No post tomorrow. Take this as apology.

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The people in the waiting room were fewer than what he had expected. About thirty or so. The majority of them were men in their twenties, even some in their thirties. The female gender, however, was rarer than phoenix feathers and quilin horns. Only one or two women were here. But that's not strange. The martial world is unfortunately a man’s world. Men are, after all, favoured with higher physical strenght than women.

The moment Gregjoy put his foot into the room, everyone’s eyes fell upon him. They were like predators, giving him the chills as they sized him up, inspecting his body, his aura and his gaze to see if he was a threat. 

Apparently, they didn’t seem to think he was a worthy opponent since they averted their eyes seconds after, going back to preparing themselves. Some polished their weapons, some sat and meditated and some were just quiet. There were even some talking to others, trying to ease the pressure of having to engage in a battle later on.

During the time it took for him to recover from the shock of being looked at by so many ferocious eyes, a large, armor clad man strode over to him. In his right hand was a long, black spear that seemed to be very sharp.

“What number are you?” He asked indifferently.

It was as if Gregjoy was mute from surprise, he merely looked at the guard with big eyes. What did this big man want from him?

“You number. I need to know that you have arrived.”

“Oh.” Gregjoy laughed, finally understanding what the guard meant. “10 283.”

The guard nodded and then went back to standing quietly in a corner, minding his own business.

 Gregjoy believed the man had a Spiritual clam where orders about matches where delivered from. This item is a special type of manufactured magical item used by cultivators above the Mind Tempering Realm. By bonding and imprinting it with one’s blood, one can speak with others by using the heaven and earth energy in the air as a medium. A procedure exists to establish a connection between two clams, but Gregjoy unaware of the details.

However, by having a Spiritual Clam and using it, that meant that the guard was in fact a Mind Temperer. For many, this might make the Arena to seem like an extremely powerful force, since only one out of thousand in the world were cultivators in the Mind Tempering Realm. 

Although for Gregjoy, who had been a Legacy Disciple in the Eternal Sword Sect, this wasn't anything noteworthy. Before the sect was destroyed, it had over a hundred thousand body refiners and ten thousand Mind Temperers as disciples.

 That said, a Mind Temperer wasn’t a strange sight for him. He was, on the other hand, well accustomed to see and talk to them, and had therefore learned quite a lot about items like divine clams as well as gaining a few cultivation tips.

He searched the the room for free spots to prepare himself alone. Scattered benches were placed inside the room in a overly disorganized fashion. All of the benches were packed except for one. A woman sat alone on top of this bench, polishing her sword, looking at it with passionate eyes. 

Well, it would be more appropriate to call her a girl since she seemed to be in his age. She was very beautiful, her long, black hair tied up a ponytail and kept in place by two dragon formed jade pins glistering in the dim light. The jade pins seemed quite expensive.

Gregjoy shrugged his shoulders and sat himself next to her. As he settled down, she didn’t show any reaction or emotion, only continuing to polish her sword, so he ignored her and focused on himself, closing his eyes to calm his heart. After a while though, he grew curious. Why would such a beautiful girl be here and fight, for what purpose was she here? Was she here for the same reason as he? Did she pursue the sword? 

As time passed, he began to grow unable to contain his curiosity. 

“Hey.” He asked her, trying to start a conversation. “Do you come here a lot?”

The girl showed no reaction and continued to polish her sword.

“Hey.” He tried again. Maybe she didn’t hear him. “Do you come he-”

“What?” She replied coldly without turning her head to him.  “Trying to belittle me just because I’m a girl? You think someone like me shouldn’t come to the arena?”

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Gregjoy was dumbfounded, surprised by the girl’s out of the blue reaction. He chuckled inwardly, and then said to her. “Of course not. I saw you have a sword in your hands and merely wanted to ask if you perhaps pursue the sword like me?

“So that’s why you belittle me? Because I’m a girl and still wants to pursue the sword?”

Hearing what the girl said, he got a bit irritated. Were all girls this hard to deal with?

“No, why are you still thinking that?” He said, pinching his nose.” I only belittle those who state that they pursue the sword, but in reality, do not. Only those whose determination and ambition is hollow. How you look at your sword tells me differently. The determination and love you feel for that sword, even I can’t fathom that. That’s why I wanted to speak with you. 

“But never mind me for asking, I’ll just leave you alone with your sword.” He said, a bit angrily, and got back to his own preparation, trying to calm down his thumping heart before the fight. “Tch, I was just curious…”

However, not after long, Gregjoy heard a sound and looked down from where he thought it came from. It was from the girl. He followed her body and came to her hands. They clutched the sword tightly, trembling intesely.

He scratched his head. Did he take it too far? 

He had heard from his master that the female species are very sensitive. He even remember his master reminding his several times that he should choose his words carefully when speaking to women no matter how old they were.

 Dammit, why did he let his irritation take the better of him? 

A smile, unnoticed by GRegjoy, appeared on the girl’s full, pink lips.

“Thank you.” She said quietly, not loud enough for him to hear. A few tears fell from her eyes dont to the silvery blade in her hands, staining the metal wet. This was noticed by Gregjoy who began to gape. 

She started to cry?!

His master spoke the truth! Girls really are sensitive!

“Ahh, here you are. I thought you had left already. Seems you haven’t fought yet?”

An old man, clad in a rusty iron armor came over to them. To his waist hung a similarly old looking, iron sword. 

“Old man Sheng.” The girl said, looking up to the old man. “What is it?”

“I need to have a reason to speak with you?” Old man Shen brought the wine flagon in his hand to his beard covered mouth, takings mouthful before releasing a satisfying, ‘aaaah’. “Haha, come on young miss, I always tell you to not be so uptight. Otherwise the boys won’t like you. No?”

“Don’t call me that.” She said quietly

Old man She laughed again and then glanced at Gregjoy. “Eh, who’s this? Someone you know, miss?”

The girl ignored the old man and resumed her polishing.

Noticing the old man looking at him, Gregjoy cupped his hands, saying.“Gregjoy greets senior."

“Interesting. She actually talked to you…”

“What?”

“Haha, it’s nothing, just an old man’s musing.” Old Shen said, and held out the wine flagon. “You want some?”

“No thank you, senior.” Gregjoy respectfully declined. “I don’t drink.”

“Oh, what a shame. You are missing out on something.”” Old man Shen chuckled, his cheeks pink from the alcohol, and turned around, wobbling away while waving his hand.”Good luck in your fight.”

“Thank you, Senior.” Gregjoy replied. “You too.”

This earned the laugh of the old man while he walked away.

Seeing the girl polishing her sword, focused, he decided not to disturb her. He felt bad for making her cry, but understood that it’s better for him to leave her alone. He would just make it worse. Instead, he crossed his legs and closed his eyes, slowly breathing in and out through his nose.

After an hour, when most had gone into the arena to fight, the guard called Gregjoy's gladiator number. He followed the guard through a tunnel, and was then lead out to the arena. It was grand, and thousands of people were sitting in the stands, watching down upon him as he entered. 

Looking straight forward, he was momentarily suprised.

"Aya, boy. So we meet again this soon?"