"Sudden Death! In the first round?" Ham Song shrieked. "How in the hell is that fair!"

"It isn't," Bodhi said, calm despite the bad news. It was exactly as they feared. They were back to chewing on their thumbnails as they watched the Old Master Laozhi bow to the astonished crowd after declaring the decision. Then with a sweep of his massive sleeves, the old sun clone returned to his seat among the other judges.

Ham Song released one disapproving snort after the other. Over the boos and grumbles of the crowds, he asked, "So monk, what do you plan to do if things don't go well in this round?"

It would seem, Dear Traveler, that Ham Song was coming around on the idea of cheating.

"Nothing," Bodhi said, sinking out of the crouch and relaxing into the seat. Though they had stopped biting their nails, all of that suppressed nervous energy went into bouncing their leg.

The pig's bristly eyebrows practically merged in disagreement. "You know, one word answers like that can make you sound wise in the moment, but now it's just getting on my nerves. You've got to have a better solution than that."

Bodhi folded their hands over their lap and looked up at the band of sky visible through the opening in the stadium ceiling.

"Do you remember when I threw that punch at Ritsu on Ripe Peach Mountain and he didn't flinch? You tried to skewer me afterwards if you recall."

Ham Song gave a noncommittal grunt. He remembered.

Bodhi went on. "Well, my hunch hasn't gone away. Ritsu has incredible reflexes. This part of the competition doesn't require any skill other than to not get drop-kicked off the platform. That and staying very clear of Sun Tie Quan. The guy clearly has it out for him."

Ham Song snorted. "If you're so confident then why can't you sit still?"

Bodhi briefly closed their eyes. "Because usually in these situations, I have something to calm my nerves."

"Can you shut up? They're going over the rules!"

"It's quite simple, Dan. The contenders have to rely on their staff in order to stay on the platform. Whether that means using it as a form of defense or offense is completely up to them. The point is to favor the staff instead of relying on personal brute strength or some flashy power."

"Okay, okay. I think I get it, Chow. So contestants can have a more defensive method where they might, say, use their staff to stay rooted to one spot on the platform. Or they could go full attack mode and knock off as many other challengers as they can. Is that right?"

"That's correct, Dan."

"And If I'm not mistaken, Chow, the judges have decided on drawing the line at eight contenders to move on to the remaining trials. We have close to a hundred sun clones out here today. So that's going to be a pretty big cut."

"That's an understatement, Dan. For more than ninety percent of the contenders you see here today, this will be their last time standing on the grounds of the Divine Cave of Three Stars."

"Sweet immortal peaches, seems kind of sad when you put it like that."

While the sportscasters prattled on, the edges of the arena floor shifted and folded before lifting up into the sky. Both Bodhi and Ham Song swallowed lumps in their throats as they watched their benevolent monkey king fumble with his jade earring. Other clones warmed up their bodies. Quarterstaves twirled in preparation.

"He can't even get the damn thing out of his ear. We're so done for," Ham Song despaired.

The sound of the platform cranking higher towards the ceiling was overtaken by the panicked, uneven breathing of Sun Seven bursting into the aisle.

"Sifu! Sifu! We are in some very deep tiger shit!"

Bodhi tore their gaze away from the elevated platform and did their best to remain calm.

"Where's my ice?"

As if he hadn't heard them, Seven barked, "Sifu, listen up!"

The sun clone ungracefully climbed over Ham Song to get closer to Bodhi with the intel he'd gathered.

"It's about Sun Tie Quan. He can call and send his quarterstaff wherever he wants it to go."

Ham Song snuffed, "Okay, so he has a gimmick. What's so bad about that?"

"It's bad," Bodhi whispered. "With a technique like that, you can make the most unremarkable wooden staff become your own personal shot cannon."

"His accuracy is off the charts," Seven added, wiping the sweat from his forehead. As if things weren't bad enough.

Bodhi felt like they were sweating bullets too. Only eight slots left and no time to think! They had to do something before this whole thing started.

The monk inhaled sharply before they shot to their feet and vaulted their body over the seats and into the main aisle.

Racing to the edge of the spectators section, they let all of that saved up air go as they shouted, "Sun Ritsu!"

Once they got Ritsu's attention, Bodhi bellowed, "Whatever you do, don't tense up! Relax your muscles! If you get hit, just roll with it!"

Ritsu stared down at Bodhi with wide eyes, clearly not ready for what was about to happen. Still, he affirmed with a nod before taking a step back away from the edge of the platform.

There was nothing else Bodhi could do. They would just have to pray that Ritsu survived the trial — this impossible trial.

Sun Ritsu was grateful for Bodhi's final words of advice. Even though it wasn't much, he found it a comfort to hold on to something useful as the platform slowly ascended into the sky.

The moment went sour when a challenger off to the side snickered, "Does that human even know what she's talking about?"

They, Ritsu wanted to say, but the sun clone had already turned his attention elsewhere.

{{Get your head in the game, Ri-kun!}}

Right. Ritsu looked around at the competition. The higher the platform rose, the more fired up the contestants got. One very young monkey spirit held his staff parallel to the floor while he performed a series of knee-to-chest hops.

Another spirit was in a low, slanted crouch, flexing her life-sized paintbrush.

That must be the form her staff takes, Ritsu thought.

Her expression was pure concentration despite the stray tendrils that swept across her vision.

{{Maybe you should stop ogling and figure out how you're going to be in the top eight.}}

Ritsu tried to unfasten the jade quarterstaff from his ear. "As soon as I figure out how not to get knocked off of this thing, I'll let you know."

{{Coward.}}

At this point, Sun Ritsu was wishing he had kept his mouth shut because the platform was only getting higher and the earring wasn't coming off.

As for the other contenders, tails that were once swinging languidly behind them were now coiling snugly around each monkey's midsection.

Ritsu had yet to unhinge his only weapon from his ear while everyone else already had their staff out and ready to go. Our hopeless hero was doing everything he could to remember Bodhi's advice.

Relax. Relax. Relax your muscles. Don't tense up!

Sailor Sun's cheery voice suddenly blared through the speakers.

"Ready... Set... Let the trial begin!"

Sun Ritsu's world came to a tilt and he thought he was going to be sick.

"So it would appear that we have a contender with a sumo-wrestling style of fighting. Looks like he's using the weight of his staff balanced across his shoulders to seesaw the platform from side to side. That's one way to eliminate your less surefooted enemies, huh, Chow."

"But Dan, there's a catch. See how it leaves that contender wide open for an attack. Sun Yong Kid just swooped in on his pogo stick staff and fired a decisive blow to the sumo wrestler."

Sun Ritsu held on to the anchors' every word as he staggered his way through the chaos. Luckily those who wanted to fight only challenged other sun clones who were willing to throw down. Ritsu went simply ignored for the most part.

{{No one even wants to challenge you because of how pathetic you are. Do better!}}

"What are you trying to say?" Ritsu panted as he avoided being skewered by two quarterstaves clashing above his head. "That you'll help me out if I just punch someone in the face that I don't even know!"

{{That would be unwise. You should punch a face that you do know. Like that blue-haired oaf from before.}}

Sun Tie Quan.

The thought wasn't so much a reply to the Golden-Hooped Rod's suggestion, but rather a moment of cold hard instinctual response. Amidst the tilting and jolting of everything around him, Sun Ritsu had sensed a presence targeting him specifically. Somehow in that moment, he knew.

Sun Ritsu turned.

Something was coming his way.

"Sorry we're late," Sun Bai said as he removed his waist-jacket and took his seat among his serpentine business partners.

While tea was being poured and Bai was getting caught up on the events beyond the glass-encased club lounge, Anari took her place just outside of where they sat, along with the other assassins accompanying their respective professionals. They all greeted each other with the subtlest of nods. There would be time to catch up with her associates later when they were not on duty.

How like Sun Bai to use a sporting event as a chance to talk business. While he was getting comfortable with his contemporaries, Anari was trying to process everything that she had learned on that unsettling monorail ride.

The spider spirit admitted that she only recently became aware that being a part of Bai's growing monolith for so long had put her in close proximity with the inner workings of something big. Something that not only could, but was actively trying to take over the Ninth Heaven. When did it happen, Anari wondered. When had Bai gone from wanting a fair, functioning spirit world to wanting complete control?

"It appears that we have a nice mix of both traditional and nontraditional staff wielding styles this year, Dan."

Anari lifted her gaze from the bosses deep in conversation and out at the sudden death disaster taking place on the other side of the glass. She would have switched her attention back to her primary objective if not for the twinkle of something slender and jade on the platform.

Anari almost let her jaw slip open. She caught herself and blinked instead. All eight of her eyes adjusted under her glamour before she focused them intentionally on what she prayed was just a play of the light.

~ Rainbow koi in flight...

She remembered a festival celebrating peaches.

~ Constant light bouncing off their scales onto smooth tiled walls of a shallow domain...

She remembered a heaven hall devoted to perfect light.

~ Bouncing back again,

And the spirit who shared these moments with her–

~ in prismatic radiance...

He was right in front of her.

~ Fruity nectar ten thousand years in the making drips from his handsome god king lips

She could not believe it.

~ As he watches the rainbow scales fight for dominance.