As if loosed from an arrow, a young man flew forward so quickly he left behind a strong swirl of wind on either side of his path, sweeping away any dirt that had accumulated on the stage. Like a battering ram, he barreled toward Liang intent on destroying him in one blow.
However, to Liang it looked comically slow. The straightforward attack was easy to defend against, even when the young man manifested a drill at the end of his Guandao. The weapon landed on Liang’s shield like it struck a mountain and was unable to move forward at all. His hands slid down the pole and he stumbled several steps in Liang’s direction.
After activating an array to dull the blade of his sword, Liang slammed it down on the collarbone of the young man, knocking him to the ground where he eventually forfeited. The battle ended quickly, as each of Liang’s battles before had, and it left him feeling as if it was a waste of time.
Shortly after the city lord finished his opening speech, the competitors broke off into groups of thirty based on their registration numbers. The elders split the stage into nine equal parts using qi barriers, which created separate area’s to hold matches, and limited the time for each battle to an incense stick.
Although there was no set day for the tournament to end, Liang guessed it would continue for four or five days and it would be impossible for 10 groups of 30 to finish on the first day. Many, just like him, tried to end their fights quickly but some of the fights concluded only after the elders voted on the victor.
Because of the convoluted rules, the process was incredibly slow and the old man did not bother sticking around to watch. Instead, he left Liang behind telling him there were things he wanted to check on. With so many vendors and bookmakers in the arena, Liang thought the old man was unable to control his urge to swindle some of them.
His group was the second set of 30 called to the stage and he understood the old man’s impatience. The first group took nearly 2 hours to determine their top ten and his group was no quicker. At the current rate, the second round competitors would not be decided until the following afternoon.
After another hour and two more rounds of fighting, Liang received the final challenge allowed in his group. It was his sixth match and fourth challenge, two more fights than anyone else had. The murmurs made it clear to him that defeating his opponents so quickly brought the misunderstanding that he was winning by luck.
His opponent this time was a cocky young man named Shen Ping with fair skin and long black hair. He only fought once before and lost but he was memorable due to his weapon and the insults he sprayed at free martial artists. It was the first time Liang had seen such a beautiful musical instrument and he only knew of their use through legends, as the old man never trained him on them.
Were it not for his views on combat between men and women, Shen Ping most likely would have won his previous fight. Unfortunate for him, his opponent was a young, innocent looking girl and he was unwilling to harm her. Instead, he acted as if he was her senior brother and the fight was actually a training exercise.
When the two fought, Liang watched him use the zither to create illusions while the girl dodged the visions in her mind. Occasionally Shen Ping would release a qi blade in her direction; though it was clear he had no intention to strike her, and he gave her tips on how to break the illusion. It was an odd exchange that led roars of laughter from the crowd.
Ready to wipe away the embarrassing performance, Shen Ping walked onto the stage and snorted in disgust towards Liang. He wore fancy gold, orange, and white robes showing his affiliation with a powerful sect and displayed his zither proudly. After reaching the opposite side of the stage, he sat down placing the instrument on his lap and began mocking Liang.
“Humph, so my opponent’s nothing more than a country bumpkin. A bumpkin who dares to challenge The Heaven Blessed Peach Blossom Tree of the Five Mountains and Seven Lakes of Heavenly Virtue and Peace Sect. Trash like you is nothing more than a stain on the street and this father here has always walked over such stains.”
Liang thought Shen Ping’s words were truly impressive and the founder of his sect must have been an incredible person. Although the long name did not strike fear in an opponent, it painted a stunning image and had the word heaven in its name twice. His logic was also amazing. He was the one to challenge Liang; however, he somehow turned it around as if Liang was begging for an opportunity.
From Shen Ping’s words, Liang noted he was a tricky opponent; one he could not afford to underestimate. Wishing to show his deference, he responded in genuine praise, “Your sect’s name is incredibly fancy. So are your robes and weapon. My master’s told me a lot about fancy things, but I do not believe him and look forward to witnessing your skill first hand.”
Shen Ping misunderstood Liang’s words and turned his nose towards the air telling him, “Well, it appears your no name master has some understanding of his place in this world unlike you. For not honoring your master this grandfather here will teach you in his place. It’s best to show the world how low trash like you is on the martial scale.”
Liang did not try to clear up the misunderstanding; instead, he nodded in approval at Shen Ping’s words. To him, this was how an arrogant young master should act. When he was a child, he often dreamt of joining the Warring Crane Sect and acting like Shen Ping. He imagined himself Insulting people on the streets while stealing dragons beard candy out of the mouths of children, the core tenets of sect disciples. Sadly, his dreams died on a sunny day with falling black powder.
Shen Ping continued to insult Liang and only stopped when the announcer arrived to tell them to prepare themselves. He placed his hand on one of the zither strings while Liang crouched low, gripping his sword tight and wrapping a layer of qi around his body. At the sound of the gong, a qi blade flew from the zither and Liang sprung forward at an incredible speed.
Instantly Liang was transported to a serene waterfall shrouded in warm mist and blue butterflies. The humid air smelled like lavender and beautiful women without clothes swam elegantly in the pool of warm water in front of him. The scene was so real he assumed Shen Ping conjured the image from his mind, most likely a memory of spying on female disciples bathing.
Almost as quickly as it appeared, the illusion was shattered and Liang landed his sword only a fingers width away from the now fleeing Shen Ping. The qi blades were unable to cause any harm and with his mind free from the deception, Liang twisted his body and slammed his leg into Shen Ping’s side, launching him across the stage into the barrier.
The match ended with very little tension and Shen Ping convulsing on the ground. After the announcer checked he was not mortally injured, he named Liang as the victor and told him he would advance to second round. He was happy to move forward, but he felt as though he gained very little from each of his fights.
Before walking away Liang decided to clear up the earlier misunderstanding and told Shen Ping, “My master told me fancy names and shiny objects were b*******. I keep hoping to prove that old man wrong, but sadly I haven’t yet.” Shen Ping’s eyes widened briefly at the insult to his sects name and his clothes but before he could say anything, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and passed out.
Now that his group’s battles were complete, Liang left the stage to find the old man. Although he thought about viewing some of the other fights, he decided not to. He needed a long-range attack and the old man said he would teach him one after he passed the first round. His time was short and he wanted to spend it practicing as much as possible.
***
The tournament format swamped the bookmakers with more bets than they were able to handle and gathering information while escorted by two guards was not easy for Fairy Xu. After paying a small fee to a broker for a list of participating sects and clans, she focused on two names and walked through the arena under the guise of placing a bet on Huang Yun.
The Golden Bamboo Sect and the Holy Mountain of Violet Qi were widely renowned for their large alchemy branches and rumors said they both had grandmaster alchemists. Unfortunately, there was no way to verify if these rumors were true and she was still unable to find a single disciple from their sects.
It was not imperative that she contact them today, after all, the competition would continue for several more days and she was certain Huang Yun would not lose in the early rounds. However, she felt it was best to solve the problem as quick as possible.
Contacting an elder through a disciple would take time and the ones not waiting next to the stage would only be low-level errand runners. In addition, because this was a martial competition, the number of alchemy elders here would be few and those present most likely presided over the awards ceremony. She would need to connect at the bottom and work to the top in only a few days.
As she continued through the crowd looking for runners making bets, she saw a figure twisting through a large number of people before arriving in front of an old man. She immediately recognized the pair not far from her and was shocked at the massive change in the boy’s appearance. She watched them for a moment and agreed with her previous master, the old man was not simple.
The disabled boy was standing in front of the old man in light blue robes, but unlike the time she saw him two days ago, his face was no longer pale and he did not stumble through the crowd slapping people with loose arms. Somehow, the old man cured the boy’s disabilities to the point where he was able to talk and compete in a martial competition.
The change was too sudden and this time she was unwilling to let the old man leave without answering a few questions. As she walked up to them she was able to overhear the young boy tell the old man he had advanced to the second round by defeating someone from a very fancy sect, which brought a smile to the old man’s face.
Approaching the two, Fairy Xu lowered her hood revealing her face and she smiled in the direction of the old man, catching the attention of several people around her. The young boy turned to look at her with widened eyes and the old man began choking despite the fact that he had not been eating or drinking anything.
Amused by their reactions, she walked up to them both and waited for the old man to calm down before saying, “What a wonderful surprise to see you here old man. I see you’ve healed your grandson. That piece of Three-Fires Ironwood we let you win at the auction has really done wonders.”
The old man looked towards Liang’s frozen appearance and chuckled to himself before speaking with moist eyes, “Fairy Xu, what a blessed day today really is. I was just telling my grandson this morning how lucky we were to have met you. Without your help, he would still be on my back in a basket, drooling and making a mess of himself. To see you here right now, the heavens are surely looking after us well.”
The old man’s heartfelt words flowed out like a river once again, but this time she did not let them affect her. Wearing the smile she practiced countless times before, she waited for the old man to finish before asking, “You wouldn’t mind telling the savior of your family line about how you were able to cure your grandson, would you?” in the sweetest voice she could muster.
