The Final Opponent
Dusk settled completely over the training ground, and the lanterns on the walls were lit one by one.
Lin Qing leaned against the wall. The two marks on his palm had stopped glowing, as if they had sunk deep into his skin, leaving only a trace of lingering warmth.
Bamboo Breath circulated once through his body. His meridians were clear, and he had no hidden injuries. He was only mentally tired, like a string that had been pulled taut for days and had finally slackened a little.
The deacon rose from the table and glanced at the few people remaining in the arena. His gaze moved slowly from one to another before he closed the register and said calmly, "Three remain. The final match is tomorrow morning."
Three people. Lin Qing silently counted them in his head-himself, the tall man who had used a short spear earlier, and one other person.
He didn't make a point of looking for where the other two were standing. He simply looked down at his palm, then turned and headed back to his room.
On the way back, people were talking quietly in the corridor, their voices too low for him to make out what they were saying.
Lin Qing didn't stop. He pushed open the door and entered his room. The bronze token was still lying on the table, its surface coated with a fine layer of dust.
He picked it up, wiped it clean, and put it back where it had been. Then he sat on the edge of the bed, took off his coat and folded it beside him, and lay down.
The bed boards were as hard as ever, but he didn't much care tonight. After he closed his eyes, Bamboo Breath flowed slowly through his body.
The Ice and Fire Dual Crystals lay quietly deep within the bamboo's body, like two fierce beasts drawing in their claws and fangs.
He soon fell asleep, without dreaming.
Early the next morning, before the sky had fully brightened, people were already at the training ground.
When Lin Qing arrived, the deacon was already standing by the table, holding the well-worn register. It looked as though he hadn't closed it the previous night and had simply turned to a new page that morning.
The courtyard was much quieter than it had been over the past few days. The few people remaining stood at the edge of the arena, and no one spoke,
nor did anyone stretch or warm up. Each stood in his own place, as if waiting for the final match to begin.
The deacon looked up and swept his gaze across the arena. "There's only one match today. Those remaining will face each other in pairs, and the winner will be selected."
Three people, with only one to be chosen, meant there would be an extra round.
Lin Qing stood at the edge of the arena and looked around. He saw the tall man who used a short spear leaning against the wall, his hands empty and his head lowered as he stared at the ground.
The other man stood opposite him. He was on the thin side, wearing a dark brown short jacket with a black sash tied around his waist. He kept his presence suppressed so deeply that his Soul Power fluctuations were almost imperceptible.
The deacon's voice rang out again, breaking the brief silence. "First match, number four against number twelve."
Lin Qing stepped out of the line and walked to the center of the arena. The tall man also left the wall, his steps steady.
He didn't hold his short spear in his hand. It was tucked behind his waist, as if he had no need of it for the moment.
He stopped in front of Lin Qing and lifted his chin slightly. "I watched your match yesterday. Your bamboo can freeze people and blow defenses apart from the inside."
Lin Qing didn't answer. He only nodded.
The deacon glanced at the two of them. "Begin."
The tall man didn't wait. He reached behind him and drew his short spear, keeping its tip low as he thrust it forward along the ground.
The spear was like a snake slithering close to the earth, its tip scoring a shallow line across the ground.
He was no slowpoke, but his rapid attacks had more rhythm than number five's explosive assault,
and every step landed in a gap that Bamboo Sea Emergence hadn't yet covered, as if he were waiting for the bamboo forest to reach a certain point before truly exerting himself.
Lin Qing didn't retreat. He pressed his left hand toward the ground. Bamboo Sea Emergence activated, and bamboo shot out from between the stone slabs,
but this time he didn't let the forest spread in every direction. Instead, he made it grow only on their flanks and behind them, leaving a narrow passage in front.
The tall man charged down the passage, his short spear aimed straight at Lin Qing's chest, its tip gleaming coldly under the lantern light.
Lin Qing turned sideways to avoid it. Cold Qi gathered in his palm as he struck at the shaft.
A thin layer of frost formed on the shaft the instant the cold Qi touched it. The tall man lowered his wrist and followed the cold Qi's force, flicking the shaft upward at an angle,
changing the spear tip's direction and thrusting again at Lin Qing's side.
Lin Qing didn't continue dodging. He condensed Bamboo Heart in his left palm, and a bamboo net unfurled from the side, wrapping around the short spear.
The instant the spear tip touched the net, the tall man sharply twisted his wrist. The shaft stirred through the net, tearing a hole in its mesh. Then he pulled away and retreated, putting distance between them again.
He didn't rush to attack again. He simply stood where he was and adjusted his grip on the spear, as if that flurry of movements had already used up some of his reserve strength.
Lin Qing gave him no more time to adjust. Bamboo Soul emerged from his sea of consciousness, silently crossing the distance between them and pausing at the edge of the tall man's consciousness.
The man's movements faltered for the briefest instant, like a string being pulled taut that had been lightly plucked.
Lin Qing sprang up using the bamboo branches' spring. Cold Qi and heat gathered in his palm at the same time, and he pressed down on the spear shaft from above.
In that half-breath, the tall man held his spear crosswise before him. The shaft gave a sharp crack under the impact of ice and fire meeting, white frost and hot vapor flashing across its surface in turn, until a fine fissure appeared.
He looked down at the fissure and fell silent for a moment. "The spear cracked."
With that, he withdrew his spear and took a step back. He tucked the short spear behind his waist again, turned, and walked out of the arena. His steps were still steady, but a little quicker than when he had entered.
The deacon's voice rang out. "Number four wins."
Lin Qing withdrew Bamboo Sea Emergence. The bamboo dispersed into the air, and the green-gold motes of light slowly vanished.
He didn't return to the wall. Instead, he stood at the edge of the arena and glanced at the man in the dark brown short jacket. The deacon happened to be looking at him too. Then he turned to the next page of the register. "Second match, number four against-number five."
The man in the dark brown short jacket stepped away from the wall.
His steps were light, almost soundless. When he reached Lin Qing, he paused slightly, then came to a stop.
He raised both hands, and an extremely thin layer of Soul Power seeped from his palms and flowed slowly along his arms. Its surface had a dull sheen, neither glaring nor spreading outward, merely clinging quietly to his skin.
Lin Qing looked at that layer of Soul Power and suddenly thought of someone.
In the western district of Spirit City, he had seen a similar method of circulation-number five's Evil Spirit Cat Martial Soul, cold and quiet, every strike precise to the point of seeming calculated.
But the man before him was different. His presence lacked the Evil Spirit Cat's cold, corrosive quality. It was more like something else, a deeply suppressed Soul Power that carried a sense of heaviness.
The man spoke. "Your Bamboo Sea Emergence has a wide range, but it takes time to spread." His voice was low and even. "I won't give you that time."
The deacon's voice rang out. "Begin."
The man moved. His movements were faster than number five's and quieter too. He closed in almost the instant the words fell.
Lin Qing had no time to press his hand to the ground. He couldn't activate Bamboo Sea Emergence and could only turn sideways to dodge the first strike.
The man's palm sliced past the edge of his shoulder, leaving an exceedingly faint whistle in the air, like a thin blade skimming the surface of water.
Lin Qing took a step back and hurriedly pressed his left hand toward the ground. Bamboo Sea Emergence finally spread, but before the bamboo had fully grown, the man had already pressed into position for a second strike.
This time, his palm didn't slice toward Lin Qing's shoulder. Instead, it struck at the roots of the bamboo-he wasn't trying to break the bamboo, but to make it split on its own as he passed.
[End of chapter twenty-four]