"Lords and Ladies, cultivators all," an official from the arena announced, using a trace of martial energy to amplify his voice loud enough to be heard in all corners of the small arena. "Today, two newcomers will fight to the death for your entertainment! Emerging from the Ruby Gate, San the Blood Tiger of the Mountain's Bones gang!"
Before San himself emerged from the door, two mortal servants appeared, dragging a practice dummy that held a thick iron shield.
"Since Blood Tiger is new to our arena, he offers this demonstration of his might," the employee called. "May his demonstration guide your bets!"
In the stands, Xiong Dahuo scowled at the display and Zhang Buyan shook his head in disgust. Wasn't this a fight to the death between two irreconcilable foes? Why did they have to engage in such shameful pageantry for the crowd as though it was nothing more than entertainment?
When San stalked out of the gate, the murderous aura surrounding him seemed to agree with the feelings of Wu Ling's companions. Dark, blood-red energy flowed across his body like the stripes of a tiger and his eyes had turned a deep amber color. Even his pupils had shifted, elongating until they were shaped like the eyes of a tiger.
"Bring me Xiang!" San roared, lashing out with his powerful arms. Energy surged, forming long, curved claws at the ends of his fingers. When he struck out at the thick iron shield, he left such deep gouges in the metal that you could see through the gaps to the dummy behind the shield! "My. Claws. Can't. Wait!"
While Wu Ling and his companions felt this made a mockery of a serious fight to the death, the spectators who were only interested in carnage cheered at the dominating way this newcomer entered the arena. So long as he survived today's match, he was sure to draw the attention of a few forces in the city who cultivated their own stables of professional fighters. Already, several men were rushing to the employee by the slate board, prepared to place bets before the start of the fight.
"Entering from the Emerald Gate," the announcer continued as the mortal servants dragged the target dummy away. "Fairy Su Xiang of the Shining Blade Hall!"
When Su Xiang entered the arena, the reaction was considerably different from when San had.
"Kill her!"
"Tear her apart!"
"Death to the Inquisitors!"
"Booo!"
"She shouldn't have told them about her sect," Zhang Buyan said, shaking his head. "This isn't a place where it will make her any friends."
"You know her by now," Wu Ling said softly. "If they asked, she would never lie."
"As a newcomer," the announcer continued. "Fairy Su offers this demonstration."
Despite the boos and jeers from the crowd, Su Xiang's eyes hadn't left San's from the moment she entered the arena. Seeing the damage he'd done to the iron shield was more than enough to convince her that she'd made the right decision to stand here in Wu Ling's place. Her sworn brother was powerful, perhaps even more powerful now that he'd broken through, but he didn't have the body of a martial cultivator. He couldn't resist the claws of a man like San the way she could.
Gathering a pure, silvery light around herself, Su Xiang drew the nameless blade Wu Ling had given her at the start of their expedition. The light grew brighter and brighter until it banished all shadows from the stage and cloaked her in a pure, almost holy radiance of sword energy.
A breath after the sword light had reached its brightest, her sword flashed out in a complicated series of strikes at blinding speed. In less than two breaths of time, her sword had struck out nearly two dozen times, surrounding her with an aura of phantom sword lights that took several breaths to fade away.
The technique 'Weaving A Net Of Swords' was the most advanced one in the first stage of Yun Kong's unfinished manual. As a Brawler, she could only wrap herself in the net, but if she managed to break through, it would allow her to bestow a powerful protection on the ones she held most dear.
Once the swordlight faded away, a few people in the audience blinked, unsure what the young swordswoman's demonstration was supposed to convey. Was this the extent of her power? A few flashy moves and a show of light? If she wanted to impress them, shouldn't she have used that dazzling array of strikes to inflict damage on something as simple as a target? While she might not possess the armor-rending strength of San the Blood Tiger, many speed fighters had displayed their skill against the carcass of a pig or dear to demonstrate how lethal their lightning-quick stikes were, but this girl, she gave them nothing but a light show!
"That's, that's not possible, is it?" Fang Lin whispered as he looked at the energy settling in around Su Xiang. "She hasn't reawakened yet. She's not a scholar, so how could she do that?"
"What is it, Brother Fang," Yu Jinqi asked, puzzled at the young lord's words. "I'm not seeing anything unusual."
"That's because you're an alchemist," Fang Lin said, his eyes never leaving Su Xiang's form as she squared off against San. "If I didn't know it was impossible, I'd suspect her of practicing Sword Formations. Those sword strikes of hers," he said, gaining confidence in his words as he spoke. "They weren't wasted. I think… I think she can unleash them at any time!"
"So Brother Fang can see it too," Zhang Buyan said with a smile. "Sister Su has been practicing this technique very hard. San won't be able to get close to her without suffering several painful blows."
"I don't know that that's enough to stop him," Wu Ling said, his brows lowered in worry. "You've all seen my flock of Blade Winged Birds. If what she's doing is similar to that… I unleashed my birds on everyone in the room before I questioned Nalan Jiang. That included San," he explained. "Yet, here he stands, despite being struck directly in the neck. His body cultivation is surprisingly strong. Su Xiang's technique may not be enough to keep her safe."
"Have faith in her, Sister Qianhu," Xiong Dahuo said confidently. "She's fighting for you. Since it's for you, it's impossible for her to lose."