Chapter Twenty-Seven: The True Form of the Immortal Master

"You actually called me a Celestial Master? Don’t make me sound so old! Be careful, or I’ll make you suffer a little," Mieying teased as she played with her golden-brown curls.

Huasheng replied, "At this point in the round, only you and I remain. So, where do you think the overseeing Celestial Master of this trial is hiding?"

Mieying pouted. "How should I know? Every game is set by the Academy of Mystical Arts. That’s not something I can control. Maybe the overseer this time just doesn’t want to see you."

"I don’t think so," Huasheng said. "Actually, I was just considering something: the fact that the nine of you sisters share one body isn’t fully public knowledge in the Academy, is it? Otherwise, when Tianjizi called out the numbers and managed to eliminate some participants, but you didn’t disappear, he would have guessed the truth right away."

"So what? My sisters and I never liked dealing with others much," Mieying said. "But that doesn’t prove I’m a Celestial Master at the Academy."

"I’m not speaking about you right now, but rather that among your nine sisters, one is the overseeing Celestial Master for this trial."

"Oh?"

"I suspect that in daily life, Mieying presents herself in the Academy as a disciple, the youngest of the nine. Perhaps one of you, being highly skilled in the mystical arts, was by some twist of fate appointed as a Celestial Master. And when teaching disciples, just as you and your sisters have different appearances, this one must look different, too. So very few disciples know the secret."

Mieying twirled her curls, a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Interesting, interesting. I’d like to hear why you think so."

"What first made me suspicious was you. To be precise, your youngest sister targeted the trial’s colored ring immediately. How did Mieying know the weak point of the Divine Calculation Game lay in the colored ring? If she were an ordinary disciple just entering the second round, I doubt she could have identified the weakness so quickly. That suggests someone leaked inside information. But since every year the content of the Tianmu Trials changes, and no one knows in advance when they start or who the overseer will be, it’s unlikely the trial content was leaked ahead of time. I trust the Academy wouldn’t allow the Celestial Master to reveal the rules. Unless—"

Mieying finished his thought, "Unless that person is both participant and overseer."

"Exactly."

Mieying laughed, a silver bell of a sound. "Not only that," Huasheng went on, "but since your sisters’ goal doesn’t seem to be to win the Tianmu Trials, but rather, like me, simply to prevent Tianjizi from winning, you needn’t worry about being accused of unfairness if you do win. Since you can withdraw at any time."

"You’re an imaginative little mortal. But what evidence do you have for all this?"

"I have none."

"Then let’s end it here. I have no time for your nonsense." Mieying tossed her hair and turned away, signaling she didn’t want to listen further.

Huasheng ignored her and continued, "But, I’ve discovered something interesting."

Mieying replied, "You’re not taking the trial seriously and still have time for amusement?"

"Because I found an interesting number, something an ordinary person wouldn’t notice. Let me explain."

"Speak. But if it’s boring, I’ll give you a punch. At worst, we both leave the Tianmu Trials together."

Huasheng pointed at the upper wall of the cave. "Look! The number of participants."

Written above was: ‘Participants: six’.

"And?"

"Now, only the two of us are here. That means, excluding me, the other five participants must be inside you, right?"

"Correct."

"I hope I’m describing this right. You have the Nine Souls in One constitution, so all your sisters participated in the Divine Calculation Game, didn’t they?"

"That’s one way to put it."

"Tianjizi called out two numbers first, so two of your sisters had to leave the game, leaving seven. And your green-haired, super-strong second sister was stunned by Tianjizi and had no choice but to withdraw. After that, your long-haired sixth sister, who seemed able to control light, purposely revealed her number when Tianjizi cast in his paper, so she left too. That makes four who seem to be gone."

Mieying said nothing.

"But actually, your second sister only withdrew because she was knocked out, not because she left the Divine Calculation Game." Huasheng held up both hands. "So, only three of your sisters left the round. Nine minus three is six. Including me, there should be seven participants left. But why does the number show six?"

Mieying ran her fingers through her hair again. "And why is that?"

"My guess is, from the start, only eight of your sisters could participate in the Tianmu Trials. The other couldn’t, because she had to act as the overseer. Or rather, Celestial Masters aren’t eligible to compete in the Tianmu Trials!"

Mieying burst out laughing.

"Do you also find this interesting?" Huasheng asked.

"Interesting indeed. You’re a clever little ant," she replied with a laugh. "But it’s a pity…"

"A pity?"

"You’ve talked a lot, but there are flaws. First, why must all my sisters participate? One might simply have no interest in the Tianmu Trials or Tianjizi—entirely reasonable. Second, even if all nine of us entered the trial, how can you prove we all won the first round? If one was eliminated in the Candlelight Battle, what’s the problem?"

Her words didn’t seem like mere sophistry.

"Indeed, there’s no problem. As I said, all this is only speculation," Huasheng replied. "But the thing is, just now I asked if all your sisters participated in the Divine Calculation Game, and your answer was ‘you could say so’. What did you mean by that?"

"Enough. I’m not interested in—"

Mieying, hands on her hips, was about to retort, but suddenly bent over and said softly, "Sister! Dear sister, don’t blame us. It’s all my own willfulness…"

Then the golden-brown curls darkened to deep blue. The Academy robes shifted in color and embroidery, pale blue fading into a robe of midnight blue.

When Mieying raised her head again, her playful demeanor was gone, replaced by a face cold as frost. Her voice had also deepened.

"Elder sister always said, since I’m the trial’s overseer, you sisters should stay out of the game. Now it’s been revealed and we’re the laughingstock," she said, flicking her sleeve, clad in deep blue robes and long dark blue hair.

Huasheng, seeing the Celestial Master appear, bowed deeply. "Celestial Master Mieying, your disciple pays respects."

"I am not called Mieying," the woman replied.

"May I ask your illustrious name?"

"My title is Qingmiao."

"Oh! Celestial Master Qingmiao. My earlier speculations were bold—please forgive me." Huasheng bowed again.

Qingmiao responded, "My seventh sister is willful and often causes trouble. That’s due to my own laxity in discipline."

Huasheng felt a bit embarrassed; the curly-haired seventh sister, though unruly, hadn’t really wronged him. He replied politely, "I was indeed rude before. All I said was mere speculation."

"Nevertheless, what you say now cannot be proven here. Once you leave the Tianmu Trials, everything you said can be verified."

Qingmiao saw straight through Huasheng’s thoughts. If Mieying was both a disciple and a Celestial Master, it was likely not public knowledge in the Academy. Otherwise, such a peculiar master-disciple unity would have been well known, and Huasheng would have heard of it. The reason for the secrecy was likely to avoid gossip.

Now that Qingmiao had revealed herself, she probably didn’t wish Huasheng to investigate further once back in the Academy.

Thinking this, Huasheng said, "Rest assured, Celestial Master, I won’t spread this matter."

"You’re clever. You won’t cause trouble for others." Qingmiao said, "You remind me of another young disciple I once knew. Her name was Weiyu…"

"Weiyu?" Huasheng was surprised.

"You know her?"

"She is… the deputy registrar of the Disciples’ Council."

"Yes. She’s gifted, so I recommended her to the Academy," Qingmiao replied. "She’s as perceptive as you. In fact, the first time she saw me, she exposed the secret of the nine sisters."

"At first glance?"

"She claimed to have a kind of Insight Art, able to see through many things meant to stay hidden."

"Insight Art? Is that a kind of mystical technique?"

"Perhaps only Weiyu herself knows. Just as Tianjizi possesses Supreme Fortune, Weiyu said she could see through many truths of this world."

"An innate ability?"

But Qingmiao shook her head. "So she says, but I believe it’s not that simple."

"Then what do you think?"

"That I cannot say. She is a rare spirit, mysterious as they come. In mortal terms—magical."

Huasheng pondered. The word ‘magical’ didn’t sound like something a Celestial Master would say. Qingmiao didn’t elaborate, but folded her hands into a lotus gesture.

In an instant, the cavern shook. Huasheng couldn’t stand firm and had to hover in midair.

After a violent tremor, sunlight pierced in from above, as if a crack had split the cave ceiling. Yet, despite the upheaval, the cave remained intact—no stones fell. Only the brightness within kept growing.

Huasheng looked around in awe. Sunlight poured in from all sides, but not because the walls had cracked. Looking closely, he saw the previous ‘crack’ was an illusion; the cave was unbroken. The sunlight created the illusion of a gap. More accurately, the surrounding walls seemed to thin all at once. It was as if thick layers of rice paper were peeled away, one by one, until everything grew translucent.

Until, at last, he saw: enclosing the vast underground space was a gigantic iron ring, spinning rapidly to create an enormous circular chamber. As the iron ring’s rotation slowed, the humming became louder, easier to distinguish, and then gradually faded as it stilled.

Huasheng realized he was not underground or in a cave at all, but at least a thousand meters in the air. He had to thicken the clouds beneath his feet to avoid falling.

He was at the center of the iron ring. The ring then began to rise and shrink, faster and faster, until with a crisp chime, it became a ball of golden light.

The little orb flew to Qingmiao’s hand, where it settled. Huasheng saw that it was, in fact, a small bangle glowing with rainbow light.

Qingmiao slipped the bangle onto her left wrist.

"This is incredible! Celestial Master, what kind of artifact is this?" Huasheng couldn’t help but ask.

"You’ve never seen it, but you must have heard of it," Qingmiao replied.

"This is…"

"It contains the myriad wonders of the cosmos, and holds all mysteries within."

"The Cosmos?" Huasheng recalled what Xuanwen had said about Nezha, the Lord of Fire Wheels. "Is this the Universe Ring? I never imagined I’d see it here!"

Qingmiao didn’t respond to that, but said, "After this, the Tianmu Trials reach their final round. Do you know that, in all history, a mortal disciple has never…"

"Never claimed the top prize?"

"Indeed. Never."

"Never? But hasn’t the Tianmu Trials been held for over five hundred years?"

"Among the immortals, spirits, and mortals, humans are innately weaker in the mystical arts. Whenever mortals face immortals or spirits directly, they almost always come off worse."

"So mortals never reach the last round?"

"Not quite. Some rare mortals have made it, by luck or cunning. But in the final round, with no shortcuts left, they always lose."

Huasheng understood. In earlier rounds, with so many participants focused on advancing, one could avoid direct conflict and slip through, just as two mortals had done earlier when Mieying let them pass. But in the final round, only victory matters; mortals have no room to maneuver.

"I understand, Celestial Master."

"Remember, the purpose of the Tianmu Trials is not merely to find those with the greatest mystical talents, but also those with a noble heart and unique insight."

"I will do my utmost." Huasheng bowed, expressing his gratitude.

Qingmiao produced a piece of white paper. Huasheng thought it was a number and reached for it. She lifted her hand, saying, "Wait a moment."

"Celestial Master?"

"My sisters only joined to support our fourth sister, so they all crowded around Tianjizi. Not proper. I’ll leave seventh sister behind, and take the rest away from the Tianmu Trials… What? Seventh sister, don’t be childish. You want third sister to stay with you? The Path to Buddhahood is of no use to us sisters."

After this, she handed Huasheng the slip of paper. "I will leave third and seventh sisters for now."

He bowed and accepted it. When he looked up, Qingmiao was gone, replaced by the girl with golden-brown curls.

Huasheng stared in surprise. The girl glared at him. "What are you looking at? Hurry up and write your number, or I’ll punch you until your face blossoms!"

So seventh sister was back. According to Qingmiao, that meant only the third and seventh sisters remained. Other than the quirky seventh sister before him, the third was the lotus-scented, auburn-haired girl who had chased Taishang Xiaojun with her wind-fire wheels.

Huasheng added Mieying’s number to his own—‘991248’—and, after writing it down, flew to the colored trial ring, ready to cast in the slip. Suddenly, he turned around.

Mieying stood behind him, cheeks puffed. "Why are you dawdling?"

"Just now, Celestial Master Qingmiao said you were all here to support your fourth sister. What grudge does she have against Tianjizi?"

Mieying’s brow furrowed. "If you keep meddling, I’ll cut out your tongue!"

"I’m not meddling. I meant, I can defeat Tianjizi."

"Impossible! You? Don’t make me laugh," she sneered, though her expression was more annoyed than amused.

"So, Miss, you have a way to counter Supreme Fortune?"

"His true form?"

"Yes."

She pouted and didn’t answer.

Huasheng saw her hesitation and pressed on. Mieying really had no way to break Tianjizi’s Supreme Fortune. He continued, "I have a plan. But I can’t do it alone."

"With your pig’s brain?"

"My pig’s brain helped everyone get through the Divine Calculation Game, didn’t it?"

"Hmph! Let’s hear it then."

"But I can’t do it by myself. I need your help."

Mieying stayed silent.

Huasheng quickly added, "I once read in a book that, under certain conditions, luck…"

"Luck can what?"

"It can fail."

Her eyes grew as round as coins.