The First Match

People were already moving about outside before the sky had fully brightened.

Footsteps rang out across the flagstones, growing more frequent. Lin Qing opened his eyes. The sky outside the window was still gray.

The iron token was still on the table. He picked it up, tucked it into his robes, and pushed the door open.

Four or five people were already in the corridor, loosening their muscles and joints. Some leaned against the wall with their eyes closed, resting, while others spoke in low voices.

Their gazes swept over Lin Qing, then quickly moved away, as though they had seen something they did not want to notice and simply looked elsewhere.

Cheng Du was waiting for him at the courtyard gate, still dressed in the same black clothes as last night, a fresh grass stem dangling from his mouth.

"The training ground is on the north side of the western district. Just follow the crowd." Without lingering, he turned and left.

Lin Qing followed the flow of people, crossed two streets, and turned into a wider alley.

A tall iron gate stood at the end of the alley. It was already open, revealing a broad stretch of level gray ground within.

The training ground was bigger than Lin Qing had imagined, as though an entire street had been torn down and paved over. Low walls surrounded it, and several rows of black-clad Spirit Hall deacons stood outside them.

There was nothing superfluous on the training ground, only boundary lines and several markers drawn on the ground in white stone powder, standing out sharply in the cold light of early morning.

A number of people were already seated in the stands beside the training ground. There were red-robed bishops, black-clad deacons, and a few people in ordinary clothes whose identities were impossible to discern, though their presence was imposing.

They sat scattered apart, leaving ample space between one another, as though they had long been accustomed to being alone. Lin Qing did not look at them for long. He walked along the edge of the ground to a corner and stood against the wall.

More people trickled in. Some were tall and sturdy, others lean and tough, each with a different presence. Lin Qing glanced around and formed a rough idea of their numbers.

A few had a powerful presence, at least at the Soul Ancestor level; several others kept their presence so subdued that he could not gauge their depths.

As the sun rose above the eastern city wall, a middle-aged man in red walked to the center of the training ground.

His voice was not loud, but it was clear, as though amplified by some kind of power. Everyone on the training ground could hear him.

"Today's selection will reduce twelve to six. Opponents will be chosen by lot, and each match will last one incense stick. The winners advance; the losers leave."

He stepped aside when he finished. Soon, someone brought over a long table and placed a wooden box on it. Inside were twelve wooden tokens, face down so their numbers could not be seen.

Lin Qing stepped forward, reached into the box, and drew out a wooden token. He turned it over and saw the number "seven" carved on it.

He looked around. Some had already found their opponents, their gazes meeting silently across the ground.

A young man in gray was leaning against the wall opposite him, holding an identical wooden token and looking his way.

The man appeared to be around his age. He was rather lean, and his presence was not particularly strong.

But the way he stood made Lin Qing look twice-his center of gravity was steady, as though a force were always coiled within his body, ready to spring at any moment.

"Seven against seven, second match," someone called.

Lin Qing looked at the wooden token in his hand, then at the young man opposite him.

The man was looking at him too, his face expressionless. He merely tucked the token into his robes, turned, and walked to the edge of the ground without another word.

The first match was a duel between two Soul Ancestors. One wielded a saber, the other a whip.

The saber wielder attacked fiercely. His blade flashed blindingly in the morning light, each stroke whistling through the air. The whip wielder kept retreating.

But he retreated steadily, tracing arc after arc with his whip to keep every attack at bay.

Lin Qing noticed that the whip wielder had not taken the initiative to attack once from beginning to end. He only defended and waited, as though he believed his opponent's blade would slow sooner or later.

Sure enough, halfway through the incense stick, the saber wielder began to gasp for breath.

The whip wielder seized that momentary opening. His whip coiled around the man's wrist, and with a sideways tug, he pulled the saber from his hand. The match was decided.

Some at the edge of the ground applauded; others remained silent.

"Second match, seven against seven."

Lin Qing walked onto the field. The young man in gray came forward as well. Without any unnecessary movement, he merely lowered his head and briefly cupped his fists.

"...Please go easy on me."

Lin Qing returned the salute. He could feel the gazes around them all fixed on this patch of ground.

The people in the stands, the other candidates standing by the wall, even the red-robed bishops were watching him, as though they wanted to see how well this newcomer with three rings could fight.

The young man in gray moved. He was unexpectedly fast, shooting forward like an arrow, straight toward Lin Qing's left side.

He kept his body low, and the instant he came close to the ground, one hand was already reaching for Lin Qing's ankle.

Lin Qing stepped back with his right foot. The Bamboo Soul trembled gently deep within his sea of consciousness, and he sensed the path of his opponent's attack: the first strike was a feint; the real assault would come with the second.

Sure enough, the young man in gray did not pause after his grab missed. Using his momentum, he flipped upright and drove his other hand upward toward Lin Qing's chin.

Lin Qing turned sideways to evade and brought his left hand down against the ground. Bamboo Sea Emergence activated in an instant.

Dozens of green bamboo stalks shot up from the ground, covering more than half the field. The entire arena had already become a bamboo forest.

Every bamboo joint glimmered with a green-gold light, blocking the young man's advance.

The young man in gray did not stop. His body seemed boneless as he slipped through the gaps between the bamboo and struck at Lin Qing's chest with his palm.

Lin Qing did not dodge. He had been waiting for his opponent to get close.

As the man approached, Lone Bamboo Pole Vault activated. Within the domain of Bamboo Sea Emergence, Pole Vault activated instantly and could take him anywhere he wanted to go within Bamboo Sea Emergence in a manner akin to near-instantaneous movement.

In a flash, Lin Qing appeared like lightning on the tip of a lone bamboo branch twenty meters away.

The Bamboo Soul had already locked onto his opponent's movements. Before that palm strike had fully extended, Lin Qing was ready.

He raised his right hand, and cold air instantly poured from his palm.

By the time the young man's palm reached Lin Qing's chest, Lin Qing's right hand was already pressed against his wrist.

The cold air condensed into a thin layer of frost that spread up his wrist.

The young man in gray immediately slowed by half a beat, as though frozen. His brows knitted, and he drew his hand back, but the cold had already seeped through his skin.

Instead of continuing his attack, he jumped back a step and looked down at his wrist.

The frost was melting, but the skin beneath had already been frozen white, and he could not exert any force with it for the time being.

The young man in gray fell silent for a while and glanced at Lin Qing. Slowly, he lowered his right hand.

"I concede," he said.

The side of the field fell quiet for a moment, and then people began murmuring. Lin Qing withdrew his hand, said nothing, and turned to leave the field.

The bamboo from Bamboo Sea Emergence was slowly fading away. Lin Qing walked to the edge of the field without looking back.

He knew he had won this match, but the opponents ahead would only be stronger. It was not time to stop yet.

[End of Chapter Sixteen]