The Third Kingdom - Chapter 26 preview

Up first was Jochi, the man hefting his bow and grinning at Pan Shui. His fur-lined vest had been unbuttoned to give him extra mobility while his quiver full of arrows was slung down low and strapped to his back to ensure it would not bounce around too much. He carried a trio of arrows between his fingers, while a fourth rested on the strings.

“Don’t be angry if I win, okay, little sister?”

“Win my foot,” Pan Shui snapped. She nodded to the head judge who triggered the protective formation around the ring.

The moment they finished their salutations and greetings, Jochi loosed his arrows. One after the other flickered across the space between them, the man managing to put three arrows into the air before the first even made its way to the woman. Faster than he had done with Kong Lai even.

It availed him naught.

Perhaps it was the words of caution already passed to Pan Shui by her sisters, perhaps it was the knowledge that she had three such battles to fight; but the spearwoman was all fired up. She dodged the first arrow by inches, already moving when he had loosed it. The second she struck aside and the third she dodged by flipping through the air.

As she began to descend, she cried out as she fell. “The Broken Limb!”

Rather than keep hold of her weapon, she threw the spear such that it flew away from her boosted by her chi and weapon intent, rotating from end to end in a spinning circle. It moved faster than ever, faster than even Jochi had anticipated.

It struck him haft-wise, hard, forcing him to stagger back. His left shoulder and ribs were cracked, making his own follow up arrow fly awry. Even then, he managed to recover and draw another arrow from his quiver, no longer having one in-hand to fast nock.

Pushing and pulling on his bow, Jochi hissed angrily as the bruised muscles protested. He still managed to aim the arrowhead at Pan Shui as she landed, targeting her chest. Before he could release the arrow, something swept his feet, throwing him to the ground.

Losing his arrow, Jochi stared as Pan Shui manipulated her spear with chi strings, pulling it back into her hand. He had missed her attaching them as she threw the weapon, allowing her to surprise him. Twice.

With the blunt ended pointed at Jochi, Pan Shui struck, the capped end of the spear driving his breath from his body and disrupting the flow of his chi as he cried in pain.

“My win…” Pan Shui said. When Jochi opened his mouth, she pushed further with the weapon. Blunt and capped it might be, but the point was driving directly into his diaphragm, making the archer pant in pain.

Desperately, Jochi waved his empty right hand around while releasing his bow, at which point the referee called his loss.

“I wasn’t going to contest it…” growled Jochi as he pushed the weapon away as Pan Shui helped him up.

“Oh, sorry,” The woman replied, unrepentantly. The archer grumbled, rubbing at his bruised stomach.

“Thank you for not stabbing me.”

“We foreigners should stay together, no?” A wide grin accompanied the words.

“Yes.”

“Wait, yes to the no? Or yes to us sticking together?”

“The second.” Jochi rolled his eyes. Then, he let out a long sigh. “I need to practice my close range shooting more…”

“Definitely.” Enthusiastic nodding.

“Damn brat.” Walking to the edge of the ring, he jumped to the ground and waved to the next person in-line.

The second fighter was a surprise to Wu Ying. He leaned forwards, soaking in the details of the man. Big. Over six feet tall and built like he had been born to wrestle bears. He wielded a pair of tonfa though, the long sticks with the perpendicular handles gripped in both hands. More interestingly, Wu Ying knew he had not been part of the initial tournament either.

“Who’s that?” Wu Ying asked. Only grunts and shrugs were his answer from his table companions. Dissatisfied, Wu Ying pulled at the winds, asking them to bring forth the man’s scent and aura. The air swirled around him for a moment, fluttering the edge of one of his loose hairs as the air worked to his request. Only to fail.

“So, what kind of element and level is he?” Elder Tsui asked, curiously. Both Elders had noticed the change in environmental chi and the shift in wind.

“I don’t know. He’s blocking my wind,” Wu Ying said.

“Really?” Elder Eng murmured, suddenly interested. He eyed the man, raking his gaze over the figure before he continued. “That’s not normal, is it?”

“No. Most people do not bother hiding their scent, even when they close off their auras.” Wu Ying answered easily. After all, these Elders would know as much. In fact, given a little training any Core Formation cultivator could easily learn to do the same. Most would not bother, of course, since their nascent spiritual sense was stronger in most cases; but it was possible.

“Someone who blocked their scent… and who looks to be strong enough to win in a fight…” Elder Eng murmured, a hand clenching tight in anger and suspicion.

“I am Gan Ying of the Seven Dams.” The man’s pronouncement was loud, easily carrying across the open air and into the restaurant. Gasps and murmured words of incredulity met his words. “I thank you for this chance to contend for the prize. I was delayed in my journey here by water bandits. Clearing them out took longer than I expected.”

“Who?” Wu Ying said, looking at the Elders. Obviously, Gan Ying held some kind of notoriety in this kingdom.

“Gan Ying! How can you… Oh. Right. You’re from Shen.” Shi Fei paused, his excitement having made him speak up. At his hesitation, Elder Tsui just waved him to continue. “Gan Ying’s famous in the western region here. He fought an entire Demon Sect all by himself. He beat up the dozen members for preying on a village.

“Then the next month, he fought a Demonic Beast Snake that was the size of the building! He was bitten so badly, many believed he would die but he still killed it. The demonic beast stone was so large, it sold for a thousand taels! And the Healing Sage himself went down to heal Gan Ying.”

Nodding enthusiastically along – if carefully – Kong Lai added from her slumped over position. “He’s a hero of the masses. He was a mortal too, not even a wandering cultivator. He had been on a logging expedition when a Spirit Beast rose up, driving away and consuming his team. Gan Ying escaped into the wilds alone but was thought lost for a year.

“But fortune favored him and when he returned, he was a cultivator. A strong one too!”

“Energy Storage then?” Wu Ying said.

“No, that’s the thing. No one knows,” Shi Fei said. “He always keeps his cultivation base hidden, hiding his aura. Some think it’s training. Others that he owns a special talisman to obscure his cultivation level. Rumors are that he could be as high as Core Formation!”

“Rubbish.” Elder Eng muttered, lowering a hand he had extended a while ago. “He leaks a little, even now. The earth speaks of his footsteps, and while they are heavy with import, they are no steps of a Core Formation cultivator.”

“Mmm… strong though. Peak Energy Storage at least,” Elder Tsui said, his eyes sharpened as he watched Guan Ying. “He burns, hotly. Warps the air with his passion.”

Wu Ying frowned at the two Elders, chastised by their ability to extract information where he had not. It seemed he still had a lot to learn about his new cultivation stage.

During their conversation, Pan Shui had introduced herself and the pair now circled one another. Already, a quick probing clash had occurred between the two, with Pan Shui making full use of her greater range and Guan Ying his better defense with his paired tonfas.

“Peak Energy Storage…” Wu Ying muttered, watching the air swirl around them, feeling the pulse of energy. The two would have no choice but to reveal aspects of their cultivation as they fought, though Wu Ying had probed Pan Shui more than enough. Guan Ying though…

He was no ordinary Peak Energy Storage cultivator. In fact, Wu Ying would bet he was no soul cultivator at all. The more he probed the man, the more certain he was that he was a Body Cultivator. And only a Body Cultivator.

Funny, to find four such Body Cultivators in a kingdom that professed to not have many at all. Coincidence? Or was heaven pulling on fate’s thread?

Another shift in energy and the two clashed again. Wu Ying’s eyes narrowed as he watched the fight, judging the results. Guan Ying had – at best – the Sense of his weapons and Wu Ying was not even certain he would give him that. It was hard to tell, for he moved fluidly, more in control of his body than most martial cultivators. An aspect of Body Cultivation that benefited him in this battle.

He was also physically faster and stronger than Pan Shui, even his most casual blocks sending the tip of Pan Shui’s weapon skittering aside.

At the same time, the girl was highly skilled in her spear use as Wu Ying knew and had adapted to the man’s strength after the first clash. She pulled back, disengaged and enveloped his arms and the tonfa on the regular, managing to avoid competing with him on strength alone. If not for the fact that he had two limbs to her single weapon, she would have overwhelmed him on the second clash.

Instead, she left him with light scratches across his torso and upper arms.

The dull thunk of wood on wood, wood on flesh echoed through the surroundings with each struggle. The hiss of indrawn breath and the exhalation of relief from the crowd as Pan Shui crowded and was forced back by Guan Ying echoed, even as the sour smell of waste adrenaline began to accumulate as the crowd grew enamored with the duel.

“She’s going to lose the next fight if she doesn’t finish this soon,” Elder Tsui said, sounding gleefully happy. “Foolish girl. Challenging three people.”

“You think she’ll beat Guan Ying, Elder Tsui?” Shi Fei asked, respectfully.

“Oh yes. He’s strong. In a real fight, he might be willing to risk his body and charge her to win. But he is holding back for the tournament and that’s why he’ll lose,” Elder Tsui said. “He’s brave and strong but lacks experience and training.” A hand rose up, stroking his smooth chin.

“Forget it. He would not suit your sect’s temperament,” Elder Eng replied. He thumped his own chest, “that is a man’s man. Look at those shoulders. No, we’ll invite him to join the Mountain Fast.”

“Just because we are mostly fire leaning…”

Below, the crowd roared, interrupting the pair.

As if sensing he was going to lose himself, Guan Ying had braved the danger and charged deep into Pan Shui’s range. She, in turn, retreated while lashing out with her spear, scoring additional wounds against his body and legs as he attempted to deflect them. So fast were they moving that the attacks and counter-attacks were all done on instinct, set patterns of defenses and assaults that were part of a form.

The end came as suddenly as it had begun. Guan Ying managed to block the majority of strikes and even the spinning butt end of her spear, such that when it came up to strike him between his legs, he caught it with both tonfa’s crossed.

What he did not expect was for her to do a cross-legged, passing step that transitioned into a sidekick as he recovered from the block, catching him high across both crossed weapons. It slammed his arms together, throwing him backwards all the way to the other side of the ring.

Feet sliding across the ground, Guan Ying managed to stabilize his position, dust kicking up as he choked and coughed. However, Pan Shui never let him rest, rushing after him to unleash a barrage of kicks, He staggered backwards, blocking. The hard wood, reinforced with the man’s chi made Pan Shui wince as they bruised her legs, but she had managed to buy herself the time she needed.

Guan Ying never noticed the spear, having been flipped high in the air after her initial kick come falling down, blunt end first to slam into the top of his head. He tottered backwards for a second, eyes crossing, hands moving as his body enacted a defensive form.

However, Pan Shui had retreated rather than force the exchange, using a chi string to pull her spear back to her after its surprise assault.

As Guan Ying’s eyes cleared, he stopped waving his tonfas around. For a long moment, the pair stared at one another before Guan Ying relaxed and crossed the tonfas and his arms across his body before bowing. “It is your win, Cultivator Pan. I thank you for your mercy.”

Pan Shui grinned in reply. “Thank you for exchanging pointers with me, Cultivator Guan. It was most enlightening.” Then, she spun around on her heels and hopped back to her side of the ring. The formation energy around the ring dispersed, allowing Guan Ying to retreat and for her to speak to those outside.

Leaning over she stared at her elder sister who was watching. “Da jie!”

“Yes?” Pan Yin said, cautiously.

“Told you the Sky Striking Spear wasn’t a waste of time to learn!” Pan Shui said with a smirk.

“And I told you, it’s only good once! Only a fool would miss it a second time. Third Uncle should never have taught you it at all. It’s a silly, showy move,” Pan Yin replied.

Rather than answer directly, Pan Shui stuck a tongue out and turned away, leaving Pan Yin visibly fuming.

Wu Ying smirked a little, watching the pair as Guan Ying walked off, still rubbing his head. The final contestant took to the stage, the woman looking determined but perturbed at how easily Pan Yin had won thus far.

“The third contestant is always the strongest, right?” Kong Lai said, curiously. “So why are they sending her?”

“Not always…” Elder Eng said, his tone taking on a teaching quality. “The Tian Ji horse racing strategy is but one common example.”

“But she’s fighting alone. What’s the point of better strategy?” Kong Lai pointed out.

To this, Elder Eng had no answer. Nor did Wu Ying.

Unfortunately, for all the theatrics and upsets the earlier fights might have had, the last one was a true disappointment. Showcasing the true strength of her ability and the full range of her knowledge of the spear against her fellow spear wielder, Pan Shui beat her opponent so thoroughly there was no doubt who was the true winner of the tournament.

Disappointing, but at least, as the Head Judge came onto the stage to make the pronouncement of the ending of this particular diversion; no one dared challenge Pan Shui’s right to the final prize.

After that, it only required Shi Fei and a member of the White Scarves Association to take the prizes for the joint second and third places. The prizes had been combined and then split, distributed evenly to each winner.

As abruptly as it had been lengthened, the tournament was over.

Wu Ying left soon after lunch was completed, only to find Elder Cao still standing on the roof. He found himself meeting her imperious gaze, silent accusation in them. For a moment, her dao and presence pushed at him in silent disapproval, then it was gone.

Leaving him to retreat to his room, ignominiously.