Ling pays little attention to the remaining victors of the alchemy contest. With Bao firmly on her side there would be little point in attempting to recruit anyone else. The only thing it would achieve is increasing the chance of one of their secrets getting out. It is only when she spots a man wearing a robe with a very familiar symbol amongst the next group moving towards the stage that she returns her focus there.
“...am honored to announce that the victor of the poetry competition is Liyue Yiming!”
She offers the man an encouraging nod and lifts her cup in toast to his victory. While she cares little for him personally the Liyue are one of the most closely related branch families of the Li and as such a certain modicum of respect is expected. Certainly none would blame her should she refrain from doing so but there is no point in burning bridges without reason. Especially since this Liyue Yiming may yet be of use to her.
From what she remembers about him from Shun’s briefing the man recently reached the second stage of Foundation Establishment at the age of twenty nine. While that does not guarantee anything it does mean he stands a chance of qualifying to enter the hidden realm. As a branch family member he would be beholden to her and is sure to be an ally should he make it inside. A single word from her could see his family ruined after all, for the Li have no use of disloyal branches. No, those are pruned with utmost thoroughness.
Seeing a shiver run down his spine Ling has to stop her eyes from widening. Did she just manifest her intent?
No, she concludes. Most likely her eyes simply showed a hint of her inner thoughts. She has to stop herself from channeling a mote of ice qi. Who would have thought more control over her constitution would lead to entirely new problems? She’ll have to pay extra attention to her expressions, it wouldn’t do for her emotions to show on her face.
And on the note of paying extra attention, she supposes she should see who amongst the next batch of competitors could be useful and which she should plan extra contingencies against. Not that any of the people yet to compete are likely to pose a threat to her but even the slightest addition to a precarious situation can drastically influence the results. It would be best if any such addition were in her favor.
Something that only seems partially likely judging by the rest of the top three from the poetry competition. The one in second place should not prove to be a problem. Despite his perpetually squinting eyes giving him a suspicious, foxlike appearance Dugu Ning has both a stellar reputation and is beholden to Juntao. Given that his twin brother, Dugu Zhen, has already secured a spot on the top twenty it is quite likely he too will manage to secure one.
With the Du’s stance being one of neutrality and even more so during this meet neither should pose any problem to her whatsoever. The final of the three people on stage however might prove far more troublesome.
Caiwu Yong.
Ambitious and opportunistic she has carved herself a way to the top ever since she first started cultivating. More than one of her siblings has passed away under mysterious circumstances and few of her opponents yet live to oppose her. Ruthless and pragmatic to the extreme the woman is one of the more likely candidates to cause upsets within the hidden realm. Such is her reputation that none doubt that she’ll qualify.
In fact, it’s almost surprising she hasn’t stepped into the arena yet. She certainly has the strength for it. Then again, Ling contemplates, that is part of what makes her so wary of the woman.
Much like Dugu Zhen she could easily have secured a place already. Yet she waited until the final three days, satisfied with competing alongside the other branch clan members despite her ambitions.
While there have certainly been some others amongst the branch families that chose to compete prior to the end of the various contests it is mostly the ones that either had no chance of making it into the realm and merely used the duels as a way to impress their audience and potentially secure a sponsor or those that were so confident in their strength that they did not fear competing with the main clans. Caiwu Yong’s achievements would have put her firmly in the latter category. The fact that patience won out over the urge to seek glory is something Ling certainly does not fail to note.
Of course it is perfectly possible that like many other branch members she chose to focus on the side contests to secure additional resources first but something in her gut tells Ling she’s not overthinking this. Which she supposes makes it all the more impressive that Yong scraped out a victory despite it only being a means to have a plausible excuse.
Even so Ling can’t afford to pay much more attention to the woman, many more branch family members will be participating starting today and each one could yet provide an unforeseen variable. Her contemplations are cut off when she spots another youth glaring in their direction with murder in his eyes.
“...I welcome the victor of the rogue cultivator’s tournament. Vastly exceeding expectations and blazing through the ranks-- may I present to you, Baofu Fuchou!”
Gesturing for Shun to refill her cup she subtly directs a question towards the maidservant. Placing the tip of her ring finger atop her middle finger while pouring the tea Shun signs back a negatory, she has no idea who this man is either.
Seeing him respectfully accept his prize she concludes that he does not seem to hold a grudge against the sect in its entirety. She racks her brain but cannot remember ever seeing or hearing of the youth. Somehow she feels his anger wasn’t directed at her either, no, it seemed more like…
She takes a brief glance at the one sitting next to her. Seeing their confused expression Ling concludes there’s little point worrying about it now. She makes a mental note to have Shun look into it just in case so she can put the matter aside and return her focus to what truly matters. Preparing for the hidden realm.
It is no secret that while supposedly an equal journey, navigating your way through the Dao tends to go much more smoothly with better methods and the advantages of having a beneficial lineage. Not to mention the sheer cost of advancing through the stages through normal means. It is no wonder then that barring a once in a millenia level of genius or an extremely fortunate encounter, those born to branch families rarely reach the same height as members of their main family.
Much as it rankles her to admit a large part of the reason for her own fast rise is due to finding the cultivation manual of an immortal in addition to having access to those belonging to her distinguished clan. She pushes down a sigh. That fact makes it all the more impressive that Qiu still managed to stay one step ahead of her until recently, but she digresses.
The lure of better techniques and resources has led many to their doom and a lucky few to their rise. For those of the branch families events such as these are one of their best opportunities to attain both of those, much like what Cai Yuu is aiming for. With high rewards come high risks however and to compete without being able to devote your all to it is the height of foolishness.
Pushing down a snort she notes that said reason is probably the origin of what by now is a tradition few even bear to think about. The tradition of branch family members only competing on the final three days unless they aren’t participating in any of the other contests. That and practicality, she allows.
Their chances of qualifying are far higher now that all main clan members are already ranked and the choice of whether to face any of them is solely up to the challengers. Well, all but two have placed anyway. Perhaps even just the one. Lai Xueya is still recovering but her humbled cousin has made no further attempts to secure a spot despite a lack of severe injuries. Oh how Grand Elder Lai must curse the actions of her adopted granddaughter.
Feeling her focus slip again she finally channels a mote of ice qi through her veins. Not to control her emotions this time but to control her train of thought. Her newfound emotional clarity has left her a little too relaxed, diluting her focus and subconsciously allowing her thoughts to stray just a bit too often to her liking. For the briefest moment she considers refraining from taking more of Bao’s medicine. The pit that forms in her stomach and the nauseous feeling she gets at the very idea quickly dissuades her. She will deal with these newfound issues and get her mental state under control. To do otherwise would spit on the efforts of those she holds dear not to mention burden them once more with the monster she is when her control slips.
Now that thought requires her to channel another mote.
"...all three of these vaunted juniors have earned the chance to compete for the ultimate prize. Take a well deserved rest, competitors. Come the morrow thou shalt have the opportunity to prove thine mettle!" Juntao finishes causing the three rogue cultivators that qualified to puff out their chests with pride.
If only they knew. With how important resources are those at the top stack the deck against others at every opportunity to maintain the status quo. In theory the rogue cultivators could still succeed of course but they will have an uphill battle ahead of them to do so.
While the branch clan members will begin competing today and have two more chances to succeed should they fail to secure a spot the sect is much less kind to strays. The seventh and final day of the meet will have a grand victory banquet to celebrate the glory of the sect and as such matches on that day are hosted at noon instead of during the evening meaning there is far less time to rest between the sixth and seventh day.
Given how unlikely it is that any of the rogue cultivators can't qualify without giving it their all they cannot afford to hold back during their first match rendering it impossible to recover in time for their next chance should they fail. Not to mention that even if they qualify in time they’re likely to be challenged again on the final day.
It sickens her. Despite all their advantages her peers are still too cowardly to risk their position, so used to their cushy positions the mere possibility of being brought down a notch frightens them. Had she not channeled ice qi through her veins Ling would have to push down a smile at the thought. Her gaze briefly flicks towards Xueya.
Soon. Very soon.
