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The rock platform on which the test had been initiated was fairly tall; perhaps it had been picked intentionally for exactly this reason. The view stretched, and Jin and Hashimi were able to identify two settlements and one oasis by putting up their hands to provide cover for their eyes.
"Which one should we go to?" Hashimi asked. "The one closer to the volcano isn't very far from that oasis."
Jin hummed thoughtfully. "The area closest to this platform will have its resources picked off the most quickly," he theorised. "If we can see the oasis, so can the others. Let's go to the settlement without it. Even if we decide to go for the scorching wingbat in the end, the oasis closest to the platform won't have any left."
"Sure thing, boss," Hashimi said before the two of them unceremoniously hopped off the platform, channelling some qi into their legs to soften the landing on the sand about two dozen meters below.
"Walk carefully, let's not step on a snake or a scorpion quite yet," Jin joked as they started traversing the hot desert.
If they didn't have the ability to circulate qi around them to generate a more pleasant temperature, then they'd likely die fairly fast from walking like this at midday when the sun was at its zenith.
It was barely after a few minutes of travel that Jin and Hashimi already met their first group of competitors. The trio of Blazing Fire Disciples eyed them warily as they carried five black scorpion stingers each on their way back to the platform.
The two groups avoided each other while throwing suspicious glances.
"No way did they already find 15 scorpions," Hashimi complained after they'd left the group behind. "Fucking hell."
"I also think it's unlikely," Jin hummed. "Although they are natives."
Had they perhaps…?
A few more minutes of walking confirmed Jin's suspicion. After cresting a dune and reorienting himself, he saw another small group of Blazing Fire Disciples in the distance digging into the earth beneath a desiccated obelisk-like stone structure. A trickle of qi to his eyes confirmed it. They were pulling out the corpses of horned desert snakes and man-eating scorpions from a hole in the ground.
"Of course," Hashimi said next to him, also realising it. "The tournament can't possibly have that many different preliminary rounds. Killing and hiding the possible materials before the test starts is the smartest move."
"If you're a local, maybe the contents of the first test were even leaked in advance," Jin said simply, receiving a nod in return.
"If you're a local," Hashimi confirmed.
The duo continued standing atop the dune and watched their competitors dig up the rest of their loot. After they were loaded up and done, the group of red-robed cultivators waved their hands and unleashed several large fireballs into the hole under the obelisk. Then they started walking towards Jin and Hashimi.
"Let's go pass them and check if any material survived the blast," Jin proposed, at which both of them started carefully sliding down the dune. They'd probably be picking sand out of their clothes for a year, but that was an issue for later.
The group of Blazing Fire Disciples seemed unbothered by their approach and continued walking towards them. There were four of them, so it was understandable that they weren't afraid. Jin himself was only not bothering to change his trajectory too much because fighting was prohibited anyway; he was sure several Elders were spectating the upcoming interaction.
The two groups eventually came to a halt in front of each other.
Jin curiously titled his head as he looked at the four rather nondescript cultivators.
"Looking for scraps?" The one in the front sneered before shaking his head. "You won't find any."
"The heavens work in mysterious ways, worst case, I'll go find a wyvern," Jin replied simply.
This elicited a collective laugh from the group, who turned to give each other disbelieving glances.
"Then you'll join Xir Erwa in whatever hell is reserved for egomaniacs; even the strongest one of us doesn't stand a chance against one of those monsters. A craftsman, don't make me laugh," the leader said disparagingly before turning his head and nodding for his entourage to leave.
Jin and Hashimi similarly continued walking until they reached the black obelisk popping out of the golden sand. There was a hole in the ground, but inside was only a pile of ash with some bone fragments. Nothing recognizable.
Jin looked towards the dune they'd previously been standing atop and saw the Blazing Fire Disciples looking back at them before laughing uproariously.
It was unbearably hot, the heat from the fireballs hadn't dissipated yet. The bones of the creatures in the hole had broken down. Useless.
"The flames they can create are…" Jin muttered.
"Unbearably hot," Hashimi finished his sentence.
"If you get hit by that fireball, you can probably just surrender and go seek medical attention."
Cultivator bodies were much stronger than mortal bodies, but even then, a temperature that could destroy a heavenly beast to such an extent could finish a fight in one strike.
"The fireballs travelled very slowly, and four of them worked together to achieve this feat," Hashimi analysed critically. "They'll be less of a threat in a one vs one format."
"Maybe, but let's worry about that after we finish this part first," Jin said in a calm voice.
They turned towards the settlement again, reaching it after half an hour of walking at a brisk pace.
What greeted them when they finally arrived was an almost entirely deserted village with a trio of what used to be outer disciples laying in the village square that had a few sparse palms providing shade. A female Blazing Fire Sect Elder was standing around with a bored look on her face in front of the three piles of ash as the wind picked up the remains and slowly carried them away.
"Can I ask what they did to incur the righteous wrath of the all-powerful Blazing Fire Sect?" Jin asked the older woman.
"All the rules have been explained," the Elder replied in a bored tone of voice.
Jin critically observed the village composed of about 30 mud huts dug deep into the ground, each one covered by one or two palm trees. Nobody was out.
"It seems that interactions within the settlement are subject to a specific set of rules," he eventually theorised. "Just that we don't know the rules." He tilted his head and continued turning in a circle. "The most likely reason why a punishment might occur is if…"
"If you attack the civilians," a new deep voice suddenly said, causing Jin to stop and look at the hulking figure decked out in leather armour and carrying an enormous bone hammer. The person had likely been sitting behind one of the houses to catch some shade.
"You saw it happen?" Jin asked the other cultivator.
The hulking man nodded. He really was tall, like a basketball player, and twice as muscular. Going by the hammer… A blacksmith? "The herbalists here use the crushed and dried horns of the desert snake as a sort of medicine. The scorpion stingers are mostly ornamental; the village chief seems to have a necklace with three of them." The man jutted his chin towards the slowly dwindling piles of ashes. "Those three thought they could simply take what they wanted. They were wrong."
"Thanks for the information," Jin replied brusquely. Cultivators weren't usually nice for no reason; however, he looked at the rather simple-faced man. "Why so forthcoming, friend?" he asked.
"You can call me Biri," the hammer-wielding man replied. "As for why I'm telling you this, it's because the village chief seems to have a task for us. He has a collection of 20 stingers to give away. He is only willing to accept a team of four, so I've been waiting for someone with a brain to come." He spat disdainfully at the piles of ashes, which were now almost completely gone, revealing that three human forms with their limbs splayed in various positions were burned into the more solid ground of the village.
There was probably an underwater stream somewhere underneath, Jin thought.
"I'm Jin," he said, before pointing to his teammate, "and this is Hashimi." The girl waved happily.
"Huarko Crushing Hammers sect, yours?" Biri asked curiously.
"Illusion Room Sect," Jin answered perfunctorily. If he remembered correctly, the Huarko Sect basically made everything that wasn't swords. They were both from the craftsman sects then. This meant that Biri was an inner disciple, not an outer disciple. Likely in the foundation establishment stage of cultivation.
Biri's mouth seemed slightly surprised for a moment before he nodded. "Our sect is situated near an ocean, and we have a few Illusion Rooms of the most commonly found aquatic beasts. Useful stuff," he complimented.
Hashimi piped in. "Your sect provides some of the raw materials for the Rooms," she replied, establishing basic diplomatic ties.
Jin remained silent. No matter how smoothly the interaction had been going so far, he wasn't sure if he wanted to team up with anyone. He didn't trust cultivators, although he did know that in the end they all had to cooperate against the forces of darkness.
"Let us talk to the herbalist and the village chief," he eventually said, receiving a simple nod from Biri. "What's the task the village chief mentioned?" he then asked as well.
"Let me take you to the herbalist first. As for the task, a pair of kids were having a dalliance in the desert at night," Biri said simply as he turned around and started walking. "One of them is the village chief's daughter. Likely abducted by scorching wingbats. He wants her back." A pause in speech. "It is strongly encouraged that the boy she was with at the time of the abduction does not return with her."
They walked in silence for a few seconds.
"That's so romantic," Hashimi sighed breathlessly. "Star-crossed lovers, their journey fraught with disapproval."
"Whatever you say," Biri replied in a deadpan voice.
"And the herbalist, she doesn't have a task?" Jin asked curiously as they walked a bit outside of the village and towards a more distant hut with a herbal garden up front. A high wall of dried palm leaves provided shade for the plans.
Biri sighed. "She said my face looks like a shovel," he said in a tone of voice that seemed slightly hurt.
"What?" Jin asked, confused.
"She said she'd give the snake horns she has to whichever handsome cultivator promises to marry her and arrange for her to live a life of leisure. Then she said that my face looks like a shovel."
The group silently reached the herbalist's hut while thinking about this new information.
"She sounds like a character," Jin muttered quietly and patted the hammer-wielding giant on the back reassuringly. The guy's frown deepened as he looked at the hut.
"You talk to her," he eventually said before turning around demonstratively and walking a few steps back.
Jin turned to Hashimi and shrugged, before stretching out a hand to knock on the door.
A frazzled-looking brown-haired woman opened, clad entirely in robes with her head almost entirely covered.
"What?" she asked in an annoyed tone of voice before promptly looking Jin up and down.
"No," she eventually said and made to slam the door shut.
She stopped only when Jin held up a small spirit stone, miniscule really, but representing a fairly decent amount of wealth for a mortal. "Just some questions," Jin said, before adding, "Please."
The door opened wider again.
"Alright, but pay upfront. Also, you're not coming into my house," the woman said with a frown and extended a hand.
Jin dropped the spirit stone into her hand. "First of all, what is a corpserot flower?" he asked.
"You need them for that exam of yours?" the woman asked. "Well, if that's so, then you've been scammed. The flower only grows from a freshly killed mammal corpse on the night of the full moon. The next full moon is in two weeks. Next question."
"Are there any methods with which to easily find and kill man-eating scorpions or desert horned snakes?"
The herbalist shook her head. "The hunting group would know, but they've been out for a day; they'll come back in another three."
"Alright, last question. How many snake horns do you have, and would you be willing to sell them?" Jin asked.
"I have four. Maybe I'd sell them on the last day only. I bet your ugly friend already told you about my requirements. I'd get much more from someone agreeing to that deal than from a one-time payment." She shook her head. "Like not having to live in this shithole anymore…" she muttered. She gave him a critical look. "Do you know any hot guys?" she asked.
Jin was seriously considering handing the girl off to Lung Junior; they'd probably be a good match. He gave her a strained smile instead. "Thank you, maybe we'll see each other on the last day, I'll come back if I have any more questions." He didn't really believe that any cultivator would be willing to marry a mortal; she'd probably still be here on the last day. Although with only four horns… It would be either him or Hashimi passing. Maybe he could give Hashimi the horns out of goodwill and condemn himself to failing, a shame, truly.
The herbalist nodded. "Do you want some antivenom?" she then asked.
"Sure, give me some," Jin replied, at which point the woman went back inside only to come back and hand him a few vials of purple liquid and some vials of yellow.
"One spirit stone each," she said. "Yellow is for snakes, purple for scorpions. If you meet a wyvern, I can have someone arrange a casket as well."
Jin forked over the stones, not bothering with haggling. He had enough from the zombie competition anyway.
"Pleasure doing business with you," the herbalist said before slamming the door shut in his face.
Jin rolled his eyes before turning around and pausing as he saw Biri in a deep discussion with a bald orange-robed disciple.
The hammer-wielding man waved them over.
"As you can see, it's a waste talking to the woman," he said in a deadpan voice. "Regardless, I found our fourth member."
"Xiao Yung, Mad Monks Sect," the boy introduced himself to Jin and Hashimi, who shared a glance.
"Isn't that the sect where you did the commission?" Hashimi asked.
"Yeah," Jin said. "It was a pretty good time in hindsight, much better than that recent nonsense."
Xiao's mouth twitched at his words.
Jin turned to the new addition. "I'm Jin, this is Hashimi, well met."
"We've already been acquainted," Xiao said through gritted teeth.
Jin raised an eyebrow.
"I had hair before," Xiao explained.
"Oh," Jin muttered before shaking his head. "Doesn't ring a bell, sorry." Then he turned to Biri. "It seems this might be the best choice. But I want to talk to the village chief myself. Scaring away the scorching wingbats as a group of four instead of having to kill them should be easier than hunting either them or the scorpions."
"I'll introduce you," Biri said.
The group quickly arranged itself and walked back towards the village square.
Jin got the odd feeling that this Xiao character didn't like him, but considering combat between disciples was forbidden, he wasn't too worried.
A team-up was starting to seem inevitable at that stage, and he was sure that they could both get past some light dislike.
It wasn't like there was some sort of grudge between them. He'd never even met the guy.
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AN: The arc progresses, quest get? This mission isn't that long, just a few chapters. Anyway, for anyone wanting to read the conclusion of the whole tournament arc, you can support me on Patreon and read ahead :). Will also be releasing a new story there in the next few days. It will come here as well in two weeks. Happy holidays