Wang Jun yawned. An entire day's worth of proceedings had worn him down once more with nothing to show for it. They were at an impasse, and there was little he could do to resolve it.

"I just don't see why the third prince should have the right to extract such a valuable resource," an old advisor, Sima Liang, said toward the throne. The king was seated, as usual. If he had been in any reasonable shape, the dispute would have ended quickly. Unfortunately, time had taken its toll on the old king. He was on his last legs, and everyone knew it.

"The crown prince might be the designated successor, but does this give him a right to everything under the sun?" another advisor said. "If he wanted your wife, old Sima, would you wrap her up and deliver her for his pleasure?" He was Prince Lei's mentor, Hao Bodong. While he wasn't the most powerful man, his incisive tongue was an extremely valuable asset in the court.

Sure as rain, Sima Liang seethed with rage. "How dare a miscreant like you bring my wife into this! I recommend that he be suspended for his insolence."

"Then I am to suppose that you highly value your wife?" Hao Bodong continued. "Many people would pay a lot less for her than an immortal jade mine. Yet she is out of the question because you feel so strongly. Well, that's how it is with most things, isn't it? People feel strongly about the jade mine, so that is why we are meeting to discuss. And just like the crown prince can't take your wife whenever he pleases, neither can he take this jade mine just because he fancies it."

Sima Liang didn't know how to retort.

Such meetings had gone on for weeks with little progress. Yet progress was necessary. Otherwise the crown prince's advantage would continue unimpeded and his rule uncontested.

Contest, he thought. Not a bad idea. Perhaps..

The wheels in Wang Jun's mind began turning. While the older men bickered, he calculated. It wasn't long before he stood up swiftly, looking at the throne for permission to speak. Master Bei, the king's long-time servant and most loyal supporter, waved his hand for Wang Jun to speak.

"It seems to me that this court is at an unresolvable impasse," Wang Jun said. "Yet I'm sure that everyone agrees that a resource in the ground is of no benefit to the country. A resource is best utilized, and its taxes are better in the coffers sooner rather than later. Is this a correct assumption?"

The various voices in the royal court murmured in assent.

"Then I propose the following motion," Wang Jun continued. "A competition, whose winner will decide the mining rights."

"That's irresponsible," a minister yelled. "How can such an important matter be decided with an irrelevant contest?" Many other voices agreed, but surprisingly, neither faction applying for the rights voiced their opposition.

"The contest I am speaking of is extremely relevant, gracious minister," Wang Jun said. "Will you allow me to elaborate?"

"Very well," the minister said. "But let it be known that I will not support any decision that is not beneficial to the kingdom. I don't give a damn about politics or political maneuverings."

"Thank you, minister," Wang Jun said, bowing deeply. Then, looking around the room, he began explaining his idea. "The competition that I propose will, in fact, take us closer to securing the jade mine. This will happen regardless of who gains the mining rights. The Silverwing Mountain Range is far too dangerous for either the third prince's or the crown prince's forces to take individually. The cost would be too great. This means that the kingdom would need to bear the burden of clearing the beasts to secure its tax revenue, greatly reducing the kingdom's return on investment.

"I propose that each party send over forces below core formation, with each party bearing their respective expenses. The party with the most substantial contributions to securing the mountain range will gain the mining rights, while the one with the least substantial contributions will gain nothing."

The minister, Rong Bai, looked pensive. "This is indeed a good proposition. However, I do have some concerns that must be addressed. For one, it is not beneficial for the kingdom if the competing forces fight each other. This must be prevented at all costs. That aside, how are we to decide the results of the competition?"

"I have given this a great deal of thought, Prime Minister Rong," Wang Jun said. "And I fully agree with you that our forces must not fight each other and should direct their attention on the demonic beasts within the mountain range. To mitigate the chances of such treachery, I propose that a core-formation arbiter be sent to oversee the competition. Should one side willfully cause damage to the other, the offending party would be disqualified from the competition.

"At the same time, the supervisor shall keep a tally of accomplishments. I understand that it is difficult to be exact when judging contributions. If one side kills three-quarters of the beasts but loses nine-tenths of their forces, while the other kills one quarter of the beasts but loses one-tenth, it is clear which side has achieved an excellent result and which one has suffered disastrous losses.

"Further, killing beasts may not be the only way of resolving this issue. There are countless stratagems that can achieve a similar result, and I do not dare claim to be all-knowing. That is why I suggest the supervisor also be the judge of the competition, responsible for choosing the winner. If the result is a tie, we can only see this as the heavens themselves being undecided, and at that point we can simply decide the result by drawing lots. What are your thoughts, Prime Minister Rong?"

The older man pondered for a moment before nodding. "This is a good suggestion. But who do you propose be the judge? Among all present, I daresay that I would only trust the king's judgment. However, he is much needed in the kingdom at this time.."

This was a diplomatic way of addressing the king's current ill health without degrading his dignity. The man was impeccable to a fault, and practically an embodiment of justice. As a result, he had maintained his post as the prime minister for the past twenty years.

"Why, I am surprised that you should ask," Wang Jun said, raising his eyebrow. "After all, I think the only man aside from the king whose judgment all ministers trust unconditionally is your esteemed self. In fact, I believe both the crown prince and the third prince would testify to this point. Isn't that right, my princes?"

The third prince nodded in assent, forcing the crown prince to do the same.

"Very well, I accept this proposition," Prime Minister Rong said. "Who is in favor?"

One by one, the ministers forming the king's government stood up in unanimous support. The two princes, the only others with any authority on the matter, stood up as well. Wang Jun's eyes flickered when he also saw the king's hand tremble and lift ever so slightly.

"The matter is finalized. The competition will start in one week's time at the outskirts of the Silverwing Mountain Range. Spend your time wisely."

***

"How could you propose such a competition without at least warning me?" Prince Lei said angrily. Wang Jun smiled wryly at the uncharacteristic outburst from the usually calm man.

"Your Highness, you trust me, don't you?" Wang Jun said deferentially. The prince's agitation lessened somewhat. Wang Jun sat down and began brewing tea, giving the man more time to calm his rage.

"A stalemate was not advantageous to us," Wang Jun explained. "If the situation had continued, we would have been at a disadvantage in the eventual power struggle.

"My actions today used the practical nature of our prime minister to our advantage, breaking the stalemate. Make no mistake, it comes at great risk. Not only are we competing for the mining rights, but we risk severe casualties in the process. However, I still believe that such a competition is to our advantage."

"And why would that be?" Prince Lei asked.

"Prince Lei, let us examine our respective advantages," Wang Jun said. "Firstly, we have superior weaponry. We control the majority of weaponsmithing in the kingdom, and we have ample resources with which to arm our forces. Speaking of forces, most of ours are private forces while the crown prince controls much of the military. However, the military also belongs to the country.."

"Therefore, the crown prince cannot use them in this struggle," Prince Lei said, nodding. "I understand now. We have more investors on our side with which to hire more private forces. Meanwhile, the crown prince will need to beg and exchange favors with the nobility, a much more difficult task. However, they do have their advantages."

"Nothing is perfect, my prince," Wang Jun said. "They have an advantage in life-savings pills. They also have better relationships with veterans and retired generals, courageous people with iron veins. Also, the nobility's forces tend to be one step stronger and more loyal than hired hands. Still, I believe our odds of prevailing in this conflict are greater than eighty percent. That is, unless.."

Prince Lei frowned. "Unless what?"

"Your Highness, there may be some external interference in this competition," Wang Jun said. "If other kingdoms meddle and contribute forces or funds in secret, our advantage will be reduced. Therefore we must muster our forces and end this conflict quickly. The longer it drags out, the less advantageous the situation becomes."

***

Wang Jun returned to the Jade Bamboo Auction House after his conversation with the third prince. After giving several instructions to Elder Bai and Protector Ren, he retreated to his room and retrieved his core-transmission jade.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

One hundred breaths passed before Cha Ming's image appeared. "My friend, it's been a few weeks since we last spoke," Cha Ming said with a smile.

"I'll admit, I've been busy," Wang Jun said. "How did it go?"

"Passed with flying colors, of course," Cha Ming said. "You're looking at a genuine lesser-grade talisman master."

"Skipped over least-grade, I see," Wang Jun said, relaxing a little. With his status, Cha Ming would be able to lend him a hand in the upcoming conflict. "That's wonderful news. What do you plan to do next?"

Cha Ming pondered for a moment before answering. "There are two things I must do. First, I must secure medicinal pills and break through to at least mid-foundation establishment. Unfortunately, I am greatly lacking in battle techniques. In addition, I am concerned with the large amount of formations that appeared in the Song Kingdom during the Fairweather incident. I wish to find a formation master and learn to break formations. Otherwise we may be at a great disadvantage."

"You've matured," Wang Jun said with a smile. "In the past, you would always ask me for direction and advice. Now you know how to make your own decisions."

Cha Ming shrugged. "What can I say, I've been through a lot."

"Fair enough," Wang Jun said. "If you're going to study formations, you'll need to find yourself a teacher. Unfortunately, the occupation is rather rare. There is no formation master guild in Quicksilver, so I can only recommend you try and join the Alabaster Group or the Obsidian Syndicate. Coincidentally, I have a matter there that requires your aid."

"Do tell," Cha Ming said.

"It's like this," Wang Jun said. "Do you remember the jade mine I mentioned? It's located in the Silverwing Mountain Range."

"Silverwing?" A perplexed look appeared on Cha Ming's apparition. "Does it have nine mountain peaks, each with a mysterious jade plate? One of the mountains has a tall spire that rises up above the others?"

"You're familiar with it, then?" Wang Jun asked, surprised.

Cha Ming shook his head. "I had a dream about it. I saw a bird called Silverwing and a mouse that devoured purple lightning. I saw a lion with brown scales overseeing an unnatural plain."

"You mean the silver creature that no one can identify? And the Reptilian Lion Sovereign?" Wang Jun said, shocked. "If I didn't know you better, I would guess you were a seer. But no, there must be a reason for your dreams." Wang Jun then explained the details of the competition.

"I need your help in securing superior cultivators for the expedition," Wang Jun concluded. "And to do that, you need to join either of the groups I mentioned. This will give you the ability to issue missions and more easily recruit their upper-tier forces if needed. I'm not sure if we'll need them in the end, but I need options."

"I heard these organizations are only open to those who receive invitations," Cha Ming said.

"You should receive an invitation from the Obsidian Syndicate shortly," Wang Jun said. "They have very loose rules and sell their services to the highest bidder. They believe in making money over anything. However, they aren't exactly a savory bunch. If possible, it would be best if you can join the Alabaster Group. Their members are of higher quality and of better moral standing. Hiring the Obsidian Syndicate would have me walking on eggshells."

Cha Ming nodded. "Not a problem. I've heard of both organizations, of course. I intended to pay them both a visit. I heard it's possible to purchase advanced techniques there. The only problem is securing an invitation to the Alabaster Group."

Wang Jun nodded. "Only the Obsidian Syndicate would sell its techniques. The Alabaster Group is much stricter, and money doesn't get you far in their organization. I must warn you that you probably won't like the Obsidian Syndicate. I finally finished my research on the man named Xiao Heilong."

Cha Ming frowned.

"He is a member their organization, though they don't really care if their members kill each other. Regardless, I discovered that he paid a member of his organization to divine your location and lock it into a compass. He has been absent for many months on an unknown assignment. He could return at any time."

"How did you obtain this news?" Cha Ming asked.

"I bought it from the Obsidian Syndicate, of course," Wang Jun replied dryly.

Cha Ming wrinkled his nose. "I hate them already."