Lei Chonglin and Wu Jianzhu chattered away into each other’s ears, linked by the hip. Luo Yanmei and Guo Qiuyue looked at them mirthfully, giggling with each other. 

Ai Mingxia sighed, feeling her grip tighten on Taoyun as she sat cross-legged in the flying carriage they were in. With Guo Qiuyue, they’d probably easily pass the first part of the test. Yet Ai Mingxia felt apprehensive. None had been aggressive towards her, even in the one Spring Gale Breath lesson they’d had, but she still didn’t feel quite at ease. 

From what she remembered, the first part of the test was a four-hour group exercise to hold the fort for the longest time compared to four other groups of the same size, something that should be easy. The second was a solo race to connect the two halves of the Yin and Yang, and the third a duo tournament. Of course, it had been a few centuries, but as far as she knew, the fundamental structure of the test had never changed even from the beginning. The whole test lasted around a day, and the twenty winners would be allowed to continue taking advanced physical and spiritual cultivation lessons.

Ai Mingxia felt confident about the first and the second, but she was slightly apprehensive about the third. Since Si Ma Zhilian wouldn’t be there, she might not need to hold back, but what if the others told her or she overheard? Perhaps she’d simply think it was an exaggeration. Thus, Ai Mingxia decided she’d hold back until she really had to put effort into it to win. Being able to continue taking lessons would give her a massive leg-up in terms of power, so it was well worth it.

With a screech, the carriage landed. Suddenly silent, the five walked out to the sect training site they and the other four groups would be using, an isolated peak some ways away from the centre of Yue Ning and from what she could tell, quite a bit colder. At the highest point of the peak stood an eerie-looking fortress.

As they exited the carriage, Guo Qiuyue found in his hand a parchment that hadn't been there before. The instructions. They crowded around him in a circle as he read it aloud slowly and surely while the carriage flew away silently. It seemed that Ai Mingxia had been correct that the first test hadn’t changed, giving her hope that the rest hadn’t either.

Wu Jianzhu spoke of tactics first: “We should eliminate the other teams before they even have a chance.”

“I agree,” Ai Mingxia said to the surprise of the others. Being more proactive would make them less likely to run into traps and tricks if they didn’t give the other groups time to come up with them. Guo Qiuyue was a brilliant fighter, especially with Luo Yanmei’s steadfast support, Wu Jianzhu was no slouch either, Lei Chonglin was steadily improving, and Ai Mingxia had instincts and reaction speed far outstripping any of them. They could take the other groups, if with some difficulty.

“I think we should take the fortress,” Guo Qiuyue said, humming thoughtfully. “If we spend too much time taking them out, the first group to get to the fortress might have already assessed it and figured out how to best defend it.” Luo Yanmei nodded in agreement almost mechanically, but she fidgeted with her sword behind her back.

“There are four other groups,” Wu Jianzhu rebutted. “If we take the fortress, we could be ganged up on. This way, we can more easily take care of the other teams or gang up with one to take the fortress, and then take them.” 

Time was of the essence. “Let’s not spend more time arguing. It’s split two on two. Lei Chonglin, what do you think?” Ai Mingxia asked. Lei Chonglin’s general demeanour had always suggested he’d rather pick the defensive approach, but he was probably more partial to Wu Jianzhu’s ideas.

Lei Chonglin looked thoughtful, tapping a finger against his chin. “I think Wu Chao’s right. We should go on offense.” Wu Jianzhu gave him a quick hug, beaming. Ever affable, Guo Qiuyue showed no signs of visible disagreement, but Ai Mingxia could see Luo Yanmei breathe a slight sigh of relief. Interesting.

The tall girl closed her eyes, seeming to focus hard. “The closest of the groups is in that direction, in that forest,” she said, pointing north. Ai Mingxia wasn’t sure about the credibility of her claim, but she supposed they didn’t really have much else to go off on.

Wu Jianzhu nodded. “Let’s go, then.” He hopped on his sword and the others followed. More awkwardly, Ai Mingxia perched as lightly as she could on Taoyun, a hand still on it for a quick attack and to keep herself from falling off as she wobbled dangerously. She still wasn’t so good at flying, nor was the spear as suited to it as the sword. They flew northwards, the ribbons of their robes billowing in the wind, before stopping right at the edge of the bushy forest. Jumping off quietly, Ai Mingxia whispered, “Luo Yanmei, your power isn’t that specific, right?”

The taller girl nodded, clutching her sword tightly. It was of high quality and was the same style, but plain compared to Guo Qiuyue’s sword. 

“Then I’ll scout. I’m not quite as flashy and I’m fast,” Ai Mingxia said, preparing to leap into the shadows.

Guo Qiuyue and Luo Yanmei shared amused looks. “We’ve seen.” 

“Come back when you see anybody, alright?” Wu Jianzhu asked, hand in Lei Chonglin’s. Ai Mingxia almost rolled her eyes, but nodded instead.

She jumped into the shadows, Taoyun held close to her. She blended in easily, without a trace: a shadow, a spectre, a wraith. The lattices of vines and branches welcomed her like old friends as she kept her ears peeled.

Before long, she could hear the sound of footsteps. Pulling herself into the treetops, she painstakingly crawled over. Five disciples, all in standard blue. None she recognized.

Ai Mingxia smiled. Perfect. Letting her qi bolster her speed slightly, she silently bolted back to where the others rested. “There’s a group. Follow me.”

More slowly to let them keep up while staying silent, they soon found them. The other team’s eyes darted from one corner to another, wary, but not fearful.

Then they stiffened.

It was all the signal that they needed.

Instantly, dodging the roots, Ai Mingxia shot forward, circulating her qi strongly to twist the winds around them to increase the fleetness of all but Guo Qiuyue, who could strengthen himself. She had to be conservative with her qi. She could feel her skin taking on the texture of bark, feeling more sturdy already; it must be Luo Yanmei’s art.

Easily, she quickly tapped at a frantic-looking girl with glowing hands on her temple and then thrust Taoyun into her chest. Before her face could even show any signs of pain, she disappeared in a flash of light. The elder’s influence, taking the disciples back before a would-be fatal attack could kill them.

Dodging a strike from another disciple’s valiant effort to avenge his fallen teammate, she turned Taoyun around deftly and slammed Taoyun into his stomach. Before blood could sprout from it, he too disappeared.

The ambush was over as fast as it begun, as they tended to be at such early levels of cultivation. Dusting dirt from her robes, Ai Mingxia glanced at the weapons the disciples had left behind. Nothing particularly useful, not to her at least. 

Luo Yanmei, giving her a strange look, picked up all she could carry. Bow at her back, sword in one hand, and sabre in the other, she looked quite funny.

“One down, three to go,” Wu Jianzhu proclaimed, a smile blooming on his face. “How long has it been?”

“Thirty minutes, give or take.”

Wu Jianzhu laughed. “At this rate, we’ll be set!” Lei Chonglin smiled at him, and he smiled back.

“But maybe the other groups won’t be so easy to take care off,” Guo Qiuyue cut in levelly. “And it’s possible that the other groups have already clashed, so it’s possible that taking the fortress now might be the most efficient move. Luo Ning, can you check?” It seemed despite Luo Yanmei’s technique not being able to pinpoint where exactly her targets were, she could sense how many there were in a given area. Ai Mingxia wondered how large her range was.

Luo Yanmei closed her eyes again for a few seconds. “There are currently two groups at least kind of close to the fortress, and another group to our west.”

“I think we should take care of the group to our west, see if the other groups have taken each other out, then take the fortress,” Ai Mingxia offered. Wu Jianzhu and Lei Chonglin nodded in agreement, but Guo Qiuyue looked skeptical. Either way, that meant majority, so they quickly set off.

This time, the disciples were in the open verdant grass. As soon as they saw Ai Mingxia, Wu Jianzhu, Lei Chonglin, Luo Yanmei, and Guo Qiuyue hovering high in the air, they immediately began to fire.

It was only due to Ai Mingxia seeing the arrow coming that she managed to dodge, swaying dangerously on Taoyun. Blowing a small burst of fire away from her with some difficulty, she immediately dived towards the ground, banging Taoyun into the head of a poor disciple that had been too slow to dodge. He toppled over like a stack of gold foils and winced, reeling in pain. Ai Mingxia stabbed him in the chest and he disappeared in a burst of light. Guo Qiuyue slammed to the ground and instantly began brawling with two other disciples.

“Nervous without your master to protect you, wench?” Lei Yongrei asked, tilting his head mockingly and raising his sword. Bitch. Ai Mingxia hadn’t even realised it was him. She rushed towards him at full speed, dodging the shards of sharp ice sent towards his way. The two broke into a messy fight.

Luo Yanmei landed swiftly a few metres away, and Ai Mingxia could feel her skin hardening into bark as soon as the other girl’s foot touched the ground.

“Ooh, Qiuyue’s little lapdog come to play?” Lei Yongrei yelled even as Ai Mingxia drove Taoyun into his side. Fucking bastard. Luo Yanmei stiffened, but before she could do anything, Guo Qiuyue hurtled over and smashed him into the ground, hand sparking with lightning. Before Lei Yongrei disappeared in a flash of light, Ai Mingxia could very distinctly hear the sound of breaking bones.

Guo Qiuyue, fists covered with blood, spat at the ground where he had been, an incredibly uncouth gesture for him. The words that came after were even stranger. “Good riddance. I would’ve slapped his face if I could’ve. Maybe I will later.” Luo Yanmei smiled gratefully at him, taking his hand, as the other two walked up to them. Ai Mingxia almost smiled at them as well. It was almost nostalgic. She hadn’t thought Guo Qiuyue to have such a temper. This fight had taken some time longer than the other and was a bit more tiring, but they had all come out of it relatively unscathed.

“Um — I know my brother seems bad, but he really doesn’t mean it,” Lei Chonglin began quietly. “He’s just, um, got too much anger and nowhere to put it.” Ai Mingxia almost laughed. He’d seemed pretty deliberate to her. 

“He called Luo Ning a lapdog,” Guo Qiuyue replied calmly while pulling his hair back behind his ears, an undertone of danger coursing in his voice. “Just like earlier. If Si Ma Zhilian sees no need to make good on her threat, perhaps I will instead.”

“Lei Liang doesn’t really mean anything by it, I promise! Please, please don’t, um, punish him. I promise he doesn’t mean it, he’s just hotheaded, please, please don’t be mad at him.” He huddled closer to Wu Jianzhu, who Ai Mingxia knew would be pleased if he wasn’t so concerned about the look of genuine distress on Lei Chonglin’s face. 

“What if I am? And what if I do?”

“Please — please don’t! I promise he means well, he’s just too hotheaded, he’ll grow up, he didn’t mean to call Liu Xiuying and Luo Yanmei dogs—”

Guo Qiuyue raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow, stepping forward even closer to Luo Yanmei. “He needs to learn a lesson for once in his life. I’m usually not one to think myself so high above that I’d say things like this, but I think you should too. You can’t just de—”

Ai Mingxia only barely caught Wu Jianzhu’s wrist before he slammed a fist encased over in razor sharp ice into Guo Qiuyue’s face. “You — I get why you’re mad at Lei Yongrei, but you don’t have to take it out on Lei Qiu…! What happened to being all prim and proper and perfect and good?” Ai Mingxia had to use all her strength to keep him from breaking free, already feeling her skin cool dangerously and minute pinpricks of blood blossoming.

Luo Yanmei clutched Guo Qiuyue’s hand tighter. “Then you don’t take it out on Liu Xiuying, you bloody hypocrite. You’re hurting her! And Guo She’s doing nothing wrong,” she huffed. “He’s just serving what that fuckhead deserves!”

Wu Jianzhu indeed extinguished his qi, but he still tried desperately to break free, writhing in Ai Mingxia’s grip. She winced. Her blood was already staining both her and him. “Where was that hesitation you had earlier, hrm? Blindly defending poor little ‘Qiuqiu’ again? That’s not the problem here, you bloody whore! It’s that he’s taking it out on Lei Qiu —”

He was cut off by his own screech of agony as Guo Qiuyue laid a searing hand on his arm. Shit. Ai Mingxia had been too busy holding back Wu Jianzhu to notice him. The normally placid boy tilted his head. “What did you say?”

“I said that Yanmei was finally growing a brain and realising you weren’t always right. And what kind of stupid plan was that, holing up? And it’s not like you could hurt Lei Yongrei anyway, you’re not from an actual noble family like Si M— mmph!”

“He wasn’t upset about that, you fuckhead!” Roots encased his feet and dragged him down, deeper, deeper…

“ENOUGH! Stop fighting!” 

They return! My loves, my lives!