Xun stood by the side, watching Pengzi get completely obliterated by Zhanghao’s hug. In the meantime, the fighting on the stages continued, as new contestants jumped up to claim the empty spot. Even secluded as they were, Xun could hear the cries of pain and triumph coming from the stage.

On the leaderboard, Pengzi’s ranking appeared.

Rank Sixty-four: Pengzi, Sacred Gate Sect, Beast Tamer. Is bonded with a spirit chicken.

It wasn’t too high, but left plenty of margin such that he wouldn’t need to fight again. And even if Pengzi wanted to fight again, Xun was going to stop him. Without his entire flock of chicken, Pengzi was relatively weaker than most of the other cultivators and it wasn’t time to expose his flock just yet.

Once Zhanghao calmed down, she began taking out the needles from Pengzi and pressing a type of salve against the wounds. When the healing was done, Xun steered them back onto the stands. The whole way there, and when they sat down, Zhanghao kept twitching her hand and touching Pengzi, as if to make sure he really was ok. Ever since Zeran’s fight, he had noticed she was anxious, but now it was on a whole new level. The other two had their fights. There was only Xun and her left.

“Do you think I would win?” she asked suddenly. “I… I just don’t know how I could ever match up to what I saw you two fighting…”

Pengzi looked at her, confused. “Zhanghao… You’re probably the strongest of the two of us. You would’ve wiped the arena with my opponent. I’m serious.”

“You also chose the most difficult path of all of us.” Zeran nodded in affirmation next to him. “Xun gave you that option because he believed in you.”

“And I still do,” Xun interjected. “Zhanghao, if you win the next individual stage, I’ll be forced to group with some other disciples. So how about this, we’ll take the duo stage, where we can both fight.”

Down below in the singles stage, another cultivator got cut down before they had the chance to surrender. At this point, the stone floor of the stage had been dyed red from the blood that spilled from both orthodox and demonic cultivators who died on it. Someone in the crowd screamed in anguish.

Probably a family member. Xun thought. That could’ve been Zeran or Pengzi… or it could be Zhanghao’s future. Or they could be the ones who inflict such a horrible feeling on others. To be a cultivator is to be trapped in this cycle of blood feuds that never ends. There has to be a better way.

“I think that would be better,” Zhanghao said as she glanced toward the duo stages. No one had yet won ten consecutive matches there or been unchallenged. She looked at Xun. “I’m sorry to be a drag on you, Brother Xun.”

Xun waved her off.

“I guess we better get this over with. Odds are that our opponents are still small fry and the serious disciples haven’t yet stepped forward. If we can eke out a few victories and then step back, that would be ideal,” Xun said.

—

As yet another duo was defeated while their opponents also left the stage, Xun jumped onto the empty stage and looked around. After a whole lifetime of participating in tournaments like this, he no longer felt the jittery energy he once did. But he did feel an excitement bubbling in his skin.

Zhanghao leapt onto the stage next to him and he could tell immediately that she was nervous. Even though her hands didn’t shake, her eyes kept darting around.

This girl. She lacks confidence. It’s not a problem now, but it’ll be something that stops her from reaching her full potential in the future.

A disciple from the Twin Beast Sect leapt onto the stage. Xun instantly focused. He was sure that Zhanghao could take of the average disciple, but this was someone different. Their new opponent had immaculate robes and his chin was tilted slightly upward. It was the earmark of someone who was used to attention and fame. And he stared at Zhanghao like a snake. Behind him, a second, larger Twin Beast disciple from appeared on the stage.

Strong. That was the only description Xun had for the second cultivator. But he couldn’t see a fighting spirit in that cultivator’s eyes. Instead, the first kept glaring at them.

“Zhanghao and Xun of the Sacred Gate Sect against Liufeng and Mengtong from the Twin Beast Sect,” the announcer stated. “Fight start.”

Before either side could make a move, Xun held up his hand. He bowed in the direction of his opponents.

“Fellows. Are you here for the tournament or is this a personal grudge?” Xun asked.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The immaculate cultivator answered. “What does it matter? But just so that you don’t die with a question in your heart, this is a personal matter. You both are friends with the damn sword girl, aren’t you?”

“We are,” Xun admitted.

“Then you should know that there is no other way for this to end. She killed someone that I care about and then fled. You can surrender now. But this won’t end until either one of you are dead.”

“Or you’re dead,” Xun whispered.

Somehow, the cultivator heard him. He snarled, “If you think that I’m going to lie down, then I hope that you won’t be too surprised.”

Xun nodded. “Then it’s a fight to the death.”

“To the death,” the cultivator echoed. He opened a bag and three mutant chimeras sprung out. With the head of a tiger, the body of a buffalo, and the tail of a scorpion, they were so hideous that they were hard to look at. And there were three.

Next to him, the other Twin Beast cultivator walked forward without any spirit beasts.

“Sister Zhang,” Xun said. When no response came, he tilted his head in her direction and found hesitation in her eyes. “Sister Zhang? Zhanghao!”

Zhanghao’s attention snapped to Xun. “Sorry, what did you say, Brother Xun?”

“Oh, well I was thinking that we’d discuss battle strategy,” Xun said as he looked in the Twin Beast direction where the two cultivators stood with their spirit beasts. It seemed that they were going to leave him plenty of time to prepare for the battle. Not that Xun needed the time. “It’s a pretty simple plan. You’re going to fight and I’m going to watch.”

Xun motioned that they were ready and the chimeras came rushing forward. As they did, he slipped back behind Zhanghao.

“Did you ever think it was weird that you were the one who ended up tending the farm when Pengzi and I were perfectly capable of doing so?” Xun’s voice floated over her.

Zhanghao summoned her puppets, each one was in the shape of a chicken. Most of them were created when one of Pengzi’s flock died of old age or disease. A couple times, they had to slaughter a spirit chicken or two to provide her the raw materials for her puppets. Almost as soon as they appeared, they slipped back into the shadows, prowling around the edges of the stage.

“When the Sacred Gate Sert took over, you had to produce more rice than anyone ever expected out of the farm. And you did it. All by yourself.”

The first of the chimeras reached Zhanghao and she pushed it back by throwing a cloud of False Lavender in its path. The second and third beasts weren’t so easily discouraged. Their massive bodies turned at impossible angles as they approached her with their fangs and tails at the ready.

“When I saw that, I gave you more responsibilities. You had to plant the bamboos and make Spirit Paper for the Talismans. That was something that would have required a whole team in normal times. And yet, you did that too, along with all of the planting for the rice.”

Zhanghao dodged out of the way from the two chimeras and in the process, she pulled out her own shortblade and left two small wounds on the sides of the beasts. Seeing that it was only Zhanghao fighting, the immaculate cultivator pulled the beasts back and the second Twin Beast cultivator came forward.

There was a sturdiness to the way the new cultivator walked. It was like he was a seasoned warrior. Zhanghao’s finger twitched and one of her puppets came flying out of the shadow, its beak aimed straight at the cultivator’s neck. He caught it by the neck, without even looking in the puppet's direction.

“Do you know why Pengzi’s cultivation is still stuck at the Water Lungs stage? It’s not normal for a cultivator to be switching scriptures. A new scripture means new ways to cycle zhen and dozens of different details. But you’re at the Fire Eyes stage, outstripping Pengzi’s cultivation.”

Zhanghao’s opponent walked right through the clouds of powder she was throwing out. Off to the side, some of the Purple Flower disciples were up in arms at her display. But she tuned them out as she focused on her threat. The Twin Beast cultivator was a body cultivator, just like Pengzi. And even though she spent almost every waking hour around Pengzi, she never once thought about how she might win a contest against him.

“It’s because you always find the solution to the problem, no matter how tough the problem is. You’re walking down a new path, the poison puppet path. And with your talent and drive, you’re strong. The only question is whether you believe that yourself. Go, fight. If you don’t, they’ll kill you.”

Her puppets showed themselves. Dozens of figures appeared on the stage and rushed the two Twin Beast cultivators and their beasts. Working so many puppets taxed the limits of Zhanghao’s abilities but the result was undeniable.

Each time one of her puppets attacked or feinted, her opponents would react. And she’d use their reactions to plan their moves. The three chimeras fell first. After a couple of scratches from her puppets, they fell to the ground with froth coming out of their mouths. The poison on the claws and beaks of her puppets were far more potent than their powder counterparts.

With a roar, the body cultivator rushed at her. Zhanghao was about to command her puppets to focus their attention on him when a giant mound of earth rushed past her and into the cultivator, knocking him back. Before the cultivator could recover, another mound of earth flew through the air and smacked him on the head.

“Sorry, I know I said that this was your fight. But it seemed like you were going to kill them if I didn’t step in,” Xun apologized. “And after Zeran and Pengzi’s fight, it’s not exactly too great of an idea to keep killing our opponents. I was just trying to get them more riled up earlier when I talked about fighting to the death.”

It was a simple fight after that. Xun kept the two Twin Beast disciples on their back foot and Zhanghao controlled her puppets to keep chipping away at their defenses. Even the best attacks from the Twin Beast cultivators couldn’t get them out of the entanglements. Soon, they both surrendered.

Before they left the stage, Xun ran forward and offered his hand to the two.

“Fellow cultivators. That was a good match. Thank you.”

Perhaps it was the sincerity on his face, but the previously immaculate Twin Beast disciple paused.

“You’re strong.”

Xun smiled awkwardly. “Not me, it’s Zhanghao, she’s very impressive. I’d like to apologize again about Zeran’s fight, she went into a frenzy. I was wondering if we could perhaps figure out a way to cancel the blood feud.”

After a long silence, the cultivator nodded and took Xun’s hand. “I’m Liufeng.”

“And I’m Xun. Good to meet you, Fellow Liufeng.”