Chapter 166 — The Last Two Places

CHAPTER 166

The Last Two Places

“Every match counts,” Lu Yong said. “The main bracket isn't the only road left.”

Eight defeated candidates stood beneath the lower board. Their cultivations hadn't become weaker because they lost. Most could still make an ordinary kingdom clan treat them as honoured guests.

Here, only two would earn recruitment places.

Shi Feng watched from the waiting section while Duan Yichen checked the edge of his sabre. Sima Lan stood farther along the passage with her injured shoulder carefully warmed beneath a cloth.

Neither looked interested in going home with a story about an unlucky draw.

The first four matches ended before noon.

Sima Lan defeated Han Zhuo after drawing his shield out of position. Lu Ting forced Chu Ning across the boundary with a strong sequence of straight cuts. Duan Yichen broke Qi Yuan's rhythm and won without taking another blow to the ribs.

Cen Ruchen defeated Zhou Yan in the longest of the four. The swordsman who entered as the replacement now stood only one victory from a top-ten place.

Lu Yong ordered a rest period before the decisive matches. Nobody objected. Even the loudest spectators could see the sweat on the candidates' faces.

Duan Yichen returned to the awning and accepted water from Shi Feng.

“The wrist first,” Duan Yichen said.

“It helped?” Shi Feng asked.

“Ask Qi Yuan,” Duan Yichen replied.

Shi Feng glanced toward the defeated man rubbing his forearm. The answer was clear enough.

Sima Lan faced Lu Ting in the first qualifying match.

Both were at late Foundation Establishment. Both already lost to someone they couldn't overcome. Now they had an opponent close enough that one careless movement could decide everything.

Lu Ting attacked the princess's injured side.

She expected it. Her first step carried her clear, and Moon Lake Sect's sword method returned a low cut toward his knee.

He blocked and pushed forward again.

The exchange lasted far longer than either wanted. Sima Lan's shoulder weakened each time she raised the blade too high. Lu Ting noticed and pressed harder, forcing her to defend where the injury hurt most.

“She can't keep doing that,” Duan Yichen said quietly.

Shi Feng watched her feet.

“She knows,” Shi Feng replied.

The princess retreated toward the boundary. Several spectators stood, certain the next blow would throw her out.

Lu Ting gathered his qi into a heavy descending cut.

Sima Lan didn't raise her sword to meet it.

She dropped her shoulder, stepped across the line of attack, and let the blade tear her outer sleeve. Her own point drove toward Lu Ting's waist from below.

He twisted away, but the correction placed one foot beyond the boundary.

Sima Lan followed with the flat of her sword.

The blow struck his chest and sent the second foot after the first.

“Out of bounds,” Lu Yong declared. “Sima Lan wins.”

The princess stood with her sword lowered. Blood stained the torn sleeve, and her breathing was rough.

For a moment, she seemed unable to believe the announcement.

Then her fingers tightened around the hilt.

She'd earned a place.

Not because Sima Yu was her brother. Not because a delegate wanted the royal family's gratitude. She fought through the lower bracket and won the decisive match by less than a full step.

Lu Ting sat outside the boundary, furious with himself.

“One step,” Lu Ting muttered.

Sima Lan looked at him, exhausted enough that her usual cold smile didn't appear.

“It was the right one,” Sima Lan replied.

Duan Yichen and Cen Ruchen entered after the next rest bell.

The Great Wei swordsman opened with quick, narrow attacks. Duan Yichen didn't chase them. He kept the sabre close until the lighter blade struck his guard, then stepped sideways before returning the cut.

Shi Feng watched his wrist stop exactly where they discussed.

Better.

Cen Ruchen gave ground and tried to draw him into a longer exchange. The sabre user let him retreat twice, then changed the timing of the third step.

The heavy blade struck the sword aside.

Cen Ruchen's hand trembled. Before his guard recovered, Duan Yichen's shoulder drove into him and pushed him beyond the boundary.

The sabre user didn't follow with another strike.

“Duan Yichen wins,” Lu Yong announced.

Duan Yichen stared at the official, then laughed in open relief.

He'd lost to Gu Zhan in a few exchanges. Now he stood among the final ten.

The defeat hadn't ended his road.

Shi Feng met him beside the passage. Duan Yichen raised a fist, and Shi Feng tapped it once with his own.

“Properly fought,” Shi Feng said.

“I'll accept that,” Duan Yichen replied. “Before you mention the ribs again.”

Ninth and tenth still needed ordering.

Lu Yong gave both surviving candidates time to recover. Sima Lan accepted treatment for the shoulder but refused to withdraw from the final placement match.

“I came this far,” Sima Lan said.

Duan Yichen waited without arguing. There was no pleasure in asking an exhausted opponent to concede before she tried.

When the bell rang, he fought seriously.

Sima Lan's footwork remained sharp. Her body couldn't follow it with the same speed. The injury and three hard matches had taken too much from her.

Duan Yichen stopped her first combination, turned the second aside, and caught her sword against the weight of his sabre.

She tried to move clear. Her shoulder failed before the blade did.

The sabre's flat touched her ribs.

“I surrender,” Sima Lan said, breathing hard.

Duan Yichen withdrew at once.

“Duan Yichen, ninth,” Lu Yong declared. “Sima Lan, tenth.”

The princess closed her eyes briefly. Tenth wasn't the splendid placing her family once expected from the royal children.

It was enough to keep choosing her own road.

She bowed to Duan Yichen and left the platform under her own strength.

Shi Feng watched the new ranks appear beneath the eight quarter-finalists. The recruitment list was complete, but the championship remained undecided.

Xiahou Lie slapped his own chest beside the next passage.

“Your turn!” Xiahou Lie called to Shi Feng. “Come hit something that won't fall over so quickly!”

Shi Feng turned toward the body cultivator.

“Stay inside the boundary first,” Shi Feng replied.