A crowd had gathered around the banner.
Inside the circle, a man with a swallow mask—Yanzi Head—clasped his fists to the crowd. "By my master’s order, I am hosting this Life Play," he announced. "Once it begins, everything will be decided by the Fate Box. Even I cannot interfere. Since this is just a test for Lower-Grade Fate Masters, it will consist of only three rounds. Completing each round will earn you a Fate Skill. The final winner will receive the complete Magic Text of our Life-Seeking Sect’s *Life-Seeking Technique*, which must not be passed on to others. To encourage new talents in the Life Realm, only Lower-Grade Fate Masters are allowed to join. Your eligibility will be determined by the Fate Box. If you do not wish to participate, please step back. If you do, please come closer and stand before me."
The crowd shifted, some moving back and others forward, until more than a hundred people stood by the banner.
Li Qingxian stood with White Deer Head and Parrot Head.
Parrot Head wrenched his head away, trying not to look at Li Qingxian, but couldn’t resist sneaking glances.
Guo Xiang’s voice transmission reached him with a warning: "Since there are three rounds, it’s likely a linked Life Play. You need to consider the bigger picture..."
Guo Xiang explained quickly, and Li Qingxian carefully committed it all to memory.
To Yanzi Head’s left stood the Nine-Striped Banner, and to his right was an ordinary yellow wooden table.
In the center of the yellow wooden table sat a redwood box with a bronze lock, about the size of a brick.
The bronze lock was dull, dotted with specks of green rust. The box’s red lacquer was mottled and peeling, revealing the blackened wood beneath.
"Is there anyone else?" Yanzi Head asked.
No one answered. Yanzi Head opened the bronze lock and lifted the wooden box’s lid.
A mirror inside the lid flashed, and a torrent of white light erupted, enveloping everyone in front of him.
A moment later, the white light swept past. Over twenty people were left standing where they were; the rest had vanished.
The twenty-odd masked people looked at each other, shaking their heads and sighing.
The mirror in the box flashed again, shooting a beam of white light straight up that wove itself into a light screen.
Everyone looked up and saw the Lower-Grade Fate Masters on the light screen, standing in a training ground enclosed by four walls.
Li Qingxian looked around curiously. There was a blue sky with white clouds, but no sun.
High walls of black stone stood tall and straight on all four sides, without a single door or window.
The training ground enclosed by the high walls was about a hundred zhang square, its green stone floor spotless.
Directly ahead stood rows upon rows of Stone Men. Carved from coarse stone, their bodies were a dusty gray. They were as tall as a person and arranged in twenty rows and twenty columns, four hundred in total.
Many people began to murmur amongst themselves. Parrot Head said in a low voice, "They’re Destiny Gentlemen."
At that moment, the lead Stone Man walked forward stiffly, bowed its head slightly in a salute, and said, "This round of the Life Play is ’Observing the Destiny Gentleman.’ Each of you must choose any Destiny Gentleman besides myself. You will then perform Observing Fate and Qi to divine three things about it: its past, its present, and its future. You have a quarter hour. Success will allow you to proceed to the second round. Everyone will receive an All-Purpose Jade Token, which can be used in place of Life Materials to cast Fate Skills. No other Life Materials are permitted."
Li Qingxian looked down and saw an extra jade pendant hanging from his waist, engraved with the character for "myriad."
Only a few Fate Masters rushed over, hastily picked a Stone Man, and began. The majority, however, remained where they were, observing.
Li Qingxian knew that every Fate Sect had Destiny Gentlemen for their disciples to practice on.
Ordinary Destiny Gentlemen were little more than puppets, their fake Fate Grids formed from condensed Magical Power and Fate Skills. Only the Fate Grids of true, living Destiny Gentlemen were real.
Li Qingxian first activated Covering Eyes, then Deceitful Dragon. Before him, all the Destiny Gentlemen erupted in golden light.
Above the head of every Destiny Gentleman, various Qi Fortune phenomena of the Twelve Longevity phases appeared.
A drop of water, a hat, an Official Seal, a chair—these represented the four auspicious phases: Longevity, Crown and Sash, Approaching Officer, and Emperor’s Prosperity, respectively.
Swords, dry bones, a graveyard, a void—these represented the four ominous phases: Decline, Death, Tomb, and Extinction.
An old tree, a withered leaf, a patch of earth, a tender sprout—these represented the four neutral phases: Waning, Sickness, Conception, and Nurturing.
It was Li Qingxian’s first time participating in a Life Play. Recalling Guo Xiang’s advice, he blinked, and his vision filtered out all the ominous and neutral Qi Fortunes.
A moment later, of the four hundred Stone Men, only fifty-odd still displayed their Qi Fortune.
’Emperor’s Prosperity is good, but it could signify a turn from peak prosperity to decline. If this were a single round, I’d choose it. But considering the entire game, Emperor’s Prosperity should be eliminated.’
In the end, only thirty-two Stone Men remained whose Qi Fortune was in the Longevity, Crown and Sash, or Approaching Officer states.
Next, he recited the Observing Fate Technique, and Magical Power surged in his eyes.
At the same time, streaks of light flashed among the other Fate Masters as all sorts of radiances soared through the air.
Their Life Artifacts had transformed into light.
Some were like pinballs, bouncing continuously above the heads of the Stone Men.
Some were like suns, shining down on every Stone Man from high above.
Some Fate Masters’ eyes flashed with light.
One Fate Master unveiled a large disc from his back, which floated before him, its various layers rotating and shining with golden light.
Li Qingxian glanced at White Deer Head next to him. With a lift of his right hand, White Deer Head sent out a beam of white light that transformed into a round pane of glass before him. He peered through it, looking ahead.
The people nearby cast envious glances at White Deer Head.
That was the famous but rare Celestial Gazing Mirror, one of the best Life Artifacts for Observing Qi.
Then, to everyone’s astonishment, stream after stream of light flew out from White Deer Head’s side—a full six Life Artifacts.
Li Qingxian feigned a similar display, summoning his Destiny Measuring Ruler. A white light shot out and flew about erratically in the sky, obscuring the Life Artifact from others’ view.
After observing the Qi Fortune, Li Qingxian, like everyone else, began to silently recite his clan’s Observing Fate Mantra.
When the Observing Fate Technique was complete, Li Qingxian looked up and saw a Life Mansion appear above the heads of the three hundred and ninety-nine Stone Men.
Li Qingxian blinked, and all the dilapidated Life Mansions—the ordinary wooden huts, stone houses, and the like—disappeared from his sight.
In the end, only thirty-seven Life Mansions remained, each emitting a faint glow.
Four of these Life Mansions were the most exceptional. They had red walls, black tiles, and were resplendent in gold and jade, with carved beams, painted rafters, and upturned eaves. Though they were a far cry from Ye Han’s Jinluan Hall, they still resembled a Marquis Mansion.
Li Qingxian walked forward slowly, contemplating which of the four Stone Men with great Fate Grids to choose.
The gates to these four "Marquis Mansion" Life Mansions were tightly shut. To perform Observing Qi and Fortune on them, he would have to expend some Qi Fortune Fish.
Just as Li Qingxian was thinking, White Deer Head suddenly strode forward, dashed up to one of the Stone Men with a great Fate Grid, and selected it as his Destiny Gentleman.
A misty screen of light appeared before the Stone Man, on which the results of the Divination had to be written.
White Deer Head recalled three of his Life Artifacts, then sent out three new ones. With six Life Artifacts in total—some visible, some as mere glows—he began his inference to determine its fate.
’This guy...’ Li Qingxian thought, glancing at White Deer Head. There was no time to waste. He started walking forward, observing the three remaining Stone Men with great Fate Grids.
Each Stone Man had its Eight Characters of Birth carved on its chest.
Li Qingxian did a quick calculation and gave up on the nearest Stone Man with a great Fate Grid. Its Fate Grid was suffused with overwhelming Evil Qi; even without seeing its Destiny Star, he knew it wasn’t a good match for him.
Li Qingxian looked at the other two, only to see a beaming man in a panda mask walk straight up to one of the remaining great-Fate-Grid Stone Men and select it without performing Observing Fate and Qi or using any Life Artifacts.
That left only one for Li Qingxian.
’Not using any Fate Skills, just relying on luck? A person with strong fortune?’ Li Qingxian made a mental note of Panda Head and headed straight for the last remaining Stone Man with a great Fate Grid. Without bothering to check its Destiny Star, he slapped his hand on it, and a white, misty screen of light appeared before him.
Li Qingxian first used a Fate Skill for Divination.
This Destiny Gentleman’s Life Mansion was powerful, shielding its Destiny Stars. In the end, he could only divine that it had two Destiny Stars—one smooth-sailing type Celestial Destiny Star and one studious type Human Destiny Star. He was also only able to deduce that it had encountered a water-related disaster in its childhood. He could not deduce anything else.
Li Qingxian glanced at White Deer Head, who was already writing on the Stone Man’s light screen. He had actually managed to deduce the result already with his six Life Artifacts.
Looking around at the others, he saw that most had already made their choices and begun their Divination. Only a few were still observing.