The change in venues was a feint, for those cultivators that were not experienced enough or paranoid enough, they would have assumed that round was over. They would be wrong. The walls removed, the stage reset, because with my win there were only two participants left. My perception was still extended as far as possible, so I reacted instantly, diving to the ground and rolling onto my back so that I could see who just launched an attack.
The Heavens must have been laughing at my misfortune. Or they had conspired to place me in this position. Of course, my final opponent would be Braun. It was no surprise that he had found a hole to hide in and wait for the round to end. I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't been warned that this would happen. Instructed to find a place and hide so that he would be one of the finalists for the round.
It was probably why he had enough foresight to attack me before I understood what was going on, and the change in the arena wasn't a signal the bout was over but that it had entered the end-stage.
From the fear and anger that was flickering across his face, I had to believe that I was the last person he wanted to face too. But I was quick to realize that I didn't need to worry about how his father would react, about how the faction that supported him would retaliate. The Emperor had given me an out.
I had hoped to earn a spot in the new Sect that was being offered, but now that hope became determination. I would gain a spot, so what happened here was of no consequence, except as a stepping stone.
I didn't bother to pick up the Tessen I had dropped, or retrieve my Bow from my spatial ring. My anger and frustration over how Braun and his people had treated me the past year required a more direct approach.
Rising from the ground, having evaded his attack, I rushed forward. No weapons, just my anger and Qi. [Lightning's Rush] to get me in range, and to increase the speed of each blow and kick I delivered. I wanted to feel his flesh caving under my hands. I wanted to feel skin tearing and blood spurting. I wanted to feel his bones break.
And my Tessen and Bow would not allow me the visceral experience that a year of pent up frustration and anger required.
He attempted to defend himself. But his skill with the sword was a shallow thing before my anger. I batted it aside and disarmed him easily, continuing my relentless strikes and kicks. I knew I couldn't kill him, the protections in place would remove him from the arena when or if any of my blows did permanent damage. Or would have killed him.
But that left so much that I could do. So much pain I could inflict. And even in my rage, my actions were directed by logic. I wanted him hurt, bleeding, and broken. But I also wanted my vengeance to last longer than a few blows.
He deserved my wrath, and I would not be denied.
I danced a fine line between venting my anger and attacking and accepting his counter-attacks. If I wanted my pound of flesh, I needed to make it appear that we were closely matched, that I was taking damage as well. So, I let the occasional blow land. A shot to the kidneys, a black eye. These small injuries were nothing compared to the damage I did in return.
But they satisfied the Judges that I wasn't simply suppressing Braun. The crowd roared in approval, their chants echoing with the pounding of my blood, increasing my exultation as I watched him bleed. As I tasted his fear.
Until finally I miscalculated and went to drive my fingers into his eyes, planning on blinding him. I did manage to keep myself from falling when his body vanished; the Judges deciding he had lost.
"Winner, Jay Myche. Flowing Water Sect," I heard before the venue changed once more, and I was summarily ejected from the array.
"Congratulations, Sect member," Tibes the young servant that had been assigned to our people said to me, bowing as I exited the illusion array. "You are one of five people from your Sect that have advanced to the next round."
"If you would follow me, there have been rooms set aside where you can heal and cultivate to restore any Qi you may have expended. The rooms are configured towards an individual, so you won't need to be worried about privacy. And, the room may be sealed to allow you to meditate until you are selected for the next duel.
"The judges have allowed an hour to recollect yourself before the next bout," he finished. I wondered if the others from my Sect had won so quickly that he had been able to escort each of them, or if Dragon Spire Sect had reassigned servants to guide my fellow Sect members and he was simply kept appraised of our successes.
If Tibes had escorted each of us, I wondered what that said about my fight. It had to have lasted longer than most. That wouldn't surprise me, I had tried to use stealth and deception to stay out of combat as long as possible, as had Braun. Perhaps my fellow Sect members had been assigned to different environmental illusions. Illusions that made it much easier to find and confront opponents.
Yvonne met me at the meditation room I was escorted to. Unlike the first phase where contestants had all been clustered and grouped together, this time around we were sequestered, placed in single occupant rooms, and not allowed to speak with mentors or each other. I approved of that approach; it meant my skill-sets, attack patterns, and the extra armor along with the spatial pockets built into my armor would not be shared, my movements and strategies could not be telegraphed to the next person I might be fighting.
"I asked for permission to speak with you between bouts," Yvonne said instead of greetings. "I watched your fight, and I wanted to get your take on how the spatial pockets and material release worked. When I installed the spatial devices to the armor, I admit I thought your idea a gimmick at best, but it appeared to be functional and useful from what I could see.
"The cloth seemed to resonate with your Qi and was responsive, moving as you directed it instantly. Even the spooling and cutting of material came as a surprise. I and my Master wondered how you could control the material as it exited the spatial device?"
"How I controlled the way the material was released or the material itself during the fight?" I asked seeking to clarify what it was she was interested in.
"Both," she admitted.
"I'm not sure how to explain why the material emptied out of the spatial devices in a stream of fabric rather than as a bolt of cloth," I said. "I can only guess that the bags of holding responded to my intent, the same way it would respond if you wanted to withdraw an item.
"I'm sure one of the artificers that work with spatial constructs could explain why this is the case, I don't have the background to speculate. All I know is that the dimensional pockets allow me to add and withdraw cloth as I need."
"Why would you think something like that would work?" Yvonne asked. "It shouldn't have."
"Maybe that's why it did," I suggested. "The spatial pockets worked exactly as I thought they would, I had no preconceived notion that it couldn't work. Maybe, in this case, my ignorance about functionality gave me an advantage.
"I believed I could manipulate items within the spatial device to spool out in whatever lengths I required, and my Qi fed the bags a stream of energy to allow it to happen. I think normally when items are added or removed, there is a burst of Qi that opens and closes the device in response. My method feeds a small trickle of Qi keeping the pockets you added to the armor open the entire time the cloth is spooling."
"I think my control of the cloth may factor in too," I informed her.
"Possible," she agreed. "How were you able to connect your Qi and manipulate the cloth so completely?"
"I bought bolts of enchanted silk," I answered. "The same cloth that is used in creating the dresses that serve as armor for the competition.
"When I had the dress armor commissioned, I spent a bit of time and money finding tailors and merchants that would be willing to part with the cloth that had already had enchantments woven into the fibers that make up that cloth. The spider silk that is used has been steeped with Dharmic magics, each thread allowed to absorb the energies from vats of solution that have been enchanted to maintain a constant supply of Dharmic Qi.
"I spent the time to bind the cloth to my Qi signature the same way I did the dress armor the tournament required me to enter the competition wearing. Just as I would be able to control the folds of fabric that made up the dress, I was able to control the reams of loose cloth as weapon and shield."
"Four different sections of cloth at once?" Yvonne said in disbelief.
"How I am able to split my Qi resources touches upon my cultivation, and the techniques I practice. What or how I manipulated my Qi, or how I used my Qi are my secrets to hold," I warned.
"If someone wants to replicate my methodology, let them figure out for themselves how to do it. No cultivator would be willing to detail the inner workings, the knowledge they have gained as they practice and learn the nuances of their Qi."
"That isn't entirely true," Yvonne mused.
"You're right, there are exceptions," I agreed. "But those exceptions only apply between master and student.
"You fit neither of those roles," I pointed out not worried that she might take insult at my declaration. She wouldn't be ill-mannered enough to hold a grudge against a maxim that pervaded the world of cultivation. If she did, my judgment as to what kind of person she was, was flawed.