Yu Qiang did not rush at Wu Jian. He had expected the battle to start off with a bang, but the older man remained standing in place. Did he expect Wu Jian to attack?

“Are you not going to move?” asked Wu Jian.

Yu Qiang smiled. “My preferred style of combat is to let my opponent make the first move.”

“So I see.”

That single statement told Wu Jian a lot. This man likely relied on countering his opponent’s attacks instead of initiating his own.

There were many different ways to fight; most cultivators preferred straightforward assaults because that was the “honorable” method of combat. People who relied on trickery and deception were often scorned as cowardly. Counters walked a fine line between honorable and cowardly. For cases such as this, a cultivator’s strength would be the deciding factor in how others viewed them.

“If that’s how you want to play, then fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Yu Qiang smiled. “I won’t--what?!”

Wu Jian’s opponent had no time to react as Wu Jian reached through a distortion in space, grabbed Yu Qiang’s leg, and yanked. The man’s leg was pulled out from underneath him. He quickly fell onto the arena floor. He tried to get up, but Wu Jian threw a punch that struck him in the face. This was despite the fact that there was still several dozen chih of distance between them. Yu Qiang’s head struck the ground again.

“I hate being underestimated. I would like you to take this fight seriously,” Wu Jian said. He did not attack again, instead waiting for the older man to stand to his feet.

Yu Qiang wiped the blood from his mouth, glancing warily at Wu Jian. He shook his head, sighed, then smiled.

“You’re right. My apologies. Even though we have almost the same cultivation, it seems I still underestimated you due to your age. I’ll fight seriously.”

After speaking, Yu Qiang summoned his swords once more. Now that he knew Wu Jian was just as strong even without his weapon, he had no reason to hold back.

Yu Qiang took a deep breath as he held his two swords at his sides. His stance was loose. He seemed almost too relaxed, but Wu Jian wasn’t fooled. He knew this man was on high-alert for any deceptive attacks like last time.

Now, how should I do this?

Wu Jian’s most powerful ability was his spatial attacks. He could create portals, tear space apart, and even create swords that severed space. All of them were incredible attacks worthy of being considered Heaven-Grade Technique--or they would be if he was stronger. They were still weak right now, but they had the potential to cut mountains and split seas.

Right. Guess I’ll start out like I would in a real battle.

This man was willing to fight him with everything he had, so how could Wu Jian do anything less?

Wu Jian threw a punch even though he wasn’t anywhere near Yu Qiang. His fist appeared behind the man, and yet, the attack never struck. Yu Qiang spun around and presented the flat of his blade. The loud clang of metal hitting flesh echoed around the arena. Yet while the attack may have been blocked, the strength behind Wu Jian’s punch made the man stumble.

Rushing forward, Wu Jian spun around on the balls of one foot, lifted his left leg, and threw a powerful reverse heel. Yu Qiang spun around and slashed at his leg, but Wu Jian quickly reversed his attack. He stomped on the ground and kicked the flat end of the sword. It flew away from him. However, Yu Qiang had another sword, and it was already bearing down on him.

Left with no other option, Wu Jian leapt back. The sword coming down in a wide arc sliced off several strands of his hair, which fluttered away in the breeze, but he avoided being cut… or so he thought, until a sharp sting close to his nose made him raise a hand. He brushed his fingers against an area that shouldn’t have felt so wet and came away with blood.

Wu Jian licked his lips. “You extended the range of your weapon with wind.”

“You’ve got a sharp eye. You’re right.” Yu Qiang smiled. “The technique is called Wind Blade Extension. It’s a simple technique to use. I encase my swords in a blade of wind that lets me control my reach. I can make my blade as long as two dozen chih.”

Meaning he could have punched a hole through Wu Jian’s head if he had wanted to. This was a good lesson. Wu Jian had been overconfident. He had assumed that because their cultivation was the same, he would win since he was far stronger and had much greater athleticism, but that was folly. This man might not have been as strong, but he was an excellent technical fighter. Wu Jian would actually need to think tactically if he wanted to win.

The number of techniques I can use are also limited. I don’t want to kill him, after all.

Wu Jian inhaled a deep breath, gathered his chi, and exhaled. Spatial distortions appeared around his arms, though most people would never notice. Small light refractions caused by the distortions made his arms look a little funny. However, that was the only sign that a technique was being used.

“Tell me something,” said Wu Jian.

“Hmm?” Yu Qiang looked curious.

“How important are those swords to you?”

“Not very. They are just the swords I use during practice. The pair I use in real combat are different.”

“All right. Here I come,” said Wu Jian.

Yu Qiang held his blades at his side. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Wu Jian rushed forward and threw a punch that made the air howl. Yu Qiang blocked the attack with his sword, but then Wu Jian manipulated the spatial distortions around his left hand. He made a gesture with his fingers and created a space lock around Yu Qiang’s arm. The man grunted in surprise when he suddenly found that he was unable to move his arm at all.

“What the--what is this?!”

Throwing a punch with his other hand, Wu Jian once more manipulated space, but this time, he created a blade. The spatial blade sliced clean through Yu Qiang’s sword like a knife through butter. Yu Qiang’s eyes widened. On reflex, he attacked with the other sword, but Wu Jian once more locked his arm in space, then sliced through the blade.

He leapt back once that was done.

Yu Qiang stared at the now bladeless hilts of his swords, then looked at Wu Jian.

“Now I see why you asked if these swords were important to me. Was this your plan all along?”

“A swordsman isn’t as useful without his swords. Figured victory would be mine if I deprived you of them,” Wu Jian said. It was clear to him that Yu Qiang was a swordsman. The whole reason he had shown off at the beginning was to make this man understand that he was strong enough for him to use his specialty against him, that even without a weapon, he was still a force to be reckoned with.

Yu Qiang’s smile wasn’t the kind someone gave when they believed they had lost.

“You’re right. A swordsman is nothing without his weapons, but these swords aren’t the only weapons I can use.”

After saying this, the wind picked up, and visible currents appeared where the blades used to be. Wu Jian blinked in surprise. Yu Qiang was creating blades from the wind. He had not expected to find someone who could use a technique like this, but rather than make him nervous, it caused a smile to appear on his face.

This battle was getting interesting.

***

“Wow. Look at them go. I knew Disciple Wu was strong from watching him spar with you, but I didn’t realize he could go toe-to-toe with our strongest cultivator.”

The person who had spoken was one of the Core Disciples. His name was Che Yun. Hou Jingshu didn’t have many dealings with him, but they had sparred on occasion.

“Jian Wu is much stronger than his cultivation would suggest,” said Hou Jingshu. “If he and I were to fight for real, I would undoubtedly lose.”

“Is he really that strong?” asked another Core Disciple. This one was a woman in her mid-twenties. Her name was Jing Meimei.

Hou Jingshu nodded. “He is really that strong. There is no way I would have survived without his assistance in the White Tiger Sect Ruins. He’s the only reason I made it back.”

The Core Disciples “ooo’d” and “aaah’d” as though suitably impressed. They asked her several more questions, and she answered them to the best of her abilities, but most of her attention was on the fight.

Wu Jian’s greatest power was his manipulation of space. It was so strong that using it was practically cheating, but that was part of why he tried not to rely on it too much. Yes, it was a strong ability and shouldn’t be neglected, but relying on it would only weaken him in the long run. This power was his trump card, his ace in the hole. That was why their spars were often purely matches of physical prowess.

The battle was heating up down below. Yu Qiang swung his sword, but it passed harmlessly through Wu Jian. Hou Jingshu had seen this power before. Nihility. Wu Jian had once explained how it worked to her, but his explanation had gone completely over her head. She couldn’t comprehend a single thing he had told her. All she really understood was that it was a powerful ability that made attacks phase right through him.

Before Yu Qiang could pull back, Wu Jian threw a kick that slammed into the older man’s torso. Yu Qiang folded over seconds before he was launched clean into the air. He struck the arena floor hard and rolled across it before coming to a stop just at the edge. Hou Jingshu wondered if Wu Jin had done that on purpose, used just enough strength to prevent the man from losing via ringout. She wouldn’t be surprised if he did that to keep the battle going.

Yu Qiang stood to his feet, a hand on his rib, his breathing heavy, and blood dripping down his chin. She didn’t think he had internal bleeding. He must have bit his lip to keep himself focused. Pain had a way of distracting you, and sometimes the best way to deal with pain was to inflict pain somewhere else.

“You… pack quite the punch. I already knew that from watching you and Her Highness spar, but fighting you myself really drives that fact home,” said Yu Qiang.

“Thank you for the compliment,” said Wu Jian. He widened his stance, spread his feet apart, and raised his hands in a guard. “I think it’s about time we finish this, don’t you?”

Yu Qiang chuckled, then hissed as he bent over. “You don’t need to sugarcoat your words. I know you’re saying that because my injury is pretty serious. I doubt I can beat you as I am now. However, that doesn’t mean I intend to end this fight any time soon. You’re the first person here who has pushed me this far. I’ve been waiting for someone like you to come along.”

“Oh? Planning to use me as your stepping stone?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

Wu Jian chuckled. “All right. I’ll play along for as long as you want then.”

“You have my gratitude.”

It seemed like they were done talking because their battle commenced once again, and it seemed to have picked up in intensity.

Yu Qiang swung his swords, and the wind blades extended, gouging chunks out of the arena floor as they traveled toward Wu Jian. His opponent remained calm as he swung out his hand. Nothing seemed to happen, but then the wind blades were sliced in half. They dispersed, unable to maintain their shape.

But the battle didn’t end there.

Yu Qiang had used his attack as a distraction to charge in. He swung his swords in a never ending stream of relentless attacks. Since his weapons were made of wind, they should have cut right through Wu Jian, but instead they phased through his body like he wasn’t there, like he was a spirit. Yu Qiang didn’t stop despite this. Perhaps he thought Wu Jian would run out of chi if he just kept up the pressure.

Wu Jian clearly had no intention of letting that happen. Hou Jingshu knew him well enough to understand that.

As Yu Qiang swung the sword in his right hand, Wu Jian grabbed the limb and used his own momentum to throw him onto the ground. He shaped his hand into something resembling a knife and brought it down. Yu Qiang had been in the process of standing, but the spear-shaped hand suddenly aimed at his throat prevented it.

Several moments of silence passed. No one spoke. It felt like most people dared to even breathe. Even Hou Jingshu found herself holding her breath in anticipation as she wondered what would happen. The tension was so thick that she could practically see it.

“Haaaah. I surrender,” Yu Qiang held up his hands in the gesture of defeat.

Wu Jian grinned, retracted his hand, and stood up. He helped the other man stand, then patted him down to remove the dust.

“It was a good bout,” he said as he stuck out his hand again.

Yu Qiang smiled as he shook it. “Yes. Yes, it was. I had fun. Let’s do it again some time.”

“Sure thing.”

The words might have been spoke softly, but in the intense quiet that had settled over the arena, everyone could hear them, though few could believe it. Hou Jingshu looked at her fellow cultivators. Most wore expressions of disbelief.

“I can’t believe it. Jian Wu actually won?” muttered Che Yun.

As if to answer that question, the referee raised an arm and said, “The winner of this bout is Disciple Jian Wu!”