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“Too slow! Try again!”

I brandished my axe with lightning, pulling out all the stops. Fia spun and twirled with her three jian blades dancing behind her back, each motion a technique in and of itself. I read the moves as fast as I could, deciphering the Xiangqi game going on between us.

I struck with a ranged lightning arc, forcing her to dodge. Anticipating the movement, I followed up with an advance as soon as she disappeared with her [Flash Step] technique. Sparks and lightning clashed as our blades collided, Fia parrying my attack.

She [Flashed] away again as I recovered.

“Better,” she said. “But still not fast enough. Again!”

My Flame stirred with irritation and for the first time I could actually cultivate true Frenzy while fighting Fia. It was past noon now and the same back and forth had been going on for hours. My head was reeling from keeping track of all the complex techniques she’d perform while also keeping track of my own. We must have clashed at least a hundred times now and not once had I beaten her.

Of course, I wasn’t going all out with my Berserker forms either.

But man, was losing starting to piss me off.

I gritted my teeth as the next bout started and I managed to get her on the backfoot for all of three exchanges before she won again.

“Still too slow. Again!”

I masked my irritation with [Indifference] as I tried to focus. Cycling my Frenzy, I heightened my reflexes to try and match her own. I studied the play and once again forced her into a dodge with her [Flash Step] technique. I advanced again, with more speed this time but my axe still couldn’t reach her.

“Too slow!” she said, and then let loose with a volley of three silver quills. “[First Heaven, Piercing Strike]!”

Anger flared within me like a pot boiling over.

It was another damn chess move, forcing me to dodge.

Screw that!

I roared with defiance and flew right into the attack, fortifying my body with [Iron Lightning]. I had no idea if my technique could even repel her attack or not, but at the moment I just couldn’t care.

Pain exploded in my shoulder as one of the needles broke through my defensive technique while the other two evaporated with a flash of sparks. The move surprised Fia and her eyes grew wide with shock as I advanced to her position in a heartbeat. I stopped my axe from touching her with inches to spare and a split second later she reacted reflexively, using two of her blades to block my attack.

“Ha!” I said in triumph. “Finally got you!”

Her look of wild shock quickly turned to a mixture of anger and concern.

“Max! What have you done!” she shouted. “You made me injure you!”

She dropped all her defenses then and rushed to examine the quill sticking out of my shoulder.

“It’s alright,” I said, ignoring the pain. “I’ll be fine.”

“This is not fine! Your fight with Wi Shen is tonight and I’ve ruined your arm. That was so reckless. How can you fight like this now?”

I grabbed the quill and removed it with a swift pull. It hurt like hell and from the impact she was clearly miles above Zu Tien when it came to inner strength. I had the feeling she hadn’t been going completely all out when she used that technique either, but still I was proud of the accomplishment. This was perhaps only the second time I had battle tested the [Iron Lightning] technique. I was now able to deflect two quills instead of just one.

Progress, I thought.

But not without a price.

Fia shook her head at me, looking as if about to cry. “I’m sorry, Max. This was my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard.”

“Wait what?” I glanced at my shoulder. It was nothing a quick swap with [Mark of the Giant] couldn’t fix, but she didn’t know that. “Look it’ll be fine, trust me. I can still fight. It was my fault. I’m the one who ignored the rules to go for broke just to win.”

“Yes, but the point was not to win,” she said. “That’s not what I was teaching you. But perhaps I teased you for too long.” Her eyes softened. “I admit what you did was impressive. Unexpected. I’ve never seen you use that technique before, but you paid too high a price to win a mere training match.”

“What do you mean?”

Fia sighed. “I’ve been lying to you, Max.”

“What?”

“Not maliciously, of course. I told you there is a technique I need you to learn in order to defeat Wi Shen, yes?”

“Yeah, and I’m still waiting for it.”

“But you know it already,” Fia said. “I’ve been training you to counter it this entire time.”

“Huh? Which move?”

“The [Flash Step],” she said. “Like you, Wi Shen fell into bad habits with learning her techniques. But unlike you, she has not the skill nor discipline to correct her errors. She’s never been able to perform it correctly and is only ever comfortable shifting to the left. Even to retreat, she will turn 90 degrees and then shift left to move backwards. It’s an embarrassing handicap to have at her age.”

“Ah, I get it.” Thinking back now, every time Fia used [Flash Step] it was to the left. So much so that I was able to anticipate it and nearly reached her each time. “So you were training me without me even knowing it.”

“It’s better that way,” she said. “You would have focused too much on it if I had told you in advance.” She then grinned. “Plus, it was a nice motivation to have you looking forward to our next training session each day.”

I chuckled. “Trust me, just the opportunity to see you each day was all the motivation I needed.”

She blushed like a schoolgirl as I gave her a slick grin. She let out a nervous laugh and shook her head. “That only proves I didn’t need to do it.” Her countenance then fell a little as her soul filled with fear. “I’ve ruined everything. I made you lose control and now you’ve ruined your chances at winning.”

“Like I said. Not to worry. I have some healing bandages that will keep me fighting just fine.”

She smiled weakly, looking unconvinced. “I still feel bad.”

“Well, you can make it up to me after I win the match,” I said and then put her at ease with a quick kiss. She melted in my arms as I held her and subtly, I could sense her fear subsiding.

When we pulled apart, she had a smile on her face again. “You sure you’ll be alright?”

I grinned with [Struggler’s Resolve]. “With the game plan you gave me, how wouldn’t I be? Plus, you helped me test my [Iron Lightning] technique. Not perfect yet, as you can see—” I glanced at my bleeding shoulder with a smile. “—but I’m getting there.”

“Well, it was impressive. And it’s likely to be more effective against Wi Shen.”

“Let’s hope so,” I said and then let out a quick breath, preparing myself. “Okay, so to confirm, I need to force her into a dodge and then advance to her left to catch her.”

“Yes exactly,” Fia said. “And you will catch her. She can’t transition as far as I can, and you nearly caught me each time. So you should have no problem catching her.”

I smiled. This was just the ace in the hole I needed to win.

“Thanks, Fia,” I said, embracing her again. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this without all your help. This win is for you.”

She smiled, blushing. “You’d better get that shoulder seen to before the match. I’ll be rooting for you in the ring, Max. Good luck.”

* * *

The fanfare of the opening ceremony lit up the night sky with Qi lighting and fireworks as I made my way into the arena. I didn’t think it was possible, but the crowd seemed even bigger than that for the ‘Second Chance Showdown’ match.

Or perhaps it was simply my mind playing tricks on me.

But clearly Master Lein Cho had pulled out all the stops for the final match of the Iron Bracket Tournament. The sea of people filling the arena roared with cheers as I removed my mask for all to see—a solid wall of sound that nearly blocked out the commentators as they hyped up the crowd with even more rhetoric.

“And here he is, representing the Furious Lightning Sect and the greater Fire Bird Clan, the winner of the Second Chance Showdown and the heart of every lady in town! The envy of some, the hope of many…the unpredictable, the indomitable…IRON BULL!!!”

The crowd responded with a mixture of lemonade and hate, but the division was along clear lines. The lower seats, where the common people were, rooted for me with fervor, but higher up it all turned to hate.

As I passed by the edge of the arena, I witnessed the love-hate dynamic expressed in a slightly different manner. A mildly attractive middle-aged woman leaned over the edge of the arena railing, screaming and shouting while exposing her breasts.

“Marry me, Iron Bull! Marry me!!”

I nearly burst out laughing when a guy that looked like her husband pulled her angrily back into the crowd by her arm. I played it all off with [Indifference], sauntering through the arena with a bravado worthy of my moniker. I almost wished I had my Phalanx Glaive to carry over my shoulder to add to my swagger, but that was impossible for a number of reasons.

One, only Iron weapons provided by the arena were allowed, and two I was nowhere good enough to use the Phalanx Glaive in combination with my axe as yet. But in the Gold Bracket, you supplied your own weapon.

And that meant the Axe and Glaive combo was definitely on the table.

As I reached the center of the area, the tone of the music changed from the gritty pounding of drums that had become my theme music to the elegant strumming of zithers worthy of royalty. Across the arena, Wi Shen, the Lady Silver Sparrow entered the ring.

She was in a trimmed-down version of the classic black and silver robes of the Silver Leaf Clan, less flash and built for combat. Her long silver hair was likewise prepared, pulled back in a single braid that ran to her midback.

As she locked eyes with me a stone’s throw away, I could sense the anger of her stare mirrored in her soul. “The day has finally come, Iron Bull. There will be no Silver Light to save you now.”

I was about to retort but decided to throw her a chuckle of [Indifference] instead.

To my delight, her anger spiked and I cultivated the free Frenzy with glee.

The announcer came over the speakers again.

“She and her sisters have ruled the roost of the Iron Bracket for years and tonight she doesn’t plan to break the trend. Representing the Silver Leaf Sect and the greater Silver Leaf Clan, part of the trio that has delighted us for ages, the un-aging beauty, the multiyear Champion, the Lady Silver Sparrow!”

The crowd broke into cheers but there were clearly some boos from a few brave souls in the crowd as well. When I glanced up at the scoreboard however, the bookings clearly didn’t represent the demographics of the crowd.

Lady Silver Sparrow vs The Iron Bull

Odds: 15:8

Time - 30:00

Lady Silver Sparrow

Iron Bull

0

0

I chuckled.

Nice to see the [Odds Against Me] already, I thought.

As I tapped into the technique, fresh Frenzy filled my body, overflowing into my Dantian. I hyped myself up, waiting for the match to finally start. Silver Sparrow gave me another conceited glare.

“I hope you’re ready,” she said. “You’re going to receive payment for the embarrassment we received that day. No one mocks the Silver Bird Sisters.”

“Yeah, chirp, chirp, bitch,” I said.

Her eyes and mouth shot open with indignation.

“How dare yo—” she began to say but her words were cut short as the announcer came over the mic again.

“And now, to open the final match of the Jurin Province Iron Bracket Tournament, we call upon none other than the Warden herself. Join me in welcoming her royal lady and leader of the Silver Leaf Clan, the Lady Silver Tear!”

Fear and rage gripped my heart at the mention of the name and high up on the display she came into view, sidling next to the announcers on the stage. I’d rarely seen her outside of recordings or from distances too far to care. But up on the screen was the face of the woman that had sentenced my parents and sister to death.

Still pale as a sheet of paper, sharp features worthy of a demoness from hell.

And not a day older than when I had seen her up close twelve years ago.

That bitch…

Fresh rage poured into my soul, igniting my Flame.

“Royal ladies of my esteemed clan, Sect Leaders, Elders, proud citizens of the empire, commoners and natives, I greet you all in the name of our beloved Princess, Her Royal Majesty, Third Princess Lunalah for the commencement of the final match of the Iron Bracket tournament.”

My skin bristled as the hierarchy of our worth as Terrans was laid out for all to see.

Bottom of the barrel.

As always.

A new vigor filled me as my impending battle with Lady Silver Sparrow turned into something else. It was me against the entire Silver Leaf Clan again and Silver Sparrow was merely a representative.

“As is customary,” Lady Silver Tear continued. “The Clan of the Iron Bracket winner shall receive the Iron Bracket trophy to be retained for the year. While the Silver Leaf Clan has retained the Iron Bracket Trophy for over five years now, I look forward to seeing if our longtime friends and rivals, the Fire Bird Clan, can make a valiant attempt to obtain it tonight. To the two competitors, I say good luck to you both. Commence!”

I snarled with aggression as I charged straight at Silver Sparrow, dumping my pent-up rage into a series of wild swings brimming with lightning. Silver Sparrow reacted more astutely than I imagined, fending them off with parries and blocks with her slim jian blade.

“Impulsive fiend!” she cursed me. “No tact at all! You’ll be lucky to gain a single hit on me!”

I raged within, wanting to tear her apart.

“You’ll die, bitch! You wait!”

But that was my hatred for the Warden talking.

Think, Max

This was but a stepping stone. My true goal was the Gold Bracket and I needed the earnings from this win to do it. I eased the Struggler back to the controls, regaining my composure as I parried her counter.

We clashed back and forth as I recalled the lessons from my sparring sessions with Fia. The moves were the same, but they were a lot harder to recognize coming from someone else. I began playing the Xiangqi game with her, but I slipped up a few times, feeling the sharp bite of her blade.

Blood spilled into the ring, eliciting cackles of glee from Silver Sparrow. “You certainly do fight bull headedly. Can you even avoid an attack? Or is your strategy to dull my blade by simply running into it repeatedly?”

I let my [Indifference] slip with a snarl.

It was only four minutes into the match and already the score was looking bad.

Lady Silver Sparrow vs The Iron Bull

Odds: 18:5

Time - 24:46

Lady Silver Sparrow

Iron Bull

7

0

Had I really not hit her once?

Perhaps Silver Sparrow was more skilled than Fia remembered. Or perhaps she had improved? Whatever was happening, it wouldn’t be sustainable. I was pushing my techniques to the limit and still couldn’t break her defenses.

I needed my edge.

A win this early would be totally unexpected.

And humiliating.

Ah, to hell with it. I was planning to try and let the move come out organically, but I couldn’t risk waiting for that. Not with a score this bad.

“Let’s see you avoid this!” I shouted, charging my axe with lightning.

I let loose with a wild swing, sending an arc of lightning flying straight at her.

As predicted, Silver Sparrow used [Flash Step] and like I’d done a hundred times before with Fia, I advanced to meet her new position to the left. I struck blindly and my axe blade met only air. A sharp pain filled my lower back as something struck it.

I reached behind to feel a single quill.

I roared in pain as I yanked it out, the implement cutting through even my [Iron Skin] to puncture me.

What the hell? Was I too slow?

Ignoring the setback, I lashed out with another arc of lightning, forcing Silver Sparrow to [Flash Step] again. As I took note of which direction she’d been facing, I leapt to where I predicted her to reappear and went all out with a [One Chop Cleave].

I spun with unrestricted momentum, again catching only air.

A cackle came from behind followed by another quill to my back.

“Ergh!”

“You’re not a quick learner, are you, Bull Man?” Silver Sparrow leered at me from afar, a good thirty feet to my rear. “And Fia says we’d be lucky to bed someone like you? Ridiculous.”

I gritted my teeth in frustration.

Why the hell wasn’t it working?

Had Fia been wrong?

I studied Silver Sparrow trying to decipher the reason. And then like a ton of bricks, it hit me. I’d only met the Silver Bird Sisters briefly, but even during that short exchange I could sense distinct differences in personality between the three of them. Fia said Silver Sparrow was the weakest of them and her demeanor mirrored that when I encountered her before. But now, somehow Silver Sparrow had just overcome her impediment with using [Flash Step] while also growing a huge pair of balls.

“Son of a bitch…” I cursed as I leveled my eyes at her using [Struggler’s Resolve]. “You’re not Wi Shen at all.”

The woman’s eyes flashed open with surprise at the mention of the name, and I knew I had just hit pay dirt.

“You’re Lady Silver Hawk.”