As the short ceremony in the cavernous hall ended, a wave of cheers erupted throughout the sect. Kel led Tae and Micro back to the courtyard to thunderous applause. Micro recognized Rose and Sara among those who came to see them off on their journey to the tournament, and he was startled when Den ran up to him and slapped his back so hard that he instinctively raised his aura to soften the blow.

  “Young master!” one lady called out, running toward Kel desperately. “For the road!”

  “Hmm?” Kel turned to face her, and smiled when he saw the bag in her hands. “How thoughtful of you, to come all this way at such a time. We’ll savour each one!”

  “I hope you return quickly, young master!” the girl said, taking a short step closer to Kel.

  “Honey buns?!” Micro shouted happily. “Thanks, lady!”

  “Thanks a lot,” Tae added with a glare that froze the girl in place as the three continued to walk.

  “Hey, Kel,” Micro called out over the noisy crowd as he held his hands out.

  “Would you like one now, master?” Kel asked, reaching into the bag and removing one of the soft, warm, baked treats.

  “Yes,” Micro answered, popping it into his mouth without hesitation. “But I also wanted to ask where everybody else is.”

  “You mean Sung, Kas and the others?” Kel asked as he offered Tae a honey bun, which she gladly received, and took a bite out of his own. “The tournament is only attended by those who will participate, master. As the only masters of the Jade Fire Turtle Art in our generation, that duty falls only to us this year. Last year, it was only because I was the heir that I was permitted to participate, but…”

  “That’s a shame,” Micro said, holding his hand out to receive another honey bun. “And where’s Vale? I wanted to say goodbye…”

  “I saw two of his brothers at the ceremony just now, I was also surprised not to see him. He is involved in most events…” Kel replied tactfully. “He must have had some pressing business elsewhere.”

  “If by business you mean the winery he personally funds—” Tae scoffed, but she withdrew her remark as Kel raised his hand in disapproval.

  “Oh well,” Micro said, chuckling. “How far away is the tournament?”

  “We’ll be heading south through the mountains, past the Jade Earth River Sect,” Kel explained as they left through the large gate at the edge of the temple grounds. Several disciples followed them just past the gate, but soon the three were walking alone in the silence of a cloudy night. “In a valley not far from there is a place we call the Imperial City.”

  “What makes it imperial?” Micro asked, reaching into the bag in Kel’s hands for another honey bun.

  “Eat as many as you like, master,” Kel laughed, handing him the bag. “Indeed, it is a confusing name if you lack context. All cities in the empire are imperial, but most of the human settlements in the Beryl Kingdom are under the dominion of whatever sect has the most influence in the region. The Local Jade Alliance, comprising our sect along with the four others Tae introduced to you earlier, happens to share a border with one of few cities in this region which is directly overseen by the empire.”

  “Local Jade Alliance? Are there Jade Alliances too?” Micro asked, happily accepting the bag of honey buns. “So much jade…”

  “Oh, countless others, master,” Kel replied. “There are several jade level alliances with diplomatic ties to our own, and several amber sects whose influence we sometimes experience first hand, but the Imperial City is where true authority lies in the region.”

  “It must be a big city!” Micro said with enthusiasm.

  “It’s a marvelous place, indeed,” Kel said proudly. “As a neutral party to all sect affairs, it is also a fitting place to hold the annual tournament. Many other sects also travel there to compete on a regional stage, and you can always find disciples of foreign dragon sects doing business of all sorts.”

  “Vale mentioned a pleasure district,” Micro added. “Will we be going—”

  “No, master,” Tae interjected. “That would be a detour for which we lack the time, I’m afraid.”

  “Right…” Kel said with a mildly awkward expression. “We should—”

  “We should probably quicken our pace then, shall we?” Tae insisted.

  “Let’s go!” Micro shouted as he scrunched up the empty honey bun bag and stuffed it in his pocket. He immediately started running down the hill toward the sparkling trees, but soon tripped and rolled violently over the rocks until slamming into a tree with a terrible noise. The lights in the tree flickered for a moment before resuming their steady glow.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Blue and Trill both flew out of his pockets, landing nearby in the grass and leaves. The Core Cards and gold items Trill had been carrying for Micro spilled out all over the ground around him. He stood up in a daze, yawning as he looked around at the strange trees, while Blue shook the dust from her short hair and rolled her eyes. Micro wiped some blood from his face and looked around desperately for the two pixies, rushing over to them as soon as he located their blue and yellow lights nearby.

  “Are you okay?!” he cried out as Kel and Tae chuckled together. “I’m so sorry! This is why headlights are so important for driving at night…!”

  “Here, I’ll carry those now,” Micro said as he scooped up the items Trill had dropped and threw them over his shoulder one by one. Each item seemed to blink out of existence as he stored it with his recently acquired Jade Fire Storage Skill.

  “I’d be mad if you weren’t making such a stupid face right now,” Blue rolled her eyes. “I guess I could fly for a while—”

  “If you could stay hidden for just a while longer, I would be eternally grateful,” Kel interrupted Blue from over Micro’s shoulder. “We’ll be passing through the outer sect residences soon, so…”

  “Ah, it’s true that my awesome presence would overwhelm the sect rejects!” Blue laughed with her hand over her mouth. “I’ll try not to scare your little disciples away!”

  “Thank you…” Kel sighed with relief.

  Micro picked up Trill, who had already fallen back to sleep on the ground, and put him back in his pocket. Blue jumped into his other pocket, and the group continued down the mountain.

  “No seatbelts… no headlights… no tires… no roads…” Micro mumbled as his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness of night, moving his feet awkwardly around as he tried fruitlessly not to trip over something every few steps, the sparkling trees only serving to distract him more the quicker he walked. Next, he tried filling his eyes with aura so that he could view the world’s energy instead, but the way it swirled around him at night made him dizzy. He remembered his turtle armour had emitted a fair amount of light, but he was disappointed when he summoned it only to be blinded by the faint light of the helmet it came with.

  “Your vessel is still difficult for you to control, master?” Kel asked with concern, interrupting Micro’s grumbling. “I did notice your balance had improved, but I didn’t realize walking at night would cause you such discomfort…!”

  “It’s nothing,” Micro replied curtly. “Downhill is harder, somehow… The Imperial City has proper roads, right?”

  “Of course, master. Well, it—” Kel explained, but suddenly paused.

  “What…?” Micro asked doubtfully.

  “It has one road, to be specific,” Kel admitted solemnly. “There are certainly paths, and trails…”

  “It’s a very long road, master!” Tae added, soon realizing the futility in trying to improve Micro’s impression of its infrastructure.

  Micro slowed his pace and looked up at the sky, catching a glimpse of a single star through the clouds. Kel and Tae stopped several paces behind him, unsure what to say. He mumbled something to himself which they didn’t quite catch, but when he started walking again, they decided not to ask.

  They finally came to the edge of the outer sect’s residential area, where Micro was relieved to see torches lighting portions of the dirt trails they walked along. It was much less lively than the last time he was there, but there were still a handful of people going about their business. He was about to greet a man as he passed by, but Kel suddenly walked ahead of him with a look of concern.

  “Do you feel that?” he asked Tae with a heavy tone.

  “I do,” she replied quickly, her eyes glowing brightly as she scanned the area. “They’re strong, whoever they are.”

  “Why here?” Kel wondered aloud. “Why now?”

  “Something’s not right, we should—” Tae was interrupted by the shout of an old woman running toward them.

  Micro couldn’t believe how fast the lady was running, and he was impressed that she had no trouble running over such dark and uneven ground.

  “I’m so sorry, young master!” the old lady cried out. “I tried to turn them away…”

  “Turn who away?” Kel asked, catching the frantic old lady in his arms before she fell in front of him.

  “They said there was a report,” the old lady tried to explain through her wheezing. “Of a magician’s hero… manipulating the heir… to the sect—”

  “What?!” Kel gasped, but the lady fainted in his arms.

  Micro could only stare blankly as the scene unfolded. Before he could bring himself to say anything about the matter, the air around him seemed to vibrate. He felt like his body was being crushed from every angle at once, and it hurt his neck just to look from side to side. He saw Kel and Tae looking nearly as weakened, but their faces were filled with more fear than confusion. He managed to turn his head to see what they were looking at with such expressions, just in time to see a young man and an elderly woman in shining armour appear in front of them.

  “Huh…” Micro mumbled. The armour reminded Micro of the clothing he’d worn for some time before Rose had brought him the green and brown robes he now wore. “Shiny…”

  “Lowly beings…” The young man caught Micro’s gaze and scowled. Kel and Tae whimpered as the aura of the two continued to weigh down on them.

  “They feel,” Micro whispered, his speech slurred. “Strong…”

  “They’re—” Tae began, but her voice faded.

  “Master, run…” Kel forced his voice through his gritted teeth. “Imperial Guards—”

  Micro thought about taking Kel’s advice as a cold feeling swept over him, though he didn’t understand its source. By the time he’d decided to try, it was too late.

  “Good evening, heir to the Jade Fire Mountain Turtle Sect,” the woman stated plainly, standing only a few paces from them suddenly. Her voice was quiet and dignified, though it felt like a thunderclap from where Micro stood.

  “And greetings to you,” the male guard added with a voice more like a dog’s growl. “You despicable magician’s pet.”