Anthony could feel his heart pounding, his blood boiled in excitement. He couldn't wait to try out his strength.
"This Martial Contest is being held today to determine the most skilled youths in Bamboo Root Town this year. A typical bracket system will be used to determine the matchups. Who you are paired up with will be determined by drawing a token from this box here," Lord Ironfist said, pointing to a glossy wooden box that sat on a pedestal next to him. "The winners of the first bracket will then be placed into another bracket, where they will once again fight to determine the winners. The winners of this bracket will then face each other in a round robin, with each person getting to fight each other competitor. Each win at this stage will count as one point. A draw counts as nothing and a loss will deduct one point from your score. Are the rules clear for everyone?"
The youths present all nodded vigorously. The rules laid out by Lord Ironfist left the decision of choosing an opponent up to chance and the finalists had a chance to prove their chance against all the other competitors.
"Good, now step up and draw your lots," Lord Ironfist boomed.
The youths lined up in front of Lord Ironfist, reaching into the wooden box and drawing a lot. After drawing, they would give their number to an attendant who kept track of the bracket on a large sheet of paper.
Anthony waited patiently for his turn. He reached into the wooden box and draw a wooden token. 33. He walked over to the attendant and gave him the token. He stole a peek at the paper. Number 33 was matched with number 13, Wu Lei.
He walked back to the Zhen Clan and sat beside Da Ren. "My first opponent is Wu Lei," Anthony whispered to Da Ren, "Is he strong?"
Da Ren chuckled, "Cheating is very unsportsmanlike, my lord. No matter, all the youths here would use every little bit of information to gain an edge over their opponent." He looked over at the Wu Lei, a thin boy with wild, bushy hair. "I believe that Wu Lei uses a staff, my lord. That means his reach is much farther than yours and is great in close quarters as well. A staff user is the worst kind of opponent for one using their fists."
Anthony's heart sank. He easily recognized this. The staff could be used for sweeping and stabbing with great range and could be wielded closer to the middle of the staff in close combat. It was an incredibly versatile weapon with few major weaknesses. "How could I overcome his weapon?" Anthony asked.
Da Ren nodded. "The staff can be viewed as an extension of one's arms, my lord. If you can pin the staff down against your body or the ground, it'll be quite easy to disarm him and defeat him with your superior fist skills. A staff user is also left open when he does wide sweeping motions. Try to close the distance when this happens and attack him before he can retract the staff and defend himself with it."
Anthony took the advice to heart and marveled at Da Ren's seemingly endless knowledge about martial arts. He felt like Da Ren had an answer for everything.
The first bout had started. It was between a small, mousy youth name Feng Bao, and a huge youth of the Li Clan, Li Guan. The two had exchanged some blows, the smaller Feng Bao ending up worse off than the muscular Li Guan.
They circled each around the dirt arena that a retainer of Lord Ironfist had conjured, occasionally feinting at each other. Then, all of a sudden, Li Guan dashed at Feng Bao with surprising speed and grabbed the smaller youth. Li Guan lifted Feng Bao up and slammed his adversary into the ground. A shrill yelp rang out and two of Lord Ironfists men dashed out to stop the fight.
Feng Bao was curled up on the ground, tears streaming from his eyes. He had shattered his arm and pieces of bloody bone jutted out from awkward angles. His wimpers drew a sneer from Li Guan.
One of Lord Ironfists men reached into a pouch and poured a vial of red liquid on Feng Bao's wounds. Instantly the bone retracted and the skin began to stitch itself up.
Da Ren watched this ordeal with raised eyebrows. Anthony noticed this and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"That was a Blood Bone Potion, my lord," Da Ren said. "Each is worth a small fortune, and Lord Ironfist is using it to treat a strangers wounds."
Anthony nodded, "Is Lord Ironfist really that wealthy?"
"I doubt it, my lord," Da Ren said, shaking his head. "It's more likely he's found himself an alchemist capable of brewing the potion."
It took four more bouts before it was Anthony's turn to step into the arena. They lasted longer than Li Guan's match, with none of the brutality of the first match. The winners of the bouts were all youths from the three clans of Bamboo Root Town.
"Anthony Guo, representing the Zhen Clan, and Wu Lei, representing the Wu Clan," the attendant called. This drew whispers from the onlookers. It was rare for the big clans to have outsiders represent them in the Martial Contests.
Anthony made his way into the arena, wrapping cloth around his fists, like Da Ren had taught him. This wouldn't help much with the impact of his punches, but would prevent any skin scraping off his knuckles. Wu Lei's entrance was much flashier. He jumped in, spinning his staff and landing in low stance.
"Fighters, ready? Set, go!" the attendant shouted.
They were off! Anthony jumped at Wu Lei, trying to catch the thin youth by surprise. He used his Twisting Gale Steps to avoid the youth's startled swing. He punched out at Wu Lei's core, but was blow back in surprise as the back of Wu Lei's staff slammed into his gut.
He felt the wind get knocked out of him and he nearly crumpled to the ground. Anthony quickly dodged to the side as Wu Lei stabbed at him with his staff, the tip grazing his shirt. Anthony cursed and lashed out, but again was caught by Wu Lei's quick staff. It pounded on Anthony's shoulder and a sharp flash of pain shot through his arm.
Using Twisting Gale Steps, Anthony retreated a few paces in an instant to give himself some breathing room. His watched Wu Lei carefully, not wanting to taste the staff once again.
Wu Lei was feeling confident at this point. His staff easily gave him an advantage over Anthony. All he needed to do was to wear his opponent down and finish him with a powerful blow. He wouldn't even need to use his secret skill.
Something clicked within Anthony's mind and he began formulating his attack strategy. He dashed at Wu Lei, pushing his Twisting Gale Steps to the limit. He feinted to the left and lowered his body. As he had expected, Wu Lei whipped his staff at him, leaving the right side of his body exposed. At the last second, Anthony jumped up, over the staff and over to Wu Lei's exposed side. He instantly dropped low into a horse stance and punched with both fists. This was the final fist form of Roaring Tigers Dance. A tiger afterimage could been seen as Wu Lei was sent flying, blood spewing from his mouth.
Wu Lei landing on his back a few feet and, but was quickly back on his feet, wiping the blood away from his mouth. "I seem to have underestimated you," he grinned, showing his bloody teeth. "But, no matter, I'm getting serious now."