v2c65.2: The Tournament part 2 (Patreon)

“Zang Wei! Second Stage of the Initiate’s Realm!” Bai Huizong boomed. The Resounding Crystal Dais beneath him hummed, as it took his words and echoed them for all to hear, but his voice was still straining from how much he had shouted earlier. He was still excited, and his tone reflected that. There was always a feeling of immense power when he stood here, his voice thundering like he was some manner of cultivator himself. He captured the minds of all who heard him.

Bai Huizong, His Imperial Majesty’s Director of Spiritual Ascension Affairs for the Azure Hills, loved his job. Even if his title was far grander than his duties actually entailed.

He was a glorified tourney host, most of the time. The Sects often wanted a “neutral” observer for these multi-sect events, and who better than one of their technical overlords. The Sects did their business, and like most in his position, as long as they committed no treasonous offense, he looked the other way when they were less than ideal in their behavior. What could he do, anyway? He was just a mortal man.

“Zei Lin, First Stage of the Initiate’s Realm!” He thundered, as the last person stepped away from the stone.

To his surprise, there was only a single mortal who had tried to sneak in this year. A record! Normally, the judgement Stone was there to weed out those with weak cultivation, but at this tournament there was technically no rule preventing them from participating. Such was the weakness of the Azure Hills, but they tended to get brutalized rather badly in the first round.

Except for once, where a tricky lad had managed to defeat an Initiate of the first stage, albeit through the ring-out rule that was implemented in the preliminaries. A sorry business, that. The Cultivator had committed suicide out of shame. The boy, who bowed out after his single victory, had later been found beaten to death by what he assumed was the Cultivator’s sectmates. The killer had never been found.

“Now that all have been Judged, we shall assign the brackets!” He said, gesturing to the set of tables by the walls. His men were already in position, and the rest of the labourers were preparing to cordon off the separate rings for the preliminary bouts.

Bai Huizong stepped off the Resounding Crystal Dais, and took the cloth that was offered by his  assistant, mopping his damp forehead. It did take a bit out of him to use the device, and the sun’s rays were getting him quite hot.

He glanced around at the stands. Normally, this small preparatory period would have most people start to wander off, to go and bet, or to start to file out for some food after the long opening ceremony. Not so this time. Everyone in attendance was still glued to their seats discussing the outcome. The crowds were positively buzzing, and he could see those in the private seats discussing things excitedly, or in the cases of the Sects looking increasingly worried.

Huizong could not blame them.

Profound Realm. A cultivator who in her twenties had ascended to the Profound Realm. Such a thing just did not happen in the Azure Hills! The first in nearly a thousand years, if he remembered his history of the Summit correctly.

Huizong was supposed to be impartial, but he couldn’t help but enjoy this development. He would have to direct his company to make more Demon Slaying Orchid dolls. They were already a hit but this would surely bring him riches untold!

And the other surprise, Rou Tigu. An independent, no less! A girl coming out of nowhere with such a high cultivation was something straight out of a story. The “Official” tournament report would surely be a best seller this year as well.

Huizong looked idly at the brackets, as they started to form. They were already mostly decided. The Sects would never stand for their Young Masters and Mistresses knocking each other out in the preliminaries, so pitting them against each other was right out.

Indeed, Cai Xiulan was matched against a member of the Framed Sun Sect. It would have been a horrid mis-match before she fought Sun Ken.

Now? It was an execution.

He sat calmly in his seat, as the rest of the matches were drawn out. He drank some of the fine wine set nearby to wet his parched throat. The vast stone colosseum was showing its age, but it was stil grand and awe inspiring. An edifice from before recorded history. The people sat in rows on stone benches, rising up into the sky. The Sect Masters were in their boxes, staring down at the grounds with frowns on their faces, stern and calculating.

“Sir. Starting bets are in,” one of his men whispered. “As expected, Cai Xiulan is the frontrunner, and our earnings are looking very good this year.”

Huizong smiled. “Excellent news. Any outliers?”

“No sir. Everything seems to be proceeding as it should be.”

“Good.” He glanced at the completed bracket. “And close the betting soon. We’ll be starting shortly.”

His clerk bowed, and strode away.

Huizong stood, and stretched. He cleared his throat, and stepped back into the Resounding Crystal Dais.

“The stages are set! The combatants are ready! They shall abide by all virtues, and bring only glory to themselves and their sects!” his voice boomed out once more. All eyes were upon ring three, where Cai Xiulan stood calmly before her opponent. “Victory is by ring out, or submission!”

The contestants bowed to each other.

Huizong raised his hand. The men on top of the colosseum, on the west-facing mountain, shouted a command. A striker, a single piece of wood that seemed to be ten trees lashed together, was pulled back by hundreds of labourers. It was said there were once glowing characters upon the gong and the striker, but they had long since faded.

The men held their position on top of the arena. The sun glinted off the dull grey metal of the gong, impossibly ancient, and still unmarred by thousands of years of use.

Huizong lowered his hand sharply.

The men heaved the striker forwards, right into the center of the gong. A force that could surely shatter the gates of Pale Moon Lake City in a single blow hammered into the center of the gong.

The sound was indescribable, the strange shape of the arena and the mountains making it reverberate and harmonize.

“Begin!” he commanded.

The first bouts started.

And one of them ended.

The Junior of the Framed Sun Sect was outside the arena.

Cai Xiulan stood, her eyes calm and serene, with her palm on the boy’s chest.

She had not even drawn her blades. There was a slight cloud of dust, from where the boy’s feet had tried to dig in, and failed. In any other case, this would be a humiliating, devastating loss.

Instead, the boy looked relieved, as the Young Mistress of the Verdant blade pulled her hand back and bowed, gracing him with a smile. The boy’s face flushed, and he looked dazed, as he managed his own gesture of respect in return.

The crowds, predictably, went wild. There was another eruption of cheering, as the masses praised the Young Mistress’s restraint and benevolence. Mercy, as always, was the domain of the strong. The recording crystals of the sects were surely focused upon her, and they would likely be reviewing their recordings feverishly, searching for anything that they may use as an advantage.

The boy even received conciliatory looks from his sectmates on the sidelines, the Young Master of the Sect simply patting his shoulder.

It was a bit disappointing to know the winner before even the Tournament ended, but that was life sometimes. He only hoped that there was one who could provide her with enough challenge that there was a spectacle.

The next bout had nothing so exciting. Liu Xianghua, who would have made waves for being at the Fourth Stage of the Initiate’s realm, now seemed almost to be forgotten. She had a pensive look on her face,  distracted, but it was still not enough to stop her from expertly slamming the pommel of her sword into her opponent's head, knocking him out.

The other fights, in comparison, were mostly quite tame. Swords clashed, and there was some blood and broken bones, but largely, they were expected outcomes.

The next bout had Rou Tigu, versus one of the Juniors of the Hermetic Iron Sect.

The wild-looking girl was bouncing from foot to foot, her eyes narrow as the man drew out a one handed hammer, and slammed his fist into the plates on his chest. He was looking nervous, as he faced off against a woman three stages above him.

The gong sounded.

Rou Tigu shot forward to slam her fist into the boy’s chest plate. He staggered backwards at the blow, the girl took no steps to chase him further or capitalize on the opening.

Instead, planting her hands on her hips, she shouted something at the boy. Then she went in again, sending out a light jab to his face that rocked his head to the side. Then she retreated, watching him with narrowed eyes. She played with him like a cat with a mouse.

The crowd, of course, loved it. They laughed and jeered as she danced around the taller boy, striking him with impunity

What a vicious little creature, toying with him so! He could only imagine what insults she was shouting at her opponent, and what abuse he was suffering!

Off to the side, the Young Master of the Hermetic Iron Sect had to be restrained, his face flushed red in anger, indignant on the behalf of the injury inflicted to his junior.

He could almost see the finals now. The serene Cai Xiulan, versus the wild Rou Tigu. The villainous, mocking girl versus the noble Verdant Blade!

Huizong sat back to watch the show.

==============================

“Not like that! Wider stance…form?!” Yun Ren said from beside him, as he squinted down at the fight. “Or at least I think that’s what she’s saying.

“…is she giving that guy advice in the middle of the fight?” Gou Ren asked.

“I think so?” he questioned, staring down at the arena. “Yep, she just did the same set of moves again.”

Gou Ren snorted, and started looking around again. While the opening ceremony had been amazing, and the judging had been interesting to watch, as the stone swirled with different colours. The fights themselves? A bit boring.

Gou Ren had been expecting more. Cool techniques, like Xiulan could do, but for the most part it just seemed as if everybody was just a bit stronger or faster than a normal person. Sure, the jumps could get pretty big, and some people had flashy, flippy moves… but he had the feeling he could take at least some of them. It took some of the mystery out. Somehow farming was more mystical than a giant fighting tournament.

He couldn’t really understand the appeal. The cheering and jeering as Xiulan pushed that guy out had hurt his ears. The howling and the shouting as the ranks were announced. He had even seen one of the guys in the expensive boxes cough blood. He was a bit worried for the old man, if he was honest. Meimei always said coughing blood was really bad.

“It’s kinda boring, to be honest,” he said aloud.

A man from beside him snorted.

“First time?” He asked, turning to Gou Ren. He nodded, and the man smirked. “That's because this is to weed out the chaff. Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet!”

Gou Ren shrugged.

Well, time would tell. He glanced up to the top of the arena, where the massive gong sat. He hoped it would be open to visitors, he kind of wanted to look at the inscriptions on it up close.

There was a cheer, and Gou Ren turned back to the fights as Tigu finally knocked the guy out of the ring. He raised an eyebrow, frowning as the guy with the giant hammer stomped up beside what Gou Ren assumed was his friend. Several people looked at the cultivator oddly, and one of the workers seemed to want to stop him, as he strode out from the area he was supposed to be standing in.

The crowd held its breath, as they stared facing each other Tigu cocked her head to the side, curious. The leader of the hammer and anvil group’s face was red, and his muscles were bulging. He looked a bit like Jin actually, right down to the freckles.

“It appears the Young Master of the Hermetic Iron Sect, Tie Delun, has entered the arena!” the announcer boomed out, having scrambled back onto the crystal, his eyes were shining, from where Gou Ren could see him.

The guy who had been knocked out of the ring said something, and the angry man paused.

“Is this true?” Yun Ren said, narrating again, as he leaned forwards, squinting to read the lips. The angle was a bit awkward.

Tigu nodded her head, and said something else. The hammer guy’s face flushed crimson again.

This time, with embarrassment.

“Something… Trading pointers… You have fine muscles… see you later, Handsome Man…? “ Yun Ren asked, as Tigu waved goodbye, and hopped off the stage.

The man stared after her, and slowly raised one hand to scratch at his freckles, staring after her as she sauntered off.

“Tigu, why?” Gou Ren sighed, burying his face in both his hands. He really hoped that he wouldn’t have to tell Jin about this.

============================

============================

Decided to send this off for some editing before I posted this time, and it helped a lot. thank you to everybody who caught the mistakes, especially that big one!

Also a bit of a view from the person whose running the event. A bit more corrupt than our own Patriarch.