37 Mid Orange Realm

Following their training session with Venh, Boneroot and his team fell into a routine of intense training. Hana joined their efficiency checks, but found little help there, due to the well-crafted foundation of the Kasumi clan’s cultivation art. A week later, those sessions were abandoned altogether, as Guang and Iris no longer required Boneroot’s help

36 New Techniques

“Iris, mid Red realm, nice to meet you.” “Who, me? I’m Iris, a mid Red-realm cultivator.” “Low Red realm? An esteemed personage such as myself? You must be mistaken.” Iris was practicing her greetings while they waited for Venh to show up. A week had passed since the conclusion of the sect’s first competition and

35 Reflection

In the immediate aftermath of Jota’s victory over both Amina Zafi’s and Hana Shio’s teams, the onlookers huddled around Master Chang’s construction of Light ki were silent. Each of the disciples watching the end of their first competition at the Brightmoon Sect needed a moment to process. Then, they shouted. Some of the shouting was

34 The Winner

It took a little over ten minutes to get from the valley’s illusionary exit to the viewing stage. The Inner Sect disciple in the lead guided Boneroot and Iris through winding tunnels and steep staircases until they arrived at a large, open space cut into the side of a mountain face overlooking the valley.  Scattered

33 Tower Assault

When Iris and Guang came out of cultivation, they were greeted by the surprisingly amicable duo of Boneroot and Hana Kasumi. “Here’s what you missed,” Boneroot told them. “There’s definitely no one up in that tower and also we’re pals now.” When he gestured toward Hana, the girl scoffed. “Is your bar for friendship truly

32 Hana Kasumi

“Why don’t we just wait here? If a bunch of teams get offed before anyone finds us, we’ll have a better shot at winning, right?” The question came from Iris. She and her three teammates were sitting at the entrance to the cave where they’d stayed the night, eating a light breakfast before they were

31 Wei and the Worm

The copse worm’s disguise was so poor, it baffled Boneroot in two ways. First, how could a creature reliant on stealth survive without blending into its surroundings in the slightest? Second, how had he failed to notice it? While the spirit beast’s thick, brown hide could pass for the bark of a tree, its ‘leaves’

30 A Royal Battle

The scene at Fen’s Arena was in many ways familiar, yet entirely new. While the assembly of first-year disciples was a common sight, never before was the tension quite as high. Cultivators talked in hushed tones to their teammates, throwing cautious glances over their shoulders at their competition.  Among that nervous bunch, Boneroot and Guang

29 Advice and Talismans

The practice session went poorly. Admittedly, that was better than Boneroot expected. “When I go in, you need to cover me, you daft—” “Shut up, Zhi!” Iris yelled for what felt like the tenth time in an hour. “I can’t cover you if your fat ass takes an hour to get into position.” “It’s called

28 To the Victor

“So, what does it feel like?” Guang asked Boneroot. The two boys plus Iris were sitting around the table in Boneroot’s common area. Guang watched with intense curiosity as Boneroot prepared to take inventory of the void ring that Boneroot had won from Wei Zhen in a duel.  In the weeks since he’d first met