CH68 — I challenge you!
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Making it through the gate that marked the border of the tournament grounds, Ku Lo found the clearing beyond it empty safe for two members of the sword sect.

A woman with sharp facial features and tiny scars all over her skin noticed him. “No time to waste, contestant. Hurry on to hand in your spoils or you will be too late.” Her finger pointed down the path he had arrived on in the afternoon, now flanked with swaying torch fires that shone brightly in the dimming forest.

He looked over his shoulder. There was no movement from any of the caves. “My ally, a woman with shoulder length brown hair and an unembroidered white robe, has she passed you?”

“I don’t remember anyone like that. You?”

“Haven’t seen her. But listen kid. If she’s dead, biting your nails here won’t change that. And if she’s alive, you’ll do her a bigger favor by not throwing away your mining claims, so get a move on!”

They’re right. Damned. He rushed past them and ran along the path. Please be safe!

Even further down the mountain, where Tihandu’s halls and houses could be made out between the trees, there was no one else within sight. Just snowed vegetation and an absolute silence that gave testimony for the many that had passed by before him, driving off wildlife. 

For the first time he really experienced the physical boons of cultivation. His new body had been more enduring from the beginning, but there was no way for it to make it through four hours of travel, combat, and escape in a half decent condition.

Its stamina wasn’t infinite of course, and he still felt dull aches in his leg from the breakneck dodge fighting the rock grizzly, but with a bit of rest, the second round would be doable.

At least in terms of defence. His broken blade, as Qingling had commented, unleashed its full potential against slow, tenacious Qi beasts. But humans would be difficult to hit, not to mention that everything happened under the watchful eyes of sword sect members.

He would become their enemy sooner or later by having turned her into a dual cultivator, but there was no need to prematurely anger them with displaying the stolen technique.

But as long as he stayed low and picked a target he was certain to defeat, the mundane sword would suffice.

To say that he had absolutely no qualms with any of the big three clans was wrong, but if the Wuu siblings felt vengeful, their main target would be Za Huan. And they already had the best chance to get back at us in the forest.

The trees thinned out and he ran into the windswept fields that surrounded the southern side of Tihandu’s walls. Snow now covered the ground entirely, hiding small shrubs that threatened to fell him. Luckily, he had the trails of others to follow.

As he approached the gate, he stumbled upon a stone paved road that reached from the mountains towards the city. Based on the deeply ingrained cart tracks, it was used to transport ore from the mines, but it also served as a better footing for his travel.

He passed by the reinforced wooden doors and entered the main street. In addition to crackling bonfires that flanked his path, he could see humans.

The front row was made up from clan retainers that seemed to anxiously await their respective contestants’ return. Few remained, among them were two Huang elders. But unlike their surroundings they looked confident, at least as far as Ku Lo could tell in the short moments of rushing past them.

Gingge’s genius is rooted deep into them, it seems. The disappointment is hopefully not proportional… 

With Qingling being healed, the danger of revolt was taken care of, but it  was clear who the Huang revered in earnest. And the last thing he wanted to happen was Gingge to be faced with ‘betrayed’ expectations of her family. 

He shook his head and ceased the thought as the buildings receded to form a plazza leading up to the oval stone structure.

More people stood there to watch. Perhaps those who had failed to obtain a seat inside.

Passing through the short tunnel, he entered the arena. Unlike before, there were no escorts within the pit, but he could make the clans out as banners had been erected in various spots of the ring.

Contestants gathered around the podium again, but were more spread out, leaving a good hundred paces in each direction of the center. 

Ku Lo got closer to the podium. Aside from the hourglass that had been turned and run three quarters through again, a scale sat on the wooden platform. 

One of the sword sect members beckoned him to approach. “What clan do you fight for?”

“Huff, huff, Huang.”

The man scribbled something onto a wooden plate he held. “Put the beast cores on there.”

Stretching out his hand, Ku Lo obliged and let his spoils rest on the tarnished metal, which immediately dropped. 

Though he managed to keep his face unmoved as stone, the examiner couldn’t avoid raising an eyebrow. Mumbling something along the lines of ‘dragons don’t mingle with earthworms after all’, he nonetheless got to stacking counterweights. 

Is this about Gingge again? This being the town where the alleged genius had been born and grew up in, it wasn’t strange for people to know her here.

And perhaps this ‘prized seedling’ had been brought into a bigger branch back then, blocking off the news of her downfall later on.

“51 catties.” Also documenting the result, he handed the cores back and turned towards the entrance, which Ku Lo took as a cue to step down and wait at the sidelines.

… 

The sand slowly, but unerringly trickled down the hourglass. What time remained became hard to tell, but he knew that it wasn’t a lot.

And there was still no sight of Gingge. Her being disqualified would not be a bad thing in any way, especially as the second round’s nature further targeted her weakness.

But not knowing whether she was safe didn’t help his peace of mind.

Others spent their time in diverse manners. Some chatted with their teammates, a few cleaned their gear while the majority watched the hourglass in silent expectation.

Its contents were running out and despite his vision sharpening due to his cultivation, Ku Lo had to strain his eyes to spot the tiny pile that remained.

Sword sect members already prepared to replace the scale with a black box and one stepped up to speak, when a familiar voice called out from behind his back. “Wait!”

Ku Lo spun around to see his lover, in torn and bloodied robes, run out of the tunnel while waving a small bag over her head. Despite her alarming appearance, she moved as normal though and recalling how his own robe had fared over the course of the hunt, he was able to put aside his initial worry.

One of the sect members, after throwing a glance at the hourglass, put down the scale again and awaited her arrival.

Gingge leapt up onto the platform and handed over her cores. From what he was able to tell, her spoils consisted of a handful of crystal deer cores.

Considering that she was a stage beneath him and had her Qi locked, the result should have been well above average, as far as Ku Lo could tell. She’s really taking this to heart, huh?

She dropped from the stage and strode to his side. As soon as she got close, he wrapped his arms around cold, wet cloth to hug the heated body underneath it. “Don’t do something so stupid again, you hear? Seeing you hurt is much worse than missing out on a few mines. It wasn’t your fault.”

She returned his embrace. “No, it was. And I’ll make up for it.”

“You already did. Killing the crystal deer, you helped me a lot. So let me take care of the second round, alright?”

“I can’t continue to hide behind your backs. This issue is mine to rectify. Don’t worry about me, Lo’er.” Despair had made way for an iron resolve in her words. 

“That-”

Her lips sealed his and when she withdrew, the sect official had begun her announcement. “The beasts roaming the mountains are tenacious, strong, and unforgiving. But you, descendants of Tihandu, have proven yourself to outmatch them in any of these aspects! The sword sect is expecting your abilities in duels!”

With those words, she reached into the black container next to her and pulled out a piece of wood. Giving the characters on it a short glance, she called. “Our first contestants for this year are the Gong! Challenge your opponent or forfeit.”

In response, a young man with dark grey hair and a saber strapped to his belt stepped forward. “Qiu Bai, you dare face me?”

“Why would I not?” The one nominated brandished his mace with a smirk and walked out into the free area.

“Fight!”

The two lunged at each other and engaged in an aggressive confrontation. 

In the end, Qiu Bai was deprived of his mace and had to yield, his confident grin turning into frustration.

But apart from their respective clans, few showed actual interest in the encounter on stage. 

Which instantly changed when the sect official announced the next challenger. “Ingen. Who do you challenge?”

Before anyone among the clan’s contestants could react, the man wielding a short sword, ‘Sho’er’, called. “Ku Lo, I challenge you!”

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