Behind the high walls and potent formations protecting the Pure Edge Sword Sect, several promising young disciples watched with slack jaws and wide open eyes as one of their fellows dominated half of the training yard. In theory, as a Brawler under twenty years of age, Fan Chaoyang held the same status as all of the other young talents in the courtyard but only a fool would place him in the same category as most of the people surrounding him.
Polished silver sword-light gathered around him, forming a dozen blade-shadows that mirrored the movements of the shining sword in his hand. Around him, six junior disciples hurled razor-sharp daggers as rapidly as they could. Sweat formed on their brows as they tried to work in tandem to overwhelm their senior brother's defenses but no matter how many knives they threw, each one was deflected harmlessly away by either the sword in his hand or one of the blade-shadows around him.
