“Oops,” Iridescent Torch said, catching up. “Sorry about that. I got carried away dealing with an elemental.” Said elemental fell to the ground, its core destroyed. “You’d better hurry up, human. The race is almost over.”
Cha Ming cursed and took a divine-energy-replenishing pill. He channeled starlight like never before and burned dragon metals at maximum capacity. But no matter how hard he tried, the gap was too great. Third place was swiftly decided, and so was fourth. He crossed the finish line seconds later, falling to his knees as he banished his wings and divine techniques. If not for his severe exhaustion and the many burns on his body, he would have attacked Iridescent Torch then and there.
“You shameless, sad excuse for a phoenix,” Cha Ming hissed when she arrived. “You couldn’t bear the thought of me finishing fourth, so you sabotaged me.” He hated her now more than ever before.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Iridescent Torch said, putting away her iridescent cauldron. “From my perspective, a lucky human got this far and forgot to keep an eye on his surroundings. It’s not my fault you didn’t think to account for my presence.”
“If I manage to survive the month, there won’t be anywhere for you to hide,” Cha Ming said, throwing away all decorum.
“Brother Clear Sky, don’t you think that’s going a little too far?” Iridescent Virtue said, stepping in between them. “I think you’re both exhausted and need some time to collect yourselves.”
“I meant what I said,” Cha Ming said.
“That sounds an awful lot like a blood feud,” Iridescent Torch said, her eyes narrowing.
“He knows nothing of blood feud rules,” Iridescent Virtue countered.
“I’m fully aware of the rules surrounding them,” Cha Ming said. Iridescent Charity had given him a primer. “She overestimates herself, however. I didn’t balk at fighting the Stargazer chieftain, and I will fight against Prefecture Lord Burning Lake. She is nothing compared to either of them, so why should I worry?”
“You wretch,” Iridescent Torch said, though she made no move to fight him, for at this time, the Iridescent Ancestor appeared, taking the form of a small iridescent phoenix. They all bowed.
“There will be no violence on neutral ground,” the phoenix said. “Anyone who violates this rule will die.”
Iridescent Torch laughed and put away her weapon. “As the Ancestor has decreed, so it shall be.” She bowed, then walked by Cha Ming and whispered in his ear as she passed him by. “When we’re out of here, you’re dead.”
Cha Ming didn’t take her threat seriously. If he couldn’t beat her, what chance did he stand against the prefecture lords?
“That was a very impulsive thing to do,” Iridescent Virtue said calmly. “I expected it from her, but not from you.”
“I’m in perfect control of my emotions,” Cha Ming said, summoning a small ball of iridescent Grandmist flames. He channeled his hopes and dreams into it, showing Iridescent Virtue a hint of what he was capable of.
“Even so, it was foolish,” Iridescent Virtue said. “We require everyone in this upcoming battle. We cannot let petty, vindictive grudges lead us astray.”
“I disagree,” Cha Ming said. “If she’s so petty and vindictive as to constantly sabotage me and forget her duties, you’re better off without her.”
Iridescent Virtue was at a loss for words. Cha Ming left him to his pondering and began healing the many burns on his body.
Chapter 34: Prize
Cha Ming stood up from his meditation, fully recovered from breaking his limits. Nearly a day had passed since his arrival. No one had bothered him, not even Iridescent Torch. The trial had taken much out of everyone.
He looked around and saw that most of the demons were either alone or in small cliques of two or three. Only twenty of the juniors had made it, and only four elders had survived.
You going to just let them take that blood? Sun Wukong asked.
Not at all, Cha Ming replied. Unfortunately, I don’t have the upper hand in any negotiation. He’d spoken to Iridescent Virtue earlier, and the young phoenix was unwilling. Apparently, he was the heir to a prolific family that had lost an elder to treachery. Phoenix down was a sought-after item, and if he didn’t take it, one of the next three would.
She’s been talking to the rest of the top four, Sun Wukong warned.
But if I speak to them too early, they’ll have time to start a bidding war between me and Iridescent Torch, Cha Ming said. Can I compete against someone like her? So he waited, letting his mental clock inch forward.
When only a half hour remained before the end of the trial, Cha Ming walked over to the second-place finalist, Iridescent Lotus, who sat cross-legged on a small bench overlooking the bubbling lava. She was watching a cluster of jagged obsidian flowers that grew just outside their protective sphere.
“Beautiful things, these flowers,” Cha Ming said, not sitting but remaining standing beside her bench. “Not something you’d expect when you don’t come from around here.”
“You can find them on the mountain range, if you know where to look,” Iridescent Lotus said. “I know why you have come, but it’s useless. The inheritance blood is far too valuable.”
“Would you consider a trade?” Cha Ming asked.
“I would,” Iridescent Lotus said. “Tell me, what do you have to offer?”
“Knowledge and favors,” Cha Ming said. “Items crafted. Pills with iridescent Grandmist seals. I’ll carve you jades with all my knowledge of runic alchemy if that is what you desire.”
“So you offer me knowledge, then,” Iridescent Lotus said. “A tempting offer, given how far your path diverges from others. You would offer a fresh perspective.”
“Knowledge is the most precious of commodities,” Cha Ming agreed.
“Unfortunately, if that is your offer, I will have to decline it,” Iridescent Lotus said.
“May I know why?” Cha Ming asked.
“Circumstances,” Iridescent Lotus replied. She looked at the black flowers and summoned some of her own. They were multicolored things made of beautifully shaped iridescent flames. They joined the obsidian flowers, creating an arrangement not unlike a bouquet. “Are these flowers not beautiful?”
“They are,” Cha Ming said. “Though I’ve seen wonderful arrangements in far-off places, I’ve never seen anything quite like this one.”
“The arrangement is beautiful because it suits me and my circumstances,” Iridescent Lotus said. “If I pursue your knowledge, can I achieve the same effect as I do with my flower arrangements? From what I am told, your path is a difficult one, and nearly impossible to follow.”
“The path of runic alchemy is not unique,” Cha Ming said. “In fact, it was developed by my disciple in the mortal realms. If he can attain such achievements, surely you can make a solid attempt.”
“Yet I have my own path, and is a beautiful one,” Iridescent Lotus said. “They call me the Flame-Binding Alchemist. I concoct pills not only from ingredients, but from living fires. I cultivate them like one would flowers in a garden. It has taken me a lifetime to grow my craft, and it will keep me busy for several centuries. Tell me, Clear Sky, would it be wise to defy one of my clan’s strongest elders, who offers me tutelage on much more relaxed terms, in addition to rare flames, who will let me keep the blood essence? All for knowledge that I might regret learning?”
“Not if you put it that way,” Cha Ming admitted. “Though such knowledge could be sold for gain and influence.”
“Perhaps,” Iridescent Lotus said. “But it remains that you are an outsider, one that won’t be around in one month’s time. Whatever you offer me, its value will plummet the moment you leave the city. How can this compare to Elder Iridescent Torch’s resources, knowledge, and favor?”
“I see,” Cha Ming said. He continued staring at the bubbling and hissing magma for a while longer. “I don’t suppose you would accept favors as payment?”
“Favors?” said a vo
ice from behind them. The third-place finisher, Iridescent Blood, appeared. The fire artist was a boyish girl with green and pink hair and an insufferable attitude. “Favors from a dead man walking aren’t worth anything.”
“Stay out of this, Iridescent Blood,” Iridescent Lotus said. “Clear Sky and I were having a civil conversation.”
“What’s to be said?” the girl asked, plopping herself on the stone just beside the irritated Iridescent Lotus. “He’s got nothing to offer you. His knowledge is worthless, and his favors mean nothing.”
“There is such a thing as respecting your peers and not throwing insults about like a child,” Iridescent Lotus said. “My apologies, Clear Sky. It seems our conversation must come to an end.”
“Does it really have to?” Iridescent Blood said. “I could keep going all day. See how embarrassed he is? You can’t find better entertainment than this.”
To which Iridescent Lotus responded by manipulating their environment. A wall of burning flowers appeared around her, cutting her off from Cha Ming and the interloper.
“Pacifist techniques are no fun,” the girl muttered.
“I don’t suppose I can interest you in a trade?” Cha Ming said.
“A trade?” Iridescent Blood asked. “Sure. I’ll trade you for every item in your possession. Not counting soul-bound treasures, obviously. I couldn’t take those if I wanted to.”
Cha Ming raised an eyebrow. “What about not wasting time with a dead man?”
“Oh, you’re definitely dead,” Iridescent Blood said. “But people like you don’t exist in a vacuum. You’re richer than most—I’m sure of it. Especially with so much merit. So what do you say? Do you want to make the trade?”
Cha Ming hesitated. Though he didn’t have much on him, he did have a few extremely valuable things. Elder Ling’s puzzle box, for one, and his Grandmist, for another.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you,” Cha Ming said.
“Now that’s very interesting,” Iridescent Blood said.
Cha Ming realized his mistake right away.
“Do you know why they call me Iridescent Blood?”
“I take it you burn your blood in battle?” Cha Ming asked. He regretted not buying a folio with information on all the competitors.
“Close,” Iridescent Blood said. “Many people think that. Before my fifth burning, they called me Wild Blood. I have great instincts, and I can smell blood from a mile away. I can hear it pumping through a man’s veins. And do you know what I hear now? I hear a panicked heart. The heart of someone who’s realized he’s given away too much information.”
She grinned and got off the bench, then wandered over to Iridescent Torch. Seven hells, Cha Ming thought.
She’s got you there, Sun Wukong said. You pretty much admitted you were loaded.
Iridescent Torch was probably going to stalk me after the trial anyway, Cha Ming said.
But now she’s definitely going to do it, Sun Wukong said. And as far as they’re concerned, you’re already dead. They won’t even bother with an excuse, because to them it’s like looting a corpse before the humans do it.
Wonderful, Cha Ming said. He shook his head and walked over to the fourth-place finisher, Iridescent Code. She was the blacksmith he’d caught in a trap and sent tumbling before Iridescent Torch had done the same to him. She was different now that she wasn’t wearing her armor. She had a bookish, studious look despite her strong body and powerful flames.
“Took you look long enough,” Iridescent Code said, not looking up from a jade she was studying. It wasn’t a sealed jade that stored techniques, but one that functioned more like a notepad. He quickly scanned contents and was surprised to see that she wasn’t studying; she was theorizing.
“You’re a formation artist?” Cha Ming asked.
“Yup,” Iridescent Code said, continuing her work and tracing patterns on the tablet. Three-dimensional structures danced on it, shifting to test out hypotheses for different metals. “Interesting work with the runes and the pills. It gave me some ideas.”
“You could have much more,” Cha Ming said. “I could give you a recording of all my knowledge to date. All my inspirations on runic crafts.”
She paused for a moment, then shook her head. “Nope.”
“Have you already sold the blood?” Cha Ming asked.
“Yep,” she said, continuing her work. “I could always cancel the contract, but it would have to be worth way more than that.”
“I’m not sure what I can offer you,” Cha Ming said. “I can offer favors.”
“Worthless,” she said. But she frowned and looked up. “By the way, your soul-bound treasure is a modular one, isn’t it? In that it has more than one shape?”
Cha Ming raised an eyebrow. “Did you buy my file?”
“Nope,” Iridescent Code said. “I just did some basic research. They say your weapon has a staff form, a brush form. Here it was a flame focus, then a runic cauldron. Fascinating things, runic cauldrons. Can you do a hammer?”
Cha Ming summoned the Clear Sky Hammer. Then it morphed into the Clear Sky Carving Knife, then a chisel variant. “It’s a useful tool for any craft.”
“Right,” she said. “I want that. For the blood.”
“A modular tool?” Cha Ming asked.
“Nope,” Iridescent Code said. “Your soul-bound treasure. Give it to me, and I’ll give you the blood.”
“You mean for study?” Cha Ming said. “From what I’ve been told, it’s painful to touch someone else’s treasure.”
“Obviously not,” Iridescent Code said. “I want it permanently. Transfer it. I know it’s possible, somehow.”
Cha Ming was a loss for words. He stood there, mouth agape.
“What?” she said, finally looking up from her work. “You made a big ask, wanting me to stake unlimited access to the best facilities and libraries, and access to elder-restricted materials for research. You want me to give up a huge monthly stipend, something that would basically let me study in peace for the next century. Can’t I ask for something big?”
“Even if it were possible, I wouldn’t,” Cha Ming said. “Most other things are on the table, but that is not.”
“Oh,” Iridescent Code said. “Then I’ll take your firstborn daughter.”
“What?” Cha Ming said.
“Still no? Seems most things aren’t really on the table, Clear Sky,” Iridescent Code said. “Look, I have everything I need. I have plenty of ideas to test. Then when I learn everything here, I’ll travel farther inland. Then I’ll learn everything there and repeat the process. It’s as simple as that. Tell me, Clear Sky—why should I give up on a sure bet for something I’ll be able to get later?”
“I don’t know what to say,” Cha Ming said.
She shrugged and got back to work. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
Cha Ming walked back to his own corner, his mood grim and his anger burning. He saw Iridescent Torch gloating and exchanging pleasantries with the other three surviving elders. The fourth had apparently fallen at the ninety percent mark, where apparently, elder-level cultivators had to face their inner demons.
So what are you going to do? Sun Wukong asked. Just sit here and mope?
I think I’ll have to resort to Plan B, Cha Ming said.
Which is? Sun Wukong asked.
Beg the ancestor herself, Cha Ming replied.
Good luck, Sun Wukong said.
Cha Ming knew how slim a hope that was. Demon trials had rules that were set in stone. Huxian had told him that long ago. Then again, maybe there was a substitute for what he wanted. Perhaps a different creature’s blood?
The remainder of the allotted time passed without fanfare. There were no last-minute finishes. Everyone who hadn’t yet made it was instantly teleported off the path and out of the trial. A massive runic circle appeared, and a voice called out.
“Elders first,” said the sad voice of the Iridescent Ancestor.
The four survivi
ng elders made a beeline for the circle and entered one after the other. They each came out holding a treasure. Iridescent Torch was first, and she came out with a censer that gushed multicolored smoke. The powerful artifact was covered in in jewels and glittered with its own internal fire. The next elder left with a powerful sword whose blade was made entirely of solid flame. The third, a small ship with violet sails.
It was the last item that caught Cha Ming’s attention, though it seemed the least among all the items. It was a crystalline fire dragon fruit filled with soft iridescent flames. Cha Ming had seen such a fruit before. He’d given a copy of it to the First Feather when he’d first arrived. Were the fruits related? Was this what Clever Dusk was after? Judging by the scathing look the elder gave him, he probably wouldn’t get to keep his reward.
“Come on now, children,” the Iridescent Ancestor said. “You all know each other and who finished first by now, I’m sure. Are you civilized or savages? Line up.” They did so awkwardly, starting with Iridescent Virtue.
Line formed, they began to enter the circle. Iridescent Virtue did so first, emerging a second later with the object he desired: a pile of fluffy multicolored feathers that positively oozed demonic energy. It was phoenix down, a legendary item said to be capable of resurrection. He planned to use it to break through to the investiture realm.
Iridescent Lotus went next. She took a little while longer than Iridescent Virtue but walked out with a clear vial containing multicolored blood. The vial, while small, was clearly a spatial artifact designed for storing such fluids. She pocketed it, leaving Iridescent Blood to enter and do the same. Iridescent Code did so as well, though instead of keeping it for herself, she gave the blood to Iridescent Torch.
“Must you always ruin everything for me?” Cha Ming asked Iridescent Torch as he made his way toward the circle.
“You should have thought twice before throwing away all decorum, little hatchling,” Iridescent Torch replied. “I suggest asking the Ancestor for an item that will let you escape. Perhaps that way, you’ll live ten days more before your duel in the prefecture.”
Claddings of Light : Book 12 of Painting the Mists Page 53