Yù Quán was on edge. He could see when the mist would move and fluctuate, but he couldn’t always dodge the blows. Sometimes, Tiān Zhēbì would bait him into moving where he had another blow prepared. With Yù Quán’s new strength, he wasn’t taking much damage. But, if this continued, he would eventually give out.
Yù Quán tried qi sight since his regular sight wasn’t getting anywhere, even with the [Star Gazing Eyes]. He began watching his surroundings. Something caught his attention a couple of meters away to his right. He could see the qi surrounding him condensing. He quickly opened his eyes to check what that translated to in the physical realm. What he saw was the same type of fluctuation he had been dealing with since he entered the mist.
“Got you.”
Yù Quán closed his eyes again, waiting to see what the blow looked like in qi sight. After a moment, the surrounding qi rippled like a wave, heading directly for him. Yù Quán smiled before easily moving out of the way of the blow. Before Yù Quán got the chance to celebrate, he saw several blows coming his way. He assumed Tiān Zhēbì noticed that he had found a way to predict where the attacks were coming from and wanted to take him out before he could use it to his advantage.
“It’s too late for that, Tiān Zhēbì. You’ve made a mistake.”
Yù Quán continued to dodge all the attacks effortlessly using the [Yellow Qilin Dance]’s side strafes. He actually began using it to continue to practice it further. He remembered that if he mastered it, he could create complex dances that combine all the steps. Although he felt he was strong enough for where he was, he knew that he would soon have to teach it to the other Yellow Qilin disciples. He should have mastered it before doing so.
Yù Quán had come up with the plan the second he found out Tiān Zhēbì was the mist. He obviously couldn’t decipher how the ability actually works, but he didn’t think such a move was impossible to counter. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be something someone of his and Tiān Zhēbì’s level. He thought that most attacks at this level were slashes and impacts, forms that would just push through the mist without doing any damage to it. So, all he needed to do was use an attack that could damage the mist or go through the mist to damage the parts of him that he couldn’t change.
The only thing Yù Quán had was his strange fire, the Murderous Flame. It wasn’t your normal flame, fueled by killing intent, but it still burned. Normally, a fire wouldn’t be able to affect mist much, only changing its temperature. But Yù Quán guessed that something had to remain of Tiān Zhēbì so that the mist could still be controlled and he could eventually turn back, so if he added qi to his Murderous Flame, it should be able to affect whatever that part of Tiān Zhēbì was. Qi was the link between all: mind, body, and soul.
This was mostly a theory built on his little logic about this world. He briefly thought about qi and cultivation logic, wondering if there were people who studied and specialized in such things, like some sort of alternative science. It was something worth looking into, but he let that train of thought leave. He needed to focus on winning this fight not just for the Yellow Qilin Academy and Yàn Lìqín’s plans, but for his comrades.
Fwoosh~
Yù Quán ignited his Murderous Flames, still dodging the onslaught of blows. He had made it far into the second level of his strange fire, and it could now be emitted from his body. Yù Quán was engulfed in flames, only a finger’s length thick. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to test his theory. As soon as the flames ignited, Yù Quán surged qi into them, doubling their size and intensity. Yù Quán could feel that the attributes of the strange fire itself weren’t increased, but they weren’t decreased either. This meant that if he were to shoot a fireball, the more strange fire you have, the less qi it would take to make it bigger. Not that he could shoot fireballs, anyway. With his flames dancing in the mist as he strafed around the mist cloud, Yù Quán heard Tiān Zhēbì’s voice call out in pain.
“Ngh.. How dare you!”
Yù Quán smiled and continued moving. He had turned an almost hopeless situation into a war of attrition and wouldn’t lose to anyone in willpower. Especially the man he vowed vengeance against. The fight continued for what felt like forever but was only twenty minutes in reality. The audience all saw the mist rolling and moving as a crimson-red light the size of a man danced from within. Seeing how the mist was moving and hadn’t done it before, the audience assumed whatever Yù Quán was doing was working. Cheers roared from the crowd. Tiān Zhēbì had done well and it did entertain the audience, but all of them felt deep down that his fights were quite boring. They were worried that this one would be the same, but they were glad to see Yù Quán was fighting back.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
After another twenty minutes, the crowd had died down. Wasn’t this fight going on too long? They felt like it would go on forever at this rate. Should they leave and come back later? On the inside of the mist, Yù Quán and Tiān Zhēbì were desperately pushing themselves. Yù Quán had around a third of his qi left between empowering his footsteps and the flames. He also hadn’t had any crazy endurance training yet, so he was starting to get tired. Tiān Zhēbì, on the other hand, was in immense pain. Neither was willing to give in. They both planned on continuing until hearing a familiar voice ring out.
“Stop the match,” said the mayor. It was as calm as ever, just made loud by the immense qi used to project his voice.
Yù Quán didn’t hesitate and turned around and used the Yellow Qilin Dance pounce steps to shoot right out of the mist. He could have done it from the beginning, but he didn’t think he would be able to damage Tiān Zhēbì from the outside. Tiān Zhēbì slowly pulled his mist in as Yù Quán exited and rebuilt his body. Although, to others, it just looked like the mist was being retracted.
Seeing the fighters stop and the audience watching him, the mayor continued. “I believe all those with eyes can agree that this fight is a stalemate.”
Many in the crowd were a bit confused. How could anyone see anything through the mist? But, to their surprise, many of the stronger people, especially the heads of the forces, either gave a slight nod or had no reaction at all. Were they not surprised as they were? Did this mean they could see what happened, too?
“I would like to ask the Flying Cloud Sect and the Yellow Qilin Academy for their opinions. Are there any objections?”
A voice called out from where the Flying Cloud Sect was sitting. Yù Quán couldn’t tell who it was from where he was standing, but it was likely someone with high standing in the sect if he could act as a representative and declare decisions to the mayor.
“The Flying Cloud Sect does not object.”
The mayor, who had stepped out above the arena at some point, nodded towards the Flying Cloud Sect and turned to where Yàn Lìqín was sitting.
Yàn Lìqín smiled and shook his head. “ I simply can’t accept this.”
Everyone was taken aback. Wasn’t a draw a decent ending? No one would respect you any less, whether it’s a draw or not. Are you so greedy and confident you can’t accept sharing first place?
The mayor’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have a reason?”
“Of course, Mayor Yīng,” replied Yàn Lìqín before stepping out. He was now standing on the battlefield between Yù Quán and Tiān Zhēbì. “I noticed something peculiar during the fight that wasn’t in the earlier matches.”
Yàn Lìqín then focused and condensed some qi between his middle finger and thumb. Everyone who watched went from intrigued to dumbfounded as he aimed his hand in the general direction of Tiān Zhēbì and flicked the qi.
Vwoom
The qi flew at a speed that neither Yù Quán nor Tiān Zhēbì could see or react to. Tiān Zhēbì had flinched but was never hit. Instead, Yàn Lìqín had aimed somewhere over Tiān Zhēbì’s shoulder. The crowd saw as the qi disappeared, followed by a sickly cry emanating from the area the qi had disappeared.
“I assume you know what this is, Mayor Yīng.”
Mayor Yīng was quiet for a while before nodding. “And you say it only appeared in this match?”
Yàn Lìqín nodded. “Sometime in the middle.”
Mayor Yīng thought for another moment before turning his back and using qi to make his voice boom once again. “Tiān Zhēbì has been found receiving outside help during the last match. Since he fought the other matches with his own strength and only got assistance part way through the final match, he won’t be disqualified. But, seeing as this was meant to be a draw and Tiān Zhēbì was fighting unfairly, it’s only fair that Yù Quán of the Yellow Qilin Academy is declared the winner of the Blossom Tournament.”
The crowd went ballistic. They didn’t know how Tiān Zhēbì had been helped, but that meant that even with help, Yù Quán fought toe-to-toe with him. Sure, they were willing to accept a draw. But having a winner was much more exciting. An older woman floated above the Flying Cloud Sect’s area, seemingly about to say something, but Yàn Lìqín gave her a look that made her scoff and return to her seat.
Yù Quán didn’t know how, but he ended up winning the Blossom Tournament.
…
Yù Quán
Realm: Body Tempering Realm
Stage: 1st Level Skin Tempering
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 3)
Strength: 850 Catties
Qi: 706/2220 wisps
Mùmùlián Core: 22/100
Strange Fire: (Level 2)Murderous Flame(x1)
Techniques:
[Mùmùlián Eye Stealing](Level 3)
[Mùmùlián Eye Refining](Level 3)
[Murder Mantra](Level 1)
[Yellow Qilin Dance](Level 1)