Tournament registration began at sunrise.
By breakfast, Orion had already decided he hated lines.
Some things transcended reincarnation.
Different world.
Spiritual cultivation.
Flying immortals.
Still—
Lines.
“This is somehow worse than the Department of Motor Vehicles.”
Xuan Mei looked at him.
“The what?”
“An ancient demonic organization from my homeland.”
She stared.
Orion maintained a perfectly serious expression.
“They specialized in bureaucracy.”
“…I cannot tell when you’re joking.”
“Neither could they.”
Xuan Mei shook her head.
They stood together in the registration plaza beneath hundreds of banners.
Every participating sect had been assigned a section.
Radiant Daybreak stood near the eastern side.
Wind Resonant occupied a considerably larger area near the central platforms.
The difference in status was obvious without being humiliating.
Wind Resonant was one of the continent’s ten supreme sects.
Radiant Daybreak was powerful.
Respected.
But not supreme.
The tournament made distinctions like that impossible to ignore.
A massive crystal monument stood in the center of the plaza.
As participants completed registration, their names appeared across it.
Name.
Sect.
Age.
Cultivation.
Orion watched one after another.
Han Jie — Iron Mountain Sect — 19 — 6th Stage Essence Gathering
Su Lin — Jade River Pavilion — 20 — 8th Stage Essence Gathering
Wei Shan — Heavenpiercing Sword Sect — 21 — 2nd Stage Meridian Foundation
Then—
Xuan Mei — Wind Resonant Sect — 20 — 5th Stage Meridian Foundation
The surrounding crowd reacted instantly.
“Fifth Stage?”
“She’s only twenty.”
“Pure Moon Sacred Physique…”
“She’s definitely seeded.”
Orion glanced sideways.
Xuan Mei appeared completely indifferent.
“Show-off.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You cultivated aggressively near a public monument.”
“I registered.”
“Suspicious.”
She almost smiled.
Then his turn arrived.
Orion stepped forward.
The official behind the registration table barely looked up.
“Name?”
“Orion Atlas.”
The man’s hand stopped.
He looked up.
“Radiant Daybreak Sect?”
“Yes.”
That recognition wasn’t encouraging.
Apparently news of his engagement condition had spread.
The official touched a jade plate to Orion’s participant token.
The crystal monument flashed.
Orion Atlas — Radiant Daybreak Sect — 18 — 1st Stage Essence Gathering
Silence spread through the nearby crowd.
Then—
Whispers.
“First Stage?”
“That’s him?”
“Xuan Mei’s fiancé?”
“I heard he couldn’t cultivate two months ago.”
“He’s supposed to place top ten?”
Someone laughed.
Orion stepped away from the table.
Xuan Mei’s expression had gone cold.
He nudged her shoulder.
“Don’t.”
“They’re mocking you.”
“They’re strangers.”
“That doesn’t make them less irritating.”
Orion smiled.
“You’re cute when you’re angry.”
Xuan Mei stared at him.
Orion immediately reconsidered his life choices.
“That was an internal thought.”
“You said it aloud.”
“Tragic.”
Her mouth twitched.
The whispers continued.
Orion ignored them.
Mostly.
He had expected this.
A First Stage Essence Gathering cultivator attempting to reach the top ten sounded ridiculous because—
It was ridiculous.
He wasn’t going to pretend otherwise.
⸻
The opening ceremony began shortly before midday.
Above them, viewing platforms floated in concentric rings.
Sect masters.
High elders.
Representatives from powerful clans.
Orion immediately understood why any attempt to openly kill someone during a tournament match would be extraordinarily stupid.
There were experts everywhere.
Formation arrays covered the arena.
Recording crystals floated over every stage.
Referees stood within immediate reach.
If someone sneezed suspiciously, twelve elders would probably know.
An elderly cultivator stepped into the air above the arena without using a sword or artifact.
His voice rolled across the valley.
“The Hundred Sect Concord Tournament exists to foster unity among the righteous powers of our continent.”
Orion leaned toward Xuan Mei.
“How long until everyone starts trying to embarrass each other’s sects?”
“Approximately five minutes.”
“Excellent.”
The rules were straightforward.
Participants must be twenty-one or younger.
Victory could be achieved through surrender, incapacitation, removal from the arena, or referee decision.
Killing was forbidden.
Intentionally crippling an opponent was forbidden.
Weapons were allowed.
Artifacts were restricted by grade.
External talismans and pills could not be used during battle unless approved beforehand.
Most importantly—
The tournament was single elimination.
Orion stared.
“That’s terrible.”
Xuan Mei looked over.
“Why?”
“One bad matchup and I’m done.”
“Yes.”
“Very supportive.”
“You wanted honesty.”
“I regret establishing that rule.”
She smiled.
After the opening rounds, remaining participants would be progressively reseeded.
The final sixteen would enter placement matches.
The top ten would receive official rankings and tournament rewards.
There it was.
Top ten.
Orion stared at the central arena.
He didn’t need first.
He didn’t need the championship.
Ten names.
His needed to be one of them.
⸻
Later that afternoon, the preliminary draw began.
Orion stood beside Xuan Mei beneath a large projection formation.
Names rapidly shuffled across its surface.
Chen Rui appeared first.
Then several other Radiant Daybreak disciples.
Xuan Mei’s name appeared.
Her opponent—
Sixth Stage Essence Gathering.
Orion stared at her.
“I almost feel bad for him.”
“He may be very skilled.”
“You’re Fifth Stage Meridian Foundation.”
“Realm isn’t everything.”
“Would you like to trade?”
“No.”
“Then realm is at least something.”
Xuan Mei ignored him.
Orion’s own name finally appeared.
Orion Atlas — Radiant Daybreak Sect
Against—
Peng Wu — Stone Fist Hall
1st Stage Essence Gathering
Orion blinked.
Same realm.
He looked at Xuan Mei.
She looked at him.
Orion slowly smiled.
“This doesn’t look so bad.”
Xuan Mei immediately frowned.
“Don’t say that.”
“What?”
“Those words.”
“What words?”
“‘This doesn’t look so bad.'”
Orion laughed.
“You’re superstitious?”
“No.”
She pointed toward him.
“But somehow I feel like the heavens specifically dislike your confidence.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
A sudden gust of wind tore Orion’s participant schedule from his hand.
It flew twenty meters.
Neither spoke.
Orion watched it land against a statue.
Then turned toward Xuan Mei.
“…Coincidence.”
“Of course.”
He went to retrieve it.
On the way back, someone passed him.
A young woman.
Another tournament participant.
Orion barely noticed her at first.
They moved in opposite directions through the crowd and came within a few steps of one another.
For just a moment, their eyes met.
Nothing happened.
No dramatic pulse of fate.
No heavenly phenomenon.
She simply glanced at the participant token hanging at Orion’s waist.
Her eyes briefly moved toward the crystal monument where his cultivation had been displayed earlier.
Then toward Xuan Mei waiting for him several meters away.
Recognition flickered across her expression.
That Orion Atlas.
She continued walking.
Orion did the same.
Neither knew the other’s name.
Neither looked back.
Not yet.
⸻
That evening, Xuan Mei and Orion sat together on the balcony outside the Radiant Daybreak guest residence.
Lanterns floated throughout the Concordant Peaks.
Distant music drifted between mountains.
Tomorrow—
The tournament began.
Xuan Mei poured tea.
“Nervous?”
“Very.”
“Good.”
Orion frowned.
“You’re terrible at comforting people.”
“If you weren’t nervous, I’d be worried.”
He accepted the cup.
“Peng Wu.”
Xuan Mei nodded.
“Stone Fist Hall specializes in defensive body techniques.”
“Same realm.”
“That means nothing.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because you keep looking relieved.”
Orion smiled.
“I know.”
He looked toward the distant arenas.
“But it’s hard not to be.”
For two months, he’d trained knowing he could draw a Meridian Foundation cultivator immediately and have everything end before it started.
Instead—
His first opponent stood at the same cultivation stage.
Orion took a drink.
“Maybe I get lucky.”
“Perhaps.”
“Maybe I beat him easily.”
Xuan Mei’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Perhaps.”
“Maybe this tournament really won’t be so—”
She covered his mouth with her hand.
Orion blinked.
Xuan Mei leaned closer.
“No.”
Her silver eyes were deadly serious.
He gently pulled her hand away.
“I was joking.”
“Were you?”
“Mostly.”
She sighed.
Then her expression softened.
“Orion.”
“Hm?”
“You do not have to reach top ten for me.”
He became still.
“I know.”
“I mean it.”
“So do I.”
She looked down at her tea.
“If you lose tomorrow…”
Orion waited.
“I will still make my own decision.”
His smile softened.
That mattered.
More than she probably understood.
He reached across the small table and took her hand.
Xuan Mei looked up.
“I know.”
His thumb brushed lightly across her fingers.
“But I’m still going to try.”
“Why?”
Orion looked toward the distant arena.
“Because I said I would.”
Then back to her.
“And because I’d like to see their faces if I actually pull it off.”
Xuan Mei laughed.
There it was.
That real smile again.
Orion loved seeing it.
He didn’t examine that thought too closely.
[Affection: 39%]
Tomorrow, hundreds of disciples would begin fighting.
Among them were geniuses who had cultivated since childhood.
Supreme-sect heirs.
Sword prodigies.
Sacred physiques.
A Fifth Stage Meridian Foundation woman who had somehow become one of the most important people in Orion’s second life.
A nameless young woman who had noticed him only in passing.
And somewhere among those righteous banners—
A Seventh Stage Meridian Foundation assassin waited for the right opportunity to kill him.
Orion knew none of that.
For tonight—
He simply sat beside Xuan Mei beneath the lantern-lit sky.
Tomorrow could worry about itself.