As searing heat passed over her, Yanmei Ling had to use what little attuned qi she had saved up in her dantian to protect herself. This was a mistake—a big mistake, Mei Ling realized as she watched the young lord of the Dragon Tail Sect glare at her best friend like he was ready to kill. To be fair, she had no idea why the young master was still here; according to her grandfather, they were supposed to leave days ago.
However, that didn’t excuse her misjudgment. I should have waited to give him the bracelet at the celebration, as custom dictates. But when she saw him throwing everything he had into the training dummy with that desperate expression, she knew he still couldn't break through.
It was rare for such a talented youth to struggle in cultivation. Mei Ling knew better than most how gifted he was—talented, even terrifying sometimes. It broke her heart to see him get so close and yet be so far from his goal.
She was pulled from her inner conflict by the young master of the Dragon Tail Sect, who, just days ago, had been considered a potential partner and husband. The thought makes me shudder.
“Where did you get that bracelet?” he demanded with a stone-cold calm, even as his qi flared menacingly. Mei Ling looked over at her friend, who was mumbling something, though she was too far to make it out.
“I received it as a birthday gift, as it’s my birthday today. Could you please calm your qi? It’s starting to burn,” Rin replied coolly.
As if just realizing it, Young Master Hwei widened his eyes, a flush of pink appearing on his face. He coughed. “Ah, yes, I am sorry,” he said, reining in his overwhelming qi. As the heat faded, Mei released the qi in her meridians, relief washing over her. Maybe this won’t be as bloody as I thought. But things rarely went to plan, as Wan Chu started to speak.
“Didn’t Young Mistress Ling give you that bracelet, Young Master Shin?” he intoned, pretending ignorance. They must have been listening outside, Mei Ling cursed under her breath, glancing toward her friend as he considered his answer.
“Yes, I did receive this from Mei Ling as a gift for my birthday. What of it?”
Mei saw Young Master Hwei flash a pained, ruby-eyed glance at her before turning back to Rin.
“I see. That is unfortunate. I hadn’t thought the Frozen Edge Sect would stoop so low as to sully the honor of another,” Young Master Hwei said, and Mei’s eyes went wide at the implication. Dragging the entire sect into this mess just because he didn’t get what he wanted—me? Unbelievable!
“Ah, now, young master, that seems a tad excessive. Why don’t we settle this disagreement here and now, as nobles should?” Wen Chu suggested.
“Yes, wouldn’t that be better than inciting a sect war with us? You know, with the so-called calamity approaching, we need all our strength. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not explain to one of the Supremes that we started a war over a bracelet,” Wan Chu added. The young master looked at them contemplatively. “Yes, that does seem inappropriate at this time. What do you propose, brother Wen?” Oh, come on, Mei thought, already knowing where this conversation was leading.
“Well, I’m not sure. What do you think, brother?” Wen asked Wan, tapping his finger on his mouth, pretending to be deep in thought. But Mei knew better. There was only one thing they’d propose, and it would be designed to cause Rin the most pain—or humiliation.
“Well, brother, perhaps a duel of some sort. As Young Master Hwei said, his honor is at stake, and we can’t have a respected member of a sister sect dishonored, can we?” Wan answered, a wide grin plastered on his face as he turned to Rin.
“Of course, we’ll be adding restrictions in light of Young Master Rin’s…” he trailed off, searching for the right words, “deficiency.” Mei scowled. How could they not see the monster in their midst? Just because he couldn’t sense qi now didn’t mean he never would, and she pitied those blind to that truth. Although Rin was many things, forgiving all the pain and humiliation thrown his way was not one of them.
“Deficiency?” Young Master Hwei asked, looking at the brothers. Wen answered.
“You see, Young Master Hwei, our little Rin here can’t sense qi,” he paused.
“Like, at all,” Wan finished.
Young Master Hwei looked at Rin with a slightly dazed expression. “You said today was your birthday, correct?”
Rin nodded.
“How old did you say?” Hwei asked.
“I didn’t—” Rin began, but the brothers cut him off, answering in unison.
“Eight years old!”
Young Master Hwei burst out laughing. “I’m sorry—” he tried to say, only to start laughing again. “You’re basically a mortal, aren’t you?” he asked between fits of laughter.
“And what of it?” Anger surged within me as I spat the words. He turned to me, a quizzical look in his eyes.
“Surely you can see, Mistress Ling, that he’s a lesser, no better than the mortals in the cities we protect. He’s forever destined to live a short and mundane life.” He laughed again, the Chu brothers joining him wholeheartedly.
Her body went rigid. How dare they? It was Rin’s birthday, and yet they still mocked and sneered at him. Heat blossomed across her body, not from embarrassment but from anger—anger for her friend. She tugged at her dantian, letting attuned and unattuned qi intermingle. It wouldn’t be enough for a full-on fight, but it would be enough to get her point across. “I think you have overstepped, Young Master Hwei.”
“It may not be easy for you to accept yet, Young Mistress Ling, but he’ll die ages before we even begin to solidify our paths,” Hwei replied, oblivious to the slight pink glow behind Mei’s sapphire eyes.
“He’ll be dust by then, not even worth remembering. A bug, worthless. His only purpose will be birthing more mortals to serve us. Other than that, I could kill him now—”
At this, Mei snapped. She activated her first qi technique, Quartz Flame Dress, as her body became enveloped in pink and orange flames. She dashed forward toward the three laughing boys.
Young Master Hwei noticed her first. Though the courtyard was not as large as other sect training grounds, it was still sizable. Even at full speed, it took a few seconds to reach them, giving them ample time to see her approach. The Chu brothers jumped back, aware they had no chance, while the young master ignited his qi, a light smirk on his face that only fueled her desire to smash it.
As she came within a few paces, deciding she was close enough, she activated her second technique, Quartz Spike. She planted her left leg, creating a mini crater in the snow.
Using momentum, she pivoted, swinging her right leg down in an axe kick aimed at his head, pink flames licking at the quartz spikes that appeared on her foot. For a moment, she saw his eyes widen in fear as her leg hurtled toward him. But just before impact, she saw a hand reach up beneath her kicking leg. Wait, a hand? Before she could make sense of it, something struck her, and the hand grabbed her leg, pulling upwards and completely destabilizing her balance.
Her leg continued its arc, missing the young master of the Dragon Tail Sect. She spun and tripped, landing in a heap in the snow where her flames made a hissing sound as fire and ice collided.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Now, Mei, how many times do I have to tell you that even though Quartz Flame Dress increases your mobility so you can close distances quickly, it still leaves you open to blind spots? And you do know that Quartz Spike is a near-fatal technique if it should land on someone,” he admonished her.
She puffed out her cheeks, sulking. She had to admit that he was correct, of course, as always. Now she was embarrassed, wet, and soon to be cold. “Well, yes, that might be true, but they didn’t know that.”
She pointed a finger at the group of boys. The Chu brothers, having composed themselves, just scowled back at her. She stuck her tongue out at them. The real curiosity was not them, but Hwei, as he fixated on Rin. Mei could understand why. No mortal would willingly run into a cultivator’s fight; there were too many ways to end up dead. What could Rin have in mind?
“I will settle this disagreement here and now, as Brother Wen suggested,” Rin said, bowing deeply to Young Master Hwei. The group of boys widened their eyes in response.
“Really, Rin? You don’t have to do this. Just let me burn them to a crisp. I’ll take all the blame,” Mei said, flaring up her flames to make a point. Hwei turned to look at her, intrigued at the idea of a fight.
“Please, Rin, let the lady have her fun,” he said, completely ignoring Mei’s scowl as she lit herself ablaze. Rin put a calming hand on her shoulder.
“It will be fine, Mei,” he said, smiling. She looked into his deep brown eyes, seeing the determination that he exuded. She sighed, letting her qi disperse. It was no good arguing with him.
“Fine, but if you lose, I am going to beat you myself ,” she said, pouting.
Rin just gave her a lopsided grin, the one he knew she liked. “Don’t worry, I won’t be beat so easily.”
He let go of her shoulder, walking into the middle of the courtyard. “Okay, how are we doing this?” Rin asked Hwei, turning back to look at the group of boys. Mei watched the brothers whisper to Hwei, who looked at them and nodded, smiling.
“Your battle, your rules,” Hwei said, taking a step back to let Rin decide. Mei knew better.
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“You imbecile, what were you thinking? I wont be beat so easily a I could feel my head and face heating up from embarrassment and Obviously, I wasn't. I have yeti scat for brains, it seems. Now I am going to get what is likely the worst beating of my life. Mom is going to tan my hide for coming to my own birthday party all bruised and broken,” Rin couldn’t help but think as he stared down his opponent, who was probably three or four realms above him in cultivation—likely even higher than Mei. And he had to fight him all for a bracelet. Taking a deep breath, he saw the Chu brothers saunter up, glee veritably oozing from them.
He wondered if he should ask Mei to scare them again; that had been pretty amusing, though a bit reckless on her part. Rin wasn’t sure about the whole thing about it starting a war, but it could definitely lead to a conflict between noble houses.
" I think first knock down should be good enough do you agree?"
Hwei grinned as he nodded , I grimaced ,but then a thoughtful look crossed his face as he spoke "“You could just give it back, you know, I will consider all animosity between us null and void the second it is in my hands.”
The hell I will
“I must humbly decline, young master. It was a gift from a dear friend, and it would be rude to give it away so easily,” I replied. He thought about for a briefest of seconds it was an enticing offer but no, seeing the lengths to which Mei was willing to go for him, he could at least do this. And it had nothing to do with him finally being able to use a qi technique, even if it was a pseudo-technique.
“I see. A shame. It seems I have to settle it with a simple beating, then. I will try not to injure you too much, but I make no promises.”
Both seemed to agree that there was nothing more to be said. The Chu brothers spoke in unison, “Some simple rules: no harmful qi techniques are allowed those that can lead to incapacitated or worse serious injury. First one to knock their opponent down wins, or if the other side concedes is also considered a victory. Are we in agreement?” Wen looked at Rin, and Wan looked at Hwei. Both fighters nodded their assent, and the brothers looked back at each other and smiled wildly.
“Fight!!” they bellowed.
The first to move was Hwei, dashing forward with a front kick aimed at Rin’s stomach. Rin parried with his left arm, a loud thwack echoing across the courtyard. Pain raced up Rin’s arm. “Damnit, feels like I am striking solid steel or granite,” Rin thought as Hwei followed up, using the momentum of Rin’s parry to propel his next technique.
As the intense battle unfolded, Rin found himself grappling with the realization of just how outmatched he truly was. The difference between one who cultivates and one who does not is vast. But Rin didn’t spend all that time training with Mei or himself for nothing. Even so, it did not alleviate any of the pressure currently on him as Young Master Hwei’s movements were swift and precise, his attacks calculated with almost unnerving precision.
The Chu brothers, watching from the sidelines with a mixture of anticipation and amusement, egged their respective fighters on with enthusiastic cheers, usually including some comment about the young master teaching Rin a lesson. Mei was more reserved, watching the battle in silence.
Rin knew he couldn’t keep up the current pace for long; he could already feel his chest start to burn, and a metallic copper taste enveloped his mouth. He had to change the fight around and soon. But as with all cultivators past the body refinement stage, it becomes near impossible to really injure one.
“Where is all the confidence from before?” Hwei asked as he blocked another of Rin’s kicks, jumping back to create distance.
“You know this is not going to end well for you. I must say, I am impressed at your martial skill. But I am sure you have already felt it—the difference between us. I can continue for much longer; I don’t think you can say the same, can you?” He was right, of course. His body was still very much that of a basic human. He ducked as another kick came for his head, a violent swishing sound as Hwei’s leg passed above. “Whoa, okay, that was way too close,” Rin thought. Looking around for the briefest of seconds, he saw something that might just work. He smiled.
“Oh, you know me, just getting ready to put you on your ass.” Still ducking, he turned and bolted towards Mei.
“See, a coward and worm! I knew you would show your true colors sooner rather than later!” Hwei roared, starting to bolt after him. “Yes, just keep following, just a little bit more... there!”
Rin planted his foot and kicked backward as hard as he could with the other, right where Hwei’s solar plexus was supposed to be. But Hwei was no amateur fighter and saw the kick coming, jumping away just in time. However, he slipped on some freshly formed ice right where Mei had melted it with her qi. Using this chance, Rin lunged in. Normally, Hwei would have predicted this and moved away, but with his balance totally broken, he had nowhere to go.
Rin lunged with full force, aiming for his most vulnerable parts, which, at this angle, put his groin in line with Rin’s fist. Pouring all his strength into it, Rin punched Hwei’s plums with a wince. The effect was immediate as was expected, as Hwei doubled over with a soft wheezing or maybe choking sound, dropping to his knees with a satisfying crunch in the snow.
A collective “Oooh” came from the twins as Mei started to laugh. “Talk about low-hanging fruit,” she hollered. “Couldn’t you have hit him a little softer, at least?”
“Well, he did say some very mean things about me, so no,” Rin answered, his breathing finally coming under control. He looked at Hwei, who was still clutching his groin. Rin thought he was lucky. Very lucky. He wouldn’t be able to do that twice, and it had only worked with Mei once as well. At least then, it wasn’t in any of her more private parts. His face reddened ever so slightly.
What is wrong with me today? Girls are still gross, he thought, brought out of his thoughts by a groaning Hwei.
“Tha—” Hwei started but groaned again, clutching his groin. Rin did feel sorry for the boy; it had to hurt. Hwei continued, “That was a cheap move, something I expected from a bug like you!” Hwei turned to the Chu brothers, who were still looking at Rin agape. “Aren’t I right, brothers?” he asked, but the brothers didn’t move. “Aren’t. I. Right. Brothers?” he repeated, enunciating every word. The brothers finally snapped out of their trance as Wen was the first to answer.
“I am sorry, Brother Hwei. What was it you were saying?” Hwei grumbled something.
“I said that only a lowly worm and a good-for-nothing could use such a dishonorable move in a duel. Am I right?” he asked, looking straight at Rin.
“Yes, of course, brother,” Wen answered immediately, while his brother was still eyeing Rin skeptically. “I think there should be a rematch. What do you say, Senior Brother Hwei?” Wan suggested.
Mei was the first to react. “Of course you would say that. What, is the honorable young master a sore loser?” She inclined her head towards Rin. “I mean, Rin is still a normal human—” she hesitated for a second, glancing at Rin and seeing no change in his demeanor, “So how is it that Rin was able to beat you?” she asked questioningly.
Wan was quick to answer. “That was not a fight. That was Rin running around, trying to play at fighting, and he resorted to using dirty tricks to get the better of Young Master Hwei!” he said proudly, not noticing the grim expression plastered over Hwei’s face.
“So you’re saying Rin is better than our esteemed young master here?” Mei asked, cocking her head with a light smile on her face.
Spluttering, Wan tried and failed to answer as he turned to Hwei, who was, for all intents and purposes, fuming. His face was red, and literal steam was rising from his head, which painted quite the funny picture.
Seemingly having heard enough, Hwei roared, “Dive of the Dragon Tail!” An enormous amount of qi was released, and a translucent scaled tail appeared behind Hwei. He dashed forward. With them being so close, he didn’t have to go far. He jumped, twirling his body. Rin, still rooted in place and bewildered at the display, couldn’t dodge in time as the tail whipped and struck him over the shoulder.
His knees buckled under the weight of the force, and he was slammed into the ground with a resounding smack. Rin screamed in pain as he heard not a few popping and cracking noises. But Hwei was not yet done. As Rin bounced from the impact, Hwei swiveled as he landed, bringing his back leg straight into Rin’s right side. More cracking and popping noises were heard as Rin flew end over end, landing in a heap near the far wall.