Tao the Traveller, connoisseur of tournaments, man of the world, and definitely not a teller of tall tales—he barely embellished some of the more boring ones—was currently waiting in a Chao Baozi in the aptly-named Dueling Town of the Azure Hills for one of his contacts. His eyes roved all over the restaurant and its patrons; from the tables carved with stunning works of art featuring cultivators performing various feats of strength to the multitude of cultivators themselves, all from different sects, sitting around and chatting with each other. Normally this place would be a hive of tension. Separate sects glaring from across the room at each other, one comment or insult provoking a fight… that would sometimes spiral into something more. Those were exciting tales. The push and pull of rivalry, the little skirmishes in the shadows of their elders, this was where stars were born and extinguished amongst the younger generation! This was where he could weave a tale that had everyone listening, the taverns and inns silent as patrons hung onto every word of his dramatic retelling! But there was no tension here, no rivalries about to erupt into the passionate flame of combat. Here, there was peace. And that, too, was something that he could craft a tale from. He had always been more interested in the lower ranks of cultivators—You could actually watch them move with your naked eye, instead of seeing flashes that had to be replayed on recording crystals. It made tournaments more enjoyable for him to watch, when he could actually see