The longboat ascended faster than Blake was expecting, and he had to reach out to the ship’s gunwale to steady himself. They circled around the bottom ‘tail’ of the manaship. There were cutouts in the armour plating of the tail, which looked tiny from a distance, but up close, were large enough to host tiny villages of their own.

  “Can that thing go up into space?” Blake asked softly. He wasn’t sure how strong the Cohong’s senses were, but with the roar of the thrusters—which sounded like thousands of sheets of paper ripping all at once—he doubted they’d hear him talking to Ethbin.

  What else do you think a manaship is for? Ethbin asked. You weren’t dropped on your head as a child, were you?

  Blake snorted. “No, but like, those cutouts can’t be spaceworthy. Certainly not with those houses in them.”

  They rose up, passing through a normal cloud, then lurched awfully close to one of the cutouts. Houses were stacked atop one another to fit in the angular metal carving. Most still had thatched roofs and wooden walls and glass windows, though there were plenty of golden ornaments on their eaves. Circular platforms balanced on trellises, making the perfect platforms for longboats to land on.

  You would be surprised what cultivators are capable of, Ethbin said. I never saw a manaship this large in my time, but were were many techniques to create bubbles of air, which could last even when the ship cut through the Way and emerged halfway across the galaxy after a week or two of travel.

  Blake ducked down as the longboat passed beneath a massive lantern hanging off the bottom of the ship’s main body, the ‘tag’ of the key. The longboat ascended to a cutout on the main body, which boasted a large city encased on three sides by metal. Lines of turquoise mana coursed through it and beneath it, making the lowest buildings pulse with turquoise light every few seconds.

  If he had to guess, this section alone hosted nearly ten thousand citizens. They passed between longhouses on walkways or rode on short-ranged floating clouds. Walled pavilions dotted the ground, and he spotted at least five before the longboat approached the Silk Fan Trading Guild’s headquarters.

  It was unmistakeable. It rested on the edge of the cutout, following the nearly forty-five degree angle of the metal wall like it was a mountainside. White plastered walls stuck out like a sore thumb among the rest of the buildings, silk banners fluttered in the high winds, and black shingled roofs with curled eaves made every building look like it was wearing a bowler hat. The windows were made of wooden slats, and every one of them had a perfect view over the rest of the cutout or far off across the blended surface of Earth.

  The longboat approached a circular platform near the front of the complex. Although there was no formal wall around the Silk Fan Traders’ headquarters, the lower levels of the complex were all interconnected and had no windows, which created something that was close enough to a wall, and it had a gate that led to a wooden walkway, which in turn led into the rest of the city in one direction, and the landing platform in the other direction.

  Blake steadied himself as the longboat settled down on the platform, then jumped out. Stone Moon met him at the ship’s prow and said, “Please follow me, Mr. Blake.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “You will meet Master Golden Locust. Follow.”

  The Cohong set off across the landing platform. It was wide enough to fit three longboats, but those were obviously just personal transports, and weren’t capable of carrying any cargo.

  As they walked, Stone Moon said, “We have our cargo docks, where we import mainly furs from the lower city. We are a luxury dealer. Our humble beginnings were in selling fans to the wealthiest Nords, and later, all manner of silk garments. Now, instead of simply importing silver, we also trade for some furs.” He laughed. “As it turns out, the Nords do have more to sell us than just opium.”

  Blake raised his eyebrows. He’d heard of the opium trade, but he’d never really seen it, and it wasn’t something he wanted to be involved in.

  “If you’re going to try to get me to—”

  “Not at all,” Stone Moon said. “We keep our hands clear of opium ourselves. We don’t need to anger the Viceroy.”

  “Of course.” Blake had no idea who this Viceroy was.

  The Viceroy is appointed by the Cohong Emperor to oversee trade, Ethbin said. He’s incredibly powerful and has full diplomatic privileges.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “How long ago did the Cohongs take power in the south?” Blake breathed, keeping his voice as quiet as he could.

  Many thousands of years. But for cultivators like us, such time is irrelevant.

  After that, Blake couldn’t count on the rushing wind or the roar of the longboats’ engines to keep anyone from hearing him. They stepped into a building at the edge of the landing platform, then traversed a network of winding hallways until they reached a garden atrium.

  Although it was winter outside, there was very little snow in the cutout of the manaship. Blake hadn’t considered it, because really, he didn't have to worry about the temperature anymore, but inside the manaship’s cutout, there was a thin layer of heat that kept everything temperate.

  So he was surprised to find trees covered in hoarfrost inside the atrium. They weren’t large trees, and it wasn’t a large atrium, but there were four of them surrounding a central pond, where an old man in golden robes sat cross-legged. His head was bald, save for a queue of black hair that ran halfway down his back and held a small dart at its tip.

  “Master Golden Locust,” said Stone Moon, clasping his hands together and giving a short bow.

  Blake chuckled, instantly reminded of his first meeting with Elder Ulfreld. He kept his guard up, then bowed as well.

  There was a time and place for rebellion. Where before, he might not have bowed out of spite, might not have tried to be formal because it made him feel good about himself, he had a true purpose now. He had something else to rebel for, so what was the point in being performative about his disobedience?

  Golden Locust having a Core Formation stage six rank seal didn’t really factor into the equation. Blake wasn’t too concerned with angering someone like Golden Locust, not when he planned on advancing himself quickly.

  “You brought the fiend-blend?” Golden Locust said, speaking perfect English, albeit with a bit of a Nord accent. As he stood up and turned to face Blake, the trees trembled and shed their frost.

  It wasn’t frost at all. It was a bunch of tiny silk moths all clinging to the bare branches. They were white and fluffy, and they each had two beady eyes. They fluttered around the room a little bit before landing back on the trees. Each of their wings was shaped like a leaf, and they trembled as if a breeze had blown through.

  “Do you like our leafwing silks?” Golden Locust asked, staring intently at Blake. “They are responsible for all our silk production. It is ever so slightly inferior to real silk, but our customers don’t know the difference, and it allows us to nearly halve our production costs. Oh, don’t look so surprised. Everyone does it. But you wouldn’t spread the word, would you? Not when you’ve accepted our offer.”

  Blake winced, then said, “Of course not, sir.”

  “I am Master Golden Locust. I won’t punish a local boy for not knowing, but I expect you to uphold decorum in the future.”

  Blake got the impression that ‘sir’ wasn’t an appropriate form of address, then. Before he could correct himself, Stone Moon added, “This is Mr. Blake. He has accepted our offer.”

  “I knew he would. It was an excellent offer.”

  “That said, Master Golden Locust,” Blake said, almost accidentally adding ‘sir’, “I would prefer it if you could give me some specific objectives.”

  Golden Locust smiled. “You are just in time. Tomorrow morning, our first guest is arriving. Lady Sixin, second princess of a border world who married into a Nord family to secure an alliance, has come with her husband to experience the thrill of hunting. If you can give her a pleasant experience, it will mark the beginning of a very prosperous relationship between you and I.”

  Blake bowed his head. “I will meet her at the dockyards tomorrow morning, then?”

  “She is staying at the Grand Lodge. You will meet her at the Lodge at Sunrise Bell.”

  “Understood.” Blake didn’t exactly know what Sunrise Bell meant, but he could ask Stone Moon later. Something about Golden Locust just sent shivers down Blake’s spine, and the last thing he wanted was to spend more time in the man’s presence.

  “Do not disappoint me,” Golden Locust said. “I see much, and there is no reason for us to get off to a rocky start, nor for me to have to punish you. Your redcloak affords you certain privileges, but it will not save you from consequences of letting an esteemed lady such as Sixin come to injury.”

  “Of course not,” Blake replied.

  “Prepare as you see fit. Stone Moon will show you to your quarters. It would be preferable if you continued to wear this attire.” He motioned to all of Blake and smiled. “It will enhance the rugged frontier experience we are providing and seem more authentic. You are dismissed.”

  After another trip through the winding hallways of the Silk Fans’ complex, Stone Moon led him to a suite. Blake had been expecting a small room like he’d had with the hunters, but this was far larger. There was a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchenette, a seating area large enough to fit five guests, and a small window overlooking the landscape.

  Blake settled down on the bed and opened the window, granting himself a view of the surrounding world—and what had become of Earth. It was like the ripples on a puddle, only with white lines of mist snaking back and forth across the land. Each contained a section of a different planet—Earth, the ‘red’ planet that the Hunters’ Sect had set up in, something that seemed to have been made of violet crystal, another planet much like Earth except slightly more turquoise, and finally, one that was entirely water, which had the effect of creating massive lakes.

  Instead of preparing for his impending hunting mission, though, Blake found himself clenching his fists and looking away from the devastation.

  He had other plans. He needed to get himself registered for the tournament.