Serial Transmigrator 157 Chapter 157

The next morning, Tianlan woke up feeling tired, but it was nothing unbearable. He took his usual shower and went downstairs to bake a loaf of bread before heading over to his study to read. He wanted to spend the day looking over the books he had borrowed from the library, and fortunately, there was nothing else scheduled for the new disciples. They were free to use their time however they wished during the first week.

But just because Tianlan wasn't expecting to do anything else, it didn't mean that things wouldn't come to him. A few hours after he sat down to read, the hexagonal jade informed him that he had a guest.

Looking at the image it recorded, he could see a young man holding a stack of envelopes standing outside his gate.

He used the jade to open the gate and met the young man at the door.

"How can I help you?"

"Are you Shao Tianlan?"

"That's me."

"Mail for you."

The young man handed Tianlan the envelope and checked the one underneath it before turning to leave.

Tianlan didn't see him off and was about to close the door when he spotted his neighbour, Tang Zen. She seemed to be practising sword swings. He decided to head over to her and took a look at the contents of the envelope along the way.

It was the payment schedule for Rhava and Shiva.

Tang Zen paused her practice and looked up when she noticed Tianlan standing on the other side of the fence.

"Practising your techniques already?" he asked.

"I've already been practising for a few hours now," she replied.

"Wow. You're really diligent."

"You can't let a moment go to waste during the first week. The compet.i.tion to impress the elders is going to be fierce."

"I see. Well, don't let me get in your way."

"Mm."

Tianlan made one last remark before he left.

"We've got some noisy neighbours, huh?"

"Hm?"

"Last night. They were making a lot of noise."

"Oh? I didn't notice."

"Really? You must be a really heavy sleeper then."

Tang Zen shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay then. See you later."

"Mm."

The two went their own ways and Tianlan was quite surprised that Tang Zen didn't hear the noise from earlier. It didn't matter how heavy of a sleeper one was, that wasn't something one could simply ignore. But then again, Tianlan himself had managed to fall asleep eventually.

He went over to ask the wolf siblings to make sure it wasn't just him.

"The noise? Yeah, I heard it," said Rhava. "These people are really quite inconsiderate."

"But Rhava blocked it out with his energy," said Shiva.

"So that's why I was able to fall asleep," said Tianlan. "But, doesn't that mean you didn't get any sleep, Rhava? Or did they stop after a while?"

"No. They were at it all night. I don't know what they were thinking making so much noise in the night like that. But it doesn't really matter. Missing one night's sleep isn't a big deal."

"I guess so."

Since he was already out, and inspired by Tang Zen's dedication, Tianlan decided to practice the breathing methods he had just read about. He headed over to the rock garden at the back of his abode and sat down on a larger rock in the middle of it before closing his eyes to concentrate on his breathing.

Shiva and Rhava watched curiously for a while before getting bored and going off to do their own things.

***

Just like that, the entire day had gone by. Tianlan invited the Fang Clan Juniors over to cultivate for a few hours before taking a shower and going to bed.

At some point in the night, his eyes shot open and he covered his ears. The noise had come again and it was even worse than the night before.

Deciding to find out what was going on, Tianlan flipped the lights on and headed downstairs where he opened his front door and went up to the front gate.

When he got there, he couldn't see anyone and the noise had stopped.

"They ran off when you turned on the lights," said Shiva.

"What are they doing?"

"I don't know, but don't worry about it. I'll block the noise tonight."

Tianlan would have taken on the burden himself, but he still needed to rest to recover from his injuries.

"Sorry, Shiva. I'll catch them and find out why they're doing this tomorrow."

***

The next day, Tianlan woke up and showered as usual before baking a loaf of bread and heading out of his abode. Today, he wanted to visit the Mission Hall to get a rough estimate of how much work he would have to do to buy the wolf siblings' freedom.

On his way out, he spotted Tang Zen, who was holding her sword in a way Tianlan hadn't seen before. She used one hand to hold the hilt normally, but she placed the other under the sword with her fingers curled slightly as if she were getting ready to balance it on her palm.

This time, Tianlan decided not to interrupt her, but she spotted him anyway.

"Why the long face?" she asked.

"Hm?"

She smiled.

"It's a trait of Standing Lotus. When you're in this stance, you become more perceptive. I could tell that you're upset about something when you came out of your abode."

"Oh? That's interesting."

"So, what's gotten you down?"

"The neighbours."

"Hm?"

"Don't tell me you didn't hear them again. There's no way you could sleep through that unless you block your hearing at night."

"Actually, I stayed up all night. I didn't hear anything."

"Really?"

"Are you sure it's not just you?"

"Yeah. It looks like they're targeting me on purpose. Making sure the sound only comes into my abode and doesn't disturb anyone else."

"Couldn't it be something the previous owner left behind?"

"No. Rhava and Shiva saw them."

"Rhava and Shiva?"

"The snow wolves."

"Oh. So, you can really understand them?"

Tianlan dropped his fist onto his palm in realisation.

"So that's it."

"What?"

"Never mind. Anyway, I've got to head over to the Mission Hall."

"You want to take up missions already?"

"Just taking a look."

***

When Tianlan stepped into the Mission Hall, he got a perfunctory look from everyone in the place as if there hadn't been any change in a few hours. They swiftly went back to what they were doing, but soon turned back to Tianlan, this time with some interest. This wouldn't have been anything to pay attention to had they been women, Tianlan was used to such things, but these were mostly men.

Tianlan walked through the thick atmosphere and up to the welcome desk where he spoke to the young woman who was standing behind it.

"Is there something on my face?" he asked with a smile.

"Uh… You wouldn't happen to be Shao Tianlan, would you?"

Tianlan frowned.

"I am."

"See for yourself."

The young woman pointed behind Tianlan, and following her direction, he turned around to see a bulletin board, posted on which were various sheets of paper that looked like bounty notices. Among them, there was an image of someone who looked remarkably similar to him.

It was him. And someone had offered to pay 10 merit points to anyone who brought proof of themselves disrupting his business.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"No. It's no joke."

"Why would there be a mission like that?"

"People can post missions for whatever. As long as they pay up when it's done, then any sort of request can be made."

"But if it's like that, how is that board not flooded with trivial missions? The rest of them seem fairly serious. Urgent even."

"The boards are paid advertising s.p.a.ce. When someone wants their request to be seen, they can pay to have it posted on one. Otherwise, it will appear in the catalogue with the rest."

Tianlan pressed his temples with his thumb and middle finger before sighing. It all made sense now. Those people were messing with him because of this mission.

"Alright. Who posted the request?"

"Hold on, let me check."

The young lady went over to the bulletin board and looked at the back of the sheet of paper before returning.

"It was Elder Qian."

"So, he didn't even bother to use a proxy? Does he want me to know it was him?"

"You'll have to take that up with him. Now, can I help you with anything else?"

"Can I have one of those catalogues please?"

"Sure."

The young lady opened a drawer and retrieved a jade from it.

"You aren't allowed to take it out of the building."

Tianlan accepted the jade and thanked the young lady.

He went off to an empty table in the hall and started browsing through the information in the jades. Based on the missions available, it would take him a while to pay off his debt. Fortunately, it was one of those cases where it wasn't difficult, but it would require some time.

***

"So that's the treasure the new disciple wanted?"

"Yeah. That's the only reason I got this thing. Elder Qian said he would reimburse me for whatever I ended up buying and I would get to keep it too."

"Man. I'm never around for these things."

Tianlan's interest was sparked by the conversation he just heard so he observed the two partic.i.p.ants. One of them was someone he recognised. The young man from the Treasure Hall. He was holding the sword Tianlan had taken interest in.

'How coincidental.'

Tianlan didn't believe that this was a chance happening. That he just so happened to overhear this conversation which was another lead to Elder Qian. It was obvious that Elder Qian was openly provoking him and was waiting for his response.

Tianlan got up from his seat, returned the jade to the young lady, left the Treasure Hall and returned to his abode where he spent the rest of the day reading and resting.

Just to make sure all things were in line, he still went and captured one of the noisemakers that night and confirmed that they were responding to the mission posted by Elder Qian.

That being the case, his next move was clear.

***

"I was expecting you to do something," said Tianlan. "But I must say, the way you've chosen to go about it surprises me."

"Oh? What did you expect me to do instead?" replied Elder Qian.

"I thought there would be a lot more violence involved."

Elder Qian looked at Tianlan as if he were an idiot.

"What? Am I supposed to slaughter eight generations of your clan because you refused to share your little secrets? What would the world become if every minor disagreement was settled through violence?"

"…"

This was another case of Tianlan looking strange because of Hei's logic.

"Then can we just stop this?"

"Stop what?"

"This pointless hara.s.sment. It's not going to achieve anything."

Elder Qian leaned back into his chair and sipped his tea while resting his head on his fist, all with a casual demeanour and a smile on his face.

"Oh? I beg to differ," he said. "It's gotten you to come here to my office, hasn't it? I don't have any intention of stopping, unless…"

"Be reasonable."

"Reasonable? Of the two of us, I would say it's you who's being unreasonable. You know what I want and I'm willing to pay a fair price for it. Just name it and all of this can be resolved."

"I told you it's not for sale."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Take down that mission and leave me alone."

"Let me get this straight," said Elder Qian as he took another sip of his tea. "You want me to yield, but you aren't willing to budge an inch?"

"You aren't ent.i.tled to my knowledge."

"And you aren't ent.i.tled to peace."

Tianlan leaned back into his chair in resignation.

"There's no reasoning with you," he said.

Elder Qian chuckled.

"Tell me. Are you familiar with Stone-faced Minks?"

"No."

"They're a curious kind of spirit beast, incredibly difficult to catch. They generally have low intelligence and don't amount to much in their lives, but no matter how sweet the honey you try to entice them with, they stubbornly remain in their little caves."

"What's your point?"

"Patience," said Elder Qian as he brought his teacup to his lips. "What's interesting about those Stone-faced Minks is that if you light a fire and blow the smoke into their burrows, they'll come running out into the open where you can catch them easily."

He finished the rest of the tea and placed the cup down onto the table before leaning back into his chair.

"Will it be honey or smoke? The choice is yours."

Tianlan only nodded his head repeatedly as he got up. He walked over to the door and opened it before turning back to Elder Qian.

"I'll just extinguish the fire," he said.

"Smoke it is."

Both of them smirked before Tianlan left.

***

Later that day, Tianlan and the wolves prepared for the next round of shenanigans. This time, Shiva was already prepared to block out the noise and inform Tianlan when the group of troublemakers came.

That was the plan, but something went wrong.

Of the disturbances they had faced thus far, this was the worst. That was the case for Shiva, who was already awake, but even more so for Tianlan and Rhava who had fallen asleep and weren't prepared for the sudden attack on their ears.

When he heard it, Tianlan shot out of bed and immediately rushed out of his abode where he jumped over the gate and confronted the noisemakers who had already started to run away after seeing him.

"Can't you people just get a life?" he shouted.

"Hey, man. Free merit points are free merit points."

There wasn't much Tianlan could do to these people, so he could only watch as they left.

After going back into the abode, he went up to Shiva.

"What happened? I thought you were going to block the sound."

"I did. But it came through anyway. I think they were using some kind of treasure."

Tianlan brought his palm to his forehead in frustration.

"Just for 10 merit points?"

"Isn't this getting out of hand now?" asked Rhava.

"It is," replied Tianlan. "I'm going to deal with it in the morning."

"How?"

"I'll kill a chicken to warn the monkeys."

***

That night, those noisemakers came back time and again, causing Tianlan and the wolf siblings to be unable to get any rest.

The next morning, Tianlan took his shower and baked his bread as he usually did, then he took the book Hei had given to him and went outside for a walk.

He decided that the first person to cause trouble for him would become the sacrificial p.a.w.n.

***

"I just want to congratulate you again for breaking through to the minute realm, Sister Yu."

"… Thank you."

On a particular road within the sect, a group of five disciples were walking together. Whenever other disciples saw them, they would bow to the young lady who had been referred to as Sister Yu.

While listening to the flattery, one of the three young men, Jin Huang, shook his head.

"Careful, Jian. You're letting your thirst show."

Bo Jian, the young man who had previously expressed his congratulations to Sister Yu, turned to face Jin Huang.

"What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you pouring it on a little thick? How many times have you said that already?"

"No matter how many times I say it, it's still true. Sister Yu managed to break through to the minute realm, joining the rest of you who like to think you're hot stuff."

Jin Huang laughed.

"Can you blame us? When you're in an exclusive club with less than 20 members, you can't help but look at things differently. Isn't that right, Sister Yu?"

"I don't know about that," she replied. "Things haven't changed all that much. But I do feel light on my feet."

"Yeah right. Look at that beaming smile on your face."

"Hm?"

Sei Yu brought her hands to her cheeks and realised that she was smiling uncontrollably. This was one of the happiest days of her life.

"Well. I did just become a core disciple," she said. "You can't blame me for being a little excited."

"Yeah," said Bo Jian. "And now that you've broken through to the minute realm, you're not necessarily any weaker than that Lanxiang Meili."

After she heard that, Sei Yu's smile dimmed a little.

One of the other young men, w.a.n.g Kun, slapped the back of Bo Jian's head.

"Be a little more sensitive, would you? Why would you bring up Lanxiang Meili? We all know Sister Yu is no match for her."

Those words only served to make things worse.

"Wow, Kun," said Jin Huang. "You're no better than he is. In fact, you're much worse."

"Oh?" w.a.n.g Kun scratched the side of his face. "How so?"

The other young woman present, Liu Fan, stepped in.

"If Brother Jian brought the nail, then you hammered it in."

"Is that so? I was just trying to expose Jian's blatant lie. To think Sister Yu could have any chance against Lanxiang Meili at all is just fantasy, no? We all saw what happened the last time they had a sparring match. I thought it was better to tell the truth. But maybe the truth is more harmful than lies sometimes? But my mother always told me that honesty was a virtue. Was she lying to me then? But then… how much of what she says is true? Maybe I'm not really her son. How would I know? This… Maybe I should ask her. But what if she lies then? How would I-"

"Okay, okay, Brother Kun! Your mother didn't lie to you, and no one is telling you to lie. But sometimes you don't have to say anything, you know?"

"Oh. Okay then."

"Say what you want," said Bo Jian. "But I think Sister Yu could go toe to toe with that Lanxiang Meili. She's already mastered the fifth order of the Lotus Series, Blooming Lotus. That was the key difference between them the last time."

This time, w.a.n.g Kun didn't say anything.

But his silence spoke volumes.

At this point, Sei Yu's head wasn't held as high as it was before, and her smile seemed slightly forced.

Bo Jian could see what he had triggered, so he tried to make it better.

"Just look at all of these fellow disciples, Sister Yu. They're making way and bowing to you. This is a show of their respect for someone who has achieved something great."

"That's right," said Liu Fan. "This kind of thing only happens once in a disciple's time here. And today, they bow for you."

When she heard those words, Sei Yu looked back up at all of the respectful looks that were being directed her way. Some of the disciples even voiced their congratulations and clapped for her. It was the kind of thing that would lift anyone's spirits.

But there was one anomaly.

Among all of the disciples present, there was one who didn't even glance her way. He kept his head down, reading a book as he walked down the road. The fellow really stood out like a sore thumb.

That was why Bo Jian noticed him.

"Hey!"

He kicked a rock toward that young man who wanted to be different.

As the rock drew near, the young man shifted his upper body slightly, exiting its trajectory. The rock flew past his face, almost making contact but ultimately only stirred the air. However, by avoiding the rock, the young man had put a young woman in its path. It flew towards her with no care for who would get hurt, but the young man caught it before it could strike her. It was only when he let it go and it fell to the ground that she realised what had happened.

The young man tore his sight away from his book and directed an intense glare at Bo Jian.

"What was that for?" he asked.

Bo Jian recognised the face, causing him to chuckle.

"Aren't you the guy on the wanted poster?"

After making that casual remark, he got to the meat of the issue.

"You should pay your respects to Sister Yu."

The boy shifted his sight to Sei Yu. She wanted to say something, but he spoke before her.

"I challenge you to a duel. Meet me in the arena right now or you're nothing but a coward."

Before anyone could even understand what he had said, he had already disappeared, but he left behind an eruption of shocked exclamations.

"He challenged Senior Sister Yu to a duel! Just like that!"

"And he said she's a coward if she doesn't show. Why would he force her hand like that? Doesn't he know that she's a core disciple?"

"He probably doesn't."

"Hey. I know that guy. He's Shao Tianlan. The number one disciple from the new batch."

"An outer disciple challenging a core disciple? What a joke. I've got to see this."

"But is she going to accept?"

***

"You really messed things up, Jian," said Jin Huang. "No matter how this turns out, you've already ruined her day."

"I know," replied Bo Jian. "But who would have thought the guy would just up and challenge her to a duel?"

Bo Jian could only kick himself. He had only been trying to brighten Sei Yu's mood, but he had brought trouble to her instead.

"You probably killed your chances with her this time, Brother Jian," said Liu Fan.

"I agree," said w.a.n.g Kun. "Though, I don't think she was interested in you in the first place."

"This is another one of those situations where you shouldn't say anything, Brother Kun."

"Oh? Is it? Okay."

The four, Jin Huang, Bo Jian, w.a.n.g Kun and Liu Fan were seated in a reserved section of the spectator seats in the arena. They were allowed entry because Jin Huang and w.a.n.g Kun were core disciples of the sect and had certain privileges.

"Still though," said Jin Huang. "I wonder what this is about. He's a new disciple, right? It seems to me he's trying to use Sister Yu as a springboard to gain some fame. Is he trying to impress the elders before the initiation?"

"It's plausible," said Liu Fan.

"He's the number-one new disciple, so he must think he's something special," said Bo Jian. "But he's bitten off more than he can chew."

"Not necessarily," said w.a.n.g Kun. "I heard he killed a second-layer minute realm beast in the third trial."

"Yeah, but I heard that there was some doubt as to how it happened," said Bo Jian. "Apparently it died before it suffered any wounds. The likely cause is poison. And duels are strictly compet.i.tions in swordsmanship. He has no chance."

"There's no need to speculate," said Jin Huang. "Let's just watch the match."

***

"The conditions are simple," said Tianlan. "The duel ends when one of us admits defeat or is unable to continue. If I win, then I don't want to hear you. If you win, I'll fulfil one request so long as it's within my capabilities and doesn't go against my morals."

"Mm."

"Then let's begin."

Tianlan and Sei Yu were standing on the battle arena and were both holding swords provided by the venue.

After Tianlan announced the start of the duel, Sei Yu raised her sword and held it with a peculiar grip. One hand was on its hilt and the other was under it as if she were going to balance the sword on her palm. This was the first stance of the Lotus Series, Standing Lotus.

Tianlan observed her closely and mimicked her moves.

He didn't just stop at copying her stance. He went so far as to create temporary spirit roots that matched hers and circulated his qi in a similar way to her, perfectly copying her technique.

When he did, he suddenly felt that his senses had grown more acute.

'She's angry.'

Observing his opponent's otherwise calm-looking face, he could now see that she was quite angry at the moment. That was to be expected, after all, she had just been challenged to a duel by a junior member of the sect. It must have been a slap in the face for a haughty senior sister.

'That's what she gets for going along with that mission.'

***

'Who does he think he is?'

Sei Yu was angry. Of course she was angry. Who told this new disciple to start trouble with her? He even dared to force her hand. And for what?

It was obvious what was going on. He thought he could make a name for himself by defeating a senior and saw her as easy pickings.

If there was one thing Sei Yu hated, it was to be underestimated.

She observed her opponent, getting a feel for his mental state, and was surprised by what she saw.

'He's angry and frustrated? Why?'

If the purpose of the challenge had been to get some clout, then the emotional investment didn't make any sense. It was clear now that he had some other reason for targeting her and it wasn't because he thought she was weak.

But when had she offended a new disciple?

Her anger turned into confusion then into seriousness.

Whatever it was, she would find out after the duel.

***

'Hm?'

Tianlan saw Sei Yu's anger fade away and wondered why that was the case. It was clear that she had good control over her emotions, which lead Tianlan to believe she would be a worthy opponent.

His own anger subsided and he became more focused on the duel.

***

"Oh? He also practises the Lotus Series?" said Jin Huang. "That's unexpected."

"It really is," said Liu Fan. "Not many boys practice it."

"This is a little too coincidental, don't you think? Maybe this wasn't a random challenge after all," said Bo Jian, trying to shake off some of the guilt he was feeling.

"That's possible," replied w.a.n.g Kun. "But then again, it could always just be a coincidence. I'm still leaning towards you being the cause of this situation for several reasons. One, it didn't look like he was searching for Sister Yu. Two-"

"Brother Kun…" said Liu Fan.

"… I see."

***

Since Standing Lotus was a reactionary stance, nothing would happen when both sides were using it.

That being the case, and seeing that her opponent had no intention of making the first move, Sei Yu decided to take the initiative. She adjusted her grip, holding the sword in a more normal stance with both hands firmly on the hilt.

This second stance of the Lotus Series was called Dancing Lotus.

Tianlan did the same and adjusted his grip to match hers and the two dashed towards each other, immediately closing the distance while chopping their swords downward. They both waited until the last moment before turning their bodies 90 degrees, allowing the swords to narrowly miss their faces.

Once their attacks missed, they both reversed their grips and brought the swords back up in diagonal upward swings, causing them to clash.

Instead of staying in a locked position, both retreated.

Tianlan stayed low to the ground as he jumped back, but Sei Yu jumped higher and twisted her body while in the air, flipping herself upside down.

Tianlan wouldn't let such an opening go unpunished and rushed in, swinging his sword horizontally at the airborne Sei Yu, who thrusted her sword into the ground while still upside down, performing a Stinging Lotus, then pulled on it bringing herself to the ground in a swift descent, performing a Falling lotus.

Her actions had been so swift that Tianlan's sword only ended up slicing air, and while her stance was low, she rotated her body using power from her legs and swung her sword in a horizontal arc, attacking Tianlan's lower body.

This move was called Sweeping Lotus.

Tianlan was interested in the Stinging Lotus followed by Falling Lotus that Sei Yu had just used. The sword which had been so firmly stuck in the ground as to support her descent had easily come loose when she willed it to.

Wasting no time, he jumped, flipping his body upside down, and caused Sei Yu's sword to slice air. He then thrusted his sword down at her unguarded back.

Stinging Lotus.

When her attack missed, Sei Yu had already been prepared for Tianlan's response. As she looked up to see Tianlan's sword rapidly approaching her face, water jets had already begun to stream forth from under her feet, generating a propulsion force, allowing her to retreat from her position.

This move was called Fleeting Lotus and was the core escape technique of the Lotus Series.

Tianlan's sword struck the ground and he used Falling Lotus to quickly reset himself, removing his vulnerability. Once his feet were firmly on the ground, he extracted his sword and entered the Dancing Lotus stance to face his opponent.

***

"It looks like they're evenly matched," said Bo Jian.

"That was just them sizing each other up," replied Jin Huang. "The real fight starts now."

"But from what we've seen already, Sister Yu's opponent won't be defeated so easily," said w.a.n.g Kun.

"Mm. It's surprising that a new disciple is able to hold his own against Yu jiejie," said Liu Fan.

***

Water jets streamed under Sei Yu's feet, propelling her towards Tianlan. She pulled her sword back and thrusted it forward as she neared him.

This technique was called Piercing Lotus and was the primary approach of the Lotus Series.

When her sword came close, Tianlan used Falling Lotus to quickly lower his centre of gravity, escaping the sword's path. He then used Sweeping Lotus to slash at Sei Yu's unguarded lower body.

Sei Yu was caught off guard by Tianlan's response. She had never seen someone counter Piercing Lotus with Sweeping Lotus. But she was quick on her feet and immediately reversed her water jets, converting her Piercing Lotus to Fleeting Lotus. Her forward momentum was reversed and she managed to narrowly avoid Tianlan's sword, opening up some s.p.a.ce. But Tianlan had antic.i.p.ated this and immediately came at her with Piercing Lotus which was faster than Fleeting Lotus.

As the gap between them narrowed, Sei Yu used Falling Lotus to lower her body, and with a flash of inspiration, she adjusted her water jets to convert her backward momentum into a rotational force, which she used to launch a Sweeping Lotus, taking a leaf out of her opponent's book.

But her sword only sliced through air. Her opponent had expected this as well and had already jumped up, flipping his body upside down, launching a Stinging Lotus.

Sei Yu had already seen that Sweeping Lotus was vulnerable to Stinging Lotus and was thus prepared this time. Instead of retreating again with Fleeting Lotus, she placed her right palm under the hilt of her sword and thrusted it upwards to intercept Tianlan's downward thrust.

This was Skyward Lotus.

The two swords collided, each piercing into the other's guard, and the fight reached another pause. Sei Yu looked up to Tianlan, whose weight she was supporting, and he looked down to her before kicking her blade, separating the two.

They both reset their stances and faced each other.

***

"Is it just me, or is Yu jiejie on fire today?" asked Liu Fan.

"She really is performing quite well," said Bo Jian. "It's much different than the match she had with that Lanxiang Meili."

"That's because her opponent is taking a different approach," explained Jin Huang. "Lanxiang Meili always came at her with the same move, fighting fire with fire. But this opponent is choosing to counter instead."

"That's because these two are close in terms of ability," added w.a.n.g Kun. "Lanxiang Meili was much stronger than Sister Yu, so she could just overpower her at every turn, but in this case, if they were to do that, then every exchange would be a draw. It would turn into a battle of attrition rather than the contest in swordsmanship that they're looking for."

"That's right," agreed Jin Huang. "In this battle, more than anything else, strategy and quick thinking will be the deciding factors."

***

Sei Yu adjusted her sword stance once more, holding her sword horizontally with her left palm at the bottom of the hilt. Tianlan did the same and their swords started to glow pink before bursting into clouds of lotus petals which floated around the two.

This was the third stance of the Lotus Series: Thousand Lotus.

These clouds of lotus petals could be controlled through the user's mental energy and could be moved freely within a certain radius. Each petal was razor-sharp and would be able to slice through skin upon contact.

However, Thousand Lotus was still a close-combat technique. The further away the petals were from the user, the less power they would have.

That being the case, Sei Yu and Tianlan closed the distance between them, commanding their petals to attack and defend as necessary. When they got close to each other, the petals were locked in a stalemate, each side trying to find an opening in the other's defence.

The obvious weakness of Thousand Lotus, when faced against itself, was that, barring any other weapons, it was difficult to overcome an opponent who was at a similar level. Whenever one side attacked, the other could defend by simply mirroring their actions.

The determining factor, then, was each fighter's close-quarters combat ability.

Once the two were within striking distance of each other, Sei Yu took the initiative. She stepped in and launched a kick at Tianlan's side. He blocked it using his forearm and returned with a jab, which she deflected before going for a body blow.

Tianlan caught her fist and pulled her in close, placing his foot in her path to trip her, but she chopped at his hand, causing him to loosen his grip, before crouching down and thrusting her elbow into his abdomen.

The hit was shallow. Tianlan had stepped back to lessen the impact and grabbed her arm once more, this time lifting her up into the air.

She went with the flow and used Tianlan's force against him by bringing her knee up to his face, but Tianlan twisted her arm, causing her to rotate in the air, throwing her attack off course. He then grabbed her robe and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her body to the ground.

The impact caused her to cough and her vision grew blurry, but Tianlan didn't give her any room to breathe. He raised his foot to stamp down on her abdomen, but she waved her hand, summoning a cl.u.s.ter of petals which attacked Tianlan from behind, forcing him to abandon his attack.

Sei Yu used the brief moment of distraction to get back on her feet then gathered ten petals, one for each of her fingers, that she used as sharp nails.

She rushed in and thrusted her straightened fingers at Tianlan's face. He dodged and she changed her attack to a chop, slicing down toward his chest, but Tianlan used Falling Lotus to drop down low before using his arms to create a rotational force and swung his legs in a circle, attacking Sei Yu's side.

Sei Yu stepped back to avoid Tianlan's first kick but came in to grab his leg on the second, using her claws to dig into his flesh. But underneath his clothes, Tianlan's leg was coated in a layer of petals which blocked her piercing attack.

While she was still squeezing, Tianlan used her strength to lift himself from the ground and swung his free leg across the air to her face.

She pushed him away, avoiding his kick, but then she saw a blast of lotus petals flying towards her from behind him.

She called her own petals to intercept the attack, but Tianlan antic.i.p.ated this and had already stepped in with Piercing Lotus, landing a solid palm strike on her abdomen, causing her to fly some distance away.

She coughed as her body bounced off the ground and only managed to get back on her feet after three impacts.

While she was racked with pain, her lotus petals lost their support and were overwhelmed by Tianlan's.

***

"It looks like Sister Yu is at a disadvantage when it comes to hand-to-hand combat," commented w.a.n.g Kun.

"Mm," agreed Jin Huang. "He's incorporating Lotus Series moves. I haven't seen that done before."

"But it seems so obvious," said Liu Fan. "Why isn't it done?"

"It seems obvious now that you've seen it," said w.a.n.g Kun. "But you have to realise that pract.i.tioners of the Lotus Series generally use an extra sword while in the third stance. They're not used to fighting with their hands."

"Then why doesn't Yu jiejie use another sword?"

"Because her opponent hasn't done so. He seems to be confident in his hand-to-hand abilities, and rightly so. This brief display isn't much to go off of, but I would say he ranks among the best in the sect in that regard."

"But…"

"It's too soon to worry. After all, there's a reason why pract.i.tioners of the Lotus Series allow themselves to be comparatively weaker at unarmed combat. From the fourth stance onward, that problem is covered."

***

When Sei Yu looked back up, she could see Tianlan and his lotus petals rapidly approaching.

She recalled her petals and they combined to form the shape of her sword once more. She then held the sword with the blade pointed down and one palm on top of its hilt.

When he saw this, Tianlan stopped his approach and watched carefully.

After taking a breath, Sei Yu let the sword fall to the ground, and instead of colliding with the surface, it slipped through as if the ground was made of water. In fact, it caused ripples to spread out on the arena floor before the entire area was converted to a pool of knee-deep water.

Both Sei Yu and Tianlan managed to remain on the water's surface and lotuses started to appear around Sei Yu. Once they had all formed, they broke into countless lotus petals, forming a giant swirling vortex around her.

This was the fourth stance of the Lotus Series. Million Lotus.

Tianlan realised that the third stance was no match for what Sei Yu had just done, so he repeated her actions, causing his own swarm of petals to appear.

Sei Yu took the initiative once again, using Piercing Lotus to close the distance between them.

There was a difference between this Piercing Lotus and those that came before. This time, the legion of lotus petals rushed forward together with Sei Yu, forming a storm that rocketed towards Tianlan.

Tianlan didn't stand still. He performed his own Piercing Lotus, meeting Sei Yu head-on.

The two attacks nullified each other, causing the lotus petals to rain down onto the water. Tianlan took the opportunity to launch another Piercing Lotus without the aid of his petals, aiming to close the gap.

Both sides knew that Tianlan had the upper hand in unarmed combat, so Sei Yu knew he would try to get as close as possible. That was why she had already prepared to use Fleeting Lotus, creating s.p.a.ce between herself and Tianlan.

Once her petals had returned to her, she shifted her water jets to convert her backward propulsion into rotational force, performing a Sweeping Lotus.

Like Piercing Lotus, Sweeping Lotus was also augmented when in the Million Lotus stance. Instead of an arc, the sea of lotus petals around her swirled in a full circle creating a deadly spinning disk.

Tianlan knew that this technique would defeat his Piercing Lotus, so he jumped, bringing his petals up into the air with him, aiming to land in the dead zone near Sei Yu's body where there weren't any petals.

But Sei Yu had expected this. Tianlan had already demonstrated that Stinging Lotus was an effective counter to Sweeping Lotus. That's why she again used Fleeting Lotus to create some s.p.a.ce while Tianlan was still in midair.

Once she was far enough away, she spread her arms out, dispersing her lotus petals, then brought her hands together, causing them to attack Tianlan from four directions simultaneously.

She had launched four remote Piercing Lotuses.

Tianlan extended his arm toward the ground and created a link to it using his petals then used Falling Lotus immediately followed by Sweeping Lotus to defend against the four Piercing Lotuses.

Sei Yu had expected this as well. In fact, it was exactly how she had hoped he would respond. She raised her hands to the sky, causing a storm of lotus petals to burst out from the water beneath Tianlan's feet.

This was Skyward Lotus.

Tianlan quickly used Fleeting Lotus to escape the attack area, but he wasn't able to completely avoid the attack and suffered some injuries to his arms.

Just when he had escaped the Skyward Lotus, he sensed another Sweeping Lotus coming from behind him. Sei Yu had predicted his path of retreat and had circled around to intercept him.

Tianlan didn't attempt to escape. Taking a leaf out his opponent's book, he adjusted his water jets to add rotational force to his backward momentum, then used Falling Lotus to quickly lower his stance before jumping into the air and over Sei Yu's Sweeping lotus.

While in the air, Tianlan manoeuvred his body such that it was parallel to the ground and opened his arms as he continued to spin. He then performed a Sweeping Lotus, creating a circular saw that bore down on Sei Yu, completely bypa.s.sing her own Sweeping Lotus.

Sei Yu was caught off guard by Tianlan's improvised move and didn't have enough time to get away, so she called all of her lotuses back to her side, forming a hard sh.e.l.l around her body.

This was the ultimate defence of the Million Lotus stance: Budding Lotus.

Tianlan's Sweeping Lotus landed solidly but Sei Yu's Budding Lotus came out of it unscathed.

***

"This is interesting," said Jin Huang.

"What is?" asked Bo Jian.

"That Sister Yu decided to use Budding Lotus."

"Why is that?" asked Liu Fan.

"Like Kun said, she doesn't want a battle of attrition. But using Budding Lotus is contrary to that."

"Why?"

"Because, unless the opponent is much stronger, there's no technique in the Million Lotus stance that can break it," answered Jin Huang. "Well, there is one, but it's a minute realm technique that even Sister Yu hasn't learnt yet."

"Then is she trying to catch her breath?"

"No," said w.a.n.g Kun. "I don't think she's choosing to hide behind a wall. This is a challenge. She wants to see if her opponent can break it."

"Oh? You think so?" asked Jin Huang.

"Mm. She's always wondered why the Lotus Series' own offences couldn't match its defence below the minute realm. Perhaps she thinks this opponent knows something."

***

Tianlan observed Sei Yu's Budding Lotus and could see that it didn't have any particularly weak spots. He stepped back before charging at it with Piercing Lotus, but his attack didn't put so much as a scratch on it.

He then raised his arm, performing a Skyward Lotus before swinging it down, controlling the petals to fall back down with some force. He did this a few times until the power of his improvised Stinging Lotus was close enough to that of his Skyward Lotus.

He then used Fleeting Lotus to retreat to the far end of the arena before reversing his water jets, launching himself towards Sei Yu's Budding Lotus once more.

After building up some speed, he started to adjust the water jets, adding rotational force to his forward momentum, increasing his rotation speed until he was a blur.

When he was satisfied, he used Falling Lotus to lower his centre of gravity and called his lotus petals to spin with him, forming a moving Sweeping Lotus.

He waited for the right time to jump high into the air, bringing his swirling lotus petals with him, and at the peak of his rise, he rotated his body such that he was falling face-first to the Budding Lotus. He then thrusted his arm out towards Sei Yu, performing a Stinging Lotus which caused the lotus petals to form a spinning cone which drilled into the Budding Lotus.

***

"Drilling Lotus!" Jin Huang shot out of his seat. "How is that possible?"

"What's Drilling Lotus?" asked Liu Fan. "And why is it so shocking?"

"It's the move I mentioned earlier. The only one that can break through Budding Lotus below the fifth stance. But it's something only minute realm cultivators can pull off."

"Maybe he's in the minute realm then," said Bo Jian. "It would explain why he dared to challenge Sister Yu."

"No," said w.a.n.g Kun. "Even if he is in the minute realm, the Drilling Lotus he's performing isn't its proper form. This is an improvisation that's not making use of the abilities of a minute realm cultivator. I'm still of the thought that you are the primary cause for this particular situation."

"…" Liu Fan had gotten tired of trying to teach w.a.n.g Kun to be tactful. She would continue tomorrow.

"This really is something," said Jin Huang. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have said it wasn't possible."

"Is it really that impressive?" asked Liu Fan.

"You would know if you studied the Lotus Series at all. The amount of fine-grained control needed to do this is something else. He must have a monstrous training method for his mental energy."

***

Tianlan's attack proved to be quite effective. As he continued to rotate, cracks began to form on Sei Yu's Budding Lotus. It would break in only a matter of seconds.

Of course, she knew this.

Before Tianlan's attack could completely break through, the Budding Lotus opened on its own, and when it did, Tianlan and his attack were a.s.saulted by a violent explosion, causing Tianlan to be thrown backwards, his body skipping along the water's surface repeatedly before he was able to get back on his feet.

When he looked over to Sei Yu, he could see that she was standing in the middle of a giant lotus and holding a glowing pink sword which was rapidly crumbling to pieces which faded away upon contact with the water.

She stepped off the lotus and returned to the water's surface.

Behind her, the giant lotus broke up into countless petals, some of which grouped together to form a number of glowing pink swords which rained down onto the water, not sinking, but instead piercing the surface as if it were solid ground.

This was the fifth stance: Blooming Lotus.

Once Tianlan had seen this, he mimicked her, producing his own swords which similarly pierced the water's surface without sinking.

The two dashed toward each other, both picking up swords along the way before they clashed.

Sei Yu mimicked Tianlan's move of combining Piercing Lotus with Sweeping Lotus to create a spinning disk around herself, and Tianlan jumped into the air, intending to use Stinging lotus.

Sei Yu knew what he would do, so she grabbed an additional sword and circulated her qi, causing it to break up into lotus petals which ferociously shot up to meet Tianlan's attack.

Tianlan was caught off guard by this new form of Skyward Lotus which easily defeated his Stinging Lotus. He had no choice but to mimic Sei Yu and send out a Skyward Lotus of his own.

His sword broke up into lotus petals which shot out to meet Sei Yu's attack, cancelling it out.

The impact between the two attacks caused Tianlan to remain airborne longer than expected and Sei Yu took the chance to use her other sword to launch a Piercing Lotus. Her sword broke into petals which rushed towards Tianlan who was still vulnerable.

While still in the air, water jets streamed from under Tianlan's feet, causing him to start to spin. He gathered all of the lotus petals floating around him and used Budding Lotus to defend against the incoming Piercing Lotus.

Tianlan's petals were overwhelmed, but they managed to lessen the damage he sustained, while Sei Yu's petals crumbled and faded into the water.

This was the distinguishing feature of the Blooming Lotus stance. The user could sacrifice the petals to have them produce more power than would usually be possible.

Once Tianlan was on the ground, he ignored his bleeding forearms and rushed towards Sei Yu, grabbing two swords along the way. Once he was close to her, he sent a Piercing Lotus of his own.

Sei Yu saw the petals flying toward her, but there was enough distance for her to narrowly avoid them. She immediately grabbed a sword and rushed toward Tianlan, deciding to clash with him head-on, but when she got close, she saw that he still had his two swords.

The Piercing Lotus she had avoided reversed its course, attacking her from behind.

When she realised that she had fallen into a trap, she grabbed another sword and spun around, sacrificing both swords to produce a powerful Sweeping Lotus which managed to defend against Tianlan's pincer attack.

What she didn't expect, was that Tianlan had delayed the use of one of his swords until after her Sweeping Lotus had dissipated. While she was still in the final motions of her move, he launched a Piercing Lotus directly at her.

She didn't have enough time to fully avoid the attack but it oddly didn't do much harm, leaving only shallow scratches. She didn't stop to think about it for long, quickly using Fleeting Lotus to create some distance.

The fight went on like this, becoming even more intense as it neared its end, with both sides experiencing numerous close-calls. The two fighters were evenly matched, both coming up with creative strategies to tip the scales in their favour.

***

"It looks like Sister Yu has lost this one," said Jin Huang.

"What are you talking about?" asked Bo Jian. "They're neck and neck. The fight could go either way."

"Yeah," added Liu Fan. "It's impossible to say that one side has the advantage. The tide is constantly shifting."

"That's true," said Jin Huang. "But when you look at the overall situation, you can see what's happening."

"What do you mean?"

"It's simple," answered w.a.n.g Kun. "Look at the number of swords each side has left."

Bo Jian and Liu Fan tried to count the swords, which was a little difficult because they all looked the same.

"It looks like Sister Yu has 24 and her opponent has 25," said Bo Jian.

"I counted the same," said Liu Fan. "But why is that significant?"

"Keep watching," said Jin Huang.

Bo Jian and Liu Fan watched as the fight continued, keeping count of the number of swords each side had.

"20, 21."

"17, 18."

"14, 15."

"9, 10."

At this point, the two could see what Jin Huang and w.a.n.g Kun were talking about.

"Sister Yu is one sword behind," said Bo Jian.

"But what does that mean?" asked Liu Fan. "Can't they just make more?"

"They can't," said w.a.n.g Kun. "In the fifth stance, Blooming Lotus, each sword represents a portion of the user's qi. When they run out, that means the user doesn't have sufficient qi to continue using techniques above the second stance, Dancing Lotus."

"It means Sister Yu will have to go back to using her regular sword while her opponent is still able to make use of the lotus petals," added Jin Huang. "It will be no contest at that point."

Before long, Jin Huang's and w.a.n.g Kun's prediction came true. Sei Yu's last glowing sword crumbled and her original sword resurfaced from the depths of the water. Tianlan, on the other hand, still had one sword left.

With that, Sei Yu admitted defeat.

"Man. It must feel terrible," said Bo Jian. "To lose to a junior like that. It's all my fault."

"Is that how you see it?" asked Jin Huang.

"What other way is there to see it?"

"Have you not noticed that Sister Yu didn't use her own sword? She didn't fly at all either. If she cared so much about winning this match, why wouldn't she go all out?"

"But why wouldn't she? I don't understand."

"This was a learning experience for her," said w.a.n.g Kun. "Before Lanxiang Meili joined the sect, Sister Yu was the number-one female disciple and the top pract.i.tioner of the Lotus Series. She was always the one teaching others and didn't get to learn much for herself. And when Lanxiang Meili came, she was too strong and wasn't interested in exchanging tips with Sister Yu, causing the situation to effectively stay the same. But this match was different."

"That's right," said Jin Huang. "It was clear to see the entire time that the two of them were sharpening each other. The Sister Yu who comes out of this match is at an entirely different level than the one who went in. I'm sure she has many comprehensions to digest right now."

"There's something that bothers me about her opponent," said w.a.n.g Kun. "It almost feels like he isn't a pract.i.tioner of the Lotus Series."

"So you thought so too," said Jin Huang.

"What are the two of you talking about?" asked Liu Fan. "He was clearly using the Lotus Series just now."

"I know," said Jin Huang. "But there was something off about him. The execution of his moves was exactly the same as Sister Yu's, down to the placement of his fingers."

"Isn't that normal for people who use the same style?"

"No," said Jin Huang. "Most people will have their own unique spin on the techniques to best match their individual physique. Some will grip the sword tighter, some looser. Some will place their hands higher on the hilt, some lower. How much distance you put between each hand, which hand you put in front, how close your feet are and which way they point. All of these are places where differences can appear, but everything about his techniques was exactly the same as Sister Yu's."

"There's more," said w.a.n.g Kun. "I noticed that he didn't use any techniques that Sister Yu hadn't already used. The only exceptions were his improvised Drilling Lotus, which was a combination of things he had already seen, and his Million Lotus stance Stinging Lotus, which he seemed to practice first before actually using it."

"I did think it was strange that he wasted his time using those Skyward Lotus moves followed by those weak Stinging Lotuses on the Budding Lotus," said Jin Huang. "You're saying he was practising using Stinging Lotus because he hadn't seen Sister Yu use it first?"

"I can't say for sure, but it feels that way."

"That's a really scary thought."

"Why?" asked Liu Fan.

"Because it means he might have come into this fight not knowing the Lotus Series at all," said Jin Huang. "The implication is that he learnt the technique by watching Sister Yu. And, on top of that, he was immediately able to match her proficiency, skipping the years of effort she put in to reach that level."

Liu Fan's eyes opened wide.

"That can't be true, right?"

"Who knows?" said w.a.n.g Kun. "But there are other explanations. For example, he might have copied her style as a handicap. Maybe he wanted to prove that he could beat her with her own techniques. I don't know why he would do that, but it's a plausible explanation."

"I think I like that one much better," said Liu Fan.

"But I get the feeling it's the first one," said w.a.n.g Kun.

"…"

***

Sei Yu watched as the last of her swords crumbled and her original sword resurfaced from the water.

"I admit defeat," she said.

"Then from now on, I don't want to hear you," said Tianlan.

The first step of his plan had been completed. He had publicly displayed his strength, which would help to strengthen his following actions.

He disengaged the sword technique, causing his original sword to spring forth from the water and the arena to return back to normal.

After that was done, he mustered the remainder of his qi to amplify his voice.

"This is Shao Tianlan, the number-one new disciple. Some of you might know me from a certain wanted poster in the Mission Hall. I'm here to issue a public challenge to the whole sect. If any of you want to accept that mission, then beat me in a duel first, otherwise, leave me alone. If you choose to ignore my challenge and come to trouble me anyway, then I'll cripple your cultivation base."

He then turned to leave the arena and noticed the shocked gazes of the spectators. They caused him to realise that he had been incredibly rude just now, so he amplified his voice once more.

"Sorry to disturb you."