Smash! Another boulder hit the town wall. There were constant bombardments happening, with rank two moves and catapult stones unleashed at the fortifications. They were endlessly mended and fortified, yet the opposing side's elemental powers paled in comparison, causing chunks of the walls to persistently crumble and fall off. Still, there was a lot of return fire, with enemy physical cultivators shooting arrows from massive crossbows and launching stones from slingshots.
The same inspector had appeared again, regulating the fight. There were a lot of arguments between the two sides this time, with both of them trying to claim that the other side was breaking the rules of warfare. If Xin found the inspector's previous rulings quite fair, this time it felt like he was upholding the balance and trying to prevent the escalation of the fight, cautious about rank three masters just killing everyone, and made a lot of concessive decisions, even if unfair on paper, just to keep the higher ranks pacified.
As a result of this, rank ones rained arrow fire at poor catapult operators, rank two moves missed and hit random buildings inside of the town, killing soldiers and civilians alike, and mortals died in droves on both sides. Luckily for Xin, as a seed, he was considered too important to risk his life moving stones around, and he was kept away from the front line.
Eventually, a tall man on a flying sword rose up from the opponent's ranks, leaving a fiery trail behind as he flew. He carried a flag with a white fist on an orange background, and seeked a parley with their sect.
"Liu Yan, it's you, scoundrel!" Master Xiaodan flew up towards him. "Did you run out of rank threes, or are we not worthy of a proper emissary?"
"It's quite the opposite, dear Xiaodan." He looked quite young, but his accent and manner of speaking were refined and pleasant to the ear. He wore a majestic orange armour, with an open-faced helmet and a bead necklace over his neck guard. "You see, your side got thirty civilians killed by now, seven of them children. I come to you with an offer to reduce the casualties. You know what it is."
"You dare? We offered to let the civilians evacuate, we could even give them housing and food for the time being!" His voice echoed loudly enough to be heard in the town. "Stop using them as shields and blaming us! Fine, give me your offer!" He stared intensely at his old acquaintance.
"A contest of skills, of course. Your strongest masters against ours. Mortals, rank ones, rank twos — three matchups for each rank. No rank three fights, obviously, as losing them would destabilise both sides and lead to slaughter. Accept, or lose face, the choice is yours!"
Xin wondered what the true explanation of "no rank three" fights was. It's likely that rank threes weren't too eager to risk their lives in duels to death, especially with no rank fours present to prevent the rule breaks.
"Face? Your town is sieged, our forces are killing your squads all over the region. It's you who is losing face! I'll consult the higher ups and tell you what we think, we don't owe you an immediate answer! Now scram, before I bury you, you mongrel! Ember Fist? Ember fist your ass!"
"So be it." He gracefully ignored his opponent's childish comment. "I'm eager for you to back up your words in combat. Consider this a personal challenge, Black Coffin Xiaodan."
Master Xiaodan scoffed and spat on the ground. His spit landed on some mortal's head. He wiped it and bowed in gratitude.
"Who's that?" Xin asked Rui Ming. Windsplitter spent more time in the sect, he was bound to know more about the famous people.
"Well, you've heard, it's Liu Yan, the Ember Fist. He was a child prodigy before I was even born, and won many tournaments all over the North. Joined Fist sect a decade ago or so, he is one of their main preachers. He had a soaring start to his career, but now I'd say he fell off, not making much progress. And, as you see, in xiandao terms, he's ranked as just rank two."
"Is there any bad blood between him and master Xiaodan?"
"I don't know the specifics, but master Xiaodan was a hot-headed youngster, he constantly antagonised people during his travels. The version you know right now is quite level-headed in comparison, so maybe they had a beef in the past, I don't know."
"And the martial arts contest, will you participate?" Xin wondered if Rui Ming would make a top-three among the sect's rank ones. He was incredibly talented, but still pretty fresh, having broken through just several weeks ago.
"It's a tough question. You see, I still don't have a full shards system. I don't have much enchanted equipment, either, and if someone comes in wielding powerful artefacts, I'll be steamrolled through no fault of my own. I'll observe how things develop for now, I'm not sure it's a wise idea to volunteer. I'll go if I'm called up, of course."
"Let's wait for the rules to be announced, then."
There was a long wait as higher ranked masters of their sect held council in master Zhi's tent. Two hours later, master Xiaodan flew up again, holding a flag of their sect, a wuxing five elements symbol with the Eternity hieroglyph written where the pentagram's lines crossed.
"Our answer is simple, master Yan. We agree. And I am accepting your challenge, of course."
"Lovely." The Ember Fist flew up again, his fists glowing with subtle fiery light. "We'll ask the inspector to oversee the fights. Stop the bombardment immediately, and we'll stop the archers. Do we start from the top, or from the bottom?"
"I'm itching to fight you, but it's customary to let the mortals begin." Master Xiaodan grumbled.
"Sweet. Random opponents?"
"Mixed system. Optional challenges."
"Good. We'll meet you in twenty minutes, start digging the graves, Xiaodan."
"Right, you can't bury yourselves if you're dead. Haha, I got you with this one!" Master Xiaodan looked like a happy child, he even smacked his lips as he laughed.
"Hehehe, let's see if your joke ages well, you obese toad."
The crowd gasped at this insult. It was customary to subtly sting each other and imply the personal flaws through double-speak, but Liu Yan overstepped the boundary. As of today, no one had survived calling master Xiaodan fat. Many expected the fight to ensue, but interestingly enough, he just scoffed, and his gaze revealed no rage, only a cold killing intent.
In ten minutes, the list of fighters was announced. The crowd trembled in anticipation as master Xiaodan procured a scroll from his pocket and read out loud in a solemn voice:
"Mortals:
Disciple Yao Nang
Disciple Tei Zhuo
Disciple Xin
Foundation stage:
Master Qin Bao
Master Rui Ming
Master Cai Yan
Condensation stage:
Master Xie Xiaodan
Master Shen Hao
Master Shen Ning"
There was a heated discussion all over the camp as the list was announced. Obviously, a lot of attention was drawn to Xin and Rui Ming.
"The fuck is this? Me, seriously?" Xin scratched his head. "Am I truly one of the three strongest mortals in the sect? Or just the right combination of strong and disposable? Fuck this."
"Eh, we might have gone overboard in that last fight, brother." Rui Ming shrugged. "Initiative is punished more often than not."
"Oi! Oi!" Lei sprinted towards them, his run looking somewhat goofy as he gestured excessively towards them. "What the fuck is this shit? My boys were chosen, but not me?"
"My take is, they should have let trash like Tu Qiang fight and lose, then keep assaulting as if nothing happened." Xin said with a deadpan expression. "These fights are a waste of time."
"Eh, we fought for each others' lives, he's our battle comrade, I won't badmouth him." Rui Ming got serious as he polished his blade. "Don't know about you, but I'm ready."
"You!" A voice called them from behind the trees. It was master Xiaodan. "Get to master Zhi's tent, immediately! Don't inject any stimulants or medicine!"
"Guys, I'm rooting for you! Don't let me down!" Lei nervously hugged them and wished them good luck. He liked a problem he could fight, having to watch his friends duel was akin to torture for him.
"I appreciate it, brother. Don't worry about us. We'll win." Xin nodded to Lei confidently and left.
Xin and Rui Ming hurried towards master Zhi's tent, situated in the middle of the battle camp, and protected by a fancy formation, its function unfamiliar to Xin.
"Please get ready, young warriors." He addressed everyone, even master Xiaodan, who Xin suspected was in his late sixties. Except for him, Yao Nang and Rui Ming, Xin didn't know anyone else here. "Master Xiaodan will overtake the battle preparations, I'll just give you some words of advice. Try and go with the flow, don't force things too much, and don't get yourself killed. We value our members, and we'll pay the ransom if necessary. Make sure to show off your best, of course."
"Yes, master!" Xin shouted out, expecting everyone else to do it. His voice was the only one, though, and Xin got badly embarrassed. Master Zhi gave him a side glance and smiled warmly.
"What an eager child. Good. Please follow me, everyone."
The nine fighters exchanged bows and martial gestures, then followed master Zhi.