Ash moved into the ring and took a position in one half. Sitting down, he made himself ready and let his mind float away with itself.
He slipped immediately into a meditative state. Letting time slip away.
“Contestants! Make yourselves ready for this battle!”
Ash’s eyes snapped open, and he found Shen directly across from him.
Getting to his feet, Ash activated Qi Thorns, Battle Cultivation, and Spring Step.
The referee seemed eager and dropped his hand to start the fight as Ash got into his stance. There was almost little to no time between the warning and the start.
Strange.
Shen made no move, however. He just stood there.
Waiting.
Ash didn’t hesitate and threw out a punch, the metal ball of Qi shooting forward from his strike.
Shen dodged to one side, the attack passing him.
Clicking his tongue, Ash disconnected the chain attached to the ball.
“My turn,” Shen said, then threw both his hands forward. A large ball of green Qi flew from his hands and reached out toward Ash. There wouldn’t be much room to dodge it.
Pushing his thoughts into gear, he focused on the Qi coming towards him.
Perfect opportunity to test our redirect.
Hit with one hand, redirect with the other.
Holding his left hand low and pointed toward Shen, Ash struck at the green Qi with his right hand and then brought it back out.
His right palm felt as if it’d been slapped roughly before the energy rapidly switched to his left hand. As his right hand returned to his waist, Ash punched out with his left.
Shoving the energy out through his palm, Ash redirected Shen’s energy back at him. Trailing along behind the cloud of energy was one of Ash’s azure chains.
Except it was truly massive.
It looked more like a navy warship anchor chain.
Shen was clearly not expecting his own Qi to come back at him. He didn’t even twitch before it smashed into him and knocked him several steps backward.
Ash shook his hands out after connecting the chain to his side. It honestly felt like he’d smashed them against a boulder.
On top of that, he was fairly certain the freshly healed bones had just fractured or broken again.
“Ha,” Shen said, moving back to his previous position. “That was well done.”
Ash wasn’t so sure he could be that calm if he’d just taken that blow. In fact, he was fairly certain that if he’d been hit by it, he’d have been knocked clear out of the arena.
Let’s… wait and see what happens. I’m not so sure my hands can take a punch right now.
Ash began dumping energy into his Qi Thorns. Right now, his priority was dodging. Whatever he could do to not take a hit directly.
Shen put his arms out in front of himself as a bright-green glow burst out of his back.
What the hell… Oh shit, it’s a Martial Spirit.
Ash grimaced and gave his head a shake.
I thought Martial Spirits were rare. So rare they’re practically family legacies. Why does he have one?
A massive green tree towered over Shen’s back. It represented the spiritual might of multiple cultivators. The constant use over multiple generations had turned what had probably been a tree sprite into this Martial Spirit.
A massive tree-branch-like hand swung down toward Ash.
Activating Spring Step, he moved straight up, as if he were jumping. Appearing twenty feet in the air, Ash was able to watch the giant hand swing through the space he’d been in previously.
Angling his foot downward, Ash activated Spring Step again. This time he wanted to aim himself into a downward kick, straight into Shen’s handsome face.
Gaining momentum and speed that weren’t rightly his, Ash’s foot appeared an inch from Shen’s face.
With a foot smashing into his nose, Shen was forced backward once again. His Martial Spirit disappeared as he stumbled away.
Ash managed to drop lightly to the ground on one knee. Working to get back to his feet, he attached the new chain to his belt. This one was much smaller than the other.
Strength of the attack dictates the size of the chain and how much I get back.
Got it.
Before he could think to re-engage, Ash was sent spinning and bouncing across the ground.
He wasn’t sure what had hit him, but it’d been fairly huge and green.
And quite solid.
Groaning as he slid to a stop, Ash lay still for a second.
Get up—fight isn’t over. Got to get up.
Pushing himself up, Ash slowly clambered to his feet. His body felt like it’d been hit by a car. His ribs ached and so did his back.
Whatever Shen had launched had been more like a truck than anything.
Looking to his opponent, Ash found that Shen was pressing his hands to his stomach, screaming.
With fire licking out from between his fingers, he was clearly burning.
Blinking, it took Ash a second to realize his Qi Thorns not only had shielded him from part of the attack but had also redirected it back to Shen.
Another heavy attack. This guy… he buried his strength deep. He’s no rank three. Nor is he even a five or six. He has the power and strength of someone on the edge of becoming a mortal refiner.
Underdog my ass.
Ash determinedly got his hands up to defend himself.
He’d only been struck once, but combined with the attack he’d redirected, he’d been left in a fairly miserable state.
Shen somehow managed to get the Qi fire under control and looked to Ash with angry and bloodshot eyes.
“Fine, I’ll use my trump card. There’s no escape for you. Don’t even think of running now,” Shen said.
Ash didn’t respond but merely waited. There was nothing to be said right now other than to finish this fight.
Bragging or trash-talking just wasn’t in him.
Shen pressed a hand to his chest and then shouted at the top of his lungs, pushing out towards Ash with his other hand.
“Soul Grasp!” Shen called.
An invisible force locked down on Ash and held him in place. Preventing him from moving.
“Qi Burn!” Shen shouted out.
A purple flame jetted out of Shen’s hand and screamed across the distance between Shen and Ash.
It slammed into his chest and he became a human torch.
“Pay for your crimes, villain!” Shen shouted.
Ash certainly felt warm, but nothing seemed to be happening to him. Looking to his hands, which were still unmoving, he watched as the purple fire rolled over his skin as if hunting something.
Then something happened at his waist. The fire attached itself to his chains and began to gather there.
The flames grew brighter as more and more piled up, leaving the rest of Ash’s body.
In the single second it took for all this to occur, the crowd was already seemingly lamenting Ash’s fate.
So when the purple flame suddenly shot back out to Shen along the chains, everyone was more than surprised.
Landing squarely on Shen’s chest and face, the purple inferno rapidly overtook him.
Screaming once again, Shen started to bat at his face and chest with his hands. Trying to put out a fire that had no origin in the mortal realm.
“Locke… what was that?” Ash asked, as softly as he could.
“Unknown. The attack seemed to target the elemental Qi in your body.”
“I don’t have elemental Qi, though… In fact… with the cultivation method we have, there doesn’t even seem be an elemental aspect required.”
“There does not. His attack did nothing, but the chain pulls in Qi from your target. It is converted by your Dantian.”
“In other words… his attack was reflected back,” Ash muttered.
Shen dropped to his knees. His screeching had stopped now, and his eyes were blank, unseeing.
Ash disc
onnected the chains, just in case Shen was empty. There was no reason to take his life, and Ash wanted nothing to do with even the very idea of it.
Collapsing onto his face, Shen lay unmoving on the ground.
Ash swallowed, his body shivering.
He didn’t quite feel a victory in this fight. In every regard, Shen had outclassed him. Outclassed him and should have beaten him outright. It was due to the fact that he’d found the Hall that he’d won. The Hall and Locke both.
Letting his arms fall to his side, Ash let out a heavy sigh.
“Winner! Ashley Sheng!” announced someone else. “He’ll now be moving to the final!
“These are to be held immediately as due to an unforeseen opportunity, a veil raid is going to be carried out! Tomorrow, the attack will be launched on another veil.”
Ash shook his head with a sigh. He’d have liked some time to rest.
Any time to rest.
They really want to go on a veil raid. So badly that they don’t care who wins anymore.
Fine. I’ll show you how much I care about your tournament.
A group of healers picked up Shen and carried him off, vanishing into the crowd.
Seconds later, Jia walked out from the audience.
“Forgive me, Ash. I did not wish it to be a fight like this,” Jia said, pressing her fists together in front of herself.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I know well that this wouldn’t be how you would have chosen it. How’d your fight go?”
Ash was taking in slow, steady breaths, trying to calm his spirit and heartbeat.
“Well. I think in our spars I came to expect a certain level of expertise in my opponents. The others did not live up to you, and I was disappointed,” Jia said, taking a stance and facing him head on.
“Happy to hold a special place in your heart, then. It’s a pity I won’t be seeing you after the match is over. Sounds like we’ll all be hustled off to our sects as soon as the fighting ends,” Ash said.
Moving into his neutral stance, Ash did his best to ready himself.
His hands hurt, his back ached, and his chest felt like each breath was squeezed through iron bands around his lungs.
Any type of fight right now would just worsen his condition.
And that means buying more pills after this, or hoping Battle Cultivation can take care of it with enough time.
“Contestants… get ready for the final fight,” called an elder.
Ash made a decision. One that he didn’t like and one that would make Jia angry, but one that fit all of his needs right now.
“Begin!” shouted the elder, dropping his hand.
Jia attacked with a whip of Water Qi, snapping it toward Ash’s chest.
Waiting for the attack, Ash held still. As soon as the attack hit him, he activated Spring Step backward and partially into the air.
Hopefully it looks like it was just a strong hit. Ash thought to himself as he flew through the air, straight out of the bounds of the arena, and crashed into the audience.
You win, Jia.
Fifteen
“As the champion, you are allowed to choose the sect you wish to join. You will be accepted regardless of which you choose.
“Which sect do you pick?” asked the old man who had given them their Qi examinations.
Jia’s eyes flicked to the recruiters, then to the examiner.
“This one must kindly ask his seniors to allow a moment to think. Please move to the second-place finisher for now,” Jia said, bowing her head deeply to the recruiter table.
The Mountain Bear and Dragon Warrior Sects shared a look and then smirked at one another.
I bet they’re wondering which one amongst them she’s picking. I wonder if they bet on those kind of things.
The examiner looked to the recruiters, who nodded their heads. Once he received permission, the examiner looked to Ash.
“Ashley Sheng, which sect do you request to join?”
The medics had quickly scooped up Ash after his loss and put him to rights. Apparently upon losing, one received the full benefits of the tournament. Winners were expected to care for themselves, unless the medics ruled them unfit to continue.
Standing there in front of everyone, Ash was feeling much more “right” than he had in a while.
It only took something like twenty different types of pills and an actual Qi Healer.
Ash pressed his fists together and bowed to the recruiters from each sect.
“I would choose to join the Jade Fist,” Ash said immediately, without thinking about it. His goal all along had been to go there to assist his brother and sister.
That was the extent of his desires.
Everyone stared at Ash after he spoke.
Suddenly the Jade Fist recruiter started laughing loudly.
“The Jade Fist willingly and gladly accepts Ashley Sheng,” said the middle-aged man, standing up. He bowed his head and pressed his fists together towards Ash.
“Jia, you have been given time to make your choice, as you requested,” said the examiner, turning his face toward Jia. “Are you ready now?”
“Yes. I would request to join the Jade Fist,” Jia said, bowing her head and pressing her fists together.
Again, the crowd was shocked into silence.
Clapping his hands together, the Jade Fist recruiter bounced out of his seat, laughing almost hysterically.
“The Jade Fist willingly and gladly accepts you as well,” crowed the recruiter.
The other recruiters started shouting at the Jade Fist recruiter and the stage fell into disarray.
“What are you doing?” Ash whispered as he poked Jia in the side. Leaning in close to her he was in her personal space. “I thought you wanted to go for the best!”
“I do. And that is still my goal. I am merely just changing the way in which I am doing it. Now back up,” Jia said. She reached up and tried to push Ash back with a hand on his shoulder.
“No! What are you doing? You could have easily gotten into the top tier sects. Tell them it was a mistake. Quick. You worked so hard for this,” Ash hissed at her. He was confident he could push a bit harder with the focus of the crowd still on the recruiters as they bickered with one another.
Jia turned her face partially toward Ash.
“Stop. I am doing what I want. This choice is entirely my own, and happily so. I did work hard for this, though my gains were entirely due to you.
“I do not feel it would be best for me to go away from you. I think you are a Fated One, and I wish to be a part of it.
“Now back up or they will think you have an interest in men, and me,” Jia said, quirking a brow at him.
Ash snorted and moved an inch closer toward her. He was feeling a touch rebellious, and her telling him what to do was making it worse.
“And what if they do? Do you think I care? You’re the one who seems to be hiding herself. No?” Ash asked.
With her eyes locked on his, Jia didn’t back up from him.
Instead, she suddenly pressed her forehead to his.
“You do not frighten me, Ash. I know your personality very well. You speak out of anger because you worry for me. I understand. And I am flattered.
“Now, back up, or I shall make this much worse for you. No one has noticed yet,” Jia murmured.
Grumbling, Ash pulled away from her and got back into his own position.
Looking to the stage he found the Jade Fist recruiter laughing all by himself, as the other sects continued to yell at one another.
“They plan on moving us to a veil border after this,” Jia said. “We will be coming back here for a short period afterward. I told your merchant friend to remain here and wait.”
I’ll collect my auction earnings on the way back through, then, and pick up Ying Yue.
“A veil, huh,” Ash mused.
“Veil raids don’t happen often. This is an opportunity for them to test their strength and gain resources. We will be there simply to watch and
learn.”
Ash didn’t know what to say. Veil raids were where the outlander slaves came from. He didn’t really agree with any of it, but he couldn’t stop it either.
And raising his voice against it would only cause him to be silenced.
Which meant he was along for the ride whether he liked it or not.
***
Moira and Jia stood next to Ash. The former having joined them as soon as they left town. They were with the rest of the Jade Fist recruits and the recruiter himself.
Each sect was more or less insular to themselves as they stood waiting at the boundary to the veil.
The largest group was made up of loose cultivators of Xing City.
Ash watched the Jade Fist recruiter as he led their group, standing with a group of younger recruits around him.
The Jade Fist recruiter seemed like the happiest man alive, honestly. Telling all who would listen about what to expect of the new sect and giving them pointers about what their first steps should be.
“It is because he gained a lot of face when we joined,” Jia said.
“Hm?” Ash mumbled, looking to Jia.
“You are staring at the recruiter. Likely you wonder about his mood. He is quite joyful due to you and I joining him.
“He will receive praise when he returns to the sect,” Jia elaborated.
“Seems arbitrary,” Moira said.
Ash nodded.
“Everyone!” called the Dragon Warrior recruiter. “We will now move across the veil. Fill your Dantian up now; we’ll have no ability to do so once we cross over.
“To you new recruits, stay behind. To the rest of you who followed, good luck!”
The Jade Fist recruiter clapped his hands together several times and looked to his recruits.
“Stay together. The Kin have their own abilities and are unique. On average, they only rank at about the strength of a sixth or seventh body refiner. So work in teams to subdue or kill them.
“The location we’ve drawn will be shared with the Mountain Bear Sect. It’s a mine. I imagine we’ll find many outlanders we can take our pick of. They often send the young or inexperienced ones to places like this.
“Targets that are of little interest internally to them, but great for us,” said the recruiter.
“Why are we here?” Moira said, her voice edged with distaste and dislike. The wings on her back lifted up and then settled back down in what was clear agitation.
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