The gong announced the start of the match, and Sha Xiang exploded into an attack. He had no time to react. Her fist crashed into his face, and stars bloomed in his vision. She swept his feet out from underneath him, sending him tumbling to the ground. Finally, she planted a foot on his shoulder and shoved him out of the arena. The gong signaled the end of the match as the crowd’s cheers burned He Yu’s ears and tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.
He picked himself up off the flagstones, ignored as he was by everyone else, and hobbled to where Shulin’s healer waited for him. His left eye was already swelling shut, and his head still rang. It had all been so fast. He hadn’t even the time to cycle qi that he might have endured maybe one strike. If He Yu had held any doubt about his opponent being rigged, they were gone now. As he submitted himself to the ministrations of the healer, he looked across the arena with his remaining good eye.
Sha Xiang sat amongst her peers with her arms folded over her chest. Rather than accepting their congratulations, she shot a look of pure contempt across the arena at He Yu. The anger that boiled up at that sight surprised him. Just moments ago the only thing he’d felt was the shame of defeat and frustration at the unfairness of it all. But seeing Sha Xiang act as though she had some cause to be offended lit a fire in his belly. In the stories about great cultivators of the past, these sorts of slights often sparked rivalries. He Yu could only imagine the look on Sha Xiang’s face when he appeared before her after several decades of cultivation and challenged her to a duel.
A slight pressure at the edge of his senses caused him to turn towards Zhang Lifen. He found her looking at him, the only break in her otherwise unreadable expression was a slight furrow between her brows. He Yu immediately ducked his head. Of course she would be disappointed with him. She had told him to acquit himself well and he’d done the opposite. In both his fights. Any chance he may have had with the Shrouded Peaks Sect was gone. He’d been a fool to even consider it.
He spent the rest of the tournament feeling sorry for himself. Each time the crowd erupted in cheers at the end of a round, it was like he had a bludgeon of regret striking him about the shoulders. He was only halfway paying attention when the final round concluded, and Sha Xiang stood victorious in the arena. It didn’t surprise him that she’d been the one to take the tournament. No doubt Zhang Lifen would sweep her away to the Shrouded Peaks Sect now, and leave He Yu to live out the rest of his days in shame.
“With the tournament concluded, I have made my selections for the prospective disciples of the Shrouded Peaks Sect,” Zhang Lifen said, her voice carrying easily over the noise of the crowd. She stood in the center of the tournament stage, although He Yu couldn’t have said when she’d moved. “My first selection is Sha Xiang. As the winner of the tournament, she has demonstrated her ability and I expect she will prosper as a disciple of the Shrouded Peaks Sect.”
Polite murmurs spread throughout the crowd at that. He Yu couldn’t say he was particularly surprised. It only made sense that the winner of the tournament would be offered entry to the sect.
“For my second selection, I choose He Yu.”
He Yu froze, and he felt the weight of the assembled crowd’s gaze upon him. This had to be some sort of joke.
“I would have a word with both prospective disciples,” Zhang Lifen said.
The unspoken command in her words caused He Yu to turn. Zhang Lifen remained at the center of the tournament stage, and she was looking directly at him. Swallowing his rampaging nerves, He Yu took a step back toward the arena. From the far side of the town square, Sha Xiang stared death at him.
“This is an outrage!” Dong Wei’s voice cut through the haze of He Yu’s thoughts. The master of Shulin’s cultivation school stalked, red-faced, towards the sect disciple. “He Yu was eliminated in the second round, and he fought without even the slightest shred of honor in the first. Offering him a position at the sect is an insult to my student.”
Slowly, Zhang Lifen turned towards Dong Wei. Ever since He Yu’s first encounter with her, she had nearly always worn an amused or playful expression. The stories had always made cultivators into stoic figures who controlled their emotions, and Zhang Lifen had never really fit into that image. She did now. Her features were neutral, any hints of her reaction absent. Her posture was the same as it always had been, confident but relaxed, as though she were wholly at ease with her surroundings.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
For a moment, Zhang Lifen remained silent. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft, but it carried in a way that should have been impossible. “You forget yourself, Dong Wei,” was all she said.
With her words came the crashing of water—a river overflowing its banks, a dam buckling and bursting, a village swept away in a flood. Instinctively He Yu drew in a breath and held it, just before the waters surged over his head and pulled him into their crushing black depths.
While he knew he stood in the town square, some panicked animal part of his brain told him that if he breathed in, he would get a lungful of water for his trouble. That he would surely drown. He struggled against the sensation of crushing weight and fought to remain on his feet against a surging tide.
Before him, Zhang Lifen had not moved. She hadn’t even adjusted her posture, but she now seemed a giant, towering over those unfortunate enough to still be present in the square. The hem of her gown drifted about her feet, and her hair gently swayed in unseen currents. Just looking at her like this made He Yu want to sink into the depths of her spirit, to let go of his breath, and allow the black silent stillness to claim him.
As fast as they had come, the waters receded. The tide drew back, and He Yu sucked in a breath of the sweetest air he had ever tasted. Although the terrifying presence had retreated, Zhang Lifen still dominated the square. She had tilted her chin up, almost imperceptibly, and stared down at Dong Wei who had thrown himself to the ground in kowtow.
“I was sent here as a representative of the Shrouded Peaks Sect to choose prospective disciples. As a core disciple of the inner sect, I may do so at my own discretion. Who are you, Dong Wei, to gainsay me?” Zhang Lifen’s voice was like the surface of a mirror-still lake, tranquil but with hidden danger below.
“This one gives his deepest apologies for his impertinence,” Dong Wei said, his forehead pressed to the flagstones. Had Zhang Lifen not been so terrifying mere seconds ago, seeing Dong Wei humbled like this would have been comical.
“Were it up to me, I would tear your excuse for a school to the ground and cripple your cultivation, so as to teach you a lesson,” Zhang Lifen said. “But the Elders of the Shrouded Peaks Sect see fit to allow you to continue operating in our territory. At least I am not so foolish as to question the wisdom of my betters. I know my place, Dong Wei.” The whole time she spoke, Zhang Lifen’s tone remained utterly, and terrifyingly, calm.
“Lady Zhang is most merciful and wise,” Dong Wei said, his voice trembling.
“I have made my selection. If you disagree, by all means, petition the sect Elders. Though I would not expect them to be as merciful as I have been, were I you. Now get out of my sight. You should meditate on this lesson, and perhaps gain some insights for your own, lacking, cultivation.”
With speed that belied his age, Dong Wei retreated, bowing to Zhang Lifen and babbling yet more apologies all the way. She watched him go, her face remaining expressionless the whole time. As Dong Wei fled the town square, she said, “Come here, both of you.”
Once He Yu and Sha Xiang stood before her, Zhang Lifen spoke again. “You are now both prospective disciples of the outer sect. Your first task is to travel to the sect itself, located in the Shrouded Peaks to the northwest.” She produced a pair of metal disks and handed one to each of them. “These tokens will show you the way. Stick to the roads, as the sect maintains formation stones and keeps them safe. Should you require lodgings or provisions, simply present your tokens to any wayside inns.” With a pointed look at He Yu, she said, “You should leave no later than tomorrow morning.”
He Yu bowed deeply, and said, “This one thanks you, Lady Zhang.”
“Furthermore,” Zhang Lifen said, looking now in Sha Xiang’s direction, “any grudges you have with each other should be forgotten for the time being. To settle them while you are on the road is to bring dishonor upon yourselves, and to the sect. There will be plenty of time for such matters once you are in competition with each other as outer sect disciples.”
“Of course, Lady Zhang,” Sha Xiang said, her voice stony.
He Yu felt only a shiver of apprehension at the implication of Zhang Lifen’s words.
“I have no more time to waste,” the sect disciple said. “Make your way to the Shrouded Peaks.” With that, she was gone, leaving only the scent of rain and a curl of mist to mark her passing.
Sha Xiang turned to He Yu. “Once we enter competition with one another, I will show you no mercy,” she said. “That you have been granted entry to the sect alongside me is a stain on my pride and an insult to my talent.” She then turned on her heel and stalked off.
He Yu watched her go. There was no doubt in his mind that she would harbor this grudge. He certainly wasn’t going to forget the humiliation he’d suffered at her hands. Nor was he going to waste the opportunity that Zhang Lifen had handed him.