Rustpen

Chapter 66: WHAT SHE WARNS

CHAPTER

66

WHAT SHE WARNS

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Caoluan was waiting for him on the seventh step down, leaning with her back against the wall. She had her head down, not looking at him. The stairwell had no dedicated lights, but it was evenly, perfectly lit all the same, given it was all brightgold.

“So,” Jieyuan said as he reached the same step, settling himself against the opposite wall, arms cros...

Chapter 65: A HELD BREATH

CHAPTER

65

A HELD BREATH

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Gleaming End drove deep into Xianjun’s throat.

Xianjun’s body jerked, blood spewing from his lips. His face flushed crimson, his body sagging, limp from the neck—or what was left of it, with the blade lodged there.

The strike was so clean, so precise, that though blood bubbled and swelled around the spear’s shaft, none of it gushed out.

Chapter 64: DARE TO KILL

CHAPTER

64

DARE TO KILL

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Or it should have been.

Daojue was quick. He had hardly finished the swing that knocked off Xianjun’s halberd, before he redirected Gleaming End and charged at the now-unarmed Xianjun.

But Xianjun was faster. He didn’t retreat—he advanced, weaving out of the way of Gleaming End, letting it stab the empty air next to his head, as he closed in on ...

Chapter 63: TO GIVE UP

CHAPTER

63

TO GIVE UP

JIEYUAN

—∞—

As the call echoed throughout the venue, the proctor got off the stage in a blur of movement.

Daojue broke into a run, Gleaming End held straight to the side, flat against the length of his right arm. Across the stage, Xianjun exploded into motion—only to drop low and stay rooted, thrusting his halberd in rapid bursts at the empty air ahead.

The halbe...

Chapter 62: TO PRELUDE

CHAPTER

62

TO PRELUDE

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Jieyuan leaned against the brightgold balustrade, arms folded over the guardrail, staring down at the arena floor. Waiting.

Hours had passed since his duel with Meiyao, but the thrill of victory still lingered—dulled, yes, but not gone. Now it simmered low, a hazy warmth beneath the skin, no longer the triumphant, euphoric blaze it had been earlier, when he...

Chapter 61: TO PREDICT

CHAPTER

61

TO PREDICT

JIEYUAN

—∞—

It was Jieyuan’s seventh time on the arena floor—and if he had his way, he’d be back again tomorrow.

He was on the center stage, standing on one end of it. His opponent had already taken up position all the way across from him, though they’d arrived together. The proctor was between them, droning on. The brightgold that surrounded them glowed and glar...

Chapter 60: TRUST YOUR BLOOD

CHAPTER

60

TRUST YOUR BLOOD

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Meiyao’s duel against Yongyi was the last one of the day. All that was left was for the delegations to leave. Some elders would be hanging behind to arrange the next day’s matches and whatever else it was that they did, while the other elders would escort the disciples back to their respective palaces.

There usually wasn’t much in the way of fanfa...

Chapter 59: DISABUSE

CHAPTER

59

DISABUSE

JIEYUAN

—∞—

This should be interesting. Jieyuan followed Xianjun’s approach.

The Xiyunfeng Clan’s scion might have won his match, but he hadn’t gotten out of it entirely unscathed. His robes, much like Jieyuan’s own, had been swapped out after his duel. There’d have been a large, bloody tear in the cloth around the level of his upper thigh otherwise, and another ...

Chapter 58: NOT MUNDANE

CHAPTER

58

NOT MUNDANE

JIEYUAN

—∞—

“What is it with you,” Meiyao said, as Jieyuan reached her side on the viewing floor, “and throwing yourself into stab attacks?”

Jieyuan leaned against the railing. The stage below was empty. There’d be a break before the next duel, an hour or so.

He was in clean, pristine robes, the cuts he’d suffered tended to. A pair of elders had been ...

Chapter 57: LET HIM DOWN

CHAPTER

57

LET HIM DOWN

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Jieyuan didn’t hesitate, didn’t pause to consider it. As Yongyi came at him again, still sandbagging, he didn’t parry but went for a riskier dodge. Yongyi’s blade cut into him—another line across his ribs to match the one on his right—but it freed up his right hand, which he swung at Yongyi’s sword.

Yongyi immediately shifted positions, bringi...

Chapter 56: NOT TO WASTE

CHAPTER

56

NOT TO WASTE

JIEYUAN

—∞—

For once, Jieyuan neither rushed out nor stood his ground against an incoming rush. Rather, after the proctor called the duel and got off the stage, he began walking toward the center, in no particular hurry. And as if they’d agreed upon it beforehand, Yongyi did the same, coming from the opposite direction.

Jieyuan wouldn’t go so far as to call their w...

Chapter 55: TO MATCH-UP

CHAPTER

55

TO MATCH-UP

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Jieyuan poked at the rough, jagged line to the left of his stomach. He was sitting on a large, white bed, his back against the wall. He’d undone the upper half of his robes—he’d woken in a new set of inner disciple robes, outer robes topaz, inner robes white—baring his chest and abdomen.

A gemstone light in the ceiling lit up the room, white and ster...

Chapter 54: A CLEAN WIN

CHAPTER

54

A CLEAN WIN

JIEYUAN

—∞—

“BEGIN!” the proctor announced before getting off the stage.

Jieyuan set off running forward. Caoluan similarly bounded forward, long legs eating up the distance in swallowing strides, pushing her fifth-sign speed to the limit.

This exact sight was one Jieyuan had seen before. Many, many times.

The moment they reached each other, Caoluan thre...

Chapter 53: THE FIFTH DAY

CHAPTER

53

THE FIFTH DAY

JIEYUAN

—∞—

For how set the Gleaming Nobles had been on killing him, they seemed to have laid off altogether since the tournament began. Or at least put their business with him on hold.

Four days had passed since his first duel, and there hadn’t been any assassination attempts since. The Xiyunfeng Clan also hadn’t gotten up to anything, despite his suspicions abo...

Chapter 52: DRIVE AWAY

CHAPTER

52

DRIVE AWAY

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Jieyuan froze at the sight of the pair. Before he even knew it he was closing his palms around the shafts of the Shifting Feathers, starting to draw them, and he stopped himself before he could pull them out, killing the instinct.

On the other end of the corridor, Sovereign Aoxin similarly came to an abrupt stop on a step about three-quarters of the way down ...

Chapter 51: A BAD HAND

CHAPTER

51

A BAD HAND

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Jieyuan only really got a proper sense for the size of the stages as he stepped out into the arena floor. The raised platforms were much taller than he’d thought—taller than his chest—and as he stared across the floor, all the way over to the opposite side, all he could tell about the Radiant Gold Sect disciple stepping out was the color of their robes—thos...

Chapter 50: FOUNDING CLAN

CHAPTER

50

FOUNDING CLAN

JIEYUAN

—∞—

From the second floor, Jieyuan watched the first couple of duels closely. Watched how the competitors fought, what powers they used. Each cabal had its own schools of martial arts for each weapon, as well as its own set of signature realmskills. Jieyuan was really only familiar with the Gleaming Stone Sect’s. This was the time to get acquainted with everyone e...

Chapter 49: IN FOR GOLD

CHAPTER

49

IN FOR GOLD

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Now, Jieyuan loved gold as much as the next man. He was a merchant’s son. In fact, he’d even say gold was the color he liked the most.

But as he stepped inside the Radiant Gold Palace, he was reminded both that you could have too much of a good thing, and that just because you could do something, that didn’t mean you sho...