Lights in the South of the City

On the second day of the elimination tournament, the sun hung high overhead, and the stands were packed.

Long Tian's first opponent was indeed a student from Spirit City Academy. His name was Lu Chuan. He was eleven years old, and his Martial Soul was the Dark Iron Heavy Sword, to which he had attached two Soul Rings-one white and one yellow. Stocky and solid, Lu Chuan stood on the platform like a small mountain of cast iron. Weighty Soul Power fluctuations spread from beneath his feet, making even the flagstones below the platform tremble slightly.

In the stands, Zhao Xiaopang gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white. Chen Hao also sat up straight, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on the platform.

At the referee's command, Lu Chuan struck first. The phantom of his Dark Iron Heavy Sword Martial Soul appeared in his right hand, and both Soul Rings lit up at once. His first Soul Skill, Heavy Slash, came chopping down at Long Tian's head with a crushing pressure! Long Tian dodged sideways. The blade grazed his shoulder and struck the stone platform with a boom, leaving a shallow crack and sending fragments flying.

Long Tian's heart tightened. That blow had been more than a notch stronger than Chen Hao's Ironback Charge back then. He dared not meet it head-on. Activating Shadow Stealth, he moved close to the ground to disrupt his opponent's footing while firing golden Light Bullets in rapid succession from his right hand. Three bullets shot toward Lu Chuan's front and both sides in a triangular formation.

Lu Chuan neither dodged nor evaded. He activated his second Soul Skill, Iron Wall, and held the Dark Iron Heavy Sword across his body. The blade abruptly grew half again as large, becoming a gray-black wall of shields. The three Light Bullets struck the Iron Wall and burst into three balls of golden flame. They left clear scorch marks but failed to break through the defense, leaving only a few charred streaks on the shield's surface.

Long Tian frowned. His opponent's defense was too thick. His Light Bullets could not pierce it, and Shadow Stealth was blocked from entering by the Soul Power shield Lu Chuan released beneath his feet. Long Tian tried several different approaches in succession-rapid attacks, circling behind him, compressing the Light Bullets to make them smaller and faster-but Lu Chuan's Iron Wall was like a wall that could not be pushed over, forcibly stopping every attack.

Lu Chuan's counterattacks, meanwhile, grew fiercer and fiercer. Each Heavy Slash came down harder than the last. After dodging seven or eight times, Long Tian's legs were already beginning to ache, and his movements began to lag. At last, he failed to dodge in time. The wind from Heavy Slash swept across his shoulder, knocking him back several steps and leaving his shoulder burning with pain.

"Your Soul Power is running out faster than mine." Lu Chuan stood with his sword in hand, his tone even but assured. "I can defend against you, but you can't defend against me."

Long Tian said nothing as he caught his breath. He knew Lu Chuan was right. His Yin-Yang Rotation could take countless forms, but before an absolute defense, no number of shifting light spears could pierce a heavy shield. He clenched his fist, his gaze hardening. I might as well take a gamble.

He poured all his remaining Soul Power into his Soul Rings at once, and the forces of light and darkness collided violently in his palms. That layer of chaos-colored light shone again, this time even more fiercely than it had in yesterday's palm strike against the Ironback Turtle. A sphere of interwoven gold and black spun and compressed between his hands, emitting a piercing hum. Gritting his teeth, Long Tian thrust it forward. Once it left his palms, the sphere did not split into two forces again. Instead, it hurtled straight at Lu Chuan's Iron Wall as a single, chaotic whole!

Boom!

An explosion sounded like a muffled peal of thunder. The instant the sphere struck the Iron Wall, gold and black light burst apart, and a shock wave of alternating scorching heat and icy cold surged outward. Spiderweb cracks spread across the surface of Lu Chuan's Iron Wall. The opposing forces pushed him back three feet, his boots scraping two scorched black tracks across the stone platform.

But the Iron Wall did not break. Beneath the cracks, the gray-black blade remained intact.

And Long Tian's Soul Power was spent. His legs gave way, and he dropped to one knee on the platform, bracing one hand against the ground as he panted, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. He looked up at Lu Chuan. Although Lu Chuan's face had paled slightly and his breathing had grown somewhat hurried, he still stood firm, and the cracks in his heavy sword were slowly closing.

Lu Chuan put away his sword and nodded to him. "That strike of yours was powerful. If I had to block it again, it might have broken. But you could only strike once, and I could withstand it."

Long Tian grinned. Though his mouth tasted bitter, his smile was untroubled. He pushed himself up with a hand on his knee and waved to the referee to concede. As he came down from the platform, Zhao Xiaopang rushed over to support him, his eyes red. "You fought so well! He's five years older than you!"

"A loss is a loss." Long Tian patted Zhao Xiaopang on the shoulder. "I'll try again next time."

He glanced back at the platform, where Lu Chuan was giving him a slight nod. Long Tian returned the gesture, then turned and walked back to the Bluestone Town Academy section and sat down. Mr. Wang handed him a bowl of warm water. He said nothing, but patted the back of his head. Chen Hao sat beside him and, unusually, made no snide remarks. He merely glanced at Long Tian, his mouth moving as if he wanted to say something. In the end, he said only one word: "Drink."

Long Tian took the bowl and gulped down a large mouthful. Warmth slid down his throat, warming his cold hands and feet a little.

He sat in the stands and watched the afternoon matches from beginning to end. Lei Jingyun crushed everyone in his path; not a single opponent lasted more than three moves against him. In the semifinal against Lu Chuan, Long Tian saw a truly spectacular contest. Before Lei Jingyun's purple arcs of lightning, Lu Chuan's Dark Iron Heavy Sword was like a sheet of thin paper. After more than ten breaths of relentless electrical bombardment, it shattered completely. Lei Jingyun had won with a single move once again. He walked off the platform expressionlessly, as if his victory had been only natural.

The final held even less suspense. Against a fellow student from Spirit City Academy, Lei Jingyun finished the fight in two moves. The entire martial arts square fell silent for an instant, then erupted in earth-shaking cheers.

Long Tian sat among the crowd, watching the black-haired youth raise the winner's trophy. He felt no jealousy, only a clear thirst. He did not expect to catch up to Lei Jingyun overnight, but his gaze was already fixed on the road ahead. Lei Jingyun stood at the end of that road, and so did people stronger than him. Long Tian would walk that road one step at a time.

After the exchange gathering ended, Mr. Wang took Long Tian out alone.

Dusk came early in winter. The sky had already grown mostly dark, and shops along the streets were lighting their lamps. Orange light spilled through cracks in doors and windowpanes, casting patches of warmth across the bluestone road. The two passed through streets and alleys, heading south from the eastern part of the city. Mr. Wang walked in front at an even pace, as though he had taken the route many times before.

In the south of the city, the streets grew much narrower, and the houses on either side were somewhat lower, but the bustle of everyday life was stronger than in the east. The aroma of food drifted from the mouth of an alley. A woman passed by carrying a food box, while children chased a ball into the distance, laughing as they ran. Long Tian followed close behind Mr. Wang, his fingers absently rubbing the jade pendant at his chest. The sound of his heartbeat was especially clear in the quiet alley.

Mr. Wang stopped before a wooden door. Its panels were blackened with soot, and the crooked wooden sign above it was exactly the same as the one Long Tian had seen during the day: "Old Chen's Blacksmith Shop." The shop door stood half-closed. Dim yellow firelight shone through the gap, and the steady clanging of a hammer came from within.

Mr. Wang raised a hand and knocked on the door. "Old Chen, open up."

The hammering stopped. Footsteps approached from deep inside the shop, and the half-closed wooden door creaked open. Behind it stood a hunched old man, thin and wiry, his shoulders slightly stooped. He wore a coarse cloth apron covered in patches and stained with rust and charcoal ash. Deep wrinkles crossed his face, but his eyes were surprisingly bright and clear. He looked at Mr. Wang for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Long Tian beside him.

When those eyes fell on Long Tian's face, they suddenly narrowed.

"This boy..." the old man said, his voice as raspy as a pair of bellows. "Tie Shan's son?"

Long Tian froze for a moment, then took the dark green jade pendant from inside his clothes and handed it over. The old man turned it over and over, examining it several times. His fingers rubbed the character "Tian," and he suddenly gave a laugh. It was short, as though squeezed from his chest, and carried an indescribable note.

"Come in." The old man stepped aside and returned the pendant to Long Tian. "Come in and talk. It's cold outside."

The shop was small, crowded with iron stock and half-finished farm tools and blades. The charcoal in the furnace glowed red, and warmth washed over them. The old man brought out two low stools for Mr. Wang and Long Tian, then squatted by the furnace and added a piece of charcoal. He prodded the fire with iron tongs, remaining silent for quite a while.

"That boy Tie Shan," he finally said, his gaze still on the fire, "came to see me once in the year he left Spirit City. He left his Iron Guard armor and token in my keeping. He said that if anyone ever came to me with this jade pendant, I was to give them the things. He said something else, too."

The old man raised his head, firelight flickering in his pupils, and slowly continued, "He said that if he ever had a son, and his son asked why he had to leave, I should tell him: 'Your father saw something he shouldn't have seen. It made me realize that certain people in high places were paving their road with the flesh and blood of Soul Masters. I couldn't stop them, but I didn't want to wallow in the same mire either, so I chose to bury my skills and become a blacksmith.'"

The shop fell so quiet that only the soft crackle of the fire remained.

Long Tian sat on the low stool, his hands clenched into fists on his knees. He opened his mouth, only to find his throat somewhat tight. Something he shouldn't have seen? Paving a road with the flesh and blood of Soul Masters? Father had crippled most of his own Martial Soul and even abandoned his former cultivation, all because he had stumbled across a secret?

He drew a deep breath, his voice calmer than he had expected. "Grandpa Chen, the things my father left with you... could you let me see them?"

The old man stood and walked to a dusty corner at the very back of the shop. He lifted a loose bluestone brick and pulled a long, narrow iron box from underneath. Its surface was mottled with rust, and its clasp had been hammered out of shape. The old man pried gently with a hammer, and the lid sprang open, revealing the contents-

A set of dark gray soft armor, neatly folded, its fabric thick and tough, with fine iron plates sewn along the edges. A gray iron token rested on top of it. The front of the token bore an engraving of a sword crossed with a star, while a line of small characters was carved on the back: "Iron Guards · Seventh Squad · Tie Shan."

Long Tian reached out and picked up the token. When his fingertips touched the cold iron, he felt as though he could sense the warmth of his father's hand holding it all those years ago. The small characters were neatly carved, as if telling everyone who saw them: this man had once stood very high.

Outside the window, the night wind blew through the narrow alley, making the shop door creak softly. The charcoal fire flickered, casting the shadows of the three people in the shop at different heights on the wall. Long Tian pressed the token against his palm and slowly closed his fingers around it.