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“Iron Bull!”

“Iron Bull!”

“Iron Bull!”

I absorbed the fresh lemonade from the crowd, replenishing the energy I had burned running to the arena. It wasn’t nearly the quantity I needed to recreate solid Frenzy though.

And there was no guarantee this fight would produce it either.

What I had remaining inside of me from the reaper beast fight would have to see me through. But that meant I’d have to use it sparingly as well. I wondered if this was how Qi cultivators approached every fight, knowing there was a limit to just how much Qi they could burn. I supposed I’d become a bit spoiled from my Flame in that regard.

High above me, the score board already had both our names on display.

Iron Bull vs U’Ren Nghi

Odds: 3:8

Time - 30:00

Iron Bull

U’Ren Nghi

0

0

U’Ren Nghi hadn’t entered yet, so the announcer was still focused on me, singing my praises. But I barely listened, focusing instead on the odds on the board.

Not good, I thought.

As popular as I seemed to be the [Odds were Against Me] still. And that was just fine with me. I tapped into the Frenzy of the technique, strengthening my body further. This was it. My final match to earn my B-class citizenship. But it wasn’t going to be easy.

I made my way towards the center of the ring and then suddenly I sensed something flying towards me. I stopped short, dropping into a defensive stance, just as whatever it was landed at my feet with a thud.

Glancing down I saw a thin sliver of silver sticking out of the arena floor. A smile came to my lips as I casually snatched it up and felt an inscription etched into its surface. Tracing where it had come from, I looked up to see a multitude of skiffs hovering just above the edge of the arena, their occupants gathered for the night’s entertainment.

But there was only one that stood out to me.

There, seated on the ornate couch within her skiff was Lady Silver Light.

She carried herself with her usual air of grace as she lounged nonchalantly, her silver eyes focused on me with only casual interest, but when I looked down to read the inscription, Fia revealed her true self to me once again.

‘Win for me.’

I chuckled and then, staring up at her, gave her a smile she couldn’t see.

I produced a bolt of frenzied lightning to show my appreciation instead, the yellow arc of electricity disintegrating the silver needle as I shot it into the night sky with a thunderous boom!

The display of power sent the crowd wild, but there was only one reaction I truly cared to see. The smile of elation that came to Fia’s face was worth the Frenzy it had cost and the lemonade she produced felt ten times more potent than what was coming from the crowd.

Although that part was likely in my head, seeing as how she was too far away for me to cultivate anything from her. But that didn’t matter. Just her presence and faith in me alone gave an ego boost like none other.

Damn, I thought as I grinned up at her. I had to watch myself here. I was really starting to like this girl.

The air suddenly filled with a whimsical melody as flutes and zithers began to play. A second later, a spotlight shone high in the air to reveal U’Ren Nghi descending from the night sky. She floated down into the arena like a falling leaf, having jumped off from somewhere. White and orange robes fluttered and twirled as if underwater as she slowly spun in a mid-air dance, her twin fans dusting the arena with white petals as she manifested her Qi.

“And here she is to finally grace us with her presence!” the announcer shouted over the intro music. “Our very own fairy blossom queen, the most elegant, the most beautiful…U’Ren Nghi!”

The fanfare crescendo-ed as she landed with another explosion of flower petals.

I made a big show of waving them out of my face like they smelled bad and the crowd responded with a series of laughs.

“Looks like someone isn’t impressed by her entrance,” the announcer said, quickly latching onto the gag. “Perhaps the Iron Bull has more refined tastes than us all!”

That got even more laughs, and I couldn’t help but use it as an opportunity to blow a kiss towards Fia. The way she blushed and turned her head with embarrassment was priceless.

Yeah, I thought to myself. Really starting to like her…shit.

“I would venture your tastes are more common than refined,” U’Ren Nghi said, pulling me out of my daydreaming. “True beauty is wasted upon a brute such as you.”

I cycled my Frenzy and laid it on thick with [Fear the Flame]. “Bitch, this ‘brute’ has had women far more exquisite than you. You ain’t nothing special.”

Flower Girl’s jaw dropped open, her eyes wide with shock.

“H-how dare you!” she shouted, her façade of elegance cracking. “You will pay for that insult!”

I flexed my fake Qi with [Indifference]. “I guess it’s a good thing we’re already in the ring then, huh?”

The words caused even more anger to seethe, and I cultivated it quickly into Frenzy. The match was about to start and throwing her off with something like that was just what I needed for an edge. The bell sounded and I immediately charged in with a lightning-infused attack.

“[Lightning Cleave]!”

I was totally making crap up, but the ferocity of my assault left her scrambling in retreat. My axe hit the arena floor with an explosion of lightning, leaving a crater where she just stood. I followed up with a series of axe techniques, infusing lightning into each one, slinging them off the edge of my hatchet.

Sprak!

Sprak!

Sprak!

U’Ren Nghi waved her fans with a martial technique as the lightning bolts arced towards her. “[Summer’s Breeze spreads the Blossom]…”

When they hit, the bolts instantly turned into petals.

Shit…not good, I thought.

But the technique left her at a standstill.

I barreled into her with a frenzied charge, knocking her right off her feet.

She went flying end over end with the force of my hit, but like a cat, U’Ren Nghi suddenly righted herself to land on her feet. With the distance gained, she began whipping her fans again, sending arcs of petals flying towards me at tremendous speed. I managed to dodge one, but two of them caught me across my leg and side.

The force behind the techniques was tremendous, cutting through even my [Iron Skin] and igniting my nervous system with white-hot pain. I clenched my teeth to power through it with [Indifference] and went for a counterattack.

I sent another frenzied bolt towards her, forcing her to block with her [Summer’s Breeze] technique while I charged in right after it. The plan worked. By the time she had converted my lightning into petals I was right in her face.

She screamed, startled, perhaps shocked to see me having moved so fast.

I swung at her with a lightning-charged cleave, aiming for her midsection.

U’Ren Nghi finally came to her senses and parried my techniques with one of her fan blades. It felt like I was hitting steel as her defensive technique flash converted my lightning strike into flower petals again.

Damn it!

The sight pissed me off and I laid into her with even greater fervor, lightning and flowers flying everywhere. The cat and mouse game went on for what seemed like an hour. Me using my lightning techniques to force her to defend while I charged into her, but then U’Ren Nghi would back away and hit me with techniques from afar. Still, every chance I got, I hammered her at close range like there was no tomorrow, trying to break her defense.

“It looks like a battle between beauty and the beast indeed!” the announcer shouted as I flew in with my latest assault. “The Iron Bull showing no respect for U’Ren Nghi’s grace.”

The words must have caused U’Ren Nghi to dig deeper, because suddenly her entire body burst into a cascade of white flowers when I hit her and she simply disappeared.

What the hell..?

I turned about swiftly to track where she had gone.

She reappeared a second later behind me with another burst of petals, floating a good thirty feet in the air.

“You are not worthy to stand toe-to-toe with This One,” she said while whipping her fans in a series of martial forms. “Feel the [Wrath of a Thousand Blossoms]!”

As she intoned the technique, she thrust both fans towards me and a stream of petals shot out from between them. There was nowhere to run, the white flowers engulfing me like a tornado. My robes were cut to shreds as each petal struck me like a piece of sharpened steel. Blood flew as they hit, the strength of her technique etching through my Frenzy-hardened skin.

Pain surged as the attack didn’t stop, her Qi seemingly endless. A jolt of fear shot through me then.

Shit! This thing could actually kill me!

Maybe I’d taken her flowery Qi techniques too lightly. But no, screw that… I wasn’t going to die to this flower girl bitch! I fought back with the rage of my Flame, screaming as my pain and fear flash converted into Frenzy.

I channeled it into liquid form and then cycled it with my dwindling solid Frenzy reserves. I had to use it to take her down quickly now. There wasn’t much left. I imagined myself destroying every petal at once and then, crying out, yelled the first thing I could think of as a focus.

“[Frenzied Surge]!”

My entire body exploded with a thousand streaks of lightning. They traveled up the stream of petals in a brilliant chain reaction, popping each one like a firework. The bolts shot through U’Ren Nghi and she screamed as the lightning vaporized her defenses in a puff of smoke.

She fell right out of the sky like a moth hitting a bug zapper and hit the ground hard.

I wasted no time following up after her, bringing my hatchet down to strike.

“[Two-Log Chop]!”

U’Ren Nghi barely came to her senses as my axe fell towards her face. She cried out and raised her fans in defense. My hatchet hit them with another explosion of petals, the power of my attack disrupted by her Qi once more. I struck again and again, but she managed to maintain her defenses below me and then on a final hit her entire body burst into petals again.

Damn! The slippery bitch…!

I waited for her to reappear and saw her emerge from a burst of petals behind me and back in the air again. I checked the score.

Iron Bull vs U’Ren Nghi

Odds: 3:8

Time - 23:42

Iron Bull

U’Ren Nghi

27

265

Damn it…

I had barely landed any real hits on her, but that flower storm of hers counted for a lot. And with good reason. I was literally dripping blood like a faucet, my skin etched with a thousand papercuts. My body was shaking with so much pain that my Flame could barely convert it all.

Still, she wasn’t looking as ‘flower fresh’ as she once was either. Where before U’Ren Nghi looked as pristine as a geisha, now her hair was wild and unkempt, her makeup smeared with sweat and her body heaved deeply with ragged breaths.

We’re both on the ropes

, I thought.

I might not have been hitting her physically due to her techniques blocking me, but she was expending a lot of Qi to deflect each one. Perhaps I could only win this by wearing her down. But my reserves of solid Frenzy were dwindling as well. I didn’t know how many more lightning strikes I had left in me and no way was I generating any more from a battle like this.

Guess that was another curse of being a Berserker. Once you fought something like a damn Awakened Reaper Beast, nothing human looked like a real threat anymore.

“You are a savage fiend,” U’Ren Nghi said, still panting. “You belong on a hell-ridden battlefield, not a tournament ground.”

“Hey, thanks,” I said with [Struggler’s Resolve]. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

I kind of did too.

“As I would expect,” U’Ren Nghi said. “But This One is above such base combat.” She began executing forms with her fans again, twirling in the air. “Perhaps you must soothe your wretched spirit with [Tranquility’s Embrace].”

As she annunciated the technique, petals began to fall like snow from the air above me. I psyched myself up to perform that [Frenzied Surge] again, ready to blast the petals away like popcorn. But as the first one landed on me, I felt all resolve spill free from my soul. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off of me and I could finally rest.

My Flame quelled as I fell to my knees, somehow content.

So tired…

The world dimmed as my eyes closed.

Max…

Max, get up…!

GET UP, MAX!

I awoke with a start to see Silver Light standing over me.

“Fia?”

“We have to go, Max,” she said, reaching down to me. “It’s time to leave.”

I looked about to find myself still in the arena, but it was empty now. Then slowly I noticed trees where the crowds used to be. Had the whole thing grown over? I was in a forest now. Lush vines wrapped themselves around the trunks of century old trees, the scent of earth and undergrowth strong in the air. I felt all at once peaceful and serene as I stared into the forest, the wind whistling soothingly through the tall treetops.

“Leave....?” I said.

“Come on.” Fia took me by the hand with a smile. I went with her, as she led me through the forest. Just the sight of her brought a joy to my heart. Her radiant smile and gorgeous silver eyes. I didn’t think this could be possible, for us to be together, but we must have pulled it off somehow.

“How is this happening?”

“I told you I wanted to be free,” she said, smiling back at me. “And now we’re together at last.”

“What about your family?”

“I don’t care about them,” she said, her silver eyes dancing with mischief. “You’ll be my family now. You all will.”

“All?”

She led me to a clearing in the forest where a whole host of people were gathered. There was Edrik and Lysa. Lee, along with Ren, Rho, and Yi Fu. Yu Li was there holding Su Ling, standing next to Gui Zu. Mu Lin and Xi Xha. Even Jian Yi greeted me with her patented chin lift and smile.

Mu Lin ran up to embrace me.

“About time you got here, Chun!” she said with a laugh.

“How are you all here?” I asked dumbfounded.

This didn’t make sense… did it?

“They’re all here for your dream, Max,” Fia said, wrapping her arms around me. “We all are. We’re going to free the Earth.”

I look back into the clearing as more people emerged from the forest. People I hadn’t seen in years. And then my heart nearly stopped as I finally saw my sister and parents.

“Mom! Dad! Jessie!”

They smiled and waved to me, but I couldn’t understand why they weren’t rushing to embrace me like Mu Lin had. I tried to run to them instead, but found myself still locked within Fia’s grasp.

“Stay here,” she said. “Stay with me.”

I looked back at my family.

“No, I have to go to them.”

Fia shook her head and her grip about me increased. A sharp pain shot through my torso. “Stay with me. We’ll be together. Forever.”

No… I thought.

My family...

I looked back to them and suddenly the forest was in flames.

“No!” I screamed.

I couldn’t let them die!

Not again!

Again…?

I looked back to Fia and instead saw U’Ren Nghi. The woman leered into my face, crushing me as her arms twisted and turned into vines.

“Enjoy your last vision of bliss, you fool…”

No… Wake up!

I told myself, reaching within to summon my Flame. This isn’t real!

WAKE UP!

The world suddenly exploded into existence, the screams of twenty thousand fans rocking me back into reality. I was still on my feet, but just barely, weaving back and forth, my mind numb.

Something sharp sliced across my back and then my side as U’Ren Nghi appeared next to me, spinning in a pirouette with her fans. They cut into me like a blender, drawing blood by the gallon from my unhardened skin. Pain lit my brain on fire and it took all my wherewithal to not simply cry out in agony.

“U’Ren Nghi is taking full advantage as she has the Iron Bull in a trance!” the announcer cried. “I guess even he could not withstand her feminine charms!”

I couldn’t believe it.

She actually had me just now.

Had I not been able to break free from that vision, who knew how far she would have dragged me into the grave. But this was my chance to get her as well.

My last chance even.

If I let her slip away, I wouldn’t have the strength to get this close to her again.

It was now or never.

I contained my pain with [Indifference] as I kept up the act of still being under her spell.

Then, channeling my Frenzy into my reflexes, I snatched her by the neck as she twirled past me.

U’Ren Nghi let out a sharp cry of shock before my fist cut off her air completely.

She floundered silently like a fish in my grasp as the crowd suddenly went wild with surprise.

“An unexpected grab by the Iron Bull! He had us all fooled, especially U’Ren Nghi!”

The cultivator panicked and literally began shitting flowers, the petals bursting from her body as she tried to fight back with her Qi. I endured the sting and converted it all into Frenzy, using the power to heal.

I tried to utilize [Mark of the Giant] to heal even quicker, but for some reason my body just wouldn’t respond. Shit, had I worn myself out? I did shift between all three forms earlier today. No matter, I’d have to take care of Flower Girl as is.

For all her internal strength, U’Ren Nghi had perhaps barely gotten past base Body Refinement when it came to her physical form. I could crush her neck easily within my grasp and she knew it.

But as irritating as she was, I couldn’t bring myself to simply kill her like this.

“Do you yield?” I said.

U’Ren Nghi still fought and kicked against me, petals spitting.

Perhaps in her mind yielding would be a fate worse than death.

“So be it…”

I sent a small sliver of solid Frenzy to my Jing and channeled it through my arm,

Petals burst into flames like a string of firecrackers as the lightning ran through her body. She stiffened like a corpse before I cut the juice, and then her body fell instantly limp in my grasp. I pulled her close to me to check for breathing and then tossed her unconscious body unceremoniously to the ground.

“Fly too close to the Flame and you get burned, bitch,” I said, looking down at her with disdain.

The crowd erupted into applause but also gasps of shock.

A strange silence descended upon the arena as the blue-robed healers ran into the ring. When one of then finally gave the signal that she was still alive, the crowd burst into cheers again.

“It seems the Iron Bull is not made of solid iron after all,” the announcer said with cheer in his voice. “A heart of gold perhaps? He has seen fit to show mercy and has spared the life of our fairy blossom queen! The great U’Ren Nghi lives to fight another day! Perhaps her beauty has won him over, after all. Maybe they’ll even be married when they next enter the ring!”

What the hell…?

The masses laughed and cheered at that, lapping it up like it was a damn soap opera or something. It was probably a good thing I hadn’t actually killed her. U’Ren Nghi seemed to be a crowd favorite in more ways than one. But I had no interest in this fake-wrestling type of bullshit. U’Ren Nghi and her ‘beauty’ could go to hell.

The bell rang and the final score was tallied.

Iron Bull vs U’Ren Nghi

Odds: 5:8

Time - 14:18

Iron Bull

U’Ren Nghi

28

342

It was a strange sort of win, but I’d done it.

I looked to the overall rankings and felt the joy of relief as the number 20 was placed next to my name. I was in. I was finally a B-class citizen. And a Gold Bracket contender to boot. I raised my axe in celebration and the crowd responded with even more cheers.

I looked up towards the skiffs, but strangely did not see Silver Light’s craft hovering among them. Did she leave already? Or was she perhaps making her way through the crowd for a closer look at me? The fool in me hoped for the latter as I ran my eyes through the lower rows of the bleachers, searching for her.

What am I doing? I thought. I’ve got to stop tripping.

How the hell was I supposed to spot her amidst ten thousand faces? I was about to give up, when my eyes fell on a face I recognized right away.

Master Hong Feng.

The bearded cultivator stared right back at me, his eyes burning hot coals.

With a gesture he pointed at himself and then at me, stabbing his finger towards my feet.

I understood the meaning perfectly.

Stay put.

I’m coming to see you.

Right now.