Ye Chun looked like he was barely able to hold himself back. “You’re in my way. Step aside.”

“This battle is already over.” Wu Jian glanced at the elder. “Call the match.”

“Don’t you dare!” Ye Chun shouted at the elder. “This match isn’t over until I say it’s over!”

“I hope you’re not talking back to me, child. This match is over. Even if Xun Xi could still fight, it would be over since someone has interfered.” The elder took in a deep breath and made the announcement. “The winner of this match is Ye Chun!”

No one clapped this time.

Ye Chun’s entire face had turned a fiery shade of red like the blood inside of him was boiling. His flames sputtered with his emotions. Wu Jian wondered if the young man would attack him, but the flame user glanced at something to Wu Jian’s left, then grimaced and turned around. His flames sputtered out as he walked away.

Mei Xilan and Xian Fei were running over to them, and Hua Xue was floating down from the sky. Wu Jian turned to Xun Xi and held out his hand.

“You okay?”

“Uh… un.”

Xun Xi nodded, her cheeks pink as she reached out and grabbed his hand. Wu Jian pulled the woman to her feet just as the three Ice Phoenix Sect members arrived.

“Xun Xi, are you feeling okay? That last attack looked like it really hurt,” said Xian Fei. This was the first time Wu Jian had seen the woman look worried. The other two also appeared concerned, though they held their emotions in check much better. It was still good to see them display concern for their comrade.

“I’m… fine, but I’m a little disappointed that I lost so easily,” Xun Xi mumbled, looking down. “I’m sorry. I let you all down.”

“That is not true. You did a magnificent job.” Hua Xue placed a hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “I’m very proud of you.”

“Mmm. Okay. Thank you, Master,” Xun Xi said silently.

Hua Xue graced the young woman with a smile, then looked at Mei Xilan and Xian Fei. “Escort Xun Xi back to my booth, please. I’ll be along shortly.”

“Yes, Head Elder,” the two said.

Xian Fei lent Xun Xi her arm as the three left the arena. Wu Jian watched them go, then looked at Hua Xue. The woman was staring at him with a speculative gleam.

Before she could say something, the elder walked up to them and bowed. “I apologize for not stopping the fight sooner. I saw that Xun Xi wasn’t surrendering and figured she still wanted to fight. Had I known she was just unable to say something…”

“It’s all water under the bridge. Do not concern yourself with what happened anymore,” Hua Xue said, waving the man off. The elder nodded once. Then the woman turned to Wu Jian. “There’s something I’d like to tell you.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“Not here. I would like to speak with you after this day’s matches end,” Hua Xue shook her head. “You and Her Highness, if possible.”

“Sure. I don’t mind.”

“Good. Then I will see you later. It looks like you’re fighting next. Good luck.”

Wu Jian looked up to see two names on the screen. Jian Wu vs. Du Li.

Du Li was a member of the Iron Fist Brigade. They were a sect located further west, toward the sea. He was at the eighth subrealm of the Asura Realm, making him a decently strong opponent, but he was not quite strong enough to contend with Wu Jian. He also knew that, which was why he used purely defensive tactics to stall for time. A lot of his moves involved raising the platform to create walls that blocked Wu Jian from attacking him directly.

Wu Jian had already destroyed several such walls. Every time he attacked, this man would create a wall that got sliced in half with Pale Moon and scramble out of the way. It was actually quite frustrating. Wu Jian only realized after fighting for several minutes that he was going to have to show some more of his hands.

While some battles included banter, Wu Jian did not bother talking as he turned to the man, who was already in the process of making a wall. He narrowed his eyes and quickly threw a punch despite the distance between them. Du Li didn’t even see the attack coming. His fist transcended space and slammed into the man with enough force to send him stumbling. However, just like the name Iron Fist Brigade might suggest, this man had a sturdy body. Well, at least that stopped him from creating his wall.

Wu Jian rushed up before the man could recover, kicked him in the chest to send him sprawling to the floor, and placed the sharp end of Pale Moon against his throat.

“This match is mine,” Wu Jian declared.

“Haaaah. Seems so,” Du Li said with a sigh.

“Winner of this round goes to Jian Wu,” said the elder.

The crowd cheered.

***

“Oh. I see he finally used it.”

The words from Zhou Xie’e caused Zhou Chaoxian and Zhou Zu to look at him. Zhou Lihua also glanced in his direction, but she only did so for a moment before turning back to the window as Wu Jian walked off the arena.

“Finally used what?” asked Zhou Zu.

“His unique power,” Zhou Xie’e said. “I first saw Jian Wu in the White Tiger Sect Ruins. He and several others were standing on a series of platforms that only activated when a cultivator who could use a specific dao stepped on it. He was standing on the element for space. I was quite surprised to learn that he could use the Dao of Space. That is a very complicated power to learn.”

Zhou Xie’e cupped his chin, looking thoughtful.

“It looks like he can fold space around a specific part of his body to extend the range of his attacks. It’s almost like teleporting a body part to a specific point in space. His manner of using the Dao of Space is a bit crude, but he shows great promise. Given time, he may be able to master even more esoteric and unique abilities.”

“Is he a dangerous element?” asked Zhou Chaoxiang.

“I don’t know,” Zhou Xie’e shrugged. “He is certainly powerful. That can be dangerous. However, he has connections to the Shang Kingdom’s princess, so touching him probably isn’t a good idea right now. Besides…” He glanced at Zhou Lihua. “It looks like he has a connection to our clan too.”

Zhou Lihua froze when her father looked at her. She had not mentioned Wu Jian in her letters because she thought it would have been too suspicious. She had not been the same since Wu Jian’s death, and he might suspect something if she told her father about him.

Curse you, Zhou Xie’e!

***

The matches continued, and before the day’s end, there were only thirty-two opponents.

Wu Jian told Hou Jingshu about how Hua Xue wanted to talk to them after the matches ended. That was how they found themselves walking to her VIP booth after the last round of the day.

Because Hua Xue belonged to one of the Three Major Sects of the Shang Kingdom, her booth was a lot more luxurious than the average ones. The soft carpet was an icy blue. The walls were decorated with snowflakes. It looked like the Saintly Sword Sect had tried to create a winter wonderland for the ice fairies and their head elder.

“Thank you both for coming,” Hua Xue said. “Please, sit down. I’ll make us some tea.”

“We appreciate you taking the time to speak with us,” said Hou Jingshu.

Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu sat down at the table Hua Xue directed them to. Mei Xilan, Xian Fei, and Xun Xi were nowhere in sight.

“I had Mei Xilan and Xian Fei escort Xun Xi back to our building,” said Hua Xue as if she could read their minds. “I didn’t want them here for this conversation anyway.”

The woman set about making tea, her refined movements speaking for themselves. It was clear from how elegantly she performed that she had made tea thousands if not hundreds of thousands of times. There was no wasted movement. Each action carried the refined elegance of someone who had grown up performing such ceremonies.

Hua Xue poured three cups of tea, then slid her hands along the back of her thighs before sitting down. Once sitting, she placed her hands on her lap and looked at them both.

“Please, enjoy the tea,” she said.

“Thank you. We will,” Hou Jingshu said for both of them. The Shang Kingdom princess took the small cup in both hands and drank the tea in one sip. She blinked in surprise. “Oh! This tea is lovely! I’ve never tasted something like this before.”

Huw Xue smiled, though it was so small as to be almost unnoticeable. “Nor will you. That tea is something I personally cultivated myself. I tried hard to recapture the tea of my homeland, but I have never been able to get the flavor just right. The chi here is simply too impure.”

“You mean you’re not from the Shang Kingdom? Where are you from?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“I apologize, but that is not something I’m comfortable talking about. It’s also not the reason I wished to speak with you both,” said Hua Xue.

Wu Jian pushed his mask up so he could drink the tea Hua Xue made. His entire body felt a jolt the moment the refreshing flavor of the tea hit his tongue. It was sweet. That was the first thing he noticed. It tasted kind of like a sweet melon. However, there was a refreshing minty aftertaste that felt kind of like ice traveling through his throat, soothing a soreness he hadn’t known existed. It really was quite unlike any tea he had ever tasted.

“What did you wish to speak with us about?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“Ye Chun,” Hua Xue said with a serious frown. “I’m sure you’ve noticed it, but he acted much different today than he did yesterday.”

Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu glanced at each other.

“We did notice,” Wu Jian said for them both. “We both suspect he might have been given a pill to increase his cultivation, but…”

Hua Xue shook her head. “There was no pill involved. The elder of the Saintly Sword Sect would have noticed if there was.”

There weren’t that many ways to increase someone’s power that quickly. Alchemy pills were the easiest. They often came with a number of drawbacks like someone would feel weaker after the pill’s effects wore off. He had never heard of someone going insane from a pill, but that didn’t mean such side-effects couldn’t exist. However, Hua Xue was saying that wasn’t the case.

“Do you think… he might be using a dark cultivation technique?” asked Hou Jingshu.

Dark cultivation techniques were powerful but forbidden methods of cultivating because of what they did to the user. Cultivators of these techniques often went insane. They lost all sense of moral reasoning and became bloodthirsty monsters.

Hua Xue shook her head again. “I’m sure the elder would have noticed that too. I think Ye Chun is using a dual cultivation method. The Burning Hands Sect brought several female cultivators with them, but have you noticed that none participated in the tournament?”

“We didn’t really notice, but now that you’ve said it…” Wu Jian furrowed his brow. “So these women are being used as a cultivation furnace to increase Ye Chun’s power?”

“That is what I believe. It’s frowned upon, but it’s technically not illegal to do, which is why I believe that is how they are increasing Ye Chun’s strength so quickly. The elder won’t say anything because they’re not breaking any rules.” She paused to cup a hand to her chin. “Of course, his cultivation base has become unstable, which is likely what’s causing him to lash out. Fire users are always hot headed like that. When their cultivation becomes unstable, so do their emotions.”

“I can’t approve of what the Burning Hands Sect is doing, but it doesn’t sound like we can interfere. It’s against Shang Kingdom laws for the royal family to interfere in sect business unless there’s evidence they are plotting something… but we have yet to see any evidence of that,” Hou Jingshu murmured.

While it may have been frowned upon, dual cultivation wasn’t illegal in the Shang Kingdom so long as both participants consented. Of course, the women could have been forced into it, but unless they said it was being done against their will, there was nothing anyone could do.

“I believe something strange is happening in the Burning Hands Sect,” Hua Xue said. “I can’t confirm it. However, I’ve met with their sect master and head elder several times, and their current head elder is someone completely new.”

“Can I ask you to look into this?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“That’s what I was planning to do. I wanted to let you know what I was planning so it didn’t seem like I was going over the royal family’s head,” said Hua Xue.

Hou Jingshu bowed her head. “Thank you. Please inform me of your findings whenever you get the chance.”

“Of course. It likely won’t be until well after the tournament, but I’ll inform you of my findings whenever I can. I also have a favor to ask you both,” said Hua Xue.

“What is it?” asked Wu Jian.

“It’s about the pill I need…” Hua Xue began.