A few short hours later, I found myself in line to register for the Rising Heroes Tournament. The sky was clear, allowing the early morning sun to shine down upon the world unimpeded. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve found it beautiful. Instead, it just irritated me. The light was too bright. It didn’t help that my head throbbed with pain, or that my bones ached with exhaustion. The winter cold alleviated my headache somewhat, though not by much.

  I stood in a stone plaza with hundreds of other Foundation Establishment cultivators, each one hoping to participate in the Rising Heroes Tournament. Each one wore the uniform of their clan or sect; in the case of rogue cultivators, they wore whatever they wanted. The excitement in the air was palpable. The sound of chatter filled my ears, compounding my headache and my irritation. My expression must have reflected my foul mood, since everyone kept their distance from me. A small blessing, since I didn’t feel like socializing.

  It didn’t help that I stood there by myself, with none of my friends or loved ones around. Misery loved company, but I didn’t even get that much. I sighed and thought back to earlier this morning.

  After my wives and I fell asleep, Big Sis Sidra woke us up just an hour later so we could register for the Rising Heroes Tournament. Last night was a busy one for me. I fought a Golden Core cultivator, negotiated with my uncle, and had a heartfelt moment with Lucius. Needless to say, I felt exhausted.

  I wasn’t the only one either. Ellen, Elliot and Willow were tired as well. Harlow, on the other hand, fared much better than us. She hadn’t participated in the negotiations with my uncle last night, so she managed to get some actual rest. Her perkiness irritated the rest of us. We prepared a simple breakfast for ourselves, before heading out.

  We joined the rest of the disciples of the Dawn and Dusk Sect as they headed off to register for the Rising Heroes Tournament. Divine Beast Palace was a hive of activity as people rushed to and fro. Some made last minute preparations, while others left right away. Their excitement and energy just made me feel even more exhausted.

  After we left Divine Beast Palace, we decided to split up. We did this for a simple reason. Unlike most other tournaments, the Rising Heroes Tournament didn’t take place in just one arena. It couldn’t, at least not in the beginning. There were too many participants to make that feasible. Instead, it took place in several arenas, with each one counting as its own division. This way, multiple matches could take place at the same time. After most of the participants were eliminated and only one hundred remained, the various divisions would be merged into one.

  To avoid facing one another in the early stages of the Rising Heroes Tournament, my loved ones and I decided to register at different arenas. While we weren’t afraid to face one another, we didn’t want to do so until after we had secured our places within the top one hundred participants. Given our respective strengths, I had no doubt that each of us would at least make it that far.

  Willow and Harlow went off on their own, while Ellen and Elliot followed me. When we arrived at our destination, the two of them headed to secure good seats for themselves. Since they weren’t participating in the tournament, they couldn’t join me for registration. I had to go through the process by myself, thus leading to my current situation.

  Stores, restaurants, and other buildings surrounded the stone plaza on three sides. The arena where I would register for the Rising Heroes Tournament took up the fourth. It was a massive stone edifice with little decoration or adornment. Despite its simple architecture, the arena somewhat intimidated me. It felt old. It had existed for centuries, if not millennia, long enough to outlast entire mortal dynasties.

  A part of me wondered how many Foundation Establishment cultivators had fought within this arena. Thousands? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? It was impossible to know, and pointless to figure out. The rest of me just wanted to lie down and take a nap.

  In front of the entrance to the arena, the one the participants would use, stood several registration stations. A Foundation Establishment cultivator manned each one, with a Golden Core cultivator supervising everything. They all wore gray uniforms which depicted a black mountain on the back, showing they were servants of Clan Black Iron. A line stretched out in front of each registration station.

  While I waited for my turn to register, I looked around. All of the cultivators participating in the Rising Heroes Tournament could be divided into two groups. The first, and largest, group consisted of those participating in the tournament for the first time. Most of them had an air of innocence and inexperience. All of them were in either early or mid Foundation Establishment.

  The majority of the ones in early Foundation Establishment were… Young; adolescents on the threshold of adulthood. Only a few were like me, in their early twenties. For some reason, this irritated me.

  The ones in mid Foundation Establishment were all much older. I assumed this was because they reached Foundation Establishment after the previous Rising Heroes Tournament, which took place fifteen years ago. That was more than enough time for them to reach their current cultivation level.

  The second group consisted of those participating for the second, third, or maybe even fourth time. They were the ones at late or peak Foundation Establishment. By this point, it was impossible to discern their ages by appearance alone. When a cultivator reached early Foundation Establishment, their aging slowed down to a crawl. With the right pill or technique, they could stop aging altogether. A centuries old monster could look like a youngster in their twenties.

  Unlike the first group, the second group felt more seasoned. The path to immortality was long and full of countless dangers. Many died while pursuing the Dao. These people had survived up to this point, and grown all the stronger for it.

  Snickering pulled me out of my thoughts and back to the present. I looked around with my spirit sense and noticed a pair of youngsters in the line next to mine, standing close to me. They wore dark green robes. The crests on the back depicted a purple drop. For some reason, this seemed familiar. However, in my exhausted state, I couldn’t quite recall how.

  The two youngsters pointed and laughed at an old man who stood right in front of them. He had a head of white hair, a long white beard, and a wrinkled face. He wore the black and gray uniform of Restless Grave Hall. The old man was in mid Foundation Establishment, while the two youngsters were in early Foundation Establishment.

  “Look at him,” one of the youngsters said, pretending to whisper, “He’s one foot in the grave already.”

  “You’re right,” the other one said. “He looks like he might keel over and die before the tournament even begins.”

  A few other people snickered in response. However, the old man ignored them with an indifferent expression on his face. If he wasn’t a cultivator, I would’ve suspected that he was deaf and hadn’t heard them. After all, even those in Qi Condensation had divine sense, so deafness wasn’t much of a handicap to cultivators.

  “Hey, Old Man.” The first youngster said. In my head, I dubbed him Annoyance One. “Are you sure you aren’t lost?”

  “Yeah,” the other youngster said, now dubbed Annoyance Two, “The graveyard is over there.”

  Several more people laughed this time and joined in on the jeering. The old man continued to ignore them, but this didn’t deter them at all. They kept mocking and insulting him. This deepened my irritation. I decided to intervene, if only to get some peace and quiet. Besides, the old man was a comrade of mine. While we came from different halls, we were both disciples of the Dawn and Dusk Sect.

  “Who do you think you are?” A familiar voice called out. “Mocking another just for their appearance. You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

  I looked over and my jaw dropped. Cultivator Vivian stood in the same line as me, though a few people back. She glared at the two youngsters.

  “We’re disciples of the Myriad Poison Sect!” Annoyance One said, sneering at her. “How dare you speak to us in that tone?”

  Ah, so that’s why the crest on the back of their uniforms seemed familiar. I studied up on all the Seven Great Northern Sects some time ago, including their crests and colors. However, my thoughts were sluggish at the moment, which was why I didn’t recognize it right away. No wonder they felt bold enough to mock a disciple from one of the Seven Great Northern Sects.

  “You should know your place.” Annoyance Two said. “If you apologize, my friend and I might consider forgiving you.”

  I resisted the urge to laugh. As someone who fought Cultivator Vivian before, I knew just how powerful she was. Not only was she in mid Foundation Establishment, but she was the daughter of Peak Master Sky Splitter. She could defeat these two whelps with ease.

  “You two must be blind.” I called out. “Or there must be something wrong with your heads. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be courting death like this.”

  Annoyance One and Annoyance Two whirled towards me, their expressions twisted with anger. Cultivator Vivian looked in my direction as well. She wore a puzzled frown on her face, as if she couldn’t quite figure out who I was.

  Strange. Didn’t she recognize me? Oh, right. I was still in my human form. When we last met, I had been in my Demon Form.

  “Another fool dares to disrespect us.” Annoyance One said with a scoff. “It seems that North King City is full of them. If we were back at the Myriad Poison Sect, I would have had you flogged for your insolence.”

  “Why bother with flogging?” Annoyance Two asked. “That would be such a waste. He has a fine physique. Why not capture him and use him as a test subject?”

  A sadistic smile spread across Annoyance Two’s face.

  “You’re right.” He said. “In fact, I know just the poison test on him.”

  I didn’t know if they meant it, or if they were just trying to intimidate me. Regardless, their words just amused me. I was no stranger to poison. Every time Ellen and I made love, she bit me with her fangs.

  “Ah, how adorable,” I said in a mocking tone, “It’s like being threatened by a pair of baby birds.”

  Annoyance One and Annoyance Two’s expressions turned unsightly.

  “Who do you think you are?” Annoyance One asked. “Acting as if you’re better than us. You’re just in early Foundation Establishment.” He snorted. “Given your appearance, you must be someone who just barely qualified to participate in the Rising Heroes Tournament.”

  “It only took us six years to reach Foundation Establishment!” Annoyance Two said. “Trash like you barely qualify to lick our boots.”

  Several people nearby frowned at the pair. Like me, they were among the oldest of those in early Foundation Establishment, the so-called trash who barely qualified to participate in the Rising Heroes Tournament.

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  “That may be,” I said, “However, at least I know how to threaten someone. For example…” I hardened my expression and spoke in a cold voice. “… If the two of you don’t shut your mouths, I will rip out your tongues and feed them to the dogs.”

  Silence fell over the area around us. Annoyance One and Annoyance Two stared at me with wide eyes. Several people stepped away from us. Either it was because my threat intimidated them, or because they feared that a fight might break out and they didn’t want to get involved. I didn’t know, nor did I care.

  “You… You can’t do that!” Annoyance One said, a slight tremble in his voice.

  “It’s against the rules to fight disciples from other sects.” Annoyance Two said.

  I bared my teeth at them with a smile.

  “And?” I asked. “I wouldn’t mind spending a few days imprisoned if it meant I could get some peace and quiet.” I chuckled. “The question you need to ask yourselves is whether or not the tournament organizers can stop me before I get my hands on you.”

  The two of them backed away from me and ended up stepping out of line. The person behind them took advantage of this and moved forward. I waited a few more seconds. When it became clear that the two annoyances would remain silent, I turned back around. I met the old man’s eyes. He gave me a slight nod in thanks, before looking forward again. I nodded in return.

  The lines moved forward at a steady pace as the registration process continued. The entire time, I felt Cultivator Vivian staring at me. She made no attempt to be subtle about it either.

  Soon, it was my time to register. The cultivator manning this particular registration station was a young man about my age.

  “Welcome, Fellow Cultivator.” The young man said with a polite smile on his face. “Is this your first time participating in the Rising Heroes Tournament?”

  I gave him a sympathetic look.

  “How many times have you asked that question today?”

  His smile grew a little strained.

  “I’ve lost count.” He said.

  Poor man. No wonder my mother hated doing administrative work. It sounded like a nightmare. I made a mental note to be nicer to any administrators and bureaucrats I met in the future. Their lives were difficult enough.

  “Yes,” I said, “This is my first time here.”

  The young man nodded, before holding a crystal sphere towards me. It was a high-grade Foundation Establishment magic treasure.

  “This magic treasure will test whether or not you qualify for the Rising Heroes Tournament.” He said. “Just hold it and imbue it with some of your internal qi.”

  I took the crystal sphere and followed the young man’s instructions. The moment I imbued the crystal sphere with some of my internal qi, it glowed with a bright white light. The young man seemed surprised by this.

  “Strange.” He said. “You look older, but based on this reaction, it appears that you reached Foundation Establishment within six years or so.”

  I frowned, before I glanced around. The other participants were also being tested. They all provoked various reactions from the crystal spheres in their hands. For some, the light shone as bright as mine, if not brighter. For others, the light shone dimmer. For one person, the crystal sphere didn’t shine at all. He trudged off with a disappointed expression on his face.

  “I had a late start.” I said, facing forward again.

  The young man nodded.

  “Ah, I see.” He said. “That makes sense.”

  I handed the crystal sphere back to him. The registration process proceeded swiftly after that. The young man asked me for my name, my cultivation base, and my affiliation. He recorded all of this in a jade slip. Afterwards, he handed me a jade token with the crest of Clan Black Iron on it.

  “This is your tournament token.” The young man said. “It proves that you’re a participant in the Rising Heroes Tournament. It will also keep a record of your wins and losses, as well as which opponents you fought. Keep it safe. Don’t lose it. You won’t get another one.” He nodded towards the token. “It also contains a copy of the tournament’s rules. Be sure to study them.”

  I took the token. It felt warm to the touch.

  “Thank you, Fellow Cultivator.” I said.

  The young man gave me another smile. This one felt more genuine.

  “You’re welcome.” He said. “Enjoy the tournament.”

  With that, I headed towards the arena’s entrance. The interior was as simple as the exterior: bare stone walls with little decoration or adornment. It consisted of a series of small rooms where the tournament’s participants could congregate. Some stood in groups and chatted with one another, while others kept to themselves.

  Thin crystal slates hung from the walls at certain locations. I couldn’t discern their purpose, they were magic treasures of some kind. I tried studying one, but found nothing. A part of me wanted to take one and study it in depth, but I decided against it. I wasn’t that curious.

  I found a quiet corner and placed down a cushion, before sitting down. After making myself comfortable, I took out my tournament token and pressed it against my temple. As the young man from earlier said, it contained a record of my progress for the tournament. It was empty, since the tournament hadn’t begun yet.

  The token also contained a copy of the tournament’s rules. I studied them with great care. The last thing I wanted was to be disqualified for breaking a rule that I hadn’t known existed.

  Most of them were simple and to the point. Following them would be easy. In short, as long as I didn’t try to kill or cripple my opponents, I would be fine. However, there were two that caught my eye.

  The first one stated that participants could only use up to two Foundation Establishment level magic treasures during each match. No more. This was to prevent wealthier participants from overwhelming their opponents by using magic treasures. However, there were exceptions for magic treasures that came in sets, such as flying needles. They counted as a single magic treasure.

  The second rule stated that participants couldn’t take pills before or after their matches. The Rising Heroes Tournament was meant to test each participant’s personal strength. Using pills, especially ones that enhanced one’s power for a time, went against the spirit of this.

  However, this rule also stated that using poisons and such against one’s opponents was allowed, since they counted as weapons. That said, there were limits to prevent things from getting out of hand.

  When I read these rules, I realized that the organizers for the Rising Heroes Tournament put in a lot of effort to ensure fairness. Take me, for example. I owned several magic treasures. If I faced an opponent with less magic treasures than me, or none at all, I would have a significant advantage over them. The rules above prevented something like this from occurring.

  Of course, it wasn’t completely fair and balanced. Those who had higher grade magic treasures had an advantage over those who only had lower grade magic treasures. Still, the rules made things more even than they otherwise would have been.

  I sensed a presence nearby, which pulled me back to the present. When I opened my eyes, I found Cultivator Vivian crouching on the ground right in front of me. She studied me with a frown on her face. Her odd behavior attracted attention from the nearby cultivators, who gave us curious looks.

  “May I help you, Cultivator Vivian?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

  “It is you!” she exclaimed. “I wasn’t sure at first, but I’d recognize that voice anywhere.” She looked me up and down. “Why do you look like that, Cultivator Darian? Are you using some kind of illusion technique or mystic art?”

  I blinked at her in surprise.

  “No?” I asked, a little flabbergasted. “This is just my human form. I’m demonkin. I was born looking like this.”

  Cultivator Vivian frowned and stared at me for several long seconds.

  “Hmm, I may have inadvertently lied to my father.” She said.

  I gave her a baffled look.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  Cultivator Vivian shook her head.

  “Nevermind that. It’s none of your concern.” She regarded me with a haughty expression on her face. “Fate has brought us together again, my rival. I expected to face you later on, after the preliminary rounds were over. However, it appears that destiny had other plans.”

  I grinned at her.

  “It appears so.” I said. “In fact, I’m glad things worked out like this. It means that we’ll have our rematch sooner rather than later. I’ve gotten stronger since we last met.”

  Cultivator Vivian nodded.

  “Yes,” she said, “I sensed it. Perhaps you’ll be an actual challenge for me now.” She snorted. “Don’t expect me to show you any more mercy. I won’t hold back this time around.”

  I chuckled.

  “Good,” I said, “I’d be disappointed otherwise.”

  Cultivator Vivian smiled at me. Afterwards, I expected her to move on. However, she remained in place and stared at me in silence.

  “Is there anything else you wanted?” I asked when things grew awkward.

  No.” Cultivator Vivian said. “You’re the only person here that I know, so I decided to stay near you.”

  I gave her a mystified look.

  “You could always talk with the other participants.” I said.

  “Why?” Cultivator Vivian asked, frowning. “I came here to fight, not socialize.”

  I regarded her for a few moments, unsure of what to make of her behavior.

  “So, you’re just going to crouch there until the tournament begins?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Why?” I asked. “We’re not friends.”

  Cultivator Vivian tilted her head in confusion.

  “Why would you state the obvious?” She asked. “Of course we’re not friends. Our relationship is greater than something so petty and mundane. We are rivals, now and forever.”

  Did she even know what it meant to be rivals? We got along quite well, surprisingly enough. I thought she would hate me, or at least be angry with me, considering what happened in the Violet Desert hidden realm. After all, I injured one of her fellow disciples and threatened to kill another. However, she didn’t seem to hold any hostility towards me.

  “Fine.” I said. “Stay there if you want.”

  “Again, why are you stating the obvious? I wasn’t going to move anyway. I don’t need your permission. You don’t own this arena.”

  I gave her a withering look. Nevermind. We didn’t get along quite well. Cultivator Vivian’s arrival earlier alleviated some of my irritation from earlier, since it felt nice to see a familiar face. However, it came back at full force. Cultivator Vivian could be very annoying when she wanted to be.

  “Regardless,” I said, “At least sit down instead of just crouching there. You’re making a spectacle of yourself.”

  “So what?” Cultivator Vivian asked. “Let people look. It doesn’t matter to me.” She arched an eyebrow at me. “What about you? Do you dislike attention? If so, why are you dressed like that?”

  I rolled my eyes at her and refused to answer. My intuition warned me that if I told her the truth, she’d use it to further annoy me. The only way to win this game was to not play. However, I underestimated Cultivator Vivian.

  “Well?” She asked. “Why aren’t you saying anything?” She poked me. “Answer me.”

  I smacked her hand away.

  “Stop that!” I snapped.

  A grin stretched across Cultivator Vivian’s face.

  “No.” She said.

  With that, she started to poke me using one hand. I couldn’t dodge her finger, since I sat in a corner, forcing me to block it. At first it was easy. However, as Cultivator Vivian increased her poking speed, this grew more and more difficult. When she started using her other hand to poke me, I gave up on defense and focused on offense. We traded pokes, like a pair of children trying to annoy each other.

  After several minutes of this, we stopped poking one another and just stared at each other. I cracked first. A smile spread across my face, before I burst out into laughter. Cultivator Vivian followed suit soon after. The nearby cultivators stared at us as if we had lost our minds. My irritation dissipated, as if it never existed. I still felt exhausted, but my mental state had improved.

  “Here,” I said, scooting to the side, “At least sit down.”

  Cultivator Vivian nodded and pulled a cushion out of her storage ring. She placed it next to mine and sat down.

  “How long do you think it will be until the tournament starts?” I asked.

  “A few hours at a minimum.” Cultivator Vivian answered. “There were still a lot of people outside when I registered.”

  I grimaced. A part of me wanted to take a nap, though I resisted the urge. I didn’t want to risk missing the beginning of the tournament. That meant that I had to stay awake for the next several hours while doing nothing. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t be a problem. Practicing cultivation required patience and a strong will. However, these weren’t normal circumstances.

  “Shall we trade cultivation insights?” I asked. “We don’t have anything better to do.”

  Cultivator Vivian mulled it over for a moment, before nodding.

  “Very well.” She said. “By sharing insights, we can both grow stronger and become better rivals for one another.”

  And that was how we spent our time until the Rising Heroes Tournament began.

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  This chapter was edited by Radriel7