Chapter 27: Something Grabbed Back

Chapter 27: Something Grabbed Back

Paike meditated for an indeterminate amount of time. He felt that there was the slightest movement in his understanding of the visions, but he still had a long way to go.

Eventually, he opened his eyes and found that nothing had changed, except that his sister and many of the other disciples that were once wet were now dry. Guan Li’s bruise had spread a little as the flesh on his cheek swelled up more. Paike cocked an eyebrow at his friend.

“Anything change?” he asked, but Guan Li just shook his head.

“No, nobody has even joined us since you finished.”

“Huh,” Paike said as he pushed himself to his feet. “What is going on?”

He stood and stretched, working out the stiffness in his muscles from the series of fights they had had and the long climb up the mountain. Liming opened her eyes and stood as well.

“Yeah. It seems that there might not be thirty-two people who passed the second trial. That would be disappointing,” she said.

Looking around, Paike found that most of the top ten ranked disciples were present. They stayed off in their own little corners of the open courtyard, mostly leaving everyone else alone. Of course, several of the top disciples hadn’t bothered with physical cultivation classes, having their own methods and techniques. But the other disciples here this far were ones he recognized as being the quicker students of the class.

Of course, many talented students like Lan Zhu wouldn’t have made it this far because they ran into a situation that wasn’t suited for them. Just as Paike was about to go talk to the other students to see if anyone had a better idea of what was going on, Elder Ji materialized by the entrance to the courtyard. A single clap of his hands gathered everyone’s attention.

“It seems we will not have enough disciples to fill out the thirty-two slots we wanted going into the third trial.”

There were murmurs of anticipation and apprehension throughout the small crowd.

“Because of that, we are going to automatically pass the first eight to finish the second trial.”

Paike heard a soft curse from behind him and looked over at Liming, the ninth disciple to pass. He nudged her with his elbow, but she refused to look at him. With a shrug, he returned his attention to the elder, who was looking right at him. Paike flushed slightly, embarrassed to be caught not giving his full attention, and gave an apologetic bow.

Elder Ji didn’t say anything but continued on. “The remaining sixteen of you will enter an elimination bracket.”

The pairings were drawn out in the the air with glowing gold characters. To Paike’s surprise, Guan Li wasn’t listed. He looked over at Guan Li, and his friend just gave a shrug with a small smile. Paike nodded in approval and clapped him on the shoulder. “Well done.”

Thankfully, the tournaments weren’t seeded based on placement in the second trail. Instead, it seemed to be random. Despite being last to clear the trail, Paike was on the opposite side of the bracket as his sister.

The way the tournament was structured was odd because the victors weren’t moving on. If you lost, you had to fight again, and if you lost a second time, you would be in the bottom four and then be eliminated from the competition. Paike felt better knowing that he’d have two chances, but he was still quite nervous. He was relatively confident in his ability to fight, but these were the best. A week ago, he wouldn’t have even dreamed of being here. Well, he was here now.

He tamped down his anxiousness and looked around, seeing many of the younger cultivators displaying more nerves than he felt. Several were pale, though they held themselves stoically. He saw one boy’s hands shake as he stepped toward the ring designated to him.

“Huh,” Paike thought. He wished his sister good luck and moved to his ring. Guan Li waited around with the seven other students who weren’t participating. After everyone had a chance to check on the brackets, the elder created an exit for the finalists.

Guan Li looked cautiously over at Paike, the look in his eyes asking if he should stay and watch. Still, Paike shook his head and gestured that he should go and receive whatever reward the elder was planning for him. Surely, they would get some sort of advantage for being in the top eight.

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Paike examined the student across from him. She was a nondescript girl with thick black hair, cut into straight bangs. He winced. He recognized her. She was Zhai Lianitian, the number two student, after all.

Her mother was known as the Shadow Empress. At least, there were rumors of her mother, and the way that her cultivation felt told Paike that there was definitely some connection. The shadows around her danced, and clearly, she had deep combat knowledge from the way she carried herself.