Tournament

Li Zhu froze, his heart racing. The grand elder surprisingly knew his real identity, which would cause his death if it was exposed.

'What should I do? Attack him?" but as he was about to place his hand on Buddy, and enter shadow lurk, he reconsidered: 'No, I would just be seeking death! It doesn't seem like the Grand Elder has any ill will towards me anyway, and with his cultivation I wouldn't be safe even in the shadows!'

"Don't worry, Li Zhu, I do not have anything against you. As the Grand Elder, I have a responsibility to protect the sect. As long as you do not cause harm to the sect, I will not mention your real identity any longer, nor act against you. In fact, I see potential in you, and could probably help you in avoiding the searching eyes of the Heavenly Dragon Empire. That said, instead of focusing on revenge, I believe you should think about the upcoming Inner Sect Tournament." said the elder, reassuring Li Zhu.

"Inner Sect Tournament? Don't you have to reach the core consolidating realm to join the inner sect?" asked Li Zhu, partly confused, and partially trying to avoid the subject of his identity.

"That is the general rule, yes. But every year there is a tournament in the outer sect, and the ten strongest disciples can become inner sect disciples even before reaching the core consolidating realm, not to mention receiving considerable rewards. With your current cultivation at eighth stage qi gathering, you are still not strong enough to reach top ten, but the outstanding disciples of each stage of cultivation also gain rewards, albeit less valuable." the elder patiently explained.

"So that's how it is! I have something to look forward too, then, senior" replied Li Zhu, his excitement growing.

In his journey to regain his power, entering the inner sect was one small step, but it meant that he was getting closer to his goal. Furthermore, the prizes he could win would be helpful, since he had run out of spirit pills and cultivation supplies during his time at Solitude Peak, and they were a necessity for him to quickly grow.

"Okay, you can finally leave, Li Zhu, and I hope our relationship stays a positive one..." the elder said, before walking out of the hut, heading somewhere.

'I need to be careful of that man!' thought Li Zhu, a grave expression on his face.

Although the elder could potentially become an ally of his, the fact that someone knew his real identity still put Li Zhu off, and someone as strong as the Grand Elder was even more dangerous, since he his actions would be more unpredictable.

Fortunately, as long as he didn't cause havoc in the sect, Li Zhu was quite sure that the elder and him would stay on good terms, as had been said.

With one last glance at the wooden hut, Li Zhu went outside, quickly finding Hua Shu and Yu Hui, who were walking around the peak.

After talking for a while, the three separated, with Yu Hui staying on Formation Peak, while Hua Shu and Li Zhu traveled towards the outer sect housing, where he lived.

On their way, Li Zhu briefly explained the reason his cultivation had risen by two stages on Solitude Peak, which Hua Shu had been curios about, since even she herself, as the heir to the Hua Clan, had a slower cultivation pace.

They also talked about the tournament, which Hua Shu already knew about, having extensive knowledge about the Flaming Saber sect.

"Hua Shu, you're in the ninth stage, so your chances at reaching top ten are pretty high, right?" asked Li Zhu, confident.

Hua Shu, though, looked at him in a strange way, before explaining, "In the outer sect there are people that have stayed in the ninth stage for years. Not only that, but some talented disciples even hold back their cultivation, staying in the qi gathering realm, simply to win the rewards from this tournament. There are not many such disciples, but each one of them could easily beat any other ninth stage cultivator, since they are in between the qi gathering and core consolidating realm. Because of these people, it is not likely that I will get into the top ten, but everything is possible, I guess."

As she said this, though, she was clearly doubtful about her chances, which surprised Li Zhu, making him rethink his goals in this competition.

He had initially thought he could easily enter the top ranks, since he could defeat spirit beasts at the ninth stage qi gathering. Hearing Hua Shu, though, he realized there were talented people even in a small kingdom like Crouching Tiger, and he could not underestimate them.

"Well, you still have your spirit bow, which most disciples probably won't be able to match" replied Li Zhu, realizing an advantage that Hua Shu had.

Yet again, though, she only shook her head, saying, "The sect banned any and all outside help, such as spirit weapons and talismans. Even spirit beasts can only be used by summoners, since disciples of big family's often are accompanied by a tamed beast which belongs to a summoner in their family. All of these gave an advantage to descendants of rich families, which was why the sect does not allow them."

'That means I can't even use my Blue Thunder gauntlet! I'll probably never get a chance to use it!' Li Zhu thought, realizing he would yet again not use the gauntlet, which would soon become too weak for him to use, anyway.

"Well, there is still a chance, Hua Shu! I will head home to cultivate, and I'll see you in a week, at the tournament!" said Li Zhu, having reached the outer sect housing.

He was eager to cultivate, and grow as much as he could before the tournament. Furthermore, Buddy still needed to recover, so Li Zhu needed to find a way to hasten the speed of healing of the dog, or he would be left in the tournament with a very short lasting shadow lurk ability.

_____

At the Yin manor, house of the powerful Yin family, conversation of the tournament was common.

In one particular room, at the center of the vast manor, a tall man was sitting in a large chair, facing a young man, who respectfully stood in front of him.

"Yin Jing, the Grand elder will punish me, and it was all for that little kid! If you encounter Li Zhu, Hua Shu, or Yu Hui at the tournament, make sure the fight is their last! This also goes according to the boss's plan!" as he said this, the elder frowned in anger.

If Li Zhu was there, he would recognize this man as the Judge who had wrongly sent him to Solitude Peak, and the young man in front of him was the one he and Hua Shu had met as they entered the sect for the first time.

Yu Hui was not actually in the qi gathering realm, but the elder would of course not know that, since both the grand elder and his disciple were very secretive about their power. because of this, he simply assumed that Yu Hui would also be in the tournament, since he was very young.

"But uncle, the sect does not allow killing in the tournament!" Yin Jing seemed confused by the elder, who was ordering him to do something forbidden.

Hearing this, the elder simply smiled, replying, "Xiao Jing, killing is not the only way to stop someone's path of cultivation. I do not want you killing anyone, rather just cripple their cultivation, so they can never grow strong again!"

When one had their cultivation crippled, they could no longer store heavenly energy, since it would leak from their meridians. Li Zhu had come close to this, the night of the assassination attempt on him, but he had fortunately managed to heal his wounds in time to avoid this bitter fate.

"yes, uncle, I will try my best!" said Yin Jing, trying to make the elder happy.

"No! I do not want you trying, I want you succeeding! Crippling them is something that the boss would want anyway, so if you don't manage to complete this task, punishment will await you!" the elder yelled, making his intentions clear.

Even though Yin Jing was the heir to the Yin family, each expert at the golden core real was greatly valued by the family, and they would have a higher status than everyone except the family lord. Because of this, the elder could push around Yin Jing as much as he wanted, at least until he assumed his father's position as the family lord.

"Yes, uncle!" was Yin Jing's only reply, before he scuttled out of the room, with his head lowered.

As he got away from his uncle, and evil glint flashed in his eyes, as he thought, 'Li Zhu and Hua Shu, you two better watch your backs, or this week might be the last moment of happiness in your lives!'