The Duel

After He An and Fan Dazhi ate dinner in the Dining Hall and returned to their quarters, two servants knocked on the door and brought them a brazier. The room was cold enough to freeze dripping water, but after the bone-piercing chill of the confinement cell, this winter was hardly unbearable for either of them.

Grinning, Fan Dazhi set the remaining half of the morning's roast chicken, frozen rock-hard, over the brazier. The charcoal burned fiercely, and fat dripped onto it with a sizzling hiss. Before long, the chicken was heated through.

The water in the basin had frozen. He An broke up the ice and tipped it out, preparing to wash the bloodstained clothes that had been soaking all day. With his cheeks bulging, Fan Dazhi handed him a warm piece of chicken breast.

"Xiao An, you have your duel tomorrow. Leave these little chores to me and concentrate on your training," Fan Dazhi said indistinctly through a mouthful of chicken.

He An wiped his wet hands on his clothes and took the chicken. Warmth welled up in his heart. His good brother Dazhi was becoming more considerate by the day.

He returned to the side room and pushed open the window. Night had fallen, but the reflected light from the snow made everything outside clearly visible.

The snow that had fallen all day had finally stopped. In the distance, the Nursery, trees, and ornamental rockeries had become a world of jade branches and pearly leaves, draped in silver and white. Everything in sight was pure white.

The cold air stung He An's lungs and cleared his mind. He practiced the Cloud-Riding Hand twice, until his meridians loosened and his blood and qi flowed freely, then sat cross-legged on the bed. Heat rose from his body in wisps of white vapor.

He An silently circulated his cultivation method. Before long, the true qi stored in the dan foundation in his lower abdomen surged like floodwaters bursting through an opened sluice. At the same time, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy outside gathered frenziedly, pouring through the window into his body like the Milky Way cascading down.

Just as he had expected. He An felt a secret surge of delight. The overpowering medicinal effects still lingered, but their force seemed even fiercer than yesterday. He closed his eyes and carefully sensed his body. A dull ache remained around the dan foundation in his lower abdomen, causing slight sluggishness as he circulated his cultivation method.

Dao Integration Realm experts really are terrifying. If Huang Daogong had struck with his full strength, I would probably be dead or crippled... As he marveled inwardly, the true qi in his dan foundation darted in every direction, beginning to show signs of disorder.

He An raised his hand and slowly guided the true qi within his body into his right arm... Just as it had the night before, the Spirit-Shocking Finger burst from his fingertip. A fierce bolt of force shot through the window, seemingly twisting the very air in its path.

With a crack, a white birch as thick as a forearm snapped through the middle and crashed to the ground, throwing up a cloud of snow.

The fierce force continued unabated, sinking into a tall snow pine. Its branches shuddered, and the snow covering them collapsed and fell with soft thuds...

He An froze completely, scarcely able to believe his eyes.

The Spirit-Shocking Finger was actually this terrifyingly powerful!

As he had the night before, he slowly drew his true qi into his dan foundation. While his body absorbed Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy, he pointed his left hand toward the space between his brows and changed the finger positions of his right, attempting once again to unleash the second form of the Spirit-Shocking Finger-the Immortal-Slaying Finger!

He already knew the cultivation method in this secret manual by heart. Unfortunately, no matter how he drove his power, the true qi coursing through his arm stopped at the Heavenly Well Acupoint and would go no farther.

Haste made waste. He An understood that well, and besides, he was already growing proficient in the first form of the Spirit-Shocking Finger. He gathered his wandering thoughts and concentrated on absorbing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy gathering above his head.

He An did not know how much time had passed when he heard water splashing in the main room outside. He could not help wondering what was happening. He had not seen Fan Dazhi for quite a while. Had something gone wrong?

He An jumped off the bed and rushed into the main room. At the sight before him, he froze once again.

Fan Dazhi sat on the Arhat Chair, his hands extended and waving gently in the air, occasionally making pressing and rubbing motions. A large basin sat on the floor a short distance away. The water inside flowed and rippled, and He An's clothes drifted and rolled through it, bobbing up and down as though an invisible hand were vigorously scrubbing them.

A hazy white radiance enveloped the two plump hands suspended in the air. He An keenly sensed that it was a condensed layer of Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy-so dense it was nearly tangible, and exceedingly pure.

Fan Dazhi's eyes were slightly narrowed. He had not noticed He An at all and was thoroughly enjoying himself.

He brought his palms together and traced circles, singing cheerfully, "Red sun, white clouds, Mama washes and I hang them out, ai-lo, ai-lo, ai-lo, ai-lo, ai..."

As he sang merrily, the water in the basin spun rapidly, faster and faster, gradually forming whirlpools. The clothes spun along with it. Water surged and splashed, yet not a single drop landed on the floor... Only then did He An notice the hazy radiance covering the basin as well.

"You... this is how you... wash clothes?" He An asked, unable to suppress his amusement.

"Uh..." Fan Dazhi snapped out of his reverie and stopped moving his hands. Somewhat embarrassed, he scratched his head and chuckled. "The water... was just too cold. I had no choice. Hehehe!"

"When did you master this skill?" He An asked, looking at the basin as its water gradually settled.

"Ah... I've been practicing for ages, but I still can't manage Primordial Energy Manifestation. Still... I can control Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy a little!" Fan Dazhi looked rather dejected as he spoke, his round, plump face drooping.

"Oh! Are you still training your divine sense every night? How far can you reach now?" He An felt amused by Fan Dazhi's expression.

"Divine sense isn't much fun either. It's freezing now, and the streets are deserted at night... The farthest I can reach is outside our Knowledge and Practice Institute... thirty zhang along Vermilion Bird Avenue. Any farther... and I can't manage it!" Fan Dazhi said despondently.

Suppressing his shock, He An gave him a mischievous smile. "Have you checked the Female Dormitory too?"

"My divine sense swept past... just a quick sweep..." Fan Dazhi blushed, then smiled. "Really... There seems to be some kind of restriction around the Female Dormitory buildings. When my divine sense swept past, I couldn't see anything clearly, and when I tried probing inside, something inexplicably blocked me... Our Knowledge and Practice Institute really is a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Xiao An, do you think some great expert set up a formation there?"

He An could only laugh. This brother of his clearly possessed extraordinary talent, yet all he wanted to do was play. Probing the Female Dormitory with his divine sense and controlling primordial energy to wash clothes-only he could have dreamed up such things.

He An did not know what to say. After a long moment, he merely patted Fan Dazhi gently on the shoulder.

"Brother, one day your name will be known throughout the world!"

The next morning, even after the first lesson ended, Han Chanjuan still had not appeared. He An kept glancing at her empty seat, growing worried. That night, she had exhausted herself fleeing pursuit, and afterward her life had hung by a thread the whole time. Had she suffered internal injuries? Or fallen ill?

He An muddled through the morning amid these wandering worries. Only when the dismissal bell rang and he left the classroom did he discover that the servants had cleared the thick snow from the paths. Snow stood piled like little mountains beneath the trees and in the corners of the walls.

The sun emerged from the clouds, but its light offered no warmth against his skin. The sky had cleared after the winter snow, and the air was crisp and cold.

At noon, the appointed time for the duel arrived. Gu Qingzhou, Fan Dazhi, and a group of male students from the classroom gathered around He An and headed for the Martial Restraint Hall.

They had just reached the entrance when they ran into Cui Mengshu and his group. Sun Biao still wore his loose robe that concealed his face. Towering above the others like a crane among chickens, he walked amid them with his arms folded and gave He An's group only a cold glance.

The two groups glared at each other, brows bristling with anger. Neither said a word, and they entered the Martial Restraint Hall separately.

The Martial Restraint Hall was spacious. A vertical red banner hung in the center of the wall, bearing four large golden characters: "True martial might ends war." Beneath it stood a stepped dais with several folding chairs arranged on top.

Facing the dais, in the center of the hall, stood a wooden fighting platform. Several ropes stretched between wooden posts around its edges, enclosing it. Multicolored triangular pennants and little bells hung from them, though their purpose was unclear.

The Martial Restraint Hall was already packed with students who had come to watch the excitement. A lively buzz filled the air as everyone discussed the day's duel. It had been a long time since students at the Knowledge and Practice Institute had arranged a fight. With the bitter cold and snow outside, even many female students had come in after hearing there was a spectacle to watch.

He An and his companions squeezed into the crowd. Suddenly, a stir swept through the hall, followed by silence. The crowd parted like a tide to open a passage as Feng Shaotang, head of the Hall of Martial Knowledge, Zou Zheng, Qiu Qingxi, and another instructor with graying hair walked slowly onto the dais and took their seats.

The gray-haired instructor stood, coughed lightly twice, and spoke in a voice as resonant as a great bell. "Everyone... quiet, please!"

The buzzing in the hall stopped, and everyone turned toward the dais.

"I am Xu Kangnian, chief instructor of the Hall of Martial Knowledge, and the adjudicator for this duel. He An, a student from Chuzhou Prefecture, and Sun Biao, a student from Jingzhou Commandery, have agreed to a duel. Both parties understand the rules, and the Challenge Letter is in effect!" He paused, then raised his voice. "Both combatants, enter the platform!"

Amid the crowd's cheers, Sun Biao was the first to leap onto the platform. He pulled aside the loose robe concealing his face, revealing fierce features, and cupped his fist to salute the spectators.

The platform was some seven or eight feet high. Sun Biao deliberately somersaulted several times in midair during his leap, drawing applause and cheers from below.

The spectators turned toward He An, and those nearby stepped back of their own accord to clear a path. Fan Dazhi leaned close, tugged his sleeve, and whispered, "Xiao An, be careful!"

He An nodded, brushed the front of his clothes, and walked to the edge of the platform. Gathering his qi, he leaped, touched the tip of his foot against a thick wooden post, and landed steadily in the center.

Scattered applause rose from below...

He An paid it no mind. First, he bowed to the instructors on the dais, then copied Sun Biao, cupping his fist to salute the crowd.

"Good! Both of you, step back... begin!" Feng Nandi shouted. As his voice fell, the pennants on the ropes around the platform fluttered, and the bells jingled.

Standing in a corner of the platform, He An lowered his eyes. He could sense primordial energy fluctuating around the pennants and bells, as though some mysterious power had been bestowed upon them. A moment later, everything settled, and the entire Martial Restraint Hall fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

"Hah!"

Sun Biao struck first.

He strode forward two steps and twisted his body. His soles scraped against the boards with a piercing sonic crack as he thrust a palm toward He An in the corner.

The palm strike carried astonishing force. Before it reached him, the wind from it already stung He An's cheeks.

He An's pupils contracted.

The pitch-black palm glimmered faintly with a metallic sheen as it hurtled toward him on a fierce gust.

At the last possible instant, He An slipped sideways. Sun Biao's palm struck the wooden post, sending splinters flying.

Amid the spectators' startled cries, He An sank his shoulder and raised his elbow, unleashing the Cloud-Riding Hand at Sun Biao's shoulder and armpit.

With two thuds, He An's fist and palm struck Sun Biao's body as though hitting worn leather. Utterly unbothered, his opponent pressed close and delivered another palm strike.

He An swiftly retreated, simultaneously turning his palm into a blade and slicing toward Sun Biao's neck.

In the flash of lightning and flint, the two shifted, dodged, and exchanged more than a dozen moves, neither gaining the upper hand.

Seated on the dais, Feng Shaotang asked softly, "Elder Xu... which of these two young men do you think will win?"