Far more often than Ash expected, his team was pitted up against someone from Mr. Stupid’s alliance. Almost always with the match going in the favor of Mr. Stupid.
There’d been a number of “accidental” injuries that continued to occur.
Thankfully though, Rou—supplied with everything she could ever need—was proving to be more than up for the task.
Unfortunately, she seemed to be needed for any and every fight his people participated in. With Mr. Stupid publicly going after Ash, it had emboldened the others to a degree.
Most weren’t willing to risk a fight with Ash, though, since he was more or less claiming anyone from an alliance who’d displeased him.
Mei never allowed anyone who’d gone against Ash or his alliance to escape the ring. Not without forswearing all others and, at a minimum, swearing an oath on their cultivation to Ash.
Yue was just as fanatical about it, but had already been eliminated.
Jia was still in the tournament, but had gone about the exact same strategy as Mei while being entirely overly formal and conservative as she did it.
Just as Jia would.
Glancing back behind himself, he found a long line of people who’d been forced to join the Sheng Alliance. Trudging along, most of them were more interested in the grass and dirt in front of their feet.
One and all, Jia, Mei, and Yue had only targeted the women. Men were simply beaten to the ground.
Looking ahead once more, Ash mentally shrugged.
“They’re assuming your preference is female only. It’s amusing,” Locke said.
Hate you. It’s your fault.
He’d end up letting most of them go once the tournament ended after they paid a nominal fee.
If there was anyone with talent, he’d make them the same offer he had all the other talented women he’d stolen away.
“With the way everyone is looking at me, it’s almost as if they’re pitying me,” Mei murmured as she walked along beside Ash.
“That’s exactly what it is,” Yue confirmed.
Ash could only nod his head at that. Even he had to agree with their assessment. Clearly, everyone had already marked her as the loser of her upcoming match.
“I think I have a reasonable chance against him,” Mei said, lifting her chin up.
“She doesn’t.”
Yeah, but she doesn’t know that.
“Yes, she does. She’s just being brave about it.”
And how do you know that, hm?
“Because I’m not a blind idiot like some are, Chosen One,” Locke replied dryly. “She’s doing this more for your reputation than her own.”
Ash couldn’t really deny he was probably right. Mei seemed far more aware of what people thought of him, and her, than he’d ever put conscious thought toward.
Shouldn’t be risking herself just for me though.
As they made their way into the tournament grounds, Ash was feeling keenly unhappy about the fact that Mei would be battling Mr. Stupid.
“You look more worried than I do,” Mei said, her head turned toward him.
“Because I am worried. You should be worried,” Ash said with a bit of annoyance. “He’s tried to kill everyone from our alliance that he runs up against. Gen’s people are the only reason that hasn’t happened.”
“Then I think we have a problem,” Jia said from the other side of Mei. “Because I am noticing a distinct lack of Master Gen’s people, including Master Gen himself.”
Ash frowned and immediately started to look around at all the places Gen’s security had been previously.
They were gone. Each and every one of them.
No one was in their place either.
Right. This is… right. They’re making their move today.
“So it would seem, Chosen One. I’m ever so pleased that your brain is working today,” Locke drawled.
Walking on, as they had no other option, Ash suddenly wanted to just have everyone in the tournament surrender outright.
There was no point in continuing this. Everyone in his group had already made it well out of the brackets that’d be eliminated.
“I won’t surrender,” Mei said. “So don’t ask. I need to prove myself one way or the other today. I can fight to my utmost. If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose. In either case, doing my best and showing that is what I need to do.”
“You don’t need to prove anything to anyone, “Ash countered.
“Of course, I do. After the other day, when I stole that kiss, everyone regards me as your leading lady,” Mei said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. “I have to uphold that by doing my best.”
“Disgraceful,” Jia muttered.
“Oh, don’t be so envious. You had your chance and did nothing with it,” Mei said, reaching over to pat Jia on the back. “But it’s alright. I can view you as a lesser rival if you like. I was thinking of making it Yue, but… you could work hard at it and earn it.”
“I will hurt you,” Jia growled.
Mei only laughed at that, putting her hands together in front of herself.
“You could try,” she said coyly. “But I think I might win.”
Coming to a stop, Ash and his group reached the arena. This one was a lowered oval at the center of an amphitheater.
It looked like the stands were filled with disciples from both the Inner and Outer Sect. The cut and fit of their uniforms drastically differed from one another.
Mr. Stupid was standing on the far side of the arena, chatting amicably with a few of his hangers-on. There’d been a considerable reduction in number through Ash’s forced recruiting, but there seemed to be even more joining him.
Perhaps simply because he was fighting Ash and his alliance directly.
“Well, I’m off then,” Mei said. Reaching up, she laid a hand to Ash’s face and got his attention. Then she pulled his head down and kissed him firmly. Holding the back of his head with her Earth-infused strength, she kept the kiss going for several seconds before she finally let go of him. “Next time, you’ll need to initiate it. Otherwise, it just looks one-sided.”
Patting his cheek lightly, Mei stepped into the arena and began to walk out into the middle area.
Jia took Mei’s spot and stared at the other woman with equal parts annoyance and what looked like fear.
“To be fair, she really did miss out on her chance. She had you all to herself for more than a little while. It’s a good thing I wasn’t living on this world.
“I think I’d have the entire Outer Sect eating out of my palm,” Locke said with a snort. “All Jia’s talent and beauty wasted in her own silly thoughts.”
Yeah, you’d be a bitch alright. I’d bet on that.
“Damn right, I would.”
The referee standing at the center of the arena was someone Ash recognized. It was one of the Inner Sect masters who had come with Master Peng.
“Ah, welcome, welcome,” said the referee to everyone present. “I’ve been honored to be allowed to referee this fight. Unfortunately, Master Gen and his people are currently indisposed.”
Uh-huh.
Master Zha was also nowhere to be found.
Now that he looked, Ash couldn’t find anyone that was likely higher in standing than the referee.
“Shit,” Ash muttered.
“Yes, that is the operative word,” Jia said, her eyes quickly moving through the stands and seats. “I shall move to the other side of the arena. I believe I can intervene if something should happen. While I think her way of achieving her goals is disgraceful, slatternly, shameless, and repulsive… she is still an ally.”
Not waiting for a reply, Jia folded her arms across her chest and began angrily walking to the other side.
“She has no right to be so angry,” Yue said, shaking her head. “Mei is only doing what she has said she would from the start.”
“What she said from the start?” Ash asked.
“Never mind, Ashley,” Yue said, reaching up to scrat
ch at her neck nervously.
“Sorry, I’m late, but I’m here,” Rou said in a huff, coming up to Ash’s right side. “There was this massive altercation right in the middle of the only road from the city side of things. I’ve never seen anything like that.
“If it hadn’t been for Na, I doubt we’d even be here.”
Standing a step away from Rou was Na, red-faced and breathing hard. Her hair was a mess and it looked like her lip was swelling.
Catching his eyes on her, Na met them equally.
Nodding his head to her, Ash realized he’d have to do something for her to return the favor.
Because there was no way Rou just happened to have a problem getting here with everything else that was happening.
“All of this was coordinated,” Ash said. “All of it. The Inner Sect, for whatever reason, is trying to help Mr. Stupid ruin us.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Yue said.
“From our perspectives,” Na murmured. “From theirs, it may look a lot more reasonable.”
“And what’s their perspective, then?” Rou asked.
“I don’t know. I just know it isn’t mine,” Na replied.
“—break apart when I say break apart. I expect the rules to be followed,” said the referee. “Any questions?”
Throwing caution not just to the wind, but straight into the other man’s teeth, Ash cleared his throat.
“Yeah, what happens when you fail to stop the match in time, and Mei is injured or killed?” Ash asked loudly. “Because I’m betting that’s going to happen. Are you going to pay reparations? Will you be punished? Or is your support of Mr. Stupid over there so obvious that you won’t even get a slap on the wrist?”
If there had been the possibility for the entire crowd to go absolutely silent in any way, Ash had clearly found it on the first attempt.
“I… you dare—”
“Yeah, I dare. Because you’re going to let Mei get hurt or worse,” Ash said, pointing at Mei. “Well? What happens when you inevitably fail? You going to take an oath on your cultivation to prevent something from happening?”
“This is stupid,” Mr. Stupid yelled. “Let’s get this fight underway.”
Now that it’d been said, though, there was no taking it back. The audience was staring hard at the referee as if already seeing what was going to happen in their mind’s eye.
Once someone was told to expect something, it would be hard to prevent them from not seeing anything that happened as exactly that.
The red-faced and visibly angered referee threw up his hands and looked away from Ash.
“Begin!” he shouted.
I need my entire Qi Sea put into my Spring Step. Like… everything.
That possible?
“Yes, though if you use it for anything you’ll probably break some bones,” Locke said.
That’s nice. Rou can fix ’em. Can’t fix dead, though, and they’re going to try and kill Mei.
Ash felt the entirety of his being grow still. When he looked inward, he found his Sea had become a maelstrom of energy. Coursing, breaking, and frothing in every direction as it was all held in thrall by Spring Step.
It felt like someone had tied a massive rubber band to his back and had pulled to the point that it was going to break.
Bartek was racing across the middle of the arena, one arm cocked back, the other out in front of himself. The only way one could describe the pose was “running as if he were falling”.
He’d reach Mei in no time at all.
Standing where she’d been, Mei had two single-handed swords made of Earth Essence drawn. One held before her and one to the side.
Clashing together, the two combatants struck, came apart, then slammed into one another again.
Mei’s swords came out as blurs, barely able to appear where Mr. Stupid’s attacks were coming from and parrying them aside.
So ferocious was his assault that Mei had no chance to counter attack at all. Her entire world was a defensive holdout.
Then, there was a break in the constant back and forth.
One of Mei’s blades shattered halfway down and went spinning away into the dirt.
Narrowing her posture, Mei held the single remaining sword out in front almost like a fencer.
Mr. Stupid took a step back and then one forward, pushing out with both hands.
A wave of pure force struck Mei’s blade, then her, and knocked her off her feet. It sent her tumbling along the dirt like a kicked stone.
Bouncing along, she struck her head with a sound that reminded him of a coconut hitting the ground, and kept rolling.
After a few more rolls and a final bump, Mei came to a stop. Ash already knew Mei was unconscious. She was unmoving, her body limp, and completely undefended.
There was no one watching who would see it as anything other than being knocked clean out.
Mr. Stupid was already in the air, leading with his knee and trying to aim atop Mei. He’d jumped from the other side of the arena with an empowered leap that would carry him the distance.
The referee was doing absolutely nothing.
Jia’s hand flashed out and a wave of Water Essence flowed out from her to intercept Mr. Stupid.
Before it had even gotten a foot away from her, the referee had quashed it.
Apparently, he wasn’t going to hide the pretense.
Activating Spring Step, Ash darted forward.
As he did so, he heard the sickening sound of what could only be something breaking. His feet never retouched the ground.
Having dumped everything into that one ability, Ash felt more like he suddenly appeared atop Mei rather than moving to her.
Grabbing her as he went, he heard something else break, but didn’t know what that was either. He could only hope it wasn’t Mei.
He flashed beyond her, his target being the other side of the arena itself.
Except he hadn’t counted on how to stop.
Holding almost the full amount of energy he’d used to make the dash, Ash reached his destination.
The second his feet hit the ground, Ash did a forward somersault and managed a face-plant straight into the crowd.
Everything he’d spent in that single moment was now gone. Spent as soon as the ability completed.
Groaning, Ash could now feel his broken leg, broken arm, and wrist.
How bad off are we?
“Rou can fix us up, but likely not completely before our next match. You’ll remember you were due to fight the winner. Yes?” Locke asked.
You didn’t answer me.
“Bad. How’s that?”
Wonderful. How’s Mei?
“Bad. How’s that? Like that one, too?”
How bad? Does Rou need to heal her first?
“No. She’ll be fine if you’re treated first,” Locke said.
“How dare you!” shouted a voice from the arena.
Lifting his head up, Ash looked at the referee.
“Yeah, how dare I save someone you were going to let die. Just like I said. Fuck you,” Ash called back. “Fuck you right in the ass, Master.”
Ash could actually hear the audible gasp from nearby people in the crowd. He didn’t care though. This man had thrown his lot in with Mr. Stupid. As had the entirety of the Inner Sect as far as Ash was concerned.
To him, they were all in his book of “to kill if possible” now.
Jia and Yue were there, pulling Ash and Mei out of the crowd.
Yue immediately started offering reparations to those impacted, digging into a storage space.
Through it all, Ash refused to give up his hold on Mei. Of all of them, she was the most vulnerable at this moment.
“I’m going to—”
“Nothing, you are going to nothing,” Jia proclaimed loudly. “Because our master is Master Gen Sheng. You can submit your complaint to him as soon as he comes back. At the same time, we will lodge our complaint about your lack of competence as a referee.”
As
h was dropped down to the dirt of the arena.
Rou appeared in front of him, her hands pressing to his face.
“Goodness, that’s quite bad, Master Sheng,” said the red-haired woman.
Then he felt her enter his body. She swept in through his Meridians, down into his Dantian, and into his Qi Sea.
“I… oh. Oh. I… I see,” Rou said, her eyes widening. There was a loud cracking noise in his ears followed by extreme pain.
It was almost instantly soothed over, like a cool hand running over his skin.
“There. All fixed, but I had to break it a bit more to get it to match up correctly,” Rou murmured. “It’s going to hurt a lot until it heals.”
“Too bad,” Mr. Stupid shouted from not far away. “Because our match is due to begin any moment. Right now. Or you can forfeit and the referee can punish you for doing such a thing.”
That’s not right. There’s supposed to be a gap.
But… with the referee on their side, there’s no way I’m getting anything to go my way.
And I can’t surrender. That’d open myself up to something awful. No. No, thanks.
“Can’t surrender,” Ash growled.
Yue nudged Rou to one side and then pushed her fingers into Ash’s mouth.
“Swallow quickly, Ashley,” Yue commanded.
“That’s what she said.”
Trying to spit out Yue’s fingers, Ash turned his head and swallowed.
Someone took Mei away from him while someone else levered himself up to his feet.
Stumbling like a drunk on a bender, Ash almost ended up face-first on the ground.
Damn. Can we even fight him?
“No. You have almost nothing.”
No suggestions? Nothing?
“Lose quickly and with as little pain as possible.”
You kinda suck.
Standing there, Ash felt like a bag of oats with legs. Everything spun one way, and then the other. Nothing felt quite right.
Did I break something?
“Well, obviously? Three somethings. Remember? Or do you mean something else?”
Everything is spinning.
“Ah, yes. You have a considerable concussion, Chosen One,” Locke said. “That clicking noise isn’t real.”
Ash paused, his hand halfway up to his head. He was going to jam his finger into his ear and see if he could get the noise to stop.
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