Setting the Stage

Hong Zhao looked into the hazel eyes of the mysterious girl and came to a realization. "You aren't from Rantori Village, are you?" He raised an eyebrow to make his point. He could see her shifting her feet nervously, yet she still tried to keep an imposing air.

"I think we should talk about this later, what do you say?" Ren Cai smiled at Hong Zhao. "I'm interested to see what exactly you can do, seeing as though you are not so ordinary." She then turned to the center stage, apparently no longer paying attention to him.

Hong Zhao sighed. Nothing was simple in this world. Even just a conversation had to be veiled in mystery. He smiled to himself despite the young girl. He knew he would figure her out eventually anyway, so why not just enjoy the ride while it lasted?

"If I could have everyone's attention!" Huang Ji's voice called out casually, yet it didn't seem the younger generation paid much attention to him. They were too busy making challenges and veiled threats to the kids they might have to go up against. Hong Zhao could almost pick out the nobles from the peasants. To his unending disappointment, it was the nobles which seemed to ignore the village elder. Hong Zhao watched in contempt as Huang Yi bullied one of the younger of the generation. "SILENCE!" The elder's voice rang out with sheer power. Hong Zhao could feel the qi the old man had infused with his voice. He didn't even know that was something that could be done. He made a mental note to try compressing his voice with qi later.

The children within the tournament arena stopped their bickering and turned their eyes to Huang Ji. Even the elder's exiled grandson looked over at him with wide eyes. The last time he had seen the old man, he wasn't strong enough to assert such a presence over even him, yet now he made the entire area stop whatever it was they were doing and look at him.

"Is there something unique about how elder Huang Ji shouted?" Hong Zhao whispered to Li Wuhan as he walked to the young boy's side.

The older boy gaped at his question. "You don't know?" He said in disbelief. Even though Hong Zhao was two years younger than the boy, he had a hard time believing he knew that little of the world he was born into. "Student ranked cultivators can't infuse qi into their voice," He said as he looked at the elder. "Only a disciple rank could do that, which means Rantori Village has gotten their first disciple ranked cultivator, or rather, Yuan Continent has just gotten their first disciple ranked cultivator!"

Murmuring began in the village elder's courtyard. If he could rank up to disciple, who's to stop them? How did the old man break through? Even Huang Yi couldn't keep his eyes in his head as he looked at his grandfather.

"So," The village elder said in a softer tone, the wrinkles of his eyes showing a tender expression, as if he were welcoming his own family home. "I've finally gotten your attention, this is good." He thoughtfully studied the crowd as he tapped a finger to his chin, his snow white hair swayed to and fro as he paced the fighting stage. "All of you know why you are here. Some of you are from this village, while others are from the surrounding villages lining the road to Yuan City."

Hong Zhao took a look around the youths within the tournament area. He hadn't seen many of them before, except for the Li siblings and Huang Yi. He may have recognized a few others, yet he hadn't truly met them, instead he had seen them in the marketplace whenever he ventured out of the Li family estate.

"The reason for this tournament is quite simple. It is to show all of you that you still have a very long way to go!" The village elder's voice boomed from the stage once more, as if proving his point. "Hone your skills against each other, learn from both your defeats and victories! Do not become complacent. If you become the victor in one match, you may become the victim in the next!" Hong Zhao looked at Huang Ji and noticed a cunning smile gleaming towards him. He could almost feel the animosity that radiated from the young child. This was not the feeling of competitiveness, instead, it was a feeling Hong Zhao knew quite well. It was a feeling he had been around for most of his other life. It was a killing intent which for someone from his world would seem laughable, yet in this world, a child with this aura of sheer violence could not be taken lightly.

Hong Zhao snorted derisively as he brushed off the silent challenge of the Village Elder's grandson. He knew the boy posed no threat to him. Huang Yi's cultivation was only of the fourth star student rank. His qi was more than halved what Hong Zhao's was, though he still remained cautious. Thee had to be a reason why Huang Yi felt comfortable enough to be so forward with his feelings about Hong Zhao. He could almost taste the rage the young boy was giving off.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Ren Cai walked to once again stand by the only other sixth star student ranked cultivator in the tournament. Clearly she could see the daggers Huang Yi stared into Hong Zhao.

"Basically, I turned the entire village against him." Hong Zhao rolled his eyes. "It wasn't really my fault, he was an idiot." He defended himself as he saw Ren Cai getting ready for what he had assumed could only be rebuke. He didn't understand why, but he felt as if he had to explain his actions to this girl. He had only just met her, but something seemed quite different when comparing others with her.

"Your business is your own." She said with a half smile. "Just watch out for that one, there is something not simple about him. I wouldn't put anything past someone with a look like that." Ren Cai glared back at Huang Yi, who seemed to realize that he had two six star student rank cultivators glaring back at him. He swiftly turned his attention back to his grandfather. A look of scorn shown within the youth's features as Huang Ji continued his explanation.

"Do not think the only benefit you will attain in this is knowledge!" Huang Ji yelled out to the crowd of children. There will also be a first and second rank prize for winning!" He held out his hand and a pile of pills appeared from his own storage ring. "I have recently come into possession of a sizable amount of qi grasping pills!" He put them back in his ring and looked back at the audience. "The first place prize is ten qi grasping pills and a writ of acknowledgement from this tournament to bring with you on the road to Yuan Academy!"

"Did he say a writ of acknowledgement?"

"Won't that give us special attentions with the academy headmaster? Maybe he would give us more cultivation resources when we get there!"

"Forget the writ, what about the qi grasping pills? I could reach the fourth star student rank in a matter of hours with those!"

Hong Zhao was taken aback when he saw the pills appear in the village elder's hand. They were of the same likeness as the ones he had given to Li Wen. A look over to Li Wuhan told him that the young boy was aware of the transaction between his father and the village elder. He had an impassive expression as he watched the elder continue.

"The second place prize is five qi grasping pills!" Though he didn't showcase the pills, the message was quite clear. If the challengers did their best, they would most likely gain some sort of prize.

"As you entered this stage, you placed your hand upon a qi reader." Huang Ji continued, barely giving the audience enough time to digest the information they had just gotten. "It seems you have come to the wrong conclusion as to why we did this!" He looked over the various groups that had sprung up over the chaos. Each group was a certain cultivation level. The third star student ranked cultivators seemed to crowd together. The few fourth star student ranks also herded together, with the exception of Huang Yi who stood off to the side. Li Wei and Li Wuhan stood off by themselves as the only fifth star student ranked cultivators, yet they stood with each other more for their sibling relationship than any sort of ranked title. Ren Cai and Hong Zhao stood side by side as the only sixth star student ranked cultivators.

"We only had your qi read to judge whether you had the qi capacity to continue on through the tournament! If you were lower than a three star student rank cultivator, you would have been ejected before the first match even begins!" He then took out a box and a stack of paper slips. He then pushed his hand out towards the crowd and the slips distributed themselves among the crowd. Hong Zhao looked at the slip of paper which seemed to float at eye level with him.

"Another trick that disciple ranked cultivators can do?" He raised an eyebrow at Li Wuhan who stood off to the side. The older boy nodded as he took his slip. Hong Zhao began noticing how non verbal Li Wuhan had become since he had gotten to the estate. He guessed it had to do with his father's reputation as the next village elder after Huang Ji stepped down. Though, Hong Zhao didn't find it very likely that the old man would step down anytime soon now that he had broken through into another realm of strength. More likely, his longevity had increased since becoming a first star disciple ranked cultivator. Li Wen might have to wait a century or two longer before being able to claim the title, or at least until the village elder wished to leave his role.

"Everyone place a strand of qi in these slips and think your name." Huang Ji smiled as he looked at the children. One by one, they did what he asked. A glowing finger here and there could be seen as each cultivator placed their finger to the slips of paper. As the last of the children did as the village elder said, he gestured to the crowd and each slip of paper floated one by one back into the palm of his hand. As he received the slips, he folded each one and put it into the box.

"Thank you for your cooperation." The old man said with a hint of a smile. "When your name is called, you will be added to the ranked matches board to my left." He gestured to a black board which was just brought to the side of the arena. There were boxes which branched in doubles leading to a final match. Hong Zhao was familiar with such tournament listings and waited patiently for the elder to begin drawing names.

As the six year old boy contemplated who he was going to fight, Huang Ji watched him intently. Though the boy was only a four star student ranked cultivator, if one looked closely enough, they might see the beginnings of a plan take motion within his eyes.