From the perspective of Zhuge Su Yeon
Naturally, I had no intention of sending all my sisters into battle.
That would have been madness — and, frankly, political suicide.
The upcoming tournament was not a mere ceremonial event; it was a proving ground.
A place where talent and strength were not only tested but judged by every eye in the empire.
Any mistake, any display of weakness, would stain not only their names... but the name Zhuge itself.
That's why the selection had to be precise.
Among my twenty-seven sisters, twenty-five had already stepped onto the path of cultivation.
That alone was impressive — but not all were born for battle.
Some devoted themselves to spiritual medicine, others to rune arts, alchemy, ancient music, or one of the many auxiliary disciplines.
For them, cultivation was a means of balance and discipline, not a weapon of war.
But the tournament was not a place for balance.
It was a place for blood, sweat, and survival.
Of those twenty-five cultivators, only ten had ventured into the path of combat.
And even among those ten, only six could truly take part in this tournament.
Those six would be the chosen ones.
Unfortunately, I did not know them as well as I wished.
Our clan was vast — and among so many sisters, it was impossible to be close to all.
Yet, when I closed my eyes and let memory speak, their faces began to surface, one by one — vivid, marked by expressions and postures that spoke louder than words.
Zhuge Renya — the eldest among the six.
With reddish-brown hair and a gaze of steel, Renya was the living image of discipline.
Always standing tall, arms crossed as if the world itself were under constant judgment.
She was known for her rigidity and for a sense of honor that bordered on military.
Something she had likely inherited from her mother.
Her affinity was metal, and her fighting style was direct, heavy, and tactical — long swords, light armor, duels of endurance rather than swift strikes.
Renya believed true strength lay in stability.
Zhuge Ayra — blonde as sunlight, and just as fierce as lightning.
Ayra had always been... peculiar.
Few could speak with her without feeling a certain unease.
She carried a tempest within her, and her golden eyes literally sparked when angered.
Her bond with lightning was innate — and her fighting style, devastating.
Ayra never waited for the enemy to come to her; she was the attack itself.
Swift, ruthless, and nearly impossible to restrain, she fought as if every strike were a final sentence.
Zhuge Mira — with silver hair and pale blue eyes, was Ayra's perfect opposite.
Calm, rational, and observant, Mira rarely spoke more than necessary.
But when she wielded her spear, it was as if she danced.
Her mastery over ice was absolute, and she used it with surgical precision.
Mira did not win through strength but through control.
Wherever she passed, the air grew colder and time seemed to slow.
She was the kind of warrior who favored efficiency over brutality.
Zhuge Lianhua — black-haired, with deep blue eyes, was perhaps the most elegant of them all.
Graceful, cultured, her presence bordered on regal.
Yet beneath that refined exterior lay something dangerous.
Her command over the element of water granted her a near-poetic versatility — she could heal, suffocate, or destroy with equal precision.
She fought with twin spiritual swords forged from condensed water, blending close-quarters combat with elemental manipulation.
Among them all, she was the most unpredictable.
Zhuge Mei Lin — red-haired, lilac-eyed, and always smiling, was the type to confuse her opponent with charm before striking.
Light-footed, teasing, and agile, she resembled the legendary heroines of old.
Her power came from fire, and her fighting style was purely offensive — short, rapid, impulsive movements, yet lethally precise.
Mei Lin shared an almost emotional bond with the flames.
She used to say, "The fire that destroys is also the one that warms."
Perhaps that was why she could be both a threat and an inspiration.
And lastly…
Zhuge Fei.
The youngest of the six.
With long green hair and eyes just as vivid, Fei radiated energy in every motion.
Her laughter was light, yet her presence in battle was anything but innocent.
Among all of them, she was the fastest — a green blur beneath the moonlight.
Her command over wind made her movements unpredictable, almost impossible to follow.
Fei never faced her enemies head-on; she surrounded them, cut through them, vanished, and reappeared when it was already too late.
Watching Fei fight was like watching a storm in motion.
Six sisters.
Six elements.
Six distinct forces — each with a style and a spirit reflecting the Zhuge Empire itself: beautiful, powerful, and dangerous.
Now my mission was to mold these six storms into something unified.
To turn individuality into harmony.
And for that, I would have to choose carefully:
the right techniques for each of them.
By luck — or perhaps by destiny — the hidden library was vast enough for me to find something worthy of them all.
That underground hall was not just a collection of scrolls.
It was a living archive.
Techniques, treatises, chronicles of forgotten battles, manuals of cultivation sealed for generations — all rested there, buried under layers of dust and ancient spiritual energy.
Every book seemed to whisper, every seal to pulse as I passed by, as if the empire's very history was watching me in silence, deciding whether I was worthy to touch it.
I had already spent days wandering that place, studying its shelves —
and now, it was finally time to put that to use.