Chương 35: Chapter 34: STRIKE BEHIND

CHAPTER 34 STRIKE BEHIND —∞— Caoluan was waiting for him on the seventh step down, leaning with her back against the wall. She had her head down, not looking at him. The stairwell had no dedicated lights, but it was evenly, perfectly lit all the same, given it was all brightgold.

"So," Jieyuan said as he reached the same step, settling himself against the opposite wall, arms crossed.

"You wanted to talk?" He went for as relaxed a look as he could; he had Absolute Will Command ready, and he'd also put Huaxin on high alert. If Caoluan tried anything funny, he'd have her down in an instant. Caoluan glanced up at the entrance of the stairwell, then turned to face him. She still had that unreadable face on, but… something about it wasn't quite right. There was an unnatural tightness to it, like she was forcing herself to look that way. Like she was holding something back.

Without a shred of preamble, she said, "The Xiyunfeng are plotting something." Her voice was just loud enough for him to hear; anyone not on the stairwell wouldn't be able to make out the words. Jieyuan tensed up, pulling himself straighter. He had thought it might be something like that. But he hadn't expected anything even remotely that direct.

"Care to elaborate?" he said, in the same volume. She was right to keep this on the down-low.

"I don't know the details, but they've got something planned for the Gleaming Stone Sect. And for you, Meiyao, Yongyi, and…" Her expression tightened, and she trembled a little. She took a deep, steadying breath.

"And Daojue," she bit out. Even though it was clear she'd tried to hide it, there was no mistaking the venom in her words. The sheer anger underlying it. Jieyuan frowned.

"The envoy—""They have a way of dealing with her," Caoluan cut in.

"And no, I don't know what it is. But they don't think she'll be a problem." Now that was troubling. There was only really one way to safely deal with an Orangesoul—by bringing in another one. Or, Heavens forbid, someone at an even higher realm. And that wasn't all; it wasn't just Envoy Guodan the Xiyunfeng would have to handle. There was also the Howling Lightning Sect to contend with. This also wasn't the kind of thing you could plot on the spot.

Whatever the Xiyunfeng Clan's plans were, they hadn't been set off by Xianjun's death. They must have been in the making for a while now.

"And do you know when that's happening?"

"The last day of the summit. The thirtieth," Caoluan said. Without another word, she turned around and started climbing down the steps. Jieyuan watched her go, staying put. A step. Two. Three. He thought about the way she kept using they, and not we.

"Why tell me?" She stopped. But didn't turn around. Didn't say anything else. Jieyuan waited. Then she said, softly, and Jieyuan wasn't sure whether she was speaking to him or to herself, "Because he would've wanted me to."

"He?" Even as he spoke, a name flashed in his mind. A name and a headless corpse. Another pause.

"Xianjun." Her voice broke on his name—briefly but clearly. A visible shudder ran through her. He didn't respond, seeing if she'd take it upon herself to fill the silence. She did.

"He hates… hated the clan. Loathed them. His father most of all. He'd have done anything to see them brought down. Ruined." Jieyuan was beginning to understand.

"It was he who told you about the plans. You were close."" Close?" She whipped around to face him. Her eyes were wide, wet with tears, her expression irate, murderous." Close? We were— We were…" The fire went out of her suddenly. Her voice died, and she slumped, looking away from him.

"We were," she whispered. Jieyuan glanced over to the entrance, just in case anybody had noticed anything, but it was clear. Then he turned back to Caoluan.

"How does today's duel fit into all of that?"

"The plan was to kill Daojue," she said, sounding defeated.

"That'd have set off the envoy—Xianjun had an idea of what the envoy's personality is like, and she wouldn't have hesitated to massacre most of the clan in response. But… but if he failed to kill Daojue, he'd have Daojue kill him instead—and hope that was enough to make his father show his hand early, messing up the plans." She was trembling.

"It didn't work. He died for nothing." Jieyuan took a moment to process that. So. Plan A, kill Daojue and then die. Plan B, just die. He was all for simple plans, but that was a bit much, even for him. He didn't think Xianjun's madness and desperation had been play-pretend, either. Rational, level-headed people tended to leave self-sacrifice for at least Plan C, as a very last resort. Not as the direct consequence of Plan A and the centerpiece of Plan B.

And something about this whole situation still didn't make sense.

"But you said Xianjun hated his father. I'm assuming their relationship wasn't the best. Why did he think Sovereign Zhihao would throw all caution to the wind if he died?" Caoluan gave a bitter little laugh.

"Zhihao only ever really cared for one person in his entire life. One person, and nobody else. And it wasn't Xianjun. But he's deeply possessive—and as far as he's concerned, Xianjun's his property. Was his property. He's not a very rational man. Xianjun was betting on that. And he lost. He lost." She shook her head, then looked straight into his eyes.

"Just promise me something. Don't let Zhihao get his hands on Meiyao." What? Jieyuan fought to keep his voice low." Meiyao? What does she have to do with this?"

"She's what Zhihao wants more than anything else. More than taking down the Gleaming Stone Sect. Even if everything else goes as planned, as long as Zhihao doesn't get to have her… That'll be enough." Quietly, she added, "It'll have to be." Jieyuan recalled, then, the first time he'd come across Sovereign Zhihao, and the way the man had looked at Meiyao, utterly transfixed, as he whispered Lianhua, the name of Meiyao's mother.

The way the sovereign protector had spoken about Lianhua afterward, and the tension between him and Chief Junjie—Meiyao's father, the man Lianhua had married. And all the times Jieyuan had caught him staring at her. Zhihao only ever really cared for one person in his entire life, Caoluan had said, barely a minute ago. One person, and nobody else. Jieyuan felt a sudden, creeping chill. He'd known something was off about Xiyunfeng Zhihao—but this was way worse than he'd thought. And that wasn't all.

Something still itched at the back of his mind, so he went further back. And he recalled the two times they'd been tracked down by the Gleaming Nobles in the Gleamstone Valley. First by that inner elder, then by Qingshi and his lackeys. Both times, their pursuers had made it clear that while they had every intention of killing him and Daojue, they only wanted to capture Meiyao. It all fell into place. Oh. Oh.

"The Gleaming Nobles and the Xiyunfeng Clan," he said.

"They're working together." It wasn't a question. But Caoluan answered anyway.

"Yes." She turned back around and started down the stair again. Slumped. Broken. Nothing like the woman he'd fought in the fifth round—in a duel he'd only won by staking his life. Jieyuan didn't stop her this time, and kept his eyes on her retreating back until she was well out of sight.

"So that's that," he murmured, then kicked off the wall. He began climbing back up the steps. He finally had confirmation. The Xiyunfeng were planning something, and they were doing it together with the Gleaming Nobles. He still didn't know what exactly it was they had in store, but if they were confident in dealing with Envoy Guodan, things really weren't looking good. Worse, Meiyao was in the thick of it. There was a chance that Caoluan had lied. It wasn't as if she'd produced any evidence.

But he felt he had a fairly good read on her. Besides, he didn't see a point in making all of this up. So he was better off assuming this was all true. Earlier today, he'd racked his head trying to think of how exactly he and Meiyao could end up in the Viridian Forest. How such a thing would require taking Envoy Guodan out of the picture. Well, it seemed like the Xiyunfeng had the solution to the latter—which probably meant they'd be involved in the former. So what now?

Jieyuan stepped out of the stairwell, and immediately found himself facing Meiyao, who was leaning sideways against the wall by the entrance. Clearly, she'd been waiting for him. She pushed off the wall and stepped closer, giving him a meaningful look. He resumed walking, and she fell into step with him.

"What did she want?" Meiyao said. Jieyuan didn't rush to answer, thinking. He'd had thoughts before about not stopping whatever trouble was headed their way. About letting things run their course, only making preparations to improve his chances of making it out alive. It all came down to the reason he'd decided to follow Meiyao and Daojue. He was sure they were part of something greater, meant for something greater, and he'd wanted to take advantage of whatever opportunities came their way.

The Viridian Dome might very well be one such opportunity. But this thing with the Xiyunfeng Clan and the Gleaming Nobles was big. Bigger than them, bigger than his plans and theories. And while Meiyao and Daojue would come out mostly unscathed if his suspicions were right, that same couldn't be said about everyone else. From what he understood of the coming storm, the Gleaming Stone Sect was very much at risk, the Liangshibai Clan most of all. And that was just the question, wasn't it?

Was he really willing to gamble with the lives of all of the Gleaming Stone Sect on unproven beliefs of fate and providence? They stopped in their usual place by the railing. He still didn't give Meiyao an answer, and she didn't press him for one. He looked past her, to where Yongyi was standing off to the back, talking with another disciple. Liangshibai Feiyuan, the woman he often saw Yongyi sparring with. The woman who'd almost died to Baisenzhou Houliao in the fifth round.

The woman he was fairly sure Yongyi was involved with. Yongyi didn't seem to notice him, too engrossed in his conversation. Jieyuan moved his attention to the doorway behind the Radiant Gold Sect's side of the floor. Behind it were the elders of the Gleaming Stone Sect. Elder Yiming, Protectors Yuyan and Wanxin. Those were the ones he'd be risking. Was he willing? A month ago, he had little doubt what his answer would've been. But now… Now … He frowned. Something tight clutched at his chest.

Jieyuan closed his eyes. He steadied his breathing, letting the tension coil and uncoil in his chest as he collected his thoughts, forcing them into some kind of order. Then he opened his eyes again, and met Meiyao's gaze. Her large, bright, piercing eyes bored into his, like they could see right through him. She didn't speak. Only looked back at him, waiting. Standing close enough he could almost feel her warmth, her heartbeat. And he had his answer. Some things you didn't gamble with.

He straightened up, the decision settling into his bones. And he said, quietly but steadily, "I need to speak to the palace head." —∞— Growing up, Jieyuan had gotten lessons on all sorts of things. His old man had arranged for tutors to teach him everything he'd need to take over the family business. When Old Huizhong couldn't find anyone up to the task, he simply did it himself. More than once, Jieyuan had sat through lessons on the proper way to break news—to tell someone something important.

Those were some of the lessons his father had taken it upon himself to teach. There was a lot to account for. What the news was: good, bad, neutral. What your relationship with the listener was like: good, bad, neutral. And what kind of reaction you wanted to have: again, good, bad, or neutral.

Somehow, though, his old man had never gotten around to the lesson on how to break it when the news involved a major (with strong emphasis on major) conspiracy spanning another sect, traitors, and probably at least one Orangesoul. Jieyuan stood by the bedroom window in his apartments in the Gleaming Stone Palace. Beyond the palace grounds stretched out the streets of Radiant Gold City. All neat, straight lines, connecting and intersecting, grid-like. The entire city was planned to geometrical perfection.

Night had fallen, and brightgold light posts lined the streets, glowing faint and yellow under the darkened sky. And further out, way past the city's perfect lines, the Viridian Dome sat. Swallowing up the horizon with its sheer size. A solid green mass, glowing faintly in the darkness. Eerie. Ominous. He'd caught himself looking at it more and more as the tournament wore on, as the ending of the summit drew closer. Today, though—the Dome had never seemed so close. He tore his eyes away.

They had only just returned from the Radiant Gold Palace. Before leaving, he'd managed to pull Elder Yiming aside and whisper that they needed to talk discreetly. The palace head had agreed without hesitation and promised to arrange something. On their way back, Elder Yiming made no mention of it, nor did he so much as glance Jieyuan's way after they arrived. Jieyuan didn't know what the palace head had in mind, so he couldn't do anything about it besides waiting.

But there were other things he could do something about, and if the palace head took much longer he'd get started on them.

"Yo." The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Jieyuan whipped around. Past his bedroom door, Elder Yiming lay comfortably on one of the couches in his anteroom. The man sprawled across most of the three-person seat, topaz robes ruffled, citrine sash loosely tied, white coat pooling around him. The palace head gave him a little wave, a lazy grin on his face. Jieyuan stared for a beat. Then strode out of the bedroom, scanning the doors, the hall.

Nothing looked out of place. He should've at least heard something.

"Palace Head," he started, but then caught himself. He took a moment to study the man in front of him, who couldn't have looked more casual if he'd tried. That was not the look of a man even remotely interested in formalities. So Jieyuan did away with them.

"How did you get in?" Elder Yiming shrugged.

"I'm the palace head. There have to be some perks to the positions, I should think." Jieyuan plopped down across from him, on the other couch. He let himself sink into the cushions, getting comfortable—though not nearly as shamelessly as Yiming had. A small, ornate table sat between them.

"So," Yiming said. He adjusted his position, propping his elbow on the seat and his head against his hand. Someone could've painted him, there and then. Yiming was handsome enough for it. All Liangshibai were good-looking, but Yiming was a cut above the rest. Not on Daojue's level, but not so far off either.

"What's it you and my adorable little niece are up to?" Jieyuan blinked.

"What?" Elder Yiming scoffed.

"What, you think I didn't notice? You two, walking together on the way here, all serious-like? Whatever this is about, she's in on it. So come on, out with it, kiddo." Jieyuan had already passed on to Meiyao what Caoluan had told him. She'd agreed Yiming was the best person to take something like this to. Jieyuan frowned, opened his mouth—but the palace head held up a hand.

"Wait. Don't tell me—" A dramatic gasp, followed by a wicked grin.

"Is she pregnant?" Jieyuan stared, blankly.

"What?"

"Well, it'd fit, wouldn't it? Can't say I ever saw the two of you getting all that chummy, granted, but if someone around here knocked her up, it'd have to be you." Heavens above. Jieyuan closed his eyes, steadying himself. Half because of the sheer idiocy he was hearing—and half because Elder Yiming's words had conjured some images in his head he really didn't need right now. He shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable. Elder Yiming, the best person to take Caoluan's warning to. Sure. Sure he is. Brilliant.

"Sheesh, kiddo, ease up," Elder Yiming said, laughter in his voice, and Jieyuan opened his eyes again. The man's grin was wide enough to split his face.

"I'm only chipping your gem. Trust me, if I really thought you'd done the deed with Meiyao, we'd be having a totally different talk." Elder Yiming waved a hand dismissively, like he was brushing the thought away.

"Anyway, get on with it. What's the matter? I'm all ears." The palace head was still the very picture of casualness, sprawled across the couch—but his orange eyes were anything but. They gleamed. Attentive, focused, watchful. Sharper than a chisel. Jieyuan wouldn't be surprised if the utter disregard for formality was an act to put him at ease. It wasn't necessary. He wasn't nervous—this was just a talk, and Elder Yiming was as approachable as an elder could be. Probably more, even.

Jieyuan wasn't nervous, no, but he was tense. This was just a talk, sure, but a lot hinged on it. Jieyuan sat up straighter, ran down the news-breaking checklist one last time. The news? Bad. Very, very bad. Relationship with the listener? Good-ish. Decent, at least. Desired reaction? Bad. Or, more precisely, serious. As in, Jieyuan wanted— needed —to be taken seriously. It wasn't an exact science, but a direct approach looked like the winner.

"The Xiyunfeng are working with the Gleaming Nobles. They're planning something for the last day of the tournament." The reaction was immediate. A blur of movement, and Elder Yiming was standing straighter than a pillar, face dead serious. He said nothing, just nodded sharply at Jieyuan to go on. Now this was a palace head. He'd been right to go straight to the point.

"They've supposedly got something prepared to deal with the envoy. I don't know what it is. But if they think they can handle an Orangesoul… that can't be good for us. From what I gather, the Xiyunfeng want to take down the Gleaming Stone Sect—or at least the Liangshibai. Considering they're teaming up with the Nobles, I'd bet on the latter." Elder Yiming gave another nod, and Jieyuan continued, "The only other thing I know is that they want me, Yongyi, and Daojue dead, and Meiyao captured."

If the palace head hadn't been tense before, he sure was now. His hands balled into fists over his knees.

"Meiyao—" His eyes widened.

"Zhihao."

"Sovereign Zhihao," Jieyuan confirmed. Elder Yiming leaned back, tilting his head toward the ceiling. He stayed that way, silent and grim, for good while. Finally, he dropped his gaze back to Jieyuan.

"Since you haven't said otherwise, I'm guessing you're not sharing your source?"

"That's right," Jieyuan said. Caoluan hadn't told him what to do with the information, only to make sure Meiyao didn't get captured. She hadn't told him to keep her name out of it, either. But she'd been a good, challenging opponent. He respected her strength. And she did come to him with the news, even if it wasn't out of the goodness of her heart. He owed her a debt, as far as he was concerned, and he wasn't about to pay it by ratting her out.

"All right," Elder Yiming said slowly.

"And you're confident?"

"As much as one can be without proof." Another stretch of heavy silence. Elder Yiming's brow was deeply furrowed. Then the palace head stood up.

"Keep this to yourself. Tell no one. I'll handle it. Set some things in motion, maybe…" Elder Yiming nodded, seemingly to himself.

"Yes, I'll also check with the Mysterious Night House again."

"The Mysterious Night House?" Jieyuan asked. He knew the place; there wasn't anyone on the Radiant Gold Province who didn't. The city's biggest chromal trade house, their auctions the stuff of legend—at least for the son of a mundane merchant. It stood near the center of Radiant Street, across the Radiant Light Atelier, where he'd bought Shifting Edge.

"Why them?"

"Hmm?" Elder Yiming blinked, then snapped his fingers.

"Oh, right. You wouldn't know. They also deal in information. I already felt them out about the Gleaming Nobles but didn't get much. They might have something on the Xiyunfeng, however. If the Xiyunfeng are planning something that could take the envoy out, chances are someone's caught wind." Elder Yiming then strode over to the door, but stopped as he grabbed the handle. He turned back.

"Thanks for the heads-up, Jieyuan. Like I said, I'll handle things from here. You focus on your duel with Daojue tomorrow. I'll be rooting for you, kiddo." He smiled—not one of his usual, bright grins, just a small, faint quirk of the lips—but as real as it got. And then he was gone, shutting the door behind him. Jieyuan slumped back onto the couch, staring at the ceiling like Yiming earlier. Distantly, he traced the lines of the gemstone light embedded there, getting his thoughts in order. Elder Yiming was right.

It was out of his hands. There wasn't anything else he could do about it. And he did have a duel to prepare for. He rose to his feet and headed to the meditation room. He sat down cross-legged on the cushion at the center of the room. Closed his eyes. Then he reached for Absolute Will Command and whispered, " See Maeva." And then he was in Amyas's old room. His room, in a previous life. Small, square, pastel-white walls. A single, narrow bed under a small window, a crammed bookcase opposite it.

On the other side, a simple desk with a plain, steel-mesh chair in front of it, turned the other way. He was sitting on that chair, facing the bed. Maeva was across from him, on the bed, yellow sundress and white lab coat spilling over the covers, a book in her lap, her back against the wall, her head resting on the window frame. She gave him that sweet, sad smile she so often did.

"Hello, Amyas." Normally he didn't bother with full hallucinations like this. He usually just brought Maeva into the real world. It was easier to keep some distance, that way. But he didn't know how Yiming had gotten into his rooms, and he wasn't taking any chances. He'd rather not be seen pacing around, talking to the wind.

"Hello, Maeva." She hopped off the bed and slid the book away in the bookcase. It was all for show, really. She didn't exist when he wasn't calling on her. But he appreciated the theater.

"So, what will it be?" she asked.

"Tomorrow's duel? Or would you rather talk about—""The duel," Jieyuan said.

"Right." Maeva settled back onto the bed, bunched up the covers about her, over her knees.

"Let's see. Good news or bad news first?"

"Good news?" Jieyuan perked up. He hadn't been expecting anything.

"There's good news?"

"Oh, you wound me, little brother," Maeva said, pressing a hand to her chest.

"You think so little of my abilities""Maeva, you have no abilities. You're a hallucination. You only know what I know." Those words were mostly for his own benefit. It was something he forced himself to say every once in a while, to ground himself when talking with Maeva. A reminder. Maeva sniffed disdainfully.

"Sure, sure. Your knowledge, but filtered through Maeva's viewpoint. And she was smarter than you by miles. Moreover, your subconscious has been working on something for a while now; I'm just putting a different perspective on it, speeding up the process." She patted the covers over her legs, smoothing them out, before looking up at him.

"Now, good news and bad news. Do you want them or not?"

"Of course."

"Good news? I've got a trump card you can use against Daojue tomorrow." A trump card. He wouldn't say no to that.

"And the bad news?"

"You probably won't master it in time. And even if you do, it still might not be enough." That sounded like a challenge. And Jieyuan liked challenges.

"Then time's a-wasting. And anything's better than nothing. Hit me." And she did. And Jieyuan realized that maybe, just maybe, he had a real shot at beating Daojue after all. —∞— Facing Daojue on a big stage wasn't some recent idea, some new whim. Jieyuan had been dreaming of a rematch for half a year now—ever since the very first time he met Daojue, on another dueling stage, at the Gleaming Stone Sect's entrance trials. Months had passed since then, and that wish had faded into something vaguer.

To a simpler, more straightforward desire to surpass Daojue. But the Radiant Gold Summit had dragged the original dream back to the forefront of his mind, made it tangible again. And now the time had finally come. Finally. Jieyuan and Daojue stood on opposite ends of the center stage. Brightgold blazed all around them, glowing, radiant, stupidly splendorous. The proctor stood between the two of them, going over the rules. It wasn't the usual Radiant Gold Sect elder this time, though. It was Sovereign Aoxin herself.

Maybe it was tradition for her to oversee the last match of the tournament, but Jieyuan reckoned it had more to do with yesterday's mess. This time around, Jieyuan paid a bit more attention to the words being said, just in case they'd changed some of the rules too (given, again, the utter fiasco with Xianjun yesterday). But as the sovereign protector reached the part about victory conditions, he realized there hadn't been any changes. Fair enough.

The rules had worked just fine before Xianjun, and after his little stunt and the way it ended, it was unlikely anybody would try to get clever like that again. Jieyuan glanced up at the viewing floor. All eyes were on the stage, on him and Daojue. But he could tell most people weren't really focused. Xianjun's death yesterday was still weighing heavily on everyone's mind. And he'd bet that almost everyone had already written this duel off, anyway. Sure, Jieyuan had pulled off upset after upset.

Against Caoluan, against Yongyi, even against Meiyao. But what Daojue had done yesterday was on another level entirely. Jieyuan wouldn't have bet on himself either, if it weren't for what he and Maeva had cooked up yesterday. Even now, with a trump card up his sleeve, he didn't rate his odds too highly. He already had the Shifting Sisters drawn, split up, one in each hand. He gave each a small shake, focusing on their trusty, reassuring weight. Weight. That'd be very important, in a little while.

Across from him, Daojue looked the same as ever, clothes- and face-wise. He stood ramrod-straight, one hand holding up Gleaming End where it stood on the floor beside him. The resemblance to a statue was really uncanny; Daojue didn't seem to move at all. As Sovereign Aoxin neared the end of her speech, Daojue got into position. Slowly, unhurriedly, perfectly at ease. He lifted Gleaming End off the ground, spun it across his chest, grabbed the shaft near the blade with one hand while sliding the other further down.

His knees bent slightly, body leaning forward. Jieyuan took a deep breath and followed suit. He dropped into a half-crouch, adjusted his grip on the Shifting Sisters, holding their blades up, level with his chest. He braced himself. Daojue's approach to fights was simple. Offense. All the offense. In all of his duels so far, Daojue had shot forward the moment the match started. Jieyuan doubted today would be any different. Straight-on, unrelenting, rigid offense—that was what Daojue was all about.

Jieyuan was partial to offense himself, but not with Daojue's dogged, bullheaded determination. He didn't have that luxury. He had to spice things up, tailor his approach to whoever he was up against. He couldn't just brute-force a win with strength, speed, and skill; he had to be smart about it, to adapt. In that, at least, he had something of an edge. Though this was technically only his second real duel against Daojue, it wasn't his second encounter in a broader sense.

He'd been using Absolute Will Command to simulate combat for well over a month now, and he couldn't count anymore the number of times he'd faced Daojue in his head over the past few weeks. Tens of thousands of matches, most of them short and brutal. Jieyuan licked his lips, his heart speeding up until it was hammering against his ribcage. His mental model of Daojue wasn't perfect; he didn't know Daojue's bondskill yet, and Daojue had a knack for defying expectations.

But given what Jieyuan had to work with, it was close as it could get. He breathed out, slowly, clearing his mind. In the grand scheme of things, this duel didn't matter. Not in the least. Not when it wouldn't bring him any tangible benefit. Not with the Xiyunfeng Clan, the Gleaming Nobles, and their schemes looming ahead. But Jieyuan wasn't living in the future. He was living in the here and now. And right now? Nothing else mattered. Victory was its own reward. Get ready, Huaxin. Jieyuan felt his heart skip.

AFFIRMATION. It was a good thing Jieyuan could always count on his heart. Literally.

"BEGIN!" Sovereign Aoxin flashed off the stage in an instant. He didn't move. Didn't activate his haster ring, either; he'd agreed with Daojue beforehand not to use it. Like with Meiyao, there wasn't a point; they were at the same step, and from the same sect. It'd just be a waste of chroma. Seven times now, Jieyuan had seen Daojue rush across at the stage at his opponent. From above it was quite the impressive sight, a fourth-step Redsoul gliding so fast across the brightgold stage he seemed to fly.

Being on the receiving end of it? Forget impressive. Try terrifying. Daojue closed the distance in a snap, Gleaming End leading the charge, footsteps a sharp drone on the stage. Good thing Jieyuan had practiced for this. One, two, three—four. Daojue was in range. Jieyuan leaned to the side at the exact instant Daojue thrust Gleaming End forward. The spearhead disappeared past his head, brushing against his hair. Jieyuan dropped lower and slashed at Daojue's side with Sapphire, using his left hand.

Daojue pivoted, batting the attack aside with Gleaming End's shaft. At the same time, Jieyuan struck with the other blade, and again Daojue managed to snap Gleaming End into position in time. Daojue's counter was a downward sweep at Jieyuan's shoulder. Jieyuan moved at the exact right moment, slipping out of the way. Timing was important in any fight; against Daojue, even more so. The problem with Daojue was that he reacted too fast.

Even if you knew his next move, if you tried to dodge it too early, Daojue would see and change it in time. On the other hand, if you took too long to dodge, you'd get hit. So you only had the narrowest window of opportunity to react. This wasn't much of a problem to most people—because most people couldn't react to Daojue's attacks to begin with. Daojue had no tells whatsoever, virtually no build-up to an attack—he could go from total stillness to striking with nothing in between.

To react on time, you either had to be as fast as him—or know his moves ahead of time. Jieyuan attacked, and Daojue blocked. Daojue attacked, and Jieyuan dodged. Soon they'd tallied a few dozen strikes each, all in the span of a few seconds. Neither of them got a clean hit in. And then it began. Daojue's expression didn't change at all, the same stony mask he always wore. His stance didn't change either. But he sped up. Gradually, each strike just a hair faster than the last.

Jieyuan dodged the first, the second; but soon they were getting too fast, even knowing what the next move would be. And in a short while, he wouldn't even have the foreknowledge from his simulations on his side. He'd managed to get the beginning of their duel down, but further down the line things got iffy. This gradual ramp-up was something Daojue always did. He started each duel fighting at a specific baseline (it changed for each opponent) before ramping up when that didn't prove enough.

Jieyuan wasn't sure what that was about, why Daojue didn't just go all-out from the start and lay his opponent out. That'd certainly fit better with his obsession with offense. Maybe it was some weird notion of conserving effort: only doing the necessary to beat his opponent, or something along the lines. Or maybe it was some even weirder sense of honor, like Daojue was trying to give his opponent a chance to prove himself. Whatever it was, Jieyuan had planned for it. HUAXIN! he called.

BLOCK-FEINT-KICK-LUNGE-SLASH. It all came to him in an instant, and Jieyuan moved. He didn't need to worry about the timing. He didn't need to worry about anything besides acting out the sequence. Huaxin had already taken care of it all. He brought both Shifting Sisters up, crossed, and caught Gleaming End between their blades. At the same time, he shifted his left foot forward in a feint, baiting Daojue to edge sideways instinctively— And whipped his other leg out, kicking at Daojue's waist.

Daojue withdrew, breaking off—and Jieyuan lunged forward, bringing the Shifting Sisters down at Daojue's chest. Daojue parried, and— DODGE-SWING-TURN-CUT. Another sequence. Jieyuan leaned to the side as Daojue swung Gleaming End at him, and answered by swinging one of the splitfangs at Daojue. Mid-swing, he twisted his body to avoid a blazingly fast counter-thrust from Daojue.

Inhumanly swift, Daojue pulled back his thrust and reoriented Gleaming End's shaft just in time to block Jieyuan's ongoing swing, but Jieyuan was already slashing at him with the other Shifting Edge. Again Daojue reacted quicker than should've been possible, blocking the second attack. This time, Daojue was left in a better position than before, Gleaming End at the ready, while Jieyuan was still readjusting his stance, getting the Shifting Sisters back in front of him.

The next sequence Huaxin sent Jieyuan had him on the defensive, focused on dodging, lest he lose the duel then and there. What Huaxin and Fatebloom Instinct did was show Jieyuan the near future, compressed into a single instant. More specifically, Huaxin showed him the future with the best outcome for him. As far as Jieyuan could tell, there was not even the risk of him not being able to follow the sequence Huaxin sent, because whether he'd be able to pull it off was already factored in.

But this power wasn't without its flaws; it couldn't be used for long, and there was always a gap between the sequences. But most of all, Fatebloom Instinct had one key limitation. Though Huaxin did its best, it couldn't make the impossible happen. That meant Huaxin couldn't show Jieyuan a future where he won, or disarmed Daojue, or anything like that—because such a future didn't exist.

Even with Huaxin's predictive powers factored in, there was nothing Jieyuan could possibly do in the short-term that could result in Daojue's defeat. Maybe if Huaxin could accurately predict more than the next couple of seconds, it'd be able to figure something out. Give it at least a few minutes of future-sight, and it might manage to piece together a long and perfect enough sequence that would do the trick and lead him to victory.

But it couldn't, so all Jieyuan could do was go from moment to moment as he held on, stretching the match out into a battle of attrition. And Jieyuan wasn't winning one of those. Daojue was better than him in every aspect, stamina included. Good thing, then, that Jieyuan had been counting on more than just Fatebloom Instinct to win. He reckoned he'd drawn it out long enough. NOW! he called, and Huaxin promptly sent him another sequence.

Jieyuan let Gleaming End slide across Sapphire, his arm straining with the effort to keep the spear at bay, and struck at Daojue with the other blade. Daojue broke the deadlock and thrust Gleaming End upward to meet the attack. Gleaming End struck Jieyuan's Ruby in an upward swing and continued on up, sending the splitfang flying from Jieyuan's hand. Daojue didn't pause, didn't hesitate, as he reoriented Gleaming End and swung it back down at Jieyuan.

His face tightening with concentration, Jieyuan grabbed Sapphire with his right hand and charged at Daojue in a two-handed swing of his own, making no move to defend himself. Mid-strike, though, Daojue pulled back and snapped Gleaming End behind him—to Ruby, which was now coming down at his back in a downward swing. Swung by the invisible hand of Jieyuan's soulforce.