Chapter Fifteen: The Candlelight Battlefield (1)

Since signing up for the Tianmu Trial, Huasheng had dedicated every spare moment to cultivating his immortal arts more diligently than ever. Yet the words of Junior Lord Taishang had reminded him not to reach out to Weiyu again.

If Weiyu found out, she would likely care. After all, she was not an object, not a prize to be claimed by the victor of a wager.

But that was how boys could be—sometimes doing things that seemed childish, yet carrying them out with earnest seriousness. At least, Huasheng was earnest. Should he win, he would have removed the massive obstacle that was Tianji Zi from his path. And since he was to bite the bullet, he might as well gnaw on the toughest bone—the Registrar of the Disciples’ Council.

Day by day, time passed, and the Tianmu Trial showed no sign of commencing. The entire Academy of the Dao of Arts went on as usual; the sign-up stations that had been scattered across the campus were all removed the very next day, as if the matter had never occurred.

In these days, Huasheng could not help but ask Taishang Junior Lord a few times, but the latter, claiming it was his first time participating and that he was unsure, advised him to keep waiting for further notice.

Huasheng even considered consulting Immortal Yuran but managed to restrain himself.

After a day’s cultivation, Huasheng collapsed onto his bed, exhausted, and clutched the “Ruyi Manual,” hastening to commit the immortal incantations to memory. He had already mastered most of the arts within this manual. Perhaps the Tianmu Trial would be a chance to test himself. Once again, Weiyu’s face began to surface before his eyes. It had been days since they last met, and he wondered whether he should send her a message.

Perhaps tomorrow at lunch, he would invite her to the dining hall? So Huasheng planned. In his mind, he saw Weiyu’s ethereal Moonlit Sword Dance atop the Xuanwu Divine Mountain—the dreamlike dance, her lithe and graceful form, set his heart pounding anew.

“Even if I defeat Tianji Zi, would someone as perfect as Weiyu truly be willing to be with me?” The unanswered question circled in Huasheng’s mind, and before he realized it, his eyelids grew heavy. Still clutching the “Ruyi Manual,” he slipped into a hazy sleep.

Not long after, he began to dream. In a daze, he found himself standing on the prow of a cruise ship. Thunder rumbled through the heavens, and torrential rain battered the deck, sending up a spray of water. Looking down, Huasheng saw his clothes stained with blood, and just a few steps away lay a little girl in a black dress, seven or eight years old. Her dress was soaked through by the rain, as were his own garments.

As Huasheng wondered where he was, he saw, about five meters away, a stooped old woman. Strangely, only he and the little girl beside him were wet; the old woman, standing in the downpour, remained untouched by a single drop.

When Huasheng caught sight of her face, his heart suddenly clenched with dread. She wore a fierce expression, and, without warning, stretched out a shriveled hand. Instantly, Huasheng felt his body freeze like a puppet’s—he could not move at all. He struggled, but in vain. Pain shot through him, and though he tried to scream, no sound escaped his lips.

A sharp crack split the air.

Suddenly, his cheek stung as if slapped, and he began to flail his arms and shout.

“Hey! Wake up!” It was Taishang Junior Lord’s voice.

Only then did Huasheng realize it had all been a dream. Rubbing his eyes, he saw Taishang Junior Lord’s face before him and hastily apologized, “Sorry, I must have had a nightma—”

He stopped short. He distinctly remembered lying on his bed, yet beneath him was cold, muddy earth. Just as he was about to think he had rolled off his bed, he looked past Taishang Junior Lord’s shoulder—

Where the rafters of his room should have been, there was instead a clear expanse of starry sky.

He was outdoors.

“What happened? How did I start sleepwalking?” Huasheng asked.

“It wasn’t sleepwalking. But you must come to your senses, now!” Taishang Junior Lord shook him again.

Huasheng finally gathered his wits and quickly asked, “What’s going on? How did I end up outside? I need to get back inside at once.”

“There’s no going back.”

“What?” Huasheng’s drowsiness vanished. “Why can’t I go back?”

“It seems we’re on a mountain, one much taller than Xuanwu Divine Mountain. I’m afraid we’re no longer within the Dao of Arts Academy.”

A chill ran through Huasheng, and he jumped to his feet. “What? We’re not at the Academy?”

“Not only are we not at the Academy, but within a hundred miles of the Academy, there’s no mountain this high. We’ve been transported somewhere very far away,” Taishang Junior Lord said. “It must have begun!”

“What has begun?”

“The Tianmu Trial!”

Huasheng’s heart tightened. Glancing around, he noticed the nearby slopes teeming with people.

Night surrounded the mountain, and the wind rustled through the forests, making a cacophony in the darkness. Then came the clamor of a crowd—most of whom, it seemed, had only just realized they were no longer within the Academy grounds.

Huasheng surveyed his surroundings and quickly asked Taishang Junior Lord, “Why have we been transported here?”

“I don’t know yet. But every Tianmu Trial transports the participants to a competition ground. It seems this year, it’s Guangji Mountain.”

Huasheng slapped his face to rouse himself.

Suddenly, a blaze appeared in the dark sky. A booming voice thundered, making Huasheng’s eardrums hum.

“Disciples of the Dao of Arts Academy! Welcome to Guangji Mountain!”

Within the flames, a bearded Immortal appeared.

“Where is Guangji Mountain?” Huasheng asked.

“It lies in Yeguangji Prefecture of Sacred Pingning, in the north. The Dao of Arts Academy is in Lingweiyang Prefecture to the east—over a thousand miles apart,” Taishang Junior Lord replied.

Though it was difficult to gauge the size of the crowd in the darkness, the growing murmurs indicated just how many people were present. Huasheng asked, “That man who looks like Zhang Fei—who is he?”

“Shh—he’s Immortal Fire Thunder!” Taishang Junior Lord whispered, “It seems he’ll be the overseer for the first trial.”

Immortal Fire Thunder rode a cloud in the sky, his voice resounding: “This is the first round of the Tianmu Trial, called: The Candlefire Battle.”

No sooner had he finished than countless candle flames flickered to life, illuminating the entire mountain like a star-strewn river. Only now did everyone see how the mountain truly pierced the heavens, its slopes aglow with a myriad of lights.

Huasheng saw that each candle was enclosed in a glass cover, with a few small holes for the heat to escape—ordinary candles, nothing more.

Then, characters of flame appeared in the air:

Candlefire Battle
Participants: 3,746
Candles: 3,746
Rules:
1. Participants must extinguish a candle flame with their fingers. Extinguish one candle to win and advance to the next round.
2. Spells may be freely used, but offensive spells must not injure other participants.
3. Anyone who leaves Guangji Mountain without extinguishing a candle is eliminated.

After reading the rules, Huasheng commented, “I didn’t expect so many disciples to join. But this seems too easy—the second rule is pointless. No need for offensive spells. There’s exactly one candle per person; if everyone lines up and snuffs out a candle, everyone advances, right?”

“If only it were so simple!” Taishang Junior Lord interrupted.

“How so?”

“Can’t you see? This year’s first round is a ruthless elimination!”

“Huh? But with one candle per participant, why must anyone be eliminated?” Huasheng wondered.

Taishang Junior Lord replied, “Why do you think it’s called the Candlefire Battle?”

“Is it that participants have to fight each other? But since there are enough candles, why compete?”

“The number of candles matches the participants exactly, but have you considered—if you extinguish more than one, someone is eliminated in the first round.”

Huasheng finally understood, but then objected, “But the rules say that once you extinguish a candle, you automatically leave. How could anyone put out more than one?”

“The rules specify you must use your fingers to snuff a candle for it to count. Any other method, no matter how many candles you extinguish, you won’t advance.”

A chill crept up Huasheng’s spine.

Taishang Junior Lord continued, “So, if someone grabs a candle and, at the same time, blows out the other 3,745…”

“That person would eliminate all the trial participants in one go,” Huasheng gasped.

“Yes. There’d be no need for a second round—the Tianmu Trial for this year would end then and there.”

“Good heavens!” Huasheng exclaimed. “But look at those glass covers—how could someone blow all of them out at once?”

Just then, a mountain gust swept by, forcing Huasheng to step back. In that moment, he understood everything.

All someone need do is shatter the glass covers, and in an instant, the sea of candle flames would be snuffed out.

Before he could delve deeper, the flaming rules in the sky vanished, leaving only the numbers of participants and candles.

All at once, a figure shot out from the crowd, soaring up the mountain. Only then did Huasheng realize—was someone trying to get ahead of the rest? He immediately prepared to fly after them: “By urgent decree…”

But Taishang Junior Lord caught his sleeve. “Wait! Not yet!”

“What?”

“The trial hasn’t begun!”

“But someone just—”

“They jumped the gun.”

Jumped the gun? Huasheng was puzzled. He watched as the figure hung motionless in midair, then shrieked as if flung like a pebble, shrinking to the size of an ant in the blink of an eye.

“Wow! Does that count as leaving Guangji Mountain?” Huasheng marveled.

A flash of fire, and Immortal Fire Thunder appeared overhead, his voice booming: “The trial has not begun. The impatient are as guilty as those who break the rules. I urge you all to exercise restraint—those who violate the three rules will join that one as company!”

Thousands of disciples fell silent. Immortal Fire Thunder surveyed the crowd, and seeing no further disturbances, rode his cloud to the side.

Then, a blazing character appeared in the sky: “Three.”

Followed by “Two.”

And then “One.”

When the countdown vanished, two flaming words blazed overhead: “Begin.”