The next morning, as the aspirants were about to reconvene outside for an announcement from the Kunlun disciples, the gigantic Zhu Da approached Bai Guo.
"Word from the disciples is you've had a rather impressive showing, brother Guo." His bassy voice seemed to shake the walls. "Your place in the tournament is all but assured."
"Oh, so brother Da has friends among the Kunlun disciples?" Bai Guo noted with a smile. "I suppose your spot was never under question, then?"
Zhu Da paused. The gears in his head seemed to slowly turn as he grasped the implication.
"Now I get what sister Luli meant. You really do have this arrogant air about you." Zhu Da snorted. "Are you really still bitter over our little scuffle during the race? What are you, a little girl? Get over it. It's a competition. Don't tell me you're going to hold a grudge over something so petty. We could very well be facing each other in combat soon, and you're this sore over a little shove?"
Bai Guo pretended to be surprised. "We've hardly exchanged so much as a word until now, and yet you and sister Luli have already developed such a long-winded impression of me. I didn't realize I was a topic in your conversations."
Zhu Da began to loom over him. "I came here to extend a hand in friendship, but I see that you would rather cling to petty grievances."
Bai Guo raised an eyebrow. He crossed his arms behind his back and craned up his neck to face the giant. "And are you going around offering friendship to every person you've pushed around, or are you making a special exception for me?"
"Of course you're an exception, brother Guo."
"And what makes me so exceptional, I wonder?"
"Of course, it's because you proved yourself as a true man in these trials." Zhu Da spoke as if it were a thing most obvious.
Bai Guo scoffed. "So just because we can both move the biggest rocks, we should be friends?"
Zhu Da was unamused by his remark. "In the jianghu, men bond over martial strength as a matter of course."
"Well, I don't ascribe to that principle." Bai Guo shook his head. "The only strength that matters to me is strength of character. I'll not be a friend to someone who bullies the weak. Extend this same friendship to all the others you stomped beneath your boot, and I might reconsider my opinion of you."
Zhu Da frowned deeply, and spoke after a pause. "So you're saying that my character is weak?"
Bai Guo chuckled at the question. "We're holding people up, brother Da. Let's wrap this up before the disciples scold us."
The other boys had indeed circled around them, eagerly anticipating that the argument would escalate into a fight. Zhu Da kept staring the shorter Bai Guo down.
Bai Guo added, "And when it comes to accurately judging people by first impressions, I think I have sister Luli beat. You can let her know I said that during your next round of gossip. And keep that in mind yourself."
The young man stepped around Zhu Da and took his leave.
Outside, the aspirants were made to stand on attention atop of the elevated stone platform as the Kunlun Sect's disciples conducted a headcount. A box of scrolls had been brought up onto the stage. Master Tan Huan stepped forward to address the young men and women.
"We have examined your performance in yesterday's trials and wrote down our evaluations in these scrolls. At the end of these reports is my final decision regarding your candidacy. You will have either qualified as a competitor or as a reserve, to replace the primary contestants if any of them end up unable to participate. Some of you here who have failed to qualify for the contest are young enough to try again in the Kunlun Sect entry examinations this summer. You won't have the privilege of being my personal disciple, but there is still hope for you as a martial artist. We have pointed out your strengths and weaknesses, so use this time to polish your shortcomings and rise through the ranks conventionally."
Master Tan Huan paused as he looked over the crowd. "...And for those of you too old to apply, I recommend pursuing a different path in life. When your name is called, come forth and receive your evaluation."
One by one the aspirants stepped forward to take their scrolls. Disappointed sighs emerged from all around as they read their personal reports.
Bai Guo was very careful when he received his report. He unraveled the scroll and quickly ran his eyes across, looking for the decision.
"Qualified" had been stamped twice onto the end, one for the contest of the sword and one for the fist. The young man sighed in relief as he rolled the scroll back up. Looking all around, he had found his peers being far less careful with their reports. Though the evaluations of those who failed to qualify held little value, the future contestants were baring their secrets for all to see.
Bai Guo noticed Chun De, the bald monk he very strongly suspected to be a girl in disguise, carefully scrutinizing the contents of her scroll, surrounded by people on all sides. The young man approached and quickly glanced at her report, finding three qualification seals present. He tapped her on the shoulder.
As she looked up at him in confusion, Bai Guo suggested that she hide it before other people had the chance to see. Chun De immediately caught on and did as he suggested, wordlessly nodding with what looked like gratitude.
They heard Zhu Da's booming voice as he hooted at his own success. The girl beside him stared freely at the contents of his scroll as she offered her praises, her own evaluation already tucked away somewhere into her clothes. Bai Guo, inspecting her happy expression, suspected that Shao Luli was jubilant not on Zhu Da's behalf, but because she, too, had qualified.
Bai Guo sighed, thinking, "I hope she only signed up for the saber tournament."
After the reports had been distributed, those who failed to qualify had been led away by the disciples.
Twenty four aspirants remained on the stone platform. Master Tan Huan had congratulated those present and began to explain the tournament rules.
"Each bout will be conducted with live steel. To win, you must either slay your opponent or force them to surrender."
His words made Bai Guo's blood run cold. The attentive silence from the aspirants turned tense and eerie.
Tan Huan continued. "There will be a referee overseeing each match. If it is deemed that the outcome of the battle has become obvious, then to preserve the lives of the contestants, the bout may be stopped at any time. This may be determined even before a contestant has been injured. This means that you must visibly defend yourself at all times. Naturally, if the referee tells you to stop, you are to cease fighting immediately, at risk of disqualification and further punishment. They are also at liberty to use force if the situation demands it."
Bai Guo found some scarce relief in this amendment. "Surely these people know what they're doing," he hoped.
"When it comes to the rules of engagement, there is only one - you may only use the main weapon of the tournament. Beyond that, there are no restrictions to how you may fight. You may use your body as you please - kick, punch, grapple if you dare. The way I see it, the flow of battle is unpredictable, so there's no telling what tool you might need to use at any given moment. And if you can overcome an armed foe barehanded, then it's a testament to your skill. Therefore, every kind of unarmed maneuver is allowed. The same applies to the tournament of the fist - you are not restricted to any particular techniques, and may fight as you wish, so long as it is without weapons. The fights will have no time limit; you will fight until one of you surrenders, dies, or the referee puts an end to the battle."
The young man breathed slowly as he glanced around at his peers. None of them seemed at ease with what they'd heard, and yet no one was speaking up.
"The first tournament, that of the sword, will begin in three days." Tan Huan said. "Those of you who do not wish to scale the Kunlun Goddess Peak again on the day of the competition may choose to lodge within our sect halls free of charge. Or, should it be within your means, stay at one of our local inns. You may discover that the Peak is not without its pleasures."
Bai Guo lamented, "Though I'm dying to speak to master about what's written in my evaluation, it would be suspicious to come down the mountain just to talk to her. And moreover, I'm just about dirt poor, so I shouldn't refuse their accommodations..."
All of the contestants followed the disciples even higher up the mountain. Bai Guo heard the crunching of snow quicken behind him as someone approached.
"What a surprise," Shao Luli spoke up beside him. "Brother Guo has qualified. Though from what I've seen, I suppose it's not a surprise at all."
Bai Guo met her smile with a forced one of his own. "I see sister Luli has made it through as well, somehow."
"Do you think the disciples judged you fairly? What's your highest score?" Shao Luli's fingers reached out for the scroll in Bai Guo's hands. He kept it away from her. "Won't you show me?"
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours."
Shao Luli laughed before putting up a pout. "You're no fun."
They walked together for a little while. Shao Luli spoke up again. "I could probably guess your scores. You have a ten in endurance, and a nine in strength."
Bai Guo turned his face to stone to hide the fact that she was dead on.
He brazenly met her inquisitive stare. "Your guesses must be based on brother Da's results. Well, go ahead and make a few more. I'm dying to know what to expect from him."
Shao Luli's cunning smile grew. "Oh, you don't have to guess. I can tell you his entire evaluation in exchange for yours."
Bai Guo snorted as he almost unwillingly contemplated her offer. "Which tournaments is sister Luli participating in?"
"Sword and fist."
Bai Guo's expression soured as the worst case scenario came to life. "So am I. Then I'm afraid it's not happening."
Shao Luli exaggerated her shock. "Don't tell me you're more scared of this little girl than of that meat mountain."
"Well, how about a little guessing of my own?" Bai Guo proposed. "To qualify after her miserable performance in the two public trials, sister Luli must have truly wowed the judges in private with her sword skills."
"Miserable performance." She derisively echoed, still smiling. "Brother Guo really has a way with words. But you know, I so happened to overhear that you embarrassed yourself during your private trials. So it would appear that brother Guo is all brawn and no brains. Being afraid of me just may be the smartest thing you've ever done in your life."
Bai Guo briefly wondered what she could be referring to. It seemed that his inability to retrieve the sword from his target spurred some discussion among the disciples that, perhaps inadvertently, had leaked out. "Or maybe it's the fact that I had almost no techniques to show..."
"You're giving me too much credit." Bai Guo shook his head. "I'm not afraid of you."
Shao Luli's cold smirk briefly glinted with a hint of authenticity. She slinked back into the crowd without another word.
After she left, Bai Guo tried to vent his tensions with a sigh, but his thoughts would not let him be at ease. "I would really like to avoid killing anyone in this tournament, but I strongly suspect that Shao Luli is not planning to extend that same courtesy to me. And I doubt she's the only one who feels this way. This tournament might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enter the martial arts world for some of the people here, but for me, it's just a way to earn some money for my fussy master. With things being what they are, maybe I should drop out before something terrible happens."
In the end, the young man could only sigh again. "But master trained me so hard for this, there's no way she'll forgive me if I quit. Ah, just what should I do?"