“Been looking forward to this,” Sha Xiang said.

He Yu didn’t doubt it. “It would be an honor to exchange pointers,” he said, giving a slight bow. If there was any goodwill left in Sha Xiang, there was certainly no harm in trying to draw it out.

There wasn’t.

She sneered at him, saying, “I’d thought I would have to wait until after the grace period to make you pay. Guess fortune has favored me.”

Something snapped inside him at that. It might have been the unfairness of it all or the sheer arrogance she’d never once let go of. It might have been one of a hundred other little things that all led to the same place. The whole reason for her ridiculous attitude wasn’t his fault.

Zhang Lifen’s “tournament” story had specifically mentioned a way for students to earn a spot in Dong Wei’s school. He shouldn’t have had to fight anyone who was already enrolled, let alone Dong Wei’s star pupil. That she’d been placed against him in the second round had obviously been Dong Wei’s doing. It had achieved its intended effect and eliminated him from the tournament.

Despite all that, Zhang Lifen had chosen him for the sect anyway.

Distantly, he heard himself replying to her with surprising hardness. “You won’t find me so easy an opponent as you did last time.” The only thing he felt as he stared her down was an iron resolve. She may have a full realm advantage over him, but so had Cui Bao. He’d managed to land a solid hit against one, so why not the other?

Sha Xiang launched forward. Her attack was much the same as it had been back at Shulin—a strike to the face as she sought to end the fight quickly and embarrass him in all at once.

With a practiced motion, He Yu stepped to the side of her blow, bringing the heavy blade of his guandao crashing down. Sha Xiang twisted to avoid it, and he felt a glimmer of satisfaction at the flicker of surprise that crossed her features. It didn’t last.

To the credit of her talent, she recovered seamlessly and launched a low kick at his knee. He braced his guandao and used it to vault over her attack, launching into a kick of his own. When they turned to square off once again, their eyes met for a moment and understanding passed between them. There would be no peace.

He Yu could have ended things here, had he only put his weapon aside and let her beat him within an inch of his life, then take anything of value he had. She would have laughed at him and mocked him to her followers, but that would have been the end of it. He would never do such a thing. He would never bow before her. He had learned somewhat of pride in his time at the sect.

He’d no doubt that she’d gained some insight towards him in that moment as well. She would have been cultivating the White Mountain technique all this time. The understanding that came with cultivation extended past the self and out to the world and the people in it.

He Yu had gotten much better at reading people since he’d come to the sect, and Sha Xiang could likely say the same. Her eyes narrowed fractionally, and that told him the truth of his assumptions.

“So be it, then,” she said, his voice hard and low.

Sha Xiang’s qi rippled outward, carrying with it the impression of golden earth and jagged stone. As alarming as her nascent presence was, He Yu found a small comfort in it. Her presence was vague and indistinct, the impressions it carried fleeting. Weaker than any of his friends’ presences. Even now, He Yu had to push the occasional glint of moonlight produced by Li Heng’s fight with Cui Bao from his thoughts lest he lose focus on his opponent.

The comparison between the two was stark. Considering the two at once, Li Heng was clearly the stronger of them. Sha Xiang’s presence was nearly on par with Chen Fei, and while Chen Fei had pretty soundly beaten him during their spars—especially when she’d been angry and hadn’t held back—He Yu could stand up to her. Which meant he could stand up to Sha Xiang.

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“I’d been saving this,” Sha Xiang said. The muscles in her arms bunched and earth qi gathered around her fists. The formation characters stitched into her gloves flared, and plates of stone formed over her knuckles. “Earth Sundering Fist,” she said, arrogance creeping into the words. “Shame to waste it on you, of all people.”

He Yu wasn’t without any techniques of his own, though. Sha Xiang attacked again, and He Yu slammed his guandao down. The Bracing Wind kicked up a cloud of dust and leaves and twigs as wind qi burst out from the guandao. In the moment where his technique interrupted her momentum, he formed the Crashing Wind, slamming a downward stroke wreathed in wind qi. For a moment, began to believe he could win.

Then, Sha Xiang caught the blade. It was such a simple movement. She simply reached up and grabbed his guandao. The blade made a sound like he’d struck stone when it impacted her hand.

He tried to wrench it free, but her grip held.

Another pulse of qi rippled out from her, and again he felt the impression of stone and golden earth. She stepped inside his guard and punched him squarely in the gut. Only the months of cultivation and training kept him from crumpling from her strike, but it hurt like a thousand demons.

He struggled to get his breathing back under control despite his practice with his cultivation technique. It was only that small presence of mind that allowed him to notice as her fist pulled back for a second strike.

Silver flashed, and Sha Xiang let him go. She leaped back, only just avoiding the sword light from Li Heng’s Winter Moon Reflection. A dusting of snow, and Li Heng was between them. “Sect Sister Sha ought to know better than to bully her juniors,” Li Heng said. His tone was mocking, each word dripping with condescension.

“Again,” she spat. “Why do you insist on getting involved in what doesn’t concern you?”

“Do the troubles of my little brother not concern me, Sect Sister? Should I stand by while a lady of the Way pushes around someone so clearly incapable of standing against her for more than a moment? No, I think it is only proper as both a noble and a friend to come to the aid of Sect Brother He in this.”

Sha Xiang had no answer but to glare. Cui Bao appeared at her side, looking noticeably worse than he had at the start but still eager to fight. Despite the obvious confidence in Li Heng’s demeanor, He Yu wasn’t so sure himself. Sha Xiang and Cui Bao were both far stronger than he was, and he wasn’t sure he could tip the balance if they joined up against Li Heng. Especially since using the Bracing Wind, then defending against Sha Xiang’s one attack had taken more out of him than he cared to admit. Not even to mention the qi he’d spent in his brief exchange with Cui Bao.

As grateful as he was for the assistance, a part of him shrank at the fact Li Heng had needed to step in and save him for a second time. He’d genuinely thought that he would be able to hold against Sha Xiang long enough for Li Heng to deal with Cui Bao. Then, between the two of them, Sha Xiang would have no choice but to yield.

The two other disciples both activated their techniques, earth qi gathering around Sha Xiang’s fists, and fire qi sparking along the edges of Cui Bao’s hatchets. Both appeared intent on Li Heng this time. Whether they deemed him the greater threat, or they simply considered He Yu irrelevant, he couldn’t say. The truth of it didn’t matter, though. He needed to help his friend. It was the least he could do.

He stepped up next to Li Heng and brought his guandao to bear. From the subtle shift in Li Heng’s stance, he could tell the noble appreciated it. For the first time, he realized that the fight had taken far more out of Li Heng than he’d let on. That didn’t bode well. Cui Bao had quite obviously spent more of himself than Li Heng had, but Sha Xiang had barely fought and was still as fresh as she’d been at the beginning of the exchange.

“I’d like it if Yan Shirong were here,” Li Heng muttered, adjusting his grip on his jian.

He Yu cast a glance around the glade. Yan Shirong and Qiao Xia were gone, their fight carrying them off into the trees somewhere. He couldn’t say which side would benefit more from having the both of them present, but another ally would certainly make him feel better about their odds. Given Li Heng’s words a moment ago, he felt the same.

“Cui Bao is nearly spent,” He Yu said. “If I can deal with him, maybe we can take Sha Xiang together.”

Li Heng didn’t look convinced but nodded anyway. “Be careful,” he said. “That one’s every bit as dangerous as I’d marked him for that first week.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Spent or not, Cui Bao was still fully in the Second Realm. It would be a hard fight, but it was the only real choice he was left with.

Li Heng took a step forward and pointed his jian at Sha Xiang. “If you’ve not yet seen enough of the Li family arts, I’m more than happy to continue the demonstration.”

Sha Xiang coiled and launched herself at Li Heng, earth qi thrumming around her fists. The sounds of combat filled the glade once more.