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He could barely bring himself to watch any further, as Rhi Dong channeled her Qi and rushed in for another attack, but was rebuffed by a wall of fire that sent her flying across the arena. She slammed hard into the ground and every element in Hei Dong’s soul screamed for the match to stop. But he could do nothing. Across the distance, he could see Fia locked in shackles, tethered to a post erected next to the bailiffs and High Magistrate.

She cried out to her mother, but with words of encouragement rather than fear.

“Get up, Mom! You are the Lady Silver Moon! He is no match for you!”

A sense of pride filled him at hearing her words.

The words of a true warrior.

The women of his small family were truly showing their steel.

But that only compounded that fact that he could do little to protect them now.

Helpless as a man.

He could forge the strongest of blades, blades his wife now employed—he could command men to carry out the smallest or greatest of tasks, but now, in his time of need, all his power had failed him.

Reduced to impotence.

He glared at the magistrate and Warden both, their unabashed indifference to his plight eating him up inside. Rhi Dong clashed with Lo Feng again and again. Steel rang and flames sparked as their weapons collided, filling the arena with fire and radiant holy light. He had not seen his wife fight like this in ages. At the most she would work up a small sweat when sparring with Fia, but now she was in a desperate battle for her very life.

And that of her child.

Her maternal instinct was no doubt seeing her through the pain.

Already she’d received wounds to her shoulder, back and side.

Wounds that would have killed him in an instant, but with her Core-tempered body Rhi Dong, the great Lady Silver Moon, had withstood them. Still, Lo Feng was likely Sacred Soul Realm now, a magnitude greater in internal strength and power and his dominance of her in the ring was evident.

And then, like a cruel joke being unveiled, he realized that Lo Feng could have won this match long ago. He was simply toying with her now, slapping her from one edge of the arena to the other with a sickening leer upon his face.

Hei Dong’s insides churned.

The bastard…

They clashed three more times and then Lo Feng paused to summon his Qi.

“[Fire of the Soul]!”

Brilliant blue flames ignited about his body as he dove in for a strike.

He moved so quickly that Hei Dong lost track of him.

He was across the arena in a second, striking Rhi Dong in the chest with the full force of his blow. She cried out with a scream that pierced the air and his soul—an unnatural sound that almost immediately brought him to tears.

His wife fell to her knees, all power seeming to leave her.

“Mother!” Fia cried.

But she didn’t respond and in that instant Hei Dong knew why.

A disruptive attack…

It was confirmation now that Lo Feng had been toying with her all along. His superior internal strength had crushed her already taxed Dantian in an instant. The pain in Rhi Dong’s face was palpable as tears streamed from her eyes, perhaps realizing already that the match was now over and Fia’s life was lost.

A hard lump formed in Hei Dong’s throat as he contemplated the reality for himself.

He choked back a sob, unable to contain himself any longer.

“No!” he cried. “Rhi!!”

Lo Feng let out a cackle as he slowly paced around Rhi Dong. “Your husband calls for you, wench! Do you hear?”

High Magistrate Yi Xhi Yen stood and banged her gavel. “Order! This is still a court of law, Master Lo Feng! Bridle your tongue!”

But Lo Feng paid her no mind as he continued to circle his wounded prey.

“You should have married a real cultivator,” Lo Feng said as he slammed the pommel of his halberd into Rhi Dong’s stomach, causing her to fall over completely. “Then he would have kept you on your toes. Instead, you’ve become the useless handmaid that you are now!”

“Order!”

“You bastard!” Fia yelled. “My father is twice the man you’ll ever be! You’ll burn in the nine hells for your treachery, Lo Feng!”

“Brave words, brat!” Lo Feng said with a laugh. “You’ll be tasting the fires of hell long before me.” He then grabbed Rhi Dong by the hair, dragging her to her feet. “But your mother will taste them before you.”

“Order!” Yi Xhi Yen shouted. “Master Lo Feng! You have clearly won the bout. Lady Silver Moon, do you yield?”

Hei Dong’s heart stopped.

Time froze as he prayed for a reprieve.

But he already knew her answer.

Rhi Dong stilled herself as Lo Feng continued to hold her by her silver hair.

“I’d rather die than see my own child put to death before me,” she said. “Do your worst, Lo Feng.”

Lo Feng grinned like the devil he was. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that.”

All strength left Hei Dong’s legs and he fell to his knees, anguish vomiting up his soul.

“No!” he cried as his vision blurred with tears. “Don’t, Rhi! Please!”

But his plea was in vain.

He was calling to stop her sacrifice, one that he himself now wished to make. A world without his first love or his firstborn—he couldn’t bear to live in it. All sense of face and pride left him as he cried out again, reduced to but a fossil of himself.

“Rhi!!”

Lo Feng double-handed his halberd as he wound up for the killing blow.

“Relish this moment, Master Hei Dong.” He paused to grin at him. “Your daughter is next.”

Lo Feng swung, and Hei Dong’s soul came undone.

“No!!”

A flash of lightning pierced the sky, shaking the air with thunder.

Something struck the halberd with a sharp metallic ring!, knocking it out of Lo Feng’s grasp as the arena exploded with the impact of a massive shadow falling from the sky. Hei Dong shielded his eyes from the dust cloud that radiated outward, choking the arena in a fog.

As the dust cleared, a huge, red-skinned figure lay crouched in a self-made crater that now spanned the gap between Rhi Dong and Lo Feng. Deathly silence fell as the figure slowly stood. It towered over Lo Feng by a foot or more, a body made of pure muscle and scars. On one shoulder was balanced the largest sword Hei Dong had ever seen, a Phalanx Glaive it looked like. As a well-muscled forearm reached for the axe that had embedded itself into the ground, Hei Dong immediately recognized who the figure was.

But it didn’t make any sense.

The Iron Bull? Why was he here?

The Iron Bull pointed the head of his axe directly at Lo Feng.

“This shit show is over, Lo Feng,” he said in a powerful voice that resonated from behind his bull mask. “Time to join both your flunkies and your lord and master in the pits of hell.”

* * *

The High Magistrate banged her gavel like a madwoman, screaming “Order!” over and over again, but I couldn’t care. I instead glanced back at the silver-haired woman keeled over in pain behind me. The resemblance was remarkable. There was no doubt where Fia had inherited her good looks from. I looked further to find Fia herself.

Tethered in chains, she stared at me with hopeful eyes but confusion in her heart. I was too far away to hear what she said as she called out to me, but I didn’t need to. Her heart said it all. She didn’t know what I was going to do, but she was glad that I was here.

“You okay, Fia’s mom?”

The woman reacted with a bewildered stare. “Wh-what did you just call me?”

“Sorry,” I said. “I got this now, Lady Silver Moon. You and your daughter are safe.”

She all but swooned as she collapsed back on her heels, confusion interfering with the lemonade pouring from her soul. “Who…? How is this happening…?”

“How indeed?” Lo Feng growled at me as he retrieved his halberd from the ground. “What the hell do you think you’re up to, bull man?”

I was about to give him another dose of [Fear the Flame] when a glowing silver needle struck the ground between us, kicking up sand in the air. I turned about to see the Warden herself now standing, her palm still aglow with the technique.

“Arrest that man!” she commanded. “He has interfered with official actions of the courts!”

The squad of Imperial Guards hesitated for a second and the magistrate banged her gavel.

“Did you not hear the order?!” she yelled. “He is in contempt. Restrain him or find yourself guilty of the same!”

The guards got off their asses and started across the arena towards me, but slowed when I flexed my core. Still, I couldn’t keep this up for long. I was on the wrong side of the law and unless my vindication came quickly, I was going to have to start my rebellion about a decade and two cultivation realms ahead of schedule.

The guards had just about reached me, fear in their hearts.

“Take it easy, Iron Bull,” one of them said, a bit of lemonade in his soul. “We don’t need this to go badly.”

I didn’t need it to, either.

I scanned left and right.

Dammit where the hell is she?

I was just about to drop my weapons when a loud shout pierced the air.

“Your honor, I object!”

Stumbling through the bleachers was Jian Yi, followed closely by Kelsey. Both of them wore a touch of purple on their robes, Jian Yi having somehow torn a piece of her own for Kelsey to wear. Fear poured from within Jian Yi but was quickly consumed by the burning ember in her soul, making her fearless as she approached the two powerful women before her.

“What madness is this?!” The magistrate stood to her feet. “Who are you to interrupt this court?”

Jian Yi fell to her face in a kowtow before the dais and dragged Kelsey to the floor with her to do the same.

“Most honorable High Magistrate,” she said as she prostrated herself. “This One is known as Jian Yi, barrister for the Terran Sect and its Warden, the Iron Bull. Joining me is my pupil, the learned Kel—”

“I don’t give a damn who you are!” the magistrate shouted. “I want to know why you have interrupted my court? Speak quickly or I’ll have you disbarred and jailed for contempt!”

“Your honor, I have new evidence regarding this case,” Jian Yi said. “I have proof the allegations against the Lady Silver Light are false.”

“This is a mockery, your honor!” Lo Feng bellowed from the arena. “A Grand Sage has proven the ownership of that quill beyond doubt. It belongs to Lady Silver Light.”

“Indeed,” Jian Yi said. “But we have proof, your honor, that it was planted by the Fire Bird clan itself.”

“What proof?” Lo Feng bellowed.

The magistrate banged her gavel. “I will ask the questions, Master Lo Feng.” She then looked down at Jian Yi. “Answer carefully, barrister. This is a case that has already been ruled upon based on the evidence of a Grand Sage. A reversal will take very compelling evidence indeed. What proof do you have of this allegation?”

Jian Yi looked at me and nodded and I stepped forward with [Struggler’s Resolve].

“My testimony, your honor,” I said. “I acquired that quill from Lady Silver Light and then left it with Ju Gong at the Fire Bird Headquarters.” I then glanced behind me at Lo Feng. “Right after I killed Hong Feng and a hundred of my brethren.”

A collective gasp went throughout the court.

“This is ridiculous!” Lo Feng said. “This man is seeking to undermine this case. Clearly Master Hei Dong has coerced him to make this false confession somehow.”

“To what end, your honor?” Jian Yi contested. “To what gain would my client have to confess to such a crime? He would certainly receive no pardon for altruism.”

“That is true,” the magistrate said. “Which makes it all the more curious why your client has done so. Can you explain this?”

Jian Yi’s confidence slipped as a bubble of fear disrupted her soul.

“I– I don’t believe—”

“We have made no agreement with this man,” Fia’s father suddenly blurted. “I, Master Hei Dong, swear to this by the heavens. In fact, my family had a writ against him! There is no way we would have formed some pact together.”

“Then it is payment, your honor,” Lo Feng said quickly.

“Payment for what?” the magistrate questioned.

“Your honor, as Master Hei Dong has just admitted, his family had a writ against this man,” he said. “Clearly, they have now dropped this writ in return for this man to falsely confess to free their daughter of her crimes.”

I looked over my shoulder at Lo Feng. The wily old bastard had some tricks up his sleeve, but I wasn’t going down so easily. “Yeah, they may have dropped the writ, but that doesn’t mean my testimony is false.”

“Oh really?” Lo Feng said. “And are we to believe that you managed to kill a sect elder and over a hundred cultivators when you were but an Iron Bracket whelpling only six months ago?”

I smirked with [Indifference] and then whispered to him. “Why don’t you ask Hin Wu, just how much of a whelpling I am?”

A look of shock and anger flashed across his face, followed by a scowl.

“Your honorable High Magistrate, if I may?”

All eyes turned to the new voice that had spoken and I looked to see Ju Gong now stepping forward within the plaintiff box.

“You wish to address the court, Ju Gong?” the magistrate asked.

“I do, your honor.”

“Very well. Proceed.”

“I believe I can attest to the Iron Bull’s testimony,” Ju Gong said. “He was there at the scene.”

“What?” Lo Feng shouted. “I object to this nonsense. You are my witness, Ju Gong! Sit down!”

“No, I will allow it,” the magistrate said. “Are you admitting perjury, Ju Gong? You have already testified that you saw no one.”

“No, your honor,” Ju Gong said. “I testified that I saw ‘no woman’.”

A lengthy pause filled the air.

The magistrate pursed her lips and then whispered to one of the clerks who after a few moments began rifling through some court documents. She then placed a sheet of paper before the magistrate who studied it carefully before finally looking back to Ju Gong. “So, it seems you are correct, Ju Gong. Your testimony was indeed that you saw ‘no woman’. Are you now saying that you saw this man?”

“I saw a figure resembling his physique, your honor,” he said. “And I think we can all agree that his physique in particular is quite unique. Now that he has confessed, I have no doubt that it was Master Iron Bull who I saw that night.”

I grinned at Ju Gong and gave him a nod.

He simply bowed in return.

“There!” Master Hei Dong said excitedly. “A confession, confirmed by a witness! Clearly this must exonerate the Lady Silver Light, your honor!”

I looked down at Fia’s mother and smiled.

There was nothing but hope and confusion in her eyes.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

I shrugged and then looked to Fia. “Just someone trying to atone for his crimes.”

But as Fia looked back at me, I could sense the pain in her soul, perhaps understanding what could happen to me now that I’d confessed to the crime.

The magistrate banged the gavel.

“Master Hei Dong, based on this new evidence, I now exonerate your daughter, the Lady Silver Light, of these allegations against her. She is now free to go.”

The bailiffs undid her chains and Fia’s parents cried out in elation, causing Lo Feng to curse.

“I object!” he shouted. “Will this liar not have to pay for her crimes?!”

“Silence!” the magistrate shouted. “Master Lo Feng, you have lost your case against the Dong Family. I suggest you be happy that I do not charge you for wasting the court’s time as well!”

“I demand justice!” he said. “My nephew is dead! If the Iron Bull’s testimony is to be believed, then he must stand trial for his crimes. The same as Lady Silver Light!”

The magistrate paused a moment before studying me.

“Remand him into custody,” she said, and the world fell from under me as she banged her gavel a final time. “We will set a new date for a trial. If found guilty by his own testimony, then the Iron Bull will face the ultimate penalty for his cri—”

“Your honor, I object!”

The shout came from Jian Yi.

Everyone stared at her as fear poured from her heart.

The magistrate glared at her with piercing eyes. “I beg your pardon?! Do you dare object to an order by a high magistrate within her own court!?”

Jian Yi’s soul was on fire, her ember burning to hold back her fear.

“I do, your honor!” she said boldly, causing the court to gasp again. “This man is a Fire Bird and as violent as his actions were, they were against fellow members of the Fire Bird sect. There was no breach of imperial law, namely the unsanctioned attack on a fellow martial sect as was the case with the Lady Silver Light. I contend that this was nothing more than an internal sect matter, falling well outside the purview of imperial law. Clearly my client had surpassed his elder, the late Master Hong Feng, and sought to usurp his position by traditional means. And clearly the outcome was a reality that Master Lo Feng, being Hong Feng’s uncle, can still not accept, leading him to concoct this false accusation against the Lady Silver Light and her family to save face.”

A mountain of anger boiled from behind me as Lo Feng turned red in the face.

“Who the hell is that little bitch?” he said.

I smirked at him with a shit-eating grin. “My barrister.”

Silence befell the court as everyone looked to the magistrate.

She glared at Jian Yi, but Jian Yi didn’t back down, her back remaining as straight as her stare. Then subtly the magistrate’s face softened, and the corner of her lip curled into a smile. She released a harrumph.

“An interesting observation, Barrister Jian Yi,” she said and I was surprised she even recalled her name. “And one that is in complete accordance with the law.” She then chuckled. “It seems even I got caught up in Master Lo Feng’s inability to accept reality.” She banged her gavel again. “I withdraw my last order. The Iron Bull is free to go.”

I punched the sky with a fist pump as Jian Yi collapsed to the ground in relief.

“Hell yeah, Jian Yi!”

Fia also jumped into the air with a cheer, drawing a look of confusion from Hei Dong. But all was short lived as the mountain of anger building within Lo Feng suddenly exploded behind me.

“This is bullshit!” he roared, bursting into flames. “I will have my justice here and now! You’ll pay for your crimes against the Fire Bird Clan, you little shit!”

He was about to charge at me when the magistrate banged her gavel again.

“Master Lo Feng!” she shouted. “This is no longer a matter before the courts! Leave at once!”

“I don’t need your damn court,” he said, brandishing his glaive. “I just need a place to fight!”

“Then fight,” the Warden said, nonplussed as she suddenly stood. “Internal Fire Bird matters are no concern of mine. Feel free to use the arena, but I will not be staying. I care not for the outcome.”

Her indifference ignited the hatred in my soul.

The bitch…cold and aloof as always.

I looked back to Lo Feng who was now glowering at me with pent up rage.

“You’ve interfered with my clan for the last time,” he said. “You’re a stain on our history that I will gladly blot out.”

I cultivated his anger as my Flame responded to the challenge.

Lo Feng had to be beyond even Hin Wu in strength, a true Sacred Soul Realm cultivator, but that did little to satisfy the sudden emptiness that resonated in my soul.

What the hell? I thought, as my Flame began to die.

I’d done it. I’d saved both Fia and her mother and even myself from jail.

So why then did I feel so hollow?

And then it hit me.

The writ.

It was over.

Our plan was still over.

Fia was free, but not free to marry me.

And there was no means to make it all happen now.

I stood beside myself as Master Hei Dong reunited with his wife, sharing in their love and salvation. Salvation that I had bought them, but as I stared across the distance to Fia, there was a gulf between us that neither of us could do anything to cross.

We might as well have been a million miles apart.

Never to unite outside of secret ever again.

No, I thought as the anger of the entire social system burned me from the inside. I can’t let it all fall apart without a fight!

“Your honor, madam warden!” I shouted and they both stopped dead in their tracks to look back at me with a mixture of shock and disdain.

“What is it, Iron Bull?” the Warden said, contempt in her voice.

“I request your presence and a bit more of the court’s time.”

“What?” the magistrate said. “For what purpose?”

My mind went a thousand miles a minute as I ran through all the scenarios in my head. All the right players were here. The chess board was set. I just needed to play everything in the right order to make it all happen.

But before that.

I needed the right status.

Or nothing would be happening at all.

“For the purpose of making this fight official,” I said as I charged my axe and glaive with lightning. “I wish to challenge Master Lo Feng for leadership of the Fire Bird Clan.”