Year 663 of the Stable Era,

Twenty-second day of the eleventh month

Sometime past the start of the 4th Inner Hour

"Match 12! Jiang Jinqiu and Lu Ri!" the now-familiar voice of the disciple managing the round called. Chao Ren winced at the sound, clenching his staff as he caught his breath. He forced his circulation back into the rhythm of his cultivation, returning the elements back to their endless dance. They stilled after his first calming breath, resuming their optimal flow by the third, his meridians relaxing as he eased his control.

This wasn't the time to lose focus.

Not when he still had another two matches before he was up.

His inauspiciously, inauspiciously numbered Match 14.

Perhaps that was a sign that he'd overstepped. Allowed his aspirations to grow too lofty for his own good. Let himself, no—he couldn't let himself wander. Not now.

He forced his breathing to still again, closing his eyes as he drowned out the sounds of the outside world. Slowly, deliberately, he forced himself to simply focus on his breathing. Removing all other thoughts from his mind as he did.

In and out. Round and round.

He let the flow of his qi guide him just as he guided it, elements turning in on themselves as they shifted endlessly along their cycle. Occasionally a twinge of pain from the cut on his cheek or a nagging thought would attempt to push him askew, but Chao Ren simply let them melt into the cycle as well.

He fueled fire with fear to nurture earth. Buried worries with earth to form mettle. Nerves he soothed with water, nurturing his wounds as he did. He'd received two cuts in the first round—one from panic, one from competence—and he made sure that they were healed to a shallow enough state that they wouldn't open again in his next fight.

He could heal them fully, if he had more time, but it would be a mistake to waste any of his qi on such a thing at this moment. Especially when it might mean the difference between victory and defeat in a later round. Instead, he focused on strengthening his connection with his staff, allowing it to become more accustomed to his qi while he had the chance.

The wood was warm in his hand as he adjusted his grip, its familiar temperature reassuring to the touch. True to Bao's words Red Copper Hickory was indeed a superior qi conductor to his former weapon. It already felt more like a part of his own body than his old wooden staff had ever had, despite his years with his former weapon. Qi spiraled within himself and then without, crossing to the staff and coiling down the capillaries of the wood before it flowed back into him.

He corrected the slight resulting imbalance of wood and metal with a pulse of qi, increasing the efficiency of the other elements of his cycle to restore their harmony. Supposedly he should be able to better balance it as he broke in the staff, once his own cultivation replaced the wood's nature, but that would take more time than he really had at the moment.

He barely reacted as he distantly heard the call for the 13th match, simply allowing the words to pass through him rather than restoke the embers of emotion in his heart.

Bailong Shen's advice from so long ago was still quite helpful, it would seem, he thought to himself. Even after all these years. He had underestimated the amount of experience that the young dragon had spoken from at the time. Perhaps he should—

"Round 14!" the disciple called, and Chao Ren winced a bit as he snapped out of his meditation. He cursed the alacrity of the last round, slapping his cheeks to sharpen his Twin Minds Technique as he rose to his feet. Once for focus, once for luck.

He rose, picking up his staff from where it had been resting on his knees. He hurriedly made his way across the room, heading to the door that marked the boundary between the waiting room and the arena.

The room had an odd quiet to it now. The once boisterous crowd that he'd had to push through in the previous round winnowed down to a muted hubbub. It was far from silent, but there was a certain guarded quality to the conversations. A hollow ring to the boasting and posturing of the other contestants still puffing themselves out. A forced bravado to the confidence of the retellings of their last fights. And the occasional snore, from the contestant napping in the corner.

After confirming his identity with the disciple managing applicants Chao Ren was let back into the hall to the arena, the door settling into place with a quiet clack as he began his walk to the crowd.

Alone again, in the brief quiet between anticipation and action formed by the noise isolation array that covered the short walkway. His fellow disciple's advice returned to him as he walked those familiarly short steps, each word ringing out with the echoes of his steps.

Don't lose your form.

Keep your eyes out for any tricky business.

Remember your reach.

Stay focused, and remember that unyielding qi is a greater strength than unlimited might.

Almost in a trance Chao Ren stepped onto the arena's stones to a few dull claps from the barely quarter-full stands. There were only a dozen or so cultivators seated around the rows of benches, and at the moment the majority of them were more focused on the man making the rounds with a tray of lotus-wrapped zongzi than on the beginning of the bout. Bao waved enthusiastically at him from the stands and Chao Ren returned the gesture with a polite wave as his opponent announced himself.

Flustered, Chao Ren hurriedly turned to return the address, almost stumbling over his own name as he performed his martial salute. As he raised his head the referee slashed his hand down to start the match with a shout, preventing any other preamble as the two combatants drew their weapons.

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His opponent was a fellow member of the Teal Mountain Sect wielding a jian, the blade a glinting silver sliver as he charged across the stone.

Seven steps away.

That was good. Less to worry about than if he was barehanded, because it meant that it was less likely that he would attempt to catch or grapple for control of his staff.

Six steps.

But not impossible, Chao Ren thought, as Lee Han's words rippled through him.

Five steps.

'Always watch the off hand', the tiger guai would say, before tripping him with his tail. 'Don't focus so much on the weapon or the rest of them's gonna getcha.'

Four steps.

Reflexively, Chao Ren looked between his opponent's legs. Not tail. So not a guai, or at least not the sort that wore their nature that prominently.

Three steps away now.

Feet adjusted. Staff up. His qi loose, but ready.

Two steps.

He bounced on his toes, preparing to begin the circling that always preceded any exchange of blows.

One last step remained, and his opponent wasn't stopping. His blade swept down in a sharp iai with a surge of qi.

Blisteringly fast, but blindingly obvious.

Chao Ren used a half-step to easily dodge to the side and the charge went wide. The sword sparked as it scraped against the stone, the latter completely unscathed by the encounter. It was such an obvious attack that he almost forgot to strike at his leg as he passed.

Wood met shin with a sharp crack, and his opponent stumbled as Chao Ren stared in confusion. This was nothing like sparing with Lee Han, whose obvious aggression always masked at least two tricks.

Chao Ren adjusted his stance as he paced closer, keeping his eye on his opponent's blade as he recovered, cautious of a trap. The qi around him was tumultuous, roiling over itself as he took deep breaths to replenish himself. His main pillar perhaps? Given that he seemed much more focused on raw power than application.

Not a good blade to block then, especially with a newer staff. There was no telling how much time he'd invested into strengthening the jian, and it would be bad to allow his weapon to become damaged this early into the tournament.

He continued to circle as his opponent took up a stance again, this time assuming the familiar form of the Fifth Iteration Teal Jade Blade Art. One of the more common sword styles amongst the sect, and one that Bailong Shen had drilled into his head as something to be prepared for.

His opponent didn't even wait to circle before launching another attack, moving directly into the third move of the first form. Chao Ren moved with him, deflecting two strikes of the blade by its flat before sweeping the end of his shaft at his opponent's inner knee. As he stumbled again Chao Ren whirled, spinning into a circular kick that caught him straight in the gut. The qi left his lungs with a whoosh as he fell back, a hand barely catching himself most of the way to the ground.

'Don't lose the initiative!' Lee Han's voice screamed in his mind, and Chao Ren leapt after his opponent. His staff spun as it smashed into his opponent's grip as he attempted to flip to his feet, knocking the jian from his hand. The other end of his staff whipped into his head on the follow up, sending him sprawling after his weapon. He leapt after him for another strike to end the fight, his staff stopping an inch from his opponent's skull as the referee announced his victory.

"Winner! Chao Ren of the Teal Mountain Sect!" the referee declared. Chao Ren let his muscles relax as he felt the pressure on his staff loosen, relaxing his qi as he did. He gave his opponent a respectful bow as he returned to the waiting room to the applause of Bao and at least one other member of the audience.

One of the disciples managing the tournament read him his next match number from a list as he guided him to yet another new waiting room, where the atmosphere had only further stilled. Few conversations had endured the first round even as the participants had thinned, but now just pairs and trios muttered amongst themselves. Any semblance of the clumped groups boasting about the tournament had vanished.

Looking around, he saw few familiar faces and many new ones. After the first round he had learnt that the tournament was using several waiting rooms to separate the contestants from their next opponents. A smart move in his opinion, as it reduced the chances of collusion or sabotage. It also meant that those he did recognize were cultivators that he didn't need to worry about in the next round, only the ones after should they manage to win.

Some seemed far more on edge than others. Those whose cuts and bruises from the previous fights marked them as either weak competition or simply unfortunate enough to have encountered a near fight. A rough state to be in this early into the tournament.

The New Disciple Exhibition was an endurance tournament, a format that had been decided by the fact that it was a single day event crammed into an already busy schedule. To aid in its alacrity it was also single elimination, with the barest of breaks between rounds.

Shen had cautioned him that it was more a tournament of skill and strategy than it was of power or technique. All of the competitors were disciples approximately the same age, and all within their first five years of cultivation. None had had the decades that could afford even the fastest cultivation method a meaningful advantage, so they were all on equal footing. Pacing would be the greatest determiner of success. Careful use of his more refined qi, as well as well-managed recovery between each fight.

Chao Ren crossed his legs as he found an empty corner of the room, letting his staff rest against his knees as he focused on his circulation once more. He checked his meridians for any sort of deviation or irregularity, before checking that he hadn't received a cut that had gone unnoticed in the heat of the moment.

Thankfully, everything was in order, and he began cycling his qi again. He'd gotten lucky with his opponents so far, but he couldn't afford to rely on that forever. Especially now that the first few rounds had ground away the chaff.

He would have to thank Bailong Shen and Lee Han for the help they had given him with blades. Because of them he'd frozen from the fear of cuts months ago rather than minutes, giving him plenty of time for his wounds to heal and his will to harden.

The worry of anticipation for the next round still tinged his mind with unease, but he pushed it aside as he focused on his cultivation. He could do little to change his opponent, so he needed to focus on the only thing that he could control: himself. Not that he could ever hope to do anything so audacious as ascend a stage during a tournament (especially so early into his cultivation), but he could keep himself in the best possible condition for the next round.

And so he went through the routine that he had practiced and prepared for months.

Balanced his qi, ensuring that he retained enough in his internal reserves for later.

Refined what he could, to ensure that what he absorbed remained entirely usable.

Stretched, to keep his muscles loose and limber.

Ate, when a disciple brought out a table of food for the contestants. But not too much. Enough to keep up his strength, but not so much as to bog himself down.

And he relaxed. As much as he could manage.

Both Lee Han and Bailong Shen had emphasized the importance of avoiding complacency while simultaneously reminding him to allow himself to properly rest between rounds. Which was still a balance of opposites that had been hard for him to reconcile. If he allowed himself to lapse, would that not be a sign of overconfidence? That he was so enamored by his own abilities that he would allow himself to become distracted.

It was still too early to consider bowing out. There were four more rounds, an inauspicious four, before he could eke out a meaningful prize, so he needed to maintain strict control until then.

As a form of compromise, he had brought his copy of the Five Elements Unification Technique with him. While he couldn't use his storage ring during the fights or to sneak in recovery pills, it was entirely within the rules to use it aid in his continued studies between rounds.

Plucking the manual from his ring, he flipped it open to where he'd left off on, which was the section on the characteristics of the five elements. He was match 6 this time, so with 2 more fights remaining in the previous round, as well as the break and the other 5 before him in the next, he would have plenty of time to peruse the section.

After he took a few more breaks to focus on his meditation, of course.

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