Their renewed struggle filled the clearing with the sound of clashing metal and stone. Dust billowed away from their steps, and each meeting of metal and fist sent the mists curling back into the trees. He Yu wreathed his guandao in the winds, and Sha Xiang pulled strength and vitality from the very earth upon which she stood. The coldness that had settled over Sha Xiang only moments before once again gave way to her anger, but this too seemed to have been affected by the Four Demon Fists technique.
There was a fury to her attacks that wasn’t wholly her own. He Yu could see that now, with the insight and clarity granted him by the Cloud Emperor’s Peerless Judgment. As they fought he saw cracks in her cultivation and her spirit. The qi that ran through her meridians was not wholly hers—a thing that should not be possible. All he knew now was that he must ensure that whatever price she had paid for her power, it wouldn’t be worth it.
As they fought, He Yu found her movements become easier to gauge—an effect of his greater understanding of the foundational technique of his art. He was far from mastering the Cloud Emperor’s Peerless Judgment. The immense stair stretching to heaven that he’d seen in his vision had been testament enough to that. But that moment of clarity regarding the grudge between himself and Sha Xiang had done something, as though the art itself had approved. With that approval, came bounty.
The Sky Dragon’s Flight came easier to him now, too. It was still risky to use, and he had to be careful to ensure he deactivated the Eternal Mountain Root first, but he had considerably more control than he had when he’d first used it. Using his movement technique he circled Sha Xiang, striking at her like the five winds themselves before fading away to avoid her attacks. This was not to say that she was helpless before him. No, she scored plenty of hits herself despite his efforts. At least one for every two of his.
With his body bruised and his head ringing, He Yu threw himself into the fight once again. By now he’d completely given up trying to conserve his dwindling qi reserves and was rapidly running out. Each strike was now just a bit less powerful than the last and came after a slightly longer delay.
Sha Xiang, on the other hand, only seemed to be growing more ferocious. Her furor was not without cost, however. The cracks grew fractionally with each of her strikes, each of her blocks, and each of her parries. He Yu never would have seen it without the Cloud Emperor’s Peerless Judgment—she showed no outward signs of flagging. It was only in the flow of her qi and the strain upon her meridians that such signs could be found.
An earth-infused fist struck his guandao just where the blade met the haft. Panic threatened to overwhelm him as he lost his grip, and the weapon clattered to the ground a few yards away. Sha Xiang’s follow-up lashed out, and he was only able to twist enough to partially deflect the blow. Pain shot through his recently healed ribs as they cracked under her fist once again.
He Yu staggered back, activating the Eternal Mountain Root in anticipation of another strike. It never came. Sha Xiang’s chest and shoulders heaved with each breath. The price extracted by her technique was finally catching up to her. Unwilling to throw this opportunity on the garbage heap, He Yu leaped at her, bringing both his fists down like a club. He activated the Crashing Wind, wreathing his fists in wind qi.
Sha Xiang’s face contorted. She was out of stance and vulnerable, and she knew it. Setting her shoulder, she charged He Yu. He didn’t even notice the physical impact when she tackled him, so great was his shock. Never in ten thousand years would he have expected her to use such a move—especially on him.
They tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs. For a moment they wrestled, each vying for advantage. He Yu punched her in the side. She slapped him across the face. His jaw cracked, but through the rush of battle and the churning of qi in his meridians, he couldn’t be sure how bad it was. The next thing he knew, she was on top of him, straddling his chest and drawing back one fist while gripping his neck with the other. Her eyes burned.
Time stretched and the moment she released her punch spun out into a span of centuries. There had to be a counter, there had to be something he could do. A jumble of lessons from months of sparring under Ren Huang’s eye tripped over one another in his mind. No solution came to him. Then a deep, but surprisingly quiet voice cut through his panicked attempts to find a way out.
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Become like the wind.
Sha Xiang’s punch was only inches from his face when he activated the Bracing Wind. The violent burst of qi knocked her back and away, and the Sky Dragon’s Flight carried him to his feet. One step carried him to his guandao, and a second brought him to Sha Xiang’s side.
She knelt on hands and knees before him, head hung in what he could only call defeat. He Yu readied his strike. Just as the wind wreathing his weapon howled to a crescendo, her qi shifted. She made no movement, but the impression of a massive arm separated from her physical limb and grabbed him by the throat. It slammed him into the ground, then tossed him aside like a child’s discarded toy.
Where the ghostly limb had grabbed him, his skin burned. He Yu stood and set his gaze upon Sha Xiang. Slowly, she picked herself up off the ground across the clearing. The space of their fight had become even more filled with detritus as a result of their clash.
Off to one side, Zhang Lifen and Xiao Jun stood, both intent on Sha Xiang. Her own master was visibly concerned and appeared as though he wanted nothing more than to leap in and aid his protégé. Still bound as he was by Zhang Lifen, all he could do was watch. For her part, Zhang Lifen’s expression gave away little. Any pretense of amusement was absent, and she wore a pensive expression. Her gaze remained fixed on Sha Xiang, even as she maintained her grip on Xiao Jun with the potent qi of a peak Golden Core.
To the other side of the clearing were gathered the rest. Cui Bao and Qiao Xia looked on with similar concern to that of Xiao Jun, but unlike their backer, they made no move to interfere. Chen Fei stood next to Tan Xiaoling, one hand covering her mouth and her eyes wide. Princess Tan looked to have recovered—no doubt having taken a medicinal pill during the duel—and wore her usual stoic expression. At some point, Li Heng had joined them as well. He looked as though he wanted nothing more than to join the fight, but his honor and their friendship held him back. Win or lose, Li Heng would not take this fight from him. He Yu gave him a slight nod of thanks and received like in return.
He Yu gripped his guandao in one hand and struck the earth with the metal end cap. He cycled qi according to the Eternal Mountain Root, afraid he’d fall over if he didn’t. “Sha Xiang,” he called, using wind qi to carry his voice over the whole clearing.
“Let’s be done here," he said. "There’s no sense in breaking ourselves against each other.” Silently he begged her to accept. He had next to nothing left and didn’t know if he could last another exchange against her.
Sha Xiang pushed herself to her feet and glared at him. She was unsteady and looked about ready to collapse. With the Cloud Emperor’s Peerless Judgment, he sensed her qi tremble, and begin to cycle in the same way it had when she’d first used the Four Demon Fists. The technique was interrupted when she coughed and then spat out a mouthful of blood. Then, much to his dismay, she tried the technique again.
This time she succeeded, but coughed up another gob of red.
“That’s quite enough, I think,” Zhang Lifen said.
He Yu easily sensed the change in Zhang Lifen’s qi as she released Xiao Jun and crossed the clearing in a single step, coming between him and Sha Xiang. To his surprise, Xiao Jun collapsed in obvious relief, rather than move to stop Zhang Lifen’s interference.
With great apparent effort, Sha Xiang snarled a curse at Zhang Lifen. “Stand aside, Senior Sister. You swore an oath.”
“This duel is finished,” Zhang Lifen said, her voice cold. “Neither of you is capable of continuing. You most of all. It makes no sense to cripple your future for such a small thing, especially not when you have centuries ahead of you in which to settle it.”
“Stand aside,” Sha Xiang repeated.
“Do you wish to test your techniques against mine, Junior Sister? Your benefactor would not begrudge me stopping your foolishness should you force me to.”
“Listen to Senior Sister Zhang,” said Xiao Jun. “She is right.” He looked pained at saying so, but He Yu could see the truth in it. There would be no victory for either of them if this continued. It was a fact that stabbed at the very source of his pride, but it was truth and he could deny it no more than he could his very nature. It didn’t mean he had to like it, though.
At Xiao Jun’s urging, Sha Xiang finally relented. Spitting one final mouthful of blood, she dropped her techniques. Without their aid, she very nearly collapsed. Cui Bao was instantly at her side, but she shoved him away, saying something too quiet for He Yu to hear. It couldn’t have been kind, given the expression it provoked.
As she hobbled out of the clearing, Sha Xiang called over her shoulder. “This isn’t over.”
He Yu dropped his own techniques. He was spiritually and physically exhausted and wanted nothing more than to collapse to the ground and sleep for a week. His head still rang, and the sharp pain in his side told him that he’d broken his ribs again. The fight may be over, but all he could feel was bitterness.