I wondered briefly why Braun always seemed to travel in groups of three. Every encounter I'd had with him, he'd had a person I'd labeled tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum. People to faun over him, encourage him, laugh at his inane quips, and back him up. The two that were with him today, were well trained, moving in concert, and communicating using some method I wasn't able to detect.

Extending my Qi perception, I was able to gauge their cultivation level. Braun was no surprise, we had had enough encounters over the past eight months that I knew he was firmly established at the mid-tier, mid-level Body Refinement realm. His friends, on the other hand, hadn't broken through to mid-level yet, one was at the perfected-level of low-tier, while the other was only mid-level.

They really would have been better off concentrating on cultivation and training, they had stagnated by spending so much time as Braun's stooges. It allowed Braun to remain stronger, perhaps that was calculated, but very soon we would be competing in a tournament. They had crippled any chance of success they might have, leveraging their entire future on Braun's goodwill.

If it came to a fight, they had the numbers to overwhelm me, but I doubt they had the skills. Braun was lazy, in the few moments of time Elder Shadow allowed me to rest during my own training sessions, I would often see him half-heartedly performing a Kata. He did none of the exercises I was required to do on a daily basis to build muscle and endurance. And if he treated gaining control of his spirit root as he did his martial training, I doubted that he had learned how to merge his affinity and Qi effectively.

"It seems the Gods do favor the lucky," one of Braun's toadies proclaimed. "We were just talking about you."

"I'm sure," I drawled, "your obsession with me is creepy, bordering on stalker-ish."

"Stalking?" Braun sneered. "You stumbled upon us, we weren't out looking for you. But now that you are here, as a fellow member of Flowing Water Sect, it seems only right that we carry any resources you may have found.

"It would only be gentlemanly," Tweedle-dum agreed.

"Ah," I replied, "a bit of banditry? Dreams of leaving my broken body in the forest never to be found if I resist?"

"Would we harm a Sect sister?" Braun asked, the gleam of anticipation the only warning I received before he attacked.

His Tin Spirit Roots limited him to what cultivation and martial techniques he could master. I needed to be careful that I didn't underestimate him because of my own type of snobbery. My Platinum Spirit roots were a formidable advantage, but secret and high-tiered martial techniques could make up for many disadvantages. I would be careful, but I didn't think he could compare to the celestial techniques that I was training in.

He was too lazy, his body didn't have the capacity, at his current realm, to withstand the Qi that needed to be controlled and shaped with those types of advanced skills. He would need to upgrade his techniques in the future, probably once he had reached Immortal Realm, to advance. But until he began training his body extensively, any skill he practiced would be limited. Bone and muscle density needed incremental gains. There was a reason all cultivation started at the Body Refinement realm.

I was already realized that they had a method of communication that was beyond me, so it came as no surprise when the two thugs attacked. There had been no warning, no word or signal given, but the three of them attacked with concentrated synchrony. Braun was a swordsman, so his first move was to get within range. He might be able, at higher levels, to send sword strikes powered by Qi that allowed him to use ranged attacks, but he would need to advance to Qi Gathering realm first.

Tweedle-dee used a spear. It could be thrown, and if he had a few of them in his storage device that might be an effective strategy, but that didn't seem to be the case, so he too rushed forward to get within range. Tweedle-dum was the most dangerous of the three as the fight began. He was armed with a bow, and he quick to make use of it.

His actions smooth, unlike Braun, he had put the time and effort into mastering the weapon he would wield. He released a Qi imbued arrow almost as soon as he'd drawn back on the string. His arrow glowing with the water element. I wasn't sure what he technique he practiced, or how his water affinity would change the properties of the arrow, and I wasn't about to take a hit to find out.

As he released the arrow, I moved, no longer where he had been aiming. I activated [Lightning's Rush] leaping into the air so that I could employ [Spin and Dive Into the Ocean]. It was my most effective ability at the moment against those that wielded long-range weapons. The skill was layered, it allowed me to deploy my Tessen, fluttering the fan like the wings of a butterfly. The wind Qi that I fed the Tessen created gusts of wind that made it appear as if I was flying.

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My Hanfu added to the effect, the wind causing the long sleeves and fabric to billow, to move and dance with me. By changing the position of the fan, I could affect my body's movement. The effects exaggerated because as soon as I leaped; I began spinning, my clothing and movement, a sequence of pirouettes. Martial combat transformed into a dance of grace and elegance.

But no matter how beautiful and graceful [Spin and Dive Into the Ocean] appeared, if not countered, it could be deadly. The [Dao of Movement] had increased the effectiveness of all of my skills. I could twirl faster, leap farther, and strike quicker than I'd ever been able. I snapped the fan closed when I had reached the apex of my leap, creating a small Qi construct for me to use as purchase, to stand on, and give me leverage as I dove to engage the archer. My speed was such, and my opponent so unprepared, that I could have killed him with that first strike.

My attack on the henchman was unanticipated, and they had made no effort to guard against it. They had believed I would attack Braun, and that belief played a factor in how they responded and their ineptness. They had thought my enmity for him was at least as strong as his for me. That there was nothing that would stop him from attacking me if given the chance. They were wrong, and Elder Shadow had pounded strategy into my head as part of my training.

I thrust my Tessen forward, stabbing the archer. My arm in full extension became one with the Tessen, it had the same effect as any blade. Since I had to be careful not to kill any of them, I didn't want to have to face the Sect tribunal if I killed a fellow member; I was careful to aim for the arm muscles he needed to equip his Bow.

The move was effective, and he fell as I landed, blood flowing from the wound I had created. Somersaulting once before springing up into [Dragon Sweeps the Tail], I gained distance from the felled archer. The move allowed me to make use of my lower center of mass to transition from a kneeling to a standing position.

The other two had also reacted, moving quickly, desperately trying to get within melee range. The spear-carrier was a few steps faster than Braun. I snapped the Tessen open once more to deflect the spear thrust that my Qi perception warned me was incoming. Engaging [Dragon Sweeps the Tail], a defensive move, I was able to parry attacks that were aimed at my back.

The technique was only effective if I had time to place the opened Tessen in a position to block. By opening the fan, I had a much wider field available for deflection. The cloth that had been used in creating my Tessen was made from a rare Spirit Beast. A type of silk-worm that was the size of a cat. The silk had high tensile strength and when woven together with certain runic enchantments added an almost impregnable defense.

The cloth not only blocked the incoming spear thrust, but a quick flick of my wrist and injection of Qi triggered the fabric to detach from one end. Following up on the block, I used the now entangled fabric and spear tip and executed [Catch the Moon]. Another spin and the sleeves of my Hanfu blinded him as I twirled. His weapon firmly caught, I disarmed him.

Disarming a spears-men was a risky gambit, they had the reach and would almost always deflect an attack and follow through with a piercing attack that finished those stupid enough to attempt the maneuver. But it was one against three and I had to level the playing field. I wasn't sure how long the archer would remain side-lined, not long if he had a healing pill.

My gambit paid off, and the spear when sailing. I had enough spatial awareness from my Qi to track where Braun was in relation to my fight so when I flung the spear that I had captured; I made sure to send it his way. None of them had been expecting anything like that, and the spear lodged firmly in his thigh, his sword moving too late to deflect my throw, his body movement ability to slow to dodge.

Braun used that moment to strike, but he was only one person, and without his sycophants to support him, and now wounded, his attack was easily neutralized. He had been moving forward to engage me, but by blocking his sword thrust, I gained enough time, and room to respond.

With the spear firmly lodged in his thigh, the archer gasping in pain, his arm broken, and the spears-men disarmed, I channeled Qi to my legs. [White Crane Opens Wing] allowed me to maintain proprioception over my body, so that I was aware and able to make the small adjustments I needed, vaulting over and past him.

Bruan watched, eyes wide in disbelief as I sailed over his head, landing behind him. His disbelief gave me an opportunity, it allowed me an advantage. I could have pressed that advantage, continued the fight. But there was no point. I couldn't kill any of them. I had been lucky that they under-estimated me and that I had recently gained a Dao. But I was worried that Nero was around somewhere keeping tabs on his brother.

It was best to escape when I could, let them treat their wounds, and return to the Sect where I would have at least a small measure of protection. As it was, I had a feeling this battle was going to be discussed amongst the Elders. I was certain that Braun would try to spin what happened to make me look like the aggressor. Technically, he would be right, I had been the first to land a strike, even though they had been the first to attack.

Channeling my Qi, I engaged [Lightning's Rush] once more. It must have seemed as if I had vanished. One moment I was in the last position for [Catch the Moon] the next I was gone.