Zixiao chuckled, gazing around at the frowns now adorning the brows of those around. While he did so, Xuejing watched him. Him, and all the rest. Fellow Shenrans all, but not allies, not outside of this moment.

A scattering from various clans and minor Sects, lone Cultivators, perhaps even demonic rogues acting upstanding. Apart from the notable few she recognised by reputation, she knew none of the Cultivators here. Their being together here was a matter of convenience, a banding together against the barbarians, and that was all.

'It is as I say,' he answered. 'We are here. We few, we brothers, we comrades, are within this secluded, safe, soon to be fortified area. And all those out there… are not. I have gathered you all here—' all you randoms who until a few hours ago, I had never spoken to, Xuejing could imagine him thinking, '—because I trust you, because I think you are special people, people with the skills necessary! People who deserve to move forward in this Tournament!

Yulan, a notable air-and-lightning wielder wearing bright, cloudlike robes, let a lazy yawn stretch his face. Latest reports said he wielded a Symbiote set capable of creating Red Lightning. From the spiritual lightning flickering within his Soul Sense tendril, she knew he had the Dark Sky Thrip Symbiote, too. 'Suppose the ones outside die, then,' he murmured. 'Not our problem, is it?'

Beside him, slim-shouldered, gaunt Lewei gave a slight shrug. 'They'll be unhappy after the Tournament.' He was said to possess a Symbiote set capable of inflicting a death-attuned necrosis on touch.

'Then let them be unhappy,' said Xiren the stealth specialist, with a snort. He spun his Artifact knife in a shining blur, over and around one hand. He smiled. 'In a Tournament like this, only those who make wise decisions have a chance of winning. By agreeing to stay out there, they have already failed.' He was one of the few Xuejing regarded with true wariness. If she was distracted or unwary, he could put an end to her.

'Let it be so,' said Zixiao, smiling.

They had reached this spot, one of the highest in the arena, after travelling across several slender bridges. There was nothing here but a stretch of flat ground, enclosed within two spreading arms of rock, located on the very edge of the arena. To one side, water poured down the side of the cliff, one of the numerous waterfalls in this arena, coming straight out of the air to form a small pool up there before plummeting down.

The Cultivators set to work, beginning to fortify. Those with a focus on earth and stone pulled at the ground and the cliffs, and it responded to their Symbiotes, shifting and rising. Already a wall was forming, wrapping the open side that gave a view over the arena. They were discussing making a full enclosure.

Maodon and a few others drew on the water pouring down the side of the cliff, one of the numerous waterfalls in this arena, which came straight out of the air to form a small pool up on the cliff above them before plummeting down, past them and into the valley below. Working with the earth Cultivators they intended to make a large pool for it up here, and divert it into there. With that they would be able to make use of the water, which was difficult to create with Tier 1 Symbiotes. Zixiao had said it may be necessary to block barbarian laser attacks.

He revealed one more surprise.

From a storage Symbiote, Zixiao pulled free a number of weapons. Barbarian weapons.

'These are called assault rifles,' he said. 'With these, we shall be able to fire out of small gaps in the fortification. This will give us the same advantage the barbarians' possess!'

As the others looked with dubious interest at the vicious things, Xuejing made her mind up and moved with purpose. It had been a mistake to join with these. She had anticipated they would work together, down below, not hide up here. She saw the looks they gave her, when they thought she wasn't looking.

As the favourite to win, all knew that their odds would be improved if she was removed. This was, quite simply, the worst place she could be. Surrounded by vipers on all sides.

She strode out and hopped over the wall Luo and a few other Cultivators were forming, landing on the slender bridge of rock that stretched away from their chosen hold away to the next cliff.

'Where are you going, Xuejing?' rumbled Luo, staring over the wall at her.

'Away from this place.'

'Xuejing! Xuejing!' came a cry. Zixiao. 'Where are you going? It isn't safe out there!'

She turned as she saw him rush up to put his hands on the wall, leaning over it as though considering grabbing at her, his face stricken. 'There is another question unanswered,' she spoke. 'How is it that all of us will make it through to the next rounds, when there are thirty-six of us here?'

He grinned nervously, gave a friendly nod to the frowning Luo, then pulled himself over the wall and hurried over to her. He lowered his voice to a mutter. 'Heh, Xuejing, you ask very pertinent questions. I respect that. Of course, we will have to perform a small amount of culling. Four will have to go. But you need not worry. When the time comes, we will simply have a discussion, and I've no doubt the weakest will see the wisdom in removing themselves. No need for you to worry!'

That, or Zixiao will utilise them to remove me. She didn't trust him an inch. Xuejing, like most of her clan, had no time for schemers and tricksters. They viewed such shameless trash with an intense dislike. She preferred the purity and honesty of simple combat. Through that, all could be decided.

She was aware that she was not much good at recognising such schemes. She never had been. One of her weaknesses, one she was working on, one she did her best to hide. But in this case, it was obvious that Zixiao had something in mind.

It was a simple fact that if they met in a one-on-one duel, she would win. He knew that. In fact, all the Cultivators here knew they would lose to her. Thus it was within his interest to see her removed. Then, he would have a good chance of emerging first from amongst these others.

'I will find my own fate, out there,' she said, with a wave to take in the rocky outcropping and spreading jungle sections of the arena below. From it there came endless rattles and booms from barbarian weapons, and the occasional flash and crash of Symbiotes.

'You are simply throwing your chance away, Xuejing!' cried Zixiao at her retreating back. 'You will regret this decision!' She could feel anger leaking from his badly guarded Soul.

She thought he might even attack her, but no, of course not. There was no point. Say one thing: She was well prepared for this Tournament. Her Skin Shield, always active, appeared as a faint glossy shimmer. It was designed to deflect any kind of light-based attack, and did so efficiently—though it was entirely useless against physical attacks. The clan had tested this against an acquired Lasrgun and found it effective.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

In her left arm, she possessed the Silver Net, which she had activated before hopping over the wall.

In her right, she held what was known as the Seamless Spirit. This restricted her Soul Sense into a passive, close-fitting sphere when used, but that sphere formed an almost impregnable spiritual defence.

Even if attacked by multiple Soul Senses she would be fine. Under attack by powerful offensive spiritual arts like the Spectral Claw, she might have some trouble—if it weren't for the fact that all her brain Nodes were filled with more Symbiotes focused on boosting Soul Sense defence. With that her Soul Sense sphere was impervious, at least in a one-on-one. No one at Tier 1 would have the necessary spiritual might to break her defences.

However, if she were to be attacked by a truly overwhelming number of Soul Senses, a dozen or more—as were located right behind her, in this fortification Zixiao was building—she would be at risk. Coordinating so many Soul Senses against a single foe could be tricky, but given time even people who never worked as a team before could manage it.

Her only other danger was from enemies who could get up close to her. In fact, a literal child could walk up and stab her with a knife, and she would be undefended. Her Skin Shield only worked against light, after all. So long as they had a Soul, at least, otherwise the Silver Net would deflect their attacks.

She was the defence to stop someone touching her with steel. Her and the twin Artifact Blades, she held, both Tier 2. She'd been training to fight with them since she could walk. These barbarians could be very fast, and very strong, and she knew she must be wary of fighting them as she preferred to, up close. However, she also knew that those who were part-metal, who were faster than normal, were weak to Blue Lightning.

Like that generated by the Symbiotes in her legs, which surged into life and wreathed her in crackling blue from her hips to her toes. Her clan had tested such Symbiotes on a few captured barbarians. One kick should stun long enough for her to put a sword through them. Though, her main reason for liking this set was because of the increased speed they gave her, which should allow her to match the faster barbarians.

Even if they were even in speed, Xuejing wasn't worried. She had been training for close combat her whole life. It seemed impossible that there could be someone here capable of outfighting her close up, and her Symbiotes defended her from everything else.

She glimpsed a flash of light in the distance, which drew her eye. An instant later a loud, sharp crack from only feet away caused her to flinch. Then there came a distant thump, emanating from where she'd seen the flash of light.

From these clues, she understood what had happened even without the fact of the Silver Net drawing on her Oma in the midst of it all. Her clan had begun training with barbarian weapons. The Nara prided themselves on understanding how to fight anything and everything.

There was a rise over there, from a section of dense jungle before this topmost area of cliffs and stone bridges. A barbarian had attacked her. There came another shot a moment later.

Zixiao cursed and retreated behind the wall, yelling out at the others to keep their heads down. She snorted dismissively as she continued across the bridge to the next rocky outcropping, then across it. There she jumped off, plummeting to the greenery of the valley below.

###

After following the tracks for some time, Nicolai and Pal found themselves an the edge of this upper area. Here, a bridge of natural stone extended from a gap between two cliff walls. Looking out through that gap they saw a sweeping valley below, which the bridge extended over. It led out towards another cliff in the distance. The pair observed a number of natural stone bridges connecting these high-up rocky ridges, leading through quite open and exposed areas.

The majority of tracks ended on the bridge, where some muddy footsteps and dirt scuffs led out onto the light orange stone then faded after a short distance. To their side were a few more tracks that led up a windy, rocky ledge to a high cliff on their right. Nicolai had no desire to go out onto the open and exposed natural stone bridges. He saw Pal glance at him and knew the other man felt the same way. With their current reliance on stealth, they would be at risk out there. If someone did somehow spot them they would be easy prey, having only Burst Shields engaged.

Normally, Nicolai would hold his backup Skin Shield at a state of charged readiness, prepared to activate the moment the Burst Shield failed. He wasn't able to do that without going over the limit of what his Lurker Symbiote could hide. It would take a space of some seconds to activate the Skin Shield, time in which he would be vulnerable after his Burst was broken. Threat Analysis had determined Pal was labouring under a similar limitation.

At that moment, a single gunshot sounded from above, echoing off the stony cliffs and through the trees. Nicolai recognised it as a high-calibre rifle shot—perhaps from an anti-materiel rifle. The pair exchanged a glance, and without a word, a decision was made.

They crept up the path, alert and watching for traps. This proved wise, as Nicolai spied a directional, laser-activated mine hidden just behind a rock to catch anyone passing without wariness. The one who'd placed it was clearly more worried about Cultivators than Earthers, since the mine had a laser as an activator. With thermal, he was able to see the laser clearly.

He moved to go around behind the mine, but just as he began to do so Threat Analysis alerted him. Another one, the Module said. He saw it, set in the shadow of a large rock. Aimed at where someone who'd spotted mine #1 and moved to go behind it would therefore have to pass, and this one…

No trip wire, but he noted the ground had signs of disturbance. The sniper had dug up some ground then put a pressure-activated sensor mat under it. That would be linked to the mine.

These two needed to be defused. After a moment's thought, Nicolai determined there was no need to risk himself. He slid back and quietly told Pal about the mines then said, 'While you defuse them, I'll look ahead.' Without giving the man a chance to argue he once more loosed his drone, using the fibre wire to maintain a stable connection, and had it move a short distance ahead to check for more traps. He acted as though this took all his attention. Pal scowled unhappily but set about cautiously dealing with the mines.

He could have simply used the Pegasi ring to ignore the path entirely. But he hadn't yet flown in Pal's vision. The man might know already, but if not Nicolai meant to keep that particular ability secret.

Pal finished defusing the mines and they continued. A few minutes later they were getting close to the top. That was when there came another gunshot, followed by a sudden rattle and a yell. More gunshots, lower calibre—a pistol. The sniper was under attack.

There came more yelling, more gunshots, more ripples. In spite of this, Nicolai and Pal continued up at the same measured speed. Though the disturbance gave a sense of pressure, a need to act, rushing would only make them sloppy and more likely to be caught by the traps. By the time they reached the top, the sounds of combat had ended.

The pair stopped just behind a large chunk of rock, knowing that on the other side the combatants they had heard would be present. They held their guns ready, preparing to move out.

However, before they could do so, a Soul Sense tendril swept past and caught upon them. Even through their stealth—the Lurker Symbiote and whatever Pal had—it detected them, having touched directly upon them before either could react. Through that tendril Nicolai felt a spike of alarm, before the tendril flinched away.

He sent out his drone for a quick look and saw a Cultivator standing in a torn clearing. The sniper was gone.

He and Pal moved out as one. They didn't communicate over local—even though they were close—because at this higher position, the jamming was powerful and disrupted all signals. But they were able to communicate soundlessly through gesture and simple movement.

Nicolai went first, moving quickly and turning the corner, firing instantly with his M99. The blasts tore into the Cultivator's shields. However, this Cultivator proved to have some kind of additional directional shield, a first, hand-held layer which he extended desperately, arm shaking as the huge rounds smashed into it and were deflected off.

Meanwhile, Pal had moved out laterally, past Nicolai, to gain vision on the Cultivator and fire together with him. The Cultivator's shield's didn't last long, first the hand-held exploding from Nicolai's third round then his Burst Shield. But before he could be taken down, the man simply threw himself backwards off the ledge, falling out of their vision.

Pal rushed to the ledge and peered over, looking to aim and fire, but Nicolai grasped his shoulder and pulled him back. 'Let him go. See what he draws out.'

Pal nodded in understanding and they stepped back, hunkering down and resuming stealth.

The Cultivator used some Symbiote to land gently then immediately sprinted across the bridge to the next clifftop. The pair observed the figure as it grew more distant.

It was at this moment that Nicolai, looking ahead to where the Cultivator was going, noticed the strange movement of earth and water.

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