Chapter 146 — The Crown Prince's Hidden Hand

CHAPTER 146

The Crown Prince's Hidden Hand

Sima Yu wore the royal colours again.

Gold thread crossed his shoulders, and a jade belt held the pale robe close enough for fighting. His left sleeve covered the wrist ornament Sima Lan had described.

Shi Feng stepped onto the central platform in the same dark robe he had worn yesterday. He carried one inexpensive refined artifact sword. The contrast pleased the stands before either man spoke.

“Great Liang's own crown prince!”

“Will the third-place man bow?”

“He didn't bow to White Crane's steward!”

Zhou Ke checked their plates and withdrew beyond the fighting lines. Above the platform, Lu Yong sat beneath the official canopy with a clear view of both men.

Sima Yu looked at Shi Feng's sword.

“You could still avoid an ugly result,” Sima Yu said.

“Begin when the referee tells you,” Shi Feng replied.

The Crown Prince's jaw shifted. Zhou Ke raised his hand, made sure both contestants were ready, and lowered it.

Sima Yu moved first.

His palm gathered a broad gold glow. Royal Mountain Palm, a technique built to overwhelm another Foundation Establishment cultivator's guard through concentrated qi.

Shi Feng knew the kind of attack. The name didn't make it mysterious.

He turned half a step and let the palm pass beside his chest. Its force struck the stone behind him, leaving a shallow impression in the surface. The stands roared at the noise.

Sima Yu followed with a second palm, lower this time, and brought his knee toward Shi Feng's waist.

Shi Feng placed two fingers against the prince's forearm and redirected it. The knee went wide when Sima Yu's balance turned with his shoulder.

He could have ended the exchange there.

Instead, he let the prince recover.

Shi Feng wanted the hidden hand used where everyone could see it. Sima Yu had spent enough months letting other men carry his threats into dark places.

The prince mistook the room he'd been given for hesitation.

“You've learned some tricks,” Sima Yu said.

Shi Feng drew his sword.

Sima Yu's next palm met the flat. The contact rang across the platform. Shi Feng guided the force downward, and the prince's boots scraped two lines through the dust.

The gold qi broke apart before reaching Shi Feng's sleeve.

Sima Yu stopped smiling.

From the Great Liang section, Ling Rong leaned forward with both hands on his knees. He had watched the qualification matches, but a royal technique made the officials around him sit differently.

On the platform, it made no useful difference at all.

Ling Qingzhu remained still beside him. The white veil hid her mouth. Her eyes followed Shi Feng's feet rather than the bright palms, seeing the deliberate space he left between each exchange.

Duan Yichen watched from the candidates' awning.

“He's letting him show everything,” Duan Yichen muttered.

Sima Lan stood several paces away. She heard and gave no reply.

Sima Yu raised both hands. Two palm shadows formed above his shoulders, then closed toward Shi Feng from opposite sides.

Shi Feng stepped through the narrow centre before the shadows joined. His sword tapped the prince's right wrist.

A sharp pain made Sima Yu pull back.

Another step carried Shi Feng past the outer elbow. He stopped with the sword angled toward the prince's shoulder and waited.

The Crown Prince turned too quickly, almost exposing his back.

Laughter rose from the lower stands.

Not admiration. Laughter.

Sima Yu's left hand touched his belt.

Shi Feng saw it. So did Sima Lan.

A green dart slipped from beneath the prince's sleeve. It travelled low enough to vanish against the pale stone, heading toward Shi Feng's calf while a new palm shadow drew the crowd's eyes upward.

Shi Feng brought his sword down.

The dart struck the blade with a bright click. A second dart curved toward his ribs from the left. He turned the same movement into Returning Tide and caught it near the guard.

The third came from behind his right shoulder.

Shi Feng leaned forward a fraction. The dart passed over his collar and met the sword as he lifted it behind him.

Three clicks.

The crowd saw three green lines suddenly hanging in the air around his weapon.

“An artifact!”

“Inside the wrist!”

“He attacked from behind!”

“Personal artifacts are allowed. Watch the referee!”

Zhou Ke hadn't raised his hand. The jade ornament had been declared, and no forbidden use had yet been proven.

Shi Feng didn't need a ruling.

He sent a short thread of qi along the blade and turned all three darts toward their owner. Sima Yu tried to recall them. The return flow caught against Shi Feng's pressure and shuddered visibly.

The prince's left sleeve tore.

The jade housing lay exposed beneath the ruined cuff. Sima Yu closed his fist, forcing more qi into its channels.

Shi Feng let the darts go.

They shot back too quickly. One struck the ornament at the wrong angle and snapped its outer rim. Another hit the stone beside Sima Yu's foot. The third buried itself in his belt fitting.

The Crown Prince stumbled backward.

Shi Feng advanced one pace and stopped the sword tip beside the broken jade.

“You should repair that before using it again,” Shi Feng said.

The plain advice drew another burst of laughter.

Sima Yu's face flushed darkly. He ripped the damaged ornament from his wrist and threw it aside. His servants stood near the passage with helpless expressions, unable to enter or change what the stands had seen.

Above them, Wei Chengyuan finally looked directly at the platform.

Shi Feng noticed without taking his eyes off the prince.

The displayed royal palm was spent. The hidden weapon lay broken. Sima Yu had not landed one clean touch.

That was the public result so far.

Shi Feng's breathing hadn't changed.

Sima Yu slid his hand beneath his robe. It was a small movement, sharper than the ones that had drawn the darts.

Shi Feng knew what came next.

He kept his sword low and gave the prince enough space to make his decision in full view.