59th of Season of Water, 58th year of the 32nd cycle

  After realizing that there was nothing to learn from Gale Calmriver’s victory, except to never lower his defenses under any circumstances, not even a fraction, especially between his legs, Newt took the advice Twochains had given him, and meditated.

  Even if he watched others fight, until his mastery of the spear and combat reached a sufficient level, he would only gain questionable benefit. Worse, he might even worsen his style by trying maneuvers which he found interesting or impressive, but were unsuited for the way he fought.

  Unfortunately, another chime of the triangle interrupted his cultivation almost immediately.

  Newt opened his eyes, and found Twochains and Gale had passed the round, the third ring waiting for him.

  “Thank you,” he nodded to the elder, and then sent another nod to the rest of the candidates before taking his place. No new challenges came, and the six disciples who failed to win the top three spots left.

  Newt expected that the young men and women would be downcast, but some of them even grinned, bragging about how far they got and how much they had improved since the last trial the year prior.

  Once the inner disciples left the arena, the three core others stepped in. A tall, broad-shouldered young woman, who looked like she could beat Obsidian in a contest of strength, a lanky young man with pale skin and dark hair, and finally, the third one was the spitting image of Twochains, the men looked so much alike Newt could swear they were brothers.

  “You really are an ass,” Twochains muttered in the ring next to Newt’s.

  “I told you, unless you can beat me, you can forget about coming back to the core sect.” The lookalike had also heard the whisper.

  “Can’t you give it up, Fourchains? It’s been five years.”

  “I’ll never forgive you!” Fourchains said while Newt processed his name and the implication.

  Could they really be brothers? If they are, are they Onechain, Twochains, Threechains or Twochains, Fourchains, Sixchains?

  Fourchains climbed the stairs to his brother’s ring, but Twochains just hopped off.

  “I surrender, I’m not fighting my little brother.” The statement removed any lingering doubt Newt might have had, but dampened the mood in the arena.

  “Well, with that bit of family drama behind us, I’ll explain the rules, even though I know you already know them.” The venerable in charge of the Chamber of Instruction declared in flat monotone.

  “There are three rings, and six challengers. Only three will leave this ring as core disciples, while the other three will leave as inner disciples. You may challenge any of the people in any of the rings, if you win, you take their place. If there is a fight, the victor gets an hour to rest. If they yield, like disciple Break, other disciples may challenge the victor immediately. Any loss is permanent, for instance, any future challenges between the Break brothers will be resolved in the victory of Fourchains. Should a loop form, the battle amongst those tied for the spot in the core sect becomes a free-for-all and lasts until the number of disciples standing matches the number of spots.”

  She glanced at the gathered disciples. “Good luck, and fight to win, otherwise, you will stagnate like the elder Break brother here.”

  The venerable did not point at Twochains, but Newt could see the metaphorical finger of accusation.

  So, the strongest third realm inner disciple isn’t a core disciple because he refuses to fight his younger brother.

  Newt stood in his ring watching the situation unfold. Nobody approached him, but the burly woman challenged Gale, who tried to fight her much the same way she fought the earth cultivator with a stego mace, and given that the challenger was also a rockhead, the tactic was sound.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The earth cultivator left her heavy hammer outside the ring and entered barehanded. She fought like a rock, standing there, letting Gale hit her, but unlike her junior apprentice brother, she made no mistakes. She waited with all the patience of the earth until the chance presented itself.

  The whip cracked towards her unguarded eye, passing too close to the burly woman’s hand. She snatched the cord and pulled with all her might, yanking Gale towards herself. Gale let go of her whip, but the damage was done, she had originally danced dangerously close to her enemy, and the pull drew her into the earth cultivator’s grasp.

  She grappled Gale and squeezed. There was no shouting or screams, Gale gritted her teeth, but Newt could imagine her bones breaking while the woman thrice her size crushed her torso. The judge rushed in.

  “The winner is Jade Hardson!”

  Audience cheered louder than they should have because one ring remained free of challengers, while the other had two challenges take place with no action at all.

  While Gale and Jade fought, the lanky man ascended into the ring, and Fourchains hopped off. Twochains gnashed his teeth and jumped up like a raging triceratops, but the lanky man hopped off with a smile, leaving Twochains stranded in the ring.

  I see, they made a loop, and now the two of them will fight Twochains, gang up on him, and kick him out of the contest. Newt frowned. That sucks. They are exploiting the rules to bar a disciple from entering the core sect. Why isn’t the sect doing anything?

  Is there anything I can do to help Twochains?

  Newt considered the matter, but he was basically outside of the game. While it appeared the tournament was six people grabbing three spots, in reality it was five of them struggling for two. Well, four fighting for two spots. Gale was outclassed. Meaning, all Newt could achieve by hopping off and challenging someone was exchanging rings with them.

  Gale sat in the arena, trying not to be sad. She had made it past the finals, but the core disciples all seemed too strong for her. As for Fourchains and his minion, whose name the referee had shouted while Newt was busy watching Jade and Gale, they were smiling, aware that they had already won.

  An hour’s grace time passed, and Fourchains challenged Jade.

  “Surrender, Jade. I don’t want to hurt you. You can try your luck against my brother or the new kid.”

  Jade looked at Fourchains, then at Twochains, and finally at Newt.

  “Apologies, Senior Apprentice Brother, but I won’t surrender.”

  Fourchains glared at her, getting the meaning of her words. He was the weakest of the three.

  Jade hefted her hammer, while Fourchains drew a pair of blades somewhere between daggers and shortswords.

  The referee gave the sign and Fourchains sprinted, fire blasting beneath his feet. Jade swiped her hammer at him, but he dodged and got right next to her, stabbing the daggers into her ribs. Flames blasted the steely barrier, which had enveloped Jade, but dealt no damage.

  Jade slammed down with her elbow, but Fourchains had already moved on, stabbing his daggers between her shoulder blades.

  Much like Gale, Fourchains danced around Jade. He lacked the air cultivator’s grace, but made up for it with infinitely greater attack power. Seven moves into the battle, Jade’s defense faltered and she was done.

  The burly woman did not make a sound as she fell forward onto the ground, spell formation deeming her dead.

  The referee announced the winner while Gale stared at her three options. She just glanced at Newt and gave up, before focusing on Twochains. Seconds went by as she gazed at him before finally turning her attention to Fourchains.

  No, please, don’t even consider it. If you somehow win, he’s going to be in two loops, and you’re basically going to have five people in an all-out brawl. Nobody wants that.

  Gale apparently wanted that. She was an air cultivator, and chaotic battles were her perceptive and mobile element’s strong point.

  An hour passed and the petite woman challenged Fourchains. Newt would have watched the match, if not for Jade climbing the stairs of his ring.

  “Hello,” she said, drawing a smile from Newt. For once, he faced a well-mannered opponent who said hello before fighting.

  “Greetings!” He beamed, but then his bright smile died, a frown replacing it.

  What if I lose to her, then she and I will join the all-out brawl, where I can protect—No. I won’t cheat. What Twochains does with his brother is their own matter.

  “Sorry I—”

  “Fight,” the referee shouted, and Jade bounded towards Newt like a landslide.

  Others would have dodged, but Newt suddenly cared very little about winning. If he won, he won, if he lost, there was a chaotic melee to look forward to. So, Newt charged towards his opponent, unstoppable like lava flowing downhill.

  Jade was easily twice Newt’s size and outweighed him by more than that. Yet when the heavy glaive and the massive hammer met, it was the massive woman who was blown back. Newt swiped at her again, the duel turning into a pure contest of strength, which was no contest at all. Newt’s body had reached the equivalent of a sixth layer fourth realm cultivator, while Jade was merely at the peak of the third realm. No matter how impressive her physique, no matter how powerful her muscles, the gulf between them was insurmountable.

  The glaive struck her again and again until Newt launched her out of the ring.

  “The winner is Newstar Blazing Salamander!”