Flying boats were considerably stranger than airplanes.
Orion felt qualified to make that assessment.
Airplanes at least possessed the decency to behave like machines.
They had engines.
Wings.
Physics.
The Radiant Daybreak Sect’s vessel was an enormous wooden ship floating several kilometers above the ground because someone had carved sufficiently complicated symbols into its underside and fed them spirit stones.
Cultivation worlds had an alarming relationship with physics.
They mostly ignored it.
“You’ve been staring over the railing for twenty minutes.”
Orion glanced sideways.
A fellow tournament disciple named Chen Rui leaned beside him.
Chen Rui was nineteen and had recently entered Fifth Stage Essence Gathering.
He had also spent the past month helping Rowan turn Orion into something resembling a competent swordsman.
“I’m enjoying the view.”
“You look concerned.”
“I was thinking about gravity.”
Chen Rui frowned.
“What is gravity?”
“Exactly.”
Orion decided to stop thinking about Earth.
Below them, mountains passed like waves.
Clouds occasionally swallowed the ship completely before parting around its formations.
Other flying vessels appeared throughout the journey.
Some resembled ships.
Others were enormous spirit beasts carrying platforms on their backs.
One sect had apparently decided an enormous floating sword was an appropriate mode of transportation.
Orion watched it pass.
“That’s unnecessary.”
Chen Rui followed his gaze.
“That’s the Heavenpiercing Sword Sect.”
“Of course it is.”
“Their disciples are extremely proud.”
“They’re riding a six-hundred-foot sword.”
“Yes.”
“I gathered.”
Chen Rui laughed.
Then his expression became more serious.
“Nervous?”
Orion thought about it.
“Yes.”
Chen Rui blinked.
“You admit it?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Most participants have spent the entire trip discussing how many opponents they’ll defeat.”
“Those people are probably nervous too.”
Orion looked toward the horizon.
“I’m First Stage Essence Gathering.”
The words sounded strange.
Two months earlier, merely reaching Body Tempering had seemed miraculous.
Now—
He was entering a tournament filled with people who had cultivated most of their lives.
“The average participant?”
Chen Rui considered.
“Probably Fourth through Seventh Stage Essence Gathering.”
“Wonderful.”
“Some lower.”
“Less terrible.”
“Some Meridian Foundation.”
“There it is.”
Chen Rui smiled.
“You asked.”
Orion sighed.
The tournament’s strongest young cultivators were monsters by ordinary standards.
Most participants would never reach Xuan Mei’s level before the age limit.
But every supreme sect seemed capable of producing at least one young genius.
Some were Fourth Stage Meridian Foundation.
Some Fifth.
Rumors claimed several had reached Sixth.
One or two—
Seventh.
Orion had no intention of fighting those people if fate possessed even a small amount of mercy.
Fate had not demonstrated that quality so far.
“You only need top ten.”
Chen Rui said it casually.
Orion stared at him.
“Do you hear yourself?”
Chen Rui laughed again.
⸻
They arrived near sunset.
The first thing Orion saw was a city in the sky.
Not literally.
Mostly.
The Concordant Peaks consisted of seven enormous mountains surrounding a vast central valley.
Bridges stretched between them.
Floating platforms hovered at different elevations.
Pavilions covered entire cliff faces.
At the center of everything stood an enormous circular arena complex.
The Hundred Sect Concord Tournament had been held here for centuries.
Neutral territory.
For this month, it had become a city.
Flying ships surrounded the mountains.
Banners stretched as far as Orion could see.
Thousands of cultivators filled the platforms below.
Orion leaned over the railing.
“That’s…”
“A lot?”
Chen Rui offered.
“Yeah.”
“Profound.”
“Thank you.”
The Radiant Daybreak ship descended toward its assigned platform.
Orion scanned the crowd without really expecting—
Silver.
He saw her immediately.
Xuan Mei stood at the edge of another docking platform several hundred meters away.
Her long silver hair caught the evening light.
Cyan robes moved softly around her.
Beside her stood a woman Orion recognized from descriptions.
Yue Ling.
Xuan Mei’s master.
Even from this distance, Orion could feel something unusual about her.
Not pressure.
She wasn’t releasing any.
It was the opposite.
There was almost nothing to sense.
As though her cultivation had become so deeply contained that ordinary perception simply slid past her.
Cassian followed Orion’s gaze.
“Don’t stare at Elder Yue.”
Orion looked at him.
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
“I was staring at Xuan Mei.”
Cassian paused.
“Acceptable.”
“Thank you for your blessing.”
“Her master is Third Stage Heavenly Domain.”
Orion slowly looked back.
That required context.
Cultivation within this region of Ikaros followed six commonly recognized great realms before entering the mysterious levels occupied by the continent’s true old monsters.
Body Tempering.
Essence Gathering.
Meridian Foundation.
Core Formation.
Nascent Spirit.
Heavenly Domain.
Each divided into nine stages.
Yue Ling stood three complete major realms beyond Xuan Mei.
Orion swallowed.
“Right.”
Cassian smiled.
“Still want to stare?”
“Absolutely not.”
The flying ship landed.
Orion barely made it down the gangplank before Xuan Mei reached him.
She stopped two steps away.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Letters were strange.
They had spent almost two months communicating constantly.
Orion knew what she’d eaten during her first day of secluded cultivation.
Xuan Mei knew Rowan had dislocated Orion’s shoulder during training.
Twice.
Yet seeing her again felt entirely different.
Her silver eyes moved over him.
“Essence Gathering.”
Orion smiled.
“Hello to you too.”
“You broke through.”
“This morning.”
Her eyebrows drew together.
“Your foundation?”
“Stable.”
“Did Elder Cassian inspect it?”
“Three times.”
“Your meridians?”
“Fine.”
“Did you force—”
“Xuan Mei.”
She stopped.
Orion’s smile softened.
“It’s good to see you too.”
Her expression froze.
Then softened.
“Yes.”
She looked away briefly.
“It’s good to see you.”
[Affection: 37%]
Orion ignored it.
Mostly.
Then Xuan Mei noticed something else.
“You grew.”
“What?”
She stepped closer.
Orion raised an eyebrow.
“My shoulders grew?”
“Your physique has changed.”
Rao’s Immortal Body had continued strengthening him.
He hadn’t become absurdly muscular.
But months of tempering had added definition to what had once simply been a naturally tall frame.
Orion smiled.
“You’ve been looking at my shoulders?”
Xuan Mei’s silver eyes lifted.
“You’ve been gone for less than thirty seconds and you’re already irritating.”
“I missed you too.”
She hit him lightly in the arm.
Orion grinned.
Then she hugged him.
This time—
There was no hesitation.
Her arms wrapped around his torso.
Orion paused for half a heartbeat before returning it.
Xuan Mei’s forehead rested briefly against his chest.
The world around them remained loud.
Flying ships landed.
Disciples shouted.
Elders discussed accommodations.
For those few seconds, Orion barely noticed any of it.
Then Xuan Mei stepped back.
Her cheeks were faintly pink.
Behind her—
Yue Ling was smiling.
Xuan Mei saw it.
“Master.”
“I said nothing.”
“You were thinking loudly.”
Orion immediately liked her.
Yue Ling approached.
“So.”
She looked Orion up and down.
“The famous Orion Atlas.”
Orion cupped his hands.
“Junior Orion greets Elder Yue.”
“Polite.”
Her eyes moved toward Xuan Mei.
“She left that part out.”
“I did not.”
“Did you mention the shoulders?”
Xuan Mei went completely still.
Orion bit the inside of his cheek.
“Master.”
Yue Ling smiled serenely.
“Yes?”
“I will leave you here.”
“You just arrived.”
“Then I’ll leave twice.”
Orion failed.
He laughed.
Xuan Mei turned toward him.
“You are not helping.”
“No.”
He looked at Yue Ling.
“But I think I’m going to enjoy this tournament.”
⸻
Across the enormous docking grounds, a gray-robed young man stepped down from another vessel.
The banner above it displayed a flowing river pierced by a sword.
Nine Rivers Sword Pavilion.
One of the continent’s major righteous powers.
The young man’s expression was calm.
Almost bored.
His eyes were pale enough to appear nearly colorless.
Around him, disciples whispered.
“That’s Gu Yan.”
“The Silent River Sword?”
“I heard he reached Seventh Stage Meridian Foundation.”
“At twenty-one?”
“He’ll definitely challenge for the top three.”
Gu Yan ignored them.
His gaze moved across the distant platforms.
Searching.
Then—
He found dirty-blonde hair.
A tall young man laughing beside a silver-haired woman.
Gu Yan’s eyes lingered.
Orion Atlas.
Alive.
Healthy.
First Stage Essence Gathering.
Gu Yan turned away.
Not yet.
Far too many eyes.
Far too many experts.
The tournament hadn’t even begun.
There would be time.