Ironback Returns

The dark green jade pendant became the thing Long Tian kept closest to him.

It rested against his chest during lessons in the daytime, and he clutched it in his palm when he meditated at night. There was nothing remarkable about the pendant itself. Its texture was smooth and warm, and its inscription was neatly carved, but holding it always put him at ease, as if his father's big, rough hand were still resting on his shoulder across a thousand miles. He did not know where the pendant had come from or what the Iron Guard was, but a flame had kindled in his heart-one day, he would go to Spirit City and ask his father in person about the things he had left unsaid.

He cultivated as usual, but pushed himself harder than before. His daily meditation stretched from two hours to three, and he practiced his Soul Skills from midday until evening. He left scorch marks and patches of frost scattered across the bluestone floor of the training ground. The old school caretaker in charge of cleaning could only shake his head when he saw them, though he said nothing.

He gradually discovered more variations of Yin-Yang Rotation. He could adjust the speed and power of his golden light projectiles, and by compressing more Soul Power into them, he could make them turn in midair. The paths his Shadow Stealth took grew trickier as well. He could even send the shadow gliding along a wall and around from above a roof to drop behind an opponent. Zhao Xiaopang clicked his tongue in amazement every time he came to watch him practice. Even Shitou and the other children from Class C gradually put down their books and sat beneath the banyan tree, watching in rapt attention.

On the fifth day, Mr. Wang announced that the academy would hold its annual minor tournament at the end of the month. All students from the three classes could take part, competing in mixed grade groups, and the final top ten would receive rewards. The prizes were medicinal bath ingredients for cultivation; the higher the ranking, the larger the share.

The news sent the entire academy into an uproar. Medicinal bath ingredients were valuable aids to cultivation. Soaking in them could clear the meridians and stabilize Soul Power, making them something junior Soul Masters could scarcely hope to obtain. The students of Classes A and B rubbed their fists and palms in anticipation. Apart from Long Tian and Zhao Xiaopang, the students of Class C were merely there to make up the numbers, though they looked forward to joining the excitement.

Zhao Xiaopang rubbed his hands together with excitement. "Long Tian, you're sure to make the top ten! Give me a couple of packets of herbs for a bath when you do. Maybe I'll awaken my Soul Power sooner too!"

Long Tian smiled. "Sure. Let's win first."

On the day the registration form was handed in, Long Tian unexpectedly spotted a name on it-Chen Hao. He had thought Chen Hao would avoid him for a while after his last setback, but instead, he had signed up. More surprising still, the cultivation entry beside Chen Hao's name read level twelve.

In less than a month, Chen Hao had gained a level.

The day before the tournament, Zhao Xiaopang came running back from outside and leaned close to Long Tian's ear with an air of mystery. "Hey, I heard Chen Hao's been going to the Spirit Hall Branch in town every day lately. Sounds like he's been asking a deacon there for private coaching. He was grinding his teeth with hatred after losing to you last time, and now that his Soul Power's gone up a level, he wants to get even at the annual tournament."

Long Tian was splitting firewood to train his palm strength. Without stopping, he split the log before him in two with a knife-hand strike. He brushed the wood chips from his hands. "So what if he's gained a level? He didn't have the Soul Ring advantage last time, and now I do."

Zhao Xiaopang thought about it and saw his point. Grinning, he went to gather the firewood.

On the day of the annual tournament, the weather obliged. The sun was pale, but there was no wind, and the training ground was warm for once. People crowded several rows deep around the stone platform. Even a few of the town's merchants had come to join the excitement, and the teahouse owner had brought a bench to watch from outside the courtyard wall. Mr. Wang and several teachers sat on a raised platform east of the stage. Lin Mo sat among them, a grass stem in his mouth as usual, looking as relaxed as if he had come to watch a show.

The rules were simple: students from the three classes drew lots for one-on-one elimination matches. The losers left the stage, and the winners advanced. Younger and older students drew lots together, so it all came down to raw strength. In the first round, Long Tian drew a seven-year-old girl from Class A whose Martial Soul was a dandelion and whose Soul Power was level three. He sent her off the stage with a single Light Palm Wind. In the second round, he faced a yellow-haired boy from Class B, the same one who had knocked Zhao Xiaopang down onstage before. The boy had yet to raise the wooden stick in his hand when the Shadow Stealth at Long Tian's side circled behind him. A chill brushed the back of his neck, and the frightened boy dropped his stick and raised his hands in surrender on the spot.

After two easy victories, Long Tian made it into the top eight.

Of the eight, three were from Class A and four from Class B. Long Tian was the only one from Class C. Zhao Xiaopang had run into the vine girl from Class A in the first round and held out for half the time it took to drink a cup of tea before losing. Now he was crouched below the stage, cheering Long Tian on until his voice was nearly hoarse.

In the quarterfinals, Long Tian drew Chen Hao.

Excitement immediately rippled through the crowd. Their fight at the last monthly assessment had become known throughout the school. Now Chen Hao had gained a level and come roaring back, while Long Tian had acquired a Soul Ring of his own. This match was bound to be even more worth watching than the last. Even Mr. Wang leaned forward slightly on the raised platform, his fingers tapping unconsciously against the armrest.

Chen Hao stepped onto the stage first. He wore a dark gray short jacket today, and he had grown taller still over the past month, the muscles in his arms more clearly defined. Two Soul Rings rose beneath his feet-one white and one yellow. The newly acquired Yellow Soul Ring gleamed faintly, showing that it came from a creature with at least three or four hundred years of cultivation.

The Class B students below the stage erupted in cheers.

Chen Hao was staring at Long Tian as he walked onto the stone platform. The two met each other's eyes for a moment before Chen Hao spoke, keeping his voice low enough that only the two of them could hear. "I underestimated you last time. This time, I gained a level and got my Second Soul Ring, not to beat you, but to send you off this stage with my own hands. I'll show everyone that trash from Class C is still trash, even with a mixed-color Soul Ring."

Long Tian did not answer. His black-and-white Soul Ring simply rose beneath his feet without a sound. Though there was only one ring, its solid and peculiar Soul Power fluctuations were scarcely weaker than the combined force of Chen Hao's two rings.

At the referee's command, the match began!

Chen Hao attacked first. His Ironback Wolf Martial Soul covered his entire body in an instant. Coarse gray-brown fur spread over his arms, his canines jutted out, and a beastly cold gleam shone in his eyes. Instead of charging straight in as he had last time, he moved swiftly around the edge of the stone platform, his footwork unpredictable. He had clearly not been idle that month and had learned to make use of speed and angles.

Long Tian stood still, his gaze tracking Chen Hao's movements. He was waiting.

After circling halfway around, Chen Hao suddenly accelerated. His figure blurred as he appeared on Long Tian's left, one claw darting straight for his ribs! The strike was as swift as a gale, carrying the added strength granted by his Second Soul Ring. Long Tian turned aside to dodge, golden light flaring on his right palm as he struck at Chen Hao's wrist.

But Chen Hao withdrew the strike with extraordinary speed. It had only been a feint! His real attack followed from the right, his other claw sweeping upward from below, straight for Long Tian's lower abdomen!

Long Tian's pupils contracted. With no time to change his move, he instinctively stepped back with his left foot. The dark vortex in his dantian suddenly contracted, and an icy force pulled him two steps backward. Chen Hao's claws barely grazed the front of his robe, tearing loose a strand of blue cloth.

Below the stage, Zhao Xiaopang was so frightened he nearly fell off his bench.

Surprise flashed in Chen Hao's eyes when his claw missed, but he did not let up. Before Long Tian could steady himself, Chen Hao struck three more times, a flurry of claw shadows enveloping Long Tian's upper body. Long Tian retreated as he blocked, golden and dark scales appearing alternately on his arms. He took the first two strikes head-on, then ducked beneath the third.

"Where are your light and dark Soul Skills? Use them!" Chen Hao growled, driving a knee at him.

Long Tian twisted and leaped away, putting some distance between them, and breathed out a mouthful of stale air. Chen Hao really was much stronger than a month ago. The boost from his Second Soul Ring had increased his speed by nearly thirty percent, and he had learned feints and combination attacks. But Long Tian had not taken those steps back merely to evade; he had done it to give himself room to launch his Soul Skills.

He brought his palms together and then pulled them apart. His Soul Ring blazed!

A golden light projectile tore through the air from between his palms, shooting straight at Chen Hao's face. Chen Hao had been prepared and turned sideways to avoid the direct hit, but he clearly had not expected the projectile to suddenly change direction in midair! The new trick Long Tian had practiced over the past few days came into play. The projectile traced an arc around Chen Hao's side and slammed into the stone floor behind him, bursting into a sheet of searing golden flame.

The blast from the projectile staggered Chen Hao, scorching a patch of fabric on his back. He had barely regained his footing when a chill touched his feet. Shadow Stealth had surfaced against his heel at some unknown point, and cold Qi shot up his ankle, freezing his right leg stiff!

"Damn it!" Chen Hao twisted hard at the waist to escape, but the shadow had already wound around his lower leg. Its icy touch carried a strange corrosive force, like countless fine needles piercing his flesh. Numbness quickly spread upward. His right leg gave way, throwing him off balance, and he staggered sideways.

Long Tian would not let the chance slip. He pushed off the ground and shot forward like an arrow woven from gold and black. Golden light blazed from his right palm as he struck Chen Hao in the chest. Bang! The blow sent Chen Hao flying backward to the edge of the stone platform, where his back struck the wooden railing with a dull thud.

He braced himself against the railing and tried to stand, but his right leg was still numb and would not support him. His knee buckled, and he sat back down. He gritted his teeth and looked up, his face full of unwillingness. His lips moved several times, but he said nothing.

Silence fell over the stone platform for an instant. Then Zhao Xiaopang's earsplitting scream burst across the grounds: "He won-!!"

The children from Class C joined in the cheering, and even some Class A students could not help applauding. Long Tian stood in the center of the stone platform, his chest rising and falling as the golden scales on his right palm slowly receded. He turned and glanced down from the stage. In the crowd, Lin Mo gave him a thumbs-up, the grass stem in his mouth now pointing the other way as he smiled lazily.

Chen Hao's Class B classmates helped him down from the stage. After a few steps, he suddenly looked back and said quietly, "Next time... I'll win it back." His tone held less of its former arrogance and more of an awkward mix of reluctance and acceptance.

Long Tian nodded. "All right. I'll be waiting."

He jumped down from the stage himself, and Zhao Xiaopang pounced on him and wrapped an arm around his neck, nearly choking the breath out of him. Laughing and jostling, the two walked away from the grounds amid the noisy chatter and congratulations around the stone platform behind them. Sunlight shone into the courtyard, and bare branches cast fine shadows across the bluestone ground. A late-autumn breeze brushed their cheeks, carrying the scent of the distant fields.

Long Tian reached up to touch the jade pendant against his chest. Its cool, warm touch rested against his skin, mingling with the beat of his heart. He knew that winning this tournament was only the beginning. Spirit City, the Iron Guard, and the secret his father had kept for so many years were all waiting in the distance for him to reach them, step by step.

At that moment, outside the courtyard wall, a gray horse had once again stopped beneath the old scholar tree at the entrance to town, though no one knew when it had arrived. Its rider wore a dark gray cloak, his hood pulled low enough to reveal only a hard-lined chin. He looked toward the cheers coming from the academy and fell silent for a moment. Then he turned his horse and rode slowly back the way he had come. Hooves trod over fallen leaves, their rustling swallowed by the wind, and soon he vanished at the far end of the official road.