Banners of the thirty-six hidden sects fluttered in the sharp autumn wind across Cloud-Peak Valley. Ten thousand cultivators crowded the stone avenues for the Decennial Grand Tournament.
Instead of buying a spectator box in the stuffy stadium stands, Lin Mo turned left. He and Su Wan walked straight to the valley’s central square. It sat directly opposite the grand arena entrance.
“Is the lease signed?” Lin Mo asked, smoothing his dark necktie.
“Signed, sealed, and notarized,” Su Wan said, tapping her golden tablet. “We rented the entire plaza for thirty days. The municipal tournament bureau was happy to take three hundred thousand spirit stones.”
“Good,” Lin Mo said. “Master Lu, set up the booth.”
Master Lu Jian spat on his palms. He adjusted his bright yellow array hard-hat and stamped his steel-toed work boots against the cobblestones.
“Step back, Boss,” Master Lu Jian shouted with a wide grin. “Standard commercial speed!”
Lu Jian tossed six jade formation discs into the dirt. A deep rumble shook the ground. Green spirit-light burst through the stone pavers, shaping pillars, walls, and polished glass windows.
