“You can’t be serious,” He Yu said. As Li Heng told him what Yan Shirong had discovered, the heat rose in his neck along with his anger.

Mo Zhiqiang. He Yu had barely even thought about him since that first duel. Apparently, he’d been behind the endless parade of petty challenges that He Yu had faced last autumn. According to Yan Shirong’s investigation, Mo Zhiqiang had been paying people to challenge He Yu in hopes that someone would defeat him.

Around the time they’d left for the wilds, Mo Zhiqiang had fallen in with Sha Xiang. Between Mo Zhiqiang’s wealth and Da Ning’s efforts at diplomacy, Sha Xiang had managed to collect a small group of nobles beneath her.

Li Heng wanted He Yu to challenge Mo Zhiqiang for his rank. It was a good idea. A jump in four ranks, from six hundred fourteen to six hundred ten, didn’t sound like all that much, but it was a start. More importantly, increasing his rank would lead to increased rewards from the sect.

He would need to jump to at least five hundred ninety-nine before he saw any increases. Li Heng assured him that these early steps were important. Until he drew closer to disciples in the five hundreds, they could refuse his challenges without losing face. He would probably need to be at least ranked six hundred-five before he could consider issuing such a challenge and be taken seriously.

Fortunately, He Yu was close enough in rank to Mo Zhiqiang that the noble couldn’t easily refuse without looking weak. The fact that He Yu had already beaten him in an informal challenge meant that refusal would come with additional penalties—perhaps even including He Yu taking his rank without fighting for it. Then there was also the question of Mo Zhiqiang’s pride. All things considered, Li Heng believed that Mo Zhiqiang would accept any challenge He Yu issued, and He Yu was inclined to agree.

This had the added benefit of striking two blows at Sha Xiang and her followers without directly antagonizing Sha Xiang herself.

First, they would be making one of her followers look weak, and by extension, that would make Sha Xiang look weak. What Zhang Lifen had told He Yu about attacking the disciples of someone stronger held just as true for someone like Sha Xiang as it did for He Yu’s mentor. Defeating Mo Zhiqiang would show that Sha Xiang had chosen her followers poorly, and would thus damage her reputation. It mattered little that He Yu could currently defeat Sha Xiang as far as anyone else was concerned.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, defeating Mo Zhiqiang would allow He Yu to deprive him—and by extension, Sha Xiang—of the resources they’d been using to expand their influence. Of course, Yan Shirong had pointed out that the Mo clan was incredibly wealthy, so it would be a minor setback at most, but any setback was better than none.

Finally, there were the practical benefits to He Yu himself. The Spring Rain Mirror wasn’t going to master itself, and as much as he enjoyed his time training with Li Heng, a sparring match wasn’t as good as the real thing. Using the Spring Rain Mirror in a real duel would be the quickest way to sort out how to use the art properly. Especially if what He Yu had come to realize over winter held true.

From the beginning, he’d always gained key insights into his Way during the knife-edge danger of a fight. Whether it was that first duel with Sha Xiang, looking into the eyes of a young man his own age just before he killed for the first time, or forming his Wayborn Seed in the tournament duel with Tan Xiaoling—He Yu’s understanding of his path forward had always come at moments of danger and decision. Even his first true insight into the Spring Rain Mirror had come during the fight with the golden tiger in the wilds.

With his mind made up, He Yu headed towards the inner sect commission hall. Like the empire and heaven itself, the sect was built on the back of bureaucracy. For his challenge to be recognized, he first needed to file an official request with the sect. It was a tedious requirement as far as he was concerned, but it did mean that once the challenge was issued, Mo Zhiqiang couldn’t simply ignore him.

Exiting the commission hall, He Yu turned to Li Heng. “Alright, where do we find him?” he asked.

“He’s usually preening in front of Sha Xiang’s other lackeys somewhere in the central areas, so he should be close by.”

After a few pointed inquiries, another inner disciple directed them to where Mo Zhiqiang was holding court. They found him lounging beneath a cypress tree surrounded by several other disciples. A quick activation of the Cloud Emperor’s Peerless Judgment told He Yu they were all in various stages of the late Third Realm, but none had reached the peak.

That fact alone struck He Yu as a little bit odd. All of them had been disciples of the inner sect for at least a year longer than he had. Yet none had managed to achieve the peak of Body Refining in that time. It was almost as if they’d simply been content to lounge around as they were now and enjoy the rewards of the inner sect. He supposed that was fair, since they wouldn’t face expulsion for doing so, but didn’t they want more?

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As He Yu and Li Heng drew near, Mo Zhiqiang looked up and scowled. “What do you two want?” he asked, his voice just as arrogant as it had been when he’d first tried to push He Yu around.

“I come to issue a challenge, Sect Brother Mo,” He Yu said while clasping a fist in salute. “I demand a duel for rank. Name the time and place.”

Mo Zhiqiang’s face turned red. “You dare challenge me? Don’t think I’ve been idle since our last fight. I accept.”

That was a surprise. He Yu had expected the noble to try and squirm out, or protest, or something. It seemed Mo Zhiqiang had some pride and fire in him after all.

They quickly settled on the details, and He Yu took his leave with Li Heng.

“That was easy,” he remarked.

“He couldn’t well refuse,” Li Heng said. “Especially not in front of the others.”

“I guess,” He Yu said. “I just expected he’d be less arrogant?”

“He’s been busy. Fighting lots of duels for loot from what I’ve heard.”

They parted ways for the afternoon, with Li Heng leaving to go tell the others about the coming duel, and He Yu returning home to prepare. He removed his old, smaller storage treasure from its hiding place in his home. While it couldn’t hold nearly as much as the one he currently kept with him, it was still useful for keeping the sorts of things he didn’t need to remain on his person. He withdrew one of his mid-grade spirit stones, still a fairly precious resource, and an elixir that was mainly water-aspected.

Although Zhang Lifen had cautioned him against taking shortcuts for his advancement, he saw no harm in stuffing himself with resources now that he was at the peak. He didn’t see himself breaking through to Golden Core any time soon, so didn’t it make sense to expand his cultivation base as much as he could? Besides, she’d told him it was fine to use elixirs to aid in the breakthrough itself, too. He didn’t see much difference, and the stories always talked about how critical medicines were for advancement, anyway.

He Yu took his elixir and settled in to cultivate with his spirit stone cradled in his hands. He emerged several days later, took a meal that would have been enough for a small mortal family, and snatched a few hours of sleep. When he awoke, he headed to the agreed-upon location of his duel.

Upon his arrival at the training field where the duel was to take place, he found a crowd of about three dozen inner sect disciples gathered. Duels for rank were something of a spectacle, it seemed. He was unsurprised to find his friends among the crowd. Li Heng and Yan Shirong seemed to be arguing over something—likely some sort of bet, if he knew Yan Shirong at all—and Chen Fei chatted excitedly with Tan Xiaoling.

Opposite his friends, Mo Zhiqiang stood with Sha Xiang, Cui Bao, and Da Ning. Sha Xiang looked decidedly unhappy, with her arms crossed over her chest, and glaring at Mo Zhiqiang. He Yu was just happy she was glaring at someone other than him for once. It occurred then to him that it was a bit odd that she was the one in charge of their group. He didn’t know what Cui Bao or Da Ning were ranked, but she was one beneath him. Which meant she was beneath Mo Zhiqiang. He pushed the thought aside. It wasn’t his problem who bowed to her or not, just so long as it wasn’t him.

Standing in the center of the arena was the green-haired core disciple that had been among the three to rescue He Yu out in the wilds. Su Meifeng, the fifth-ranked core disciple if he recalled, wore an understated gown of green and gold, decorated with accents of black silk. She radiated a restrained serenity as she inclined her head at He Yu’s approach.

“Junior Brother He,” she said. “I am glad to see that you’ve recovered from the hardship you suffered in service to the sect. That such an experience has served only to motivate you is encouraging to see.”

He Yu saluted and bowed. “Senior Sister is most kind,” he said.

From across the dueling arena, Sha Xiang finally shot him one of her glares. She at least had the presence of mind to keep her mouth shut with the core disciple present.

“If we’re ready?” Su Meifeng asked, looking to both He Yu and Mo Zhiqiang in turn.

“I have been ready since that coward of a bandit offered his challenge,” Mo Zhiqiang boasted. “Only his defeat or surrender will satisfy me.”

Su Meifeng arched an eyebrow at Mo Zhiqiang but said nothing. He Yu rolled his eyes.

“Why isn’t there an elder here?” Sha Xiang demanded. “I thought duels for rank would matter enough for one of them to oversee it personally.”

“I will be sufficient for today’s duel,” Su Meifeng said, her voice remaining just as serene and unbothered as ever. “Duels of such low-ranking disciples are hardly important enough for an elder’s attention. Perhaps when you manage to form your Golden Core, you will be worth notice, Junior Sister Sha.”

He Yu held back his smile as a soft chuckle rippled through the gathered disciples. Sha Xiang’s scowl deepened, but even she had gained enough sense not to talk back to someone like Su Meifeng.

“Junior Brother He, since this is your first duel for rank, I will explain the rules,” Su Meifeng said. “You are expected to fight with honor and conduct yourselves as inner disciples of the Shrouded Peaks Sect. Regardless of any enmity that may exist between the two of you, remember that you are both sect brothers.

“You may use any and all techniques or treasures you have at your disposal. Refrain from inflicting grievous injuries upon one another. Killing your opponent will result in your immediate expulsion from the sect, and you will be marked as an outlaw. Despite these restrictions, you are both expected to fight with your full capabilities.”

Su Meifeng looked between the two of them for a moment, allowing her words to sink in. “As the ranking member of the sect, I will serve as the judge of this duel. I will decide when it is won and by whom. My judgment is final and is not to be disputed. Are the combatants ready?”

“There will be no need for any judgment,” Mo Zhiqiang said, manifesting his spear from his storage treasure. “I will crush this dog quickly enough.”

“You got your spear back,” He Yu said, his own weapon falling into his hands. “I’d felt a bit bad about taking it, but I’m glad to see you were able to buy it back after I sold it.”

Su Meifeng stepped back from the arena. “You may begin.”