'Venerable of the Azure Sky' was a name the Circle had given me, an honorific, if you will. It was related to how clear the skies were the day we arrived, something I had realized wasn't the norm after spending weeks in this world. Take today, for example, it was clouded over, looking moments away from breaking out into a storm, and fairly windy.

Actual storms were a whole different beastie, tumultuous affairs that turned the whole sky black, a foreboding presence that you could see on the horizon and feel coming from a long ways off. Made the whole 'Stormwing' part of the name make a lot more sense to me.

All that aside, I was initially confused as to why Celistar would be so upset about our esteemed visitor using it. Surprisingly for me, I actually glommed on to it rather quickly. It was an internal name. There was no reason that this man, who had just arrived, should have any clue about it.

Meaning: we had a traitor of some kind. Someone who was feeding information to them. Looking at István, it was clear that he had reached this conclusion much faster than I had, no surprise there.

What I didn't understand was why he had come out and told us like that. Was he trying to get a rise from Celistar? Was he trying to encourage us to do something rash? It was difficult to determine what his intentions were with this maneuver.

I did know what I was going to do to respond though.

"Your acknowledgement has been noted, Junior Brother." I said, indicating not only that I didn't care to know what his name was, but also that I recognized that he was beneath me. I might be being a bit of an ass, but I was doing it with class.

And maybe a little sass.

Celistar raised her arm to cover her face, although from my perspective I could tell that she was not smiling behind it. He couldn't, though, and his face darkened. He bowed again, at much less sincere of an angle this time, and walked away to the benches that had been set up for those awaiting spars.

Soon two disciples moved out into the center of the area, before bowing to each other. They then retreated back to positions farther apart, before settling into combat stances. There was no one to call out a beginning to the spar, rather, it was determined by the competitors' own readiness.

There was several long moments where very little movement occurred on either side. Just when I was starting to think 'get on with it' to myself, they both moved. The movements were quick, without any wasted motion, and each closed on the other with different gaits – something Celistar had informed me were forms of movement skills.

This was somewhere I was completely lost in. I was quick, but it was mostly a matter of just injecting tons of Nebula into my legs and out my feet while hoping nothing went 'pop'. Not sure if it counted as a movement skill or looked like anything other than clumsy maneuvering, now that I was seeing the combat on the stage.

Of the two, the one on our side moved using bursts of wind that propelled individual parts of their limbs in flowy, spinning kicks and punches. The Iron Veil Order student countered with rigid motions that came from positions of full contact with the ground, meaning that even when the Stormwind disciple was able to land blows, they did little damage. This went on for a little while before the Order practitioner was able to bypass the quick moving Circle student's guard with a devastating kick, knocking them out of the ring.

The one who was sent flying was soon back on his feet, bowing to his opponent.

One by one, the following fights went much the same way, before a face I recognized took the stage. It was Qīwù, who at some point had left my side to queue for the spars.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Besides me, Celistar was deep in thought. "What has he been doing?" She asked. She'd been muttering about the fights the whole time, about how the style was 'not for visual purposes'. Or something to that effect.

I secretly was rooting for Qīwù to win, but I admit I didn't have much faith in her to overcome her opponent. So far the Order had sent up all males, and this wasn't any different. The young man they sent up opposite her was a tank of a dude. I mean, he was only about one of Viktor's arms, but still, big for a normal person.

Qīwù looked little intimidated on seeing him, but I saw her expression harden mere moments later. They bowed and took their places, with her out towards the audience before reaching hers. Her expression loosened a little seeing me there.

I nodded her way, my face impassive.

She turned away and faced her opponent. They both did the same sizing-up before settling into their stances.

Then Qīwù straight up disappeared. Like, for a brief moment I thought something weird happened. Her opponent seemed to be in the same state of confusion as I was. At least for a moment.

Then a foot with a lot of speed and a certain attendant behind it landed on his chest, catapulting him out of the ring like someone had a rope tied to his torso, Qīwù trading her momentum and mass for his sudden acceleration.

Celistar nodded sagely, from beside me, "Well done, little one!" she said, undoubtedly using her Nebula to ensure the words carried to Qīwù. I saw my attendant blush and hide her face little as our side cheered.

I did notice her limping a little bit as she exited the arena. Which I guess was only expected considering what she'd done. Effective if a bit unwise of a maneuver.

I wouldn't know anyone like that, no way.

After Qīwù's success, the combatants for the Iron Veil Order got a little more furtive in their actions. But honestly? They really needn't have worried. Our side was pretty pitiful, much to Celistar's consternation. Her muttering started sounding downright vicious, with talks about 'cursing a lineage', various forms of torture, and other unsavory phrases that made me reconsider some prior conceptions I had about the Moon Fairy. Not that I would felt much different in her position, this was pretty embarrassing for them.

Eventually, the man from the beginning reappeared on the stage.

"It appears, Ancient One," he said, a trace of a grin on his features, "That this will be a growth experience for your disciples."

"That it will," she responded, "and many others. That much is certain." I was impressed with how much she kept it together.

"I think we all wish to see more," he said, putting words in her mouth before she could dismiss him. "Can we continue the contest with your guests from Azure Sky Sect?"

It was interesting what he did and didn't know, and gave me a good idea that whoever was the traitor, it wasn't from inside our group, or anyone who frequently interacted with us, like Qīwù or Brother Chào. They'd know better than to label us as an entirely discrete sect. He'd unintentionally given away more information than he intended to.

Celistar seemed to be conflicted about this, but I had an idea.

"An excellent suggestion from my Junior. I am certain, however, that the audience has had enough of our outer disciples. How about each side nominate three Elders to give pointers to everyone present on the true value of our techniques."

He seemed about to reply, when I cut him off again. "As our sect has faced many losses recently, that leaves only three of us suitable for such a challenge, Elder Scholar, Elder Mountain, and myself. I trust that Junior will chose appropriately from their side."

I made no move to point out who these Elders were, although anyone with eyes probably could see how much Viktor, who'd been totally ignoring everything, brightened up.

However, István beat him to the, uh, punch. He stood up and gracefully descended the stairs. He had, at some point, traded out his fine linens for a similarly 'azure' flavored robe as the rest of us, but on him it really worked well. Pretty sure the man could wear a sack and look like the richest person alive somehow. They say clothes make the man, but I'm pretty sure it worked the other way around for him.

He proceeded to the arena, where he stood, the picture of poise, waiting patiently for his opponent. I could see a minor kerfuffle happening in the Order's ranks as their elder struggled to figure out who to put against this unknown individual.

"Thank you for this, Benefactor," Celistar said, her voice making it clear she meant every word, including my title. She even inclined her head a little.

"None of us would be here without your assistance," I said, looking around at the cluster of people representing our 'Azure Sky Sect'.

"I might not be much good at all the intricacies of leadership, tiers of disciple relationships, and how to get all the honorifics correct," I said, a grin creeping onto my face.

"But I definitely know enough to be dangerous."

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