The Outer Sect Arena was different today.
During the preliminaries, it was a chaotic mess of fifty desperate kids. Today, it was a stage.
The rubble had been cleared. The blood had been scrubbed off. Only two disciples remained.
The Finals. Winner takes all: Immediate promotion to the Inner Sect, 100 Spirit Stones, and a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact.
In the waiting tunnel, Liu Bao was bouncing on the balls of his feet. The ground shook rhythmically. Thump. Thump.
He wore a custom outfit Jin Ryeong had commissioned: a sleeveless tunic made of thick, cured rhino leather that exposed his massive arms.
He didn't look like a fat merchant's son anymore. He looked like a siege engine.
"Stop bouncing," Jin Ryeong said, leaning against the tunnel wall. "You're wasting energy."
"I'm nervous, Doctor," Liu Bao admitted, sweat beading on his forehead.
"My opponent is Zou. They call him 'The Viper'. He hasn't been hit once in the entire tournament."
Jin Ryeong pulled up the dossier in his mind.
[Target: Zou (Outer Sect Rank 1)] [Style: Snake-Shadow Whip.]
[Weapon: Segmented Steel Chain.]
[Strategy: Kiting, Bleeding, Evasion.]
"He is a counter-fighter," Jin Ryeong explained.
"He wants you to charge. He will wrap his chain around your legs, trip you, and then flay you while you're on the ground."
"So... I shouldn't charge?"
"No," Jin Ryeong fixed Liu Bao's collar.
"You are a mountain. Do mountains charge?
No. Mountains wait for the storm to break against them."
Jin Ryeong handed Liu Bao a small vial.
"One last boost. Coagulation Serum. If he cuts you—and he will—you won't bleed out."
Liu Bao downed the vial. "Time to go," Jin Ryeong said, pushing him toward the light.
"Go make me proud, Puppet."
The Arena
The crowd roared as the two finalists entered. From the East Gate: Zou. He was lean, shirtless, with a snake tattoo winding up his arm.
He cracked a nine-section steel whip against the ground. CRACK. It sounded like a gunshot. The crowd cheered for the cool, dangerous bad boy.
From the West Gate: Liu Bao. He walked out slowly. He didn't wave. He didn't smile.
He just took up space. The cheers were different for him. They were deeper.
"MOUNTAIN! MOUNTAIN!"
The referee raised his hand. "Begin!"
Zou moved instantly.
[Movement Art: Serpentine Dash]
He circled Liu Bao, moving so fast he left afterimages. He stayed exactly fifteen feet away—the maximum range of his whip.
"Too slow, fatty!" Zou taunted. Flick.
The steel chain lashed out. The tip, sharpened to a razor point, struck Liu Bao's shoulder. RIIIP. The rhino leather tore. A line of red appeared on Liu Bao's skin.
Liu Bao grunted but didn't move.
Flick. Snap. Flick.
Zou accelerated. He was dissecting Liu Bao from a distance.
Cuts appeared on Liu Bao's arms, chest, and thighs. Blood began to drip.
"Is that all you got?" Zou laughed, dancing away.
"You're just a big target!"
In the stands, the crowd grew restless.
"He's getting eaten alive!" "Do something, Mountain!"
Jin Ryeong watched calmly. He checked the System Diagnosis.
[Liu Bao HP: 92/100]
[Status: Bleeding (Minor - Clotting Active).]
[Adrenaline: Rising.]
Wait for it, Jin Ryeong thought. Wait until he gets confident.
Zou saw the blood and got greedy. He wanted a finisher.
"Time to sleep, pig!"
Zou flicked his wrist. The chain whip snaked out, aiming not for a cut, but a bind. The steel coils wrapped around Liu Bao's neck. Catch.
Zou grinned. "Gotcha!"
He planted his feet and yanked, intending to strangle Liu Bao or pull him to the ground.
This was the mistake. To pull someone, you have to be anchored.
Zou weighed 140 pounds. Liu Bao weighed 300 pounds of condensed muscle and sponge-tissue.
Zou pulled. Liu Bao didn't budge. His neck muscles bulged, absorbing the pressure of the chain.
Liu Bao smiled. It was a terrifying sight.
"Got you."
Liu Bao grabbed the chain with both hands. Zou's eyes widened. He tried to release the handle, but he was too slow.
[Toppling Mountain Art: The Fisherman.]
Liu Bao hauled the chain. He didn't pull Zou toward him. He whipped the chain like a rope. Zou was yanked off his feet, flying through the air toward Liu Bao.
"No!" Zou screamed, mid-air.
Liu Bao dropped the chain and opened his arms. "Welcome!"
He caught Zou.
[Technique: The Iron Maiden Hug.]
Liu Bao wrapped his massive arms around Zou's slender frame. He pinned Zou's arms to his sides. And he squeezed.
CRUNCH.
The sound of ribs cracking echoed through the silent arena. Zou gasped, his face turning purple. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. He was trapped in a vice of flesh and bone.
"Let... go..." Zou wheezed.
"You cut me," Liu Bao said simply.
"Twelve times."
Liu Bao lifted Zou into the air. He shifted his grip, grabbing Zou by the waist and shoulder. He inverted him.
[Toppling Mountain Art: Earth-Shattering Slam.]
Liu Bao drove Zou head-first into the marble floor.
BOOM.
The arena shook. A spiderweb of cracks appeared in the stone. Zou didn't get up. He lay there, crumpled like a discarded doll, his whip tangled around his legs.
The referee rushed over. He checked Zou's pulse.
"He lives! But he is unconscious!"
The referee raised Liu Bao's hand.
"Winner! And the new Outer Sect Champion... LIU BAO!"
The crowd exploded. It was deafening. The "Trash" had ascended. The "Pig" was now the King.
Liu Bao stood in the center of the ring, blood streaming down his arms, panting heavily. He looked up at the VIP tower. He saw Elder Tang nodding approvingly.
He saw the Sect Leader clapping.
But Liu Bao looked past them. He looked to the servant's gallery.
He found Jin Ryeong. He raised his fist.
Jin Ryeong didn't cheer. He just nodded and turned away.
Asset Secured.
The Post-Match Ceremony
Liu Bao knelt before the Sect Leader. He was handed a heavy bag of Spirit Stones and a jade token.
"Rise, Inner Disciple Liu," the Sect Leader smiled. "
You have proven that the Dao takes many forms.
Your... unique constitution is a credit to the sect."
Liu Bao bowed.
"Thank you, Sect Leader."
As the ceremony ended, Liu Bao was swarmed by other disciples trying to suck up to the new champion. But Liu Bao pushed through them.
He made his way to the edge of the arena where Jin Ryeong was waiting with a towel.
"I did it, Doctor," Liu Bao whispered, wincing as he wiped the blood from his cuts.
"You took too much damage," Jin Ryeong critiqued, handing him a healing salve.
"You let him cut you to bait the grab. Risky.
If he had aimed for your eyes, you would be blind."
"But I won."
"Yes. You won." Jin Ryeong looked at the jade token in Liu Bao's hand.
[Item: Inner Sect ID]
"Now the real work begins," Jin Ryeong said.
"You are my eyes and ears inside the Inner Sect. You will have access to the Technique Library, the Pill Pavilion, and the Elder's Lectures."
Jin Ryeong leaned in close.
"I need you to find something for me. In the Library. Look for any records regarding the 'Venomless Poison'."
"Venomless Poison?"
"It's a myth," Jin Ryeong said.
"A poison that heals before it kills. Elder Baek mentioned it once in his sleep. I want to know if it exists."
"I'll find it," Liu Bao promised.
"Good. Now go celebrate. Get drunk. Make friends. Be the jolly fat champion."
Jin Ryeong smirked.
"Let them forget you are dangerous."
The Shadows of the Arena
While Liu Bao celebrated, Jin Ryeong slipped away toward the Medicine Hall. He needed to prepare for Mei's Semi-Final match tomorrow.
As he walked through the quiet bamboo grove, he felt a prickle on his neck. Killing Intent.
He stopped.
"Come out."
A figure stepped from behind a bamboo stalk. It was Feng.
The Thunder Prodigy looked worse than before. His eyes were sunken, his skin pale.
The Purple Cloud Fever was advancing rapidly after the trauma of the sonic attack.
He held a sword, but his hand was shaking violently.
"You..." Feng rasped.
"The servant. I checked the roster. You are the one who cleans Liu Bao's shed.
You are the one who was with Mei."
Feng pointed his trembling sword at Jin Ryeong.
"You are the common denominator. The fat pig uses a sonic attack.
The girl uses rust. It's not martial arts. It's... tricks."
Feng stumbled forward.
"Who are you? A spy from the Iron-Blood Sect? A Demonic Cultivator?"
Jin Ryeong turned slowly. He checked Feng's status.
[Target: Feng]
[HP: 40/100 (Critical Condition)]
[Status: Withdrawal / Qi Deviation / Paranoia.]
"I am just a doctor, Senior Brother," Jin Ryeong said softly.
"And you look very sick."
"Shut up!" Feng gathered lightning on his blade. It sputtered and sparked erratically.
"I will interrogate you. I will cut off your fingers until you talk!"
Feng lunged. It was a sloppy, desperate thrust.
Jin Ryeong didn't dodge. He activated [Qi Projection].
He activated [Thousand Venom Hand].
He didn't aim for Feng.
He aimed for the air in front of Feng.
He released a cloud of Fine Metallic Dust (leftover from Scalpel's feeding).
He suspended the dust in the air with his Qi.
Feng charged through the dust cloud. The lightning on his sword arc-ed.
Electricity + Metal Dust = Flashover.
ZAP-BANG.
The dust ignited in a blinding flash of sparks right in Feng's face.
"AHHH!" Feng screamed, blinded. He stumbled back, dropping his sword.
Jin Ryeong stepped through the smoke. He didn't kill Feng.
He walked up to the blind, flailing prodigy and placed a hand on his chest.
[Skill: The Ghost Cyst]
He didn't implant a full cyst. He didn't have time. He implanted a Suggestion. He injected a tiny pulse of Hallucinogenic Venom directly into Feng's heart meridian.
"You didn't see me," Jin Ryeong whispered, his voice laced with Qi.
"You saw a demon. A shadow. It attacked you in the woods."
He pushed Feng. Feng collapsed, unconscious from the shock and the drugs.
Jin Ryeong looked down at the fallen genius.
"Rest, Senior Brother. When you wake up, your mind will be broken. Y
ou won't remember the servant. You'll only remember the fear."
Jin Ryeong picked up Feng's sword.
[Item: Thunder-Edge Jian (Low Grade Spirit Weapon)]
Value: 500 Taels.
"Scalpel," Jin Ryeong called softly.
The beetle flew out.
"Eat the hilt. Leave the blade.
Make it look like a beast attack."
Crunch.
Jin Ryeong walked away, leaving the broken prodigy in the bamboo grove.
The loose ends were tied up.