Ye Chun won the match. It was an obvious outcome after his strange increase in power. Wu Jian would have been more surprised if Song Fen won.

The screen lit up again and two more names appeared.

Yu Qiang vs. Húndàn Wang.

Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu turned toward Yu Qiang, who stared at the board with pursed lips. The oldest among them took a slow breath, then smiled.

“Looks like I’m up,” he said simply.

“Good luck,” said Hou Jingshu.

“Kick his butt,” added Wu Jian.

“Thanks. I’ll do my best.”

Yu Qiang walked onto the platform alongside Húndàn Wang. His thoughts were running quicker than he could keep up with them.

Ever since he was little, Yu Qiang had been raised under Yu Chenguang’s shadow. The Yu Clan was not big, but they were prominent thanks to his uncle, and he had been measured by that standard since before he could even walk.

Of course, Yu Qiang admired his uncle a great deal, but having someone of such incredible strength within the family put a lot of pressure on him. Even his own parents measured him by Yu Chenguang’s standards.

He had done everything he could to meet those standards. Yet they never quite seemed good enough. He was never strong enough, never smart enough, never motivated enough. He grew up being told by everybody around him that he needed to be more like his uncle.

Only Yu Chenguang himself didn’t put those unrealistic expectations on him.

It was a bit odd, considering the man in question was the shadow that had been cast over him, but Yu Chenguang always told Yu Qiang to grow at his own pace. He said that no one should force him to try and be like someone else, and that he should just be himself.

Maybe it was because the person telling him that was the one everyone said he should aspire to be like. However, Yu Qiang had taken those words to heart. He didn’t just focus on cultivation but other aspects of life too. It was through learning more about himself that he found his love for tea ceremonies.

That didn’t mean Yu Qiang didn’t try his best. He did everything he could to become a powerful cultivator and live up to the Yu Clan’s name. He cultivated diligently, practiced the sword religiously, and acted with both humility and strength--or tried to. He felt like he had been doing a good job, too.

Until recently.

Jian Wu had made Yu Qiang question his own choices up to this point. The young man was younger than him, but he was so much stronger too. Even now, Jian Wu’s battle against the Hell Ape remained burned into his mind. That creature was something not even Yu Chenguang would have tried to challenge alone. It was so strong that the Shang Kingdom’s strongest had made a deal with it rather than fight it. Yet Jian Wu had killed that creature. He hadn’t done it alone, but it was still a feat that he hadn’t thought possible until that moment.

Yu Qiang looked up to and admired Jian Wu, but at the same time, the younger man made him feel inadequate, even moreso than his illustrious uncle.

He wondered if he would feel the same way if Jian Wu was famous. If he had made a name for himself before they met, would Yu Qiang still feel this way? He didn’t know.

It was with these thoughts shaking his heart that he entered the arena.

“It’s been a while, Yu Qiang,” Húndàn Wang said with a friendly smile.

He returned it. “That it has. And you’ve become much stronger. I remember a time when you and I had the same cultivation. It appears I’ve been overtaken twice now.”

“You flatter me too much. The only reason my cultivation has risen so high is because my sect was able to acquire a Three-Layred Red Yin Yang Pill recently. Honestly? I had given up hope of breaking through when I lost the bid in the recent auction. I suppose you could say fortune was on my side when Mother came back with one after visiting Grandfather at the Heavenly Sword Sect.”

“Right. Your grandfather is an elder in the Heavenly Sword Sect,” Yu Qiang muttered.

The Heavenly Sword Sect, undisputedly the most powerful sect on the Xaio Continent. Of course they would have an abundance of Three-Layered Red Yin Yang Pills. Giving one away was like giving away candy to them. Of course, that didn’t mean they would give away their resources to just anyone. If they were giving alchemy pills to Hou Jun, it could only mean one thing.

“Have you been accepted as a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect?” asked Yu Qiang.

Húndàn Wang looked both pleased and embarrassed. “I knew you would figure it out.”

Yu Qiang felt like a chasm had formed between him and Húndàn Wang, one that was unfathomably deep and wide.

He and Húndàn Wang had grown up together. His uncle was rivals with Húndàn Qie, and they often met up to spar, which meant there were plenty of opportunities for them to meet. It was only natural that a friendly rivalry would form between them as well. Yu Qiang had always considered himself to be Húndàn Wang’s equal, but now he realized how delusional he was. He had forgotten something simple in his delusions.

Húndàn Wang had ties to the Heavenly Sword Sect.

All things being equal, Yu Qiang still believed he and Húndàn Wang were about even, but having the backing of the Xaio Continent’s greatest sect meant Húndàn Wang had access to resources he didn’t. Even if they were allies, the Heavenly Sword Sect would not just give the Shang Kingdom the resources to grow more powerful. It would do more than just break the Thirteen Nation’s power balance. The Heavenly Sword Sect would have to worry about the Shang Kingdom one day overtaking them in power.

Strength meant everything in this world, which meant everyone wanted to get ahead of everyone else. No one would willingly give someone else the tools necessary to overtake them.

Even if, realistically, it was impossible for the Shang Kingdom to become stronger than the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Yu Qiang took a deep breath as he tried to center himself in preparation for the fight, but his heart was already shaken.

***

“Something is wrong with Yu Qiang,” Wu Jian stated.

“You noticed it too?” asked Hou Jingshu.

He nodded, eyes not leaving the arena. “I haven’t known him for very long, but I realize that he hasn’t been as confident lately. It’s as if he’s questioning himself.”

The elder directed Yu Qiang and Húndàn Wang to bow to their ancestors, to him, and to each other. Both fighters did as instructed. Nothing seemed out of place to the average eye. Wu Jian doubted anyone other than the people who knew those two best would realize there was a problem with one of them.

“On the count of three, two, one… and fight!”

With a chop of his hand, the elder initiated the battle, and yet neither Yu Qiang nor Húndàn Wang made a move immediately. The pair drew their swords at roughly the same time.

Húndàn Wang’s weapon was the blade that had been sheathed at his side this entire time, but Yu Qiang wielded the weapon Wu Jian remembered from their exhibition match during the Inner Court Disciple Test. It was two swords stuck together with a long handle. Each blade was longer than the average dao. The gleaming double-bladed surface was without adornments, making it appear quite austere.

Double-bladed swords like that were another weapon that was often considered impractical. A sword is, fundamentally, a very long wedge on a lever. The design of a double-bladed weapon made it hard if not impossible to get the appropriate leverage needed to cut properly, and the user risked stabbing themselves. You couldn’t thrust with it like you would a spear, or cut as you would a sword. It made them impractical. There were plenty of better and easier to learn double-bladed weapons like the xiaolin spade.

Of course, this concept only existed for non-cultivators.

A cultivator had the advantage of a body that was tens if not thousands of times stronger than a normal human. They could perform feats of strength that were impossible for others.

The design of Yu Qiang’s weapon also had a longer handle to balance the two blades out, though this did make it a lot longer. It was almost twice the length of Yu Qiang himself. This granted him better leverage than if the handle was smaller.

Hou Jingsu’s eyes never left Yu Qiang as she said, “Yu Qiang has always struggled with feelings of inferiority. His family constantly compares him to Uncle Yu Chenguang. I’m sure he’s often struggled to live up to their expectations. However, he’s never really let it bother him like he does now. I suspect you’re the biggest reason he’s struggling right now.”

“You think so?” Wu Jian crossed his arms. “Yeah, I guess I can understand.”

“I’m glad you understand the effect you have on people.”

It wasn’t like he didn’t get it. Yu Qiang might have been pressured by his family, but at least Yu Chenguang was a living legend. Even if he couldn’t live up to that man’s name, he could at least take pride in being the strongest of his generation. That some seemingly random cultivator Hou Jingshu had met could overtake him so easily probably didn’t sit well with him. Wu Jian knew that he would be questioning his own strength if something similar happened to him.

“Do you think he can win?” asked Wu Jian.

“It’s hard to say,” Hou Jingshu pursed her lips. “Yu Qiang is very talented. There’s no doubt about that. But so is Húndàn Wang. What’s more, Húndàn Wang has a higher cultivation than him. The ninth subrealm of the Asura Realm might just sound like it’s only a single subrealm away from the Human Limit Realm, but that’s not true at all. Being at the Human Limit Realm means Húndàn Wang is at least twice as powerful as Yu Qiang.”

“It is quite the difference,” Wu Jian agreed.

Hou Jingshu nodded. “Like heaven and earth.”

The battle had begun while Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu were talking. Yu Qiang and Húndàn Wang were trading blows in the center of the arena, their weapons moving blindingly fast. They weren’t using any special sword techniques and instead relying on pure skill to fight. It felt like they were warming up before the real battle began.

Yu Qiang’s eyes were narrowed in concentration as he swung his weapon around his body. He relied on the long handle to extend his reach as he slowly backpedaled, knocking aside Húndàn Wang’s dao with precisely timed strikes. Sparks flew after every clash. The entire crowd had gone still as the pair battled it out, allowing the continuous clang of steel on steel to resound around the arena.

The double-bladed sword suddenly split apart just as Húndàn Wang came in with a swing. Yu Qiang used one sword to block the attack and swung the other at Húndàn Wang’s midsection. It looked like he would land a hit, but then his opponent blocked the attack on his forearm. Wu Jian’s eyes narrowed.

“Húndàn Wang can harden his clothes with chi,” he said.

Hou Jingshu nodded. “That’s not difficult at the Human Limit Realm. Do you remember how hard that Giant Stinger’s carapace was? That wasn’t just because the carapace is like armor. It was hardening it with chi to increase its durability. I imagine Húndàn Wang’s outfit acts like a conductor for chi. It’s probably a type of profound spirit armor.”

Wu Jian nodded as Yu Qiang leapt back to avoid a swing that would have impaled him. Húndàn Wang had tilted the edge of his blade to make it glide along the sword, then retracted and thrust it forward at lightning speed. All most people would have seen was a flash of light. Yu Qiang was fortunately quick enough to dodge.

“During my spar with Yu Qiang, he told me that his preferred style of combat is letting his opponents make the first move and countering them. He’s not doing that here,” Wu Jian said out loud as he observed the man.

“That’s how he always fought when I sparred with him, too. He likes to turn his opponent’s strength against them with counters. The fact that he’s not doing this here is a sign of how uncertain he is. He’s not mentally or emotionally in this fight.”

Wu Jian considered cheering for Yu Qiang like he had for Hou Jingshu, but he realized that might make things worse. This man was not like his lover. Wu Jian was also part of the reason Yu Qiang was having so many problems. He didn’t know what to do in this situation since his only male friend until recently had been Huǒ Shuchang, and that man was just a free-spirited idiot.

Come on, Yu Qiang.

He hoped his friend would overcome this mental roadblock and become stronger.