The tournament was filled with a kaleidoscope of emotions but two certain ones dominated the crowd's hearts - tension and excitement.

They were tensed because they were afraid of going home empty-handed should their favored warrior lose; and they were excited because a new champion was about to emerge.

"Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei is such a great warrior and I have been earning more betting for him than I do when working as a butcher for a month." A man shared to his companion.

"Hmm," the other exclaimed. "My small bet, for the ninja boy though, gained fairly well enough for me a sample of a taste of life's luxury."

"Luxurious living, eh?" someone remarked disgustedly. "You could do better with what you had won. But, then who cares about betting? I am just here to watch the fight and find out who will win. I didn't even bother risking a coin on nonsense things such as gambling."

"Bah, we did not ask for your opinion, and what you are doing is a waste of time. You might as well didn't pay to watch the fight if you are not gambling. You could have waited tomorrow and ask who wins."

"I want to witness firsthand who will win. This is an event that one should not miss. Besides, gambling would be a waste of my time if I am only here to enjoy the fight." The antagonistic man countered indignantly.

°°°°°°

The trade outside the arena flourished. A lot of merchants were crowding outside the thick red walls of the arena. Tents were set-up, vases of different designs and varying colors were displayed; accessories made of precious and semi-precious stones were flaunted, even fake duplicates were displayed together with the real ones; and the food stalls were swarmed by the crowd who were about to enter the arena.

"The thieves really know when to start their nasty business," a fat merchant said to his only customer who wore bright red silk brocade of obvious great quality, colorful intricate patterns were printed on his dress.

"You are right," the customer agreed as he slowly examined the pearl necklace; and when found no fault on it, he smiled. "I'll take this necklace. How much?"

"It is of perfect quality, we got it from the oriental continent of the south. You can have it for 3 pieces of gold." The fat merchant said excitedly to the customer.

"3 pieces of gold for this pearl necklace? Obviously, this is not first grade. That is too much!" The customer sneered in disbelief.

The merchant's brows rose indignantly and said, "You are wrong! It is of unmatched quality and you will never find it in the sea of Chixian Shenzhou. We even traveled the oriental seas to obtain it. I say, if you can't pay the price, then please place it back to where it is displayed."

"Fine," the customer relented as he reached for his purse. "I will take it." He handed three gold coins to the merchant and immediately took his leave.

The merchant smiled contentedly as he held the gold coins in his hand. He enjoyed his private amusement of having outwitted his customer. The pearl necklace was actually not of first grade quality as what he claimed, and it was originally valued at 10 copper coins when it reached the shores of Chixian Shenzhou. But his ingenuity had convinced the foolish customer into buying it at a price too extravagant for its value.

He flipped one coin, and the sun's ray reflected over its shine. He leisurely examined it and then, rubbed it but was flabbergasted when its golden color faded revealing a dull copper coin beneath. He furiously rubbed the other coins and saw the same thing. Cold sweat started to form on his forehead and tears fell from his eyes as he cried hysterically, "I have been duped!"

°°°°°°

A few minutes before the championship began, more and more people were putting their bets on their favored warrior. The betting area was so congested that it was as if you could not throw a needle in between the people due to lack of space. People of different stations - rich or poor - did their best to advance in the line just to get their names and bets registered. Different human smell permeated through the air that one old man fainted due to suffocation, various curses were also heard as arms hit each other and feet stamped upon another.

It was busy indeed.

Chou, the one who was in-charge of listing the names and accepting bets, was almost on the verge of losing his patience as one man shouted at him arrogantly.

True, he loved the privileges of being in-charge of the betting list but encountering different attitudes of varying insolence sometimes made him want to quit his job. If the pay wasn't just so big, he would never take this job - it was most stressful. Life, in all its essence, was flawed.

By the time the betting registration was officially closed, much to Chou's relief, a lot of people were protesting angrily, demanding that the registration time should be extended. But that couldn't be simply done so Chou just bore their curses with a wry smile as he closed the list triumphantly, and went to the room where the monies and list were kept.

The mob angrily shouted at Chou and attempted to go after him but the big guards immediately pacified them by threatening them with their swords. Some people weren't as violent as the others even though they were just as unfortunate of not making it to the registration. They simply formed a group and made bets against each other.

The gong was finally hit thrice heralding the start of the championship. Pandemonium momentarily came to a halt as tension came to the crowd but then the excitement that they previously felt came back so the noise filled the arena once again.

The announcer, dressed in blue dragon-embroidered silk brocade, climbed the stairs of the 3-foot long circular arena made of red marble tiles. Despite the heavy plain black head dress that he was wearing, he was able to efficiently climbed onto the arena and began shouting, "Good day, people of Chixian Shenzhou. We are gathered here today to witness the rise of the new champion of the biggest fight the empire ever has."

The crowd paused and listened attentively.

"This fight that we are about to witness will be between two of the strongest warrior across the empire. You all have witnessed their unmatched strengths as they defeated one strong warrior after another." The announcer proclaimed, then he added lightheartedly, "Well, not all are strong though. Some are just pathetic delusional warriors who merely wanted their asses whip."

The crowd laughed at his humorous statement. The announcer raised both his hands as if to silenced the crowd. When silence reigned, he continues, "Without a doubt, people of Chixian Shenzhou, these two warriors whose fight you are about to witness are formidable and of great skills. But then, there could only be one champion and you will witness him today. So people of Chixian Shenzhou, hold your breath as I will introduce the warriors of this year's most anticipated fight!"

The crowd went wild with excitement and began cheering loudly.

°°°°°°

In the midst of the vexated crowd, at a secluded and silent corner of the east wing of the arena, Yan Mei Ling, who was already dressed in her plain black ninja costume, talked to Yeng. Her maid was also dressed in a simple male cotton strolling robe; her hair tied in ponytail fashion so that no one would recognize them.

"Have you seen the way Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei fights, Yeng? What are his fighting techniques?" Mei Ling whispered to Yeng. Her eyes cautiously drifted to the different parts of the corner to make sure than no one would overhear them.

With dreamy eyes, Yeng replied, "Oh, yes, he is handsome and charming, my lady."

Yan Mei Ling's brows rose in surprise at Yeng's far-fetched answer. "Do you hear my question well? I did not ask if he is handsome or charming; I asked you: what are his fighting techniques."

Yeng remained stuck in her fantasy that Yan Mei Ling shook her maid and impatiently said, "Won't you come back to your wits and stop behaving like a fool so that you can answer my question?"

"I am not behaving like a fool, my lady," Yeng explained, still caught under the spell of Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei. "You might be surprised to find yourself drooling over him when you meet him in the arena."

Yan Mei Ling rolled her eyes in disgust and irritation but she wasn't angry with Yeng though. She considered Yeng as a friend and confidant aside from Lei Shuang. "Who is Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei and what did he feed you to make you act in a bizarre way?"

"He fed me nothing," Yeng answered dreamily, clasping her hands to her heart. "He lured me with his unbelievable charm, undaunting strength, and exceptional fighting skills. Why, he could even match the legendary dragon warrior when it comes to fighting techniques."

Yan Mei Ling paused upon hearing Yeng's description of Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei. The legendary dragon warrior, according to her Master Tang Jiao Quon, was sent by the gods to protect Chixian Shenzhou against its enemies, many centuries ago. It was said that he single-handedly defeated more than a hundred enemy soldiers using his dragon technique. How other people learned the dragon technique was still a mystery but it was fabled that the legendary dragon warrior taught a peasant boy before he went back to Heaven as his mission was fulfilled. The peasant boy after learning the dragon technique became a great teacher of martial arts though his name was never known.

The dragon technique was one of the several techniques that Yan Mei Ling's master taught her, and it was the only technique that she had not fully mastered yet. One of the components of this technique was the ability to meditate on one foot and attacking enemies at a lightning speed without opening one's eyes - relying only on hearing the sound of the motions executed by the opponent.

If indeed Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei had matched the legendary dragon warrior's skills, then she shouldn't take him lightly. She suspected that this fight would be the most challenging one that she'd have but she was determined to win.

-----------

I hope you enjoy my story. I am super excited now! I am anxious as well as to who will win the fight. Do you have any idea who will win?

Read, vote, comment and share! Please help me promote my story.. Thank you! :)