The battle between Hou Jingshu and Hou Chao had begun. The two stood in the center of the arena as they exchanged blows. Spear and staff moved so fast that both were a blur. Anyone who hadn’t trained their eyes for high-speed combat would be unable to keep up with their moves.

Hou Jingshu fought like a dragon, always pressing the attack. No tactics were being used here. Hou Jingshu was relying on pure brute strength and skill to force her older brother back.

Of course, Hou Chao wasn’t one to let himself be beat up, and he proved his talent by keeping pace with his younger sister. He twirled his staff around as he fended off her assault and jabbed her sides several times. He was actually getting more hits in than she was. He hit her in her left flank, slammed his staff into her right arm, and even managed to bruise her right thigh.

Despite being hit several times, Hou Jingshu remained steadfast. If anything, it seemed more like the constant attacks on her person were empowering her, making her stronger. Her attacks were becoming fiercer the longer the fight went on.

“Her Highness… has really improved,” Yu Qiang murmured.

“You mean she wasn’t always this strong?” asked Wu Jian.

Yu Qiang shook his head. “She was always strong, and she always did her best, but it felt like something kept holding her back.”

“Hmmm.”

“That expression tells me you know something.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ugh, fine. I guess this is another secret between you and Her Highness.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

Hou Jingshu had once told Wu Jian that she was ill-suited for her cultivation method because using it required her to enjoy the battle. The more she enjoyed fighting, the greater her cultivation would soar, and the stronger she would become. She had said that the only time she felt like she really had fun in combat was when they sparred.

I wonder if that’s changed. Hou Jingshu doesn’t really look like she’s having fun, but she seems to be getting stronger.

It was hard to judge what she was thinking right now. Her face was set in a thin line, a mask of concentration. She looked like she was focusing really hard on Hou Chao.

You can do this, Jingshu. Show him how much stronger you’ve become.

***

Hou Jingshu could tell she wasn’t fighting at her best. Unlike her spars with Wu Jian, which were fun and exhilarating, this battle was filled with tension and hatred. She could feel her brother’s dislike of her every time their weapons clashed.

Hou Chao spun his staff around in intricate patterns, the tip igniting with powerful flames that came close to charring her flesh. Hou Jingshu gnashed her teeth together as she swung her spear. Each swing slammed into her brother’s staff, redirecting the attacks with sheer brute strength.

Her brother’s cultivation level was much higher than hers, but it was clear that she had the advantage of physical strength. That was no doubt the result of her cultivation method.

“Tch! Since when did you get so strong?!” shouted Hou Chao.

“…” Hou Jingshu didn’t answer.

“Fine! If physical attacks don’t work, let’s see how you deal with this!”

Hou Chao backpedaled to put some distance between them. Hou Jingshu tried to follow by pressing the attack, but he swept his staff forward, sending a cascade of flames her way. She was forced to back off lest she get burned.

Her brother soon began twisting his staff in figure eight patterns. Each time he swung upward, a ball of flames was launched from the tip.

Hou Jingshu dodged them. They were easy enough to avoid. Yet as she continued to dodge, a searing heat threatened to scorch her back. Her eyes widened as she leapt aside. The fireballs she had dodged had reversed course and come at her from behind.

He can control the flames?!

“Did you think you were the only one who got stronger?! I’ve been training my ass off! I’ll show you and everyone else that I’m the strongest! I won’t let you or Hou Gun have their way!”

More fireballs erupted from Hou Chao’s staff, adding to the number of attacks she needed to dodge. Hou Jingshu pressed her lips together. Her concentration narrowed as she focused everything she had on avoiding his attacks, and yet several fireballs still manage to graze her, sending searing hot pain up her arms and legs.

I can’t dodge them all! In that case… I can only destroy them.

Hou Jingshu sucked in a deep breath and activated her dantian. Her chi churned inside of her and quickly flowed from her dantian to her throat. She kept a careful eye on all the fireballs, trying to get a sense for their patterns and timing. Hou Chao seemed to like attacking only with two or three fireballs at a time, and he staggered the times of his attacks so she could avoid one but not the others.

I need more chi. I need to increase the range of my attack.

She gathered more chi. Fire scorched her arms, legs, and one even grazed her torso, setting her martial arts gi ablaze. It hurt, but she stamped out the fire and the pain.

She had finally gathered enough chi.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Hou Jingshu released all the chi that had been gathered in her throat, and a sound that was akin to a dragon’s roar echoed around the stadium. It caused the entire arena to shake. Many people in the stands were forced to cover their ears. Even Hou Chao pressed his hands over his ears as he staggered like he was drunk. The fireballs that had been surrounding her vanished, puffed out of existence by her attack.

“Haaaah… haaaah…”

With a wince, Hou Jingshu raised a hand to her throat. It was very sore. The name of this technique was Dragon’s Roar. She channeled chi into her throat, then released it in a loud shout that released a powerful shockwave. It was mostly designed to attack an opponent’s sense of hearing, but the shockwave could also be used to snuff out attacks like those flames. She had practiced this technique a little but never used it in live combat.

She looked at Hou Chao. Her older brother had been forced to take a knee. He was bent over, hands on his ears. Blood leaked from between his fingers.

She could have attacked him, but that wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to beat him while he was down. That wouldn’t prove anything. Hou Jingshu wanted to win fair and square to prove her strength, to Hou Chao, to the audience, but mostly importantly, to herself.

And yet…

I still don’t enjoy this…

***

“What an interesting bout. I never expected to see the Shang Kingdom’s prince and princess fight against each other so soon,” said Zhou Xie’e.

Zhou Chaoxian nodded. “If I did not know that matches were randomly chosen, I would have expected the Saintly Sword Sect to be pitting these two against each other this early on purpose.”

“It has garnered a lot of attention.” Zhou Xie’e looked at the audience, smiled, then shrugged. “Well, they are this nation’s royal family. Anyone would be curious to see what kind of strength their rulers possess.”

Zhou Lihua stood next to Zhou Xie’e, Zhou Chaoxian, and her father. They were all standing before the glass window that gave them a clear view of the arena several stories below. She tried to keep her expression blank, but she was a little worried.

Her brother has the cultivation advantage, but Jingshu’s unique physique and combat experience are letting her keep pace. They’re almost evenly matched. However, it doesn’t look like her heart is in this battle.

Hou Jingshu definitely wanted to win, but at the same time, she was not enjoying the match, which ran counter to her cultivation method. If she kept fighting like this, Zhou Lihua worried that her strength would begin to wane.

Zhou Lihua wondered about that. Hou Jingshu had always wanted to prove herself. She had admired cultivators ever since she was little and wanted to be just like them. Back when they were young, she seemed to have a lot of fun during the tournament, even though she lost in the end. When had that changed?

It must have been when we received news of the Wu Clan’s destruction… but if that’s the case, then she should have recovered after finding out that Wu Jian is alive. Perhaps she never enjoyed combat but just liked getting stronger? Maybe she only wanted to prove herself to her father? If that’s the case, she’s been carrying a large burden on her shoulders ever since her father became indisposed.

Maybe it wasn’t the Wu Clan’s destruction that had caused Hou Jingshu’s problem. Maybe her problems had started when Emperor Hou Gun was poisoned. Zhou Lihua had only lived in the capital for a little over a year now. She had not been present when Hou Jingshu returned, and she had not kept in contact like Wu Jian and Wu Meiying had during those years.

If that’s really the case, it might be impossible for her to win…

Zhou Lihua clasped her hands together and prayed that her friend would come out on top.

***

“You’re losing strength, sis!”

“Nnngggg!”

Their battle had once more become one of physical might. Hou Jingshu had been forced to play defense as the strength in her body wanned. Fighting against her older brother was nothing like sparring against Wu Jian or even the core disciples of the Shang Kingdom Imperial Academy. The hatred radiating from him made it impossible for her to enjoy the battle, and that made her cultivation method weaker than it should have been.

This isn’t right…

Siblings should not be fighting with such hatred in their hearts. Brothers and sisters would always squabble. That was natural. They couldn’t get along all the time. But that didn’t mean they should always be at war with each other, and they should never want to purposefully inflict bodily harm on the other.

Yet that was all she felt from Hou Chao.

His desire to hurt her was so strong, his hatred so fierce, that Hou Jingshu felt like she was drowning in a storming sea.

Hou Chao came at her. She blocked his upward slash, but almost missed when he swung the other end down toward her head. She moved to the side, but his staff slammed into her shoulder. Biting back a yelp, she pushed him away and tried to gain some distance. Hou Chao wasn’t having it. He clung to her and attacked from close-range, making it impossible for her to escape.

“Ahh?!”

Hou Jingshu tripped when she lost her footing. Pain slammed into her chin as Hou Chao struck her with his staff. She flew through the air and slammed into the ground. She was, fortunately, not outside of the arena, but she was just near the edge, close to where the waiting room was.

Is this it?

Is this all I can do?

I really can’t fight against my brother. Not like this.

Hou Jingshu’s secret desire had always been to make up with her brother. They both came from the same mother, so they should not have been fighting like this. Yet her wish appeared to be entirely one-sided. He didn’t want to make up with her. He just wanted someone to hate. He wanted an outlet to take out his anger and pain on. Was that really all she would ever be to him?

“Oi! Oi! Are you going to call the match?” she heard Hou Chao’s voice.

The elder responded. “She isn’t unconscious yet. And she hasn’t surrendered. Your Highness, are you going to surrender?”

Hou Jingshu bit her lip as she thought about what to do. She didn’t want to keep fighting, but she didn’t want to surrender. She had to win, for her father, for her kingdom, for herself. She wanted to win, and yet she didn’t want to fight Hou Chao.

What… should I do?

“You can do it!”

“Ah?”

A voice shouted at her. She turned her head. Wu Jian stood before the window, hands cupped to his mask as he shouted. She should not have been able to hear him from this distance. He must have been using his chi to make his voice heard.

“Don’t give up!”

“You can win!”

“Don’t worry about anything but the fight!”

“Have fun!”

… Have… fun?

The words struck a chord with her. Hou Jingshu used to enjoy getting stronger and proving herself when she was younger, but that stopped after her father became bedridden. She had not enjoyed combat ever since she had returned to the capital. All she had felt was the burdens placed on her.

While her two brothers went off on their own, she alone had cared for their father, she alone had strived to fulfill his wish, his dream, his ambition. That was the whole reason she joined the Shang Kingdom Imperial Academy. It wasn’t because she wanted to, but because she felt like she had to. Underlying her every action was the burden of being what her father wanted and what her nation needed. How could she have fun when so much was riding on her shoulders?

“You’re not alone!”

Hou Jingshu felt a jolt race through her. Wu Jian’s words struck another chord. From the moment she returned to Imperial Shang City, she had been forced to carry this burden by herself, but she wasn’t alone anymore. Wu Jian was with her. He had returned to her side like a phoenix rising from the ashes and brought light to her life. She could rely on him.

Does that mean… I can enjoy this fight? Can I really have fun? Can I let loose?

“Oi! Quit lying there! If you’re gonna give up, then just give up already! Don’t make me hit you while you’re down!” Hou Chao shouted.

“I won’t give up…” Hou Jingshu muttered.

“What was that?” asked Hou Chao, face red.

Hou Jingshu sat up, then placed her hands underneath her and stood to her feet. She scooped up her spear, spun it around, and slammed the butt end against the arena floor. She grinned at her brother, and that smile seemed to make him retreat for a moment.

“I’m not giving up. This battle is just getting started.”

She pointed the spear at Hou Chao and felt the grin on her face widen.

“Come, brother. Let’s enjoy this match for just a little longer.”