~~~

It was just a few months ago that Liu Jin first walked into the Sparring Hall. Back then, the air cracked under the force of every blow. Crowds, big and small, gathered around the many rings. Some waited for their turn to fight; others were content to watch and study their foes. Applause and cheers filled the air. Taunts and insults flew from people’s mouths as naturally as the day turns to night.

Most of those things still hold true today.

That does not stop the Sparring Hall from feeling like a completely different place.

The thousands of blows that fly every other second all carry dangerous intent. The crowds do not mingle. A clear division manifests itself around every ring. Lord Feng Gui’s supporters on one side. Lord Feng Shang’s supporters on the other. Vicious jeers echo against the ceiling, and the cheers deafen the fighters. The losers are carried out bloody and mangled. Sometimes dead. The winners bask in the glory of their victory.

Lord Feng Gui against Lord Feng Shang.

Every single fight under the roof of the Sparring Hall reflects that feud. Not a single ring has two disciples from the same division inside it. Everyone tries to prove themselves and gain favor through martial might. The bodies of their foes are sacrifices offered to the altar. The Sparring Hall has become a place of fire and blood. Liu Jin growls as a bloody mess no longer fit to be called a body is carried out from one of the rings.

It is all getting worse.

“Follow me,” Liu Jin says.

The one who just brutally beat down his opponent is a disciple from Lord Feng Shang’s faction. Nothing in his clothes marks him as such, but the shouts coming from the crowd give it away. Boss Tong! Boss Tong! They yell. For Lord Feng Shang! For Lord Feng Shang! They chant.

Good.

“Senior brother Tong, I challenge you.”

Liu Jin’s Qi rolls in waves around his body, broadcasting his intent and scaring away the weaker disciples. The crowd around the ring parts for Liu Jin and his companions.

“I hope none of you are bothered by my intrusion,” Liu Jin says to the Lord Feng Gui supporters present. A few among them have been patients of his. Others frequent the Apothecary.

Their reaction is the same.

“Not at all, Brother Qing!”

“I have been waiting for Brother Qing to appear in the Sparring Hall!”

“Show this dog of Lord Feng Shang his place!”

Smiles and eager grins are what Liu Jin receives for his intrusion. Some even start chanting his name.

“A dog of Lord of Feng Gui presumes to tell me who I should fight?”

Despite his words, senior brother Tong is already cracking his knuckles, a sneer marring what many would call a handsome face. His Qi flares around him, potent and strong. If his previous fight tired him in any way, his body does not show signs of it.

“If senior brother Tong is too intimidated by me, he just needs to step outside. This one will try not to be too disappointed.”

Lord Feng Gui’s supporters cheer Liu Jin on and echo his words, laughing at Tong and calling him a coward. Meanwhile, Lord Feng Shang’s supporters hurl endless insults at Liu Jin.

Tong does not show any outward reaction. The sneer on his face does not change in the slightest.

His Qi blazes.

Spirit Realm, Level Five. The same level as Liu Jin.

“Your words are too bold, junior.”

It is nothing he has not faced before.

“I am perfectly content being bold.” Liu Jin settles into a fighting stance. His Qi tightly coiled around his body. “If senior brother thinks his guidance can show me otherwise, he’s welcome to try.”

Tong lunges.

The disciple blurs towards Liu Jin, easily breaking the speed of sound. His fist hardens, not just reinforced with Qi but taking the properties of… Earth?

No. Not Earth.

Crystal.

Shards like diamonds appear along the length of Tong’s arm, completely encasing the limb. Tong’s fist speeds towards Liu Jin’s face like a battering ram. A nice change of pace from all the fire-users Liu Jin has been fighting lately.

[Ground Contraction]

As soon as Tong is within three paces of him, Liu Jin steps into the gap, accelerating far beyond what Tong is capable of. His fist finds Tong’s center of mass, his tightly-coiled Qi perfectly focused on reinforcing his strength.

Tong’s mass, speed, and power.

Liu Jin overpowers all of those in an instant.

The crack resounds across the Sparring Hall. Tong is launched off the ring and collides with the furthest wall. Those watching the fight do not realize what has happened right away. They blink and keep staring at the ring, trying to figure out just where it is that Tong has gone to. By the time they look elsewhere, Tong’s body has fallen to the floor face-down, his eyes whited out and several of his ribs broken.

Cheers erupt for Liu Jin, but he can only stare at his fist in quiet dissatisfaction. He had been aiming for Tong’s dantian and had even put some of his soul into that attack, but it had remained beyond him.

As expected, reaching someone’s dantian is not easy when the levels of cultivation are so close.

“Brother Pan Qiu!” He yells over the cheers. “You shouldn’t hesitate to participate as well. Wasn’t it you who said you were tired of spending all your time in the Apothecary after Elder Cheung’s trial?”

More than one set of eyes turns to look at the person Liu Jin just spoke to. Pan Qiu stands next to Fan Bingbing near the front of the crowd. Some would say he is bearing the sudden scrutiny with a quiet stoicism, but the truth is he’s in so much panic his body has frozen.

“Of course, Brother Qing,” he says at last. To his credit, his voice is only slightly wooden as he goes over his lines. “Now that my dantian has been fully repaired, I don’t have to fear anything!”

There are few ways in which they could have more blatantly stated Pan Qiu’s identity. However, it is just as Lu Mei said. It is not about being subtle. Rather, the bait must be too tempting to resist. Pan Qiu is one of those baits.

Liu Jin is the other.

If Lord Feng Shang’s supporters have to choose between removing Liu Jin and removing Pan Qiu, they will obviously choose the former. That is why Liu Jin made an example out of Tong. By defeating someone in the Fifth Level of the Spirit Realm so easily, Liu Jin wanted to impress upon everyone that he is not someone to be taken lightly, leaving Pan Qiu as a far more accessible target.

“I am pleased to hear that. By all means, take my place in the ring.” His gaze sweeps over the Lord Feng Shang supporters near the ring. “Unless there is anyone here who wishes to challenge me instead?”

Liu Jin doubts there will be. Liu Jin is also not too worried about someone heavily wounding Pan Qiu during a spar. At the Fourth Level of the Spirit Realm, Pan Qiu can take care of himself. In the event of someone too strong challenging him, Pan Qiu can just decline. Even if a guaranteed challenge is used, Liu Jin already made sure Pan Qiu has been challenged three times before coming here.

That is why Liu Jin is caught off guard by the words that follow.

“I do.”

Just as it did for Liu Jin, the crowd parts for this newcomer. He does not wear the regular robes of a disciple but is clothed in the black outfit of the Internal Force instead.

“Huang Shing.”

The person who fought through the Ash Road with Liu Jin steps into the ring. Huang Shing does not flare his Qi wildly, but neither does he bother hiding it.

Spirit Realm, Level Four.

“Your isolation training went well,” Liu Jin notes.

“No,” Huang Shing says, frowning as he settles into a fighting stance, a gesture Liu Jin mimics. “Brother Jin seems to have gotten one step ahead of me.”

Neither happiness nor anger is anywhere to be found in Huang Shing’s face. On anyone else, Liu Jin would take it as a good sign. On the always emotional Huang Shing, it is vaguely unsettling.

“I wonder. Shall I praise your self-control or lament that you need to employ it around me?”

Huang Shing’s lips form a thin line.

“I have thought about this a lot, but even though there are many things I want to say, I’m just not good with words. Certainly not as good as Brother Jin.”

The attack comes next.

Huang Shing closes the distance without employing any movement technique, a far more cautious approach than Liu Jin expected from him. The way emerald Qi glows around his arm, however, is just as Liu Jin remembers it.

[First Dragon Slaying Palm - Budding Lotus]

Huang Shing’s palm strike whistles through the air with great force. Simple, direct, and so powerful one of the disciples behind Liu Jin is blown back without ever being touched by it.

Liu Jin dodges it.

[First Dragon Slaying Palm - Budding Lotus]

The miss does not bother Huang Shing. He simply fixes his stance and throws the second attack. His Qi is strong and unyielding. His strike is the howl of a hurricane.

[First Dragon Slaying Palm - Budding Lotus]

Liu Jin takes out his spear and crouches low to avoid the third palm strike, gritting his teeth as the pressure washes over him. It threatens to force him back, but Liu Jin pushes through it. Lightning Qi crackles around him as his spear goes up far too quickly for Huang Shing to dodge. The electrified blade makes a cut across his cheek.

“I am bad with words, so I will let my fists do the talking. Is that how it is?”

Huang Shing immediately backs away, blurring to the other end of the ring. His face is wary, not because of the damage done, but because…

Liu Jin’s voice had appeared in his head.

“How did Brother Jin do that?!”

Lightning Qi crackling around him, Liu Jin twirls his spear once and lightly bounces on his feet.

“I don’t recall you ever being so helpless that you couldn’t figure out something like this on your own.”

The challenge is thrown. Liu Jin blurs towards Huang Shing, quick thrusts of his spear forcing Huang Shing to back away. However, he is not as nimble and agile as Liu Jin. Huang Shing is quickly forced to block Liu Jin’s attacks with his forearms.

Cut.

“It is not.”

Cut.

“Particularly hard.”

Cut.

“I am fairly sure you already know how to project your voice with Qi.”

Cut.

“Just do away with your voice.”

Cut.

[Fifth Dragon Slaying Palm - A Hundred Blooming Lotuses]

Qi explodes around Huang Shing, blowing everything away as hundreds of fists fly towards Liu Jin in under a second. It now is Liu Jin’s turn to frantically try to dodge them all.

“Like this?!”

He’s not fast enough.

“Or this?!”

Not nearly.

“Good.”

The lightning dies down. Liu Jin’s Qi takes the shape of a snake and wraps around Huang Shing’s ankle. Creating a snake construct without using Poison Qi is not easy but still within his capabilities.

“You!”

Huang Shing yelps as Liu Jin yanks him and swings him through the air, slamming him hard against the ring. The floor breaks under the impact.

“Are!”

Then it breaks further as Liu Jin slams his heel down Huang Shing’s back.

“Learning!”

Huang Shing roars as he grabs a broken piece of the ring and tosses it at Liu Jin, rolling to his feet while Liu Jin bats it away with his spear

The Qi Snake is still wrapped around Huang Shing’s ankle.

“This is new.”

Huang Shing breathes heavily as he looks at the construct. It hisses at him in reply.

“We have not seen each other for a while. Is it any surprise I’d learn something in the meantime?”

To those watching, it probably looks like Liu Jin is giving Huang Shing time to gather himself. Some might even interpret it as an insult, a way of saying he is so far above Huang Shing he does not need to take the fight seriously.

They are wrong, obviously, but not for the reason Huang Shing might think. It is not just Huang Shing who is catching his breath while they talk.

Huang Shing’s hits had hurt.

Huang Shing’s hitting power had always been among the best. Even so, every single spot where Huang Shing managed to strike him hurts far more than Liu Jin expected.

“As expected, Brother Jin is amazing.” Huang Shing frowns. “Why are you supporting Feng Zhi?”

Liu Jin punches him in the face.

The strike comes quickly, suddenly, and perfectly. Huang Shing does not see any sign of it until Liu Jin’s fist is inches from his face.

“Do not be so arrogant to assume everything revolves around your feud with Feng Zhi.”

Another hit. This time the blunt end of his spear finds Huang Shing’s chin.

“You came here to seek your betrothed. I respect that. I admire your commitment.”

“Then why?!”

Huang Shing stomps his feet and punches Liu Jin’s weapon out of the way. Liu Jin pivots on his heel, turning around and slamming the pole on Huang Shing’s side.

“I also came to the Eternal Flame Clan for my own goals. Right now, those goals are better served by siding with Lord Feng Gui. I will not ask you to abandon your quest for me. Do not ask me to do the same.”

[Fourth Dragon Slaying Palm - Blooming Lotus]

Emerald Qi blooms into crimson. The attack strikes not Liu Jin but his spear. Qi wars against Qi, and it is Liu Jin who comes out losing from the exchange. The spear is knocked off his hands and clatters to the ring with multiple cracks running along its length.

“I understand. I understand that well. I knew it before Brother Jin said it!”

[Fifth Dragon Slaying Palm - A Hundred Blooming Lotuses]

“I still don’t like it!”

As soon as the attack begins, Liu Jin ends it by using his snake construct to lift up Huang Shing and break his stance.

“That is not my concern!”

Liu Jin slams Huang Shing against the floor again once more, his breathing heavy.

“Though... it may please you to know Feng Zhi is not that liked by certain members of Lord Feng Gui’s faction either. You might get along with them if you tried.”

Mainly Lady Ling. Although Liu Jin has no intention of introducing the two. Lady Ling would likely turn Huang Shing into one of her tools over tea time. That scenario is far too messy for Liu Jin to want to deal with.

“Ah, so you have that sort of situation on your side too?” Huang Shing breathes heavily as he picks himself up.

Liu Jin raises an eyebrow.

“Too?”

“Some people are not fond of the Internal Force. Mostly Elder Chang of the Punishment House. I think. I don’t pay much attention to those things.”

Interesting.

“I believe that is quite enough,” Liu Jin says, dispelling the snake. “I am willing to offer a tie.”

“A tie?” Huang Shing laughs, visibly more beaten down than Liu Jin and with many cuts on his face. “I am okay with that.”

“We can continue this at another time if you wish.”

“I’d like that, Brother Jin. I’d really like that.”

~~~