As agreed previously, the four made their way toward the north mountain, where they would meet with the other Golden Locks cultivators, somewhere before the exit.

Hiroko and Sun Wukong had lied to the Golden Locks cultivators. The true exit from the tower was to the south. Sun said that once they'd defeated the enemy cultivators, the floor guardian was certain to let them pass. But the enemy believed the guardian waited in the north. They had time to find and destroy them.

Along the way, they tried the treasures they'd taken from the enemy. Joshi was still grumbling about the slippers, though they'd shaped themselves to his feet, and to Chang-li's eyes, nothing about them looked particularly feminine.

The mirror and the fan, they passed back and forth. Chang-li was certain the mirror could do more than merely duplicate techniques. They didn't have time to study it in depth. He thought he recalled a mention of a similar device in one of the Morning Mist scrolls he'd read in the sect library. Perhaps they'd get a chance to figure it out later, after all of this was wrapped up. For now, he was keeping it, since he had the greatest variety of techniques in hand and was already adept at doing attacks from each hand.

The fan they gave to Hiroko. They still couldn't get it to do more than launch a fiery dragon seeker technique that hunted for the designated target and then exploded. But it gave Hiroko a physical offensive attack she hadn't possessed previously.

"I'll just have to claim whatever we take off the next body," Min said, and smiled so they knew she was joking.

Chang-li felt buoyant as they went. Yes, they still had three enemies to face, all higher level than them. But look at the strides they were making. Joshi had reached Lux Embodiment. Min and Hiroko were racing toward the Peak of Spiritual Refinement. With Joshi and Chang-li's experience to guide them, he was starting to feel like everything conventional wisdom said about cultivation, how hard it was, how long it took, was because cultivators refused to share their knowledge freely.

He offered up this thought. Joshi, frowning, shook his head. "You forget just how much time we have spent inside of Cultivation Towers compared to the average cultivator. Remember, most sects must compete for a slot at a tower cull, and there are limited numbers of cultivators permitted inside. We've probably spent half of the time since we became cultivators inside a tower, or at least with cores full of lux. That's no small advancement."

"The atmosphere inside a tower is so dense. You could have many more cultivators inside, just cycling in the ambiance, and they'd make progress," Min said.

"So, why are so few permitted inside?" Hiroko asked. "The Emperor only allows us to keep towers in check to avoid a tower eruption."

"The towers provide lux to the surrounding area," Min said. "Maybe if there were too many inside, that lux would be drained and the environs would suffer. Look at the wastelands around this town. Tower." She grinned at Joshi. "I don't mean to denigrate your homeland, but —"

"It is a wasteland," he interrupted, "which has been the blessing of my people for centuries now. And if that is to change, so must we. I hope my brother has the wits to listen to our disciples about that."

Chang-li couldn't help notice Joshi using the phrase "our disciples" more easily. Or the way he and Hiroko were actually looking at each other, smiling, even holding hands when they thought he or Min weren't looking. Something had changed for Joshi.

"Do you think we look that ridiculous?" Min had asked him an hour or so ago, as they walked fifteen paces behind Joshi and Hiroko, who were deep in conversation and didn't seem to notice.

"Maybe at first," Chang-li had allowed, "but I'm sure that's worn off now."

He looked down at Min and met her grin with one of his own.

He called himself back to the moment, trying to force himself to take this seriously. Three Lux Embodiment cultivators was not going to be easy.

He was creating new scripts every moment as they walked. If it was something he'd done before, he didn't really have to think much about it. And there was so much lux here, he could fill his bags with scrolls for later use. "If we can reach the mountain first, we—"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

A golden meteor came shrieking down out of the sky and crashed to the earth just in front of them. The nimbus faded, revealing a crouching man who stood and grinned at them.

Sun Wukong had returned.

"Greetings," he said. "I bring excellent news. Your three opponents fell upon each other. The blue technique you wove proved most effective, Lady Hiroko."

Hiroko put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, I hadn't realized," she managed.

"Yes, well done. Two of the three are dead. The third has emerged stronger and is in possession of all three of his team's artifacts. He's got a magical shape-shifting sword and two different lux-enhancing artifacts. One seems similar to that thing stuck inside of you," Sun added flippantly, pointing a finger at Chang-li.

"A Lens?" Chang-li blinked. "He's got a Lens?"

Sun shrugged. "I never needed such a crutch, but it does remind me of the device my brother cultivator, Scribe Tripitaka, used."

Chang-li took a deep breath. "I hope he's not any better at using it than I am."

"If you hurry, we can reach the mountain before he does," Sun said. "The good news is he's not yet reached Lux Domination stage. You may have a chance if you use your wits."

With that, the trickster vanished again, though Chang-li knew he might well be hanging about nearby invisibly. Keeping that in mind, he quickened his pace.

"We'd better make sure we reach the mountain first," he told his friends. "A single target should be easier than facing three, at least."

"Do you think Eri told them how to use these artifacts?" Hiroko asked as she snapped her fan again, sending out a wispy dragon.

"If she did, that's likely knowledge each of them guarded. It seems none of them trusted each other," Min said. "We can hope that he only knows how to use one of the three to its full extent."

"If one of the ones he took is the magic sword, I don't see how that could be particularly hard to use," Chang-li pointed out. "Like those slippers Joshi is wearing."

"These, I will have you know, take a great deal of finesse and forethought to use. I will need to work extensively with them to get their full potential."

"Yes, yes," Chang-li said. "I didn't mean to criticize your very masculine slippers."

Joshi scowled at him, but it was a shadow of the anger and distrust that had once overwhelmed the barbarian.

Chang-li's heart soared. "This," he said, gesturing between the four of them, "I don't have any concerns about the four of us beating him. Because even if he's stronger than any one of us individually, he's not stronger than the four of us put together.

"No Lux Embodiment cultivator is going to have the physical skills Joshi has, as well as the spiritual talents that Hiroko boasts, and the cool insight of Min."

"Not to mention your ever-growing repertoire of new and exciting techniques," Min pointed out.

He acknowledged that with a nod of his head. "Together, I think we can do this."

Joshi shook his head, but as he spoke, his smile took the sting out of his words. "I do think we need a bit more than depending on the power of friendship. Let's talk about an actual plan."

By the time Zhao Zhen reached the North Mountain, he had absorbed most of Hua Xia and Cai Hao's cultivation techniques. His core still chewed on their lux, but the Lens was allowing him to quickly master their skills and make them his own.

Cai Hao's weapon skills flowed into him, and he laughed as he tried a few sword patterns. Always before, he had eschewed physical weapons, focusing on cultivation techniques that allowed him to channel lux into hugely destructive abilities. Now he saw the appeal of a sword in hand. Especially this sword, which could change its shape. Now he realized it would slice through enemy lux weaves as they were being formed. Once the opposing technique was fully developed, he wasn't sure if the weapon would be effective, but in those opening moments in a cultivator battle, when his opponent was trying to ensnare him in a technique, this sword would be invaluable.

He didn't think Cai Hao had understood its true potential, or he would have put up more of a fight before his inevitable defeat. Still, even with the sword, he could never have matched Zhao Zhen and his Lens.

The other trinket was confusing and frustrating. It was a coiled wire bracelet that ran from Zhao Zhen's wrist up to his elbow. Hua Xia had appeared able to siphon lux with it. From the few techniques Zhao Zhen had seen her use, it had served her almost as an external core, but it pulled against his Lens every time he tried to channel lux through it. The Lens gave off an ugly buzzing sensation that set Zhao Zhen's teeth and bones rattling. He gave up for now. It, too, would reveal its secrets in time. He had Hua Xia's techniques at his disposal as well, but had concentrated on mastering Cai Hao's first.

Now, he focused his will ahead. Enemies waited for him. Of that he was certain. Enemies holding priceless treasures, whose lux and techniques would fuel his own advancement.

He pulsed his will. Four cultivators waited up ahead of him, all weaker than he. Two were at the Lux Endowment stage, and two he didn't even think were at Peak of Spiritual Refinement. He dismissed those. They were likely rich scions or connected to the heads of the sect and had been foisted off on the strong cultivators in the hopes they would gain from their time in this tower. They would be gnats, but perhaps potentially tasty gnats.

The Lens raised a hunger in him, a desire to know and possess everything. Zhao Zhen smiled to himself as he strode forward.

They were watching for him. He didn't doubt that. They had likely even prepared a trap or two. He welcomed it. Let these be the first outsiders to see his true strength. Then he would climb to the top of this tower and open it for Mistress Eri, but only after he had taken the tower himself. With a Lens and a tower to back him, he wasn't afraid of her.

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