I've Got You Locked Down

The loudspeaker crackled with static, and the electronic screen flipped pages in a wash of cold light. Every head in the waiting area tilted up in unison.

"First match—Group A3: Yun Ying versus Dongfang Yao."

Yun Ying had just twisted open the bottle of mineral water Xie Xie handed her. She had taken half a mouthful and was about to swallow when her ears caught the name "Dongfang Yao," making her choke—

"Pfft—"

A stream of water shot straight out three feet, soaking the back of the contestant in front of her. She coughed so hard she doubled over, her brown ponytail whipping against her spear shaft. The bruise on her abdomen flared painfully from the jolt.

"...Dongfang Yao?" She glared at Xie Xie. "I'm fighting him?!"

Even Xie Xie's blond hair seemed stunned. His knuckles were still caught against the seam of his pants. "The screen isn't broken, is it? A3, Yun Ying, Dongfang Yao, Arena Three."

Dongfang Yao sprang to his feet two rows ahead with a whoosh. The Star Sword at his lower back struck the steps with a clang. He turned toward Yun Ying, and even his natural grin froze for half a second before he raised his voice. "What? I'm fighting Yun Ying? Did the referee get stars stuck in his brain?! I was just catching up with her—hey, Yun Ying, why'd you spray me with water?!"

"I didn't spray you!" Yun Ying threw the empty bottle into Xie Xie's arms. "Blondie, your bottle leaks!"

"Your choking was my bottle's fault?" Xie Xie caught it, water still dripping from its mouth.

Yao strode down the steps, shouting back as he headed for check-in. "Miss Yun, listen to me. What are we even fighting for? Yesterday, that Gu Yue punched you so hard in the waist you could barely straighten up. If I bring my sword down on you, your dad will chase me from Chang'an all the way to the Eastern Sea with a gun—"

"Shut up!" Yun Ying drew her spear. The Phantom Crystal patterns lit up with a flash, and the energy ring on its tassel spun brightly again. "Who said I needed you to hold back? We drew lots. Fight!"

"I'm not holding back! I just think—"

"One more word, and I'll poke that chatterbox throat of yours with my spearhead first."

"...Fine, fine, we'll talk on the arena." Yao raised his hands in surrender, then ran toward Arena Three while muttering to a referee by the path, "This woman has no sentiment at all..."

The referee blew his whistle. "Arena Three, both sides take your positions!"

The meteorite-iron arena gleamed in cold gray. Morning light, filtered through the soul-guide barrier, spread pale blue across its surface. Old cracks were embedded with star fragments melted in past matches. When Yun Ying stepped onto it, her lower back still ached, and the bruise on her abdomen throbbed beneath her combat suit. She planted her spear tip against the ground. The tassel of the Phantom Crystal Spear drooped and brushed the iron without even throwing sparks, but the stifled frustration Gu Yue had beaten into her seemed to run straight through the shaft into her wrist.

Yao took his place opposite her, removing the sword from his lower back and holding it in his left hand. The star-blue blade was set with crystal fragments, and with a flick of his wrist, it gave off the faintest gleam of a galaxy. His right hand was still gesturing out of habit. "Little Yun, listen to me. Let's end this quickly. Afterward, I'm going out to get yogurt from that place on the street—"

The referee raised his hand. "Ready—begin."

Yao moved before the referee had even finished the word "begin."

He spun and shifted aside. A flicker of starlight traced beneath his feet, and the sword wind of Sky-Rending Slash swept out first—not at Yun Ying herself, but at the Phantom Crystal radiance raised by her spear tip. The sword wind cut diagonally, scattering the Phantom Crystal light by half an inch. His real body had already slipped past the spear shaft to her left flank. The slashing arc of Star Chaser looked like it had torn a seam through the night sky. Sword in his left hand and a phantom star path in his right, he glided along her spear shaft and still found time to look back. "See that footwork? Cool, right?"

Yun Ying did not answer. The instant her spear swept back, Yao's star clone flashed out from the arc on her right, while his real body doubled back along a second star path. The power of three stars glimmered over his blade. As Radiant Sky-Rending Slash unfolded, the blade and star phantoms twisted forward in a double assault—his empowered sword strike followed through. Amid exploding star fragments came a clang, and the Phantom Crystal Spear was knocked half a foot aside.

Yun Ying was truly angry now.

"Dongfang Yao, you—" She clenched her teeth. Her anger smothered the soreness in her lower back as the Phantom-Light Divine Spear shook open. Flowing light streamed from the shaft into Phantom Crystal. Wind Chaser, her second movement skill, carried her straight past his side. In a flash, her spear tassel had swept toward the back of his neck. Just as Yao's Return to Dust afterimage flickered away, she launched the first phase of Flame-Reaver Spear. A spear shadow transformed into a Phantom Crystal Beast and lunged at him. Yao cried out and raised his sword crosswise to block, only to be slapped back two steps by the beast's forepaw. The second phase, Sun Howl, came crashing down from above. His Star Sword tilted half an inch off-center as he took the blow head-on, shattering a layer of its star-blue glow.

"Even the stars I treat to midnight snacks aren't as impatient as you!" Yao shouted as Moon Severer's first strike sent him half a foot into the air, his sword flailing wildly. "I haven't even struck a pose yet! Do you have any martial honor at all—attacking before I've charged up?!"

Yun Ying ignored him. The trailing light of the Phantom-Light Divine Spear ignited, and the three-stage spear intent of Hundred Blazing Slashes stacked together. Spear shadows became an upsurging galaxy, and the final piercing strike came down in the instant before Yao could use Stellar Repositioning—

Crack—

A flaming chasm split open across the meteorite-iron arena. Embers of phantom light ran along the star patterns, forming molten trenches. Star fragments ignited the moment they met the light, blue sparks and tongues of flame licking toward the scorched iron debris around Yao's knee. He was still holding up his sword, his smile frozen on the word "draw." "A draw, a draw! That's what I was about to say—"

Yun Ying withdrew her spear and stood at the edge of the rift. Sparks from her spear tassel rose into blue smoke. The bruise on her abdomen swelled with her breath. She raised her eyes, and at last expelled the stifled frustration in her throat:

"Shut up."