---
The two years after the Azure Dragon felt like a long exhale from the heavens.
Cloud-Ridge lived in peace; the mountains healed, rivers gleamed brighter. Ria and Ren became part of that rhythm, their names whispered like small legends among the outer ranks. They returned from missions dust-streaked and laughing, always successful, always together.
Instructor Kao sometimes watched them train from the terrace, saying nothing. When Ria bowed at the end of one session, Kao finally murmured, "You and the mountain breathe in time now. That means the world will soon ask for more."
Ria had smiled faintly, not yet knowing how soon "soon" would come.
---
One crisp morning the jade mission board stood bare. Instead, a single stone tablet glowed above it, words carved in light that rolled like thunder through the courtyard.
> By decree of the Grand Alliance of Sects:
The Outer-Disciple Battle Royale shall commence in three months' time.
All recognized sects — one thousand and sixteen in number — shall send representatives.
The ten highest-ranked sects will earn right of passage to the Celestial Cavern for seven days of cultivation.
Those who endure the Cavern shall ascend as Inner Disciples.
The courtyard erupted. Shouts, laughter, fear. Ria felt the weight of a thousand destinies press against her skin.
Ren whistled. "A thousand sects? Sounds crowded."
"Crowded paths still lead upward," she answered.
---
From that day, Cloud-Ridge changed. Bells marked hours of relentless training. Sparks flashed in the night as disciples drilled formation after formation. Elder Hanzo's voice rang across the terraces: "Only ten sects will touch the Cavern's light. Remember—victory without harmony crumbles."
Ria took the words to heart. Her Ignis Resonance Field became the pulse of the outer-courts. Dozens trained within its warmth until their breathing matched its rhythm. Her team—Ren, Mei, Jin, Suna, and the newcomers Lian of Emberspire and Hiro of Silent Peak—moved as extensions of one another.
They sparred until the air itself seemed to sing. The Harmonic Motion Catalyst threaded their energy together; her Heart of the Vale kept it steady. Even Ren, between jokes, grew sharper, more centered. Once he fell back on the grass after a brutal session and groaned, "You realize we're going to fight people who've never even heard of naps?"
Ria laughed. "Then we'll teach them rest after defeat."
---
Three months vanished in wind and sweat. When departure came, the sect gathered at dawn beneath the fox-tail banners. Rows of disciples bowed as the chosen hundred stepped forward—their outer-disciples, their pride. Elder Hanzo raised his staff; light rippled across the courtyard, forming a golden bridge descending through clouds.
"Walk well," he said simply. "Walk together."
They did.
The procession wound through valleys singing with spirit-birds. On neighboring ridges, banners of other sects moved like streams of color: crimson for Emberspire, silver for Silent Peak, green for Flowing Lotus, and hundreds more beyond sight. The world itself seemed on pilgrimage toward destiny.
Ren kept count until he lost track around three hundred. "How does anyone even host a thousand sects?"
"The world makes room for purpose," Ria said.
---
After seven days' travel they reached it—the Sky Abyss Arena.
The sight stole every breath.
It wasn't an arena so much as a continent carved in stone, a vast bowl surrounded by mountains whose peaks vanished into mist. Floating platforms ringed the rim where elders and spectators would sit upon clouds. In the basin below, enormous formations glowed: one for each sect, like stars waiting to be named.
The Boundless Universe System shimmered before Ria's eyes.
> Location Verified — Sky Abyss Arena.
Competitors — 1 016 Sects / 12 800 Participants.
Event Start in Three Days.
Objective — Rank Top 10 to Earn Celestial Cavern Access.
Ren stared up at the sky-sized inscriptions. "Twelve thousand eight hundred. So basically, survive a small nation."
"Together," Ria said, steady.
"Right. Together survive a small nation."
---
The camp assignments were drawn by lot. Cloud-Ridge claimed the eastern terraces overlooking a river of drifting light. Disciples erected tents, meditated, traded news. Across the basin, fireworks of qi marked duels between impatient sects; sparks painted constellations on the air.
Ria watched them from the ridge. "So many paths," she murmured.
Ren joined her, biting into a skewer from a passing vendor. "So many egos. You think they all dream of the Cavern?"
"They dream of proof," she said. "The Cavern only listens to harmony."
He grinned. "Then it'll like us."
---
Training continued even here. Ria's group practiced until moonrise every night, their figures reflected in the luminous river below. The Vapor Flow Form surrounded them in mist; their movements left ripples of heat and cool that danced in perfect opposition. Other sects paused to watch. Whispers spread—Cloud-Ridge's fox-born harmony, the rhythm of flame and tide.
Instructor Kao visited once before the contest. "You've come far," she said, watching them finish a set. "But remember, victory isn't the end. The Cavern grants what the heart brings into it. Enter with greed, leave with ashes."
Ria bowed low. "Yes, Instructor."
When Kao departed, even Ren was silent for a while.
---
The last night before the Royale was still and heavy with expectation. A thousand camps glowed like lanterns across the arena floor. Laughter, arguments, whispered prayers—all drifted upward and vanished into the waiting stars.
Ria's team sat around a small flame outside their tent. Mei polished her talismans; Jin meditated with his spear across his knees. Lian stretched beside the fire, her movements slow and graceful. Hiro sketched diagrams of formations in the dirt. Ren, of course, poked the fire and said, "You ever think about what we'll do after we win?"
"Sleep," Suna said immediately.
"Eat," Mei added.
Ria smiled. "Teach."
They looked at her. "Teach?" Ren asked.
"The Cavern will change us," she said. "Whatever it gives, we'll share. That's the point."
Ren tossed a twig into the flames. "You're really bad at normal bragging."
"I'm good at promises."
---
Before dawn, bells tolled across the basin.
The clouds that had slept above the mountains began to move, spiraling inward until they formed a vast ring of light. The ground trembled; runes carved into the earth flared blue and gold. Every disciple rose to their feet, faces pale in the radiance.
Elder Hanzo's voice echoed from high above, amplified by ancient magic.
"Disciples of the Thousand Paths," he called, "the age of trial is upon you. Ten sects will rise. Let the rest learn humility and begin again. Prepare your hearts."
A deep, resonant horn followed—one long note that made the air quiver. The barrier formations around each camp pulsed once, then dimmed to transparent film. You could see the distant shapes of other sects standing ready, their colors blending into a living horizon.
Ren adjusted his gloves. "Well, there goes breakfast."
Ria drew her sword. Flame and mist twined around the blade, whispering like twin spirits. The Boundless Universe System flickered across her sight.
> Event Status — Awaiting Commencement.
Collective Efficiency × 4 Confirmed.
Progress Log — Chapter 39 of 1 000 +.
She looked at her companions—friends, family in all but name. The horn sounded again, shorter this time, a warning. One more call would begin it.
Ria inhaled slowly. The air tasted of thunder and promise.
"Cloud-Ridge," she said, voice calm amid the storm gathering above, "remember—flow, not fury."
Ren's grin flashed. "Lead, and we'll follow."
The third horn had not yet sounded. The world hung between breath and roar.
Ria lifted her sword toward the rising sun.
And waited.
---