The second round of the annual tournament in the unofficially called Sect of Jade began.

 

Ten Externals and ten Internals fought and lost. 

 

Some gained light injuries which would vanish through meditation and time. 

 

Some gained medium injuries which would need some mild attention from a healer and only one kid had to be carried away due to being hit quite hard on the head.

 

Those that lost looked forlorn when they considered that they were up for discussion in their visitation rights to the most feared teacher/instructor/Master that existed in this place, Gao Junjie.

 

Every single one of them had glanced at the man in question as he observed both groups and considered who he would send next upstage.

 

With every glance, Gao Junjie considered facts that had been presented to him by each team’s instructor and the winner's bouts he watched not long ago. 

 

His goal is to look for the optimal solution to maximize the gains of the fights. 

 

On one hand, they had to fight somebody for the first time and unlike the spars, they were used to these were completely foreign people, battle wise, that is. 

 

On the other hand, masquerading, their first real fight as a tournament battle, heightened their nervousness to greater heights. 

 

The rewards act as goals to increase the seriousness of the fights they engaged in.

 

So far both sides were pretty close in results, as it was usually, every time they had recruits fight. 

 

There were always those that outshined their peers but those tended to be very few. 

 

Bai Hui was one such kid. Gao Junjie was very familiar with him, after all, so far they had not gotten anybody from the Bai Clan to enter the Jade Mercenary Association that they represent. 

 

When he first met Yu Jiao, the Clan Leader’s daughter that was unique as much as she was enigmatic in her thoughts, he may have told her that currently, it looked closer to a sect, without being one. 

 

Yet to him no matter how people looked at them internally or externally, it would stay the Jade Mercenary Association, for it was like that when he first joined it, and in his heart, it would stay like that.

 

Gao Junjie pointed at Bai Hui and in his silver eyes, he saw the spark that made him more unique than the rest of his cohort. “ Go. ”

 

That was all he said as the boy nodded and went up the stage. Once he was on it, Gao Junjie looked at the Internals and considered whom to choose. Bai Hui, despite being an Ice Mantra user, used a fighting style that was water-based, meaning skillful deflection and counterattacks. 

 

That was another thing that bothered him. The White Fox Mantra, as the Bai Clan called it, was known to the whole Empire, well those that needed to know, and everybody knew that it was a Spiritual Mantra. Yet this kid that carried their blood and used an Ice Mantra, did not use the White Fox Mantra that Gao Junjie was familiar with. 

 

Once, many years ago, when he was still doing missions, he had come into a fight with a Bai Clan member. 

 

The Mantra the kid was using, resembled and yet differed from it. In the past year, he had paid attention to him, but as it was too early to come to a conclusion regarding the Mantra, Gao Junjie considered this event a perfect opportunity for a test run.

 

Taking everything into consideration, he pointed at one kid in particular. 

 

‘ This one might be subpar in skill, but if his personality was pointed out, he fits the bill almost perfectly. Stubborn as an Ox, he was. It's almost as if his parents knew how he would turn out, and named him as such.  ’ 

 

Seeing the finger, the slightly chubby kid trembled and it took a slap from a boy behind him to shake him awake and nudge him on the stage. 

 

‘ Just like an Ox, he needs a good slap to remind him it was time to work the fields. ’ Gao Junjie sighed internally.

 

Seeing them on the stage, bowing and saying their names, Gao Junjie spoke. “ Both of you showed promise in the last round, I hope it continues like that. You can start. ” 

 

With Divine Sense it was easy to capture all their movements and intentions. 

 

Just like in the first round Chang Niu lowered his hips slightly for steadiness and raised his arms as guards. Paying extra attention to his opponent's speed. 

 

He would not make the same mistake as he did with the first guy he fought on the stage. 

 

Chang Niu knew this one was not as fast as that one, but he had watched his fight. 

 

His opponent, while similar in style, stood no chance. He had countered every single attack being thrown at him and grabbed the clothes of the opponent and slammed him hard on the stone platform. 

 

To increase his chances he had even slammed his head against the ground multiple times and been proclaimed the winner.

 

Watching his opponent take his stance, Change Niu remembered the words of his instructor. ‘ Take the stance, take a deep breath, and focus on the opponent. Forget everything else and focus on his whole body. ’ 

 

Inwardly thanking the instructor with all his heart, who had put so much effort into him over the past four months, Chang Niu stepped forward. 

 

With the first step initiated, Bai Hui followed it up by stepping forward. 

 

Both newbie fighters closed to the center of the stage and stopped once they considered the opponent close enough. 

 

Bai Hui observed his opponent and concluded one thing even as he stood before him. ‘ If I let him take hold of me I will be crushed just like his last opponent. I simply don't have his raw strength. Let's start defensive and measure him out. ’

 

As such both of them stood still for a few moments before Chang Niu took a sudden step forward and reached into the perfect range for his right straight jab. Bai Hui took a step back and went just slightly out of range of the fist. 

 

Out of motion and his arms range, Bai Hui, reset his stance and waited again. He knew that this was just a test and that his opponent would run out of patience sooner than he would. 

 

As he predicted, Chang Niu did a few more test jabs.

 

Right fist, step, left fist, step. And so on it went for a little as Bai Hui dodged them all with nimble sidesteps most of the time. He waited for his perfect opportunity and moments later it came.

 

Chang Niu, so used to the fighting stances he practiced, unconsciously overextended. Bai Hui sidestepped just enough to palace his left foot into the right position and with both of his arms he grabbed on the underside of the fist that came as it overextended. 

 

With familiar movements, he pushed on the arm to unbalance his opponent and with the left leg to trip him forward to continue the motion of the body only for it to bend to his purpose and guide the opponent to the ground.

 

THUD, 

 

Ughhh.

 

Echoed the sound of the fall and grunt of Chang Niu as the side of his face kissed the stone platform. And as if the daze from that hit in that second wasn't enough, Bai Hui prepared more for his next move. 

 

He raised his right leg in the air and brought it down with the aid of gravity for a much stronger hit and hit Chang Niu on the head for more damage.

 

THUD

 

Done with the motion, Bai Hui retreated a few steps. 

 

He would have loved to hit some more on the downed opponent but he followed the advice of the instructor who had instructed his group. ‘ Never fight Earth-type fighters when they are downed from up close. At that moment you may think you have the advantage but with their robustness, they like to pretend they are down and grab you by the legs. If you're caught you're doomed. Wait for them to stand up on their own and whittle them down. ’

 

As if his instructor's words were prophesied, he noticed movement. Chang Niu trembled a little and stood up. He was shaky for a few seconds but with a determined shake of his head in an attempt to clear out the daze in his head he focused on Bai Hui.

 

Seconds later both their stances were in position. After that small skirmish before, both had realized each other's intentions. Bai Hui would dodge, deflect, and if given the chance imbalance and down him. Chang Niu on the other hand knew he had no choice but to attack. 

 

So with the stubbornness of an Ox by which his parents had named him, he went after his opponent. 

 

Once again they neared each other and once again Chang Niu attacked. After the last face planting, he paid more attention to his fists and went for a faster style. 

 

Again their mary dance went with dodges, sidesteps, misses when another opportunity presented itself for Bai Hui. He positioned himself just right to trip Chang Niu, grabbed him, and pushed him to the ground. 

 

Yet this time, unlike last time, Chang Niu, the stubborn one, grit his teeth. 

 

As his head met the stone, he refused to just repeat the same mistake, at least not without giving anything in return.

 

Just before his head hit the ground his left hand jerked and grabbed his opponent's right leg. It was a weird and slightly unnatural position to be in but he had his opponent. 

 

Bai Hui had felt it right the moment his opponent was down. It took a moment for his brain to recognize what it felt and convey the reaction that followed. 

 

First, his instinct tried to jerk his foot back, yet as it moved little he knew he was in trouble. 

 

And that it was. Chang Niu pulled on it enough to destabilize his balance. 

 

It was enough for Bai Hui to recover from but it gave his opponent the much-needed time to grab the same leg with his other hand. Once he had them both on the same leg he knew he was close to winning.

 

Using the right leg of Bai Hui he tried to pull himself up but before he could do that he felt the fist hit his head, one after another.

 

“ Let go of my leg. ” Shouted Bai Hui as he punched with as much strength as he could gather from his broken stance.

 

As his punches rained down, they left Chang Niu dazed, but he was nothing if not stubborn. He gave up on standing up in any way and instead pushed himself against the leg and the opponent to even the ground. 

 

“Nooooo. ” He shouted in denial and with a mighty push from his legs he toppled the human kid above him backward on his back.

 

THUD

 

Echoed from them both but the fight was not over. Chang Niu dazed from all the hits he took to the head had the perfect advantage to go on yet due to his slight daze it gave Bai Hui just enough seconds to gather his wits and find the correct instinctive answer. 

 

Crawling backwards, away from the stubborn kid that refused to stand down.

 

Yet, it wasn't that easy. Chang Niu still had his arms around his right leg as Bai Hui’s brain realized during the attempted crawl. 

 

Noticing that fact, Bai Hui kicked at the face that looked at him. With a crunch that echoed to only Chang Niu as he felt pain spike on the center of his face as his nose broke. 

 

The sudden pain overrode his last brain signals as he released the leg he had been holding and with them touched his broken nose. 

 

Thanks to that, Bai Hui successfully crawled away as he felt the release. 

 

Once he had done that enough he stood up. Once up, he just stared at the downed opponent. His heart pumped like it never did before and his throat wheezed slightly as it took as much air as possible. 

 

As Bai Hui watched his opponent twitch on the ground, he took a second to look in more detail. Chang Niu’s nose was clearly bent, and a continuous little river of blood gushed out. 

 

Aside from the most obvious, his lips were cracked, the cheeks alongside the right side of his face reddened, only waiting for time to pass and change color. 

 

Once more Chang Niu’s body twitched and grunted sounds echoed out of his mouth. A few twitches later his gaze centered on Bai Hui as he attempted to stand up and he did, if wobbly. 

 

Once he was up he took his stance but it too wobbled as if his balance was lost, probably from the few hits he took to the right ear. 

 

As he took a few steps toward Bai Hui, he in turn took his stance. Gone was the calm as his heart pounded and his hands showed it. He trembled from the adrenaline rush his body was experiencing.

 

Chang Niu tried his best to approach and hit Bai Hui, but if it didn't work before, it wouldn't be any different now, half-dazed and out of balance. 

 

It showed, as Bai Hui, who had learned his lesson of facing Earth-type fighters, and instead of trying to down the opponent, Bai Hui kept punching Chang Niu from time to time.

 

Yet no matter how he hit, his opponent wobbled for a few seconds but didn't fall. It was in these moments as he watched Chang Niu’s resolution to continue that he felt dread and respect creep inside his mind.  

 

“ Give up. ” Bai Hui shouted. “ You can barely stand. Give up and let the healers help you. ”

 

“ No, I refuse. ” Shouted the stubborn Chang Niu.

 

“ Why? ” Bai Hui asked in return. He wanted to know the reason for his stubbornness.

 

“ I, I, I ” As the question echoed in the mind of Chang Niu, it awoke the terror he gained after a particular conversation that he had. Dazed as he was, he spoke without a shred of hesitation. “ I, I don't want to be tortured by Master Gao. ”

 

Hearing his surname being said, Gao Junjie focused on the conversation, instead of considering it battle banter.

 

“ What? ” Shocked and perplexed at the answer, Bai Hui said nothing for a bit. He glanced at Gao Junjie for a second when he remembered that he was present, and he spoke again. 

 

He didn't quite know why he was curious but a part of his mind pushed his mouth to utter the words. 

 

“ Why would Master Gao torture you and what does it have to do with you not giving up? ” 

 

Yet that little reprieve of time gave Chang Niu enough reason to forgo conversation in favor of attacking. Sadly it was too late. His body was already on the brink and only his stubborn desire, or fear as it seemed in this case, held him together.

 

A few moments later he was down and no matter how he tried, his body refused to follow his orders. 

 

Seeing such a situation, Gao Junjie decided to end it. “ Enough, Bai Hui, you have won. Step down the stage. ”

 

“ Yes. ” He said. During the last struggle against Chang Niu, his calm had returned and he stepped down.

 

“ Someone bring Chang Niu to the healer. ” Commanded Gao Junjie.

 

 Next, his gaze locked on a particular individual. With Divine Sense, he engaged in a conversation with him. “ Kang Dong, what did you tell him about me? ”

 

The man in question coughed once and answered. “Senior, I am sure you have noticed his character. His laziness always makes him pick the path of least resistance. I had to find a way to change that, so when his fear was stoked it worked brilliantly. The amount of effort he put in these four months is nothing compared to anything before that and you have seen the results. ”

 

“ So you told him lies about him, just for that meager result? ” Replied Gao Junjie with a condescending attitude. 

 

“ Senior Gao, I may have embellished it a bit to light the pyre of his imagination, but I didn't lie, after all, I had been under your… guidance once. Remember that? ” Replied, Kang Dong, in a slight hurry.

 

“ It is because of my guidance that you became who you are, and I don't remember torturing you during that time. “ Gao Junjie replied by making him remember his place.

 

“ Yes, you only broke me down and rebuilt me into a better man. “ Hearing the depressing reply appear in his mind, Gao Junjie had to acknowledge some part of the blame, even if it was for the man's own best interest. “ Fine, if the kid is that lazy, I will discipline him for a bit. ”

 

A second after he sent that to him, the instructor began to laugh out loud, disturbing those under him as they heard him.

 

***

 

A few moments before the end of the match.

 

“ I, I don't want to be tortured by Master Gao. ” I heard the chubby proclaim loudly enough for everybody to hear it.

 

Immediately I heard a few chuckles from the three brothers and while I didn't hear them I did see a few laughs out in the stands.

 

“ Second Uncle, can I ask you something? ” I say, taking my gaze away from the match.

 

“ Go ahead. ” He said.

 

“ The match was interesting and all that. But I will be honest here. For that chubby who was beaten bloody and yet he persevered, there must be a mind that is resolute to his desire. “ I stated the obvious. 

 

A second later I continued my verbal approach. “ That being the case, I now am forced to ask. I thought that Gao Junjie’s reputation was more of a sham, yet when I see that kid brandish such a resolution, there must be a reason. Am I in trouble, since Gao Junjie is responsible for my training? ”

 

“ Hmm, you didn't know? ” He questioned me. 

 

I shook my head. “ I know a bit of his reputation around here since I had my maid peep around, but nothing concrete. ”

 

“ I see. Hmm, where should I begin? I guess a bit of background on him is as good as any. ” He determined, and explained. “ First you have to know that he is in the same generation as your First Uncle. ” 

 

‘ He is? ’ Looking at my first uncle I saw nothing that would indicate as such, after all, I still didn't know the general age of anybody but that old healer, and he was over fucking 350. 

 

Focusing on Second Uncle again I heard the continuation. “ I won't be saying anything about his past that much, but it suffices to say that it was Father that had found him as a young child on one of his missions. ” He explained. “ Back then, this place was a bit different and he enlisted him here. Many years later they both became famous but he was always in the shadow of First Brother, but he didn't seem to mind it. It wasn't until after First Brother decided to change this place that he started to shine. ”

 

“ Oh. ” 

 

“ I am not sure if you noticed it, but he was always a bit distant from people in general but it was a peculiar perk of his personality that made him stand out at first and later on made him as you now know him. ” He said. 

 

“ And that perk is? ” I ask, curious about my instructor. I was far too busy to pay too much attention to everything he did.

 

“ Perfectionism. ” Stated my Second Uncle.

 

“ Umm, I don't know if you and I think of the same thing. ” I said to him in a reply. “ Are you saying that he seeks perfection in the things that he does or that his personality perk is making him obsessive about achieving perfection in the things he does? I am asking to make sure, as those are different things? ”

 

“ A bit of both, I guess. ” I heard my First Uncle add to our conversation. 

 

He took over it for a bit. “ He always sought perfection in the things he did, but it was only after he had become an instructor for his juniors that his talent showed. In his desire to seek perfection, he found many ways to improve upon our training instruction yet it was when he started training others that his reputation started to blossom. Years passed and almost everything had been revised and improved by him. Including those that had been under him. Many reached their current status thanks to him, but at the same time, there is some resentment left, due to the perfection he sought from others. ” 

 

“ I see. ” I muttered and considered my own memory of his teachings. The first thing that came to my mind are the three fighting arts he taught me. The Heavy Fist, The Fluid Fist, and the Power Fist. 

 

‘ During his teachings, he was very adamant that I practice them properly. With Life Essence it wasn't hard to commit them to memory. Is that why I didn't notice it? Or could there be a different reason? ‘

 

“ While he was teaching me, I never noticed such a thing. Did he go easy on me because of my blood? ” I ask them in curiosity, after all, it did concern me.

 

“ NO. ”

“ Never. ”

“ Impossible. ”

 

‘ Oh look at that, the triplets came back. ’ I snickered in my mind as I considered their immediate responses. 

 

“ Why did I not notice it then? ” I hope the conclusion is not the one I think it is.

 

“ JiaoJiao, remember a few days ago I said that I had observed you during your stay here. ” First Uncle asked me. 

 

Nodding about that memory, he went on. “ Aside from teaching you those arts and correcting you from time to time and waiting for your health to improve, there is one other thing he was doing. And that is to find your limits in both body and mentality. ”

 

“ JiaoJiao. First brother is right. ” I heard my Second Uncle speak. “ Back when I first came here to train, I was under him for some time and while I was not his student, I found it hard to stick to his perfection. ”

 

“ Fine. ” I said to them and turned back to watch the kids beating the hell out of each other. 

 

‘ I knew he would be strict, but I guess I have yet to see the real him. ’

 

After Bai Hui beat Chang Niu, the fights became far less engaging, which was the right word. 

 

There were fancy moves between them showing their skills but somehow none of them had the necessary emotional depth that that fight had.

 

The favorite of the Externals became Bai Hui as he already entered the next round of qualifications. 

 

For the Internals there were a few choices, but when this round came to an end only 2 of them became apparent in my mind. 

 

One was Zhu Tengfei. He had a fast-flowing fighting style. He wasn't that fast but by being quite aggressive in his approach, he often overpowers his opponents due to the constant blows.

 

The other was Ling Tingfeng. This one was similar in style, in that he was aggressive but unlike Zhu Tengfeir who relied on multiple blows of quick attacks and dodges, he was far stronger in build and relied on his raw power more. His punches were really fast. Whoever faced him was done in a few blows.

 

Once this round ended, it was straight to the next one. Those that fought earlier fought first, for those that fought last to be able to regain some strength.

 

Just like in the last fight it was Bai Hui that came first. His opponent was Zhu Tengfei. 

 

It should have been an entertaining fight, but contrary to what I imagined, this fight ended much faster. Bai Hui displayed every counter to his opponent with skill. 

 

Unlike in his fight with the chubby, he was far more direct in his counters. Hitting immediately for the immediate result instead of trying to set up a good one and win on that.

 

His counters were quick and clean. In my eyes, he represented the Water fighting arts the best. By always being in the right place with his steps and flow. Never overcommitting or staying too reserved. It's like every exchange he happens to be in, refines him more and more. 

 

Soon enough it was time for the finals. One of them would be crowned the best of this year's tournament and receive the grand prize, which I had no idea what it was. 

 

On the Externals side, the favorite is Bai Hui.

 

On the Internals side, the second favorite, who didn't have the bad luck to face Bai Hui before and arrived at the end, is Ling Tingfeng.

 

As the both of them went on the stage, a voice interrupted my inner musings. 

 

“ Jiao, who do you think will win this one? ” I heard my Second Uncle ask.

 

“ Bai Hui. ” I said immediately. “ No matter how good that Ling kid is, he just does not have the skill to skillfully evade the counters that will whittle him away. ”

 

“ Indeed, he will be the winner of this fight. It may take a bit but he will win. ” He added, yet as he did I looked at him. For some reason, I felt that he had yet to ask the question he wanted to ask me.

 

“ What is it, uncle? ” I ask him.

 

“ Since the beginning, you have been interested in the Bai kid. ” He stated. I couldn't deny that fact so I just nodded for him to continue. “ If I consider your past memories, I doubt it is affection for his looks or anything concerning the male gender. So I am wondering why he is piquing your interest. Actually, since I raised this topic. How will your memories affect your future partner? Will there be any problems? Emotionally I mean? ” 

 

“ Umm, that's a lot of questions at once. ” I replied. “ Let's see. Hmmm. There is a saying that was very famous back there. When Life gives you Lemons, you make Lemonade. ”

 

“ L.Lemons? ” I heard him repeat the sounds I uttered to him.

 

“ It's a sour but very healthy fruit. I have not seen its equivalent here yet, so I have no idea what it is called here. But saying it without is just plain weird. ” I explained. “ Anyway, the direct interpretation of that would be: You deal with the tools the Universe gives you. I have dealt with the immediate emotional imbalance, of sorts. ” By masturbating to hell and beyond. “ As for my likes and dislikes about gender, well…for now I will stick with girls before I am ready to face any men. Ultimately though it will not matter as time passes. ”

 

“ I hope that answers your concerns about my love life. ” I told him and looked back at the match and the person in question that generated the question. “ As for Bai Hui, that one is harder to answer. Umm, the best answer that I can give you is that his backstory prompted a few concerns. ”

 

“ Do those concerns affect us or just you? ” I heard my father ask.

 

“ Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that only after I have achieved Transcendence will those concerns not bother me. Before that, it will depend on the events. ” I stated. “Now that I brought up my Mantra on the table. Is there a way to commission a mission of the Jade Mercenary Association and send the bill to the Clan? ”

 

“ Misson? What kind? ” Asked my First Uncle. I could tell he was interested. 

 

“ Hunt/Kill/Gather? Something along those lines. ” I said. “ As for the target? Well, Father, remember that day when the old man, I mean Elder He, was hit by lightning? I had asked him something. Do you remember what it was? ”

 

As I looked at him, I knew it would come to him, any second now, any, and there it is.

 

“ NO. Forget it. Not only will it not happen, even if it was, you simply don't have the resources to commission such a mission. ” He refuted my idea.

 

“ Second, Second Brother? ” I heard my uncles speak up as they had no idea what I meant.

 

“ Sigh. Jiao wants to kill a Soul Creation Cultivator and have his Soul retrieved. Intact, that is. ” Yu Liwei, my new father explained as frustration came out of his mouth. “ Not only is it hard to kill a Cultivator of that stage as they are quite strong no matter whether they had cultivated a Body or Spiritual Mantra. If they feel threatened, they can just Step through the Void and flee easily. Forget it, Jiao, it simply won't happen. ”

 

Nodding to him, I just sighed. ‘ I guess, no cheating regarding that. ’

 

“ Well… that's under normal circumstances. ” I heard my First Uncle say with a smile on his face. “ It is possible to lure one with the proper bait and with proper preparation and an additional Soul Creation Cultivator to make sure he or she can't escape. ”

 

“ Or that indeed. “ I heard my father comment.

 

“ Say, Second, is that a big enough bite for you? ” 

 

“ My appetite is not the question, First. It is finding the right bait that will be the hard part. ” Replied my father, with what I recognized to be frustration and hate in equal parts.

 

“ Well, Jiao, it looks like there is a chance, after all,  if you're patient enough. ” Added my Third Uncle.