It took Aki’s group two days of flight to arrive at the hidden realm’s entrance. The place was in the middle of an open meadow – wide sweeping hills with a pleasant green grass padding. Rather charming, really. Aki thought it would have been a very nice location for a picnic.

This trip however would not be any picnic, as Aki could already see some of the groups who would be competing in the realm. 4 other groups of cultivators were already present, all seated separately in their own groups a good distance away from each other. Most of the cultivators were seated in meditation poses.

Hmm, looks like those groups all have around 20 people. Aki thought as he surveyed them. Good, that should mean that we are the last group to arrive before the Liquid Sword sect group themselves. There is a certain honour in arriving fashionably late, just before the main event starts.

Elder Boreal Night guided the flying fan artefact down, and Aki took a moment to look at his own group again. Most of the disciples were unfamiliar to him, but he did recognize a few of them in addition to Little Hawk and Passionate Seeker. Most notably, he had been a bit concerned to notice that some of the disciples who had learned the torturous [Sauna] techniques were coming along.

The fan landed, putting Aki’s group into their own spot, removed from the other groups by an equal distance. It seemed that everyone had calculated their placements precisely, as with Aki’s group present each group was now at the vertex of an equilateral pentagon. Is the hidden realm going to open in the middle of us? I guess the prime seats are reserved for the Liquid Sword sect.

This was the first real opportunity Aki had gotten to have a look at the cultivators of this region’s other major sects, so he used the opportunity well. The first group he took note of were the Slime sect – their robes were brown and many of the cultivators had body parts coated in some sort of black sludge. That stuff does not look pleasant at all, is that what they’re polluting our lakes with?  

Another group was dressed in black robes which were embroidered with night sky patterns, probably the Dark Star sect. Their sect had been founded on the remains of some fallen cosmic rock, which they had studied for their techniques. It can’t really be a fallen star, can it? I guess the Dark Meteorite or whatever sect just doesn’t sound as impressive. I won’t judge their lack of astronomy knowledge too harshly.

The last two groups would then be the Meng clan and the Song clan. Their robes were red and green respectively, but they were the groups Aki had the least knowledge of. The Meng clan were supposedly good at working with fire, while the Song clan were workers of metal.

Aki debated going to offer greetings to the other groups, but reconsidered the idea when he saw the contemptuous looks they were directing at his own group. He had hoped to be able to forge some new bonds but had expected it to be futile – the others were his sect’s traditional rivals after all. Instead, he busied himself with answering their looks in kind. He had always been proud of his ability in scornful gazes after all.

He spent a few hours on that and managed to outlast most of his opponents. He was busy having a stare down with a rotten looking man from the Slime sect when he was interrupted by the Liquid Sword sect arriving to the scene. His opponent turned his gaze away first, and Aki was satisfied to log another win for himself.

The Liquid Sword sect did not arrive on a flying contraption like the others – their arrival was a show of power. A grand vortex opened up into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, their procession appeared in the midst of it, as if out of nowhere.

They not only arrived in style, but also with numbers. The group had a lot of disciples with them – by a quick estimate more than the other groups had brought altogether. Aki was happy to see that their group was being led by elder Keen Blade, and she seemed to notice him too. They shared a quick nod before she started guiding her disciples down into the middle of the field.

She was dressed the same as before, with the robes that ended just at her knees. Aki thought that cultivator robes were rather risqué when flying over other people, but somehow her robes seemed to mystically curve in the air to block any compromising angles.

Their disciples moved with a military efficiency and quickly arrayed themselves into a clean formation. Aki felt that his own group looked quite haphazard by comparison, but he did not mind it too much. That looks impressive and all, but I don’t really want to make my own sect do something like that. I like a nice and relaxed atmosphere – being too military with things is a way to strengthen hierarchies, not bring them down.

The Liquid Sword sect disciples all wore blue robes and had a sword sheathed at their hip. Aki gazed with suspicion at those sheathes, he imagined that quite a few of those swords did not have any blade on them at all, as the sect seemed to like replacing them with techniques.

Once the disciples were ready in their formation, Keen Blade flew up above them and turned to address everyone present.

“Greetings, subjects of the Liquid Sword sect. I am Keen Blade and will be acting as supervisor for this hidden realm trial. Our estimate is that it will open tomorrow at noon – so you have one day to prepare yourselves.” She gestured at a spot next to her, and Aki noticed that some talismans had been placed there.

“This is the spot where it will open, so be ready. There are some rules that we will enforcing for this trial.” She turned around a full circle and looked over all the people present. “First, no teaming up with other participants. Everyone is to face this trial alone, and others must be considered rivals, even if they are from your own sect.”

“Second, purposefully killing others is forbidden. This is an opportunity for good fortune, none of us want to lose too many disciples here. Accept victory or defeat with grace – I hope we will not have to investigate matters this time. That is all, you may disperse until tomorrow.”

She flew down to the ground, away from the watching eyes and started instructing disciples to put up tents and other facilities in their zone. Aki was glad to hear that efforts were being made to avoid casualties, but he was feeling sceptical about how well these rules could actually be enforced.

What happens in a hidden realm stays in the hidden realm, or so the saying probably goes. I can imagine a lot of foul play going on discreetly, away from prying eyes. It would be foolish to trust these “rules” too much, best to keep an eye out for yourself. Many could use an opportunity like this to settle personal grievances or take out dangerous elements.

He turned to his own disciples. “Everyone, you heard her. You have free time until noon tomorrow, so make use of it how you see fit. I will go discuss some things over there, so Elder Boreal Night will be in charge until I return.”

His disciples saluted him, which Aki accepted with a nod. He then walked off towards the Liquid Sword sect’s grouping, where the tents were already being pulled up. Before heading in, he took a moment to check that his hair was in order, his robes clean and his gift ready. He had brought along a few fresh bottles of spirit wines – it would not do to greet a lady without some gifts after all.

Aki approached the Liquid Sword sect’s group and flagged down a disciple who looked like they knew their way around things.

“Excuse me, I would like to have some words with Keen Blade, if it would be possible.”

The disciple took a second to look over Aki’s robes, and after recognizing their colour gave a polite bow. “I’ll go make the enquiries. Please wait here until I can return with a response.”

Aki nodded the disciple off and watched him go into one of the tents. Scarcely half a minute had gone past before the disciple returned. “She will see you now, if you would follow me?”

Aki followed the disciple and was guided into the tent where Keen Blade was sitting behind a desk. She was sitting up rigidly with an official look to her – the perfect image of a competent official. “Thank you, you may leave us.” She said to the disciple and gestured him away.

After the disciple had left, the woman’s official bearing left too. She relaxed her shoulders, shut her eyes and slumped down onto the table. “Gah, it’s such a pain organising these things.” She muttered, then raised her head up just enough to look Aki’s way. “I trust you won’t mind if I unwind a bit? It’s been a busy week, no month to be honest.”

Aki was happy to see that she had not forgotten the relaxed atmosphere they had previously shared and sat down opposite her. “Is it alright for you to relax so much in the middle of a camp like this? I imagine there would be many prying eyes about.”

“Oh, no no no. Nothing like that.” She said as she waved a hand at him. “This tent is warded so only those I allow can enter and see inside, it’s probably the most private spot out here.”

“Ah, that is a good precaution.” Aki said, nodded. He took out his gift bottles and put them onto the table. “Here, you enjoyed these quite a lot last time, so I brought a few more for you.”

That seemed to energise her enough to rise up from the desk, though she did lean right back into her seat. “I do really appreciate it, though I don’t know how much use they’ll be at the sect. All the drinking company is pretty dreadful, and I looked hard with those last bottles.”

Aki smiled. “Well, if you’ve got the time, perhaps we could share some drinks tonight? The realm is waiting until tomorrow after all.”

“Hmm, true enough, that. I’ve handled things on my end, but isn’t there anything you would need to arrange? I noted that you only brought 19 disciples.” She answered with a meaningful look.

Aki tapped his fingers on the table thoughtfully before responding. “Well, actually, I was hoping to consult you on that. I was hoping to run my plan through you to make sure it’s workable.” He took out a few glasses from his gift bag and put them on the table. “A drink for your advice?”

She accepted one of the glasses with a smile and began to open up one of the bottles. “Alright, I can help you out. All those under 3 Qi strings are eligible, and you are the authority for your sect’s participants. There should be no issue with me working things out with you.”

Aki waited for her to pour her own glass full, then accepted the bottle from her and poured his own. “Alright, here’s my plan. So, first I’ve got a mask and some talismans. I’ve also gotten this brown robe, I’ve worked out the whole persona actually. I’m going to be the mysterious rogue cultivator Lord Mysterio, it really gets me going. The backstory is...”

Aki went on to explain his grand plan with great passion, while Keen Blade drained her glass. Aki did not notice the sceptical look she was giving him, which was growing more and more amused by the second. Eventually, after a long rambling session, he finally finished.

“So, I’ll be introducing my long-lost brother M0ysterio to my disciples, but I’ll explain that due to family inheritance issues we can’t meet face to face, so I’ll have a good reason to disappear for a few days. Sounds good doesn’t it?” He said, and turned to look at the woman who was barely holding back her laughter in front of him.

Seeing the genuine pride and expectation on Aki’s face, Keen Blade could hold it no longer and erupted into laughter. She couldn’t get one word out, as she was too busy cackling her lungs out.

“Hey, what’s so funny? Mysterio is a fine name!” Aki tried to say, wanting to re-establish his dignity. He couldn’t understand what was so wrong with his plan.

Keen Blade refilled her wine glass and downed it in one go, which finally allowed her to settle down. She wiped a tear from her eye, and finally managed to speak. “You really don’t have one deceptive bone in your body, do you? With schemes like this, how on earth have you kept your cultivation mishap under wraps?”

“What, is there really something wrong with my plan? I even figured out backup contingencies!” Aki said, confused.

Keen Blade straightened her back in her seat and adopted a lecturing pose. “First rule of disguise techniques: All techniques which rely on external talismans or artifacts will inevitably fail when you lose hold of those items!” She said and pointed a decisive finger at Aki. “You are relying on a mask, a hood and some talismans. It’s inevitable that at some point those will be lost, unveiling your identity!”

Aki scrunched up his head in thought and sipped on his drink. “That does make sense... So should I make sure those talismans can’t be removed from me, maybe bolt the mask on somehow?”

The woman sook her head. “You are still failing at the basics here – it’s a shame you can’t consult your sect’s spymaster on this. Second rule of disguise techniques: If you look like you are hiding something, people will inevitably try to find out what it is!” She pointed another finger at Aki. “Hiding your face behind a mask shows that it is a secret worth hiding, so everyone will be gunning to unveil you!”

Aki nodded along again. “Hmm, that does make sense too. Should I just ditch the mask and rely on the talismans?”

The woman shook her head again. “There is still a third problem here. Third rule of disguise: Never show any connection between your true identity and your fake one!” She pointed a third finger at Aki. “You were going to announce the second identity yourself, which will inevitably connect it to you!”

Aki finished his drink and slumped down on the table. “I’ve really messed everything up, haven’t I? Is there something wrong with the name Mysterio too? Don’t tell me there is.”

Keen Blade laughed softly and finished her drink. “Now now, I never said there’s anything wrong with that part. Besides-” A twinkle passed through her eyes. “I could help you with a better disguise. Fill my glass, would you?” She finished and went to rummage through a chest behind her.

Aki sat back up, took the glass and started refilling it. “You’re really willing to help? What do you have in mind?”

“This should prove pretty entertaining, consider it a favour for those bottles.” She replied as she fished out a few pouches from her chest. She walked back to the table and took her glass back. After small drink, she sat down.

“Alright, here’s a possible plan. I’m a bit limited by the pills I can get for this situation, but there are a few options we can go for...”

Aki listened to her, and together they started to plot. Gradually the night darkened, the bottles were emptied, and a new plan was formed.

zechamp

Any plan made over a few drinks has to be a good one.