You could hear a pin drop within the banquet hall as the brunette’s words echo through the minds of each and every last person present.
“Dai Shun, twenty five years old. Fifth Stage Foundation Establishment. Please advise.”
A hidden genius. A mere servant on par with the scions of the great clans themselves. Shun has to stop herself from awkwardly shuffling in place. Usually when this much attention is directed her way it is solely aimed at the ice princess, not at the freckled brunette herself. A glance at her mistress reveals the girl already fully capitalizing on the shock by drawing Bao and Ming Gui into more serious topics and setting the stage for their trade negotiations. She puts her mistress’s actions out of her mind. Ling has her part to play and she has her own.
Had it not been for the fact that letting a challenge go unanswered would prove the one atop the stage the strongest warrior present perhaps none would have stepped up to face her. There is little to gain and much to lose after all. Despite how far her progress is beyond the norm her status is far below it and little prestige is gained from beating a servant. Especially one younger than yourself and Shun doubts any her age or younger present here other than Ling and Qiu are a match for her cultivation. On the flip side there is much to lose should one fail to best a servant so much younger than oneself. Shun’s nerves slowly grow when after almost an entire minute no one has taken up her challenge.
Time seems to stretch on for her until finally there is movement as a member of the Mo clan steps on to the stage. A gaunt woman with long black hair that hangs lifelessly over her frame in wispy strings, almost seeming to drag her down under its weight as she shuffles unto the stage, her far too long robe hiding her feet and hands alike as she meets Shun’s gaze with tired eyes set above sunken cheeks.
“Mo Na, twenty eight years old. Fifth Stage Foundation Establishment. Please advise.” Her voice croaks out as she clasps her hands and bows her head in the standard warrior’s greeting, almost seeming like she’ll topple over as she does so.
The two face each other, one standing straight with her sword drawn and the other with her arms hanging listlessly in front of her and a hunched back. With her left hand Shun draws a talisman from the wooden card holder on her waist and channels her qi into it erecting a translucent spherical shield around her. Two needles appear in it not a moment later forming cracks as they pierce halfway through before getting stuck. Mo Na’s billowing sleeves swish once more and another set of needles is sent towards the brunette. Heat erupts from Shun in a wave pushing the needles off course causing them to glance off her shield. Drawing and activating another talisman she sends a barrage of qi bolts towards her opponent.
Mo Na exhales deeply and the bolts pass through her without causing damage. Her form briefly ripples like water while she darts straight towards Shun, her billowy sleeves trailing behind her like tails as she does. Drawing two more talismans Shun activates one and charges to meet her, sending a concussive blast of pure heat ahead of herself that passes through Mo Na as if she isn’t there. Her jian meets a curved dagger, sliding off it as her opponent attempts to move under the blade to get past her. The second talisman activates sending out another blast that flings the gangly woman across the arena instead, bouncing once before she lands with a sideways pirouette.
The brief burst of violence is followed by silence once more as both sides observe each other to find an opening to exploit. Shun is glad her gamble worked. Had the woman been able to attack while maintaining her defensive technique at the same time the duel would be over already. With the brunette figuring her opponent’s weakness out this quickly however the woman is far more wary than before. Needles fly from all directions as Mo Na circles around Shun in irregular, janky patterns. In combination with the occasional needle being infused with far more qi than the rest it forces Shun to focus on maintaining her spherical shield while dodging and parrying the attacks that come through at the same time. Gathering her qi Shun expels another wave of heat that is far stronger than the last, the air hissing and needles turning red as they are blown away by the pressure.
Immediately capitalizing on the brief window she’s made for herself Shun darts towards Na like a snake out of the grass, her single metallic fang whistling towards her opponent too fast for the woman to counter fully. An errant parry puts Mo Na on the back foot and Shun’s continued assault keeps her there. The duel appears to be over when another talisman erects a barrier behind the shadow cultivator abruptly stopping her movements. Shun does not drop her guard while moving in for the final blow, a decision that saves her when darkness billows out from Mo Na concealing both contestants for the briefest moment.
Several metallic clangs ring out before it drops. Half a dozen needles stick out of Shun and one of Mo Na’s sleeves has a long gash in it when the veil evaporates. Now behind her opponent Mo Na whirls around and slashes at Shun’s back, her skin sizzling at the heatwave released at point blank. She lets out a pained hiss and pushes through scoring a narrow gash across the brunette’s side while she spins to face her once more. A series of rapid thrusts, parries and slashes are exchanged with neither able to gain the upper hand. With a final exchange that rings out like a gong they both leap back once more, each landing on one side of the arena. The crowd waits with bated breath for the combatants to continue. Shun lowers her blade while catching her breath and Na likewise seems to drop her guard.
“I believe this is sufficient for a warm up, Lady Mo.” Shun speaks while nodding gratefully at her opponent to ensure her statement isn’t taken as empty bluster. Mo Na laughs hoarsely.
“I knew it. You’re still holding back. Show me.” She hisses through a rictus grin. A curved dagger drops into each of her hands before she spreads her arms wide. Strings of shadow not unlike her hair begin to drip off her forming a pitch black puddle on the floor from which no light reflects.
Shun’s hand goes down to the wooden card holder. Her fingertips brush past the paper talismans and touch one at the very back, the closest to her side. The cool texture of the white jade and smoothness of the red gem feels refreshing as she traces the lines of the inlaid garnet by instinct, an act she has performed many hundreds of times since receiving the masterpiece. She reverently draws it and holds it out in front of her, a warm smile on her face as she looks upon the garnet shaped in the image of the vermilion bird. Inlaid within the white jade edged with spiritual gold this talisman, unlike all her other ones, is not one that burns itself out after a single use.
It is a well known fact that the Dai have mastered heat arts for millennia and that heat and fire are closely related. As such it would come to no surprise to anyone that a wielder of one of those two elements could show some proficiency in wielding the other when using an artifact that allows them to transmogrify their qi. Shun smiles fondly as her finger brushes over the garnet once more. Of course, such treasures are priceless and incredibly difficult to attain. Few would waste that kind of resources on a user of heat arts, much less a servant. In truth she does not even need such a thing making the talisman lavish in the extreme. This way however she can use her fire arts in public without revealing that they attained an Immortal’s legacy. Truly, Ling spoils her too much. She could have had the sect master owe her a favor yet instead she asked for a pill furnace and talisman for her. Just for her.
Holding her jian horizontally in front of her she channels her fire qi through the talisman and runs it over the side setting the sword ablaze. She flourishes the sword and swings sideways sending a roaring gout of flames out, the heat palpable to all that are watching. What remains on her jian is a thin layer of fire as if the blade were covered in oil and lit up. Their duel restarts with renewed intensity. As if on an unspoken cue they both jump into the fray at the exact same time.
Dark, stringy tendrils lash out from the puddle at Mo Na’s feet to strike at Shun while the gangly woman sinks into it and appears to vanish entirely. Shun’s blade roars and a wide swing sends out a brilliant crescent severing and burning the ropey qi constructs. The blazing fire casts a deep shadow behind her and Na does not fail to take advantage of it, spearing out of the darkness as if the floor itself had rocketed her out, her curved daggers pointed straight at Dai Shun’s heart.
Fire billows out explosively in all directions eliciting a pained scream from Na as she is sent skidding back. Raising the talisman high into the air the garnet practically shines from the qi Shun pours through it causing a hundred tiny flames to appear in the air. With her arm fully extended like the haft of an axe she turns and drops it until the talisman extended between her index and middle finger points straight at the woman. The swishing of cloth as her arm comes to an abrupt stop resounds like a gavel dropping. All at once the hovering bolts of fire streak through the air towards Mo Na.
Tendrils and daggers alike lash out to strike down the bolts, each one blocked by a tendril blowing it to bits and each one struck down by a dagger sending the shadow cultivator back just a little bit more, overwhelming her with their quantity as her arms shake from the force of the blasts. The moment she fails to block one it is over. Her posture broken entirely she fails to interrupt any of the others, each striking her and detonating in turn like firecrackers. The enormous concussive force rattles her bones and sweeps her off her feet. Sent flying out of the arena she crumples to the ground smoking and charred, far too little strength left in her limbs to even attempt to stand up once more. Shun’s fiery blade extinguishes as if it were quenched in water as she sheaths it and bows her head, clasping her hands in front of her as a sign of respect.
“This Dai Shun thanks senior for her guidance.”
Without another word she steps off the stage, her chest heaving as she makes her way back to their table. Three pairs of eyes stare at her in amazement when she takes her seat, Bao’s mouth hanging open entirely. Ling greets her with a nod and a proud look in her eyes while refilling her cup of tea.
“My congratulations on your victory. You have done us proud, Shun.”
Sipping from her cup the brunette closes her eyes in contentment and inhales the wonderful fragrance. Her part is done, she succeeded. Everything else is up to Ling. The ice princess puts the teapot back down with a loud clack pulling Hu Bao and Ke Ming Gui out of their daze. She waits a moment to ensure she has their full attention before entwining her fingers atop the table and looking them each in the eye in turn.
“Now then, we have tarried enough. Let us begin the negotiations.”
