“No matter how the tournament turns out, life goes on!” Min Shuei said, then she clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, Charity, I’m…I wasn’t thinking. Your grandmother will be fine, I’m sure.”

Charity didn’t seem to care any more than Yerin did. “I suggest you move on, Yerin, so that we can see what we’re working with.”

It seemed like they were trying to drain all the fun out of this, but Yerin wouldn’t let them.

She skimmed across the memories in the sword codex. It contained experiences from swordsmen executing techniques at every stage, from Copper to Archlord. She noted a few that she wanted to dive into later, but ultimately she set it aside. There were more to open.

A rather plain—but intricately carved and decorated—box came from the Arelius family. She didn’t have to break it open, though she almost did so by accident while trying to slide out a panel.

This one held an ordinary dream tablet containing a soulfire control art. This time, Min Shuei dismissed it while Charity examined it appreciatively.

Any soulfire art would improve Yerin’s control, allowing her to slip soulfire into techniques more efficiently and control aura more powerfully. The hard part was matching the right art to the individual. The Arelius family had put either a lot of thought or a lot of research into preparing one for Yerin.

The Akura clan had thousands of soulfire arts, so it wasn’t the value of the object itself that Charity praised, but the care that had gone into its selection.

She was still going on about it when Yerin reached for the next container.

This was a mechanical box of brass and steel that hissed and vented madra essence every few seconds as pistons worked in and out.

Opening it was as simple as activating a script-circle, which made the whole box fold backwards on its own and reveal a…thing.

Yerin didn’t have the words for it.

It was clearly a construct of some kind, because it was made out of madra, but it looked like an ever-shifting and folding network of purple, pink, and violet light. It felt like dream madra, but also like life and some other, subtler minor aspects that Yerin couldn’t begin to name.

Yerin looked to the Sages for an explanation, but they had both begun shouting at her immediately.

“Take it! Take it now!”

“Absorb it into your core, as you would aura…”

“Now! Now!”

“…and hurry, because it will dissipate slightly by the second.”

“Take it!”

Their words tripped over one another, and when Yerin finally decoded them, she hurried to cycle her madra and reach out for the power she sensed inside the box.

The construct, which now looked like a dozen flowers folding in and out of each other, dissolved into essence and flowed into her spirit.

It nestled near her core, but it didn’t seem to want to stay there.

“Cycle it to your head,” Charity instructed, with Min Shuei nodding rapidly behind her.

Yerin did so, and the light settled like there was a notch inside her skull where it was specially designed to fit. The room immediately changed.

It wasn’t as though Yerin could now see more than she could before, but her spiritual sense felt clearer, her thoughts came more smoothly, and she felt somehow more awake. Like she had just risen from a perfect night of rest.

The Winter Sage took a deep, relieved breath. “They should have warned us!”

“The Eight-Man Empire is not known for its meticulous attention to detail,” Charity said. “Still, this is exactly the sort of gift we were hoping for. It will allow your mind to keep up with the speed of your body and spirit. The effects are subtle, but you will begin noticing it in small ways.”

“That sounds all shiny and sweet, but I’m not sure how thrilled I am about some construct tinkering with my mind.”

“It will do nothing more than help you stay at peak concentration and reach decisions more quickly. It will have no effect on your judgment whatsoever.”

“Even when your judgment could use some help,” the Winter Sage put in.

Yerin ignored that, moving on to the next gift.

Which Min Shuei opened.

It was from the gold dragons, and it came in a thick wooden box carved heavily with sealing scripts, so she and Charity contained it in power first.

They didn’t expect a trap. If the dragons gave an explosive construct disguised as a gift, then who would ever accept a gift from them again? The Dragon Monarch considered such tricks to be beneath his dignity.

Still, there was no telling what he might try with Penance on the line.

The box revealed nothing harmful…and the feeling of power it gave off made Yerin’s hopes rise even higher.

The prize within resembled a nest of tubes made out of crystalline pure madra, like the Diamond Veins she’d used already. But before she could reach for it, Min Shuei showed clear disappointment, and Charity a cold anger.

“It’s a Madra Engine,” Charity said, before Yerin could ask. “A Divine Treasure of great value, using as it does dead matter of pure madra.”

Yerin understood the implications of that, and she felt her own disgust.

They had made this from the Remnants of human children.

Charity wasn’t finished. “On top of which, it converts life and blood essence to madra faster, increasing the speed at which your spirit refills your core. Sophara has one of these, and it provides a beneficial effect, so they can claim that it was a gift in good faith. But she has the body of a gold dragon, and it is eating into even her lifespan. For you, it would kill you in ten years.”

“And with the Blood Shadow?” the Winter Sage pointed out. “You’d be lucky to survive the year. It’s worthless.”

Yerin’s anger reached new heights. “And they can just do that? If they’re allowed to send us garbage, what good are the prizes?”

“As I said, it’s technically a very valuable gift. And you didn’t see what we sent Sophara.” Charity gave a cold smile. “I made it myself.”

The Winter Sage was looking into a corner, where another container was veiled in hazy rainbow light. “It’s the responsibility of the host to ensure that the prizes aren’t lacking.”

Naturally, that drew Yerin’s attention to the Ninecloud Court’s present next.

At the touch of her spirit, the voice of the Ninecloud Soul echoed throughout the room. “Congratulations, Yerin!” the construct said warmly. “Reaching top four in the Uncrowned King tournament is an accomplishment reserved for the elite. We have prepared an appropriate prize for you, taking your other gifts into account, but first it is my pleasure to announce your opponent for the semifinal round!”

Yerin leaned forward, and so did both of the Sages, though it wouldn’t help them hear any more clearly.

They had known they were going to receive a message from the Court containing the identity of Yerin’s next opponent, but who would have expected it to come with the prize?

“You face Yan Shoumei of Redmoon Hall, chosen of Reigan Shen,” the Soul said, and Yerin felt an odd mix of relief and frustration.

She was glad not to be fighting Sophara, but at the same time, she wanted to get that battle over with.

But her fighting Shoumei meant that Sophara would be fighting Brother Aekin, and unless he was also a Monarch in disguise, Sophara would tear him apart like a pack of wolves on a lamb. So Yerin’s match would determine who faced the dragon in the finals.