Clang!

Craclang.

"Now that's exhilarating."

The grating sound of metal on metal rang out continuously, the Mandarin Duck Halberd hooking onto the Butterfly Twin Blades, the sharp weapons darting back and forth between the two combatants. One moment, the halberd hovered at Xu Tianci's throat, the next, the twin blades grazed Li Yan's heart—both perilously close. Sweat beaded on the tips of their noses.

After about four or five exchanges, it was Li Yan who found himself at a disadvantage. His wrist, now injured, made his wielding of the circular blade increasingly strained.

The Mandarin Duck Halberd, with its long hook, excels in the entangling lock blade technique against sword-type cold weapons. Although it did not suffer against the Butterfly Twin Blades, it also didn't gain any upper hand.

Li Yan was not unfamiliar with the blade principles of entwining blade, ploughing knife, or the eight-slash sword, but actual engagement proved to be a significant setback for him.

The Golden Thread Hand Wrap was a sly move against the overeager Xu Tianci, but when it came to the clash between the eight-slash sword and the Mandarin Duck Halberd, Li Yan had to admit that wielding the halberd single-handedly put him at a disadvantage.

Both were encountering their opponent's weapon style for the first time. Even if Li Yan fought single-handedly with the halberd, Xu Tianci was half-blind, making them evenly matched. Yet, the younger man's adaptation speed to the thorny weapons struggle was faster than his own.

Nineteen years old—youth was truly formidable.

Besides, Li Yan's wrist was cut, and those experienced in battle knew that a horizontal wrist slash was not fatal.

But in such a state, to wield the Mandarin Duck Halberd—which demanded great finger and wrist strength and risked self-injury—was unrealistic.

Following another collision of force and blade, Li Yan barely pushed Xu Tianci away. Before the youth could close in again, Li Yan astonishingly cast aside his Meridian Mandarin Duck Leap, choosing to confront the sharply honed Butterfly Twin Blades with his bare hands.

Li Yan's action was nothing short of shocking. To the audience, although Li Yan's wounds were fierce and ghastly, with Xu Tianci half-blinded, the outcome of the battle remained uncertain. To discard his weapon now was akin to tearing down his own ramparts.

Xu Tianci lunged forward, his half-blinded eyes reflecting Li Yan's face.

His twin blades aimed downward, sweeping toward Li Yan's abdomen.

Li Yan, empty-handed, could only be the butt of a joke if he tried to block head-on. With no other choice, he continued to retreat as the Butterfly Twin Blades licked the blood from their edges with speed rivaling the Startling Swan, slashing at him until he was surrounded by peril.

"Why abandon your halberd?"

Red Ghost turned to ask Taisui.

"Fighting..." Yu Shu with a twisted face replied, "is a matter of brains."

Before long, Li Yan's body was marked with several more cuts, and as blood flowed steadily from his chest, his vigorous dodging flung droplets of blood like a running tap, making one wonder if he would bleed to death if this continued.

Xu Tianci showed no signs of slowing his blade work. Despite the explosive pain from his eyes to his cranial cavity, his strikes remained swift and cunningly angled.

"Let's see who gives in first!"

The youth's bravery was singular.

Li Yan was gradually cornered to a dead end of the platform, with no escape from the Butterfly Twin Blades. Yet Xu Tianci's killing intent was intense, his blades relentless and swift.

"Zzzt..."

Li Yan's footing slipped to the edge of the platform, a fierce gleam flashed in his eyes as he seized the moment when the youth brought his blade down, and he charged at Xu Tianci.

The youth's blades were poised, but Li Yan's fingers reaching for Xu Tianci's wrist were actually outside his line of sight. Xu Tianci, unable to see Li Yan's hands, immediately drew back his blade in defense, blade against flesh, Li Yan dared not clash head-on.

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The Butterfly Knife cleaved down, targeting Li Yan's right arm.

But that wasn't all. The other blade followed suit, slashing towards Li Yan's lower body. The target seemed unclear, but it effectively sealed off Li Yan's ability to lift his foot.

Zhang Mingyuan had lost to Li Yan's signature foot jabbing technique.

"I won't lose where Wu Erlang did!"

Li Yan shifted his weight to the left, his right arm arching back to dodge the blade, and somehow, his left hand had already found the back of Xu Tianci's hand!

"Abandon Halberd Bet Capture?"

Xu Tianci's mind raced. This was a gamble where he'd take a blade to his thigh rather than have his wrist snapped. Xu Tianci didn't bend his wrist, and even with Li Yan's skilled grappling, it wasn't certain that he could break it immediately, but a cut to the thigh was guaranteed.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He sprang back as if willing to forsake his strike rather than risk his wrist being captured. But as Xu Tianci leaned back, he unexpectedly raised his leg!

Li Yan had already been forced to the dead corner of the platform, and having just dodged the Butterfly Knife with a Twisted Left Ankle, his balance was already precarious. Xu Tianci's High Whip Kick, a move that would never be seen in Southern Fist, sent Li Yan flying out of the ring!

This kick, I return to you!

A stir broke out among the crowd around the ring.

"No, that's not right!"

As Xu Tianci's leg struck Li Yan's chest, his heart sank like it had fallen into an ice pit.

"I've been tricked!"

The kick had no force behind it; Li Yan wasn't sent flying by the blow but had propelled himself into the air with a push from his left foot!

His legs, like twin steel whips, locked around Xu Tianci's neck, and with a powerful twist of his waist, he hoisted Xu Tianci aloft!

Arching his back, flipping over, Li Yan's knee pressed against Xu Tianci's head. His right hand, wrapped in bandages, caught the butterfly knife swirling in midair!

Xu Tianci's eyes blazed with fury, the last of his blade's edge stabbing upwards! But the moment after the strike, a strong sense of regret washed over him.

What am I doing?

Both men crashed to the ground, one after the other!

Xu Tianci hit the ground first.

The two butterfly knives clashed in midair.

Li Yan loomed above, his eyes ablaze with a fire that had not shone there since his illness—a spiritual radiance long absent.

He wore a smile, "You're no fun, not playing by the rules."

Xu Tianci's face was a bloody mess, his swollen eyes barely closing.

When Li Yan spun him in the air, resistance meant a broken neck, submission meant a fall from the ring—death or defeat. The young man, though brave, followed his instinct to live. Yet, even as he spun through the air, his rage drove him to lash out with his knife, attacking even when he knew he had already lost.

"I've lost."

"Go to the hospital now, you can still save your other eye. You're young; blindness would ruin you."

Li Yan stood up, hunching over as he walked away.

Xu Tianci lay still behind him.

A group of young men and women suddenly leapt from the ring, rushing to Xu Tianci's side, their expressions filled with sorrow.

"Ah Jing," the old man's eyes were red and swollen.

A middle-aged man nearby quickly responded.

"Steward."

"Take Heaven's Gift to the hospital, and from today on, no one from the Shang Tian Wing Chun National Martial Arts Hall, from top to bottom, is allowed to set foot in Kowloon Fortress Village. Do you hear me clearly?"

The middle-aged man looked deeply at the staggering figure of Li Yan, reluctant to speak.

"I asked if you heard me clearly!"

The old man's beard and hair bristled, like a lion in fury.

"Clear as day, Steward."

The man answered through clenched teeth, his voice tinged with misery.

Li Yan had fulfilled all the requirements of the Yanfu Incident.

He was to settle and return in ten minutes.

Turning away the doctor who came to tend to his wounds, Li Yan made do with a hasty self-care before heading to his room. Ah Xiu had gone to register at school today; she would be upset not to find him upon her return, wouldn't she?

Judy seemed not to be in the private room...

The Red Ghost, forget it.

With these thoughts, Li Yan crossed paths with Yu Shu on the street, both avoiding eye contact, passing by each other without a glance...

Upon reflection, the Tapir, Guhuo Bird, Ba Snake, and Taisui didn't seem out of place together, did they?

Entering his room, the first thing Li Yan saw was a box on the bed. Reaching out, he found the box locked, requiring a code to open.

A note was pressed on top of it.

"For a hint, remember what I told you during our first visit to Victoria Harbour."

A lipstick mark adorned the paper.

Li Yan furrowed his brows, lost in thought.

One minute, three minutes, five minutes passed.

Li Yan picked up the Mandarin Duck Halberd and with a thrust and a smash, the box opened.

Inside lay a trove of golden bricks, glimmering with a rich yellow hue.

"Gold, a precious commodity, each brick redeemable for a hundred Yan Fu Points, with no upper limit."

A full box, twenty bricks.

Two thousand points!

Beneath the gold lay a sheet of pale golden rice paper.

No Strange Beasts adorned it, only a line of Unrestrained Calligraphy.

"You are the White Elephant, oh White Elephant."

"You have discovered a Yanfu Relic!"

"You may choose to use this token to initiate a Yanfu Incident or use it at the start of any Yanfu Incident to enhance your Initial Identity."

(Regarding the sentence on the paper, feel free to research Lu Xun, Lin Yutang, White Elephant.)

Out of the corner of his eye, Li Yan noticed a meal box on the table, still steaming.

Wonton noodles.

"Heh."

Li Yan reached out to take it, but his body and the reaching fingers began to dissipate into the air.

Transforming into Star Specks, vanishing into the void...

"You have completed this Yanfu Incident, total Yanfu Incidents completed: 1"

"Your rating for this Yanfu Incident is: Shang Ji (Ratings are categorized into Great Luck, Shang Ji, Lower Auspice, Supreme, Middle Peace, and Lowest, six levels in all)."

"Settlement begins!"

**********

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