Three days had passed since the scroll arrived—three days in which the Broken Sky estate became a crucible.
The Crownless Tournament.
Not just a trial of martial prowess, but of will, legacy, and spirit. Every generation, the Emperor summoned the strongest unaligned cultivators under thirty-five. Victory brought more than honor. It brought a title—Sovereign Blade—and a place in the imperial annals that even death could not erase.
But this time was different.
Because this year, the tournament would not be held within the capital's gilded ring.
This year, the Emperor declared it would be held on sacred, wild ground—at the ruined battlegrounds of Mount Sangzhao, where legends once died.
---
Kai read the second scroll under candlelight. It arrived hidden inside a plain pouch of dried tea leaves, slipped into his study by unseen hands.
> "You walk toward a forge, not a festival.
>
> Trust no emissary. Trust no rule.
>
> The true test is not who you defeat, but what you refuse to become."
It was unsigned.
But he recognized the ink.
The World Eye pulsed behind his brow in recognition.
---
Yue sat beside him, scanning old tactical records.
"The trials won't just be duels," she murmured. "Some years it's puzzles. Some, beast hunts. Some, assassination games."
Kai nodded. "And always betrayals."
She reached across and touched his hand.
"Then we'll stay behind your blade. Together."
Bai Ru had mapped the ancient Sangzhao ley-lines by memory. "The ground there fractures qi," she explained. "Spells will twist. Healing will burn. You'll need to rely on instinct."
Lin Su sharpened her blades while listening. She didn't speak for a while.
Then: "I hope we get to kill someone."
Kai shot her a look.
She winked. "In self-defense, obviously."
---
Invitations had spread across the empire. Over ninety cultivators had been summoned. Only ten would be crowned. Rumors already whispered names:
* Shen Fa, reborn monk of the Iron Pagoda
* Xia Lian, poison-veil mistress of the Verdant Fangs
* The Masked Spear, undefeated heir of the Frost Monastery
* Twin Brothers of the Wolf-Talon School, known for finishing each other's sentences and enemies
And Kai Jin.
A late-blooming envoy with a fractured household and three lovers bound to his shadow.
He was called many things.
But none called him unworthy.
---
That night, the four gathered beneath the plum trees. No words passed between them for several minutes.
Then Bai Ru whispered, "If something happens…"
Kai silenced her with a look. "We come back. All four. That's the only ending I accept."
Lin Su lifted her cup of plum wine. "Then to breaking the Crownless."
Yue leaned into Kai's side. "Or becoming what the crown could never contain."
---
Far to the east, in the ruins of Mount Sangzhao, the earth cracked open with the sound of a gong.
Spectral banners ignited across the valley.
And a thousand eyes turned to the sky.
The Tournament had begun.
**\[To Be Continued in Chapter 80: Where Thunder Waits]**