It was surprising to many that the stage itself where Blue’s festival of madness originated was left in need of no repairs, though several workers did make sure to sweep every stone enthusiastically. Micro left the contestants to their complicated conversations about the fate of cultivation and the history of their sects to visit Blue. He waved to the widely smiling Tohan while approaching the stage, eliciting a hearty laugh, and then called out to Blue from the side of the platform.

  “Did you have fun, Blue?” he asked the sleepy pixie.

  “That was refreshing,” Blue replied with a content look on her face. “I’m starting to see why cultivators fight so much.”

  “What a coincidence that you already fought her sect before!” Micro said to Blue as she relaxed her energy and cast away her armour.

  “Coincidence? Nah…” Blue replied, shaking her head lightly. “There aren’t too many sects I haven’t fought in this kingdom, at some point or another… always a fight somewhere…”

  “I’m sure you’ll be good friends after a fight like that” Micro said with a nod. “Maybe they’ll even plant you a new tree.”

  “The perfect tree to sleep in isn’t so easily found,” Blue retorted. “But I do want to play with that girl again soon. She’s fun.”

  “Thanks, by the way,” Micro added. “I was worried you wouldn’t go easy on her.”

  “Well the least I can do is show them how it’s done…” she said with a faint smile, then jumped lazily into the air with a flap of her wings and landed in Micro’s pocket. “Wake me for the next fight…”

  Micro then noticed several of the workers taking a break from sweeping to restore some of the artwork they were responsible for with their paintbrushes and waved to them.

  “Good job, guys!” he called out, causing them to flinch. One young woman wearing a bandana that covered her right eye looked over her shoulder at Micro, then whispered something to her colleague and rushed over to him.

  “It was wise of you to bring the pixie, messenger,” the young woman whispered. “We’ll be able to double our efficiency this way. Her will shall be done.”

  “Just don’t work too hard, alright?” Micro shrugged. “The old man always said the most important part of any job is going home to your family in one piece at the end of the day.”

  “Is there truly nothing you need from us after our work is done?” the woman asked with reverence. “We would do anything you asked of us… To face tonight by yourself would be—”

  “I’m not alone,” Micro reassured her, then pointed to Blue before turning around to point at Kel and the others. “I have friends now!”

  “To think you could infiltrate the sects in so little time…” the young woman said with a look of admiration. “We haven’t heard from the leaders in days, and we were worried that plans may have changed.”

  “Huh?” Micro tilted his head.

  “Forgive me for rambling at such a time!” she said with a deep bow. “We’ll leave things to you once it has begun. It could be in no better hands…”

  “Micro!” Tohan suddenly shouted as he walked briskly toward Micro, causing the young woman to flee without another word. “Do you realize what you and your…”

  “What’s up?” Micro greeted Tohan with a smile. Tohan paused to look over Micro’s shoulder at the sleeping pixie, flinching each time she snored, then continued quietly.

  “You and that pixie just turned the odds on their heads,” he whispered intensely, but he couldn’t stifle a joyful laugh. “Oh, my daughter tried to convince me not to attend this year. Would you believe she thought it would be boring?”

  “Sorry?” Micro replied with an eyebrow raised, even more confused than he was before the one eyed woman had left.

  “You silly boy!” Tohan chuckled. “My eyes did not deceive me!”

  “Oh, were you able to make some money off the fight?” Micro asked.

  “Now is not the time for jokes,” Tohan chuckled as he activated his storage skill, then took out a leather pouch.

  “Oh, that’s a nice little bag,” Micro remarked. “The old man’s wife loves leather crafts!”

  “I will introduce you to the craftsman who made the bag if you like, but the coins are what you have earned!” Tohan couldn’t help but raise his voice as the shaking of his hands caused the bag to open and several gold coins to spill out, though he excitedly caught them all and placed the lot in Micro’s hands. “Here, this is your share!”

  “Really?” Micro said as he took the gold gratefully and put it straight into his storage. Though his storage wasn’t technically a physical space on his person, he still felt the weight of the gold within it. “I could open a lot of restaurants with that!”

  “Restaurants, you say?” Tohan repeated with a curious glance. He scratched his chin and nodded. “You really do have a bit of sense about you. I was thinking of opening several myself, in fact. In any case, I look forward to the results of your little tournament!”

  Tohan turned to walk away, but Micro suddenly reached out to grab his arm.

  “Look out, Tohan!” Micro shouted just before Tohan collided with an elderly mundane worker carrying a pile of wood that blocked his vision. The old man continued on his way, unaware of his close call with Tohan of the Air Dragon Sect, and Tohan turned around in surprise to face Micro.

  “Thank you very much, young master!” Tohan exclaimed. “I would have been covered in filth—”

  “Maybe your eyes aren’t working properly after all,” Micro said with a look of concern, leaning in closely to look at the large man’s clear eyes.

  “No, no, it isn’t that!” Tohan laughed. “It’s just that they lack any presence at all! I spend my days surrounded by amber stage cultivators, so it has become hard to discern the presence of the mundane. If they at least made some noise, they’d be about as easily detected as a mosquito, perhaps. You must have very keen senses to be able to sense them, Micro!”

  “It’s important to keep your eyes on the road,” Micro replied with a nod. “Safety is important. Everyone’s safety is.”

  “Indeed, wise words, young master,” Tohan said, looking moved by Micro’s words. “Well, good luck!”

  With that, Tohan left in a hurry, slightly more mindful of the workers coming and going so as not to dirty his bright orange and gold robes. Micro rejoined Kel and the others in time to overhear Lena explaining something to Kel.

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  “When the tournament is over, he will guide us to a lost master of our sect. It is a matter of history to most, but it relates to our troubled relationship with the Amber Water Serpent Sect,” she said sternly. “After that, he will be taken before the Silver Magistrate to be judged.”

  “But they’ll kill him at once!” Kel argued. “Let him show the world what he really is!”

  “If he truly knows the whereabouts of our master, then I will personally advocate for the hero known as Micro,” Lena assured him, though her tone was cold. “This is a matter which transcends my own honour, both as an elder of the Sapphire Water Tiger Moon Sect and as an Imperial Guard.”

  “I see…” Kel conceded. “Then I will join—”

  “You will return to your sects as normal. No further attention will be paid. I already have a bad feeling about this,” Lena interrupted him. “The sooner this matter is resolved, the more likely our survival will be ensured. If the empire caught wind of this now…”

  “Hello,” Micro greeted Lena as their eyes met.

  “It is already well known that magicians and the like have been more active in this region recently,” Lena said as she looked up and down Micro with vague curiosity. “The more I think about it, the less time I believe we have to spend dealing with this strange, cultivating hero.”

  “The magicians are active here?” Micro asked, his question catching the ears of Tae and Thea, who were speaking nearby. “That’s not good, right?”

  “Quiet, boy,” Lena scolded him. “No need to stir up panic, though your little blue friend seems to enjoy doing just that. Indeed, incidents related to magicians and the cult of Nora have become far too commonplace.”

  “Why do they summon heroes to fight cultivators anyway?” Micro asked. “Why don’t they just cultivate?”

  “We cannot know the minds of such twisted, evil beings, naive child,” Lena explain. “All we know is that they are conduits of chaos energy, a power beyond our comprehension. Those energies are present even in you, though they are not readily apparent to the untrained eye.”

  “And the chaos energy comes from that shiny lady called Nora…” Micro replied, trying to wrap his head around the issue. “And people who don’t cultivate prefer to use her chaos…?

  “She’s one of many evil beings that lurk in the shadows of this realm, tempting the weak with promises of power in exchange for their soul…” Lena said with a look of disgust. “Who can say where such deities of the darkness came from, but the imbalance they cause this world is a growing threat.”

  “Don’t cultivators like fighting though?” Micro asked. “That’s the impression I got.”

  “A sincere battle is a sacred event, a fateful and meaningful tradition,” Lena corrected him. “But to steal life from this world and exchange it for chaos… There is no honour in that!”

  “I see…” Micro nodded, looking around the stadium at the hardworking mundane men and women whose energy levels were so weak that most cultivators hardly noticed them. As the repairs to the stadium continued, gossip began to flow once again about how the next matches might go, and the announcer soon added to their anticipation.

  “Cultivators from across the kingdom,” he began with some enthusiasm restored. The crowd cheered as gold began to flow between many of the cultivators, though many still looked tentatively at the contestants’ waiting area for any sign of pixies. “You have honoured this tournament with your presence here today, as witnesses to the local jade alliance’s annual meeting of the next generation of leaders…!”

  “In the first round, last year’s champion, Yin of the Dark Thunder Sect, quickly overpowered Rale of the Earth River Sect, though Rale’s performance brought much honour to her sect this year. In the second round, Yin defeated Tsurum, heir to the Air Moon Sect! In the third round, Thea brought honour to the Sparrow Sect with her victory over a first time contestant from the Fire Mountain Turtle Sect, Tae!” As the announcer listed the names and results of previous matches, many cultivators turned to the contestants and cheered, calling each name excitedly. Micro noticed Thea waving happily at the cheering crowd, though Tae seemed a little embarrassed by the attention.

  “In the fourth round, Gor of the Earth River Sect challenged Yin, only to face the same fate as his comrade, Rale. In a surprising turn, Yin turned the fifth round over to Kel, who took us all by surprise in a rematch with the Sparrow Sect’s young Lana. The sixth round was a beautiful display of rivalry and growth, when Kel challenged and narrowly defeated Feris of the Earth River Sect!” The announcer waved to Feris, but his expression grew complicated as his eyes fell to Micro. Micro waved back, but the announcer continued stoically.

  “In the seventh round, we were surprised to learn of a late entry by the Fire Mountain Turtle Sect by the name of Micro, who boldly challenged Thea, heir to the Sparrow Sect and a veteran of this competition. His victory was far from certain at first, but his unexpected mastery of a foreign art seemed to play a large part in him proceeding to the next round,” the announcer said, then took a deep breath to collect his thoughts.

  “He’s talking about us…!” Micro whispered to Thea, who smiled, but responded only with a roll of her eyes. He looked to Teran next, and she gave him a more complicated expression.

  “The eighth round was a bold reminder that no matter your age, you have yet to see everything,” the announcer continued, turning his attention to Teran.

  “Ugh…” Teran grunted as her face reddened, shooting a sharp glance to Micro. “Don’t you say a word.”

  Micro wasn’t sure how to reply, but he was certain that he caught a glimpse of a smile on Teran’s face before sure turned away.

  “After defeating his challenger, Teran of the Earth River Sect, Micro handed the ninth round off to Ki, the infamous sister to the Air Moon Sect’s current heir,” the announcer carried on. “Unsurprisingly, she challenged Kel, whose valiant struggle against the tidal force technique will be long remembered.”

  The announcer paused before recalling the events of the tenth round, and the audience’s cheers waned, but he pushed through the tension with tempered professionalism.

  “The tenth round, led by Ki, was won by a pi—one known as Blue… a new disciple of the Fire Mountain Turtle Sect, which brings us near to the end of this sacred event…” He paused for a moment as he looked at Micro and Yin among the others, and gulped loudly as he met the frustrated glares of the two Imperial Guards standing near them. “For the first time in recent memory, two members of the Fire Mountain Turtle Sect remain with only one other contestant to face. But their opponent will be Yin…!”

  Yin stepped forward and bowed, slowly approaching the stairs to the platform, anxiously anticipating the challenge of the pixie currently resting in Micro’s pocket.

  “I’d forgotten amidst the excitement, but our sect has not been in such an advantageous position as this in any tournament I can recall,” Kel explained to Micro.

  “It was a hard won advantage, but what if the pixie wins?” Thea asked Kel, but the answer to her question quieted Kel as it formed in his mind. Much of the audience was also beginning to discuss the odd state of the event, where of the three remaining contestants, one was the reigning champion, and two were newcomers from the same sect. The fact that one of those members was a pixie was so absurd that the outcome was hard to make bets on, but an air of excitement had returned to the arena.

  “Now, if the pix—” the announcer stuttered. “Excuse me, would Blue of the Fire Mountain Turtle Sect please return to the stage to initiate the eleventh round!?”

  “Blue, wake up,” Micro said as he plucked Blue from his pocket by the wings.

  “Huh? Already?” She yawned and flung herself onto his head. “What’s up?”

  “You are one of three remaining contestants, Blue,” Kel answered, unable to stifle his anticipation. “You, Yin, and…”

  “Me!” Micro shouted with a thumbs up.

  “Master, I look forward to seeing how you fare against Yin,” Kel said, smiling ever wider as he spoke, then he continued to address Blue. “But first, Blue must declare her intent. As the victor of the previous round, you must announce your chosen opponent or choose another to lead the next round, as is tradition.”

  “Alright, alright…” Blue rolled her eyes and jumped down to the ground. She walked quickly past Yin, whose anxiety was clear beneath his black hood, but he continued walking to the stage behind her.

  “Blue…?” the announcer called out. “Please initiate the eleventh round…”

  “Okay,” Blue replied, causing Yin to flinch slightly, but he was ready.

  “I am ready to face any—” Yin replied quietly, but Blue frowned at him.

  “What are you doing here?” Blue suddenly asked Yin.

  “I am the only remaining contestant who is not a member of your sect,” he explained quickly.

  “You bore me,” Blue replied, then pointed back to the waiting area with a casual sigh. “I’ll fight Micro.”

  “What…?” the announcer blurted out, joined by half the audience.

  “You heard me!” Blue shouted back, then she pointed at Micro with an uncharacteristically serious look on her face. “It’s time we found out who the real turtle master is!”