Chapter 34: The Preliminaries

“Ming Han. Juishi Feng. I see you two have become good friends,” Father greeted them.

Ming Han grinned as he slapped Juishi Feng on the back. “Of course, we are! My son is marrying his daughter, after all. You seem jealous. Gya ha ha! Don’t worry. If you let Wu Meiying wed my son, we’ll be this close too!”

“I’ll pass.”

While it seemed almost like the words had been thrown out callously, Wu Jian knew enough now to understand that Ming Han was a lot more cunning than he let on. He easily dropped the subject of marriage and instead engaged the other two clan leaders in talk of the tournament.

Ming Shen stepped up to Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu while the clan heads were talking. Standing on either side of him were two people. One of them was Juishi Meirin, the beautiful daughter of Juishi Feng. The other was a boy on the cusp of adulthood, with long hair tied into a ponytail, sword-like eyebrows, and sharp features. He was taller than everyone else, and his hanfu was decorated with a sword on the left breast. He also had a sword strapped to his waist.

That’s Juishi Son. He’s the heir of the Juishi Clan, if I’m not mistaken. Juishi Meirin’s older brother.

“I hope you’re ready to lose again this year,” Ming Shen said with a vicious smile.

“Hey, Jian. If I win, will you give me a kiss?” asked Wu Meiying.

“I’d give you a kiss even if you lost,” Wu Jian said.

“Will you two please stop talking about kissing?!” Hou Jingshu snapped with an embarrassed blush.

“Hey! Stop ignoring me!” Ming Shen shouted, his face red.

“Huh? Oh. Ming Shen. I’m sorry. We were so busy trying to ignore the sounds of a barking dog that we didn’t hear you,” Wu Jian said with a smile so cheerful it could only be sarcastic.

A vein throbbed on Ming Shen’s forehead, bright and red, but he quashed his anger with a deep breath, then put his condescending smile back on.

“That you would dare to insult me like this is a credit to your arrogance, but don’t forget who won the tournament last year. I’ll be sure to put you in your place again this year. Perhaps then Wu Meiying and Hou Jingshu will see that I am a much better match for them.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Wu Meiying declared.

Hou Jingshu nodded. “Even if you won, I would never marry you.”

Ming Shen drew his lips into a thin line. Wu Jian didn’t pay him much attention, but instead focused on Juishi Meirin, who glared at Wu Meiying with clear hatred in her eyes. His attention shifted back to Ming Shen when the boy took a step forward, but he was stopped by Juishi Son.

“Do not bother sullying your honor by arguing with them. Prove your strength in the tournament instead,” he said.

Ming Shen sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You’re right. I have no need to degrade myself like this.” He glanced at Wu Jian, then scoffed. “See you in the tournament.”

The three turned as one and walked away. Hou Jingshu glared at them as they did. So did Wu Meiying, but Hou Jingshu’s glare was particularly loathsome, like she was staring at a couple of cockroaches.

“I truly hate that boy. Just how anyone can be so condescending is beyond me,” she exclaimed.

“He has always been like that, to the best of my knowledge. Try not to let it bother you,” Wu Jian said.

The clan leaders finished talking and everyone moved toward the viewing booths. This arena featured four special viewing booths, one for each clan, which were located above the stands where all the common folks sat. As they made it onto a veranda that overlooked the arena floor, Wu Jian glanced at the viewing booth meant for the Zhou Clan.

There was already a group of people standing inside, each one dressed in elaborate robes and gowns that put anything the other three clans could buy to shame. The woman were decked to the nines in intricate outfits that dazzled the eyes. The men wore austere clothing that seemed understated at first, until Wu Jian realized that their outfits magnified their presence several fold.

It was an obvious display of wealth. They were telling the three clans of Zahn City not to get too confident in themselves.

One person among that group stood out to Wu Jian. A young girl stood by the Zhou Clan leader. She looked to be several years older than him. At a guess, he would have said she was maybe sixteen or seventeen, but it was hard to tell. Her hair was a unique shade of sandy blond that bordered on brown and her eyes reminded him of the cerulean sky. She wore a veil that covered most of her face, so all he could see was her eyes and the snow white skin around them.

Perhaps she felt his eyes on her, for she looked his way and their eyes locked. Wu Jian was tempted to look away, to pretend he hadn’t been studying her, but that would have been tantamount to admitting he had done something wrong, and he didn’t think he had. He kept his eyes on her. Eventually, her eyes crinkled as if she was smiling and she raised her hand to wave at him. He waved back.

Hou Jingshu elbowed him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Nothing. Just being friendly.”

“Friendly with another girl. Just how many wives do you intend to have?”

“I’m happy with just you and Mei.”

Hou Jingshu’s cheeks turned pink. “I hope you remember those words.”

The arena stands were soon filled up. Father left the viewing booth and headed down to the arena floor. The other clan heads, including the head of the Zhou Clan, also stepped onto the arena.

While this was called the Three Clan’s Competition because it was being sponsored by the clans of Zahn City, the Zhou Clan also played host because they were more powerful and influential than all three clans combined. They also provided the venue. The members living in Zahn City might have been nothing more than Zhou Clan branch members, but that meant little. They could easily call upon the power of the Zhou Clan to remove all three clans if they wanted and everyone knew it.

Standing amid the three clan heads was the leader of the Zhou Clan’s Zahn City branch. He looked surprisingly young for a branch leader, but that meant he was probably a powerful cultivator. His black hair was long and trailed down to the middle of his back. He had skin like fresh snow, blue eyes like the young girl who Wu Jian guessed was his daughter, and wore elaborate white robes.

“Welcome, one and all to the Three Clans Competition!” he boomed. His voice was powerful despite his slender frame. That was a cultivator for you. “For those who do not know me, my name is Zhou Zu. I hope everyone here is as excited as I am to see the youths of today showcase their strength for your entertainment and the glory of their families.”

His words were met with roaring approval and stamping feet. A smile lit his face, making him look amiable and attractive. Many women in the stands swooned. Even some of the Wu Clan ladies fanned themselves as if their hearts were all a flutter.

“Before we begin the true competition, there will be a preliminary round. This is being done because we have so many applicants. Since we have too many people who signed up and this event is only supposed to last one day, we must weed out some of the fighters who wished to take part, until only the best remain. Now! Will all those who are taking part in the preliminaries please step onto the arena!”

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A large group of young men and women between the ages of thirteen and fifteen walked out through one of several entrances onto the arena floor. There must have been at least five or six dozen.

The tournament was an event that lasted a full day. Battles between hopeful cultivators generally lasted between ten and fifteen minutes, though some could last as many as thirty minutes to an hour. If all those people plus those from the three clans took part in the tournament, it would easily last at least two days if not three.

“Hey! Isn’t that the girl you were making googly eyes at?” asked Wu Meiying, pointing at someone in the crowd of competition hopefuls.

“I was not making googly eyes at anyone,” Wu Jian muttered.

Wu Meiying just giggled at him, which caused Wu Jian to sigh as he looked down at the arena floor. It was easy to spot the girl in question. While she wore nothing more than a simple red hanfu decorated with fox symbols, she also had the veil covering her face. She looked tall, so he had expected her to be sixteen or seventeen, but it seemed she was younger than he had assumed.

“I wonder what she’s doing down there with the contestants,” Wu Jian muttered.

“Because she’s taking part in the preliminaries?” Hou Jingshu asked with a shrug.

“I think what Jian is confused about is why she’s taking part in the preliminaries at all,” Wu Meiying said. She cupped her chin and stared at the girl. “There has never been a member of the Zhou Clan who took part in this tournament since its inception. However, if the Zhou Clan did want someone among them to participate, they wouldn’t need to have them sign up for the preliminaries.”

Wu Jian nodded. “Exactly. It’s odd that someone from the Zhou Clan would take part in the preliminaries like this.”

Hou Jingshu fell silent. She scrunched her brow, but in the end, she shrugged and let it be. It seemed she couldn’t think of a reason either.

As he stared at the girl in curiosity, Wu Meiying tugged on his sleeve.

“That girl is going to be important to you,” she said suddenly, eyes partially glazed over.

“I… I see. Do you know how… or maybe why?” asked Wu Jian.

Wu Meiying tilted her head, then shook it. Her eyes had gone back to normal.

“No. Unfortunately, I didn’t see that much, but she will be very important to you in the future. After this tournament, I suggest we begin paying the Auction House a visit. We should also consider trying to find some rare natural treasures we can have the Auction House sell off. That should help us get closer to her.”

“You say that as if finding natural treasures is easy. Do you think natural resources like that flower we found when we were younger will sprout from the ground like a pine tree?” Wu Jian joked, but Wu Meiying just smiled at him.

The preliminary competition soon began. Unlike the main tournament, this was a free-for-all battle royale in which all the hopefuls were pitted against each other. The last fifteen left standing were then selected to participate in the main tournament.

All the people standing on the arena floor began fighting the moment the Zhou Clan referee announced the battle had begun. Fists and feet flew. Several bodies were sent sailing through the air as they were tossed aside. There was no stage during this phase of the tournament, so people could not win by ring out. The only way to beat someone was if you knocked them unconscious or they surrendered. Several Zhou clansmen stood off to the side, ready to help the contestants in the event of a serious injury.

While it was difficult to watch the fight because of how chaotic it was, Wu Jian was at least able to spot the girl who caught his eyes easily enough. She stood in the very center of the arena. This would normally be a bad idea since it meant she was surrounded on all sides, but the girl was adroitly countering every attack that came her way. She was grace personified, dodging attacks as if she had eyes in the back of her head, then reacting with brutal counters that left her attackers on the ground.

Someone came in behind her and tried to beam her over the head with a club. Weapons were allowed, so no one said anything. The girl ducked underneath the attack like she had known it was coming, grabbed the outstretched hand, and pulled the boy into a reverse heel kick that drove the air from his lungs. As he fell onto his knees, she spun around and snapped off another kick. Her foot slammed into his chin. He crashed onto his back and didn’t get back up.

The Zhou Clan referee gestured for two of the clansmen to move, and they quickly waded through the melee free for all, grabbed the young man before he could be trampled, and removed him from the arena floor. Their quick efficiency was impressive.

After dropping two more contestants, the others caught onto the fact that this girl was not someone they could contend with. She was given a wide berth after that. However, the girl didn’t seem to mind. She just stood in place, arms held loosely at her sides. It looked like she was at rest, but Wu Jian knew better. The muscles in her backs, shoulders, and legs were drawn taut. Her body was primed and ready to strike at anyone who got too close.

She’s using the Wing Chun style of martial arts like Jingshu does, but it’s clear she’s been training in it for far longer. I heard it takes at least two years to master, so she’s at least been practicing for that long, but judging by her experience at fighting, I’d say she’s been training for even longer.

“She’s very talented,” Wu Meiying said.

“Wow,” was all Hou Jingshu could say. Her eyes were quite wide.

Wu Jian didn’t say anything, but he would admit he was intrigued by this girl and wondered just how she would become important to him in the future.

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The tournament is beginning and I've introduced a new character. Who is the mysterious woman from the Zhou Clan?

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