Sunrise.

The upper courtyard of Skyedge filled with the noise of last-minute orders, disciples crossing stone paths, and escort gear being checked before the descent. The carriages themselves waited far below at the lower gate, where the mountain road widened enough for wheels and horses. Five of them this time. Twenty horses. The Patriarch’s own escort of twenty inner disciples in formal travel robes added to the fifteen of the tournament delegation.

Senior Elder Ren stood near the head of the descending path, hands tucked in his sleeves, supervising the formation without needing to speak.

Lin Zhen was already mounted, robe of state rather than travel, the crest of the Patriarch at his collar. His horse waited on the broad stone landing below the courtyard, where the steps gave way to the road.

Lin Xuan crossed the courtyard with his own crest already fastened and followed the delegation down toward the lower gate. The morning wind moved through the cliffs around them. Below, the carriages stood in a neat line, their roofs catching the first gray light.

By the time Lin Xuan reached the lower gate, the horses were already stamping against the cold stones, and his father was waiting beside the lead carriage.

"Father."

"Son."

"Are we ready?"

"We have been ready since two days ago. I was waiting on you to finish whatever you were doing in that courtyard last night with your sword."

Lin Xuan blinked.

"...You saw."

"Half of the sect saw, son. The light of the seventh form is not subtle."

A pause.

"It was good work. Get into the carriage. We have five days of road ahead of us and the Patriarch riding the first horse looks bad if his sons are still arranging their cushions."

"Yes, Father."

Lin Xuan inclined his head and turned toward the first carriage. Lin Kai was already seated in the second carriage, formal robe of secondary representative on his shoulders, jaw locked. He did not look up as Lin Xuan passed. Lin Xuan did not stop.

He climbed into his own.

Lian was already inside, seated by the far window with a small alchemy manuscript open in her lap and a satchel of herbs at her feet. She lifted her eyes and gave him the small private nod she had given him every morning for two years.

The caravan rocked once into motion.

Skyedge’s gate slid behind them.

For the first stretch Lin Xuan watched the sect disappear behind the ridges through the carriage window. Two years he had not seen the place from outside. The walls looked smaller from the road than they did from the inside. The mountain that held them looked bigger.

Lian read.

By the fourth hour her eyelids were dropping faster than she could pull them up.

"Lin Xuan. Forgive me. Master Fu had me awake until three in the morning every night this last week running pairing drills on the herb shelf. I do not know how I am going to —"

Before she finished the sentence her cheek was already against the carriage window. The manuscript slid down her lap and rested on her knee. Her breathing went deep.

Lin Xuan reached over, took the manuscript, set it on the bench beside her, and pulled the carriage blanket across her shoulders. He drew the curtain on her side so the morning sun would not fall on her face.

The panel unfolded along the edge of his vision.

[ Your maid is the most exhausted person I have ever observed in this entire existence, Xuan. (¬‿¬) ]

’Master Fu is taking her seriously.’

[ Which is good for her. It also gives you about five hours of privacy in this carriage. We should use them. We need to talk about the tournament. ]

’Go.’

[ The Six Sects Regional Tournament has two brackets. The principal and the secondary. Your brother Lin Kai is fighting in the secondary. We start there. ] The panel shifted. A clean diagram bloomed across his vision.

═══════════════════════════════

[ TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE ]

═══════════════════════════════

[ SECONDARY BRACKET ]

[ ▸ 32 contestants ]

[ ▸ Seeded by realm and sect ranking ]

[ ▸ Open to second representatives ]

[ from each of the six regional sects ]

[ plus invited disciples from minor sects ]

[ ▸ Winner takes a seat in the PRINCIPAL BRACKET ]

[ PRINCIPAL BRACKET ]

[ ▸ 8 contestants ]

[ ▸ 6 seats: principal representative from each of the six regional sects ]

[ ▸ 1 seat: winner of the secondary bracket ]

[ ▸ 1 seat: invited disciple from one of the three great sects of Donglu ]

═══════════════════════════════

’Only eight in the principal.’

[ Only eight. That is why winning the principal is winning the region. The six regional sects are above your level. The invited disciple from one of the three great sects of Donglu is the one who raises the bar of the bracket. That is the one nobody wants to see in their half of the draw. ]

’Three great sects in the continent.’

[ Donglu has three great sects recognized by the imperial court. Heavenly Sword Pavilion in the north. Cloud Veil Palace in the centre. Ashvale Hall in the south. Each one rotates an invited disciple to a different regional tournament every five years. It is political. It is how the great sects measure the talent rising out of the regional level. ]

’Which of the three sends an invited disciple to ours this year.’

[ I do not have that information yet, host. We will know when we reach Yuncheng. Likely not Ashvale. Ashvale runs its own regional in the south of the continent and does not interfere in the northern brackets. ]

’Good.’

[ Now your regional rivals in the principal bracket. Five principal representatives apart from you. I run them by sect. ]

’Go.’

[ Frostmoon Ridge. Their principal this year is Su Qingyue. Ice. Sword. Cold techniques. I have heard her name on the Shop’s information network. Stage 6, black hair, white-blue robe. They call her the ice beauty of the north. ]

’Ice beauty.’

[ I have not seen her. That is the reputation. (¬‿¬) ]

’Hm.’

[ Phoenix Mirror Sect. This one matters to you, Xuan. ]

’Why.’

[ Because it is the sect of your former fiancée. The alliance broke when the curse pulled you down. They are coming to the tournament as full participants. The girl is engaged to someone else now. ]

’Was she pretty, Mira?’

[ ...Pretty enough. Personality was a disaster. ]

Lin Xuan considered the carriage ceiling for a beat.

’Ugh. Reminds me of an ex of mine. Was not the brightest bulb on the lamp, was not exactly a saint, but had a body to die for.’

[ ...You were with her only because of her body? ]

’It is a long story, Mira. But no. Not only that. Not just that, at least.’

[ Hm. (¬_¬) ]

’Do not judge me.’

[ Iron Cloud Pavilion. The sect that moved the border two kilometers into Lin land during your father’s absence. Defense, formations, stable techniques. Politically the most dangerous of the regional six because what happens in the bracket has direct consequences on the boundary stones we already have on disputed ground. ]

’I will keep that in mind.’

[ Greenvein Monastery. Skyedge’s old ally that stopped answering letters. Wood affinity, herbalism, spiritual techniques. More observer than aggressor. ]

’And by us looking like we deserve to be reached out to again.’

[ Exactly. ]

[ Thunder Lotus Sect. Lei Yan. Lightning, speed, aggression. The kind of cultivator who tears through brackets without worrying about how it looks to the audience. And here is the part you should pay attention to, Xuan. Thunder Lotus is the Lin clan’s old regional rival. They have come to every tournament for the last two centuries with the express purpose of being the obstacle in front of the Lin name. The clan archives have records of duels going back four generations against them. Your first round draw is statistically likely to be Lei Yan himself because that is how the arena operators love to seed historic rivalries for spectacle. ]

’I want to fight him.’

[ Of course you do. He wants to fight you too. The bracket may give you what you want sooner than expected. ]

’Hm. Fine.’

[ (◠‿◠) ]

Two carriages behind Lin Xuan’s, Madam Mei let the curtain fall back into place.

The road to Yuncheng rolled past in gray morning light, steady and harmless. Across from her, one of her inner sect attendants sat with her hands folded over her knees, waiting without looking impatient.

Madam Mei took a sealed slip from her sleeve and placed it beneath the woman’s palm.

"At the first relay station," she said softly. "Give it to the man with the blue cord on his wrist."

The attendant lowered her head. "And if he asks who sent it?"

Madam Mei lifted her cup and watched the tea tremble with the carriage wheels.

"He will not ask."

The attendant hid the slip inside her cuff.

Outside, the caravan continued toward Yuncheng as if every carriage in the line carried nothing more dangerous than luggage, silk, and old family pride.

Back in the carriage.

Lin Xuan watched the road through the window. The caravan had left the highest mountain passes and the slopes were softening. They were leaving the mountains for the first time in two years.

Lian was still asleep. The blanket had slipped from her shoulder. He lifted it back into place without taking his eyes off the window.

’Mira.’

[ Mm. ]

’Do you think Madam Mei is going to try something on the road.’

[ It is what I would do if I were her, Xuan. ]

’Me too.’

[ Then keep your eyes open. I will keep mine wider. ]

A pause.

’Mira.’

[ Mm. ]

’Five days in this carriage are going to be long.’

[ Five days in this carriage with you and me are going to be exactly what they need to be, host. (◠‿◠) ]

He let his head rest against the window frame. The caravan rolled on. The mountains slid behind them.