Ishin darted to the side and thrust his spear at Bo’s left flank. The senior disciple raised his arrowhead-shaped arm shield, just as he had every time before, deflecting the spear aside with practiced ease. And like before, Bo immediately followed the block with a counterattack. Flattening his right hand, he struck with a spear-like thrust.

  Thanks to the unique reverse arrowhead design of his shields, Bo could shift between defense and offense in a heartbeat.

  Twisting his body to the left, Ishin narrowly dodged the strike. After a week of training with his new team, he’d come to understand their abilities better. Bo, a metal cultivator, typically infused metal qi into his long fingers to harden them like steel. He wouldn’t use that technique in a sparring session, but Ishin had seen him demonstrate it on a brick—splitting it in two with a single thrust. Ishin had no doubt it could shatter bone just as easily.

  Unfortunately, his narrow dodge left him off balance.

  Bo didn’t miss the opportunity. Swinging his other arm back, he struck Ishin in the head with his shield. Ishin toppled, but training kicked in, and he managed to hold onto his spear. The blow had dazed him, and it took several seconds before his vision cleared. When it did, he saw Bo’s spear-hand hovering in front of his face, the other shield raised defensively in case of retaliation.

  Those shields of his, combined with that spear hand technique... Wan Bo is truly at another level.

  “I give,” Ishin muttered, ending the match.

  Bo immediately shifted from attacker to supporter, extending a hand. Ishin took it and was pulled to his feet.

  “That was good,” Bo said. “You lasted five moves longer than last time.”

  “Still not enough,” Ishin replied, brushing dust from his robes. They had fought four times already, and judging by the position of the sun behind scattered clouds, they’d been training for nearly six hours.

  The school’s tournament team was gathered in one of the outdoor courtyards, which had been reserved exclusively for them until the Exhibition Tournament ended. It gave them privacy—and space.

  Grunts and thuds from across the courtyard drew their attention.

  Rhee and Lei were engaged in a fierce sparring match. The burly blood cultivator brandished iron-spiked knuckles and moved with a speed that defied Ishin’s expectations for someone that large.

  He must be using a blood technique, Ishin realized as Lei dashed toward Rhee—then vanished. A heartbeat later, he reappeared behind her, striking with one of his iron-spiked fists. It’s hard to even track his movements.

  Rhee, however, didn’t seem to struggle. Though not as fast as Lei, she somehow anticipated his move. Four shadow arms sprang up to intercept the strike. Two shattered from the force of the blow, but the remaining pair managed to stop it just in time.

  Lei lunged for a follow-up, only to find himself suddenly restrained. Eight tendrils erupted from Lei’s own shadow, wrapping around his limbs. Ishin watched as Lei’s muscles bulged with strain. He tore free from one tendril, then another. As he ripped through a third, Rhee struck.

  Six shadow fists manifested in front of her, merging into one enormous construct—larger than Lei’s entire head.

  I didn’t realize she could combine them like that!

  The massive fist slammed into Lei’s face, snapping his head back violently. Still bound by the tendrils, he couldn’t retreat. The giant fist drew back and prepared for a second strike. Blood dripped from his nose, clearly broken, yet Lei didn’t seem defeated.

  “Do you yield?” Rhee asked playfully.

  A wide, bloody grin spread across Lei’s face. “Of course not!”

  “This is just practice,” Bo called out. “We’re not trying to injure each other too badly.”

  “I can keep going!” Lei growled, tearing at the remaining tendrils. He was almost free of a fourth when Rhee’s shadow fist drove into his gut, knocking the wind from him.

  Ishin winced. I would’ve fared worse against that attack.

  Rhee dismissed the shadow bindings, and Lei collapsed to his knees, gasping.

  “Bo is right. This fight is over.” She bowed respectfully. “Thank you for the match.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  To Ishin’s surprise, Lei’s breathing steadied quickly. He stood and returned the bow. “Thank you for your instruction, Rhee.”

  The team captain smiled. “You should go see Physician Hui about your nose. I’m sorry about that—it wasn’t intentional.”

  Lei waved it off. “I got overconfident with my new layer,” he said, laughing. “And forgot how brutal that big black fist of yours can be. Did it get bigger?”

  “A little,” Rhee said, grinning. “But I’m impressed by your own improvements. Your Red Flow Current technique makes it almost impossible to follow you.”

  That must be the name of his body enhancement technique.

  “If I didn’t know you so well,” Rhee added, “you would’ve caught me off guard when you appeared behind me.”

  Lei touched his nose and winced. “Next time I’ll get you!”

  “Go get healed,” Bo ordered as he and Ishin walked over.

  “I’m going, I’m going,” Lei chuckled.

  When Lei was out of earshot, Bo remarked, “He’s gotten even more formidable.”

  “I think he’s finally acclimated to his fourth layer,” Rhee said. “By the time the tournament starts, he’ll be a monster.”

  The four of them had received alchemic pills tailored to their chakra aspects the week prior. Ishin knew little about alchemy, but the quality was obvious—mainly because his pill hadn’t been nearly as agonizing as the Rupture Wailing Storm pills. He had taken two days to fully absorb its qi and had broken through to the third layer. Even more remarkable, he was already halfway to forming his fourth layer.

  After rejoining his teammates, Ishin learned that Lei had reached the fourth layer, while Rhee and Bo remained in it. Like before, Ishin was still the weakest. But he felt no jealousy.

  In fact, he found his cultivation progress remarkable. After just over three months, he might have caught up to—or even surpassed—Brother Bin. Maybe even Jun Wu too.

  The past five days had been spent almost entirely sparring. Rhee, surprisingly, had insisted on fighting him nearly every day. Ishin wasn’t sure why, but their matches had shown him just how much ground he had to cover to catch up to her, even with his new layer. After sparring against her ten times, he had yet to win a single match.

  Today marked his first time sparring with Bo instead, and only because the senior disciple had insisted. Bo had told Rhee that she shouldn’t monopolize Ishin’s time and wanted a chance to spar with their newest member to get to know him. Ishin had appreciated the shift. Though he continued to lose, Bo’s style was different and had taught him new things.

  He retrieved his waterskin and drank the familiar herbal recovery remedy—lavender, cinnamon, and mint. Once strange, the flavor was now so familiar that plain water tasted bland by comparison.

  “Another round?” Ishin asked Bo.

  Bo shook his head. “Not tired yet?”

  Ishin rolled his shoulders. “I’ve still got another round or two left.”

  Rhee stepped forward. Her glossy black hair, flawless skin, and steady breathing made it look like she hadn’t trained all morning. “I’ll fight you.”

  Bo glanced between them and stepped back. “Go for it.”

  The fight played out like every other match against her. Ishin attacked with his spear, but Rhee blocked with shadow-forged arm shields and countered with fists of darkness. He couldn’t land a solid hit, while her constructs chipped away at him over time.

  Partway through, he realized that her arm shields must have been inspired by Bo’s.

  And they are impenetrable like his!

  When Ishin tried to use his Indigo Sky Bolt, Rhee’s shadow tendrils manifested from his own shadow and snared his arm, disrupting his aim. Her attacks lacked the sheer destructive force of his or Lei’s, but their versatility made them difficult to counter.

  Eventually, worn down, Ishin had to concede.

  “Thank you for the great fight, Rhee,” he said, leaning against his spear, breath ragged. Now I’m tired.

  Rhee bowed. “Thank you as well.”

  “Are you tired now?” Bo teased as he rejoined them.

  “A little,” Ishin replied, laughing between gasps.

  “We should get you a better spear,” Rhee commented, studying his weapon.

  “I don’t have enough money,” Ishin admitted.

  His current spear had cost fourteen silver taels. The next best at the Western Forge had been two gold. Rotating the spear in his hands, he examined its ash wood shaft. Though simple, he had grown attached to it. More importantly, he knew its balance and feel like the back of his hand. That familiarity had value.

  “Let’s at least look at some options,” Rhee urged. She turned to Bo. “Where did you and Lei get your equipment again?”

  Bo removed his shields and tucked them under one arm. “The Carnelian Anvil.” Bo considered Ishin’s apprehensive expression. “But they’re pricey. These shields cost three gold taels each.”

  Ishin grimaced at the price of Bo’s shields. “It’s fine. I doubt I’ll find anything there. We don’t need to go.”

  “Just look,” Rhee insisted. She raised a hand before he could protest further. “No one’s saying you have to buy anything. Looking won’t hurt, and we’ve been cooped up in the school all week. It'll be good to get out.”

  “She’s got a point,” Bo agreed.

  Ishin considered it, then nodded. “Alright.” He was too worn out to keep sparring anyway—and a mental break from constantly cultivating and sparring sounded great.

  “Excellent!” Rhee beamed. Her warm smile struck him as beautiful. “Let’s meet at the front gate in half an hour. Clean robes.”

  “We need to change?” Ishin asked, confused.

  “The store is in the Southern Quarter,” Rhee explained. “We can’t walk around there, let alone into an establishment like the Carnelian Anvil, looking like this.” She gestured at her own robes, though Ishin thought she still looked immaculate.

  Still, he wasn’t about to argue. The city natives know best.

  “Alright. I’ll meet you in an hour.”