Meta post about my shitty update schedule, spoilered so that you can ignore it if you wish.
Sorry for the slow pace of updates, everything is currently a bit of a clusterfuck and my life has consisted almost solely of schoolwork and a select couple of hobbies. I'm going to write the update, shower, and then pass out because I haven't slept in about 40 hours. After that I'd like to find some time to update the pastebin so that I can prepare to ramp up the pace of the updates over my Spring Break next week. If the votes pick up along with my free time that week then I'll try to ride the momentum into a consistent 3/4 updates a day and find time somewhere to do that. If I move some stuff around I should be able to find it. I'd like to avoid the slow burnout death (for both players and GMs) that I've experienced with several different types of games before, and this seems like the best option to do so.

You respond to Tan Xun by saying "Yes, I do have a question. What are the exact limits of the playing field?" Tan Xun responds by saying that he'll lay out a large map with the area contained circled later, but that in simple terms it's the capital and the surrounding countryside. He names a few villages which you vaguely recognize as rough markers for the borders of the trial.
Tan Xun then says "Alright, any more questions?" As you think about whether you have anything else to ask you can faintly hear some very heavy footsteps approaching the room. That sounds rather ominous and you think you may not get a chance to ask anything else for a while if you don't ask now. You...
>Ask if there will be any privileges given to cultivators with a lower cultivation. Earlier Tan Xun said that this wouldn't be all about cultivation but this seems to contradict that. This question may make it look like you're just trying to get an advantage, but... well, you are you suppose. You're doomed without one.
>Decide against asking whether you'll receive any advantages for your lower cultivation, it may make you seem a bit shameless.
>Other

My roommate woke me up and I wasn't able to fall back asleep so I decided to update the pastebin, it's finally back up to date. If I missed anything give me a heads-up and I can fix it. The named characters document is now divided into two pastebins split between "Minor" and "Important" characters to make it easier to find characters among all of these Chinese names.

>>3361426
>Decide against asking whether you'll receive any advantages for your lower cultivation, it may make you seem a bit shameless.

>>3361410
I like your
>shitty update schedule

>>3361426
>Decide against asking whether you'll receive any advantages for your lower cultivation, it may make you seem a bit shameless.

>>3362178
>>3362020
You decide against asking whether you'll get an advantage for having a lower level of cultivation than the others, figuring that it would seem a bit shameless. A few seconds pass without any question before you hear the door at the other end of the room slam open with a loud noise. You turn around to see what's happening as you hear a familiar voice yell "I'M BACK!" You're greeted by the sight of Tan Wuhan dressed in a rather basic robe. You can't sense the exact level of his cultivation, meaning he must've broke through to the Body Refinement Realm, but you can tell that his strength seems rather unstable right now. From that you can tell that his breakthrough was probably in the last 24 hours.
As Tan Wuhan enters the room you hear Tan Xun yell in confusion for a moment before he says "Brother, I thought you were supposed to be in seclusion for at least another couple weeks. You broke through that early?" Tan Wuhan laughs loudly and says "I didn't think I'd break through so easily either! I suppose I just HAD to make it out in time for your birthday once I got told what you were planning! Thanks for the motivation!" Tan Wuhan then approaches Tan Xun, who you can now tell is slightly nervous. As Tan Wuhan approaches Tan Xun he says "So, I heard about the reward you were offering for the winner. Interesting. Anyways, how do I join into the fighting."
Tan Xun says "Er... I'll explain later. I suppose we'll all disperse for now. There's food prepared for everyone who passed the first trial and rooms here for everyone who passed the second. We'll hand out the tokens here at 4 AM and then the winners will get an hour's head start on the losers to do what they wish."
The rest of the people begin following a servant out of the room besides Zhaotian Heng, who seems to have something to say to Tan Xun, and you...
>Greet Tan Wuhan and congratulate him on his breakthrough.
>Go with the rest of the group to get fed, you'll have a chance to speak to Tan Wuhan later.
>Other

>>3362894
>Greet Tan Wuhan and congratulate him on his breakthrough.
Ask him how he did it, and earlier than expected too.

>>3363464
You leave the rest of the crowd and approach Tan Wuhan to greet him, and as he takes notice of you he seems surprised. His mouth hangs open for a moment before he says "This... you're here? And your cultivation is in the Middle Qi Emission Stage? How did you get injured so badly by a beast that weak before?" A few awkward moments of silence pass before he says "Nevermind, that was rude of me, it's a surprise to run into you again." You greet Tan Wuhan back and congratulate him on his breakthrough before following it up with a question. "How'd you go about your breakthrough, you said it happened earlier than expected, right?" Tan Wuhan smiles and says "Well, it's just one of those things you do by instinct. If I have anyone to thank it's my precocious little brother here, giving me a good motivation to get out of seclusion. Maybe anger is the best motivation after all. Anyways, I'll catch up with you a bit more while I eat later, for now I have a few things to say to my brother. Prince, you can stay here, I'll need you to help me talk some sense into this idiot."
You leave the room and after asking for directions make your way to a smaller, but still sizable room in another building. The room is mostly filled with tables of food and it seems the few contestants who were knocked out before have all come to by now. You...
>Get some food and wait for Tan Wuhan to arrive, you have nothing better to do.
>Mock Dong Cheng over his loss after being so arrogant, that was hilarious.
>Find Qiao Guo and Lan Xun, you agreed to work together before and maybe you can discuss how to go about that in the next trial.
>Find Qiao Guo and Lan Xun, you were getting along decently enough with them and may as well make some small talk.
>Find someone you haven't spoken to yet to talk to, you should try to make some connections while you're here.
>Other

>>3363730
>Find Qiao Guo and Lan Xun, you agreed to work together before and maybe you can discuss how to go about that in the next trial.
suggest we network among the more co-operative and well mannered people here.
>Find Qiao Guo and Lan Xun, you were getting along decently enough with them and may as well make some small talk.
Mention that we saw Tan Wuhan come in at the end and he has apparently reached his next stage Body Refinement Realm, and may be joining in on the later competition.

Then we try to network a little over food and snacks

>>3363730
>Find Qiao Guo and Lan Xun, you agreed to work together before and maybe you can discuss how to go about that in the next trial.

>>3363730
>Find someone you haven't spoken to yet to talk to, you should try to make some connections while you're here.

How big are those tokens?

>>3363854
>>3364156
Let's be honest those two will backstab us the second they got a chance.

>>3364225
But they don't know we know. We'll be ready.

>>3363854
>>3364156
You look around the room for Qiao Guo and Lian Xuo (I butchered his name by accident in the choices last update, apologies.) for a moment before you find them searching around the room as well. They notice you as you approach and Lian Xuo leads the way towards you, followed by Qiao Guo. Lian Xuo smiles and says "We were looking around for you, we're still working together in the next trial, right? Brother Qiao and I have been thinking of some strategies, tell us what you think."
Lian Xuo begins speaking about their ideas and says "We've thought of two major strategies: One to get loser's tokens and one to get winner's tokens. The first is to just gather in one place and stay still. The loser's tokens will pick up your general location and people will go there trying to take your token, not realizing that we're there as well. We'll then take the token of whoever shows up by force or diplomacy, whatever works best. We'll need to collect four tokens for this part, one each for Brother Qiao and I and two for you. The second part is for collecting winner's tokens. With a group of both winner's and loser's tokens we'll be unable to find the general locations of the winners when we get information each hour, so we'll either have to resort to very spartan tracking methods or you'll need to hide your winner's token somewhere safe so that our loser's tokens don't pick it up every hour. We then gather two tokens and you can return to gather yours."
Lian Xuo finishes and says "This is our general idea, does it sound agreeable to you? And if so which part do you want to do first, we don't have a strong preference." You respond that...
>This sounds fine and that you'd like to gather loser's tokens first.
>This sounds fine and that you'd like to gather winner's tokens first.
>This sounds fine and they can decide which part goes first.
>That this sounds fine but that you would like to see if anyone else who's reasonable would like to join your group.
>That you have another strategy in mind. [State what]
>That you think you'll go on your own for the next trial since it's every man for himself and you'd like to be as cautious as possible.
>Other
I accidentally unplugged my computer after I finished writing this up. At least the second draft turned out better to make up for the time spent.

>>3364225
You haven't seen the tokens in person but making an educated guess they're probably around the size of your average coin. (In meta terms, think a half dollar or quarter.)

>>3365245
>This sounds fine and that you'd like to gather winner's tokens first.
Get the winners, then the loser's will come to us.

>>3365245
>This sounds fine and that you'd like to gather winner's tokens first.
But be ready for a possible betrayal.

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>3365306
>>3366591
Rolling for something first.

>>3367144
You state that you don't have any objection to their plan and that you'd prefer to gather the winner's tokens first. Qiao Guo nods and says "Alright then, we'll discuss where to meet for the first round later, for now let's just enjoy the food prepared and mingle a bit. It is a party, right?" The three of you then begin sampling food while chatting for a bit, and the general mood is cheerful.
After a while you see Tan Wuhan enter the room with a triumphant smile while Zhaotian Heng and an exhausted looking Tan Xun follow behind him. Tan Xun makes a hurried announcement that Tan Wuhan will be joining the winners tomorrow and that anyone who has a problem with that can fight Tan Wuhan themselves and see how that turns out. He then leaves the room, seemingly to gather his bearings.
After Tan Wuhan enters the room he notices you and walks towards you. You go to meet him and...
>Begin catching up, you haven't seen each other in a while.
>Ask if he'd like to cooperate with your group in the next round.
>Ask what happened to Tan Xun to make him look so exhausted.
>Other

>>3367151
>Ask what happened to Tan Xun to make him look so exhausted.

>>3367151
>Ask what happened to Tan Xun to make him look so exhausted.

>>3367190
>>3367328
...you exchange a couple of pleasantries before asking what happened to Tan Xun to make him seem so exhausted and dispirited. Tan Wuhan then laughs and says "Ah, I just had to give him a talking to earlier because he's an idiot and he probably feels a bit defeated over it. He's never been able to out-talk me or outfight me so naturally he'd come out on the losing end and end up moping around his own birthday party."
Next you...
>Begin catching up, you haven't seen each other in a while.
>Ask if he'd like to cooperate with your group in the next round.
>See if he's met Qiao Guo or Lian Xuo before and what he thinks about them.
>Ask Tan Wuhan's opinion on something. [State what]
>Other
>Other

>>3367760
>Ask if he'd like to cooperate with your group in the next round.
I doubt you need any help, but i'd figure I'll offer anyways.
>Ask Tan Wuhan's opinion on something. [State what]
Tell him of our plan and see if he approves.

>>3367760
>>Begin catching up, you haven't seen each other in a while.

>>3367760
>Begin catching up, you haven't seen each other in a while.
So I have idea how to win this without doing anything really. Eat the token... Should work right?

>>3368224
they might decide to disembowel us...

>>3368565
No killing rules of the game

>>3368733
They don't have to but they could cripple us after cutting us open and then patching us up shoddily afterwards..

>>3368142
>>3368224
The two of you begin catching up and Tan Wuhan tells you about a few incidents he had on his way back to the capital while you inform him of your work as a bounty hunter and enrollment in the Royal Academy. Tan Wuhan congratulates you, clearly surprised by your recent accomplishments. After the two of you have spoken for a bit he asks you to follow him and leads you into the next room before looking around for a moment and then saying "Alright, no one should be able to hear us here. How'd you manage to advance your cultivation so quickly. I know that you couldn't have been in the Qi Emission Stage when we fought together, you'd have to be the best actor in the world to pull that off. Even assuming you broke through right after I left that means you made it to the Middle Qi Emission Stage and made a solid foundation within five months. If you can't tell me then I'll accept that answer, but at least let me know if it was a one-time event or if you'll be advancing at this rate from now on."
You...
>Ask why he needs to know.
>Respond that you have no idea what he's talking about and leave the room.
>Tell him that you can't tell him and that it was a one-time event.
>Tell him that you can't tell him but that you'll likely be advancing your cultivation quickly from now on as well.
>Tell him that you were struck by lightning and that you've been advancing quickly ever since. You're fairly certain this has no basis in reality but it sounds mystic enough to be an excuse. [1d100]
>Make up a plausible story. [State what]
>Other
>>3368733
Unless you're willing to eat some extremely strong laxatives afterwards and trust that your mighty cultivator digestive system won't damage the tokens I would not recommend it, especially since he said "you break the tokens you buy them". As the poorest person in attendance here, you do not want to buy them. Also, you'd still have to get two tokens from the losers first and then swallow all three of them.

>>3369089
>Ask why he needs to know.

>>3369089
>Ask why he needs to know.

>>3369089
>Completely hide our cultivation
>Give him apologetic smile

>>3369118
>>3369147
You respond by warily asking why Tan Wuhan needs to know and he shrugs and says "I don't need to know, I just want to know. If you want any reason from me besides curiosity I suppose it's so I know whether I'll be able to fight you in the future or not. A new competitor is always welcome and if you're going to reach the Body Refinement Realm within a few years then it means I'll have another worthy opponent besides the other top geniuses around my age and the 'kingdom's best', Zhuan Tai."
You...
>Respond that you have no idea what he's talking about and leave the room.
>Tell him that you'll provide no information but that you'll be able to fight on a level playing field eventually.
>Tell him that you can't tell him and that it was a one-time event.
>Tell him that you can't tell him but that you'll likely be advancing your cultivation quickly from now on as well.
>Tell him that you were struck by lightning and that you've been cultivating quickly ever since. You're fairly certain this has no basis in reality but it sounds mystic enough to be an excuse. [1d100]
>Make up a plausible story. [State what]
>Other

>>3371108
>Tell him that you'll provide no information but that you'll be able to fight on a level playing field eventually.

Did we swear to secrecy?
Also we used pills to help us with some breakthroughs.

>>3371108
>Tell him that you'll provide no information but that you'll be able to fight on a level playing field eventually.

>>3371127
>>3371373
You think for a moment before responding "I'm not going further into this with you but yes, we'll be able to fight on a level playing field eventually." Tan Wuhan then gives a wide grin and pats you on the back before saying "Good to hear it, I was afraid all I'd have left eventually would Zhuan Tai and the old farts who still hadn't died yet when I reached the top." The two of you then leave the room he tells you he has a few people he needs to talk to before wandering off. You then...
>Go back to talking with Qiao Guo and Lian Xuo
>Find someone you haven't spoken to yet to talk to, you should try to make some connections while you're here.
>Get some food and eavesdrop in on conversations, you don't want to get involved with too many people here when they all wield so much power.
>Go rest for the night, you should be ready to get up early tomorrow.
>Other

>>3371127
No, you didn't swear to remain secret about your cultivation technique, it's just that your character has opted to keep it secret from every single person he knows including the person who killed the beast who killed his parents and his teacher, so it'd be out of character for you to suddenly speak up about it now.
And yeah, the pills helped when breaking through to the Qi Emission Stage but it's not a major contributor. To emulate this with only pills would be impossible unless their rate of cultivation was already relatively close to yours.

>>3372931
>Get some food and eavesdrop in on conversations, you don't want to get involved with too many people here when they all wield so much power.

>>3372971
You pile a plate high with food before beginning to wander around and attempt to eavesdrop on conversations. As you begin to wander around you hear a few and begin to spy in on...
>A few people gossiping about various figures you're not well acquainted with.
>Some people speaking about the trial tomorrow. [1d100]
>A few men discussing their weapons and armor.
>Someone else. [1d100]
>Other

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>3373190
>Someone else. [1d100]

>>3373212
You look for someone else to eavesdrop on and eventually find the extremely gregarious man you spoke to this morning at the gate. He's still carrying on a conversation with two people at once, much to your amazement. You listen to him for about half an hour hearing various bits of gossip and something about Tan Xun not wanting to invite anyone from the Shen family here for some reason. Eventually you're done eating and you drift away from the conversation and see a group of young men preparing to go get drinks at a nearby bar, as there is a conspicuous lack of alcohol here. You...
>Go to bed, it's getting late.
>Join the group and head to the bar.
>Iron out the details of your plan with Qiao Guo and Lian Xuo before you go to bed.
>Find someone you haven't spoken to yet to talk to, you should try to make some connections while you're here.
>Other

>>3373566
>Iron out the details of your plan with Qiao Guo and Lian Xuo before you go to bed.

>>3373623
You track down Qiao Guo and Lian Xuo, who are currently chatting with someone you don't recognize over a plate of food, and make small talk for a few minutes until the other person leaves. You then suggest that you iron out some details before tomorrow and they nod before finding a quieter place to talk.
The three of you begin going over more minor details such as signals in case you see an enemy but don't want to alert them by saying something out loud, codewords, or anything else that could be useful. You tell them to meet you in the morning at...
>The beach outside of town, it's pretty deserted there.
>Your house, you don't think anyone would try to attack you there given that Gu Xinyi is there.
>The third private room from the left in the training hall at the Royal Academy. You can hole yourself up in there until they arrive, although people will likely notice you on the way there.
>Other

>>3374360
>The beach outside of town, it's pretty deserted there.

>>3375017
You suggest a specific area of the beach outside of the city about half an hour away from here and the three of you note down the exact place. Shortly after the three of you split up again and you go to a room that's been prepared for you for the night. As you get ready to sleep you think about where to hide your token tomorrow and decide to...
>Hand it to Gu Xinyi and trust him to take care of it. It may seem cowardly but nobody will be able to get it from him.
>Put it in some hidden corner of your room at Gu Xinyi's manor.
>Hand it off to Zi Ling, the disciple of Gu Xinyi's who showed you around the capital. Nobody should suspect that he has it and he'll take care of it.
>Hide it in some crevice in the beach, nobody should be searching it around there.
>Bury it in some field nearby, nobody should be looking for stuff underground.
>Other

>>3376680
>Other
Near that abandoned island we visited?
How far was that again?

If we could, then buy a pig and feed it the token. When it comes time to collect we slaughter it and prep it for a feast. Alternatively we can use a goat or chicken.

>>3376680
>Put it in some hidden corner of your room at Gu Xinyi's manor.
This way we don't involve Gu Xinyi directly, but at the same time anyone who wants to take the token would have to barge into his manor

My apologies, I didn't get a chance to update much earlier today due to something unexpected coming up. I'll leave the current vote for now since it's relatively major and update it in the morning.

>>3377722
Rereading that segment I'm going to say at least half an hour from shore and a bit outside the bounds of the playing field.

>>3376680
>Be super edgy and put it under your skin.

>>3379368
We need to hide it away from us to not interfere with detecting other tokens.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>3377722
>>3379233
Rolling between buying an animal and your room. Rolling an int. check if the former wins because you're not sure whether that will break the token or kill the animal.

>>3379885
You decide to stash the token under the floorboards of your room, no one should be able to find them there and it has the protection of Gu Xinyi without directly involving him.
You go to bed for the night with that decided and around 3 AM wake up and have the breakfast provided. It seems most of the others aren't awake yet, especially those who drunk anything. Tan Xun is awake, although he seems to be staring blankly at a fancy-looking bowl of oatmeal at the moment. You...
>Warm up and wait until it's time for the tokens to be handed out.
>Interact with someone who's up early.
>Try to get more details out of Tan Xun before the trial starts so you can be prepared earlier.
>Eat. A lot. You'll need the energy for later.
>Other

>>3379902
>Eat. A lot. You'll need the energy for later.
We shonen hero now.

>>3380031
You spend the next half an hour eating large amounts of food while trying to avoid looking too out of place. You eventually notice that you're not the only one eating large portions of food and loosen up a bit. You suppose this behavior would be normal since it's likely all of you may go for a whole day without eating. While you can go for that long without food without any severe consequences, it would still be uncomfortable.
At around 3:45 AM the tokens are handed out to those who are awake and you're told that the winners will get to leave at 4 AM and have an hour's head start on the losers so that they can find somewhere to hide. The token is a dark green stone a few inches across either way and there's a chain looped through the top that would allow you to wear it around your neck if you so desired. Some designs are carved into it but you're not sure if that's required for it to function or if it just makes it look nice. A large "T" is carved onto the front, although you're not sure what it stands for. Maybe it means "Tan".
As 4 AM nears you're led to the southern gate of the Tan family's land and told that you're all to avoid attacking each other immediately after leaving to maintain fairness. As for the people from the other three gates, they say it's fair game if you want to try to dash for those gates immediately, although you likely have better things to do.
When it's time you hide your cultivation and...
>Immediately leave from the property towards your home.
>Stay at the gate a bit to allow anyone who would be aiming for people leaving to run into someone else.
>Try to run into the city first and then hide out for a while to see if anyone is following you. You'll lose some time but it's worth being careful.
>Other

>>3380163
>Try to run into the city first and then hide out for a while to see if anyone is following you. You'll lose some time but it's worth being careful.

>>3380163
>Try to run into the city first and then hide out for a while to see if anyone is following you. You'll lose some time but it's worth being careful.
Why would anyone aim for the peopel leaving though? Winners don't need other winners' tokens.

Rolled 19, 99, 6 = 124 (3d100)

>>3381112
>>3381380
You decide to make your way into the city as quickly as possible and hide for a bit to see if anyone could be following you. You dash forwards, trying to keep out of sight, and in short time make your way to the city's outskirts. Upon reaching them you hide in a few boxes in an out of the way alley and...
>>3381380
If you're in a team you need winners tokens for your teammates and besides that you may as well eliminate other people to reduce the competition later.

>>3382309
...you can just barely hear someone else moving around on the rooftops above you. You huddle down deeper into your hiding spot and hear them continue moving around. You can't sense any cultivators nearby though, so you find it slightly odd. Whoever it is is either below the Qi Emission Stage or they know how to suppress their cultivation. You wait for about five minutes and still don't have an indication of whether they've left or not. You...
>Decide to stay where you are and wait until you've heard some sort of departure from whoever it was.
>Jump onto the roof you heard them at to confront them.
>Try to sneak out of the alley and towards your home. (3d100)
>Other

>>3382328
>Decide to stay where you are and wait until you've heard some sort of departure from whoever it was.

>>3382328
>Try to sneak out of the alley and towards your home.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>3383301
>>3382585
I really didn't want to break this tie with rng, but oh well.

Rolled 63, 96, 15 = 174 (3d100)

>>3384409

>>3384413
You slip out from your hiding spot and begin slowly moving away from the area while keeping in mind what should and shouldn't be visible from the area you heard the noise from. After about 5 minutes you've made it a couple streets away, but at the same time you hear a very loud yell of "Where the fuck are they!" You proceed to hide for a few more minutes after this as you feel someone whose cultivation is above you move past you and further into the city.
Now free from anyone following you (as far as you know), you proceed to your room and hide your token in a hidden space under the floorboards. With your token hidden you head towards the beach and hide near the agreed upon spot. Around 5:30 AM Qiao Guo and Lian Xuo show up while chatting about something and you greet them, causing them to stop. The two of them greet you back and say "Alright, we should get to a good position by 6:00 AM so that we have a chance a tracking someone down then. If we can't track someone with a winners token down the only option is to deal with Zhaotian Heng who has essentially locked himself in the palace and publicly offered to duel anyone who shows up. None of us are able to beat him one on one, so we'll just mark that as an impossible task for the moment." Having heard this you...
>Ask how exactly the thing with Zhaotian Heng happened.
>Agree and follow them.
>Say that you may as well play the bait until then so that you can try and get some loser's tokens in the meantime. (1d100)
>Other

>>3384448
>Ask how exactly the thing with Zhaotian Heng happened.

>>3384713
You ask "Wait, how exactly did Zhaotian Heng set that up?", slightly confused. Qiao Guo then shrugs and says "He just sent a servant to inform everyone and declared that he'd be in the palace and that if anyone could defeat him in single combat they'd be allowed to have his token. I guess that he's just going to hole up in there for the entire day once he has a couple of loser's tokens."
Having heard more behind the situation you...
>Ask how exactly the thing with Zhaotian Heng happened.
>Agree and follow them.
>Say that you may as well play the bait until then so that you can try and get some loser's tokens in the meantime. (1d100)
>Suggest that you wait in front of the palace and ambush anyone who goes to fight Zhaotian Heng.
>Other

>>3384713
>Say that you may as well play the bait until then so that you can try and get some loser's tokens in the meantime. (1d100)

>>3384718
>Say that you may as well play the bait until then so that you can try and get some loser's tokens in the meantime. (1d100)

>>3384718
>Say that you may as well play the bait until then so that you can try and get some loser's tokens in the meantime. (1d100)

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>3385595
>>3386105
>>3386137

>>3387243
You talk about what to do until the next hour hits and you get some sense of where the nearest winner's token is before eventually deciding that you can play the bait while the other two wait some distance away so that people don't sense them right away. You take a visible position while letting your qi loose for quite a while but it seems that the beach isn't the best place to do this as either no one notices you or those who do decide that it's too suspicious.
After a while you hear Qiao Guo and Lian Xuo say "It's time!" before moving over to you. Qiao Guo says that the the nearest winner's token is probably a few miles to the South, in the outskirts of the city, while Lian Xuo says that the nearest token is a few miles to the North, in the countryside. After a very short discussion they agree that they must have been in the middle of the two people to sense different tokens maybe 10 feet away from each other. You...
>Suggest that you go after the person in the city.
>Suggest that you go after the person in the countryside.
>Leave it up to theme to decide.
>Suggest that you wait in front of the palace and ambush anyone who goes to fight Zhaotian Heng.
>Other

>>3387257
>Suggest that you go after the person in the countryside.

>>3387257
>>Suggest that you go after the person in the countryside.

>>3387261
>>3387690
You say that you'd prefer to go after the person in the countryside and after a few moments of deliberation the three of you decide to go there. Qiao Guo races ahead, having the highest cultivation of the three of you, while you and Lian Xuo trail behind. After about 5 minutes the two of you catch up with Qiao Guo who's currently standing on the edge of a large farm. Qiao Guo looks at the two of you and says "It's likely that whoever had the token is on this farm, I just barely sensed someone with a cultivation in the Early Body Refinement Realm nearby when I arrived here. They've either gone or suppressed their cultivation by now, but either way we'll need to investigate by going onto the property." As Qiao Guo tells the two of you where to go you...
>Object, you shouldn't be trespassing on someone's land.
>Get ready to look around.
>Insist that you should move in a group instead to minimize danger. (1d100)
>Other

>>3388335
>Get ready to look around.

>>3388335
>Insist that you should move in a group instead to minimize danger.
They might be baiting us too.
Avoiding combat is not a win condition, so we can't count on anyone to just hide and run.

>>3388335
>Insist that you should move in a group instead to minimize danger.

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>3388344
>>3388363
As Qiao Guo tells you which areas to scout out a feeling nags at you in the back of your mind and you think that it's just too dangerous to move separately right now. You speak up and...

>>3388370
...let your concerns be heard, but Qiao Guo merely shrugs and says "There's going to be some degree of risk in searching for them, but it's not like they'll be able to hide their cultivation completely, that'd be extremely odd of someone of our age. Once you sense them yell out and we'll all join you. If it makes you feel together I can narrow the search areas a little bit." Qiao Guo then proceeds to describe the smaller areas and says "Alright then, let's go." before proceeding to his area to search and then dashing forward.
You're left without much of a choice and begin searching through a few fields with scattered farm buildings. You run around...
>With your cultivation hidden to avoid being attacked.
>With your cultivation still obvious so that you have a trump card in case Qiao Guo and Lian Xuo turn on you. If they try to attack you later and don't realize you can run away without an easy way to track you it'll be invaluable.
>Other

>>3388375
>With your cultivation still obvious so that you have a trump card in case Qiao Guo and Lian Xuo turn on you. If they try to attack you later and don't realize you can run away without an easy way to track you it'll be invaluable.

>>3388375
>With your cultivation still obvious so that you have a trump card in case Qiao Guo and Lian Xuo turn on you. If they try to attack you later and don't realize you can run away without an easy way to track you it'll be invaluable.

>>3388379
>>3388385
...and begin searching without expecting too much. Near the edge of your search area, however, you faintly sense a powerful energy that seems like it's coming from someone past the Qi Emission Stage. Looking towards the direction it's coming from you see thick of grove of trees, but nobody is clearly visible. You...
>Move towards it to investigate.
>Scream out the info to alert the others.
>Silently suppress your energy and run towards the others.
>Run towards the others.
>Other

>>3388387
>Silently suppress your energy and run towards the others.

>>3388387
>Run towards the others

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>3388399
>>3388402

Rolled 36, 53, 77 = 166 (3d100)

>>3390580
You silently hide your cultivation and begin running towards the others. As you do you hear a rustling from the grove of trees and hear the sound of some branches loudly cracking as...

>>3390587
...you hear someone move into the field a short ways behind you. Luckily you're hidden within large stalks of corn and running low to the ground, preventing you from being found immediately. You move forward and manage to get to the edge of the field without incident. You then carefully move out of the field into another one and keep moving forward until you sense one person in the High Qi Emission Stage and another two people who are probably in the Body Refinement Realm. They seem to be fighting based on what you can sense. You can also sense one person in the Middle Qi Emission Stage standing a ways away from the fight, seemingly not doing much. You...
>Move towards the fighting.
>Move towards the person in the Middle Qi Emission Stage.
>Sneak towards the fighting with your cultivation suppressed. [3d100]
>Sneak towards the person in the Middle Qi Emission Stage with your cultivation suppressed. [3d100]
>Other

>>3390628
>Other
Back away and let our comrades know?

>>3391033
Qiao Guo is in the Early Body Refinement Realm and Lian Xuo is in the Late Qi Emission Stage, so you're almost certain the two fighting are them. You're not sure why they wouldn't have yelled out to let you know though.

>>3391086
Also, I'm dumb and made another typo with "High" where I meant to use Late. Yes, they mean the same thing. No, I shouldn't be using them interchangeably because it just complicates things.

>>3391086
>Sneak towards the fighting with your cultivation suppressed. [3d100]
Guess we go sneeky breeki

>>3390628
>Sneak towards the fighting with your cultivation suppressed

Rolled 88, 6, 37 = 131 (3d100)

>>3391104
>>3391133

>>3391202
You move towards the fighting as quietly you can and reach a large barn a few hundred feet away. From outside you can faintly hear the sound of fists clashing against each other but overall it's surprisingly quiet. You look around the outside of the barn for a moment before finding a hole in the wall just big enough for you to fit through about 15 feet up.
You jump upwards and grab onto the edge of the hole, crawling inwards and landing in the rafters. Inside the barn you see Qiao Guo crossing fists with a thin, rather sickly looking man you vaguely recognize from yesterday. Neither of them seem to have a clear advantage yet. Lian Xuo is standing to the side, looking rather vexed at how to intervene. As you enter and create a small noise he spots you but manages to hide any reaction before the other two can catch on.
Having successfully entered the barn without being spotted, you...
>Jump down and inform the other two on what's going on so you can get out of here.
>Wait for the fight to draw nearer to you so that you can try to sneak attack the person Qiao Guo is fighting and give him an opportunity. Since Lian Xuo spotted you he may be able to help as well. (3d100)
>Watch the fight from up here for now until a winner is decided. There's no reason to let your presence be known yet when it may end badly.
>Other

>>3391212
Wait I'm confused what are we warning them about? The people we sense ended up being our allies who got into a fight like right after we left the , yes?

>>3391248
Alright, so we have:
>One person with a cultivation above yours who's now searching for you
>One unknown person in the Middle Qi Emission Stage
>The three of you
>One person in the Early Body Refinement stage that Qiao Guo is fighting
So the person you ran from earlier isn't here now, and you sensed somebody else on your way here. Sorry if the way I've been writing this is unclear.

>>3391253
>Jump down and inform the other two on what's going on.
Maybe we should work together.

>>3391259
You jump down from your hiding place onto a bale of hay and Qiao Guo and his opponent notice you but continue fighting. You approach Lian Xuo as you hear Qiao Guo's opponent quietly hiss out "How many of these weaklings did you bring along?"
You reach Lian Xuo and inform him of the situation and his face quickly pales. He mutters for a moment before he says "It's a good thing those two have been trying to fight quietly just in case, it seems the worst case scenario is the actual one. We weren't the first here and there may be somebody who can beat us. Quick, we need to get them to stop fighting." The two of you approach the fight and Lian Xuo tells Qiao Guo to stop fighting, but he grits his teeth and says "What do you mean stop fighting, it's already too far to stop now. Give me five minutes and I'll be done here, can take his token, and then we'll be out of here. Alright? If you really want to help you can give me an opportunity to get a good attack in."
Having heard this you...
>Attempt to help Qiao Guo by attacking in concert with Lian Xuo when an opportunity presents itself. (3d100)
>Try to convince Qiao Guo that you need to get going now. (1d100)
>Go out to find the other person from the Middle Qi Emission Stage, subdue them, and see if they know anything about the other people here. You should be able to do it if you can land a sneak attack. You'll be here for a while anyways.
>Other

>>3393581
>Attempt to help Qiao Guo by attacking in concert with Lian Xuo when an opportunity presents itself
Concentration of force.

>>3393581
>Attempt to help Qiao Guo by attacking in concert with Lian Xuo when an opportunity presents itself.

Sorry for the lack of updates today, moved back to the dorms so I've been a bit swamped. I'm going to try to clear out some homework and then update later tonight before this comes too close to falling off the board.

Rolled 61, 16, 88 = 165 (3d100)

>>3394563
>>3394639
Fell asleep for a few hours while doing my homework, whoops. Updating now.

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>3397536
You and Lian Xuo take positions near the fighting while staying just far away enough to avoid being blindsided by Qiao Guo's opponent attacking either of you. About 30 seconds pass as the two continue crossing fists before the two of you spot an opportunity.
Lian Xuo gives you a hand signal and then you move forward to aim a blow to the man's manhood while Lian Xuo aims for the eyes, two places where less force is required to cause damage. The slim man then swears and moves backward to avoid the blows from the two of you. This forces him against one of the walls of the barn, making him defend against a blow from Qiao Guo without enough time to ready himself. You hear a loud cracking noise as the man is pushed backwards and shoots through the barn's wall, covered in splinters.
An intense struggle on the ground ensues and while both him and Qiao Guo are roughed up, you can see that Qiao Guo's opponent has suffered more.
As the fight ends you suddenly sense another person from at the very least the Body Refinement Realm nearing and you and and Lian Xuo tense up a bit. Before either of you can act, however, Qiao Guo puts on a smug smile and says "Lai Bai, I've delayed you more than long enough for the last member of our team to arrive. Give us your token now or you'll be injured badly enough in a two on one fight that you won't be able to try for a comeback later.
The person facing Qiao Guo...

>>3397540
...grimaces and seems to be internally debating between his options for a moment before he swears and says "Alright then, I admit my loss, but don't think this is over!" Lai Bai reaches into a pocket on his person before pulling out a winner's token and throwing it to Qiao Guo. Qiao Guo smugly looks at Lai Bai before derisively saying "Alright, now scram. Now that I have your token I may as well change my mind and knock you out of the running completely to weed out competition later." Lai Bai frowns and grumbles out a "Why...you bastard... I'll get you back later." before leaving as quickly as possible.
As Lai Bai begins to leave Qiao Guo turns to the two of you, his smug smile now replaced with a face of intense worry and frustration. He quickly says "I can already see the opponent in the distance and I can't beat them. I'll hold them off for the time being and the two of you leave with my tokens. Zhu Zhexian, you hold onto my loser's token, Lian Xuo, you hold onto my winner's token. I'll meet up with you later at our original meeting place." Qiao Guo then tosses his tokens to the two of you and runs off to meet a figure you can barely make out in the distance as the two of you begin running.
As you leave you...
>Suggest to Lian Xuo that you betray Qiao Guo. You'll have two winner's tokens and three loser's tokens, almost enough to pass the round without him.
>Suggest that you look around for the person in the Middle Qi Emission Stage from before, it could be an easy token.
>Book it towards the beach.
>Other

>>3397549
>Suggest that you look around for the person in the Middle Qi Emission Stage from before, it could be an easy token.
Maybe try and look for someone wit ha lower cultivation.

>>3397536
Should get some sleep, I'm going to bed soon too.

>>3397549
>Suggest that you look around for the person in the Middle Qi Emission Stage from before, it could be an easy token.