"It was a tournament match," I replied dryly as I lay on the bed, helpless and unmoving. "We got a little…heated."

"I can certainly see that," Teacher Yi Liao remarked with a disapproving shake of her head. "Try not to kill each other, all right? The academy has invested a lot in you students. To lose even one would be a huge loss."

"I"ll try."

Even as I said that, I was aware that my promise was hollow at best. It wasn"t that I really wanted to kill my opponents, but death was inevitable. Throughout the past month, there had been a few deaths when the combatants got a little too over-zealous and inadvertently killed their opponents. Of course, we all signed the indemnity form, so no one would be held responsible in the event of death, but the academy rules had stipulated that such incidents were best avoided at all costs. There were a few grievances and grudges, particularly from the friends, families and loved ones of the dead, but in general everyone in the martial world knew the risks and understood that death was always a hair"s breadth away. No one truly blamed the combatants.

They knew that in another instance, it would have been the other way around. Kill or be killed. The moment you step into the ring, you had to be prepared for death.

However, that didn"t stop Teacher Yi from being in a bad mood. She had been busy treating the injuries from morning till night, working nonstop during this month because of the tournament. This wasn"t the first time I had been to her office, but it was certainly the first time I had suffered such serious injuries during the tournament.

Fortunately, she had help from healing experts and doctors from the Green Dragon Sect and various other sects and groups that focused on healing and medicine, otherwise she would be overworked, swamped by almost four hundred students everyday. Already the infirmary had been expanded into a hospital to accommodate the wounded.

"Geez, you really ought to be careful," Teacher Yi repeated again with a scowl. "Don"t go too crazy out there. I know it"s a tournament, but your lives are more important than winning. It"s meaningless to win if you end up dead."

"Well, I don"t think either of us would have died, to be honest. We"re too tough for that."

Additionally, Wu Xing was wise enough to concede defeat at the end of the match instead of fighting to the death. Needless to say, I probably would have surrendered before it had gotten to that point. While I"d like to win, I wasn"t insane enough to achieve victory at the expense of my life. I had far more important things to throw away my life in a stupid tournament.

Not that the tournament was stupid. I needed a high enough ranking to convince the higher-ups at the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect that I was fit for their elite combat division, the Blood Blades. Plus having a lot more resources would benefit me more.

I hope I didn"t give myself away, though.

The whole reason why I stayed at level 6 without taking the other level tests, and kept a low profile despite finishing my a.s.similation of qi after two years of apparent inactivity, was so that I wouldn"t draw the attention from other students. They would underestimate me because they had no clue what my combat skills or techniques were like.

That tactic worked surprisingly well against Wu Hei Gui and Wu Xing, and even Tu Zi Yi, because they didn"t know my true strength. So I managed to take them by surprise while their guard was down. Otherwise I would have a much more difficult time handling someone of Wu Xing"s caliber. Even so, he finally understood that I wasn"t someone to underestimate by the end of the battle, which was how we both ended u wounding each other so severely.

Unfortunately, this strategy won"t work again. All the other partic.i.p.ants in the tournament will know my true strength now, or at least have a grasp of my current level of power.

On the other hand, the same worked in reverse as well. I had access to all of their replays and matches, so it would be easy for me to a.n.a.lyze their fighting style and exploit certain weaknesses that I could derive from their fighting patterns and techniques.

Speaking of opponents…

"How is Wu Xing doing?"

"He"s doing slightly better than you. Hui Fu is tending to him right now. His injuries will heal in no time at all." Teacher Yi made a face. "Good thing his armor protected him, or he would have suffered worse damage."

"That"s a relief."

"Yeah." Teacher Yi stared at me, an expression of amazement flickering across her face. "What the heck did you use? Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship, was it? That was one h.e.l.l of a sword technique."

I was shocked that Teacher Yi actually btohered to take note of what techniques I used, but then again, she was one of the teachers who were familiar with me. Particularly because I used to spend a lot of time in the infirmary after getting injured from fights or missions.

Actually, that wasn"t the reason. I later found out that she knew about my techniques mostly because of her intimate relationship with Teacher Jiao, who had an invested interest in my development, and heard about me learning Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship from him. Not that I cared. Who the teachers wanted to fraternize with was none of my business. Rather, I would be the first to congratulate Teacher Jiao and Teacher Yi if they eventually get married.

"Yeah. It"s one of those level five techniques that I had to spend gold to purchase from the academy."

The d.a.m.ned scroll cost me a hundred gold. It had better be worth it. That said, I was pretty sure Wu Xing"s Esoteric Five Elements Principle was worth a lot more. Maybe? I wasn"t the one in charge of valuing the different martial arts techniques, after all.

"Well, make sure you rest for today and take it easy." Teacher Yi finished up the healing process before slapping my shoulder and causing me to wince. d.a.m.n, but I was still sore from the punches I took from Wu Xing. "And congratulations for making it to the round of sixteen."

"Thanks."

That reminded me. It felt so surreal, but I had actually made it to the round of sixteen. I never expected to get this far, to be honest. But now that I had made it this far, I couldn"t help but be giddy with delight.

"Let me know if you still have any problems." Teacher Yi stared at me and forced out a statement. I realized she was waiting for me to leave. Mumbling an apology and thanking her again, I quickly hurried out of the infirmary.

Before I got through the door, I suddenly remembered something and immediately turned back to Teacher Yi, who looked a little annoyed.

"Sorry! I forgot! Where"s my training equipment?"

"Oh, over there." Teacher Yi frowned as she tilted her head. "Why were you wearing your training equipment during a match anyway? Granted, it did protect you from some of the blows, but wouldn"t it impede your movements?"

"That"s the idea," I joked while I proceeded to grab my training equipment and strapped them around my body. I shuddered when I remembered Wu Xing"s brutal punch. If I hadn"t been wearing my super-heavy training equipment, I would have sustained a much worse injury from that and perhaps even lost consciousness.

The match would have ended there and then.

"Thank you."

Bowing, I finally left the infirmary for good this time, not wanting to get in the way of Teacher Yi and her doctor duties, as well as her management of the other doctors and medical orderlies in her department. As I pa.s.sed through the infirmary, I could see

"Well, I guess I might as well go back to the dormitory…"

As I did so, I was suddenly swamped in the corridor.

"Fei Wu!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

I threw out a hand to plant my palm on Tong Xue"s forehead just before he tackled into me, holding him away at arm"s length. Frowning, I glared at him.

"What"s the idea?"

"You…you were hiding your true strength all along!"

Busted. This was what I meant when I was worried about the strategy no longer working. Most of my opponents – and they had to be competent and skillful if they were able to get into the round of sixteen – would no longer lower their guard around me and underestimate me. I wouldn"t be able to catch them by surprise…

At least not unless I use my other trump card…

"You"re in the last 16! You"ve actually made it into the round of sixteen!"

Tong Xue was babbling now. I nodded impatiently as I tried to keep him at arm"s bay.

"Uh, yeah. I was lucky. That last match against Wu Xing of Kun Lun Sect was pretty close. Just one different move and I would be the one who had lost."

I shuddered at that memory. Wu Xing had been among the strongest opponents I had faced. Stronger than even Ba Yun…then again, Wu Xing had the benefit of having about two and a half s.e.xagenaries of qi, which surpa.s.sed the amount that Ba Yun had by a mile.

The rest of the opponents could only get tougher, or be at least on par with Wu Xing. I was so not looking forward to that.

But having gotten this far, I wasn"t going to give up. h.e.l.l, no. I was going to do my best and win with everything I had!

"How about you?" I asked Tong Xue. He made a face.

"I already lost to Shi Bai and Feng Tian Yong, remember? I won"t be able to get into the last 16. I"m about third place in my group."

"Oh, right." I almost forgot, but now that Tong Xue mentioned it, I remembered him telling me that before. "What about the rest?"

"I finished middle of my group." Lian Rou seemed to show up from nowhere, though in actuality she had been following Tong Xue all this while. "Not ideal, but better than nothing."

"Nice!" I congratulated her. Lian Rou wasn"t interested in combat, despite being a martial artist, so that was still quite an accomplishment for her.

"I finished fourth," Ban Zhang told us the moment he caught up. He had heard our conversation from a mile away, and was just joining in. He sighed. "I lost too many matches. If I had won against Ying Jia, I might be third."

"Fourth is still a respectable finish," I a.s.sured him. He raised an eyebrow at me. Right. I was in no position to comfort him when I made it to the last 16. I bowed my head apologetically and then tried to change the subject. "That leaves…Qi Hong and Zhu Jiao."

"I won my match!"

Someone jumped on my back and wrapped her hands around my eyes, causing me to stumble. Giggling, Tang Qi Hong pressed her well-endowed chest against my back and leaned to whisper directly into my ear.

"Guess who?"

"Qi Hong! Congratulations!"

Tang Qi Hong let go of my eyes and slid down. She seemed to be literally dancing in joy as she pranced around the corridor.

"I won! I won! I"m at the top of my group! I"m in the round of 16! Ha ha ha ha!"

"Congratulations!"

"Great job, Qi Hong!"

"Nice work!"

Ban Zhang, Lian Rou and Tong Xue all added their praises. Tang Qi Hong seemed to preen as she basked in the glow of our congratulations.

"So Fei Wu and Tang Qi Hong," Tong Xue was nodding as he took note of our progress in his tablet. "We"ve at least two people who made it to the last 16."

"That leaves Zhu Jiao. Anyone knows what happened to him?" I glanced at the others. Zhu Jiao"s match should have finished long ago, given how it was already night and relatively late. I could easily check his progress online on my tablet but in the end, nothing beat having the person himself tell us directly.

"You guys talking about me?"

"Zhu Jiao!"

We all turned, only to see Zhu Jiao striding toward us. He grinned and waved at us. Other than looking a little battered, he seemed perfectly fine. I wondered if he had refrained from seeking treatment in the infirmary, probably because it was so crowded.

I didn"t have a choice because I had pa.s.sed out. When I woke up, I was already in the infirmary. Otherwise, I wouldn"t have bothered Teacher Yi unless absolutely necessary.

"I won my last match too! Now I"m top of my group! I"m also in the last 16!" he rubbed his hands in glee. "Now I"ve to make sure I win the next few matches so that I can keep my promise and meet Ning Xue in the finals."

"Speaking of which, do you know who your opponents will be?" I asked Tang Qi Hong and Zhu Jiao. They both shook their heads.

"The information will only be up tomorrow," Tong Xue informed me. As always, he was always the most up-to-date on current intelligence.

"We should return early and rest then. We"ll have to check our matchups tomorrow." I noticed that Zhu Jiao wasn"t exactly in his peak condition. He smiled gratefully.

"I"ll see you guys tomorrow then." He began limping away.

"You guys too," I told the rest. "You"re probably all tired from your last match…and we still have the ranking matches over the next month."

Even though the group stages were over, the other twenty-four members of the group had to face off against another fifteen opponents to decide their academy ranking. The second-placed people would face against other second-placed people, the third-ranked contestants against other third-ranked contestants, and so on and so forth.

"Yeah. Ugh." Tong Xue shuddered at the prospect. "Don"t remind me."

"Well, this is a martial arts academy. I guess it only makes sense that they emphasize on martial arts and rankings." I stretched and stifled a yawn. Looked like my time was up. I needed to rest, as per Teacher Yi"s recommendation.

"Yeah, let"s go back." Tang Qi Hong had grabbed Lian Rou and the two girls headed in the direction of the girls" dormitory. "Wu is right. We"ll need to prepare for the next phase of the tournament tomorrow."

The guys decided to walk the girls back to their dorm before returning to their rooms. While normally Tang Qi Hong and Lian Rou would return to Tushan City, the current couple of months were special. With the tournament going on, the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect allowed us to stay in campus so that we would have more time to recuperate and rest, and to focus on the combat. I suspected that Lian Rou still used the bureau of spirit armament"s workshop to continue crafting and forging spirit equipment and other artifacts, though.

Tang Qi Hong was also a skilled combatant, so she was more invested in winning the tournament and getting as far as possible than Lian Rou was. That didn"t stop her from occasionally accompanying Lian Rou in her frequent forays to the workshop. I guess Tang Qi Hong was still a blacksmith and Spirit Engraver at heart.

"What will happen if you end up facing Tang Qi Hong in the next round?" Tong Xue asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

I turned to stare at him, surprised. We had just sent the girls back, and the two of them had disappeared into the building that served as the girls" dorm. On our way back toward the guys" dorm, Tong Xue popped the question out of nowhere.

"Where did that come from?"

I was aware that Tong Xue chose this moment to ask me, right after Tang Qi Hong and Lian Rou had returned to their dormitories. It was a highly sensitive question, after all, and not one that Tang Qi Hong would appreciate hearing.

Tong Xue shrugged. "Nowhere. Just wondering how much you want to win."

He also knew that I liked Tang Qi Hong, but he probably didn"t know that she rejected me somewhat a couple of months ago, in favor of firmly establishing her position as the future sect leader of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect.

"If I do draw Qi Hong in the next round, I"ll give it my best. It"s only common courtesy." I stared hard at Tong Xue. "I would be disrespecting her otherwise if I hold back and deliberately let her win. I"m sure she feels the same."

"Yeah, that"s true." Tong Xue nodded. "You"re right about that. But after watching your fight against Wu Xing today, I"m just…a little worried."

"Well, today was a brutal match. I"ll give you that. But it"s because of the kind of opponent Wu Xing was." I paused and stared up at the stars, my eyes taking a faraway look. "But I believe Qi Hong will be a different type of opponent."

"True, their skillset and techniques are completely different," Tong Xue agreed.

"What about Zhu Jiao?" Ban Zhang asked. The three of us glanced at each other for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

"No need to even ask," Tong Xue chuckled. "Wu will definitely punch him until he knocks him out cold."

"You mean kick him," I corrected with a snicker. The other two laughed.

"Yeah, true. No need to worry about that."

"I thought you said you weren"t going to hold back against Qi Hong either?" Ban Zhang inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I"m not. But given the nature of my opponent, I don"t think a direct approach and resorting to brute strength would be appropriate."

"Ah." Ban Zhang nodded. "Fair enough. But make sure you don"t hold back. As you pointed out earlier, it"s disrespectful to pull your punches, even if the opponent is a girl. I"m sure Qi Hong would be mad if you do."

I pushed my newly repaired gla.s.ses up. "Let"s hope I don"t meet her in a match then."

*

The next morning, the six of us gathered in the plaza before we headed for the gigantic holographic bulletin board right outside the main campus building.

"Wow…how early…"

Zhu Jiao stifled a yawn. As always, he was the latest. Most likely because he overslept. At least he appeared to be in a much better shape than yesterday. A good night"s sleep was all he needed to recover from his wounds and exhaustion.

Truth be told, a night"s sleep benefited me tremendously as well. I was feeling a lot more refreshed and my body was no longer in pain.

"Ready?" Tang Qi Hong asked brightly. I nodded and inhaled deeply, vaguely registering her sweet scent.

"Yeah."

Actually, I wasn"t, but I wasn"t going to tell her that. It was best to get this done and over with.

We made our way through the plaza, which was already packed to the brim. I caught a glimpse of Bai Ning Xue, but she was so far away that she might as well not show up. Zhu Jiao caught sight of her too, and he grinned and waved.

Bai Ning Xue acknowledged his greeting with the briefest of nods, then turned away and left. On the opposite side of the plaza, Qing Xin Xia bristled, but she disappeared from sight when Li Chun Long and her fellow Green Dragon Sect disciples shepherded her away. I vaguely recalled that both Li Chun Long and Qing Xin Xia had made it to the next round as well.

They must have arrived early to check their next opponents. Well, unless they happened to be my next opponent, I couldn"t care less who they were facing. I wasn"t close to either of them. Apparently Zhu Jiao had some sort of friendship or connection to Qing Xin Xia, but I wasn"t sure. Again, it was none of my business who he befriended.

The only thing that bothered me was that he might get caught up in some troublesome love triangle. If Qing Xin Xia turned out to be a b.l.o.o.d.y yandere or something, someone"s head was going to roll. Most likely it would be that of my good friend. I could almost imagine her carrying his head while riding on a boat, after she had carved Bai Ning Xue"s stomach open to confirm that she wasn"t pregnant with Zhu Jiao"s child.

Just another instance of ordinary School Days at Wu Ling Academy.

"Hmm, who is my next opponent…eh? Ling Hua?"

Zhu Jiao stared at the name for a moment, baffled. He turned to stare at the rest of us.

"Anyone heard of her?"

"I have." As always, Tong Xue could be relied upon to provide the most information. "Ling Hua is from the Ling Huan Sect, and she"s known for her deviousness."

Zhu Jiao tilted his head, still looking as bewildered as ever. Tong Xue sighed and shook his head in disbelief.

"She"s going to be a troublesome opponent for you, Jiao. She relies on cheap tricks, underhanded tactics and cunning to overwhelm her opponent, and her Seven Spirit Swords Flower Array is a complex technique that possesses sharp, accurate and overwhelming firepower."

"Oh!" Zhu Jiao struck his palm with a fist. "So she"s really strong!"

Duh. Otherwise Ling Huan wouldn"t have made it to the round of sixteen. I couldn"t believe that was all the information Zhu Jiao got out of Tong Xue"s explanation.

Tong Xue glared at Zhu Jiao sternly. "She"s the complete ant.i.thesis of you, who rely completely on direct, frontal attacks. I don"t mean to be rude, but honestly, you"re a little…simple-minded. Ling Hua will capitalize on that and confound you with guile and trickery."

"Don"t worry." Zhu Jiao beamed. "I"ll just smash her with overwhelming power."

Tong Xue sighed, while I shook my head. Where was this guy getting all his confidence from? I wished he could share some of it with me.

"Qi Hong, who"s your next opponent?" I turned to Tang Qi Hong, who wasn"t paying Zhu Jiao any attention and was busily scanning the bulletin board for her next matchup. The moment she saw it, her eyes widened and she began trembling.

"Qi Hong."

Lian Rou must have seen it too, for she reached out and caught her hand. Tang Qi Hong bit her lip and shook her head.

"It"s all right. I"ll be all right."

"…yeah."

"What is it?" I sensed that something was terribly wrong. A cold premonition ran down my spine, causing me to shudder. The way the two girls reacted, it couldn"t be…

Tang Qi Hong turned to meet my gaze evenly.

"My next opponent is…"

"…Bai Ning Xue."

I glanced at Tong Xue when he answered for Qi Hong, who had trailed off. She was clenching her fists and staring at the ground now, looking both frightened and determined.

"…I see. Do your best."

"This isn"t something Qi Hong can take care of by doing her best!" Tong Xue hissed. "Her next opponent is that Bai Ning Xue, you know?!"

"Her chances of winning are…low," Ban Zhang muttered softly. He probably didn"t want Tang Qi Hong to hear that.

"So what?" I turned back to Tang Qi Hong. "Bai Ning Xue is not a G.o.ddess. You can beat her. I believe in you."

Tang Qi Hong smiled wryly. "I appreciate your confidence in me, but…" she sighed. "I don"t know. I just don"t know."

"It is quite the insurmountable task," Lian Rou added, turning slightly paled as she squeezed Tang Qi Hong"s hand. She was seeking to comfort her best friend, and Tang Qi Hong smiled slightly as she returned the gesture.

"The match hasn"t even begun yet, so let"s not give up before then."

"Heh." Tang Qi Hong chuckled. "Wu is right. The match has yet to begin, so why am I already so afraid? I"ll just do my best. If my aim is to be the champion of the tournament, then Bai Ning Xue is someone I have to face sooner or later. Otherwise, it makes little difference if I lose to her now, or lose to her later."

"That"s the spirit!" I encouraged her. "But I know you can defeat her!"

Zhu Jiao remained silent, having a complicated expression on his face. He certainly didn"t believe me, and clearly wanted his beloved Bai Ning Xue to win, but he was not insensitive or tactless enough to voice that out.

"Admittedly, it"ll be extremely difficult." Tang Qi Hong scratched her head and flicked a lock of blond hair away. "But…you"re right. I can"t give up! I"ve made it to the round of sixteen, after all! I"ll do my best and make the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect proud!"

"Yeah!"

I nodded and patted her shoulder. Beside her, Lian Rou also nodded and smiled somewhat uncertainly.

"I"ll be rooting for you, Qi Hong."

"Thank you, Lian Rou. I really appreciate it."

"We all are." Tong Xue grinned and joined in. Then he turned toward me. "Speaking of which, Wu, who is your opponent?"

I had almost forgotten. I quickly spun around to give the holographic board a quick scan.

"Um…Kuang Hu?"

Ban Zhang immediately turned pale. I glanced at him.

"What is it, Ban Zhang?"

"Your opponent…is that b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Kuang Hu?"

I immediately tensed at his tone. Ban Zhang swallowed and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Fei Wu, if you"re on the losing end, surrender immediately. Kuang Hu has killed at last two contestants in his group. He"s ruthless, merciless and brutal."

"Yeah, he"s quite the dangerous opponent." Tong Xue looked shaken. "Of all the contestants in the tournament, he"s the one person I don"t want to run into. You really have pretty terrible luck, Wu."

"Hmm…" I pushed my gla.s.ses up as I pondered. "It doesn"t matter. If he"s my next opponent, then I"ll fight him with everything I have."

"That"s why I"m telling you," Ban Zhang growled. "If he has you cornered, surrender immediately. Kuang Hu is literally a mad tiger. He won"t stop until you"re dead. He won"t hold back until he tears you apart." He turned pale and stumbled back, perspiring profusely. "He wiped the floor with me in just under a minute."

"You"ve got to be kidding me," I murmured, my eyes wide. Ban Zhang shook his head.

"No. he utterly dominated my group. Most of his matches ended in minutes. The ones that took longer…well, as I said, he murdered his opponents viciously. He"s a difficult opponent to face."

"He"s one of the fastest students in Wu Ling Academy." Tong Xue gulped as he consulted his tablet. "Perhaps even the fastest. Comparable to Feng Tian Yong. And like Zhang said, he"s ruthless and merciless. He"ll tear out your throat in a second if you give him the chance to, and has no hesitation to kill his opponent."

"Scary." I couldn"t help but shudder as a chill ran down my spine. "Uh…well, I"ll do my best not to get killed then."

Even though I said that, I wasn"t that fazed. I had experienced the worst that both Sen Lin Forest and the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect had thrown at me, and survived. A f.u.c.king brat without any morals was nothing to me.

If anything, I was glad that I was his next opponent. Perhaps I could teach him a lesson.

But I can"t afford to underestimate him.

The fastest student in Wu Ling Academy, one of the most talented prodigies of the White Tiger Sect, and a strong, formidable foe who had no scruples in killing his opponent. If he made it to the last 16 while utterly dominating his group, he was definitely not ordinary. If Wu Xing was anything to go by, this match would be extremely interesting.

I smiled. I was so looking forward to the round of sixteen.