“I’ve got it!” Lei declared, drawing Ishin’s attention. The large blood cultivator stood atop the collapsed remains of the wooden golem, its chest broken apart. Lei held up a yellow sphere victoriously.

  “Give it to me,” Rhee commanded.

  Lei hopped off the golem and threw the sphere to Rhee without question.

  Is she going to run off the stage to advance to the next round?

  Rhee caught the sphere, and a moment later it suddenly vanished. Ishin just stared in surprise before he recognized the ring on her finger.

  Did she move the sphere inside her storage ring?

  It was a brilliant strategy. None of the other teams would be able to steal the sphere from them now—at least not without taking the ring off Rhee’s finger. However… Ishin looked to Elder Song, who sat placidly overseeing the tournament round.

  I can’t believe we’re allowed to do that. Ishin thought about Rhee’s past remarks on only affluent residents owning storage rings. This tournament seems to favor the rich and powerful. But since it works to our advantage, there’s no reason for me to complain.

  A cry came from the opposite side of the stage, and Ishin saw that one of the Iron Root disciples had just been crushed against the floor by their team’s golem. He assessed the enemy school team’s situation and saw that it was actually worse than that.

  Three of them have already been incapacitated. There’s no way their last member can defeat the golem on her own. Looking at his own team, who appeared unharmed if tired, put the situation into stark contrast. Are they really so weak?

  Bo moved over beside Rhee, keeping his attention toward the Crystal Sword Sect team the entire time. “What now?”

  Rhee quickly looked around. The remaining Twin Moon competitors were still struggling against their own golem but weren’t yet defeated. However, the Crystal Sword team had nearly defeated their golem, having chopped off both of its arms. All four competitors were still engaged in the fight and were now circling the golem, dealing quick slashes against its legs. One of the Crystal Sword disciples leaped at the golem’s right leg while its back was turned. With a single slice, the limb was severed and the golem collapsed to the floor.

  “Bo, switch with Ishin. Guard our rear in case the other teams try something. Ishin and Lei, come with me to attack the Crystal Sword Team! Now!”

  “Moving,” Bo acknowledged.

  “Alright!” Lei cheered.

  “Understood,” Ishin responded, moving in the direction of the Crystal Sword Team.

  The three moved together against the Crystal Sword Team, while Bo remained at their rear. Lei was, of course, the fastest, sprinting at the closest Crystal Sword disciple. In a flash, he had closed the distance and was beside his target before she even had a chance to notice. Lei’s spiked knuckles collided with the woman’s stomach, blasting her across the stage until she rolled violently against the floor, her sword dropping.

  Ishin recalled how Lei had killed the Iron Mantis named Lan Chen with a similar strike but to the head. He knew that Lei had purposefully avoided a killing blow, but seeing the crumpled Crystal Sword combatant, blood gushing from her stomach, Ishin knew she was out of the fight.

  “It’s the Eight Oaths Resolve Team!” one of the remaining Crystal Sword disciples shouted.

  A taller member of their team barked, “Quick, Maji Defensive Formation!” The three remaining disciples quickly leaped back and formed a triangular formation, with the tall one up front. Their swords were drawn, and this close Ishin saw that their blades were a pale violet color.

  “Deal with the closest one,” Rhee commanded.

  “On it,” Ishin replied, charging the tall sword wielder. He didn’t know anything about the Crystal Sword Sect, but based on their name and the unique color of their swords, he assumed they relied on sword techniques, making them likely metal cultivators.

  The lead tall disciple brought up his sword as Ishin approached, and the blade began to glow. I’ll be able to thrust before I’m in range of his sword. Ishin cycled qi as he pressed off the ground, preparing to close the final gap. Now!

  Right before Ishin was close enough to thrust, the blade on his opponent’s sword grew three feet in length and his opponent countered with his own thrust—one that had greater reach than Ishin’s!

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  Having already leaped into the air, Ishin couldn’t pivot out of the way. He couldn’t dodge, but he didn’t need to. Ishin adjusted his spear to meet the flat side of the extended violet blade, and using his spear, pushed himself aside from the sword’s path.

  Ishin dropped to the floor and quickly readied himself for a second attempt. To his opponent’s credit, the sword cultivator transitioned quickly into a swing, ready to either parry or block Ishin’s follow-up. But it didn’t matter.

  Tendrils of shadow appeared beneath the tall combatant, locking his limbs in place. Ishin seized the opportunity and immediately thrust at his immobilized foe. The Crystal Sword competitor to the back right advanced to cover his trapped leader, but Lei moved in with his own attack, forcing him back.

  Defenseless, the tall Crystal Sword leader couldn’t evade Ishin’s spear as it pierced the lower left of his torso. With a follow-up twist, Ishin’s spear ripped away the remaining stomach muscles of his opponent, spilling blood across the floor.

  “Aaaah!” the Crystal Sword combatant screamed.

  The tendrils trapping him dissipated, allowing him to drop to his knees. Sword abandoned, he pressed both hands against the gaping wound in his side, determined to stop the bleeding. With such a wound, it was unlikely that the man would die, especially if he received treatment soon, but without question, he was out of the tournament.

  “Kai!” the final Crystal Sword disciple shouted. Blade glowing and extending rapidly, he charged at Ishin to avenge his comrade. Ishin brought up his spear, assuming his fifth spear stance, but before the two could clash, four shadow fists struck his enraged enemy from the side. Unprepared, the sword cultivator was caught off balance and fell to the ground.

  “Well done, Rhee.” Ishin sprinted over to the fallen combatant and brought his spear down, stabbing the sword cultivator’s dominant arm.

  The combatant screamed as his sword slipped through unresponsive fingers. And to ensure this was over, Ishin lifted his spear and pierced the man’s other arm, drawing a second scream.

  Ishin turned to see that Lei was still fighting the final member of the Crystal Sword Team. The two combatants seemed relatively equal. Lei made several swipes at the Crystal Sword disciple, who dodged and tried to slice Lei with his sword. Their even exchange surprised Ishin, who used his third eye to confirm that Lei’s opponent was only at the third layer of the Initial Realm.

  Lei must be tired from all the techniques he used earlier. Single-handedly taking on our own golem and then fighting two enemy competitors is a lot for anyone.

  Ishin was about to move to Lei’s aid when Rhee spoke. “He’ll be fine. Let’s finish off their golem.”

  Ishin looked back at Lei’s fight, noticing the elated grin his friend wore, and then proceeded to follow Rhee. The Crystal Sword Team’s golem was effectively helpless, with only one operational leg left. Rhee used her Twisting Shadow Snare technique to trap the squirming golem in place and pointed at its chest. “Use your second technique to break through its chest.”

  A quick look around confirmed that both of the other teams were still engaged against their golems in losing battles, while Bo still stood guard. Guess I’m fine to use my qi this way.

  Ishin directed two fingers at the exposed chest and quickly blasted it with his Indigo Sky Bolt technique. The first strike blasted away most of the outer layer but failed to expose the sphere in the center, surprising Ishin. It’s more durable than I thought. No wonder Lei had to punch it so many times.

  The second Indigo Sky Bolt broke through the golem’s chest, revealing the glowing yellow sphere in the center. The golem fell still, effectively dead, and Rhee allowed her technique to dissipate. Ishin moved forward and retrieved the sphere. “Do you want this one too?”

  “Yes.” Rhee held out her hand. “Best to store them away for now.” Like before, the sphere vanished once Ishin gave it to her.

  That’s two.

  “Hah!” Lei yelled from behind. Ishin looked over to find Lei standing triumphantly over the unconscious body of his opponent. A gash ran down the right side of Lei’s face, blood dripping, but the brute seemed to only bask in his victory.

  “He’s always happy about a good fight,” Rhee remarked with a laugh.

  “Indeed.”

  Lei walked over to his teammates. “That was great! Thought he was going to get me with that last swing, but he left himself open.” Surveying the arena, he asked, “What’s next?”

  The final Iron Root disciple was struck in the head by her golem, eliminating her from the tournament.

  “That one,” Rhee declared. She looked over to the pair of remaining Twin Moon disciples who were still fighting an even match against their golem. “Then we’ll deal with them afterwards.”

  “At this rate, our victory is inevitable,” Bo said, still observing the Twin Moon’s battle.

  “Most likely,” Rhee agreed. “But we can’t be reckless.” She considered Lei’s bleeding state. “Ishin, think you can use your technique to defeat the golem if I use my Twisting Shadow Snare technique to immobilize it first?”

  Ishin flexed his fingers. His meridians felt a bit numb, but he could use it two more times before he would need a reprieve. Twice should be enough to get the job done. He curled his fingers into a fist. “That won’t be a problem.”

  As a single unit, the team moved against the Iron Root’s golem. Dispatching it proved easy. Rhee trapped the golem like she promised, and Ishin used his technique to bring it down. With their third sphere in tow, the group then moved against the remaining Twin Moon competitors and their golem.

  The final fight of the round proved surprisingly simple. The Twin Moon competitors were exhausted from battling their golem for so long that they lost quickly after a sudden assault from Bo and Ishin. Rhee and Lei were able to fend off the golem until they were ready to attack it altogether. Eventually, the last golem fell to their combined efforts.

  A loud roar came from the crowd of thousands as Lei ripped out the final sphere from the fallen golem. Rhee retrieved the other three spheres from her storage ring and provided one to both Ishin and Bo. Together, they walked across the stage before exiting the side in front of Elder Song.

  With a smile, she announced, “The winners of the first round of the Exhibition Tournament are Zhu Rhee, Wan Bo, Hou Lei, and Ro Ishin. All from the Eight Oaths Resolve School!”