As the announcer's words rang through the arena, warriors of each branch clashed.
Yang-chun, a second-rank warrior of the Sixth Sector, charged in with his spear. His opponent was a sword user.
From a distance of five paces, Yang-chun let out a barrage of thrusts, keeping the distance between him and his opponent.
The black iron edge of his polearm clashed with a sword. Each exchange lasted less than a single breath; the two gave each other no leeway.
Their senses had phased out the cheers from the stands; only the glint of their blades remained.
Although battle is only a moment, it is also the culmination of experience, effort, and talent.
Each thrust was met with a counter; Yang-chun's tempo faltered as the iterations grew.
At the twentieth exchange, the tip of his spear met only cold air. His opponent's sword burst toward his neck. However, Yang-chun's gaze didn't falter; he knew he wasn't his opponent's match from the start. His reliance wasn't his own strength. Rather...
As the sword drew closer to his neck, a sharp, yet dim, light flashed by. A dull grey shard of qi crashed into the flat end of his opponent's weapon.
The sword's trajectory was thrown off; a perfect counter-chance.
The dulled edge of his polearm swung towards his opponent's neck. A low vibration ran through his spear; Yang-chun's opponent had been immobilised. His victory was granted by a guardian.
Stood at the back rank of the team's formation, Chang-yu's eyes darted across the battlefield. A thin veil of her qi encompassed all her opponents and peers.
When a battle's critical point manifested, shrill vibrations would run through the veil; at its signal, she fired precise shards of qi.
As an opponent rushed in for a key attack, her projectiles would break their tempo.
If a peer's blade were a breath too slow, her shards would break the opponent's pace.
Dozens of grey shards of qi formed around her body; each shard appeared exactly when and where it was needed.
What started as a clash between groups of equal powers soon became a hunt.
Within sixty breaths, the battle came to an end.
No injuries and no exhaustion, the sixth branch team gathered at the centre of their battlefield.
"I don't know what we would have done without you!" The sect disciples surrounded Chang-yu, their words showering her with praise.
However, the praise wasn't limited to peers alone. The audience's cheers grew in volume, and the eyes of notable figures in the sect were also drawn by her performance.
Branch Masters of the sect were also surprised by this outcome.
Seated at the north end of the ninth storey, was a gruff old man. His greyed hair was tied into a bun.
He observed the outcome with great attention. His gaze shifted toward Aspartese who was at the south end. "Teaching your disciple war tactics... I doubt it would be of much use in the direct spars." He muttered under his breath.
His voice was grainy, yet his words flowed with no ebb.
After a few more minutes, most team battles came to an end.
With their heads held low, the teams that were defeat met their seniors' glares from the stands.
On the other hand, the teams that had won stood on the battlefield with pride.
As the crowd's cheering cooled down, the announcer spoke. "For the second-rank team battle, the winners are: The seventh branch, The sixth branch, The third branch, and The main branch. Each of the winning teams has been awarded 1 point. And the sixth branch, having been the first to finish, has been awarded an additional point."
The announcer pointed toward a massive blackboard, at the north end of the fifth storey, where the teams' scores were being tallied.
As she cleared her throat, a dull rumble resounded through the arena. "The second event will be one-on-one sparring. The score will be counted based on the number of victories divided by half the number of disciples present. Members who wish to forfeit must do so now."
From the stands, Vera observed the situation of the second-rank members of the sect. Most were unharmed during the battle.
Logically speaking, he figured that there was no reason for team members to leave. But as he recalled the scoring system for the second round, his thoughts changed.
Numbers may have been relevant in the team battle, but quality matters more in the second round.
Vera turned to Aspartese. "Do we have any seeded second rankers?"
Aspartese shook his head. "Seeding members cost half as much as they can earn in the second round. I've kept our seeds for sure wins in the third-ranker events. By the way, both you and Lin-yu are seeded; be sure to win."
Vera turned back to the battlefield. As he had expected, those who weren't good at one-on-one combat returned to the stands.
At some point Chang-yu also returned to the ninth storey. Vera congratulated her for her stellar performance.
Chang-yu's mastery over projectiles was the only part of the first event that Vera found worth watching.
For the second event a few branches spent points on seeding second-rankers, but most didn't bother.
Perhaps because it was one-on-one combat, disciples were able to use more complex tactics. Some members used sword nets, and some used hit-and-run strategies, but for the most part there was only direct confrontation.
Soon the clangs of iron dulled, the second event had reached its end with nothing worth watching.
However, one thing to note was that not a single main branch member lost a spar.
At the second event's end, the current point leaders were the first, second, third, and sixth branches. Although the sixth branch gained an advantage in the team battle, they weren't able to keep up in the sparring event.
However, this was still better than the situation of branches that had to fight the main branch disciples.
Shortly after the second event came to an end, the announcer called for a fifteen-minute break. The time was given for branch masters to think about letting second rankers participate in third ranker events.
Vera scanned through the seats on the ninth storey. Disciples pleaded to be allowed to participate in the third event. However, none of the branch masters even batted an eye at their requests.
While it was logical, Vera thought the branch masters' reluctance a bit too excessive. Before he could turn to Aspartese for an answer, Aspartese gave him one.
"They have no other option. It costs double to place a disciple in a higher-rank event. Although the rewards for a win are four times the round value, the risk is simply too high. As much as I support you, unless you show serious capability in the spars, I won't buy a spot for you in the fifth event."
Vera nodded quietly at Aspartese's words; a smirk grew over his face. "I guess I'll have to make a scene in the fourth event."
He figured just blitzing the opponent wouldn't be enough to show value if he wanted in on the One Law stage events.
The two laughed boisterously with not even a shred of pity for the disciples that would encounter Vera.
However, Vera recalled what Yang-chun said on the day of his induction. "Senior, from what I know about the sect, aren't all One Law stage disciples shipped off to the main branch?" His fingertips ran across the stubble on his chin as he spoke. "How would the fifth event even work?"
Aspartese stopped chewing on his jerky and responded. "Other than a branch master's direct disciples or descendants, all One Law disciples are sent to the main sect. Other than the second and main branch, there are no other branches with One Law disciples. So there will be only direct spars."
He pulled out a flask of wine from his rucksack and took a sip. Having wetted his dry throat, he continued. "Considering all branches are allowed to have One Law disciples, those who don't participate just get zero points."
Vera let out an exasperated sigh. "Giving a beggar a coin doesn't mean you changed their fate. Which veiled dictator came up with this system?"
He leaned into his seat and closed his eyes. "Senior, I'll nap until it's my turn. Wake me up when the time comes."
Aspartese looked at Vera's resting face with an evil grin. "Sure, Vera... I'll wake you up just in time for your spar."
His ears plugged with qi, Vera slept off comfortably.
***
Deep in his slumber, Vera dreamt of mundane things.
He dreamt of the days he spent camping out with Mei and Sword Dog. For some reason, Ezra appeared every few minutes and threatened to throw him down the sage's mountain.
Just then he felt dull jabs over his neck.
Half asleep, he called out. "Stop poking me, Mei. I won't give you any sweets if you keep this up."
Despite his groggy protests, the jabbing didn't stop.
Tired of 'Mei's' incessant jabs, Vera turned to his side; his eyes fluttered open.
But in place of Mei, he found a bearded middle-aged man poking his neck while puckering his lips.
Aspartese gazed into Vera's eyes; his face was a hand's length away from Vera's. "Big brother, why won't you give Mei any candy?"
Vera shot up from his seat and got into a fighting stance; his expression contorted into a grimace. "Ugly demon, tell me, which ogre clan are you from?!"
Despite the pain in his chest from Vera's insults, Aspartese grinned at him.
Slowly, but surely, Vera realised it was just Aspartese. However, his now eased expression didn't last for too long; the announcer's voice resounded through the arena.
"The usual ten-minute grace has been given. If the Sixth Sector's seed disciple, Vera, doesn't appear in the next ten seconds, we will assume he forfeits."
Vera's head turned to the private room on the fifth floor and back to the 'ugly demon'.
Veins bulged through Vera's neck as he glared at Aspartese. "I'll get you back for this old man!"
Aspartese laughed at Vera's declaration, his grin only growing wider. "How about you get to the arena first?"
Just as Vera was about to pull out Aspartese's beard, he heard the countdown.
"6"
"7"
Vera gritted his teeth and held back his anger. Only thoughts of dining on Aspartese's cost kept him calm.
"8"
Vera stepped onto the railings on the ninth storey and jumped down into the arena.
A heavy tremor ran through the battlefield's cold iron base as he landed.
The chatter in the stands came to a halt at his explosive arrival. Even his opponent was dumbfounded. Unbothered by the rabble, Vera turned to the announcer's private room.
"I'm here, stop the countdown." His voice, invigorated with qi, flooded the arena.
Those in the stands held their ears shut tightly, barely holding on. Even the announcer was taken aback by Vera's sudden appearance.
A moment of silence passed, as everyone regained their composure.
Jeers rained down from the stands. Thankfully, from the chorus of jeers, the announcer could be heard.
"Vera has arrived right before the grace period has ended. Hence, he will be allowed to participate in the spar. You may begin when both parties agree to start."
Somewhat relieved by the response, Vera turned to face his opponent. Naturally, his opponent wasn't too happy about his extravagant arrival.
"Do you have no respect for the first branch?" He spoke with a scowl on his face. His black iron sword was drawn and pointed at Vera's neck.
"Let's finish this off already you fucking bastard."
Vera didn't particularly care about the man's foul words. But, his first sentence gave Vera an idea. Vera's face split into a wide grin.
I know how to get back at you now, you old coot!
The smile on Vera's face disappeared. He shouted as loud as he could. "I apologise senior. From now on I will do my best to maintain my etiquette. The etiquette that the Sixth Branch Master taught me personally!"