At the start of Imperial Year 34006, six years since regression.

Sect Master Tundra Fox's skin hardened, as his spiritual energies made them into a material temporarily many times stronger than steel. The world around him charged with power, and the two Core Disciple's weapons smashed into them. His metallic energy was so overwhelming, that the two Core Disciple's formidable earth techniques looked like tiny flames trying to survive a hurricane.

One of those weapons, a mace filled with Earth Energies was shaped to hold a relatively powerful technique, the [Granite Headcrusher Hammer]. The Core Disciple's 4th realm abilities, however, did not even scratch his skin. "Not enough." He said. "You panicked briefly."

Yerra cursed, as she dodged a metal spear that manifested right above her head. It was entirely predictable.

"It's always like this." Julia explained to the visibly worried Celestia and Anna as they watched from the makeshift spectator's corner. They knew that Tundra held back when he practiced with them, but both Celestia and Anna have not seen him fight all out.

Yerra Wishstone and Sam Darkwolf were both at the peak of the 4th realm, and within the Core Disciples and Inner Disciple that they were the candidates for the new elders of the Verdant Snow Sect. But even as they coordinated their strikes, it was obvious that they were toyed with.

Their numbers did not matter when Tundra could manifest multiple powerful spears of seemingly any element.

Tundra decided to take it up a notch. These were his core disciples, and they needed experience with more exotic elemental variants. And so, he started with the next set of spears taking up a momentarily golden color.

Yerra cursed as she dodged the golden spear, and quickly noticed how she had to spend more energy just to evade the spear's movement.

"Gold is heavy." Tundra said, likely to the benefit of the spectators. There were inner disciples and other core disciples watching. "It gives the weight of our strikes, draws people in so and the Golden Metal Variation is a popular direction where metal-element cultivators develop. I can create and replicate them temporarily, but doing so is far more laborious than those who have assimilated Gold's nature as part of themselves."

It was harder to judge distances with golden spears. There was something about the way they shone and shimmered that seemed to mess with their spiritual senses. As if all things were warped by the weight.

"Golden Metal is also popular as one of the three anti-demonic energies of choice. Gold also represents purity of form, and it cuts through those of corrupted and borrowed origin with greater ease." The other two were Pure Water, and Pure Fire.

The most powerful anti-demonic artifacts often utilized a combination of these three Pure Elemental variations to great effect, and there are legends that speak the tale of the Three Pure Ones, each wielding one of the three great pure metals. Golden Metal, Divine Fire, and Purifying Water.

Yerra and Sam groaned as they attempted to dodge the Golden Spears, and found themselves having to readjust their own estimates. They took a few hits at first, but were able to adapt.

"Good. Now try this." The metal spears melted, and turned into an almost viscous form.

Celestia frowned and looked at Julia. "And I thought I was doing well."

"Master Fox thinks highly of you, if he asks you to witness these things in action." Julia smiled. "Ah, see. The Liquid Metal variation is a hard one to counter. Especially for earth-element, it is quite unnatural for them to move into different principles of spiritual energy."

The spears themselves bend and reshape themselves as if they were flowing around obstacles. The two Core Disciples shaped walls of earth to block them. Tundra smiled as his liquid metal spears smashed into these walls, and found them reinforced with hardened stone. Compressed earth was not seen as a higher form of Earth element, but it was a decent half step.

For fourth realms to create these half steps was admirable, outside of certain bloodlines, unique techniques and inheritances, it was hard to create the higher elements. Most cultivators could create these higher elements through sheer power at the sixth realm.

But the Master was not done yet, and more spears emerged, this time they were shifted into the erratic, violent forms of fire. "The White Tiger's disciples are masters of both water and earth, but that does not mean that you will not meet other competitors-"

It was one of Tundra's old habits, and Celestia knew it was a common one amongst old cultivation matterse. Many old masters love stating the obvious, because, in the great and vast worlds of cultivation, the obvious is sometimes not obvious at all. There are so many competing principles, ideologies and thoughts about the nature of the five primary elements and all their variants, that at higher levels, before any lecture, it is important to start from the obvious.

Then wood.

Anna asked. "Is what father's doing supposed to be so easy?"

Celestia shook her head. "I've never been able to transmute elements outside of meditation. It's not meant to be easy at all."

Julia laughed, as a ball of wood energy floating above her palm transformed from wood element to fire, then to earth, then to metal. Each transformation made the ball shrink. "It comes easier for us alchemists, because we do it for a living, so don't judge yourself too harshly. There is, of course, spiritual energy loss with each transmutation. Our primary elements still come most naturally to us, and we often create specific stores of these higher elements within our soul, so that we do not have to transmute them during intense battles. It is something worth thinking about when you reach the fourth realm."

"Only if you have the methods and techniques to use them." Yavin Redaxe, joined the group watching and sat next to Anna. "Have you made preparations?"

Anna nodded.

Celestia had known Anna was going, but in her reaction and demeanour to the statement, it seemed there was more to it. Yavin seemed to have read Celestia's unspoken thoughts and answered. "Though the White Tiger Temple is likely not a suitable place for you, Lady Anna, it is still worthwhile to see what the Great Pretender Sects are like. And it is not as if we are going without friends. Duke Hadrian and the Scarlet Thunder Sect will be there, and Lord Saljuk's disciples."

Celestia grinned and nodded. "Thank you for explaining. It seems many within the Fox Family want to leave."

Yavin sat. "I heard that Lady Marin Eastheart has thoughts of leaving for some time, while Anna also has her own plans to leave."

Anna looked confused. It wasn't a secret that Marin was unhappy. Celestia, however, decided to add fuel to the fire, perhaps out of sheer naivety. "Is leaving really the only way?"

Yavin nodded. "A breath of fresh air is often a good idea when the air inside gets too stale."

Celestia was stumped, and sighed. "I see. I hope you find somewhere safe, Anna."

Anna nodded. "Me too."

Julia ignored it, and looked at Yavin. "What do you think of Yerra and Sam's chances?"

"Decent. But I hear that some of the White Tiger's Core Disciples are in the fifth realm." Yavin answered. "At least, they won't embarrass us, for sure. Elder Severian believes a middling rank is sufficient for us to walk away with our heads held high."

Stolen story; please report.

"Middling it is, then."

"The more important question, actually." Yavin speculated, "Is what our Sect Master wants."

"Surely he wants us to win."

"And make a statement to the world that we now train powerful disciples?" Yavin countered. "I reckon there is merit in Elder Severian's statement, and we should not aim for victory, but instead, intentionally be a middling rank."

Celestia and Anna were both clearly surprised by this, so Anna probed further. "Elder Redaxe, are you jesting with that speculation?."

"Not at all." Yavin looked. "In recent times, as a Sect, we have deliberately chosen a more low-profile approach to things. Sect Master himself attended meetings as Duke Thunderstone's attache, instead of attending on his own merit. Even the tournament with Princess Luharlia, we all know that Master Fox's talents are impressive, and still he chose to go with a lesser pill. So, speaking plainly, Master Fox intends to position ourselves as a friendlier sect, one with many friends while we hide our strength from our enemies, so we cannot intentionally win this tournament. An upper-middle placing is sufficient, and preferable."

Anna was not fully privy of the details of who the Sect fights, but Celestia and the two elders knew a lot more than the others, so Celestia nodded thoughtfully. A low-profile sect that moved in the shadows matched what Tundra wanted to do, and she found it amusing.

Julia squirmed a little, and looked at Celestia.

They were leaving in a few days, the trip to the White Striped Tiger Temple would take them through a few other sects, notably, a visit to Storm Peaks to meet with the Sect Master Dorith Vulner's delegation. Just a few years ago they promised to travel together to the White Striped Tiger Temple.

***

Storm Peaks was a Sect located high up in the mountains where it seemed to be stormy all the time, but interestingly as they approached, the skies themselves seemed to open up a small, narrow path for them to enter.

Lightning itself became a wall on both sides of the path, as if signalling them to approach.

"There must be a formation of some kind." Elder Julia looked a little surprised at what a mid-tier sect like the Storm Peaks had at their disposal.

Tundra was properly amused. "Ah, I think the Storm Peaks have a strong protective ancestor."

"An ancestor?" Elder Julia asked.

"It's probably not." Tundra clarified, as he observed the formation a little longer. Though lightning is often created through mastery of metal, water, and fire, in some ratio, the manipulation of weather, creating storm clouds and guiding their lightning was likely something that is achieved by a collection, a set of protective artifacts.

Dorith Vulner remained in the high sixth realm, as their flying ship landed on a clearing, located on a clearing on one of the few flatter areas of the mountainous peaks. "I'm glad you remembered our offer, come Lord Fox, today, the Storm Peaks is home. Come, enjoy our hospitality for a week, and we can leave for the White Striped Tiger Temple together."

Tundra smiled, and the rest of the party went about their usual sect visit pleasantries. The two sect masters then gathered in a small dining room up in the tallest towers of the Storm Peaks. The skies outside thundered constantly, that lightning flashes occurred every few blinks.

"How is life treating you, Lord Vulner." Tundra sat, and picked up his chopsticks. He reached and grabbed one of the braised mutton. Goats and sheep were a fairly popular breed of animals around these mountainous regions, and there are even spiritual variants. The Storm Peaks lived close to a few large herds of Stormhoof Rams and Stormhoof Thunderclimbers, ranging from the 3rd to the 5th realm.

"As well as it could have." Dorith looked exhausted, and Tundra wondered what could tire him so.

"Oh? It does make me wonder what could threaten your clearly well fortified home."

"Ah. What else could it be but the most trivial of things." Dorith answered while waitresses served food and drinks. The master alchemist waved his hand, and the two Sect Masters were alone. There was a painting of a series of mountain peaks, covered with dark, storm clouds. Above it was a gigantic horned Qilin, a spirit beast that is often considered just slightly outside of Ten Great Progenitors.

"I see." Tundra picked up the jadeite cup, and noticed a similar qilin carving on the cups. If Dorith Vulner wanted to elaborate, he would, so Tundra decided to redirect the conversation to more, lighter topics. They've just started drinking, and it was not the norm to broach such difficult topics at the start. "Beautiful cups, and I can't help but notice the Qilin motif throughout your home."

It certainly hinted at the existence of a powerful spiritual guardian, perhaps one of the Qilin's lineage.

Dorith laughed. "The Thunderstorm Qilin is a favored beast of our founder, and it is claimed that the bloodline still flows within my family's veins, though no one thus far has even manifested the bloodline's effects."

"Oh, is it true?"

"Not at all. It is nothing but a fanciful embellishment of my ancestors. Things they said to make us seem more important than we actually are." Dorith Vulner answered with exceptional humility. "But it is part of our heritage, and so we embrace the motif."

Tundra grinned. "Just like how we embraced the snow-covered trees as ours."

The Verdant Snow's official logo and badge is that of a single round tree with a layer of snow on top, with an alternate design where it is a single green leaf with a light blue heart of ice within.

"Are your disciples ready for the tournament?"

"As well as I could prepare them, but given the competition, I merely hope they perform within the middle ranks."

Tundra nodded along. "Likewise. I merely hope we do not place ourselves in the bottom ranks!" There were a few Great Challenger Sects participating in the tournament, and in truth, no one would bat an eye if a newly invited Sect to the White Tiger Tournament performed poorly.

Sects rise, and sects fall. An invitation to such a tournament was a message that they are now a member of the 'upper-middle' ranks of Sects, though there was a clear bias for sects located closer to the White Striped Tiger's territories. For this reason alone, Storm Peaks, an arguably weaker sect, was invited many times before, while the Verdant Snow was never a contestant until now.

"I believe most of us will be a fairly even match, it is just the Great Challenger Sects that would usually dominate."

It is just so that most Great Challenger Sects have access to better quality materials, inheritances, artifacts, bloodlines, and so on. In the world of cultivation, success begets success. Outside of the willpower and talent of individuals, the other aspects that dictate the progress of cultivators are often like a snowball.

Tundra nodded. This was not a surprise, and very much expected in the history of tournaments. Especially since these tournaments are by invitation, where only those of the chosen sects are allowed to participate.

The two drank, and talked some more. Dorith Vulner is an alchemist just like him, and a fairly talented one as well.

In his first life, their path did not cross after the Imperial Summons. The Storm Peaks, like the White Striped Tiger Temple, were a distance away from the Verdant Leaf, and the affairs of this region were largely irrelevant until much later. By then, this entire area was indirectly the dominion of the Snow Dragon Temple and the Patriarch Whitedragon's men.

But that was a point worth exploring, and so Tundra poked. "If I may, do you ever feel that the Snow Dragon's influence is growing in your area?"

The Master of the Storm Peaks immediately eyed Tundra suspiciously, and after a while, sighed. "So even people from your side of the world have started to notice?"

"Oh. It is just hearsay." Tundra redirected.

"It's a game of proxies, just like how the White Striped Tiger is affiliated to the Snow Dragons. Patriarch Whitedragon is an incredible warrior, but highly demanding man."

That matched what he remembered of the old fart.

"One of his sons leads the Snow Dragon's Branch Sect, the Lakes of the Frozen Drakes. His unmarried son is quite ambitious."

Ambitious. In other words, aggressive. In his first life, it's likely the Storm Peaks capitulated to the Snow Dragon's demands. "I find it puzzling that a sect like the Great Snow Dragon would find something they want from you."

"It is not something." Dorith answered. Tundra's mind thus concluded that it must be a person. Or a spirit beast. "But we will see."

"I was told the list of invited sects remains a secret."

"That is the norm. There are many less than pleasant people in that competition, so it is good to see some friendly faces."

"Now I wonder what kind of inherent rivalries we will be walking into this coming tournament." Tundra smirked. From Dorith's response, many of these sects clearly had a history with each other.

The White Striped Tiger Tournament was a two stage contest.

A hunting mission placed in the White Striped Tiger's famed Forest of the Thousand Rainbow Wartigers. Sects and contestants would score based on how much Wartigers defeated, and the Colors of the Wartigers. Stronger Wartigers had multiple colored stripes and could rival even the 5th realms in strength, though it was said that there were the six-colored Wartigeres that are in the 7th realm also lurking in those Forests.

The top scoring hundred would then be sorted into grouped battles, where sects are matched against sects. It is a rather cruel way of sorting, since certain sects ending up with only one surviving participant, could be matched with sects with up to eight surviving participants.

This battle would go on until there were only two sects remaining.

Unlike the other tournaments, these were group competitions.

***

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