He Yu struck what he hoped would come across as an imposing stance, guandao held in one hand at his side, blade pointed to the heavens. He’d spent the past three days sequestered in his home and familiarizing himself with the first two techniques of the Cloud Emperor’s Heavenly Palace. It had taken a bit of effort, but he felt as though he’d managed to get the hang of the Cloud Emperor’s Peerless Judgment in that time. The second technique, the Sky Dragon’s Flight was the more difficult of the two, and it sent him crashing into walls or nearby trees more often than not. Still, he thought he’d gained enough practice with them that he felt ready to begin dueling.
“Ma Peng!” he shouted. “I challenge you to an exchange of techniques!”
Several passersby stopped whatever business they were about to gather and watch the coming duel. As it turned out, the duels had become somewhat of a spectacle among the outer sect disciples. As fighting broke out more frequently, many began betting on the outcome. He Yu was torn between a grin and a grimace as he caught the murmurs of bets being cast in Ma Peng’s favor.
The son of a low-ranked but wealthy noble clan, Ma Peng had been an obvious target according to Li Heng. He was still peak First Realm, and most likely relying on his status to protect him from the other disciples who still were close to his level. Anyone with a high enough status to not fear potential retribution was closer to the level of Li Heng or Tan Xiaoling. Even so, Li Heng had warned that Ma Peng would have a well-formed cultivation base, and potentially access to better arts than the other First Realm disciples.
When He Yu had asked if he needed to fear any sort of retribution for challenging a noble, Li Heng had dismissed his concerns out of hand. That he’d been sponsored by the Shrouded Peaks Sect’s rising star ought to be enough for the time being. He Yu wasn’t certain if that was true, but he’d agreed to go along with the plan anyway. He needed the resources he could collect as spoils.
Ma Peng stepped forward and produced a dao saber from nowhere. He Yu fought back the urge to smile. That meant Ma Peng had a storage treasure, which was the main thing He Yu hoped to gain from this fight.
It wasn’t much of a surprise though, as Ma Peng liked to flaunt his wealth. He dressed more finely than even Li Heng or Princess Tan, and the saber itself was worked with an ostentatious amount of detail and ornamentation. The idea that someone with that much money didn’t have a storage treasure was absurd.
“Who is this? Some peasant issuing a challenge to me, the great Ma Peng?”
At this, He Yu’s eyebrows rose. “We shall see how great you are,” he said. He didn’t put much stock in the other disciple’s boast.
“Know your place,” Ma Peng sniffed. “It will be trivial to beat some barking dog from a nowhere backwater. I accept.”
The two disciples faced off against one another across the plaza. They were ringed by a considerable crowd now, most of whom seemed to be eager to see the “peasant” get beaten down. Several jeers came from the gathered crowd, all directed at He Yu.
Nothing he wasn’t used to by now.
It was well-known that he’d come to the sect as the weakest of the outer disciples, and he’d been in seclusion since his breakthrough. Nobody in the outer sect would have developed a refined enough spiritual sense to determine his cultivation level until the fight began.
Of course, once everyone realized that he’d achieved Foundation, they’d mark him for a coward for beating up on an opponent who was still at the Qi Gathering stage. Which was the point, according to Li Heng. It would make other disciples at He Yu’s stage more likely to accept duels or issue challenges of their own. Any negative reputation he gained from this one fight would quickly be washed away by his future victories. Assuming he could actually win them.
He Yu pushed those thoughts aside. Now wasn’t the time.
Ma Peng gave him an arrogant sneer, and He Yu attacked.
With a powerful leap, he launched himself across the space between them. He activated the Crashing Wind and brought his guandao down in an overhand strike. Ma Peng only just managed to bring his dao up in time. He Yu easily broke through the other disciple’s defenses. It wasn’t a clean hit, and Ma Peng managed to activate his own technique. At the last instant, he slipped away from the attack.
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“Bandit! Coward!” Ma Peng shouted. A murmur of agreement spread through the gathered disciples. That had clearly not been an attack that someone only at the Qi Gathering stage should be capable of.
He Yu shrugged but said nothing as he turned to face Ma Peng. He activated the Eternal Mountain Root and charged. The blade of Ma Peng’s dao turned to mist. He Yu advanced, leading with a series of sweeps and jabs. Despite its insubstantial appearance, Ma Peng’s saber was more than capable of deflecting the blows. Still, he was on the back foot.
With a cloak of wind qi swirling around his guandao, He Yu launched himself into the air once more. This time, rather than block, Ma Peng faded to mist. His guandao cracked against the flagstones, and He Yu glanced around for his opponent.
“Fool,” Ma Peng sneered as he stepped from the mountain’s ever-present mists and placed a foot atop He Yu’s weapon, much in the same way Cui Bao had done just days prior. “Your inexperience will be your undoing.”
Ma Peng’s blade—still a thing of insubstantial-looking mist—lashed out towards He Yu’s throat. He activated the Eternal Mountain Root and wrenched his guandao upward, tipping Ma Peng off balance. It was almost comical to see the other disciple flailing as he tried to regain his balance. He Yu’s follow-up was swift, but not swift enough.
The other disciple faded away once more, using his movement technique. It was an effective means of getting out of He Yu’s reach. It likely would have been a good way to get inside his guard as well, but Ma Peng’s confidence had taken a hit in the duel’s opening moments.
Growing impatient, He Yu used the Sky Dragon’s Flight. He dashed towards Ma Peng, propelled by powerful winds that allowed him to cross dozens of feet in a single step. He raised his blade, and let the thrill of the technique’s pseudo-flight sing in his veins.
He shot past Ma Peng. Just like during practice, he’d lost control. Too late to stop himself, he slammed into a cluster of onlookers. They all fell to the flagstones in a tumble of limbs and robes.
Ma Peng pounced on the opportunity. His movement technique was far more practiced than He Yu’s, and he stepped through the mists to stand over where He Yu was still trying to extract himself from the mess of disciples that had broken his fall.
“Still just a churl,” Ma Peng sneered, lifting his misty blade.
Somewhere along the way, He Yu had lost his guandao. With no weapon of his own, his only real option would be to avoid the strike that Ma Peng readied—but there was a pile of disciples underneath him. It wasn’t a question of whether or not he’d be blamed should the onlookers be injured, but rather the simple fact that he couldn’t allow them to be. Heroes didn’t sacrifice others simply to win a duel.
He Yu activated the Eternal Mountain Root once again. He caught Ma Peng by the wrist, and with the strength of the body technique, tossed him to the ground. He Yu was back on his feet before his opponent hit the flagstones. His guandao lay a few feet away. An instant later, he stood over Ma Peng with the blade of his weapon at the other disciple’s throat.
“Yield,” He Yu said, blood surging in his ears. He almost couldn’t believe that he’d won.
Ma Peng turned his head to the side and spat. “Take your spoils. But know I won’t forget this.”
He Yu hesitated then. This was tantamount to robbery. Did heroes rob their defeated foes?
“Give me your storage treasure,” he said.
Ma Peng paled but slowly moved to comply.
“Empty it first,” He Yu said. “I just want the treasure itself. You can keep everything else.”
Although he made no effort to hide his shock, Ma Peng still sneered as he summoned half a dozen cases of medicinal pills, several jade slips, and a pile of low-grade spirit stones. “I won’t forget this,” he repeated. Regardless, he handed the dull gray ring to He Yu.
Taking his spoils, such as they were, He Yu turned and left Ma Peng to scramble and collect his belongings among the crowd of disciples who’d gathered to offer their “help” in moving his riches back home. Leaving the site of the duel, He Yu caught sight of Li Heng. The noble had his arms crossed and gave He Yu a slight frown as he approached.
“You were supposed to take him for all he was worth,” Li Heng said.
“All I needed was the storage treasure. How do I use this thing anyway?”
“You needed far more than that,” Li Heng answered. “You’re still far behind Sha Xiang, and after that display, I’d bet a month’s worth of my allowance that you’ll have challengers practically knocking down your door.”
“Why’s that?” He Yu demanded, more than a bit annoyed at Li Heng’s tone.
“It was a sloppy fight. They’ll think you’re an easy target.”
He Yu shrugged, “I just won’t use my movement technique. Anyway, why are you so intent on robbing people?”
“It’s not robbery to take your earned spoils.” There was a twinge of tension in Li Heng’s voice, as though he didn’t wholly believe himself. He Yu was certain he wouldn’t have noticed before reaching Foundation.
He let the matter drop—he had more important things to worry about for the moment than arguing the ethics of robbing one’s defeated foes with his roommate. Like preparing for his coming showdown with Sha Xiang.