"Either he does not sense us or he's very confident," Joshi reported. "Magen says he's almost here. He has not even paused in his journey. We watched him practicing with some sword forms. I think he took a new weapon off one of his rivals. The sword itself changes shape, so beware of that. His form looks studied, but not practiced."

"What does that mean?" Min asked.

"I mean he moves like one who has been well taught but has not put in the hours to master it for himself," Joshi explained. "We should not underestimate any of his skills."

Chang-li pushed out his own will, trying to get a sense of the approaching enemy. He was at the far limit of where Chang-li's will could reach, perhaps a mile away. Chang-li couldn't affect anything at this range, but he could sense. There was a resonance from the man, a note of something almost familiar about him as the enemy approached.

Chang-li focused hard on that feeling. The cultivator was using a movement technique to propel him twenty feet forward with a single step. It was nothing particularly complicated, he knew it was just a simple red and green weave that Chang-li himself had used many times. Every time the man flared his technique, Chang-li felt a soft echo, barely noticeable. It meant something. But what?

"Positions," Joshi called. "He's close."

With some help from Sun Wukong, they had carefully selected the setting for this battle. The road itself ran to the foot of the mountain, and then began zig-zagging up through a series of colored gates, starting with red and orange, and presumably going all the way through violet at the top.

According to Sun, a champion nested there on the peak. If the enemy cultivator noticed it at all, he would hopefully think it was the floor guardian he expected to find here thanks to the lies Hiroko had told when he first entered the floor.

Sun Wukong had called the champion the Great Bird of the World, and told them stealing one of her eggs might well aid them on their cultivation path. Chang-li was reminded of the enormous roc he and Joshi had fought back at the broken tower at Golden Moon, and, while tempted, had banished the idea for now. They had enough to be dealing with.

A stream cascaded down the mountain, going over multiple waterfalls as its torrent jetted out from cliffs and fell through rocky channels, adding a dull roar to the background. At the foot of the mountain, it spread into a pond, then eventually flowed out in a languid course heading southward.

The road passed through the pond on two long red wooden ridges, breaking in the middle at a small island, which featured a pagoda. Boulders stuck out of the pond here and there. They had laid traps everywhere. The bridges were layered with script circles, the boulders hid techniques, the pagoda itself they had enforced with techniques, as much as they could manage in a few hours. Sun had helped, and then he'd taken himself off to watch, saying he wasn't going to interfere.

Min and Hiroko were even now climbing to the top, third floor of the pagoda where they would shoot arrows and confusing techniques down on the battle that raged below. With Joshi's increased movement skills, he would take the lead in the dance with the enemy, leaving Chang-li to trigger traps, toss out new techniques, and look for the chink in the cultivator's defenses.

"He's only one tier up from us," Chang-li told Joshi, "and your will and Intent are in sync now. I give us even odds."

Of course, the enemy had three great treasures and possibly knew how to use them. But Chang-li wasn't bringing up that part.

And now they were out of time, because here came the enemy.

Chang-li and Joshi waited for him on the first bridge. It occurred to Chang-li, belatedly, that he very well could just bypass them and head up the mountain to seek the guardian, but he didn't think that likely, not when the other cultivator must suspect they had taken the treasures from the fallen he had murdered his companions for treasures, surely he wouldn't hesitate to hunt them down for the others.

He was a physically imposing man. As tall as Joshi, but not as broad. Dark hair cropped close. Clean-shaven, but with a hardness to his face and eyes that made Chang-li suspect he was much older than he appeared. He wore Golden Locks robes, naturally, but as he approached them, he raised his voice to announce himself.

"I am Zhao Zhen, late of the Purple Lotus School, associate of the Golden Locks School. I demand you submit."

"I am Wu Chang-li of Morning Mist, with my brother cultivator, Joshi, also of Morning Mist," Chang-li purposefully didn't include Min or Hiroko. Though the other cultivator had likely sensed them and knew their lesser rank, he didn't want to draw any further attention to them. Not just yet. If Zhao Zhen underestimated what Hiroko and Min could do, that would only benefit them all.

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"Then I shall take what is mine by force, as is the only true law of cultivation. When I have ripped the lux from your cores, the cultivation from your minds, and the treasures you have stolen from wherever you've stashed them, then you will know the true strength of Zhao Zhen."

"Did you miss the lessons at Harupa where they taught cultivators how to be such a windbag?" Chang-li asked Joshi, loud enough to be overheard.

"I suppose I must have. Maybe I should start practicing."

"We'll give it a try after we deal with this arrogant fool," Chang-li agreed.

Zhao Zhen drew himself up angrily. His will and Intent pressed hard against Chang-li's, but despite its power, it wasn't enough to do more than shake him a bit.

Chang-li was surprised. Was his own Intent stronger than the higher ranked cultivator? Noren had said many cultivators simply settled on 'become powerful' as their Intent and eventually forced their advancement. That was enough to get them past the barrier of Lux Embodiment, but compared to a properly formed Intent, it wouldn't hold up.

Forming a proper Intent would make advancement quicker, and result in a more powerful destiny, but from what he could tell it wasn't the most common path. Some of the old Morning Mist books had spoken derisively about how the "easy path" was becoming more common, with cultivators taking elixirs and using natural treasures to push themselves through their blind spots. He didn't know for sure that was what Zhao Zhen had done, but if it was, perhaps that would be the clue to defeating him.

Of course, Chang-li's Intent still wasn't quite right, but he was close, he was sure. Apparently, he was close enough to match wills with a man a tier higher. Not that it would help him if it became a contest of physical strength or raw lux power.

The enemy set foot on the bridge, and the first of Chang-li's concealed scripts exploded in his face. A series of chained Firepots, each aimed directly at the center of the circle where Zhao Zhen had just stepped blasted a huge amount of fiery lux, reinforced with orange lux that would stab like knives.

As the flames and noise died away, Zhao Zhen stepped through the smoke. Even his clothes were untouched and Chang-li could see the shimmer of mostly invisible lux layered around the man's body.

The enemy smiled.

"You think I am a mere Lux Embodiment cultivator?" he sneered. "If I were, possibly your little trap might have impacted me."

Joshi moved in, rushing forward even as the enemy began to construct a technique. Joshi's arms and chest were protected by a red lux armor, but he moved as though unencumbered.

From above, Min began firing arrows. Chang-li trusted that Hiroko was already working her techniques. It was time for him to step up.

He wanted to be up close with Joshi, hammering at the enemy with his blade. But they had talked and strategized, and agreed this was the way to start the fight. Chang-li would watch the enemy's moves and learn his weaknesses.

He pushed his will at the enemy, joining with Joshi's. The difference in Joshi's will, now that he fully understood his Intent and had reached the Lux Endowment stage, was remarkable. Before, he'd been like a hammer smashing. Now, he felt more like a force of nature.

The enemy notably flinched as their wills clashed. Joshi swung his gauntleted fist and hit Zhao Zhen in the chest. The enemy's lux armor held He stepped back only a step before unleashing a blast of focused lux at Joshi.

Chang-li had been expecting that and he had already woven a Blindfold. He had expected the enemy to dodge the technique, but instead he slashed it out of the air with his sword, dissipating the lux harmlessly.

In the moment of distraction Joshi struck. His enemy jerked back but too slow as orange gauntlet spikes raked him across the face. Zhao Zhen shouted in pain and raised a hand to his cheek as he leaped back to gain space.

From high above, Min peppered the cultivator with arrows. He slashed several out of the air but let others hit him to bounce harmlessly off himself.

Chang-li focused on what Zhao Zhen was doing. The man somehow knew which arrows held techniques harmless to his defences. He could feel the enemy's core cycling, see the lux flowing into him. Something was wrong. Zhao Zhen's cycling felt unstable, like the notes were wrong. He focused, trying to hear the pattern he was using.

Joshi came in for another blow, and quick as a flash Zhao Zhen shifted his stance. He raised his own hand, and it was sporting a red gauntlet like Joshi's. He caught Joshi's hand with his, held it there, swung his sword clumsily. Joshi threw up a lux shield and deflected the attack. He wrenched free and stepped back, throwing out his Binding Chains at the same time.

The chains caught Zhao Zhen around the waist and yanked him forward into the next circle of lux scripts.

To Chang-li's horror, the scripts didn't go off.

Zhao Zhen laughed, and smashed his will out across the battlefield. Chang-li braced. This was much stronger than it had been before, more focused. It was eating down his own defenses. This enemy was far stronger than the other Golden Locks cultivators they had faced.

Zhao Zhen shouted triumphantly, "The longer you fight, the more I know your strengths and secrets. You cannot win against me. I will have your lux, your cultivation, and your lives!"

There was a flash of something dangling on his chest, and all of a sudden Chang-li realized: around his neck was another Lens. It had been hidden beneath the folds of his robes, but in the course of the fight had slipped free.

The enemy had a Lens just like the one inside of Chang-li , and worse, he seemed to know how to use it.

He felt a thrill of fear and then excitement. Here was a chance to learn. He needed to understand more about the Lens, and then he'd be able to figure out how to beat Zhao Zhen.

Chang-li's Intent rang a note perfectly in tune with his Lens. His mind froze, even as he was preparing another technique.

That thought had resonance with his Intent. Maybe Joshi had been right and in the heat of hand-to-hand combat, he would find the secret of his Intent.

If that was the case, he'd better hurry and figure it out.

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