Sliding to the side, Henry ducked under a cleaver swing aimed at his head. He could see the afterimage of her future attack as clear as day. She was strong and fast but also very predictable. She valued power instead of finesse. Henry struck one point on her forearm, letting a needle-like ki sliver jam into a ki point. This point would inhibit her breathing. It was slight, and she would not notice immediately, but it would wear on her.

“Stay still, you slippery bastard; fight me like a man,” Liu said as she swung at Henry again.

When the southern cultivators stuck her, she felt something strange. There was barely a hint of ki, and there was nothing to be worried about. All this dodging and chasing left her feeling slightly winded, an even stranger feeling.

Henry knew his ki reserves were not significant, so he would conserve them instead of using them in every strike. His training had taught him that sometimes his fist was just enough. There were no fancy techniques or crazy skills, just the aggression and training the Dragon Kata had instilled in him.

She was very skilled, so she had scored some hits on Henry, cutting his arm. The blood ran down to his fist and gave him a gruesome appearance. She would reward him with a deep cut for every three of his little pats. Henry was walking on razor-barb right now. He had blocked off all the ki points that concerned her breathing and blood flow.

Liu felt like she was trying to breathe through a straw. Her muscles ached and felt like they were mud. She gritted her teeth and fought on. She had clipped him multiple times, but the damn rat was very resilient. She was slowing down, and he was tagging her more and more. She couldn’t score any meaningful hits on him. She was always just a second too late on her strikes. If this went on any longer, she would lose, and that was not allowed to happen.

Henry breathed and focused. This war of attrition was not good for Liu. He could tell she was slowly drowning as he pulled her deeper and deeper into the deep. Henry flicked the blood off his arms and gestured for Liu to bring it. The more he could anger her, the longer he could drag out this game of cat and mouse. She was eventually gas, and Fei would call a stop to the match.

At this rate, Father will stop the match, Liu thought. She had to go all out. Her ki felt like it was trapped and couldn’t move around freely. This bastard had done something for sure. She knew this was it as she channeled her Ki to her cleavers, igniting them on fire.

They called her the Fire Butcher. She brought in the biggest game, and her father was always interested in her catch. She would not disappoint him. She would not allow this young upstart to sully her honor. She let more and more ki flow into her cleavers. What started as a fire was now an inferno; two twin pillars of flames erupted, reaching towards the sky.

“You are a greasy little rat, Hen Ri, but I'll concede that you might have some skill. I have had enough of this farce, but this next move ends it.”

Henry remains silent, eyes focused on the point that he needs to strike to paralyze Liu’s arms. He had to be fast, so he let a little ki flow to his legs. He could feel the ki enlarging his muscles and giving him a rush of power. While she talked, Henry would watch. Like a tiger, he was waiting for the right moment to pounce.

His moment came as she shifted her weight to her back foot and lifted one inferno cleaver to the sky.

He dashed in, cracking the stone floor. He hit her three times at blinding speed. He let out a little more ki than usual to ensure those points were adequately sealed.

Liu's arms did not descend, and she could not move them. She started to panic as her flames had nowhere to go but back down towards her. Her ki felt like it was trapped in her arms. If this went on any longer, then her channels would rupture.

A sudden pressure descended on the fighters, and the flames in Liu’s hands were snuffed out of existence.

“Hen Ri is the winner. Liu is unable to fight,” Fei said as he strolled over.

“I can fight Father, please. I just needed some time to..”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Fei looks at Liu sternly before sighing.

“He had you beat, dear. Did you feel unnaturally tired and sluggish during the match? He blocked ki points that regulate your blood and the air in your body.”

Liu looked at Hen Ri, shocked. Was he blocking her ki channels? She had barely felt anything. If she had felt the foreign ki enter her body, she would have countered it with her own. How did he have that much ki control to do that? He must have shaped his ki to such a size that it didn’t trigger any of her internal alarms.

Liu begrudgingly bowed to Henry and walked back to her siblings. They all stayed in their seats and looked at her dismissively. She kept her head down, not daring to meet any of their eyes.

Jebus Henry thought these people were a tough crowd. At least tell her that she put up a good fight. Her arms were blacked from her flames; it was a gruesome sight. Henry felt bad. He barely knew this person, and it looked like she was trying to get some respect from her family. He could sympathize with that.

He walked over to Liu and pulled out a healing ointment the maids had packed for him. Touching her shoulder, he stopped her before she could sit down.

“If you don't treat those burns, they will scar. That ointment is good stuff, and you were a tough opponent. Don’t let those bums sitting down discourage you; that was a good fight.”

“Thanks,” she said quietly, taking the ointment and sitting down.

“Wel,l pops, that should be enough of an icebreaker. Could I get cleaned up and maybe eat something that took a lot out of me.”

“One-second brother Hen Ri, this Wu would also like to trade some pointers with you.”

****

Wu was a short, rotund fellow who was completely bald and had an obscene amount of piercings on his face. There was more metal than there was flesh. He would wear the standard fur outfit that Liu had worn. On his arms were metal bracelets that rose to his elbows. His hands had a ring on each finger. This guy would set off every metal detector in Henry's world.

“Pops, do you think it would be fair if I had to fight again after my match with sister Liu?” Henry said cocking his head and looking at Fei quizically.

“The world is not fair, Hen Ri; that being said, I am not ignorant of your condition here. I got these from Uncle for you,” Fei said as he threw a little brown bag at Henry.

Inside were fifteen gold coins that all shone with the light of potential energy.

This bastard knew that three coins allowed Henry enough energy to carry on a decent match. He wanted him to fight all of his kids. Was this a way for Henry to assert his dominance? Or was this asshole just out to kill him.

He looked at Fei, who stared back at him without emotion on his face. Yup, this guy was trying to kill him without actually pissing off Gram Gram or Yinglong. Ok, that's fine; he was used to being an underdog.

“Can I have a five-minute break to clean myself, Pops?” Henry said, showing everyone his bloody arms.

“I agree with Brother Hen Ri father. Allow him his break so I may test him at his best,” Wu said, looking at Fei.

Fei just nodded and out ran a gaggle of attendants with drinks and food as well as bandages and cleaning supplies. Henry thanked them but politely said that he only needed the food and the drinks, nothing else.

He plucked out three coins, palming them in his hand. Draining the coins, he felt the familiar rush of potential energy hit his core, revitalizing and sealing up his cuts. Taking time to clean the blood of his arms, Henry looked at his opponent.

Judging by his looks, this guy seemed the defense-type fighter, so he could use the same tactic as he did with Liu. He was skeptical because his secret was out of the bag. Shoving as much food and water into his mouth as he could, he looked over to the girl that he had just fought. She sat in her chair, putting on his ointment and marveling at how quickly her charred flesh flaked off, revealing new pink skin.

She caught him looking, and maybe he was mistaken, but there was a slight smile on her face. It was quickly replaced with a scowl when one of her siblings looked at her.

Feeling refreshed at least enough to fight, Henry strode to the center of the ring.

“Observe my rules, boys. It's the same as the last fight; this will be until I deem a winner,” Fei said, this time looking more serious and observant. Hell, he wasn’t even smoking anymore.

“Please take care of this Wu brother, Hen Ri,” he said as he bowed.

“Sure, sure, just make sure you don’t murder me; Gram Gram would be very disappointed.”

Henry said this loud enough so that even Fei could hear.

He was ready and curious about what Wu had up his sleeves.