feel nothing, not even his own feet on the floor. He extended his arms in both directions and shuffled forward, trying to find a wall. He couldn''t even see Magen and started to panic, but then realized he could feel the little creature''s presence in his head. He relaxed and told himself he knew better than this. Each tier had been a test, and so was this, but apparently not of combat.


    Joshi sat back down into a cycling position and began his Way of Boulders technique. As he slipped into the familiar cycling pattern, he could feel a presence all around him, watching. But it didn''t feel hostile, so he sat there, acknowledging it in his mind. At last, after he had gone through the pattern perfectly a dozen times, a voice spoke.


    "It has been many years since anyone braved my challenge, Cultivator. Tell me, what do you seek?"


    "A way to the next floor," Joshi said honestly.


    "That is a true answer, but short. What do you seek after that?"


    "My freedom."


    "You have that already," the speaker chuckled. "No one can put a chain on you if you do not wish. And having reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, I think most will fear to stand in your way. You are a cultivator now, not a slave, Joshi."


    "You know my name."


    "I have been watching you for some time, ever since you met my child and took pity on him."


    "Your child?" Magen pulsed at him, and Joshi nodded. Of course, the little lux creature was the offspring of the guardian of this floor. Somehow it seemed obvious now.


    "Once, Cultivators came here to seek the boon of my children''s aid in their climb," the guardian said. He sounded almost sad. "It has been so long since that happened. The last few rare Cultivators who came did not know what a boon they were offered. They drained my children for the lux in their bodies and so passed up a unique chance. You, though, you seem to have seen the opportunity."


    "I was lonely," Joshi admitted. Something about the guardian''s voice compelled him to speak truths he would not have easily revealed to anyone. "I have spent years alone and thought I had gotten used to it until I made my friends and then lost them again within the span of a few weeks. Perhaps I am not as strong as I thought. I needed the companionship that this one offered." He raised a hand, and Magen settled against it. He still couldn''t see anything in the dark, but Magen''s presence was there.


    "You have done well. I will bless the bond between you, that is, if you choose to keep it. After all, my brother has said you may bear no bonds but those you choose."


    "I would have Magen with me for as long as he chooses." Joshi realized suddenly that he''d become aware of the little creature as a being, and moreover one that very much considered himself a he.


    "Then so be it. With his help, you may be able to achieve triumphs those on your path normally do not. Take care where you go from here, Cultivator. The floors beyond are broken and twisted. Those who seek to climb them do so for their own advancement."


    "That is true of all cultivators."


    "Yes, but be wary. You may pass when you wish. One final gift. That mark on your hand, I sense, may give you some trouble. It is gone.¡±And then the presence withdrew from him.


    Joshi stood. It was still dark, but Magen urged him forward, leading the way. Joshi followed, blindly trusting his little friend. He found he was able to perceive through the darkness, through Magen''s own senses. There was lux here, very faint. Joshi had felt it all the time. Magen could see the lux even without having to use a lux sight ability, and could navigate by it.


    They followed a coil of indigo lux that grew stronger and stronger as it went until suddenly it whirled upward in a bloom taller than Joshi''s own head, a swirling mass of lux.


    "This then?" Magen pulsed agreement. Joshi, without further ado, stepped into the bloom.


    He emerged back on floor three. The first thing he thought was, How different this is now. How different I am now.


    There was no collar blocking him now. He glanced down at his hand and smiled. The slave brand was gone, with no sign it had ever been there.


    So much lux filled the air all around. He sensed great quantities of red and orange and bits of yellow. Very little green, indigo, or violet, but hints of blue here and there. If Hiroko could get back onto this level, perhaps she could reach her third condensation and come close to the peak herself.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Thoughts of his friends propelled Joshi forward. There were many dangers on this floor, as he knew, yet he was more suited to them than ever before. He flared his senses, keeping alert as he went, Magen watching behind for attacks. Though the jungle-scape around him was somewhat familiar, he had no sense of bearings. Where was the exit from here? He needed to avoid it. Most of the parties would probably be sticking close to the exit until they were more comfortable with this place. He didn''t want to encounter any other cultivators accidentally, not unless he chose to leave.


    Joshi considered as he went. He had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement. He could leave this place and there was no one who would dare treat him as a slave ever again. It would be hard to gain access to any other tower, even at the Peak of Bodily Refinement. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators in the Empire reached that status. Only a fraction of them were able or permitted to climb any higher. Having tasted cultivation, Joshi did not wish to stop.


    Magen gave him a split-second warning. Joshi whirled, summoning his gauntlet while at the same time raising his left hand and calling up a shield. Both techniques worked perfectly. A foot-in-diameter round shield appeared, centered on his left wrist, while his right fist, wrapped in red lux and decorated with orange spikes, drove forward, punching straight into the exposed belly of the leaping frog that had just plummeted out of the trees at them.


    The frog''s huge, three-foot-long tongue wrapped around Joshi. He felt the acid burn at once. He slashed his claws upward, severing the tongue, and then punched the frog straight in the mouth. His claws tore a hole for his fist, and he smashed straight through the frog''s skull, splattering its brains against the trunk in front of him. The frog fell dead.


    Joshi leapt back, holding the shield, as three more frogs dropped out of the trees around him. They were green with red spots and came up to nearly chest height. The frogs let out horrific, croaking screams and leapt, one sailing straight over his head as the other two landed right in front of Joshi. He didn''t wait for their attack. Instead, he spun and kicked hard, dropping his shield technique to encase his left foot in red lux all the way up to his knee as his leg smashed into the frog. He kicked it hard back against the tree, then came down, took a half-step forward, and punched out with his lux-gauntleted fist, smashing the next frog as he had the first. It croaked and fell dead at his feet.


    Magen whistled a warning, the first audible sound he''d heard from the creature. He understood it and whirled as the frog that had come behind him lashed out with its tongue. Magen interposed himself between Joshi and the frog. The tongue wrapped around Magen''s form, and the frog screamed, recoiling away as though the taste of the lux creature had offended it. Joshi didn''t care. He made use of his ally''s distraction to finish off the final frog with a blow to its neck.


    Joshi stood panting in the jungle, covered in frog slime and brains, as Magen extracted himself from the dead frog''s tongue and circled. Lux poured off of the creatures, more than Joshi had ever felt from a tower beast before. He seized it all, cycling as fast as he could, pushing the rarer colors to Magen while he refined more red and orange for himself. Then he shifted into Purification of Mind and Soul and felt the wounds he''d been too busy fighting even to notice begin to heal.


    His stomach was rumbling. They said that cultivators at the Peak of Bodily Refinement and beyond could process the meat of tower beasts. Joshi eyed the frogs. He and his brothers had hunted marsh frogs on many occasions as boys and had always been fond of how they tasted roasted over a fire. It might kill him, but on the other hand, he was just about out of food, and if he didn''t eat something, he would have to give up on this attempt.


    "What do you think, Magen?" he asked. "Are they worth the risk?" Magen whistled an emphatic yes.


    An hour later, Joshi had built a fire beneath a couple of overhanging trees, picking the driest wood he could find to try to avoid smoke. He skewered one giant frog haunch on a pointed stick and held it over the fire, rotating it every so often. The smell of roasting meat increased his hunger from a dull ache to a ravening yawn. When the food seemed ready, he pulled it back, sniffed it, then very carefully licked the outer skin. It tasted of rendered fat and juicy meat, just a little salty from the brackish environs. It was delicious, and all he could do not to take an enormous bite. Instead, he waited for as long as it took him to cycle Way of Boulders five times. Then, he allowed himself to take a single small bite.


    The meat had cooled a bit, but was still crispy-skinned and delicious. He chewed very thoroughly, finally swallowing, before returning to his cycling. He cycled ten times, then another ten for good measure. It seemed as though the meat was good to eat. Joshi began a slow, careful meal. Magen circled.


    "I do not think this is food for you, little one," Joshi laughed, instead giving Magen more lux. There was very little violet lux on this floor, and he longed to save what he could for his own advancement. But the little one needed to eat and grow as well.


    Joshi was considering saving half of the roasted haunch for his next meal when he heard a branch behind him snap. He was on his feet and behind a tree five spans away. In no time at all, Magen hovered over his shoulder. They peered out as five cultivators stumbled into the little grove where their fire had been.


    "I knew I smelled food," one of them said. "There!" He pointed at the discarded haunch of Joshi''s meal sitting beside the embers of his fire. A second of the cultivators raced forward and picked up the frog haunch. They were all male, in their twenties, and a ragged-looking bunch. Their cultivator robes were all mismatched, with the patterns of five different sects, none of which Joshi recognized, but that was to be expected. He''d never had much to do with the Empire before becoming a slave, and since then had been accustomed to looking down at the dirt, not around at his betters.


    "Wait," a third man hissed. "This fire is still warm. The one who left this might be here somewhere. Spread out."


    Joshi considered trying to flee. All of these men had reached Bodily Refinement like him, but he could sense how poor their cores were. They felt shaky and misshapen. Then he knew what was going on. These were a band of rogue cultivators. They had snuck in or bribed their way past the guards at the entrance and were here to cultivate as much as they could, as fast as they could, before being caught and thrown out.


    "Can you hide yourself?" he asked Magen quietly. The lux creature buzzed and vanished. Joshi stepped out from behind the trees, holding up his hands.


    "Well met," he said. "It is good to see kindred spirits here in this foul place. Come, share my fire, share my food. There is more of that where I took it. It has done me no harm yet, so I feel it is safe for you."


    They looked him over. One man had a wooden sword which he raised threateningly, a narrow edge of orange lux along its surface. Two of the others carried daggers, a fourth a club, and the fifth was barehanded like Joshi.


    "Who are you?" the one with the wooden sword asked. Joshi could see their robes by now. All of them were missing the insignia that should be present there, denoting rank and status in their sects. These were cast-off disciples who had been sent away for failing to meet expectations or because of some crime. They were desperate men. But desperate did not necessarily mean prone to violence. They would not want to risk themselves, not after whatever it had cost them to come here.


    "Why, I am here to cultivate without a license, just like you," Joshi said. "The meat came from some giant frogs I killed. There''s three more untouched carcasses, and the half I left of this one just beyond."


    The men stared at each other, then him.


    "You killed four of these monsters on your own? Is there anyone else here with you?"


    "No," Joshi said. "Why should there be?"


    "I think he''s telling the truth," the man with the club told the others. "You''re Darwur, yes?"


    Joshi inclined his head. "I am."


    "What''s that?" asked one of the others.


    "Barbarian nomads from the far side of the empire, where the general of the West is conducting a campaign of extermination."


    Joshi kept his features still, as though they were not casually discussing the war that even now ravaged his family''s lands.


    "If he''s this far into the empire, he''s either as desperate as we are, or some other sad case. Look at him. He''s no young master."


    The men relaxed, lowering their weapons. The one with the sword stepped forward.


    "I am Er-Yun. Wu Yang and I will come with you to harvest dinner."


    "Very well," Joshi agreed pleasantly, and led them from his sheltered place back to where the frogs were. All the while, he was considering. Make a break from it, or learn what they were after? He did not think it would be hard to give them the slip. Wait, he counseled himself. Learn who they were, and what they were after, and then decide on his move. He had time.


    Now that he had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, he had all the time he needed.

 36. Back to the Climb

    The expedition did not leave an hour after dawn. They barely started to assemble in the outer court by the bridge. The porters and servants were there on time. Chang-li noticed uncomfortably how many of the porters were slaves, wearing collars that chewed their necks raw.


    The junior scribes waited together in a knot, finishing the breakfast they had grabbed to take with them. After three-quarters of an hour, the real cultivators began to arrive. First, Jade Lotus, with its three weary-looking Young Masters and a small army of lesser cultivators. Chang-li studied them, trying to get a sense of their core and foundations, but he wasn''t expert enough to know that yet. It did seem that their robes were slightly more worn than those of the other sects, frayed around the edges a bit, like they were not as wealthy a sect.


    Then came Moon Whisper, both of its Young Masters dressed resplendently. Chang-li looked closely at the woman he would be following today. Li Jaila was short and thin, with a regal air and more commanding presence somehow than her brother. Her hair was braided and then pinned to her head in a style that reminded Chang-li of hard-working peasant girls he had known from his childhood. Unlike the Young Masters from Jade Lotus, the two Moon Whisper Young Masters both wore cultivator''s rings on their index fingers bearing the sect crest.


    Finally came Feng, dressed resplendently with his juniors around him like attendants escorting the emperor. He swept in and looked over their gathering with a sneer. In addition to his sect ring, he wore a second iron band on his left hand. The usual symbol of one who had achieved the Peak of Mental Refinement. Worry stirred in the pit of Chang-li''s stomach. If Feng had reached the second peak, he would be a formidable enemy indeed.


    Just stay out of his way, Chang-li told himself.


    Feng commented loudly to his juniors about the slovenly look of the expedition and how disarrayed they seemed. "This is not fit for a noble lady like the Indigo Princess to behold. She will think us shameful country folk."


    Chang-li knew from his scrutinizing of the roster that Feng would be accompanying Hiroko''s party today. He didn''t like it, but there would be nothing he could do.


    Here, at last, came the Gem nobles down from the upper court, escorted by two patrols of their elite guard and a whole bevy of servants. The waiting crowd whispered and nudged, pointing. "The dowager! Is she coming?"


    In the middle of the group walked the Dowager Pearl, swathed in black. Inspector Dah hissed to the elite scribes "There''s more of them than we expected."


    "I provided a 15% safety margin in my estimates," Chang-li said quietly. "We have enough purification rations and supplies for three days, even with these extras. But I must consult with the cultivation official to see in which group the dowager will be placed."


    "I''m sure she''ll remain with the indigo princess," Scribe Jun said, and the boss took a deep breath and settled.


    "Of course, you''re right. That''s already the largest group. I shall add myself to their party and personally ensure their safety. I want all records kept in triplicate," he said unnecessarily, having already given that order the day previous.


    Chang-li''s satchel bulged with notebooks and Wulan¡¯s scribe''s kit, while his precious cultivator journal rested in his soulspace, ready should he need them, next to a stash of purification rations he had palmed while assisting the quartermaster''s clerks to load bags. They were just in case there should be some opportunity for him to remain in the tower longer.


    At last, the procession set off. The sun was now well on its way upward in the sky, the spring morning promising to bloom toward an almost summer-like heat later on. The soldiers went first across the bridge, followed by the cultivators and then the squad of nobles. After that came officials, clerks, scribes, and high-ranking servants, followed by the ordinary servants and porters, followed by the slaves and another batch of soldiers bringing up the rear. In all, Chang-li counted 130 people.


    The climb up the mountain to the entrance seemed interminable, though it was a journey of only about one li. They could proceed only as fast as the Dowager Pearl, and she seemed to be in no hurry as she strode along, leaning on a walking stick. At last, they reached the entrance, where the guards on duty straightened up. They began to ask for cultivating licenses and log books, but Magistrate Bao hurried to the front and spoke to them. Of course, it would take far too long to check everyone''s records, and so Chang-li''s forgeries would go untested today. He was honestly a bit disappointed.


    He passed under the watchful gaze of the watchers into the tower. The first time he had come in through the breach, he had been in awe at the size of the wound on the mountainside. It was a hole like the mouth of a cave, jagged, even after years of erosion should have softened the granite edges. The opening was as tall as three men and wide enough that eight could pass through abreast.


    The ledge just outside the hole was spacious enough to allow almost the entire group to wait there as the first few filed in through the hole, where dark green trees with long frond-like branches obscured what lay beyond. A path had been hacked through the trees, and Chang-li knew it led to the first staging area, a space kept clear by regular patrols.


    When at last it was his turn to enter, he stepped through. Taking a deep breath, he could feel the difference immediately as lux surrounded him. Instinctively, he opened himself to it, drawing it into his core and letting it refill him. It felt so good, like the first taste of water after days of thirst. It was all he could do not to stop and cycle right here, but he proceeded along with the others to the staging area.


    Then, as the officials ran about and ordered everyone into their groups, he performed a modified version of the Swirling Mists technique, cycling the lux through his channels, purifying out orange and yellow so it would be ready, packing his core as densely as he could. He was so near his third condensation, he could feel it. Just a little bit of time. Hopefully, these three days would get him through his third core condensation and to the verge of Bodily Refinement.


    Brother Stone joined their group along with two more of the hired workers. He didn¡¯t acknowledge Chang-li, keeping his eyes downcast as Young Master Li Jiya approached their group. She had three disciples with her, all at the same stage as Chang-li. He could tell they had condensed their cores at least once, and he worried they could tell the same about him if they looked. While it wasn''t forbidden for a scribe to achieve enough success at cultivating to condense his core, it was certainly rare, especially considering the poor cultivation teachings he had received. But if the Young Master noticed anything amiss, she did not say so. Instead, she rattled off all of their names, each of them replying in turn as she did. Chang-li was impressed that she knew all of them.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "You will listen to every word I say as though it came from the mouth of the emperor himself," Li Jiya stated. "If you do, we shall have no troubles. Oh, here come our noble guests."


    A pair of red nobles, one man, one woman, approached. Everyone bowed low.


    "You grace us with your presence," Li Jiya said.


    Red Lord Jai-Lin inclined his head. There was something vaguely familiar about him, and after a second, Chang-li realized he bore a strong resemblance to Min. Her brother perhaps. The other woman didn''t bother to speak.


    "Come," Li Jiya said. ¡°Let¡¯s be off.¡±


    "We have only just arrived," the Red Lady protested.


    "We want to get beyond here before these other fools frighten every tower beast in the area into a stampede," Li Jiya said. "I have studied maps and have been into this tower three times previously. I know where we are going. There is a grove of Dai Radharan trees about two li northward. We shall camp there and see what we can make of this."


    She ordered her disciples to fan out around the group, serving as scouts and first warning. The four guards accompanying them, she kept back to guard the nobles. The porters, which included Brother Stone, she ordered to just keep up. To Chang-li, she said nothing. He had recorded the names of everyone in their group in his book already and was grateful there had been no last-minute changes to their arrangement.


    The two red nobles were sharing a single serving man between them. Fifteen in all, the group was four cultivators, four guards, two nobles, one servant, three porters, and Chang-li. A bit smaller than the average group size, which Chang-li hoped meant they would travel more quickly.


    He kept his senses alert for tower beasts. They had gone less than half a li when one of the cultivators out in front of them sent up a braided technique, red, yellow, and blue, skyward. Young Master Li Jiya sprang into action at once.


    "Halt," she ordered the party. "Defend the nobles."


    She hurried forward. Chang-li could feel the lux as she gathered it to her. He hesitated, then took off after her. After all, he was the party scribe. It was his duty to record what happened, and if that meant a chance to watch a Young Master at work, so much the better.


    Her disciple had encountered an enormous snapping turtle nearly as tall as a man with a shell made of red lux. It glowed deep with green, surrounding itself with life force. Li Jiya didn''t hesitate. She wove a three lux technique, a braid of predominantly orange with strands of red and yellow. Chang-li watched as she formed a long polearm from the lux braid.


    ¡°Moon Whisper Fang, come to me," she shouted as she summoned the weapon.


    He couldn''t suppress the grin. So, she was one of those cultivators who had to call out the name of their technique as they did it. In his book, he recorded the name of the technique. Then, in the script of Wu Lan''s sect, he added a note about which colors she had woven together. This was his private log. He would record only the bare facts in the records he was turning in to the expedition, but he wanted to know as much as he possibly could.


    Li Jiya wove a second technique, predominantly red, with just a hint of blue in it. It seemed to be focused on her legs. She bent and then sprang forward, the technique giving her jump several extra spans. She landed atop the turtle''s shell and stuck there as though she''d been tied down.


    He tried to see how it had been done. Somehow, her second technique, bound to her feet, had meshed with the technique used by the lux tortoise. Now she was attached to its back as firmly as its own shell. He admired that, even as she swung her polearm down hard. The tortoise yanked its neck back into the hole, and her lux weapon bounced off the shell nearby.


    Li Jiya shouted something. Her acolyte sprang forward, pulling a script from his bag. He fed in undifferentiated lux, a sloppy way to use a lux script if what Wulan had written was correct, but effective. The script burst into flame as the acolyte hurled it toward the giant tortoise.


    A ring of fire sprang up around the beast. It withdrew all limbs into its shell as orange and yellow flame danced around the edge of the clearing.


    Chang-li tried to watch what happened, but the flame obscured his vision. He could sense Li Jiya weaving another chord, but beyond knowing it contained three types of lux, he couldn''t tell much. She seemed to favor the physical lux, though he''d seen her use blue already. From his readings, being able to weave together chords was expected of any Young Master at or approaching the Peak of Mental Refinement, and showing adeptness at using at least four kinds of lux was a sign they could be expected to climb higher.


    Chang-li himself was determined to start experimenting with chords of his own, two different colors of lux. He already used two, but one at a time, one in each hand. If he could begin to weave chords, that would strengthen him greatly.


    Li Jiya gave another shout. The flames dissipated. She was standing beside the upturned body of the tortoise, its shell hacked to pieces and thrown clear. As lux boiled off of it, she caught sight of Chang-li.


    "You, scribe! What are you doing? Never mind. Run back and fetch the nobles. This is exactly what they''re here for."


    Chang-li stuffed his notebook into his bag, turned, and ran. He cycled a little red lux as he did, and consequently arrived back at camp feeling mildly warm, despite having run flat out.


    "Quickly! The Young Master has slain a lux beast. She summons the Gem nobles."


    The two red nobles hurried forward without further prompting. The rest of the party followed, exclaiming and shouting as Chang-li led the way. He had to hold himself back so as not to leave the party in the forest behind him.


    He hadn''t quite realized just how much his body had advanced. Driving through this forest was easy for him. He recalled his terror-filled flight just a few weeks before, when Feng had left him to die, and couldn''t quite reconcile those memories to who he was now. Perhaps that Chang-li truly had died in the tower. He would never be so weak again.


    Li Jiya ordered the two nobles and her three acolytes to stand around the tortoise as its lux dissipated.


    "Open your cores to it," she instructed. "No, no," she said as the nobles assumed the Way of Meditation stance. "Who taught you that? What a waste. Drink it in through your nostrils, like you are smelling the aroma of a hot soup, and let it wash through your bodies. No, it has to go to your core before you cycle it back out to your extremities."


    She sounded exasperated. The noble lady, Shisa, snapped back at her. "We are performing the cultivation technique we have been taught."


    "Then you''ve been taught all wrong," Jiya said rudely. She tried to gesture what she meant.


    Chang-li had to bite his tongue. He understood exactly what she was trying to show them. It was a variation on the first cycling technique Joshi had taught him, but she wasn''t a very good instructor. Her acolytes were performing a cycling technique that looked to him like a variation on the Way of Washed Linen, one of Joshi''s other techniques.


    As the strands of refined lux from the tower beast poured past him, Chang-li couldn''t help pulling some in. He sat down at the base of a tree and took his notebook from his satchel, pretending that he was taking notes with his charcoal stick while he surreptitiously cycled the fresh lux through Swirling Mists. It was so much denser than the lux in the air around him, as much denser as that lux was from the outside world.


    The turtle''s red lux was solid. It had very little orange or yellow, unfortunately, nor was there much in the ambient air. Chang-li was going to have to seek out sources of those if he wanted to condense his core.


    There was almost no violet lux here at all. It made sense. If violet lux was secret and forbidden to cultivate, then it must not be common. Perhaps there were other towers where it was more common. He guessed those would be reserved for the emperor''s favored.


    Still, here he sat like a beggar at a banquet, criticizing the presentation of the soup. Chang-li drank deep of the lux and cycled, while Li Jiya snapped at the red nobles and tried to show them what they were doing wrong.

 37. Roc and a Hard Place

    Joshi considered his situation. The five rogue cultivators had given him only a single name each, and he had given them his. They had an uneasy d¨¦tente. The rogues harvested the rest of his slain beasts and roasted them while Joshi sat under a tree cycling. He watched them through slitted eyes. He didn''t want to get into a fight. There didn''t seem to be any need for one. They could go their way, and he could go his.


    As the men ate, they began to relax, laughing and joking amongst each other. One produced a flask of spirits and passed it around. Their seeming leader, who called himself Er-yun, offered the flask to Joshi. He accepted and took a sip. The coarse spirits were harsh on his throat and burned. To his surprise, they had an effect on his lux channels. He cycled, pushing the contamination away.


    "What is this?" he asked.


    Er-yun smiled. "Good stuff, isn''t it? Helps purify out the lux.¡±


    That bothered Joshi. The strangers had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, as he had. They shouldn¡¯t need help to purify themselves: their cores and lux channels should have been remade and now be capable of processing lux without contamination.


    As he cycled, he studied them, and he didn''t like what he saw. Their cores were shaky. The Hapiru monks, who had been his teachers, had warned him of the dangers of advancing past Bodily Refinement without the aid of a sect. A sect would have access to spiritual treasures to assist in his continued advancement, but more importantly, a sect would have Paths to guide him. After reaching Bodily Refinement, each cultivator¡¯s journey became more individual as he focused on his own strengths, but a Path could serve as a general guide. Most sects would have multiple Path manuals and the instructors could further guide a disciple on them. Joshi would need to find a sect to accept him soon. He had thought he could go a little farther on his own, relying on the teachings of the Hapiru monks. Now he wondered.


    Joshi''s own core was solid as a rock, a perfect sphere in the center of his body, the source of all his lux channels. Every breath of lux he took in passed through his core and was refined before flowing into his lux channels. It was not an unconscious process, like the way his heart pumped blood through his body. He could affect it with his thoughts, changing his cycling patterns to alter the flow of lux through his veins. That was the very essence of what it meant to be a cultivator¡ªto take control of those processes which others considered purely unconscious.


    These men, though, seemed to be employing a brute force method. They had strengthened their cores, condensing them the three required times before advancing to the Peak of Bodily Refinement. Yes, they could store the same quantities of lux as Joshi, but they didn''t seem to understand how to purify it and use it the way they wanted. He was starting to be curious what they would look like in battle. He didn''t think it would be good.


    One of the men paused in mid-sentence, staring at Joshi''s hand. "You," he said. "That ring, what is it?"


    Joshi had honestly forgotten he was wearing the cultivator ring he had found in the satchel Chang-li gave him. He looked down at it now. Any fool could tell what it was¡ªa mark of a Young Master of a sect. The sect icon itself was obscure. Joshi wasn''t entirely sure what the half-circle and three wavy lines were supposed to represent, though Chang-li had named them as the Morning Mists sect. "My sect ring.¡±


    The other men looked at each other sharply. "We thought you were sectless like us."


    "My sect is no more," Joshi prevaricated. "I am all that is left. I came here to seek my fortune, just as you have."


    That answer seemed to mollify the men. "Right, well, we should all be going.¡± Er-yun stood up. "Come along with us. We know where there''s a treasure to be found."


    ¡°Wait,¡± one of the others said. ¡°Weren¡¯t we going to wait for Master Shyoni?¡±


    ¡°He was supposed to be here a week ago. Something¡¯s gone wrong. If we wait for him, we¡¯ll get caught. Besides, he¡¯s not our master anyway.¡±


    ¡°Who is Master Shyoni?¡± Joshi asked. The name was strange, sounding foreign.


    ¡°Never mind,¡± Er-yun said. ¡°He¡¯s not here, so it doesn¡¯t matter. Coming?¡±


    Joshi¡¯s curiosity was piqued. He was still looking for an opportunity to separate himself from these men, but he worried if he made too swift a move, they would attack him. "I can come along," he agreed. Besides, he had no set place to be. He had not yet determined the challenge for this floor, if there even was one. The tower was broken here. The Emperor''s chosen entered and plundered at will.


    There was a route to the next floor. He knew that much from the slave gossip he''d heard in camp. This tower was five floors tall, and the final floor contained a tower challenge, one winnable only by a single cultivator or party of cultivators, after which the tower''s power would wane for a time, reducing the chance of a tower eruption.


    That''s what the expedition was doing here¡ªculling the tower, siphoning away its power, allowing young cultivators to make use of it and to cut down on the number of tower beasts inside. They''d already made an impact. There were far fewer creatures here than had been on his disastrous first entrance to this floor under the auspices of young Master Feng.


    Joshi needed to find a way up to the fourth floor quickly before the official cultivators decimated that as well. If he wanted to get the most use out of this tower, he needed to climb. And a treasure might be just what he needed.


    His mind made up in a flash, Joshi rose and bowed to Er-Yun. "I would be honored to accompany you," he said.


    It took them several hours to reach their destination. The rogue cultivator party surprised a couple of fanged rabbit creatures. Joshi hung back and watched as the rogues bludgeoned the creatures to death with their weapons. They infused lux into their weapons from their hands, but it was barely differentiated. Masses of red and orange weren''t so much woven as simply extruded from their hands. No wonder these men had been let go from their sects. They showed no sign of understanding what the purpose of cultivation truly was. They laughed and whooped at their kills, absorbing the lux from the beasts. Joshi avoided taking any of it as he hadn''t helped with the kill.


    Er-Yun noticed. He dropped back as they continued and spoke to Joshi. "You avoided that fight, stranger."


    Joshi shrugged. "I am still cycling the lux from those frogs. I thought I would allow the rest of you to refill your own cores."


    "I am eager to see you in action."


    "The time will come," Joshi said, though he was in no hurry for it.


    Er-Yun peered at him suspiciously. "You must have reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement like us, or you wouldn''t be able to eat the flesh of the beasts in here. You can''t have gone much beyond it."


    Joshi shook his head. "Not yet."


    "Well, we''re hoping the treasure we seek will be enough to propel us farther along the path. That''s why we''re here, risking everything. They said we weren''t worthy to be cultivators. We''ll prove them wrong."


    Joshi noticed as they went, the land gradually rose. It was hard to tell in the thickly dense jungle, but at last, they came to a place where the forest thinned out and finally emerged onto a ridge. A breeze ruffled the other cultivators¡¯ hair and dried the sweat on Joshi''s bald head. He expected sunlight to glint down, but not here in this tower. Like the other floors, lux swirled overhead, dominated here by red and orange, with just hints of yellow and blue.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He took in the ambient lux, straining out all of the violet he could to feed to Magan. The little spirit was still following him, invisible to the others. It accepted the lux gratefully and reassured him that he was in no danger of starving. That was good. If the lux creature could only eat violet, he would have had a very hard time keeping it alive.


    Joshi had heard of great cultivators who had lux spirits bonded to them. The stories were always fantastic but vague on the details. While he was curious what Magan might do when stronger, mostly, he was just happy for the little creature''s constant companionship¡ªa warm presence nuzzling against his mind.


    "We''re almost there," Er-Yun announced.


    The other cultivators cheered. "Let''s stop and eat."


    They stopped, unslinging their packs and rooting around for rations. Joshi was out of the dried meat and cheese Chang-li had given him. He had some strips of frog flesh he had wrapped in leaves and ate those, then began to cycle. The other cultivators followed their meal with a couple of quick iterations of a basic cycling pattern similar to Purification of Mind and Soul. While Joshi was still working on his fifth repetition of Way of Boulders, they stood up.


    "You''re still at it?" one asked, looking surprised.


    "I am," Joshi said, not looking up. "I will be finished soon."


    "You don''t need nearly so many repetitions," Er-Yun said. "Have you been at the Peak of Bodily Refinement long?"


    "A few days," Joshi said.


    "Well, there you are," Er-Yun smiled, folding his arms across his chest with a self-satisfied look. "We''ve been there for months now. It doesn¡¯t take long to realize that without a Path and a dedicated cycling technique, there¡¯s not much point in cycling. Your body refines the impurities, and anything else is fruitless without a proper cycling technique. None of the beginner techniques work well enough to bother with.¡±


    No, Joshi thought as he purified his own lux over and over. That was exactly why these cultivators were on their own. They did not understand the purpose of cultivation, which was always, always to prepare your body for the next step. True, he could quickly refine the lux in his core with a couple of repeated cycles, but by pushing the refined lux through his body, he strengthened his channels, increased his capacity for more, and prepared himself for the next step, which admittedly he wasn''t yet sure how to achieve. Even if the cycling techniques were no longer optimal, it was better than neglecting his cycling as they were.


    The monks had taught him what he needed to get to the Peak of Bodily Refinement. They had told him that after that, he would have to find a sect willing to take him on and teach him their secret Paths. The journey from Bodily Refinement to Mental Refinement was difficult and would require great effort on his part.


    He was looking forward to it and would continue to do what he knew he could to prepare himself, which was to cycle his lux, refining it, making it more pure, and increasing his own ability to handle multiple colors at once. Already, red and orange were easy for him to combine. He would need to add a third and begin using braid techniques before he could hope to reach the Peak of Mental Refinement.


    From what he did know of other cultivators at this step, green was the usual next color to mix with a pair of physical luxes. Green was considered the bridge between the purely physical luxes and the spiritual luxes. More complicated techniques, such as weaving, almost always required a strand of green to tie together the physical and the spiritual luxes. But you couldn''t just slap together luxes and have it do things for you. You had to understand what it was and what it meant to you. So, until Joshi had a technique or an instructor to show him, he would concentrate on deepening his understanding of red lux and orange, of his own body and the weapons he could make of it.


    The rogues were getting impatient. Joshi finished his cycle and stood. "Thank you for indulging me," he said. "So where is this treasure?"


    He expected they would betray him as soon as they had located the treasure, and he would be ready for that. The monks of Hapiru had taught him not to offer violence first, but to never shrink away from a fight that was forced upon him. If they betrayed and tried to kill him, they would regret it. His father and brothers preferred to strike first, and from cover, destroying the stranger before he could become an enemy. It was a harsh philosophy from a harsh land. Rejecting it was one reason he had landed in bonds.


    "It should be just over the ridge," Er-Yun said.


    As they continued up, Joshi kept the rogues in his sight, not allowing them to get behind him. They reached the top of the ridge, and he stared down. A vast crater lay in front of him. It was from an ancient volcano, or perhaps like the place deep into his people''s wild lands that his father had taken him once as a boy. The khan told him a story of how long ago, before the emperor, before any of the great cultivators of legend, a star had fallen here and created a bowl with a lake at its center. The lake was a sacred place of his people, and, as his father said, the star lay there still, waiting for the day when the greatest khan their people had ever seen would come to claim its power.


    He had not thought of that in nearly two decades. Joshi pushed the memory away. The crater was verdant with plant life. In the center rose an enormous nest of what looked like twigs from here. Joshi knew they had to be entire tree trunks created by some huge beast.


    "What is that?" he asked.


    "It is the roc''s nest," Er-Yun said. "We learned about this from a cultivator who had been here on a previous cull. The roc is constantly out hunting for prey to feed its young. It returns to the nest only once a day. The rest of the time, the eggs are unguarded. He said each of the eggs contained enough lumos to elevate a man straight from peak Bodily Refinement to Mental."


    And if Joshi had thought these were fools before, he knew now that they were the worst sort of idiots. "Lumos. The substance that only the emperor and his prisms can safely use? Unaspected lux, the very nature of the universe itself?" he asked skeptically.


    "Yes."


    "The whole purpose of cultivating towers is to break lumos down into lux and then diffuse it throughout the world," Joshi pointed out. "Even if there were reserves of lumos inside the tower, which doesn''t make any sense since the tower is made to break it down, we couldn''t possibly touch it. Our bodies aren''t ready for that sort of power. We''ll be unmade."


    Er-Yun looked stubborn. ¡°That is just what they tell everyone. All of us have been thrown out of our sects and rejected. We will not be able to make it to Mental Refinement on our own. But if we can get this lumos, achieve Mental Refinement, then, then they''ll have to take us back. I''ll show my brother that everything he said about me was wrong."


    Joshi craned his head, looking for the sign of the roc, but the sky was just a massive whirlpool of lux. "Go ahead," he told them. "I want no part of it."


    "More fool you," Er-Yun said. "Come on, time is wasting," he told his fellows, and they began to scramble down.


    Joshi hesitated. Could they possibly be right? No. There were no shortcuts on the Heavenly Path. The Hapiru monks had been very clear about that, and they had prepared him perfectly for reaching the Peak of Bodily Refinement. He would trust their training now. Even if there were lumos to be taken, his body was not ready for it. The change he had made to his body, being reforged to this bodily perfection had only shown him how much more there was to reach. He was keenly aware of his spirit, his mind, as aspects of himself he had not yet mastered. How could he possibly hope to touch the matter of the universe itself and not be unmade in his current form?


    He sat down and cycled, morbidly curious about what would happen when the rogues reached the nest. They made good time, reaching the bottom of the bowl quickly, striking out across it. The underbrush didn''t seem to slow them very much. He estimated it was about half a li to the nest.


    He could spot Er-Yun by the wide grey stripes on his cultivator''s robes, making him easy to pick out against the more sedate patterns of the other four rogues. Er-Yun was the first to reach the nest, which was taller than he by a lot. He started up, climbing from one log to the next. The others quickly joined him. They swarmed up and into the nest. He could see their heads poking out. They were shouting and waving jubilantly.


    And then a shadow passed overhead. Joshi looked up. A bird, a beast, a creature with a wingspan at least a hundred feet passed overhead. It let out a shrill call that froze the marrow in Joshi''s bones. He scrambled to his feet as the roc folded its wings and dove for its nest.


    The rogues screamed. The screams quickly cut off as the beast fell on them. Then, seconds later, it emerged from the nest. Joshi could feel its anger from here, shaking the forest. It screamed, and the sky above resonated.


    The whirlpool reversed course. Red lux poured down from the sky into the bird, shot through with green and blue and hints of the higher colors. The bird grew even wider. Its nest glowed before exploding outward in a shower of branches. Joshi had just time to fall on his face and cover his head with his hands on a shield of red lux as the blast wave struck him. Bits of bark and wood pelted off of his shield.


    When the explosion was past, he sat up carefully. The fiercely angry roc leapt for the sky, leaving behind five smaller versions of itself. The infant rocs were three times Joshi''s height, he guessed, covered in red fuzz with black trim. They stood up on shaking legs and began running about.


    It was vaguely comical, except that two of them were running right at him. They hit the slope and didn''t pause. Joshi leapt to his feet. He pushed red lux through his legs, strengthening him before racing away from the crater as fast as he could.

 38. Cultivating Allies

    Chang-li


    The difficulty with cultivating in a large party quickly became apparent. First, Chang-li had official scribing duties. Li Jiya insisted he record their encounter with the tortoise. One of her acolytes had made his third condensation from the lux gathered, and Chang-li had to note down his name, sect rank, and currently mastered chords.


    They had reached Jiya''s chosen destination, a pleasant grove of tall trees whose bark smelled of cinnamon, their spreading branches sheltering a small glade with less dense underbrush than the usual jungle. Here, the porters and servant worked to set up a small encampment while the two red nobles spoke with Li Jiya about cultivating. Mostly, though, they were complaining.


    "I don''t want to be so far off from everyone else," Lady Shisa said.


    "Are you here to cultivate or to socialize?" Li Jiya asked, probably more harshly than Lady Shisa was used to being addressed.


    The noblewoman''s eyes widened, and she jerked back away from Jiya as though she''d been struck. ¡°How dare you speak to me with such familiarity?"


    "Cultivating is not a game, Noble Lady,¡± Li Jiya said frankly. "It is serious. And if you cannot take it seriously, I will escort you back out of this tower immediately. We have three days here, which can be put to good use to firm up your shaky foundations. It is three days that I will not have to work on my own progression, as I must put your needs first. Now, let us resume your cycling techniques. Seat yourselves on the ground and cross your legs in the receptive position."


    "On the ground?" Lord Jai-lin said, his eyes widening in dismay. "Can we not wait until the servants place a rug?¡±


    "A rug?¡±


    It should be in one of the boxes. It will make it much more comfortable.¡±


    Li Jiya pointed ¡°Seat yourselves."


    The nobles at last obeyed, and Chang-li took the opportunity to sneak off, away from the grove, with Brother Stone. They went off, ostensibly to fetch wood for a fire. The Moon Whisper disciples had checked the nearby environs and pronounced them safe, which was not what Chang-li had wanted to hear.


    "How are we supposed to cultivate with all of these nobles along?" Brother Stone grumbled. "I couldn''t get any of the lux off of that tortoise. By the time the nobles and acolytes were done, the little left had dissipated.¡±


    "We''ll just have to go further afield," Chang-li said. "If anyone notices we were gone, I will say I was making a survey of the plant life in the area to correlate with the levels of Tower Beast activity. That sounds like the sort of thing people expect scribes to do."


    Brother Stone grunted his approval. He carried a heavy wooden walking stick, like the one Chang-li had bought and lost before entering the first floor of the tower. He used it to part bushes as they went. "I hope Elder Sister Min is getting along well in her party. I wish we had been assigned to hers."


    Chang-li was glad to have a little distance between himself and the overly perceptive noblewoman. "I wasn''t in charge of filling out the party rosters," he informed Brother Stone. ¡°She¡¯s in the charge of Li Jen, the brother of our cultivator lady.¡±


    "These Moon Whisper Young Masters leave a better impression than the Jade Lotus. If you''d said she was with Feng, I don''t care what the consequences might have been. I¡¯d be heading back to find her right now."


    "Shh," Chang-li said. "I hear something up ahead."


    Brother Stone froze. Chang-li tried to sense, but the ambient lux here was dense enough he couldn''t get a feel for variations.


    A moment later, an armored creature burst out of the bush at them. It had a shell, something like the tortoise¡¯s, but segmented so it could roll into a ball. It was far faster in movement than a turtle. It rolled over on its own neck and became a ball of red, lux-armored beast.


    Chang-li sprang out of the way, summoning a yellow lux flame to his right hand. Brother Stone reacted well. The orange lux enforced his staff as he swung out with it and struck the beast a hard blow, knocking it back. Chang-li reached out with his flame as the beast flew past, but the flames splashed harmlessly against its armor.


    The beast unrolled from its ball, landing on all fours. Its long tail had a spiked knob at the end, glistening with orange lux. This creature was stronger than the ones he''d fought on the first floor. He could sense that he was going to need more than one color of lux to get through this shell.


    The beast charged them. Brother Stone struck another sharp blow. Chang-li considered summoning his sword from his soulspace but he didn''t want to give away too much to a temporary ally. He would try to do this the hard way.


    Chang-li pulled yellow lux from his core to make another handful of fire. This one he enhanced with orange. He needed to get through that shell. The beast caught a glimpse of him and raced forward, snarling.


    The orange lux refused to bond with the yellow. In disgust, he thrust his burning hand forward into the armored beast''s face as the creature snapped at him with vicious fangs. He could sense blue lux enforcing those fangs. Probably a bite would leave poison festering. "Don''t let it bite you," he called to Brother Stone as the other man came in and smashed the orange lux weapon against the creature''s neck.


    "That''s my plan,¡± Stone snapped back.


    The armored creature jerked back from Chang-li''s flame. He needed a technique here. If he were a proper acolyte, his master would have taught him how to bring his technique to the next level already. He had to get through that shell.


    Wulan''s journal had spoken of his attempts to understand the principles of cultivation that Cultivator Kang was teaching him. Techniques are not strictures to be laid down and followed exactly the same way. They are just different ways to accomplish the same ends, the scribe had written. Cultivating, using lux, is about learning to shape the very fabric of the world around you. The first place to shape that is in your own mind. Perceive what you wish the technique to do, or it will never respond.


    Chang-li imagined a fire pot that could hold a burning ember inside for hours to be carried between camps. He built his fire pot of orange lux. Weapons were just tools. Orange lux could make a blade, or could be a shovel just as easily.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Chang-li understood orange lux. It was familiar to him as his own breath. He wove his chord, orange outside, yellow inside. He saw the armored beast as it reared up, showing a plated underbelly. Its orange-tipped claws menaced Brother Stone.


    Chang-li released his technique splashed against its red lux-enforced belly. The outer case broke through the lux plating. The yellow inner technique unleashed Chang-li''s fire. The creature howled and stumbled.


    Brother Stone took advantage of the opening, driving his staff hard against the weak spot Chang-li had just cut in the beast''s armor. Chang-li came in with a fistful of flame burning. The beast howled and whimpered as it fell to the ground.


    Together, the two cultivators quickly finished it off. They stood panting over the beast as its lux unfolded. "Quick! Draw it in!" Chang-li instructed, taking lux into himself.


    He started with a quick Purification of Mind and Soul, driving away the weariness from the fight and mending his sore muscles. Then he switched to Swirling Mists and felt the lux fill him. There was not enough violet lux here to cycle, much to his regret. But the orange and yellow answered easily.


    He felt he''d come to understand orange just a bit better. As he cycled, concentrating on that new, better understanding, he felt his core condense. Chang-li switched to the Way of Star¡¯s Light technique Joshi had taught him as his core reshaped itself for the third time. He couldn''t help the grin smiling across his face.


    Brother Stone looked up. "What is it?"


    "My core has condensed!¡±


    "Well done.¡± Brother Stone smiled. "I believe I am on the verge of my second condensing myself. You use two different colors of lux already?"


    "A bit," Chang-li admitted.


    "How does a scribe learn such things?" Brother Stone asked. "The Brotherhood has connections with cultivators and they are able to get training for our most promising members. But I would not expect you to have such skills. Who taught you?¡±


    Chang-li shrugged. "Scribes read a lot of books," he suggested.


    Brother Stone''s eyes narrowed, but he nodded agreement. "Keep your secrets if you wish," he said. "Shall we go back?"


    Chang-li desperately wanted to go on. He had already taken two important steps along his path. He wanted more. He wanted to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement. But it would still be some time between his third core condensing and that peak. He did have his identity as a scribe to protect.


    "All right," he agreed. "Let''s go back."


    <hr>


    Hiroko


    Feng was everything Joshi and Chang-li had said, and more. Hiroko had suspected as much before they even entered the tower, and his preening behavior and authoritarian manner toward everyone he considered lesser convinced her all their aspersions were true. He ordered his underlings¡ªthe porters, servants, and guards¡ªto help out, all with the same tone of dismissiveness. To Hiroko and the Dowager Pearl, he was deferential, almost servile. But as he pranced around, she found herself detesting the young man.


    This was the strongest cultivator present at the tower? This was what one of the sects who served the Emperor put forth as a hope for the future? Hiroko was not impressed. It was Hiroko''s duty to wed a cultivator who could be part of the great tapestry of the Empire, protecting the people, serving the Emperor, and advancing himself. But the only part of that Feng seemed likely to master was his own advancement. He boasted constantly of how, having reached the Peak of Mental Refinement, he would easily be able to take care of this largest of the cultivating groups.


    "As soon as all of this is settled and situated, I shall venture forth and bring back a tower beast for you," he boasted to Hiroko. "Which of the physical luxes do you prefer to cycle?"


    "None," Hiroko said quietly. "My preferred lux is blue. I have reached the second condension of my core in the Emperor''s Tower with my techniques." Of course, she had actually condensed her core here in this very tower with the help of Chang-li and Joshi, but she wasn''t going to tell Feng that truth. She wished now for Joshi''s guidance. It felt as though her third condensing was very far away. There was ambient blue here, but not much of it. Still, she cycled what she could, using the purification of mind and soul technique.


    "Ah," Feng said, clearly discomfited. "Yes. So. Blue. I believe that is more common on the higher floors of this tower. Perhaps after we cultivators have made our mark on the fourth floor and it is considered safe, we can repeat this expedition. I would be happy to escort you as many times as you wish."


    Hiroko turned her face away and concentrated on her own cycling. Feng disappeared. The whole camp seemed relieved, bustling about their tasks twice as quickly now without his constant interference and intervention.


    The Dowager sat on a small stool which had been carried in for her own comfort. "Things seemed to have changed greatly since I was young," she grumbled. "Why, when I was reaching for Mental Refinement, I considered myself a servant of all, not master, as Feng seems to think."


    All of the women chosen to serve as the Emperor''s consorts were, of course, cultivators themselves, having achieved the mastery of Mental Refinement at a young enough age to show promise. Hiroko suspected that Young Master Li Jiya might be hoping to compete at one of the contests to be selected as an Imperial consort herself. It would mean an end to her own journey of cultivation, but the Dowager Pearls all held positions of great importance within the Empire. Some, like Hiroko''s own grandmother, came from outside the Empire itself, serving as ambassadors from their homelands. But it was easy to forget that the Dowager Pearl had, in fact, advanced to that rank.


    "My brother''s sect, at least, still has some standards," the Dowager was saying. "Li Jiya and Li Jen are a credit to him. I do hope you will consider Li Jen, my dear." She fixed Hiroko with her gaze.


    Hiroko bowed her head. "I shall, of course," she said, and was saved from any further conversation by Feng''s reappearance. As promised, he had with him a tower beast, an angry, yowling cat bound by cords of braided blue and red lux. He deposited it on the ground as some of the servants flinched and screamed.


    ¡°Enough of that," he shouted. "Acolytes, come, finish this creature so the princess may partake."


    His acolytes sprang forward with knives and slit the creature''s throat. As its lifeblood and its lux streamed from its body, Hiroko took in what she could. It did have a bit of blue, enough for her to cycle. She also worked on cycling the red on its own. Her dumpling technique was a good trick, but she needed to learn to cycle the other colors of lux if she were to progress. The Dowager considered her with approval. "You have paid attention to your studies."


    Meanwhile, Feng was shouting at his acolytes. "No, fools, not the Way of Nine. Don¡¯t you see that the balance of orange and yellow is all wrong for that? Use the Way of a Still Pond." He looked up angrily as another group approached their encampment.


    Li Jen, the young master of the Moon Whispers sect, led his interested people to the clearing in the jungle where Hiroko waited. The porters and servants mingled together freely. Feng and his disciples drew back sharply. "What are you doing here?"


    "The same as you," Young Master Li said simply. He bowed low toward the Dowager. "Honored Great Aunt, I beg your indulgence."


    The Dowager Pearl rose. "Of course," she said happily. "Come and join us."


    The only noble with Li Jen was Red Lady Min. She held herself off to the side as Jen spoke with the Dowager, and Feng stood by glaring. Hiroko rose and joined Min, hoping that the enmity between the other woman and Feng would keep the pompous cultivator at bay.


    "How do you find this, Lady Min?" she asked politely.


    "Exhilarating," Min replied. "I hadn''t realized what it actually felt like to cycle lux. I''ve practiced my cycling techniques all my life, of course, but the difference between outside the tower and here, even just the ambience of the lux, is astonishing.¡±


    ¡°What technique do you use?"


    ¡°The Way of the Faithful, of course," Min said.


    Hiroko recalled what Joshi had said and winced. "I have a technique taught to me by imperial tutors," she lied. "It''s much better. Try this." She walked Min through the steps of Purification of Mind and Soul. Min''s eyes widened as she grasped the pattern, and Hiroko could feel the difference as she began freely moving the lux about in her body.


    ¡°The first step is to learn to perceive the colors of lux inside yourself and determine your own attunement," Hiroko said. "Everyone is naturally more attuned to one lux color or another. See if you can begin to tell them apart. That technique will help."


    "Thank you, my lady," Min said, and she sounded truly grateful. "I owe you a favor."


    Hiroko was going to laugh that off, but the way Min said it felt as though she were being offered a great prize. "I''ll remember that," she said.

 39. A Feathery Foe

    Chang-li rejoined the group. He and Brother Stone said nothing about their fight. Instead, he waited as Li Jiya and her acolytes went out, found a beast similar to the one he and Brother Stone had fought, and dragged it back for the delight of the young nobles. Chang-li watched hungrily as the nobles wasted most of the lux. Their cycling technique was terrible, and they couldn''t absorb even a fraction of what the tower beast offered.


    Bringing them into the third floor was like feeding a mouse the meal meant for a man. They were doing nothing to earn their own lux. Now he saw how being forced to fight for survival had strengthened him. He was resolved. He would walk this path properly.


    He did need help. Trying to develop his own techniques at this stage was a fool''s game. He would find a master or sect willing to take him on once he reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement. It wasn''t completely unheard of for a scribe to become a cultivator, and every sect needed trained scribes, as he knew from Wulan''s journal. It was just that they usually didn''t bother with the hard work of cultivating.


    With a license, even a forged one, Chang-li could find a home in some small sect and make his rise. It would be easier to get the rest of the license endorsements he needed with the backing of a real sect. But that was for later. Right now, he had to reach Bodily Refinement. If he and Brother Stone could steal away and make a few more kills, perhaps he would have a chance of achieving it on this trip. If not ¡ª well, he was getting better and better at altering records.


    After the nobles finished their cultivating, Chang-li handed out purification rations to everyone. He consumed his and cycled it through his body, cleansing his own lux channels, and was pleased to feel how much stronger they already were.


    Lord Jai-lin had produced a lute from somewhere and was strumming, singing a ballad to the irritated-looking Li Jiya when the blood-curdling screech rent the air. Everyone leapt up. Chang-li filled himself with refined orange and yellow lux, ready for an attack. He could feel a disturbance in the lux all around him, as though a storm wind had shaken up the environment.


    "Everyone together," Li Jiya snapped. "Nobles and servants in the center, anyone who can fight in a ring around them, disciples with me." She took off, bursting out of the grove, her disciples on her heels.


    Lord Jai-lin and Lady Shisa were exclaiming loudly, "What''s going on? Did she just leave us? What''s happening?"


    Li Jiya burst back through the trees. "Retreat," she ordered. "Back to the tower entrance. Disciple Yan will lead you. I will cover."


    "What''s going on?"


    "It may be a tower eruption," Li Jiya said before disappearing again.


    That got everyone shouting and fussing. Chang-li''s heart hammered. He snatched up his satchel, intent on keeping Wulan''s scribe case safe. As Disciple Yan urged them, he fled with the rest from the clearing.


    Brother Stone was at his side. "An eruption?" the Brotherhood man said. "The whole camp could be in danger, and the city below. I thought this floor had been purged enough to make an eruption unlikely."


    Chang-li shook his head, not bothering to waste breath speaking about things they couldn''t possibly know. They were out of the grove and into the jungle. It was a repeat of that first terrified flight. But now Chang-li wasn''t helpless. In fact¡­ his steps slowed. He was running the wrong way. He wanted to fight.


    "We should help Li Jiya," he said. "We can fight."


    "Are you mad? She said to run.¡±


    ¡°She told the others to run. But we''re licensed and expected to be capable of handling ourselves on this floor, remember?"


    "Under the instruction of a Young Master of a suitable rank, yes."


    "Well, then let''s go find her and get our instruction," Chang-li snapped as he started off the other way, not bothering to see if Brother Stone followed him. The disturbed strands of lux seemed to be urging him toward the direction Jiya had gone. It was like whatever had started this was pulling in the lux all around. Was that even possible?


    Chang-li ran, cycling red through his body to keep his lungs and muscles fresh. The jungle brush ripped at his scribe''s robes, but he didn''t care. As he plunged forward, he heard the sounds of fighting up ahead, inhuman shrieks and the shouts of the cultivators.


    He burst through a surrounding thicket and found the fight. Li Jiya and her two disciples were facing two enormous bird creatures. Each of them was at least twice as tall as a man, and they glowed bright with lux. Their downy pin feathers marked them as chicks, but these babies were terrible monsters already. One scratched at Jiya''s disciple, showering him with dirt from its enormous claws as it came within inches of catching him.


    The other was pecking like an enormous overgrown chicken; its beak snapped closed on Jiya''s arm, lifting her from the ground. She shouted in pain, her lux weapon dissolving into fragments.


    Chang-li rushed in. His right hand glowed as he hurled his new Fire Pot technique. The orange casing shattered against the bird, and the yellow inner flame licked its feathers briefly before burning out. This creature was much stronger than the armored beast he and Brother Stone had fought.


    "You fool, run," Jiya shouted, but Chang-li ignored her. She was striking the bird in its face, trying to get it to release her.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    He turned, reaching into his soul space and drawing his sword. Secrecy wasn''t important. If he didn''t help, then Li Jiya and her disciples would die, and he had no doubt the beasts would track down the rest of the party and kill them too. The thought of trying to escape didn''t even cross his mind. He would not leave his party to the mercy of tower beasts the way young Master Feng had.


    Chang-li''s sword glowed with the orange lux he laced it with. He cycled red and strengthened his body as he threw himself forward. There was no art in this, no subtle weaving together of lux. He was just grabbing as much as he could and throwing himself into the attack.


    The bird turned, dropping Jiya. She sprang up and wove a three-lux technique as Chang-li swung his sword left-handed against the bird''s leg. The sword bit in. Blood welled from the cut he''d made.


    The bird screeched again, shattering Chang-li''s eardrums in a wave of agony. He fought through the pain as he followed up with a fistful of flame right into the cut, bypassing the bird''s defenses and burning it inside. It lifted its wounded leg as it ineffectively flapped its arms. Then it came darting downward, stabbing at Chang-li with its beak.


    Jiya threw a technique, blasting its head to the side. Chang-li shouted and stabbed upward. His sword took it through the eye. Jiya took the opening. She yelled aloud, and her weapon reformed in her hand. She leapt fifteen feet in the air and seemed to hover there a second before coming down hard, smashing the weapon against the bird''s neck. It severed the head in one swoop.


    More lux than Chang-li had ever seen in one place coiled out of the bird''s carcass. Instinctively, he opened himself to it, cycling even as he turned to face the second bird.


    One of Li Jiya''s disciples was on the ground, bleeding. The other stood over him, trying to protect him. The bird was poised for the kill, one claw raised as Chang-li shouted and threw a Firepot technique at the beast''s body. Li Jiya drove forward, hitting the creature hard again.


    Jiya dove forward as the bird swooped down on her disciples. She threw her own body in between them and it while projecting out a red lux shield. It was only a single color, but Chang-li could see she had braided it together as though weaving multiple colors of lux. It flew out like a net. The bird struck and bounced off.


    Jiya screamed and swung her weapon. She caught the bird on the leg, gouging a deep wound like she was felling a tree. Chang-li formed another Firepot technique and lobbed it at the bird''s face. To his surprise, rather than ducking, the bird snapped at the ball of lux. It exploded in the creature''s maw, knocking it backward. The bird let out a "chweep!" of surprise that Chang-li could hear even through his ringing, bleeding ears.


    Despite the terror of their situation, Chang-li nearly laughed. The chick seemed to have expected a tasty lux treat and instead received a fireball to the face.


    Jiya wasn''t laughing. She used the butt of her weapon as a pole, jabbing it into the ground and leaping, propelling herself forward. Her weapon dissolved as it left her hand. She summoned it again in midair. Chang-li found himself admiring her technique, then recalled himself. He was in a fight for his life here. He raced forward to the two downed cultivators and helped the less injured man pull his friend to safety.


    Brother Stone emerged from the bushes, holding his staff tightly in white-knuckled hands, looking nervous. "Protect him," Chang-li told Brother Stone. The Brotherhood man looked relieved to have something to do that didn¡¯t involve charging at the monstrous bird. Then Chang-li and Jiya''s other disciple turned back.


    Jiya had leapt to the overhanging branches of a tree. From here, she was hurling tiny lux daggers at the bird. Chang-li formed another Firepot and threw it. This time, the bird ducked. The firepot exploded on the ground at its feet, sending up a spray of dirt and leaves.


    Jiya leapt from her branch, holding her weapon blade down. She fell onto the top of the bird; her weapon sliced deep, severing one wing. She sprang off its back, landing in a crouch on the floor of the forest. The bird, enraged, chased her, blood dripping from its severed wing.


    Chang-li raced forward. He slashed his sword against the same wound Jiya had inflicted on the bird''s leg, deepening it, and then hacked again. The bird''s leg buckled. Now standing on just one leg, with one wing flapping ineffectively, it was a pitiful sight, but still dangerous. The bird snapped at Chang-li. He dodged, but not quite far enough. The bird''s beak closed on the edge of his robe and ripped it wide open. His clothes fell in tatters. His modesty was only saved by the belt about his waist, which kept the lower half of his tunic wrapped tight around his midsection.


    Furious, Chang-li summoned yellow lux flame to his right hand. He stabbed the bird''s leg as deeply as he could with his sword, then held his fire to the wound. The bird cried and hopped away from him.


    Jiya was there; her blade sliced. The bird''s leg was severed, and it fell hard to the jungle floor. She enhanced her weapon with a technique and drove the point of her blade into the bird''s fluffy chest. A moment later, it was done.


    They stood there, panting heavily, Chang-li absorbing the lux from the bird instinctively, cycling Purification of Mind and Soul to heal his wounds.


    Jiya stared at him. She was clearly cycling herself. After a moment, she looked less weary. She straightened up and dismissed her weapon.


    "What sort of scribe are you?" she said, her gaze traveling to his sword.


    He shoved the blade behind his back, too late of course, and shook his head. "The others. We need to get back to them."


    Her eyes widened. Jiya swore. "Yes, the nobles and the servants. There could be more of these beasts. I''ve never seen anything like them on this floor before.¡±


    "What do you think has happened?" Chang-li asked as he followed her.


    She checked on her disciples. The wounded one was nearly unconscious. Jiya frowned. "Can you two help him?" she asked Brother Stone and her other disciple. The pair nodded. "Get him to the exit. I''m going after the rest of the party. Try not to run into any more of these things," she advised them, then took off, Chang-li following her. He took a moment to tuck his sword back into his soulspace when she wasn''t looking. Hopefully, she would think it was a technique he had summoned and not an actual weapon.


    They raced through the forest.


    "I think one of two things has happened," Jiya said. "Either someone found a special champion and failed its test, unleashing it on the floor, or we''re about to experience a tower eruption. The cultivation master said it was possible, though my grandmaster did not believe it would happen until a later floor."


    "Which of those is worse?" Chang-li asked.


    "Well, an eruption could spill outside of the tower. If it''s large enough, it could even threaten Golden Moon City. But a champion on the loose is no joke. Champions are always at least the difficulty you would expect of the next floor above, and when a champion''s challenge is failed, it enrages. That might be what''s causing the lux disturbances we''re seeing, or that could be a symptom of the tower eruption. Either way, it''s not good."


    She certainly had a gift for understatement. Chang-li kept his eyes open as they fled. Far overhead, another piercing screech broke the jungle.


    "I don''t think we killed all of them," he said grimly. "Those were babies. If this is a failed challenge champion, then one or both of their parents are likely out there. We need to evacuate the tower at once."

 40. The Next Step

    Hiroko was in the middle of a sentence when she felt the lux patterns shift. She broke off. "Is everything alright, my lady?" Min asked, frowning at her.


    "Do you feel..." Hiroko paused as a terrifying screech rent the air. Li Jen leapt up from where he had been conversing with the Dowager Pearl. Young Master Feng shouted for his disciples.


    "What''s wrong?" Min asked. "What''s happened?"


    "Great ones, please," Li Jen said, beckoning to them. "Please, remain calm." He turned to Feng. "We must evacuate at once."


    "We don''t even know what''s the matter yet," Feng contradicted. "There''s no need to frighten the Gems."


    "You felt the strength of that lux disruption," Li Jen argued. "Whatever''s happened, they shouldn''t be here. We must escort them to safety and then return to face whatever this is."


    Feng was looking stubborn. "My disciples and I will take care of whatever threat has emerged. You forget, Li Jen, that I have reached the Peak of Mental Refinement."


    "Li Jen is correct," the Dowager Pearl said. "Any cultivator with sense knows that the sort of lux disruption could precede a tower eruption. We must get clear and return to the camp. If it''s an eruption, the bridge will have to be taken down to protect the camp, and we don''t want to be trapped on the wrong side of that."


    "Of course, Great One," Feng said, visibly deflating. "We should¡ª"


    Hiroko felt it, something enormously powerful passing overhead. She looked up and saw a glimpse of huge, dark wings. The cultivators were looking up as well. Li Jen swore. "Too late. We''ll have to fight it here."


    The servants were screaming and running. Lady Min studied the surroundings with a calm gaze.


    "At least we need a more defensible location," Li Jen said. "Feng, you and your¡ª"


    But he was speaking to air. Feng had raced from the clearing in the direction of the creature, his disciples following in his wake.


    Li Jen started to shout orders, when an enormous, four-span, tall bird burst into the clearing. Most of the servants scattered. Li Jen and his disciples raced toward the creature, drawing or summoning weapons and weaving techniques.


    The Dowager Pearl turned and faced it down. She pushed the sleeves of her robes back and began to weave together a technique. "You girls stay behind me," she said calmly to Min and Hiroko.


    Min''s eyes were wide. "What should we do?"


    But Hiroko didn''t have an answer for her. The bird screamed a shriller version of the cry that had rent the air a few minutes ago and lunged at the cultivators. Its beak stabbed one of Li Jen''s disciples, and the woman fell to the ground.


    Hiroko acted without thinking. She raced forward, already constructing her weave. Touching the fallen cultivator made it easier to put her at one end of the weave. Hiroko lashed out and tried to catch the bird with the other end, but this creature was so much more powerful than the one she had faced on the first floor of the tower. It was like trying to throw a bridle on a rampaging elephant. Her technique slipped from her grasp.


    The woman''s wound went deep in her chest. Blood bubbled upward, soaking her robes. Her face was coated with the bloody spit that emerged from her mouth. This was bad. The wound would be fatal in moments.


    Hiroko tried again. As Li Jen and the Dowager''s own attacks landed on the bird, hers slipped in between the cracks and made a connection. She felt at once the life force draining from the bird into the fallen woman and tried to wrestle it under her control.


    There was so much lux here, far more than she''d ever handled. She was a conduit too narrow for the flood. The lux poured through her as she mediated between the bird and the woman. She cycled furiously, trying to purify the lux before she fed it into the woman. Her channels threatened to burst, but she would not let go. She would not let this woman die.


    Hiroko felt her core change as it condensed for a third time. Now suddenly the streams of lux were manageable. There wasn''t any less of it, nor was she any larger a conduit, but she could force the lux denser, her core more able to pack it in.


    She continued siphoning life from the bird as Li Jen and the Dowager took it on. Behind her, Min was muttering something to herself. Hiroko couldn''t take attention off her targets. The cultivator''s bleeding slowed. Her breathing rhythm became more natural. Hiroko watched carefully as the wound knitted itself back together, then severed her technique, cutting off the woman before letting the bird go.


    She slumped to the ground. Min was there, helping her up. "Are you all right? How did you do that? What did you do?"


    Hiroko merely shook her head, too tired to answer. As the Dowager¡¯s technique sliced the bird¡¯s head cleanly from its body, she drank in its lux. Blue flooded her, so much of it, along with the other colors. She gasped and cycled, her exhaustion fleeing as she did. Her channels were getting clogged with lux contamination again, but it would be a while before she needed a purification ration.


    She straightened up, shaking Min¡¯s hand from her shoulder, as the Dowager and Li Jen turned back to them. ¡°Where are the others?¡± the Dowager asked.


    ¡°Most of them went that way,¡± Min said, pointing.


    ¡°Fools! There could be more of the small ones out there,¡± the Dowager snapped, then turned to Li Jen. ¡°You fetch them. The girls and I will make our way to safety.¡±


    ¡°But ¡ª¡±


    ¡°We will be fine.¡± The dowager wove a quick four-color technique between her fingers and released it. Hiroko didn¡¯t know what it was for, but it looked fancy. ¡°You¡¯re wasting time, great-nephew. Go!¡±


    Chang-li and Jiya swiftly caught up with their fleeing party. Jiya urged them forward. The nobles were having a hard time of it. Lord Jai-lin had his silk robes hiked up, and they were catching on brambles as he ran. As Chang-li tried to help him along, the robe became stuck for the dozenth time. Frustrated, Chang-li ripped it from the noble''s shoulders, leaving him standing in his white undergarments. A look of fear passed over Jai-lin''s face. "You, cultivator, what are you doing?¡±


    Chang-li was taken aback to be referred to as a cultivator. He realized he didn''t look much like a scribe right now with his own robe half stripped away, though he did still carry his satchel slung around him. "Worry about your dignity after we''ve escaped," he told Jai-lin roughly. "Come."


    He and the nobles scrambled to catch up with the rest of the party. Screeches echoed through the jungle¡ªthe loud, deep call of whatever the parent bird was, and at least two echoing juvenile screeches. Chang-li thought they must be almost back to the jungle.


    "It''s ahead of us!" he hissed.


    There, an enormous bird creature clashed with half a dozen cultivators. It had to be the parent of the hatchlings they had killed. Its plumage was all colors of the spectrum in bands radiating out from its neck. It was like a great eagle, only the size of no bird that had ever existed in the outside world. This creature''s wingspan had to be at least 15 spans. Its body was larger than a house. It threw back its head, shrieked, and then, as Chang-li''s hands went to his ears to protect them, it spat a ball of fire from its mouth at three of the cultivators in front of it.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Two of them dodged it. Chang-li recognized Young Master Feng. The third was caught. She screamed as her robes and hair caught fire. The bird reared up as she fell to the ground. One of the other cultivators raced to her side, beating at the flames, and another unleashed a yellow and red technique that poured water all over her, extinguishing the flames.


    "What do we do?" one of the porters asked Jiya nervously.


    "Stay here," she said, her face set. "I''ll have to face it. We''ll try to draw it off. If we do, run for the exit." She sprang forward.


    Chang-li was debating joining her. He could not let these other cultivators catch sight of his sword, though. Then, close by, he heard one of the infants scream. As it burst through the brush, he hurried to face it. It was chasing something, he saw as he stumbled closer to it.


    To his horror, he made out the figures of Brother Stone and Jiya''s two disciples, stumbling through the jungle. The bird was chasing them, its mouth wide open, as though they were worms it was about to gobble up. Chang-li didn''t hesitate. He ran forward, weaving a Firepot technique and tossing it straight at the bird''s open mouth. The technique hit square in the gullet and exploded.


    The bird gave an angry squawk. It looked about as Brother Stone and the two disciples joined the rest of the group. Another larger party came to join from the other side. Their cultivators hurried to Chang-li''s aid. To his shock, one of them was the Dowager Pearl, her sleeves rolled up and her hair falling loose from its tight bun. She glared at the creature. "You overgrown chicken," she called at it. "Li Jen, take it on the right. Keep it confused. Bind it with that illusion technique your grandfather taught you."


    "Yes, Revered Pearl," Li Jen called.


    The Dowager noticed Chang-li. "You, who are you? What sect are you with? I don''t recognize you."


    Chang-li said desperately, "I''m one of the scribes."


    "What are you doing here, fool boy? Get back.¡± She braided a three-color technique and sent it lashing at the giant chick. It hit the beast''s legs and wove upward with strands of red lux that tugged at the beast while blue ate away its outer armor. The bird squawked. Chang-li threw another Firepot into the creature''s open mouth.


    "Well, there''s an odd technique for a scribe," the Dowager observed as she cast an indigo and yellow braid held together with green. For an instant, Chang-li was seeing double. Then the technique wrapped around the bird''s eyes. It must be an illusion spell.


    Li Jen moved in, casting his own illusion copy. Now there were three of him in the forest clearing, all attacking the beast with long orange-enforced versions of Chang-li''s sword.


    In seconds, the bird was down, its bleeding carcass streaming lux ribbons skyward. Chang-li scooping up as much of the free lux as he could. The Dowager looked him over. ¡°Just where does a scribe learn a technique like that?"


    "From books," Chang-li said desperately and bowed low. "Forgive this one, revered Pearl. I acted to protect the others."


    "And you''ve done better than many so-called acolytes," she observed. "Don''t stand around talking,¡± she snapped to Li Jen and Lie Jiya. ¡°There might be more out there! Get back to your charges!¡±


    They hurried back to the others. By now, almost all of the nobles, workers and guards who had left the cultivation camp this morning were here, waiting for a chance to escape. Chang-li didn''t see Hiroko, who should have been with the Dowager. He looked around until, to his horror, he spotted her.


    She was at the edge of the clear area where the cultivators faced the enormous monster bird, kneeling beside a wounded woman, trying to form a technique. Min was there, tugging at her arm, urging her back to safety. Hiroko didn''t seem to notice.


    The Dowager''s eyes were drawn to the princess. "What is that fool girl doing?" she hissed. "She''ll be killed. Somone get in there. Protect her."


    Just then, the bird reared back, flapping its wings, sending a violent gust of wind that knocked the cultivators back. Chang-li shielded his face with his arms as branches and sticks were hurled at him. His bare arms received half a dozen shallow cuts.


    The bird screeched louder than before. Chang-li was stunned. His arms fell to his side. He was frozen in place. So were those with him. From the smell, some of them had lost control of their bowels. He summoned his will, trying to force himself to move, but he was frozen in place.


    The bird snapped three times in quick succession, cutting two cultivator disciples in half. Chang-li watched them die in horror, unable to even react. The third time, it was met by a shielding technique from Young Master Feng. The Soaring Heavens cultivator stood tall, lux flaring off of his body as he laughed in the face of the monster bird.


    "I defy you and call the heavens as my witness,¡± he roared. ¡°You will feel the power of my soul!¡±


    He launched a complicated technique straight at the bird. It landed square in the center of the bird''s chest and knocked it backward. Despite the enmity he had for Feng, Chang-li was impressed. The Young Master raced in. His weapon was an enormous sword nearly as tall as he was. He held it with two hands on the outsized handle, reinforcing himself with red lux.


    The edge of the sword shimmered both orange and yellow as he struck. The blow cut a deep wound on the bird, which leapt upward, the force of its downdraft knocking down Feng and the other cultivators. It lifted into the air, screaming.


    "Run!" one of the porters yelled and raced forward through the clearing. A bunch of the others followed hot on his heels.


    "Wait!" Chang-li shouted, but too late. They broke out into the clear space and the bird overhead launched a fireball straight into their midst. Three of them were charred to ash instantly. Others, taking glancing blows, burst into flames. They fell to the ground, screaming and writhing. A few made it all the way to the exit and vanished.


    Meanwhile, Min and Hiroko were still at the edge of the clearing, now on their own with none of the cultivators to protect them. The bird was circling overhead. It pulled its wings in and began to dive.


    Chang-li raced forward. He wasn''t sure what he could do, and he was going to be too late. The bird was coming straight down at Hiroko, who didn''t seem to have noticed. Min did, though. She screamed and pulled Hiroko back. It wouldn''t be enough.


    Chang-li raced forward, even though he didn¡¯t know what he was going to do. He threw another Firepot technique. It exploded, throwing up a cloud of smoke. He drew in more lux, desperately cycling to purify it. There wasn¡¯t enough yellow for another Firepot yet. He had plenty of red, though, and some orange. So be it. He reached into his soulspace and pulled out his sword. Chang-li channeled red and orange lux to his left hand, enforcing the blade with orange as he strengthened himself. The bird was coming for Min and Hiroko again, reaching toward them with a talon.


    His sword could not stop the bird''s talon, but he had to try. He seized everything he could, draining his core, infusing the edge of his sword with orange lux, and strengthening his arm to take the blow. He didn''t bother trying to protect the rest of his body.


    The claw fell on him. The bird screamed again. Its shriek shook him to his core, his channels echoing with its power. The claw met the sword and the blow pushed Chang-li back. He planted his right foot and refused to be moved, channeling red lux into his heels in an attempt to keep himself planted.


    He felt his sword bite. It sliced through the bird¡¯s claw. Its blood showered down on him, coating him. It splattered his eyes and his face. He scrambled backward, using his right hand to wipe his face clear as the bird screamed and flapped its wings, knocking him and the girls back.


    There was a burning sensation in his eyes and mouth. The bird''s blood was too full of lux. He cycled madly, trying to wash away the impurities as the blood streamed through him, boiling inside his lux channels, blasting away the impurities, scouring them. He cycled frantically. The Purification of Mind and Soul technique Joshi had first taught him was the only thing he could think of.


    Time seemed to slow as he flew backward, helpless against the power the bird unleashed. The roc''s wings lifted and froze. Chang-li was suspended in midair as his core filled with the roc''s too-strong lux. It was going to destroy him from the inside out.


    He would not be destroyed.


    Chang-li switched to the Swirling Mists technique, venting the lux through his damaged channels as hard and fast as he could, pushing it out like he was a a boiling kettle spurting steam from its spout. He felt his body being destroyed even as he cycled, and knew this would leave him a cripple or dead. The bird¡¯s blood was too rich in dense lux, poison to a mere mortal like Chang-li.


    He wasn''t going to give up. He seized the last bits of violet lux in his channels and as much as he could gather from the air around him, pulled it into his core, condensed it as much as he could, then thrust it out into his lux channels. It swept through him like a cooling mist, soothing the damaged channels. At the same time, his core shuddered inside him.


    Everything changed.


    Chang-li screamed as every cell in his body was remade. If the pain in his channels had been agony before, now it threatened to undo him. He hung suspended in nothingness, feeling the lux reshape him. He would not let it destroy him. He was the master of his body. He would survive this.


    Then the pain abated. His core returned to normal. No, it had changed. It was denser, deeper. His lux channels felt stronger. It was like when his core had condensed, but more so.


    He was unconsciously continuing his cycling. Chang-li felt the lux filling up his core and marveled. There was so much of it. It was so dense.He had reached Bodily Perfection. The lux blood should have destroyed him, yet it had instead remade him. He was a cultivator for real now.


    But during his distraction, the bird should have destroyed him. He was lying on his back in the clearing. The bird was screaming in anger.


    Cautiously, he sat up and blinked. Dust formed a cloud, obscuring the whole clearing. As the dust settled, he saw the enormous red lux shell shielding the two girls. There was a man standing in front of them, holding up the shell, his bare arms raised protectively, his bald head gleaming as the lux boiled off him almost as strongly as it had off of Feng.


    Joshi had arrived.

 41. Strike!

    Joshi


    Joshi had not meant to lead the bird straight into a bunch of people. Why were there so many here? And not even all were cultivators.


    He''d been running for his life. The roc and its babies chasing him through the jungle.He hoped he could give it a slip, but every time he veered off left or right one of the young was there forcing him forward.


    He had just recognized the place where he was as near the breach in the tower wall, when he stumbled and fell. He expected the roc to be on him. Instead it soared overhead, shrieking.


    He lay waiting for a long moment before getting cautiously to his feet. Off to either side he heard shouts and yelling, and the squawks of the young birds. They had found other cultivating parties. He hoped the cultivators were up to it.


    Joshi followed the sounds. Careful not to come out of the undergrowth, he found himself looking through a fight to the breach in the tower wall. Between him and the breach was the roc and a bunch of cultivators. He recognized Young Master Feng, but there were a lot of others as well. They darted around the bird blinding it with techniques throwing fiery or explosive attacks or charging it with their weapons.


    And then he saw Hiroko. She was kneeling beside a wounded cultivator. Another noblewoman tugging at her, trying to get her back to safety. But Hiroko wasn''t concerned for her own safety. She was trying to save the life of the wounded woman. Her spell technique was bound at one end to the woman. The other she was trying desperately to connect with the roc. Joshi could tell it wasn''t going to work. The roc was an opponent far too strong for her. She''d never be able to snare it in her technique, which left her open and vulnerable.


    Magan hovered over his shoulder worrying unhappily. "They''ve got this," he told the little creature. "There''s no need for us to reveal ourselves." Still, he cycled his lux, concentrating.


    Then the roc rose up into the air and all manner of hells broke loose. A bunch of the servants made a break for the breach in the wall, only to be hit with a blast of flame from the roc. Feng and a couple of the other cultivators were trying to attack, launching arrow-like techniques at the enormous bird. They bounced harmlessly off of its many-colored feathers. It folded its wings and came diving down straight at Hiroko.


    Joshi didn''t pause to think. He raced forward, channeling as much lux as he possibly could. He threw all the red lux he could force through his channels into a shield, pushing out through both hands, his head, even his feet. It was by far the largest shield he had ever attempted. He envisioned it wrapping all around himself and both women. Strengthening it as much as he could, he instinctively wove in green lux.


    When the roc struck the shield it shook him, forcing him to take a step back. But the shield held.


    And then the other cultivators came in. "Get out of here!" he shouted to Hiroko over his shoulder. "I''ll cover you." She scrambled to her feet, looking terrified. The girl with her tugged on her arm. Joshi backed away keeping the shield up as the other cultivators circled the roc.


    Feng was shouting orders. Joshi couldn''t hear anything he said over the roc''s screeches. Over to the left an older woman in black robes was flanked by two younger cultivators both wearing yellow and blue striped robes. They were protecting her as she wove together an intricate weave suffused with indigo and blue.


    And there was Chang-li. He was naked to the waist, covered in blood and ashes. His face was lit with an inner light. He hurled a ball of lux at the roc and it shattered against the creature''s face, exploding. The roc screamed and batted at its face with one wing.


    Feng took advantage. He swung his man-tall sword and severed the wing. The roc screeched again knocking everyone backwards. They had wounded it. They had to keep fighting.


    Joshi pulled in more ambient lux as the black-robed woman unleashed her weave. Her technique was huge. It wrapped around the bird encasing it in indigo. Chang-li was at Joshi''s side now. "She''s using an illusion spell!" he shouted. "It should be dazed."


    ¡°What can I do to help?¡±


    "Can you get me up to it?"


    "I''ll shield you," Joshi said. He threw up a shield. As the bird continued to screech, it began turning in place, clawing at its face with its one remaining wing its talons kicked up a hail of dirt and rocs. They bounced off of Joshi''s shield as he and Chang-li moved against the heavy wind.


    They were nearly there. Chang-li was weaving a technique. It was bigger than the previous fireball, much bigger, a shell of orange filled with yellow.


    Feng raced past them swinging his sword. He struck the bird again. His blade, laced with yellow and orange lux, sliced through the black-robed woman''s pattern, and it fell in pieces.


    The bird''s eyes fell suddenly on them. It lashed out. Feng leapt high, coming down atop the bird''s head. He struck it with his sword, but with no apparent impact. The bird opened its mouth to swallow up Joshi and Chang-li.


    "Now!" Chang-li shouted. Joshi dropped his shield. Chang-li stepped forward, thrusting his hands out and shoved his technique into the roc''s gaping mouth like he was feeding it an enormous medicinal pill.


    The bird''s eyes went wide with shock. Joshi put his shield back up just in time as the technique exploded inside the bird''s mouth. The force knocked him and Chang-li back. They hit the ground and rolled, Joshi keeping the shield as tight around them as he could.


    When they came up he leapt to his feet. The bird fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Feng stood over it, laughing. He swung his sword and severed its head. Then, as the lux streamed from the creature, he raised his sword heavenward shouting, "See the strength of the Soaring Heavens!"


    Joshi and Chang-li got to their feet, Joshi eagerly snatching up his share of the Lux from the kill. The spectators and other cultivators watching began to emerge from the underbrush.


    Hiroko stepped forward, her eyes shining. He grinned at her and took a step forward before catching himself schooling his features trying to look as though he belonged here.


    The woman in black approached, flanked by the two Young Masters. She looked Joshi up and down. "I believe we have you to thank for the indigo princess''s safety," she said. "Who might you be?"


    Before Joshi could answer, Chang-li composed himself, bowing low. "Revered Dowager Pearl this place is not safe. We should leave and finish our business."A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Nonsense," the woman said crisply. "You think I cannot spot a champion challenge when I see one? We have defeated it. If any more of its young remain, they will return to their nest to take the place of their parent. We have nothing to fear now."


    "It could have stirred up the other towerbeasts," Chang-li said. Joshi realized his friend was trying to provide a distraction for him. But Chang-li had been seen cultivating too, and was likely to be in as much, if not more, trouble.


    Besides, Joshi had an easy excuse. He held up his hand, displaying the sect ring gleaming on his finger. "I am a Young Master of the Sect of Morning Mists," he said. "I came on ahead of the rest of my party to ensure that I had time to join in this Tower cull."


    "Is that so?" the Dowager Pearl said.


    Joshi wasn''t entirely sure what the correct etiquette was. He bowed low. ¡°Revered Pearl, I apologize for intruding into a cultivator fight, especially one so well-served as this.¡± He gestured toward Young Master Feng. ¡°My sect is from the outskirts of empire and we stand on less ceremony than here in the center. If we see a fight and are able to help, we do. I leapt in without considering my actions, and for that I am apologetic. Yet, if I have helped protect this princess, then I am glad of it.¡±


    Young Master Feng was glowering at him. Whatever else happened, Joshi had made an enemy today, by snatching the glory of his victory from him.


    So be it. Right now Feng was the least of his worries.


    <hr>


    Chang-li


    Chang-li was a mass of nerves as the dowager raised her hands for silence. Behind them, the body of the enormous bird was still dissolving into lux. He could sense the other hopeful cultivators around him draining as much as they could into their cores.


    Feng still stood by its head, his sword point-first in the ground beside him, smiling triumphantly. At the moment, Chang-li would have been perfectly happy for him to take the credit for defeating the bird single-handedly if it meant he and Joshi could fade into the background. Instead, the dowager was focused on Joshi as though she could smell his guilt.


    "You already admit to being inside the tower without proper permission," she said.


    Joshi bowed, spread his arms wide, then pushed his hands together and bowed respectfully to her. "When my party was delayed, I was eager to cultivate. My sect functionariesassured me they had arranged all permissions."


    "And how did you get past the guards?" the dowager asked.


    Joshi hesitated. "They didn''t notice me," he said finally.


    "I will be speaking to the commanders of the guards myself," the dowager announced. "Finally, are you the one who challenged this beast unsuccessfully?"


    He raised his eyes to hers and spoke firmly but respectfully. "Revered one, I was not."


    "We will be conducting an inquiry. You will remain in our camp until the rest of your sect arrives with the proper paperwork for you to join our tower cull,¡± the dowager said. "However, your intervention saved the lives of two of my gems, and I am grateful for that." She raised her voice. "Today, you cultivators did what cultivators must always do. You stood between ordinary people and monsters, saving their lives wherever you could with no thought to risking your own. Young Master Feng, the Soaring Heavens sect receives credit and appreciation for this kill. You may take the beast''s heart token."


    Feng bowed. "This one appreciates it, revered one." He drew a knife, somewhat to Chang-li''s surprise, rather than giving the task to an underling, went to the body of the enormous bird himself, and began slicing into it. Moments later, he extracted a gleaming ruby sphere from its center and held it up. Chang-li had heard of such treasures. They helped cultivators to reach realizations about their paths and progress past blockages. He would have dearly liked one himself.


    The dowager spoke again. ¡°Now we must find what has become of any who are not here. Where are the scribes with your lists? I want an accounting now as we return to the camp."


    Chang-li joined the other scribes. To his dismay, Scribe Tu was not present. Perhaps he was merely lost in the jungle somewhere. He remembered his own experience lost and alone on this floor. Scribe Tu was not a cultivator. Even ordinary towerbeasts would be terrors for him.


    The others looked tired and scared, but they were eyeing Chang-li with a mixture of horror and admiration. "What happened to you?" Scribe Jun hissed. "Your robe is gone."


    "Two of the small birds attacked my party," Chang-li whispered. "Fortunately, we had three cultivators, including the Dowager, to fight them off."


    As the remains of the cultivation parties left the tower, Chang-li and the others checked names off the list, then presented their results to the dowager, who turned the matter over to Feng and the Li brother and sister. "Do not return until all are accounted for," she told them.


    ¡°Honored great aunt, two of my disciples are wounded and need to be taken back for treatment," Li Jiya said.


    "I will see to them," the dowager promised.


    Hiroko, Min, and the other nobles huddled together near the entrance. The dowager swept them off and proceeded back down the mountain. In their wake came Joshi, escorted by some of the dowager''s guards. He had told a convincing enough story, but when no sect arrived to back him up, there would be more questions. Sooner or later, someone might recognize the runaway slave. Chang-li would have to see what he could do to help his friend. His mind racing, he realized he needed to act quickly if it was to be done.


    <hr>


    Hiroko


    "Hiroko?"


    Hiroko paused. She had been about to retire to her chambers as all the other nobles had already done. None of them had taken more than a scratch or two of injury, but the way Jai-lin and the others were carrying on, you''d think that they had fought the mad birds themselves. After enduring their histrionics on the journey back to the camp, the dowager had decreed that for their own recovery, they would take their dinners in their rooms and retire early. Hiroko at least welcomed that.


    Now the dowager stood in the hall outside her own chambers and beckoned, "Come."


    Hiroko slid her own door shut and entered the dowager''s chamber. There was a tray of tea on a table. The dowager seated herself and indicated the pillow across from her. Hiroko sat carefully. She lowered her eyes as the dowager poured tea and waited until the senior woman had sipped hers before raising her own steaming cup to her lips.


    It tasted delicious. Hiroko felt some of the weariness of the day wash off of her.


    "I wish to beg your forgiveness, Indigo Princess."


    Startled, Hiroko looked up. The dowager was considering her with a friendly look on her face. Hiroko placed her hands on the table and bowed low. ¡°Revered Pearl. There is nothing that is¡ª"


    "I neglected to inquire about your past training," the dowager continued serenely. "I realize now that the servants who accompanied you from the capital never made it to the expedition camp. One was killed during the attack on the traveling party and the other fled, I believe."


    "That is correct," Hiroko said quietly.


    "I rely too much on the servants to inform me about the background of my charges. I should have asked you directly. You possess a much higher level of cultivation than I expect from most of my gem nobles. I admit I have not been at the court for a very long time and had forgotten how well trained the Violet and Indigo Princesses can be. You were channeling blue lux, were you not?"


    "Yes," Hiroko said. "My affinity for blue lux was discovered when I was first brought into a tower."


    "They did not try to break you of it? I know the ordinary procedure is to force an affiliation for one of the physical luxes instead.¡±


    Hiroko kept her eyes lowered. "There was a question of that, I believe. My father interceded for me."


    The dowager nodded her head. "Yes, your father, the General of the West. He is expected to be raised to Prism himself here in the next few years, is he not? He had the Emperor''s favor, or at least did until your mother died, but I suppose his military deeds have kept him in the emperor¡¯s graces.¡±


    "I have not spoken to my father in several years," Hiroko said. "I have sent him letters, of course, and owe him another one after the events of today."


    "Yes, yes," the dowager said. "But I wish to speak of you, not your father, girl. I will be taking you under my wing and seeing that your cultivation instruction continues."


    Hiroko gasped. She raised her eyes to look at the dowager. "You will?"


    "Too few of your peers consider their own cultivation important. When I see someone with a rare gift who is willing to use it at the risk of her own life, the way you were..." The dowager shook her head. "The Emperor would have his faith in me misplaced if I neglected a treasure like that. You will study with me two afternoons a week, and two mornings a week you will be my assistant with camp matters. In addition, I am sending out another set of invitations to sects, letting them know just how interesting this tower proves. We must get new blood in here. I hope you will look with favor on my nephew, but if you do not, then we must have more Young Masters here for your choice. I think, Hiroko, you might do very well for yourself. I will give you all the tools you need to do so.¡±

 Bk 2 Ch 1

    "This inquiry will determine the causes, blame, and guilt for the recent incident inside Heavenly Tower 3525 ¨C the Golden Moon Broken Tower," Inquisitor Zhan Sho declared. Chang-li knelt at the far left back corner of the room lined up with the other scribes, Inspector Dah at one end. They had been summoned to the Cultivation Master''s offices for this hearing, but to Chang-li''s deepening worry, it was not Cultivation Master Bao in charge of the proceedings but Inquisitor Zhan Sho. Nor were they the only ones present. The room was full of tense, worried people. At the front, flanking the inquisitor, stood the Dowager Pearl and Cultivation Master Bao. Between him and the scribes were all the cultivators who had been part of the recent tower expedition, including Joshi.


    Chang-li had never had dealings with an Inquisitor before, but the position was famous throughout the Empire. Inquisitors were cultivators who had gone past the Peak of Mental Refinement at the very least, before leaving their sects to join the Emperor''s government. An Inquisitor had great power and scope of actions. He could order trials, declare punishments, strip cultivators of their licenses to cultivate, and even investigate sects and have their charters revoked.


    This was Chang-li''s first tower cull. He didn''t know if it was common for an Inquisitor to be involved or if there had been signs of trouble even before this incident. Perhaps the towerbeasts who had escaped and attacked him and the caravan on the road had been enough to have Inquisitor Zhan Sho brought in.


    The mood in the room was tense. The cultivators present were grouped by sect and arranged by rank, from Grand Master down to lowest Disciple. Joshi was present too, seated cross-legged among the cultivators, all on his own, a little ways off from the rest. Chang-li couldn''t tell what he was thinking by staring at the back of his bald head. He wished he had a chance to speak with his friend and see how he was doing. Perhaps after this, if they both survived it...


    "I speak in the Emperor¡¯s Name. Does any here question me?¡± Inquisitor Zhan Sho asked, turning to scrutinize the entire room. He had a scribe of his own, wearing the iron ring on his thumb that marked him as a member of the Scribes Guild like Chang-li and not just a common clerk. The scribe was busy taking notes. Chang-li looked at his fellow junior scribes. They all looked as worried as he felt. They had been present in the tower, each and every one of them. There could be unexpected consequences.


    ¡°We will now begin this hearing." Inquisitor Zhan Sho bowed to Cultivation Master Bao and the Dowager. Hiroko knelt at the Dowager''s side, wearing her indigo robes. They were the only nobles present. Chang-li didn''t know if she was here to watch the proceedings or participate in them. He was worried she could reveal secrets that he and Joshi did not want to come out.


    In the tower, while cultivating, they had been forced to rely on each other. He had grown fond of Hiroko, and when he saw her in danger, he hadn''t hesitated to risk his life. Now, though, he worried. Did she feel the same loyalty to him, or would she feel honor-bound to tell Inquisitor Zhan Sho of their illicit cultivating?


    Chang-li longed to be back in the tower, with nothing more than death from ravenous towerbeasts to worry him. He couldn''t even enjoy the feeling of his newly remade body. He hoped his fellow scribes hadn''t noticed how his wiry frame had become far more muscled, or that the last few spots on his face had cleared up. Even his teeth felt straighter than they had been. Chang-li was counting on his voluminous scribe¡¯s robes to hide all of that. He couldn¡¯t hide from a cultivator who took a close look, but if he could have a little more time to firm up his story and figure out how to explain a scribe had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, that would be good.


    "A tower cull at a broken tower is inherently dangerous," Inquisitor Zhan Sho was saying. "They are always considered to be at a greater risk of a tower eruption. Nevertheless, it is a duty that loyal cultivators must assist in for the good of the empire. Even a broken tower provides life-giving lux to the surrounding lands. Should the Emperor be forced to completely destroy this tower, the city of Golden Moon would be rendered uninhabitable. Its fields become a wasteland. The seas around grow lifeless. Yet, should a tower eruption occur, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent peasants would die."


    The cultivators all nodded their agreement. The Inquisitor was saying nothing new, merely reminding everyone here of their duties.


    "Thus, it is every cultivator''s duty to heed the Emperor''s call and assist with a tower cull. That does not mean that we should neglect to take ordinary precautions. Tell me, whose idea was it to bring so many nobles in who were not cultivators but instead must be protected, distracting the cultivators from their true duties?"


    The Dowager cleared her throat. "It was my idea, Inquisitor."


    There was a stir. Hiroko looked up at her, and Chang-li could see surprise on her face.


    "Yours, revered Pearl?" Inquisitor Zhan Sho asked.


    "Mine, set in motion by my student, Indigo Princess Hiroko, with the aid of several of the Young Masters. I felt it was important to give the gem court nobles a sense of the duties which their future spouses are expected to accomplish. Only when cultivator and spouse are united in purpose can the Emperor''s will be truly executed."


    "Revered Pearl, that is an excellent point, but in your wisdom did you not consider that this tower might have been too dangerous? After all, they were entering a third floor with a bunch of uninitiated. Not just the nobles but also the servants and guards.¡±


    ¡°A third floor which had already been greatly culled by the participating sects over the past weeks. If it had not been for the failed champion challenge, everything would have been all right. I suggest that the blame lies with the rogues who snuck in and engaged the champion."This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    "Agreed," Inquisitor Zhan Sho said. "We have already determined which guards took bribes and elicited confessions from them. Their punishment will be severe. There will be no repeat of this incident. Their confessions have been taken. They permitted five rogues to enter. They also deny allowing the claimed Young Master of the Morning Mists sect entry. All of them deny ever having seen him. My next point of inquiry then is focused on Young Master Joshi."


    All eyes went to Joshi. He remained sitting but bowed low at the waist toward Inquisitor Zhan Sho and the Dowager.


    "You name yourself as Young Master Joshi of the Morning Mists sect, is this correct?"


    "It is," Joshi said. His quiet voice echoing through the room. Chang-li tensed, worried for his friend and himself.


    "You have yet to produce your license and documentation attesting to this fact."


    "As I explained, my functionaries and disciples are following along behind me. They have all of the paperwork."


    "And you were in such a hurry because?"


    Joshi shrugged. "My sect is small. We have lost strength in recent years. I feared that if I reached this tower after the third floor had been cleared, the other sects might attempt to deny me entrance. I have sworn an oath on my Grandmaster''s spirit to restore the honor of the Sect of Morning Mists. I will prove myself at this tower and then continue on to another until I have climbed to the highest peaks."


    "Your abilities as a cultivator no one doubts. We have multiple witnesses who speak of the efforts you made against the monstrous tower beasts. Indigo Princess Hiroko states you saved her life. We therefore grant you five days'' time for your functionaries to arrive with the documents. You are not permitted to leave this camp until then. Should they fail to arrive, you will be subject to a more severe inquisition. However, entering the tower without a properly registered license is a crime against the Emperor."


    "My only crime is that I am eager to advance so that I may serve my Emperor better," Joshi said.


    "A fine will be levied against your sect," Inquisitor Zhan Sho said, ¡°once they arrive." Now he turned back to the other Young Masters. ¡°Now, we move to the performance of the other sects. Li Jen and Li Jiya of the Moon Whispers Sect, you have received official commendations to be added to your licenses reflecting your quick reactions and efforts to preserve the lives of non-cultivators who were placed in danger. You are both a credit to your sect."


    The two Moon Whispers cultivators bowed low until their faces almost touched the ground.


    ¡°We also have reports that Soaring Heaven and Jade Lotus acquitted themselves adequately.¡± There was a slight stir in the room at this implied slight.


    "We also have a report that several non-cultivators acted very bravely and one confusing report of a scribe who displayed cultivation techniques in the defense of himself and others." Now Inquisitor Zhan Sho strode through the ranks of seated spectators until he approached the scribes. "Which of you is Chang-li?"


    Chang-li''s mouth was suddenly dry. He bowed low, placing his eyes level with the floor. ¡°I am."


    "Cultivator Li Jiya speaks well of you. She says you saved the life of one of her disciples. She also states that she saw you assisting Young Master Joshi in the defense of the Indigo Princess."


    The other scribes shifted. Chang-li heard a low mutter but couldn''t make it out. This was exactly what he had feared. Attention.


    Inspector Dah turned to him in surprise. "Scribe Chang-li, you are a cultivator?"


    "I am licensed," Chang-li said desperately. He pulled out his forgery and held it up, hoping Inquisitor Zhan Sho didn''t look too closely.


    Inquisitor Zhan Sho peered at it. "How does a scribe acquire a license like this?"


    "It was a result of my first experience in the tower," Chang-li prevaricated. "Inspector Jin saw that I had reached the first condensation of my core thanks to my exposure to towerbeasts and cycling. He agreed to grant me a license. As you know, Inquisitor, scribes are permitted to acquire cultivation licenses."


    "They are, but it is hardly common. What possessed you to do this?"


    "Ah, your worthiness, I desire always to serve the Emperor to the fullness of my abilities. My dream is to one day serve in your capacity as an Inquisitor. I know that the path would be difficult, but it is known to happen."


    "Indeed," Inquisitor Zhan Sho said, raising an eyebrow. "I myself began as a guild scribe. But it is not a common path. I assume you have family backing, perhaps a sect already interested in sponsoring you¡­.¡±


    ¡°No, your worship. I am attempting the climb on my own.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± The Inquisitor sounded skeptical. ¡°Well, perhaps it shall be done. What do you say to the report that you were instrumental in saving the princess?¡±


    ¡°With no disrespect to Young Master Li Jiya, sir, there is only one man who should have the credit for saving all our lives.¡± Chang-li¡¯s mind raced. His mouth was dry. He needed to get the attention off of himself as fast as possible, no matter the cost.


    ¡°Indeed?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your worship. Young Master Feng¡¯s quick action and heavenly strength saved all our lives. He defeated the monster bird single-handedly. All any of the rest of us did was distract it a little, but he showed it the strength of his cultivation and it was no match.¡±


    Chang-li could just see Feng from the corner of his eyes. The cultivator stiffened, then began to preen as others turned to look at him.


    ¡°You speak honorably, scribe.¡± Then, at last, the inquisitor turned away. He approached Feng. ¡°You are the Young Master of the Soaring Heavens sect?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°And I have been told you opposed the plan to bring so many uninitiated into the tower.¡±


    ¡°I did, your worship. It was my opinion that we could not adequately protect the princess with so many other nobles about.¡±


    ¡°A belief which has been shown to be correct. I congratulate you on your foresight, Young Master. I will have a commendation attached to your license. Your sect will have a place of prominence in the next part of the tower cull, I promise.¡±


    The inquisitor turned away even as Feng was bowing and thanking him. ¡°As to business. The tower is closed to all cultivators until we have ensured its safety. The grand masters present will take their cultivators who have reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement and sweep the third floor, looking for any other threats and confirming the source of the monster bird. After that I will make a judgement regarding the fourth floor. If I decide this tower is too dangerous, I shall send a petition to the nearest Prism and ask them to come and complete the cull for us.¡±


    That got a reaction. Every cultivator in the room began to protest, and Chang-li knew why. A Prism could destroy every beast in this tower just with his aura. If that happened, the cull would be over, and all chance of advancement here would be lost.


    He didn¡¯t want that to happen, but it sounded like the chance of him going back into the tower anytime soon was lost anyway. The inquisitor held up a hand. ¡°I have spoken. In the Emperor¡¯s Name, it shall be done!¡±

 Bk 2 Ch 2: Jealousy

    No sooner had they arrived back at the scribe house than the other junior scribes surrounded Chang-li. "I didn''t know you had a license to cultivate," Scribe Jun accused him.


    "Were you really fighting that monster?" Tu asked.


    "I could barely stand on my own feet, and I was a hundred spans away," Jun added.


    "Something about you has changed," Scribe Deng commented, looking Chang-li over. "You really have progressed, haven''t you?"


    Inspector Dah swept in behind them. He clapped his hands, and they stood at attention. Looking them over, the inspector smiled. He was about ten years older than Chang-li, fit but with a well-fed look. He wore wooden jewelry at his wrists and around his neck, polished and elaborately carved.


    "So we have a hopeful cultivator in our midst," Inspector Dah announced. "I did not realize that was the case. Inspector Ji''in failed to inform me."


    Chang-li bowed low. "Forgive me, Inspector. No doubt it slipped his mind; the transition was rather hurried."


    "Indeed it was," Inspector Dah said. "I''m beginning to wonder what else the inspector failed to tell me. I shall send a messenger to him asking for a corrected and updated report."


    A stab of fear pierced Chang-li. Inspector Ji''in would tell Inspector Dah that Chang-li not only didn''t have a license to cultivate but also had been forbidden to enter the tower entirely.


    "How come he got a license and we don''t?" Scribe Deng complained.


    "Have you filed an application for a status upgrade?" Inspector Dah asked. "In order for a scribe to be granted a cultivator''s license, he must have shown a cool head in a tower crisis situation. All of you have now qualified, just as Chang-li did. Scribe Wu, your actions in there should earn you your first endorsement. The next time you''re at the Office of Cultivation, be sure to request it."


    Chang-li bent low. "I shall," he said, as he worried about a dozen different things.


    "It seems that Scribe Wu has attracted the attention of several of the cultivators here in the camp. Of course, we professional scribes stand ready to support the sects in any way they ask. If one of them wishes to have you serve as a sect scribe during the course of this tower cull, our office will of course approve it," Inspector Dah said. "Now, I know that expedition did not go as we planned. However, there are still reports to be filed, and I expect you to have them done here in the next few hours. Get to it."


    Chang-li''s mind was not on his filing. He cycled Way of Star¡¯s Light as he worked, marveling at the feel of the lux in his channels, and he longed to be back inside the tower. He had achieved the Peak of Bodily Refinement, but he had not yet really determined what that meant. He felt stronger and healthier. He noted somewhere around lunchtime, as the other scribes began to complain of how hungry they were, that he wasn''t feeling as much hunger. But his body did crave lux. His core was holding on to the lux he had far better than the last time he had exited the tower. Some still escaped, leaking away into the air as he cycled, but he no longer felt like a sieve. More like a waterskin with a single leak, letting the lux out drip by drip while holding most of it tight.


    As the other scribes went to lunch, he passed on the opportunity. Instead, once the scribe office was deserted, he went to the storeroom and blatantly pillaged paper and ink. He wanted to help Joshi if he could. The barbarian had saved his life yet again when they faced the giant bird. If there was a way he could help his friend, he would do it. Besides, any investigation too closely into Joshi could bring Chang-li in front of the Inquisitor again. He wanted more than anything to avoid that.


    What if he forged the paperwork that Joshi would need to prove that the Sect of Morning Mist was real? Then he''d have to find a way to slip it into the records. Perhaps he could ask Brother Stone to hire a messenger to bring the papers up and claim that the rest of Joshi''s sect had been delayed. It seemed a thin hope, a ploy that would be seen through at once. But he didn''t have a better solution.


    Chang-li spent his lunch hour forging the documents of a sect. He put down the name of Cultivator Kang as the sect Grand Master. Though he didn''t expect anyone to have ever heard of the Sect of Morning Mist, it felt right to name their last cultivator, almost like he was honoring them instead of stealing their name to try to help a friend.


    The few papers he forged wouldn''t be enough. He had seen some of the paperwork that the sect functionaries in attendance filed with the Cultivation Office, but not all of it. He needed to get a look in the Cultivation Office records so he¡¯d know what to forge, and he needed to get his hands on Imperial seals. After lunch, his own reports filed, he made an excuse to Scribe Jun.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Jun eyed him. "Now I understand why you''ve been sneaking off and neglecting your duties so much," he said. "You''ve been practicing cultivation on the sly, haven''t you? You could have told us."


    "I was afraid you''d mock me," Chang-li said. There was enough truth in that that Jun nodded.


    He''d seen it before, young scribes mocking those of their fellows who had ambitions too large for them. Scribe Dai, who had perished in the tower that first terrible trip inside, had wanted to cultivate. He had spoken openly of his hopes to transfer to a sect as a scribe and be taught some techniques and patterns that might enable him to reach as far as the Peak of Mental Refinement. The others had mocked him. While most of them boasted their intention to reach Bodily Refinement sooner or later, they all knew that for a scribe it was a fool''s hope. Ordinary folk were permitted to cycle whatever lux they could happen to glean. But they were not taught real patterns, and as Chang-li now knew, the cycling techniques commonly available to peasant folk were designed to keep them crippled. He very much doubted whether any of his fellow scribes would even make it to their first core condensing without a better cycling technique.


    "Tell you what," he told Jun impulsively. "Tonight at bedtime, I will teach you and anyone who wishes the cycling technique I have learned. It''s much more efficient than the Way of the Faithful. If you use it every time you are inside the tower for the rest of this cull, I think perhaps you will see a benefit."


    "And where did you learn a cultivator''s technique?" Jun asked, his eyes narrowing.


    Chang-li smiled. "In a book, of course."


    He left it at that and went off to the Office of Cultivation. The office was in a bit of an uproar. Li Jiya was there, along with her disciple who had been badly wounded. She was speaking angrily with the Master of Cultivation.


    "For his healing technique to work, Disciple Jien needs to re-enter the tower. He doesn''t have enough lux to cycle properly. If you make him wait for weeks, his leg will heal improperly," she argued.


    The Cultivation Master raised a hand. "Young Master Li, there is nothing I can do. The Inquisitor himself has said that no one who has not reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement may enter. Even you Young Masters must be supervised by your sect''s Grand Master. It''s not up to me. Perhaps this check will be swift, and the Inquisitor will reopen the tower within a few days."


    Li Jiya''s shoulders slumped. "It is a thin reed to lean upon," she grumbled. Her eyes fell on Chang-li, and she brightened up. "Scribe Wu, how good to see you here. Have you brought your license for endorsement?"


    "Yes, I have," Chang-li said, though he really wished she wouldn''t draw attention to him. He brought out his forged license, now a bit wrinkled and dirty. Master Bao frowned at him as he unlocked the box where the endorsement seals were kept.


    Chang-li''s eyes were drawn to the key which the Cultivation Master hung around his neck. He wasn''t familiar enough with the Cultivation Office''s practices to know if that was the only key. Perhaps if he took the head clerk out for a beer and asked leading questions, he could learn more. Not that he should need to get at the endorsement seals. What was he even thinking here? Yes, he might need to forge a few documents to help Joshi, but that was all! There would be no stealing endorsements!


    Master Bao affixed an endorsement to Chang-li''s license, still scrutinizing him. Chang-li decided he wouldn''t push his luck. He bowed low. "Thank you," he told the official and stepped out of the office.


    Li Jiya followed him out into the bright sunshine. The camp was returning to normal after the excitement of the previous days. Servants and workers went about their ordinary tasks, carrying water jugs dangling from long wooden poles or pushing barrows full of boxes and bags.


    "Scribe Wu.¡±


    Chang-li turned and bowed to Li Jiya. "Young Master Li, how may I serve?"


    "You''ve reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, haven''t you?"


    Chang-li bowed again. "Thank you for noticing this one''s humble achievement." And he really wished she would stop noticing him.


    "It is not so humble to reach Bodily Refinement without the aid of a sect. Do you truly wish to become an Inquisitor, as you said before?" Li Jiya asked.


    Chang-li hesitated. "I fear I have gotten a taste of cultivation, and I don''t want to stop," he confessed.


    Li Jiya''s eyebrows rose. She smiled and then clapped her hands. "I understand that feeling. You have done well, considering how little you have been given. The Moon Whispers sect has always prized those who strive for what is out of reach. I think my great-grandfather would like to speak with you. Tonight, there is a gathering for the cultivators and the nobles up in the Court of Gems. I wish you to attend as our sect''s guest."


    Chang-li''s eyes widened. "Young Master Li, it is a great honor, but scribes are not permitted to attend Gem Court affairs.¡±


    "Cultivators are permitted to bring who they will, including possible sect functionaries," Li Jiya said.


    The offer she was implying staggered Chang-li. She held up a hand. "If you truly wish to cultivate, I can get you an interview with my grandfather. No more than that. He is the one who makes decisions for our sect. But at the very least, we are always eager to find more talented functionaries. You should come."


    Chang-li bowed low. "Thank you, Young Master Li. I am honored. I shall be there."


    He went away, worrying about Joshi and the cultivator party and his own future. He had to attend, no question about that, but it would put him at more risk of attracting attention. And his best robes had been destroyed in the tower fighting the birds. He¡¯d need to find something appropriate to wear, and quickly. Maybe Jun would help him, if he could find something to offer the other scribe. Then again, even asking might make Jun even more jealous.


    Brother Stone would have connections. He already owed the Oaken Band Brotherhood debts. He might as well add another, and let Lady Min take it out of his hide later.

 Bk 2 Ch 3: Joshi Makes an Impression

    Joshi had been given opulent quarters above one of the taverns. To his east were the cultivation offices and army structures, and just to the west, the cluster of buildings taken by the sects. Each of the three major sects represented here at this tower cull had leased a headquarters compound from the officials in charge of the camp, giving their students and disciples a place to stay, lodging and offices for their functionaries, private practice grounds, and training facilities. Several similar buildings stood empty, ready to receive more sects.


    Joshi, being placed adjacent to the sects meant that the powers that be at least pretended to believe his cover story. He was under no illusion that he was safe. When his claimed sect failed to arrive in a few days, there would be more questions. Meanwhile, he was being watched. A pair of guards had escorted him from the inquisitor''s hearing back to his inn, then loitered nearby. He could see them from the window of his room. That was fine. When he was ready to make his move, they would not stand in his way. The floor guardian''s promise still rang in his ears: No bond shall hold you. He would not be placed in chains again.


    However, there were preparations he should make, and he still longed to find a solution that would allow him to continue cultivating. The license Chang-li had produced had satisfied the inquisitor, but Joshi was certain it was a forgery. Could he persuade his sometimes ally to assist him in acquiring such a license? If he could present himself at a different tower as a sect-less cultivator, he might be able to prove his worth to a sect and be allowed to join them. Then he could continue cultivating.


    If all else failed, he could return home to his father. Having achieved the Peak of Bodily Refinement, he would at least be a valuable Darwur warrior. He hated the thought. He would not go home until he could return in triumph.


    A knock came at his door. A camp worker stood outside his room carrying a parcel for him.


    "The Dowager Pearl requests that you attend the evening festivities hosted by the gem court tonight alongside the other cultivators of your rank," the servant said, not meeting Joshi''s eyes.


    Joshi saw no slave collar around the man''s neck. He was a free worker, one who would have considered himself too far above Joshi even to notice him prior to this. "What''s that?" Joshi indicated the bundle.


    "The dowager has sent robes. She does not know your sect¡¯s pattern, so has had them done in simple grey."


    Joshi accepted the bundle. "I have heard your message. Go.¡±


    The servant departed, and Joshi considered if he wanted to continue this ruse at least for long enough to acquire a few supplies and perhaps a forged license, he would need to play the part, which meant accepting the summons. It would be incredibly dangerous.


    He was certain the Dowager Pearl and other officials suspected his story. They could tell he had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, at least, and he had been caught cultivating without a license. While reaching Bodily Refinement proved he was a cultivator, he¡¯d been inside a tower without authorization, and now he was claiming to belong to a sect that didn¡¯t exist. He wasn¡¯t sure what the penalties for either were. Having escaped slavery, little the Imperials could threaten him with scared him.


    Except the idea of not being permitted to cultivate.


    He would have to keep up the ruse that he did indeed belong to a sect. While sect-less cultivators were permitted to join in tower expeditions, they needed to have a license and permission from the cultivating official. Claiming to belong to a sect had gotten Joshi some grace. Everyone knew ambitious young cultivators would seek whatever advancement they could. A Young Master leaving his disciples and functionaries behind in order to begin his next round of cultivating a little earlier was plausible and might be overlooked the way a parent would indulge a favored child. That indulgence would go away as soon as Joshi''s claimed sect failed to appear.


    The servant had included a sharpened razor and a bar of soap. Joshi used the basin of water in his chamber and the bronzed mirror to remove the stubble from his face and head until his head was properly bald again. Until he had avenged his past shame, he could not grow his hair out. Though there were no other Darwurs here to know the customs, Joshi would follow them. Then he washed the rest of his body as best he could in the basin. He longed for the cool river pools he had bathed in as a child, but compared to the filth he¡¯d endured as a slave, this was marvelous.


    Joshi dressed himself in the cultivator''s robes, marveling at how smooth the silk felt against his skin. It had been a long time since he''d had clean clothes, anything approaching decency. Joshi considered what the monks of Harupa had told him about the Gem Court and how it interacted with cultivators. They had warned that if he ever proved himself as a cultivator in the empire, he would find himself interacting with the gem nobles. They were one of the ways the emperor controlled cultivators, by requiring anyone who showed promise to marry one of his own descendants.


    Should a promising cultivator already be married, he would be required to take a second spouse anyway, and the Gem noble spouse would always be considered as primary, displacing the prior spouse. As a Darwur man, Joshi was not too bothered with that thought. His own mother had been the Khan''s second wife, pushed around and bullied by his first wife, Joshi having a lower status reflected from that. But he didn¡¯t want any wives at all, at least not right now.


    If he were planning to stay in the Empire for long, he would have to be careful of entanglements with the Gem Court. It would not do to get saddled with a wife who would report his secrets and plans back to the Emperor.


    For tonight, Joshi''s goals were simple: try to keep anyone from becoming more suspicious about himself while determining if there was anything here he could make use of. He almost certainly had to give up cultivating and flee this place. But if there was any other way¡­If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    When he had donned the robe, he found it uncomfortable. Joshi had worn little more than a vest on his torso during his time as a slave. The long sleeves of the cultivator''s robes that fell past his wrists were awkward and hampering. The voluminous skirts threatened to trip him up as he walked. Joshi tied and retied the belt several times until it was more or less comfortable. He wore the leggings that came with the robe but discarded the undertunic entirely, as its cut was poor for his chest and shoulders. It made him feel bound up.


    Magen appeared, perching on his shoulder with one of those buzzes which was almost a chirp. Joshi reached up and passed his fingers through the little lux creature. He imagined he could feel a thickening of the air where its body hung. "Are you doing well?" he asked his friend gravely.


    Magen chirped again. Joshi fed the creature a little of his stored yellow lux. Magen accepted it with an ungrateful feeling. Then he chirped again at Joshi, questioningly. Joshi considered. "Yes, you should come," he said at last.


    Lux familiars were not uncommon, and he suspected the higher ranks might sense his bond with Magen, whether he tried to hide it or not. It would give the other cultivators yet another curiosity to consider. A bonded lux creature did seem more suited to an ambitious Young Master from an obscure sect than to the sectless cultivator he truly was.


    His ablutions completed, he presented himself at the gates behind the Jade Lotus sect. All three of their Young Masters were present behind the sect elder, and they had a swath of attendants with them. Their cultivators'' robes were brilliant shades of green and yellow, so Joshi couldn''t exactly blend in. However, he stuck close to them as he passed through the gate. Perhaps he could avoid attention by arriving in unison.


    That hope, however, was dashed as a pair of brown-robed servitors hurried forward and separated the groups out. One of them went and announced the Jade Lotus cultivators. Joshi tucked away their names for future reference. Then the second urged him forward and proclaimed loudly, "From the Sect of Morning Mist, Young Master Joshi, the hero of the Tower Cull.¡±


    There was polite applause as Joshi took stock. The secluded section of camp belonging to the Court of Gems was a well-maintained garden. Four long, low buildings framed a courtyard with blossoming trees everywhere and colored lanterns hanging from their branches. A tall pagoda rose at the far end of the courtyard, and in front of that stood an assortment of tall chairs in which the Grand Master of the Jade Lotus sect was being seated. The Dowager Pearl and the Master of Cultivation were already present, as was the Grand Master of the Soaring Heavens sect.


    Joshi made his bows and tried to fade into a crowd of lower-ranked disciples and guests, but he was immediately surrounded by a bevy of the young nobles. They stood out from the crowd in their white robes with a band of color around the edge. None of them were Hiroko.


    "Young Master Joshi," the orange-ranked woman said, "I am Nima, and I am so pleased to meet you. Everyone here has heard about you, how you heroically saved the Indigo Princess."


    "And me as well, of course,¡± one of the red-robed women said, a bit of a sardonic edge to her voice. She was the girl he had seen with Hiroko. She wore her hair pulled up in a pair of braids that coiled atop her head, much less elaborate than the other women, with their raven-dark hair swooping in, wings down to their shoulders, then held back with pins in their rank color.


    "I''m Min," the red woman told Joshi, "and thank you for your aid."


    He bowed. "I am only glad I was there to help."


    "So, Morning Mist. None of us have ever heard of that sect," Nima continued.


    A man in red spoke up. "Yes, do tell. And wherever did you acquire that lux spirit? I¡¯ve never seen one so indistinct before.¡±


    "Jai-Lin, give him space," Min snapped. There were three other women here, all pressing in eagerly, leaving Jai-lin on the outskirts of the crowd. Joshi would have found the attention flattering if he could shake off the knowledge that a month ago any of these women would have rather stepped in dung than speak to him.


    The crowd fell silent then parted as Princess Hiroko approached.


    Joshi caught his breath. He had never seen her like this. Her indigo robes seemed to fit her better than the other women''s robes did. Her hair was swept up and pinned with tiny amethyst-tipped clips. She wore just enough makeup that it hardly looked as if she were wearing any at all, but Joshi had seen her often enough under the lux-tinted sky to know what she looked like without it. She seemed calm and unperturbed as she pressed her hands together and inclined her head.


    "Young Master Joshi, my thanks for your aid," she said.


    He bowed low. "It was my pleasure to be of service, Highness."


    Hiroko turned to the others. "Do not press our new acquaintance with too many questions. He will think you are all clamoring like a pack of dogs over a hunk of meat."


    Two of the women turned beet-red. "Your Highness, we¡ª"


    "Young Master Joshi, might I perhaps introduce you to a few of the other Young Masters who you may not have met?" Hiroko offered her arm.


    Joshi took it. He saw the ripple of disapproval across the other nobles and realized that Hiroko had just set his own status significantly higher by marking him out as someone that an Indigo princess was interested in. She had made it much harder for any of these red or orange ladies to get their claws in him.


    To his surprise, Min''s expression wasn''t perturbed, but curious. Her look was intent as she glanced between him and Hiroko. He didn''t like how perceptive she seemed, but a moment later, the woman tugged at the sleeve of the red-robed man, and the two disappeared.


    Hiroko led Joshi a little away from the others, somewhat to his relief. "Be careful of those vultures," she hissed. "All of them are looking to get their claws in a cultivator."


    "From an unknown sect?" he muttered back. He was surprised at just how happy he was to have her at his side, helping him. It made him feel less alone.


    "A cultivator who shows up out of nowhere and saves the day, performing heroically? That''s like half the stories this lot has been raised on since childhood. Don''t let yourself get alone with them, or you may find yourself with a warmer welcome than you''d expect. Come."


    She led him over to a pair of young cultivators in blue and yellow striped robes. "Li Jen, Li Jiya. This is Young Master Joshi," Hiroko said. "Of the Morning Mist sect. Joshi, Li Jen, and Li Jiya are the most promising acolytes that Moon Whispers has seen in two generations."


    The man blushed. The woman nodded appreciatively. "I was impressed by the brief glimpse I had of your abilities," Li Jen told him. "You are a martial-focused cultivator. Is that your sect''s specialty?"


    "My sect is eclectic," Joshi said. ¡°I have no particular speciality.¡±


    ¡°I would ¡ª¡± Li Jiya broke off. ¡°Forgive me, but I have promised an introduction of my own and he¡¯s just arrived. My apologies.¡± She bowed to Joshi before hurrying off. To his astonishment, as the crowd shifted, she approached Chang-li, who was wearing a dark robe and a worried expression. What was he doing here?


    Joshi glanced at Hiroko and saw the same worry in her face. Just as they had in the tower, they were forced to trust each other If any of them let slip their secrets, it could have disastrous repercussions.


    This was not going to be a pleasant evening, by any measure.

 Bk 2 Ch 4: A Festive Affair

    Chang-li was relieved to see Jiya approaching him. He was out of place at this party, his brand-new grey robes not blending in nearly as well as he had hoped. Most of the servants wore brown. The cultivators were in their sect patterns, and the nobles, of course, wore white with stripes. Only Cultivation Master Bao was wearing grey, and Chang-li didn''t want any more of his attention.


    Jiya led him off under a stooping willow. The branches offered them a little privacy, though anyone could look in and see them, which was probably for the best. She smiled. "I''m so pleased you came," she said. "I told my great-grandfather that I''d invited you. I''ll take you along to see him in a minute, but I wanted to ask you a question." She dropped her voice even lower. "Did I see you using a chord technique in fighting that bird?"


    Chang-li hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, I have a two-color technique."


    "Describe it," Jiya ordered.


    Chang-li explained how he used his Firepot ability.


    "Fascinating," Jiya said. "Of course, there are hundreds of different yellow and orange combinations. I have several myself. Yours was so crude, it attracted my attention. Did you learn it in a book, or did you just make it up?"


    He wanted to say he¡¯d read it somewhere, but that would only offer up more questions. "I developed it myself," he said. "I seem to have an affinity for both orange and yellow lux, and it just made sense to me to combine them that way." He shrugged. "I call it Firepot because I''m imagining holding flame inside of a container that makes it safe to handle."


    Her eyes widened. "Yes, that''s exactly how you should consider a technique¡ªas a metaphor for what you''re trying to do. I could weave together orange and red and perhaps have a torch I carry by an orange handle while the red provides flame, or a bowl of water that can be transformed to ice quickly. But you did that without anyone teaching you."


    "I read a book of techniques," Chang-li said, though he didn''t want to go into detail.


    "I must introduce you to my grandfather. He''ll be eager to meet you."


    "You would offer me a place in your sect?" Chang-li asked, his heart racing.


    She hesitated. "Well, it''s not up to me to make an offer, especially since I hope to compete in the Imperial Games at Shashna Hai this summer for a spot in the Imperial Harem."


    Diverted, Chang-li found himself curious. Li Jiya had impressed him with her cool head in combat and her quick, neat techniques. "Why would you want to join the Imperial Harem?" he asked. "Don''t you want to progress on your own?"


    She shrugged. "For me, cultivating isn''t about how much higher I can climb than anyone else. It''s about enabling me to serve the Empire as best I can. You''ve seen the Dowager Pearl. Women like her make up the backbone of the Empire, holding it together. I''ve admired my great-aunt for as long as I can remember. She''s encouraged me in my dream."


    Chang-li didn''t have an answer to that. The Imperial Harem was limited to women, promising cultivators between the ages of twenty and twenty-six. From his understanding, dozens of women competed for every slot in the Emperor''s Harem. The chosen women would serve for ten years. Then, if they had a child by the Emperor, they were given the rank of Exquisite Pearl and would spend the rest of their lives inside palace grounds, doing who-knew-what. Childless women such as the Dowager Pearl who accompanied this expedition were granted a lesser rank and sent out throughout the Empire as the Emperor''s handmaidens. Their status gave them access to many exalted offices.


    "Ah, here comes my grandfather now," Jiya said, as the Grand Master of Moon Whispers approached them. The man appeared to be in his middle years, dark hair silvering, face lined. If he were actually Li Jiya''s great-grandfather, he must be considerably older than he looked. Chang-li pressed his hands together and bowed low.


    The Grand Master nodded to him. He wore a silver chain at his neck with a blue stone on it, signifying the rank of his cultivator spouse. Chang-li understood just how powerful this man was. Even without his connections, he could crush Chang-li like an insect.


    "My great-granddaughter speaks well of you," the Grand Master said after Li Jiya had introduced him as Grand Master Li Zhaoyang.


    "It is too kind of her," Chang-li said quickly.


    "Nevertheless, a scribe who aspires to become a cultivator is no rarity, but one who actually takes steps on his own to achieve that. That is worth investigating. You have reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement."


    "I have," Chang-li agreed.


    "And he has a chord perfected enough to be repeatable. He''s even named it," Li Jiya said.


    Chang-li was forced to explain his firepot technique. Grand Master Li nodded. "Most promising, most promising. How many cycling techniques do you possess?"


    "Apart from the Way of the Faithful, three," Chang-li lied. He would not reveal everything that Joshi had taught him. Chang-li described Purification of Mind and Soul, then the Way of Boulders, adding that he didn''t like that one much as it was more physically focused and he was trying to hone his mental skills. Then he hesitated before explaining the Swirling Mists technique.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The Grand Master''s eyebrows rose. "A sectless learned that?"


    "I read it in a journal," Chang-li blurted out.


    "Yes, indeed, I have heard that the Guild scribes keep copies of the books they copy for us. But I was not aware that it was something that just anyone could peruse. You fascinate me. I am willing to consider your petition, should you make it. But not now. I must help with the clearing of the third floor in preparation for my sect to climb higher. Also, I spoke with Cultivation Master Bao, and he said there was some confusion about your initiation records that needs to be cleared up. Once that matter is resolved, I would be happy to take your application."


    Panic clutched at Chang-li. Inspector Da must have told Master Bao Chang-li''s lie. Now they would send a message to Inspector Ji¡¯in and learn the truth. Chang-li''s ruse would be discovered. He''d be drummed out of the Scribes'' Guild if he were lucky. Branded, exiled, or enslaved if he wasn''t. He swallowed down his fear and bowed again. "Thank you for your time, Grandmaster Li."


    "Come along, Granddaughter," the Grandmaster told Jiya. "I know you are not fond of these nobles, but I do think you should give them all a fair try. And have you spoken to the new arrival yet?"


    "Not yet, Grandfather.¡± Li Jiya cast down her eyes and followed him obediently away from the tree.


    Chang-li sagged against the trunk of the willow, trying to calm his racing heart. He had spoken with the Grandmaster and answered Jiya''s summon. He felt equally excited and terrified. The chance of being admitted to a sect was everything he¡¯d ever wanted, yet his lies seemed poised to come crashing down around his ears. What was he going to do?


    He was going to start by sneaking away from this party, going back to the other scribes, and trying to make up with them. Perhaps if he taught them a few cycling tips or gave them some cultivating principles, they''d be on his side. Perhaps they could help him intercept the missive to Inspector Ji¡¯in, or...


    "What are you doing here?"


    Chang-li whirled to find Min behind him, her hands on her hips. She looked irritated, and like she was caught between two worlds. Her hair was up, pinned away from her face in an almost practical hairstyle compared to all the other noblewomen he''d seen here. She wore red-edged white robes with a long train that dragged on the grass and sleeves that fell past the tips of her fingers, and a scowl on her face. Chang-li caught himself staring at her and looked away.


    "And what''s that expression supposed to mean?" she demanded. "Can''t meet my eyes?"


    "Forgive me, my lady," Chang-li said. "I was answering a summons from..."


    "From the Moon Whisperers cultivator. Yes, I could see that," Min snapped. "What I wanted to know was why."


    "She wished for me to speak with her grandfather."


    Min¡¯s eyes narrowed. "So they''ve spotted you as a potential recruit, have they? Did they mention that Moon Whispers is poised on the edge of insolvency? That they''ve had three investigations into their methods and finances in the last ten years? That the only reason they''re even here is the Dowager Pearl is Grandmaster Li''s sister, and she insisted that they be invited?¡±


    ¡°Young Master Li Jen and Li Jiya seem very well trained.¡±


    ¡°Because their mother is a scion of a very wealthy family," Min said. "Most of their training came from one of the preparatory schools in Blue Water Province. I suppose you''ve heard of those academies."


    Chang-li shook his head. "I come from Yellow Sky City," he mumbled.


    "Oh, well, that explains it," Min said dismissively. "That''s almost as backwater a province as here in Riceflower. Blue Sky Province is adjacent to the Imperial Gardens. They have the best teachers of cultivation there, many of whom have given up the climb and are settled as instructors for anyone who has the coin, which the Young Masters Li did. I''m not dismissing their talent," she said. "Just their motives. They desperately need Jiya to be selected as one of the Emperor''s brides. It will raise their sect standing high enough to withstand their next inspection. That''ll give Li Jen time to make a good marriage himself and then prove himself. If they can survive the next ten years, they might be a sect worth joining. Might," she repeated. "I wouldn''t join my fortunes to them. It¡¯s a risk, and I don¡¯t like gambling.¡±


    "How do you know all this?" Chang-li asked.


    Min waved a hand. "It''s gossip in the camp. My people talk to their people, that sort of thing. That''s not the point. The point is, you''ve been seen here speaking with them, so now everyone will think you''re one of their allies. That was a good move you made with Feng earlier, praising him. He''s been going around puffed up like a peacock all day. He even forgot to say something biting to me when we were standing next to each other earlier this evening. And it''s taken some of the pressure off of your friend."


    "Friend? What friend?" Chang-li asked. The sky was growing darker now. He cleared his throat. "Lady Min, you must excuse me. You of all people understand what it is to have multiple roles, all calling on your attention."


    "Oh, no you don''t," Min said, her eyes sparkling. "You''re coming with me. I''m not done with you yet, young Wu.¡±


    He spluttered. "I must be older than you are."


    "In years, not experience.¡± She took his elbow and guiding him out from under the tree. She navigated them deftly through the crowd, stopping at a servant and crooking a finger. The servant handed them two cups brimming with liquid. Chang-li was desperately thirsty at this point, nervous and worn from his interviews. He took a big sip and nearly spat it out again. The cider burned going down his throat.


    Min chuckled as she took a sip. "Goes down strong, doesn''t it? Always have a cup like that in your hand at an affair like this. It makes it look as though you''re enjoying yourself and part of the festivities, even if you''re not. Be seen with whomever you like, but be careful who you are last seen with."


    "Wait, what?" Chang-li''s head hurt. He took another sip of his cider. It went down more smoothly this time.


    "That is, be careful who notices you leaving a party and with whom," Min said. "The gossip at these things can be deadly, literally, especially for someone who''s trying to make the jump to cultivator."


    "Who says I''m trying to make a jump?"


    "I do," Min said. "And so do you. No other explanation makes sense, and that''s fine, and I can help you if you''ll let me. It looks to me as though you need a lot of help. First of all, there''s your mysterious barbarian friend. I like the look of him," she added conversationally, "and his technique was fascinating. But Hiroko has made it clear that he''s her property, at least for the time being. I''m wondering if she''s just using him to get rid of Feng. Would be wise of her, if that''s the case. Anyway, I need to know what there is between the two of you."


    "Nothing," Chang-li said automatically. He did not trust Min. The noblewoman was clearly playing her own games here. On the other hand, she was already mixed up with him, and an investigation into Chang-li could reveal Brother Stone as well.


    She was studying him, waiting for him to say anything more.


    "I have a problem," Chang-li admitted.


    "Then so do I," said Min at once. "You''ve forgotten, Brother Wu. You''re part of my organization now."


    He bristled at that. "I haven''t taken any oaths to join your brotherhood," he muttered but was cut off by an unwelcome interruption.

 Bk 2 Ch 5: Party Tricks

    Chang-li watched as Young Master Feng strode into the center of the garden. He spoke loudly enough to attract everyone''s attention. "My fellow cultivators," he bellowed. "Honorable Gem Court, my Grand Master has given me permission to let you be present for this."


    Chang-li stood apart from Min as the crowd turned interestedly to watch. Across the way, he saw Joshi, close beside Princess Hiroko. They made a powerful-looking couple. Joshi was dressed in dark robes, cut like a cultivator''s, but in no particular color pattern. His head gleamed in the fading light as he towered over most of the rest of the crowd. He had always been muscular, even when suffering from the privations of his slavery, but reaching the Peak of Bodily Refinement had been good for him. His sleeves were rolled up, showing his muscular forearms. He looked well-fed. No one would suspect he had worn a slave''s collar not a month ago. He looked like a cultivator, and the most impressive one here. Chang-li suspected Feng thought the same, hence his display.


    Feng pulled out a bottle containing a pulsing, red, fist-sized object¡ªthe heart of the bird, which he had been allowed to cut out and take from the tower. "Behold," he said dramatically, "I have finished my meditations and devised a cycling pattern that will enable me to use this treasure to its fullest."


    "Why is he showing off like this?" Min whispered. "Don''t competitors usually do this sort of thing in private?"


    "He must be very sure of himself," Chang-li said. "But I suppose with a core full of lux, it shouldn''t be too great a risk."


    He watched jealously as Feng held up the bottle before removing its stopper, lifting it to his lips. Chang-li didn''t see how he could possibly consume the whole heart, but he did. The contents of the bottle slipped down his throat.


    Feng threw back his head and stretched out his arms. He shouted, "Raa!" and Chang-li felt the lux boiling off him. That heart had been condensed, purified, red lux. What would it do to him?


    Feng sat with crossed legs, not on the grass, but hovering a foot above it. Some of the disciples of the other sects gasped while the Soaring Heavens disciples applauded.


    Min was staring. "How can he do that? We''re not at a tower."


    Chang-li had never seen this sort of display either, but he had heard stories from his uncle''s friends who had scribed alongside cultivators. "Usually that sort of technique is only possible inside a tower, but Feng has reached the Peak of Mental Refinement. That means his core is both larger and denser than a cultivator who''s only reached Bodily Refinement. Since we were all inside a tower only yesterday, his core should be almost full. You still have lux in your own core, don''t you?"


    "I do," Min agreed. "Princess Hiroko showed me a cycling technique while I was there, and it seems to be helping me hold on to the lux, but I can feel it slipping away."


    "Not a good feeling, is it?" He couldn¡¯t help but give a knowing smile.


    "No." She frowned deeply.


    Chang-li suspected Hiroko had passed along Purification of Mind and Soul. It was the simplest of the techniques Joshi had taught them and easily passed along. But if Min had mastered it well enough with just one simple instruction to still be getting use out of it outside the tower, she had good presence of mind herself.


    Feng was cycling a complicated pattern. Chang-li tried to follow it. Outside of the tower, there wasn''t as much ambient lux to distract him. He could get a basic idea of what Feng was doing. It was mostly red lux, which he was circulating through his body. It felt like he had great control over his individual lux channels. Chang-li could move lux from his core through any one particular channel, but if he wanted to send it to his hand, he wasn''t yet able to specify which finger, though his lux channel opened up at the wrist and spread out into five smaller channels.


    Feng had mastery on those smaller channels. He sent a stream of lux to each of his index fingers and then out, connecting between them. The crowd applauded. Chang-li was impressed at Feng''s control. He might not like the arrogant young cultivator, but the man was strong. It would not do to underestimate him.


    Then Feng lifted his hands high. The red lux fountained up from his hands, surrounding him in a circle. He wove in green and a little orange to harden the shell that formed around him.


    "What is that?" Min asked, sounding fascinated.


    "It''s a lux cocoon," Chang-li guessed. He had read the term in Scribe Wulan''s notes but didn''t know what it was for. Fortunately, he didn''t have to admit his lack of knowledge, as a moment later, the cocoon shattered. Feng rose, lifted high to shoulder height, still in his sitting pose. If his aim was to be the center of attention, it was working.


    His hair billowed out behind him as though blown by a breeze that touched no-one else. His skin was luminous, and he just looked more real than anyone else here. The moment passed. Chang-li rubbed his eyes, and Feng was just a normal overpowered, overbearing Young Master.


    Feng shot a technique skyward that exploded over their heads in a shower of sparks. He unfolded his legs and stood, bowed to the cultivation master. "Have I your approval?"


    "An impressive display," Master Bao said impassively. "I am satisfied that you have truly reached the Peak of Mental Refinement and are progressing beyond it. You will be permitted to enter the tower with a party of lesser cultivators on you to assist with the cleansing. Consult with your Grand Master to decide whom you will take."


    Feng bowed. "Thank you," he said, then strode off through the crowd.


    "Smart move," Min watched as Feng left the party, clearly heading for the cultivator''s quarters. "Leave them wanting more. He''s made himself the center of attention here. All of the other nobles will be talking about this all night. He might even take the spotlight off of Young Master Joshi."


    "I hope he will," Chang-li said fervently.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Min plucked at his sleeve. "Come, let''s have a quiet word." She maneuvered him past the edge of the crowd and around behind the buildings. There, the gardens were dim. Small benches were set among trees and flowering shrubs. She led him over to one which was surrounded but not concealed by bushes and sat him at one end of the bench.


    "The watchers will be able to see us just fine here," she said. "We might have some gossip, but nothing too much." Now she focused her eyes on him, and he swallowed hard. "Let''s talk about this problem of yours."


    "It might be two problems," Chang-li confessed. "I came to the attention of the cultivation master and also my new boss, Inspector Dah. They''re asking about when I acquired my license. I told them that Inspector Ji¡¯in sponsored me, but I didn''t think to forge records backing me up. So they''re going to send to him to find out if I''m telling the truth."


    "Which you''re not," Min said.


    "No. And then when they follow up on my license, they may find out about Brother Stone''s as well."


    To his surprise, Min smiled rather than looking worried. "Well done, making your problem my problem. You''ll be fitting into the Brotherhood in no time. What happened to Inspector Ji¡¯in?"


    "He was sent down from the tower in disgrace. I thought at first it was just to give Inspector Dah his position, but I was listening to the other scribes'' gossip, and apparently, he was caught drunk on the job a few too many times, his records out of order. On the one hand, that does make it more believable that he just didn''t file all of my paperwork."


    "Any chance we could convince them that he forgot and you found the paperwork now?"


    "That seems risky," Chang-li said. "They''ve already looked in the obvious places. I could try to slip it into files in Inspector Dah¡¯s office, but I''m still afraid they''re going to send him a message."


    "I suggest trying the forged papers first," Min said. "It''s always better to fake a paperwork mistake than have to find a way to persuade a witness that they didn''t see what they knew they saw. But I''ll put out some feelers and make sure that if a messenger is sent to Inspector Ji''in, we know about it."


    The way she said "we" cheered Chang-li up intensely.


    "Where did you learn a technique?" Min asked. "That''s what it was, wasn''t it? I know the fight was confusing, but I have heard stories of cultivators. You were using a technique."


    "It was in a book," Chang-li said.


    Min''s eyes brightened. "You learned cultivating from a book? I thought you needed grandmasters and ancient teachers for that."


    "The sects keep their secret techniques locked up, but they have them," Chang-li scrambled to come up with enough half-truths to satisfy her. "And of course, they need scribes to copy those techniques out. We are duty-bound to the Empire to make copies and file them with the local Office of Cultivation. They''re kept secret for a period of time, but if a sect fails to renew the seals, the technique manuals are open to anyone who chooses to peruse them."


    "Is that so?" Min asked.


    "Anyone who''s a cultivator, that is.¡± Chang-li hoped she would stop with this line of questioning soon.


    "Where is the nearest of these libraries?"


    He shrugged. "I don''t believe we have one here in the camp. This isn¡¯t a permanent facility and leaving manuals like that where they could be stolen is against Imperial law. There''ll be one in Golden Moon City, of course."


    "Oh, of course," Min said. "But I see you are trying to avoid my questions. What is the connection between you and Joshi?"


    He could get up right now and walk away from this conversation. Min would know he was hiding something but not the details. On the other hand, she was the only person in the camp likely to be able to aid him, and right now he wasn''t sure how to help Joshi.


    "You''ve probably guessed that I entered the tower on my own.¡±


    Min nodded. "I deduced that from the way that you handle yourself like a cultivator, have a cultivating technique, oh, and just reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement. I don''t think you can do that on your second trip into a tower."


    "I found another entrance.¡± He held up a hand. "I''m not going to tell you where or any details about it. It''s my secret, and if I sell it to you, there''ll be a price."


    Her eyes sparkled. "Indeed, there will."


    "Joshi entered with me. It was an accident, but we cultivated together. He remained inside after I left."


    "Why did you leave?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "Too many secrets. Let''s leave it at I came back and Joshi continued."


    "How does he have the ring of a sect? Is it a real sect?" Min asked.


    "It was a real sect," Chang-li allowed.


    "Oh," she rubbed her hands together, eyes sparkling. "You''ve got your hands on secrets from a defunct sect. Do you have any idea how much that could be worth in the right hands? Wait, I''ll need to think about this a lot. So, the two of you cultivated. You''ve both reached Bodily Refinement, but Joshi is pretending to be a Young Master. He''s still here, so I expect that means he wants to continue cultivating, but if anyone looks into his background too closely, they''ll find holes.¡±


    ¡°Big holes in a couple of days when his functionaries don''t arrive with the proper paperwork," Chang-li said grimly. "I was thinking if I could get my hands on the right parchment and ink, I could forge the documents and have them sent in a courier''s package."


    "Right.¡± Min rolled her eyes. "A Young Master on his own with no attendants, no disciples, no sect backing. Let me guess, no money either?" Chang-li shook his head.


    Min rose, rubbing her hands together. "You scribes think too much of paper work. In this case papers are the least of what he is missing. Let me think¡­ It wouldn''t take too much. I can''t have Brother Stone involved. He''s been a little too prominent in the camp. In fact, I wouldn''t want anyone who''s in the camp at all, but that makes it easier in some ways. Yes. Hmm. I''ll need the papers from you as soon as possible. Do you think you can have them all handled tonight?"


    He blinked, trying to keep up with her. ¡°You mean ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Forge everything your friend needs to cover his tracks. Licenses, permits, whatever.¡± She waved a hand. ¡°You¡¯re a scribe, you must have a better idea than I do.¡±


    "I''ve got most of what I need but not the seals," he said.


    "Where are those?"


    "In the cultivation master''s office.¡±


    ¡°And he''ll be here until at least midnight based on how these parties go. All right. We''re wasting time," she said.


    He blinked at her. "What? I haven''t even finished telling you everything."


    "You''ve told me enough. Your friend needs paperwork. The rest I can manage. But the paperwork we need as soon as possible, if I''m going to arrange to have it sent down to Golden Moon City and then come back with everything else we need to support Joshi''s claim."


    "Why would you..."


    "Oh, come on," she said. "You must be able to tell just how much use I could get out of having a cultivator at Bodily Refinement. No, two.¡± She looked Chang-li over. ¡°Both of whom owe me a favor or two.


    Chang-li stood up. He felt stiff. He bowed, as deep as he thought, and then straightened. He didn¡¯t know how he could possibly help Joshi on her own. Min had an answer for everything. And that left him cold inside. "I appreciate your help. But I do not want to get further entangled with the Brotherhood. I''ve heard stories..."


    Her eyes were hard and cold. "We take care of our own," she said. "That''s what those stories are about. We don''t wantonly go out there and murder people for getting in our way. We also don''t excuse rape just because some asshole is of a sufficient rank. So, I think that puts us ahead of several sects I could name. But I''ll tell you what. I''ll do this. You and Joshi are both going to owe me favors. However, I will give you some say in when they''re cashed in. That¡¯s a promise."


    He held up a hand. "I''m not sure¡­¡±


    ¡°But I am," she said. "Come on. We''ve got work to do and you''re wasting time."


    "What sort of work?" he asked as she led him through the darkening gardens toward the gate.


    "You are going to need to get those seals and forge documents. I''ll have a couple of my Younger Brothers help you while I make the rest of the arrangements. Get those papers to me at the inn where we met previously. If I''m not there, you can give them to Brother Stone. He''ll be waiting. Have them to me before dawn, and I''ll handle everything else."

 Bk 2 Ch 6: Min Schemes

    Min sent Chang-li off with three members of the Oaken Band Brotherhood who were particularly good at letting themselves into places they weren''t supposed to be and then back out again without getting caught. The young scribe looked miserable. That was all right. By tomorrow or the next day, when he''d had time to reflect on what had happened, he''d come around.


    She was still amused at how quickly the scribe, who had claimed he would never get involved with forgery, had adapted to the life. All he had needed was to see it was the only way he was going to get what he wanted, and he had come right around.


    The rest of her business should be straightforward. She gave a few orders, penned a few notes, confirmed with Brother Stone that he understood how critical this was, and then, as she waited for a few replies, sat back in the private room at the top of the Brotherhood''s drinking establishment.


    Sipping a hot cup of jasmine tea, she considered. Tonight''s work was an investment in the future. Even if the second part of her scheme didn''t work out properly, having two promising young cultivators indebted to her could only serve her well in the future.


    Besides, she didn''t want Chang-li getting mixed up with Moon Whispers. They were a desperate lot, if she''d ever seen one. The way Li Jen was trying to get Princess Hiroko''s attention, the way Li Jiya was showing off for the dowager, it was clear that they knew just what kind of desperate straits their sect was in. She hadn''t been exaggerating to Chang-li, but now she was curious. She penned another note to go down to Golden Moon City, asking for the Oaken Band''s operatives there to look into the Moon Whispers sect a little more closely. Chang-li deserved better.


    She flashed to the memory of the scribe inside the tower, facing down the enormous bird, the moment he had come to the aid of her and Hiroko. Hiroko probably hadn''t even noticed; she''d been so intent on her patient. But when Chang-li had arrived, Min hadn''t even recognized him. He''d been naked to the waist, a ball of flame in his right hand, and he''d had a sword in his left hand.


    She closed her eyes to picture the scene better. Yes, a sword. Where had a scribe gotten hold of a sword? They were forbidden to use weapons. She hadn''t seen him with it after. Perhaps he''d dropped it? The sword had shone with orange lux. Could it have been a conjured blade? She didn''t think so. But to use lux and a sword together implied he''d been practicing it for some time.


    Then he''d shown he could use a two-color lux technique, a chord. Min might not know much about cultivation theory herself, but she did know that combining two different colors of lux together took work and was the sign of a more advanced cultivator.


    He would be a good asset for her Brotherhood. That was it. That was why she was interested in him. Not just because she had thought she was going to die, and then at the last moment, looked up and seen him there, gleaming with sweat, glowing with lux.


    He was just a scribe, after all. A scribe about to make the jump to cultivator, which would make him an eligible husband for Min. Not that she wanted a husband. She was here to promote her Brotherhood and see to its interests.


    The business of being a noble in the Court of Gems was just cover. It was her real rank, of course, and certainly made her eligible to marry a cultivator. But she had bigger fish to fry right now.


    Regardless, she had found the scribe first. No washed-up sect was going to take him away from her. Not now that she truly understood just how important to her Brotherhood''s future a couple of cultivators could be. She and her grandfather had dreamed too small, thinking of convincing a few sectless cultivators approaching Bodily Refinement to join the Brotherhood as muscle. Having real cultivators in their membership would open doors for the Brotherhood they''d never dreamed of.


    Was it possible there was a reason why other fraternal organizations had never tried to bring in high-ranking cultivators? Min quickly quashed that worry. Most Brotherhoods were not led by a far-seeing Eldest Brother who could marry his only daughter to the son of a provincial governor, thereby guaranteeing his descendants¡¯ high-ranking status. She would take that dream even farther by binding a cultivator or even two into their organization.


    Chang-li was a good prospect, but his friend Joshi might turn out to be an even better one. There was much there that Chang-li was not telling her, she was sure of that, and she would look into it. How had a scribe and a barbarian come to team up? Where had they even met? For now, she needed to take steps to protect Chang-li and Joshi as well as get more of her people into good positions.


    It worried her. The barbarian stuck out like a sore thumb in this camp. If he was not in fact a new arrival ¡ª if he and Chang-li had met previously, and gone into the tower together at the same time, where had he come from? It made no sense.


    Realization hit her. His rough manner, the way he¡¯d slid away from attention right away¡ª what if he had been in the camp all along, as one of the enslaved workers? Some of the slaves had died in the attack on Hiroko¡¯s caravan. Joshi might be one of those slaves, not dead, but escaped.


    Then ¡ª Hiroko must know who he was. And she¡¯d been standing arm-in-arm with him tonight.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Oh, this was big. She needed to make certain before she did anything with the information. If she was wrong it could get her in serious trouble. How to confirm without letting anyone else figure it out? She¡¯d need to be very, very careful.


    Brother Stone slid into the booth across from her, and Min purposefully put all thought of the princess and the barbarian out of her mind. ¡°Did you make the arrangements?¡±


    "I don''t like this," he said, none of his usual deference in his voice. "This is dangerous. I don''t think we need this."


    "Didn''t you enjoy your trip inside the tower?" Min asked. "I certainly did. It was eye-opening. I''ll be looking for a way back myself, but that''s not the point."


    "No, it''s not," Brother Stone agreed harshly. "I am happy to continue cultivating. I don''t think anyone''s suspected anything amiss yet. But bringing in more..."


    "It''s the perfect chance," Min said. "Chang-li will deliver three licenses for disciples making their way toward Bodily Refinement. All you have to do is find three members of the Brotherhood down in Golden Moon City who are likely candidates and willing to take a few risks. Add a couple of others to serve as sect functionaries, and here we are, slotted neatly into this tower cull, with papers recognizing us as a legitimate sect and a Young Master to lead us."


    "You''re putting a lot of faith in a couple of men we know nothing about," Brother Stone growled.


    "Chang-li has been a good bet so far. If he''s willing to stick out his neck for this friend of his, I''m willing to give him a little bit of rope. Just make sure the recruits don''t have anything that will tie them to us.¡±


    They would know the usual routine. Should a member of a Brotherhood be caught, he or she would deny all ties with the Brethren no matter what threats happened. In return, the Brotherhood would not stop until they had done everything in their power to help free him or lighten his sentence. The code was well known.


    "Look at you.¡± She gestured to Brother Stone. "You''re nearly to Bodily Refinement, aren''t you?"


    He swelled with pride. "I am."


    "And when you are, you''ll be a match for any five or six ordinary men. Not to mention the lux techniques you¡¯ll have mastered.¡±


    "What techniques?" he growled. "I don''t know any techniques."


    "We''ll get Chang-li to teach you his."


    Brother Stone stared at her. "The scribe? First of all, he''s using orange and yellow lux, not red. Second, I don''t know how he learned a technique, but you think he''ll be able to have anything that helps me?"


    "Details," Min said. "We''ll worry about them later. The important thing right now is to seize this opportunity. Get these letters down to Golden Moon City. Oh," she added. "And look into where Inspector Ji¡¯in can be found. I''m guessing, based on the reports I heard of him in camp, he''ll be in a tavern somewhere, drunk to his eyeballs. We''ll need to make sure that he knows what story to tell, should anyone come asking."


    Brother Stone picked up her missives and sighed. "You''re taking a lot of risks, Elder Sister," he said, his gruff tone turning gentle. "I hope you know what you''re doing."


    "So do I," she admitted. "But my grandfather didn''t get to his place by playing it safe, and neither will I. The Brotherhood will flourish under my leadership, Brother Stone. I will help all of our people, not just the privileged few. This is a great step in that direction."


    He looked stubborn but said nothing as he tucked the missives inside his robes. "You need to get back," he said. "It must be after midnight by now."


    "I have all of the Court guards bribed by now," she said carelessly.


    Brother Stone''s eyes widened. "You didn''t hear?"


    "What?"


    "Cultivation Master Bao, gave orders. Due to the tower guards having been bribed, he has shuffled all assignments. No one has the same task as last week, and he''s mixed up all of the schedules as well."


    Min swore an oath as she leapt to her feet. She should have expected this. She had heard the story of the bribed guards. With a couple of last-minute suggestions tossed over her shoulder as she left the tavern, she hurried back through the camp. She wished she''d had a chance to change her noble''s robes for something a little more discreet. The white robes stood out in the darkness like they were glowing.


    She approached the gate of the Gem Court, and for a moment her heart rose. The gate stood open, a single pair of guards on duty. She approached, her throat tight. They stepped in front of her.


    "I''m returning from a walk," she said. "I''m Lady Min."


    "Yes, we all know who you are," came a dour voice. Min''s heart froze. "Come on inside the gates, girl."


    She stepped inside as the guards swung the gate closed behind to find the Dowager Pearl standing waiting for her. A pair of ancient, dry servants at her elbows. The dowager''s arms were folded. "Lady Min."


    Min said nothing. She had no excuse that the dowager would accept.


    "Come with me," the dowager said, and Min trailed obediently.


    "We''ve been hearing reports about you," the dowager said. "You''ve been seen leaving the court on several occasions. Tonight you were reported to leave in the company of that fascinating young scribe who seems to be trying to become a cultivator. I believe his name is Wei."


    "It''s Wu," Min said numbly. There didn''t seem any point in denying it, not when the dowager had seen her coming back.


    "I will not have my charges being the gossip of the whole camp," the dowager said.


    "We were just talking," Min said desperately.


    "And what exactly do a scribe and a noble lady have to talk about?"


    "Poetry," Min grabbed at the only thing that came to mind. "He has had training in the classics, and we were discussing the use of meter and imagery in Lady Shan-Lin''s Ten Chords for the Seven Prisms."


    The dowager studied her. Was it Min''s imagination, or did her face soften?


    "While I should like to think that my charges are so high-minded, when two young people sneak off in each other''s company, my mind, of course, goes other places," the dowager said finally. "I will be looking into this more closely, and I will be keeping an eye on you, Lady Min."


    Min shivered. How was she going to be running the business of the Brotherhood now? She was very glad she hadn''t left any of the details until morning. Sooner or later, Brother Stone would find a way to get her a message, or they''d get a pair of more bribeable guards on duty. But for now, she was going to have to lie low and play this close to her chest.


    "Go to bed," the dowager ordered. "Tomorrow, after breakfast, you will attend me, and I will have you copy out Dowager Pearl''s Ah Mien¡¯s Duties of the Royal Court until I am certain it has made an impression."


    Min hung her head. "Yes, Your Reverence."


    But when she had returned to her cell, and the chastisement began to fade in her memory, Min returned to thoughts of cultivation, and strapping young men who could help her achieve her dreams.

 Bk 2 Ch 7: Sects, Lies, and Red Tape

    Chang-li spent the next few days feeling as though he was poised on the edge of a precipice. One push, one wrong step, and he would fall to his death. There had been no word from down the mountain, either from Min''s people or the messenger that Magistrate Bao had sent to speak with Inspector Ji''in. He hadn''t seen Joshi, either, no doubt because the escaped slave was lying low. He hoped Min had gotten a message to him that help was coming.


    Even more cultivators were bustling around the camp than usual since the Inquisitor had closed the tower to anyone who had not at least reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement. The elders of each sect were working on a plan to ensure that the tower was not in imminent danger of an eruption and then allow the lower-ranked disciples back in. Chang-li wanted to get back in himself. He kept hoping for word from Li Jiya and the Moon Whispers sect, but they didn''t send him a message. He was starting to suspect they were waiting to hear what Inspector Ji''in had to say.


    Meanwhile, his fellow scribes were treating Chang-li as a minor celebrity, pestering him about how exactly he had mastered cultivation enough to reach Bodily Refinement so quickly. He found himself teaching lessons before bedtime in the dark quiet of the junior scribes¡¯ bunkroom. He had intended to teach them how to cycle and then leave them to it, since there really wasn''t much else they could do, not being in the tower. He found that they had trouble mastering the Swirling Mists he had tried to teach, and so he went back and taught them the first cycling pattern Joshi had passed on to him.


    "You have to distinguish between the colors of lux," he told them. "It''s much easier in a tower where the atmosphere is rich with it. Here we''ve only got what small scraps we all have in our cores. But it''s only been a few days since you left the tower. You must have a little remaining to you. If you can''t perceive the difference in color, try listening to the lux. They each have their own note," he hummed. A quick scale from red up to violet.


    "We''re not allowed to touch violet," Scribe Jun said.


    "Which is why you must be able to distinguish it from the others," Chang-li pointed out. "None of us want to be guilty of violating the Emperor''s divine law." He thought uncomfortably of just how much violet lux he himself had cycled and hoped it didn''t leave some sort of permanent stain on his soul. After all, he didn¡¯t want a higher-ranked cultivator somehow to see what he had done and denounce him for it. But there was no helping that now.


    Besides, even Inquisitor Zhan Sho was only at the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. Surely that sort of high-level sense would be for the cultivators on the tiers beyond that. And he didn''t even know what those tiers were called. Scribe Wulan''s journal had nothing to help him past the Peak of Bodily Refinement. He needed to get in with a sect, or his journey would end here.


    He was in the scribe house, filling out ledgers for the quartermaster, when Scribe Tu came rushing in, breathless.


    "Scribe Wu, the Inspector is calling for you. He''s in the forecourt."


    Chang-li set down his pen at once and leapt up, heart hammering, hurrying around the counter. "What is it?"


    ¡°Arrivals from down the mountain."


    Chang-li''s mouth was very dry. This was it. The inspector had learned of his deceit and would be turning him over to the Inquisitor. They might even throw him off the mountainside, just as he''d been fearing. Maybe he should go the other way, deeper into the camp. Find Joshi, ask the escaped slave to help hide him, and then sneak out under cover of darkness. Together they might have a chance at braving the wilderness and finding somewhere safe.


    But no. There was no hiding from the Empire, and Chang-li was a scribe. Where else would he go?


    He straightened his robes, brushed back his hair from his face, and set off to the forecourt. A group of guards were standing around, watching, and chatting idly amongst themselves. Inspector Dah was talking with a newly arrived group of cultivators and their attendants.


    The cultivators¡¯ robes were grey and white, with a single slash of pale blue along the sleeves. Not colors he''d seen before. Usually, sects preferred bright patterned robes to ensure that they stood out from the common rabble, who were not permitted to use any of the seven pure colors. Their banner was grey, with white stalks of grain growing up from the bottom, and a red circle behind the grain.


    "Ah, Scribe Wu," Inspector Dah called cheerfully, "come on over here and join us. These are the new arrivals from the Sect of Morning Mist."


    Chang-li nearly choked. These were Min''s impostors? They looked like a real sect. There were three disciples, all male, all a bit older than Chang-li. Now that he looked closely, he saw a broken nose on one, and swollen knuckles on another, signs that these supposed cultivators were brawlers. The servants were mostly older, though there were two young boys among them. Two of them were women, the other six men.


    "Since you''ve been making a good impression on the cultivators, I thought I''d have you accompany me to handle the official record-keeping. We go now to find Young Master Joshi," Inspector Dah said cheerfully. "Come."


    Chang-li trailed along, his heart still hammering. He had expected ¡ª well, honestly he hadn''t dared hope for anything, but he''d been expecting perhaps a messenger with some falsified documents, and maybe one Brotherhood member dressed up to look like a disciple. Other than the lack of a Grand Master, these false disciples looked much like the other sects he had seen.


    The foremost of the false disciples, the man whose nose had been broken and healed crooked, said in a low voice, "Greetings from our elder sister."


    Chang-li was getting very good at stifling inappropriate responses. He merely nodded his head and calmed his racing heart. That was easier to do than it had been a week ago. He could feel his command over his body had increased. If he could school his features and keep from giving away the truth, he might have a chance here.


    Inspector Dah led them directly to the building where, apparently, Joshi was being housed. A servant opened the door. The inspector bowed with the least amount of deference possible to the disciples. ¡°This is where we have settled you, at least until you make other arrangements. You will need to pay the back rent immediately, as well as the next month''s in advance. First, let us confer with your Young Master and see to his bona fides."


    They all entered the house as Joshi descended from the private rooms above. He looked much better than he had in the tower. Clearly, he''d been shaving and bathing with some regularity. He surveyed the room and crossed his arms. "I expected you two days ago," he said to the false disciples.


    "Forgive us, Young Master.¡± The spokesman bowed low. "We were detained in Golden Moon City."


    "Detained?" Joshi''s eyebrows rose. "By the beer and loose women, I suspect. Come, let''s have the paperwork for the inspector to look over."


    He was very deliberately not looking at Chang-li. That was probably a good thing. They might be able to pull it off, if Joshi kept his wits about him and Chang-li didn¡¯t slip up.


    The first disciple brought out a satchel and opened it. He handed the contents to Inspector Dah, bowing. ¡°Disciple Yang begs you to inspect these papers and provide your endorsements.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Dah opened the oilskin packet. There were a dozen different pages inside, all of which Chang-li recognized because he had written them out himself. At Inspector Dah''s gesture, Chang-li came to stand beside him. Together, they scrutinized each piece of paper.


    "Here is your sect registration. I see you had it certified in Golden Moon City. That is well done.¡± Inspector Dah set it down. "And here, your list of cultivators joining this Tower Cull. License for Young Master Joshi. No family name?¡±


    ¡°My sect is my family,¡± Joshi said stiffly. ¡°That is all.¡±


    The Inspector considered Joshi a moment before nodding. ¡°From outside the Empire?¡±


    ¡°I was. Now I am a subject of his Divine Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Well, your papers are in order. That is all that matters.¡±


    Chang-li allowed him to relax. Foreign cultivators were a staple in the sometimes lurid novels that his classmates at school had swapped behind their instructors¡¯ backs. A foreign prince coming to cultivate, being swept off his feet by a high-ranked noble lady, returning to his home to show his people the light¡­ not that Chang-li had spent much time reading those books. Only a handful. Well, maybe a dozen. Or so.


    ¡°You will need to present this to Magistrate Bao at the Office of Cultivation to receive the special endorsement you earned by saving the Indigo Princess. Do not delay there. And your disciples here, Yang, Shou, and Cui. You have your own licenses, gentlemen?"


    Each of the false disciples produced their own license, looking suitably rumpled and worn. They were emblazoned with a series of different seals. Chang-li had been able to fake one and had told Brother Stone they would need to add a few more for verisimilitude. He held his breath as the inspector looked over each.


    "I have not seen the seal of Tuflang province before. That is far to the west, is it not?"


    Joshi bowed his head low. "It is, indeed."


    "You studied there?"


    "I learned under the famed monks of Harupa Monastery before joining the Sect of Morning Mist."


    "Interesting. And here, your application to participate in this Tower Cull." Inspector Dah lifted the final sheet of paper. Chang-li held his breath as the inspector considered it. Then Dah took his seal from around his neck. Chang-li offered up his own ink pad. The inspector rolled the seal in the ink, then applied it to the licenses and to the sect charter paperwork.


    "Everything seems to be in order. Welcome to the Tower Cull. I will leave Scribe Wu to make logs of the appropriate documents. He can file them at the Office of Cultivation Headquarters when he''s done here. Send one of your disciples with him to pay the appropriate fees, young master."


    The inspector bowed to Joshi, much lower than before. Joshi returned the bow gravely. "Thank you for your diligence, Inspector Dah. I am pleased that my paperwork has caught up to me, and somewhat chagrined at my actions. I pray you do not allow my impetuousness to reflect on my sect.¡±


    ¡°Had you not joined the Tower Cull early, Princess Hiroko might well have been killed. I speak for everyone involved in this Tower Cull when I say, we are grateful for Heaven''s providence. Welcome again."


    Dah left the house. When the door closed behind him, the disciples and Joshi visibly relaxed. Chang-li opened his mouth to speak, but Joshi shook his head and gave a subtle nod toward the woman cleaning the corners of the room. Chang-li got his meaning.


    "My thanks for your help, Scribe Wu," Joshi said as Chang-li bent over the paperwork, scribbling copies. Joshi turned to the cleaning woman, clapping his hands. "I will speak with my sect members alone. You may return later," he said imperiously.


    Chang-li admired how well Joshi imitated an overbearing young master. Perhaps it was his previous life as the son of a great Khan. The cleaner bowed low and left the house.


    Joshi turned to Chang-li, his expression shifting from the mask he''d worn in front of the inspector. "This is your doing?"


    ¡°Not all of it,¡± Chang-li said as the false disciples approached.


    "The eldest sister says you will see to our instruction and ensure that we each reach at least the Peak of Bodily Refinement." The one who had given his name as Yang said.


    "Who''s this eldest sister?" Joshi demanded, "What have you gotten me into?"


    "You''re the one who claimed the name of the Sect of Morning Mist," Chang-li said. ¡°You should have claimed to be an unaffiliated cultivator there to try to make his fortune.¡±


    "I had just seen the sort of damage unaffiliated cultivators can cause to a tower cull. I did not wish anyone to associate me with them," Joshi pointed out. "But who is this eldest sister, and what bargain is it you''ve made?"


    "These men are from the Oaken Band Brotherhood," Chang-li explained. "I know them. They have a decent reputation among the weak."


    Joshi hesitated, clearly not wanting to give away the fact that he''d been a slave a month ago. He looked around at the others, then at Chang-li. "We need to talk," he said in a low voice.


    "All of you settle in and take up your roles," Chang-li said. "I will let your new master know what''s going on."


    As the others dispersed throughout the house, Chang-li kept an eye on the doors and attuned his senses, trying to listen for any sign they were being observed. He could tell from Joshi''s tense body language that the barbarian was doing the same.


    "One of the nobles in the Court of Gems is also a key woman of the Oaken Band Brotherhood. I''ve had several dealings with her already, and she is more insightful than I like. She realized I had been inside the tower cultivating and helped me to fake a license for myself. After we encountered you, she offered to assist in providing proof of your claims of having a sect of your own."


    "Out of the goodness of her heart?"


    "No, of course not. As they said, they want training."


    "Are they good men, trustworthy?"


    "I''ve never met any of them before in my life,¡± Chang-li admitted. ¡°The Brotherhoods operate on their own codes of honor. I know some consider them as criminals. Others think they are heroes. I believe that Lady Min intends to keep her bargains, but also to get every scrap of use out of you and me she possibly can."


    "I escaped one slavery for another.¡± Joshi sighed. ¡°Well, thank you for aiding me. You didn''t need to. Now at least I will be permitted back inside the tower."


    "You''ve got your license. Just sneak out in the middle of the night and find another tower," Chang-li suggested. ¡°I did not mean to entangle you against your will.¡±


    Joshi shook his head. "If I remain here and at the end of this cull receive the satisfactory completion notation on my license, I can present myself at other towers as a cultivator. I can tell them that my sect met an unfortunate end and has been dissolved. With a license bearing multiple endorsements, I can join another sect and continue cultivating."


    It was a fairly daring path, but as long as Min''s people kept up their roles, Chang-li thought it could work. "Then all you need to do is reach the Peak of Mental Refinement here as you teach the Oaken Band men to reach Bodily Refinement.¡±


    "And how do you propose I do that?" Joshi asked. "Do you know the path to Mental Refinement? Did your dead scribe perhaps write it down in his book?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "No, he doesn''t know anything about it. I hoped you would."


    "The monks of Harupa prepared me to reach Bodily Refinement. After that, they told me I would need to find a sect to teach me the next steps. It is not just a matter of condensing your core again. It''s an entirely different kind of training. The monks said that reaching the Peak of Bodily Refinement might be compared to watching a man train his muscles day by day until he can lift boulders twice as heavy as he himself is. But that to reach Mental Refinement was like a man learning to walk through a maze of glass, barefooted and blindfolded, without cutting himself.¡±


    ¡°That sounds painful.¡±


    ¡°And dangerous to attempt on one¡¯s own. Not to mention, I don''t have any techniques of my own. By Mental Refinement, a cultivator is supposed to be braiding together three different colors of lux to perform his techniques. I''ve found brute force ways of using two."


    "So have I," Chang-li said. He described his Firepot technique, then listened as Joshi explained how he had formed a gauntlet with claws from red and orange lux. He yearned to write it down in his own cultivator''s journal and would once he had the chance. This was exactly the sort of thing he longed to learn. "The Moon Whisperers Sect, I think they might invite me to become their sect''s scribe. There, I can learn and continue my own path."


    Joshi clapped him on the shoulder. "Well done. You have your path ahead. I am glad for you, Chang-li. You have helped me more than ever I expected you would."


    "You saved my life and set me on the correct path. That is a debt, and the time we spent together have, I hope, made us friends," Chang-li said. "I am glad to be able to come to your aid. I just hope that this Oaken Band dealing works out for the best. Every time I speak with Min, I find myself in deeper waters," he confessed. "She''s clever and drives a hard bargain. Take care if she speaks with you. She''s insightful and has a way of finding out your secrets."


    "I appreciate the warning," Joshi said. "Now, I had better go down there and speak with my new disciples."


    They laughed together, and Chang-li felt better than he had in days. The Oaken Band deal was Joshi''s problem now. He had done and upheld his end of the bargain, and now he could pursue his own desires. As Joshi spoke to the Oaken Band servants and false disciples, Chang-li finished the paperwork, returning the original forgeries to Joshi, and taking his receipts to the Office of Cultivation.

 Bk 2 Ch 8: Listen To Your Elders

    "I like the feel of your body now," the querulous voice of Scribe Wulan said.


    Chang-li jolted awake. He stared up in horror to find the ghost of the dead scribe hovering over him, sitting cross-legged in thin air.


    The room was dark and quiet, the other scribes sleeping on their pallets. Chang-li managed to stifle a gasp at Wulan''s appearance. The ghost seemed more substantial now, somehow, with traces of color in his face and robes. Chang-li sat up and edged backward.


    The ghost chuckled. "You did not think I''d forgotten about you, now that you are a step closer to fulfilling both our purposes?"


    Chang-li shook his head, his tongue tied. "What do you want?" he hissed. He couldn¡¯t have been asleep more than a few minutes. After forging the papers and handing them over to Brother Stone, he¡¯d snuck back into the bunkroom and found his fellow scribes asleep. Outside the window, the sky had begun to lighten to grey.


    "Merely to have a word with you," Wulan said. "It is so much easier to speak with you with this nice dense core you''ve got. So much lux. I will be able to manifest for days at this rate. You have progressed well, young Chang-li. Congratulations to you and your ally."


    "Thank you.¡± It did feel good to have his status acknowledged by someone who wasn''t going to get him killed. "Now, what do you want?"


    "We made a bargain, you and I," Scribe Wulan said. "I saved your life, and you swore to help me fulfill my unfinished business.¡±


    ¡°We were in a bit of a hurry at the time, and I feel as though I did not ask enough questions.¡± The pen case he had taken from Wulan''s bag lay under his thin mat. Perhaps that was why Scribe Wulan could speak to him so easily at night, or perhaps he was just waiting until no one else was around. "Can others see you?" he asked the ghost.


    Scribe Wulan shrugged his shoulders. "I don''t know. My experience with ghosts is limited to a few interactions with long-passed sect elders in the course of my duties as a scribe. They were, of course, far, far more powerful than either of us. But I do not feel as though I am going to fade away like a family shade. So perhaps there is more to me than you think."


    Chang-li took a deep breath. "All right, tell me what it is you want me to do for you. Write a letter and get your sect''s good name restored?"


    "It will take a great deal more than a letter to bring the Morning Mist Sect back to life," Scribe Wulan said. "But you and your friend have already made a good start. Clever of the barbarian to claim our name. What I wish for you to do is to take my pen case back home to the sect headquarters."


    "I thought you said the sect has been destroyed."


    "The people, yes, but the buildings were erected long ago by great cultivators on the level of Prisms. It would take more than the Inquisitors and army officials who rose against us to destroy those. You will be rewarded. There are no doubt still treasures remaining at the sect headquarters."


    "Prisms? How long ago was your sect destroyed?" Chang-li asked. "I mean, what year was it?"


    "I perished in the four hundred and fifteenth year of our glorious emperor''s divine rule."


    Chang-li choked. Scribe Jun in the next pallet over stirred in his sleep. Chang-li froze until Jun flopped back on his face and resumed snoring. "That''s over five hundred years," he hissed. "Are you sure the sect headquarters still stands?"


    "If we return and there is nothing there, I shall hold you released from your oath," Scribe Wulan said grandly.


    "And you were barely even a member of the sect."


    "Nevertheless, I made an oath to Cultivator Kang to accompany him on his journey. Until I return there, I cannot hold my oath fulfilled. If I do, I can put an end to my vow and rest in peace."


    Chang-li sighed. "All right, so where is this headquarters?"


    "Oh, a very long way from here indeed," Scribe Wulan said carelessly. "I do not think you will survive the journey until you have at least reached the Peak of Spiritual Refinement.¡±


    "But I have only just reached Physical Refinement! Without a sect of my own to back me and teach me, I''m not going to be going anywhere else."


    "Then you had best join a sect," Scribe Wulan said.


    "You make it sound so easy.¡±


    ¡°Sects are always looking for scribes to update their training manuals and record the great deeds of their masters," Wulan said. "It shouldn''t be that hard."


    "You told me you spent all your life as a scribe to a sect, and it was only at the very end when Cultivator Kang had no one else to teach that you made any headway on progression. If I join a sect, how long do you think it''ll take me to reach spiritual refinement?"


    "A point," Wulan conceded. "You shall have to find a way to convince them to teach you their secrets, and quickly."


    "I''ll do my best," Chang-li said. It was an easy promise to make. He wanted to continue cultivating more than almost anything else in his life. "But it may take me a few years to get back to your sect headquarters.


    "Don''t take too long," Scribe Wulan said. "I feel our bond growing stronger by the day. It might be difficult to sever our link once we do return if you do not manage it quickly enough. And then I''d have to spend the rest of your life attached to you before I''m able to move on."


    Chang-li shuddered at the thought of the cranky ghost being in his room every night for the next eighty years, watching him sleep. "I''ll do what I can," he promised.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    <hr>


    HIROKO


    Hiroko''s studies with the Dowager were a surprise. All her life, she had been aware of the presence of Dowager Pearls. They were everywhere in the imperial garden, quietly managing the emperor''s harem and the lives of his children and grandchildren who dwelt within palace grounds. Her own grandmother, for whom she had been named, was a Dowager, one of the eight in charge of the grounds themselves.


    Hiroko had spent time with her grandmother as the older woman directed the landscaping of the great gardens, ordering a tree to be removed or a new water feature added, sending hundreds of servants scurrying to do her bidding. What she hadn''t realized was that the rest of the empire functioned the same way.


    Now, as she spent her afternoons under the tutelage of the Dowager, she began to understand yet another aspect of the emperor''s magnificent plan of governance. The Dowager worked closely with Magistrate Bao, the master of this tower cull. He, in turn, spoke with and directed the sects and cultivators who had come to attend, but he took no action without first closeting himself with the Dowager to discuss it.


    Hiroko was privileged to sit in on several of their meetings over the next few days as they discussed the recent events in the tower and how to react to them.


    "It was not a disaster," the Dowager Pearl told Magistrate Bao.


    Hiroko sat quietly in a corner, kneeling on a cushion, eyes down, ears open.


    "We lost three disciples and eight servants," Magistrate Bao said. "We could easily have lost several Young Masters or even some of your charges, my lady."


    "But we did not," the Dowager said briskly. "I had a chance to see most of the Young Masters in action as well as expose my charges to the realities of cultivation. Many of them had foolish notions which have hopefully now been dispelled. I expect the Inquisitor to allow lower ranks back into the tower later this week.¡±


    Bao replied, ¡°While I bow to your experience and wisdom, I have no intention of losing my job. Even once the Inquisitor has reopened this tower, we should take care who we permit inside.¡±


    ¡°I agree. In addition, I wish for you to send out another call for cultivators."


    "As you wish, revered Pearl, but this will be our third call. It is beginning to sound a little desperate."


    "Desperate is our situation here if we do not get a few more worthy Young Masters," the Dowager snapped. "I am biased, but I am satisfied with the performance of my own relatives in the Moon Whispers sect. They performed adequately. Jiya has a good head on her shoulders, and Jen merely needs a chance to advance. The Jade Lotus cultivators are completely subpar. If this is the best their sect can manage, perhaps they need an inquisitorial visit to look into their training methods and techniques. They are wasting the potential of the cultivators they take under their wings."


    "Young Master Feng made a good showing for himself," Magistrate Bao said. "He has reached the Peak of Mental Refinement."


    "I expect no less from him. He did keep cool in a dangerous situation," the Dowager allowed, "but his personal manners are off-putting.¡±


    ¡°Many of the best cultivators are arrogant.¡±


    ¡°Then they are not who we should be seeking to raise up to serve the Emperor," the Dowager said. "It may be that the Indigo Princess chooses Young Master Feng, but she should do so because he is truly the best, not because she has no other choices. Send out the call."


    Hiroko found herself reddening, but neither looked her way. She hoped the Dowager was successful. The idea of marrying Feng was repulsive. She would not do it. There had to be another way.


    "What of this newly arrived Sect of Morning Mist?" Magistrate Bao asked.


    "Yes, what of it? Have you made inquiries?"


    "Nothing in the local records. I''m going farther afield. You have noted, I am sure, that Young Master Joshi is of the Darwur people. He claims to have studied with the monks of Harupa.¡±


    ¡°I do not know the name of every barbarian people out there,¡± the dowager said, with a dismissive wave. ¡°Are the Darwur of interest?¡±


    ¡°They have pushed back the Army of the West for five seasons, dealing even the Great General of the West several setbacks. And that despite having no true cultivators, only shaman and demon-tamers at his command.¡±


    Hiroko¡¯s ears pricked up at mention of her father. She hadn¡¯t realized he was fighting Joshi¡¯s people directly, and the thought made her a bit sad. But the Empire had to push back the frontiers of ignorance and superstition, bringing the light of the Emperor¡¯s civilization to the wild places of the world.


    The Dowager frowned. "That is a very long way for a Young Master to come. This tower cull has nothing to particularly recommend it. Surely there are broken towers closer to home if he wishes experience with one."


    "I shall see what I can find out."


    Hiroko bit her lip, worrying. How could Joshi establish his bona fides with Magistrate Bao? Morning Mist wasn''t a real sect. Or rather, she didn''t think it was. That was the name of the sect from Chang-li''s journal, and they had all been wiped out. Hadn''t they?


    She would not speak up and get her companion in trouble. He had saved her life, and not for the first time, either. She was glad, so glad, that Joshi had succeeded in reaching the Peak of Bodily Refinement. But she was afraid someone would recognize the former slave. Perhaps she should try to warn him to flee.


    After Magistrate Bao left, the Dowager called Hiroko over to her side.


    "Do you understand what it is I am doing?"


    "Magistrate Bao is in charge of the climb, but he does nothing without consulting you."


    "This is as the Emperor wills," the Dowager said. "Everything he has ordained works together. All of us Pearls achieved at least the Peak of Mental Refinement before being chosen as Imperial consorts. The ten years that we spent inside the Garden Grounds were not easy lives of luxury and pleasure. I studied more intently than I ever did as a cultivator. History, governance, laws. At the end of our ten years, the Dowager Pearls are the most educated officials in the entire kingdom, as well as understanding the Emperor''s power, shall we say, firsthand." She shivered at that, and looked away. ¡°As his descendants guide and shape the cultivators who make the empire strong, so his former Pearls guide and shape those who govern. Our lives are like a weave of lux; each color has its own purpose, but together we can form a greater whole.¡±


    ¡°I see, Dowager,¡± Hiroko said respectfully.


    ¡°But enough theory! Let us put it into practice. How have you come with the technique I set you to study?¡±


    The Dowager had given Hiroko a scroll two days ago describing a healing technique that used primarily green lux, enhanced by red and blue. Hiroko had diligently tried, but the weave escaped her grip. ¡°I am struggling.¡±


    ¡°Show me,¡± the Dowager commanded.


    With some regret, Hiroko coaxed forth her limited lux reserves, feeling the loss of the blue most keenly. It resonated with her in a way green and red did not.


    ¡°No, no,¡± the Dowager said. ¡°It¡¯s like you¡¯re trying to use the blue to make the green answer. You must let the green guide you. So.¡± She called out her own lux and deftly wove the colors together, before letting them come apart.


    Hiroko tried to copy, but the green slipped from her.


    The Dowager sighed. ¡°This is common with cultivators who have a strong natural tendency toward one of the higher luxes. Using the lessers is difficult. You must concentrate on it. I hoped that since you have used blue to heal, green healing would come naturally. Using blue to heal is much harder. Try again.¡±


    For the next hour, Hiroko sweated and strove under the Dowager¡¯s tutelage, but the green remained stubbornly unresponsive. ¡°No matter,¡± the Dowager said at last. ¡°Once you¡¯ve reached the Peak of Physical Refinement, perhaps it¡¯ll come more easily. As soon as we¡¯ve declared the tower safe, I shall see about allowing you back in. We should not stall out your cultivation, not when you show such a talent for it. You may go.¡±


    Hiroko rubbed her temple, glad to be done. She bowed to the Dowager. ¡°Thank you for your tutelage.¡±

 Bk 2 Ch 9: Admission Interview

    As his mouth dried, Chang-li was ushered into the reception room by one of Moon Whispers¡¯s functionaries. He was wearing his best set of robes, though that wasn''t saying much. The robes were badly in need of replacement. The black had faded to gray in places, and there were a couple of rips he''d had to sew up himself. Considering he had destroyed one set of robes on his last venture into the tower and had been forced to turn over all of his wages to Scribe Jun lately, it would have to do.


    The woman seated at the table in the reception room looked up and beckoned to him. The room had been set up as a sort of office. She had piles of documents and open ledger books beside her, with a shelf full of cultivator journals. Off to her right, there was a low bench under a window, and a tea tray standing on a pedestal beside her. Chang-li pressed his hands together and bowed very low.


    "Lady Moon Whisper.¡± He greeted the woman by her title as the cultivator spouse of the highest-ranking sect member here at this tower. She was a middle-aged woman with a silver streak in her close-cropped dark hair. She wore opulent cultivator robes and a pair of blue teardrop earrings in her ears as a reminder of her own rank and status.


    She looked him over as though trying to make a decision, and her nose seemed to wrinkle for an instant before her face smoothed.


    "Scribe Wu, please enter."


    Chang-li stepped inside. The functionary slid shut the paper door behind him.


    "My husband''s grandchildren have spoken well of you," Lady Moon Whisper said as Chang-li advanced three paces into the room and then halted at the edge of the rug on which her table sat. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance at last. You have achieved the Peak of Bodily Refinement on your own?"


    "I have, Lady Moon Whisper."


    "That is commendable in a sect-less, though I am curious as to why a scribe would be pursuing cultivation to such an extent. Surely your own duties put enough demand on your time."


    "It is my hope to perhaps someday become an inquisitor like Master Zhan Sho,¡± Chang-li said, the lie coming smoothly to his lips after all of the practice he''d had. "To that end, I must achieve at least the Peak of Mental Refinement, if not the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, as well as show my mastery of scribing tasks."


    "Indeed," Lady Moon Whisper said. "Many inquisitors come from the ranks of those who serve a few years as a sect scribe, do they not?"


    Chang-li fought to still his racing heart. Was this it? Was she about to offer him a place in their sect?


    "That is correct," he said. "I myself see the benefit of that path. One cannot truly understand what one has not experienced, and I believe my future as an inquisitor would be well served by earning my way to the Peak of Mental Refinement as a sect scribe."


    Despite Scribe Wulan¡¯s inglorious history, it was not at all uncommon for a sect scribe to cultivate several ranks while serving his masters. It all depended on the sect and how generous they were with their resources. After all, a scribe had access to their most deep secrets. The fact that Wulan had never bothered to cultivate was likely more a reflection on the man himself than on the position of sect scribe, or so Chang-li hoped.


    "As it happens, Moon Whispers is currently without a scribe," Lady Moon Whisper said. She tapped on a square wooden chest in front of her on the desk. It was about two hands wide, the same long, and half as deep. There was a heavy lock on one side, and on the top, the signet of Moon Whispers cut in with a lacquered wooden design. "Our last scribe succumbed to bone break plague a year and a half ago, along with several other members of our sect. It was unfortunate."


    Chang-li shifted his weight, remembering Min''s warning that Moon Whispers was not all that it seemed. Was Lady Moon Whisper trying to paint a rosy picture? Had they perhaps lost more strength than she was admitting?


    "I wonder if you might care to give me an opinion on this," Lady Moon Whisper said. She reached inside a pocket of her robes and removed a heavy iron key, which she used to unlock the box and swing it open. At her beckoning, Chang-li stepped forward. He inhaled in surprise as he saw what lay there.


    It was a book, sheets of parchment bound together with thread and pressed between two wooden covers. He had seen such books before. They were easier to transport than scrolls. It contained about the same amount of parchment as twenty of his cultivator journals, all bound together for safekeeping. The book again bore the Moon Whispers signet.


    "You may take it out," Lady Moon Whisper invited.


    Chang-li lifted it from its box and opened it. It fell open in the middle, and he found himself looking at incomprehensible script. His hopes of unlocking all of Moon Whispers¡¯s secrets in one fell swoop disappeared. Of course, their techniques and trainings were ciphered. All sects did that. Even the Morning Mist journal had been incomprehensible to him until Scribe Wulan revealed the key.


    "This is in your sect''s script, Lady?"


    "Of course it is. Look at the first section."


    Obediently, Chang-li turned back to the front. His breath caught. The first four pages were a cipher key. Not a straight-up one-to-one substitution of characters, no, but this would guide him in how to decipher Moon Whisper''s script. His eyes ran down the columns.


    "Well?" Lady Moon Whisper asked. "Can you read this?"


    "With practice, Lady," he said.


    She took the book from him. To his surprise, he almost clung to it before realizing what he was doing and relinquishing the book to its possessor. She placed it back in the box and locked it. "You are certain?"


    "Any Empire-trained scribe could," Chang-li said. "If he''s from a first-rank school as I was. We had instructions in such ciphers as a matter of course." Pride made him add, "A common city-school-educated scribe would likely fail." He had worked hard to be admitted to the only Empire-endorsed scribing school back in his hometown, earning scholarships and a place there, as well as the support from his uncle and his uncle''s friend. Very few boys of his station had managed a similar feat.


    "But you can do it," Lady Moon Whisper sank back in her chair. A brief smile crossed her face. "Li Jen speaks well of you, and so does Li Jiya. Li Jen will be our sect leader one day, no doubt, if he makes a good marriage. I have hopes he will. He has many of his grandfather''s best traits about him, and of course, his grandfather made one of the best matches in sect history." She allowed herself a small smile. "Li Jiya''s good opinion does matter, but as she is intent on claiming a spot as one of the Emperor''s brides, it weighs less. However, it is ultimately up to me to decide who we do and do not invite to join our sect."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "Yes, Lady," Chang-li said.


    "Are you much aware of how sects are organized?¡± Lady Moon Whisper asked. "My husband is busy working on his own progression and educating the young disciples. I, as his spouse, handle sect business, such as the hiring of scribes or the admittance of outer disciples. Winning a spot as an inner disciple is, of course, up to my husband. He chooses from among the more promising outer disciples, but he chooses fairly. I assure you, should you be admitted as an outer disciple, you will have an equal chance at rising."


    Chang-li couldn''t help but notice that she spoke of herself and her husband as though they were the only elders Moon Whispers had, and of Li Jen and Li Jiya as their sole hopes for the future. His impression of the sect was starting to match Min''s, but on the other hand, any sect would be able to help him learn the secrets of reaching Mental Refinement. He did not want to halt his progression here, and none of the other sects at this tower cull seemed likely to offer him a place.


    He bowed low. "Lady Moon Whisper, I would be honored to be offered such a chance."


    "Then I shall extend the offer," Lady Moon Whisper said. Chang-li''s heart leapt. ¡°You would be our scribe and probationary outer disciple. You would be entitled to claim our colors and draw your living from our sect''s treasuries. Your performance as a scribe will determine any other offers of advancement we make. Are you free of indentures and debts, Scribe Wu?¡±


    Chang-li''s heart fell. He cleared his throat, no longer able to meet her gaze.


    "Lady, I would dearly love to join your sect. However, as part of my apprenticeship, I am sworn to a five-year term of service with the Imperial Order of Scribes. I am well over one year into that term. I would be required to pay a fee to break that indenture, as well as the fee for transfer into your sect."


    Her face had gone impassive. "How great a fee?" she asked quietly.


    Chang-li swallowed. "Ah, I would have to consult my indenture papers for the exact date, but something like 12,000 kwam." It was an amount approximately equal to five years¡¯ of a laborer''s wages. Ten months, perhaps, of a fully certified scribe, but as an apprentice it would take him years to earn that much.


    To a sect, it should be almost nothing. He had heard of elixirs and technique books that cost ten times as much that sects would purchase for their ambitious cultivators.


    "That is a heavy investment for a probationary outer disciple," Lady Moon Whisper said, as though she had not been the one offering Chang-li the position.


    Chang-li took a deep breath. "It is my knowledge and training that interests you. The fact that I had to be taught and therefore must still repay some debts goes hand in hand with my skills.¡±


    "Yes," Lady Moon Whisper said, "but you have said that any empire-trained scribe could do as well. Perhaps some of your fellows are free to join a sect now without driving us into debt."


    "None of them are cultivators," Chang-li stated, as the image of Scribe Jun¡¯s face rose in front of him. Jun had been an apprentice for nearly the full five years. He¡¯d been speaking of his attempts to find a post in the nearby provincial capital, but with his recent interest in cultivation, he¡¯d snap this chance up in a second. It wasn¡¯t fair. Chang-li had fought, suffered, lied and forged for this chance. "None of them have reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement or stood up against a tower champion."


    "Thank you for your time, Scribe Wu," Lady Moon Whisper said. She reached for a small bell on the desk beside her and rang it. The door behind Chang-li slid open. He felt desperate as his chance seemed to be slipping from him.


    "Lady Moon Whisper, I misspoke. I assure you I am thoroughly worth the investment."


    "Perhaps we shall speak again. I shall discuss the matter with my husband," Lady Moon Whisper said. "This audience is concluded." She turned her face away, and Chang-li, holding to the shreds of his dignity, forced himself to bow before backing from the room.


    As the door slid shut, he turned to thank the functionary who was accompanying him out, only to see Li Jiya there. She held a finger to her lip and beckoned him. He followed her across the hall to another smaller audience chamber. She ushered him in and closed the door.


    "I''m sorry about that," she said. "I heard the whole thing." She went to a teapot, sat on a low table, and poured a pair of cups. Carrying them both over, she offered one to Chang-li, who accepted it and sipped. The tea was harsh and astringent. It had been left in the pot too long, but Chang-li choked it down.


    "Your grandmother is a very hard woman," he said, then hoped he hadn''t said too much.


    "She''s not my grandmother.¡± Li Jiya shrugged. "She''s my grandfather''s wife. My grandmother was a woman he met when they were both hopeful young cultivators. They wed and had my father and his sisters before my grandfather achieved a high enough rank to be granted a spouse by the emperor." Her eyes flashed. Chang-li decided she didn''t think much of Lady Moon Whisper.


    "I have heard of such arrangements.¡± There had been a few novels passed around between trainee scribes featuring a pair of star-crossed cultivators faced with an imperial spouse coming between them. Generally, one of the pair would die in a tower eruption while the other, saddened but seeing the wisdom of the Emperor¡¯s laws, embraced the assigned spouse and continued the Heavenly Climb.


    "It''s one of the reasons I do not allow myself to think of romance when planning my future," Li Jiya said. "Also, it''s why I''m eligible to be in the competition for the emperor''s brides, since I am not, in fact, one of his seven generations of descendants. But never mind. My step-grandmother does have the ability to choose who we offer sect membership to, and she''s right. We can''t afford your apprenticeship fee."


    "I thought sects had resources."


    "Other sects do," Li Jiya said grimly. "Other sects didn''t lose three-quarters of their members to bone-break plague, and then had most of the remaining disciples flee because they decided we had lost the emperor''s favor. Our sect consists of my grandfather, my brother and me, and eight disciples who don''t think they could get a better berth elsewhere, although I''ve seen Wuo Ling talking to Soaring Heavens behind my back, or so he thinks."


    "I''m sorry," Chang-li said.


    Li Jiya sighed. "Me, too. I''m just glad she didn''t try to make some bargain with you to have you translate her paperwork with promises she''d offer you a place when we can''t fulfill it. We need those papers, though.¡± She looked gloomy. "Those are our sect techniques. My grandfather has taught me the ones he uses, but in order to do well at the competition next summer, I need access to the remaining techniques and manuals. Well, if we do well enough at this tower call, we should make enough money to hire a scribe afterwards, and it''s none of your concern anyway. I just wanted to apologize for Lady Moon Whisper''s brusqueness. You deserve more than that. I wish we could offer you a place, Chang-li."


    He dared to ask, inspired by her seeming pity. "Cultivator Li, I have reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, but without a sect to teach me techniques, I don''t know what my next step is. Could you perhaps help me?"


    But she was shaking her head. "Those techniques don''t belong to me. They are secrets of my sect. I cannot share them without my grandfather''s blessing, and he will never allow anyone who is not part of our sect to learn our secrets. I can tell you though, you''re right. You do need something more than the techniques you already have. Going from Bodily Refinement to Mental Refinement isn''t just a matter of walking further down the same path." She made a gesture interlocking her fingers. "There are many paths to Bodily Refinement, and many paths from there to Mental Refinement. You''ve come to a crossroads, and now you must choose the path to get you to the next step. But you can''t just wander off into the wilderness alone with no guide. You''ll be destroyed by the dangers that lurk there. You need a sect, Scribe Wu. I suggest finishing your indenture and seeking out a spot in an impoverished sect like ours where you can trade your knowledge for theirs."


    He bowed his head in thanks, and after swallowing one more sip of his nearly undrinkable tea, allowed himself to be ushered out of the house. But he was still caught up in his own worries. Wait four years as a scribe before he could continue to cultivate? Never.


    Even waiting a week or two until he could be allowed back into the tower was too much. He needed to keep progressing. He ached and hungered for it. The steps he had taken left him craving more. He would need to find a way. Either convince a sect to teach him the basics or come up with enough money to break his indenture now.


    If he could return, telling Lady Moon Whisper he was free to take up her offer, then he could continue even now. All he needed was to somehow come up with more money than he would earn in the next two years, all at once.


    Then, suddenly, he had an idea.

 Bk 2 Ch 10: Down the Mountain

    Chang-li sat cross-legged on his pallet, watching the other scribes as they snored and turned over in their sleep. When he was certain they were all gone, he focused on Scribe Wulan''s pen case, thinking hard of the ghost of the dead scribe, urging him to come out.


    Nothing happened. All of the other times Scribe Wulan had appeared had been the ghost''s doing, but Chang-li didn''t want to wait until Wulan decided to show up.


    He cycled his lux through his channels in a simple circular motion, holding the scribe case in his hands, pressed against his stomach in the vicinity of his core, imagining the lux flowing into and filling it as well. There was an audible pop, and Scribe Wulan was sitting in the air in front of him, looking irritated.


    "What''s worth interrupting my beauty sleep, boy?¡±


    ¡°Ghosts don''t sleep.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever been one?" Chang-li couldn''t answer that. "So, tell me, what was so important that you had to wake me up?"


    Chang-li took a deep breath. "You said in your journal that you left a trove of Morning Mist sect secrets in the vault at Fai-Lan City.¡±


    "Of course we did. Cultivator Kang didn''t want to risk them in the tower. He was a dutiful son and a loyal member of the sect."


    "And if Kang never came back to claim them, then they''re still there?¡±


    ¡°You''re the Imperial official. You tell me, how often are records thrown out?"


    Chang-li blinked. Thrown out? Records? What kind of sacrilege was that? One of a licensed scribe''s chief duties was to re-record fading records so that they could be kept and accessed by future generations.


    "There you are, then.¡± Wulan clearly understood the reaction Chang-li was having.


    "And those records are written in the same sect script you''ve already taught me?"


    "Should be," Wulan said. ¡°Copied ''em all myself, and I only know three scripts."


    "They''ve got techniques in them. Secrets. Ways of weaving lux. Maybe even the path to Mental Refinement?¡±


    "Of course. Otherwise, we wouldn''t have bothered to write them down.¡±


    "Thank you.¡± Chang-li bowed. "That''s all I needed. You can go back to sleep." After a suspicious look, Wulan faded and vanished. He put the pen case back under his pallet before lying down.


    There were many flaws with his plan. He had no idea how to get hold of the sect documents. Even if they were in the library in Fai-Lan City, they''d hardly be available for anyone to show up and take. Once he did, he''d have to translate them, then put them into practice, if he could. The more he thought about it, the more his spirits plummeted. He just didn''t have the skills he needed to pull this off. Not on his own. He just needed an angle.


    He came fully awake, staring at the ceiling, his mouth dropping open. Why hadn¡¯t he thought of it before. The final piece of his plan had been staring him in the face all along. All he needed to do was present himself at the library as the duly appointed representative of the Morning Mist sect, who had deposited those documents so many years ago. No one would think anything of him requesting the papers for their young master, who had remained here, back at this tower cull, in need of the sect¡¯s documents?


    Joshi listened gravely as Chang-li explained his plan. "And you think this plan is worth the risk?¡±


    ¡°For a copy of the sect documents, yes," Chang-li said. "Wulan says that''s everything in there you need to reach Mental Refinement, maybe even Spiritual Refinement.¡±


    "Your ghost friend is not the most reliable informant," Joshi observed.


    "Not really, no. But he''s all I''ve got. And I believe him when he says the documents were there. If they are, and the last scion of Morning Mist''s perished in this tower, then they''ll still be waiting. All I need is a letter sealed with your signet ring, asking for the documents. I''m certain I can persuade the library to hand them over, and this document showing I¡¯m the sect scribe and a Physical Refinement cultivator myself."


    "Hmm," Joshi said. "I admit it would help me to have a guide to Mental Refinement."


    "Then you don''t know the next step either?"


    "The monks of Harupa explicitly told their students that they were being given preparation to reach Bodily Refinement only," Joshi said. "That is why we were taught so many different cycling techniques. One of them was almost guaranteed to help us reach that point. Afterwards, we could prove ourselves to a sect and learn the next step. Also," he added, sounding thoughtful, "this library would likely contain lux braid patterns, yes?"


    "I assume so. And I don''t even know what else," Chang-li said. "What do sects keep in their books of knowledge anyway?"


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never been part of a sect before.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need a set of robes, if I¡¯m presenting myself as sect scribe.¡±


    "Be careful," Joshi said. "I appreciate your help, but you''ve already done more for me than I could possibly ask or repay."


    "I''m doing this for myself," Chang-li assured him. "I don''t want to be trapped at this stage of cultivation for the next four years until I finish my indentures. I''m going to cultivate now."


    Joshi had nodded, a grim look in his eyes, telling Chang-li that he felt the same way.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Chang-li waited for an opportunity to speak with his superior alone. Toward the end of the afternoon, there was a lull in the rhythms of the scribe''s office. Several of the other junior scribes had been sent out through the camp on duties, while Chang-li languished at the counter and Inspector Dah presided over affairs. Now the office was otherwise empty. Chang-li set down his pen, set aside the records he had been copying, and approached his superior.


    "Inspector," he said diffidently, "I wish to submit my request for my annual leave."


    Inspector Dah looked up from his own work. "Have you been here a year? No, that can''t be correct. This Tower Cull has only been active for half a year."


    "Yes, but I have reached a year''s service in the Scribe Corps," Chang-li pointed out. "I served eight months in the office at Red Rock City before being posted here."


    "Ah, of course, of course. What do you intend to do with your leave?"


    "The monthly caravan to Fai-Lan City is leaving tomorrow. I thought I would go there."


    Inspector Dah frowned. "You would spend two days of your five days of leave merely in travel? I know Golden Moon City is a backwater, but there are taverns and gaming houses and dance halls, enough for most young men."


    "I wish to improve myself," Chang-li said. "I hoped to attend the opera and ballet in Fai-Lan."


    Inspector Dah shrugged. "I suppose it is a worthier use of time than many of the days I spent on leave when I was your age. I shall approve your request and sign your travel chit."


    Chang-li''s spirits rose. He produced the forms already filled out for the inspector''s signature.


    "Your timing is good," Inspector Dah said. "By the time you return, I expect the tower will be reopened to lower-ranked cultivators. I believe Magistrate Bao will wish to redouble our efforts to get this cull back on schedule. I am not sure I will be approving any leave requests for the next few months."


    "Yes, sir," Chang-li said. "Thank you."


    He joined the caravan the next morning, carrying a bulging pack. The caravan heading down the mountain was twice the size of the one Chang-li had followed down to Golden Moon City a few weeks before. While most of the workers and porters would be loading up with supplies at the docks and returning them to the camp, there were a significant number heading for Fai-Lan City like Chang-li. It was half a day''s travel up the river from Golden Moon City and a far larger town. Golden Moon was a fishing village. The Tower Cull had temporarily swollen its importance, making it a base of logistics for the cultivators who were challenging the tower.


    Fai-Lan City was a true town. Chang-li had not previously been there and was looking forward to this trip.


    As they were about to leave, a pair of last-minute additions joined the caravan. To his shock, he recognized Min and her brother. The nobles spoke to the caravan captain before slipping into place toward the rear of the caravan. Min spotted Chang-li. Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped for a moment before she schooled her features.


    Chang-li would have sworn she hadn''t expected to see him here. Either she was a very good actress, or her presence here had nothing to do with him. He very much hoped it was the latter but certainly couldn''t be sure. The Oaken Band woman had her spoon in far too many pots for her own good.


    As they started down the mountain, the caravan spread out as it usually did. There were twice as many guards as the last time Chang-li had gone down the mountain. And disciples from three of the sects as well. Since no one below the Peak of Bodily Refinement was being permitted into the tower, it was probably easy to get disciples to help out guarding the caravan.


    Chang-li was reassured there would be no repeat of the attack which had driven him into the tower. Though part of him wanted a rematch against those tower beasts. His core brimmed with lux. It seemed that reaching the Peak of Bodily Refinement meant he was no longer leaking lux like a sieve. It felt good to have it in his core, ready to answer.


    Chang-li cycled as he walked. He barely had to spend any thought on keeping his cycling pattern going as he walked. It was as natural to him as breathing. Cultivating had worked many changes on him already. He wasn''t just stronger; he felt faster, like he could move more quickly than an ordinary person. His pack was stuffed to the seams, but he barely noted it as it rode on his back. He thought his soul space had become larger too, though he couldn''t check. Only his sword was hidden there. He had Wulan¡¯s pen case and the ancient journal buried deep in his pack.


    Halfway down the mountain, the caravan halted in a green mountain meadow full of trees and a quiet brook for everyone to rest and have a drink of water. The cultivator disciples went ahead. Some of the other caravan members were muttering to each other, asking if there was trouble ahead. The caravan captain told them this was a step that had been taken ever since the princess''s caravan had been attacked.


    "We have seen no sign of escaped tower beasts since then," he assured them. "It''s merely a precaution."


    Chang-li took off his bag and drank some water but didn''t bother to sit. He wasn''t tired at all. His muscles felt pleasantly warm from use. He could have turned around and raced back up the mountain, pack on his back, without getting winded. Min drifted toward him. She knelt by the brook to fill her cup.


    "I wasn''t expecting to see you here," she murmured, not looking at him.


    "No? And here I thought you might be coming to keep an eye on me.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. What are you doing here? Have you been sent on an errand to Golden Moon?"


    Chang-li hesitated. He didn''t want her to learn what he was up to, but he certainly wasn''t going to tell an easily disproved lie. "I''ve been granted leave to Fai-Lan City.¡±


    ¡°Have you?" There was a note of amusement in her voice, and he guessed that she knew he wasn''t leaving the tower out of boredom. "And how will you be spending your time?"


    "Enriching myself." The less he told her, the less she¡¯d be able to manipulate him.


    "Always a good plan," Min said. "My brother and I are on our way to attend my grandfather. He''s reached Fai-Lan City on the annual tax procession, and we are paying our respects.¡±


    A thrill of fear ran through Chang-li. He had spoken to Brother Stone enough to know exactly who Min''s grandfather was. The head of the Oaken Band Brotherhood, a man who could order Chang-li''s death as easily as a cup of noodle soup. "Ah," he managed.


    Min looked up, amused. "Not that grandfather. My other grandfather, the governor of Riceflower Province."


    Chang-li blinked. Riceflower Province was the home of Golden Moon City, Fai-Lan City, and the tower itself, though the capital was nearly 80 li away. "I didn''t realize you had two grandfathers.¡± He realized as the words came out of his mouth how foolish they sounded.


    "Most people do," Min replied. "At any rate, he''s making his yearly procession through the province. As he''s not coming to Golden Moon City, he sent for my brother and me to attend him. We will be returning with the caravan in five days."


    "As will I," Chang-li said.


    "Since you are going to the same place as I am, it might be good for us to know how to reach each other, should we have need."


    Chang-li wanted to believe there would be no situation where he needed to contact her. Unfortunately, he could think of quite a few. "I don''t know where I''ll be staying. I''ve never been to Fai-Lan City."


    "Ah, then take a room at the Royal Peacock Inn. It''s on the outskirts of the administration district, unless you were planning on spending time on the other side of town." She paused and shook her head. "Of course, if you haven''t been there, you don''t know what I''m talking about. The brothels, gambling, and drinking tend to happen in the Low Quarter."


    "No, I, uh, that is, Royal Peacock. That sounds good to me." Chang-li made a mental note to consider staying literally anywhere else.


    "I will be at the Governor''s residence, adjacent to the administrative district. Should you need me, send a note. Enjoy your time off."


    Min rose and sauntered away. Chang-li couldn''t help watching her go. The movement of her hips as she walked away sent a thrill through him. She had a self-assurance about herself that was appealing, but she was a dangerous woman on many levels. Fear, that must¡¯ve been what he was feeling.


    "Two grandfathers," he muttered to himself as he put his pack back on and joined the reforming caravan. She had two grandfathers, and both of them could order his execution. He resolved to stay clear of Min from now on.

 Bk 2 Ch 11: Fai-Lan City

    Chang-li arrived in Fai-Lan City at dusk, and then spent a good hour going from inn to inn, only to find most of them full thanks to the governor''s tax tour of the province. Finally, with nowhere else to turn, he had tried the Royal Peacock as Min suggested. The bouncer at the door, the woman behind the bar, and the girls waiting tables all wore the brown-and-gray rosette of the Oaken Band Brotherhood on their tunics.


    The woman at the bar told him sharply, "We have no rooms available."


    On a whim, Chang-li stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Elder Sister Min sent me."


    Her eyes widened at that before she nodded. "All right, very well." He was shown to a narrow garret room, barely big enough for the sleeping mat. He dumped his pack, took off his dusty shoes, and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.


    In the morning, he donned the Morning Mist cultivation robes over his tunic and leggings, carefully cinching the belt around his waist. He placed all of his papers and his own cultivation license inside his satchel, along with Wulan¡¯s pen case, his cultivator journal, and several blank journals he had acquired from the scribe''s office back at camp, in the hopes they might prove useful. Then he asked directions from the girl who was serving rice porridge, and she laughed in his face.


    "The cultivator''s library is in the Hall of Records, of course. You can''t miss it. It''s in the center of the district, across from the mayor''s palace. It¡¯s the tower.¡± She rolled her eyes.


    When Chang-li stepped out onto the street, he understood why. The tower dominated the city. It was three tiers high, though he couldn''t perceive the lowest tier clearly through the wooden buildings that lined this street. The top two tiers were round and windowless, framed in by a circle of columns painted gold. The area between each column was painted in the seven rainbow shades, from red up to violet, and then starting over at red again. It looked like the pattern repeated three times on the middle tier, and only a single time on the topmost tier, which was quite small.


    Chang-li made his way through the bustling streets. He had grown up in a city, so he knew how to avoid being knocked down by overloaded carts full of vegetables as farmers brought their produce into the market, how to get out of the way of more important people, and how to avoid meeting the eyes of the beggars. He was feeling pretty good about his savviness until he turned down a broad street that led straight to the Hall of Records and stopped dead.


    The bottommost tier of the hall was far larger than the top two. At a guess, the colored pattern must repeat at least seven times as it wrapped around the huge circular building. Between the closest pair of red and violet wall sections was an arched doorway, twice as tall as a man, with double doors thrown open, and there was a line of people waiting. There must be fifty people in front of him in the queue.


    He joined the end and tapped the shoulder of the man in front of him. The fellow turned on him. He was a middle-aged man, broad-featured, plain, with a worker''s well-worn hands and a clean tunic with a darned seam at one side. He had close-cropped, balding hair.


    "What do you want?" he asked in broad tones. Chang-li had a bit of difficulty with the accent.


    "I''m new to this city and I don''t know your customs. Which line is this for?"


    The farmer shrugged. "It''s just to get inside. They''ll be calling on us all in turn.¡±


    Chang-li settled in to wait. He made tedious progress toward the door. Every few minutes, the person at the head of the line would disappear inside and the whole queue would move up one. A couple of scribes joined the line behind Chang-li, complaining about how long it had taken them to be served breakfast that morning. Now here they were, stuck at the end of a long queue.


    After about an hour, Chang-li had nearly reached the building. He shifted his weight from foot to foot as he waited, still eager to get inside and begin unlocking the secrets of the Morning Mist sect. At long last, he stepped in through the doors.


    It felt as though he had stepped inside a cultivation tower. Chang-li halted in the doorway.


    "Keep moving!" the woman three places back shouted. "We don''t want to be here all day!"


    He finished stepping over the threshold into an enormous round building. The ceiling was at least twenty feet overhead and painted the color of a summer sky. The floor underfoot was marble shot through with veins of gold and silver. In the center of the room was an enormous circular counter manned by clerks, a familiar enough sight that Chang-li felt himself smiling. The counter was large enough for seven clerks to man stations. At intervals along the wall were little rooms. Every now and then, someone at the center counter would be directed to one of the rooms to disappear inside, come out a while later, then rejoin the queue here inside before being called up to the counter again.


    It looked to Chang-li like an inefficient operation, but he was more curious about the lux he could feel prickling against his skin. The air here was dense with it. He inhaled and felt the lux flowing into him, cycling it through his body. He felt it replenish his slightly diminished reserves.


    It felt like tower lux. He was still waiting for his turn to be called forward, so he reached out with his senses, just as he would to feel the strength of a tower beast, and then he caught it. Behind the counter were four tall wooden candelabras, and on each sat a crystal about the size of a head, cut with dozens of facets. The crystals shimmered and gleamed. They were leaking lux into this building.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Now it made sense. He knew the basics of lux crystal usage. The crystals could be refilled at a tower, though he wasn''t sure of the exact mechanism, and then used to transport lux elsewhere. The lux powered the empire''s great wonders. Why they were being used to raise the ambient lux in this building, he didn''t know.


    At last, he was called forward. The clerk serving him was a short woman with sleek dark hair falling into her face. ¡°What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to request my sect¡¯s records, stored here by our predecessors some centuries ago.¡± Chang-li presented the document Joshi had sealed.


    She peered at it. "This seems in order. Where is your sect record book?"


    He had an answer for that, the same one he had told Min''s people to tell Magistrate Bao and Inspector Dah.


    "During our journey to participate in the Tower Cull at Golden Moon City, my master''s party was attacked by bandits and we unfortunately lost some of our possessions, including our sect record."


    She frowned. "Well, then you''ll need a new one, won''t you?"


    "Yes, I suppose we shall. Now I¡ª"


    She cut him off, reaching under the desk for a form. "Form 2713B. Request for duplicate sect record. You''ll want to be sure to check the box on the fourth page that says your previous record was destroyed and cannot be accessed. Then you''ll need to provide all of the relevant information here. In triplicate," she added, producing another stack of papers.


    Chang-li''s eyes began to widen as he saw the stack. "Oh, and you''ll need to fill out a 418C, provisional request to endorse records on behalf of a sect member who is not present. What is your rank in the sect?" she asked.


    "I am sect scribe and I have achieved the Peak of Bodily Refinement," Chang-li said.


    "License?"


    He handed it over. She scrutinized it. "Yes, that seems to be in order. That form will suffice, then. In triplicate, of course." She saw him hesitating and waved a hand at him. "I haven''t got all day. Fill it out in one of the rooms there along the wall, and then bring it back up and we''ll help you with the next step."


    Chang-li snatched up the sheaf of papers and hurried off to one of the empty booths at the back of the atrium. These were little more than closets, with a single chair and a tiny desk attached to the wall. The doors, however, could be closed. He stepped inside the first unoccupied one, closed the door, and set to work, glad that he had brought his pen case along.


    Chang-li''s scribing experience so far had all been with the various Imperial organizations associated with the climb. These forms all bore the seal of the Riceflower Province Municipal Government Office of Records and Statutes, which would be a municipal organization, not an imperial one. The scribes here were almost certainly not licensed scribes like Chang-li.


    He couldn''t help but feel a stab of pride. While anyone who could hold a pen and keep character sets straight could manage the year or so of training that a municipal scribe required, being a licensed scribe took three years and required memorization of imperial law, history, and literature. A licensed scribe was expected to be able to fill any role the emperor could ask, whether cultivation sect scribe, military aide, or, like Chang-li, assistant to a tower climb.


    When his forms were filled out, he returned to the desk. The same clerk summoned him forward. She rifled through his pages. "These look reasonably complete. We''ll need an eight kwam fee for processing."


    He winced. That was a good chunk of the money he''d brought with him. "All right," he said.


    "And you''ll need to allow five to seven days for records to be processed.¡±


    "Five to seven days?" he sputtered. "Ah, forgive me, that isn''t possible. We''re engaged in a tower climb right now. I need the records a lot sooner."


    She frowned. "Well, if you need expedited processing, it''ll be another eight kwam, but we''ll have it ready for you tomorrow."


    "Fine," he said, wincing at the thought of how light his purse would be.


    "That''ll be these forms," she said, giving him another eight pages to fill out.


    Chang-li started to pick them up, then paused. "Is there anything else I''ll need to fill out? I have been told by my master that our sect left records here several hundred years ago. He wishes to reclaim them."


    "Oh, that''ll be the deep archives. You''ll have to file a request to have the records pulled. That''s Form 419-7, Parts A, B, and D. You won''t need Part C, I think, since this is your sect requesting its own records. So you don''t need to have it approved by an official from the mayor''s office. Then, of course, there''ll be the copying fee, which comes to one kwam for every fifty pages."


    "I don''t need them copied. I can copy them myself. I need the originals."


    "The withdrawal form is 814-42." She bent and came up empty-handed. "Scribe Qian, do you have a 814-42?"


    "Fresh out, I''m afraid."


    The scribe helping Chang-li frowned. "Oh, all right. I''ll let you fill out a 814-43, and I''ll waive the discrepancy fee, since it wasn''t your fault. Oh, and of course, you''ll need to log your own details in the ledger once the records are provided for you. But that''ll be filled out when you receive the records."


    He picked up the stack. "If I bring these all to you, can you have the records searched at the same time you''re processing my other paperwork?"


    "That''s inefficient. If your sect paperwork processing request is denied, we will not be able to turn your records over to you, after all."


    "But if you do them both today, I can get my records tomorrow and be able to return to my sect in time."


    She shrugged. Behind him, the line of waiting people seemed to be getting more impatient by the minute. Chang-li leaned forward. "Please?"


    The scribe looked him over, glanced down at his hand, where her eyes fell on the iron band on his thumb. "You''re a licensed scribe?"


    Chang-li nodded. "I am."


    "And now you''re a scribe to a sect." Her eyes softened. "That''s like something from a story. All right. I''ll file both of the requests simultaneously, as long as you fill them out properly."


    Deciding not to press his luck again, Chang-li hurried off back to a booth, filled out the second batch of papers, then brought them back to the helpful clerk, who looked them all over, took his money, and sent him on his way.


    By the time Chang-li stepped back into the street, it was well into the afternoon. His stomach rumbled. He hadn''t eaten all day, having been too impatient to wait for the rice porridge at the inn, and he was nearly broke. He decided to go back to the inn and see if Min''s name could get him a bowl of stew on the house.


    It had been a frustrating day. He trudged back to the inn, no longer caring about the sights of this city. All he wanted was to get his documents and get out of here.


    He forgot all about the stew when he saw who was waiting for him at the inn.

 Bk 2 Ch 12: Brothers

    Min POV


    Min found the familiar bustle of the Mayor''s Palace comforting. She had never visited the Mayor''s residence here in Fai-Lan City but had spent enough of her life in the company of her grandfather Guo, the Governor of Riceflower Province, to be at ease in the chaos.


    There were many similarities between her governor grandfather''s court and the Brotherhood seat of her other grandfather. Both men were powerful, attended by servants, cronies, hangers-on, and favor-seekers. The trappings tended to differ a bit: etiquette, formality, and tea ceremonies on one side; wrestling matches, proud boasting, and drinking games on the other.


    Min had gone back and forth between the two her whole life. She slipped into the role of noble lady easily. Here, unlike at the tower, she wasn''t the lowest-ranked competitor for a limited set of prizes. She was the Governor''s only granddaughter, and people treated her with respect.


    She and Jai-Lin were bundled off the evening they arrived, served a late supper, and put to bed in opulent guest chambers, despite Min asking to speak with her grandfather. The Mayor of Fai-Lan City''s staff ignored her requests. She hadn''t yet spotted anyone she knew from her grandfather''s retinue, but they''d be here.


    The next morning, she and Jai-Lin were shown into a lovely parlor, served a luxurious breakfast, and then left to cool their heels together. After four games of go, three of which Min lost due to being distracted, she finally stood up and strode to the window, throwing back the hangings to look out into the courtyard beyond. Servants were bustling about.


    "Something''s wrong," she declared, watching them.


    "Nothing''s wrong, Min. You just don''t like being kept waiting and reminded that you''re not always the most important person in the room." Jai-Lin was resetting the board, carefully clearing the black and white pieces from the grid. "Another? Or would you like to play tiles?"


    "I would like to speak with our Grandfather Guo, and then be allowed out into the city. We''ve been trapped up on the mountain for months now. I''m eager to do a little shopping." She was mostly eager to make contact with Brotherhood assets and perhaps check in on what Chang-li was doing. The scribe had to be up to something. She thought she had a good read on him by now, and certainly, he''d looked guilty as hell yesterday when they spoke.


    Jai-Lin snorted. "You think you''ll be allowed out alone?"


    Min hesitated. "You could come with me.¡±`


    "I''m not interested in getting involved with whatever scheme you''re cooking this time, Min."


    "You should be," she said, turning on him. "I am trying to advance our family. That benefits all of us."


    "Then advance it by marrying a cultivator. What about that newly arrived Young Master, Joshi? He''s promising. He seems to be interested in ladies, and everyone''s whispering that he''ll be going places."


    Min dismissed that out of hand. She had no intention of marrying anyone until it was advantageous for her to do so. "What about you? Are you supposed to be making a brilliant match?"


    Jai-Lin shrugged. "Li Jiya is intent on becoming the emperor''s bride. Li Jen prefers women, and as for Young Master Feng, I don''t think either of us need to consider why he''s a terrible match. I''ll wait until more cultivators arrive, but I''ve already been speaking with Shisa and the others. We think we''ll have to wait for the next tower climb. Hopefully by then, the indigo princess will have made her choice."


    Min scowled. She understood what he mean. Hiroko''s presence had thrown all of the gem court machinations into chaos. After all, what cultivator would be interested in a low ranked noble when there was an indigo princess to be courted? ¡°I can''t blame her for not making a choice yet," she said judiciously.


    They were interrupted at last by the arrival of a servant who bowed and asked them to follow, leading them down a series of halls to a private audience room, not that different from the parlor where they''d waited. Min''s heart rose. She''d speak to her grandfather and convince him to let her go out into the city unattended. She had always been able to wrap Governor Guo around her little finger. He hadn''t the deviousness that Grandfather Jiang, head of the Oaken Brotherhood, possessed. But when the door opened and Min rose from her bow, her heart sank.


    "Min, Jai-Lin, it''s good to see you," her older brother Yuan-li said.


    "Yuan-li, why are you here?" Jai-Lin asked, stepping forward to embrace his brother. Min entered the room and the servant closed the door behind her.


    Yuan-li was considerably older than either Min or Jai-Lin. In his late twenties, he had been trained up in official duties since the age of twelve and served as her grandfather''s deputy. His face fell. "You have not heard. Our grandfather suffered a fit three weeks ago. He has not left his bed since.¡±


    Min covered a gasp with her hand. Jai-Lin stepped back, his eyes widening. "No, is he all right?"


    "He lives," Yuan-li said, sounding uncomfortable. "He is able to sit up and use his left hand to some extent. He can feed himself and if you take the effort, you can understand what he''s saying."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Ice-cold fingers wrapped around Min''s heart. Tears sprang to her eyes. She had bade her grandfather Guo farewell months ago before setting out for the tower, expecting that he''d be just the same when she got back, a tall, thin man, always a bit indecisive, but kind and generous. A great contrast from her other grandfather.


    "He''s continuing to recover," Yuan-li assured them. "The healers believe he may regain more of his faculties, but you understand the difficulties. He could not have made the tax procession."


    Min nodded. She had accompanied her grandfather on previous tax processions, a two-month-long tour of the province to collect the taxes each mayor and regional strongman had gathered, and then at the end of the trip to present them to the emperor''s representative. "You''re taking his place then?"


    ¡°In this? Yes." Yuan-li looked them both over. He dropped his voice. "We will be petitioning the imperial representative to carry a request to his divine majesty, asking him to name me as governor of Riceflower Province in our grandfather''s stead."


    Min let out a long, careful breath. While governor was generally a hereditary position, being confirmed was no mere stamp on a page. Yuan-li would need to prove his effectiveness. This tax venture was a good chance for that. No doubt he would be closeting himself with the mayors and other important politicians along his route, convincing them that it was best to support him rather than attempting to seize more power for themselves.


    "I understand," Jai-Lin said. ¡°We will do our best to reflect well upon the family.¡±


    ¡°Will you?" Yuan-li eyed them both. "Are either of you close to making a brilliant match, something I could boast of to the mayors and the imperial representative?"


    Min shook her head. "I''m afraid not. The prospects at this tower cull have been weak. Even the Dowager Pearl in charge says so. And there''s an indigo princess."


    Yuan-li held up a hand. "I wasn''t looking for excuses. I was looking for some sign that either of you are going to be useful to our family anytime soon."


    His words stung. Min started to retort, only to see Jai-Lin''s face collapse. "I''m sorry, brother. We''re letting the family down."


    "What are you talking about?" Min demanded. "We''re doing our best, and it''s hardly the only way we can serve the family."


    Yuan-li rounded on her. "Oh, we know what you think it means to serve the family. That''s half the trouble I''m dealing with now. Word of your continued association with the Oaken Band has gotten out. Some of the, shall we say, more traditional mayors don''t like it. They never liked our mother marrying in."


    "They were jealous," Min argued. "They didn''t like the wealth and power she brought to our family. You can''t deny having the backing of the Oaken Band has made Grandfather''s rule secure these last 20 years. We all know the family was teetering on the hedge of bankruptcy before Mother married in."


    "We know because he has made sure we hear about it regularly," Yuan-li said, leaving no doubt who he was referring to. "And you can''t leave well enough alone. Don''t you know that sort of reputation will cling to you? I was glad you had a chance to join the gem court. I thought you could marry a cultivator who wouldn''t have heard of your association and we could bury the whole thing. But now you can''t even manage that right."


    Jai-Lin intervened as he always did when Yuan-li and Min argued. "Enough. Min is merely tired and stressed from the trip. We had a brush with disaster less than a week ago when we were all taken inside of the tower and then nearly devoured by monstrous birds."


    Yuan-li let out a sigh. "Fine. I''m glad to see you both. There will be several banquets. I will have your attendants give you a schedule. The third night from now is the grand tax collecting banquet. You will both attend and do our family credit." His eyes fell on Min. "You will remain here quietly and not do anything to cause a family embarrassment. Understood?"


    She bowed her head. In this, her brother was right. She needed to support her family. "Yes, Yuan-li."


    As they were escorted back to their sitting room, a servant passing brushed Min. After he was passed, she raised the tiny note he''d pressed into her palm to her eyes, scanned it, crumpled it, and let it drop behind her. Meet in the garden.


    After the servant settled them in the sitting room, Min made an excuse. "I''m going to take a turn of fresh air. In the garden," she added hastily as Jai-Lin''s face clouded. "I''m not going outside the walls."


    "Fine," he said. He poured himself a cup of squeezed fruit juice and settled on the hard-backed sofa, taking up a book of poetry.


    Min slipped out. She made two circuits of the garden before a woman joined her. From her robes, this woman was a minor official in the mayor''s office.


    "Lady Min," she said quietly, "I bring word from your grandfather."


    Min glanced down. The woman''s fingers flashed in the hand sign of the Oaken Band. Min nodded. ¡°I listen.¡±


    ¡°He has heard about your scheme and hopes there''s more to it than you have let on. You are supposed to be marrying a cultivator to serve the Brotherhood''s interests. Your grandfather spent many years positioning you such that you could join the gem court."


    "This is a far better opportunity," Min hissed. "Instead of one cultivator bound by marriage, we can have multiple cultivators who are already our own.¡±


    "You think no one''s ever had the idea of faking a sect before?" the woman asked. "The papers are the easy part. How do you expect to get past the Peak of Mental Refinement? Do you have the secrets? Those are what make a sect valuable. The secrets and techniques that they protect to ensure that only cultivators who belong to a sect can progress."


    Min''s mouth went dry. She hadn''t really thought that far ahead. "I have assets," she managed.


    "You''re not going to pry a sect''s secrets out of them with pretty words," the woman said. "At any rate, I have delivered your message. You have been reminded of your duty. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here in Fai-Lan City." She disappeared.


    Min continued her circuit around the garden, thinking furiously. She had thought this was an opportunity to show her grandfather that her vision was even greater than his, that the Brotherhood would be secure in her hands when he was ready to pass it down.


    And, if she was being honest, she liked the ideas of cultivators answerable to her as their Eldest Sister better than binding herself to a single cultivator who might or might not make anything of himself. But the more she thought about it, the more she felt a sick dread.


    She hadn''t asked herself whether it would actually be possible to raise up new cultivators. She''d assumed that that was what cultivators did.


    Now she realized how foolish she¡¯d been. She needed to find out, and quickly, if her scheme could bear fruit, or if she needed to go back and decide which of the Young Masters was least intolerable. Probably Li Jen ¡ª but he didn¡¯t strike her as a good prospect for advancement. She¡¯d heard the others talking about him the same way.


    No. She wasn¡¯t going to abandon her scheme quite so easily. She needed an outside opinion. Someone who had a good head on his shoulder, someone she could trust not to betray her secrets, because they were his own.


    Only ¡ª she¡¯d promised to stay here.


    Well, what Yuan-li didn¡¯t know wouldn¡¯t kill him. She¡¯d find a way to sneak out and back before he noticed she was gone.

 Bk 2 Ch 13: Dinner Date

    For the second time in the day, Chang-li froze in a doorway. Min was sitting in the crowded common room of the inn, a mug in front of her at an otherwise empty table. Since the other booths and tables were packed, he guessed that she had used her position in the Brotherhood to keep her table open.


    Her eyes fixed on him, and she crooked a finger. She had been waiting for him.


    For an instant, Chang-li considered going back out into the street and leaving, spending the night in an alley or literally anywhere. But that was stupid. The rest of his belongings were here. He needed to return to the Hall of Records tomorrow to finish his business there, and she could just follow him out onto the street if she wanted. He straightened his shoulders and pushed through the crowd to join her.


    One of the barmaids brought him a steaming cup of tea. "Anything else you''ll be wanting?"


    "Dinner," he growled. "And a bottle of rice wine."


    "Two cups," Min said, lifting a pair of fingers.


    The girl hurried off and returned a moment later with the bottle of wine, two tiny cups, and a plate full of rice balls wrapped in seaweed, a particular delicacy of the region, or so Chang-li had been told on his first arriving here at Golden Moon City for the Tower Cull.


    Min poured the wine. Chang-li bit into one of the rice balls. It was filled with flaky white fish, perfectly cooked, and in the middle of the fish, a pitted plum. The flavor combination was delicious after the long day he''d just had.


    Min watched as he finished the ball. She picked up her glass, raised it in a sardonic toast, and then sipped the wine. An awkward expression crossed her face. She threw back the rest of it and coughed.


    Chang-li found himself struggling to contain himself. He lost the fight and burst out laughing. "Your face! You thought it was going to be smoother than that, didn''t you?"


    "I didn''t realize it would be so rough," she admitted. "I think Brother Stone has been giving orders to have me served the quality wine at our headquarters at the Tower Cull.¡±


    Chang-li tossed back his own. It burned going down and went to work at once on his sore muscles. He ate another of the rice balls as Min shifted in her seat. Clearly, she wanted him to ask why she was here, so he didn''t. Instead, he poured another tiny cup of the wine and tossed it back.


    "Did you have a productive day?" she asked, her eyes traveling to the satchel he had set down beside their table.


    "It was a busy one. I don''t know if I''d say productive."


    "And what were you up to?"


    "Bureaucracy."


    Min leaned forward. "Listen," she hissed. "I need to know. Is it true you can''t cultivate past the Peak of Bodily Refinement without secret techniques and knowledge that the sects guard?"


    For a second time tonight, he was overcome with the urge to laugh. She hadn''t known. The self-assured, seemingly competent and capable Brotherhood woman hadn''t known how cultivation really worked. She¡¯d gotten herself in deep without understanding what she was doing. "That''s right.¡±


    Now she was scowling. She crossed her arms. He found her much less intimidating suddenly. When she wasn¡¯t being scary, Min was downright gorgeous.


    ¡°So, what I''ve bought back at the Tower Climb is a couple of passes to the Peak of Bodily Refinement."


    ¡°Pretty much anyone can get there," Chang-li agreed, "so long as they are able to cycle enough lux. Your people should make it, now that they have access to the Tower. Joshi will teach them a decent cycling pattern or two and they¡¯ll make it.¡±


    "That''s not enough," she said. "I need them to go higher. A lot higher."


    "Why? Why do you need cultivators beholden to your Brotherhood?"Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "We need to be able to protect our people. Cultivators will get us a leg up on that. More than that you don¡¯t need to know.¡± She fixed him with a penetrating look. ¡°But you and your friend, you must have a plan. You¡¯re a cultivator yourself now. You''re telling me you''re happy to stop at Bodily Refinement?"


    "I''m not," he replied honestly. "I thought of joining Moon Whispers, despite your advice.¡±


    ¡°And they sent you here, to Fai-Lan City?¡± She looked him over, and her eyes widened. "You''re wearing Morning Mist robes," she hissed. "Now I know you''re up to something. What is it?"


    Chang-li hesitated, but after the day he''d just had, using up most of his resources, perhaps telling her what he needed could refill his pockets. "I''m looking for information in the Hall of Records. There¡¯s a cultivation library there. I''ve filled out the application to be allowed entrance, and I expect it to be processed tomorrow."


    His supporting documentation was entirely false and paper-thin, consisting of his license and another piece of paper bearing the seal of the Morning Mist guild that Joshi had helped him with, stating that he was both sect scribe and cultivator at the rank of Bodily Refinement. A more established cultivator would have these records and more, containing all of the endorsements he had gained from tower culls and other challenges, bound together into a booklet smaller than the cultivator journals that Chang-li carried. Such books were often protected with a leather wrap.


    "What do you think you''ll find?"


    He decided not to speak of the records of the Morning Mist sect. Instead, he spoke about his secondary objective. One of the forms he had filed today requested admittance to the records library, which, according to the helpful scribe, was open to any sect cultivator in good standing, but there would be a fee charged for every record or technique he acquired.


    "The Hall of Records maintains a cultivation library. Every sect in the Empire is required to deposit copies of their sect records and basic technique scrolls in a regional library every ten years. It''s to prevent anything from being lost."


    She looked skeptical. ¡°And that¡¯s going to be useful enough to us?¡±


    He doubted there¡¯d be anything worth examining in the public archives, but the Morning Mists secret papers were something else entirely. ¡°I¡¯ll figure it out,¡± he said airily.


    "So you mean to get in and find techniques we can use?"


    Chang-li nodded. "There''s a fee, and I''ve already used up most of my coin so far. I''ve promised Joshi copies of everything I find. If you''re able to help me pay for the records..."


    She shook her head. "I can''t call on any more of the Brotherhood''s resources. All I''ve got is my pocket change."


    Chang-li groaned to himself as she pulled out a small silk pouch from inside her robes and opened it. His eyes widened at the glint of gold coins, octagons with a hole in the center. He choked. "Pocket change?"


    She looked up, eyes widening. "Well, yes, my grandfathers both gave me presents before I left for the Court of Gems, and I''ve had little chance to spend it up on the mountain."


    He couldn''t help himself. He reached out and took one of the gold coins between his fingers.


    "This is a five hundred kwam coin."


    "How much do we need?" Min asked, frowning.


    She held out the pouch to him. He hesitated before taking two more of her six coins and slipping them inside his own pouch. The weight felt like a heavy burden, and he hoped no one else in the tavern had seen the glint of gold. But everyone here was wearing a Brotherhood rosette, so he was probably safe, wasn''t he?


    "That''s settled, then," Min said briskly. "I''ll meet you at the Hall of Records tomorrow at dawn, and we''ll go in together. Two heads are better than one."


    "You''re not a cultivator.¡±


    "I am a member of the Court of Gems, and the granddaughter of the governor of Riceflower province. They will not refuse me."


    "They might. You didn''t meet these clerks today. They have forms and regulations for everything."


    "Then I''ll tell them I am betrothed to a cultivator in the Morning Mist Sect." She nodded, looking pleased with herself, and rubbed her hands together. "Yes, yes, of course. That makes sense. The Young Master of the Morning Mist Sect. Not Joshi.¡± She gave a delicate shudder. "Not even for a ruse. I don''t think he''d like it if word got back to him."


    Chang-li laughed. The bald barbarian could be rather intense. "I think it''s a terrible idea," he said after he settled down.


    Min poured them another cup of the rice wine. She tossed back hers and shook her head. "No, it''s brilliant. We can search twice as many records this way. I can read anything in standard dialect, and I''ll let you worry about sacred cultivating languages and that kind of nonsense."


    "And you won''t be missed by your grandfather?"


    Her face clouded. "He''s not here. He''s sick at home. I will tell my maids I''m feeling ill and not going to rise until the afternoon. My brother will be happy that I''m remaining quietly in my room. Yes, I''ll tell them I''m meditating on my future choices."


    She seemed a little too glib, and Chang-li worried that her ruse was not particularly well thought out. But that was Min''s lookout. Maybe she''d get caught trying to sneak out. "If you''re not there when I go in, I''m not waiting for you."


    "I''ll be there," she assured him. Then she shook herself. "It''s late. I''ve got to get back. I can''t risk being missed twice in a row. See you in the morning, Chang-li."


    She rose, and as she passed him, reached out and squeezed his shoulder, her fingers warm against the silk of his robes. He turned to watch her go. No one else in the room took any notice of her. It was rather pointed how little they looked in her direction. Chang-li downed the rest of his cup of wine and scrambled for the stairs before Min''s protective aura wore off and anyone here thought to question him.

 Bk 2 Ch 14: An Unexpected Reunion

    Somewhat to his surprise, Chang-li found Min waiting for him the next morning, just outside the Hall of Records. The doors were closed, but already there was a line ten people deep. He and Min joined the end. She was wearing her noblewoman''s robes with the red stripe, her hair pinned back, and she kept her chin elevated as she looked around.


    "You don''t think you''re drawing too much attention to yourself?" he hissed.


    She gestured to his cultivator''s robes. ¡°We¡¯re a matched set. I told you, I shall present myself as the betrothed of a hopeful cultivator of the Morning Mist sect."


    "I don''t have any paperwork for you.¡±


    She laughed. "Naturally, you wouldn''t. What sort of paperwork do you think a cultivator''s spouse has? Hers is appended to the license book of her spouse. Since I''m not yet married, I''ll fall into a lovely little legal loophole."


    He wasn''t certain that would actually work but subsided. The doors were thrown open, and the queue proceeded inside. So close to the front, it didn''t take him and Min very long to reach the counter.


    He didn''t see yesterday''s helpful clerk. Instead, an older man with stubble on his face and blurry eyes stepped up to assist them. "How can I help you?"


    Chang-li took a half-step back from the counter. It was Inspector Ji''in, whose eyes widened with recognition. "What are you doing here?"


    Chang-li wanted to ask much the same thing. He cleared his throat. "I, uh..."


    Min leaned in. "Is it ¡ª  Inspector Ji''in? I had not thought to see you here."


    There was an odor emanating from the Inspector, unwashed body and alcohol. His robes were rumpled, and his hands were shaking. Clearly, he had not done well in the time since being sent down from the Tower Climb.


    "This is my interim post," he said. "But why are you here, Chang-li? Dressed as a cultivator?¡±


    "I''ve joined a sect," Chang-li said desperately, gesturing at his robes. He took out his papers and held them out. "The sect of Morning Mist."


    ¡°I¡¯ve been off the mountain less than a month, and already you''ve abandoned your post?"


    This was not going the way Chang-li had anticipated. Fortunately, Min stepped in. "Inspector, I''m afraid our time here is very limited. My betrothed is going to be facing the challenges of the Tower, and we wish to make a good showing against Young Master Feng and the Soaring Heavens sect."


    Ji''in''s eyes narrowed. "He''s the one who got me demoted, I''m sure of it," he spat. "He didn''t like how I handled that unfortunate incident at the start of the cull, where he got a lot of good people killed. I didn''t realize his sect had so much pull in this region, but he got me reassigned here, and someone else put in my place. You''re going to go up against him? And who''s the Morning Mist sect? I''ve never heard of them."


    "They''re from Tuflang Province," Chang-li said smoothly. "But they''re looking to expand into this area of the Empire, I believe. Their Young Masters are talented cultivators. Joshi is a barbarian trained by a legendary order of monks. He has already made a good name for himself by saving the life of the Indigo Princess."


    "Interesting. Is he your fianc¨¦?" Ji''in asked Min.


    "Oh, no, no, certainly not," she said hurriedly. ¡°I¡¯m betrothed to¡­ one of the others."


    "And they were wealthy enough to buy a scribe''s indenture debt?"


    "Yes," Chang-li lied. "Now, I was here yesterday filing paperwork to have my sect license replaced. We lost ours to bandits during the journey."


    "Oh, yes, that''s right, the expedited license. Your sect must have money indeed if you''re throwing around coin like that. I have it here."


    Ji''in sorted through the shelves beneath the counter and came up with a thin book. It had a leather wrap around the outside, with room for additional sets of pages to be sewn in.


    The first page bore the seal of the Imperial Office of Cultivation and the seal of Rice Flower Province. Following that, all of the lies that Chang-li had provided on his forms. Ji¡¯in flipped through. "Don''t see mention of any cultivators beyond this Young Master Joshi."


    "I will be filling those details in," Chang-li said, taking the book quickly and stowing it in his satchel. "We also put in a request for our sect records.¡±


    "Papers. Let''s see." Ji''in began searching the shelves. He came up empty-handed and turned to the other clerks. "Anyone know about these sect records?"If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Oh, yeah. We''re still processing them. They weren''t in the recent archives, so we''re having to send someone into the older stacks to dig them out. Should be available later this afternoon."


    "There." Ji''in turned back, looking pleased. "If you''d like to return then¡­¡±


    "We''re applying for entrance into the cultivator archives," Chang-li said, "to do some sect research. The Morning Mist sect wishes to take the opportunity to learn techniques native to this region and expand their repertoire. They¡¯ve sent me to procure a whole list of different techniques.¡±


    ¡°You''ll need to file paperwork for that."


    "I filled it out yesterday," Chang-li said.


    Ji''in dug out another paper from the stacks. "Ah, so you did," he said. "Very well.¡± He stamped the form. ¡°This permits you to visit the facility on the top floor. Oh, wait.¡± He looked at Chang-li. ¡°The facility is limited to cultivators who have reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement. I''m afraid you won''t be permitted."


    "I''ve reached the Peak," Chang-li said, still worried that Inspector Ji''in was going to denounce him as a fraud any time now. He produced his license. "I''ve been certified by the Office of Cultivation at the Tower Cull."


    "So you have. And an endorsement for bravery. Well, well." Ji''in was looking at him and frowning, wrinkling his brow. "I feel like there''s something I''m trying to remember, and it''s just out of my..." He shook his head. "Never mind. I suppose it''s good to see a scribe making good, although I hate losing my best apprentices to a sect this quickly. You may proceed upstairs."


    "I''m espoused to a cultivator," Min said. "I should be permitted to enter as well.¡±


    "It''s not a matter of permission. It''s safety," Ji''in said. "No one below Peak of Bodily Refinement can take the lux densities necessary on the third floor. If you wish to visit the library on the second floor, there''s an atrium, or you are free to inspect the lesser archives."


    Chang-li turned to Min and raised an eyebrow. "My lady, there''s no need for you to remain in that case.¡±


    ¡°What''s stored on the second floor in these records?"


    "Oh," Ji''in waved a hand. "The records of all the tower culls in the province for the last century or so, historical readings on sects, and of course the texts and techniques for raising cultivators to the level of Bodily Refinement." He laughed. "I don''t really know why those are kept. No one ever browses them anyway. Every sect has its own techniques and hardly bothers to keep them safe. They say you can reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement almost without aid if you know a decent cycling pattern."


    Min''s eyes sparkled. "I think I can find enough to keep me occupied today."


    ¡°Your license, madam?"


    She drew herself up. "I told you, I am the betrothed of a cultivator, a lady of the Gem Court. I neither have nor need a license."


    Ji''in sighed. He turned and his eyes met Chang-li''s. For one expressive moment, they shared a look. Nobles never appreciate paperwork, do they? ¡°I¡¯ll file you under Cultivator Scribe Wu''s permit then," Ji''in said. He produced another form, but unlike the girl from yesterday, didn''t send Chang-li off to fill it out. Instead, he bent over it himself, laboriously scrawling the names. He checked Chang-li''s license for the correct characters for Wu, then turned to Min.


    "And you, lady?"


    She hesitated. "Guo Min."


    "Guo of camp or Guo of--"


    "The Guo family of Riceflower Province," she said with a sigh.


    Ji''in''s eyes widened. He straightened up and then folded his hands in a respectful gesture. "Forgive me, my lady. I didn''t realize you were of that family." He finished filling out and stamping the paper then appended it to Chang-li''s own form before filing them together. Then he took a pair of tokens from under his counter. One was copper. The other looked as though it were made of steel. He handed the steel token to Chang-li and the copper to Min.


    "The clerk on the second floor will settle the matter of payment for any records you access," he told them. "Have a nice day."


    The stair to the second floor was along the wall between a gap in the little cubbies. It was far less opulent than the lobby, a simple wooden stair leading upward. They passed down a hallway on the second floor, which then let them into a smaller round room. Seven doors let off of the room, six counting the one they''d come in on. In the center was a spiraling metal staircase leading upward. There were several couches scattered around the room, which was dark with no natural light, but scattered about with plants that grew anyway.


    The tiled floor whispered under their slippers as they approached the desk. A bored-looking scribe in her mid-30s manned the desk. Chang-li presented their tokens. She looked at his and then jerked a finger at the stairs.


    "Go on up. You''ll settle your bill here when you¡¯re done.¡±


    She seemed disinclined to give Chang-li any further information. With a shrug to Min, he stepped past the counter and began mounting the stairs. They spiraled upward through a hole in the ceiling. As he went, he could feel the lux density around him increasing, going from what he considered ambient for the tower levels he had visited to a denser feel, almost oppressive.


    He found the lux pressing in even without him trying and had to take up a quicker cycling technique to filter it through his core, separating out the impurities and flushing them from his body.


    He found he could use the Swirling Mists technique without having to be seated and concentrating on it. Another improvement since reaching the Peak of Bodily Refinement.


    He stepped off onto the third floor. This one was tiny compared to the previous two. The small atrium where he found himself was barely wide enough for him to walk around the stair hole, which was thoughtfully surrounded by a wrought iron railing.


    There were only two doors on this floor, on opposite sides. On one was the character for "mind," and the other, the character for "spirit." Chang-li guessed that the first held records and techniques pertaining to the Mental Refinement stage, while the other room would have the secrets of Spiritual Refinement..


    There was no indication of where later stage records were kept . He knew very little about higher stages of the heavenly climb but there must be fewer records of those stages of progression. Perhaps they were kept only in larger libraries such as in the provincial capital. They must be under tighter guard than this.


    Chang-li approached the door marked "Mind," his palms suddenly sweaty. The lux density on this floor was oppressive. He was having to vent it from himself constantly. He reached out with his left hand and pushed the door open.


    Inside, all he could see was a swirling gray mist. Chang-li hesitated on the threshold. It didn''t look particularly inviting. On the other hand, inside lay the secrets of the next step of his journey.


    He crossed the threshold.

 Bk 2 Ch 15: Training

    Chang-li found himself in a vast room. The sky above was lost in fog. He could feel the chamber stretched out all around him, but the haze grew thick about ten paces or so from where he stood. Yet it had the feeling of being a vast enclosure, like the way he had never been able to forget he was inside of a tower, even on the broadest of its floors.


    The mist was slightly tinged gold, and he could hear creatures or people moving in it. Whispers, the shuffle of feet on the floor. His skin prickled as he turned in place. He caught sight of no one and nothing. What kind of place was this? Was there a trick, something he was, as a supposed cultivator scribe, already supposed to know?


    Chang-li''s hand went to his breast as though he were tempted to open his soul space and pull out his sword, but he forced his fingers away. Instead, he channeled lux, preparing red and orange, just in case he were attacked. The lux in here was, if anything, denser than it had been outside. It was pushing against his boundaries, trying to force itself into his lux channels. He held a conscious, positive pressure to keep it out, allowing only what he chose. He didn''t know what would happen if he gave in and let the lux have its way with him, but he also didn''t want to find out.


    He reached into his satchel, and his fingers found Wulan¡¯s pen case. He drew it out, finding the familiar object grounding him, reassuring him that he wasn¡¯t dreaming.


    Then, all at once, a figure materialized through the mist. It was an old woman, her gray hair up in a bun on the top of her head and fastened with a long pair of lacquered sticks. She wore the robes of a cultivator, the color faded out, and her brooch bore a device of a quill pen.


    She was a shade.


    He could faintly see through her, and she hovered off the ground. But he¡¯d never seen a shade so thoroughly realized before. Impatiently, she spoke. "I see you''re a scribe. Your sect sent you to do some dirty work?"


    He nodded dumbly.


    "Then speak up, boy!" Her eyes fastened on the pen case in his hand, and she cackled, clasping her hands together. "Oh, aren''t you a clever one! It''s been ages since anyone brought a shade to us. I thought perhaps it had gone out of fashion. Go on, summon him!"


    Chang-li managed to croak, "What?"


    "Your sect shade! That''s why you brought him here, isn''t it? So we can teach him the techniques? Much more efficient than passing it along to you to write down. Come along, then!" She snapped her fingers, and Chang-li jumped.


    He channeled lux into Wulan''s pen case, hoping it was the right thing to do. A moment later, the irascible cultivator scribe appeared, floating cross-legged in midair, just as he''d been the last time Chang-li summoned him.


    "That''s twice now you''ve summoned me without so much as a by your leave,¡± he grumbled to Chang-li. He was looking denser here, too. It must be the increased lux levels. He almost looked like a living person, but for the sheen around him.


    Chang-li couldn''t resist. He leaned forward and poked a finger at Wulan''s shoulder. It passed inside the shade''s outline. "Quit that!" Wulan said crossly. He looked around. "Where am I?"


    "We''re at the cultivator library," Chang-li said. "She said to bring you out." He gestured to the other shade. Wulan''s attention shifted. He stood up, still hovering over the floor, and smoothed at his robes before gliding over and bowing low before the woman.


    "My lady scribe, how charming to meet you. It''s been ages since I had anyone other than this oaf to talk to."


    The female shade raised a hand to her lips and giggled almost girlishly. "That is too kind of you. What is your name, brother scribe?"


    "I am Wulan of the Morning Mist."


    "And I am Dathia Rose of Harmonious Inclinations. How long has it been for you?"


    "Oh, I don''t know. The calendar here seems all messed up," Wulan said. "Why, no one here had even heard of the Morning Mist until I convinced this young fool to help me resurrect our sect. I must rescue us from obscurity, of course, but you can see the sort of tools I have to work with." He made a dismissive gesture at Chang-li.


    "I''m right here," Chang-li said. The shades ignored him.


    "You''ve come to the right place," Dathia Rose said. "I take it your acolytes are having difficulty with the Mental Refinement stage?"


    "They''ll have difficulty with the Spiritual Refinement stage once they get there, too,¡± Wulan said. "But one thing at a time, I should say."


    "Your acolyte would be torn to pieces if he attempted to enter the Spiritual Refinement room. The lux density in there is a hundred times what it is in here, suitable only for cultivators already at the Peak of Mental Refinement, not those who," she cast a glance at Chang-li, "seem unlikely to ever reach it."


    "I''m still here," Chang-li said, finding himself more and more annoyed. "Listen, I came here for knowledge of techniques and the secrets of how to reach Mental Refinement."


    "Yes, yes," Dathia Rose said. She sighed. "Fine, I''ll summon another to talk to you while the elders and I speak with your shade."


    "What are you going to do with him?" Chang-li asked. Wulan didn¡¯t seem concerned, so perhaps he shouldn¡¯t be either.


    "Merely impart as much of our wisdom as he can take. You''ve shamefully neglected him," Dathia Rose declared as she looked Wulan over.


    The ancient shade looked disappointed. He puffed himself up. "I am in fine mettle.¡±


    "Yes, but if your descendants do not provide you with significantly more lux as well as a better anchor, you will dissipate here in a matter of years," Dathia Rose said. "I hope they have plans to install you in a permanent location."


    "Part of our bargain is to restore the sect holdings of the Morning Mist," Wulan said.


    "Since when?" asked Chang-li as another pair of shades appeared. They seemed to be twin brothers, only a little older than Chang-li himself. They bowed to him, and then to the female shade. "Lady Rose, we heard your summons."


    "Take this one away and train him or something.¡± Rose sounded annoyed. "Come, Wulan, speak with me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve still got his pen case.¡±


    ¡°Just leave it on the table here," Rose directed. "You can retrieve it when we are done."


    "Ah.¡± Chang-li studied the small round marble-topped table which had certainly not been here before. "How much is this going to cost me? I''ve got a budget to stick to and a list here of what I need."


    "I''ll take that list," Wulan said, holding out his hand. Chang-li hesitated before pulling the notes he''d made the night before from his pocket. It contained a listing of everything he was hoping to find in the archive.


    Wulan raised an eyebrow. "Ambitious, aren''t you? I''m not sure how much of this they can put in my head."


    Rose looked over his shoulder, their outlines overlapping a little bit, which disconcerted Chang-li greatly. Wulan didn''t seem to mind. Indeed, the old scribe set his free hand around Rose''s waist. If the older woman shade cared, she didn''t make it apparent. In fact, as Wulan''s fingers touched her hip, she giggled again.


    Chang-li turned to the twin shades. "I beg you for your knowledge."


    The brothers raised identical eyebrows and laughed, glancing at the two shades deep in conversation. "Come with us."


    They glided off into the mist, and Chang-li, not without reservations, followed. The mist parted as he went through, retreating to leave a corridor in which he followed the shades along.


    "How do you all come to be here?" Chang-li asked.


    The brothers both shrugged their shoulders in the same way. "Most of us are formerly patron shades of a sect who either found disfavor with the Empire or lost their last disciples. As part of their assets, we were claimed and installed here to benefit the nation."


    "In our case," one of the brothers said, sighing, "it was our sister''s fault."


    "We should never have trusted that traitorous bitch," the other brother said. "We were all three born at once, and devoted to the path of cultivation. We trained, achieving the rank of Spiritual Refinement before the age of thirty-five, and had acquired quite a following in our sect. Each of us wished to be proclaimed the next Grand Master."


    "Our sister," the other brother said, picking up the thread of the story, "came to each of us in turn and persuaded us that we were plotting against each other.¡±


    ¡°She set us up," the first brother said grimly. "Arranged for a match and swapped out the weapons, leaving each of us to believe that the other had dealt deceitfully."This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    "And so we perished, each with the other''s sword in his breast," the second brother declared dramatically, turning a doleful face to Chang-li. "Then after she had achieved the rank of Grand Master, she wished no record of her treachery to remain with the sect, and so she donated us to the provincial government in order to settle some back taxes. We''ve been here ever since."


    Chang-li found the story frankly ridiculous, but he didn''t want to offend the brothers. "So, ah, gracious instructors, how shall I call you?"


    "I am Deng, and he is Dang," one of the brothers said. Chang-li tried to fix which was which, but they were moving quickly enough, he was losing track. They emerged from the mist into a cleared area, a set of concentric circles, the largest a good fifty feet across, the smallest inner circle a mere six feet. The brothers led Chang-li right to the center.


    "Let your shade learn the boring matters. We can see what it is you need," Deng, or perhaps Dang, said.


    "What''s that?"


    "You are hiding a sword in your soul space. It is not a particularly notable sword, although it does have a good affinity for yellow lux, which at your stage is quite valuable. It may be possible to expand that affinity to include green, which would greatly enhance its helpfulness to you," the second brother said. "But if you are hiding a sword in your soul space, that can only mean that you haven''t told anyone you are a scribe who has decided to pick up the sword."


    Chang-li started to protest that he was no such thing, but Dang, or perhaps Deng, held up a hand. "We certainly don''t care about such strictures. We are shades and past the laws of men. What we can see is that you are a hopeless swordsman. So doff your robe, draw your sword, and learn."


    Both of the brothers materialized swords in their own right hands. Chang-li decided it was best to do as they asked. Besides, when else was he going to get the offer of free sword lessons? As long as Wulan was learning some valuable techniques and they were able to get their hands on the trove of Morning Mist''s secrets, this would be a valuable way to spend his day.


    And if it wasn''t, he''d come back tomorrow and try again. He still had time before the caravan returned to the tower. He shrugged out of his outer robe, leaving on his tunic and leggings, and then opened his soul space and withdrew his sword, which he handled only with his left hand. The brothers eyed him.


    "Interesting. You are a crosshander?"


    "As a child, I preferred my left," he said. He hesitated, then admitted, "This way I haven''t quite broken my scribe''s oath."


    They shared a laugh as they realized what he meant. "The hand that holds a pen has not touched a sword," Deng said. "Well thought. I like seeing a bit of duplicitousness in a scribe. It''s what you need as a cultivator."


    "Duplicitousness and discretion," Dang agreed. "Otherwise, you''ll find your sect records are an invitation for an inquisitor."


    "What do you mean?" Chang-li asked as he copied the brothers'' stance as best he could.


    "Well, as they say, if an inquisitor wants to find something amiss with your sect, all he has to do is look. There are a thousand laws governing cultivation, and even the best-intentioned sect is going to fall afoul of some of them. Just try to leave the bigger ones out of your sect journals.¡±


    ¡°And never, ever, ever admit to working with violet lux," Deng added.


    Chang-li felt a quick stab of guilt. He nodded.


    "Now the first thing you want to know is how to hold a sword," Deng said. "Please don''t say you do already. What you want to do is..."


    Chang-li trained with the brothers for what seemed an eternity. After a particularly exhausting bout, he fell back, gasping. He drank from the water skin they had materialized somewhere and realized he wasn''t hungry, though it seemed like he must have been here for hours.


    The water was oddly filling. Where had they gotten it? It probably wasn''t water at all, but some form of purified lux that was fortifying his body. At the Peak of Bodily Refinement, Chang-li could expect to begin to take some of what he needed from lux, but he would still need food eventually.


    "How long have I been here?" he asked, panting. "I had a companion with me. I can''t leave her here forever, and I have to return to my tower in three more days."


    Deng shook his head. "Do not fear. Each hour that you spend here is recorded against your fee. But," and he smiled, "even though they try to strip the violet lux out of the crystals they give us, there''s always some. We have very little to do here in between visitors. And so, we tend to, shall we say, adjust the flow of the hours, speed them up when no one is here.¡±


    ¡°But in consequence we have a great deal of stored time available to us to use when we do have visitors. You''ve been here an hour," Dang declared.


    It had felt like far more. Chang-li had suspected since his time on the first floor of the Golden Moon Tower that violet lux altered the flow of time in some way, but to have it confirmed like this was yet another astonishing revelation, and the idea that time was something that could be saved up or spent out made his head hurt. He decided to accept their explanation.


    ¡°Let us begin again. We are fascinated by your description of using both an elemental technique and your sword at the same time. Give us a quick demonstration and we''ll see what kind of pointers we can give you."


    The brothers were very good swordsmen. Chang-li discovered quickly that he was not, and then slowly began to improve a little at a time. They admitted they were not much in the way of using elemental techniques.


    "I like to channel through my sword," Deng explained. "When you are more advanced you should try to get your hands on a channeling sword. One of those can handle all that nonsense for you. Just channel in a little green lux and your attacks will leave a nasty swath of poison on someone, or hit them with some orange and their wounds will be twice as deep. That''s what most swordsmen tend to do."


    "Yes, we leave the elementals for the softer types, those who don¡¯t want to experience combat up close and personal," Dang agreed, "but I can see some potential here. Have you considered trying to use it as a shield?"


    "I have," Chang-li agreed. He showed them what he thought of.


    "Interesting. Your left-hand sword work will take many enemies by surprise, but it does leave your right side more exposed. You''ll want to compensate with the shield, I think.¡±


    ¡°If you could quickly switch between a shield and an offensive ability, that would be a powerful combination,¡± his brother mused. "I don''t think we have anyone here who could match that."


    "No, but he might benefit from tutoring by Master Yala," Deng said. "She was a great elemental cultivator.¡±


    ¡°But we must work on your mental techniques. Right now you are in danger of your body overwhelming your mind. That is a common problem at the Peak of Bodily Refinement.¡±


    Chang-li lowered his sword. This was what he¡¯d been aching to learn. Secrets of cultivation. He bowed respectfully to the brothers. ¡°Can you explain it to me?¡±


    ¡°Do you know what lux is?¡±


    There had to be more to the question than Chang-li saw. He frowned as he thought. ¡°I guess ¡ª it just is. You cultivate it in order to do things.¡±


    ¡°Lux is the broken-down and clarified remains of lumos, the substance which creates, maintains, and alters the universe.¡±


    He¡¯d heard of lumos, but only in a vague way, from family prayers and other rote recitations. Chang-li nodded. ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°A cultivator who could use lumos directly could re-shape reality with a thought. There are whispers that the Emperor is capable of controlling lumos, but he is a divine being. The rest of us use lux. Towers convert lumos to the seven colors of lux.¡± Deng paused, inviting Chang-li to respond.


    He thought about it. ¡°Why seven?¡±


    ¡°Excellent question!¡± Dang applauded him. ¡°Why seven and not four, or ten? There are a great deal of cultivation philosophy devoted to that topic but you¡¯ll never contribute anything of note at this stage, so forget it and accept. Seven colors. They range from the physical ¡ª altering or enhancing your own body, altering and enhancing the world around you, and altering or enhancing the elements themselves ¡ª to the intangible. Spiritual luxes can control minds, space, and time ¡ª but stay away from violet unless you want an inquisitor up your ass.¡±


    ¡°And of course, lux is utterly inimicable to life,¡± Deng tossed in.


    ¡°Wait, what? I thought lux is needed to make plants grow and to ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, its applications are important. The sun is needed to make plants grow, but if you tried to inhale the sun and keep it in your body you¡¯d regret that too. You know all those impurities you¡¯re cycling out of your body? They¡¯re not lux impurities. Lux is perfect, pure, undefiled. Those are from your body destroying itself due to the presence of lux in you.¡±


    ¡°So, when you begin cultivating, the first step is to refine your body,¡± Dang said. ¡°That allows you to tolerate higher concentrations of lux. If a normal mortal were to step foot on this floor of the building, he¡¯d quickly find himself puking his guts out and if he didn¡¯t heed that warning, would perish.¡±


    ¡°I remember a disciple once. Promising girl, barely starting out. She ignored a warning sign and stepped inside a training area for Spiritual Refinement cultivators. She died screaming, in a matter of seconds. Tumors erupting from her body, skin boiling away¡­ where were we?¡± Deng related the anecdote in a light-hearted manner. Chang-li¡¯s blood ran cold hearing it. ¡°Ah, yes. Bodily refinement. Now that you¡¯ve reached the peak, your body can handle more lux and you can push out the toxins and repair your body without aid. But lux is still not good for you. Yet you persist on pushing on, into denser regions. Now the attacks center on your mind. So at this stage, we focus on keeping your mental defenses up. As you push toward Mental Refinement, you will learn to shield your mind at all times, keeping the lux out.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s set his feet on the path,¡± Dang said. ¡°You¡¯ve been keeping the lux at bay the whole time you¡¯re here, allowing only a trickle inside. That¡¯s excellent. Shows you have good instincts and solid control. Drop the resistance and let the lux in.¡±


    Chang-li was struck by visions of himself writhing on the ground vomiting blood. ¡°You know, I think I¡¯d better study ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Do it!¡±


    Chang-li dropped his barriers, and the lux flowed in.


    It was like he¡¯d plunged into a raging river. The flow overwhelmed him, dragging him along. His mind echoed with shrieks. His vision blurred as explosions of light behind his eyes pounded through his skull. He could feel insects crawling up his skin. A smell of rotting roses filled his nostrils.


    ¡°Control it!¡± Deng ordered from somewhere far away. ¡°It¡¯s your mind, control it!¡±


    He didn¡¯t know how. He didn¡¯t have a technique.


    ¡°Ground yourself,¡± Dang told him. ¡°Your feet are planted on the ground. Cycle up from your feet, in from your fingers. You are accepting the lux into yourself, but you own it. Your body belongs to you. Your mind must become yours as well.¡±


    Inch by desperate inch, Chang-li pushed back the feelings, until he saw clearly enough to put his lux barrier back up. The flow cut off. He sagged to the ground, panting.


    ¡°Every Mental Refinement cycling technique is, at the core, similar. It¡¯s about subjecting yourself to the flood, and controlling it. You will learn. Step by step, you will learn.¡±


    Chang-li took a deep breath. He rose and bowed. ¡°Thank you, my tutors.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and a warning,¡± Deng said. ¡°Until your mind becomes as strong as your body has, you may find times your body controls your mind instead of vice versa. Be careful with friendly duels. They may escalate beyond your expectations.¡±


    Maybe that was why Feng was such an asshole? For most of the time Chang-li had known him, he¡¯d been working toward Mental Refinement. Perhaps now that he¡¯d reached it he¡¯d be a better person.


    Fat chance of that.


    ¡°Well. Return tomorrow, and we shall see what more there is for you here.¡±


    Chang-li had by now lost all track of time. "Tomorrow?"


    "Why, yes. You''ve been here eight hours now. I''m afraid between this and what your shade has learned, your tab for the day will be quite extravagant. Just settle up at the desk. They don''t mind running credit, but for a sect no one has ever heard of, they''re going to demand to see some gold for this large a bill."


    Chang-li bowed low to both brothers. "My gratitude is immense. Thank you."


    "Our pleasure," Deng said. "No, really, it was. Oh, and by the way, if you should ever encounter our sister, Miya, of the Orange Blossoms in the Breeze sect, please don''t hesitate to ram your sword up her ass. And then tell her shade where to get off."


    The brothers chuckled, then retreated backward into the mist, which closed in around them and Chang-li. For an instant, he panicked, then the mist dissipated, and he found himself staring at Wulan''s pen case on a small table in front of him. He certainly hadn''t moved, but the sparring rings were gone.


    He picked the pen case up. There was no sign of Wulan. He channeled a little lux into it. An irascible voice said, "I''m going to bed. Talk to me tomorrow. I''ve got a headache from all this nonsense you let them stuff in."


    Grinning, Chang-li shoved the case into his satchel. He turned around and found a door behind him. Time to go. He hoped Min had had as productive a day as he.

 Bk 2 Ch 16: The Reading Room

    Min POV


    Min watched Chang-li disappear up the stairs before turning to the clerk at the desk. "Now then," she said, "I require some information here."


    "Of course, lady," the scribe said, bowing. "How may I serve you?"


    Min strolled away from the desk deliberately, letting her fingers trail along its edge before stepping out of reach. The clerk''s eyes followed her.


    "You see," Min said, formulating a plan in her mind, "I have recently become betrothed to a young master from a, shall we say, sect in some difficulty."


    "Yes, my lady," the scribe said politely.


    "Morning Mist was once a noble sect with many great deeds to its account, but they have fallen on hard times, mostly, I think, due to a failure of the late Grand Master''s spouse, my predecessor. At this time, the sect has no cultivator spouses at all."


    That, at least, was true. The scribe seemed to believe her. "A difficult situation, my lady."


    "Indeed." She turned back, smiling as hopefully as she could and spreading her hands wide. "You see, I am to marry into the sect and be expected to perform duties that I have not been properly trained for, as well as having no superior to teach me. My fianc¨¦ and the other disciples do not see how difficult a situation this puts me in, but they are entirely focused on cultivation and fail to see that there are other tasks equally important to maintaining the health of a sect."


    The scribe nodded. She had a pleasant expression and seemed to be following what Min was saying. "I understand your difficulty, my lady."


    "I wonder if you would be able to help me determine the kind of records I wish to spend my time perusing. I would be very grateful for any help." Min cleared her throat. "As would my grandfather."


    The scribe had seen both her and Chang-li''s documents. She dipped her head. "Of course, my lady," she said warmly. "Come with me."


    She stepped out from behind her counter and began walking about the circle. "These rooms contain all of the sect records pertaining to matters at the first stage of cultivating bodily refinement, but they also contain the day-to-day doings of various sects. I fear some of them are a little cluttered. There is very little call for most of these records, so they''ve generally been stored under the name of the sect who deposited them and not properly cross-referenced. But it might be possible to..."


    Min drew a copper coin from her purse, a 10-kwam piece. It was the smallest she had, and with what Chang-li had taken from her yesterday, she was starting to run a little short. She would have to see if she could prevail on her brother to give her an allowance before she returned to the tower. She pressed it into the scribe''s hand. "Anything," she said, "anything will help."


    She had spent the night worrying whether to risk being caught away from the mayor¡¯s palace. Chang-li ought to be able to get the records of techniques and learn how to reach the Peak of Mental Refinement. He could pass them down to her chosen disciples. But the Oaken Band sister''s warning had brought into sharp focus the fact that she didn''t actually know anything about running a sect, and neither did Chang-li or Joshi.


    What other ways might they be caught out? They could fall afoul of customs and regulations they''d never heard of. The longer she thought about it, the more she was convinced that she needed to learn how sects worked anyway.


    The scribe pointed at the first door. "Each of these rooms is organized by date of deposit of records. When the last room is filled, we go to the oldest and take its contents to the deep vaults. Do you have any idea where you would like to start, my lady?"


    "With the most recent," Min declared. If she was going to learn customs and regulations, she might as well be up to date on them. She had a handful of blank journals and a soft lead stick of the type the Oaken Band preferred to use. It would not be as elegant as the pen and ink of a scribe, but she could scribble down simplified characters much faster than she could use a pen.


    Now she followed the clerk through one of the doors. The room beyond was much larger than she had expected, at least 40 feet on a side and chock full of shelves. The space between rows was barely enough for a person to walk. The shelves rose to a height of 8 feet, with boxes piled on top of them. There were tags on the end of each shelf, with the names of sects listed in pen.


    Min went to the first shelf and ran a finger down the list of sect names. None of them were anything she recognized. What was she even looking for here? She turned to the scribe. "You have worked here for long?"


    "Eighteen months, my lady."


    "Do you enjoy your posting?"


    The woman''s face dimmed. "Ah, I was hoping that working with cultivators would give me a chance to impress a sect with my skills," she admitted. "But I''m stuck here, working a desk. It hasn''t really happened."


    "What''s your name?"


    "Yaw Dai Nee."


    "Very well, Scribe Yaw. I shall remember your helpfulness, not merely to my betrothed, but to my family as well," Min said, making sure the girl took her meaning. It was always good to impress upon people just how useful you might be to them. "All my family," she added, and the woman''s face lit up.


    She bowed low. "Thank you, lady."


    "Now," Min said briskly, "I want the records from the largest sect you have had visit and deposit records in the last, say, year."


    Her brow furrowed. "That would be the Tradewinds Sect, I think. They are said to have branches in a dozen different provinces, and one of their grandmasters was made a Prism not fifteen years ago."


    "Perfect," Min said. She reasoned that a very large sect would be more likely to have their procedures and everyday life written down, rather than handing the knowledge from one person to another. If she was wrong, she still had time to make another choice.


    Scribe Yaw helped Min locate the records in question. They filled most of a shelf three aisles over from the door. Crates full of scrolls, stacks of scribbled journals, and boxes with lids that Min pulled open. One contained several fabric samples in different colors, presumably those of the sect. Receipts of supplies. She boggled at the number of crates of eggs and stacks of rice the sect apparently used in a single month. Other miscellany. These seemed less than immediately useful, so she turned to the stacks of books.


    One look at a page quickly told her whether it was written in the standard character set or a sect language. She set aside all of the ones she couldn''t read with some regret. No doubt they contained much more interesting items, perhaps even secrets, but there was no point wasting her time on books she couldn''t read.


    "Anything else, Mistress?" Scribe Yaw asked, hovering.


    Min shook her head. "I''m fine for now, thank you."


    "Should you need anything else, I''ll be at my post." The scribe disappeared and left Min in peace, which suited her. She pulled a sturdy covered crate off of the shelf and used it as a seat, making a stack beside her of journals, with one of her own blank books open in front of her.


    Min began to take notes.  At first, the trivialities of a sect''s daily life didn''t seem to have much to teach her. Then she began to see rhythms. She found a training schedule tucked away, with a notation saying "for the lesser disciples" and copied it verbatim into her book.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    A stack of notes from the sect''s infirmary was worth their weight in gold. She scribbled note after note.  This cultivator had sprained an ankle and was prescribed hot compress and rest. This cultivator had overstrained his lux channels using a cycling pattern he had been warned was too difficult for him. He was given a tonic and dismissed from the sect. Another cultivator, suffering the same ailment but with a cryptic addendum in a different hand reading "too well connected," had been given a lux strengthening pill and told to cycle "the Way of Soothing Rains" for a week before continuing her training.


    You could learn a lot about how to run a sect by reading through the records of injuries, Min thought. One whole page of her notebook now was dedicated to recipes she wanted to learn for the healing tonics and other prescriptions that had been listed. To her luck, she found another volume, slim, handwritten, and tied with a ribbon that contained just such recipes. She started to copy them out, flipped through the book, counted them, and carried it out to Scribe Yaw, who looked up eagerly from her desk.


    "Yes, Mistress?"


    "I would like a copy of this made and added to the other items my scribe is taking from your vaults."


    "Of course, Mistress. It could be ready for you in a week. " She hesitated. "Or for an extra fee, by the end of the day."


    Min waved it off. "We want it today."


    "Of course."


    Min returned to her perusals. Somewhere around midday ¡ª it was hard to tell since the rooms had no windows, but her stomach was rumbling quite a lot ¡ª she rose again, having learned quite a lot from the sect records. She felt there was more she could learn, but she needed some lunch. She stopped by the helpful scribe''s desk again. The girl was eating cold chicken cutlets and fishballs. Min''s stomach rumbled.


    "I don''t suppose there''s a way to have lunch brought up here?" She wondered idly how Chang-li was getting on. "And there''s been no sign of my scribe?"


    Scribe Yaw shook her head. "The cultivators who visit the top floor rarely return before the end of the day. Please," she shoved her food toward Min, "help yourself to my lunch, lady."


    It was taking advantage of the girl, but Min really did mean to put in a good word for her wherever she could. She took two of the balls, enough to take the edge off her hunger, and drank from the flask of cold tea that Scribe Yaw offered her. Then she hesitated.


    "I wonder if you might indulge me, but where are the records of the oldest sects kept?"


    "In the vaults," the scribe said promptly. "All the really old stuff is down there but we don¡¯t let just anyone in."


    "Too many secrets?"


    "Fragile documents, my lady."


    Min nodded. She wasn''t going to argue that she could handle such records safely since she knew very well she couldn''t. "How do you know what is down there or how to find it?"


    "Well, we have the compendiums in the hall. Let''s see, they''re in this third room, my lady." Scribe Yaw led her over. "but the compendiums hold the deposition and withdraw records dating all the way back to when this library was founded.. They''re along this back wall." She showed Min the racks and racks of leatherbound books and scrolls. "These are listings of every sect that has ever visited Riceflower Province and the Tower Culls that they were associated with."


    "Thank you," Min said pleasantly. The girl left again, and Min wondered what she was actually looking for here.


    She was certain that the Morning Mist sect was a real organization. The ring Joshi wore was no fake, or rather, if he had been capable of such a counterfeit, then he would have been also able to fake the rest of the sect without any help from her. No, she had a suspicion what had happened. Somehow Chang-li or Joshi had come across the effects of a long-dead cultivator from the Morning Mist sect, which had gotten them access to a secret entrance into the tower. They¡¯d gone in with Hiroko, and all come out at different times.


    Min had a hunch learning more about the Morning Mist sect would pay off, though she wasn''t certain why. She also had a feeling they were very old. It was just something about the look of Joshi''s ring. While it had been bright, without a speck of tarnish, it was a very old-fashioned design. The ring could have been handed down from cultivator to cultivator, but it didn''t look as though it had been worn that much. And for them to so boldly throw around a sect name, expecting no one to have heard of it, might also indicate an age.


    Min started into the stack of compendium scrolls. She unrolled and searched through them and immediately noticed something odd. Each scroll had the date of its creation right at the top. Next to the date was a note stating, "All dates should be readjusted to calculate for year 423 being equivalent to Imperial Year 1 due to Imperial Decree."


    Imperial Decree? What sort of Imperial Decree would have erased 400 years of history? Min had never heard of any such thing. It was the year 1273, counting down since the Emperor had constructed the first cultivation tower and turned untamed wilderness into the paradise that was now the Empire.


    This implied that there had been 400 years of some calendar before that. Surely any tribes that had lived in a barren wilderness devoid of lux would have been too busy running from monsters and scraping a meager existence off of the sort of pathetic crop that grew naturally without the benefit of lux fertilizer to have bothered keeping records.


    Curious, she began to read through the lists of sect visitations, looking for references to tower culls at Golden Moon City. There were none. Min realized with exasperation that the city could have been renamed and resolved herself to looking through every sect name in the scroll.


    Morning Mist was not in the first scroll, nor was it in the second, but now the name Golden Moon began to crop up along with a notation that the broken tower offered certain opportunities for a cultivator brave enough to enter, but warning they should consult the Council of Elders before venturing there.


    The Council of Elders? Min had never heard of such an organization. Riceflower Province had a governor. From her family for the last three hundred years, and another family before that. The sects and the Office of Cultivation between them worked out who was permitted on a tower cull and who was not.


    She read deeper. A little farther on was a note, "Eruption at Golden Moon Tower. Several cultivators lost. Others survived, crippled, and warned of an overabundance of violet lux. This imbalance should be addressed by the Council of Elders."


    Min found the mystery intriguing. She read on. And then, on the third scroll, she found the name.


    "Young Master Kang of the Morning Mist sect has arrived and presented to the Council of Elders with a handsome gift in exchange for permission to delve the Golden Moon City Tower off-season. Permission has been granted. Cultivator Kang further offers several guarantees of his good behavior, including leaving his sect records in the Cultivators Library. Additionally, Cultivator Kang deposited a sealed mapcase with cartography." There was a notation after the entry.


    She scanned down the next few entries and saw no further mention of the Morning Mist sect. She went back to the entry referring to the Morning Mist visit and copied out the notation. Min retraced her steps back to the desk and the helpful clerk. "Scribe Yaw?"


    The woman looked up, smiling pleasantly.


    "Yes, my lady?¡±


    ¡°There''s a record I particularly wish to access. It''s in the deep vaults."


    Scribe Yaw frowned. "I could put in a request to have it brought up to you."


    "That''s really not necessary," Min said. "I''m not certain whether or not it''s relevant to me. Would it be possible for us just to pop down and take a look? It really shouldn''t take me long to decide if it''s something I need or not. If it is, I can put in the request through normal channels."


    Scribe Yaw frowned. "I don''t know, my lady. That vault is restricted to those who know how to handle those old documents."


    "I presume you take plenty of shifts down there," Min said. "You look to me as though you know your way around an archive."


    The other woman puffed up, clearly pleased by the mild praise. How long had she been stuck at this desk job? Min made a note to be sure to have someone from the Brotherhood bring her a token of appreciation, at the very least. "Yes, of course, my lady."


    "I don''t intend to touch anything," Min lied. "I just need to find out if the record in question is even there. I could go down and be back up here in no time at all."


    Scribe Yaw hesitated. At last, she set aside her record book and straightened up, dusting her hands off. "Nobody ever comes up here this late in the day. Sect scribes always want to spend hours and hours upstairs. I suppose I won''t be missed."


    "Thank you," Min said, dipping her head.


    Scribe Yaw led her back down the stairs she''d come up, and then through an inconspicuous door that led to another stair leading deep below the atrium. The temperature dropped precipitously as they descended. The air felt drier. There was still a feel of ambient lux.


    "We keep the vault cooler, and as dry as we can," Scribe Yaw whispered. "No flames allowed. Only lux lamps."


    That was quite an indulgent use of lux, but Min wasn''t going to argue. They stepped out into a vast room full of shelves like she''d seen in the ones upstairs, stretching out for ages. A few rows away, someone wearing a dark brown robe was sweeping the floor.


    "You have some idea where this is?" Min held up a copy of the location sheet she¡¯d noted down.


    Scribe Yaw peered at it, raised an eyebrow. "Those are very old. Yes, I can take you there. Come on."


    She set off along the rows, at last reaching the end, coming up against a wall. Scribe Yaw turned and went along the row, nearly all the way down, before stopping.


    "Here you are, my lady."


    Min studied the shelves. There, amongst all the others, in a tarnished brass cylinder, was the emblem of the Morning Mist sect.


    She needed a way to distract Scribe Yaw. Pretending to have just thought something, she turned to the other woman. "I forgot to bring anything to write down this information on. Could you find me a slate? I''ll want to make a request."


    Scribe Yaw bowed her head and set off, retracing her steps.


    Min turned over the small case in her hands. This should belong to the Morning Mist sect. But if it wasn''t labeled like the other documents they had deposited, would the officious bureaucrats of the Hall of Records say she had no claim to it? Min slipped the roll up her sleeve. It was only four inches long, very small for a scroll case.


    When Scribe Yaw returned with a slate, Min ostentatiously copied out the details of a scroll, two shelves over and three shelves up, picking one at random. Then she handed the slate back to Scribe Yaw.


    "Thank you for indulging me," she said. ¡°I should get back before Scribe Wu finishes. I will remember your help, I swear.¡±

 Bk 2 Ch 17: Paying the Tab

    Chang-li had been expecting quite a bill, but the total staggered him.  ¡°One thousand, two hundred and fifty kwam?¡± he demanded. That was three months'' wage for him.


    ¡°Do you have the coin or not?" the official droned. There was no sign of Inspector Ji¡¯in, for which Chang-li was grateful. He sighed and dug out his purse. That would put a large dent in Min''s money.


    He handed it over, and the scribe disappeared. He came back a moment later with two others, staggering under loads of crates, while the first scribe had sacks slung on both shoulders. "What''s all this?" Chang-li asked, staring.


    "Records from the Sect of Morning Mist, as requested." They set the crates and bags down in front of Chang-li and Min and disappeared, one of the scribes giving Chang-li a knowing grin.


    "Not what you were expecting?" Min asked dryly.


    "There''s so much." He had been picturing, perhaps, a stack of notebooks, like the one he already had. "This, though, how are we going to carry all this?"


    Min sighed. "I''ll give you a hand." She slung both satchels over her shoulders. "They¡¯re heavier than they look. Can you manage the rest?"


    Chang-li stooped and picked up the crates, which were stacked on each other. They weighed a lot. Even with his newly remade body, his legs nearly buckled under the weight. "Come on,¡± he managed. "Let''s go."


    He staggered out the door and down the street. Sweat dripped down Chang-li''s brow.. Perhaps one of his crates contained some metal scroll cases or artifacts of the sect. That would be nice.


    "What else did you find?" she asked, clearly not struggling under her load nearly as much as he was. "I didn''t see you presenting any documents to be priced." Min had filled three whole books. Her neat scratchings were remarkably economical. Now she pulled something from her sleeve and slipped it into the satchel she was carrying over her left arm.


    "What''s that?"


    "I''ll tell you when we get back," she said. "But what did you spend the whole day doing?"


    He hesitated. "I''ll tell you when we get back."


    It took forever to reach the Royal Peacock. Min disappeared inside as Chang-li lowered his crates to the floor. She came bounding back, followed by the porter and the cook, a brawny man married to the barkeeper.


    "Take them up to Chang-li''s room," she ordered. They hurried to obey.


    "I suppose you need to be going back," he said. It was getting dark. The streets were filling with people at the end of their day. He could smell dinner cooking inside the tavern.


    She hesitated. Then, in a rush, said, "It''ll be easier after full dark. If I haven''t been missed yet, I should be safe. I want to see what we''ve got here."


    He couldn''t help but grin back at her wide smile. What we''ve got here. It made him feel good. They had pulled it off, and more treasures awaited tomorrow. "All right," he agreed.


    They went inside. Min stopped off at the counter and spoke with the woman tending the bar there as Chang-li mounted the steps to his room. It was probably better if they didn''t go up at the same time. The crates filled most of the space in the room, leaving only the futon and the narrow strip of floor beside it. A few minutes later, Min hurried up, carrying a sealed bottle and two cups.


    "She''ll bring dinner up for us. I impressed on her the need for discretion.¡± Chang-li hoped Min knew what she was doing. He ushered her into the room and closed the door behind them. Min turned to him, raising her arms, crowing "We did it!"


    "We did it," he agreed, joy overflowing. He had taken another step as a cultivator today, learning from those who came before him to develop his skill. Not only that, but with so many records from the Sect of Morning Mist, there had to be something useful. He ripped off both of his satchels and laid them on one of the crates. Min pulled hers off as well.


    "Let''s see what we''ve got here," he said, opening the first crate. Stacks and stacks of cultivation journals filled the crate. Some of them had burned, crispy edges. They smelled very old, but the paper was in good condition. He opened one. It was in a script, and not the one he already knew. Wulan would have the key, no doubt. The next one was in the secret script he already knew. He could translate it almost as fast as reading standard characters by now. He read aloud, "A cycling technique for those at the Peak of Bodily Refinement. This is perfect," he said, lifting his face to hers. "This next page here says, ''For those struggling to learn their Mind''s Wall fortification.''"


    "What''s that?"


    "I have no idea." A grin spread across his face. "I have no idea," he repeated again, laughing. "There''s so much here to learn. I can''t wait. I''m..." He bit his lip. "How am I going to get all of this back up the mountain?"


    "You won''t," she said practically. "We''ll arrange to have the Brotherhood bring it."


    His eyes narrowed as he studied her. "And to make copies?"


    Min looked him over, seeming to consider it, then shrugged. "I don''t know what good it''ll do if it''s in a script only you can read. I''m hoping your sense of fair play will extend to giving my people a copy of what they need."


    "If that¡¯s what it takes to help Joshi fulfill the contract you forced on him," Chang-li said. As soon as he spoke, he regretted it. Her face fell. He cursed himself. She¡¯d been nothing but helpful today.


    Min''s shoulders slumped. She turned away. "Yes, of course. The contract." She opened the satchel she had carried back. It was full of scroll cases. She pulled one out. It bore the mark of the Morning Mist sect at one end of the brass case. She unscrewed it and a scroll fell out. "Oh, this one''s not in script. Look, it''s a recipe for a Pill of Greater Concentration." She looked up. "Do you know what lotus ears are?"


    "Never heard of them."


    "How about starberry flower?"


    He shook his head. "Must be from wherever the Morning Mist were.¡±


    Min lowered the scroll. She grinned at him. "So, come clean. Who were these Morning Mist people? And how did you find out about ''em?"


    Chang-li hesitated. But Min was already in so deep. They were tied together by a hundred secrets and deals already. She might as well know the truth. She could use it against him if she chose, but honestly, at this point, she could probably already get him aboard anything she chose. Not to mention the two different grandfathers who could both have his throat slit, should they desire it.


    So he recounted his first encounter with Scribe Wulan. Min raised her hand to her mouth as he spoke.


    "I''d heard about Feng¡¯s intransigence, but that''s worse than I had been told. And what? A shade? You made a bargain with a shade? Really? Scribe Wu, I thought you would have had better sense. Haven''t you ever read fairy tales?"


    "It was that or die," he said. "Anyway, Wulan''s a good sort. A little bit of a jerk, but..." He pulled his pen case from his satchel and cycled a little lux into it. "Let''s see if this works."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    A moment later, Wulan appeared. He was cross-eyed and his hair all rumpled. "Again? You disturbed me again?¡± Then he noticed Min. At once he smoothed back his hair and made a low bow. "My lady, forgive me." He turned to Chang-li. "Is this a recruit of our sect?"


    "This is Lady Min. She is helping me re-establish the Morning Mist sect," Chang-li said gravely, hoping that stretching the truth wasn''t too much.


    "Then I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Min," the scribe said. He seemed a little bubblier now than he had earlier and had an oddly contented expression on his face. "Now, it''s been a long day, and I''m still digesting all of what Rose did to me¡ªI mean, helped me learn."


    "Wait, what''s this?" Min asked.


    Chang-li explained about his day. Her eyes went wide as he told her about the shades on the third floor.


    ¡°I''d heard that great sects keep their shades as instructors," Chang-li said, "but having them in a library? I didn''t expect that."


    "I suppose it makes sense. That''s why they had the lux densifiers there, yes?"


    "Is that what those are?" Chang-li asked.


    "You must have noticed how the atmosphere was denser, almost like being in a tower?"


    He nodded. "It was, and it was even denser on the third floor."


    "Well, there you are then." She brushed her hands and addressed herself to Scribe Wulan. "I''m very pleased to make your acquaintance, Honorable Scribe."


    "And I, yours. Chang-li could use a bit of your good manners," he said approvingly. "Now, I am in need of rest. And eagerly awaiting our return to young Joshi. Don''t summon me before then." He vanished.


    Chang-li tucked the pen case away. "Well, that does answer one of my questions," he said, "which was, can anyone else see Wulan?"


    "I certainly saw him and heard him." Min shook her head. "He''s kind of fun, isn''t he?"


    "You only say that because you''ve never woken up with him hovering three inches from your nose," Chang-li grumbled. "Anyway, does that answer your question?"


    She nodded. "It does, and thank you for entrusting me with your secret."


    They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Min went, opened the door, and retrieved the tray that the landlady had set for them. There was also a second sealed bottle of wine. "Let''s have a drink with dinner. I''m starving."


    Chang-li''s stomach rumbled. "So am I."


    They sat side by side on the futon, sharing the simple meal of stewed vegetables, roasted fish, and rice. It was the best Chang-li had tasted in a long time. Min surely was used to better fare, but she ate with gusto, her chopsticks flashing in her hand as she deftly pulled delicate bites off of the fish bones. He was comfortably aware of her presence at his side. They were halfway through the bottle of wine by the time dinner was over, and Chang-li starting to feel the pleasant relaxation. It had been a very long day.


    "All right," he said, pushing aside the tray. Min set it outside the door again, giving them a little more room, as Chang-li began looking through the other crates.


    As he''d hoped, one of the crates held sealed, heavy boxes. One of them clinked and shifted as he lifted it. The others gave no sign of their contents. They had the Morning Mist''s insignia sealed in wax, probably by Cultivator Kang, whose ring Joshi now wore. Chang-li left them as they were, hoping that the seal would prevent any prying eyes from seeing them.


    Min dug into her satchel and removed a small scroll case about half the size of the others. It was elaborately patterned, with a dragon design up one side and a sequence of interlocking stars on the other. She held it out to him as she explained where she''d found it. His respect for her cleverness and instincts was growing with every minute.


    Chang-li took it. He unscrewed the cap, and a flaking yellow parchment fell out. It wasn''t a scroll. It was a map. There were mountains and a river and words written in it in one of the scripts he didn''t know, but in the simplest of the Morning Mist''s secret scripts, the one he already knew, there was a legend next to a star painted on one of the mountains. It simply read "Home."


    Chang-li looked up. "I think this is a map to where the Morning Mist sect had their headquarters."


    She blinked at him. "It''s been a long time. There won''t be anything left there, will there?"


    "I don''t know, but I did promise Wulan I would take him there. That''s how I''ll finish my bargain with him. This could be very valuable.¡±


    ¡°Except for the fact that there''s no names on it," she pointed out.


    "Hopefully when I learn this script, the rest of it will be clear," he said, before replacing it in the scroll case and screwing the lid back on. "Well done."


    She beamed at him. It filled him with warmth. He found himself looking at her a moment too long. Min must have felt the same. She turned and picked up the bottle of wine, found it empty, opened the second bottle, and poured them both another cup.


    It must be well past dark by now, closing in to the first watches of the night. ¡°You should get out of here." Then he realized what he was saying. "I''ll walk you back to the palace," he offered.


    "No, you don''t need to do that," she said. "I''ll have some of the Brotherhood escort me." But she looked away and sighed. ¡°Today was the most fun I''ve had in a long time since I left my home. You see," she confessed, "I''ve been working with my grandfather Jiang for a couple of years now, managing the Brotherhood. And then to come up to the tower cull and be expected to spend my days in idleness, consorting with other nobles and talking about who we might marry, it''s..." She shook her head. "Well, it''s been awful. And today I felt like I was actually doing something meaningful."


    She looked remarkably vulnerable. Chang-li set down the bottle of wine after pouring them another. Min tossed hers back and leaned back against the wall. They were sitting on the futon, as there was no other space in the room. Every spare inch of floor was covered in crates and bags from their haul today.


    "Tell me, what else you learned?" Chang-li urged, even though he knew she needed to leave. He didn¡¯t want her to. This was the most relaxed he had been in ¡ª he couldn¡¯t remember how long. Sitting here with Min, sharing their thoughts, reveling in what they¡¯d pulled off¡­ it felt good.


    Min launched into a recounting of her day. Her eyes sparkled as she described delving into the sect records for secrets. "I''ll pass all this along to you and Joshi. He''s going to need a spouse sooner or later if he intends to keep cultivating under the name of Morning Mist."


    Chang-li laughed. ¡°I don¡¯t think he needs a wife. Or wants one.¡±


    "Well, for one thing, he''s such a promising cultivator they''ll force a spouse on him," she said. Her eyes went a little distant, her expression faded. "Maybe I should set my cap at him."


    Chang-li choked on the sip of wine he''d just taken. "What?"


    "It would make both my grandfathers happy. That''s why I was sent to the Gem Court, to find a strong cultivator to marry into our family. It would help my grandfather Guo¡¯s ¡ª well, my older brother really ¡ª standing, to be affiliated with a sect that''s managed to complete a tower cull recently. And, of course, the whole reason I came to the climb was to make connections for the Brotherhood. My grandfather meant for me to marry a cultivator and bring him back to aid us. I just thought..." She shrugged. ¡°Why go after a single cultivator, who could well decide to relocate halfway across the Empire at a whim, when instead we could train up our own people?


    "Besides," her voice dropped very low, "when I got there and saw how all the other gems were falling over themselves to attract the attention of a disgusting waste of the food he eats like Feng, it soured me on the whole business. But maybe I do need to do my duty. I convinced myself today that I was doing that.¡± She sighed and shook her head.  ¡°But this silly project of mine isn''t going to go anywhere. I didn''t mean it like that," she added hastily, raising a hand. "I hope Joshi can make a go of this, and I really do want to see the two of you succeed. But I need to step aside.¡±


    She was sad and beautiful and right there. She turned, just as Chang-li had opened his mouth to try to say something comforting, her eyes fixing on his, and he forgot what he was going to say. His palms were as sweaty as his mouth was dry.


    "Ah," he managed, "you shouldn''t throw yourself away like that, not on anyone. And I don''t think you would be a good match for Joshi at all." That was not what he had meant to say.


    Her eyes dimmed. "I know I''m not much of a prospect for a cultivator. My connections are strong in this backwater province, but I''m the lowest rank a noble can be, and I haven''t been raised properly for this duty. Today taught me just how much I don¡¯t know about being a cultivator spouse.¡±


    "No, I mean..." Chang-li was aware that every thought in his head sounded more ridiculous than the next. He shook his head. ¡°Any cultivator would be lucky to have you, Min."


    Then, without thinking, he leaned forward and kissed her. She responded eagerly. Her hands went to his face, pulling him closer.


    The excitement of the day, the warmth of the wine, filled Chang-li. Their embrace deepened. His hands went to her shoulder, and her robe slid away from her shoulder, leaving him touching her inner garment. Her body was hot beneath the thin material. He moved his hand away but she responded by running a hand along the edge of Chang-li''s own outer robe. He wore no inner tunic and her hand slide over his bare neck and shoulder. He has been leaning over her. Now he shifted awkwardly to get his balance. Chang-li ended up sitting back against the wall., Min kneeling beside and leaning over him to deepen the kiss.


    Part of him was warning this was a terrible idea for so many reasons, but his body was telling him it was a brilliant one.


    Min came up for air, drawing back from him and staring into his face, smiling more deeply than he''d ever seen. Her hair had come out of the pins, and gentle, dark tendrils were framing her face. He reached up and touched her cheek, trailing his fingers along her cheekbone, her skin warm under his touch. She leaned in and kissed him again.


    He lost track of everything except they were doing. She pushed his robe off his shoulders, baring his chest. He tugged at the binding around her waist. He got it free and her belt dropped away. Her robe fell open revealing her linen undergarment, the thin material barely there under his hands. He put his arms around her and drew her close to him.


    That''s when the door opened and three armed guards burst into the room.

 Bk 2 Ch 18: A Convenient Arrangement

    The last hour and a half had been the worst of Min''s life. Fai-lan City guards, under the command of a man dressed in black robes with the Gem Court icon around his neck, had dragged her and Chang-li from the inn. She''d thought of calling out for help in the common room, but her people stood silent, watching her in horror, and there were more guards standing by.


    At least they''d let her pull her robe around herself. Chang-li was hustled out without even being allowed to fasten his robe. They had demanded his papers, and he''d pointed them at his scribe''s satchel, which they swept up as Chang-li and Min were hustled from their room.


    Then the long march back through the city streets, as the guards glowered at her. She couldn''t look up, stumbling forward, following the black-robed man, Chang-li a little ways behind her. How could she have been so foolish? Her brother had warned her. The dowager had warned her. This humiliation was all her fault. She should never have snuck out of the palace, never stayed after Chang-li had urged her to return home.


    Then, into the palace, where they were thrust into a room to wait, guarded by the same men who had pulled them from the inn. Chang-li collapsed onto a couch, his face pale. She''d never seen him look so shaken. "I''m sorry."


    "No, it''s ¡ª¡°


    ¡°Silence," the guard cut in, and they lapsed into the most painfully awkward silence Min could ever remember. She sat carefully on another couch opposite Chang-li. It was a well-appointed parlor, not the one she''d spent the previous day in, full of lush wall hangings and a rich carpet on the floor, Min stared at her own feet. The wine had long since burned away, leaving nothing but shame and despair.


    It seemed as though they had been waiting all night. Then, at last, the door opened again. The black-robed man appeared, along with her older brother Yuan-li. Yuan-li strode toward her, red-faced. "How dare you!" he said and slapped her face.


    Min felt the burning strike as her head whipped to the side. Chang-li was on his feet, starting for them. The guards grabbed him, hauled him back, and forced him down onto the sofa. She looked to him and mouthed the word, "No."


    Her brother glared down. "No reply from me, but a word for your lover?"


    "We weren''t... I... that is..." she mumbled.


    The black-robed man stepped forward. "Forgive me, Your Excellency," he said to Yuan-li. "I know this is hard on you. The information given by the clerk at the library was correct.¡±


    "I didn''t believe you when you told me," Yuan-li said through gritted teeth. "But it seems I must.¡± He turned to Min, practically spitting. ¡°The Dowager Pearl accompanying your Court of Gems sent a message along the caravan, telling the local Gem Court representative here that she suspected you of loose morals, that you had several times been caught sneaking out of the Court of Gems for some assignation or tryst. I assumed that it was your other activities, which was bad enough, but then we received word from one of the clerks at the cultivator library that you were there in company with a common scribe! I warned you, Min!" Yuan-li raised his hands and Min flinched, but he was merely passing a broad hand across his own face. ¡°You know what this does to our family!"


    She lowered her eyes. She couldn''t bring herself to mumble an apology, even though she was deeply, deeply regretful ¡ª of getting caught. That realization flooded her with even more shame.


    ¡°Guo Min," the Gem Court official said. "I speak with Dowager Pearl''s name. You were an accepted member of the Court of Gems at Golden Moon Tower. Is that true?"


    "Yes," she mumbled.


    "You were, therefore, under the rules and obligations of the Gem Court, the first of which is that you will accept the attentions only of a cultivator in a duly licensed sect. This is part of the duty the Gem Court owes to the Empire. Your station brings with it certain obligations as well, and you have failed yours.¡±


    She hung her head.


    ¡°And you have brought wrath down, not just on your own head but your illicit lover. The punishment for someone who''s not even a cultivator have carnal relations with a Gem Court noble is to be stripped of their position and placed into debt slavery if they cannot pay the fine. Which I suspect ¡ª¡±


    "I am a cultivator," Chang-li said angrily.


    She raised her eyes and shook her head a tiny bit. "Don''t make this worse," she wanted to tell him.


    Caught off his stride, the official paused. "Is that so? Then where is your license book?"Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "They''ve got my papers," Chang-li said, nodding his head to the guards. One of the guards brought the satchel forward. The official rifled through it and drew out a pair of somewhat dirtied papers.


    "You are Wu Chang-li?"


    "I am."


    "It says you are a cultivator, who has reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement and..." He raised an eyebrow. "You have an endorsement for bravery. You are participating in the Tower Cull at Golden Moon City?"


    "I am," Chang-li said.


    "And this second page states you are a member of the Morning Mist sect."


    Chang-li hesitated. "It does," he said, allowing the lie to stand on its own.


    Min''s heart was frozen. This wasn''t going to help. Just because he was a cultivator didn''t make her behavior any more acceptable.


    "So, I''m supposed to be somewhat mollified because my sister was sneaking out of the palace grounds to dally with a low-ranked cultivator from a sect I''ve never heard of?" Yuan-li asked. "Min? Even if he was a suitable candidate, this is not how one conducts oneself."


    It wasn''t that he was wrong. It was just that he was so damn self-righteous about all this.


    ¡°And he¡¯s the lowest rank possible,¡± Yuan-li said.


    Min closed her eyes. What could she say? That she hadn''t meant it? That the evening had gotten away from her? They''d been caught red-handed.


    The Gem Court official turned to Yuan-li. "Regardless, she will be expelled from the Court of Gems and sent back to your family."


    "And I will be sending her into seclusion," Yuan-li turned on Min. "You will be sent to a contemplatory monastery until I have decided a way to rehabilitate our family image, if that''s even possible."


    Min shook her head, whispering, "No." To be locked away in a monastery, watched over by the contemplatives who lived there? Yuan-li would never let her out. She had embarrassed herself too greatly.


    She could get word to Grandfather Jiang ¡ª but she''d failed him, too. She''d been sent to do a job, and by trying to overreach herself, had botched it so thoroughly, she''d ruined herself, her family, her future.


    Yuan-li was bowing to the Gem Court official. "I shall cooperate with you in every way. You have no fear that I will intervene." Even if he wasn''t desperately trying to keep his position, Min doubted that he would have helped anyway. Yuan-li hated gossip and scandal, and she''d made herself the center of both.


    "As for you," the Gem Court official said, turning on Chang-li, "I will have a reprimand sent to your sect, and a note added to your license that you are not permitted to court any member of the Court of Gems until you have made penance to the Emperor."


    "But why?" Chang-li asked. He paused, as if expecting to be interrupted, then said, "I accept that it was ill-behaved of Min and myself tonight. We were merely carried away."


    She''d never heard him use her bare name before, and Yuan-li began puffing himself up angrily. Chang-li continued, "I meant to present myself to the family tomorrow night. Min told me about the banquet for the tax procession."


    "You what?" Yuan-li asked.


    "It seemed to me that I ought to ask the permission of the closest representative of her family before our betrothal was formally announced."


    "Betrothal?" Yuan-li spluttered. "You what? Why?"


    A dawning hope and horror grew in Min''s chest like twin fires. He couldn''t be saying ¡ª Chang-li wouldn''t sacrifice himself to save her from this.


    But he was continuing, "Min, that is, Lady Min and I, formed an attachment at the Court of Gems. As my sect is small and has little to make it worth the notice of a great family like the Guo, I was hoping to prove ourselves at this Tower Cull. My senior, Young Master Joshi, has impressed everyone present at the Tower Cull. He received an endorsement for bravery like mine, and another specifically for saving the life of Indigo Princess Hiroko."


    That got the room muttering. "Regardless, Min and I have been secretly betrothed for the last... uh... week."


    Min found herself nodding along. The Gem Court official looked suspicious.


    "Yes," Min said. "The Dowager''s last party. She caught me sneaking back into the compound. Chang-li and I had been bidding each other goodnight following our informal betrothal."


    Yuan-li still looked furious. The Gem Court official turned on Chang-li. "You have barely taken a step along the path, and yet you thought yourself worthy to court a member of the Court of Gems?"


    "I reached Bodily Refinement," Chang-li said. ¡°Most of the other cultivators at the cull are the same rank as me and they¡¯re acceptable to the Court.¡±


    "Wait." Yuan-li held up a hand. "Wait. Yes. Yes, this could indeed save the family honor. Assuming all of the paperwork is in order¡­¡±


    The Gem Court official was inspecting Chang-li''s license. "This says you transferred from the Order of Licensed Scribes to the Morning Mist Sect. Is that why your license here still lists you as a scribe?"


    "That''s correct," Chang-li said, straightening up a bit.


    "Have the paperwork showing your transfers of affiliation been registered here?"


    "No, not yet," Chang-li said. Min could tell he was thinking desperately.


    "It''s because of the chaos in the camp," Min said. "The scribes have been working themselves to death trying to catch up on paperwork due to the temporary closure of the tower and the Inquisitor''s look into the near disaster that occurred there a week and a half ago."


    Yuan-li was nodding along, his face transformed. The anger had drained away, leaving him pale-faced but hopeful. "Yes, yes. We can¡­¡±


    "The Dowager will not allow this one back into the Court of Gems," the court official said, pointing at Min. "She was very explicit that any behavior outside of usual propriety would have her expelled."


    "But a cultivator spouse isn''t part of the Court of Gems," Min said desperately. "So she doesn''t have to allow me around the others."


    "Not as long as you are married before you dare return," the official agreed.


    Yuan-li clapped his hands. "That settles it. We will see to the arrangements at once. Come.¡± He pointed at Chang-li. ¡°Have him sent to guest chambers. Keep him under guard. And guards on my sister as well. There¡¯s much work for us to do, I think, if we¡¯re going to settle this¡­. Can I count on your aid?¡± he asked the official.


    The man bowed his head. ¡°Certainly, Governor-Designate, I am at your disposal.¡±

 Bk 2 Ch 19: Wedding

    Chang-li had been stripped, scrubbed, dressed in a plain linen tunic and leggings, then measured and fitted by a wizened tailor, abandoned to his own devices for a while, given a pot of tea and no food, dragged around to three different officials to recite the same list of facts about himself, and finally stuffed into a brand-new robe, hair oiled and styled, and turned over to Guo Yuan-li. All the while he¡¯d been watched over by stern-eyed city guards who wouldn¡¯t speak to him even if he asked questions. He hadn¡¯t seen Min at all since being escorted out of her presence.


    It had been quite a day. Chang-li still hadn¡¯t caught his breath. His new robe was patterned after his Morning Mist garment, the same cut, pattern, and colors, but with a bright strip of scarlet at wrist, neck, and hem.


    Now Min¡¯s brother was accompanying him through the halls of the mayoral palace, the ever-present guards trailing behind at a respectful distance. ¡°My guests will be arriving soon. I haven¡¯t much time. I¡¯ll have you and Min presented once the tax ceremony is over. I wanted a brief word.¡± Yuan-li looked him over, frowning. The windows set in the halls of the palace overlooked a darkening garden. Somehow, he¡¯d spent a whole day here. ¡°At least you clean up well.¡±


    Chang-li wasn¡¯t sure how to take that. He bowed his head. ¡°Thank you, governor-delegate.¡±


    ¡°You and Min. You¡¯ll be returned to the tower by the caravan tomorrow. I suppose you mean to finish the Tower Cull?¡±


    Panic rose in Chang-li. He was going to be in so much trouble when he got back and his lies caught up with him, but better than being executed by Min¡¯s furious brother. ¡°Yes, governor-delegate.¡±


    ¡°Good. Good. After that¡­ perhaps your sect should travel to another province for a year or two. Continue your progression there. That would be the best, I feel.¡±


    ¡°I take your meaning, sir.¡± Min¡¯s brother wanted them both out of sight.


    ¡°I can be very useful to you.¡± Yuan-li tuned and fixed him with a look. They were standing outside a pair of carved wooden doors; this seemed to be their destination. ¡°Once my position is secure, in a few years, there is much I can do for you and my sister. Such as sign a divorce petition, hmm? But our family must have absolutely no scandal attached to our name during this time. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t love my sister. Of course I do! But she takes no care for our name, no care at all.¡± He was scowling as he spoke, his lip protruding in a petulant way.


    Chang-li remembered how he¡¯d struck Min, and had to fight the urge to spit in the man¡¯s face. Instead, he bowed his head. ¡°Governor-general, we share one thing in common. Neither of us likes scandal.¡±


    ¡°Good! Then you¡¯ll be fine. Now, go ahead into the chapel.¡±


    Chang-li blinked. ¡°This is the ¡ª but you¡¯re not coming?¡±


    Yuan-li waved away his question. ¡°Light, no, I have so much to do. My guests are arriving even now. I have witnesses already arranged, never far. Go on in, Cultivator Wu.¡±


    Like every chapel Chang-li had been in, this one was six-sided, with the great crystal in the front and doors to private contemplation rooms on the walls to either side. The far door was the entrance to the rest of the palace, and the two walls between held shrines where candles could be lit and offerings made to ancestors.


    He wasn''t much of one for spirituality, visiting shrines for honoring ancestors at the correct festivals and temples and chapels for important ceremonies that required the emperor''s blessing, such as when he had been raised to licensed scribe. This was the first time he''d been in one since.


    He made his way to the front, standing under the enormous crystal. It was twice as tall as he and cast little rainbow lights on the ground around him.


    The door of the right-hand contemplatory room opened, and a wizened old woman in black robes with a pearl diadem, leaning heavily on a cane, crept out. Chang-li recognized another Dowager at once. He folded his hands and bowed. "Honored Pearl.¡±


    This one looked like she was at least a hundred years old, but her eyes were still bright as she fixed on him. Her head barely came up to his shoulder as she approached him. She poked his chest.


    "So, you''re the cultivator getting married today, hmm? Because of all this commotion, I''ve been reviewing your application. The governor-delegate seems very eager that you be married off to his sister at once. What''d you do, get her with child?" The old woman cackled and wheezed, slapping her own thigh in amusement. When he only frowned at her, she stopped. "Never mind. Your papers say you''re a cultivator, and she''s a noble lady, so that makes it a match. I''m supposed to give you a lecture here about doing your duty to emperor and country, but I don''t think you need it. Just remember, listen to your wife when she tells you what to do. It''s always wise. Doesn''t matter if she''s the emperor''s great-great-great-granddaughter or not, she''s your wife. Try not to come to the attention of anyone important for a while. They may not have marked this down in your cultivator''s record, but you can believe that rumors are gonna be following you about this. Well?" she said. "Anything to say for yourself? Not gonna ask me to beg off?"


    Chang-li, struck dumb, merely shook his head. She took a step back and gazed up at him. Her tone softened. "Do you at least like the girl?"


    "Yes," he said. "I very much admire her. Min has a good head on her shoulders, and¡ª"


    The woman cut him off with a sharp noise, something between a scoff and a laugh. "Never mind that, but it''s more than many cultivators have for their marriage. Remember, you''d be getting someone foisted off on you sooner or later, so don''t hold it against her. It''s what they''re all raised for. Me? I''m glad I didn''t give a child to the scheme, not after seeing it in motion for the past eighty years."


    Chang-li was shocked at the woman''s lack of decorum. "Dowager Pearl, surely¡ª"


    "Oh, I know what you''re thinking," the woman said, laughing. "You''re thinking I''m a mad old woman, and I''m gonna call the wrath of Empire down on myself by saying this sort of heresy. Well, so be it. I was a cultivator myself back in the day, before I got the bright notion to join the Imperial Garden. Actually," she said thoughtfully, "now that I think of it, it may have been my mother''s idea. Never mind, it''s been a good run, and I don''t owe anyone anything, so if you say you want out of this, boy, I''ll put a scotch on the whole thing right here and right now, and I don''t care who says otherwise."


    Chang-li shook his head. "No, no, I''m going to go through with this as long as Min¡ª"


    "Don''t worry about her," the old woman assured him. "I spoke with her earlier. She''ll be here¡ª"Ah!" Her eyes brightened, and she darted away.


    Chang-li turned as Min entered the room, accompanied by a handful of attendants. He didn''t pay any notice to them, as he was focused on Min.


    She wore a solid red robe. It fell from her shoulders like rippling waves, cascading down, the sleeves falling well below her hands, the skirts hiding her feet as she seemed to glide toward him. Her face had been painted white, her eyes outlined in darkest black. She kept her eyes down. Her hair was piled on top of her head, and then studded through with ruby pins, at least a dozen of them, each ruby nearly the size of his finger. She was absolutely stunning. Chang-li''s heart was in his throat.


    Min came and stood next to him and raised her eyes to his. She looked terrified. Underneath all of the white face paint, he was certain her face was bloodless and pale. She mouthed a word, "Please."


    Please? Please what? Please stop this? Please go through with this? Please don''t be angry with me?


    Chang-li managed to rasp out, "Is this all right?"


    She gave one nod of the head as the old woman returned, carrying a golden ribbon about five feet long. It was two inches wide and looked as though it were made of silk. The people who''d come in with Min seated themselves on the nearest row of benches. They looked like functionaries to him, no one of import, and then there was Min''s brother. Not the governor delegate, but Jai-lin, who Chang-li had met several times. He looked nearly as pale as his sister, but he was dressed perfectly. His eyes met Chang-li''s, and he gave a small nod of approval. Or was that supposed to be a, "If you hurt my sister, I will hunt you down and kill you.¡±?This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Not that Chang-li thought he had much to worry about from Jai-lin. The man wasn''t a cultivator. He''d kept his head about him in the tower during the roc attack, but Chang-li hadn''t been particularly impressed.


    "Hands," the old woman said. "Right hands," she clarified as Chang-li thoughtlessly held out his left. "No, together, you fools."


    Chang-li clasped Min''s hand. She was shaking, her hand warm. He gave it a little squeeze. She took a shuddering breath. The Dowager Pearl began winding the gold silk ribbon around their hands.


    "In the sight of the divine emperor and witnessed by family and friends," she raised her eyes to look at the meager group watching them, "these two have chosen to unite their lives in the service of the empire to support each other along the paths. Guo Min, daughter of the Guo family, seventh-rank noble of the Court of Gems, bloodline descendant of the Divine Emperor himself, you are here to wed Wu Chang-li, former licensed scribe, now cultivator on the Heavenly Path. Are you ready?¡±


    "Yes," Min whispered.


    "Cultivator Wu, this woman is your bond to the empire. She will accompany you along the Heavenly Path and allow you to climb it, knowing the Emperor''s favor is always upon you. Listen to her advice and warnings, and do not give her cause to fear that you have strayed beyond the bonds of propriety."


    "Yes," Chang-li said as the woman''s pause grew uncomfortably long.


    He''d never seen a wedding like this. Back in his hometown, most of his family who sought to marry just went before the local licensed scribe and had their intentions written down. A ceremony was for nobles and cultivators, not ordinary people.


    He wasn''t ordinary people anymore. That much was clear.


    "Then, with the blessing of the Divine Emperor, you are hereby wed. Heaven looks with favor on you,¡± the old woman declared before stepping back, leaving their right hands bound together.


    Chang-li stared at Min. "Now what?" he mouthed. They couldn''t go on with their hands bound like this, not right hand to right hand.


    "You''re a cultivator. You''re supposed to dissolve the ribbon or something," Min whispered back.


    Oh. Chang-li cycled his lux. He didn''t want to waste time, so he merely summoned a flame of red lux in his hand and let it burn up the ribbon, guiding it with a thought not to touch their skin or clothing. As the ashes fell away, he found himself staring into Min''s face.


    The watchers rose. Jai-lin approached, and Min turned to her brother. ¡°My congratulations and best wishes on your new life,¡± he told her, taking her hands.  ¡°You look radiant, sister.¡± Then he turned to Chang-li. ¡°My brother wishes to present you with this, as a gift from our family on this happy occasion.¡±


    He held out a small red leatherbound booklet. Chang-li took it. The leather was supple under his fingers, dyed without any blotches or variances. He turned it over to the front.


    The crest of the Morning Mist sect was embossed there in gold. Chang-li¡¯s mouth hung open for a second. He caught himself and opened the booklet.


    The first four pages were his cultivator license, folded in half, followed by the document he and Joshi had forged together.


    The next page had the seal of the Governor of Riceflower Province on it, followed by Min¡¯s name, her family line going back to the Emperor himself, and the date of their union.


    ¡°You had my license bound into a cultivator¡¯s record?¡± Chang-li couldn¡¯t help asking, even though the answer was in his hand.


    ¡°We felt it was the appropriate gift.¡±


    Chang-li knew bookbinding of this quality was expensive. The red leather, like the red on his robe, matched Min¡¯s rank.


    It hit hard. His rank, now. He was married to Min and that wasn¡¯t faked. The cultivator record here might be lies and forgeries but this had been real.


    It could all be real.


    With a noble spouse, with a sect claiming him as their own and the secrets he¡¯d just uncovered, he could actually become the cultivator he¡¯d been claiming to be. Why not? He¡¯d been so worried about being caught, but now that he had, maybe everything would work out.


    The feast stretched on interminably. Min and Chang-li were seated together in a group of several local dignitaries who congratulated them on their union and proceeded to get cheerfully drunk, which meant Chang-li didn''t have to speak. He nursed a single cup of wine the whole evening, not daring to let himself lose control again.


    At last, a servant approached him and asked if they wished to retire. The feast was breaking up now, most of the guests paying their respects to Min''s brother. Chang-li nodded and rose. Min got to her feet, looking nervous. They followed the servant to a chamber.


    "Your brother instructs us that you shall be returned to your caravan at dawn tomorrow," the servant said. "I shall rouse you in time." He retreated as Chang-li slid the door closed.


    The room was larger than the one they''d shared at the inn by a good bit, with an expansive sleeping mat filling most of it. Min knelt near the mat. Her face was down, and her hands, clenched into fists against her knees, were trembling. Chang-li knelt across from her, just out of arm''s reach.


    "Min," he said softly.


    This was horribly awkward. It was the first time they''d been alone since last night. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn''t know what else I could do. I felt... I mean... it was my fault. I..."


    "Your fault?¡± she said, her face pale, still under the remains of the makeup. "Your fault! I was the one who insisted on sneaking out of the palace. I was the one who stayed when I shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°But I¡­¡±


    ¡°You did nothing that I didn''t let you do." Her voice was rising, her eyes narrowed. She seemed angry, which wasn''t what Chang-li had been expecting at all. He tried again.


    "I just wanted to help."


    "Oh, you''ve helped all right," she said bitterly, shaking her head. "Thank you." She bowed low, her head coming almost to the ground. Chang-li wasn''t sure if she was mocking him or herself. "You did. You got me out of trouble the only way you could have, and I am in your debt." Her voice was shaking. Tears ran from her eyes, caking up in the heavy makeup on her face. She wiped at her face with a hand and looked down, seemed to see the smear of white. She rose and went to the far side of the room where a basin of water stood on a stand. She wet a cloth and scrubbed furiously at her face.


    "I am in your debt," she repeated. "I shall do my duty as well as I can. It has been brought home to me that I know nothing of being a cultivator spouse, that I have failed to take any of my duties seriously. I am prepared to spend the rest of my life remedying this situation. Never fear."


    "Min," he raised his voice.


    She turned to look at him. Half her makeup was gone, leaving one side of her face fresh scrubbed and pinkish, the other a smear of white and black.


    "I don''t know what''s going to happen next," he said awkwardly. "I can''t be a scribe anymore. They''ve made me a cultivator for real. As long as nobody scrutinizes my records too much, I suppose I might get away with that. We¡ª" It was all coming down on him hard. "We have to make this real," he realized. "If we don''t make Morning Mist into a real sect, then what?"


    "Then we go back to my grandfather," Min said, sounding puzzled. "Which is our best plan. We need to get you a few ranks of cultivation. Hopefully, these records we found will have the secrets we need. If you can reach the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, you''ll be an asset to the Brotherhood. We''ll go back to Vardin City and take up our places there." She nodded. "It might be good to stay out of the way until my brother is confirmed as governor general of the province. He''d appreciate that. The Brotherhood always tries to stay out of official business anyway. We''ll get you to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, and then¡ª"


    "I don''t want anything to do with the Brotherhood." It slipped out. Min stared at him. He shook his head. "If I''m to be a cultivator, I want to cultivate. I want to progress as far as I can."


    "And how far is that?" she challenged. "Without a real sect to back you?¡±


    "I don''t know," he snapped. "But I''m going to find out." He took off his robe, exposing his linen tunic and leggings. Min''s eyes widened. She turned hurriedly back to the basin and scrubbed her face as he hung the robe on a hook.


    There was a pot of tea sitting on a tray by the door. He poured two cups and took her one. She accepted it, holding it in both hands and raising it to her lips. He drank his tea and cleared his throat.


    "Listen, I¡ªlast night¡ªI mean¡ª" This was his wedding night. The realization hit him hard. Was that what had her trembling? She''d been eager enough last night. Maybe it had been the wine. Maybe she didn''t like him. It was clear that they had very different goals and intentions. How could a marriage like this work?


    He remembered what her brother had said and took a deep breath. "Your brother. The governor. He said once his position is secured, he could grant a divorce petition if we asked him."


    Min set her teacup down so hard some of the remaining tea splashed out. "He said that, did he?"


    "Ah, I don''t mean to¡ª"


    She pulled off her red robe. Underneath, she was wearing the same sort of white linen garments as Chang-li. She stalked over to the mat and sat down, pulling the ruby-tipped pins from her hair. There were a lot of them, more than he had expected. Once she''d removed all the rubies, she kept pulling, and plain-tipped pins that had been invisible in her hair came out. At last, after what seemed a very long time, her dark hair cascaded down over her shoulders. She was just as beautiful as she''d been the night before, but her eyes were hard and angry.


    "I will do my duty," she spat, and that drained away any hint of desire Chang-li might have been feeling. He went and extinguished the oil lamp in the corner before feeling his way over to the mat and sitting on the side opposite her.


    "You need have no fear of that," he said. "We''re to be woken up in a few hours. You''d better try to sleep." He lay down with his back to her and closed his eyes. Presently, he heard Min sobbing, almost too quietly to be heard. Chang-li didn''t know what to say or do, so he lay there and pretended to sleep.

 Bk 2 Ch 20: Back to the Climb

    Joshi assembled with the other Young Masters and their disciples just inside the entrance to the tower, the same clearing where he and the others had fought a giant bird not a week ago. In front of them were the Inquisitor, Magistrate Bao, and the Dowager Pearl with Hiroko in tow.


    "Welcome back to the Tower Cull," Magistrate Bao announced. "We have finished conducting our sweep of this floor and have determined that the unfortunate incident was the result of a failed challenge. We have seen no other signs of similar challenges present here. Should you discover one and wish to face it, you must first file the correct paperwork with the Office of Cultivation. Anyone who does not file the proper paperwork will be most severely sanctioned."


    The Inquisitor nodded, his presence a looming threat. Joshi reached out with his senses. He believed that Magistrate Bao had reached the Peak of Mental Refinement but gone no further. The Dowager Pearl was at least the rank of Spiritual Refinement, though he couldn''t tell if she had gone farther. The Inquisitor felt similarly strong.


    Of the other cultivators standing with him, only Young Master Feng had reached the Peak of Mental Refinement yet. All the other Young Masters were working toward that step. Most of the disciples with them had yet to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement, though one of Feng''s seemed to Joshi''s senses to already be there.


    His lux creature, Magan, hovered over his shoulder, humming contentedly, basking in the lux-rich environs of the tower.


    The Dowager spoke up. "Cultivators, we are now beginning a new phase of this Tower Cull. You must finish the cull of the third floor as quickly and efficiently as possible. Once we are satisfied that the third floor presents no risk of eruption, we shall open the way to the fourth and final floor of this tower."


    "As you know," Magistrate Bao said, "there is no guardian on this floor. On the fourth floor, you will face the Tower Guardian itself. The Tower Guardian will offer you a challenge, the nature of which shall be revealed to you on the fourth floor. The first one to meet this challenge satisfactorily will be rewarded. I am sure you have all heard many legends about tower boons. Do not fear that because this tower is broken, that its boon is in any way lacking. That is not the case. You may work together to defeat the Tower Guardian''s challenge if you wish, but only a single cultivator may gain his boon. So, consider your allies carefully. Once you have defeated the Tower Guardian, lux technicians and artisans will move in to harvest the tower''s lux stores."


    Joshi pricked up his ears. This was something he did not know about, though from the way the others were nodding, he suspected it was common knowledge to anyone belonging to a sect.


    Now at last the Inquisitor spoke. ¡°The lux technicians will be arriving here at the camp in the next few weeks. Do not interfere with them. Their tasks are sacred duties from the Emperor himself. And remember," the Inquisitor said, his words dropping like stones, "at the end of this Tower Cull, all cultivators will be interviewed by myself or members of my staff to ensure that their lux levels are balanced and that they have not attempted to take what is not theirs. Your behavior and performance on this Cull will be reflected in the endorsements made to your license. I am sure all of you know that an unsatisfactory endorsement here will stunt your future growth as a cultivator and the reputation of your sect, while a satisfactory or better endorsement may open new doors elsewhere for yourself and your sect."


    "You will begin shortly," Magistrate Bao said. "However, the Dowager wishes to speak with the Young Masters privately.¡±


    Joshi turned to his so-called disciples. "Go that direction," he said, pointing quietly. "Until you reach a clearing with ancient cultivator scripts hanging from the trees. You should be able to practice your cycling techniques we''ve been working on there. I will join you once this is done."


    The false cultivators all nodded to him. They were hard men, all more brawlers than sages, for certain. Joshi had found it hard to teach them a cycling technique they could actually use. He hoped now that they were in the Tower with its lux-rich environment, they would be able to move past Purification of Mind and Soul.


    The other young masters were similarly dismissing their disciples before turning to attend to the Dowager. There was himself, Young Master Feng, Li Jen and Li Jiya of Moon Whispers, and the three young masters of Jade Lotus. The Dowager turned to those three. "You are dismissed," she said coldly.


    They bowed low. "But Dowager Pearl¡ª"


    "Dismissed," she said. "We all know you won''t be able to do what I need here."


    The three, looking shaken, left without another protest. The Dowager turned to Hiroko. "Princess, step forward."


    Princess Hiroko took a step toward them. Standing in front of the Dowager, she looked nervous.


    "All of you, of course, know Princess Hiroko by now. I am entrusting her advancement to you."


    The Dowager''s pronouncement made Joshi blink. Young Master Feng said smoothly, bowing, "It will be an honor, Dowager. What do you require?¡±


    "Princess Hiroko has a rare affinity for blue lux," the Dowager said. "That makes her early advancement difficult, as she is not in touch with the physical luxes at all. In addition, her talents seem to be almost exclusively toward healing."


    That wasn''t entirely true, as Joshi well knew. He''d seen Hiroko use her skills to wrap an enemy with mental chains and drain away its life, even as she kept him and Chang-li alive. He held his tongue. It wouldn''t do to give away how much he knew about the Princess''s capabilities.


    "At the same time, she has been previously unable to use the standard technique we employ in such situations, which is to have Tower Beasts brought to her, their lux directed into her. She says she believes she needs to feed on creatures that she herself has participated in defeating."


    Hiroko looked up. She took a deep breath. She looked quiet and a little worried. But Joshi could see the strength in her eyes, and he knew her well enough by now to know that Hiroko was no shrinking flower. She might be a gem court noble, but she could hold her own in a fight.


    "It will be my honor to escort her," Feng said. "But, my Lady Dowager, would this not be more appropriate to do after Princess Hiroko has wed and bound herself to a cultivator? This sort of training might be better conducted between spouses."


    "Nonsense," the Dowager Pearl said. "I am overseeing her training myself, and I have declared that what she needs next is to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement and go beyond it. However, I do not wish her to wear herself out. The four of you shall escort her for five hours a day, returning her to me safely at the end of that time. After that, you may train your own disciples and cull the Tower as you wish. I am sure that all of you have sects strong enough that your disciples can handle themselves for a few hours while you are protecting the Princess and," she added, holding up a hand, "before you can say anything about taking turns, I have decided, for the reasons of safety, I wish all four of you to participate at once. You will all arrange to protect the Princess as best suits you. I shall listen to her opinions of each of you and consider when making my recommendations at the end of this Tower Cull." She paused and fixed them each with a glare. "It goes without saying that any harm that befalls the Princess will reflect badly on you and your sects. You may now consult with her."Stolen novel; please report.


    Joshi considered this turn of affairs as Feng and the Li siblings approached Hiroko deferentially. He decided it didn''t change much. He would be able to continue his own cultivation while escorting the Princess, and he didn''t really want to be saddled with the false disciples all day anyway. This way, he could help protect Hiroko from Feng.


    He spoke up, cutting over the incipient discussion. "Dowager Pearl, any group must have a leader."


    Feng turned. "I, as the highest-ranking cultivator¡ª"


    "Princess Hiroko will lead you," the Dowager stated.


    Hiroko''s eyes widened. She turned to the Dowager, a clearly pleading look on her face. The Dowager shook her head. ¡°Princess, as a future cultivator spouse, you must be prepared to handle strong personalities. It is your duty to remind these Young Masters what the purpose of a cultivator spouse is. To head off the worst impulses of a cultivator, to mitigate and give good advice, to recall ever that their duty is to the Emperor, not themselves."


    "I understand, Dowager," Hiroko said, speaking for the first time since Joshi had entered the tower. She sounded calm.


    "I shall leave you to it," the Dowager said, and followed the Inquisitor and Magistrate Bao from the tower.


    The four cultivators surrounded Hiroko in an arc.


    "How can we best serve you, Princess?" Li Jiya asked politely.


    Joshi approved. Li Jiya had made her intentions of becoming one of the Emperor''s brides clear, so she was the only one here not seeking Hiroko''s favor. Let her speak up. Anything Joshi said, Feng would take as the statement of a rival.


    Joshi wanted no part of this Imperial nonsense. He would not be tied down by Imperial strings. His plan was to remain here at the tower until Chang-li returned, hopefully with the secret of reaching Mental Refinement. Then he would progress as far as he could during this Tower Cull, gain endorsements on his license, before taking himself as far across the Empire as he possibly could. There he would tell a story of a sect falling apart due to internal squabbles and find himself a new place. With a set of endorsements on his license, he''d be able to manage it. This seemed to offer an even greater opportunity than a personal testimony from a Dowager Pearl.


    Hiroko turned her eyes to Joshi. He could have cursed her for that. She was drawing unwanted attention to him. "We need..." she began, then cleared her throat, straightened up, and fixed each of them with a gaze. "We need to see what our strengths are," she said calmly. "I am most able to use my skills when there are actual threats involved. One of you, at least, must place yourself in the way of some tower beast while you are killing it. I shall use my techniques to keep you safe."


    "As though I have any need of..." Feng began, but Li Jen cut through.


    "It would be an honor, Princess, to serve you in this way."


    Feng subsided.


    "It is a waste of time to stand here and discuss," Joshi said. "Let us move out, and we shall decide after our first tower beast how to proceed from here."


    "I agree with the barbarian," Feng said. "Come, my lady, follow me. I shall protect you." He set off into the jungle.


    Hiroko followed. Joshi hurried after them, determined to keep both Feng and the Princess in sight. He would let the others keep up as best they could.


    It went about as Joshi had expected. He, or Feng, located a tower beast, engaging it in battle. Hiroko, running to catch up, wove her techniques, connecting the beast to the one distracting it, and keeping him alive, while the others fought down the creatures. Unfortunately, the beasts here were almost too easy to face anyone having reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement. They dropped within seconds.


    "This isn''t working," Hiroko complained after the fourth or fifth fight. "I''m getting the lux I need, but I''m not getting enough experience with my techniques. You kill them too fast."


    "We must seek out stronger foes," Joshi said.


    "Should we, though?" Li Jen asked. "We must ensure the Princess''s safety first and foremost."


    "A cultivator must always think about progression, not safety," Feng said severely. "You are too hampered by fear. It is holding you back, and your sect with you."


    Li Jen bowed his head, accepting the scolding, which Joshi had to admit was well-deserved.


    "We should instead locate a large collection of beasts," Feng proposed. "I shall lure them in while the rest of you wait. You may protect the Princess while I defeat them."


    "It is a good strategy," Joshi agreed, "but we will alternate who engages each group." He smiled at Feng''s unhappy expression.


    "Yes," Hiroko declared. "We''ll do that."


    Feng looked rebellious but subsided. Joshi made no objections to him taking the first group. As soon as Feng disappeared, he turned to the others.


    "I''ve seen Feng do this before. He will bring back as many as he is capable of rounding up quickly with no concern to whether we are able to match them or not. We must be prepared. Hiroko, are you able to affect more than one tower beast at a time?"


    Li Jiya drew herself up. "Cultivator Joshi," she snapped, "you may be from beyond the Empire, but that does not exclude you from proper decorum. Watch how you address our Princess."


    Hiroko turned on Jiya, her eyes flaring. ¡°We are in a tower and we are placing our lives on the line in order to advance. Decorum and courtesy must come second to preparation and effectiveness. I am not Princess Hiroko. You are not Young Master Jiya. We are companions with the same goal, and we are wasting valuable preparation time with this discussion." She turned back to Joshi. "Pray continue, Joshi."


    He stared at her, taken aback both by her strong reaction and his own thoughtlessness at using her name. He should not let himself slip like this, but the way she spoke his name warmed him oddly. For a second he could forget that they were here with a bunch of others. He cleared his throat. "I need to know how many you can manage at once."


    "I''m working on three," she said, "but I''m only able to focus my healing energies on a single target."


    "Then we will try to allow Feng to keep their attention while we take them down," Joshi said. "Our first goal is to keep them off of Hiroko. Our next is to kill the beasts as fast as possible, leaving her three targets untouched until last." He asked Jiya and Jen, "Are you able to tell which she is targeting?"


    The two nodded. "Yes, our spiritual senses are that refined," Li Jiya said with just a little bit of a hint of scorn to her voice.


    Joshi had sent Magan out in the direction he thought Feng would be approaching from. When the little lux creature pulsed a warning, he could feel it. "Feng comes," he warned. "Set yourselves."


    They were standing in a jungle clearing. In the center of the jungle was a fallen tree. Its roots ripped out of the ground, forming a wall with a bit of a corner to it. Hiroko had her back to the corner. Li Jen and Li Jiya flanked her about ten feet out. Li Jiya had summoned her polearm, while Li Jen had a lux-infused bow.


    Joshi cycled and summoned his gauntlet, sharpening the spikes until they were like razors. He was practicing with being able to lengthen and shorten the claws at will. That would give him a great deal of versatility in battle. For now, it was too much when he was in the middle of a fight. This configuration he called Tiger¡¯s Claw.


    A great roaring, crashing, wrenching sound came from the jungle. Feng burst into the clearing, pursued by an entire pack of ravening, hooting, chirping, screaming monkey creatures. The monkeys were covered in bright green fur and came up to Hiroko''s shoulder, had they been able to reach her. They had three tails each and were throwing sticks and rocks with their tails, snatched up as they chased Feng.


    A red and orange arrow flew past Joshi''s shoulder, burying itself in the chest of the closest monkey. The monkey stumbled but did not fall. Joshi drove forward, punching the monkey square in the head with his gauntlet. The spikes impaled the creature through its brain. It collapsed to the ground.


    Meanwhile, Feng was still the focus of their outrage. He stopped in the center of the clearing and wove a complicated technique Joshi could only catch glimpses of. It had red, blue, and green lux all braided together. He pulsed it out like a wave, focusing it on the monkeys, knocking them back.


    Hiroko had connected two of them to Feng already. Joshi could see her strands of blue lux hovering in the air. She was working on getting a third.


    Magan was back, and suddenly the little creature was pulsing in his head, sharing vision. Magan hovered about 20 feet overhead, giving him a full view of the clearing. With his help, Joshi saw the monkey skirting the edges of the fight, heading for Hiroko.


    He leapt, empowering his legs with red lux to bound over the head of the nearest pack of squabbling monkeys. Li Jiya was in there with her long weapon, flashing as she shouted challenges at the monkeys. He landed beyond them and raced toward the outlier monkey, who was leaping up onto the fallen tree trunk to pursue Hiroko.


    Joshi leapt after him. His feet slipped on the bark, and he cursed the boots that the officials had given him. These soles were too thin for a proper grip. He pushed lux out through the bottoms of his feet, forming spikes on his boots, and ran along the branch. The monkey was nearly on Hiroko.


    Joshi shouted and pushed forward. He punched the monkey square in the back. It stumbled forward, off of his spikes and onto the ground below. He leapt after it, driving his fist downward as he fell. His feet and fist struck the monkey square on. It exploded under him, leaving a crater in the forest floor.


    Joshi stood up, looking for the next fight ¡ªbut the monkeys were down. Hiroko was beside him, flushed with lux and victory. ¡°I did it! I made four connections this time,¡± she rejoiced. Without meaning to, he smiled back at her. Her expression changed, from victory to surprise, and then she blinked. ¡°Ah. That is ¡ª thank you to all of you.¡±


    Joshi stepped back, the exultance of combat slipping from him. ¡°Ready for another pack?¡±


    ¡°Bring them!¡± Hiroko commanded, and Joshi leapt to obey.

 Bk 2 Ch 21: Instructing

    By the time Joshi and the other cultivators returned Hiroko to the Dowager, the princess was glowing but exhausted. All of the Young Masters made their bows. Feng swaggered off immediately to where his disciples had been waiting for him. Joshi could hear him boasting to them as he went about how well he had served the princess.


    When only Li Jen and Li Jiya remained Joshi turned to them. "Thank you for your support today."


    "We didn''t do nearly enough," Li Jen replied. Hiroko and the Dowager were making their way out of the tower, their heads bent together in conversation. "You and Feng did everything."


    "Not at all," Joshi said. "The two of you killed at least as many tower beasts as Feng and I did."


    "But we weren''t out leading the charge," Jen said. He seemed exasperated. "And I understand why. The two of you are on a level that I at least am not. Li Jiya is holding back."


    "I am not," his sister insisted.


    Joshi believed Jen. "Are you afraid of upstaging your brother in the princess''s eyes?" he asked Li Jiya. "Or are you hiding your abilities from your competition, thinking of the race on the next floor?"


    She hesitated. "I do want to make a good showing on the next floor. Our sect needs it." She shrugged. "But mostly, I''m here to focus on my own advancement. I need to reach Peak of Mental Refinement before we leave here if I''m to be a good candidate for the Emperor''s Gauntlet."


    "What''s that?" Joshi asked. The others looked at him in surprise. Clearly it was something everyone was expected to know about.


    "The competition to choose the year''s Imperial Brides. There''ll be contests in ten different provinces, and only the top girl at each gauntlet will be chosen. Vardin City, capital of Riceflower Province, is hosting one of the gauntlets. I already have my invitation to join."


    "And I''m the one holding you back," Li Jen said again. "I''m not sure I''m ready for this." He turned to Joshi. "Each of the candidates will bring her supporting staff, her disciples, and other Young Masters of her sect to assist her. It is a great honor for any sect to have one of their young masters chosen as Bride of the Emperor. It will cost a great deal but if I succeed¡­ it will help revive our fortunes."


    "Then I wish you luck," Joshi said.


    "You''re very gracious," Li Jen said. He sounded bitter. "But you can afford to be. I''m not your competition with Hiroko, am I? Feng is.¡±


    Joshi blinked. "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    "I saw the way she looked at you," Li Jen said. He sighed. "It''s not surprising. You and Feng are both much more impressive figures than I in every way."


    Joshi considered the slight Young Master. He was handsome in a weak-featured way. His mouth had an honest set to it, and his eyes were kind. Jen was nothing like Feng, and, Joshi had to admit, nothing like himself.


    "I am not competing for the princess''s interest," Joshi said. He couldn''t think of anything more likely to keep him entangled in imperial affairs than marrying an indigo princess. His intention was to carefully avoid any marriage entanglements, staying on a solo cultivation path as long as he possibly could, at least until he had a better course for his future.


    "Then you might tell her that," Li Jiya said with mockery in her voice. "Because I don''t think she is aware."


    Joshi made his excuses and went to find his disciples. The three false disciples were where he had told them to be. To his pleased surprise, they had killed several tower beasts, ringing the clearing with the corpses. Disciple Shou had skinned the beasts and harvested their claws and eyes as well, while Yang had made a hot lunch. Joshi accepted his with thanks.


    "Have you made progress on your cycling technique?"


    "We have," Yang said. "The Way of Washed Linen technique you tried to teach us before works in here."


    Joshi nodded approvingly. "With the increased lux densities, you''ll find the cycling techniques that eluded you in the outside world come naturally. Show me."


    He stood in the middle as the three arranged themselves in a circle around him, sitting cross-legged with their arms resting on their knees, eyes closed.


    "Good," he told Shou. "That is the right rhythm. Cui, you are pushing and pulling where you should be guiding. You must think of it as water that you are allowing to flow through your channels. You do not push and pull water. Instead, you sculpt the channels themselves to carry it."


    "I don''t know how I''m supposed to do that," Cui grumbled. "I am a brawler, not a cultivator, whatever Elder Sister says."


    "Brother Stone will be giving you a thump on the ear if you keep this up," Yang said.


    "No," Joshi said sharply. "I am your master now."


    All three opened their eyes. He could feel their cycling techniques drop.


    "False master," Shou said. "Look, I appreciate the deal that Elder Sister made for us, but we all know it''s a fake."


    "No," Joshi said, again raising his voice. "You three, stand."


    They lined up in front of him, facing him as he stared them down. "Nothing about cultivation is false," he told them. "Do you understand me?"


    "But all of this is fake," Cui said, gesturing at himself and the others.


    Joshi gestured to the tower beast bodies around them. ¡°Are these false? Are the bruises on your knuckles false? Cultivation can never be false," Joshi said. "At its heart, the secret of cultivation is in learning to accept truths about yourself, improving yourself, and becoming more than you thought you could be. You will never succeed if you think of yourself as false cultivators.¡± He realized he had been guilty of the same sin, thinking of them as false disciples, and resolved never to think of them that way again. They were unexpected disciples, arrived from a source he did not fully trust. But while they were under his care, he would teach them what he could.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Stand up straight," he told them. "Shoulders back. Breathe in the lungs. Drink it in. Fill your cores. Now, cycle."


    Joshi spent about an hour working with them. Satisfied that they could continue to practice cycling on their own, he went off a little ways to work on his own techniques.


    His core was brimming over with lux. Now he sat and channeled more of it to Magan. He closed his eyes and concentrated on seeing through the spirit creature''s own senses. In his fights today, he had used Magan as a scout, once or twice, and to help him spot enemies that were outside his own vision. It was difficult to see through his own eyes and Magan''s at the same time. Difficult, but would be a valuable tool in the future. Joshi determined to work on it until it became second nature.


    There was little else he could do for his own advancement yet. He didn''t know the secrets to reaching Peak of Mental Refinement. It was as simple as that. Perhaps Chang-li would return with the treasure he hoped to find. Perhaps he would not. One way or another, Joshi was determined to continue his climb.


    He and the disciples left the tower late that night. He had noticed that it seemed time passed on the third floor at about the same rate it did in the outside world, and that there seemed to be very little violet lux present on the third floor. Chang-li''s suspicions that violet lux affected the flow of time seemed more and more likely to be true.


    The disciples invited him to join them for a pint of ale at one of the taverns, but he declined, returning to the sect house alone. The lights were blazing, and the servants, provided by Min, were taking good care of the house. There was a cold supper laid out in the common room. Joshi served himself.


    A knock came on the door. He hesitated and opened it, finding to his surprise Li Jiya standing there.


    "Young Master Li, will you come inside?¡± She entered, looking about the place.


    "You''re well set up here," she said. "I''ve never heard of Morning Mist before, but you seem to be doing well for yourselves."


    He shrugged. "An obscure sect. Like you, I am attempting to rebuild our fortunes."


    "Where''s your Grand Master, anyway?"


    Joshi had thought about this and had a lie prepared. "I was forced to leave him behind in Tuflang Province. He is quite ill and is kept company by our other Young Master, his grandson. I am merely a foreigner, accepted by their kindness. It fell on me to revive our sect''s fortunes."


    "This is a very long way to come," Li Jiya said as she stalked about the room. She helped herself to some of the fruit from the supper table.


    "My sect has had dealings in this tower long before. It is where we consider the beginnings of our misfortunes to have occurred. Therefore, our master felt it had to be here that we begin repairing our name."


    She shrugged. ¡°His reasoning seems a bit¡­¡± She hesitated, perhaps not wanting to call the imaginary master superstitious. ¡°Old fashioned,¡± she finished.


    Then, seeming to have decided to get to whatever business had brought her, she took a deep breath. "Young Master Joshi, I am concerned about my brother."


    Joshi was, too. Li Jen seemed to be pushing to prove himself. Every time Joshi had seen him in combat today, sweat had been dripping from his face. Joshi hadn''t recognized the cycling technique he was using, something confused and crowded, probably a Peak of Mental Refinement technique.


    "He held his own," Joshi prevaricated. Jen had kept up with Jiya mostly because Jiya was holding back. Neither of them had been anything like on par with Feng and Joshi.


    "He will not believe me that he should continue to advance at his own rate rather than rushing to try to keep up with others. I''ve pointed out to him that he''s far in advance of what any of those Jade Lotus cultivators are capable of."


    Joshi snorted. "It seems those Jade Lotus cultivators are satisfied with the title of cultivator and not the substance of it."


    "Yes, I expect they''ll receive a dissatisfactory performance notation after this tower," Li Jiya said. "They say one in five sects who participate in a tower cull is judged unsatisfactory."


    "How many such marks can a sect receive before it is no longer a sect?" Joshi asked. "I come from not a cultivator background," he added quickly. "While my master of the Morning Mist sect has taught me much, there are other things that everyone else takes for granted that I just don''t know."


    "Ah, yes," Jiya said. "That makes sense. There''s no number set, but if a sect has too many unsatisfactory marks, then masters of tower culls and other cultivation challenges are not going to accept them. The invitations to tower culls dry up, and your fortunes unravel quickly once the disciples stop coming," she said bitterly.


    "You speak from personal experience."


    "Our sect has fallen on hard times," Jiya admitted. "I can repair that if I win this contest to become the Emperor''s bride."


    "Is that what you wish for yourself, or merely how you are trying to help your sect?"


    She understood at once what he was driving at. "It''s my own desire," she said. "I''ve been aiming for it since I can remember. My great aunt, the Dowager Pearl, has been my guiding star since childhood. But we are far from my purpose in coming here."


    ¡°My disciples are elsewhere," he assured her. "If you need to speak plainly to me, please do."


    "My grandfather''s wife would not like me saying this. She would accuse me of revealing sect secrets. But anyone with eyes can see that Moon Whispers has fallen on hard times. Three-quarters of our sect died in the Bonebreak Plague a few years ago, and with them many of our techniques and secrets. My grandfather does the best he can. He passed his techniques on to me, and they''ve suited me well. My brother, not so much. My brother and I are very different people. I love him dearly. But our techniques are not the best for him. Some of the ones in our sect scrolls might be a better fit, but we have no one to decipher the scrolls for us. I wonder, might I perhaps offer you a trade? If there''s a technique of the Morning Mists sect that might fit my brother better. I can''t speak for my whole sect, but I''m willing to aid you."


    Joshi was touched by her devotion to her brother, but he shook his head. "I don''t know him well enough."


    "You could observe him," Li Jiya begged. "You could watch him again tomorrow, and perhaps after that you would have enough of an idea to help him."


    Li Jiya''s face was desperate, but she didn''t realize Joshi didn''t have any techniques to teach. Nor, despite his pity for the boy, would he have been eager to take on yet another disciple. Despite the fact that he had spent much of the last few weeks teaching cultivation techniques and tricks to others, he wasn''t comfortable with the role. Right now, he wanted to be focusing on his own advancement.


    "I''m sorry," he said. "I don''t think the techniques of my sect would be well suited to your brother." He cycled a little red lux and formed the gauntlet around his hand, then added tips of orange. "You have seen me fight, and I have seen your brother. Our styles, our preferences are nothing alike."


    "I know, I know. I just thought perhaps if someone offered him a different technique, he might find it suited him despite everything." Jiya turned away. "Ever since the Indigo Princess arrived, he''s been speaking of her in the most exalted tones. At first, I thought he was just hoping to impress her. Marrying an Indigo Princess would do wonders for our sect, there''s no doubt about it. I tried to assure him that he didn''t need to win her over. There were other ways to help us, but... Honestly, I think he''s a bit in love with her at this point."


    Joshi raised an eyebrow. "Well, he is a worthy young man. Perhaps the Princess will look on him with favor."


    Li Jiya actually laughed in his face. "With you around, you think any woman would look a second time at my brother? No. I love Jen dearly, but he''s outmatched here." Her shoulders slumped. "Thank you for hearing me out, Young Master Joshi."


    "I am sorry I am not able to help you."


    Li Jiya saw herself out.

 Bk 2 Ch 22: Overreaching

    The next day was a repeat of the first. With every swap-off, Feng seemed to grow more angry. He was bringing larger and larger groups of enemies back to the others. Joshi, his pride stung despite his best intentions, matched him.


    It was paying off. Hiroko was able to consistently connect with four, even five beasts, tying them to a cultivator. Or, conversely, to connect two cultivators to a single beast. Every time they dropped a group, Jiya asked her if she wanted to pause, and Hiroko shook her head. "No. We need to keep going. This is perfect."


    And then, about halfway through the day, in the midst of a fight, Joshi felt Hiroko''s cycling pause and shift, taking on a new tenor. He knew without her having to say that she''d reached the third condensation, but as the last of the pack of speed turtles dropped, she lifted her hands in exultation.


    "The third condensation!"


    "Well done," Li Jiya said. "You should retreat and cycle at once. You need to make your gains secure."


    Hiroko sat herself on a rock and began to use the Way of Star¡¯s Light Joshi had taught her.


    "That''s an interesting one," Jiya said, watching her. "Where did you learn it?"


    "One of my tutors," Hiroko said.


    "I''ve never seen one quite like that. It has a very different feeling to it."


    It was one of the seven basic techniques the Harupa monks taught their learners. Joshi was coming to realize cycling techniques and patterns seemed to vary region to region. His own were not common here.


    "Keep going," Li Jiya encouraged.


    Feng prowled around. "We''re wasting time. I should be gathering another pack while the princess cycles."


    "It is my turn next," Joshi said, "and the princess must ready herself."


    "Hah!" Feng sneered. "She has only four hours a day to cultivate. She shouldn''t waste any of it." With that, he vanished out into the jungle.


    Joshi sent Magan to follow him while he prepared himself for whatever Feng returned with. Li Jiya was standing over Hiroko, helping her cycle. Joshi turned to Jen and saw the young man was looking desperate. Sweat dripped down his face. His jaw was set tight. "Are you all right? Do you need to go back?"


    Jen shook his head. "I can keep up with the rest of you. I can do it," he insisted. He took out a book from his pocket and peered at it. Joshi glanced over his shoulder. The characters were not ones he could read.


    Li Jiya looked up from Hiroko. Her eyes widened. "Where did you get that?" she asked.


    "From the sect library," Li Jen said calmly.


    "You can''t read it."


    "I think I''ve almost broken the cipher. This is one of Grand Master Daifong''s techniques. He was our master of bows," Li Jen explained. "I studied under him until he died of the Bone Break Disease. This is the braid he meant to teach me as I studied at Peak of Mental Refinement. The Six-Thought Arrow."


    "You cannot use a technique in battle that you haven''t actually been taught," Li Jiya insisted. "Even if you could read the words that are there, learning from a book is very different from learning from a master. There''s no one to guide you to make sure you''re doing it right."


    "I have to be able to keep up," Li Jen said desperately. "I have to. I have been trying this technique for several days and I think I almost have it."


    Magen was distantly thrumming concern toward Joshi. Joshi opened himself to the little creature and received a flood of worry along with the creature''s vision. Feng had just entered a clearing full of brilliant green plants. The plants were 10 or 15 feet high, with long green stalks and enormous heads. The heads whipped around like those of animals, chomping and biting.


    Joshi watched in amusement as Feng bounded between the stalks, hitting them with his chaining technique. It would be pleasant if Feng''s tendency to bite off more than he could chew came to bite him. He disentangled himself from the creatures and rushed away.


    The plants uprooted themselves, pulling their long, underground tendrils up like shaking dirt off of unused feet. They rose up, pulling in their leaves and rushed after Feng.


    "Prepare," Joshi warned the others. "Feng is on his way back. He''s got some sort of plant creatures.¡±


    Hiroko¡¯s eyes widened. "No, that''s bad. Tell him not to."


    "I can''t speak to him," Joshi told her. "I''m just watching him. Magen doesn''t talk to others."


    Already he could hear the noise of odd hoots and scraping cutting through the din everywhere in the jungle. Feng appeared, his robes hardly disheveled, a small streak of blood across his face and a wild grin on his face.


    "I have found us a decent challenge," he said. "I believe the largest of these creatures has a treasure at its heart. I bring it to lay before you, my princess."


    Then the plant monsters were upon them. There were eight of the things. They took root at the edge of the riverbank where Joshi and the others were waiting.  Joshi had chosen this spot earlier because of its vast supply of lizard-log creatures. He''d been able to pull them back to the group four and five at a time. They''d cleared the river and used it as a defensive boundary in their last fight.


    The plants formed a half-circle around them with the river hemming them in at their backs. The plants¡¯ roots disappeared beneath the ground. They seemed to pull strength from beneath them, growing in size and deepening in color.


    "Princess, begin your technique!¡± Feng encouraged.


    Hiroko was casting lux out even as Li Jen and Li Jiya summoned their weapons. Joshi charged forward and punched a plant in what passed for its head. His Tiger¡¯s Claw clipped leaves. There was no blood, not even sap, when he pulled back. The plant lashed at him with one vine-like limb.


    Feng was darting between them too fast to be seen, using a technique to jump rapidly back and forth. He had summoned a short, curved blade with a wicked hook at the front, his favorite weapon. It was dripping with green lux.


    "No!" Hiroko shouted. "These are Tower Flora. They have a natural affinity for green and blue lux. We can''t use that against them. My techniques don''t work. They draw sustenance from the tower itself."


    Joshi didn''t follow all of the ins and outs, but he understood enough. These beasts would need to be slain the hard way.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Protect the princess!" he growled to the Li siblings and started forward. He punched again, and his target flower ducked to the side, like it had sensed the blow coming, whatever it used instead of eyes, he wasn''t certain.


    Feng''s sword flashed, ripping leaves from the flora. A tendril shot out and grabbed Li Jiya by the ankle as she swung her polearm. The plant tripped her up and yanked her upside down. Her robes fell down over her head. She shouted a muffled cry.


    "Jiya!" Jen shouted. Joshi was busy fighting his flower, but through Magen''s eyes, he watched as Li Jen summoned his lux bow. He overlaid it with a different technique, one Joshi hadn''t seen before.


    Until now, Li Jen had stuck to techniques using the physical colors red, orange, and occasionally yellow. Now he started with yellow and interlaced it with green. Joshi knew his theory well enough to know that most braids that connected the physical colors with the higher spiritual colors used green as an intermediary. Sure enough, Jen added an indigo thread to his braid.


    Joshi caught the flower''s tendril with his other hand. He slashed down with his gauntlet, his spikes cutting through the tendril. The flower reacted, screeching in an inhuman voice. The sound emanated from its leaves as the whole plant shook.


    It sprouted tiny, hairy tendrils all over its surface. As he grabbed at it with his open left hand, the tendrils stuck to his skin, catching his hand and keeping it in place. He punched the flower in its head, and his gauntlet went right through, knocking off the top half of the flower''s supposed head. But the thing was still fighting.


    "It draws strength from the tower," Hiroko was shouting. "You have to cut it off at the roots."


    Well, now she said so! Joshi summoned a lux shield in his left hand, cutting the bond between him and the flower. He hadn''t been sure it would work, but it did. He dropped to the ground, grabbed at the base of the plant, and yanked. Nothing.


    This wasn''t using his strength to his advantage. Joshi wove together red and yellow, thinking of Chang-Li''s fire pot technique. He needed something like that, but not the same. He needed to be punching harder, driving it further into the earth, extending outward. Instead of red physical Lux delivering the yellow elemental to his target, he needed the yellow to empower the force of his red.


    He pulled back his arm and punched forward. The force shot out of his fist, driving the blow deep into the earth. He knocked the plant upward. It was still connected to the ground by two roots. He whirled and slashed, Tiger¡¯s Claw gauntlet spikes severing both sets of roots. As the plant came down, he caught it. The weight staggered him. Both arms wrapped around the plant as it screamed and hurled, he whirled it and smashed it hard against a rock. The plant exploded in a puff of pollen and dirt.


    He had no time to gloat. As he felt the lux from the dead plant rise up all around him, he seized it and turned to the next.


    Li Jiya had untangled herself and was fighting. He heard her shout, "Jin, no!" and looked through Magen''s eyes once more. Jin had a lux arrow at his bow, shimmering three different colors. The colors weren''t harmonious. They seemed to be fighting against each other. He could feel the unruliness of the lux in Jin''s technique even as he unleashed the arrow. It burst forward, splitting into six, each of the six striking at the plants, setting them on purple fire.


    An equal amount of lux blasted back and engulfed Jin himself in purple flame.


    Li Jiya shrieked. She dropped her weapon and raced across the clearing to her brother. "Help him!" she shouted. She summoned a technique and splashed him with water, but it did nothing to the purple flame.


    Li Jin fell to the ground, writhing and screaming as the flames consumed him. They didn''t touch his robe, but his flesh was crackling and burning. Hiroko was beside him, her hand outstretched. She''d made a connection to Jin, but not to anything else. There was no one else to kill. Feng was finishing off the last of the flowers. Li Jin''s technique, though it had backfired on him, had destroyed the plants almost entirely.


    "I don''t have anything." Hiroko was babbling. "I can''t, I can''t, I don''t have a source."


    "Take me." Li Jiya was begging her. She seized Hiroko''s hand and forced it to her own breast. "Please, Hiroko, take me."


    Hiroko''s face twisted with pain. Even Joshi could see it was no good. He crossed the distance to them in two long strides and lifted Jiya from her feet, pulling her away from Hiroko. Hiroko slumped to the ground, exhausted and in pain, even as Jin''s screams and his flailing dimmed and died. The flames continued.


    Jiya struggled against Joshi''s grip. He held her tight. Even as she wept and wailed, he watched as the flames at last left Jin''s body. Then he let Jiya go.


    She threw herself to the ground beside her brother. He was clearly dead, his skin blackened and shriveled, his lidless eyes staring melted at the sky. It was the most horrifying thing Joshi had ever seen, and he had been in battles where hundreds of men and horses had died.


    Hiroko was weeping quietly. Joshi approached the women. "I told him not to try a technique he didn''t know," Jiya was saying. "I told him. I told him he needed help."


    "I couldn''t," Hiroko was whispering. "I couldn''t make a connection to those creatures. I''m sorry."


    "Why didn''t you take me?"


    "It doesn''t work like that," Hiroko said, her pain evident in her voice. "It would have killed you and it wouldn''t have saved him." She buried her face in her hands.


    Feng strode over. He looked down at the body. "It was a Mental Refinement technique?"


    "Of course it was, you uncouth vermin," Li Jiya spat.


    "That explains it. The flames that consumed him were from his own mind. That is why his robes and the rest of us were untouched. It is the most common way for a cultivator reaching Mental Refinement to die." He remarked to Joshi, "At that stage, your mind, not the tower beasts, is your true enemy. Jen killed himself twice, first with his arrogance and using a technique he had not mastered, and second when the technique failed by giving in to the lies his mind was telling his body." He shook his head as he turned and strode away.


    Joshi''s hand was in a fist. He itched to punch Young Master Feng, but Feng would take that as provocation and lash out, and in the process, the two women might be hurt. Instead, he stooped and arranged Jen''s robes a little better.  He told Hiroko. "Let us help Li Jiya to the tower entrance. We will send others to fetch his body back."


    The weeping woman did not resist as they urged her to her feet. Supported by Hiroko and Joshi both, she stumbled to the entrance of the tower, where Joshi left her beside the princess and went to have a word with the guards. When he had arranged to have Jen''s body taken back, he turned to find the dowager watching him. She hadn''t been there a moment ago.


    "What happened?"


    He explained everything.


    ¡°Was Feng at fault deliberately, in bringing the flowers?¡±


    "I do not think he knew that Hiroko would be unable to connect to those creatures. He seemed as surprised as we did, and he certainly did not force Jen to use a technique he wasn''t ready for," Joshi answered. Frankly, he very much disliked Feng and would enjoy seeing him meet justice. But the only fault that could be laid on him was bringing a group before their party was ready. And in truth, cultivators should always be ready for any challenge.


    The dowager bowed her head. She looked very old and tired, and Joshi recalled that Li Jen was her grandnephew. "Li Jiya will not be joining you for at least the next few days. I will take Hiroko away for the rest of today, and perhaps tomorrow, depending on how she responds. It will take her some time to process this. It may not have been her fault, but she will not feel happy about it."


    "You are wise, dowager," Joshi agreed.


    "The fourth floor will be open soon," the dowager said. "I hope your sect is ready to perform. My pleas have gone unanswered. No other sects are coming. Now my brother''s sect is crippled. I very much do not wish Young Master Feng to win this tower."


    Joshi studied her. "Why do you care so much, my lady?"


    She practically growled, "If he wins, he will almost certainly reach the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, thanks to the boon here. He is well past the Peak of Mental Refinement already. Should he do that, and petition the Court of Gems for a bride, I will have very little choice but to allow him to marry Hiroko."


    Joshi felt as though he''d been slapped. "But, is that what Hiroko wishes?"


    "A cultivator who can master a cull at a broken tower almost unaided, and who makes not one but two ranks of advancement at that tower, is a powerhouse," the dowager said grimly. "He must be wed. It would be an insult to force him to take a lesser bride when one of this rank is here. Hiroko knows her duty to make a good marriage. You do not think the gems of her rank are given the luxury of taking their time at making their choices? No. If Feng conquers this tower and petitions the court, she will have very little choice but to accept. Should he fail to win the tower boon and not reach Spiritual Refinement yet, then I shall be able to postpone Hiroko''s decision. I have already been asked to supervise the regularly-scheduled tower cull at Vardin City. I was looking forward to it. It will be the site of the Emperor''s Gauntlet, and I expected to be there to witness my grandniece win the Emperor''s favor. Now..." The dowager shook her head. "Well, I have said too much already, but I wish to thank you for your kindness to my grandniece. I will take my leave. She and Hiroko both need me now."


    The dowager strode off to where the women were standing together, their arms wrapped around each other. Jiya was still weeping. Hiroko''s tears had dried. She looked past Jiya''s shoulder at Joshi. Their eyes met. He felt a moment of connection between them before she turned away and guided Jiya to join the dowager.

 Bk 2 Ch 23: Breakdown

    As the caravan broke apart after reaching the cultivator camp, Min lost sight of Chang-li. They had barely spoken for the last day and a half as they traveled back from Fail-lan City. When they began the climb up the mountain this morning, he had told her abruptly that he would need to speak to the cultivation officials immediately. Now a man in official garb descended on them, and Chang-li hurried away with him without a word to Min.


    Min didn''t even think about where she was going until she and Jai-lin reached the gates of the Court of Gems at the cultivation camp. The gates were shut, and a pair of guards stood on duty outside.


    One of the guards stepped forward. "Lady Min, the Dowager''s congratulations on your recent marriage. She says to tell you she has had your belongings sent down to the sect of Morning Mist. You have no need to enter these gates until the next social event. She will be sure to send your sect an invitation." He turned to Jai-lin. "Lord Jai-lin, you may enter."


    Min''s brother squeezed her hand. "Do you want me to come with you?"


    She shook her head. "No, it''s fine. I should have known.¡±


    Min turned away from the gates before she lost control of her features. She wandered back down through the camp, her mind distracted. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the Brotherhood''s headquarters. She could smell lunch cooking inside. Even at this time of day, there would be people taking their ease. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.


    The doorkeeper bowed to her. "Elder Sister Min, felicitations on your wedding."


    "Thank you," she said, the words catching in her throat. Of course, even they knew. She mounted the stair, and there were about a dozen people in the upper room, eating their lunch in little groups with mugs of ale beside them. As she emerged, everyone turned and looked at her. A hush fell over the place as they stared. It took everything Min had in her not to turn and flee back down.


    Brother Stone came to her rescue. He was seated alone at a table near the back. Now he rose, pushing forward to her. "Everyone, get back to your own business," he ordered, and the other diners turned to their meals. She could still feel their eyes on her. As she went to meet Brother Stone, he took her arm and guided her into the back room, shouting a quick instruction to the woman tending the counter to bring food and drink.


    There were a couple of Brotherhood members there, their heads together as they conducted private business. "Out," Brother Stone said brusquely. "Out, now." One of them started to protest, then shut up as he saw Brother Stone''s face. They cleared the room.


    Min sat down. A moment later, the serving woman came in with a bowl of hot stew, a loaf of bread, and a bottle of rice wine for Min. Brother Stone had snagged up his own mug from the table before entering the back room.


    "Eat," Brother Stone urged. "You look as though you haven''t eaten in days."


    That was not quite true, but she''d had little appetite since she and Chang-li got caught. She picked up a spoon and began spooning the stew into her mouth. It was hot and meaty, large chunks of chicken and vegetables floating in the savory broth.


    "What happened?" Brother Stone asked. "We have had garbled messages, but it didn''t make any sense. You married? You found someone in Fai-Lan City and decided to marry that quickly?"


    She shook her head. ¡°I.¡± The words didn''t want to come out. "I am married to Cultivator Wu Chang-li."


    It was like pronouncing her own death sentence, having to face the reality that she and Chang-li were bound together, and he clearly resented her for it.


    Brother Stone¡¯s eyes widened. After a moment he poured a cup of the rice wine for her. She picked it up and sipped. It was far smoother than the wine she and Chang-li had shared at the inn the night they''d been caught, slipping down her throat, warming her body, but not lifting the intense numbing sensation that filled her.


    "How did that happen? He''s not even a cultivator, is he? Just a scribe?"


    "He is a cultivator now," she said stiffly. ¡°Accepted to be of the Morning Mist Sect."


    "The Morning Mist Sect," Brother Stone said flatly. "The one you''ve been crafting out of a bunch of false papers and some brothers with a talent for lux like me." He sat back, a look of wonder on his face. "So it''s another scheme. What is it, Elder Sister? How can I help?"


    She shook her head. "No scheme," she said, finishing the cup of rice wine with another sip. "It was my fault," she said in a rush. She picked up the wine and poured herself another tiny cup. "I was helping Cultivator Wu with, yes, a scheme," she admitted. "And then afterward we were, well, discussing matters and things got a little out of hand. My ¡ª the Court of Gems had an investigator watching me. All the times I slipped out recently to meet with the Brotherhood or to help establish the Morning Mist Sect, they thought I was having an assignation with Cultivator Wu. When we were caught together, I couldn''t deny it because, well¡­" She shook her head.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Brother Stone squeezed her hand. "It''s all right, girl. So they forced a marriage on you?" His face was darkening. "Well, we can handle that. The Brotherhood has plenty of ways to arrange a¡­"


    "You will not touch Chang-li," she said sharply, raising her gaze to his and holding it. "Do you understand? Word is to go out throughout all the Brotherhood. No harm will befall Chang-li. He is my husband now. He saved me from a worse fate. My family owes him a debt, and more than that, I have made him vows."


    Brother Stones look was hard, but he nodded.


    She stared down into her half-empty stew bowl, warring with half a dozen different emotions she had been repressing for the last two days because she didn''t like any of them. Anger at being caught and forced into something she didn''t want. Guilt for having forced Chang-li into a situation that was surely at least as awful for him as it was for her. Despair because her future was no longer her own but wrapped up with someone else, someone who didn''t seem to like her very much right now. And how could she blame him? Yet at the same time, she couldn''t help thinking about the other night. Their hands on each other''s bodies, Chang-li''s lips on hers, how it had felt to be held in his arms.


    "You''re in a pickle," Brother Stone observed. "So what''s your plan?¡±


    "I don''t have a plan,¡± she said, and the weight of everything broke through her reserves. "For once in my life, I don''t have a scheme. It''s why I''m here now. It''s because I screwed up so badly. I didn''t listen when Grandfather¡¯s messenger warned me. I didn''t listen to my brother''s warnings either. I thought I knew what I was doing, and look what''s happened now." Tears were pouring down her face.


    Brother Stone stared at her. He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder as she wept into his chest. "There, there," he said. The awkwardness in his voice brought her back to herself and she pulled away with an mumbled apology.


    "It''s not so bad. Chang-li''s a good sort. I liked him. He''s got a good head on his shoulders, and for all that he started as a scribe, I think he could go far as a cultivator. That''s what you''re after, isn''t it? Cultivators?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to marry someone who had enough connections to reach at least Peak of Spiritual Refinement. What good does it do the Brotherhood to have a low-ranked cultivator with no sect beholden to us?" she demanded.


    "Well, you''re the one who had the idea of making your own sect," Brother Stone said.


    "And it was a stupid idea."


    "But why?" he asked reasonably. "I think it''s a good one. Why should these sects be the only ones to have cultivators? Your grandfather agreed when you said that having a cultivator or two connected to us would help the Brotherhood advance. What''s the difference between a sect and a Brotherhood, anyway?"


    "The sects know what they''re doing," she said.


    "So, we buy their secrets off them, or find them another way. Hire one away as a teacher."


    "I don''t have any more money," she said. "The messenger from my grandfather made it clear that he''s not going to be giving me anything more for this until I can show some actual results."


    "Then let''s take stock of what you do have," Brother Stone said.


    Min straightened up. She had allowed herself far too much weakness, even if it was only Brother Stone here to witness. She took a deep breath. "I will have to consider," she said. "It''s Cultivator Wu¡¯s business as well."


    Brother Stone nodded slowly. He was out of his depth and she felt guilty for breaking down in front of him.


    Chang-li had brought away plenty of secrets from the library. If some of them gave the techniques of reaching Peak of Mental Refinement or perhaps even Peak of Spiritual Refinement, then maybe they could raise cultivators up themselves. What she needed to do now was back Chang-li to the hilt. He was the only one with a chance of reading those documents.


    She was tied to him now. If she wished to have a future, she needed him to advance. Well, why not? Not a scheme this time, but a real advancement.


    The door to the back room opened. Min looked up in surprise as her brother, Jai-lin, entered, panting. She rose, shocked. She had never seen Jai-lin in the Brotherhood before. Brother Stone was there.


    "What do you need?" he asked, looking at Jai-lin in surprise.


    Jai-lin shook his head, catching his breath. Then he panted, "Min, the dowager, she''s planning to bring the court to the Sect of Morning Mists this evening for a visit in honor of you and Chang-li."


    Min''s mind went blank for an instant. Of course, formal recognition of a cultivator marriage by the Court of Gems and the other cultivators was normal, but generally, a sect sent out their own invitations. The dowager was clearly forcing her hand here, hoping to see her embarrassed and point out to the other nobles what a foolish alliance Min had made due to not listening to the dowager''s warnings.


    "You know this for sure?" she said.


    "I overheard her. She doesn¡¯t know that I''ve slipped out, and I need to get back before I''m caught."


    "Yes," Min agreed. She hurried over and embraced her brother. He tensed in surprise, then relaxed and patted her back. "Thank you," she told him. "Now go, quickly."


    Jai-lin was gone again in seconds. She turned to Brother Stone. He was looking at her intently, clearly wondering what she would do. Min hesitated.


    Who was she? She was a noble of the Gem Court, now married to a cultivator of a sect that she knew to be false, perched on the edge of utter disgrace. That was who the dowager thought she was.


    Min was the granddaughter of the governor of Riceflower Province, the granddaughter of the Eldest Brother of the Oaken Band Brotherhood, the strongest fraternal organization in this province. She had been raised for just this sort of affair.


    "I need Brotherhood people dressed and ready to serve, those who''ve had experience waiting on cultivators and nobles at a preference. Whatever you do, do not bring Sister Lishan,¡± she said crisply. "We''ll need food. Coordinate and have Riona here take the lead. Drink, plenty of it. Cultivators always drink three times as much as ordinary people. It''s that damn lux giving them an extra tolerance. I need decorations. We''ll want the sect colors plus red. And quickly. I am going to Morning Mists and informing the cultivators there that we''re going to expect company."


    Brother Stone bowed his head toward her. "Yes, my lady," he said.

 Bk 2 Ch 24: Being Let Go

    Chang-li entered the Scribes¡¯ Office, escorted by Magistrate Bao. He¡¯d been dreading this moment the whole trip up the mountain, at least once he''d been able to think of anything beyond the fiasco of his wedding.


    Inspector Dah looked up. "Ah, you''ve returned. Excellent. Scribe Wu, we have plenty of¡ª"


    Magistrate Bao cut him off. "Summon your other scribes."


    Dah¡¯s face showed confusion, then worry. "Of course." He set aside his pen and hurried to the back.


    The magistrate moved to the window, closing the shutters, and locked the door. "We don''t need interruptions.¡±


    A moment later, the inspector was back along with most of the other scribes. "Scribe Tu is assisting the quartermaster. Shall I have him fetched?"


    "This will do," Magistrate Bao declared. "Inspector Dah, it is my duty to inform you that Scribe Wu has broken his indentures and accepted a position with a sect. The usual fines have been levied. From this day forth, he is no longer a member of the Order of Licensed Scribes, as he has failed to complete his indenture. That rank is stripped from him. He may refer to himself as a trained scribe, but not a licensed scribe. Your ring," he said to Chang-li.


    Chang-li hesitated. It felt wrong. He''d worked so hard for this ring. His uncle had bought it for him the day he graduated from school. But he had no choice. He pulled it from his finger, not without some difficulty, and gave it to the Magistrate, who pocketed it.


    "Is this true, Scribe Wu?" Inspector Dah asked, looking taken aback.


    "I have accepted a position as sect scribe for the Morning Mist sect," Chang-li said. His fellow scribes'' faces showed a mixture of astonishment, disbelief, and even envy.


    "He must be well-heeled to pay off four years of a scribe''s indenture," Scribe Jun grumbled. Then he looked Chang-li over, and his eyes narrowed. "Wait, that''s cultivator''s robes you''re wearing. I recognize the Morning Mist pattern, but the red stripe means¡­¡±


    ¡°Cultivator-Scribe Wu has formed a matrimonial bond with a lady of the Seventh Rank," Magistrate Bao said calmly.


    At that, the other scribes lost all composure. They whooped and clapped, shaking their heads, whistling.


    "Wu, you dog," Scribe Dai said.


    "You didn''t let on to us. How long has this been going on?" Scribe Jun asked. "I guess I know why you were sneaking out late at night."


    Ears burning, Chang-li bowed and accepted the good wishes heaped on his head. "Thank you. I am sorry I was not more forthcoming with my plans. Matters rather got out of my control in Fai-Lan City. I had not intended to leave your ranks so rapidly."


    "It''s done," Bao said. He seemed displeased by the show of support from Chang-li''s former co-workers. ¡°Cultivator Wu, a copy of the debt your sect now owes. This will be added to what your sect owes for its housing. I need not remind you that the sects debts will need to be settled by the end of this Tower Cull, or you will not be granted your endorsements.¡± He handed Chang-li a rolled paper. Chang-li didn¡¯t look at it.


    "From now on, Cultivator Scribe Wu may enter this office only as a supplicant,¡± he told the other scribes. ¡°Good day.¡±


    Chang-li took the opportunity to slip out of the office in his wake. It was uncomfortable seeing his former fellow apprentices. Right now, he just wanted to hide away. Only, there was nowhere in camp he could hide.


    Instead, he went to the Morning Mist house. He slipped inside.


    The scrolls and records he had brought back from Fai-Lan City had been delivered to the house.


    Joshi and the three false disciples were standing around the crate and second box of records that Chang-li had brought back from the city. He hadn''t even seen any of those records since the night in the inn and was glad that they had all been forwarded to the sect. Joshi looked up as Chang-li shut the door behind him.


    "You had great success in the city," Joshi said cheerfully. "I am astonished at how much is here. You will be able to decipher these encoded ones?¡± He held up an ancient cultivator journal.


    Chang-li fought an urge to snatch it from him. "Those documents are decades, centuries old. You can''t handle them," he snapped.


    The disciples looked taken aback. They carefully set down what they had been looking at.


    "We were just on our way up to the tower when these arrived," Joshi said. "I thought we should look them over. I did not realize you were planning to come here. I expected you to be busy with your duties.¡± He frowned, and his eyebrows drew together. "That robe, it''s not the one you borrowed from us."


    Chang-li shook his head. "No.¡±


    ¡°I have seen other cultivators wearing robes with bands of color like that," Joshi said, looking at the red stripes on Chang-li''s arms and hem. "They indicate social standing, I believe, related to their marriage. Is this a new scheme? Shouldn''t you be at the scribe office?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "I have lost my position as a scribe," he confessed.


    Joshi immediately turned to the disciples. "Go into the courtyard and practice your cycling."


    They obeyed without fuss. Chang-li was glad to see that Joshi had them in hand.


    "Come," Joshi said. "Tell me."


    Chang-li didn''t think he could, not for the second time in one day. Instead, he withdrew his new cultivator record from his robes and presented it to Joshi, who frowned as he took it.


    He rubbed a finger across the embossed logo of the Morning Mist Sect, then opened it and perused the first pages. When he turned the page to the record of Chang-li and Min''s marriage, his mouth dropped open. He looked up from the record. "This is not just another of your forgeries?"This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Chang-li shook his head. "No, it¡¯s real."


    "But why?" He looked, frankly, astonished.


    Groaning, Chang-li sat himself on the floor next to the crate of records. He itched to dive in and lose himself in the ancient records. He would need a stack of books and gallons of ink to copy all of these out. That would be his first task. He couldn''t risk the ancient records deteriorating. Then he''d have to translate them and see which held secrets that would help him reach the Peak of Mental Refinement.


    "Min found me in the city. She offered to help me at the library. I accepted her help. We were successful there." He pulled out Scribe Wulan''s pen case and set it on a low table by his elbow to remind himself to summon the shade later and see what he knew. "After we were at the library, we were looking over our finds and celebrating. We were caught together by a representative of the Gem Court."


    Joshi clucked his tongue sympathetically. "So, they left you no choice but to marry? I will have to take care not to be alone near any of these gem nobles. Could you not have explained?"


    "It, eh¡­ didn''t look good when they found us," Chang-li admitted. He felt his ears burning. "And her brother, not the one you''ve met, this one is a provincial official, was threatening to have her sent into seclusion. The dowager had sent word already banishing her from the court here. I..." He shook his head. "I couldn''t let that happen. It seemed like the best option. And now I''ve been stripped of my scribe''s rank. The documents that said I was a member of the Morning Mist Sect passed scrutiny." He shrugged, wryly amused. "They have sent me here now. And worse," he remembered the paper Magistrate Bao had handed him and took it out. "My debt has been levied against the sect."


    Joshi¡¯s eyebrows drew together. "How bad is it?"


    Chang-li unfolded the paper. His stomach dropped. "On top of the fees for paperwork and a fine for you entering the tower without proper license and our expenses here with my indentures as well," he looked up, meeting Joshi''s gaze. "We owe thirty-eight thousand kwam.¡±


    "Thirty-eight thousand?" Joshi''s breath came out in a rush. "The last time my contract was sold, it fetched only twenty-seven hundred. How are we to pay that?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "I have no idea."


    "We shall have to disappear in the night," Joshi said. "Once we''ve gotten everything we can.¡±


    ¡°They won''t give us any license endorsements if the sect''s dues are unpaid," Chang-li warned.


    "Then you shall have to steal a seal and fake them."


    "I can''t fake my way all the way up the Divine Path," Chang-li said, his frustration coming to a boil. "Cultivating isn''t something you can fake. It has to be real."


    "Cultivating, yes," Joshi agreed. "But these records are not the meat of cultivation. They''re just a way of the emperor controlling us.¡±


    ¡°With good reason. You''ve seen what cultivators, even at our level, can do. Imagine those who are past the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. They could rule over normal humans like gods, forcing them into slavery.¡±


    ¡°Then it is better for the emperor to be the one to decide who is a slave and who is free? No!¡± Joshi and Chang-li stared at each other for a long moment, and Joshi turned away and took a deep breath. "I''m sorry. I''m merely trying to decide what course of action I should take. Tell me, did you bring back anything good?"


    "I believe so. These records are extensive. I need time to copy and translate them. But even from the ones I''ve glanced at, they have techniques and teachings we need.¡±


    ¡°I do not know that I wish to trust my advancement to something I learned from a scroll." Joshi hesitated, then told Chang-li what had happened over the last few days.


    Chang-li was filled with horror. He had liked Li Jen. The young man was polite but had a good head on his shoulders. He didn''t have the same flair that his sister or Feng did, but he had struck Chang-li as a solid cultivator. Now he was dead because he had pushed to use a skill he didn''t truly understand.


    "So, you can see why I hesitate to attempt to use a technique that is not taught to me by someone who understands it," Joshi said. ¡°I might risk it myself but I don¡¯t see how I could do it with others.¡±


    Chang-li nodded. "I understand. However, we may have just such a guide." He channeled lux into the pen case. To his surprise, it took much more lux than he was expecting. His core was still relatively full, thanks to his visit to the library a few days before, but the pen case seemed to suck in lux as it never had before.


    Wulan appeared, looking dense and more real, much like the shades in the library. He looked them both over.


    "So, you are the cultivator Chang-li has chosen in place of my old friend Kang?" he asked Joshi. "Are you willing to restore the fortunes of the Morning Mist Sect?"


    "I am intent on my own path," Joshi said.


    "What did the other shades give you?" Chang-li asked.


    Wulan swelled up with importance. "They opened my eyes to a deeper understanding of lux."


    "Does that  mean you can teach us how to reach Mental Refinement then?" Chang-li asked.


    The ghost hesitated. "I read the techniques of our sect when I was alive. They meant little to me then. Now, with my new understanding of lux, if I can but refresh myself on those records I may be able to assist you," Wulan said. ¡°So long as you are not complete dunderheads.¡±


    "That''s enough for now," Chang-li told him. He had been hoping for more from the ghost. "You can go back to sleep. We''ll speak with you again later."


    The scribe shade vanished. Chang-li had been expecting more protest and was glad Wulan went.


    The door of the house opened. Chang-li sprang to his feet as Min entered. Her face was white. Joshi hurried forward. He bowed politely to her.


    "Lady Min, Chang-li has told me what happened. Welcome to the Sect of Morning Mist."


    She was looking lost and worried. "Thank you, Young Master Johi," she said politely.


    "I will order the servants to prepare the largest chamber for you and Chang-li as you will be living here now, I take it?"


    "I think we must," Min said. "If we''re to maintain the sect."


    "Are we going to maintain the sect?" Chang-li asked bluntly.


    The other two turned to face him. He cleared his throat. "This sect right now is a sham. We have no real masters, no true disciples, no library of tried and trusted techniques. We have false papers and the only thing that''s real about us is our debt."


    Joshi opened his mouth to speak, but Chang-li continued. "No, wait. I know we started this more or less accidentally, thinking there was something we could all get out of the sect for our own benefit. Your freedom and path forward," he said to Joshi. "Your brotherhood to get cultivators of its own. Me," he hesitated. "A chance to become something more than a scribe," he finished. "This isn''t where we thought we''d be, but on the other hand," he pointed at the pile of boxes, "look what we do have. Ancient secrets of a sect lost to time. I don''t know what''s inside these journals. It could be garbage. It could be the most valuable secrets we''ve ever known. We have the right to participate in this tower cull and to be recognized as a sect of cultivators. We have standing now with the nobility," he gestured at Min. "We have a sect shade who can help us and men who could become disciples for real."


    "You''re saying we could take this further, deceive and forge our way to a high enough level?" Min asked, but Chang-li shook his head.


    "Not forge, not deceive. I''m saying we can make this real." He had their attention now. "I''m not saying it''ll be easy, but I''m saying we have all of the pieces here. If we''re willing to work together, take the risk, we can do it. On the other hand, if we admit this is all a sham, then what? I''ve lost my place as a scribe and I have no sect to fall back on. Min, you''re married," the word came out in a rush, "to a false cultivator, someone with no future. And Joshi, even if they didn¡¯t try to put you back in chains, you certainly wouldn''t be allowed into another tower. I suppose you could run home to your father and you, Min, to your grandfather, but-"


    "No," Joshi said at once, crossing his arms. "Not without proving myself. What do you suggest?"


    "I''m suggesting we show them what the Morning Mist Sect can do." Chang-li looked from face to face and saw there the same hunger and yearning he felt in himself. "I''ll have to translate enough of each of these journals to know which techniques we can use. It''ll take some time, but-"


    Min interrupted him. "Yes, I agree. We make this real." Her eyes were shining. "But you need to know, I just had word from my brother. The Court of Gems is coming here this evening to congratulate us on our union. We have," she glanced at the window, "perhaps three hours to prepare a reception for the Dowager Pearl and every other cultivator in the camp.¡±


    Chang-li gaped at her.

 Bk 2 Ch 25: Reception

    Hiroko ignored the rap on her doorframe. She huddled on herself, sitting in a corner of her darkened room, the shutters pulled against the late afternoon sun, her arms wrapped around her knees.


    She hadn''t moved from this spot all day, not since her attendants had forced her to rise, rolling away her mat and dressing her. They had left her a breakfast tray, which she hadn''t touched until they replaced it with lunch, which she also refused. Her mind was a dark roiling pool.


    Li Jen''s death was her fault. She had forgotten her place. She was not a cultivator. She was a spouse in training. She was not supposed to be trying to progress on her own, but she had gotten caught up in the excitement, just as when she, Joshi, and Chang Li had faced the beasts on the first floor of the tower together. Li Jen had been trying to help her grow, trying to protect her, and he had died for it. The dowager might say it wasn''t her fault, but Hiroko knew the truth.


    Her door slid open. Hiroko didn''t bother to look up. No doubt the servants were here with her dinner tray. Soft footsteps echoed on her floorboard. A pair of black slippers filled the space in front of her, the edge of a black-hemmed robe intruding on her awareness. Hiroko looked up into the cold, stern face of the Dowager Pearl.


    "Rise," the dowager commanded.


    Hiroko got to her feet, her head hanging in shame at being caught sulking by the dowager.


    "We leave the compound in twenty minutes," the dowager informed her. "I have brought my attendants to prepare you."


    "To go where?" Hiroko¡¯s heart skipped a beat. "Not the tower."


    "Not today," the dowager agreed. "Though you will be back in the tower very soon, I assure you."


    Hiroko shook her head. "No, it''s not my place, I realize now."


    "You contradict me?" the dowager asked, raising an eyebrow. "I said you should progress. I said you must continue. Am I wrong?"


    "No, my lady," Hiroko said. ¡°But ¡ª¡±


    The dowager sighed. She snapped her fingers, and a pair of middle-aged female attendants entered the room. They opened the window to let the light in and led Hiroko by the hand to the dressing table, seating her in front of it. One set to work on her hair, the other began applying paint to her face. They had identical pursed lips and sour expressions. Hiroko was fairly certain they were sisters, but she didn¡¯t remember their names.


    "You have a high rank," the dowager said, "the highest of any noble here by long ways. That means you have a higher duty than any of them as well."


    "I know my duty," Hiroko said bitterly. "I am to marry a cultivator, not to be a cultivator myself. I indulged my own whims, Revered Pearl, and it resulted in the death of a good man."


    "A weak man," the dowager corrected ruthlessly. She frowned at Hiroko as the attendant behind her pulled a comb through her dark hair. "Li Jen was my grandnephew, and I was very fond of the boy, but he was foolish and weak. There is no room in cultivation for mistakes. He was trying to push himself farther than he could, and he has paid the price for it."


    Tears welled in Hiroko''s eyes.


    "Don''t cry, my lady," the servant doing her makeup urged her. "You''ll smear the paint."


    Hiroko fought to calm herself. She cycled the Purification of Mind and Soul technique, and her emotions ebbed away.


    "You see," the dowager said approvingly. "There. Now I am here to speak of your duty. We, the whole Court of Gems, go tonight to pay a visit to the sect of Morning Mist."


    Hiroko''s heart fluttered again. "Morning Mist? Why?"


    "In honor of a cultivator''s marriage."


    Hiroko''s heart froze. A cultivator marriage? Joshi had taken a bride? She hadn''t realized he''d made any connections. Certainly she hadn¡¯t seen him favor any of the other noble women. She must have overlooked something. Hiroko felt her stomach twist at the idea of Joshi in the arms of some ambitious¡­ She stifled the thought and forced calm as she  bowed her head. "I see. May I ask which noble has Young Master Joshi chosen?"


    The Dowager Pearl laughed. "Not Young Master Joshi. Their sect scribe has taken a bride. As he is a cultivator in his own right, he was permitted to marry into the lowest rank of the Sevenfold Court."


    "Their scribe?" Hiroko asked doubtfully. She still didn''t understand how Joshi had a sect at all. It had to have been some clever scheme to hide the truth of who he was from the other cultivators here. But certainly he didn¡¯t have a scribe, did he?


    "I think you''ll know him. The young scribe who came to our aid in the tower facing the roc. I believe his name was Wu."


    Chang-li? Hiroko clamped down quickly on an exclamation. She controlled her emotions, overcome by both surprise that Chang-li had declared himself part of the Morning Mist sect and had married, and also a sudden flare of delight that it wasn''t Joshi who was married. "Scribe Wu is part of their sect now?"


    "It appears so. I suspect some collusion. You recall Lady Min. Her actions are¡­ questionable. I have warned the other low-ranking girls against following her example."


    Hiroko had indeed been present for that lecture. The dowager had not addressed her, but the other red and orange-ranked cultivators had been subjected to a half-hour-long discussion over breakfast three days ago about propriety and the appearance thereof, with Min featuring as a negative example. Hiroko hadn''t had much to do with Lady Min. The girl had seemed pleasant enough in their few interactions, but for her to be married to Chang-li? What had happened?


    "As I said, the court will be paying the appropriate congratulatory visit as soon as you, my lady, are ready," the dowager said. She smiled predator-style. Hiroko was getting a little better at reading the dowager; Min had managed to offend her greatly. This might not be a pleasant evening.


    Hiroko submitted to her hair and makeup and then joined the dowager and the other nobles at the front of the house. Min''s brother, Lord Wei-lin, was looking nervous about the affair.


    The other women were gossiping amongst themselves. They shied away from Hiroko, as they always did, wary of her status. Out of curiosity, she pulled lux and tried her special technique, the one she''d learned as her tower boon.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Lines appeared, connecting the nobles with each other, showing the strength of their connections. Hiroko was fascinated to see that the bond between herself and the dowager looked very different from the connection to all the other nobles. While the bond connecting the dowager and the other nobles was a tight black cord that made her think of the reins'' harness on a horse, the connection to Hiroko was a pale blue thread delicate, almost lacy.


    The other noble girls all had light bonds with each other, pale pink. A sort of friendship, Hiroko thought, but not with her. Her technique had used much of her lux reserves. She dismissed it.


    The nobles passed quickly down through the camp as evening fell. Soldiers, servants, and cultivation disciples scurried out of their way until they reached the house of the Sect of Morning Mist. The door was flung open. Servants received them, ushering them inside.


    The dowager entered, followed by Hiroko and then the rest of the nobles. There were at least a dozen grey-clad servants in the entry room of the house, all offering drinks and trays of festive food: sliced fruits, tiny bites of cheese, rice wrapped in seaweed and filled with a variety of fillings, sized to be eaten in a single bite. The entry room was large, with a parlor off to one side, which had been decked out in white, grey, and red hangings.


    There was a door on the other side leading off to the kitchens. Servants kept coming in and out, carrying trays. Already, the room was full of cultivators from the other sects. Their different robes were a garish clash with the stark colors of the Morning Mist. Hiroko admired the decorations. Li Jiya and her grandfather were just passing out of this assembly room into the courtyard beyond.


    The dowager turned to the nobles. "All of you circulate and greet the cultivators. Be sure to pay your respects to Cultivator Scribe Wu and his bride. Hiroko, with me." She swept through the room. All of the furniture had been pushed back against the walls to leave plenty of room for the party guests.


    On the far wall were large sliding paper doors which had been pushed open to reveal a porch and the courtyard beyond, decked out in bunting and hangings of the same colors with lanterns hanging all along the edge of the porch. Li Jiya plowed through across the porch and down into the courtyard, the Dowager and Hiroko followed.


    The courtyard wasn''t particularly large, perhaps 30 feet on a side with a few trees around the edges but mostly left open for cultivators to practice and train. It was festive tonight though, with decorations hanging from the surrounding walls and overhead. Festive lanterns bobbed from lines running overhead.


    At the far end of the courtyard was a wooden pavilion, freshly erected. Hiroko could still smell the sawdust. Under the pavilion stood Chang-li and Lady Min. They looked stressed. Chang-li wore robes in the Morning Mist pattern, the same as Joshi had, but his were banded with red, showing his bride''s rank. Min wore a solid red robe that clung to her curves as it fell to the floor, probably her wedding dress. As the lady of a sect, she would have robes to match Chang-li''s, but tonight she looked regal.


    Chang-li''s gaze swept across the courtyard, taking in his approaching guests. His eyes fell on Hiroko and widened briefly. The dowager approached, and Chang-li and Min both bowed.


    "Revered Pearl, we greet you," Min said.


    "My regards on your marriage," the dowager told them.


    "Congratulations," Hiroko told the couple.


    Min looked embarrassed. Was she blushing underneath her white paint? Chang-li cleared his throat. "Thank you, Princess."


    "You have done well enough tonight,¡± the dowager said. Looking around, she seemed to begrudge the words that came out of her mouth. "Perhaps you will be a credit to your new sect, Lady Min." She sighed. "You will receive an invitation to the ceremony marking the opening of the fourth floor in four days'' time."


    "Four days?" Chang-li said, his eyes widening. "That soon?"


    "The cultivators have done excellent work. It is time to move on." A smile played across the dowager''s lips, not, perhaps, a pleasant one. "I do not expect the remainder of this tower cull to take more than another month. I hope that your sect manages to get everything you can out of this before the end."


    Chang-li choked. He quickly schooled his features. "Thank you, Revered Pearl."


    The dowager moved away. Hiroko ventured forward as Chang-li almost seemed to sag. Min was looking worried, too.


    "Is everything all right?" she asked. She wanted to say more, but though Chang-li was surely a friend, she didn''t know Min at all, and she couldn''t properly explain to anyone why she and Chang-li were on such good terms, so she didn''t really dare ask much.


    Min, however, didn''t seem to mind. "The dowager was merely reminding us of our sect''s debts," she said, "to be cleared up by the end of the tower cull, naturally."


    "Oh." Hiroko felt her eyes widen. "Are you in a great deal of debt, then?" How were they a sect at all? She knew very well that there was no such sect as Morning Mist. She''d heard Chang-li speak of them. They were the long-lost cultivators who had written the journal that had set him off on his first foray into the tower.


    Of course they had debt. Chang-li and Joshi didn''t have the money to pay for this house or this party or the disciples she saw flitting about wearing Morning Mist robes. They were up to something, for sure, and she didn''t know what.


    ¡°It is of no concern,¡± Min said, the strain in her voice apparent. ¡°Thank you for your well-wishes, Princess.¡±


    "I wish you the very best.¡± Hiroko slipped away through the crowd, looking for Joshi. He was standing off in a corner, scowling. His face usually looked like that, unless he was busy fighting and he was too busy to frown. Or sometimes, on rare occasions, mostly when cultivating, she''d seen him actually smiling. She wished he''d smile now, but supposed it didn''t matter.


    He straightened up as she approached, pushing away from the wall where he''d been leaning. His little lux creature was hovering over his shoulder. It pulsed at her, and she felt as though it was glad to see her.


    "Princess, thank you for visiting our reception."


    "The dowager gave me no choice," Hiroko said honestly. "I don''t understand what''s going on here. Lady Min and Chang-li?"


    Joshi dropped his voice. "Lady Min was helping us with certain sect affairs," he said.


    Hiroko nodded to show she understood. She didn''t really, but clearly Min had been involved in helping Joshi establish this sect.


    "She and Chang-li became close.¡± Joshi shut his mouth, clearly unwilling to say more. ¡°I hope that their union will be a worthy one."


    That was probably all she was going to get from him. She knew his words fit the bounds of propriety but it stung Hiroko to be kept at arm¡¯s length. They had been so close in the tower¡­ how long ago had it been? To be this far out of his confidence bothered her in a way she couldn¡¯t identify.


    She reached for something to fill the awkward silence. "The dowager has said the fourth floor opens in four days."


    "I heard that rumor," Joshi said calmly.


    She couldn''t read him at all, didn''t understand what he was thinking. He was so different from Feng, who wore his emotions on his sleeve. Even now she could hear Feng speaking loudly to other cultivators across the courtyard. She didn''t stay here for long. She''d attract unwanted attention. "Will you be competing for the tower boon?"


    "I will compete," Joshi said. "Whether I can win?" He shrugged. "That is another matter."


    "The dowager said your sect is in debt."


    "Yes."


    "How much?"


    "That''s an internal sect matter."


    Hiroko took a step closer and hissed, "I want to help you. Let me help you."


    "You owe us nothing."


    "This isn''t about debt and owing. This is about you being my friend. Or I thought we were."


    His expression changed. He looked briefly astonished, then uncomfortable. He bowed his head. "Forgive me, Princess. I... you are correct."


    "Then let me help you."


    "Do you have a very large purse?"


    She shook her head. "No, I don''t. But I do have influence with the dowager. If you owe a debt, she might be able to have it transferred over to the next tower climb that she runs. She is to supervise the climb in Vardin City after this one is completed, where the Emperor''s next bride will be chosen. It''s a prestigious tower cull. If she permits, even with a debt, your sect could be allowed to participate."


    Joshi nodded. "I did not know that. Thank you, Princess.¡±


    ¡°But you''d have to win her approval. You already have it, I think. She was impressed by your actions before, and with the way you helped Li Jen.¡± Hiroko''s voice caught. "If you perform well enough here, and I lend my voice in your support, I believe the dowager might ask Magistrate Bao to hold your debt in abeyance."


    "If it comes to that, I suppose I must hope that is enough," Joshi said stiffly. "Thank you, Princess Hiroko." And with that, he strode off, not looking back at her.


    The abruptness of his departure stung but she forced herself to rejoin the party. Joshi wasn¡¯t being rude, she told herself. He just didn¡¯t think they should be seen too much together.  It was very correct of him. They didn''t need Feng to become any more jealous than he already was.

 Bk 2 Ch 26: Decisions

    The party was at last winding down. To Chang-li''s relief, the Dowager Pearl had swept her charges from the courtyard with no more than a brief word of farewell to Min. The other cultivators excused themselves in ones and twos. The servitors began cleaning up, while the three supposed disciples were over in a corner, seated beside a keg with mugs in their hands as they laughed together.


    It felt as though he and Min had been standing here in this place of honor for a day and a half instead of perhaps two hours at most. Chang-li stretched and stepped down. Min let out a sigh of relief and followed him down onto the grass, reaching down to adjust her sandal as she did.


    Joshi came to greet them. He had been exchanging a few quick words with Li Jiya as her sect took their leave.  "Well done," he told Chang-li. "I think we have ¡ª¡°


    Young Master Feng stepped out from behind a tree. Chang hadn''t seen him in the darkness. Now, he emerged to stand in a pool of light cast by the hanging lanterns. Joshi fell into an aggressive stance, one foot forward, body tense, hands in fists. Chang-li cycled his lux, checking how much was available to him in his core.


    "My felicitations on your marriage," Young Master Feng said, not to him, but to Min, who stiffened at once. Chang-li stepped in front of her, holding an arm out protectively as Feng continued.  "I must admit, from the way everyone in the camp speaks about your brotherhood, I had expected more from you. Is this what a noble backed by the Oaken Band Brotherhood can manage?" His lips curled up. "A mere scribe? And here I thought you were aiming for him." He gestured toward Joshi. "But I suppose with an indigo princess in the race, you had no more chance of getting your hooks into a real cultivator than your sect has of winning this Tower Boon."


    "This reception is over," Joshi said. "We are honored by your presence, and thank you for your good wishes. Good night."


    Chang-li seethed, but despite the provocation they couldn¡¯t afford to give Feng a reason to challenge them.


    "Oh, but I am not done just yet." Feng took a step toward Joshi. "I suppose you''ve heard that the fourth floor opens in a matter of days."


    "I have heard that," Joshi acknowledged.


    "I am here to warn you that the Soaring Heavens sect will win the floor and the Tower Boon as well, after which I shall claim my reward ¡ª the hand of the princess. If you dare to step in my way, you will be destroyed."


    "Is that a threat?" Joshi asked. His calm demeanor amazed Chang-li. For a former slave Joshi kept impressing Chang-li with his imperious bearing.


    ¡°Merely a promise. I suggest you would be wise to reconsider any plans you had for entering that floor, because my disciples and I will be the only ones who leave it alive."


    "Thank you for your warning," Joshi said. "But this party is concluded. Good evening, Young Master Feng."


    When at last Feng had disappeared into the darkness, Joshi¡¯s facade dropped and he seethed. "I shall take him apart with my bare hands."


    "He''s a whole tier higher than you," Min said. "And he has a sect at his back. By the Emperor''s grace, he has half a dozen disciples at the Peak of Bodily Refinement at this point."


    ¡°Nevertheless.¡± Joshi punched his open palm with his balled fist. "I shall be there when the tower opens."


    Chang-li shook his head. ¡°Four days is not enough time. Even if I could translate enough of the records to find techniques we could use, we''ll have no time to actually learn them."


    "Then we shall learn them as we go," Joshi declared. "At dawn tomorrow, we enter the tower and train as hard and fast as we can."


    "It''s not enough time," Chang-li insisted again. He and Joshi stared at each other, their minds clearly racing through the same thoughts.


    "We need more time," Joshi whispered.


    Chang-li turned to Min. "How long was it between the caravan being attacked and Princess Hiroko stumbling into camp?" he asked urgently.


    "What?" Min blinked at him. "Why does that matter?¡±


    ¡°How long?"


    Her eyes went distant as though she was trying to remember. "Two days, I think. Two days."


    Chang-li looked back at Joshi. The bald barbarian was glowing with excitement. "It might be enough."Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Yes. We should set out at once. Just the two of us."


    "What are you talking about?" Min asked. She grabbed Chang-li''s sleeve. "Let me help."


    Chang-li shook her off. "This doesn''t concern you."


    "Oh, yes, it does," she snapped back. She held up fingers, ticking off her points. "First, I''m your wife now, and so everything you choose to do concerns me. Second, I am the only cultivator spouse the Morning Mist sect has, which means most of our sect''s other duties fall on my shoulders. Third, and more importantly, if you have a plan that will result in humiliating that snake Feng, then I want a part of it."


    Joshi shrugged. "It''s up to you," he told Chang-li.


    Chang-li looked from Min to the disciples in the corner of the yard, who were now singing a drinking song together, arms around each other''s shoulders. "Let''s go back into the house," he said. "I want us to look at the records."


    It was an excuse, a chance to let him clear his thoughts. He led them inside and upstairs to the largest room, which had been made over for him and Min. Earlier, while the servants prepared for the party, he''d hauled all of the records up here. They made a substantial collection. Chang-li had looked over enough of them to start understanding their classification.


    "Anything with this symbol is a technique suitable for cultivators trying to reach the Peak of Mental Refinement," he said, holding up one of the journals and indicating a seven-point star with two circles around it. "Anything with this mark, I believe, is talking about cultivation theory in general, and these ones written in plain text seem to be sect records. Those are the ones we should concentrate on."


    Min must have seen his point at once. She began sorting through the records, making piles, setting aside the ones that seemed to represent a higher tier.


    "What do we know about the fourth floor?" Chang-li asked Joshi.


    The barbarian cultivator shrugged. "Not much. It seems the other sects know what to expect. There''s a single Tower Boon to be won, and when the cultivators have appeased the Guardian, the tower will be open for others to enter. I don¡¯t know who or why.¡±


    ¡°Lux technicians," Min said, not looking up from her work. "Imperial workers trained to use lux storage crystals. They will come and tap the tower''s lux reserves, draining them away once the tower guardian has been convinced to stand aside and allow the harvest. It''s like beekeepers at a hive. That''s the other reason why you have tower culls, besides preventing an eruption. This tower¡¯s harvest is ready to tap."


    "That''s how places like the cultivator library in Fai-lan City are able to infuse lux into their air?¡± Chang-li guessed.


    "Exactly," Min agreed.


    ¡°How do you know all this?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It is common knowledge aoung nobles.¡±


    "Do you know what we''ll face on the fourth floor?"


    She shook her head. "No, I''m afraid not. That''s not the sort of thing that gets discussed in the gem court. We''re usually too busy arguing over whether Joshi or Feng has the more impressive biceps. Even my brother agrees it''s you," she added to the former slave.


    Joshi looked irritated but merely growled, "We should grab a handful of these scrolls and be off."


    Chang-li hesitated. Joshi was right ¡ª if their only goal was to progress their own advancement. The first floor of this tower, as he and Joshi both knew, had some strange effect at work. They had been there for weeks, cultivating and searching for a way out, but when they emerged, only two days had passed on the outside. There had been no similar effect on the third floor. If they retraced their steps to the secret first-floor entrance, they could win themselves the time they needed to cultivate.


    On the other hand¡­ ¡°Feng isn''t going into the fourth floor alone," he said. "He''ll have disciples to aid him. We are outmatched enough. We need an edge. What if we stand on the brink of reaching the Peak of Mental Refinement and are backed by cultivators who have attained the Peak of Bodily Refinement?"


    Joshi looked wary. "You are saying we should bring the false disciples?"


    "I am saying they should be real disciples," Chang-li snapped. "Like I said before, we can''t afford to have a false sect. We need to make it real."


    ¡°And you would risk taking them, even knowing what could happen?¡± Joshi challenged. He met Chang-li¡¯s gaze and unspoken, the shared worries settled between them. The tower¡¯s entrance was a valuable secret they would be entrusting to the Brotherhood men. The time dilation effect, even more valuable, and one that could well get them inquisited.


    "Yes, we bring them. We bring Brother Stone, if he''ll come. Now that Min is associated with the sect of Morning Mist openly, there''s no reason he can''t join us, and he''s nearly reached Bodily Refinement already. He could be training Mental Refinement techniques along with us."


    "Brother Stone is loyal," Min said, still not looking up from her task. "And he hates Feng. If you''re going to go up against the Soaring Heavens, he''ll be a good man to have at your side."


    Joshi shook his head. "You forget, none of them have reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement. They cannot stay inside a tower for long."


    "Not without purification rations," Chang-li agreed. "Rations which a representative of a sect is entitled to request. We''ll say that we are conducting training sessions and requisition purification rations, and food as well."


    "Can they be trusted with the secret?" Joshi glanced at Min.


    "If you mean the fact that you and Chang-li have clearly found a lost entrance into the tower, I''ll give orders that no one is to speak of it."


    Joshi hesitated. Chang-li could tell what he was thinking. That wasn''t the only secret they''d be sharing. It would be impossible to hide the fact that the time dilation was in effect and that they had expected it.


    It felt like they were getting dangerously close to willingly using the forbidden violet lux. But he could play ignorant, claim that he didn''t know why the tower had that effect. Everyone had heard stories of cultivators entering towers and leaving a hundred years later, no older than they''d come in, or stepping into one tower and emerging from another 500 miles away. It was the sort of thing that happened, at least in legends.


    "Very well," Joshi agreed. "Then we had better prepare ourselves."


    "I''ll send word to Brother Stone," Min said. "And then I''ll get to work packing my own set of records to study.¡±


    Chang-li looked at her in surprise. "What?"


    "I will accompany you," she said. "After all, as your spouse, it''s time I began my own cultivation. I don''t want to fall too far behind."

 Bk 2 Ch 27: Training

    Chang-li stood beneath a rainbow whirlpool sky, his feet as steady as they could be on the stark white sand as he cycled through the pattern the ancient scroll described.


    Having thoroughly established command of the physical lux, weave in a strand of life lux to stabilize the matrix in preparation for bonding with the spiritual luxes. If the disciple has difficulty with this, refer to exercises as described in Master Ariyandaksha Jhang''s Guide to Visualizing Lux Layers. The disciple may also benefit from a refresher course in Philosophy of Lux.


    It was unfortunate that, as of yet, he had not discovered either of the other documents mentioned in this scroll. He had translated this one on their first day back inside the first floor of the tower and had been ecstatic because here was not a single technique, but a guide to preparing the cultivator who had reached the Peak of Mental Refinement on beginning to use more complex lux patterns. Unfortunately, he had not yet figured out how to do so. Every time he tried to weave a strand of green into his red or yellow lux, the whole pattern fell apart.


    Joshi was seated on the sand a few yards away, both fists pressed against the face of the dune, trying it himself. As Chang-li''s attempt fell apart again, Joshi looked up. "No luck?"


    Chang-li shook his head and flopped down onto the dune, immediately shifting into the purification of body and soul technique. He cycled violet lux through his channels without a single trace of guilt. It felt like less violet lux here than the first time he had entered, or perhaps it was merely because his lux capacity was so much greater.


    "This scroll is making assumptions about what we already understand.¡± Chang-li sighed. "I''m going to have to go back to the ones I haven''t translated yet and look for something to help us."


    They had been in the tower for what Chang-li guessed to be a week now. Somewhat to his surprise, they had entered into a totally different part of the tower than before. There was no sign of the maze he, Joshi, and Hiroko had encountered. Instead, they''d come up through a vast network of ropes in a dark cavern, crawling their way up toward the light until emerging through a hole in the desert floor under the swirling rainbow sky.


    From there, they''d made their way to the nearest oasis. That, at least, had worked as before, with an oasis protector yielding up a treasure after being defeated.


    They split their time between travel and training. As they walked, they instructed the disciples and Min in basic techniques. Brother Stone had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement on their first day there, during the fight against the oasis protector. He too was working on mastering the ability to weave green lux in with his red, with no more success than Chang-li or Joshi, but he grew frustrated faster.


    While Chang-li translated scrolls and Joshi scouted ahead for the next oasis, Brother Stone instructed the other three disciples. They were making great progress. Min sometimes sat at the edge of their circle and watched. She''d asked Chang-li to show her how he cycled and he taught her several patterns. She was a quick study and had already had her first core condensation.


    Right now, she and the others were at the foot of the dune where they had set up their camp. Compared to the first time Chang-li had been on this floor, they were in luxury, with four tents to shelter them at night. Though since he''d never seen rain in this place and the wind didn''t pick up enough, they didn''t really need much in the way of shelter, but it was a nice change nonetheless.


    The four disciples cooked real food over lux fires. They didn''t complain about hauling the packs full of scrolls and copybooks Chang-li had brought either. He had been worried about bringing so many of the precious scrolls, fearful that jostling and handling would ruin them. But so far, his fears were unfounded. As he translated the scrolls, Chang-li copied them fresh into new journals. Brother Stone and Disciple Shou could both read, as could Min and Joshi. Once the techniques were copied down, they poured over the documents as arduously as Chang-li had.


    "Time for a break," Joshi declared, getting up and heading for the camp.


    Chang-li followed him. It rankled, but they hadn''t been able to get anywhere. He''d even summoned Scribe Wulan, who had been no help whatsoever, just insulting Chang-li''s abilities and telling him any fool could manage such a simple pattern.


    Chang-li joined the rest of the party. Disciple Cui handed him a plate of rice wraps. He ate gratefully. Min was daintily eating with her left hand as she perused a journal with her right. It wasn''t one of the journals he had brought, but a fresh one, and the notes were in her handwriting.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "What are you reading?" Chang-li asked.


    "I took records from the Tradewinds Sect, not about their techniques, but about how they run their sect." Min looked up, half smiling. "By the time we''re done here, I''ll know how to be a proper sect administrator. Or at least how to fake it. It''s not so difficult,¡± she assured him. "I have experience with administration, both in the Brotherhood and watching my political family members. Plus, there''s a lot of housekeeping involved. I spent time as a girl with my mother managing the Governor''s household. I know a little bit about that."


    "I hope it''s a task that''s not repellent to you," Chang-li said.


    "Not at all. In fact, I''m finding it fascinating. It gives me something to think about while I''m cycling." She tilted her head to one side as she set the journal down. ¡°You looked frustrated."


    "I am," he admitted.


    He and Min shared a tent at night. It was expected of them. They slept fully clothed, with their backs to each other. He felt as though she was beginning to warm to him, but he didn''t know how to go about reaching important topics. Maybe he could start with opening up about his frustrations. "We''re supposed to be weaving green lux into our physical lux chords to start forming braids."


    Min rumbled her brow. "Why green?"


    ¡°My scroll said that''s how to do it,¡± Chang-li told her. ¡°But not why. It¡¯s like they assumed I understand that already.¡±


    Min listened intently as Chang-li confessed his difficulty in the technique. "I feel as though I don''t understand what the purpose of green lux is," he concluded. "There''s references here to other instructions and philosophies, but I don''t have them."


    To his surprise, Min frowned in concentration. She set aside the manual she had been perusing and dug into her sack.


    "That''s reminding me of something else I read. Let me see. Oh, here it is." She pulled out a thin book. "This is one I had copied at the library because I thought it sounded useful. It''s actually horribly dry," she confessed. "The Handbook for Junior Spouses, penned by Indigo Princess and ranking spouse of Tradewinds Sect, Leriona." She looked up from the cover, grinning. "Let''s just say your friend Princess Hiroko is nowhere near as stuck-up as this woman. It''s dated about 60 years ago, so I hope to never run into her. Anyway, it''s an instruction manual she''s written for newly married cultivator spouses joining their sect to teach them the duties expected of them. It sounded to me like it would be the perfect sort of thing, but she''s awful, so... But anyway," Min flipped through the pages until she found what she wanted. "Here we are. It''s one of the bits where she gets all ranty for a few pages." She cleared her throat and read.


    "And so we can see in the Emperor''s grand design a reflection of the natural order of things. For just as green lux joins the physical and spiritual, and so we call it life lux, so do cultivator spouses knit together the physical extensions of the Emperor''s will, those he has allowed to pursue cultivation, with the spiritual manifestation of his will that we see in the towers themselves."


    "I don''t get it," Chang-li said.


    "Hold on, there''s more," Min said. "That wasn''t the interesting part. ¡®For what is life but the merging of the physical and the spiritual? Only in living beings are the two forces so joined. This, then, is why we call green lux life lux, for it serves to bind the two together.¡¯¡±


    Chang-li rubbed his head.


    ¡°Oh, I think she was full of nonsense, too," Min said briskly. "All this business of the Emperor''s grand design, as though cultivator spouses are somehow a higher breed of human just because we happen to be descended from the Emperor. I understand what the purpose of saddling you cultivators with a spy beholden to the Emperor himself is. It''s to bind you down tight before you have a chance to do anything the Emperor doesn''t like. But when you were talking about your difficulty, I thought of her little rant here."


    Chang-li thought about it. "I''m not sure I understand any better," he confessed.


    "Well, it''s like oil and water," Min made hand gestures as though pouring liquids into a bowl. "They don''t mix.. You have to add something else to them, an emulsifier, if you want to combine them. It¡¯s like adding an egg to broth to keep the oil and water from separating. Sounds to me like green lux is there to bind together between the physical and the spirituals."


    Chang-li felt as though something dropped into place. "But green has its own uses and purposes," Chang-li protested. ¡°Green is for healing wounds.¡±


    Min shrugged. ¡°An egg has its own uses, but when you combine it with other things..."


    Chang-li swallowed his last bite of rice ball, brushed off his hands, and took up a cycling posture, letting lux flow freely through his body. His core was dense with it. He isolated out red and yellow and threaded them together as though performing his firepot technique, but he didn''t allow the chord to fully take place. He pulled out a thread of green and started to weave it into his chord.


    This time, instead of wrapping it around the existing chord, he loosened his grip on the lux and let it flow. The green seeped into the spaces between the red and the yellow naturally. Like a liquid, it flowed in and around the other lux.


    Chang-li let the braid dissipate. He turned to Min, excitement flooding him. "I think that''s it. You''ve given me the clue I needed."


    She beamed and clasped her hands together. ¡°Wonderful!¡±


    He leaned in without thinking and kissed her quickly, just a brush of his lips against hers, before pulling back. The disciples, who were now engaged in cleaning out the dinner pot, gave a whoop and a holler. Min turned bright pink. Chang-li cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, thank you. I''m going to¡­" He scrambled to his feet. "Joshi, I think I''ve figured something out." He hurried off, back up the dune, his face burning with embarrassment, but excitement filling him.


    He was one step closer to perfecting this technique. He was sure of it. Not only that, he felt like he was getting somewhere with Min as well.

 Bk 2 Ch 28: Cutting it Close

    Chang-li and Joshi stood atop a stretch of bare rock. This oasis barely deserved the name. A pool of water bubbled up from the center. Beside it lay the corpse of an enormous basilisk, its body all hard stone. It was on its back now, its underside scored with a dozen hits from Chang-li''s burning blade.


    Joshi was the one who had struck a killing blow. This was the seventh oasis protector they had faced. They had not gathered one of each color of token; they had two red and two orange and an assortment of other colors.


    It had been close to three weeks. If their calculations were right, it would have been almost two days on the other side, and the fourth floor would be opening in another two.


    "We need to leave now," Joshi insisted.


    "We have not mastered our new techniques," Chang-li protested. "I think we could give it another day or three.¡±


    ¡°We do not know how much time has passed on the outside. We cannot risk Feng entering the tower before us. Our disciples have all reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement. We have our techniques, even if we need to practice them. It¡¯s time to go.¡±


    "Min hasn''t,¡± Chang-li pointed out. She had started farther back than any of the disciples and had only reached her second core condensing.


    "She will not reach it before we must leave, and we should not take her onto the fourth floor anyway, not with Feng there to put her at risk."


    Joshi made a good point, but Min had taken to cultivating like a dog to water. She was up before anyone else, practicing her cycling, and stayed awake later than anyone else. She was using a technique scribe Wulan, of all people, had taught her. None of the basic Bodily Refinement techniques that Joshi and Chang-li knew had suited her. So they''d called up Scribe Wulan, and he had a suggestion for her. It was a lux bow with a solid red arrowhead that Chang-li was certain she could fill with yellow lux once she had better control of her lux manipulation.


    "She is a cultivator spouse, not a cultivator," Joshi said. "We would not take her, even if she was ready.¡±


    "You let Hiroko fight," Chang-li pointed out.


    "That was a matter of life and death. This is not. I think your thoughts are clouded by your feelings for Min. It does you credit, but she should not come with us."


    "In another week, Min will easily be as good as any of the other three disciples," Chang-li said stubbornly. "And we don''t have control of our abilities either."


    Chang-li had practiced his Firepot until he could do it one-handed, which would let him weave while using his sword with his other hand. He¡¯d also been practicing a training technique described in the scrolls, weaving together physical lux in a net and using it to hold spiritual lux in place. That would form the base for more complicated techniques later, assuming he could master it.


    He was worried that by not focusing on a specific technique to use immediately, he¡¯d be holding them back in their attempt to challenge for the tower boon. But everything he read cautioned that the foundation he laid now would serve him in the future. Take the time to lay it right, the scrolls urged, and you will go far.


    Joshi, on the other hand, was attempting to master two different abilities. The first was from a scroll that called it the Thousand Fists. By combining red lux with indigo and binding it together with green, Joshi could punch a target and have his punch reflected from several other directions at that same target. He was making progress on the braid, but had not been able to land it in practice yet.


    His second technique, Meteor Punch, he''d used to end this last Oasis Guardian fight, coming off the rock with a red lux-empowered leap, crashing down to earth with a wave of yellow and orange, smashing through the basilisk''s stony skull and splattering its diamond brains across the landscape. His attack had fractured the stone. Spiderweb cracks radiated out from where they stood now.


    "We cannot risk it any longer," Joshi insisted. "We''ll practice our techniques as we race to beat Feng. There''s not enough lux here to raise us to Peak of Mental Refinement. You must know that."


    Chang-li did. The feel of lux in the air was thinning every day. Already there was less violet than there had been when they entered. It was harder and harder to fill his core all the way up.


    Wulan had educated them on that, as well. "Well, of course you need a higher lux density. You are cultivators well past the Peak of Bodily Refinement. Look!" He had held out his arms. He was nearly translucent again. "Why, this lux can hardly sustain me. You must keep climbing. If it were possible to reach higher tiers on the first or second floor of a tower, why would anyone ever go deeper? No, you need to move on. Don''t summon me again until you''ve got more lux for me. This is like trying to drink air." He''d vanished and stubbornly refused to come out again.


    "We''re not ready to take on Feng," Chang-li insisted.


    "I am," Joshi snapped.


    Chang-li wove together lux. He started with red and yellow together, then layered it with green before at last slipping in a thin thread of blue lux. He''d had no luck yet working with indigo. Then he hurled it at Joshi. His technique was inelegant and imprecise. He much preferred using techniques based around his sword, but he wasn''t trying to hurt Joshi anyway.


    Joshi raised a red and orange gauntleted fist. Chang-li''s technique broke around his fist. The yellow burned at Joshi''s gauntlet as the blue lux tried to eat its way in like acid. Joshi snapped his fingers, his gauntlet, and Chang-li''s technique vanished.


    "We will never catch Feng here," Joshi said. "It will never be safe to go against him. If we are to do this thing, we need to take a risk."


    "Why do you care?" Chang-li challenged. "Why are you trying to make this sect real? Me, I''ve got myself in a bad situation, but you could just walk away."


    Joshi considered him. At last, he said, "Feng has challenged me. I will not walk away from that. Besides, he speaks of Hiroko as though she were a prize to be given, not a woman to be wooed. I... That is..." He looked away, clearing his throat. "He offends me. I will not run from him."


    It wasn''t a very convincing argument, but so be it. Chang-li took a breath. "All right. We find the floor guardian and we leave. We do whatever it takes to be ready for the fourth floor. I''ll explain to Min that she has to stay behind."


    Joshi bowed his head.  "I look forward to advancing at your side once more."Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "You are not going to leave me behind," Min insisted.


    "Keep your voice down," Chang-li urged. Their tent might block them from the curious stares of others, but it did nothing to stop sound. He didn''t like to think of the rest of the sect listening in as he and Min had a spat.


    Min glared at him but lowered her voice. "I''ve been working as hard at cultivating as any of the disciples. You''ve said so yourself."


    "You''ve made huge strides. You''ve gone further than Hiroko did in about the same amount of time."


    Her eyes narrowed. "So, she was in here with you. I knew it. How come she hasn''t reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, then?"


    "She had too strong an affinity for blue lux," Chang-li explained. "It hampers her advancement at the lower levels."


    "Oh," Min considered. "So, you admit that I am better at cultivating than an indigo princess, and better than the other disciples?"


    "They''re not true disciples," Chang-li hissed. "They''re your people."


    "You were the one telling the rest of us that this was as real as we make it," Min said.


    Chang-li sighed. "Yes, all right. They are true disciples now, and they''re cultivating alongside the rest of us. But the point is, we don''t even know what we''re going to face on the fourth floor, except that Feng wants Joshi dead. With you not even at the Peak of Bodily Refinement, you''ll be a liability, not an asset. We can''t risk it. Besides, I very much doubt any other cultivator spouses will be going along.¡±


    ¡°Because there aren''t any in the camp," Min pointed out. "Old Lady Moon Whispers, yes, but she and the grandmaster are too high level to enter the floor. None of the other Young Masters have married. Cultivator spouses are expected to climb alongside their husbands or wives, maybe a step or two behind. Think how ridiculous it would be if you were at the Peak of Spiritual Refinement and I haven''t even reached Physical."


    "That won''t happen," Chang-li promised. "It''s just this race to gain the tower. I ¡ª I¡¯ll fight better if I¡¯m not worried about protecting you.¡±


    Min sighed, her shoulders slumped. "Fine," she said.


    Chang-li hadn''t expected her to give in that quickly. "Really?"


    "If I make it to the Peak of Bodily Refinement before we find the way out, then I''ll argue my case again," Min said. "But to be honest, there''s a lot I need to be doing outside of the tower to establish our sect, and this is too good an opportunity for me to pass up. When I send word to my grandfather that I''ve raised four of our loyal brothers to the Peak of Bodily Refinement already, and they have a path to the next step as well, well, that''ll redeem any mistake he thinks I''ll have made."


    A brief stir of hope made Chang-li ask, "Will he pay our sect debt?"


    Min hesitated. "I don''t know if he''ll go that far, and I don''t think we should ask him, not unless we have to. The threads tying our sect to Oaken Band are already strong, very strong. But so far the tapestry of obligation is in the correct balance.  I''ve been thinking about it myself, and I think that this is the best way I could possibly prove myself to my grandfather, by helping you and Joshi make this sect into something. I''m not going to do that by trying to put chains on you. You''ll see that the Oaken Band can be valuable allies, but we do not want to make ourselves their slaves."


    Chang-li was touched by Min''s resolve. He took her hand and squeezed it. Her fingers were warm against his. He didn''t know what to say. They''d been together inside the tower cultivating for probably three weeks now, and some of the awkwardness felt like it had melted away, but they still hadn''t spoken of the gulf that lay between them.


    Min looked down. "Promise me you''ll be careful. Feng will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and right now he wants Hiroko. Joshi is in his way, and if you''re standing beside him, Feng won''t hesitate to strike you as well."


    "I know," Chang-li said. He squeezed her hand. "But being a cultivator means taking risks, and this is one that I have to take."


    To his surprise, when they entered the floor guardian''s chamber, Chang-li saw only a haze filling the room, no sign of his friends. He groped through it, found the door on the other side, stepped out, and found himself outside the tower, standing there with Joshi. He looked around in alarm. "Where are the others?"


    "Speaking with the guardian," Joshi said.


    "Why aren''t we?"


    Joshi shrugged. "It seems you can only receive a floor boon once, or so Magen tells me." The lux creature hovering over his shoulder pulsed in agreement before dissipating into a cloud of thinning sparks. A moment later, Disciple Cui emerged, followed by the other two, then Brother Stone. They were wide-eyed with excitement.


    The disciples had all received enhancements to their basic technique. Disciple Yang and Shou were patterning themselves on Joshi and using bare fists, while Brother Stone continued focusing on his staff, and Cui was trying to learn to use yellow lux, similarly to Chang-li. All four of them seemed to have gotten guidance from the floor guardian. Cui in particular now had direction for his yellow lux, a technique to combine it with red into a spike he could rip out of stone and throw at enemies. Or at least, he swore he¡¯d be able to once he had more lux in his core. Already they were nearly drained.


    It was a lesser boon than what Chang-li had received, but they''d been expecting that since they hadn''t gotten a full set of colors in their tokens.


    At last, just as Chang-li was starting to worry, Min stumbled out. She looked shaken.


    "You all right?" Chang-li asked, hurrying over to her.


    She set a hand on his arm. "That wasn''t quite what I was expecting," she said.


    "What was your floor boon?"


    "He gave me insight," Min said.


    "What does that mean?"


    She shook her head. "I''ll talk to you later. We should hurry back before someone sees us here."


    Chang-li thought it unlikely that anyone would happen past and notice them. The exit here was some distance from the path back up the mountainside, screened by trees, so even if a caravan happened to be passing, it was unlikely they''d be noticed. But they were wasting time. She led the way, and they scrambled along. It took three hours to reach the camp. By the time they did enter the camp, they found it in a commotion in the forecourt by the bridge over the chasm. As they crossed the bridge into the camp, the guards came to attention.


    "Halt! We must send word to the magistrate."


    Joshi and Chang-li exchanged a look. Had their secret been uncovered? Should they attempt to flee?


    Min stepped forward. "What''s the matter, Sergeant? I didn¡¯t realize you were on gate duty this week. Good to see you got that promotion.¡±


    The soldier stood a little straighter. "Magistrate said to send word as soon as you had returned. You are to wait here until he does."


    Min nodded. ¡°Understood, but we have a lot of belongings. May I send word for porters to assist us?"


    "Certainly, lady. So long as the Young Master and your ranking disciples remain.¡±


    She turned and spoke with Brother Stone, who broke off from the group and raced up into the camp.


    Quicker than Chang-li had expected, the magistrate came puffing down the steps from the upper camp, two of his attendants in his wake. He looked at them wide-eyed.


    "Then you didn''t flee?"


    "We were on a training trip," Joshi said. "As we stated when we filed our requisitions in the magistrate''s office."


    "Yes, yes," the magistrate waved a hand. "But you''re late. We thought your sect had perhaps decided to flee. Word is that Young Master Feng made some pointed threats. At any rate, the fourth floor was opened three hours ago. All of the others have already gone ahead."


    He and Joshi exchanged a worried look. Time must have passed faster inside the tower than Chang-li had expected.  ¡°We will go at once.¡±


    ¡°The Inquisitor said if you reach the tower by noon you will be allowed in.¡±


    Chang-li craned his neck skyward as a pair of Brotherhood men appeared on Brother Stone¡¯s heels, Min stepped forward and gestured at the sacks full of scrolls that Chang-li and the others had been carrying. ¡°Leave these here and run to the house. Bring back the cultivation supplies as quickly as you can.."


    It was nearly noon now. They needed to hurry.


    "We have no time to waste," Joshi said. "We must get to the tower."


    ¡°You¡¯ll need supplies,¡± Min pointed out as the brotherhood porters hauled the precious sacks of scrolls away.


    Joshi nodded, turning away and studying the sky. In minutes, the Brotherhood men returned laden down with packs of rations.


    Chang-li slung a heavy sack across his shoulders. ¡°Thank you,¡± he told Min.


    "Good luck.¡± She stepped close to Chang-li and squeezed his hand, then leaned forward and brushed her lips against his cheek. "Be careful. Don''t underestimate Feng."


    He squeezed her hand back. She broke away and smiled proudly at them as Joshi led the way back across the bridge, the disciples following him, and Chang-li bringing up the rear.


    His heart pounded. It was time at last to set himself against cultivators. Not true cultivators, he realized, as they started up the path, up the mountain. Other cultivators, because he was one himself now. He would do his part to help prove the Morning Mist sect was back.

 Bk 2 Ch 29: First Challenge

    As Chang-li and his companions entered the gash in the third floor of the tower, the Inquisitor and several guards awaited them. "I was beginning to think your sect was not going to attend this," the Inquisitor said, frowning as he looked them over.


    A team of bureaucrats in brown robes that hung open over their tunics and pants were unpacking crates full of equipment, crystals set in delicate metal wires. The largest were half as tall as Chang-li, bound up in copper. The smallest, the size of his thumb, sparkling from a thousand facets and bound in gold. All of the workers bore a badge on their robes showing a tower breaking a beam of light into the seven colors. These must be the lux technicians who would take over once the tower guardian was persuaded to open his stores.


    "I do not back down from a challenge," Joshi told the Inquisitor.


    "Very well. Come with me."


    The Inquisitor led them deeper into the tower along a marked path toward the secondary spire. Chang-li had seen it before, of course. The inner spire was a shard of pure jet black stone jutting thirty feet upward from the jungle surroundings like a tooth. Always before, it had been surrounded by a swirling barrier of lux. Now the barrier was gone and a door stood open at the base of the spire.


    "That''s the way up," the Inquisitor told them. "I will tell you what I told the others. You may begin the attempt to persuade this tower guardian to set aside its defenses and allow the Emperor''s Own Lux Corps to enter and harvest the bounty of the tower. In exchange, one of you may receive the tower''s boon, and all of you will be judged and commended based on your performance here. Good luck. And remember, the emperor''s eyes see all. Conduct yourselves in a way that pleases him. But remember, the Emperor favors those who prove themselves with their strength. Should you be attacked and fall here, then we will know you did not have the Emperor''s favor."


    Chang-li''s mouth was suddenly dry. Joshi bowed his head. ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°I warn you. We are invoking the Rule of Primacy. There are several exits from the fourth floor all of which will return you here, to this spot. You may choose to make use of those exits at any time, but no one will be permitted to re-enter the fourth floor until the tower boon has been claimed or all cultivators who entered the floor have left or been killed. Is that clear?"


    "We are ready," Brother Stone growled, clenching his quarterstaff between his hands. Chang-li could sense his cycling, as relentless and smooth as water flowing past boulders. Brother Stone and the other Oaken Band disciples didn''t have quite the flair for cultivation that Joshi did, but they were solid men and Chang-li was glad to have them at his back.


    The Inquisitor held out a bag, from which he drew a steel bracelet. He offered it to Joshi, who took it, then flung it to the ground with a curse. "What is this?"


    "It''s a lux inhibitor," the Inquisitor said, looking surprised. "Surely, Young Master Joshi, you have worked with lux inhibitors before."


    "I know their touch." Joshi stared at the device as though it were a venomous snake he''d just found in his slipper.


    "The lux density on the fourth floor is intense. It may overwhelm anyone not yet at the Peak of Mental Refinement, and it certainly will destroy anyone who has merely touched the Peak of Bodily Refinement," the Inquisitor said. "These will reduce the lux levels to a tolerable state. While you, Young Master Joshi, may be able to do without, your disciples certainly will not."


    "Very well," Joshi said, still scowling. "Take the bands."


    The Inquisitor handed one to each disciple, then gave another to Chang-li. The touch of the metal was cold against his palm. It felt heavier than it should. He put it around his wrist, and it was as though all of his senses dulled. The presence of lux, which had been a comforting weight against Chang-li''s senses, suddenly died away. It was like being outside the tower entirely. He cycled his lux, but it responded sluggishly.


    He took the bracelet off and sighed in relief as the sense of sluggishness faded. "I can''t cycle or use my techniques with that on."


    "You will find on the fourth floor it is a help, not a hindrance," the Inquisitor told him.


    Chang-li hesitated, then slipped the bracelet into his satchel. He bowed to the Inquisitor. "Thank you for your help and advice.¡±


    Joshi turned away from the bracelet that still lay on the ground. As the Inquisitor withdrew, Chang-li approached him and spoke quietly enough that the disciples wouldn''t hear.  "Perhaps you should keep it in case you are overwhelmed."


    "I will never have an inhibitor touch my body again," Joshi snarled. "Not even to save my own life."


    Chang-li remembered the collar Joshi had borne as a slave. It must be the same technology. He sympathized, and even though his practical mind was telling him to pick up the bracelet and keep it in case Joshi changed his mind later, he left it to lie where it was.


    Joshi turned and disappeared into the entrance. The Brotherhood men followed. Last of all, Chang-li stepped through into blackness.


    He emerged in a stone chamber. Red light emanated from the ceiling, casting everything crimson, washing out their skin tones and giving a bloody cast to their robes. Five different exits branched off from the chamber. The chamber itself had no decoration or features, just plain dressed stone. There were no icons or signs of which path to take.


    "What should we do?" Brother Stone asked, turning on the spot to look at each of the paths.


    "We go forward," Joshi said. He pointed to the rightmost path. "We start here, and if it proves a dead end, we backtrack and take the next one."


    Chang-li cycled. The corridor was rife with lux, far more than Chang-li had ever felt at the cultivator library. It was predominantly red, with traces of orange and hardly anything else that he could sense. He cycled it as it rushed in through him. It felt like he was holding back a flood. Joshi¡¯s teeth were clenched.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The disciples seemed to be doing well. Chang-li slipped the bracer that the Inquisitor had given him around his wrist. Immediately, the lux torrent subsided, becoming a trickle, but a trickle of this mighty flood was still more than he had experienced before. He cycled it easily now, letting the red lux slip through his veins.


    "They''ll be all right," he told Joshi in a low voice, before taking the bracer off and putting it back in his bag. ¡°The inhibitor works.¡±


    Joshi raised an eyebrow. ¡°And you?¡±


    "I need to push myself," Chang-li told him. "I need to learn to use the techniques that will help us reach the Peak of Mental Refinement."


    "Then we need to get a move," Joshi said. "Feng has been here for hours now. Let''s hurry." He set off down the corridor as Chang-li followed.


    At first, it was all he could do to cycle and walk at the same time. The disciples behind him kept up a low stream of chatter. Brother Stone was reminding the others to keep practicing their cycling techniques. They were elated at how much red lux there was here and how easy it was to work with.


    The Morning Mist scrolls he had read had made one thing very clear to him. The purpose of a cultivator seeking to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement was to master his body and become acclimated to lux moving throughout his channels and in his core. Lux was, after all, toxic to living creatures. Only by mastering cycling patterns and refining his body had Chang-li been able to attune himself to lux so that he could use it freely without worrying about it destroying his physical body.


    A Mental Refinement stage cultivator was doing the same to his mind. Just as lux was inimical to the physical body, causing it to break down and create toxins which had to be purified, so too was it hostile to the mind. From what he had read, Chang-li knew that he could expect to encounter several side effects at this stage, anything from hallucinations to rejections of reality. He must impose control on his own mind.


    To start, he began a technique the scrolls had referred to as the Mind¡¯s Wall. It was compared to a cycling technique, but instead of moving lux from his core throughout his body in certain prescribed patterns, he instead must seek to raise his core into his mind. The core¡¯s natural location was in the midriff; only a cultivator who already had control of his own body and exquisite mental focus could move the core elsewhere.


    He let himself become aware of his core, studying on only it and the next step he was taking in the dim, red-lit tunnel. He deliberately excluded everything else from his awareness: the disciples whispering behind him, the weight of a pack on his back, Joshi a few steps ahead.


    He focused himself on his core, imagining it rising from the pit of his stomach up toward his mind, until he felt as though his core was behind his eyes. Then, still visualizing the core resting somewhere inside his skull, he began to cycle a very simple technique, merely pushing red lux from his core out through his lux channels and venting it. There was so much around, he didn''t mind wasting the lux.


    It was far harder than he had expected, like pushing a rope up a steep hill. He gritted his teeth and kept on. He found the lux which flowed down through his arms to be the easiest. As soon as it was to his shoulders, it followed familiar channels. The lux he was trying to push down from his repositioned core into his stomach fought him every step of the way as it flowed the wrong direction.


    There was a shout from one of the disciples. Chang-li lost his concentration. His core dropped back into the pit of his stomach. It bounced as it settled there, sending a wave of nausea and unvariegated lux through him. He dropped instinctively into Purification of Mind and Soul, cycling lux rapidly throughout his body as he turned, all in less than a second.


    The disciples and Brother Stone had dropped back in the corridor, leaving him and Joshi four body lengths ahead. He saw what had caught their attention.


    Red lux, visible to his plain eyes, ran along the edges of the wall. It crackled, breaking apart like lightning as it sketched out outlines of shapes. The shapes began to move, and then bodies tore themselves from the wall.


    Six forms broke out of the wall, creatures born of stone and animated with red lightning. They were about shoulder high to Chang-li, bulbous and misshapen with arms and legs out of proportion to their enormous heads. They were vaguely manlike, but in no way men. Their heads emerged last, and they all had red eyes and gaping, perfectly circular mouths lined with sharp teeth. They raised their arms, all of which ended in sharp, red-tinged hooks. These creatures were manifestations of lux.


    "Don''t wait for them!" Joshi shouted and rushed forward, his hand gleaming with the red gauntlet as he formed it. He had a single orange spike on the front of his gauntlet, about as long as Chang-li''s longest finger. He must be trying to conserve lux.


    Chang-li started to call his Firepot technique, but he had so little orange and yellow lux. Instead, he opened his soul space and pulled out his sword. He hadn''t done much practice with it on the first floor, as he''d been concentrating on training and translating. But as he seized the sword''s hilt in his left hand, memories of his training session with the brothers'' shades at the cultivator library leapt to him.


    He channeled red lux through his sword. It wasn''t as good a match as orange would be; instead of making the blade strike harder or cut deeper, it would just strengthen it. As he leaned forward and slashed his blade down hard on one outstretched red and black arm, he was glad of it. The impact of the strike sent reverberations all up his arm, putting his teeth on edge. These creatures were as hard as the stone they''d been ripped from.


    Joshi drove a punch into the abdomen of the creature to Chang-li''s right. As Chang-li whipped his sword around for a decapitation move, his target ducked. His sword whistled past its head. He arrested his swing and struck back. The blade barely bit into the creature¡¯s head, but it hit like a club and drove it to its knees.


    Meanwhile, the disciples were in a knot, back to back, surrounded by four more creatures. Chang-li focused on the one he fought. He''d help the disciples when he could. For now, he slashed with his sword. Chips flew off of his target. Joshi was driving his own punch again at the creature that he fought. Now he had it on the ground. Joshi punched downward as Chang-li hacked again. Their targets crumbled into pebbles.


    Not wasting time, Chang-li leapt forward to assist the disciples. As he did, his foot seemed to catch. He went sprawling. He thought he heard a mocking laugh and felt something grabbing his foot.


    Chang-li whirled, slashing with his sword, trying to sever the limb he''d felt reach out from the wall to grab his ankle. Joshi was there, his hand catching Chang-li''s sword hand and pulling it back. "No!"


    Chang-li didn''t understand why his ally had just stopped him from freeing himself. He yanked hard, the hand gripping his sword slipping through Joshi''s red lux gauntlet. He roared with anger, bringing it around, ready to sever Joshi''s hand above the wrist if he was going to betray him like this.


    Then Chang-li caught himself. He took a deep, cleansing, shuddering breath as the sword fell away from his hand, and his vision seemed to clear. There was no grasping arm out from the wall. He''d tripped over a piece of the rubble, gone flying.


    His mind was playing tricks on him, as he¡¯d been warned. The increased lux density here was playing tricks, and he¡¯d nearly sliced Joshi¡¯s arm off.


    He leapt up. Joshi was already past him, racing toward the disciples. They¡¯d gotten one of their four down and were surrounding the other three. Joshi dove in to help them.


    Chang-li snatched the bracer from inside his bag and put it on his wrist, blocking out the raging lux all around, bringing it down to a tolerable level. He didn''t dare lose control of himself. With the lux torrent tamed down to a trickle, he hurried to help dispatch the other creatures.


    In seconds, the corridor was quiet again. Only their ragged breathing echoed about. Pieces of rock strewed the floor.


    Joshi straightened up, dismissing his gauntlet. "Everyone all right?"


    They all nodded.


    "I think we have reached the end," Joshi said, turning back toward the front of the corridor. He strode forward a little, Chang-li following him, and they came to a blank wall. Joshi slammed a fist against it. It reverberated under his fist. "Yes, we retreat," he declared.


    They set off back down the corridor.

 Bk 2 Ch 30: Deeper in

    Chang-li knew they were on the right path when the deep crimson color of the light in the tunnels began shading to orange. He was practicing Mind''s Wall as they proceeded, his inhibitor off, riding in his satchel where he could grab it easily if he needed to. Now he sipped at the lux, passing it through his core and purifying it. Yes, there was definitely orange flavoring the dominant red lux now.


    They had fought another three packs of the stone creatures, each similar to the first. After the first, they''d learned to spot the warning signs of lux gathering in the walls around them and defeated the pack easily. Now Joshi slowed. Chang-li came up behind him.


    The corridor had ended not on a blank wall, but an opening. The room beyond glowed like a fire.


    "I hear something," Joshi warned. "Be ready." He stepped inside.


    Chang-li donned his band and followed, the disciples on their heels. He found himself in a round room like the one they''d first come in. Five tunnels branched off. In the center of the floor was a well-like opening with a ladder sticking up from it. All around the room were more of the stone beasts. These ones were taller, close to shoulder height on Chang-li. There were eight of them, and they all carried weapons: clubs covered in spiky orange protrusions, spears, and in one case, a sword.


    The stone creatures turned as they entered, but Joshi leapt. The roof here was tall enough to allow him to empower his leap with red, and he came down in their midst with an explosion of red lux as he used the Meteor Punch technique he had been learning. Chang-li lost himself briefly in a moment of admiration before realizing what he was doing. He drew his sword and channeled orange and red into it, then rushed forward as the creatures converged on Joshi.


    Joshi''s gauntlet had three orange spikes this time. He punched, and an illusory second pale orange fist appeared behind the creature he was punching and connected. That was his Thousand Fists technique. When they had practiced on the first floor, there hadn''t been any kind of visual indicator like that. The higher lux density here must be affecting his technique.


    The disciples rushed in. Brother Stone¡¯s quarterstaff glowed orange. The other three used basic red lux techniques to strengthen their bodies and protect themselves.


    Chang-li swung his sword down. The orange-reinforced blade sliced through the limb of the stone creature he was attacking, severing it. The creature turned on him, growling with a noise of grinding stone. It bit at his arm. Chang-li dodged back. The teeth closed on a piece of his sleeve and ripped. This one had sharp teeth, enforced with orange lux to become blades.


    Chang-li swung his sword again and took another chunk out of the rock creature. Brother Stone was beside him, whirling his quarterstaff and shouting. He smashed the butt end of the staff onto the creature''s midsection and shattered it into pebbles.


    Chang-li raced on toward the next, even as Joshi aimed another punch at the one closest to him. He roared in frustration as the dual blows landed without destroying the creature.


    Chang-li was focused on his own problems. His sword was effective here, but this was slow. They were hacking and chopping the enemies to bits, one at a time. He couldn¡¯t channel as much lux into his sword as he wanted, not with the inhibitor on.


    Disciple Yang and Shou had one of them backing up toward an exit corridor. "Don''t get separated," Chang-li warned as he aimed his sword at the neck of one stone beast. It went halfway through and stuck. He yanked, but the sword wouldn''t budge, there wasn¡¯t enough lux left for it to slide through the stone. The monstrous creature grabbed him with incredibly strong fingers, holding onto his left arm.


    Chang-li shaped red into his Firepot and filled it with the tiny reserve of yellow in his core. He threw it right into the creature''s face. It exploded with a gout of flame. The creature fell back, falling to the floor. Chang-li leapt in and grabbed the hilt of his sword with both hands. He wrenched it free, then drove the point back down into the creature''s open, wailing mouth. It shattered into pebbles.


    He turned. Joshi had dispatched two of them already and was on a third. Brother Stone had one distracted on the other side of the room, and the disciples were playing with another pair. Chang-li raced for Brother Stone, who was the closest, and helped him finish off his monster. Then they hurried toward the disciples. The pair of rock monsters facing the disciples had their arms extended and grasping. The tips of their fingers ended in sharp orange spikes. They had slashed a deep cut on Shou''s face, and Yang''s robes were in tatters.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Chang-li roared as he helped them destroy the last of thier creatures, then turned to see Joshi had just finished his. As the last of the enemies dissolved into the gravel, Chang-li sheathed his sword and took a deep breath.


    Joshi glanced around at the team. "We rest," he said. "We¡¯ve made progress. It''s been long enough, we should take a break." He unslung his pack and sat down before digging through for rations.


    Chang-li followed suit. The disciples collapsed to the floor beside the wall.


    "What do you suppose that is?" Yang said, gesturing to the ladder sticking up from the center of the room.


    "One of the exits the Inquisitor mentioned, no doubt," Joshi said. "We seem to have reached some sort of crossroads. I presume we will have to pass through all seven colors to reach the tower guardian."


    "There''s no sign of anyone else here," Brother Stone observed, looking at the pile of gravel that had been monsters a few minutes ago. "Maybe the others went a different way."


    "Possibly," Joshi said. "Or it is possible these creatures will pull themselves back together after some amount of time has passed. I don''t think we will wait around to find that out. Eat, drink, and cycle."


    He withdrew into himself. His lux creature appeared. It did that sometimes, going invisible in a fight and then visible again when things calmed down. Now it hovered over his shoulder and pulsed as Chang-li found his own rations. He ate and started to cycle.


    Brother Stone finished his and slung his own satchel. "We''ve got enough supplies for perhaps a week and a half," he said.


    "We may be able to supplement our rations with beasts we kill," Joshi suggested.


    "Not if they''re made of stone," Disciple Shou said.


    "How perceptive of you. How is your cycling coming?" Joshi demanded.


    The disciple colored. "Well enough." He ducked his head and focused on finishing the last of his ration bar.


    Joshi turned to Chang-li. "You wore the inhibitor in combat again."


    Chang-li nodded. "I did."


    "You are hampering yourself.¡±


    ¡°I nearly cut your hand off before. I can''t risk that happening in combat. I''m practicing my Mind''s Wall defense whenever we''re not fighting.¡±


    ¡°Have you been able to try your new technique?"


    Now it was Chang-li''s turn to look away, embarrassed. "No, but there''s no green lux here," he added quickly. "I saw in the last fight you have Thousand Fists working."


    Joshi snorted. "Two fists more like it, and barely that. I need more."


    Chang-li remembered the other lesson he¡¯d be trying. ¡°The meditation technique that I shared with you, centering your core somewhere else in your body. Have you made any progress with that?"


    "For a few minutes at a time. Not in combat yet. It feels too unfamiliar."


    "Yes," Chang-li said. " I don''t think you¡¯re meant to move your core permanently. I think that''s just a meditation technique.¡±


    "It does not feel like it''s doing enough for me," Joshi said. "Were there any other techniques?"


    There was one that Chang-li had translated shortly before they left the first floor. He hesitated because he hadn''t brought the book along. ¡°It¡¯s less of a technique and more of an image of using your core as a shell around your mind to protect you from the ravages of wild lux so that anything entering your mind must pass through your core and be purified.¡±


    "Hmm," Joshi said. "And how would that work?"


    "I don''t know," Chang-li admitted in frustration. "The scroll was complicated, and I only translated portions of it. There was one exercise it recommended for anyone working on Mental Refinement. It said to imagine your core spinning, first slowly, then faster and faster."


    "Spinning in what direction?"


    "First spin it like a top," Chang-li motioned with his fingers, making a circle with his index finger from side to side. "Then spin it top to bottom," he rolled his hands about each other, demonstrating. "And then, to imagine both at the same time, all the while increasing the speed, faster and faster, until your core is a rainbow ball of spinning light. Then raise that to your mind and practice your techniques from there."


    "That does not sound like a technique you will be able to practice wearing that inhibitor," Joshi said.


    Chang-li frowned a moment then pulled off and set it on the floor beside him. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine his core spinning. It was harder than it looked. After a few minutes, feeling exhausted, he opened his eyes. Joshi was sitting cross-legged with his own eyes closed, concentrating. To Chang-li''s amazement, the lux creature Magen was spinning just the way he had described to Joshi for spinning his core. He let out a cry of surprise.


    Joshi''s eyes flew open. Magen ceased its movement. "What''s wrong?"


    "Nothing. Sorry." Chang-li shook his head. "It''s just Magen was spinning, I think, in harmony with you."


    "Really?" Joshi peered at the little lux creature floated between them. Joshi turned himself to face it and then resumed his cycling posture. "I''m going to try again.¡± Magen began to spin. This time Joshi kept his eyes open. "He is reflecting me. How fascinating. And when I achieved Bodily Refinement, he seemed to become more solid. Is it possible he is somehow connected to my core?"


    Chang-li shrugged. "You are bonded. I don''t know much about lux creatures except to hear that they are coveted by cultivators. Maybe there''s something about them in the Morning Mist records that I haven''t translated yet."

 Bk 2 Ch 31: Orange

    The orange corridors posed a new threat. When the orange lux first gathered in the walls around them, Chang-li slipped on his limiting bracer and prepared himself. Sharp, spiky light filled the air around them, dazzling him. He sensed the attack just in time and threw himself to the side. Daggers stabbed out of the air at him, some passing within inches of his face. Chang-li drew his sword and knocked them away.


    Joshi had his gauntlet on one fist and a small orange shield on his other, which he used to protect himself from attacks. The disciples huddled behind Brother Stone, who spun his staff dexterously. It was bright with orange lux, knocking the wave of blades from the air. As soon as any blade touched another weapon or shield, it dissolved into orange shards falling to the floor, the tinkling of glass breaking.


    No sooner had the last of the daggers vanished than a swirling pair of axes appeared, tumbling in midair straight toward the disciples. Chang-li sprang forward, slashing. His sword struck one of the axes. He could feel the orange lux being sucked out of his blade and he replenished it as fast as he could, cycling rapidly. Joshi punched. When his orange-tipped gauntlet struck the other blade, it too dissolved.


    The disciples were here, shouting, facing back down the corridor, the direction they''d come from. Chang-li saw the spinning blades coming up toward them. Brother Stone stepped forward, spinning his staff, and knocked one out of the air, but five more short daggers flew past him toward the disciples. Disciple Yang and Shou had glowing red gauntlets similar to Joshi''s. They struck at the orange blades. Chang-li saw their punches hit, but the blows did nothing but knock the blades a bit off-course. Disciple Yang twisted out of the way just in time, but Disciple Shou was struck in the upper arm. He fell back, clasping his shoulder and shouting.


    Disciple Cui had been resorting to using a small wooden truncheon in the previous fights since he was out of orange lux. He flailed blindly and connected to a pair of the blades, shattering them.


    "Orange lux or weapons," Joshi snarled. "There''s plenty of orange lux out there. Use it."


    They were under attack again already. Shards of lux crunched under Chang-li''s feet as he shifted his weight the way the ghost brothers had taught him to meet the next attack, a pair of long orange pole arms. He slashed across the hilt of the first, ducked under it, came up around, and knocked the other to the side. He was certain he''d hit both, but neither dissolved. It took a second hit from Joshi to dissipate these weapons.


    "Orange!" Joshi was snarling at the disciples. Yang and Shou were flailing against weapons, mostly hiding behind Cui and Brother Stone. "Weave orange into your red. We''ll be out of red soon anyway," Joshi ordered.


    The disciples were doing their best to comply, but the pressure from the weapon attacks wasn''t giving up. There had to be something more to this. Chang-li pulled off his bracer and let it drop. Waves of lux flowed into him, overwhelming him. He cycled desperately, practicing Mind''s Wall as he fended off a sharp barbed trident that was coming to him with the persistence of an angry bee. Joshi punched and struck two knives at the same time with his Thousand Fists technique.


    The disciples were back to back now, Cui and Brother Stone protecting the other two as they desperately tried to adapt their techniques. Joshi had spent time on the first floor with each of them, teaching them how to combine red and orange, but it seemed in the heat of battle they were struggling. Chang-li was struggling too. The lux pressure on him was intense. His mind reeled. How was Joshi managing this with no assistance at all?


    He began to spin his core, fending off attacks with his sword, doing no more than defending himself. Joshi was darting about the corridor, punching, springing back. Something about this encounter was bothering Chang-li. His readings and the time he''d spent in the tower made him suspect there was more to towers than merely breaking lumos down into lux that could be collected by cultivators and technicians. The guardians he had encountered seemed sentient, in their own ways. There was an intelligence at work here.


    This floor was testing Peak of Mental Refinement stage cultivators, those who were seeking to even now ward their minds against the influences of lux. In the first section, their opponents had relied purely on physical attack, powered by red lux. Here, they were facing the very personification of weapons, which could be defeated only by other weapons or orange lux.


    Chang-li felt his defenses slide into place. The world around him shimmered. Without even his seeking it, his core rose in him. Now, it was as though his eyes and his lux vision were one, his core spinning away madly behind his forehead. And he saw.


    He saw the lines of pure orange lux running through the walls of this place until they reached concentration points, then gathered themselves into the the flying weapons. All it took was a touch of orange lux.


    Chang-li banished his sword back into his soul space. He gathered up some of his remaining yellow lux and wove a new Firepot technique, a delicate chord of yellow wrapping around a solid orange core. Then, as another huge wave of thrown daggers and heavy axes came at them from both directions, he shouted, "Everyone, down!"


    Joshi and Brother Stone reacted at once, dropping to their knees. Brother Stone tugged on the robes of Disciple Shou standing next to him. Disciple Yang and Cui followed as Chang-li released his technique in all directions.


    It wasn''t elegant or focused. It didn''t need to be. The yellow lux shot out from him, then broke apart, orange lux exploded as tiny darts flying in all directions. Whenever one of the darts hit a weapon, the weapon shattered.


    That wasn''t what he was aiming at. More of the darts struck the orange lines on the wall and the concentration points from which the weapons were coming. The walls dimmed and went dark, leaving them in deep shadow, with only the faintest orange trace around.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Chang-li fell back, gasping for breath. His core dropped back down to his stomach. He cycled Purification of Mind and Soul, desperately warding off the effects of the lux all around him. To his surprise, it was easier than ever.


    Joshi looked down at him, nodding approvingly. ¡°You have pierced the first veil.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I feel like I can tell my own mind from the influence of the lux all around me.¡±


    ¡°Well done. You saw through the trick. I did not."


    "Those are collector points for the lux," Chang-li said, indicating the burned spots on the wall. "Destroy them and the lux can''t take shape around us."


    Joshi formed a single orange lux spike, extending out from between the second and third fingers on his right hand. "Now I know what to look for," he said.


    When Chang-li had caught his breath, he went over to the disciples. Yang and Shou were practicing their technique. They both looked abashed, bowing before Chang-li and muttering apologies. He waved them away. "Keep practicing," he told them. "It''s easier in practice. The more you do, the more natural it will be when you fight."


    He stooped, picked up the bracer, and stowed it away in his bag.


    "I do not think you will be needing that anymore," Joshi said.


    Chang-li wasn''t certain about that. He had definitely made progress. If this level of understanding was why Joshi had been able to resist the lux levels all along, that was promising. "I''ll keep it in reserve," he said.


    They marched on. With the secret of the orange tunnels unlocked, their only worry was running low on red. The deeper they pushed into orange, the less red was available to them. Chang-li cycled dutifully, stockpiling as much as he could. Now he began to find traces of yellow, a sign they were approaching the end of this section.


    He and the others adopted a strategy, using weapons infused with orange to fight off the blades and arrows that attacked them out of the darkness, while Joshi sought out and destroyed the lux concentration points.


    Joshi was by far the most skilled with using orange lux. Chang-li could run it through his sword or wrap it in one of the colors he did feel comfortable with and fling it indiscriminately. That was about it.


    He kept working on the training pattern. From Magen¡¯s appearance as they walked, so did Joshi. The tunnels were definitely becoming more yellow in hue, so Chang-li wasn''t surprised as they reached another crossroad chamber.


    He and Joshi peered through the door. The guardians here were the red and black stone monstrosities they''d faced before, now man-tall and armed with orange weapons and a yellow gleam in their eyes.


    "It''s not fair," Shou complained in a low voice. "We haven''t got that much red at our disposal."


    "The tower does not care about fair. The tower determines fitness," Joshi told him. "Besides, that means when we kill them, there will be red lux available to us. Seize that if you can." He turned to Chang-li. "With twelve of them, we will need to keep them busy while killing a few as fast as possible. That will give me the red lux I need. What about you?"


    Chang-li had his sword out, glowing with orange. "Do you see a lux concentration point?" He was using Mind''s Wall but couldn''t quite drop into that layered vision he''d managed during the first fight with the lux''s weapons.


    "I do not think they will have such a weakness," Joshi said. "We must fight them as honest men."


    Brother Stone said, "We''ll keep our backs to the wall and try not to get in your way. At the very least, we should be able to distract a few of them while you''re taking on the rest. I suppose that''s what disciples are meant to do.¡±


    Chang-li nodded. "Then let''s go."


    Joshi leapt into the room, opening with his Meteor Punch jump. As before, it attracted the attention of the creatures in the room nicely. Chang-li followed. He slashed and hacked and had one of the dark monsters down in seconds. The lux spooled off of it. He hadn''t bothered harvesting lux from their kills before, since there''d been plenty of ambient lux of that color at his disposal, but now, starved for red, he seized a portion of it as Joshi took the rest.


    Joshi''s gauntlet appeared, wrapping his fist. He summoned a shield and blocked a sword stroke from one of the tower monsters. Chang-li stepped to the side and attacked a second monstrosity. It caught his blade on its own. Orange sparks flew up. Chang-li had a tiny Firepot waiting in his right hand. He drove the red-shelled technique straight into the open mouth and eyes of the monster, splashing yellow lux flame across it.


    The monster fell back, burning, but not dead. Likely, flame didn''t hurt stone as much as it seared flesh. Chang-li followed up with a slash from his sword, and the monster fell to pieces.


    Joshi had punched two to death already. A pair of them converged on Chang-li. He caught a blade on his own. The second was about to take him, but then the floor beneath the creature rumbled and a shard of stone shot upward, straight between its legs, knocking it off balance.


    Chang-li didn''t have time to follow up, but he didn''t need to, because Disciple Cui was there, roaring with anger and wielding his own red and yellow technique. This was the first time Chang-li had gotten to see it properly. Cui could rip shards of stone out of the ground or ceiling and direct them as weapons.


    Chang-li whirled his sword and slashed across the stone enemy''s torso, the orange-enhanced blade cutting deep inside and revealing a glowing red interior. He gestured at the ceiling, "Cui, bring them down!"


    Cui grinned wildly, both hands raised. A rain of stone spikes fell onto two of the monsters that were trying to attack Joshi, pinning them to the ground. Chang-li finished his creature and was on to the next. Joshi was double-punching, his physical fist hitting the front and its echo striking from the back. A combined punch to the head was enough to destroy the next creature.


    Across the room, three rock monstrosities were pushing in on Brother Stone and the remaining two disciples. They were back to back, holding them off as best they could. Chang-li raced forward when suddenly a punch, orange lux outlined, came out of nowhere, smashing one to the ground. Cui''s spike drove deep into another. Brother Stone and the disciples, revitalized by the help, swiftly downed the last.


    Chang-li turned, making sure all of the monsters were down. He breathed a sigh of relief and dismissed the technique he''d been building before crossing to Joshi. "How did you manage that last attack? I could swear it was you."


    Joshi nodded. "It was. I am trying to figure out how to replicate it, but my reflected punch was directed through Magen."


    Chang-li realized he had seen the distortion the lux creature tended to cause when he wasn''t making himself deliberately visible over near the beast. "Oh, well that''s useful."


    "Once I have mastered it and can do it on command, yes," Joshi agreed. He turned to the others. "Anyone badly injured?"


    "I am," Shou said. "It''s not too deep."


    "We rest now," Joshi declared. "Everyone eat. Tend your wounds. If it is serious, you must leave this place," he told Shou, nodding to the stair ladder leading downward.


    The tunnels ahead glowed yellow. Chang-li couldn''t contain his own excitement as he sat and ate. So far, he felt as though Joshi had done most of the work here. Now, with the elements to command, it would be his turn to shine.

 Bk 2 Ch 32: The Second Veil

    Chang-li had no idea how long they had been inside the tower. Without the sun and moon to indicate time, he had to go by the rhythms of his body. Ever since reaching the Peak of Bodily Refinement, those had become less familiar to him. He suspected that when plunged into a lux-rich environment such as the tower, his body had less need for food, sleep, and water.


    They had paused twice now to eat, meditate, and rest. Both times, Chang-li had slept for what felt like an hour or two. The disciples rested for longer. If Joshi had slept at all, Chang-li had not seen it. He sat cycling, with Magen echoing the patterns of his core. As the disciples slept, Chang-li practiced his own mental defenses, wondering what lay ahead.


    Joshi dropped his hands to his knees. Magen returned to normal, a ball of slightly blue-tinted light hovering above Joshi''s shoulder.


    "I think I understand the meaning of the next step," he said. "Do you have that passage from the scroll you read me before? The one we agreed seemed relevant to our cultivation?"


    Chang-li knew exactly which he meant. He''d copied it down into his own cultivator''s journal. Not the one he had begun after meeting Scribe Wulan. That one was already full. This second volume, he had started on the first floor of the tower during training, and it was already nearly half filled with his thoughts and scribblings. He took it from his satchel and flipped through the pages, looking for the words Joshi meant.


    While the stages of Physical Refinement come with obvious signs as the body responds to its better command of lux, Mental Refinement can be more subtle. However, having interviewed hundreds of cultivators, it is clear that there are three steps here as well. The first step is to see clearly. The eyes are of all the senses the most easily deceived, especially by one''s own mind. When the mind is beset by strands of lux, it is vision which is most affected. Cultivators report seeing people who were not there, or failing to see obstacles in their path, or striking at enemies who were feet from where they believed them to be, due to the cultivator''s own mind refusing to reveal the truth. This is referred to as the first veil, and once the Mental Refinement stage cultivator has pierced the first veil, he is well on his way to the next peak.


    Chang-li looked up. "That''s what happened to me in the first fight with the weapons. I saw what was really there instead of what my eyes were relating.¡±


    Joshi nodded. "Yes, I too have pierced the first veil. Magen is giving me an advantage there. His eyes are never deceived. When I realized mine were, I could use his vision to help me understand. Go on."


    The next veil is that of touch. Do not underestimate how strong the illusions of touch can be. You may perceive a burning flame as a pleasant breeze, even as it sears the flesh from your bones. I once saw a man who could not perceive his feet against the floor. He struggled to find balance and had to rely on sticks to help him sense where he was. Perceiving this veil is far harder because the mind, when under attack, provides very convincing illusions affecting the whole body. The suggested remedy for a cultivator struggling to pierce the second veil is to bind his eyes and seek to use touch to feel his way forward.


    "I''m certainly not doing that," Chang-li said flatly. "In this place, we could be torn to shreds. We''ll practice that sort of thing when we are not attempting to reach the center of a floor before Feng."


    "If we reach the Tower Guardian in time but are unable to match Feng on an even footing, what good does that do us?"


    "Doesn''t do us any good to die here either," Chang-li argued.


    "You are wearing your shackle again," Joshi said.


    Chang-li glanced down at his own wrist, which was, of course, free of the bracelet still in his satchel.


    "The shackle on your mind," Joshi said. "You have lux vision, do you not? Rely on that."


    Chang-li snorted. He looked back at the passage in his book.


    The third veil is the hardest of all, for it is a veil unique to each person, the veil of the heart. This stage is referred to as Mental Refinement, and so often cultivators focus on the thoughts in their mind, yet where they trip is in letting their hearts lead them. This test is unique to each. The only preparation I can give is to urge each young cultivator to weigh his own deeds and actions carefully.


    That wasn''t a great deal of help. Chang-li closed his journal and put it back in his satchel. He thought about making notes on what they had encountered so far, but it was pointless. If they got out of the tower, he''d have time to record his memories. If they didn''t, he was wasting time on a book no one would ever read.


    "Three veils," Joshi said thoughtfully, "and we have pierced the first."


    "I''m not entirely certain that I''ve mastered the first veil," Chang-li said doubtfully. He tried the Mind''s Wall, raising his core and opening his lux senses.


    Threads of lux ran all through the walls of this chamber, predominantly yellow, but with a few strands of orange and no red at all. He reached out with his lux, following the yellow. It responded to him far better than red or orange ever did. He let his mind run along the lines as though he were bobbing along a river. His senses extended outward. There were five passages here, just as there had been from the other two crossroad chambers, and as he sensed the lines, he felt the farthest left passage was different from the others. The lux there was denser, the channels just a little deeper.


    He opened his eyes, his core thudding down into his stomach with a now familiar nauseating sensation. "The left-hand tunnel. Do you see anything different about it?"


    Joshi stood and strode over to it. One of the disciples stirred a little, then went back to sleep. Joshi peered into the yellow beyond. "It looks like the others to me."


    "The lux channels feel stronger somehow. I think that''s the way we should go."


    Joshi was frowning. Always before they had started at the rightmost branch and backtracked. "I don''t like changing our pattern. How certain are you?"


    Chang-li hesitated. It was a feeling. Nothing more, but he was learning to trust his feelings, and he had more of an affinity for yellow than Joshi did. Neither of them would deny that. "It''s that direction.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Then we go that way.¡± Joshi went to his pack, took out a bandage, and wound it around his eyes. He tossed the roll of bandages to Chang-li, arcing it perfectly toward him.


    Chang-li, though surprised, caught it without fumbling. His body''s senses and instincts had improved significantly now that he was at the Peak of Bodily Refinement. Perhaps Joshi wasn''t so mad after all.


    He tore off a strip and wound it around his eyes. Though he could still see light through it, it obscured his vision. He opened his lux senses and sensed the traceries leading down the fifth corridor. His fellow cultivators were dense patches of lux, the contents of their cores pressing in against his awareness. Brother Stone''s core felt stronger than the other three disciples, even though they were all at the Peak of Bodily Refinement.


    Joshi''s core was a raging fire, dense with lux that circled and swooped in patterns Chang-li couldn''t follow.


    Joshi took a step ahead. Chang-li sensed it, both with his lux vision and from the gentle disturbance of the air as Joshi passed. His confidence increased just a bit. Perhaps he could do this.


    When the disciples awoke, Joshi commanded them to don their packs. They didn''t comment on the bandages or on Joshi choosing the leftmost path to lead them down.


    The yellow lux dimmed and strengthened as they went, undulating like waves all around them. Chang-li could feel it in the walls, so he never brushed against them. When a bloom of lux just in front of him flared up like a bonfire, he was just in time to throw out his arm and stop Joshi from taking another step.


    "Wait!"


    A blast of cold shot up from the floor, chilling the air all around as it filled the tunnel in front of them with a thick layer of ice. Chang-li stepped forward and rapped a knuckle against it. It sounded feet thick. He channeled yellow lux to his hand, almost laughing with pleasure at how easy it was, and burned a hole straight through the ice. As soon as his lux torch reached thin air on the other side, the ice wall crumbled away.


    He turned to Joshi, grinning triumphantly. "I''m taking the lead here."


    "Indeed you are," Joshi said, and they continued down the yellow path. With his expertise with yellow lux and the ease with which he sensed the challenges coming and burned through them, Chang-li wasn''t surprised when, in what seemed only an hour or less, they came to the next threshold.


    "I suspect we have made up some time on Feng and the others here," Joshi said. "Well done."


    Chang-li swelled with pride. He was tempted to pull the bandage from his eyes and take a look in the room beyond, but instead he tried to sense in other ways. His lux vision told him there were four creatures waiting in the room beyond, fewer than the previous chambers. There was a blast of heat, then a wave of cold.


    Was this what the ancient texts had warned of? Were his senses being overwhelmed?


    "Their cores are filled with red, orange, yellow, and green lux," Joshi observed.


    Chang-li tried to sense. He couldn''t get that detailed an impression of the creatures. Whatever they were, one took a step toward the entrance. He could see its core moving. The ground rumbled slightly. A hot breeze tickled past Chang-li. These creatures must be absolutely enormous.


    Brother Stone cleared his throat. "Forgive my impertinence, Young Masters."


    Chang-li turned, surprised to hear himself included with that title. Brother Stone was nervous. Chang-li didn''t have to see him. He could hear how his weight shifted from foot to foot, and he was rubbing his hand surreptitiously on his staff. "You''re not planning to fight like that, are you?"


    Chang-li touched his blindfold as Joshi spoke. "They are training tools."


    "Yes, but this is life and death."


    "There is no better way to train. Do not fear," Joshi said. "If you wish to wait here until Chang-li and I have finished, the monsters have shown no sign of interfering with those in the corridors before now."


    "That''s not what I meant," Brother Stone said gruffly. "We''ll follow where you do. You''re our leader."


    "Am I?" Joshi asked. There was a wry note in his voice.


    "Yes, you are," Brother Stone declared, "and I''ll thump anyone who said otherwise. May be a Brotherhood man, but I''m a cultivator now and under your discipline. A man can serve more than one master, so long as the masters know about each other.¡±


    ¡°So be it. Are we ready?"


    Chang-li wasn''t sure he was, but he was determined to continue his climb. And if that meant charging into a room full of unknown enemies wearing a blindfold, trusting in words from an ancient scroll and the backup of a barbarian warrior, so be it. He drew his sword, preparing a Firepot technique in his right hand. Then, shoulder to shoulder, he and Joshi plunged into the room.


    He threw himself to the side at once, prompted by a shift in the breeze, and a chunk of stone smashed against the wall, showering him with shards. Then a blast of air hit him square on, knocking him back. Chang-li threw up his sword as though to block the air, and the blast parted around it.


    He found himself straining to see shadows through the thin blindfold. He cursed himself and closed his eyes tight.


    One of the monsters took a rumbling step toward him. Chang-li threw his Firepot and felt as the technique hit and was absorbed. In fact, the creature felt stronger now. A blast of flame seared the hair on Chang-li''s head, and he managed to twist away just in time. This creature was made of fire. No wonder his technique didn''t work.


    Chang-li infused his sword with orange and red lux and slashed. It hit hard, so the creature wasn''t pure flame, but had a solid body to it. He could almost picture it now, an enormous, four times taller version of the creatures they''d fought before, with sharp claws for weapons and fire wreathing it. He heard as it opened its mouth, a crackling flame noise, and dodged as a fireball came at him.


    "Swap!" Joshi yelled, and Chang-li raced for the sound of his voice, not quite knowing what he meant. He felt an impact beside him and dodged as an enormous, heavy foot came down. This one wasn''t wreathed in flames, though.


    Ice chilled him. He turned, and instinctively weaving a Firepot, tossed it at the new opponent. This time, his technique didn''t just land. It spread. He could feel it eating away ¡ª no, melting away the opponent. This monster was coated in ice.


    So that''s what Joshi had meant. He''d realized the situation, and arranged for Chang-li to take the better match. Chang-li charged in, sword in one hand, fist full of flame in the other. He felt flames licking at the hems of his garment, but he didn''t care. Another Firepot lobbed to where he felt the behemoth¡¯s head must be, and it hit, showering the creature with flame.


    Chang-li carved off an upper limb, which fell to the floor of the cavern and shattered. Then he swung, putting every bit of strength in his upper body into the blow, and caught the creature across the leg, severing it just above the knee. The creature fell forward.


    Chang-li danced to the side, easily as though he were seeing it with his eyes, and the monster collapsed. It wasn''t all the way dead yet. Chang-li urged yellow lux through his blade, and slicing with fire, severed the creature''s head. From the rush of red and orange lux filling the room, Joshi had managed to down one of the others.


    Chang-li quickly took stock. The disciples, led by Brother Stone, were clustered around one of the other two monsters. From the feel of the breezes coming from that direction, that behemoth was infused with the power of air, which probably meant the last would be earth-based.


    Chang-li turned and joined Joshi in facing the remaining monster. It didn''t have a protective outer shell, but as it punched the ground between them, it sent aftershocks reverberating around the room, and shards of stone flying outward. Chang-li caught a slice of stone on his cheek, searing a burning line. He shouted and swung as Joshi punched. A pair of twin punches knocked the monster back, but not very far.


    "It''s very dense," Joshi shouted.


    ¡°Hit it harder then!¡± Chang-li replied. Joshi punched. Chang-li charged in. The disciples whooped and hollered, and Chang-li sensed as Brother Stone rushed to their side.


    The stone behemoth crashed to the ground. Chang-li leapt out of the way of its falling body, then ripped off his blindfold as it crumbled to yellow and red ash like the other three. Joshi grinned back at him. The disciples were slapping each other on the back. ¡°We did it!¡±


    He¡¯d reached the second threshold, learning to use his sense of his own body as a weapon, and crossed.


    What lay beyond?

 Bk 2 Ch 33: Into the Blue

    Chang-li was trepidatious as they entered the green-tinged corridor. For the first few minutes, it seemed like the ones they''d been in before. Then, abruptly, it turned sharply and ended in thin air. Joshi put out his arm. The whole group stopped.


    Chang-li came forward, peering past Joshi''s shoulder at what lay beyond. They looked out across a vast open chamber. There was no floor to be seen, just a deep blue hole. A narrow wooden bridge, little more than an incredibly long plank, stretched across the chasm. It was just wide enough for one person to stand, led out away from their corridor across the open space.


    The opening was at least a hundred yards across. When Chang-li looked up, he couldn''t see the top. Strung everywhere between their opening and the far side was a web of ropes, narrow bridges, ladders, and rickety stairs, spider-webbing up in all directions.


    A green glow suffused the whole place, shading to blue the farther up it went. High above, he caught a glimpse of movement on the ropes and bridges, dark scuttling figures that disappeared again too fast for him to see.


    ¡°Well,¡± Joshi observed, ¡°Time to climb.¡± He pointed across the bridge, where a ladder of bamboo lashed together with ropes leaned against the wall, leading up to a ledge.


    Chang-li groaned. ¡°Another maze. Wonderful.¡±


    "I saw something," Shou muttered. "Something white, moving funny. I don''t know what it was."


    Joshi nodded. ¡°There will be enemies as we go forward. Any of you may retreat," he told the disciples.


    That wasn''t quite what a real sect leader should do. Either they should be urging the disciples forward and coaching them through this, or if he really didn''t think they had what it took, he should send them back. Chang-li looked over each of the disciples. Brother Stone met his eyes firmly. He gripped his quarterstaff in one rough hand and nodded. Yang looked nervous but prepared. Shou was licking his lips, his eyes darting around. He had shown little ability to combine another color of lux with his red, and there was no red to be found here.


    "Shou," Chang-li said. "You need to leave."


    He shook his head, eyes wide. "No, I¡ª"


    "This is not the end of your chance to cultivate. This place is not for you. Go back now, and you''ll have an opportunity another day. There is no dishonor in a student avoiding that which they are not prepared for. A prudent disciple knows when to challenge himself and when to return to practice." Chang-li waited for someone to contravene his order or for Shou to protest. Instead, Shou sighed, his shoulders slumping. He bowed his head.


    "Thank you, Young Master Chang-li."


    "You may tell Min what we have seen, but no one else.¡±


    Shou disappeared quickly down the corridor, scurrying away as if afraid Chang-li would change his mind.


    Joshi had already turned to the narrow bridge before Shou had disappeared out of sight. He started across. The single plank bridge bounced a little but did not sag as much as a natural board would have.


    "You next," Chang-li told the disciples. "I''ll bring up the rear." He cycled his lux. There was still a good deal of yellow in the air. He would hopefully be able to protect them. The green worried him. None of them had any pure green techniques. He had had only limited success weaving green into his cords. Whatever enemies they faced next would be difficult. He didn''t like this new environment.


    He was halfway across to the other side when the bats attacked. They were an ordinary size, with wings broad as a man''s hand, swooped down on them from above, their bodies infused with a greenish light.


    "Watch your footing," Joshi barked as the bats came in. This was not a good matchup for him, with his mobility limited.


    Chang-li had yellow lux to burn. He had been trying to wrap it in green, see if he could use that as an outer shell. But green didn''t answer him the way red and yellow did. It was like trying to shape water. He abandoned the attempt as the bats attacked, focusing on defending himself with a handful of flame.


    Disciple Cui was in his element, using lux to rip spikes of stone from the walls of the chamber and hurl them at bats. He could only throw two spikes at a time, and there were nine or ten of the fluttering creatures.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Chang-li waited, sword in hand, as one approached. He swung, the bat slipped under him, and he thrust a handful of flame up into it. The flames burned away the leathery wings, revealing a green lux framework beneath. The bat kept attacking, even when its body was burned away, leaving merely a green ghost image.


    Chang-li struck with his sword, cleaving through the green but doing no damage. He desperately wove another handful of yellow lux flame and injected green, letting it flow in wherever it could, then slammed his fistful of lux into the bat. This time, the green-tinged flame caught the bat''s green skeleton on fire. It dissolved into a shower of sparks with a terrible scream.


    All around, the disciples were struggling. Brother Stone had smashed one bat so hard; both its wings were hanging off at angles and its head was wrenched back, neck broken. The green lux outlines of its skeleton showed through where he''d damaged it, and it was still attacking him.


    "They''re using green lux to stay alive. Your attacks must incorporate green," Chang-li shouted.


    A moment later, Joshi punched. His physical fist hit a bat square on, knocking it down, and a green illusory fist from the side smashed through, knocking its lux skeleton clear out of the bat''s body. The skeleton fell to pieces as the bat''s carcass thumped down onto the bridge. It didn''t dissolve. Joshi roared triumphantly and directed Magen upward toward a pair of hovering bats.


    Disciple Cui was struggling to imitate Chang-li and weave green into his rock spike attack, but he hadn''t got the trick of it yet. A bat was circling his head, claws out and hissing. Chang-li moved to intercept it.


    Chang-li tried shoving green lux into his sword, but it wouldn''t go. He abandoned the attempt and used the sword to knock the bat away from Cui. Its attention shifted to Chang-li. It came fluttering to him, and he met it with a fistful of yellow-green flames, searing the skin and hair of the bat, giving off a smell of roasted meat as he cooked its skeleton from inside.


    Joshi punched thin air, and high above, a second punch struck one of the bats. Its body fell past them, down into the maze below. Cui shouted triumphantly and sent a spike through one last bat''s head, pinning it to the bridge and killing it.


    Chang-li took a shuddering breath and shook out his shoulders, careful to watch his feet. Joshi picked up the body of a bat he had killed. He drew a knife and cut off the head and wings, then wrapped the body in cloth before stowing it in his pack.


    "What are you doing with that?" Disciple Yang asked.


    "They may stretch our rations. Besides, the flesh of Tower Beast is good for us at this stage. Collect yours as well."


    The disciples looked repulsed. Chang-li stooped and picked up the one near his feet.


    "These creatures can be damaged only by the lux they favor, or by the ideal that lux expresses," Chang-li said. Joshi frowned, looking like he was going to disagree. "That is, the orange beasts we killed with weapons, the yellow ones yielded to the elements, not just to pure yellow lux.¡±


    ¡°I am not sure how to wield life itself as a weapon against these," Joshi said.


    "Me either. I''m just noting the fact." Chang-li itched to write this all down. He wanted to compare it to some of the notes he''d been translating from the Morning Mist sect about the nature of lux and what it truly meant to cultivate. Maybe other cultivators didn''t care about such things, but he did. He wanted to understand what he was doing, not just muddle his way along slaughtering things until he reached some arbitrary peak and decided that was good enough.


    They set off again. The bridge ended at a ledge. A rickety rope ladder took them up to a broader shelf. Here, a pair of bridges arced out at sharp angles across the chasm. One bridge was made of a single plank like they''d just crossed; the other, made of boards swaying from ropes, was broader but had no support ropes.


    Chang-li tried tracing the bridges across and seeing where they led, but they quickly disappeared into the maze. He dropped into lux sight, cycling, calling up Mind''s Wall to bind his lux sight to his core. Cords of green lux stretched away everywhere, but he couldn''t tell which way might be densest.


    "Any thoughts?" Joshi asked.


    Chang-li shook his head. "I can''t sense green lux as well as yellow."


    Disciple Cui approached diffidently. "Young Masters, forgive me." He bowed, looking for all the world like a real disciple. "I overheard what you were saying. I''ve been practicing the technique Young Master Chang-li taught me." Chang-li had passed along all the exercises for reaching toward Mental Refinement that he''d uncovered, but so far none of the disciples had shown any particular affinity for them. "When I look out with lux vision, I see the green everywhere." There was an odd sound in the young man''s voice. "It''s like looking at a garden and watching it grow right in front of my eyes."


    "And?" Joshi asked.


    "Well, the lux there feels right," he pointed to the rickety rope bridge. "I don''t understand why, but it does."


    Joshi nodded. "Good enough. It seems you have an affinity for green."


    The disciple looked as though Joshi had just spent minutes rhapsodizing about his skills. "Thank you, Young Master." He bowed very low.


    "We''ll need to find you another technique," Chang-li said. "Affinity with green often means your potential as a healer, although some of them do very well in combat with death wards. I don''t have any of those translated yet," he added in a hurry as Cui''s eyes widened with delight. "I did have a basic healing technique that uses yellow and green. A purging flame. I thought maybe I''d be able to learn it, but it hasn''t answered me yet. Your yellow affinity is expressing itself as stone, not fire. I don''t know that it''ll work for you." He hurriedly explained the concept and the pattern, demonstrating it as best he could. The lux answered him, shaping itself as he directed, then fell apart. He just couldn''t quite visualize how it was meant to work, and that resulted in it losing its integrity before it could finalize.


    "I''ll practice that," Cui promised.


    "We''ve waited long enough," Joshi told them. "Let''s continue." He set off without a backward glance along the rope bridge.

 Bk 2 Ch 34: Spousal Support

    Min found herself at loose ends for the first time in many years. She rattled about in the nearly empty sect house, directing the servants to clean dusty corners or better rearrange the rooms to suit the new needs. She reordered supplies and filed the paperwork Chang-li had left for her with the Office of Cultivation here at the Tower Climb. She still wasn''t used to being addressed as "Lady Morning Mist," but until they acquired a higher-ranking cultivator spouse, that was her title. That took most of the afternoon after arriving back at the camp, and then she waited.


    There was no word yet from Joshi and Chang-li or the disciples. She told herself not to worry. After all, none of the other cultivators had returned either. But she couldn''t help wondering what was happening on the fourth floor. Were they making strides toward the Peak of Mental Refinement? Had some terrible fate befallen them? Would Feng realize they were there and turn his anger on them?


    On the second day back, she was startled from her musings by the arrival of a servant from the Moon Whispers sect. One of her Brotherhood women showed him into the parlor where Min waited. The servant bowed low before delivering his message.


    "My mistress, Lady Moon Whispers, wishes your presence at her evening gathering."


    Surprised, Min blurted out, "What?"


    The servant looked pained. "Lady Moon Whispers hosts a gathering of the cultivator spouses for dinner twice a week. As you are the newest member of that grouping, she''s extending the invitation to you."


    "Oh, yes, of course." Min cleared her throat. "I will be there. Please extend my thanks."


    The servant left. Min recruited help from a chambermaid, a low-level Brotherhood member who was excited at this opportunity to serve in an important role, and who thankfully had several sisters on whom she had practiced hair arrangements. It was early but Min wanted time to run out and seek other help if the girl¡¯s work proved insufficient. Finally, when Min decided her hair and makeup were as good as they would be, the girl helped her into her best sect robe. Then, waiting for the appointed time, Min resumed her other concern, looking over the sect''s account books.


    That was her chief worry for sect management. From the library records she had studied, Min had a vague idea of what sort of things the sect needed, but the stark red figures at the top of the ledger proclaimed their debt. Everyone in the Brotherhood was conditioned from birth to have a keen awareness of debt. The ties of obligation and debt were the life blood and skeleton of all Brotherhoods. The sect¡¯s debts left a bitter taste in her mouth.


    Min slammed the book shut and stood. Pacing the floor, she had to admit to herself she was worried about Chang-li. What would Feng do to him if they encountered each other in the Tower? Was he truly prepared to face whatever challenges Floor Four offered? And if he did return, how could she help to shore up their fragile new relationship?


    Their marriage was like their sect; something that should have no possibility of success, built on a foundation of lies between two people who weren''t being honest about who they were, held together by fear of what might befall them. The smart thing to do, assuming Chang-li ever made it back, would be to keep their heads down until all the new paperwork and endorsements were done, then go their own separate ways. A cultivator divorce was serious business, requiring permission from a representative of the Emperor himself. Min suspected her elder brother could arrange it if he chose. But she doubted he would, not any time soon. she was less of a threat to the family, married off to an inconspicuous cultivator, and he''d leave it stand. Maybe in a few years, when his position was more established, he might consider it.


    But even without a divorce they could separate, living their own lives, apart, until she could convince her brother to end the sham.


    What did she want? She had promised Chang-li to help him build Morning Mist into something real. She meant it. She believed in his potential and in the sect, even if she was clutching stubbornly to her own previous ideas. Min found herself wanting the sect to succeed more than just to prove herself right. She was starting to care about their name, their appearance. She had to care. If she was going to make this real, it had to be real to her first.


    And so too did her marriage. She couldn''t be halfway in, halfway out, looking for an escape clause, considering backup plans. She would commit to this marriage and to the sect, and devils take anyone who stood in her way.


    Resolved, Min threw a cloak around her shoulders and hurried along the dimming streets of the camp to the Moon Whispers compound. It was far larger than the building that housed Morning Mist. Servants met her at the door.


    There was music playing softly somewhere above, and a dim murmur of voices. One of the servants took her cloak. Another, bowing low, directed her up the steps to the second level. There, she found a library with a connecting office. The screens between the two had been pushed back to form one large room. A table had been set down the middle, and the cultivator spouses were congregating on the office side, where a fire burned merrily.


    On the library side, three lux lanterns gave off light, an ostentatious display of the sect''s power, even if it probably was good to keep spark and flame away from the sects¡¯ scrolls. It looked as though the sect had occupied this building for decades instead of the handful of months she knew it to have been.


    Lady Moon Whispers stood flanked by the Lady of Soaring Heavens and an elderly man in Jade Lotus colors. She smiled and beckoned to Min. Min took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold, holding herself high.


    The other people in the room turned to her. There were five in all: two from Jade Lotus, Lady Moon Whispers, Lady Soaring Heavens, and the Dowager Pearl''s personal attendant, Lady Morningrise, who had been a cultivator spouse herself before her own wife was killed some decades and she had returned to the Court of Gems to serve the Dowager, rather than seeking a new spouse. She at least was a familiar face. Min had interacted with her many times as part of the Court of Gems.


    The faces in the room were cold and scrutinizing. Everyone here was at least two decades older than Min. Min felt herself shiver, and then she got mad. She knew this technique. She had arrived five minutes prior to the time appointed by Lady Moon Whisper, yet everyone else was already here. That was deliberate. They were trying to put her on the defensive, playing on her youth and inexperience, make her feel an outsider, and then they would win her over. In this scheme, her gratefulness at being allowed into the confidence of her betters would establish a power dynamic. Min would forever be the junior party in the relationship.


    But Min had played these games from the cradle. Her head went up, her chin lifted. She floated across the room on delicately whispering feet, as confident as a soldier striding across the battlefield. As she went, she practiced the Purification of Mind and Soul technique, cycling the lux in her core and reminding herself she truly did belong here. She was a cultivator''s spouse. She had taken her own first steps along the Heavenly Climb, and none of these judgmental old fools were going to scare her.


    "Welcome, Lady Morning Mist," Lady Moon Whispers said. "And congratulations on your marriage."


    "Yes, congratulations," Lord Jade Lotus proclaimed. "Come over here and tell us all about it, girl." He laughed. His gaze, at least, was friendly, perhaps too friendly. Min noted how his eyes slid up and down her body.


    She warned herself there was much she did not yet know about how cultivator spouses interacted. She knew they were a key mechanism for sects to communicate with each other, trading knowledge, resources, even occasionally disciples. She had deciphered that much from the papers of Tradewinds Sect. How exactly such matters were handled was a mystery to her.


    A servant brought her a flute of plum wine. She sipped a tiny amount, then held it casually in her left hand as she kept her right hand free.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "We were sorry not to make your acquaintance at our last meeting," Lady Moon Whispers said. "But your sect had left the camp."


    "Training mission," Min said. "In preparation for the fourth floor."


    "You were cutting it fine," Lady Soaring Heavens said. She was a short woman, thin and dour, like a shriveled-up stick with a jet of silver in her dark hair. Min wasn''t sure if Feng was a blood relative of hers or merely a promising recruit to her sect.


    "And we are all sure you would have preferred it that way, Lady. Trust me," Lord Jade Lotus said. Min thought his pot shot was off-script for the power play against her.


    Lady Soaring Heavens fixed him with a glare. "I have no fear for our sect''s disciple. Bring as many as you choose and Feng will destroy them all."


    "Yes, yes. We''ve all seen his little displays," Lord Jade Lotus said. He crooked a finger toward Min. She did not step any closer. "So, we have dispensed with the pleasantries. Everyone here has been properly greeted and their sect title used. Since this is a social meeting, we may use each other''s names. I am Koban. You are Min. She is Elita," he gestured to Lady Moon Whispers.


    "Koban," the other Jade Lotus spouse said severely. "You forget yourself. This girl has thirty years our junior and is a red-ranked noble, no more, and she''s not even married to a Young Master."


    ¡°Ah, that''s incorrect. My spouse has been raised to that rank.¡± It was part of the paperwork she had filed on behalf of Chang-li and Joshi, bearing Joshi''s stamp.


    Lady Soaring Heavens frowned. "How is that possible when you have no senior here? Surely, your sect requires more than the signet of a single Young Master to raise others to that rank."


    "Our sect," Min said proudly, feeling the words in her mouth and enjoying how they tasted, "rewards those who show great initiative. My spouse has reached the rank of the Peak of Bodily Refinement on his own with no outside aid, been commended for his efforts by a Dowager Pearl and a Grand Inquisitor, and now accompanies our sect''s most promising Young Master. How could he not receive proper ranking?"


    Lady Moon Whispers¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Well said, Lady Min," she said. "Come, sit down. Dinner is served."


    The six sat at a round table. Min at Lady Moon Whispers¡¯s left hand. Lady Soaring Heavens was seated at the other side with Lord Jade Lotus, or Koban, as he insisted on Min calling him, on Min''s own left.


    Servants brought in the first course, a clear seaweed soup. It was quite tasty. The other cultivators were talking amongst themselves, and attention fell from Min briefly, for which she was grateful. The female Jade Lotus spouse was conversing with Lady Morningrise about a supply of the cloth they needed to get ordered from down the mountain.


    Lady Moon Whispers was busy making various pronouncements on how long this fourth floor might take, and what her husband expected to see as a result. Min realized she didn''t know anything about it and tuned her out, as the bowls of soup were taken away and replaced with heaping bowls of perfectly steamed rice and platters of delicious vegetables cut into star and flower shapes.


    The conversation shifted. Min had a radish shaped like a lotus dangling from her chopsticks halfway to her mouth when Lady Soaring Heavens addressed her directly.


    "Lady Min, since you were most recently in the Court of Gems, perhaps you can answer the question. Is it unusual for a Court of Gems to have made so few matches after such a stretch of time?"


    Min lowered her food back to her plate. "This was the first time I ever attended a Court of Gems," she said. "Perhaps you should address Lady Morningrise."


    "The Dowager Pearl is completely satisfied with the current state of affairs," Lady Morningrise said. It had the ring of a statement she''d given many times before.


    Min knew better. There''d been plenty of gossip within the Court of Gems. If she could keep the others posturing and veiled comments directed at each other instead of herself then she could maintain control over the situation.


    "That said," Min lowered her voice and was pleased to see the other cultivator spouses leaning in. They might think of her as a junior, but she had information they wanted, and she knew how to best use it. "The other gem nobles, some of them, are, shall we say, disappointed in the inroads they are making with the cultivators. We have several fine cultivators here," she lied.


    Only Feng and Joshi could be considered anything other than mediocre. Li Jiya had made it clear she was uninterested in marriage. With Li Jen dead and Chang-li off the table, that left the Jade Lotus Young Masters, or a few unranked disciples who had made it to the Peak of Physical Refinement without much distinction among the other three sects. "But well, it can be hard to fix your eyes on the foothills when the peaks above you are wreathed in heaven''s glory." She quoted a line from a famous poet of three hundred years before, who had himself been a member of the Gem Court.


    The other spouses nodded. Their expressions were frankly grim. "So we have seen," Lord Jade Lotus said. "My own disciples have enjoyed meeting with the various gem nobles, but though I have urged several of them to press their suits, none of them seem eager to, ah, shall we say, settle?"


    "You mean the Indigo Princess?" Lady Moon Whispers said bluntly. Everyone else looked at her. "Yes, I''ll speak my mind," she said. "You know now that I have no stake in this fight, with my husband''s granddaughter intent on becoming one of the brides of the Emperor, and his grandson having unfortunately lost the approval of heaven, we have no one who is likely to make the princess a worthwhile spouse. And yet our lesser disciples refuse to court the red and orange nobles. They cannot help but stare toward the sun, and I fear they will be burned."


    Lord Koban was nodding. "It is the same. If only the Indigo Princess would make her choice clear, I think that we could arrange for some matches. I don''t like having so many unattached young prospects."


    Lady Morningrise looked annoyed and defensive. "The Dowager Pearl has made it clear Princess Hiroko will not be pressured to make a choice. She is too great a treasure to throw at the feet of the unworthy.¡±


    ¡°As though there were more than one choice." Lady Soaring Heavens said. Her pointed features looked even more sharp as she jabbed out with her chopsticks. "We all know there is only one cultivator at this Tower Cull who is worthy of Princess Hiroko. Young Master Feng may not be my flesh and blood, but I am proud to have him as a member of my sect. Once he has completed this Tower Cull, all will see his worthiness to be Princess Hiroko''s spouse."


    "Well," Lord Koban said. "Though I do not much care for the boy''s manners myself, I am forced to agree with you, Lady Lia. Feng is the only one here who could possibly be a worthwhile match for Hiroko."


    Min was starting to enjoy herself. It was going to take more than one interaction with these nobles to understand the way their alliances might shift and remake themselves. She could already tell there were lines of stress here to take advantage of. "That''s not entirely true," she said. "Young Master Joshi has proved himself in the Tower twice over now. First, in coming to the Princess''s aid, and second, his actions in the day that Young Master Li Jen, unfortunately, perished."


    "Oh, well, that I''ll have to see. From a sect no one had even heard of before," Lady Loa spat. "Nonsense. The Princess will show better taste than that."


    "The Princess will do as she pleases," Min said.


    Lord Koban held up his hand. "As a disinterested party, in the matter of who Princess Hiroko chooses, I instead lay emphasis that she must choose, and quickly. Or else I think we can expect this behavior at the next Tower as well. I presume all of you will be proceeding to Vardin City for the cull there."


    Nods all around the room.


    "The Dowager Pearl and the Office of Cultivation have already issued us a conditional invitation," Lord Koban said. "Presuming that we perform well on the fourth floor and at least two of our Young Masters reach the Peak of Mental Refinement. They say without a cultivator at Mental Refinement, no cultivation group has a prayer inside Vardin City Tower."


    Min''s interest stirred. Vardin City was, of course, her hometown. She had seen cultivators arrive every ten years to perform a Tower Cull. Unlike this Tower, Vardin City Tower was complete, not broken. As the Governor''s granddaughter, she had been present, though only a child, ten years ago, to help entertain the cultivators for the last cull.


    Which made her realize if Morning Mist really did receive an invitation to the cull in Vardin City, she would be encountering her brother again, and her grandfather. That was a worry for another day. Instead, Min turned her focus back to the matter at hand.


    What if Hiroko could be forced to choose? Surely she would pick Joshi, whom she had obvious affection for and had spent time inside the Tower, over the arrogant and demanding Feng. If Hiroko joined the sect, they would have access to political connections beyond what Min could bring, to say nothing of the sort of wealth an indigo princess might command. What sort of dowry might she bring? Enough to wipe out the sect''s debts? Min resolved to find out.


    She smiled. "Speaking for my former friends in the Court of Gems, if you were able to convince Princess Hiroko to make her choice, you would have their gratitude. I think, personally, it''s irresponsible of her to delay this long. We are here. The cultivators are here. What more?" She spread her hands. "I can speak only for myself, but I think there are plenty of worthy young cultivators to choose from. Hiroko''s intransigence is merely delaying the cultivators from the true start of their path. We all know no cultivator can hope to rise in the Emperor''s favor without a spouse of the Gem Court at their side."


    "Spoken like a woman twice your age," Lord Koban said, patting her hand with his rather sweaty one. Min forced herself not to wince and pull away. She smiled up at the old fool.


    Lady Moon Whispers turned to Lady Morningrise, a triumphant smile on her face. "There, Lady Kaleitha, please be sure to relay our conversation to your mistress, as you always do."


    "You think to direct a Dowager Pearl?"


    "Not a bit," Lady Moon Whispers said, "merely to ensure that she is aware of the mood here in the court."


    When Min went home that night, she slept well for the first night since her wedding, feeling as though she''d done a good job at last.

 Bk 2 Ch 35: Li Jiya

    Two-thirds of the way up the maze of ladders, ropes, bridges, planks, and nets, having been attacked every few minutes by enemies out of the darkness, Chang-li was beset by two competing worries.


    Feng lay somewhere ahead of them. Had he already reached the tower guardian and earned the boon? It seemed impossible that they were gaining on him, not when they had to stop and flail their way through bats or creatures that ripped themselves from the wall and attacked with stone limbs, or the odd screaming fungus monsters they''d fought a handful of minutes ago. But then again, Feng would have had to carve his way through as well.


    At least Chang-li''s sword tactics were getting plenty of practice. With little lux here, he was falling back on those skills.


    His other fear was deeper-seated. What if they caught up with Feng but were unable to match him? He had disciples with him, several of which might be on the verge of the Peak of Mental Refinement themselves, and neither Chang-li nor Joshi had yet reached that level.


    When they reached another protruding ledge and cleared it of the sightless mole creatures that scurried out from cracks in the wall to swarm at them, Chang-li told Joshi, "I think we need to rest."


    Joshi grunted. "Agreement. Put down your packs, eat, and cycle,¡± he told the disciples, who collapsed against the wall in relief. Brother Stone merely leaned into the rocks, chewing his rations and keeping his staff at hand as he scanned the great yawning opening beyond them.


    "What do we do now? I don''t know how to reach for the next veil," Chang-li confessed to Joshi in a low voice. "At least with the trial of touch, I had a hint."


    Even now, he could feel how piercing the second veil had left him more alert, as though every piece of his skin was as sensitive as his fingertips to the impressions of lux all around them. He could close his eyes and sense where the disciples were just by the way the air currents eddied around them. But the trial of heart had no such hints in any of the scrolls he had read, merely saying it was different for every cultivator, which was hardly helpful, and that they would know it when they saw it.


    "Perhaps it is as simple as proving yourself brave," Joshi suggested. "My people have a manhood ritual. A boy is sent out naked with a bridle in one hand and a knife in the other. He returns mounted on a horse he has caught and broken himself, clothed in garments he''s fashioned from his own kills, and is a man of the tribe, or he does not return at all."


    "That''s helpful," Chang-li commented, slightly horrified.


    "Your people have no such ritual?"


    Chang-li scratched his head. "My fellow students stole my money and threatened to leave me head down in an outhouse my first day."


    "That is precisely my point," Joshi said. "Just as rituals of courage differ between peoples, so perhaps this test of heart is different from one to the next. Think. Here we are learning to deal with lux as it seeks to overwhelm our mind. We have blocked it from our senses and been rewarded by enhancement to those senses. Now we must control how our mind affects our heart, or perhaps how our heart affects our mind."


    Chang-li said, "I think you may have the right of it, for a man may be clear-thinking and know what must be done, but if his courage fails him, he is unable to do what his mind has decided to do."


    "Yes," Joshi stared off into space. "Yes, perhaps that is the secret. In which case, I think we simply must continue pushing ourselves to our limits. I have felt the lux growing stronger as we go."


    "I thought I sensed that as well," Chang-li agreed. He had been tempted more than once to put the band around his wrist once more and had checked his bag to ensure it was still there. None of the disciples had removed their bands for more than a moment or two while cycling, though Joshi had encouraged them to make the effort.


    Chang-li was about to speak again when he heard a soft cry that sounded like someone calling out from farther up. "Did you hear that?"


    Joshi cocked his head to one side. "I think so." They both listened. The disciples came alert. Brother Stone pushed off from the wall and stood at the edge of the ledge, cupping a hand to his ear. The call came again.


    "I''m certain of it," Chang-li said.


    "I don''t hear anything," Brother Stone said.


    "I did," Joshi said grimly. "It sounded like a woman."


    "A trap, do you think?"


    "No." Joshi''s expression was grim. "It''s Li Jiya. Let''s hurry."


    Chang-li had doubts, but he followed Joshi to the ladder leading up to the next piece of this spiderweb maze. Even if it was really Li Jiya, what if she was being used as bait in a trap? Feng might have wounded her and be forcing her to call out to draw them in. Or perhaps she was lying in wait for them. Or perhaps it was another illusion.


    The green light with which the cavern was filled was taking on a bluish tinge as they approached the top. Chang-li braced himself as he cycled. To his surprise, despite there being no visible sign of it, here he found a decent trace of the physical luxes. He purified out red and yellow for himself, readying weaves as they at last reached the top. They had not been attacked for the last 30 yards of their descent, a situation Chang-li found suspicious in and of itself.


    They stepped off onto a wide ledge with a tunnel leading off it, the walls glowing with blue and green light. Chang-li stared down into the vast blue pit, seeing how far they¡¯d come. It was like looking down into a deep underwater pit. The bridges and ropes laced the hole like a skein of tangled threads. He could see a place where they''d made a stand on a rope bridge and knocked several slats out, far below.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The cry came again, to their left. They turned, facing an opening into the cavern wall. Taller than a man and wide enough for two to walk abreast, it glowed green, and Chang-li could make out a figure lying a little ways along the corridor, slight and wearing the distinctive robes of the Moon Whispers sect. Li Jiya.


    "Be careful," Joshi said. His gauntlet formed around his hand as he strode forward. ¡°Li Jiya, do you need help?¡±


    Li Jiya raised up on one elbow. She was facing away from them, her hands raised defensively. She cried out in fear, cringing away from something they couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Chang-li said.


    Joshi stopped. ¡°I don¡¯t think she can hear us. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Chang-li felt with his enhanced lux senses. He could see faint blue tracings around Li Jiya. She was trapped in a circle no more than two paces wide.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a challenge,¡± he said. ¡°I can see the blue lux all around her. I think she¡¯s trapped in it. Some sort of mental attack.¡±


    ¡°Can we free her?¡±


    Li Jiya was lying at the entrance to another cavern. Beyond, all was blue. Chang-li couldn''t see much. There was just room around between the lux circle and the wall to get around it. He approached carefully. "Can I have your stick?" he asked Brother Stone, who handed it over.


    "What are you doing?" Joshi asked.


    "I''m marking the bounds." Carefully staying several inches clear of the circle, Chang-li drew a line all around it as he made a complete circle around Li Jiya. Then he stepped back. "There. Stay clear of the line I drew and we can go around."


    Joshi led the way, the disciples following. They stopped in the passage to the cavern, just beyond Li Jiya.


    ¡°We could¡­ just leave her,¡± Chang-li said.


    ¡°Not if we can help her. But we don¡¯t want to risk ourselves, either.¡± Joshi¡¯s reluctance was clear in his voice.


    Li Jiya cried out again. ¡°No! No! I won¡¯t ¡ªLi Jen, no¡ª¡±


    Joshi¡¯s expression changed to determination. ¡°Ready yourselves," Joshi told the disciples. They spread out on all sides of the circle. Then he picked up a stone from the floor. Joshi tossed it into the middle of the lux circling Li Jiya.


    Blue-green light flared. The flames formed symbols Chang-li could almost read before coalescing into four human shapes. The sand beneath moved, it shifted and rumbled, and bodies pulled themselves up until they filled the silhouettes of green light. Li Jiya buried her face in her hands.


    The men were disciples of Moon Whispers, and they were quite clearly dead. Their mouths hung open, their faces slack, their eyes alight with blue-green fire. They took steps toward Li Jiya, hands extended.


    "Kill them!" Joshi barked.


    Chang-li had a Firepot ready. Undead hated fire, didn''t they? He tossed it at the closest as he swung with his sword. His blow cut down the revenant, dropping it to its knees and taking one leg off at the ankle. It crawled forward, intent on Li Jiya.


    She was on her knees now, staring in horror at one of the revenants. ¡°Li Jen, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry!¡± The dead man looked nothing like her brother. The trap still had her in its grasp.


    Chang-li swung his sword again, striking the crawling revenant in the back of the neck. It spasmed, all of its limbs shaking and writhing in unison.


    Across the circle, Joshi had punched one revenant in the head with a red fist. His blow was echoed back twice with lux fists that came out of the air to hit. The disciples and Brother Stone faced off against the other two revenants. Brother Stone''s staff whirled as he struck. The revenants didn''t seem to care about the blows, not unless it was enough to immobilize them.


    Chang-li wrenched his sword free from his enemy and struck again, decapitating it. The creature still kept moving. He hacked one arm, then the other. The individual limbs kept going.


    Joshi''s opponent was a pile of ground meat, its head bashed in, its chest caved, black goo oozed out of holes in its torso. But it was still trying to get to Li Jiya.


    Chang-li leapt over the severed, writhing arms. He plunged into the green lux circle.


    He could feel the blue lux affecting him already. His heart raced. Fear flooded his veins. Shadows fell across his vision, and he could hear things moving, coming for him.


    Not real he told himself. The blue lux was hitting him,


    ¡°You will fail,¡± a disembodied voice told him. It sounded like Min. ¡°You will never be a real cultivator. Give up now. Your path ends here.¡±


    ¡°Not real,¡± he said aloud through gritted teeth, and took a step forward.


    The intensity of the attack on his mind increased. Chang-li cycled, closing his eyes and practicing the skill he¡¯d learned of using his other senses to block out the lies.


    He could sense Li Jiya just ahead, huddled against her own fears. Chang-li took another step and reached her side. He dragged her to her feet, draping her arm around his neck. Then, as she hobbled beside him, pulled her free from the circle, back toward the great green chamber until they were ten feet from the circle.


    Li Jiya exclaimed, ¡°Scribe Wu? What are you doing here? How ¡ª¡± Her eyes seemed to clear. She looked around. ¡°I thought I was somewhere else. Where are my people?¡±


    "You stay here," Chang-li said, because the revenants had turned and started for her, ignoring the disciples chopping them to pieces. Chang-li wove a net as he strode toward the revenants. He fashioned it with yellow lux, which he had the best structural control of, imagining a lattice of interlocking slats. Then poured green in everywhere between the slats, before adding a touch of blue.


    These creatures were clearly powered by green and blue lux. The life lux, green in this case, were animating their corpses long after they should have been dead, while the blue provided their mindless determination to attack Li Jiya. He would need to undermine both.


    He flung his net wide. It filled the whole tunnel between him and the others. As the first of the revenants stumbled into his net, it burst into multicolored flame and dissolved to dust.


    "Throw the pieces in!" he shouted. Joshi, understanding what he meant, grabbed one of the writhing arms and tossed it. The disciples set to with a will, picking up any pieces of body not able to move on their own and throwing them into his net. When his weave at last unraveled, the revenants were dust once more.


    Li Jiya sagged against the tunnel wall. "Thank you," she said as Joshi joined them.


    "What happened?" he asked.


    "It was Feng." She took a deep, sobbing breath. "He was waiting for us. His people..." She shook her head. "I was expecting treachery, but not like this. They killed all my disciples. They knew we were coming. One of my disciples betrayed us. They took him away and killed the rest of us. Feng broke my leg himself. He used a technique on me and I think the tower amplified it. I was trapped in my own fears for I don¡¯t know how long. You saved me." She was looking at Joshi as she spoke. Chang-li felt a quick stab of jealousy. After all, he''d been the one who figured out how to defeat the revenants, the one who pulled her from the trap.


    "Do you need further aid?" Joshi asked.


    Li Jiya shook her head. "There''s another exit on the other side of the green chamber. I can get to it now that you''ve pulled me free. I''m done here." She looked utterly defeated.


    Joshi reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "It is no failing to misjudge the ruthlessness of an evil man."


    She met his gaze. "You''re lying to me. You would not have underestimated Feng in that way."


    "Perhaps I have known more ruthless men than you have."


    "Perhaps. Be careful. He expects you to come. He said he knows what you''re after, and he won''t let you have her."


    Joshi''s expression was grim. "Does he now?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you should abandon this climb,¡± Li Jiya suggested, "He has more disciples than you, and they''re all stronger."


    "We''re not abandoning anything," Chang-li said before Joshi could speak. "We have to complete this floor. If Feng is waiting for us to spring a trap, then so be it. That gives us a chance to defeat him and win the Tower Boon ourselves."


    Li Jiya shook her head. "If you make it out of here alive, I will owe you a great debt."

 Bk 2 Ch 36: Into Green

    Chang-li considered the two remaining disciples and Brother Stone. Neither of the disciples had made it past the first veil, while Brother Stone, during their climb down through the green maze, had claimed to reach it.


    "You should go back," he told them.


    Disciple Cui objected. "Feng already outnumbers you. Do not send us away."


    "He''s correct," Joshi said. "It is not about numbers, but about the state of your progression. The lux has been growing more and more dense. Even with your limiters, you must be feeling it."


    Disciple Cui and Yang looked away, not meeting his eyes. Brother Stone nodded. "I am, but I''m master of it. I want to continue pushing forward. The Elder Sister is counting on me to reach as far as I can."


    "We didn''t bring Min either," Chang-li pointed out. "There will be time for you to continue your own progression. Go with Li Jiya. Tell Min what''s happened so far."


    Cui and Yang bowed and made no objection, but Brother Stone shook his head. "I will not leave you behind."


    "Am I your master or not?" Joshi demanded.


    Brother Stone hesitated. At last, he bowed. "You must take care not to get yourself killed," he told Chang-li. "If I abandon the Elder Sister''s spouse and ill befalls him, I fear what she will do to me."


    "I have no intention of dying here." Chang-li assured him. ¡°Tell Min I¡¯ll be back as soon as I can.¡±


    The disciples accompanied Li Jiya back to the green chamber, leaving Chang-li and Joshi alone.


    Chang-li took some time to study what lay beyond them. It wasn''t merely another chamber. This cavern, supposing it truly was a cavern for he could not see the ceiling, was vast and spacious. It seemed miles wide, at least. Tall, blue mushrooms twice his height sprung up everywhere. A glowing path led beneath them. In the distance, something moved at about head height. There was a quiet drip, drip of water that he couldn''t see.


    He cycled lux. All the physical luxes were present, as was a strong thread of green, but blue dominated. That had him worried. From their training with Hiroko, he knew that blue lux affected the mind. She had used it to drain the life from their enemies or to inflict them with debilitating effects. All the techniques he had read in the scrolls used blue as a secondary component of a technique. Weave blue into your orange, and now your sword might leave your enemies slowed, unable to react fast enough. Bind blue to yellow, and the flames would burn not just body but mind as well, making the victim believe their wounds to be far more severe than they truly were.


    Chang-li was excited to give it a try but apprehensive about what they might take.


    "Come," Joshi said. "We are wasting time."


    They set off together along the path through the mushrooms. Chang-li was concerned about following so obvious a trail. Yet elsewhere, there were chasms in the ground or great spikes of rock blocking the way. This path had been set for a reason. He would follow it, but he would be wary.


    Something moved off among the mushrooms. Chang-li looked, saw nothing. "Did you hear that?"


    "I hear many things," Joshi said quietly. "Be prepared." He hesitated. "If you must, use the band."


    "I will," Chang-li promised.


    Sword in hand, he and Joshi proceeded along through the forest. The only warning he had was a quick buzz. Chang-li whirled, striking out with his sword before he even saw his foe. He sliced, and an enormous wasp the size of a chicken fell at his feet, one wing severed. The wasp was banded red and blue. He pivoted and struck it in the abdomen, spilling lux from its body. A dozen more wasps descended on them. Their buzzing was an irritation in his mind. He fought it off as best he could.


    Joshi was punching. Magen hovered beside a wasp that was out of his range. As Joshi struck the closest, a duplicate of his punch emerged through the lux creature''s body, knocking down the next wasp. Chang-li forced himself to use the senses he''d been so carefully cultivating as the whine of the wasps grew stronger, his eyes unfocused. He felt, rather than seeing or hearing the wasp, as it buzzed on him. Another fell dead at his feet. Joshi shouted and punched.


    The wasps, attracted by his flurry of blows, were surrounding him, giving Chang-li the opportunity to weave together a technique. He wove a Firepot but made one end of the weave much looser than the other. He pointed the loose end at the wasps and poured yellow lux into pot. The weave exploded on just that side and sprayed the wasps with his fire. Three fell, their wings crispy. Joshi struck one then pivoted even as it was falling, to strike out at the final one. As the last wasp twitched and died, the pair stared at each other, breathing heavily.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Well," Chang-li said, "that wasn''t so bad."


    Shapes swarmed through the mushroom forest toward them. Human shapes. Then a moment later, Chang-li made them out clearly, cultivators in robes, four of them. He tensed himself for an attack from Feng, but Joshi called out, "They''re not alive, but not dead either."


    Chang-li sensed with his lux, pushed past the confusion his eyes were telling him and perceived. The lux field was unmistakable, similar to the dead men who had attacked them earlier. These were animated by the blue and green lux that infused this place. Their robes too, weren''t patterned in the soaring heavens scheme. Though the blue light here muted everything, they had a diagonal hash design to their robes, unlike anything Chang-li had seen before.


    There were three men and a woman. The woman''s hair was dressed in an uncommon style, cut short across her forehead and tied back from her face. All three men had short hair themselves. One sported a goatee. They were more animated than the revenants before, moving like living beings. Chang-li sensed that these had been cultivators at the Peak of Mental Refinement. They had fallen and now here they were.


    He and Joshi set themselves back to back. Magen flew overhead, circling around them, helping Joshi watch as the revenants came in.


    "Got anything up your sleeve?" Joshi asked.


    The four dead cultivators came at them in a loping stride, their bodies hunched, their hands dragging almost to the ground, more like animals than humans, though clearly neither anymore.


    "Go," Joshi told Magen, and the tiny lux creature streaked ahead. "I will keep them busy,¡± he told Chang-li. ¡°You find a technique that works.¡± He crouched and then exploded upward in a lux-powered leap. He came down fist first, his Meteor Punch kicking up sand in a six-foot radius around him. As he crashed into the foremost revenants, the others turned on him, attacking. He moved a red lux shield about his body impossibly fast, blocking each of their attacks.


    Chang-li took a deep breath, trying to remember what he had studied. These former cultivators were held together by blue and red lux. The techniques he¡¯d read all used physical lux to contain spiritual, making it easier to work with. Use the same colors against each other; that was just basic cultivating theory.


    He rebuilt his weave, this time starting with red. He needed to break through the outer shells of the revenants'' bodies and expose them to the weaponized lux he was wielding. The net this time looked as though it was woven of ropes rather than fine threads. He hadn''t the dexterity with red lux for anything more refined. He hurled it out onto the nearest of the revenants. The weave settled around the creature, wrapping it, and it screamed. Not a sound a human throat should have been capable of making. It wailed in despair as it fell to the ground, the lux weave tightening around it and crushing it into a ball.


    "Do that again!" Joshi shouted as he kicked out with one foot, knocking a revenant back, then followed up with a punch that was echoed twice through Magen against the third of the revenants.


    Chang-li hastily wove again. His reserves of red were growing low. The defeated cultivator¡¯s lux coiled upward. He didn''t have the time and concentration to seize it, purify it, and make it his own, so he used what he had and sent another net of red flying at the one Joshi had knocked back.


    Out of red lux, he ran forward, seizing the available lux and cycling it rapidly through his body. He had his sword in his hand and tried to infuse blue lux into it, but it didn''t work. The lux simply wouldn''t flow. He understood now why the ghost brothers had told him that cultivators sought out special weapons to use with the spiritual luxes. Instead, he filled it with red and slashed.


    It severed an arm from the revenant on Joshi''s right. Joshi punched hard, knocking it to the ground. Chang-li was still cycling as the remaining revenant came in. Joshi turned to meet it and slammed one enormous blow against its torso, exploding through its chest. As his fist emerged from the other side, the creature seized Joshi''s arm and pulled itself toward him, hissing and clawing.


    Chang-li threw a hastily woven net technique into its face. The net was a quarter the size of the others he''d made. It closed around the creature''s head and compressed. Joshi pulled away. He and Chang-li left the cultivator''s body writhing on the ground as they turned to the one Joshi had previously downed, the female cultivator revenant.


    She wasn''t immobilized yet, though his attack had seemingly broken her spine and she couldn''t rise. She scrabbled at them with claws, raking a long scratch in Chang-li''s leg as he and Joshi brutally dismembered her body. The hateful task done, Chang-li stepped away. He accepted their lux and cycled it almost without thinking.


    "This is the fate that awaits us if we fail," Joshi observed. Chang-li didn''t bother to answer. ¡°You came up with a technique quickly. Well done.¡±


    Chang-li explained what he had deduced. Joshi nodded gravely. "These are a curious dichotomy," he observed. "Unthinking, mere physical beings, held together by red lux but animated by blue. I wonder if there is another intelligence directing their actions or if the spell merely points them toward us and sends them along."


    Chang-li cleaned off his sword before resheathing it. "I''m not sure it matters." He started to say something else, but as he did, he looked up and spotted what could only be their destination.


    Chang-li pointed, Joshi turned. In the distance, through the blue mushroom forest, was an immense purple crystal. The whole cavern, he could see now, was shaped like a bowl sloping downward. They stood on one of its flanks about a quarter of the way down. In the center rose a purple crystal. He couldn''t have said from here if it was shaded more toward indigo or violet, just that it stood out from the blue. It had to be at least a hundred feet tall with sharp faces turned toward them.


    He could spot figures moving along the bottom and his heart sank. Was that Feng and his disciples waiting or was it still more revenants?


    "At least we know where to go," Joshi said, his tone echoing Chang-li''s own resolve.


    "Then we shouldn''t waste any more time."

 Bk 2 Ch 37: Soaring Heavens Attacks!

    Down the slope a pair of revenants dragged themselves from the dirt at the foot of one mushroom and loped toward Chang-li and Joshi.


    "I will take these," Joshi said before Chang-li could respond. He crouched, leapt, and smashed into them. Chang-li could make out his lux technique brimming with green. The cloud around him as he crashed down was laced with blue lux, and both the revenants fell under the shock. Neither rose.


    As Chang-li approached, Joshi checked both for movement. "You were right," Joshi said. "The key is to get the blue lux beneath their surface."


    Chang-li shaded his eyes. Three more cultivators were moving up the slope from the purple crystal peak toward them, but they weren''t moving the way the revenants had. Their stride was purposeful. Their bodies fully under their control. He pointed. "I think those are Feng''s people."


    Joshi shaded his eyes. "Yes, I recognize two of the disciples." There was no sign of Feng. Chang-li''s heart began to race. They had spotted him and Joshi. He had no doubt about it. They were making their way with purpose and would be here in a matter of minutes. He wet his lips. "What should we do?"


    "We fight," Joshi said, as though that wasn''t obvious. Though Chang-li supposed there was still time to retreat back out of here, he wasn''t going to flee from a fight. A knot of worry in his stomach was growing larger by the minute. He had never gone up against other humans before, and he had no doubt the cultivators would be after his blood. He would be forced to kill or be killed.


    Joshi seemed equal to the challenge. He was busy cycling, his eyes intent on the other three. "They want you dead," Joshi told Chang-li quietly. "You must remember that. There''s no need for them to come at us. Look how far ahead they are. Think of what they did to Li Jiya and her disciples. Do not hesitate."


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±


    "It is not wrong to regret the need to take a life," Joshi said quietly. "I lost my place in my clan because I hesitated to kill someone who was at my mercy, and though I regret what has happened since, I do not regret my choice. Make yours now. But know, you must fight or die."


    "Yes.¡± Chang-li was resolved. He cycled, separating out everything he could. These were cultivators, not beasts, not shambling horrors, but men with minds capable of deceit and seeing through his plans. He readied a Firepot as the three approached. Joshi sent Magen out toward them.


    "It is only those three," Joshi reported back as the trio of cultivators got close enough for Chang-li to make out details. One was half a head shorter than the other two. One had a prominent scar on his face, and one wore his shoulder-length hair loose. That was how Chang-li would think of them. They must have names, but he didn''t know them or care. They were the short one, Scarred, and Loose Hair.


    Chang-li fortified his sword with all three physical luxes, strengthening the blade with red, sharpening its edge with orange, and infusing it with yellow-lux flame. He was as prepared as he could be. About 50 feet away, the three, without any sign between them, broke into a run.


    Scarred was coming straight in while Shorty raced to the left and Loose Hair to the right to flank them.


    Joshi ran forward toward Scarred, his fist glowing with lux. Just before he reached him, Chang-li hurled his Firepot technique. It struck the man in the chest and coated him with flame. The cultivator twisted his hand and deployed a counter technique. The flame dropped away from him to land at his feet just as Joshi came in with a smashing right fist.


    Meanwhile, Chang-li had turned as Shorty raced toward him. The man carried an orange lux polearm longer than he was, tipped with a gleaming blade. Chang-li''s block knocked the weapon to one side. Shorty barreled in but Chang-li stepped back and to the side. As the short Soaring Heavens cultivator raced past, he stuck out his foot. The man stumbled over Chang-li''s leg and went down. Chang-li raised his sword for a blow, but Loose Hair was there with a sword of his own. He caught Chang-li''s attack and threw him back away from his fellow.


    Meanwhile, Joshi was exchanging a flurry of fists with Scarred. Chang-li couldn''t spare time to watch. Magen buzzed about overhead, its hum sounding concerned. Shorty was getting to his feet while Loose Hair backed Chang-li toward the nearest giant mushroom.


    Chang-li twisted to the side so he would go around rather than into the trunk of the mushroom. He was already working on weaving a technique, even as Shorty rose and began constructing his own weave with two hands.


    Chang-li tried something he has never done except in training, a simple yellow structure enforced with green and blue. He didn''t expect it to do much, but threw it straight at Shorty''s face. The technique, from a scroll that had called it a blindfold, flew out and caught Shorty across the face. It expanded into a green-yellow mass that slid over his features until it blocked his eyes, nose, and mouth. Shorty scrabbled at it with both hands, his own technique forgotten, as he let out a muffled scream.


    Chang-li was too busy with the other to take advantage. He furiously blocked attacks from Loose Hair. They matched strikes. Loose Hair was using a two-handed sword. Like Chang-li''s, it didn''t seem able to channel spiritual lux, but it was well enforced with orange and red.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Loose Hair forced him back until he was against the trunk of the mushroom. It was squishy beneath Chang-li''s back, and its cap dipped low over his head. Loose Hair swung. Chang-li ducked. His enemy''s sword struck the mushroom trunk and stuck there. As Loose Hair tugged ineffectively at his weapon Chang-li stepped forward and thrust his sword straight into the man¡¯s belly. He dropped his sword, and clutched his stomach with both hands. He tried to weave lux together. Green and red, probably some sort of bandage. Chang-li didn''t stop to think. He pulled his blade back and swung again, his sword tip slicing across the man''s exposed throat, opening it with a vicious, deep wound. Choking on his own blood, Loose Hair collapsed.


    Chang-li stared in horror at the dying man. He had done this. He had killed a man, and not quickly, not painlessly. Loose Hair was gagging and choking as he died.


    But Shorty was back. All traces of Chang-li''s technique were gone. He had a technique in his hands as he raced toward Chang-li. Chang-li brought his sword up again. Instinctively, he reinforced the yellow in his blade as he slashed down through the air between the man''s hands where his technique was forming. His yellow lux sliced through the weave, breaking it into tatters.


    Chang-li grabbed all the yellow he could find, formed it into a fistful of flame, and shot it at Shorty''s face. The man stumbled back. Chang-li was on him, swinging. No grace and elegance in his attack, just desperation, he caught Shorty in the side of the ribs, blade biting deep but not a fatal blow.


    Shorty had an orange lux blade in his other hand. He stabbed forward, catching the edge of Chang-li''s robes. Chang-li shouted. He kicked the man in the chest, knocking him back, then sprang forward and brought his blade down again and again. Finally he stopped, panting. Shorty lay still, his torso a mass of wounds gushing blood.


    Chang-li''s eyes were wet as he stumbled back. He looked around for Joshi. He''d forgotten his friend during his own desperate fight, but Joshi was safe, his own enemy lying dead on the sandy forest floor. He had almost reached Chang-li as the scribe finished his second opponent.


    Chang-li looked up and met Joshi''s eyes. He was tense, worried his friend would say something congratulatory. Chang-li had never felt less glorious in his life.


    Instead, Joshi nodded his head gravely. "It is done." He reached down and took a scrap of cloth from a clean-ish section of the dead man''s robe and handed it to Chang-li. "You will need to clean your sword."


    Chang-li nodded. He wiped the blood from his blade best he could, then tossed aside the bloody rag, trying not to look at the men he had killed. He took a deep breath. "Feng sent them, didn''t he?"


    "I think we can assume that, but we do not yet know whether Feng left them behind after leaving the tower himself, or if he still waits ahead of us."


    "He would only leave if he has gotten the boon. And there would be no point is us going on," Chang-li said dully. "There was only one boon."


    "I doubt he has left," Joshi said quietly. "I expect he sent these to see if they could deal with us alone, but that he is still ahead."


    Chang-li tried to pull himself together. "It wasn''t too bad," he said. "They, uh, I mean, there was two on three, and they''re the same stage we are. Perhaps, especially if Feng is alone, we have a chance."


    Joshi hesitated. "None of them were very good," he said brutally. "We cannot use them for comparison. Feng, despite his arrogance, I must admit he is a masterful cultivator, and he is beyond the Peak of Mental Refinement. Have you reached the peak?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "No, and I don''t know the way either. You?"


    Joshi considered, then nodded. "I think I sense my path. If I am right, if the test of heart is in pushing yourself to your breaking point and then beyond it, then I believe there''s no faster way for me to reach it than to face Feng."


    "Then we go on," Chang-li said, and he felt lighter having said so, despite knowing that they were going up against a foe neither of them was sure they could defeat. They set off through the mushroom forest toward the giant crystal in the distance.


    "Feng is waiting for us," Joshi said after a while.


    ¡°What? Chang-li was startled. "Why? What would possibly cause him to delay? He must have taken the tower''s boon by now."


    Joshi shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. He killed Li Jiya''s disciples but left her alive. He was taunting her. He did not mean her ever to leave this place.¡±


    Chang-li pressed his lips together. ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain why he would still be there, why he wouldn¡¯t take the boon and go.


    "He and I and Li Jiya and her brother were escorting Princess Hiroko. I knew then he was desperately jealous. He seemed to regard Hiroko almost as his own property, even though she has made no sign of accepting his suit. He saw Li Jen die, and I thought then that he seemed glad of it. I think he is determined to humiliate and then kill Li Jiya and myself for daring to oppose him."


    "That is ludicrous," Chang-li said.


    Joshi smiled. It was without humor. "Have you known many Young Masters?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "I was trained in a small city. We didn''t even have a tower of our own. This is the first time I''ve really been around cultivators. I''ve heard plenty of stories, though.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t either but I have known men like them. Young, full of their own power and importance. Deep down they are hollow. They know they are unworthy of real respect so they vehemently demand a show of it from others. They are jealous of any sign of worth from their peers."


    Chang-li thought it over. He shook his head. "Sometimes in a scribing school, there were students like that who thought the best way to put themselves ahead was by showing that everyone else was beneath them. But I did best when surrounding myself with a group of other students who could help each other pull us up. If I was good in ancient Kahakian characters and my friend skilled in mathematics, we could help each other. That''s how I made it as far as I did as a scribe." He realized how foolish he was going to sound, then said it anyway. "I thought that was going to be true for cultivators as well."


    "Perhaps it is within a sect," Joshi said, but he sounded doubtful. Considering how Feng had just used his disciples. Chang-li was doubtful as well. It felt foolish, like a waste, and he wondered why the emperor tolerated such a system where those with potential fought and destroyed each other. Would not the empire be stronger if all who had a knack for cultivation were trained and brought to their own personal peaks?


    But that was a worry for another day. Today, he needed to focus on staying alive.

 Bk 2 Ch 38: Joshi Ruminates

    Joshi was more worried than he had let on to Chang-li. He could feel his approach to the Peak of Mental Refinement. He knew he was nearly there. Already, his mind hummed with the increased flow of lux through it. It was getting easier to understand his weaves. He and Magen were communicating better and better.


    But it would not be enough. He could feel the last veil, and to step through it would take something more than merely gathering lux and cycling it.


    The onslaught of dense lux was growing stronger with each step they took. He could tell Chang-li felt the strain as well. Sweat dripped down the scribe''s face with every step they took.


    The lux was emanating from that giant crystal, Joshi realized. He couldn¡¯t see it through the forest of mushrooms but he could feel it ahead. His senses were keen enough now to see the flows of lux. This crystal was the focus of lux for the whole tower. And he could feel more than that. Something beyond the lux. Deeper, richer, more pure. Was this Lumos? The true substance of the universe? Which cultivation towers broke down into lux so that cultivators could make use of it?


    The monks of Harupa had spoken little of Lumos. It was a forbidden topic, like the idea of channeling violet lux. Only the emperor bestowed the right to learn to crack Lumos into lux upon his chosen few. But Joshi was no citizen of the empire. His people ranged the wilds and had occasional contact with others who spoke of lands beyond where the rules were different. There, perhaps, cultivators could work without imperial decree.


    That was a problem for another day, if he lived to see it. First, there was the problem of Feng. From what Li Jiya had said, Feng still had two disciples with him, unless he had already sent them back. Joshi suspected he was keeping them close. Those disciples would not themselves be a match for himself and Chang-li, but outnumbered and with Feng''s superior cultivation, they had no chance. Not head-on. They needed tactics.


    "Let us halt," he told Chang-li. The scribe seemed relieved. He sat down at the base of one of the enormous mushrooms and pulled out the inhibitor bracelet, placing it around his wrist and taking some of his rations from the bag. He closed his eyes as he chewed.


    Joshi sat as well. He commanded Magen to go ahead, telling the lux creature to keep himself as invisible as possible, though he was not sure he would be able to hide from the senses of a cultivator already at the Peak of Mental Refinement. Nevertheless, he sent the creature scouting along. If he concentrated and cycled his own lux through it, Magen could range quite a distance from him, the bond between them stretching but not breaking.


    Joshi concentrated on seeing through Magen''s vision, even as he watched his own surroundings. The mushroom forest thinned out as the slope reached the bottom of the bowl. Between the end of the forest and the crystal rising from the floor of this enormous cavern was a moat filled with shimmering light. Bridges at intervals of 50 feet or so spanned the moat.


    Magen dipped down to take a sip of the light while Joshi urged caution. Joshi felt the infusion pouring through him and ordered Magen to stop. It was the purest, densest lux he had tasted yet, flowing deep. This must be what the lux technicians would be seeking to harvest.The lux sought to enter Joshi¡¯s own core; he quickly switched his cycling pattern and vented it from his body instead.


    From Magen''s tiny sample, Joshi knew that it was far too dense for him to take into his own body, as much richer than the ambient lux as Tower lux was to the world beyond. He was certain Feng wouldn''t be able to handle it either. Mental Refinement only got you so far. This would destroy even a body adapted to the needs of ordinary lux. Could he make use of that?


    Joshi began to consider. Feng was arrogant, that was certain. He had the skills to back up his arrogance. In a fair fight, Joshi had no doubt Feng could defeat him and Chang-li both. There had to be a way to change the odds. With Magen, he had superior vision and awareness of any fight. Could he turn that to his advantage?


    As he scouted, Magen, patrolling around this side of the river of lux, spotted two Soaring Heavens disciples, a man and a woman. Joshi didn''t know either of their names, but from the markings on their robes, they were inner sect disciples, probably trying to earn their way toward a higher rank by assisting Feng.


    One of them pointed toward Magen. He''d been seen. Joshi started to recall his lux creature, then had an idea. He directed Magen a little ways up the slope and had him become fully visible. The two started after him, talking excitedly to each other. He couldn''t hear what they were saying, but he had a guess. They recognized Magen as a lux creature; they would know how valuable he could be in the right hands. They might yet be trying to capture him.


    Neither seemed to have called an alert back to Feng, if Feng was even here. No, Feng was here. Joshi was sure of it.


    Magen led them a little further. Joshi turned to Chang-li. "A pair of disciples comes. Prepare. We should try to take one alive and question them."


    Chang-li sprang to his feet, removing the inhibitor and preparing himself for battle. He drew his sword with his left hand and began weaving together a pattern with his right. Joshi was impressed with how his friend could manage fairly complicated weaves with only a single hand. Joshi''s own instincts led him toward reinforcing his body with lux, but he was pushing for more than that. He prepared now, readying a Thousand Fists technique.


    The male disciple preceded the female by a good ways, hurrying forward. Joshi told Magen to go invisible. The male disciple raced ahead, past where he had last been.


    Joshi directed Magen around beside the female disciple, right behind her head. Then he unleashed his technique. He punched, and the three reflected blows emerged from Magen. They took the female disciple unawares, knocking her down.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    She didn''t move. Joshi wasn''t certain if she''d been killed, but he thought she was likely merely knocked out. As the male disciple hesitated, looking back, Joshi and Chang-li sprang out from their hiding places.


    The male disciple turned, surprise on his face, just in time for Chang-li''s technique to hit him square in the chest with flame. He had a counter-technique of his own at once, ripping the flame from his robes and transforming it into a whip of lux that he swung at Joshi.


    Joshi ducked, came in with a hard right punch to the abdomen, but the disciple had reinforced his body with red lux. It did no more than stagger him an inch back. Joshi followed up with a blow to the face, but the disciple caught his hand with the lux whip and yanked it aside. He wound the other end of the whip around Joshi''s hand and tried to pull it to himself.


    Joshi ripped his hands apart with no effort. The disciple seemed surprised that his technique had had no effect. Joshi was a bit surprised too, how easy it had been to break. Then he remembered the first floor guardian''s words: "No bond shall hold you unless you choose it." He grinned to himself as he stepped in and smashed a hard right hook to the disciple''s face. The man went down. Chang-li was there, a sword at the man''s throat.


    "Drop your weave," he ordered, "or I''ll slit your throat."


    The disciple let his hands fall loose at his side. Magen was keeping an eye on the female disciple. She hadn''t moved.


    "To your feet. We have some questions for you. If we like your answers, we''ll let you go," Joshi said.


    Chang-li took a step back and let their prisoner rise. "You are here with Young Master Feng?"


    "Yes," the man mumbled. He was still breathing heavily. Blood trickled down his face.


    "He will not be pleased to hear how easily you were defeated.¡±


    The disciple hesitated. "No."


    "Then tell us what we wish and we will allow you to flee," Joshi said.


    A little ways off, the woman was starting to stir. Chang-li prodded at the man with his sword. "Walk over to your friend." He pulled a rope from his satchel and tossed it to Joshi, who quickly bound the man''s hands behind his back, enforcing the rope with red lux to strengthen it. The man would be able to cut his bonds with a lux blade, but they were watching him for any signs of him touching the lux in his core. It sat quiescent now.


    They reached the woman as she sat up. "Don''t move," Joshi said. He had the man sit beside her and then bound the woman''s hands as well. They glared up at him, sneers on their faces.


    "Do what you like, but you''re no match for Young Master Feng," the male disciple said.


    "How many more of you are there?"


    "Don''t tell him that," the woman said.


    "Do you want us to slit your throats or let you go?"


    She snarled but fell silent as the man began to speak. He could see, no doubt, the blazing determination in Joshi''s eyes. Joshi leaned in, snarling, letting a bit of his close-held rage show.


    "Do you know who I am?"


    "Young Master Joshi of the Morning Mist."


    "Yes, but before that, I was the son of Khan of the Darwur, the only enemy who has fought the empire''s forces to a standstill in the last two hundred years. My father dealt a great defeat to the General of the West, one he has still not recovered from. I am here to demonstrate to the empire what a son of the Khan of the Darwur can do as a cultivator. Do you wish to stand in my way?"


    It was nonsense, of course. Joshi''s father had nothing to do with him being here, but he would use his people''s fierce reputation as a weapon. His father would be proud of him for that.


    The man blanched and began to babble. "We''re the last. Feng sent the others to deal with you. He had ordered them to report back and was furious when they didn''t. Couldn''t believe you might have defeated them. Thought you had perhaps slipped past them. We saw the creature and thought capturing it would put us in Feng''s good graces. He''s waiting for you at the crystal."


    "He has already met the Tower Guardian then?" They nodded.


    ¡°And received the boon. He wasn''t happy about it," the woman said. "Seemed to think it was useless. Then he started laughing and said maybe he''d put it to use after all.¡±


    "Why has he not left?"


    "He means to kill you," he said. "He will return with the boon and the head of Young Master Joshi and then no one will doubt his worth. He said they''d have to make the indigo princess marry him.¡±


    Joshi felt very near to murder then. Instead, he growled. "What else does Feng have at his disposal? Scripts? Weapons?"


    "He doesn''t need any of that to defeat you. He''s just going to kill you," the male disciple spat.


    ¡°Then why send you?¡± Chang-li asked. ¡°Why not keep you back until we arrived?¡±


    The female disciple looked murderous. ¡°We begged him to let us prove ourselves against you. He laughed and said we could try, and if we did, we¡¯d be accepted as inner disciples of the sect.¡±


    ¡°Idiots,¡± Chang-li muttered. ¡°Instead you split your forces.¡±


    Joshi straightened up. "I don''t think there''s anything else we can get out of these two," he told Chang-li. "Should we let them go?"


    "I don''t trust them," Chang-li said, looking from one to the other. "I think they will attack us again the moment our backs are turned.¡±


    ¡°Go! We will be watching and if you turn back, I will kill you,¡± Joshi told them. They hesitated only a heartbeat before running for the exit, a few hundred feet away.


    They watched the disciples until they both disappeared into the exit. Then, Chang-li turned to Joshi.  "We outnumber him, but that doesn''t matter."


    Joshi nodded his head in acknowledgment. "You are correct. He has surpassed the Peak of Mental Refinement. We have not. He''s stronger than we are."


    "How much stronger?" Chang-li asked, the frustration in his eyes mirroring Joshi''s own. "I know before I reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement that his will could crush mine without a thought. But our bodies have been reforged with lux. We are cultivators ourselves. We have lux in our cores and techniques. He''s not yet reached the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, and this floor seems to test us at the level where we are. Can we beat him?"


    "I have not tried my strength against him." Joshi sighed. "I don''t know." It was frustrating to admit so much. "But what choice do we have?"


    "To go back," Chang-li said at once. "He has beaten us to the Tower Guardian and received the boon. He''s won, and he''s waiting because he believes he can kill us. I don''t like just walking in and facing him. Not without some sort of plan or strategy."


    Joshi nodded. He bent down and traced in the dirt with his finger. "No. My father would never have gone into battle against a superior enemy without a plan. And yet he has defeated the General of the West several times. The General is a cultivator. Many of his men are cultivators as well. And my people are not."


    "Is this going to help us here?" Chang-li asked skeptically. He sighed. ¡°All right, how did he do it?"


    "For the last battle, the one I was present at, he waited until the general¡¯s army had been away from a tower for several weeks, their lux reserves depleted. Then my father sprang his trap. Without lux, a cultivator may be stronger than an ordinary man, but he is no match for ten, nor can he easily shrug off a dozen arrows piercing his flesh."


    "We have no chance of cutting Feng off from lux," Chang-li said.


    "But we do." Joshi looked up at him and grinned.


    Chang-li''s eyes narrowed. He reached into his bag. "You mean..."


    Joshi nodded. "Here''s what we will do."

 Bk 2 Ch 39: Hirokos Decision

    Hiroko had not entered the tower in the almost week since Li Jen had been killed, but she concealed her nerves behind a carefully practiced facade as she followed the Dowager Pearl inside. They were accompanied by the rest of the gem court, their servants, the spouses and masters of the cultivation sects who were even now competing to win the tower''s boon for themselves, the inquisitor and all his people, scribes, guards, porters, and the vast host of lux technicians who were eagerly awaiting the end of this tower cull so that they could enter and do their own work.


    Several hours before, word had reached the cultivation camp that some of the sect disciples had returned bearing news, and the dowager and other officials declared that everyone important in the camp would enter the now-safe third floor of the tower to await the conclusion. Servants and guards had been sent ahead to make sure that no new tower beasts had put in an appearance since the tower was declared safe, and also to set up pavilions and refreshments for the important people.


    Hiroko kept her hands folded inside of her long sleeves and her head bowed. The dowager swept into the tower, along the path, and to the cluster of tents which had been set up near the entrance to the fourth floor. A dozen beautiful pavilions had been erected. Each pavilion was a square 15 feet on the side, covered in cloth-of-gold supported by beautifully polished redwood poles. Under the pavilions were couches and chairs for the nobles and their guests to recline upon.


    Two long white tents a little farther off had servants bustling about. She could already smell food emanating from within.


    Hiroko followed the Dowager Pearl to the centermost of the pavilions. The dowager seated herself on a carved black throne and put Hiroko on a velvet-topped footstool beside her. Then she sent her servants with invitations for specific members of the court and specific cultivator spouses to attend them.


    Lady Morningrise returned with four of the cultivator spouses in tow: Lady Moon Whispers, Lady Soaring Heavens, Lord Jade Lotus, and Min. Lady Morning Mist, Hiroko corrected herself. The dowager directed them to sit on a pair of couches off to her left. Servants appeared without seeming to have been summoned, with trays of food and drink.


    ¡°Report to me what you have heard from your disciples and Young Masters," the dowager instructed.


    Lord Jade Lotus cleared his throat. "Two of our Young Masters and our disciples have returned. They report the third Young Masters, Rah Zian, perished and they were forced to retreat due to an insurmountable obstacle."


    "That is unfortunate," the dowager said. "How far did they reach?"


    Lord Jade Lotus hesitated. "They penetrated to the yellow."


    The dowager frowned. "You lost a Young Master in the yellow portion of this floor. I must say I was looking for rather better performance from you and your sect, Lord Jade Lotus. I fear I will not be able to extend to you a place in the Vardin City tower cull with that sort of performance."


    Lord Jade Lotus bowed his head. "As it happens, Dowager Pearl, the obstacle they encountered was not that of the tower itself, but an attack by another cultivator." He shot Lady Soaring Heavens a quick look.


    Hiroko knew who he meant. There was only one cultivator at this tower cull who had regularly sought to attack his fellows.


    "And yet," the dowager snapped, "that is exactly what you should have been expecting. This is not a nursery, Lord Jade Lotus. Cultivators are not children to be coddled. They must fight and they must win, or they will never rise high in the Emperor''s regard." She pointed at him. "You are dismissed. Collect your disciples and be gone. By the time we return to the camp, I want you removed from this place."


    "Dowager Pearl!" Lord Jade Lotus began. But there was no mercy in the dowager''s looks. He turned to the other spouses who eyed him with cold contempt.


    Curious, Hiroko subtly wove and released her sensing technique to try to better understand the web of connections here. There were so many people, it was almost overwhelming, but she was getting better at sorting them out. Each of these spouses had, as she expected, many connections to their own sect. They were all also very lightly bound together. An affinity of position, she thought, not any actual friendship or loyalties.


    A brief, stunned silence fell over the whole group. The Dowager''s lips curled up. It was plain to Hiroko that she had achieved exactly her intent. The spouses were now on the defense.


    "What of the rest of you?" the Dowager invited. "Lady Morning Mist, tell me, how fare your people?"


    Min was sitting bolt upright at the edge of the couch. Her shoulders were stiff, her whole posture speaking of tension, but her voice showed none of that. "One of my sect disciples returned previously. He had sustained an injury. He reported that they had all made great progress and had reached the blue section of the floor when he was forced to return."


    ¡°Were they attacked by other cultivators?"


    "No," Min said.


    She was interrupted by a commotion toward the other end of the little festival. Guards had been posted near the entrance to the fourth floor of the tower. Now they were hurrying back, accompanying four other people.


    Hiroko''s heart beat a little faster. Chang-li and Joshi were in there, racing toward the heart of the tower in an attempt to claim its boon from Feng. She wished them well, but she wanted them safe, too. If they were returning, even unsuccessful, she would be happy.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Min was on her feet, and so too was Lady Moon Whispers. "Bring them here," Lady Moon Whispers commanded, then turned to the Dowager and bowed. "That is, your grace, I¡ª¡°


    ¡°Have them brought here," the Dowager commanded one of her servants, who hurried off.


    The quartet approached their pavilion. They were a bedraggled-looking lot. The woman in the center, wearing Moon Whispers colors, was Li Jiya. Hiroko could have recognized her twice as far off. The other three were all wearing the gray robes of the Morning Mist sect, but none of them were Chang-li or Joshi. They must be lower-ranked disciples, then.


    Min was on her feet, her hands drumming at her side. "Lady Morning Mist," the Dowager said sharply. Min caught herself, took a deep breath, and sat down. Hiroko steadied her face and peeked at the connections between Min and her sect members. The lines between her and the disciples were very strong, much stronger than any of the other spouses seemed to have with members of their own sects. And yet Min had been a cultivator spouse to Morning Mist for barely a week. How curious.


    The cultivators approached and made their bows to the Dowager. "What''s happened?¡± Lady Moon Whispers asked Li Jiya sharply. "You look unwell."


    Li Jiya looked more than unwell. She was pale and shaking. She raised her head. "Young Masters Feng ambushed me and most of our disciples, except for disciple Lee Funai, who is a traitor to our sect. He set us up to be killed and went off with Feng."


    Lady Moon Whispers fixed her with a glare. "This perhaps should be discussed elsewhere, step-granddaughter.¡±


    "Our climb here is over," Li Jiya said. "I reached the blue, but no further. Feng has taken the Tower Boon."


    There was a gasp, and Hiroko realized it had come from herself. "You''re certain of this, Lady?" the Dowager Pearl asked sharply.


    "Certain," Li Jiya said.


    "What of our Young Masters?" Min asked the Morning Mist disciples sharply. ¡°Young Masters Joshi and my spouse Chang-li?¡±


    ¡°They went after Feng," the oldest of the three disciples, a man in his early 30s, heavy-set and solid-looking, reported.


    "Alone?" Min''s astonishment mirrored Hiroko''s own. Surely the two of them could not hope to challenge Feng.


    ¡°They did,¡± the discipled confirmed.


    Min leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes. "Thank you," she said. She pressed her lips together. Hiroko could tell she wanted to ask more, but didn¡¯t dare in front of the others.


    "All of you go and clean up," the Dowager commanded the newly arrived cultivators. "It seems that the end of this tower cull is not long. Have a message sent to the Lux technicians telling them to prepare their equipment," she told a servant, who nodded and vanished.


    Lady Soaring Heavens was exultant. Her smile could have blinded men as she looked about. "Then it is as I have always said. Young Master Feng proves himself. He will exit this tower very, very close to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. Such a Young Master must be brought to harness, do you not think?" Lady Soaring Heavens turned to the Dowager. "Dowager Pearl, with respect, it''s time that you reminded the princess of her duty."


    The Dowager reached out and set a wrinkled hand on Hiroko''s shoulder. Hiroko appreciated the gesture as the spouses all turned to stare at her. "Hiroko knows her duty," the Dowager said. "If she has not chosen to choose, it is because she feels there is no spouse here worthy of her.¡±


    ¡°A Young Master who has beaten a tower cull, received the tower boon, to say nothing of all the other ways he has distinguished himself? Truly?¡±


    "You said let Hiroko choose," Min interrupted. The other two spouses turned on her, gaping as though surprised that she would speak. Min blinked rapidly. Hiroko was fairly certain that she''d had a different intention and been surprised into speaking now by Lady Soaring Heaven''s actions. "That is to say, the marriage of an indigo princess has always been left to her judgment, no one else''s. Princess Hiroko should choose, yes, but it should be her choice," Min emphasized. "And Young Master Feng is hardly the only one, is he?"


    "No, indeed," Lady Moon Whispers said. "While I admit I had hoped my step-grandson Li Jen might find a way into her heart, Li Jiya is an attractive and competent cultivator as well, and will go far."


    "I thought Li Jiya intended to become a bride of the Emperor," Min said. Hiroko had heard that from Li Jiya herself.


    "That was before we lost Li Jen,¡± Lady Moon Whispers said. "She is, of course, required now to keep her sect alive and must abandon such personal desires. It is unfortunate. She would have done very well as a bride, but she knows her duty."


    Hiroko felt their attention all turn to her again. She didn''t like that. She never liked being the center of attention, especially not for something as important as this. But in truth, she was important. Her role in part of the Emperor''s grand scheme was vital. As a high-ranked indigo princess, she had far more responsibility and duty than a red noble like Min.


    Yet Min had already made a good marriage, tying herself to a scribe cultivator who might otherwise have been a loose end, overlooked by higher-ranked gems because of his lowly background. With Min at his side, he would be guided along the proper paths of the divine climb and take his place in the Emperor''s grand schemes.


    Joshi ¡ª her heart fluttered a bit as Joshi''s face sprang to her mind. He was a strong cultivator. He would go far and with guidance could become great, but she had traveled alongside him for many days and she knew his heart did not belong to the divine climb. He was not truly part of the Empire and he would resist any attempt anyone made to tie him into that.


    She very much suspected that after this tower cull, Joshi would disappear and find a path of his own somewhere outside the Empire. While she could not deny her attraction to him and her appreciation of his skills, she was bound as the Emperor''s granddaughter to work for the good of the Empire.


    Feng¡¯s actions here at the tower were unsavory. Perhaps even unseemly. And yet, was it not the job of a gem noble to take her cultivator spouse in hand and guide him back toward the proper path? With her there to moderate Feng¡¯s darker tendencies, to remind him of his duty and responsibility to those around him, he could be tamed. Better now than when he gained still more power. Today his actions threatened the people immediately around him. In a few years, when he was farther along the climb, he could be a risk to thousands.


    She did not love him. Did not know that she ever could, yet love was not a concern of the gem court. Loyalty, duty, and the good of the Empire.


    Hiroko would always choose to serve.


    She got to her feet, turned to the Dowager and bowed. Holding her hands folded in front of her, she said, "Dowager Pearl, I thank you for your instruction and your indulgence. I have been thinking over this matter for some time, ever since events last week brought into stark focus just how crucial it is for the bonds between cultivator and the Empire." She took a deep breath. Min was looking, leaning forward, smiling. "When Young Master Feng emerges from the fourth floor, I shall announce my intention to marry him."


    Min''s jaw dropped. Lady Moon Whispers''s face looked like she''d just drunk bitter tea. Lady Soaring Heavens, on the other hand, was exultant. She clapped her hands. "A fine choice, Princess. I shall see to all the arrangements for this wedding myself. It will not take more than a day or two to have everything done, and we can have it resolved before we move the sect to Vardin City for the tower cull there. Feng is going to climb high, my lady, with you at his side. There''s nowhere, nothing to stop him from reaching the highest heights, perhaps even one day, Prism."


    All Hiroko could do was nod. Her stomach was a pit of ice. She told herself she''d made the right choice. So why did it feel so wrong?

 Bk 2 Ch 40: Showdown:

    Chang-li felt the inhibitor band settling on him, choking off the flow of lux. It was like suddenly stepping outside of the tower again, but worse. He cycled his lux, and his core was sluggish. Outside the tower, it answered him as he pleased, but with the inhibitor in place, he felt half alive. His vision shrank like he could no longer see from the corners of his eyes, and his nerves felt dead.


    "Ugh.¡±


    ¡°Now you see why I will not bear the touch of an inhibitor on my flesh again," Joshi said.


    ¡°I¡¯m fully converted to your way of thinking," Chang-li said. "Let''s do this."


    They set off together. Magen was scouting ahead, watching for any sign of Feng. Joshi had assured him that even if Feng was trying to hide his presence, Magen would be able to sense him.


    "He waits for us," Joshi reported back after a moment. "Just on the far side of the bridge. He seems very confident."


    "We need to be careful of a trap," Chang-li reminded him. "The disciples could have been lying. Why wouldn''t he have more script circles? He clearly thinks you are at least as great a threat to him as Li Jiya was."


    ¡°Li Jiya was accompanied by half a dozen disciples stronger than ours. I do not think Feng considers you a threat," Joshi said. "Let''s keep it that way. The bracer at least will help."


    Chang-li''s throat was tight. "Yes. I hope you¡¯re right.¡±


    "He comes," Joshi reported sharply.


    They were nearly out of the mushroom forest now, with only a few hundred feet separating them from the moat of shining lux that surrounded the great crystal. The crystal reared up over them like a mountain''s peak, at least a hundred feet tall, its walls of shifting purple.


    The moat was fed from the crystal with seven streams coming out at regular intervals. At least Chang-li guessed it was seven. Two of them were hidden behind the bulk of the enormous crystal. Even with his inhibitor on, the lux moat felt intense to Chang-li''s senses. He would heed Joshi''s warning and stay well clear of it.


    Now Feng crossed the nearest bridge, striding toward them, his robes moving in the breeze of his own passage. His jet-black hair was perfectly slicked back from his head and tied in a tail with a silver cord laced through it. His robes were open, showing the silken white trousers and tunic beneath it. He carried a long, thin sword in one hand. The sword was reinforced with the physical luxes, but no sign of any of the spiritual. Chang-li hoped it was no more than on a par with his own. He told himself they could do this if Feng continued to underestimate them, if they worked together as they had discussed.


    Chang-li stayed three paces back and to the side of Feng, Joshi, as Feng approached. Feng stopped fifteen feet from them. He smiled coldly and lifted his sword. "I hoped you would be foolish enough to come, Joshi." He wasn''t even looking at Chang-li, who sidled off a little bit as though drawing away.


    Joshi spread his arms and shrugged. "Where else could I go? My path leads through this floor and therefore through you."


    "Your path ends here," Feng declared, "and with it, any thought that Princess Hiroko may deny me my due.¡±


    Even with the inhibitor on, Chang-li could feel Feng''s lux flare. He was cycling in a pattern Chang-li didn''t recognize, something that roiled inside him like a boiling pot. He lifted his sword, both hands on the hilt, the blade pointed toward Joshi.


    "Come, barbarian, show me what you can do, and I will show you the quality of my lux. You go no further. I take it you left that bitch to die?"


    "Li Jiya awaits us outside the tower,¡± Joshi replied.


    "Enough." Feng''s sword blazed. Joshi crouched, which was the signal for Chang-li to act. He quickly wove together a tiny Firepot and threw it right at Feng''s feet. He was practiced with the technique; it took him only a few heartbeats to compose and toss.


    Lux exploded on contact, kicking up a shower of sand in Feng''s face just as Joshi leapt. His red-empowered jump carried him past Feng''s head. Feng, still recovering from the dust, turned to follow him as Joshi crashed down beside him. Meteor Punch landed, sending up another shower of dust.


    In the confusion, Chang-li acted. He raced forward as Feng swung his sword at Joshi. Joshi caught the blow on his red lux wrist shield. He was keeping the shield small and tight, just enough to help him block.


    Joshi punched. Feng took the blow to his torso without even seeming to notice. Feng swung again. Chang-li slipped the inhibitor bracer off his wrist as he ran toward the dueling pair. He dove, sliding forward toward Feng, arms outstretched. The hem of Feng''s robe was in the way. Chang-li scrambled, caught hold of Feng''s ankle, and clamped the inhibitor band around it.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Feng staggered back. Joshi was there, driving in with a fistful of punches. Feng blocked as best he could, but Joshi¡¯s blows smashed past his defenses. Chang-li was already weaving together his net. He threw it over Feng. Feng clawed at it with his left hand, pulling it away while avoiding Joshi''s fists.


    He stumbled backward toward the moat, just as the two of them had planned. Joshi wasn''t letting up. His flurry of blows, left then right, landed with reflected images of the fists punching Feng from all corners.


    Feng''s hair was disarrayed. Blood trickled from his ear, where one heavy blow had landed. Chang-li was waiting to see what more he could do. He had a Firepot weaving, but didn''t see how to toss it in, or that it was needed. Joshi almost had Feng cornered.


    Then Feng exploded into action. He blasted a wave of force off of himself, empowered by green and blue lux. Chang-li staggered backward under the blow. His mind reeled. He was frozen in his spot, unable to move. How had he dared to go against this son of heaven? He was no match for a true cultivator. He was¡ª


    Joshi shouted wordless defiance, and Chang-li felt the hold break. Suddenly there was Feng. He hurled the broken bracer at the ground. A strange purple crystal hanging from a golden string hung over one hand.


    ¡°How dare you interfere? Begone,¡± he snarled, and tossed the crystal at Chang-li, who reacted instinctively, catching it from the air with his empty right hand, as he prepared to counter Feng''s sword with his own.


    But the world dissolved around him.


    Chang-li blinked. Feng was gone. Joshi was gone. The tower was gone. All around was purple. He seemed to be in a small room, its walls carved of the same sort of purple crystal as the spire they had been approaching at the bottom of the blue chamber. There was no one in here with him.


    He touched a wall. It was cool under his fingers. He ran his hands around the perimeter of the chamber. It was a circle about thrice his armspan across, the ceiling overhead curved with the nearest edge just past what he could reach, and the center twice again as high.


    What had just happened? Had Feng used some technique he''d never heard of before? No. That crystal he''d thrown had been a trap, and Chang-li had foolishly stepped right into it.


    Chang-li banged a fist against the crystal wall. It echoed dully. He slammed the hilt of his sword with no effect. Chang-li enforced his sword with red to strengthen it and orange to sharpen its edge, and then struck it against the wall. It didn''t so much as scratch the purple surface.


    Taking a deep breath, Chang-li sheathed his sword. He summoned a bit of yellow lux to a flame and aimed it at the wall for as long as he could until his yellow lux was nearly halved. Letting the flame drop, he inspected the wall. There was no sign anything had so much as touched it. He tapped one finger against it. The crystal was cool to his touch. He''d just used a large supply of his lux and got nothing back from it.


    And yet ¡ª Chang-li sensed lux all around him. He pulled it in, cycled it, and realized his core was as full as it had been when he first entered. Experimentally, he let out a trickle of blue lux, then a flood until his blue was gone. Then, he pulled in the lux in the chamber. The same blue he had dispersed flooded into his core.


    What was this place? Chang-li sat down, his legs crossed, his arms in a comfortable pose, and began to cycle. He started with Purification of Mind and Soul, trying to help himself think.


    It helped. His mind cleared. Some lingering terror washed away. He couldn''t see beyond, didn''t know what was happening. There was nothing he could do at this moment to affect the fight between Feng and Joshi. He needed to figure out how to escape. It seemed that the first step there was to determine what this place truly was.


    Chang-li unslung his satchel. He had his own cultivator journal inside, a few blank books, and some notes he''d taken on the most promising Morning Mist scrolls. Taking out a pen case, he realized it wasn''t his, but Wulan''s.


    He channeled a little lux into the pen case, and a moment later, the scribe''s shade emerged. Chang-li let out a quick sigh of relief. At least he wasn¡¯t completely alone. As the dead scribe looked around, Wulan''s eyebrows rose.


    "You''ve made progress, then. How did you get your hands on a temporal training chamber so quickly? There were none in the sect resources we left behind at the library, I know that for a fact."


    "A what?" Chang-li asked.


    ¡°Temporal training chamber. They are rare and fantastically expensive, at least they were in my time. Perhaps you decadent youths have made them into playgrounds for children, but in my day they were the sort of resource only a very highly placed cultivator could afford. A whole sect might save for years to get one. The sort of thing you might receive as a tower boon."


    "A tower boon?" Chang-li''s eyes widened. "A tower boon, that''s it. Feng beat us to the tower guardian, and received his boon. We were fighting him and he threw this at me."


    Wulan''s mouth dropped open. He stared wide-eyed at Chang-li. "He trapped you?"


    "Yes."


    "In ¡ª a temporal training chamber?" The scribe''s words were choppy as though he had trouble pushing them out.


    Chang-li nodded. "It seems so."


    The shade smacked a palm against his forehead. "Young Master Feng trapped you in a temporal training chamber that he had received as his tower boon?"


    "Yes. He''s fighting Joshi right now. Is there a way for me to escape and aid him?"


    Now Wulan smacked both palms against his forehead. "To escape? To escape? No." He seemed to take a deep breath and force himself calmer. "That is, yes, there is a way for you to escape. It''s just going to take you a while." He glared down at Chang-li as though somehow this was his fault. "How much lux can you contain now? How far has your training taken you?"


    In answer, Chang-li released it all into the chamber. For a few moments he was blinded by a swirl of colors and then it all faded, absorbed into the walls of the chamber.


    "I see. Not as much as I''d like, but we''ll make it do. Now, the first thing you''re going to do is tell me exactly what''s been happening. The second thing you''re going to do is train. You''ll be able to step out of here easily enough once you''ve reached the Peak of Mental Refinement. I can tell by the feel this training chamber will be good for someone near your stage of cultivation. I''ll have to thank Rose and the others for the knowledge they gave me," he added, his eyes going a little distant. "It seems they were more thorough than I knew. Well," he folded his hands together, "what are you waiting for?¡±


    ¡°You speak as though it''s going to be easy.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I merely speak as though I want you to get started. Begin."

 Bk 2 Ch 41: Seeking

    There was absolutely no way to tell time inside the training cell. Chang-li sat and cycled. He cycled every technique he learned from Joshi or the scrolls, each as long as he could before swapping to the next. Scribe Wulan had vanished on him again, telling him, not very helpfully, that he was on the right track and just to keep going.


    After cycling, he practiced his techniques, braiding together weaves and letting them fall apart and unravel. He practiced Firepot with different layers of lux woven together; small ones, big ones, faster and faster until he could weave one-handed with his eyes closed. He practiced nets, but with nothing to try them against, he had no way of knowing whether they were any good. He did every training exercise he''d written down for himself in a little book. When he''d been through them all three times, he submitted to Wulan again.


    "Why are you bringing me out?" Wulan asked when he appeared, much more irritated-looking this time. "You haven''t changed your situation at all. This place is boring. Wait until you''re somewhere more interesting before summoning me."


    "You think you''re bored?" Chang-li demanded. He was on his feet, pacing back and forth. Now he turned and glared at the shade. "I''ve been stuck in here for who knows how long, and I don''t have any idea how to get anywhere on this. You say I need to progress."


    "That is almost always the answer," Wulan said. His tone of smug wisdom was maddeningly calm. ¡°A cultivator at the level of Mental Refinement will be able to enter and exit the chamber at will.


    Chang-li took a deep breath. He imagined the world beyond, with Feng and Joshi locked in battle. It would do no good to escape if he wasn''t stronger. He needed to progress. "Fine. Fine, but I don''t know how. I never did. Joshi sounded like he had an idea. Didn''t the other shades give you insights into Mental Refinement?¡±


    "No," Wulan said. "I don''t think I can help you."


    "Then what''s the point of all this?" Chang-li demanded.


    "Just keep at it. I''m sure you''ll figure something out." He disappeared, and no amount of lux channeled back into his pen case could persuade him to come out again.


    Chang-li abandoned his meditations. He flung himself against the walls, pounding on them, kicking them, even trying ineffectively to bite them. He tried different colors and techniques of lux. None of it made any difference.


    At last, exhausted, he sprawled on the floor of his cell. Finally, he rolled over and took up a meditative posture. Breathing carefully, he began Purification of Mind and Soul while he thought.


    Assume that, despite Wulan''s lack of helpful advice, the shade was correct. This was a training chamber designed for a cultivator at the Peak of Mental Refinement, and as soon as he reached that peak, he''d be able to let himself out.


    There had to be more to this than just a chamber that trapped him and his lux inside. The way the walls seemed completely impervious to lux was fascinating. That was likely why his own lux didn''t dissipate when Chang-li let it out. Had he been closed in an airtight room this size, he''d have been dead long ago.


    On the other hand, he was certain by now hours had passed, and he felt no need to eat, sleep, or relieve himself. His body hurt a little from his fit of rage against the walls, but even those sorenesses were washing away. Maybe he was trapped in some sort of thought-prison, not anywhere real.


    It didn¡¯t matter. This was a training chamber, something created or perhaps merely kept by the tower guardian to reward the worthy. It was valuable, and it was his. The walls, with their purple hue, made Chang-li suspect that indigo and violet lux were both at work here. Indigo lux controlled space, allowing a cultivator to manipulate where he stood in the world. And as Chang-li was becoming certain, violet lux manipulated time. The two together, then, had created a tiny chamber outside of both space and time.


    So, when he did finish this, he''d step out and find himself right back in the middle of the same fight, he hoped. If he didn''t progress, and the chamber spat him out anyway, he''d be no help to Joshi. Feng would make quick work of them both. He couldn¡¯t allow that to happen.


    He began to weave again, this time with his eyes open, and he watched his own reflection in the wall. Despite the wall being purple, it reflected him and actually showed the colors of the lux he was weaving. Even though he couldn''t see the lux with his own eyes, he could see it in the wall itself.


    That was useful. He held up the weave he was putting together and studied it in the wall. Interesting how his strands of orange were thicker on the ends than in the middle, as though they were noodle dough he had rolled out imperfectly. He concentrated on squeezing the ends in toward the middle until they were all the same size, watching the result in the wall.


    Then he felt as something twanged into place. He was holding an orange lux Firepot with a glow of yellow inside, but it felt different than lux weaves he had done previously, more solid, more stable. In the wall, a cord of lux connected him with the Firepot as he kept his technique active.


    In the past, he had just sort of let go of that strand of lux when he hurled his technique. Now he considered it. He didn''t want the technique to go off. The cell might be impervious to lux, but he might not be. Chang-li carefully severed the technique now. It remained in his hand, a perfectly formed Firepot not connected to him.


    He could feel its lux moving just as he had intended, but it wasn''t part of him anymore. As he looked at it the weave began to fade. He tossed it away just in time and the pot exploded against the wall in a blast of heat.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    He reached for one of the blank books and his own pen case and began jotting down quick notes on what he had seen and done so that he''d remember it later.


    Chang-li crafted another pot, then a tiny one with the last of his orange lux. He formed each carefully, using even thicknesses of lux threads. When they were done it took almost no effort to keep the techniques alive, even without severing them from himself. He set each one in the corner where they remained, stable.


    What good was it to have techniques stored like this? He could carry them and use them later? But they weren¡¯t stable enough for that. Using a technique later was exactly what a script was meant to do. Was there a way to make these techniques into scripts? Something he had read tickled the back of his mind. Where had he seen it? Chang-li dug out Wulan¡¯s ancient journal. Finally, he found the passage he remembered.


    ¡­Cultivator Kang spends every night preparing for the tower by imprinting techniques. He has used almost my entire stock of lux paper¡­


    He didn''t have the right sort of paper. Those were written on paper that had been infused with lux. Well, he had nothing but time. He might as well try anyway.


    Chang-li took one of the four blank notebooks he''d been carrying in his satchel. He carefully undid its binding, setting aside the threads in case he thought of some use for them, then placed the covers back inside his satchel and left the stack of inner sheets. He took just one sheet and considered it.


    His instincts were telling him that green lux was the key here, that just as it glued together physical and spiritual luxes, so too it would allow him to preserve these lux techniques in a more permanent form. He purified out the green lux in his core, easier now that most of his physical lux was bound up in the Firepots. Then instead of trying to spin it into a technique, he channeled the lux at the first sheet of paper.


    The lux spilled out of him, pooled into the air, and dissipated. Not discouraged, Chang-li pulled the green back in, cycled it through his core again, and tried a second time. By the fifth attempt, the green lux was starting to feel different to him somehow, like he was becoming more familiar with it. Instead of feeling like water, it started feeling more like ink.


    That gave him an idea. He held on to the green lux in his core and used Swirling Mists to instead vent all the rest of his lux from his body, pushing out the red, the remnants of yellow, and the bits of blue and indigo he had gathered.


    Now his core was entirely green lux. He sat holding a sheet of paper in both hands, crouched on his heels, staring at that page as the purple walls cast a hue across his hands and the page both.


    This time, instead of trying to force the lux into the paper, he let the lux spill out of him as he wished it to do. Then he dipped the paper into the lux, watching himself in the wall. He could see the green pool in front of him as he carefully lowered the page down, imagined it soaking up into the page the way ink seeped into the paper as it leaves a brush. The green lux still dissipated back into the air, but this time he knew something had changed. He could feel the paper in his lux perception. It was heavier, somehow.


    He sucked all the loose lux in the room back in, storing it safely in his core. He didn''t like the feel of an empty core. Then he considered the paper in front of him. He had infused it with lux. Now what?


    Chang-li picked up the smallest of the Firepots, which had only a thimbleful of yellow wrapped inside of the orange. If it went off in his hand, it probably wouldn''t do much more than scorch him. He cycled Swirling Mists, but in reverse. It worked too well. The lux flowed back into him, rushing back to his core where it joined with the rest of his lux. He felt better, but that wasn''t what he was trying to do.


    This time, as he picked up the next Firepot, he was more careful about his handling. He severed the thread binding the technique to him and touched the end of the lux thread to the page. For a moment, nothing happened. Then as he took a breath, the lux from his technique flowed into the lux of the paper. It was quick as a flash. He was staring down at a page, which in his lux vision glowed three different colors. In normal sight, it was still a white page, but marred with some black scripts. Frustratingly, it didn''t look anything like the scripts he''d used before. The black marks weren''t characters; they were just marks.


    Chang-li stood up and paced. There was progress here, he could feel it. He undid and drew the lux back in from each of his Firepot techniques. It felt better inside of him. Then he started weaving Firepots again, just for something to keep his mind occupied while he paced.


    The scripts he''d seen before had been written with what looked like ink and a brush. The symbols hadn''t been characters he knew, and they hadn''t been an exact representation of a technique either. There was more to it than that. He was tempted to summon Wulan and ask him, but stubbornness prevented him. He''d figure this out. Though what good would it do to have a Firepot on a script?


    One step at a time. Chang-li sat back down. He took one of his brushes from his case and inked it, then infused his brush with red lux. After the practice with his sword, this was easy, though his right hand did not want to infuse a tool. He had to switch to his left to manage it. Then he touched the brush to the paper as he carefully began weaving the framework of a Firepot, deliberately spilling it out onto the page. The strands of lux caught on the page as he painted.


    Excitedly, Chang-li finished the framework, then had to separately infuse the brush with yellow. He painted that on, and this time it did look like a script. Not a language he knew, but a script, and he could almost sense the meaning in the characters. He finished it, tying them off, and sat back on his haunches to study the page.


    It looked like a script. It felt like a script in his lux senses. Was it really one? The point of a script was that you could push undifferentiated lux into it, and it would activate along the patterns it had been drawn with. A skilled scriptwriter could store up lux ahead of time and then power a technique by just shoving raw lux into it in a hurry.


    He wasn''t entirely sure he wanted to test that in this confined space, but if he didn''t, he''d never know if it worked. Taking a deep breath, Chang-li stood. He held the paper in one hand at arm''s length, then pushed it up against the wall and thrust a bit of lux into it, the way he did when trying to summon Wulan.


    The instant he''d done so, he darted back as far away as he could get. The paper hung in the air for ten heartbeats, its symbols glowing red and yellow, before exploding.


    The force of the explosion blasted against the crystal. A quick wave of heat rushed back onto Chang-li, and scraps of burning paper filled the room. They vanished quickly. The smoke cleared.


    Chang-li was too busy staring at his own reflection in amazement to notice. He''d done it. He''d made a script and activated it.


    Something was wrong with his reflection. Though he was back against the wall, crouched down with his hands up to protect his face, his reflection didn¡¯t match. The Chang-li reflected in the wall stood on his feet. He had his sword drawn, and he had a cocky look on his face Chang-li was sure had never been on his own.


    "So, you have some promise after all," his reflection said, before stepping out of the wall and into the room.


    The image stared down at him, still smirking. Chang-li realized the image had his sword in the wrong hand. The false Chang-li shook his head. "Are you planning to sit there all day, or are we going to train?"

 Bk 2 Ch 42: Mirror Image

    Chang-li''s mirror image looked him up and down, lips curling back in a sneer. He reminded Chang-li of Feng more than himself, or so he hoped. Surely such an arrogant look had never crossed his own face.


    "Get up!"


    Chang-li got to his feet, straightening his robes and holding his image''s gaze. "What are you?"


    "I am you," the image said contemptuously. "What you should be." The mirror image strode across the narrow confines of the cell, trailing his open left hand against the purple walls. "What you would be if you weren''t limited and caught by your own strictures. This cell is an opportunity for you to overtake all your rivals, and yet here you are, sitting and playing with scribes'' tools. You''re worthless. I can''t think what Min saw in you."


    Stung, Chang-li started to retort before catching himself. Whatever this was, it wasn''t a copy of himself. It was some trick created by the cell. Wulan had said this was a training tool. Did that mean this, too, was an opportunity?


    "Why are you here?" he asked.


    "To fight you." The image tapped on the wall. "It''s thinning already. You''ve wasted, perhaps, one-hundredth of your time playing with scrolls. No matter. That ends now." He faced Chang-li, arms out, sword held down. "We fight. We fight to see who leaves this place and takes on Feng. And you had better hope that it''s me, because you have about as much chance of defeating Feng as you do of chewing your way out of this cell."


    Heart in his throat, Chang-li demanded, "What are you talking about?"


    "You have called me forth and challenged me. From now until you leave this cell, I am your opponent. If you somehow make it to the Peak of Mental Refinement, we will be able to open the cell. If not, well, the walls are thinning with every passing moment. When they crumble, the contents of the cell will be released. One body and one spirit." The image looked Chang-li up and down. "I intend for both of them to be mine."


    Could he be understanding this correctly? Was the image threatening to steal his body and replace him? Was that even possible? He''d never heard anything of the sort, but then he''d read nothing about such training facilities. He decided not to risk it.


    "Right," he told the other. "So, are you going to help me or just watch?¡±


    "I will aid you,¡± the image told him, "because the farther along your path of progression you get, the better it is for me when I take your body, and the better chance I have of defeating Feng. Since you''ve been foolish enough to provoke him. It would have been smarter to make him your ally, but you don''t seem like the clever type. Despite the years of study, you haven''t even figured out how to wield more than one technique."


    The false Chang-li sprang forward, sword raised. Chang-li blocked it. His image brought up a handful of burning yellow lux. Chang-li slashed out with his sword, breaking the technique. He formed a Firepot and hurled it at his enemy, who laughed as the flames splashed harmlessly across his robes. Chang-li went to retrieve the lux he''d expended, but his image sucked it in. Chang-li could feel his image cycling.


    "Hey!" he exclaimed in dismay. "That''s not fair.¡±


    The image chuckled. "No part of cultivation is fair. You keep what you take. That is the lesson you must learn, scribe." He attacked again.


    Chang-li was on the back foot, pushed around the room, his image slashing and attacking. Only Chang-li''s training with the twins helped him now. Sweat dripped down his face, his muscles blurred. He was reacting to one attack after the next, but his image wouldn''t let up.


    Chang-li blocked and then tried an attack of his own. The image was there, matching him blow for blow. Chang-li was frustrated. And then his head cleared.


    This was a training chamber, and here he was fighting not just any opponent, but the mirror image of himself. What better opportunity would he have?


    He fell back, dropping into a stance the shades had taught him. His image raised an eyebrow approvingly. "So, you have it at last." His image matched his stance.


    Chang-li stepped in, his sword sweeping in a high blow. The image blocked low, then countered. Chang-li matched. Around and around they went again, this time in a dance and not a furious fight. Chang-li watched the image, saw his own movements reflected there, shifted and adjusted, and he began to see every flaw. Here his elbow was a little too far out. There his step stuttered. Gradually, he could feel the improvements.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    He didn''t know how long they fought. Time passed strangely in this place. But when at last he lowered his sword, his image bowed respectfully to him.


    "Good. Continue."


    During the fight, Chang-li had exhaled most of his lux to enforce himself or his sword. The false image of himself had sucked it all up. Now he wove together a net of green and blue and tossed it at his image, forcing the other to react by venting some lux. Chang-li snatched at it. His image snatched too. Their wills clashed. Most of the lux came to Chang-li, though he lost a bit.


    ¡°Time for something new,¡± he told his image. "Release your lux, I''ll release mine."


    "Very well," the image said, eyes flashing. ¡°I perceive your purpose.¡±


    They stood a foot apart in the tiny purple chamber, staring at each other as the lux filled the room. Then Chang-li began fighting his image over it. Neither moved. This battle was mental, not physical. He could feel the lux answering him, but as he pulled it in, his image contested, siphoning it back away. They tugged over it like children with a rope, back and forth in both directions.


    "What kind of a fool cannot even control his own lux?" the image taunted, ripping it away from Chang-li.


    In the walls of the cell, the air was filled with a whirlpool of rainbow color, like the sky of the first level of the tower. The image sucked it all in, sneered, then taunted Chang-li further. "This is why I shall take your place. You are not suited to be a Young Master. Where is your hunger, your drive, your dominance of those around you?"


    "Again," Chang-li demanded through gritted teeth.


    Somewhat to his surprise, the image did as he was told. Chang-li was beginning to suspect that despite his reflection''s arrogance and taunting words, he was required to obey Chang-li''s directives. That would make sense. After all, this training chamber had been constructed for the benefit of the cultivator. What good would it do to have placed complicated lux constructs inside if they would not do as the cultivator asked?


    It didn''t mean the image was lying when he said he would try to take Chang-li''s body from him at the end of the training. It seemed like exactly the sort of thing some master cultivator craftsman might have set up as a motivation for his student. Or, if this tool was created by the tower itself. He didn''t know what the guardians of the towers truly were, if they were intelligent beings in their own right, or creations of the emperor, but he couldn''t trust that they had his well-being in mind.


    He would assume that the image was telling the truth when he said he would take Chang-li''s body from him, if he could, and then see that it didn''t happen.


    The image won the second battle of wills also. Chang-li ground his teeth together as he tried to see what he was doing wrong. He acquired small snatches of lux, but nothing more.


    This was the first time he had fought over lux. When he and Joshi and Hiroko had been progressing through the tower, they shared in the bounty of their kills. During training, there''d been more than enough for everyone. But this at least he had expected. In accounts he''d found in the Morning Mist sect papers, they had spoken of cultivator duels and that the strains of the wresting of lux from one cultivator to another might turn the tide of such a duel. It occurred to him now that if he mastered this, it could well prove to be a key weapon in his fight against Feng.


    "Arrogance," his image told him. ¡°Command. You are a cultivator. You defy the heavens and nature and those around you. The world bends to your will. This is the tool which you use to shape the world according to your own likings. If you cannot master that, you will never reach the Peak of Mental Refinement."


    ¡°Release your lux," Chang-li commanded, and the image did so. Chang-li reached out and seized hold of the lux in the room. The image did likewise. They fought. Their strength was well matched and the tug went back and forth. Then, just as Chang-li thought perhaps he might prevail, he lost his grip again. The image pulled the lux away and laughed.


    "Why not just give up now?" he taunted. "You have no chance to defeat me. Let me take advantage of this room. I will defeat Feng for you. I''ll even ensure that your friend survives this tower. I¡¯m sure Min will appreciate me more than you."


    Chang-li ignored him. He was thinking about the willpower battles they''d just had. About how he had been grabbing at the lux as though seizing it with hands and yanking. But lux wasn''t a rope or a cloth to be wrested. It was the air he breathed. It was the blood in his veins and the thought in his mind.


    "Again," he said.


    As the image released the lux, Chang-li began to cycle the few drops remaining in his core through his body, stepping through his most basic cycling pattern. Then he reached out and touched the lux lightly. It answered his call. He didn''t try to draw it all back into himself at once. Instead, he extended his cycling pattern out through the whole room so that he was pushing what lux he had through the fingertips of his right hand, circulating it through the room, imagining that his mind was controlling the air patterns in the cell itself, and then drawing it in with his powerful left hand.


    The image grabbed at the lux, but this time it was Chang-li''s ¡ª not to command. No. He wasn''t ordering it or forcing it. He was embracing it, using it like he used his brushes to spread ink on a fresh page. It answered him, and it all flowed to him. He met the image''s eyes triumphantly, folding his hands across his chest.


    "It took you long enough," the image sneered, "and if you think that will work against everyone, you¡¯re mistaken.¡±


    "I know it will not," Chang-li replied, "which is why I''m going to practice again until it does."


    Releasing the lux, he challenged his reflection.


    He lost the fight.


    He won the next three in a row.

 Bk 2 Ch 43: Dual Wielding

    Chang-li kept up the practice until it became effortless. Whether it would work against a cultivator like Feng, he wasn''t sure, but here in this place, with his own lux, he was master. He stepped away from his image, taking a deep breath. He still felt no need to eat or drink or sleep. His sore muscles had long ago been soothed. "How long have I been in here?"


    "It has been very little time in the world beyond."


    That wasn''t reassuring. It wouldn''t take Feng long to kill Joshi, not without help and backup.


    "You have used perhaps 20% of the violet lux in the structure of this chamber," his image said.


    That was more helpful. 20%. A fifth of his training done. He cast about, trying to decide what he needed to work on next. He needed to reach the Peak of Mental Refinement, but Feng wasn''t just at the peak, he was beyond it. If Chang-li didn''t arm himself better, he''d have no chance of defeating him.


    "The sword," he decided. "I want to practice sword and flame."


    "Don''t you think flame is getting a bit boring?" his image said. "You and your Firepots. I liked that weave technique you were trying, though you don''t have the knack for it at all. You''re going for the Sevenfold Strands of Heaven, aren''t you?"


    "No," Chang-li was surprised. This was the first sign he''d had that the image truly was separate from himself and didn''t know what he was trying. "It''s a technique from the scrolls called the Infinite Loom." He practiced it because it was both a training technique and one that could be adapted to use in battle. He had spent hours studying the scrolls which gave detailed accounts of how to weave it during the training session before re-entering the tower. He''d gotten pretty good at using three different colors of lux. For now, it was an inefficient and inelegant way of controlling luxes he didn''t yet understand.


    "My sword channels physical luxes. I''m good at those with Firepot, too. What I want is to begin to master the spiritual luxes," he told his image. "The net was just supposed to help me get used to working with them. It''s done well so far against enemies that aren''t very sophisticated, but as I continue the climb ¡ª¡°


    ¡°It won''t be enough," his image finished. "Finally, you start to comprehend. You have so far to go, and your attitude is all wrong. You approach this like a peasant begging for scraps or a student entreating his master. It''s not how cultivators behave."


    A retort sprang to Chang-li''s lips, but he cut it off. From what he''d seen of most cultivators, his image was exactly right. Cultivators were arrogant, oppressive, and self-centered. Even one like Li Jiya, who he admired, was completely self-centered, focused on her own path and not on those around her. If her sect had been a little less secretive and protective of their secrets, perhaps her brother need not have died. That was a shameful waste.


    "You''re getting distracted," his image noted.


    Chang-li shook himself. "Merely pondering the truth of what you say."


    His image looked surprised. "Oh, so you can listen. How interesting."


    "If you''re going to help and not just stand there and mock me," Chang-li said, "what I want is to learn to wield spiritual luxes at the same time as using my sword."


    "It''s a difficult path you''ve set yourself there." His image looked him over. "You''re well on your way to developing two separate lux channel structures coming out of your core. The left and the right side don''t match at all. Your left side is much more attuned to physical luxes while your right side is as yet unvariegated. As long as the channels on your right side are poorly formed it leaves you with a weakness that a stronger opponent might take advantage of if they were clever enough to notice it. You need to repair the imbalance and strengthen your right side channels. Or, on the other hand..." He paused, then nodded. "Yes, yes, I think this would make a fine addition to my future body. I will aid you in doing this if you choose."


    "Explain," Chang-li said.


    "Kneel."


    Chang-li did, and his image followed suit, sitting up high on their knees, little ways distant from each other. The image extended his left hand. Chang-li extended his right, and they touched. It felt like touching the wall of the cell had. Smooth, slightly cool, not like touching another human. lux flowed between them.


    "What have you read in your scrolls about this?" the image said. "I am not here to teach you new things, but to help you draw out what you already know."The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    There, another admission of its true purpose. Chang-li seized on that as he remembered the lessons in the Morning Mist scrolls. "Nothing about breaking my lux channels down into two separate paths, that''s for sure."


    "Are you certain?"


    Chang-li paused. There had been a great deal of cultivation theory that he hadn''t understood, skimmed past and resolved to come back to when he had more time. One scroll, he hadn''t bothered to translate, just ran his eyes down the page and tried to determine if there were any valuable techniques there. Something about preparing for the step past. No, how had the writer put it? Prepare at lower levels for the higher. Too many cultivators consider each step on its own rather than what they are building to, and so when they got to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, they were unable to go any farther. It had been a warning, but not one he¡¯d paid much mind.


    Chang-li wrinkled his brow and thought. ¡°If Physical, Mental and Spiritual Refinement are about teaching my body to properly use lux without killing itself, then the steps beyond are to remake myself entirely."


    "Yes," his image whispered, "yes, to become more like me, a creation of lux. As you learn to impose your will on the universe with lux, you will find more and more it becomes the only real thing."


    Chang-li said, "but there was something about optimizing yourself for that step and it talked about isolating lux channels. I think..." He closed his eyes, trying to remember the image on the page. It had been a coil of lines spiraling outward. Two sets of lines, not overlapping, never touching as they spiraled away from a center core. "Yes, of having separate lux channels for spiritual and physical luxes. The writer said it gave greater control but was hard to master. Two sets of channels going everywhere. That sounds impossible."


    "But what if instead you remake your lux channels as they are," the image prompted. ¡°Instead of two parallel sets of channels everywhere, you have one complete set on each side of your body.¡±


    ¡°Is that even possible at this stage? You''re talking about changing my body. I don''t have control over that yet."


    "Perhaps not in the real world," the image said. "But we are not in the real world. We are in a place entirely made of spiritual luxes. Here, the difference between what is and what could be is thinner. Less lux is needed to make the changes."


    "So, you''re saying I could remake my own body here?"


    His image shrugged. "You already have once when you reached the Peak of Physical Refinement. It just wasn''t under your control and you weren''t really aware of what you were doing. This would require attention and care, focusing on the details and ensuring that you don''t make any mistakes."


    ¡°How?"


    "Stand up," his image instructed.


    They both stood.


    "Take off your clothes."


    Chang-li hesitated only a moment before letting his cultivator robe slide to the floor. It pooled in a cool gray pile. His image matched his every move. Now he pulled his tunic over his head and stood staring at his image. He could see the lux channels beneath the skin of his image¡ªrivers of light running from his core, there in the center of his body, out to the end of each of his fingers, down through his legs, through his shoulders, and up his spine.


    He hurried and pulled off his trousers, studying the way the lux channels ran through his body. Already he could see what his image had meant. On his left side, the channels were wider, deeper, and tinged toward red, while for the rest of his body, the colors were muddied and mixed.


    He held out his right hand, concentrating on letting only green lux out of his core. He cycled it all through his body, watching specifically on his right side, seeing how the lux circulated. Then he concentrated very hard and shut off the lux channels on the left side of his body. The cycling failed at once. He wasn''t using the right pattern.


    He took a deep breath and considered, then began to use Swirling Mists. Because it was a one-directional emptying pattern, it was easier to use. He was just venting the lux from his channels, not trying to circulate it back through. He emptied it out, then reversed the pattern and pulled the green lux back in until it reached his core. Nothing seemed to have happened.


    ¡°Well?¡± he demanded of his image.


    ¡°You have taken one step, and you ask me if we have reached the destination yet?¡±


    Chang-li took that as all the encouragement he needed. He repeated over and over until he found his cycling had become its own new pattern, like breathing in, then breathing out. He wasn''t stopping and restarting the cycle anymore. The lux flowed out, then back into him.


    After a few thousand repetitions, he thought he saw the channels on the right side of his body sharpen. If anything, they''d grown narrower, but their edges felt more defined. Excited, he let blue lux spill out of his core along with the green.


    His image had a blank expression as they worked. It took an immeasurable amount of repetitions before Chang-li was certain he was getting somewhere. He stopped what he was doing, pulled all of his lux back in, then cycled unvariegated lux through his body, staring at his image. Sure enough, on the left side of his body, the channels were wide and red-tinged. On the right, they were narrow and with a definite bluish shade.


    ¡°Very pretty,¡± his image said, blinking at him. ¡°But exactly what good do you think that''s going to do you?¡±


    ¡°You were the one who encouraged me.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I care what you''re doing? We''re wasting your time here. You''ve used more than half of the violet lux in this place, and my time is coming.¡±


    Chang-li brushed off a quick stab of worry. His image was just being a jerk.


    ¡°Well, then,¡± the image shrugged, ¡°you tell me. We can sit here and tell each other riddles for the rest of the time if you would like.¡±


    Chang-li bit off a retort. He stopped and considered. Much greater control of lux, both in and outside of himself now.


    ¡°Spar with me,¡± he told his image.


    The image drew his sword. They went around the chamber, Chang-li''s body stepping through comfortable forms as his mind worked furiously. He was certainly farther along in his cultivation than he had been, but he wasn''t any closer to the Peak of Mental Refinement.


    Or was he?

 Bk 2 Ch 44: The Peak

    With the help of his image, who, when he wasn''t busy being derisive, was a remarkably good training partner, Chang-li alternated sword work with an enhanced spell technique. Now that his body was set up to channel two different sets of lux at the same time, he was practicing becoming truly fluid with his spells while also using his sword. The trouble was, his use of spiritual lux was still limited. Without a physical lux framework to hang it on, he couldn''t get his techniques to hold together. It was frustrating.


    He¡¯d modified his cycling, adapting Swirling Mists to let him bring lux in through one set of channels, circulate it, and then vent it out through his other set. Chang-li decided to call the pattern Breath of the Heavens. He also could inhale lux, separate it out, and send the physical luxes through his left channels and the spiritual through his right, without needing to spend much time thinking. This one he called Double Branching River.


    Now that he''d made this much progress, he was certain the Morning Mist scrolls he had left behind would contain plenty of techniques he was capable of learning, but he didn''t have them to hand. He searched through his own journal several times, looking at the notes he had jotted down about techniques he wanted to pursue when he had more time, but it wasn''t sparking a realization.


    He was no closer to reaching the Peak of Mental Refinement. When he had been progressing toward Physical Refinement, he''d been able to feel his progress. With each step, his core had been denser, capable of holding more and better quality lux. For Mental Refinement, though each veil had come as a marker of his progress, there wasn''t the same sensation of stepping ever closer to a goal. It seemed that Mental Refinement would be a surprise once he finally reached it.


    He kept coming back to one passage he had copied into his journal from an ancient Morning Mist scroll written by some cultivator who was long dust now:


    Just as green lux mediates between the physical luxes and the spiritual, so does Mental Refinement come as a necessary step between Physical Refinement and Spiritual Refinement. While Physical Refinement is entirely focused on training of one''s body to accept lux, and Spiritual Refinement imposing one''s will over lux itself, Mental Refinement focuses on the place where the two meet, in the heart and the mind. Though it is called Mental Refinement, it would be foolish to think of it as merely a test of mind. One''s heart, the emotions and drives that push a cultivator on, are just as important, and that is what the final stage unlocks.


    Chang-li let the book fall away. He looked up and saw his reflection smirking at him, fighting the urge to slap himself silly. "What?"


    The reflection shook his head. "This is why you will lose to me. You don''t even understand what it is you''re trying to do."


    "I suppose you do."


    "Of course." The reflection shrugged. "You forget I am the embodiment of this stage of cultivation. I know exactly what it is you need to do. You need to embrace your heart. But you, Chang-li, have spent your entire life denying it."


    "No, I haven''t."


    "Of course you have." His image mocked. "Look at you." He spread his hands, and ghostly images appeared of Chang-li at moments in his past. Here he bent over a desk, studying diligently. He raised his head clearly in answer to someone and held up a hand, brushing off whatever he''d just been told before returning to his books.


    "How many times did you refuse your friends or your brother when they offered to take you away from your studies for a night?"


    "I couldn''t afford to take time off," Chang-li said. "I didn''t have the money for fancy tutors or to take a test over if I failed the first time. I focused on what I was trying to accomplish."


    "Denying your desires in order to attain your goals. Admirable. But you''ve taken it too far."


    The image waved a hand, and there he was again, refusing a bribe. He remembered that incident. A cultivator disciple wanting to make his records at the tower cull a little more impressive. It hadn''t been anything particularly egregious, and he hadn¡¯t reported it to his superiors.


    "Preserving the integrity of a corrupt system," Chang-li''s image mocked. "You''ve seen enough to know that now."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Doesn''t matter if the system''s corrupt or not. I don''t have to be."


    "Fine." Now again, the image shifted. This time it was Chang-li standing over a pallet where Min lay propped up on one arm, her hair hanging down around her shoulders. She was wearing her silken tunic. Chang-li recognized it at once. Their wedding night. He felt hollow and turned away. "What are you playing at?"


    "You know what I''m playing at," the image said. "Because it''s gnawing at you, too. So intent on doing the right thing, you couldn''t see what was in front of your face."


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    "Tell me that this whole marriage to Min isn''t because you felt guilty about giving in to your own desires?" His image''s voice was mocking now. Chang-li turned and strode away as far as he could in the room, but his image followed him, still talking. "You felt guilty for letting your baser impulses have control, and so you accepted a marriage that was hardly advantageous to you."


    "What else could I have done?"


    "Quite a lot," the shadow said. "For one, you had a governor of a province over a barrel, and you didn''t even try to negotiate for a better deal. You could have asked him to help you write off your scribe debt. Instead, you just proposed to this woman and then left her alone on your wedding night. You know very well that she''s attracted to you."


    "She was furious at me," Chang-li said.


    "And making the best gesture she could. Why did you turn her down?"


    "You think that''s how I wanted it to be?" Chang-li shut up and shook his head. "I''m not having this conversation."


    "It''s not me that you need to justify yourself to," his image said. "It''s you. You know that this is true. You let your mind overrule your feelings and impulses, and you think that''s a good thing."


    "It is. How else would I have gotten where I am?"


    "How does Feng get where he is?" the image demanded. Chang-li turned because the image''s voice had taken on a less mocking, more serious tone. "How do any of the Young Masters climb? They do it by taking what they want and then making it stick. You are trying to work inside the rules. Even as you''re forging and lying and cheating, you''re refusing to see the truth. It¡¯s a leash to keep the powerful in check. That''s the whole point of these marriages. That''s why the emperor sets up this system of permits and sects and masters of the climb and inquisitors and spouses. The system rewards those who reach out and take power, then ties them with chains of silk and gold. You don¡¯t even understand it but you let him pull you right into it."


    Chang-li felt a knot in the pit of his stomach. The image''s words cut deep. "So, what are you saying?"


    "I''m saying you will never be strong like this. You need to seize what''s in front of you and use it. Feng would."


    "I do seize what¡¯s in front of me!¡±


    "You don''t. What of the time you gave Joshi the last of the purification tablets and allowed him to continue to climb while you stepped aside? Would Feng ever have done that?"


    "Well, no."


    ¡°Or having Min at your mercy, in your debt, but taking nothing from her. Would Feng have done that?"


    "Of course not."


    "And Hiroko? You have secrets that could utterly ruin her, and you''ve done nothing with them. How do you intend to get more powerful if you won''t use the tools you''re given?"


    "My friends aren''t tools."


    Chang-li''s words were ripped from him without a conscious thought. He felt as though he''d just run a long distance. He stood panting, staring at his image. His image''s frown shifted slowly into a neutral position.


    "Say that again."


    "My friends aren''t tools."


    "Are they your friends?"


    "Yes." Chang-li spoke more deliberately now. Feelings and regrets bubbled up, threatening to drown him if he let it, but he pushed on. ¡°I never truly had friends before. In scribe training we focused on ourselves. The others relaxed together and forged so-called-friendships, only to throw their friends away the instant advancement was on the line. I kept to myself because I couldn¡¯t bear to do the same. Now I climb. Those beside me now are different. They are my true friends. If a climb means I have to leave them behind or destroy them, then to hell with that. I''ll find my own path outside of any system. I don''t care what Feng would do. I reject Feng. I don''t want to be Feng. I want to be me. I will climb my way and bring the people I care about with me."


    His image smiled, and Chang-li felt something fall away from himself.


    His mind was a whirl. He could feel a rush through his body as, without him consciously doing it, his core rose from the pit of his stomach up to the center of his chest. It poured lux through him, the two streams, physical and spiritual, separating naturally without him having to do a thing, swirling out of his body into the room and then back in, denser and more pure than they had ever been.


    His core swirled and rotated before dropping back into the middle of his abdomen. He took a deep breath, held up a hand. It didn''t look any different, but he felt different.


    "The Peak of Mental Refinement," he said, wonderingly. Then he turned and looked at the walls. He could see now, the weave, violet and indigo lux, tightly bound together. The violet was trickling slowly, so slowly, into the room. He was inhaling it without even realizing. It was weaker now. He could see gaps in the weave. All he had to do was pull the rest of the violet into him and the whole place would collapse. He could step out as easily as taking another breath.


    He turned back to his image. "There''s still a good ten percent of the violet lux left."


    His image nodded. "There is. And will you be contesting me for this body when it is all gone?"


    "I shall." Chang-li believed what the image was saying, but he no longer felt worried. His mind was sharper and faster than it had been. He raised his right hand and summoned a little ball of green and blue lux. "With the time that remains, I¡¯m going to practice the Infinite Loom. I need more offensive power against Feng.¡±

 Bk 2 Ch 45: Joshi Persists

    One moment, Joshi had been hammering blows into Feng just according to the plan. With the inhibitor around his ankle, Feng wasn''t properly able to channel lux. Joshi had been forcing him back, step by step, toward the lux moat. He was certain if he could force Feng in, that his body would be unmade.


    He was waiting for the next distraction from Chang-li when Feng executed a Peak of Mental Refinement level technique. A blast of concentrated will burst over Joshi. He stumbled back, quickly regaining his balance, but not in time. Feng tossed the inhibitor band to the sand, turned on Chang-li, and hurled something at him. Chang-li''s hand defensively caught whatever it was in the air, and then he vanished completely. He hadn''t exploded or dissolved or been burned away; he just vanished as though he''d never been there.


    Joshi''s mouth dropped open. Magen circled overhead, making distressed noises. The lux creature didn''t know where Chang-li had gone either. Feng turned back to Joshi, his sword in hand once more.


    "Now," he said, "we shall finish this the way it should be. Cultivator to cultivator. I''ve been looking forward to this for a while. Your underling has interfered enough."


    "What did you do to him?" Joshi demanded.


    "Just sent him where he can''t be found." Feng broke into a sneer. "Do you know, that was my whole tower boon, but a waste. I don''t need such a ¡®treasure¡¯. I thought maybe I''d sell it, but this seems like a better use, don''t you think? Worry about yourself, not him.¡± Feng was standing a few feet from Joshi in a beautiful pose Joshi assumed was some sort of sword stance. He held the sword in his right hand, his left hand up with the sword point over his arm, as he watched Joshi for movement.


    "I have been looking forward to this since the day you came to camp," he spat. "You dared to step in on my turf without even the decency to pay me the respect I am due."


    "You deserve no more respect than you can earn," Joshi said.


    "You think to stand in judgment over me?" Feng demanded. "This is a plot, isn''t it? I knew the Morning Mist sect was a facade. Who sent you? One of our rivals, no doubt, to interfere with my claim of the Indigo Princess. It ends now, though. You will die, and she will be mine."


    "Hiroko doesn''t belong to anyone," Joshi snarled. He pulled in lux from the surroundings, cycled it through his body, feeling his rage fueling it with power.


    "You have no chance against me. You haven''t even reached Peak of Mental Refinement," Feng taunted. ¡°Without your underling here to distract me, you''re nothing."


    "Then why do you stand there rather than coming at me?" Joshi demanded.


    Feng''s expression slipped for a moment. Joshi knew he was right. Feng was afraid of him. But why?


    Then he guessed. He smiled and watched as Feng''s expression changed to alarm. "So, you do know the truth?" Joshi said. "You are quite right to fear me. I am not foolish enough to come here alone. You think Chang-li was my only helper?" He raised his voice. "Come on out, the rest of you. Show yourselves."


    "I''m not that big a fool," Feng began.


    But as the voice behind him echoed "Fool!" he couldn''t help but turn. Magen was there, hovering, and for an instant Feng was transfixed, staring. Joshi used the opening to rush in, a lux-reinforced right fist smashing into Feng''s face. Feng stumbled back. Joshi followed with a left hook to Feng''s stomach. The cultivator threw up his hands, losing his grip on his sword, which dissolved into lux.


    For a moment, Joshi thought he might have regained control of the fight. Then Feng threw a technique at Joshi''s feet. The ground exploded upward in shards. Joshi shielded himself with his lux shield, and Feng was gone. His taunting voice echoed around. Joshi turned on the spot, looking for him.


    "A valiant try. I look forward to destroying you now."


    Another technique crashed down right beside Joshi. He couldn''t tell where it had come from. A bolt of yellow lux sizzled past his head. Joshi dodged just in time. If he''d had hair, it would have been singed off. Next, from a completely opposite direction came a green and blue weave. He avoided most of it, but an edge caught him. His vision blurred with colors, his ears filled with sound.


    "Find him," Joshi instructed Magen, who soared around. He was busy untangling his own vision as the lux creature searched.


    There was Feng, perched atop the nearest mushroom tree, his hands folded across his chest and a superior look on his face. "I don''t know what she sees in you," Feng sneered. "But it won''t matter after today. I''m bringing back your head and laying that at her feet as a wedding present."If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    There it was. The end of Joshi''s hopes. He''d tried teamwork, and Chang-li had disappeared. He''d tried trickery, and Feng saw through it. He was no match for him, strength to strength. Feng had him bettered and beaten.


    Joshi didn''t even see the next technique that struck him. It was another blue mental technique that knocked him to his knees. He struggled to get up, the weight of pressing despair pushing him down again. Feng''s footsteps crunched toward him. Through Magen''s eyes, he could see the cultivator approaching, something dangling in his hands.


    "You know, I have an even better thought," Feng said. He reached out and took Joshi''s limp hand and held it out. "I think I''ll take all of you back, not just your head, and show the princess just what a pathetic excuse of a man you are." He snapped something around Joshi''s hand and let his arm fall. As Feng stood over him gloating, Joshi felt the touch of cold metal on his wrist and the numbing of his mind as the inhibitor band took effect. He knew that touch, had spent months with an inhibitor around his neck, cutting him off from all lux, not just most of it the way this band did.


    "Worthless piece of trash," Feng said. Joshi could hear the mockery of every overseer he''d dealt with. Feng had something in his hand, not a sword, a stick made of lux, supple. He raised it and smacked Joshi across the shoulders, knocking him forward into the sand. His oppressive technique bore Joshi down as the inhibitor band ate into his willpower.


    "Get up, you," Feng said.


    Joshi didn''t respond. Feng kicked him in the shoulder and rolled him over onto his back. From here, Feng seemed to loom feet over him.


    Joshi''s mind was nearly blank, the way it had been so often in his days as a slave. That was what he had most hated. Not the work, not the beatings, not the way people treated him as less than a man. But the way his own mind refused to serve him. It was like nothing really mattered.


    "This is ridiculous," Feng said. "Get up!" He struck Joshi in the face with his stick. It hurt, but distantly, in a way that didn''t matter.


    Joshi tried to get angry, but it didn''t work. Anger was a distant concept, foreign to him. Only despair was real. He was being dragged to his feet. Feng had him by the wrists, was pulling him upright, his lux-enforced body giving him the strength to manhandle Joshi like a doll.


    "I''ve used inhibitor bands," Feng''s voice was distantly curious. "They''ve never had such an intense effect on me. What''s wrong with you, man? You''re acting like a slave." Then, suddenly, his eyes widened. "I thought I¡¯d seen you somewhere before. Now I remember you. The slave. The big one they used to have hauling palanquins up and down the mountains. But how...how dare you!" He sounded outraged. "How dare you masquerade as a cultivator, you vermin. I''m going to take you back and hand you over to the Inquisitor. Forget about my own vengeance. This''ll be far sweeter. They''ll have you strung up and cut open for vultures to eat your insides while you''re still alive, you worthless piece of trash."


    Feng struck Joshi across the face with his open palm. It didn''t matter. None of it mattered. Feng had won. He would have Hiroko, he would destroy the sect. He''d already disposed of Chang-li, and now he''d see to Joshi''s own disposition. None of it mattered a bit. He was back where he''d been. No longer a man. Just a slave.


    I am not a slave, was the tiniest whisper in his mind, the only part of him still remaining to himself. But it resonated with something else outside himself. Magen was there, hovering just by his ear, urging him to fight. Joshi reached for him with his feelings, through the bond between them.


    There was all the brightness and hope and cheer in the world, bound up in the tiny incorporeal body of the little lux creature. It urged him to fight, to stand up, to remember who he was.


    Who he was. He was not a slave. He was a man. He was the son of the Khan of the Darwur, a proud people who had not bowed to the Emperor, even as they fought to their last. He was a fighter, trained by the monks of Harupa to strive and step forward. He was a cultivator, taking his own steps along the heavenly climb. Nearing the Peak of Mental Refinement, with the aid of friends, people who were loyal to him.


    He was a Young Master of the Morning Mist sect, and whatever anyone said, the sect was real, because they had made it so. It would be real if he could fight his way out from this place. If he chose to continue, and he would, he would. It mattered now, he saw that.


    Hiroko''s face came to his mind. She was a friend. He had friends. Hiroko and Chang-li, people who had counted on him, who had fought beside him, who mattered to him, what happened to them. Feng had done something to Chang-li, but maybe it wasn''t too late to find out what.


    Joshi took a deep, shuddering breath. He raised his hands, channeling his lux in the simplest pattern he knew, Purification of Mind and Soul. The blue lux technique Feng had ensnared him with fell away. He reached down and ripped the inhibitor bracelet from his wrist and threw it at Feng''s head. Feng dodged, his face showing surprise. "What?"


    Then Joshi was diving in, punching once more with renewed fury. This time, his Thousand Fist punch reflected back from six different angles. He realized that he''d stepped through the last veil. Feng must have sensed the change too.


    "Y-you were fooling all along.¡± Feng stammered. ¡°I knew it, I knew you had to be higher level than you were pretending. You''ve been at the Peak of Mental Refinement all this time, haven''t you?"


    Joshi threw back his head and laughed as Feng turned tail and ran back toward the bridge across the moat. He chased. Feng threw techniques. Joshi dodged them, Magen helping him spot them.


    Feng touched the bridge, and Joshi was there. He seized Feng by the robes and pulled him back, throwing him to the sand. Feng threw up a weave with both hands, blocking Joshi, who stumbled back toward the brink of the moat himself.


    Feng sprang up, sword in hand. He swung at Joshi. Joshi had nowhere to go. He drove forward, punching his shoulder into Feng''s midsection and knocking the other man back. Then he was on top of him, punching and pummeling.


    Feng snarled and spat, one eye swollen closed. Blood leaked from his nose and mouth. He thrust and knocked Joshi away, rolled to the side, and leapt back to his feet. Joshi was stronger now but Feng was still a superior opponent.


    Then from nowhere, Chang-li appeared in a flash of purple light. He looked around. "Have I missed anything important?"

 Bk 2 Ch 46: 2 v 1

    Chang-li couldn''t have been gone long, but clearly quite a lot had happened while he''d been in the cell. Feng was bloodied and bruised, his robes torn and dirty. Joshi radiated anger and power. Chang-li didn''t have to ask. His friend had reached the Peak of Mental Refinement as well. Hope flared in his heart. He and Joshi were both at the same stage, and Feng had not yet gone beyond.


    Feng paused where he was, staring at Chang-li. "How did you escape?¡±


    Chang-li took advantage of his distraction. He sucked lux in all around and cycled it through his body using his new cycling pattern, Double Branching River. The physical luxes he shunted to his left side, strengthening his sword arm and empowering his blade. The spiritual luxes he concentrated on the right side of his body. He quickly wove together a very simple net pattern using the Infinite Loom technique as a basis. It wasn''t elegant; it wasn''t the technique he knew it could be with practice, but he needed something fast.


    Feeling the weave form in his right hand, he flung it at Feng, who raised an arm defensively. As the technique flew, it grew, shimmering like an enormous spider''s web, a foot or so wide in every direction. It struck Feng and clung to his head and shoulders. Chang-li raced in, sword raised, as Joshi sprinted for Feng, lux blazing around his fist.


    Joshi was half a step closer. He punched, catching Feng in the head and knocking the other cultivator back. Chang-li swung, hoping to disembowel Feng. Feng raised his hands and threw up a red and yellow shield that caught Chang-li''s blade. His sword shivered under the impact. Chang-li took an involuntary step back as Feng''s strength flared.


    The Soaring Heavens cultivator grabbed at Chang-li''s weave with his free hand and ripped it off. The technique seemingly had no effect on him. He caught Joshi''s next punch and twisted. Joshi responded with a sweeping kick that took Feng in the knee. It was Feng''s turn to stumble back now. Chang-li was already readying his next technique.


    Feng sprang away from them, his leap empowered by lux. He landed twenty feet from them, posing elegantly. One hand raised, open, the other cocked back near his hip, curled into a fist. His face was set in a sneer, and for all that his hair was disarrayed, he looked every inch a cultivator.


    "You dare to come against me, dogs," he spat. "See what a gulf there still is between you and me. You have lied and cheated your way along the path. How dare a slave and a scribe profane the Divine Climb with their presence? I will take both of your heads back, and then I will set the Inquisitor on your sect and have this taint rooted out."


    Chang-li didn''t bother with taunts. He was already preparing another weaving on the Infinite Loom. But something Feng had said caught his attention. A slave. He''d recognized Joshi then. Now, Feng had to die. As though there had been any doubt before. He could not be allowed to leave this place.


    Feng raised both hands skyward. Lux flowed out of him like a fountain, blue with red woven through its structure. He shouted, and Chang-li felt his knees buckling at the force of Feng''s will.


    He had felt this before and assumed it was merely the pressure a cultivator several tiers up could apply to someone at a lower level. Now, theoretically, they were all cultivating at the same tier, and yet Feng''s spiritual presence was still so intense. Joshi took a step forward, sweat dripping down his face, while Chang-li struggled against the pressure, trying to get to his feet again.


    "You will not leave this tower," Joshi growled but his determination seemed to falter


    "You dogs have no way to stop me," Feng taunted. "See what a true master of cultivation at the height of a tier can do? You think because you have taken your first step at Mental Refinement you can go up against me? I have been practicing at this level for weeks now, instructed by a grandmaster from a sect with a pedigree your scam could not hope to claim. I have been enforced with three different divine treasures. You saw the Heart of the Roc, which I consumed. It was the least of the three treasures I have used. You have no chance against me."


    As he boasted, he held his hands up, the lux still streaming out of him, to support this continuous technique. Chang-li sagged under the feeling of hopelessness. Then, in an flash, he understood. Feng was using his will against them as a weapon, but it was lux-enforced, and that meant Chang-li could break it.


    He allowed himself to sag to the sand. Feng turned his attention on Joshi, who was taking another step forward determinedly. "Come, then, if you are so eager to die."


    Chang-li crouched on the sand, head down, panting. As he reached out with his lux senses, he felt the swirls of lux all around him. There was so much more than there had been in the training cell. This place was so much vaster, but the concept was the same, just as when he had trained against his own image. Chang-li switched to Breath of the Heavens. He cycled lux out from his right-hand side, pushing especially the green and blue together, and then expanded his cycling technique into the air all around. Slowly, so slowly, the lux began to respond to him. He drew it back in through his left hand, pulling it into his core, cycling it, and sending it out again as he dropped into a cycling pattern that was now as natural to him as breathing.


    Feng didn''t seem to notice. He had lowered one hand and re-summoned his own weapon, a lux blade. As Joshi struggled forward, Feng taunted, "I am still waiting, slave. Are you going to take all day? I have other places to be. There is a princess waiting for me to claim her."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Chang-li focused on nothing but lux. His cycling technique expanded until he was covering an area twenty feet wide, enough to cover the whole space between him, Joshi, and Feng. As Feng took a step forward, raising his blade, Chang-li seized control of the lux.


    Feng''s stance broke. He lowered his sword, mouth falling open. His concentration had relaxed only for an instant, but it was enough, and now he was struggling with Chang-li for control of the lux. The intense, oppressive field all around was gone. Chang-li sprang to his feet, seizing hard on the lux. He had trained for this. He knew what he was doing.


    Meanwhile, Joshi sprang forward, freed from the force of Feng''s will. He leapt and crashed down to earth beside Feng. A cloud of dust went up. Feng''s duel against Chang-li for lux control abruptly was done. Chang-li had all the lux he could possibly need.


    He wove together another technique on the Infinite Loom and flung it toward Feng. He couldn''t see him or Joshi through the cloud of dust, but he could hear the sounds of their fight: slapping, punching, and strikes like he''d never heard, grunts and shouts. He could feel both of them through his senses, which were now far more reliable than his eyes anyway. His aim was good. His weave caught Feng and settled around his head and neck once more. This time, Feng wasn''t ready for it. Chang-li closed off the thread and put the technique into action.


    Feng screamed a high-pitched wailing sound. "It burns! It burns!" There was a sound of running feet, and Feng emerged from the cloud of dust. Illusory blue flames engulfed his head and shoulders. He was beating at himself with his own hands, his techniques forgotten. "It burns!"


    Joshi pursued him, but Feng''s desperate flight kept him ahead of Joshi. Feng stumbled toward the moat of lux, and before Chang-li could realize what he was doing, he plunged his head and shoulders into the stream.


    "No!" Joshi roared. He seized Feng''s ankle and dragged him back. "You won''t get away that easily."


    Chang-li was racing forward, sword in hand again, preparing to weave a new technique. Feng was fighting with Joshi, even as the barbarian hauled him back from the lux canal, his hands were straining against Joshi''s arm. Joshi had a death grip on his ankle.


    Then Feng began to shift and change. His head and shoulders were coated in a silvery gleam. Chang-li could feel the disruption to his lux patterns. As he watched, the silvery gleam began to continue down Feng''s shoulders and into his arms and torso.


    "Joshi, get back!" Chang-li shouted, and the barbarian let go of Feng and sprang backward.


    Feng got to his feet. His handsome features were hidden behind a silvery mask now that shifted and caught the light. The silver had reached his sternum and was continuing downward. Feng was cycling, no pattern Chang-li could recognize. His strength was intense, even greater than before. He was pulling in red and green both, perhaps instinctively fighting whatever the lux was doing to his body, trying to sustain himself with physical and life lux.


    "You have underestimated me again," Feng croaked, his voice distorted under the silvery lux, which by now had reached his navel. "My body is prepared for this transformation, one that would destroy either of you. With the roc''s heart, the tears of the phoenix, and the thousand-year lotus root I have consumed, I will emerge victorious. You are merely stepping stones on my ascencion."


    Chang-li stared in awe at the silvery, liquid-coated Feng, as far down as his knees. He knew what was happening now. Feng''s body was being transformed by lux, transformed into lux. It was a transformation cultivators were not supposed to be capable of before they had achieved a tier beyond Spiritual Refinement. And yet, it seemed Feng was managing it. The resources of his sect had gone to good use. He was a terrible, powerful foe, and if the transformation completed, who knew what would happen?


    "Joshi, we must end this now."


    As if a spell was broken, Joshi and Chang-li raced in. Chang-li threw a Firepot at Feng, more to see what would happen than anything else. The yellow and red technique splashed harmlessly against the silvery coating of Feng''s body.


    Feng laughed. Only his feet remained unchanged. Now, he raised his fists heavenward, and the lux in the chamber once again began to respond to him, far more violently than before.


    Chang-li felt his own control ripped away. He had the lux in his own body, nothing more. Joshi was there, punching. His thousand fist punch resonated in from eight different angles as Magen darted in, getting a look onto the back of Feng''s head, but they didn''t seem to disturb him at all. Joshi wasn''t making physical contact with Feng, which Chang-li thought was wise. There was no telling what that coating would do.


    His coating complete, Feng began to weave a complicated technique. There were at least four different colors of lux arranged in a weave Chang-li could barely begin to follow. If he''d had time to do nothing but stare at it, perhaps, but he was trying to figure out how to win this fight. He didn''t have time to study just yet.


    Reinforcing his sword with red and orange lux, Chang-li struck a blow against Feng''s raised right arm. His sword bounced off with a clang. If Feng even noticed, he gave no sign. Instead, he completed his weave and tied it off.


    The air around Chang-li exploded. He was knocked off his feet, sent flying as flames seared his body. His ears rang. He hit the ground and rolled over and over, then lay stunned for a moment as a wave of heat passed over him. The air was full of smoke. Coughing, he raised up onto his knees and looked around for any sign of Feng.


    Joshi had been thrown the opposite direction from him, nearly sixty feet away on the other side of the river of lux. He was already on his feet, racing for the nearest bridge. He was pointing and shouting. Chang-li couldn''t make out what he was saying over the ringing in his own ears, but the pointing finger was easy enough to follow.


    Chang-li turned. Feng was hovering ten feet over his head, a gleaming silver creation. There had been no change to his appearance since the lux had finally coated his feet. Chang-li was certain something had gone wrong. When the stories spoke of cultivators transforming their bodies, it was said they remade them almost instantly. It seemed like Feng was stuck somewhere in between.


    Chang-li suspected that he had failed some stage of the transformation. If he did leave the tower, no doubt the Inquisitor would have him put down. But that was of no help to Chang-li, since it didn''t seem like Feng was going to leave them alive.


    Feng snapped his finger. A weave Chang-li hadn''t seen him form flew forward. Chang-li hurled himself to the side, rolling over as the technique exploded where he had been, covering the ground with a sticky, burning substance. He was on his feet. He turned and ran for Joshi, sensing behind him when another technique was coming, and dodging to the side. Feng laughed. From the sound of it, he was following Chang-li, hovering.


    Think! Think! There had to be a way out of this. If he was going to fail to Feng like this, he might as well have let his image win the contest for control of his body.


    He was not going to die here. He had so much farther to go.

 Bk 2 Ch 47: Finish Him!

    With the transformed, glowing Feng hovering over him in the air, Chang-li was just about out of tricks. He hurled another net technique to buy himself time and scrambled away. Feng, laughing, began to summon the lux in the air all around. It swirled like a whirlpool, with Feng as the center of its vortex, filling him. Chang-li could feel the strength of Feng''s core. He was bristling with lux, more full than Chang-li had ever felt anyone.


    Chang-li tried to siphon a bit of lux off of the vortex himself, but he couldn''t. Feng''s grip was too strong. He was laughing still, ignoring Joshi''s attempts to strike him. He threw out another technique. It exploded, knocking the barbarian away and Chang-li to the dirt. He raised his face cautiously.


    Feng turned his back on Chang-li and started for Joshi, weaving another complicated technique in his hands.


    "Time to end this," he called.


    "Joshi, run!" Chang-li shouted. He still didn''t have any idea what he wanted to do, but he needed time to come up with something. Joshi didn''t actually need to be told. He turned and raced off into the edges of the mushroom forest, with Magen bobbing at his heels. The little lux creature, at least, did not seem to be impacted by Feng''s control.


    What else could he do? Without lux of his own, without a technique that could even scratch Feng, it was hopeless. Maybe, while Feng''s attention was on Joshi, he could run for an exit. Surely there was another way out, in the great purple crystal structure that rose on the other side of the lux canal like a mountain of violet glass. He could take the exit but that would be to abandon Joshi to Feng. He couldn''t do that, not after what he''d protested to his image in the training chamber.


    He was a cultivator. Cultivators didn''t give up. If they did, they died. But what good was a cultivator with no lux?


    A mad idea hit him as the lux continued to swirl and focus into Feng. He''d already absorbed so much of it. How much more could he take? Chang-li hesitated. He was risking it all on a desperate gamble, and yet he couldn''t think of anything else with even the slightest chance of success.


    He raced to the moat of lux encircling the great crystal. Before he could reconsider, he plunged the blade of his sword into the gleaming lux, being careful not to let it touch any part of his body. His sword, already built to accept lux, sucked it up eagerly.


    Chang-li cycled, pulling the lux in through his left hand, running it through his core, and then venting it out his right side as fast as he possibly could in the Breath of Heaven technique. He didn''t close the loop this time. There was no need to try to reabsorb lux from the air, even if he could have wrested control from Feng. Instead, he was a conduit between this moat of liquid lux and the tower itself.


    Lux streamed through him, so much, so rich, so dense, it would tear him apart if he kept it up. Chang-li gritted his teeth and cycled harder and more intently than he''d ever done in his life. He could feel the lux density in the air increasing, see the swirling as Feng continued to absorb lux.


    There was another explosion from the forest, and then something came hurling through the air, growing larger by the second. It was Joshi. He twisted as he fell and landed on the ground in a crouch with a wince of pain. He tried to straighten up, then sagged back down.


    "I think my leg''s broken," he said. He was only twenty feet from Chang-li now. He glanced over. "What are you doing? Are you mad?"


    ¡°Overloading him," Chang-li managed through gritted teeth. "Only thing I could think of."


    Joshi''s eyes widened. "Yes, yes, that might. Magen!" he called, and the lux creature appeared at his hand. Without another word from Joshi, it dipped into the stream beside Chang-li. Joshi scowled in concentration as he too began to cycle. He didn''t have the refined technique Chang-li was using. Instead, he just channeled Swirling Mists, venting lux out of himself as swiftly as Magen was feeding it to him.


    Chang-li couldn''t pay attention to his friend''s struggle. He was attempting to stay alive, keeping the lux flowing through his channels before it could destroy him. His core hurt. It had raised up again into his chest, next to his heart, which made it faster for him to cycle the lux in through one hand and out through the other, probably the only thing right now keeping him alive.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Feng approached them, hanging in the air like a great silver statue, silvery robes dangling out behind him, laughing maniacally as the lux flowed into him.


    "You fools! You''ll never beat me. I see you bowed before me in humble submission, and I accept your obeisance. Now taste my power one last time." He raised his hands skyward, channeling a technique, pulling in lux from all around.


    Chang-li''s lux channels were burning. His body felt as though it were being ripped apart. He couldn''t take much more of this. He hung on just a minute longer. Just a bit longer. He vented the lux faster and faster. The air all around him was a spinning cyclone of unrefined lux. Feng felt absolutely unstoppable, his core so rich. It didn''t feel like anything Chang-li could have imagined.


    Then, even as he readied his grand technique, Feng screamed. His head went back. Beams of golden light, emerged from his eyes and mouth like pillars of fire. More beams shot out of each of his fingers and his feet. Gold cracks appeared all over the silvery surface of his body, widening faster than Chang-li could watch.


    In a flash Feng blew apart. The shockwave washed over Chang-li and Joshi. Chang-li stumbled backward to the brink of the moat. Joshi grabbed at him with one strong hand and yanked him back from the edge. They fell forward into the dirt.


    Ears ringing, Chang-li pushed himself up. There was no sign of Feng. He got to his feet unsteadily and helped Joshi up.


    Joshi was favoring his right leg. "Did he? Is he ¡ª?¡±


    "I think so," Chang-li said. He took a deep breath. His body ached. His lux channels felt as though they''d been scoured with acid. Even the thought of cycling any more lux was repugnant. Chang-li wanted to do nothing more than collapse to the sand, but it didn''t feel like it was healthy for him to remain here any longer.


    He retraced his steps to where he¡¯d emerged from the cultivation chamber and hunted around, eventually finding a dull chunk of smooth stone under a layer of dirt. He¡¯d only seen the tower boon briefly, when Feng threw it at him, but he recognized it at once. The stone was drained of almost all of its lux. Chang-li didn¡¯t know if it could be recharged and used again, but he wasn¡¯t going to leave it behind.


    "Come on," he told Joshi. "Let''s get out of here."


    With staggering steps he went to where his satchel lay abandoned near the edge of the forest. He checked that Wulan''s pen case was still there, added the cultivation chamber stone, and slung the satchel over his arms. Then he returned to Joshi, pulling out the water flask and sharing its last few drops with his friend.


    "Thanks," Joshi said. "How did you come to think of that? And what happened when you vanished?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "There''ll be time for that later. It doesn''t feel healthy for us to be here. Not after what I just did. Let''s leave the tower and then talk."


    "Agreed," Joshi said. He leaned on Chang-li, and together they hobbled across the nearest bridge and up to the great purple crystal.


    A doorway yawned. Chang-li hesitated. "I hope that Feng really did defeat the Tower Guardian, because I don''t think I can," he told Joshi honestly.


    "Come," Joshi urged. "Let''s see."


    The inside of the crystal featured an enormous glowing pool of lux. It ran out through a pair of channels to the exterior of the crystal, where it fed the moat. Chang-li avoided those as he made for the obvious stairwell leading down. There was no sign of a guardian. Feng had been telling the truth. He had defeated the Guardian and won the Tower Boon, which he''d then given to Chang-li.


    Chang-li was starting to realize he and Joshi had just defeated and destroyed Feng, a cultivator much farther down the path than they were, as well as several times stronger. He didn''t feel the slightest pang of regret. Feng would have killed him without question. He''d killed multiple of Li Jiya''s disciples, and he had taken great delight in saying what he intended to do to Chang-li, Joshi, and their entire sect. There might be times to stay a hand, hesitate, show mercy. This was not one of them.


    As they made their way toward the exit, Joshi spoke. "We did not succeed," he said.


    "What are you talking about? We beat Feng."


    "We did not get the Tower Boon. I don''t know if what we''ve done will be enough to pay off our sect''s debt."


    "Does that matter?" Chang-li asked. He hesitated before the dark steps leading down. He couldn''t see the bottom from here. "I mean, this tower cull''s done. You''ll get your endorsement on your license, assuming we can make some sort of deal about the debt. Are you ¡ª?¡± He hesitated because he wanted to ask if Joshi was planning to stick around with the sect, but he didn''t want the answer to be no. The foreigner had become his friend through their cultivating together. Not cultivating at Joshi''s side would feel strange, though there was no question of Chang-li stopping. Not now. Not ever.


    "I have not reached the end of my own path," Joshi said. ¡°For now, with Feng out of the way, it seems my identity is secure. If we are able to take the sect to another tower cull and continue our climb, then I think it advantageous to do so."


    "You''ll certainly be helping the sect out," Chang-li said. "But sooner or later, somebody''s going to catch on."


    "Not if we have made the sect a real thing," Joshi said. "But that''s a discussion for another day. Right now, let''s return. If possible, we should seek out Min and the sect without attracting too much attention to ourselves."


    Together, they started down the stairs.

 Bk 2 Ch 48: Reunited

    It took Min several excruciating minutes to extract herself from the cluster of spouses after the dowager had dismissed them. Lady Soaring Heavens was exulting in her triumph. Lady Moon Whispers had a considering look on her face. Hiroko had said nothing, despite Lady Soaring Heavens¡¯ effusiveness, just sat beside the dowager looking tired.


    At last, Min escaped and went to find the disciples. They were waiting in one of the lesser pavilions off to the side, sitting on a hard wooden bench and eating. She joined them. There were other people here, guards and scribes, so she kept her voice low as she hissed, "Well, where are Joshi and Chang-li?"


    "I told you," said Brother Stone. "They have gone after Feng."


    "Alone?" Min put a hand to her head. "Feng still has disciples in the tower. None of his have emerged, and from what you''ve said, he hasn''t lost any. If anything, he''s gained one from Li Jiya''s traitor disciple. Chang-li and Joshi haven''t reached the Peak of Mental Refinement, have they?"


    Brother Stone shook his head. "Not yet, no."


    "So how can they hope to defeat him?" Min felt despair and hopelessness threaten to overwhelm her. There was nothing she could do for them. How could they be so reckless? Was it something about cultivation that forced you along, made you take dangerous steps? She felt the pull herself during their training time in the tower, the desire to better yourself, to consume more and more lux and let it shape you into something more than just human.


    Joshi and Chang-li were both much farther down the path than she was, and she''d never heard common sense preached as a virtue for cultivators. But still, what was she to do if Chang-li was killed?


    Her mind shied away from that. No, no, he would be fine. They would make it out somehow. And then, then she''d have to see about cleaning up the rest of this mess.


    How could she have misunderstood so clearly? She had thought that Princess Hiroko would choose Joshi over Feng. Surely anyone would. Had the girl merely been dazzled by his cultivation prowess? She thought Hiroko had a better head on her shoulders than that. Feng was attractive, and perhaps the princess thought her rank would protect her from some of his excesses.


    Min joined the disciples on the bench, gloomy with despair as they waited. Disciple Cui began to relate some stories of their experience in the tower. Yang joined in, and even Brother Stone chipped in a few stories. Min found herself entranced and impressed. Chang-li and Joshi both had promising futures if they made it out. She''d have to find a different match for Joshi, someone higher ranked than herself who could open doors and make connections for the sect. The next cull was in Vardin City. Maybe she could use her personal connections to advance them, assuming they survived.


    Another wave of despair washed over Min. How could they have staked their whole future on going up against Feng? It had been madness from the start. She should have found another way. They¡¯d been intimidated by the debt. But she of all people should know there were always ways to pay your debts if you look hard enough.


    Chang-li was a brilliant cultivator and would go far, but he had no chance against a man like Feng, with all the resources of a sect poured into him and farther along in his advancement as well. Feng was ruthless. He''d rip Chang-li apart, and Min would never have the chance to kindle the spark that could have become a blazing fire for them. She hadn''t even ever properly managed to thank him for getting her out of a bad spot or to let him know that she cared for him.


    Min buried her face in her hands. All she could see was Feng''s sneering expression as he ripped Chang-li and Joshi to shreds, then emerged victorious from the tower to claim the princess who Min had so thoughtfully arranged for him to marry. Every time she tried a scheme, it blew up in her face. She should have just stuck to the Court of Gems and left the scheming to people who were actually good at it.


    There was a hubbub around her. Min looked up. Someone had just emerged from the upper level and was hurrying toward them. From here, at the far side of the reception party, it was hard to make out details. There were two of them, bedraggled, wearing robes, both men. Her heart leapt. One had a bald head.


    Min was on her feet, the disciples following. As the whole crowd surged forward, she pushed through the ranks, ignoring cries of offense from other cultivators. Too late, she realized the last person she''d elbowed past was the Dowager Pearl, then she was stumbling out in front, just as Chang-li and Joshi reached them.


    Her heart sang. She couldn''t believe it. Chang-li was grinning. Joshi looked tired, bloody, and dirty. But they were here. They were alive. She almost threw herself into Chang-li''s arms, but caught herself just in time. Instead, she met his eyes, the smile frozen on her face. She nodded, trying to communicate with one look just how happy she was that he was back, and stepped back into the crowd as the Dowager and the Inquisitor took command of the scene.


    "Cultivators of the sect of Morning Mists, have you conquered the Tower?" the Inquisitor demanded.


    "No," Joshi answered. "Young Master Feng of Soaring Heavens reached the Tower Guardian first and received his boon."


    "Then you turned back?"


    "No." Chang-li shook his head. "We exited from the Tower Guardian''s chamber. The cull is done."


    A shout went up through the crowd of excitement. Men saw Lux technicians hurrying off to get their equipment and guards streaming toward the entrance to the fourth floor.


    "Then where is Young Master Feng?" the Dowager snapped. Hiroko was at her outside, looking pale. "We have here the woman who has pledged to marry him. I would congratulate him on his triumphs."


    Joshi stiffened. Min saw his expression go blank. Hiroko wasn¡¯t looking at him. Min shuddered; she¡¯d never seen Joshi look so dangerous.


    Chang-li cleared his throat. He had a serious expression on his face, but Min could see the dancing light in his eyes. "Young Master Feng challenged us. He was defeated and has fallen."


    Lady Soaring Heavens let out a shocked cry. She pushed forward, her cultivator spouse at her elbows. The Grandmaster of the Soaring Heavens sect marched up to Chang-li and Joshi. He was shorter than either of them, bald from age, not choice like Joshi, and his jowls and wrinkles twitched as he jabbed a hand at Joshi''s chest.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    "You dared? And the rest of his disciples?"


    Joshi shrugged as his blank expression faded. "They too challenged us. As per the rules of this tower cull, we met their force with force and were victorious. He died like a dog, begging for mercy.¡± His voice was rough, and he was most definitely not looking at Hiroko. The Indigo Princess looked like she¡¯d been punched in the stomach. Min made a note to follow up later. Perhaps the princess could be brought into the sect after all¡­


    "You claim you have defeated six of our best disciples as well as the most promising Young Master any sect has seen in a generation? Alone, the two of you, from a sect no one has ever heard of? One a jumped-up scribe with a month''s training?" The Grandmaster''s eyes bulged. "This is some sort of trick. They must have had help." He turned to the Inquisitor. "Inquisitor, I demand that you look into this matter at once."


    The Inquisitor held up a hand. "Silence," he said. "You imply that I would do any less than my duty? This Tower has been watched. No one with a rank higher than Peak of Mental Refinement has been allowed into the fourth floor.¡±


    ¡°Watched, you say, and yet he managed to come into the Tower." The grandmaster flung a hand out toward Joshi. ¡°I say his sect has snuck in a higher level cultivator. Feng was struck down by treachery.


    The Inquisitor spoke again. His voice was loud and cutting. He wasn''t addressing it to any of them. "Your radiance? It is as I have feared. Do you care to intervene?"


    The crowd took a step back. The Dowager''s face was pale. Min didn''t know what was happening, but clearly some of them did.


    Nearby light began to gather in one place. It condensed like a cloud until it became a glowing human shape. It increased until the crowd of stunned onlookers had to shield their eyes.


    As quickly as it started the light show died, and a woman was standing there. She was the most perfectly beautiful woman Min had ever seen. Her skin was pale and without flaw. Her long, dark hair, tinged with green, flowed like water down her back. Her eyes were a little too big but in her face, they looked perfect and were a marvelous shade of brown flecked with green. Her pupils seemed darker than midnight. She wore a garment that glittered with every color of the rainbow. Her fingers were tipped with pale pink and white polish. When she spoke, her voice was musical.


    ¡°Inquisitor, I have come.¡±


    All around, people dropped to their knees. Many prostrated themselves on the ground. The Inquisitor bowed low. "Your Radiance, Prism Nai Lin, forgive me for calling you."


    "I have been expecting your summons, Inquisitor," the Prism said.


    Min could hardly breathe. She sank lower into her bow as the sheer weight of the Prism''s presence threatened to overwhelm her. She¡¯d seen a Prism in the past, the man who was overlord of Riceflower and half a dozen other provinces, but she¡¯d been a child then with no sense of his power. There were only six Prisms in the entire empire, chosen by the Emperor himself as his most loyal and faithful servants. Most people would go their whole lives never seeing one. Now Min had been admitted to an august company now, the wife of a cultivator with promise. This would not be the last Prism she ever met.


    Right now, she''d be perfectly happy never to stand in the presence of one of these again. Looking up through the fringe of her hair, Min saw Chang-li and Joshi. Both were kneeling. Chang-li¡¯s head was bowed. Joshi particularly looked nonplussed.


    The Prism raised a hand, and the oppressive presence eased a bit. Min could breathe again. She sat back on her heels as the Prism looked about.


    "This tower cull is complete. Why are there so many technicians standing around? Be gone! The harvest waits inside. And take care, I sense at least one very powerful black stone waiting for you."


    Several of the Inquisitor''s men took this as their cue to hurry away toward the tower entrance. The Prism swept her gaze across everyone else.


    "Now, the rest of it.¡±


    ¡°We have had a suggestion that I have taken a bribe from a sect who does not like the outcome," the Inquisitor said. He was on his knees too, his hands trembling. "You, Grandmaster, stand up." She barked the order.


    The man stood, his legs shaking. Lady Soaring Heavens was off to Min''s left. She buried her face in her hands and moaned.


    "Speak for yourself."


    "I did not mean to impugn the Inquisitor''s honor," the Grandmaster babbled. "Merely that I saw no way for these upstarts from a sect with no name or history to have defeated our Young Master. He was the most promising of his generation, chosen out of all of the others of our sect to represent us here at this tower cull. We had great hopes. Why, even the Indigo Princess had sworn to wed him."


    The Prism cut him off. "I care not for such sect matters. Where are the cultivators who killed your young master?"


    The Grandmaster pointed a shaking finger at Joshi and Chang-Li. "One of them was a mere scribe weeks ago who broke his indentures to become a cultivator. How is it possible that they could have defeated a man with an impeccable bloodline?¡±


    ¡°So he is your descendant?" the Prism interrupted.


    "My grandnephew," the Grandmaster confirmed.


    ¡°Cultivators go against cultivators. The strong may be cut down by a sudden blow or laid low by cleverness." The Prism scrutinized Joshi and Chang-li. "What is your sect?"


    Chang-li licked his lips. "We are the sect of Morning Mist. We have filed all of our papers. Our senior Young Master, Joshi, has come from the far borders of the Empire to cultivate further. Inspired by his teachings, I have applied to join the sect as well."


    The Prism looked Joshi over. "You have the look of a Darwur about you."


    Joshi bowed his head. "My people. Yes, I am no longer one of them. I am a cultivator of the Empire and a member of the sect of Morning Mists."


    "Wait a moment," the Prism said, and she vanished.


    Her oppressive presence lifted. Min looked around herself. Everyone else was staring about in confusion, all except Lady Soaring Heavens, who was now rocking back and forth quietly on her knees, sobbing without a sound.


    Time seemed to stretch. No one dared move. Min counted her heartbeats as the minutes crawled away.


    Then the Prism returned in another cloud of light. "I have looked for myself. There was no treachery here. Merely, your young master overreached himself, choosing to challenge those he considered his inferiors without the ability to actually back it up."


    Chang-li''s eyes widened. Min was struck by the careless nature of the prism¡¯s words. The prism had somehow looked back and seen the fight between Joshi, Chang-li, and Feng. How was that even possible? What else might she have seen?


    Min''s heart raced. If she had looked farther back and seen them cultivating, making use of the forbidden violet lux to extend their training time, or forging sect documents, they could all be taken out and executed.


    The prism spoke to the inquisitor. "There has been no treachery done here. You may exert the usual penalties for a false accusation. In addition, this sect is done. They have squandered their resources and their young master at an unimportant tower cull. Have their share of the reward for this tower given over to the sect of Morning Mists in acknowledgement of their victory. I''m done here, unless there''s anything else anyone wishes to bring to my attention." She stared around. Nobody said a word. Then, just like that, she was gone again.


    The inquisitor let out an audible sigh of relief. As the bystanders got to their feet and awkwardly looked around, he turned on the Grandmaster of the Soaring Heavens sect. "Your sect will be sanctioned and fined. A recording of your unfounded accusation will be placed on file. You have forfeited all profits from this tower cull to the sect of Morning Mists. I suggest you be gone from the camp by nightfall."


    The Grandmaster of Soaring Heavens began to protest. Lady Soaring Heavens, despite her white face, stepped forward and pulled her spouse away, whispering to him. They left the group of onlookers and set off for the tower entrance, their assembled servants joining them as they went.


    The inquisitor turned to Chang-li and Joshi. "Not many young masters from a humble sect such as yours come to my attention quite as often as you two have on a single tower cull. I look forward with interest to watching your future progress. Congratulations. I will have a summation of your earnings sent to your sect headquarters as soon as they are available now." He looked about. "With the tower cull complete, I am sure everyone here has other business to attend to."


    Min didn''t need a second offer. She melted back through the crowd, finding the disciples and sending them on ahead. By the time Joshi and Chang-li caught up to her, half the crowd was gone. She was brimming over with questions she wanted to ask, but resolved to hold her tongue until they were out of the tower. After all, who knew who might be listening?

 Bk 2 Ch 49: Loose Ends

    "So, can prisms listen in anywhere, or just in the tower?" Chang-li wondered aloud. They had all returned to the sect headquarters. It was amazing how much it felt like home to him now, considering he''d spent only a single night under its roof.


    The disciples and servants were busy conjuring up a good meal. He and Joshi had both taken a chance to clean up, though he would like to visit the public bath later, if possible. Now he, Joshi, and Min sat in the small parlor off of the great room, discussing what had just happened.


    "I think I would prefer to discuss that incident as little as possible," Joshi said, and Min nodded fervently.


    Chang-li couldn¡¯t get it out of his head. The fourth floor of the tower had been rich in violet lux. Someone skilled in its manipulation might well be able to use it to look back into the recent past and see events. There was nothing he and Joshi had done in the fight that was questionable, except for Feng''s mention of Joshi''s former status, but the prism hadn''t brought that up. Perhaps she hadn''t looked that closely, or perhaps she didn''t care. She was, after all, a cultivator almost as far along the path as it was possible to go, as different from Chang-li and Joshi as they were from a babe''s newborn.


    "Tell me what happened," Min begged. "In the tower, everything."


    So, he began his story. Joshi interjected every now and then. When he got to the part where Feng trapped him in the training chamber, Joshi leaned forward. "This I must hear."


    Chang-li described it. Min''s eyes got progressively wider.


    "How long were you in there?" she asked after he had described how he''d remade his lux channels.


    "I don''t know." He shook his head. "Time passed, but it didn''t feel like time, if that made any sense. It could have been days or weeks or even years. There just wasn''t any way to tell. I was so focused on training and progression, I lost sight of everything else."


    "Feng was a great fool," Joshi said. "He likely would have defeated us if he had not provided you with the method of reaching the Peak of Mental Refinement."


    "You didn''t need that help," Chang-li looked vaguely disgusted. "I feel like I''ve cheated somehow."


    "Did Feng cheat by taking the divine treasures his sect offered him?" Min countered. She shook her head, answering her own question at once. "Of course not. That''s what cultivators do. They take every advantage they possibly can, and they make use of it. Anything else is irresponsible. The important thing is, we need to plan what comes next. There''s a tower cull in Vardin City. I have connections there, through both my grandfathers, that can be of advantage to our sect. I think we should go."


    "Li Jiya is planning to go," Joshi said. ¡°She''s to compete in the bridal tournament."


    "Lady Moon Whispers says she won''t be," Min said, "because of Li Jen dying."


    Joshi said nothing, but his expression was enough that Chang-li could tell he doubted her words.


    Chang-li was growing exhausted. The smell of food in the kitchens piqued his interest, but mostly he just wanted to find a chance to be alone with Min and have a quiet word. When Joshi stood, saying he was going to go upstairs and meditate, Chang-li took the opportunity and asked Min if she''d like to stroll in the garden with him. She accepted at once.


    The walled garden was quiet and peaceful, drawing in faint tendrils of green lux almost imperceptible even to his heightened senses. Chang-li breathed in the thin air. He still couldn''t get used to how different everything felt outside of a tower. There was almost no lux in the air here compared to what was inside his core, but there was so much of that now. He almost unthinkingly held his hand out and Min took it, slipping her thin, warm hand in his. He curled his fingers over hers as they walked.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "I was afraid Feng would kill you," Min confessed. "I''m sorry I doubted your ability."


    Chang-li laughed. "Of course you doubted my ability. I doubted myself. Feng was far too strong. We should never have tried to face him, but,¡± he hesitated. ¡°It''s like there''s something inside me that says the only way to progress is to push myself as hard as I can at the biggest obstacles I can find. Doing that is either going to kill me or make me stronger."


    "Was it worth it?" Min asked.


    "Yes." Chang-li nodded determinedly. "Yes, it is. You''ll understand. We should have a little bit of time now before we have to leave, even if we are going to Vardin City, and the third floor is to be reopened as a training ground for disciples and others who wish to catch up on their own progression. Others mostly meaning spouses," he added.


    Min''s face lit up. "I want to progress. I don''t want you to leave me behind." She took a deep breath, looking up into his face, her dark eyes intent on him. "I want to walk this path alongside you. I know we had an awkward start to things, and maybe this isn''t what you had planned, but we can¡ª That is, I¡ª"


    Her words started to trip over themselves. Chang-li stared down into her face. He took her other hand and held it in his. Min fell silent.


    She was waiting for him to say something. He didn''t know what he should say. Maybe "I''m sorry" or "I love you¡±. Neither of them was exactly true, though. He wasn''t sorry for having married Min, even if there had been some rough moments so far. And he wasn''t sure he loved her. Not yet. He thought highly of her and wanted to see if they could make what they had into love, but they still knew so little of each other. His thoughts were all muddled up in his head. He had no idea what to say.


    He could imagine Scribe Wulan standing there, taunting him. Then he did seem to hear the irascible old scribe''s voice. "Can''t think of something to say? Then shut up and kiss her, you fool."


    So he did. He leaned forward slowly enough that she could move away if she wished. Instead, her eyes closed and she leaned in.


    They kissed. It wasn''t as passionate and fiery as their night together in the inn, but there was a promise there¡ªwarmth, affection, the seed of something more. Chang-li took a step closer, putting his arm on her shoulders. His other hand found the small of her back and he drew her close. She sighed and reached up to clutch his arm as they deepened the kiss.


    Chang-li was just starting to think vaguely that perhaps he should suggest they go inside and somewhere more private when he heard the sound of a throat clearing somewhere behind him. He broke off from Min and turned rapidly.


    Joshi was standing there, looking amused. Min made a little squeak and went pink. Li Jiya stood with Joshi. She wore plain grey cultivator''s robes, like a novice disciple who wished to practice cultivation without ruining her only set of sect robes. Joshi had a piece of parchment in his hand with an official seal on it. Chang-li recognized that seal. It was from the Office of Cultivation.


    "Magistrate Bao has sent our updated accounts to us." He handed Chang-li the parchment.


    Chang-li took it and looked it over. There at the top was the thirty-eight thousand kwam debt the sect had owed. In black was a forty-two thousand kwam credit, their share of the tower cull. He looked up, a great weight lifted from his heart and shoulders. "This cancels our debt."


    Min looked over his shoulder. "That won''t last us very long, especially not in Vardin City. You''d better let me have it. I know how we can use it to best advantage, supposing we go. I haven''t yet got word if we''re to be admitted to that tower cull, though. I hope we will. I have plenty of useful connections there."


    "As to that," Li Jiya said, stepping forward, "I think I can help."


    All three of them turned to her. From Joshi''s expression, Chang-li thought that he didn''t know what Li Jiya was about to say either.


    "Lady Min, I think you know that I have been accepted to the tournament to choose the next bride of the Emperor."


    Min nodded. "Yes, but your step-grandmother said that your sect duties would require you to give up your position."


    "She may have said that," Li Jiya said haughtily. "I do not. The sect could not be bothered to spend their money or risk their secrets to save my own brother''s life. I owe them nothing, and I will not be held back in my ambitions by their petty desires. I am going to enter the tournament. However," she deflated just a little, "there''s a catch. I''ve been admitted, yes, but I will require supporters and assistants who are cultivators of enough standing to help me through the various trials, as well as the official backing of a sect, which is why I am here.¡±


    She paused just long enough for Chang-li to make sense of what she¡¯d been saying, but what came next was even more surprising.


    Li Jiya bowed deeply from the waist. ¡°I would like to join the sect of Morning Mist. In exchange, you will support me as I compete to become one of the Emperor''s Brides.¡±

 Bk 3 Ch 1: Make the Call

    Chang-li came downstairs to the main floor of the Morning Mist Sect house, carrying a pile of newly translated papers. Min and Joshi were in the sitting room, their heads bent together while the sect servants bustled about, making preparations. Out in the small garden, he could hear Brother Stone putting the three disciples through their paces.


    Min looked up and gave Chang-li a smile that made his heart beat just a bit faster. He came over and set his papers down on the table beside Joshi, who glanced at them and raised an eyebrow. "You have been busy."


    "I''ve broken the second cipher and I''m getting a lot faster now," Chang-li said.


    "And here I thought the reason I''ve seen little of you these past three days is because you had better things to do."


    Chang-li felt himself turn bright red. He sat down on the couch beside Min. She took his hand and gave it a little squeeze, her own face showing no trace of embarrassment.


    "Everyone here will be packed and ready to leave tomorrow," Min said. "It''s time we decided where we are going."


    With the successful completion of the Tower Cull, the sects who had participated were moving out. Jade Lotus was gone already, and of course, Soaring Heavens had been removed from the camp by the cultivation officials before Chang-li and Joshi had even made it back. Moon Whispers was still here, making preparations for their own next plans. And one particular member of Moon Whispers was waiting on an answer from the Morning Mist sect leadership.


    Li Jiya had offered to join Morning Mist if they supported her in her attempt to win the bridal competition in Vardin City. There, several promising cultivators would compete for the honor of joining the Emperor''s harem. Li Jiya had set her gaze on that prize. To compete, she would need the backing of a sect and the assistance of other cultivators near her level.


    Ordinarily, Moon Whispers would have been delighted to present a cultivator as a prospective bride. Now, with their only other young master dead, and sect affairs in shambles, it seemed they couldn''t afford to lose Li Jiya.


    Min shot Chang-li a quick smile. In the three days since he had returned from the Tower Cull, Chang-li and Min had at last begun to get their relationship off on the right footing. While there was still much they needed to learn about working together, he had been delighted to find what an eager partner Min was once they''d gotten past a few initial difficulties. He found himself staring into her eyes for much too long.


    Joshi cleared his throat. "Shall we return to the matter of our discussion, or do you two wish to retire to your room?"


    Min snickered and looked away. Chang-li started cycling his lux in the complicated new pattern he was still attempting to master. It was a good way to distract himself both from Joshi''s quips and the stirrings he felt when he sat so close to Min.


    "Ah, yes," he said, as he let his lux flow through him. Even now, three days after leaving the tower, his core was full, the benefit of having reached the Peak of Mental Refinement. His dense core could hold on to lux for so much longer than before. ¡°So. Li Jiya¡¯s offer. Should we take it?¡±


    "She''s offered to turn over any rewards she might gain from the tournament if we support her. Traditionally, having a sect member chosen as one of the Emperor''s brides has increased a sect''s fortunes dramatically," Min said. "By having a disciple become a member of the Emperor''s harem, the sect gains access to patronage and resources that would otherwise be difficult to attain. They also gain prestige and a ten-year exemption from imperial taxation."


    "The tax exemption is nice," Chang-li commented.


    "But we do not want more notoriety," Joshi countered. "Nor do I particularly care to have the Emperor''s gaze fall any more closely upon me than this. The true question is, if we do not accept her offer, where do we go from here?"


    His question hung in the air. Min nodded vigorously. She held up a finger. "Precisely. The cull in Vardin City, which will also be the setting for this competition, will work in our favor. I have connections in Vardin City on both sides of my family. When I show my grandfather what we''ve achieved already, I think I can persuade him to increase our backing."


    While she had two important grandfathers, Chang-li knew she meant the Brotherhood leader, not the provincial governor.


    "I would rather make my way in the world unbound to any man," Joshi declared, which was about what Chang-li had expected of him.


    He''d been thinking this over as well. "We''d all prefer to cultivate with no strings attached, but that''s not going to happen," he pointed out. "We have no money. Our debt''s been mostly wiped out, thankfully, but running a sect is expensive."


    "Then let us become lone cultivators," Joshi countered. "We have no need for a sect. Other towers are to be culled soon."


    Min had a stack of papers of her own beside the pile that Chang-li had brought down. She pulled out one.


    "My brother Jai-Lin, who''s still in the Court of Gems, spoke with Orange Lady Nima, who had overheard the dowager and her aides discussing with Magistrate Bao. The dowager lady will supervise the tower cull in Vardin City, but some of the other officials are being called away elsewhere. There''s to be a tower cull in Jormun Province in three months. It''s six hundred miles from here, and I don''t know about you, but I have no connections there. Then there are several culls coming up on the other side of the empire. No details here. Tower culls happen frequently. Any Prism may be expected to supervise several culls at any time, but they try not to be spread so thin. Hence, usually you don¡¯t have more than one in any given region of the empire. Two in Riceflower Province within a year is rare.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    She flipped to a map showing the rough outline of the empire with its familiar squashed circle borders. Riceflower Province was on the eastern edge, starting along the coastline and stretching far inward. The three dozen provinces outlined on her map looked like the blotches left after a well-eaten meal, one shape bleeding into the next.


    "Each of the six prisms has five to seven provinces under his or her supervision at any time, depending on the size of the province and the richness of the lux.¡±


    Chang-li found himself nodding along. Joshi''s eyes were narrowed.


    "Is this truly how large the empire is?" he said. "We are here, and that then must be Fai-Lan City." He pointed from a small tower etched on a mountain by the sea to a dot a little further inland.


    Min shook her head. "That is Vardin City, the capital of Rice Flower Province. It''s another hundred miles inland from Fai-Lan City."


    Joshi eyed the map. He pointed to the vast wastelands of the west. "Then how far from here to there?"


    Min looked at the map, cocking her head to one side. "Well, if you go straight to the capital," she pointed at the icon in the center of the map, a sharp-edged tower, "and then to the other side directly, I''d say that''s two thousand miles, perhaps."


    Joshi sat back, staring. "Two thousand? So far?¡±


    ¡°You must have known that," Min said. "That''s where you came from, right? You¡¯ve already made the journey once."


    Joshi pursed his lips and said no more.


    Chang-li had seen maps of the empire before, but none showing the towers like this. There were so many of them, four or five in every province. He leaned forward, scrutinizing the map.


    "A tower cull takes anything from six weeks to four months to conduct," Min continued. ¡°All the while, the supervising Prism must be keeping an eye on all the other towers under his control. They cull the towers in the large cities more often, though Vardin City hasn''t had a cull in almost ten years, probably because of this bridal tournament being planned. Also there''s broken towers like this one that are handled only when signs point to an eruption. The lux levels in this tower will be taken down to a level far below what would be acceptable at most towers. Golden Moon City is in for a rough year or two until the lux levels return. They''ll likely have a crop failure, but my family, the government side, has already laid in storehouses full of rice. But yes, there will always be a tower cull happening somewhere. We don''t have to go to Vardin City, but I believe it makes the most sense. We will have allies there, assets, people who can help us."


    "People who will seek to use us in their own schemes," Chang-li pointed out. "But I''m on your side in this, Min. We need to be careful with our time. How long should we waste looking for another tower cull and applying for permission to join, all while trying to keep ourselves fed? Do you really want to arrive at another tower as a pair of sect-less cultivators, Joshi? You know how much suspicion there was on you here at first. We''re established now. We have a name and a sect."


    "Too much of a name," Joshi said. But then, before Chang-li could think of another argument, he bowed his head. "However, I acknowledge the strength of your argument. I had already been more or less persuaded that was the correct trail. But I wish us to take it because we choose it, not because it is our easiest path. I will go, but if Li Jiya''s goals and mine differ, I will pursue my own. I need to reach the Peak of Spiritual Refinement as quickly as possible."


    "Why?" Min asked, looking from one to the next. "The two of you have already made it all the way to the Peak of Mental Refinement in the space of three months. That''s an absolutely astonishing pace. Already people are whispering the sect of Morning Mist has ancient secrets. I''ve had to turn down multiple recruits."


    Chang-li understood what was driving Joshi, his friend''s desire never to be weak and in the power of an enemy again. At the same time, he was sure Joshi felt the same call he did. The way cultivating lux and testing yourself against other cultivators made you eager for still more of the same.


    "Then it''s decided," he said. "We go to Vardin City. We will aid Li Jiya as long as her aims and ours are the same."


    "What is your aim?" Joshi asked bluntly, turning to Chang-li. "Now that we have completed this cull and here you are as a married man with a sect eager to follow you, how long will our roads run together?"


    Chang-li shrugged. "I can''t answer that. For as long as they do, I''m eager to cultivate beside you."


    "In that case," Min said brightly, "I will tell everyone we are implementing Plan One. We''ll be ready to leave in the morning."


    "Then I need to get back to my translations," Chang-li said. "I''ll want to pack up the documents securely and not take them out again until we are in Vardin City. And there were a few more interesting scrolls I wanted to decipher. I think I found a good fit for you," he told Min.


    She put her hands together and smiled. "Really?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully at this next cull we have time to catch you up to Joshi and me," Chang-li said. "I''m not sure how far spouses usually climb, but¡ª"


    "Forget that," she interrupted. "I''m going as far as I can. We''re too small a sect to waste anyone''s talents and you''re not going to keep me out of the next tower, I can tell you that." She stood up, collecting her own papers. "I''ll go and have a word with Brother Stone." Min excused herself, sliding back the paper door down into the garden before returning it to its previous place.


    Joshi watched her go with an odd expression on his face. He turned to Chang-li and seemed to start to say something before he shook his head and stood up. Chang-li rose as well.


    "What is it?"


    "Nothing."


    "That''s a lie. I know you better than that."


    Joshi hesitated. "Min seems to have her heart in the right place and I know how taken with her you are." He cut himself off again, clearly not saying everything he was thinking.


    Chang-li felt his face soften and a smile spread unbidden across his face. He shook himself. "I understand what you''re saying. I like Min. I like her a lot and I want to work with her. But she has other loyalties. I know that. They haven''t yet been tested and I''ll do my damnedest not to put myself in a position where she is tested."


    ¡°That is all I ask," Joshi said simply. "Now, you have been spending too much time locked in your room handling your brushes and your wife. Come out to the garden with me and spar for at least an hour. A cultivator must tend to matters of the body, as well as the mind and the spirit."

 Bk 3 Ch 2: The Riceflower

    Chang-li leaned over the railing of the riverboat, gawking like the provincial rube he suddenly knew he was. After traveling inland for five days, the river had brought them to a deep, narrow lake in a steep valley. The walls of the valley were sharply angled, going up eight or nine hundred feet above the river''s level, and every inch of those hills was terraced. Little paths led up the hills, and small clumps of farming villages clung to the edges of the paths, but the vast majority of the hillsides on both sides of the lake were farms.


    Now, toward the end of summer, the terrace farms were green and gold with ripe crops, and farmers worked industriously to gather them in. The edges of the lake were lined with rice paddies, their shoots rising up ten or fifteen feet tall. He took it in. He was a city boy, but he''d seen rice growing plenty of times, and he knew it did not get that big, not without a great deal of lux. His cultivator senses told him the ambient lux level here was far higher than he''d ever seen outside of a tower, but that was because of what waited at the center of the lake.


    The bone-white tower rose from the depths, casting its stark reflection across the rippling waters. It was taller than the walls of the valley around it. The city was built around the tower, on the surface and above the surface of the water. On the surface of the lake were great rafts, some made of wood with little railings along them like oversized barges, others matted dirt and grass that somehow floated on top of the water. Covering every inch of those surfaces were huts, shanties, shacks, and ramshackle buildings of all descriptions.


    They circled the tower but came no nearer to it than a hundred feet. At regular intervals, channels cut through the mass of floating platforms leading into the inner circle. From there, stairs rose out of the water, leading to the platforms on the tower itself.


    The first platform was about twenty feet up, jutting out of the side of the tower like a fungus growing on the side of a tree. The platform was shaped something like one of those fungi too, roughly circular, wedged against the edge of the tower, and three or four hundred feet in circumference. The tower was covered in them. Little balconies and stairs ran from platform to platform. The platforms grew larger as they went up the tower, until a hundred feet or so from the top was an enormous shelf that ringed the entire platform. He couldn''t see what was on top of it from here. It shaded nearly the whole open space of water on the surface of the lake. It had to be a hundred or more feet across.


    Chang-li had been standing here at the rail ever since their boat entered the lake just after dawn that morning. Min had kicked him out of their sleeping chamber, telling him he wouldn''t want to miss this. He had gone out to humor her, expecting to take a look and be done, but he hadn''t budged since.


    A little farther along the rail, Joshi was staring as well. He''d noted their disciples passing now and then, barely giving the sight a look. But then they were Riceflower natives, weren''t they? This must be common to them.


    Min came up beside him and set her hand on his. "Well, what do you think?"


    He shook his head. "I had no idea such a place existed.¡±


    ¡°Your scribe studies were rather lacking, weren''t they?"


    He cleared his throat. "We studied history and law," he said stiffly. "Not, well, this." He waved a hand at the tower.


    She tilted her head and studied it critically. "It is rather imposing, isn''t it?" she said. "It''s called the Riceflower, and it is what our province is named for."


    "I thought that was because you put out nearly a tenth of the empire''s entire crop of rice, despite having less than two percent of the land mass," Chang-li said.


    She raised an eyebrow. "So you did study something in school. Yes, rice is our specialty. You can see here our paddies are enhanced by lux. This is one of the Ten Towers of Heaven, those specially blessed by the Emperor. We''re expecting a boon crop this year, thanks to the tower being overdue for a cull. Our fields are bountiful." She sounded proud of her city and its efforts.


    Chang-li just kept staring. This was what being a cultivator was all about. Seeing sights he''d never dreamed of, visiting places he could never have hoped to visit as a scribe. "It''s magnificent." His eyes fell on the raft town beneath, and he pointed. "Is there not enough room on the shelves for all of them?"


    Min''s face fell. "Those are the workers," she said quietly. "Many of them are probably runaway serfs from other provinces. We don''t tend to ask too many questions. The Brotherhoods look after them. Be careful if you are in the Flotsam, and check for Brotherhood affiliations, since you''re associated with the Oaken Band. If you run into one of our rivals, that could be a problem. Though honestly, Grandfather has most of the rivals sewed up. They wouldn''t dare pass wind without asking his permission."


    "The Flotsam?" he asked, temporarily diverted.


    "That''s what we call the raft city. The ''shelves'' are actually known as ¡®petals,¡¯ and they''re numbered lowest to highest. If you come from a lower petal, everyone knows you''re not as important. And the ring? That''s the Crown," Min said. "It''s where I grew up, and where we''ll be heading eventually. But not just yet. Grandfather''s making other arrangements for us."


    He cleared his throat. "When you talk about your grandfather, which one?"


    "Grandfather Jiang,¡± Min said crisply. "Grandfather Guo is, last I heard, in no condition to make arrangements for anyone or anything." Her face fell slightly. "I would like it if we were able to pay a social call on him. I would like to introduce you."


    He covered her hand with his and squeezed. "Of course. You''re my guide here, Min. I knew I was going to be relying on you. I just had no idea how much. I''m completely out of place here."


    She smiled up at him. "Tell you what. I''ll be your guide outside the tower, and you''re my guide once we''re in."


    Farther down the rail, Joshi made a disgusted noise and pushed away. He stalked past them grumpily. "How much longer till we get there?"


    "Another half an hour," Min said.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    "I''ll be in my room, cycling." They watched him go.


    Min shot Chang-li a mischievous glance, and they both began to laugh together. Min shook her head. "I don''t mean to upset him, but he does need to get over himself, doesn''t he?"


    Chang-li thought he probably should defend his friend but was distracted staring into his bride''s face. He bent over and kissed her. "How long did you say we had until we reached the city?"


    "Long enough."


    This city was a wonder, Chang-li decided, but it was also damned inconvenient. There were only a few paths from one petal to another. Min led him, Joshi, and the sect disciples up a stair, firmly attached to the outside of the tower, to the first of the petals, then along an arching bridge over to the next.


    "Are these natural phenomena, or constructed?" Chang-li asked.


    "They were grown. It is said it was a gift of the Emperor to one of his first wives a thousand years ago," Min said. "We had to add the bridges and stairs ourselves. This is the fifteenth petal, and we have to make it all the way to the sixty-fourth. Keep up."


    Chang-li cycled Purification of Mind and Soul. His lux reserves were at last draining. There was almost enough lux here in the air, drifting off of the tower, to refill his core. Joshi seemed to note it too. His eyes flickered about as they went.


    "Is the air here always so full of lux?" he asked.


    Min didn''t pause as she led them, her sleek, dark head bobbing along in front as she swept them past. She had an air of certainty that Chang-li had seen in her a few times before, but never quite this strongly. It was an appealing attitude. "I don''t know," she confessed. "I can tell what you mean, now that I have begun cultivation myself and had some experience with lux. It is dense, isn''t it? I don''t know if the air here is always so rich, or if it''s because of the upcoming tower call. I suppose we must always have more ambient lux," she added thoughtfully. "Our rice crops are famous throughout the empire.


    ¡°Because they''re five times taller than they should be," Chang-li remarked.


    "Fortunately, the stalks grow more grains of rice, not bigger individual grains," Min said, laughing. "Can you imagine a grain of rice big enough to serve an entire family as one meal? That would be inconvenient to ship, wouldn''t it?"


    They were a good fifty feet higher than the water now. Chang-li glanced over the edge of a bridge as they went, seeing the open lake beneath him and off to one side, the nearest edge of the Flotsam. A pair of children were fishing from the edge of one raft, their lines dangling in the open water. They didn''t look up. Both wore wide-brimmed hats over their heads.


    As Chang-li and the party approached the next petal, he realized why those hats were important. A stout woman in her forties was lugging heavy pails to the edge of the petal. Her clothes and sun-marked features marked her as a laborer. She was wearing a rosette, though not of the Oaken Band Brotherhood. She tipped each of the pails over the edge of the petal, dumping their foul contents into the water below.


    "Is that the water your people drink?" Chang-li asked, scandalized. For all its crowded streets and huddled buildings, at least the town where he''d grown up had had a proper sewer system.


    "No, no," Min assured him. "At least not those of us on the petals. There are natural springs that we tap. I suppose the water comes from the tower," she added. "I never thought of it before."


    "What about the people down there?"


    Min glanced over her shoulder at him. Her face was more serious now. "Yes, that''s their drinking water. My Brotherhood and others have made it a point to see that the larger communities in the Flotsam have access to purification barrels. It''s very basic lux technology. Grandfather said it was a cheap way to take care of our people, and that taking care of our people meant they''d take care of us."


    "Or you could use that same effort to build a decent sewer system," Chang-li suggested. Min had turned her face forward and didn''t answer him.


    When they at last reached Petal 64, Chang-li stepped off the bridge and gave himself a moment to look around.


    The petals had been growing larger as they went up. This one was nearly 300 feet over the surface of the lake. A narrow railing ran all along the edge, just above knee height. It didn''t look as though it would be much of a barrier for someone to fall. But he supposed it was better than nothing.


    The petal had two streets. One ran straight across its base, with the tower on the left and the first row of buildings on the right. On the far end, he could see a set of curving stairs leading up to the next petal in the chain, which was slightly offset so that half of this petal was in shade, the other half in sun.


    On Chang-li''s right hand, another broad avenue ran down the outside of the petal. Narrow alleys between buildings filled in everywhere else. At a guess, it was perhaps a quarter the size of the neighborhood where he''d grown up. Some of the buildings were two-story, and in the center of the petal, a large four-story structure dominated everything.


    Min pointed. "This is the Brotherhood Hall. I have asked Grandfather to arrange our sect lodging on a different petal, and he''s agreed, but he wishes to host us as his guests for one night."


    "One night," Joshi agreed. The Darwur man looked nervous. He had taken several steps away from the edge, and his face was more gray than Chang-li had ever before seen. His hands were clenched into fists, knuckles white.


    Min seemed to note that. She gestured to the disciples and the rest of the escort they''d brought up from the boat. "Go ahead," she said. They scurried off, Brother Stone nodding politely as he left.


    "Is there something the matter?" Min asked when the others had gone.


    Joshi shook his head. "It is merely very high."


    Chang-li had to agree. He was focusing on the tall wall of the tower rising off to his left and the seeming solidity of the petal under his feet. The surface was spongier than stone, like mossy ground, but was as white as the tower from which it grew. Still, if it had stood a thousand years, thanks to the Emperor''s power, it would probably stand for a few more months.


    Min lowered her voice. "My grandfather is not the most powerful man in the city, whatever he''d like you to believe."


    "No," Chang-li said before he could help himself. "That''s your other grandfather, isn''t it?"


    A look of pain passed over Min''s face and vanished. "No. As a matter of fact, that was never the case. The politics here in Vardin City are somewhat complicated, and I didn''t get the impression that either of you were particularly interested in civil affairs, but suffice it to say, an uneasy sort of peace exists. The Brotherhoods all respect my Grandfather Jiang, but they''ll backstab us and seek their own gain. Grandfather Jiang keeps them in check for Grandfather Guo. But for the last few years, the most powerful man has been the Chief Magistrate sent by the Office of Cultivation. He is Prism Nai Hong''s right-hand man."


    "Was that the Prism we met before?"


    Min shook her head. "Nai Hong is the Prism who has authority over this entire province, as well as seven others. I''m not sure why Prism Nai Lin was called in to help at that tower climb. Perhaps Prism Nai Hong asked for her; she is his daughter, after all. With the Bridal Tournament and eventually the Emperor''s appearance, it''s almost certain that we''ll have a chance to see Prism Nai Hong himself. I''ve met him three times before. He''s a very intimidating man."


    "Wait, what was that?" Joshi asked sharply. "The Emperor coming here?"


    Min looked puzzled. "Well, obviously he''ll be coming here," she said. "After all, he''s going to be taking a new bride. You don''t think they''d just put her on a boat and ship her off to the capital, do you?"


    That had been exactly what Chang-li had expected. He shared a look of dismay with Joshi. They did not want to get any of the Emperor''s attention for themselves. An escaped slave and a jumped-up scribe who had been illicitly cultivating violet lux in contravention of the Emperor''s laws, attempting to resurrect a sect the Emperor himself had apparently ordered destroyed hundreds of years ago. It seemed like a terrible idea. But they were here now. Chang-li glanced back over his shoulder at the thin rail separating him from the water far, far below. He turned back to Min and squared his shoulders.


    ¡°Then I guess it''s time we met your grandfather.¡±

 Bk 3 Ch 3: Interview with the Grandfather

    The Brotherhood Hall was the large building that dominated this petal. It was an imposing edifice with a three-tiered tower rising from the main building, each tier smaller than the one below, with a slanting roof painted in sky blue. Gargoyles and monsters decorated the edges of the roofs, and tall red wooden pillars, wider than Chang-li could throw his arms around, held up the corners of the building. On the doors were painted the Brotherhood''s emblem.


    Min led them inside, where they were met by servants in Brotherhood colors. She greeted them all by name. They swept the three along. "Don''t worry," she told Chang-li as they were separated. "I''ll rejoin you before we meet my grandfather."


    He and Joshi were taken off to a chamber by a pair of dour, middle-aged male servants and presented with water for washing. They stripped down to their undergarments as directed. The servants took their robes to be quickly cleaned and then returned to them. The senior of the two attendants lingered as they washed.


    ¡°Anything you need?" Chang-li asked him, not enjoying being under the eye of a spy.


    The man cleared his throat. "You are Lady Min''s new husband, then?"


    "I am," Chang-li confirmed. It wasn''t hard to guess, since his cultivator robe bore the red edging to match Min''s rank, while Joshi''s was plain.


    "Lady Min is very dear to us all," the servant said. "We are pleased and hopeful to have heard she has taken a husband. We all hope she will be very happy."


    Chang-li swallowed. "I''ll do my best," he said honestly.


    At last, the servant disappeared, leaving him and Joshi alone, though he suspected they were likely still being observed. He sank down to a sitting position and concentrated on washing his hands, face, and neck until the servants returned with their robes freshly pressed and perfumed.


    Next, they were ushered into a well-appointed tea room. Min waited for them. She had changed from her sect robes into a grey and brown tunic and skirt, similar to the ones he''d seen Brotherhood women wear. She wore a red sash from shoulder to waist. She looked like Lady Min of the Brotherhood, not Min of Morning Mist. Chang-li felt a quick stab of jealousy.


    She looked up from her position. Someone had done her hair, piling it atop her head in a style more suited for a married woman. He liked her better with her hair down, but she certainly looked elegant like this. She indicated the place beside her. Chang-li sat cross-legged. Joshi took the place beside them.


    A moment later, the far doors slid open and a man entered. He gave off the most commanding presence of anyone Chang-li had ever met who wasn''t a cultivator. There was no sense of lux from him, but nevertheless, power radiated off him. He was in late middle age, unbowed by the years, his head bald at the front, his hair up in a tight knot behind, stern face and steel eyes looking them over. He wore the same grey and brown as the rest of the Brotherhood, but he wore it like a king, his robes of silk hanging open to show the chain of iron on his chest with the Brotherhood''s symbol: a hand clutching an acorn.


    "May I present Jiang Ruolan, eldest brother of the Oaken Band Brotherhood," Min said without rising from her place. She kept her eyes lowered as she spoke. ¡°Grandfather Jiang, this is my husband, Young Master Wu Chang-li of the Morning Mist, cultivator at the Peak of Mental Refinement, and his associate, Young Master Joshi, also of the Morning Mist, also at the Peak of Mental Refinement."


    The man entered the room, each of his stocking feet deliberately placed as he paced inside. The servants slid back the door behind them and knelt beside it, waiting. He studied Chang-li for a long moment before taking his place at the table. He put his hands on his knees and called, "Bring the tea."


    Other servants had clearly been waiting for the order. They scurried in from a side door, bringing a tray with four cups and a steaming pot. They set them down before Min. Jiang gestured to her. "Pour the tea."


    Min poured a cup, first for her grandfather, then for Chang-li, Joshi, and lastly for herself. Lord Jiang took his handle-less cup in his hands, waiting as she poured the rest. When they all had their tea, he raised his. "To your health," he said, "and to your union. May it be long and fruitful."


    He raised his cup. Chang-li sipped his. The tea was delicious. The perfect temperature, leaves not scalded, hints of rose and something spicy in it. Joshi drained his with one long sip and set it down. Min held hers close like she was savoring the warmth.


    "So," Lord Jiang said, looking over Chang-li, "my granddaughter has done as she was instructed and married a cultivator. How strong is your sect?"


    Chang-li glanced at Min. She was keeping her face expressionless. Hadn''t she informed her grandfather? Chang-li forced himself to meet Lord Jiang''s eyes.


    "As I am sure your people have told you, Joshi and I are the only cultivators of note so far, though our disciples have all reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement and are pushing onward."


    "Min tells me you are an ancient sect, being restored to its former glory."


    Chang-li glanced at Min. That was the most grandiose way to put it. He studied the old man, searching his face as the Brotherhood leader waited to pass judgment. This was not a man who suffered fools. He had power, not by virtue of imperial assignment or heredity, but because he had risen to the top and held it with an iron fist. Would such a man appreciate forthrightness or be offended by the truth?


    "Four months ago, the Morning Mist sect was dust and ruin," Chang-li said. "We are resurrecting it like a legendary phoenix from the flame. Already we have earned the approval of those conducting the Golden Moon Tower Cull. Now we are to participate in the bridal tournament here in Vardin City."This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "So Min informs me." Lord Jiang looked from Chang-li to Joshi. "Yet I see no bride here. The Emperor is capricious, but I have never heard that his taste runs to barbarian men." He raised an eyebrow.


    Joshi snorted. Chang-li was glad he had not chosen to take offense.


    "Our candidate will be coming later," Min said smoothly. "We are keeping her affiliation with us secret for a time."


    Abruptly, Lord Jiang slapped his knee. "There''s the girl I raised." He sat back, and an air of tension left the room. Min poured him more tea, and he sipped it. "Min girl, when you told me you had wed a scribe, newly become a cultivator, I was worried. You were supposed to marry a prince of cultivation. But I see now you have chosen a husband with brains and not brawn. Perhaps you''ve listened to my lectures after all."


    "Always, grandfather.¡±


    "So, what is your request?"


    "We need backing," Min said bluntly. "Our sect is no longer in debt, but we have no funds until the end of this Tower Cull when we receive our contribution pay from the Empire."


    "I have arranged lodgings for you as you requested," Lord Jiang said. "Though I would be happy to house you here in our Brotherhood headquarters."


    "You know why that''s not a good idea," Min said.


    "Yes, yes," Lord Jiang waved a dismissive hand. "So be it."


    "And we need more disciples," Min turned to Chang-li. "You have the details we discussed?"


    Chang-li fumbled to pull a densely written half-sheet of paper from his inside pocket. "If they are students with the aptitude of the ones you''ve already sent to us, this is what I think I can instruct over the next few days and weeks."


    Lord Jiang eyed the list. He raised an eyebrow. "I was hoping for twice this many."


    "Do you wish numbers or students with a solid foundation of cultivation?" Chang-li asked.


    "Numbers have a certain appeal of their own," Lord Jiang noted. "But I understand your point. Very well. I will discuss this with Min. But tonight, you will all be my guests at a feast in Min''s honor. I was not present for her wedding. I can at least celebrate it." He rose. Chang-li let out a sigh of relief, now that the audience was over. "Cultivator Wu, will you walk in my garden with me?"


    Chang-li was halfway to his feet. He froze, then took control of himself as a cultivator should. He finished standing. "I would be honored, Lord Jiang."


    Jiang chuckled. "I''m no lord. My people call me Eldest Brother. You may call me Grandfather."


    Chang-li couldn''t help it. He sought out Min¡¯s eyes as horror rose in him. She was hiding a smile and gave a tiny shake of her head.


    He followed Jiang into the elaborate garden. Though it was a courtyard, he could only barely see the opposite roof peeking up over the edge of the trees. Each tree had clearly been grown, and shaped in elegant patterns. Protected from the wind by the walls of the Brotherhood headquarters, there was no cause for any of these trees to be so bent.


    A small stream ran through the garden. Chang-li looked at it in surprise.


    Jiang noted where he was looking and chuckled. "That is this petal''s spring. We built the Brotherhood Hall around it in my great-great-grandfather''s time to ensure that we could protect it. Some of the other petals had conflict over control of their springs, though these days most of them are managed by the municipal authorities."


    Chang-li decided to stick with a safe topic of conversation. "It makes for a beautiful garden."


    It did, indeed. He couldn''t see the strange white surface of the petal beneath the dirt and plants. River rocks had been placed to form a stream, with the waters of the spring running along out of the garden. Little wooden bridges arched over the streams. Jiang led him along through the garden, past sweet-smelling flowers and trees blooming out of season. Chang-li sensed the lux they were drawing in from the root of the petal itself. The oranges still growing on the nearest tree were almost twice the size of any orange he''d seen before.


    Jiang noted where he was looking. "Are you a gardener?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "I was a scribe before I became a cultivator, but my family were dock hands in Yellow Sky City," he admitted.


    Jiang looked surprised. "Were they? Good for you. Min did not tell me her husband came from honest working stock.¡±


    "Anyone may rise to be a cultivator.¡±


    "Yes, but few without connections actually do," Jiang said. "How is it you found yourself on this path, grandson?"


    Chang-li hesitated. He had decided to be honest with this man earlier, but that didn''t mean he needed to tell him everything. This was Min''s grandfather, and he was also a very powerful man.


    Jiang saw him pondering and nodded. "I understand your reluctance," he said quietly. "Has Min told you much about us, lad? Were there brotherhoods in Yellow Sky City?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "I don''t think so. I''d heard of them elsewhere. My uncle was a scribe and brought us stories of other parts of the empire. He said in some cities the emperor''s word is only as good as far as the fraternal organizations allow it to be."


    "We are loyal servants of the emperor," Jiang said sharply. "We are a vital part of this ecosystem. What does your scribe training tell you are the pillars of empire?"


    "Cultivators and officials," Chang-li said at once. That had been drilled into him as he prepared himself to join the ranks of the second. "The emperor, in his strength, creates and maintains the towers which give us the lux we need to live. But that lux comes with danger. Too much lux leads to eruptions, plagues, and disasters. Cultivators must train to face those challenges and keep the ordinary people safe. But who watches the cultivators? That is where the emperor''s wisdom comes in. He has set in place a hierarchy of those who gain their position by wit and skill and dedication, not just the blessings of heaven. The government, from provincial governor on down, sees that ordinary people are kept safe from cultivators, that harvests are bountiful, and that¡ª¡± he bit his tongue because he had been about to say that the sewers are maintained, but clearly here in Vardin City, that was not the case.


    "And who protects the people from the government officials, hmm?" Jiang asked. "Certainly not the cultivators. They are as far above us as the stars in the sky. While occasionally a farmer or dock worker runs afoul of a cultivator and is squashed beneath him like a bug beneath a boot, it is the nobles and government officials who intrude on their lives on a daily basis. The Brotherhoods are said to be the third pillar of empire, loyal to the emperor but responsive to their members. When one of my people falls afoul of a cheating official or has his business unjustly held up and his permits questioned, he can turn to me or anyone in my organization. And yes, should we fall afoul of a cultivator, we have ways of balancing that."


    "I know," Chang-li said. "When I first met Min, she requested my help in overseeing a duel between Brother Stone and a low-ranking sect disciple who had committed an offense against one of the Oaken Band.¡±


    "Did she?" A fond look crossed Jiang''s face. "Min may well replace me one day," he said quietly. "That had been my plan until recently when the Gem Court called her away. I was not so sure of the wisdom of marrying her to a cultivator, but I see now she had a purpose in mind." He looked Chang-li over. "I like you," he said abruptly. "I think Min has made an excellent choice. I hope I''m right. I''d hate to have to have you executed."

 Bk 3 Ch 4: Caught In-Between

    Min waited in the tea room of the Oaken Band Brotherhood headquarters, trying not to let her inner turmoil show through to the surface. Chang-li and her grandfather had been out in the garden for a long time. What if Grandfather Jiang didn''t like what he saw? What if Chang-li''s worries about the Brotherhood were further stirred up by her grandfather?


    Min kept her hands pressed tight against her knees as she knelt and waited, imagining the confrontation going a hundred different ways. Her grandfather was a powerful man, used to getting his own way, but she didn''t think he had much dealing with cultivators. For a cultivator, Chang-li was remarkably humble and willing to listen. But he''d been a scribe before this, a government official, and Min knew from their earliest interactions of his distaste for the Brotherhoods and their quasi-legal status. She hoped she''d managed to persuade him that the Brotherhoods were a necessary part of the empire, but that could change easily based on her grandfather.


    What would she do if the two most important men in her life demanded she choose between them? Min banished that thought, refusing even to consider it.


    At last, the door slid open. Min looked up eagerly, but it was merely a servant. "Elder Sister, the Eldest Brother requests you attend him in his chambers."


    Min rose at once, brushing off the bottoms of her robes. "Yes, of course." She hesitated. "What of my husband?"


    "He awaits you in the guest quarters once you are done attending your grandfather."


    Min tried to feel relieved. At least Grandfather Jiang hadn''t decided to order Chang-li executed or thrown him out of the compound, which were among her more outlandish worries. She quickly made her way along the corridors to her grandfather''s side of the compound. He kept a suit of rooms in a low, out-jutting wing that overlooked the garden. Min rapped on the door lintel.


    "Come in," her grandfather said.


    She slid back the door and entered his sitting room. He was standing with his back to her, looking out the open door into the garden. Min closed the rice paper screen behind her.


    Her grandfather slid the garden door shut and gestured for her to follow him into his second chamber, the study where he often interviewed important Brotherhood members. Here, the walls were lined with long shelves and the room''s traditional tatami mats covered in a woven rug. A pair of low couches framed in the room. Her grandfather poured himself a small cup of rice wine, then poured another and offered it to her. Min accepted, her hands only just trembling.


    "So," her grandfather said, ¡°that is the husband you have chosen.¡± It wasn¡¯t quite a question.


    Min forced herself to meet his eyes. "Yes, sir," she replied.


    "And how do you like him?" Grandfather Jiang asked. His words were gentle, but there was a hint of steel beneath them.


    Min took a deep breath. "I like him very much," she said boldly. "He is not what I was expecting. He is a man of great character, a man of great wisdom. He¡¯s accomplished far more than most cultivators his rank, but you wouldn''t know it from talking to him. He''s thoughtful and studious. Why, I can hardly drag him away from his scrolls sometimes."


    Her grandfather raised an eyebrow. "A man concerned with scrolls and bookkeeping is often not aware of the dealings of the world around him."


    ¡°Chang-li''s studies have purpose," Min explained. "We have a trove of secrets from the old Morning Mist sect that he''s trying to translate. Since he''s the only trained scribe we have, the duty falls on him."


    "Yes, Brother Stone''s missives explained the situation thoroughly," her grandfather said. "Well, I''m glad you like him personally, Min. I would not want my only granddaughter to have made an unpleasant marriage." A shadow crossed his face. "I was grieved that your mother and father''s union proved less happy than I had wished. It was a great advantage for our family to secure the governor''s son in marriage. But I know your mother was rarely happy. She did her duty to me and to your father, and her three children stand testament to that."


    "I know she''s content now," Min said. Her mother, after becoming a widow a few years ago, had promptly retired to the countryside, where Grandfather Jiang saw she was supplied with the wine, flowers, and poets she so enjoyed.


    "That is neither here nor there," her grandfather said. "If you like this fellow, I am content. He has done well for himself. I like to see a self-made man. I am willing to allow him to continue in his role."


    The phrasing deeply troubled Min. Role? What role? As one of the leaders of Morning Mist? As her husband? "I''m glad you approve of our scheme with the sect," she said, while trying to parse his meaning.


    "Like?" Her grandfather smiled. It actually lit up his eyes as he shook his head. "Min, it was inspired. I admit I was concerned at first, reading the reports. But when my informers reported to me just how well the sect was doing, I realized you had seen more clearly than I had."


    Informers? Min''s gut squirmed. She''d known, of course, that all of the Brotherhood members'' loyalties would be to her grandfather, from the servants to the disciples. But hearing it said outright still hurt.


    He continued. "I immediately began to see the possibilities. You''ve already raised several of our cultivators to the Peak of Bodily Refinement, and Brother Stone tells me he believes himself capable of reaching the Peak of Mental Refinement with a bit more training. He speaks of your husband as a capable teacher, which is impressive considering your husband has only reached the Peak of Mental Refinement himself. Those scrolls must contain great secrets."Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "They do," Min agreed, "but Chang-li really is good at teaching. He can take concepts from the scrolls and make them meaningful, connect them to you and what you''re doing. He''s very patient, even with the newest of sect members."


    "On the other hand, this Young Master Joshi does not seem to be doing much for your sect."


    "Joshi''s reputation is the sect right now," Min said flatly. "If we perform well in this bridal tournament, then that may change, but for now, Young Master Joshi is the public face of the Morning Mist sect. It is believed that he was the one responsible for defeating young Master Feng of the Soaring Heavens and completing the tower cull at Golden Moon."


    "Are you saying your husband has been denied his fair share of the credit?" Grandfather asked.


    "Not at all. I think he prefers it this way," Min said. "Chang-li and Joshi are good friends. There''s no quarrel between them."


    "Nevertheless, Joshi is an outsider, a foreigner, with no loyalties to the Brotherhood. If we cannot bind him to us, we must separate him. Not painfully," her grandfather assured her, as Min''s face no doubt reflected the horror she felt at his words. "But cultivators do move between sects as is best for them. We might perhaps sponsor him at a sect more appropriate to his talents."


    "You can''t go breaking up our sect," Min said. "Not now. We have work to do, a tournament to win."


    "I don''t plan to make any such changes immediately," her grandfather said. "Certainly not until the sect is better established. In addition to the recruits I am sending to begin their training, you will need more authority than a pair of cultivators at the Peak of Mental Refinement can give you. We have reached out through my contacts and made inquiries. I have located a promising cultivator of good experience. He made quite a name for himself some few years ago but has found himself sectless in the years since. He owed a considerable drinking and gambling debt, which I was able to procure. He will be arriving here within the month to take up his role as the Grand Master of the Morning Mist sect."


    Min couldn''t keep the horrified gasp from escaping her. "Grandfather!"


    He looked at her sharply. "You disapprove of my actions, Min?"


    "You can''t just take over our sect! And bringing in some outside cultivator none of us know? A drunkard, a gambler, as our Grand Master? Why?" She shook her head. "Even if Chang-li and Joshi would accept him, a man like that will squander all of the good reputation the Morning Mist have gained so far.¡±


    "I assure you I have taken steps to ensure that will not be the case," her grandfather said stiffly. "And Min, your sect?"


    Now she was furious. "Mine, Joshi''s, Chang-li''s," she retorted. "We''re the ones who built the sect out of nothing."


    "With my backing," her grandfather pointed out. "Surely you do no forget Obligation. This is a Brotherhood investment, and I am going to protect it. You know this, Min. There''s no harm to befall the sect.  I mean to continue to triple or more my investment in the sect. You and your husband and, yes, your husband¡¯s friend, will all profit by it. Morning Mist will have the resources you need to ensure that your cultivators are able to continue their journey."


    This was everything Chang-li had feared and Min had assured him wouldn''t happen. She shook her head. "Grandfather, you don''t understand. This isn''t just another investment for the Brotherhood. Cultivators aren''t a business you can take over and use as a front for your own purposes. Cultivating is something that the Brotherhood has no experience with. It''s a whole new world."


    "So were the halls of government when I married your mother to your father.¡± Her grandfather rumbled, looking dark as a thundercloud.


    Min trembled but forced herself to meet his eyes. She had not risen to her position as his heir presumptive by cowering. She tried another tack. ¡°Grandfather, this is my scheme. You always allow your lieutenants free reign on a promising scheme, so long as they keep you informed of what¡¯s going on and see to it that your investment is recovered.¡± She had seen what happened to more than one lieutenant who failed on either of those counts. ¡°With the Morning Mist in my hands, I¡¯m well on my way to understanding exactly what it is a cultivator¡¯s spouse does for a sect. It¡¯s much more in-depth than I could ever have imagined. No one who isn''t part of this life could understand the needs."


    ¡°Which is why I¡¯ve made sure to find you a real cultivator,¡± her grandfather retorted. ¡°The man has multiple tower culls to his credit. There¡¯s only a single blot in his cultivator license, and I¡¯m arranging to have that cleared up. He¡¯ll leave you and Chang-li and Joshi alone, allow you to focus on cultivation while handling the day-to-day business of training new sect members. I should have thought you¡¯d be delighted.¡±


    Maybe Chang-li would go for that. Joshi almost certainly would. He disliked the business of training underlings and wanted to focus on his own advancement. But Min couldn¡¯t imagine herself telling Chang-li that they had just suffered a hostile takeover.


    ¡°Grandfather, please,¡± she begged. ¡°You have to reconsider this. Let me show you what our sect can do.¡±


    ¡°My girl,¡± her grandfather said, smiling again, ¡°you¡¯ve already shown me. You¡¯ve opened my eyes to an entire new realm of endeavors far beyond anything I could have hoped before. I¡¯m making inquiries into other provinces among the Brotherhoods there to see if any of them have similar allied sects. I think it¡¯s an area we¡¯ve neglected for too long.  We¡¯ve seen them as above us. That was a mistake. This will benefit the Morning Mist and the Oaken Band both. Mutual Benefit, Min.¡±


    He was invoking the most sacred tenet of a brotherhood: people banding together for Mutual Benefit. It was everything Min had been raised to believe in. Grandfather was looking her over with gentle eyes. "You can''t believe I''d ever do anything to hurt you.¡±


    "No, I know you wouldn''t," Min agreed. She had never doubted her grandfather''s love for her. She even believed he was doing what he thought was best now. But she was forced to confront the fact that her loyalties were now divided. She was Oaken Band, born and raised, but she''d made vows to Chang-li and joined the Morning Mist sect herself. Where did her duty lie? If this was really to the sect¡¯s benefit, then there was no conflict. But then why did she feel so torn?


    Her grandfather softened his tone. "I can see now this is going to be harder for you and your husband, to accept than I had thought. I''ll need you to serve me as go-between, Min."


    That was a role she understood. "You''ll let me explain this my way?" Maybe it would be better coming from her rather than dictated by her grandfather.


    "Certainly," he said. "Grandmaster Noren is currently in the Darshen Peaks over in High Rock province. It will take him weeks to reach Riceflower. I would be surprised if we see him before the end of the bridal tournament."


    So, she had some time. Min bowed her head. "All right," she said. "And you won''t interfere in the day-to-day running of the sect?"


    Her grandfather hesitated. "No.¡±


    ¡°I understand that the servants will be reporting back to you. But the new recruits need to understand that as long as they are disciples of the Morning Mist sect, their loyalties lie with," she almost said "us," but caught herself, "the sect, before you."


    "I do not think that those loyalties will come into conflict," her grandfather agreed.


    Min didn''t. "You''ll tell Brother Stone, and he''ll tell the rest," she insisted.


    Her grandfather nodded. He seemed pleased with her. "Very well. And during the course of the tournament, I shall remain hands-off. I would not want to be seen as interfering with anything to do with the Emperor," he added.


    Good. That would give her a little bit of time to bring Chang-li around to the concept. Min took a deep breath. "Thank you, Grandfather. If that''s all?


    ¡°For now," he agreed. "Good night, my dear."

 Bk 3 Ch 5: Icy Thoughts

    Joshi stepped off the raft into the lux-enforced tube leading beneath the surface of the lake. A ladder ran down its side. He slipped from rung to rung, descending as he led the party on their way to one of the lower levels of the tower.


    They were still waiting for the official bride tournament to kick off, and neither Chang-li nor Joshi wanted to waste any cultivation time.


    After an uncomfortable evening being hosted by the Oaken Band Brotherhood, and another pointless day settling into their sect headquarters, they were at last heading for the tower. Min had arranged permission for them to enter one of the lower levels. The upper floors were reserved for the bridal tournament.


    The level they were going to would prove no challenge to anyone past the Peak of Bodily Refinement. But that was alright. Joshi needed to recharge his core and practice basic techniques, and Chang-li and Min were worried about beginning to teach all their new disciples.


    They descended 40 feet beneath the surface of the lake. The tube around him was made of a translucent material, heavily reinforced with lux, but he could sense it was a physical substance at its base. Perhaps rice paper that had been so infused with lux it became waterproof and rigid. The tube was wide enough for two different ladders, but they were only using one. Min said to leave the other for ascending climbers, though she wasn''t sure anyone was inside.


    Joshi stepped off onto a ledge in front of a yawning opening in the bone-white surface of the tower. Like with all true tower entrances, he could see nothing inside, just the shimmer of lux calling to him. Without hesitation, he stepped through.


    An icy wind buffeted him. Joshi staggered forward, holding a hand up against his face as pellets of ice and snow drove into him. Min had warned this level was cold. "It''s actually underwater," she had said. "Long, long ago, the emperor froze the water, allowing cultivators to enter."


    He''d been expecting a series of icy tunnels carved into a block and was dressed for it, wearing warm clothes and boots. This, though, was a howling wasteland with a blizzard driving down.


    Chang-li appeared next to him, already drawing in the ambient lux. "The lux is a bit thin," his friend noted.


    "Your wife told us this level was more suited to those reaching for Bodily Refinement."


    "It''ll do," Chang-li said. The rest of the cultivation party stumbled in through the gate. Min shivered even in her heavy cloak. They had Brother Stone and Disciple Cui with them, as well as eight new Brotherhood recruits. Joshi was not particularly enthusiastic about training them, but Chang-li had spent much of the afternoon yesterday stepping them through basic cycling techniques.


    "I''ll scout ahead,¡± Joshi said.


    "I''ll make sure that they start cycling lux properly," Chang-li agreed, urging his charges away from the entrance. There was a rocky outcropping a little way off. Chang-li chivvied his charges in that direction as Joshi and Magen strode into the blinding snow.


    Joshi sent his lux creature to scout about. Magen was much faster than he was and unaffected by the cold. The lux creature reported back at once that there were creatures out there moving, cold as the ice and snow itself, powered by red and yellow luxes.


    No challenge at all for them, Magen reported cheerfully, but possibly a concern for the new disciples.


    Joshi moved to intercept. He''d get the measure of these creatures, and then he and Chang-li could arrange for their newest group of students to take on a decent challenge.


    As he plunged his way through knee-deep snow, his mind wandered. What was he doing here? Oh, he and Chang-li had discussed and agreed that this was the best course of action. And certainly, it was easier than running all over the empire looking for another tower cull that would allow a sectless cultivator to join. But every day he remained with the Morning Mist sect, Joshi woke feeling as though the chains of his slavery were threatening to encircle his wrists and neck once more.


    He told himself over and over the words of the first-floor guardian of the broken tower¡¯s boon. No bond will hold me. Except that which he himself chose to bear.


    And that was the trick. The chains Joshi was forging now would hold him as tightly as his slavery ever had. No, more tightly, because he had raged against the collar and slavery, fought to keep his wits, found the first chance of escape, and taken it. Now the ties that bound him to Chang-li and even Min were ones he could not bear to think of severing.


    Chang-li had become more truly a brother he''d known before. His own brothers had mocked and scorned him as a half-breed. When he had returned from his studies with the monks of Harupa only to disappoint his father, they''d taunted and tormented him until the day he was driven beyond what he could take and thrown words in his father''s face until he was driven out of his home, never to return.


    If only his father could see him now, Joshi thought wryly as he approached the monsters Magen was telling him lay beneath the snow. He couldn''t see anything, just more mounds of ice and snow. This place was a frigid wasteland. The lux was thin, hardly any spiritual luxes at all, which was a problem since Joshi needed to practice and develop more spiritual techniques. He''d reached the Peak of Mental Refinement, but taken no steps beyond it. To reach Spiritual Refinement would require mastery of the spiritual luxes. Chang-li was well in advance of him. He would need to work hard to stay caught up.


    Now, ten feet ahead, a mound of snow stirred and shook itself. It rose up, inch by inch, until it towered over Joshi. Then it opened its eyes. Limbs formed. The creature had blazing eyes set in an oblong head. It was made of snow. Its mouth opened, showing teeth of ice, and it roared a blast of frigid wind at Joshi.


    He leapt to one side, cycling his lux in the Way of Boulders, then leapt and readied his Meteor Punch technique. Lux flowed through him. Even as he descended, he directed the red lux to his fist, making his arm a weapon, while reinforcing the rest of his body with a trickle.


    He smashed fist-first into the creature, driving down through it as he crashed to the ground. A wave of force blasted away from him in every direction, sending shards of ice and snow everywhere. The snow creature was blasted literally to bits.


    Joshi cycled, and at once realized something was wrong. Killing the creature should have freed up its lux, giving him a burst of yellow and red, but it hadn''t, which meant the creature was still alive. Now he could sense the thin trickle of green life-lux in the air. It pulled the red and yellow back together, gathering ice and snow around them, and a moment later, the creature had reformed.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Joshi grinned. So, it would be a challenge. This time, the creature formed an arm tipped with spears of ice. It swung at Joshi. He caught the blow on the back of his left arm, forming a small red lux shield. The icicles scratched across it. They were reinforced with orange lux and drove deep into the shield, but he''d been expecting that. He grabbed the creature''s arm with his right hand and drove his fingers deep into the ice, feeling out its body.


    It had lux channels, like a cultivator would, filled with red and yellow and held together by green. The channels moved as it did, letting the creature reform. If it had lux channels, if it was empowered by lux, then that likely meant it had a core.


    Joshi sprang back. Magen was warning him two more of the creatures were approaching. He needed to figure out how to defeat this one fast.


    Joshi called Magen back to him, putting the lux creature on the other side of the ice monster. As the ice monster dropped to all fours and came roaring at him, each furious step kicking up a blast of ice and snow, he stood his ground. He wove his Thousand Fists technique using his last stores of indigo lux. Indigo lux gave a cultivator control over space itself, allowing, in Joshi''s case, for his punch to come from multiple points at the same time.


    He drew back his fist, and as the creature lumbered up to him, drove it straight into the center of the ice monster. Six more punches copied his first: two from Magen, the other four from the thin air. Joshi''s physical punch and the two Magen supplemented struck hard. The other four were little more than distractions, but they were all aimed at the same point, striking the creature at intervals around its enormous snowy torso, driving inward, knocking the snow free and revealing the core within.


    Joshi stepped in and grabbed the core. He wrenched it free as the creature roared and slashed at him with icy claws. The core resisted, tugging at the lux channels that animated the creature before pulling free, and suddenly a vast wave of purified lux flowed into Joshi as the creature collapsed into a puff of flurries and blew away.


    There was far more green here than he had expected. He cycled furiously, Way of Boulders sustaining him. As Magen chirped a warning, the other two creatures were nearly on him, but he knew how to deal with them now. He turned to face them, feeling warm and alive despite the cold, testing himself against opponents.


    That was the way of a warrior.


    This is not the way of the warrior, his own voice echoed from his past. He shut his eyes, briefly remembering the words he''d said to his father. ¡°To strike from behind in a cowardly ambush? We should be ashamed.


    "If they came at us like warriors, we would fight them as warriors," his father had said. "But they come as conquerors, using powers that we have not mastered. I needed you to become a cultivator, Joshi, so that you could bring that back to all our people, so that we could claim the Heart of the Desert and raise our people up to greatness. But the monks failed you, you failed me, and now this is all we have left. I will rather go to my ancestors apologizing for the tactics I chose than apologizing for the death of our entire people."


    Joshi opened his eyes as the pair of ice monsters lumbered forward. He set himself, picking the one to his right as his first target. His father had been right. It had taken him months of slavery to admit that to himself. The empire didn''t fight fair. Cultivators had powers no ordinary man could hope to master.


    Well, he was a cultivator now, and he would see to it no one ever had the advantage of him again. Look what he''d done to Feng! Joshi sprang forward, driving in on the first ice creature with a punch. He gave himself orange-tipped claws emerging from the red lux gauntlet around his fist and cut through the icy barrier surrounding the monster''s body. He drove deep into it, digging with his claws as the creature tried to strike at him. His left arm warded off the blows as he focused on the prize, the core at the center of this monster.


    No one would stand in his way again. Not the greatest cultivators in the empire, not the emperor himself. Feng had tried to stop him, and Feng had learned his mistake. The arrogant young cultivator had pushed Joshi to the limit, but Joshi was alive and Feng was dead. Joshi seized the core, ripped it away, and even as the creature was collapsing into snow and raw lux, turned to face the third monster.


    This was too easy. He needed a greater challenge. If the other floors didn''t offer it to him, so be it. There were other lands, other towers for them to face. With the help of Chang-li, and now Min, the sect could provide him a name and a place from which to strive for greatness. He might even return home in triumph to his family, able now to grant them what they had always wanted, the protection of a cultivator, the ability to raise up cultivators of their own and protect their people. His father would hail him as the greatest of his sons. His brothers would bow to him. The women of his clan would-


    Joshi ripped the core from the third ice monster as it collapsed. A woman''s face did come to mind. It wasn''t any woman of the Darwur, but rather, Indigo Princess Hiroko.


    He let out a long sigh as he began to cycle the lux from his two latest victims. One of them had a trace of blue lux to it. Hiroko preferred blue lux. She used it as a weapon, having an instinctive feel that was rare in any cultivator. He''d spoken little to Hiroko in the past weeks, and not at all since learning she had declared just prior to his emergence from the tower that she would marry Feng.


    Of all people, Feng! When the arrogant young master had insisted that Hiroko would be his bride, Joshi had been determined to show him his mistake, wipe the smile from his face and force him to apologize for his arrogance. That had been superseded by killing the bastard, which was a better way to treat your enemies anyway. But coming out and hearing that Hiroko had announced to the entire tower cull she would marry Feng still boggled him.


    She couldn''t possibly prefer Feng to every other cultivator! Then again, she hadn''t exactly been granted many alternatives. The Golden Moon Tower cull had been short on talented young cultivators. With Li Jiya off to become bride of the emperor, her brother dead, and Chang-li married, there had only been Feng and Joshi himself to make good targets.


    And Joshi was not in the market for a bride. Hiroko knew that. Probably. Still, hearing that she could have preferred Feng had his hackles up.


    She''d be here at this tower cull, and there''d be many more cultivators for her to choose from. Among the teams come to support the potential brides, she''d find a husband, no question. Hiroko was exactly what the emperor had bred her to be. A dutiful spouse-in-waiting, ready to tie a cultivator down to the empire. Yet another chain he didn''t need. Even if she was beautiful and gentle and had remarkable depths.


    The time he¡¯d spent with her at Golden Moon Tower was like a dream. Seeking to find that again would be foolishness. He didn¡¯t need a wife, and certainly not one who came with the ties Hiroko bore.


    On the other hand, Min was proving to be quite a good ally for Chang-li. Joshi didn''t trust her divided loyalties. She clearly loved her grandfather and the Brotherhood she''d grown up in. If forced to choose between them and her husband, Joshi suspected she would, with great regret, pick them.


    He hoped it wouldn''t come to that. Chang-li was a man besotted. It was rather revolting to watch, actually. Joshi supposed he should be happy for his friend. Chang-li had everything the former scribe had ever dreamed of. He was a cultivating prodigy, with a spouse who could offer him assistance in climbing the ranks, the recognition of empire officials, secrets of a long-lost sect at his disposal.


    Chang-li''s future was bright. Joshi was one slip away from being recognized as an escaped slave, enemy of the empire, an untrustworthy person who should not be allowed to continue cultivating. There were prisms about who had already demonstrated the ability to appear and disappear at will, to see that which they should not, and to enact judgment with a single word.


    So what should he do?


    His father''s furious face came to mind again. "You are no son of mine. Be gone. You are not of the people. None of our hearths will give you food or drink, not until you humble yourself and beg my forgiveness."


    His own proud reply, "I will die before I beg you to allow me back."


    His father¡¯s scornful laugh rang in his ears, more biting than the icy cold wind.

 Bk 3 Ch 6: Bridal Shower

    Based on the number of other cultivators surreptitiously looking around, and more than a few staring in open wonder, Chang-li wasn''t the only provincial bumpkin here. The top ring of Vardin City, which circled the entire tower, Min had called the Crown. It stuck far out from the tower and was entirely covered in brightly colored buildings. All of them seemed to have been built from the same white material that formed the petals. Perhaps the buildings had been grown into those shapes, now painted in a riot of colors.


    The Crown ought to place the petals below in nearly perpetual shade, but thanks to a clever array of mirrors on its underside, sunlight was captured and redirected to the petals. After being here for over a week, Chang-li still wasn''t used to the splendor and scale of the city. This was his first trip up to the Crown, and he was not disappointed. He had come up on one of the eight stairs leading from lower-level petals up onto the ring, then along the broad avenue that formed the ring''s sole street. The buildings on the outer edge of the flower were lower to give the inner buildings a view out across the lake and valley beyond.


    During his time here in Vardin City, Chang-li had seen dozens or hundreds of porters and workers from the Flotsam climbing between the petals, carrying heavy loads up to supply all the city''s needs. Today, they seemed to have been banished. Everyone he saw was clearly wealthy, their clothes and accessories proclaiming their stations. Anyone wearing white with a colored edge was a descendant of the emperor, technically a member of the Court of Gems, though that term was only used for the eligible young men and women seeking cultivator spouses. He spotted dozens of them, mostly red and orange-ranged, though he spotted a green-edged robe on a middle-aged woman as he processed past.


    Mixed in were merchants and nobles wearing their finest, guildmasters bedecked with the emblems of their professions, and various officials sporting their ranks and offices. They lined the avenue around the ring as Chang-li and the Morning Mist Sect joined the throng of cultivators heading for the governor''s palace.


    Li Jiya had arrived yesterday wearing Morning Mist robes, unaccompanied by anyone from her former sect. She had said nothing of the break, merely stated that all of her paperwork had been appropriately filed and she would be ready to present herself with the other brides tomorrow for the official beginning of the bridal tournament. She''d approved of their lodgings, though her eyes narrowed when Min informed her that the Oaken Band Brotherhood was providing both housing and a new batch of disciples for them.


    Today everyone who could claim any affiliation with Morning Mist was present. Li Jiya led the way, her dark hair streaming out loose behind her. She wore a circlet of white flowers around her head and carried no weapon. Her Morning Mist robes fluttered in the breeze as she went. After her came Joshi and Chang-li, both bedecked as befit the young masters of a sect. Joshi had a ring; Chang-li didn''t. He wanted to have one commissioned for him, but they hadn''t gotten around to it yet.


    Min followed, wearing her sect robes, close enough to whisper to Chang-li as they went. After that came Brother Stone, the three senior disciples, and their two dozen new disciples. Chang-li hadn''t even memorized all of their names yet, but some of them were showing quite a bit of promise. He had the senior disciples running them through the basics but tried to observe their training at least once a day to give pointers or pass out newly deciphered Morning Mist Sect scrolls for them to study.


    They had entered a lower level of this tower three times now, thanks to Min''s intercession with the city officials. Min was almost to the Peak of Bodily Refinement. Chang-li was excited about the prospect of getting her there soon. He''d have to ensure that they had time to train together once this bridal tournament began in earnest. Of the others, the three senior disciples had all made great strides toward the Peak of Bodily Refinement, but Chang-li expected it to be months before they reached it. Only Brother Stone had reached the peak, and he had the benefit of prior cultivation. None of the new disciples were anywhere near their first core condensation.


    That was fine. Chang-li wanted all of them to have a solid foundation, so he was teaching them several different cycling patterns, encouraging them to try them all and find which worked the best for them, and emphasizing that different cycling patterns were useful for different lux techniques.


    Li Jiya had stopped in yesterday to look them over and listen as he explained his philosophy with her lips pressed together. She had said, "In Moon Whispers, a master or senior disciple would have a single cycling technique he encouraged his students to focus on. If the student mastered that and found it insufficient for his needs, he would either seek out another master, or, if he showed great promise, be taught a second technique from the sect vaults.¡±


    "How many cycling techniques do you have?" Chang-li asked her.


    Her eyes narrowed as she considered him. "Four."


    "And how many masters?"


    She sighed. "My great-grandfather took me under his wing. The tutoring that my brother and I had was not equivalent to that of a common disciple in our sect."


    "Why not? The stronger the disciple, the stronger the sect."


    Li Jiya hesitated. "My leaving the sect has destroyed them," she said bluntly. "We were already in bad shape before we lost my brother. Now I have gone, and they are done. Sects understand outer disciples will change to another sect if they think they can get a better offer. Giving too many valuable techniques only encourages that. If you teach these disciples a dozen different techniques, other sects will poach them just to learn those cycling patterns. And how is it a sect as obscure as yours has access to so many different patterns?" she demanded.


    Chang-li shook his head and kept silent. They were allies in this bridal tournament, but she wasn''t truly a member of their sect, whatever robes she wore. There were some secrets he would be keeping for himself.


    She was right, though. They did have an abundance of techniques. Between the ones Joshi had learned from the monks at Harupa, the four different patterns that Chang-li had deciphered from the Morning Mist scrolls, and the two that he had learned himself in the temporal training chamber, he had thirteen different cycling patterns he could call on. He didn''t use all of them equally. Joshi''s favorite, the Way of Boulders, did little for him, and though he had explained Double Branching River and Breath of the Heavens to Joshi, his friend had as of yet made no progress toward mastering them himself.


    Li Jiya was probably right. The average cultivator only needed two or three patterns. Teaching so many to these disciples right off might well confuse them. On the other hand, Chang-li disliked hiding information just for the sake of hiding it. These Morning Mist secrets might have been lost forever if he hadn''t raided the library. How many other sects'' knowledge lay moldering in some vault somewhere because the last member of the sect had, like Li Jiya, abandoned them for better prospects? He didn''t want that to happen here.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Morning Mist was not the only sect in this procession. They had been instructed to arrive at nine o''clock in the morning, and so apparently had the other competitors. Ahead of them, a great mass of cultivators and disciples wearing red and orange robes that made Chang-li think of flames was processing toward the great open gates of the governor''s mansion compound. Behind them came blue and green-robed cultivators. Both sects seemed to have three or four times as many as Morning Mist, but Chang-li wasn''t worried. He would wait to see the quality of the cultivators.


    They filed in through the wide open gates, the crowd pressing in as close as they could. Beyond the gates, only the invited sect members were permitted. The sects were directed to a wide open square in front of the impressive governor''s palace.


    A wall ran all around this quadrant of the city, only about eight feet tall, enough to block eyes, but not to serve as any kind of defense. The governor''s palace had a large central building and two vast wings. On the other side of the square where they found themselves was a long, tall, building, featureless other than an abundance of windows. From there the city scribes, magistrates, and others who would oversee the day-to-day affairs of Vardin City no doubt filled those halls on ordinary days.


    Chang-li tried to get a look around at the throng. He thought he could count eight different colors of robes here, but it was hard to make out over the vast sea of people. Min pressed in closely to him. "I have an invitation to attend the Court of Gems this afternoon," she whispered. "I''ll get more details there from the other cultivator spouses."


    Chang-li could already appreciate how useful it was to have someone dealing with the back-channel politics that came with being a sect. He''d never realized just how complicated it would be. Any time he''d dreamt of cultivation, he''d seen himself as a disciple under the tutoring of a master who would worry about such matters. To be the one in charge was disconcerting.


    As the sects filed in, people emerged from the Governor''s Mansion. The Dowager Pearl was marked by her dark robes. Two more Dowagers flanked her. Chang-li would have to ask Min what the etiquette was for addressing Dowager Pearls if there were more than one of them. He couldn''t even remember if he''d learned the name of the one who''d conducted the Golden Moon Tower Cull.


    There were officials in their robes and emblems of state, all lined up and waiting, and a man whose features he could recognize even from this far away. His blood froze for a moment. It was Min''s oldest brother, Yuan-li, the acting governor of Riceflower Province. The man who had threatened to have Min locked up in a monastery, who had arranged for their wedding but not even bothered to be there. Chang-li was not at all fond of this particular in-law.


    In the center of the tableau were a pair of people who could only be Prisms. The first, the slender woman he''d already met before, Nai Lin. The second was a tall man, dark hair and chiseled features. He must be Nai Hong. His eyes flashed as he surveyed the crowd. Both of them wore robes of iridescent rainbow silk, the colors shifting and changing with every movement they made.


    Chang-li could feel their presence from here. It wasn''t as overpowering as when the prism had arrived at the end of the last tower cull. He wondered if they were deliberately keeping their auras contained. He''d read about the kind of aura a high-ranked cultivator could produce, and he had no desire for a full taste of that effect.


    As Nai Hong raised his hand, silence fell over the crowd. His presence increased just a little. Behind Chang-li, some of the newer disciples shuddered. No one moved. "Welcome," he said. "Welcome to Vardin City and to the Southeastern Region''s annual competition to find the woman we shall present as Bride of the Emperor."


    The crowd cheered wildly. The prism waited until the noise died down, then continued. "The Emperor''s Brides, his pearls of great price, are chosen only from the ranks of the most talented cultivators. To even apply for a position, they must have the backing of a dowager pearl and have achieved the rank of at least Peak of Mental Refinement, though any who does not achieve Peak of Spiritual Refinement by the final phase of this competition will be eliminated without further opportunity. They must be paragons of cultivation, of virtue, of knowledge, and of dedication. They represent what we, his subjects, owe the Emperor: our lives, our loyalty, and our devoted service. These women are here to compete for the honor of representing their sects and home region of the Empire, the best of what Riceflower Province and the surrounding nearby provinces can offer our divine master."


    There was another cheer. Joshi made a muttered comment under his breath. "Be careful," Chang-li whispered. "We don''t know how much the prism can hear." Joshi subsided.


    "These women will be assessed not just on their cultivation prowess but on their beauty, their knowledge, their organization, executive aptitude, and their devotion to the Empire. Whichever bride is chosen will spend ten years in the company of the Emperor and his family. She will enter the gates of the Imperial Garden and there serve her time with loyalty and devotion, even as she improves her own cultivation and learns from the greatest scholars and officials in the Empire. Should she be so favored as to bear a child to the Emperor, she will remain within the walls of the Imperial City for the remainder of her life, assisting to run the Empire silently from beyond the scenes. Should she not be so favored, then after her term she will emerge once more as a Dowager Pearl to devote the rest of her life to overt service in the Empire, just as these Pearls here with us have demonstrated." He extended a hand toward the trio of black-robed women, who all nodded.


    Chang-li wondered why exactly Li Jiya wanted any of this. Yes, it was prestigious, but if she won, she''d be spending ten years in the Imperial Palace. Dowager Pearls were not permitted to marry, even if they had not borne a child to the Emperor, nor could they rejoin a sect and continue cultivation. They were the backbone and sinew of the Empire, as important as any official, and perhaps that was Li Jiya''s aspiration. He couldn''t see her face. She stood in front of him, and from the way her body was tense, she was drinking in every word.


    ¡°These women represent the future of cultivation. Through his brides, the Emperor¡¯s bloodline descends to us mortals. Our sects are tied to him by chains of blood and loyalty, and through his children, the Emperor adopts all cultivators into his own family.¡± The Prism waited, allowing the spectators to applaud. Chang-li heard Joshi grumbling wordlessly.


    "We welcome to us today eight sects, each offering a girl. Mei Ling, of the Dream Blossom Sect. Yue Xian, of the Celestial Phoenix Sect. Lian Hua, of the Serene Water Sect. Zhen Yi, of the Crimson Orchid Sect. Li Jiya, of the Morning Mist Sect. Bai Feng, of the Silver Crane Sect. Chun Hua, of the Golden Willow Sect. And Xue Lan, of the Azure Flame Sect.¡±


    As he named each sect, their cultivators raised a cheer. Chang-li lifted his voice when Li Jiya was mentioned, and was pleased to hear his disciples joining in.


    ¡°These eight will compete in a variety of challenges over the next two months to determine which shall become the bride of the Emperor. At the end of that time, the Emperor himself will grace Vardin City with his presence as he comes to greet his new bride and take her back to the Imperial homeland. But even the losers will find great honor and glory in the competition. I urge each sect here to strive and remind them that there will be opportunities here that other sects would kill for. With that said, I shall allow Magistrate Dioa to reveal the first task."


    He swept a hand toward a balding man off to the side. The man was actually taller than the prism, but he had none of the prism''s presence. He hurried forward, hands tucked into his sleeves, and bowed to the waiting crowd. "For the first phase of the competition, each of the bridal candidates will enter the fifth floor of the tower along with her retinue. She will there face a variety of challenges. These are the equivalent of champions found in other towers, but with the help of Prism Nai Hong and Nai Lin, we have added far more than would ever be present in a single tower.¡±


    Chang-li couldn¡¯t wait to get in and try it for himself.


    ¡°At the end of this phase, the three lowest performing teams will be eliminated. Should any bridal candidate be killed in the course of this portion of the challenge, her sect will be eliminated from this competition."


    As the assembled crowd cheered Joshi turned to Chang-li, eyes blazing. ¡°You were right. This is a good path for advancement. We shall destroy these challenges and take what they leave to make ourselves stronger.¡±

 Bk 3 Ch 7: Rising

    The fifth floor of the tower was accessed from a gate on Petal 12. The Petal had a collection of weavers and tailoring shops but not many houses. Chang-li commented on it as they passed through.


    Li Jiya said, "No doubt in a tower eruption, this Petal is evacuated and the bridge is cut until cultivators can handle the eruption."


    That made sense. Li Jiya had asked him, Joshi, Brother Stone, and Disciple Yang to accompany her on this first trip. Once they discovered how dangerous the floor was and what opportunities it offered, they would consider bringing more of the disciples.


    The brides were given one six-hour visit inside the tower every four days, with no more than two brides permitted in at any given time. Chang-li supposed this would prevent some clashes. He wasn''t particularly hopeful it would stop them all, not with cultivators involved.


    Now, as the Morning Mist party approached the gate, they found the Azure Flame sect waiting for them, in their crimson and blue robes. The Azure Flame candidate, Xue Lan, gave Li Jiya a tight smile as she looked over the party. Azure Flame had eight cultivators: two men and a woman wearing rings indicating their status as Young Masters, and five others that Chang-li guessed were senior disciples. He opened his spiritual senses and reached out gently toward them, trying to gauge their strength. He knew it was possible for one cultivator to gauge another''s strength without asking, but didn''t know how.


    Xue Lan''s lips parted with a shark-like smile. "Now, now, Li Jiya, haven''t you taught your pets better manners?"


    Suddenly, an oppressive presence pressed against Chang-li. It was much less than the prism Nai Lin¡¯s had been; this was more like the time Feng had set his will against Chang-li''s. He fought back, pushing against it, but heard a groan from Disciple Yang.


    "That''s enough," Jiya snapped. The presence vanished. "We will all play nice. There''s no cause for us to argue, Xue Lan."


    "So you say, but I agree. Now is not the time. My sect and I will beat yours fair and square. I''ve asked around and nobody''s even heard of Morning Mist. You were a member of an unimportant sect before. But now you turned your back on your family and your sect to stoop even lower."


    Li Jiya shrugged. "I am putting my future on the line here. We''ll see which sect is better equipped for this challenge."


    She let her words dangle as a cultivation official hurried up to them. His badge of office marked him as an inquisitor rank. He bowed low to both brides.


    "I am Inquisitor You Fang, here to oversee your visit into the tower. You will be the fifth and sixth bridal parties to enter. I am not permitted to give you any details about what you may find inside."


    "Just get on with it," Xue Lan said impatiently.


    "I merely need the list of all of your associates. When you return from each trial, you will inform me of any who have reached a milestone of progression or died so that my records may be updated. I see here," he consulted a board to which several pages had been attached, "that your sect paperwork is all in order."


    Chang-li had come prepared. He handed over today''s roster. One of the Azure Flame''s disciples did the same.


    "You may enter," the inquisitor said, and the cultivators surged forward. Chang-li braced himself as he stepped through in case the Azure Flame decided to attack them. There hadn''t been any mention in the rules of whether that was permitted, but they instead raced forward, not sparing a backward glance as they peeled off to the right. Li Jiya led her team left.


    Unlike the previous floor of the tower that Chang-li had ventured into, the realm of ice and snow, they were standing in a wide meadow. All around, the walls of the surrounding hills rose up. Off in the distance was a bloom of light, rising from the ground, probably the location of the floor guardian. They had been warned not to approach the floor guardian, that doing so would result in disqualification from the tournament. This was to be a competition of skill not just a race to the finish.


    Li Jiya glanced around, nodded to herself. "It''s as Min said. This floor is a mirror of the valley outside, but with no water."


    The contestants were not supposed to have been given any details about the floor, but Min was from Vardin City. She knew who to ask, and probably so did most of the other cultivators here. He doubted this would be a surprise to anyone. This floor was an exact match for the valley where Vardin City sat, except the lake was drained away and replaced with this meadow. The surrounding hills were full of monsters, not terraced farms, and the tower was replaced by whatever form the guardian chose to use for his tests. That was the pillar of light in the distance.


    Off ahead, something screamed. It sent chills down Chang-li¡¯s spine. He missed a step. Brother Stone and Disciple Yang stopped dead in their tracks, Disciple Yang glancing back over his shoulder as though he wished to flee.


    "Exert your will," Li Jiya said confidently. "Remember, we will be facing enemies who are close to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. They will be using their own willpower as a weapon. It is an excellent chance to train your own will against them."


    She was using a complicated cycling pattern Chang-li couldn''t quite follow. He had switched to Purification of Mind and Soul, his standby whenever any challenge seemed to threaten his reserves. Li Jiya noted and shook her head disapprovingly.


    "You don''t want to bind your willpower close. That might have sufficed at the Peak of Bodily Refinement and Peak of Mental Refinement, but you''re going for Peak of Spiritual Refinement now. Your will must become an extension of you, and you learn to use it as a weapon."


    That was starting to make some of the scrolls he''d translated more clear. Chang-li mentally swapped certain terms around. He had been laboring under the apprehension that the goal of Spiritual Refinement was in perfecting one''s soul and had spent long hours of the night peering over the scrolls trying to determine just how one would do that. There were plenty of scrolls that talked about souls in a confusing and arcane way. But now, if he instead began applying will, a concept he was familiar with, instead of soul, the idea made more sense. Certainly, he felt more comfortable with the idea of separating his will from his body and using it as a weapon than doing that with his very soul.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Li Jiya kept heading forward, Joshi striding after her. Chang-li hurried, gathering in lux himself. The air here was dense with it, all of the physical colors as well as both green and blue lux. There was little violet or indigo anywhere to be gathered. So be it. He started to use Infinite Loom in preparation for quickly casting multiple weaves. Chang-li was looking forward to a chance to use some of his new abilities in real combat.


    They were racing toward what would have been the edge of the lake in the outside world. There, it was a place where the meadow began to rise steeply in rocky crags over them. The first 20 feet or so of the hillside was nearly a sheer cliff. Then the angle flattened out and became a more gentle slope. Set in the crags were dark holes that loomed like mouths.


    As they approached the nearest, another cry assailed them. This time Chang-li was prepared. He had switched to Breath of the Heavens, pulling lux in as he respirated and separating it out into physical and spiritual luxes, sending the physical luxes through the left side of his body, the spiritual luxes through his right. As he did so, he tried to focus on his will as something he could separate from himself, perhaps like a cloak. The concept wasn''t coming together just yet. Perhaps if he watched Li Jiya, he''d understand what she was doing.


    She had her weapon in hand, the long pole with a crescent moon head atop it. It felt as though her core was boiling over as she cycled furiously. Her lux was denser than Chang-li''s, and she was pulling in more and more with each passing step. "Throw it at the cave mouth. We must draw the creature out," she ordered.


    Chang-li wove a slightly altered Firepot on the Infinite Loom, a technique that came out to be just a little bigger than his fist, but with a long skinny handle. He wove red lux around his left hand as he grabbed the fire pot technique. The lux glove kept him from affecting the technique''s weave at all as he snapped it from the loom. He raised it high over his head and hurled it by the handle. The fire pot spun head over end as it arced through the air into the mouth of the cave and disappeared. An instant later, a gout of flame emerged. Everything inside screamed. It didn''t sound pained, but rather challenged. Then a burning monstrosity burst from the cave. Its head was shaped a little like the rock he and Joshi had fought together, and its body was entirely different, more peacock-shaped, with a long sweeping tail and tall curling feathers made of flames. It was eight feet tall and twelve or more feet from beak to tail, and it ran on tall stilt-like legs, each leg tipped with orange lux claws. The beast was at least as full of lux as Chang-li, all the colors. It screeched again, and Chang-li felt the technique it unleashed in that screech. It was laced with green, blue, and yellow lux. The sound wave hit him and staggered him back. Stone and Yang were dropped to their knees. Joshi''s head went down, his arm up. He took a step forward. As the bird''s cry died, Li Jiya wasn''t affected at all, not so much as a hair out of place. She stepped forward to meet the creature, her weapon held proudly high.


    "A phoenix! Good omen!" she shouted. "But don''t use any more flames, Cultivator Wu. You''ll only make the beast stronger."


    Chang-li had already guessed that. It was wreathed in flames and showed no sign of any discomfort. Chang-li drew his sword. He was glad not to have to carry it in his soul space anymore, but instead at his waist in a proper scabbard. Beside him, Joshi''s arms were wreathed in lux. The barbarian was muttering something to himself under his breath. It sounded like a chant in a language Chang-li had never heard before.


    "I will keep it distracted," Li Jiya instructed as she swung her weapon. "I will protect you. Watch for your opening."


    Something seemed to extend out from her. Chang-li was perceiving it with his lux senses, not his eyes. It was like a wide pair of wings that formed up into a shield in front of him.


    The creature screamed again, but this time its attack barely even touched him. Even the disciples were unmoved. They''d climbed back to their feet. Yang was casting a new technique he and Chang-li had been working on together, disrupting the earth under the firebird''s feet. As the dirt under its claws began to shift, the bird hopped forward, a little off balance.


    Li Jiya took the chance to slam her weapon hard into its breast. The bird screamed again as blood trickled down.


    Chang-li was watching Li Jiya closely enough that he felt when she gathered her will together. It was like someone pulling handfuls of cloud and condensing them into a weapon. Both her hands on her long polearm, Li Jiya swung, at the same time lashing out with her will against the blazing firebird. The bird squawked and was knocked backward under the force of her combined blows.


    Chang-li raced forward, swinging his sword. Its lux-enhanced edge sliced deep into the bird, and fire blazed out. Joshi was there, both fists punching as he landed a flurry of blows on the fiery creature. Li Jiya stood over it, hacking with her weapon, her will focused, keeping the bird locked down. She swung again and cut the bird''s head from its neck. There was a flare of fire and a feeling like a physical push. Chang-li stumbled back from the bird''s corpse. His head was ringing. Li Jiya''s will flared once more before she got it under her control.


    The cultivators stood gasping as the bird''s corpse continued to burn without being consumed.


    "I''m sorry," Li Jiya managed. "It got away from me there at the end. I didn''t mean to push my will against you, but when the bird was dead, it suddenly had nowhere to go. I will work further at it."


    Brother Stone and Disciple Yang looked like they''d just spent the last hour running flat out. Both were sweating and breathing heavily. A glisten of sweat shone on Joshi''s bald head, but the barbarian cultivator seemed otherwise fine. Chang-li was about ready to collapse. He forced himself to remain standing as Li Jiya approached the bird. She reversed her polearm and sliced the creature open. The fire dimmed and died. There inside the bird nestled a gleaming ruby. She reached in and plucked it, holding it up to the light.


    "Our first treasure," she said, tossing it in the air before catching it and stowing it in a bag at her waist.


    Joshi''s eyes had fixed on the stone. Now he stared at Li Jiya. "Do you plan to keep those for yourself?"


    "I must reach the Peak of Spiritual Refinement before the end of this tournament, or it¡¯s all for nothing. I must be able to take on the other bridal candidates. To do that, I must strengthen myself.¡±


    "So must I," Joshi growled.


    "And you will. We have time yet," Li Jiya said.


    "Then it makes the most sense to give us the first treasures so that we may become stronger and help you acquire more," Joshi argued.


    Li Jiya didn''t look convinced. "Once you reach Peak of Spiritual Refinement, what prevents you from leaving?" she challenged. "You won''t get past that. Not at this tower. The prisms are insisting that the sects cap their cultivators at that level. Anyone going beyond will not be allowed to participate in the bridal tournament.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a long way from Peak of Spiritual Refinement. You don¡¯t need to worry.¡±


    Cheng Li spoke up. While he desperately wanted to continue his own advancement, he also needed this alliance, at least for now. "Jiya, Joshi is right. We are here to support you. You came to us asking for help and promising us rewards. We will back you and see that you reach the next phase of this tournament. But you need to be helping us as well. Show some good will. Give the rewards to the sect, and we will give you the backing you need.¡±


    Li Jiya still looked unhappy, but she wasted no time in nodding her agreement. "It''s a deal." She fished out the sphere and tossed it to Joshi. ¡°Now. I sense something to our west. What about you?"


    "I feel it as well," Cheng Li agreed. "And a presence farther south along the valley''s edge also."


    "West," Joshi declared. ¡°We should avoid the other sect for now."

 Bk 3 Ch 8: Progression Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

    Min strained to layer the green into her orange technique. Chang-li stood by, observing, not saying a word. She tried to focus on her technique and her burning muscles, not her husband.


    This was her fifth trip inside the tower since arriving at Vardin City three weeks ago. She was on the verge of reaching her second core condension on the way to Bodily Refinement. She could feel it.


    They had finally gotten permission to access a higher floor than that light-forsaken ice realm. If she never had to spend another hour freezing her ears and fingers, that''d be all right with Min. She was working on a lux archery technique Chang-li had resurrected from one of the Morning Mist scrolls. The first technique he''d tried to teach her hadn''t worked out. It was too foreign to him, and the description just hadn''t been clear enough to Min.


    No one else in the sect was drawn to lux archery the way she was. But somehow, even the first failed technique had offered her hints of the correct fit. When she was young she had often played games with bows and arrows, and the idea of standing back and unleashing damage on her foe from a distance appealed to her.


    Chang-li had pored over the records before emerging with this new one two days ago, and she''d been itching to try it ever since. She was combining it with the Way of Stars¡¯ Light cycling pattern, isolating the threads of orange and green lux, and leaving everything else in her core, which was now a dense, tight lump just above her navel. The green was stubbornly refusing to meld with the orange, no matter how she tried and visualized.


    "Go back to just orange," Chang-li suggested. Min gratefully let the green drop. It lingered in the channels at the ends of her fingertips as she pressed the orange lux out of her body and into a physical form. The bow was a great curve of orange, five feet tall, the string an almost invisible thread of light. She pulled it back, feeling the tension in her shoulder.


    Unlike with a real bow, she could keep the string pulled for minutes at a time. Now she extruded an orange lux arrow and laid it against the bow before sighting along it. She could still feel the green in her fingers, and curious, allowed just a little to emerge. Without her direction, it wrapped itself around the arrow''s shaft before coating the arrowhead in green lux.


    "That''s it," Chang-li said. Min almost lost control of the technique. She loosed the arrow, letting it fly. It shot forward and struck her target, a tree forty feet away. The arrow exploded into orange shards as it hit, scoring the tree with lines visible even from here.


    "You did it!" Chang-li exclaimed, sounding proud, not surprised. Min let the bow dissolve as she turned to him. His delighted smile lit up his whole face. His eyes, honest and laughing, met hers, and Min felt warm all over. She responded with a smile of her own.


    "Try to remember exactly how you did it," Chang-li urged. He was digging in his satchel for a writing stick and a journal. "Can you describe it to me? I''ll note it down and append it to the original technique."


    Min sat down on her rock, laughing to herself. She told Chang-li everything she could think of, and he jotted it down like the scribe he''d once been, bent over the page and writing furiously.


    She was still surprised to realize, barely a month since her wedding, that she was falling deeply in love with her husband. Chang-li was so different from anyone she''d known in any of her previous lives. He wasn''t obsequious like a courtier or rules-bound like a government official. He wasn''t scheming and trying to find an angle for himself like the higher-ups she''d known in the Brotherhood, or bowing and scraping to his betters like the underlings. He was honest and open and good-hearted. Chang-li liked to try schemes and maneuvers, but he wasn''t any good at them. If he was, he probably wouldn''t be here, married to her. There was a decency and honesty in Chang-li that drew her to him.


    She hadn''t been able to tell him how she was coming to feel. Though they shared a bed ¡ª more than shared it, delighted in spending time with each other ¡ª  and they were working toward roughly the same goals, Min was worried that her feelings were more intense than his. If she gave voice to what her heart was saying, would frighten him off? Better to work together to build the sect and reach their goals. As their partnership grew, so too would his affection. For now, he was an eager and gentle lover, a caring teacher, and an honest ally. That was more of a foundation than most marriages had, after all.


    On the other hand, she hadn¡¯t been able to tell him about her grandfather¡¯s plan to bring in a new sect grandmaster either. Even thinking about it made her stomach squirm. Would Chang-li storm away, or freeze up, or try to confront her grandfather? Any possibility seemed terrifying. There was still time. She could wait¡­ just a little longer.


    Chang-li had set aside his journal and was working on a technique now. She covered a smile as he wiggled his fingers, directing the lux. Some cultivators managed it without moving their hands, but Chang-li always twitched his fingers a little, like he was trying to move the lux physically. He sighed, and his intense look of concentration faded.


    ¡°What were you trying? A new technique?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Something I read in the scrolls. I told you about my Infinite Loom, yes?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a¡­ master technique to allow you to substitute different sorts of lux?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s two ways to approach weaving techniques. One is just to memorize a pattern from a scroll or a teacher, repeating it exactly until the lux does the same thing every time. Li Jiya¡¯s Moon Whisper Fang technique is this. Your bow should be, too. A weapon that works the same way every time, that you can call by instinct, in a heartbeat, woken from a dead sleep.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± she agreed.


    ¡°The problem is, from what I can tell many sects teach their lesser disciples only with this method. That makes the disciples reliant on the sect, rather than being able to develop their own skills more deeply.¡±


    ¡°Experimenting with lux is dangerous,¡± Min pointed out. ¡°You¡¯ve warned us all of that. That¡¯s why you¡¯re learning from the scrolls, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Chang-li looked uncomfortable. ¡°Well, yes and no. The point is, Infinite Loom is a growth technique, allowing me to shape and modify my lux inputs and get different results. The Loom itself prevents me from doing anything too dangerous.¡±


    She got the sense he wasn¡¯t being entirely truthful but decided to let it pass. ¡°And?¡± she prompted.


    Chang-li sighed. ¡°I¡¯m trying to learn to use blue more effectively. I know I ought to be able to weave blue and yellow, but it¡¯s just not working, no matter how much green I add. I can make the yellow explode ¡ª I¡¯m having trouble getting yellow lux to be anything except fire, my mindset isn¡¯t quite right for anything else ¡ª but I should be able to weave in blue to add a lingering effect. Blinding my target, maybe.¡±


    ¡°That sounds advanced,¡± she said. ¡°I thought the scrolls you¡¯d translated were mostly for Mental Refinement stage. That sounds like a Spiritual Refinement technique.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep at it,¡± he said. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll find a clue in the scrolls later. Do you want to try your bow again?"


    She did, actually. Min got back to her feet and cycled. She summoned her bow. It answered her faster this time, starting to feel comfortable. According to Chang-li, if she continued using this weapon and focusing on it, it would eventually take on the appearance of a real bow, adapting itself to her wants and images instead of just being a rough, lux outline. Min was looking forward to that.


    She nocked another arrow and let fly. As it sprang forward off her bowstring, she felt something shift and change inside her. Chang-li saw it as well.


    "Sit down," he said sharply. "Cycle Purification of Mind and Soul. You''re reaching your next condensation. Let the lux guide you, but don''t let it overwhelm you. Don¡¯t chase it.¡±


    Min sat cross-legged on the rock, her arms extended outward in the basic cycling position she''d used when first learning patterns. She found Purification of Mind and Soul easily enough. Chang-li and Joshi both had spent hours drilling it into her head. But it wasn''t quite right for this. Her lux ran through her veins as her core throbbed.


    She was on the verge of her core condensing, but something wasn''t quite there yet. Min focused on her cycling until all she could feel were her own lux channels throbbing through her. They were expanding and contracting in time with her own heartbeat. Her core was rotating as it pulsed. The first core condensation had been nothing like this. Min''s heart beat faster, her channels pulsing more rapidly with each breath.


    "Control it," Chang-li said sharply. There was a note of fear in his voice. Min had no idea what could happen to her if something went wrong here. Maybe she would be stunted or killed. It didn''t matter. She would control this.


    Min focused hard as her lux fought against her. She forced her cycling back into the Purification of Mind and Soul, trying to relax and let her lux guide her body. It wasn''t working.


    Chang-li''s voice was distant. She couldn''t make out his words. There was a throbbing in her ears from her blood or the lux. Min felt her core spinning faster and faster as it pulled at her lux. It was going to take it all and consume her. No, she would not lose control of herself. This wasn''t right. She didn''t give in. She commanded.


    If the lux wouldn''t listen to her, she''d rid herself of it and start again. She cycled Swirling Mists, pushing the lux out of her channels. And as she did, they calmed, becoming still. Her core spun, but now it was under her control. She could see herself now, a creature made of lux, surrounded by a shell of flesh. The channels were fighting her because there was a mismatch between them and her core. She''d been cycling wrong this whole time. Purification of Mind and Soul wasn''t what she needed. Min reached out with the wordless understanding she''d just been granted.


    She pulled in lux from outside, brought it to her core, and cycled. As she pushed it back out, completing one lap of the cycle, she could feel everything snapping into place. She sat and cycled a dozen more times before opening her eyes.


    Chang-li was standing over her, his face looking terrified as she''d never seen him before. Min''s heart warmed. He might not feel as intensely as she did yet, but he cared for her.


    She got to her feet, stretching, feeling her body and the lux channels burned through it. Her core was a dense mass in her midsection, holding more lux than she''d thought possible. It sat there waiting for her to purify it and spin it into arrows.


    She summoned her bow. Already it had shrunk to little more than two feet long, but more dramatically curved than before. There was a hint in the orange lux of texture, like wood grain. She knocked back an arrow, easily coating the orange with green, and let fly. The tree she was aiming at, a poplar about four inches around, exploded when her arrow hit it. Chang-li shouted, stepping in front of her and throwing up a quick shield as the splinters and broken leaves pelted them. The debris slid off of his shield harmlessly.


    Min looked up. "Oops," she said.


    Chang-li laughed and took a step back, reaching for her hand at the same time. "Are you all right? I thought you¡ªI thought I''d lost you."


    "I''m fine." And then, seeing the way his eyes strayed to his scribing book, Min explained exactly what she''d been through. Chang-li had his book in hand before the third word left her mouth, scratching down every word she said, his head nodding.


    "Of course. Of course. I see it now. This is making some of the scrolls make more sense. I''ll have to tell Brother Stone and the senior disciples what to watch for. It seems like you won''t be the only one with this sort of mismatch between your base cycling technique and what''s needed to perfect your gains at Bodily Refinement." He shook his head. "There''s so much I don''t know about being a cultivator. I shouldn''t be teaching you or anyone else. I should be finding an instructor who can help me. I am endangering you and the other disciples. I need to¡ª"


    Min squeezed his hand and made him look at her. "You''re teaching me. You think Feng would have taken time to instruct his bride in anything? I''ve been speaking with the other cultivator spouses. Most of them reach Bodily Refinement and perhaps Mental Refinement with the use of elixirs and pills under the supervision of a senior grandmaster. They don''t actually cultivate," she said, letting the scorn drip from her words at the thought of using artificial aids like that. "And then there they stay, stuck at Mental Refinement. No matter how high their spouse ever gets, I don''t want you to leave me behind. I want to walk at your side as far as you go."


    The words slipped out of her mouth without her thinking, and she started to turn away, embarrassed. Chang-li held on and put his other hand on her shoulder. She looked back up at him.


    "I won''t leave you behind," he said, his words solemn. "But I don''t want to risk hurting you or the others. I need to know everything. I need to know more."


    She laughed and disentangled herself, taking a step away as her heart beat a little too fast. "Is that why you''re barely sleeping? I wake up in the night and you''re bent over the scrolls, trying to decipher them. It would take years to translate everything you have there.¡±


    ¡°And it still wouldn''t be enough. This is only a fraction of what a sect should know, I''m sure of it. Wulan has said the same, that they only took what they could gather from the sect libraries, or remained behind. Certainly anything about the steps above Spiritual Refinement is lost to us."


    Min had, of course, shown him the scroll she''d taken from the library in Fai-Lan City, and they''d pored over it, trying to correlate the landmarks on its delicate parchment to any known map. Chang-li had made three different copies, then put the scroll back away in its case to keep it safe.


    Now she had an idea. ¡°Why don''t you give me a copy of that map? We can remove some of the identifiers and anything that shows the Morning Mist headquarters, but my grandfather''s people can make inquiries."


    He shook his head. "It''s too valuable a secret. I know, I know. I''m the one who''s been talking about how we shouldn''t keep secrets, and cultivation should be accessible to everyone, but this kind of treasure, if we let slip to another sect, they''d be there in a heartbeat to steal everything they could. Besides, we can¡¯t fund an expedition anytime soon." Chang-li tucked his journal into his satchel. The two of them strolled across the grass.


    The new disciples were practicing their basic techniques a quarter mile or so away, under the supervision of Brother Stone and the other senior disciples. Joshi had vanished as soon as they entered this level, declaring he was going to be working on his will training, whatever that meant. Min wished that the Darwur cultivator would spend even a tenth as much time with the disciples as Chang-li did, but despite his titular role as senior member of the Morning Mist sect, Joshi clearly had no interest in training any disciples, only in his own advancement.


    Min let herself gossip a little about the other gem nobles that Chang-li knew from Broken Moon tower. It felt good to relax and just talk together.


    ¡°And how¡¯s Hiroko? Have you spoken to her?¡± Chang-li asked.


    "Hiroko has the same problem as at Golden Moon. All the other gems are jealous of her, and all the cultivators want to marry her at all costs, so they''re not even looking at the other gems. Hiroko, meanwhile, has..." She hesitated.


    Chang-li smiled. "She has her eye on someone, doesn''t she?"


    Min nodded. "I don''t think he''s noticed."


    "Oh, he''s noticed," Chang-li said. "Problem is, he is determined to walk his own path and sees no room on it for a wife."


    "Well, that''s stupid," Min declared. "Hiroko would be happy to go anywhere that he takes her. He just needs to get over himself."


    Chang-li sighed. "Maybe Joshi knows what he''s doing."


    "Nonsense," Min said. "I''ll have to see what I can do. I feel bad for Hiroko anyway, stuck in that back-biting circle of harpies day in and day out. I don''t know what the Dowager Pearl''s up to. She has some sort of plan, but I''m not exactly welcome to come to tea. My brother tells me a few things, but..." She sighed and looked away.


    "I was wondering if there was a reason you were throwing yourself into our sect so wholeheartedly," Chang-li said.


    "It has nothing to do with that," Min snapped. "I believe in the sect of Morning Mist. I want to help us grow. I told you that." She looked up at Chang-li. "So let me help.¡±


    Chang-li reached for her hand and squeezed it. "As if I could get anywhere without you," he said.

 Bk 3 Ch 9: Grandmastery

    Unbound Master Noren lifted his mug of beer high. "A round for the house," he called to cheerful appreciation.


    Outside, the wind howled. The House of Fallen Leaves was perched high up in the Darshen Mountains, in a place where the snow lasted year-round. In fact, some of the tavern''s more famous drinks were made from glacial ice.


    It was a good place to come and train. The ice, being so connected with the mountains themselves, tended to give off a fairly dense lux aura. It was nothing like what one could find inside a tower, but good for cycling and training. Consequently, the House of Fallen Leaves was usually filled with cultivators like Noren, men and women who had lost their ties to their sects and not yet been able to replace them. You wouldn''t find a married cultivator anywhere in this lot. At least, not one who¡¯d admit it.


    Cultivators with noble spouses always had something to fall back on, Noren thought disgustedly as he downed his beer. Had he managed to catch the eye of a noble girl, he''d have had a much easier time of it this past decade. But the only nobles who''d ever expressed interest in Noren had been red or orange-ranked, and he had always had higher ambitions. Had those backstabbing traitors at the Harmonious Winds Sect not betrayed him, he''d be a grandmaster now, with a blue or green-ranked spouse for certain.


    But now his fortunes had certainly changed. Noren smiled, spreading his arms and enjoying the feel of his new robes in their grays and browns. It was a bit subdued for his liking. Perhaps he could persuade this sect to change their colors. To think that his freelancing a few years ago would have paid off so very well. But when the Brotherhood of the Oaken Band envoy had come calling, Noren had listened to the man, even though he wasn''t a cultivator.


    Years ago, passing through Riceflower Province, Noren had been hired by the Eldest Brother of the Oaken Band Brotherhood to help him with a problem. Now, it seemed, the man had a different issue, one only a skilled cultivator could manage.


    Noren was looking forward to being a sect grandmaster at last. Better than that even, the only grandmaster of a sect with no higher ranks. Noren had reached the Peak of Spiritual Refinement fifteen years ago and somewhat stalled out. Without the backing of a sect, it was hard, almost impossible for a lone cultivator to take the next step toward Lux Embodiment.


    It might take some time for this Morning Mist Sect to be able to give him the backing he needed. From the sound of it, someone had dusted off the name of a long-dead sect and come up with a few techniques they''d probably stolen from a sect they themselves had been kicked out of.


    He''d seen that sort of scam run once or twice by cultivators like himself who had lost their own sect. Personally, he hadn''t had the patience for it. Being a lone wandering cultivator had its benefits, but he was getting tired of it. Having a sect handed to him was more luck than he could have expected. He hoped they had some nubile young disciples, eager for his guidance.


    The wind blew again, rattling the doors and windows. Some of the other cultivators in the room looked around nervously. Noren, one of the only Peak of Spiritual Refinement rank cultivators in the place, had nothing to be afraid of. Even if it was a visit from the Icefang Spirits or the great Yeti of the higher peaks, he was more than a match.


    The wind howled again. The door banged open. Even Noren slid back on his stool. A figure stood in the doorway, a man clad in black with eyes that peered out from under his cloak like a pair of amber beads. The man''s face was half in shadow. What Noren could see reminded him of an eagle.


    The figure stepped inside, pulling the door closed behind him and lowered his hood to reveal a craggy face and a wild, dark beard. In a place where most men had neatly styled facial hair, he looked frighteningly different.


    The bartender behind Noren set down his bottle. "Come and warm yourself by the fire," he said. "What''ll it be?"


    The newcomer stalked across the room to the bar, ignoring the whisper of conversation rising around him. He leaned across the counter toward the tavern keeper, mere inches away from Noren. "I''ll have a hot yak butter tea," he said.


    Noren couldn''t help himself. He snorted with laughter. The stranger turned. "You dislike tea on a night like tonight?"


    Noren drained his mug and set it down. "Another," he told the tavern keeper, who hesitated, looking between the two men, before sweeping Noren''s mug away and turning to his workspace. He began by setting a kettle onto the lux hot plate, before placing Noren''s mug under the keg of beer and filling it with frothy liquid. He replaced the mug in front of Noren and then turned back to brewing the tea.


    The stranger sat on the stool beside Noren. He paid no heed to anyone. Noren was beginning to get annoyed. What business did this stranger have, barging in and acting like he owned the place? Noren had been enjoying a long evening being the center of attention, purchased by his generosity in standing multiple rounds for the other nine cultivators in the place.


    One of the cultivators, a handsome woman Noren had been eyeing from across the room, even if she was a bit older than he liked, called from two places farther down the bar. "You aren''t wearing sect robes.¡±


    The stranger grunted. "How long does that tea take to brew?"


    "You can''t rush good yak butter tea," the tavern keeper said without turning.


    Noren raised his mug and tried to catch the female cultivator''s eye, but she was ignoring him, which furthered Noren''s sense of annoyance.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Are you perhaps from outside the empire?" she asked. ¡°We would hear news if you have some.¡° It wasn''t an unreasonable question. The Darshen Mountains did form the farthest southern border of the empire, and it was said some cultivators would climb over the peaks to see what lay beyond. As far as Noren was concerned, it was nonsense. Everyone knew beyond the empire was nothing but wastelands filled with terrible beasts. Without a divine emperor to build towers, there was no lux for a cultivator to cultivate, leaving the world in the grip of whatever monsters cared to roam it.


    The tavern keeper turned back at last bearing a cup of green-gray tea in which a lump of slowly melting yak butter floated in a disgusting pool of oil. The stranger picked up the tea, sipped it, and set it down on his saucer.


    "My apologies, tavern keeper. You are correct. That is an excellent cup of tea."


    When she saw the stranger wasn¡¯t going to answer, the woman scowled and turned back to her drink.


    "What are you playing at?" Noren demanded of the man. He was feeling nice and warm now, the beer making up for the lack of lux in his system. The stranger thought he could just walk into Noren''s bar and start up a conversation with the woman Noren had been planning to take to bed. Who did he think he was? More importantly, it was clear he did not know who Noren was.


    Noren set down his beer as the stranger turned to him, amber eyes half-hooded by eyelids framed with bushy black brows. He looked him up and down, then he started to turn away.


    "I am speaking," Noren said. "I, Grandmaster Noren of the Morning Mist Sect." It was his first time using his new title aloud, and he liked the way it sounded as it echoed about the room.


    It caught the stranger''s attention. He turned back. "Morning Mist," he said quietly.


    "Yes," Noren swelled with pride.


    "Have I heard of your sect before?"


    "Perhaps not," Noren admitted, slightly deflated. "But you shall. My disciples are awaiting my return even now in Vardin City. One of our number competes for the honor of being chosen as the Emperor''s bride."


    "Is that so?" the stranger asked. He picked up his tea and took another sip. "Then why is their Grandmaster so far away? Vardin City is, what, a good three weeks'' journey?"


    "I was on a cultivating pilgrimage," Noren declared. Around him, others in the room nodded. They knew the sort of pilgrimages lone cultivators would make up into the mountains.


    The woman, who''d clearly been listening, leaned over. "He''s feeding you a load of yeti shit," she said. "He''s sectless like the rest of us. Or was, till some men showed up yesterday to give him that robe and a letter. Now he''s parading around like he''s the Emperor''s gift to cultivation."


    Stung, Noren retorted. "They knew my reputation and sought me out to give guidance to their talented young masters."


    "If you''re the best they can get, the sect has no hope at all," the woman said. She turned to the stranger. "So what is your story? Would you like to¡ª"


    The stranger drained his tea and stood up. He brushed the woman off without a second glance, instead focusing on Noren.


    "You, Master of the Morning Mist," he said, "you have offended me. I require satisfaction.¡±


    "Offended you?" Noren laughed. "I haven''t even tried yet." He looked the man over, the warm buzz from his beer still clinging to him. "You don''t even look like a cultivator." It was true. The man wore leather in a style he''d only seen on barbarians from the edge of the Empire, and his heavy black cape bore no ornament. There was no color anywhere on him. He claimed no sect, no rank, didn''t even bear a mark of a brotherhood or guild. And yet instead of bowing to his betters, here he was talking shit.


    Now Noren really was offended. He stood up. "I will see your challenge."


    "Not in here you won''t," the tavern keeper said, pointing at the door. "Outside."


    That was almost enough to make Noren reconsider. It was damn cold out there, cold enough to freeze your eyeballs open. But as the big man started for the door, Noren followed.


    They stepped out into the howling night. Some of the other cultivators followed. Noren cycled what lux he had furiously, trying to keep himself warm. The alcohol started to burn off, and he was wondering just what he was doing as the big man shrugged off his cape and rose up.


    He must have been hunched over in there. Noren hadn''t realized just how tall he was. The man had to be at least six and a half feet and with arms to match. He wore a sleeveless leather vest, buttoned up the middle, and now he cracked his knuckles while moving his head from side to side.


    "Well?" the stranger said.


    Noren started to wonder if there was a way out of this. "I have the dignity of my sect to maintain," he said. "If you do not have rank to match me, I fear this is a contest I cannot face."


    "You''re not getting out of it that easily," the stranger said.


    "Who are you?" Noren babbled.


    "Me?" The stranger cracked a smile, showing wide white teeth. "I''m just a wanderer coming in from the cold. Now are you going to take that robe off or risk it being torn?"


    Noren actually hadn''t worn such a long flowing cultivator robe in years. It was a little too big across the shoulders and tight around the middle. Also it was long and if he did fight, he might trip or, worse, tear it. Despite everything, the stranger had a point. Noren shrugged out of the robe. The dismissive woman stepped forward and took it from him. He looked her over and curled his lip. "When I''m done with him, I''ll have time to show you a thing or two."


    She rolled her eyes but said nothing. Noren stepped away. The big man was cycling his own lux, and it felt as though he had quite a lot of it. Noren wasn''t quite certain what his cultivation level was. He''d never been gifted at guessing that about other cultivators. From the look of him, the man had to be past the Peak of Bodily Refinement, possibly the Peak of Mental Refinement as well, but surely not the Peak of Spiritual Refinement.


    Noren would be his match, even with his depleted supply of lux. He''d just take the fellow off guard.


    Noren bowed. "It is an honor to fight you. May I know the name of my opponent?" Then, as he was still speaking, he unleashed the weave he had quickly braided together. He''d always been good at crafting weaves without using his hands and had used that to win more than one duel. Now he launched a ball of red and yellow lux toward the cultivator, hoping to knock him back toward the edge of the cliff not far away.


    The stranger held up a hand. Noren''s technique dissolved. He braided his own strands of lux. Noren''s eyes slipped into lux sight where he could watch the colors. He was combining at least four different colors into a single weave.


    Noren desperately began putting together a defensive weave, blue laced with green, designed to suck away the enemy technique. But the man flicked out his right hand, and a whip-like weave slashed out.


    Noren dodged. The weave curved back around and caught him by the ankles. It yanked him from his feet and tossed him high, high into the air. Noren frantically began reinforcing his body with red for the fall, but a crashing ball of solid red lux caught him in the midsection and knocked him even further back.


    He heard a shout and a quick snatch of laughter, and then he was tumbling from the edge of the cliff. Stone whistled past as he dropped down, down, down into the icy wind and darkness.


    He had enough time before reaching the bottom to realize he''d made the classic mistake of challenging a mysterious cultivator on a dark and stormy night without knowing the man''s strength. If this had been a story, Noren would have mocked his own foolishness. Instead, his recriminations were cut short by the sharp and solid ground a thousand feet below the House of Falling Leaves.

 Bk 3 Ch 10: Indignant Indigo

    "Ah, Hiroko, thank you for attending me." The Dowager Pearl looked up from where she was seated at a low table, piles of papers scattered all around her. "Please, enter. I''m sorry I haven''t had the opportunity to host you personally before this. I had meant to take your studies in hand but have found myself swamped with responsibilities." She gestured all around as Hiroko joined her.


    They were in a brightly lit room with rice paper walls painted in shades of brown and green with pastoral scenes. Stylized mountains towered over wheat fields, storks waded through rice paddies. It was the largest building on Petal 74 and had been entirely turned over to the Dowager Pearl and her staff, who were overseeing both the Court of Gems and the pageantry associated with the bridal competition.


    Hiroko wasn''t jealous of the Dowager''s attentions. She''d spent the last few weeks attending social events put on by the Dowager''s minions, mingling with the cultivators the brides had brought in, forcing herself to do her duty all while contemplating her own future.


    "I''m sorry I had to deny your request to enter the tower," the Dowager said.


    Hiroko met her eyes, and the Dowager was the first to look away. "I understand it''s difficult with my other obligations, but my cultivation has stalled out," Hiroko said. "I wish to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement sooner rather than later. My previous tutors indicated that reaching the Peak of Mental Refinement will take a great deal of effort and self-study on my part, and I would like to begin it."


    "Yes, well," the Dowager said, stacking some of the papers neatly to one side and gesturing for one of her attendants to bring them a pot of the ubiquitous hibiscus tea that Vardin City seemed to prefer. Hiroko hated the stuff. She preferred a herbal blend herself, but she made no complaint as the Dowager''s attendant poured them cups and then left the pot to sit on the table.


    "I have the Court of Gems purse at my disposal," the Dowager said. "I can easily provide you with the pills and elixirs necessary to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement, even perhaps the Peak of Mental Refinement. Why not let me have a pill custom-compounded to your specifications?"


    "I don''t want a pill," Hiroko said stubbornly. "With my affinity for blue lux, I''m told that taking a pill would cripple my future advancement. There are no shortcuts for me.¡±


    "Does it matter?" the Dowager asked. "Most cultivator spouses are happy to remain at the Peak of Mental Refinement. It''s enough to keep them safe around their spouse during the climb. And after all, you have other duties to attend to. You can''t be spending the hours devoted to cultivation it would take to reach past Mental Refinement. Who would manage your sect and handle your underlings?"


    The Dowager had a point, but Hiroko stubbornly clung to her insistence. "No Violet Princess is permitted to use pills to reach any of the peaks. My mother made it on her own. My father is under consideration to be made a prism. How can I, as their daughter, rely on artificial aids for my own cultivation?"


    "Yes, your mother." The Dowager looked down. "I knew Princess Aiko from a young age. Did you know?"


    Hiroko bowed her head. "You said before you were a friend of my grandmother, Dowager Pearl Hiroko.¡±


    "Yes, we entered the Imperial Gardens together, almost sixty years ago now." The Dowager shook her head, reminiscing. "But your grandmother was chosen to bear a child, and I was not. I remained close to the Imperial Grounds even after my time as a pearl was over, and I was privileged to see Aiko grow up. Most of the Violet Princes and Princesses reached their required cultivation peaks by the age of 40 or so. Your mother had reached the Peak of Spiritual Refinement before she was your age, and she didn''t stop there. She could have become a prism herself if it wasn''t forbidden to a Violet Princess. When she chose your father as her spouse, well, there was an uproar in several quarters. Your mother was one of the only Violet Princesses ever to be allowed to leave the Imperial Grounds before her marriage. She was such a talented cultivator. I wish you could have known her. I see her spark in you."


    Hiroko nodded, keeping down a lump in her throat. "I wish I''d known her." Aiko had died when Hiroko was a six-month-old child.


    "You know your mother was murdered, don''t you?" the Dowager said abruptly.


    Hiroko choked on a mouthful of hibiscus tea. "She what?"


    "It was hushed up, but there was no question about it. She had powerful enemies, and when she chose your father as her spouse, she inherited some of his as well. The emperor was angered by her death and had two entire sects put to death, but I believe the architects of her murder are still out there."


    "I didn''t know," Hiroko whispered, aghast.


    "My point is, cultivation politics is dangerous, and you must always be aware of your surroundings. Mere power, even ranks of cultivation, are not enough to protect you from enemies. And so, I''ve called you here to ask how you find the Court of Gems here."


    Hiroko understood what the Dowager was really asking. Had she found any of the cultivators here more to her liking than at Golden Moon. Choosing her words carefully, Hiroko tried to persuade the Dowager to allow her back into the tower to cultivate. "Many of them have very polite manners. It''s a change from Young Master Feng''s arrogance. I have come to see that there''s more to being a cultivator than self-assuredness. Attending parties and afternoon teas and poetry competitions may give me an idea of what a man says, but not what he does. I would like to see my future spouse cultivating before I commit to him."


    "I will take that under consideration, perhaps when the bridal tournament has progressed to a later stage," the Dowager said. Hiroko knew she was being brushed off. "Nevertheless, do none of them take your fancy?"


    Hiroko felt herself blush. "I have yet to meet any of the cultivators accompanying the brides who impress me more than the ones I knew at Golden Moon Tower," she said truthfully. After all, next to Joshi, other cultivators faded into the background. They lacked his single-minded drive. ¡°Most of them seem to be dedicated in supporting their sect''s candidate. But I wonder if perhaps the more driven cultivators are not here?"


    "I think you do well to wait and take your pick," the Dowager agreed. "The most promising Young Masters of these sects have their own agendas and are unlikely to subordinate themselves to another, even for the honor this tournament will bring. You might wait until you see which sects have a hope of winning. If the prospective bride is a strong cultivator, it stands to reason that the other Young Masters of her sect are as well. There''s no rush."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Hiroko hesitated. "Dowager Pearl, I worry that my presence here in the Court of Gems has a chilling effect on the others. I''m aware of how my station is enticing to a cultivator who hopes to move up in the world."


    "Any cultivator worth his salt wants to marry as high in the imperial court as possible," the Dowager Pearl agreed.


    ¡°Which means the other gems are finding it difficult to consummate their own courtships."


    "Nonsense," the Dowager said briskly as she poured herself another cup of tea and topped off Hiroko''s cup unasked. "If a gem noble can''t seal the deal, then what hope do they have of keeping their spouse in line afterward?"


    That wasn''t exactly how Hiroko would have put it. The Dowager spoke as though the gem nobles were there to command and spy on their spouses, not to assist them on their climb. She was uncomfortably aware that she''d heard other cultivators speak of their prospective spouses in the same terms.


    Was that why Joshi wouldn''t meet her eyes? Or was it because she had declared she would marry his rival? From the moment her decision to marry Feng had slipped from her lips, Hiroko had regretted it deeply, but she didn''t see what else she could do. She couldn''t take back her word once it had been given. When Joshi had emerged alive from the tower and told everyone that Feng was dead, Hiroko''s heart had been made light again. She had hoped for one brief moment that everything would work out there on the spot, but it hadn''t, and Joshi had avoided her company in the weeks since.


    "I think," the Dowager began, but her words were cut off.


    An oppressive presence pushed down on Hiroko. She dropped her teacup, the faintly purple fluid spilling out across the mat. She was pressed forward against the table, unable to lift her head.


    The Dowager said in a ragged voice, "Your Radiance, please."


    The pressure let up just a bit. A woman''s voice said, "Oh, sit up, you foolish girl."


    Hiroko carefully sat back up, taking a deep breath. She still felt as though she were draped in heavy quilts. Her eyes wanted to close.


    A woman sat at the edge of the table, her legs folded beneath her, her arms outstretched. Hiroko had never seen her before. She had curiously light-colored hair, a brown verging almost to yellow. Her eyes were a light green, and her skin a paler shade than Hiroko had seen anywhere outside of the imperial grounds where exotic beauties from foreign lands had come to wed the emperor. The woman''s presence was astonishing, suffocating. This must be a prism. But which?


    The Dowager bowed. ¡°Prism Eri, what may I do for you? I had no idea you were in this portion of the empire."


    "Well, of course you didn''t," the prism declared. "If you had known, it would have rather defeated the point, wouldn''t it? Dowager, it''s good to see you again. It''s been a long time since the gardens. And this?" The prism, Eri, looked Hiroko over. ¡°Indigo Princess¡­. this must be Aiko''s daughter. How curious to find her here.¡±


    "Princess Hiroko is here to find a spouse," the Dowager gasped. "Your Radiance, what may I do for you?"


    "Well, as it happens, the West has become unacceptably dull with the recent triumph of a certain notable general over his enemy. I simply had nothing to do, so I thought I''d drop in on this riotous little event. I even decided to get involved myself. I''ve brought a sect along with me. My own sect, as a matter of fact, and my own niece to compete in the tournament."


    "It''s too late for any new entrants," the Dowager said.


    Eri raised a hand. Her presence increased. Hiroko was pushed forward again. She desperately cycled, trying to force her meager scraps of lux through her body in an attempt to keep her breathing going. Eri relented. Hiroko took a deep, sobbing breath.


    "You know as well as I do that those rules were not made for prisms," Eri said. "Don''t worry. I''ve had my sect scribe prepare all the paperwork. Here it is." From the thin air, she produced a stack of forms and dropped them to the Dowager''s desk. "I look forward to seeing how you handle this, and also I''ll be spicing up this tournament from here on out. I stopped and had a look on my way in. They''re taking on challenges one at a time." The woman rolled her eyes. "They''re not even fighting each other. This simply won''t do. How can we determine which sect is worthy of granting the emperor his newest bride if they''re too afraid to actually compete?"


    "As you wish, Prism," the Dowager said. "But Prism Nai Hong and Nai Lin are in charge here."


    "Yes, well, I have been dying for a word with Nai Hong,¡± Prism Eri declared. "I''ll just pop over and have a word with him now and let you get back to your very important duties." She turned to Hiroko and looked her up and down. "My, my, you are a pretty one, aren''t you? I am so glad I brought my entire sect along. I have two great nephews and a great niece, if that''s what you prefer, who would love to make your acquaintance, my dear. You do have your mother''s eyes. And I see a bit of your father in you as well." She winked at Hiroko. "Your father and I have had considerable dealings these last few years." There was an undertone to her words that Hiroko couldn''t quite unravel. "He failed to mention to me just how beautiful and eligible his daughter is, though."


    "This is her first season in the gem court," the Dowager Pearl said through gritted teeth. "Hiroko will be announcing her engagement very shortly."


    "What a shame. I''ll have to tell my relatives to make their pitches quickly, then." The woman stood up. "I''ll just leave you to this." And then she was gone. Her overpowering presence vanished from the room.


    Hiroko took a deep, gasping breath. She looked at the Dowager, whose face was almost gray. The Dowager drummed her fingers on the tabletop. "What does she want?" she muttered.


    "You know her?"


    "Oh, yes." The Dowager looked grim. "She and your mother were something of rivals. They ascended the cultivation ranks at roughly the same time, and it was said they were both rivals for your father''s affections. But of course, what cultivator will turn down a Violet Princess? No matter." She turned back to Hiroko, her eyes focusing once again. "I fear things have gotten dangerous for you, Princess. I no longer believe it is safe for you to wait to make your choice. You need the protection of a sect, preferably a powerful one, perhaps one not from around here. Have you considered the cultivators of the Azure Flame sect, or the Celestial Phoenix?¡±


    Hiroko shook her head.


    "Nevertheless, I think you should announce your engagement at the next possible opportunity. There''ll be another party of some sort in a day or two. Yes, yes. It would be best for you to announce then. So, who will it be?"


    Hiroko opened her mouth a few times, failing to find the words. ¡°Come, girl, you know your duty,¡± the dowager said impatiently. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to rush you but believe me, there are forces at work here¡­ you will be much safer once you¡¯re off the table.¡±


    But she was frozen. The last time she¡¯d made this decision, she¡¯d had logic and good sense behind her choice, and it had been the wrong one. Now¡­ now Hiroko was listening to the yearnings of her heart. If she had to wed, there was only one man she wanted. ¡°Joshi,¡± she said. ¡°Young Master Joshi of the Morning Mist.¡±


    ¡°Morning Mist?¡± The dowager frowned. ¡°Are you sure? Joshi impressed, yes, but they are a small sect without backing. Hardly worthy of your rank.¡±


    ¡°The larger sects have no need of me. If I join the Morning Mist, then I improve their standing. Joshi and Cultivator Wu both are promising cultivators who have reach impressive heights without much support.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± the dowager said, stroking her chin, lost in thought. ¡°I¡¯ve never liked the fact that their only cultivator spouse is a girl of such poor self-control as Lady Min. With you at their helm, I will have no worries about them finding their proper place in the Empire.¡± She looked up and made a dusting-off motion with her hands. ¡°Excellent. I will take care of the arrangements and see that the announcement is made at the upcoming reception for Prism Eri¡¯s sect. We''ll decide when to hold the formal ceremony after that, but I don''t think it should take more than a few weeks. There''s no point in delaying once the decision''s made, after all." She sighed. "Forgive me, Hiroko. I have a great deal of work to do."


    Hiroko departed, feeling shaken and lost, still unsure as to what had just happened. Halfway back to the petal where the Court of Gems was housed, she was seized with a terrible fear. She''d just declared she would marry Joshi in front of the Dowager. The Dowager would make that happen. She hadn''t spoken to Joshi about this. How would he react when he found out? She couldn''t let him be blindsided. She''d have to find a way to take him aside and warn him.


    Perhaps it was time she paid a visit to the Morning Mist.

 Bk 3 Ch 11: Racing Upward

    Chang-li was in the training room, walking the latest disciples through a series of exercises designed to help them move their bodies and cycle their lux in a contrary pattern. The training room in the house that Min''s grandfather had procured for the Sect of Morning Mists was larger than their back garden had been at the broken tower. It took up the entire second floor of the rambling main building of their compound.


    They had a courtyard here as well, with a small garden reminiscent of the one at the Oaken Band Brotherhood, and a set of small cottages fit into the back wall for the higher-ranking sect members to enjoy their privacy.


    Min was in the far corner, practicing with her lux bow. She had a lux-resistant target set up on the wall and was gleefully loosing arrow after arrow at it. She was campaigning hard to be allowed to accompany the party with Li Jiya two days from now on their next venture into the tower. Chang-li was on her side. Joshi and Jiya expressed doubts, but Chang-li knew what Min lacked in cultivation experience she made up for in good common sense.


    He pulled his gaze away from the attractive figure of his wife in a shooting stance, back to the disciples he was supposed to be working with. As far away from the disciples as they could get, Joshi and Jiya both sat focused on their own training. They were practicing, using their will against each other as a training technique.


    Chang-li had participated a few times, but he didn''t have the knack of it yet. Li Jiya could wield her willpower like a club, bashing it down against her opponent. Chang-li was able to block some of her attacks, but no more than that. Joshi was having slightly more success. He had twice managed to expand his will out from himself in an explosive burst, covering the whole of the training floor, knocking the disciples sprawling and giving Chang-li a two-hour headache.


    If they reached the final phase of this competition, then Li Jiya and her closest allies ¡ª him and Joshi ¡ª would receive personal tutoring from a prism. Among the other promised rewards, this was the one that excited him the most. What insights could a prism give him on the nature of cultivation, or on his own weaknesses? If he was still having trouble with his will, a prism could doubtless tell him what he was doing wrong. Or ¡ª he shut down his racing thoughts and turned back to the matter on hand.


    Chang-li was about to tell Brother Stone to demonstrate the next step of the training exercise with him when, from nowhere, a voice spoke. It was an exuberant woman he''d never heard before.


    "Bridal candidate Li Jiya of Morning Mist, please name your two champions immediately, or I will be forced to choose for you."


    Li Jiya looked around. "Who? What?"


    "You have ten seconds."


    Li Jiya''s eyes narrowed. "Young Master Joshi and Wu Chang-li," she said at once.


    There was a bright flash. Chang-li felt as though he was being jerked forward by a rope tied to his spine. His ears rushed. His eyes swam. Then he wasn''t in the same place anymore. He stood on a rocky mountain shelf halfway up a granite peak. The slope in front of him was all loose rocks and bits of shale. Down below, the ground fell away steeply. Jiya and Joshi were there with him, looking around.


    A woman''s voice came from behind him. He turned. The woman hung in midair over the edge of the cliff. Her radiant skin glowed. Her hair was such a light brown it was almost yellow. Her light green eyes sparkled. Chang-li started to ask who she was, and then her will flared. It was like being punched in the gut by a boulder. Chang-li doubled over.


    "That''s better," the woman said. "Show some respect."


    Li Jiya was on her knees, her head bowed. Joshi had collapsed to his knees as well. He had one hand down on the ground and was trying to force his head up. Chang-li didn''t try to fight.


    "Your radiance," Li Jiya said respectfully.


    "There''s the proper manners. Perhaps you do have what it takes to become a bride of the Emperor," the woman said. "I am the Prism Eri." She offered no other name than that. Chang-li had never heard of her, but then he didn''t know the names of any of the Prisms except Nai Lin and her father. "I''ve come to enjoy the spectacle and to promote my own candidate. But this event is boring so far. I''ve decided to spice it up a little. To that end, all nine brides are being gathered here together for a contest."


    "Nine?" Li Jiya''s face came up. She spoke sharply, then bowed and said in a subservient tone, "Forgiveness, Prism, there are eight of us."


    "There were eight. I have brought Mai Wen of the Golden Locks Sect, my own sect," Eri added, tossing her hair. It rippled in the breeze, flowing out behind her for several feet. "Since she is starting late, I''ve decided to give her a chance to introduce herself. We¡¯re hosting a little race. Terms are, the three lowest finishers will forfeit their next trips into the tower and give Mai Wen the opportunity to catch up.¡±


    ¡°Why would anyone agree to that?¡± Li Jiya asked crossly.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m not asking, I¡¯m telling. More importantly, I¡¯m adding a prize from my personal treasury,¡± Eri said. Chang-li came alert. Next to him, Joshi stood a little straighter. ¡°An elixir of Spiritual Refinement.¡±


    From Li Jiya¡¯s intake of breath, that was a priceless treasure indeed. ¡°A Heavenly Grade elixir?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Eri confirmed. ¡°Guaranteed to take a cultivator straight to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement.¡±


    "Just for reaching the top?" Li Jiya asked.


    "Well, of course, if the others let you,¡± Eri said cheerfully. ¡°Now stay here and wait for my signal."


    She disappeared.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Chang-li wondered. A new prism arriving seemed like it had depths he couldn¡¯t fathom. ¡°And what¡¯s the elixir about?¡±


    Joshi shook his head. "Time enough to discuss that once we''ve won this contest."


    "Agreed," Li Jiya said, her eyes sparkling. "Now''s our chance to get out in front of the others. It''s an equal chance for all of us, if she only allowed each bride two champions.¡± One of the reasons Li Jiya ranked only fourth was the other six had more cultivators assisting their brides and, of course, Li Jiya was turning over half the rewards to Chang-li and Joshi.


    Chang-li was busy trying to scout a route up the mountain. He craned his head. High above loomed a forked peak, the left-hand side noticeably taller than the right, capped with snow. "I think that''s our destination," he said, pointing. The slope in front of them was a dangerous scree field. The footing there would be terrible. The ledge they were on continued along the side of the mountain for some ways, disappearing around a bend. "What do you think? Straight up or over?"


    "Over," Joshi said at once.


    "We don''t know there''s a path there any better than here," Li Jiya countered.


    "I''ve spent time in a country like this. Have you?" Joshi asked.


    Jiya shook her head.


    "Then let me lead. I''ll get you to the top. But watch behind us. If there are other sects here, some of them may try to attack."


    All at once, a long horn blast sounded, echoing off the sides of the mountain all around. Joshi took off at once, hurrying along the narrow ledge. Jiya followed, Chang-li taking up the rear. The ledge was, in places, only barely wide enough for him to put one foot beside the other. Joshi was as fleet-footed as a mountain goat, pressing ahead, Chang-li just trying to keep up. He cycled Breath of the Heavens as he went, keeping himself centered.


    They rounded the bend, and the shelf widened out. The mountain curved up over them, overhanging and shadowing the shelf on which they stood. There was a dark hole in the face of the mountain, a cave.


    Li Jiya pointed. "What about that?"


    In answer, Joshi raced for the opening. He had a ball of yellow lux flame in his hand, a technique he''d recently mastered with some help from Chang-li. It lit the sides of the cave as they rushed in. A breeze blew in their faces.


    "There''s a way through here," Joshi said. "The air smells fresh."You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Li Jiya hurried onward, the way lit by the light from Joshi''s flame. The passage twisted and turned.


    They passed an opening on their right, which Joshi ignored as they kept their faces to the breeze. The path seemed to be heading upward. Chang-li thought that was a good sign.


    The only warning he had was a brief prickling on the back of his neck. He threw himself to the side, shouting as he did. Li Jiya turned and fired a bolt of icy lux back behind them. It lit the dark passage as it burned through the air and slammed into the chest of the cultivator who''d come up behind them. There were three in the party, two women and a man, who Chang-li recognized after a heartbeat as being from the Dream Blossom sect.


    Li Jiya''s bolt hit the woman who wasn''t their bride. She staggered back. Joshi raced past, head down, fists brimming with lux. Chang-li had a Firepot variant woven off the Infinite Loom in seconds. He hurled it at the cultivators. It exploded, releasing its green and blue contents in a puff of smoke.


    The male cultivator cried out as the lux raced up his legs, swathing him in a dark smoke. The effect wouldn''t last long. Chang-li wasn''t very good at it yet, and putting it inside a Firepot in order to throw it made it even less effective. But for a moment, they had the advantage of numbers.


    Chang-li raced in, his sword drawn, as Li Jiya formed her weapon and swung hard down across the other bride. Chang-li thrust his sword under Li Jiya''s arm and, before he could think, skewered the rival bride.


    Her eyes opened in astonishment. A weave died in her hands as blood gushed up through her mouth. Chang-li had just an instant to realize, horrified, that he''d dealt possibly a fatal wound before she vanished, and with her, the other two members of her sect.


    Eri¡¯s laughter echoed all around them. "Well done! She''s out of today¡¯s contest. Don''t worry. I¡¯m watching, and I¡¯ll yank out anyone who gets too badly hurt. So why don''t you just show me what you''re made of?"


    For an instant, the prism appeared in front of them. She looked over all three, her eyes lingering on Joshi. "Especially you, Young Master of the Darwur. I''ve seen your kind, but not as cultivators. You fascinate me." And then she was gone.


    "Don''t listen to her," Joshi snapped. "Keep going."


    They raced onward, the tunnel quickly bringing them out onto a higher slope of the mountain. Chang-li took a moment to orient himself, found the peak they were heading for, and started up the slope toward it. The hillside here was less steep than previously, the footing good. The slope opened into a thin-soiled mountain meadow, littered with boulders the size of his head. A stand of aspens clung to the flanks of the mountain higher up. Beyond, he could see the meadow they were in turning into a saddle between the two peaks.


    "This way," Joshi urged, and they hurried forward. Chang-li kept glancing over his shoulder, looking for trouble.


    "Focus on our path," Joshi told him. "Magen''s watching behind us. You keep an eye ahead."


    He hadn''t seen his friend''s lux-bond creature since entering the cave, but it was good to hear the little sprite was making itself useful. Li Jiya looked determined, still carrying her weapon, using it as a stick in places to haul herself up steep bits of the climb. Chang-li had to change to Purification of Mind and Soul. It worked well with his deeper breathing.


    They were running up a slope so steep Chang-li would have had to stop and rest a dozen times in the days before he was a cultivator. Now he barely broke a sweat. Lux did wonderful things for the body if it didn''t kill you outright.


    Chang-li spotted movement on the slope ahead in the aspens. Rather than pointing, he dropped his voice and told his allies, "Someone waiting up ahead."


    Joshi at once directed Magen forward. Chang-li felt rather than saw the lux-creature, rushed past them up the slope. "Three cultivators, the Azure Flame Sect," Joshi reported, "waiting in ambush."


    "I look forward to wiping the smile off Xue Lan¡¯s face," Li Jiya declared. Azure Flame was currently in first place.


    "Do we believe the prism will step in to prevent deaths?¡± Chang-li asked.


    Li Jiya hesitated. "Yes, I think we do. There are other prisms here, and she''s given their word, in a way. I don''t think they''d stand for her lying about that."


    "In that case, let Joshi and me go first. If you''re defeated, we''re all out. But if one of us is removed¡ª" it sounded better than killed, whether or not Chang-li trusted the prism''s words¡ª"then we can go on. Anyway, I have an idea." He summoned Breath of Heavens and focused on the physical luxes, strengthening his body with red and applying the others to the swords. If they were being watched, then Azure Flame would think he was a cultivator with a focus on physical luxes. That could be to his advantage.


    They kept up the slope. Joshi said, "They''re gathered together. I''m going to go another ten yards and leap at them. You two follow up in the chaos."


    "Agreed," Chang-li said. He felt gloriously alive as he cycled the tower lux. There was just a hint of violet here, enough to tempt him, not enough to do anything with. He didn''t know any actual violet techniques. He was tempted to siphon it into the temporal training chamber. That treasure he kept stored in his soul space. Siphoning lux off of his core into it would be easy. However, he suspected there were three prisms watching this event and he didn''t want to tempt fate. So, despite the appeal, he left the violet lux alone, venting it out of his channels at the end of each cycle.


    Joshi bent his knees and sprang forward into the air, covering twenty feet in a crashing leap. He plummeted into the aspens like a falling star. Chang-li threw himself forward, strengthening his legs with red lux and running so fast, his hair streamed out behind him. Li Jiya kept up. Each of her bounding strides covered yards of ground.


    Chang-li concentrated and his sword burst into flame. As he reached the edge of the trees, he saw the enemy. All three cultivators were focused on Joshi, who was in their midst, blocking multiple attacks at once. Magen covered his back, but he wasn''t going to be able to stand up under the attacks of three cultivators, all past the Peak of Mental Refinement.


    As Chang-li yelled and threw himself forward, one of the bridal candidate''s male allies made a clapping gesture. Lines of lux sprang out of the air, seizing Joshi''s legs, wrapping around them and yanking them apart. Joshi stumbled and fell. The other male cultivator dove on him with a heavy, orange-spiked club.


    Chang-li was there. He swung his sword and sliced deep into the first man¡¯s arm. Blood gushed out, falling to the ground in a puddle. The man turned at him, staring in horror. His lux technique unraveled. Joshi rolled over and seized the legs of the man with the club, throwing him to the ground. The two grappled, wrestling as they sought to pin each other.


    As Chang-li swung his sword again, the injured cultivator threw up a technique. Chang-li''s sword bounced off of it. The bride was there, stepping in and hurling two-handed a ball of woven lux. It hit Chang-li and knocked him back out of the grove of aspens. He tumbled head over heels.


    The lux unraveled from the ball and wrapped itself around him, tendrils crawling all over his body, pulling his limbs painfully taut. He arched his back in involuntary agony as the cords began to burn. Everything was pain.


    Chang-li fought to control himself. He switched cycling patterns to Double Branching river and inhaled as much of the enemy lux technique as he could, fighting for control just as he had against his reflection in the temporal training chamber.


    It was working. The enemy weave fought him, but then, suddenly, as though its master''s attention was diverted, the pattern collapsed. He sucked it all in, leaping to his feet.


    Joshi was on top of one of the cultivators, pounding him. The injured cultivator was throwing techniques at Li Jiya, who dodged them as she swung at the bride. Chang-li wove a net spell rapidly on the Infinite Loom and hurled it at the enemy bride.


    She wasn''t looking in his direction. She must have thought her own technique had taken care of him. His net flew true. It caught her, wrapped her, and that gave Li Jiya the opening she needed.


    She stepped in with her polearm and sliced the girl open from shoulder to navel. An instant later, all three were gone.


    Chang-li was starting to feel sick. What sort of competition was this? This was barely cultivating. It was brawling, the sort of thuggery any bandits could do. Just because they were using cultivation as a weapon didn''t make it a test of how adept Li Jiya might be.


    But Li Jiya was smiling. "We can''t be the only ones who''ve met in combat," she said. "By now, half the others could be eliminated from this contest, but someone else might be ahead of us. Let''s hurry."


    They raced on toward the tip of the mountain. As they emerged onto the saddle, Chang-li glanced behind. He saw a pair of cultivators far below, back the way they''d come, laboring their way up the mountain. Li Jiya saw where he was looking and frowned speculatively.


    "We could set an ambush of our own.


    ¡°And let someone else beat us to the goal?" Joshi shook his head. "No, those are irrelevant. Even if they reach the top, it will be long after we and any serious competitors have done so. Focus on the goal, Li Jiya."


    "Yes, I suppose you''re right," she agreed, sounding almost reluctant. ¡°I want that elixir. It¡¯s insurance for us later.¡±


    They turned upward from the saddle. They had to use their hands quite a bit here, scrambling over the rocks, and then they came to a sheer cliff face, twenty feet tall. Chang-li eyed it. The rock looked slippery and sharp.


    He sighed and reached for a handhold, but Joshi was smiling. He crouched and leapt, his meteor punch technique taking him to the top. Then he turned and called down to them. "Hurry, come. Lift Li Jiya up and toss her. I''ll catch."


    Chang-li was going to say there was no way he could throw a woman that far when he realized he probably could. He pulled in lux, then bowed politely to Li Jiya. "With your permission?"


    "Stop wasting time," she scolded. "I want to win already."


    Chang-li nodded. He put his hands on her hips and felt a blush creeping up his face as he felt her body under her robes. He hoped Min didn''t hear about this one. Then he lifted and tossed her into the air.


    Joshi reached out and grabbed her wrists. She dangled over the edge for a few seconds before scrambling in to stand beside Joshi.


    Joshi pointed. "Another comes."


    Chang-li turned. A trio of cultivators were racing toward him, the bride at their head. "You two go ahead," he shouted. "I''ll delay them." A few minutes delay could buy Li Jiya the win she so desperately craved.


    Neither of his companions bothered to wait and argue. They turned and raced onward while Chang-li prepared a technique.


    The newcomers were closing fast as he tossed out a weave at their feet. The bride leapt easily over it, the other two cultivators parting to go around. And then, the first stepped in the concealed Firepot he had placed between two rocks just a moment before. It exploded in the man''s face.


    The bride didn''t pause. She was coming on fast, weaving a technique. Chang-li was prepared. He called on his Double Branching River technique and reached for her lux. It answered him easily. The look of shock on her face was worth all the time he had spent in the training chamber. "How are you¡ª?¡± she began, but then she let the technique drop.


    She reached forward, making a smashing gesture, and her will came down against Chang-li like the mountain itself had fallen on him. His knees buckled. Chang-li struggled. This was nothing like the willpower training he''d done with his friends. This woman wanted to kill him. He fought her, determined not to give up. Even as her companions raced toward him, one had a sword drawn. Chang-li grit his teeth and pushed with his own willpower.


    For an instant, the pressure eased. Then the enemy cultivator smashed a club against his head, and everything went dark.

 Bk 3 Ch 12: Cross Words

    It was easier than Hiroko had expected to leave the Court of Gems for the afternoon. The Court was being hosted in the Governor''s palace complex, up on Vardin City''s Crown Ring. Hiroko had yet to meet the actual governor, who was in seclusion recovering from an illness, though the acting governor, who was the brother of one of the other gem nobles, had paid a call socially on the Court. Hiroko had not.


    Over the past several weeks during the bridal competition, Hiroko had found herself in the center of a sea of nobles. The five other nobles who had been with her at Golden Moon City''s tower had been swallowed up by a vastly expanded court of nearly three dozen eligible young men and women. She was still the highest ranked, but there was a green-ranked nobleman and two blue ladies, along with all of the lesser ranks. The higher-ranked nobles had made themselves the center of attention, and Hiroko was glad to let them do it.


    Cultivators moved more freely in and out of the court than they had at Golden Moon, with various hopefuls from the competing sects visiting for afternoon teas or informal morning brunches, as well as the heavily chaperoned evening parties, which occurred nearly every night. Hiroko attended those as was her duty, and for once found her station helpful. Every cultivator here wanted their five minutes of time. It was easy for her to cast off one hopeful suitor in order to pay a few minutes of attention to the next.


    Joshi hadn''t been to any of the events. She''d watched hopefully for the first week or so, and then realized he wasn¡¯t coming. She couldn''t blame him, not after how she had declared she''d marry his rival. Now, though, it was imperative she have a chance to speak with him.


    Now Hiroko, bearing a pass with the Dowager Pearl''s stamp at the bottom, left the court with a pair of female guardsmen from Vardin City to escort her down to the petal where the Morning Mists sect was headquartered. Hiroko enjoyed her walk. On their trip up the ramps, she and the Dowager Pearl had shared a palanquin, and she''d had little time to observe the city. Now, using her own two good feet to carry her, she absorbed the exciting sights and sounds. She was almost sad when they reached their destination.


    "Wait here for me," she told her guards as she approached the Morning Mist house. The two gave her respectful salutes, taking up positions on either side of the doorway as Hiroko knocked. The door opened. A servant stood there, a woman in her forties with neatly braided hair starting to silver. She wore a simple knee-length tunic in gray and had a brooch pinned at her collar depicting a hand clutching an acorn. Her eyes widened as she saw Hiroko. She dropped into a low curtsy. "How might I assist you, my lady?"


    "May I enter?"


    The woman stood aside. Hiroko looked around. The compound was small but tidy. From the outside, she had noted this main building was two stories. A long hallway ran horizontally through it. Open doors across from her led out onto a sculpted garden. Overhead, she heard rhythmic thumps and muffled shouts. There must be a training room upstairs.


    "I''m here to speak with Young Master Joshi if he''ll see me."


    The woman''s eyes widened. She nodded. "Yes, certainly, my lady. Will you come with me?" She ushered Hiroko down the hall to the second door on the right, which led into an elegant parlor with rice paper doors that led out onto the garden beyond.


    "I''ll be right back," the servant said before vanishing. Hiroko took a moment to practice her own favorite cycling technique, one Joshi had taught her, trying to get her breathing and pulse under control.


    What should she tell him? First, she''d need to make sure he understood why she''d said he would marry Feng. Then she''d frame her problem, making him understand it had been her only choice. Yes, she''d appeal to his protective nature and the friendship they had shared. She could do this. She...


    "Princess Hiroko."


    That was not Joshi''s voice, but a woman''s. Hiroko turned. Lady Min was standing in the doorway, wearing her gray and white robes with the red border proclaiming her status as cultivator spouse of the Morning Mist sect. Hiroko forced her features into a smile.


    "I was hoping to speak with Young Master Joshi."


    "Unfortunately, he''s not in," Min said.


    Hiroko''s heart fell. She had specifically asked about the bridal competition schedule and knew that Morning Mists were not in the tower today. ¡°Not in at all, or not in to me?¡±


    Min shook her head. "Not in at all. It''s as much a surprise to me as to you, I assure you. Not twenty minutes ago, we were all practicing in the training room, when out of nowhere, Li Jiya, Joshi, and my husband were snatched away. I have never seen anything like it,¡± Min admitted. "I suppose it must be some competition for these bridal games."


    "It''s Prism Eri," Hiroko guessed.


    Min cocked her head to the side, then entered the room more fully. "Will you sit down?" she invited. "I''ve sent for tea." Hiroko sat on the low couch Min indicated. Min took her place opposite. "I don''t know Prism Eri."


    "She arrived yesterday," Hiroko said. "She''s here to allow a member of her sect to compete in the bridal games. But of course, with the Prism, they never have only one reason for doing anything, do they?"


    "No," Min said, a grim look settling about her features. "So that¡¯s the gossip in the Court of Gems, then?"


    "I saw the Prism myself."


    "Really?" Min raised an eyebrow. "Word hadn''t drifted down here yet.¡±


    ¡°I don''t think she''s made her appearance known publicly. I was with the Dowager Pearl." Hiroko clasped her hands to her knees. "Then you don''t know when Joshi might be back?"This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Min shook her head. "I''m afraid not." She looked Hiroko up and down. "An indigo princess here at our sect, asking to speak with our young master," she said. Her eyes narrowed as she clearly thought about the possible implications. "Would you like to tell me what''s going on, or shall I make a guess, my lady?"


    Hiroko was saved by the interruption of the same serving woman who had let her into the house, now bringing a tray of tea. Min, as hostess, poured and offered Hiroko a cup. Hiroko took it, holding it carefully in her hands. A teacup was not much of a shield against unwanted questions, but it was the best she had and so she would use it.


    "If you tell me why you are here, I may be able to help us both," Min offered. Hiroko considered the woman Chang-li had married. She had never truly felt comfortable around Min when they had shared the Court of Gems. Min was probably her own age, but seemed older, shrewder, like she always had a scheme going. Her own brother spoke of her with a mixture of awe and fear. He had once said not to let Min get you wrapped up in her schemes, or you''d never find a way out.


    Hiroko was absolutely certain that the marriage between Min and Chang-li had been some scheme, perhaps part of a bargain to give the Morning Mist sect more reality. Hiroko had met Joshi and Chang-li before they had claimed to be members of a sect, so she had known all along that it was a ruse. She didn''t know how much Chang-li had confided in Min, whether she knew the secret of the trio''s time in the first level of the Broken Tower. If she didn''t, how would Hiroko explain wanting to make a social call on Joshi?


    Min sipped her tea. She sighed and set the cup down. "It''s clear you''re keeping your hand hidden here. I can appreciate that. I don''t like to give away all of my secrets either, but I think perhaps it would be easier if we were honest with each other. You are a princess in the Court of Gems. Joshi is a highly eligible young cultivator, one who, gossip has it, caught your eye at the previous tower. Though why you then declared you would marry Feng is beyond me. Anyone who prefers Feng to Joshi is touched in the head.¡±


    Stung, Hiroko set down her own teacup. "My choice had nothing to do with my preference. I was merely doing my duty to the Emperor. Feng was a dangerous loose end. The tapestry of the Emperor''s design cannot permit such loose ends or the whole plan will unravel."


    "And so you heroically offered to throw your own body into that breech,¡± Min said. "I see. And now that has fallen through, you are seeking to move to the next most eligible young master. I shall be sure to tell Joshi of your call here today."


    Hiroko flushed. This would never do. Min would take everything she''d said and distort it, poisoning Joshi against her. Hiroko shook her head. "You don''t understand."


    "I understand much more than you think," Min said quietly. "I know that you and Joshi and my husband spent weeks together cultivating and that you have kept this secret from almost everyone else."


    "Chang-li told you?" The words slipped out of Hiroko before she could stop it.


    Min merely smiled. "No, you did. You''ve confirmed my guesses. I knew Joshi and Chang-li had been together in the Tower, and I guessed that you were with them thanks to the way you looked when you showed up at camp. That cloak you were wearing, I gave it to Chang-li."


    Hiroko was surprised. She hadn''t realized the connection between Min and Chang-li had gone that far back. Why, at the time, Chang-li had been nothing but a scribe, not someone a gem court member should be caught dallying with. Perhaps Min and Chang-li''s relationship had more to it than she suspected. Was there a secret passionate love story here, hidden behind the walls of propriety and sect duties? For a moment, the mystery eased her own embarrassment.


    "Well, if you know that we''re keeping it secret, then you must have a guess why."


    "Oh, plenty," Min said. "It would not at all do for an indigo princess to have spent weeks in the company of two unmarried cultivators, would it? Why, I should think they''d have bundled you off and married you to the first comer if they knew that. So, you''re here because you wish to marry Joshi. I might put my weight behind that match. It has advantages for our sect."


    Hiroko must have let her shock show, because Min gave another smile and continued, "Are you thinking that I''m worried about being supplanted? You would have higher rank in the sect, yes. But to be honest, if we are to grow, we need more than one cultivator spouse. And I don''t think that you would want to replace me in my duties. I think we could be allies, if not friends. If we were both spouses in the same sect, then our goals should be the same. To promote the sect would be to promote our husbands, and therefore ourselves. But I don''t know that Joshi wishes to marry anyone."


    "I''m well aware of that," Hiroko admitted.


    "Then tell me, why do you want to force this issue?" Min asked.


    Hiroko tried to find the right words. But admitting to this stranger, this calculating woman, that when it had come time to name her spouse, Joshi was the only man she could imagine spending a lifetime beside, that was too much.


    "Joshi''s another loose end," she blurted out. "I know his past. I know his secrets. I''m fine with everything. But he doesn''t fit into the Emperor''s grand design. Not yet." That, at least, was true. ¡°With me at his side, taming his harsher impulses, perhaps teaching him that the Emperor is not an unjust tyrant, he could become a pillar of cultivation, one of the hundred thousand arms of the Emperor, to defend ordinary people from the threats and danger that only a cultivator can prevent.¡±


    Min was looking at her as though she were crazy. "For the exact same stupid reason you agreed to marry Feng, you want to marry Joshi?" She sounded incredulous.


    "Well, then why did you marry Chang-li?" Hiroko demanded. "A gem noble''s duty is to help implement the Emperor''s grand design."


    "Not all of us were born with such a close-up view of the Emperor''s so-called grand design as you are," Min said. "Some of us have concerns closer to home. Yes, the marriage helps my family, but I wouldn''t have gone through with it if I wasn''t fond of Chang-li." Her eyes and mouth softened slightly as though she were recalling Chang-li''s face, and Hiroko felt just a touch more sympathy with the woman. Min might be plotting and scheming, but she really did seem to care about her husband. Still, she hadn¡¯t liked the way Min had talked about the Emperor¡¯s plan. It was the very fabric of their society and to disrespect it was unthinkable.


    "Well," Min rose, "if that''s the long and short of it, I will certainly be glad to tell Joshi you called."


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell him why." Hiroko blurted out. Anything Min said to Joshi would be distorted. She had to find a way to speak to him herself and explain matters.


    "Well, since I''m not certain I understand at all, I suppose I can keep quiet about it," Min agreed.


    Hiroko rose, too. They stared at each other. Min was a few inches taller than Hiroko, but then who wasn''t? There was a strength in her that Hiroko admired, a strength like steel. And yet Hiroko wondered what would happen if Min ever came up against something she couldn''t bend to her own designs.


    Hiroko had her own sort of strength, one her grandmother had taught her, the sort that a willow has, to be bent and bowed by the wind, but to remain strong, roots tight in the ground no matter what. She drew her strength from those roots, her knowledge that she served the Emperor''s grand design, her understanding of her place in it, her willingness to make sacrifices in order to uphold what was right.


    "Thank you for the tea," Hiroko told Min. "I''m sure we''ll see each other again soon."


    "I look forward to it," Min said.


    ¡°Good day to you,¡± Hiroko said, before bowing and turning to leave.

 Bk 3 Ch 13: Rocky Progression

    Joshi and Li Jiya raced up the mountain, leaving Chang-li behind to stop their pursuers. The peak ahead loomed over them, another four hundred feet. Joshi''s eyes flickered from side to side as he picked out the best path. He caught a flash of movement, perhaps a quarter of the way up the flank of the peak from where they were. "Rivals,¡± he told Li Jiya.


    She gave a single grunt of acknowledgment. He couldn''t tell how many there were or the color of their sect robes from here. Knowing they were racing toward victory gave his feet new motion. He cycled red lux, strengthening himself, and Li Jiya matched him. While neither of them had been precisely holding back for Chang-li''s sake, they were both more practiced with the physical luxes.


    Chang-li had the advantage in spiritual, or at least so Joshi assumed. He had rarely seen Li Jiya wield the spiritual luxes, yet she must if she was close to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement and a serious candidate to win this tournament.


    "We have done well,¡± he called to her, the wind whipping the words from his mouth. "Even if we come in second, it should be enough to propel you into the top three contenders."


    "Not good enough,¡± Li Jiya retorted. "I want that elixir."


    Joshi had been intrigued by the new prism''s offer of a reward for the best-performing team¡ªa single elixir capable of raising anyone to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. The brides were all ambitious, or they wouldn''t be here. Those they had chosen to accompany them were also driven and accomplished. A single elixir among three claimants would spur dissension in a team.


    The monks of Harupa had warned him against such easy-seeming methods of reaching his goals. It was not enough merely to reach a Peak. The method by which one reached that peak might determine their future chances for advancement. There were no shortcuts on the path of progression. So the monks had said, and so Joshi devoutly believed.


    On the other hand¡­ "You want that elixir?" he asked Li Jiya.


    "Of course,¡± she called back.


    "Yet you yourself are close to reaching spiritual refinement." Joshi studied the path ahead as they raced upward. The easiest route curved around the edge of the mountain. He saw no sign of those they were chasing.


    "I am on a tight schedule," she pointed out. "If I have not reached Spiritual Refinement by the last phase of this tournament, I will be eliminated."


    "Then what will you give me if I ensure you reach the top of the mountain and make no claim on the elixir myself?" he asked.


    "I''m already giving you as many of the rewards as I can,¡± Li Jiya puffed. "None of this does me any good if I don''t win. I don''t have anything else to offer except my goodwill."


    Joshi considered. He had no real stake in Li Jiya''s winning or losing this tournament, though he dearly wished to make it far enough to train with a prism. What he needed¡­ was strong allies. Perhaps instead of resenting the Oaken Band¡¯s interference, he could cultivate their aid. After all, their master was a man strong enough to wed his daughter to the son of a provincial governor: Min¡¯s grandfather might not be a nobleman or a cultivator, but he was a force to be reckoned with. Like Joshi¡¯s own father, he was a leader, which made him a potential ally. Yes. Allies were worth more than treasure.


    With that, Joshi made up his mind. "If you win the tournament, I want a favor. Something I can hold in reserve.¡±


    ¡°Anything in my power to grant,¡± Li Jiya promised at once.


    "And whether you win or not, I want you to give Chang-li a copy of the secrets you brought from Moon Whispers." The more knowledge his friend possessed, the more likely Chang-li would find the answers they both needed. And it was just the sort of thing they could barter for gold without risking their own sect secrets.


    Li Jiya glanced over her shoulder at him as she ran. Her hair streamed out behind her. Despite their furious pace, three times as fast as an ordinary man could possibly run, she was not out of breath.


    "I left my sect behind. That doesn''t mean I''ll betray their secrets."


    "Why protect them? They were willing to let your brother die for the sake of their secrets."


    Li Jiya''s expression darkened. "So they were,¡± she spat. After a moment more, she said, "Very well. But only if we win this challenge."


    "Done." Joshi agreed and put on another burst of speed, racing out ahead of Li Jiya.


    He rounded a bend on the mountainside, and there were the other two, just a short way ahead of him¡ªone bride and her escort. Both were women, so he couldn''t tell which was the bride and which was the cultivator. He didn''t recognize them by sight, though their robes were those of the Azure Flame sect.


    One glanced over her shoulder and saw him. They both put on a blast of speed. If Joshi had been certain which was the bridal candidate, he would have tried to leap in on them and knock her from the fight at once. Instead, he sent Magen racing on ahead, trying to get a look. The lux creature zipped around the pair. Neither wore any distinctive ornamentation. They were both dark-haired, beautiful young women, their features close enough that they seemed to be sisters or cousins.


    If that were the case, perhaps attacking one would cause the other to come to her aid. Joshi told Magen to circle around them at knee height. Then, when the lux creature was in the perfect position, he lashed out with a Thousand Fist technique. The reflected blow from Magen took one of the two in the kneecap. She stumbled and fell. The other paused briefly, but catching sight of Joshi hot on their heels, she raced on ahead.


    Joshi allowed himself a quick smile. So that one was the bridal candidate. He crouched, filling himself with physical lux, and then leapt high into the air, aiming right for the fleeing woman. He enforced his fist with red and yellow lux as he fell. He¡¯d need more than just a shockwave to catch a full-fledged cultivator off guard. The yellow resisted his commands, fighting, but he wrestled it alongside the red.


    When his Meteor Punch crashed into the earth, the yellow lux exploded out of him, sending up a gout of fire and flames. It took the bride by surprise. She stumbled away, and he was on her, punching.


    His upbringing among the Darwur had conditioned him not to engage in physical fights with women, as they were almost always shorter, weaker, and with less reach than himself. The monks of Harupa had included plenty of female cultivators who had knocked that notion right out of him. Once cultivation was involved, the basic physical distinctions between a man and a woman became far less important. This bride was either at the Peak of Spiritual Refinement or nearing it. She was unquestionably stronger than Joshi. His only chance was to keep her off balance.


    He rushed in with a flurry of blows, punching in a dozen different directions. Behind him, Li Jiya shouted, "I''ll be right there." She must be tussling with the other sect member.


    But now the bride candidate regained her footing. She snarled and raised her hands, weaving a technique between her fingers, lacing red, green, and blue lux together to form a shield. Joshi''s next blow was deflected, and his momentum carried him to the side. She snapped the weave shut. Joshi barely pulled his hand back in time as the technique closed like jaws. He could feel the bite in the air inches from his fingers.


    She was already casting another weave with her right hand¡ªthis one orange wrapped around yellow, similar to Chang-li''s firepot. He and Chang-li had practiced enough together for him to have a good counter. Joshi formed a small, round red shield on his left wrist with a spike of orange lux. The weave splashed against his shield, his orange spike piercing through the orange casing of his rival''s technique.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The yellow lux inside crashed against his shield, not with the flame he''d been expecting, but with a blast of ice that reached past the edges and chilled him. Joshi lashed out with a sweeping roundhouse kick, catching the bride in the stomach and kicking her backward. She gave an "oof" as she flew back and landed, twisting deftly, one hand raised.


    Joshi prepared himself for her next technique. Instead, a crushing blow fell against him, unseen. He nearly dropped to his knees under its weight. It was like the whole mountain had fallen on him. She was using her will as a weapon. Joshi gritted his teeth and struggled to stand.


    This was the technique of a cultivator at the Peak of Spiritual Refinement for certain¡ªable to use her will as an extension of herself. On the other hand, fighting against this was the perfect opportunity for Joshi to train his own will. He still didn''t understand what it would take to go from where he was to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, but the few hints he and Chang-li had unearthed suggested it was tied up in learning to properly exercise his will.


    Joshi focused hard, imagining a shield in front of him. That instinctively drew his red lux out and formed it into a physical shield, which wasn''t what he''d intended at all. He¡¯d wanted to focus his will, not his lux. The bride lashed out with her other hand, a sweeping whip of orange lux darting out. Joshi stepped to the side to put the lux shield in the path of the attack. His dodge should¡¯ve been smooth, but her oppressive will made him stagger.


    Behind him, he heard a woman cry. He couldn''t look back to see whether it was Li Jiya or her opponent, but as he remained on the field, Li Jiya must still be in the fight. Joshi brought his arms up, his red lux bracers in the air in front of him.


    So be it. He would push through. He put his head down and took a step forward. The bride''s face writhed in agony as she reinforced her will. Either she wasn''t truly at the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, or she wasn''t very practiced at this yet. Though Joshi could feel how much stronger her will was than his, she couldn''t seem to bring it properly to bear.


    He took another step. She was intent on him, her eyes burning with focus¡ªso intent that when Li Jiya appeared beside her, swinging the crescent-bladed polearm, the bride noticed only an instant before it fell across her. She turned, throwing up a red lux shield of her own, but too late. The polearm descended, cutting through her shield, and came to rest on her breast.


    The tableau froze. Eri appeared, hovering above them, sitting cross-legged, with her hair streaming out behind her. She was smiling and laughing as she observed.


    "Well, well. I did not have such high expectations of your sect. It seems I shall need to spend more time looking into you. Well done." She waved a hand, and the bride vanished.


    Joshi ignored the prism. He caught his breath and started once more up the mountain. A moment later Li Jiya fell into step beside him.


    Eri continued along, floating just ahead of them. "You haven''t lost sight of the goal? That''s excellent. Perhaps I should warn you that the next group is only a minute or two behind you. Your friend did buy you a few seconds with his sacrifice. So that was nice."


    Joshi didn''t like to hear her use the word "sacrifice." Surely, just like the others, Chang-li had been pulled from this place. The prism was just trying to get under his skin. He didn''t have any time to worry about it, though. The peak loomed ahead of them. A sloping scree field about three hundred feet long led up to it. On the far side of the scree was a craggy face of rock. It was dangerously sheer but it did offer another way up.


    "Which way?" Li Jiya shouted back to him.


    In answer, Joshi dashed out, crossing just below the bottom of the scree field. Better to climb the cliff than to risk getting caught in an avalanche of scree. Li Jiya followed. "They''re nearly here!¡±


    Joshi reached the bottom of the cliff and started up, Li Jiya right behind him. They raced forward, upward, Joshi wishing he had more ranged attacks.


    Joshi glanced back. A pair of cultivators had reached the bottom of the scree field, but instead of following them toward the rock face, they turned and began to make their way up the loose rock. They made surprisingly good time.


    "Can we dislodge them?" he called to Li Jiya.


    "I don¡¯t see how."


    They both had their hands full with climbing. A technique might dislodge the scree if they had a hand free to weave, but it would also stop their own climb.


    There were a pair of male cultivators with this bride. One of them was within fifty feet of the top of the scree, and Joshi still had almost as much cliff to climb.


    ¡°Make this worth it,¡± he told Li Jiya. ¡°I want us to make it high enough to receive the prism¡¯s tutelage. Chang-li, too.¡±


    Then, before he could allow himself to think, he used his Meteor Punch ability to push off from the cliff face itself. To his relief, it worked. Used so close to the surface, it only launched him backward and didn¡¯t explode the rock. He twisted in the air and came down just above the foremost of the cultivators. His landing shook the entire hillside.


    The cultivator in front of him looked smug as he readied his spear for a lunge. Then the whole scree field began to give way under their feet. The cultivator''s eyes went wide as his legs went out from under him.


    Joshi fought to stay upright as the whole field began to slide. A plume of dust filled the air. There was a great shrieking crunch as the rocks gathered speed. He was sliding down them, carried along by a wild river.


    The rival bride was knocked off her feet and disappeared beneath dust and stone. Joshi''s own footing slid away, and he was torn from his perch, thrown forward. Heavy stone crashed over him. He had just time to think how foolish he was for relying on the word of an imperial cultivator before everything went dark.


    <hr>


    "Well done," Eri told the victor of her challenge. The young cultivator, Li Jiya, held out a hand as Eri extended the promised elixir to her. It was contained in a small multifaceted crystal vial. The liquid inside gave off shifting colors¡ªnow blue, now purple, now green. Eri herself had brewed it, and it would, as promised, bring any cultivator to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement.


    There were a few caveats. Eri sighed. Knowing her fellow prisms were watching, she warned the Young Master from the Morning Mist Sect, "If you give this elixir to a cultivator who has not yet reached Mental Refinement, it will overwhelm their mind and drive them irrevocably mad. If you give it to a cultivator who has not reached Bodily Refinement, they''ll just explode."


    Li Jiya looked at it gingerly. "I wouldn''t waste this on an unworthy disciple." she said.


    Eri approved. "Of course, if you take it yourself, your lux channels will be frozen in whatever pattern this elixir leaves them in. Progressing past Spiritual Refinement will be impossible, but then, for so many, it already is." Eri gave her most winning smile. "Congratulations, Li Jiya, you are the winner of this competition." She waved a hand, at the same time working an indigo weave to twist space, returning Li Jiya to her sect, just as she had sent back Li Jiya''s two companions.


    Eri was already pushing the patience of the other two prisms here by joining in their little competition so late and changing up the rules. She had promised not to damage any of the competitors. This forced her to pay extra attention so she could snatch competitors from the moment of harm.


    Eri liked this sort of display of her power. It was good to remind the most promising of the next generation of cultivators just what a gap there was between themselves and a prism, and if it meant that some of them thought she truly had the power over life and death, so be it. She was burning copious indigo and violet lux but she was pleased with the dramatic effect. She was able to step in at the moment of a crippling or fatal blow, and then sending them away in one piece. The few she had mis-timed had cost her only a few high-quality healing elixirs.


    Nai Hong didn''t approve of her showing off like this. He was stodgy and growing old. The last prism of the previous generation, he ought to have moved on and ascended along with his peers, but he refused. The emperor had indulged him, probably because he was one of the few cultivators who could give the emperor a decent game of shaka.


    That was no excuse in Eri''s mind. Lesser cultivators might believe that all prisms were equal rank and served the emperor in the same way. She knew better, just as she knew that her ranking as fifth out of the six was no actual mark of her true skill.


    Now Eri appeared to the losing teams and sent them on their way, before at last joining up with her own bridal candidate, Mai Wen. Mai had lost one of her escorts. The other looked pretty tired. Eri dismissed him and wove a quick shroud around herself and Mai out of indigo and violet lux. It would hide them from the view of any eavesdropping prism. Nai Hong or Nai Lin could tear through her shroud easily enough, but she''d know if they did.


    "You performed adequately," she told Mai Wen, who knelt before her. Mai Wen had, at Eri''s direction, focused her attention on disrupting the efforts of the other sects. She had been responsible for eliminating six cultivators from the competition.


    "I don''t understand why you wouldn''t let me go all out and win the prize," Mai Wen complained.


    "It is far more important to put the fear of you in the lesser competitors," Eri said. "Word of your performance will spread, and they will hesitate in other contests. Besides, you didn''t want that prize. I knew whoever won would be one of your strongest competitors. I am surprised it was this Morning Mist Sect, and I need to look more closely at them."


    She was particularly impressed by how Li Jiya had inspired both of her escorts to sacrifice themselves in order to allow her to climb higher. She had not expected it from a sect she''d never even heard of before. Cultivators of this rank fought to gain an edge over each other, even cultivators in the same sect.


    Li Jiya was impressive, to command such loyalty, but now Eri had sown a seed of discord in their ranks. The elixir would be a tantalizing boon. So few cultivators made it to the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. It was easy, when lost in that slog, to be tempted by the offer of quick progression. Probably three out of five cultivators would accept, even knowing that it barred them from future advancement.


    "You have pleased me today," Eri assured her. "Go ahead and celebrate. But you will need to focus on your training after this. I have gotten you entrance into this competition. You will need to do the rest."


    She banished Mai Wen back to the sect''s compound and allowed herself to float here in her meditation chamber. The first step was done, the first link in a chain that would lead her to greatness or to utter destruction. There was no middle ground for her here.

 Bk 3 Ch 14: Cloudy Thoughts

    "And remember," Min was telling the senior disciples, "you are now fully-fledged members of our sect and cultivators. The Gem Court will be looking at you as potential spouses. Be very careful. If you set a foot wrong, you could end up married before you know it."


    She gave Chang-li a wry smile. "Ask me how I know. Don''t go off in back rooms with anyone. Don''t accept drinks from the Gem nobles themselves. You can take them from the servants if you have to. And remember, Purification of Mind and Soul removes contaminants from your body. So keep some lux in your core at all times. Don''t use any of your other cycling techniques though. Other cultivators may see it as a challenge."


    Chang-li couldn¡¯t resist a groan. Min looked at Chang-li, biting her lip. "What?"


    Chang-li raised an eyebrow. "That''s a lot more information than anyone gave me before my first cultivator party. Does the Gem Court really employ that sort of trickery?"


    "If they need to," Min said briskly. "I don''t know most of these Gem nobles as well as I did the ones at Golden Moon Tower. Some of my peers take their duties very seriously."


    She dismissed the disciples, all of whom were wearing cleanly pressed Morning Mist robes. The sect had received an invitation to the sunset soiree, which would take place up on the Crown, though not at the governor''s palace. All the cultivators who had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement were invited.


    Min looked around. "Where''s Joshi?"


    "He left already," Chang-li said. "He and Li Jiya had strategy to discuss." Chang-li had decided to wait until Min was ready. This would be their first social event as a married couple, and he was looking forward to walking in with Min on his arm. She looked beautiful tonight, having added a red sash to her sect robes and a pair of ruby earrings to complete her ensemble. Chang-li felt almost shabby beside her. He wished he''d gotten around to having a sect ring made for himself. "Shall we?"


    Min followed him out of the house. It would be about a 20-minute climb to reach the Crown.


    "Now that you''re married, you might think you''re immune from Gem Court machinations, but you''re not," Min told him as they went. "The game has just changed, that''s all. And of course, there''s lots of sect politicking. I''ve been to two lunches and an afternoon tea with the other cultivator spouses here. They''re a cutthroat lot." She shook her head. "They''ve been underestimating us, but if Li Jiya comes in the top three in the rankings, that''s going to change.¡±


    Chang-li admitted, ¡°The Prism politics are what worries me.¡±


    ¡°I saw a good bit of Prism Nai Hong growing up. He often spends a couple of weeks at a time here in Vardin City, though Riceflower is only one of the provinces under his supervision. He''s terrifying." She shuddered. "We had an uprising among the farmers across the valley a few years back. Their crops failed and they were making demands of the government. My grandfather called Prism Nai Hong to support him. He appeared and executed the leaders of the rebellion with the snap of his fingers. I wasn''t supposed to watch, but I was there. He''s definitely not a man to cross."


    The gulf between where Chang-li stood and the Prism seemed unclimbable. He had yet to make any serious efforts to reach the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, and after that, another entire set of challenges lay ahead of him.


    It was said that anyone who had a decent cycling technique and access to lux could reach Bodily Refinement. Of those who did, perhaps a quarter, would reach the Peak of Mental Refinement, and half of those would go on to reach the Peak of Spiritual Refinement.


    From there, the gap yawned. According to Scribe Wulan, only one in fifty of the disciples who had come to the original Morning Mist sect could ever take the path from Spiritual Refinement to Lux Embodiment. After that came the mysterious ranks of Lux Investiture and Lux Dominion, ranks he¡¯d seen listed in scrolls but had no idea what they meant. None of the Grandmasters he¡¯d met had been cultivators stronger than Lux Embodiment. Yet he hungered to know more.


    ¡°You¡¯re lost in thought,¡± Min observed as they crossed another petal on their ascension.


    ¡°With this new Prism showing up, I''m worried that we''re about to be caught in a power struggle between Prisms." Chang-li shuddered at that thought. "We studied the First and Second Prism Wars in school. It was part of our training to understand just how vitally important it is to maintain peace throughout the empire."


    "Yes," Min agreed. "I never could understand why the Emperor allowed the Prisms to fight." The First Prism War had been over eight hundred years ago. Chang-li supposed the true history of that conflict was lost to time. The Second Prism War had been a mere two hundred and fifty years ago. It was said some regions still bore the scars. In each case, the wars had lasted for years, devastating the empire before at last the Emperor chose to intervene. Every Prism of both eras had been killed or forced to ascend.


    "The Emperor protects us from threats beyond our border," Min said. "So why does he permit his own Prisms to inflict death?"


    Chang-li shook his head. ¡°It''s only happened twice in the history of the empire. Everyone knows that beyond the borders of the empire, the peak cultivators are constantly fighting with each other, leaving the world devastated. To them, I guess two wars in a thousand years might sound pretty good."


    "You''re right about that," Min said briskly. "Anyway, according to Jai-lin, the Dowager and her people have been delivering lots of lectures to the Gem nobles, reminding them of their duty to the empire."


    "What, to keep us cultivators in line?" Chang-li joked.


    Min shrugged. ¡°More or less. Especially the higher-ranked Gems have been raised knowing that''s our chief purpose in life. My brothers and I were only red-ranked nobles. None of us necessarily had to marry cultivators. Well, obviously, Yuan-li is to be governor of the province. But I keep telling Jai-lin he doesn''t need to find a cultivator spouse if he doesn''t want to. He could focus on his music and poetry. He''s quite a decent poet, actually," she added. "When we were children, it was expected he would follow in Grandfather Jiang''s footsteps as Eldest Brother of the Oaken Band. But by the time he was ten and I was eight, I could tell that wasn''t going to happen. That''s why I convinced our grandfathers to let me take his place."


    "If you were planning to lead the Oaken Band, why did you join the Court of Gems?" Chang-li asked. He''d been wondering that. Min¡¯s dueling loyalties worried him. She''d been scrupulous so far to work on behalf of the Morning Mist sect. But from her point of view, the Morning Mist sect was really just a cultivator training program for the Oaken Band Brotherhood. When those loyalties clashed, what would Min decide?This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "I came looking for a cultivator that I could bring back to the Brotherhood. With even a single cultivator at the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, none of the other Brotherhoods in Riceflower Province would have been any kind of threat to us," Min said.


    That didn¡¯t help Chang-li¡¯s growing concern about Min¡¯s loyalties. The Morning Mist sect had a dozen new disciples, but they weren¡¯t truly Morning Mist. They were Oaken Band, and Chang-li knew their loyalties ¨C like Min¡¯s ¨C were to the Brotherhood, not to the sect.


    But how else could it be? Morning Mist wasn¡¯t a real sect. Min knew better than anyone that it was a fraud. Only¡­ he was striving to make it more than that.


    Min hesitated. ¡°There¡¯s something we should discuss. Later. When we have some time. I ¡ª my grandfather has some plans that I¡¯m worried about.¡±


    They were almost up to the Crown ring. Cultivators from other sects were filling the walkway and ramps.


    ¡°Right,¡± Chang-li agreed. ¡°After this?¡±


    She seemed to give a little shudder, but nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± As they reached the Crown, Min seemed to know where she was going. They turned left and continued along the ring.


    Chang-li pulled up short as the venue for the party came into sight.


    "What is that?" Min was staring too. "I''ve never seen anything like that."


    Off the edge of the ring was another platform Chang-li was certain hadn''t been there on his last visit to the Crown. It was a golden cloud, at least 300 feet on a side, 10 or 15 feet thick from what he could see, its inner mass blossoming with light like a thunderstorm was trapped inside, trying to get out. Atop the cloud was a fantastic wonderland village of buildings, two and three stories tall, with sharply sloping roofs and tall wooden spires. They were a style he hadn''t seen before. The buildings themselves were made of unadorned wood, not painted, but instead of looking like a peasant''s hovel, the different shades of wood seemed to complement each other. The roofs themselves were of thick thatched straw that glowed as golden as the cloud itself. The houses were straight, with tall rectangular windows looking out from under their eaves, and the higher floors overhung the lowest level of each.


    A rainbow bridge led from the edge of the Crown Ring, where a section of the low parapet had been removed, out into the cloud. The bridge was thirty feet long, with no railing. It was wide enough for him and Min to walk comfortably side by side without either of them feeling as though they were going to fall off. They strode across, Chang-li''s attention torn between the bridge under his feet, which gave off a soft chime with every step, and the structure ahead. The whole place reeked of lux. He could feel the density like nothing he''d experienced before. Even the Golden Moon Tower didn''t have this density of lux.


    They stepped off the bridge and were immediately greeted by servants wearing black robes marked with the badge of the Golden Locks School. Chang-li recognized it only from a description he''d heard from one of the disciples.


    "Welcome to the Palace of Air and Dreams," the first servant said, bowing deeply.


    "This is Prism Eri''s sect headquarters?" Chang-li asked as he looked around, boggling.


    "It is one of her headquarters," the servant agreed. "Not her largest. Just the most convenient to move across the empire when she wishes to bring a few of her followers with her."


    "I thought the party was to be jointly hosted by all three Prisms," Min said.


    The servant smiled and shook his head, just a hint of superiority in his gaze. "Prism Eri requested the right to host, as she is accepting the hospitality of Vardin City herself. Come, mingle with the others. The Prisms will address us all soon enough."


    The cloud under Chang-li''s feet felt solid enough, but little wisps of golden air pulled themselves off and drifted away. He tried not to think about just how far down it was to the surface of the lake. He and Min strolled across the surface of the cloud toward a cluster of Vardin City officials.


    "Did you know Prisms could do something like this?" Chang-li whispered.


    Min shook her head. "Prism Nai Hong is a solitary man. His daughter manages the sect that he once ran, but I don''t think she has anything like this."


    They joined the Vardin City officials. Min made introductions. Chang-li tried to keep their names straight. One of the men was the head of scribes here in Vardin City. Inspector Agra looked Chang-li over with an appraising look.


    "I''ve heard that you were a scribe yourself until recently."


    "I was," Chang-li agreed.


    "I hope you haven''t entirely abandoned your training."


    "Not at all. In fact, I find there''s plenty of work for a scribe in a sect as small as Morning Mist. We have no other scribe. Until we do, I am handling the sect paperwork and histories."


    "Good, good," the inspector said. "And how are you liking Vardin City?"


    "It''s exceeded my expectations," Chang-li said honestly. "But this is beyond even that." He gestured around at the cloud.


    "Yes, we are all awed by Prism Eri''s magnificence," the inspector said. He sounded snide, and his nose rose just a bit, as though he smelled something sour.


    Further conversation was cut off as abruptly Chang-li felt the overwhelming presence of a high-tier cultivator. Then there they were, hanging in midair above the center of the cloud. Nai Hong wore his scintillating robes with the air of a man who has just gotten out of bed. There was no wrinkle or stain anywhere on the robes, of course, and his hair was in good order, yet he somehow gave off the impression of being unprepared for this. His daughter, Nai Lin, was as gorgeous as the first time Chang-li had laid eyes on her. Her lips were crimson red, her flawless skin glowing from a light inside. Today she wore a tiara of diamonds atop her brow.


    Eri, on the other hand, wore her robes with the front loosened, revealing her ample cleavage. Her hair was down, flowing out behind her in the wind, while a single curl framed each side of her face. She''d done something with her robes so that they parted enough to show flashes of her calves. Chang-li decided to keep his eyes fixed on her face.


    "Welcome, bridal candidates and your escorts," Nai Hong said. "We are pleased to have all of you in attendance here. We are approaching the end of the first month of the tournament. As promised, it is time to announce the two contendors removed from this tournament, as well as share the current rankings. While we know there have been upset ¡ª¡°


    Eri laughed. ¡°He means to say that I''ve rather upset the cabbage cart here by bringing in another contestant and shaking up the standings. I have agreed that any further changes will be made only in consort with my fellow Prisms. After all, we are all united in our desire to serve the Emperor. What better way to do that than by ensuring that his bride is the greatest of all the candidates? That said, thank you for attending. The Golden Locks School is pleased to host you all here tonight."


    "For those of you who have not had a chance to meet her, I would like to introduce to you my candidate in the bridal tournament, cultivator Mai Wen.¡± She pointed, and a beam of light extended from her finger down to a young woman standing beneath them, wearing the robes of the Golden Locks sect. She too had a yellowish cast to her brown hair. She looked supremely self-controlled. She was a little taller than Li Jiya, probably a good six inches taller than Min.


    Min was frowning and drumming her fingers against her other arm. "Well, doesn''t she look like the cat who''s licked the cream? I see the family resemblance."


    "Now the standings," Eri said. "In first place, Zhen Yi of Crimson Orchid. In second place, Li Jiya of Morning Mist. In third, Mai Wen of Golden Locks." She waved a hand dismissively, and a series of names appeared in the air. "The other six don''t matter very much. If you''re not in the top three, what are you even doing at this competition? But there they are for any of you who wish to see."


    Chang-li let out a deep sigh of relief. Li Jiya was in second place, behind the first-place contender, but ahead of Mai Wen. They''d have to stay wary.


    Eri was still talking. ¡°Now, in order to keep this more interesting, the Prisms and I have agreed to start allowing bridal candidates into the Tower every third day instead of every fourth, and we will be sending in three groups at a time. We¡¯ll be watching, making sure confrontations between sects don¡¯t get too out of hand. Though if you take on a challenge that''s too hard for you and are torn to shreds by the tower beast''s claws and teeth, we won¡¯t intervene." She smiled, showing her teeth. ¡°So, without further ado, please do go ahead and mingle. We hope all of you have a wonderful time here tonight."

 Bk 3 Ch 15: Announcement

    Hiroko struggled through the crowd of cultivators and hangers-on. Everyone wanted a word with her. She couldn''t just brush past them and be gone. She had to exchange pleasantries, inquire after sect members, and listen to boasts about their stories. All the while, she was keeping her eyes open for Joshi.


    She had visited the Morning Mist sect, only to find he and Chang-li were out. After speaking with Min, she¡¯d resolved to find Joshi at the party before the announcement and tell him what was to happen.


    That was proving hard. She''d caught sight of a bald head on the other side of a crowd a few minutes ago, but by the time she pushed through, he was gone, if it had been him at all.


    The Golden Locks cloud city was an extravagant showing of the prism''s power. Hiroko had seen similar before. Even Prisms were, if not a common sight in the Imperial grounds, at least one she''d been familiar with, and it was hard to remind herself that everyone else here was more taken aback than she was.


    Then, at last, she spotted him. He was speaking with Li Jiya and a cultivator from one of the other sects. They appeared upset about something. Hiroko disentangled herself from her latest batch of would-be suitors and crossed to him, her slippers kicking up little puffs of golden mist as she went.


    Li Jiya turned as Hiroko approached and bowed. "Princess Hiroko, welcome.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations on your current standing,¡± Hiroko said.¡±


    Li Jiya looked almost smug. "Yes, Prism Eri¡¯s contest went well for us, I think." She looked at Joshi with an admiring gaze. "I think my champions and I have a good chance to win this whole thing."


    Hiroko felt a quick stab of jealousy from the way Li Jiya was looking at Joshi, but that wasn''t reasonable. Li Jiya was competing to become one of the brides of the Emperor. She took a deep breath. "I need a word with Cultivator Joshi, please."


    Li Jiya raised an eyebrow but nodded and hurried off, followed by the other cultivator. Now Hiroko was as alone as she was going to get with her unknowing, soon-to-be fianc¨¦. Others were watching them curiously from a barely-polite distance. Hiroko quickly wove a simple blue lux technique she''d been working on. It didn''t block out sound, but it did make it hard for anyone else to overhear them.


    Joshi looked at the weave as she wrapped them in it. "What''s this?"


    "I just wanted a quick word," she said. She took a deep breath. "Joshi, about Feng." Oh no, that was a terrible way to start. This was coming out all wrong, but she plunged on nevertheless. "I mean, I thought it was my duty. He was a dangerous agent on his own, with no one to rein in his worst tendencies. Exactly the sort of cultivator who can''t be permitted to make the climb alone. I thought I had to marry him in order to tame those inclinations. I was, when you, that is¡ª¡° She was blundering worse and worse.


    Joshi''s expression had gone from confused to completely blank, and she could feel the anger rising off of him. "You have no need to explain yourself to me, princess," he said sharply. "I understand what it was you thought you were doing. Had Feng beaten me, your intercession would doubtless have been necessary. I know the role of a cultivator spouse is to tame a cultivator''s own impulses, shackling him to the emperor. You were only doing your duty."


    "That''s not it at all," Hiroko began to protest. Oh, this was going so much worse than she thought. If only she''d found a way to have this conversation before telling the dowager that she would wed Joshi. "There''s something else you need to¡ª"


    Joshi cut her off, each of his words a brutal knife to her soul. ¡°The thing is, Princess, you have the potential to be one of the most skilled cultivators I¡¯ve ever seen. The things you can do with blue lux are beyond anything I¡¯ve seen of cultivators two tiers higher than you ¡ª and yet here you sit, content to be part of a system that doesn¡¯t value you, or me, or anyone. We¡¯re all just pieces in the great machine. You¡¯re a particularly valuable one not for your own talents, the way it should be, but as a means to controlling others.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. All these resources at your fingertips and you¡¯re not using them. Have you even been inside this tower since arriving here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked, but ¡ª¡±


    ¡°A princess has to ask?¡± He looked disgusted. ¡°A princess commands. A cultivator advances. You¡¯re letting them make you nothing more than a golden chain¡ª¡±


    Hiroko''s blue weave snapped. She felt the lux rebounding on her. It flowed back into her, bringing a wave of nausea. Then suddenly, she and Joshi were standing in midair in front of Prism Eri.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "There you are, Hiroko darling," Eri said, her words all trailing just a little too long. "I hoped I''d see you here tonight. And who''s this with you? I recognize Cultivator Joshi of the Morning Mists. Yes, I was fascinated by your sect''s performance in my little challenge yesterday. You rose to the occasion most beautifully." She looked him over. "And your face. I thought all the Darwur look alike to me. But I don''t think that''s it, is it? You must be a relative of Khan Amir-Lein.¡±


    Joshi''s face was flushed, his hands curled into fists. "My father," he growled.


    "Oh, that''s a terrible shame," Eri said. When Joshi narrowed his eyes, she added, "You hadn''t heard?" She raised a hand to her lips and gasped theatrically. "Well, I''m sorry to be the one to tell you, but General Nu Zahn has defeated the Darwur in battle. Khan Amir-Lein fell defending his people, and it is said his sons are scattered to the wind. No one expects it to take General of the West more than a few months to mop up the remainder of the rebellion. He''s likely to be elevated to prism himself." She turned to Hiroko and gave a head nod of token respect. "My congratulations, my dear. I only wish your mother could be alive to see your father covered in such glory." She turned back to Joshi. "Again, my deepest condolences. I am sorry for your loss. I am hoping to speak with you again later on a more convenient occasion. I think I might have a proposition for you."


    She snapped her fingers. Suddenly, Hiroko and Joshi were back on the cloud with the babble of voices all around them. Joshi was staring, his face etched with lines of pain and anger Hiroko had never seen before. Not even when he''d first set foot in the Golden Moon Tower and removed his slave collar had he looked this angry.


    "Your father is the General of the West?"


    "Yes," Hiroko managed. Her heart was a ball of ice. "I thought you knew." Then she realized she''d never quite come out and said so. "I mean, I haven''t seen him in most of a decade. I''ve lived all my life inside the Imperial Gardens and..."


    Joshi closed his eyes. His shoulders slumped. He looked defeated. "I suppose it''s not your fault," he managed.


    "I didn''t know any of this," Hiroko said. She stepped forward, her hand reaching toward Joshi, but caught herself and forced her arm back to her side. "I swear, I didn''t know this. The Dowager was worried about me getting caught up in a prism scheme. She... she told me I needed to make a decision. I... I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to..."


    But as Joshi opened his eyes to look at her, there was a burst of fanfare and Prism Nai Hong appeared at their elbows with the Dowager in tow. He didn''t make such a flashy thing of it as Eri. They had come walking through the crowd, which parted easily for them. Now everyone turned to look at the Dowager as she raised her hands for attention. Hundreds of pairs of eyes focused.


    The Dowager smiled as she addressed Hiroko. "And here I find you together. How perfect," she said. "Prism Nai Hong, I would like to present to you Indigo Princess Hiroko and her affianced spouse, Young Master Joshi of the Morning Mist''s sect."


    Joshi''s eyes bulged out of his head. There was a vein on the side of his neck that stood out, throbbing. "Affianced spouse?" he growled and looked at Hiroko. She shot him a quick look, trying to communicate her confusion and worry and regret. "I''m sorry," she mouthed. "I meant to¡ª"


    ¡°How fortunate!¡± Prism Nai Hong declared. "Any time an Indigo Princess marries is a momentous occasion, and this, following so closely on her father''s great victories in the West, is most notable. I presume the Morning Mist sect will wish to travel to the West and seek the General''s patronage once this bridal tournament is complete. Word is the Emperor is going to make General Nu Zahn his next prism, now that the war is all but over."


    "I¡ª" Hiroko found herself babbling and forced her mouth closed. Joshi just stood there. The Dowager stared at the two of them, then smiled and turned to the crowd.


    "Let us offer a toast in the happy couple''s honor." Servants appeared, carrying cups. As the subjects of the toast, at least Hiroko and Joshi, weren''t forced to accept an offering, but they had to stand there as the drinks were served to the crowd, and the crowd raised their cups and shouted, "Best wishes aloud."


    Joshi looked murderous. As the Dowager and the Prism at last moved off, he turned to Hiroko. "What have you done?"


    "I¡ªI meant to talk to you. I was trying to tell you¡ª"


    He shook his head. "I don''t need a spouse."


    "I¡ª" She looked away, biting her lip. "The Dowager told me I had to marry, and I was so afraid of making another mistake like I did with Feng. I¡ªthat is¡ªI''m fond of you, Joshi. We''ve shared struggles together, and at least I know you."


    "You know nothing of me," Joshi said, before striding off into the crowd. Hands reached out to slap his back congratulatory. She heard more well-wishes and forced herself to turn away.


    There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Hiroko felt hot shame rising in her cheeks and wished the cloud would part and let her plummet to her death in the lake below. She wanted to get out of here. With so many eyes on her, how could she?


    And then someone came up beside her and linked an arm through hers. "Smile and walk with me," Min hissed, and Hiroko took a deep breath before forcing a false smile to her lips.


    "Whew," Min said in her ear, as the two moved off into the crowd together. "That didn''t go well. I really wish you had told me the real reason for your visit. We could¡¯ve avoided this.


    "I- I¡¯m sorry," Hiroko stammered. ¡°I wanted to.¡±


    "Yes, but that went about as badly as it possibly could have.¡±


    ¡°He just found out that my father killed his." Hiroko stole a glance at Min''s face. The red-ranked girl was a couple of inches taller than Hiroko, and her training at controlling her emotions clearly wasn''t as advanced. Min closed her eyes for an instant, looking pained, before opening them again.


    "Well, so be it. The engagement has been announced by a dowager and a prism both, which means it''s impossible to call off. We will find a way to smooth this over without destroying the sect. Your future is tied to ours now, Hiroko. We will find a way out of this mess."

 Bk 3 Ch 16: So, About That...

    As Chang-li watched Joshi storm off through the crowd, Min released his arm. "Go after him!" she hissed. "Don''t let him say or do anything irrevocable. I''ll find Hiroko."


    Chang-li was still trying to process what had just happened. Princess Hiroko had declared she would marry Joshi. That was good, wasn''t it? Min didn''t seem to be taken by surprise, though Chang-li was. Hiroko and Joshi would make a good couple.


    Joshi''s face was dark with rage. He was heading for the rainbow bridge back over to the Crown. Chang-li hurried after him. People kept stopping to congratulate him on his sect achievements. Here came Li Jiya through the crowd, her eyes wide with excitement as she caught up to him.


    "Did you know this was going to happen?" she asked. "Where''s Joshi going? I wanted to congratulate him."


    Chang-li shook his head. "I need to speak with Joshi. You should stay here at the party. We can''t all leave. If anyone asks, tell them that the Morning Mist Sect is happy to welcome Princess Hiroko or whatever the appropriate wording would be."


    "Understood," Li Jiya said before letting him go.


    He''d completely lost sight of Joshi now, and there was still nearly a quarter of the golden cloud left to cross before he reached the bridge. Chang-li strode on determinedly.


    An obsequious official detached himself from the throng. He wore the emblem of the Court of Gems but was not anyone Chang-li had met before.


    "I am the third assistant undersecretary to the Dowager Pearl," he said in a nasally voice. "I''ll be working with your sect to ensure all of the paperwork is in order for the upcoming nuptials between Princess Hiroko and your Young Master Joshi. I''ll need an appointment once your sect grandmaster arrives to begin the process."


    Chang-li pulled up short. He blinked down at the puffy-faced, balding little man. "None of our sect grandmasters are present," he said.


    The little man made a clicking sound, his eyes wide. "I am afraid we must have someone of sufficient status to negotiate the nuptial matters. The bride''s dowry, her ranking within the sect, your sect''s updated records..."


    "Ugh," Chang-li managed. He looked around for Min, but she was nowhere to be found. "We didn''t have anything of that sort when I married my wife a few weeks ago."


    The official gave him a patronizing look. "Yes, well, you will find that matters concerning an Indigo Princess are slightly more regulated and involved than those involving a lady of the lower ranks." He very pointedly looked at the red stripe on Chang-li''s robes. ¡°Do let me know as soon as the grandmaster arrives, please.¡±


    ¡°Of course," Chang-li promised, hoping that Min would know what to do here.


    "Excellent. I''ll need a copy of Young Master Joshi''s cultivation license along with all endorsements at that time so that we can have it validated by the imperial office. Oh, and..." but Chang-li had brushed past the official and made his way toward the bridge.


    When he finally cleared the crowd, Joshi was nowhere to be seen. Chang-li raced forward, retracing his steps along the crowd and back down toward the petal where the Morning Mist House was.


    All the while, his brain was working furiously. Min had been right to warn him. There was a lot going on here he didn''t understand. It was clear the Prisms were playing a power game of their own now over this bridal tournament that could get very dangerous for the lower ranks involved. Morning Mist had just earned themselves yet more imperial scrutiny. But there didn''t seem to be any way around that.


    Chang-li had thought of plenty of problems and no solutions by the time he arrived at sect headquarters, Joshi was in his small cottage, furiously throwing his meager possessions into a satchel. Chang-li placed himself in the doorframe.


    "What are you doing?"


    "I''m leaving," Joshi snarled without looking up from his packing. "Obviously. What does it look like?"


    "You can¡¯t.¡±


    "I certainly can''t stay here. I will not marry anyone, let alone her."


    Chang-li held up a hand. "Honestly? I thought you liked Hiroko."


    "My feelings for her are irrelevant. I don''t need an imperial ball and chain. And even if I did, I would never marry the daughter of the man who killed my father." Rage and bitterness twisted Joshi''s normally handsome features as he looked up from his satchel. "I knew coming here was a mistake."


    "And leaving right now will be a bigger one," Chang-li pointed out. "Do you want to draw attention to yourself? If you walk out now, your name and that of our sect will be infamous throughout the empire. You won''t be able to find another tower to cultivate at."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "There''s more to the world than the empire," Joshi countered but he took his hand off his bag.


    ¡°If you leave, our sect is going to be disgraced. I can''t even imagine what would happen to have you throw an honor like this back in their faces. I''m not saying you have to marry her," Chang-li added quickly as Joshi''s expression darkened once more. "I''m just saying we need to keep our heads. We''ve come through tricky situations before this. Look, all we have to do is delay. I can think of a dozen ways already. Your paperwork''s not properly in order. They want to speak to a grandmaster of the sect. They already told me that. Well, we don''t have one of those. So, there''s ways to postpone matters. We put the wedding off until after the conclusion of this tower, and then..."


    "Then what?" Joshi demanded. "How will it be any better to break off an engagement then and not now?"


    "If Li Jiya wins the tournament, she''ll have influence and can intercede for us," Chang-li said. "At the very least, we''ll have a chance of reaching Peak of Spiritual Refinement here. That''s got to be worth something."


    Joshi seemed to be listening. "I don''t want to be part of these political games. Prisms are looking for pawns they can play. I want no part of it."


    "Neither do I," Chang-li said. He held up both hands in a pleading gesture. "I just want to cultivate. If we could do it without all the lying and forging and complications, I''d be all for it. But this is the world we live in. It''s no good fighting against that."


    Joshi shook his head. Some of the rage went out of his face, but he looked determined. "My life is not limited to the empire. I only stayed because of the opportunity to cultivate. But cultivation isn¡¯t worth my freedom. You understand.¡±


    Chang-li nodded. He opened his mouth to speak but Joshi continued. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll wait for the right time," he promised. "But if these matters get more serious, I won''t stay here and let myself be bound up in a marriage I don''t want."


    "That''s good," Chang-li said. He stepped back as Joshi came toward the door. "When Min gets back we can make plans." He had expected her to be hot on his heels.


    Joshi grunted. He went out of the house and up to the training room. Chang-li trailed after him. Joshi set to work punching the hanging bag they''d installed only yesterday. After Joshi had destroyed three ordinary punching bags, Min had ordered a lux-reinforced bag which now hung from the ceiling. Joshi strode over to it and began to assault the inoffensive bag with his bare fists, not even bothering to reinforce his knuckles with lux.


    Chang-li sat in a corner and cycled. His mind was awash with different thoughts. He was keeping half an eye on his friend as Joshi pummeled the bag over and over again. Sweat dripped down Joshi''s face. It looked like a pretty satisfying way to work off tension and Chang-li was half tempted himself, but he left his sword in his soul space for now and tried to focus on sending just one color of lux up each side of his channels. It was harder than he''d expected. He kept thinking about the prisms and their schemes and worrying what might come next.


    At last, Joshi stepped back from the bag. Apparently, the money they''d paid had been worth it. It showed no scars from Joshi''s harsh treatment. Chang-li stood up as well. He was still surprised that sitting in one position for hours and cycling didn''t leave him feeling cramped and tired, but the revitalizing power of lux flowing through his body meant he instead felt as though he''d just had a good night''s sleep.


    Chang-li was about to suggest to Joshi that they go find something to eat when, down below, he heard the door of the house open and several people enter. There was a lot of chattering going on. It sounded like the disciples had returned. Chang-li raised an inquiring eyebrow as Joshi shook his head. "You deal with them," he growled. "I''m going to wash my head." He disappeared down the back stairs toward the garden.


    Chang-li took the front stairs and went down to find all of the disciples talking animatedly in the hall. Brother Stone spotted him and shushed the others. "Go on out of here," he told them, "and watch your gossip."


    Chang-li was glad to hear someone had a cool head on his shoulders. He stepped into the parlor and Brother Stone followed.


    "I hope there wasn''t too much commotion after Joshi left. I didn''t mean for Min to have to stay behind and play clean up."


    Brother Stone''s eyes widened. "Oh, no. I don''t think anyone even remembers Young Master Joshi leaving. Or you. Everything happened so quickly afterwards."


    "Where is Min?" Chang-li asked. "Did she stay behind to speak with Hiroko?"


    ¡°She¡¯s right behind us,¡± Brother Stone said as the door opened once more to admit an exhausted-looking Min. Brother Stone cleared his throat. "Excuse me, I will go and have a word with the junior disciples." He left Min and Chang-li standing there alone.


    Chang-li took a deep breath. ¡°Did you know what Hiroko was planning?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Min''s eyes widened. ¡°I ¡ª she came to call on us the other day while you three were competing. She didn¡¯t tell me why and I didn¡¯t push. I probably should have. But it didn¡¯t seem important at the time. Did you stop Joshi from doing anything he shouldn''t?"


    "He was ready to leave, but I talked him into staying for at least a bit longer. If this engagement starts looking serious, though, he''s out of here, and I can''t blame him."


    "He would just abandon the sect like that? And you?¡± Min sounded aghast.


    Chang-li nodded. ¡°He would.¡±


    Min shook her head in apparent disbelief. ¡°I''m sorry. I don''t know what we''re going to do."


    "Try not to let anyone speak to Joshi," Chang-li suggested. "There''s probably going to be some events he has to attend, if we can persuade him, but the fewer, the better.¡±


    The door opened once more. This time, Li Jiya entered. She looked supremely unruffled, as if none of the day''s events had touched her. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Min and Chang-li.


    ¡°So. Is this betrothal going to interfere with our ability to perform as a sect?¡±


    "Not at all," Min said, ice in her tone as she stared back at Li Jiya. Min and Li Jiya had done fairly well at getting along in public, but Chang-li was well aware his wife did not much care for the bridal candidate. She''d told Chang-li that if they didn''t win this tournament, Li Jiya was going to have to return to her own sect. Chang-li was fine with that.


    Now the two women eyed each other before Li Jiya turned to Chang-li. "With the new change in the schedule, we''ll be entering the tower again tomorrow," she told him. "Golden Locks and Crimson Orchid as well.¡±


    The three top-ranked teams all entering the tower at once. Chang-li took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose things can¡¯t get any worse."

 Bk 3 Ch 17: Hunting

    "Welcome, cultivators," Prism Nai Hong boomed as he hung in the air, 40 feet overhead. Chang-li and all of the members of Morning Mist who had reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement stood on a floating platform on a placid lake. This was Chang-li''s first time inside this, the fifth floor of the Vardin City Tower. He could feel the increased lux density over the previous floors.


    Disciples Yang, Shou, and Cui, all wore lux inhibitors, though Chang-li had urged them to find opportunities to cycle without them. Brother Stone stood tall. He was making great strides toward the Peak of Mental Refinement and had refused to wear a lux inhibitor, though Chang-li had a couple tucked away just in case. Li Jiya and Joshi looked ready for anything.


    A hundred feet away on another floating platform was the Azure Flame delegation, fifteen cultivators strong. The bridal candidate and her three supporting young masters were all at the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. With them stood eleven lesser disciples. Their robes were patterned with concentric waves of blue and red, a vibrant design.


    Forming a triangle between both were the Golden Locks cultivators. This was the first time Chang-li had seen their tournament delegation en masse. Their robes were striking, made of pure gold. Not yellow, but true gold, gleaming in the morning sun. Mai Wen had only twelve with her, but she looked supremely confident. From here, Chang-li couldn''t make out rings or insignia to indicate the rankings of her team members.


    "Today, you will be competing against each other,¡± Nai Hong declared. "There are several tower champions scattered around this floor, seeded here by the prisms waiting for you to find them, similar to what you faced on the fourth floor. However, we have also placed nine puzzle boxes scattered throughout this level. Each puzzle box will be counted equivalent to defeating one of the champions. The puzzle boxes contain clues toward understanding the nature of this floor guardian''s challenge. You will not be permitted to face the guardian today, but later in this tournament, those who remain eligible may face him and attempt to claim his boon. These puzzle boxes will help you prepare. However, they do not contain any treasures to help your advancement, so you will have to decide how to prioritize your search. In addition, while we permit members of rival sects to spar, there are to be no crippling or fatal blows. I will be overseeing, and anyone who attempts to go past what is required to push another sect away from a challenge will be punished harshly."


    He did not further elaborate. Chang-li didn''t ask. Having a prism oversee the contest ought to make him feel more confident, but after Prism Eri¡¯s behavior, he had come to realize that prisms were just cultivators like himself. More powerful, yes, but still human. They could be capricious. The problem was that their capriciousness could lead to disaster for Chang-li and his friends.


    ¡°You may begin," the prism said and disappeared with a crackling noise and a flash of light.


    Li Jiya turned to her team. "Put space between us and them, now," she ordered, before rushing forward. She easily leapt across the twenty feet of open water between their floating island raft and the next. Chang-li thought it would be doable for him as well, but he turned to the disciples. "Can you make that leap?"


    Cui shook his head. "I don''t think so."


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it,¡± Chang-li said and worked on a weave he''d been practicing ever since the climbing challenge two days before. It was a simple application of a technique he''d read about in the Morning Mist Scrolls, a modification of the same basic shielding technique Joshi used. He wove together red lux, then infused it with green, which let him seal off the weave. He threw it out halfway between one platform and the next, and it floated on the waves there, a one-foot square of visible lux.


    "Go," he told Cui, who bent, reinforcing his legs with red lux, and leapt onto the platform. The other disciples and Brother Stone followed. Joshi soared past them, catching up to Li Jiya. Chang-li took advantage of the stepping stone he''d made so he could feel what it was like. It was a little slippery under his boot, and he wondered if he''d be able to make it more grippy in the future. Catching up to the rest of the team, he inhaled lux from the air around him and cycled it. They crossed two more islands before Li Jiya called a halt. "The others have scattered as well for now," she said.


    "I have Magen watching," Joshi said. "He will inform us if anyone attempts to follow us."


    "Good," Li Jiya nodded. "We need the puzzle boxes."


    Chang-li expected Joshi to complain that they should focus on the challenge beasts which would grant divine treasures. Instead, Joshi was nodding. "Agreed. The Tower Boon will be more useful to us than another treasure, I hope."


    "How will we find these puzzle boxes?" Chang-li asked."And how is any of this a test for who would be the best bride, anyway?" It had been rankling him for days now, and Prism Eri''s arrival had put it into focus.


    "What do you mean?" Li Jiya asked, looking annoyed. "The Emperor''s bride must be a strong cultivator.¡±


    "Yes, but it feels like there should be more to it," Chang-li spread his hands. "The Dowager Pearls are the backbone of the Empire. Along with the civil servants, they keep the Empire running, they maintain order. They''re, well, administrators. How is this testing your aptitude?"


    "Administration can be taught," Li Jiya said. "Cultivation of talent is inborn."


    Chang-li utterly disagreed. But Li Jiya was still speaking. "Remember, the first duty of an Imperial bride is to bear a child to the Emperor, if he so chooses. The Gem Court brings the Emperor''s bloodline back to the people, and infuses the ranks of cultivators with the divine strain."


    "So, what you''re saying is that the Emperor is breeding stronger cultivators," Joshi suggested. "And his primary interest in brides is to find women who will give him suitably talented children."


    "It''s one of the purposes," Li Jiya said. "And we can talk about this more when we''re not in the middle of a competition. We need a strategy."


    "Magen has spotted something," Joshi announced. "Three islands over." He pointed.


    Chang-li shaded his eyes. The islands they had hopped so far were flat rafts about twenty feet on a side, covered in low-clinging plants that trailed their tendrils in the water and offered up blossoms. The islands rocked gently up and down, so they were more properly rafts, like the ones making up the Flotsam of Vardin City. The island Joshi pointed out was bigger, humping up out of the water like a real island.


    Li Jiya immediately started closer, Chang-li hanging back to help the disciples. They paused one island away and surveyed their target. The island was circular, covered by the same plants, but rising up in a mound.


    Li Jiya pursed her lips. "I can feel a lux technique there, hiding something from us. Send the lux creature to look.¡±


    "Magen doesn''t want to get any closer without me," Joshi said.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "It would be helpful to know what it is," Li Jiya countered.


    Joshi shook his head. "If Magen does not wish to approach, I will not force him."


    Li Jiya looked disgusted. "Very well. Then we leap in blind, expecting anything."


    Chang-li readied a Firepot. He was full of purified lux. There was very little indigo lux here, and no violet at all that he could tell. With prisms watching, he wouldn''t have dared do anything beyond venting the violet out of his lux channels anyway.


    Li Jiya had her weapon in hand. She and Joshi leapt as Chang-li threw out a pair of stepping stones for the disciples, since this gulf was almost twice as wide as the previous. Joshi and Li Jiya made use of his second to spring themselves across the gap.


    Chang-li followed, keeping an eye on the disciples. They were making excellent progress in their cultivation. He thought Yang and Cui would reach the Peak of Mental Refinement not long after Brother Stone. Both had already pierced the first veil, though they had a hard road ahead of them. He was becoming aware just how fast he and Joshi had made it through the first two stages of cultivation, thanks to their weeks-long sojourn inside the first tower, and, he suspected, their exposure to violet lux. The disciples didn¡¯t have that advantage. Their time inside the towers could be measured in days, not weeks. He was proud of the progress they¡¯d made in that time. They''d worked hard, taking his teachings to heart.


    Shou was more of a problem. Chang-li was still looking through the scrolls for techniques to help him progress. He had initially seemed more like Joshi, focusing on the physical luxes, but neither fists nor swords seemed to fit him. Chang-li wanted to have him and Min try working together on lux archery the next time they had a training day. He didn''t think it was quite the right fit for Shou, but it might spark something.


    Li Jiya had said she thought it was a waste of time to train disciples whose inclinations did not match with their seniors. "A sect excels by having two or three areas of excellence," she had informed him. "Every member of a sect should know how they fit into the sect''s scheme. Trying to offer every discipline is a mistake. If we had a grandmaster here, they would tell you the same."


    Chang-li had held his tongue. Li Jiya was only a temporary member of Morning Mist after all, and he didn''t need to argue with her. But he was convinced the sect would be stronger with diversity.


    Now, as he landed on the island beside Brother Stone, he directed the senior disciple. "You four hang back until we see what it is, then provide support. You focus on secondary threats and keeping a perimeter up. If I were one of the other sects, I would attack while we are distracted."


    "Understood," Brother Stone said, giving Chang-li a nod.


    Chang-li moved forward to join Li Jiya and Joshi, confident Brother Stone and the disciples would do as he asked. Joshi and Chang-li were striding up the sloping mound of the island, even as Brother Stone and the disciples spread out a bit to ring in this half of the island. Unlike the others, this one wasn''t moving up and down. It felt solid.


    Li Jiya made a sweeping motion with her weapon across the air, both directions. Her crescent moon blade gleamed, and then the lux technique she had pierced fell into pieces, revealing what lay beyond.


    Chang-li was high enough down now to look over the edge of the mound and into it. It was a small bowl-shaped depression about 15 feet across. In the center rested an enormous six-legged lizard curled around a trio of eggs. The lizard flicked a tongue at them warningly. One of the eggs gleamed golden.


    "That''s got to be it, a puzzle box." Li Jiya said.


    Joshi turned his head. His eyes widened. "Incoming," he said. "One of the other sects.¡±


    Chang-li could hear Brother Stone calling to the disciples, directing them to intercept the new arrivals. That might buy them the minutes they needed to take this puzzle box, if they hurried.


    Li Jiya didn''t hesitate. "We need to claim that puzzle box," she snapped.


    Chang-li had an idea. "If I get the puzzle box, I can store it in my soul space, and no one can take it from us.¡±


    ¡°Do that.¡± Li Jiya nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll join the disciples and hold them off.¡±


    Chang-li took a quick glance at the rivals, now massing on the next island over. It looked like half of Azure Flame''s team, led by two of their Young Masters. Morning Mist had equal numbers, but he wasn¡¯t sure about power levels.


    Li Jiya rushed forward, calling the disciples to join her as she threw up a weave preventing Azure Flame from landing on their island. A net of red and orange lux that repelled them backwards. The cultivators gathered on the nearest shore, then split off their attack into two groups.


    Meanwhile, Chang-li and Joshi turned and raced down into the pit. They had faced several champions by now, and they worked together without needing much discussion. Joshi raced for the lizard. She rose off of her eggs, stepping in front of them to protect them with her body. Joshi drove in at her. She spat a gout of greenish liquid at him. Joshi dodged the liquid, hit the nets covering the bottom of the bowl, and they instantly withered.


    ¡°Jiya has the northern bunch contained, but four are coming from the west!¡± Joshi shouted, pointing.


    Chang-li raced forward toward the lizard''s tail. She was lashing it back and forth. It was as thick as a young tree trunk. She must have caught sight of him because she whipped it around now, crashing toward Chang-li. He dodged under it and came up on her other side, racing forward toward the eggs.


    Joshi, meanwhile, slammed a Thousand Fist technique down on the lizard''s head, hitting her from six different angles. She fell to the ground, picked herself back up, and advanced on Joshi. He backed away.


    Chang-li darted in. He scooped up the puzzle box and immediately stored it in his soulspace, then hurled a Firepot at the lizard. It hit her flank. Distracted, she turned on him. Joshi punched her again.


    Now Chang-li raced over the edge of the bowl as Joshi climbed up thirty feet away toward the west. The lizard hesitated, then followed Joshi. Chang-li made sure she was heading in the right direction, straight into the flanking group of Azure Flame cultivators. Magen had spotted them for Joshi, and he was nearly on them, the lizard hot on his heels before they realized it.


    Joshi leapt, using Meteor Punch to carry him right past the pack of cultivators. Leaving them to deal with the enraged lizard, Chang-li and Joshi hurried to reinforce Li Jiya and the disciples. They faced five Azure Flame cultivators, one Chang-li recognized as a Young Master, but not their bride candidate. Now that Chang-li and Joshi joined the fight, Morning Mist had the advantage.


    Techniques flashed. Weapons and punches flew everywhere, but conscious of a watchful prism, Chang-li held back. He used a weave to bind and blind one cultivator, who threw up his hands. "I retreat," he called, and Chang-li allowed him to clear the web and leave the island.


    Li Jiya and Joshi had one of the Azure Flame''s Young Masters cornered. Joshi drove him back to the edge of the water with a flurry of punches, and Li Jiya kept him from fleeing. Chang-li focused on the other disciple who''d been with them, but the woman was already leaping away, so he let her go.


    As soon as Joshi and Li Jiya had pushed back the Young Master, they turned and sped across the island to where the lizard was wreaking havoc on the remaining Azure Flame cultivators. ¡°Keep them from getting behind us!¡± Li Jiya called to the disciples. ¡°We¡¯ll push them back, then we¡¯re moving on. We have what we came for!¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± Brother Stone agreed.


    The lizard faced off against four more Azure Flame cultivators: one Young Master, three disciples. Two of the disciples were wounded. The lizard reared up on its four back legs and spouted a gout of lightning-infused breath at the cultivators. The Young Master threw up a technique, breaking the breath around it. One of her disciples was caught in the blast, screaming. One side of his head now wreathed in flames, the disciple threw himself into the waters of the lake.


    With Chang-li, Li Jiya, and Joshi joining the fight, the Azure Flame quickly fled, and now the enraged lizard turned its attention on Morning Mist.


    ¡°It¡¯s a challenge beast!¡± Joshi called. ¡°We want its heart!¡±


    "Take it down!" Chang-li shouted to the disciples, who pulled out the scripts he had prepared several days ago. As of yet, the only script Chang-li could make was for his firepot technique, but now the four sent a rain of fire pots down on the lizard, while Jiya stepped in with her weapon.


    Chang-li wove a blue-and-green confusion web, tossing it expertly around the lizard''s head. The beast began to thrash about, its limbs flailing in the sandy shore, leg twitching madly.


    Joshi leapt onto its back and aimed a spiked orange gauntleted fist at the base of its neck. Three quick blows in the same location, and the lizard spasmed, falling flat to the dirt, before, after a final series of convulsions, laying still.


    Li Jiya moved forward. A moment later, she emerged triumphant, carrying the challenge beast heart. She held it up. "Did you get the puzzle box?"


    "I have it," Chang-li confirmed.


    "Then let¡¯s get out of here, before they regroup," she instructed, leaping away from the island without a backward glance. Chang-li and the others followed.

 Bk 3 Ch 18: Take Them On!

    They found a second puzzle box, floating on a tiny and enormous broad leaf curled up like a boat, all by itself in the middle of the lake, hundreds of feet from any other island.


    Li Jiya pointed. "You can make more of those steps and retrieve it," she suggested to Chang-li.


    He stopped and considered. "I can, but do you think that''s the only trick here? I bet there''s a guardian watching over it."


    Joshi sent Magen zooming ahead. Chang-li watched the little distortion sparkling in the air as the lux creature raced ahead, circling the puzzle box, dipping down into the water, then leaping back up.


    "The water here is only about ten feet deep," Joshi reported. "There is something alive down there but Magen can¡¯t get a good look."


    "Ten feet is more than enough to drown in," Chang-li said.


    "We aren''t just going to sit here and wait for another sect to come and claim it, are we?" Li Jiya demanded.


    "Too late,¡± Brother Stone said grimly, pointing.


    Chang-li turned. About eight islands away, he made out a distant shape of people leaping toward them. From the golden flashes of their robes, it was the Golden Locks sect. It looked like all of them.


    "Enough," Li Jiya said. "Toss out your steps. I will retrieve the puzzle box and return before anything can react. We''ll need to be ready for a fight."


    Chang-li didn''t argue, just threw out his lux steps ahead of Li Jiya. He had to follow her halfway in order to throw the last couple of steps. As she sprang forward toward the last step, he could feel her exercising her will, trying to suppress anything that lay beneath the waves nearby.


    A moment later, she scooped up the puzzle box and raced back to him. "They come," she told him, handing him the second puzzle box. He stored it in his soul space along with the first and followed her back to the island, where Joshi was organizing the Morning Mist into a defensive line.


    "There''s nothing for us to fight over now," Chang-li pointed out. "The Prism will not permit a clash.¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to bet on that?" Joshi asked as the Golden Locks school arrived.


    Mai Wen placed herself at the head of a wedge of cultivators. She smiled at them. "How''s your hunting, Morning Mist?"


    "We''ve taken the puzzle box here," Li Jiya called back. "There''s no point in lingering here."


    "Oh, but you might have missed something," Mai Wen said as her cultivators smirked. "We''ll just stay here and search the island while you deal with them.¡± She pointed behind Chang-li.


    Chang-li resisted taking the bait. Joshi swore. "Whatever was in the water is coming," he said. "Magen can''t get a clear picture."


    "Be ready," Li Jiya urged. The disciples turned to face the water. Mai Wen and her people strung out in a half circle around Morning Mist. With his back to the water, facing the unfriendly cultivators in front of them, Chang-li felt trapped. From here, the only direction to flee was out across the open expanse of water, where who knew what angry creatures waited.


    The surface of the lake was growing more roiled by the moment. "We''re done here. We''ll leave it to you," Li Jiya snapped. "Allow us to pass."


    "No, no," Mai Wen said. "The Prism didn''t say we had to cooperate, now did he? Just not to offer more fight than was needed, and we''re not offering you a fight at all. We just aren¡¯t going to let you attack us.¡± She smirked, her arms folded across her chest. Chang-li prepared a firepot but hesitated, not wanting to attack. The Golden Locks cultivators had superior numbers. Attacking them straight on was risky.


    And then there was nothing more to say, because the first of the monsters reared out of the water. It was an enormous hermit crab, carrying a great curled opalescent shell on its back. The body of the crab was hidden inside the shell with only its claws and eye stocks sticking out. It was twice as tall as a man, its huge clacker claws big enough to cut through Chang-li in one snip. Another appeared, and a third. They climbed up onto the beach as the disciples drew back.


    Li Jiya was spinning a blue and green web. She tossed it out. It broke harmlessly over the shell of the first crab. "It¡¯s resistant to spiritual luxes," she called. Chang-li drew his sword and set himself.


    Joshi called to the disciples, "With me, on the right. We take it down, and then the others. Li Jiya, hold the center one. Chang-li, take the left. Hold it, but don''t get hurt."


    The Golden Locks cultivators made no move to interfere. ¡°Just watch,¡± Mai Wen called to her followers. ¡°Let them taste the fruit of their actions.¡±


    They sprang forward. Battle was joined. Chang-li stepped to one side. He tossed a fire pot with his right hand to attract the attention of his designated target. As the monster came at him, he cycled red lux through his body, strengthening him. The crab rushed forward with a chitter of claws, coming up all the way out of the water. The monster snapped. Chang-li ducked under its claw, feeling the breeze from the snip past his head. He slashed his sword upward, aiming just below the lip of its armored shell. His sword found the gap. He pressed it forward, reinforcing the blade with orange lux.


    The beast shook with anger and swung its other claw at him, kicking up a blast of sand. Chang-li dodged out of the way again, racing a little farther down the beach, away from where Li Jiya was dancing in and out of her monster''s claws. His sword had bit deep, but the giant crab still had use of both its claws. It scuttled toward him, clacking its pincers.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Chang-li moved his right hand quickly through a simple pattern on the infinite loom, weaving a yellow and blue technique knit together with green that his scrolls called "Smoke and Flame." This technique was not a ball like most of his firepot designs, or a flat square net like some of his other weaves. It was shaped like a disc, and that had been the key to getting the blue to do what he wanted. None of the scrolls talked about the importance of a weave¡¯s shape, but Chang-li was starting to see it was nearly as vital as the proportions of different luxes.


    He hurled the lux disc with a flick of his wrist, straight at the beast.


    It hit the creature''s eye stalks and exploded. The yellow lux sent up a gout of bright white flame, more to blind and startle than to actually hurt. Then the blue exploded into the cloud of smoke he''d been hoping for. The smoke clung to the beast''s eye stalks. It stopped where it was, rocking back and forth on its enormous claws.


    Chang-li took the opportunity to run in. He''d spotted something. Now, as he approached, he crouched and leapt, his red lux-infused legs taking him clear up to the top of its shell. He was right. The opalescent shell covered a wide, soft body. Only the crab''s belly, head, and legs were armored. Its back was as soft as a snail¡¯s.


    Chang-li caught himself as he tumbled over the back of the shell, clutching it with his right hand, pulling himself forward as the crab danced back and forth in pain. He grabbed the lip of the shell with his right hand then, awkwardly, drove his weapon past the shell into its soft body.


    The crab went wild. It flung itself side to side. Chang-li''s hand slid along the lip of the shell, cutting his palm. He held on to his sword for dear life, feeling it rip through the soft body. Then, his hands lost their grip and he went flying through the air. Lake, sky, and island tumbled over and over in his vision as he flew, the ground coming up toward him fast. He hit hard, landing on his back with a whoompf. All the air rushed out of him. He felt his bones reverberate with the force of the blow.


    Chang-li forced himself to sit up. His vision was blurred. His ears rang. He blinked, trying to gather himself. Someone was shouting. He heard it distantly through the ringing in his ears. He looked up .The injured crab loomed over him. Chang-li threw himself to the side as the beast slammed its claws down where he lay. He rolled over as the sand next to him erupted with the impact.  As the wave of sand washed over him a gout of sand blasted out even closer. He found himself staring at a spike of orange stone  embedded in the ground inches from his head.


    The crab hadn''t done that. That was a cultivator technique. Chang-li got to his feet, keeping an eye on the crab that was writhing near the water''s edge. It seemed to be losing control of its claws. His ears were starting to recover.


    Just in time, he heard a whistling howl. He threw himself to the side as another spike pierced the ground where he''d been. At last he saw a Golden Locks cultivator, not far off, weaving another red and yellow technique into a spike.


    If they were interfering with him, they''d be attacking his friends, too. Chang-li crafted a quick blindfold technique and threw it at the cultivator, who was nearly done with his technique. It hit, temporarily blocking the man''s vision. Chang-li didn''t wait to see him clear it. He raced for the crab monster, which was staggering about, his sword still embedded in its back. As he got near it, he leapt, jumping onto its head and seizing the sword. He ripped it free, leaving a deep cut that sliced the beast''s head. The crab collapsed to the sand, legs curling under it in a death spasm. Chang-lu stepped off the body and faced the Golden Locks cultivator.


    Two more of the sect were standing with the first, one helping him clear his eyes, the other, Mai Wen, standing protectively over him. "You attacked my cultivator," she said accusingly. "You will pay for that."


    "He attacked me first," Chang-li pointed out as he quickly took in the rest of the battlefield. Joshi and the disciples had downed their beast and were now joined with Li Jiya. Joshi was apparently trying to get the beast to face him, exposing its unprotected body beneath the edge of the shell for Li Jiya''s blade. Li Jiya''s monster had a larger shell that came down right to the edge of its head.


    Mai Wen advanced, pointing at him. "I intend to call in the Prism for adjudication. You''ll wait here while I summon him."


    A crushing weight dropped onto Chang-li. He fell to his knees as Mai Wen''s will stretched out to dominate him. He gasped. This was much stronger than anything he had done in training. He hadn''t felt this outmatched since the time Young Master Feng had tried to destroy his lux channels.


    Chang-li struggled for breath. His lungs didn''t want to work. Mai Wen advanced on him, smiling. "Go ahead. Struggle. If you won''t submit, it''ll be your own fault when you''re crushed. Everyone knows lesser cultivators must give way to the greater. All I''m doing is holding you in place until we can have the Prism come to judge."


    Chang-li gasped. Breath wouldn''t come. But he didn''t need breath. What was he thinking? He was full of lux. Chang-li shifted, using his lux to begin a new cycling technique, Breath of the Heavens, which let him pull lux in from one side of his body, cycle it through him and out the other. As he did, he felt his lungs responding. He pulled lux through his right side and cycled it in his core, pushing it out his left. The calm routine slowed his heart rate. He allowed his head to sag forward.


    Mai Wen must have thought he was giving in. She said with obvious amusement, "There. That wasn''t so hard, was it? Now wait here while I see to the rest of your friends."


    Chang-li threw a blindfold weave at her face. She clearly hadn''t been expecting that. She fell back, her will disrupted. He leapt to his feet, springing forward. The Prism had said not to use more force than was necessary to get them to retreat, but Golden Locks had attacked first. He wasn''t going to hold back.


    Reinforcing his left hand channels with physical luxes, his sword bursting into flame, he lunged her, swinging. Mai Wen tossed up a technique to catch his blade. Chang-li was prepared for that. In his right hand, he had another pure spiritual lux technique, a weave he''d been practicing but had yet to perfect, a disruption weave. He hadn¡¯t yet sealed it so it would instantly unravel if he threw it. Instead he slammed it into Mai Wen''s chest with his open palm. She was knocked back as the blue weave soaked into her. It was reinforced with just a little bit of red lux, bound in, as always, with green. The combination would encourage her lux channels to absorb the technique.


    Mai Wen cycled reflexively before realizing what he''d done. Her eyes widened as she fell to the ground, shaking as the technique momentarily disrupted her cycling pattern.


    Chang-li leapt over her body. He wasn''t going to push matters. Not when it was clear Mai Wen was the chosen disciple of one of the Prisms here, a woman who''d already shown herself to be capricious. He just wanted her out of the way while he helped his sect.


    Several Golden Locks cultivators surged past him, racing to Mai Wen''s side as he ran on without stopping. Joshi had just smashed one of the crab monster''s claws with a Thousand Fist technique. Li Jiya was on top, pushing her blade deep into its weak spot as the disciples tried to stay out of its way. As Chang-li joined them, the beast fell to the ground, dead.


    "Let''s get out of here," Chang-li urged, throwing the first set of red-lit lux discs out onto the water. Needing no further discussion, Morning Mist raced away from the island.


    Chang-li felt proud of himself. He''d gone toe-to-toe with a powerful opponent and come out on top.

 Bk 3 Ch 19: Last Shot

    The island was an enormous floating water lily, two hundred feet across, with a bright pink flower rising fifteen feet high in its center. Magen had spotted the puzzle box for them. It nestled in the center of the flower, and surrounding it were almost invisible lux spirits similar to Magen himself, with a faint blue-purple sheen to them. They gave off a high-pitched buzzing noise as they darted around the flower like oversized bees.


    Chang-li tried using a weave on a net on the nearest of the lux spirits, but it slipped out of the weave easily. Joshi cornered one and punched at it with his lux gauntlet, but the spikes went right through.


    They regrouped. "This is going to take some thinking," Chang-li said, rubbing his hands together, already anticipating the challenge. He enjoyed having to run through his possible strengths in order to figure out what to do.


    "We should leave it," Li Jiya said. "There''s no sense wasting time on a challenge we are not suited for when we could rather face down something we are skilled at."


    ¡°Finding another puzzle box will take time," Joshi countered. "And the other sects are out there as well. We have found two. We must assume that the others have had as much success as we, or more."


    Chang-li watched how the creatures flitted around. There was a pattern to them, almost a pulse, like cycling. It came to him then.


    "I have an idea,¡± he said and began cycling Breath of the Heavens. The lux all around began to answer to him.


    Li Jiya started. "What are you doing?" She was reaching out and grabbing at the lux, disrupting his attempt.


    "Don''t fight me," he told her.


    ¡°Lux manipulation outside your body is dangerous at this level of progression," she warned.


    He realized she had never seen him try this in a tower before. "Don''t worry. I''ve had training," he assured her and pulled on the nearby lux as he had in the fight with Feng. It answered his touch. He deftly focused on the spiritual luxes. As the creatures'' gentle blue and purple flashes suggested to him, they were attuned. He brought his right fingers up to touch the pattern of lux swirling in front of him. His strong spiritual channels began to absorb the blue and trace amounts of indigo lux in the air. As it moved toward him, the lux creatures came too, bobbing along on the breeze like pollen.


    The first reached him. He stretched out and touched it with his fingertips. Immediately, a glow of lux suffused him. The creature burst against his senses, flooding him with lux. He lost his cycling for an instant, regaining it quickly to process all of the fresh lux he had just stolen. There was a great deal of blue, which he immediately vented, but traces of indigo and violet. He decided to gamble and withdrew the temporal training chamber device from his soul space. Scribe Wulan had assured him that as long as it was not fully charged, he didn''t have to worry about accidentally activating it. Now he cycled the violet and indigo lux in him to it.


    "What is that?" Li Jiya asked, sounding fascinated.


    "It''s a training device," Chang-li said. He would have preferred she not see it at all.


    Li Jiya eyed him suspiciously y. Chang-li told himself he wasn''t cycling the forbidden violet lux or trying to use it. He was just storing it. If one of the Prisms asked him about it, he could turn over what he had gathered easily enough. It probably wouldn''t suffice as an excuse.


    Joshi said nothing as Chang-li absorbed the next of the lux creatures. The rest of the flock was being pulled away from the flower as they watched.


    "I''ll go with Jiya and fetch the puzzle box," Joshi declared. "Disciples, watch for enemies."


    The two set off as Chang-li continued to cycle the lux. The creatures'' lux was dense. Chang-li focused on his cycling. The lux thick liquid flowed through his veins, a dense syrup. No, more like a soup. Every now and then he encountered a brief obstruction, something clinging to his channels. He could feel them growing more clogged as he went. He hadn''t encountered that since he had made it to the Peak of Bodily Refinement and done away with his need for purification tablets.


    A couple of times, he was so focused on his channels, he briefly lost his grip on the lux. The creatures immediately began heading toward the flower, buzzing much more angrily. Joshi and Li Jiya had reached the petal and were leaping up onto it. Chang-li reclaimed his grip on the lux, but now the creatures were fighting him. He focused, sweat dripping down his face.


    Three of the lux creatures bobbed toward him and hovered there, buzzing angrily. He could feel their opposition to what he was doing. He reached out and absorbed one of them. This time he felt the encumbrance at once. His lux channels were dense with obstruction. Only a thin trickle of lux passed through him. The other two lux creatures were buzzing in his face, but he didn''t dare absorb them, not until he figured out how to purge these impurities from his body.


    One of the disciples shouted a warning. Brother Stone snapped, "Hurry!" and the Brotherhood disciples ran off. Chang-li spared a glance. There were incoming cultivators, their robes giving flashes of red and gold. He couldn''t spare the time to count or make out details. If they were about to have a fight, he needed to be at his peak.


    Joshi and Li Jiya dropped back over the edge of the flower to the base of the enormous lily pad, sending it rocking as they alit. Chang-li released his grip on the lux, expecting the creatures to bob back to what they were doing. Instead, they all focused on Li Jiya, who had the puzzle box tucked under her arm and swarmed toward her, buzzing furiously. There were eight of them still remaining. Chang-li couldn''t absorb any more. His channels were clogged, and they had no more time. ¡°Retreat!¡± he shouted. ¡°Joshi and Jiya, cover the disciples, let¡¯s find another fight.¡±


    ¡°Agreed!¡± Joshi called. He raced forward, covering himself with a flashing red lux shield. ¡°Magen is scouting ahead!¡±


    Chang-li raced to the water¡¯s edge and threw out a series of lux disks, trusting the disciples to follow.


    As the disciples caught up with Chang-li, Yang and Shou were grumbling. "We had those Azure Flame Cultivators right where we wanted them," Yang complained. "Time to show them what Morning Mist is capable of."


    "We got the puzzle box," Chang-li told him as he threw out the next lux Disc. "Go on ahead." He pointed at the island, then waited for Cui and Brother Stone to catch up.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    As soon as they were past, he withdrew his red lux back into his core, cycling it automatically as he made the leap to the island. Jiya and Joshi caught up a moment later. Jiya was looking pleased with herself. "Azure Flame sent one cultivator at Mental Refinement and a couple of outer disciples to try to chase us off the treasure," she said. "They''ve learned their mistake now. Too late."


    "Magen thinks he sees another puzzle box up ahead," Joshi said, pointing. A series of small floating islands led off toward the edge of the lake. It was the first time Chang-li had seen the shore here. They rushed forward, Chang-li trying to cycle as he went. The thick lux was still clogging his channels. He switched from Breath of the Heaves to Purification of Mind and Soul, and his lux moved more freely, but it didn''t clarify.


    Joshi frowned at him. "What''s wrong?"


    "The lux I absorbed from those flowers is taking longer than I expected to purify,¡± Chang-li explained. "I''m concerned what might happen in our next fight."


    "Try Way of Boulders," Joshi advised. "It''s always stood me in good form when I have lux impurities."


    Chang-li switched. As he tossed out a red lux stepping stone for the disciples, he lost his concentration. The weave came apart just as Brother Stone landed on it, sending the Oaken Band Brotherhood Cultivator into the waves. Yang and Shou laughed at him as they hauled him out. Chang-li tried again, and the weave wouldn¡¯t come together at all. Frustrated, he turned to his allies.


    "I need to process my lux," he told Jiya, who was looking impatient. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong if I can¡¯t even manage a simple red weave.¡±


    ¡°We don''t have time for this," she fumed. "Joshi, what about the next puzzle box?"


    "Two islands more to go," Joshi said. "There''s a tree in the middle of the island. It''s another of the rocky kind, not the floating mats. The tree is hung with fruits, and Magen reports one of the fruits is our target. He thinks the tree may be a tower beast."


    ¡°More hostile plants. I hate those,¡± Jiya muttered.


    Chang-li had collapsed onto the edge of the floating island, sitting cross-legged with his arms extended as he cycled Way of Boulders. Joshi was right; it did get the stubbornly thick lux moving through his channels. He pulled it to his core and focused.


    The problem wasn''t its density, he realized now, but its impurity. This lux was largely yellow and blue, held together with vast quantities of green. He just couldn''t get a grip on the slippery, malleable green lux to separate out the yellow and the blue.


    Chang-li took a deep breath and focused on the yellow, which he was most comfortable with. Slowly, he extracted it from his core and fed it out through his channels, venting it into the air. Jiya scowled.


    "This is taking too long," she snapped. "Joshi, with me. Chang-li can bring the others as soon as he''s ready."


    Joshi looked between them, an expression of concern on his face. "If another sect comes along, Chang-li is in no shape to fight."


    He wanted to protest, but he couldn''t spare the concentration from his cycling. The yellow had answered easily enough, but traces of it still clung to the blue, held in place by green. No matter how he touched the green lux, it would not answer him. Instead, it shifted away under his touch.


    "We need that puzzle box," Li Jiya insisted, before turning to the disciples. "Come with me," she ordered, and raced to the other side of the island, where she tossed out ragged chunks of red lux, with none of the elegance of Chang-li''s stepping discs. The disciples hurried after her, Brother Stone casting a worried look at Chang-li before going.


    Joshi stood there. ¡°You should go," Chang-li managed.


    "Magen says he sees Golden Locks cultivators two islands off," Joshi said. Chang-li could hear the strain in his voice. "Are you done yet?"


    Chang-li wasn''t. He was wrestling with the lux in him. The green had taken on a life of its own, somehow wrapping itself even tighter to the blue. It would not answer him. He felt instinctively that stopping his cycling at this point might damage him.


    A thought occurred. He was supposed to be on the path toward the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, using his will to affect the world outside him. Should he not use it to affect himself first?


    He focused his will, not as a shield or a bludgeon the way he had tried in practice against Joshi, but inward, as a scalpel. No, not a scalpel; that was the wrong tool for him. He imagined his will now as an ink pen, dipping it into his core, siphoning out the green lux just as he would fill a quill with ink.


    It hurt him physically as he strained. His head pounded, his eyes went crossed, his temple throbbed. He couldn''t see, could barely hear Joshi''s warning of "They''re coming!" But the green answered him, and he drew it out through his channels, finally venting it through both sides of his body. Then all he had to do was push out the few remnants of yellow through his left hand channels, and the blue through his right.


    Now completely devoid of lux, Chang-li stood. He inhaled, drawing fresh lux in, and felt it like a drink of cool water on a hot day. His channels still hurt, but the lux flowed. This was the tower lux he expected. Dense, yes, but not syrupy and clogged. He wanted to pull his notebook from his satchel and make notes. Something about the way those tower beasts had processed the lux was different from how he had encountered it before. This could be important, an insight into the very nature of cultivating, but Joshi was urging him onward.


    "Hurry, we have to get to the disciples before Golden Locks does."


    "Where are they?" Chang-li asked as he looked about. He hesitated. ¡°I¡¯m still feeling the effect in my channels. I don¡¯t know how well I can fight.¡±


    Joshi pointed. "They''re heading from that island."


    Chang-li raced forward, enhancing his body with red lux to clear out the shaking he faced from the intensity of the channeling. He had to toss out a stepping stone halfway between their island and the one where Jiya and the disciples had gone.


    The island was about 50 feet around, from what he could see of it, with a hill in the center and a tree on top of the hill covered in silvery leaves. The tree was shaking and thrashing as though in a high wind. He could see lux patterns flashing and hear Jiya''s voice raised as she shouted to the disciples. Just as they reached the shore, Joshi reported, "Golden Locks are here, on the other side of the island. Magen has eyes on them."


    ¡°We have to get to Jiya," Chang-li said, racing up the hill with Joshi beside him. From the crest of the hill, the tree stood in the center of a small dimple atop the hill, a pit about ten feet across and four feet deep. The disciples were ranged around the tree, holding weapons or flames in their hands as Li Jiya attacked with her crescent moon weapon. She slashed at a branch from which dangled the puzzle box. It was golden and twice as large as any of the other fruits. The tree''s branches resembled those of a willow, long and sinewy. It lashed away from her strike, and she caught only leaves.


    Joshi grabbed her arm. She whirled on him. "We have to flee," he said as Chang-li caught the disciples'' attentions. "Retreat!¡±


    "No!" she shouted. The Golden Locks team appeared on the other side of the crater. It was their entire sect, Mai Wen at their head, thirteen strong. Morning Mist was outnumbered more than two to one, and from the look on Mai Wen''s face, she was ready for a rematch.


    Three different wills lashed out against them as Mai Wen pointed toward them. Hers was the strongest, but two of her cultivators had willpower enough to make Chang-li stumble. The disciples were on their knees, choking and gasping. Chang-li tried to resist, but his lux channels ached and his will refused to answer.


    "Get them out!" Joshi grunted. Chang-li felt his will and Li Jiya''s snap into place, pushing back the enemy attack. The pressure relieved, Chang-li raced down to the disciples. He helped Shou and Yang to their feet.


    "Run!" he told them. All five raced toward the beach as Joshi and Li Jiya covered their retreat. Mai Wen was shouting something. A technique whizzed past Chang-li''s head. He felt it with his lux senses and dodged out of the way. Another came hurling toward the disciples. Chang-li tossed a net behind them and caught it. As they reached the water''s edge, he threw out a disk, and they were away.


    Joshi caught up quickly. "They''re not chasing us. They¡¯ve taken the puzzle box and gone."


    Li Jiya was there, fuming. But Chang-li knew they''d made the right call. Standing and fighting would have been hopeless against so many. And no matter what the prism said, he was certain Mai Wen would have found a way to harm his disciples if they''d waited any longer.

 Bk 3 Ch 20: After-Action

    "It was not your place to make that decision,¡± Li Jiya fumed. She and Joshi had spent several more hours inside the tower until the competition was over, but had not recovered any more puzzle boxes or succeeded in downing any challenges.


    Now Chang-li, Joshi, and Li Jiya were back at the Sect of Morning Mist''s headquarters in the training room. The disciples had all been sent off to enjoy themselves for a few hours. Min sat quietly in one corner, cycling with her eyes closed, but Chang-li could read the interest radiating off of her body.


    Li Jiya continued to pace. ¡°If you had been with me, Joshi, we could have secured the puzzle box before our enemy arrived.¡±


    ¡°And if I had left Chang-li behind, they might have attacked him and killed him before a prism could intervene,¡± Joshi pointed out. ¡°The risk wasn¡¯t worth taking.¡±


    "We acquired one-third of the puzzle boxes," Chang-li reminded her, still feeling guilty about his failure, "and we downed a challenge beast. Your standing in this competition remains secure."


    "I didn''t want us to maintain. I wanted us to advance," Li Jiya snarled. "How can I show that I am the best candidate for the Emperor''s bride if I cannot even get my own sect to listen to me?"


    "Then perhaps you should offer the sect more than you demand,¡± Joshi said. ¡°Chang-li and the disciples and I fight for you. What good does participating in this contest do us?"


    Chang-li nodded along. He''d been thinking along similar lines himself in the past few days. "Li Jiya, you promised us there would be opportunities for advancement here, perhaps even opportunities other sects would not have. So far, we''ve been making no progress toward the next step of our own advancement, and the sect is bogged down in these petty little competitions. Every minute we spend helping you gain standing is time I could be spending researching or teaching the disciples ¡ª ¡°


    ¡°Or working on my own advancement," Joshi interjected. "This is becoming a distraction.When was the last time you thought about what it will take to reach Spiritual Refinement?¡± he asked Chang-li. Some of Joshi''s displeasure was, no doubt, provoked by his unexpected and unwanted betrothal to Hiroko, but Chang-li couldn''t disagree.


    "These new disciples are wasting your time," Joshi continued. "The hours you have spent teaching them the basics of cultivation and seeking through the scrolls for techniques for the weak, you could have spent more profitably working on your own advancement. You have made no progress, have you?"


    Chang-li hesitated. "Well, I thought my efforts against Mai Wen''s willpower went fairly well."


    "Then we should be seeking out beasts that use willpower against us," Joshi said. "You''ve told me yourself. Your studies have said higher levels in towers are rife with that sort of beast. We''ve seen nothing of it here. These challenges chosen to allow the competitors to show off for the Prisms'' pleasure, not to promote advancement.¡±


    "We''re halfway through the competition, and I have as good a chance as anyone of winning," Li Jiya said. "You can''t abandon me now. I need the backing of the sect."


    "But the sect does not need you," Joshi said.


    "That''s because it isn''t a real sect," Li Jiya snapped back. "It''s a front for a criminal organization. I won''t be used by this rabble of commoners who are trying to seize the benefits of cultivation with no understanding of its obligations. Cultivating isn''t about making yourself stronger so that you can punish your enemies. It''s about upholding your duty to the Emperor and the Empire."


    "To hell with that," Joshi erupted, clenching his fists. "The Emperor, the Prisms and the Empire itself can come down in a burning heap of rubble for all I care. I cultivate so that no one can ever again take advantage of me. I will become stronger so that I can protect what''s mine, starting with my own freedom."


    The two of them glared at each other for a moment and then both of them looked at Chang-li as though expecting him to interject. He was trying to sort out his own confused feelings. Joshi was right; it frustrated him not to be advancing. But his competitiveness was driving him to win this contest for Li Jiya, to prove to everyone here that Morning Mist were a real sect. ¡°Li Jiya,¡± he said slowly. ¡°You came to us for help. We have given it. Why are you being so difficult now?¡±


    She turned on him, nostrils flaring. ¡°That¡¯s just it! You don¡¯t see ¡ª for you and the sect, this is just another tower, another step on your path to advancement. When you¡¯re finished here you¡¯ll be off to another tower, looking for your next step. But I abandoned my family and my sect for this chance. If I fail now, what do I have? You don¡¯t want me as part of your sect. Not truly.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Chang-li considered protesting, but she was right. Li Jiya was a talented cultivator but he didn¡¯t trust her to protect him or to think of the sect first. Not when she¡¯d left her own sect so easily. But she was wrong, in other ways. She didn¡¯t realize that this was only the second tower their so-called sect had ever entered, that they had a future just as perilous as hers. ¡°We are keeping up our end of the bargain. You should return the favor. While you are here, embrace the sect. Help us grow.¡±


    Li Jiya rolled her eyes. ¡°So you want to make me into a tutor for barroom brawlers and backroom thugs?"


    Nettled, Chang-li let his irritation get the better of him. "That''s not who the disciples are. Have you bothered to speak with them, either of you?" he asked, knowing that the answer was negative. "Our new batch of disciples are the sons and daughters of shopkeepers, farmers, fishermen. Several of them spent all their lives down in the Flotsam until Min''s grandfather gave them a chance to improve themselves. Brother Stone''s the only enforcer the Brotherhood has sent us, and that was just because he already had learned some basics of cultivation."


    Li Jiya and Joshi both looked taken aback.


    "I thought he was trying to raise up cultivators to stamp on his enemies," Li Jiya said.


    "They will do that," Min said from her corner. She opened her eyes. "I won''t pretend that that''s not part of my grandfather''s agenda, but the Brotherhood isn''t about giving a bunch of common folk weapons and turning them into an armed mob to clobber your enemies. It''s about giving those ordinary people the tools they need to stand on their own two feet. The Brotherhood arranges apprenticeships for likely young people who wouldn''t otherwise have the opportunity. They make deals that benefit our members, promote alliances, pay off medical debt and see young married couples off to a good start. This is just an extension of that.¡± She shrugged. "I won''t pretend my grandfather''s motives are completely pure, but he''s not just a back-alley thug.¡±


    "Enough," Joshi said. "Let''s find out what value these puzzle boxes have. Whatever else we may come away with, my tower boons have proved their worth already. I''m eager to acquire another."


    That, Chang-li agreed wholeheartedly. He took the two puzzle boxes from his soul space while Li Jiya produced one from the folds of her robes. She held it up, eyeing it. "It looks like just a small application of lux at the pressure points will open it," she said and performed the action. The puzzle box in her hand cracked open as though the top half were on a hinge. Inside was a tiny scroll. Li Jiya took it and unrolled it, her brow furrowed.


    "I can''t read this." She passed it off to Chang-li.


    He squinted. "Right, these are old-style characters from the first centuries of the empire. Modern characters have been reformed to be easier to read, but licensed scribes are trained to read old documents."


    "Go ahead, then," Li Jiya said, crossed her arms impatiently. Min had stopped any pretense of cycling and now drifted across the room to peer over Chang-li''s shoulder.


    "I''ve seen characters like this on official proclamations, but I certainly can''t read them," she said. "They''re just there for the effect. The real content of a proclamation is always in modern script."


    Chang-li''s head throbbed as he stared at the characters. "She is mistress of all beneath the skies. Seek her where the water roars," he managed after some effort. Lowering the scroll, he met Li Jiya and Joshi''s confused looks.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "It must be a clue to the nature of the Floor Guardian," Joshi said. "The ones we have met before have not appeared to us physically, but the monks of Harupa said some might."


    "So this Floor Guardian takes the form of an eagle, maybe?" Min ventured. "And where''s the place where the waters roar?"


    "The whole floor is an enormous lake full of floating islands," Chang-li said. "Maybe there''s a whirlpool in the center that we have to find?"


    "Hopefully the other clues will give us more insight," Li Jiya said. "Go ahead."


    Chang-li applied tiny tendrils of yellow lux to the first of his puzzle boxes. It took him two tries to get the technique right. Then it hinged open, revealing a tiny censer, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, made of slightly tarnished brass. It was dull, with no ornamentation, just a simple handle and the chamber for the incense. He held it up, feeling more baffled than ever, and passed it around the room. Each of them took a turn scrutinizing it. Min held it longest.


    "There''s a maker''s mark on the bottom," she said. "It''s a coppersmith down on the tenth petal. I can put some feelers out."


    "Do that," Li Jiya said, and Min nodded. Chang-li felt slightly annoyed at being cut out of the discussion, but it wasn''t worth bringing up, so he let it pass.


    Li Jiya took the censer and stowed it away in the folds of her robes as Chang-li opened the final puzzle box. Inside was a shining blue scale, thin and flexible like he''d expect to see on a fish, but larger than one of his eyes. He held it up to the light. It was faintly translucent. Again, he passed it around.


    "Maybe we burn it in the censer along with some incense," Min ventured, "and that summons the Floor Guardian?"


    "There were six other clues," Joshi said. "Even assuming some of them might overlap, we cannot think to have found everything. There is more to this puzzle. We will have to study it."


    "Yes," Min said, "and I think¡ª" but she was interrupted by loud voices downstairs. People had come into the house, quite a few of them, in fact. All of the voices sounded male and very excited. The four exchanged glances. Chang-li sighed and headed for the stairs, Min following. If there was a commotion among the disciples, he needed to know about it.


    Halfway down the stairs, he got a good view of the entrance hall. Sure enough, most of the disciples were there, clustering excitedly around a newcomer. Brother Stone stood in the doorway, looking bemused.


    Chang-li focused on the stranger. He was a powerfully built man in his middle years, with a dark black goatee and long dark hair that fell in a queue from his balding head. He looked up and met Chang-li''s eyes. His own were yellow, his features vaguely hawk-like and craggy. Then Chang-li spotted what he should have seen immediately. The man was wearing Morning Mist robes and a ring on his thumb.


    "Well met, disciple," the man said cheerfully. "Rejoice, your Grandmaster has returned to you." He threw his arms wide as Chang-li gaped.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there. Summon the sect.¡±

 Bk 3 Ch 21: Meet the New Boss

    The entire sect assembled in the garden where the newly proclaimed Grandmaster stood waiting. The junior disciples seated themselves cross-legged in three rows of four, with Brother, Stone, Cui, Shou and Yang at the front and the more recently added disciples at the back.


    Joshi, Chang-li, and Li Jiya all stood in a line to one side. Min was standing with them, biting her lip and fidgeting. Chang-li couldn''t help glancing toward her as his mind whirled. She looked guilty. What was going on here?


    The newcomer was clearly a cultivator. Chang-li could feel his lux-rich core from here, and his presence had the same sort of feel as the higher-ranked cultivators Chang-li had known. His thumb-ring bore the same design as Joshi''s but was made of gold and much larger.


    Could someone else have stumbled upon a trove of Morning Mist secrets and be running the same scam? No, Chang-li thought that was unlikely. The simplest explanation, and the one that explained Min''s increasingly guilty expression, was this had the markings of a Brotherhood scheme.


    "I have returned from my great spiritual journey," the Grandmaster said, declaiming, locking his hands behind his back and surveying the disciples.


    He looked like a Grandmaster, Chang-li had to admit. There was no stripe of color edging his robes, which indicated he was unmarried. That wasn''t common among high-level cultivators but divorce or widowhood could remove those bonds.


    "I, Noren, am among you once more to bestow my wisdom on my beloved disciples and you, my new acolytes.¡±


    Chang-li spotted several of the newcomers nodding along, their expressions rapt. Even Shou and Yang were leaning forward, eagerly listening.


    Only Brother Stone had a worried look on his face. Chang-li tried to catch his eye but Brother Stone wasn''t looking his way.


    "I am pleased with your progress here. Beloved disciple Li Jiya is well on her way to proving her worth and dedication to the Emperor. I look forward to celebrating her wedding in a few short weeks." He threw out one hand, encompassing Li Jiya and that entire half of the garden.


    Li Jiya looked slightly relieved. Chang-li realized that she might not know this Grandmaster was a fake. She had not been filled in on the fact that the Sect of Morning Mists was a fraud concocted by Chang-li, Joshi, and the Brotherhood just a few months before. To her, they looked like a down-on-their-luck sect who had been bailed out by the Brotherhood. It would be best if she continued to think so, especially if she did win this tournament and go off to be one of the Emperor''s brides.


    Chang-li resolved to mention it to Joshi and Min, but that meant he''d need to play along with this Grandmaster.


    Noren, he reminded himself. The man''s name was Noren.


    ¡°My star disciple, Joshi, has come much further along since last I saw him, reaching Mental Refinement. Well done! And here, our newest Young Master Chang-li has reached that peak as well, and also, taken a wife. From an illustrious family, too! Congratulations, my disciple. I have something for you." Noren fumbled about before producing a small object from his robes.


    He tossed it to Chang-li, who instinctively caught it. Chang-li stared down at a brand new silvery sect ring, twin to Joshi''s except without the patina of time on it, bearing the Morning Mist logo on it.


    "Well?¡± Noren prompted.


    "Thank you, Grandmaster," Chang-li managed. He put the ring onto his left index finger. His right hand would have been more correct, but as he was developing his skills as a cultivator, he felt more and more comfortable with his left hand.


    Noren smiled proudly. "Congratulations, Young Master. May you have many more years of glorious service in this sect. Now, I am here to greet all of our new acolytes. Disciple Joshi, you have done well at swelling our ranks." Joshi folded his arms across his chest and managed a barely polite nod. Chang-li was relieved. He seemed to be playing along for now.


    "Let me see what you have learned. First row, second row, third row. Rise and bow." The three rows stood, each of them bowing awkwardly toward the Grandmaster.


    Noren folded his arms across his chest. "This will not do at all. Discipline, I see, has been lax in my absence. Without discipline, there can be no training. Without training, there can be no growth. Without growth, there can be no advancement. Therefore, discipline is the first step in the heavenly climb. Face forward," he instructed. The three rows managed to all face him. He held up a hand. "Now, bow." He snapped his fingers. They managed a passable bow this time.


    "Good. Now, turn to your seniors and bow." The acolytes bumped into each other again as they turned, facing Joshi and Chang-li. At another snap of the fingers, they bowed again.


    "Face front," Noren commanded. "Each of you, what is your basic cycling pattern?"


    Under his direction, they performed Purification of Mind and Soul, Chang-li running through it himself. The Grandmaster strode through the ranks. "Good, good. You, acolyte¡ª¡°


    The young man stammered, ¡°N-Nai, m-master.¡±


    The Grandmaster nodded. ¡°Acolyte Nai, there is a blockage in your anterior left dominant channel. You''ve been relying too much on the purification tablets. They are meant as a cleanse, not a replacement for cycling. What other cycling patterns do you know?"


    "Ah," the acolyte said. He looked uncomfortable to be put on the spot, probably because three weeks previously he''d been a fisherman living down in the Flotsam.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Chang-li was proud of how far his acolytes had come, but he had to admit they were not yet full-blown cultivators. None had managed the first condensation on their path to Bodily Refinement, though considering they¡¯d spent a matter of hours inside the tower so far, that wasn¡¯t surprising.


    Acolyte Nai demonstrated the Way of Washed Linen and then the Swirling Mists pattern. He did that one very well, Chang-li thought with pride.


    Noren stood watching, a curious expression on his face. "Do you all know this pattern? Show me." At once, the acolytes fell into the pattern. Chang-li felt a stirring of discomfort. Swirling Mists was a technique he had taken from Scribe Wulan''s journal, one of the basic Morning Mist techniques.


    It occurred to him now that the Morning Mist techniques were very old, and the sect had not been in existence for several hundred years. Was it possible they were doing something wrong, that modern cultivators had learned better?


    Instead, Noren seemed to shake himself. "Well done. Resume Purification of Mind and Soul. Until you have reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, that will be your best friend. I wish you all to practice cycling every hour of the day. Cycle while you perform your chores. Cycle while you eat. Cycle while you practice. Cycle until you can do it in your sleep. Dismissed," he said. ¡°Senior acolytes, take them to the training room and walk through the eight katas. I will speak with my disciples now.¡±


    Brother Stone shot Chang-li a worried look. Chang-li mouthed, "I don''t know either." Brother Stone issued the pack of acolytes upstairs, leaving Min, Li Jiya, Chang-li, and Joshi behind.


    Noren approached, throwing his arms wide and greeting. "My beloved senior disciple Joshi, you have done well." He turned to Li Jiya and bowed. "Lady Li, thank you for gracing our sect with your presence. I am pleased to hear the honor you are bringing us."


    "I am grateful for your return, Grandmaster," she said, and bowed, placing her hands together as she did so in deep respect. "Not only is it good to have a senior able to meet on equal terms with the other sects, but also our time training the acolytes has distracted us from this competition. We pray that now that you are here, you will be able to lift this burden from our shoulders."


    She shot a glance at Chang-li, who felt a need to defend himself. "If we get Shou or Yang to the Peak of Bodily Refinement, they¡¯ll be able to help us in the challenges," he pointed out.


    Noren turned to him, beaming. "Wu Chang-li, you are everything that has been described to me."


    Well, that was troubling. Who had described him to this man, and for what purpose?


    "Your work with the juniors is well appreciated, but Lady Li is correct. Your focus must be on advancement and performance at this tournament. I will speak to you personally about a training plan at another time. Lady Li, have you anything you need of me specifically?"


    She shook her head. "No."


    "Then I shall pay my respects to the Dowager Pearl and the senior cultivation officials here at this tower before returning to you, my beloved disciples."


    He nodded his head to each, then bowed to Lady Min.


    "Lady Min, please continue your duties as senior spouse here for Morning Mist sect until such time as another joins us."


    Chang-li nearly missed as the man shot a quick look at Joshi before clearing his throat. "I take my leave of you for now. I shall return after tea time, I think. The Dowager is said to throw an excellent afternoon tea."


    He left the garden. The four looked at each other in confusion. Li Jiya said, "Well, it''s good to have someone here ready to take proper charge of the sect. I shall be in my quarters meditating."


    Once she was more or less out of earshot, Joshi and Chang-li both turned to Min. Keeping his voice low, just in case anyone was eavesdropping, Chang-li said, "What''s going on here?"


    Min looked miserable. She wouldn''t meet his eyes. Her hands twisted the hem of her robes. "My grandfather thought our sect needed someone to convey a certain sense of dignity," she mumbled. "He told me he was arranging for a sectless cultivator who was already past the Peak of Spiritual Refinement to join us in the role of sect Grandmaster. I thought I had more time," she blurted out. "I meant to tell you, I just haven''t had a chance."


    Chang-li took a deep breath. He forced himself into Double Branching River, his most complicated cycling pattern, as he strove to remain calm. This was everything he had feared. The Oaken Band Brotherhood was taking control of the Morning Mist sect, proving they never had been anything more than a front, despite everything he had tried.


    Joshi, on the other hand, looked relieved. "I will speak with him to ensure he knows this nonsense of a betrothal between me and Princess Hiroko is not to go any further," he said. "But, if he takes some of the duties off of our shoulders and allows us to concentrate on advancement, so be it. I want that floor boon, and I want another endorsement on my license. With those, we''ll be in a good position to write our own terms for another tower. Perhaps he can give us some advice on reaching the Peak of Spiritual Refinement."


    Chang-li felt as though control of his destiny was slipping away from him. "Who is he? Where did he come from? I mean, he must know that we''re fake."


    "We are a named sect," Joshi said. "We have disciples and now a Grandmaster. How much more established can we wish to be? No, this is excellent. He will keep anyone from looking too closely and asking questions we''d rather not have." He nodded. "Yes, Lady Min. Tell your grandfather that I, for one, welcome his presence. He seems to be a reasonable man. As long as he does not make demands of our time, then let him wear the name of the sect." He looked from Chang-li to Min and cleared his throat. "Perhaps I should excuse myself."


    He rose and let the room without a look back.


    "I''m sorry," Min said at soon as the door slid shut. She wasn''t meeting Chang-li''s eyes. "I should have told you. I wanted to tell you, but ¡ª no, that''s not true," she contradicted herself. "I didn''t want to tell you because I knew you''d be upset, but I knew you''d find out sooner or later, so I was going to tell you. I swear I was. But we just..." She shook her head. "Every time we had a moment together where I thought I could tell you, we were training or working together on sect matters or, you know, spending time together, and I could never bring myself to ruin the moment. I..." There were tears in her eyes. "I''m sorry."


    "For what?" Chang-li asked. His voice sounded harsh on his own ears. He tried to moderate his reaction. "I''ve always known you''d be loyal to your grandfather and the Brotherhood, and that you and I see the sect differently."


    "But we don''t," she protested.


    Chang-li shook his head. "Of course we do. It''s all right. As long as he stays out of my way, I suppose it''s for the best." He felt hollow inside as he spoke and realized that this was hurting more than it probably should. It felt like the moment when he''d been removed from his post as a scribe.


    He looked down at the ring on his left hand and wondered if that''s why he''d put it there, not on the right, which still bore the mark of his scribe''s ring, even weeks later. He had replaced his scribe duties with the sect. It had become his new home and dedication. And now it being taken from him too. Leaving him with what?


    "I think I need some time to be alone," he said. "You should probably go and tell your grandfather his man has arrived, and ask if he has any more surprises in store for us. And then tell me about them if you feel like it."


    Min¡¯s shoulders slumped. "Of course," she said, "I''ll do that."


    Chang-li didn''t watch her go. He turned his back and headed for the private room they shared together. He sat on the mat and tried to meditate, but could not clear his mind of thoughts, no matter how hard he tried.

 Bk 3 Ch 22: Hirokos Request

    Hiroko bowed in the doorway as the Dowager Pearl looked up from her work. "Ah, yes, my dear. How are you?"


    "I''m fine," Hiroko said as she entered. ¡°How may I serve your eminence?¡±


    The Dowager gestured at the man seated across from her. "Hiroko, this is Grandmaster Noren of the Morning Mist sect."


    Hiroko took in his robes, which were in the Morning Mist''s pattern, and the ring on his finger with a symbol matching that which Joshi wore.


    She entered and knelt beside the Dowager, confused and trying not to show it. The Morning Mist sect didn''t have a Grandmaster because they weren''t a real sect. They were a scheme Joshi and Chang-li had come up with between them. So now they had roped in a high-level cultivator to play the role of Grandmaster. Very well, she''d play along. Hiroko bent her head.


    "I am pleased to meet you, Grandmaster."


    "And I you, Princess Hiroko." His voice was unexpectedly rich.


    She considered the man. He had a strengthened reserve about him that impressed her.


    "I have been speaking with the Dowager about the upcoming marriage between yourself and my disciple Joshi."


    Hiroko felt her face flush. "Oh, yes?¡±


    ¡°The Dowager and I have agreed that while we do not wish to distract from the festivities coming up, this wedding is a matter of import. We shall be working the details out over the coming days, but I wished a chance to meet you first."


    Hiroko was annoyed. She had been trying to meet with the Dowager for days now, only to be brushed off with the claim that the Dowager had other tasks to attend to. This charlatan had merely requested her presence and the Dowager had sent for her.


    "Dowager Pearl, may I speak?"


    "Yes, of course, Hiroko," the Dowager said fondly.


    Hiroko folded her hands into fists and focused. She had spent several sleepless nights thinking about the mess she had gotten herself into, how Joshi had responded to their betrothal. What really stung wasn''t the betrayed look he had when the betrothal was announced, but the words he''d said a few minutes before, that she was throwing away her potential, neglecting her own cultivation.


    Joshi had, in that brief moment, shown that he saw her as more than just a princess or a potential tool for his own success. He saw her as having strengths and abilities of her own. And he was right. She had neglected her cultivating, allowing the Dowager''s excuses to stand in her way.


    Hiroko took a deep breath. "Dowager Pearl, I will be ruled by you in all matters of ceremony, but I wish to return to my own cultivation again at once."


    The Dowager blinked at her. "What''s that?"


    "I am near the Peak of Bodily Refinement. I have been near the peak since the last tower. You told me then that I shouldn''t neglect my own cultivation, but I haven''t even set foot inside this tower. I cycle, but I have no lux remaining to me, so it doesn''t do me any good. I wish to advance. I wish to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement before I wed, so that my sect knows I can stand on my own two feet and be an asset to them."


    "Hiroko, you''d be an asset to them if you had crippled lux channels and couldn''t tell red lux from violet,¡± the Dowager Pearl said. "Why now? We have so many other matters to attend to, and as you know, my resources are stretched thin working the bridal competition."If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    That was another thing bothering Hiroko. She had thought the Dowager meant her to assist with the bridal tournament. That was why she had come along to this tower, after all. But after weeks of being pushed aside and told to stay out of matters, Hiroko knew the Dowager was just keeping her close.


    Whatever schemes the Dowager had, Hiroko wanted no part of them. If she did marry Joshi and join the sect of Morning Mists, she wouldn''t have to.


    Grandmaster Noren looked Hiroko up and down. He nodded. "I like her spirit," he said to the Dowager, which nettled Hiroko. They were talking about her as though she weren''t even here. Though a grandmaster of a sect was important, and a Dowager Pearl was one of the officials who kept the empire running, Hiroko was still an indigo princess. There were a lot fewer indigo royalty than there were grandmasters or even Dowager Pearls.


    Hiroko raised her chin. "I will not be underestimated," she declared. "Grandmaster Noren, if you wish me to join your sect as a cultivator spouse, then here is my demand. I wish to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement. I know how to do it. All I need is time in the tower and blue lux to cultivate," she added quickly, knowing that not every floor had enough blue lux.


    "Blue''s not a problem," Noren said. "Indigo and violet are scarcer."


    "Grandmaster," the Dowager''s eyes widened. "You can''t be thinking of taking the princess into the tower yourself. It would be unseemly."


    He tilted his head to the side. "How so? She is betrothed to one of my disciples, which makes her by extension more or less a disciple. But it certainly won''t be alone, your eminence," he assured the Pearl. "I need to take some of my juniors in hand. They are not progressing as fast as they should. Why don''t I planan extended training session for them? Yes," he told Hiroko. "I shall send details of when and where. You may bring any escort you like," he added carelessly. "Dowager, if you wish to have her accompanied by your own cultivators, feel free."


    "The princess''s safety ¡ª ¡°


    ¡°Will be on my head," Noren said, cutting her off.


    As the Dowager seemed to be at a loss for words, he leaned toward her. "Dowager Pearl, either my sect is strong and reputable enough to welcome an indigo princess into our midst as a spouse, or we are not. This will allow you to demonstrate to all that this betrothal is not, as I have heard rumors from certain quarters, merely an excuse to keep the indigo princess under wraps."


    "Where have you heard that?" the Dowager demanded sharply.


    "It''s going around. I believe it can be traced back to members of Prism Eri¡¯s sect.¡±


    The Dowager muttered something under her breath.


    "Dowager, I assure you, we are on the same page here. The indigo princess''s safety is my highest concern. Don''t worry. She''ll be in good hands here. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"


    "Oh, you''ve done enough," the Dowager sighed. "Very well."


    The Grandmaster rose. He bowed to the Dowager, then to Hiroko. "I look forward to your presence again soon, Your Highness."


    When the door slid shut behind him, the Dowager turned to Hiroko. "Do you have any idea what you are doing?"


    "I need to cultivate," Hiroko said stubbornly.


    "You need to get married, and anything that threatens that is a problem."


    "How would my cultivating threaten my marriage?" Hiroko asked. "And why is it so desperate now? A few days ago you were telling me I should wait and take my time, that the Young Masters here were hardly worthy of me.¡±


    ¡°That was before¡ª" The Dowager checked herself. She leaned forward, nearly whispering. "That was before Prism ¡ª¡± She stopped herself short of saying the name. ¡°--a woman arrived who hated your mother bitterly, and who clearly has her own designs. I don''t know what they are, but I don''t want you part of them. Marrying you off, even into a somewhat obscure sect, will keep you safe. Your grandmother was a friend of mine. That''s why I''ve been trying to keep an eye on you. I would rather have you less advantageously married than risk being a part of her games." The Dowager''s voice gave no doubt who she meant.


    "But surely she can''t have known I was here," Hiroko said. "She came for the competition, not for me.¡±


    ¡°If she only has one scheme going here, then I am a monkey''s maiden aunt," the Dowager said. "Just because I don''t know what it is, doesn''t mean she hasn''t got one. I have been neglecting your cultivation, though. I don''t know this Grandmaster Noren personally, but his cultivation records are unimpeachable. And he certainly is interested in having you join his sect. I suppose it can''t hurt. I will try to arrange for an escort, at least to take you down to the tower entrance, but it might be difficult to get any guards who are capable of cultivating."


    "It''s all right," Hiroko assured the Dowager. "I can take care of myself."


    The Dowager eyed her. "Yes," she said. "I would hope you can, or else your mother and father would be very disappointed in both of us."

 Bk 3 Ch 23: Understanding

    ¡°Noren''s reputation is solid. The Oaken Band Brotherhood had greased a few palms to help his paperwork look even better.¡± Min¡¯s grandfather sat behind his desk, drinking tea, looking pleased with himself, as Min stood in front of him, trying to keep her features respectful.


    ¡°He is¡­ he isn¡¯t what I expected,¡± Min ventured. In her mind she had thought the cultivator her grandfather was bringing in would be a figurehead, someone she could manipulate subtly to keep official attention off of Chang-li and what he was doing to try to rebuild the sect. She¡¯d even imagined it could be a beneficial relationship for all involved. But Noren wasn¡¯t the washed-up sectless cultivator desperate for a position she¡¯d expected. No¡­ he seemed like, well, a grandmaster. And that wasn¡¯t good.


    The two days since Grandmaster Noren''s arrival had been confusing. Chang-li wasn''t precisely ignoring her. They conversed politely over meals and inquired as to each other''s health at the end of the day. He had been busy with Joshi and Li Jiya on the bridal tournament, but now that convenient excuse was removed for a few days.


    Tonight, the third phase of the competition would officially begin. Two more sects were being dropped, leaving five, including Morning Mists. They had already been informed that Li Jiya would be required to spend several days in interviews with various officials who would judge her worthiness and provide an advantage for the next contest if she proved herself worthy.


    That meant time for everyone else to work on their cultivation. Min was worried Chang-li would find himself head-to-head with Grandmaster Noren.


    Her grandfather set down his tea and placed his hands together.


    "It is a good situation for all of us. Brother Stone says he has the junior disciples well in hand. Once we have a few more disciples at Peak of Bodily Refinement, I plan to recruit another group of acolytes," her grandfather pronounced.


    Min''s stomach froze, tight in a knot. "What is your ambition here, Grandfather?" she asked him quietly.


    He blinked at her. "The same as yours, Min. To establish a strong sect, one that can nurture many cultivators. This will provide opportunity to so many of our people."


    She wet her lips. "Grandfather, but that''s not truly what a sect is for."


    He shook his head, clearly not comprehending her meaning. "Is it not to benefit the most people?"


    She couldn¡¯t articulate why she no longer agreed with him, why her loyalties were shifting. No, not her loyalties. She still believed in the Oaken Band and its plans, but she saw now that her grandfather¡¯s schemes might well push Chang-li to his limits. How could she ensure that she and Chang-li were allowed to continue progressing as they had?


    ¡°I want you to work with Noren to organize the sect,¡± her grandfather said. ¡°You have the skills to grow it three, five, ten times over. Let him handle the training. You can manage the people. This may be the most important task you manage for the Brotherhood until the day you take over from me. Tell me what assets you need, what people. A dedicated scribe? A pair of fixers? You¡¯ll have them.¡±


    Min couldn¡¯t quite meet his eyes. ¡°Of course but ¡ª¡±


    ¡°But what?¡±


    ¡°I ¡ª I want to continue cultivating. I need time to work on my own progression. I¡¯m so far behind Chang-li, and he¡¯s racing forward all the time. If I don¡¯t keep up he¡¯ll leave me behind.¡±


    Her grandfather looked uncomprehending. ¡°You¡¯re not a cultivator, you¡¯re his spouse. You don¡¯t need to bother with all that. Aren¡¯t there elixirs? We can see about acquiring ¡ª¡±


    She interrupted. ¡°That¡¯s not how I want to progress.¡± How could she explain it to him, the feeling of making yourself stronger, better, by your own hard work? He understood that drive, but he¡¯d never be able to see the difference between doing it the right away or using a pill. Grandfather would see both as tools to be used on the path to power. He wasn¡¯t wrong. But when Min saw Chang-li working late into the night to study the scrolls looking for techniques, or spending hours cycling, it made her want to come alongside him and do the hard work.


    She cleared her throat. ¡°If that¡¯s all, Grandfather?¡±


    He smiled at her. ¡°I will see you tonight, I hope. Your brother was kind enough to invite me to the ceremony. Just think, three prisms in our city at once! This is unprecedented. Your marriage has brought us good luck, Min. I shall have to see about a present for your husband, I think.¡±


    Min bowed her head, and returned to the sect, to find herself alone with her thoughts. This afternoon Chang-li, Joshi, and Li Jiya were on their final tower trip of this phase of the bridal tournament. Li Jiya''s place was already secure, and they were hoping to make breakthroughs on their path to Peak of Spiritual Refinement.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Grandmaster Noren had the disciples working in the training room. Min felt guilty whenever she saw him and avoided him as much as possible. So she spent the morning directing the servants the Brotherhood had hired in various tasks before her feeling of uselessness completely overwhelmed her, and she retreated to the quarters she shared with Chang-li.


    Servants had been in here tidying, scrubbing the floor, and rolling the futon away for the day. Chang-li''s desk sat in a corner. Though he had a larger table in the sect library alongside hers, he often worked at night here, sitting on the floor with the lap desk in front of him, translating scrolls. Some of them had been left out.


    Min moved to put them away in their chest. She set one aside and disturbed pages bearing the unmistakable writing of an official scribe. It must be some sect paperwork that had mistakenly gotten in with Chang-li''s belongings.


    Min picked up the pages. Her eyes fell on the words.


    "My dearest son,


    I received your letter and gift yesterday. Nothing could have delighted me more. Although you said you wished the money to pay for our next season''s rent, I must tell you that your brother and his wife have welcomed their third child, a son at last, who they have named Chang-ul in your honor. Unfortunately, he takes after their firstborn, not healthy little Amyan. He is very sick and I fear will suffer the same fate as poor Eeya if we do not take him to see a skilled healer. Your gift will enable us to pay for an apothecary¡¯s potions. I hope you will forgive me for making this choice.


    More importantly, I was delighted to hear of your marriage. What more can any mother ask for than her son? You say your bride is clever, beautiful, and good-natured. I long to meet her and hope that someday your path, strange as it is, may bring you back to my doorstep."


    Min stopped herself from reading further, but she noticed the last lines bore the name of the scribe who had written the letter on Chang-li''s mother''s behalf and a small inked print where she had pressed her wooden seal to the page to make her imprint.


    Min turned away and stared out the open window, unseeing. She had known Chang-li''s family was poor. He''d spoken of his efforts to become a scribe, how his brother had worked extra hours late into the night to afford his schooling, how his mother had taken in boarders, but nothing had quite prepared her for this.


    Her life had been one of great privilege. Born in a palace, raised by wealthy and powerful individuals, always able to have input on her own destiny. Chang-li had fought for everything he had. No wonder he was so sensitive, not just to the fear that her grandfather would take from him what he had, but also to the idea of owing anyone anything. She should have seen it and been more understanding. What was she going to do now that her father and her family and her husband were clashing so strongly?


    Min heard Chang-li clear his throat behind her. She spun. He stood in the doorway. She put her hands on the papers behind her back, then, realizing how foolish that was, instead held them out to Chang-li.


    "I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to pry. I was tidying up the scrolls. Didn''t realize what they were until I''d read them."


    He took the letter from her, folded it carefully, and put it away.


    "I''m glad you told her about us," Min said, trying to keep the conversation light.


    "She''s my mother." He didn¡¯t look at her. "I want her to know everything important that happens in my life."


    "How far from here is Yellow Sky City?" Min asked. She had a basic grasp of the geography of the empire, but Yellow Sky City wasn''t a provincial capital or economic powerhouse. She''d never even heard of the place before meeting Chang-li.


    "It took me three weeks'' travel time to reach Golden Moon from my last posting, and that was six days from Yellow Sky City."


    "So far," Min whispered.


    "I might see them again. It''s possible," Chang-li said. "As a cultivator, I have a better chance than I did as a scribe."


    Min wasn''t sure what else she could say. She stamped down an impulse to offer to help to put her family resources at his disposal. He''d made it very clear he didn''t want that. Instead, she said, "I want to help you progress. I want to keep progressing myself. My grandfather doesn''t understand that at all. He thinks I''m wasting time that would be better put to getting the sect organized."


    "I''m sure if I can''t find time to take you training, Grandmaster Noren can," Chang-li said flatly. "Or has your grandfather forbidden him?"


    Min felt stung."No, that is, I haven''t asked because I don''t want him to teach me."


    "Well, if I have time, I''ll see what I can do. Joshi and I are trying to figure out how to reach the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. I''m hoping perhaps the floor boon will be some insight. Sometimes they are, you know. A floor guardian will help a cultivator understand what he''s missing."


    Min''s eyes went wide. "The floor boon. You haven''t uncovered any more clues?" she asked. An idea started to form. Something she could do for him, that no-one else could.


    Chang-li shook his head. "No, but the prize for doing well in next week''s examinations is supposedly another clue. Li Jiya is hopeful one more will give us enough."


    Min wanted to speak, but held off. If she promised something she couldn''t deliver, it would be worse than not saying anything at all. But her germ of an idea seemed promising. If it grew¡­ "I thought you were with Li Jiya now?¡± she said, trying not to get distracted.


    "It got frustrating not having any idea how to advance farther. It feels like every time I''m starting to get my footing, someone knocks them out from under me."


    Min felt guilty again.


    Chang-li shook his head. "It''s not about you. I''m just becoming more aware of how much I don''t know.¡± He busied himself for a few minutes before making an excuse and leaving again.


    It was time she got to work. Min went to her dressing nook and began repairing her hair. Then she applied the proper amount of cosmetics for a cultivator spouse who was going to pay a call on another sect.


    She hesitated a moment, considering her reflection in the silvered mirror. Would Chang-li see this as more interference? No. This wasn¡¯t a matter of bringing in Brotherhood assets. It was her duty as his spouse to help advance the sect. In this case, by gaining them an advantage in the next challenge, finding the floor guardian and gaining its boon.


    First, she would call on Serene Water. Then, she thought, Silver Crane. Yes, they would be a good place to start.

 Bk 3 Ch 24: Advancing the Sects Interests

    Chang-li was in the courtyard sparring with a set of training dummies, practicing a routine of punches and kicks Joshi had taught him. He had no intention of switching from his sword and elemental weave combination. It felt right to him. But the foundation of cultivation was knowledge of self, and that began with one¡¯s own body. In normal sects, acolytes spent years mastering the foundational techniques of martial arts to strengthen and better know themselves.


    Chang-li didn¡¯t know exactly what that meant, but he had read it several times in his studies. In his own training he''d learned that focusing inward on the simplest forms helped him clear his mind.


    In his spare moments, he was working on learning a weave from the Morning Mists scroll that was recommended for swordsmen like himself: Mirage Blade, a technique which combined blue and orange lux to duplicate a sword. Eventually, the scroll claimed, at higher levels, the cultivator could control it entirely separately from himself. Right now Chang-li couldn¡¯t even get it to form into a corporeal blade, so he¡¯d put it aside. Focusing on something simpler, like sparring, helped clear his head.


    He was hard at work when he felt a pair of eyes and a light willpower touch. He forced himself to finish his set before turning. There was Noren, standing and watching. He had kept mostly out of Chang-li''s way for the past two days, focusing on the younger acolytes. Now his eyes were intent on Chang-li''s face.


    "Come, disciple," he said. "I would train with you."


    Chang-li bristled at the man¡¯s presumption. He was here as a puppet figurehead. How dare he interfere? ¡°If it''s all the same, I''m happy with my routine here."


    "It is not, and I am not, and you should not be," Noren said.


    Chang-li''s temper had been simmering for these three days. Now it broke. "Play your Grandmaster game with the others," he snapped. "We both know you''re not my master. If you try to tell me what to do, we will both regret it."


    "Not your master, hmm, boy?" Noren''s gaze was steady. His will increased. Just for an instant, Chang-li felt pushed down by it. "You think you have nothing you can learn from me? Just because you think you know who I am and who you are? Foolish boy. There''s always something to learn from those stronger than you."


    "Prove it," Chang-li said, folding his arms across his chest. It felt good to have someone to take his anger out on. He had determined not to show Min how much he resented her and her grandfather for their interference. And it wasn''t fair to take it out on the disciples. This man was nothing to him. He was an imposter, forced in by a man who had no idea what cultivation was about. Chang-li felt no need to honor him in any way.


    Noren strolled forward. He inspected the dummies. "These are not your usual choice of weapons, perhaps?"


    "No," Chang-li agreed.


    "You perhaps prefer a sword?" Noren produced a sword from seemingly nowhere, presumably out of his own soul space. It was a wicked-looking weapon, with a black blade, sharp on one side, its back slightly curved, hilt wrapped in red leather. He held it in his right hand, and in his left, he summoned a flame. Then he stopped. "Wait, that''s incorrect. You fight thus." He switched the blade to his left hand and summoned a flame in his right. "Show me your skill."


    Chang-li was torn between the urge to turn and walk away and the urge to smack the man silly. Whatever skill the man had at cultivating, and Chang-li had no doubt he had some, there was no way Noren would be able to use Chang-li¡¯s unconventional style.


    "Show me," Noren demanded, and Chang-li drew his own sword. He lunged in, swinging with all his anger and frustration, putting his hatred of feeling helpless and his desire to push on into the swing. Noren''s sword caught his easily. Their blades clanged off each other. Noren brought up a handful of flame. Chang-li was ready for him. He used a simple red-lux shield to block the flame.


    Noren whirled around, lashing out with his leg. Chang-li took a step back to avoid it, and Noren struck with his blade hard against Chang-li''s shield. The shield shattered into two lux fragments. Noren let out a shout, deafening Chang-li. At the same time, his will pulsed for the length of two heartbeats, just enough to stagger Chang-li.


    Noren spun so fast Chang-li couldn''t follow him. A moment later, both of the training dummies Chang-li had been practicing on were no more than smoldering splinters.


    "I am offering to train you, boy," Noren said, lowering his hands to his sides. "Do you truly think you are beyond me?"


    Chang-li swallowed hard. "No."


    "No what?"


    "No, sir." Chang-li could not bring himself to call the man master.


    Noren sighed, and his sword vanished. "That will do for a start. Come with me."


    To his shock, as they left the garden, Min was waiting. She was dressed in a long tunic and trousers with her sect robe thrown over them, and she looked like she¡¯d just come down from the training room. Noren nodded to her. ¡°You are ready, then?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± Min¡¯s eyes flickered from Noren to Chang-li, but he said nothing. They left the rented sect house and proceeded upward from their petal. Chang-li didn¡¯t speak, Noren kept his eyes forward, and Min kept clearing her throat, then saying nothing. It was an awkward walk.


    "How did you get permission to enter the tower?" Chang-li asked as they approached the fifth floor entrance. This was where Chang-li had spent the most time during the bridal competition. The floor mirrored the Vardin Valley, but without the lake. Here he and his comrades had fought a dozen different challenge beasts.


    "I did not," Noren said as they strode up to the gate. The guards on duty stepped forward. "May I see your pass, Grandmaster?" one asked politely, averting his eyes from Noren''s face with respect.


    "I have no pass. I need no pass. I am Grandmaster Noren of the Morning Mist Sect, and I am here to train my disciples.¡±


    The guard cleared his throat. "Sir, without written permission from a cultivation official or the local government, I cannot¡ª"


    "Oh, Chang-li, I mean, Cultivator Wu, I wasn''t expecting to see you here. And Lady Min!¡±


    Chang-li turned in surprise. Princess Hiroko was approaching, flanked by a pair of female guards in Vardin City Regalia.


    Grandmaster Noren bowed low to the princess. "Your Highness, I have brought your training partners with me as you see. Are you prepared?¡±


    She blinked, looking confused. ¡°I thought when you said ¡ª I expected lower-ranked acolytes. Surely Cultivator Wu has more to do than help me?¡±


    "What are you doing here?¡± Chang-li asked stupidly. Behind him, Min sighed.


    Noren smiled. "I promised to help Princess Hiroko with her cultivation. For that, she will need partners, and as you are also in need of training, you''ll do. Stand aside," he instructed the guards, who, seeing Hiroko with them, fell back, boggling. They entered. Hiroko''s guards stayed behind.


    This floor was the one that matched Vardin City¡¯s valley, but with the lake removed. The lux density here was easy for Chang-li to manage. Despite himself, his spirits improved as he stepped onto the floor. Noren strode off across the green-swathed landscape. Chang-li automatically inhaled lux and began cycling it. Hiroko''s eyes went wide.


    "There''s plenty of blue. This is perfect," she said. He could feel her moving her lux about in the Way of Boulders pattern.


    "I know you like that barbarian fianc¨¦ of yours, but that pattern is no good for you," Noren said irritably, not looking back as he stomped along. Chang-li was trying to keep his eyes open for any threats. The bridal parties had pretty well denuded this floor, but you never knew when a tower beast would emerge from slumber, hungry for a tasty cultivator morsel. He was uncomfortable being one of Hiroko''s only protectors, not to mention, Min was barely more advanced and not experienced in combat.


    "Young Master Joshi didn''t¡ªthat is, I mean¡ª"


    "I can smell Harupan teachings, even once removed," Noren growled. "I''m not going to pry into secrets, but it''s clear where you learned it from. You need to try using Way of Three Pebbles instead.¡±


    Chang-li started. He knew the Three Pebbles technique, had taught it to his own students, but he''d learned it from the Morning Mist scrolls. He''d certainly never heard of it anywhere else. He reminded himself how little he really knew about cultivation techniques. Just because sects acted as though their techniques were trade secrets didn''t mean that was really the case. Possibly the techniques he''d learned from the scrolls were common to many sects. Or had Noren snooped through his scrolls and seen? He¡¯d found his papers disturbed once or twice after returning from the tower, and had assumed it was one of Min¡¯s servants to blame.


    "Go ahead and explain to her, Wu. I can tell you want to."


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Chang-li cleared his throat suddenly on the spot. ¡°So, you need to imagine holding three pebbles on the palm of your right hand¡­¡±


    He walked Hiroko through the cycling pattern, as Min sat down and focused as well. Min¡¯s brow furrowed the more the two practiced, while Hiroko¡¯s eyes shone.She took to it quickly, as she''d always taken to cultivation instructions.


    Hiroko was in some ways a better natural student than Min, having an instinctive feel for lux and its patterns. Min approached everything like a bull with its head down, running straight forward into it until it gave way. She had made excellent progress, and Chang-li thought another training session would get her to her second core condensation on her way to the Peak of Bodily Refinement. But she never made it look graceful the way Hiroko did. He cast a guilty glance at his wife, resolving not let her know his thoughts.


    "You''re very close to the Peak of Bodily Refinement," Grandmaster Noren said. "Be careful. Cycle that pattern, but do not try to bring in any additional lux until I tell you. It''s crucial that you reach the Peak in the correct manner."


    "Why is that, Grandmaster?" Hiroko asked.


    "Those who are more attuned to physical lux can brute force the first Peak or two," Noren said. ¡°You''ll need to be more careful. A breakthrough at the wrong time could leave you crippled. I know many cultivators don''t care about progressing past the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. It''s foolish and nearsighted of them. I will not have any of my disciples making that mistake." He looked pointedly at Chang-li.


    "I''m not your disciple," Chang-li said. It sounded weak. He was eager for the man to continue.


    "So we will find the exact correct place and method of bringing you to the Peak, Princess," Noren continued. "I''ve asked around, and this floor seems acceptable. Wu, do you know where the grove of Nikata trees are?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "I''ve never even heard of them."


    Noren gave him a quick look of disgust. "City boy. They''re tall trees with white bark and broad golden leaves. They may have had little silver blossoms hanging from them, and the smell is absolutely unique. Like cinnamon and honey."


    "Oh, yes, actually, we fought a wood sprite there."


    "Doesn''t surprise me," Noren grunted. "Wood sprites like Nikata trees. Take us."


    Chang-li led the way, Noren striding along at his side, Hiroko and Min trailing behind. The two exchanged a few quiet words, and Chang-li took the opportunity to speak to Noren.


    "I don''t mind helping the Princess advance," Chang-li said.


    "That''s very decent of you," Noren replied, cutting him off.


    "I mean, I don''t mind helping her, but I thought you said you were going to train me. I don''t see how I can be a training partner with her."


    "I didn''t say you were going to duel her." Noren gave an exaggerated sigh. "Cultivators these days. Always looking for the quick route to success. Well, you''re about to find that you cannot forge, steal, and cheat your way all the way to the top. At some point, it takes honest, hard work."


    Chang-li felt his guts twisting in knots. Of course that¡¯s what they had done, but to hear an older cultivator say it was a blow. He opened his mouth and then closed it. What could he say?


    "I''ve never been afraid of hard work."


    "No, and it''s one reason why I''m willing to bother with this nonsense," Noren agreed. "But if we''re going to do this, we''re going to do this right."


    "What exactly is this?"


    "Well, restoring the sect, of course," Noren said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the whole world. "What else did you hire me for?"


    "I didn''t hire you," Chang-li said through clenched teeth.


    "Forgive me," Noren rolled his eyes. "Your wife''s grandfather hired me, then. We were both pulled into his sect building scheme but let¡¯s see what we can make of it, shall we?"


    "My scheme!" Chang-li snapped before he could help himself. ¡°I brought back the sect from death. I just asked Min for a little help, and it spiraled out of control. But I never wanted the Oaken Band to do what they''ve been doing. I just¡ª"


    He broke off as they crested a small rise. There, at the bottom of the valley ahead, stood the grove of Nikata trees, the golden leaves shining in the sunlight.


    ¡°Just what?¡± Noren asked. His tone was bland, mild. Chang-li looked at him but couldn¡¯t read anything in his expression. Chang-li knew he had said more than he should, but he felt the need to explain himself. To make him understand. Despite everything, Noren had a presence that made Chang-li stand up just a little straighter, like the headmaster of his scribe academy.


    "I wanted a chance to cultivate, and this was the only way I saw to do it," Chang-li said. "I''m sure it''s hard for someone who''s been a cultivator his whole life to understand what it''s like to start from nothing. Scribes aren''t supposed to become cultivators. Oh, they''re allowed to dream of reaching Bodily Refinement. It''s one of the ways we''re kept in line, with threats of being sent to positions where we have no access to lux. But we don''t actually make it.¡±


    ¡°You feel like someone is going to come and tell you your license has been revoked," Noren prompted.


    Chang-li allowed himself a brief nod. "Yes."


    "Well, then. We¡¯ll just have to make sure that doesn¡¯t happen," Noren said, as they reached the edge of the grove. "Princess!"


    Hiroko joined them, Min standing a few steps back. She looked nervous as she glanced around at the smooth bark of the trees. Inside the grove was a ring of mushrooms about knee-high in yellow, green, and blue.


    Noren gestured. "Sit. Take a seat. No," he said as Hiroko began to fold her legs under her. "Inside the ring of mushrooms."


    She did as she was told, looking as confused as Chang-li felt. Min drew closer. ¡°Do you know what he¡¯s doing?¡± she whispered.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Could it be dangerous?¡±


    ¡°I ¡ª don¡¯t think so,¡± Chang-li said. Though he didn¡¯t like that the man had been foisted on him, he had to admit Noren certainly acted like he had real knowledge of cultivation.


    "Now," Noren said, ¡°Nikata trees have some very unusual properties. One is that they condense the three middle shades of lux within them, yellow, green, and blue. You''ll see the excess there," he pointed at the ring of nine mushrooms encircling Hiroko. "What you''re going to do now is cycle Swirling Mists. I presume you know that one?" He fixed her with a querying look.


    She nodded. "Yes, Chang-li taught me."


    "Good. I want you to cycle your lux. Everything here should be pretty much yellow, green, or blue. Spill out the yellow and green and concentrate the blue in your core. I want your core entirely filled. You understand?"


    In answer, Hiroko began to cycle. Chang-li could sense her pushing out the unwanted lux. It swirled around her in waves before drifting away. Chang-li reached out with his mind and drew in the wisps of yellow and green.


    ¡°Princess,¡± Noren said, "you''re going to play a game of tug-of-war with our friend here." He turned to Chang-li. "I want you to pull the blue lux away from her."


    Hiroko''s eyes flew open. "What?"


    "If he can," Noren added.


    "Isn''t that dangerous?" Chang-li asked. "Can''t it damage her lux channels to have her lux pulled from her?"


    "Give it a try," Noren suggested.


    Hesitantly, Chang-li reached out. He cycled Breath of the Heavens, starting with the lux that Hiroko was expelling. Then, as he tuned himself to her own cycling, he reached out and grabbed at the lux she was pulling into her body. If he could take hold of it, he ought to be able to siphon the blue lux away from her, since she was so many steps less advanced than he.


    The yellow and green answered quickly, but the blue lux was like an iron band in her grip. He couldn''t get hold of it. "Keep pulling," Noren told him. "Hiroko, hold tight. Clamp down on it. Don''t let him have a drop. In fact, take as much in as you possibly can. Chang-li, keep the yellow and green away from her. You''re only wrestling over the blue, understand?"


    Hiroko''s expression was taut. Sweat dripped down her brow.


    "Disciple Wu," Grandmaster Noren called. "Can you send the yellow lux to Min? I want her to get it out of the grove.¡±


    Chang-li grit his teeth and focused. The lux coming into him was a raging torrent, but it answered him well enough, not like the sticky lux he''d encountered during the puzzle box hunt. He had two sets of channels; he might as well use them.


    Chang-li focused hard, cycling only yellow lux through his left-hand side while wresting the blue lux as hard as he could from Hiroko. It was like trying to run and copy out an imperial decree at the same time. Sweat dripped down Chang-li''s brow. His breathing came in ragged gasps.


    ¡°Good, good!¡± Noren approved. ¡°Hiroko, keep hold just like that. Chang-li, instead of taking the blue from her, I want you to purify it and send her as much as you possibly can.¡±


    Chang-li switched to Double Branching river. The lux answered a little more easily to the pattern he had designed while inside the cultivation training crystal, fighting against his own reflection. This cycling technique was designed to make use of his parallel sets of lux channels, letting him cycle different lux through each. Now, though, he found there was so much more yellow, he had to cycle his left-hand channels twice as fast. For a moment, he nearly lost the pattern.


    "Focus!" Noren urged, his tone intent in a way Chang-li hadn''t heard before. "Think of it as music. Your left side is the fiddle, the notes twice as fast. Your right side, the drum, keeping time. Keep them synced.¡±


    Chang-li could almost picture what he meant. Instead of the lux being a continuous torrent, he raised and lowered the pitch, pushing as much as he could out of his channels, then letting the blue diminish while he sent another pulse of yellow, then bringing the blue up again.


    "I can''t take this much lux," Min said through gritted teeth.


    "Use it to form arrows and fire," Noren commanded. ¡°Send them away from us, keep the blue concentration stronger. You''re helping your husband here. Concentrate on that."


    Chang-li couldn''t spare the attention to look at what Min was doing. He focused on his own cycling. Hiroko seized all of the blue lux he could send her, pulling it into her own core.


    "Almost there," Noren said. "Chang-li, a little more." Chang-li pushed one last pulse of blue lux. "That''s enough," Noren said sharply


    Chang-li cut and turned. Hiroko was hovering two inches over the ground, her entire body suffused with light. Her eyes were closed, her hands extended, with forefinger and thumb touching as she cycled. Her face was radiant, literally glowing in the faintest shade of blue. The intensity grew and grew until it suffused her. Chang-li blinked. She glanced into light. The light dimmed away, and Hiroko was standing on the grass. She opened her eyes. She was still glowing.


    "I feel so different," she said, turning. And indeed, she looked different. Her hair was two inches longer and gleamed with dark blue highlights in the midnight black. Her skin was almost luminously pale. She hadn''t gained any height, but she had more presence now. Min was staring at her, mouth agape.


    "Is that Bodily Refinement?" she breathed.


    Noren nodded as he strode to them. "Your first step on the journey of cultivation always makes an impact," he said cheerfully. "Is this new to you? Chang-li, you''ve already reached the peak."


    "I was fighting a roc when it happened," Chang-li admitted. "I was a little busy."


    "You reached the peak during combat?" Noren frowned. "Fascinating. It is an age-old technique, though not one I generally recommend to my students. And how long have you known how to manipulate lux outside your own body like that?"


    "Uh," Chang-li said. "I learned that when I was facing Feng, just before I reached the Peak of Mental Refinement."


    "Hmm," Noren looked him over. "Interesting. I will have to speak with you more later. For now, Lady Hiroko, if you need a moment to breathe, that''s understandable. You two, go find her some water," he ordered.


    Chang-li bristled, but Min took his arm and led him off, out of the grove of Nikata trees.


    "Was that really what it was like?" she asked.


    Chang-li shook his head. "Like I said, I was busy," he tried to remember back. He had felt different afterwards. "I mean, you knew me before and after."


    "Well, I mean," she blushed. "That fight with the roc was the first time I noticed you. Specifically, I mean. Obviously I knew you. We talked a good bit, but you were, well, a scribe." She was nearly beet red now. "I do remember that fight. You, uh, yes, made quite an impression on me. I see now it was the Peak of Bodily Refinement." She stared up at him. "I need to cultivate more," she said in a rush.


    Chang-li reached out and squeezed her hand. "We''ll get you there, I swear," he said. "So, how come you''re not cycling right now?"


    Min let out a squeak and resumed her own pattern at once.

 Bk 3 Ch 25: Training

    As they left the grove, Min, panting, plucked at Chang-li ¡¯s sleeve.


    "Are we done yet?¡± she asked.


    Noren looked at her with disapproval. "Are you eager to be done so soon? Training has barely started. I will not have spouses in my sect who are ignorant of cultivation. I do not approve of this modern trend of sects allowing their spouses to be no more than decorations. You may call yourselves gems, but there is no reason for you to neglect your own training."


    "No, I didn¡¯t mean that. I just..." Min was more flustered than Chang-li was use to seeing her. "I''ve been busy with other matters. Helping the junior disciples, organizing the books."


    "Yes, that is important, and I am not suggesting you must focus as much of your time on cultivation as does your husband, but you don''t want him to leave you completely behind, do you?"


    She shook her head. "No, of course not."


    "Then I will present you with a training plan as well so you can weave it in with your other duties. Today we focus on Princess Hiroko because she will not be able to join us as frequently as you are until the marriage is contracted. I have a training device we can use since this floor has been fairly well denuded. Princess Hiroko?"


    Hiroko started. She turned to the supposed Grandmaster, her eyes wide. "Yes, Grandmaster Noren."


    "You claim an affinity with blue lux so here is your chance to prove it."


    They were 100 yards from the grove now in an open field full of burrows. Chang-li noticed hints of movement out of the corner of his eye but had not gotten a good look yet at what there was.


    Noren removed a bracelet from his soul space. It appeared to be made of copper or perhaps brass. There was a band to fasten around the wrist with a delicate chain leading to a pair of rings.


    "Place this on your hand, one ring on your thumb, the other on your middle finger," Noren instructed.


    Hiroko did as she was told. Chang-li looked at the device with great interest.


    "This is a focusing device. It is a device with a weave already inside it. If you channel the appropriate lux it will form a weave you do not yet have the skill to create on your own. This weave is an illusion and enhancement technique."


    Noren deftly wove a weave of his own between his fingers. Chang-li tried to follow what he was doing. There was a great deal of blue in it, with hints of red and yellow attached with green. There were at least four colors in the weave. Chang-li blinked and the weave collapsed into a single pattern, which Noren now flung out wide. It spread as it went, the lux dissolving into the air. Chang-li felt all his hairs stand on end as it passed through him. Min gave a small shudder.


    "Min, Chang-li," Noren instructed. "You will take on the monsters that Hiroko makes for you. Min, you are to practice your bow and arrow. I want you to work on loosening arrows faster without thinking about them. Only when it is second nature for you to weave a lux arrow can you start adding additional colors and effects into them. That is almost impossible to practice outside of a tower, not unless you have some very expensive lux concentrators. So, make good use of your time here."


    Chang-li stiffened as Noren turned to him. He wanted to protest that he already had his own training regime, but Min had already summoned her bow. Her eyes were shining. Hiroko''s body was tense with anticipation. Noren was right. They did both need to train. He could swallow his own pride to help his wife and friend. And after that last exercise of pulling lux from Hiroko he was actually curious what Noren would have them do next.


    "And you, Chang-li, I want to see you using that interesting new dual circulatory lux circulation channels you''ve got there. It''s not a common arrangement, especially not at this stage of cultivation. So show me what you can do. I will call out colors that you are permitted to use at a given time. I want you to focus only on those and only with the lux channels on the correct side."


    Chang-li frowned. "What will I do with the excess lux of the wrong colors once my core is filled?"


    "That''s for you to decide," Noren said maddeningly before turning to Hiroko. "Now then, here come your targets. You will keep these off of your partners using the lux I call out.¡±


    "But I don''t understand what I''m supposed to do," Hiroko protested as a pair of furry animals peeped out of a hole. They were a little bigger than marmots, with wiry brown and gray hair. Like all tower beasts, they teamed with lux, but Chang-li didn''t think they were particularly dangerous creatures. Apparently beckoned by Noren''s technique, they emerged from under their bush, approaching Chang-li and the others.


    Hiroko was channeling. She extended her right hand, the one with the strange jewelry on it, and sent out a stream of lux. It came out fully formed into a weave, mostly blue, but with red held in place with loops of green. Chang-li couldn''t follow the design, but as the first weave touched one of the rock pigs, the creature swelled in size. Now it was large enough to come up to Chang-li''s knee. It seemed to gain in confidence as well. The rock pig snarled, showing long yellowing teeth.


    ¡°Chang-li,¡± Noren said. ¡°You may start by using only the physical luxes. Defend your partners.¡±


    Hiroko took a step back, away from the pig.


    "Oh, don''t lose your focus," Noren said. "You must continue to channel lux through this technique. Target the other one as well."


    Hiroko''s brow furrowed as she pointed toward the second animal. The first rock pig began to shrink and diminish.


    "Keep up your concentration," Noren urged as Chang-li approached the beasts. "Chang-li, I want you to keep them occupied while Hiroko and Min start to learn. Don''t harm them. Min will kill the beasts today. You just keep them away from the ladies.¡±


    Chang-li drew his sword and then, thinking he might as well get some training of his own, started to try the Mirage Blade weave he¡¯d been learning from the scrolls to duplicate it in his right. ¡°Interesting,¡± Noren called, ¡°but no swords today. I¡¯ll work with you on that later. I think it might fit you very well, actually, but not now.¡±


    Chang-li grit his teeth and dismissed his blades as the first rock pig regained its unnatural size. Its eyes reddened as Hiroko''s technique took hold of it. Hiroko hunched forward. Her brow furrowed. The second pig grew in size until it was almost as large as the first. The first hurled itself at Chang-li. He channeled red lux to his right hand, conjuring up a shield. The rock pig bounced off it and hit the ground, briefly dazed, but the second pig was galloping past him, straight toward Min.


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    Min had her lux bow in her hand. It looked more detailed than the last time Chang-li had seen her with it. He realized it had been over a week since he''d arranged for her to have any training time in a tower and berated himself. Noren was right. Min had told him she wanted to progress and he hadn''t made any effort to see that it was a reality. He blamed her for not having his best interests at heart, but he didn¡¯t prioritize her needs either.


    Now Min formed an arrow on her bow. She fired the arrow at the second rock pig, even as Chang-li lunged for it. He reinforced his hand with red and orange lux. Instead of a gauntlet with spikes like Joshi''s, Chang-li wrapped his arm in a protective layer of lux and added orange finger grips. He seized the rock pig by its back leg and pulled. The creature, which must have weighed 50 pounds, stumbled. He yanked the pig back by the leg and threw it across the grass. It tumbled and rolled as Min¡¯s arrow flew past, just missing Chang-li. He thought for an instant he had spoiled her shot but the arrow thudded into the first rock pig as it was picking itself up and shaking itself.


    "Here comes your next, Hiroko," Noren said calmly, and Chang-li spotted the third rock pig emerging from a burrow. Hiroko targeted it and enhanced it as well. Sweat dripped down her face.


    "I don''t know if I can channel this much lux for long," she panted.


    "Your biggest weakness is going to be in the durability of your lux channels," Noren said calmly. Meanwhile, Min had formed a second and then a third arrow, shooting them carefully into the first rock pig she''d already injured. When the third arrow struck, it collapsed into the grass. Its body shimmered and shifted as Hiroko''s enhancement left it and it shrank back down to its original size. Its dark fur matted with blood.


    Chang-li was busy chasing down the next rock pig. The second one, recovered from his toss, galloped after him. Another pair appeared and Hiroko targeted them both.


    "Min," Noren called, "shoot one arrow at each and then three arrows into the second you shot. Now! I¡¯m watching! Faster, faster!¡±


    Min''s bow twanged. Chang-li was busy attracting the rock pig''s attention and just hoped Min wouldn''t accidentally shoot him. Another rock pig died.


    "I can''t cycle enough lux," Hiroko protested. "I''m losing focus."


    "Someday, you may be protecting your team in a fight. Their only hope of survival depends on your ability. Healing with blue lux is a rare talent, Hiroko. To develop it, I will make you work much, much harder than any of your teachers have previously asked of you. But it would be criminal of me to allow your talent to go undeveloped. Min, two arrows into the one near Chang-li, then an arrow in the second, then kill the first. Chang-li, you''re switching to the spiritual luxes now."


    Chang-li heard his command just as he was reinforcing his arm. He hesitated a moment, then vented his physical luxes. He had a buildup of spiritual lux, mostly of blue, in his body now and would be glad to have a chance to use it but the sudden change caught him off balance. He still had the attention of all the rock pigs. They swarmed him quickly and with his red lux enhancement gone, he was forced to run away from their gnashing teeth.


    What could he do with blue lux to keep himself safe? He didn''t know many blue lux weaves other than Blindfold. To buy himself some time, he tossed a Blindfold at two of the rock pigs. His weave slid off them as Hiroko''s interfered.


    "Good thought, but no," Noren said cheerfully. "Hiroko, two more coming. Min, kill the big whitish one."


    Min''s bow twanged. Chang-li wished he could see how his wife was managing. He resolved to be more involved with her training. Two of the rock pigs were on him now, attacking his shins through his robe, tearing the robe and his legs. Blood trickled down. Their teeth hurt.


    He cycled green lux through him, following the Purification of Mind and Soul technique. After all, according to his readings, when dividing lux into physical and spiritual, green could be considered either. When Noren made no objection, he decided that was answer enough. Green was allowed.


    Well, if he couldn''t use blue lux directly on the wood pigs, how could he fool them? Chang-li tried weaving a quick net on the infinite loom, blue and purple. He threw it around his shoulders like a cape.


    Noren applauded. "A confusion pattern, excellent."


    With the weave in place, the purple should ideally help hide his true location. He wasn''t talented with it, and it was a very basic pattern, so it didn''t do more than shift his outline, but it was enough. The rock pigs were no longer biting through his clothing.


    Min gave a shriek. Chang-li turned. It was a rock pig bounding toward her when he had failed to attract. She raised her bow to shoot it.


    "I didn''t give you permission to change targets," Noren snapped.


    Min shifted her aim. Chang-li had no tricks up his sleeve. Nothing he could think of that would help him turn the attention of a rock pig from his wife to himself, not without using physical luxes. So he ignored Noren''s orders and threw a quickly woven firepot at the creature. It exploded, knocking the animal back. It shrank back to normal size and lay still on the grass.


    "Stop," Noren ordered. "Hiroko, end your weave."


    Hiroko dropped her arm. The remaining rock pigs shrank, looked around confusedly, and then dodged back for their holes. Noren stalked forward toward Chang-li.


    "I said to use only spiritual luxes. I said not to kill the creatures. Did you misunderstand my instructions in this training exercise?"


    "No," Chang-li said, meeting Noren''s eyes. "I ignored them. You would have stood by and let my wife be mauled by a beast without even allowing her to defend herself. I''m not going to let that happen."


    Hiroko gasped. She looked from Noren to Chang-li, clearly shocked by his disrespect. That annoyed him even more. She must know that Morning Mist didn''t really have a grandmaster.


    Min dismissed her bow. She looked upset. "I''m sorry," she said. "My arrows aren''t very strong yet. That one should have been dead with my first three shots."


    "You are building a foundation from which to progress," Noren said, not looking at her. "You did well enough. Hiroko, you will need further sessions focusing on your targets. You need to split your focus more effectively.¡±


    "It''s easier when I''m either directly attacking or I''m trying to protect someone I know," Hiroko said quietly. "I want to focus on that."


    "Then you will need to understand the connections between people a bit better," Noren said. "I will send a scroll to you with some suggested exercises. My regards to the dowager. That is all for today."


    He turned and began to stroll away. Chang-li''s anger mounted. The man wasn''t even going to try to correct him. Chang-li had been bracing himself for an argument. Now the grandmaster was walking away. He hurried after, Min on his heels. "So that''s it, we''re done here?"


    "Hiroko is nearly at her limits anyway, and it''s clear you do not want to hear what teaching I can offer. You would prefer to figure things out on your own with scrolls and books. After all, they cannot judge you. They are the words of dead men written down on parchment."


    "I do not acknowledge your authority over me as a grandmaster," Chang-li said.


    "So, you must acknowledge someone''s authority in order to learn from him?"


    "How do I know you have anything worth teaching?" Chang-li demanded. He immediately felt his words fall flat. Noren might be a phony, but he was clearly a knowledgeable cultivator. Chang-li¡¯s attitude was petty and he knew it.


    "We are in agreement," Noren said. "I have no authority over you. You have no claim to me. Good day, Cultivator Wu."


    He stalked off, without looking back. Min and Hiroko caught up to Chang-li. Min touched his arm and he turned, expecting to find an argument. Instead, she was staring at him, her features soft.


    "Thank you," she said. "When that thing was bounding at me, I froze."


    "It wouldn''t have hurt you much," he said. "Barely nipped me."


    "Yes, but," Min bit her lip before shaking her head. "You didn''t have to do that."


    "I''m not going to stand by and let you get mauled by an overgrown rat," Chang-li said.


    Hiroko''s face looked drawn as she joined them. "It was an interesting technique," she said. "I think I understand what he was driving at. I''ll have to see if there are exercises I can perform on my own."


    "You know he''s not really our Grandmaster, right?" Chang-li asked.


    Hiroko shrugged. "He''s clearly a talented cultivator, and he''s the only one who''s offered to help me train since I arrived at this tower. I''d be a fool not to listen to what he had to say."


    That cut Chang-li deeply. Not that he could have offered to teach Hiroko. Could he? She wasn''t a member of their sect, not yet, not really. But he remembered his guilt over not having properly helped Min with her training.


    "I can take you both into the tower. We don''t need him. We can stay here now, and¡ª"


    Hiroko shook her head. "He''s right, I can feel the strain on my lux channels. I need a purification tablet ¡ª no, I suppose I don''t. Not any more. Well, I need to cycle, at least," she said. "Thank you, Chang-li. I look forward to training again with you soon." She walked away, Min quickly catching up with her and speaking in a low voice.


    Chang-li stared after both, feeling hollow, before following.

 Bk 3 Ch 26: Spies and Shades

    The man who called himself Noren left his junior acolytes training in the upper room. This was a good opportunity for him to satisfy a curiosity that had been building in him for some time. The senior members of the sect were engaged in a competition inside the tower and would not be back for some time, while Min had gone out to pay a call on another sect. He didn''t expect her back for several hours. As long as Brother Stone took his duties in training the acolytes seriously, Noren had bought himself some time without prying eyes.


    He slipped out into the garden and then to the set of private rooms occupied by the senior disciples. He himself had one at the end of the row. Though, of course, he kept all of his truly important possessions in his soulspace, where no one could go through them without his knowledge.


    Which was, of course, exactly what he intended to do to his juniors now.


    When he had first come to the sect, he thought he understood what was going on. The Oaken Band Brotherhood, one of Riceflower Province''s fraternal organizations, had happened across names and records from a defunct sect and resurrected it for their own ends. It wasn''t an uncommon story. Non-cultivators always seemed to think that they needed the heritage of an existing sect. Where did they think sects came from? But then, it made working with the imperial bureaucrats easier. There was so much paperwork and scrutiny involved in founding a new sect, especially without any highly ranked cultivators attached.


    Noren''s first impression was that the Oaken Band had found themselves a foreign cultivating prodigy, the Darwur cultivator, Joshi. It was a good move. Barbarians from outside the empire could be expected to have deficient paperwork. Then they had co-opted a scribe with a talent for cultivating. No doubt he had forged the papers they''d needed.


    Noren''s supposition was backed up by the fact that they''d actually married the scribe into their organization. The poor fool had far more ties on him than a cart horse. His wife was a gem noble, a daughter of the  Riceflower Provincial Governor¡¯s family, and tied to the Brotherhood. Wu would be lucky to get more than 50 miles from Vardin City for the rest of his life.


    At least, that had been Noren''s first impression. Then the boy kept surprising him. He knew things, things that should¡¯ve been Morning Mist Sect secrets. His own techniques were rough but showed a dash of genuine insight. The more Noren studied him, the more he realized Chang-li had an intuitive understanding of cultivation and a drive that any young master should aspire to. If he could lose that stubborn streak, he might really get somewhere.


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    Which meant Noren might have mishandled things. He needed to know more so he could understand Chang-li¡¯s reaction to him. What did Chang-li know about Morning Mists and how did he know it? With those questions in mind Noren entered the chamber that Chang-li shared with his wife. Their futon was rolled away for the day. Against one wall stood a shelf, absolutely covered in documents. Criss-crossing wooden slats formed a diamond-pattern grid into which scrolls had been inserted. Noren pulled one out at random and unrolled it. The parchment was still crisp, the ink unfaded. A careful hand had traced the characters. It was a simple description of the Swirling Mists cycling technique. Noren noticed where Wu had added his own thoughts on the technique, as well as a difficulty he had faced in teaching some of the acolytes.


    Fascinating. The entire shelf seemed to be full of similar scrolls. Wu had been busy. But where were the source documents?


    A couple of iron-banded chests took up more floor space. On top of them were unused parchment and a pair of pen cases. One of the pen cases had the Morning Mist''s crest, faded but still visible on its leather surface. Frowning, Noren picked it up at once. He recognized this was no ordinary pen case. It bore a spiritual weight. This was a lux-bound artifact.


    Noren channeled a bit of green lux into it, usually a safe bet when investigating an unknown artifact. Green was compatible with nearly everything. The pen case seized the lux, sucking it in. Noren fed in a bit more, and a moment later, a figure appeared, hanging in midair. A shade. Not just any shade. A querulous man with a translucent, balding head.


    "It''s about time, Scribe Wu. You''ve been absent for much too long. I understand you''re busy, but..." The shade stopped and stared at Noren. "You''re not Chang-li. You..." His eyes widened. "You..."


    Noren held up a hand. "So that''s the explanation, is it?"


    The shade started to speak. Noren fed in a bit of blue lux. The shade''s mouth snapped shut. His eyes bulged as he made mumbling noises.


    "Yes, yes," Noren said. "Quite right. But you see, I have plans for the boy, too. And I can''t have you interfering. Let''s see." He wove together a complex pattern, blue and violet, then fed it into the pen case. The shade vanished. That should buy Noren a bit more time.


    Well, this was productive. Before he could get caught by the overly perceptive Min, Noren let himself out. He was thinking of examining Joshi¡¯s chamber as well. But after what he''d found in Chang-li and Min''s room, there was no need. Everything made sense now.


    Chang-li was solely behind the resurrection of Morning Mists and he was already dealing with the Oaken Band trying to swoop in and take what he had created. That explained his attitude toward Noren.


    Now the question was what to do with this knowledge.

 Bk 3 Ch 27: Sparring

    Joshi discarded his robe and pulled off his tunic before stepping into the ring as the crowd applauded. His opponent, a Young Master from the Crimson Orchid sect, slipped inside the rope barrier and bowed to him. Joshi put his hands together and gave a brief head nod. The rival Young Master was taller than he, but skinnier, and their reach looked about the same.


    The opponent shifted his weight from side to side as the referee, a cultivation spouse of the Dream Blossom sect, cleared his throat and proclaimed to the watching crowd, "A demonstration match between Young Master Joshi and Young Master Gu Nyir. This match will be decided on points, no blows to the eyes or groin. Only physical red lux permitted in this challenge. No higher-level weaves."


    The crowd cheered. There were a few hundred onlookers. Beyond the ring was a stage where the Dowager Pearl and other cultivation officials would normally sit. Today they were performing interviews and other tests in which only the bridal candidates were allowed. The entourages of each candidate were left to amuse themselves or train. Joshi had no interest in staying around the sect hall to be cornered by their phony grandmaster. Chang-li had spent all evening brooding after the day he had spent with Noren. Joshi had asked about the training but Chang-li had been evasive.


    The match, and dozens more, was taking place during a break in between various interviews with the bridal candidates. Earlier, Li Jiya and the other four surviving brides: Mai Wen of Golden Lux, Xue Lan of Azure Flame, Zhen Yi of Crimson Orchid and Mei Ling of Dream Blossom, had taken turns answering esoteric questions about poetry. Joshi had been bored to tears as he waited for his turn at a show match. He hadn''t seen Chang-li all day and hoped he was working on his advancement rather than wasting more time with the junior cultivators.


    Right now, he reminded himself, he needed to concentrate on this match. There was nothing at stake here. Nothing to prove. Nothing to win. Just an honest chance to test himself against another cultivator, fist-to-fist. As the referee concluded explaining the rules, he stepped back out of the ring, spread his arms wide, and shouted, "Begin!"


    Joshi and Young Master Gu circled each other, each watching carefully for an opening. Joshi kept his fists up in a ready posture. Gu darted out with his left, a quick exploratory blow. Joshi quickly blocked it and returned one of his own. Gu twisted away. The crowd cheered.


    A quick right hook from Gu, which Joshi ducked under. He countered with a flurry of blows and slipped one past Gu''s defenses to land solidly on his ribs. "A point!" the referee shouted as the two broke apart.


    Gu gave him an appreciative nod. "I felt that."


    Joshi didn''t answer. He and Gu were both cycling lux through their bodies in a basic pattern. In Joshi''s case, the Way of Boulders. They weren''t yet reinforcing their punches or kicks. This was the time to get a feel for each other.


    Joshi and Gu exchanged a few more tentative blows. Sweat formed on Joshi''s scalp. Gu came at Joshi with a sweeping crane kick followed by an uppercut. Joshi dodged the kick and blocked the uppercut, sending a punch of his own in toward Gu''s ribcage once more, but this time Gu was expecting him and blocked.


    In the stands, the watching cultivators cheered and placed bets, exchanging their money as Joshi and Gu circled each other. But Joshi hadn''t been in doubt of the outcome since the second round of blows they exchanged. Gu kept falling back into formal stances. He had clearly been taught pugilism by a master of the Aknartha school. Joshi had studied it at Harupa and knew many of the counters. He was just waiting for his opening.


    As Joshi circled his opponent, jabbing and punching, his body warming with use, his mind kept circling too, on the unpleasant thoughts he''d been trying to avoid for days now.


    Hiroko. And their betrothal.


    He understood why she had declared herself. It was the culmination of what she saw as her duty, the role she had been trained since birth to play. He couldn''t blame her for being who the emperor had made her to be. She wore chains of the mind which were harder to break than the ones he had borne as a slave, and yet he wished it could be otherwise. If only she had been able to shake off the training. He had meant what he said to her. She had a rare talent with blue lux. He wished she would develop it. He also admired her grace and poise.


    It didn''t matter. No matter how he understood her inner turmoil or how desirable a woman she was, marrying her would be placing the collar back around his neck. Oh, it would be comfortable. He''d bear no scars or sores from that. But he would not become another piece in the empire''s design.


    So, what was he still doing here? he asked himself as he jabbed at Young Master Gu''s smug face. The Young Master ducked and returned a blow of his own, landing it on Joshi''s shoulder. Joshi danced backward.


    He really was letting himself get rattled, not by his opponent, but by his own thoughts. If he wasn''t going to go through with the marriage, he needed to get out of here soon. That would mean leaving the sect behind. Well, that was no great loss. They would be fine without him now that they had been absorbed by the Oaken Band Brotherhood. But it would mean leaving Chang-li too. And that was harder.


    Perhaps he could invite Chang-li to come with him. But would his friend leave his new wife? They certainly had a strained relationship. He''d seen the way they looked at each other ever since the arrival of Grand Master Noren. That didn''t mean Chang-li was willing to leave his wife behind. Joshi didn''t think he should ask it of him either.


    Perhaps they could bring Min as well. But no. Finding a new sect as a single cultivator was one thing. Two cultivators, one with wife in tow, seemed unlikely in the extreme. Joshi didn''t want to leave his friend, but he was having a hard time seeing an alternative.


    The opening he¡¯d been waiting for came a moment later. Joshi punched at Gu''s face, forcing Gu to block. Then Joshi appeared to fall back. Gu stepped forward into the Waiting Tiger stance. Joshi brought a leg around and kicked out, sweeping Gu¡¯s front leg. The other cultivator was quick. He didn¡¯t fall but caught himself, stumbling back. Joshi gave him no time to recover; he came in, punching furiously, and landed six blows before the referee shouted, "Enough!"


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    He fell back. The referee entered the ring. "Victor is Young Master Joshi. Well fought, both of you." He gestured for them to exchange bows. Joshi collected his share of the winnings from the match organizer, stowing it away. He needed to build up a war chest if he was going to leave. He took a place in the stands and watched the next match.


    This one involved two cultivators trained in the grappling arts of the far south. Their moves were interesting but most would easily be defeated by a cultivator of even modest level.


    Joshi was just waiting for his next fight. He had placed several large bets on himself. That, plus his prize purse, should be enough to get him halfway across the empire and bought into a new sect, or maybe all the way across, back home with his people. He still hadn''t decided yet. He didn''t miss his brothers, and he found himself conflicted about his father''s death, mourning him while still resenting the man for driving him away.


    "You look lost in thought."


    Joshi turned. Beside him sat a beautiful woman with golden hair piled high on her head, wearing diaphanous, low-cut robes. She held a bowl of cut fruit in her left hand and had a piece of it held delicately between thumb and forefinger of her right. She popped the fruit into her mouth and considered him. It was Prism Eri. Nobody in the stand seemed to have recognized her. Joshi started.


    "Don''t worry about them," Eri said around the mouthful of fruit. "They won''t notice us. I''ve seen to that. I wanted a chance to have a word with you privately. You did well in that last fight."


    Joshi grunted. "These cultivators are skilled enough with their lux use, but they are not well-rounded in physical martial arts."


    "An oversight I have always strived to address in my own sect," Eri said cheerfully. "Your sect is doing well enough. Li Jiya is expected to finish third. Mai Wen will win, of course. I would put money on it, seeing as you''re the betting sort."


    So, she''d been watching him for some time. Joshi forced himself to remain stone-faced. This woman was an incredibly powerful cultivator, one of the six most powerful in the entire kingdom. She had the ability to destroy him in a heartbeat, or to expose him and his sect as frauds. "What can I do for you, Your Radiance?"


    "So well-mannered," she marveled. "So unlike your late father. Oh, I''m sorry. Did that touch a sore spot?" She cocked her head to one side. "I must say, I never heard he had another son and one who''s a cultivator at that."


    "My mother was his second wife, from the cities. My brothers do not like to acknowledge me," he admitted. "I have spent many years in training."


    "Yes, the delightful Harupan influence. I can taste it from here. They do have a reputation, don''t they? And so well-deserved. I suppose they were almost convenient to you out there in the West. How is it that your father managed to convince them to take you on?¡±


    ¡°He threatened to burn their monastery.¡±


    Eri clicked her tongue. "Now, now. That might fly with others, but the master of Harupa is a Lux Dominion-ranked cultivator. I know very well that he could end your father single-handedly. And don''t tell me that they were short on lux. Harupa sits on one of few lux wells in the world that doesn¡¯t have a tower on it."


    Joshi supposed that as a prism, she would know these secrets and tried not to seem surprised. Eri¡¯s smile widened. "So, your father wanted a son who was a cultivator, and the monks of Harupa went along with it because I suppose he offered to bring them along in search of the fabled lost tower of the northern wastes once you were skilled enough to enter it."


    Joshi let out a growl. "Clearly, you know everything."


    "Not everything," she said cheerfully. "Those wastes are rather a pain even for a cultivator of my rank. And that tower is called lost for a good reason."


    Joshi held his tongue as Eri searched his face. Finally, she sighed. "I see you are your father''s son in truth, just as stubborn as he ever was. Well then, perhaps I should lay my cards on the table. I think it''s clear that you, for your own good reasons, do not wish to remain here and marry Princess Hiroko. I can''t say I blame you. I knew her mother. The woman was a faithless harridan. Being married to her would have been a fate worse than death. It''s no surprise that the General of the West chose a military career where he could be away from his wife for years at a time. But you see the kind of ties that the Emperor puts on his high-ranked cultivators."


    "Then where''s your spouse?" Joshi asked before catching himself. He cleared his throat. "Apologies, Radiance, that was inappropriate."


    "Not at all," Eri said. "He''s here, of course, with the sect, but he doesn''t put his nose into my affairs. He and I have an understanding of how things will be. You''ll find once you reach a certain level of cultivation that certain strictures change. Besides," she leaned forward, "he and I have been married for almost fifty years, and he never made it past the Peak of Bodily Refinement, so as you can imagine, he''s beginning to grow a bit old while I remain as, shall we say, vigorous as I ever was."


    Joshi noted her perfume, a subtle scent that got into his nose and lingered there. She was wearing extremely revealing clothing and leaning close, staring at him through her deep green eyes. All he felt was a sense of confusion. What did this woman want from him? She was one of the six most important cultivators in the entire empire, able to have whatever she wanted, and yet she was acting like she was trying to seduce him. Why?


    "Your Radiance, forgive me for my bluntness, but I was raised in a tent, and do not have the cultured manners of most cultivators. What is it you want from me?"


    Eri sighed, leaning back. She frowned at him. "You''re not one of those who prefers boys, are you? Never mind. Anyway, what I want from you is a willingness to listen. There will be many changes coming. The empire is standing on the brink of a precipice, even if many of us have failed to note it. In the days ahead, it might be good for a strong young cultivator to have powerful friends. My own sect is always recruiting. There would be a place for you in our midst. When this competition is complete, I intend to return to the West and conclude my business there. I believe you may have some insight into that business."


    She waited for Joshi to say something. When he didn''t, she sighed. "Just confirm for me what I already know. Your people have found the tower, haven''t they? But they cannot exploit it because you haven''t any cultivators of your own. That''s what your father was trying when he had you sent to Harupa, but they didn''t raise you to the Peak of Bodily Refinement. They expected you to do it on your own, so you struck out here for some much-needed training. No doubt you''re supposed to return home once you''ve reached the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. Is that why you are dallying with an underpowered sect, to recruit a few desperate cultivators who are willing to forsake everything they know for a chance at a legendary tower?"


    A thrill ran down Joshi. It was clear from her words that Eri had no idea about Joshi''s recent history. The prism was not nearly as omniscient as she wanted to appear. "You are very perceptive, Your Radiance."


    Eri sat back, smiling in a satisfied manner. "Well, then, and my offer, does it appeal to you?"


    Joshi hesitated. Though he was actively looking for a path out of his current situation, everything in him screamed to avoid Eri. She, in fact, would be even more of an encumbrance on his freedom than Hiroko. At least Hiroko he understood, trusted. This woman was devious and cunning, and he thought she had no moral compass whatsoever. Joshi bowed. "I will remember your words, Your Radiance."


    "Well," Eri smiled. "You know where to find me, at least for the next few weeks until this business is concluded. Good luck on your fights. Oh, and if you''re placing a bet on any of the other matches, my disciple, Ul Iwi, is currently undervalued by the oddsmakers, I believe. He won''t win every one of his matches, but he will land punches. You might see if you can make a few coins on the margin." Then, without moving, she was gone.

 Bk 3 Ch 28: Boons

    Chang-li waited with Li Jiya, Joshi, and the disciples they had selected to enter the sixth floor with them one last time. They stood in a mass of other cultivators all waiting to be allowed in.


    "You are the top five candidates. You will enter with your team in order of your standing in this tournament, with ten minutes between each group," the announcer boomed from beside the door. ¡°The first three to receive the floor boon from the guardian will advance further, the other two being eliminated.¡±


    Li Jiya looked unhappy. She had not performed as well as she hoped at the interviews and talent testing phase of the last week. They had dropped from second to third position, and she had received no more clues to the floor guardian. All they had to go on was the scrap of writing, the censer, and the scale. Chang-li had no idea how they were to find the floor guardian, summon her, and win her boon, but they must.


    He shifted uncomfortably. Min had been gone when he woke up that morning, leaving a note behind saying she would see him before he entered, but he''d had no sign of her. Now the dowager pearl cleared her throat.


    "Mai Wen of the Golden Locks Sect, you and your escort may enter."


    Mai Wen and her gold-clad retinue marched through the crowd of cultivators and into the tower without looking back. She had performed very well in the last week. Chang-li had been forced to listen to Li Jiya rant about how the judges were rating her answers highly just because she had the backing of a prism. She radiated confidence as she entered.


    Minutes stretched by interminably. At last, the dowager spoke again. ¡°Xue Lan of Azure Flame, you and your retinue may enter."


    The second group of cultivators rose and began filing through the crowd. As they did, there was a small commotion behind him. Chang-li turned. Min was pushing through the crowd, elbowing her way past onlookers. "No, out of my way. Excuse me." She shoved past a pair of burly cultivators in orange robes and arrived panting in front of Chang-li. There was a sack in her hand. She thrust it at Chang-li, smiling. "I did it. I wasn''t sure I''d managed to convince them, but I did it."


    He stared at her, uncomprehending. "Did what?"


    "I persuaded Silver Crane to give up the clues they won earlier. Since they were disqualified, they didn''t need to know how to reach the floor guardian. They had done well on their turn. They had four puzzle boxes. One of them was just another of the censers. I took it anyway. But the rest are all new to us.¡±


    He looked from the bag to her. "How?"


    "It wasn''t easy, believe me," she said grimly. "I spent hours there over the last week, trying to persuade their cultivator spouses to give it up. Finally, I mentioned how furious I thought it would make Prism Eri if her bridal candidate got shown up by a sect that came out of nowhere, and that did it. They gave them to me."


    He stared. "You didn''t tell me."


    "Because I wasn''t sure it was going to work," Min said. ¡°You haven''t got much time, and you need to look these things over. Take it."


    He took the bag. "What else did you promise them?"


    "A few favors," she admitted. "From the Brotherhood, not on behalf of our sect. Just using my ties. Oh, and of course, I implied that Yuan-li and I are on better terms than we actually are. It''s how the game is played," she said hurriedly.


    Chang-li''s throat was tight. He wasn''t sure how to answer. Min had gone behind his back, but this was an absolutely priceless gift.


    Joshi had noticed what was going on. "What is it?"


    Chang-li held out the sack to him. "Min has brought us something priceless. It might mean victory."


    Min blushed and ducked her head. "It was my duty." She looked up and meet his eyes. "No, it was my pleasure. I want you to get the floor boon. I want our sect to win."


    "Li Jiya and the Morning Mist, you may enter," the dowager said.


    Li Jiya was inspecting the contents of the bag, a paper with writing on it and a bundle of dried herbs and flowers. She replaced everything in the sack and hurried forward, Joshi and the disciples streaming after. Min took Chang-li¡¯s hand and squeezed it. "Go on. Win it." She tried to let go, but he would not relinquish her. "You''re coming with me," he said, pulling her forward.


    Her eyes widened. "What? But I..."


    "Nothing in the rules says you can''t. You¡¯re a member of our sect, you¡¯re a cultivator. Come on."


    He practically dragged her for the first steps, then she hurried eagerly forward at his side. He should have thought of it already. Min had received a boon at the Golden Moon Tower, nothing particularly exciting, an insight into her best cycling patterns, since they hadn''t bothered to collect the correct tokens to win an exceptional boon. But he had been telling himself for days now that he was neglecting her cultivating, and how better to fix that than taking her in now. Besides, she''d more than earned it.


    They stumbled inside. "Hurry," Li Jiya urged. "Chang-li, we need stepping stones so everyone can make it. We''re heading east.¡± She pointed. She consulted a piece of paper in her hand.


    "Do you know what to do now?" he called as he threw out a stepping stone and Joshi leapt across to the next island.


    "If these notes are right then we have everything we need," Li Jiya said. "And unless one of the others cheats, we should be able to claim a spot. Thank you, Min," she called over her shoulder as she leapt to the next island.


    Min seemed too overcome to answer. Chang-li pointed her to the red stepping disk. She crouched and leapt, landing on it, nearly losing her balance. He reminded himself that she was not as practiced with the sort of acrobatics as he was. The next step he threw out was larger. The sect raced forward across the islands, Joshi scouting ahead with Magen watching their flank, Li Jiya ordering the disciples and Chang-li providing the stepping disks.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "There''s so much lux here," Min marveled as she waited her turn for the next disk.


    "Every floor has more than the floor before," Chang-li said. "Is it too much? I have an inhibitor in my satchel." He had forgotten that she had not reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, and would likely find the lux density intense.


    "I think I can manage," she said. "I''m cycling as hard as I can. I don''t get many opportunities to cultivate. I''ll take everything I can."


    "Here.¡± He tossed it to her. "Keep that on you. If it gets too much, put it on. It''ll block out most of your lux channels."


    "You told me that you and Joshi had not used them the whole time when you were racing Feng for the Tower Boon."


    "Yes, but this isn''t nearly such a dire situation," he pointed out.


    Min leapt across the open stretch of water to the next channel. They hadn''t gone this far east previously. It was all new territory to Chang-li. Joshi reported back. ¡°No signs of the other cultivators or of any threats.¡±


    "Keep going," Li Jiya said. She handed Chang-li a scrap of paper. "I can''t read this one."


    He squinted at the characters. "It says more or less what the other did. ''Under the roaring waters gather, summon her with sweet aromas.''"


    "Well, the map shows an X at this end of the lake," Li Jiya said. "So that must be where the roaring waters gather. There''s a bundle of herbs in here. The note says we are to burn them in the censer and that will summon the Guardian. Or perhaps it''s a beast we have to defeat that will let us summon the Guardian after that. It isn¡¯t completely clear. We''ll see when we get there, I hope."


    They hurried on. The islands were growing farther apart here. Joshi rejoined them.


    "Magen sees the Golden Locks team off to the north. They''re heading east as well, but not as directly. He doesn''t think they''ve seen us."


    "Pick up the pace," Li Jiya said grimly as they raced forward. The lake waters were growing more disturbed, with a definite current leading toward the east. As they passed the next island, it picked up speed. Chang-li felt tense. Up ahead was a larger island, not one of the floating mats, but actual land humping out of the water. There was a ridge of spines down its center blocking the view from the other side. The island was covered in sand and scraggly bushes. They raced up it, vaulting past the row of tall rocks, then down the other side of the rounded hummock. Now at last, Chang-li saw what they had come for, a swirling vortex of waters on the other side of the island. They halted on the sandy shore.


    "This must be it," Li Jiya said. She took one of the censers and the bundle of herbs out, placing the herbs in the censer. "Everyone be ready." She lit the device on fire. A thin stream of sweet-smelling smoke rose from the censer. It wafted around Chang-li, making him think of holidays back home, of lighting candles for his father and grandparents to watch over the family.


    Min yawned. "It''s an interesting smell," she commented.


    One of the disciples stumbled to his knees. Chang-li shook him. He blinked up. "Sorry, I was just tired suddenly."


    "Spread out," Chang-li said. "Be careful. This smoke is putting us to sleep. And cycle!¡±


    He cycled as he spoke, and the lux pushed away his sleepiness. Instead, he felt a growing sense of unease. Something was wrong here.


    "Look out," Joshi warned. "Above!"


    Chang-li looked up. Magen was darting overhead as a shape plummeted toward them, growing larger by the second. First a dot, then it became a line, then a sinuous set of curves as it snaked toward them. It was blue against a blue sky, and he only made out what it was just as it reached them. An enormous flying dragon. The dragon hovered in the air in front of Li Jiya.


    "You have called on me?" she boomed.


    Min gasped. "A dragon!¡±


    There was a shout behind them. Chang-li turned. Mai Wen and her party were racing forward, weaves in hand, clearly ready for a fight. Joshi and Chang-li moved to intercept, weaving red shields.


    "Stop!" the enormous blue dragon shouted.


    Chang-li''s hands fell to his sides without his volition. He stood dead in his tracks, his lux draining away out of his core. This was a will like a prism''s steel cage trapping him. He forced himself to breathe. Most of the disciples and Min were on the ground, panting. Min was shaking, quivering, her limbs twitching. Chang-li forced himself to walk to her, even as the dragon boomed.


    "What do you think you''re doing?"


    Chang-li knelt and found the suppression bracelet. He put it around Min''s wrist, and her limbs stopped twitching. She blinked up at him, her mouth open.


    "Don''t try to fight it," he told her, before letting go of his own reserves and collapsing next to her.


    The dragon turned its attention on him. It had enormous eyes set in its long snouted face, and a crest rising over its head. Its dangling limbs were much too small to support it, but tipped with vicious-looking claws. It looked as though it would be more at home in the water than the air.


    "You defy me?"


    Chang-li returned her gaze. "To help the weak, yes."


    "Great one, forgiveness!" Li Jiya exclaimed, not moving from where she stood. "He was confused!¡±


    ¡°Trying to care for the weak can be the mark of a fool," the dragon said, and let a ponderous pause before she added, "but if he is strong enough to actually do it, then that proves he is no fool at all. You have done well enough."


    The willpower lessened slightly, still maintaining its grip on Chang-li and the others. "Who summoned me?"


    Li Jiya stepped forward. "I did," she said.


    "Then I shall grant my boon to you and yours." The dragon cast an eye over them. "It''s a ragtag lot you have here, but very well." She breathed out. Chang-li braced himself. A cooling mist worked its way across the beach, touching him, Li Jiya, Joshi, Min, and all the rest. It grew around him, turning white. He tried to reach out to Min, but she was gone. All he could see was mist. The dragon''s voice boomed.


    "What boon do you seek, oh defiant one?"


    "Ah, we''re trying to win this tournament," Chang-li said, casting about for his answer.


    "Hmph, I care nothing for such things. I have agreed to bestow my boon upon three groups, and yours was the first. So you receive a stronger boon. But hurry, the others with you are already telling me what they desire. The woman who summoned me here wishes for the strength to defeat her rivals. Secretly, she wants to avenge her brother''s death. Curious how you humans lie. Most of your disciples are desperately want to please their superiors. I see you and another in their thoughts, someone not here. Someone curious. I can''t see him well at all. Your friend from the Wastelands is conflicted in himself. He wants what is offered him, but not on the terms it is offered. So what is it you want?"


    "I want," Chang-li paused. "I want to know how to reach the Peak of Spiritual Refinement," he said.


    "That is merely the next step on your journey. You will find your own way.¡±


    "I want to get stronger?" It came out as a question. It shouldn''t be. That was what all cultivation was about.


    He hoped Min was receiving a useful boon, and then it struck him. "I want to know how to bring those I care about along with me. I don''t want to hold myself back, but I want to be able to help them."


    "Now that is beyond even my ability to grant," the dragon said. ¡°But I think I can help you. Here, with my blessing."


    She opened her mouth and breathed on Chang-li. He felt warm all over. The sensation faded, leaving ice in his veins. He shivered as the cold penetrated deep into his bones.


    ¡°Reach out with your lux senses and cycle,¡± the guardian instructed. Chang-li did, the lux answering him easily. It chimed in his ears, each note clear as a bell. He wondered at that. Each shade of lux had its own tone, of course, but usually he had to strain to listen.


    ¡°Now, when you reach out with your lux senses, you¡¯ll hear the tones others are using. Practice, and you¡¯ll hear when a tone is discordant with their cycling. That won¡¯t tell you what they should be doing, but¡­¡±


    Chang-li bowed low, already seeing the power of this boon. ¡°Thank you, guardian!¡±


    ¡°The rest of your sect is done and others clamor for my attention.¡± The dragon sounded almost indulgent. ¡°Go forth and climb, little human.¡±

 Bk 3 Ch 29: Previews

    Chang-li was just coming down the stairs from the training room, intending to go to the kitchen and make a meal of whatever food was on hand, when Min popped up from the front drawing room. Her hair was up, but she looked a bit frazzled.


    "I''m glad I caught you. I just received word that several cultivation officials are on their way."


    His spine stiffened. A quick wave of nausea washed over him. He started to speak, but his throat was tight. He cleared his throat and said, "Oh?¡±


    ¡°It should just be routine." Min bit her lip. "A review of our paperwork in preparation for ending this tower cull. Once the bridal competition is over, they''ll be wrapping up. But..."


    Chang-li nodded. "I understand."


    "Anyway," she said briskly, "as you are sect scribe, as well as one of our Young Masters, you should be there."


    Chang-li looked down at himself. He was wearing sweat-stained sparring clothes. "I''ll just go change then, shall I?" he suggested.


    She nodded. "You might want to wash your face as well."


    She disappeared back into the drawing room, and Chang-li took himself off. The sect house had a lovely bathing facility with a deep bathtub kept constantly full of warm water. There was a lux device attached to it that warmed the water and circulated it, cleaning it of impurities constantly. It seemed to him like a decadent luxury, but Min had told him such devices were common on the upper petals of Vardin City. It was harder, she pointed out, to haul water up from the lake than to employ such devices, especially in cultivator housing, since they could replenish the lux themselves. The governor''s palace was equipped with dozens of the devices, but the Brotherhood had only two.


    Chang-li stripped to the waist and washed with the basin beside the deep tub. He longed to climb in the tub and soak but he didn¡¯t have time. He combed and tied back his hair. It had grown out a good deal, and he''d be looking like a proper Young Master soon if he kept it up. Then he headed back to his quarters and changed into a fresh tunic and trousers and covered them with his best robe, which was getting slightly worn.


    His perspective on that had shifted quite a bit. He''d never worn anything nearly this fine growing up. No one on his whole street had owned a silk robe. His mother patched her own garments and kept them in good repair, which reminded him to send her more money. He had checked with Min, and a disciple of his rank was entitled to an allowance from the sect. Considering the treasures he and Joshi had brought in, he felt no qualms about drawing that allowance. If he sent it now, it might reach Yellow Sky City before winter and enable his mother to move into a warmer, wind-tight home.


    Chang-li was heading for the door when his eye fell on his brush case. It looked to be where he''d left it, but it was askew. Maybe Min had moved it. He picked it up and channeled a bit of lux inside. Scribe Wulan emerged, looking irritated.


    "I was just enjoying a lovely dream. Why are you here? Are we going to go back and visit the Cultivator Library again? I could do with another session under Rose''s tutelage."


    Chang-li shook his head. "Just thought I''d see how you''re doing."


    "I''m bored," Wulan said. He spun in place, looking around. "You haven''t taken me anywhere interesting in weeks.¡±


    "You said you didn''t want me to bring you into the tower here,¡± Chang-li retorted.


    "That''s because the lux here tastes bland. Rose said that the over-harvested towers have that effect. Do you know what it¡¯s like to be stuck with stale lux? Unable to cycle it away? We should go to another wild tower. You haven''t made very much progress toward the Peak of Spiritual Refinement," Wulan said, tilting his head as he gazed critically at Chang-li. "You''d better hurry up with that. Once you reach it, we''ll be able to remove my bond from you and transfer me back to the Morning Mist Headquarters."


    "You really want to spend eternity in the ruins of a long-dead sect?" Chang-li asked skeptically.


    "My predecessors will await me there. You have no idea what it''s like to be a shade, so don''t question me," Wulan said. "And remember what I told you. The longer it takes, the greater the chance that we''re never able to separate completely. I''m getting tired of having my naps interrupted by your impulses and emotions."


    Chang-li laughed and put his pen case down. The shade vanished.


    He passed Joshi on his way in to the main building. "Did Min tell you that cultivation officials are calling on us?" Chang-li asked.


    Joshi grunted. "She did. I asked, and she said they probably won''t need me. If they do, I''ll be upstairs."


    "Training?" Chang-li asked.


    Joshi hesitated. "I thought I''d see how the acolytes are doing with the patterns I taught them last week," he said stiffly.


    Chang-li grinned. ¡°An excellent plan." Ever since their spat with Li Jiya, Joshi had taken a greater interest in the acolytes'' training as though to show he wasn''t like her.


    Joshi disappeared up the stairs, Magen bobbing along behind him. The little lux creature had grown and thrived at this tower. Its body was a much deeper blue hue, and it was now nearly the size of Chang-li''s head. It could still go invisible when it wished, making it a useful scout. Chang-li wanted to research the expected growth of such creatures, but it was far down the very long list of tasks he set himself.


    He ducked into the library, where Min had a pot of tea and a platter of rice wraps and fresh fruit waiting. Chang-li snagged a fish-filled rice wrap and ate it. As Min looked him up and down, she nodded in approval. "You certainly look the part," she said.


    Chang-li felt the part. Maybe it was the ring Noren had given him. He really did feel like a Young Master now.


    "Remember," Min said. "This isn''t fake. We really are a sect. You really are a Young Master. All our paperwork is in order."


    Chang-li and the Brotherhood had worked together to forge more paperwork. That documentation, filed at the Cultivation Office, was now part of the sect''s permanent record. And the latest set of records they''d been issued weren''t falsified at all. Each of the new acolytes had a shiny, authentic license to cultivate.


    Chang-li heard a rap at the door. Min hurried past him. "I''ll get it," she said. "You wait here."


    There was a murmur of low voices and a shuffle as the officials left their street shoes by the door, slipping into the provided house shoes, before following Min into the receiving room. Chang-li recognized the face of the first official, but not his name, the man he''d spoken to at Prism Eri¡¯s party. Chang-li listened as they were introduced. The head official was Inspector Bing. The two with him were Subrogator Ji and Scribe Dao. Chang-li''s eyes flickered to the scribe''s hand. He wore the ring marking him as a licensed scribe. A pang of regret went through Chang-li. He had gained so much, becoming a cultivator, marrying Min, but he had lost something important to him as well.


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    Inspector Bing took the offered seat beside the table, and his two aides knelt behind him. Chang-li sat cross-legged with Min, pouring tea and looking on.


    "Cultivator Wu," Inspector Bing said. "It states in your sect paperwork that you are the sect scribe as well as a cultivator."


    Chang-li nodded. "Yes. That''s not common, but obviously permitted."


    "You will take responsibility for the condition of sect records, then?"


    Beside him, Min tensed. Chang-li licked his lips. "Yes, of course." Had one of their forgeries been discovered?


    Licensed Scribe Dao laughed. "Now I know why all of your records were in such good shape. Nothing like having a properly trained scribe and not just whoever the sect hires who can wield a brush."


    Inspector Bing gave him a withering look, and the scribe subsided. But Chang-li felt immediately more relaxed.


    "We just have a few paperwork questions to review. Nothing major. And we need to arrange for the surrender of Young Master Joshi''s license."


    A flash of panic stabbed through Chang-li. "For what?"


    Inspector Bing looked surprised. "In order to see to his upgraded record once he and the Indigo Princess are married, of course."


    "Oh." Chang-li let out a sigh. He had his own cultivation record with him, the red leather-wrapped version he''d received on marrying Min. Of course, Joshi would need the same, but he wasn''t going to like having to surrender his license, not when he was set against the marriage actually taking place. Chang-li cast around for an excuse to stall for time.


    "We''ll be sure to have that sent over," he began, just as Grandmaster Noren appeared in the door. The Grandmaster looked every inch a cultivator, his robe tied with an elegant sash, a silver chain around his neck bearing the Morning Mist''s crest. The visitors rose, and Chang-li jumped to his feet as well. Noren exchanged greetings with the visitors, then settled himself at the table.


    ¡°Ah, guests. What can the Sect of Morning Mist do for you?¡± he asked. His eyes flicked to Chang-li, only for an instant. His expression was serene, inscrutable.


    Inspector Bing cleared his throat. ¡°We were just discussing the updated records for your sect."


    "Yes, though as the competition has not yet concluded, I don''t see there''s any rush to get that done. I expect a commendation in our records when it''s all over," Noren said, smiling archly.


    Inspector Bing blinked. "Uh, you are referring to the commendation that the winning sect will receive?"


    "Obviously," Noren waved a careless hand. "Young Master Li Jiya is by far and away the most talented cultivator in the competition. She will make a fine bride for the Emperor. What other business have you here?"


    The inspector looked to his aide, who brought out a slate covered with chalk notations. ¡°The Dowager Pearl requested that we inform you of the opportunities awaiting your sect after this. There are several upcoming tower culls appropriate for a sect of your distinction over in the same province.¡±


    Chang-li leaned forward, a flash of excitement stirring in him. Noren steepled his hands together. ¡°Go ahead,¡± he invited, as Chang-li listened for the details. Their next tower cull could be the most important step he¡¯d taken yet. But if Noren was involved ¡ª no. Chang-li told himself to find out the details before he leapt to his fears.


    ¡°We have a scheduled tower cull of the Tower at Havaldan City. Prism Nai Hong oversees Black Hills Province as well and has indicated he''s willing to accept your sect. The buy-in is set at 8,000 kwam per Young Master, 4,000 for inner disciples, and 2,000 for lesser disciples."


    Noren was nodding. "A bit steep, but that tower is always profitable."


    Chang-li wanted desperately to ask questions but didn''t want to reveal his lack of knowledge. He glanced at Min, whose eyes narrowed. She seemed to catch on because she turned to the inspector.


    "Inspector, forgive me. As you know, we are a small sect, and I am currently the only spouse we have. I''m taking my training from old texts, but unfortunately, some areas have been neglected. Why such a high buy-in? We didn''t need to buy in at Golden Moon."


    The inspector smiled benevolently at her. ¡°That is because Golden Moon is a broken tower. Sects receive a stipend for helping at such tower culls. To participate in a tower cull at an established tower of known quality, of course, you have to expect to buy in. The fee is set low enough to guarantee a solid return for any sect who does their part, high enough to dissuade freeloaders.¡±


    Chang-li¡¯s heart sank. Morning Mist had sold a few of the treasures they¡¯d found in the tower, but the money had gone back out of their purse as fast as it came in. If he withdrew the 500 kwan quarterly allowance he was entitled to, they¡¯d be very nearly out of money. 8,000 kwam just for him to enter a tower?


    Min''s brow wrinkled. She pulled an abacus from a side table where she liked to work and moved the beads back and forth for a minute, then looked up. "That''s quite a sum. I''m not sure if Morning Mist can front it."


    The inspector shrugged. "Understandable. On the other hand, your travel costs would be less because Havaldan City is only sixty miles from here. There''s also a cull at Ramsnath City.¡±


    "Where''s that?" Min asked.


    "In Bluewater Province," the aide said promptly.


    Chang-li recalled the map of the empire. Bluewater Province was almost as far from here as Yellow Sky City, but far to the north, up against the auspicious ocean. In fact, if he remembered right, Ramsnath City was on an island some distance off the coast.


    "The tower there is not broken, but less regularly culled. It''s an underpopulated portion of the empire. Most of the people are fisherfolk. They''ve been reporting issues with oversized creatures in the past few months and their governor believes a cull would help."


    That got Chang-li¡¯s interest. He was, like Scribe Wulan, not particularly fond of this overly culled tower. One that offered greater challenge appealed. He might make progress toward Spiritual Refinement, with that sort of opportunity.


    "That''s so far," Min whispered. She looked stricken. "So far." She shook her head back and forth.


    Noren, however, was nodding. "It has a most pleasant climate, especially at this time of year. It might serve us very well. Anything else?"


    The aide consulted his notes. "Um, General Li Nu Zhan is looking for cultivators to aid him in ending the war with the Darwur in the west. There''s not, strictly speaking, a tower cull there, but he has access to two different towers as part of his logistics. You would be permitted to cultivate on a set schedule in between helping with the war."


    "I very much doubt we have any interest in that war," Noren said smoothly.


    "Isn''t there anything, well, closer?" Min asked desperately. "And cheaper?"


    The inspector looked taken aback. "There''s a cull at Arinat Point, but that tower''s on a two-year cycle. It¡¯s not worth the time of a sect with such illustrious members as yourself."


    "We will discuss our options," Noren said. "Anything else?"


    There was a bit of concern about paperwork, which Chang-li answered smoothly and quickly. Finally, the officials left. Min escorted them to the door before returning, her face a mask of worry.


    "I don''t see how we can afford any of this," she said. "Not the fee, and certainly not to travel so far."


    "What sort of help is your grandfather willing to give?" Noren asked.


    Chang-li bit back an angry retort. He didn''t want help from the Oaken Band Brotherhood. They''d done more than enough already. But he did want to hear what Min would say.


    She shook her head. "I know that he won''t want the sect going to Bluewater Province. It''s so far. It''d take us a month just to get there. But to buy in at Havaldan?¡± Min shook her head. ¡°So many kwam. How is it even possible to ask so much?¡±


    "Sects, my dear, generally have purses considerably larger than ours," Noren said. "But I understand your apprehension."


    "Maybe we should go to Arinat,¡± Chang-li suggested. ¡°We could try to build up our purse and venture somewhere more exotic after that.¡±


    "It''s not worth your time," Noren said dismissively. "Oh, the acolytes could learn from it. Spend ten years or so pursuing that sort of tower cull, and they''ll all make the Peak of Bodily Refinement. No, you need a challenge." Noren eyed him critically. "I''ve been meaning to bring it up to you, but I feel as though your cultivation is at a bit of an impasse currently."


    Chang-li took a deep breath. He didn¡¯t like that Noren had been foisted on him, but the senior cultivator was correct. He had been feeling the same himself. "I haven''t made much progress toward the Peak of Spiritual Refinement since we''ve been here."


    Noren pressed his lips together. "The best option would be to face a significant challenge, such as you faced at the broken tower. The Tower at Ramsnath might serve if it''s dense enough to be affecting the outside wildlife. That suggests, rather than a rupture, a slow leak of lux. It''s a less common failure model than a tower eruption, but it does occur."


    Min was looking uncomfortable. "I think maybe we need to talk to my grandfather," she suggested.


    Chang-li stood up. "We''ll make a decision ourselves. We don''t need his help," he said roughly. ¡°Thank you, Grandmaster.¡± He stalked out to go find Joshi. The other man would want to know what had just been discussed.

 Bk 3 Ch 30: Family Ties

    A waxing half-moon hung in the evening sky as the Sect of Morning Mist arrived at the Crown ring for the ceremony to mark the beginning of the final phase. The whole sect had turned out in their finery, with new robes provided courtesy of the Oaken Band Brotherhood. Chang-li''s were of fine silk, the nicest he''d ever worn, with a vibrant crimson sash and Min''s matched his. For once, he hadn''t protested her grandfather''s largesse. It was important that their sect looked the part tonight.


    Li Jiya was to be acknowledged as one of the three final candidates for the Emperor''s Bride. That meant their sect would have many eyes on them. She still wore her competitor¡¯s white robes, with a sash in the Morning Mist patterns over it. Grandmaster Noren was at their head, wearing his own new Morning Mist robes, edged with black¡ªa design Chang-li had seen on a few senior cultivators before. He asked Min, who explained in a low voice as they went up, "It means he is widowed and has no desire to take a new spouse. Usually, that''s respected, though of course, the Emperor and high-ranked officials can overrule and require that he marry. But that''s not common." Chang-li filed the information away for later.


    The lesser acolytes had no border on their robes at all, as they had not yet achieved rank sufficient for them to court a gem noble. It was rare for any cultivator to marry one of the Sevenfold Court until they had at least reached the Peak of Mental Refinement. Brother Stone was almost at that rank but so far his robe, too, was without a border.


    Joshi stalked along in his older robes, which showed wear and tear from battle. Chang-li guessed that he''d been sent a set with an indigo border, and he was refusing to wear them out of stubbornness. It didn''t matter. Their little band of twenty-three cultivators ¡ª and Min ¡ª was caught up in the absolutely enormous throng surging up to the Crown Ring.


    All the cultivators who had been part of the bridal competition were there, even the sects which had been eliminated weeks ago. The cultivation officials would not be issuing endorsements for licenses until after the conclusion of this tournament, which would also mark the end of this tower cull. This gave incentive for no sect to leave yet. The eliminated sects were at work on the lower floors, clearing them of tower beasts and reducing the lux inside to a safe level. But Morning Mist would be one of the three permitted into the seventh floor, this tower''s top floor, to take on its guardian, win the boon, and render the tower''s lux stores accessible to the army of technicians already waiting.


    They would enter at dawn tomorrow and not emerge until the floor was conquered. Chang-li would rather be spending the night getting some sleep, working on his cultivation, or even spending time with Min, but he didn''t have a choice. Everyone would be here, and he was expected to take part. It was all part of being part of a sect, and while he was still trying to wrap his mind around the implications, he knew his duty.


    This was his third trip up to the ring, but it was as if he had never been before. The Crown ring shone. Every surface gleamed, literally, a faint, opalescent glow leeching off of everything around him. The government buildings were festooned in all the colors of the rainbow, honoring the cultivators who were taking part here and the empire they served. Tens of black and gray-robed servants moved about, prepared to serve any need. The open spaces had been transformed into feasting areas, gathering places, or small covered pavilions offering couches and benches where attendees could seek a moment''s peace if they so chose.


    "The party will keep going while you are inside. They won¡¯t stop until there''s a winner of the competition,¡± Min told Chang-li as he gawked.


    "It could take days," Chang-li pointed out.


    "Oh, a few people may go back to their residences, but for the most part, everyone will be here ready to celebrate the Emperor''s new bride."


    He, Joshi, and Li Jiya had been closeted in strategy meetings for many hours over the last few days before finally agreeing that they didn''t know what to expect and would just have to take their chances.


    Li Jiya still had not reached Peak of Spiritual Refinement. She wanted to use the elixir, but he and Joshi had persuaded her to wait until it was absolutely necessary. For one thing, the elixir would fetch a fine price from a richer sect than theirs, enough to sponsor him and Joshi at a different tower cull. For another, Chang-li was uneasy with the idea of her using it. Joshi said it would put an absolute stop on her further advancement, and couldn''t truly make her the equal of the other brides if they had reached the Peak on their own.


    And there was still time for her to reach the Peak. Chang-li, Joshi, and Li Jiya were supposed to get tutoring from one of the Prisms later tonight as part of the reward for making it this far. Chang-li hoped not from Prism Eri, but he was excited at the opportunity, eager to learn what they might teach him.


    Now the sect passed smaller gatherings. The outer disciples peeled off to attend events more appropriate for their rank. Chang-li hoped they wouldn''t say anything that might get them in trouble. He continued to follow Noren toward the governor''s palace grounds.


    Here, at last, he and Min were split away from the group by a bowing subordinate who whispered something in Min''s ear. Min nodded, looking worried. She plucked Chang-li''s sleeve.


    "Come with me, please," she whispered, and they hurried off. The servant wore fresh-pressed gray robes with a pin at his lapel, the crest of Riceflower Province. As they entered the wing of the palace, past the eyes of a pair of provincial guards, Min told Chang-li in a low voice, "This is Understeward Arh Nya. He has served my family for many years." Chang-li guessed that she meant the official side of her family, not the Brotherhood side.


    The understeward glanced back over his shoulder. "My felicitations on your marriage, Lady Min and Cultivator Wu. I am honored to make the acquaintance of the lady''s spouse. I know you have other duties this evening, so thank you for taking time."


    "For this, of course," Min breathed. "I''ve been wanting to speak with my grandfather ever since we arrived in Riceflower, but my brother said it was never a good time."


    "Yes, well," the understeward''s face was clouded. "It still isn''t, but there won''t be a better one." He led them through a dizzying maze of halls, leading upward and inward. Chang-li thought they must be in the main section of the palace now, on the top floor. He stopped outside a pair of richly hand-laid wooden doors. The threshold was painted yellow, and the doors bore Riceflower''s crest worked in different woods, polished till it gleamed.


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    Min looked nervous. "We just go in without being announced?"


    "I''m afraid there wouldn''t be much point in announcing," the steward said. He rapped on the door. It swung open from the inside.


    The room was opulent beyond anything Chang-li had ever previously imagined. A large bed dominated the room, with posts at all four corners and silk hanging from the posts, elevating the mattress over the floor. The room stretched out in all directions. Windows were covered with heavy draperies. Damask-covered couches sat around low tables, and everywhere were the trinkets of wealth: fine dishes, delicate and painted with little blue designs, and vases with flowers that should bloom in different seasons, letting a delicate scent waft through the air, not quite hiding a note of decay.


    The room was several times larger than the house where Chang-li had grown up. The bed itself, as large as their family''s tight, crowded kitchen had been, seemed a ridiculous luxury. To have a bed taking up so much of the room, and one that could not even be rolled away during the day to give more space!


    Servants kept out of the way, their heads bowed, as men strode unheeding across the room toward the man who lay in the center of that enormous bed. He was covered in a crimson quilt, shining with designs picked out in gold thread. His back was propped up against pillows. He had a wispy white beard and many dark brown spots on his yellowing face.


    Chang-li stood beside Min as she knelt at the side of the bed and took the man''s hand in hers. "Grandfather!" she whispered.


    The man on the bed was breathing. His eyes were half-open, and he stared up at the canopy of his magnificent bed from under heavy, wrinkled lids. Soft footsteps echoed behind Chang-li, slippers against the polished wood of the floor. He turned. It was Jai-lin, Min''s middle brother. Dressed in the red robes of a gem court noble, he nodded politely to Chang-li as he crossed to Min''s side.


    Min looked up at him, her face full of grief. "Can''t he hear me?"


    Jai-lin shook his head. "He''s heard no one since his incapacitation. The family''s been keeping it quiet."


    "But I am the family!" There were tears in her eyes. Her lips trembled.


    "And I hope you remember that." Her eldest brother, Yuan-li, strode into the room, the heavy doors thudding shut behind him. Servants seemed to draw into their surroundings even more, practically disappearing into the draperies and walls. He didn''t seem to notice. Instead, he strode over to the bed. "This is how our family stands now, Min, on the edge of a precipice. One false move from you and we go over."


    Min started to retort, but Yuan-li held up a hand. His nails had been painted in crimson, possibly a reference to his rank, but he wore the robes of a first-rank government official, with the crest of Riceflower Province hanging from a gold chain around his neck. "The prisms support me for Grandfather''s heir. We have presented a petition through the usual channels, and I am hoping the Emperor himself will confirm me when he visits Vardin City here to receive his bride. Once that is done and my position is secure, our family''s standing will be safe. Until then, I need you to stand beside me, without speaking, without doing anything to disgrace our family. You have done very well in your role as cultivator''s spouse."


    His eyes flicked to Chang-li and then back to Min, as though Chang-li wasn''t worth any of his time. "Your sect has done far better than I had expected in the standings. You begin to redeem yourself, little sister."


    Min stood up, letting her grandfather''s hand fall limp. She looked furious, her face white with little spots of red up in her cheeks. Chang-li thought about stepping in, but this was a family matter between her and her brothers. He wanted to support her, but he didn''t understand the family dynamics. He moved a little closer toward her, putting himself between Min and her brothers. She trembled as she spoke. ¡°I do what I do for my husband and his sect. Not you."


    Yuan-li rolled his eyes. "Spouses come and go. Blood is forever," he said. "You will always be Guo Min of the Guo family. Our position enhances or diminishes your own. There is no conflict for now between your sect and your family, but I remind you to conduct yourself with decorum here at this event."


    "And when have I not?" Min demanded, unflushed.


    Jai-lin cleared his throat. "What our illustrious brother means to say is that, should your sect member be chosen as the bride, we hope you will ask her to intercede on the family''s behalf for Yuan-li and his position."


    Min''s eyes narrowed. "I thought it was settled.¡±


    "These matters are never settled until the Emperor confirms them," Yuan-li said stiffly. "The council of Riceflower Province has approved of me, and Prism Nai Hong expresses his belief that I am ready. But nevertheless, there are those who would suggest I am young for the responsibility. Compared to the heritage of our family, my own youth is nothing. Nevertheless, it''s good to have backing."


    "I''ll mention it to Li Jiya the next time I see her," Min said flatly. "I can''t believe you''ve kept me away from him." She looked back at her grandfather, her voice breaking.


    "And what good would it have done you? He''s been like this since his stroke," Yuan-li said roughly."Just remember, little sister, that you are still part of this family with obligations."


    Now Chang-li had had enough. He strode forward toward Yuan-li. Min caught at his sleeve, but he shook her off."Your notion of obligations seems remarkably one-sided, brother," he said.


    Yuan-li stared at him. He was about an inch taller than Chang-li, broad in the shoulders. He had an arrogant air to him, a man used to getting his own way. But Chang-li had had his share of dealing with cultivators. A simple governor was no match now.


    "You have made it very clear what Min can expect from the family." Chang-li twisted the last word, letting it sink in. "Your concept of obligation is remarkably one sided.I am surprised Min has any respect for you. "


    Yuan-li spluttered at him. "How dare you address yourself¡ª"


    "How dare you address yourself to me in such a manner?" Chang-li demanded. "The Sect of Morning Mists is very close to taking offense at you, brother." He focused on Yuan-li and extended his will as he did in training against Joshi. He still wasn''t very good at it, and did no more than shove his will at Min''s brother for a brief moment. But the man''s knees buckled. His eyes went wide as he caught himself. Chang-li''s will snapped back into place, leaving him breathing hard. He hoped Yuan-li didn''t notice.


    Min''s brother stared at him. "You, you ¡ª You don''t want to make an enemy of me."


    "Don''t make stupid threats," Chang-li snapped. "You''re asking us for our help and support. Whether or not Li Jiya wins this tournament, the Sect of Morning Mist is a powerful ally. One you cannot afford to estrange. Perhaps you have forgotten that." He turned to Min. "Are we done here?"


    "I, yes," she managed, stepping to Chang-li''s side. He put his arm around her shoulder and glared at Yuan-li.


    "You will give instructions that if my wife wishes to visit her grandfather, she will be admitted."


    "Of course," Yuan-li muttered.


    "Then we understand each other, brother. I look forward to your confirmation as governor soon." He swept past Yuan-li and Jai-lin, bringing Min with him. As they stepped out into the hall, the door closed behind them. Min sagged against him and whispered, "You shouldn''t have done that. There was no need to make him angry. Yuan-li''s always worried about face. He won''t forget this.¡±


    "There was no one there but family and servants," Chang-li said. "He won''t count the servants. He''ll remember the sting, yes, but he knows he needs us. He''s young to be governor, and our family is lacking in connections right now.¡±


    ¡°He was counting on Jai-lin or me making a spectacular marriage, and I fear he''s disappointed so far." She managed a wan smile. "Maybe he''ll change his mind now."


    "There''s no need to treat you like he has,¡± Chang-li said.


    "No," she let out a sigh. "He''s just so afraid of our family losing face. I don''t mind, really I don''t."


    ¡°But I do,¡± Chang-li said. ¡°You¡¯re my wife, and I won¡¯t stand for this sort of insult.¡±


    A look of wonder passed over Min¡¯s face. ¡°You mean that,¡± she said. Then she blinked, her expression clearing. ¡°We¡¯d better get back to the festivities. You wouldn¡¯t want to miss your private tutoring.¡±

 Bk 3 Ch 31: Grandmastery

    Chang-li and Min wound their way through the festivities. Min seemed quiet and withdrawn. As they passed people she knew, she gave slight head nods and bare acknowledgments. Her brother''s words must have cut her deeper than she was letting on. "Are you all right?" he asked her in a low voice. "Should we go back to the sect house?"


    She shook her head. "We can''t. You and I both have duties here tonight. Besides," she smiled up at him wanly, "it''s time for your tutoring session soon, isn''t it? I''m sure you''ve been looking forward to that."


    Chang-li felt himself go red. He had spoken of it at length over the past few days in the privacy of their own quarters. He didn''t feel comfortable letting Li Jiya see just how excited he was at the idea of having a prism give him dedicated attention. Even a few minutes of their time might aid him more than a dozen cultivation sessions on his own. On the other hand, he remembered how Prism Nai Lin had used violet lux to spy on his and Joshi''s actions in the previous tower. There was much in his past he didn¡¯t want revealed.


    Min turned her head. "Look, there''s the Grandmaster and Brother Stone."


    Gratefully, Chang-li altered their path toward Grandmaster Noren, who was looking about with a placid expression. Brother Stone, on the other hand, looked like a poleaxed ox.


    Noren smiled as Chang-li approached. He put his hands inside his sleeves and gave a slight nod of the head. "There you are, my beloved disciple," he said. "How are you enjoying this party? It is in your honor, after all."


    "I thought it was for Li Jiya and the other bridal candidates,¡± Chang-li said.


    Noren gave a short laugh. "Yes, but in truth, it is in honor of the sects who sponsor them."


    "Then it honors you?" Chang-li met Noren''s gaze straight on. The other man didn''t look away. His sharp, dark eyes held Chang-li''s vision.


    "I think we both know who is responsible for our being here tonight," Noren said in a quiet voice.


    Brother Stone stepped forward. "Elder Sister, the Eldest Brother asked that you attend to him when you have a moment."


    "What, here? Now?" Min looked about, as though expecting her other grandfather to emerge from a crowd at any moment. Chang-li tensed. He had not spoken with Min''s grandfather since Noren''s arrival, and he didn''t really want to meet the man now. Or at all, honestly. He was still upset about the high-handed manner in which the sect was being treated. No, that wasn''t right. He was upset about how he himself was being treated, as though all his hard work had merely been to craft a toy for the Oaken Band''s patriarch to claim.


    Min turned to Chang-li. "If it''s all right, I''ll have a word with him.¡±


    ¡°You don''t want me to accompany you?"


    Min shook her head. "I mean, you have your tutoring to get to. It''s fine," she said. She reached out a hand and squeezed his. He nodded and let go of her hand.


    "Give him my regards.¡±


    Min and Brother Stone hurried off, leaving Chang-li alone in the middle of the loud, crowded space with Grandmaster Noren. There was a circle of space around them, more than an arm''s width between them and the next person. It was as though everyone else in the place was drawing away from Noren, consciously or not. Chang-li realized he could feel an aura rising off of Noren. Noren''s eyes narrowed.


    "So, took you long enough to notice.¡±


    ¡°What is that effect?"


    "It''s an application of will. Any cultivator who''s reached the stage of Lux Dominion can manage this."


    Chang-li filed away the information, as well as the fact that their Grandmaster must be at least Lux Dominion stage. He had never outright stated his rank, and Chang-li wasn''t adept at judging the progression of higher-tier cultivators.


    "It''s an application of your will," Noren continued, "exuding just enough of it to give ordinary people the vague feeling of discomfort when around you. It allows you to pass somewhat unnoticed, even through crowds. Of course, to a cultivator of any real standing, it has rather the opposite effect. Something like setting yourself on fire, I should think. Ah, and here we are now."


    He broke off as the crowd parted, seemingly unnoticing, to allow a woman to stride through. Prism Eri¡¯s hair fluttered out behind her like a banner, the long golden locks that had given her sect its name gleaming in the light of torch and lux lanterns. Tonight she wore a sky-blue robe of an odd cut. It had a long sweeping train and a plunging bodice that that showed off ample cleavage. She wore a silver collar around her neck and diamonds glittered in her ears. As she approached, Grandmaster Noren bowed low. Chang-li followed suit. The prism stopped in front of them and looked the pair over.


    "Cultivator Wu, I am impressed at your sect''s dedication. You have done well and it will be no shame for you to fall before Mai Wen."


    "Thank you, Your Radiance," Chang-li said, keeping his eyes politely averted. "And I hope Mai Wen will forgive us when Li Jiya wins the tournament." He held his breath, hoping he hadn''t been too forward.


    Eri laughed, a tinkling sound that hung in the air for a moment before fading away. "You do have spirit. I like your sect. And you," she turned to Noren. "You are the Grandmaster of Morning Mist? Noren, I believe."


    "That is what it says on my cultivation license," Noren said blandly.


    "Yes, I asked the officials to tell me all about you. You are a bit of a wanderer, it seems. Expelled from the Swirling Tides sect, briefly accepted and then resigned from the Sect of Peach Blossoms, lately a sectless cultivator. It seems you have found your home at last."


    Noren shrugged. "Perhaps it has found me."


    Chang-li memorized both of the names she had mentioned and wondered why he hadn''t thought to look up Noren''s license himself. Of course, a duplicate copy of the man''s records were stored in the government archives here. All cultivators involved in a cull would be. As sect scribe, he would have no trouble accessing the records. He could merely say he needed to update something.


    "Well," Eri said, "I must say I regret that I was not chosen to tutor you, Cultivator Wu. I still have the honor of giving some of my time to your fascinating young friend, though." Her eyes hardened and she let out a hiss of breath.


    "I presume you mean Young Master Joshi?" Noren said.


    "Yes," Eri sighed. "I offered to tutor dear Li Jiya, but they said that would be a conflict of interest, so it makes no difference. Each of the three sects will have one member tutored by each of the prisms here tonight. It''s a good way to spread our knowledge about. I find that this sort of reward is most beneficial. By rewarding those who already show great promise, we encourage growth, rather than wasting our time with those with no potential. Don''t you agree?"


    "That is how many would define cultivation," Grandmaster Noren said blandly. "The strong take what they can and are given everything else. The weak, who cannot hold on to what they have, will have it seized and given to the more deserving."


    "Yes," Eri said, her voice cool. "So it is."


    "Then let us see whose sect is most deserving tomorrow," Noren suggested.


    Eri gave an exaggerated yawn, covering her mouth with one exquisitely manicured hand. "Forgive me, I have other places to be. Enjoy the party, Cultivator Wu, Cultivator Noren.¡± She disappeared.


    Noren stared after her. "Be careful of that one," he said, so quietly Chang-li wasn''t certain that Noren meant to address him.


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    "Sir?" Chang-li asked.


    Noren shook himself. "Just remember that while the Prisms are supposed to follow the Emperor and do his bidding, that is usually their secondary objective, their primary being to serve themselves." He turned to Chang-li. "I saw your discomfort. You do not agree with the definition I gave of cultivating?"


    "No," Chang-li said.


    "Then what would you say is the point of cultivation?"


    "Cultivation is about becoming strong," Chang-li said, grasping for the right words, "in order to advance."


    "What is the purpose of advancement?"


    "To," Chang-li shook his head, "to get stronger."


    Noren laughed. ¡°A circular argument! Prism Eri says the point of getting stronger is to take what you want. Is that what you believe?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "No. No. That''s being a bully. And it''s not strong. It ¡ª¡° he fumbled for words -- "if you have to take what you want from those who are weaker than you, then, well, it means you weren''t strong enough to get it yourself honestly. Real strength would mean being able to protect those weaker than you." He looked away, feeling embarrassed as he tried to get his words out. "If there really was something that those weaker than you had that you wanted, then, well, I think they''d give it to you out of respect or gratitude."


    Noren gave a snort. "As, say, we ordinary cultivators give our finest and best women to be the Emperor''s brides -- after all, he is the one whose strength protects us all. He builds and preserves the towers with which we are able to access Heaven''s Blessings."


    Chang-li was saved from needing to reply by an explosion in the sky above. Lights blossomed and fell, crackling to the air. Another rocket shot skyward, illuminating half the sky with showers of gold and green.


    "Ah," said Noren. "I''d wondered when the show would begin."


    Now a melodic voice whispered in Chang-li''s ears, "For your amusement, the three prospective brides have designed a pageant of entertainment. Please sit back and enjoy this display of a cultivator''s arts."


    Lights blossomed in the sky, giving shape to a rabbit outlined in gold, hopping across the sky, pursued by a dark blue wolf. Strains of music filled the air, first gentle and rustic, then tense as the wolf grew closer. Chang-li smelled an earthy, piney scent.


    Another burst of lights, and now the rabbit was gone, the wolf and another of its kind dancing under the light of the half-moon, which now stood well down toward the horizon.


    "Elegantly done," Noren commented as the show continued.


    The animal display gave way to a new demonstration. Stylized soldiers wielding spears and marching across the sky, pursuing an unseen foe. Drum notes filled the night, and the music of a fife sent its notes through. Chang-li was enthralled in the pageantry. He had never done anything similar with lux, and wondered how the brides had managed it. He''d have to ask Li Jiya.


    The spectacle continued for some time. When it at last dimmed, the musical voice that had spoken before whispered again. "And now the three prisms grant you a great honor. All you assembled here marvel as you see for the first time in your life, Lumos split into lux.¡±


    Three lights shot skyward from the ring, shining bolts that zoomed into the air. They hung overhead, fifty feet above. Chang-li squinted. He could make out the shapes of the three prisms buried inside the light. One shone bright gold, the other two had a bluish tinge. A breeze picked up, growing stronger as it whispered around Chang-li. There was a crackling feeling in the air, like the sensation before a bolt of lightning struck. He smelled roses and a crisp sizzling smell that stung his nose.


    And then the sky caught fire. Ribbons of light shot across the sky. Blue, green, yellow, orange, all the colors in tall rippling waves of light. The assembled party goers gave off shocked gasps. Somewhere distant, a woman screamed, then fell silent.


    Chang-li felt the waves of lux pouring out of the ribbons of light in the sky, like someone had opened a crack into a tower and was letting lux out. He instinctively filled his core and began to cycle. This lux was dense. Not as dense as the top floors of a tower, but certainly as much as the lower floors here.


    "The Emperor''s largesse is shown," the voice whispered. "All ye assembled here, cycle in the Emperor''s name. Recall the Way of the Faithful."


    Chang-li blinked as around him he felt dozens, maybe hundreds of people fall inexpertly into the Way of the Faithful cycling pattern. He hadn''t used that pattern in months, not since Joshi had taught him a better one.


    Noren snorted. "Well, they''ll cripple their lux channels if they keep that up, but most of these peasants don''t care. They cycle what they can, and they''ll be healthy as horses for six months or more with this kind of lux bounty. I dare say there''ll be more than the average number of babies conceived tonight, and those will be blessed with strong constitutions. And the harvest, ripening over there on the shores of the lake, will benefit from all this lux. Oh yes," Noren nodded. "Tonight is a very good night for the people of Varden City."


    Chang-li had always known that lux was good for people. The challenge was cycling it and using it efficiently, or getting enough of it without having to risk the dangers of a tower.


    "So, a prism can do that any time they want," he wondered, staring up at the sky where the ribbons of light still waved.


    "More or less," Noren agreed. "It is the definition of being a prism, the ability to split lumos into lux without need of a tower."


    "And one night of this is enough to improve the lives of everyone in the city for six months, maybe a year?"


    Noren nodded. "It is."


    Now Chang-li was getting angry. "Then why have I never seen this before?" he demanded. "There''s six prisms. If each of them visited even one great city a month and did this, they could cycle through all the cities in the empire in a matter of," he did a quick calculation, "three years, six months for any city with a population over 45,000, though the larger southern provinces would take some doing because the cities are more scattered."


    Noren held up a hand and laughed. "I see your scribe training coming through."


    "But why don''t they?¡± Chang-li demanded, turning on Noren. "Is it hard on them? Dangerous?"


    Noren shrugged. "If it is, I''ve never heard, though of course a prism wouldn''t let you know such a weakness."


    "But they don''t do it," Chang-li said. "I''ve never heard of a prism cracking lumos for the people¡¯s benefit."


    Noren was looking at him, an expression somewhat like sadness on his face. "You really are naive, aren''t you, Wu?"


    Chang-li felt anger boiling up in him. He concealed it. Even though everyone around was busy concentrating on their own pathetic cycling, he didn''t need to make a scene, not here, not now. "Then you wouldn¡¯t, if you were a prism?"


    Noren shrugged. "I''m not foolish enough to get myself elevated to a position like that, so I can''t say what I''d do. What I wouldn''t do, though, is make a scene like that at the Emperor''s party. Come," he said, and strolled off as though expecting Chang-li to follow him at his heels like a lap dog. Chang-li stared at him, then, deciding he was being petty, followed anyway.


    "I''ve misjudged you, Wu," Noren said. "I think I should apologize for that. Tell me, what do you intend for the sect after this tower cull?"


    Chang-li nearly tripped. Noren was asking him for his opinion, or even more, he was asking as if he expected Chang-li to decide for the sect. This must be some sort of trap. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.


    "I mean, when I first got here, I assumed you, like I, had been hired by the Patriarch of the Oaken Band to do a job for him. I thought your compensation package was slightly better than mine," Noren added blandly as he walked. Chang-li blushing so hotly he knew his ears must be bright red. "But that''s not the case, is it? The sect is all your doing."


    "I don''t think we should be discussing such matters here," Chang-li said stiffly.


    "Have it your way," Noren gestured with a hand. "My question still stands. Where do you think we should go after this?"


    Chang-li was torn between giving the man a straight answer and telling him to take a leap off the edge of the ring. Then he had to admit to himself that he didn''t know the answer. ¡°Min wants to stay close to her family, and I can understand why," he said slowly.


    "But you do not wish to be a pawn of the Brotherhood?"


    Chang-li shook his head. "No, but I''m not sure running away is the best way to exert our independence, either. It might be better to make a stand here and now. As you said, you''ve been hired by the Brotherhood to do a job."


    "Yes, but I find my employment contract is nicely vague about exactly how I will do that job," Noren remarked. "You, however, need a purpose in life. You''re not going to reach the Peak of Spiritual Refinement any time soon resting on your laurels. You''ve had a nice vacation from the hard work of cultivation, Wu. Call it a honeymoon. I''m tempted to send you off alone without your wife just to get your head back in the game, but I don''t think you''d listen to me. And frankly, I don''t think I want you to leave me alone with your wife." Noren gave a small shudder, "Not if she has inherited half her grandfather''s will."


    "Then what do you think?"


    Noren shrugged. "It''s not important what I think. Tell me what you''re trying to do. Are you merely advancing yourself or are you reestablishing the sect of Morning Mists?"


    "A cultivator without a sect is nothing," Chang-li said automatically.


    Noren nodded. "That''s more true than you know. So, you wish to advance and you wish to take the sect with you. In that case, I recommend you go to war."


    Chang-li stared. "What?"


    "To war," Noren said. "There''s a convenient little pocket war in the West, courtesy of the man who is about to be a father-in-law to our sect."


    "You mean General Li Nu Zhan¡¯s war against the Darwur?" Chang-li blinked. "Did you miss the fact that Joshi is Darwur and that Princess Hiroko''s father had his father put to death?"


    "Not at all," Noren said. "That merely adds a spice of adventure to it. No, believe me, war is where you''ll make cultivation gains you never expected anywhere else. And it''ll be financed by the government. Always good to have someone else pick up the tab for your advancement, I believe. There''s plenty of different challenges for where different levels intersect."


    Chang-li shook his head. "I didn''t become a cultivator so that I could be a soldier," he mumbled.


    "Well, then," Noren glanced over his shoulder as he walked. "I fear you may have made the wrong career choice.¡± He drew up outside a unmarked door into one of the many three-story buildings surrounding the inner edge of the Crown Ring. ¡°Here we are.¡±


    ¡°Here we are where?"


    "It''s time for your tutoring," Noren knocked at the door. It opened. A woman wearing sky-blue robes stood there. She bore the symbol of Prism Nai Hong on her sash. Chang-li bowed automatically. The woman bowed. Noren bowed. "This is Cultivator Wu of the Morning Mist Sect, here for his lesson from Prism Nai Hong,¡± he said. "Give the Prism my regards," he told Chang-li, and disappeared before Chang-li could give a reply.